– Spurs Tackle NBA Title Defense with Consistency in Their Message and Players (from Ethan Skolnick, Bleacher Report):
Read it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2237219-spurs-tackle-nba-title-defense-with-consistency-in-their-message-and-players
– Jazz point guard Trey Burke getting an ‘A’ for effort on defense (from Jody Genessey, deseretnews.com):
” Burke’s defense.
Unlike much of the 21-year-old’s rookie season, the 6-foot-1 playmaker received a deserved compliment about his performance on that side of the court.
“The thing that was really good about his game today, in my opinion, was … he defended, which he’s starting to do,” Snyder said. “It’s starting to become who he is.”
Read it here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865613586/Utah-Jazz-point-guard-Trey-Burke-getting-an-A-for-effort-on-D.html
– Opportunity knocks for Teague, Hawks (from Sekou Smith, nba.com)
” He chooses his wisely and knows that two sometimes do the job better than a few. But the Atlanta Hawks’ point guard isn’t shy about his team. Not after what the Hawks did last season, sliding into that eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and then scaring the daylights out of the top-seeded Indiana Pacers in an entertaining seven-game series that served as yet another showcase for Teague.
He’s one of the league’s best young point guards who never seems to find his way into that conversation. With top 10 rankings in several key statistical categories, you could make the case that Teague should be included in any conversations about the top current point guards in the Eastern Conference, at least.
Teague, however, is content to let his play speak for him and keep his focus on the opportunity that awaits the Hawks in a revamped Eastern Conference. With an All-Star in Paul Millsap and a returning All-Star in Al Horford and coach Mike Budenholzer‘s system as their frame, Teague says that team people enjoyed watching last season and during that playoff series against the Pacers is back and ready for more.”
Read the Q & A here: http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2014/10/20/opportunity-knocks-for-teague-hawks/
– 6 Budding NBA Teams You’ll Want to Watch This Season (from Josh Martin, Bleacher Report):
” (I)t never hurts to get ahead of the curve when scoping out the NBA landscape. That way, if you’re going to hop onto another bandwagon, you can at least be sure that you won’t be the last one on.
With that in mind, here are six squads to consider getting in on early, be it because they are sleepers for this season, could be in the conversation in the years to come and/or should just be fun to watch.”
Check out the slideshow here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2238157-6-budding-nba-teams-youll-want-to-watch-this-season
– Monta Ellis by the numbers (from Hal Brown, Nylon Calculus):
“His drives are…an almost literal engine that drives a ferocious Dallas offense. It’s telling that not only did he get to the basket really often (the only players who drove more often were Ty Lawson and Tony Parker), but he created more points on drives than any other player in the league. Monta was a great finisher last year, but just as importantly, he was really, really good at finding an open Dirk Nowitzki on a pick and pop after drawing Dirk’s man under the basket, or a cutting big man trailing behind.
Without Monta doing that, you could ask legitimate questions about how much space Dirk (and Vince Carter, among others) would really have gotten on jumpers all season: San Antonio kept Dirk shut down in the postseason in part because they limited Monta’s effectiveness in separating Dirk’s man with drives.”
Read it here: http://nyloncalculus.com/2014/10/21/numbers-to-know-12-4-monta-ellis-dallas-mavericks-drives/
– For the Thunder to be successful, Andre Roberson will need to score (from Darnell Mayberry, newsok.com)
” He has tremendous size and length for his position, and his defensive tenacity is viewed in the same vein as Thabo Sefolosha, the man he is expected to succeed as the Thunder’s starting shooting guard.
But there’s one big question.
Can he score?
The fear of many fans has been that Roberson will win the starting shooting guard job and only replicate the offensive unbalance the Thunder often displayed with Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins in the first string. For years, that duo helped make the Thunder an elite defensive team, but it also placed an enormous amount of pressure on Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant to manufacture way too much offense. With Sefolosha and Perkins in the starting lineup, the Thunder’s offense frequently bogged down into an overly-predictable set of ball screens designed solely to get the team’s stars a shot.
Much of the preseason talk this year has been about moving away from that by sharing the ball more, utilizing better spacing and, ideally, achieving better balance.
That’s where Roberson comes in.
In order for the Thunder to be successful, Roberson will need to be a threat.”
Read it here: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-thunder-for-the-thunder-to-be-successful-andre-roberson-will-need-to-score/article/5358434
– Fredette endeavors to break free of one-dimensional tag in stint with Pelicans (from Jimmy Smith, NOLA.com):
” It stands to reason when your name is associated with so many offensive records you’d tend to be typecast as a one-dimensional player.”
Read it here: http://www.nola.com/pelicans/index.ssf/2014/10/jimmer_fredette_endeavors_to_b.html
– To maintain momentum, Phoenix Suns need to adapt to roles (from Paul Coro, azcentral.com):
“Part of the challenge for the Suns to maintain the momentum and recapture the winning ways of last season will be adapting to new roles.
For some, it will mean less playing time, fewer shots or a new position. With the Suns’ additions, it might not mean a larger role for the returnees.”
Read it here: http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2014/10/18/maintain-momentum-phoenix-suns-need-adapt-roles/17525613/
– Heat’s Bosh sets high bar for Rockets’ Motiejunas, Jones (from Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle):
” C’mon, D-Mo!” Terrence Jones shouted several hundred jump shots into the post-practice routine he and Donatas Motiejunas have assigned themselves this season. They end most practices this way, launching hundreds of shots after their teammates have headed to the ice packs.
They know how vital their play will be to the Rockets’ chances, but if they didn’t, a meeting with the power forward who got away will offer a vivid, inescapable reminder of what the Rockets wanted – and nearly had – to take over their position.
The Rockets will face Miami on Tuesday night for the first time since Chris Bosh turned them down to accept the counteroffer (from) the Heat”
– Derrick Rose Showing He Can Speed Chicago Bulls Back into Contention (from Ethan Skolnick, Bleacher report):
” Rose is winning the matchup…against himself.
Against his body, his luck, his doubts, or anything else that may hold him back from becoming something close to what he was.
And if he wins that matchup, then this rivalry can be something close to what many NBA fans hope it will be, one in which each side will have considerable reason to respect and fear and loathe the other.”
Read it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2238682-derrick-rose-showing-he-can-speed-chicago-bulls-back-into-contention
– Who are the other contenders in the Eastern Conference? (form Kevin McElroy, medium.com):
” What Will It Take to Win the NBA’s New-look Eastern Conference?”
Read it here: https://medium.com/the-cauldron/up-for-grabs-6644f50a99f5
– Drummond, Monroe, Smith lineup not dead (from Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press):
-Energized O.J. Mayo making most of preseason (from Charles F. Gardner, jsonline.com):
“He’s a veteran,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s a big part of this team. When he was with Dallas he was mentioned as an all-star.
“His work ethic in practice and in training camp has been off the charts. You can see his hard work paying off.””
Read it here: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/oj-mayo-scores-24-to-boost-bucks-over-knicks-b99375056z1-279860212.html
– Brown preaches patience about Noel’s lack of playing time with Sixers (from Bob Cooney, philly.com):
people who still deserve opportunities to play and be seen.”
“I do think at times, it’s good to put outside eyes on it,” (SVG) said. “So we will do that at times, have guys we respect take a look at our team, give us their thoughts, things like that.”
Van Gundy said there are other coaches, not just his brother, from whom he sometimes seeks input, “to get different ideas.”
Self-scouting typically is limited to what assistant coaches do in daily video review but Van Gundy said going outside for a fresh viewpoint can be enlightening.”
Read it here: http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2014/10/jeff_van_gundy_can_expect_some.html
– Additional player updates:
Amar’e Stoudamire: http://nypost.com/2014/10/20/i-feel-like-im-19-again-amare-stoudemire-is-back/ and http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/59245/stats-goal-be-a-better-defensive-player
Jeremy Lin: http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-lakers-jeremy-lin-20141019-story.html
John Lucas III: http://www.csnwashington.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/wizards-bring-john-lucas-non-guaranteed-deal
Joel Anthony: http://www.nba.com/pistons/features/knowing-pistons-wanted-needed-him-makes-trade-easy-accept-joel-anthony
Earl Barron: http://www.arizonasports.com/41/1776253/Veteran-center-Earl-Barron-with-strong-case-to-make-Phoenix-Suns
Dion Waiters: http://kingjamesgospel.com/2014/10/20/enigma-dion-waiters/
Quotes of the Day:
– Asked about the incentive stemming from the possibility of this year’s Spurs’ team becoming the franchise’s first back-to-back champion, Boris Diaw responded:
“What if they already did it?” We wouldn’t want to do it again? We’d try to do it again anyway, even if they did it in the past.”
– From Jabari Parker: “I don’t look at myself big-time, I put myself in my place. I am a rookie, I am inexperienced, I am a first-year NBA player. So I am just anticipating the learning.”
Basketball Intelligence 