Now that we're into our second day of 2013, here's the second part to Monday's post.
6. OJ Mayo and Eric Gordon. This past offseason, there was a
vacant starting role at shooting guard for a team that had just traded
its superstar away to a divisional rival, was in need of a scorer, and
also happens to employ the league’s best training staff. As a restricted
free agent, Gordon had the right idea. He tried to go to Phoenix, but
the Hornets (Pelicans) matched the offer sheet. Despite being only 24
years of age, the constantly banged-up Gordon would have been an ideal
candidate for the Suns training staff—and perhaps one of their toughest
assignments to date. Alas, he’ll have to be content playing with Anthony
Davis, Ryan Anderson, and Greivis “Pass”quez, which is actually a terrific foursome, as long as Gordon (and Davis apparently) can stay healthy enough to actually play more games than they miss. Gordon instantly makes the team Hornets better—if for no other reason than the fact he's replacing one of the worst starting guards
in the Association. As for Mayo, because he was an unrestricted free agent this past offseason, Mayo was free to choose which team he wanted. Apparently the Suns failed to show the kind of interest the Mavs did. At the time, his decision could have been viewed as an
opportunity to play for a playoff contender. And in the early going, his
decision seemed to payoff even more as he got off to a hot start with Drik Nowitzki sidelined with a knee for the
first two months of the season. During those two months, Mayo hit for 18 or more points 18 times through his first 26 games. The Mavs snapped a six-game losing streak on New Year's day, but it will be a struggle for them to make the playoffs this year, especially considering some very good playoff-caliber teams (the Jazz and Lakers) aren't even in the playoff picture yet. A backcourt of Goran
Dragic and Mayo would have been pretty dynamic. Instead, the Suns signed Michael
Beasley and Mayo went to the Mavericks. Lose/Lose.
5. The Atlanta Hawks Versatility.
Versatility has proven to be a huge plus in today’s NBA. One of the surprise teams of the Eastern Conference that has proven to be extremely versatile has been the 20-10 Atlanta Hawks that currently sit in the third seed. Josh Smith was
once labeled a tweener, an enigma that seemed to always be out of
position. Now, he's putting up the kinds of stats that win both fantasy and real life. Like the 26-point, 13-rebound, seven-assist, four-block, three-steal line he put up on New Year's in a win over New Orleans. His running mate, Al Horford, was
always considered too small to be a center. And yet, there's Horford and Smith, working in tandem on both offense and defense, passing, cutting, covering on the pick-and-roll. And that thing about being too short? Well, the NBA outgrew that notion--or should I say undergrew it. Only five of the 16 teams that would be in the playoffs today have a center over seven feet—Tyson
Chandler, Brook Lopez, Marc Gasol, Kosta Koufos, and Roy Hibbert (though
Hibbert’s shooting percentage .399 would fool the casual fan into thinking he's a 5-8 guard), and a
handful of other teams have converted power forwards manning the middle. Coming into the league, Louis Williams was branded with the once dreaded “combo guard” label. Now, he’s the starting shooting guard on a team one game out of first place in the Eastern Conference. This team has bangers on the inside in Zaza Pachulia and Ivan Johnson, floor spacers galore in Kyle Korver, John Jenkins, DeShawn Stevenson, Anthony Morrow, and Anthony Tolliver. And, a superb backcourt point guard tandem in Jeff Teague and Devin Harris. Kudos, thus far, to Larry Drew.
4. The Steve Nash Effect.
Yeah, in Nash’s first game back, Kobe Bryant jacked up 41 shots, the first
time he’s fired up that many since 2008 (and the ninth time over his
career). It wasn’t pretty, and no matter what Mike D’Antoni said, it’s
not the way he wants Bryant to play with Nash at the helm. The more
intriguing note is how Bryant has played in the four games since. He’s
averaged 34 points on 24 shots a game, while shooting a blistering 53 percent from the floor. Bryant was already shooting a career best field
goal percentage. Nash is going to take that to another level. The problem now is integrating the bigs. Both Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard played miserably on Tuesday shooting a combined 3-19. Even Nash couldn't get them going. The Lakers lost again and are now only 10-11 under D'Antoni. It's going to be a struggle the rest of the season just to make the playoffs and with the collective age of the starting five, coupled with D'Antoni's penchant for running his starters into the ground, the Lakers may fight hard and make the playoffs only to fizzle out in the first or second round due to fatigue.
3. Lamar Odom’s Journey Back to Form.
Before the season began, it was known that the Clippers had a deep
bench after signing Odom, Grant Hill, Chauncey Billups, Jamal Crawford,
Matt Barnes, Ronny Turiaf, and Ryan Hollins. It was also known that of
the group, Odom had the highest upside, but was coming from the lowest
place. After last year’s shameful campaign, Odom had a lot to prove. So
what did he do? He came to camp 25 pounds overweight and played some
truly uninspired ball to begin the season, which had me thinking he’d
officially gone the way of the Kardashian. While the shooting percentage
remains abysmal, the rest of Odom’s game has picked up as he’s worked
himself into shape. In December, he’s averaging 4.8 points, 7.2
rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 blocks in only 22 minutes a game. He’s had
four double-digit rebounding games and has looked much spryer on
defense. As Mike Smith and Ralph Lawler are apt to point out, if Odom
comes close to rounding back into his Sixth Man of the Year form, the
Clippers have all the weapons and tools needed (save perhaps a
playoff-tested head coach) to win it all this year. Odom’s handles,
passing, rebounding, and ability to guard the pick-and-roll will
continue to gain value moving forward. And with teams trending towards
small ball, a closing unit of Odom, Griffin, Crawford, Paul and Barnes
will be one of the most versatile five-man squads in the NBA.
2. The Return of Amare.
Speaking of sixth man—Amare Stoudemire could be that guy for the Knicks
bench. And really, more players should embrace the sixth man role,
which has become more important than starting in many ways. Odom made it
cool to come off the bench and close. Stoudemire has a chance to come
in and make the Knicks a legitimate championship contender. His first outing back was encouraging. While the numbers weren't pretty 3-8 with six points and a single rebound in 18 minutes, his first outing back was encouraging. He took the right shots in the flow of the game, just missed them. He also looked about as athletic as I've seen him in two or three years and had a big dunk over Victor Claver. The New York bench
needs a go-to player, a player to fill in the power-forward slot
when Carmelo Anthony is on the bench or playing small forward.
Stoudemire has all of the tools to take that sixth man role and make the
Knicks into an even more versatile squad. With two starting fives, the
Knicks can play hard for the full 48 minutes. We have yet to see a team
that has done this and won in the playoffs. The Knicks have thus far
defied convention, winning with the oldest team ever assembled in NBA
history. Perhaps this bench mob idea has real legs.
1. The Bench Trend.
The Clippers have this trend patented, but they are far from the only
team utilizing it. From the originators in San Antonio, to the
surprising Hawks and Warriors, to the Knicks, Wolves, and Nuggets, the
need for a dynamic and effective bench has taken the league by storm. It
has always been believed that a deep rotation is great for the marathon
regular season, but that depth is not as effective in the playoffs due
to longer time in between games and longer breaks during games. This
season, that common thought will be put to the test. Yes, Greg Popovich,
Rick Adelman, and George Karl have been doing this bench thing for a
while now, and defying conventional thought—but they have all coached
small market teams and have thus been largely ignored. Also, none of
them have won this it all this way (during the Spurs four championships,
the rotation was 8 deep; last year, they were beaten by a starter-heavy
team in the Thunder). Both the Knicks and the Clippers reside in the
NBA’s glamour markets—and they are both the talk of the league. This
year, it will be up to Vinny Del Negro and Mike Woodson to stick to
using their deep benches in the playoffs and disprove that outdated
rotational concept. And the only way to do that is to win a
championship…
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