NBA - 2014-15 Regular Season - 1st Half

[evilwaldo]

AK would do nothing for the long-term plan of the Sixers.

 

I think he wants out of his contract so that he can prove himself and get paid once again.  Something was wrong with the original deal.

[Cole Miner]

Well Jrag was right and Mirotic played 8 minutes last game when Gibson returned. Moving McDaniels up to number 2 in the rookie of the year race behind Parker. Mirotic still leads rookies in PER at 16 with Parker second at 15.62. McDaniel is 5th but the 2 above haven't played enough for serious consideration. All of this was just an excuse to post this nice SI piece on McDaniels and his defense. Article here or spoiler tagged below.

 

At this early stage of a long-term rebuild, the 76ers basketball are largely a demonstration in chaos. Every game is bedlam. The team’s pace is frenzied and its execution wild, as befits the youngest roster in the NBA. This will be a season of losses and lessons for Philadelphia – purposefully so given that its on-court interests lie largely in development.

One prime beneficiary of that organizational patience is rookie K.J. McDaniels, a second-round pick who logs 25.8 minutes per game for a Sixers team without many promising wing alternatives. Also fortunate, though, are any who watch McDaniels play. Philadelphia's manic energy makes for one of the league's most erratic viewing experiences, but over the course of this season McDaniels has breached his supporting role to give the Sixers a consistent electricity.

That spark manifests in many ways – soaring rebounds, furious transition sequences, demoralizing finishes – all fueled by high athleticism. His highest-voltage plays, however, come on defense. McDaniels still has miles to go in sharpening his perimeter work to meet NBA standards, but already he's established himself as the league's shortest high-volume shot blocker.
NBA Power Rankings: 76ers finally vacate No. 30

McDaniels, listed at 6-6, is a wing by trade. Yet thus far he ranks 13th in the league in block percentage...just behind Serge Ibaka, Dwight Howard, and Tim Duncan. If his mark holds over the course of the season, McDaniels would be the most prolific shot blocker at his height in NBA history.

"I used to watch a lot of [Dwyane] Wade and LeBron [James] when they came into the league," McDaniels said. "I used to watch Michael Jordan a lot, too – the way they were versatile in how they defend multiple positions and use their athleticism to block shots. I just figured since I’m athletic and I can jump and have good instincts, I can go up there and get shots as well."

That particular skill has translated brilliantly to the NBA level, where McDaniels succeeds the aforementioned Wade and James as one of the most awesome and surprising help-side shot blockers in the league. The jewel of his rejection résumé might just be the play of the season to date: A complete demolition of a Greivis Vasquez runner, rocketed into the stands at such a violent velocity as to cause actual injury.

"I surprised myself," McDaniels said of the block. "There was a lady who got hit by the ball who got a concussion, I believe." McDaniels, upon hearing what happened, sent flowers.

That play served as an opening statement of sorts for a relative NBA unknown. McDaniels didn't enter the league with the glitz or pomp of a lottery selection. He had slipped, slowly and unceremoniously, from a projected first-rounder in the draft to the No. 32 overall pick. He competed for a roster spot through summer league and training camp, during which he inked a one-year, non-guaranteed deal that allowed him to enter free agency as soon as possible. That was a bold bet for a player passed up 31 times on draft night, yet already we can see wisdom in it. McDaniels, while a noticeably incomplete player, is a difference-maker in specialty areas with the basis to refine an all-around game. One can tell by McDaniels' play that he's still processing the specifics of his individual assignments and better learning the NBA's personnel, both tasks suited for the naturally inquisitive.

"I’m transitioning," McDaniels said. "I do a lot of film watching when I’m not playing. I do a lot of talking to my dad, because he played. I watch a lot of video of myself and other players just to see what I can improve on defensively and offensively. It’s just a lot of extra time and studying film and knowing personnel. It’s just an everyday thing for me. I’m asking questions."

Some of those queries go to Brett Brown and his staff, which focuses intimately on player-specific development. Others go to resident veteran Jason Richardson, who McDaniels says has given him counsel on all kinds of matters on and off the court. The Sixers on the whole are doing the same – not only learning how to play to their best basketball as an overmatched collective, but first figuring out how and where they best fit into the realm of pro basketball.

For McDaniels that course begins with a calling card. The rest of the league is only beginning to catch on to the fact that McDaniels could be lurking in the paint on any drive, ready to explode into a contest at any moment. Opposing guards aren't yet wise to the fact that their transition layups are vulnerable to be chased down once McDaniels has crossed halfcourt. Shooters on the perimeter, whose attempts in open air are typically safe from shot blockers, underestimate how quickly and adeptly McDaniels can close the gap.

" [i'm] just using my length, using my athleticism – keep a hand above the ball and keep one below it," McDaniels said regarding his shot-blocking technique against potential jump shooters. "I’m trying to be second off the floor. That’s what Coach Brown is preaching to us all the time – just trying to be second of the floor and get a good contest. And as bad as I do want those blocks, I have to play smart and not let [opponents] get me up off my feet and pick up cheap, easy fouls. It’s just being smart, as well as trusting yourself and trusting your athletic ability."

A lack of league-wide familiarity with McDaniels is built into that success, and makes sense under the circumstances. After all, McDaniels is not only a newcomer to the NBA, but a role player for its definitive worst team. If he's even included in the scouting report, he's buried well within it. In time, opponents will start to take notice of McDaniels just as they do other potential shot blockers and pay him mind accordingly. That kind of acknowledgement gives a defense teeth. The block itself is spectacular, and McDaniels is clearly skilled in the art. The best shot blockers, though, project broader value with their shadow – the very idea that they might be in a position to reject the attempt is of greater value than any specific swat. Intimidation will likely be a more difficult avenue of influence for McDaniels given that his natural station is out on the perimeter, but perhaps the fact that the he seems to materialize out of nowhere in obliterating opponents' shots might prove fearsome for its surprise.

In any case, these are promising concerns in projecting the future of a rookie plucked from the second round. In both every moment on the floor and efforts toward greater development, there exists a palpable intrigue: What might McDaniels do next?

[AlfredoE]

Mitch Kupchak says Kobe is retiring when his contract is up in 2016.  

 

I think Kobe gets asked so often about what he plans on doing after his current contract expires, that we'll just keep getting different answers. Last week some reporter asked him and he wasn't as definite on saying that would be his last season like he had been in the past. Guessing being healthy changed his mind or he's just going to get asked that so many times that even if he says, "well...", everyone will insinuate and rush out and write an article about it. 

 

I think it all depends on how he feels and were the Lakers are at by then.

 

I get so excited for anything involving Zach Lowe. And then I listen to his podcast with Simmons and it's all hypothetical Celtics trades.

 

I haven't heard this podcast, but in the past Simmons would come up with some horrible trade ideas.

[Zimbra]

"[Other team's best player] for Jeff Green and Kelly Olynyk.  Who says no?"   - Every Bill Simmons trade idea in a nutshell.

[_MJ_]

Mitch Kupchak says Kobe is retiring when his contract is up in 2016.  

 

 

How come I read this more as a threat than a proclamation or prediction?

[Niners Fan in CT]

I get so excited for anything involving Zach Lowe. And then I listen to his podcast with Simmons and it's all hypothetical Celtics trades.

Which is why I want to listen.

[RIPPA]

The Knicks all hate each other

 

I am stunned - STUNNED - by this development

[Zimbra]

They also hate the system they're playing in.  And Fisher's practices.

 

At least they own their first-round pick this year.

[RandomAct]

I kinda get worried whenever the Mavs get a national TV game.  We almost always look terrible or lose.  Memphis is beastly man.

[Greggulator]

Has the triangle ever worked without having the benefit of Jordan/Pippen/Kobe/Shaq running it in some order?

Here's a

of how the triangle works.

It's a really simple offense. It allows for a lot of good spacing. It's predicated on getting the ball into the hands of the right players. If your option 1 is to space the ball to get it Shaq in the low post, then you essentially win. He's going to score/get fouled/pass to a cutter. Pau isn't as good as Shaq, but he's still really great and one of the best passing big men ever. If your option 2 is to get Jordan or Kobe the ball into the high post with some screens and movement coming off of that, those dudes are going to get to the rim and finish (in their athletic prime) or have a good mid-range shot (in their later years).

It is predictable. There aren't a lot of options from it if you just run a triangle. Like the dude in this video says -- the Lakers ran essentially four plays when they had their three-peat. But coaches back then knew those plays and what was coming. They just didn't have anyone who could stop the people executing those plays.

That's why I will always think Phil Jackson is one of the great con men in basketball history. He found a way to coach the best players in the world at their athletic prime. In terms of complex offenses, what he ran pales in comparison to what the Spurs (and Pop's progeny) run. It helps to have continuity -- Duncan/Manu/Parker have played probably at least 1,000 games together. And it's hard to win your first time no matter the offense and defense -- see Miami, obviously. But any coach with any competence at all could win when you have any part of the aforementioned players. (And the Bulls and Lakers never had a competent coach in those players eras when Phil took his sabbaticals.)

 

But look at what GSW has done this year -- they've set the league on fire. There's some triangle (that's how Barnes gets to the rim) but there's also a lot of Pop, since the offense pretty much revolves around Bogut initiating whatever via a dribble hand-off and the offenses they have from there.

GSW's start is also obvious proof of how friggin' awful Mark Jackson was. He was fantastic on defense. But having any possession with that roster -- the best shooters in the world along with some terrific passers -- end with isolation plays starting with 6 seconds left on the shot clock is a disgrace.

The only coach better than Pop, IMO, is Red. Red invented the fast break and the sixth man. He had Russell, the best defensive player ever until that point, and a bunch of other Hall Of Famers. But the dude was playing chess when everyone else was playing checkers.

[RIPPA]

At least they own their first-round pick this year.

 

There is plenty of time before the trade deadline...

[Zimbra]

And Melo is probably going to need knee surgery because god rightfully hates the Knicks.

[AlfredoE]

Well at least Melo got his money. He should have gone to the Bulls.

[jaedmc]

They also hate the system they're playing in.  And Fisher's practices.

 

 

The one Knick game I watched when the season started illustrated this pretty clearly. They played Triangle for about 4 minutes. Sucked. Then quit and played whatever the fuck for the rest of the game. Cut to Fisher looking constipated. Time Out. Triangle for 2 minutes. Fuck off the rest of the game.

[jaedmc]

MOAR

PENNY HARDAWAY MAGIC

MOAR

SCOTTIE PIPPEN BADASSERY

MOAR

DAN MAJERLE WINKING

 

 

The number one is special because I thought the first play was the play...then there was another.

[Zimbra]

Yeah, that dish by Penny is bonkers.

[Niners Fan in CT]

Penny was dynamite but these clips are also showing people who forget how great Pippen was that Pippen was pretty fucking great.

[Charlie M.]

I loved Rodman's quote on the Knicks. "It's not that difficult. It's a triangle."

[Burgundy LaRue]

I now imagine all of the stars who've played in the triangle sitting around, smoking cigars, and laughing at Melo/JR Smith.

 

When Rodman comes out of his drunken stupor to talk shit about you--you.Are.FUCKED.

[Brian Fowler]

Pippen is probably my favorite non-Piston in nba history.

[jaedmc]

Rose with a much better game this time around. Brooklyn decided to disrespect him and just leave him alone and that didn't pay off for them. And Pau Gasol is just a reborn player. Another double double. I didn't think he'd come in this inspired. Today's Jae would tell pre-season Jae to shut the fuck about wanting Carmelo Anthony.

[jaedmc]

Could you imagine getting tickets for Spurs/Knicks and the best player on the court is Marco Belinelli?

[RandomAct]

Anthony Davis deserves better.  Btw, 4 guys with 20+ for Dallas is pretty fuckin legit. 

[Niners Fan in CT]

Pippen is probably my favorite non-Piston in nba history.

This might be my favorite sequence in NBA history. Everything from the absurd block to the masterful passing on the fast break to the crazy facial on Ewing to the VERY LOUD Chicago crowd to the shit talking and taunting of Spike Lee to the great commentary. It's everything that I want in basketball rolled into one clip.

[Phil Schneider]

Warriors win another, through three quarters this looked liked the streak breaker, but then the tightened the noose shut off the Houston offense and ran them off the court. Harrison Barnes looks reborn, Jackson almost killed his career last year.