Note: Ian Levy at Hickory High has started his awesome similarity scores for prospects again. I’m going back and adding links to previous #DraftDreams profiles who have similarity scores available and will continue to add them from this point ...
Barnes has been a dependable scorer since his high school days, when he was a two-time Iowa Player of the Year.
As marketing slogans go, the Pistons have never had any that struck me as terrible. And the original ‘Going to Work’ campaign was terrific marketing that perfectly fit the personality of the team at the time. But it’s often hard to strike the ...
Source: The Detroit News by Vincent Goodwill
Source: The Detroit News by Associated Press
Source: Detroit Bad Boys by Kevin Sawyer
Sportswriters are stupid. I know that. It's a hiring prerequisite. But, my goodness, this? I gotta come out of hibernation.
Thesis: Kevin Durant is inferior to LeBron James at basketball, but still might be the better player, pending playoff outcomes.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant were in a tug-of-war for the MVP award all season long, at least on my ballot.
Your ballot was filled out by a stupid person. Shame on you for tricking that stupid person into filling out preliminary ballots for you, Jerk Broussard.
James grabbed the early lead with his phenomenal all-around play, but Durant moved ahead when the Miami Heat began struggling against elite teams.
Oh, so my whole "Chris Broussard outsourced his MVP ballot throughout the season" theory is debunked. He is the stupid person we've been waiting for. By this logic, Ben Gordon should be MVP.
And James' was better, so he won.
Brilliant reasoning. So this article is done, right? Oh...
James is the best player in the world. It's very clear to me, and, I think, to most. We've never seen his combination of size, speed, quickness, strength, skill, passing ability, court vision and versatility. But after eight years, he is ringless, and that matters.
It matters a lot. For example, he drafted himself onto one of the worst teams in the NBA, signed Antawn Jamison, and hired a poor-man's Al Roker to be his coach. Really stupid decisions, that fellow made.
So what if James finishes his ninth season ringless? And what if that ring instead goes to Durant? Would that enable Durant to supplant James as the best player in basketball?
No. By your own definition. See, Chris, you just said LeBron James is the best player in the world, and then quickly proceeded to enumerate all the standards by which this is so.
If Durant leads the Thunder to a title, perhaps even beating James' Heat in the process, that would not mean he'd suddenly become a better all-around player than James. Simply put, he would not. But being the best isn't about winning on a checklist of attributes and abilities. It's about impact.
So being the best player is not about being the better player? Instead, it is about impact? Do better players not have more impact than inferior players?
Shaquille O'Neal didn't have as many skills as David Robinson, but he was a better player because he had more of an impact.
David Robinson was the better player because he was better at the game of basketball. Shaquille O'Neal had more of an impact because he did not serve in the military. Not only is this example absurd, but it pretty much makes Chris Broussard an unpatriotic douche.
Charles Barkley's numbers during his prime are better than Tim Duncan's, but Duncan ranks higher because of his impact.
Barkley's numbers during his prime are only better if you don't care about defense or durability.
Of course, we measure impact by championship wins. So it would be hard to deny Durant the title of world's best player if he indeed won it all at the age of 23.
It would be very easy to do so. For example, I could point out James Harden is exactly as good as Kevin Durant. Also, I could point out LeBron is way better.
Winning the ring doesn't always make the champion's best player the top dog.
Correct. Thank you for negating what you just said.
When Dwyane Wade willed Miami to victory over the Dallas Mavericks back in 2006 with an aging O'Neal, he wasn't viewed as being better than Kobe Bryant or even James at that point.
He was better than both at that point. Who was doing the considering? You, Chris Broussard?
But there would be reasons to consider Durant the best if he pushes Oklahoma City atop the throne. And, make no mistake, he has to be the one doing most of the pushing.
I think you just made a mistake. James Harden is exactly as good as Kevin Durant by a very prominent metric easily available to anyone who searches for basketball on the Internet. Harden could do most of the pushing, and the Thunder will be just fine.
if Russell Westbrook performs better than Durant throughout the playoffs (not just in the Finals), that could have an impact on whether or not Durant becomes perceived as the league's top player.
Considering we are basing this judgment entirely on, like, ten games, I suppose.
First, Durant would be leading an incredibly young group of players to the mountaintop. At 23, he's one of the Thunder's old men. Westbrook is 23. James Harden and Serge Ibaka are 22. Those are the Thunder's four best players.
All entering their athletic peaks. Consider that LeBron has been saddled with a constantly hobbling Zydrunas Ilgauskas for most of his career. Of course, Big Z's, um, experience made up for his not being Westbrook/Ibaka/Harden combined.
Leading such a young crew at such a young age to a title would be something that Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, O'Neal, Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon never did.
Duncan was 22.
Wow.
Again. Duncan was 22.
Beyond that, Durant would have done so in an era when elite teams were stacked with stars.
The hell?
Some legends (not most, but some) say Jordan dominated a watered-down era.
Which legends? The ones who got beat by Jordan in the watered-down era? If anything, the league was watered down by virtue of Jordan's curious mid-90s retirement.
And to be honest, the 1990s teams were not as power-packed as those of the '80s, when several Hall of Famers played together as teammates in Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit and Philadelphia.
Durant was barely even born in the 1980s. What does this have to do with anything?
Now, we are in the era of Big Threes. The Lakers have a still great Bryant, plus Pau Gasol in his prime and Andrew Bynum beginning his prime.
Kobe Bryant is no better now than Dan Majerle was when he played with Barkley. I don't expect Broussard to know this, because he is paid to write about basketball, and therefore knows nothing about the sport, but it is true.
The Boston Celtics, old as well, have three Hall of Famers and a potential fourth in the making in Rajon Rondo. Miami, of course, has its trio.
So, aging Tom Chambers doesn't count, but aging Ray Allen (not to mention Danny Ainge) counts. I guess, when you are making up stuff.
And while analysts lament Miami's lack of inside punch, what about Oklahoma's lack?
Serge Ibaka is one of the best defenders in the game.
Further, Durant would also be doing it without a true point guard in the starting lineup. While Westbrook is awesome, his decision-making often leaves a lot to be desired.
Westbrook: TOV 14%, A/TO 1.5/1
Chalmers: TOV 21%, A/TO 1.6/1
One thing that separates Durant from many of today's greatest players (it's also what allows him to play well with Westbrook) is that he doesn't dominate the ball. James, Wade, Bryant and Carmelo Anthony all dominate the ball, which can make it hard to match teammates with them. That isn't the case with Durant. Is there anyone you can't imagine him playing with?
Durant was 5th in usage rate this season. James 3rd, Wade 6th, Bryant 1st, Anthony 4th and Westbrook 2nd. I could see any of those players doing well with each other except for Kobe. Broussard did not bother to do even cursory research before he wrote this thing.
In addition, a Thunder ring this year would perhaps be the start of the league's next dynasty. Durant and Westbrook, who would replace James and Wade as the world's best duo, are locked up for years.
Why would they replace James and Wade as the best duo? You are begging the question, Broussard, and you do not know what that means, and you will not even Google it.
So is Perkins. And even though it would ban the Thunder to luxury-tax hell, I would think a championship would lead them to give Harden and Ibaka the loot they deserve, too.
Broussard just said Perkins and Ibaka form a frontline that is comparable to that of the Heat. So, the loot those two deserve is... Slightly above the league minimum?
To find a cautionary tale, all you have to do is go back five seasons to when James was annihilating Detroit in The Palace, leading an unheralded and largely untalented cast of Cleveland Cavaliers past the ballyhooed and championship-proven Detroit Pistons as a 22-year-old.
Unfortunately, he had little impact. In fact, Boobie Gibson is pretty much the best player in the history of the Cavaliers.
I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that in 2012 James would still not have a ring. Honestly, I thought he'd have at least two and probably more by now.
But let's all take on faith your assessment of player value. You're doing a great job with that
So let's let this thing play out first. But if the way it plays out is with Durant averaging 30 points per game in a postseason that ends with an Oklahoma City title, it might be hard to argue that the skinny scorer in OKC is not the baddest baller on the planet.
He is averaging 26 ppg. If he averages 30 ppg from here on out, OKC probably won't make it past the second round. I do appreciate Broussard's advice we allow this thing to play out. That's sensible. I, for one, recommend we see how the Major League Baseball season goes on for a spell.
But, good grief, If you think Durant is remotely close to being the best player in basketball, you should be predicting the Thunder to win the championship, because that is what they would do if he were better than LeBron James.
This was the dumbest thing ever written.
Source: Motown String Music by Kevin Sawyer
Sportswriters are stupid. I know that. It's a hiring prerequisite. But, my goodness, this? I gotta come out of hibernation.
Can Durant overtake James?
Thesis: Kevin Durant is inferior to LeBron James at basketball, but still might be the better player, pending playoff outcomes.
LeBron James and
Source: Bleacher Report
For those of you following along at home, I have been publishing articles highlighting potential draft targets for the Detroit Pistons since early in the NCAA season.
Since then, some things have changed, but many things have not.
The most important development was the marked improvement of the team as the season wore on, and conversely, the slipping draft position for Detroit.
Sure, we won't know the exact draft position for the Pistons until May 30th, but the odds are that they will be picking right around No. 9 overall.
While I will post my own NBA Mock Draft after the exact order is known, let's take a look at what some of the most popular NBA Draft sites have posted for our Pistons.
Source: The Detroit News
New York — Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird was voted the NBA's executive of the year on Wednesday, becoming the first person to win that award, plus the MVP and coach of the year honors.
Source: NBA.com
Rodney Stuckey is sinking roots at the Pistons’ practice facility this summer and taking on the mantel of leadership that Lawrence Frank asked of him, Keith Langlois writes for True Blue Pistons.Source: PistonPowered by Patrick Hayes
As marketing slogans go, the Pistons have never had any that struck me as terrible. And the original ‘Going to Work’ campaign was terrific marketing that perfectly fit the personality of the team at the time. But it’s often hard to strike the right marketing chord — examples of terrible marketing strategies are hilarious and abundant in just about any industry imaginable.
Jon Bois of SB Nation recently compiled a list of some of the worst slogans used by NBA teams, and the Pistons did make his list twice — for the ’50 seasons of hard work’ slogan in 2007-08 and the ‘We work as one’ slogan from 2008-09. But check out his entire list. Many teams made it way more than twice and a lot of those slogans are genuinely, irredeemably awful. I LOLed at Charlotte’s ‘Prepare today, own tomorrow’ slogan they used this season. Did the Bobcats really market the fact that they’d be tanking?
Source: MLive.com by Brendan Savage | bsavage@mlive.com
The chance that the Pistons will land the No. 1 overall pick are 1.7 percent; if they don't land a top-three pick via the lottery they'll draft ninth.Source: The Detroit News by Associated Press
Source: PistonPowered by Patrick Hayes
We all remember the Pistons-Lakers game earlier this season — it was arguably the high point of the year for the Pistons, namely because of Rodney Stuckey going toe-to-toe with Kobe Bryant down the stretch and winning. Stuckey’s barrage of highlights included a sick crossover on Bryant, which made NBA.com’s list of top 10 crossovers of the season in the video above.
Hat tip, NBC Pro Basketball Talk
Source: Yahoo! Sports
It is hard to deny that rookie point guard Kyrie Irving made a huge difference for the Cleveland Cavaliers this past season. Ever since LeBron James left town for a warmer climate and what he deemed to be a better chance at an NBA Championship, Cavaliers' fans had been looking for a reason to stay positive. When Cleveland won the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery and the rights to draft Irving, the future looked bright again for a once strong franchise that had the rug pulled out from under them.Source: PistonPowered by Dan Feldman
Brandon Knight, who finished eighth in Rookie of the Year voting, appears to be doing his best to play better next season. The above photos show a Knight and Jermaine Taylor (a former Central Florida player who’s spent time with the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings) working with trainer Stan Remy. They were practicing near Miami at the Hallendale High School gym, which is not air-conditioned, so that probably explains Knight’s sweat-drenched shirt.
"We train everyday no matter what’s going on,” Knight said through a publicist. “Weekends. Holidays. Mother’s Day. We take time to spend with our families, but in order to get to the next level on the court, there are no days off."
Source: MLive.com by Josh Slagter | jslagter@mlive.com
Knight averaged 12.8 points and 3.8 assists per game for Detroit. He received six second-place votes.Source: Detroit Bad Boys by Mike Payne
Detroit's Brandon Knight has placed 8th in rookie of the year voting in a list honoring its winner, Cavaliers' guard Kyrie Ivring. Knight received 21 votes of the 1072 cast by a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout North America. Irving was far-and-away the clear winner, taking home 592 votes including 117 for first place honors.
| Rookie, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
| Kyrie Irving, Cleveland | 117 | 2 | 1 | 592 |
| Ricky Rubio, Minnesota | - | 49 | 23 | 170 |
| Kenneth Faried, Denver | 1 | 30 | 34 | 129 |
| Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio | 1 | 9 | 15 | 47 |
| Iman Shumpert, New York | 1 | 7 | 7 | 33 |
| Klay Thompson, Golden State | - | 5 | 15 | 30 |
| Isaiah Thomas, Sacramento | - | 6 | 10 | 28 |
| Brandon Knight, Detroit | - | 6 | 3 | 21 |
| Chandler Parsons, Houston | - | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| MarShon Brooks, New Jersey | - | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Kemba Walker, Charlotte | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| Josh Selby, Memphis | - | - | 1 | 1 |
With 21 votes, Knight ranks 5th amongst rookies who started at point guard in the 2012 season. Kyrie Irving, Ricky Rubio, Iman Shumpert and Isaiah Thomas all received more votes in a point-dominant rookie class. Of the 1072 votes cast, 847 went to players who started at point guard this season, enough for 79% of the vote.
Rookie of the Year voting, like other voting for annual NBA awards, is largely a popularity contest by sportswriters. That's not to take away their merit or value-- it's hard to cherish Ben Wallace's 4 DPOY awards while knocking the vote in another breath. However, in the same way that draft consensus is often established months before draft night, Rookie of the Year awards are often decided early on. In situations like this, real talent gets overlooked and under-rewarded to instead favor the flavor of the month. To compare and contrast, what do the advanced stats say about rookie talent in 2012? Let's take a look after the jump.
The data in this image shows the 24 rookies who started 10 games or more in the 2011-12 NBA season. The list is sorted by winshares per 48 but includes a collection of the top advanced stats most commonly used by sports analysts.
These numbers suggest that the most productive player in 2011-12 was Kenneth Faried, as favored by per minute winshares, PER, TS% and O/D-rating margin. If the sportswriters and broadcasters prefer Irving and the advanced stats largely favor Faried, who is right? While picking a side is a subjective endeavor, it's important to note that Faried was his team's most productive player this season, and was an instrumental part in the team's 7-game run against the LA Lakers.
How do Brandon Knight's numbers match up to his Rookie of the Year results? Knight is listed as the 18th most productive rookie by the win shares metric, 17th in PER and 11th in TS%. One of Knight's strengths, 3-point shooting, helped buoy the TS% numbers which belie his low 41.5% field goal shooting average. Most telling is the poor O/D-rating margin of -12 which places Knight near the bottom of the pack.
What does this say for Knight's future? I'll leave that up to you in the comments. One important point of note is that Brandon Knight's poor rookie numbers didn't come from lack of trying, as he led all rookies in minutes played, field goal attempts and three point attempts.
Who is your Rookie of the Year? Who is in your top 5? Where does Brandon Knight place-- not for his potential, not for who he might become, but for what he did during his rookie season.
Source: Motown String Music by Mike Payne
Detroit's Brandon Knight has placed 8th in rookie of the year voting in a list honoring its winner, Cavaliers' guard Kyrie Ivring. Knight received 21 votes of the 1072 cast by a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout North America. Irving was far-and-away the clear winner, taking home 592 votes including 117 for first place honors.
Rookie, Team 1st 2nd 3rd Total Kyrie Irving, Cleveland 117 2 1 592 Ricky Rubio, Minnesota - 49 23 170Source: The Detroit News by Detroit News staff
Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kyrie Irving was named Rookie of the Year by the NBA Tuesday morning.Source: PistonPowered by Dan Feldman
Brandon Knight finished eighth in Rookie of the Year voting:
Rookie, Team 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland 117 2 1 592
Ricky Rubio, Minnesota – 49 23 170
Kenneth Faried, Denver 1 30 34 129
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio 1 9 15 47
Iman Shumpert, New York 1 7 7 33
Klay Thompson, Golden State - 5 15 30
Isaiah Thomas, Sacramento – 6 10 28
Brandon Knight, Detroit – 6 3 21
Chandler Parsons, Houston – 3 5 14
MarShon Brooks, New Jersey – 1 1 4
Kemba Walker, Charlotte – - 3 3
Josh Selby, Memphis - – 1 1
As someone who thought Knight was a borderline All-Rookie second teamer, I think that’s most fair, if not a little generous to Knight. He showed strong promise, but this award should honor the rookies who are the best right now. Knight’s strong counting stats (total points, assists, etc.) don’t convince me he belongs anywhere near a Rookie of the Year ballot, considering his game is still fairly flawed.
On the bright side, it’s not definite, but Knight appears likely to make the All-Rookie second team. The All-Rookie teams are position independent, so it doesn’t matter that Knight was the sixth guard in voting.
Source: PistonPowered by Patrick Hayes
I’ve given up trying to come out with setups for each ‘what random event will Dennis Rodman show up at next?’ scenarios. Just read for yourselves here, via Deadspin:
Starbury would go on to tweet many things—on varied subjects—including how blessed his life is, how all things are possible through Christ, the implications of his statue on world history and, of course, the debt the United States owes to China. Oh, and Dennis Rodman was there to give some sort of speech.
Why is China building a statue of Stephon Marbury? Does the statue also have a tattoo on the side of its head? Why is Dennis Rodman giving a speech during the unveiling? Why is water wet?
Source: Bleacher Report
Joe Dumars was the catalyst of the turnaround for the Detroit Pistons in the early 2000s. Dumars earned the label of a risk-taker after some notable trades, drafts and signings during his term.
Some questionable decisions turned into genius moves on the part of Dumars. Moves like trading Grant Hill for Ben Wallace/Chucky Atkins, swapping Jerry Stackhouse for Richard Hamilton and completing the 2004 championship team by acquiring Rasheed Wallace.
However, Dumars' resume is still filled with head-scratching decisions that haven't panned out as expected, especially in recent years. Drafting Austin Daye in 2009 hasn't worked out. Nor has overspending on Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon. Worst of all could have been trading Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson.
Dumars has been hot and cold throughout his term as the Pistons general manager. As Detroit continues to struggle while rebuilding, an instant eye test would say Dumars has overstayed his welcome. But after taking a step back, there are more reasons to keep Dumars on board instead of letting him walk from his team.
Here are three reasons Joe Dumars should stay on as the Detroit Pistons general manager.
Source: MLive.com by Brendan Savage | bsavage@mlive.com
Some insiders predict Henson will be a top-10 pick while others have him rated among the bottom half of the potential first-round selections.Source: Yahoo! Sports
COMMENTARY | JaVale McGee wasn't exactly a well-known NBA player prior to joining the Denver Nuggets about midway through the 2011-12 season. For most NBA followers, he was simply the Washington Wizards' big man who came up with a creative slam during the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk contest.Source: The Detroit News by Associated Press
Source: PistonPowered by Dan Feldman
Greg Monroe went from being under consideration for the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team to not even making the USA Select team, according to Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area.
DeMarcus Cousins, DeJuan Blair, Taj Gibson and Derrick Favors were the interior bigs who made the select team. In many ways, Monroe compares favorably to those four, but the USA Select team’s primary goal is to prepare the Olympic team. Who knows whether – because of their style and/or ability to imitate potential opponents – those four made the team even if Jerry Colangelo believes Monroe is better?
For that matter, who knows whether Monroe was invited an declined?
I would’ve like to see Monroe make the team, but without more information, it’s difficult to summon any outrage and cry snub.
Source: Detroit Bad Boys by Mike Payne
The first round of the Western Conference playoffs was thrilling, dramatic, and at times... maddening. Four teams remain in the West while the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Jazz and Nuggets have been forced into early offseasons. The Thunder swept the defending champion Mavericks and the Spurs swept the young-and-big Jazz in swift contests, but the Clippers and Lakers were pushed to 7 games to close out each series. Round two of the Western Conference playoffs begins tonight.
Regular Season Series: Spurs lead 2-1
Having just edged out the Memphis Grizzlies last night, the Clippers head to San Antonio for what will be a much more challenging match-up. The Spurs led the league in the regular season and easily dispatched the Utah Jazz in four games. If the Clippers hope to compete in this series, they'll need to do so on the defensive end, as the Spurs bring the most efficient, productive offense in the league to San Antonio tomorrow night.
Key Player for the Clippers: Blake Griffin
At this point, Chris Paul is largely a known quantity. The real question is what Blake Griffin is made of and what he can accomplish against Tim Duncan in a best-of-seven series. Griffin is dealing with a sprained left knee (not enough to warrant an asterisk, John Hollinger), but he may not be playing his best against Tim Duncan. If Griffin can't compete with Duncan and help LA control the paint, you might as well pen in a quick victory for the Spurs.
Key Player for the Spurs: Tony Parker
For the first time in 18 contests, the Clippers defeated the Spurs in San Antonio in January. Tony Parker was not present. Chris Paul has struggled against the Spurs in the past but he can control the series if Parker isn't playing at his best. So long as Parker is in uniform and on the court, he can hold his own against the player widely considered to be the best point guard in the league.
Verdict: The Clippers are tired, the Spurs are rested. And despite the Spurs age, they were the best team in the league in 2012. The Clippers have a bright future ahead of them but they are no match for this prolific, dynastic Spurs team that is hungry to put the 2012 Lob City story to bed. Spurs in 6.
Regular Season Series: Thunder leads 2-1
I'm going to go ahead and give the Lakers/Thunder commentators a full 5 minutes at the beginning of game one to get the whole "World Peace vs. Harden" and "Derrick Fisher Drama" out of the way. It's not interesting but they'll do their best to make it interesting until everyone watching/listening is certain it's not interesting. Can we fast forward to the part where the Thunder close out the series and the media spends the next four months talking about The End of the Lake Show? Here are the early Cliff's Notes: "is Kobe too old, is Pau too soft, is it Mike Brown's fault, etc." Answers: yes, no, a little bit.
Key Player for the Lakers: Andrew Bynum
This was a tough call. Kobe is a twilight-aged volume shooter who can hurt as much as he can help. Bynum can be a beast, and OKC can't match his offensive production up front. Expect OKC to run a varied frontcourt rotation to prevent Bynum from getting comfortable or for picking up easy baskets. Kobe will take a lot of shots to make a lot of shots, but Bynum is their most effective player. If they can get the most out of Bynum, they can make some noise against the otherwise inked-in winner of this series.
Key Player for the Thunder: Kendrick Perkins
Durant, Harden, Westbrook and Ibaka are going to do what they always do. The question is whether or not the injured Kendrick Perkins is at full strength throughout the series. He went down with an injury in game 4 against the Mavericks and is a game-time decision tonight. His production will have an important impact on this series given the value of Andrew Bynum to the Lakers. Fortunately for the Thunder, their frontcourt rotation is as deep as it gets, and they can use that depth to slow Bynum down. Having a healthy perkins will be quite an important luxury for this team, regardless of its depth.
Verdict: The Lakers looked sluggish against a fast-paced, high-scoring Nuggets team. If the Nuggets took the Lakers to 7, the Thunder should bring even more pressure. Thunder in 6.
Source: Motown String Music by Mike Payne
The first round of the Western Conference playoffs was thrilling, dramatic, and at times... maddening. Four teams remain in the West while the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Jazz and Nuggets have been forced into early offseasons. The Thunder swept the defending champion Mavericks and the Spurs swept the young-and-big Jazz in swift contests, but the Clippers and Lakers were pushed to 7 games to close out each series. Round two of the Western Conference playoffs begins tonight.
Source: Detroit Bad Boys by Sean_Corp
File this one under "Whaaaa?"
Courtesy of Piston Powered, it seems that the Detroit Pistons are hot for the services of small forward, Alonzo Gee, a restricted free agent.
Gee, in case you're unaware is a bruising shooting guard/small forward. I say shooting guard only because he stands 6-foot-6 (he certainly can't shoot), I say brusing because, well, he'll put a hurt on you. Gee made hardly anything outside of the painted area last season but at least was smart enough not to take too many jumpers. He likes to bull his way into the paint and use quick moves to get off a shot.
Still, his lack of height did prove to be an issue, as he was blocked on over 10 percent of his shot attempts last season, which also happened to be the lowest blocked percentage of his career. So yeah, there is that.
So according to reports, the Pistons, a team desperately in need of big men, are interested in a 6-6 forward who can't shoot, handle, create and gets his shot blocked far too often. I'm not sure I can explain this one. Is this Dumars' new form of Singler insurance (as many flaws as he has he's better than Damien Wilkins, at least)? Or is this, perhaps, Jason Maxiell insurance?
As in, does Dumars see in Gee exactly what he saw in Corliss Williamson? An undervalued "small forward" that would play exclusively on the block and exploit mismatches?
Either way, I don't think it is a match made in heaven, as the Piston Powered article indicates, the Phoenix Suns are prepared to throw upwards of $4 million per his way. I know Dumars is spend thrift. I know he was interested in Glen Davis for the MLE last season. But I don't see him outbidding Phoenix for a player like Gee, especially with two small forwards already on the roster and another (hopefully) on the way.
Source: Motown String Music by Sean_Corp
File this one under "Whaaaa?"
Courtesy of Piston Powered, it seems that the Detroit Pistons are hot for the services of small forward, Alonzo Gee, a restricted free agent.
Gee, in case you're unaware is a bruising shooting guard/small forward. I say shooting guard only because he stands 6-foot-6 (he certainly can't shoot), I say brusing because, well, he'll put a hurt on you. Gee made hardly anything outside of the painted area last season but at least was smart enough not to take too many jumpers. He likes to
Source: Detroit Bad Boys by Sean_Corp
While we're slightly behind in the previews thanks to the wonky playoff schedule, I think it is still appropriate to take a look at the semi-finals matchups for each conference. First up, since they've already got two games in the books, the Eastern Conference.
Nobody could have predicted that Derrick Rose would go down and take the top-seeded Chicago Bulls with him in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Otherwise, things played out how they were supposed to: Miami, Indiana and Boston all advanced.
While I think that The 76ers were obviously lucky to make it past the Chicago Bulls, that doesn't mean that there playoffs will end at the hands of the Celtics. The Bulls defense got the lion's share of the credit for the slugfest that was the Bulls-Sixers series, but much of the credit should also go to Philly's stellar D. This will again be a low-scoring affair as Philadelphia (the NBA's third-best defense) takes on Boston (NBA's second-best defense).
Andre Iguodala. There is going to be a lot, perhaps too much, on Iguodala's shoulders in this series. He needs to play stellar defense against Paul Pierce (and sometimes Kevin Garnett) while also handling the ball when the Sixers offense becomes stagnant. And Boston will make Philly's offense stagnant. Iguodala needs to make smart decisions on when to shoot and when to look for open teammates, and he probably needs to get hot from the perimeter because the driving lanes will be closed off.
Kevin Garnett. While Rajon Rondo got a lot of much deserved kudos for his triple double in game 1 of this series, the Celtics are going to rely on Kevin Garnett. The C's go small for the majority of their game and it creates awesome mismatches on their offensive end. But it also requires Garnett to body up and rebound against the likes of Spencer Hawes and Elton Brand. And Philly has the ability to sub out and go small itself with Thaddeus Young at power forward, so it will never really be easy for Garnett.
My heart tells me that Philadelphia has a real chance at shocking everyone and taking this series. But knowing how well the Celtics have played in the second half I just can't bring myself to do it. Boston in 7.
The Pacers are actually the kind of team that can give the Heat trouble -- they don't get rattled, play smart, methodical basketball, shoots the three effectively, and you can't key on any one player to shut them down defensively. And now Chris Bosh might be gone for a while with an abdominal strain. Is an upset brewing? I never like to say never but ...
LeBron James. The recently anointed three-time MVP can pretty much do whatever he wants on the court and no one will be able to stop him. The only thing he has to guard against is his own complacency regarding shot selection. If he falls in love with the jumper and floats along the perimeter then he leaves his team vulnerable. But if he is attacking the basket, creating for others and getting to the line there is no stopping the Heat.
Everyone. I debated which player to choose or whether to go for some sort of copout answer but really it will take everybody on the team performing to the best of their abilities. With Bosh out David West and Roy Hibbert have to dominate in the paint, getting great position for easy baskets and grabbing every available rebound. And Paul George and Danny Granger are going to have to make a lot of three pointers (the Heat were last in the league in 3-point defense) so as to open up the floor and keep Heat defenders honest. And Leandro Barbosa and George Hill are going to have to know when to push the tempo and when to ease back while hitting any open shots they are given.
I really like this Pacers team, and they still have a lot of room to grow. But they are just no match for the Miami Heat with or without Chris Bosh. Miami in 6.
Source: Motown String Music by Sean_Corp
While we're slightly behind in the previews thanks to the wonky playoff schedule, I think it is still appropriate to take a look at the semi-finals matchups for each conference. First up, since they've already got two games in the books, the Eastern Conference.
Nobody could have predicted that Derrick Rose would go down and take the top-seeded Chicago Bulls with him in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Otherwise, things played out how they were supposed to: Miami, Indiana and Boston all advanced.
Philadelphia 76ers (8) vs.Source: NBA.com
The 2012 draft class is hailed as a deeper one than usual, and that cuts down on the butterflies personnel director George David will feel when he waits for the results of the May 30 draft lottery, Keith Langlois writes for True Blue Pistons.Source: Bleacher Report
With the 2012 NBA season getting close to the end, there is already rumors of trade talks.
Bulls’ insider Sam Smith tells Bulls.com about the possibility that former Chicago star shooting guard Ben Gordon could be on the move:
Ben’s in. I’ve been hearing that the Pistons believe they’ll have something going for Ben this offseason.
There are plenty of teams on the market that will be looking for a stellar shooting guard, and Gordon may be the kind of player that could be great again under a different system.
His career is dying in Detroit.
Chicago Bulls
While it would take some salary cap work, the Chicago Bulls would love to get back the shooting guard in Ben Gordon that should have never left. That’s what big money does to a person’s judgment.
Like a jilted lover that comes back to the arms of the person they left, Gordon would love to become part of a Bulls team that desperately needs help at shooting guard.
Add in the possibility that Derrick Rose may not be ready to start 2012, and trading for Gordon does not seem as far-fetched as it did when he originally left the team in 2009.
Los Angeles Lakers
Besides Kobe Bryant, there is no depth at either guard position for the Lakers. With more than one expendable contract, Los Angeles has the pieces and desire needed to get a deal done with Detroit for Gordon.
Gordon could walk onto that Lakers team from Day 1 and be the bench player that could take pressure off Kobe Bryant and keep the points coming when the Los Angeles star is on the bench.
The fans also cannot forget that Gordon has played some point guard in his career and could help run the offense with Kobe on the floor late in games. If anyone can benefit from the Bryant double teams, it’s Ben Gordon.
Golden State Warriors
The perfect fit for Ben Gordon would clearly be the Golden State Warriors, but it will be interesting to see if they could hammer out the financial details of this trade.
Golden State needs a shooting guard, but the new regime would also like one that can defend the position. Gordon fills both roles very well.
With a very young team in Golden State, Gordon would walk on and be one of the on-court leaders and main focal points of the offense. That much pressure would force Gordon to bring his A-game every time.
Check back for more on the National Basketball Association as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s NBA Page to get your fill of all things basketball.
Read more Detroit Pistons news on BleacherReport.com
Source: PistonPowered by Dan Feldman
John Telich of Fox 8 Cleveland:
Heard of at least three teams interested in Alonzo Gee of
#Cavs Phoenix, Minnesota, and Detroit. He is a RFA in 2012
You might remember Gee from such posts as “Pistons can’t keep Alonzo Gee off the offensive glass in loss to Cleveland.” He’s a nice young player, and although small forward isn’t the Pistons’ greatest need, he’d be a fine addition at the right price.
Brendan Bowers of Stepien Rules:
Heard Phoenix Suns are looking to offer RFA Alonzo Gee a multi-year deal in $4 million per season range & are in lead for his services
#Cavs
That should be more than the Pistons are willing to spend for Gee when they have more pressing big-man needs. “Interested in” is a low bar, and Detroit is probably interested in hundreds of players. I like Gee, but if I were the Pistons, I wouldn’t best that offer.
Source: Bleacher Report
The Detroit Pistons' future is looking as bright as ever since the 2004 championship days. It wasn't too long ago since the Pistons were flooded with a roster of players that didn't fit together as a team. But after some successful offseasons by Joe Dumars, the Pistons seem to back on track to success.
The Pistons still have some years of development and a lack of talent throughout the roster. However, Dumars has finally combined another great core who can grow together and continue to learn how to win games.
In due time, the Pistons will compete with the Chicago Bulls again for the Central division crown. They will only go as far as their foundation players carry them. Here are five pieces of the Pistons will bring basketball hope back to the Motor City.
Source: MLive.com by Brendan Savage | bsavage@mlive.com
One NBA insider said Drummond could turn into another Dwight Howard ... or another Kwame Brown.Source: The Detroit News by Associated Press
Source: PistonPowered by Dan Feldman
Vince Ellis wrote a solid Mother’s Day feature that’s well worth reading about Greg Monroe and his mom. An excerpt:
Despite being a budding NBA star, Greg hasn’t gotten too big for his home area. He gets back to New Orleans as often as possible.
And he plans to be in town today, Greg and Norma say, when the family goes to First Emmanuel Baptist Church for services.
Then Norma said the family will gather at her mother’s house for a cookout that probably will feature ribs, pork chops and smoked sausage, with crawfish boiling over to the side.
Greg won’t sit idly by — he usually helps his uncles on the grill. Greg’s favorite dish is shrimp pasta, so he might roll up his sleeves and create the dish.
Source: The Detroit News by Jimmy Golen Associated Press
Source: The Detroit News by Jimmy Golen Associated Press
Boston— Rajon Rondo has made dozens of last-second dashes to the basket.Source: The Detroit News by Vincent Goodwill
Source: The Detroit News by Tim Reynolds Associated Press
Source: The Detroit News by Tim Reynolds Associated Press
Source: Yahoo! Sports
On Thursday, May 10, the Los Angeles Lakers fell 113-96 at the Denver Nuggets. The loss forces the Lakers into a Game 7 showdown in Los Angeles this Saturday night. Kobe Bryant led the team with 31 points.Source: PistonPowered by Dan Feldman
We voted for the TrueHoop Network Awards, and here are our complete ballots.
Dan Feldman
1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Chris Paul
4. Dwight Howard
5. Kevin Love
Patrick Hayes
1. LeBron James
2. Chris Paul
3. Kevin Durant
4. Tony Parker
5. Russell Westbrook
This award is basically LeBron James and everyone else. The only other player I seriously considered in my top five was Love. I probably went with Westbrook because of this.
Dan Feldman
1. Tyson Chandler
2. Dwight Howard
3. Kevin Garnett
Patrick Hayes
1. LeBron James
2. Tyson Chandler
3. Andre Iguodala
I’m tired of the bias against perimeter players in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. I’m fine with Tyson Chandler winning, but LeBron James is the most impactful non-Dwight Howard defender in the league. He’s always in passing lanes, he can block shots and he can lockdown any of the three perimeter positions. Plus, he could probably guard most power forwards in the league effectively.
Dan Feldman
1. Kyrie Irving
2. Ricky Rubio
3. Kenneth Faried
Patrick Hayes
1. Kyrie Irving
2. Ricky Rubio
3. Isaiah Thomas
Choosing who to pick third between Manimal and Thomas was one of the tougher choices on my ballot. Ultimately, I picked Thomas not only because he was very productive, but because of his draft position (last player picked) and the fact that the Kings’ backcourt is loaded with players with better pedigrees — Tyreke Evans, Jimmer Fredette, Marcus Thornton — in front of him, his path to earning minutes as a rookie was harder. He not only earned minutes, he was better than all those guys in front of him.
Dan Feldman
1. James Harden
2. Jason Terry
3. Taj Gibson
Patrick Hayes
1. James Harden
2. Lou Williams
3. Thad Young
Seriously, there was no competition for this one. Harden was by far the best non-starter in the league. As for my other picks? Williams and Young were both integral parts in Philly’s surprising start to the season. I had a hard time picking just one of them, so I picked them both. I could easily flip-flop them between second and third though. I could argue Taj Gibson in that mix though too.
Dan Feldman
1. Jeremy Lin
2. Nikola Pekovic
3. Ersan Ilyasova
Patrick Hayes
1. James Harden
2. Nikola Pekovic
3. DeMarcus Cousins
Harden went from nice scorer off the bench to a legit ‘third’ for an Oklahoma City big three. Pekovic made the Darko Milicic signing easier to forget. I normally wouldn’t pick a player like Cousins, who should’ve improved anyway from year one to year two, but after Paul Westphal was fired, not only did Cousins production improve immensely, so did his demeanor. He also came into this season in much better shape. So he gets a Most Improved vote for his on and off court improvement.
Dan Feldman
1. Gregg Popovich
2. Tom Thibodeau
3. Frank Vogel
Patrick Hayes
1. Ty Corbin
2. Gregg Popovich
3. Tom Thibodeau
Corbin was my choice simply because so little was expected out of the Jazz this season. For them to get to the playoffs is pretty impressive, although since it appears a good percentage of his team might hate him, I might reconsider that vote in hindsight. Popovich is the best in the world and Thibodeau held together a team that dealt with catastrophic injuries. Either are worthy candidates.
Dan Feldman
1. Neil Olshey
2. Larry Bird
3. R.C. Buford
Everyone says teams don’t get equal returns when trading a superstar. Olshey took advantage of that.
Patrick Hayes
1. Neil Olshey
2. Masai Ujiri
3. R.C. Buford
You get one of the four or five legit franchise players in he league, you get this award. Olshey did so he does. Ujiri put together an insanely fun team, got out of Nene’s contract before injuries/age could make the return on it less, picked up Andre Miller for the gigantic Ray Felton and drafted one of the most productive players in the draft in Kenneth Faried. Buford always gets a spot in this top three by default.
Dan Feldman
1. Shane Battier
2. Jeremy Lin
3. Antawn Jamison
4. Luke Ridnour
5. Chris Paul
6. Jason Kidd
Maybe I’m biased and voted for the Michigander, but Battier seems like the type of guy who would never do this to someone.
Patrick Hayes
1. Jeremy Lin
2. Antawn Jamison
3. Luke Ridnour
4. Shane Battier
5. Chris Paul
6. Jason Kidd
Lin dealt with distractions that I can’t even fathom this season, and handled everything remarkably well.
Dan Feldman
1. LeBron James
LeBron and Dwyane Wade’s effort to raise awareness to Trayvon Martin’s death was commendable.
Patrick Hayes
1. LeBron James
What Feldman said.
Dan Feldman
First team
Second team
Third team
Slotting Griffin, Nowitzki, Garnett and a few other forwards was tough. All were very good, but none great.
Patrick Hayes
First team
Second team
Third team
Yeah, I left Kobe off. Sue me. Sorry, but I found Nash nearly dragging Phoenix to the playoffs more impressive than Kobe shooting almost the same number of shots per game as the two most efficient scorers on his team combined.
Dan Feldman
First team
Second team
Shawn Marion just missed my cut, and on a different day, he would’ve made the second team.
Patrick Hayes
First team
Second team
Putting Allen and Rondo on the second team rather than the first was the hardest thing I had to do in these awards. There’s actually a large number of really good defensive players in the league right now. You could probably make a case for four guys off the the Bulls alone to make it.
Dan Feldman
First team
Second team
I could’ve gone either way on Brooks and Brandon Knight, but right now, I wish I would’ve voted for Knight.
Patrick Hayes
First team
Second team
I agree with Dan. He should’ve voted for Knight.
Source: MLive.com by Brendan Savage | bsavage@mlive.com
Pistons' president of basketball operations Joe Dumars is reportedly in Spain watching 33rd overall pick from last year's draft.Source: NBA.com
It’s the 10-year anniversary of the three-month span of 2002 when Joe D nabbed Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton. Incremental gains are the only alternative without a superstar, Keith Langlois writes for True Blue Pistons.Source: MLive.com by Brendan Savage | bsavage@mlive.com
Pistons' president of basketball operations Joe Dumars is reportedly in Spain watching 33rd overall pick from last year's draft.
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