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Evilmav2 · 03-07-2006, 01:21 PM

NBA Rumor Central: Hoiberg To Meet With Pistons

Tuesday, March 7

Detroit

Hoiberg To Meet With Pistons
Mar 7 - Fred Hoiberg will head to Detroit today to meet with the Pistons, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I'm going to meet with Flip Saunders and Pistons president Joe Dumars," Hoiberg told the newspaper. "Nothing's for sure. I want to find out if it's a situation that would make sense."

Monday, March 6

Chicago

Bulls 'Luking' for a big man
Mar 6 - "I just figured I'd stick around here and hopefully get a call-up like this,'' Luke Schenscher told the Chicago Sun-Times. The Bulls signed him to a 10-day contract Sunday. "Just stay in the eyes of NBA people and be in the middle of it.

Friday, March 3

Howard Eisley

Nuggets To Sign Eisley
Mar 3 - The Denver Post reports the Nuggets will sign Howard Eisley to a 10-day contract today. "I feel good about the situation," Eisley told the newspaper. "They've made a couple of deals I think that's helped improve their team."

The Nuggets are still open to signing Jon Barry, who may retire, reports the Rocky Mountain News. The Houston Rockets waived him Wednesday. According to the newspaper, Wesley Person also is a candidate to sign with the team, but agent Herb Rudoy has said his client will not agree to a 10-day contract.

Jim Jackson

Lakers Contact Jackson
Mar 3 - The Lakers contacted the representatives of Jim Jackson, who was waived by Phoenix on Wednesday, reports the Riverside Press-Enterprise. According to the newspaper, the Lakers would like to add another backcourt player and have talked about Penny Hardaway as well. Phil Jackson told the newspaper that a new player wouldn't have a hard time learning the triangle offense because "it's not rocket science
----------------------------------------------

Awards, e-mails and links
posted: Friday, March 3, 2006
filed under: NBA
Chris Sheridan

After a one-month hiatus, it's time for an early-each-month update on the leaders for individual awards. There's a much larger body of evidence to work with this month, and I'm sure to get plenty of outraged e-mails after you read my current choice for MVP. So without further ado …

Most Valuable Player: Tony Parker, Spurs. He's the best player on his team with Tim Duncan operating below 100 percent all season with a foot injury, and the prediction here is he'll lead San Antonio to the league's best record when all is said and done. Runners-up: Steve Nash, Suns; Dirk Nowitzki, Mavs.

Rookie of the Year: Chris Paul, Hornets. This race was over a long time ago, so now it's time for Paul to prove he can continue to keep New Orleans/Oklahoma City among the top eight in the West. Runners-up: Ray Felton, Bobcats; Charlie Villanueva, Raptors.

Coach of the Year: Avery Johnson, Mavericks. We never liked him that much as a player, but he always got the job done. He's much more likeable as a coach, and he's still getting the job done. Watch to see whether he keeps his team surging after its disheartening loss Thursday night at San Antonio. Runners up: Flip Saunders, Pistons; Mike D'Antoni, Suns.

Most Improved: Boris Diaw, Suns. We're running out of superlatives to describe this guy, who landed in the perfect system to utilize his talents. So we'll make a bold prediction: He'll be as big of an impact player in the playoffs as anyone in the West. Runners-up: Mike James, Raptors; Kevin Martin, Kings.

Defensive Player of the Year: Bruce Bowen, Spurs. The job he did against Dirk Nowitzki on Thursday night was masterful, and he does it every night. Oh, he's also leading the league in 3-point accuracy, too, and he'll be named Sunday to the U.S. national team. Runners-up: Rasheed Wallace, Pistons; Kobe Bryant, Lakers.

Sixth Man Award: Speedy Claxton, Hornets. There is no clear-cut leader of the pack here, but one player who will qualify because of his lack of starts before February is Villanueva. Check out the numbers he has been putting up over the past five weeks. Runner-up: Mo Williams, Bucks.

Executive of the Year: Otis Smith, Magic. It's really too soon to tell, but for now we'll tab Smith for ridding the franchise of Steve Francis' contract and for picking up Carlos Arroyo and Darko Milicic on the cheap. If Trevor Ariza ever plays to his potential, he'll be a keeper for someone. Runners-up: Jeff Bower, Hornets; Kiki Vandeweghe, Nuggets.

A few other items:

• Michael Redd and Rashard Lewis are out of the mix for Team USA. Both have declined invites, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times. Read all about it.

• Apologies to all the folks in Greece who castigated me for leaving their country off the list of top national teams heading into this summer's World Championship. They won the Euro '05 tournament, and lot of people forget that they almost knocked off the U.S. in the Olympics. Also got a lot of e-mail from Down Under for my mention of New Zealand but not Australia, but I'll take Sean Marks over Andrew Bogut in a head-to-head matchup of their national teams any day.

• Many thanks for all the nice e-mails on the Dick Bavetta story. The only column that's ever generated more e-mails was my call for Antonio Davis to be suspended for eight games for going into the stands in Chicago. There's some humorous commentary on Davis' better half, Kendra, in today's Deadspin. You'll also like Phil Miller's take on AK47's wife's special once-a-year rule for her husband.

• Anybody remember all the hubbub a couple years ago about the Greek teenager Sofoklis Schortsianitis? He dropped all the way to the second round in 2003, the Clippers grabbing him at No. 34. Well, he was the MVP of the Greek League All-Star Game, which ended in a tie (did Bud Selig move to Piraeus?), and he's the best big man for Olympiakos, which is off to a 2-0 start in Euroleague Top 16 play. He averaged 11.0 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 61 percent from the field in the Euroleague regular season.

• Sarunas Jasikevicius plans to marry his sweetie from his days of playing in Israel, and one Jewish politician is not happy about it.
-----------------------------------------

'True' shooters not usual suspects

by: John Hollinger
posted: Monday, March 6, 2006 | Feedback

When it comes to shooting accuracy, what names immediately come to mind? Nash and Nowitzki? D-Wade and LeBron? Shaq and KG?

Guess again. Despite shooting form you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy, Sacramento's Kevin Martin and Atlanta's Josh Childress have been the league's two most efficient shooters this year.

They're first and second in the league in True Shooting Percentage, which measures what a player's field goal percentage would be if we accounted for free throws and 3-pointers.

At first glance, it's hard to imagine Childress being anywhere near the top of this list. His stroke is reminiscent of Shawn Marion's -- he tucks the ball under his chin, sticks his elbow way out to the side, then snaps the wrist in one quick fling.

Although he doesn't have quite the arc or long-range accuracy Marion does, Childress' approach has been plenty effective. He's shooting 55.7 percent from the floor this season, and it hasn't all been on dunks and layups. Childress has become very comfortable shooting from 15-20 feet, especially from the corners.

As a result, his effective field goal percentage on jump shots is a healthy 50.7 percent, according to 82games.com. Throw in all the free throws he has earned by pounding the offensive glass, and his TS% is 62.4 percent, second-best in the league.

Childress has nothing on Martin, however. The Kings guard shoots while leaning farther to the left than Al Franken, yet still has managed to drain 49.5 percent of his shots. Additionally, Martin gets to the line nearly once for every two field goal attempts, and he's hitting at a stellar 85.9 percent clip from there. Throw in his 39.2 percent mark on 3-pointers, and it's easy to see that the Kings get serious bang for their buck whenever Martin attempts a shot. Thus, although Martin's 49.5 percent field goal shooting doesn't crack the league's top 10, it leaps to a league-leading TS% of 62.8 percent once we account for all his 3-pointers and free throws.

It's ironic that these two are first and second when one considers how similar they are. In addition to their funky jump shots, both are second-year wing players. Physically, they're both long, skinny guys who sport retro haircuts -- Childress goes with the 'fro, while Martin is single-handedly attempting to revive the fade. [Editors Note: Long Live the Fade!]

Both players were regarded as disappointments during their rookie seasons, and both started slowly this year but picked up steam as the season went on -- even as their teams had disappointing results. Each left college a year early, and each plays a couple of hours' drive from where the other went to school.

And each is showing that, when it comes to shooting, there's more than one way to skin a cat. The delivery might not be pretty, but when Martin and Childress shoot the rock, it's hard to argue with the results.
-----------------------------------------

KG's rep goes up and down

posted: Monday, March 6, 2006 | Feedback
filed under: Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett
Chris Broussard

I've been trying to figure out Kevin Garnett for quite some time now. What's obvious and undeniable is that he's a great player, one of the best in the game.

But my opinion on just how great has fluctuated. A few years back, I thought he was better than Tim Duncan. Duncan had the benefit of playing next to David Robinson, I reasoned; who does Garnett have?

But when Robinson retired, Duncan made it clear that he is a notch above KG. Duncan is, simply put, the best power forward ever to play.

When I sat down to write this, I was essentially going to say KG is overrated. Still outstanding, just not as outstanding as we've all thought.

I figured if he's as legendary as touted, he should be able to at least get his team into the playoffs (which appears to be a pipe dream right now). I'm thinking, "How good is Pau Gasol's supporting cast?"

Then I decided to look at the careers of some other great power forwards. I felt it unfair to compare his playoff run to those of Karl Malone and Kevin McHale, both of whom made the postseason every year of their careers -- because Malone had John Stockton and McHale had Bird and Co.

But I found the perfect comparison in Sir Charles. And what I found led me to cut KG some slack.

Barkley failed to make the playoffs twice during his prime, both times in Philadelphia. In 1987-88, he averaged a career-high 28.3 points, plus 11.9 boards, but the Sixers managed only 36 wins. Barkley's second-leading scorer was Cliff Robinson (19 ppg) -- not a good sign -- but he did have a 31-year-old Mo Cheeks (13.7 ppg, 8.0 apg) running the point.

Barkley also missed the postseason in 1991-92. That squad had Hersey Hawkins (19 ppg) and Armon Gilliam (16.9) so it probably should've been better than its 35 wins suggests.

That season Barkley seemed to go through what KG might be going through now. Beat down by the losing and wondering if he'll ever get near a title, Barkley watched his scoring average drop more than four points from the previous season to 23.1, his lowest output in five years.

That was his last season in Philly. The next season, Barkley won the MVP award and led Phoenix to the Finals, where they lost in six to MJ and the Bulls.

It'll be interesting to see if the same thing (a trade, rejuvenation and happier endings) happens to KG.

But if he isn't traded this summer and Minnesota's roster doesn't improve, there are some things KG can do to help himself and the Wolves.

Mainly, he can stop floating around 20 feet from the basket so much, especially in the fourth quarter. He's 7 feet tall, for crying out loud. Get on the block!

It's nice when a big man can step out and hit the 3 to keep the defense off balance, but if you're that tall, your bread and butter should be near the rim. The one exception is Dirk Nowitzki.

Dirk clearly belongs on the perimeter because he's such a great shooter. KG is not nearly as smooth as Dirk outside.

Hanging around the arc so much nullifies KG's height. He might as well be 6-8. When it's crunch time and I need a bucket, I don't want him taking a 20-footer. I want him in the post, either scoring or drawing a foul. That's what separates Duncan from him.

I know KG is slight of build, so he could have trouble posting, but Pau isn't exactly Charles Atlas, and neither is Rasheed (who also floats outside a little too much for my liking).

If KG perfected the jump hook from six feet out or a turnaround J (with no fadeaway), he'd be unstoppable down low.

McHale, who had some of the greatest post moves of all time, should spend this summer teaching KG his moves instead of working on another insignificant trade.

If KG added that to his game, it would solve the other problem folks have with him -- that he isn't a go-to guy down the stretch.

Then there'd be no question as to how great he is.

03-07-2006, 01:21 PM	#2
Evilmav2 Diamond Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 7,788	NBA Rumor Central: Hoiberg To Meet With Pistons Tuesday, March 7 Detroit Hoiberg To Meet With Pistons Mar 7 - Fred Hoiberg will head to Detroit today to meet with the Pistons, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I'm going to meet with Flip Saunders and Pistons president Joe Dumars," Hoiberg told the newspaper. "Nothing's for sure. I want to find out if it's a situation that would make sense." Monday, March 6 Chicago Bulls 'Luking' for a big man Mar 6 - "I just figured I'd stick around here and hopefully get a call-up like this,'' Luke Schenscher told the Chicago Sun-Times. The Bulls signed him to a 10-day contract Sunday. "Just stay in the eyes of NBA people and be in the middle of it. Friday, March 3 Howard Eisley Nuggets To Sign Eisley Mar 3 - The Denver Post reports the Nuggets will sign Howard Eisley to a 10-day contract today. "I feel good about the situation," Eisley told the newspaper. "They've made a couple of deals I think that's helped improve their team." The Nuggets are still open to signing Jon Barry, who may retire, reports the Rocky Mountain News. The Houston Rockets waived him Wednesday. According to the newspaper, Wesley Person also is a candidate to sign with the team, but agent Herb Rudoy has said his client will not agree to a 10-day contract. Jim Jackson Lakers Contact Jackson Mar 3 - The Lakers contacted the representatives of Jim Jackson, who was waived by Phoenix on Wednesday, reports the Riverside Press-Enterprise. According to the newspaper, the Lakers would like to add another backcourt player and have talked about Penny Hardaway as well. Phil Jackson told the newspaper that a new player wouldn't have a hard time learning the triangle offense because "it's not rocket science ---------------------------------------------- Awards, e-mails and links posted: Friday, March 3, 2006 filed under: NBA Chris Sheridan After a one-month hiatus, it's time for an early-each-month update on the leaders for individual awards. There's a much larger body of evidence to work with this month, and I'm sure to get plenty of outraged e-mails after you read my current choice for MVP. So without further ado … Most Valuable Player: Tony Parker, Spurs. He's the best player on his team with Tim Duncan operating below 100 percent all season with a foot injury, and the prediction here is he'll lead San Antonio to the league's best record when all is said and done. Runners-up: Steve Nash, Suns; Dirk Nowitzki, Mavs. Rookie of the Year: Chris Paul, Hornets. This race was over a long time ago, so now it's time for Paul to prove he can continue to keep New Orleans/Oklahoma City among the top eight in the West. Runners-up: Ray Felton, Bobcats; Charlie Villanueva, Raptors. Coach of the Year: Avery Johnson, Mavericks. We never liked him that much as a player, but he always got the job done. He's much more likeable as a coach, and he's still getting the job done. Watch to see whether he keeps his team surging after its disheartening loss Thursday night at San Antonio. Runners up: Flip Saunders, Pistons; Mike D'Antoni, Suns. Most Improved: Boris Diaw, Suns. We're running out of superlatives to describe this guy, who landed in the perfect system to utilize his talents. So we'll make a bold prediction: He'll be as big of an impact player in the playoffs as anyone in the West. Runners-up: Mike James, Raptors; Kevin Martin, Kings. Defensive Player of the Year: Bruce Bowen, Spurs. The job he did against Dirk Nowitzki on Thursday night was masterful, and he does it every night. Oh, he's also leading the league in 3-point accuracy, too, and he'll be named Sunday to the U.S. national team. Runners-up: Rasheed Wallace, Pistons; Kobe Bryant, Lakers. Sixth Man Award: Speedy Claxton, Hornets. There is no clear-cut leader of the pack here, but one player who will qualify because of his lack of starts before February is Villanueva. Check out the numbers he has been putting up over the past five weeks. Runner-up: Mo Williams, Bucks. Executive of the Year: Otis Smith, Magic. It's really too soon to tell, but for now we'll tab Smith for ridding the franchise of Steve Francis' contract and for picking up Carlos Arroyo and Darko Milicic on the cheap. If Trevor Ariza ever plays to his potential, he'll be a keeper for someone. Runners-up: Jeff Bower, Hornets; Kiki Vandeweghe, Nuggets. A few other items: • Michael Redd and Rashard Lewis are out of the mix for Team USA. Both have declined invites, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times. Read all about it. • Apologies to all the folks in Greece who castigated me for leaving their country off the list of top national teams heading into this summer's World Championship. They won the Euro '05 tournament, and lot of people forget that they almost knocked off the U.S. in the Olympics. Also got a lot of e-mail from Down Under for my mention of New Zealand but not Australia, but I'll take Sean Marks over Andrew Bogut in a head-to-head matchup of their national teams any day. • Many thanks for all the nice e-mails on the Dick Bavetta story. The only column that's ever generated more e-mails was my call for Antonio Davis to be suspended for eight games for going into the stands in Chicago. There's some humorous commentary on Davis' better half, Kendra, in today's Deadspin. You'll also like Phil Miller's take on AK47's wife's special once-a-year rule for her husband. • Anybody remember all the hubbub a couple years ago about the Greek teenager Sofoklis Schortsianitis? He dropped all the way to the second round in 2003, the Clippers grabbing him at No. 34. Well, he was the MVP of the Greek League All-Star Game, which ended in a tie (did Bud Selig move to Piraeus?), and he's the best big man for Olympiakos, which is off to a 2-0 start in Euroleague Top 16 play. He averaged 11.0 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 61 percent from the field in the Euroleague regular season. • Sarunas Jasikevicius plans to marry his sweetie from his days of playing in Israel, and one Jewish politician is not happy about it. ----------------------------------------- 'True' shooters not usual suspects by: John Hollinger posted: Monday, March 6, 2006 \| Feedback When it comes to shooting accuracy, what names immediately come to mind? Nash and Nowitzki? D-Wade and LeBron? Shaq and KG? Guess again. Despite shooting form you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy, Sacramento's Kevin Martin and Atlanta's Josh Childress have been the league's two most efficient shooters this year. They're first and second in the league in True Shooting Percentage, which measures what a player's field goal percentage would be if we accounted for free throws and 3-pointers. At first glance, it's hard to imagine Childress being anywhere near the top of this list. His stroke is reminiscent of Shawn Marion's -- he tucks the ball under his chin, sticks his elbow way out to the side, then snaps the wrist in one quick fling. Although he doesn't have quite the arc or long-range accuracy Marion does, Childress' approach has been plenty effective. He's shooting 55.7 percent from the floor this season, and it hasn't all been on dunks and layups. Childress has become very comfortable shooting from 15-20 feet, especially from the corners. As a result, his effective field goal percentage on jump shots is a healthy 50.7 percent, according to 82games.com. Throw in all the free throws he has earned by pounding the offensive glass, and his TS% is 62.4 percent, second-best in the league. Childress has nothing on Martin, however. The Kings guard shoots while leaning farther to the left than Al Franken, yet still has managed to drain 49.5 percent of his shots. Additionally, Martin gets to the line nearly once for every two field goal attempts, and he's hitting at a stellar 85.9 percent clip from there. Throw in his 39.2 percent mark on 3-pointers, and it's easy to see that the Kings get serious bang for their buck whenever Martin attempts a shot. Thus, although Martin's 49.5 percent field goal shooting doesn't crack the league's top 10, it leaps to a league-leading TS% of 62.8 percent once we account for all his 3-pointers and free throws. It's ironic that these two are first and second when one considers how similar they are. In addition to their funky jump shots, both are second-year wing players. Physically, they're both long, skinny guys who sport retro haircuts -- Childress goes with the 'fro, while Martin is single-handedly attempting to revive the fade. *[Editors Note: Long Live the Fade!]* Both players were regarded as disappointments during their rookie seasons, and both started slowly this year but picked up steam as the season went on -- even as their teams had disappointing results. Each left college a year early, and each plays a couple of hours' drive from where the other went to school. And each is showing that, when it comes to shooting, there's more than one way to skin a cat. The delivery might not be pretty, but when Martin and Childress shoot the rock, it's hard to argue with the results. ----------------------------------------- KG's rep goes up and down posted: Monday, March 6, 2006 \| Feedback filed under: Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett Chris Broussard I've been trying to figure out Kevin Garnett for quite some time now. What's obvious and undeniable is that he's a great player, one of the best in the game. But my opinion on just how great has fluctuated. A few years back, I thought he was better than Tim Duncan. Duncan had the benefit of playing next to David Robinson, I reasoned; who does Garnett have? But when Robinson retired, Duncan made it clear that he is a notch above KG. Duncan is, simply put, the best power forward ever to play. When I sat down to write this, I was essentially going to say KG is overrated. Still outstanding, just not as outstanding as we've all thought. I figured if he's as legendary as touted, he should be able to at least get his team into the playoffs (which appears to be a pipe dream right now). I'm thinking, "How good is Pau Gasol's supporting cast?" Then I decided to look at the careers of some other great power forwards. I felt it unfair to compare his playoff run to those of Karl Malone and Kevin McHale, both of whom made the postseason every year of their careers -- because Malone had John Stockton and McHale had Bird and Co. But I found the perfect comparison in Sir Charles. And what I found led me to cut KG some slack. Barkley failed to make the playoffs twice during his prime, both times in Philadelphia. In 1987-88, he averaged a career-high 28.3 points, plus 11.9 boards, but the Sixers managed only 36 wins. Barkley's second-leading scorer was Cliff Robinson (19 ppg) -- not a good sign -- but he did have a 31-year-old Mo Cheeks (13.7 ppg, 8.0 apg) running the point. Barkley also missed the postseason in 1991-92. That squad had Hersey Hawkins (19 ppg) and Armon Gilliam (16.9) so it probably should've been better than its 35 wins suggests. That season Barkley seemed to go through what KG might be going through now. Beat down by the losing and wondering if he'll ever get near a title, Barkley watched his scoring average drop more than four points from the previous season to 23.1, his lowest output in five years. That was his last season in Philly. The next season, Barkley won the MVP award and led Phoenix to the Finals, where they lost in six to MJ and the Bulls. It'll be interesting to see if the same thing (a trade, rejuvenation and happier endings) happens to KG. But if he isn't traded this summer and Minnesota's roster doesn't improve, there are some things KG can do to help himself and the Wolves. Mainly, he can stop floating around 20 feet from the basket so much, especially in the fourth quarter. He's 7 feet tall, for crying out loud. Get on the block! It's nice when a big man can step out and hit the 3 to keep the defense off balance, but if you're that tall, your bread and butter should be near the rim. The one exception is Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk clearly belongs on the perimeter because he's such a great shooter. KG is not nearly as smooth as Dirk outside. Hanging around the arc so much nullifies KG's height. He might as well be 6-8. When it's crunch time and I need a bucket, I don't want him taking a 20-footer. I want him in the post, either scoring or drawing a foul. That's what separates Duncan from him. I know KG is slight of build, so he could have trouble posting, but Pau isn't exactly Charles Atlas, and neither is Rasheed (who also floats outside a little too much for my liking). If KG perfected the jump hook from six feet out or a turnaround J (with no fadeaway), he'd be unstoppable down low. McHale, who had some of the greatest post moves of all time, should spend this summer teaching KG his moves instead of working on another insignificant trade. If KG added that to his game, it would solve the other problem folks have with him -- that he isn't a go-to guy down the stretch. Then there'd be no question as to how great he is. __________________ What has the sheep to bargain with the wolf? Last edited by Evilmav2; 03-07-2006 at 01:39 PM.