2009 NBA offseason thread

[El Scorcho]

Originally Posted by fujishig

That's exactly what I'm sure Wizards fans said about Kwame back in 2001... Still, at this point I think even the optimists aren't seeing a perennial all-star like he was originally projected to be (though he does play center, which is probably the easiest position to get an all-star spot in these days). Anyway, welcome back.

well the problem is people like atari2600 are the type that look at box scores and only box scores and think they tell the entire story. they'll compare Oden to players like Dwight Howard, Shaq (during his early years), Duncan, etc. and go "God this guy sucks, he's not averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds, what a bust" without realizing these things:

1) This is his first year of basketball where he's not enormously bigger than everyone. This requires adjustment.

2) He's coming off a serious injury, an injury that other young players took 2 years to fully recover (Amare, Kenyon, etc.)

3) He's nowhere near the focal point of the Portland offense. He only averaged just under 6 field goal attempts a game (and most of those were off. rebounds & putbacks) because Portland's offense is an inside-out offense where the ball goes into the post and then comes back out for an outside shot. Over time, as Greg's skills develop, his PPG and FGA will increase. Obviously, he has a long way to go with his offensive game.

Most importantly:

4) Portland was #1 in the league in rebounding % (% of possible rebounds that the team gathers) despite Roy, Aldrige, Outlaw, Batum (compared to Martell), and Przybilla all having essentially the same rebounding stats as last year. Portland went from being outrebounded by 1.0 rebounds/game in 2007-08 to outrebounding opponents by 5.4 rebounds/game in 2008-09. That's almost six and a half extra possessions for Portland than their opponents in a sport where the games often come down to the last 2 minutes. The difference is Greg, who averaged 7.1 reb/game in only 21 minutes per game.

Of course, it's really easy (and lazy) for someone to look at Durant's numbers in OKC -- where he's the focal point of a very shitty team's offense -- and think he's blowing Oden out of the water. And he is, statistically speaking. But it's not hard to do when you get 3x as many shot attempts.

But the fact is that Oden is on a team that went from 41 wins to 54 (despite losing its starting SF for the year) and Durant is on a team that went from 20 to 23.

Give him 3-4 years and try actually watching games beyond box scores before giving your opinion on who is a bust or not.

[fumanstan]

Here we go -

James totaled 1,172 points including 109 first place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five for third, three for fourth and one for each fifth-place vote received.

Rounding out the top five in voting for this season's award are the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (698 points), Miami's Dwyane Wade (680), Orlando's Dwight Howard (328) and New Orleans' Chris Paul (192).

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/05/04/m...504/index.html

[El Scorcho]

The real story there is that Brandon Roy finished 9th.

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by El Scorcho

The real story there is that Brandon Roy finished 9th.

I think he should have been a bit higher (7th I suppose behind Billups), but probably everyone after the first 5 is forgotten anyway.

[fujishig]

Speaking of Paul (and apologies if this has already been addressed in the playoff thread) but how the heck did Billups and Denver shut him down so handily in the post season? If the vote was retaken today, I'd easily have Billups ahead of Paul, which was pretty unthinkable just a few weeks ago.

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by fujishig

Speaking of Paul (and apologies if this has already been addressed in the playoff thread) but how the heck did Billups and Denver shut him down so handily in the post season? If the vote was retaken today, I'd easily have Billups ahead of Paul, which was pretty unthinkable just a few weeks ago.

I think he just didn't have ANY help on that team, with guys like Chandler and Peja all hurt and not doing much. Plus that dreadful blowout makes his numbers look worse compared to the first few games of the series.

[fujishig]

Originally Posted by fumanstan

I think he just didn't have ANY help on that team, with guys like Chandler and Peja all hurt and not doing much. Plus that dreadful blowout makes his numbers look worse compared to the first few games of the series.

Looking at the stats, he did have a couple of decent games early, but the last game (the one after the blowout) was not what I expected... 12 pts, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 stls on 5 of 16 shooting... decent numbers, sure, but disappointing nonetheless.

[Quake1028]

I would have voted for MVP:

1.LeBron
2.Wade
3.Paul
4.Howard
5.Kobe

[Mordred]

Originally Posted by fumanstan

I think he just didn't have ANY help on that team, with guys like Chandler and Peja all hurt and not doing much. Plus that dreadful blowout makes his numbers look worse compared to the first few games of the series.

Paul also wasn't 100% in that series.

[fumanstan]

All Defensive Teams out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4146910

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant headline the NBA All-Defensive first team, the league said Wednesday.

Howard, the defensive player of the year, received 55 points overall and 27 first-team votes to edge Bryant for top honors. Bryant had 53 points overall and 24 first-team votes.

Also selected to the first team were LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets and Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics.

The Second Team featured Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, Rajon Rondo of the Celtics and Shane Battier and Ron Artest of the Houston Rockets.

The voting panel consisted of the NBA's 30 head coaches.

[Quake1028]

Interesting that LeBron was second in the DPOY voting but not the second vote getter here.

[fujishig]

After Mcgrady got hurt and Battier came back, did both Battier and Artest start? I don't think I've ever seen two guys that play the same position on a single team both get defensive team nods before.

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by Quake1028

Interesting that LeBron was second in the DPOY voting but not the second vote getter here.

Is the DPOY done by coaches too? I think the Forward position was probably harder too, with KG in there and then Artest or Battier, which I can easily see those guys getting votes over Lebron.

Originally Posted by fujishig

After Mcgrady got hurt and Battier came back, did both Battier and Artest start? I don't think I've ever seen two guys that play the same position on a single team both get defensive team nods before.

Yeah, I believe so, with Battier at SG and Artest at SF.

[Quake1028]

From Wiki about DPOY:

The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections.

Makes more sense then.

[movieking]

I am shocked that the Raptors are keeping Triano, just based on a late season winning streak. They had Marc Iavaroni in the stands for a few games, so it seemed like he was going to get the job, but I guess not.


Raptors sign Triano to 3-year deal

TORONTO -- Jay Triano signed a three-year contract Monday to coach the Toronto Raptors, dropping the interim tag after taking over the team during the season.

The Raptors went 25-40 under Triano but finished strong, going 9-4 in their final 13 games.

"We have gone through an extensive evaluation process and have done a lot of soul-searching internally and came to the conclusion that Jay Triano was the right leader for this team as we move forward," general manager Bryan Colangelo said.

A native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, the 50-year-old Triano became the first Canadian-born and Canadian-trained coach in the NBA when he was hired in 2002 as an assistant to Lenny Wilkens. He spent six years as the Canadian national team's coach, leading the squad to a seventh-place finish at the 2000 Olympics.

"Today it's a great honor for me to be really rewarded by an organization that I've been devoted to for the past seven years," Triano said. "I've spent an awful lot of time late at night here at the arena preparing for games. I'm just anxious and excited. Things won't change."

[DaveWadding]

Suns resign Alvin Gentry. I kinda hope that Sarver & Kerr can bring back Iavaroni and maybe get some of the old mojo back...

[wildcatlh]

76ers fired Tony DiLeo (though he will stay with the team in other capacities). GM claiming no financial restrictions on the coaching search, but I doubt that's the case.

[movieking]

I thought that he took himself out of the race?

[dx23]

Originally Posted by movieking

I thought that he took himself out of the race?

Exactly. They didn't fire him at all. He returned to his job as the team vice-president and assistant GM.

[dx23]

Danny Granger wins most improved player award.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4161081

[fumanstan]

All NBA Teams

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/05/12/allnba.team.release/

Weird that Dirk made first team.

ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM
Position Player (Team) First Team votes Total Points
F LeBron James (Cavs) 122 610
F Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks) 35 383
C Dwight Howard (Magic) 116 598
G Kobe Bryant (Lakers) 119 604
G Dwyane Wade (Heat) 103 572
ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM
Position Player (Team) First Team votes Points
F Tim Duncan (Spurs) 39 378
F Paul Pierce (Celtics) 27 330
C Yao Ming (Rockets) 8 354
G Brandon Roy (Trail Blazers) -- 189
G Chris Paul (Hornets) 32 424
ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM
Position Player (Team) First Team votes Points
F Carmelo Anthony (Nuggets) 2 116
F Pau Gasol (Lakers) 2 165
C Shaquille O'Neal (Suns) -- 68
G Chauncey Billups (Nuggets) -- 131
G Tony Parker (Spurs) 1 158

[El Scorcho]

Brandon Roy 2nd team. awesome.

[wildcatlh]

Originally Posted by dx23

Exactly. They didn't fire him at all. He returned to his job as the team vice-president and assistant GM.

Technically, yes, but nobody connected with the Sixers believes for a second that it's true. He was fired.

[Mordred]

Surprised to see Dirk make the first team too. He had another great season, I just didn't realize anybody else had noticed.

[El Scorcho]

huge lol @ gasol getting 1st team votes