THE "OFFICIAL" AROUND THE NBA 2012-13 THREAD...........

Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Register Log in
Brandon Roy's return tonight baby!
 
Boob-No-More said:
Those numbers are for the 2012 playoffs. It got even worse during the finals:

Durant: FGA = 104
Westbrook: FGA = 120
Harden: FGA = 48

And the trend continued last night against the Spurs:

Durant:
9-18 FG
.500 FG%
23 PTS
1.28 PTS/FGA

Westbrook:
6-21 FG
.286 FG%
18 PTS
0.86 PTS/FGA

This is what happens when Robin thinks he should be the one driving the Batmobile. The more Westbrook calls his own number, the more likely the Thunder will lose. I'm fine with that.

BNM
Click to expand...

I respect your opinions and you back them up well with stats. I am more of watching them play and getting a feel for their value that way.

Why stats bug me is the stats above suggest Westbrook is a worse to much worse than Durant and Harden, especially in the finals. I watched the finals and can tell you it was Harden that disappeared and underperformed. Harden is a solid player, but not have a good finals.

Westbrook is a PG with the ball in his hands for much of the game. I believe the analysis has to be different for PGs as they tend to have to work harder on the court and for their shots.

I think Westbook can be a ball hog and doesn't have the highest basketball IQ, which hurts being a PG. But his energy, athletic ability and ability to run a team is hard to find. Hard to find the perfect PG and for what Westbrook brings night in and night out, many teams will overlook his flaws.

Harden is shooter. If he can shoot and score like that all season (not even talking about assists), than I jump on board and think he is more valuable than Westbrook. But now it's time for Harden to try and carry a team through a season, and his flaws will start to emerge, IMO.
 
Treaty_of_Batum said:
Why stats bug me is the stats above suggest Westbrook is a worse to much worse than Durant and Harden, especially in the finals. I watched the finals and can tell you it was Harden that disappeared and underperformed. Harden is a solid player, but not have a good finals.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Harden did have a bad finals. But that was probably a function of who he was guarding and who was guarding him. Westbrook had a much easier head-to-head match up than Harden and still shot the ball poorly - and a LOT more often. But that doesn't explain why Westbrook took so many more shots than Durant - who was having a much better series.

What I really noticed at the time, and I watched every game during the finals, was that Westbrook would COMPLETELY freeze out Durant in the 4th quarter of any close game. I had originally noticed it the previous year against Dallas, but it was MUCH worse last year against Miami. Freezing out the best scorer in the entire league, with the game on the line, is just plain stupid. If I was Durant, I'd be pissed that my PG was freezing me out, and more pissed that he's the other guy they decided to keep.

BNM
 
Boob-No-More said:
Yeah, Harden did have a bad finals. But that was probably a function of who he was guarding and who was guarding him. Westbrook had a much easier head-to-head match up than Harden and still shot the ball poorly - and a LOT more often.

But what I really noticed at the time, and I watched every game during the finals, was that Westbrook would COMPLETELY freeze out Durant in the 4th quarter of any close game. I had originally noticed it the previous year against Dallas, but it was MUCH worse last year against Miami. Freezing out the best scorer in the entire league, with the game on the line, is just plain stupid. If I was Durant, I'd be pissed that my PG was freezing me out, and more pissed that he's the other guy they decided to keep.

BNM
Click to expand...

Right I agree about Harden having tougher defense on him and maybe that explains the stats. But Westbrook has a target on his back every night and teams plan to stop him. Harden is going to have that this year and I'm going to be watching it with interest.

Anyways, I agree that Westbrook takes too many shots and can get tunnel vision in close games. But I also think he guided the Thunder to what could have been a championship season if not for the Miami Heat.
 
Boob-No-More said:
And, in Durant's case, when he's "on" none are better. That's why he's led the league in scoring 3 years in a row.
Click to expand...

You keep throwing that out there, but I don't think you've thought it through too well. During those three years Durant has been winning scoring titles, Westbrook has been shooting "too much." For all your statistical analysis, you're ignoring that Westbrook's contribution to Durant's scoring is a positive, not a negative.
 
Harden at 25pts with 6 minutes left in the 3rd. Asik working on a 0pt, 16 reb night so far.
 
BrianFromWA said:
Harden at 25pts with 6 minutes left in the 3rd.
Click to expand...

I saw that. Incredible. I thought he was really good, but not as good as he's looking.

Meanwhile the Knicks are killing Miami - because 'Melo is playing PF?
 
Asik is a rich man's Joel Przybilla. Actually, he could be the white Big Ben.
 
Harden to Houston could be like Bosh going backwards in time from Miami to Toronto...
 
did you read Haberstroh's article on him today?

Haberstroh said:
Melo, a monster at the 4
Have you seen the numbers? If not, chew on this: Anthony's player efficiency rating when he played the 4 last season stood at an astronomical 29.5 compared to just 17.4 at the small forward position, according to tracking by 82games.com. At small forward, Anthony averaged 22.1 points and 6.3 rebounds along with a 43.5 percent effective field goal percentage (eFG percentage adds extra weighting for 3-pointers).

"
Let go of your ego. You just have to let it go and play basketball. If somebody thinks you might be better, you have to be open-minded. You have to let that go.
"
-- Chris Bosh, Miami Heat power forward-turned-center, on Carmelo Anthony
At power forward? Try 29.3 points and 7 rebounds per 36 minutes while effectively shooting 55 percent from the floor.

These aren't just empty individual stats either. The Knicks' offense skyrocketed to 103.2 points per 48 minutes when Anthony shifted to the nominal power forward slot last season, up from a stagnant 96.5 points per 48 minutes when he played at the 3. And the team's defense? It actually got slightly better, shaving a little over a point every 48 minutes according to 82games.com. Overall, it's about an eight-point difference over 48 minutes, which is equivalent to the gap between the Heat and the Wizards last season. In other words, the Knicks went from terrible to terrifying when Anthony played the 4.

James saw similar jumps in his stats and the team's numbers last season when he moved to the 4. Yes, James had a 37.1 PER at the power forward slot last season, not to mention won a title along the way.

Having lived through that transition, James has some thoughts on the matter of an Anthony role change. In sum, James thinks his long-time pal is more than capable.

"You could put Melo anywhere," James said Thursday. "Just put Melo on the floor and he'll make it happen. It doesn't matter, he's that type of player. He does a little bit of everything."

Though James certainly meant the last part as glowing praise, it's that "little bit" that distinguishes between James and Anthony. When it comes to passing (among other things), Anthony tends to do a "little bit" whereas James does, well, more than a little bit.

In those 82games.com profiles, we find that James' assist numbers are double that of Anthony's when they go to the 4, though the scoring numbers are almost identical. Sliding Anthony to the 4 makes all the sense in the world for the Knicks because it spaces the floor and allows Steve Novak and J.R. Smith to rain from the perimeter. That is, if Anthony is a willing passer.

Imagine if Anthony became the wheeling and dealing post presence that we witnessed from James in the 2012 Finals? It's possible if he embraces how much pressure that dynamic could put on the defense. Shane Battier, who's well-versed in the Knicks' efficiency numbers without Stoudemire, sees the Knicks as more demanding with Anthony sliding to the block.

"They were very effective last year when Carmelo moved to the 4, very effective," Battier said. "Obviously, no one wants to see players get hurt, but they present a whole new set of challenges when Carmelo moves to the 4."

What's interesting, though, is that Anthony really doesn't want to play the 4. In early October, he told ESPNNewYork.com that he would rather play his "natural position" than "go down there and play the 4, the 5 and things that I don't really want to do."

This stubbornness could be expected from a young player coming into his own, but not for a 10-year veteran who won gold by thriving at the 4 this summer and also emphasized a win-at-all-costs attitude in the preseason.
Click to expand...
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/stor...y-embrace-power-forward-position-lebron-james
 
Lakers are 0-3 to start the season. Worst Lakers start in 34 years. Wow!
 
An 0-11 (+pre-season) start for the Lackers.

I love it.

tumblr_m9yh63TopW1qzbqw1o1_400.gif
 
LOL. I want them to replace Brown with Nate, then have him play Blake over Nash. That would be the capper.
 
One thing I'm thankful for while watching the Lakers this season -- Thank goodness Steve Blake is no longer on this roster.
 
If you think about it, the Lake Show has lost 14 straight!
 
How about the Charlotte Bobcats pulling one out against the Indiana Pacers? I watched the first quarter, and the Bobcats had a really hot streak, where it seemed like everything was going their way. I'm not sure what to make out of the win though.

It's funny, the crowd reacted to the first win of the season like they had just won a playoff game. Man, that city must be win-starved...
 
Those Cats fans deserve that win. I can't believe they won with MKG not doing ANYTHING out there though!
 
KingSpeed said:
He had 7 rebounds and 2 blocks
Click to expand...

Yeah, but he seemed awkward offensively.

I only watched the first quarter (and the very end of the game), but most of MKG's playing time came in that first quarter. He looks like he needs to find his place offensively. It was like watching a player with a lot of confidence in his game yet a lot of uncertainty in his role on the team. A lot of that uncertainty led to him playing too aggressively for a lot of his 20 min, trying to force the issue.

Ben Gordon and Ramon Sessions looked like the biggest improvements to the roster, both surprisingly coming off the bench. I don't think the Bobcats have ever had a backcourt player like Gordon that can just go on scoring streaks the way he does. Some teams might see him as a bit of a one-dimensional liability, but I can see how a player his style can be a breath of fresh air to the Cats.
 
Last edited:
yuyuza1 said:
LOL. I want them to replace Brown with Nate, then have him play Blake over Nash. That would be the capper.
Click to expand...

No, he'd start Blanky, move Nash to SG and K*be to SF.
 
Clipper fans love Jamal Crawford right now. I know it won't last, but it's true that his two games for the Clippers are better than any he had for us.

Felton also looking good for the Knicks.

Sigh.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Official 2012 USA Basketball thread
2
Replies
39
Views
3K
VanillaGorilla
VanillaGorilla
KingSpeed
  • Locked
2018 Around the NBA - October
47 48 49
Replies
1K
Views
100K
TorturedBlazerFan
TorturedBlazerFan
THE HCP
  • Locked
The Official 2013-14 Around The NBA Thread......
127 128 129
Replies
4K
Views
150K
jlprk
jlprk
Nate Dogg
Forbes: Blazers #16 NBA franchise
Replies
3
Views
561
Eastoff
Eastoff
Fez Hammersticks
|Official| 2012 NBA Draft thread
Replies
13
Views
2K
3RA1N1AC
3RA1N1AC

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top