Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis 1/21/16
- Hacking Gone Mad (from Kurt Helin, NBC Sports):
" The result wasn’t basketball, it was farce. A mockery of the sport. Which is maybe what needs to happen to force a rule change. (It) is not basketball. It is not in the spirit of the rules. It is gaming the system. And it is painful to watch."
Read it here: http://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/01/21/hacking-gone-mad-andre-drummond-fouled-12-consecutive-times-to-start-second-half/
- The Rockets Just Took Intentional Fouling To Its Logical Extreme (from Kevin Draper, Deadspin):
Read it here: http://deadspin.com/the-rockets-just-took-intentional-fouling-to-its-logica-1754186173
- How To Eliminate Hack-A-Nonsense (from Tom Ziller, SBNation):
Read it here: http://www.sbnation.com/2013/12/4/5174012/nba-intentional-fouls-hack-dwight-howard-andre-drummond-hook
- Defense Is Back In Vogue For Bucks (from Charles F. Gardner, jsonline.com):
Read it here: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/defense-back-in-vogue-for-bucks-b99655111z1-366006911.html
- 72-win Bulls Reflect On Their Record- Setting Season And The Dubs (from Nick Friedell, ESPN):
"I've thought a lot more this year about the 72-10 season than I have in the past because they're so close to doing it," former Bulls center Bill Wennington said. "Now they've just picked up their fourth loss in Detroit the other day, so I'd lie to you if I say I wasn't happy about it. But records and rules are made to be broken. It's going to happen one day. The longer it lasts, the better it is. But they're a great team, they play in a great system, they move the ball well, they play together well ... they're fun to watch."
"It's comparable in the way that they play together," Wennington said. "They're having fun out there. And it looks like they genuinely like each other's company. Everyone understands what their role is on their team. And so in that way, I think they're very comparable because guys are going out there, everyone's playing real well.
"Whether they have a starting role or they play five to 10 minutes a game role, whoever's out there is doing their job but having fun doing it. That was very much what we did. Hey, I wanted to start, I wanted Luc Longley's job, but I understood what my job was and I was going to go out and do what I had to do, and the same with Randy Brown, Jud Buechler and Steve Kerr. We all wanted to play more, but that's a good thing. You want guys that want to play more, but also guys that understand what their role is on the team, what they have to do."
Read it here: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14605476/chicago-bulls-reflect-72-10-1995-96-season
- The Transformation Of Kemba Walker (from Yaron Weitzman, SBNation):
Read and view it here: http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2016/1/20/10799110/kemba-walker-improvements-shooting-charlotte-hornets-highlights
- Will Barton's Breakout Season (from Rob Mahoney, Sports Illustrated):
Read and view it here: http://www.si.com/nba/2016/01/21/fundamentals-will-barton-nuggets-trail-blazers-memphis-mike-malone
- Warriors And Spurs Are Having Historically Great Seasons (form Mika Honkasalo, Hoops Hype):
Read and view it here: http://hoopshype.com/2016/01/20/historically-great-spurs-and-warriors-are-much-better-than-the-rest-of-the-nba/
- Interaction of Double-Teams Drawn, High-Usage Post Players and 3-Point Threats (form Michael Rosenfeld, Vantage Sports):
Read it here: http://www1.vantagesports.com/Articles/article_view/VqEwHS8AAKRH5D8G
- Doug Collins, JVG And An NBA Scout's Takes On The Heat At The Halfway Point (from Barry Jackson, Miami Herald):
- Has GM Dennis Lindsey Been Good For The Jazz? (from Kincade Upstill, Deseret News):
Read it here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865645786/Upstill-Has-Dennis-Lindsey-been-good-for-Jazz.html?pg=all
- Magic GM Rob Hennigan Q & A (from Josh Robbins, Orlando Sentinel):
- The Warriors' Delightful Arrogance (from Vincent Goodwill, csnchicago):
“Cockiness almost to me makes you feel invincible and it’s a trap,” Curry said. “We’re confident to the fact that we know if we play the way we’re supposed to play, we should win most of our games and be the best team in the league. But we’re not invincible, where we can show up, psyche a team out, play any way we want to and come out with victories like it’s not, we won’t cheat the game like that.”
Read it here: http://www.csnchicago.com/bulls/delightful-arrogance-golden-state-warriors
- Recapping Last Night's Games (from SBNation):
http://www.sbnation.com/nba-scores
- A Major Flaw In Player Ranking (from Justin W, Nylon Calculus):
BI Note: We're not into the parlor game of ranking players ("How would I know, Why should I care") but we appreciate this from Justin W:
"ESPN has been feverishly ranking NBA players historically by position, and a few of their writers have used an argument that restlessly annoys me: if a player wins another title, then he can move up in the rankings. That’s it — notice there’s no distinction made of contributions to the team. I understand the league is narrative driven and there’s incentive to give extra weight to a title, but that’s a team award and we should be smart enough now, armed with enough information, that we don’t have to resort to such arguments. This doesn’t even have to be about advanced stats or anything divisive. It’s simple logic. Players shouldn’t be ranked by how good their teammates are."
- Development League Is The Triple-A Of The NBA (form Bob Cooney, philly.com):
Read it here: http://mobile.philly.com/beta?wss=/philly/sports/sixers&id=365983941
Additional Player Notes, Updates, Profiles:
- Russell Westbrook (from Royce Young, ESPN): http://espn.go.com/blog/okc-thunder/post/_/id/1054/russell-westbrook-early-passing-showing-okc-its-offensive-potential
- Amir Johnson (from Mark Murphy, Boston Herald): http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/celtics_insider/2016/01/amir_johnsons_leadership_roots_blossomed_in_toronto
- J.J. Redick (from LA Times): http://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/la-sp-redick-clippers-20160121-story.html
- Ish Smith (from Jessica Camerato, csnphilly.com): http://www.csnphilly.com/basketball-philadelphia-76ers/sixers-point-guard-ish-smith-come-long-way-days-with-orlando-magic
- Justise Winslow (from Fred Greenberg, Washington Post): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fancy-stats/wp/2016/01/21/as-the-heat-lose-players-to-injury-justise-winslow-gets-his-chance/
- Kyle Singler (from Barry Tramel, newsok.com): http://newsok.com/tramel-kyle-singler-returns-from-purgatory-in-win-over-hornets/article/5473848
- Damian Lillard/ CJ McCollum (form Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN): http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14606229/nba-damian-lillard-cj-mccollum-becoming-elite-backcourt
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (from David Mayo, mlive.com): http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2016/01/kcp_ejection_began_with_off-co.html
- Emmanuel Mudiay (from Christopher Dempsey, Denver Post): http://blogs.denverpost.com/nuggets/2016/01/21/emmanuel-mudiay-nuggets-2/13701/