Boston Celtics @ LA Lakers, Thu, Dec 25, 2008

A brief scouting report:

Boston Celtics:

• Boston mainly relied on high screen pick-n-roll of Rondo and Perkins, and they were successful in generating open lanes for Rondo or back door passes to Perkins.


• Ray Allen still has the smoothest and quickest 3-pt shot in the league.


• Rondo got into early foul trouble. Eddie House or Tony Allen is not exactly the type of PG that pushes the ball and attack the basket. No wonder the Cs struggled early in Q2. That’s why even Rondo hit the 3rd foul with 6 mins left in Q2, Doc Rivers did not lift him off the court. Although not exactly The Fantastic Four, Rondo has been a very important player in the team.


• Rondo kept on finding open teammates to score in the low post, KG in particular. He was 6-for-6 and scored 12 pts in 1H.


• During a possession in 2H, there was a good hustle by Rondo, grabbing his own miss between two 7-footers, Gasol and Bynum, which turned out to be a 3 by PP to tie the game at 62.


• PP was quiet in 1H but took up the lead to score in 2H. Again, when PP's shots were off, he would lower his head and drive the lane, 80% of which would end up him going to the FT line.


• The bench is weak. Eddie House, Tony Allen, Glen Davis and Leon Powe was ineffective. I think they miss James Posey.


• Somehow, the Celtics failed to execute their famous suffocating defense. The Lakers kept on getting open looks in the perimeter. They even allowed a back-to-back 3-pter by Odom in Q4. OK, the Lakers made some perfect screen to get him open, but where’s the D?


• The worst is at the last 2 mins. The Cs focused too much on stopping Kobe, and played Gasol soft, who managed to score numerous clutch shots when the game was on the wire.

LA Lakers:

• The Lakers had a change of lineup for the Lakers, starting Luke Walton at SF, instead of Vladimir Radmanovic.


• The Lakers had some good basketball movement early on, as they managed to get open look after several passes.


• But there were some terrific defense loopholes. First, Bynum was confused in baseline rotation. The Lakers also had serious flaws in defending pick-n-roll, as the Speedy Rondo kept on getting to the rim and scored on layups.


• Poor in transition defense too.


• Lakers offense relied mainly on Kobe Bryant’s brilliance. Kobe was phenomenal tonight. This was helped by the fact that he was guarded by Ray Allen, who obviously couldn’t catch up with Kobe. Why didn’t the Cs double-team Kobe?


• Trevor Ariza is one of my favorite players. In one sequence in Q2, he hustled for a loose ball, threw the ball to the fast breaking Vujacic just when he was falling out of bound. Vjuacic his the shot. And 1! Another hustle play by Ariza in Q3, he stole the ball from the fast break Celtics, and managed to pass the ball to a teammate before falling out of bound. Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet Trevor "Mr. Hustle" Ariza!


• Fisher has been hitting some nice 3-pt this season. This game included.


• Lakers defense is getting better in 2H, aggressively double teaming PP and other Celtics. And instead of taking their advantage in the paint, the Celtics suddenly settled for outside shoot, which is not exactly their forte.


• Unlike in the past, Bynum remained on the court with 5 mins left. (usually it’s Odom finishing the games instead of him). You know my theory? I think Phil Jackson is trying to keep Bynum as a secret weapon. He wouldn’t use it on a daily basis, but to surprise people in critical games like this one, or in the playoffs.


• Bench difference is huge. Vujacic, Odom and Ariza easily outplay the Cs’ bench.

Here’s how the Lakers won the game:

• Gasol first hit a 20-ft J on the right wing. Next, Kobe dribbled for like 20 sec and then make a perfect lob pass to the rolling Gasol in the paint who made the running J. 85-81 Lakers. 2min left.


• After KG hit an open J. it’s Gasol again! Kobe dished to another rolling Gasol, this time he hit the leaning layups, got fouled, and hit the FTs. 88-83. 1.28 min. all 3 baskets were assisted by Kobe.


• Oh, Gasol again! This time, he blocked a 3-pt attempt by Ray Allen, which led to a breakaway dunk by Ariza. 90-83. 1 mins. Game over.

Verdict:

• Overall, the Lakers relied on outside shootings, while the Celtics managed to score in the paint with more success. But the Celtics failed to stop the Lakers, especially Gasol, who was aggressively attacking the basket. It is obvious that the Lakers are way more versatile in offense that the Celtics can no way match, that’s why the Celtics need to play top notch defense to beat the Lakers. They failed to do so terribly.


• As for the Lakers, seems like they managed to switch to their "A" game and come to the game focused with a killer instinct. They were able to play tough defense down the stretch and then execute on the other end to finish the Celtics. The stepping up of Gasol is somehwat surprising, but I think it's a very good development for the Lakers since they no longer rely on Kobe only at clutch time. At least for this game, they were the better team.

2009 NBA All-Star Ballot

I always find it hard to pick all stars that early, because most of the votes were based on reputation, rather than reflecting the actual performance of the players this season. That is why you'll seee guys like Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady always got voted as All-Star starters no matter whether they were lousy or even injured.

As of Dec 25, the leaders in the latest balloting results are: LeBron James (F), Kevin Garnett (F), Dwyane Wade (G), Allen Iverson (G), Dwight Howard (C) in the East; and Tim Duncan (F), Amare Stoudemire (F), Kobe Bryant (G), Tracy McGrady (G), Yao Ming (C) in the West.

While I have no problem with most of the selections, I would exclude Iverson and McGrady in my list, simply because I have some better and more deserving candidates. My voting would be like this:

EAST:

Fowards:

LeBron James - no-brainer

Kevin Garnett - no brainer

Guards:

Dwyane Wade - no-brainer

Joe Johnson - a close call between JJ and Devin Harris. While Harris is leading the surprising Nets to success that nobody had expected, JJ is doing even more for the Hawks, who now stands firmly at #4 in the East. Who would have thought of that before the season began? Not enough? How about that 23.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 5.7 APG so far this season? Or all the clutch shots he made in Q4 for the Hawks? (I wish I could get the stat for that. Need to check out 82games.com.)

Center:

Dwight Howard - who else?


WEST

Fowards:

Tim Duncan - he's playing like his old self. The most impressive is the way he led the team to remain competitive during the absence of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. He showed people that he could dominate when he wants to. He's still the best PF in the league.

Dirk Nowitzki - People may choose Carmelo Anthony or Amare Stoudemire, but you can't deny that Dirk is quietly having some MVP-like stat this season: 25.8 PPG and 8.9 RPG. Amare is actually having a worse season this year under Terry Porter. (Although he's getting better after Porter lossened up the offense. But we'll see.) As for 'Melo, he's winning more games, but having a worse stat this season. The wins, are mainly due to the arrival of Billups, not 'Melo.

Guards:

Chris Paul - Although he's not getting as much attention as last season, but his stat hardly drops (20.1 PPG and 11.4 APG), and he's still one of if not the best PGs in the league. Can't imagine people picking T-Mac over him. Ridiculous.

Kobe Bryant - no-brainer, although his stat is off.

Center:

Yao Ming - C'mon, you're not going to vote for Shaq, right?

What about you?

Note:

Yi Jianlian is right now #3 in the voting for the Eastern forward. I mean, please, would all the Chinese stop these stupid pseudo-patriotic act? That's completely meaningless and stupid. Immediately out of my mind, I can think of over 10 forwards in the East that are way better than Yi: Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Danny Granger, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu in the East. If that is not enough, what about Josh Smith, Gerald Wallace or Andre Igoudala?

If Yi is voted as the starting ineup in the East, it would be a flat out embarrassment to the All-Star Game, to the League, and to the Chinese. Please stop that. I really, really don't want Yi to be remembered as THE most undeserved All-Star in NBA history.

Vote Now! (but not to Yi!)

LA Lakers @ Miami Heat, Fri, Dec 19, 2008

A running diary:

First Quarter

• Game started, still see empty seats around. For Lakers in town? Against the red-hot Wade? That shows how bad business is right now.
  
• Wade played terrific defense on Kobe early on. The Heat forced the Lakers to commit turnover, followed by a fast break by the Heat, with Marion drawing fouls. The Lakers were 1-2 FG and 2 TO in the first two minutes. Phil Jackson called an early 20 sec timeout. That’s early.
  
• Things didn’t do better after the timeout, as the Lakers continued to miss shots and turn the ball over.
  
• The Heat looked sharp from the perimeter, Wade and Chalmers took turns to hit the 3s. But Kobe decided to take it personal, trying to make things happen all by himself. He scored back-to-back turnaround Js over Wade.
  
• The commentators were trying to imply that this is a battle between Wade and Kobe. I think that’s just how Kobe looks at it too, a duel between him and Wade.
  
• Wade tried to throw an alley-oop pass, but it was so off that it hit the top of the board! That’s probably the worst alley-oop pass I’ve ever seen. Then, the balls bounced hard off the board and ended up back in Mario Chalmers’ hands 25 ft from the basket.
  
• But the Heat were badly undersized.
  
• Jordan Farmar looked good, made a couple of nice backdoor passes for easy layup, include the one to Kobe for a buzzer beater reverse layup.
  
• Game tied at 26-26 at the end Q1.
  

Second Quarter

• Farmar continued his brilliant performance, drove past 3 defenders and scored on a tough layup. Moment later, he drained another 3. Wow.
  
• The second team of the Heat led by Beasley did ok on offense, but was helpless in defense failing to make any stops.
  
• Starters checking back in with 6 min to go.
  
• The Lakers were leading by a comfortable 6-8 pts but then Heat made a few stops, Mario Chalmers hitting a 3 and 2 FTs, and then the Lakers made some slow defense rotation which resulted in Marion made a wide open dunk to end the 1H.
  
• After the end of Q2, the game is tied at 46-46.
  

Intermission

• I’m not impressed by the Lakers. Yes, Kobe is the same old Kobe. He had 17 pts and 3 ast in 1H. But the team didn’t have good ball movement. And they turned the ball over (12 TOs in 1H). On defense, they failed to stop Wade and at the same time allowed Chalmers to have open looks from the arc. Anyway, they didn’t look like the best team in the league to me. Bynum completely disappeared in 1H. zero point, 2 reb, 1 ast and 2 TO.
  

Third Quarter

• Bynum finally scored his first goal. Drew foul, but did not make the FT.
  
• Another brilliant driving layup by Wade. This guy is really impressive. I think Kobe is going to do something to counter that soon.
  
• A great steal by Wade off Luke Walton, then he made the break-away dunk and fell to the floor. No foul called. Wade was furious and complaining, but I don’t think there is contact there. He just flopped.
  
• Game was tight as the Lakers did not play that well. Kobe dominated the ball too much. Don’t know why he always takes tough shots. Play some teamwork, man!
  
• Also, I don’t know why Phil Jackson didn’t take the clear size advantage and call for more low post plays. Obviously there’s no chance for the Heat to defend both Gasol and Bynum, right?
  
• Another back door pass to Marion for an easy layup. Bynum was called for his 4th foul. He has to sit again. Heat up by 3, 62-59.
  
• See? Another tough shot in the paint by Kobe. Yes, he made it. 62-61
  
• Another wide open mid J by Haslem, 65-61 Heat with 3 min to go in Q3. Phil Jackson has had enough and called a timeout.
  
• The Lakers didn’t play better after the timeout. They relied too much on individual plays, mainly by Kobe and Gasol. While Kobe forced tough shots, his teammates didn’t have the patience to pass the ball around, usually opted for shooting the ball after 1 or 2 passes, and they usually missed.
  
• On the other hand, the Lakers continued to let the Heat guards getting open looks. Just now, backup PG Daequan Cook made a couple of 3s and the Heat are now leading 72-63. 1 mins to go in 3Q.
  
• Oops, Marion is down, grabbing the back of his head. Obviously his head hit teammate Joel Anthony on their way down in a hustle defense play. Hope he’s fine.
  
• Oh, it’s clearly Wade’s night. Last minutes of Q3, Ariza almost stole the ball from Wade, but Wade was able to recover the ball and threw a “hail Mary” from 30 ft as the buzzer sounds. And the shot went it!
  
• Heat led by 75-63 after Q3.

Fourth Quarter

• The Heat actually played some very good defense, forcing the Lakers to commit an unusually huge number of TOs.
  
• OK, the Lakers fought back. A 7-0 run led by Vujacic (who scored 5 pts) and the lead is trimmed to 75-70. Without Kobe, no less.
  
• 5.15 to go. Kobe and Fisher is now checking back in.
  
• This is Kobe’s sequence: a dunk, a good defense on Wade to force a backcourt violation, a missed long J, after a basket by Wade, Kobe then forced a drive to the paint, almost lost the ball, and threw it to Bynum, who had no choice but throw up a missed shot as the shot clock expires. Perfect.
  
• Wo, Wade had a driving layup, and then a running J, as the Heat’s lead extended to 88-82 with 1.17 to go.
  
• Final sequence:
  
• Kobe made a left spin and scored a fadaway jumper over 2 defenders to pull within 86-88 with 41 sec to go.
  
• The Heat came out empty on the next possession.
  
• 20 sec left, Lakers possession. Kobe drove the lane, dished to Lamar Odom, whose running J was blocked by Joey Anthony. Odom got the ball back, threw up another shot, blocked again by Wade. Gasol got the offensive rebound but the ball was once again knocked out of bound by Wade. Superb defense!
  
• After each of Gasol and Wade making only 1 FT, the Heat maintained a 89-87 lead with 5 sec left. Lakers possession. Kobe started at half court, drove across the FT line with a back-the-back dribble, elevated and fired a fadaway over the long hand of Marion. The shot look good in the air, and ball went in, then out as the clock expire.
  
• Final score: 89-87 Heat.
  

BEAT L.A.!

• It’s really a duel between Wade (35 pts) and Kobe (28 pts). When Kobe scored many tough shots – in the traffic, with hands on his face – Wade would answer back with a tough shot of his own, or a long range J. Actually I don’t know whether it’s Kobe answering Wade, or Wade answering Kobe.
  
• The Lakers clearly are not at their best. Defense is the Lakers main problem, but then their offense is not smooth and does not have any chemistry. They turned the ball over too much. Kobe played selfishly this game, which is always not the good sign. I think Gasol and Bynum are under-utilized.
  
• On the other hand, for the Heat, it’s basically a Wade show tonight. The reason why I do not complain about the selfishness of Wade is that he was not forcing his way, instead he just took what the Lakers’ defense gave him. Moreover, the Heat need him to score 35 pts more than the Lakers need Kobe to score 28 pts. And the Heat overall played better defense than the Lakers.

New Jersey Nets @ Chicago Bulls, Sat, Dec 13, 2008

Scouting report: New Jersey Nets

Starters

• Devin Harris (22 pts, 7 ast) is the real deal. He has tremendously quick first step, and the ability to split double team. He’s unstoppable when driving to the rim, finishing with both hands, drawing fouls or making some nice drive-and-dishes. He’s also excellent in initiating fast breaks. Rose had absolutely no clue in stopping him. The only weakness of his game is his streaky jumpers. Once he can get more consistent with his outside shots, he will easily become one of the best PGs in the league.
  


• Vince Carter (39 pts, 14-14 FT, 6 reb) scored in various ways, posting up, driving layups, 3-pters, drawing fouls, you name it. The best thing is, he was not hogging the ball. In the past, after receiving the ball, he would hold on with the ball, stare at the opponent, fake once, twice and thrice, hold on again, before launching a fade away long J (and miss). Nowadays Vince Carter is more quick on decision. He will either pass or make a move before the opponent is set up. More surprise is that that he has become a more willing passer, making a few nice drive-n-dish.
  


• Bob Simmons (12 pts, 5-11 FG) is a very serviceable SF, hitting several mid range J.
  


• Yi (2 pts, 9 reb) looks ok, though his shots are off (1-8 FG, 0-4 3PT). At least he’s not as lost as last season. Maybe he’s having some good Chinese food in New Jersey? By no mean he’s a star, but he is an acceptable role player who can score on post up and 3s and rebound. He’s not an athletic swingman, or a bulky banger, but at least he doesn’t make his team worse.
  


• Brook Lopez (17 pts, 7 reb, 3 blk) is no white stiff. He’s tough and solid. He runs the floor well and set some solid picks. His post up move is a bit stiff and robot-like, but he did manage to score a few post up baskets. OK, he scored over Aaron Gray and Drew Gooden. Not exactly elite defenders. Lopez’s defense, however, is as bad as any rookie.
  


• Their starters played some ok defense protecting the paint, they were able to prevent Derrick Rose from driving the lane and they challenged all the shots in the paint. But their perimeter defense is another story. The defense rotation is just slow on the perimeter. Players like Vince and Harris are just half hearted when playing defense, respeatedly allowing the Bulls to have wide open shots. The Bulls scored mainly on Js beyond 18 ft. The Nets were also lousy in transition defense, as the Bulls often scored fast break points off a long miss by the Nets.
  

Bench

• The Nets’ second unit is flat out lousy. Very limited offense skills other than Keyon Dooling hitting some open Js. On one possession in 2Q, they failed to put the ball into the basket after 3 consecutive put back attempts. Their defense was absolutely atrocious, allowing the Bulls to score off the picks, back doors and was just helpless in defending fast breaks. The Bulls were able to turn an 8-pt deficit into a 2-point lead.
  

Clutch time performance

• This is where the Nets failed to show up. The Nets experienced some critical defense breakdown in Q4. Unfortunately, despite his early committment to teamwork, Vince Carter returned to his old selfish form with the game was on the line, as the Nets down by 96-99. Vince forced the drive to the rim, drew fouls, hit the FTs. Then when the Bulls scored an easy shot on the other end, the almighty self-absorbed Vince launched a deep, deep 3-pter, I’d say at least 25-ft, which was way off, and led to yet another Bulls’ fastbreak and a tough shot by Derrick Rose. That’s vintage Carter. What was he thinking? I think deep down, he’s watched too many Lakers’ videos. He thinks he’s as good as Kobe to launch such kind of desperate shots.
  


• Anyway, down by 98-103, after a timeout, Lawrence Frank drew a play for Harris to curl around Vince Carter’s pick and drove to the rim. Derrick Rose obviously was blocking Harris, but somehow the ref didn’t call a foul (home court advantage). Harris argued with the ref and was assessed with a T, and the Bulls make the T FT. 104-98 Bulls. Next possession, apparently still bothered by the non-call, Harris simply lost his concentration, mistakenly passed the ball to Tyrus Thomas under no pressure, and TT was fouled, made 2 FTs and the lead swelled to 106-98 with 37 sec left. Game over.

Verdict

• This team is young and talented. They have a franchise player, Devin Harris, to build upon. Overall, the Nets had extremely good ball movement, and they played unselfish basketball. Give credits to coach Lawrence Frank. They also got decent size in the frontcourt, therefore they have some good rebounding, esp. several valuable offensive rebounds.
  Also due to their youth and inexperience, they did an awful job at the clutch time. This is part of the learning and I believe Lawrence Frank should be able to improve that as the season goes on.
  


• While they may sneak into the playoffs this season thanks to the mighty performance of Devin Harris, they are by no means competitive enough to go past 1st round. They would need at least one more scorer, preferably a shooter, and 2-3 more quality backups before we can talk about them as a quality team. But so far, they have far exceeded the expectation this season.

Analyzing the Suns-Bobcats deal

The deal:

Pheonix acquired SG Jason Richardson, SF Jared Dudley and a 2010 second-round pick from Charlotte Bobcats, in exchange for PF Boris Diaw, SG Raja Bell and PG Sean Singletary.

My take:

For the Suns:

I have said all season long, that the Suns need more scoring, esp. on the perimeter. J-Rich just gives them what they need: a prolific scorer who can shoot the 3s and drive to the basket, not to mention that he can run with Nash in fast breaks too. J-Rich's scoring comes off a bit this year (just 18.7 PPG), but he’s obviously an upgrade over Raja Bell in offense. He’s hitting his career best 3P% this season, a whopping .458. His D is underrated. Remember him playing tough D against the Mavs in the Upset of the Century in 2007 Playoffs? I always like J-Rich, because he is a classy guy who plays hard. A huge plus for the Suns.

Trading away Diaw won’t hurt that much. Unlike under D’Antoni, Diaw didn’t play a pivotal role this season under Porter. Jared Dudley is a young and energetic back up to replace Diaw. So overall it’s a plus for the Suns.

For the Bobcats:

Really don’t know what MJ is thinking. J-Rich is the ONLY true scorer in their entire roster and they traded him away for two non-scorers. Gerald Wallace, their second leading scorer, is not exactly that type of player who can create his own shots. He relies more on team plays and ball movement. J-Rich’s departure will boost up his scoring but the team’s overall offense will be worse. D.J. Augustin can score but he’s just a rookie. Already dead last in scoring, the Bobcats will have extreme difficulty in scoring after the trade.

Diaw can replace the ineffective and immobile Sean May to start at PF right away. Sure they need frontcourt depth but Diaw is not at all a traditional big man. He’s more a finesse big man who is good at playing point forward, instead of the traditional big man who scores down low and bangs against opposing big men. He is agile and quick, and may take advantage of the opponent's slow bigs. However, the bigger question is, will Diaw’s unorthodox game fit Larry Brown’s “play it right” game? I seriously doubt it. Diaw is not at all a hard working type. Expect the Bobcats to fall in ranking. Well it might be a good thing, because they can get a high pick in 2009 draft. Well, maybe that's what they are planning for, you know, trying to get the consensus #1 pick, Oklahoma's sphomore PF Blak Griffin.

MJ the GM has done quite a questionable job over the years. You know, from drafting Adam Morrison over Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay etc in 2006, drafting D.J. Augustin over Brook Lopez when they were (and still are ) in need of big man in 2008, trading for Nazr Mohammad, etc.

Sometimes, a great player does not always translate to a great management. Look at Kevin McHale. Look at Isiah Thomas. Even though you are the greatest player of history.

Coach of the Year

After seeing consecutive coaches of the year getting sacked in the last 6 months (04-05 winner Mike D’Antoni, 05-06 winner Avery Johnson and 06-07 winner Sam Mitchell), I would say the Coach of the Year award is grossly overrated.

Let’s take a look at the winners of the COY since 1990:

1989-90 Pat Riley, LA Lakers (63-19) (Best Record: LA Lakers (63-19); Champion: Detroit Pistons (59-23))

1990-91 Don Chaney, Houston Rockets (52-30) (Best Record: Portland Trail Blazers (63-19); Champion: Chicago Bulls (61-21))

1991-92 Don Nelson, Golden State Warriors (55-27) (Best Record: Chicago Bulls (67-15); Champion: Chicago Bulls (67-15))

1992-93 Pat Riley, New York Knicks (60-22)* (Best Record: Phoenix Suns (62-20); Champion: Chicago Bulls (57-25))

1993-94 Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta Hawks (57-25)* (Best Record: Seattle Supersonics (63-19); Champion: Houston Rockets (58-24))

1994-95 Del Harris, LA Lakers (48-34) (Best Record: San Antonio Spurs (62-20); Champion: Houston Rockets (47-35 )

1995-96 Phil Jackson, Chicago Bulls (72-10)* (Best Record: Chicago Bulls (72-10); Champion: Chicago Bulls (72-10))

1996-97Pat RileyMiami Heat (61-21)*Chicago Bulls (69-13)Chicago Bulls (69-13)

1997-98 Larry Bird, Indiana Pacers (58-24) (Best Record: Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz (62-20); Champion: Chicago Bulls (62-20))

1998-99 Mike Dunleavy, Portland Trail Blazers (35-15)* (Best Record: San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz (37-13); Champion: San Antonio Spurs (37-13))

1999-00 Doc Rivers, Orlando Magic (41-41) (Best Record: LA Lakers (67-15); Champion: LA Lakers (67-15))

2000-01 Larry Brown, Philadelphia 76ers (56-26)* (Best Record: San Antonio Spurs (58-24); Champion: LA Lakers (56-26))

2001-02 Rick Carlisle, Detroit Pistons (50-32)* (Best Record: Sacramento Kings (61-21); Champion: LA Lakers (58-24))

2002-03 Greg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs (60-22)* (Best Record: San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks (60-22); Champion: San Antonio Spurs (60-22))

2003-04 Hubie Brown, Memphis Grizzlies (50-32) (Best Record: Indiana Pacers (61-21); Champion: Detroit Pistons (54-28))

2004-05 Mike D’Antoni, Phoenix Suns* (62-20) (Best Record: Phoenix Suns (62-20); Champion: San Antonio Spurs (59-23))

2005-06 Avery Johnson, Dallas Mavericks (60-22) (Best Record: Detroit Pistons (64-18); Champion: Miami Heat (52-30))

2006-07 Sam Mitchell, Toronto Raptors* (47-35) (Best Record: Dallas Mavericks (67-15); Champion: San Antonio Spurs (58-24))

2007-08 Byron Scott, New Orleans Hornets* (56-26) (Best Record: Boston Celtics (66-16); Champion: Boston Celtics (66-16))

*denote division champions

First, how can you explain Hall-of-Fame coaches Phil Jackson and Greg Popovich, who have won 13 rings combined, had won the COY award once each? And why on earth that Jerry Sloan has never won the award? (FYI, even legendary coach Red Auerbach, who has 9 rings, only won the COY once.)

Secondly, only two COYs, Phil Jackson of 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and Greg Popovich of 2002-03 San Antonio Spurs, won the championships (as well as the best record in the league) the same year they won the COYs. Two other COYs, Pat Riley of 1989-90 LA Lakers and Mike D’Antoni of 2004-05 Phoenix Suns, managed to finish with the best regular season records that season. To make things better, 12 of the total 19 COYs won their respective division titles though.

Pat Riley, Lenny Wilkens and Larry Brown are the other coaches who have won the championships, although not in the same year they were named COYs.

I will never understand why coaches with a team record of less than 50 wins (other than the shortened 1998-99 season) could win the COY award, including Del Harris (1995), Doc Rivers (2000) and, yes, Sam Mitchell (2007).

There are way too many ridiculous snubs, like:

Don Chaney (1991) and Don Nelson (1992) over Phil Jackson;

Pat Riley (1997) and Larry Bird (1998) over Phil Jackson and Jerry Sloan (1998 only);

Doc Rivers (2000) over Phil Jackson;

Rick Carlisle (2002) over Rick Adelman;

Hubie Brown (2004) over Phil Jackson or Larry Brown;

Sam Mitchell (2007) over Avery Johnson, who should have won the award in 2007 instead of 2006, snubbing Flip Saunders.

IMHO, no one other than Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley, Greg Popovich, Larry Brown and Mike D’Antoni should win the COY in the span from 1990 to 2008. Well, I can reluctantly include Avery Johnson (2007) and Doc Rivers (2008), but just for those two particular years.

Coach of the Year award is voted by media writers and broadcasters. These guys are all about hypes and stories, always look for overachievements, and some feel-good Cinderella stories, rather than judging the coaches’ ability and consistency. If I were to ask to vote, I will ask just one question: if I have a NBA team, which coach will I pick to lead the team? As simple as that.

On the other hand, most of the COYs did not have a smooth career after winning the award:

Don Nelson (1992 winner) left Golden State in 1995 after a feud with Chris Webber;
Del Harris (1995 winner) was let go after 12 games in 1998-99 season;
Doc Rivers won the award in 2000, but was fired four years later;
Rick Carlisle won the COY in 2002, but was fired in 2003;
Hubie Brown was not fired, but was forced to retire one year after he won the COY in 2004;
Mike D’Antoni (2005) was not awarded with a contract extension after 2007-08 season.

Avery Johnson (2006) and Sam Mitchell (2007) just added to this fired COY list.



You may say it has become a trend for the team to fire coaches more frequently, but you can’t deny the fact that the most successful coaches have never been fired, yet have won so few COY awards.

The bottom line is, I don’t think the COY award is a good representation of how good a coach is, and the COY winner are often overrated than well deserved, only it’s getting worse and worse.

Further reading:

FOX Sports: Coach of the Year winners often overrated - Charley Rosen

About the new Raptors coach

Name: Jay Triano

Born: September 21, 1958 (50 years old) in Tillsonburg, Ontario

College: Simon Fraser University, B. C., Canada

National team: Canada, 1978-1990, team captain from 1981 to 1988

Coaching experience: head coach of Simon Fraser University basketball team, head coach of Canadian national basketball team

History in Toronto: joined as assistant coach of Toronto Raptors in 2003, served under Lenny Wilkins, Kevin O'Neill and Sam Mitchell; coached one game on Feb 13, 2008 in place of Sam Mitchell. On Dec 3, 2008, Triano replaced Sam Mitchell as the head coach of the Raptors, making history as the first Canadian-born head coach in NBA.

It’s good to see one of my alumni from SFU to have such a success, but the photo below really concerns me:

NBA Finance 101

New York Knicks


(did you notice that two of the above players are traded while the other two are indefinitely inactive?)

From hoopshype.com, the Knicks total payroll this year is $98,997,575.

Right now, D’Antoni is using an 8-man rotation as follows:

Al Harrington ($9,226,250)
Quentin Richardson ($8,825,750)
Malik Rose ($7,647,500)
Tim Thomas ($6,049,400)
Chris Duhon ($5,585,000)
David Lee ($1,788,033)
Wilson Chandler ($1,173,480)
Anthony Roberson ($797,581)

Total salary for these players: $41,092,994. That’s roughly 41.5% of the team’s total salary.

The rest? The injured list includes:

Cuttino Mobley ($9,100,000)
Jared Jeffries ($6,049,400)
Danilo Gallinari ($2,873,520)
Nate Robinson ($2,020,178)

Total salary for these injured players: $20,043,098 or 20.3% of the total payroll. Cuttino Mobley is of particular concern, because it is reported that there is some problem with his heart, which means that he might not be able to play again. But then, if he is diagnosed as incapable of playing, at least his salary can be (largely) compensated by insurance.

The doghouse players:

Stephon Marbury ($21,937,500)
Eddy Curry ($9,723,983)
Jerome James ($6,200,000)

Total salary for doghouse players: $37,861,483 or 38.2% of the total payroll. These are really sunk costs. Nobody is willing to take them, not just because of their high salaries, but also because of their character issue and the length of their contracts. Eddy Curry’s contract won’t expire until 2011, while Jerome James is good till 2010.

Whether it is that only 41.5% of the payroll being productive, or the fact that 38.2% of the payroll flushed away to the sewage, one way or the other, the New York Knicks will forever be a text book example of one of most badly run sports teams in history.

Needless to say who is the one big architect of such a wreck:

Portland Blazers

Interestingly, the Portland Blazers, who are full of promises on court, do not play well financially. They have the fourth highest payroll at $81,544,774, behind only the Knicks, the Mavericks and the Cavaliers. If you look into their list, their three highest-paid players are:

Steve Francis ($17,180,000)
Raef LaFrentz ($12,722,500)
Darius Miles ($9,000,000)

with a combined payroll of $38,902,500. This is even more expensive than the Marbury-Curry-James trio. Worse, they account for 47.7% of the total payroll of the Blazers, much higher than that of the Marbury-Curry-James trio to the Knicks' total salary. At least Marbury, Curry and James are still on the roster, and the Knicks can still play any of them if they so want to (and, of course, only if Marbury wants to too). But for the Blazers, none of them are with the team now. They can’t play them. Basically, it’s more deadlier than dead.

On the bright side, the contracts of Francis and LaFrentz will expire after this season. Furthermore, Miles’ salary is covered by insurance, as his knee damage was diagnosed to be career ending.

So given the fact that the Blazers are having a better record and more promising young talents, you really can’t say they are on the same level of the Knicks in terms of awful management.

Observations after one month of action:

EAST

Atlantic:

The biggest news of course is the Knicks. Under D’Antoni, they started off great, with a record of 6-3 after 9 games (now 8-8), and people are prematurely talking about the playoffs (the record is misleading because the wins were over weak teams like Bobcats, Wizards, Grizzlies and the team-formerly-known-as-Sonics). Then they traded away their top two players, trash the coming two seasons to stay a chance to take LBJ and/or Wade, Bosh etc in 2010 sweepstake. That means sacrificing two seasons for an admission ticket to be a bidder. I’m not so sure it is the right thing to do, but seems like the New Yorkers fully embraced the trade and are seriously thinking of the welcoming party of LBJ. I just don’t get it. Luckily I don’t hold the Knicks’ season ticket.

The Sixers is the most disappointing team this season so far. This is the team that many “experts” tabbed to be one of the top Eastern teams. I think people were over optimistic about the coming of Elton Brand. The East is no longer weak nowadays. The Sixers have serious difficulty in scoring (second last in the East).

The Nets surprised everyone by staying at 2nd in the Division. Devin Harris has been a beast since his return from injury. Rookie center Brook Lopez has been sensational. Charlotte was supposed to pick him at #9 in the draft, but somehow they chose D.J. Augustin. Is MJ regretting now?

Central:

Bold prediction: barring any major injuries, the Cavs will win the division and LBJ will win the MVP award. They are 14-3 so far while they are second in point differential in the league (behind the Lakers). Interestingly, LBJ’s stats have gone down. Yes, the team is less reliant on him and they are now playing with confidence.

The Pistons made a bold move by trading away one of their best players, Billups, for Allen Iverson. The coming of A.I. has completely changed their game. Gone are their crispy passes and ball rotation. They are now relying more on iso plays. Will that make it better or worse? Well, Iverson have never had such a good supporting cast before, so I’d give them the benefit of the doubt for now. But at the end, what they are looking for is just salary cap release after this season.

I repeat, Derrick Rose is the future point guard of the league. I really can’t see his ceiling yet.

Southeast:

Atlanta started off the season a prefect 6-0 and eventually ended Nov with a more realistic 10-6 record. That’s still very impressive considering PF Josh Smith played just 4 games. The training camp with Bibby did help, but the stepping up of Marvin Williams is equally significant.

D-Wade has been playing like a MVP but the team is just mediocre. Yes, their rookies (Chalmers and Beasley) are talented, but they are just flat out undersized. Udonis Haslem at C and Beasley at PF? Geez. Haslem is just 6’9”, and he’s not at all bulky. Imagine him guarding Yao Ming, Shaq, DH-12 or even Kendrick Perkins. Yikes!

Wizards fired coach Eddie Jordan… hmm, well, nothing to add.

WEST
Northwest:

The Blazers have been the sweetheart of the league, and they shows that they are no fluke. They played 11 road games in Nov and still posted a 12-6 record, including wins over Spurs, Rockets, Magic, Hornets and Pistons. While Roy has been great, Oden’s production is gradually increasing as of late. I haven’t seen them play yet this year but looking forward to it.

The coming of Billups has really revived the Nuggets. They have found leadership and a floor general in Billups. They were 11-3 since his arrival. For sure it’s a good trade for them, but I’m not sure how far they could get, esp. if players with injury history, i.e. Nene and/or K-Mart, sit out a long stretch in the future.

The Jazz struggled due to the absence of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. Expect them to be strong again after thanksgiving.

Pacific:

The Lakers look invincible. They are leading the league in pt differential, a whopping +13.7. They have lost just once and don’t seem like they will lose another one in a near future. Like their last game against the Mavericks, down by 78-67 in Q3, they scored 17 unanswered points and turned the table over. By their second team, no less. Yes, they are THAT invincible.

The Suns do have a solid record of 11-7 for Nov. But they are no longer the elite team in the league. The revival of Shaq is for sure impressive, but if it is at the expense of a diminished output of Amare, or a disgruntled Amare, I’m not so sure it is the best way for the team to move forward. I mean, Stoudemire IS their franchise player in the future, right? If the team is not winning, why bother displeasing or discourage him?

The two teams that traded with the Knicks, Warriors and Clippers, didn't benefit much from the trade and they continue their losing, just like they usually do.

Southwest:

Finally, we see the Rockets rolling. Artest looks like to be the final piece of puzzle. Just imagine when Battier is back fully. However, I’m still not convinced that they could beat the Lakers. I think they need to have that edge or toughness in order to win it all. Yes, that should start from Yao.

The Hornets is somewhat disappointing. Hailed as the second best team in the West, they started off so-so and lost a few easy games, like the Bobcats and the Kings. CP3 is still an automatic 20-10 guy but it seems like they have cooled down after last year’s success. Tyson Chandler has just 8.2 PPG and 7.9 RPG, both lowest since coming to New Orleans.

Two ex-elite teams, Spurs and Mavericks, are likely to fight for the eight spot this season, sigh! And that includes two of my favorite players, Kidd and Duncan, sigh x 2!