NBA Miscellany -- Part II

NBA League Pass is the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season. College basketball is in the midst of its annual pre-conference play boringness, so I’ve spent a lot of time watching The Association lately.

If you're not familiar with how League Pass works: the games that aren’t nationally televised are carried by each team’s regional network; each team has the same announcers call each of its games – home or away. As a result, I’ve developed a rapport with some broadcast crews, and I’ve been forced to mute others.

It’s fun to pick up on funny/quirky/downright uncomfortable things said during these games. For instance, these dudes will comically call a player exclusively by his nickname for the entirety of the game. Here are my favorites thus far:

“Banger” – Aron Baynes – San Antonio Spurs/FSSW

Near the beginning of the season I was watching a Spurs game while I was preoccupied with something else. I didn’t even see Baynes enter the game, but heard Bill Land and Sean Elliot say “Banger” three or four times in as many possessions. I literally had no idea what the hell they were talking about, until I put two and two together. It was glorious. Unrelated note: these two are a Top 5 Homer Crew in the league (probably because they’re so spoiled by the Spurs). After the Spurs lost at home to Portland in triple OT last week, the gloom with which Land signed off the telecast was both hilarious and worrisome.

“Dragon” – Goran Dragic – Phoenix Suns/FSAZ

The best part about this one is Dragic always has the ball in his hands – leading to more and more exclamatory "Dragon" calls from Steve Albert.  Unlike Baynes, Dragic plays big minutes so if Albert exclusively called Dragic by his nickname it would be unbearably hammered into the ground. This crew is a hoot. 

“Flamethrower” – Ryan Anderson – New Orleans Pelicans/FSNO

This is my favorite. Sure, there are stretches when Anderson is unconscious from anywhere on the court, and at 6’10, that causes big problems for opposing defenses. But this guy is shooting 34% from 3, and has reached the 40% clip in only one season. It may be time for Joel Meyers and David Wesley to retire this nickname until further notice.  

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Now a few tidbits from the last couple days:

Spurs Gonna Spur

The Spurs continue to consistently generate the best half-court looks of any NBA team. In this first sequence, Marco Belinelli gets a back-screen from the Red Rocket, and cuts toward the rim. LaMarcus Aldridge, not wanting to leave Bonner (40% 3-pt. shooter) open from 3, fails to bump Belinelli on his cut. End result is a great look from one crafty foreigner to another for a lay-up. If you watch the video a few times, consider this: I have zero idea what in the world Chris Kaman is doing hugging Thiago Splitter 18 feet from the basket on the weak-side, but he is. 

Jrue "Insert Holiday Pun Here" Holiday

I've become a big fan of Jrue Holiday's floor game this year. Much like John Wall, Holiday has always been incredibly gifted but is just now harnessing that wealth of talent. Holiday is 5th in the NBA in AST/TO ratio among 30+ mpg players. He rarely seems to play at a pace that he's uncomfortable with -- an encouraging sign from a guy who has the ability to run with/stay in front of anybody if need be. 

Look at these two, late 4Q defensive possessions against the Thunder. Holiday did a terrific job staying in front of the weapon of mass destruction that is Russell Westbrook:

 

NBA Miscellany -- Part I

John Wall and Marcin Gortat – A Happy Marriage

Let me be clear: everyone in DC is drooling at Wall’s recent assistapalooza– he’s had double-digit assists in 8 of his last 9 games (and has reached 17 twice). But I am particularly drawn to Wall’s connection with Marcin Gortat. The large, tatted, Pole has scored via assist 108 times, and Wall accounts for 51 of them, per NBA.com.

Conventional basketball wisdom says, when defending in transition, to first get back to establish a paint presence before fanning out to the perimeter. But Wall loves to kick out to wide-open shooters in transition. I think that’s why Gorgui Dieng, Gortat’s defender, put himself in better position to contest an Otto Porter three, rather than stopping Gortat’s rim run. Wall looked off Dieng and delivered a lob that even the earth-bound Gortat could finish.

Gortat and the other Washington bigs set tons of down-screens for Bradley Beal, who only needs a slither of daylight to knock down a jumper. Dieng, again matched up on Gortat, relaxes when he assumes his man is simply setting a screen to free up Beal. Instead, Beal sets a back-pick for Gortat—now Dieng, asleep at the wheel, is grossly out of position. And Corey Brewer, guarding Beal, is equally baffled. The result: an easy two for the Wiz. Wall and company properly executed clever half-court offense from Randy Wittman and his staff.  

Beno Udrih and Andre Miller – Aging Like Fine Wine

Both guards are certainly past their prime, and each is seeing limited minutes on contenders. But occasionally, they can light a little twinkle in my eye.

Beno is long removed from his first few years in the league in San Antonio, but he still shows flashes of Spurs-like savvy in the half-court. Solid in pick and roll situations, Udrih can also hit pull-up jumpers with consistency. Not to mention this gem from last night:

Andre Miller is a better-known commodity, from my vantage point. He has been giving fellow guards the business from the post since 1999. His stats have never overwhelmed me, but I would defend Prof. Miller; he is a cerebral player who has maximized his physical gifts (which are relatively low). He’s the master of keeping his defender on his hip, Joe Ingles the victim in this instance a few nights ago:

Harrison Barnes

Despite starting in all 24 Warrior games, Barnes uses only 14% of Golden State’s possessions per Basketball Reference. That number isn’t too surprising given his high usage backcourt brethren, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Looking at Barnes’s numbers, I am a tad surprised; lower usage players generally are more efficient than are high usage players. I thought  he would be operating at a more efficient clip. That said, this guy can go get you a bucket. He’s probably the third or fourth option in crunch time, but if Curry or Thompson are forced into an unfavorable late-game scenario, I am confident Barnes could at least generate a decent look.

In the first of two end-of-quarter scores against Memphis two nights ago, Barnes beats Jon Leuer off the bounce, jump-stops and shows great footwork with the finish. Impressive finish over two dudes standing 6’10 and 7’0.

                                      

One possession later, Barnes beats the buzzer with a tough, leaning floater. Guards tend to struggle with that short mid-range shot in the 8-12 foot range. Barnes three-point shot is dangerous enough to force defenders to respect it, and he showed deft touch in each of the above instances.

What Is (Actually) Wrong with Michigan Basketball

Photo: Allison Farrand/UMHoops.com

Michigan’s loss to a conference-less NJIT on Saturday can no longer be written off as a statistical anomaly. Yes, that NJIT – the New Jersey Institute of Technology—is not exactly basketball lore. My beloved Wolverines followed Saturday’s putrid effort with a 45-42 home loss to a bitter in-state rival, Eastern Michigan. By bitter in-state rival I actually mean a non-conference doormat that hadn’t beaten Michigan in 17 years.

Michigan’s consecutive meltdowns are low-hanging fruit for college basketball beat writers. ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan posted an article last night in which he aimlessly wondered aloud what’s wrong with Michigan while failing to provide a definitive answer.

Eamonn: I’m here for you bro. Here’s my take:

In the macro-sense, Michigan’s struggles can largely be placed into two categories: youth/inexperience and (relatively) inefficient offensive production.

Let me start with the latter since it requires more explanation. John Beilein’s teams are not known for their defensive prowess – that is no secret. But average to below-average defense is passable when it’s accompanied by lethally efficient offense. Michigan had the most efficient offense in the country in each of the last two seasons, per kenpom (http://kenpom.com/). Watching Michigan’s offense from 2012-2014 was like watching poetry in motion  -- back cuts, screen slips, floor spacing, deadly shooting – it was basketball in its purest form. 

Spike Albrecht (left) and Zak Irvin as the buzzer sounded in Michigan's 45-42 loss to Eastern Michigan. Photo: Dustin Johnson/UMHoops.com

 What I witnessed in last night’s dumpster fire of a basketball game was a far cry from the brand of hoops with which I’ve become obsessed. Not surprisingly to me, Zak Irvin didn’t make a Stauskas-esque jump from year one to year two – and that’s okay because it’s implausible to again expect a low usage freshman morphing into conference MVP the following season. But Irvin is only of only 4 guys Beilein can trust out there; Spike Albrecht, Caris LeVert, and Derrick Walton Jr. being the others. Irvin is the only player on this roster with a true scorer’s DNA – but his current level won’t allow him to do so efficiently in the rugged Big 10.  Therein lies the problem.  

The youth/inexperience issue is equally worrisome. With the exception of Trey Burke, few freshman are immediately able to become key cogs in Michigan’s offensive attack because it takes considerable time to adapt to Beilein’s complex scheme. But I’m at least accustomed to seeing freshman contribute in some capacity – especially at the guard/wing position. Neither Aubrey Dawkins nor Muhammad Ali Abdur Rahkman has seen considerable minutes–- let alone in crunch time. The result is 38-40 minutes per game for LeVert, Irvin and Walton barring foul trouble. I’ve been proud of the way the young bigs, Ricky Doyle and Mark Donnal, have battled, but they miss block-outs and are late on defensive rotations too often. The drop-off of production at the wing spots is equally profound in the frontcourt; Jordan Morgan made so many winning plays.

This is not a coaching issue – Beilein is a top 5 coach in America; he always always always maximizes talent. This is not a locker-room issue – this team doesn’t have any cancerous personalities and the team hierarchy, led by LeVert and Albrecht’s captainship, is well defined. Maybe Team 99 is starting to accept the unfortunate truth: the leftovers from teams with four 1^st round picks in 2 years plus 5 freshman, none of whom are ready to contribute, will likely result in an NIT bid. But I’m certainly not ready to give up hope yet.