General NBA insight – Page 129 – NBA Blog

Suns defense sinking to bottom of NBA

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports:

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (2nd-R) drives to the basket as Phoenix Suns' Hedo Turkoglu (2nd-L) defends, during their NBA basketball game in Miami, Florida November 17, 2010. REUTERS/Joe Skipper (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

The addition of forward Hedo Turkoglu and other individuals’ drop-offs have turned the Suns into arguably the NBA’s worst defense. They entered Sunday as the second-worst scoring defense (109.0) to Minnesota and were tied with Sacramento for the worst defensive field-goal percentage (48.9).

The Suns are 9-19 when guard Steve Nash does not play, and he is expected to miss a third consecutive game Monday at Houston because of a groin strain. Nash is no defensive savior, but he could at least lead by example with effort.

Gentry told the team that Grant Hill gave the necessary effort Saturday but had few followers. Charlotte scored 30 more points than its season average after it had played Friday at Miami.

“We better rethink who we are, and we better start playing hard, and we better start competing,” Gentry said.

The Suns have faced 10 playoff teams in 13 games and are playing their seventh game in the past 11 days Monday.

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Red-hot Spurs are 11-1

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reports (via blog):

The Spurs enter tonight’s game against Orlando riding a 10-game winning streak, having not lost since Oct. 30 against New Orleans — a team that by night’s end Sunday had matched them at 11-1.

It is the Spurs’ longest winning streak since taking 11 straight from Feb. 11-March 6, 2008, so long ago that only four members of this year’s team were around to experience it.

The comparison from early last season is like night to day. At this time a year ago, the Spurs were 6-6 and had required a two-game winning streak just to get to .500.

At the time, the Spurs were integrating seven new roster pieces, notably Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess. They also had a few proven holdovers, such as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, physically unable to pick up the slack while everyone else got on the same page.

In retrospect, it was a perfect storm for a disappointing start.

“It is time-consuming, and lot of patience is involved,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich reflected. “It’s a lot of concentration on the part of the players to try and pick things up quickly. It’s a communication-teaching situation that doesn’t happen right off the bat.”

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LeBron, Wade, Heat offense is all jump-shots

John Schuhmann of NBA.com reports:

James Jones has attempted 72 shots this season, and not one has come from within 15 feet of the basket. No dunks, no layups, no runners and no floaters. It’s been strictly jumpers for Jones thus far.

Jones is a specialist, of course. As part of the Miami Heat’s supporting cast, it’s his job to complement the Superfriends by spreading the floor and knocking down open shots. To date, Jones has done that job effectively, shooting 48 percent from 3-point range. But Jones’ paint allergy is representative of the Heat as a whole.

Miami ranks last in the league in both points in the paint per game (33.6) and percentage of points scored in the paint (32.2). Points in the paint have been tracked since 2000 and in the 11 seasons since, only one team — the 2002-03 Knicks (30.9 percent) — has scored a lower percentage of its points in the paint than the Heat have thus far.

Miami is also second (behind only Washington) in mid-range percentage (25.4). (Mid-range percentage is the percentage of a team’s points that aren’t scored in the paint, at the free throw line or from 3-point range.)

League-wide, mid-range shots are the most inefficient shots on the floor.

Dorell Wright expands his offensive game

John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Aside from Joe Lacob, Peter Guber and David Lee, Wright has been the most influential Warriors newcomer. The small forward, who arrived as a free agent, has started all 11 games and is one of the reasons the Warriors are 7-4. Wright, who turns 25 in December, is averaging 15 points in 38 minutes after averaging 6.5 in 19.5 over six seasons in Miami.

Known previously as a defensive-minded player, Wright has proven to be far more while complementing Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry and providing help under the boards.

In his first eight games, he sunk more than half his three-pointers. Twice, he topped 20 points – after reaching 20 just three previous times in his career – and he makes more than 80 percent of his free throws. Plus, he averages 5.4 rebounds, nearly two more than his career average.

“It’s been good,” Wright said. “Finally, I get a chance to do everything, not just be one-dimensional anymore. I’m able to handle the ball, take open shots, get guys involved – instead of every time I get the ball on the rebound, hold up and look for the point guard as if I can’t dribble. It’s good to get an opportunity, and I’m taking advantage of it.”

Danilo Gallinari declares himself a non-superstar

New York Knicks forward Danilo Gallinaro last season, and for bits of this short season, has shown off incredible outside shooting ability. The rest of his game is still in development, however.

Still, when hot, he can toss in 25 pretty easily if in rhythm and fed the ball while in proper outside position.

But he seems to want to make sure everyone knows that he’s not someone who is going to take over the league anytime soon.

Howard Beck of the New York Times reports:

After six breakthrough quarters, in which he looked very much like a potential star, the 22-year-old Gallinari swiftly punctured the notion of his stardom.

“I know you expect a lot from me, and people expect a lot from me,” Gallinari said late Wednesday night, “but I’m not a superstar, I’m not an All-Star, I’m not LeBron, I’m not those great players. I’m an important player of the Knicks. And that’s what I’m trying to do, to help the team every time. Sometimes, can be these type of games, sometimes not. But as long as we win, it’s all good.”

It was a surprising response, and entirely unsolicited. Gallinari had just posted consecutive 20-point games for the first time this season — 21 in Denver and a season-high 27 in Sacramento — and was simply asked if he needed a performance like this for his confidence.

He could have nodded and offered perfunctory agreement. Instead, he took the question as an opportunity to push back against the outsize expectations that have been thrust upon him since June 2008. Coach Mike D’Antoni once called Gallinari the best shooter he had ever seen. Amar’e Stoudemire has compared Gallinari to Dirk Nowitzki, a perennial All-Star. Nowitzki himself made the comparison last spring, and said that Gallinari was better than he was at the same age.

Remember, English is not Gallinari’s first language. He’s good at it, but still, best not to take things too literally. He’s basically just saying what people know, that he isn’t the next LeBron or Kobe. But hopefully it’s OK for Knick fans to still hope that over the next year or two he emerges into an occasional Dirk Nowitzki.

Joey Graham can fly planes

Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reports:

Joey Graham ignored his father’s advice and flew a date to the restaurant while a student at Oklahoma State. There wasn’t a second date.

”My father told me not to take dates because of what it could do,” Graham said. ”The sun was setting, it was a romantic little thing. What can you say? She was hooked. . . . I couldn’t do it anymore. I saw what that one did and I couldn’t have that on my hands.”

Graham is not the typical NBA player. He graduated from Oklahoma State with a degree in aviation management. He is a licensed pilot and a trained chef, he can play the saxophone, drums and piano and he even sings a little.

”There’s not too many things I can’t do,” Graham said. ”I was blessed with a great father and great mother. My father tried to make us as versatile and well-rounded as possible.”

Early in season, Heat lack rebounding

Tom Haberstroh of ESPN reports:

Along with their propensity to turn the ball over, rebounding has been a documented chink in the armor for the Heat. Currently, the team’s 23.0 offensive rebounding rate places them third to last in the NBA. It’s unfair to knock 7-foot-3 Zydrunas Ilgauskas for not collecting offensive boards, considering he’s typically roaming the perimeter for pick-and-pops. But Joel Anthony’s a different story. The 6-foot-9 center has been a below-average offensive rebounder this season, collecting 8.6 percent of available Heat missed shots. This, despite being firmly planted around the basket in offensive sets.

For all the energy Anthony brings, his hyperactivity doesn’t translate to beating others to the live ball. On the defensive end, the UNLV product is too busy fly-swatting others shots, rather than preventing the opposition from acquiring second-chance points. In fact, the Heat’s defensive rebounding rate soars from 61.5 percent while Anthony’s on the floor to 70.9 percent after he exits the game.

Amare stoudemire wants urgency from Knicks

The New York Knicks are struggling. And while Amar’e Stoudemire is playing fairly well, he hasn’t been at at the top of his game, and his teammates aren’t providing much support.

Although the final score in Sunday’s Knicks loss at home to the Houston Rockets was a close-sounding 104-96, the visitors steadily pulled away in the second half and weren’t threatened.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

The Knicks shockingly were blown out by the Rockets, 104-96, last night to drop their fifth straight game to fall to 3-7 at the boo-filled Garden, with the West Coast beckoning and Stoudemire finally going off on a rant on his teammates.

Amar’e, you’re not in Phoenix anymore.

“I don’t understand why we’re not playing with the urgency,” Stoudemire said. “I’m not used to that. We’re not playing like we’re on a four-game losing streak, now five. It almost seems as if it doesn’t matter.” …

“I’m talking to them constantly,” Stoudemire said. “Maybe I’m talking too much. I’m not accustomed to it. We have to do a much better job out there. It’s not fun. I know we are a young team, but we can’t keep doing the exact same thing.”

The Knicks now hit the road, beginning with the Denver Nuggets. Sounds like another loss for New York.

Udonis Haslem adjusting to Heat bench role

The Miami Heat are still adjusting to each other, and the process will continue for much of the season.

One of the most important pieces of the supporting cast is veteran forward Udonis Haslem, who is learning to contribute in big ways coming off the bench.

Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald reports:

Haslem’s role off the bench has expanded gradually over the past six games. Beginning with his 24-minute contribution against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 2, Haslem’s minutes have increased steadily in each game. On Saturday, he played 37 minutes in the Heat’s 109-100 victory against the Toronto Raptors. Only starter LeBron James (40 minutes) logged more time on the court…

For now, Haslem will continue to provide a spark off the bench. Officially, Haslem is Bosh’s backup at the power forward position, but many times through the first 10 games of the season both Haslem and Bosh have been on the court together late in games.

“I like having Udonis in the game but right now I don’t plan on starting him,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I don’t plan on starting Chris at the center. I like having a veteran warrior who knows our system, who knows what’s important to us coming off the bench.”

Said Haslem: “I feel like when I come in, I think I got to get more done faster, instead of just coasting into the game. Coming off the bench, it’s just full speed ahead automatically because you don’t know how many minutes you’re going to get or what’s the situation. When I come in the game, I’m real aggressive. I’m attacking the boards.”

The Heat have started the season exactly how I thought they would. They’re beating the bad teams, and losing to the really good ones. It’s still super-early. Keep watching the development.

Connections between Rockets and Pacers

Connections between Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers:

Houston forward Jared Jeffries averaged 14.4 points and 7.2 rebounds over 70 games in two seasons at Indiana University.

Rockets guard/forward Courtney Lee was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Houston center/forward Brad Miller was a collegiate standout at Purdue and played over the course of two seasons with the Pacers (2001-03).

Indiana guard T.J. Ford attended Willowridge High School in Houston prior to his standout career at the University of Texas.

Pacers forward James Posey played in 58 games with 47 starts in his lone season with the Rockets (2002-03).