Pelicans VS Grizzlies: Davis Drops The Ball

 
After the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, Anthony Davis was frustrated. Mainly at his teammates. Davis told reporters: "We had too many mental breakdowns," Davis said. "We're not talking out there and so, therefore, we have mental breakdowns that gave them easy layups at the basket and open shots." Davis ended by saying, "It's definitely frustrating. We can't get a win, it's frustrating, Whatever we need to do, we need to do it fast."

"Whatever we need to do, we need to do it fast."

Well, Davis called out his teammates and they responded, the very next game. They played a huge role in bringing the game into overtime where they'd eventually lose. Anthony Davis though? He was non-existent. After criticizing his teammates for poor play, he came out the next game completely dropping the ball. His teammates did their part, but he clearly didn't do his. He was 3-13 on the night. He had 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 5 turnovers! You can see Davis's shot chart below.

Anthony Davis - Shot Chart- www.nba.com/stats

 As you can see, Anthony Davis didn't play too well. He only took 4 of his 13 sots in the paint. Only 4! He was settling for far too many jumpshots and when you add the 5 turnovers in there, it just makes matters worse. Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies made it tough on him, real tough. We've seen them do it to Karl-Anthony Towns twice this season, and now they've done it to Davis.

Defensively, Davis wasn't that great. He wasn't paying that much attention. He had the 3rd worst defensive rating on his team. His teammates were much more active. In overtime is where it fell apart though. Davis clearly wasn't engaged defensively and wasn't trying whatsoever. One possession in OT he left Marc Gasol wide open for a 3 pointer, and gave no effort defensively. This would ultimately lead to the loss in OT. While Davis was clearly a problem, the Pelicans refused to sub him out in OT.

Davis dropped the ball for his team. They did everything he wanted them to do, and he didn't show up. He had 1 point in overtime. Davis didn't come to play. The Grizzlies really got to him.

Now, on to the section where I talk about how much I love the Memphis Grizzlies this season. David Fizdale is amazing. The Grizzlies couldn't have hired a better head coach (other than re-hiring Dave Joerger). He's getting his team to play amazing defense. Not only that, but he's made almost every player on that team a 3-point threat. They are now so tough to guard. Take the Grit and Grind, and give them a 3-point shot, that's what you got.

There are 3 main things in basketball you have to pay attention to. Offense, Defense, and rebounding. While the Grizzlies didn't play great offensively, they did sure did play great in the other categories. The Grizzlies had 52 rebounds on the night.

Defensively, this team was amazing. The team had 12 steals on the night. JaMychal Green had 4 blocks on the night. They were everywhere and they were making Davis's life tough. He wasn't allowed to get a touch in the paint, and that's how they played him all night. This Grizzlies team drew 4 charges in the game. 4 CHARGES! Do you know how tough it is to draw a charge in the NBA? It's tough! And they drew 4! The Memphis Grizzlies won this game by sheer hustle and amazing defense. I am amazed at how great this team played defensively in this game.

Hats off to the Memphis Grizzlies. They won that game, and they clearly didn't want to lose. However, I'm very disappointed in Davis. His teammates were amazing, but he was a -23 in the game. That was worse than any of his teammates. You can't criticize your teammates and then go out and do the things you criticized them on. Hopefully Davis learned from this and can get back to the level he was playing at.

Will Coach Popovich be Able to Make a Player out of Jimmer Fredette?

"Jimmer Fredette Kings" by Mike - Flickr: (2013-12-21) Kings at Magic 33. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Jimmer Fredette is going into his sixth NBA season with the San Antonio Spurs. In the 2011 draft, he went 10th and was picked by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was later traded to the Sacramento Kings. His rookie season was an okay season with the Sacramento Kings. He averaged a good 7.6 PPG, 1.8 APG, and shot 36.1% from the 3 point line. While Fredette looked like he was on track, his second season was about the same as the first. Jimmer shot about 41% from the 3 point line in his second season, while shooting over 150 three pointers. Jimmer still only averaged about 7 PPG though. His 3rd season with the Kings, he only averaged 5.9 PPG. He did however shoot 49.3% from the 3 point line but he only shot 73 threes. While his offense wasn't improving, his defensive rating was an average of 108.25 out of those three seasons! After the Kings saw no improvement in Jimmer's offense and seeing that he couldn't play defense, they traded him.

Jimmer was traded to the Bulls where he played only 8 games. Tom Thibodeau, the head coach of the Bulls at the time, was a defensive coach and couldn't work with Fredette. Jimmer averaged only 4 PPG and shot only 36% with the Bulls.

The Pelicans decided to give Jimmer a chance, signing him to a 1 year deal. Jimmer had his worst season yet. With the Pelicans, he averaged 3.6 PPG, 1.2 APG, and only shot 18% from the 3 point line! Even though he shot horrible, he did however, improve his defense a little bit. It wasn't much, and it still wasn't good, but he did lower it to 104.9. The Pelicans saw that they didn't want Fredette and didn't bother to sign him.

"Popovich cross armed - Cropped-2" by Popovich_cross_armed_-_Cropped.JPG: Zereshk derivative work: Edgars2007 (talk) - This file was derived from: Popovich cross armed - Cropped.JPG: . Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Jimmer was signed to a 1-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs this summer. The question for everyone is will Coach Gregg Popovich be able to get Jimmer to become a better player. Jimmer has not been able to improve and people are hoping that he will be able to get better with the Spurs this season. The only problem facing Jimmer, is that 3 people from the Spurs are going to get cut. Jimmer having experience, could be able to make the team, but it will be tough. He is going to have to play extra hard if he is going to be able to make it.

Even if Jimmer makes the team, he won't get much time and he might not even play at all. Take a look at the bench depth at the guard positions.

PG- Tony Parker (starter), Patty Mills (bench)
SG- Danny Green (starter), Manu Ginobili (bench), Ray McCollum (Res.), Jonathan Simmons (Res.)

As you can see, with 7 guards on the team, Jimmer might not get any playing time at all.

Coach Popovich might be able to make Fredette a team player. If he can do that, Jimmer would have a spot in the NBA as a great bench player of even a starter. Fredette has to realize though that this could very well be his last chance in the NBA. Whether the Spurs play him, or send him to the D-league, he has to play his best. Coach Popovich has to help him and show him his defensive tips. And with last year's defensive player of the year, Kawhi Leonard, he might be able to really help Fredette with defense. With the Spurs being a team that gets everyone involved in their offense, this would be a great place for Jimmer to start over at. That is, if he can make the team.

Playoffs Day 3

Bucks VS Bulls

Bulls lead series 2-0


Warriors VS Pelicans

Warriors lead series 2-0


Games on April 21:

• Cavaliers VS Celtics (Game 2)
• Raptors VS Wizards (Game 2)
• Rockets VS Mavericks (Game 2)

Warriors VS Pelicans (game 2)

Final Score: Warriors win 97-87



Warriors lead series 2-0

Great game with a great comeback from the Warriors. This was a game where great shots were made and great offense was executed. Let's take a look at the Warriors to start.

The Warriors were great. They struggled in the first half but eventually caught up and won the game. It all came down to the 4th where the Pelicans were outscored 26-16. A great player on the floor for this Warriors team is Draymond Green. He had 1 Block and 3 steals to go along with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The best thing about Green was his +/-. His plus minus was a total of 24. He lead the team in that stat. The Splash Brothers just need to keep doing their thing. If they can keep Draymond Green playing great, this team is pretty much assured to move on.

The Pelicans did great and then lost it. I just have to say, Monty Williams is stupid. He came out and asked for the Warriors crowd to quiet down. Of course the Warriors crowd did the opposite, they got louder. Let's take a look at Anthony Davis. He had 2 blocks and 2 steals. That's okay, but he is having trouble defending because the Warriors are a perimeter team. I honestly think that Davis needs to start at center and have Asik back him up. Start Anderson or Cunningham. They are more apt to defend against a perimeter team. It's going to be tough. Hopefully they can pull off a win. Can they? What do you guys think? Will this series be a sweep for the Warriors? Comment below. 

Playoffs Day 1

April 18th

Raptors vs Wizards:Wizards 1-0



Warriors VS Pelicans: Warriors 1-0



Bulls VS Bucks: Bulls 1-0



Rockets VS Mavericks: Rockets 1-0




Games on April 19th:

• Cavs VS Celtics
• Hawks VS Nets
• Grizzlies VS Trailblazers
• Clippers VS Spurs

Warriors VS Pelicans (game 1)

Final score: Warriors win 106-99



Warriors lead 1-0

The Warriors were harsh on this Pelicans team. They showed no mercy. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry had a combined total of 55 points. If the Pelicans are to win even one game, they have to force Klay and Curry to pass the ball to other teammates. The other thing the Pelicans need to do is protect the paint. They were so focused on Curry and Klay, they didn't notice other players cutting, leaving the paint unprotected.

It seems like Asik and Davis can't keep up in trasition and they just need to ignore trying to get second chance points and get back on defense. Those two need be the line of defense for transition. Cunningham and Pondexter can't even try to grab rebounds. They need to get back as soon as their team shoots.

Anthony Davis had a great night with 35 points but he needs other help if they are to win a game. You can't have two of your starters combining for 3 points. The Warriors are going to make Davis pass at some point, and the Pelicans need to know how to respond to that.

I would like to see more of Livingston. He was great last year with the Nets in the playoffs. I think the Warriors should play him more in this series before they play against more tough teams to get him going. He only played about 13 minutes in this game.

Well, I would like to see the Pelicans come out with a win in the series. They obviously won't win the series (however, the Pelicans have proved me wrong before.)

Playoff Outlook 2015 (first round edition)

In this post I will explain the playoffs and the outcomes of it. There are many possible outcomes and I will try to describe them all.

It came to my attention that I should write this post when my friends and I made some NBA Playoff brackets. We gave one to our Spanish teacher. She has no knowledge of the NBA, whatsoever (all though she knows a lot about the 90s in the NBA). She asked me to make a post for people like her that don't have much knowledge of present day basketball and how to fill out her bracket. I told her I will, and look where I am now, typing this post for her, so I'm dedicating this post to my Spanish teacher.

Well anyway, lets get started.

East: Round One

Hawks vs Nets: I think this one is pretty obvious. The Nets are 0-4 vs the Hawks. Now your all like, but the Hawks havn't been that good lately. Yeah, okay, but the Nets played them twice in the last two weeks. I think the Hawks have this one.
Winner: Hawks

Cavs vs Celtics: Yes, okay, the Celtics have won against the Cavs twice in the last 2 weeks, but the Cavs sat their main players out. I think that the Cavs did that on purpose and wanted to play the Celtics. C'mon, this team has no star player.
Winner: Cavaliers

Toronto vs Wizards: I honestly hope that the Wizards suprise me. They are 0-3 against the Wizards this season. The Wizards have been horrible lately but they tend to have a playoff mode. Also, Toronto has had troubles in the playoffs before. Last year, they lost to the Nets as the Nets had a spoiler. Yeah, I called it last year. No one believed me that the Nets would beat the Raptors. In conclusion though, I think that Toronto will win just because they don't want to be spoiled again.
Winner: Toronto

Bulls vs Bucks: Wow, this is another obvious one to me. This was another team I called out to loose last year and nobody believed me. This team probably was upset about the Wizards last year and they probably want to win this year. They lead against the Bucks 3-1 this season and this is a Bucks team that has many two-year guys that have no playoff expirences. I think that the Bulls will win this one.
Winner: Bulls

West: Round One

Warriors vs Pelicans: This is an easy one. Draymond Green will do a great job on Davis, Stephen Curry will be boss, and Warriors will win. Anyone disagree, no? Fine, lets move on.
Winner: Warriors

Rockets vs Mavericks: Yes I know Rockets lead 3-1, but I thought this team would be a finals team at the beginning of the season. Obviously that view has changed, but they still have a great team. I think this game will come down to game 7 and James Harden will clutch it and will the whole thing. That's just James Harden.
Winner: Rockets

Portland vs Memphis: The whole season, Memphis has won vs the Blazers. It now does not help the Blazers that Batum and Matthews are out. Also, Aldridge has played half the season with a hand injury and Afflalo just went down. It doesn't look like Memphis has much of a challenge in the first round.
Winner: Memphis

Clippers vs Spurs: The season series is tied between these teams. It really comes down to who has more Playoff experience. I want to say that Chris Paul will carry his team, but I don't buy it one second. This team went on a 10 game win streak at the end of the season. They are still that same team from last year. It will probably come down to a game 6 or 7 and I think that the Spurs will win.
Winner: Spurs

Again, I'm dedicating this post to my Spanish teacher. Gracias, for telling me to do this post. And for teaching me how to command people to do things in Spanish. It doesn't really do much though. People just look at me and are all like "What?". And I just yell at them "Lavalos!" Still, I might go to Mexico or Spain one day. Then I might be able to command someone to wash the dishes. Thank you.

Why are the Pelicans not in the playoffs

The Pelicans have one of the most talented teams in the NBA. They have all-star Anthony Davis, Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, Jrue Holiday, and Omir Asik. That is a great starting five, but they are not in the playoff picture. Why? First off, injuries. This team has been hit hard with injuries. Anthony Davis has been out for about half the season. Jrue Holiday has also had injuries. Those are just the main ones. This team is great with their play running. However, if you are going to win games people have to hit shots. Tyreke Evans is a player who has failed to hit shots when their main players have been out with injury. Of of the main reasons though, is that they are in the western conference. If they were in the east, they would be in the 6th seed, not to mention they would have more games against teams like the 76ers and the Knicks. That's tough luck though, because your in the West and there is nothing you can do about that. This team has a record of 39-34 so they should be a playoff team. What do they need to do to get to the playoffs? All they can do. Win as many games as they can, and hope the Thunder loose some key games. Other than that, you can't do much in the West. I feel bad for this talented team as they have been struck by injury and are stuck in such a talented conference. I wish good luck to the Pelicans in their playoff hunt. One of these years, they will get it. They will make the playoffs.