Is Damian Lillard Hurting The Blazers?

By nikk_la - Flickr: K26A0442, CC BY 2.0, Link

In a recent interview with New York Magazine, George Karl shared his thoughts on the performance from the Trailblazers this season saying, "I was watching the Portland Trailblazers play, and I was trying to figure out, What the hell is wrong with this team? My conclusion is that Damian Lillard is getting too much attention." 

When asked to elaborate on that thought George Karl went on to say, "Who controls the team? The coach and the point guard. And that team is not working. I think their coach, Terry Stotts, is a great coach. So I’m going to say the problem is Lillard. They were a together, connected, committed team last year. This year they’re not. What changed?"

That's right George Karl, what changed? They lost Chris Kaman but gained talents in Festus Ezeli (who is injured) and Evan Turner. So what changed? How can nearly the same team from last year take such a big drop off. 

Is it Damian Lillard? If we take a look at his numbers this year, he is averaging 27 PPG (he averaged 25.1 last season), 4.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 2.7 turnovers. If we look at his turnovers, they've dropped from last season (3.2) however his assists have also dropped from last season (6.2) so this doesn't really mean much. It just means he is passing less right? Wrong, thanks to NBA.com's provided stats, it shows that Damian Lillard is has about 1.5 passes per game more this season than last season. It's very, very minimal, but it shows that he is still passing but getting less assists and turnovers. To top all of this off, Lillard is scoring more while taking less shots per game. So why are they losing? 

The reason why... His teammates. This season, 4 players on the Blazers shoot under 36% when receiving a pass from Damian Lillard. 5 players on the Blazers shoot under 40% from the field in general. Last season, only 3 players shot under 40% and those 3 players only combined for a total of 81 games played. And to top that off, in the minimal amount of games that these players played in, they didn't even average over 10 minutes per game. But this season, Noah Vonleh, Meyers Leonard, and Al-Farouq Aminu are all shooting under 40% and they all are huge parts in this offense. And when given passes from Lillard, Allen Crabbe and Evan Turner both shoot below 36%. 

If we look at the team's rebounding, you'd see that the Trailblazers are 25th in rebounding. First off, you can tell they truely miss Chris Kaman as they are waiting for Festus Ezeli to recover. Their bigs aren't that great. Second, they aren't making shots, and to me, that falls on 1 person, the coach. Something has changed. Now, I love Terry Stotts, he is an amazing coach, but something needs to change with the offense. You can't have all of these players shooting that poorly. It's clearly changed from last season. Ed Davis isn't even shooting nearly as well from last season, it's bad. Sure while Lillard and McCollum might be shooting better, but the rest of the team sure isn't. You can't win games with 1 or two people shooting really well. Something in the offense has to change, and, oh yeah, they really need to rebound better.

But hang on here, George Karl was completely wrong. Damian Lillard has been more efficient and has has less turnovers while scoring more and while passing the ball even more than last season. This man isn't the reason and is really going unnoticed for how hard he is working. It's not translating to many wins, but it sure should be. If anything, Terry Stotts needs to make adjustments which is ironic considering Karl's quote saying, "I think their coach, Terry Stotts, is a great coach. So I’m going to say the problem is Lillard". I love Terry Stotts but he needs to make adjustments, and for George Karl, it's best if he just keeps his mouth shut. 

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.

Harrison Barnes Is Going To Be A Star Player

By Matthew Addie - https://www.flickr.com/photos/heelsports/8541868627/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26073051

This summer, the Dallas Mavericks signed Harrison Barnes after most of the big name players were taken. Many people have said that Harrison Barnes is overpaid and cannot lead a team or be a big name player. In this article, we see whether this is true or not.

While only 2 games have been played in this regular season, Harrison Barnes has looked solid, averaging 25 PPG, 7 RPG, and only 1.5 Turnovers per game in these 2 contests. Compare that to his career average of just a little over 10 PPG, and it looks pretty impressive. Barnes has also managed to shoot 56.8% from the field and 50% from the 3-point line in these games.

While these numbers are solid, this has been two games, which both happen to be losses, and have no reason to justify that he could lead a team, right? Well, let's take a look at the Rockets vs Mavericks game. Barnes had 31 points in this 8 point loss. James Harden had 26. And while Barnes did struggle defensively on Ariza, he still managed to have a great night while having the most points out of anyone in that game.


Take a look at the game vs the Pacers and it tells a whole different story. Barnes was outscored by Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams, J.J. Barea, Paul George, Myles Turner, and Jeff Teague. However, Barnes did hit the shot to put the game into overtime. While he was good, he certainly wasn't great. This proves that Barnes's game was just a really good game for him right, he can't possibly do this on a regular basis right?


Well, let's take a look at how Barnes is scoring these points. Interestingly enough, Barnes has gone into Isolation about 14% of the time in these two games. While he obviously hasn't taken that many shots in isolation, he is 4th in points in isolation so far. He's only behind Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, and Damian Lillard. Damian Lillard and Kyrie Irving however, have played 3 games, while Barnes has only played 2. And you may think Barnes has gone into isolation, but he can't possibly be making the shots. WRONG! Barnes has been 6 for 6 in isolation so far which means he's been perfect in isolation situations. Of course as the season continues, this will change, but he's obviously been great in iso so far. In fact, he's been better than Kawhi in isolation in not only efficiency, but he's scored more often than Kawhi in iso as well. While he's been better just catching and shooting, Barnes has shown that he can still shoot over 50% no matter how many dribbles he takes.

Harrison Barnes has also been able to shoot no matter how close the defender is to him. When a defender has been within 2-4 ft of Barnes he's hit 46.7% of his shots, and it only increases from there.

Now I know what you're thinking, Barnes has played 2 games this season, 2 games! You can't take two game to prove a point. But this isn't Barnes being left wide open to score his career high, this is him taking the ball and wanting to score. And while it's only been 2 games, he's doing it very efficiency and more than lots of NBA stars. Not to mention, Barnes is 24 years old. He still has room to grow. If he can hit isolation shots in 2 games, can't he do it in more, and if he's only 24 can't he only get better at them. It may be 2 games, but Harrison Barnes is looking like a promising player. He's been around guys like Klay, Steph, and Iggy. He knows how to improve and get to that level. And so far, it looks like Barnes is on the right track.

How The New Players On The Warriors Have To Change

By Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA - Kevin Durant, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

A team doesn't just win 73 games by being amazing players. They win because of their offense and defense. They win by doing what works. But when new players come in, things can change. Here's how guys like Kevin Durant and Zaza Pachulia must adapt to the Warriors offense.

Last year, the Warriors lead the league in points coming off an off-ball screen with 1139 points that season. The Thunder on the other had were 17th with only 411 of their points coming off of off-ball screens. Durant is going to have to get used to always coming off of screens. It's not about just getting open, it's about getting in  the best position to score right off of the screen. The Warriors are always moving, and Steve Kerr wants to cut down in isolation this year. KD needs to be moving all the time. In fact, the Warriors also lead the league in points off of cuts with 1225 points. OKC had 892. To get these wide open looks, isn't a talent thing, it's a movement thing. The whole team gets points by players cutting, something that KD has to get used to.

Zaza has to get used to playing more high post. The Dallas Mavericks last year had an offense that really revolved around the low post. The Warriors were at the bottom in those terms. Andrew Bogut and the other bigs for the Warriors started up top behind the three point line, made a pass, then would go to set a screen for someone to come back up to the top, cut, set a ball screen and then roll. There was very little posting up for the big men in that offense. Zaza isn't going to be able to camp out in the paint this year. He's going to be moving and moving. He will also have to learn how to work the high post like Bogut was able to. Bogut did a lot of work in the high post hitting cutters and doing hand offs. Players would curl off him and he would hand off the ball for wide open layups. The Warriors loved to keep the paint open for baseline cutters so Zaza's going to have to learn how to play outside the paint.

The Warriors' most deadly lineup last year was their small ball lineup. The reason why this lineup was so successful was because of cutting and passing. KD is going to have to learn that it isn't about getting off good shots, it's about getting off the best shot possible. Draymond's ability to move at the 5 made it tough for the big to help on guys like Curry and Thompson, but get back onto Draymond. This made it easier for guys to cut and get to the rim. It also made it so the baseline was open a lot. They'd have most of the offense working behind the 3 point line which would make it easy for cutters to come in baseline. There was very little isolation in this lineup and lots of passing and cutting, something that KD isn't that used to. The bigs are his friends, they are going to get him open, and he's going to have to help them by moving and hitting them while they are moving.


It's not just the new players that have to adapt though. Curry is going to have to realize he can't go into isolation as much. But KD is on a totally new team with a totally different offense, and him and Zaza have some changes to make.

Washington Wizards: Stability

By Keith Allison - Flickr: Bradley Beal, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

The Washington Wizards had a very disappointing season last year. This was due to injuries and locker room problems. They would have amazing games, like the game when they destroyed the Cavs but they just had some really really bad games. Another reason why the Wizards had a tough time was probably because of Coach Randy Whitman's want to play small. This took Nene Hilario out of the starting lineup and it didn't really lead to good results. Nene was a great veteran leader who brought tons of energy to the starting lineup. Kris Humphris really wasn't the best suited to start. Nene was top 5 on the Wizards in offensive rating and top 3 in defensive. On the other hand, Kris was 14th on the team for offensive rating and 15th in defensive rating! How did he start over Nene?! No clue.

Okay, now that we see the reasoning for the Wizards problems, we can now take a look at how they've been sort of solved. First, Bradley Beal was given a max contract. Now, people are complaining that Beal didn't deserve this because of injuries. First off, there is plenty of money to go around. Second, if the Wizards lose Beal, what does this do? It would probably send the Wizards back into the lottery. This not only puts the team back to a losing record, but this sends a bad message to John Wall about the direction of the team and could very well send John Wall packing. The signing of Bradley Beal wasn't just to keep Beal happy but to also keep John Wall happy.

Next, Bradley Beal and John Wall put aside their differences. Beal and Wall both acknowledged that they aren't too fond of each other at times and seem to both want to be the star of the team. However, in an interview with CSN Mid-Atlantic, Beal said, "It’s tough because we’re both alphas. It’s always tough when you have two guys who firmly believe in themselves, who will bet on themselves against anybody else, who want to be that guy. We both can be that guy. Sometimes I think we both lose sight of the fact that we need each other. I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in without John. John wouldn’t be in the situation he’s in without me, without the rest of the team. It goes hand-in-hand so it’s kind of a pride thing. We got to (hash) out our pride, figure out what our goals are individually, help each other achieve those goals, figure out what our team goal is, where do we see ourselves five years from now, 10 years from now and go from there." As you can see, Beal wants to play with Wall because he knows he NEEDS to. Hopefully they resolved this issue this summer.

The firing of Randy Whitman lead to the hiring of Scott Brooks. I think Scott Brooks is going to love working with John Wall. He is going to help Wall lead the team like he never has. Combine that with John Wall's amazing passing ability and his defense and you got the next best up and rising point guard in the league. You know he'll love Markieff. Hopefully he can adapt to using screens like the Warriors run in their offense and use that for Bradley Beal and use a lot of pick and roll with John Wall and Marcin Gortat. Kelly Oubre told my mind on sports, "I feel like everyone's bought in (on Scott Brooks' coaching)".


The Wizards also have made some great off-season moves besides the signing of Bradley Beal. Grabbing Trey Burke was huge knowing that they traded almost nothing for him. Burke has proved that he is a very efficient bench scorer in just the little amount of preseason games he has played with the Wizards. And while they did lose Raymond Sessions, who just happens to be one of my favorite players in the league, it is alright since they do have John Wall starting at the point guard slot and Trey Burke won't be asked to run the team. The Wizards also signed Ian Mahinmi who is a great guy to put in defensively. He is a great back up to Gortat and if they want to go big they can put him in for Markieff. They still have bench scorer Marcus Thornton who will bring very efficient scoring to the team off the bench.

The player I'm most interested to see this season off the Wizards bench is Kelly Oubre. He has looked so amazing in the preseason and could even take that starting role from Otto Porter. He is lengthy player and a crafty finisher. He's got a good shot and resemble Kevin Durant in some ways. I think Oubre will be amazing this season and could be a great Most Improved candidate. Oubre might just develop into something special this season.


As you can see, the Wizards look like they have fixed some major problems this season. While this doesn't fix injuries or anything, if they catch a break, they could get back into the second round of the playoffs once again.

The Indiana Pacers: Putting Together The Pieces Of The Puzzle

By File:Anthony Tolliver defending Paul George.jpg: joshuak8 derivative work: Chrishmt0423 - → This file has been extracted from another file: Anthony Tolliver defending Paul George.jpg , CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31545591

While a lot of the attention in the offseason has been switched on to the Warriors and the Knick this offseason, the Pacers have been building a masterpiece under the radar. Let's take a look at the significance of the roster they've been putting together.

Jeff Teague- This point guard comes from the 2014-15 coach of the year, Mike Budenholzer who transformed the whole Hawks team. This was a team that was second in defensive rating in the league last season, only falling behind the Spurs. However, as good as this team was, they didn't have a superstar which hurt their chances dearly of scoring when it came to the playoffs. Now Jeff Teague is a guy that likes to get the offense going. He is a fast paced guard. One of the biggest things Teague brings to the floor though, is his shooting. Last year, Monta Ellis had a rough year. The paint was very tight and his offense didn't thrive. Now that Teague, a 40% 3-point shooter and a great player off the dribble, is on the team, this will open up the paint for the rest of the team.

Myles Turner- This guy made his mark in the playoffs last year. He's proven he has a place in the league. His toughness mentality is amazing and you know he'll be learning a lot from big Al Jefferson on toughness. This just might be Myles Turner's break out season as he didn't really have a chance last season to do so. Expect big things from him defensively.

Paul George: He is star of the team. Of course with Paul George, you will know what you're getting out of him, a lot of offense and a lot of defense. With a small forward that can guard guys like KD and LeBron James you know that Pacers are going to have an easier time winning against these elite teams.

Thaddeus Young: This is probably one of the most underrated acquisitions that have happened this off-season. Thaddeus Young is known to be a good solid defender. He is one of the leading power forwards in steals for a few years now. Young has a pretty good post game and can somewhat stretch the floor. But the ability to put the ball on the deck and rebound efficiently from the power forward sport is what stands out. Young is an athletic power forward. He can drive better than most of them. And to top that off, he can rebound. This left handed big men is a big piece since the Pacers lacked good big men last season. Young brings a lot to the table that a lot f power forwards don't have. He cuts and runs the floor. You know him and Teague are going to be having a great time in transition.


Monta Ellis: This year is the year that Monta Ellis has a comeback year. It was rough for him, but for two reason. Number 1, he didn't have many big men to play pick and roll/pop with. This year he has Jefferson and Young. Number 2, with more shooters the paint will be open more. I have a good feeling about Ellis this year.

The Bench: Al Jefferson is going to be the guy to come off the bench to destroy the other team. They are going to ask him to score and rebound. He will be used constantly in pick and roll with Paul George, Monta Ellis, and Jeff Teague a ton.

Aaron Brooks is the guy that I'm so happy they grabbed, besides D.J. Augstine, I think Aaron Brooks is one of the best bench players you could have. This is a guy that is know to be able to shoot and score. But not only can he score, he has a big effect on his teammates. His ability to pass is amazing. The acquisition of Brooks is very important to the success of the Pacers success.

The other players they have, guys like Rodney Stuckey and and C.J. Miles can just flat out score. Glenn Robinson III might be a guy that can really provide a lift offensively as well as Joe Young. They also have a good defensive center in Rakeem Christmas if someone were to go down. Their bench is something that they can count on.

As you can see, the Pacers are on track to win this season. If they can stay healthy, their limit is unknown.  They are going to be a very fast paced team that is going to push tempo. To me, they have a roster that has a chance at taking down the Cavs. I can't wait to see this team in action!

The (New) New York Knicks

By Keith Allison - Flickr: Carmelo Anthony, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29829656

Phil Jackson transformed a team. Now, the hype around the Knicks is big. Even though Derrick Rose isn't the best player currently, he sure has a really big name when it comes to basketball, so are the Knicks all hype, or are they for real.

First, let's take a look at the players they added and the players they lost.
They added: G-Justin Holiday
                    G-Derrick Rose
                    C-Guillermo Hernangomez
                    F-Mindaugas Kuzminskas
                    G-Courtney Lee
                    G-Brandon Jennings
                    C-Joakim Noah
                    G-Sasha Vujacic
                    F-Lance Thomas
With these guys added, you also throw in Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle O'Quinn

They Lost:   G-Jose Calderon
                   C-Robin Lopez
                   G-Jerian Grant
                   F-Derrick Williams
                   G-Arron Afflalo
                   G-Tony Wroten
                   And also possibly Lou Amundson, Langston Galloway, Kevin Seraphin, and Cleathony Early

With this being said, you can obviously see this is a different team. As of right now, they have only kept 4 of last years' players.

To start off, I'd like to propose the question of this team's health. How will they be health wise. Because out of the past 5 seasons...
Carmelo Anthony has missed a total of 99 games
Brandon Jennings has missed a total of 95 games
JoaKim Noah has missed a total of 104 games
Derrick Rose has missed a total of 163 games

All 4 of these players have proven to be injury prone in the last 5 seasons. But these injuries haven't just lead to missed games, they've also lead to a decrease in performance.
Carmelo Anthony went from averaging 28.7 PPG to averaging 21.8 last season
Brandon Jennings went from averaging 19.1 PPG to averaging 6.9 last season
JoaKim Noah went from averaging 12.6 PPG to averaging 4.3 last season
Derrick Rose went from averaging 25 PPG to averaging 16.4 last season

I'm not convinced that this team can win. Not with these 4 guys constantly having injury problems in the last 5 years. Can this team win with a guy like Kyle O'Quinn starting or Sasha Vukacic? This team could very well turn into the Memphis Grizzlies of last season or the 2012-13 Lakers. They don't have enough depth to insure them if injuries were to strike.

As you can see, this team is very, very questionable. Number one, we don't know how productive these 4 guys will be. Number 2, we don't know how healthy they'll be. And with more teams becoming more competitive, it's going to be hard if a couple player become injured.