The Fundamentals

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:  “McHale could’ve drafted well and packaged young players and picks for a supporting cast, but he never had the parts to trade good young talent for established stars. After the trade to Boston 16 months ago, Taylor suggested that Garnett hadn’t played hard in his final Minnesota season. This was a pure cop-out from the Minnesota owner. Taylor has never had the guts to tell this truth: McHale took off more days in a week than Garnett did in his career there. Executives and scouts courtside with McHale would watch him spend too much of his time texting, too little watching the players on the floor. Of course, there were times McHale had instead gone fishing. Witnesses say McHale grew to understand in recent years that he had to work harder, but there’s little to suggest it’s made a difference.”

Bethlehem Shoals of the Sporting News:  “This isn’t the first time that the Wolves GM has let a coach go and installed himself there. After firing Flip Saunders in February of 2005, McHale rode out the rest of the season, going a respectable 19-12. But when 2005-06 rolled around, Dwane Casey had the job. It would appear that, unlike Isiah, McHale would prefer to keep himself behind the scenes when it comes to running a team.  Here’s the thing, though: Having to coach a team is the ultimate test of general manager accountability. And McHale has long been considered one of the league’s dimmer executives; his most notable moves are drafting Garnett and trading Garnett in what looked like a favor to old Celtics pal Danny Ainge. Oh, and forfeiting the team’s No. 1 pick for several years in a frenzied attempt to resign Joe Smith. At best, he’s ineffectual, at worst, disastrous. So why not put him in charge of the roster he’s assembled? Clearly, he had some vision in mind when these players were acquired. Now, it’s time for him to put his money where his other job is, and show us exactly what the hell his master plan’s supposed to look like.”

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News:  “Seeds for the Spurs’ defensive turnaround were sown in their first workout following that embarrassing loss to the Heat. Popovich spent the summer making tweaks to the Spurs’ defensive schemes, altering rules for on-the-ball defense and backside rotations. Five defensively deficient games into the season, he went back to the drawing board and erased it all. Two games after the Miami debacle, Popovich proclaimed a new defensive direction. Meet the new defense, same as the old defense. Popovich reinstalled the coverage rules that had made the Spurs one of the NBA’s top defensive teams for much of the past 13 seasons, fixing that which hadn’t been broken in the first place. ‘The first four or five games, Pop wanted to try something new,’ point guard Tony Parker said. ‘It didn’t work out like we wanted, so we went back to the old way.’ The old way has produced familiar results.”

48 Minutes of Hell:  “Typically, Tim Duncan is said to epitomize Spurness. And it’s true, he does. But the attention he receives on this front has a lot to do with the fact that he’s current. To my mind, Spurs Culture is forever indebted to David Robinson. Specifically, it’s indebted to David Robinson’s humility. The David Robinson-Tim Duncan twin towers tandem that eventuated into two titles could have gone badly. Professionals or not, ego always rears its ugly head. In other environments, Tim Duncan’s arrival could have meant a alpha-male showdown, with dominant rookie and veteran stalwart locked to the death in a stat-obsessed duel. But that’s not how things went in San Antonio. Things, as they say, could not have gone differently.”

John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune:  “For now, after their early struggles, the Hornets are on that same kind of winning pace, taking care of the teams they’re supposed to. If they maintain the trend and win three of the next four games against teams they’re expected to beat – home against Charlotte and on the road against Toronto and Memphis, with a road trip to Boston posing the most formidable challenge – then the Hornets would be exactly where they need to be. Now, the X-factor is a New Orleans bench that isn’t playing all that well and because of that, Coach Byron Scott to play his starters – Chris Paul and David West, in particular – more minutes than he wants to. Paul and West are averaging around 38 minutes per game, which is too much. Trying to cut back on their minutes during practice is fine but, of course, that doesn’t necessarily help with the continuity and cohesion.”

Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune:  “That morning, Layden turned over the team to Sloan at the morning shootaround. Sloan went around to every player and shook his hand, for reasons that he explained Monday (and that say a lot about the kind of coach he is). ‘I wished them luck,’ Sloan said, ‘because I know how unlucky this business can be.’ He went on to talk about the difficulty of having to cut players in the preseason each season. Sloan said he always makes sure to break the news personally and to be there to explain the reasons if a player asks. ‘I always tell them I think there’s always a chance that they can succeed somewhere else if they’ll work at it,’ Sloan said. ‘I happened to be one of those guys that nobody thought I could play after I left Baltimore and I ended up playing for a long time and I always think other people can do the same thing.’”

Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star:  “In a league in which ideas are recycled like coaches and GMs, Triano’s defensive philosophy is based on pages ripped from the playbook of Kevin O’Neill, the former Toronto head coach under whom Triano served as an assistant. O’Neill’s playbook, in turn, was heavily influenced by that of O’Neill’s one-time cohort Jeff Van Gundy, whose principles are said to have similarly informed the work of Tom Thibodeau, the coach in charge of the vaunted defence of the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics. And so goes the cross-breeding. The philosophy, no matter who’s playing it, emphasizes the protection of the painted area above all else – preferring, when things inevitably break down, to surrender long jump shots in lieu of layups and dunks. It sounds like a no-brainer in theory. But on Sunday, with the Trail Blazers in the process of making a whopping 12 of 24 attempts from three-point range, second-guessing accompanied the bombardment.”

Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Edge:  “Another NBA coach (Minnesota’s Randy Wittman) gets fired and the Grizzlies’ Marc Iavaroni is next, right? Wrong. That’s what ESPN.com-ers and Bloggie McBloggerston would have you believe based on ‘informed sources,’ who think they have considerable influence on or insight into Griz owner Michael Heisley’s decision making. Remember, Iavaroni was supposed to be fired last season but the ‘informed source’ was mostly former team president Jerry West, who told any and everybody Ivy had to go. The same coach he put in place. Then a funny thing happened on the way to Ivy’s figurative career hanging. The man who actually makes these decisions stopped, gathered himself, thought about it and acted rationally instead of emotionally.”

Keith Langlois of Pistons.com:  “Michael Curry made it official Monday: Rodney Stuckey is in as a starter, Kwame Brown is out. Digging the 29-point hole in Sunday’s narrow loss to the Knicks no doubt pushed Curry to the decision, but there are two other factors at play, too. One is the return of Antonio McDyess. The other is the schedule. Take a look at the 11 games left in December, and the new lineup – Rasheed Wallace at center, Tayshaun Prince at power forward, Rip Hamilton at small forward, Allen Iverson at shooting guard and Stuckey at the point – makes sense. The Pistons just aren’t exposing themselves to much risk that they’ll be overpowered by any of the opponents lined up in December.”

Bill Ingram of HOOPSWORLD:  “There was an interesting rumor floating around this weekend that deserves a little more attention. While most of the world’s media seems to be focused on the Stephon Marbury situation or trying to stir up trouble in the Lakers’ paradise, the Portland Trail Blazers have quietly made it known that they’d like to move Raef LaFrentz before the deadline. LaFrentz, you’ll recall, is out for the season following shoulder surgery, and is sitting on a $12.7 million expiring contract. The question now becomes whether or not the Blazers would prefer to wait until this summer and lure a free agent, or cash in the contract now and find someone to help them in what is clearly going to be a playoff run. One issue facing Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard is that he has a small market team.”

Matt Watson of NBA FanHouse:  “Big things were expected from Andre Iguodala after he signed a six-year, $80 million contract this summer. Unfortunately, he’s been slow out of the gate, averaging just 13 points on 39% shooting in October/November while fading into the background as Elton Brand carved out his niche, Thaddeus Young asserted himself and Andre Miller picked up the slack. But finally, with a quarter of the season in the books, the old Iguodala is starting to shine through. The 76ers lost the game on Saturday, but for the first time in the team’s 22 games this year, Iguodala led the team in scoring.”

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times:  “A year ago Ariza was averaging a nondescript 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds when the Lakers acquired him, hoping he would become a defensive stopper at small forward. To say he has delivered is akin to saying the Lakers (17-2) are off to a decent start. Ariza, 23, has been a burst of energy as a reserve, leading the team with 1.95 steals a game and averaging 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 24.2 minutes. ‘He’s something refreshing,’ longtime Lakers official Bill Bertka said. ‘He’s a lot like Michael Cooper was athletically.’”

20 Second Timeout: A Closer Look at the Lakers’ Defense Through the Eyes of Jim Cleamons, Frank Hamblen and Stu Lantz

X’s & O’s of Basketball: Breaks Down the Celtics Rotating Pick and Roll Offense

With Malice: Four bloggers from the Bloguin network debate whether the Cavs are an elite team

Third Quarter Collapse:  Kindly Stop Hating on Jameer Nelson

NESW Sports: Charles Barkley Makes it Rain on the TNT set [Video]

Adam Lauridsen for the San Jose Mercury News:  “For those wondering when the Warriors would finally hit bottom on their most recent losing streak, it looks as if the moment came and went this weekend in between Corey Maggette’s rapid fire San Antonio misses.  Monday night against the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder, the Warriors finally managed a win.  The Ws fielded a different team, both in personnel and — not coincidentally — style.  The ball moved between players, we managed to convert on a couple of fast breaks, the shot selection was generally solid, and the front line managed some at-the-rim defense.  All of these improvements were much needed and appreciated.  I’m happy to see the youth pull down a win, if only for their confidence and hopes of getting more time on the court.  But while the win may ease the most immediate doom and gloom surrounding the team, it may have only served to add fuel to this season’s most hotly contested debates.”

Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe:  “So the Celtics have equaled their start of last year, which was a better start than any previous Celtic team except the 1963-64 version, which also won 20 of its first 22 contests on the way to a 59-21 record. A win in Washington Thursday would set a franchise standard and keep the team on a 74-victory pace. Only 11 NBA teams have started a season 20-2. The 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers were 6-3, then went on a 33-game winning streak and finished with a 69-13 mark. The Celtics’ 1972-73 team (franchise-best 68-14) and 1985-86 team (67-15) were 19-3 after 22 games. Raising another banner to the Garden ceiling is the goal. But whatever happens, this group is leaving a statistical legacy.”

Howard Beck of The New York Times:  “While Duhon bounced like a pinball between the lineup and the bench, the Bulls signed guards (Jannero Pargo), drafted guards (Thabo Sefolosha) and traded for guards (Larry Hughes). Ben Gordon had more flash. Kirk Hinrich had more polish. Duhon was just a steady, lightly regarded second-round pick, lost in a crowd of Thabo-come-latelies. It is hard to lose sight of him now.  Duhon returns to Chicago on Tuesday as one of the league leaders in assists, the engine of the Knicks’ supercharged offense and the apple of Coach Mike D’Antoni’s eye. He has met or exceeded every expectation that the Knicks had when they signed him last summer.”

Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic:  “Stoudemire prefers to maintain broad shoulders and a narrow waist. ‘I don’t want to be big and bulky,’ he said. ‘My advantage is quickness when it comes to rebounding. A lot of guys I cover are a lot bigger in the post. I can’t push them off the post, so my best thing to do is use my quick feet to get around them or don’t let them get the ball. Quickness helps on offense. Guys can’t guard me.’ Mark West, a former Suns center and their current vice president of player programs, said Stoudemire has improved his rebounding and defense, but his faults receive the focus despite All-Star and All-NBA accolades. ‘If there’s any weakness, it has to do more with consistency than his ability,’ West said. ‘If he’s going to be among the great players, he’s going to have to dominate the game in other areas – rebounding, defense, passing.’”

Ramona Shelburne of the Los Angeles Daily News:  “‘I’m not saying anything about the D-League is bad,’ Sun said Sunday night. ‘I just think, when I signed the contract and put my name on the paper, that was an NBA contract. I think the NBA will help me improve much faster.’ Having traveled to China for the Olympics last summer, and made a few friends along the way, I thought I’d solicit their opinions on the matter and see if something else is going on. After a few emails, here’s what I’ve come up with: Basically, when Sun came over to the NBA, it was a very big deal back in China. He has been flanked by reporters from China all season. Not exactly the Yao Ming treatment, but it seems like at least a few times a week, a media outlet from China is in town, asking him questions. In other words, there is quite a bit of interest in his career, and his success or failure. A trip to the D-League then, might be seen as a demotion or failure. And in Chinese culture, a ‘loss of face’ is to be avoided at all costs.”

DENVER STIFFS: “In keeping with my macrotrend analysis, I decided before this season started that I would wait for a quarter of the games to be completed before assessing the coaching job that Karl is doing. And to me, a .667 winning percentage after 21 games – all while doing this without a true center, no backup big men and one of the shakiest shooting guard situations in the NBA – tells me that Karl is doing a very good job. I know many of this blog’s readers will still disagree and point to the Nuggets success being credited solely to the arrival of Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony’s improvement in rebounding and assists, and the health of Nene and Kenyon Martin. But if our coaches are to get blamed when their team’s struggle, than they must get credit when their team’s succeed. We as fans can’t have it both ways. Furthermore, several of the macrotrends that infuriated me about Karl last season – such as refusing to work the refs, rarely calling timeouts to rein in his team when they got out of control or lazy, not holding his players accountable for bad shots and porous defense, sitting through games as if he’s doing a Phil Jackson impersonation – seem to have dissipated this season.”

Tom Ziller of FanHouse:  “Now ‘Melo does what everyone has wanted, his scoring dips and … no one is tossing laurels. Anthony is second in the league in rebound rate among all starting small forwards (behind Shawn Marion). His rate eclipses those of LeBron James, Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Pierce by a substantial amount. That’s huge for Denver. A wing who crashes the boards at that rate lets your fleet bigs (Nene, in this case) spring out into transition for easy running jams. Anthony’s defense has been stout by statistic, otherworldly (in a relative sense) by anecdote. Denver’s slowed pace with Billups in town has, it seems, allowed ‘Melo to keep up his energy in opposition of the league’s small forwards. Against Denver, small forwards have a .456 effective field goal percentage this season. Last year, the measure was .509. In Anthony’s personal matchups at the three, opponents have an eFG of .419. Last season, it was .527. The dude is defending his tail off.”

Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer:  “Though clearly known more for his offensive exploits, James has been working hard to improve his defense the past few seasons and has often volunteered to guard the opponent’s best player — like Indiana’s Danny Granger. Granger came into The Q last Friday averaging more than 24 points per game. He scored four against James. In fact, in his past three games, James has held the opponents’ starting small forward (New York’s Wilson Chandler, Granger and Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace) to a total of 17 points and 25.9 percent shooting (7 of 27). Granger and Wallace recorded their season lows. ‘In order to be successful you have to shut down some of the best opposing players,’ James said. ‘I’ve been taking the challenge. My teammates are helping me out, it’s not just me. We’ve been doing it as a team.’”