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Archive for April, 2009

Gordon Snubbed

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz On April - 30 - 2009

From the NBA:

Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies were unanimous selections to the 2008-09 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today.

Rounding out the T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team are Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (53 points), New Jersey’s Brook Lopez (49 points) and Miami’s Michael Beasley (44 points)…

The T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of the Los Angeles Clippers’ Eric Gordon (39 points), Minnesota’s Kevin Love (34 points), Miami’s Mario Chalmers (29 points), Memphis’ Marc Gasol (25 points), Charlotte’s D.J. Augustin (tie, 17 points) and Portland’s Rudy Fernandez (tie, 17 points).

The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the first team and five players for the second team, regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Two points were awarded for first team votes and one for second team votes.

What’s disappointing is that we’re not talking about members of the media who, as the cliché goes, don’t stay up to watch West Coast games. Each of these gentlemen had an opportunity to watch each of the candidates. My strongest objection isn’t Beasley (17.28 PER, with value/wins added commensurate to EJ’s), but with Mayo.

One reason to let it go is that Gordon finished sixth in the voting — respectable — but, unfortunately, rookie teams are clustered in groups of five. Bad luck.

Finally, the best rationale for brushing off these relatively meaningless honors is the Woody Allen rap: “Awards! All they do now is give away awards! Greatest fascist dictator: Adolf Hitler.”

The consolation with rookie awards comes with the comfort of knowing that future performance is all that matters. History will judge these kids not by where they landed in the 2009 voting for All-Rookie teams, but what they contribute to the game in the long run.

Liberation Conversation

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz On April - 29 - 2009

My NBA playoff-watching habits might best be described as mercurial. It’s not unusual for those who come over for a viewing session to ask, “Who the hell are you rooting for?”  The answer, with a few exceptions, is generally, “Basketball.”  It’s not even so much a “good game,” though that’s always a bonus.  The Mavericks-Spurs contests haven’t been terribly competitive, but watching Dallas perfect its offense over the past week or so — dribble-attack, moving Dirk around in the halfcourt, swinging weak side for Josh Howard when the Spurs overcommit — has been one of the early pleasures of the postseason.  Seeing Houston use Luis Scola to full effect, the probing of Tony Parker and Rajon Rondo, Josh Smith and LaMarcus Aldridge learning how to fill out their games, Chauncey Billups teaching the Nuggets what it means to run a set offense? These are the things that excite and, by and large, the events that have defined the opening round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. We’ve seen the triumph of basketball — actual on-court machinations — over sidebars.

Until last night…which is why when the alarm went off this morning, I buried my head under the comforter.  I knew that banners like “Flagrant Fallout” would headline the coverage, that writers I depend on to educate me about the game would devote column inches to a debate that can’t be won, that the discussion about basketball today would approximate those awful back-and-forth cable news shows. As a guy in the business of sports web media, I should value the heat that stories like the Howard and Rondo/Miller incidents generate for traffic, but as a person who tends to approach basketball as a New Critic, the debates bore the hell out of me. Maybe it’s the Clipper blogger in me, but I’ve always taken for granted that bad — even fatal — fortune will bestow itself on certain teams in certain situations. This reality is unsatisfying, but life presents certain inconveniences, and few of them are intentional. It’s irrational to believe that every missed call is a conspiratorial stunt aimed against your team. Even worse, debating the governance of the game sort of defeats the point of basketball which, for me, has always been that it’s a refuge from…well…debating the governance of life. We can argue how to defend the pick and roll or whether there’s a correlation between pace and offensive efficiency, but discussions about who gets screwed and to what extent aren’t particularly interesting.

That said, I think last night’s events bring some salient points to the surface, the most important of which concerns Rajon Rondo’s foul on Brad Miller. The play has already been subject to varying interpretation, and those on either side of the debate are unlikely to change any minds. As an observer with no rooting interest in the series other than to see even more stellar basketball, what I saw was a flagrant foul by Rondo. The argument that Rondo was making a play for the ball seems specious. How could a basketball player who consistently demonstrates uncanny body control somehow fall three feet short of his intended target and instead strike an opponent across the head? It’s untenable.

By failing to enforce the flagrant foul rule, the League is doing something dangerous: It’s inviting players and coaches to engage in the sort of risk analysis that will inevitably lead to more head-thwacking. Manufacturers routinely measure costs against benefits when deciding whether to enhance the safety of a product. If they spend $400 million on a fix, will it save an amount equal or greater than $400 million in legal settlements?  If the answer is no, the company generally won’t greenlight the adjustment. We make these calculations in our own lives. When a two year old visits my home, I take some additional measures to make my pad a little more child-safe, but I don’t eliminate every hazard.

It’s undeniable that striking a player across the head as he drives to the basket serves as an offensive deterrent on a number of levels.  A player who is assaulted in that manner is probably less assertive going to the hole in the future, and he might even be a little less likely to drain his free throws because he’s still recovering from the blow. In other words, hitting a guy in the head has real benefits that could probably be measured in points. What are the costs in that equation? Two shots and the ball.  If the League eliminates those costs, it encourages all but the most principled actors to size up risk in a way that will result in the exact kind of behavior the League wants to avoid.

Afternoon Roundup

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz On April - 27 - 2009
  • The day following their season-ending loss to Oklahoma City, the Clippers contributed $25,000 to Budget Reform Now. The group supports Propositions 1A-1F, which would overhaul the budgetary process in Sacramento. The Warriors kicked in $25,000 of their own [Hat Tip: John Wildermuth]
  • Smart post from Steve Perrin that explores the market value of Chris Kaman. Perrin takes a thorough inventory of what big men around the league earn, and concludes that “it’s hard to argue that Chris Kaman is overpaid based on his on court productivity.” With a high pick in hand, three starting big men [one of which has an attractive expiring contract], and a curio like DeAndre Jordan in the stable, it will be interesting to see how the Clippers manage their frontcourt assets this offseason.
  • We love to muse about Sofo Schortsanitis, but have you ever actually seen him play?  Sofo isn’t getting a lot of burn for Olympiacos, but if he checks in, you can watch him on your computer Friday at lunch as Olympiacos takes on Panathinaikos in the Euroleague Final Four.
  • I don’t know what’s weirder about DeAndre Jordan’s YouTube channel — his in-room videos [including prominent face time from Clippers trainer Jasen Powell], or his collection of favorites. [UPDATED LINK...which makes Jordan's favorites slightly less weird.]
  • Brett Pollakoff tips us off to a TMZ report that Zach Randolph has had his charge reduced. He’ll now face a misdemeanor reckless driving rap rather than a DUI — which will make Zach’s defense less of a priority.  Randolph’s attorney is Blair Berk, fixer to the stars.

Clippers Add Maccabi Tel Aviv to Preseason Schedule

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz On April - 23 - 2009

From the Jerusalem Post:

Maccabi Tel Aviv announced on Wednesday that it will play the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers during October in two preseason exhibition games.

Maccabi will face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on October 18, and will face the Clippers in Los Angeles two days later in what will be the 20th time it faces an NBA team.

Tel Aviv has beaten five NBA teams in the past and became the first international side to ever defeat a NBA side on North American soil, beating the Toronto Raptors 105-103 in 2005.

Maccabi lost to the Knicks in a pre-season game in 2007 and played four exhibition games against NBA sides in 2006, losing to the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors.

Both games this year come as part of Maccabi’s support of the Migdal Ohr organization, which provides shelter and education for over 6,500 abused, impoverished and orphaned children in Israel.

A couple of items, the first an ethical question: Does it demonstrate dual loyalties to root for Maccabi?  Second, I wish the game were in Tel Aviv just to imagine DeAndre Jordan and Chris Kaman interacting with a population of really intense, attitudinal Jews.

Gordon Finishes Fifth in ROY Voting

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz On April - 22 - 2009

From the NBA official release:

picture-13

O.J. Mayo’s second place finish is my only strong objection to the tally. Mayo finished behind Eric Gordon in PER, Value Added, Estimated Wins Added, True Shooting Percentage, Assist Rate, Turover Rate.  Mayo had the edge in Rebounding Rate, points per minute, usage, and hype.

Like many awards, the criteria for Rookie of the Year is nebulous. Is the question, “Which rookie had the statistically best year?“  Or “Which member of the rookie class would you most like to build a team around?”  Or “Who was the best rookie on a relevant team?”

I tend to favor the first, which is why Brook Lopez would’ve been my choice.  My answer to questions two and three would’ve been Derrick Rose, whose skill set I love.

Ultimately, the award is meaningless, more so than the others because history will bear out which member of the 2008 Draft Class will emerge as the best pro.

Ricky Rubio Declares for NBA Draft

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz On April - 21 - 2009

From Chad Ford at ESPN.com:

Ricky Rubio, the Spanish point guard sensation that has been compared to everyone from Pete Maravich to Steve Nash will declare for the 2009 NBA draft, his agent, Dan Fegan, told ESPN.com from Barcelona Monday afternoon.

Rubio will have until June 15 to withdraw his name from the draft. However, his agent sounded confident that he’s staying in. “Ricky will be in the 2009 draft,” Fegan said. Fegan has been in Barcelona this week meeting with Rubio and his family trying to come to a decision. Rubio is the starting point guard for DKV Joventut in Spain and is widely considered the best young international player in the world…

Rubio’s decision to enter the draft comes after months of speculation that he might return to his DKV Joventut for one more year. For Rubio to leave for the NBA, he’s going to have to pay Joventut a huge buyout to be released from his contract there. NBA teams are limited to paying just $500,000 toward an international player’s buyout by the collective bargaining agreement. That means if Rubio wants to play in the NBA, he’s going to have to pay some of the buyout out of his own pocket.

Most likely, Rubio and Joventut come to some sort of compromise. If Joventut doesn’t make it to the Spanish League Finals this year, most likely they won’t be in the Euroleague next year. That puts more financial pressure on Joventut to come up with some sort of compromise that gives them financial relief from a buyout and allows Rubio to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA.

For Clippers fans, this is potentially great news — a kid that could light up Staples Center and make us forget about Shaun Livingston — but drafting a young international player doesn’t come without risk. Just as the Orlando Magic. When they drafted Fran Vasquez with the 11th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, they thought they had assurances from Vasquez’s camp that a buyout was in the works and that the Spanish big man had every intention of joining Orlando’s frontcourt.  Vasquez could never reach a settlement with FC Barcelona, and Orlando is still waiting.

If blessed with the #2 pick, should the Clippers draft Rubio?  Absolutely, but they should also be aware that there are no such things as verbal commitments in the NBA. They know firsthand.

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