Tag Archives: NBA

Next Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday

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The next meeting regarding the NBA lockout will happen this Tuesday. As those of you who have been following would know, we are starting to get to the point where we could miss out on part of the NBA season if this is not resolved soon. Both parties realize that they have more to gain if they can sit down and work this thing out. This next set of meetings could prove to be crucial and they could make or break the start of the season. If all goes well, we could have everything sorted and we could be playing a full 82 game season. If they stall we could be looking at lost time. There now seems to be a little more optimism surrounding the situation than there was a few weeks ago.

Read the latest release from the NBA here:

http://www.nba.com/2011/news/09/12/labor-pivotal.ap/index.html

Lets hope we can build on this and get the season started as I for one, am hopeful that we dont miss any time.

Some Proposed Rule Changes

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Year in and year out we see changes in the rules and officiating in the NBA. Some changes are for the better, some are for the worse. As change is the only constant in the modern world here are a few issues that I feel need to be addressed and changed.

Travelling violations: This really needs to be tightened up as it is becoming a joke. Players are consistently taking 3 and sometimes even 4 steps when finishing in the open court. No player has a stride so long that they are capable of taking only one dribble in the front court and getting all the way to the ring for a tomahawk jam yet we see it happen all the time. Players are switching pivot feet and are moving before they even bounce the ball. Players are using their two steps and a hop (and sometimes even a step through). This needs to be stomped out. It is even worse when these calls are inconsistent. A travel is not that hard to see and therefore should not be that hard to call.

Technical Fouls: I have no complaints about how strict tech fouls are now being called, but it seems to me as though some players get more rope than others. Some players (and there are certain ones, mainly superstars) are in the refs ear all game and get do not get teed up while some just argue a call or flex for too long after a play and called for a tech. I don’t know what is said to the refs but I think that someone who is at the ref all game deserves a tech foul more than the guy who finishes a strong play and lets his opponent know about it.

Video Replays: The NBA has to get its video replay rules sorted out. I like that we have the video replay but I think it needs to be applied more consistently. One recent example that stands out in my mind is in the NBA finals this year in game 3. Jason Kidd receives a pass in the corner just before half time. With Dwayne Wade running out to him Kidd shot fakes. Dwayne Jumps and Kidd leans in to draw the foul. The officials go to the video replay to determine whether Kidd is taking 2 or 3 shots. One thing that is very clear in the video is the fact that Jason Kidd travels. Now I am a Mavericks fan but this should have been overruled and it should have been Miami ball. If the replay has the power to over rule a loose ball out of bounds in the last minutes of the game, why cant it overturn something like Jason Kidd’s travel? While I’m on that note, when checking the replay on those rebound/ out of bounds plays how obvious to some of the fouls look.

Flopping: I think players should be penalised for flopping. Again I will make reference to the NBA finals of this year, I think JJ Barea came close a few times trying a little too hard to pick up offensive fouls by overselling the opponents arm bar. I’m glad to see that it was not called an offensive foul but maybe Barea should have been issued with some kind of call so he stops doing it. I can appreciate the full court pressure but not the constant borderline flopping attempts. Same for Chris Bosh when he get poked in the eye by Jason Kidd at the start of game 3. The way he was rolling around on the ground for ages would lead you to believe that he just had his skull cracked open or something. Same also goes for Lebron James. At the end of the first Quarter of Game 4 he tries to get around Brendan Haywood who does a great job to keep him in front of him so that DeShawn Stevenson can get back to mark him. Lebron grazes past him has Haywood looked like he was retreating, Lebron flops and picks the ball up and walks with it. It was called a foul on Haywood, the replay suggests otherwise. This should have been a travel and a turnover. And since we are now being a lot tougher on technical foul calls to make the players respect the game more this probably should have been a tech foul too.

The NBA will always need to update and change its rules to keep up with the game. The officials in the NBA are among the best in the world but there is always room for improvement.

 

The ‘Other’ Free Agents – Patrick Mills

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As I continue to thumb through the list of upcoming free agents for this summer I see many players that cold make good role players if provided with the right opportunity to play their role. The player I am looking at today its that description. Portland back up point guard Patrick Mills.

A former 2nd round pick who has played his first two seasons in Portland. Missed most of his rookie season with a broken leg and had some quite promising stints in limited minutes off the bench, mainly garbage time minutes. He averaged 5.5 points per game this past season in about 12 minutes. Patrick Mills is an Australian born player. He is quite popular among the Blazers fans and his fellow players.

Mills has a lot of potential as a quick young player. He could definitely surprise a lot of teams if given quality minutes. In this current free agent class he could be compared to someone like a JJ Barea. A quick spark off the bench. Mills is a bigger player with a reasonable 3 point shot (35%).  However he does not have the same array of floaters and shots in the lane that Barea does. With that being said he does tend to play better off the ball than Barea. Mills is a hardworking player with a laidback personality that works well with just about everybody. It Portland he is loved by fans, players and coaches. He has a great work ethic and the will to improve his game.

He is a very raw talent. He lacks that variety of moves on offense, especially in the lane. If he was to start taking on some major minutes he would need to become more of a threat going to the hoop, he would need to develop a consistent floater and possibly a pull up jumper in the lane. As with any undersized player he can be a bit of a defensive liability at times. Mills is 6 feet tall.

Patrick Mills would most likely suit a team that needs a quick spark off the bench. He would be better off starting off the bench but learning from a more experienced point guard and maybe one day in the future we will see him as a starting point guard from someone. He are a list of teams that I think Patrick Mills would work well in:

San Antonio: The Spurs have already had 2 Australians in their team previously (Andrew Gaze was part of the 1999 championship team and Shane Heal has had a stint with them as well) so they would be familiar with Australian players. He could learn a lot from Tony Parker as one of his strengths (attacking the hoop) is something Mills needs to develop. The Spurs also need a back up point guard who may be asked to play some big minutes.

New Orleans: Chris Paul needs a back up in New Orleans. When he is on is game, Chris Paul is the best point guard in the NBA. Chris Paul may very well be looking to leave the Hornets which could then leave Mills in charge.

New York: The Knicks also need a back up point guard and Chauncey Billups would be a great player to learn from. He would also be in a run and gun style which I believe will suit Mills.

Patrick Mills probably would not be rating too high on anybody’s radar, except maybe Portland’s so he could be picked up at a cheap price. Patrick Mills has the makings to be a solid NBA point guard. Whoever lands him could be pleasantly surprised at what they get out of Mills for the money they pay to acquire him.

The ‘Other’ Free Agents – Kenyon Martin

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The former number 1 overall pick in the 2000 draft. Has been injured for much of his career. He was at one stage a great leaper who was on the receiving end of many alley oop passes from Jason Kidd in New Jersey. Signed a huge contract with the Nuggets and has been injured for most of it. He will likely not see a contract the same size (or even close) to the one he just had but he can still be very effective. He averaged just under 9 points and 6 rebounds a game in about 25 minutes of action.

Martin is a hardnosed, physical defender. He will not back down from anyone and is often jawing off with a player from the other team. He brings toughness, defence and rebounding. His main defensive assignments are against other teams power forwards. He is on the glass on both ends and was a leader for the Denver Nuggets this year. At 6’9 and 240 pounds he is a big body for a power forward.

Kenyon Martin is somewhat limited offensively. He started off as a great leaper and then suffered many serious injuries. This has not allowed him to properly develop an offensive game. He takes an outside jump shot but seems to have limited success. He does not have the ability to create his own shot. With that being said he runs the floor well and can still get up for alley oops and put backs. Martin also has a fiery temper which tends to get him in trouble at times, he is prone to picking up tech fouls as well as a high number of personal fouls. He is also 33 years old and his best years may very well be behind him.

Kenyon Martin would make a great role player. He is a career starter but if he is after a championship he may need to be open to a role off the bench. This may very well be his last contract, especially if it is a multi year deal.

It is yet to be seen whether or not Martin is going to stay at the Nuggets. Neither party has indicated what they plan on doing.  Here are a couple of teams that Kenyon Martin could fit in with quite well:

Orlando Magic: Would make a great compliment inside to Dwight Howard. If Howard is double teamed he would not only have a bunch of shooters to pass out to he would have Martin cutting to the hoop. Would not hurt if he could develop that outside shot a little more.

Indiana Pacers: They need a legit power forward. They have two under developed players in Tyler Hansbrough and Josh Mc Roberts. Kenyon would likely start in place of both of them and his defence and his physical presence would be needed.

New Jersey Nets: Would it be wrong for him to go back to New Jersey?

Regardless of where he goes Kenyon Martin is going to have to take a huge pay cut. He will likely be a complimentary role player and may even have to accept a role off the bench.

Lockout

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I have no inside knowledge as to what is going on with the current lockout. I wish I did so we knew just how long this lockout will last. This is bad for the NBA and is an issue that both parties should look to solve relatively quickly. Even the NBA website seems to be in lockdown mode. It is only one page describing the latest news of the lock out, that’s right, even the fans have been locked out of nba.com. We are in a situation where the labour talks are the leagues first and only priority. As I have said, I have no inside knowledge so I really do not have too much to write about it for the time being. Hang around though, as I will continue to blog about the players and the teams!

We Have A Lockout.

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Who knows when the current situation with the lockout will end? Most hope it is sooner rather than later. Both parties knew when the deadline was well in advance, but were not able to come to an agreement. During the lockout players will not be getting paid nor will they be able to use any of the team’s equipment and facilities. Teams cannot negotiate contracts or sign free agents. Effectively the owners have locked out the players. It is the first lock out the NBA has experienced in 13 years when the 1998-1999 season was reduced to 50 games. Both parties appear to be worlds apart in negotiations. One of the main issues is the revenue sharing of profits made through basketball related activities. Word has it that there are a number of teams who are having difficulty breaking even and making a profit and many of the players say they should be getting paid more as they are the reason the money is being made in the first place. Everything in the NBA has had to come to a grinding halt because of this issue and it will not be able to resume again until a deal is made. The NBA was making such great progress with attendances and television audiences, the league was making a lot of money, and unfortunately this was not being felt in some of the smaller market teams.

It is not too late to strike a deal (as the lockout only started today) so that it will cause minimal disruption to the NBA offseason.