What we learned from the first day of the 2011-2012 NBA Season

Christmas Day, 2011.

The day when the NBA came back.

We saw some scintillating matchups, with a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals as Miami and Dallas faced off. We saw new faces in new places as the Knicks (with Tyson Chandler at the 5) faced the aging Celtics, and CP3 led the Clippers against Golden State. We saw old-MVP’s face new ones as Kobe’s Lakers hosted D-Rose’s Bulls, and we saw a star-studded matchup in OKC versus Orlando.

So without further ado, here are 5 things we learned from watching the 5 aforementioned matchups:

1) The Miami Heat should be the favorite to win the NBA Title

Let’s be honest…the final score was not indicative of how dominating Miami’s performance really was. Miami led by 20-something through most of the game, and at times pushed that lead to the 30′s as well. Miami’s two-headed monster of Lebron James and Dwyane Wade led the way, putting up great performances. James led the way with 37 points on 11-19 shooting, along with 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Meanwhile, Wade put up 26 with 8 boards and also 6 assists. Rookie Norris Cole impressed early on, showing his athleticism and anticipation as reasons why Miami drafted him. A healthy Udonis Haslem, who had 9 points and 14 rebounds (6 offensive) is a very valuable player.

Miami is dangerous, with more depth than last year and a whole lot of athleticism and young talent. They’re healthy and Wade and Lebron have seemed to not miss a beat from last season. One thing I will say though is that Chris Bosh MUST be more effective. Haslem was a more effective PF yesterday, but he can’t be that effective for the entire season.

2) Rajon Rondo has a shot at winning MVP

If Boston can be successful, old age and all, then Rondo is going to have to lead them. The C’s yesterday lost by 2 to a new-and-improved New York Knick squad. Boston didn’t have Paul Pierce (NYK didn’t have Baron Davis but Pierce’s absence was more significant), and still hung with a talented Knick team…but they didn’t do it without Rondo’s stellar 31 point/13 assist performance. The points will go down once Pierce comes back and can shoulder some of that load, but Rondo’s youth, smarts, and athleticism will prove to be the driving force behind Boston’s success. If he can continue this level of play, he’ll be included in the MVP conversation come April.

3) Dallas will struggle to get to the Finals

Maybe they were rusty, maybe it was a Championship hangover, but having lost so many big pieces (Butler, Chandler, Barea, etc.) and gaining Lamar Odom is not conducive to winning the NBA title. The Mavs got absolutely destroyed by Miami and do not look like they have the skill to compete with the top teams in the league. Dallas lost too much depth and talent, and they must play very well to stay on top.

4) The compressed schedule will play a huge factor in the season

We all knew 66 games in a compressed period of time would be tough for some teams, but these schedules will get ridiculous! Of the 10 teams that played yesterday, 5 of them play again tonight. The Lakers play 5 games in 8 days, starting the season off with 3 straight. One thing’s for sure…the younger teams will see more success (I’m looking at you OKC).

5) The NBA is as popular as ever

TV ratings for Opening Day games were very high, indicative of just how excited people are to have the NBA back. Averaging 6 million viewers per game last year, the NBA saw the number jump to an average of 6.2 million per game, with the Chicago-LAL game being highlighted as the 3rd most viewed game on ABC ever.

According to ESPN.com…

“Chris Paul’s Clippers debut in the nightcap against the Warriors earned a 2.2 rating, up 69 percent over last year’s Portland-Golden State telecast in the same slot.

It was ESPN’s highest-rated Christmas prime-time game. The day’s first contest, Celtics-Knicks on TNT, was the most-viewed Christmas game ever on cable. The 4.0 rating was up 48 percent from last year’s Bulls-Knicks game on ESPN.

The first night game on ESPN — Magic-Thunder — drew a 1.8, up 29 percent from last year’s Denver-Oklahoma City matchup. The afternoon’s finals rematch on ABC, the Heat’s rout of the Mavericks, earned a 4.9, up 7 percent from Boston-Orlando last year.”

Fantastic numbers for the NBA as expected. I, for one, am ecstatic (yes, even with the Pistons being the Pistons) that the NBA labor issues have been resolved, and that we have (albeit a very rushed) season.

- ASJ

NBA Team Logos Through The Years

No real news or analysis in this gloomy time for us NBA fans, but I came across this page, and I urge any of you fans to check it out. It’s pretty interesting.

http://www.nba.com/magic/cohen_feature_081611.html

- ASJ

A Stat for Ball Hogs

There’s a metric for everything nowadays. From Assist Percentage to True Shooting Percentage, anything that can be done on a basketball court is being measured in some way. Add to that list…BALL HOGGINESS.

What is Ball Hogginess? If you’re a basketball fiend, you already know the answer to that one. Ball Hogs are players that take more shots than passes.  Usually that’s not a bad thing when you are a sick scorer like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, but you do have to keep your teammates involved if you want them to play defense.

Here is my metric (its still raw):

(FGA+FTA)/(ASSISTS+Bad Passes)
———————————————-
48 minutes

Let me break each part down:

The top part is simple. FGA + FTA are all indicators of the amount of shots one is taking.  Divided by that are assists and bad passes. Assists make you less of a ball hog. Bad passes are “attempts” at a good pass, so we give the player a benefit of the doubt and say he was looking to pass, so he’s not that much of a ball hog.

It’s all the divided by 48 (minutes) to prorate the metric to a level playing field, so one player who plays more minutes can be compared to a 6th man of some sorts. This stat is meant to look at the ratio of players taking shots over making a pass. Its not as truly accurate as looking at game tape of one particular player, but serves as a great estimation. Players who are inefficient at scoring (low TS%) and have a high Ball Hog rating are horrible players that need a coach to tell them they suck.

Remember, this is a rough stat. Therein lies problems (I’m sure of in) but I haven’t done enough tests with it to determine what those problems are. One glaring problem is that with a small sample size, the stat is not that accurate.

Here’s some selected players Ball Hog metric for reference for the 2010-2011 season. Remember, the higher the more they do not pass.

Chris Paul- .03
Kobe Bryant- .10
Kevin Durant- .18
Lebron James- .07
Dwight Howard- .34
Monta Ellis – .08

I’ll post an excel document of all the players Ball Hog stat for 2011 if I have enough support for it.

Thanks. If you have any tips for this stat, I’ll be happy to hear it.

*update – It seems that the stat doesn’t accurately incorporate the “hockey assist” in basketball. I’m looking into ways to incorporate that. Take this stat as an ESTIMATE of ball hogginess, not actual cold hard fact.

-ricky9

New NBA 2K12 Covers Honor MJ, Magic, and Bird

These are pretty sick, I think I’ll be getting the Magic Johnson one myself (Go Green!).

- ASJ

Sources: Pistons to Hire Lawrence Frank

Sources have indicated that the Detroit Pistons plan on hiring Lawrence Frank to be their next Head Coach. The choice was apparently narrowed down to two candidates, one being Frank, and the other being former Atlanta Hawks Head Coach, Mike Woodson.

The decision is said to be highly influenced by Dave Checketts, a former New York Knicks executive who has been hired by new owner Tom Gores as a consultant to the team. Joe Dumars apparently preferred Mike Woodson, who was an assistant under Larry Brown for the 2004 Pistons’ Championship squad.

Lawrence Frank spent the past year as an assistant to Doc Rivers in Boston after 7 years at the helm of the New Jersey Nets.

- ASJ

The Pick-and-Roll

The Pick-and-Roll is one of the simplest and most effective plays in the game today. Done right, it can be a near unstoppable offensive tactic leaving the defense confused. What are the keys to a good Pick-and-Roll?

1) A good Pick-and-Roll Point Guard.
- Names like Steve Nash and Chris Paul should come to mind, rather than those like Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook. This PG should be able to make key decisions very quickly, and act upon them.

2) A versatile and athletic big-man, be it a Power Forward or a Center
- Think Dwight Howard or Amare Stoudamire. This big-man must be able to set an effective pick to free the Point Guard of his defender.

3) Timing
- The most important factor is timing. From when to set the pick to when to break off and roll to when to pass the ball, timing is the most important underlying aspect of this play.

So let’s break the Pick-and-Roll down in a few stages. Some quick notes before we start:

- Blue circles represent an offensive player
- Red circles represent a defensive player
- The Orange shading inside a circle represents who has the ball
- Orange lines represent the path of the ball’s movement
- Black lines represent the path of the player’s movement
- 1 = PG, 2 = SG, 3 = SF, 4 = PF, 5 = C

1) The player in the 2 or 3 position (usually, in this case we’ll say the 3) brings the ball down the court, and having entered the offensive zone, moves to hand the ball off to the Point Guard.

2) The ball is passed to the Point Guard and the player who brought the ball up the court heads to the opposite side of the offensive zone to clear space for the Point Guard.

3) The player setting the pick (in this case, we’ll say the 4), heads over to obstruct the path of the player defending the Point Guard. The Power-Forward’s defender follows him. The 2 heads to the corner to pull his defender further from the paint. The 5 pulls his defender out of the key.

4) The Point Guard dribbles around the pick and moves towards the hoop. Here he has a few decisions to make. Should I drive to the hoop? Should I kick it out to the side? Should I take it back out? Will my PF Roll? The 5 hustles towards the top of the key to draw his defender further away from the basket. The defender of 4 slides over in an attempt to stop the Point Guard.

5) In a perfect Pick-and-Roll, the Point Guard’s defender (from the beginning) will go after the Point Guard rather than switching. Assuming all goes well and he goes to trap the Point Guard, the Power Forward can then roll and streak to the basket. The Point Guard will either hit him with a pass in stride or lob it up for him.

6) 4 gets the pass. Bucket.

The Pick-and-Roll is essentially a two man play, leaving the opposing defenders to gamble or make tough decisions. Now there’s always alternatives to each step. If something doesn’t work out, the players can always rotate and kick it out or pull it back, pass it to someone else, etc. However, as aforementioned, if executed correctly, the Pick-and-Roll should work more often than not.

**Important: There is more than one way to run a Pick-and-Roll. I am just illustrating a basic view of what happens in one scenario.**

Here’s a video of a perfect Pick-and-Roll:

A video of Chris Paul teaching some young basketball players how to execute the Pick-and-Roll:

Well that’s it! Hope you guys learned something. Stay tuned as we’ll be looking to add a couple writers, and we will try to keep bringing you posts and news even with the lockout. Thanks for reading!

- ASJ

What Would You Like To Read?

Here at WNR4HL, we love to cater to your every needs.

Just kidding. But we want you to ask us some questions or give us some ideas of what you’d like to read!

Leave a comment under this post!

Layback Larry approves this message

- ASJ

10 Things I Liked About the 2010/2011 NBA Season

With the Lockout plunging the NBA World into a place darker than Jimmer Fredette’s future in the league, it’s nice to reminisce about the good times this past NBA season gave us.

1) Miami’s Big Three

I know, I know…many of you hate it. Miami instantly became the most despised team in NBA History overnight. Yet it was hard to not appreciate the huge storyline it gave to the NBA season, and we ALL (don’t deny it) couldn’t wait to see the Big 3 play together.

2) Blake Griffin’s Rookie Season

After we had to wait a year for Griffin’s debut, his rookie season started off with all sorts of hype. And Griffin didn’t disappoint, throwing down thunderous dunk after thunderous dunk, and in the process, making Timofy Mozgov his bitch.

3) Blake Griffin’s Nicknames

Some of the best I’ve heard: Blake Superior, Blake Lively (because he’s lively?), Blake The Quake, The Beige Bomber, Poster Child, The Pigment Weak Freak (my personal favorite), and Carrot Hops.

4) Greg Monroe:

It’s not easy being a Pistons’ fan these days, but if there were any bright spot in our season, it was young #10. Monroe stormed onto the scene in the 2nd half of the season, nearly averaging a double-double and offering Pistons’ fans some hope in a very dark period for the franchise.

5) Dirk Finally Winning an NBA Championship

The Winnerschnitzel finally got what’s his and won himself a ring. Dirk put up insane numbers in the playoffs, further establishing himself as a top 20 (or possibly even higher) player of all-time. Ein Hoch auf Sie, Dirk.

Ghostface Drillah holding up that trophy son

6) Also Rick Carlisle, Jason Kidd, and Mark Cuban finally getting their rings

I got a soft spot for Rick Carlisle, whom I think is one of the very best (and probably the most underrated) coaches in the game today. Carlisle brought the Pistons back to relevance, but was fired after not being able to get them over the hump. I hated seeing him go, but I’m ecstatic that he got a ring. Same goes for J-Kidd…the NBA’s best half-white rapper is as deserving of a ring than anybody. Now everyone knows “what the Kidd did”. And Cubes…the mastermind of it all. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying he’s a great owner.

7) Ray Allen becomes the King of 3′s

Jesus Shuttlesworth all up in here. On February 10th, Ray Allen made one of the most memorable shots of his stellar career, surpassing Reggie “I’m Overrated” Miller and becoming the league’s all-time leader in 3′s made.

8) Kevin Love

Love is in the air…..getting all the rebounds. Allright fine. I apologize for that bad joke. Let’s move on. Kevin Love was the only good thing Minnesota had going for them, becoming the first player to record a 30-30 game since Moses Malone did it in 1982. But he didn’t stop there. Love put together a remarkable streak of 53 consecutive double-double’s, the longest since the legendary Elvin Hayes strung-up 55 consecutive in 1973-1974. Of course, this was all en-route to winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award too.

9) This Year’s Dunk Contest

Now I don’t necessarily agree with Blake Griffin winning it all, but him, DeMar DeRozan, JaVale McGee, and Serge Ibaka put on a show.

10) James Harden’s Beard

Fear the Beard.

Need I say more?

- ASJ

Flopingson’s disease – Does your favorite NBA player suffer from it?

Flopingson’s Disease (fl-ah-ping-sawhns di-ˈzēz)

What is Flopingson’s?

Flopingson’s disease is the act of flopping uncontrollably on the basketball court where there is no contact. This disease can be found in high school games and also in the NBA playoffs. This disease is ripping basketball a new one by making fans cringe when their favorite NBA player is acting so well he could win an Oscar.

What are the symptoms of Flopingson’s?
Check for symptoms. Those who have Flopingson’s do not readily admit to the disease. Use these common symptoms to see if they are infected:
- Obvious wax floor burn and bruising
- A need to fall over when somebody taps them on the shoulder
- Whining that their acting job didn’t get an Oscar or a foul
- The apparent dislike of their once former fans
- Falling uncontrollably when they see zebra stripes
- Watching Ballet in order to get good diving techniques

Causes of Flopingson’s
Some of the causes of Flopingon’s are:
- Being European
- Was once part of the drama club in High School
- Growing up watching Shawn Bradley or any other white Center
- Referees who actually believe the flops are legitimate calls.
- Compulsive lying in life

Treatment and Prevention of Flopingson’s
The NBA has already done a great job on the treatment of Flopingson’s, but no cure has been found yet. This pandemic of the disease is very contagious. After one flop occurs in an NBA game, more is yet to follow. Currently, referees are just “letting them play” through the flop or calling a great call, while leagues like the NHL have a rule against floppers. There is no cure in the NBA. Treatment includes: the ridicule of fans, and pundits, youtube videos showing how embarrassing the flop was, and the infected’s mother calling them telling them to man up.

Flopingson’s disease is currently diagnosed in these NBA stars (among others):
- Baron Davis
- Manu Ginobili
- Andrei Kirilenko
- Chris Bosh
- Lebron James
- Anderson Verejao
- Ron Artest

If you have anyone else who deserves to be quarantined or if you yourself suffer (as a b-ball player) from this debilitating sickness….please post the name so we can get some help him or her.

WE CAN FIND A CURE. TOGETHER.

-ricky9

Youtube of the Day: Miss Hawaii* Edition

*Sorry, I can’t really call this girl “Miss” anything. She’s a straight up bitch. Now I do have a tendency to call women bitches, but this is why Miss Hawaii is the queen of them: BlackSportsOnline puts Miss Hawaii on blast.

Anyways, If you did not know whats going down in Cleveland, Kryie Irving has a bit of the girl trouble in his hands. I would go into the details, but I’ll let the Ball Don’t Lie crew fill you in. Basically, Irving messed around with a girl for a night, and now this girl feels obliged to stalk and torment young Irving.

I was on the girl’s side, because sometimes ballers can be assholes…but then I saw this.

If you can go all the 10 plus minutes without getting annoyed, you are truly a spectacular person.

A couple of things if you don’t want to watch it:
1. She measures worth according to Twitter followers.
2. A lot of the NSFW
3. Miss Hawaii is from New York, #whowouldathunkit.
4. Her tittes, they are real…so stop asking. SHE IS NOT A MAN
5. She may have a video of Kryie masturbating on camera. HAHAHAHAA

I hope Kyrie gets this ugly monkey of his back, literally.

-ricky9