SR – NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #19 Sacramento Kings

SR – NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #19 Sacramento Kings

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by | Jul 11, 2020 | Featured, NBA

It’s day four of the 22-team countdown, as we are approximately 19 full days away from the NBA festivities taking place in the Disney World Bubble in Orlando. All teams have officially arrived in the land of the Magic Kingdom, and if you’ve been following Twitter pages like @NBABubbleLife, you’ve probably seen some of the recreational activities and amenities granted to your favorite players on teams invited to the resumed season. Everyone is settled in, with team practices occurring at the top of every hour and players getting back to the routine of being around their teammates, preparing for future games.

The next team up for mention on this list is on a slightly different path of trajectory when it comes to competing in the bubble. Surely just like the Nets, Wizards and Suns, the Sacramento Kings are in the same boat of having an uphill battle to land the final seed in the West, but there are two major differences that could benefit them: they’re all healthy, rested, and focused on taking down the three other teams vying for the eighth playoff spot in the conference, and they have significantly easier resumed season schedule than the San Antonio Spurs who sit a spot above them at 10th in the West.

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Sacramento’s Season In Review (28-36, 11th in West)

The Kings’ season has been marred by a plethora of unfortunate injuries to core pieces, questionable coaching decisions, and recently the potential reality of losing Buddy Hield and Jabari Parker to opt-outs due to their COVID-19 diagnoses. And still, these resilient Kings, who have been trying their hardest to enter themselves into playoff pictures of seasons past, have a real good chance of doing so in a prolonged season.

Just making the cut as one of the 22 teams invited to Orlando for this season’s resumption, Sac-Town’s team had plenty of optimism that things would finally turn in their favor even before the 2019-20 season commenced.

Earth shook (at least on Kings ground) when it was announced that Buddy Hield would sign a massive 4 Yr./$86 Million max extension and many were looking at the tandem of Hield and lightning-quick guard De’Aaron Fox (he cut his hair, btw.) to take the next step into superstardom with their ever-improving court-vision skills and decision-making as primary ball handlers in Luke Walton’s offense.

Marvin Bagley III was looked at to bounce back from an otherwise average rookie season and play an entire year without missing substantial time due to injury and the middle of the pack players were to step up and contribute in multitudes to help get the Kings back into the postseason for the first time since 2007.

And of course, none of the latter really happened for another season. Walton’s coaching status quickly became a topic of ostracism as a result of his poor minute distributions and on-court combinations, they lost four of their first five games, Marvin Bagley got hurt – again – and only suited up for 13 the team’s 64 contests, and they basically reaffirmed their roles as punching bags for the rest of the West to pick up cheap victories on during road trips.

But it hasn’t been all bad. Up until the season was halted due to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s decision to suspend the season over concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic, Sacramento composed a 13-7 record over their last 20 games, and subtly, snuck into the playoff conversation.

What has been a surprise and, take it for what you will, a beacon of promise for future seasons this year, has been the rise of role player Richaun Holmes, who’s been a source of energy off the bench for a team that’s been without a pure rebounder and rim protector since DeMarcus Cousins left in 2017. And what a replacement he’s become. While the Willie Cauley-Stein experiment didn’t quite pan out as Cousins’ complementary asset in the frontcourt, Holmes has gained a ton of respect from fans and media experts alike thanks to his “head down and work” mentality, which has surely rubbed off on the entire team.

Though undersized at 6-10, Holmes has shown flashes of his polished footwork under the rim as a low-post scorer and has out-hustled even the most tenacious of players night in and night out. The Kings got Holmes for a bargain (2 years, $10 Million left on his deal) and he has not disappointed in the slightest and has been a gift out of nowhere, especially when you look at his productivity and a reduced role in prior destinations like Philadelphia.

It’s been another transitional year for the Kings, but it’s certainly been a year many lest forget in terms of some memorable games played, which have all further added to the development of De’Aaron Fox, Richaun Holmes, Marvin Bagley III, Bodan Bogdanovic, and others.

There was that time early in the season against the initially-undefeated Boston Celtics that concluded in suspenseful fashion, thanks to some barely decent defense by Buddy Hield that caused a floater by Marcus Smart to bounce on and off of the front of the rim as the Kings won, 100-99.

Or that time where Sacramento managed to handle the Clippers emphatically on January 30 inside the Staples Center, four days after the passing of Kobe Bryant. Granted, they weren’t playing the same-stadium Lakers, Bryant’s franchise team, but the aura left by the five-time champ and four-time Finals MVP was felt all the same in the building he built.

De’Aaron Fox emphasized just how much the Black Mamba inspired him, delivering a scintillating and inspirational performance: 34 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists off 14/24 shooting – the best scoring output he’s ever had in an NBA uniform. It was also the first win of any team inside the Staples Center since Bryant’s death.

Sacramento has shown that on occasion, they are proven to have hung with the league’s most arduous teams that are playoff-bound, and they didn’t back down when given the chance to compete. Their final matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies saw yet another promising performance from the likes of their star in Fox, who had a strong showing on the offensive end while battling Ja Morant and tally 16 combined points in the second half of a 25 point night for the Kings’ starting point guard.

Finally, who could forget the $86 Million dollar man Buddy Hield capitalizing on his spotlight and winning the 2020 MTN DEW 3-Point contest back on February 15? While the win was awe-inspiring, considering that Hield drained his last shot to win the contest, it meant more to the fact that Sacramento is starting to get some attention from the national media.

The Kings haven’t had a true All-Star since 2003 (Brad Miller actually, Boogie Cousins doesn’t really count since he was traded to the Pelicans right after the 2017 All-Star game) so their hope is that both Hield and Fox become All-Star caliber players at some point so that drought ends soon.

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Sacramento’s Roster For Season Resumption: Within arm’s reach of forcing a play-in tourney, Sac-Town’s young core will have to go all-out in Orlando.

Keep in mind, as abhorrently unfortunate of a season that Sacramento has had, it’s a miracle that they’re only four 1/2 games out of snatching the eighth seed from the Memphis Grizzlies and keeping the Pelicans, Trail Blazers and Spurs out of reach from the final spot in the West. Fox has been their MVP by a wide margin, leading his club in scoring and assists while also showing that the chemistry between him and Buddy Hield is intact.

Still, health played a major factor in determining what caused some of the Kings’ most significant losses and lower positioning in the Pacific Division out West. Fox missed 17 games over the stretch of the season due to a lingering ankle injury sustained back in November, but after his return on Dec. 17, he picked up from where he left off with his 18.2 points, seven assists and four rebounds per game and actually upped his scoring numbers, as he was averaging 20.4 ppg., 4 rpg., and 6.8 apg. before the season was suspended as a result of the worldwide Coronavirus concerns.

Hield, on the other hand, looks to come into Orlando just as hot as he was when the season was paused. Hield is having his best two seasons as a pro, and reasonably so since he got the brinks trucks backed up for him with that four-year extension he got in the offseason. Hield was averaging 19.8 points per contest off 42.9 percent shooting from the field and 39.5 percent shooting from deep prior to the suspension. He has become a true second option as a premier perimeter scorer that primarily makes his mark off the catch, and who Fox will usually look to the most during their running of halfcourt sets.

And alongside the two guards in the backcourt will be the likes of Small Forward Harrison Barnes, who is looking to revisit the postseason for the first time since 2016. Barnes, who is averaging 14.7 points, and 4.8 rebounds per game, while shooting an impressive 38.3% from the 3-point line, will be looked to be the usual slashing 3-and-D man on a Kings team that is going to require his presence to stop guards who are switched onto him out around the arc, as well as take opposing Small Forwards out of the game with his own strength and polished footwork on the defensive end around the rim.

With him in the frontcourt will be the duo of Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley III for the resumption of this season. Bagley’s health has been a major concern but when the former Duke Blue Devil is healthy, he’s a dynamic, physically imposing stretch big that can be annoying to guard.

He averaged 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in the 13 games he played with relatively poor shooting percentages from the field, but Bagley’s potential and room for progression is evident. It’s been said that he’s packed on 10 pounds of extra muscle during this quarantine, but in the event that his lower body ailment appears to be too much of an obstacle for him in this eight-game seeding schedule, in will come Nemanja Bjelica to start at the five.

The sharpshooting Serbian has floated around different rosters throughout his five-year career but has found a home in Sacramento as a productive bench player and occasional starter. Bjelica (11.9 ppg., 6.4 rpg., 2.8 apg., 47.5% FG, 42.4% 3PT) has been an efficient substitute for Bagley as the starting center for the Kings and has helped the Kings become a top-20 defense in the NBA while also being a spark of offense from deep and in the restricted zone underneath the basket.

Sacramento’s bench may be one of the strongest in all of the 22 teams invited to Orlando. As Fox sits, Luke Walton will give the keys to the offense for both point guards Cory Joseph (6.3 ppg., 3.4 apg., 2.5 rpg., shoots 42% from deep) and Yogi Ferrell (4.2 ppg., 1.3 apg., 1.1 rpg.) to run the floor and command the floor.

When Hield takes his rest, rising star and sixth man Bogdan Bogdanovic (14.5 ppg., 3.2 rpg., 3.2 apg.) will step in to provide some isolation and pick n’ roll buckets with a natural shot-creating ability that puts pressure on any defense. Justin James (2.5 ppg., 0.9 rpg., 0.5 apg.) will have a lesser role in the offense but will be asked to do the same as a two-guard on the floor.

At the forward spot, longtime journeyman Kent Bazemore (10.3 ppg., 5 rpg., 1.1 apg.) and brand-new King Corey Brewer will try to impact the game with their already aforementioned roles of scoring off the dribble and coming off of screens ready to shoot set in place.

In Bagley, Bjelica, and Holmes’ place will be two fellow Blue Devils; Harry Giles (7 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 1.3 apg., 0.6 bpg.) and Jabari Parker (4 ppg., 4 rpg., 2 apg.). Parker is currently recovering from the Coronavirus as we speak, and his status for playing in Orlando is unknown with him not taking the trip to South Florida with the team. Former starter Alex Len (6.6ppg., 7.1 rpg.) will be another body Walton will be infringed upon utilizing for additional rebounding depth.

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Sacramento’s Schedule, At A Glance

As the Spurs have a 1.5 game advantage over the Kings in what should be a four-way dogfight for the final seed in the West, the Kings have a slightly more grueling eight-game stretch in comparison to their adversaries in San Antonio. Which made the decision to put the Kings at #19 on this countdown a little more definitive.

Sacramento faces a total of four playoff teams in this abridged seeding schedule, which doesn’t say too many good things if they are going to potentially be without their second-best player. On July 31, they will tip-off in a rather important game against those very Spurs they are trying to move above in the Western rankings, and with a win, get that early headstart on ascending the standings toward the eighth seed. After that, they’ll (literally) be playing an away game against the tournament-hosting Orlando Magic, the first playoff-contender Sacramento faces during their time in Orlando.

Two days after that, they have to go toe-to-toe with Alvin Gentry’s New Orleans Pelicans, who are also battling for an opportunity to force a play-in tournament for the final Western seed, though they have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the entire league. A date with undermanned Brooklyn might be a bit of a reprieve before they have to go and play James Harden and Russell Westbrook’s Houston Rockets (pending if they play, considering that both didn’t arrive in Orlando with their team). They’ll have one more run-in with Zion Williamson’s Pels before playing their old pals AKA their Pacific division rival Los Angeles Lakers to close out their regular season.

They’ll have the 15th easiest schedule, as well.

If there is any room for luck that can be made for this misfortuned-but-not-out Kings team, it’ll have to be on the back of their best players in De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield.

The rest of the cast and crew must chip in significantly so that the Kings can look like a tumultuous opponent to face come time for the resumed season to start later this month, but the opportunity lies right in front of Fox and Hield to show the collective NBA universe just how close the Kings are to being a true growing powerhouse on the right path to being staples in the playoffs for years to come.

Jul 11, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #20 Phoenix Suns

SR – NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #20 Phoenix Suns

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by | Jul 11, 2020 | Featured, NBA

Day three of our 22-team countdown continues this Friday, as we move another step closer to the restart of the NBA season on July 30. Picking back up on things for this list, the next team that’s already headed East to Orlando isn’t all that far from the first two teams mentioned on this list, in terms of having to fight for a playoff spot in the most adverse of ways as one of the outlying teams barely invited to the restart. For the first time on this countdown, however, the squad talked about today will be out West.

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Phoenix’s Season In Review (26-39, 13th in West)

If there was a way to describe the Suns’ season in entirety with a cliche’, it would probably be just pure bad luck. What started out as a promising campaign to kick off Monty Williams’ new tenure as the head coach of these Phoenix Suns, turned into another dragged out, wasted opportunity to improve their luck, and climb out of the lottery pick pit they’ve been confined to since 2010.

The beginning of the year was surprisingly adjacent to the regular misfortune Arizona’s premier basketball franchise felt each year, regardless of them not having DeAndre Ayton for the season’s first 25 games due to a positive diuretic test of a banned substance. Going a steady 4-2 with some key wins against the visiting Clippers, Grizzlies, and Sixers, It looked like it finally clicked for Devin Booker’s Suns, and for the likes of newly-acquainted Suns, Kelly Oubre and leading assist man Ricky Rubio, this superfluous chemistry had remarkably developed.

And here comes the proverbial crossing of the black cat’s path: Ayton’s return from his abrupt suspension, and Phoenix’s failure to get back to a .500 record for the rest of the season, thus keeping them down in the 13th spot in the West.

Granted, had DeAndre Ayton not tested positive for that substance back in October before the new season even tipped off, Phoenix probably would have been in more of an esteemed position to reach a playoff seed for the first time since Steve Nash and Shawn Marion did it back in 2010. Still, the Suns have had a couple of flurries of success here and there, as they are still focused on getting more substantial pieces around their two stars in Ayton and Booker while remaining as competitive as they can be as one of the 22 chosen teams scheduled to play in Orlando later this month.

As is the case every year, Devin Booker hasn’t let the fact that he’s never sniffed the surface of just reaching the possibility of obtaining a ninth spot in the West close enough to challenge for a playoff seed at any point during his five-year career break his stride. Otherhandedly, Booker has been up to his usual terrorizing of defenses across the NBA, averaging numbers that only an all-star can put up on a consistent basis (26.1 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 6.6 apg.) So it was only right for the league’s voters to get him into the February classic All-Star game for the first time in his career…right?

Not technically, but kinda. Sure.

Devin Booker wasn’t exactly voted in but was rather chipped in last-minute as an alternate for the injured Damian Lillard, so had it not been for Lillard sustaining a lower-body ailment just nights prior to the All-Star game, Booker would’ve been snubbed again. And how distasteful of a choice would it have been for one of the more perilous isolation scorers in the NBA for yet another year?Ā  To put it in the perspective of just how good Booker’s season is: taking into account that he’s played the second-least amount of games in his career (only 62 games), he’s having the second-best statistical season of his career when it comes to putting the ball in the basket.

Of course, not every star is complete without a productive supporting cast. Before Ricky Rubio ever ventured into the Suns’ facility, nary did he ever have a season where he averaged less than seven assists per contest. In fact, the playmaking chores presumably left for the Suns’ versatile guard in Booker to integrate into his game were promptly inherited by the Spaniard the moment he signed that three year, $51 Million deal with Phoenix this time last year.

That assist per game stat bumped up a little higher this year, now that Rubio’s been averaging around nine dishes per game – the second-highest amounts of assists per game he’s had in his career. And around him were two other key assets that promulgated those numbers all season long: Kelly Oubre Jr., and former Celtics big man Aron Baynes.

Oubre, who signed a two year, $30 million extension with the Suns last July, has been the best second option the Suns could ever ask for. Heā€™s having a career-best season, averaging 18.7 ppg and shooting 35.2% on 3-pointers and is the Sunsā€™ No. 2 rebounder. (6.4 rpg.) And Baynes, who is having a career year from downtown averaging a shooting percentage of over 37 percent of his attempts, has transformed into what looks like a stretch big in the most unlikely of ways.

Some memorable games and moments during Phoenix’s up and down year include their statement-making upset of the current #2 seeded Clippers back on October 26, in which Devin Booker dropped 30 on an incomplete Clippers team that was missing Paul George, Ricky Rubio’s return to Utah that showed him breakout from his usual pass-first role and explode for 22 on February 24, Aron Baynes’ sinking nine threes in a surprising 37-point night from the big Australian against the Blazers, and their 36-point beatdown of the then newly-formed “Small-Ball Rockets” back on February 7 in which Booker and Oubre combined for 72 points.

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Phoenix’s Roster For Season Resumption: Forward thinking is the best thing when your playoff chances are slim.

It’s going to be a case of the same old meat and potatoes for yet another conclusion to a season: Booker (26.1 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 6.6 apg.) left to fend for himself as the team’s most provisionary and under-supplied roster member during the home stretch of a season that’ll likely conclude before they get another chance at reaching for a postseason berth.

Therefore, it probably wouldn’t make much sense to haul Booker on the floor for 35-40 minutes a night on a team he knows he won’t have a good chance of making the playoffs with. However, it will be intriguing to see whether or not head coach Monty Williams plugs in his younger guys in the hopes of giving Booker the perfect ratio of rest and participation, considering that the next season, which won’t be too far away from September’s conclusion of the Orlando games, is on the doorstep.

Kelly Oubre won’t be in Orlando because he’ll be tending to a torn meniscus, announced in his official opt-out of play just days ago. It stinks too, considering the fact that Oubre has undoubtedly had his best season as a pro, averaging 18.7 ppg., 6.4 rpg., and 1.5 apg. in a brand new system that’s catered to his skillset like the perfect fit of a glove. Suns fans wouldn’t have minded seeing Oubre and Booker tandem hoop eight more times this year, especially when you factor in just how seamlessly the two have meshed on and off the court in a matter of a year.

In his place lies even younger, less experienced talent in Mikal Bridges. (8.7 ppg., 4 rpg.,1.8 apg.) Other than his absence, there practically aren’t many changes to this roster, for the exception of additional guard Cameron Payne subbing into the final roster spot left vacant by Oubre.

At the center position still lies the progressing first-overall pick from 2018 DeAndre Ayton (19 ppg., 12 rpg., 1.9 apg.), who will be looked at to not only add trim protection and lengthy perimeter defense when switched onto guards off Pick N’ Roll sets but also be aggressive enough to play bully ball on the block and knock down shots off pick n’ pop sets.

Aside from him in the frontcourt will likely be Aron Baynes (11.5ppg., 5.6 rpg., 1.6 apg.) who can also efficiently stretch the floor with his three-ball and defend the rim. And at the guard positions aside from Booker will be Rubio, who’s floor spacing will have to be key in order for Phoenix to challenge the remaining visiting Western teams still vying for a playoff spot.

Phoenix’s youthful depth will have an integral role in not only assisting the starters to give more productivity to a roster that needs it on the offensive end but further develop and get the minutes necessary for growth to experience the level of play that they’re expected to meet at the highest level of competition.

Rotational parts like perimeter lockdown guard Jevon Carter (4.6 ppg., 2 rpg., 1.3 apg.) and Elie Okobo (4 ppg., 1.6 rpg., 2.1 apg.) will be trusted to control the tempo of the floor while Rubio sits, and others like former UNC standout Cameron Johnson (8.1 ppg., 2.9 rpg., 1.1 apg.) and rookie/national championship-winning Virginia guard Ty Jerome (3.5 ppg., 1.5 rpg., 1.5 apg.) will get the nod from Monty Williams to be primary ball-handlers and scorers. Also with Oubre’s absence, do expect to get some Tariq Owens (1.3 ppg., 1 rpg.) sightings off the bench during their eight-game stretch.

The backups to Ayton and Baynes will be Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky”, (11 ppg., 4.9 rpg., 2.2 apg.) Cheick Diallo (4.8 ppg., 2.9 rpg., 0.5 apg.) and former Sixer and stretch wing Dario Saric. (10.1 ppg., 5.9 rpg., 1.9 apg.) Along with the blend of youthful and veteran guards, these prospective Suns will all obtain valuable minutes to contribute and improve not only their games in what’ll probably be a season for them that may not include a play-in tournament but their senses of equanimity under the tight duress of their collective playoff hopes teetering with every loss they take.

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Phoenix’s Schedule, At A Glance

Another hard schedule for a roster that may not look as competitive as the rest – check.

Phoenix’s eight-game stretch to finish out their season doesn’t look all that simplistic to get any type of above-.500 record out of when you take a gander at who they have to face right away.

The Suns have a rather simple introductory game to start out the Orlando stretch with a date with the non-contending Wizards, and then their schedule spikes in difficulty. For the rest of the time there, they’ll be tasked with getting wins against five other playoff-qualified squads who all have twice the amount of star power than them. Dallas is first up, and Monty Williams must collaborate with his assistant coaches to build up a gameplan to slow down Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Right after that, they’ll have to play Kawhi Leonard and Paul George’s Los Angeles Clippers.

Two days later, their turbulent Eastern road trip starts with a slight reprieve, as they will play an Indiana Pacers team that’ll be without Victor Oladipo. After that, they’ll be matched up with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and the rest of the Miami Heat.

But wait, it gets worse.

A duel with the season-surprise Oklahoma City Thunder will be next on the calendar and down a man, no one knows how the Suns fare against a three-headed monster that can out-hustle you on the defensive end as well as give you problems in the halfcourt while trying to stop their guard-conducted offensive attack. To finish off their season, games against the tall, lanky Philadelphia 76ers and a final game against Dallas caps off their regular season in Orlando.

This time should be used as a means of readjusting their focus on future seasons, and their recalibration in getting all of their core pieces on the same page so that Suns GM James Jones can feel confident about the direction that his franchise is moving toward.

Suns fans are going to see some things switched up come when it’s time to play. Monty Williams could try a bunch of things, like maybe having Devin Booker be the guy bringing the ball down the floor to run the point, letting DeAndre Ayton make his own shot off the dribble as well as give him the green light to pop the three from the top of the key, keeping Dario Saric on the block and occasionally moving him to the corner, or extend Mikal Bridges’ positioning on the floor to resemble that of a shooting guard.

It’ll be an assessment, rather a slew of experiments for these progressing Suns, so whatever their record looks like at season’s end, they’ll have a clear picture going forward on what Monty Williams’ Suns can look like years from now.

Jul 11, 2020 No Comments
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Joins the Converse Family

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Joins the Converse Family

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by | Jul 9, 2020 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

In their heyday, Converse was a basketball powerhouse. Top basketball stars like Dr. J, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson donned the Converse Weapon during their legendary tenures making it one of the most popular shoes of all time. Throughout the years, Converse had bright spots on the basketball court including Larry Johnsonā€™s Aero Jam in 1993 and D-Wadeā€™s signature line before his departure to Jordan Brand.

Though Converseā€™s star on the court may have dimmed a bit in subsequent years, the brand has been retooling their basketball line and the signature athletes supporting them. Since dropping models like the All-Star Pro BB and the Converse G4, the One Star has added All-Star and champion Draymond Green, burgeoning forward Kelly Oubre Jr., and WNBA star Natasha Cloud. Now,Ā  Converse has added even more talent and depth to their growing roster by adding the Oklahoma City Thunderā€™s rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.Ā 

Since his college days under John Calipari in Kentucky, the Toronto, Canada native has shown the tools to do it all. In his rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers, SGA put the world on notice with a breakout series in the playoffs against the Warriors. Following a trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder as a piece of the monumental Paul George trade, Gilgeous-Alexander has continued to improve, becoming the youngest player to accrue a 20-20-10 stat line.

Ā It isnā€™t just SGAā€™s crafty game and two-way ability that make him the perfect fit for Converse, either. SGA has emerged as one of the leagueā€™s most fashionable talents alongside fellow Converse compatriot Kelly Oubre Jr. After seeing Oubreā€™s recent release, it is clear that Converse is giving the power to the players to take advantage of their fashionable flair and creativity to bring a new edge to the court.Ā 

With Oubre being sidelined and Draymondā€™s Warriors missing out on the NBAā€™s return in Orlando, Gilgeous-Alexander will step on the court as Converseā€™s only on-court representative.Ā  In his announcement, SGA can be seen with the legendary Pro Leather draped over his shoulder which is more of an off-court look and in a custom OKC Thunder colorway of the low All-Star Pro BB, just the first in the “many flavors to come” he teased on his Instagram Story. With SGA joining the team, Converse Basketball is in great hands.Ā 

 

Jul 9, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #21 Washington Wizards

SR – NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #21 Washington Wizards

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by | Jul 9, 2020 | Featured, NBA

And…we are back with another edition of the Bubble Breakdowns! Last night, it might make a little more sense to move the Brooklyn Nets a little higher on this countdown, simply because of the shocking acquisitions that Nets GM Sean Marks was able to pull off in signing veteran shooting guard and handle GAWD Jamal Crawford, as well as former 1st rounder Michael Beasley. Brooklyn needed to pull off some last-minute substitutions as a result of the five players they’ll be without during the time they restart their season in Orlando in a couple of weeks, and by the looks of it, Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn now has some new benefits in the rebounding and frontcourt scoring departments.

On this Thursday, you could say that the position of this next team on our list is, quite honestly, interchangeable with some of the bottom-tier squads in the teams most likely to compete for a chance to play in the play-in tournaments for the lower seeds.

The players who decided not to play for the Nets was bad enough to the chances of Brooklyn keeping that seventh seed in the East, but in terms of opt-outs and no-gos on the Wizards’ end, Washington got rocked. badly. Both all-around two-guard Bradley Beal and sharpshooter Davis Bertans said no to playing in Orlando. Davis Bertans, for the fear of catching COVID-19, willfully opted out of participating in the Orlando games, while Beal plans to tend to a lingering shoulder injury he hopes to have healed by next season.

As it stands, Washington fans have little to wonder about who can step up to take the presumptive role of floor general for a team that’s relatively within reach of touching the eighth and final playoff seed.

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Washington’s Season In Review (24-40, 9th in East)

There’s no sugarcoating it: for just about the entire duration of the 2019-2020 season, the Washington Wizards have been the most defensively inefficient team in the NBA. You could literally count on a hand the number of times that Washington’s held their opponents to under 100 points (four times actually) and can do the same when you count up the times they’ve let opponents score 150+ points in a game, most notably in that silly, video-game-like thriller between them and the Houston Rockets that saw the Wizards lose 159-158 back in October.

But ironically, they’ve been a top-15 offense in the league (13th best offensive rating in the NBA), mainly due to the help of a certain superstar at the shooting guard position that could score whatever way you needed him to. As the ninth seed for this competition, Washington only needs four games to qualify for that play-in tournament that’ll likely feature both Brooklyn and eighth-seeded Orlando, assuming that the eight-game schedule for all three teams prompts a duel for the final spot in the postseason.

But, It’s still profound no matter how many times you say it aloud: the Washington Wizards are still alive in the playoff hunt, now only six games back of the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic. I’m sure the collective NBA Fan Base all went ‘HUH?!?!?’ when the 24-win Wizards were announced as one of the 22 teams scheduled to pack their bags and head down south to Walt Disney World when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that the season was back on. But here they are.

So, in looking at this season, you could say that it definitely was somewhat of a step, more like a tread or meander, in an appropriate direction. This year was supposed to be a time for Bradley Beal to test out his leadership skills amidst a blend of youthful, impressionable rotational pieces and proven vets, deflect and deny any skepticisms about him seeking other green pastures and free-agent destinations, and help first-year Wizards General Manager Tommy Shepherd cultivate a drama-free culture and landscape that’ll eventually reintegrate John Wall back into the picture (who, by the way, hasn’t set foot on an NBA court since December 26, 2018) for Washington’s title window to slowly reopen in future campaigns.

And for the most part, the Wizards have done just that. This team could’ve been in a way worse scenario had the early cursors of the season caught up to them but they were able to wade through a chunk of adversity in order to supplant themselves as a prospective team that has a serious shot at a playoff spot, especially when you assess both the Magic and Nets’ tedious eight-game schedule.

Washington’s core of player development deserves some praise, too, especially head coach Scott Brooks for the way he’s corroborated a sense of confidence towards young pieces like two-way talent and former 1st rounder out of Gonzaga Rui Hachimura, energetic big man Thomas Bryant, and former Laker Moritz Wagner. Moreover, in addition to assisting in their development, the way that he threw all of his chips on the table in allowing the likes of Bertans and Beal to be the leaders on a roster that otherwise without their talents would easily be a lottery pick-caliber squad.

On the topic of a certain rookie in Rui Hachimura, he’s gone above and beyond rudimentary expectations usually stapled to rooks on talent-inept rosters in 2019-20. Pro comparisons for Hachimura’s draft profile ranged from Kawhi Leonard to another international prospect, but the Japanese-born prospect has answered the call for a team that’s still adapting to the two-way stretch forward trend so popular among title-contending organizations. Averaging a respectable 13.4 points and 6 rebounds per game, Hachimura has fit like a glove, endearing himself to veterans who appreciate his adamant demeanor and focus.

Some key moments throughout the year for Washington, and specifically for Bradley Beal, you ask? Well, take your pick. There was that time that the former Florida Gator who, after being snubbed as an All-Star, honored his favorite player growing up, Kobe Bryant, by coincidentally becoming the first player in the league since Bryant in March 2007 to score 50-plus points on consecutive days (Beal scored 53 in a loss to Chicago, and then dropped 56 against Milwaukee in an OT loss one game later). Or how about that game where he laid in a game-winning two-footer in a drawn-up sideout set to knock off the Dallas Mavericks back on February 7?

And as a team, there wasn’t much more memorable of a stretch than their back-to-back Ws over two playoff teams in both Denver and Boston back in January. Up until that point, they only had two slews of back-to-back wins this season in general.

It’s no secret he’s been their runaway MVP this season and has drawn eyes to himself and his Wizards from fans and media personalities alike, considering that had it not been for James Harden essentially being the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to average almost 40 points per game (34.5 ppg.), he’d probably be on his way to nabbing his first scoring title with his averaged 30 points per contest.

But perhaps the most meaningful occurrence for the Wizards this season: Bradley Beal voicing his security with the team he’s on by signing a 2-year, $72 Million max extension in October. By doing that back at the beginning of a new season, he further confirmed the belief that he had regarding the still-existent potential that he believes the tandem of John Wall and himself have, along with the young, playmaking core that Washington has, to shake things up in the East once everyone gets healthy starting next season.

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Washington’s Roster For Season Resumption: No Bradley Beal/Davis Bertans = An Even Slimmer Chance.

I’m going to try and be as euphemistic as possible when I say this: Washington’s chances of competing for that playoff spot “exist.” They’re not high, at the slightest, but they’re still there. Looking at this lineup, Scott Brooks won’t have the offensive luxury of relying on Bradley Beal’s gifted shot-creating and shot-making dynamic to the offense that Brooks runs, Nor will he have the freedom to run his esteemed drive-kick sets for Davis Bertans. So now, other guards like Ish Smith, (10.5 ppg., 4.8 apg.) Shabazz Napier (12.0 ppg, 4.4 apg.) and new Wizard Jerome Robinson (6.1 ppg., 3.5 apg.) are likely to all split minutes in place of Bradley Beal.

Though it’s highly unlikely they match the 30 points per game Beal usually scores for Washington.

Additional backcourt members like Isaac Bonga (4.6 ppg., 3.2 rpg.), Gary Payton II (3.9 ppg., 2.8 rpg.) will mainly be relied upon up their ability to make shooters uncomfortable around the perimeter, as well as be trusted to knock down shots from deep on the offensive end.

Payton, similar to his dad, is pound-for-pound the best perimeter defender on this roster as it stands now, and Bonga, up until the season went on hiatus, was making 40 percent of his shots from deep and 50 percent of his shots from the field.

Two-way talent Garrison Matthews (5.4 ppg., 1.2 rpg.) could be a name to look out for, as he shot 42.9 percent from downtown this season and could be an integral piece of offense that could help to propel the Wizards to a playoff seed.

Expect bigs Ian Mahinmi and Thomas to split minutes at the five. Mahinmi is averaging 16.3 points and 12.6 rebounds per 36 minutes played, which is decent, but his defensive effort is one of the reasons as to why Washington’s been horrendous on that side of the ball. His defensive rating is at 112.6 – ironically, the best among all frontcourt players on the team – and they don’t really have much else to put out there. Conversely, his frontcourt cohort Bryant is arguably the best three-point shooter on the team at his position.

Averaging 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest, he may not be as sound on the defensive end in contrast to his other teammates but he made over 40 percent of his deep balls this year and it’ll be interesting to see just how many minutes the Indiana-made Power Forward gets per game during this resumed season.

Moritz Wagner looks to be the best bet to be Davis Bertans’ replacement in Orlando. Bertans, who finished third in the Three-Point Contest during All-Star Weekend in February, made over 42.4 percent of his attempts from deep while averaging a little over 15 points. It’ll be a little above Wagner’s paygrade to match the level of productivity from one of the league’s most efficient marksmen, but Wagner, who made around 34 percent of his deep balls this season, will be asked to contribute a lot more minutes within a rotation that’ll probably go 12-13 players deep once the season comes around.

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Washington’s Schedule, At A Glance

Washington comes into Orlando having the ninth hardest schedule of the 22 remaining teams. Which doesn’t help, because their two most productive players opted out of performing in Orlando due to steering clear of catching the coronavirus. As the schedule goes for the Wizards, it’ll look a little like this:

Given the bare bones of what the Wizards have left of a competitive roster, it’ll be a difficult task for them to squeak out more than four wins in this eight-game schedule. After four scrimmage games, they’ll play another team that’s trying to will itself into the playoff picture out West in the Phoenix Suns. NBA fans won’t get to experience the treat that would have been the battle of the All-Star Snubs – Bradley Beal against Devin Booker (yes, I know, DBook was an all-star, but technically he wasn’t voted in and only got on the Western roster due to Damian Lillard getting hurt before All-Star Weekend) – but it can potentially be a competitive, high-scoring affair for both teams.

After that, they have a date with Brooklyn, a team that like them is undermanned, and a team they are trying to catch to force a play-in tournament.Ā  Their schedule then ramps up in difficulty with a battle against Victor Oladipo-less Indiana Pacers team and then a duel with a tall, lanky Sixers team that’s sure to improve their stock before the playoffs roll through.

A game against the Phenom himself Zion Williamson and his New Orleans Pelicans await at the start of the season’s second half, and two days after that, they have to play a surprisingly dangerous Oklahoma City Thunder team that’s sure to wreak havoc among defenses everywhere. They’ll finish off their Orlando regular season playing two Eastern elites, the first being the #1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks with current MVP and leading candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the last being the #3 seeded Boston Celtics with rising superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Just like Brooklyn, this roster has been tethered and tattered by trade deadline decisions and abrupt opt-outs that all but certainly deflate any real hopes of seriously contending for a playoff spot this year. Yet, it’s unconfirmed just what level of intensity that the ninth-seeded Wizards are bringing into the NBA Bubble. Getting Washington back to the postseason for what’s been a drought of two seasons won’t be easy, or likely to be accomplished given the team that Scott Brooks has to coach and lead through the abridged season.

If there is confirmation of some sorts, Washington fans should feel some sense of pride and comfort knowing that things are only going to get better. For a team that’s so stout on grooming its younger pieces like Rui Hachimura and Thomas Bryant to eventually join forces with the currently rehabilitating duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal, GM Tommy Shepherd has to love the straightforward direction that DC’s team is headed toward.

Jul 9, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #22 Brooklyn Nets

SR – NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #22 Brooklyn Nets

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by | Jul 8, 2020 | Featured, NBA

And alas…an actual basketball article that we here at Sneaker Reporter are fortunate enough to give you, the reader, during this tumultuous year known as 2020.

Since the season readies for its eventual resumption on July 30th, we’re going to be bringing you some key facts and season-in-reviews within 22 breakdowns that will be done for the 22 teams heading into Orlando in pursuit of a championship. Keep in mind, these team breakdowns could very well change up regarding the progressing status of players’ options to opt-out due to injury, or if they get infected by the Coronavirus. As teams head their way to South Florida, let’s get to the first official team of this 22-team countdown on our list: the Brooklyn Nets.

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Ā Brooklyn’s Season In Review (30-34, 7th in the East)

The Nets’ 2019-2020 season was supposed to be an eight-month period that was supposed to center around letting new Nets Guard Kyrie Irving find his bearings amongst his brand-new adversaries in the Barclays Center while his partner-in-crime Kevin Durant healed from his ruptured Achilles suffered during Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals.

And as part of that plan, Irving was projected to lead this massively altered Nets roster back to the postseason for a second-straight season even if Durant wouldn’t be able to assist his new teammate to obtain a deep playoff streak. As fate would have it, that wasn’t the case and in Irving’s case, his on-court absence was a double-edged sword for a guard-dense Nets team that, albeit, was able to squeak out 30 wins during the season but only experience Irving’s dynamic productivity for just 20 games until Irving was sidelined for the rest of the season due to a shoulder impingement and surgery on that injured joint.

This Nets team was marred by an injury to a substantial amount of their core pieces, like Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert for a slew of games that prompted the Nets to only grab the seventh seed in the East, but it could have been worse. In fact, the Nets’ defensive effort prompted them to acquire a spot in the top-10 for defensive ratings across the league’s landscape.

Additionally, now ex-head coach Kenny Atkinson pushed the Nets to get some pretty impressive wins under his belt, up until his firing on March 7.

Remember that key victory on March 3 against the Celtics that saw the Nets (and most notably, Caris LeVert, overcome a 21-point deficit as LeVert ended up dropping 51 on an injury-maligned Celtics for that exciting overtime win? Or the first road game without Kenny Atkinson coaching courtside on March 10 inside the Staples Center, which saw a group of Nets reserves find a way to counter LeBron and Anthony Davis’ Lakers thanks to a game-winning elbow jumper by Spencer Dinwiddie with 28.4 seconds left on the clock, just hours before the season was abruptly paused one day later?

Another mark on their defensive prowess when pieces like Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan dominating the glass: during their rematch against the defending champion Toronto Raptors, the Nets held the 12th-best offense in the NBA to only 91 points on 98 possessions. And of course, not to be excluded, a dominant 20-point home beatdown against rival Philadelphia on December 15, in a game where Spencer Dinwiddie could not be stopped on his way to a team-high 24 points.

Brooklyn now finds themselves in a tight bind, however, with their collective playoff lifelines practically on life support. Opt-outs and de-commitments to play now leave a prospective playoff roster decimated and unrecognizable, making the Nets a bubble team that could be on its way out early in Orlando.

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Nets Roster For Season’s Resumption: The Orlando Nets won’t look a thing like the Brooklyn Nets.

Not having Kyrie Irving on the court since February 1 has done more harm than good for the offensive output of these Nets. Without their stars on the floor, The Nets areĀ the only team in the NBA that ranks in the bottom six in field-goal percentage (44.4%, 26th), 3-point percentage (34.0%, 26th), and free-throw percentage (74.4%, 25th). Which, in the given landscape of the bottom of the East, isn’t helpful or satisfactory in the slightest. And it makes it all the worst when you factor how many of the Nets have confirmed that they’d refuse to take the trip to Orlando before the season restarts. To fill you in on how many Nets aren’t going to suit up in the coming weeks, here’s a list of the guys not competing in the abridged season.

  • Kyrie Irving (shoulder injury)
  • Kevin Durant (Achilles recovery)
  • Spencer Dinwiddie (two positive COVID-19 tests)
  • Taurean Prince (positive test for COVID-19)
  • DeAndre Jordan (positive COVID-19 test)
  • Nico Claxton (injury)
  • Wilson Chandler (willful opt-out)

That’s a majority of their roster depleted, and the remaining names left on the team don’t quite spell “competitive”. Without their best player in Dinwiddie, who when he was playing, helped the Nets score 11.5 more points per 100 possessions with him on the floor (110.5) than they have with him off of it (99.0). That’s tied for the fifth-biggest on-off differential among 218 players who have played at least 1,000 minutes. He’s been the biggest star on this Nets team while Irving and Durant have rehabilitated, averaging a team-high 20.6 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game.

The Netw will lose other dimensions of their offense with other guys like sharpshooting wing Taurean Prince (12.1 PPG., 6 RPG.) and defensive anchor Wilson Chandler (5.9 PPG., 4.1 rpg., 0.5 BPG, 0.3 SPG.), but they hope to get the same kind of supplementary productivity from their recently-signed free-agents in guard Tyler Johnson, wing Justin Anderson and newly-acquired veteran big man Amir Johnson.

Nets interim head coach Jacque Vaughn will now look to rising star Caris LeVert to carry the offensive load and push this car wreck of a Nets team over the seasonal finish line. LeVert was on a tear before the season was suspended, averaging 24.1 points per contest in the season’s last 16 games. In addition to that wild OT win in the TD Garden on March 7, LeVert nabbed his first career triple-double against the Spurs just three nights later. At times, LeVert’s potential shines as bright as an LED Flashlight, as he showcases his ability to score at all three levels. But his consistency has been the biggest question mark.

In his return to the hardwood after a two-month recovery from a thumb ailment, LeVert struggled mightily, and his true shooting percentage dipped. That can’t happen in Orlando if he’s to be the primary threat on the offensive side of the ball.

So now, Brooklyn is going to conjoin new pieces like 2nd-year big man Jarrett Allen, marksman Joe Harris, rotational forwards Rodions Kurucs and Dzanan Musa, and two-way player Chris Chiozza with Tyler Johnson, Justin Anderson, and Amir Johnson in the efforts of making a new starting five that Vaughn himself doesn’t even know what will look like.

ā€œI still have to wait and see how guys are looking once we get to Orlando and make that adjustment, and thatā€™s the challenge,” Vaughn said in an interview with the New York Post. ā€œWhether itā€™s adjusting the way we play offensively and defensively, that could happen in two weeks leading up to our first game. Thatā€™s not your normal preparation, but we might bend a little bit. But weā€™re not going to break.ā€

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Brooklyn’s Schedule, At A Glance

Brooklyn might as well be counting their days if they’re going to pack it in and hope that they can keep their seventh seed in the East without any difficulty, considering just how many skill position players won’t even suit up for the Nets in Orlando.

And Speaking of Orlando, those pesky Magic who only sit a full two games out of swiping the seventh seed in the postseason from under them at 30-35. The Washington Wizards (24-40), on the other hand, are sitting six games back from taking that eighth seed from the Nets in the event they slip out of the playoff race or if the Wizards get within four games of the Nets and force a play-in tournament for the eighth seed.

Brooklyn’s schedule looks as if it could be a major thorn in their sides come the time of the season’s resumption. Here’s what it looks like:

The Nets start off their eight-game Orlando campaign with back-to-back duels with their two Eastern foes they are trying to defend their seventh seed from in games against Orlando and Washington and right after that, they’ll go toe-to-toe with two top-three teams in the East in Milwaukee and Boston.

Brooklyn has yet to beat Milwaukee this season (0-3), but do have somewhat of a considerable advantage over the Boston Celtics (2-1). But of course, that was when everyone was healthy and the combination of Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVertsuited up for them in all of their matchups.

Two days after that, Brooklyn has a mini “Western road trip” if you will, and will play another team vying for a playoff spot in the Sacramento Kings next, who need all of their games in positive results if they’re to challenge the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the West. After that, they play their hardest game of the eight-game stretch as they play Kawhi Leonard and Paul George’s Los Angeles Clippers. They’ll have one more opportunity to beat the Magic after that game, and will finish their regular season playing another Western team with a battle against Damian Lillard’s now healthy Portland Trail Blazers.

Brooklyn’s roster, already maligned with opt-outs and injuries, has the 17th-hardest schedule of any team in the NBA bubble. Which should be a point of optimism. But, this roster will be hard to identify come tip-off on July 31 against Orlando.

However, if Caris LeVert, Chris Chiozza, and whoever else that’s left on this Nets team can muster up some last-minute chemistry with new guys in the locker room and fight to get Brooklyn back into the postseason, that’ll make two successful seasons in a row that the Nets will have touched the playoffs, which only spells good juju for a team that’s going to be a lot more threatening come December when a new season starts and Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant open up Brooklyn’s championship window for a couple of years.

Jul 8, 2020 No Comments