Daryl Morey Set To Join Philadelphia 76ers As Their New President Of Basketball Operations

Daryl Morey Set To Join Philadelphia 76ers As Their New President Of Basketball Operations

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by | Oct 28, 2020 | Featured, NBA

Perhaps the biggest news to date in Philadelphia during this offseason, (next to the Sixers bringing along Doc Rivers to be their new head coach) Former Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey is finalizing a five-year deal to become the new director of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers.

While much has shifted in the past couple of months for the Sixers’ orgnization, General Manager Elton Brand is expected to remain in his current position. Morey acts as the perfect liaison between the Rivers hiring, as he and Doc have maintained a long and and strong relationship together dating back to their days together in Boston, when Rivers was still the Celtics’ head coach, and when Morey was the Senior Vice President of Basketball operations for the Celtics until 2007.

He’s been on the radar for the Philadelphia 76ers, who are in dire need of some personnel adjustments after their disappointing 2019-20 campaign that saw them ousted in the first round of the 2020 playoffs. Morey was presented the opportunity to join the 76ers two years ago, but ultimately decided to sign an extension with the Rockets in lieu of the continual success his previous franchise was creating.

Morey approached Rockets owner Tiliman Fertitta about stepping down from his managerial role after the Rockets missed yet another trip to the Conference Finals, losing to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in five games during the Western Conference Semifinals. The sides then negotiated an exit agreement to end his 13 seasons within Houston’s organization.

For those unaware of the significance of this hire, Morey isn’t just a numbers wiz, but the most prominent executive in basketball when it comes to mastering the usage of analytics.

Since taking over the Rockets after his departure from Boston in the spring of ’07, “Moreyball” – a basketball version of the wildly successful Moneyball plan devised by former Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane that’ heavily reliant on using advanced statistics to your advantage, three-point field goals and layups as opposed to mid-range jumpers – has ascended the basketball stratosphere as Houston has compiled the best record of any franchise in the regular season, making the huge leap from playoff qualifier on the outskirts of contentionship to championship favorite without having to tank for more reliable talent.

To the chagrin of traditionalists who thought Morey wasn’t constructing his roster the right way, he grasped the 2018 Executive of the Year award for his ingenuity and tenacity, even if his groundbreaking strategy of implementing a scheme limited players’ skillsets as they operated in the system. Houston has become a hotbed of All-Star talent in recent years, most notably due to the appeal that James Harden (who Morey shockingly traded for in 2013 from Oklahoma City) gave to them, and they’ve made the postseason for eight straight seasons under Morey’s guise.

There are preeminent questions that will be answered in due time, like how the tandem of Rivers and Morey reconcile such differences like their positioning of bigs and whether they stay on the low post or on the perimeter, or the free agency decisions and who Morey can attract to Philly. More shall be released in the coming days but make no mistake about it, this is a massive splash for the Sixers, who are looking to play an even more prominent role in taking over the East.

Photo cred: Bill Baptist/NBAE Via Getty Images

Oct 28, 2020 No Comments
SR-NBA Playoff Preview: The NBA Finals

SR-NBA Playoff Preview: The NBA Finals

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by | Oct 1, 2020 | Featured, NBA

Two months ago, 22 teams embarked on an unprecedented voyage to unchartered territory. And after occupying the Disney Springs bubble at Lake Buena Vista in Orlando, Florida, 20 teams have competed for a shot at the NBA Title, and have promptly been eliminated from the running. And after the two-month frenzy, only two remain.

We’re here.

Tipping off at 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC, it’ll finally be time for the NBA Finals, in it’s most atypical form, of course.

This sport’s showcase of immortals, if you will, is going to be unlike any of its predecessors; the atmosphere, aesthetic, even the court design is all different. But throwing the facts that there won’t be a rowdy home-court advantage and ubiquitous celebrities packing the front rows of every game to the side, two variables are left unaltered: the grandiose and pageantry the Finals naturally display, and the legacy that can be made in one of professional sports’ most historic schedule of games.

Legends arise on this stage, while those not quite ready for the spotlight always get humbled by the moment.

Back on that ominous night of March 11 when the season was suspended, we didn’t know how long (or if) we’d continue to see basketball on our television screens. It took league-wide polling, debates between Player’s Association members and league executives, formulation of testing protocols to keep players, coaching and additional staff safe from the harm that the COVID-19 pandemic has done to an innumerable number of people across the world, so thanks to the many frontline workers for making this bubble possible and safe for all.

Using recency bias, but it’s arguably been the most memorable time in the history of this league. And it’s baffling to think it is coming to an end so quickly.

Okay, now that we got all of the poetic jumbalaya out of the way, let’s get to the tale of the tape.

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1. Los Angeles Lakers (52-19, 1st in West, Won 1st Round vs. POR 4-1, Won WCSF vs. HOU 4-1, Won WCF vs. DEN 4-1) – The top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers crusaded through the Western Conference playoffs with ease, losing only a game in each series while “Gentleman’s Sweeping” their opponents in the Trail Blazers, Rockets, and Nuggets.

The Conference Finals that just about everybody saw coming featuring the Battle of Los Angeles, never came. And with the Clippers blowing a 3-1 lead against Denver to spoil the favored preseason pick of the final two in the West, the Lakers capitalized on the opportunity to get over their surprise of a lesser opponent in the conference finals with expeditious fervent.

Living legend LeBron James now heads to his tenth (!!!) NBA Finals with the sole goal of earning ring No. 4 as he continues to chase ghosts of fellow legends past on a trajectory only the King himself is on heading towards. And he’s doing all of this in his 17th season. Averaging nearly 26 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 8.8 assists this postseason, LBJ is on a mission to further supplant himself as this game’s GOAT, and he can’t think of a better way to earn that fourth ring against the same team he won his first two with.

Accompanying him is a Kentucky product that could be perceived as the most lethal teammate he’s ever played alongside in Anthony Davis, who has been on a tear in the deepest postseason run of his career. The inside-out threat has yet to meet his match in these playoffs, and he’s likely to continue to put up gawdy averages of 28.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 15 games in the 2020 NBA playoffs.

The Lakers, who finished third in overall defensive rating (106.1 Def. Rtg.) to finish off the regular season, showed why they deserved that accolade by posting an 108.1 rating while facing the likes of the two highest-scoring backcourts in the league in back to back rounds (Portland and Houston) as well as the dynamic duo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.

Yes, the Lakers are inconspicuously top-heavy, but it wasn’t just the James and Davis show in the bubble playoffs. Frank Vogel’s halfcourt sets that incorporate the likes of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso help space the floor for LeBron and AD to make plays in, but they’re able to hold their own when things break down, as the Lakers post a 115.6 offensive rating as a team.

Additionally, the name of the game for this series is depth, and the Lakers surely have that when it comes to having energy sparks that offer support to starters when they’re sitting down. Kyle Kuzma’s shot is getting there and he’s been getting his numbers while aggresively hustling, cutting to the basket and flashing for guards to hit him in stride when they’re handling the rock.

Even Dwight Howard, who returns to Orlando for a shot at winning his first NBA championship in his second-ever NBA Finals for the team that beat him back in 2009, transformed his game during the duration of the playoffs to be the active big that’s dominated small lineups, acting as a roll threat who is always roaming off-ball.

His usage might be in question if he cannot defend Goran Dragic, Duncan Robinson, and Tyler Herro onthe perimeter efficiently this series, but if he can hold his own like how he was in the conference finals, Frank Vogel could get creative with his flipping of JaVale McGee and Dwight in the active lineups to make different looks for the Heat to decipher.

Playoff Rondo reappeared out of the blue after a not too impressive regular season, and has energized off the bench as the Lakers’ sixth man by averaging a little under 10 points and 7.2 assists, which have come at big times when the Lakers have gone on huge runs to put opponents in the playoffs away.

The Lakers defend the rim well, and have length to stifle even the most creative of backcourts to get theirs in the open court, in which LeBron and crew are a spectacle in. They average a sum of 8.5 steals per game and in the series against Denver, they plucked around their regular average of 9 steals per game. For obvious reasons, Miami cannot afford to get loose with the ball and allow the Lakers set up in transition.

This postseason is one that Lakers fans have been waiting for since 2013, the last time they even got into the dance. It’s sentimental considering the fact that this is the first time in the playoffs since the late-great Kobe Bryant took them there to win title No. 16 against Boston in 2010.Β  Frank Vogel’s machine of a defensively-sound Lakers squad has them in the Finals for a league-best 32 times, and if their cards are stacked right, it’s likely that the elusive – and Celtics tying – title 17 is coming their way this year.

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5. Miami Heat (44-29, 5th in East, Won 1st Rd. vs. IND 4-0, Won ECSF vs. MIL 4-1, Won ECF vs. BOS 4-2) – It’s up to you if you viewed Miami’s trip to the Finals as peculiar or immaculate. Ask any fan of the South Florida franchise, and they’ll brazenly proclaim that all prognosticators have been sleeping on them all season long. Their proof? Their playoff record, and conquested foes along their path to their first Finals since 2014.

This was a business trip for Jimmy Butler, who’s repeated that consistently ever since he’s gotten in the bubble. It’s been nohting but dog fights for these Miami Heat, as they’ve clawed and scratched their way to the Finals by beating much more superior foes in the East’s best Milwaukee Bucks in five games and third-seeded Boston Celtics in the conference finals in six games. And you’d think it’d be behind the play of their only All-Star in Butler. Quite the opposite, actually.

While Butler has taken the backseat to let Erik Spoelstra’s rotation handle things in tight moments, the fiery guard play of trio of Polish Dragon Goran Dragic, undrafted rookie former “Product Development Intern” Duncan Robinson (check his LinkedIn for further clarification) and the self-expressed bucket Tyler Herro have answered the call, causing irreparable damage to all backcourts they’ve faced this postseason.

And in the backcourt is perhaps Miami’s most integral teammate, Bam Adebayo. One of a few pioneering as the future archetypes for big men in today’s (and tomorow’s) game as a point center, the Most Improved Player award nominee has been Miami’s defensive anchor as a big time rim protector and roll threat that breaks down any defense he sees.

Miami’s never-stagnant offense features so many interchangeable parts, and they become like chess pieces when fit into the manipulative gameplan Spo rolls out every game to beat the best of ’em. Miami has a bunch of dribble penetration sets in their playbook, but when people watch these Heat, they describe their offense as anything but.

Off-ball movement dominates the play sheet, and guys cut, screen, and flow into different handoff, curl, flex and drag actions that usually generate the perfect looks for shooters on the wing. And speaking of shooters, it’s rather repetitive to exclaim that nine of Miami’s scorers – that’s both lengthy wings and speedy guards combined – shot over 36 percent from downtown in the regular season. In the playoffs, that team-wide number stayed the same at 35.7 percent. Defensively is where Erik Spoelstra’s heat glow the brightest, however.

Combinations of talking, quick helpside rotations, pesky hands, sticky man-to-man physicality, and unpredictable combinations of zone coverages throw even the most elite of offenses off their games with their 109.4 defensive rating during the bubble playoffs.

They shut down any controversy of that Jimmy Butler-TJ Warren rivalry with a quick sweep of the now-diminishing Indiana Pacers, and then shocked the world by knocking off the league’s best team in Milwaukee, erasing MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and whatever chance the Bucks had of winning the division in five games. They capped off their winning of the East by coming back on the Celtics with double-digit deficits in consecutive games, relegating Boston to playing hero ball while exposing their inabilities to break Miami’s zone combinations.

These Heat have a 2019 Washington Nationals feel to them: a young core of power hitters that weren’t expected to string it together and make the playoffs in the first year they were around each other, let alone make the Finals. That is, until they ended up sneaking into the postseason with the blueprints credible enough to map out all weaknesses of their superiors in their division. And of course, that ultimately led to their qualification and eventual win of the Commissioner’s trophy with a win over the league’s best team in the other conference.

After a lenghty process of drafting well, competing, and only missing the playoffs three times since 2014, the Heat have successfully “rebuilt” a championship roster on their way to competing for their fourth title.

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NBA Finals: West’s No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. East’s No. 5 Miami Heat

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) and Jimmy Butler (22) in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball regular season game at the AmericanAirlines Arena on Friday, December 13, 2019 in Miami. DAVID SANTIAGO DSANTIAGO@MIAMIHERALD.COM

We’ll be getting to the basketball side of things a little later, but just speaking about the narratives in this year’s finals is taking up a whole section for itself. Some storylines of these finals include, but are not limited to:

  • LeBron, in his tenth NBA Finals, faces his old team, coach, and owner for the first time in a competitive series since he departed back to Cleveland after the 2013-14 season. After he left, rumors of LBJ wanting Erik Spoelstra fired and Pat Riley hired as the head coach swirled in the media, so there may be some unresolved conflict that rears its head this series.
  • Also, he has something to prove to doubters that said he had easy trips to the Finals because he “played in the East”, as James dominated the Western playoffs the first time around.
  • Bron will be able to take another sizeable step towards all-time supremacy if he is to win his fourth ring with his third team, something both Jordan and the Black Mamba cannot say they’ve done.
  • Erik Spoelstra meeting his (former) biggest rival in the East in Frank Vogel for the first time since those tense duels between the Pacers and Heat for three straight postseasons. Spo has never lost a series to Vogel, thanks to LeBron.
  • Jimmy Butler, the stern, hard-nosed blue-collar swingman whose personality has rubbed a litany of coaches the wrong way, has found a permanent home for the rest of his career and could affirm his place as a HOF’er by exacting his revenge on LeBron James, a player he’s never beaten in a competitive series, even dating back to his days as a Chicago Bull.
  • Is Miami another dynasty on the rise in the NBA that’s Golden State like with their profuse amount of perimeter scorers?
  • Andre Iguodala makes his sixth NBA Finals, and his fifth where his opponent will be LeBron James (remember, Iggy won the 2015 Finals MVP after shutting The King down…)
  • Who does Dwyane Wade root for? His friend and former LeBron teammate, or his native Heat?
  • (Pretty silly, but applicable: the battle of current boyfriend vs. ex-boyfriend! Tyler Herro is set to square off against Kyle Kuzma. Why is that even here, you ask? Herro is in a relationship with IG model Katya Elise Henry, Kuzma’s former companion.)
  • Dion Waiters is guaranteed a ring! Up until his suspension and eventual trade, Waiters played with the Heat for four years.
  • Last but certainly not least, the Lakers have the privilege of playing in the NBA Finals after such a tough year, and can honor the former Laker and fallen legend Kobe Bryant by winning the first title for the franchise since he won his back in 2010.

Those are a bunch, and quite honestly, a tip of the iceberg. But back to the basketball side of things: Miami got this far using the zone coverages to their advantages, but they only had to really worry about one skill position player gashing their D when they went to those 2-3, 2-1-2, and high 1-2-2 press coverages. But now, the defensive intensity will have to be focused on both Anthony Davis and LeBron James at the same time.

Remember when the Celtics went on lengthy cold streaks, frequently turning it over and not being able to generate good looks for each other? That mainly was caused by Miami’s effort to take away the middle of the defense, meaning that Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown were caught standing around, unable to cut and create driving space. Daniel Theis had the ball in his hands in the middle of the zones a lot when Miami went away from man-to-man. Meaning now, he’ll be substituted for Anthony Davis. And we all know how well AD does in the midrange.

But, the Lakers will still have to execute their offense, which heavily involves the daunting LeBron-to-AD pick-and-roll. Perhaps the most arduous two-headed attack in the bubble, double-teams and ball-denial will have to be Miami’s bread and butter this entire series, if they’re to have a chance. But, they certainly have the energy and tenacity to put up a fight. After all, they did beat the league’s best team in a series that wasn’t even close.

Offensively, they have to look toward their guards to get buckets, so that signifies a couple of things: 1) Duncan Robinson coming off curls and off-ball screens and/or dribble handoffs to catch defenders under screens, so he can pop those Klay Thompson-like attempts from behind the line, 2) Dragic-Bam Pick and Roll drives or dishes by way of lobs to get Bam’s numbers up, or 3) Jimmy Butler making instant offense as the pure hooper he is, freeing up wing shooters as they collapse on him and try to force him into a bad shot. Either way, they cannot have the third-best defensive team in the league playing them straight up.

Every game will be different, as these are two coaches that know each other inside and out. A classic series could be expected, or conversely another Gentleman’s sweep could happen for both teams. Action Network has the Lakers as -4.5 favorites in Game 1 of this series, and have them winning the series in 5 with +275 odds.

There is middle ground for both teams to work with, and just like every other series for both teams, whoever sets the tone on the glass, makes the right reads more, rotates with intent harder, turns it over less, and whatever side rises to the occasion more will win this NBA Title.

But if we’re talking Miami’s advantage in x’s and o’s…best believe the Lakers’ advantage of Jimmies and Joes in the Goliathic tandem of LeBron James and Anthony Davis could be the biggest factor that tips the scales in the favor of the 16-time world champs.

Prediction: L.A. Lakers Def. Miami Heat 4-2, Win NBA Title.Β  Β 

Photo credit: vanderbilthustler.com

Oct 1, 2020 No Comments
SR – Playoff Preview: The Eastern Conference Finals

SR – Playoff Preview: The Eastern Conference Finals

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by | Sep 17, 2020 | Featured, NBA

Six weeks. Seven days. That’s how long the Lake Buena Vista bubble in Orlando Florida has been inflated, and since the July 30th restart date, and while sports media personalities have bloviated and broken down all major and minor happenings both on and off the court, we’ve been blessed with some awesome basketball in this restart.

On another note, it’s fortunate that all players have been able to stay safe and COVID-19-free during the abridged resumption, and additionally, having players take such stoic stances on social justice issues with strength and steadfastness helped to move the conversation about civic justice to the forefront. This bubble has been a huge success, and it’s weird to think it’s almost all over.

Now back onto the topic of basketball: The playoffs have resembled nothing like how fans and T.V. personalities predicted prior to its beginnings.

Specifically in the East, seeing the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks who carried the league’s best record fall in the second round to the fifth-seeded Miami Heat was definitely not on a lot of peoples’ 2020 bingo card. And after that, the defending champion Toronto Raptors found themselves in a tight series against seasonal superior Boston that went the distance, as they went on to go down in seven.

Wild.

Now, game two of this physical showdown between two of the Eastern Conference’s remaining factions will take place tonight, live on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET.

Miami looks to assert themselves as the Alpha competitors after knocking off the top seed in the Eastern playoffs behind the suffocating defensive schemes put forth by head coach Erik Spoelstra, the spectacular two-way play of Jimmy Butler, and these sharpshooting wings Miami rolls out.

Conversely, Boston will have something to say about that, for their ability to match physicality with length is equally unmatched, and with the mountainous rise of Jayson Tatum’s superstar status mixed with the other two pure isolation scorers, this conference finals that is purely matchup-based will provide fireworks in more ways than just on the court.

There are some subtle storylines that have been in the making for a couple of years now, even dating back to 2012 when the LeBron James-Dwayne Wade-Chris Bosh-led Miami Heat and Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce-Rajon Rondo-Ray Allen-led Boston Celtics went to war, but until we get to those, let’s get into the breakdowns for the final teams standing in the East.

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3. Boston Celtics (48-24, 3rd in East, Won First Round vs. PHI 4-0, Won ECSF 4-3) – We are going to have new NBA champions and new champs coming out of the East since the Boston Celtics eliminated any chance of title retention for Toronto after overcoming them in seven during the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

In the previous series, Boston started out in startling fashion, smacking the Raptors by 18 in a Game 1 blowout. Boston’s length and adeptness at scoring in the halfcourt transferred from their first-round series against Philly. Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker were unstoppable, and that narrative carried into game two with the Celtics fending off the resilient title holders, winning by seven to take a 2-0 series lead with Gordon Hayward’s starting lineup replacement in Marcus Smart nearly scoring 16 straight points in the second game’s fourth quarter.

What seemed to be a steamrolling and impending 3-0 lead turned into a momentum-altered reshuffling, with Toronto’s OG Anunoby splashing a wide-open three-ball in the opposite corner from a side-out heave with a half-second remaining on the clock. Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker would subsequently struggle in a momentum shift of a Game 3, as Toronto tied the series at 2 apiece.

Anxieties arose, and it looked as if the Box-And-1/5 Triangle And 2 zones had Boston confounded and on the ropes. Those nerves got extinguished in Game 5, as Boston put on a show similar to their Game 1 outing where they trounced Toronto again, now with the confidence heading into their first chance at eliminating the champs.

But to do that, it took four quarters, two overtimes, late-game mishaps, and a decisive Game 7 to make that happen. Tatum answered the call when both his counterparts in Walker and Brown struggled and did what superstars do: drop 29-12-7, lock up on the other end, and honor his idol, Kobe Bryant, by breaking his record of being the youngest player in postseason history to put up a stat-line of 25p-10r-5ast at the age of 22.

Boston earned the right to be in the conference finals, so now it comes down to executing in what should be an enjoyable series against a rival that’s been a thorn in Boston’s side for the past decade.

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5. Miami Heat (44-29, 5th in East, Won First Round vs. IND 4-0, Won ECSF vs. MIL 4-1) – It was rational to consider the Miami Heat to be ions away from the Conference Finals picture at the season’s beginning back in October last year, let alone them dethroning the Milwaukee Bucks and ending their historic season.

A season that, albeit ended quite abruptly, included a bevy of awards to their two stars in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, (Giannis is the likely favorite to repeat as MVP, and Khris Middleton became an All-Star for the second straight year) and head coach Mike Budenholzer (coaches poll co-winner for Coach of the Year with ex-Thunder coach Billy Donovan).

But looking at this year, it was difficult to truly visualize any other outcome than Miami moving on to the conference finals. When it comes to the playoffs, every coach and player has an idea of what offense a team will attempt to run through their best players, so for Miami, who already had Giannis’ number in the regular season, showed the collective basketball universe they weren’t to be taken lightly.Β  Remember when we said Bam Adebayo was the best defender against Antetokounmpo in the entire league this season? Β 

We weren’t kidding.

Miami proved that they had the recipe to cut the head from the snake against the reigning MVP and take him away from his game. That, promptly, took the Bucks out of the equation for the three games they won against the Bucks with Antetokounmpo on the floor. And it wasn’t just Bam sticking onto the Greek Freak like glue – Miami actively switched Jae Crowder, Jimmy Butler, and the off-the-bench Andre Iguodala onto him. In the first three games, they beat Milwaukee with Antetokounmpo on the floor.

But in Game 4, things went from bad to horrid, as their transcendent star went down, clutching his ankle he injured during the third game of the series. He didn’t return and although Khris Middleton’s heroics kept the Bucks in the Disney resort for another few nights, they would go down in five, all because of the air-tight defense played by Miami’s combination of starters and role players, and knock-down shooting from the likes of Goran Dragic, rookie Tyler Herro, and wings Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk.

These Heat are serious about making it back to the finals for the first time since 2014, and their identity of grit, effort, and attention to detail got them within the thick of things to win their franchise’s fourth title. Boston stands in their way and though they’ve lost the season series to Boston two games to one, these new-look Heat aren’t messing around.

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Eastern Conference Finals: No. 3 Boston Celtics vs. No. 5 Miami Heat

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) shoots against Miami Heat forward Jae Crowder (99) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kim Klement/Pool Photo via AP)

It’s rather redundant to reiterate how matchup-enamored this duel between two elite defensive squads is, and as unexpected as this seven-game series will be, this is the first time in NBA history that the two teams in the East playing in the conference finals won’t be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. But that’s pretty on-brand for this 2019-20 season (and 2020 altogether): nothing is as scripted or going along with the schedule.

As it goes for both teams as previously mentioned, Boston went 2-1 against the Heat this season, with Miami’s lone win against the Celtics coming in the Bubble without Jimmy Butler. There has been time to adjust and formulate a gameplan for both teams, and on Tuesday and Thursday night, the time to put away the study guides will be upon both franchises.

In Boston’s prior series against Toronto, there wasn’t any argument as to who the Celtics’ best player was in the series. Jayson Tatum’s rise to superstardom isn’t quite finished yet, but it’s really ascending rather quickly. Averaging 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 5 assists in the seven-game series, and his wing accomplice Jaylen Brown (20.7 ppg.) was instrumental on the defensive end in locking down Raps superstar and Most Improved Player Pascal Siakam.

Kemba Walker (17 ppg.) didn’t have the ideal series to help propel the Celtics to the ECF but was big in making clutch plays against Toronto’s switching efforts late in Games 2, 3, and 7.Β  As a team, Boston averaged 107.6 points per game in the past two series they’ve played – the worst offensive output of all the remaining teams inside the bubble. As a team, they shot 44.8 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from the three, which is rather an impressive feat considering the fact that Toronto was that tedious to score on as the best defensive team in the East.

They’ll hope those numbers improve at some point in this series since they’ll need all the offense they can manage to push onto the floor. Though his condition is improving, Gordon Hayward’s return is still up in the air. Averting from his averaged 17.5 points per game and his role as an extra piece to Boston’s offensive auxiliary for a second, he’s a dually-gifted wing defender that’s good at taking the three-ball away as well as limiting dribble penetration attempts from guards.

His absence hasn’t nullified Boston completely, however. Through two rounds and a whole playoff series without Hayward in the second round, Boston has allowed opponents to only score 100 points per contest, meaning they’re the best remaining defensive team in the bubble. In five of the seven games against second-seeded Toronto, they held Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, and others under 100 points.

Regardless of the positive attributes thrown Boston’s way, Miami will have a bunch to counter-argument that notion.

A lot of people who predicted the Bucks to fall to the Heat in the second round have to be patting themselves on the back right now. They were right. Star power and regality doesn’t mean anything if your best player and MVP candidate can’t find a way to individually beat his matchups and get his numbers, and conversely, a supporting cast that isn’t hitting their shots and playing that tight defense they’ve played all year as the best team in the NBA doesn’t help the cause.

Miami absolutely gave zero room or time for the Bucks to adjust, or gain a sliver of confidence in the series, with a “Gentleman’s Sweep” in the second round winning 3-1 and advancing to the Conference finals for the first time in six years. Led by their fiery leader Jimmy Butler, these blue-collar Heat aren’t in the Conference Finals by coincidence, like it’s some Cinderella Story that’s clock hasn’t struck midnight.

This team is built to win and win now. Butler looked as if he got over last year’s semifinal loss to Toronto as a member of the 76ers, and promptly stuck it to the Bucks. Putting up crazy scoring numbers of 23.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals, not backing down an inch from the grandiose of the top-seeded Bucks.

Alongside him was the spectacular two-way effort of rising star Bam Adebayo, who kept Antetokounmpo under wraps the entire series. Averaging a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, he also contributed in sharing the rock, compiling a little over six assists per game.

High screen and roll actions that draw bigs out onto the perimeter stretch the floor and create mismatches down low, and allow Bam to pitch the ball into the mid or low post where guards will be attached to one of Miami’s taller wing shooters. They did it all in their last series against Milwaukee, and they’ll stick to their guns in this series to generate mismatches under the basket.

As for their guards, Goran Dragic will look to attack Kemba Walker in Pick and Roll sets and be the focal point of ball movement for the Miami Heat to enact their offense. Dragic has been an efficient scorer with the ball in his hands, but has been huge in not having a tunnel vision to create offense for others by cutting and setting key off-ball screens that free up shooters on the wings. He’ll be instrumental in controlling the tempo of the floor, and Boston will have to really have to work hard to get physical with him and get him out of rhythm early.

The unstoppable force that is Erik Spoelstra’s on-the-fly adjustments, Miami’s hard-nosed defensive identity, mental toughness, efficient outside shooting and acquired confidence from the likes of other pieces in Jae Crowder, Duncan Robinson, rookie Tyler Herro, Kelly Olynyk and so many more meets the immovable object that is Boston’s equally tough defense, talented wing scoring from the future superstar duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, gritty effort from Marcus Smart, volume scoring of Kemba Walker and Boston’s battle-tested attitude.

Another additional narrative that makes this duel of a series that much more intriguing: former Celtics Kelly Olynyk and Jae Crowder are looking for revenge against the teams that traded them away to help create the Boston team that they are playing against.

This is as far as the 2017 Celtics went with Crowder and Olynyk, who, alongside Isaiah Thomas, helped propel the Celtics over the then-threatening Washington Wizards in seven to advance to the Conference Finals, where they would lose in five to LeBron and Kyrie Irving’s Cavaliers. Whether the two former Boston draft picks head home or advance to their first Finals is incumbent on their role of being integral 3-and-D men in locking down former teammates in Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown, as well as Jayson Tatum, a guy they never got a chance to play with as he was drafted third overall one year later.

This series is going to be another dogfight, and surely it’ll go the distance. There isn’t much of a claim to refute that. DraftKings thinks this series will belong to the Miami Heat, since they are -162 point favorites to advance to the Conference Finals. And with the momentum they have, very few teams are as balanced and hungry as these Miami Heat. Whoever wins this series will win by simply wanting it more; that means whoever cuts harder, drives harder, locks up harder, and whoever plays with more fire will end up winning it.

And just by the eye-test alone, Miami could pass that with flying colors.

Prediction: MIA wins series 4-3, advances to NBA Finals.

Sep 17, 2020 No Comments
BREAKING: Steve Nash To Become Next Brooklyn Nets Head Coach

BREAKING: Steve Nash To Become Next Brooklyn Nets Head Coach

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by | Sep 3, 2020 | Featured, NBA

In one of the more shocking recent developments, the Brooklyn Nets made Steve Nash the 23rd head coach in the Nets’ franchise history, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday morning. Nash will sign with the Nets on a four-year deal.

Nash, a Hall of Fame guard and two-time winner of the League’s Most Valuable Player award, has never had any prior head coaching experience, but brings a strong relationship with Nets star Kevin Durant, brought about during his consultant role with the Golden State Warriors.

Brooklyn is expected to keep Jacque Vaughn in a predominantly leading coaching role as one of the highest-paid assistants in the NBA, as he made a strong impression on Nets General Manager Sean Marks and Nets owner Joseph Tsai after taking over for the recently ex-coach Kenny Atkinson back in February, including the league’s restart in Orlando with the Nets’ makeshift team. Vaughn would’ve likely been the Nets choice had Nash been unconvinced of taking the job, sources confirmed.

As it goes for the Nets, Nash brings a plethora of knowledge to the coaching position as one of the greatest guards to ever play the position, and more specifically, experience to guide Kyrie Irving. Another main contributor to this signing: Nets GM Marks was a teammate of Nash’s with the Suns, and has kept a good relationship with him through the years.

Since his retirement in 2015, Nash had been in the circle of potential names to fill vacancies of different executive and coaching responsibilities. This could end up being a big-time hire if all goes well in his first season, and with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving leading the charge for a new-look Nets team, Nash’s inaugural season could see the Nets eclipse 50 wins an immediate powerhouse in the East.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Sep 3, 2020 No Comments
Pelicans F Brandon Ingram Wins 2019-20 Kia Most Improved Player Award

Pelicans F Brandon Ingram Wins 2019-20 Kia Most Improved Player Award

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by | Sep 1, 2020 | Featured, NBA

In Brandon Ingram’s dimly lit living room, where he just so happened to seclude himself in to answer another regulatory conference call with New Orleans Pelicans Team Governor Gayle Benson, Ingram posed in his regular, demure-yet-professional affect display, awaiting some further news about his franchise going forward.

Things are rather quiet, for all we know, in the life of the first-year Pelican. All situated from his return to his home (that he would probably admit isn’t all that accommodated in) in New Orleans from the Orlando bubble, his conference call to discuss other politics and business you and I would be a fly on the wall to listen in on didn’t quite go the exact way he envisioned.

It’s a different year for everyone. The onsetting of the COVID-19 pandemic has put everything on standby, and some best-laid plans have gone awry for even the most prepared and calculated. But that’s been another curve and bend along the winding road that is Ingram’s career, and not to be too cliche’, life as a whole.

From mountainous highs of getting ACC Rookie of the Year honors and AP All-American votes, and being the second overall pick four years ago to the lowly depths of being faced with the realities of career-threatening ailments like his Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) sustained last year that ended his tenure in Los Angeles all while having to re-shift his focus to acclimating to a new city and new culture after being a piece shipped away in last summer’s blockbuster Anthony Davis-to-LA trade, it’s never been a straight and narrow path for the 22-year-old.

An unpredictable fortune had been bestowed upon his destiny in the NBA as if he’d gotten a bad palm reading from an unqualified fortune teller. But you can’t chalk the evening of August 31 up on the board of negative unpredictables, per Ingram’s initial surprise when some new “board members” arrived on last night’s zoom call.

Mrs. Benson went on to introduce some guests of hers into their zoom call, which just so happened to be Brandon’s family members in Donald (father), Joann (mother), and Brittany Ingram (older sister).

He wasn’t the quickest to display his jubilation when he saw three of the most important people in his life but ultimately cracked that usually dour poker face he’s known to show just about all the time, turning it into a front-facing-camera-indirect smile once they made the announcement that Ingram was to be given the 2019-20 Kia Most Improved Player award with claps of pride and approval reverberating through his phone screen.

“We wanted you to know how proud we are,” father Donald Ingram said. “You worked hard, extremely hard, to achieve this honor. It’s been a pleasure watching you make it to the All-Star game and become the most-improved player in the NBA. From us to you, congratulations. We just want you to know that we love you.”

The former pride of North Carolina when it comes to hoops was humble in his acceptance of the award, thanking Benson and the entire Pelicans organization for the honor.

Later on, In a zoom call with myself and other journalists, Pelicans Vice President of Player Operations helped to induct Ingram into an elite class of award winners that include MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, world champion Pascal Siakam, and All-Stars in Paul George and Victor Oladipo. This time, Ingram took the press conference to the passenger seat of his car, again in seclusion from outside distractions.

Ingram would then go on to give his honest and succinct statement about winning his first-ever Kia NBA award:

“I just want to thank God for the ability to be on this basketball floor every single day and every single night,” Ingram said. And for me to be healthy, I always just think back to the first day I got drafted and how much growth that I have had and also the growth that I needed to get to the player that I want to be.”

Ingram continued in his speech, saying “From day 1, coming to New Orleans, they came with open arms, and asked me me many questions with how I could be comfortable with new coaches around, giving me the freedom and opportunity to be myself on and off the basketball floor. And everything was pretty easy with the transition from LA,” Ingram confessed.

“I got to put in the work every night. I had guys around me that wanted to work just as hard as me. My teammates kept me encouraged every single day and they definitely helped me get in this position right now and I definitely thank my teammates all, my coaches and everybody that was around me to make sure that I’m putting my best foot forward every single day.”Β 

And surely, what a transition it was, in more ways than one. Ingram mentioned in a Q&A segment some information about his motivations when having one of those unpredictable life obstacles of a major move from that of a large market like Los Angeles to a rather smaller one in the Big Easy.

“It gave me lessons and things to motivate myself, and they told me that when you put in the work — you put in whatever it is, you’ll get something out of it,” Ingram said when asked of the mental adjustments he needed to make when he was in LA, as well as to the mentality he had when he was traded to the Pelicans this past off-season.

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

“The change of scenery was great. Coming from [Los Angeles], there a bunch of distractions,” Ingram explained. “You can get kinda spoiled in the sense of everything that’s around LA and you never really know what’s going on until you’re out of it. Me going back and forth to the gym, me getting something to eat and going back home, whatever it was, it just took me out of focus [in Los Angeles] and away from where I needed to be,” Ingram said.

“Even sometimes, I realized even more how I could’ve been watching film and studying the little details of things. The move to N.O. definitely helped me see things more clearly.” He also confessed that he was still motivated to as ever to be the best teammate and player he could be. “I’m still motivated to keep it going,” Ingram said.

Coming from playing in such a media-saturated environment like Los Angeles, and for a rebuilding Lakers team from 2016-2019, Ingram’s offensive role and the confidence the organization had in him to produce was perhaps the biggest change by the time he got to New Orleans. Averaging 15.5 points per game with splits of .456/.338/.659 in his first three seasons, Ingram found new life as the Pels’ star wing, who former coach Alvin Gentry put in the spotlight right away.

In a new system that had a bunch of space to operate in, Ingram vastly improved his scoring numbers from those measly 15 points that you’d expect from a young player to put up when they’re two-to-three years in the league, and bumped them up to an astounding 23.8 points per game with splits of .463/.391/.859.

More importantly, once the numbers started to rise, so did the overall win percentage for his team. As Ingram only won 26 games his rookie season, 35 games in his sophomore season, and 37 wins in a year where the Lakers were marred by a litany of injuries to stars like LeBron James and Lonzo Ball, B.I. nearly willed his Pelicans to the playoffs in his first year, winning 30 games while getting the invite to the Orlando bubble to finish their regular season, where he would securely confirm himself to be the Most Improved Player with his averages of 19.8 points per game in the abbreviated season.

Ashley Landis/AP

His scoring numbers were noticeably shortened due to his lack of touches in LA, albeit when there were other primary scorers for the Lakers like D’Angelo Russell, Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball, LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma throughout the years. Ingram’s averaged 11.8 shots attempts per game left over from his Laker days saw a significant boost in his first year in New Orleans, as the Kinston, North Carolina substantially bumped up his amount of shot attempts in his first year as a Pelican (17.8 shots per game).

In the award ceremony, Pelicans Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin then went on to address the media and his first-time All Star with his own kind remarks, citing his passion for wanting to be the hardest worker on the team and the leading-by-example guy both the inexperienced and grizzled vets looked to as a muse for high achievement.

“Brandon, we’ve talked a lot about this, even in the bubble, we talked about the likelihood that this would happen for you. We were really excited as an organization but what’s really important to me about this is the work rate that brought this about,” Griffin said.

“This isn’t something where B.I. just showed up at the gym. We’ve talked a lot about this. He’s — he did two-a-days every practice day this year. He’s one of the only young players I’ve ever had to beg to work less. He pushes himself to incredible lengths to get better, and he loves the game, he has passion for the game in a way that very, very few players do, that certainly players his age rarely have,” the Pels’ VP continued.

“The work rate, the attention to detail, and just the love and joy of playing with his teammates that Brandon has. Brandon, I’m going to embarrass you for just one minute here — when B.I. first got on campus in New Orleans in September, he was with some of the player development coaches and he told the coaches ‘I believe I have greatness in me, and I want you to do anything you can to drag it out of me. Dog, cuss me out, work me too hard, do whatever you gotta do, but I want to be great.’ And he dedicated himself to that in a way that I can’t ever say I’ve ever really seen a player do, and certainly not at his age.”

Griffin concluded, “And so it’s our honor as a franchise to be represented by a human being that loves this the way Brandon does and frankly, loves the community of New Orleans and communities from Kinston the way he does. This is as much about the human Brandon is as much as he is the basketball player. I’m just honored to be a part of that.”

Ingram further attested to that desire to be great, and went into detail about where that need to succeed and be great comes from.

“First, i think it starts from, seeing my Mom and Dad work every single day to make sure everything was straight,” Ingram confessed. “I think they put me first before anything, whether they had it or not. I’ve seen my Dad get like two hours of sleep each day, just waking up, going to work and then coming back home, taking a shower and then going to the gym, maybe to referee some nights, but it was hard to make sure the family was straight. My mom had worked at her job for about 35 years so to see her put that dedication in and stick to what she was doing definitely was a skill to me.”

And in further discussing his work ethic, he also went into detail about the DVT he had last season, and how its ability in cutting his previous season short put things into perspective.

“It made me want to not take things for granted,” Ingram said. “I know that it wasn’t an injury that would’ve taken me out for long but I knew it was something that woke me up, and it was something I needed to tell me to take advantage of everything while I have it.”

And in earning such an accolade, Ingram mentioned how special it was to get this high regard for the effort and contributions to his new team in his first year and hearing his parents announce him getting the award, saying that seeing his support system in his family and his teammates like Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart (who were there in the initial zoom meeting with Gayle Benson when Ingram was presented with the award) was something he’d never forget, due to all the hours he put in.

“They’ve been there every step of the way,” Ingram added. “I can call each one of those guys and they’d be there for me. Just to have those guys tell me that stuff was definitely special.”

As for the immediate future in New Orleans for both he and the Pelicans, it’s evident and clear as day he’s set to be a pillar for a new age of Pelicans basketball with the likes of Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, and the rest of the Pels’ young and inquisitive core, never mind the impending oncoming of a new coach with a new scheme and looming talks of Ingram’s designation as an unrestricted free agent (UFA) once this season ends.

“[My contract] is something that we’ve discussed and that we’ll continue to discuss,” B.I. briefly said, shutting down any advanced about contractual inquiries. “All we care about now is winning basketball games and I think we have young guys that’s learning how to play the game, and in trying to find what they do on a basketball court, we also have to figure out a way that we can get wins in those games.

Ingram went on, “We have to make sure those guys aren’t going through that stress and that guys are able to do what they want on a basketball floor so we can all mesh for each other. Whatever coach just wants to come in and win and get the best out of us and whatever way it is in a winning fashion, that’s really all it is at this point.”

There’s no doubt about the type of player and leader Brandon Ingram wants to be. And more importantly, as per his numbers, the major improvement he made didn’t have anything to do with his numbers, but more of getting his voice to be more resounding in the locker rooms as the number one guy. And in New Orleans’ pursuit of a playoff spot and a title in the next coming years, those leadership qualities are going to be paramount, at least in the eyes of the MIP.

“This year I had was the year of the most fun playing basketball the way that I wanted to play. Having an opportunity to be in the gym with my teammates who love to do the same thing that I love to do, seeing some of the same guys come back to the gym all the time always asking, asking and asking for advice on the basketball floor so they can get better in their game for our team.”

For Ingram, that was the most enjoyable moment for him. He went on to say that he didn’t think he had have a favorite stat or anything that made him the happiest or motivated him the most. His chemistry, and long-lasting impact to those within the Pels’ locker room — whether they be coaches, teammates or other personnel just as locked in as he is — was his biggest takeaway for his first year in New Orleans.

“For the type of player I want to be, I want to be well rounded all across the board. But what stuck out to me the most was just how much fun I had with my teammates and seeing the attitudes that they had going into the gym every single day.”

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Sep 1, 2020 No Comments