Harlan Schreiber

Quick Thoughts

January 18, 2015 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

1. Hawks for Real?: You don’t go 33-8 with smoke and mirrors. The Hawks are obviously a very good team. But whether they should be considered a threat to come out of the East and/or win it all is the real question. Long win streaks don’t just happen but they can overstate how good a team is. In 2007-08, the Houston Rockets ripped off a ridiculous 22-game winning streak but still lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Rockets were quite good that season (55-27) but their SRS was only … [Read more...] about Quick Thoughts

Transactions: The Dion Waiters Trade

January 6, 2015 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

New York trades Iman Shumpert and JR Smith to Cleveland for Louis Amundson, Alex Kirk, and 2019 second-round pick from Cleveland and Lance Thomas from Oklahoma City, which traded a 2014-15 protected first-round pick to Cleveland for Dion Waiters. New York Waives Samuel Dalembert This isn’t exactly an earth-shattering deal but it certainly makes some sense for every team involved. For the Knicks, this is just a trade to clear some cap space (Smith has a player option for 2015-16 for $6.4 … [Read more...] about Transactions: The Dion Waiters Trade

Old Kobe, A Unique Stat Experience

December 30, 2014 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

The Kobe Bryant Situation is something that has been written ad infinitum here and all over web. The typical story has focused around whether Kobe’s force of will to be great can overcome the inevitable aging process and whether Kobe was selfish for choosing his path at this stage of his career. When sportswriters review Kobe, they primarily do so in absolute terms of “right” and “wrong.” Is Kobe a loser for chucking away on a terrible team when other vets have been more concerned with … [Read more...] about Old Kobe, A Unique Stat Experience

Quick Thoughts

December 23, 2014 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

1. The Rondo Trade: The trade of Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks appears like big news but really it is a logical deal with some upside for the Mavs and some risk. The Mavs have the best offense in the NBA and a weak defense (22nd) so, naturally, getting an upgrade at point defensively should help. Kevin Pelton and others, however, have noted that a lot of what makes Dallas strong is the offense and Jameer Nelson’s spot-up shooting was an important part of the equation (he was .369% from … [Read more...] about Quick Thoughts

Kings Kompetentcy?

December 18, 2014 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

The big story of the week so far comes from Sacramento, where the Kings chose to fire coach Michael Malone, despite the fact that he led the team to a 9-5 record before losing DeMarcus Cousins and going 2-8 (for a total record of 11-13). While 11-13 isn’t great shakes, it is the best the Kings have played since 2007-08 and Malone had apparently connected with Cousins, the most important player on the roster. So, this seemed like a strange time to let Malone go. It’s hard to feel too bad for … [Read more...] about Kings Kompetentcy?

Can Golden State Sustain This?

December 14, 2014 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

The Warriors now sit at 20-2 to start this season. While most thought that the Golden State would be a very good team and a potential title contender, this start is well beyond even the most optimistic expectations. What is different this year? Well, to start the Warriors are probably playing a bit over their head. They obviously won’t end up winning at this current pace (which would lead them to a 74-8 record). In term of point differential, GS is also playing a bit better than they … [Read more...] about Can Golden State Sustain This?