Remember Dwight’s Labrum?

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Just yesterday, Kobe Bryant was diagnosed with a torn labrum and some have speculated that he likely could miss the entire season.  What impact will this have for the Lakers?  Not much to be honest.  First, there is no indication the Lakers are any worse without Kobe.  Indeed, 82games.com has Kobe at -2.6 in simple rating (please consider all the usual caveats about +/- and small sample size).  In addition, it really probably is for the best if Kobe sits to avoid wear and tear in a directionless … [Read more...] about Remember Dwight’s Labrum?

Quick Thoughts

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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

NBA Draft 2015: Top 60

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My first top 60 is never in precise order and this one is no exception. With only numbers from the easy non-conference schedule to use, it’s difficult to separate the players on a hot streak from the ones who are the real deal. For that reason rather than a strict ranking of prospects 1-60, I rank the prospects in groups that (hopefully) will be sorted out into a more traditional Top 60 a month from now. Each group is ranked in order of value. For example a freshman center is generally more … [Read more...] about NBA Draft 2015: Top 60

Transactions: The Dion Waiters Trade

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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

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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

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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

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