Tag Archives: NBA

THREE FOR BART: 538, Rookies, Peterson

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Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

  1. 538 is six months old…where does it stand? – Silver’s website set out to do all of the things that we’re continually loving about sports and our understanding of them. Data journalism is growing and fascinating but it’s time consuming. In this article, some of my own fears of content production are addressed. That stuff is hard and it’s stuff you want to get right. And just because we have data doesn’t mean we explicitly understand the data. It takes time to interpret and businesses don’t always allow for time. PacHoops, fortunately ain’t much of a business.
  2. The Big Leagues – Misleading title. This one touches on how the NBA works to acclimate – both directly and indirectly – their annual crop of rookies. Good read just for insights into a good program. But it’s most overarching theme – unwritten but highlighted by the NFL’s turmoils – is the League’s efforts to empower and improve their players.
  3. Adrian Peterson, The NFL, And Whippings – I don’t have kids. I hope to someday and I don’t know how I’ll discipline them. I do know that I want them to call me Dadam. And I want them to become great people. I have no idea how that will happen. Hopefully I can help facilitate their greatness. This article is perspective on parenting and its byproducts.

NBA Draft: Andre Roberson the Glue Guy

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In a draft lacking star power, value is to be sought. And as we often think of value as bang-for-our-buck, GMs will need to deeply examine their needs and pick accordingly. Selecting talent for the sake of talent is not an option this year.

Andre Roberson, Colorado’s versatile forward and only player in school history with a whole lot of every type of stat, would seem to be the type of talent to do exactly that.

He declared late in the declaration process and I discussed that and other components of Dre’s draft prospects over at AllBuffs. You can read that article here.

He’s the quintessential glue guy and might actually have the best long-term prospects amongst any of the similarly sized and skilled Pac-12 players in this year’s draft. The defensive side is not in question and the versatility he offers there will get him on the floor. It will then boil down to whether or not he can develop a consistent jumper. He can get is garbage buckets (BIRDMANBIRDMAN) but to get regular tick and a lucrative contract, he’s going to have to hit the corner three.

He’ll need to bulk up a touch as well, it’s a physical damn league.

This is the first in some sporadic draft coverage I’m doing across a few different platforms. I’ll post to the others as they come up on The Pac-12 Post and PacificTakes.

And, as I mentioned, there are a lot of like-sized players amongst this Pac-12 class of possible draftees and so I apologize in advance for any and all Kawhi Leonard references. He’s just now become the easiest damn comparison for the exact type of player who boards and plays defense and learns to shoot and goes straight to becoming Bruce Bowen before ever thinking they could ever be MJ.

Oh, and bear in mind that Kawhi Leonard didn’t have an offer from either USC or UCLA. He’s a Riverside native.

OK OK! That was a cheap shot considering the entire 2009 class projected to be Leonard-types with Moser, Honeycutt, and Nelson on-boarding and all of whom projected as better prospects in HS. But it’s still interesting to play the look-what-you-missed game.

WILL LEBRON WEAR THE HEADBAND?

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Chris Bosh hit the first shot of the game – as confident and cooly as Rafa in Paris – with his fresh new cut. Was his new found confidence a byproduct of his new look?

And when the fourth quarter hit, King James went mostly HAM sans headband; looking every part the self-anointed King he is but without his signature “crown.” With naked head, he scored half his points.

Refreshed look. Refreshed game. Bosh and Bron.

The Heat prevailed. Game 7 ensues.

WILL HE WEAR THE HEADBAND THURSDAY NIGHT???

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Grant Jerrett Enters the NBA Draft

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Grant Jerrett has made himself available to the 2013 NBA Draft. He spent one season in Tucson and scored 5.2 points per game and grabbed 3.6 rebounds per game. It was announced via school release late Wednesday night. Read it here.

Now this decision has surprised many. The numbers, size, and preparedness don’t quite scream league so much as they plead improve. What’s more is that this decision coupled with its supporting documents (stats, tempo-free stats, scouting report, scouting report), suggest the young man is making a poor choice.

Per DraftExpress’ Mock 2013 Draft (which Jerrett is not listed on) the average projected lottery pick put up 15 ppg and 7 rpg. The average projected draft pick (both rounds, excluding internationals)? 16 and 6. That’s a far cry from 5 and 3.

The NBA Draft is a futures bet, a choosing of the player one thinks has the best opportunity to eventually succeed. By that logic, Jerrett arguably has as good a shot as anyone to prove a worthy pick. Jerrett may have produced 11 fewer points and 3 fewer boards per game than the average pick, but who’s to say he won’t be a formidable pro with a few years under his belt?

He did, of course, score just five more points per game than Yi Jianlian’s chair.

Look, I don’t know if Grant Jerrett is ready for the NBA and neither do you. It also, unfortunately, appears that whoever he’s trusting for advice doesn’t either.

I also don’t know the full tale behind how this came to be and I won’t venture to know. I choose to trust that such life decisions are made under the auspices of best interest. Maybe some NBA team middling in this draft is head-over-heels for the kid? I don’t know. There would also appear to be a higher power at work here and not the one his mother alludes to in her tweeted/texted announcement. God isn’t going to help Grant here.

But what I do know is that Jerrett is gone and that Arizona Adam is pissed about it. I selfishly wanted this kid in Cardinal and Navy for another year. A dynamic stretch four getting dished to by TJ McConnell with a bevvy of league-caliber athletes attacking the rim with an additional footer beneath it? Yes, please.

Grant, my man, you were going to have a great time in Dallas next spring.

But Rational Adam (puh-lease, like there is one) urges me to take a step back and take a second look. Here’s an 18-year-old who has someone in one ear telling him he can fulfill his NBA dreams. That he can be playing with or against the likes of players who’ve adorned his walls.

Grant, they’re no longer posters on your wall, they’re your contemporaries.

In the other ear?

Stay in college. Don’t make money. Don’t live a lavish life of 24/7 hoop and luxury. Go to class. Grant, you’re not good enough.

Because ultimately we hear what we want to hear, right? This could very well be as simple as hearing “you’re good” vs. “you’re not good.” A gross simplification of the two arguments. Now, I’m not naive to think this boils down to something that elementary, but when it comes to our dreams, we no doubt have our filters.

I still remember the MLBPA prospect card a Mets scout once asked me to complete. I’d have signed away my 82mph fastball on the spot.

Back to Grant, I don’t want the door to hit him on his way out. My hope is that it remains open, a genuine gesture of Coach Miller’s Player’s Program. And while his time in Tucson was brief, the hope is that it prepared him for his next endeavor. After all, that’s the ultimate goal of college, no?

Which brings me to the point that’s most frustrated me about this process. Without diving into the oft-visited NCAA criticism rabbit hole, players should get to attend NBA draft camps. It’s like an internship. It’s no different than a math major passing a summer crushing excel at an I-Bank only to discover she isn’t cut out for that crap.

Go. Learn and be amongst your contemporaries and get a professional evaluation from the people who are professionally evaluating you anyways. That is fair. That is just.

As it is today, kids, coaches, advisors and whoever the hell else is involved are left to guess work. As an outsider, I’m left to judge Grant Jerrett’s draft prospects on 5.2 and 3.6. Thirty-four games against the best competition he’s ever faced.

Give these kids a chance to succeed as opposed to the opportunity to fail.

I’ll maintain this isn’t the best decision for Grant Jerrett. And it also doesn’t seem to be completely his decision. Come to your own conclusions at this, but his agent to be, Brian Dyke, is the brother-in-law of his High School coach and the father of recent Arizona de-commit, Eric Cooper Jr. Dyke has represented just two NBA players.

None of it seems to stack up too neatly but I hope he succeeds. I always have.

I’m just bummed to see him do it in a different jersey.

Multiple Reasons for Optimism in Wells Fargo Arena

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The glass has to be half full. It must with nary a game yet played. For such, over the next few days, I’ll be posting why each of the conference’s twelve teams have reasons to be optimistic.

    1. The League – The Herbivore went out and reloaded his coaching staff with NBA veterans Eric Musselman and Larry Greer. Time will tell if the move pays off but any time you can get some NBA minds in your locker room and on your bench it can’t be terrible.
    2. Eric Gordon – OK, if the Eric Gordon was on this team there would be a lot more hype surrounding their season. But they do have his little brother, Evan, who transfers in from Liberty where he averaged 14/3/2 before departing. He’ll play Robin to…
    4. Pace – Herb Sendek has vowed to make his offense move faster. Why? Because usually it doesn’t, ranking at 281, 296, and 326 in adjusted tempo the last three seasons.
    5. 80/5 – That’s the dollar amount (in millions) over years the Houston Rockets will pay former Sun Devil, James Harden. That is so much dollars.
    6. London – There were two Sun Devils who played basketball in the summer games, Harden and Ike Diogu (Nigeria). Won’t lie to you, that’s pretty cool.
    7. Toreros – No one knows what happened in the super-secret scrimmage the Devils had against USD and maybe we should keep it that way.
    8. Utah – Little did we know – or perhaps the writing had been on the wall, but still – that adding the twelfth winningest basketball program in college history (as measured by most wins) would likely keep the Devils out of the cellar (excluding USC’s 2011-12 anomaly) for two consecutive years. Utah was bad last year and likely won’t be much better this year. Also, you can’t tell me you’re not surprised to hear that Utah’s won the twelfth most games in college hoops history. Impressive.

Oregon-UW was a Throwback Game as Good as March Gets

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That was some March basketball.

And I’m not going to let you call me crazy because Tuesday’s Oregon-Washington game was as good a game as you’re going to see this time of year. Two teams took the court wanting nothing more than to beat their opponent. That’s what college basketball is all about; that’s competition at its finest.

And did you watch?

It was terrific. Terrence Ross played like the league-bound talent he is and Tony Wroten was bigger than the other kids and Abdul Gaddy conducted like the ballyhooed point guard he is. On the flip side of the equation EJ Singler was as well rounded and tough as a Dukie, Olu Ahsalou was unstoppable, and Tony Woods approached flawless.

The unfortunate difference maker? Garret Sim and Devoe Joseph combined for a pedestrian 7-24 shooting night and that kinda breaks my heart.

I’m a sucker for seniors. That guy – I wrote all about it last month – who hits the shot he shouldn’t, makes the plays others couldn’t; and draws the charge others wouldn’t. The kind of plays that Joseph and Sim made all year long for an improved and solid Oregon squad.

On this night they simply didn’t have it while the Huskies did. Such is basketball; such is March; such is life. Washington heads to New York as the Ducks return to Eugene, their season complete after a terrific five month run. Back to the game.

The Huskies were terrific out of the gate, quickly building a lead in transition and off of Duck turnovers; staples of LoRo-ball. But Oregon quacked right back, taking a lead with the score in the teens that they wouldn’t yield until the second half when some combination of defense and a too much individual creating began. But that just may be what you do when Terrence, Tony, and Devoe are on the floor.

It worked for the purple team.

And perhaps my favorite part of this game? The pace. It was some old school Pac-10 action: fast, pressing, offensive, and athletic. Loved it. It’s like the weather. I’d rather it be in the 80s than the 50s. It was simply put: good basketball. Or at least my favorite kind of basketball.

Many have and will rip this league. It wasn’t a great year, a fact we’re all beyond well aware of by now.

But Tuesday night was as good as it gets.