Speaking of the Clippers, a very broad question as I don't get to see them play (East coast...): Is Blake Griffin as good as his numbers make him out to be? I've seen some highlights and he sure can dunk, but is he really that good?
Yes. He is completely unstoppable on the low block. His spin moves and drop steps to the basket are unguardable, and his speed, athleticism, strength, and leaping ability for such a gigantic power forward are unprecedented. Keep in mind that the guy has no perimeter shot to speak of, is an awful free throw shooter, and still averages 21 ppg on a very high percentage.
No. For starters, they're essentially the same size. Howard is listed at 6' 11" while Griffin is 6' 10", but they look to be the same height. In terms of weight, they're identical. Secondly, Griffin is nowhere near the shot-blocker or defender that Howard is, although he potentially could be. Their offensive games are completely different; Griffin is probably a better, more polished scorer than Howard is now, let alone during Howard's first three seasons. Griffin can also score very effectively in half-court sets without any guard penetration, something Dwight struggles mightily with. Blake is also way faster and (gulp) even more athletic than Dwight. Their only similarity is that both are unstoppable rebounders. The comparison for Griffin was a slightly taller, more athletic Karl Malone, and honestly, I can't deny there is some truth to that. Focus- Just like the Clippers are an example of losing with great talent, I have been watching Portland, and they're an example of winning with limited talent. They're a very smart, unselfish team, with terrific cuts to the basket, excellent rebounding on both ends, and solid defense. Amazing how far that can get a team in the NBA. Even without Brandon Roy, I think they'll snag a play-off spot in the West. Meanwhile, I have been watching the Lakers to see if they're really as bad off as people have been saying, and honestly, they do look pretty horrible. They play in spurts instead of all four quarters, which they might have gotten away with in past years, but with the talent level in the NBA this year, doesn't work as well anymore. They can pick that part of their game up in the play-offs, but more distressingly for them, they don't look as dominant rebounding or playing defense as they did last year, which isn't simply a matter of turning an on or off switch. Also, they have too many guys taking crappy contested three pointers after some limited ball movement.
Yes. He is a completely unstoppable rebounder with a perfect sense for where the ball is going and a powerful body which he uses to squeeze guys out of wherever that might be. He is a very "smart" player and always gets perfect position around the rim on both sides of the court. His outstanding passing for a big man has been well-chronicled, as well as his legitimate three-point range and sweet stroke. He is a poor finisher around the basket, but gets to the free throw line at will. On a team with a good point guard who can actually split the defense and feed him the ball, Love might be even better.
Numbers for Last 5 Games Min:35.6 FG: 26-52 3P: 13-29 FT: 7-11 STL: 1.4 TO: 1.8 RB: 8.0 (7.0 Def) 5.5 and 14.4. Just had a triple double. Against GS, yes, but still a triple double. He's having a massive impact on games. Systems are systems sometimes.
Blake Griffin in the dunk contest? Who else would you guys want to see? I say: Blake Griffin Dwight Howard Lebron DWade + four other guys, I'm not too up to date on the best dunkers nowadays. And get rid of the stupid fucking rules, and let them go at it. Figure out a way to let them all have 6-10 dunks.
Dwight already said he's out of it. He's done it 3 years in a row and has done pretty much all he could do. Maybe toss in JR Smith, just have people come in for him to dunk on. I haven't thought of DWade, but it looks like his knees are back. Don't forget about my man D. Rose. He's been posterizing people this year.
Here's the actual list of participants. Griffin, Ibaka, McGee, and Jennings. Honestly, all four are quality dunkers and ridiculously athletic guys, although I would rather have someone else instead of McGee there, preferably an actual shooting guard.
Another little ditty I wrote; <a class="postlink" href="http://www.slcdunk.com/2011/1/10/1925939/the-reason-for-the-slow-jazz-starts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.slcdunk.com/2011/1/10/192593 ... azz-starts</a> I didn't do any deep statistical research to see if athletic players did better in the first quarter or half, just the evidence of my eyes, but it makes sense, especially if you have watched Jazz games this season.
I'd say as an overview, your take on Utah's problem seems pretty sound. I'd love to see them going after some young, quick shooting guards in the next couple years. Deron Williams has stepped his game up more than a hell of a lot of people thought he ever would when he came into the league. Millsap has been pretty damn solid, too. I've liked the Jazz since I was a little kid; they just seem stuck in this sort of almost-but-not-quite limbo where they don't contend for championships but aren't bad enough to really land killer draft picks. Hopefully the trade market works in their favor in the near future if they're ever going to hop into that thin upper echelon. Which brings me to my Cavaliers. And their goddamn 55-point loss last night. You know what? People in NE Ohio are actually pretty damn happy about it. When they said they still wanted a playoff berth at the beginning of the season, all non-retarded fans immediately wanted to slap the shit out of management. We didn't just lose LeBron. We also lost Shaq, Z and Delonte West. That's a solid bit of depth gone. Now add in the absence of Varejao for the season, Gibson and Mo's recurring injuries, and now AP's back problems, and you have an utter shell of a team. I'm much happier with the team now than I was in weeks 1-3. Why? Because we're heading to the bottom of the barrel. None of this 8-seed bullshit that makes it harder to rebuild. I want a top pick, a shitty 11-12 season, followed by another high pick. If we're going to rebuild, let's actually do it rather than wallow in first-round playoff exits.
The idea is that they might trade Kirilenko's expiring contract, which comes off the books after this season. However, it will provide some much-needed financial relief, so it will really have to be a killer opportunity for them to pull the trigger. I watched that game. It looked like a D3 team scrimmaging against a D1 program. On offense, the Cavs were constantly having the ball stolen, blocked, or having to take an awful shot as the Lakers were so much superior in terms of size, athleticism, and skill. On defense, the Cavs gave up a slew of dunks and lay-ups in the paint, and gave LA all day to shoot wide-open 3s. How dare you?! Are you calling our very own Clutch and dchavock retarded, then?. Especially since dchavock thought JJ Hickson was going to be an "All-Star, no doubt about it." I'm sorry; I still find that incredibly comical.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA A diehard as I am about the Cavs, the idea of JJ being an all-star this year is beyond retarded, and I've maintained that ever since the pre-season. He has the athleticism to be one eventually, but unfortunately, this little thing called a "basketball IQ" exists, and watching his dumb ass on the court is like watching Ron Artest take a calculus midterm. But hey, even morons like Artest understand defensive flow. J.J., as much as I love his potential, could wallow in inconsistency for his entire career unless he pulls his head out of his ass. If I could somehow stick Shane Battier's brain in J.J.'s head for a week, some pretty damn amazing things would happen.
The Cavs actually have pretty good personnel for the office that Scott wants to run with one exception, point guard. I would say that Mo Williams is something like 70% responsible for how bad they are. They've got athletic bigs and outside shooting, but it's a point guard dominated offense and Mo can barely get the ball across half court. For Christ's sake, how many times did he get trapped by Z in the Heat game? When Scott was winning games he had Jason Kidd or CP3. They could be a middle of the pack team right now, a lot of the teams in front of them are pretty bad themselves. If they could manage to get their hands on good point guard, be it through the draft or by dumping Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison, they could be an above average team. I do admit that they have been utter shit so far this year, but my earlier predictions were based more on a lack of faith in the other teams in the East than belief in Cleveland. The number 8 seed is sitting at a .400 record right now, and the Central is atrocious.
I haven't seen Hickson play much, but are you basically saying he's a shorter, less athletic Stromile Swift? That doesn't sound especially promising for him staying in the league past the age of 29, let alone becoming an All-Star. Again, I don't follow the Cavs much, but if they dumped Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison, what quality players would they have left? Without those two guys, I think they win perhaps 12 games if some other teams are feeling generous, and are real contenders to break the all-time losing mark (9 games) otherwise. And that's with or without Varejao. That being said, that's precisely what they should have done. Suffer through the horrible losing while cutting costs and stockpiling young talent and draft picks. But the owner was too proud and tried to sell Cleveland fans on a team that could at least make the play-offs. The ruse might have worked better 10 years ago, but now, with the league ridiculously competitive, and even losing teams having 3 or more legitimate stars on the roster, it was obvious that it would blow up in their faces. Which it did last night.
Any way to watch the Clippers / Heat game online? It's on some channel called FSW2, which I definitely don't get.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.atdhe.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.atdhe.net/</a> It's on there at the very bottom.
I've found ATDHE can get pretty bogged down sometimes, though that's usually for football. If that's slow or the quality's iffy, try one of these two: http://www.stopstream.com/ch1.html http://sjumbo-120111.blogspot.com/2009/11/channel-2.html I just checked for a minute and the quality on the first one looked better than the second.
Besides the point guards, who was really great on the 08 Hornets or 03 Nets? They've got a pretty good supporting cast. Hickson is athletic and can finish at the rim, Varejao is fairly comparable to a guy like Joakim Noah, and Gibson and Parker can give them outside shooting. Moon can give them solid defense on the great 3's that are so common these days, you aren't going to shut down Lebron or Pierce or Durant, but he gives you a chance. They've cut his playing time because they're desperate for scoring, and the 3 has become a merry-go-round. If Gilbert is willing to spend the money, he could swap Jamison's contract (which expires the year after the new CBA, probably making it worth even more in cap space) for something terrible and pick up another lottery pick for his trouble. Cap room doesn't matter because he isn't ever going to get an elite free agent to come to Cleveland anyway. Then again, I'm just some stupid fuck ranting on the internet. Still, it doesn't take a genius to see that Williams and Jamison do not fit into the current system and are they only assets the Cavs have to use in improving the team.