Basketball

I have seen a lot of traffic regarding Kansas Jayhawk SG Ben McLemore. Some have been for and some have been against drafting him. I've seen some people saying to trade Waiters in order to draft McLemore and improve another draft pick. There are a lot of things to consider when we do this. 1 - Tale of the Tape: McLemore is a slightly longer and taller player, but also is 30lbs lighter. Both players have adequate height and length to play the position (offensively and defensively) in the NBA. Ultimately, the .75" in height is nearly negligible. Same with the .5" in wingspan. The 2.5" standing reach advantage that McLemore has over Waiters is a more impressive number though. McLemore also showed up in better shape when it was time to go through the testing, but we did find out that Waiters was nursing an ankle injury, so I'm not sure what to say about the difference in body fat (5.0 vs 8.5%). Because Dion shut down interviews (and pretty much everything else) for the combine, we have absolutely no athletic measurements to go on. Having seen his quick first step in an NBA game and his ability to get to the rim (though struggle to finish) against NBA talent, I'd like to think that athleticism is absolutely not a problem. 2 - Tale of the Stats: Let's start with college...and on that, let's make note of something. McLemore was an older Freshman. He's a year younger than Dion...and Dion has two years of college experience and a year of NBA experience. His body was far more mature than your typical freshman. Regardless, he played more minutes per game last year than Dion did in either year. McLemore was clearly the more efficient scorer and shooter than Waiters. That's taking into account ONLY Waiters Sophomore campaign. McLemore scored 3.2 more points on 1.2 more shot attempts. He has a really good FT% and was close enough to the 50-40-90 line to make you think he could (with a lot of work) threaten that at the next level. McLemore also was a significantly better rebounder. Where Dion trumps Ben is in the AST:TO ratio. Dion never had a negative AST:TO ratio. Rebound numbers for SG's can often be attributed to the system a player is playing in. Particularly defensive rebounds. If Dion was asked to leak out at Syracuse looking for fastbreak numbers, he will get less boards. 3 - Tale of the Team: Here's where things start to get less "hard line" than others. You can't question that McLemore was a more efficient scorer/shooter. You can't question that Waiters was better playmaker for his team. You can't question that McLemore is a taller/longer player. From here, we have to delve into how said players will fit into the team. 3a - We start McLemore and make Waiters the 6th man. Starting another rookie SG isn't really all that great of an idea as they are rarely efficient. Dion is just behind that second group, but is clearly ahead of the 3rd pack. Waiters has also gone on record and said he does not want to be a 6th man. He did that in college where coaches have all the power. In the pros, he will find his power very soon. I can see the idea that having Dion come off the bench and play Manu Ginobli/James Harden role or us is enticing. I can see where McLemore's sweet jumper helps Kyrie out on offense too. It makes sense. It is short sighted. (We'll get to that.) 3b - We start Dion and have McLemore come off the bench. A rookie SG with a good stroke should do well off the bench. We can cycle Dion and Kyrie around McLemore (always having a ball-handler with him) and still have a nice lineup. McLemore will make both Kyrie and Dion better...and when Dion/Kryie play together...if one is tired, the other can handle the rock to give him a pseudo-on court break. 3c - We move McLemore to the 3. Seriously, I've seen this. It's ridiculous. He's 190lbs and under 6'6. There's no way McLemore is guarding a 3. Only in a small ball lineup could we make this work...but w

With the national NBA Draft Combine now in the books and individual teams beginning to host a bevy of promising prospects at their own facilities for private workouts, it's safe to assume the NBA Draft is a top priority for many executives right now. As it currently stands, the Cavaliers, Suns, Jazz, Timberwolves, and Hawks all have multiple first round picks in next month's event. Any of that can change, as teams are often seen working feverishly up to the final seconds to acquire an extra pick or two to ensure the top talent on their list does not elude them. The draft can serve many purposes for NBA squads. For some, it's an opportunity for a fresh start and/or reinvention. For others, the task becomes finding that diamond in the rough who is ready to step right in and make immediate and meaningful contributions. Nevertheless, though there are so many intriguing young talents to be had, there are only so many draft selections to go around. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth it for executives to keep an eye on as many promising players that catch their eye. Though most NBA squads are only equipped with one first and one second round pick, there are still different ways to bring an array of prospects into the fold if so desired. Despite how talented a prospect may be, there's no denying talented players slip through the cracks and go undrafted all the time. For this reason, it's important for executives to continue following up with such fringe options, because even if a team isn't drafting close to where a player is expected to be drafted, unexpected opportunities can always arise. With each new season, the NBA D-League is progressing more and more towards becoming utilized as a more traditional minor league system of The Association. Ten of the league's sixteen teams had single-affiliations last season, and the 76ers are only set to join that growing list with an NBADL team of their own next season. Thus, an organization can choose to fill its minor league squad up with players they'd like to keep a closer eye on. If someone's skill-set intrigues an organization, utilizing the D-League gives them the ability to get a better idea as to how that prospect would do in a professional and more competitive setting. The more one observes interactions between top NBA executives and players who may be on the cusp of getting drafted and/or making it to The Association, the more it's easy to see the executives have young guns who they favor. Some athletes are easier to root for than others, which sometimes causes such executives to develop a soft spot for them. There are clearly no guarantees. Still, should a prospect not be able to find a prime opportunity right off the bat, NBA executives may still be able to throw them a bone. Making a strong impression, be it through one's abilities or positive attitude, may result in an offer of a D-League contract or something similar. According to ZagsBlog, one executive regarded troubled yet talented prospect Josiah Turner as a "fringe D-League guy." Though that specific reference perhaps wasn't used in the most positive of pretenses, there's no doubt that other aspiring NBA players would be chomping at the bit to earn such an opportunity come the beginning of next season. The journey to obtaining such an opportunity and/or catching an executive's attention for later starts now as well.

Mavs reportedly targeting Howard, Jack, Bayless

Roy Hibbert made life difficult in the paint for the Knicks in the second round — we’ve all seen Hibbert block Carmelo Anthony’s shot at the rim but that is just the tip of the iceberg. He altered and blocked all kinds of shots inside and owned the paint. The Miami heat scored 60 points…

When Chris Andersen does something particularly impressive for the Miami Heat, a heavy metal guitar riff blares through their arena. Some children have shown up for games with replicas of his tattoos drawn upon their bodies. Others have gotten their hair gelled and shaped to match his Mohawk `do.

The San Antonio Spurs have been a model of consistency since Gregg Popovich took over as head coach and the franchise drafted Tim Duncan. Duncan’s entire career can be defined by consistency. Just take a look the per-36 minute numbers of the newly-minted First Team All-NBA center from his rookie year and compare them with this past regular season. Even their playoff series show remarkable consistency. Just like last season, the Spurs won the first two games of the Western Conference Finals. Both at home and the second game featured a near-collapse that left fans wondering if the Spurs had been figured out. That’s what everybody was thinking after the Spurs blew an 18-point lead in Game 2 and hung on to win in overtime, right? Spurs fans got that old familiar feeling? After dropping four straight to the Oklahoma City Thunder last year, are the Spurs primed to do the same in 2013? Well, no. While the Spurs’ second half performance on Tuesday night was disappointing, where they were outscored 31-13 after holding an 18-point lead late in the third quarter, it’s a completely different animal from what happened in Game 2 of the 2012 Conference Finals. With about five minutes left in the second quarter of last season’s WCF Game 2, Manu Ginobili found Tony Parker with a beauty of a behind-the-back pass in transition for a corner 3-pointer. Parker sunk the shot, giving the Spurs a 78-58 lead and prompting a timeout from the Thunder. At that moment, the Spurs looked as unbeatable as a professional basketball team could look. From that moment on, it was a slow, painful downhill trek for the Spurs as they struggled to close out Oklahoma City in that game and lost the next four. Shortly after falling behind by 20 points, the Thunder employed some of the dark arts that Popovich has been known to practice, unleashing the hack-a-whoever on Tiago Splitter. Oklahoma City sent Splitter to the line five times at the end of the third quarter, breaking the flow of San Antonio’s offense and draining the Brazilian, who finished 5-for-10 from the line, of any confidence and aggressiveness he had at the time. Splitter was visibly shaken at the time and never recovered during that series. In Game 2 against the Grizzlies, Splitter hit his only two free throws and scored 14 total points on 6-for-8 shooting. Splitter was ultra-aggressive around the basket, almost daring the Grizzlies to send him to the line. Memphis didn’t and Splitter even eschewed his typical finish-on-the-other-side-of-the-rim reverse layups for a couple of dunks. San Antonio needs Splitter to continue to play well down low, both on offense and defense, in order to beat the Grizzlies. Nothing from Game 2 this week indicates that Splitter will have a fall from grace like the one he had in 2012, when he averaged just 1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds per game in Games 3-6 against the Thunder. Like Splitter, Danny Green’s confidence took a hit in that Game 2. Averaging 45.7 percent shooting from 3-point range on almost five attempts per game in those playoffs leading up to the Conference Finals, some predicted Green was due for a bit of a shooting slump. Green hit that slump, and he hit it hard. After that 20-point advantage the Spurs enjoyed against the Thunder, Green missed all four of his 3-pointers in Game 2. He went on to shoot just 18 percent from beyond the arc in Games 3-6, losing his spot in the starting lineup to Ginobili along the way. Against the Grizzlies on Tuesday night, Green didn’t make any 3s during the late run Memphis made to force overtime. That’s not entirely his fault, however, as Green didn’t actually attempt a single 3. His lack of points from behind the arc at the end of Game 2 came as a result of the Spurs’ offense collapsing under the weight of Parker’s shaky legs. San Antonio’s offense goes as Parker goes, and with fatigue setting in on the All-NBA Second Team point guard, those open

Free Agency is one of the few topics Kings fans don't claim to have expertise on because for the most part, the Kings have historically not been very active on the Free Agent market. The highest profile signing in Kings history was back in 1998 when the team made Vlade Divac one of the top paid Centers in the NBA (5 years, $40 million). In recent memory the biggest signing the Kings have made was Chuck Hayes in 2011 (4 years, $22 million). Might that reputation change with new ownership? Sacramento is fortunate to not be burdened with overly burdensome contracts. Jason Thompson currently has the longest deal of any King but is very reasonably priced for a big man. Marcus Thornton has the most expensive contract, although that will likely be surpassed by Tyreke Evans if he is re-signed. In terms of cap space, the Kings have $41.3 million committed in salary for 2013-14 if you don't include cap holds. Of Sacramento's Free Agents (Tyreke Evans, Cole Aldrich, James Johnson, Toney Douglas) only Evans really has a solid chance of being retained. The Kings also own the #7 pick, which will add about $2.5 million to Sacramento's salary number. Last year the Salary Cap was set at $58 million. It likely will go up for the first time in a couple years for next season. Let's assume a Salary Cap of $60 million. Without taking Tyreke Evans into consideration, they will have about $16.2 million in cap space. If the Kings were to attempt a big move this offseason, who is out there to spend on? Here are the biggest names: Josh Smith, F, Atlanta Hawks Andre Iguodala*, G/F, Denver Nuggets David West, PF, Indiana Pacers Chris Paul, PG, Los Angeles Clippers Dwight Howard, C, Los Angeles Lakers Brandon Jennings**, PG, Milwaukee Bucks Monta Ellis*, SG, Milwaukee Bucks J.J. Redick, SG, Milwaukee Bucks Kevin Martin, SG, Oklahoma City Thunder Manu Ginobili, SG, San Antonio Spurs Al Jefferson, F/C, Utah Jazz Paul Millsap, PF, Utah Jazz Jeff Teague**, PG, Atlanta Hawks Andrew Bynum, C, Philadelphia 76ers *Iguodala and Ellis must first exercise options before they become Free Agents. It's possible, if unlikely, that they could choose not to exercise those options. ** Jennings and Teague will be Restricted Free Agents There are also some smaller names that could help the Kings fill positions of need: Kyle Korver, G/F, Atlanta Hawks Anthony Morrow, G/F, Dallas Mavericks Corey Brewer, SF, Denver Nuggets Jose Calderon, PG, Detroit Pistons Jarrett Jack, G, Golden St. Warriors Tony Allen, SG, Memphis Grizzlies Mike Dunleavy, SF, Milwaukee Bucks Dorell Wright, SF, Philadelphia 76ers Toney Douglas*, PG, Sacramento Kings Tiago Splitter, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs DeJuan Blair, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs Gary Neal*, SF, San Antonio Spurs * Neal and Douglas can both be Restricted Free Agents There is also another tried and true method of improving the team and that involves trading. The Kings definitely have some assets that can be used to acquire other pieces. I would rank Sacramento's assets in terms of trade value (I am leaving Tyreke Evans off this list due to his current Free Agent status) thus: 1. DeMarcus Cousins 2. The #7 Pick 3. Isaiah Thomas 4. Patrick Patterson 5. Marcus Thornton 6. Jason Thompson 7. Jimmer Fredette 8. The #36 Pick 9. John Salmons 10. Chuck Hayes 11. Travis Outlaw With those pieces the Kings can make a big trade or two, but also a couple of small ones. One example of a small one I could think of is trading the #36 pick to Portland for the rights to International SF Kostas Papanikolaou. There was a report today that Papanikolaou is seeking a trade before coming to the NBA because Portland is already set at SF with Batum and Victor Claver. Papanikolaou plays for Olympiakos, the reigning Euroleague champions. He also shot well over 40% from three in over 50 games last season. The Kings enter a new era with a wealth of options before them. Finding the right one(s)

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images The rarest of sights: LeBron James attacking Roy Hibbert at the rim. After hitting the overtime buzzer-beating layup in the Eastern Conference Finals' Game 1, LeBron James insisted he barely noticed whether or not Pacers center Roy Hibbert was on the court. "I don't know if I was surprised or not. I really wasn't worried about if Hibbert was in the game at all." Later he added: "I was in attack [mode] when Hibbert was in the game, I was in attack when Hibbert wasn't in the game.

The Thunder are down and out until next season, when we hope that the phoenix will once again be reborn and rise from the ashes. For me however, and hopefully for you, that doesn't mean that basketball stops. Basketball never stops. In this space I plan to recount my impressions of the playoffs from here on out. I don't plan on doing any recapping or other such things, we have some amazing sites who are far greater experts on their teams than I will ever be. Rather, I want to continue to keep perspective on why the currently playing teams are in the positions they are, what we can learn about them, and what it tells us about basketball itself. *** GRIZZLIES vs SPURS The series currently stands at 2-0 in favor of the Spurs, just like the Grizzlies faced an 0-2 deficit in the 1st round against the Clippers. I knew that Game 1 would be an anomaly. The Grizzlies' defense is too prideful and tenacious to give up that many open 3-pointers. However, midway through Game 2 the Spurs seemed to be doing it again, up 18 in the 3rd. However, one thing tilted in Memphis' favor - it was a low-scoring affair. Even so, the game should not have been as close as it was in the end, given that the Grizzlies' power forward Zach Randolph was having a horrid game. Near the end though, an amazing 4 point sequence gave Memphis just enough juice to power it into OT, which led to this discussion between myself and Pounding the Rock's head honcho, J.R. Wilco: J.R. Wilco: I need an independent fan's opinion: did you think Manu's foul was worth a flagrant? Sherman: from here: http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/04/18/flagrant.technical/, the operative word is 'unnecessary.' To me, you can't look at the fall, where Allen clearly overacted. So if the refs were playing by the letter, they only looked at the contact initiated by Manu If that's the case, the only way I see them judging that the contact was 'unnecessary' was that they considered that Manu hung onto Allen's arm for too long, pulling him down. Otherwise, that's a foul we see a dozen times every single game. It's kind of akin to the facemask penalty in football. If you grab it and let go it's 5 yards. If the refs deem that you held on too long, even for a second, it's 15 yards. So the difference in Manu's play is whether he held on too long. And after the refs reviewed it, I'm not really sure how they can make that call, given the momentum of both players. Manu didn't wind up and swing at Allen or anything. He just fouled and possibly grabbed to make sure the shot didn't go up. J.R. Wilco: Which tells me that they were looking at the fall after all! Sherman: Yep. and that's puzzling too, since if you watched Allen fall it's pretty obvious his reaction is not commensurate with the foul. So in a way I think they got it wrong twice. Even after review, they called something 'unnecessary' that wasn't by the letter of the law, and then they looked at the outcome of the foul when they should not have. At least that's what it seems like to me. The only other thing I can think of is that the refs were not just making a call for this play, but for the series. Setting the standard for unnecessary fouls to prevent things from getting out of hand. Which I think is misguided because the best way to keep things from getting out of hand is to call plays accurately and consistently, not be overbearing on a marginal call. PACERS vs HEAT Game 1 was marvelous. I believe that in the Heat's current iteration, the only way that a team is going to have a shot to take them down is by muddying the waters. The Heat simply have too many high skill players on their team, and more importantly, they are working at a high level of synergy and competence. Even if Russell Westbrook hadn't gone down in these playoffs, I think OKC would have had a really hard time matching up against the Heat simply because Miami's collection of talent tends to play at a higher level of consistency than the Thunder's had this

Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports Folks looking to assign blame for the New York Knicks’ postseason failure may look at the Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Glen Grunwald. They should also make sure they praise Grunwald, who helped New York have its most successful season in 13 years. As much as people want to bag on the Knicks for falling short of a title this year, fans should be grateful. Grunwald, who’s been on board with the team since 2006, has been pivotal in overhauling a team that was hapless not too long ago. Ungrateful fans should rent a time machine and zoom back to the early aughts, when Isiah Thomas, legendary baller and legendarily awful basketball executive, was named Knicks president of basketball operations in 2003. He also assumed head coaching duties in 2006, replacing the legendary Larry Brown. Thomas’s overall record with the Knicks was 56-108. Needless to say, there were many more craters than peaks. There was the 2004 team, a veritable mish-mash of non-complementary talent. Ball-hogging guards Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford took the court with disappointing forwards Tim Thomas and Vin Baker. There was Kurt Thomas, who did average a double double. They also had a first round draft bust by the name of Michael Sweetney, who was in his second year. And let’s not forget Allan Houston, who averaged 11.9 points per game, but made more than $17 million (more on this later). That team finished 16 games below .500, good for fifth in the Atlantic Division. And then there was the 2007-08 season, the bleakest time to be a Knicks fan in recent history, when the team lost 59 games, tying a franchise record. That’s back when they had Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson, before those guys would mature into solid players for contending ball clubs. If you think Amar’e Stoudemire’s contract was bad, go back to 2001, when the Knicks gave Houston perennial All-Star money: a 6-year, $100 million contract, widely considered one of the worst deals in sports history, particularly since he was a decent player with a one-dimensional game. Houston’s knees derailed his playing career, but his contract was so high he was still the NBA’s second highest paid player in 2005-06, even though he didn’t play a single game that year– not one. When Thomas had control of the Knicks’ checkbook in those bad old days, more shenanigans ensued. A trio of all-time terrible pacts standout: Marbury’s, 4-year, $76 million contract in 2003, Eddy Curry’s 6-year, $56 million deal in 2005 and Jerome James’s 5-year, $30 million contract, also in 2005. All fell precipitously short of living up to their deals. Curry could never get in shape and had knee problems and James was an underachiever who got paid due to a nice run during the 2005 NBA Playoffs when he was a member of the Seattle Supersonics. The Marbury contract was a disaster. When Marbury got the deal he was widely considered one of the best point guards in basketball. But he was a cancer in the locker room and never won as a Knick. Then there was that sex scandal involving a team intern that emerged in 2007. The Knicks eventually banned him from their premises and finally bought him out in 2009, thankfully ending that marriage. So, before fans go mouthing off about Carmelo Anthony or J.R. Smith or even Stoudemire, they should remember those bleak times. Speaking of Stoudemire, another low point in recent team history occurred when the Knicks signed another freakishly athletic power forward in 2002 by the name of Antonio McDyess. But McDyess fractured his left kneecap on a putback dunk in a preseason game. He was never the same after that injury and was traded in a deal that brought Marbury to New York.  It was another instance where a promise went unfulfilled for the Knicks. At least the Knicks got some return with Stoudemire, who gave them one spectacular season in 2010-11 and another decent one in 2011-12 before knee problems hampered him this seaso