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Still not a fan of this guy. http://bballbreakdown.com/2010/11/06/chris-paul-retakes-the-best-point-guard-in-the-league-crownwhy-the-heat-are-still-not-elite (CP3 best PG in the league) That was on November 6th. This is three weeks later. ---------- Also, his title is, "Lakers at Jazz – Barnes and Blake Bare The Brunt of the Blame." He's hard on Blake, but he only stuck Barnes into the title because his name starts with a "B" and, according to his video, Barnes changed the entire game by...cussing out the referee? He jumps Raja's ass for going under a Gasol screen and allowing Kobe to shoot the three, stating, "Are you crazy?" Well, there's only one other option, to chase him over the screen and lose Bryant, force help, and give Gasol a higher percentage look (sometimes, a dunk). LA does this all the time. He says he hates how Kirilenko put his hand on Kobe's waist 27 feet away from the rim, says he hates what Bryant does by drawing the foul and pretending like he's going to try and shoot the ball because he's only doing it to get the call, and that he can never make that shot. "There's no chance he'd ever make that shot." Really? I have a few clips of him shooting deep threes, not even at the end of a quarter/game, and drilling them. Kobe passes the ball to Artest for a late-game shot, and Nick is jumping on Bryant for not moving after the pass? It's too bad he doesn't know that Jackson wants Bryant back on defense with four others crashing the boards (like Pippen or Jordan in Chicago, depends on the game) and, aside from that, when does Ron pass up a shot that is drawn up for him? He faked, drove straight to the rim, and didn't look at a single teammate before putting up his fadeaway. When the shot clock first screwed up, and Nick states that it wouldn't have affected the game due to the Jazz having four back...too bad he's wrong there as well. Look at Odom and Artest at the bottom of the screen. Utah had two guys watching Gasol down low, and either Ron or Odom were going to be open for the three if Fisher started to swing the ball, from Kobe to one of them (which happens a lot). For the last play of the game, Nick isn't so sure Kobe can make "that kind of a pocket pass" to Gasol? LOL...what the [expletive] is this dude saying? Did he ever watch Kobe and Shaq? Did he watch any games over the last three seasons? Was Gasol really "more open" than Ron? Please. He ends his video by stating that Barnes (who he mentioned maybe twice in the entire analysis) and Blake can't bring it every night. He spoke not a word about Shannon Brown, though, who shot 2-8 in 18 minutes of play, much worse than Barnes' 3-6 shooting, 8 points and 5 boards in nearly the same amount of minutes. I guess it was all about the one foul on Barnes, and him cussing out the referee, which earned him the place in the headline. He also decided not to talk about Fisher's chucking and poor shooting (1-7 if I recall correctly), just his poor defense on the basketball god, Deron Williams. Why didn't Nick cover the November 22nd Jazz game against the Kings, when Deron was absolutely picked apart? Why did he miss the following games? 11/13 @ CHA - 17 PTS (5-15 FG), 9 AST 11/17 vs. NJN - 23 PTS (5-13 FG), 8 AST 11/19 vs. SAS - 23 PTS (7-19 FG), 5 AST 11/20 @ POR - 12 PTS (3-13 FG), 11 AST 11/22 vs. SAC - 12 PTS (4-14 FG), 9 AST All within the last two weeks, also...between the time he stated that Chris Paul was the best PG in the NBA after beating the Heat, and stating that Deron is, hands down, the best PG in the league after beating the Lakers. Haha. I'm sorry, I understand he has a lot of knowledge, but what he knows is a bit overrated. He sticks his hand into these videos telling everyone what a team is running on offense, and how a team defends...but he's not analyzing these players very well. Blake shoots 0-7 and he's a problem in this game? Sure he is. My own mother can determine that. There was a bad hand-off between Kobe and Gasol? Sure was...everyone watching the game, coaches or fans, saw it and recognized it as such. He should start to consider what these players have done in the past, and how they play in more than just one game, before talking about just one game. Kobe can't fit in a pocket pass to Gasol? Absurd, Nick...one of the most ignorant things I've heard you say. He shouldn't have passed to Ron for that open three? Is that what you would've recommended when he did it against Boston in Game 7, the shot that caused Ron to blow kisses to the fans and eventually gave him a championship ring? All he's doing is telling his viewers how an offense works, and pointing out the mistakes on both sides of the ball. I think he puts more effort into putting his clips together, honestly. Kudos for that, but if he's going to evaluate the players on the court, he needs to do a better job of it.

Unless I was a part of the Heat organization, it'd be foolish of me to say for 100% sure where the bulk of the blame lies. No one really knows the mindset of these players, exactly what gameplan Spo is trying to have the players buy into (although he himself said he put in little to no set-plays and structure early in the season), and how much of his gameplan the players are actually executing. If they aren't running his gameplan, then the gameplan has to be adjusted to fit their strengths. If the players are starting to revolt against Spo, as [expletive]ed up as it is, Spo needs to go. Once you start to lose a team, it's over. Totally different situations. Unfortunately, the gameplan right now isn't that much different than last year's Heat team, which is a problem. Simply running iso's or high PnR's for LeBron or Wade won't get it done with this team like it did last year when it was just Wade running those plays. It diminishes their chance to gain rythym, and the roles are all warped because of the addition of some versatile, multi-dimensional talents (namely LeBron and Bosh). The result is the same...either way, Spo needs to go. There is far too much potential and money invested in the Big 3 that moving one of them this early is out of the question. If they have this problem with 2-3 coaches, then it's time to blow the team up and start with either Wade/Bosh or Wade/James. It is also the coach's job to design a system where each player has a role...if there is one thing you can tell about this team, it's that there are no roles. Everything is freestyle, and that is the way Spo envisioned the offense to be throughout training camp, preseason, and the early part of this season. If Wade and James aren't moving off-ball, design plays that will have them running off-ball. We know Wade can do this, and when James isn't on the floor he is VERY active away from the ball (normally the ball will still end up in his hands on the perimeter, but him catching the ball on the move after coming around a screen or two forces the defenses to adjust and helps set-up driving lanes or open teammates). With James it will be a work-in-progress, but either Spo hasn't designed any plays to get him to get used to moving off-ball in the structure of a system, or Bron doesn't trust him enough to follow his advice. Either way, that means Spo should be the first one to go.

I think some of you are looking at it the wrong way (not sure how Alex is actually approaching it, though...sort of confused because he's not really coming out and saying who's to blame). Look, Spoelstra was Wade's buddy for years. They ran a system, and Wade bought it. The Heat started off slow last season, finished with 47 wins (started the season 9-7, ironically). This was with a team many Heat fans said should've have been good enough to win that many games, aside from Wade and Haslem's play. Beasley wasn't good enough, Wright just didn't fit, Jermaine was a shell of his former self, and Spoelstra wasn't experienced enough to get out of the first round. Well, now we're talking about Spo not being able to command respect. Why not just say the players (probably starting with LeBron) aren't giving him respect? From how others are putting it, it makes it sound like this is all on Spoelstra, even though a lot of us predicted the team would struggle early. Adjusting the offense? While coaches do the work on the whiteboard, it's the players who do it on the court. Nothing Spo says will make Wade and LeBron better off-ball players. Nothing he says will make them spot-up shooters. No offense he sets up will force these two guys (meaning James and Wade) to play both of their 2009-10 styles without any restrictions. Maybe Spo isn't right for the job, but that definitely, 100% doesn't mean he's the one to blame. Him being the wrong person to coach this team has almost everything to do with LeBron and Wade. Would any other coach have been able to take Kobe and Shaq and turn them into a dynasty duo? I don't know, but it would be much easier because basketball makes life simple when you have a dominant post and a dominant slashing and playmaking guard. This duo isn't Phil's Lakers. It's not even Riley's Showtime Lakers. It's not Jordan and Pippen. It's a superstar duo that contains two guys who play nearly the same exact game on the floor, nearly the same spots on the floor, trying to involve a third all-star that, unfortunately, plays more like them than he does a traditional power forward. Eventually, it'll work and they will be able to run off 60-win seasons (unless they blow a fuse and start feuding with each other), but that won't be up to any coach they will ever have, either...Spo, Riley, or anyone...because it all starts with the two willing to adjust AND redefine their games while improving in areas they never needed to consider before. It doesn't take a coach to tell them this, unless both of these guys are really that ignorant to the game of basketball. In fact, I believe both noted before the season started that it's a work in progress, that they will need to adjust and not play like they were last season...am I correct? But just recently, LeBron stated he was not going to defer or adjust his game, because it would make him a role player. It's very clear where the problems lie.

Both Seymour and Johnson should've been suspended for one game. They both threw punches. If you can be suspended for a helmet-to-helmet hit that, sometimes, can't be proven as intentional...you should be suspended at least one game for intentionally throwing a punch, through a facemask or with the helmet off, doesn't matter who provoked it.

The closer to the rim, the better. Throughout most of his game-winners, it really doesn't matter who is on him or how close they are in his jersey. See Wade as one of the more recent examples, more athletic than Ford and also 4-5 inches taller, and a far, far better defensive player. Same with Raja and Diaw, same with Patterson when he was basically laying his body all over Kobe before he dropped a nasty game-tying three on him and Portland. A normal three with someone in his face still has that higher percentage of going in, over the 30-footer.

http://i54.tinypic.com/1z38pb9.jpg

He does wobble too much, and I wish he wasn't so wishy-washy...he says he's going to do a comprehensive point guard breakdown soon and I hope he sticks to one gun during that one. I think he's going to look at the Bulls soon, and I'm prepared to hear, "Derrick Rose is by far the best point guard in the NBA." I think he stuck Barnes into the title in that Barnes' stupid technical was the turning point according to him. As for the individual points, Brandon, you NEVER give Kobe an open jumper. He'll make those shots nearly all the time. You always fight through against a good shooter and trust your defense against the threat of Kobe's drive. When Bell went over the screens, the Jazz had some decent success against Kobe, and they took away the passes to Gasol. Kobe hit a tough three, but most of the other plays were strung out very well. That's good defense. Taking a short cut and giving Kobe an open jumper is playing Russian roulette. I think the outrage on the Kirielnko foul is that Kobe isn't going up to shoot to make the shot. If it goes in, it's fluky. He's trying to strictly draw a foul. I don't agreee with Coach Nick's outrage, but I can see where he's coming from. It's like what John Wall did a few weeks ago when he chucked up a 50 footer knowing Philadelphia had a foul to give and was going to foul him. Nobody actually takes 50 footers trying to make them (unless you're Vince Carter). With the Kobe standing around thing, Fisher was back balancing the floor.Kobe could've simply backed up to the middle to receive an emergency pass. He and Fisher just stood in the same place. you can see Fish trying to set a screen for Kobe towards the end and Kobe ignored it. With the shot clock thing, the Jazz could easily have rotated. They had plenty of time. With the way the Jazz defense was set up, the help defender responsible for Gasol was standing in front of the basket. Gasol would've had a mid-range jumper. I trust Gasol rolling or popping from 15 more than Artest on a corner three, but I'm not going to be too hard. I think Kobe found an open man which is a good play. I even appreciate Kobe's trust in Artest. A left-handed bounce pass moving away from the target is incredibly difficult. Few players can make them, and most of their names start with Steve, Deron, or Chris. Maybe Rondo can make that pass, but most defenses never go under screens so I have no idea. It's not much of an insult to say that Kobe can't make that pass. LeBron and Wade can't. If he tries to use two hands, the Jazz would've probably clogged the hole and Kobe would've had a more looping pass which would've allowed the defense to close to Gasol. He also did talk about Fisher making an awful pass, and it's hard to describe EVERY single play in a basketball game. He focused on general trends, Deron Williams, and the close of the game. About the D-Will stuff, look at those assist numbers and his team's offensive execution. If he makes the right play and misses good shots, he'll usually make---I mean what are you going to do, destroy a guy for missing a few open jumpers? Also, it's impossible for someone to watch every single moment of every single game, and even more impossible to post scouting reports on it. He probably was watching Jazz-Lakers because they're two high profile teams, just like his work on the Heat. He wasn't getting on Blake for missing shots really, just those two awful decisions to pick up his dribble to early and try some scoop layup. It's very important for players to stay within their roles. I also think he does a good job. Most of what he's said is stuff I agree with in my own analysis. There are disagreements, but at least he shows his work and makes analysis based on his work. If you have a counter you can show of a few pocket passes Kobe's made, go ahead. I don't remember him making any left-handed pocket bounce passes. All I remember off the top of my head is D-Will and Nash. I've seen much less of Chris Paul, so I can't explicitly say that he would've made that pass either.

ib4poe.

He was just asking..calm down.

already doin that on the reg everyday fa sho

[expletive] [expletive]es, smoke weed.....honestly.

What's the point of this?

Swish weren't you supporting the Heat like a month ago? Mavs have been impressive in the early part of the season. Just in the month of November they've taken out Denver, Boston, New Orleans, OKC, San Antonio, and now Miami. As for the Heat, they're now a .500 team. Yikes.

http://www.basketball-refs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/joey-crawofrd.jpg http://cache.deadspin.com/assets/resources/2007/04/DuncanTossed.jpg http://www.slamonline.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/tim-joey.jpg http://english.people.com.cn/200504/26/images/duncan1.jpg

Landry Fields and Timofey Mozgov.