Erick Blasco

Is that your nickname for Chris Bosh?

Miami appears to be having problems with the three best point guards in the NBA.

I saw that game. He also set a really smart screen which freed up Jrue Holliday for a game-clinching three.

No. Which relatively bad player is better than the other two. Right now I think the consensus is Battie, and I'd agree.

Score one for Paul (though the headline is misleading and illustrates why Chris Bosh is so bad defensively... http://bballbreakdown.com/

This has actually turned into a pretty nice thread. No Malik Allen supporters out there? He can create his own jumper out to 18 feet...

Also, and I will admit Nitro, that Williams' gameplan embodies everything I would want in a point guard if I were creating a team. Leadership, Versatility, brilliant vision, anticipation, and handling, an incredible basketball IQ, the ability to post smaller guys, break bigger guys, shoot when open, and he's becoming an exceptional defensive point guard (compared at least to the plethora of bad defensive point guards in the league who get lauded as good by default. Devin Harris?). I have a strong bias towards Williams because of this. I've seen Paul do things like dribble away the shot clock until there's two seconds left, pass to a defended teammate, watch as the teammate tries to break free of a tightly-guarding defender so the guy can get off a shot, have the shot go off after the buzzer, and then Paul blasts him for not knowing the shotclock situation. Don't put a guy in an impossible situation and them blow up on him. That's not leadership at all, and he gets lauded as this guy with this incredible will to win. It seems phony to me. D-Will a few games ago got pissed when Gordan Hayward didn't cross the baseline which Utah always does with its wings in early offense. Hayward stayed in the corner with Jefferson on the strong box. Williams wanted to feed Jefferson right away but Hayward's lack-of-spacing by not crossing prevented that. Williams pumped his fist and cursed out. But he still fed Hayward the ball in the corner instead of hanging him out to dry and they ran the offense where Hayward fed AJ, then made a smart cut for a layup. There was a timeout and Williams shouted at Hayward...at his bench, not on the floor. He was pissed. He let Hayward know he was pissed, but he didn't hang the kid out to dry. That's more leadership than saying in interviews that he want's to win so bad.

I'm trying to say that "more clutch" is kind of a silly term. You're either clutch or you're not clutch. I'm not trying to dispute Paul's ability to get the job done late in games. That's a futile argument. But Williams has proven to also be a player who gets results late in games. Hence why I'm not going to call Paul "more clutch." I mean, would anybody call Hedo Turkoglu "more super-clutch" than Kobe Bryant? I'd hope not. But both players have proven that they will perform well with the game on the line. I would say that Paul is a better high screen/roll player than Williams (though I would argue that Williams is a better wing screen/roll player). I would also say that Paul is a better iso scorer too, though Williams is lethal in the post. I know it's not the premise of your argument but D-Will averages 22/8.5, (with 3.7 turnovers---not awful against a defense like Boston) on 51% shooting against a team capable of disrupting an offense like Utah's. It's hard to assume what a team like Boston would do against these two if they had more than two game samples and more time to scout. Also, the Jazz posted offensive ratings of 95.4 and up in all six games, while the Hornets had two games above 93.9. It's easier to stop an opponent when there's only one base play to worry about. And don't use rebounds to criticize Williams vs. Paul. Williams leaks out to the wing on opposing team's shots while Paul goes back to rebound, slowing down New Orleans' break and transition game. This is why Utah's transition game is so good. Because they don't have a point guard slowing down the break by rebounding. Paul is so good in the open court, yet the Hornets play at such a slow pace. If Paul were leaking out too, it would do wonders for the Hornets offense! Williams also hasn't had a postseason as bad as Paul's 2009, where he posted a negative win share. Fisher and the Lakers had three seasons of postseason scouting on the Jazz going into last season, with a defense that improved every year, while the Jazz had an injured starting center and traded away their starting shooting guard mid-season. the two seasons prior to last, Williams tortured the Lakers in the paint. What was Carlos Boozer before Utah? What was Mehmet Okur with the Pistons? Kyle Korver with the Sixers wasn't anything special. Ronnie Brewer's been hurt, but he isn't starting in Chicago. Wesley Matthews' efficiency numbers are way down in Portland in a lesser role. Al Jefferson's taken the T-Wolves and Celtics absolutely nowhere. Let's not make the Jazz out to be the Lakers. They take interchangeable parts and get the most out of them by running as pure a form of execution as there is in the league. If there's a point guard who can't read the offense, who can't set those back-and cross screens to set up good post position, and who can't be good enough to score when the offense breaks down, the whole thing breaks down. The argument is going to be in ways you can put pressure on a defense. It's extremely hard for a one-dimensional offense to succeed against a versatile defense. The only teams to have recent postseason offensive success against good defenses are teams like Phoenix (which boost their offense by playing at an extreme pace which hurts their defense, plus the Suns do more off the ball---Nash will set screens, there's a lot of weak-side baseline brush screen action, more action off the ball in general---than Paul and New Orleans), and the Hornets from two years ago (which, like last year's Suns have realized, figured out that Tim Duncan can't defend a screen anymore). I don't see Williams as a next-level offense runner. He probably has a bit more offensive talent this year than he's ever had (though with a rookie coach). Let's see what he can do.

Josh Powell vs. Tony Battie vs Malik Allen. Go!

The same guys who don't think Miller will reach 60 this year are the same guys who didn't think he'd reach 50 last year!!!

I'm not going to say Paul is more clutch than Williams, not when Williams is hitting playoff buzzer beaters to take down the Lakers. Paul does it all on high screen/rolls, which can be stopped by a good defense that has time to prepare. Denver two years ago took advantages of all the shortcuts in Paul's game (his inability to play without the ball, his habit of sagging way back into passing lanes to pick off entry passes to the post, his smallish defense near the basket) and made the Hornets look incredibly average. That Nuggets team was back on its heels the entire series against the Jazz last year because the offense is so fluid and there are no shortcuts to Utah's game. Yeah the Hornets don't have too many playmates for Paul, but there's no balance to the Hornets. Even this year, with the Hornets playing at such a high level, their offensive rating is only in the middle of the pack and it's only eclipsed the top 10 once in the past five years (the same year Utah led the league in offensive rating). You can say, yeah the Hornets offense is easier to stop when Paul gives the ball up because his teammates are worse, but you can also say the Hornets offense is easier to stop when Paul gives the ball up because it isn't an offense that caters much to balanced, versatile offense.

PER has a pretty severe bias of volume over efficiency (as I keep finding out in this fantasy league I'm in that uses PER as the stat). It's far from a foolproof baseline. Deron Williams has gotten off to a slow start this season, but the Jazz flow has been muddled by so many new faces, and Sloan's offense is all about continuity. I wish Williams played in a pure high screen/roll system so his numbers would be extraordinarily high at the expense of a relatively (compared to Utah's hyper-flex) simplistic and easier to stop offense. Or if Paul played in a more nuanced system where he actually had to give the ball up. Paul keeps proving that he's better than Nash (they run similar bases), but I'm not jumping off the Williams bandwagon. He's been commanding an extremely efficient offense at a very high level his entire career, and he's become one of the best defensive point guards in the league, especially against opposing two-guards.

Andre Miller...

lol, didn't see your post. It looks like you think he's the real deal too!

My goodness, I'm impressed by Blake Griffin's offensive game! This guy's skill set is off the charts. I can't think of a more skilled, more complete offensive repertoire for a rookie since Duncan. I think Brandon's "Real Deal" moniker is in trouble...Blake Griffin may be stealing it...

What are these two teams doing playing a game in the 70's? Not what I expected at all!

It's like watching the Celtics, vs. the Celtics junior. By the end of the year, these will be two good basketball teams.

I agree. I don't, off the top of my head, think he's a top 25 point guard in the NBA. He's not as ultra-athletic as he needs to be with his size, and he'll always give up mismatches on defense. He works hard to make up for it, but he's still at best a slightly below average defender, and he can't penetrate. And I have a lot of respect for Diop, but his offensive game is brutal!

Though the Charlotte Bobcats were able to grind out an 85-83 victory in New Jersey against the Nets, it’s difficult for a talent-thirsting team to reach the postseason simply on the basis of hard work. The only pseudo-easy points the Bobcats can generate is on post ups for Stephen Jackson. This is why after the Bobcats primarily ran a flex base in the first quarter leading to numerous open mid-range jump shots for Gerald Wallace and Boris Diaw, their main staple going forward, and primarily in the fourth, was Stephen Jackson posting on the left box. However, because the Bobcats lack three-point shooters, Jackson was frequently doubled with New Jersey daring Charlotte’s supporting cast to beat them from the outside. In the seven times Jackson posted up in the fourth quarter: A pass out of a double team led to Boris Diaw making a bad pass to a cutting Gerald Wallace.Another pass out of a double gave the Bobcats no advantage.A pass to a cutting Tyrus Thomas led to a layup.Another double and kick out saw Boris Diaw connecting on a triple.A post up against Anthony Morrow did not draw a double. Jackson missed the layup.Another post up saw Jackson lurching into a double team, where he was bailed out by a foul. He hit two free throws.A final post up saw Devin Harris strip the ball out of bounds. Charlotte retained possession. While the ‘Cats sometimes regained possession meaning the plays don’t quite count as possessions, Charlotte scored one point per possession in seven post opportunities as the Bobcats’ staple play. That’s not particularly efficient. Jackson, while not particularly selfish on Larry Brown’s squad, is also a player who tends to massage the ball, quelling offensive movement. While he has a reputation as a defensive stopper, he’s also quite lazy on that end, sticking to screens, not moving his feet, and making sloppy closeouts. A poor closeout on Travis Outlaw to end the game was survived when Outlaw missed a baseline pull-up. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, there are few better offensive options. Boris Diaw was useful—10-18 FG, 2-6 3FG, 2-4 FT, 3 AST, 2 TO, 24 PTS—hitting the majority of his wide open jump shots, venturing in the post for the occasional hook, and being active when garbage opportunities presented themselves. However, he’s not a player who creates offense on his own, as evidenced by an airballed pull-up 18 footer. Diaw’s a better team defender than he is an individual defender, and he’s not much of a rebounder. On another team, Gerald Wallace’s habit of playing an entire game with his head down would relegate him to a sixth man role. On the Bobcats, though, he’s valuable as one of the few players who can create offense out of nothing, simply by turning himself into a missile seeking the basket. Wallace rebounds simply by jumping higher in a crowd than all comers, and he missed several perimeter rotations against the Nets. Nazr Mohammed—6-8 FG, 12 PTS—can’t defend, and was tortured by Brook Lopez, but he’s a solid short-range jump shooter. His backup DeSagana Diop plays excellent post defense, struggles to defend screens, and can’t find the basket with a GPS. Flawed as they are, Charlotte’s centers complement each other better than Tyson Chandler would. Tyrus Thomas, as usual, plays out of control and makes numerous mistakes, but a made open jump shot and a few well-timed cuts earned the Bobcats four critical fourth-quarter points. Shaun Livingston’s size allowed him to make several good passes out of the post, and his long arms disrupted New Jersey’s passing. He plays defense way too upright though. If he can fashion his stance lower, he can become an impact defender. At second glance, Gerald Henderson lacks the size and explosion to be a difference maker as a wing. Charlotte’s biggest problem was the point guard play of D.J. Augustine—1-7 FG, 1-5 3FG, 2-2 FT, 7 AST, 0 TO. Don’t be fooled by the high assist total, four of them came from hitting the correct target in the flex, as Wallace and Diaw popped open for mid-range jumpers unimpeded. Over the course of the game, Augustine had extreme problems getting into the lane, couldn’t create space for his jumper, only knocked down one of five attempts from downtown (including one that was blocked by Devin Harris), was timid firing his jump shots unless they were wide open, and was too small to have any defensive success. Even Anthony Morrow posted him for points. Without a point guard (or anybody besides Jackson and the reckless Wallace) who can break down defenses, the Bobcats will be forced to rely on extreme offensive execution to manufacture points, which will be hard to do against the better defenses in the league. Doubly so because Wallace, Diaw, and Jackson are such unreliable shooters. The Bobcats make up for it with solid defensive principles, discipline, and hard work, but each is fallible against talented, or like-minded opponents. Still, Charlotte’s best cause for optimism is that they at least have that going for them—what exactly do the Nets, Raptors, Cavs, Sixers, Pacers, Pistons, Wizards and Knicks have?

The whole form of the article is sloppy. I doubt it's credible at all.

Maybe Charlie V should start by fighting KG (or anybody) for a rebound...

lol, yeah I guess.

This is really cool. I'm sure her story will be positively received nationally, and hopefully it will chip away some of the hyper-masculinity that takes place in sports, though I'm also positive the reaction would be a lot more negative if Allums were a guy transitioning into becoming a woman and not the other way around.

The Gameplan is back! Hopefully on a weekly or at least bi-weekly basis. The first few weeks will be rush jobs as I have large-scale group presentations and a research paper. I'm scheduled this week to take a look at Charlotte on Wednesday night and the Clippers on Friday night. Is there anything specific that you guys would want me to take a look at from each team that would be particularly interesting or insightful? Keep in mind, I don't want to look at Blake Griffin...player recaps take a while to get done. Also, if I don't have time this week, the gameplan may be skipped---but I want to throw this out there and see what I can do. Anyways, enjoy! http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/sports/watch/v20557503m2JYMaq4