Erick Blasco

A 42% that scaled as his postseason progressed: 6-15, 40% against Miami; 13-27 48% against the Cavs; 18-42, 43% against the Magic; and a 15-41, 37% which looks worse but most of misses came in a blowout Game 6 where his performance in the grand scheme of things didn't make a whole lot of difference. Since Wallace shoots so many threes, eFG% is a better barometer of his success, and he shot a tick under 50% factoring in his threes. He also played exceptional defense throughout the postseason. Frankly, I was shocked Wallace performed so well on offense. I've never been a fan of Wallace's offense because he's always been lazy when his team has needed him. Last year came out of nowhere and against his history, is an aberration. Are we to trust O'Neal will also have an anomalous postseason filled with important jumpers and a big time post showing in a Game Seven? O'Neal has also never come close to having the defensive rep of Wallace. Even those dinky NBA Gameplan clips I used to do shows O'Neal flat out missing a defensive rotation. How many rotations does Wallace miss? He's incredibly aware. That's what O'Neal doesn't do well. So much of defense is whether you can make adequate baseline rotations. O'Neal misses some, and since he's not as forceful as other players, tends to get pushed around under the hoop. I have one of the Celtics-Heat games on a DVD, I'll burn it up and try to come up with a video outlining the help difference between the two when I get some time. O'Neal's playoff percentages have been poor his entire career except against Atlanta's "switch every screen" defense which saw Marvin Williams checking O'Neal as often as Al Horford was (a bit of hyperbole but not too much). Is he supposed to have a renaissance on Boston? Are the Miami Heat any threat to miss the playoffs this year? 1 seed, 8 seed, Miami is making the postseason. Who cares what Ilgauskas does in the regular season? All the regular season is to good teams is habit building. If Miami wins 60 games, bulldozes through some hapless 8 seed, and gets taken out by an Orlando Magic team with Dwight Howard romping through Ilguaksas and the Heat front line, or against a Celtics team which suffocates Ilgauskas' jumpers and punishes his defense, then a 66-win season will seem pretty hollow. I mean, is anybody impressed with the Cavs regular season last year? They won some games, that's nice. They sleptwalked through an overmatched Bulls team and still won, pretty cool. And then they self-destructed against Boston where all their bad habits, flaws, and mistakes were exposed. Just like the year previous where all their defensive shortcomings were picked apart. This is what good coaches and scouts do. They punish liabilities. Ilgauskas will swallow most post players, but Howard destroys him. Plus the Magic and Celtics put him in screen rolls that Ilgauskas is awful against. What's his screen/roll defensive FG percentage? Plus, since Orlando puts four shooters on the floor, it's literally impossible for Ilgauskas to make a substantial number of rotations he'll need to make to cover three-point shooters. It's going to be ugly next postseason for Miami should they need to get any substantial minutes from Ilgauskas.

O'Neal is also a player who, for all his attributes, plays much worse in the postseason and has for a lengthy career. Rasheed hit shots last postseason. I don't have the confidence Jermaine can do the same in a similar role. He also wasn't much a defensive factor at all against Boston last year, and he's an injury risk. With Ilgauskas, the Cavs didn't expect much out of him either, didn't need him for much, and were helpless with him on the court. Bad players will find ways to make opponents look good, and that's what Ilgauskas is nowadays. He's a season removed from being a useful player. He'll fill a role in the regular season, but like Jermaine O'Neal, there's nothing there that inspires confidence.

I suck at life lol. I see him being part of another playoff meltdown against the Utah Jazz. The worst thing that will happen is Dwight Howard salivating (who do the Heat have to check him?) and Boston salivating over all the open looks they'd get. The downside is the roster spot that's wasted on Z. I don't think he'll provide anything substantial at all aside from a few regular season offensive rebounds.

Fingers got ahead of me. N before M. Thanks for the heads up. Miles started a bunch last year, and really impressed with a strong postseason. I imagine he'll be the starter when the Jazz begin the season. He's better in the open floor with Williams and has become a pretty good offensive player. He fouls too much on defense, but I don't know if Bell has enough left to start, especially on a team like Utah that doesn't take possessions off. He'll be 34 at the start of the season. Harrington would be fine on other teams, but what does he give Denver that they don't have? He doesn't set his mind to playing good defense. He'll have a possession or two here or there, but the rest of the time, he's not helping you. He gives the Nuggets more offense---as if that's their problem. Ilguaskas has embarrassed himself the last two postseasons against the Magic and Celtics. Those teams will find him and run plays taking advantage of how he can't move. As bad as Jermaine O'Neal is, he's a better player than Ilgauskas. Kurt Thomas was available. There were still better cheap players out there than Ilgauskas. Wright will have a good year, the Warriors will win an extra game or two, but in the grand scheme of things, the Warriors aren't going to be significantly better with Wright on board so it's only a B.

With the superstars and pseudo-stars long accounted for, it’s been nothing but role players, backups, and bench-fillers changing teams the past few weeks. Let’s examine which minor moves may have major ramifications. Linas Kleiza—Toronto Raptors Kleiza’s not an outstanding athlete, and don’t expect much defense, but he can certainly put the ball in the basket. He’s a stocky player whose best attribute is three-point shooting though he’s also a strong finisher on the break and after driving along the baseline. With Hedo Turkoglu now in Phoenix, Kleiza will have the first crack at the starting small forward position in Toronto. With the Raptors’ offensive spacing, he should thrive as a spot up shooter who would also duck in to the basket from time to time, especially against weaker defenders. With Toronto having such a poor defensive roster, Kleiza’s defensive weaknesses would become even more exacerbated though. The Raptors would once again field an all-offense, no-defense lineup. They’d be hoping that the offensive talents of Kleiza and the rest of the roster would overcome their defensive ineptitude. If it didn’t work with Chris Bosh in tow, why would it work without him? Grade: C+ Jordan Farmar—New Jersey Nets Farmar is a good backup who can create his own shot off the dribble, knock down threes, and push the pace. He’s not a particularly effective defender, and he’s not athletic by NBA point guard standards, but he’s not a bad decision maker and can create offense in a pinch. Grade: B Anthony Morrow—New Jersey Nets Morrow is a spot-up shooter who doesn’t do too much else. Without Golden State’s gimmicky offense generating open looks, Morrow would have to hope that Devin Harris’ drive and kick game can free up open looks. Double-teaming Brook Lopez won’t necessarily open Morrow up because teams would double off Harris because of his iffy jump shot. Off the bench is where Morrow would be most effective. With Morrow, Jordan Farmar, Terrence Williams, Travis Outlaw, and Kris Humphries, the Nets bench would have some giddy-up. So long as the Nets can get enough stops, Humphries is a good enough rebounder to trigger New Jersey’s transition game, an attack which should create open looks for Morrow while defenses are trying to stop the ball and protect the basket first and foremost. Morrow’s also insurance should Courtney Lee suffer through another disappointing season. Grade: B Travis Outlaw—New Jersey Nets Outlaw has mastered a step-back jumper in the halfcourt, and is an athletic specimen in the open court. He’s even made himself into a respectable three-point shooter. He won’t pass so he can’t start, but he can certainly be the featured player off New Jersey’s bench. Grade: B+ Johan Petro—New Jersey Nets Petro is an athletic big who won’t embarrass himself, but he isn’t a disciplined defender, has trouble guarding the post, doesn’t have any notable offensive skills, and is mistake prone. There are worse third centers in the league, but the more the Nets need Petro, the worse off they become. Grade: D Jermaine O’Neal—Boston Celtics O’Neal always has been totally soft on both ends of the court so it’s a wonder how exactly he’ll fit in with the Celtics. He’s still a somewhat reliable jump shooter from 16-feet out who loves to face up, take one dribble going left, and then pull-up for the jumper. He’ll also take his left hand to the basket against novice defenders who forget that he plays one-handed. It’s hard to run screen/fades with O’Neal because he’s such a poor screen-setter. Plus, aside from a few games a month, O’Neal is strictly a turnaround jump shooter in the post. As such, Boston will probably use him as a safety valve baseline jump shooter, much the way P.J. Brown strictly shot jumpers from the baseline during Boston’s 2008 title run. It’s odd that such a fragile player, and one with a notorious history of being a postseason dud (and who can forget his robust 21% shooting percentage against Boston last with the Heat last postseason) was signed by a team that builds its roster for deep playoff runs. At least when Kendrick Perkins returns from injury, O’Neal will be relegated to the bench. Grade: D+ Wesley Matthews—Portland Trail Blazers Matthews plays solid positional defense, is a capable shooter, and has a tremendous basketball IQ. If he’s not adept at creating his own shot, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Andre Miller take up the bulk of the scoring responsibilities for the Blazers. Matthews will be a designated stopper as their main perimeter defender, and will work without the ball to generate offense. The Blazers hope Matthews can develop into a long term defensive ace they can plug at small forward. Nicolas Batum isn’t quick enough to defend two-guards the way Matthews can and Matthews is a more-well rounded offensive player. However, Portland also wants to win a playoff series this year. Given how Matthews had some measure of success containing Carmelo Anthony, and how Portland’s interior defense is much better than last year’s Utah squad, and the Blazers should once again field an effective defensive team. The Blazers are still low on perimeter players who can create their own jump shooting, something only Roy and Jerryd Bayless (in streaks) are adept at. Will Matthews’ presence supply enough offense for the Blazers to advance in the postseason? Grade: B Hilton Armstrong—Washington Wizards Armstrong can block a shot or two, but he’s a weak, foul-prone, inadequate defender with limited offensive skills. The Wizards already have to deal with JaVale McGee’s growing pains and Andray Blatche’s immaturity, why didn’t they target a more veteran presence as a third center? Grade: F Quentin Richardson—Orlando Magic Richardson was given a small role on the Heat last year and produced the most efficient season of his career. He’ll be asked to fill a similar role with Miami as a small forward who won’t play more than 30 minutes a game but can stretch the floor with three-point shooting while working hard on defense. Q-Rich also has some post up skills that can be put to use against select opponents. Richardson will effectively be replacing Matt Barnes as Orlando’s starting small forward. Barnes covers more ground than Richardson as he’s a step quicker and a better jumper. Because of this the Magic can expect a drop off in their ability to get layups in transition and a drop off in their defense. On the other hand, Richardson is a much better shooter than Barnes so Orlando’s spacing and half court offense will see a boost. Is he quick enough to force LeBron James or Dwyane Wade into designated help assignments? Is he big enough to contain James and Paul Pierce? Ultimately Richardon won’t be a difference maker. Grade: C Tony Allen—Memphis Grizzlies Allen is one of the best on-ball defenders in basketball. He’s strong enough to get into an opponent’s kitchen directing the offensive player to one direction, and he’s quick enough to keep pace with even the fastest scorers. His top-notch athleticism also makes him a menace in passing lanes which will create fast break opportunities for the young Grizzlies. Allen’s athleticism allows him to finish on the break, and he’s an excellent baseline runner in the halfcourt, but his shooting is atrocious, and he can’t handle or pass. Fortunately, the Grizzlies have a world of offensive talent to alleviate Allen’s offensive flaws, and he provides the kind of top-flight defender the Grizzlies have lacked since Shane Battier was traded for Rudy Gay. The Grizzlies needed defense to have serious designs of making the playoffs, and they acquired one of the best defenders out there. A win-win. Grade: A Dorell Wright—Golden State Warriors Wright is a good athlete who can shoot, handle, and create. He’ll thrive playing alongside Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry, and like any competent offensive player in Golden State, you can expect big numbers. Sadly, Wright has the potential to develop into a good defender with his good combination of size and quickness, but still made too many mistakes based on not paying attention to detail. With Golden State, expect Wright’s defensive potential to go unrealized. Grade: B Josh Childress—Phoenix Suns Childress is a really versatile player who can do a number of different things. He has size, speed and handles so he can get to the basket and create off the dribble, plus he can knock down perimeter jumpers. Defensively, his huge wingspan allows him to swoop into passing lanes to end up with a host of deflections and steals. Playing alongside Steve Nash will allow Childress to simply use his athleticism to find easy baskets because if Childress is open, Nash will find him. Plus, Childress shoots well enough to keep Phoenix’ spacing on high screen/rolls. His rangy, disruptive defense ties into what Phoenix likes to do, as the steals he picks up will be converted into fast break opportunities. He’s the right player for the right team. Grade: A- Ian Mahinmi—Dallas Mavericks Mahinmi is an athletic project big, who has good measurable, but hasn’t developed a go-to offensive move, and can’t defend without fouling. With two veteran centers on the roster, Mahinmi will have a pair of tutors to try and speed up his development. Grade: B- Sheldon Williams—Denver Nuggets Williams can’t catch a cold, gets bullied under the basket, doesn’t move well, and is just about useless during any meaningful stretch of action. He was an unmitigated disaster for the Celtics during the course of last season, and won’t provide any substantial boost to Denver this season. If the game is close and Williams is in, the Nuggets are in trouble. Grade: F Al Harrington—Denver Nuggets Harrington can score off the dribble, will drill three-pointers, rarely moves without the ball, doesn’t play defense, and lets his emotions get the best of him when a game hangs in the balance. In other words, he’s more of what the Nuggets have and don’t really need. Couldn’t Denver stock up on some role players who can do the dirty work on defense, or some players who won’t lose their heads when a game begins to slip from their grasps? What need do they have for another shot-happy offensive player? Grade: D- Mike Miller—Miami Heat Miller is an extremely accurate long distance shooter who will thrive off of the penetrations of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. He’s a veteran who knows how to move without the ball to get himself open, is totally unselfish, and is better than most spot-up gunners at creating his own offense and getting to the rim. In this case, he’s not one-dimensional which opens up more opportunities for Miami’s offense, and he’d provide some measure of insurance should LeBron or especially Wade suffer a serious injury. Miller’s not a particularly effective defensive player, but with LeBron and Wade’s defensive capabilities, Miller would probably defend the opponent’s weakest offensive wing anyway. A perfect signing for a talented complementary player. Grade: A+ Zydrunas Ilgauskas—Miami Heat As Zyggy Il ages, his ability to play effective basketball diminishes exponentially. Ilgauskas can still occasionally hit a turnaround jumper over a shorter defender, but his offensive game now consists squarely of being an average mid-range jump shooter, and dropping in putbacks. His defense is worse. Because Ilgauskas is basically shackled to the floor, opponents will always have success attacking Ilgauskas with a quick move, or forcing him to make a quick rotation. At least Ilgauskas is big enough to be a one-man wall when opponents attack the paint, but he’s a complete defensive liability. Ilgauskas can still have some success as a part-time backup off the bench, but he’s not a championship-caliber starting player. Grade: D+ Juwan Howard—Miami Heat As Howard’s NBA career winds down, he’s more important in the locker room than on the court, as his experience, work ethic, and professionalism are his best qualities. He’s a respectable team defender, who knows where to be on the court, and he won’t make many mistakes. He’s not the worst third string power forward. Grade: C Raja Bell—Utah Jazz Bell can still play rugged defense but he’s lost a step from his Phoenix days and isn’t the stopper he used to be. He’ll still get under opponents skin though, in many ways allowing weak-minded opponents to beat themselves. However, for a Jazz team which needs to get better defensively, Bell won’t be a huge upgrade. Offensively, Bell has the toughness to set good screens, the stroke to hit mid-range and long-range jumpers, and the smarts to move without the ball to find open shots. In other words, he’s a perfect fit as a backup for Utah’s flex offense. Grade: B- Keyon Dooling—Milwaukee Bucks Dooling is a lithe, quick point guard who can pressure the ball on defense and knock down jumpers on offense. Scott Skiles loves point guards who can apply full court ball pressure, and Dooling will be a defensive upgrade over Brandon Jennings and last year’s backup, Luke Ridnour. Dooling can also create offense in a broken field which is always a plus. The Bucks are in trouble if Dooling is pressed to start, but he’s a good backup who’ll fit in nicely in Milwaukee. Grade: B+

Shaq will enter the Hall of Fame with a Celtics jersey.

37/53/and 9. Mark it down. It's what's going to happen. Breakout season.

lol, that's series wasn't all that intense. None of the games were close. They were all blowouts!

You visited New York at the right time I've only been to one game, a Nets game vs. Toronto two years ago in a small snowstorm. People actually showed up, and the game was good. The Nets lost when Devin Harris missed a buzzer beater. The crowd was dead though. Nobody was excited, the only excitement came from the idiotic public address system playing music and imploring people to "make some noise." All the sound was artificial. The only time the crowd got enthusiastic was during the last two minutes. It was as if Nets fans have no soul.

It would be pretty inhumane to not let a man with legs walk...the Suns aren't monsters you know.

Name me some good defenders on the late 80's and 1990's... Warriors Kings Suns Clippers Nuggets Sonics (aside from Payton, McMillian, and when they had Detlef Schrempf) T-Wolves Mavericks Grizzlies Blazers Hawks Bullets/Wizards Hornets Raptors Sixers Nets Cavs Bucks Magic You'll name maybe one or two a franchise. Now, tell me if any of those teams had anything more than above average team defenses? Here are your defenses---the Bad Boys and the Celtics, who were both aging as the Bulls entered their prime. After the early 90's, the defenses dropped off the map. The Pacers. The Knicks, who often fielded four great defenders and Patrick Ewing, who chased the ball and blocked shots, and then the Riley-led Heat. That's a few good defenses every couple of seasons, much like today. In the West, you had the late 90's Spurs, and the mid 90's Spurs, but Robinson was always punked by better centers in the playoffs. Utah was always pretty solid, as were the Rockets, and the end of the Showtime Lakers. People remember the Pistons and Celtics and Bulls. Nobody remembers the nine or ten defenses who sucked. People remember the Bulls, Knicks, Heat, and Pacers.Nobody remembers the other eight or nine teams who sucked. People remember David Robinson---and conveniently forget that Dennis Rodman thought Robinson was a p***y who was overrated as a defender. Nobody's impressed with the Nick Van Exel/Eddie Jones Lakers' defense. Nobody's impressed with whoever Milwaukee trotted out to the floor in the 90's. 10 years from now, people will remember the early decade Sixers, Pacers, and Pistons, and Lakers, and Spurs, and Kings. They'll remember today's Celtics, and Cavs, and Magic, and Spurs, and Lakers, and Ron Artest, and Shane Battier, and Dwight Howard, and 10 years from now, people will say "wow, those guys can defend. All we have is (insert name of player 10 years from now)." Here's the thing. Teams that are committed to winning will play great defense. Teams will assemble rosters based on defense, and players will commit to defense. About five or six teams a year follow this blueprint and they'll be remembered. Teams that suck will suck across any era. Just because you know that there are teams in this era that play sucky defense, and nobody talks about random teams from other eras that played sucky defense, doesn't mean there was better defense in that older era.

It's the same reason why Ricky Davis couldn't overcome the odds and become a useful player. Old habits die slowly. Blatche has every chance to have an epiphany and turn things around, but most players don't. You're a Wizards fan and he's talented, pull for him to change his ways. Just keep in the back of your mind that despite the numbers he'll put up (and he will produce numbers---the kid has skills), it won't mean all that much unless he can temper his ego and become part of a productive system.

One out of three. Ron Artest? Judges agree! Did some great things defensively for the Lakers, and wasn't as bad as people made him out to be on offense (though his playoff shooting was awful). Stephen Jackson has been known to sell himself as a productive player until he can con ownership/coaching staffs into giving him a nice fat paycheck. He looked like a winning player in Golden State too until they paid him a nice juicy contract and he took the franchise hostage. Larry Brown isn't gullible, and the Bobcats don't have some random idiotic owner so Jackson hasn't been able to sabotage the Bobcats, but let's reserve judgment before calling Jackson a winning player. Nate Robinson is still an immature player whose emotions get the best of him, yet can provide either a spark turning the tide of the game, or forced offense, turning the tide against the team he plays for. Several useful playoff games where his jumper was on and he made a few entry passes doesn't make him reliable, at least not yet. Two more to go! I will say that Blatche is saying the right things. But he has history against him. It's time to do the right things. I didn't say get triple doubles---Even Ricky Davis can almost do that---but the right things, and playing the right way.

I wish I could see how he was fouled---aside from the first drive, the inbounds play (real, nice defense Laettner), and a slick reverse, everything is outside the paint. Then again, I don't know the nature of the fouls. And like 12 points flat out shouldn't count. You shouldn't get credit for points when Christian Laettner is within 16 feet of you. It's just not right. I mean my goodness. 5 minutes of the clip are T-Mac doing his thing, and the rest is Christian Laettner needing Medicaid.

I'm not going to make any sleeping with Kobe's mom joke.

Quick, name three players whose mentality has been fixed and who went from being a total douche to being a productive winning player. J.R. Smith doesn't qualify. He's still not a winning player. He's just not as immature as he used to be, and only played consistently well for a span following a period where he had to ponder over his life after killing his friend in a car accident. Kobe also won't count as he went from a champion, to a spoiled narcissist, back to a champion when Phil and then Fisher reunited with him. If you've showed that you can be a championship-caliber performer, you can always find a way to return to it. Go!

I think individual teams artificially paint the era of the 90's as a great defensive league, when league wide offensive ratings of today (05-current...05 is when they outlawed handchecking...the offensive ratings of 03-04 are hideously low) are lower than they were throughout the 90's. This defensive greatness of the 90's is as much of a myth as the myths surrounding Jordan in the video. If the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics played in 1993, they'd be romanticized as much as the Bad Boy Pistons, and Knicks. Perhaps 20 years from now, people will romanticize the late 2000's as a great defensive era... Looking through the bias of the person who came up with the video (traps were always legal, and aren't a true zone...of course you match up after a trap, you're double teaming a guy 50 feet from the ball. What are you going to do, have a guy scramble to check his own man on the other end of the floor?), what you see is that the same thinks Kobe deals with today, Jordan dealt with before---and Jordan was still more efficient than Kobe. And pure zones aren't that effective. Any patient offense can dissect a zone within a possession or two of realizing it exists.

37 points per game, 53 rebounds per game, and 9 championships won per game. He's going to really break out this year, trust me!

Does Jefferson not realize that Toyotas are good cars? And that in Utah's purist, no pizzaz offense, the team is much more analogical to a Toyota than a Bentley? What he MEANT to say was that the trade is like going from a shopping cart to a Toyota. The Bentley is in LA, and the personal jet is in Miami. I guess Boston is a nuclear submarine? Can anyone help me out here?

This is PRECISELY the reason why you draft 11 point guards. Khan is a visionary!

I'm expecting 37/53/and 9. Mark it down!

Old dudes playing hard and anonymous defenders for the win!

Luc Longely and Bill Wennington were also exceptionally good interior defenders.

"I'm not embarrassed by America. I'm embarrassed by humanity. More than embarrassed, I think it's really unfortunate in the year 2003 that we're still using violence as a means of conflict resolution. That's what I'm speaking out against." -- Steve Nash. And also... "They better not put me in the All-Star Game. I won't shoot, but I'll dominate that easy game. I'll be playing hard defense. I'll be foulin'. I'll be flagrant fouling. Everyone will be like, 'What are you doing?'" -- Ron Artest. And more quotes here! http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=70569

They're not good options though. Beasley may be okay as a three, though I like him as a four where he's more athletic than other power forwards. They need a wing who can simply jump over people and a center who can block shots. They still don't have those. And once Gentry watches Turkoglu struggling to create his own shot, he'll go right back to Nash as the primary ball handler. Yep, something that will be talked about when I get to part two of the free agent signings. Either way, Barbosa isn't necessary anymore. I'm going by official transactions and official rosters. Hoops-hype has it that Toronto signed him to an offer sheet, but they never updated that the offer sheet was never matched. Plus they don't list him and his salary on the team's roster. Does NBA.com or someplace have a tracker so I can avoid this mistake in the future? And as always, thanks for the kind words.