Well this
season of the NBA thus far has been quite exciting and should lead to an
exciting finish. There are a few major
storylines that I want to give notice to as this season comes to a close.
Will the Miami Heat lose again?
The answer
to this question is almost undoubtedly yes, but seriously as this season is
drawing to a close it is getting harder and harder to see this team not winning
a NBA Championship. This team has Lebron
James for one, a player who is undoubtedly the best player in all of basketball
in Lebron James a top 10 player in Dwayne Wade and a star in his own right in
Chris Bosh. This season this team is on
a 16 game winning streak, its point differential is 3rd in basketball
at 7.17 PPG, is 2nd in the NBA in offense and 11th in
defense. Maybe the most interesting fact
about the team though is that their top 11 most commonly used 4 man lineups
feature a point differential per 100 possessions of at least 12.4, an insanely impressive
figure. When the playoffs come along
this team can use these much more effective combinations on a more frequent
basis which will allow them to be even more effective come playoff time.
Who wins the West’s Top Seed?
The Spurs
have a 3 game edge now, and with 13 of their 20 games left at home it would
seem like the Spurs have a decisive edge.
However there is one issue plaguing the Spurs as they attempt to hold
off OKC, Tony Parker is going to miss about a month. Tony Parker, arguably the best point guard in
basketball this season and borderline MVP candidate is gone. This player has led the Spurs to the best
record in basketball while leading the 6th best offense and the 3rd
best defense. This would be a major
issue for most teams, and will be for the Spurs come playoff time but I don’t
expect it to be a huge one for these Spurs.
They have the best coach in the NBA in Gregg Popovich who always seems
to get the best out of his players and overachieve even without his stars. Most notably the controversial game against
Miami where he rested the Spurs big 3 and Danny Green. OKC though is a constant threat, especially
considering they employ Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. This team has the best offense, 8th
best defense, and the best point differential in basketball. Shockingly even my biggest hatred with the
way OKC plays, giving Kendrick Perkins minutes hasn’t killed them this
season. The team has a better point differential
with him on the floor than off the floor, which is impressive but also likely due
to the high number of minutes he plays with the starting lineup.
The Race for 8
The West
holds the most exciting race in all of basketball right now, while also the
most completely overcovered. Look
everyone is now acting like the Lakers are totally back now that they are .500
and seem to be getting prepared for playoff time. Couple of things, for most of the season the
Lakers underperformed in close games, they were due for a regression, that has
come and now the team is about at the level they should be. This team has the 8th best offense
in basketball, impressive yes, but the 21st defense isn’t scaring
any potential first round opponents. The
return of Pau Gasol could make them more dangerous but D’Antoni still hasn’t proven
he can use him effectively in his offense.
Really though this team can’t defend anyone and isn’t a real threat come
playoff time. Also Houston is making the
playoffs, I will guarantee that. Golden
State should miss but has an easy schedule down the stretch, and that basically
leaves Utah and the Lakers. I could see
both teams making it they are pretty even in terms of quality of team. How about this stat, the Lakers most commonly
used 5 man unit, which has played 293 minutes together, has a point
differential of 1.3 points. Is there any
team in basketball afraid of that, I can guarantee not, why they can’t play
defense, also it features Earl Clark who isn’t that good.
Award Races
Now some
quick hits for my thoughts on the award races thus far this season.
MVP: Lebron
James
No debate,
he is 1st in PER, he is a great defensive player, and when he is on
the floor they outscore opponents by 11.2 points per 100 possessions, and when
he isn’t they get outscored by 3.2. He
is good at basketball, there should be no debate for this award.
Rookie of
the Year: Damian Lillard
While I am
tempted to give Anthony Davis, a player who this season on a per minute basis
has been more effective than Anthony Davis this award I have to give it to
Lillard who has played substantially more minutes and more dramatically
impacted his team who almost falls apart when he isn’t on the floor.
Coach of the
Year: Gregg Popovich
Basically
this man gets the award until he retires no further explanation needed.
6th
Man of the Year: Jarrett Jack
This season
Jack is averaging 13.4 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 3.1 RPG for the Golden State Warriors
in a tremendous season. This is probably
the best perimeter defender on a team that is contending for a playoff spot and
for much of the season was helping to keep the team’s mediocre defense
afloat. He has a solid PER of 16.5 and
considering the minute load he has handled he definitely deserves the
award.
Stay Hungry
My Friends
No comments:
Post a Comment