|
|
Last Season’s Rank
25
|
Projected 2013/2014
Finish
15
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Last
season’s Team Statistics and League Rank
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Returning
Individual Statistical Leaders
|
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Projected
Starters Based on Talent, Tenure, Paycheck and Potential Impact:
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Second Unit Roster Order Ranked on Talent, Tenure, Paycheck and Potential Impact:
|
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Analysis:
After three years of struggling in the post +LeBron James era, it looks as if the Cleveland Cavaliers will finally climb out of the chasm of bottom feeders and finally rejoin the NBA's elite as they return to the playoffs. Out of all the teams in the league, Cleveland has been both one of the most active and most certainly the most fortunate team as their off season started of with a bang winning the number one overall pick in the NBA Draft. Considering that the Cavs had won the number one overall pick two years prior and the player they selected has so far won Rookie of the Year and his first All Star nomination in his first two years in the league, many believe that this current selection will being the same success and good fortune as his predecessor has had. This upcoming season, Anthony Bennett, who the Cavs tabbed as their "chosen one," will be joining an already talented core of young players who have all been selected in the first round in the last two years which include Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, and Tyler Zeller. Along with this stable of raw, fresh yet undeveloped thoroughbreds, the Cavs also added an infusion of young veteran players who have plenty of playoff experience to give the team not only one of the deepest and most talented team, but also its best chance to return to the playoffs since both the team, its fans and the city had their heart ripped out of them two years prior. To back up their All Star and face of the franchise in Irving, the Cavs signed veteran Jarrett Jack who had just come off a phenomenal season with the +Golden State Warriors as he helped the team with a history of failure have one of its best seasons in franchise history. With him, not only did the Warriors finish with its first winning season in six years and its first playoff appearance in seven, but also reach as close as two games within the Western Conference Finals. Coming off the bench, Jarrett had a season that was worthy enough of being a starter on any team in the league averaging 12.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game during the regular season while shooting an impressive .404 from beyond the arc; however that solid performance would be eclipsed in the post season as Jack simply caught on fire. During the playoffs, Jack went from being average to astounding bumping his scoring from 12.9 to 17.2 points per game while shooting a blistering .506 from their field and it is the Cavs' hope that he will bring the same fire from the bench that he brought to Golden State. However, Jack would not be the only prize that Cleveland would acquire in free agency as the Cavs would roll the dice on another players who has the potential to be one of the best big men in the league, but has plenty of red flags to go with. Before being diagnosed with a degenerative arthritic knees, Andrew Bynum has possibly one of the brightest futures of any player in the league after not only winning two championship titles with the +Los Angeles Lakers, but also earned his first All Star selection after posting a career season where he averaged 19 points, 12 boards, 2 blocks per game. When he was traded to Philly in that massive trade that sent +Dwight Howard to LA, the Sixers saw him as a future cornerstone of the franchise who looked to be the best big man to ever play in the City of Brotherly Love since 12 time All Star Moses Malone did in the 1980s. Unfortunately all those hopes and dreams went down in flame as Bynum would spend the entire season on crutches as his rehabilitation from a knee injury did not seem to progress and the prognosis for his future in the NBA certainly did not look good. So Philly chose to not take the risk of keeping a potential bomb to blow up in its face and allowed the talented yet tainted big man go as an unrestricted free agent which led to the Cleveland Cavaliers lurking in the shadows to swipe him up before anyone else had a chance to. Although it looks like a major risk signing a big man with a history of injuries, the Cavs got him to sign a shorter deal that was only half guaranteed allowing them an easy out if things ever go south and incentive for a talented center who is only 25 years old, to go out on the court and silence all his skeptics and doubters that expect him to fail. Last but certainly not the least, to ensure that they achieve their post season aspirations for not only this up coming season but for years to come, the Cavs added a familiar face who had previously coached Cleveland to some of the teams best seasons. In his five years of coaching in Cleveland, Mike Brown coached the Cavs to possibly its greatest period in franchise history leading them to five straight winning seasons which included reaching the 2007 NBA Finals and a franchise record 66 win regular season record in 2009 which earned him Coach of the Year honors. Unfortunately, Brown, despite his successes, achievements and accolades, would end up to become the scapegoat for all the Cavs' playoff failures and would eventually be sacrificed in order to appease Lebron James enough to have him resign with the team; however, that all backfired as Lebron would snub the Cavs and head to South Florida where he would win two NBA championships while leaving his former team in the lurch. So one can see this as not only as a homecoming for one of the Cavs' most successfull and respected coaches, but also a sort of reconciliation as the team righted a past wrong of unjustly firing Brown in the first place. Now armed with a team with two All Stars and a treasure trove of young talent blended with veteran experience, Mike Brown will look to not only redeem himself in the eyes of those who has discounted his coaching prowess and bring a team that had suffered so much back to its rightful place as a playoff contender. With all the pieces in place, it looks to be a magical season for folks in Cleveland, but there is still call for cautious optimism as they are some mitigating factors that can turn the Cavs from a team heading for a major turnaround to a team in turmoil. If completely healthy, the Cavs can certainly be good enough to take on any team in the league and potentially even challenge for the Central Division crown; however, that all depends on whether the team can stay healthy or not for the duration of the season. Both the team's big men in Bynum and incumbent Anderson Varejao have not really had the best history of staying on the floor in the last couple of years with Bynum missing all of last season, while Varejao, since the departure of Lebron James, has just played a grand total of 81 games over the last three seasons. Add the fact that the team number one overall pick may or may not be ready for opening day gives Cavalier fans more anxiety than anticipation for the upcoming NBA regular season in one month's time. So for all those involved, lets hope the powers that be will bestow their blessing on a team, a city and fan base that have suffered so much and finally give them something to smile for and look forward to as fall draws to a close and they a hit with a cruel and merciless winter for the next four months. |
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Showing posts with label number 15. Show all posts
Showing posts with label number 15. Show all posts
Monday, September 30, 2013
SDH's 2013/2014 NBA Worst to First Previews and Predictions: 15. Cleveland Cavaliers
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
SDH Presents the 2013 End of Season NBA's Worst to First: 15. Los Angeles Lakers
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (At Season’s End): 45-37,
third place Pacific Division
|
4
|
At
Season’s End:
15
|
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Team
Statistics and League Rank (At Season’s End)
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders (At Season’s End)
|
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Taking a Look Back at the Season that Once Was . . .
|
SDH Player of the Year:
Earl Clark 
In a team that turned out to be a complete train wreck, it was nice to see that there was at least one bright spot to salvage from the wreckage as it came in the form of a 6'10" swingman that was often ignored throughout all the turmoil. Earl Clark was a simple add in from the massive mega deal that sent Dwight Howard to Los Angeles and was not even expected to make the roster let alone play a game. Yet he managed to persevere and when he got the chance, took the opportunity to show his team and its fans that they have a potential diamond in the rough. In the 59 games he had played, he started in 36 of them giving Laker fans something to smile about as they watch their highly anticipated championship team fall well short of expectations. It will be interesting to see what more we can expect from this up and coming young player in next upcoming seasons as he looks to have quite a solid career ahead of him.
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Analysis:
It is difficult to determine whether to call the six month debacle otherwise known as the 2013 regular season of the Los Angeles Lakers should be determined as a tragedy or a comedy. For fans who bleed purple and goal, it must have been certainly difficult to watch their team who they anticipated returning to championship glory play so poorly and have to scratch and claw to reach the playoffs. For those who simply observe the drama take place as the team, coaching staff and front office were scrambling around like chickens with their heads cut off bumbling around as if it were a Three Stooges short film, it was rather hilarious to say the least. It certainly was tragic for Lakers owner , the late Jerry Buss, to spend his final days watching the team he spent more than 100$ million on fall so very short of expectation leading many to speculate that it was not just the cancer that killed him, but his passing was mainly due to a broken heart. For the sick individuals who would dance on Buss' grave as they resented his inane ability to flagrantly disregard the league's salary caps and luxury taxes because of his ridiculously deep pockets, there must be a sense of satisfaction to see Buss' latest concoction fall apart right in his face as he lay on his death bed. Either way, whether people anguished or reveled in the Lakers' misfortunes and the drama surrounding them or not, one thing remains certain--that the collapse of the once mighty Los Angeles Lakers was possibly one of the biggest story in not only basketball, but in all of professional sports as well. It all started in the previous off season where the Los Angeles Lakers, who have been capped out for years having a payroll that was almost twice the league's salary limit, was capable to sign Steve Nash to a three year deal worth 27$ million dollars. If it were not for trade exemption they received the previous season thanks to the trade that sent Lamar Odom, now with the Los Angeles Clippers, to the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers would have never been able to offer Nash such a lucrative contract. Any other NBA team, it would not have been able to accomplish such a feat as the luxury tax penalties alone who have warded them away faster than the plague; however, the Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, who had a boss with extremely deep pockets and almost limitless resources, simply had to wave his magic wand to bring the 38 year old future Hall of Famer into the fold. Many viewed the new Laker acquisition with both awe and disgust as they saw the deal as another unjust case of the rich getting richer and it did not end there as Kupchack and Buss finagled a deal which would also add another superstar. As if having three NBA All Stars and future Hall of Famers was not enough, the Lakers went on to pull of one of the biggest and most complicated trades in league history that involved four teams, more than ten players, three first round draft pick, and the largest trade exemption that anyone has followed the NBA has ever seen in order to add an extra special gem to the already full strong box. Dwight Howard arrived in LA in the same spectacular fashion as Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Shaquille O' Neal before him--as the next great Laker center who bring championship glory to the team once again. Paired alongside veteran superstars in Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Steve Nash, Dwight was not only supposed to bring the Lakers back into champion contention, but carry on the legacy once those three rode off into the Sunset Strip together. The season had not even started and most analysts and sports media pundits already had the LA Lakers facing the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals--so when the Lakers stumbled through the preseason losing every game and opened the regular season winning just two of their first six games, one can understand why ownership and the front office entered into panic mode. Unfortunately that sense of panic led them to act rashly and fire the team's head coach Mike Brown six games into the season with literally no real backup plan forcing the team to desperately grasp straw in order to find Brown's replacement. It was a mix of the panic and desperation that would not only determine the future of the Lakers' regular season but also their chances for an NBA title, and it led both the team's head honchos, GM Mitch Kupchack and acting owner at the time, Jim Buss, to make one of the worst decisions that would send the franchise into a tailspin. Instead of picking candidates who had winning credentials such as a Nate McMillan, Jerry Sloan, or even former head coach Phil Jackson, Buss and Kupchak chose to bring in a coach that not only was the antithesis of what they wanted to accomplish, but also had previously been run out of the last city he coached for. Last season, Mike D'Antoni had exposed himself as a complete fraud as he was not even able to coach a New York Knicks team that consisted of Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and Amare Stoudemire to a .500 record and was thus forced to resign in mid season and leave the Big Apple in disgrace. So when the Lakers' top brass proclaimed that this charlatan who would be the man to bring their team back to championship contention, it was certainly met with a high dose of skepticism to say the least and it essentially ruined what little credibility that both Kupchack and Buss still has. As a result of the string of rather unwise decisions by both men and their adamant justifications of them, the Lakers went from being one of the sawed after teams to becoming a complete train wreck and finished the season as a complete leaghing stock. Many shook their heads in dismay and disgust to see a team whose starting five was being paid more than 83$ million combined for that season alone play so poorly as they struggled to even attain the last playoff spot in the West, let alone show any ability to contend for a title. Dwight Howard entered the regular season a fraction of his former self as he neither as explosive or dominant as he was prior to the trade while partner in the front court, Pau Gasol would have his worst season in his professional career as he would post career lows in scoring (13.7) and field goal percentage (.466). Steve Nash finally looked as if Father Time had finally caught up with him as the player that seemed ageless in eyes of many now started to look his age while Metta "whatever his name is" continued to show a steady decline of his athletic abilities with each passing. That resulted in the 35 year old Kobe Bryant having to shoulder the burden yet again of carrying his teammates on his back as he spent the season compensating for their shortcomings to go along with the ineptitude of his team's coaching staff and front office. All that pressure came to a head when he would suffer a season ending injury right before the playoffs and would be forced to sit by and watch his team thoroughly get humiliated by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Now that the Lakers' season has mercifully come to an end, the question is what next as their enter the off-season with the unsavory decision of what to do with Dwight Howard, whose contract had expired upon the team's rather embarrassing exit in the post season. With Howard eligible to receive a maximum contract of almost 120$ million for five years, do the Lakers really want to invest that much in a player who only helped them win just 45 games? Even without Howard, the Lakers would still be paying through the nose in luxury tax penalties as they would have pay almost 40$ million alone; however, add Howard into the mix and many project the Lakers would be on the hook for luxury taxes close to sixty or seventy million per year for the next three to four years. Essentially the Lakers are now stuck because they have this aging team and are virtually handcuffed financially with a payroll more than 100$ million--and that's not including the more than 70$ million dollars in luxury tax penalties per season for keeping such a team together. And what is even more sad is that with the team that they have, they still will never be anywhere near to returning to the NBA Finals anytime soon. |
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Thursday, April 11, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for January and and February: 15. Boston Celtics
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of February 28th) : 30-27 (third place, Atlantic Division)
|
16 |
This Month:
15 |
Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of February 28th)
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of February 28th)
|
|
Worst Player
of the Month: Brandon Bass
 After starting the season with a solid performance finishing the month averaging close to ten points and five boards per game, Brandon Bass' production simply took a nose dive. His offensive game was virtually nonexistent for the Celtics as the season dragged with his scoring dropped from 9.5 per game to just six per game and his impact continued to diminish with each passing month. Bass certainly has not played to the expectations of Celtic fans since Boston signed the burly power forward to that five year 36$ million contract. Now the Celtics are stuck with another overpaid player that is headed for decline and whose contract is short of untradable. With three years and 18$ million left, the Celtics are virtually stuck with him and if his poor play is any indication of the future, then it looks as if Bass will be yet another dead weight further dragging this once great team. |
First Player
of the Month: Jeff Green
 If there has been any bright spots and this slow, aging and crumbling Celtics, it has to be the play of Jeff Green. Many fans in Boston balked at Celtics GM Danny Ainge for signing him to a four year 36$ million contract, especially since he missed the entire season due to a heart complication. Green's less than stellar play to start of the season certainly did not earn him any more fans as he performed rather underwhelming to say the least. As the season wore on, however, Green's play started to pick up and instead of looking like the free agent blunder made by Danny Ainge, he began to look like like a sheer steal as Green showed flashes of brilliance and plenty of star potential. Green's greatest performance thus far has come in February where he has posted his highest offensive output for the season averaging 15.2 points per game coming off the bench while shooting at an impressively efficient .512 from the field. After all the adversity that Green had undergone last season not being able to play, he can certainly be considered in the running as one of the best feel good stories in the league. |
|
Analysis:
To quote an old Jackson Browne song, the Boston Celtics have literally been "running on empty," as they have spent the entire season huffing and puffing trying to keep their heads above water. They certainly no longer resemble the Celtics team from the 2008 season that took the league by storm winning their first NBA Championship title since 1986. Instead, Boston does not even look like a shell of their former selves as they have limped and hobbled through the season barely breaking even with them barley squeaking by hovering just right above the .500 mark. When it did not seem that the Celtics' season could not any worse, it did as Boston would lose arguably the team's best overall player thus far, Rajon Rondo, for the rest of the regular season. Now the Celtics would have to trudge forward without the player that had virtually carried the team keeping it from falling further towards irrelevance; however, instead of completely folding as everyone anticipated, Boston did the complete opposite by actually drawing strength from the loss of their star player who had kept that sinking ship afloat for so long.
In fact, instead of completely crippling an already deteriorating team, Rondo absence actually reignited re-energized this once geriatric rotting roster as Boston would go on to win seven straight after having lost six straight prior when Rondo was still able to play. Before Rondo was lost to them for the rest of the season, the Celtics had been teetering on the brink of disaster as they rested three games under .500. Since his unforeseen and spiritually crippling departure, however, the Celtics have been on a scintillating 10-4 run entering the final month and a half of the season with a respectable three games over .500 record. What once looked like a team that was barely surviving with one foot in the grave suddenly reawakened with a fresh new energy as if the team had finally awakened after a three month long slumber. The same team that was thought to be "Running on Empty" now had found that it still had a little gas still left in its rusty old gas tank and they are using what's left to make a mad dash for the finish line. One actually has to give plenty of credit to this Celtics team as they have certainly silenced many a naysayer who were ready, willing and able to pull the plug on this team finally putting it out of its misery. Despite struggling throughout the season and suffering a devastating blow of losing their best player, the Celtics continued to push forward regardless of the odds being stacked heavily against their favor. Unfortunately, however, despite this short of miraculous run, realistically, the Celtics are still no way, shape or form going to return to the championship contender form they once had and this late season surge might be the last left before this team finally goes "flat-line." Regardless of what the future may hold, at least for now Celtics fans can at least hold their head high for at least one more season before everything completely fall apart and they are left with broken wishes and shattered dreams. The Celtics have been holding onto the ledge thus far, but their grip has started to slip as the team is being dragged down by a 36$ million dead weight contract and once they finally lose lose their grip and head hurdling towards crashing to the bottom. Celtics fans can thank team GM Danny Ainge for the team's rather sad shape as he wasted the vast amounts of salary cap space earned by the off season to resign an aging and over the hill Kevin Garnett for another three years at a whopping 36$ million. Granted, at 36 years of age, Kevin Garnett can still be considered as one of the elite power forwards in the league; however, at his age, Garnett's best years are far behind him and his presence along with his erroneous contract will only bring the Celtics further down. That wasted cap space could have been put to far better use as the Celtics could have possibly been players in this upcoming offseason free agency period which feature such notables as Atlanta's Josh Smith, L.A's Dwight Howard, Utah's Al Jefferson and Paul Milsap along with the Clippers' Chris Paul, just to name a few. In invested so much money and time on an aging Kevin Garnett who is on the verge of heading towards the twilight of his career, the Celtics have essentially handcuffed themselves for the next three or so years. Luckily for both Ainge and the Celtics, however, the future will not be as bleak as many foresee it to happen. Thanks to sheer luck, Ainge's 36$ million blunder has been offset by the fact that one of his other gambles in free agency has shown a rather huge early return with Jeff Green suddenly playing like a potential All Star. If Green continues his stellar play thus far, Danny Ainge could have possibly have found the Celtics next great star and a future franchise player for the next three years at a rather reasonable price of just $9 million per season. In addition to Green's emergence, Ainge also made some low key, low cost mid-season addition which may have brought the Celtics some true diamonds in the rough that can possibly be worth twice or three times worth their weight in gold. In a very quiet trade deadline, Ainge acquired a young streaky sharpshooting shooting guard in Jordan Crawford for the lowly Washington Wizards, who with the proper guidance, could be a possible game changer for years to come. Add such late season acquisition such as an extremely talented athletic swingman with issues in Terrence Williams who inexplicably by chance just fell in Ainge's lap along with a young bruising power forward DJ White who had shown plenty of potential last season while playing with the Charlotte Bobcats, Ainge might just have this Celtics team in far better shape than many would have given him credit for and possibly on the fact track to returning into a contender once again. |
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Wednesday, February 6, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for December: 15. Minnesota Timberwolves
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of December 31st): 14-13, third place Northwest Division
|
17
|
This Month:
15
|
Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of December 31st):
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of December 31st):
|
|
Worst Player
of the Month: Kevin Love
 Many fans consider this man, as the alternative rock band the Offspring said in their song, "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" while the media has portrayed him as the second coming of Larry Bird. The sad fact, however, is that none of these viewpoints are both far from the truth as Kevin Love is an overrated stats whore with and equally over-inflated numbers. His increased scoring from primarily to to the coach over feeding him the ball as can be seen by his poor shooting percentages, and despite being this great rebounder, he is completely unable to contain his man down low on the defensive end. Love can be also considered as rather lazy as he would rather lurk on the outside and jack up three pointer instead to doing what a power forward with his size and abilities should be doing--taking the ball to the paint and scoring in the post. His production thus far this season is indicative of what a poor example that the media and David have vainly tried to portray as the next "great white hope"of the NBA. |
First Player
of the Month:
 He does not get nearly any of the attention or acclaim that he deserves, but Andrei Kirilenko has been the primary reason why the Timberwolves have remained respectable despite being decimated by injuries. He has been the Wolves'most consistent and efficient offensive presence averaging close to 13 points per game while leading the team in field goal percentage. Also, despite his rather slight frame, has been quite a factor on the boards as the teams second leading rebounder with Kevin Love indefinitely sidelined due to injury. AK's greatest contribution, however, has to be on the defensive as he has made himself a factor in the paint leading his team in blocked shots per game and on the perimeter leading his team in steals per game as well. With all his effort and leadership, he is certainly more worthy of praise than the guy pictured right next to him who by all account is an over-inflated windbag whose contribution are far overrated. |
|
Analysis:
Through the course of the season, one has to take a look at the Minnesota Timberwolves and wonder "what if?" What if Kevin Love did not get injured during the preseason forcing him to miss the first few weeks of the season? What if Ricky Rubio had been ready to play at the opening tip off instead of being sidelined for all of November and much of December still rehabbing his injury from last season? What if Brandon Roy was able to play instead of being forced to return to retirement because his poor creaky knees could not take the stress? And finally, along with Roy, Rubio and Love, what if the Wolves did not lose Chase Buddinger to injury as together combined, the could have the one of the deepest, most talented, and dangerous teams together?
Nonetheless, despite playing the season severely undermanned with a depleted roster while competing in the rather stacked Western Conference, the Wolves have remained rather respectable as they finished the month of December and entered 2013 with a winning record. Although being one game over .500 does not sound THAT impressive, it certainly shows how much the Timberwolves have overachieved this season despite not have their two star players along with a third of the team's roster. After finishing November with a understandably disappointing 7-8 record, the Wolves started December going on a tear winning five of their first six games while finishing 2012 with a bang going 7-5 to end the month. What was even more impressive was the fact that Minnesota could have finished 9-3 if it were not for the heartbreaking defeats from the New York Knicks (12/23/2012) and the Houston Rockets (12/26/2012) by a total of six points. In addition, among those seven wins, the Wolves also managed to pull of the surprising upset beating the Northwest Division leader and last season's NBA Finalist Oklahoma City Thunder (12/20/2012). One can go as far to say that even despite their currently rather thin roster, that Minnesota has shown rather marked improvement as the Wolves have already won seventy percent of last season's win total. If they manage to continue winning at their current pace, the Timberwolves could possibly finish the regular season with a 43-39 record--the team's first winning record since 2005. However, much of this will have to depend on whether or not they can manage to hold on as the injuries have certainly taken their toll. If Kevin Love remains healthy for the duration of the season and if Ricky Rubio returns from his rehab to what he was before he suffered that season ending injury last year, it will certainly be a distinct possibility that the Wolves can accomplish such a feat. Unfortunately for the Wolves, 43 wins is far from enough for the Wolves to return to the postseason after a nine year absence as the average win total for a team to attain the last berth of the Western Conference playoff has been around 45 to 50 wins. Again much of this potential finish boils down to whether or not Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio can remain on the court this season. If either one of them were to return to the injured list and are lost for the remainder of the season, then the Wolves will certainly sink to the bottom as there would be nothing much left in the team's arsenal. Save for the inspired play of free agent signee Andrei Kirilenko, who has probably been playing his best basketball since his years in Utah and the surprising emergence of the teams' starting center, Nikola Pekovic, there is little if anything to speak of for the Wolves. Last season's second overall pick in the NBA Draft, Derrick Williams, continues to remain an enigma as he currently teeters between potential game changer and draft day bust. Rookie Alexy Shved has shown glimpses of star potential as well as he has stepped up numerous times for the Wolves, but his shooting, which remains rather sketchy at best, keep him from being a consistent option for the T-Wolves to turn to. If the team were at full strength, none of this would matter as Williams and Shved, along with veterans such as JJ Barea and Luke Ridnour to name a few would add so much depth to the team given the Wolves a roster capable enough to contend for the Western Conference crown. It is such a shame that injuries have hampered any chance for Minnesota to return to the post season because it would have been quite a site to see that Timberwolf team at full strength. Imagine a front court three some that boasting the post scoring of Pekovic, Love's abilty to not only crash the boards but also spread the floor thanks to his perimeter shooting, and finally, the defensive prowess of Andrei Kirilenko. A front like such as that would certainly cause such Western conference powerhouses such as the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Clippers a reason to start looking over their shoulders. Unfortunately, that is all wishful thinking as the Minnesota Timberwolves look to salvage what they can from this season as they continue to battle through their limitations and finish the season with a better, if not slightly improved finish from those previous. |
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for November: 15. Chicago Bulls
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of November 30th): 7-7 ,
second place Central Division
|
14
|
This
Month:
15
|
Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of November 30th)
Points
Scored: 94.2 (23rd)
Points
Allowed: 93.4 (6th)
Team
FG%: .436 (21st)
Opponent’s
FG%: .439 (12th)
Rebounds
per game: 43.9 (7th)
Opponents
rebounds per game: 40.3 (6th)
Turnovers
per game: 15.5 (17th)
Opponents
turnovers per game: 15.5 (11th)
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders
Scoring
(ppg): Loul Deng (17.8)
Rebounds
per game: Carlos Boozer (9.8)
Minutes
per game: Loul Deng (40.4)
Assists
per game: Kirk Hinrich (5.7)
Steals
per game: Joakim Noah (1.3)
Blocked
Shots per game: Joakim Noah (2.1)
|
|
Worst
Player of the Month: Kirk Hinrich
Kirk
Hinrich is a player that should not be hated, but rather pitied—kind of like
a horse that has broke its leg and needs to be taken behind the barn and “put
out of his misery.” Here is a player
who has had a reputation of being a tough scrappy player, but whose skills
and abilities have eroded as a result of past injuries and the ravages of
father time. Expected to be just the
primary backup for Bulls star Derrick Rose, he was thrust in at the starting
point guard spot as a result of Rose’s injury. His performance thus far has been rather
lackluster to say the least averaging just 6.2 points per game and shooting a
woeful .321 from the field. His game
seems to have completely left him as his shooting stroke is all but gone and
due to his poor physical condition, he cannot even be counted on stay on the
court for more than 25 minutes. What’s
worse is that Hinrich is the best the Bulls have at this point his situation
to be more pitiful as they have no choice but to play him.
|
First
Player of the Month: Joakim Noah
Can
this be the season where Joakim Noah will finally takes the leap of being a
mere role player to becoming the franchise player that Bulls fans have been
hoping for? He has started the season
posting a career high in points per game at almost 14 per game and currently
leads the team in rebounds, steals and blocked shots per game. Already praised by fans, the coaching staff
and his peers for his tough physical defense and hustle Noah has also amped
up his production on the offensive end taking more shot attempts and scoring
in double figures in all but four games this month. It is also important to point out that the
Bulls have been winning when Noah has scored 15 or more points in a game
making him a more dominant factor in the team’s offensive schemes. If he maintains his aggressiveness on the
Offensive end, Noah can fill the huge void left by Derrick Rose’s absence and
the Bulls will thus thrive as a result.
|
|
Analysis:
As a team who is missing their star play and whose
roster its front office has gutted due to financial reasons, the Chicago
Bulls have played up to expectations—not great, but good enough to stay
competitive in the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls started the season quite admirably winning three of their
first four games, and then split their next four games, but finished November
on a sour note losing four of their last six games. Considering that Chicago started with a
very light schedule facing only two teams that were over .500 at the time in
November—the Oklahoma City Thunder (11/8/2012) and the Boston Celtics
(11/12/2012)—Bulls fans should neither be pleased or disappointed. Everyone knew that this would be a long
tough season and no one had any preconceptions that the Bulls would repeat
last season’s performance where they sported the league’s best record. What was completely unexpected, however,
was that the Central Division would be so poor that the Bulls would still
have a chance to take first place even with a meager .500 record.
Chicago fans along with the rest of the league had
already conceded the Central Division to their cross state rival, the Indiana Pacers, as they were expected to dominate the East being second only to the
NBA Champion Miami Heat; however, that did not happen. The Pacers entered the season with a far
deeper and athletic team than they had when they took the Heat to six games in
the Eastern Conference Semis last season; however, they have been anything
but dominant. The much touted
additional firepower that Indy acquired in the offseason has been shooting
blanks as the Pacers’ offense ranks at the bottom of the league. Indiana, thus far, has been hovering under
the .500 mark and certainly does not look like a team that would be nearly a
worthy enough rival for the Miami Heat.
Thanks to this unforeseen collapse, Bulls fans now have a small ray of
hope of their team retaking the Central Division crown as their strongest
competitor has essentially become a complete bust.
Although Chicago is not that much to write home
about either as the Bulls have not the most pleasant team to watch; however,
they are still far better off than they could have ever though thanks to the
poor start of the Pacers. As it
currently stands, it is a three way race for first place for the Central
Division title as the Bulls hold a half game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks
with the Pacers right behind at 1 and a half games. Neither team has really shown that they
have what it takes to be a worthy contender for the Eastern Conference crown,
but considering the fact that the Bulls were not even in the discussion at
the start of the season, one must consider what they have accomplished as
impressive in itself. Chicago was
expected to be fighting for its playoff survival for most of the season—even
team owner Jerry Reinsdorf, did not have very high expectation for the team
in the upcoming season. Nonetheless,
there is Chicago, standing up on top their where more analysts, observers,
and even their own fans did not even give a chance to reach over .500, let
alone be first place in their division.
Credit the Bulls unwavering devotion to defense in
keeping Chicago at par with its Eastern Conference rivals. In their seven wins for November, the Bulls
only allowed the opponents to score just 88.0 points per game while holding
them to just .399 shooting from the field.
In five of those games, Chicago held its foes to under 90 with their
best defensive performance being against the Dallas Mavericks (11/28/2012)
where the Bulls held the Mavs to just 78 points and under .350 shooting. Unfortunately, November also showed the
Bulls’ inability to come through with a win when their opponents scored over
90 points as there were only 2-7 in those games. Nonetheless, despite their inability to win
in high scoring games, Chicago fans can still hold their heads up high to the
fact that their home team was only
blown out once by the Clippers (11/17/2012) while the rest were rather close,
with the Bulls just losing by an average margin of 5.3 points.
The Bulls have continued to impress as they have
started the month of December winning seven of ten taking down notable
Eastern Conference teams such as the Philadelphia 76ers (12/1/2012,
12/12/2012), the current first place holding New York Knicks (12/8/2012), the
Brooklyn Nets (12/15/2012), and the Boston Celtics (12/18/2012). Unfortunately, fans must still remain
cautiously optimistic as the Bulls are still a long ways for contending for
an NBA title. Remember the reason why Chicago
has been so successful is that their toughest rivals, the Indiana Pacers,
have played rather poorly to start the season along with being in a rather
weak division if one were to compare it with the five others in the
league. Also, despite the Bulls solid
run to start the season, they still do not have the firepower to compete against
the big guns in their own conference, let alone the entire league. Their only hope is that they remain
respectable enough until March to make a real push for the final stretch because
that is when Derrick Rose is projected finally return from his injuries; however,
until that happen, the Bulls will still remain teetering between being
average and mediocre.
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