|
Overall
Win/Loss Record : 29-53, fourth place Central Division
|
Last Season’s Rank
24
|
Projected 2013/2014
Finish
16
|
Last
season’s Team Statistics and League Rank
|
Returning
Individual Statistical Leaders
|
|
Projected
Starters Based on Talent, Tenure, Paycheck and Potential Impact:
|
Second Unit Roster Order Ranked on Talent, Tenure, Paycheck and Potential Impact:
|
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Analysis:
As their city falls into financial ruin after declaring bankruptcy just a few months prior, the denizens of Detroit have at least some good news for the upcoming months. That is when they will see their Pistons finally end their five year playoff drought as they start their march back to respectability with a newly revamped roster. They began their remodeling project for the upcoming season by signing one the leagues most athletic and electrifying players in Josh Smith for five years giving the team and fans not only a explosive scorer but also one of the league best rim protectors and perimeter defenders to boot. Pistons GM Joe Dumars also went about acquiring what his team has been missing for years and has tried to acquire via the draft or develop only to have it blow up in his--that of a true point guard who actually will PASS the ball and get his teammates involves. Dumars first accomplished this task early in the off season by acquiring a treasure of the Pistons' glory years in Chauncey Billups, who led the Pistons to two straight +NBA Finals and one NBA Championship. Many have questioned whether Billups still has anything left in his 36 year old body after missing the last two seasons due to numerous injuries, but Billups would only be a mere appetizer for the main course that would come later in the Summer. In a sign and trade deal that sent prospect now turned failure Brandon Knight and two other players of little or no confidence to the +Milwaukee Bucks, the Pistons acquired Brandon Jennings to be the team's point guard of the future. For his past four years with the Bucks, Jennings has been an enigma wrapped inside a riddle as he showed flashes of greatness early in his career only to fall short of expectations by the end of his tenure there. He started of spectacularly in the first eleven games in his rookie season scoring 55 in one game and averaging close to 26 points and 11 assists per game in that time span; however, since then Jennings has been anything but spectacular as he led the Bucks through four rather mediocre seasons with just two playoff appearance that led to quick exits. Many have criticized him for being overrated and undeserving to be considered as an elite point guard in the league due to his poor career shooting percentage and his rather less than spectacular assist per game numbers. Their critiques are more than justified upon seeing his numbers as he is a career .394 shooter despite averaging close to sixteen shot attempts per game while at the same time, his assist per game average is rather pedestrian to say the least at just 5.7--far from spectacular for an average point guard, let alone a player as highly touted as Jennings. Despite his shortcomings, at just 24 years old, Jennings still has plenty of time and room to grow as a player and may still live up to the promise that he showed very early in his rookie year. One needs to remember that Jennings had really no one to pass the too hence his penchant for taking more than his share of shot attempts and his lack of assist can be primarily due to the fact that the teammates that he passed to did not finish at the basket. All of those factors point out that had Jennings been on the right team with a solid core of players around him, he might just prove his doubters wrong and that is what he has now in Detroit. The Pistons had solid players who could score and consistently finish around the basket, but they simply did not have the teammate smart or talented enough to get them the ball. With Jennings, the Pistons may just have that player that will finally turn a team that looked confused and out of sync on the court into to a well oiled offensive machine and from a complete lost cause to a team that is headed to the playoffs. To ensure that Jennings develops into the game changing point guard that he envisions his of being, Dumars hired a head coach who spent his basketball career as one of the top point guards of his generation. In his 15 year career as an NBA player, Maurice Cheeks earned four All Star selections, named five times to the NBA All Defensive Team, and helped lead the +Philadelphia 76ers to three NBA Finals, winning one of them in 1983. With such an impressive resume, Dumars hopes that Cheeks' knowledge and wisdom will rub off on his young talented yet tainted prodigy; however many still questioned his coaching choice in Cheeks as has not had the same success as a coach as a player. Thus far Cheeks' resume as a head coach can be considered as mediocre at best as he has a less than stellar career winning percentage of .498 and has only bought his teams to the playoff three times in his eight years coaching in the league. And considering there was so many other available candidates that have had far better credentials and success coaching than Cheeks ever had, such a choice can not only blow up in his face if it does not work out, but may be the last straw that will finally end Dumars' tenure as the Pistons' top executive. Nonetheless, Detroit still looks like a far better team that it has ever had over the last five years and thanks to Dumars, the Pistons might just end their playoff drought of the same time span; however, do not expect them to return to their championship glory anytime soon. With the way the East is looking, Detroit will have its work cut out for them as they will be entering the season in possibly the hardest and most competitive divisions in the league consisting of three teams with two of them being already established powers in the East and another up and coming team that mat find itself in the post season by the end of April. The +Chicago Bulls will be looking to return to the top of their division with return of their injured star, the 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year +Derrick Rose while the +Indiana Pacers look to pick up where they left off last season reaching within one game of the NBA Finals. At the same time, the +Cleveland Cavaliers look to make their first playoff run of the post-Lebron era after winning the number one overall pick in the NBA draft for the second time in three years, while picking up in free agency an All Star caliber center in +Andrew Bynum and one the league top baxck up point guards in Jarrett Jack. So expect a real bloodbath as they will be four teams that are basically equally fighting tooth and nail for first place in the Central Division with the Pistons to be one of toughest competitors as they look to rise not only the team but an entire city back to basketball prominence. |
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Showing posts with label number 16. Show all posts
Showing posts with label number 16. Show all posts
Thursday, September 26, 2013
SDH's 2013/2014 NBA Worst to First Previews and Predictions: 16. Detroit Pistons
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
SDH Presents the 2013 End of Season NBA's Worst to First: 16. Milwaukee Bucks
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (At Season’s End): 38-44,
third place Central Division
|
16
|
At
Season’s End:
16
|
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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: Larry Sanders 
This guy was not even on the radar when the Bucks entered the regular season and looked to be on his way out very soon. After having an all but nonexistent first two seasons and almost forgettable Summer League and preseason performances, Larry Sanders was essentially given up for dead by Bucks fans and many NBA observers. So imagine the shock and amazement when he came out of nowhere and posts the best season of his entire career averaging a near double double in points and rebounds while logging a couple block shots as well. In terms of production, he was probably the most consistent and efficient offensive producer on the team as he shot over .500 from the field and had a per 40 minutes averages of 14.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. The jury is still out however whether Sanders' performance will become the beginning of a something special or end up as just a one time affair.
|
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Analysis:
At the start of the 2012/2013 NBA season, the Milwaukee Bucks looked as if they would be a team that had all the ingredients to have a memorable breakout year. Last season they had acquired sharp shooting two guard Monta Ellis to pair alongside their tabbed franchise player Brandon Jennings to form one of the most potent back court combinations since Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. The Bucks had also had welcomed back last season's candidate for most improved player of the year, Ersan Ilyasova, who not only set career highs in scoring (13.0ppg) and rebounds (8.8), but also shot a blistering .455 from beyond the arc. In addition to a solid tandem of role player which included veterans Mike Dunleavy and Drew Gooden along with young prospects Ekpe Udoh and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, the Bucks also added veterans Samuel Dalembert and Marquis Daniels to further bolster an already deep and talented roster. One could have gone far as to call the Bucks a poor man's version of the Oklahoma City Thunder as they were a team that consisted of two primary scorers capable of pushing the game's tempo and a team capable of forcing turnovers for quick and easy offense giving the potential of an exciting team to watch in the NBA. Unfortunately, despite possessing all the tools to take the league by storm, the Bucks came stumbling out of the gates as the team that looked to have so much going for it fell flat on their faces. Neither Brandon Jennings or Monta Ellis provided the anticipated offensive fire power as they both struggled from the field and although they both led the team in scoring and took the majority of the shots, they were neither efficient or that reliable. Ellis who was know to be solid from the field as a career .456 shooter had the worst shooting performance of his career making less that .420 of his shots while Brandon Jennings, despite averaging a decent 17.5 per game, shot an abysmal .399 from the field giving Milwaukee, instead of the high octane offense that was promised, one of the worst performing offenses in the league. After being signed to a lucrative long term deal worth in the area of 40$ million for five years, Ersan Ilyasova would come into the season ice cold from the field forced the Bucks' coach at the time, Scott Skiles, to bench the Turkish big man making him look like an overall bust and a blight on the face of the Bucks. As for the rest of the team, Drew Gooden who gave a solid contribution last season of 13.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game was a complete no show, Sammy Dalembert looked as if age had got the better of him as his performance declined as well, and the rest of the Bucks, they continued to remain a non factor on the offensive end. Milwaukee was rather fortunate that their poor showing did not affect their playoff chances as they played in possibly one of the worst divisions in the NBA as it consisted of two hopeless cellar dwelling teams and two equally poorly performing offenses as the Bucks. The Indiana Pacers were expected to not only to easily take the Central Division, but also finished among the top teams in the Eastern Conference and the league; however, they had an unexpectedly slow start and had struggled to maintain a over .500 for much of the season. The Chicago Bulls looked to be another team heading into a tailspin as not only would they be without their star player, Derrick Rose, for the entire season, but they would be also be playing with a gutted out roster as they had to break apart their second unit, probably one of the best in the league, due to salary cap concerns. Like Indy, Chicago would also struggle to win games and maintain a respectable above .500 record giving the Bucks more than one opportunity to take first place of the Central Division on numerous occasions as it was in such a sad state. As last season, both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons maintained their status as the league's designated whipping boys leaving the mediocre Bucks to be nestled in between two chronic under performers and two teams that were playing for positioning in the NBA draft lottery. Nonetheless, despite Milwaukee's ability to tread water over the course of the season, it was not enough to save the floundering career of head coach Scott Skiles, who after bringing the Bucks to winning a respectable 45 game season in his first season, failed to maintain the same consistent performance. Although he should be given much of the credit for keeping the Bucks competitive despite the rash of injuries and not having the most talented of rosters to say the least, Skiles fate was essentially sealed thanks to his rather abrasive demeanor and coaching style which alienated his players and started to irk the front office as well. Within two months of the season Skiles was relieved of his coaching duties and immediately replaced by one of his assistants, Jim Boylan, who almost immediately gained a rapport with the team and got them to perform better. He helped the struggling Ilyasova regain his confidence that was all but shattered by Skiles by returning him to the starting lineup and it paid dividend as Ersan found his lost shooting stroke and returned to being the solid third offensive option that the Bucks needed him to be. Thanks to Boylan, the Bucks went from being a sob story to a feel good story of the NBA regular season as they went from struggling to maintain a .500 record to becoming a respectable force as they finished the month of January and the first half of the season with a 24-20 record. Unfortunately the Bucks would not be able to maintain the momentum that they had built in January as they would sink like a stone lose eight of twelve in February, nine of sixteen in March, and seven of ten by season's end in April. They had gone from almost being assured a top five playoff seeding to basically scrambling to keep what little ground it had for the eighth and final spot fending off the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers, who had been gaining on the Bucks as the floor was eroding right from under Milwaukee's feet. Fortunately for the Bucks, they managed to secure the final spot in playoffs and were subsequently eliminated quickly and easily by the future NBA Champion Miami Heat; however, although the Bucks had managed to salvage their season, their future looks rather bleak as Milwaukee seemed to have reached its peak and will be heading back to square one. The Brandon Jennings experiment has failed to deliver the dividends that had been projected as both Jennings and Milwaukee will be looking to part ways soon as he has become a restricted free agent and does not seem that he does not see himself spending the rest of his career in Milwaukee and who can blame him, really? Milwaukee is a virtual wasteland that has no chance of being a championship contender nor does it have any hope of being better than marginal or worse than mediocre. Due to its rather small market and limted resources, the Bucks will not be able to compete dollar for dollar against the bigger market teams who have ability to snag up all the top tier talent. The only way Milwaukee ever has a real chance to get better is through the draft and the only chance of even getting close to snagging an star quality player is to tank the season bad enough in order for them to be in the running for a top five pick. It is almost a certainty that Brandon Jennings will certainly not want to waste his career on a team going nowhere which has to rebuild every two or three years because it can neither attract or keep talent capable enough to bring Milwaukee a championship. So Bucks fans will have no choice but to see their team go down the drain and start over once again as both them and their team will forever be stuck in an endless cycle of mediocrity yet again. |
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Wednesday, April 10, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for January and and February: 16. Milwaukee Bucks
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of February 28th): 28-28 (third place, Central
Division)
|
11
|
This Month:
16
|
Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of February 28th)
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of February 28th)
|
|
Worst Player
of the Month: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
 Other than having one of the longest and most unpronounceable names in the NBA, LRMM--that's what I am going to call him because his name is simply too long to write over again--has been an absolute disappointment. After playing four years in the league, he has yet to show any real improvement to his game and despite his athleticism has never developed any semblance of an offensive game or lack there of. After missing all of November due to injury, LRMM surprised many in December as he posted the best numbers in his career averaging 9.6 points and 5.4 boards per game while shooting at a rather efficient .463. Unfortunately as the season progressed his production diminished as well as his performance making many speculate that LRMM has simply reached his ceiling and will never be worthy of being a starting small forward in this league. At best LRMM has proven that he is nothing more than an athletic energy guy who can provide spot minutes off the bench thus leading Milwaukee's team management to reconsider committing him long term. |
First Player
of the Month: Ersan Ilyasova
 At the beginning of the season, it seemed as if Ersan Ilyasova would be yet another free agent bust after being signed to a five year contract extension worth 40$ million. Coming of a career high season where he average close to 15.0 points and 10 boards a game while scorching the net from behind the arc, Ilyasova entered the season sputtering out of the gates, unable to hit one basket and become more of a hindrance than a help to his team. It had gotten so bas that the team's previous coach, Scott Skiles lost all confidence in the sharpshooting big man and was forced to shelve Ilyasova early in the season as a result of his bad play; however, that all changed now that Skiles has been given the heave-ho and Ersan managed to earn another chance. Now, after struggling at the start of the season, Ersan has once again found his missing shooting stroke once again and has returned as the team's starting power forward. His numbers have returned at par with his production from last season and he has become a testament of perseverance and determination not giving up on himself the way that Scott Skiles did bouncing back the way that he did.. |
|
Analysis:
Although they are not blessed with as much athleticism and talent as most team in the eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks can still be considered as one of the luckiest teams in the league. While the teams ahead of them are jockeying for playoff positioning, the Milwaukee Bucks are simply satisfied with staying where they are--right smack dab on the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff position. Unlike the teams ahead of them, Milwaukee needs not to worry above those teams behind them because they are so far back that they pose little or no threat. In fact, one can go as far to say that despite posting a somewhat mediocre record in NBA terms, the Bucks have essentially clinched the last playoff spot in the East with little or no effort. All Milwaukee has to do is simply coast through the rest of the season and barring any unforeseen calamity, the Bucks will reach the playoffs with little or no obstacles whatsoever.
Far from the ever contentious Western Conference, the East has been no where near as competitive as there is a massive gap between those who are headed to the playoffs and those who are not. The closest that the Milwaukee Bucks have seen in terms of a contentious competitor were the Toronto Raptors who had just a two game disadvantage in the standings in January; however, that was rather short lived as Toronto soon went spiraling downward leaving Milwaukee as the sole contender for the East's final playoff spot. Naturally, they are nowhere near as strong, deep or as talented as the teams ahead of them and most likely the Bucks will be swept in four game come the playoffs' first round; however none of that matters. As long as Milwaukee simply makes the big dance, the team's fans will be satisfied enough, regardless of the outcome--which is both pretty good and pretty bad in the same time. It will be good for Bucks fans who have little or nothing to celebrate about when it comes to basketball achievements; however, at the same time, it will be bad as there will be little or nothing else to look forward to afterwards. To put it quite frankly, the Bucks will never be anything better than the marginal playoff team and this playoff appearance will probably be a one time affair. Once that series inevitably ends, the Bucks will simply return to annals of mediocrity while the same team that they were once ahead of will quickly surpass them. Unlike most NBA teams, Milwaukee simply does not have the attraction factor to lure prospective free agents and to keep talent from leaving forcing the team to always continue starting over after the team tastes one hint of success. In terms of market exposure, Milwaukee is a team that is practically ignored by the mainstream sports media as it rest in one of the smallest and probably most un-sexiest sports markets in the world. Other than being the beer producing capital of the free world along with potentially having one of the highest rates of alcoholic in the continental United States, what else is that city known for. That is why Bucks fans can forget about Brandon Jennings staying for the long haul as he has probably already bought a one way ticket out of Brew Town once his rookie contract expires. The impending restricted free agent point guard has already shown signs of looking for greener pastures as he already parted ways with his former agent Bill Duffy in favor for Jeff Shwartz, an agent known for sending his clients to the bigger market cities such as New York or Miami. Add the fact that Milwaukee has little or no leverage in terms of acquiring the personnel around him necessary to at least convince Jennings that this has any kind of real chance to become a real contender. If anything, one can go as far to say that Milwaukee probably would have been better served to not make the playoffs for at least there would have had a shot of landing a high lottery first round pick; now all the team and its fans will have is a short playoff performance where the team will most likely get shellacked and have little or nothing to show for it. With up an coming teams in the East such as the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards who have by far more resources and access to quality players than Milwaukee will EVER have, the Bucks can simply reserve their seat for the Eastern Conference basement. Unless there is a DRASTIC move to upgrade the team's roster whose sole hope are two players that shot under .400 from the field, but take over half the team's shot attempts. The Bucks' front court has been virtually nonexistent and the team did not do itself any favors by adding yet another perimeter player on a roster already filled with shooters and the February trade deadline. Milwaukee would have done itself a better service acquiring a post scorer to balance out all their perimeter shoot; instead they acquired another perimeter shooter in Orlando's JJ Reddick whom head coach Jim Boylan has yet to find shots for as well. That among many other things is why the Milwaukee Bucks should be considered a team not going anywhere fast anytime soon. |
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Tuesday, February 5, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for December: 16. Boston Celtics
|
Overall Win/Loss
Record (as
of December 31st): 14-16, third place Atlantic
Division
|
13
|
This
Month:
16
|
Team Statistics and League Rank (as of December 31st))
|
Individual Statistical Leaders (as of December 31st)
|
|
Worst Player of
the Month: Jason Terry
When the signed
him as an unrestricted free agent, the Boston Celtics had envisioned Jason
Terry to be that offensive spark off the bench as he was when playing for the
Dallas Mavericks. Unfortunately, it seems as if Father Time has crept
up on the once dead eye sharp shooter as Terry's number has dropped to career
lows. February saw Terry really struggle with his shooting as he shot
an abysmal .379 from the field and with only averaging a little over, eleven
points per game, he was neither that dependable or efficient from the field.
Due to the Celtics rather disappointing performance on the perimeter,
Terry has also been forced to play more minutes than anticipated further
wearing him down as the season progresses. What has happened to Terry
is reflective of the current situation of the Celtics--old, washed up and on
the way out.
|
Despite missing
all of last season due to a heart ailment, it seems as if Jeff Green has not
missed a step. He had a rather productive December as he had markedly
improved from his November numbers of 8.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per
game to 11.4 and 3.9 per game. His most noticeable improvement was his
efficiency from the charity stripe where it spiked from .757 in November to
.853 in December. It is certainly to early to tell whether Green has
star potential or not, but he has certainly proved Celtics GM Danny Ainge
right for signing him to that four year 36$ million extension that raised
quite a few eyebrows to say the least. What was once considered quite a
risky venture proved to be a solid investment as Jeff Green had thus far been
living up to his end of the bargain coming off the bench while giving a solid
contribution every time he has stepped on the court.
|
|
Analysis:
The Boston Celtics had started the season quite impressively finishing the month of November with a solid 9-7 record and remained in striking distance of the Atlantic Division crown; however, then December happened which sent the Celtics reeling from being a middle of the pack playoff team to barely clinging on to reaching the post season. It started well enough with the Celtics winning three of their first five games to start December, but then their fortunes took a terrible turn as they would lose seven of their next nine games thus finishing the month with a 5-9 record and entered the new year two games under .500. And it was not just the fact that the Celtics lost nine of their fifteen games in December, but in the manner in which they lost as of the nine losses in which they suffered, six of them were by rather large margins. To put it bluntly, Boston did not simply just lose, but also embarrassed themselves and their fans by being literally steamrolled upon as their opponents simply had way with them.
In their nine loses, the Celtics lost by an average margin of 12.1 points as they were outscored 101.6 to 89.0 while allowing their opponents to simply scorch them on the field as they were out-shot .473 to .413. Their first two loses were not so bad as they had lost to the Milwaukee Bucks by just three points (12/1/2012) and by only one in overtime against the Philadelphia 76ers (12/7/2012). Those losses were then followed by Boston winning two straight, avenging their previous loss to the Sixers on their home court (12/8/2012) and barely slipping past the Dallas Mavericks by just two points in overtime (12/12/2012). Unfortunately they could not carry on the momentum of those two wins as the Celtics went on the road dropping three straight rather disconcertingly to the Houston Rockets (12/14/2012), followed by the San Antonio Spurs (12/15/2012) and the Chicago Bulls (12/18/2012). Boston managed to somewhat redeem themselves by bouncing back with a solid three game stretch where they handily beat the Cleveland Cavaliers (12/19/2012) and division rival Brooklyn Nets (12/25/2012) while narrowly losing once again to the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime (12/21/2012); however, that was followed by three rather shameful displays as they were consecutively blown out by the L.A Clippers (12/27/2012), Golden State Warriors (12/29/2012), and of all teams, the lowly and dysfunctional Sacramento Kings (12/30/2012).
Such a feeble performance would have any true blue Celtics fan to either hang their heads in shame or to just simply hang themselves as they watched their once mighty Celtic squad to simply allow itself to be violated in such a publicly degrading fashion. They simply looked tired, listless and were just simply broken by teams that they would have not dared to allow themselves to be beaten in the rather brutal way that they did. One can argue that the first two loses could have swung either way and if the ball would have bouned their way, the Celtics' situation would not be as dire. The same can be said for that overtime loss to Milwaukee four days before Christmas as a win would have kept the Celtics somewhat respectable with their record being one game over .500. Unfortunately that did not happen and even Celtics fans have to scratch their heads on how their team could allow a 76er team that shoot an abysmal .374 from the field to come back and beat them in overtime as well as getting beaten not once, but twice to a supposedly lesser in the Milwaukee Bucks.
Thus far, the Celtics have resembled that old rust bucket used car that we all had in our youth that was passed on from one hand to another. Despite the puffing and weezing, the engine still managed to run and the cars still got us to where we needed to go, but then came the time when it just got harder to start the cars, especially in the winter and finally, after numerous tries, the car simply can no longer start. Sure, you try fixing it by sending it to the repair shop and the mechanics would replace one worn out piece after the other; however, sooner or later, the cost of repairs soon far outweigh the value of the car and the insurance that goes with it, and it is time to finally let the old steel death trap go. The Celtics could have simply just sent their old, rusty jittering wreck of a team simply fall apart by allowing Kevin Garnett to part ways any simply while focusing on the future by simply allowing Paul Pierce's contract to expire and simply move on. The team could and should have just taken that one or two season hit missing the playoffs and a temporary drop in the standings in turn for the long term benefit of rebuilding for the future.
Instead of using common sense and having the foresight to break up and already crumbling foundation, the front office chose to not only keep the junk heap it currently has, but to extend the lease on it for three more years thus ensuring it to be stuck with a useless hunk of rusty metal and burnt out rubber. Anyone in their right mind could have realized that last season was the best the Celtics could have ever done and that it was time to call it an end. They spent all of last season scratching and clawing throughout trying to keep their heads above water, and if it were not by the lucky coincidence of the Philadelphia 76ers tanking in the end, Boston probably would not have won their fifth straight Atlantic Division title. They certainly would have not made it past the Conference Semis if they had faced a full strength Chicago Bulls team instead of a far less talented Philadelphia team which took the Celtics all seven games to eliminated and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat in which they would inevitably lose to. Now all the Celtics and their fans do is watch their classic vintage car that they so admired such lie still and continue to rust and fall apart.
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for November: 16. Denver Nuggets
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of November 30th): 8-8, third
place Northwest Division
|
10
|
This
Month:
16
|
Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of November 30th)
Points
Scored: 99.1 (14th)
Points
Allowed: 97.8 (14th)
Team
FG%: .450 (11th)
Opponent’s
FG%: .431 (6th)
Rebounds
per game: 47.9 (2nd)
Opponents
rebounds per game: 41.0 (9th)
Turnovers
per game: 16.4 (24th)
Opponents
turnovers per game: 13.9 (26th)
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders
Scoring
(ppg): Andre Iguodala (15.6)
Rebounds
per game: Kenneth Faried (11.5)
Minutes
per game: Ty Lawson (36.1)
Assists
per game: Ty Lawson (7.4)
Steals
per game: Ty Lawson (2.0)
Blocked
Shots per game: Kosta Koufos (1.8)
|
|
Worst
Player of the Month: JaVale McGee
The
man has yet to even start a game for the Nuggets and the team already signed
him to a four year contract extension worth an estimated 44$ million. One would think that the Nuggets front
office would have learnt their lesson after their experience with JR Smith. Similar to McGee, Smith showed
that he was quite skilled and had star potential making the front office at
the time sign him to a ridiculous five year contract worth 50$ million. Unfortunately Smith never developed as the
Nuggets had hoped remaining a bench player during his time there and the
Nuggets were pretty much stuck with him.
With what JaVale McGee has shown thus far, it does not look as if he
will develop into a franchise player as he has yet to start or play more than
25 minutes in a game.
|
First
Player of the Month: Andre Igoudala
What
was once one of the worst defensive teams in the league has become one of the
league’s top defenders and it all thanks to one man. Before Andre Igoudala arrived, the Denver
Nuggets were dead least in points allowed and opponent’s field goal
percentage. Now that has completely
flipped a full 180 degree turn as Denver now ranks in the NBA top ten for
points and field goals allowed leading to Denver’s solid 8-7 start for the
month of November. In addition of his
defensive prowess, Igoudala has seem to rediscovered his offensive game as
his 15.3 points per game, which currently leads the team, is his best
performance in three years. Hopefully,
his spike in offense is a sign of him finally utilizing his full potential on
both ends of the floor and at last living up to all of his hype of being a
so-called All Star
|
|
Analysis:
For the Denver Nuggets, it will be another hum-drum
season with limited expectations where their fans will continue to watch
their team go no farther than maintaining its status of teetering between average
and mediocre. For close to a decade,
the Nuggets have just simply played well enough to reach the playoffs only to
simply cave in come the first round.
In all the time the team has been coached under George Karl, the
Nuggets have only advanced past the first round of the playoffs just once and
it does not look as if that will change anytime soon. In fact, it looks as if the complete
opposite will occur as Denver has stumbled out of the gates as the Nuggets
finished the month of November with a .500 record. Perhaps this might be the push that the
front office needs to finally rid itself of George Karl who has been sitting
comfortably on his coach’s seat as he has just produced at the bare minimum
allowing him to remain on the team’s payroll for another year or two.
It is pretty obvious for any observer to see how ambivalent
George Karl has gotten during his tenure as the Nuggets’ coach. While most coaches of the elite NBA teams
strive to improve and push for an NBA title, Karl has been content of having
his team do well enough in order for him to maintain his coaching record and
to justify him staying with the team.
Sure, under his nine year tenure as Denver’s coach, the Nuggets have
had winning records with a rather impressive average winning percentage of .618;
however, what is the use of winning all those games of the team is headed
nowhere. Karl currently has one of the
longest tenures than any coach in the NBA in a league where a long term
coaching career last about three years and he has little or nothing to show
for it. Most NBA playoff contending teams
would have fired him years ago because of his team’s consistently poor post
season performances, but not the Nuggets—they have been as content as their having
no higher aspirations than just being “good enough” and not aspiring to reach
anywhere higher.
Perhaps that is the reason why Carmelo Anthony
wanted to have a first class ticket out of the Mile High City once his
contract expired. He probably saw, as
many do now, that Denver was a team going nowhere fast and he did not want to
spend the rest of his career stuck at the same place where the rest of his
contemporaries have accomplished far more in their careers as he had. Even if he does not meet his championship
aspirations playing for the Knicks, at least he will be playing on a world
class team which happens to be in the largest sports market in the world. Even with the Knicks struggling to find the
right chemistry over the last couple years since he has arrived, it is
certainly better to be there than on a small market team also headed nowhere. And with the performances that the Nuggets
have given posting winning seasons only to get quickly shut down come playoff
time only proves that Carmelo’s decision to split while the getting was
good.
Thus far, it has been an up and down season for the
Nuggets as even the most casual fan would get motion sickness from watching
Denver play in November. The Nuggets
started the season by losing three games in a row, followed by winning four,
then drop down losing three in a row again, bounced right back up winning
four more, then finally finished November losing their last three. From what can be seen from Denver’s yo-yo
performance, it only goes to show how inconsistent the team has been of late—certainly
not what should be expected for a team that has champion aspirations. That’s why the Nuggets have to part ways
with Karl—his presence only holds the team back and as long as he remains as
coach of the team, Denver will continue to be going nowhere fast. So far, he has just milking the rather low
ambition of his employers and has stood pat cashing his checks while the
team he coaches remains stuck in neutral burning the rubber off its spinning tires as it goes nowhere.
It is doubtful that the Nuggets will crash and burn
anytime soon as they are nestled in a division where two of the five teams
are currently in the same boat—stuck in a virtual rut with little with little
or no hope of coming out of it. The
Utah Jazz have been hovering above .500 as they continue to try carving a
new identity in the post Jerry Sloan era and the Portland Trailblazers have
hovered under the .500 mark and does not seem to be going anywhere
fast as well. The only two teams that have a
chance of really making any noise in the Western Conference are the Oklahoma City Thunder who had reached the NBA Finals last season and an up and coming
Minnesota Timberwolves squad. As of
now, they rest at sixth place in their Conference with of all teams, the
Golden State Warriors, who have been a perennial bottom feeder in the West
for ages, ahead of them by three and a half games—which is rather sad to say
the least considering that even they have more ambition that the Nuggets. And that can soon change as four teams—the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trailblazers, and the Los Angeles Lakers—are
currently nipping at their heels and if Denver is not careful, it will find
itself on the outside looking in which will probably be for the best as they
are headed nowhere to begin with.
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