Best Defenders of the NBA

You could describe yesterday’s Thunder-Lakers and Heat-Knicks games with one word:  defense.  Despite all four of those teams being known for their offensive firepower, these games were really about a terrific display of defense.  As any coach will tell you, close games come down to defensive stops.  In the case of these two games, the Lakers and Knicks were able to come up with stops, and the Thunder and Heat were not.

In the final possessions of the Thunder-Lakers game, LA made three crucial defensive stops: Gasol took a charge on Westbrook’s drive, Ron Artest deflected a pass intended for Kevin Durant that led to a steal, and of course LA contested the desperation 3’s in the last five seconds by KD and James Harden to perfection.  On the other end, OKC’s Thabo Sefolosha played tremendous defense (as usual) on Kobe all night, but was unable to stop Kobe’s dagger fade-away in the closing minutes. 

In the Heat-Knicks game, LeBron James was seemingly scoring at will against the Knicks defense.  But in the closing minutes, he failed to convert on a driving layup – thanks to Amare Stoudemire making a great block coming from the weak side (yes, I complimented Amare’s defense – but he deserves credit for this one time) – and he missed a potential game-tying three pointer in the closing seconds thanks to Carmelo Anthony’s contest (and LeBron’s inability to hit clutch jump shots, as I’ve pointed out earlier).   On the other end, Chauncey Billups made some clutch plays, including draining a serious long-ball from about 33 feet after catching D-Wade off guard - tricking him by picking up his dribble and looking to pass to a teammate.  I bet Knicks fans don’t miss Raymond Felton anymore after the last few games since the trade. 

Melo was locked in defensively vs. LeBron

Great offense beats great defense, but that is what makes making defensive stops that much more challenging.  As Charles Barkley says, there are two sides of the court, and you need to judge teams and players at both of those ends.  If there was only one side of the court, the Mike D’Antoni era of the Phoenix Suns would have been a dynasty.  But that’s what leads to the saying of the cliché that everybody in the basketball world has come to learn:  Defense Wins Championships.

There are several ways a player can help his team on the defensive end of the court.  Perimeter players can play great one-on-one defense and contest shots as best they can.  They can also be active on the passing lanes and create easy offense and transition plays.  Big guys can either play great post defense one-on-one, or they can anchor the paint and help on opponents that drive to the rim.  All of these examples of contributions are critical to team success.  In other words, there’s a reason why guys like Sefolosha, Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace and Jason Collins are in the NBA; they all are extremely skilled defensive players and are very valuable to any team, despite their limited offensive abilities.  Since there are so many different types of effective defense, it doesn’t make sense to crown one person as the league’s best overall defender.  Instead, you look at several categories and aspects and see who excels in those areas.  Keeping this in mind, I will break down the league’s best defenders in some of the major areas for both perimeter and post players.

First, let’s go through categories of perimeter defense..

PERIMETER DEFENSE

1.       Most Pesky Perimeter Defender – also known as the best “Edward Scissorhands” (aka the Bruce Bowen award) player who uses quick and disrupting hands the most effectively when guarding the NBA’s prolific perimeter scorers.

2.       Best “Post” Perimeter Defender – the perimeter player who is the toughest to score on in the post.  This category includes defending bigger guards, and guarding bigs when caught defending them on a pick-and-roll switches. 

3.       Best Help Defender on Perimeter – player most effective with pursuing double teams on the perimeter and helps off their man to create turnovers in the passing lanes.

4.       Best Help Defender in the Paint – perimeter player who most effectively helps off their man to protect the paint against players making driving or post-up moves

5.       Best Ball-Denying Perimeter Defender – player who makes it the most difficult for players they guard that try to free themselves to get the ball.

6.       Best Charge-Taking Perimeter Defender – perimeter player who is the best at taking charges versus driving players.

7.       Best “Kobe Stopper” – player who guards unstoppable perimeter scorers the most effectively one-on-one without help.

Most Pesky Perimeter Defender (the Bruce Bowen Category) – Rajon Rondo, Boston

Rondo is a real pest against players with the ball.  When he guards you, you better make sure you have a tight grip on the ball.  Always among the league leaders in steals, Rondo uses his hands to take swipes at the ball and also is good at waving his hands around to deter the vision of players he’s guarding.  Pesky play is very effective at getting under the skin of great scorers.  It’s the reason why Doc put him LeBron during their last game in Boston.  It was very difficult for LeBron to facilitate the offense and get in a rhythm with Rondo playing him that way. 

Runner-ups for this category are LA's Derek Fisher and San Antonio's Manu Ginobili.

Best “Post” Perimeter Defender – Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers

Even great post-up scorers like Melo have a hard time scoring on Kobe

This one’s easy.  Kobe is a perennial All-NBA defender, even at this stage of his career.  When coaches design pick-and-roll plays, they tend not to design them even for their big guys to post up against Kobe.  Why?  He’s hard to score on for anybody, both perimeter and post players.  If you’re a guard that likes to post up (e.g. Andre Miller, Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups), forget about posting Kobe up.  He’s very strong and can body up on almost anybody.  If you do want to post him up, you gotta be both stronger and taller than him.  Even then, he’ll make it tough on you. 

If you want proof, just go back and watch any playoff series they had with Phoenix.  D’Antoni tried running some pick-and-roll plays with Kobe switching on to Boris Diaw, and Diaw couldn’t make Kobe budge in the post.  Also, one of the major downfalls of the pre-Redeem Team Olympic squads was their defense against the pick-and roll.  Chris Paul, Allen Iverson, and other small guards were constantly abused by bigger defenders that they had to guard at times.  When Kobe joined the Redeem Team in 2008, opponents had no such luck in those situations.

Runner-ups for this category are New York’s Chauncey Billups and Miami’s LeBron James.

Best Help Defender on Perimeter –Chris Paul, New Orleans

Using his speed and quickness to his advantage, Paul gambles off of his man fairly often and makes very effective double teams on both post and perimeter players.  Whenever opponents face the Hornets, they always have their mind on Chris Paul, whether or not he is guarding them individually.  He is everywhere on the court, and every opponent is extra careful in both perimeter passes and entry passes to into the post.  Because he’s so good at this, he creates tons of fastbreak opportunities off steals by creating havoc in the passing lanes. 

Runner-ups for this category are Boston’s Rajon Rondo and Miami’s Dwyane Wade.

Best Help Defender in the Paint – LeBron James, Miami

I am giving LeBron this category almost solely because of his signature chase-down blocks on both fastbreak and half-court drives to the rim. This feat makes every player second-guess themselves on driving opportunities, even when they’re wide-open.  If LeBron’s nearby, it’s hard for anybody to make a layup without him chasing it down and swatting it emphatically into the backboard.

Runner-ups for this category are Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Portland’s Gerald Wallace.

Best Ball-Denying Perimeter Defender – Ron Artest, LA Lakers

Artest has aged and his ability to stay in front of defenders has declined a bit.  Still, no matter how many picks are set for an offensive player, Artest takes tremendous pride in staying on him and denying him the ball by being physical and using his quick hands.  By doing this, he deflects a lot of passes (as with the aforementioned stop vs. Kevin Durant) and frustrates scorers that try to get the ball.  He is also good with the dirty veteran tactics, such as holding players jerseys before they try running away from him.  To this day, very few players have had success against Artest.  

Runner-ups for this category are LA’s Derek Fisher and OKC’s Thabo Sefolosha.

Best Charge-Taking Perimeter Defender – Derek Fisher, LA Lakers

No longer very good at guarding quick point guards, Fisher still knows how to step in front of driving players and taking charges.  His flopping ability helps get him the calls, as well.  It's tough for a defender to draw charges, especially since referees tend to favor superstars on their drives to the rim.  But Fisher is able to deter their reputation by drawing those fouls very effectively, even when he doesn't have position.  By the way, Fisher is the third Laker on this list.  If you wondered why even the best perimeter players struggle against this team, that fact reflects the reason behind it.  

Runner-ups for this category are Memphis’ Shane Battier and Utah’s Raja Bell. 

Best “Kobe Stopper” – Tie:  Dwyane Wade, Miami AND Thabo Sefolosha, OKC

Sefolosha has great defensive one-on-one instincts

I know I’ve previously declared D-Wade as the best Kobe defender.  But after watching Sefolosha yesterday, he reminded me how great of a one-on-one defender he really is.  He NEVER falls for pump fakes, reading his opponents’ moves extremely well.  We saw Kobe burn him on this day in the end, but that was as tough a shot as he could have taken and Kobe still only ended up 8-22 from the field.  Jeff Van Gundy raves about what a world-class defender he really is - and Jeff knows good defense when he sees it.  With his defensive talents, Sefolosha is asked to guard every opposing team’s best perimeter defender, and he does an outstanding job at it.   We never hear of him because he is not much of a scorer, but he has relished the role of a defensive stopper.  For now, I’ll say he’s on par with D-Wade, who is no slouch himself.  Wade averages the most blocks per game of any guard, and those come from both his one-on-one and help defense. When he doesn't get the rejection, he does a great job of at least contesting every shot he can.

When the playoffs come around, these two guys will be guarding the best offensive players in the league in their respective conferences.

Runner-ups for this category are Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince and Memphis’ Shane Battier.

POST DEFENSE

Now, let’s give the big guys some of their own defensive categories:

1.       Best “Perimeter” Post Defender – the counterpart to the above category of perimeter players that guard post players – the post player most effective at guarding perimeter players, particularly after pick-and-roll switches.

2.       Best "Hedger" – the post player best at hedging, or trapping, perimeter players off pick-and-rolls and returning to the post.

3.       Best Weak-Side Shot Blocker – player most effective at coming from the weak side – off their man – to block post or perimeter players.

4.       Best Overall Anchor of the Paint – player who is the best at protecting the paint and intimidating any intruders, particularly when helping their teammates on the perimeter get beat on drives to the rim by opponents.

5.       Best One-on-One Post Defender – player who is the most effective at individual post defense. 

Best “Perimeter” Post Defender – Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics

Garnett is arguably the league’s most versatile defender who can guard all 5 positions.  He has a deadly combination of length and quickness, and is the main reason why Boston became a defensive powerhouse when he arrived for the 2007-08 season.  KG combines his natural defensive abilities with his infamous verbal jousting playing normal one-on-one defense, but also uses it to intimidate perimeter players from coming his way.  Perimeter guys like Steve Nash feast on mismatches when a big switches to guard him on the perimeter, where he can blow by his bigger, slower opponent.  But if you’re a perimeter guy facing a big, long and scary dude who’s clapping in your face and stays in front of you, it’s intimidating.  Just watch this clip of him guarding Toronto point guard Jose Calderon.

Runner-ups for this category are Miami’s Chris Bosh and Atlanta’s Josh Smith.

Best "Hedger" – Chris Bosh, Miami

Say what you want about Bosh’s lower-than-expected contributions on the offensive end as the third fiddle behind D-Wade and LBJ.  On defense, he is one of the main reasons why Miami is a great defensive team.  Bosh is particularly good at trapping perimeter players on pick-and-rolls, and is very effective at cutting off passing lanes to cutting bigs. He was very effective at this during in the 2008 Olympic Gold-Medal Run.  Team USA had sorely lacked someone like Bosh in their losses from 2002-06, despite having several prominent bigs (e.g. Duncan, Lamar Odom, Carlos Boozer, etc).  Bosh isn't the greatest one-on-one post defender, given his small frame. But he sure makes up for it in many other defensive facets.

Runner-ups for this category are Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao and Boston’s Kevin Garnett.

Best Weak-Side Shot Blocker – Tyson Chandler, Dallas Mavericks

Chandler gives the Mavs some much-needed help D

Before this season, I would automatically gives this award to Josh Smith.  But Chandler has come into his own on the defensive end this year.  When healthy, Chandler is always among the NBA’s best post defenders.  He has proven to be a great asset to Dallas and a perfect complement to Dirk Nowitzki, whose defensive shortcomings were constantly exposed in recent playoff losses.  With a healthy Chandler helping Dirk from the weak side, Dallas should be a championship contender.

Runner-ups for this category are Portland’s Marcus Camby and Josh Smith, Atlanta.

Best Overall Anchor of the Paint – Dwight Howard, Orlando

A perennial Defensive Player of the Year contender, Dwight is always among the league leaders in blocks and rebounds.  This is solidified by his command of the paint on the defensive end.  If you’re a perimeter defender on the Magic, you have the luxury of Dwight protecting the paint against anybody who beats you off the dribble.  Therefore, it allows defenders to press up against players on the perimeter instead of backing off (i.e. they don’t have to fear their opponent blowing by them as much).  

Lately, however, Howard has publicly expressed frustration with teammates for abusing this luxury and not putting any effort in keeping perimeter players in front of them.  Howard is great at anchoring the paint, but even he can’t guard everybody.  A final straw for Magic GM Otis Smith to pull the trigger on trading away Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis was for this very reason – particularly against Denver, when Carmelo Anthony absolutely torched Orlando for 35 points on 14-21 shooting.  Now in Phoenix, Carter has been getting benched in favor of Mikael Pietrus, a much better defender who Orlando misses dearly.  Dwight is the one guy you can’t blame for players getting points in the paint, so instead people question Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis’ defensive deficiencies (and rightfully so). 

The Two-time defending Defensive Player of the Year is a beast on the low block

Overall, Dwight makes it intimidating for any opponent to drive to the paint.  NBA coaches’ offensive schemes generally are designed to avoid dealing with D12 in the paint area.

Runner-ups for this category are San Antonio’s Tim Duncan, Portland’s Marcus Camby and Boston’s Kevin Garnett.

There are certain players who are among the league’s elite in more than one category.  But this really shows that there are multiple ways to be effective on the defensive end.  There really aren’t any stats you can use to quantify these categories of skills.  But NBA coaching staffs do notice great defensive qualities, which is why you sometimes see offensive juggernauts benched in favor of better defenders when the game is on the line. Some great defenders aren't the flashiest or most exciting players, and thus are seldom talked about outside of their home fan base.  But take a look at the best defenders from the last three years - these guys do get recognition.

Reaction to all the trades at the 2011 Trade Deadline

As a widely-expected lockout looms next season, NBA teams were very active on the eve of this year’s trade deadline.  LeBron James and Chris Bosh’s departures from Cleveland and Toronto, respectively, have affected more than just the franchises they abandoned.  Their exits have instilled fear in every GM in the league that has a superstar player with a soon-to-be expiring contract.  Consequently, no team wants to end up like Cleveland or Toronto.  One further aftermath of the LBJ/Bosh departures is the fluid movement of big-name players that want to team up with fellow NBA juggernauts.  As a result, NBA teams are going to incredible lengths to make moves.  Seven trades happened at the deadline, while two blockbuster trades happened earlier this week.

Here's a list of this week’s trades for your convenience (thanks, Henry Abbott):

·         Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks.

·         Deron Williams to the Nets.

·         Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic to Boston for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.

·         Gerald Wallace to the Blazers for Joel Pryzbilla.

·         Kirk Hinrich to the Hawks for Mike Bibby.

·         Baron Davis to Cleveland for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon.

·         Aaron Brooks to the Suns for Goran Dragic.

·         Shane Battier to the Grizzlies for Hasheem Thabeet.

·         Carl Landry to the Hornets.

·         Troy Murphy to Golden State for Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric.

·         James Johnson to the Raptors.

·         Semih Erden and Luke Harangody to the Cavaliers for Boston’s 2^nd Round Pick.

With all due respect to Semih Erden and Luke Harangody, let’s go over the biggest trades:

New York Knicks get:  F Carmelo Anthony, G Chauncey Billups, F/C Shelden Williams, G Anthony Carter, F Renaldo Balkman, G/F Corey Brewer

Denver Nuggets get:  G/F Wilson Chandler, G Raymond Felton, F Danilo Gallinari, C Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufos, 2014 1^st Round Pick

Minnesota Timberwolves get:  F/C Anthony Randolph, C Eddy Curry

I already talked in length about this trade, particularly how it affects NY and Denver.  As for Minnesota, I don’t know what they’re doing besides making friends with teams looking to get rid of huge contracts.  I know they want to clear cap space for future free agents and trades, but let’s be real:  nobody wants to come to Minnesota.  Since KG left town, they were doomed for years of futility.  Hopefully they can get good draft picks in the coming years and become relevant again.  The only good team they put together was in 2003-04, when KG, Sam Cassell, and Latrell Sprewell formed the NBA’s highest scoring trio and gave the Western Conference a real scare in the 04 playoffs.  Then reality hit, and Sprewell turned down a $21 million contract because it was “beneath” him and he thought it wasn’t enough to feed his family.  I still can’t get over that.

New Jersey Nets get:  G Deron Williams

Utah Jazz get:  G Devin Harris, F Derrick Favors, 2 first round picks and Cash

D-Will apparently fell out of favor with the Jazz front office

Unlike the Melo-to-Knicks deal, this was really unexpected.  While NJ is glad to finally land an All-Star, this is one risky move for the Nets.  Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov was clearly desperate to land a superstar after missing out on several big names (LBJ, Wade, Melo, etc.), essentially giving away promising future assets in the deal.  D-Will was noticeably saddened to suddenly be on a 17-40 team, and may very well be in trade talks by next year’s trade deadline.  I guess it was smart of New Jersey to see how things work out until then.  But if they end up keeping Deron through the 2011-12 only to see him leave the team, the Nets will be in an even bigger predicament before the team moves to Brooklyn.  There’s a lot of risk in giving up your future for a star player who might only be around for 1.5 years.

From Utah’s end, you have to wonder what made Utah give up on D-Will this early.  Even though it was clear he was not going to re-sign with the team, his contract isn’t up until next summer.  Clearly, he worn out his welcome with the Jazz front office, and was accused of being the main driver behind Jerry Sloan’s resignation.  The team was clearly struggling despite having a solid roster, and was on the verge of missing the playoffs. Now, they have some hope for the future with a very good point guard in Harris and promising young players.

OKC Thunder get:  C Kendrick Perkins, G Nate Robinson

Boston Celtics get:  F Jeff Green, F/C Nenad Krstic

I am completely baffled by this trade.  Either there’s some monetary reason for this, or something behind the scenes happened that prompted Danny Ainge to pull this off.  I just can’t figure out why he would do this at this stage of the season.  There's no possible basketball-related reason for this, which makes me think either Rasheed Wallace might come back and/or Ainge thinks Perk is leaving after this season (the latter being more likely).  With Perk, the Celtics had the size to go against any bigs they would encounter in the playoffs.  Don’t forget last year’s NBA Finals, where they arguably would have won the championship if he was healthy for Game 7 against the Lakers.  Now, suddenly they think they can win without him altogether?  I’m skeptical.   

If all their remaining bigs – Shaq, Jermaine O’Neal, Krstic – are healthy, they should still be favorites to win the title.  But look at those names I just listed – that is a BIG “IF.”  What made the Celtics so tough for teams like Orlando is their ability to guard dominant bigs one-on-one.  Now, if Shaq goes down and they were to play Orlando in the Eastern Conference Semis this year, who guards Dwight one-on-one?   They shut down last year’s lethal Magic team by NOT double-teaming Dwight, and thus staying home on the shooters.  No other team, other than the Lakers, could have contained their deadly outside shooting game.  Luckily for them, the Magic don’t look so hot these days.  With Atlanta and New York getting better this week (I’ll get into those trades later), Orlando may not even get home court advantage in the first round.  Still, they may face the Lakers in the Finals.  Without Perkins, I’m not so sure they can beat them - unless Shaq gets 10 years younger. 

Let’s get away from Perkins for a second:  the loss of Nate Robinson should not be overlooked, either.  Nate made the Celtics backcourt very tough to deal with.  Having him back up Rajon Rondo has been extremely effective; when teams backed off of Rondo and dared him to shoot, Doc Rivers brought Nate in the game to be a scorer.  Having both pass-first and shoot-first point guards gave Boston a variety of options as far as how they ran their offense, confusing most defensive units in the league.  Now who backs up Rondo?  I don’t like this trade at all for Boston.

Without Perk in the middle, guys like Dwight would have a much easier time against Boston

From OKC’s end, this is a great trade.  Jeff Green is a decent player, but is very inconsistent.  With great upside coming out of Georgetown, he and Kevin Durant were supposed to take the reins of the franchise.  But with Westbrook emerging as the clear 2^nd-fiddle behind KD (and perhaps the real leader of the team), Green became expendable.  Perk will give a great boost to the Thunder defense, which has slipped considerably since last season (their suffocating D really gave the Lakers fits before going out in a very close six-game series).  The team desperately needed a big, physical presence in the middle.  Now they got one, and they have no real gaping holes heading into the playoffs.

So – great trade for the Thunder, and a real head-scratcher for Boston.

Portland Trailblazers get:  G/F Gerald Wallace

Charlotte Bobcats get:  C Joel Pryzbilla, F Dante Cunningham, 2 1^st round picks

Wallace's versatility and athleticism will fit in nicely with Portland

What a great trade for Portland.  With Brandon Roy’s health issues, the team needed help to finish the season strong.  Currently a 7^th seed, the Blazers should be a tough out for whoever they match up with in the playoffs.  All-Star snub LaMarcus Aldridge has been a beast of late, and Wallace should compliment him nicely.  His talents have been a little forgotten in Charlotte, but he still is a tremendous high-flying athlete that plays terrific defense, and he rebounds well for his position.  Since he doesn’t need the ball to be effective, I see him fitting in fairly seamlessly in Nate McMillan’s schemes.  If Brandon Roy can somehow get healthy by the playoffs, their starting lineup will be comprised of this:  Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Gerald Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Marcus Camby.  I don’t care who they play; that is a scary lineup for anybody to go against.  Of course, it’s the Blazers, and health is always an issue.  I won’t put money on them to get past the 1^st round, but if they’re healthy then I really wouldn’t be surprised if they upset anybody in the playoffs.

As for Charlotte – well, they are just another seller in today’s NBA market.  MJ’s tenure as owner isn’t going to draw any more positive reviews in the near future.  Much like the other small market teams of the league, they need to get lucky in the draft to make any noise.

Atlanta Hawks get:  G Kirk Hinrich, F/C Hilton Armstrong

Washington Wizards get:  G Mike Bibby, G Jordan Crawford, G/F Maurice Evans, 1^st Round Pick

This was clearly a reactionary move by the Hawks after seeing New York – a team on their heels in the playoff standings – land Carmelo Anthony.  Bibby has clearly lost a step, both offensively and defensively.  He’s also been somewhat of a no-show in Atlanta’s playoff appearances the past few seasons.  In Hinrich, they get a younger but very solid point guard, and an overall improvement at the position on both ends of the court.  He is a very underrated defensive player.  When he was in Chicago, then-coach Scott Skiles got fired in part because he consistently benched Derrick Rose in favor of Hinrich for defensive purposes.  In addition to Hinrich, Armstrong will provide some size and depth on the thin Hawks bench. 

I’m not really sure why the Wizards even got Hinrich in the first place last summer, knowing they were drafting Wall.  But Bibby gives them veteran experience – something they sorely lack and part of the reason why they are basically win-less on the road.  In trading Hinrich, they acquired a long-term prospect in Jordan Crawford and they have yet another 1^st round pick this year to boot.

Cleveland Cavaliers get: G Baron Davis, 1^st Round Pick

Los Angeles Clippers get:  G Mo Williams, F Jamario Moon

Poor Baron Davis.  First, he ditched a fairly good Golden State Warriors team to sign with his hometown Clippers in hopes to play with Elton Brand.  Then, Brand screws him over by signing with Philly.  After a few Clipper-like seasons at the bottom of the standings, Blake Griffin gets drafted.  Then, Griffin busts his kneecap and sits out an entire season.  This year, Davis struggled early on with injuries and was out of shape.  Owner Donald Sterling even expressed frustration with Baron not being in playing shape.  But after all that, Davis got healthy and the Clippers finally appeared to be coming together as a group.  Davis got to throw one jaw-dropping alley-oop pass to Griffin after another.  Griffin even had Davis assist him in his final dunk of this year’s Slam Dunk contest. 

Baron's days of posterizing opponents is sadly over

Now?  He got traded to the NBA’s worst team.   Tough break.  I think he’ll suddenly have a myriad of season-ending “injuries” and get bought out this summer.  It’s too bad, because Baron is one of my favorite players to watch when he’s engaged.  The last time we saw him at his best was when he spearheaded the demolition of the 2008 1^st seeded Dallas Mavericks in the greatest playoff upset in NBA history.   Only sometimes showing flashes of his unbelievable skill set, he may be one of the NBA’s biggest underachievers.  If injuries and motivation weren’t an issue, he would be a perennial All-NBA selection.  As depressing as it is to say this, it’s hard to see that version of Davis ever showing up again.

Cleveland made this trade primarily for the draft pick.  The Clippers, still hoping to make a playoff push, acquired Williams and Moon to help make it happen.  It’s hard to see how, mostly because Mo gets injured seemingly as often as Davis does.  But maybe playing on an exciting team (yes, playing with Blake Griffin automatically makes you a de facto exciting team, regardless of your team record) will rejuvenate him.  I can’t see it happening, though. 

Every year, you see at least one lose-lose trade for both teams involved.  This was it.

One reported trade – O.J. Mayo to the Pacers for Josh McRoberts and a 1^st round pick – fell through right at the deadline.  With Mayo already having had a rocky season so far, this does not bode well for Mayo or Memphis as a team.  Plus, with Shane Battier coming in, Mayo’s minutes are a lock to diminish significantly.   Things have already been interesting in Memphis after Mayo got suspended for 10 games violating the NBA’s drug policy and got in a fight with teammate Tony Allen.  Think he’ll be a distraction now that he’s staying put?  It remains to be seen whether they can squeeze into the playoffs with a disgruntled Mayo in the Grizzlies locker room. 

So who benefited the most from this year’s trade deadline? 

Winners:  Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers

Losers:  Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers

TBD:  Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets

My Thoughts on Melo Trade

All-Star weekend, as far as I’m concerned, lived up to expectations.  When that happens, it’s hard to forget the weekend.  Thanks to the long-anticipated trade of Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks – where he wanted to be all along – All-Star weekend has been forgotten and all eyes are on the new-look Knicks as well as Thursday’s trade deadline.  After months of negotiating, the trade finally happened.  It’s hard to envy the front office of NBA teams who have deal with this crap.  I can’t imagine the long hours they all put in to make everything work, both numbers-wise and team chemistry wise.  Luckily, trades talks rarely last this long, and are never as long as it takes Brett Favre to make decisions. 

First, before breaking down the trade – I gotta point this out:  I guess Knicks fans forgot all about Melo’s sucker punch on then-NY PG Mardy Collins 5 years ago.  Shouldn’t NY fans be more skeptical about picking up a hit-and-run type guy, after having guys like Anthony Mason, Larry Johnson, Charles Oakley, and many of the tough guys in NBA history?  Maybe Melo’s gotten tougher over the years to fit that bill. 

On to the trade – let’s start with Denver’s side:  in losing both Melo and Chauncey Billups, they gained a whole lot more than what they would have gotten had they lost Melo for nothing as a free agent this summer.   That, in itself, is a victory.  If you look strictly at Points in vs. Points out in the trade, Denver actually got more (53.4 vs 48.3 PPG) in return for their trade.  Obviously, that’s a glass half-full approach on Denver’s end (not to mention one of the many examples of using stats to sell a positive outlook).  Nevertheless, with a projected starting lineup of Felton, J.R. Smith, Chandler (I think Gallo will be traded), K-Mart, and Nene, the Nuggets are still 7^th or 8^th seed-playoff quality team.  Losing a superstar is never good, but they really did the best that they could, given the circumstances.  In other words, they’re much better off than Cleveland and Toronto were after losing LeBron and Chris Bosh.

 Will they keep this lineup together?  We’ll see by Thursday’s deadline.  There’s lots of reports out there, involving shopping Nene, that may essentially blow up the team.  So, there is no point in analyzing their outlook for the rest of the year until after Thursday.

So, let’s talk about the new-look Knicks.  Some argue that the Knicks gave up way too much in the deal, considering they theoretically could have risked waiting until the summer to sign Melo.  But according to sources, Knicks GM Donnie Walsh became increasingly convinced that Melo became increasingly concerned about his financial security with the looming salary cap cut-backs as part of the upcoming new Collective Bargaining Agreement.  That’s a valid concern, and New York decided to give in and make a move for Melo right now.  Plus, I trust Walsh’s judgement on this a whole lot more than I would’ve trusted former awful GMs Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas, who outright destroyed the franchise for a decade.

On the positive side, let’s be clear on this:   this was a good move by the Knicks and great for the NBA from a marketing standpoint (for obvious reasons). In terms of basketball, this move needed to be made.  The Knicks had a relatively easy 1^st half of the regular season, yet are only two games above .500 into to the All-Star break.  The trade talks were clearly getting to the team, as the players who overachieved to this point (e.g. Chandler, Felton) were slowly-but-surely slipping.  With Melo, New York will have new life and the Garden will see a buzz it hasn’t seen in a long, long time.  You HAVE to be happy if you’re a Knicks fan. 

Can Amare and Melo co-exist?  This remains to be seen.

Landing former Finals MVP Chauncey Billups should not be overlooked, either.  Chauncey has always been a great leader, and will gladly welcome playing in the D’Antoni system after playing for more controlling coaches like Larry Brown in Detroit and George Karl in Denver.  He is clearly an upgrade, in the short term, over Ray Felton.  I just wonder if he’ll be happy in NY, as he wanted to retire in Denver.  The Nuggets front office admitted that one of the hold-ups to the trade was trying to avoid including Chauncey in the deal.  Head coach George Karl even said that he was more sad about Chauncey leaving than anything.  Although he is 34, his game has aged in a positive manner and is still a very effective point guard. 

Amare struggles guarding good bigs like Gasol

As exciting as this trade is, you need to play devil’s advocate.  This trade was good, but are the Knicks going to be that good?  We all know that both Melo and Amare Stoudemire are two of the best scorers in the league (Amare at #2 in NBA with 26.1 PPG, Melo at #6 with 25.2 PPG), and arguably the most gifted scorers at their respective positions.  But the question of whether they fit together as teammates drives the biggest skepticism thereof.  This is a legitimate concern, as these two guys aren’t exactly known for their play without the ball, particularly on defense.  As I’ve pointed out before, Amare is just plain awful at guarding elite 4s and 5s.  For a guy with his caliber of talent, he is an average rebounder at best.  He’s picked up his efforts in terms of help defense, as he ranks 3^rd in the NBA in Blocked Shots.  But in terms of one-on-one defense and boxing out, he should be better than he is.

Even on offense, there are valid concerns.  Can two guys that score 25+ PPG co-exist?  They both need the ball in their hands to be effective, and a lot of pressure will be on D’Antoni and Billups to facilitate the offense and preserve team chemistry.  Remember that the Nuggets were not an elite team with the Allen Iverson-Anthony combo, despite the two of them being top 5 in the league in scoring a few years back.   They ran into a lot of problems in the playoffs as well, as there was a struggle between the two in terms of deciding who should have the ball in closing moments.  I can’t anticipate that this situation will be much better playing with Amare.  And, as dynamic of a duo as they are, they are still only the 4^th best duo in the league in my opinion, behind the Lebron/Wade, Durant/Westbrook, and Kobe/Gasol combos. 

Is there reason for hope?  Of course.  Will the Knicks be title contenders this year?  Of course not; just look at how long it took Miami to start gelling as a team with their three-headed monster.  They probably won’t make much ground in the playoff race, and will probably extend a 1^st round playoff series (either vs. Chicago or Orlando) to 6 games at best.  In the short term, things might not pan out that quickly.  But the bottom line is that the NBA is a star’s game; you acquire the star and figure out the remaining pieces from there.  Donnie Walsh and company will spend endless hours trying to add pieces to the puzzle over the next several seasons. 

I still don’t think the Knicks will threaten to overtake Miami, Chicago, or even Orlando (if D12 stays) in the next couple years – especially if the new Collective Bargaining Agreement drastically decreases team cap space as expected (and thus essentially ruling out the possibility of picking up either Deron Williams or Chris Paul in 2012). In summary, this trade makes them good – but not great.  But if you’re a Knicks fan, you should be ecstatic that this team will be relevant again.  In the Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas eras, the Knicks were doomed to several years of futility.   

2011 NBA All-Star Weekend Predictions

Charles Barkley said it best:  The NBA All-Star weekend is THE greatest such event in all of sports, in terms of the quality of the festivities and the celebration of the sport.  Charles, among the other great analysts on TNT, makes for great entertainment himself – both on TV and at the party scenes throughout the weekend.  Has there ever been such a weekend where he HASN’T lost his voice?  If so, the weekend festivities should forever be banned from that city.  That’s a pretty safe standard to set for the All-Star weekend city selections every year.

As far as the weekend itself – both fans and players love it.  For those who aren’t involved, they get a good weekend of rest in the midst of the regular season grind to either go home or partake in the off-court events with their peers.  It’s such a great weekend, though, that a lot of players forgo potential time to spend with family on this weekend to attend this.  All sorts of parties are going on, and a high concentration of basketball wives probably file for divorce during this time frame every year. 

LA's Staples Center is the place to be for all athletes and sports fans this weekend

All-Star weekend is the one weekend where I don’t mind being a complete hermit – where I stay in and watch the games.  Since I’m friends with mostly older, boring married people, that’s seemingly what I’ve been stuck with doing lately, anyway.  But for this one weekend only, I don’t really mind.   It’s also a set of games where I prefer not to watch it in a public setting where I can't hear the commentary (i.e. a bar or restaurant showing the games on TV).  All of the great personalities on TNT cover every event of the weekend, and it is really worth watching and listening to them.

I'm going to take a look at each of the events on Saturday and Sunday night in Los Angeles this weekend.  Since I didn’t have time before the Rookie/Sophomore game to put together an assessment, I obviously am not posting a prediction for it.  For the record, I thought the Sophs would win – simply because the Rookie Teams won just once in the past 8 years.  In all fairness, this and the Sunday All-Star game are the hardest to predict, since they’re both the friendliest of competitions.

This weekend comprises of more partying than actual competition, so predicting the events is a bit useless.  But it’s still fun to take a look at the participants and break them down.

Shooting Stars:

Participants:

Team Atlanta: Al Horford (Hawks), Coco Miller (WNBA's Atlanta Dream), Steve Smith (Legend)

Team Chicago: Taj Gibson (Bulls), Cathrine Kraayveld (WNBA's Chicago Sky), Steve Kerr (Legend)

Team Los Angeles: Pau Gasol (Lakers), Tina Thompson (WNBA's L.A. Sparks), Rick Fox (Legend)

Team Texas: Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks), Roneeka Hodges (WNBA's S.A. Silver Stars), Kenny Smith (Legend) 

Predicted Winner:  Team Texas (Dirk, Hodges, Kenny Smith)

This is an event that’s not taken very seriously – especially since it involves WNBA and retired players.  Still, I enjoy watching it.  If you’re not familiar with this competition, it’s a contest where three players on each team score from designated spots on the court as fast as they can.  Each of these teams has one representative each from the current NBA, current WNBA, and retired NBA player groups.  I’m not gonna lie:  I don’t know about 99.5% of WNBA players.  But I do know that a lot of them are better shooters than a lot of NBA players.  In this prediction, I am assuming all 4 WNBA representatives shoot comparably well and offset one another.  

This event is exactly what the name implies:  it comes down to shooting.  Let’s compare the retired guys:  Steve Smith and Steve Kerr are obviously two of the greatest shooters of all time, but I think they spend a bit more time on air than Kenny Smith does.  Therefore, I think Kenny has more time to keep up with his play than the other two.  In contrast, Rick Fox probably spends absolutely 0 time playing basketball, and most of his time on his “acting” career and hitting on washed-up celebrities.  I expect him to be completely washed up himself, and drag down Team LA. 

Team Texas is poised to defend their 2010 title

On a side note, I don’t think the NBA on TNT would be nearly as amusing without Kenny Smith.  As I’ve said multiple times, the three-man booth of he, Barkley, and Ernie Johnson has been by far the best sports TV studio crew.  Chris Webber has really added to the great mix of personalities, also.  Take a look at the one of many great clips of their escapades.  My personal favorite moment was when Barkley lost a bet, where he didn’t think Yao Ming (in his rookie year) wouldn’t score 19 points in a game and had to kiss Kenny’s ass.  Everyone knows Charles is hilarious, but Kenny’s presence makes the studio show even more entertaining.  C-Webb has only been in the studio for a couple years (after just retiring in 2007), but he has been a great addition to the team after some of his own great-but-uncivilized moments with Gary Payton on NBA TV (here’s one of the many great segments of theirs making fun of Joe Johnson).  Anyway, I’m glad that TNT covers this weekend every year.

Back to the competition:  out of the current NBA guys in this one, it isn’t even close – Dirk is by far the best shooter.  With Dirk and Kenny having the advantages over their respective counterparts, I pick them to win. Team Texas destroyed the competition last year, and I expect more of the same this time around.

Skills Competition:

Participants:  Stephen Curry (GSW), Chris Paul (Hornets), Derrick Rose (Bulls), John Wall (Wizards), Russell Westbrook (OKC)

Predicted Winner:  Derrick Rose (Bulls)

This event has only been around for a couple years, and it’s been very successful and entertaining (unlike the horrible H.O.R.S.E. competition the previous 2 years).   Point guards in the NBA are extremely skilled, and any one of these dynamic guys could win it.  In this contest, players go through dribbling and passing obstacles, with a shot drill in between. Usually, the competition comes down to who makes that one shot the quickest – as all of these players are similar in terms of speed and ball handling abilities.  There is also a bounce pass drill that is fairly difficult, unless Steve Nash is doing it.  Ultimately, this will come down to the player with the best combination shooting and passing, assuming speed and ball-handling skills are a push among the five players.

D-Rose can reclaim his 2009 title

Chris Paul is the most seasoned of the players, making him the favorite to win the competition.  Curry is the best shooter, but I get the feeling that the losing culture of being on Golden State will get the best of him somehow (just as it did in last year’s three-point shootout).  Rookie John Wall might be the most gifted passer, but his shooting woes have been well documented – the pressure to hit that one shot might be too much for him.  Eliminating Curry and Wall, it should be a toss-up between Paul, Rose, and Westbrook.

At the end of the day, I think Derrick Rose is set out to prove his worth as the NBA’s best point guard.  With an improved jump shot and his usual blistering speed and quickness, he has all the weapons to win.  Although this is a friendly contest, it can’t hurt Rose’s case for the title of best point guard if he goes on to win. 

Three Point Shoot-out

Participants:  Ray Allen (Celtics), Kevin Durant (OKC), Daniel Gibson (Cavs), James Jones (Heat), Paul Pierce (Celtics), Dorell Wright (GSW) 

Predicted Winner:  Ray Allen (Celtics)

Can KD get hot and be the three-point King?

In my opinion, this is the best event of the weekend in terms of pure competition.  The Slam Dunk Contest is a good way to wrap up the Saturday night festivities, but there haven’t been very many down-to-the-wire competitions.  The three-point shootout, on the other hand, usually comes down to 2 or 3 great shooters. 

As far as the prediction, I think this would only be fitting, as Ray has recently surpassed Reggie Miller as the NBA’s All-Time leader in three pointers made.  Surprisingly, he’s been in the contest four times (01, 02, 05, and 06) and has only won once (01).  Still, with his lightning quick release and devastating accuracy, he should be the favorite in every shootout he participates in.  After Paul Pierce pleaded for both he and Ray to be in it, I am predicting the contest to come down to the two of them. 

Pierce broke the scorers-cannnot-win stereotype last year, surprisingly out-shooting great gunners like Stephen Curry and Chauncey Billups (as well as defending champ Daequean Cook).  But I just can’t see him winning two straight years.  James Jones, Dorell Wright and Boobie Gibson are all more of catch-and-shooters with slow and methodical strokes in rhythm, so I’m having trouble seeing them making any noise.  Durant has great range and consistency as a jump shooter, and I could see him being a sleeper.  I just can’t see back-to-back years of a scorer winning the competition.  I’m going with the Greatest Shooter Ever.

Slam Dunk Contest: 

Participants: DeMar DeRozan (Raptors), Blake Griffin (Clippers), Serge Ibaka (OKC), JaVale McGee (Wizards)

Predicted Winner:  Blake Griffin (Clippers)

This is as foregone of a conclusion as the Rookie of the Year debate is.  This competition usually comes down to the atmosphere – the buzz from the crowd (and players in the crowd) usually dictates how this contest goes.  It’s really hit-or-miss. 

The problem with this contest is usually the lack of star power.  In the old days, all the high-flying superstars gladly participated.  Now, the great dunkers come up with one lame excuse after another.  In my opinion, LeBron really hurt his popularity by never participating.  At first it was because he didn’t want to be known as a “dunker.”  Now, he just side-steps the opportunity and quietly dodges any questions that try to prompt him to justify why he declines every year.  Many players outright decline to dunk, but LeBron tends to enjoy teasing the fans by declaring his intent to enter the contest (only to back out of it later on).  Out of all things people bash LeBron for, I’ll be bitching about that every time the subject of him and All-Star weekend comes up.

If players want to be like MJ, they should at least do the dunk contest

The other problem with the contest is that a lot of players are one-and-dones, especially if they feel they get jipped by the judges.  Andre Iguodala had one of the greatest slam-dunk performances in 2006 vs. Nate Robinson (especially with this incredible behind-the-backboard dunk), but got completely hosed in the final round.  He was so jaded by the experience that he refused to do it again.  Vince Carter, who had arguably the best display of all-time dunk-manship in 2000, decided not to defend his title in following years.  I guess players these days have a bigger fear of losing their pride.  MJ, Dominique, Jason Richardson – they all did the competition multiple times out of respect for the fans.  During All-Star weekends, you can put pride aside and make it all about the fans.  Unfortunately, today’s players can’t seem to grasp that.

The Slam Dunk title is Blake Griffin's to lose

Thankfully, Blake Griffin is more than willing to participate.  DeRozan is the only opposition in the field that I can see making some noise, if he comes up with some creative ideas.  McGee is a flashy put-back dunker, but I think he and Ibaka will both fail to shed the heavy discrimination that big guys receive at this contest.  Dwight Howard was an exception, as he anchored his athleticism with unprecedented creativity (embracing the label of ‘Superman’). 

At the end of the day, the heavily favored Griffin will be one of those guys that will command the crowd’s attention – ala Dominique, MJ and Vince.  Even simple dunks will look spectacular for him.  The others will have to really raise the bar with their creativity to make him sweat, and I just don’t see that happening. With his ups and powerful finishing abilities, Griffin is easily the favorite to win the contest. I also think he will be motivated to win to honor his friend and ex-teammate that died due to complications of Hodgkin's lymphoma on Wednesday.

All-Star Game

Participants:

EAST TEAM
Starters
Dwyane Wade, Guard, Miami Heat
Derrick Rose, Guard, Chicago Bulls
LeBron James, Forward, Miami Heat
Amare Stoudemire, Forward, New York Knicks
Dwight Howard, Center, Orlando Magic

Reserves
Ray Allen, Boston Celtics
Chris Bosh, Miami Heat
Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks
Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics

WEST TEAM
Starters
Kobe Bryant, Guard, Los Angeles Lakers
Chris Paul, Guard, New Orleans Hornets
Carmelo Anthony, Forward, Denver Nuggets
Kevin Durant, Forward, Oklahoma City Thunder
Yao Ming, Center, Houston Rockets (injured, will not play)

Reserves
Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves (injury replacement)
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Deron Williams, Utah Jazz

Predicted Winner: East

Out of all the events, this is most futile to make a prediction.  First, you never know which players are hung over from drinking heavily over the weekend.  I suspect David Stern will never, ever allow an All-Star game to take place in Las Vegas ever again, after the 2007 fiasco.  Lots of variables are there off the court.  On the court, every player screws around for 3 quarters and whoever happens to have the lead clamps down and wins the game in the 4^th. 

I don’t know if East coach Doc Rivers will do this, but he has the option of playing all four of his guys (Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG with a choice of Dwight or Al Horford at Center) at the same time.  Remember the 2006 game, when Detroit also had four All-Stars (Chauncey, Rip, Sheed, Big Ben)?  When all four of them were put in the game, the East went on a huge run and eventually won the game.   Generally, throwing 5 All-Stars (on different teams) on the court for one game doesn’t make for good chemistry – as greatly evidenced by pre-2008 USA Olympic team failures.  When four players with great chemistry are on the court together, they will pick apart five guys on the other team that never played together – even in a non-serious scrimmage-type atmosphere.   Because the possibility of that strategy being implemented for Doc, I am going with the East.  I’ll go out on a limb and say Derrick Rose will be MVP of the game, to further put his stamp  on the league as a star among stars. 

If East head coach Doc Rivers really wants to win, he can play all of his guys

In the end, you shouldn’t bet money making predictions on All-Star events.  Everyone involved is there to have fun, and that’s the beauty of it. Players want to party, not get hurt.  Coaches don’t really want to coach.  Still, it’s spectacular seeing so much star-power all together in the same place and it’s fun to break down the contests.  Next year, when the games take place here in Orlando, I am going do to everything I can to snag tickets for the event. I would really like to see what the atmosphere is like in person, as that is what the weekend festivities are really all about.