He was "Akeem" when he was drafted and then became "Hakeem" later on - I think in 1991 - right? (FWIW, I used "Akeem" in my post on that basis.)
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Oh, I wasn’t correcting your usage — just covering both bases.He was "Akeem" when he was drafted and then became "Hakeem" later on - I think in 1991 - right? (FWIW, I used "Akeem" in my post on that basis.)
With all due respect to Ayton, I do think the comp is a little disrespectful to the Dream.
I love the perhaps fake story of the idea that Houston was concerned about the ability to play Sampson and Olajuwon together, and were looking to trade Sampson to Portland for the #2 overall pick and Clyde Drexler (remember, at the time Sampson was probably a Top 5 trade asset) and they would have taken Jordan with the pick; which would have given Houston a Hakeem/Jordan/Drexler trio at the start of all their careers.
Yeah, Hakeem was arguably the best player in the NBA during Jordan's 1st retirement.
I'm still shocked whenever I look at his total stat line for his career.
26946 points, 13764 rebounds, 3058 assists, 2162 steals, 3830 Blocks, 3667 TO.
In 5 of his first 7 seasons, he averaged 2+ steals and 3+ blocks a game.
In 1988/89, he had 213 steals and 282 blocks. Averaged 24.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.6 steals, 3.4 blocks.
Following year, 24.3, 14.0, 2.9, 2.1, 4.6.
Hakeem is the only player to ever record 200 steals and 200 blocks in the same season. Only 3 players have ever recorded a 200 steal, 100 block season. Jordan did it twice. Pippen did it once.
Jordan had 236 steals/125 blocks in 86/87. Followed that up with 259/131 in 87/88. Pippen had 211 steals, 101 blocks in 89/90.
So there have been 4 such 200/100 seasons. It also happened 4 straight years. Interesting.
He was my favorite player during the Jordan era.
Hakeem is really the alpha defensive player; and he played at the perfect time for his skill-set to dominate the game at that end. Quick enough to harass players on the perimeter, but the game was all about protecting the basket and Hakeem was like Batman coming out of the shadows and denying people at the basket, as well as swooping into passing lanes. Just a tremendous combination of pure athletic ability, natural instincts and intelligence. He has 5,992 career stocks (steals+blocks); the next closest person is Kareem at 4,349 and then David Robinson at 4,342. Robinson to his credit was really close in his prime, he just played in a lot fewer games. Hakeem averaged 4.8 stocks per game while Robinson was at 4.4. Ewing (4,030 career stocks) had maybe the best defensive potential out of all of them, but his knees started going even in college and he wasn't quite the panther he was when he was at Georgetown.
Of course, all discussions of stocks has to come with the caveat that they were not recorded during the Wilt/Russell days.
Sure but the Suns are much better off with Ayton and Paul than with Doncic and flotsam at the 5. They are the best team in the league and the debate is whether they screwed up. That’s kinda funny to me.
The whole "Centers are less valuable" thing is funny to me. Who are the top 3 MVP candidates? 3 guys who are 6'11 or better.
There is way too many variables to play this game. But I wouldn't assume that they don't have Paul just because they drafted Doncic. Or put another way, you can't just assume they draft Doncic and make no other moves to improve their team like they did when they acquired Paul
It's hard to bake in acquiring an all-NBA point guard for almost nothing 2 years after a draft into whether a draft pick was the right draft pick (it wasn't).
Also, if the Suns weren't paying Paul $30.8m they could afford much more than "flotsam" to replace him.
The Hawks acquired Capela for Evan Turner, a 1st & a 2nd. He makes $18m. Suns got Paul for basically Oubre & a 1st.
A Doncic (23)/Booker (25)/Mikal (25)/Cam (26)/Capela (27) core would be pretty pretty fun for years to come.
So I think both things can be right - they should win the NBA championship this year, & they screwed up that pick.
They'd be one of the top teams in the NBA either way. With Doncic, their window would be considerably longer. If they do win a title with Paul, it will all be moot.
Just like if Atlanta ever wins with Trae. The real losers out of all of this are the Kings. Dallas, Atlanta and Phoenix are all much better today than they were then.
It's amazing how good the 18/19 draft is. Still has the chance to get better with guys like JJJ, WCJ, Mo, and Simmons still developing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_NBA_draft
If Ayton adds a 3 point shot over the next couple seasons with volume, how much would that change things? He's a decent FT shooter and has been good from mid range the last few seasons.
Doncic's last 31 games: 36.3 minutes, .479/.399/.735, 31.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, 8.5 assists.
Dallas is weird because they are definitely lacking a 2nd star but they have the other pieces in place. Brunson has been really good since the start of December. 56 games, 33.1 mpg, .503/.382/.852, 16.7 points, 4.9 assists, 3.8 rebounds. I'd probably go with him as their 2nd best player. Looking at their cap situation, I'm not sure how they add that 2nd star unless he demands his way to Dallas.
I mean I don’t see any variables as they have Paul now and are the best team in the league. Do you feel execs in the Suns front office are pounding their heads on the best bc they are 51-21 with Paul/Ayton instead of Doncic? It’s ok for moves to work out great for more than one team.
Not sure why they'd waste their time beating themselves up over it - but if they were to think about it, their thought process should be something like, "It's a good thing we made that great Chris Paul trade to make up for the fact that we missed on Doncic".
& then occasionally when they watch Doncic play to wistfully think what if, while they hope their point guard who turns 37 in a month finally stays healthy in the playoffs & they can win a championship before his portion of their window closes & they need to figure out how to re-fill that huge hole.
So because they made a good move later that was independent of the draft, they made the right draft pick? Was it also smart to draft Jaylen Smith and then not pick up his third year option and then sell him off for peanuts? I mean, they're the best team in the league, so what does it matter that they threw away a lottery pick! Are the execs in the front office pounding their heads that they didn't draft Halliburton?
On the one hand, Ayton is a perfectly fine pick. He's an above-average center who contributes to their team, but he won't be making any all-NBA teams during his career. On the other, Luka is building a hall of fame resume and is a top 5-10 player in the NBA regardless of position. It's a pretty wide gap in talent levels.
It's great that the Suns made the most of their draft mistake and built a team around Ayton/Booker that is this good. It's fun watching them and they're easy to root for (outside of their owner). But it's still a draft mistake because Luka is like an all-time player while Ayton is just in the top ten at his position. Also, the Suns might not even extend him because even they don't think he's worth the money he wants. So if he walks to, say, the Spurs after four years in Phoenix and Chris Paul shows signs of slowing down as players of his age typically do, then all they have to show for their trouble is the last two years. That's nice and all, but a core of Luka/Booker/Bridges/Cam and (plug in whoever you want at center because the Suns would've had oodles of cap room these past few seasons) is a team that contends for 10 years.
Wasn't sure where to post this one, so thought that here might as good a place as any.
On the "hot hand": It is real, but rare, according to these researchers.
On the "hot hand": It is real, but rare, according to these researchers.
Curiously, examples of "hot hand" players were all centers, not three-point shooters, as you might guess: Tim Duncan, Roy Hibbert and Marcin Gortat.
I think it’s a real effect, at least in the sense that you can get in a rhythm with any mechanical process. The problem is that it’s hard to predict and reproduce. So from a coaching/game planning perspective it can’t be a major factor.
Yes, and I think it's also something that's really hard to capture in any scientific study. Not only is it mechanical it's neurological, where everything comes together at once - like how you go through your morning routine without thinking about it, but you are performing tasks like getting coffee, packing kids' lunches, etc..
It would also be interesting to look at things like age, career length, etc. Might happen more with experienced players who have attained superior muscle memory, but then declines as players age and it's more difficult physically to attain the balance between the brain, eyes, muscle groups, etc. I've played basketball a few times a week for years and the biggest change now that I'm in my mid 40's is that it is harder to coordinate everything to have a consistent shot, and while lingering soreness might not limit me physically in terms of running, jumping, etc., it definitely affects these micro adjustments.
Sadly that class is looking a lot more like a poor man's version of the 2003 class - Lebron/Darko/Melo. The Warriors, like the Pistons, are a title contender despite completely blowing the 2nd pick (TBD), but man would they look better if they'd picked Ball.
I also find this odd. A healthy AD (yes I know this isn’t happening any time soon) gets right into the conversation too.
I mean I have been the first to call Embiid the new Dwight Howard, but even I'll grant that Rivers has gotten through to Embiid. So I really can't slag him for his past. And I really can't blame him for choking against the Hawks as he did everything but come charging out of a phone booth in underwear and a cape. Embiid's second star was the Houdini of the Playoffs, which is one reason the Nets just don't scare me. Even when healthy.
How so? His playoff numbers are incredible, and probably just one of his losses they should have won (2019 against Portland). Even in that series Jokic still put up monster numbers (27/14/8) and shot .522/.462/.826. He didn't play well against Phoenix last year, but they didn't have a shot regardless, badly outgunned with Murray out.
And as noted above, it's not like Embiid has been any better.
Gobert, a defensive savant during the regular season, has been pulled for defense in the playoffs
I guess it depends on how you define "value" but plenty of championship-caliber teams save shekels at the Center position
In other news the SALARY CAP is up $10MM
https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/266342/NBA-Raises-Projected-Salary-Cap-For-22-23-To-$122M
I guess it depends on how you define "value" but plenty of championship-caliber teams save shekels at the Center position
In other news the SALARY CAP is up $10MM
https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/266342/NBA-Raises-Projected-Salary-Cap-For-22-23-To-$122M
He's not exactly a defensive force out there. During the regular season. During the playoffs he's a liability. Hence the Nuggets' need for Jamal Murray to go absolutely bonkers to drag them to the WCF the bubble year. That's the problem with the Doug Moe School of Hoopsology.
And by both the advanced stats and the eye test, he's improved defensively this year, right? We'll see if that continues in this year's playoffs.
Not by Darko. He was basically a 2 Darko defensive player for most of his career (not bad but not special), tailed off for about 75 games and is now back to where he was two years ago more or less.
For reference Gobert is about twice as valuable on defense as Jokic, Embiid about 50% better.
Jokic rakes on the offensive side of the ball. Absolutely fucking rakes.
And Jokic's 2nd star didn't even suit up.
Jokic is a problem in the playoffs the way Giannis is a problem in the playoffs. He can't win it all, until he does. It's like winning titles is hard and only 1 team does it per year. Lots of people go without rings. T
Ben Simmons files a grievance over the $20 million in salary the 76ers withheld during their dispute this season:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33652726/sources-brooklyn-nets-ben-simmons-files-grievance-nearly-20-million-withheld-philadelphia-76ers
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33652726/sources-brooklyn-nets-ben-simmons-files-grievance-nearly-20-million-withheld-philadelphia-76ers
Who the hell cares about titles? Jokic locks you into one way of playing. A way that doesn't have a great track record of success unless Jamal Murray goes fucking bonkers. And Jamal Murray goes fucking bonkers isn't a franchise plan.
Jokic is looking like he'll be either the 1st or 2nd best center in the league for the next 5-8 years, and Denver is really hoping to sign him to the supermax this offseason (which would take him through the rest of his prime). Rough situation to be in.
Embiid is preemptively talking about not how unfair the voting is if he doesn’t win the MVP:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33666594/joel-embiid-scoring-44-philadelphia-76ers-win-know-to-do-win-mvp
Yeah, he played almost 70 games this year. What do they want him to do, miss less than a dozen games? Insanity.
I can't believe that they won't vote for me even though I don't have the best stats, and my team isn't any more successful than the others... I mean, is my twitter usage not worth anything?
I’ve got Jokic 1, Giannis 2 and Embiid 3 all with pretty clear gaps. I’ve got a +155 (I think) ticket on Jokic and a +700 on Giannis bc that’s just silly.
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/espnnba/status/1511024861547741188
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Ben Simmons has been ruled out for the rest of regular season and the play-in tournament, Nets coach Steve Nash announced.
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Ben Simmons has been ruled out for the rest of regular season and the play-in tournament, Nets coach Steve Nash announced.
Worth noting that Nash hasn’t ruled Simmons out for the actual playoffs, if they make it past the play-in.
I'm sure that'll be perfect for Simmons, playing in the most important games under the brightest lights. For a guy who can't handle the sport of basketball, playing in important games, or bright lights, this is not ideal.
I would be shocked if they go that way, given that he hasn’t practiced regularly with the team.
When his “back injury” popped up a couple weeks ago I pretty much assumed he was done until training camp. I haven’t seen anything since to change my opinion.
No doubt. I was expecting him to have “preseason” with workouts/practices with the G-league team to get him in shape. That’s not even an option anymore and every NBA practice from here on out, and for awhile now, consists of nothing more than a walkthrough with maybe some light work.
This probably helps with his grievance with Philly, too. If he had started playing in Brooklyn after sitting out all year in Philly, it would have been easier for them to make the case that he was simply refusing to play. We're now essentially two months removed from the trade and he's barely practicing, let alone seeing game action.