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11-18-2007, 02:17 AM
NBA Beat: Ainge looks like a winner
Web Posted: 11/18/2007 12:31 AM CST
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
It's simple to look at the Celtics' 8-0 record heading into today's showdown with the 8-2 Magic and call Danny Ainge the presumptive winner of the Executive of the Year Award.
Ainge's offseason acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen made Boston a top-four team in the Eastern Conference without argument. The Celtics may not have enough depth to make their first appearance in the NBA Finals since 1987, but as long as their Big Three remain healthy, they will be Eastern Conference title contenders.
But Ainge isn't the only general manager who had a good offseason, based on early returns. So, with about 10 percent of the precincts reporting, we're making our first projections for executive winners and losers.
Winners
Ainge and the Celtics are the leading vote-getters in this race. Garnett and Allen have fit seamlessly in Doc Rivers' offense. The Celtics are the league's seventh-highest scoring team, averaging 102.7 points per game — that's up a full seven points per game over last season. Each of The Big Three — Garnett, Allen and Paul Pierce — averages at least 20 points. As a trio, they average 64.0 points. How much depth do you need when you have three guys carrying such a huge percentage of the scoring load?
Ainge may have been reluctant to give up Al Jefferson to get Garnett because Jefferson is going to be one of the league's better power forwards for a long time, but the Celtics aren't suffering on the boards without him. With Big Al, Boston was outrebounded last season, 40.5 to 40.3. Thus far this season, with Garnett at power forward, they're outrebounding opponents, 42.3 to 37.4.
Orlando's Otis Smith took some heat this summer for perceived overpayment of Rashard Lewis. Acquiring Lewis in a sign-and-trade deal with the Sonics looks brilliant at any price through the Magic's first 10 games, though.
The Magic have the league's best road record at 6-0, and Lewis is their No. 2 scorer, at 21.3 points per game.
Lewis and former Spur Hedo Turkoglu have helped Orlando become the league's second-most productive team from 3-point range. Lewis has made 32 of 66 triples — an amazing 48.5 percent. And Dwight Howard has been such a monster on the low block that Lewis and Turkoglu get a ton of open looks, but Lewis' 3-point threat also has made it more of a problem for teams to double-team Howard.
Former Spurs 3-point shooting star Steve Kerr is now the Suns' player personnel department. His major offseason acquisition was Grant Hill, the oft-injured former All-Star. Hill is averaging 14.1 points in 35 minutes per game and his midrange game is perfect for the Suns' uptempo offense. The best part: Kerr got him for $1.83 million this season and $1.98 million next season.
Somehow, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford got Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale to take Beno Udrih off the Spurs' roster in exchange for a future second-round pick and some cash. That allowed Buford to keep Darius Washington, who looks like he could be a free-agent steal, while simultaneously cutting around $700,000 from the Spurs' payroll. The kicker: The differential got the Spurs under the luxury-tax threshold.
Losers
The worst personnel move has nothing to do with a player.
The Knicks haven't yet fired Isiah Thomas, not even after his mishandling of the Stephon Marbury "I Quit" and "I'm Sorry" episode this week. Of course, Thomas does have the Knicks on top of the league in one category — player salary. The Knicks' payroll of $87,655,373 exceeds the luxury tax threshold of $67,865,000 by $19,790,373, meaning ownership has to fork over an additional $19.8 million for distribution to teams that stayed under the cap, as the Spurs did.
The second-worst move thus far looks like Bulls GM John Paxson's reluctance to put together whatever package of players the Lakers want for Kobe Bryant. The Bulls were supposed to be an Eastern title contender. Instead, they are off on their annual circus road trip with a record of 1-6.
McHale has taken on the role of franchise builder — for other teams. His moves helped make the Celtics a conference title contender and got the Spurs under the salary cap. The Wolves? Prohibitive favorite to have the most lottery chances.
The Rockets signed Steve Francis to a free-agent contract for $2.439 million this season, but he has not played a single minute for coach Rick Adelman. This has the potential to become a problem, especially since the fans at Toyota Center keep chanting "We Want Steve."
Eventually, the SuperSonics are going to be happier with Jeff Green and Kevin Durant than they were with Allen and Lewis, but for now, trading away that much firepower has left them without much hope of being competitive this season.
Notebook
Del's doings: Former Rockets, Bucks and Lakers head coach Del Harris stopped by the Yao-Yi affair in Houston last week and had himself a ball.
Harris coached Houston's Yao Ming and Milwaukee's Yi Jianlian when he served as head coach of the Chinese National Team. His son Larry is the Bucks' general manager.
"I am the only one who can make this statement," Harris told local reporters. "I coached both of these teams. I coached both of these players. My son is GM for one of the teams (Bucks general manager Larry Harris), and I got to see four of my grandkids. There is no one who had a better day than I did.
"It was an amazing 24 hours, when you think about being able to be at Yao Ming's house with Yao and Yi and Yao Ming's family."
Floorburn king: As amazing as the Hornets' franchise-record 8-2 start is, what's more surprising has been Ryan Bowen's contributions.
Bowen may be the least skilled person ever to play eight seasons in the NBA, but New Orleans coach Byron Scott, like all of Bowen's coaches, loves his energy.
"I told my wife when we left the University of Iowa that I'd spend a couple of seasons playing basketball in Europe, and then I'd be done with it," Bowen said before the Spurs played the Hornets last weekend. "Now I'm in my eighth season. I can't believe it myself."
Bowen has lasted with a combination of size, smarts and remarkable hustle. He is the first to admit he can't shoot — he has made 37.5 percent of his shots this season — but he may lead the league in floor burns.
Royal rules: Anderson Varejao is still doing the samba in Brazil, Larry Hughes continues spending nearly as much time on the injured list as he does on the court and Eric Snow remains old and creaky.
So how have the Cavaliers managed to stay above .500?
LeBron James.
King James already has two triple-doubles this season, and his performance against the Magic last week was astounding. He finished with 39 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists in a 117-116 loss Wednesday.
It was only the seventh time in league history someone has had at least 39 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists in a game. Oscar Robertson accomplished the feat five times and Wilt Chamberlain — who had 53 points, 32 rebounds and 14 assists — did so once.
Fave Five: Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson is the NBA's resident bibliophile.
The Lakers' coach is an avid reader and for years has handpicked a book for each of his players as a Christmas gift.
Sometimes the books are whimsical — Jackson joked that one of his favorite gifts was a "Beavis and Butt-Head" book he gave to Stacey King on Christmas — but more often he tries to find books he believes will help each player grow in some meaningful way.
He even has one book in mind to put in Lakers guard Kobe Bryant's Christmas stocking in a few weeks — one he hopes will help Bryant's maturation as a person and player.
"I won't divulge it right now," Jackson said. "Maturity is an interesting thing. The maturation process does most of the teaching in our lives. You learn by not repeating mistakes and learning from the ones you do make."
Here are five books Jackson says are on his list of favorites, with the author:
1. "Out Stealing Horses" — Per Petterson: "I'm reading this one right now," Jackson said, "but it is going on my favorite list. It's not a Western. It's a great story." The novel is written from the point of view of a 70-year-old man reflecting on the time he spent with his father near the Swedish border during World War II.
2. "The Lay of the Land" — Richard Ford: "It's sort of a Thanksgiving book," Jackson said. "It's about land and property. I like him as a writer, but he's a crazy man."
3. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" — Robert Pirsig: "This was a book I liked when I read it as a young adult, and I gave it to John Paxson," Jackson said. "John saw the tunnel of light of what that was about. It's not a real page turner. It's painful in a lot of ways."
4. "Lonesome Dove" — Larry McMurtry: "I like all of McMurtry's work," Jackson said. "I could put 'Texasville' on this list, too. I know he's a Texas legend."
5. "Atonement" — Ian McEwen: "It's only the second book I've read that was written by him," Jackson said, "but I think it's terrific. He's really incisive and writes in a way that is emotionally challenging.
[email protected]
LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA111807.monroe_column_1118.en.234fff9.html
Web Posted: 11/18/2007 12:31 AM CST
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
It's simple to look at the Celtics' 8-0 record heading into today's showdown with the 8-2 Magic and call Danny Ainge the presumptive winner of the Executive of the Year Award.
Ainge's offseason acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen made Boston a top-four team in the Eastern Conference without argument. The Celtics may not have enough depth to make their first appearance in the NBA Finals since 1987, but as long as their Big Three remain healthy, they will be Eastern Conference title contenders.
But Ainge isn't the only general manager who had a good offseason, based on early returns. So, with about 10 percent of the precincts reporting, we're making our first projections for executive winners and losers.
Winners
Ainge and the Celtics are the leading vote-getters in this race. Garnett and Allen have fit seamlessly in Doc Rivers' offense. The Celtics are the league's seventh-highest scoring team, averaging 102.7 points per game — that's up a full seven points per game over last season. Each of The Big Three — Garnett, Allen and Paul Pierce — averages at least 20 points. As a trio, they average 64.0 points. How much depth do you need when you have three guys carrying such a huge percentage of the scoring load?
Ainge may have been reluctant to give up Al Jefferson to get Garnett because Jefferson is going to be one of the league's better power forwards for a long time, but the Celtics aren't suffering on the boards without him. With Big Al, Boston was outrebounded last season, 40.5 to 40.3. Thus far this season, with Garnett at power forward, they're outrebounding opponents, 42.3 to 37.4.
Orlando's Otis Smith took some heat this summer for perceived overpayment of Rashard Lewis. Acquiring Lewis in a sign-and-trade deal with the Sonics looks brilliant at any price through the Magic's first 10 games, though.
The Magic have the league's best road record at 6-0, and Lewis is their No. 2 scorer, at 21.3 points per game.
Lewis and former Spur Hedo Turkoglu have helped Orlando become the league's second-most productive team from 3-point range. Lewis has made 32 of 66 triples — an amazing 48.5 percent. And Dwight Howard has been such a monster on the low block that Lewis and Turkoglu get a ton of open looks, but Lewis' 3-point threat also has made it more of a problem for teams to double-team Howard.
Former Spurs 3-point shooting star Steve Kerr is now the Suns' player personnel department. His major offseason acquisition was Grant Hill, the oft-injured former All-Star. Hill is averaging 14.1 points in 35 minutes per game and his midrange game is perfect for the Suns' uptempo offense. The best part: Kerr got him for $1.83 million this season and $1.98 million next season.
Somehow, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford got Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale to take Beno Udrih off the Spurs' roster in exchange for a future second-round pick and some cash. That allowed Buford to keep Darius Washington, who looks like he could be a free-agent steal, while simultaneously cutting around $700,000 from the Spurs' payroll. The kicker: The differential got the Spurs under the luxury-tax threshold.
Losers
The worst personnel move has nothing to do with a player.
The Knicks haven't yet fired Isiah Thomas, not even after his mishandling of the Stephon Marbury "I Quit" and "I'm Sorry" episode this week. Of course, Thomas does have the Knicks on top of the league in one category — player salary. The Knicks' payroll of $87,655,373 exceeds the luxury tax threshold of $67,865,000 by $19,790,373, meaning ownership has to fork over an additional $19.8 million for distribution to teams that stayed under the cap, as the Spurs did.
The second-worst move thus far looks like Bulls GM John Paxson's reluctance to put together whatever package of players the Lakers want for Kobe Bryant. The Bulls were supposed to be an Eastern title contender. Instead, they are off on their annual circus road trip with a record of 1-6.
McHale has taken on the role of franchise builder — for other teams. His moves helped make the Celtics a conference title contender and got the Spurs under the salary cap. The Wolves? Prohibitive favorite to have the most lottery chances.
The Rockets signed Steve Francis to a free-agent contract for $2.439 million this season, but he has not played a single minute for coach Rick Adelman. This has the potential to become a problem, especially since the fans at Toyota Center keep chanting "We Want Steve."
Eventually, the SuperSonics are going to be happier with Jeff Green and Kevin Durant than they were with Allen and Lewis, but for now, trading away that much firepower has left them without much hope of being competitive this season.
Notebook
Del's doings: Former Rockets, Bucks and Lakers head coach Del Harris stopped by the Yao-Yi affair in Houston last week and had himself a ball.
Harris coached Houston's Yao Ming and Milwaukee's Yi Jianlian when he served as head coach of the Chinese National Team. His son Larry is the Bucks' general manager.
"I am the only one who can make this statement," Harris told local reporters. "I coached both of these teams. I coached both of these players. My son is GM for one of the teams (Bucks general manager Larry Harris), and I got to see four of my grandkids. There is no one who had a better day than I did.
"It was an amazing 24 hours, when you think about being able to be at Yao Ming's house with Yao and Yi and Yao Ming's family."
Floorburn king: As amazing as the Hornets' franchise-record 8-2 start is, what's more surprising has been Ryan Bowen's contributions.
Bowen may be the least skilled person ever to play eight seasons in the NBA, but New Orleans coach Byron Scott, like all of Bowen's coaches, loves his energy.
"I told my wife when we left the University of Iowa that I'd spend a couple of seasons playing basketball in Europe, and then I'd be done with it," Bowen said before the Spurs played the Hornets last weekend. "Now I'm in my eighth season. I can't believe it myself."
Bowen has lasted with a combination of size, smarts and remarkable hustle. He is the first to admit he can't shoot — he has made 37.5 percent of his shots this season — but he may lead the league in floor burns.
Royal rules: Anderson Varejao is still doing the samba in Brazil, Larry Hughes continues spending nearly as much time on the injured list as he does on the court and Eric Snow remains old and creaky.
So how have the Cavaliers managed to stay above .500?
LeBron James.
King James already has two triple-doubles this season, and his performance against the Magic last week was astounding. He finished with 39 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists in a 117-116 loss Wednesday.
It was only the seventh time in league history someone has had at least 39 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists in a game. Oscar Robertson accomplished the feat five times and Wilt Chamberlain — who had 53 points, 32 rebounds and 14 assists — did so once.
Fave Five: Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson is the NBA's resident bibliophile.
The Lakers' coach is an avid reader and for years has handpicked a book for each of his players as a Christmas gift.
Sometimes the books are whimsical — Jackson joked that one of his favorite gifts was a "Beavis and Butt-Head" book he gave to Stacey King on Christmas — but more often he tries to find books he believes will help each player grow in some meaningful way.
He even has one book in mind to put in Lakers guard Kobe Bryant's Christmas stocking in a few weeks — one he hopes will help Bryant's maturation as a person and player.
"I won't divulge it right now," Jackson said. "Maturity is an interesting thing. The maturation process does most of the teaching in our lives. You learn by not repeating mistakes and learning from the ones you do make."
Here are five books Jackson says are on his list of favorites, with the author:
1. "Out Stealing Horses" — Per Petterson: "I'm reading this one right now," Jackson said, "but it is going on my favorite list. It's not a Western. It's a great story." The novel is written from the point of view of a 70-year-old man reflecting on the time he spent with his father near the Swedish border during World War II.
2. "The Lay of the Land" — Richard Ford: "It's sort of a Thanksgiving book," Jackson said. "It's about land and property. I like him as a writer, but he's a crazy man."
3. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" — Robert Pirsig: "This was a book I liked when I read it as a young adult, and I gave it to John Paxson," Jackson said. "John saw the tunnel of light of what that was about. It's not a real page turner. It's painful in a lot of ways."
4. "Lonesome Dove" — Larry McMurtry: "I like all of McMurtry's work," Jackson said. "I could put 'Texasville' on this list, too. I know he's a Texas legend."
5. "Atonement" — Ian McEwen: "It's only the second book I've read that was written by him," Jackson said, "but I think it's terrific. He's really incisive and writes in a way that is emotionally challenging.
[email protected]
LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA111807.monroe_column_1118.en.234fff9.html