In his second game with the Idaho Stampede, C.J. McCollum came off the bench to score 24 points in 23 minutes of action.
C.J. McCollum played in his second game with the Idaho Stampede on Saturday night, but it didn't go quite as smoothly as his debut.
McCollum checked into the game at around the same mark - just over half way through the first quarter - but the rookie failed to score his first basket until the closing seconds of the period, starting the game shooting 0-for-3 from the field. The second quarter was a little kinder to McCollum, as he was able to shake loose for a pair of good looks at the basket, but he still entered half-time with a quiet stat-line of just seven points and one assist.
Luckily for the Stampede, it had no ill effect on the team, as they entered the break with a 59-51 lead over the Vipers, thanks to Pierre Jackson's 14 points. But the second half proved to be a different story for McCollum. In the third, he was much more active, and in the fourth, helped spark a big run for the Stampede by scoring 10 points, including a floater to tie the game up with 9.8 seconds to go in regulation.
At the end of the night, he finished with 24 points in 23 minutes off the bench on 11-for-23 shooting from the field.
As was the case in his debut, McCollum struggled with his outside shot against the Vipers on Saturday, making just two of the 12 jump-shots he attempted. He looked comfortable taking the shots and none of them were forced; he just couldn't knock them down. But again, he was fantastic around the rim, where he did the bulk of his damage, and he had little trouble getting by his defender. It was also encouraging to see him overcome a rough start and take over at the end of the game. Even McCollum said after the win that his legs felt "more underneath [him]" when compared to his debut and that, had they not shut him down, he would've played in the overtime, per The Oregonian.
There's a lot of good to take away from McCollum's first two games in the D-League, but it's also clear that there is still some rust that needs to be shaken off, mainly with his jump-shot, since he knocked down just four of his 17 attempts from outside the paint. But seeing as he was a was a great shooter in his four years at Lehigh, Blazers fans should be optimistic that it won't take him long to regain his shooting touch.
McCollum's stint with the Stampede is now over, as the Trail Blazers have recalled him in time for their practice on Sunday, but his weekend in the D-League was a great success. If all goes well, C.J. is expected to make his NBA debut against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, but who knows if this is the last time he'll play in the D-League this season.
Given the fact that the Blazers are a much deeper team than they were this time a year ago, McCollum could find himself on assignment again somewhere down the line if he falls out of the rotation for any reason. He's even said that it has helped him get into game shape and develop a rhythm, so I doubt he'd be opposed to the idea if it's ever brought up. And Mike Peck, the Stampede's head coach, had nothing but praise for the rookie, saying, "he did a heck of a job for [them]" and that they'd love to have him back if the Blazers see the need to assign him again.
One of the biggest question marks regarding Rudy Gay when the Kings acquired him was whether or not he could bounce back from his shooting woes in Toronto where he had been shooting 38%. So far he's been phenomenal in terms of efficiency, hitting 49.7% of his shots, which would be a career-high if he kept it up. Playing off of DeMarcus and Isaiah seems to help him in that regard. Not everything is rosy with Rudy however. His decision making at times is questionable (for every assist he seems to have a soul-crushing turnover) and his defense is porous (but hey, which Kings isn't?).
3. Isaiah's Assisting
Isaiah is getting more and more comfortable running the offense, and his assist rate as a starter has gone up to its current 34.3%. That's good for 11th in the league (just ahead of Kyrie Irving and below Kyle Lowry). The good thing is that it can still get better because there are times when Isaiah tries to do too much. His decision making against the Bobcats in particular was bad. The 2-on-1 fast break with Jason Thompson trailing was egregious, as Isaiah opted for a tough layup with Chris Douglas-Roberts all over him, rather than dumping it off to Jason Thompson for the easy dunk. Still, Isaiah's young, and for him to be as good as he is now, that's nice. I can definitely see why the Kings would want to acquire a guy like Andre Miller. Isaiah (and McCallum) could really use a vet mentor like that who has been through it all.
JT seems to have found his role in this offense, which is to get open by the hoop or to score in the low post. This week he was incredibly efficient at that, making 11 of his 14 shots.
5. Jimmer looking to gun it
What we saw from Jimmer in the fourth quarter against the Sixers is exactly what we need from Jimmer. He's a great shooter and when he actively looks for his shot, that's where he's best. He tried to do the same against the Bobcats and while he was getting open looks, they weren't dropping in. I still want him taking those shots though, because most of the time they'll go in.
6. "Swinging for the Fences"
I really like hearing that the Kings are trying to swing for the fences. That sure has been Pete's M.O. so far, and that's what this team and fanbase needs after years and years of standing pat and not making the big move.
The Bad:
1. Inconsistency from the Shooting Guard
Right now the Shooting Guard is Sacramento's weakest position. Ben McLemore is an inconsistent rookie and Marcus Thornton is an inconsistent veteran. Both have had good games this season, but the bad has outweighed the good in both cases. I am still in favor of continuing to play McLemore plenty of minutes however as we continue to develop him. Thornton, I expect, will be gone by February.
2. A reminder that Acy is young too
I know a lot of us like Acy but just because he's got a longer beard than the Egyptian Pharaohs doesn't mean he's a veteran who can step in immediately. This is just his second year in the league, and he only played 29 games last season. Still, I like his long term prospects as a roleplayer in this league.
I'd like to see Derrick get more shots as part of the second unit. He's shown already he can be a good scorer, and I'd rather he be getting a lot of looks than Marcus Thornton. It's more important if he's to be part of our future as well.
4. The officials this week
Is it just me or did the NBA send their refs in need of training to Sacramento for this homestand? I'm not going to blame the officials for any of the losses (our defense was even worse than they were) but man there were some bad calls (on both sides really) in both the Philadelphia and Charlotte games. There was even a point in the Charlotte game where the players were telling the refs where to inbound the ball, but two of the refs moved them to the other side of the court until the third ref told them to go back.
The Ugly:
1. Defense
2. Infighting
For those who are unaware:
So a few things: This Kings team chemistry is teetering badly. Factions are being formed in the locker room. Not a great situation.
My opinion? This is a young Kings team, and losing sucks. Over the past few months the Kings have slowly but surely gotten rid of almost all their experienced veterans (Mbah a Moute, Hayes, Salmons). Right now, Rudy Gay and Carl Landry are the most experienced Kings. There will be more changes coming. This year will probably continue to be tough from a wins & losses standpoint, but that was never a goal for this year. I'm just hoping we don't see an all out war between players while we go through this rough patch.
Cousins continues to play at a very high level, and his final two minute stint against the Rockets was probably the best two way stretch of his career. He single-handedly won that game for Sacramento with both his defense and offense, and absolutely dominated Dwight Howard. Against the Sixers, he was the only King who could do much, although he was only able to play 28 minutes thanks to foul trouble (a few of those fouls were very questionable). Cousins is having his best year to date, but there's still a long way to go for both him and the team.
Last Week's Winner: rcubed37 (with the clutch caption from me initially forgetting to add a picture)
Your 2013 Seattle Supersonics!
Last Week's Runner-Up: Gravymonkey
Here we see the wild Acy mating ritual in the wild. Observe the full and prominent beard as the Acy gives the mating call. The female Acy... in heat, note the smaller beard and stature, appears to notice, but sadly is not interested in mating with this particular male.
This Week's Picture:
A reminder of the rules for the Caption Contest. Leave your caption in the comments below, and the most rec'd (to recommend a comment, hit action, then rec) caption wins.
Nostradumbass Prediction for Next Week:
1/7 vs. Portland L (My brain says we should lose. Which probably means we'll win, but screw it)
1/10 vs. Orlando W (Maybe they'll actually figure something out by next Friday on how to beat mediocre and bad teams?)
1/12 vs. Cleveland W (Please?)
Nostradumbass Record for the Year: 12-20 (I'm almost as bad as predicting this team as they are at defense. Almost)
Random Observations from around the league:
A Pau Gasol for Andrew Bynum trade could happen as early as today. That would save the Lakers some cash (assuming they cut Bynum) and probably make the Cavaliers a little bit better (improving our own lottery chances).
More big-time injuries in the NBA as Chris Paul suffered a separated shoulder and is out for 3-5 weeks. No word on if this is just a really elaborate flop.
Kendall Marshall has been given a second chance at an NBA career with the Lakers and he's making the most of it. A couple days ago he had a 20 point, 15 assist and 6 rebound game in a win over the Jazz. Is it a one-off performance or a flash of things to come?
Miami was able to outlast some hot shooting from Toronto and ended the Raptors’ 5-game winning streak at the American Airlines Arena
The Miami Heat have been lackluster of late and faced tough odds hosting the revamped Toronto Raptors on the second night of back-to-back games. The Raptors are one of the hottest teams in the NBA, winning five straight games and 10 of their last 13.
All the elements were there for a great game. For Miami, it was a chance to show it was ready to handle the surging Atlantic Division leaders. For Toronto, this was a statement game, to say this team cannot be taken lightly and is greatly improved since trading Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings.
Both teams had something to prove and that they did, giving everyone one hell of a good show.
Miami started Rashard Lewis in the frontcourt as Shane Battier sat out the game. The Heat built an early lead but Toronto highlighted how much they have improved without Gay, showing a quick-cutting and free-flowing offense. The greatest beneficiary for the Raptors is the long-armed swingman DeMar DeRozan, whose feathery jumpshot is helping build momentum to a possible All-Star selection. With the first quarter tied at 29, DeRozan did not disappoint with 10 points, including a buzzer-beating shot at the end of the period. LeBron James also had 10 points in the quarter and a re-energized Udonis Haslem added 4 points in the period as an early substitute for Lewis, who picked up three quick fouls.
Toronto quickly took the lead (31 - 29) at the start of the second quarter, behind Patrick Patterson's fourth basket of the night. Miami's offense was a display of contrasting styles with Dwyane Wade's patient attack of the rim and Michael Beasley's frequent shooting. Trading baskets between the two, they managed to offset DeRozan's hot shooting (18 points in the first half) and the quarter ended with Miami up, 52 - 51.
Miami is well-known for making adjustments at the half and tightening their defensive pressure. Unfortunately, the only adjustment they made was inserting Norris Cole to replace starting guard Mario Chalmers (5 points and 3 fouls in 15 minutes), who was injured in the first half. Toronto kept up their hot shooting getting timely buckets from Kyle Lowly (14 points and 9 assists) and big man Jonas Valanciunas (17 points) whose long arms and sharp elbows kept Heat defenders at bay all night and helped the Raptors build an 8-point lead.
Miami seemed to gain their defensive identity once more and, behind Beasley's determined shooting (7 of 12 for 17 points), tied the game at 77. But Toronto showed why they've managed to recently knock off elite teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, and Toronto closed the period with a 7 - 2 run.
Out of options at guard, Head Coach Erik Spoelstra inserted Roger Mason, Jr. into the game, a decision that paid immediate dividends as Mason knocked down a 24-footer for his only points of the game. And Chris Bosh (8 points, 2 of 9 shooting), nearly the inverse of his perfect shooting the previous night against Orlando, knocked down only his second shot of the game, as the Heat retook the lead, 86 - 84. Miami would not relinquish the advantage, as James (30 points) shook off some recent rust on his jumper and took over the period.
The closing moments of the game were not without some drama, but Wade (14 points) and James both made clutch free throws and Haslem (6 points), showing the spring in his step that will be a factor in the pursuit of a championship, blocked a Lowry layup with 14 seconds left in the game with the Heat holding on to a 3-point lead.
Toronto (16 - 16) might be a nuisance in the playoffs but for now, the Heat has won all three meetings this season. Miami (26 - 8) next faces the New Orleans Hornets, a game set for 7:30 P.M. at the American Airlines Arena
Miller was initially suspended last week after unleashing a tirade at Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw over a lack of playing time. The suspension was rescinded in order for Miller to get paid, but he remained excused from the team.
While Miller has seen his numbers fall off a bit this season thanks in part to his inconsistent playing time, he still has enough left in the tank to help a team. On the season, the 37-year-old is averaging 5.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per game.
Trades and winning will fix the problems. Both are inevitable.
Call me an ostrich wearing a blindfold (note to self: Halloween idea), but I'm totally not concerned about reports of locker room trouble for the Sacramento Kings. The team is underachieving at this point, losing consistently to really bad teams despite being competitive against -- and even beating -- really good teams. The Kings have wins over the Heat, Rockets (twice) and Mavericks in the past month. When they get busted up by the Sixers and Bobcats in consecutive games at home, everyone should be angry.
It just needs to be held in check, preferably by players. Coaches have only so much authority when it comes to player relations, and Michael Malone certainly doesn't have anything near Gregg Popovich status at this point. We don't necessarily know whether the Kings' issues are being held in check by anyone. To be honest, the leading candidates to hold it in check are Isaiah Thomas (who has been involved in some of the on-court anger among players) and Carl Landry (who is basically a coach right now since he's not playing).
Nothing has really boiled over; we'd know it if it had gotten out of hand. We've found out when things have boiled over in the past, with DeMarcus Cousins in the spotlight. And clearly, Cousins is a likely culprit right now. Tigers don't change their stripes. Emotional volcanoes don't seal up, they just go latent. There's little reason to believe any volcano on this team would be latent right now. In addition, the way Cousins and Jason Thompson regard each other on the court is pretty poisonous. Add in Isaiah and Rudy Gay (at least in the Charlotte game) and you have four starters who think the other guy is screwing up or worse, not playing hard.
But the good news is that there are two foolproof solutions to this flavor of discord.
1. Trade someone.
2. Start winning.
The second will come. Even the most myopic pessimist knows the team will win eventually. Maybe it'll take a decade. Who knows? But winning will come, and with Vivek, Pete D. and Malone in place, I think most of it think it'll happen by 2016 or 2017, with or without Cousins and the rest of the core around.
The first solution is something that obviously already been happening. None of the guys already traded have been bad chemistry guys, but D'Alessandro has been the most active GM in the league this season, and he's made it clear that he's not done. Thompson being around in March would be pretty surprising. And since he and Cousins seem to be the issue -- with Cousins being the far superior player -- that should provide some relief.
Some of us don't believe that Cousins will ever get along with teammates well enough to create a cohesive whole. We'll see. In the mean time, Cousins is the team's best player. He's producing at an outrageous level. His defense has been inconsistent at best. But he's not the only guy guilty of that. The guards have been atrocious at staying in front of their men. The other bigs aren't stopping anyone either. And at least Cousins takes a few charges, blocks a few shots, ranks top-10 in steals and rebounds the snot out of the ball. Cousins is not the problem with this team.
One player has seemingly checked out on the team. He'll be gone pretty soon. (For what it's worth, flaws and all, Marcus Thornton appears to be re-engaged with the club.) The team is mad at itself and each other because the team is pretty awful. That will change, hopefully soon. I'd be a lot more worried if the team had a winning record and fistfights. We've been through worse seasons. The star hasn't socked a teammate yet. No one is screaming at coaches as far as we know. Things will be okay.
After a tough week, things get even tougher for the Magic, as they embark on a five-game western swing with four games this week.
The Orlando Magic enter this week in their worst position in the standings so far this season, thanks to their 0-3 record last week, as the Magic averaged only 85 points in the three losses. Orlando's winning percentage of .303 is now the second-worst in the NBA, and its 10-23 record is three games ahead of the last-place Milwaukee Bucks (7-26). The Magic are still within striking distance of a playoff spot, 3.5 games behind the eighth-place Detroit Pistons.
Orlando plays four games of its five-game road trip this week, and will be underdogs in each game. Here's a look at their schedule this week:
Monday, January 6th, Magic at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Florida
The Clippers, who are tied for fourth place in the West with the Golden State Warriors at 23-13, will be without the services of outstanding point guard Chris Paul for at least a month as he recovers from a separated shoulder incurred last week. The Magic will also miss seeing former teammate J.J. Redick, who will return later this month from a broken hand. Darren Collison replaces Paul as the starting point guard. Power forward Blake Griffin leads the Clippers in scoring, averaging 22 points a game along with 10.5 rebounds on 57 percent True Shooting. Center DeAndre Jordan averages 13.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Orlando has beaten the Clippers in 11 of their last 13 games, including in Orlando earlier this season.
Wednesday, January 8th, Magic at Portland Trail Blazers, 10:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Florida
Orlando faces another challenge as the Blazers, despite a stunning home loss on Saturday to the rebuilding Philadelphia 76ers, are surprisingly one of the top teams in the league at 26-8 and are tied for second place in the West, just a game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. The high-scoring Blazers are the best offensive team in the league, with a league-high offensive rating of 113.5. Five Portland players average double figures, led by power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who averages over 23 points and 11 rebounds per game. Last season's Rookie of the Year, point guard Damian Lillard, averages 21 points and 6 assists per game on 58 percent True Shooting.
Friday, January 10th, Magic at Sacramento Kings, 10:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Florida
The struggling Kings, losers of seven of their last ten games, are just barely ahead of the Magic with a 10-22 record and ahead of only the last-place Utah Jazz in the West. Center DeMarcus Cousins leads the Kings, averaging over 23 points and 11 rebounds per game. Newcomer Rudy Gay, who has played in 12 games with Sacramento since his arrival from the Toronto Raptors, is averaging over 19 points a game on surprisingly efficient 57 percent True Shooting. Point Guard Isaiah Thomas averages 19 points and 6 assists per game. The Kings beat the Magic, 105-100, last month in Orlando.
Evan Dunlap and Tyler Lashbrook are always taking your Magic questions for the site's Mailbag feature. Send 'em to OPPMailbag@gmail.com.
Saturday, January 11th, Magic at Denver Nuggets, 9:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Florida
After a good start to the season, the Nuggets are currently reeling as they have lost 9 of their last 12 games to slip to 16-17, tied for tenth place in the West. Former Magic point guard Brian Shaw is in his first season coaching Denver. Point guard Ty Lawson, who averages 18 points and 8.1 assists, leads the Nuggets. Small forward Wilson Chandler averages 13 points a game, and point guard Nate Robinson, a key offseason free-agent addition, averages 10 points a game. Denver is coming off an impressive 137-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, so it is still capable of putting up big numbers on any given night.
STOPs campaign to try to get the arena on the ballot could be in trouble.
The path to a new downtown arena isn't set in stone yet, with one of the biggest obstacles remaining being a campaign to put the arena on the ballot. That campaign is being pushed by Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork, otherwise known as STOP.
STOP submitted about 35,000 signatures to the county a couple weeks ago for validation and they need about 22,000 to get the measure approved.
However, new reports have surfaced today that indicate those signatures may be invalid.
In a Friday letter, Sean Welch, an attorney for the political group called The4000, said there are at least five versions of the petitions, each with slightly different wording. He contends that makes the signatures on at least some of those petitions invalid.
"It is the ministerial duty of elections officials to review each and every section of the petition to determine that the legal requirements of the Elections Code are met in each instance," Welch wrote. "If they are not, the election official is duty bound to reject the petition."
Basically, STOP collected signatures using multiple wordings on their petition (although the goal was clearly stated on each petition and the wording was similar). Legally, all petitions should be exactly the same, which might mean some signatures will be invalidated or counted separately. The petitions also don't include "enacting clauses" which the Bee notes are required by state law. The County has separated the five different petitions and is asking the City Attorney to make a ruling on the matter.
Aaron Bruski, who first broke the news on Twitter, adds:
Back to the Sac arena story we reported first earlier today, sources with knowledge of petition mistakes called them "unheard of."
For what it's worth, STOP says they don't believe the wording is different enough to invalidate the signatures. We will see what the city attorney's decide soon enough and will be sure to keep you updated on any further developments.
N'Diaye was a bit of a surprising addition to the team, having impressed the coaching staff during training camp. Carl Landry's hip injury likely factored into the decision to sign N'Diaye.
The Comedy Ninja played in 14 games for the Kings and averaged 0.4 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.3 blocks a game.
Sacramento's roster now stands at the minimum of 13 players after waiving N'Diaye. Teams can begin to sign players to 10-day contracts starting today, so it's possible that the Kings will utilize this to get someone like a Lou Amundson (recently waived by the Pelicans), who they were reportedly interested in this summer.
The combo guard has missed Portland's first 34 games after fracturing his foot in training camp. McCollum warmed up with a stint in the D-League, playing two games for the Idaho Stampede over the weekend. He played 17 minutes on Friday with the Stampede, scoring 13 points on 6-for-13 shooting, with six assists, six rebounds, two steals and three turnovers. Idaho ramped his minutes up to 24 on Saturday and McCollum managed 24 points on 11-for-23 shooting, plus one rebound, one assist, one steal and three turnovers.
In both games in the D-League, he came off the bench and played shooting guard, as the Blazers wanted him to simulate the role he would play in Portland.
Here is your week in review of what you might have missed this week in Sonics land. You also get a gambling story and some BBQ tips.
This past weekend I was in Reno for a friend's bachelor party/bender. There was a lot of drinking, followed by more drinking, eating terribly, more drinking and a ton of gambling.
I won money playing blackjack within an hour of walking into the hotel, but wanted to play something a little different this time around. I've always been a bit intrigued by craps. Never understood how to play it though. Finally my buddy Matt gathered us around an empty and deconstructed beer box, drew out the board and taught us the basics of playing. Some of us won, some of us lost, but all had a good time until we started betting on sports. I got up $120, but finished only up $10. Should have cashed out sooner.
I put some money down on six NBA games with my buddy Ken. It was a small bet of only $10, but it paid out $400. We just need the Heat to win by 10, Indy by 11.5, Brooklyn by 7, Spurs by 9.5, Phoenix by 9 and Portland by 12.5.
Things started off great, we went five for five to start the night, but the Ken noticed that our ticket said Magic, not Heat. Portland would go on to lose to the 76ers that night, but lesson here is to always check your ticket before leaving the sports book counter.
Instant Classic in the Big House by Todd Smith Imagine this: The Metropolitan Classic, a January game held at Century Link Field between our new, beloved Seattle NHL franchise against the Vancouver Canucks in throw-back sweaters would be AMAZING!
Thiel: "Momentum is Gone" by Taylor Bartle Art Thiel says it's time to consider a new location for the Sonics Arena
Remembering Bob Blackburn by Paul Rogers It's time to remember the legacy and rekindle the legend of the original voice of the Seattle SuperSonics.
On This Day in Sonics History - Spencer Haywood Goes HAM by Taylor Bartle Spencer Haywood scored a franchise record 51 points to lead the Sonics past the Kansas City-Omaha Kings 107-100. This was two more than the previous record of 49, held by Bob Rule.
Ribs are tricky. Some people screw them up really fast and others just have no idea what to do at all.
Everyone wants that tender, fall off the bone ribs they see on TV and here is the trick to do it. Take your ribs, let them sit out until they are almost room temperature, take a fork and puncture some holes all the way down to the bone up and down the rack.
From there take the ribs and bathe them in apple juice for 48 hours! Make sure they are completely submerged, cover them, put them in the fridge and walk away. Don't look at them or think about them for two days.
After 48 hours you'll take the ribs out of the bath and immediately, I mean immediately, get your rub on them. I go with a mesquite, garlic, paprika, black pepper (fresh cracked), white pepper, pink Himalayan salt and coconut palm sugar. Take the ribs and wrap them in saran wrap tightly, put in the fridge for about 20 hours, then bring out the next day and let hit room temperature for about four hours.
Indirectly smoke for roughly four hours (depends on the thickness of your ribs) at about 225 degrees. I use plum and maple wood to get the best flavor smoke into the ribs.
After cooking and letting the ribs settle a bit, you should be able to grab the bones and pull them out of the meat.
I slather with an apple/cinnamon BBQ sauce. I don't have a recipe for that, but I'll throw it into the comments if requested.
Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Kings are actively trying to acquire Andre Miller, and that Denver would like to make a trade within the next couple days.
The Denver Post reported today that the Nuggets are done trying to mend things up with Andre Miller and are now actively seeking to trade them. We know the Kings have been among the interested parties, but now Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Kings are being "proactive" in talks to acquire Miller.
Kings have been proactive in talks for exiled Denver guard Andre Miller, sources tell Yahoo. Multiple teams checking with Denver on Miller.
The Kings do need a backup Point Guard and veteran leadership and Miller checks both those boxes. If the Kings can make a deal to acquire Miller without giving up a real asset (which it shouldn't need to) I'd be fine with that.
Here are just a few Miller to the Kings scenarios that I think could be plausible:
Travis Outlaw + Jimmer Fredette for Andre Miller - Denver gets a trial run of Fredette, and adds a small salary wing in Outlaw.
Andre Miller + Anthony Randolph for Marcus Thornton - This one's suggested by Kevin Fippin. Right now the only real Shooting Guard the Nuggets have is Randy Foye. Thornton might do well as a primary scoring threat for the Nuggets.
Andre Miller for Jason Thompson - This is more of a salary dump for Sacramento. Denver gets the better player, albeit at a longer and higher salary.
The Kings are not the only team in contention for Miller's services, so we will see what happens in the coming days.
The Kings are reportedly pursuing Andre Miller. I'm less excited than some.
The Sacramento Kings are reportedly pursuing a trade with the Denver Nuggets to acquire veteran point guard Andre Miller. Some Kings fans are excited about shoring up Sacramento's point guard depth and acquiring a veteran mentor for Isaiah Thomas. I'm less excited by this than others, having watched Andre Miller be a sour presence in Denver for years.
Miller, of course, was recently suspended by the Nuggets for conduct detrimental to the team. He argued with Coach Brian Shaw after receiving a DNP-CD. Miller does not take kindly to anyone limiting his minutes. Considering the collective relief around here at Isaiah Thomas finally receiving consistent, heavy minutes, I don't want to bring in someone who will publicly complain if he feels he isn't playing enough.
Some will say Miller's outburst was because Shaw hasn't been effective in Denver. Well, I like Michael Malone, but by the same measuring stick that we use for Shaw, Malone also hasn't been effective. It's also important to recall that this is hardly Miller's first public outburst.
Miller complained about the Nuggets organization for months leading up to his most recent bout of free agency. He returned to Denver only when he found the market uninterested in his services. Or, at least, uninterested at a price point he considered worthwhile. His return to Denver, despite his prior complaints, seemed largely due to George Karl's support.
Let's consider George Karl for a moment. It's important to know that George Karl thinks very highly of Andre Miller. Karl is probably the biggest Andre Miller fan not named Andre Miller. Karl has said that he believe Miller is one of the top 10 point guards of all time. Karl defended Miller when Miller ended a triple-OT game by chucking a three-pointer off the side of the rim with 5 seconds left on the game clock. In a game where Miller shot 7-17.
How did Miller repay that loyalty? He threw Karl under the bus after the Nuggets lost in the playoffs to the Warriors.
What’d you think the younger players learned from this series, Andre? Miller reponds: "Nothing. Nothing."
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) May 3, 2013
Welp, here’s some Karl-bus-throwing from Andre Miller: "We got outplayed, we got outcoached."
"I have no regimen," Miller says. After the season ends, so does Miller's working out -- no weights, no cardio, no nothing. "I really don't pick up a basketball."
"(My diet) isn't healthy at all," Miller says. "Hamburgers, hot links on the Fourth of July, all that."
Yeah, seems like a swell guy to have around molding our younger players.
Andre Miller is a brilliant passer. He knows more about the game than many NBA coaches. But he's not a mentor, and he's not a guy who wants to be in a rebuilding situation. He should be a trade target for a lot of teams. The Kings should not be one of those teams.
The Cavaliers were reluctant to package additional assets with Bynum in order to land Gasol, creating a gap between both front offices. Ultimately, the Lakers held out on trading Gasol for a straight salary dump and the Cavaliers managed to trade out of Bynum's contract without needing to waive him by the Tuesday deadline.
A report had surfaced that the Lakers actually pulled the trigger on the deal, but ESPN Radio 710 retracted the tweet moments after multiple reports denied the teams had completed the trade.
Gasol will remain with the Lakers for now, though you can expect more trade rumors to sprout between now and the mid-February trade deadline. The Lakers just stared down the Cavaliers front office, though, sticking to their conviction that they want more than a single-year salary incentive to push them to trade Gasol's $19 million expiring contract.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard lead the Blazers to Sacramento tonight where they'll face the three-headed offensive monster of DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas. Can the Blazers get back on track with their outside shooting and counteract the interior punishment the Kings hope to dish out tonight?
Your Blazers travel to Sacramento tonight to take on the Kings in a match-up that pits one of the NBA's most efficient offenses against a team struggling to play consistent, effective defense.
Regardless of team chemistry issues, Kings center DeMarcus Cousins is playing at an All-NBA level as of late. He's hitting about half his shots, scoring over 26 points per game and rebounding the ball as well as anyone in the league. Cousins occasionally drifts into the mid-range, where he's actually efficient from a few spots toward the left side of the basket, but he's deadliest near the hoop. In two games against the Blazers this season, Cousins has averaged 34 points on 53.1 percent shooting to go along with over 10 free-throw attempts per contest and 10.5 rebounds.
Sacramento has also been getting solid production from point guard Isaiah Thomas and recently acquired forward Rudy Gay. Thomas takes a variety of shots, particularly for a 5-foot-9 guard. He can drive to the hoop where he's a capable finisher, pull up as a decent jump-shooter or launch three-pointers, where he's connected on half of his attempts in his last five games, taking over six outside shots a night.
Gay has apparently turned the corner in Sacramento after playing inefficiently and somewhat underwhelming in Toronto to start the season. He's seen most of his offensive numbers improve since his trade to the Kings just under a month ago, as Gay is averaging 22 points a game, hitting over half his attempts and fitting in well as a third-option for Sacramento coach Mike Malone behind Cousins and Thomas. Gay's main drawback right now is his horrid outside shooting in recent weeks, dipping to below 17 percent. Still, he mostly attacks the rim and takes jumpers within the perimeter, where he's much more of a threat.
Cousins, Thomas and Gay are the Kings' lifeline right now, accounting for the majority of Sacramento's offensive production. Big man Jason Thompson is shooting well and playing almost 30 minutes a night, but he doesn't shoot aggressively. Guard Marcus Thornton is a decent three-point shooter but somewhat ineffective right now otherwise, forward Derrick Williams is hardly shooting the ball and rookie guard Ben McLemore is really struggling with his shot, hitting 27.8 percent of his field-goals and less than a quarter of his three-point attempts. Guard Jimmer Fredette is almost as bad from deep right now and forward Travis Outlaw and guard Quincy Acy round out Malone's playing rotation with mediocre-at-best shooting ability.
Portland's defense is great at stopping ball-movement and limiting damage taken from behind the arc. Thomas and Thornton are really the only deep-threats for Sacramento right now, so it's plausible that the Blazers' perimeter defenders will be able to keep them bottled up from outside.
Portland's defense is at its worst in the paint, though, as you're probably well-aware by now. So far, the Blazers have been able to simply outscore most other teams and weather the damage done against them in the key. Versus the Kings, Portland could pay a pretty hefty price by softly protecting the middle -- Cousins, Thomas and Gay all like to get to the basket. Somehow, the Blazers kept them to 40 points in the paint the first two meetings this year. However, Cousins and Thomas are playing some of their best basketball of the season right now and Gay wasn't with the Kings when the two teams last met. If Portland allows Sacramento's top-three guys to play as well as they have lately, the Blazers will have to really put the clamps down on the rest of Malone's lineup, because the trio of Cousins, Gay and Thomas is capable of setting off some offensive fireworks, especially against a forgiving interior defense.
Fortunately for Portland, the Kings are probably as bad at defending as they are good at scoring. Sacramento gives up a ton of points, allowing high percentages for opponents at virtually every spot on the floor. Their perimeter defense is horrible, they allow tons of conversions on jumpers and they're average at defending the middle. The Kings also put teams at the line often and don't hinder opponents from moving the ball efficiently.
If the Blazers are hitting the three-pointer with as much regularity as they're capable of, Sacramento's inside scoring could be offset. Still, you saw Portland's outside shooting go cold against Philadelphia's porous defense in a Saturday night home loss, so the Blazers have to convert on the open looks they do get, which should be plentiful tonight.
Portland point guard Damian Lillard is easily the best deep-shooter for the Blazers right now, hitting over half of his three-pointers and attempting over seven a night. Guard Wesley Matthews is right behind him, taking the same amount and connecting on about 42 percent of his threes recently. Backup guard Mo Williams has been inconsistent with his outside shot lately, but he's good for 36 percent. Forwards Dorell Wright and Nicolas Batum are still in a huge funk shooting the ball. Wright may have the opportunity to shoot himself out of his slump with Batum hurting the middle finger on his non-shooting hand Saturday night, which could limit his playing time if he's unable to handle his usual load of about 36 minutes a game.
Blazers rookie guard C.J. McCollum is likely to make his season debut tonight. In two recent games with the Idaho Stampede of the D-League, he shot a decent 47.2 percent on overall field-goals but was 1-9 on his three-point attempts. In the Las Vegas Summer League this past July, McCollum also struggled with his shot. It's likely that McCollum was adjusting to NBA-level defense, though, as he was a career 37.7 percent three-point shooter in four seasons at Lehigh in college, capped by his senior year in which he hit over 51 percent of his threes in the 12 games he played before a season-ending injury.
Portland coach Terry Stotts hasn't expanded on how he plans to use McCollum now that he's available, but if Williams struggles with his shot tonight, don't be surprised to see McCollum eat into his minutes. Lillard and Matthews also both play over 35 minutes a night, so a few of those may be given to the rookie. McCollum was also a capable passer at Lehigh, drew fouls at a decent rate and was a great rebounder for his position, so he presents himself as an intriguing new weapon for Stotts to use off the bench.
The rebounding match-up is pretty even tonight. As mentioned before, Cousins has been a beast on the boards this season. Besides him, Thompson has proven a capable rebounder in limited minutes and Gay contributes on the glass. The rest of Sacramento's rebounds are split up among the rest of Malone's playing rotation, making for a pretty good rebounding team behind the efforts of Cousins.
Similarly, the Blazers have forward LaMarcus Aldridge to snare rebounds and center Robin Lopez to help clean up. The rest of the work on the glass is shared by several players. Cousins will likely be difficult to bottle up in the rebounding department, but Portland features a stable of frontcourt players who gobble up a ton of available rebounds in limited minutes, including backup big men Joel Freeland and Meyers Leonard.
Cousins is likely to go off tonight; he's torn up the Blazers in two meetings this year and has been playing well lately. Thomas and Gay could also prove to be a thorn in Portland's side. All things considered, though, the Blazers probably have more top-to-bottom talent than the Kings, and if they can hit threes at a better rate than their 3-22 performance against the Sixers this past weekend -- the Kings are one of the worst teams in the NBA at defending the three-point line -- Portland should be able to handle a beating from the Cousins-Gay-Thomas trio and answer back with some offensive sparks of their own.
The J.J. Hickson trade still reverberates in these halls.
In 2011, just before the lockout began, Geoff Petrie sent Omri Casspi and a conditional first-round pick to the Cavaliers for J.J. Hickson. (Hickson played a half of a season and was horrible before being waived.) That pick is only conveyed if it is worse than No. 12 this season, and worse than No. 10 in each of the next three seasons.
That pick is now owned by the Chicago Bulls. The Cavaliers included it in a trade for Luol Deng on Monday. That means it'll be Bulls fans rooting for the Kings to be better than the 10th-worst team in the league next season, not Cavs fans.
The Deng deal will be compared to the Rudy Gay trade. Cleveland gave up just a player it was going to cut (Andrew Bynum), but also included the Kings pick, a 2015 pick swap option and two seconds for a guy who will be a free agent at the end of the season. The Kings gave up four roster shrugs (one of them on a bad contract) for Gay, who admittedly is way overpaid compared to Deng. (And is also not quite as good, certainly not as a defender.)
"We're going to burn the nets down in Sacramento."
It's certainly possible: the Blazers are excellent, with an offense among the league's best. The Kings defense gave up 113 points to the Bobcats. The Blazers have several shooters who can hit even well-defending threes. The Kings defense gave up 113 points to the Bobcats. You know in NBA Jam, where three straight makes leads the nets to burn? Is there any question Portland can make three straight shots against the Kings?
But the weird thing about this Kings team is not just that they play better against good teams. It's that they play best when challenged. And they haven't been this challenged since the Mavericks game in Sacramento, in which they were shorthanded due to the trade. The Kings killed the Mavericks that night.
The Kings' losses to the Sixers and Bobcats were brutal. The players held a meeting on Monday, and reportedly had a strong practice Sunday. Wes Matthews is out here dropping bulletin board material against a 10-22 team that just got pounded by Philly and just gave up 113 to Charlotte. Why would you challenge this awful team? Wes probably wasn't thinking about Sacramento when he said the nets would burn. He was thinking about motivating himself and his team after a tough loss of their own ... to the Sixers.
Below are a series of prediction questions for tonight's game. The first four questions will be asked every game, while the 5th will change each game.
Point value for predictions are listed next to the questions. If you believe that more than one player will lead a category, you can vote for multiple players, and this is worth double points if you are correct, but zero if you are wrong. Alternately, if you only guess one player when multiple players are tied, you get zero points.
All submissions must be input before tip-off. Any submissions after tip-off will not count. You are allowed only one submission and may not change unless specifically stated.
Questions:
1. Who do you think will win the game, and what will the final score be? (1 point for guessing winner. 2 points for guessing winner and correct score of one team. 5 points for guessing winner and exact score)
2. Who will be the game's leading scorer? (1 point for guessing scorer, 2 points for guessing exact points scored)
3. Who will be the game's leading rebounder? (1 point for guessing rebounder, 2 points for guessing exact rebounds)
4. Who will be the game's leading assist man? (1 point for guessing assist man, 2 points for guessing exact assists)
5. Predict Portland's total 3PM, the Blazer who makes the most 3 pointers, and the Blazer who shoots the most three pointers. (1 point for one right answer, 3 points for two right, 5 points for all right)
The Sixers play the Cavaliers play tonight. Much more interestingly, the Cavaliers just traded for Luol Deng. I discuss that trade instead of the game tonight, because really, what's there to watch for?
Yesterday, I wrote about the Cleveland Cavaliers reeking of desperation when seeking to make deals for mostly unproductive veterans in Pau Gasol and Richard Jefferson. The Cavs want to embark on a playoff run this year, and they wanted people to help. Gasol, at this stage of his career, and Jefferson, the version from the past 4 seasons, would not make them significantly better.
But Luol Deng should, and his acquisition makes Cleveland a much better team. Even if, as I said, they're basically building a bridge to nowhere.
Like everything else in life, the Bulls were motivated by the almighty dollar. Standing above the luxury tax line, and below .500 in the standings, the Bulls could reasonably do one of three things to manage their salary situation: stand pat, give up draft picks or other cost-certain assets to dump Carlos Boozer's onerous contract, or dump Luol Deng's friendlier contract and gain something out of it.
Standing pat would limit their future spending or make it so expensive to field a competitive team that it wouldn't be worth it for owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who has the a "cheap" reputation to begin with. And with uncertainty surrounding Derrick Rose, payroll flexibility is valuable, especially if they have to launch into a full rebuild. Paying the repeater tax should not be considered an option when your team is in the lottery, unless a suspicious Russian billionaire owns it.
The options, then, were trading Boozer and his deal, along with sweeteners, or moving Deng and his contract and getting something back in return. Unfortunately for Bulls fans, the preferred option was clear. Deng is a free agent at the end of the season with no guarantee of return. He grabbed the team a potential future first round pick. The team and player disagreed over the player's value. It happens.
Whether or not this is a good move for the Cavaliers long-term (protip: it's not), the Cavs can at least make a playoff run this year after moving three draft picks and Andrew Bynum's attitude to Chicago. Two low second rounders (a$$et$, as we like to call them around here) and a 50-50 shot at a future Kings' pick aren't much of a price to pay for a very good player like Luol Deng, especially when you don't consider every other ripple effect this will have on the team.
This is good for the Sixers. The Evan Turner trade pipedream was never meant to be, especially if all that would return was Dion Waiters. The Cavaliers will get better, which is important for our draft odds. The Bulls will get worse, but Tom Thibodeau will play for wins so long as he's coaching, so they also should finish with a superior record to the Sixers.
As for how it affects the team in tonight's game? Well, Deng won't play tonight - the trade call will probably go in today, and then there's passing the physical - not exactly a guarantee considering Deng's injury history - and finally not knowing the team's plays. Instead, the Sixers will get a shell of the real Cavaliers roster if Kyrie Irving remains out with his knee injury. The Sixers, once thought to be a shell of an NBA team, likely have more talent than the Cavaliers without Irving. Please be healthy, Kyrie.
Go visit the wonderful Fear The Sword for more on the Deng trade and tonight's game. I'm sure they have opinions.
'Forbes Sports Money' speculates the TV deal will be done sooner than we thought.
According to a show called 'Forbes Sports Money' on the YES Network, there is a strong chance that the new NBA TV deal will be done by February. David Stern is retiring at the beginning of that month.
They reason that ESPN will want to get the deal done that soon to take advantage of an exclusive negotiating window.
The commentators speculate that the deal will be for at least $1.3 billion.
Since the Kings situation was resolved, we've known two things need to happen before expansion would be discussed officially. David Stern must retire and the new TV must get done. Could be two birds with one stone.
So good news? I think so, but we don't know how good.
