Mike James is a really, really weird player

March 28, 2013 Leave a comment

The Mavericks are inexplicably 1.5 games out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the West with 11 games to go.

A healthy and effective Dirk is easily the biggest reason for the Mavs’ resurgence and 9-3 record during the past 12 games, but Mike James’ emergence as a reliable perimeter option has also played a huge role. James, who took over the starting job from Darren Collison 12 games ago (not a coincidence), hasn’t shot lights out this season or even specifically during this 12-game run, but he’s shooting very well from certain areas on the floor that align with where Dirk likes his shooters to go. Ironically, James’ most effective areas are as odd as the ones Dirk dominates. The two players who make up what’s probably the most unlikely tandem in the league have actually brought out the best in each other.

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Filed under Mavericks

Metta World Peace’s injury doesn’t bode well for Lakers

March 27, 2013 Leave a comment

Who would've guessed an injury to Metta World Peace could be the nail in the coffin for the Lakers' playoff hopes? Courtesy of bridgetds' Flickr.

Who would’ve guessed an injury to Metta World Peace could be the nail in the coffin for the Lakers’ playoff hopes? Courtesy of bridgetds’ Flickr.

Metta World Peace has torn his meniscus and will miss the rest of the season, according to several reports. The Lakers’ small forward has started 64 of the 70 games in which he’s played this season, and although Kobe is generally considered an elite defender, World Peace is the club’s primary perimeter stopper.

Without World Peace, the Lakers’ hopes look fairly grim. Even if L.A. can hold off the Mavericks and Jazz during the last 11 games of the season, it’s somewhere between challenging and impossible to envision Kobe, Jodie Meeks and Antawn Jamison defending Westbrook, Durant, Tony Parker or any other superior perimeter player once the playoffs come around. And that’s a big if.
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Filed under Reactions, What they're saying

Shawn Marion is back (and it’s about time)

March 22, 2013 Leave a comment

Shawn Marion will play tonight after missing eight games due to a calf injury, ESPN reports.

Marion’s return could not have come at a better time for the Mavericks. Although Dallas was 5-3 without him, the wins came against teams like Cleveland and Minnesota, while the Mavs suffered close defeats to San Antonio and Oklahoma City. Marion could have, and likely would have, made a huge difference in the games.

His temporary replacement in the starting lineup, Jae Crowder, hasn’t exactly made up for Marion’s production. The Mavs’ current starting lineup of Crowder, Mike James, OJ Mayo, Dirk and Chris Kaman has been outscored by more than 10 points per 100 possessions in the 73 minutes the unit has been used, and is being outrebounded by around 10 boards per 100 possessions in the same time frame. The problem is much more complex than simply substituting Marion in for Crowder (Dirk and Kaman, for example, do not have a positive plus/minus on average with any other combination of three players on the team), but the numbers indicate Marion is arguably Dallas’ most valuable player (something I’ve written about before), especially on the glass.
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Filed under Mavericks

SportVU and advanced analytics

March 20, 2013 Leave a comment

Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote a piece yesterday in which he took a look at the way advances in analytic technology in the NBA are influencing how half the league’s teams are continuing to change the way they scout other teams and grade their own players’ performance level.

SportVU, a camera-tracking system that records and then digitizes on-court player movement, is used by 15 teams, including the Mavericks and Toronto Raptors, whose system Lowe primarily sourced. The program charts where each player is on the floor at every moment during each play, and in the video embedded below, “ghost” Raptors defenders are positioned where the coaching staff, team system, specific play and basketball strategy in general would demand. Check it out.


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Filed under What they're saying

Win streak aside, Miami still might not be NBA’s best

March 19, 2013 1 Comment

LeBron James and the Heat have won 23 games in a row, the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. The Heat have won every game since Super Bowl Sunday, Dwyane Wade is playing like a superstar and LeBron is just being LeBron. So Miami is the best team in the league, right? Not so fast.

While LeBron has been posterizing everyone alive for almost two months (Mike Tirico’s “JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMES” call is priceless), Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder have actually been playing better during the Heat’s historic streak. The Thunder have lost five times during Miami’s 23-game run, yet OKC has won 12 of its last 20 games by more than 10 points. OKC’s net rating is 14.2 since Feb. 3, while Miami’s is *only* 13.0. (It’s still very high, but jeez, OKC.) Miami’s offensive rating is second-best in the league, but the Thunder’s is higher. OKC’s defensive rating is 8th in the NBA, but Miami is right behind them at No. 10.
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Filed under History, What they're saying

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