Community Shootaround

As we learned earlier today, James Harden is confident that his new teammate Ty Lawson can overcome his alcohol-related issues and fit in well with the Rockets. Lawson, who recently completed a 30-day rehab program in the wake of his second DUI of the year, was shipped from Denver to Houston last month in a five-player deal.

Whether Lawson will be available for the season opener is subject to debate, according to an ESPN.com report. The league normally does not administer punishment until after court cases have been settled, the report points out. Lawson is due back in court on Aug. 20th in Denver.

There are more reasons to think Lawson and the Rockets won’t quite work so well besides his troubled past. Lawson does not exactly complement Harden because the two have similar skills — and similar deficiencies. Lawson is a ball-dominant player and is not a great defender. Despite that, I believe Lawson improves the Rockets because he is such a threat offensively. He also provides the team some speed that was seemingly missing during the playoffs.

Thus, the question of the day: Keeping in mind Lawson’s struggle with alcohol, how does Lawson fit with the Rockets?

Take to the comments section below to sound off with your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.

Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, shoot us a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com.

On Wednesday, the league released the official team schedules for the 2015/16 NBA season. Some of the more notable changes for this season are that the NBA was able to cut the average amount of back-to-backs per team from 19.3 last season to 17.8 for 2015/16, and reduced the amount of four games in five days teams will play from 2.3 in 2014/15 to .9 this coming season, as well as cut down the distance each team will be required to travel by 2%. These alterations were done with the hope that they would reduce wear-and-tear on the players, as well as to improve the overall product on the court by keeping the players fresher.

One debate that seems to rear its head every year regards the overall length of the regular season. NBA teams began playing 80 games each beginning way back in the day during the 1961/62 campaign. The league then bumped that number up to 81 for the 1966/67 season, courtesy of expansion, and finally settled on the current 82 game format the following year. While the team owners certainly benefit financially from playing more games courtesy of TV contracts, gate receipts, and of course, concession sales, one can argue that the longer season creates less meaningful games, as well as increases the injury risk for all of the players involved.

So here’s the topic of the day: Is the current 82 game regular season schedule too long? If so, what changes should be made to improve the quality of the game?

There have been suggestions made by members of the league and the media to decrease the overall game count to 76, which could help reduce the amount of late season contests where star players are resting up for the playoffs. After all, with how expensive it can be nowadays to attend an NBA event, shouldn’t fans be able to see the best players on the court for their hard-earned cash? A more radical suggestion, made by ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz a few years ago, called for paring down the amount of games to 44. Under that plan, teams would play just twice a week, one game midweek, and the other on the weekend. While that big of a reduction is highly unlikely given the amount of revenue it would cost the league, it would also likely create some seriously contentious CBA meetings, which would be needed to ratify such a change, since there would be salary cap and pay scale adjustments needed to accompany such a significant alteration.

What are your thoughts on the current season length? If you believe a change needs to be made, then how many games should teams play each campaign? Are there any other changes, such as length of the preseason, playoff series, All-Star break duration, that you think would help improve the NBA? Take to the comments section below to chime in. We look forward to what you have to say.

Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, shoot me a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter at @EddieScarito to submit topics or ideas for what we should present in future posts.

Former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden‘s name will forever be associated with injuries, and it is difficult to make a compelling argument that he wasn’t one of the biggest NBA Draft busts of all-time as a result of his maladies. The 27-year-old center has managed to appear in just 105 games spread out over three NBA campaigns, and his career averages of 8.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG to go along with a slash line of .574/.000/.648 certainly underwhelm. For Portland fans, I’m sure simply evoking his name is enough to elicit a wince, and it becomes even more painful knowing that the Blazers could have nabbed former MVP Kevin Durant in the 2007 draft instead.

Oden found a new reason to remain off the court during the 2014/15 season — legal troubles, as he faced multiple charges related to domestic violence. He avoided jail time as part of a plea agreement in February in which he pleaded guilty to a felony battery charge and the three other charges against him were dismissed.

The latest news on the former Ohio State star is that he signed a deal with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association for the 2015/16 campaign. Oden would be eligible to ink an NBA deal at the completion of the CBA season in February, or when/if his team was eliminated from the playoffs. This brings me to the topic of the day: Will Greg Oden play in the NBA again? If so, which team would be the best fit for the oft-injured big man?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. Or if you are a Trail Blazers fan who never quite got the closure you needed on that chapter of your basketball life, feel free to share your feelings, and hopefully achieve some level of catharsis. We look forward to what you have to say.

Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, shoot me a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter at @EddieScarito to submit topics or ideas for what we should present in future posts.

One of the more divisive on court strategies utilized in the NBA is the increasingly commonplace “Hack-a-Shaq” defense, where teams intentionally foul opponents’ weaker free throw shooters down the stretch of close games. The debate over whether this strategy should be outlawed was renewed during this year’s first round playoff series between the Spurs and the Clippers, courtesy of San Antonio, when Clippers center DeAndre Jordan was a wholesale target of the practice. Needless to say, it slowed the games to a crawl at times and made for less than compelling theater.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged back in May that the league had considered a number of rule changes to discourage this practice. “It’s something that I’m on the fence about,” Silver had said. “My thought used to be that we should definitely change the rule, and then having sat through several general managers meetings, competition meetings and having heard from some of the game’s very best, the view is the players should hit their free throws. That’s changed my view a little bit. Having said that, when I watch some of these games on television, frankly, it’s not great entertainment for our fans, and that’s important as well.”

It doesn’t appear that there will be any changes made regarding the hack-a-(insert player name) defense for the 2015/16 campaign, with former NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson saying, “We had a pretty spirited discussion on the subject, and we talked prospectively about how we might change it. But in the end, there wasn’t enough support to change it. There was a feeling that by changing the rule you would be essentially rewarding a player for a lack of skill by allowing him to stay in the game.”

Some ideas that have been kicked around to fix this aspect of the game include:

1. When a player is intentionally fouled he not only gets the allotted free throws, but his team also gets possession of the ball.
2. Creating a “super bonus” situation where extra free throws are given after a team commits a predetermined amount of fouls in a quarter.
3. Teams being allowed to retain possession and inbound the ball instead of taking free throws when they’re intentionally fouled.
4. Allowing the team receiving the free throws to pick the player who gets to shoot them.

None of these changes seem like the perfect solution, and could also serve to disrupt the pacing of the game. There is also the traditionalist point of view that asserts that professional players making millions of dollars ought to be able to sink their attempts from the charity stripe. This brings me to the topic of the day: Should the NBA alter its rules regarding the “Hack-a-Shaq” defense? If so, then what changes need to be made?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts, opinions, ideas…and potential fixes (if you believe the rule needs to be altered). Being mindful of our commenting policy, let us know what you think the NBA should do. We look forward to what you have to say!

The summer has seen some big-name players land lucrative deals. To list a few, LaMarcus Aldridge signed with the Spurs, Greg Monroe joined the Bucks, Wesley Matthews inked a deal with the Mavs and Monta Ellis signed with Pacers. Other marquee players re-signed with their respective teams such as: LeBron James, Marc Gasol, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love, Kawhi Leonard, DeAndre Jordan and Dwyane Wade.

There were several more signings, however, that seemingly flew under the radar. Mo Williams joining the Cavs and Al-Farouq Aminu signing with the Blazers are two that come to mind. While these kind of signings lack the appeal of others, they are usually vital. In many cases, offseason signings for teams — regardless of how much money is involved — can restore depth, add veteran leadership and fill holes.

Thus, the question of the day: What has been the most underrated signing of the summer so far?

Aminu’s move is an underrated one, in my opinion, because he is a talented two-way forward who can rebound. Portland needed to fill holes after it lost Aldridge and Matthews to free agency and Aminu helps in that regard. Williams joining the Cavs is an underrated move as well because his contract is a bargain for the production he will likely provide as the team’s sixth man.

Being mindful of our commenting policy, let us know in the comments section below what you think is the most underrated signing of the summer so far.