Community Shootaround: Washington Wizards
Marcin Gortat had some harsh words for the Wizards’ second unit following the team’s loss to the Bulls on Friday night. “We need energy. We need effort. We’ve got to make shots,” Gortat said (via Steve Aschburner of NBA.com). “I think there’s a lot of things we can do better. I think right now, as far as I know, I think we’ve got one of the worst benches in the league right now.”
The second unit was an area of concern heading into the season, as I detailed in the team’s Offseason In Review, and the reserves have justified the uneasiness. Journeyman Marcus Thornton has been the team’s best backcourt reserve, but that’s not a particularly impressive status, as he’s only sporting a player efficiency rating of 10.1. New addition Trey Burke hasn’t provided much of a spark. He only has 12 assists on the season and the team is being outscored by 57 points during the 125 minutes in which he was on the court.
Rookie Tomas Satoransky has been inconsistent and he’s only knocked down one of his eight heaves from behind the arc. Fellow rookie Sheldon McClellan had a solid game on Saturday and coach Scott Brooks should give him some more run as a result, but he’s not an electric play-maker who can jump-start this unit.
The problem is compounded by Bradley Beal, who was shooting an icy 29.4% from 3-point before missing the last couple games with a hamstring injury.
That leads us to tonight’s topic: Do the Wizards need to make a move in order to compete for a playoff spot?
Washington has disappointed so far this season, winning only two of its nine games. The franchise signed several big men this offseason and the signings point to a Gortat trade, as I speculated prior to the season. Should the Wizards deal Gortat for some backcourt help or should they make another move to help bolster the bench? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
Community Shootaround: Alvin Gentry, Brett Brown
A story today by Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net says that Alvin Gentry may be down to his last days as head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. Amico has talked to several coaches and GMs who think Gentry will soon become the first coach to be fired in the new season.
The Pelicans are off to a disappointing 1-9 start after finishing 30-52 last season. That means Gentry has won about a third of his games after taking over a team that made the playoffs under Monty Williams.
However, the Pelicans have been beset by injuries and other misfortune ever since Gentry became their coach. They have played without Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter this season, as well as Jrue Holiday, who is on a leave of absence tending to his wife during her health crisis. A year ago, star center Anthony Davis was shut down for surgery in March and played just 61 games. In addition, injuries limited Holiday to 65 games and Evans to 25. Eric Gordon, who left in free agency, appeared in just 45.
Gentry has been dealt an unfair hand in New Orleans, but it’s not clear if that will be enough to save his job. Pelicans management was counting on becoming a contender after giving a $145MM extension to Davis last summer, and they made be ready to replace Gentry just to shake things up.
Another snake-bitten coach is off to a slow start in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers have lost eight of their first nine games, but haven’t had overall No. 1 pick Ben Simmons or power forward Nerlens Noel because of injuries. In addition, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor both started the season on minutes restrictions related to concerns about their health.
Even so, there was a report this week that Brett Brown could be on the hot seat. He was hired by former GM Sam Hinkie, and the new regime may want to make a change to send a message to the team and let the fans know the Sixers are getting serious about trying to win.
That brings us to tonight’s question: Under the circumstances, do Gentry or Brown deserve to be fired? And if they are, who would be the best replacements for the Pelicans or Sixers?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Community Shootaround: Anthony Davis
No team in the NBA is floundering more than the Pelicans. The only other winless franchise heading into Thursday was a perennial doormat, the Sixers, whose best-laid plans were shattered when top pick Ben Simmons suffered a preseason foot injury.
New Orleans lost its first eight games despite the efforts of its franchise player Anthony Davis, who is averaging 30.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. Clearly, the Pelicans have done a poor job surrounding the 23-year-old with the necessary pieces to be a contender. So, does it make any sense to explore trade options for Davis?
On the surface, the notion seems silly, almost unfathomable. Why would they give up on a budding superstar, a likely future MVP, who is under team control through at least the 2018/19 season?
Certainly, it would require a haul of quality young players and draft picks to even consider making such a move. And the Pelicans would basically be waving the white flag on the next few seasons, like the Sixers did in their rebuilding process.
The flip side is that the franchise has nosedived since its playoff appearance in 2014/15, after which Davis agreed to an extension. They hired a veteran coach in Alvin Gentry with the anticipation of being perennial playoff team but injuries and questionable personnel decisions have set them back.
Their current second- and third-leading scorers, guards E’Twaun Moore and Tim Frazier, won’t be mistaken for the backcourt of J.J. Redick and Chris Paul. They have two starters, Solomon Hill and Omer Asik, averaging a combined 8.1 points.
To be fair, the Pelicans have been without arguably their second- and third-best players. Tyreke Evans is expected to return sometime next month from a knee injury, while Jrue Holiday should be back soon after taking care of his ailing wife. But Evans has undergone three procedures this year, and both players are unrestricted free agents after the season.
The Pelicans lost Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon in free agency and signed two unheralded players in Moore and Hill. In the long run, those moves might turn out to be solid investments but the Pelicans are undeniably lacking in impact players beyond Davis.
New Orleans could pin its hopes on attracting top free agents and finding a big-time player in the lottery. But its lottery pick from this year’s draft, Buddy Hield, has yet to find his shooting stroke.
Another potential issue is that Davis has struggled to stay on the court. He’s never made it through more than 68 games in any of his first four seasons.
That leads us to today’s question: Given the state of the franchise, should the Pelicans even consider trading Anthony Davis?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on this topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Community Shootaround: Early-Season Impressions
As of today, the NBA’s 2016/17 regular season is two weeks old, which isn’t enough time to set anything in stone, but has given us a chance to get an early impression of how teams and players look. In some cases, those impressions have reinforced what we thought we knew heading into the year. For instance, Stephen Curry, who made a record-setting 13 three-pointers in last night’s win over the Pelicans? He’s still pretty good.
On the other hand, the two weeks of NBA action so far have also provided plenty of surprises. Clubs like the Pacers, Timberwolves, Mavericks, and Wizards are off to unexpectedly slow starts. The Hornets and Thunder rank among the league’s top five teams. The Lakers look fun and competitive under new head coach Luke Walton. And in Philadelphia, it’s Joel Embiid, not Ben Simmons, who is turning heads and has grabbed the early lead in the Rookie of the Year sweepstakes.
Elsewhere in the NBA, we’ve seen some less surprising – but still very impressive – results. The Cavaliers are the league’s only unbeaten team. James Harden is putting up video-game numbers, having already posted 30+ points and 15+ assists in four separate games. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook aren’t far off from averaging triple-doubles.
Similarly, some of this year’s struggling players and teams aren’t exactly shocking. The Knicks, with a new head coach and an overhauled roster, have struggled mightily on defense and aren’t firing on all cylinders on offense either. Anthony Davis has looked like one of the NBA’s best players, but the rest of the Pelicans haven’t done much, en route to an 0-7 start. And once again, the Sixers have been held winless in October and November so far — they haven’t had a victory in either of those months since 2013.
Two weeks into the regular season, which players and teams have impressed or disappointed you the most? Have you changed your opinion drastically on any team since the preseason, based on what we’ve seen so far? What are the highlights of the season for you so far? Take to the comments section below to weigh in with your thoughts on the first two weeks!
Community Shootaround: Lakers’ Playoff Chances
The Lakers own a record of 3-3 after upsetting the Warriors on Friday night. The win was a surprising feat for the struggling franchise and coach Luke Walton remained stoic about the outcome, adding that “it was just good to see the progress continuing.”
Although it is too early in the season to celebrate anything substantial, the young season has been promising thus far for a team that was expected to be a strong contender for the 2017 No. 1 pick. Julius Randle looked like a monster in the paint, scoring 20 points and nabbing 14 rebounds in Friday’s win. D’Angelo Russell looked like the team’s point guard of the future, making three of his seven shots from behind the arc. Lou Williams, who scored 18 points in the win, believes the team is destined for a great season. “We’ve got a lot of young talent here,” Williams added. “Finally it’s starting to look like we have some pieces in the right places.”
So that leads us to tonight’s topic: Can the Lakers make the playoffs this season? This team loves basketball and with other assumed contenders (Dallas and New Orleans, we’re looking at you) struggling out of the gate, we may see a surprising team make a push toward a postseason birth.
Why not the Lakers? Veteran additions Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng have fit in nicely with Los Angeles. If the young core can keep producing, this could be a team that competes on a nightly basis and gives itself a shot at snatching the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Do you believe the Lakers will compete for the playoffs? If not, how many wins will they earn this season? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on this team. We look forward to what you have to say.
Community Shootaround: NBA’s Winless Teams
On Wednesday, we examined the NBA’s five remaining undefeated teams, asking which clubs will be legit contenders this season and which ones will fall off after a hot start. Since then, four of those teams have lost a game, leaving the 5-0 Cavaliers as the league’s final undefeated club. However, there are still four teams that have yet to record a win.
The 0-5 Pelicans have gone winless despite the Herculean efforts of Anthony Davis, who has averaged 31.6 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 3.0 BPG, posting games of 45 and 50 points. The 0-4 Mavericks have lost one game in overtime and another by a single point. The 0-4 Sixers have now lost 41 consecutive games in the months of October or November since 2013. And the 0-3 Wizards haven’t seen the floor much yet, but will have a few chances to pick up their first win soon, with three games in the next four nights.
While there was some excitement surrounding the 76ers coming into this season, buoyed by Joel Embiid‘s impressive showing so far, Philadelphia was never viewed as a serious contender this season, particularly after Ben Simmons went down with a broken foot. However, New Orleans, Dallas, and Washington all had playoff aspirations. Have we misjudged those teams, are will it just take them a few games to get going this season?
What do you think? Which of the NBA’s four remaining winless teams will turn things around, and which ones are well on their way to landing in the lottery? Do you expect to see any of these four clubs in the postseason next spring? Weigh in below in our comments section with your thoughts and opinions!
Community Shootaround: NBA’s Undefeated Teams
The 2016/17 NBA season is now eight days old, and already 25 teams have suffered at least one loss, leaving just five undefeated teams. The Thunder, Clippers, Bulls, and Hawks are 3-0, while the Cavaliers are 4-0.
Of those five clubs, the Cavaliers and Clippers were expected to be title contenders this year, so their hot starts don’t come as a real surprise. However, the other three remaining undefeated franchises had more question marks entering the season. The Thunder and Hawks lost top free agents this summer, in Kevin Durant and Al Horford, and the Bulls’ roster construction led many observers to question whether they’d have enough shooting and spacing to be effective on offense.
While three or four games is hardly enough of a sample size to draw definitive conclusions about any NBA team, it’s worth keeping an eye out for early signs of potential surprises. So today’s Community Shootaround discussion questions center around these five clubs.
Which of the NBA’s five remaining undefeated teams do you think will continue to rank among the league’s elite? Are the Cavs and Clippers still the only safe bets among the group, or do the Thunder, Hawks, and Bulls have a good chance to keep up their hot starts and outperform expectations? Are any of these clubs mediocre squads that have been helped in the early going by soft schedules?
Weigh in below in our comments section with your thoughts on which of the NBA’s five remaining undefeated teams are for real, and which ones you expect to come back down to earth soon.
Community Shootaround: Warriors Defense
Golden State ranked fifth in the NBA in defensive rating last season, allowing an average of 104.32 points per 100 possessions. A year earlier, the Warriors led the league at 101.86.
They started this season by allowing 129 points to the Spurs.
The Warriors’ signing of Kevin Durant was the dominant story of the offseason, but the team had to make a few sacrifices to fit him under the salary cap. Center Andrew Bogut, a defensive and rebounding force, was traded to the Mavericks. Golden State didn’t re-sign forward Harrison Barnes, who also ended up in Dallas. Reserve shot blocker Festus Ezeli signed with the Trail Blazers.
Golden State has assembled an offense that might rank with the best in league history, but the sacrifices on defense are worrisome. Zaza Pachulia was brought in as the new starting center, but there isn’t a clear rim protector anywhere in the rotation.
That brings us to tonight’s question: Have the Warriors regressed enough on defense to cost them a shot at another NBA championship, or even a third straight Western Conference title? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Community Shootaround: NBA Expansion
As the NBA and NBPA work toward reaching a deal on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the topic of expansion has become a popular one. The new CBA isn’t expected to necessarily open up the door for cities to apply for an expansion franchise, but with the league’s revenue stream at an all-time high and an intriguing arena proposal on the table in Seattle, there have been whispers that the NBA may be willing to consider the possibility of adding a team or two.
Seattle, with Chris Hansen‘s investment group still leading the charge on an arena project, is the city mentioned most frequently when expansion or relocation is discussed, but it’s not the only metropolis out there with possible NBA appeal. A recent report identified Louisville, Pittsburgh, Omaha, Las Vegas, Vancouver, and Mexico City as cities that could become viable candidates if investors and city leaders were to pursue a franchise.
Whether or not the league’s 30 current team owners would be willing to split their share of the league’s earnings with another franchise or two remains to be seen, but for the sake of today’s discussion, let’s say most team owners are on board.
Assuming that’s the case, how do you feel about the possibility of expansion? Should the NBA add more teams, or would the league risk diluting its player pool too significantly? If the NBA were to move forward with expansion, would it make sense to add multiple teams, or just one at a time? Is Seattle the only logical candidate for a 31st team, or would another city deserve a long look?
Weigh in below in the comments section to share your opinions on the topic. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Community Shootaround: Joel Embiid
More than two years after being drafted out of Kansas, Sixers center Joel Embiid is about to make his NBA debut. The promising big man lost two seasons of his career to a balky right foot, which caused him to undergo two major surgical procedures while Philadelphia fans wondered if he was a wasted pick.
The Sixers knew Embiid had physical problems when they drafted him third overall in 2014. He sat out the final month of his lone season with the Jayhawks because of a stress fracture in his back. In a workout about a week before the draft, the Cavaliers medical staff discovered a broken navicular bone in his foot. Cleveland passed on him, taking Andrew Wiggins instead. When Milwaukee followed with Jabari Parker, former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie saw a worthwhile gamble.
“I sniffed opportunity the moment it happened,” he said at the time. “The moment it happened. The moment he got hurt, we thought we might get him and we might be just the organization with just the set of owners and we might the one to do it.”
Unfortunately for the Sixers, that broken bone never healed enough for Embiid to play. He broke it again and required a second surgery in 2015. Meanwhile, the grumbling in Philadelphia grew louder about Embiid’s commitment to the rehab process.
But the news on Embiid turned around early this year. Visits to the Aspetar medical facility in Qatar provided encouraging results in the areas of body weight, sleep, body mass assessment and healing. For the first time since he joined the Sixers, there was actual hope that he could take the court.
Fast forward to this preseason and Embiid has shown flashes of being the player that scouts saw at Kansas. He averaged just 14.7 minutes in seven preseason games, but put up 11.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and nearly a block per game. He also gained confidence while playing on his formerly injured foot. “I just got better every game [in the preseason], defensively, offensively,” he said.
That brings us to tonight’s question: What do you expect out of Embiid during his first season? The Sixers plan to be careful with him, starting him on a minutes restriction of 20 per night. Do you think he can be Rookie of the Year? Will he need time to adapt to the game after being sidelined for two seasons? Or will the worst-case scenario happen and will his right foot give out again?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on Embiid. We look forward to what you have to say.