The Nuggets received some crushing news today when an MRI revealed that, as feared, Danilo Gallinari suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during last night's win against the Mavs, knocking him out for the season. The team's press release on its website doesn't indicate whether Gallinari will be ready for training camp in the fall, but the Nuggets probably aren't too concerned with next season just yet, with this year's playoffs set to start in two weeks.
Gallinari, who's on Denver's books for more than $32.5MM through 2016, is the team's second leading scorer this season, averaging 16.2 points per game, just slightly less than the 16.7 PPG Ty Lawson produces. There's no denying the 24-year-old Gallinari is a key cog for a Nuggets team currently in third place in the Western Conference. Still, there's reason to believe Denver, with all its depth, will do just fine without him.
Soon-to-be free agent Corey Brewer seems the most logical candidate to inherit Gallinari's minutes. A couple weeks ago, Nuggets coach George Karl told Sam Amick of USA Today that he wanted to give Brewer more time at the end of games, but was hesitant to do so because of the money the team owes to Gallinari and Andre Iguodala.
"I have no problem finishing any way I think I can win," Karl said. "Sometimes that ruffles the feathers a little bit of my players. But Corey Brewer is the guy who I think has played well enough to finish a lot of games. I don't do it all the time, and when I don't do it I think it's unfair to Corey, because even though Iguodala and Gallo are the high-paid dudes, sometimes Corey is the better basketball player. It's not right that we always give it to the guy who gets paid the most money. There should not be an entitlement that because you get paid the most money, that you should finish every game. But if you don't do it, then the agents are going to call and the players are going to mope and so you negotiate that. It's a compromise as a coach."
While the Heat were running off their 27-game winning streak, the Nuggets had a lengthy winning streak of their own that lasted 15 games. Gallinari played in 13 of them, but his performance was subpar. He averaged just 12.7 PPG, and his field-goal shooting (37.8%) was well below his season mark of 41.8%. Gallinari is renowned as a three-point sharpshooter, but his 37.3% accuracy from behind the arc this year is less than the 40.2% displayed by Wilson Chandler, another candidate to see increased minutes with Gallinari out.
There were questions about whether Denver's up-tempo attack would hold up in the playoffs even before the Gallinari injury, and the doubts are no less apparent today. Still, it's worth wondering if the Nuggets' chances of winning the title are really any worse off than they were yesterday. Let us know your thoughts with either a vote, a comment, or both.
With Heat guard Ray Allen telling Fox Sports Florida's Chris Tomasson that "it's a no-brainer" Erik Spoelstra should win Coach of the Year, it brings the annual award to the forefront. Much like every other major award apart from Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year is wide open this year. Who do you think deserves it most?
Back on March 6th, it appeared to be a four-team race for the final three playoff spots in the Western Conference, with the Warriors, Rockets, Jazz, and Lakers jockeying for position. The Warriors and Rockets have since cemented their place in the standings, though neither team has officially clinched a postseason berth yet. And while the Mavericks made some noise in recent weeks, it appears their run will fall short, leaving the Jazz and Lakers battling for the eighth and final spot.
In the poll linked above, nearly 90% of you suggested that it would be the Lakers or Jazz, rather than the Warriors or Rockets, that missed the postseason. And despite the fact that Utah was 2.5 games up on L.A. in the standings at the time, the Jazz were the club that over 50% of voters believed would be on the outside looking in.
With less than two weeks left in the regular season, the Lakers (39-36) have overtaken the Jazz (39-37) in the standings, but Utah still has a decent chance to sneak into the postseason. Of Utah's six remaining games, only three are against playoff teams, while five of the Lakers' last seven games are against Western Conference playoff clubs. The Jazz also hold the tiebreaker in the event that they finish with the same record as the Lakers.
The specifics on how each team's schedule breaks down for the rest of the season: The Jazz will host the Thunder and play in Golden State and Memphis, but have a pair of winnable games against the Timberwolves, and also host the Hornets. The Lakers will host the Hornets as well, though their other four home games (Grizzlies, Warriors, Spurs, Rockets) should be more challenging. They'll also hit the road to play in Portland, and face the Clippers in what is technically a Clips home game.
Neither of those schedules is a cakewalk, so it's worth mentioning that the Mavericks (36-38) still play the Hornets twice, and have games against the Kings, Blazers, and Suns left on the slate as well. The Mavs' loss in Los Angeles earlier this week put a serious dent in their chances though, and didn't help them for tiebreaker purposes either, so they're a real long shot in my view.
Of course, it's impossible to say at this point how injuries or teams resting players will affect the outcome of the next two weeks of games, so picking a clear favorite for that eighth seed isn't easy. What do you think? Which team ends up earning a spot in the 2013 NBA playoffs?
The Suns, at 23-48 and in last place in the Western Conference, have little to play for this season, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty at stake in the next few weeks for Phoenix. The Suns entered the night in a jumble of nine teams within five games of each other at the bottom of the standings, as our tentative draft order shows. A rare win could compromise the team's chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick in the draft lottery, which currently stands at 11.9%. A win against the Jazz tonight would be twice as damaging.
Thanks to the Steve Nash sign-and-trade this past summer, the Suns will receive the Lakers' first-round pick this year if L.A. fails to make the playoffs. If the Lakers manage to sneak into the postseason, that pick goes to the Cavs, and Phoenix would instead receive Miami's pick, which will almost certainly be 30th overall. The Jazz sit one game behind the Lakers for the final playoff spot in the West, and they catch a break tonight. Suns starting point guard Goran Dragic isn't playing against Utah, and the team says the move is to allow Dragic to rest while rookies Kendall Marshall and Diante Garrett see more playing time, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Dragic, the team's leading scorer, is healthy and says he would play if he were allowed. Skeptics may wonder whether the Suns' true intentions have more to do with the draft than they're letting on.
Also tonight, the Magic gave up a 19-point lead after one quarter and lost to the Bobcats, bringing Orlando to within a half game of Charlotte for the league's worst record. If the Magic eclipse the Bobcats for that mark, they'll improve their chances at the No. 1 pick by 5.1%.
The draft lottery was instituted in 1985 in part to remove the incentive for teams to intentionally lose games to improve their draft stock, but nearly three decades later, the strategy of tanking appears to be alive and well. Proposals abound on how to fix the problem, from giving each team in the lottery an equal chance at the top pick to instituting a playoff for the No. 1 overall selection. We'll surely hear plenty such ideas in the next few weeks, but the central question is simply whether or not the NBA should take measures to encourage teams at the bottom of the standings to stay competitive toward the end of the season. Let us know your thoughts by voting, and if you have an idea for a system of awarding draft positions that would encourage teams to try to win, post it in the comments.
Once the Heat won in Boston last Monday, extending their winning streak to 23 games, we expected the team to have a relatively clear path to 27 straight victories, considering the schedule. After surviving a close call in Cleveland, Miami cruised to wins against the Pistons, Bobcats, and Magic, and sure enough, the team has increased its streak to 27.
Having played the East's four worst teams though, Miami is now facing a tougher portion of the schedule. The Heat's next three games are on the road, and two of those are against talented playoff teams, in the Bulls and Spurs. Sandwiched in between those two contests is a game in New Orleans, where the Hornets ended the Nuggets' 15-game winning streak last night.
Logic would dictate that, like the Nuggets did, the Heat will stumble at some point in the next week or two, and fall short of the 33-game record set by the Lakers over 40 years ago. But Miami has also clearly established itself as the NBA's premier team, and figures to be favored in every game going forward.
So today's poll question is this: When will the Heat suffer their next loss? Which team is the best bet to end this incredible streak? Or, at this point, do you expect the Heat to get to 34?
March Madness is underway and some of the top programs in the tourney are anchored by "one-and-done" stars. Top high school prospects heading to college for just one year before making the leap to the pros is nothing new, but it's more prevalent than ever since the NBA enacted new eligibility rules in the 2005 collective bargaining agreement. You can no longer jump from high school to the pros, as we all did in our childhood daydreams ("Take a hike, Rick Pitino. I'm gettin' paid"). Instead, a player must be 19-years-old at the time of the draft and be one year removed from his high school graduation.
The league reasons that players need to be viewed against quality competition before being properly evaluated for the quantum leap to the NBA. It's a fair point, regardless of which side of the argument you find yourself on. You can rattle off the success stories, from Kevin Garnett to Kobe Bryant to Tracy McGrady to LeBron James, but not everyone can make a seamless transition to the league without getting a healthy dose of reality at the college level. Some also argue that the rule keeps the talent level of the NCAA higher, but that doesn't necessarily concern the league and it's not always a sure fire way to keep the college ranks filled with superstar talent (see: the 2013 draft class).
Some would argue that the draft limit needlessly keeps players who are NBA-ready out of the league for an extra year, only for them to make them go through the charade of upholding the first half of the student-athlete title. It also seems unfair to some that an 18-year-old would be denied the ability to earn a living in the highest ranks of professional basketball.
Meanwhile, there are some who are past David Stern's place on the spectrum who would even like to see the NBA bar players from entering the draft until they are 20 or 21. It would be a dramatic turn from what we're accustomed but there's no denying that those draft crops would have players who are better prepared to contribute to teams in year one.
In the real world, the future of the NBA draft is a matter that will be handled by the owners, Commissioner Stern, his heir apparent Adam Silver, and the player's union. But we want to know where you stand on it.
Heading into tonight's action, the Spurs and Thunder look fairly safe as the top two seeds in the Western Conference. The Spurs have a five and a half game lead on the third-place Grizzlies, while the Thunder remain three games up on the Grizz, even after last night's loss in Memphis.
However, the last several weeks of the season figure to provide a very entertaining race for the No. 3 seed in the West. While the Grizzlies (46-21) currently hold the spot, it's only by percentage points over the Clippers (47-22) and Nuggets (47-22). All three teams are nine and a half games ahead of the sixth-place Warriors.
While the race for the third seed hasn't received as much coverage as the battle for the eighth seed, it figures to be crucial for a team's chances of getting out of the first round. For instance, if the Grizzlies hold onto the third spot, they would host a playoff series against an opponent like the Warriors and Rockets, rather than having to go up against the Clippers and Nuggets right away.
With five Western teams seemingly head and shoulders above the rest of the conference, at least two of those elite clubs will have to play one another in the first round. The Thunder and Spurs almost certainly won't be involved, so which of the other three potential matchups would intrigue you most? A rematch of last year's first-round series between the Grizzlies and Clippers? Or a series involving an entertaining Nuggets team that has won its last 13 games? Weigh in below!
Based on talent alone, it's hard to argue that Delonte West wouldn't have a place on several playoff-bound teams. When you factor in all of the off-the-court issues plaguing the guard, the matter gets a little bit more complicated. West has nearly a lockout season's worth of postseason games (58) to his credit over the course of his career, but it's easy to understand why some teams might not even c0nsider picking him up. In tonight's column, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld wonders aloud if a playoff team will sign West.
West is still eligible for this year's playoffs, provided that he is called up by April 17 in order to play in the first round. West has showed significant signs of rust in his first two games for the D-League's Texas Legends, but he'll be given the minutes necessary to show that he's back in playing shape. If West can make some things happen in the D-League, a team could sign him to a 10-day contract and then give him a deal for the remainder of the season.
There are several teams keeping a watchful eye on West, including the Knicks, who would like to add another one-guard to the fold. They'll have the spot to make the pickup too if they wind up cutting Kurt Thomas or Rasheed Wallace. Whether they (or any of the other 15 playoff teams) want to introduce the troubled guard to the locker room is another question. Do you see West in an NBA uniform a month from now?
We already know John Wall thinks he is worthy of a maximum-salary contract. As of today, it sounds like we know that the Wizards think he is worthy of a maximum-salary contract. But do you think he is?
While he has certainly shown plenty of potential in his first three years in the league, the Wizards surely expected Wall to blossom into a star more quickly, similar to how Kyrie Irving has this year in Cleveland. As Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld points out, Washington has gone 18-15 since Wall returned and the lightning quick point guard has looked incredible in March, averaging 20.1 points, 7.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals while shooting 52.4 percent from the field.
But Kennedy also notes that some people in NBA circles still have reservations about his jump shot and feel for the game – both of which were questions on Wall when he was at Kentucky. While his recent performance suggests he may be improving on those opportunity areas, he will need to do it consistently to convince everyone that is headed for stardom.
It sounds like Wall will get a max deal. But what do you think – is he worth it? Feel free to elaborate on your answer in the comments section.