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@ the Warriors catching the worst of Kobe's wrath for the past 20 years
1st thing I noticed too
2015-2016 NBA Regular Season - MDA to HOU - All-NBA - Harden snubbed - Anthony Davis is broke
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by big j 33,
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1st thing I noticed too
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kobe hates california teams outside of that purp 
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3 reasons the Bulls are finally becoming the Cavaliers' greatest threat in the East
View media item 1861009
The Bulls' offense has caught up to their great defense and has powered their surge up the standings.
At the end of the 2015 calendar year, the Chicago Bulls were in disarray. After Jimmy Butler asked Fred Hoiberg to coach harder, vice president of basketball operations John Paxson made a rare appearance on a radio show on Dec. 25 and challenged the Bulls to play tougher or moves might be made. The Bulls had the East's sixth best record at the time, sitting at 15-11.
Since then, they have gone 7-1 and have climbed all the way to second in the East, behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. They've won the last six straight by over nine points per 100 possessions, the third-best net rating during that span. It's all because of their improved offense. So what changed?
1. The stars are all playing better
Earlier in the season, the only Bulls star who was playing at the level expected of him was Butler. Both Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose were struggling to provide the secondary scoring the team desperately needed.
That has changed dramatically during the past eight games. Butler has reached yet another level, averaging 26 points, four rebounds and six assists while breaking Michael Jordan's franchise record for most points scored in a half. Gasol, meanwhile, is scoring almost four points more than he was before Christmas. He's getting to the line more often as well, some of his three-pointers have fallen and he's even assisting more.
Yet the biggest turnaround has been Rose's. During the first 24 games of the season, Rose was averaging 13 points on 37 percent shooting. Since then, he's averaging over 19 points on 49 percent shooting. He's been sharing playmaking duties with Butler, which has allowed him to focus more on his scoring. His ability to finish at the rim has been steadily climbing since dropping the face mask he had to wear earlier in the year. He is now an asset.
View media item 1861010
With those three players leading the way, the Bulls has the star power it needs.
2. The Bulls' new rotation improved both their interior and perimeter offense
Hoiberg struggled to find a rotation that worked earlier in the year. In an effort to soup up the offense by injecting some shooting, he started Nikola Mirotic at power forward next to Gasol. Unfortunately, the streaky forward wasn't connecting on enough of his attempts to offset the loss of a second inside presence. Hoiberg tried out a few other lineups, never finding the right balance until he made the adjustment to go big and play Mirotic almost exclusively at small forward next to two big men.
The move has paid off greatly. Gasol, Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson are making a killing on the offensive glass by overwhelming teams who only expect one rebounder to crash the boards. The Bulls are leading the league in second-chance points with a bullet since Christmas.
As for the perimeter offense, the streaky Mirotic is connecting more often, while everyone outside of Kirk Hinrich has improved their percentages as well. The Bulls are taking fewer threes but averaging almost 40 percent on the ones they do launch. They can now bring both Tony Snell and Doug McDermott off the bench to provide additional shooting, and they've found rotation minutes for the productive Portis. The lineup change has worked perfectly.
3. No Joakim Noah means better offense
Joakim Noah has been the heart and soul of the Bulls for years, but his decline has been noticeable, especially on the offensive end. Noah takes mostly point-blank shots, but is connecting at a ridiculously low 41 percent rate. He still does a good job getting offensive rebounds, but is shooting under 30 percent on putbacks. His passing continues to be an asset, but opponents are taking their chances with leaving him open to help elsewhere and it works more often than not.
Noah has the lowest on-court offensive rating on the Bulls. With him sidelined due to injury, Gasol, Gibson, Portis and Mirotic are getting more minutes, and all four seem to affect the offense more positively than Noah while not killing the team on defense. It's not a coincidence that the Bulls' surge has come around when Noah is out. He simply hurts the Bulls more than he helps them at this point.
Is the offensive surge sustainable?
It's hard to say because a lot of different factors have contributed to it. If Mirotic stops hitting shots and allows opponents to pack the paint, both the three-point shooting and offensive rebounding could suffer. Rose has been nothing if not inconsistent the past few years and Butler might not be able to continue to perform at a superlative level. There's also the question of what will happen to the rotation once Noah returns.
The good news is that even if the Bulls can't continue to score at this high a level, they have figured out some things that work. Portis is getting minutes, they are leveraging their height on the offensive glass and Rose is attacking the rim more. When the injured Mike Dunleavy returns, they will have another shooter available, which means Mirotic could become a sub, further boosting the bench.
There is enough talent around for the Bulls to not only be a good defensive team but a solid offensive one as well. They are finally living up to that potential, which could turn them into a serious threat for the Cavaliers.
View media item 1861009
The Bulls' offense has caught up to their great defense and has powered their surge up the standings.
At the end of the 2015 calendar year, the Chicago Bulls were in disarray. After Jimmy Butler asked Fred Hoiberg to coach harder, vice president of basketball operations John Paxson made a rare appearance on a radio show on Dec. 25 and challenged the Bulls to play tougher or moves might be made. The Bulls had the East's sixth best record at the time, sitting at 15-11.
Since then, they have gone 7-1 and have climbed all the way to second in the East, behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. They've won the last six straight by over nine points per 100 possessions, the third-best net rating during that span. It's all because of their improved offense. So what changed?
1. The stars are all playing better
Earlier in the season, the only Bulls star who was playing at the level expected of him was Butler. Both Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose were struggling to provide the secondary scoring the team desperately needed.
That has changed dramatically during the past eight games. Butler has reached yet another level, averaging 26 points, four rebounds and six assists while breaking Michael Jordan's franchise record for most points scored in a half. Gasol, meanwhile, is scoring almost four points more than he was before Christmas. He's getting to the line more often as well, some of his three-pointers have fallen and he's even assisting more.
Yet the biggest turnaround has been Rose's. During the first 24 games of the season, Rose was averaging 13 points on 37 percent shooting. Since then, he's averaging over 19 points on 49 percent shooting. He's been sharing playmaking duties with Butler, which has allowed him to focus more on his scoring. His ability to finish at the rim has been steadily climbing since dropping the face mask he had to wear earlier in the year. He is now an asset.
View media item 1861010
With those three players leading the way, the Bulls has the star power it needs.
2. The Bulls' new rotation improved both their interior and perimeter offense
Hoiberg struggled to find a rotation that worked earlier in the year. In an effort to soup up the offense by injecting some shooting, he started Nikola Mirotic at power forward next to Gasol. Unfortunately, the streaky forward wasn't connecting on enough of his attempts to offset the loss of a second inside presence. Hoiberg tried out a few other lineups, never finding the right balance until he made the adjustment to go big and play Mirotic almost exclusively at small forward next to two big men.
The move has paid off greatly. Gasol, Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson are making a killing on the offensive glass by overwhelming teams who only expect one rebounder to crash the boards. The Bulls are leading the league in second-chance points with a bullet since Christmas.
As for the perimeter offense, the streaky Mirotic is connecting more often, while everyone outside of Kirk Hinrich has improved their percentages as well. The Bulls are taking fewer threes but averaging almost 40 percent on the ones they do launch. They can now bring both Tony Snell and Doug McDermott off the bench to provide additional shooting, and they've found rotation minutes for the productive Portis. The lineup change has worked perfectly.
3. No Joakim Noah means better offense
Joakim Noah has been the heart and soul of the Bulls for years, but his decline has been noticeable, especially on the offensive end. Noah takes mostly point-blank shots, but is connecting at a ridiculously low 41 percent rate. He still does a good job getting offensive rebounds, but is shooting under 30 percent on putbacks. His passing continues to be an asset, but opponents are taking their chances with leaving him open to help elsewhere and it works more often than not.
Noah has the lowest on-court offensive rating on the Bulls. With him sidelined due to injury, Gasol, Gibson, Portis and Mirotic are getting more minutes, and all four seem to affect the offense more positively than Noah while not killing the team on defense. It's not a coincidence that the Bulls' surge has come around when Noah is out. He simply hurts the Bulls more than he helps them at this point.
Is the offensive surge sustainable?
It's hard to say because a lot of different factors have contributed to it. If Mirotic stops hitting shots and allows opponents to pack the paint, both the three-point shooting and offensive rebounding could suffer. Rose has been nothing if not inconsistent the past few years and Butler might not be able to continue to perform at a superlative level. There's also the question of what will happen to the rotation once Noah returns.
The good news is that even if the Bulls can't continue to score at this high a level, they have figured out some things that work. Portis is getting minutes, they are leveraging their height on the offensive glass and Rose is attacking the rim more. When the injured Mike Dunleavy returns, they will have another shooter available, which means Mirotic could become a sub, further boosting the bench.
There is enough talent around for the Bulls to not only be a good defensive team but a solid offensive one as well. They are finally living up to that potential, which could turn them into a serious threat for the Cavaliers.
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he had lots of love for the Kings and Sacramento in that post game, Cali>kobe hates california teams outside of that purp
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he had lots of love for the Kings and Sacramento in that post game, Cali>kobe hates california teams outside of that purp
he really did. and Arco.
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he had lots of love for the Kings and Sacramento in that post game, Cali>kobe hates california teams outside of that purp
he really did. and Arco.
right in the feels
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The receiving line was impossibly long for Kobe Bryant on Thursday night at the old barn formerly known as Arco Arena, where he had some of his most spirited -- and meaningful -- postseason battles.
The narrow hallway leading to the bus ramp was packed with well-wishers from all walks of life -- from DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay to acquaintances from his many trips here over the past 20 years. He posed for pictures, signed T-shirts, laughed and mugged for the cameras. All the while, his own personal video documentary crew captured every moment, every image.
Every word.
So on the way to the bus, I reminded Bryant, who I've written about for most of those 20 years, what he told me in 2014. On his way back from a severed Achilles that would've sent mere mortals to the rocking chair, he said that when the end finally came, he had no use for a farewell tour.
Didn't need one, he said. Didn't want one.
He would much rather hear boos than cheers, he told me then. He would prefer to feel the realness of the end, as opposed to some staged retirement party.
And while there was no mistaking the symbolic passing of the torch from Bryant to his young teammates -- as he watched from the bench for the entire fourth quarter as they climbed all the way back from a 27-point deficit against the Kings -- there was also no confusing what the end of Bryant's storied career has become.
Sure enough, a farewell tour.
He laughed.
"It kind of turned into that, didn't it?" he told me on his way to the bus, having run the gauntlet of good-byes and thank-yous and can-I-get-a-pictures that must have been almost as exhausting as getting his 37-year-old body ready to play in this building one last time.
"I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction, to be truly honest," he said. "But it's been pleasantly surprising to me to be able to have this experience. And to be honest with you, it feels good. It feels damn good."
In his final game in Sacramento, where the Kobe-and-Shaq Lakers had so many compelling playoff battles in the early 2000s, Bryant had 28 points in nearly 31 minutes -- all of them in the first three quarters. Then Bryant sat, stood, waved, cajoled and essentially coached from the bench for the entire fourth quarter as the Lakers' future -- led by the sensational DeAngelo Russell -- nearly dealt another crushing blow to the Kings before falling 118-115.
"Even if I had 15 or 17 minutes or something like that, I'd much rather watch the young guys play," Bryant said. "They played so well. It's important for them to learn how to close those games out without me on the floor, because obviously, I'm not going to be there next year."
Bryant announced in November that he will retire after the season with his five championships, two Olympic gold medals, 17 All-Star berths (and counting) and one MVP award. Since then, against his better judgment, he's had some meaningful farewells. His last game in Madison Square Garden was special. So was his last trip through Philadelphia, his hometown. There was Boston, too, the site of what he calls his greatest career accomplishment -- beating the Celtics of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo in the 2010 NBA Finals.
But this? This was unreal. The "Ko-be" chants from his longtime archenemies in the stands of what is now the doomed Sleep Train Arena, hit him right in the heart -- which he pounded before pointing to the crowd one last time as he walked off the floor.
"I'm sad to see this place go," he said. "It's been a long time coming for this city to get a new arena, and deservedly so. But at the same time, there's so much history here. And the way this arena is built, the fans being right on top of you and you feeling the electricity in the building, it's going to be sad to see it go."
Earlier, during the national anthem, something else hit Bryant -- this time, in the gut.
"I looked up in the rafters and I saw the jerseys of players that I was rivals with -- [Chris] Webber and [Vlade] Divac and Peja [Stojakovic]," Bryant said. "And I'm looking up there and I'm going, 'It was just yesterday I was playing against them and their numbers are retired. What the hell am I still doing out here?' So if I hadn't decided to retire before now, that would've made me retire immediately."
View media item 1861015
None of Bryant's rivals are intertwined with his career as Divac, famously traded to Charlotte as part of the draft-night deal that made a then-17-year-old Bryant a Laker in 1996. Divac went on to be a key figure for the Kings in those epic playoff battles against Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and the Lakers -- none bigger than the 2002 Western Conference finals.
Now the Kings' GM, Divac still recoils at the mere mention of that series, won by the Lakers in seven games -- after a miraculous, buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Robert Horry on an offensive tapout in Game 4, which prevented the seemingly Finals-bound Kings from going up 3-1.
"We pushed each other to the limits," Divac told me before the game. "In those games, you were able to show your talent. They pushed us, and we pushed them to be better."
Bryant joked afterward that Divac had given him a retirement gift: A Charlotte Hornets No. 8 jersey.
"It's a great bond, because we've always had a tremendous amount of respect for each other," he said.
After all the drama of years past here, it was fitting that Bryant's last trip through town would be a rollercoaster ride. Bryant had missed the previous three games with a shoulder injury, saying, "I made sure I rested it enough to be able to play one last time here."
As he does everywhere now, he received an ovation during introductions. It was a moment that sent his mind spinning back to the raucous atmosphere at Arco before Game 7 of those conference finals in 2002, when the lights went down and the noise went up and the hecklers were so close -- because of the odd configuration of this relic of a place -- that he felt like they were on his back.
"You could just kind of feel the electricity in the building," he said, "and that was the best part of it."
On this night, his last hurrah on what he considers to be an oddly sacred basketball ground, Bryant gave the people what they wanted. In the second quarter, he put his head down and drove fiercely to the basket for an and-one. On the next trip, he unleashed his patented, turnaround, double-clutch jumper. Then he threw down a two-handed alley-oop; not one-handed, mind you, for fear of hurting his shoulder again.
View media item 1861016
But Bryant was incongruously on the bench as Russell, the Lakers' future, buried 11 of his 27 points in a fourth-quarter flurry capped by a strong, right-handed drive to the basket that sent him out of the game with a sprained right ankle.
In a mad scramble down the stretch, Kings star DeMarcus Cousins tweaked his own ankle after Rajon Rondo stripped Jordan Clarkson as the Lakers tried to complete their comeback, trailing 116-115 with 21.7 seconds left.
"Y'all ain't seen nothing yet," Russell said afterward. "That's all I'm going to say."
With Bryant's farewell tour at full throttle and the Lakers desperately trying to connect the dots between eras, they've seen it all, truth be told. As Bryant made his way from the dingy visiting locker room at the former Arco to the press conference room one last time, an arena worker got his attention and briefly bid his own farewell.
"Thank you, Mr. Bryant," he said, "for the memories."
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CHICAGO – The Boston Celtics suffered yet another loss here in Chicago and the locker room is empty except for the small media scrum waiting for Isaiah Thomas to emerge following post-game treatments that always make him the last player to leave.
To see this scene play out night after night reminds me of why both Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge were so reluctant to make the 5-foot-9 Thomas a starter despite producing starter-like numbers.
He is a good player who is a living, breathing testament to what beating the odds looks like. But he needs help in order to be most effective.
Because of injuries to the Celtics backcourt and inconsistent play among the Celtics big men, Thomas isn’t getting the kind of support he needs with any kind of consistency.
And while Ainge has said publicly the Celtics don’t necessarily need to make a move at the trade deadline, they do if they want to improve upon last season’s seventh-place finish in the East. Because if Ainge stands pat with this crew, the Celtics will find themselves once again among the last teams to get into the playoffs and first teams sent home for the summer.
And that is not progress; not after a thrilling finish to last season that made them relevant in the NBA once again while raising hopes that they were one or two players away from breaking through to being one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
There’s an obvious need for Boston to add a go-to scorer, preferably in the post.
But don’t be surprised if the Celtics take a run at a high-scoring guard or wing player like Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan who is expected to opt out of his contract this summer and become a free agent. The Raptors might be more inclined to move him now and get something of value in return rather than let him walk this summer and have to fill the void via the draft, free agency or from within (Terrance Ross?).
Whatever move or moves Boston makes leading up to the Feb. 18 trade deadline, the Celtics have to address the logjam in the frontcourt which consists now of too many guys who don’t fit into the team’s long or short-term plans.
I asked David Lee earlier this week about possibly requesting a trade. While he indicated he had not asked for one, it’s definitely an option that he’ll give more thought to as the DNPs continue to pile up. But asking for a trade won’t do him much good, especially when you consider the Celtics have been open to moving him for most of his time as a Celtic.
The “eye test” says Lee still has something to offer on the floor, but not enough to help the Celtics right now. And when you look at the analytics data, it only confirms that Boston plays better when he’s off the court than when he’s on it.
Boston has an offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions) of 97.0 when Lee is on the floor, and that jumps to 102.1 when he’s on the bench. Defensively, the team’s defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) is 99.6 when he’s on the floor, 97.3 when he’s off.
Tyler Zeller is great at running the floor and finishing at the rim (not lately, but overall this is still a strength). But he knows he has to become more of a face-up player on this team, to have a better shot at playing.
Zeller has tried to extend his range beyond 15-feet and truth be told, it hasn’t worked.
This season, he’s shooting a career-low 46.7 percent from the field which includes 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from 15-feet and out.
And the worst part for the 7-foot Zeller is that most of those shots are open or lightly contested.
For this team, the Celtics want their big men to be shooters or at the very least be perceived by opponents as a threat to score from the perimeter.
Zeller is 0-for-2 on those fronts.
And we’re not even going to dive into how shipping some of their big men out could potentially allow rookie Jordan Mickey to see some action, a player who has been killin’ it in the D-League all year.
Of course we know D-League dominance doesn’t necessarily translate to NBA success (see: James Young), but Mickey has shown some specific skills that Boston would like to see if in fact he can carry them over into the NBA against more talented competition.
He has the potential to impact the Celtics in a way similar to what Chicago rookie Bobby Portis has done while filling in for an injured Joakim Noah.
Ainge has to make a trade involving his frontcourt players; it’s that simple.
Otherwise, the losses will continue to pile up, Isaiah Thomas will continue getting roughed up and the Celtics will remain a team that’s competitive with the game’s best but well short of being among them.
would be interesting if they do actually make a derozen move NOW instead of later
To see this scene play out night after night reminds me of why both Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge were so reluctant to make the 5-foot-9 Thomas a starter despite producing starter-like numbers.
He is a good player who is a living, breathing testament to what beating the odds looks like. But he needs help in order to be most effective.
Because of injuries to the Celtics backcourt and inconsistent play among the Celtics big men, Thomas isn’t getting the kind of support he needs with any kind of consistency.
And while Ainge has said publicly the Celtics don’t necessarily need to make a move at the trade deadline, they do if they want to improve upon last season’s seventh-place finish in the East. Because if Ainge stands pat with this crew, the Celtics will find themselves once again among the last teams to get into the playoffs and first teams sent home for the summer.
And that is not progress; not after a thrilling finish to last season that made them relevant in the NBA once again while raising hopes that they were one or two players away from breaking through to being one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
There’s an obvious need for Boston to add a go-to scorer, preferably in the post.
But don’t be surprised if the Celtics take a run at a high-scoring guard or wing player like Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan who is expected to opt out of his contract this summer and become a free agent. The Raptors might be more inclined to move him now and get something of value in return rather than let him walk this summer and have to fill the void via the draft, free agency or from within (Terrance Ross?).
Whatever move or moves Boston makes leading up to the Feb. 18 trade deadline, the Celtics have to address the logjam in the frontcourt which consists now of too many guys who don’t fit into the team’s long or short-term plans.
I asked David Lee earlier this week about possibly requesting a trade. While he indicated he had not asked for one, it’s definitely an option that he’ll give more thought to as the DNPs continue to pile up. But asking for a trade won’t do him much good, especially when you consider the Celtics have been open to moving him for most of his time as a Celtic.
The “eye test” says Lee still has something to offer on the floor, but not enough to help the Celtics right now. And when you look at the analytics data, it only confirms that Boston plays better when he’s off the court than when he’s on it.
Boston has an offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions) of 97.0 when Lee is on the floor, and that jumps to 102.1 when he’s on the bench. Defensively, the team’s defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) is 99.6 when he’s on the floor, 97.3 when he’s off.
Tyler Zeller is great at running the floor and finishing at the rim (not lately, but overall this is still a strength). But he knows he has to become more of a face-up player on this team, to have a better shot at playing.
Zeller has tried to extend his range beyond 15-feet and truth be told, it hasn’t worked.
This season, he’s shooting a career-low 46.7 percent from the field which includes 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from 15-feet and out.
And the worst part for the 7-foot Zeller is that most of those shots are open or lightly contested.
For this team, the Celtics want their big men to be shooters or at the very least be perceived by opponents as a threat to score from the perimeter.
Zeller is 0-for-2 on those fronts.
And we’re not even going to dive into how shipping some of their big men out could potentially allow rookie Jordan Mickey to see some action, a player who has been killin’ it in the D-League all year.
Of course we know D-League dominance doesn’t necessarily translate to NBA success (see: James Young), but Mickey has shown some specific skills that Boston would like to see if in fact he can carry them over into the NBA against more talented competition.
He has the potential to impact the Celtics in a way similar to what Chicago rookie Bobby Portis has done while filling in for an injured Joakim Noah.
Ainge has to make a trade involving his frontcourt players; it’s that simple.
Otherwise, the losses will continue to pile up, Isaiah Thomas will continue getting roughed up and the Celtics will remain a team that’s competitive with the game’s best but well short of being among them.
would be interesting if they do actually make a derozen move NOW instead of later
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Come on now.
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to be fair at the time all i had seen of any of the rookies was a 4 minute youtube highlight
hot route
Banned
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drose face sagging like gmas
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derozen... max player ... the lakers would do that
With the Los Angeles Lakers 8-29 and headed to the draft lottery for the third consecutive season, some are already shifting their focus to the off-season.
As the franchise is projected to have at least $65 million in cap space, the development of the young core will be crucial in improving their chances of signing a star-caliber player. While the focus has been on Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan has an opportunity to opt out of his contract with the Toronto Raptors.
In a recent report, DeRozan is expected to opt out as he is eligible for a new deal that can start at approximately $25.3 million. If that is the case, his hometown team will be one of many teams interested in him according to Ryan Wolfstat of the Toronto Sun:
While his hometown Lakers surely will be one of those suitors — they long have had interest in the swingman — DeRozan has always been fiercely loyal to the organization that drafted him, paid him what at the time was considered above market value on an extension (eventually it became one of the shrewdest bargains of then general manager Bryan Colangelo’s career) and made him the face of the franchise. He loves the city and the fanbase arguably much more than Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter or Chris Bosh ever did.
Although the Lakers will reportedly be one of many teams interested in the swingman, it is important to note DeRozan is extremely loyal to the Raptors. While there will likely be speculation for the remainder of the season, the Lakers may have to look elsewhere.
Heading into the off-season, the Lakers will have another opportunity to sign a major player. With Kobe Bryant retiring at the end of the season, the Lakers will need to find a new small forward. Along with Durant and DeRozan, Chandler Parsons and Nicolas Batum are potential options for the franchise.
With the Los Angeles Lakers 8-29 and headed to the draft lottery for the third consecutive season, some are already shifting their focus to the off-season.
As the franchise is projected to have at least $65 million in cap space, the development of the young core will be crucial in improving their chances of signing a star-caliber player. While the focus has been on Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan has an opportunity to opt out of his contract with the Toronto Raptors.
In a recent report, DeRozan is expected to opt out as he is eligible for a new deal that can start at approximately $25.3 million. If that is the case, his hometown team will be one of many teams interested in him according to Ryan Wolfstat of the Toronto Sun:
While his hometown Lakers surely will be one of those suitors — they long have had interest in the swingman — DeRozan has always been fiercely loyal to the organization that drafted him, paid him what at the time was considered above market value on an extension (eventually it became one of the shrewdest bargains of then general manager Bryan Colangelo’s career) and made him the face of the franchise. He loves the city and the fanbase arguably much more than Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter or Chris Bosh ever did.
Although the Lakers will reportedly be one of many teams interested in the swingman, it is important to note DeRozan is extremely loyal to the Raptors. While there will likely be speculation for the remainder of the season, the Lakers may have to look elsewhere.
Heading into the off-season, the Lakers will have another opportunity to sign a major player. With Kobe Bryant retiring at the end of the season, the Lakers will need to find a new small forward. Along with Durant and DeRozan, Chandler Parsons and Nicolas Batum are potential options for the franchise.
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Jordan Crawford scored 72 in China
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Random Question.
What would happen of the Clippers started listing DeAndre as a PG and CP3 as a Center? But CP3 still guarded PGs and ran the offense and DJ still dedended centers and played in the paint. Would the NBA allow this and let DeAndre to break records for most blocks, rebounds, highest shooting % for a PG?
What would happen of the Clippers started listing DeAndre as a PG and CP3 as a Center? But CP3 still guarded PGs and ran the offense and DJ still dedended centers and played in the paint. Would the NBA allow this and let DeAndre to break records for most blocks, rebounds, highest shooting % for a PG?
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Damn you guys real thirsty for that new post thing lol i dont even know what that is
Lol Man it saves me while at work so much
You know you can still access new posts without the tab, correct?
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derozen... max player ... the lakers would do that
He's not my Top 4 choices for a max deal...
But they wouldn't really regret it at all based on amount of cap space they have, and how much cap space they'd have the following year.
Also if they were to sign him and that's the best guy they get, they could fill the roster with 1 year expiring deals again, and go into 2017 with significant money again.
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I didn't see Stephen a smith in that video.. Is he in part 2?
everysingletime
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3 reasons the Bulls are finally becoming the Cavaliers' greatest threat in the East
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The Bulls' offense has caught up to their great defense and has powered their surge up the standings.
At the end of the 2015 calendar year, the Chicago Bulls were in disarray. After Jimmy Butler asked Fred Hoiberg to coach harder, vice president of basketball operations John Paxson made a rare appearance on a radio show on Dec. 25 and challenged the Bulls to play tougher or moves might be made. The Bulls had the East's sixth best record at the time, sitting at 15-11.
Since then, they have gone 7-1 and have climbed all the way to second in the East, behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. They've won the last six straight by over nine points per 100 possessions, the third-best net rating during that span. It's all because of their improved offense. So what changed?
1. The stars are all playing better
Earlier in the season, the only Bulls star who was playing at the level expected of him was Butler. Both Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose were struggling to provide the secondary scoring the team desperately needed.
That has changed dramatically during the past eight games. Butler has reached yet another level, averaging 26 points, four rebounds and six assists while breaking Michael Jordan's franchise record for most points scored in a half. Gasol, meanwhile, is scoring almost four points more than he was before Christmas. He's getting to the line more often as well, some of his three-pointers have fallen and he's even assisting more.
Yet the biggest turnaround has been Rose's. During the first 24 games of the season, Rose was averaging 13 points on 37 percent shooting. Since then, he's averaging over 19 points on 49 percent shooting. He's been sharing playmaking duties with Butler, which has allowed him to focus more on his scoring. His ability to finish at the rim has been steadily climbing since dropping the face mask he had to wear earlier in the year. He is now an asset.
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With those three players leading the way, the Bulls has the star power it needs.
2. The Bulls' new rotation improved both their interior and perimeter offense
Hoiberg struggled to find a rotation that worked earlier in the year. In an effort to soup up the offense by injecting some shooting, he started Nikola Mirotic at power forward next to Gasol. Unfortunately, the streaky forward wasn't connecting on enough of his attempts to offset the loss of a second inside presence. Hoiberg tried out a few other lineups, never finding the right balance until he made the adjustment to go big and play Mirotic almost exclusively at small forward next to two big men.
The move has paid off greatly. Gasol, Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson are making a killing on the offensive glass by overwhelming teams who only expect one rebounder to crash the boards. The Bulls are leading the league in second-chance points with a bullet since Christmas.
As for the perimeter offense, the streaky Mirotic is connecting more often, while everyone outside of Kirk Hinrich has improved their percentages as well. The Bulls are taking fewer threes but averaging almost 40 percent on the ones they do launch. They can now bring both Tony Snell and Doug McDermott off the bench to provide additional shooting, and they've found rotation minutes for the productive Portis. The lineup change has worked perfectly.
3. No Joakim Noah means better offense
Joakim Noah has been the heart and soul of the Bulls for years, but his decline has been noticeable, especially on the offensive end. Noah takes mostly point-blank shots, but is connecting at a ridiculously low 41 percent rate. He still does a good job getting offensive rebounds, but is shooting under 30 percent on putbacks. His passing continues to be an asset, but opponents are taking their chances with leaving him open to help elsewhere and it works more often than not.
Noah has the lowest on-court offensive rating on the Bulls. With him sidelined due to injury, Gasol, Gibson, Portis and Mirotic are getting more minutes, and all four seem to affect the offense more positively than Noah while not killing the team on defense. It's not a coincidence that the Bulls' surge has come around when Noah is out. He simply hurts the Bulls more than he helps them at this point.
Is the offensive surge sustainable?
It's hard to say because a lot of different factors have contributed to it. If Mirotic stops hitting shots and allows opponents to pack the paint, both the three-point shooting and offensive rebounding could suffer. Rose has been nothing if not inconsistent the past few years and Butler might not be able to continue to perform at a superlative level. There's also the question of what will happen to the rotation once Noah returns.
The good news is that even if the Bulls can't continue to score at this high a level, they have figured out some things that work. Portis is getting minutes, they are leveraging their height on the offensive glass and Rose is attacking the rim more. When the injured Mike Dunleavy returns, they will have another shooter available, which means Mirotic could become a sub, further boosting the bench.
There is enough talent around for the Bulls to not only be a good defensive team but a solid offensive one as well. They are finally living up to that potential, which could turn them into a serious threat for the Cavaliers.
On point. Moving Mirotic to the sf spot, Portis playing more, Rose playing better have really helped.
It's really time to keep Noah in the doghouse at this point when he comes back from his latest injury .
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man he hated that pick so much
and now porzingis is making him look like a fool
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khalilmack52
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man he hated that pick so much
and now porzingis is making him look like a fool
He is a fool
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man he hated that pick so much
and now porzingis is making him look like a fool
He is a fool
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