Friday Bolts – 9.13.13
Tom Ziller of SB Nation on tanking: “Further, I’m not convinced that you’d actually eliminate what the TrueHoop crew calls tanking under this scheme. The NFL is a bit in this boat: getting a really high draft isn’t as valuable as it is in the NBA, though that’s changed a little since the onset of the NFL rookie scale. Cap space is everything in the NFL. So, you have teams that blow up their cap sheet, sacrificing a year or two of terrible football so that they can have a clean sheet to load up on free agents in a future year. The Raiders and Jaguars will play on Sunday. The teams will probably combine to win six or seven games (out of 32) this year. And those teams are “tanking” far more for cap space and to develop current youth (Terrelle Pryor, Blaine Gabbert) than to get a higher draft pick. So let’s not assume that prioritizing cap space over draft position is going to fix the problem of non-competitive teams. It’ll more likely just change the shape of what non-competitive teams look like.”
Zach Lowe of Grantland: “And yet, the correlation between offensive rebounding and winning is still very low, according to several stats experts around the league. Is there a chicken-and-egg thing going on there? Or does offensive rebounding really not matter, as Van Gundy and other coaches have found in the historical data? After all, we’re talking about only a handful of possessions each game. Teams snag only 11 offensive rebounds per game on average, and not all of those lead to baskets or free throws. Would jacking that number up to 14 or 15 really make a difference, especially considering that the very existence of an offensive rebounding chance flows from a negative event — a miss? Maybe teams who are “good” at offensive rebounding are good because they miss a lot — because they are bad at offense.”
Rick Maese of the Washington Post with an in-depth feature on He-Wh0-Must-Not-Be-Named: “Bayless has an argument holstered for any sports topic, all rooted in carefully crafted Bayless-ian logic that has inspired vitriol from locker rooms, critics and so many sports fans. Last spring basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said, “If I could get Skip Bayless in a room, you’d need DNA to find out who it was.” Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, during an appearance on “First Take,” called him an “ignorant, pompous, egotistical cretin.” Responding to Bayless is easy. Understanding him isn’t – his rough childhood, regimented lifestyle, fixed principles and unwavering sense of confidence that underlies it all. He’s created a reality in which he’s always right, and his narrative is always gospel.”
Steven Adams tweets: “OKC HAS THE LOUDEST THUNDER I’VE EVER HEARD!!! Way to live up to the name. #Zeus”
KD is an honorary captain for Texas this Saturday.
From SergeIbaka.com: “There isn’t a good sports infrastructure in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo where he was born 23 years ago, something Ibaka is working on improving, and the basketball court at the Chaminade school is a good example. When he arrives his friends are already there. They are excited to welcome the friend that has become the idol, the city neighbour that has made a difference and that tries to lead by example. In Congo, Ibaka runs his own basketball camp in Brazzaville and collaborates with other organizations and never misses the chance to tell the young kids to work hard for their dreams, to try not to feel sorry for themselves and not to complain about the tough circumstances of their country. After all, he also played in banged up courts with no light as a kid.”
Russell Westbrook is a 91 on NBA 2K14.
Jeff Caplan of NBA.com grades OKC’s offseason: “OKC fans have quickly learned that tight-fisted finances drive all personnel decisions, which is why Thunder management refused to amnesty Perkins last summer or this one. They don’t want to pay the remainder of his large salary, plus the salary of a replacement. Cap casualty James Harden now has a team in Houston to potentially rival his old one, and with the Thunder unable to retain Kevin Martin, scoring options behind Durant and Westbrook become even thinner. Still, those two All-NBA performers are so lethal that OKC will again be in the thick of the West title race. Ibaka continues to improve and steady role players such as Sefolosha, Nick Collison and the emerging Jackson make OKC a threat to reach the mountaintop.”
