The Hawks continue to dominate the league with their record currently sitting at 28-8. As they continue on their quest for a 74-win season let's take a brief look at last week in the NBA.
The NBA: A Player's Perspective
Imagine yourself as an NBA player, in the midst of a game.
Here you stand: alone, outside the 3 point line.
Having played basketball your whole life, it is a place you know all too well. For hour upon hour, year after year, you’ve honed your game out on the hardwood floor. In high school you led your team to an undefeated season, drawing so much national attention that you decided to bypass college and jump straight to the NBA.
You were picked - perhaps disappointingly - just outside the lottery, lauded for your athleticism, explosive leaping ability and court speed that no normal man of your height should possess.
But very quickly the league discovered you were more than just an impressive set of draft combine figures. They were awakened to your wide range of abilities: scoring, passing defending.
You’ve been plying your trade for a decade now, your efforts rewarded with a handsome contract, the highest paid player on your team. The league has had time to well and truly familiarise itself with your game.
...Yet here you are, alone, outside the 3 point line.
Your teammate passes you the ball. You catch the Spalding and appear to caress it for a split second: feeling the leather, the curvature of the object.
You look up at the ring; wide as a hulahoop, begging for that ball to rip through its net.
At this point the crowd, your teammates, your coach…everything becomes a blur except the direct passage between you and the basket; that narrow passage remains the only thing in focus, seemingly illuminated by a light shining down from the heavens, signalling that it is your divine right to shoot the ball.
And so you follow your instincts and begin to wind up for a jumpshot: Left foot slightly in front of the other, you purposefully raise the ball above your head…a slow, mechanical shooting motion like a forklift raising goods in a warehouse.
As you preapre to launch your shot, your mind begins to race through your basketballing past and present: alone outside the 3 point line, the comforting feel of the ball, this game that you’ve worked on your entire life, from the high school success to the 10 years toiling away in the NBA…and finally your thoughts turn to that satisfying feeling you know you’ll get if – no, not if, but when – that ball rips through the net.
You launch the jumpshot...
We know what happens from here. One more brick becomes one brick too many, you’re waived, your former team discovers its mojo on offense - no longer held hostage by that feeling you get when you receive the ball alone, outside the 3 point line.
That team reels off a winning streak, culminating in last week’s back-to-back wins in San Antonio and Dallas
Meanwhile, you become the butt of jokes on anonymous internet message boards.
Can you redeem yourself in Houston?...Only time will tell.
The Greatest Team Of All Time?
I felt compelled to write about the Hawks this week, but admittedly I hadn't seen them play much. So if you're hanging out for some Hawks news, it's probably best to consult the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta's biggest newspaper).
You can get to their website here, but if you're lucky enough to get a hold of their print edition, you'll see that it's full of great Hawks news. Just check out their front page:
A Bunch Of Lines Jumbled Together
The graph below plots Offensive and Defensive Efficiency (points scored and allowed per 100 possessions, adjusted for League Average and Strength Of Schedule). Basically the further in the top right corner you are, the better you are.
Once again, credit for the original idea goes to Bigfooty User Final Siren, who created the concept in the thread: The Race for the Flag in Squiggly Lines).
Once again, here are the Efficiency Graphs for the Eastern & Western Conferences. Try to make sense of these lines if you dare.
First up is the East:
A quick summary:
- This graph is a mess of lines, a reflection of the abundance of East Coast mediocrity and the close playoff race that has resulted.
- The Josh Smith icon shows the point at which he left Detroit. As you know, the Pistons have been heading in the right direction ever since.
- The Cavs, Heat and Knicks descended further into their relative stages of patheticness.
- Bulls fans watched their team struggle to put points on the board, and as such they dropped downwards on the graph.
- On the flip side, Charlotte and Indiana rediscovered their offensive form last week.
- The Bucks emerged as the East's best defensive team.
Now for the West...
A quick summary:
- Unlike the Pistons, the Houston Rockets haven't felt that much of a "Josh Smith effect".
- The Rajon Rondo icon shows that since he joined the Mavs, the team's defensive improvement has been about the same as the team's offensive regression. Dallas had a couple of shockers in their last two outings. They need a big bounce-back week this week.
- Also included is a Mike Malone icon for those interested to see how the Kings have tracked since his departure.
- Not a good week for the Grizzlies who are basically all the way back to where they were in Week 3 as their defensive efficiency took it's biggest step backward for the season. What will the "Jeff Green effect" be?
- That OKC line finally went downwards. The main reason? They ran into the Golden State buzzsaw last week.
- Congratulations Lakers! You're no longer the worst defensive team in the NBA!...That honour now goes to the Timberwolves.
Random Quiz Question Of The Week
Who leads the NBA in double-doubles this season?
1. Nikola Vucevic (22 Double-Doubles)
2. Anthony Davis & John Wall (!!!) (21)
4. DeMarcus Cousins, Pau Gasol & Kevin Love (20)
2. Anthony Davis & John Wall (!!!) (21)
4. DeMarcus Cousins, Pau Gasol & Kevin Love (20)
And Briefly...
- Did you know? Josh Smith was averaging a career best 4.7 apg during his time in Detroit this season. Meanwhile, he's launching 3’s at a much higher rate in Houston while his free throw rate and percentage both continue to plummet.
- Tim Duncan is a great player and all, but his late game inbounding has been pretty dodgy the last couple of years…it was his turnover in the Pistons game that led to Jennings' game winner.
- Vucevic's 34/16 performance yesterday was the reason behind this week's quiz...Vucevic is usually good for an eye-popping statistical game every now and then.
- As you can probably tell, not much insight in this week's post. Didn't get round to watching much NBA, which led to the use of half-assed storytelling and poor photoshops in the OP. That said, it would be remiss of me not to congratulate the New York Knicks on becoming the leaders in the tanking standings this season.
What To Watch For This Week
Mon: All the good games are on early in the morning. Probably better to sleep in.
Tue: Detroit @ Toronto. Tune in to catch the Pistons and see what the fuss is about.
Wed: Cleveland @ Phoenix. Would you rather have Shawn Marion's wonky finger or Gerald Green's missing finger?
Thu: LA Clippers @ Portland. A chance for the Clips to quieten the doubters.
Fri: OKC @ Houston. OKC looked sluggish last week. After a long break they face the Rockets.
Sat: Portland @ San Antonio. You all remember their last meeting...triple OT, Lillard heroics. Will this contest be as engrossing?
Sun: Atlanta @ Chicago. I had to recommend an Atlanta game this week, and this one is the pick of the bunch.
