Category Archives: 2010-11 Regular Season

by | May 18, 2011 · 1:43 PM

So, What Now?

Tim Duncan's contract is holding the Spurs back.

The question for the San Antonio Spurs is this: how do you rebuild when you haven’t had a lottery pick since 1997?

There’s little reason to believe they’ll receive one next year either.

Despite their first-round collapse against the Memphis Grizzlies, this team is still not likely to miss the playoffs.  The backcourt of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, along with bench players George Hill and rookie standout Gary Neal, will keep this team in position to earn a spot in the lower ranks of the playoff seeding.  Also, the team happens to have the greatest power forward to ever play in the league, even if he has lost a step or two (or three).

But the window for a Spurs championship is undoubtedly closed, so how should their front office plan for the future?

Many Spurs fans are calling for the team to trade away Richard Jefferson, who hasn’t meshed nearly as well with the system as hoped.  This is not the best thing the Spurs could do, though, because Tim Duncan will retire soon, and Jefferson is a relatively cheap cog that will fit well alongside Parker and Ginobili once he’s gone.  It’s also helpful to remember that Jefferson’s effective shooting percentage this past season was the best of his career (57.9%), as was his true shooting percentage (61.2%).  To compound this, the Spurs will never get a player of equal trade value for him, so why not wait and see how he does when he can combine with Parker and Ginobili as a penetration combination?

The bigger problem for the Spurs is their lack of strength and size inside, as was highlighted by their first-round series against the Grizz.  There’s an old NBA proverb that goes, “If your starting center is 6’9” and he’s not Ben Wallace, you’re in a heap of trouble.”  Except that DeJuan Blair is two inches shorter than that, but there wasn’t a viable alternative except for plugging in the geriatric Antonio McDyess, out of his natural position, in at the five, with Blair and Matt Bonner filling in.  Unsurprisingly, they had the stuffing knocked out of them by Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.

But big men take time to cultivate, and it seems that there simply aren’t enough of them to go around.  With the Spurs paying Duncan $18 million next year, it seems highly unlikely that the Spurs will be able to snag Nenê from the Nuggets, even despite his relationship with Tiago Splitter.

So could you blow up the team and trade away the big 3?  Probably not, if you want to receive anything as good as you’re letting go.  Ginobili is an electrifying player, a clutch performer, and a fan favorite, and by many accounts the third best SG in the league.  There is no way they’ll let him go.  Duncan is the San Antonio Spurs, and the organization has a profound respect for him that will ensure his retirement in black and silver.  Parker is the most tradable, but for the time being, he is still the best at penetrating defenses and is capable on defense.

In Tiago, the Spurs have a future big.  He missed training camp this year, and was behind for the rest of the season.  He was Spanish league MVP and Spanish league Finals MVP in 2010, and is a wonderful defensive player.  The Spurs are also developing Brit Ryan Richards, who just turned 20 last month and could be a force in a couple of years in Europe.  He has a wide array of post moves, and the length to make a difference as a shot-blocker.

But honestly, the only thing that Spurs fans can do is to wait and trust your front office.  Take next season (if there is a season) as a farewell to Timmy and be incredibly grateful that you had a chance to watch him play for your team.  Remember fondly all the times opposing fans sneered and labeled him boring, because he was still lifting up and banking it off the glass.

Any big moves can wait until after he’s gone.  You owe him that much, at the very least.

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by | April 11, 2011 · 5:39 PM

The Beef Awards: The Sixth Man

If you need it done, the Candyman can do it.

Depth is key in basketball.  It separates the winners from the losers over the course of the grueling 82-game season.  These bench players offer assistance to the starters and allow teams to pull away against the myriad of relief players found around the league.

This season, we are going to have to go with a defending champ in Lamar Odom for our pick for the Sixth Man of the year.

After winning the NBA Title with the Lakers last summer, Odom went on to be invited back to play on Team USA in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey.  He helped the National Team win Gold for the first time since 1994.  His contributions were amplified due to the sheer lack of size on that National Team and the fact that he played center rather than forward.  He was a mentor as well for the relatively young squad that put the US back on top of global basketball.

The Lakers started off this season with its main center, Andrew Bynum, out with an injured knee.  Both Odom and Pau Gasol were asked to play more minutes as the young Bynum missed the first the first 24 games.  Odom averaged a double double and the Lakers built up a 17-7 record.  Even the Beef said that it wouldn’t last as both Odom and Gasol were playing more minutes than ever before in their careers.

They had to do it again last month when Bynum was suspended two games for a hard foul on Michael Beasley.  Odom filed in nicely with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists against Portland followed by 29 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists against the Suns.  Both were wins as the Lakers made a run past the Mavs for second in the West.

However, Odom’s stats did not fall as the season dragged on, he only improved.  His greatest scoring season in LA with a full season played was the 2005-06 season.  He averaged 14.8 points and 9.3 rebounds a game in 80 starts at 40 minutes a game.  This season, with 80 games played and only 34 starts, he maintained nearly the same numbers with 14.2 points and 8.7 points a game.  Additionally, his minutes dropped to 32 a game.  He played less time with the same results proving that his efficiency essentially improved.

Last season, he played in 82 games with 38 starts.  He only mustered up 10.7 points a game and only played half a minute less a game.

Additionally, Odom provides a very diverse game for Phil Jackson to implement in his triangle offense.  The basic premise is a morphing offensive series that is not set but rather changes according to the defensive matchups.  It requires them to recognize what the opposing players are doing and move into the right positions to establish passing lanes.  It’s based on constant movement and adjustment.

The system spreads out offenses allowing for one-on-one post play, slashes and isolation plays that prevent the double team.  It really comes down to the players implementing the offense and how diverse their game is.  Odom has the ability to not only post up but has also averaged .395 from beyond the arc bringing the Lakers’ frontcourt to eighth in the league in three-point percentage.  Added to his 53 percent from the field, many consider him the second steadiest Laker right behind Kobe Bryant himself.

Despite the magnitude of Odom’s season, he has beaten out some stiff competition for the award.  Jason Terry has been Mr. Fourth Quarter for the Dallas Mavericks all season.  He and Dirk Nowitzki have combined for 918 more points in the fourth quarter than any other tandem in the NBA.  However, down the stretch, Terry’s inconsistencies have flared and so has his frustration.  Just last week, he was ejected for a hard foul against the Lakers’ Steve Blake in a must-win situation.  He only mustered up five points.  Last Friday, he got into a heated exchange with teammate J.J. Barea in a game where he went scoreless.

To the Beef, Odom deserves this award for his ability to be a continuing foundation in Los Angeles on a squad defending its title.  He has maintained a heightened level of production in less minutes and acceptable a lesser role for the Lakers.  The Sixth Man needs to be able to put his ego aside, play the game and deliver winning results.  Odom does all of the above.

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by | April 9, 2011 · 9:13 PM

Ty Lawson almost sets NBA consecutive 3-point record

Feelin' it

When the Indiana Pacers made all but one shot in a quarter earlier this season it was impressive. What Ty Lawson did on Saturday night was unbelievable.

Through three quarters, Lawson connected on ten consecutive three pointers against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It would have been an NBA record for consecutive made threes without a miss until he hurled up a three as time expired at the end of the third that did not connect. George Karl stared at him for five seconds after the quarter was over before asking him why he bothered taking that last shot. Lawson simply shrugged. Heat checks happen.

He was 10-11 from deep. It is the most threes made in a game by any player in a game this season.

NBA records aside, Lawson, through three had a career high 37 points on 11-16 shooting while also hitting five of his six free throws. He also had seven rebounds and six assists with one steal through three.

Needless to say, the Nuggets were well on their way to the win column by the time the third was over.

Denver set a franchise record with 19 made three-pointers in the game.

The NBA record for most consecutive three-pointers made in a game without missing is held by Latrell Sprewell (New York Knicks; February 4, 2003) and Ben Gordon (Chicago Bulls; April 14, 2006) who each made nine.

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by | April 5, 2011 · 5:58 PM

Southwest Turning Sour

Some ugly moments from the Southwest Division's season.

The mighty Southwest Division looked like the powerhouse group of teams going into the All-Star Break but a bit of wind has been knocked out of the division since.

Dallas, New Orleans and San Antonio were the teams to beat with impressive win streaks and records against the NBA’s elite teams.  Now, it’s looking like the trio is falling into the playoffs rather than rushing in full steam ahead.

Together they amassed a 51-34 record against teams set to make the post season in both conferences before the All Star Game.  The Spurs built the best record in the league.  Dallas could beat anyone in the NBA and New Orleans had experienced two of this season’s best winning streaks.

Things were going well in the South but things have changed in the last few weeks.

New Orleans has fallen to seventh in the West and is set to square off against the hot Lakers in the opening round of the playoffs. Defense is still their game but no offense has marred their play since they have fallen to 27th in the league in scoring with only 95 points a night.  They have only scored 100 points or more five times since the break and are 6-20 this season when their opponents score 100 or more.

Ouch.

Essentially, it’s a case of too little depth down in the big easy, which is a problem that can infect every aspect of a team’s play.  Their bench is ranked 19th in the league with only 16 minutes of play a night and are only putting up 28 points a game (17th in the league).

It doesn’t help that David West tore his ACL against the Jazz on March 24th.  He was the leading scorer for the Hornets at the time and that’s not saying a lot.  It’s really been a case of Monty Williams opting to start a more defensive lineup there in New Orleans but regardless of what your system is, you need scorers.

Chris Paul is averaging fewer minutes per game than most of his previous seasons but they really lost a lot when Darren Collison left for Indiana and when they shipped Marcus Thornton to Sacramento.

Jarrett Jack is the only other point guard on the squad but to call that depth is a serious overstatement since the rest of the guard core is garbage (Marco Belinelli and Willie Green).

Now, it appears that Paul has tweaked something in his knee and hopefully it won’t turn out to be something serious.

Luckily, Carl Landry is finding his place in NO.  He started his time there scoring in the single digits against some of the NBA’s elite teams but is starting to get comfortable in the offense.

Trevor Ariza is having a very forgettable season in his first year playing for the Hornets.  He has only scored 20 or more points once this season and that was a mere 21 against the Knicks back on December 3rd (they lost that game).  Call him adjusting or  just call him an overrated player.  Whatever he is, he isn’t helping New Orleans win with his offensive game.

They started the season off 8-0 and on top of every pundit’s power rankings.  Since, they have essentially fallen off the face of the Earth outside of a few impressive stretches.  Don’t expect them to cause an upset in the first round.

They are set to face off against the Lakers who are on fire right now and it’s mainly due to the heightened play of their big men.  Andrew Bynum looks confident and Lamar Odom is providing increased depth for the defending champions.  Emeka Okafor and the rest of the frontcourt will have their hands full defending the big guys in LA.

Let’s move to San Antonio who has the best record in the NBA at 58-19.  Regardless, they have won one of their last seven games.  That just so happened to come against the struggling Suns on Sunday where they entered a must-win situation having lost their previous six.

Yes, Tim Duncan did go down with an ankle sprain and the Spurs were due for their annual injury.  They really lucked out when Tony Parker missed two games instead of two weeks at the beginning of March but their luck really ran out when they lost the four games that Duncan missed and the first two he returned for.

However, Duncan is getting old and it shows.  He is playing fewer minutes than ever before in his career and the season has dragged on for him.   He has only been the top scorer for them once this season and that was only 21 against the Thunder on New Years Day.  This new run and gun San Antonio team has incorporated the big guy well but it’s obvious that they are moving in a different direction that can sometimes leave the NBA veteran huffing and puffing up the court.

It’s interesting to see a team such as the Spurs change the way they play in such a short amount of time and it’s fared well for them so far.  Regardless, it has been shown that this style of play really doesn’t work for an 82 game season and playoffs.  Just look at the team they ended their losing streak against.

The Phoenix Suns faded every season under Mike D’antoni and that was with a team that was in much better shape.  Amar’e Stoudemire and Steve Nash were in their prime.  They had good depth with Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw and Shawn Marion as well.

The Spurs have the depth with Richard Jefferson finally finding his stroke, DeJaun Blair getting more comfortable and George Hill developing into a well-rounded scorer.  They are known for building and even rebuilding quickly down there in San Antonio but this one may be too soon.

If the playoffs started today, they would be matched up against Memphis that is experiencing a resurgence of their own.  They split their four games against the Spurs this season by losing the first two in San Antonio before winning the rest at home.

Surprisingly, they are playing very well without their lead man Rudy Gay and it’s mainly due to the heightened play of Zach Randolph and Tony Allen.  Shane Battier’s return to the Grizzlies is helping out a lot as well.

We aren’t saying that the Spurs are going to lose in the first round but the Griz will give them a good run that will further wear them down.  The second round wont be easy at all with possible matchups against the hot Lakers and a Mavericks team that might develop a strong taste for blood.

Additionally, there is a slight chance that they will loose that No. 1 seed to the Lakers that are only two and half games behind them.  The Spurs still have to play the Hawks at home, the Lakers in LA and even face the Suns in Phoenix.  Things could get interesting for this perennial playoff contender.

Next, we have the Mavs.

They look bombed out and depleted.

Injuries have plagued the boys from Dallas and that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.  Caron Butler was looking to have a full season in Mavs to really contribute on a contending team.  Tough luck when he tore his patella tendon against the Bucks on New Years Day.

It was very untimely since Dirk Nowitzki was already missing games at the time with a sprained knee that he suffered against the Thunder on December 27th.  They lost seven of the nine games he missed and the Mavs lost a key opportunity to catch up with the Spurs by losing to them twice in that time span.  They began the All-Star break without the same determination and energy they had entering the season.

Since, they are 3-7 against teams set to make the playoffs and all of those loses are against teams set to make it in the West.  The Mavs have slipped to the third spot in the conference and they look tired as head coach Rick Carlisle is trying his hardest to get them pumped up.

It isn’t working.

Jason Kidd is looking older and older as his minutes are staying in the 30s per game.  He went 0 for 10 in their last two games from beyond the arc and just can’t keep up at times.  The team has even opted to rest him as much as two of their remaining five games.

Jason Terry is set to play in all 82 games this season but even he is beginning to fade.  His fourth quarter game has slumped and his frustration sparked last week when the Lakers completely embarrassed the Mavs.  A fourth quarter shove by Terry against LA’s Steve Blake attracted a bit of unwanted attention from both Matt Barnes and the media in general.  Since, Dallas has been called soft, a term that shouldn’t be new to anyone on the team.

Even Tyson Chandler himself admitted that the Mavericks were a team that could easily be pushed around and he knows it from his days as a Hornet.  All the fight did was draw criticism and ignite the feud between Dallas and LA, which could carry on into the playoffs if the Mavs even make it to the second round

Right now, they are poised to start the playoffs againstthe Trail Blazers.  An unlikely hero has emerged in Portland with LaMarcus Aldridge making a strong case for most improved player.  He’s averaging 27 points against Dallas this season and we don’t expect that to let up once the playoffs begin.

Dallas will have their hands full against a surprisingly deep Portland squad.  Outside of Aldridge, they will have to game plan against Nate McMillan’s myriad of options.  Wesley Matthews and Andre Miller form a dynamic duo in the backcourt while Marcus Camby and Gerald Wallace offer their own set of problems up front.

Every player on the Mavs will have their hands full come playoffs and their wont be any room to be tired.

Butler has stated that he will be ready for the playoffs but we need not look any further than Portland to see how players with injured knees do once the postseason begins.

Brandon Roy underwent surgery on his right meniscus after he tore it towards the end of the regular season last year.  He returned to Portland’s lineup for game four against the Suns in the first round but was essentially ineffective as Phoenix won the series 4-2.

With Butler, he is returning to a team that has changed a lot since his departure.  His minutes have been shared amongst Peja Stojakovic, Rodrigue Beaubois and Marion.  It might take more time than is available for him to find his place back in the Mavs’ offense.

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by | March 24, 2011 · 2:20 PM

NBA Doldrums

Only the commentary of Bill Walton can kindle interest in the few remaining games

The last month and a half of the NBA regular season is easily the hardest time to stay interested with the sport. In many ways the games can seem to grow stagnant despite the several recent overtime games that we have witnessed. The excitement of the game just seems to be lost as the end of the regular season draws near.

With the conclusion of the season approaching the focus has shifted to the playoffs. Unfortunately, they are not here yet. This leads to rampant speculation about seeding and matchups which is merely speculation and has no real journalistic value. Yet, this is what the major focus of the news has been for a while other than game recaps and some injury reports. All it does is to serve to muddy the interest in the game with redundancy.

Now, not all outlets are perpetrators of such broken-record reports and there is quite a bit of good writing and reporting coming out of various outlets, it just seems like these pieces have taken a backseat where they were at center stage for a while. Such is life in the 24 hour sports news cycle.

On top of the repetition during these last dozen or so games is the fact that there are outside attractions that are new and fresh to compete with the drawn out season. We are in the midst of the NCAA Tournament. Though college ball has little bearing on the way the game is played on a professional level, it helps to break the monotony. It is a single elimination tournament in which every possession and play can either advance a school or send them packing. While at this point in the NBA every game means very little except to those teams sitting just outside the playoffs who, with the recent play by the Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers, have little hope of making the postseason.

This should be a time when the merits of players are being discussed as the NBA awards are just around the corner. However, this too has grown repetitive as it looks as though many honors were decided some time ago. Derrick Rose will be the MVP, Dwight Howard will be the DPOY, Tom Thibodeau will likely be the COY, and Blake Griffin will be the ROY. The Sixth Man and Most Improved Player awards are the only ones left open for debate it seems.

All of this adds up to a general sense of uninterest. Obviously, not everyone shares these sentiments but they must be acknowledged nonetheless. We are exhausted with the season at this point and need the life of the playoffs to reinvigorate us. There, the excitement returns as the drama of a seven game series unfolds. Do our teams have what it takes to win it all or will they fall by the wayside crushing our spirits and leaving us an emotional wreck for several days? This is what we are all craving, we want the trill to return to the game. We want to see players put it all on the line each play instead of dialing it in.

These last few weeks will not be easy. We will be subjected to the same stories again and again. Yet, if you love the sport you will make do with it because you know what is on the horizon. You know that the second season is near. All you have to do now is sit back, enjoy a few more somewhat meaningless games where seeding is the issue, watch half the league tanking games, listen to Magic Johnson make more terribly biased comments about the Lakers, and wait.

Oh, and whatever you do, try not to think about how there is probably going to be a lockout after this season. That will just ruin the entire ambiance of the playoffs.

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by | March 20, 2011 · 10:44 PM

Blake Griffin’s incredible dunk that didn’t count

Blake Griffin had a MONSTAR dunk over Phoenix’s center Marcin Gortat.

Gortat, there’s good news and bad news.  Good news is that the bucket didn’t count.  Bad news is that people will be gawking at this amazing dunk that just so happened to embarrass you.

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by | March 8, 2011 · 10:29 AM

Blake Griffin dunks against Bobcats

Blake Griffin was kind enough to send the Beef an early present against the Charlotte Bobcats last night. We thank him for it.

It is good to see that Mo Williams can in fact throw a decent lob for Griffin. However, that only means that somewhere Baron Davis is green with envy as he reminisces about the days before he found himself in Cleveland. Good thing there is always comfort in food.

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by | March 7, 2011 · 7:44 PM

Return of Shaq could be delayed

Shaq wants to fight through the pain.

The Big Leprechaun says he should be returning in a week but Doc disagrees.

The Celtics’ big man Shaquille O’Neal thinks that he will be returning to the hardwood after missing the last 13 games after injuring his right Achilles tendon; however, head coach Doc Rivers thinks it may be longer.

The big guy actually got in some practice recently and at his birthday party yesterday he said that he is 85 percent.  Rivers and Celtics’ trainer Ed Lacerte say it could be longer since they want to play it safe.

So far, it looks like the coaching staff may be right in this instance since some of the pain did return during drills.

So far, Shaq has missed 25 of the Celtics’ 61 games but with the recent loss of Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, the green guys are looking for an identity at center.

The Celtics are 5-0 since the trade with wins over the Clippers, Jazz, Suns, Warriors and Bucks.  Each is poised to miss the playoffs.

Truth be told, it’s a big man that these Celtics need.

Doc Rivers has had to rely on both Glen Davis and Krstic but neither is the caliber of player that a coach should have to rely on heavily at the five position.  Davis flourishes against various undersized benches in the East while Krstic doesn’t really put in heavy minutes.

With Jermaine O’Neal out with an injured knee for another four to six weeks, Boston doesn’t have many options for the center position.

They have been winning and are still first in the league in points allowed with only 91 a game.  This is due to Rajon Rando and Ray Allen’s ability to completely pest anyone on the hardwood.

The Perkins trade made perfect sense for Danny Ainge and the Celtics.  They dumped a big man with a history of injury for another defender in Green.  Nate Robinson was traded as well to the Thunder and Marquis Daniels was sent to Sacramento (soon to be Anaheim).  Both are injured and further prove the point that Boston was aiming to dump anything that could hold them back.

They missed Perkins in the last two games of the Finals last year when he went down with injury and Daniels wasn’t going to help out at all this year.  However, it was Robinson and Davis that had the perfect chemistry against the b-teams of the East.  They will miss that but they have to look to the future.

The Celtics’ remaining schedule is challenging.  They have 21 more games with matchups in Philadelphia, in New York, in New Orleans, in Indiana, in San Antonio, in Atlanta, in Chicago and in Miami.  Even though Boston is set to hold the No. 1 seed in the East, that’s eight road games that will truly test them.

Yes, Shaq is old and has been a minimal force for the Celtics this season but he can start for them.  He will give them some needed grit at the five position and allow them to rotate in Krstic and Davis to fit their styles of play.

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by | · 5:34 PM

It’s getting hot in here

It's been a long season of disappointment.

With the final weeks of the regular season approaching, the heat is on for Miami to actually prove something.

The Heat have yet to show that they can even approach the preseason hype that had sports pundits claiming that a “super team” such as theirs could win 72 games.  They lost ten games by early January.

Miami is currently on a four-game losing streak with losses against teams that will be playing in the playoffs.

They blew the lead against a Knicks team that was adjusting to newly acquired superstar Carmelo Anthony.

Orlando overcame a 24-point deficit with a 40-9 run to pull out their second win over Miami this season.

San Antonio demolished them 125-95 in a game that was never competitive.

Yesterday, the Bulls’ stayed a perfect 3-0 against Miami as LeBron James missed another clutch shot.

However, it’s not just their missed shots that are causing such astounding losses.  Luol Deng sunk a late game three last week to clinch a win for the Bulls and Chauncey Billups hit a late one as well to help seal the Knicks’ win.  This sloppy, late game defense has put the Heat at 5-13 in games decided by five points or less.

We could also blame Karma following LeBron down to South Beach but it would make more sense to blame that bench.  That TERRIBLE bench is last in the league in scoring with a measly 22.3 points a game.  That same group of players is only dishing out 3.9 assists per game, which is also last in the league.  They are 4-6 in their last ten games and their bench has done even worse with just 14 points a game including only six against the Bulls yesterday.

A team will not win with a bench that only scores six points in a game.

They are having starting problems as well.

Erik Spoelstra has gone from Carlos Arroyo to Mario Chalmers to Mike Bibby who has been virtually invisible since coming to Miami.  Dwyane Wade sometimes brings it up and sometimes LeBron does.  Who runs the floor?  Nobody knows.

Now, it has been revealed that players were actually crying in the locker room after the game and Spoelstra is the one that broke the news.  Why is he giving the media more fuel to criticize his underachieving team?

It sounds like even he understands how pathetic the Heat’s situation is.

It is he who allowed Chris Bosh to keep taking shots during their game last week against the Bulls and go 1 for 18 from the floor.  It is he who keeps giving LeBron the ball at the end of games and it is he who isn’t responding well to having the heaviest thumb in the NBA over his head.

Pat Riley should be embarrassed about his team that cries in the locker room and a coach that can’t seem to get it right.

We have already seen Spoelstra on the hot seat once this season and his crying comments wont help.  It took a player-only meeting the first time around to help save his job and more loses before the playoffs will just turn the heat up even more.

Just when things seem to be at their worst, rock bottom hasn’t been hit yet.

In the next week, they have to face Portland that is pulling out the craftiest wins.  They will host the Lakers who are currently on a winning streak.  They have to play Memphis who is hot and has already beaten them once this year.  They have to play San Antonio who we all know is good and they have to play Oklahoma City.

All of the games are at home which will make it even more embarrassing when they lose.

It’s almost too easy to criticize this team that was crowned before the season even started and it’s just going to get easier.  The Heat have a lot of problems and not a lot of time to fix them.

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by | March 5, 2011 · 4:21 PM

London Calling

The CN Tower sure looks different

David Stern has had his mindset on expanding the NBA overseas for quite some time. He sees it as an excellent way to expand the influence of the league around the world. The whole mentality is essentially to take the best to the rest. In theory it is a good idea and looks to be a great opportunity to widen the influence of the NBA. This weekend the NBA, following in the footsteps of the NFL (not in terms of labor talks…yet), played its first regular season games abroad in London. Teams frequently travel to Europe for training came these days but this was different.

The first ever regular season games to be played outside of North America are a big deal. Therefore it makes sense for the league to send worthy ambassadors to promote the game and generate fan interest. Instead they sent the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors. Basketball fans in the UK must have been rioting at the ticket booth to see two teams with a combined record of 35-88 (prior to the conclusion of their second game). Their combined records will be 36-89 when all is said and done.

New Jersey has the 20th ranked defense in the league, in terms of defensive rating, and Toronto is ranked 29th. The first game was marred by a lack of defense and the second game has fared no better to this point. Fastbreaks are abundant. At least the fans who attend the games in London will get to see a final score that they can relate to if they follow cricket. In fact, their defense was so bad in the second game that each team played zone against each other for six minutes in the second quarter. This lack of defense counteracts the fact that the Nets are 29th in the league in scoring with the Raptors faring better at 16th.

Despite the complete insignificance that these two teams represent in the NBA this season, it makes complete sense to send the Raptors to England as representatives of the league. They are the only NBA franchise located outside of the United States making them the ideal candidates for international gallivanting. On top of that, Bryan Colangelo has gone out of his way to assemble and international cast of players on the Raptors. These players are sure to help draw attendance in London because they are from the continent.

Andrea Bargnani, Leandro Barbosa, Linas Kleiza, Jose Calderon, Alexis Ajinca, and Solomon Alabi are all international players. Each in some way, have made a name for themselves either in the NBA, the Euroleague, or for their respective national teams. Colangelo has assembled each one of them in Toronto to prove to the league that these players can in fact lead a team to a 17-45 record. Take that stereotypes!

Bargnani is the quintessential European big man who has yet to translate his game to the North American style of play. He is a big man who can shoot the ball from distance while occasionally integrating some limited post moves while declining to ever so any effort on the defensive end of the floor. On top of that, he fails to use his size to fight for more rebounds. That skill set translates well in Europe. Who needs help side defense anyway?

Deron Williams finally got out of Jersey

As for the Nets, well, they have quite a bit less to offer in terms of international flavor. (Before they traded for Deron Williams, they had very little to offer in general.) They do, however, have Dan Gadzuric, Sasha Vujacic, and Johan Petro. Vujacic is the best known of these players from his time spent riding the bench for a couple of NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He does have an added draw in Europe aside from his jewelry, he is married to Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova. She is pretty…talented too. Speaking of Russians, the Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is one as well.

It makes sense that the NBA sent these two franchises to London to play two home games for the Nets. (Yes, the Nets were technically at home in London.) Why would the league not pick on the smaller kids on the playground? The big kids would only stand up for themselves and protest having to make such a long flight and deal with a large time discrepancy as the playoff race is beginning to unfold.

If the NBA was to expand in Europe in the near future, these two teams represent the level of play that European can come to expect for several seasons as expansion teams rarely play at a high level. Why get the hopes of fans up prematurely? New Jersey and Toronto are the perfect feeler teams for a potential fan base overseas. Loose, somewhat sloppy ball, highlighted by dunks and three-point shooting. Everyone can enjoy instant highlights.

It is only a matter of time before the league expands overseas despite foolish talk of contraction at home. Whether the expansion is as a full member of the NBA or a NBA Euroleague affiliation, it will happen. Maybe next year Stern can send the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Washington Wizards to be the league’s ambassadors. Maybe President Obama can make the trip too since the Wizards would be going and the whole thing can have a sheer vail of a diplomatic trip. Oh, wait, Obama likes the Chicago Bulls. Well, it was just a thought.

One thing is certain, though. It will be very unlikely that the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers will be sent to play in London. There is probably still just a little bad blood between the colonies and the crown. Plus, the fact that the city that dumped all the tea in the harbor takes its name from Irish culture might be a sensitive subject in London.

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