Around the League: Week of 3/17-3/23

[carey]

This in depth piece on Blake Griffin is pretty good: CLICK!

If you missed the CBS documentary Summer Dreams that aired over the weekend about fringe guys trying to make an NBA roster it is now streaming on line for a limited time: CLICK!

The Knicks are improbably making a playoff push. They've won 6 straight in the East, but are still 5 games back of the 8th spot.

Anthony Davis had a crazy 40point 20rebound game last night: CLICK!

Yeah, sure. Cousins has right knee tendonitis and wasn't a healthy scratch: CLICK!

The Clippers have won 11 straight. So?: CLICK

[carey]

Woj article on the Greek Freak: CLICK!!

[Mori Chu]

From the start of the season, everybody has penciled in the Spurs and Thunder as prohibitive favorites to reach the WCF. But the Clippers and Rockets are playing extremely well. I think either one could get to the WCF and that the Clippers could even reach the Finals. Also, can we officially declare that the Blazers are not for real?

[TOO]

Missing LMA is a big deal, he's their best player lol.

[Wally_West]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball- ... 44006.html

Did any of you guys catch the 3D projection the Cavs did on their court? It’s pretty awesome.

[carey]

How NBA Draft reform damages competitive balance: CLICK

Any changes to how draft order is determined would likely serve to punish bad teams. If you put The Wheel into place, let all 30 teams draw for the No. 1 pick or do anything drastic, bad teams will suffer whether they intended to be bad or not. That works against competitive balance. The goal of competitive balance is for more than a handful of teams to think they have a title shot any given year and for all 30 teams to think they can make the playoffs. If you take a 20-62 teams and give them the No. 12 pick instead of a top-three pick, you're working against yourself. Changing the current system will almost assuredly result in good teams strengthening their hold on playoff spots at the expense of the lesser franchises.

The ripple effect of Steve Blake's presence: CLICK

Blake is in no way the savior to the offensive woes, bench or otherwise. He isn't going to suddenly and wholesomely change the entire nature and intricacies of Mark Jackson's offense. The inherent predication of isolations permeate through the second five as consistently as it ever has. However, it's Blake ability to initiate the offense without stumbling, make an extra pass and nail an open jumper - yes, all rudimentary basketball things - that has shifted the responsibility of each player down one, allowing Jordan Crawford, Harrison Barnes, Jordan Crawford to do what they can do.

[carey]

Did any of you guys catch the 3D projection the Cavs did on their court? It’s pretty awesome.

That's now the best thing about seeing the Cavs play and it only lasts for 2 minutes.

[LazarusLong]

From the start of the season, everybody has penciled in the Spurs and Thunder as prohibitive favorites to reach the WCF. But the Clippers and Rockets are playing extremely well. I think either one could get to the WCF and that the Clippers could even reach the Finals. Also, can we officially declare that the Blazers are not for real?

Portland's bench is very thin. They don't have the depth of the other four major players in the West. Clippers, with the addition of Granger, have impressive firepower. IF they get hot (a big if) they could go deep. Houston's core is impressive, also.

With the Spurs, one of the big three gets hurt in the stretch or in the playoffs, throwing them off the rails.

[INFORMER]

How NBA Draft reform damages competitive balance: CLICK

Any changes to how draft order is determined would likely serve to punish bad teams. If you put The Wheel into place, let all 30 teams draw for the No. 1 pick or do anything drastic, bad teams will suffer whether they intended to be bad or not. That works against competitive balance. The goal of competitive balance is for more than a handful of teams to think they have a title shot any given year and for all 30 teams to think they can make the playoffs. If you take a 20-62 teams and give them the No. 12 pick instead of a top-three pick, you're working against yourself. Changing the current system will almost assuredly result in good teams strengthening their hold on playoff spots at the expense of the lesser franchises.

That's the obvious argument to make, but so many of these teams have been in the lottery for years and still continue to be bad. So instead of worrying about creating competitive balance for the teams worst teams, a reformed draft system can helps the fringe playoff teams ascend to contention status. There are tons of teams that get stuck in mediocrity, why not give them a chance to contend?

I agree that you shouldn't put every team in the lottery, but maybe the worst 20 to 25 teams in the league would make things more interesting.

[Mori Chu]

I think any system that tries to reform the draft lottery should make it so that you are not rewarded for having the league's worst record. Something like, the team with the league's, say, #7 worst record has the best shot at the #1 draft pick, and then downward to #1 worst record, and then further downward toward #14 worst record (barely missing the playoffs). That's not perfect, but the idea would be, if you are at the bottom you must be actively battling and trying to win so that you can get better lottery odds. The Sixers would not be losing 19 in a row, teams would not be willingly buying out and trading away their best players, etc.

[Shabazz]

I think any system that tries to reform the draft lottery should make it so that you are not rewarded for having the league's worst record. Something like, the team with the league's, say, #7 worst record has the best shot at the #1 draft pick, and then downward to #1 worst record, and then further downward toward #14 worst record (barely missing the playoffs). That's not perfect, but the idea would be, if you are at the bottom you must be actively battling and trying to win so that you can get better lottery odds. The Sixers would not be losing 19 in a row, teams would not be willingly buying out and trading away their best players, etc.

Except for the team that finds itself with the 8th worst record...

[INFORMER]

Yeah, I don't think they have to do anything that odd. Just put more teams in the lotto, and just have two sets of odds: one set for non-playoff teams and one set for the playoff teams. Have the lottery consist of every team that doesn't win a playoff series.

[Gladiator]

The only problem with something like that is it could easily lead to better teams tanking. If you're an 8th seed with little to no chance of winning the first-round playoff, wouldn't you at least think about trying to lose enough games to finish 9th and have the same odds of getting the number 1 pick as the worst team in the league?
If you're the 9th seed would you try that hard to get to 8th, or be happier to finish 9th or 10th?

[INFORMER]

Sure that could happen, but is a team (and owner) really going to want to forfeit having a playoff series just to slightly improve their odds? Why not just make the playoffs and still have a shot at the first pick? Keep in mind that with so many teams in the lottery and the odds being the same for all non-playoff teams and then being the same for all playoff 1st rounder losers, the difference in odds would not be substantial.

[INFORMER]

This ESPN halftime show is BRUTAL.

[TOO]

I can't even watch ESPN anymore aside from play by play.

[LazarusLong]

Sam Lacey, a former NBA All-Star center who spent most of his 13-year career with the Kansas City Kings, has died. He was 66.

In a statement released through the team Wednesday, Kings general manager Pete D'Alessandro called Lacey "one of the finest and longest-tenured players to ever don a Kings uniform."

He said "Sam's prolific legacy is evident throughout franchise lore, where he ranks first in games played, rebounds, blocks and steals. He was also known as a tireless worker and a wonderful teammate. He will be greatly missed and forever remembered for his contributions on the game of basketball and in life."

Lacey was drafted fifth overall by the Cincinnati Royals in 1970 after a stellar career at New Mexico State. The franchise became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in 1972-73, and later just the Kansas City Kings before the 1975-76 season.

Lacey made his only All-Star appearance in 1975. He averaged 10.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in his career, which ended after the 1982-83 season with Cleveland. Lacey's No. 44 jersey has been retired by the Kings and hangs in the rafters at Sacramento's arena."

The old salts, like Bobster and me, will remember that Lacey was part of the mediocre, injury-riddled Kings team that knocked the Suns out of the playoffs in 80-81. The 57-25 Suns at that time were favored to emerge from the West to play in the championship. Lacey and Reggie King controlled the paint against the Suns; there was an iconic picture of Lacey grabbing Alvan Adams by the jersey and staring him down. John MacLeod got thoroughly outcoached by ... Cotton Fitzsimmons.

[The Bobster]

Ungh! Don't remind me LL!

[TOO]

I wanted Dieng coming out last year, 3rd straight double. Boo.

[INFORMER]

Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook left Friday's game against Toronto in the third quarter after appearing to injure his right knee.

Westbrook, who sat out Thursday's win at Cleveland to rest the knee that was surgically repaired earlier this season, was injured when Toronto's Kyle Lowry collided with him on a pump-fake near the sideline with 7:37 left in the third quarter.

After being struck on the knee by Lowry's leg, Westbrook immediately turned and called timeout, bending over in pain. He hobbled along the sideline for a few steps and was tended to briefly by the trainer before walking off the court with help from center Hasheem Thabeet.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10649 ... nee-injury