Empty the Bench » Interviews

The State of the NBADL, with D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman – Part II

Brian Spencer — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:32:14 +0000

By Brian Spencer

Last week we hit you with Part I of our two-part interview with D-League Digest brainchild Steve Weinman, who had just returned from this year’s D-League Showcase in Boise, Idaho, with a fresh perspective on the state of the NBA’s “minor-league system.” This time around, Weinman talks attendance, potential for growth, and the possibility of the NBADL one day attracting premier overseas talent.

Empty the Bench: You spoke with a number of NBA team presidents during the Showcase. Who stood out as the most enthused about the D-League’s potential and what did you talk about?

Steve Weinman: While all the people I spoke to were (predictably) quite positive about the D-League, Daryl Morey likely set the record for most uses of “great” and “fantastic” in a 3-minute span to describe the Rockets’ relationship with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, with whom the team shares a hybrid affiliation (the Rockets don’t own the team, but do oversee the basketball operations).

The most intriguing point that came out of my discussion with Morey was his confirmation of something I discussed with Vipers Head of Basketball Operations Alex Del Barrio: the idea that Joey Dorsey wasn’t in the D-League to expand his game so much as he was to focus on becoming more consistent at what he already does.

I think a lot of time there’s a tendency to think of the D-League as a place for players to expand their skillsets, and certainly that’s a big part of it for a lot of players. (I know I’m guilty of thinking of it this way.) But some guys simply need to be more focused on doing what they do best. Dorsey is who he is: a banger who hammers the glass, plays defense, and will be capable of getting his share of points off second chances. As Morey said, “We’re never looking for him to shoot a mid-range shot or have any post moves. That’s not something we see in his role at the NBA level.”

ETB: Is the NBA not overly concerned with attendance? And if they are, shouldn’t there be more teams in bigger markets, as well as more marketing dollars behind the league? If you asked 50 NBA fans off the street to name three D-League teams, I’m guessing most of them couldn’t even name one.

Weinman: I’m sure the NBA would love to see D-League attendance increase, and I wouldn’t doubt that eventually, putting more money toward marketing the league will be a part of that. But while I’m sure I sound like a broken record on this, I think part of it is time. Remember, 9 years isn’t a long time for a sports league to exist.

The league totally overhauled itself after spending its first years based largely on the Southeastern seaboard, and several of the league’s teams have only been in their current location for a very short time. As the number of call-ups increases and the number of productive former D-Leaguers at the NBA level increase—dand likely as single-team affiliations increase—the D-League will gain prominence, and I think that will be big in helping attendance grow.

As for the issue of big markets, I would be cautious of getting too wrapped up in that. This country has supported minor league baseball in a lot of areas that didn’t exactly come next on the list after New York City, LA, Boston and Chicago. For a pertinent D-League example, the folks up in Portland, Maine, are selling out every night and absolutely killing it in merchandise sales.

More than just finding big markets, I think it’s important to find locations close enough to a parent team to have a strong connection to a NBA fan base, but far enough away to make going to D-League games not only more affordable but a significantly more convenient alternative to having to travel all the way to NBA team’s city.

More from D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman after the break…

ETB: What about the players? Do you get the sense that the lack of fans at the games is something they think and worry about?

Weinman: Disclaimer: I haven’t spoken to anyone about this too extensively, so most of my commentary here is purely personal conjecture. That said, I think it was evident at the Boise Showcase that there was a different feel to the games with the stands littered mostly with team and league personnel who weren’t going to be clapping and cheering during the games, and it wouldn’t shock me if that took some getting used to for the players out there. But one has to imagine players feel enough added pressure at Showcase that worrying about attendance can’t be too high on their lists.

As far as standard regular-season games are concerned, I’m sure these guys would love to play in front of packed houses every night because, really, who wouldn’t? But I don’t think it’s a distraction. To a man, every one I’ve talked to will tell you they are here for one main reason: to fulfill their dream of getting (or getting back) to the NBA. That’s a tall enough order to keep folks focused on the task at hand. I think they understand the situation in the D-League and understand the fact that one of the many perks of playing at the NBA level is playing on a bigger stage in front of more people.

Joey Dorsey Photo Credit: Icon SMI

ETB: You briefly touched on the D-League’s ambitions to offer the world’s best basketball outside the NBA. I know you’re not that familiar with the overseas game, but do you feel the D-League will one day be able to lure top-tier talent from abroad?

Weinman: I don’t see a reason why it can’t happen in the long term. It seems clear that, while some may dispute the rate of acceleration, the D-League is growing as a factor in the basketball landscape. I have heard President Dan Reed refer to the league as the most heavily scouted in the world on several occasions, and the league sits at the top of the leaderboard of professional organizations in terms of volume of players sent to the NBA.

As the number of single-affiliation set-ups increases and NBA teams continue to take more stock in maintaining a close relationship with their D-League affiliates, the D will gain an even greater reputation as the premier feeder to the Association. Whether it will rightfully own that title of best basketball in the world outside the NBA, I can’t judge at this point, especially without watching more of the games abroad. But I do expect an increase in the number of top overseas players coming over to give it a shot and see the role the D-League plays in preparing players for the NBA game.

Perhaps I’m drinking the Kool-Aid, and perhaps it will take quite some time for us to get to the point I’m describing, but I’m not sure why it can’t happen.

ETB: What’s the one lasting impression you’ve taken away from the D-League Showcase?

Weinman: I was aware of it before, but the dearth of big-time bigs really jumped out at me. It seemed like whenever I asked coaches and GMs who had impressed them across the D-League this year, the first few names off their tongues were always guards (Anthony Tolliver excepted).

Frankly, it makes sense because, as the adage goes, you can’t teach size and NBA teams snatch up guys with the bodies to be NBA fives and keep them on contracts in case of emergency. Part of the reason Joey Dorsey dominated the interior in the D-League this season was that there simply weren’t many guys in the league who could do anything about a guy with his frame.

On the other hand, the guard and wing depth in the D-League is excellent. There are a ton of prolific scorers and several dynamic passers, and I’m looking forward to seeing some of those guys find the right niche for themselves and a fit with the right team to stick in the NBA.

Big thanks to D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman for his time and thoughts; Steve, we owe you one. Be sure to check out Part I of our interview if you haven’t already, and to get the full NBA D-League picture, head over to D-League Digest for daily updates and expert analysis.

The State of the NBADL, with D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman – Part I

Brian Spencer — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:33:42 +0000

By Brian Spencer

The NBA D-League is a good thing that has the potential to be a very good thing for professional basektball in the United States. We want to see it thrive, expand, succeed. Unfortunately, like most people, we rarely get to see anything from these games beyond the brief late-night highlights on NBA TV. ESPN and Fox Sports barely touch it, which means that casual b-ball fans barely even know it exists.

Enter writers like Steve Weinman, the thoughtful wordsmith behind D-League Digest who’s helping introduce the D-League to a wider audience and revealing its teams, players, and coaches through comprehensive coverage and analysis on the everyday happenings in the NBA’s still-developing minor-league system. The guy knows his stuff, and in the wake of the recent D-League Showcase in Boise, we’re fortunate to have a two-part Q&A with him here on Empty the Bench.

Let’s get to it… stay tuned for Part II.

Empty the Bench: I read a report that said NBA executives left this year’s D-League Showcase in Boise saying it was the worst crop of talent they’ve seen yet. What’s your take?

Steve Weinman: I saw that line from Marc Spears as well, and truth be told, I’m not sure what to make of it. As someone who followed the D-League peripherally in previous seasons and has become much closer to it over the last 2 years or so, especially now that I’m covering the league on a regular basis, I’m not I’m the best person to compare the overall talent distribution between this year’s Showcase and previous ones.

But what I do know is this: the executives I spoke to certainly sounded positive about the way the D-League is moving. With the Rockets’ use of the hybrid model in Rio Grande Valley, GM Daryl Morey and his crew from Houston have been very involved in bringing in the players there, and Morey said the situation with RGV has been fantastic from his perspective.

Between Morey and other executives I spoke with, there was plenty of chatter about an expansion of the D-League’s role and a desire to have NBA teams hold player rights outside of their 15 roster spots. One would think some of that excitement would have been tempered if the player crop were all that uninspiring.

None of that, however, is meant to dispute Spears’ report. One of the great things about the Showcase is that it simply crawls with team staffers, and I don’t profess to have had a chance to speak with all of them. Marc is a terrific reporter, and I have no doubt he talked to plenty of sources on this. Still, I didn’t leave the conversations I had with the same vibe that he did.

As for what my own eyes tell me about this year’s group of players, I think there are several players around the D-League capable of being at least fringe NBA players right now if the roster spots become available, and a few youngsters who will be at that point before too long as well. Speaking of which…

ETB: Spud Webb, the President of Basketball Operations for the new team in San Francisco that debuts next season, recently said he thinks there are “four or five guys [in the D-League] that are pro players.” Name the four or five guys you feel have the best shot at not just getting called up to the NBA, but making an impact and sticking around.

Weinman: Anthony Tolliver would be the easy front-runner for this list, but let’s rule him ineligible since he received his second call-up of the season last week, this time to Golden State. Tolliver is a do-it-all big man who posts up, crashes the glass, and defends, but can also handle the ball a little bit and shoot from the outside. Love watching him play.

Of players currently in the D-League, Mike Harris from Rio Grande Valley (he of the recent 48-24 performance) already received one call-up this season (to Houston) and will likely be back sooner or later. He’s a bruising forward who loves to bang around inside, pounds the glass (8.9 per game this year in the D-League) and is also developing his offensive arsenal from mid-range and beyond. The big question for Harris right now is position: playing in RGV’s three-guard lineup, he’s played something of a big-man role at times this year, and he’s been successful at it, but he’s also just 6-6. Whether Harris has the quickness and whether he will develop the outside game to be a successful small forward remains to be seen, but he does too many things too well to not get another good shot to stick in the Association.

Carlos Powell of Albuquerque is a terrific offensive player who can score from inside and out, and isn’t a liability at the defensive end either. In our last edition of the Randy Livingston Memorial Call-Up Rankings, hosted at Ridiculous Upside, I was the only one of four panelists to rank the southpaw as low as second on the list.

Sitting on top of that call-up rankings list before Powell usurped the top spot was Dontell Jefferson from Utah. Widely expected to fill the Jazz’s need for a backup point guard before some late-breaking concerns about the health of his knees led to Idaho’s Sundiata Gaines getting that call (and please remember to go ahead and ask the Cleveland Cavaliers how that one turned out), Jefferson is a 6-5 point guard with the skills and size to play both backcourt spots. He’s a dynamic slasher who also scores from the outside, gets to the foul line with regularity, and distributes the ball unselfishly. His height, length, and quickness allow him to defend ones and twos, and that would allow an NBA team to use him to cross-match defensively if need be.

While four people does not a complete list make, and there are several other guys who deserve to be in this discussion – Rod Benson (Reno) has been around and offers size and defense (though I’m not enamored with him), Morris Almond (Springfield) is a super-dyanmic scorer who we’ll get to later, Mustafa Shakur is doing a terrific job in Tulsa, Dwayne Jones (Austin) has NBA size and eats up offensive boards, and I’m sure there are a few noteworthy folks I’m omitting here to boot – I’ll stray a bit from the beaten path with a personal favorite for my final selection here: Rio Grande Valley’s Antonio Anderson.

He may not be at the top of the call-up list right now, and he has slumped through January after earning performer-of-the-month honors in December, but Anderson’s versatility makes him really promising. He’s a 6-6 off-guard by trade, but he handles the ball plenty for RGV and is a terrific passer. In fact, Vipers brass believe he’ll even be able to get a spot at the next level as a second or third-string point guard.

That’s not to mention that the guy who garnered all sorts of defensive accolades during his collegiate tenure at Memphis has made a successful transition to the D-League game at that end of the floor as well. AA needs to become a more consistent outside shooter, but his mid-range game is already improving, and he’s just a smart decision-maker on the floor. I’m buying him as a permanent NBA player within the next two seasons.

Much more from D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman after the break…

ETB: What’s holding Springfield Armor (and former Utah Jazz first-round pick) Morris Almond back, and does he still have a shot to be anything more than a 10-day contract player in the NBA?

Weinman: It feels weird to say that Morris is in a tough spot considering that the guy leads the D-League in scoring and can do just about anything with the ball in his hands. But the truth is, he is.

Almond is a tremendous scorer who doesn’t have any glaring-enough-to-keep-him-out-of-the-league-on-its-own flaws, but he also isn’t enough of a standout at any other facet of the game to get called up on that alone. Since NBA teams don’t call up D-Leaguers to be go-to guys, it’s hard to figure out where Almond fits. Can he be dangerous enough simply off catch-and-shoots and in transitions for his scoring to translate to the NBA? Even if so, aren’t there other guys who aren’t as explosive scorers that might be better at filling that pure shooter role?

I’m not sure of the answers to those questions, which I explored in a bit more depth over at D-LeagueDigest this week, but I do feel strongly that Almond has too much talent to not get another longer look.

David Stern Photo Credit: Icon SMI

ETB: What, if anything, can be done to get more locals to embrace their D-League franchise and actually show up for games?

Weinman: I really believe that it’s about staying the course at this point. Some things just need time. The league is only in its ninth season, and both the talent in the league and as a result its importance to the NBA continues to grow. If teams continue to provide fan-friendly environments at affordable prices, blitz the social media world, and promote interactivity with the fans as much as possible, I think the basketball will begin to sell itself.

As more of these players experience even a small degree of success at the NBA and more solid college players who might have otherwise gone overseas stick around to play in the D-League, fans will increasingly buy into a league where they know they may be seeing future NBA players up close, as well as several guys they may have followed closely in college.

Maybe I’m being a bit idealistic here, but we’ve seen minor league baseball work all over the country with the same formula: fun for the whole family, bargain prices, players who might one day be Major Leaguers. I’m willing to believe that with time, basketball can at least move in that direction.

That’s not to say that there aren’t changes that could be made to improve the D-League: an improved salary structure might draw more talent, which might draw more fans; more single-team affiliations in secondary regions of NBA teams might appeal more to fan bases; amending the CBA to allow players returning from injury to serve the equivalent of baseball’s rehab assignments in the D-League could garner a few extra big crowds a year, and the list goes on. But the primary factor is time: the league really is still in its relative infancy.

ETB: Should every NBA franchise have its own affiliated team in the D-League, like MLB does with the minor leagues?

Weinman: Ideally, absolutely. The primary goal of the D-League is–and I know this comes as a real revelation–player development. To that end, having players in a situations where they are learning and playing in the systems that they will be stepping into should they reach the NBA simply has to increase player readiness to step in and be contributors right away at the next level. Especially when one considers how little practice time NBA teams get during the season due to packed schedules and travel days, it’s difficult to pick up a bunch of unfamiliar sets. Further, I expect that if the leagues ever reach a one-to-one ratio, we’ll have already seen amendments to the CBA providing for NBA teams to hold rights to non-assigned players on their affiliates.

All that said, like every other part of sports, the D-League is a business, and whether it’s economically feasible to maintain a 30-team league, I honestly don’t know. As I wrote in a piece on exactly this topic last week, look down the benches of every D-League team and decide how many of those players you think have a legitimate shot to make the NBA… and then consider that getting to 30 teams would require nearly doubling the player pool. That’s a tall order.

But as referenced in that piece, Dan Reed and Chris Alpert feel strongly that talent dilution won’t be an issue, that as the league continues to gain prominence, it will attract greater talent that might have otherwise played overseas (or perhaps in college). If that proves true going forward, and the league can find enough markets that would support a minor league team anywhere near as well as the folks in Portland, Maine, etc. have, terrific.

From a basketball standpoint, I’d love to see it happen. Maybe it will be possible, business-wise; maybe not. Either way, we have a long ways to go on that front as it will be a gradual process.

That wraps up Part I of ETB’s interview with D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman; stay tuned for Part II. In the meantime, be sure to get your NBA D-League fix over at D-League Digest.

Seven Quick Questions with ESPN2’s SportsNation Co-Host Michelle Beadle

Brian Spencer — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:22:33 +0000

Photos Courtesy of ESPN

By Brian Spencer

We were flattered to be featured as the “Site of the Day” for the Friday, October 16, broadcast of ESPN2’s SportsNation, which has built up a relatively hardcore following in the 4 short months since it debuted. Credit some of the show’s success to its loose, conversational format that’s largely centered around fan-generated content (polls, Twitter posts, emails, etc.), but the driving forces behind its appeal are affable cohosts Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd, who do a fantastic job of keeping the show light and entertaining. (Recent Twitter posts include “Who do you want delivering your baby, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?” and “What does it say about the Skins that a fake FG helped them to their best offensive game of the season?”)

Beadle was kind enough to sit down with us over email for a quick Q&A and talk about her experience on the show, her days as a sideline reporter for the San Antonio Spurs, and more. She’s also the woman behind the curtain of the growing Akron Hammer movement. Follow her on Twitter here.

SportsNation airs from Monday to Friday at 4pm & midnight on ESPN2.

ETB: With about 4 months or so under your belt as co-host of SportsNation, what’s been most challenging about doing an hour-long TV show 5 days a week?

Beadle: Honestly, it has been so much fun I’d be hard-pressed to say anything has been too difficult. Our crew works hard, but it’s always a good time. The hardest part has been moving from New York to Connecticut. That is still taking some getting used to.

ETB: How has the experience so far matched up (or not matched up) with your expectations coming into it?

Beadle: It has been even more fun than I expected. I met Colin for the first time on the day of my audition. I’d been prepped for this “character” that I’d be meeting. And he is certainly a character. But the guy works hard, and has such a way of looking at the world. I’m happy with the freedom ESPN has given us to do this show the way we want to. Very liberating.

ETB: When did you first know you wanted to get into broadcasting? How has the sportscaster job description changed since your first gig?

Beadle: I honestly had no idea that I’d be doing this for a living. It all came about almost accidentally while I was interning for the San Antonio Spurs. I was given a shot to do a story for the team’s children’s show. I was horrible. But they gave me another shot, and as it turns out I loved it. I honestly haven’t seen too many changes during my time. People still expect you to show up, having done your homework and prepared for the job.

More from SportsNation’s Michelle Beadle after the break…

ETB: During your time covering the San Antonio Spurs for Fox Sports Net and the New Jersey Nets for the YES Network, which players did you most enjoy interviewing, and why?

Beadle: Jeez, you’re going to make me pick? The Spurs seemed so long ago. I always appreciated Coach Pop and his dry sense of humor. Tim Duncan is cut from that same sarcastic cloth. As for the Nets, obviously Richard Jefferson always provided a laugh or two, even during the droughts. And Brook Lopez, unknowingly, makes for a good, goofy sound bite.

ETB: Who’s going to square off in the NBA Finals this year, and who’s going to win it?

Beadle: The easy answer would be the Lakers and Celtics. But I’m going out on a limb. Let’s do Spurs and Magic. Can you imagine? If the Spurs stay healthy, they’re definitely contenders. Magic win in 7.

ETB: With some of the NBA’s biggest stars becoming free agents next summer, what kind of an impact would it have on the league if a large number of those players switched teams?

Beadle: I find myself rooting more for individuals these days as opposed to being the fan of a team. There is a lot of player movement, whether through trades or free agency. When you follow a team and they lose their star player, it’s tough to swallow… especially for smaller-market teams when it is harder to replace a star talent.

ETB: Given the financial incentives to resign with their current teams, do you think most of these players will ultimately stay put? Outside of LeBron James, who’s the one free-agent-to-be you’d choose to build a team around?

Beadle: Brian Scalabrine – I’d build an empire around him. I’m kidding … no shock here, with LeBron out of the mix, I’d take Dwyane Wade. Done. He’s clutch, and amazing with the ball.

Get Your SportsNation Fix:
- SportsNation Official Website
- Follow SportsNation on Twitter
- Follow Michelle Beadle on Twitter
- Follow Colin Cowherd on Twitter

SportsNation airs Monday – Friday at 4pm and midnight EST on ESPN2.

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird on the Detroit Bad Boys, Bill Laimbeer, and Kurt Rambis

Brian Spencer — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:20:01 +0000

Magic Johnson & Isiah Thomas Photo Credit: Icon SMI

By Brian Spencer

When you think about NBA all-time greats Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, most NBA fans think about those unforgettable NBA Finals battles between their Boston Celtics and LA Lakers.

Growing up as a Pistons fan, however, when I think about Bird, I think about his heartbreaking steal of an errant inbounds pass by Isiah Thomas in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals that turned the series’ tide in Boston’s favor. When I think about Johnson, I think about his tense pregame kisses on Thomas’ cheek during the 1988 NBA Finals and the brutal battles that ensued. It was a Golden Era of NBA basketball, one that Bird, Johnson, and Thomas played huge roles in cultivating, and it was that era that helped hook me and millions others onto this sport for life.

Today Bird and Johnson looked back on and talked about their careers, their rivalries, and about today’s NBA as they promoted their new book, When the Game Was Ours, on a conference call with NBA writers. More excerpts from the call later, but here’s my Q&A with these two NBA legends. The questions shouldn’t surprise you.

Empty the Bench: There’s a lot said in the book about Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, and the playoff battles you two had with the Bad Boys era Detroit Pistons. I know you both didn’t really agree with the level of physicality those teams had–at one point, Magic, you said the Pistons “crossed the line all the time”–so I’m wondering if despite all that you have respect for what those teams accomplished, and if you feel like they deserved those championships.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson: They definitely deserved them. They played so well, and that three-guard combination was probably one of the best we’ve seen in basketball when you think about Joe Dumars and Isiah and Vinnie Johnson. And then when you add in guys like Dennis Rodman, John Salley, [Bill] Laimbeer, and [Rick] Mahorn, and then when they got Mark Aguirre.

They were just a tremendous team and we’re never going to take anything away from them. The main thing is that it’s okay to get fouled up top–and Larry can talk about this more because he had to play them more–but when you get fouled up top, they should have just left it there. But then they loved to hit you on the way down another couple of times, so that’s what I was talking about.

Larry Bird: You can’t take anything away from a champion. They were true champions. They played the game differently at times than you’d like, but it was a rough game. The Finals are rough. We knew it was going to be a tough series. But they were a very talented team… always felt like sometimes they might have went over the line a little bit, but you have to be man enough to step up and take care of yourself.

As far as the team, they had great teams. Bill Laimbeer was a very heady player, a very smart player, and one helluva coach too by the way. You can’t take anything away from those guys, they’re champions and they should be talked about like champions.

Magic Johnson talks about the Kurt Rambis/Bill Laimbeer pairing in Minnesota after the break…

Johnson: And also Coach Daly was unbelievable too… and a great owner too. Mr. [Bill] Davidson was an incredible owner too. Never take anything away from them. They were truly outstanding, and their defense was some of the best we’ve ever seen.

Empty the Bench: To follow up real quickly on Laimbeer as a coach, Magic, how do you feel about Kurt Rambis hiring Laimbeer as an assistant coach up there in Minnesota?

Johnson: I remember when Kurt called me and said he was considering Laimbeer and Reggie Theus, and I told him it was a great move. Bill has paid his dues. You have to give Bill a lot of credit. He’s won three WNBA Championships, he can coach, he knows how to coach, he’s a gym rat much like Larry and I are, so I think Kurt did an incredible job of hiring somebody like Bill Laimbeer.

Plus, Bill is very intelligent. You have to remember that Bill, when he was a player in the NBA, had a high basketball IQ. That’s why those Pistons teams were so strong. When you think about Isiah, his basketball IQ was off the charts, and Joe Dumars’ basketball IQ… they had it.

I’m happy that Kurt got a great staff because that’s what he needed. Watch out for Bill. He’s probably going to be one of the next four or five guys who are in line to be head coaches, and I think Bill is going to get a job very soon in the NBA as a head coach.

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We’ll have more from Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the coming days on Empty the Bench; lots of interesting stuff was discussed during this hour-long chat. Their book, When the Game Was Ours, is out this Wednesday, November 4, at bookstores everywhere. Stay tuned for a sneak peek and a review on ETB.

ETB’s Exclusive One-Question Twitter Interview with Jazz Forward Kyle Korver

Andrew Thell — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:03:42 +0000

For the record, Korver is listed at 212 on NBA.com while Vujacic is listed at 205.

And there’s also this to consider…

ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed.com

Brian Spencer — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:29:13 +0000

Rasheed Wallace Photos Credit: Icon SMI

Love him, hate him, frustrated or endlessly entertained by him–or all of the above–there’s no denying that the Detroit Pistons and its fans have been taken with the conundrum that is Mr. Rasheed Wallace ever since he arrived in the spring of 2004. No matter where you fall in the great ‘Sheed debate, however, Natalie Sitto’s Need4Sheed.com has become a must-visit for all Pistons fans.

That’s because despite the namesake, Need4Sheed.com is hardly just a ‘Sheed fansite. Sitto perfectly meshes her insight on everything Pistons with a unique cartoonish talent that makes the site as colorful as the words spewing from ‘Sheed’s mouth after a particularly bad call by a referee. On top of exhaustive coverage of everything Pistons, Sitto also offers her readers free, downloadable wallpapers, screensavers, and icons; you’ll also find a solid selection of custom-made Pistons merch.

Without further ado, it’s time to hear from Need4Sheed.com’s Natalie Sitto as our NBA Scribes of the NBA Interview Series rolls on.

Empty the Bench: When did your fascination with Rasheed Wallace begin, and what is it about him that resonates with you more than other NBA players?

Natalie Sitto: “Fascination” is a bit of a strong word when it comes to how I feel about ‘Sheed. I have liked his game since he was at North Carolina, and appreciated him in Portland, but his turnaround in Detroit made me realize just what a special player he really is.

The fact that Rasheed could possibly be a better player than he actually is frustrates so many fans. Sure, we would like to see him live up to what he
knows he can do, but that’s just ‘Sheed. He brings something to the court that no one else in the league does. He’s the wildcard. That can be either good or bad, depending on the day.

ETB: New head coach Michael Curry made headlines this past week by insinuating that ‘Sheed needed to get in better shape. Do you think his conditioning, or lack thereof, played a big part in his disappointing performance in last year’s ECF?

Sitto: That’s a tough question; he did start the season in better shape than he had in years. Rasheed is not the only one who may slack off conditioning wise, but I don’t know if that affected his performance in the playoffs. He could have been worn down from shutting down Howard in the Magic series.

Regardless of the real reason, you can’t blame Detroit’s meltdown against the Celtics on Sheed’s conditioning. You can blame the whole team for Game 3 at home… a game I have tried to forget.

ETB: What is the single most underrated aspect of what ‘Sheed brings to the basketball court, and why doesn’t he get more recognition for it?

Sitto: He does get some recognition for his defense, but Ben Wallace got plenty of the credit when he played with him and Tayshaun gets talked up as being the stopper in red, white, and blue now. He moved over to the center position last season and played the bulk of last season trying to lock down opposing bigs.

He can shut just about anyone with no help and can block shots with the best of them. Forget putting up 25 a night: Sheed prides himself in shutting down the best the league has to offer.

More from Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed.com after the break…

ETB: Be honest: you hate it when ‘Sheed acts mopey and gets that glazed-over, disinterested look on his face during games. I say this as a big ‘Sheed fan myself.

Sitto: Absolutely. I am constantly talking to him from the stands or to the television for him to settle down, pick it up, or shut his mouth. Sometimes his attitude works for him, but most of the time it doesn’t. The angry attitude doesn’t bother me as much as the effect of the disinterested one. The disinterested attitude usually leads to sloppy passes, lazy shots, and turnovers.

When he’s angry and he makes the next shot he attempts, watch out–Sheed’s mad… beware!

ETB: When all is said and done, does Rasheed Wallace deserve a spot in the NBA Hall of Fame? If so, will he get it?

Sitto: Whether he does deserve a spot or not, I don’t think he will get it and he probably doesn’t care. If Rasheed wanted to be a Hall of Fame player he could be. His career numbers aren’t staggering, but he has a championship, he’s been to his share of All-Star Games, and has the talent to be one of the best PFs in the game. He’s got it all but would rather have a ring than his jersey in The Hall.

ETB: A lot of Pistons fans are disappointed there wasn’t a big trade in the offseason and don’t think this team as presently constituted can compete for a title this year. What do you think—does this team have a legitimate shot, and why?

Sitto: I can understand why plenty of fans wanted to see change after last season. Joe Dumars put everyone on the block, but why make a trade just for the sake of making one if it doesn’t make the team better? As Dumars said, he wasn’t having a fire sale. Nothing legitimate came up so he stuck with a bunch that still has plenty of talent.

I can’t image this team not making a run for it all come May. I would be surprised if something doesn’t transpire before the trade deadline, but with the mix of youth and seasoned veterans they have just as much shot as any team in the East to be playing in June.

You also have to look at the East as a whole–no team really made that drastic change that would potentially put them over the hump. Maybe Amir, Stuckey, and Maxiell are just what the Pistons need to get over theirs. With that said, Boston is the team to beat in the East; the champs always are.

ETB: About how much time do you spend a week working on Need4Sheed.com, and what do you enjoy most about running it?

Sitto: During the season it’s at least 15 hours a week. The summer has been slow for Detroit, so I have had a much-needed break, especially after the Boston series. I have said this plenty of times: the best part of doing Need4Sheed is being able to keep in touch with Pistons fans near and far and making sure the displaced ones get as much content as the lucky ones in Detroit.

ETB: One of the funnest parts about the site is your creative usage of cartoonish images for various Detroit Pistons, as well as the photoshopping of in-game images. What kind of artistic background do you have, and where do you get your inspiration for these designs?

Sitto: I had a bit of a graphic design background when I started the site. In fact, I originally started Need4Sheed not as a blog, but to share my Pistons cartoon screensaver and wallpapers with friends and fellow Pistons fans.

Most of my inspiration comes from the specific pictures of the players on court, or their in-game performances. And I’m never opposed of photoshopping Sheed’s face on just about anything if the situation warrants it.

ETB: Matt Watson over at Detroit Bad Boys was asked this same question: can Jason Maxiell be the starting power forward for a team harboring serious title ambitions?

Sitto: Jason Maxiell has it all in a big-yet-maybe-undersized package. There is no reason that a team with him in the starting lineup can’t take it all. In fact, it may help the team to have Jason take up the bulk of the minutes so Antonio McDyess and Rasheed don’t burn out. Also, he eats babies, remember?

ETB: Fill in the blank: Rasheed Wallace is the most _____

Sitto: … unpredictable player in the game who can put up a double-double on a nightly basis, but prefers to take a backseat to get his team in the win column. He’s simply SHEED-tastic.

More ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series:

- J.E. Skeets of Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie
- David Friedman of 20 Second Timeout
- Ron Hitley of Hornets 24/7
- Ryne “Odenized” Nelson of SLAMonline
- Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty and FanHouse
- Brett Hainline of Queen City Hoops
- Dave Deckard of Blazer’s Edge
- Kurt of Forum Blue and Gold
- Brian Powell of Awful Announcing
- Lee Grammier of The Dream Shake
- Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead
- Scott Carefoot of Raptor Blog
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Part 1
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Part 2
- Matt Watson of AOL FanHouse and Detroit Bad Boys
- Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed.com

ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Matt Watson of AOL FanHouse and Detroit Bad Boys

Brian Spencer — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:39:10 +0000

Detroit Pistons Photo Credit: Icon SMI

It’s unofficially Detroit Pistons Week here at ETB, with one or two random videos on tap as well as tender fireside chats with two of the most well-recognized names in the blogosphere when it comes to covering anything and everything that is the Pistons.

Kicking things off as the latest writer to be front and center in our ongoing Scribes of the NBA Interview Series is Matt Watson, mastermind behind Detroit Bad Boys and one of the leading columnists for that sports behemoth known as NBA FanHouse. Watson got his start writing for The Roto Times and Fantasy Hot Sheet, moved on to penning fantasy sports columns for USA Today online, and launched Detroit Bad Boys back in ‘05.

We’re thrilled to have him–as you’ll see, the man knows his Pistons (and his NBA). Later this week we’ll feature another Pistons expert, Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed.com. We’re psyched for that one too, but first things first: let’s hear from Mr. Matt Watson.

Empty the Bench: Despite the six straight appearances in the Conference Finals, the core of this Detroit Pistons team has gone to the NBA Finals only twice and won it all just once. Is it a fair to say this group has developed a reputation for choking under pressure?

Matt Watson: This is a difficult question to answer. On the one hand, yes, this team has definitely squandered some opportunities; that’s impossible to deny. But on the other hand, it’s really, really hard to win a title. In the last 25 years, only seven different teams have done it. Think about that: seven teams in 25 years.

Since the Pistons last won in 2004, they’ve gone on to lose to the eventual champion three times in four years. Did they choke, or were they simply not the better team? Considering teams simply don’t win on accident in this league, I think it’s the latter.

In a perfect world, I’ll admit that the Pistons should have at least one more ring on their fingers–I’m still in shock that Rasheed left Horry open–but I can’t hold it against them. Since losing to Detroit in 2004, the Lakers missed the playoffs completely in 2005, lost in the first round the next two years, and lost again in the Finals last year. After beating the Pistons (and in turn the Mavericks) in 2006, the Heat proceeded to lose in the first round the following season and posted the worst record in the league last year. From a fan’s perspective, who’s been the most fun to cheer for? (The correct answer, of course, is San Antonio, but Detroit has to be second, right?)

ETB: At times seeming disinterested and often being outhustled and embarrassed by Kevin Garnett, what do you make of Rasheed Wallace’s disappearing act in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals?

Watson: I wish I knew the answer. Considering he averaged his fewest minutes per game in a decade during the regular season, I figured he’d have something left in reserve for the playoffs. Instead, the more the Pistons needed him, the more he faded.

His showing in the final game against the Celtics was a complete disaster. I know some people have tried to use his strained relationship with Flip Saunders as an excuse, but if anything Saunders erred by giving Wallace too much respect. Wallace clearly didn’t deserve to play 32 minutes in Game 6, especially after showing up late to shootaround and the arena before the game.

ETB: Is this Sheed’s last season with the Detroit Pistons? Any chance he calls it a day next summer?

Watson: I think it is. There’s talk that Rasheed will see even fewer minutes this season… but he averaged only 30.5 minutes per game last year. How few does he have to average to still be effective come playoff time? To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if Joe Dumars pulls off a blockbuster at the trade deadline; between Wallace’s expiring contract and Rip Hamilton’s early-termination option, that’s $24.2 million of potential cap space. That’s enough to make a play for, well, anybody.

As far as next year and the future, I just don’t think he wants to battle for 36 minutes a night over an entire season anymore, which is what most teams will want if they’re paying him anything close to what he’s making now. If he does play next year, I’m guessing he goes to a team where he’d complement a dominant big man and doesn’t have to carry the load. Maybe home to Philly, next to Elton Brand? Or maybe Orlando, next to “his intern” Dwight Howard?

Much more NBA hoops talk from Matt Watson after the break…

ETB: As would be expected, there’s been a ton of positive reports coming out of Detroit about the breath of fresh air new head coach Michael Curry has brought to the team. Will he actually prove to be an upgrade over Flip Saunders in terms of how much he gets out of the players?

Watson: To be fair, Flip Saunders did a dynamite job getting the most out of his starters. Chauncey Billups was good under Larry Brown, but he became great under Saunders. Billups and Hamilton never made an All-Star team before Saunders came to town, but they’ve each made three straight since he’s arrived. Even Wallace was a two-time All-Star under Saunders.

I think Saunders’ biggest failing, though, is managing the rest of his rotation. Carlos Delfino was woefully underused in 2005-06, as was Jason Maxiell in 2006-07 and Amir Johnson last year. And when playoff time came around, forget about it. Saunders froze up and religiously stuck with his veterans, playing guys like Chris Webber, Dale Davis, and Theo Ratliff over young, fresh legs on the bench eager to play.

Saunders set the bar awfully high, especially if you’re only concerned about wins and losses. But if Curry can develop the bench so that Dumars can make informed decisions about how best to manage the roster, I think it should be considered a successful year. As things currently stand, I think there are too many players Dumars is (justifiably) scared to trade simply because we haven’t seen just how high their ceiling is.

ETB: The Pistons currently have a 3-year, $15 million contract extension on the table for Jason Maxiell. Can he ever be the starting power forward for a team harboring serious NBA title ambitions?

Watson: I can’t make up my mind. Maxiell is at his best when he’s playing full-throttle, whether he’s tearing the rim down or blocking shots into the fifth row. Can he keep that up for 30 minutes a game? Can anyone? At 6-foot-7, it’s easy to call him “undersized,” but he’s very strong, a surprisingly good leaper, and has extremely long arms. Plus, he knows how to get down low and knock larger players off their base – he did a surprisingly good job against Dwight Howard in the playoffs.

The knock on him is that he seems to wear down and disappear for a few games, but to be honest, everybody on this team is guilty of that. Tayshaun Prince is here one series and gone the next; Wallace will lead the team in scoring one night and fail to crack double-digits the next. Antonio McDyess is hitting everything in sight one game and then taking just a couple of shots the next. To accuse Maxiell of fading when he doesn’t get a single play called for him is a little unfair. If he’s satisfied with the role, though, I think he could have a long career as a Corliss Williamson-type player – a starter on a few bad teams and an excellent sixth man on a few good ones.

ETB: Amir Johnson has tantalized Pistons fans with his undeniable potential and short bursts of production, but frustrated them with his inconsistency both in terms of minutes played and performance. Now 21 years old and entering his fourth NBA season, will this kid eventually be well worth the wait?

Watson: I’m absolutely convinced Johnson will be a star in this league. Just like Maxiell, he doesn’t need time to warm up when he enters the game: the moment you call his number he’s diving for loose balls, blocking shots, and making things happen. But unlike Maxiell, he won the genetic lottery–he’s taller, faster, and younger.

In addition to the highlight reel stuff–the awesome blocks and dunks–he’s also one of the most productive players in the entire league when you adjust for minutes played. That’s not a fluke, that’s a direct result of pure effort. He needs to harness that and continue to play smarter (he averaged 8.8 fouls per 48 minutes), but I think that will come with experience as well as confidence knowing that he has a legitimate role in the rotation.

ETB: Will Chauncey Billups play out the life of his current contract, which goes through the 2011-12 season, as a member of the Pistons?

Watson: I’d be shocked if Billups is traded this year, and beyond that I think it depends on what Rip Hamilton decides to do next summer. If Hamilton exercises his ETO (Early-Termination Option), I could see the Pistons letting him go and sticking with a Billups-Stuckey backcourt. If Hamilton stays and Stuckey develops as expected, I imagine Dumars will consider moving Billups or Hamilton in 2009-10.

It’s also worth mentioning that 2011-12 is a team option year, so it’s theoretically possible Billups could walk after 2011, though I can’t imagine any scenario not involving severe injury in which that would actually happen.

ETB: Which NBA team will most improve upon their regular-season record last year compared to this year, and why?

Watson: This is easy: the Miami Heat. Dwyane Wade looked like his old self in Beijing, and a whole year with Wade, Shawn Marion, and Michael Beasley in the lineup may be enough to get them back into the playoffs. I personally think 9th or 10th in the conference is more realistic, but that’s still a huge step forward from where they were last year.

Plus, James Jones gives them the long-distance shooter they missed by letting Jason Kapono go. They still need some depth, but it’s easier than most people think to pick up spare pieces along the way, especially if Alonzo Mourning makes it back sometime in the second half.

ETB: Which two rookies will have the biggest impact for their respective teams?

Watson: I’m guessing O.J. Mayo will lead all rookies in scoring, but what does that get the Grizzlies? They’re still going to be bad. I think Beasley will make more of an overall contribution to his team’s success, even if that means playing third-fiddle to Wade and Marion.

Same goes for Greg Oden. The Blazers have a nice thing going with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, but Oden should provide that anchor in the middle that really helps this team take the next step. There’s no way his numbers end up being as gaudy as other players, but that’s because he’ll be on a winning team and not playing a starring role to failure.

(Also, a bonus player: I’m not sure how much better the Timberwolves will be, but Kevin Love convinced me in summer league that he’s going to be extremely productive from Day 1. A lot of people have low expectations for him, but he has all the makings of being a solid, solid player for a long time.)

(Okay, naming four players is kind of a cop-out, so to recap: Beasley and Oden will make the biggest impact; Mayo will have the best stats and win Rookie of the Year; Love will turn heads.)

ETB: What’s the most memorable NBA game you’ve ever been to, and why does it stand out as such?

Watson: I was fortunate to get tickets to Game 5 of the 2004 Finals, so I’ll never forget being at the Palace to see the Pistons win it all. (Fun fact: the picture at the top of my blog was taken from pre-game introductions of that game.) The funny thing is that our seats were so far away (literally the last row) and I was so excited that I actually remember very little of the action on the court.

If I could, I wish I could see that game replayed on television; I feel like I’m missing out whenever people mention specific plays from that game. All I recall is that the Pistons had built such a big lead after three quarters that everybody in the Palace spent the last quarter celebrating and counting down the minutes. It was absolutely electric: random strangers were buying each other beer, everybody was high-fiving each other, the entire place was singing “Deee-troit Basket-ball” (which, at the time, was still new and catchy) with Mason the PA announcer every time the Lakers turned the ball over – as a fan, it was just an incredible experience.

More ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series:

Jason Maxiell Photo Credit: Icon SMI

ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Part 2)

Brian Spencer — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:06:05 +0000

A certain well-known head coach from the collegiate ranks found his hide slightly more tanned yesterday following Part 1 of our interview with best-selling author and Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski. In the second part of our virtual fireside chat with this titan of NBA writers, it’s certain recycled–and unnamed–league GMs taking a few jabs to the chin.

Of course, that’s just our juicy, gossipy hook: these interviews with Wojnarowski have mostly focused on the positive aspects and developments in this league we all love so dearly. As with all of the interviewees we’ve featured in our ongoing Scribes of the NBA Series, we owe a hearty thank you to Adrian for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk hoops with us.

Alright, let’s get to it: Part 2 of ETB’s interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.

ETB: There’s been lots of moving and shaking going on this summer. Between the draft, free agency, and trades what are your favorite moves on paper so far?

Wojnarowski: Elton Brand changes so much for the Sixers. Ed Stefanski did a great job to exploit that wedge between David Falk and the Clippers, create more cap space, and get that deal done. Philly adds Brand to such an intriguing, young nucleus in Philly.

Obviously I love New Orleans’ signing of James Posey. They had to overpay a little, but that’s the only way they were going to get him out of Boston. He’s exactly the winning, veteran presence that they needed on those two long off days between the Hornets’ Games 6 and 7 against the Spurs. And while he didn’t play much a year ago, the talent and growth of Julian Wright in New Orleans will be dramatic. He was a great pick late in the lottery for GM Jeff Bower and his assistant, Brian Hagen, a year ago. Once Wright blossoms this year to bolster that Hornets bench they are going to have a frightening array of weapons.

With a motivated Jermaine O’Neal, Toronto will return to the elite in the East. This was a good gamble by Bryan Colangelo. He is getting O’Neal at the right time in his career and the fact that he can play off Chris Bosh—and no longer needs to be the star—is a huge benefit for him.

A couple of smaller pickups that are underrated:

- The Spurs grabbed Roger Mason, who can score the ball off the bench.

- Marc Gasol is going to be a good NBA player for Memphis. I really was surprised by his versatility at the Olympics. I had thought he was just a bruiser, but he has some ‘stuff’ in his offensive game.

- Also, I think Darius Miles has done a lot of maturing. His knee appears better. Danny Ainge had nothing to lose bringing him into Boston. Finally, Miles will have some real peer mentoring around him. He had spent most of his career with knucklehead crews with the Clippers, Blazers, and Cavaliers. That said, Darius was one of the leading knuckleheads, so we’ll see.

- The move that DIDN’T happen that still blows me away: Why didn’t the Knicks give Zach Randolph’s contract to the Clippers when the Clips were far enough under the cap to not have to return any salary to New York? Donnie Walsh had a chance to shed that deal, take back no money, and he didn’t do it.

More good stuff in Part 2 of ETB’s interview with Adrian Wojnarowski after the break…

ETB: A lot of casual fans see today’s trades as more financial and salary cap games than actual exchanges of talent. Then, of course, there’s this summer’s mid-tier free agent exodus to Europe. Is the system broken, and if so how can it be addressed?

Wojnarowski: I actually think it’s good for the NBA to lose a few guys to Europe, Russia, etc. I don’t think it’s harmful. The NBA will import some and it’ll export some.

Here’s the bigger issue the NBA is facing: They have franchises like Memphis and Atlanta that are such nickel-dime operations, so dysfunctional, that players feel leaving for Europe might give them a better, more professional environment. That’s a sad statement on the bottom-feeding franchises in the NBA.

To me, that’s a big part of why Josh Childress left for Greece. He could’ve stayed for more money in Atlanta, but understandably had had it with that organization. Juan Carlos Navarro left Memphis to go home to Spain, too. In a lot of cases, it’s just restricted free agents getting low-balled by NBA teams who are finding an appetite for the burgeoning international dollar. There’s no chance the NBA is going to make this a more player-friendly free agent system. They’ll take their hits, let guys go, and wait to see if this ever costs them a Kobe or a Wade.

ETB: In your estimation, who is the most savvy personnel man in the NBA today and why?

Wojnarowski: I can’t pick one, but I’ll say this: The best GM’s are those who pick the right players for their coaches and their systems. Here are five consistently good ones:

1. Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons
2. R.C. Buford, San Antonio Spurs
3. Bryan Colangelo, Toronto Raptors
4.. Jeff Bower, New Orleans Hornets
5. Kevin O’Connor, Utah Jazz

I’ll say this, too: I wish the same guys would stop getting recycled so often for GM jobs. Tommy Sheppard (Washington), Chris Grant (Cleveland), and David Griffin (Phoenix) are assistant GM’s ready to make the leap.

ETB: The Tim Donaghy Scandal was in the news again, with referee Scott Foster also revealed earlier this summer as a possible accomplice. As a writer you have to cover it, but as a fan do you care? Does it affect the way you watch or think about the NBA?

Wojnarowski: I care deeply. Everyone should. Nothing in the NBA matters unless not only is the officiating above board, but the perception is that the officiating is above board. For years, the NBA insisted that it just had a perception problem; only it had a real problem. They need to keep doing a better job of developing young officials, monitoring them, and giving teams and fans a real sense of transparency about the operation.

ETB: Philly, Atlanta, New Orleans, Portland: there are a number of exciting young teams in the NBA right now. Which is your favorite and which is most likely to bring home an NBA title first?

Wojnarowski: That’s easy—the Hornets. They have a chance to win a title this year. They are a wildly entertaining team to watch play, and they do it on both ends, too. The others would be happy to win a playoff series this year.

ETB: Where do you feel the D-League has the biggest room for improvement? Do you agree with the approach as far as in which markets (read: small) many teams have been placed in so far?

Wojnarowski: You know, I love the D-League and had a blast covering the D-League Showcase in Idaho last year. It’s a great event to connect with front-office guys from the league, but there’s so much good development going on there. There are coaches in the D-League, like Bryan Gates in Idaho, who belong in the NBA… and will get there. Jeff Ruland left Albuquerque for the 76ers, where he will be a great resource for Philly’s big guys.

You are starting to see franchises like the Spurs use their affiliate (Austin) team as a true extension of their own organization, a place to teach “The Spurs Way.” (Much to the dismay of the commissioner’s office, of course.) To me, San Antonio has built a model of how to do things with Austin. They will reap benefits there.

ETB: A lot can and will change between now and opening day, but if you had to pick the 2008-09 NBA Champ right now, who would it be and why?

Wojnarowski: I wonder if Boston can stay injury-free this year. They’ll miss Posey. As much as everyone is waiting for the return of Andrew Bynum, he still needs to prove he can be a consistent and motivated player through 82 games… never mind a long playoff chase. That said, I think he’ll get there. I’ll take the Lakers.

Recommended Columns by Adrian Wojnarowski:

- Europe Offers More Than Vacation to Players
- Landing Davis No Laughing Matter for Clippers
- Long Wait Finally Over for Garnett
- D.J.’s Greatness Extended to His Final Team
- Big Apple Could Take Big Bite Out of D’Antoni

More ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series:

NBA Basketball and David Stern Photos Credit: Icon SMI

ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Part 1)

Brian Spencer — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:48:44 +0000

Mike Krzyzewski Photo Credit: Icon SMI

We have a real treat for you today, loyal readers and NBA fans.

There are few NBA writers we hold in higher regard than Mr. Adrian Wojnarowski, the backbone of Yahoo! Sports’ excellent NBA coverage. He also just happens to be the author of the New York Times bestseller The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball’s Most Improbable Dynasty, which is being made into a major motion picture. (Buy the book on Amazon.)

We’ve broken Wojnarowski’s interview into two parts, with Part 1 focusing on his thoughts and experiences from Beijing in covering Team USA’s run to gold-medal redemption. Part 2 will follow tomorrow, and boy howdy is it ever juicy–don’t miss it. Without further ado, we welcome Adrian Wojnarowski as the latest subject of our ongoing Scribes of the NBA Interview Series.

Empty the Bench: You spent a few weeks in Beijing for the Olympics. In covering the U.S. team as they played and lived in a much different environment than what they’re accustomed to, what did you learn about a few players on the U.S. team and their personalities, skills, etc. that was surprising?

Adrian Wojnarowski: Spending a lot of time around that team mostly reinforced some things that I already believed about the players. Here are a few:

Kobe Bryant is calculating, smart, and maybe the league’s most ‘aware’ player of circumstances, surroundings, and angles. LeBron James doesn’t like when things aren’t all about him. Dwyane Wade is never too impressed with himself. Carmelo Anthony will always tell you the truth.

To me, the biggest surprise was how much credit that people wanted to give Mike Krzyzewski for this team. The least surprising? The fact that he has already sold another ‘motivational’ book that will detail his leadership of the gold-medal winning team.

As one NBA GM said to me, “I guess K didn’t have time to do a book after ’06.” Those were the world championships when Krzyzewski couldn’t make an adjustment to stop the Greece pick and roll and didn’t prepare enough to know the names of the Greek players. The insistence after that semifinal loss was that the team was too young and too inexperienced. They had enough to win in ’06, but obviously they were much better by ’08. Still, putting that loss in the Worlds on the players was typical of the college coaching establishment. They want the credit when it goes well, and none of the blame when it doesn’t.

Krzyzewski said it himself: This was an easy team to coach. It really was. They were motivated. They were focused. They were determined to be unselfish. The biggest thing of all was this is that they had been together for most of 3 years. He had the best talent. The best preparation time. And to his credit, he made the most of it.

But I’ve been around that program enough the past two years to know this: The leadership on this team came primarily from two places: Jerry Colangelo and Jason Kidd/Kobe Bryant. Listen, Colangelo gave Coach K an excess of talent, and he still needed every last superstar—Kobe, Wade, LeBron, etc.—to beat Spain in that gold medal game. It’s kind of typical of the college culture and its enablers to make sure the coach gets all the credit.

Jerry Colangelo and the USA Basketball staff—which includes behind-the-scenes guys like Jim Tooley and Sean Ford—gave this national team the structure it needed to succeed. Colangelo convinced everyone that for a true national program, Team USA needed to turn to a true European model. David Stern gets a lot of credit, too, because he gave Colangelo the resources and autonomy to make this work.

Yet, understand this: mostly, they had great, great players. A-list NBA stars. The B-list guys won’t do it anymore. Unlike in college, they don’t let the coach stand on the ladder and cut down the nets. In the pros and the Olympics, they know the truth: you win with the players.

More on the Team USA Olympics experience from Adrian Wojnarowski after the break…

ETB: Which players do you think will benefit most from their experience playing with the U.S. team this summer? Has it been a detriment to anybody’s development? For example, it looks like Dwight Howard still hasn’t worked on any go-to moves in the post beyond the dunk.

Wojnarowski: Colangelo and I talked a lot about this over the summer. This program will make the NBA a better league. I think the experience taught these guys a lot of things. For guys like Michael Redd and Carlos Boozer, they found out what it’s like to not be a star for the first time, to sit on the bench and hope they’ll get a chance to play. I think that gives those guys more empathy and understanding of teammates on the Jazz and Bucks, for example. That’s a perspective All-Stars don’t often get in the league.

Colangelo believes that Krzyzewski’s teaching will actually make these players better. I think the players learned far more from each other though. To think that Dwight Howard is getting something that Stan Van Gundy and Patrick Ewing couldn’t give him? I’m not buying that. There are always exceptions, I know, but far, far more quality coaching goes on in the NBA than NCAA. As you might have noticed, NBA coaches don’t have to fill out their staffs with AAU coaches to bring in recruits.

There’s never been much of a correlation between a Duke apprenticeship and NBA success. The great pros out of Duke—namely Grant Hill and Elton Brand—would’ve been terrific NBA players had they gone to, say, Medaille College. What’s more, the Team USA guys watched how true superstars like Wade, LeBron, and Kobe gave of their games for the greater good of the team. They saw how hard the great ones worked at it.

To me, Chris Paul’s growth has a leader has really been measurable as part of Team USA. That’s true with Howard and Bosh, too. In fact, the Olympics left you thinking that Bosh could be the most underrated talent in the league. If nothing else, Anthony’s game is incredibly tailored for international basketball. And I really hope it’s the case with ‘Melo. He’s needed this more than anyone.

ETB: What was your most memorable non-sports experience of the Beijing Olympics?

Wojnarowski: I’d say my most memorable experience in China was the arrival of the Internet traffic scores that reported the historic gulf in users and readership between Yahoo! Sports and the rest of our competitors. (Ed note: zing!)

Part 2 to follow…

Recommended Team USA Columns by Adrian Wojnarowski:

- Team USA Finds Redemption is Golden
- Kobe Turns a Year Older, A Decade Wiser
- Olympic Glory Too High a Cost for NBA
- In New Russia, Basketball is Progressive

More from ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series:

Chris Paul Photo Credit: Icon SMI

BallHype – ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Part 1)

ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Scott Carefoot of Raptor Blog

Brian Spencer — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:29:46 +0000

Jose Calderon, Sam Mitchell Photo Credit: Icon SMI

We didn’t know much about Scott Carefoot, author of the snappy, inciteful Raptor Blog, until recently. Okay, to be honest we’d never heard of him until he recently dropped us a note that said his formerly in-hiatus site was now back in business and that we might want to give it a read. We’re glad we did.

Ostensibly dedicated to the Toronto Raptors but touching on the NBA in general nearly just as much, Carefoot’s Raptor Blog is a great example of why some of the best, most unique opinions and analysis on the NBA are found within this so-called blogosphere. His commentary is crisp, clean, and well-informed, and the humor is smart without being snarky. Yep, we’re fans.

So without further ado, it’s time to play 10 questions with Raptor Blog’s Scott Carefoot for our latest installment of ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series.

Empty the Bench: What is this Toronto Raptors team most lacking heading into 2008-09? Do they have a realistic shot at an Eastern Conference Finals appearance this year?

Scott Carefoot: Losing T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Carlos Delfino, and Jorge Garbajosa means that this team would appear to be lacking in bench strength. Of course, that’s what I thought about the Celtics going into last season. As for an Eastern Finals appearance, this team should definitely be able to compete with the Pistons, Magic, or Sixers in a second-round matchup – which is certainly an upgrade from how they laid down to the Magic last season.

ETB: Is Chris Bosh the all-around most likeable star in today’s NBA? Or, perhaps more accurately: should he be?

Carefoot: He’s definitely up there. If I was a Magic fan I’d probably nominate Dwight Howard for that title. Bosh’s videos are fun but in terms of NBA moments that actually made me smile for days afterwards, Howard’s “Superman dunk” is tough to top. Regardless, Howard and Bosh are a couple of good examples of guys to point to when ignoramuses claim that the NBA is a “league of thugs.”

ETB: How worried are you that Bosh will opt out of his current deal in the summer of 2010 and head for greener American pastures, where the opportunity for more endorsement deals might be greater?

Carefoot: I think the endorsement argument is a little bogus when it comes to whether or not star players want to play in Toronto. In terms of North American media markets, Toronto is only behind New York, L.A. and Chicago.

As for worrying about what Bosh will do in 2010 – what’s the point? A lot can happen between now and then. I certainly don’t want Bryan Colangelo to kowtow to his every whim to keep him happy. I remember how well that went with previous management and Vince Carter. The Milt Palacio Era is still a haunting memory.

Much more from Raptor Blog’s one and only Scott Carefoot after the jump…

ETB: When the regular season winds down next April and the playoffs begin, how much of an impact will Jermaine O’Neal have had on both ends of the floor in his first full season with the Raptors? What’s your over/under on games played by J.O.?

Carefoot: O’Neal’s impact should be felt most significantly on defense, where the Raptors previously had the reputation of being soft inside. He’s really not a very efficient offensive player, so I would actually prefer it if he’s a third or fourth option on offense – but I doubt that will happen since O’Neal will surely see himself as Option 1B at worst.

I can’t really say how many games J.O. will play in and it’s foolish for me to pretend I can predict that. I will say that if he can play in 65-70 regular season games and be healthy for the playoffs, that would satisfy me.

ETB: So far the 2006 NBA Draft isn’t shaping up to be an especially strong one. Five of the top ten picks are arguably pushing “bust status” already—will Andrea Bargnani join them? What are your expectations for Bargnani in the 2008-09 season?

Carefoot: I’m not going to sugarcoat this. For all of Colangelo’s smart moves he made in Phoenix and Toronto, the Bargnani pick is shaping up to be a colossal fuck-up. If he doesn’t show substantial improvement next season, there will be very little doubt that he blew the 2006 draft in passing on LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay to take his fellow Italian.

So far Bargnani looks like a seven-foot shooting specialist who doesn’t rebound, doesn’t understand the concept of help defense, and isn’t actually that good of a shooter based on his performance so far. His most comparable NBA player at this point is Vladimir Radmanovic, and that’s not who you take with the first-overall pick in a draft.

ETB: As a 27-year-old rookie, Jamario Moon was one of the best stories last year in stepping right into the starting lineup and averaging 8.5 points, 6.2 boards, 1.4 blocks, and 1 steal. Will he equal and perhaps top those numbers in his sophomore season?

Carefoot: Jamario was definitely the feel-good Raptors story of the season, but the backlash has already begun from fans who don’t consider him a truly worthy starting small forward. The bottom line is that he’s a high-energy, super-athletic hustle guy with below-average offensive skill so it’s unrealistic to expect his numbers to increase much.

Considering Moon’s role on the team, the one thing I’d like to see him get better at is hitting his mid-range and three-point shots when he’s open. With O’Neal and Bosh commanding attention down low and with Calderon becoming increasingly money from outside, Moon should get a lot of open looks next season.

ETB: Speaking of versatile forwards—what’s the story with four-year vet and ’05 first-round pick Joey Graham? He went from appearing in 80 games and averaging about 17 or 18 minutes/per in each of his first two pro seasons to just 38 games and 9 minutes last year. Has he permanently played himself out of the rotation?

Carefoot: Joey Graham is an enigma wrapped in an Incredible Hulk costume. He’s shown zero improvement over his three seasons and he’s now 26 years old. I think it’s safe to say at this point that he’s a remarkable physical specimen and a nice guy who just isn’t very good at the game of basketball.

ETB: After all the draft-day dust had settled, the Raps were left with 6-10 Australian-born center Nathan Jawai as their first-round pick. Aside from his unfortunate “Baby Shaq” nickname, what do you know about this kid and how much floor time will he see in his rookie season?

Carefoot: I know nothing about Nathan Jawai and I expect even less (if that’s possible). There has been a long procession of mysterious big men who have arrived in Toronto from various locales over the years, and none of them panned out. Look up the career stats of Garth Joseph, Nate Huffman, Pape Sow, Alex Radojevic, Mengke Bateer, and Mamadou N’diaye and you’ll get a rough sense of my expectations regarding Jawai. On the other hand, who saw Jamario Moon coming?

ETB: Non-Raptors question: who are your top three most likely candidates to enjoy a breakout season in the NBA next season?

Carefoot: Amir Johnson of the Pistons (I was pissed when the Raptors didn’t sign him in ’07), Carl Landry of the Rockets, and Ramon Sessions of the Bucks are my three main breakout picks for ’08-09. And just because, I’m going to include a bonus Raptors pick: Kris “Big Sexy” Humphries. Whether or not Raptors brass is willing to admit it, he should be the first Raptors big man off the bench until Bargnani begins to live up to the hype.

ETB: Alright—you’re getting the same Canadian treatment J.E. Skeets got in his ETB interview. Please reveal your favorite SCTV cast member. Explain why, and cite a specific example.

Carefoot: I’m going to give a response that I’m certain almost nobody else has ever given to this question. I have to go with Joe Flaherty. SCTV News, Count Floyd, and anything with Guy Cabellero were always the scenes that made me laugh the hardest. Candy and Short got all the glory from that show, but Flaherty was definitely its unsung hero.

More ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series:

- J.E. Skeets of Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie
- David Friedman of 20 Second Timeout
- Ron Hitley of Hornets 24/7
- Ryne “Odenized” Nelson of SLAMonline
- Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty and FanHouse
- Brett Hainline of Queen City Hoops
- Dave Deckard of Blazer’s Edge
- Kurt of Forum Blue and Gold
- Brian Powell of Awful Announcing
- Lee Grammier of The Dream Shake
- Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Part 1
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Part 2
- Matt Watson of AOL FanHouse and Detroit Bad Boys
- Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed.com

Andrea Bargnani Photo Credit: Icon SMI

ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead

Brian Spencer — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:48:18 +0000

The Big Lead has become somewhat of a real-life Field of Dreams… if you replaced Kevin’s Costner’s baseball field with one of the most heavily updated sports blogs on the Web. Now, that’s not to say the site’s head honcho and subject of our latest ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series, Jason McIntyre, has heard any whispered promises of “if you build it, they will come.” But since launching The Big Lead in 2006, come they have: TBL is now receiving upwards of 2 million+ hits a month.

Like many bloggers, McIntyre enjoyed an anonymous life in his field until being unmasked in a recent Sports Illustrated profile. Of course, ETB’s fellow Brooklynite had already long been revealed as a clever writer, tireless worker, and excellent interviewer, the latter through an ongoing series of talks with some of the biggest and most well-known names in sports media (links to a few of those below).

Without further ado, we sit down for a cozy fireside chat (via email) with The Big Lead’s Jason McIntyre.

Empty the Bench: The Big Lead has, in part, made its name from its ongoing series of excellent interviews with sports media personalities. Who’s been your
favorite interview so far in 2008 and why?

Jason McIntyre: It’s tough to pick just one. My sentimental choice would be Kornheiser, just because I idolized him growing up reading the Washington Post. Buzz Bissinger was timely and fun. Klosterman was fun. Karen Crouse’s responses might have been the most memorable. Selena Roberts’ may have been the most eye-opening. Readers, for the longest time, had wanted to hear from Joe Posnanski and Wright Thompson, and their responses were terrific.

ETB: The Big Lead is known for maintaining a high volume of daily content. How often do you experience “writer’s block” and how do you try to get over it?

McIntyre: Food, the gym, or interns. I also try to read as much non-sports as possible during the day. There’s no way I could sit at a computer for nine hours and think and write about sports. Impossible. Lately, I’ve been taking some mid-day Madden breaks just to break up the monotony.

ETB: Which free-agent signing or trade that’s happened so far this summer will have the most impact next season in the NBA?

McIntyre: Elton Brand? The swing for the Clippers and 76ers was massive.One day, the Paper Clips had Baron Davis and Elton Brand and Chris Kaman and enough talent to reach the playoffs; the next week, Elton Brand was gone and offensively-challenged Marcus Camby was in the mix.

Love Brand on the 76ers. I can see them finishing as high as third in the East. Brand, when healthy, can be a 20-10 machine. Bullish on the 76ers to win a round, maybe two in the postseason, even though Brand doesn’t have a playoff history to warrant that outlook. (Editor’s Note: this is not McIntyre or anyone affiliated with TBL in the video below.)

More from The Big Lead’s Jason McIntyre after the break…

David Stern Photo Credit: Icon SMI

ETB: Has NBA Commissioner David Stern taken enough heat for the Tim Donaghy gambling embarrassment? Should more have been said about Scott Foster’s potential role in this as well?

McIntyre: I don’t know… every pro league has its issues. Depending on what numbers you want to believe, half of baseball was using PEDs the last few years, and this year a ton of stars have seen their numbers drop (or have battled injuries) and a guy nobody’s heard of, Carlos Quentin, is leading baseball in homers.

The NFL offseason is littered with arrests. I think the NBA and Stern took a fair amount of heat for the Donaghy mess. Frankly, I don’t think many fans will care, just as they don’t about PEDs in baseball or NFL player arrests. Is attendance down for any of those sports? Is anyone going to quit paying attention to the NBA because Tim Donaghy fixed a few games a few years ago?

ETB: Is this run of NBA free agents heading overseas to play in Europe a fad or a trend? Will this have any effect on the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, and if so, any guesses on how it’ll be addressed?

McIntyre: Wow, that’s way above my pay grade.I can only hope it’s not a trend, because I don’t think my cable can pick up games in Greece, where LeBron or Kobe could end up playing. I can’t fault the players for taking advantage of it, though—it’s no different than someone getting a job offer overseas for more money for a few years.

Leave the country, soak up some culture, get paid, and then return to the U.S. in a few years. They have the internet in Russia, right? The NBA is one of my favorite sports, so yeah, I hope Stern addresses this situation.

ETB: Do you expect Team USA to return to its dominant form in Beijing? What’s your prediction for this team’s fate?

McIntyre: Because I took so long on this, can I predict a dominant performance from the team, and a close-ish Gold medal triumph over… Spain?

ETB: Who are you most looking forward to seeing on a NBA court next season for the first time: 2007 first-overall pick Greg Oden or 2008 first-overall pick Derrick Rose?

McIntyre: Oden, and it’s not even close. The Bulls were the biggest letdown in the league, and already had a backcourt. So they drafted another PG? I like Rose as a player, but point guards with little college experience usually take some time to get acclimated to the league.

I’m far more interested in Oden. The Blazers are going to be exciting next year what with all that young talent and Rudy Fernandez. I hope their games are streamed online.

ETB: The Big Lead usually uses photos of “sexy women” in its posts, most often in the daily Roundups. Have you made a direct correlation that images like these help increase traffic/visitor loyalty? Do you ever worry about alienating or degrading the female reader?

McIntyre: Things most guys enjoy: sports, TV, drinking, women, movies, music. The majority of our readership is males. It is a formula that seems to work for us. I don’t believe I’ve ever had a complaint via email from a female reader saying they felt alienated or degraded by any photos we have posted.

ETB: What affect did your profile/interview on SI.com have, if any, on the The Big Lead in terms of traffic, exposure, various media and blogger personalities contacting you, etc.? How did that interview come about?

McIntyre: How it came about: Deitsch asked. I thought about it for about four seconds and then went with it. It’s Sports Illustrated. As a longtime sports fan, it’s tough to turn down SI. There was a traffic spike after the interview. Exposure-wise, yes, it certainly helped. Anytime you can put a face and a name to somebody, it’s going to help the business.

A few radio shows wouldn’t put me on in the past because I wouldn’t give my name, but as soon as I put my name on the blog, that changed. So it’s been positives pretty much all around.

ETB: Finally, a three-part Brooklyn question for you: who has the best pizza in the borough, which is your favorite bar (and why), and will you swim in McCarren Pool once it’s re-converted from a concert venue back into a pool next summer?

McIntyre: Ha. Is it a cop-out if I say Grimaldi’s was the best pizza I had in Brooklyn? I think that’s what everyone says. Strangely, I can’t think of one time where I was sober and had pizza and shouted, “THIS IS THE BEST PIZZA EVER!” I’m pretty flexible on pie. I know some folks can’t stand Dominoes, but I’m a fan (thick crust only).

As a backup, I’ll have to dip back to my single Manhattan days, when I’d literally go next door in my old Gramercy Park neighborhood and get a slice for $1.50. Those were the days. Dinner for $3, and yes, I’d do that regularly when I was broke as a joke in my newspaper days.

Other food is memorable though: For instance, there’s this dessert place in Baltimore that I’ve been raving about to anyone who will listen. It’s called Vaccaro’s. It’s a pastry shop and there’s always a line out the door. I got a cheesecake with a chocolate topping (!) that was off-the-charts incredible. I must have devoured it in minutes, and my stomach looked like Al Roker’s afterward.

Favorite bar? Toughie. How weak is it to say that when you hunker down into that thing called marriage, you pull back from the bar scene a bit? I really have never been a bar guy. I always thought lounges were more conducive to meeting women as opposed to bars. I already wrote about my favorite spot in NY being Naked Lunch, but that’s in SoHo.

Swim in a public pool in New York? Sure!

More ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series:

- J.E. Skeets of Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie
- David Friedman of 20 Second Timeout
- Ron Hitley of Hornets 24/7
- Ryne “Odenized” Nelson of SLAMonline
- Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty and FanHouse
- Brett Hainline of Queen City Hoops
- Dave Deckard of Blazer’s Edge
- Kurt of Forum Blue and Gold
- Brian Powell of Awful Announcing
- Lee Grammier of The Dream Shake
- Scott Carefoot of Raptor Blog
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Part 1
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Part 2
- Matt Watson of AOL FanHouse and Detroit Bad Boys
- Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed.com

Greg Oden Photo Credit: Icon SMI

ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Lee Grammier of The Dream Shake

Andrew Thell — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:59:21 +0000

Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon Photo Credit: Icon SMI

The Houston Rockets’ season ended in heartbreaking fashion, felled once again by those vile Jazz of Utah. After knocking the Rockets out for a second consecutive season, one of the best rivalries in basketball has been reborn – one that started with The Dream versus Stock and The Mailman (1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998 playoffs). But Houston made the biggest offseason splash this side of Philadelphia with the acquisition of controversial forward Ron Artest, and they’re hoping his addition will push Houston past Utah and deep into the postseason.

You won’t find a better blog chronicling those playoff dreams than The Dream Shake, named in honor of everyone’s favorite Rocket. The Dream Shake is curated by David Clark and Lee Grammier, two rabid Rockets fans who live and die with their team and know as much about them as anybody in the blogosphere.

ETB is proud to present ten questions and ten answers with Mr. Lee Grammier.

Empty the Bench: Tracy McGrady: vent or defend him. Is T-Mac just a loser?

Lee Grammier: Tracy is a very capable player, one of the greatest talents the NBA has ever seen. And I truly mean that, his skill as a basketball player is up there with the best of all time. Why hasn’t he made it out of the first round? In Orlando his team sucked, they were there solely on his back, you can’t pin that on him. In Houston, we’ve run up against a Dallas team that we should have beaten and Utah twice, a team the Rockets have not matched up well with. Is Tracy a loser for not making it out of the first round? I say no. His playoff stats are better than his regular season stats and that says a lot about him. Is his career legacy at stake if he doesn’t get out of the first round this year? Yes. [Ed. Note: That sounds familiar... ]

ETB: Who would you rather keep: Tracy McGrady or Shane Battier? Salary — and who else it could be used on — is a factor.

Grammier: With the addition of Artest, the answer is to keep Tracy. Without Artest, I’d lean towards keeping Shane. Seems crazy, but the real reason is the “salary is a factor” part. If I can spend $20 million on someone else, or $10 million on two someones, I think it’s almost a no brainer to do that. With Artest the Rockets have three legitimate stars, and luckily we don’t have to get rid of any of them if we do not want to.

ETB: What does Rick Adelman do for the Rockets that Jeff Van Gundy didn’t? Given your druthers, who would you rather have coaching the Rockets?

Grammier: He taught them offense. I have mad man love for JVG but he was not in any way an offensive mastermind. The knock on Adelman was always that his defense was somewhat lacking. So what does Adelman do? Tell them not to change a thing on defense, keep up the intensity. To go along with that he taught them how to efficiently play offense. It wasn’t always pretty, and until 2008 came around, it was pretty ugly, but the defense was there while they worked through the offensive kinks. Once the offense started rolling, the Rockets won 12 in a row. Then disaster struck and Yao went down. I’m still hoping we see a full NBA season without a major injury for the Rockets. If that happens, look out league!

Talking Yao’s health, Rafer’s shooting, and Hakeem Olajuwon memories after the jump…

ETB: Yao Ming has topped out at 57 games played over the last three seasons. Are you still on board the Yao bandwagon? Are these freak injuries or will this guy just never stay healthy?

Grammier: Good God yes. Yao is the best center in the league, and while I really like Dwight Howard, the two aren’t even comparable. Yao gets a bad rap of being soft. Anyone that has actually seen healthy Yao knows better. Dunking over KG last year really took every bit of that stigma off of him, for me at least. His offensive skills are the best from a big man since Hakeem was in the league (Bullying your way into the lane with your shoulder is not a “skill” Shaq). While his defense is merely very good, and not quite to great, Yao has improved defensively every year he has been in the league. I think that defense is more hampered by the lack of actual centers in the league and Yao being forced to guard what is effectively a second PF. His one on one defense is solid, but I think his help defense is vastly underrated.

I also believe that Sportscenter showing every time Yao gets “dunked on” makes people believe he’s not a good defender. It’s the dumbing down of the NBA fan and it’s truly frustrating. Yes, he’s gotten over late, but show me more than once where Yao got dunked on when he wasn’t just coming over late trying to help a teammate out. Also show me the guy that’s dunked on Yao more than Yao has blocked that same guy’s shot.

ETB: Rafer Alston is about as mercurial as starting point guards come. He’ll drop 12 dimes the night after a 1-assist game, and he’ll get hot for stretches from the field before laying an egg. Can a guy this erratic and with shooting percentages this poor (38.6% FGs, 72.5% FTs career) be a legit starting point?

Grammier: It really depends on what your definition of “legit” is. For me, it means any point guard that less than half the teams wouldn’t trade their starter straight up for. I think last year, despite the vitriol that Dave and I tossed out there at him, he was definitely in that upper half. Now, do I think he has top-ten potential? Hell no. But the real question is: Can he do what the Rockets need him to do on 85% of the nights, and 90% of the playoffs? I’m not completely convinced at this point. It’s absolutely within his capabilities though.

He will have to keep himself within his own game, and adding Artest is a huge piece towards allowing him to do that. No longer will he feel like he ever has to be the second scorer and most of the time he won’t need to be the third or fourth. When healthy the Rockets have four legitimate NBA scorers in Yao, McGrady, Artest and Scola. Scola’s second NBA season will go a long way as well. The number one change I feel he needs to make, that won’t be forced on him by the natural progression of other players, is to not make the stupid pass more than once per game. Rafer has been notorious for following up one terrible pass with 2 more within the same quarter; it has been a borderline epidemic. If he can eliminate that first bad pass from getting into his head, he could be right on the cusp of that top ten this year.

ETB: Obviously, you guys are some big Olajuwon fans. Let’s hear a couple favorite Hakeem memories — huge blocks, baskets or playoff performances.

Grammier: Obviously the two championships play a huge part in my memory of Hakeem. Without them I don’t think people would have realized just how good he was. Seriously, that first team had Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, a second year Robert Horry and Otis Thorpe in the starting lineup. As much as I love those guys, and they fit Rudy T and Hakeem’s game, let’s not pretend that’s a murder’s row of fellow stars.

My favorite Hakeem Moments outside of the championships:

3) Blocking Kevin Johnson on the fast break from behind – Hakeem chased him down and destroyed him. People tried to bring up Johnson dunking on Hakeem when he clearly caught him out of position. I like to toss back in their face that Hakeem chased down a point guard and blocked his shot on a fast break, something about 50 times more impressive.

2) Dunking over Ewing to go 15-0 – Hakeem pushed off his back, I know, but his dunk over Ewing was a thing of beauty. The push off gave him an extra foot or so on the vertical, it was extremely impressive athletically.

1) Every Dream Shake – Hakeem took footwork to a new level with the Dream Shake. It had 15-20 different variations, and as David Robinson saw, they could come at you four or five different ways at a time. His shot was unblockable and he did not travel. Anyone that really believes he did needs to go watch the tape.

ETB: Do you see any big men outside of Houston that remind you of Olajuwon? If not, what did he bring to the game that the big men of today don’t?

Grammier: And no, there have been three Centers in the history of the NBA, and honestly, it’s only been three, and any other argument is just silly, that can claim to have equal to better skills than Hakeem. Those three, in no particular order, are Wilt, Kareem and Russell. And here’s the thing, it would only be two, but people forget that Russell was only 6-8 or so and dominated like he was 7-2. People also forget that even with most pairs of shoes on Hakeem wasn’t more than 6-10, so you can’t use that argument for Russell over him, but I’ll let him be up here for the sheer skill and athleticism. You have to have to be a superstar to be a 6-8 center, even in that day and age.

The best centers in the league today are 1) Yao 2) Dwight Howard 3) Chris Kaman 4) Shaq 5) No one else. Of that group only Yao has any skills even on the same page (today) with Hakeem, and all of those are on the offensive end. No one even comes close to paralleling his defensive positioning or full arsenal of offensive moves in today’s game from the Center perspective. You ever see any of those guys break a guy down with his dribble like a guard? Hakeem did that once a game it seemed. Did you ever seen any player in history, other than Kareem, have a shot that was unblockable? He also has his own move in the Dream Shake, the best nickname in NBA history in The Dream and is a genuinely good guy that helps out his community, sometimes even to his own detriment. Yao’s commitment to community is actually pretty reminiscent of The Dream’s, so I’ll give him a lot of props there.

ETB: The Rockets have a knack for finding relatively unknown players that step up big. Who was the unsung or unrecognized hero of Houston last season? (Shane Battier doesn’t count)

Grammier: I’d love to put Luis Scola here, but that would be undermining the intelligence of basketball fans. Scola has been an international force for years. And since Battier doesn’t count (even though he should have been the DPOY), I’ll go with Carl Landry. He was a second-round pickup that, unless you were a Big 10 fan or a devout NCAA fan, you probably didn’t know a lot about. He helped form the Luis Landry PF tandem and really shined during the streak. His tenacity and finishing ability were spectacular. All this for about $1 million of salary and a little draft day ingenuity by Daryl Morey (The Ninja of GMs). His knee injury during the season was particularly troubling. With Landry and Rafer not at full health and Yao already out, the first round loss was inevitable. Landry signed only a one year deal and didn’t play a ton of minutes last year because of injury and having Scola in front of him. His contract situation is a mess. Here’s hoping he’s back at about three years and $9 million.

ETB: We’re trying to get a lot of opinions on this: Who is the most underrated player in the NBA today? Feel free to mention any others that come to mind.

Grammier: On the Rockets Luis Scola is the most underrated, but I fully expect that to change next year. His defense improved every game. It was a huge adjustment for him from the International game, but he did his best to solve for the errors he had in defensive judgment. His offensive skills are outstanding. Once he learns to really trust himself in the NBA, he’s going to be a breakout player. I expect the Rockets to score 100 plus with: Yao at 25, Tracy at 23, Artest at 17-19 and Scola at 15-16 a game. Scola has a deadly 15-17 foot jumper and when he realizes that dunking is okay, is a really good finisher. His tenaciousness is second to none on a team with Shane Battier and Chuck Hayes. I love that he gets under other teams’ skin a little and his passing is severely underrated. All in all, expect a big year from him.

In the league I think the most underrated player, that I care about, is David West. I know he had a big year last year and he made the All Star team, but people really didn’t see him for all he is. Last year he had a season on par with Tim Duncan. If you don’t believe me, check the stats:

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/david_west/head2head.html

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tim_duncan/head2head.html

And he can even shoot free throws! West had a huge NCAA tourney and I’m still not sure why he slipped in the draft, but the Hornets got ridiculously lucky with him at 18 in 2003 (Sweetney and Collison went before him for goodness sake). He and Chris Paul are my favorite non-Rockets in the league, so you better believe I’m traveling to New Orleans this year to see a Rockets vs. Hornets game.

Luis Scola, Andrei Kirilenko Photo Credit: Icon SMI

ETB: A lot can change between now and opening day, but if you had to pick the 2008-09 NBA Champ right now, who would it be and why?

Grammier:

1. Houston Rockets:
Cause I said so, and that always worked for my Mom, so I’m going to try it here
2. New Orleans Hornets:
Because they should have been there last year and are now playoff experienced
3. Los Angeles Lakers:
Still a great team, but losing Turiaf is going to hurt
4. San Antonio Spurs:
Are they on the every other year tear still?
5. Boston Celtics:
I don’t think they really got worse in the off season, but they did lose a few parts and probably lost a bit of their edge

More ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series:

- J.E. Skeets of Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie
- David Friedman of 20 Second Timeout
- Ron Hitley of Hornets 24/7
- Ryne “Odenized” Nelson of SLAMonline
- Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty and FanHouse
- Brett Hainline of Queen City Hoops
- Dave Deckard of Blazer’s Edge
- Kurt of Forum Blue and Gold
-Brian Powell of Awful Announcing
- Lee Grammier of The Dream Shake
- Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead
- Scott Carefoot of Raptor Blog
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Part 1
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Part 2
- Matt Watson of AOL FanHouse and Detroit Bad Boys
- Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed.com

Empty the Bench » Interviews

The State of the NBADL, with D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman – Part II

The State of the NBADL, with D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman – Part I

Seven Quick Questions with ESPN2’s SportsNation Co-Host Michelle Beadle

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird on the Detroit Bad Boys, Bill Laimbeer, and Kurt Rambis

ETB’s Exclusive One-Question Twitter Interview with Jazz Forward Kyle Korver

ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed.com

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ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Matt Watson of AOL FanHouse and Detroit Bad Boys

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ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Part 2)

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ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Part 1)

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ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Scott Carefoot of Raptor Blog

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ETB’s Scribes of the NBA Interview Series – Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead

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