DEJA VU POPOVICH-KERR

In a recent post I wrote about how the US under performs in a lot of international events. I've seen it time and time again at the youth levels with certain coaches. It happened last night in a game against Australia (94-98) with our men National Team in an exhibition game leading up to the 2019 World Cup next month.
This is not the US best version of a National Team. but it should be enough to get the job done if they play up to par and are coached well. Australia had never beaten us and we hadn't lost a game in 13 years. HC Paul Popovich, said we had to lose sometime and gave a lot of credit to the Boomers. they came from behind for the win, out rebounding us 41 to 35 and doubling us in assists 22 to 11, while shooting 50% to our 44%. On the other hand, Patty Mills, had a game high 30 points, scoring the last 10 points to put his team over the top. Popovich said he was a better person off the court than on the court and was a great human being and a beautiful guy. He also said that they were very physical, it's in the water there. 
Sounds like poor excuses for an unexpected loss. The Boomers are a veteran, big, physical team so we should be prepared for that, or not? Maybe we just got out coached and out performed. How come? We have better players. It's like "Deja Vu" for other US losses I've seen recently. Did we have someone who could stop Patty Mills or not? Or maybe that was a gift to him while performing in front of over 52,000 fans? Let's play hard-nosed US basketball. You have to up the ante, Mr. Popovich. You might get surprised by other National Teams. Maybe Mr. Popovich and Mr. Kerr were discussing politics and let the game pass them by.
With an 8th place finish at the World Cup in China, the US coached by Paul Popovich and assisted by Steve Kerr had their worst finish ever. All players performed below expectations and there were some games when we were out coached, especially the game against France. This was a remarkably bad tournament for all involved.

PRO BASKETBALL FIASCO

Two very recent events in the men and women pro basketball leagues have left a lot of questions to be answered when it comes to priorities and league management.
First, the LA Sparks, of the WNBA. They got swept by Connecticut Sun in their recently finalized series. They have some great players and great depth and were expected to have a good showing. Most of their players under performed and the teams' superstars laid an egg. Very bad results, by the last game their star players spent a significant time on the bench. We could see that something was not right and later we found out that GM Penny Toler, took them to task after the second game and read them the riot act, along with some choice words. In this PC ERA, seems like some players got upset and leaked info to journalist Ramona Shelburne, who promptly discussed the situation on ESPN. Locker room stuff has to be kept in the locker room. They're all grown men and women and not crybabies. Toler has been a very successful VP and GM, but in today's culture they say she crossed the line and what was valid a few years ago is not valid now. That's a lot of hogwash. Once the crybabies went to the reporter and she went to ESPN, the response was swift by the Magic Johnson group. Locker rooms should be closed ground and not a place for bitchy teammates that can't stand adult talk. These things should be hashed out in private and not settled by a whistle blower complaint.

The Hong Kong protests have been going on for a while. It's almost impossible not to side with the protesters as they fight for more freedom and rights. Common sense. However. the NBA who found a money pit in China with their deals and agreements are not capable of taking the right side in this fight. They're apolitical. Bullshit. Their criticism of the American system and policies by super hypocritical coaches like Popovich and Kerr reeks of cowardice. Adam Silver, money is not everything in life. Don't let the Chinese dictate terms and with their repressive ways manhandle you just for money. All the Bullshit the NBA talks, but no action. What a disgrace. Maybe we should send our basketball ambassador over there so they can spank him.

These two leagues have become very "woke" and political. They have a lot to say about everything. They don't care about people in general. They have agendas. They have become one sided leagues. Sports should be the patrimony of all and not cater to a particular group.They've proven to be another mercenary and greedy corporation. They're "woke" here but "unwoke" over there. James Harden and Russell Westbrook say they love China. I'm almost sure that if the Chinese government asked them to eat "Alpo" they would.

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT UCONN

With a current 14-0 won-lost record, the University of Connecticut women's basketball team is sporting a nifty 89-game win streak, the second longest of all time, passing John Wooden's Ucla Bruins record of 88 from 1971 to 1974 in the men's ranks, and are one shy of their own record of 90 ( 2008-2010) as the most in Division 1 college history.  Barring injuries, with their high level of play and a favorable upcoming strength of schedule they could shatter the record and be at 99 wins when they face South Carolina ( a very good team) on February 13th at home. Losing three star players from last year's undefeated team and no preseason All-Americans on the current squad, tempered expectations for the 2016/17 season, but they haven't skipped a beat so far. 

The Huskies played a difficult early season schedule beating Florida State, Baylor, Notre Dame and Maryland, the cream of women's basketball, with South Carolina next. As these same teams get better with more time to integrate transfers and freshmen into their systems, the next champion should come from this group.

The nucleus of this team is the hard-working foursome of Gabby Williams, Kia Nurse, Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson, whose total seems greater than the sum of the parts.  Very efficient and highly motivated they wear the UConn jersey with great pride. Averaging about 32 minutes per game, which is about 64% of the team's playing minutes they score 80% of UConn's points (about 65 points per game) with a 52.5% shooting percentage. Outside shooters, Nurse and Samuelson, have a 45% rate from behind the 3-pt line while inside players, Williams and Collier, score at a 59% clip.  Out-hustling opponents, playing good defense, taking care of the ball and making big plays are all in a day's work. Bad games are not in their system.  With a thin bench, only seven play against good teams. Gabby Williams, the 5'11" junior, averages 11.2 ppg in less than 30 mpg but leads the team in rebounds, assists and steals displaying very high-energy play and is probably the team's MVP. 

Gabby Williams driving vs East Carolina  (UConnblog)

Three point shooters Samuelson and Nurse resting  (Uconn blog)

On December 29th, Maryland hosted UConn in a battle of undefeated teams giving Head Coach Brenda Frese, of the Lady Terrapins, the opportunity to lead her team and snap UConn's streak at 86. Losing 87-81 before a sellout crowd of 17,950 fans at College Park, the stat sheet provides a closer look at the hard-fought game. Maryland out-rebounded UConn 40 to 31, made more free throws 12 to 10, had a higher 2-pt FG% 56.3 to 54.3 on 48 and 46 attempts, more points in the paint 42 to 40, more points off turnovers 13-12, more second chance points 16-13, more fast-break points 16-7, more bench points 11-7 and outscored them in 2 of the last 3 quarters, including by 9 points in the 4th, 28 to 19, but still lost the game. UConn had a 9 to 5 advantage on 3-pt FG made giving them a 12 point edge. 

Napheesa Collier scoring in the paint  (UConn blog)

A few more observations:  Maryland's best player, center Brionna Jones, had only 7 FG attempts, going 6 of 7.  Way too few attempts for the very productive Jones, who also made 7-9 free throws. On a night when the 3-pt shot was not falling, the 6'3" senior was the meal ticket. Two of UConn's valuable inside players, Collier and Williams, had 3 fouls each at halftime.  Destiny Slocum, the Maryland point guard was 5-10 from the 3-pt area, the rest of the team was 0-10. 

Starting guard Kristen Confroy logged 33 minutes with 0 points (0-5 FG)1 assist and 2 rebounds playing more minutes than Jones' 28. 
A good Maryland bench should have salvaged some of these empty minutes. 

Up by 5 points at halftime, UConn reeled off 14 consecutive points to start the 3rd quarter before a timeout was called.  Down to UConn by 19 in the 3rd quarter is like "game over"  The very talented Lady Terrapins outscored them 50-36 the rest of the way but the lead was insurmountable.  A proper timeout when the lead reached double digits could have altered the flow of the game.

The gold standard of women's basketball coaching resides in Connecticut with Geno Auriemma and his crew.  Auriemma is the face of the program but Assistant Head Coach, Chris Dailey, is a vital part of the system both having 32 years on the Huskies' bench.

UConn is beatable, but it requires "A" games from players and coaches.  A good game plan is not enough.  Quick adjustments to developing situations is a must. The UConn brain trust handles this part of coaching extremely well.  

A historic women's program, known for long winning streaks, undefeated seasons, great individual players and ultimately championships does not get the full credit it deserves.  We are witnessing once in a lifetime basketball excellence.  

Chris Dailey and Geno Auriemma  (Getty Image)

PLAYOFF PUSH IN MIAMI

With 8 games to go in the regular NBA season, the Miami Heat are in a dogfight to secure a place in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The Heat are tied with the Brooklyn Nets for 7th place with identical 34-40 records and the Boston Celtics are 34-41, a 1/2 game behind. Three teams fighting for 2 spots.  Miami has occupied the 7th position most of the year, but a late push by the Nets and Celtics have complicated things for the Heat.  

Hassan Whiteside setting a pick for "The Dragon" Goran Dragic

The Nets are on a 5 game winning streak and Boston has won their last 2.  Miami, since the acquisition of Goran Dragic in late February to run the point, are 1 game over .500, but have lost 4 of their last 6.   Miami is pretty beat up with Dwayne Wade (knee), Loul Deng (knee) and Hassan Whiteside (hand laceration) going through assorted injuries. Udonis Haslem is unavailable and Shabazz Napier, the rookie PG, is finished for the season.  Chris Bosh, their 2nd best player is out for the season with blood clots in the lungs.  Miami is trying to crawl into the playoffs where they would play Cleveland or Atlanta in the 1st round.

Brook Lopez, Nets center, scoring on Indiana  (4h-entertainment .com)

The only thing going for Miami is the remaining strength of schedule.  They play away at Cleveland tonight and then visit Detroit and Indiana.  They return home to play Charlotte, Chicago, Toronto and Orlando and finish the season in Philadelphia.  The schedule favors Miami, so they can limp into the playoffs.  Though the chances are very slim, they are more likely to pull off an upset against Atlanta than a Lebron James led Cleveland Cavaliers.

REMAINING GAMES AND STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
NAME	W-L	SOS	>.500 TEAMS	<.500 TEAMS
Miami Heat	34-40	0.460	3	5
Brooklyn Nets	34-40	0.552	6	2
Boston Celtics	34-41	0.564	4	3
SOS Strength of Schedule remaining games.

BIG CITY MELTDOWN

The New York Knicks are a very bad basketball team.  Their 5-36 (.122 W%) record says so and if you watch them play it's obvious.  They're on course to compile the worst record in their 69 seasons in the NBA.  Before this year, the 21-59 (.263 W%) in 1962/63 was the bottom.  New York is on a 16 game losing streak and have lost 26 of 27, after losing streaks of 10 and 7 earlier.  The last 9 losses have been by 16, 28, 24, 10, 22, 13, 16, 21 and 22 points, so the games haven't been close.  

Phil Jackson, pointing in the right direction?

They are 29 of 30 in scoring and 29 of 30 in Defensive Rating.  The numbers are bad all around but they remain 8th of 30 in attendance at Madison Square Garden, some folks are still watching them play.  They won 37 games last year and in  2012/2013 were the Atlantic Division champs with 54 wins under head coach Mike Woodson.

Phil Jackson, the Zen Master.

The Knicks are the NBA's most valuable franchise (1.1 billion estimate by Forbes) and play in the largest market.  In 2013 they led the NBA with 243.0 M in revenues.  How is it that this iconic franchise can be in such bad shape on the floor? Management has been abysmal. It is hard to comprehend. Lack of vision and terrible decision making has put them in a straight jacket. This must be a very difficult environment for intelligent basketball people to work.

Carmelo Anthony still very productive at 30.

Enter Phil Jackson, the "Zen Master" in March 2014 as President of the New York Knickerbockers.  The man with 13 NBA rings ( 11 as a coach and 2 as a player), pushing 70 years old and a member of the last Knicks championship team in 1973, came just in time to preside over the mess.  Some inherited unproductive players and contracts did not help nor his hiring of Derek Fisher to take over this time bomb.  Everything is blowing up in his face. Even in rebuilding years it is possible to have some bright lights in player development.  That's not the case here.  Some big contracts come off the books next year, Amar'e Stoudemire (23.0M) and Andrea Bargnani (11.5 M).  Maybe these and a few other moves can give flexibility to bring in some better talent to find the road back to respectability.  The main asset is Carmelo Anthony,who at 30 is still productive at 24.0 ppg and 45.6 % shooting.  What to do with him?

Walt Frazier, point guard of the last Knicks title team.

The New York Knicks glory years were 1970 and 1973, when under head coach Red Holzman they won NBA titles. The 1973 team featured 6 Hall of Famers ( Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBuschere, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Walt "Clyde" Frazier and Jerry Lucas).  Phil Jackson was a bench player on this team.  After the glory years, the next best period was under coach Pat Riley, racking up 4 consecutive 50+ win seasons (51, 60, 57, 55) from 1992-1995.  The Jeff Van Gundy era from 1997-2001 was good with 5 winning seasons.  A deep freeze of 9 losing seasons followed from 2002 to 2010 under 6 different coaches, until Mike D'Antoni broke through with 42-40 in 2011 but was fired the next year and replaced by Mike Woodson who was fired after last year.

FROM GIMMICK TO ESSENTIAL

The three point Field Goal (3P-FG) has been used in the NBA since 1980.  It started slowly and over time has become an integral part of the NBA offensive game.  The number of shots taken and the efficiency has increased dramatically.  On average it makes up about one in four shots taken in the NBA today.

Don Buse of the Indiana Pacers ABA.  One of the great 3point shooters.

Even though the 3P-FG had been tried on various occasions in some college games and some of the first organized leagues, it did not gain popularity and didn't stick with the public until the ABA (American Basketball Association), a rival league to the NBA in the late 60's and mid 70's ( 1968 to 1976 - 9 years) rolled it out in 1968.  The ABA was characterized by a free wheeling offensive game that featured the 3P-FG, the slam dunk, all done with a red, white and blue basketball.  It is the place where the legendary "Dr. J", Julius Erving and other greats initiated their pro careers.  The NBA and ABA merged for the 76/77 season with 4 ABA teams ( Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets and San Antonio Spurs) moving to the NBA as the ABA went out of existence.  In the first All-Star game after the merger, 10 of the 24 All Stars were former ABA players, which speaks to the quality of the players.

Julius Erving vs Dan Issel of the Denver Nuggets

However, it was not until the 79/80 season that the NBA adopted the 3P-FG amidst opposition of some NBA people who said it was a gimmick ( something designed to draw attention and publicity without having any real value). Thirty six years later, the ABA would be proud to see the art form of the current 3P-FG in today's game. An essential part of today's game. George Mikan, the first ABA commissioner thought the three point shot would benefit the little guy (guards) and open up the inside game dominated by big men.  As we see today, it has also benefited the big man with the good shooting touch.   Although made popular by the ABA, the 3P-FG was never more than 4 to 6.5% of the shots taken in the league compared to around 25% of the shots taken today.

The incomparable Julius Erving of the New York Nets ABA

The table below shows the evolution of the 3P-FG in the NBA from 1980 to the present.  I took a snapshot every 10 years ( 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010) plus last year and a projection of this year after 35 games played per team.  

YEAR	TEAMS	3 P MADE	3 P ATT	3 P %	2 P MADE	2 P ATT	2 P %	2P+3P ATT	AVG SCORE
1980	22	64	227	28.0	3515	7205	48.8	7432	109.3
1990	27	179	541	33.1	3225	6605	48.8	7146	107.0
2000	29	397	1125	35.3	2623	5607	46.8	6732	97.5
2010	30	527	1487	35.5	2564	5212	49.2	6699	100.4
2014	30	635	1766	36.0	2458	5040	48.8	6806	101.0
2015	30	630	1795	35.1	2427	4974	48.8	6769	100.4

From 227 attempts per team in 1980 to 1766 per team last year, and from a low of 28% shooting to a record high 36% last year, the once thought of "gimmick" is now essential to scoring.  Last year 7 NBA teams took more then 2000 3-pointers with the Houston Rockets leading the league with 2179 of 6602 total shots for an average of 33%, or 1 in 3 shots.  The low scoring Memphis Grizzlies, 96.1 ppg last year, took the least 3 pointers with 1147 for the season, 1032 less than the Rockets.  
Notice how the amount of total shots taken per team has dropped from the 80's and 90's as the 3 pointers have increased, accounting probably for the lower scoring we see today.

Steph Curry dazzling the Blazers defender

The Golden State Warriors boast the best shooting back court in the game today with the "Splash Brothers", Steph Curry and Klay Thompson who last year averaged a spectacular 3 point shooting % ( Curry 42.4 and Thompson 41.7) while scoring over 42 points per game ( Curry 24.0 and Thompson 18.4).  They are the poster boys for efficient long range shooting. Even this display of firepower is not enough to guarantee winning games.  It is vital but needs to be combined with an inside game and strong defense to navigate the tough NBA playoffs.

Klay Thompson and Steph Curry  on the break against Denver.

THE BROTHERS GASOL

When I first saw Marc Gasol playing for the Spanish National Team some years ago, I thought:  "There is surely a high quota of "tall" genes in the family and he's trying to emulate older brother Pau, but was very distant in basketball ability."  I imagine Pau had the upper hand in their own personal games. 

Pau Gasol has always been an accomplished player from very young making the jump to the NBA at age 21 starting his career with the Memphis Grizzlies where he played 7 years with 1 All Star appearance and 6 years with the Los Angeles Lakers where he won 2 NBA championships alongside Kobe Bryant and was an All-Star 3 times.  Starting his 14th year in the Association with the Chicago Bulls, the 34 year old 7-foot power forward/center is still performing at a very high level.  Pau Gasol is the best player of his generation in Spain.

Pau Gasol of the Chicago Bulls

Marc Gasol, put in his time in the Spanish League and arrived in the NBA at 24 also in the city of Memphis.  The soon to be 30 year old 7'1" center starting his 7th year with the Grizzlies is a vital cog in the team's 21-4 record, the second best in the league and is playing the best basketball of his career.  Memphis is a team that has grown together and is trying to make a deep push in the playoffs this year.  Marc leads the team in scoring (19.8- up from 14.6 last year), blocks (1.7), and is 2nd in assists (3.7) and rebounds (7.8).  He's upped his FG% from 47.3 last year to 50.6 this year .

Marc Gasol showing some fancy footwork

The Barcelona Gasol brothers, along with other NBA Spaniards like Jose Calderon, Ricky Rubio, Serge Ibaka, and former NBA players Rudy Fernandez, Juan Carlos Navarro and Sergio Garcia form the nucleus of the "golden generation" of Spanish basketball. 
However, in the recent basketball championship by FIBA in September 2014, they were defeated by France (without Tony Parker) in a major upset that left the Spanish faithful in disbelief.

Marc and Pau Gasol a big part of the "golden generation" of Spanish basketball

The following table shows the brothers stats early on (about 25% of the schedule) and point to Marc as finally outplaying Pau and having bragging rights.  The big "kid" brother has really come a long way and is mentioned as a possible MVP candidate with his inspired play.  Win Shares is an advanced metric that estimates the amount of Wins the player is responsible for.  Marc has gone from "second fiddle" to Pau to "first fiddle" of the Memphis Grizzlies:

NAME	MIN/G	FGA	FG%	REB	ASST	BLOCKS	PPG	WIN SHARES
PAU GASOL	36.0	15.9	47.7	11.9	2.3	1.9	18.7	2.1
MARC GASOL	34.7	14.0	50.0	7.8	3.8	1.7	19.6	3.6