East playoff Preview

FINALLY!!! The regular season is over and it’s time for the best basketball tournament; the NBA playoffs. It took us until the last day of the season but we finally know the match-ups. This piece won’t have the Nets vs Raptors series; that piece will be coming out shortly as well as a Western conference preview.

1^st seed Indiana Pacers vs 8^th seed Atlanta Hawks

Season series 2-2

This season series was a tie but the last time these two teams played, The Hawks destroyed the Pacers, 107-88. The Pacers are limping into the playoffs but they did beat OKC at home on Sunday. Plus they stunk in April; a month that doesn’t mean much in basketball.  April is about giving your players rest and preparing for the playoffs. And there is no stat that proves if you struggle coming into the playoffs you’ll get bounced in the first round. Let’s take a look at some key points for this series.

Team Match-up

Okay, for some odd reason the Hawks have the best offense rating against the Pacers. Their rating is 104.6 and a defensive rating of 97.3. Put those numbers together and the Hawks have a Net rating of 7.3 vs the Pacers. That’s the highest of any team in the league that has played Indiana a minimum of three times.

Pero Antic

Yes, that’s a player on the Hawks and he is an absolute key focus in this series. Antic is a seven footer who can shoot the three which means he pulls Roy “Jello-Shot” Hibbert away from the rim and could open it up for the Teague and Millsap pick and roll and pick and pop. The Hawks only played the Pacers twice this year with Antic healthy and both times they beat the Pacers by double digits. The first game was a 97-87 win and Antic was a +20 the highest of any player in the game and Hibbert was a -21 the lowest of any player in that game. In the second game, The Hawks win over the Pacers a 107-88.  Antic was a plus 10, no big deal, but Hibbert was a -19 and was benched after 9 minutes. Coming into this season no one had an idea on who Pero Antic was but he very well could be an important part in this series.

The Three Ball

The only chance Atlanta has of beating Indiana is if they light up the three point line. In their two wins vs the Pacers, the Hawks shot 44% and 33% from three and in the loses they shot 28% and 46% (yes they lost a game where they lost that game but scoring 98 points vs the Pacers isn’t easy). During the regular season the Pacers opponent three point percentage was 35%, the third best in the league. Atlanta shot 36% from three this year tied for 13^th best in the league.

Prediction

There is no way the Pacers are losing this series; they’ll win in five games. The Hawks might catch fire for one game and just beat the Pacers that way, but this Hawks team is pathetic.  It’s embarrassing that they’re in the playoffs, but no worries, the Pacers will dispose of them.

2 Seed Miami Heat vs Charlotte Bobcats

I really wrote that the Bobcats are in the playoffs. This series will be a sweep.  There isn’t much to look at but we’ll look at a few things.

Season series 4-0 Miami

Match-up

During the regular season the Bobcats had a net rating of -14.8 vs the Heat which is just bad. At least Charlotte is in the playoffs and can start building some playoff experience. They’ll be unstoppable next year anyway when the Charlotte Hornets return 82-0!!!

LeBron vs MKG

LeBron is the best in the league and many consider Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. But when LeBron faced the Bobcats this year he averaged 37 points a game on 62% from the field and 56% from the three. I didn’t even realize this until now.  HOLY SHIT THIS IS CRAZY! LeBron is about to go nuts in this series.

Al Jefferson

I don’t know how I am supposes to move on after that LeBron stat but I will try. For the Bobcats to win a game in this series they’ll need everything to go right and that starts with Big Al (Okay side story I saw the Nets play the Bobcats at Barclays a few months ago and was sitting right next to where the Bobcats came out. After his warm ups Big Al came by I got his attention and he came to sign the program I had that the Nets hand out every home game (does anyone read those?) so big Al is 6 inches in front of me he’s about to sign the program when he goes to write the pen doesn’t work and I am standing there in heartbreak) Okay story time over. Big Al averaged 25 ppg vs Miami on 57% from the field. He’ll need to drop 40 for the Bobcats to win a game.

Prediction

                Bobc… Yeah right The Heat will sweep the Bobcats.

4 Seed Chicago Bulls vs 5 Seed Washington Wizards

This is a very interesting series.  The Wizards have the better backcourt by far and the Bulls front court is a lot better than Washington’s frontcourt.

Season Series 2-1 Washington

Match-up

The Wizards won 2 of 3 vs the Bulls, but have a net rating of -1.7.  These teams are so evenly matched in Washington’s two wins their offensive rating was 107 but the one loss they had vs the Bulls, that rating was 87.4. Chicago finished the regular season with the best defense in the NBA allowing 91.8 points per 100 possessions. Unfortunately for the Bulls they finished with the worst offense in the NBA with 93.8 point per 100 possessions.

The House of Guards (I didn’t come up this this someone else did. I don’t know who but credit to them).

John Wall is finally in the playoffs but against the Bulls this year. His net rating was -1.8; he wasn’t special in any of the games vs the Bulls this year. Wall will have a tough time vs the Chicago defense.  It is important for John to hit his three point shot.  He’s shooting 35% from the three this year.  If the Wizards win this series Wall will need to shoot higher than that. The other part of the Wizards back court is Bradley Beal.  He as well has a negative net rating vs the Bulls this year, -3.5. Beal shot 40% from the three this year but against this suffocating Bulls defense he won’t get many good looks. If the Wizards win this series they’ll need a big series from their backcourt.

Bull’s defense

Washington as a team this year is shooting 38% from the three tied for fourth highest in the league. The Bulls defense allows opponents to shoot 35% from three 8^th best in the league. It’s very simple for Chicago to take away the three and you win. If the Wizards can’t hit the three how will they score against Tom Thibodeau’s defense?  They won’t.

Prediction

It’s been a good year for the Wizards but the Bulls have been here before and are simply the better team and they have the better coach.  Give me the Bulls in six.

Make sure to follow @threwthenet on twitter, we have Nets and Raptors preview coming up along with a western conference preview. Enjoy the playoffs. 

Nets acquire Marcus Thornton

                Tomorrow is the trade deadline and the rumors are swirling throughout the NBA.   However, we can now confirm that one of those rumors is true. Today the Nets acquired Marcus Thornton from the Kings for, Jason Terry and Reggie Evans.

Thornton is a sharpshooter (who hasn’t been sharp this year).  He will be coming off the bench in Brooklyn. The Nets needed to upgrade the bench at the deadline; they need a guard off the bench that can score. When Deron Williams is on the floor the Nets offensive rating is 106.9, but when he’s on the bench its 99.7. The Nets are hoping that Thornton can provide a boost off the bench when D-Will is on the bench.

This has been a down year for Thornton. He has a career 36% shooter from the three, but this season he’s well below his average and shooting only 31.8%. There is some reason for hope though.  So far in February he’s shooting 38%. Jason Terry, the player he’ll be replacing in the rotation was shooting at 37.8% from the three. If Thornton can find his three ball he will help the Nets; if not he’ll be Jason Terry 2.0 since they both can’t defend their shadow.

Contract

                The salaries for the Nets are meaningless in this trade. Thornton’s contract expires after next season, the same as Reggie Evans and Jason Terry. Which gives the Nets a shot at Kevin Durant in 2016 (WAIT ARE WE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT THIS?!?!) 

The Future

                The Nets are still in trade talks with other teams about acquiring more players. They still need a big man off the bench that can defend and rebound. If Billy King can get one, well good for him. He is still the worst GM in basketball. 

Nets Trade Deadline

         The trade deadline is this week and if the Nets want to compete for a title they need to make some moves. In this piece I’ll break down each position to see where the Nets need to improve.

            Point Guards

Shaun Livingston- Livingston has been the best point guard on the roster all year and has been the biggest surprise of the Nets season. Livingston’s numbers don’t blow you away 7.9ppg 3.2rpg and apg 14.75 PER but he does a lot of little this well and provides great defense. Last year when the Knicks were at their best they inserted Pablo Prigioni into the starting lineup. The two point guard look was key for the Knicks and now it’s a key for the Nets. In my opinion Shaun Livingston is this year’s Pablo Prigioni although Livingston is probably a better player than Prigioni.

Deron Williams- Everyone’s favorite Net! I remember getting the breaking news text message from ESPN in my 10^th grade Biology class saying the Nets had acquired Deron Williams and me jumping out of my seat in excitement. Now I jump out of my seat with frustrated when it comes to Deron. His whole tenure with the Nets has been a disappointment and this season has been no different. Deron is averaging 13 ppg and 6.9 apg those are his lowest numbers since his rookie season. On top of his disappoint play he can’t stay healthy. If I am the Nets I would look into trading D-will and get his contract off the books. I would call the Rockets about Lin, Asik and a pick. If the Nets do that trade are they any worse?

Marquis Teague- STOP

          

     When it comes to the point guard position the Nets could use another player that can be trusted off the bench. For example trading Jason Terry for J.J Barea now this doesn’t make sense for the T-wolves but damnit Minnesota help us out! They both are on two year deals and both make around 5 million dollars. Maybe Jason Terry retires if he gets traded to the T-wolves and it turns into a one year deal? If the Nets had some second round picks to trade this would be possible… Thanks Billy King!!!

Shooting Guard

Deron Williams- He’s been starting at the 2 lately but we all know he’s a point guard.

Alan Anderson- Anderson was signed to be the 15^th man on this roster and then he found himself starting 25 games. Anderson is shooting 35% from three this year that number should be high considering all the open looks he has. The main question with Anderson is can you trust him down the stretch and in the playoffs… Nope.

Jason Terry- STOP

           

       This is easily the Nets weakest position. If the Nets want to compete with the Heat and Pacers they need to upgrade this position. The only problem with the Nets is they have no trade assists. No picks to trade until 2020!!! Thanks Billy King! They can trade away the rights to Bojan Bogdanovic. Bojan is considered to be one of the best players overseas and if you’re the Nets can you afford to trade him? He might be the only good young player the Nets have in years. How do the Nets upgrade this position? GULP… get creative Billy King…

Small Forward

Joe Johnson- Joe is the Nets only all-star and is the best pure scorer on this team.

Andrei Kirilenko- AK47 is the most important player on this roster the Nets are 13-5 with him on the floor. He does everything well that the Nets as a team don’t do well. His stats aren’t impressive either but it doesn’t matter his defense and ability to slash to the basket is very important.

            Could the Nets use another small forward? Yeah they basically just need to add a wing player to add to the depth.

            Stretch Four

SCREW THE POWER FORWARD!

Paul Pierce- Pierce started off slowly but he has turn his season around.

Mirza Teletovic- Jason Kidd has freed Mirza and it has been fantastic. Mirza is shooting 42% from three and is really stretching the floor for the Nets. The only downside with Mirza is that his team defense is really bad and sometimes hard to watch.

Andrei Kirilenko- He has played some time here aswell.

            This shouldn’t be a problem the rest of the way for the Nets as long as everyone stays healthy.

            Center

Kevin Garnett- KG like Pierce started the season off slowly but he has turned it around. He has found his mid-range jump shot in January KG shot 57% and is shooting 52% so far in February. His rebounding rate is at its best ever in his career and his defense has been fantastic as well.

Andray Blatche- Blatche is the greatest show in Brooklyn and that isn’t a great thing all the time. But Blatche is one of the best back up centers in the league.

Mason Plumlee- Plumlee has been great in his limited role in his rookie year. If Plumlee keeps working hard he should be a good role player.

Reggie Evans- STOP

Brook Lopez- Now Brook Lopez is out for the year but the great Zach Lowe of Grantland says the Nets should consider trading Lopez. This isn’t a bad idea the Nets are a win now team and Brook Lopez is out for the year so he’s not helping. If the Nets can trade Lopez for a really good winger player and draft picks they have to consider it.

            The Nets don’t need to trade for a center this position is good.

It's Time for the Knicks to Trade Carmelo Anthony

Last year the Knicks had their best season in years. They won 54 games and won a playoff series for the first time in forever. The Knicks were on up and many people including myself had the Knicks finishing 5^th in the Eastern Conference, but the early season injury to Tyson Chandler changed everything. The team couldn’t win, was in a hole too steep to climb out of, and it’s time to rebuild. If the Knicks don’t do anything and just resign Carmelo to the max deal, the team will be worse next year. If Carmelo signs the max contract that’s the same contract Chris Paul signed, Melo would take up to 40% of the Knicks cap space. The Knicks cap will still be in disarray. Following the 2015 season, the Knicks are supposed to sign another player to a max deal. If Carmelo gets the max, the Knicks won’t have the cap to sign Kevin Love unless he’s going to take a pay cut. I don’t see that happening. So what is the solution for the Knicks? They have to trade Carmelo Anthony, and anything they have of value which isn’t a lot. The Knicks need first round picks desperately. They are without first rounders in the 2014 and 2016 draft. The Knicks won’t get a lot back if they trade Carmelo because he’s a free agent at years end. But if they can get a draft pick and a young player they should definitely pull the trigger on the trade. The Knicks shouldn’t re-sign Carmelo, but they can’t let him walk for nothing. Iman Shumpert has been rumored to be in trades already this year, but those rumors have gone away. The Knicks have to look into trading Tyson Chandler as well. A contending team would love to have Chandler’s defense and leadership on their team. Then in 2015 you have an empty cap. Only one player is under contract for that year (JR Smith) by then hopefully you have some young guys playing well and draft picks.  Every team that is successful is built through the draft. The Spurs Duncan, Parker, Ganobili and Leonard. The Pacers: Hibbert, George, Stephenson and Granger. You need to build from the draft to win especially with the new CBA. The way the Heat were built won’t happen again because of the CBA. Now this is the best plan for the Knicks, but it won’t happen. Why? Because the Knicks have a clueless owner in Dolan. If James Dolan would let his GM do his job the Knicks could be a title contender in 4 years.

Trade possibilities for Melo

Houston Rockets

Rockets get: Melo

Knicks get: Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin and Terrence Jones or first round pick

This trade makes sense for both sides. The Rockets get the third star that they need and become an instant title contender. The Knicks get two players whose contracts expire after next year. Asik and Lin and are good players and if the Knicks are smart they could trade these two next year and get even more assets. Terrence Jones has been very well this year; he’s averaging 11.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and has a PER of 18.85. Because of these numbers the Rockets might not want to trade him and they aren’t trading Chandler Parsons, so what young piece will the Knicks get from the Rockets? They might have to settle for a first round draft pick which isn’t the best thing since the Rockets are going to be good for a long time.

Chicago Bulls

Bulls get: Melo and Raymond Felton

Knicks get: Carlos Boozer, Kirk Hinrich, Mike James and Picks

                When the season ends the Bulls need to amnesty Boozer and get in the Carmelo Anthony Sweepstakes. But if you’re the Bulls, why wait until the offseason get ahead start? Get Melo now so he can adjust to Thibs coaching style and get use to the team. Also, if they trade for Melo they can offer him the most money when free agency comes around. The Knicks get two expiring contracts in Hinrich and James. Neither are making much money and wouldn’t be coming back to the Knicks in 2014 anyway. The real key for the Knicks in this trade would be the draft picks. The Bulls have a ton of picks in the next two draft and this is something the Knicks can take advantage of. The Knicks should get two first rounders this year since the Bulls have 3 picks and a second round pick for next year. All of a sudden the Knicks have some picks and future looks a lot brighter.

                Golden State Warriors

                Warriors get: Melo and Iman Shumpert

                Knicks get: David Lee and Harrison Barnes

Now this all depends if Golden State wants to trade David Lee. Lee is having a great season, 19, 10 and 19.95. But are the Warriors good enough to win a title with Lee? I don’t believe so, but if you swap him with Melo now you’re talking. This Warrior team would be a match-up nightmare for any team. For the Knicks you get David Lee back but he has three years left on his current contract. If I’m the Knicks I’d take him and try to trade him next year or in 2015 for more assets. Harrison Barnes, is the key for the Knicks in this trade. Barnes had a good rookie season, but exploded in the playoffs averaging 16.6 points in 12 postseason games. If the Knicks can get Barnes and have him play over 30 minutes they would have done well in this trade.

                Phoenix Suns

                Suns get: Melo

                Knicks get: Channing Frye, Emeka Okafor and lots of picks

Rumor has it that the Suns are willing to trade picks for a star player. The Suns have 6 picks in the next 2 years. Melo is a star and could make the Suns a real threat out west. For the Knicks they get Okafor’s huge expiring contract, Channing Frye contract expires after next year and he could be used as a trade assist. But the main thing here is the picks. The Knicks could get 2 picks in this year’s draft and the Lakers pick next year that the Suns have.

LA teams

                The Lakers don’t have anything for the Knicks to take in a trade so forget about that. The Clippers shouldn’t trade for Melo because they would probably have to trade Blake Griffin. They don’t need to trade a future hall of famer. Yes Griffin is on pace to be in the hall of fame look at the numbers. If Melo is traded it won’t be to LA.

How to Fix the Lakers

“The Lakers are the best team in the west.” “They’re going to take down the Heat in the finals.” Those were some of the things we heard before the start of last season. The Lakers had just acquired Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to pair up with Kobe and Pau Gasol. It seemed like the Lakers had fixed all their problems and were on their way to competing for an NBA title. As we all know, that didn’t happen.  Instead, the Lakers were a major disappointment. They fired Mike Brown four games into the season and hired Mike D’Antoni as their head coach. Steve Nash got hurt early on in the season and was never the player the Lakers had traded for.  Pau Gasol only played in 49 games due to injury, and Kobe torn his Achilles late in the season. The Lakers were old, slow, and beaten down. In the off season they lost Dwight Howard to the Houston Rockets. Dwight left the Lakers; NOBODY LEAVES THE LAKERS! How do you leave one of the greatest franchises in all of USA sports? Dwight gets criticized a lot for being immature and dumb. But maybe Dwight wasn’t dumb.  In fact, maybe Dwight Howard is a genius and saw the fall of the Lakers coming. 

                The current state of the Lakers isn’t much different from last year. Old, slow and beaten, but last year there was hope and this year all hope is gone. Steve Nash may not see the floor because of injuries; Kobe came back from the Achilles and is now out six weeks with another leg injury. Pau Gasol hates Mike D’Antoni and was reportedly being shopped around by the Lakers. But no worries, the future is bright!! The Lakers gave Kobe a new contract (2 years 48million) before he stepped on the floor this year. That contract was bad when he signed it and it looks even worst now. Let’s give a 35 year old coming off major surgery 48million, WHAT COULD GO WRONG?!?!?! Next year Kobe and Steve Nash will make 32 million dollars. That is crippling for the Lakers cap. How are the Lakers going to compete with that? Sure they could sign another max player but what damage is Carmelo, Kobe and Steve Nash going to do? The Lakers need a restart button right now.

                Their draft situation isn’t great either. They do have their first round draft pick for this year but they don’t have first round picks in 2015 or 2017. They do have their picks in the 2016 and 2018 draft but these picks cannot be traded. Under the new CBA a team cannot trade draft picks in back to back years. So how do you fix the Lakers? They have to build through the draft. They need to get a pick in next year’s draft, you need picks in drafts in order to rebuild through the draft. The only way the Lakers can get a pick in 2015 draft is by trading Pau Gasol. Can the Lakers get a first round back for Pau? Yes they can. They’ll have to take a bad contract in return, but the Lakers should be open to it. They’re going to be bad in 2014-2015 so take a bad contract if it means you get a first round pick in return. For example the Lakers should call the Suns to see if they will take Pau Gasol for Emeka Okafor and a first round pick. Okafor is on an expiring deal so he doesn’t matter but the Lakers would receive a draft pick they desperately need. The Suns would be willing to trade draft picks for great players since they have four first rounder picks this year. That’s the type of deal the Lakers need to pull at the deadline. This year is over for the Lakers.  Kobe shouldn’t step on the floor; let him heal up for 2014-2015. The Lakers need a rebuild if they want more championships.

Celtics Trade

There was another trade in the NBA today.  Not as big as the Bynum- Deng trade, but this trade could have a big impact on the Western Conference. The Grizzlies acquire, Courtney Lee who has 3 years left on his contract while making 5 million a year. The Celtics will receive Jared Bayless and Ryan Gomes from OKC. OKC will also receive two 2^nd round picks.

By making this trade the Grizzlies are showing a commitment to make the playoffs this year, but this will also put away the Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol trade rumors. Courtney Lee is shooting 44% from three this season which is something Memphis needs a lot of help with. This will allow Memphis to spread the floor more and give him for Z-Bo in the post. Memphis is 3.5 games out of the 8^th seed, but they’ve been with Marc Gasol for most of the season.  He should be returning soon, and if he does Memphis could make a run at the 8^th seed.

Danny Ainge is a genius! He gets out of the Courtney Lee contract and in return he gets an expiring Jared Bayless contract. Bayless is having one of his worst seasons ever.  He’s shooting 30% from three and 34% from the field. Now maybe a change of scenery will help Jared who has the ability to heat up. Ryan Gomes was also acquired by the Celtics but he’s already been waived.But make no mistake about it, this trade for the Celtics is all about the future.

 

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Bulls trade away Deng

The Andrew Bynum saga is finally over! Bynum was traded to the Chicago Bulls for 2 time all-star Luol Deng. The Bulls also received a first round pick in this year’s draft that’s top 12 protected from the Kings that was owned by the Cavs. They also have the right to swap picks in the first round with Cleveland in the 2015 draft and they also receive two 2^nd round picks.

                For the Cavs this is a win now move. They get Deng, who is a great perimeter defender and a good offensive player and adds a winning mentality to the young Cleveland team. The Cavs now are a playoff team in the east. Deng is 28 and is in the last year of his contract and is due for a big contract. The Cavs almost have to overpay him after this season after trading away 3 picks. The only downside to signing him long term is that Deng might be breaking down. He has played the most minutes in the NBA over the four seasons. He’s already missed 9 games this year. Dan Gilbert promised the fans of Cleveland that he wouldn’t be back at the draft lottery this year and it looks like he’ll be keeping that promise. For the long term I don’t like this move for Cleveland I really think Deng will breakdown soon.

                For the Bulls, this is the start of a mini rebuild. Andrew Bynum will be waived by the Bulls immediately so they don’t have to pay him the six million dollars left on his contract. I call it a mini rebuild because the Bulls still have Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose, if he ever stay healthy. The Bulls still have one more piece to get rid of in their mini rebuild, and that’s Carlos Boozer. He has a monster contract and will be difficult to trade, but the Bulls do have the option to amnesty him after the season. Trading Deng was the right way to go for Chicago. Signing Deng long term would have kept the Bulls in neutral. By trading him it takes the Bulls out of the playoff picture and into the lottery. The Bulls could have three picks this year. Their own, Charlotte’s which is top 10 protected and The Kings pick top 12 protected. The Bobcats are currently 7^th in the east and one of the early season surprises it looks like the Bulls will have that pick. The Kings with their new owner seem to be in a win now mood after trading for Rudy Gay and now have interest in Nuggets point guard, Andre Miller.  What does that all mean? It means the Bulls could have three first round picks in one of the most highly anticipated draft classes in recent history. Big picture for the Bulls, if they amnesty Boozer and let his contract go, can they convince Carmelo Anthony to take less money and play for the Bulls? If Melo joined the Bulls they would be title contenders as long as Derrick Rose is healthy.

For everything NBA follow @threwthenet.