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0 in 2019 Football Mid North Coast Premier League first grade action

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What the Nets can learn as they wait for Kevin Durant

The Nets are stuck in basketball purgatory, at least for now

Last season, the Brooklyn Nets were 19-21 after 40 games. This year they’re 18-22, having dropped nine of their last 11 while ranked 24th in offensive rating. Brooklyn’s schedule is currently a torture rack, with upcoming games against the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Lakers; after Wednesday’s nationally-televised loss against the Joel Embiid-less Sixers, Kyrie Irving threw half his teammates under the bus by publicly confirming the shortcomings he believes they have.

Whether Irving is right or wrong is besides the point, but also not significant enough to fuss over. Right now the Nets are lurching through a storm that isn’t strong enough to destabilize their long-term vision. Injuries—and the accompanying stringent approach towards recovery/prevention that falls somewhere between extreme caution and short-term apathy—are a huge reason why this team hasn’t taken any meaningful strides during their initial go around as a franchise that matters.

Even though Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen, and Taurean Prince (their 218-pound power forward in just about every lineup that plays meaningful minutes) have yet to miss any time, Irving and Caris LeVert have sat through a combined 51 games. Throw in Wilson Chandler’s 25-game suspension and Kevin Durant’s expected absence, and what you have is a rotation that’s had to patch itself together with the likes of Dzanan Musa, Theo Pinson, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Nicolas Claxton at various points over the past few months.

This isn’t ideal, but also far from an outright disaster. Brooklyn’s future was always going to be more compelling than its past or present. Right now so much of the organization’s relevance is tied into the anticipatory fulfillment of goals that have rarely, if ever, felt realistic.

With no way to simulate the next nine months and fast-forward into a future where Irving and Durant are tyrannizing the Eastern Conference, stakes for this season have always been a bit unconventional: Wins and losses matter, but only as an extension of how it affects their collective development into a group that can ultimately have all its problems solved by plopping one of the most carnivorous scorers who ever lived into their starting lineup.

Until then, pretty much everybody is healthy, gifting Brooklyn’s coaching staff and front office with an opportunity to finally evaluate what it has, how it should play, and who works in which lineups. The main questions surround their three best players: Irving, LeVert, and Dinwiddie.

The first half-season of Brooklyn’s Irving-Durant era was plagued by interruption and dominated by Dinwiddie, the cunning overseer of an offense that relied on him to manufacture quality looks, get to the free-throw line, and attack the basket more often than basically anybody else in the entire NBA. (Since Dinwiddie became a starter the only player averaging more drives is Trae Young, who does it 0.1 times more per game.)

During Irving’s 26-game absence, Dinwiddie turned Barclays Center into his own canvas for self-elevation; as a starter, he’s logging 22 points and 7.1 assists with the same usage rate as Bradley Beal. No player has done a better job taking advantage of an unforeseen opportunity than he has. But now that Irving and LeVert are back, the Nets are faced with a good problem: How do you maximize the strengths of three All-Star-caliber players without diluting what makes each one so potent?

Flipping the script from how things looked on opening night, LeVert is now coming off the bench while Dinwiddie starts beside Irving. But the groupings are fluid, with some lineups featuring all three, most having at least two, and some that let one cook by himself. The earliest returns are mixed: a little your-turn-my-turn motionlessness with a pinch of more cohesive actions that don’t bail the defense out sprinkled on top.

Assuming a decent stretch of good health is in Brooklyn’s future, the chance to make it work with all three could be instrumental as they evaluate what’s best once this season is over. In a whopping 38 minutes, units featuring Irving, LeVert, and Dinwiddie are posting a 124.7 offensive rating, sizzling through the trepidation associated with too many ball-dominant scorers trying to eat at the same time.

Here’s what Kenny Atkinson had to say about the trio after Wednesday’s loss against the Sixers: “It wasn’t jelling. I have to admit that. ... We’re just going to have to find what that combination looks like. I think it’ll be game-to-game. It’s a feel...I thought they were good the night before. Tonight it wasn’t perfect. That’s something we have to look at the next two days.”

Remove LeVert from the equation and Brooklyn has been pretty good in 200 minutes with just Irving and Dinwiddie, stiff-arming a noticeable size disadvantage on the glass to outscore opponents by 6.1 points per 100 possessions. Assuming the Nets don’t sell high on Dinwiddie before this year’s trade deadline (a deal centered around Orlando’s Aaron Gordon would make sense for everyone involved) this trio has a chance to create serious matchup problems for almost everyone they play.

The predictable concern is that they’ll revert into formulaic hero ball—understandable whenever Irving is part of the equation—instead of leveraging each other’s gravity in selfless ways. The Nets can probably win enough games to make the playoffs with a steady diet of isolation basketball, but the latter mindset is necessary for actual championship contention.

It’s never too early to build those habits, and the Nets have figured out ways to use Dinwiddie off the ball, curling him around stagger screens for catch-and-shoot threes he should be able to hit at a respectable clip.

Picking up where that last play left off is this iteration, where Dinwiddie starts in the corner, but instead of coming off Prince’s second screen he drifts into the paint. Several options that involve everyone on the floor then take shape, beginning with an Irving-Prince pick-and-roll that’s designed to generate a corner three for Dinwiddie, who sprints there off Allen’s screen. When the Jazz take that away, Irving pitches the ball back to Prince, who gets his shoulders by Royce O’Neale while Allen rumbles in as a lob threat.

Both these plays came with LeVert on the bench, but when you watch Brooklyn play with all three out there it’s unnerving, in a positive way. No lead is safe. And if they need even more punch, replacing Prince with Harris creates an intriguing five-man lineup that Atkinson should close a bunch of games with in the future.

Very few teams can put the type of pressure on a defense that Brooklyn can. Here they are at their best, in a dueling banjos sequence where two pick-and-rolls lead to an open three.

If a defense must be locked in on a string to stop just one Irving pick-and-roll, imagine how mentally exhausting it would be to exhale after he kicks it back to Allen, only to realize another pick-and-roll, with another excellent attacker, is about to happen.

Once minutes restrictions are lifted it’s hard to envision a meaningful possession being played with only one of these three in the game. From here on out, it’ll be fascinating to see how they co-exist. Every team in the league that’s interested in prying LeVert or Dinwiddie away will be paying close attention, but so much of Brooklyn’s analysis is engaged with a hypothetical projection into the future.

Everything changes next year, when (at least) 18 shots per game will suddenly get sucked up by a healthy Durant. It’s here where talent, as overwhelming as it’d be, isn’t enough, particularly when it’s not possible to deploy in seamlessly complementary ways.

Dinwiddie is on the best non-rookie scale/max contract in the league, but he can become a free agent in 2021, where his market value will exceed what Brooklyn should be willing to pay. On the court, his most meaningful contributions are already provided by Irving, which would theoretically render him a spot-up threat (who’s only made 32.5 percent of his open/wide-open threes this season) in spots that really matter. Championship teams need players who bloom in roles that support the team’s true star(s), and it’s just hard to picture a lineup with KD, Kyrie, Dinwiddie, LeVert, and a center having the hierarchical structure—let alone two-way fortitude—that’s necessary when battling through a tough playoff series.

As of now, the Nets are all but locked into a seven or eight seed, where they’ll likely face off against the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, or Miami Heat. They won’t be favored in any of those series, but they have half a season to embrace a less self-serving system that can crack the glass ceiling that hangs overhead. An upset would be nice, but establishing trust and building chemistry should be the greater priority.

How that all unfolds over the next few weeks and months will really matter for a team that has inevitable championship aspirations. Until Durant returns, Brooklyn is stuck in somewhat of a basketball purgatory, where self-discovery matters more than anything else. It’s weird. It’s frustrating. It’s what they signed up for.

Barclays Center Report: Brooklyn Nets 137, Sesi Franca (Brazil) 89

And… we’re back.

The 2019-20 season looks to be the most exciting year since I became a Brooklyn Nets fan back in 2012-13. Wow. Our 8th season. We’ve come a long way.

And I have to tell you, after watching the game last night at Barclays, I’m even more excited than I have been all summer. After the initial rush of the Durant-Irving signings, I – like a lot of the more tuned-in fans – felt a note of caution. Nah, I thought: it’s stupid to think that we’re gonna be contenders; we’ll probably win 46 games.

But I felt a real thrill watching the squad last night. I liked the fact that Kenny didn’t take it easy on this Brazilian team – he clearly has ideas about his starting 5 and backup 5 and he wanted to give them minutes and experience working together. And given that this was their first game, they weren’t perfect. But I have to admit: they looked pretty good. They looked like a team. They had chemistry. They knew what they were doing out there: they were looking for passing lanes, they were looking for lobs down court, they were looking to pass to both Allen and Jordan for dunks. It was fun. Most of the young guys look like they’re getting better. And, maybe even more important: they looked like they were having fun.

Here’s some more specific observations about things that jumped out at me:

Taurean Prince: as you may remember, Dear Reader, I wasn’t as high on him as other people were when we signed him. But man that guy can shoot. He’s got a sweet stroke. And he looked confident. The guys all clearly respect him.

DeAndre Jordan: He’s more athletic than I remembered him. He’s gonna be fun.

Dzanan Musa: Man, he’s athletic. Cocky. And he’s put on some muscle, too. He’s driving to the basket like he owns it. I love it. He’s gonna be fun to watch this year. And… don’t ever forget: he’s STILL the youngest guy on the team. Yeah. Younger than Jarrett Allen. Younger than Rodions. Younger even than Nick Claxton.

Nick Claxton: I’ll admit: I’ve been a bit skeptical about the good news coming out of training camp about this kid. He just looks too skinny, doesn’t he? But hell. He came in in the 4th quarter and just lit the place up. Totally confident. Slam-dunking and taking threes as if he’s been doing this for years. I still hope he starts down in the G League just to get him some minutes and some seasoning. But hell. He does look good.

How Dzanan Musa is handling the Nets’ tough love LAS VEGAS — Dzanan Musa admits it was tough for him to spend essentially all of last season in the G-League.

It’s Time To Embrace The Calm

We are only days past the last blockbuster trade to happen around New York City hoops, and just days away from the 2019 NBA trade deadline. The Mecca of Basketball is under the spotlight yet again after the New York Knicks, in what seems to be a move that contradicts their recent history, sent young sensation Kristaps Porzingis packing to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for what looks to be a more promising future for the blue and orange in former Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and the cap space that they’ll enter the summer with.

Nine years after making cap room for LeBron James and then getting turned down, New York is gunning for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Entering the decade, the Knicks gambled and miserably failed, settling on Amar’e Stoudemire as their marquee free agent signing of the summer. Talk about a blunder. The Brooklyn Nets, meanwhile, were still on the under-the-radar-moves market back the, signing the likes of Jordan Farmar and Travis Outlaw. It wouldn’t be until later in the season when both New York franchises blew the horns and traded for Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams.

From that point in February 2011 until today, only a couple of the moves that have sent shockwaves around the league had their epicenter in NYC. Bargnani joined the Knicks in 2013 while the Nets basically destroyed anything resembling a bright future in the trade with Boston, pushing the win-now mentality to unexplored limits. Good for both NY-based franchises, it seemed like they had learned the lesson with time and perspective taking a place in their paths until KP got kicked out of town entering this past weekend.

Now hear me out. I like trades. Actually, I love trades, and I’m sure you do too. They keep the league alive, they get us glued to our phones refreshing Twitter faster than it can handle it and they are fun to speculate and make stories with, fantasizing about what could and could not happen. The problem, though, is that trades bring agitation, and agitation is not good all of the times. What just happened with the Knicks trading Porzingis, come to think of it, makes me see the franchise in some sort of empty and peaceful place at first thought. They have traded not only KP but also Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke. They have received two guys they will probably cut in Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan. Basically, New York has emptied the room and traded for things-to-come. The thing with this is that the hopes the Knicks will carry from this point to next July when they’ll need to go all-in are surreal. They are and will be over the top. Anything sort of bringing the two best available FAs will feel like a loss.

Brooklyn, on the other side of the coin, remains in a completely different place and stage. Don’t be fooled, though. The Nets have the assets and armory to go all-in themselves and snatch Anthony Davisfrom New Orleans. It would be the most resembling gamble to what the Knicks have done by trading their franchise player. Would it give Brooklyn a better chance at winning the championship? Surely, not a lot of players best AD’s game. Would it be an intelligent move? Nope. No. You know what happened the last time the Nets went for it with a big move. Yes, they made the playoffs. Yes, they lost only against the mighty Miami Heat. Do you know what did they do too? Get into a four-year tailspin that saw the franchise end with a losing record each and every one of those seasons, only to–seemingly–break that span this year.

Brooklynites appreciate the current situation. The front office should too. The vibes around the team can’t get any better. The roster has been affected by injuries as much as you can think of, yet the Nets are still out there battling on a nightly basis. Although results have not gone the Brooklyn way lately with a losing record during the past five games, the season saw a 180-degree turn when the calendar flipped to December. The Nets went from 8-15 at that point to 28-25 by the end of January. They were rewarded with four All-Star call-ups (Russell to the main event, Allen and Kurucs to the youngins’ gig and Joe Harris to the three-point contest).

You can read those last four names again, and try to find some commonality among them. Was I to tell, I’d say they all fit the homegrown, franchise-developed model to a point. Yes, D’Angelo Russell was acquired via trade with the Lakers, but he was an outcast in Hollywood and he was kicked out at the first chance LA had before betting on Lonzo. He has found a home in Brooklyn and nobody can’t tell me he doesn’t look like he’s finally got his stuff right and is on the path to becoming something big. Joe Harris has spent more time in the G-League than in the NBA after being taken by the Cavs in the 2014 draft. Brooklyn didn’t appear in his bio until 2016 when they bet on him by signing the Washington State native to a multi-year deal in July. He just re-signed with the Nets this past summer for no less than $16MM.

Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurucs, well, no explanation needed. A 22nd and 40th picks by the own Nets, these low-key, under-the-radar, unheralded prospects are now making more than a few franchises regret their draft decisions. Yes, non-lottery picks are usually a crapshoot. But you have to know your stuff and still make a pick, and it is not just pure luck when you get these two folks in back-to-back years. And don’t forget about someone named Dzanan Musawho happens to be lighting the G League up and looks like another key piece for what is yet to come to Brooklyn, same as late call-up Theo Pinson.

So, all in all, the franchise still doesn’t have a roster capable of putting together a deep run into the playoffs. There are flaws, there is a lack of talent (or, at least, fully-developed talent), and the rotation depth is hurt by injuries. A win-now move like going for Anthony Davis would bring immediate–but to my eye false–hopes and expectations to Nets’ fans. A top-five player carries that aura and the need of winning, no matter what is around him (ask LeBron James and his fringe-quality roster). Not a lot of franchises are in the position Brooklyn is at now. Not too good, not too bad either, but surely based on a young core of players with tons of upside and even cap room to spend on game-changers this next summer without the need of pulling the trigger on some risky moves like those performed by the Knicks this past week.

I already wrote a few days ago about how the impression of New York being a blue-and-orange landscape is turning. Turns out the very own Knicks are helping that change happen at light speed now without a visible face in their roster and everything up in the air. Brooklyn’s DLo, Dinwiddie, Allen, and company are the straw that stirs NYC’s drink.

Let me say it again. We all like some trade-related excitement, but we better calm down a little, see the deadline come and go, focus on developing the roster and the young players during the following months and set our dreams on who could arrive come July when the free agency gates open for everyone. Yes, even to those who didn’t take the biggest gamble ever in the history of their franchise and could have potentially give away the most prized player to ever step on their court as one of their own in quite some time.

* * *

Read the feature on NetsRepublic.

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1. Phoenix: Deandre Ayton, Arizona, C, 7-1, 250 After his workout with the Suns, the freakishly athletic center said, “I know I’m going No. 1” and shut down workouts with anyone else. If you can’t believe a 19-year-old Bahamas-born guy with one year of college behind him, whom can you trust? 2. Sacramento: Marvin Bagley III, Duke, PF, 6-11, 235 The Kings will try another Duke product who might actually play after Harry Giles sat out his rookie season. Bagley, the ACC Player of the Year, has some range and is a force at the rim. And he’s healthy. Defensively suspect but healthy. 3. Atlanta: Jaren Jackson Jr., Michigan State, PF, 6-11, 240 What do you get the team that needs just about everything? How about a shot-blocking athlete who was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year? 4. Memphis: Luka Doncic, Slovenia, PG/SG, 6-8, 225 A do-everything, multiple-position sort, Doncic seems like a terrific complement to point guard Mike Conley and center Marc Gasol. The Grizzlies had a 21-game plunge in wins, so anyone with a pulse should help, and Doncic brings way more than that. 5. Dallas: Mohamed Bamba, Texas, C, 7-0, 225 The Mavs want anyone who can put the ball in the basket, not just hit the rim, and love Doncic. If he’s gone, Bamba, whose wingspan suggests he was a pterodactyl in a previous life, is too good to pass up. He averaged 12.9 ppg, 10.5 rpg and 3.7 bpg. 6. Orlando: Trae Young, Oklahoma, PG, 6-2, 180 The Magic have shown an astoundingly impressive ability to stink for the past seven years, failing to win 30 games five times. They hope the latest rebuild moves along behind the nation’s top scorer (27.4 points) and passer (8.7 assists). 7. Chicago: Wendell Carter, Duke, PF/C, 6-10, 260 The Bulls are likely looking for frontline help, and either Carter or Michael Porter Jr. would make sense. He’s a moose inside who can step out with some range on a creditable jumper. He’s versatile, drawing Al Horford comparisons. 8. Cleveland: Collin Sexton, Alabama, PG, 6-2, 185 Yup, a forward would make so much sense, given LeBron James’ what-the-heck-will-happen situation. But the owner tweeted about an “intriguing” prospect being worked out the day Sexton was there. He has guts and averaged 19.2 points per game. 9. Knicks: Michael Porter Jr., Missouri, SF, 6-10, 215 Mikal Bridges makes so much sense. But if Porter is here, the Knicks may gamble. He has skills, an NBA body and was a top-three, if not No. 1, pick before a back injury cost him all but three games. His Friday workout in Chicago was (at least temporarily) canceled, raising some concern. OK, lots of concern. 10. Philadelphia: Mikal Bridges, Villanova, SF, 6-7, 210 The Sixers would be so happy to get the local hero, he won’t have to check his burner phones at the door. Bridges is superb defender, shoots from 3, rebounds, does everything but create his own shot. Boston stomped Sixer wings, and he’d help. If the Knicks take him, the Sixers, who once took shot on Joel Embiid, may gamble on Porter. 11. Charlotte: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kentucky, PG, 6-6, 180 In addition to going for “Most Complicated Name Available,” the Hornets would love to find a backup for Kemba Walker or possibly the next Kemba Walker. Gilgeous-Alexander can handle, score, pass and match up with bigger wings. SEE ALSO Miles Bridges' path to the NBA doesn't look like anyone else's Miles Bridges' path to the NBA doesn't look like anyone else's 12. L.A. Clippers: Miles Bridges, Michigan State, SF/PF, 6-6, 220 A bit of a tweener in size, this Bridges is another do-everything-well, nothing-really-great guy — which a lot of folks said last year about Donovan Mitchell. Makes a lot of sense for Clips with back-to-back picks. 13. L.A. Clippers: Lonnie Walker IV, Miami, SG, 6-4, 195 Yeah, the Clips are praying one of the top point guards falls to 12/13, but that is as doubtful as an All-New York Conference Final. Walker is a still-developing athlete with explosive-type potential. Decent, not great, 3-point range (.346). 14. Denver: Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech, SG, 6-4, 200 Smith’s wondrous athleticism that sends him scurrying all over the court seems like a Nuggets match made in heaven — or opponents’ hell in the high altitude. The potential is limitless, but the execution also can be viewed as clueless. 15. Washington: Robert Williams, Texas A&M, C, 6-9 240 Welcome to the non-lottery part of our program (please drive home safely). Lots of potential — and questions — here. There’s athleticism but motivation concerns. 16. Phoenix: Kevin Knox, Kentucky, SF/PF, 6-9, 215 Only 18, the upside project was the SEC Freshman of the Year 17. Milwaukee: Kevin Huerter, Maryland, SG, 6-7, 195 Good shooter (.503) with size, has been quick riser through pre-draft process. 18. San Antonio: Troy Brown, Oregon, SF, 6-7, 220 Spurs not picking in high 20s? They need something special, and this do-it-all guy fits, although the shot needs refining. 19. Atlanta: Jerome Robinson, Boston College, SG, 6-5, 190 Another riser in pre-draft process, overall skill set makes him appealing. 20. Minnesota: Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State, SF/PF, 6-8, 225 Averaging 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds, he was the Big Ten Player of the Year. 21. Utah: Dzanan Musa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, SF, 6-9, 195 Excellent size and versatility. Plus, he has improved 3-point range. 22. Chicago: Chandler Hutchison, Boise State, SG, 6-7, 200 Left combine, supposedly, with first-round promise, and many think Bulls made it. 23. Indiana: Elie Okobo, France, 6-2, 180 Lefty project with high upside, size and athleticism. A project. SEE ALSO Villanova's title game hero leaving while NBA stock is high Villanova's title game hero leaving while NBA stock is high 24. Portland: Donte DiVincenzo, Villanova, SG, 6-5, 200 Final Four Most Outstanding Player shot .481 overall, .401 from 3. 25. L.A. Lakers: De’Anthony Melton, USC, PG/SG, 6-3, 195 The combo guard is one of the better backcourt perimeter defenders available. 26. Philadelphia: Mitchell Robinson, Western Kentucky, C, 7-0, 223 He enrolled but never played in college. He withdrew from the draft combine. Confident cuss, huh? Good shot-blocker, intriguing potential. 27. Boston: Jacob Evans, Cincinnati, SG/SF, 6-5, 200 Defense is a definite strength. Good jumper but consistency a worry. 28. Golden State: Aaron Holiday, UCLA, PG, 6-0, 185 Fundamentally sound, smart player, but the drawback is his size. Hey, if he lands with the Warriors, he’ll get a ring next year. 29. Nets: Hamidou Diallo, Kentucky, SG, 6-5, 195 The Nets are feverishly trying to move up. If not, this freakishly athletic wing would make sense here. And he’s local (Queens). 30. Atlanta: Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech, SG/SF, 6-4, 210 Another upside energizer who makes sense as a third first rounder for the Hawks. FILED UNDER ATLANTA HAWKS , BOSTON CELTICS , BROOKLYN NETS , CHARLOTTE BOBCATS , CHICAGO BULLS , CLEVELAND CAVALIERS , DALLAS MAVERICKS , DENVER NUGGETS , GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS , INDIANA PACERS , LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS , LOS ANGELES LAKERS , MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES , MILWAUKEE BUCKS , MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES , NBA DRAFT , NEW YORK KNICKS , ORLANDO MAGIC , PHILADELPHIA 76ERS , PHOENIX SUNS , PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS , SACRAMENTO KINGS , SAN ANTONIO SPURS , UTAH JAZZ , WASHINGTON WIZARDS https://nypost.com/2018/06/15/nba-mock-draft-a-huge-knicks-gamble-and-a-towering-top-3

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Nylon Calculus: Ben Simmons is a uniquely versatile defender

PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 30: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers plays defense against against the Indiana Pacers on November 30, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

Ben Simmons is having a special defensive season and his ability to stretch his positional range has helped keep the 76ers afloat.

Ben Simmons‘ combination of size and skill is an exercise in cognitive dissonance. He measures out at 6-foot-10 with the bulk of a power forward but his quickness, ball skills, passing and vision make let him do things usually reserved for much smaller players. He’s usually listed as a point guard in the box score but for the purposes of conversation and categorization he’s almost always treated as something closer to “positionally miscellaneous.”

One of the compounding factors in classifying him positionally is that, while he functions as point guard on offense, his size and defensive versatility have usually been more useful defending bigger players at the other end. What’s that old saying, “if it walks like a point forward, and measures out like a point forward and defends bigs like a point forward, then it probably is a point forward?”

This season, however, Simmons’ defensive identity has shifted somewhat and it’s probably more justifiable than ever to just consider him a point guard. According to a collation of the NBA’s defensive matchup stats, prepared by Krishna Narsu and Andrew Patton, Simmons has spent more than a quarter of his defensive possessions this season matched up with an opposing point guard and just over 50 percent of his defensive possessions with either a point guard or a shooting guard as his primary defensive matchup. That’s up from about 39 percent last season and about 41 percent during the 2017-18 season. These stats estimate his defensive position to be 2.65 (using the standard 1-5 position scale, weighted by the percent of possessions defending each position), about the same as Marcus Smart or Russell Westbrook.

For further context, Draymond Green (who is three inches shorter than Simmons and often held up as the paragon of big forwards being able to slide down and defend smaller players) has never had an estimated defensive position lower than 3.38 in 2013-14.

Simmons’ move down the positional scale, defensively, has been necessitated by changes to the 76ers’ rotation. Philadelphia has not been shy about playing Al Horford and Joel Embiid together and Simmons has played about 27 percent of his minutes this season with that pairing and Tobias Harris a forward, who is at a defensive disadvantage against many perimeter wing players. That leaves no other option but to have Simmons matched up against a backcourt player.

The graph below shows every player to have appeared in a game this season, marked by their height and their estimated defensive position.

That mark just below and to the left of Simmons is Dzanan Musa, a 6-foot-9 wing who has played just over 200 minutes of not particularly noteworthy defense for the Nets this season. Other than that, Simmons really is on an island for a player his size. He’s nearly a half-position below anyone else his height, or even players an inch shorter — with Nicolas Batum the closest at an estimated defensive position of 2.93.

Of players listed at 6-foot-8, only Cam Reddish and Isaac Bonga have a lower estimated defensive position. All that is to say that even if Ben Simmons were two inches shorter, he would still be an outlier in how often he defends guards for a player his size.

And, of course, this only highlights versatility; he’s also been incredibly effective. FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR metric estimates his defensive value to be worth about 2.4 points per 100 possessions. He is second in the league in deflections per game, fourth in defensive loose balls recovered per game, and tied for third in steals per game. At Liberty Ballers, Jackson Frank did a great job breaking down video of Simmons’ defensive improvement this season and explaining how his awareness and decision-making has taken a leap.

Aside from on the block, Simmons has executed the largest jump as an off-ball defender. More frequently, he’s stunting to stymie drives, contest jumpers or force turnovers, and he’s understanding the proper times to dig down in the post. The former is the primary reason his deflections have increased by nearly 50 percent this season; people are conscious of his dexterity and actively halt dribble penetration when he’s in the area. He’s rotating to cut off passing lanes, getting a paw on almost any ball in his orbit and operating with renewed focus and zeal. Like any defensive roamer, Simmons gambles to a fault occasionally, but generally speaking, his discretion and judgment have been superb. The combination of reaction time and physical tools is fueling this All-Defensive campaign.

The 76ers’ most-used lineup — Simmons, Josh Richardson, Harris, Horford and Embiid — has been superb defensively, holding opponents to an average of 88.7 points per 100 possessions. It’s an enormous lineup with Richardson and Harris, at 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-8, respectively, as the two smallest players. The viability of this group as an elite defensive unit is driven, in large part, by Simmons’ ability to more than hold his own against players five and six inches shorter than him.

Philadelphia’s offense has had plenty of kinks to work out in the early part of the season but their suffocating defense (third in the NBA in efficiency) has helped keep them in the tier of championship contenders. For that, they can thank their unconventional point guard.

The post Nylon Calculus: Ben Simmons is a uniquely versatile defender appeared first on Actu Trends.

Pre-Season Stats: 2019-20

The common wisdom is that pre-season stats are pretty much worthless. But I’ve done a post about the subject every year and I’ve found that they do have some predictive value. You can look back at our posts from 2018, 2017, and 2016, if you’re curious.

So, how’d our guys do this year? The following chart displays their stats pro-rated per 36 minutes.

What are the important take-aways?

Nick Claxton: Yeah. I know it’s only 27 minutes. But yeah. This kid’s exciting.

Dzanan Musa: Watch out for this guy this year. I think he might surprise some people. It was fun watching him in pre-season: he’s a confident ball-handler who likes to slash towards the basket. But I remember Will Weaver saying that Musa was one of the best passers in the G-League; to be honest, though, I just don’t see it. He averaged 4.1 Ast/36 last year in the G-League (compared to Pinson’s 5.7), and he’s not getting any assists here, either.

Taurean Prince: Obviously, he’s not going to shoot 69.6% from 3 in the regular season. But he has looked good. He was 16-23 from deep over those four games. Let’s say he got lucky. If he had shot .400, he would’ve scored 18.8 Pts/36, whereas last year with the Hawks he scored 17.2 per 36. As I’ve said before, I’m not all that hyped about Taurean (though he seems like a really nice guy)

Caris LeVert looks like he’s ready to finally blossom this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he averaged 20 pts/g. And his passing numbers are up, too.

Spencer Dinwiddie looks lost. He’s shooting like garbage. What’s going on, Spence?

Joe Harris seems lost. Maybe too much summer basketball, too much travel.

Rodions Kurucs is lost. I managed to watch 2 of the pre-season games and more than any other player, I’d say he just doesn’t look like he knows what his role is. It’s like Atkinson told him to only be a catch-and-shoot three-point guy and he’s afraid to do anything but that. Every time he got the ball he seemed tentative, spooked, confused. But that’s not how Rodions needs to play. Rodions is a bull. Give him the ball. Let him drive to the hoop. He will make things happen. You must unchain him, Kenny! Trust me on this one.

Nets eyeing Euro prospect who believes he’s a lottery pick

Dzanan Musa’s NBA dream started with him crying himself to sleep every night, an 11-year-old living on his own in a strange city. The gifted Bosnian scorer landed in New York last Friday, a potenti…

    copyright © 2018

    from Nets eyeing Euro prospect who believes he’s a lottery pick via Nets eyeing Euro prospect who believes he’s a lottery pick March 23, 2019 at 08:49AM Copyright © March 23, 2019 at 08:49AM

Nets eyeing Euro prospect who believes he’s a lottery pick

Dzanan Musa’s NBA dream started with him crying himself to sleep every night, an 11-year-old living on his own in a strange city. The gifted Bosnian scorer landed in New York last Friday, a potenti…

    copyright © 2018

        from Nets eyeing Euro prospect who believes he’s a lottery pick via Nets eyeing Euro prospect who believes he’s a lottery pick February 08, 2019 at 07:50PM Copyright © February 08, 2019 at 07:50PM

How Anthony Davis Would Fit On The Lakers, Celtics, Nets, Sixers And Knicks

There are deals made at the NBA trade deadline every year, but rarely do those last-minute swaps truly change the trajectory of a season. Yet that sort of potential might exist this season: We learned Monday that superstar big man Anthony Davis wants out of New Orleans, which all but means that the Pelicans have to deal him before he leaves for nothing.

Davis is supremely talented, enough so that teams that once said they wouldn’t touch their rebuilding plans are no doubt now counting their pocket change to gauge the cost of a deal with New Orleans. It’s widely assumed that the Los Angeles Lakers will be aggressive in trying to get something done before the Feb. 7 deadline. And there’s seemingly a huge incentive for them to make that push. The Pelicans can almost certainly create an even bigger bidding war if they wait to trade Davis this summer. By then, the asset-rich Boston Celtics can be involved, and the draft-lottery dust will settle, clarifying which club will have the rights to the No. 1 overall pick.1 So it will probably take a home-run offer to entice the Pelicans to let Davis go now.

For the time being, we took a crack at estimating where Davis could go and how five teams would fare with him — according to our CARMELO projection model, which generates depth charts and power ratings for every team — after parting ways with the players it’d take to land him.2

Lakers

Possible deal for Davis: Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac and picks.

What the Lakers would look like with AD

Projected full-strength playoff depth chart for the 2018-19 Los Angeles Lakers with Anthony Davis, based on CARMELO plus/minus ratings

EXPECTED MINUTES PER GAME PLAYER RATING PLAYER PG SG SF PF C TOTAL OFF. +/- DEF. +/- TOT. +/- LeBron James 4 0 14 21 0 39 +4.9 +1.2 +6.1 Anthony Davis 0 0 0 22 18 40 +2.9 +3.2 +6.1 Brandon Ingram 0 0 34 0 0 34 -1.4 -0.4 -1.8 Rajon Rondo 25 2 0 0 0 27 -0.9 -0.3 -1.2 JaVale McGee 0 0 0 0 17 17 -2.4 +1.7 -0.7 Tyson Chandler 0 0 0 3 12 15 -2.3 +2.4 +0.2 Lance Stephenson 0 19 0 0 0 19 -0.8 -1.2 -2.0 Johnathan Williams 0 0 0 2 1 3 -2.0 +0.2 -1.9 Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk 0 17 0 0 0 17 -2.0 -1.6 -3.6 Michael Beasley 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1.3 -0.2 -1.5 Moritz Wagner 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2.1 +0.0 -2.1 Isaac Bonga 8 6 0 0 0 14 -1.8 -0.2 -2.0 Alex Caruso 11 4 0 0 0 15 -1.6 -0.2 -1.7 Team total 240 +1.2 +3.4 +4.6 Expected wins 52.9 CARMELO team rating 1645

The Lakers’ package3 — likely made up of some combination of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Ivica Zubac — isn’t really a secret to anyone at this point. That group is young and talented. It just isn’t clear whether any of the players possess the talent to become stars at some point. (For the sake of this exercise, we left Ingram out of the deal, though the Pelicans could easily demand that he, Kuzma, Ball and others be included. Their preference remains to be seen.)

Ball, Kuzma and Ingram have all struggled to take the next step this season. That shouldn’t be a deal-breaker. It’s a huge adjustment learning to play with LeBron James and then having to go back to playing without him as he recovers from injury. But it does raise a big question for New Orleans: Should the Pelicans really be dealing away a superstar on the hope that one of these young Lakers will ascend into something significant? The answer becomes even more important considering that any picks the Lakers send over would likely be toward the back end of the first round, because a Davis-LeBron duo would peg Los Angeles as one of the top seeds out West.

In the short term, the Lakers’ full-strength postseason version with Davis would improve to a CARMELO rating of 1645,4 up from the 1589 posteason mark we’re estimating with their current roster. That is roughly the same as the Denver Nuggets’ full-strength playoff rating, but it may also be understating the Lakers’ chances. Would YOU want to bet against a team led by James and Davis in the playoffs (at least against anybody except perhaps the Warriors)?5

Celtics

Possible deal for Davis: Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and picks.

Boston probably has the most attractive, cost-controlled assets in the league. But the Celtics are in a holding pattern because of a little-known rule that prohibits teams from acquiring more than one player on Davis’s “Rose Rule” contract via trade. In 2017, Boston traded for Kyrie Irving, who also signed a Rose Rule extension. That means the club would have to deal Irving to acquire Davis — which obviously won’t happen. More feasibly, Boston could re-sign Irving to a new contract in free agency this offseason, which would give the team the freedom to then make a deal for Davis.

The Celtics have several young, relatively cheap players — Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum — who would appeal to any team starting a rebuild. They’re also likely to have three first-round picks in the 2019 draft. With this war chest potentially available from Boston this summer, the Pelicans should consider waiting on a Davis deal if they are not blown away by an offer at the deadline.

Just for fun, though, if the Celtics did trade Kyrie for AD this year — sending, say, Irving, Daniel Theis and Guerschon Yabusele to the Pelicans for Davis — the resulting team would be pretty stacked, with a playoff full-strength CARMELO of 1752. That’s about 50 points higher than the Houston Rockets and 20 higher than the Toronto Raptors, albeit still nearly 100 points lower than the Warriors’ mark. The Celtics currently have the third-highest standard rating in the East, but their playoff rating would easily vault to No. 1 with a Kyrie-for-AD swap (which, again, will not actually happen).

(By comparison, it’s worth noting that in the far more realistic scenario — a Davis trade for Brown, Rozier, Smart and Tatum over the summer — the Celtics’ CARMELO would be 1723, which would also be a 30-point improvement over their current full-strength playoff rating, good for about two-and-a-half extra wins over a full season.)

Nets

Possible deal for Davis: Jarrett Allen, Allen Crabbe, D’Angelo Russell and picks.

What the Nets would look like with AD

Projected full-strength playoff depth chart for the 2018-19 Brooklyn Nets with Anthony Davis, based on CARMELO plus/minus ratings

EXPECTED MINUTES PER GAME PLAYER RATING PLAYER PG SG SF PF C TOTAL OFF. +/- DEF. +/- TOT. +/- Anthony Davis 0 0 0 19 23 42 +2.9 +3.2 +6.1 Caris LeVert 0 9 21 0 0 30 +0.0 -0.6 -0.6 Spencer Dinwiddie 31 0 0 0 0 31 +2.3 -2.1 +0.2 Joe Harris 0 29 0 0 0 29 +1.0 -1.1 -0.1 Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 0 8 16 0 0 24 -1.8 +0.4 -1.3 DeMarre Carroll 0 0 7 15 0 22 -0.5 -0.3 -0.8 Jared Dudley 0 0 4 14 0 18 -1.4 +0.2 -1.2 Rodions Kurucs 0 0 0 0 20 20 -1.4 -0.5 -1.9 Treveon Graham 13 2 0 0 0 15 -1.6 -0.5 -2.0 Ed Davis 0 0 0 0 5 5 -1.3 +2.1 +0.8 Shabazz Napier 4 0 0 0 0 4 +0.2 -0.8 -0.6 Dzanan Musa 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1.8 -0.5 -2.3 Theo Pinson 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1.7 -0.5 -2.1 Alan Williams 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1.7 +1.3 -0.5 Team total 240 +1.8 +0.3 +2.2 Expected wins 46.5 CARMELO team rating 1560

They may not get much attention in this conversation, but the Brooklyn Nets probably have some dark-horse potential for landing Davis.

Any deal would obviously hinge on the Pelicans’ interest in building around one of the Nets’ guards — either 22-year-old D’Angelo Russell, who has an outside chance at an All-Star spot and is a restricted free agent this summer, or Caris LeVert,6 who illustrated flashes of stardom before going down with an injury earlier this season. Beyond surrendering one of them, Brooklyn would also have to offer promising 20-year-old center Jarrett Allen. Allen Crabbe would almost certainly have to be part of any deal to make the money work, and it seems likely that the Nets would need to part ways with a couple of first-round picks.

It’d be a steep, depth-diminishing price for a team that, after years of irrelevance, is just now finding its footing in the Eastern Conference playoff race. And even with Davis in the fold, the resulting roster, with a CARMELO rating of 1560, would not be much better than a lower-tier playoff team in the short term. But the Nets have long been interested in landing a top-flight star, and this provides them that chance, giving them more than a full season to build around Davis and convince him to stick around.

Sixers

Possible deal for Davis: Markelle Fultz, Mike Muscala, Justin Patton, Ben Simmons and a pick.

What the Sixers would look like with AD

Projected full-strength playoff depth chart for the 2018-19 Philadelphia 76ers with Anthony Davis, based on CARMELO plus/minus ratings

EXPECTED MINUTES PER GAME PLAYER RATING PLAYER PG SG SF PF C TOTAL OFF. +/- DEF. +/- TOT. +/- Anthony Davis 0 0 0 25 17 42 +2.9 +3.2 +6.1 Jimmy Butler 0 15 20 0 0 35 +3.0 +0.9 +3.9 Joel Embiid 0 0 0 0 31 31 +1.5 +2.6 +4.0 J.J. Redick 0 27 3 0 0 30 +2.0 -2.0 +0.0 Wilson Chandler 0 0 9 18 0 27 -0.9 -0.1 -1.1 Landry Shamet 22 0 0 0 0 22 +0.7 -2.4 -1.6 T.J. McConnell 24 0 0 0 0 24 -1.1 -0.5 -1.6 Zhaire Smith 0 0 15 0 0 15 -1.2 -0.4 -1.6 Furkan Korkmaz 0 6 1 0 0 7 -0.4 -1.2 -1.6 Amir Johnson 0 0 0 5 0 5 -1.2 +1.9 +0.6 Jonah Bolden 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2.2 +1.1 -1.0 Shake Milton 2 0 0 0 0 2 -1.2 -0.8 -2.0 Corey Brewer 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2.4 +0.6 -1.8 Team total 240 +5.6 +2.3 +7.9 Expected wins 60.2 CARMELO team rating 1710

New Orleans has to listen if the Sixers are willing to offer 22-year-old rookie of the year Ben Simmons — the burly ball-handling forward who will likely develop into a perennial All-Star. Simmons would not only give the Pelicans a franchise player, but he would also be on a reasonable contract, which buys New Orleans some time to build around him.

The real question here is whether Philadelphia — which arguably possesses the best frontcourt in the league already — would even consider such a move. The Sixers already pulled off a trade in November for Jimmy Butler and have done well since then — even while some players grumbled over a need for more defined offensive roles. A deal for Davis would improve Philly’s roster on paper slightly, elevating its full-strength playoff CARMELO from 1677 to 1710, but maybe not by as much as a team might expect when adding a superstar of Davis’s stature. And a Davis deal — one that would force Joel Embiid to learn how to play alongside another dominant big — might bring about even more questions about chemistry, since they’d be somewhat redundant as rim protectors and floor-spacing bigs.

All of this suggests that the Sixers might sit this opportunity out rather than offer up Simmons.

Knicks

Possible deal for Davis: Tim Hardaway Jr., Kristaps Porzingis and a pick.

What the Knicks would look like with AD

Projected full-strength playoff depth chart for the 2018-19 New York Knicks with Anthony Davis, based on CARMELO plus/minus ratings

EXPECTED MINUTES PER GAME PLAYER RATING PLAYER PG SG SF PF C TOTAL OFF. +/- DEF. +/- TOT. +/- Anthony Davis 0 0 0 17 23 40 +2.9 +3.2 +6.1 Kevin Knox 0 0 27 5 0 32 -2.8 -3.2 -5.9 Emmanuel Mudiay 30 0 0 0 0 30 -0.3 -2.0 -2.3 Noah Vonleh 0 0 0 21 0 21 -1.3 +1.5 +0.2 Luke Kornet 0 0 0 5 12 17 -0.4 +0.6 +0.2 Damyean Dotson 0 18 5 0 0 23 -0.7 -1.1 -1.8 Enes Kanter 0 0 0 0 13 13 +0.5 -0.6 -0.1 Allonzo Trier 3 18 0 0 0 21 -1.9 -2.6 -4.5 Courtney Lee 0 11 9 0 0 20 -0.5 -1.1 -1.5 Trey Burke 13 0 0 0 0 13 +0.7 -2.5 -1.8 Mitchell Robinson 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1.2 +2.4 +1.2 Mario Hezonja 0 0 7 0 0 7 -1.9 -0.2 -2.1 Frank Ntilikina 2 1 0 0 0 3 -2.6 -1.0 -3.6 Lance Thomas 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2.7 -0.1 -2.9 Team total 240 -1.8 -2.9 -4.6 Expected wins 28.8 CARMELO team rating 1387

Expected wins: 28.8 | CARMELO team rating: 1387

Depending on how a New Orleans deal with New York would look, the Knicks could be in a similar boat to the one the Celtics are in.

Because the Pelicans will be looking to replace Davis’s star power, they might be interested in exploring a deal with whichever team lands the No. 1 overall pick — something the Knicks are in the running for (we won’t have clarity on that until mid-May). If New York wins the lottery, it’s possible that New Orleans would have enough interest in that pick, Tim Hardaway Jr. and perhaps Kevin Knox to make a deal.

But there’s another school of thought to consider: that perhaps it’s better for the Knicks to trade Kristaps Porzingis — who’s coming off an ACL tear and who basically plays the same position as Davis — than to surrender the team’s top pick to the Pelicans. And perhaps New Orleans would prefer to have the 23-year-old Porzingis, who was a known, All-Star level commodity before his injury.

The teams’ preferences at this stage are a mystery. But if both the Knicks and Pelicans have legitimate interest, a few options potentially exist for a deal to happen. Would the resulting team even be any good, though? According to CARMELO, a Davis-led Knicks squad would still carry a below-average 1387 rating at full strength. That wouldn’t exactly be a great fit with what Rich Paul, Davis’s agent, described as the star’s preference to play for “a team that allows him a chance to win consistently and compete for a championship.”

Yet the Knicks would have considerable cap space to put another top-shelf talent next to Davis during free agency, which would help boost their projection much higher.

Jay Boice contributed research.

Check out our latest NBA predictions.

from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-anthony-davis-would-fit-on-the-lakers-celtics-nets-sixers-and-knicks/

Nets eyeing Euro prospect who believes he’s a lottery pick

Dzanan Musa’s NBA dream started with him crying himself to sleep every night, an 11-year-old living on his own in a strange city. The gifted Bosnian scorer landed in New York last Friday, a potenti…

    copyright © 2018

    from Nets eyeing Euro prospect who believes he’s a lottery pick via Nets eyeing Euro prospect who believes he’s a lottery pick November 01, 2018 at 02:32PM Copyright © November 01, 2018 at 02:32PM