Saturday, September 30, 2017
Season preview: Orlando Magic
STAYING: DJ Augustin, Bismack Biyombo, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Mario Hezonja, Elfrid Payton, Terrence Ross, Damjan Rudez and Nikola Vucevic.
ADDED: Arron Afflalo (Sacramento), Khem Birch (Olympiacos), Troy Caupain (Cincinnati), Jonathan Isaac (Florida State), Wesley Iwundu (Kansas State), Kalin Lucas (Erie BayHawks), Shelvin Mack (Utah), Adreian Payne (Minnesota), Jonathon Simmons (San Antonio) and Marreese Speights (LA Clippers).
GONE: Patricio Garino (Baskonia), Jeff Green (Cleveland), Jodie Meeks (Washington), CJ Watson and Stephen Zimmerman (LA Lakers).
STRENGTHS: They could put together ultra-athletic lineups with players like Aaron Gordon, Terrence Ross, Jonathon Simmons and Bismack Biyombo on the team … Potential breakout season for Gordon, especially if he’s moved to the power forward spot.
WEAKNESSES: Lack of talent … The franchise has not sent a single player to the All-Star Game since 2012 and the drought is very likely to continue … No go-to scorer … No Magic player has ever averaged 20 points per game in an NBA season … Not enough three-point threats … Orlando was the second-worst team in the league in three-point shooting percentage last year … Overall, offensive output should remain an issue … Not clear they have the personnel to make up for their offensive shortcomings with defense … Hard to envision how fans can be invested in this team.
PREDICTION: 4th in the Southeast Division, 13th in the Eastern Conference.
SALARIES:
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Trending stories: Russell Westbrook, Gregg Popovich and more
These are the articles the top NBA reporters have been sharing on Twitter the last 24 hours. Enjoy!
Sources: Westbrook agrees to 5-yr/$205M deal – via espn.com
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Gregg Popovich’s speech about white privilege felt like a personal rebuke – via theundefeated.com
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LaMarcus Aldridge says he thinks he can be an All-Star again – via blog.mysanantonio.com
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The downside to OKC’s massive Westbrook extension – via espn.com
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How Viral Dunkers Can Revolutionize Women’s Basketball – via bleacherreport.com
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Cavs’ Gilbert: Got racist calls after LeBron tweet – via espn.com
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Newcomers Appreciative of C’s Philosophy on Rest – via nba.com
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Lakers Training Camp (Day 4): Videos, Quotes & Notes – via lakersnation.com
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Russell Westbrook signs largest contract in NBA history, $205 million extension – via nba.nbcsports.com
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Embiid participates in half-court scrimmage – via philly.com
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Friday, September 29, 2017
Ronnie2K on joining NBA 2K, what his job entails, crazy interactions with players and celebrities
Ronnie Singh, also known as @Ronnie2K, is the digital marketing director for NBA 2K. He joins The HoopsHype Podcast with Alex Kennedy to discuss his a ton of topics regarding his career and life…
0:50: Ronnie discusses the craziness of launch week and what his schedule is like right now since NBA 2K18 just hit the shelves.
3:15: Some of the additions to this year’s game that separate it from past iterations of NBA 2K.
6:10: Ronnie discusses his career journey that led him to 2K, including past jobs at a law firm and in the front office of a semi-pro baseball team called the San Diego Surf Dawgs (for whom he signed Jose Canseco).
12:10: How constantly posting on the NBA 2K forum ultimately led to 2K hiring him.
14:00: The huge role that social media plays in his job and how he was able to grow his Twitter audience to nearly 1,000,000 followers.
16:30: How a Justin Bieber shout-out doubled his Twitter following in several hours.
18:50: Ronnie shares some of his craziest encounters with celebrities and players who are fans of the game.
27:00: The time his cab got rear-ended during All-Star Weekend and he got a ride from Drake between the rapper’s two performances that night.
31:50: How Instagram and Twitter doesn’t always paint an accurate – or complete – picture of an individual’s life.
32:45: During a less busy time of a year, Ronnie shares what a typical day is like for him and some of his lesser-known job responsibilities.
36:30: Ronnie discusses the criticism he receives on social media and how he has learned to deal with it.
38:00: His “beef” with Ben Simmons and how John Wall recently blocked him on Twitter.
41:00: What advice he’d give to someone who wants to work in the video game industry or land a job similar to the one he has with 2K.
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The 8 best NBA offseason moves
The Warriors may be a dominant force, but the rest of the NBA isn’t standing pat. Over the last few months, several teams made huge acquisitions. Let’s take a look at the eight best 2017 offseason moves.
Click to view slideshow.
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Quick Link: Psychology 101: Knowledge That Will Improve Your Writing – Part 1
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Be like the energizer bunny! Keep on going and going and going…
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Friday Links
– Short Trip (via kottke)
– If you can’t be bothered to go to the fabric store: DIY Embroidery Kit (To be fair, those scissors are CUTE.)
– Pattern It: printed wool textile collection
– Unicorn Zip & Flip Pillow (There’s also an Elephant Zip and Flip Pillow)
– Too bad it’s only kid-sized: Ricepuffy Blanket
– Oxford Pennant Never Lose Your Flame
Enjoy your weekend.
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The All-NBA version of Kevin Love may return in 2017-18
It’s difficult to surmise how a player who features on one of the two biggest teams in the league – coming off an All-Star season – can be forgotten. But we’ve inexplicably arrived at that point with Kevin Love.
The UCLA product had his best campaign with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016-17 – one that saw him average 19.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per contest.
His on/off impact was a plus-9.0 points per 100 possessions (the highest mark of his three years in northwest Ohio), he contributed more win shares than Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Serge Ibaka, and he was the only player in the league to have a total rebound rate over 19.0 percent, while converting at least 125 three-pointers, per Basketball Reference.
For all the talk of his deficiencies on the less glamorous side of the ball, Cleveland’s defense actually tightened up by an astounding 6.3 points per 100 possessions with Love on the floor, according to NBAWowy.
One may believe the discrepancy occurs due to the Cavs’ lack of depth, or the fact that Love would most often get subbed out for the likes of Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson – two vets who remain productive, but don’t possess the foot speed to aptly defend these days.
However, perusing through Cleveland’s defensive numbers last season, we find another bit of evidence that speaks to Love’s importance on that end. With Love in the game and Tristan Thompson – a supposed stalwart of point-stopping – sitting, the Cavaliers yielded 106.6 points per 100 possessions. Meanwhile, with the stretch-four on the bench and Thompson in the game, Tyronn Lue’s team gave up 110.1 points per 100 possessions.
No matter how we spin it, Cleveland was better at shutting down their opponents with Love on the court.
It shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, though, as Love’s positioning defensively is excellent and his ability to absolutely clean up the glass ends many possessions.
But we all know accolades – both tangible and intangible – are garnered through offensive contributions; for the masses to remember just how good Love is, the floor-spacing big will need an uptick in scoring output.
Well, with Kyrie Irving traded to the Boston Celtics and Isaiah Thomas out until at least January with a hip injury, Love’s offense will almost certainly be the biggest benefactor.
Over the past three regular seasons, on nights Irving sat and Love played (a 39-game sample size), the 6-foot-10 power forward averaged 19.0 points, 10.7 boards and 2.4 assists.
With the extended role, even Love’s efficiency improved – from 42.6 percent shooting overall as a Cavalier to 43.4 percent when Irving didn’t play.
Nonetheless, even with the ball-dominating Irving still on the team, Love never stopped being a stud in his own right.
Over the past few seasons, the All-Star big man has been at his deadliest as a pure shooter. According to NBA Math, in 2016-17, Love’s value-added coming off screens was an 11.6, a mark that outpaced sharpshooters like JR Smith and Wayne Ellington.
It was the third-highest rate among power forwards, trailing only the deadly accurate Ryan Anderson and the rim-attacking locomotive James Johnson.
What’s more, on spot-up opportunities, Love produced 1.19 points per possession (PPP), which was the sixth-best mark among players with at least 250 such looks.
For reference, one spot behind him at No. 7 on that list was Klay Thompson.
Even more pertinent, Love scored a fiery 1.33 PPP when attempting spot-up jumpers without taking a dribble, a rate that placed him in the top 15 percent of the league.
Simply put, if you give him a look with his feet set, the big man wasn’t missing, no matter the contest.
Apart from Love’s pristine shooting, we should also mention we’re only a year removed from him being one of the league’s most devastating post-up bigs. Though his back-down attempts are rarely pretty, they were brutally effective in 2015-16.
Love posted up 310 times that season, and totaled 304 points in those possessions. The overall 0.98 PPP put him in the 83rd percentile – outscoring traditional paint beasts such as DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol and Al Jefferson.
Cleveland’s 4-man possesses a gawky turnaround jumper that he can use going over either shoulder, along with a classic baby hook almost every big man has in their repertoire.
When a big can post up, shoot from all three levels or dart to the basket when the situation calls for it (Love was in the 75th percentile as a cutter in 2016-17), he becomes almost indefensible.
Although Love will likely never find his 2011-12 form – when he averaged 26.0 points per night – as a member of the Cavs, he’s due for a monster year.
With Irving shipped to the rival Celtics and Thomas set to miss months from the hip ailment that ended his 2017 postseason run, Cleveland won’t have any choice but to hand Love a larger role than any he has previously had with the team.
And that should worry opponents.
Last year, in 278 minutes of action with Irving on the bench, the Love-LeBron James duo outscored the opposition by 16.8 points per 100 possessions according to NBAWowy.
If prorated for the year, that would have made the tandem the league’s second most potent two-man unit of the non-Golden State Warriors variety.
A hyper-focused LeBron is going to wreak havoc in 2017-18. The signings of Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose will make the Cavs’ reserve unit far more formidable. Jae Crowder gives them another two-way threat to throw at Kevin Durant. They still have Smith, Frye and Kyle Korver – three absolute floor-spacing demons – on the roster.
But the return of an All-NBA-caliber Love could wind up being Cleveland’s most impactful change heading into next season.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter @frankurbina_.
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Moroccan Beach Towel by John Elliott
Is it too late to feature a beach towel? The answer is yes, but who cares, especially as you could throw it over your shoulders as an extra layer, as the designer chose to style it in his spring collection. Or, you could just admire the pattern, and save it for your next escape to the pool/beach/island.
Designer: John Elliott
– French terry
– 100% cotton
– Machine wash cold, line dry
– Made in Japan
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