Friday Bolts – 3.20.09
Not much Thunder news out there today with that tournament that some people are interested in going on… 
Ian Thompson looks at five annual critcisms of the NBA compared to college basketball: NBA players don’t care: It’s true that many of them are selfish at the expense of the team. But you’ll find this to be true in the NCAA as well. In another sense, NBA players have never cared more about their careers. Because there is so much money at stake, they train year-round and practice more often than players of previous generations. I can tell you that it drives college coaches crazy when their players leave the program to undertake a 24/7 workout and diet regimen in preparation for the NBA draft. Kevin Love transformed his body after last year’s NCAA tournament to improve his stock for NBA talent evaluators. Don’t you think UCLA coach Ben Howland would have appreciated that commitment on behalf of the college program?
John Hollinger looks at five lottery teams that could make a run to the playoffs next year: “Despite having their doctor nix the Tyson Chandler trade, the Thunder made a less-discussed coup at the trade deadline with shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha. He gives the team the solid wing defender it’s been missing for most of the past two years and allows Jeff Green and Kevin Durant to play forward full time. Throw in Russell Westbrook’s surprisingly fast development and Nenad Krstic’s arrival and the talent base is growing rapidly. Also, the Thunder are poised to add even more talent this summer. In addition to another high draft pick of their own and another from Denver (technically the better of Denver’s or San Antonio’s, which almost certainly will be the Nuggets’), the Thunder have beaucoup cap space to either spend in a buyer’s market or use in a trade. And then there’s this little fact — since starting the year 3-29, the Thunder are a very respectable 16-20. With Durant coming on like gangbusters and Green and Westbrook also showing major progress, getting somewhere near .500 next season won’t require much of a push.”
Serge Ibaka update: The big guy has continued to play more minutes lately than he did early in the season. His last six he’s averaging 9.5 ppg on 60 percent shooting with 7.0 rpg and 1.84 blocks per game. That’s all highlighted by a game against DKV Joventut (Ricky Rubio’s team) where Ibaka went for 16 points, 15 rebounds and a block in 26 minutes.
Jerry Sloan, Thunderfan: “The Oklahoma City Thunder have a big fan — Jerry Sloan – and that’s one reason why the Jazz won’t take them lightly when the two teams meet Friday night in Oklahoma City. ”They have a very, very fine young team,” said Sloan, Utah’s veteran coach. “It’s just [a matter of] learning how to play with each other and taking advantage of the skills they have.” Oklahoma City is 19-49 and has been doomed to the lottery since, oh, Thanksgiving. But the Thunder already own a 114-93 win over the Jazz this season and have won six of their past 10 games. Among the victims: Philadelphia, Dallas and San Antonio. “I like their team a lot,” Sloan said. “For a young team, they’ve really come a long way in a short period of time.”
Desmond Mason, children’s book illustrator: “The Thunder will begin distributing the children’s book “Helping Hands,” illustrated by Desmond Mason, on the Rolling Thunder book bus. Mason will read the book to a group of children at Harding Charter Preparatory High School on Monday at 2:15 p.m…Tonight’s game against Utah and Tuesday’s game against the Lakers have both sold out.”
Chris Bernucca of Pro Basketball News says the NCAA Tournament is no match for the NBA. Good luck making anybody believe that: “Everyone who loves the NCAA Tournament — that being everyone besides me — waxes romantic about the win-or-else format, the pageantry and tradition, the opportunity for upsets, the memorable performances. Here’s what I see: A schedule and format that punishes the best teams. Subpar basketball cloaked in futile effort and fight songs. “Upsets” that aren’t really that surprising. And a whole bunch of guys who peak in life before they can legally drink. Is that cynical enough for you? Although I’ve always been an NBA guy, I used to like the NCAA Tournament. I really did. But a confluence of events in the mid-1990s sent me down the path of no return.”
More Oden and Durant stuff: “Finally, I love watching Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, another throwback whose high-scoring ways and overall smoothness remind me of George Gervin. Durant was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in 2007, one spot behind Oden. Anyway, I think Oden will be a more dominant force in the long run. And that’s based on what I saw in 12 minutes when Oden was out of shape. I can’t wait to see the guy totally healthy and neither should you.”
Haha, did anyone else read the Ian Thompson article and get a huge laugh? One of the arguments made was that coaching doesn’t matter in the NBA, but ironically, one of the counterpoint coaches they mentioned was Doc Rivers. Really, Doc Rivers? Is there a worse example of coaches being important than Doc Rivers? That guy took the best team in the NBA and tried his best to ruin them for three straight playoff series last year. Boston is the ultimate example of players coaching themselves.
So Ibaka is a good rebounder / blcoker in the second best league, has something of a jump shot but hard to say how good given his shooting is padded to some degree by dunks, almost never gets an assist and doesn’t get a steal often either.
Sloan likes the Thunder, and despite how good and steady he is, his 2 most used lineups are moderately negative on +/-. He is a big win with the bench guy so maybe that explains to some degree his like of a Thunder team apparently going the same direction. Even if a lot of their quality bench starts.
How good a defender is Ibaka? Don’t know but his squad is 12-13, 8th place in a league of 17. And the 7th man in terms of minutes. If the D was good you’d think he’d play more but european coaches seem to be control freaks who think they are the most important element of the team. Maybe so for that level.
LOVE the article by Chris Bernucca.
My two biggest beef’s with College hoops are these:
1. In college, you’re lucky if two people on your whole team can create their own offense. The ball skills of slow athletes makes the other team look overwhelmingly gifted at playing defense. You see players catch the ball and run and run and run around in the half court, passing it to a team mate just in the nick of time, all the while praying that their team happens to get the shot off before the shot clock. The defensive rotations are just as fast as the offensive ball movement, and few can beat the zone or their man.
In the pros, you probably have only two guys who can’t create their own offense. Even slow guys like Peja has a move or two up his sleeve. Shaq may need you to pass him the ball to get things started, but he has dozens of post up moves. Nearly every 1 or 2 can take their man off the dribble most of the time. Defense in college just looks good because the offensive talent isn’t so great.
2. The way the games are officiated is night and day. College officiating drives me up a wall. I can hardly stand to watch it. The NBA refs let a guy get away with a travel from time to time, and the stars get the benefit of the doubt. But by and large, they are far and away more consistent than their NCAA counterparts. One game, you can get away with murder, the next game, you breath on a guy from across the court and it’s a foul. In the NBA, the refs are privy to game clinching moments, and they let the players play in that situation, while everyone knows that moment is distinctly different then all the others. Unless the foul or the turnover is flat out obvious, they let the players earn the moment with their ability. In college, the moment doesn’t matter, the refs call whatever they want, often times making the game more about them than the players.
@Crow
It’s not just being control freaks, the European teams lean a lot more towards experience over raw talent. Where in the NBA a rookie can immediately become the main player on a team, that would never happen in Europe. It’s a much more team-oriented game (in play and rules), which significantly lessens the impact of singular talents and increases the impact of veteran knowledge. This is the very reason that America has faired so “poorly” in past world basketball events. Superior talent does not necessarily make you a better player than someone who knows the ins and outs of his teammates (at least in Euro-ball).
I said it sharply but there is a positive way to look at it too as you did.
They do seem to overdo the vets over young’uns though. Lots of young guys who become high 1st round picks stuck at 10-20 minutes over there when they are probably the greatest talent. Granted maybe not the best teammate in the moment but the choice usually isn’t between the best team player and the best talent but between the best talent and a mid-level talent and team impact player who has just been there longer.
“Superior talent does not necessarily make you a better player than someone who knows the ins and outs of his teammates”
I agree and even for the NBA. Especially at PG.
Most the top playoff teams are the older teams. Vets even young vets help the real young and Collison, Krstic and Sefolosha help.
Someone who knows the ins and outs of his teammates could outperform their age. Play the young guys, find the best 5 man lineups and then ride those heavy for the short-term efficiency and to help make them even stronger.
It’s an interesting case. On one hand, the Thunder would easily be a top team in Europe. On the other, there are a whole lot of times when I wish Brooks would coach them more like a Euro team and sit his young guys when they are making mistakes.