Sportzin's Post All-Star Break NBA Roundtable

[jonathanlambert33]

I wanted to get this up like a week ago so I apologize, but still some good material:

1) Who has been the league MVP so far this season?

BWare (Rockets): This is a tough question to answer because the top teams in the league right now are more well-rounded teams than franchises who rely on any certain one or two players. Because of this, we find ourselves looking past certain teams for players with MVP potential, such as #1 Atlanta and #2 seeded Toronto in the East and #2 Memphis in the West. Obviously, Steph Curry deserves some attention from #1` seed GSW in the West, but after that, you're looking at 3 seeds or lower. Guys like James Harden and LeBron James or, the player who I think deserves it most in Russell Westbrook, who's not even on a playoff seeded team, right now. The MVP discussion really is up in the air, but my pick right now would be Russell Westbrook. As for who I expect the award to go to, I'd say Harden for his improved all around play.

elcheato (Cavs): I would go with Russell Westbrook, and I'll admit there is no wrong choice between him, James Harden, and Steph Curry. The difference for me is how pitiful the supporting cast is. He has Durant obviously, but the Thunder (in a small sample size) are a 9-7 when Westbrook plays and when Durant is out, and even when Durant has played Westbrook has been the leader of the team and while he still isn't as efficient as Durant, he's putting up a more impressive stat line. Westbrook is putting up the best assist rate of his career, the highest scoring rate of his career, highest rebounding rate, highest steal rate, highest usage rate (obviously) but it is combined with his second lowest turnover rate. highest offensive and defensive ratings (bbref). Now, obviously personal improvement doesn't matter when comparing current seasons for MVP candidates, but it's just to put in context how great Westbrook has been this year.

Pugs (Pistons): I'd say Curry or Westbrook, depending on if they can pull out a playoff appearance. James Harden has to be there too but fuck that nigga.

nola (Pelicans): Stephen Curry, Golden State- not often do you see the MVP come from a team that is outside of the top two teams in each conference, Curry is second among all PG's in scoring per game, sixth in assists, and also leads Golden State who happens to be the best team in the league. Curry also leads the league in steals. James Harden may be more deserving, but I find it hard to believe that the trend of the MVP playing for top teams will be broken.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

2) Who on your team has been the biggest surprise?

BWare: Donatas Motiejunas. He's made the transformation from useless paint big with an inconsistent 3 point shot into a trustworthy post player who can step out and hit the long ball if Dwight happens to be in the lineup. He's also turned into a pretty damn good defender and solid rebounder, though I'd like for him to become more prolific in that category. While Harden has been on fire for most of the season, Donatas Motiejunas is the X-Factor for Houston maintaining the 3 seed with his much improved play over the past few months. James Harden is James Harden and is obviously most responsible for Houston's nice record, but it's been DMo who has stepped up and helped this team maintain something of a post game identity while Dwight Howard has missed so much time.

elcheato: Tristan Thompson. I was extremely down on Tristan last year, as I saw no improvement in his game from the year before. He probably hasn't improved his skill much, but he has cut some bad habits and has become an important factor for the team, which is a surprise to me because with Kevin Love coming in, expecting to have Anderson Varejao, and also expecting the team to trade for a big, I didn't expect Tristan to have a large role, and thought he would be averaging maybe 20 minutes a game. He's among the league leaders in offensive rebounding, which turns what would be a non-existent offensive presence into a decent offensive weapon, given how good the Cavs offense is. Even when they don't miss as much as most teams, Thompson is there with his elite offensive rebounding ability. Defense seems to be improved a bit.

Pugz: Most would probably say Brandon Jennings, pre-injury, but I'm going out on a limb and saying Greg Monroe. His numbers are probably right around where they will be for his career, imo, but this season was looking like it'd be a confusing one for him and us, but him and Dre actually working and co-existing with one another is a big reason why we started to click as soon as Josh was cut.

nola: I would probably have to say Eric Gordon. He's not blowing the lid off anything, but I do think this is the closest to what Dell Demps thought he was getting since he has come back from injury. Since the new year he is going for 15 pts, 3 rbs, and 5 asts a night shooting 49% from three. He's been incredible on catch and shoot attempts and is doing a good job spacing the floor because teams have to respect him from deep.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

3) Looking back, was the first half of the season a success or disappointment?

BWare: It's obviously been a success, so far, but I don't like the personnel moves that have occurred and I expect that to be part of the reason Houston eventually fades and settles in as a 6 or 7 seed, looking at another first round exit. Daryl Morey is using this team to further his own game play theories and is not looking at what's best for this franchise, moving forward. He's added inefficient shooters who can play defense but aren't nearly as good on a game by game basis as people believe. Considering all of this, all of the turnover, as well as the injuries to guys like Dwight, TJones, and Bev early in the season, there's no other word for Houston's current standing than "success." I just hope I'm wrong and that it isn't a mirage.

elcheato: The first half has been a mixed bag between the 19-20 start, and the current 16-2 run. Overall, I'd call it a success given the current outlook of the team. They looked flat, non-responsive and overall just lacking to start the year. It was clear they needed an influx of talent and just overall to change their attitudes. Both seemingly happened. The JR Smith/Shumpert & Mozgov trades were not only helpful, but also necessary. JR Smith has given the Cavs what they originally wanted out of Dion Waiters, which was spot up shooting, a bit of an edge and the ability to put up points in a hurry. Shumpert has shot the ball well since returning from injury, and is a welcome addition defensively to a team that was lacking in that department. Mozgov is a decent enough paint presence offensively and defensively. He improved our athleticism in the front court, can hit a stand still jumper from 18 feet out, finishes well. These two trades were the best thing to come out of this first half, because they solved a ton of problems. I wasn't too thrilled with LeBron's effort early on in the season, which may or may not have been injuries, but regardless that has certainly improved lately. Kevin Love hasn't had the best start, but his floor spacing is vital for the Cavs highly efficient offense even when he's not hitting his shot, as teams still have to respect his ability.

pugz: The first 30(?) games with Josh Smith defiantly were. The morale sucked, and play sucked. Once he was gone and we turned it around, I believe we had the fifth best winning percentage since December. So, after he was cut it wasn't a disappointment.

nola: It was a disappointment. The team once again can not stay healthy and it has reflected in our record. That is a big enough disappointment, but the real disappointment is we have only gotten 12 games this season with our top six players. The team was 11-7 in the new year before AD went down, and I want to say something like 27-23 on the season. Having a team that had built chemistry and gelled together on the court right now would have been really interesting. Just looking at three games in January against Boston, Philly, and New York (all losses) and thinking what a healthy Pelicans team could have done there could have put them at 30-20 or something of that nature.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

4) Where do you want to see improvement over the last two months?

BWare: Coaching. Houston's current philosophies will be their undoing in the long run. You can't give the unquestionable green light for 3 point shooting to guys like Josh Smith, Corey Brewer, and Pat Beverly. Beverly had a nice run for the first half of the season, but I can't remember the last time I looked at a box score and saw that he jacked less than 6 or 7 or more three point shots. That's way too many for a defensive guard and hustle player. As for Josh Smith, he got hot for awhile but that didn't last. The same goes for Corey Brewer, who was lights out for a couple of weeks but has since reverted to his ways of not being able to hit the broad sign of a barn. I've said this before--McHale is way too much of players' coach. He doesn't hold these guys responsible for their bad decisions. I'm tired of seeing 10-15 combined three point attempts between the three players I mentioned. They aren't good shooters, and it's up to the coach to hold them in check.

elcheato: I'd like to see the Cavs do a better job of keeping Kevin Love involved in the offense. They have no issue at the beginning of games doing it, as Love leads the team in first quarter scoring, but most of the time that doesn't last throughout the game. Obviously as a 3rd option he's not going to get the same attempts that he got in Minnesota, but too many times he just isn't involved at all. LeBron needs to recognize this more often and get him post ups and touches on the elbow. Run the offense through him a few more times than usual. I still don't buy the rumors of Love leaving at the end of the season, but keeping him involved would help with his mindset as well. And after saying that and making it seem like the problem is Love just not getting touches, Love just needs to start hitting more shots in general because while he hasn't been involved as much as many expected or what he would want, he hasn't been hitting the shots he has been taking at the rate that everyone and himself thought he would.

Pugz: I'd just like to see us playing as hard as we can and the new guys starting to click with our original guys. I really want to see KCP stop with the chucking, if I had to pick one player to pick it up. He just needs to shoot smarter.

nola: I want to see improved perimeter defense, I think that has some to do with our defensive shortcomings. We can't keep the ball out of the paint, and a team with Holiday, Asik, and Davis should not be as bad defensively as we are. The additions of Norris Cole and Quincy Pondexter I think are welcome additions because they are both more than capable of defending the perimeter. This is a roster that has added three more NBA quality players since the season started so I hope to see improvement and I hope it carries over to next season. Even though I expect Monty to be back.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

5) What are your goals for the remainder of the season?

BWare: Houston is not a title contender, so I'm trying to just enjoy basketball as a whole and not worry about how they finish. They're going to slide back to the 5th or 6th seed and get kicked around in the first round by a more well-coached team like Portland or Dallas. My goal is for Houston to either surprise me and contend or for them to fold so badly that Morey and Alexander decide to part with McHale and hire JB Bickerstaff, who I think could be a great coach in this league and has the attitude necessary to hold players accountable, which is what Houston is clearly missing from a coaching perspective.

elcheato: Goals for the rest of the season would obviously be to just stay healthy and to finish with a higher seed than the Bulls. LeBron has missed some time this year with various ailments, and the past injuries of Kyrie and Love have been well documented. Whether it's through strategically sitting one star at a time for certain games, or limiting minutes even further, they need to do what they can to maintain their health. As far as finishing above the Bulls goes, their size and general talent is obviously very concerning, so while playoff seeding probably doesn't matter for this team, it'd be nice to finish at least above the Bulls to get home court in a potential series against them.

Pugz: Before the deadline, I would have liked to see us miss the playoffs one last time. We wouldn't have had a high lottery pick but another young guy who could hopefully contribute right away and play on a rookie scale deal would have been huge for a team likely to cap out very quick. Right now though, I'd love to see us finish on a high note and make the playoffs. Just get the young core some post season experience, though I don't think we win more than a game.

nola: I want to see the team finish the season healthy. I want to see Jrue, Reke, Gordon, Davis, Ryno, Asik, Cole, Pondexter, and possibly Cunningham get some run together and build on something for next season. I want to go into the offseason with no players needing offseason surgery. I also wouldn't mind seeing Gordon remain on the track he is on so a team could possibly take a chance on him as an expiring deal next season.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

BONUS: Which team do you think causes the most match up problems for you during the playoffs?
or
Which lottery prospect that is being mocked in your team's current, general draft position best fits into your team?

BWare: Portland is Houston's biggest matchup problem. There's no question. They drain contested shot after contested shot and seem to outplay and outcoach Houston in every facet imaginable. If the Rockets run into them in the playoffs, they're toast.

elcheato: I'll go with the Hawks. The natural answer is the Bulls, but I'm not as worried about them because I think the Hawks front court could cause more issues for the Cavs defense than the Bulls would. The Paul Milsap/Al Horford dynamic is hard to combat given they both have the ability to score inside and hit outside jumpers, so Mozgov might have issues getting out on Horford, and we all know Kevin Love's defensive problems. I'm afraid they'll overreact and send double teams to one or both, and end up forgetting about their leading scorer (Teague), and the best catch and shoot player in the league (Korver). The Bulls don't space the floor as well as the Hawks, and I'm not at all worried about Joakim Noah in the paint.

 

[bosoxlover12]

Sorry I couldnt contribute for this; literally the busiest week for me lol

I'll try to get the next big discussion one

 

[jonathanlambert33]

All good, gonna do another after the season.

 

[BwareDWare94]

I like these threads, and I like contributing to them. I have no idea why it doesn't turn into a 20, 30, or 40 post thread.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

I'm with you on that one.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Because they're specific to 4-5 teams and at most 2 of those teams are nationally relevant. Not that I'm saying to stop doing it or anything, I would just ask less questions about the interviewee's favorite team and more questions that are relevant to everyone.