NBA: Where Midseason Lulls Happens

TL;DR – Just the nationally televised schedule for the week.

 

Tuesday
San Antonio at Houston NBATV 8PM
Chandler Parsons has been amazing. The Houston Rockets are an absolutely dangerous team considering the lack of defense that they play

Wednesday
Oklahoma at Miami ESPN 7PM
This finals rematch would be a lot different with Westbrook. Without him, it features scoring machine Kevin Durant and a head to head matchup between the presumptive MVP candidates. 

Chicago at San Antonio 930PM
The defensive minded Spurs have been successful despite losing their main defensive players to injuries.

Thursday
Cleveland at New York TNT 8PM
This is all an opportunity to talk about Kyrie Irving. Kyrie's teams have been awful. He's benefitted from a weak guard class in the East to get to the top of the All Star voting. Thanks to Rose and Rondo's injuries Kyrie is arguably the best PG in the East. Jeff Teague is also on the short list. 

LA Clippers at Golden State TNT 1030PM
The Clippers have been fine since losing Chris Paul. Part of the reason is Darren Collison. Years ago, when he played for New Orleans he was thrust into a starting role when CP3 was injured. Now, he's doing the same thing. Opportunities to be a starting point guard are limited (only 30 spots in the league)

Friday
Oklahoma City at Brooklyn ESPN 8PM
The Nets have been an extremely successful team this month. This is happening despite the loss of Brook Lopez.

Saturday
Miami at New York ESPN 830PM
The Heat-Knicks rivalry was the biggest rivalry of my youth. The Knicks were second for the majority of last year as opposed to the Heat who won the championship last year. Last, seeing the matchup between Carmelo Anthony (the 3rd overall pick in 2003) go against Lebron James (the 1st overall pick) is always interesting.

Sunday
No Nationally Televised games on Sunday (It's Super Bowl Sunday.)

Where Free League Pass Happens

 

For the second time this year,  NBA League Pass is free. This allows you to watch all NBA games live regardless of location, as long as you are in the US. It also allows you to watch all of the previous games this season, so you have the opportunity to watch every Durant 40 point game or every 8 block game.

The trial ends on Sunday (January 26th) so you may as well take advantage of the weekend. Also, it's not as if there's any football or baseball to get in the way.

NBA League Pass allows you to watch on Cable TV, Laptop/Tablet, or Mobile. There are also XBOX and PS3 Apps for it.

Games played this weekend (All Times EST)

Thursday, January 23 - All Games are Nationally Televised, and by "all", I mean both.
LA Lakers at Miami    8:00 PM    TNT   
Denver at Portland    10:30 PM TNT   

Friday, January 24 - 13 Games, 2 Nationally Televised
LA Lakers at Orlando    7:00 PM   
Toronto at Philadelphia    7:00 PM   
Oklahoma City at Boston    7:30 PM           
New Orleans at Detroit    7:30 PM   
Charlotte at New York    7:30 PM
San Antonio at Atlanta    7:30 PM   
Dallas at Brooklyn    7:30 PM   
Milwaukee at Cleveland    7:30 PM   
Memphis at Houston    8:00 PM   
LA Clippers at Chicago    8:00 PM    ESPN   
Washington at Phoenix    9:00 PM   
Indiana at Sacramento    10:00 PM
Minnesota at Golden State    10:30 PM    NBATV

Saturday, January 25 - 8 games, 2 nationally televised
Oklahoma City at Philadelphia    7:30 PM   
Houston at Memphis    8:00 PM   
Chicago at Charlotte    7:00 PM    NBATV   
LA Clippers at Toronto    7:00 PM   
Atlanta at Milwaukee    8:30 PM   
Indiana at Denver    9:00 PM   
Washington at Utah    9:00 PM   
Minnesota at Portland    10:00 PM NBATV

Sunday, January 26 - 8 games, 3 nationally televised games
San Antonio at Miami    1:00 PM        ABC   
LA Lakers at New York    3:30 PM        ABC   
Orlando at New Orleans    6:00 PM   
Phoenix at Cleveland    6:00 PM   
Brooklyn at Boston    6:30 PM    ESPN   
Detroit at Dallas    7:30 PM   
Portland at Golden State 9:00 PM   
Denver at Sacramento    9:00 PM   

NBA: Where Deciding Your Top 10 Happens.

TL;DR: I’m often inspired to write posts based on things my friends say. This week’s post is brought to you by the following question. “Is Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden in my top 10?”

James Harden is an amazing offensive weapon and a net negative defensive player. He’s the second best free throw producer in the league while also being a horrid 33% 3 point shooter. He’s the best at his position even though the position is quite shallow (Only 2 other players are even vaguely top 20 candidates in Joe Johnson and Dwyane Wade). James Harden for me is a fascinating case for what top ten means.

People often say “X is a top ten player” without really thinking about it. They say top-ten when they actually mean “He’s really good”. People rarely have a actual top 10 list ready. Before I upset some fanbases, I decided I needed to set some parameters for what this top ten list represents. First, when I say top 10 player, I’m talking about the skill set in the present season. This eliminates any of the 2014 draft class (Sorry, Embiid) and has-beens (Hi, Kobe Bryant and the wrath of Lakers Nation). On a related note anyone who is out for the season or projected as such is also eliminated. (My deepest regrets, Derrick Rose, especially because it would simplify the bottom of my top ten list and to a lesser extent, Brook Lopez.)

Second, there’s a problem of describing people with disparate skill sets. How do I compare what Roy Hibbert contributes with what Harden does? Largely, it’s a problem of bias. Even NBA advanced stats don’t do a good job of evaluating individual defensive efforts. I generally prefer centers over shooting guards. However, Harden isn’t your average shooting guard. He’s a competent passer and a huge part of the Rockets offense. For similar reasons, specialists are also out. (Korver is not invited to the party)

Third, despite the value in real life, I’m not including contracts as a part of the decision. (Here there is no difference between Paul Millsap’s team friendly contract and Joe Johnson’s albatross). Ability to create wins also factors in. (Sorry, Kyrie it’s not you it’s me. Even though there’s a chance it could be you. I can’t tell yet. Especially since you don’t have the advance stats this year that Cousins and Love have) 

With that being said we have the official top 10 via tiers. (I’m using tiers because it’s easier that way)  

Tier One - The best of the best – Kevin Durant. Lebron James. Paul George.

Obviously. These are 3 of the most versatile players in the league. They are the best in the game. They show up on both sides of the ball. I’d happily start a real life team around any of them. It’s easy. All of these players are better than Harden. No question. George’s inconsistency puts him at last. Durant is the scoring champion and just put up a 52 point game. That’s why he’s first. It’s total recency bias. Also, he’s been the most fun to watch over the last month or so. 

Tier Two - The often injured but elite point Guards – Chris Paul, Stephen Curry

The point guards worth talking about. They are the team leaders. Elite scorers. I could have easily put Chris Paul or Stephen Curry in the top tier but the injury concerns with both players really bother me.

Tier Three – LaMarcus Aldridge, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, Roy Hibbert

I’m an absolute snob for players in the paint. Having defense here matters. In a league where smallball lineups are becoming more common, having a versatile paint protector continues to be a valuable piece. Size is a valuable commodity in the league. Aldridge is the best player on one of the best teams in the league. Hibbert and Davis are the most versatile of the Defensive Player of the Year candidates. Gasol won DPOY last year. If you want to put Harden over any of these players I’d understand. You’d be wrong, but I’d understand. Note: This creates nine spots.

Tier Four - The number 10 spot candidates

Joe Johnson, Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Smith, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Damien Lillard, DeMarcus Cousins, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan

This isn’t even a tier so much as it’s a list of people who might reasonably be in someone’s top ten (by alphabetical order of team). There are good arguments for any of these players to be in the last spot.  Here is where things get complicated for me. Out of the frontcourt players, I probably choose Kevin Love, despite my Irving-like concerns about the success of his teams. Amongst the backcourt, I probably choose his college teammate Westbrook or the established Tony Parker. Overall, I would normally choose Westbrook to round out my top ten because of all that he provides when healthy, but his knee injury and resulting surgery really concerns me. Kevin Love on the other hand completes the top ten in a way that I really enjoy. He’s a stretch four who can also do great things in the paint. He’s also an elite rebounder. But what Harden provides for a team is pretty much unmatched. Sure, some of his free throws come from being a no-good dirty flopper, but he’s also an exceptional scorer and more versatile than your average shooter. Once he realizes that “guard” is also a part of his job description he could end up much higher. But even if it’s only as a result of injuries to other players, Harden is a top-ten player (for the moment).   

My quest was to create a functional top 10 list. I realize that these lists are controversial by their very nature, and I’m sure people will disagree with the list. That’s fine. This is MY list. If you think that Parker is clearly better than the rest, that’s fine, I invite the discussion. If you look at Cousin’s top-ten PER and can’t keep him out, I get it. If you’re a Suns fan and think that Bledsoe belongs in my top ten, that’s between you and God, but sure, bring it up. If you think that Harden got robbed, sure.  

And as always, thanks for reading.

Quick Take on “Credibility”

 

TL;DR Credibility is largely based on the difference in knowledge between you and the person you’re talking to. However, the way that you present your knowledge is important too.

People talk about credibility all the time. Whether we’re talking about “Street cred” “Geek Cred” or “Indie Cred”, we’re all discussing the same thing. A certain amount of knowledge of a topic and the ability to be trusted or believed in. The last part is the important part. Being trusted and believed is everything here.

How high the bar is depends on who you’re talking to. I know a decent amount of things about comics. I can readily identify superheroes by sight and can usually identify who’s in DC or Marvel. I’ve watched most of the recent movies. When I talk to someone who can’t tell the difference between Superman and Aquaman, I have lots of credibility. When I went to lunch with someone who writes about comics the way I write about basketball (passionately, often, in-depth), I had virtually none. She discussed the difference between Captain America in different eras and different author’s (illustrator’s?) takes on different heroes and I was lost.

Sometimes the environment that you are in matters. One time, when I was leaving the law school (in scenic Boulder, Colorado), a lady looked at me and then told her companion that “There’s so many thugs here”. (Perhaps it was the baseball cap - hoodie combo or the menacing way I was holding my Torts textbook.) I’ve also heard similar comments about me or about other people. Of course, in my home of Springfield Gardens, there’s zero confusion no matter what I’m wearing. The differences between “thug” and “person in hooded jacket” aren’t exactly nuanced to them.

Faking credibility is problematic. It seems that often the best way to protect ones ego is to pretend to know more than you actually do. You can get away with it (sometimes) if you’re talking to someone who knows less than you. You can’t if they can easily figure out that that you’re making things up. On social media, I’m always surprised by how few questions people ask. The value is in having a strong opinion without supporting that opinion in any way. The discussions are better when people question each other rather than shouting each other down. (I sometimes parody these types of discussions when I see them unfolding as a passive way of pointing out that the discussion is devolving. See every time that I write “TL;DR  X is a Lakers fan, Y is a Heat fan or something along that line.)

I have strong opinions too, but I’m making it a point not to shout down the people who disagree with me. My reasoning behind it is because I think that being a bit tempered helps gives me some credibility. It means that people who disagree with me are more likely to listen, even if after listening they continue to disagree. It also means that I have a better opportunity to talk about incarceration, gun laws and other contentious issues with people who are on the other side. Having discussions that don’t devolve into arguments also makes me better. Talking to the people who believe something I disagree with (Paul George is having a more MVP worthy season than Kevin Durant, for example) helps me to craft better and more useful arguments. It shows me what the weaknesses in my position are and what parts I should at least address.  It means that when I present an opinion I’m going to have more credibility in doing so.

NBA: Where “Bad Spellers Untie” Happens

 

”Huge apologies to my team, to the league an [sic] most of all you the fans! #JRSmithSigningOff “  -JR Smith ‏@TheRealJRSmith 8 Jan

Last year, JR Smith won the 6th man of the year award. He took better shots, made better decisions and turned into a major crowd favorite. During the prior season, Smith played partially in China and returned a changed man. However starting in the playoffs it appeared that the old JR was back. He was suspended  in the playoffs and shot poorly for the rest of 2013.

He then was embroiled in a mini controversy of untying players shoelaces during games. He did this against Houston, against Dallas and he attempted to do it against Detroit. He was fined 50,000 for his actions. The fine was a good thing because I’m always in favor of idiot taxes. It’s one thing to do a dumb thing, but to do it again after the league warned you against is profoundly stupid and he deserves the fine. He also received a DNP-CD (Did Not Play- Coaches Decision) in the following game. In his return, he played and shot exceptionally well.

JR Smith is a fascinating study for knuckleheads in the league. Players like Michael Beasley and DeMarcus Cousins have a ton of talent but are knuckleheads. Putting good leadership around them is helpful. Dennis Rodman, North Korean mediator, former Bulls/Pistons/Spurs/Mavericks player was in this position. When he went to the Bulls, Rodman wasn’t a saint, but his talent/distraction ratio was maximized, partially because his coach and teammates were good leaders. Smith needs a situation like this to succeed.

Nationally Televised Games (All Times EST)

Monday

Washington at Chicago NBATV 8PM

Last week, Chicago traded away their best active player for a future Sacramento pick, a couple of second round picks and the ability to waive Andrew Bynum (and gain the resulting cap space). This means that the Chicago Bulls have officially placed their hat in the ring of the 2014 draft sweepstakes. It's disappointing because, while it's the best decision for the Bulls, the Bulls are universally respected as a team. It's a major disappointment to have them out of the playoff race. However, with Derrick Rose out for yet another season, Mirotic coming as soon as next year, and a pretty big free agency

Washington is a better than mediocre team who has benefited from the East's collapse.

Tuesday

Sacramento at Indiana NBATV 7PM

Tuesdays have the NBA Fan Night Vote. The fans vote for which team they want to watch on Tuesday. The options this week were weak. NYK @ Charlotte, CLE @ LAL and the winner SAC @ IND. I haven't watched the Bobcats much this year and I was looking forward to watching them. I even would have tolerated some Cleveland basketball to see what Irving and Deng look like together. Instead, we're subjected to Indianapolis beating the Kings. Hopefully I'll be wrong but I might have to take the night off.

Wednesday

Utah at San Antonio ESPN 8PM

Utah really disappointed me this year. I expected more out of the Favors/Kanter combo and that's worked out horribly. I figured they'd be bad but fun to watch, but they haven't even been that.

Denver at Golden State ESPN 1030PM

Every time I say "told you so" about Denver, they start winning again. I still maintain that they'll be out of the playoffs, but Denver is frustrating. Meanwhile, Igoudala improves the Warriors so much. Denver misses him.

Thursday

Brooklyn versus Atlanta (London) NBATV 3PM

I've been steadfast about the Hawks being a playoff team. So far this year, it has been easy on this side of the argument. However, the Hawks have struggled with the Horford injury. More importantly, this game is in London which is nice, because unlike American football (sorry, Roger Goodell) basketball is absolutely a global sport. It's a sport that should be played outside of the US occasionally.

New York at Indiana TNT 7PM

New York has looked good since Melo has returned, beating San Antonio, Dallas and Miami.

Oklahoma City at Houston 930PM

My New Year’s resolution was to limit the amount that I say "I told you so" about Houston. That's how much I've been crowing about Houston's lacklusterness. To be fair, Houston isn't exactly a "bad" team. I just didn't think that they will be a title contender which was a controversial take when I said it. One thing that continues to be intriguing about Houston is "What will they do about Asik". Asik has been "injured" for a while, pouting at the end of the bench. It seems that the Rockets want to trade Asik for something. I continue to be intrigued by him, both as a player and as a trade chip. His trade might move the Rockets into the next level.

Friday

LA Clippers at New York 7PM ESPN

The Chris Paul injury is sad, but it hasn't stopped the Clippers from steamrolling their competition.

Golden State at Oklahoma City ESPN 930PM

I like selfish Durant a lot. I always wondered how much scoring he would do if he were wired like Iverson to score at will. Of course, he wouldn't be a better basketball player if he were wired this way, but watching a great scorer do what he does best is always amazing. This is especially true because Westbrook will be back soon, so this only lasts a short period of time.

Saturday

LA Clippers at Indiana NBATV 7PM

Lance Stephenson of the Pacers probably won’t win Most Improved Player, but this year has been his coming out party for those who haven’t been following his story. He went from top high school recruit, to mediocre college player, to 40^th pick in the draft, to his current form as a triple double threat and solid teammate.

There are no nationally televised games on Sunday

NBA: Where having kids without your fiancée happens

 

Dwyane Wade is engaged to be married to Gabrielle Union. Wade’s son was just born a month ago. Wade is not having a kid with Gabrielle Union. According to Wade, he had a break in his relationship with Union. (Trying hard to avoid the “union with Union” pun), and out of that the child was born. People were outraged, calling Wade a hypocrite and all types of other things.

On the other hand, because of my background, (I’ve spent the better part of my last 5 years working at public defender’s offices) my position is not to judge. (And cheating on your fiancée ranks lower on my list of things to judge than let’s say kidnapping and murder). If Gabrielle Union isn’t leaving (and if she does I’ll happily lend her a shoulder to lean on) than it probably shouldn’t matter to the rest of us. Most of us have done something we’re not proud of in our adult lives. He’s just more famous.

No Nationally televised games on Monday

Tuesday
New Orleans at Miami NBATV 730
New Orleans was finally healthy for a while. And it's gone. Ryan Anderson has an injury and the Pelicans, who have played admirably are back to scrambling for players. Alexis Ajinca played well in Saturday's game and New Orleans is going to need their backups to play well.

Miami on the other hand has struggled (by Miami's standards). They looked lost against Golden State and barely got past the Raptors. Now admittedly, both of these squads are playoff teams, but it is one thing to lose when you're a championship contender and it's one thing to struggle in the way that Miami did. I expect Lebron James and Co to really come out for this game.

Wednesday
Dallas at San Antonio ESPN 7PM
Texas. I haven't shown a ton of attention to the Mavericks this year. Carlisle and Co. continue to show that they are going to contend in the West. He should be a coach of the year candidate for the work he has done with that lineup. He can be forgiven for that loss against an increasingly desperate Knicks team.
San Antonio is San Antonio. They win a lot of games. They beat good teams. They play really well. They pick off middling players from other teams and turn them into players that other teams wish they had. Ever since Gregg Popovich touched him, Marco Belinelli looks like Reggie Miller, Ray Allen and Robert Horry with 5 seconds left in a playoff game all rolled into one.  

Phoenix at Minnesota ESPN 930PM
What's going on with Minnesota? I have no feel for whether they are a good team or a terrible one. They look really good one night against one team and terrible against the next. It's maddening. Meanwhile, Phoenix continues to cement its playoff spot and Hornacek continues to cement his Coach of the Year win. Bledsoe is out so Gerald Green is his spot, doing what Gerald Green does.

Thursday
Miami at New York TNT 8PM
New York has a Melo trade looming over its head. Carmelo Anthony has an early termination option on his contract for next year. This means that Anthony can try to escape New York after this year. Popular sentiment states that he will do this and try to get his next big money contract. The old way that teams would try to keep players like this would be to dangle the carrot of more money and a longer contract (The rule for superstar talent is that the team that already has the player can offer a bigger longer contract than other teams can in free agency). But recently, teams have tried to trade players like this once it became clear that some players have priorities other than money (See James, Lebron and Howard, Dwight). If Carmelo does't sign an extension he will likely be traded again.

OKC at Denver TNT 1030PM
Kevin Durant (who I should just call Atlas for the remainder of this season) is doing all that he can. Reggie Jackson is showing that he’s the 4th best player on the team and that the distance between he and Serge Ibaka is as much as I originally thought.

Friday
Miami at Brooklyn ESPN 8PM
They are just the Lyn Nets, now. Brook Lopez had an osteotomy and will definitely not return this year. Meanwhile what should have been a great rivalry (Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce hate Lebron and Co. ) has been ruined by Nets injuries and general lacklusterness

LA Lakers at LA Clippers ESPN 1030PM
Do you remember when this was also supposed to be a rivalry? Remember when Kendal Marshall was out of the league? Remember when Xavier Henry was terrible? Remember when Chris Paul played for the Clippers? He’s going to miss the next 6 weeks (approximately) with a shoulder injury

No Nationally Televised Games on Saturday

Sunday
Cleveland at Sacramento NBATV 6PM

Meanwhile in the discussion of teams that may get rid of a player by the time I publish this, we have the Andrew Bynum saga. Bynum has a contract where he doesn’t get his full 12 million if he’s waived. He might get traded to LA or Utah. He also may just be waived by Cleveland within the next couple of days. Bynum is an immensely talented player, when healthy, who hasn’t put together a lot of good seasons in a row, despite being in the league since 2005.

Meanwhile, Rudy Gay isn’t the savior that the Kings were looking for. Just kidding, we knew that already and the Kings are just a horribly run franchise with poorly matched talent.

State Of The Blog

 

TL;DR- It’s 11:59 MST, I’ll just slide this post in. As I try to do every so often, I’m blogging about my blog, just as a status check. 50+ posts last year. Thanks for reading.

“I was reborn when I was broken
I wouldn't believe, I wouldn't believe, no
Been through a storm, no use in hoping
That you would come rescue me
Somehow your love set me free” – Maxwell (Lifetime)

I’m trying to get better at this whole “blogging” thing. When I first started, I wasn’t particularly good at it. But I try to improve my skills every time I sit in front of my keyboard and go to work. The way I see it is if I want my little corner of the internet to be worth anything, I need to have a voice that I can be proud of. I’ve liked my blog and have written intermittently since my sophomore year of college (more than 5 years ago) and before that I put poetry online. 2013 was the first year that I was really proud of what I wrote.

2013 was the first time that I realized how much the blog meant to me. 2013 was largely a devastating year in my life. (Flood, rejection, seeking a new career path, etc.) I didn’t write a ton in 2012. In 2013, the blog represented normalcy. When things were going poorly, I needed normalcy. Other than when I kept a journal when I was in elementary school I don’t think I’ve ever had so many times where I thought “I should write about this”. While I had 50+ posts that were released, I had a lot more that didn’t make the final cut, which I’m proud of, because at least I know I didn’t rush things just because.

What I decided over the last few years was that I wasn’t going to try to be first or even early to the party when it came to discussing things. What I try to do is release something different from what other sites and bloggers are writing about, or at least to have my own take on the events of the NBA, NFL and other sports. I’m never going to be able to be first to the Jason Collins story or talking about the draft, so I’ve tried to “stay in my lane” more. I used to do predictions, but I’ve found them (especially in hindsight) to be pretty useless, except for my beginning of the year predictions.

I realize that I still make lots of mistakes. I’m still prone to parenthesis abuse when I have an idea that doesn’t quite fit and I don’t take the time to make the sentence flow better. I still sometimes want to rush to the keyboard when something interesting happens. I still have some posts that are poorly written and more that were poorly edited. I’m making more of an effort to have a second pair of eyes check things. I still have weird topic sentences and rarely double check them when I go off the rails. I still have to get better at linking to uncommon references.

But past mistakes are fine, even if I occasionally repeat them. I’m just going to make sure that I improve on them. Part of the reason why this blog exists is because I wanted to become a better writer even if I rarely consider myself to be one. Part of the reason why this blog continues to exist is because I have a lot of information to share and since I’m going to spend hours every night watching games, checking out box scores and following media reactions to sports I may as well write about it and share that knowledge (in smaller pieces).

In 2013, I wrote more than 50 posts. I’m satisfied with the way that they came out. I found a format for my “weekly” NBA posts. (Admittedly, weekly is more of a mission statement than an actual deadline). I liked my post about wardens in habeas corpus proceedings. I enjoyed writing about the Jason Collins story (which was written largely while I was in court observing). I liked my 808’s and Heartbreak post. My favorite might be the James Harden trade post, where I put a couple of days into fact-finding to support what I saw from watching a lot of Thunder basketball, then I put some time into fact checking to make sure that I wasn’t skewing the facts.

My plan for 2014 is to get a bit better at writing. I want to edit more of my writing so that the pieces online are of better quality. I want to find a way to write during the summer. Either I need to find stories to talk about between the end of basketball and the beginning of football or I need to have more work on an entirely different subject. I hope that I find a way to continue to make this worth reading. Thank you for reading.