Posts Tagged ‘Draymond Green’

Going Small Key For OKC & Golden State?

May 9, 2013  ·  11:42AM

HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – With each of the four conference semifinals tied at 1-1 (for the first time since this round went to seven games in 1968), it’s a great time to mine the lineup data provided by NBA.com/Stats for trends, anomalies, and whatever information might be useful … or at least interesting.

The eight teams remaining have only played between six and nine games, so we’re not looking at very big sample sizes here. But small sample sizes are all you have to go on in the playoffs. Decisions have to be made on how players or player combinations have played in that series and against that opponent. Even if you include numbers against the opponent in the regular season, that’s at most four additional games of data.

We’ve already seen some of these teams change lineups mid-series. And sometimes, like when the Dallas Mavericks decided to start J.J. Barea in Game 4 of the 2011 Finals, a lineup change can make a big difference.

So, as we take our first day off of the playoffs, here are some notes from 53 games worth of postseason lineup data…

The drop-off in Indiana
The most-used lineup of the playoffs should be no surprise. The Pacers’ starting lineup of George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Paul George, David West and Roy Hibbert have been getting it done on both ends of the floor and were a terrific lineup in the regular season as well. Though Indy ranked 19th defensively overall, this lineup scored at a rate that would have ranked fourth, playing the second-most minutes of any lineup in the league.

It was a plus-48 in the first round and a plus-5 in both Games 1 and 2 of the conference semifinals. The problem, of course, is that the Indiana bench stinks. In 216 minutes, all other Pacers lineups have scored 93.1 points per 100 possessions and allowed 105.8, for a NetRtg of -12.7 in the postseason.

Indy coach Frank Vogel talks often about his emphasis on defending without fouling. That’s key to not only keep the Pacers’ opponents off the line, but also to keep their starters on the floor.

Over their eight playoff games, every Pacer starter has a positive plus-minus and every sub has a negative one. So maybe the Pacers can benefit as much from three days off as the banged up Knicks can, with an ability to use their rested starters for heavy minutes in Game 3 on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, ABC).

Time for OKC to go small?
Setting a minimum of 35 minutes played, the best lineup (offensively, *defensively and overall) of the postseason has been Oklahoma City’s small lineup of Reggie Jackson, Derek Fisher, Kevin Martin, Kevin Durant and Nick Collison. This unit of two point guards, two scoring wings, and a versatile big has outscored its opponents by 46.5 points per 100 possessions and had its best run in Game 6 in Houston, outscoring the Rockets 31-20 in 14 minutes. It was a plus-7 in seven minutes of Game 1 against the bigger Grizzlies, but Scott Brooks didn’t use it at all in Game 2 on Tuesday.

If you remove Nick Collison and just look at the four smalls together, they’ve been just as effective (OffRtg: 130.2, DefRtg: 80.9, NetRtg: +49.3) in a slightly larger sample of 51 minutes (43 against Houston and eight against Memphis).

With Thabo Sefolosha, the Thunder have other small-lineup options. And thus far against the Grizzlies, they’re a plus-13 in 14 minutes playing small. They’re a minus-17 in 82 minutes playing big and their starting lineup (Jackson, Sefolosha, Durant, Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins has shot a brutal 13-for-47 (28 percent) in its 28 minutes together.

That, of course, will be something to keep an eye on as the series heads to Memphis for Saturday’s Game 3 (5 p.m. ET, ESPN).

*The best defensive lineup with a minimum of 35 minutes played was actually the Thunder’s original starting lineup, which allowed the Rockets to score just 73.1 points per 100 possessions in the first two games of the first round. But Russell Westbrook‘s injury puts that lineup out of commission.

Small works in the other West series too
Both Gregg Popovich and Mark Jackson changed their starting lineups for Game 2 in San Antonio on Wednesday, moves that worked out better for the Warriors. Their (small) lineup of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut is a plus-17 in the series (plus-12 in Game 2), the second-best mark of the conference semifinals thus far.

It was a mini lineup of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Boris Diaw that pulled off the Spurs’ amazing comeback on Monday, racking up a plus-13 in 10 minutes over the fourth quarter and two overtimes. With Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter healthy, Popovich didn’t use that lineup at all in Game 2.

Supersubs in Chicago
Obviously, Wednesday’s blowout in Miami makes for some funky lineup numbers in that series, but the Bulls do have a lineup – Nate Robinson, Marco Belinelli, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah – that’s a plus-14 over the two games (plus-13 in 16 minutes in Game 1 and plus-1 in three minutes in Game 2). It was a plus-7 in 21 minutes in the first round and was a strong plus-20.3 points per 100 possessions in 129 minutes in the regular season. If Kirk Hinrich and/or Luol Deng return for Game 3 on Friday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), it will be interesting to see how much time that lineup plays together going forward.

A change of fortune in Miami
The Heat had a killer lineup – Mario Chalmers, Ray Allen, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh – that Erik Spoelstra used rather sparingly (only 112 minutes), but outscored its opponents by 30.3 points per 100 possessions in the regular season. That lineup was a plus-12 in 10 minutes in the first round against Milwaukee, but is a minus-13 in six minutes in the conference semis, having allowed the Bulls to shoot 6-for-9 (3-for-3 from 3-point range) in the closing minutes of Game 1.

Offensive struggles in New York
The best offensive lineup in the regular season (minimum 200 minutes) was the Knicks’ lineup of Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, which scored 119.3 points per 100 possessions in 269 minutes together. With Kidd, Smith and Anthony all struggling, that unit has scored just 86.6 points per 100 possessions in 18 playoff minutes, and has been even worse defensively.

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Posted in 2013 Conference Semis: Heat-Bulls, 2013 Conference Semis: Knicks-Pacers, 2013 Conference Semis: Spurs-Warriors, 2013 Conference Semis: Thunder-Grizzlies, 2013 NBA Playoffs, NBA.com/Stats / Comments (17) /

Warriors’ Defense Shoots Lights Out, Too

May 9, 2013  ·  2:36AM

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SAN ANTONIO – This is not merely about Stephen Curry looking like the deadeye love child of Annie Oakley and William Tell one night and Klay Thompson turning into a heat-seeking missile the next.

It’s about shooting, yes, because it’s what they do. Shooting from the gaps and shooting over outstretched arms. Shooting a running, one-footed 3-pointer with the dour expression of an English butler on your face and shooting a fallaway heave in front of the opponents’ bench to beat the third quarter horn. Shooting late in the shot clock to bail out a possession gone wrong and shooting early in the shot clock because, well, you just feel like it.

It’s also about pressuring the ball out front, squeezing the penetrators into the lane, cutting off the paths on the baseline and protecting the rim as if it were the Holy Grail.

While all of the postgame highlights and most of the headlines about their first victory in San Antonio since the Mexican flag flew over Texas will concentrate on Thompson’s deep ball barrage, the Warriors got this Western Conference semifinal series to 1-1 because they played ferocious, high-energy, unforgiving defense.

It’s like finding out that Kate Upton can cook, too.

“Our shooters, Steph and Klay, are amazing,” said center Andrew Bogut, “but we like to think our defense is consistent.”

It consistently chased Spurs point guard Tony Parker. When Thompson wasn’t pushing the limits of credulity with his 8-for-9 shooting from behind the arc and his ridiculous 29-point first half, he was the one sinking his teeth into Parker.

“I told him at halftime, that is in the discussion of one of the greatest halves ever,” said Golden State coach Mark Jackson. “Not only what he did offensively, but what he did defensively. If you slow it down and see the multiple plays and the attention to detail defensively, he is playing a future Hall of Famer and he’s making him work for everything.”

That’s been the difference in the first two games so far — the Spurs keep looking like they’re laboring for everything on offense and the Warriors might as well be cruising the court on roller skates. (more…)

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Posted in 2013 Conference Semis: Spurs-Warriors, 2013 NBA Playoffs, HT News / Comments (41) /

Shaqtin’ A Fool: Vol 2., Episode 17

March 6, 2013  ·  2:16AM


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More Shaqtin’ A Fool! This edition pays respect to Tyreke Evans, Draymond Green, Perry Jones, George Hill and of course, Mr. McGee. Vote for your favorite Shaqtin’ A Fool moment!
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Posted in Shaqtin A Fool / Comments (11) /

How Many 3s Does It Take To Insult You?

February 6, 2013  ·  12:13AM


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HOUSTON — Now, if the question ever comes up and you have a chance to win a bar bet, you’ll know.

How many 3-pointers in a single NBA game does it take to make an insult?

The answer, evidently, is 23.

That’s the NBA record-tying number poured in by the Rockets on Tuesday night that finally got under the Warriors’ skin.

Not 17, 18 or 19. Not 20, 21 or 22.

23.

It wasn’t until there were just under four minutes left in a 140-109 thumping and 7-footer Donatas Motiejunas slung one in from the right corner that it seemed to occur to anyone wearing a Golden State jersey that this was just a bit embarrassing.

So with the Toyota Center crowd on its feet and chanting: “One more three! One more three!” the Warriors decided it was time to play with whatever pride — if any — they had left.

Which then resulted in the final three minutes more closely resembling recess at an elementary school. The Rockets kept running their offense and shooting 3s. Houston reserve Patrick Beverley hammered home a dunk, then taunted the Warrior bench and drew a technical foul.

Golden State’s Draymond Green was flagged for a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected when Beverley tried to let fly with a corner jumper in front of the Warriors’ bench. Houston’s Marcus Morris was hit with a technical and tossed out on the same play.

In the final two minutes, the Warriors would not let the Rockets even attempt a 3 in order to break the record. Warriors coach Mark Jackson ordered his players to foul the Rockets intentionally on each possession.

“We’re not going to lay down,” said Jackson, ignoring the fact that his team already had. “I’m an old-school basketball player and an old-school coach. If you can’t appreciate that, that’s on you.

“We’re not going to lay down. If you’re going to get the record, we’re going to stop it. There is a way to do it, that’s all. Understand it, appreciate it and I would expect nothing less if I was on the other side.”

Rockets coach Kevin McHale just happens to be an old-school guy himself. You can tell from his limp. And also from searching on YouTube for a clip of him clotheslining the Lakers’ Kurt Rambis in Game 4 of the 1984 NBA Finals.

“We just had to keep playing,” McHale said. “I really didn’t even know we had a chance to break the record until late in the game. We shoot a lot of 3s, that’s just what we do. If we were to get them in the flow, we get going to get them. Mark didn’t want it to happen and fouled and I didn’t have no problem with how they played. Mark’s got to coach his team. I have no problem with that.”

For 44 minutes, the Warriors didn’t seem to have a problem with anything the Rockets did either. Otherwise you’d think they might have played just a little bit of defense.

“At the end of the day, we just continued to play,” Morris said. “… And we were just taking the shots the defense was giving.”

Until the Warriors decided they’d had enough.

How many 3-pointers does it take to make an insult?

If you’re asked, remember to shout: “23!”

Then duck.

Old School Rules or New Age Touchy Feely?

Round Two is Tuesday night in Oakland.

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Posted in HT News / Comments (50) /

Warriors Are Just Warming Up

December 13, 2012  ·  1:02PM

Here’s the really crazy thing about the Warriors, as if 15-7 and a last-second victory at Miami on Wednesday night in their sixth different city in 10 days isn’t crazy enough:

That’s nothing.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News had the best perspective after Jarrett Jack found Draymond Green inside for the winning layup with 0.9 seconds remaining, calling the 97-95 building block the most significant Golden State moment since the 2007 playoffs of the We Believe club. Great call and a reminder that December games can be very weighty.

But imagine when the Warriors really start playing well. They’re at well enough right now, enough to be 5-0 on the trip that finishes with an Orlando-Atlanta back-to-back, enough to be 9-4 on the road after winning 11 times in 33 tries last season, and enough to hold the Heat scoreless the final 3:18. They’re just not close to hitting stride.

Stephen Curry is shooting just 43 percent, and that dip is not going to last. The other starting guard, Klay Thompson, is at 41.3 percent from the field, which means he is also due a recovery over the final three quarters of his second season. David Lee and Carl Landry, the real big-man tandem even if Lee and Festus Ezeli start, will get better after more than 22 games together. And if this is the coaching arc for Mark Jackson, after the gains from 2011-12 to 2012-13, he should be farther along still in April.

Youth is a big unknown moving forward. The Warriors rely on three first-year players – Harrison Barnes and Ezeli as starters, Green off the bench – and they could either grow with experience or hit the rookie wall.

Health is a big unknown, too. Andrew Bogut could be back from a fractured ankle within weeks … or could still be sidelined months from now, a timeline being kept purposely vague to end what had become constant questions about a supposedly imminent return. Either way, the presence of Bogut at close to 100 percent, at some point, makes the Warriors better in almost every area.

Golden State is 15-7 — an early 56-win pace. They’re stacking victories on the road with a lineup that hasn’t played together before, a roster that is inexperienced on some fronts and a coach who only this month worked his 82nd game on a bench in any role. There are so many obvious ways the Warriors can still get better.

Jack-to-Green was the perfect symbolic finish to Wednesday night in Miami, of course. The veteran backup point guard, acquired as part of a three-team trade in July, to the rookie backup forward, underlining a roster coming together and pointing out again the successful summer work of the front office.

This has been an impressive opening statement by the Warriors, even to those of us who picked them at the start to make the playoffs. Winning in Miami is the biggest moment, but also the latest. It just isn’t as good as things could get.

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Posted in 2012 / Comments (3) /

Hang Time Podcast (Episode 96) Time To Debate And Discuss

December 13, 2012  ·  11:38AM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – You’ve been watching every move, every crossover, every dunk and every second of every game you can since the start of this NBA season.

And you still have questions …

Are the New York Knicks for real?

Is Carmelo Anthony finally ready to take his place alongside LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant among the league’s truly elite (winners with numbers to boot)?

Are the Los Angeles Lakers really going to continue to stink up the place the way they have so far?

Are we really going to overlook the Spurs again as they compile the most impressive body of work in the league for what seems like the umpteenth straight year?

Was TNT’s Charles Barkley right about Dwyane Wade aging before our very eyes and slowing down to the point that he’s a shadow of the dominant force he’s been for so many years?

And was James right to tell Charles to just “shut up?”

Are the Golden State Warriors ready for prime time, for real, this time? (Rookie Draymond Green says yes!)

What about the Los Angeles Clippers, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Atlanta Hawks … do they maintain these lofty positions in the standings three, four or five months from now, when the regular season rubber meets the playoff road?

And the list goes on and on.

But that’s what we’re here for, to marry these questions with some answers, as well as a few notes, quotes and other observations on Episode 96 of the Hang Time Podcast. What better time to debate and discuss the league’s current state of affairs than the quarter pole of this marathon season with your hosts Sekou Smith,  Lang Whitaker and Rick Fox? 

LISTEN HERE:


As always, we welcome your feedback. You can follow the entire crew, including the Hang Time Podcast, co-hosts Sekou Smith of NBA.com, Lang Whitaker of SLAM Magazine and Rick Fox of NBA TV, as well as our new super producer Gregg (just like Popovich) Waigand and the best engineer in the business, Jarell “I Heart Peyton Manning” Wall.

– To download the podcast, click here. To subscribe via iTunes, click here, or get the xml feed if you want to subscribe some other, less iTunes-y way.

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Jackson’s Belief in Thompson Paying Off

December 13, 2012  ·  1:36AM

There was a time not so long ago when it seemed like Mark Jackson was the only one around who still believed in Klay Thompson.

Those were the days when the second-year guard felt as if he’d been abandoned by his best friend, his outside shot and the nights when it seemed like he couldn’t have found the basket with a map and a flashlight.

Warriors fans were panicking when Thompson couldn’t make half the shots he took even once through the first three weeks — 11 games — of the season. They wanted him yanked from the starting lineup or, at the very least, reined in.

But Jackson never wavered on Thompson.

“He’s a different creature,” Jackson said back then. “He’s a great shooter. He’s going to be fine. Even great shooters go through tough stretches.”

Of course, for the great shooters, those tough stretches end. Now, it would seem that Thompson has found his way out of the dark.

While it was Jarrett Jack’s pass and Draymond Green’s layup with 0.9 seconds left in the game that was the difference in Golden State’s 97-95 win at Miami on Wednesday night, it was Thompson who did much of the heavy lifting to get there.

He scored 27 points on 11-for-21 shooting and also bagged five 3-pointers to continue a roll that just happens to coincide with the Warriors’ stunning 5-0 start to their seven-game road trip. In the winning streak, Thompson has connected on 20 of his 42 shots from behind the arc and 37-for-66 from the field overall.

While much of the attention in the long-suffering franchise’s rise this season has gone to Stephen Curry making an early bid for a berth on the Western Conference All-Star team, David Lee as a double-double machine and a new team-wide commitment to defense, the Warriors are now looking more real because one guy has kept his cool and battled back from a rough start.

This is why Mark Jackson never stopped believing in Klay Thompson.

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Posted in HT News / Comments (19) /

Summer Treats Warriors Nicely

August 2, 2012  ·  4:14PM

HANG TIME WEST – It would have been a big deal no matter what. Many of the Western Conference teams at the bottom of the 2012 postseason pack or those trying to push into the playoffs have improved, and so Golden State had to get better as well just to keep up.

But it’s a bigger deal than just that with the belief, stated just before the draft, that a rookie general manager with zero track record in a front office needed a good first impression. Bob Myers, new as a personnel boss, pretty new in any management role after years as a prominent agent, needed some quick credibility in a market that has grown increasingly, and understandably, frustrated by letdown.

He got it.

The Warriors did well in the draft by adding Harrison Barnes at No. 7 as the possible starting small forward, Festus Ezeli at 30 for a need at backup center, and Draymond Green in the second round for his forward versatility and experience as a four-year player at Michigan State. They needed a backup power forward and signed Carl Landry. They needed a backup point guard and traded for Jarrett Jack. They re-signed Brandon Rush.

It was not the perfect summer – they were aiming for Dion Waiters in the draft, but he went fourth to the Cavaliers, and no addition to significantly help heal the defense. (In-season arrival Andrew Bogut can be considered the new addition in that regard.) But it has been a good one. (more…)

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Posted in Uncategorized / Comments (23) /