Posts Tagged ‘JaVale McGee’

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Air Check: Is This Basketball Or Hockey?

April 17, 2013  ·  12:41PM

HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – For NBA fans like us, there’s nothing better than League Pass. Having the ability to watch every game every night (and then again the next day) is heaven.

Of course, with local broadcasts, you get local broadcasters, which can be good and bad. It can be good, because these guys know their teams better than most national broadcasters. It can be bad, because these guys love their teams more than most national broadcasters. And they’re usually not afraid to show that love.

The national guys aren’t perfect either. And if they’re not careful, they may be featured here, where we highlight the best and worst of NBA broadcasts.

1. A perfectly unintentional body check

Game: Toronto at Washington, March 31
Broadcast: Toronto


As the weak-side guy on pick-and-roll coverage, you’re supposed to “chuck” the roll man, meaning that you should get into the paint and keep him from having a clear path to the basket. Rudy Gay goes a little too far here, body checking Jan Vesely like it was a Leafs-Caps game.

Gay is called for a Flagrant 1 foul on the play, a reasonable ruling which stands after review. And somehow, Matt Devlin and Leo Rautins feel like this was normal pick-and-roll defense.

Devlin: “There was no intent behind that.”

Rautins: “I think at times now things get a little carried away with whole idea of flagrant and intent and all that. That was just a hard foul.”

2. A run-of-the-mill assist of the year candidate

Game: Cleveland at New Orleans, April 7
Broadcast: New Orleans


If you’ve listened to Lakers games on League Pass the last two seasons, you know that new play-by-play man Bill Macdonald can get a little too excited when his team scores a basket (or just when Metta World Peace attempts a 3-pointer).

It’s a contrast to former Lakers play-by-play man Joel Meyers, who is now calling games for the Hornets. Here, Meyers calls this ridiculous, no-look, through-the-legs Kyrie Irving dime to Tristan Thompson like it was any old assist.

Personally, I’ll take the subdued Meyers over the hyper Macdonald. That pass probably called for a little more inflection, though.

3. All-Star sandwich

Game: Dallas at Denver, April 4
Broadcast: Denver


Scott Hastings is the King of Air Check.

Evan Fournier pushes Dirk Nowitzki in the back here, sending Nowitzki into a flying Kenneth Faried. Hastings, of course, immediately takes offense.

“I guarantee it’ll be here,” he says. “Dirk Nowitzki. Gotta protect him.”

The push is clear as day on the replay, but Hastings isn’t changing his tune.

“That’s a little bit of a Dirk flop and he gets rewarded, because he’s an All-Star.”

4. I can block shots like that

Game: Denver at Dallas, April 12
Broadcast: Dallas


When JaVale McGee blocks a shot a couple of feet above the basket, Mavs broadcaster Jeff Wade goes into some pretty funny schtick about playing against 10 year olds on an 8-foot rim.

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John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. Send him an e-mail or follow him on twitter.

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Denver’s Whole Much More Than Sum Of Its Parts

March 24, 2013  ·  1:50PM

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Back in 1985, give or take a generation depending on what year was dialed in, Doc Brown retro-fitted a campy DeLorean with a few spare parts he had around his workshop and spawned an entire time-traveling series of Hollywood comedies.

Nearly 30 years later, Denver Nuggets VP of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has cobbled together a roster largely out of spare parts, discards and items from the NBA’s great cutout bin and essentially made time stand still. As in another multiplex favorite, the one with Bill Murray and the rodent in which every day and night ends up the same: Win, win, win, win …

Consider the two hottest teams in The Association at the moment and how they came to be. The Miami Heat, aiming for their 26th consecutive victory Sunday evening against Charlotte, were conceived in a lightning bolt and thunderclap moment of AAU-comes-to-NBA inspiration, the brainstorm of the three key Hall of Fame-caliber players involved. Then there are the Nuggets.

Denver, which extended its lower profile winning streak to 15 games Saturday night, have made do – and made dangerous – with far more humble pieces than the crew in south Florida. At the risk of putting a silly “NBA.com has learned…” spin on something that’s been hiding in plain sight, it is worth looking again (if you haven’t done so recently) at the how the Nuggets’ roster was built:

  • Drafted (3): Kenneth Faried (2011, Round 1, No. 22 overall); Evan Fournier (2012, Round 1, No. 20 overall), and Quincy Miller (2012, Round 2, No. 38 overall).
  • Trades (9): Corey Brewer, Wilson Chandler, Jordan Hamilton, Andre Iguodala, Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Kosta Koufos, JaVale McGee, Andre Miller and Timofey Mozgov.
  • Free agents (2): Anthony Randolph and Julyan Stone.

Looked at as a group, the ensemble nature of what Denver and coach George Karl are doing this season – 15 straight, 49-22, fourth-best record in the league with a legit chance to catch OKC to claim the Northwest Division and the West’s No. 2 seed – is amazing and undeniable. That whole sure had better be greater than the sum of its parts, because its parts, on paper especially, wouldn’t scare hardly anybody.

Faried’s sleeper status out of Morehead State has gotten wide play by now. But it’s indicative of Denver’s recent draft history, with the Nuggets stuck at No. 20 or lower for their last 10 picks overall. The last single-digit guy – heck, the last lottery guy – by the Nuggets? Carmelo Anthony in 2003.

As for player acquired via trades, look how many current Nuggets were disappointing Something-Elses before they made it to Denver. Brewer, Randolph and Koufos, huge contributors on a surging team, were left at the curb by Minnesota. So, in a pre-arranged draft night trade, was Lawson, on the same date the Timberwolves spent the No. 6 pick on Jonny Flynn.

Andre Miller was considered old and broken-down by some at age 34, after five teams and 12 seasons. Chandler, Gallinari, Mozgov (and Quincy Miller, as a future pick) were, at the time of the Anthony trade, the best Ujiri and the Nuggest could do when faced with a marquee player who wanted out. Hamilton was a throw-in from Dallas to Portland to Denver on the night he was drafted in June 2011 at No. 26.

McGee? He was classic addition-by-subtraction for Washington, eager to reduce the knuckleheads quotient of its locker room. Even Iguodala, so helpful at both ends and in a leadership role, had fallen out of favor in Philadelphia.

Ujiri, early this season, referred to the process as a “rough two years.” Yet the Nuggets did not drop out of the playoffs in that span. They did not, obviously, sit and pine for pricey, big-name free agents they weren’t going to get anyway.

They took what was available and, with Ujiri working as hard in the front office as Karl on the sideline and the players on the court, rigged it MacGyver-style into something special. Gourmet chefs, three-star restaurants and the finest meats and veggies often make for great meals, but occasionally so do leftovers used creatively in perfect balance.

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Shaqtin’ A Fool: Vol 2., Episode 18

March 8, 2013  ·  3:02AM


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It’s a Shaqtin’ A Fool double-header this week. On Tuesday, Shaq crowned his main man JaVale McGee with top honors and tonight Shaq returns to call out Reggie Evans, Serge Ibaka, Kemba Walker, Carmelo Anthony and of course, the one, the only … Mr. JaVale McGee! Vote for your favorite Shaqtin’ A Fool moment!
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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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Blogtable: Your Favorite Yo-Yo Guy

February 27, 2013  ·  10:30AM




Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes to weigh in on the three most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Week 18: Do more teams have a chance? | No. 1 yo-yo guy | Who believes in the Grizzlies?

Who is the one player who alternately infuriates you with boneheaded plays and thrills you with the occasional good ones.

Steve Aschburner: Can I answer Tim Duncan and call it good? Y’know, yo-yo … No? OK, my 2012-13 winner of the Nate Robinson Award would be … yeah, Nate Robinson. Let’s face it, they could name the trophy after him, awarded annually to the player who drives his coach the battiest. Robinson has been a necessary evil for Tom Thibodeau in Chicago, gobbling minutes that would normally go to rehabbing Derrick Rose and chronically dinged Kirk Hinrich. All his charms and all his flaws have been on display in large helpings — reeling off eight points in a row one moment, firing up his turnover machine the next. He’s always Ornette Coleman, stubborn free-jazz improviser miscast in whichever of the 30 Duke Ellington orchestras employs him. A careful study of November video will reveal that, yes, Thibodeau did have more hair back then.

Fran Blinebury: Josh Smith, Josh Smith and Josh Smith.

Jeff Caplan: Considering Nuggets coach George Karl can’t bring himself to play JaVale McGee enough so that the 7-footer can average more than 18.8 mpg, I’d have to say McGee owns this category. Despite being remarkably athletic with all kind of potential and flashes of brilliance at both ends, the fact is that Kosta Koufos has started all 57 games he’s played and averages four more minutes a game than McGee.

Scott Howard-Cooper: Josh Smith. Shot selection, defense. Shot selection, occasional rebounding. Quite the weighted scales back and forth. That’s a yo-yo guy.

John Schuhmann: This is a difficult question to answer, because, by principle, I don’t like guys who make “boneheaded plays.” Marcus Thornton certainly made a case for this distinction with his performance in Miami on Tuesday. And he’s more efficient than similar gunners like Jordan Crawford and Nick Young. But my answer is Andre Drummond. He can play out of control and has had some JaVale-esque moments this season, but, as a pretty raw rookie, he’s proven to be an impact player on both ends of the floor for Detroit. He could be a monster within the next couple of years and I think there are probably already a few teams that regret letting him slip to No. 9 in last year’s Draft.

Sekou Smith: You obviously haven’t watched Shaqtin’ A Fool lately. Nuggets center JaVale McGee is the runaway winner in this category. Few players in the league are capable of making as many jaw-dropping plays, both good and bad, as McGee. The Nuggets have gotten more of the good out of him, which bodes well for them come playoff time. A shot-blocker and shot-maker of his size in a postseason scenario, when games inevitably slow down and turn into half court battles, can be invaluable.


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Shaqtin’ A Fool: Vol 2., Episode 13

February 15, 2013  ·  2:45AM


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On the eve of All-Star Weekend, Shaq pays tribute to the fans of the Phoenix Suns, Kobe, Michael Beasley, Blake Griffin, and of course, Shaq’s main man, JaVale McGee . Vote for your favorite Shaqtin’ A Fool moment!
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Rick’s Tips: Players Who Need Minutes

February 4, 2013  ·  4:59PM

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Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time for the triumphant return of “More Minutes Please!”

Step right up as we list 10 players who simply need a little more burn to breakthrough in fantasy basketball.

Anthony Davis, Hornets: Can someone please explain to me why the Hornets are not playing the top overall pick 30+ minutes per game? Davis is clocking just 28.6 minutes and still managing to put up 13.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and 1.2 steals.

Andre Drummond, Pistons: In a measly 20.2 minutes per game, he is bagging 7.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 0.9 steals. Not sure why Lawrence Frank is resistant to starting Drummond and Greg Monroe together, but I do know that Jason Maxiell shouldn’t be starting over the UConn rookie.

Kawhi Leonard, Spurs: I don’t understand limiting him to 28.8 minutes per game (9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.3 threes). Why not run him out there for 33-36 minutes and let him blossom into a star that could help the Spurs win their first title since 2007?

JaVale McGee, Nuggets: The Nuggets gave McGee over $40 million in the offseason, then they mysteriously play him 18.7 minutes per game? Imagine what his stat line of 10.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks would look like in even 28 minutes.

Derrick Favors, Jazz: I fully expect the Jazz to unload Paul Millsap before the trade deadline, freeing up starter’s minutes for Favors, who is averaging 9.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 0.9 steals in 21.8 minutes.

Patrick Patterson, Rockets: In 25.4 minutes, Patterson is averaging 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.8 threes, while shooting 51 percent from the field and 77 percent from the line. Patterson is the perfect finesse 4 to Omer Asik’s dirty-work 5, but the Rockets are taking a long look at 2011 lottery pick Marcus Morris.

Markieff Morris, Suns: Marcus’ twin brother needs more minutes in Phoenix, as Markieff is averaging 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 20.2 minutes. The Suns’ rebuild demands 28+ minutes from Morris, who has the potential to be a 1-1-1 guy in the blocks, steals, and threes.

Harrison Barnes, Warriors: The time has come for Mark Jackson to lengthen his leash on the prized rookie, who is averaging 25.7 minutes, 9.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.7 threes, and 0.7 steals. In 30 minutes, Barnes could average 13 points and 6 rebounds, with 1+ and 1+ in the threes and steals.

Marcus Thornton, Kings: How did Lil Buckets go from the Kings’ closer to basically out of the rotation? I think it’s a joke that Thornton’s hustle and big-shot ability is left on the bench in most games. In 23.9 minutes, he’ still averaging 11.4 points, 1.7 threes, and 1.0 steal.

Nene, Wizards: Brace yourself, as what you are about to read may shock you. Nene is averaging – ehem – 25.6 minutes per game. 25.6!?! I leave you with this: Wizards coach Randy Wittman isn’t to blame here.

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Shaqtin’ A Fool: Vol. 2, Episode 10

January 25, 2013  ·  2:23AM


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The JaVale McGee Highlight Hour Shaqtin’ A Fool continues this week with a new batch of ridiculousness. This week, Shaq calls out NBA ref Derek Richardson, Jim Boylan, Isaiah Thomas, Kawhi Leonard, and of course, JaVale! Vote for your favorite Shaqtin’ A Fool moment!

Update:  We know who Isaiah Thomas’ teammate Jason Thompson voted for:

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Are Nuggets Just Starting To Take Off?

January 24, 2013  ·  12:39AM

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HOUSTON — There were just a few ticks more than 30 seconds left in the third quarter when the ball and a thunderclap of inspiration came to JaVale McGee on the right elbow.

He took a step toward the basket, ducked under the outstretched arm of the Rockets’ Omer Asik and, well, what the heck, flipped the ball high off the glass, then climbed a ladder in the sky to grab it with one hand and blasted it through the rim.

Ground control to Major Tom.

“When I first got the ball I was thinking dunk,” McGee said. “Then I thought if I didn’t dunk it, I was going to get taken out of the game.”

Too late for those kinds of worries. The Nuggets had already taken the Rockets completely out of the game with a 4-1/2 minute stretch that was out of this world. Wilson Chandler off the bench with steals and jumpers. Ty Lawson with drives to the hoop. Andre Iguodala with all little things that he does.

It was a night for milestones that could have touched off an inter-generational rumble in the Nuggets’ locker room. Coach George Karl, who won the 1,100th game of his career, walked up to the locker stall of Iguodala, who scored his 10,000th career point and cracked: “I’m taking the game ball. You’re on your own.”

No worries. The way things are going, there could be plenty of other occasions to remember if the Nuggets keep up at this rate. The team that lived out of a suitcase through the end of 2012 with 22 of its first 32 games on the road, is now 9-3 since the start of the new year.

It’s more than just home cooking that had turned things around. It’s this delicious combination of all-around athletes that has simmered long enough in Karl’s pot to become a quite tasty dish.

The grueling season-opening forged toughness and togetherness that could pay off for the Nuggets down the road. Karl recently said that he is tired of scrambling down the stretch of the regular season to latch onto one of the final playoff spots in the rugged Western Conference. He has his sights set on battling with the Grizzlies and Warriors for the 4-5 spots. The Nuggets are currently sixth, just 2 1/2 games behind No. 4 Memphis.

“I still think we’re 20 games away from really establishing ourselves as a team that’s got to be reckoned with,” Karl told Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.

That should be a shot across the bow of the Western Conference elite Thunder, Clippers and Warriors, who have already been taken down by the Nuggets since Jan. 1.

Here is Iguodala, finally free to just play his all-around game and fit in at both ends of the floor, reaching a significant career plateau and being unaware.

“I wasn’t predicted to be here, so it’s a dream come true to be in the NBA,” he said.

Here is Karl, now the seventh-winningest NBA coach of all time, with the miles and the scars on his resume, just watching the odometer flip over again.

“I’ll probably have a ball signed by the players to put in my trophy case, drink a few beers, some day remembering,” he said.

“I don’t know what to say. I’m at the stage in my career where fortunately I still love the game and still have the privilege to coach a good basketball team. The accolades are because of so many other people more than me. But I put a lot of losses on my belt, so maybe I’ll take some accolades every once in a while too.”

And as long as his team puts in the effort on defense, he’ll even smile at the same time he cringes while looking at the replays of McGee’s showboating dunk.

“It doesn’t fall under the fundamental area of basketball, but it worked and I’m glad it worked,” Karl said. “I hope he doesn’t try it a lot in the future.”

Because from the looks of things, the Nuggets might have too much serious ball to play.

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Clippers Top League’s Best Benches

January 18, 2013  ·  3:03PM

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HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – After Thursday’s 90-77 win in Minnesota, the Los Angeles Clippers are now 3-0 without MVP candidate Chris Paul.

All three wins have come on the road against good teams, and in none of them have the Clippers required a huge performance from one of their other starters. In fact, Blake Griffin has averaged just 16.3 points in the three wins. Eric Bledsoe, starting in place of Paul, has done a decent job of running the team, but has totaled only 11 assists.

The Clippers won the three games — and won them all comfortably –for the same reason that Paul has been able to sit the entire fourth quarter in nine of the 37 games he’s played in: They have the best bench in basketball.

Here’s all you need to know about the Clippers’ bench and why they’re a much-improved team: Last season, the Clips were outscored by 11.6 points per 100 possessions when Griffin was on the bench. This year, they’re outscoring their opponents by 11.7 points per 100 possessions with Griffin on the bench.

That’s a 23.3-point turnaround and that’s really what it’s all about. A good bench should build on leads, not lose them. That’s why the Bulls’ bench was so good the last couple of years, even though it didn’t have anybody who could really score. When Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer and Taj Gibson were on the floor together, the Bulls shut down foes and scored enough to build on the lead the starters gave them.

With that in mind, here are the best benches in the NBA …

L.A. Clippers

The Clips have a full, five-man bench unit that’s one of the best lineups in the league. In 243 minutes with Bledsoe, Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf on the floor, L.A. is a plus-14.5 per 100 possessions.

Though Crawford is known for his offense, this is really a defensive unit that has only scored 102.8 points per 100 possessions, just a notch above the league average. But it has allowed only 88.3, making it the second-best defensive unit of the league’s 72 lineups that have played at least 100 minutes.

The question is how Grant Hill fits in. In Hill’s first game back, that unit only played six minutes together. And in the last three games, it hasn’t played together at all, though that may have more to do with Bledsoe starting.

Either way, it would be disappointing if coach Vinny Del Negro broke up such an effective unit. And it really could affect where the Clippers finish in the Western Conference standings.

San Antonio

Though Manu Ginobili has been neither healthy nor sharp, the Spurs’ bench continues to get the job done. It’s just tough to determine where the starters end and where the bench begins, because eight different guys have started at least nine games for San Antonio already. But coach Gregg Popovich‘s ability to mix-and-match lineups will little drop-off is part of what makes the Spurs’ bench so good.

The Spurs don’t have a full bench unit like the Clippers. Their latest starting unit is Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter. Their most-used lineup that includes at least three other Spurs has only played 38 minutes together, and that lineup includes Parker and Duncan.

This is why we’d rate the Spurs’ bench behind that of the Clippers. But San Antonio is still outscoring its opponents by a solid 5.7 points per 100 possessions with Duncan off the floor. That’s a very good thing. (more…)

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