Il sito www.nba.com pubblica questa analisi della ennesima decisione controcorrente del nativo di Mullens : niente walk-through il mattino della partita.
Mike D’Antoni has always been one to go against the grain of NBA tradition. So it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that he was the coach to do away with morning shootarounds.
For quite some time (Lakers coach Bill Sharman came up with the idea in the early 70s), every team has gotten together the morning (10 a.m. is typical) of a game to go over the game plan for that night’s opponent, except on the second day of a back-to-back. For the Knicks, with their practice facility 30 miles north of Madison Square Garden, all the extra driving could take something out of you by game time.
So this year, for home games only, D’Antoni is instead having his team sleep in and report to the Garden at 3:30 in the afternoon for 7:30 starts. They do their walk-through then, followed by a team meal and their typical pre-game preparation.
For the record, the Knicks were 20-21 at home last season. And they were more efficient offensively at home (107.3 points per 100 possessions) than they were on the road (103.8). That 3.5 points per 100 possessions difference was just above the league average for home-road variation.
The other end of the floor is another story. Home teams were 3.4 points per 100 possessions better defensively at home than they were on the road last year, but the Knicks were not as good defensively at the Garden (allowing 108.3 points per 100 possessions) than they were away from it (108.1).
Knicks opponents actually shot worse from the field in New York (0.506 EFG%) than they did in their own arenas (0.500), but they got to the line more often (25.2 vs. 21.3 FTA/Poss), didn’t turn the ball over as much (14.3 vs. 14.8 TO/Poss) and got more offensive rebounds (0.274 vs. 0.271 OReb Rate). Perhaps, with all that time (and a nap) in between shootaround and the game, and with all that driving to do, the Knicks forgot the defensive game plan (if they had one in the first place).
Seemingly confirming that idea, Chris Duhon said yesterday that the benefits of the new routine are “more mental than physical.”
“We know when we get here that it’s time to be focused and get ready to play,” added David Lee.
The Knicks are 1-1 in the preseason with the new routine, with a loss to the Sixers and a win over the Nets. The good news is that they’ve held their opponents to an effective field-goal percentage of just 0.441 in those two games. The bad news is that they’re own EFG% is just 0.400.
So, D’Antoni’s idea is apparently keeping his team sharper mentally on the defensive end of the floor, it’s screwed up their ability to shoot the ball. Of course, two games is a very small sample size. We’ll revisit the Knicks’ numbers later in the season.
Come leggete sotto la NBA ha reso legale il secondo passo dopo aver raccolto la palla. Questa è una decisione epocale perchè modifica una regola che non era mai stata toccata in precedenza. Per intenderci, quel classico movimento di Lebron James su cui si è tante volte discusso diventa da oggi legale (e lui totalmente immarcabile se volete un’opinione). E’ comunque giusto che una cosa che veniva “perdonata” nel 95 % dei casi diventi totalmente approvata dal regolamento per non creare sperequazioni. Sarebbe bello riconoscere che anche gli arbitri FIBA un quarto tempo lo fischiano una volta su 1000, e quindi riscrivere la regola. Se ne parla magari tra 4-8-12 anni ….
NBA players will be able to take two steps before they have to stop, pass or shoot this season. The NBA has put into writing a rule allowing players on the move to gather the ball, after driving or catching it, and then take two steps. Throughout NBA history, the rulebook said players could take one step.
The new rule reads, in part “A player who receives the ball while he is progressing or upon completion of a dribble, may take two steps in coming to a stop, passing or shooting the ball.” It is believed to be the first time any league, at any level anywhere in the world, has explicitly allowed two steps.
In March, NBA vice president of referee operations Joe Borgia told TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott that referees had long been instructed to ignore the rulebook on this point and allow two steps. On a conference call with reporters earlier this week, NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson told Abbott: “Based on Joe’s comments, when you had a conversation with Joe, we did in fact tweak the language on traveling in this year’s book.”
Enforcement of the one-step rule has been hit-or-miss at every level of basketball. Archival footage shows NBA greats, from Magic Johnson and Pete Maravich to Bob Cousy and Julius Erving, getting away with two steps. Borgia, whose father was also an NBA official, said he cannot remember a time when NBA referees did not allow two steps.
Others insist allowing two steps represents an NBA strategy to aid scorers and make the league more exciting. Legendary point guard and current Knick broadcaster Walt “Clyde” Frazier says the league relaxed traveling standards some time ago to increase scoring.
“They go 20 feet to the hoop without dribbling one time,” Frazier said. “This is what they are getting away with nowadays. Some of them are so obvious. You’ll hear me on the broadcast saying ‘That’s a travel! Watch the feet!’ Wilt [Chamberlain] would have averaged 100 points a game if they had let him do that.
“When guys couldn’t put up points, about when they changed the hand-check rule, they made things easier for scorers, because these players can’t shoot like we did,” Frazier said. “Those few years when the Knicks were good [the early 1990s] — that wasn’t pretty basketball.”
Whether or not this will affect play on the court remains to be seen. Referees have long been instructed to allow two steps and in interviews with NBA players last season there was some confusion about the rule. But most said they thought they were allowed to take two steps.
Il Los Angeles Times ha pubblicato questo articolo che riguarda lo stato di salute di Tex Winter. Se non vi commuovete a leggerlo non sono sicuro di volervi conoscere ….
You never saw it. The Lakers never ran it. An 87-year-old stroke victim conceived it. Continue reading →
The Dallas Mavericks continued to revamp their team Wednesday evening, formally acquiring forward Shawn Marion from the Toronto Raptors in a multi-team deal that was still working toward finalization Thursday morning. As first reported on NBA-TV’s “Game Time,” Marion agreed to a five-year deal that will pay him $40 million, which was possible only with the help of the Memphis Grizzlies’ taking on the contract of Dallas guard Jerry Stackhouse. Continue reading →
Hedo Turkoglu has reached an agreement in principle to join the Portland Trail Blazers, according to sources.Although a verbal commitment may be announced sooner, the terms of the contract cannot be finalized until Wednesday when the NBA informs teams what the 2009-10 salary cap will be. Continue reading →
Chicago-Boston, la top 10 della serie
NBA, si parte
La stagione NBA comincia su SKY Sport. Questi i primi 2 appuntamenti:
Mercoledì notte (1:00) S.Antonio-New Orleans (commento in diretta, Flavio Tranquillo e GianMarco Pozzecco)
Venerdì notte (1:00) Boston-Chicago (commento in diretta Alessandro Mamoli e Federico Buffa)
Buon divertimento
Con D’Antoni si dorme
Il sito www.nba.com pubblica questa analisi della ennesima decisione controcorrente del nativo di Mullens : niente walk-through il mattino della partita.
Mike D’Antoni has always been one to go against the grain of NBA tradition. So it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that he was the coach to do away with morning shootarounds.
For quite some time (Lakers coach Bill Sharman came up with the idea in the early 70s), every team has gotten together the morning (10 a.m. is typical) of a game to go over the game plan for that night’s opponent, except on the second day of a back-to-back. For the Knicks, with their practice facility 30 miles north of Madison Square Garden, all the extra driving could take something out of you by game time.
So this year, for home games only, D’Antoni is instead having his team sleep in and report to the Garden at 3:30 in the afternoon for 7:30 starts. They do their walk-through then, followed by a team meal and their typical pre-game preparation.
For the record, the Knicks were 20-21 at home last season. And they were more efficient offensively at home (107.3 points per 100 possessions) than they were on the road (103.8). That 3.5 points per 100 possessions difference was just above the league average for home-road variation.
The other end of the floor is another story. Home teams were 3.4 points per 100 possessions better defensively at home than they were on the road last year, but the Knicks were not as good defensively at the Garden (allowing 108.3 points per 100 possessions) than they were away from it (108.1).
Knicks opponents actually shot worse from the field in New York (0.506 EFG%) than they did in their own arenas (0.500), but they got to the line more often (25.2 vs. 21.3 FTA/Poss), didn’t turn the ball over as much (14.3 vs. 14.8 TO/Poss) and got more offensive rebounds (0.274 vs. 0.271 OReb Rate). Perhaps, with all that time (and a nap) in between shootaround and the game, and with all that driving to do, the Knicks forgot the defensive game plan (if they had one in the first place).
EFG% = Effective field-goal percentage = (FGM + (0.5*3PM))/FGA
FTA/Poss = Free throw attempts per 100 possessions
TO/Poss = Turnovers per 100 possessions
OReb Rate = Offensive rebounding rate = Off. Reb./(Off. Reb. + Opp. Def. Reb.
Seemingly confirming that idea, Chris Duhon said yesterday that the benefits of the new routine are “more mental than physical.”
“We know when we get here that it’s time to be focused and get ready to play,” added David Lee.
The Knicks are 1-1 in the preseason with the new routine, with a loss to the Sixers and a win over the Nets. The good news is that they’ve held their opponents to an effective field-goal percentage of just 0.441 in those two games. The bad news is that they’re own EFG% is just 0.400.
So, D’Antoni’s idea is apparently keeping his team sharper mentally on the defensive end of the floor, it’s screwed up their ability to shoot the ball. Of course, two games is a very small sample size. We’ll revisit the Knicks’ numbers later in the season.
L’NBA legalizza il 4° tempo !
Come leggete sotto la NBA ha reso legale il secondo passo dopo aver raccolto la palla. Questa è una decisione epocale perchè modifica una regola che non era mai stata toccata in precedenza. Per intenderci, quel classico movimento di Lebron James su cui si è tante volte discusso diventa da oggi legale (e lui totalmente immarcabile se volete un’opinione). E’ comunque giusto che una cosa che veniva “perdonata” nel 95 % dei casi diventi totalmente approvata dal regolamento per non creare sperequazioni. Sarebbe bello riconoscere che anche gli arbitri FIBA un quarto tempo lo fischiano una volta su 1000, e quindi riscrivere la regola. Se ne parla magari tra 4-8-12 anni ….
NBA players will be able to take two steps before they have to stop, pass or shoot this season. The NBA has put into writing a rule allowing players on the move to gather the ball, after driving or catching it, and then take two steps. Throughout NBA history, the rulebook said players could take one step.
The new rule reads, in part “A player who receives the ball while he is progressing or upon completion of a dribble, may take two steps in coming to a stop, passing or shooting the ball.” It is believed to be the first time any league, at any level anywhere in the world, has explicitly allowed two steps.
In March, NBA vice president of referee operations Joe Borgia told TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott that referees had long been instructed to ignore the rulebook on this point and allow two steps. On a conference call with reporters earlier this week, NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson told Abbott: “Based on Joe’s comments, when you had a conversation with Joe, we did in fact tweak the language on traveling in this year’s book.”
Enforcement of the one-step rule has been hit-or-miss at every level of basketball. Archival footage shows NBA greats, from Magic Johnson and Pete Maravich to Bob Cousy and Julius Erving, getting away with two steps. Borgia, whose father was also an NBA official, said he cannot remember a time when NBA referees did not allow two steps.
Others insist allowing two steps represents an NBA strategy to aid scorers and make the league more exciting. Legendary point guard and current Knick broadcaster Walt “Clyde” Frazier says the league relaxed traveling standards some time ago to increase scoring.
“They go 20 feet to the hoop without dribbling one time,” Frazier said. “This is what they are getting away with nowadays. Some of them are so obvious. You’ll hear me on the broadcast saying ‘That’s a travel! Watch the feet!’ Wilt [Chamberlain] would have averaged 100 points a game if they had let him do that.
“When guys couldn’t put up points, about when they changed the hand-check rule, they made things easier for scorers, because these players can’t shoot like we did,” Frazier said. “Those few years when the Knicks were good [the early 1990s] — that wasn’t pretty basketball.”
Whether or not this will affect play on the court remains to be seen. Referees have long been instructed to allow two steps and in interviews with NBA players last season there was some confusion about the rule. But most said they thought they were allowed to take two steps.
Thanks for the memories
Forza Tex !
Il Los Angeles Times ha pubblicato questo articolo che riguarda lo stato di salute di Tex Winter. Se non vi commuovete a leggerlo non sono sicuro di volervi conoscere ….
You never saw it. The Lakers never ran it. An 87-year-old stroke victim conceived it. Continue reading →
Marion ai Mavs, giro a 4
The Dallas Mavericks continued to revamp their team Wednesday evening, formally acquiring forward Shawn Marion from the Toronto Raptors in a multi-team deal that was still working toward finalization Thursday morning. As first reported on NBA-TV’s “Game Time,” Marion agreed to a five-year deal that will pay him $40 million, which was possible only with the help of the Memphis Grizzlies’ taking on the contract of Dallas guard Jerry Stackhouse. Continue reading →
Contrordine. Turkoglu a Toronto !
Brother Hedo a Portland
Hedo Turkoglu has reached an agreement in principle to join the Portland Trail Blazers, according to sources.Although a verbal commitment may be announced sooner, the terms of the contract cannot be finalized until Wednesday when the NBA informs teams what the 2009-10 salary cap will be. Continue reading →
Artest/Kobe o Red/Toby ?