The growth of analytics in the NBA has been nothing short of phenomenal. It started with a deeper look at numbers that already were available and produced new and useful statistics such as true shooting percentage, defensive rebound percentage, offensive rating and win shares. With the use of a grid or a matrix, we now have the ability to determine a player’s offensive tendencies and hot spots. For some players, it is quite revealing. For others, such as DeAndre Jordan, it pretty
Carlos Boozer is joining the Lakers after they made a waiver claim on him, and Jeremy Lin will be aboard, too. Kobe Bryant is returning from injury, and Jordan Hill and Nick Young have been re-signed. So what does this mean for the Lakers? Not much. They are still going to stink in 2014-15, but at least they will be players in free agency next summer after Steve Nash and his nearly $10 million salary comes off the books. The state of
The Kevin Love trade rumors continue to heat up, as progress seems to slowly be building. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, LeBron James has personally reached out to the Minnesota Timberwolves forward about the possibility of playing together in Cleveland. [Read more…]
As NBA free agency dominated the weekend with several big headlines — see LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh — and a avalanche of new signings, teams are now getting down to the nitty gritty of available players and are even looking at which players they can clear off the roster. That brings us to the curious case of Carlos Boozer and the Chicago Bulls. [Read more…]
Carlos Boozer was amnestied today by the Chicago Bulls, allowing them to clear the cap space to bring in their newest additions, Nikola Mirotic and Pau Gasol. They were in the mix for Carmelo Anthony, but the New York Knicks were able to pay him $50 million more than the Bulls could offer, which is a lot of scratch. No matter, the Bulls have emerged as a favorite to be the best team in the Eastern Conference, especially if the Pacers do
Lance Stephenson is a free agent enigma and a polarizing topic amongst league executives. Stephenson, a tantalizing talent who led the league in triple-doubles (5), showed signs of immaturity during the playoffs with his antics toward LeBron James, leaving several executives split on his free agency value. The general consensus is Stephenson could command a yearly salary ranging from the $5.3 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception to as high as $10 million. The mid-level exception indicates concern over Stephenson’s maturity level, while the $10
Typically, there is an amazing tweet to talk about. However, this may be the exception to the rule. The folks at Bleacher Report took it upon themselves to put together an animated NBA adaptation of the hit HBO show, Game of Thrones. The ease with which the characters of the show—which is based on George R.R. Martin’s A Sword of Ice and Fire books—can be replaced with NBA teams and athletes is uncanny. The Miami Heat, being the two-time reigning champions are
The Nets and Bulls are on course for a potential rematch of last year’s first-round playoff series. Is this the ideal scenario for Brooklyn? As they say in the borough, “Fuhgeddaboudit!” It’s been a frigid winter in Brooklyn, and a trip to the “Windy City” could dampen any hopes of the Nets springing ahead to the next round. [Read more…]