Dunleavy's departure makes Arnau believe there is a God.
I’m not a religious person at all, but tonight I feel compelled to yell “Praise the Lord”. After seven years of heartache and disappointment, of inexplicable move after dumbfounding move, of throwing ice-cold players out in the deciding moments of crucial games (from “I haven’t even waved a towel in 20 minutes” Eddie House to “What the hell am I doing playing in the clutch of an actual NBA game when I’m a fringe starter in Poland?” Daniel Ewing to the always appealing “I’ve spent 150 minutes of real time sitting on my butt and now I’m supposed to make the game-winning three?” Steve Novak), Michael Joseph Dunleavy has stepped down.
Mike Dunleavy might just be the worst professional basketball coach ever. I’m not exaggerating in the slightest. Let’s take a look at his career.
He took over the Lakers in 1990, leading a Lakers team featuring Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Byron Scott, AC Green, Sam Perkins and Vlade Divac at varying stages of their respective primes. Despite the fact that his roster featured four Top-25 defenders at the time (AC, Scott, Mychal Thompson and Big Game James), Dunleavy idly sat by as Michael Jordan torched the Lakers en route to a 15-for-18 line from the field in the pivotal Game 2 of the 1991 NBA Finals. In other words, a Dunleavy-coached team allowed the player its defense was most focused on to shoot 83% in an NBA Finals game. I don’t care if it was Michael Jordan or Michelangelo; nobody goes 15-for-18 against a team that’s trying.
Leaving the Lakers when, after losing Magic to retirement, the Lakers dropped from 58 wins in 1991 to 43 in 1992, Mike was hired by the Bucks. In his four years in Milwaukee good old Mike managed a 107-221 record. Just curious, if a guy can’t figure things out while coaching a team featuring Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Byron Scott, what is he supposed to do with Frank Brickoswki and Blue Edwards as his go-to guys?
1997 saw Mike taking the head coaching position in Portland and the Blazers sputtering to a 46-36 record. Not only did Portland underachieve while handing the keys to the manor to Isaiah Rider, but Dunleavy innovated by playing Kenny Anderson (.387 FG%) or Damon Stoudamire (.364 FG%) as his starting point guards. I won’t even go into the how Dunleavy only found 14mpg for future 6-time All-Star Jermaine O’Neal.
The 1999-2000 season might have given us the most memorable head coaching choke in NBA history. After being named COY the previous season, Dunleavy watched from the sidelines as the most stacked NBA roster ever* allowed the Lakers to come back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter. All the Blazers had to do was to trade baskets or systematically send Shaq to the line for 4 minutes and they’d be out of the woods. Instead, Dunleavy allowed the Shaqobe dynasty to be established. For good measure Portland was swept by the Lakers the following year, with Dunleavy’s PG averaging 4 assists in 38 minutes per game.
As for his Clippers tenure Mr.Dunleavy has coached squads featuring Elton Brand, Baron Davis, Zach Randolph, Corey Maggette, Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon, Quentin Richardson, Sam Cassell, Cat Mobley, Al Thornton and Marcus Camby to a 215-325 record and a gazillion embarrassments.
I honestly wanted to go deeper into how disastrous a career Dunleavy has had, or the dangers of owners hiring coaches thanks to their gregarious personality or even shine a light on the fact that Dunleavy has replaced himself with one of his disciples. However, as a Clippers fan, I think it’s a time to be happy. Not only are we headed for a bright future, we might even have a breathing, living, functional coach to oversee the process. Fortunately for all involved, Dumbleavy has fired himself. Good riddance.
*Feel free to look this up: Sheed, Smitty, Schrempf, Bonzi, Pippen, Sabonis, Brian Grant and JO all were an important part of this team.
Tracy McGrady sure would help right now. This Rockets team can’t hold a lead to save its life right now. Every team in the league knows our identity now. The Rockets continue to play hard but it’s no surprise to the opponent now. The rest of the NBA knows they have to play just as hard as the Rockets in order to win and on most nights the other team has more talent than them.
Dear Rockets… Please swing a deal for our fallen star soon. You guys need major help.
Anyone who watches basketball and cares about a specific team knows February 18th and that it is the trade deadline. Big names headline the trade deadline this year with Amar’e Stoudemire, T-Mac, Chris Bosh, Monta Ellis, Carlos Boozer, Andre Iguodala and anyone on the Wizards. I have also heard rumors about Vince Carter and Ray Allen but I have good reason to believe that neither of them are going anywhere this year.
Amar’e seems on his way out of Phoenix and he has been rumored to powers houses like the Spurs to the worst team in basketball the Nets. The spurs have the assets to swing the trade but will they pull the trigger? I have a feeling that the Spurs will make a trade for an impact player before the deadline but I’m not sure it will be Amar’e. I think it will be lower level guys that they seem to pick up every year.
T-Mac has been rumored to the Sixers for a package centered around Andre Iguodala. The New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls have also showed interest in T-Mac but they don’t really have what the Rockets are looking for and would be willing to give up in order to pry the 21 million dollar expiring contract away from Huston. It will be interested to see what comes of this and where T-Mac ends up next year. He has said in an interview that he would love to go back to Orlando and that his next contract will be about winning and not about money. I don’t think he realizes that a lot of fans in Orlando don’t like him for various reasons. I would not be opposed to getting T-Mac back in a Magic uniform if it meant a vets minimum contract for 1 year.
Toronto tried to show Chris Bosh that they were dedicated to putting a winning product on the floor with the signing of Hedo Turkoglu and giving out extensions to key players. It has been good enough to put them into playoff contention with a 23-22 just one game over .500. I’m not sure if that is enough to make Bosh want to stay. Will Toronto risk seeing him walk with getting nothing in return? I don’t see the Raptors taking the chance that Bosh will stay and try to trade him before the deadline and get something back in return. If so I think there will be a lot of egger teams foaming at the mouth to get their hands on Bosh. Some of the possible destinations for Bosh are Chicago, Houston, Lakers and Golden State. The newest one is the Lakers and maybe the funniest because he would be traded for Bynum and I don’t see the Lakers trading him even for Bosh but I might be wrong. Chicago has some interesting pieces for Toronto to think about and if they could get Noah they would have got Bosh type rebounding but not the same force Bosh is on the offensive end. The Warriors also seem like a good fit if they are willing to part with Anthony Randolph who seems like a younger version of Bosh and either Monta Ellis or Curry because they really only need one of the two. Huston has a lot of talent to offer and Bosh would look great in a Rockets uniform but the problem is would they have to give a premium talent like Brooks, Ariza or Scola and T-Mac’s expiring contract? If so that would be too much for Huston I would think.
Monta Ellis will be interesting because coach Nelson is saying he’s not going anywhere but they have a great point guard in Stephen Curry making a lot less than Ellis. The problem is who in the league needs a elite point guard that can take on his mammoth contract? I wish the Magic could work something out and get him and have Nelson be the backup or trade him. My wishes don’t come true so let’s just forget I even mentioned it.
Boozer has been on the block for over a year it seems and I don’t know if its other teams don’t want him or if the Jazz just don’t want to let him go? It seems like teams are out there that would love to have him like the Cavs. Will the Jazz trade Boozer knowing they have a great replacement in Millsap just waiting in the wings?
The Wizards will make a trade to shed payroll before the deadline and that means trading Butler and/or Jamison. Mark my words one or both of these players will be traded. I’m not sure where they will go but I do know the Cavs will go after Jamison.
What will happen before the deadline? I can’t say what will happen but it seems like there are a lot of players that have the potential to be on the move.
I’ll be as blunt and straightforward as I can; the Clippers are two games into the most important stretch of the season. The past two games at the Staples against the Nets and Bulls and the road swing through Denver, Washington, Boston, New Jersey, Minny, Cleveland, Chicago and Atlanta will make or break the season. I find it to be that simple.
Walking into the near-guaranteed (I’d call a matchup with the Nets an auto-win for anyone of the non-Wolves division, but this is still the Clippers we’re talking about so I rather be cautious) W against the NBA’s JV squad, LAC found themselves five games under .500. Since the announcement that this was a lost season for Blake was made the Clippers had been in a negative dynamic that threatened to tear a hole through the team’s psyche. Then they beat the Nets and Bulls in the way that good teams are supposed to, simply taking care of business, and suddenly a good road trip brings us back home around .500 in the win column.
Most will agree with me that the Washington, Jersey, Minnesota and Chicago games are pretty much must-wins. I’ll group Denver, Boston, Cleveland and Atlanta in the elite bunch, particularly when they’re all playing at home. I like our chances to go at least 3-1 against the first four teams, and I believe a split is likely against the latter four with an outside chance at 3-1 as well.
Denver has owned us (who hasn’t anyway?) since 2007, but they played an overtime track meet last night and barely get to lay their heads home before facing a super-motivated squad that is turning the corner. Boston is very tough at home but it’s a matchup where the Clippers have the advantage at PG and C, and of course you never know which Celtic might not be healthy enough to get on the court. The Hawks are a great template for this Clippers squad, a former loser who thanks to the maturation process of their young guns and the settling down of a Top-20 talent has shot up the ranks despite mediocre-to-poor coaching.
The Atlanta nightlife shouldn’t distract an LA team, and the Clippers might well come out firing at the chance to prove they’re not very far from the second tier of playoff squads. Not to be discounted is the fact that out of the NBA’s Elite Eight the Hawks are most likely to have an off night and check out early. Finally, Cleveland is a squad the Clippers have been this close to beating in the past two matchups and should the road trip be positive up to that night this might turn into a statement game. Also, one might expect LeBron to be nice to his future employer…
I’m trying my best not to go all ESPN announcer on you, but this seriously is the most crucial stretch this franchise will have faced in the past three years. If we’re up and coming and not down and going, here is where Baron and the Boys need to make their mark. Let’s go.
Classic stuff right here. Word is that the Jordan vs. Bird H-O-R-S-E commercial for McDonald’s will be remade by LeBron and Dwight. Here’s a nice story about what went on behind the scenes of the original commercial:
Griffin is out for the season but there's still hope for Clips.
As soon as I got the news that Blake Griffin was lost for the season I felt compelled to write a few paragraphs about it. This noble intention was betrayed by my frustration at seeing another promising season go down the drain before we even had a chance, and to be honest the first few lines would have made Kevin Garnett blush like a schoolgirl. There was enough profanity to fill an entire season of South Park.
Then I watched the next game, at Memphis, and realize that the anger had slowly turned into hope. I suddenly found myself enjoying a bright perspective of the future. It doesn’t sound right, but I believe this injury will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The Clippers will grow from this loss, and this season now looks better than ever. Let me explain.
After a horrendous start, the Clippers have been clicking for the past month or so, after the epic win against the Celtics. Baron is back to being a Top-5 point guard in the NBA, and on occasion he’s the best floor general in the League. Just like he did in his Warriors heyday he’ll slap a 22, 9 and 6 on you casually, seemingly jogging around the court until he sees the opening and attacking the rim for strong finishes or pretty assists. He has asserted himself countless times this season, and I actually loved his little spat with Pau Gasol. The Clippers needed somebody who would stand tall even in defeat, and not since Corey Maggette turned Balboa on Kenyon Martin had we seen someone defend the Clippers’ name, even if the elbow was a cheap shot. And yes, Pau Gasol flopped so shamelessly Raja Bell must have been turning in his gra… I mean, gravely offended at such a poor acting effort.
The young guys are coming into their own, and the absence of Blake gives Craig Smith a full season to be the 3rd pivot in the rotation and provide a trustworthy scoring option in short bursts, solidifying his role as a Drew Gooden type. I mean that as a compliment, by the way. The void left by Griffin opens up a lot more playing time for DeAndre Jordan, who seems to be picking up the little nuances of the game after many around the team had ostensibly given up on him.
The absence of Blake leads me to believe Marcus Camby isn’t going anywhere this season, and that is awesome news for the rest of the Clippers’ frontcourt. From teaching Kaman how to protect the basket to serving as a professional example of work ethic for DJ, number 23’s impact transcends the box score. Ben Wallace is being widely praised for his production in regards to his age, but Marcus Camby seems to be appreciated only by GM’s and scouts while putting up even better digits.
So, why do I have a positive outlook? For starters, we’re a fringe playoff team this season and that is already a welcome development in Clipper Nation. I think with the way this squad has rallied together bringing Blake in might have upset the rhythm they’ve got going, and we know good and well the Clippers cannot afford a 5 or 6-game skid while working to integrate Blake. Also, Blake might have a dodged a bullet to his confidence by not playing a rookie season at less than 100 percent.
The fact is we now get to see what we have without the pressure of tweaking the system to give Blake shots. We get Marcus Camby for a full season as a starter and we go into the summer knowing we’ll either have a great trade chip to dangle or we’ll keep a more than capable pivot man, something the NBA is severely lacking. We get some more time to allow Eric Gordon and Al Thornton to make youth mistakes without affecting the growth of a number 1 pick. We allow Baron’s bond with the high flyers to develop unadulterated by the presence of a monster in the paint. In short, we get the chance to let the roster become a team in the purest sense of the word.
Now, say we don’t make the playoffs without Blake. It would suck not to get a chance to compete in the postseason, but we’d be walking into the offseason with a lottery pick, at least 11 million in cap space in the summer of LeBron and a free number 1 overall pick to boot. Sure beats waiting for Michael Olowokandi to save the franchise…
Superior athleticism, humility, killer-instinct, and quiet confidence define Brandon Roy.
Today, I will take a brief departure from my usual Rockets content to show some love to Brandon Roy, my favorite shooting guard in the N.B.A.
Because of geography, the majority of hoops fans don’t have the opportunity to regularly marvel at Portland’s Brandon Roy.
Try this simple experiment: Type “Brandon” into a Google search window and take notice of the suggested search names that automatically drop down. Before you get to Roy’s name, you’d see Brandon Jennings, an N.B.A. rookie who was the talk of the league in November but has since hit a major wall. You’d also see Brandon Marshall, an N.F.L. star well known for disorderly conduct during practice and domestic violence allegations.
It isn’t fair but it’s the media world in which we exist. If you didn’t shell out the bucks for N.B.A. League Pass, you probably won’t get a chance to see the Trail Blazers’ star in action more than a handful of times.
Also because of geography, Roy’s incredible senior season at the University of Washington (he averaged 20.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists) went largely unnoticed by the majority of the country east of the Mississippi. In today’s N.B.A., you won’t find many star players that played all four seasons in college. This fact along with Brandon’s struggle with a learning disability before college clearly shows his drive to finish the job and close the deal.
Imagine having to muster the energy night after night to play for and lead a team that’s been so decimated by injuries that even Nate McMillan, Portland’s head coach, caught the bug and ruptured his right Achilles tendon during practice. The wounded currently include: Greg Oden, Travis Outlaw, Rudy Fernandez, Joel Przybilla and Nicolas Batum. To add to that list: Steve Blake is just getting back from a bout of pneumonia, LaMarcus Aldridge is hobbled and Brandon’s right hamstring has revealed a strain.
Roy plays hurt quite often but no one – including himself – makes a big deal of his nagging injuries. Kobe Bryant’s injuries are breaking news – no pun intended. Roy, the quiet warrior, goes about his business like a stealth bomber – quietly yet deadly. When he signed his four-year maximum-salary contract with the Trail Blazers last August, there was hardly any news of the extension. I would love to make a ton of money as silently as Mr. Roy.
The stats speak for themselves. He’s averaging 23.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this season.
It’s the quality of his being and moral standing that makes me a big Brandon Roy fan. He married his long-time girlfriend and mother of his two children. He takes his whole family to magazine photo shoots. He teaches young players the ropes without being caustic. When he disagrees with a teammate, he tries his best to keep it in-house. He oozes positivity and humility. I will never promote an athlete as a role-model for my children but Brandon Roy almost makes me change that stance.
Do the right thing and make sure Brandon Roy is an All-Star:
When it comes to the Spanish League and its future NBA players the conversation inevitably starts with Ricky Rubio and moves on to Sergi Llull, Victor Claver, Christian Eyenga and even the younger Gasol brother, Adrià, who’s barely old enough to legally ride a moped. Lost amid the apparent bonanza is Sergii Gladyr, a 20-year old Ukrainian shooting guard who might just have the most upside of anyone in the non-Rubio division.
Quick tangent; I’ve seen Rubio in person perhaps 10 times and he absolutely wows you with his command of the game. He’s much like Jason Kidd in that you get home after watching him live, check the box score and feel amazed at the fact that he thoroughly dominated while scoring 2, 5 or 7 points. Now that his 3-point stroke has improved (which might have a lot to do with his playing for an offensive mastermind that specializes on always finding the best available shot) all bets are off as far as his ceiling.
Back to the subject at hand, Gladyr is a player that reminds me a lot of a young, more polished Rudy Fernandez. They share the same body type, both around 6-6, 190 lbs soaking wet. Gladyr might be a purer shooter, owner of one of the most fluid strokes you’ll see in European play. While Rudy is a master at the spectacular three, Gladyr has a bigger variety of moves to get up his jumper; off the dribble with either hand, the baseline pull-up, a nice fadeaway from the elbow and the Reggie Miller Memorial run-around-screens-for-15-seconds-and-throw-yourself-at-the-defender J.
Rudy is more athletic than Gladyr, but the comparison is obviously unfair since there aren’t a whole lot of Europeans who could show up at the NBA Dunk Contest and not make a fool of themselves (just ask Pau Gasol, an established All-Star who needed between 8 and 63 tries just to throw the ball off the backboard from five feet away). Be that as it may, Gladyr’s vertical is enough to allow for the occasional dunk in traffic. One particularly impressive tactic that Gladyr has turned to in recent games is to look for an alley-oop early in the game and later on use the threat of another backdoor cut as a way to gain separation to launch threes.
Gladyr isn’t particularly quick but uses a wide spectrum of moves to get himself to the basket. When cut off, he’ll often unleash a spin move or a crossover and if his defender is smaller than him he’s quick to turn around and post him up. Watch any recent ACB highlights and you’ll undoubtedly see Gladyr posting up Real Madrid’s Rimantas Kaukenas, faking him out of his shoes and dropping a beautiful turnaround banker while absorbing the contact.
Gladyr is far from a playmaker but as would be expected from a European guard he’s fundamentally sound and doesn’t get carried away on fastbreaks or dribble penetration: he won’t wow you with a no-look zip through the defense, but if the pass is there he’ll make it.
Defensively he’s cut out of the Sasha Pavlovic mold, turning into an aggressive pest who can get into an opponent’s head through intensity despite being found lacking in the technique department. He doesn’t gamble much and therefore does not pile up steals, but his presence can be disruptive when he’s in the right mindset. At this point he’s not consistent throughout the game on the defensive end, but he’s not much worse than you’d expect a 20-year old and his focus will certainly improve once he finds himself working under NBA coaching. His Achilles’ heel is foul trouble, as his intensity switch is sometimes too easily triggered leading to unnecessary roughness or simply reckless play.
Drafted in the second round by the Hawks in 2009 Gladyr is not expected to make the trip across the pond before the 2011-2012 season at the earliest, but the progress he has made in his short time in Europe’s toughest league indicates he’ll be a productive player from the start of his NBA career. He won’t fill the hypothetical void created by the possible departure of Joe Johnson, but I’m convinced Gladyr will be able to fill the Jamal Crawford role as an off-the-bench gunner should the former be promoted to the starting lineup. The Hawks have a very bright future, and more up-and-coming talent than even their fans could imagine.
The Magic seem to be a great deep team that at times seems to have to many options and at other times seems to have too few options. The team has only lost 8 games this year with injuries and a suspension might point to a great start. Maybe I’m being too hard on the Magic but I think they might be one player away from putting them over the top.
Like I said don’t get me wrong I think the team is deep and talented. I just think that they may need one more player and I’m not even sure at what position at this point. I just watch the Magic play sometimes and they frustrate me. They go through scoring droughts and we just don’t have that guy that can put his head down and make points no matter how he is shooting that night. We somewhat have that guy but he doesn’t seem to want to drive as much as he used too early in his career. I am talking about Vince Carter and the ways he will make me feel wonderful and great and than other games he will just frustrate me to no end.
Know maybe we have that tough hustle and heart guy on our team in Matt Barnes. He has recently been put into the starting lineup and has been great so maybe he is the fix to my frustration.
Maybe I am just too hard on my team? I expect the team to be not good but great all the time and not most of the time. I guess I feel the team has some assets and we need to use them to get better. I don’t know if I can handle the magic getting to the big dance and just go out the way they did last year.
I am just asking Otis to think about the Playoffs and do what seems right and if it’s possible to get better please do so.
Okay so Tracy is on the way out. I’m apart of the minority that thinks Tracy won’t get traded this year. Morey is too smart and savvy of a GM to take on another team’s multi-year scraps to unload a multiple-timed All-Star. Morey will gladly let McGrady’s deal expire and then use this season’s success as a catalyst to luring a sexy free agent to Clutch City. The Rockets are playing well and the chemistry is riding high. The young guys have bought in and the veterans are keeping everything at a balance. While in our Red Nation stupor, let’s not mistake the reason Tracy is expendable.
It’s easy to say our new McGrady clone, Trevor Ariza, makes it easy to let Tracy go. Sure, Ariza fills Tracy’s role but he’s no where near the player Tracy was or is. Ariza is not a good passer. Ariza can’t create his own shot. Ariza is clutch but not in an elite way. He simply brings a different skill set to the table. I do like Ariza’s current defensive acumen both on-ball and in passing lanes. I also like Ariza’s offensive upside, though I will never love his shooting form. Let’s get to the real reason Tracy is expendable.
The emergence of Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry has the Rockets in a really good place as a franchise. Aaron Brooks is better than Tony Parker right now. He already has more range than Tony Parker. He’s just as fast and quick at TP. Aaron is an underrated defender and he and TP’s passing ability is a wash. Having the ball in Aaron’s hands is bad news for the opposition. Tracy would need the ball to truly be effective and his skill set is no longer necessary for the Rockets to be a winning team.
Carl Landry is aggressive. Carl Landry is a man’s man… a tough guy. His strength and passion for the game embodies what the Rockets stand for. Carl’s use of angles in his post moves rivals Scola’s slow-wheeling but with significantly more explosion. His overall rebounding numbers could and should improve but he currently makes up for it with above average offensive rebounding skills. Having a nose for the ball on the offensive boards is something that you’re born with… period. Let’s not forget about the midrange jumper. As Scola ages and declines, the Rockets have his replacement right there on the bench. You’re looking at either the Most Improved Player or the Sixth Man of the Year (Jamal Crawford might have something to say about that).
Aaron and Carl, keep making me a happy Rockets fan. Tracy, we love you and we’ll miss you… you will surely succeed on your future team.
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