Posts Tagged ‘Deron Williams’

Three for all: New Jersey Nets

by Micah Hart



As everyone knows by now, the compressed NBA schedule will force every team to play three games in three nights at least one this season (42 times in total). With only 66 games to stake a claim to a playoff spot or seed, how teams perform during these killer slates could have a large impact on how their seasons turn out.

With that in mind, we’re going to keep track of each of the 42 three-plays to see which teams take advantage and which teams fall apart. Up next, the New Jersey Nets, who played three straight from Jan. 21-23.

So far we’ve had two teams go undefeated in their three for alls, a surprising and impressive feat indeed. But for every yin there is a yang, and with some really terrible NBA teams this season, surely one of them will post an oh-fer at some point right? The Nets, with no Brook Lopez, seem like a good candidate — let’s see how they did.

Game 1: Thunder 84, Nets 74 - Hard to blame them for a loss to the Thunder, current owners of the best record in the Western Conference, even at home. Deron Williams shot 5-18 in this game, and let’s be honest — the Nets ain’t winning many games when he has any kind of an off night. -2 points

Game 2: Nets 97, Bobcats 87 - Hooray! No zero-output for the Nets after all! You know it might actually be hard to go defeated in these situations because there are so many terrible teams, you’re bound to get to play one of them. Case in point the Bobcats, who make the Nets look like championship contenders by comparison. MarShon Brooks had 20 points, and he’s been a nice find for the Jers so far. 4 points (3 for win, 1 for +10 margin)

Game 3: Bulls 110, Nets 95 - New Jersey had to be like “Come on D-Rose, don’t you want to sit out one more game?” But Rose wasn’t listening, and dropped 22 on them while dragging a bum toe around all game. 0 points

A final tally of 2 total points for the Nets, an effort I’m sure they’ll improve on when they trade for Dwight Howard and play three games in three nights next season, both of which seem to have the same likelihood of happening.

Up next: The Portland Trail Blazers play three straight Jan. 23-25 when they host Sacramento and Memphis, then travel to Golden State to take on the Warriors.

Three for all Scoreboard:
Chicago Bulls (13 points)
OKC Thunder (12 points)
Atlanta Hawks (8 points)
Houston Rockets (7 points)
L.A. Clippers (6 points)
Philadelphia 76ers (6 points)
Denver Nuggets (6 points)
Orlando Magic (5 points)
L.A. Lakers (3 points)
Charlotte Bobcats (3 points)
New Jersey Nets (2 points)
Sacramento Kings (2 points)
Minnesota Timberwolves (2 points)
Toronto Raptors (1 point)

Seen something that belongs on All Ball? Let us know via email or Twitter.

Last night in a … dissent

by Micah Hart

After Wednesday’s blockbuster trade between the Jazz and the Nets that sent Deron Williams to New Jersey, a lot of people speculated that the game’s best point guard was upset with the deal. Turns out, they were right:

Tell us how you really feel, CP3?

I’ll be very curious to see what D-Will’s reaction is when Paul gets traded to the Knicks.

Seen something that belongs on All Ball? Let us know via email or Twitter.

This week in Heat schadenfreude

by Micah Hart

What a perfect day for Heat hate, coming off Miami’s home loss to the Jazz in overtime Tuesday night. One fascinating subplot to the Heat’s season so far has been the over-analysis of every loss, dissecting the team’s performance  for clues about how it will affect the Big Picture.

One thread that seems to be congealing into a narrative is the play of Chris Bosh — specifically, whether he is deserving of being a part of a Big Three, and whether or not he has the intestinal fortitude to withstand the onslaught of negativity heaped on him from the outside world.

Jason Whitlock of FoxSports, never one to shy away from making a grand statement, makes this suggestion to Miami: If you want to win, trade Bosh.

The relevant text below:

Bosh has to step up. This week.

By Christmas, if he hasn’t drastically changed his approach and production, Pat Riley will surely explore every option to move Bosh and acquire a goon.

–//–

If I’m Pat Riley, I watch the next two games very closely. If things go poorly for Bosh, I bring Dwyane Wade into my office and question him about how upset he and LeBron will be if the “Big Three” undergoes an official name change.

The “Big Two” makes the most sense.

Now that is some Grade-A hatin’. Bosh has played all of eight games in Miami, and Whitlock is already ready to cut bait.

Bosh is an easy target (and before we start feeling too bad for him, he most certainly asked for this), but as my main man Sekou Smith illustrates, he’s not Miami’s biggest problem by a long shot:

This notion that either James or Wade can handle those duties and all you need is a warm body to put in the starting lineup at point guard is faulty logic, especially after watching Deron Williams shred the Heat the way he did last night (following the lead of fellow elite point guards Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul in their dismantling of the Heat in the only other losses Erik Spoelstra‘s team has incurred this season).

The math doesn’t match up either:

– In that season-opening loss to the Celtics, Rondo scored just four points and had two steals but controlled the game with his defense and 17 assists while Heat starter Carlos Arroyo managed just three points and didn’t have a single assist (compounded by 14 turnovers from James and Wade).

– When the Hornets ambushed the Heat over the weekend, Paul destroyed them with 13 points, 19 assists and five steals while Arroyo went scoreless and managed just one assist, with Wade and James putting together another double-digit (10) turnover performance.

– Williams abused them for 21 points and 14 assists last night before fouling out late in regulation, with Arroyo fighting back with 10 points and two assists while James (triple-double) and Wade (season-high 39 points) kept their turnovers to a minimum (just four), but the result was the same.

For those math-challenged members of our little club, that’s a healthy 38-10 scoring advantage for the opposing starter at point guard in those losses and a staggering 50-3 assist advantage for the opposing starter.

Miami’s issues in the paint and at the point are what threaten to derail their championship aspirations, but as long as Bosh is aligned as part of a superstar triumvirate with Wade and James, he’s going to hear it any time things go south on South Beach.

Seen something that belongs on All Ball? Let us know via email or Twitter.

Putting NBA salaries into perspective

by Zettler Clay

I know, I know. This is a NBA site. No politics allowed. Being that Election Day was this past Tuesday though, allow me to indulge a little bit. If there’s one thing politics and the NBA have in common, it’s the obscene amount of money thrown around like water bottles at the end of a marathon. People like to complain about the salaries made by NBA players, but just take a look at some of the money being spent over in the political game.

The governor’s race in California pitted Dem. Jerry Brown versus Rep. Meg Whitman. Whitman, a former eBay CEO, put up a whopping $163 million in the race. Out of the $163 million, $141.5 million came from her personal wallet, shattering New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s record for campaign profligacy.

To put this in perspective, her spending could fund last year’s All-NBA first and second teams (based on yearly salaries):

LeBron James -             $14.5 million
Kevin Durant -               $6.05 million
Dwight Howard -          $16.51 million
Kobe Bryant -                 $24.81 million
Dwyane Wade -              $14.5 million
Total: $76.31 million

Carmelo Anthony -    $17.15 million
Dirk Nowitzki -              $17.28 million
Amar’e Stoudemire – $16.49 million
Steve Nash -                     $10.31 million
Deron Williams -          $14.94 million
Total: $76.17 million

That’s $152.48 million. Of course, Kevin Durant is still playing in his rookie contract, so that figure is a bit skewed. But even if you counted his salary for next season ($13.6 million), the combined figure would still be $3 million lower than Whitman’s output.

Like the New York Yankees between 2000-2009, her money didn’t pay off in the way she’d hoped. Brown easily won and if you want to extend the metaphor, played the 2003 Marlins to a tee (spending $35 million).

Tough time for Whitman. Or not. After all, she is a billionaire. $141.5 million isn’t exactly a drop in the bucket for her, but she won’t be filing for unemployment benefits anytime soon. I probably spent more time counting the above salaries than she did in agonizing her defeat.

But who’s counting?

Seen something that belongs on All Ball? Let us know via email or Twitter.