Anthony MacriAnthony Macri Email Print 0

Offensive System Not the Issue in L.A.

Two games in and there is already a deluge of calls for abandoning the Princeton Offense in Los Angeles.  It can’t work for a host of reasons, and one need only look at the results from the Lakers’ first two games to know that it simply can’t work.

However, to point to this system as the sole or even dominant reason for the Lakerss’ results is misguided at best, and willfully ignorant at worst.  I am a firm believer that it doesn’t really matter what you run

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Join Joel Brigham this Thursday at 3pm ET to chat about all things NBA.  The new season is officially underway, so we’ve got plenty to chat about.  Get your questions in early, and be back here Thursday afternoon to take part in all the fun.

Big Z

Good Day Mr. Brigham,

Do you think Pat Riley will ever consider trading Lebron James for two Top 15 level talent in the NBA or even two Top 10 level talent? To give you some perspective, according to ESPN’s NBA rank, here are players 2-15.

15. Pau Gasol
14. Blake Griffin
13. Andrew Bynum
12. Rajon Rondo
11. Dirk Nowitzki
10. Deron Williams
09. Russel Westbrook
08. Dwyane Wade (Not qualified)
07. Kevin Love
06. Kobe Bryant
05. Derrick Rose
04. Chris Paul
03. Dwight Howard
02. Kevin Durant

What do you think Lebron James worth is to other GMs?

I know the only possible teams that could do that kind of trade is Lakers, Clippers, and Thunder. But let’s say that wasn’t the case. What is Lebron worth in terms of a trade deal?

Joel Brigham

Good afternoon, HOOPSWORLD Citizens, and welcome to another edition of my weekly chat! Games are underway, the Bulls are 1-0 (but it ain’t gonna be pretty), and my fantasy basketball team already looks like it sucks. Que sera sera. Let’s get right into the questions…

No. Never in a million years. That’s like asking if the Bulls would’ve entertained Michael Jordan in the peak of his career for Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson or something. The answer would’ve been known because Jordan was the most ridiculous physical specimen had ever seen and by far the best player of his generation. Probably ever.

LeBron James isn’t in the best-player-ever conversation at this point in his career, but he is the best basketball player alive and a physical freak the likes of which we’ve never seen. The fact that he figured out how not to suck at crunchtime in last year’s playoffs means he’s all the better, and I expect we’re going to see some other-worldly statistics this season from. I don’t trade him for anybody. Not Kevin Durant. Not Kobe Bryant. Not nobody. And no, the Thunder aren’t packaging Durant with anyone else for LeBron. They’re just as enamored with him as the HEAT are with LeBron, and rightfully so.

LeBron’s a HEAT for as long as he wants to be. We’ll what his The Decision is when he hits free agency again in a couple years. That’s only way I can see him in a different uniform.

Chris

Hi Joel. 1st impressions of Nash as a Laker? The Lakers seem kind of like the guy who buys a ferrari but only uses it to drive to the grocery store. If you’re not going to allow Nash to be the floor general like he was in Phoenix and expect him to cough the ball up to Kobe every time they cross half court, the whole acquisition comes off as overkill. Hate to say it, but he would have been a much better fit as Rose’s stand in this season.

Joel Brigham

I love your analogy here, but we sort of knew that was going to be the issue with this offense. How much is Kobe going to cede control of the ball when he’s spent the last several years have complete and utter dominance over the thing. Nash needs to run things to be the virtuoso he is, and you’re right that sticking it in Kobe’s hands (7 turnovers???) is going to be counterproductive on the Nash front. 0-2 kind of speaks for itself, I guess. But keep in mind this is all very new, and these guys have a nice, long season to figure things out. You don’t add two bigtime guys like Nash and Dwight (not to mention Jamison) and just immediately click. It takes time. As long as they’re good by the playoffs, they’ll be dangerous. I fully expect for them to be dangerous.

As for Nash as a Bull, that didn’t make a lot of sense, because even though he’d enjoy a pretty fun experience for a few months, the long-term security there was pretty bad. I’d much rather Nash than Hinrich, for like a million obvious reasons, but it was never going to happen. L.A. can still work I think. Just needs to marinate a little longer.

tj

why dont the bulls ever engage in anything big we lucked up on d rose but every trade i hope the bulls do something an its nothing an when we do its horrible they shouldnt have let asik go he may be bette than noah also think about all the trades we passed up because we ddnt wanna give up deng or noah it may be time to start over

Joel Brigham

TJ, you sound angry, brother. Take a deep breath and relax. Lucking into Derrick Rose is enough. Just need him healthy.

As for everything else, Noah played GREAT last night, and the Taj Gibson extension is great news. They didn’t keep Omer because it was going to be him or Taj, and I think Taj was the smarter choice since you’ve got your future center in Jo, but not your future power foward (Boozer… barf). Just keep in mind that this team could not have afforded to keep Omer and Gibson. Which one would you have rather had?

And yes, they’re silly conservative when it comes to trade. They’re always minor upgrades or salary dumps it seems like. This front office just doesn’t take a lot of risks, and I’m with you on being frustrated like that. Had chances for Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol and even Kobe in the past, and it seems like Luol Deng was the hang-up in all of them. Like you, I still wish something could’ve happened with one of those guys. But had something happened with one of those guys, we wouldn’t have Derrick. And man, I love Derrick.

LA in LA

You know how the Miami Heat feature the best of the 2003 class? How good would a big 3 of the 2008 class for the Bulls be(minus Westbrook for obvious reasons):
D.Rose, Kevin Love, Roy Hibbert. Those 3 make about $43.8 mil. Plenty of room for flexibility. Could that team with appropriate filler (C.Lee! fellow 2008 draftee) beat MIA?

Joel Brigham

No, that team can’t beat Miami. Even with Rose and Love healthy, I don’t see that group being enough to topple LeBron where he’s at right now. I like how Rose and Wade match up, and Hibbert and Bosh, but LeBron is the superior player in a match-up with K-Love. He’d eat him up like a medianoche sandwich, which, by the way, sounds delicious right now.

Luke

How good did Noah look in the opener Kirk didnt look so good offence loks ugly would u start nate if it doesnt straiten outafter a few weeks

Joel Brigham

Nate made a lot of silly mistakes last night, which, good as he is, he’s prone to do. He’s such an energetic kid that I think his game kind of gets away from him sometimes. Kirk is a more solid veteran presence for now, and he is playing hurt, so I’d stick with him for now and hope that Luol and Boozer and Rip can find some ways to get easier points in the games to come. Because that was some ugly Bulls basketball last night. Gonna need some GREAT defense to balance out that cruddy O all season.

As for Joakim, he was awesome. I really hope he stays healthy. Might be the closest thing the Bulls have to an All-Star this season.

Wil

Hi Joel, well it looks like we learned two lessons from OKC-HOU this week. One is that the

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Bill IngramBill Ingram Email Print 0

The NBA season is just two days old, and yet some interesting storylines have already begun to surface. Here’s a look at some of the treats (and possible tricks) the NBA served up on Halloween night:

1) The Los Angeles Lakers – Despite a starting lineup made of primarily of NBA All-Stars, the Los Angeles Lakers are 0-2. The media swarming around Los Angeles is in full-on panic mode, just sure that the Lakers, who went winless in preseason as well, are embarking on an 0-82 season. This one’s a treat for those across the NBA who want to see the Lakers fail, but it could also be a trick, as well. It’s never a good idea to put too much weight on a couple of early losses, especially for a team that is implementing a new offense with a lot of  new players, like the Lakers. It took the Miami HEAT the better part of a month to get their act together in their first season with LeBron James and Chris Bosh playing alongside Dwyane Wade. The Lakers do have some issues, with their lack of depth being a big one, but given time they’ll be just fine.

2) Fear The Beard – James Harden made his Houston Rockets debut last night after signing a five-year, $80 million contract extension. He put his game where his money is, scoring 37 points, dishing 12 assists and even coming up with four steals. The Detroit Pistons aren’t exactly a defensive juggernaut, and their backcourt is very small, but Harden delivered in a big way to make sure his team got their opening night win.

3) Tim Duncan – San Antonio Spurs fans were treated to an outstanding performance from Duncan last night. One of the league’s elder statesmen showed he can still do it at an elite level, recording 24 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in a 99-95 win over a very spirited New Orleans Hornets team. Both teams were missing key players, as Manu Ginobili was out for the Spurs and Eric Gordon was out for the Hornets. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich doesn’t want Duncan to shoulder that much of the load night in and night out, but Duncan served notice that he is ready to step in and do it when called upon.

4) Paul George – Danny Granger injured his left knee in last season’s playoff run and he aggravated that injury during the preseason. That’s why Paul George started in his place last night, and George’s performance was a treat, indeed. He scored 14 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished five assists for the Indiana Pacers, who held off an energetic and determined Toronto Raptors squad. George’s play will no doubt fuel the ongoing speculation that Granger is expendable and could be traded, but Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard recently told HOOPSWORLD in no uncertain terms that Granger is still Indiana’s franchise cornerstone.

5) The Toronto Raptors – The Raptors fell just shy of upsetting the Pacers in their season-opener last night, but there were some very encouraging signs for the Toronto faithful. First of all, Kyle Lowry looked like an All-Star point guard, recording 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals going against a solid defender in George Hill. The team also got a double-double from rookie Jonas Valanciunas, whose arrival has been highly anticipated. Landry Fields was 0-for-6 and failed to score, but his defense was a factor, as his team was

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