USA vs Brazil Friendly-Notes & Nuggets

Team USA played against Brazil on the 16th in Chicago in front of a very large and energetic crowd, excited to watch this team of young stars. Team USA was without star center DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins whom sat out due to injury. Team USA also played Sacramento forward Rudy Gay who joined the team following the Paul George injury and Kevin Durant departure.

Here are the notes and nuggets to take away from the scrimmage: 

• Anthony Davis was the best player on the court
• Stephen Curry can get a shot whenever he wants and will start for this team
• James Harden is the best player to average 12 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast if he can accept that role
• Mason Plumlee played 15 minutes and Andre Drummond played 0
• Rudy Gay got more minutes (12) than Korver (3), Parsons (5) and DeRozan (0) combined
• Kyrie Irving played 14 minutes to Damian Lillard's 2 
• Kenneth Faried can give you 10 and 10 all tournament
• Mason Plumlee looked good
• Klay Thompson is going to be a huge asset coming off the bench for team USA

After watching the scrimmage here is my revised prediction on Team USA's FIBA World Cup Roster:

PGs: Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving

SGs: James Harden, Klay Thompson 

SFs: Rudy Gay, Chandler Parsons, Kyle Korver

PFs: Kenneth Faried, Anthony Davis 

Cs: Boogie Cousins, Mason Plumlee 

Cut: Gordon Hayward, Andre Drummond, Damian Lillard 

Rotation Prediction

PG/Fast Break Specialist and Distributor: Derrick Rose

SG/Key Scorer: Stephen Curry

SF/Stat Stuffer: James Harden

PF/Ten and Ten Workhorse: Kenneth Faried

C/Star Player: Anthony Davis 

Back Up SF/Sixth Man: Rudy Gay

Back Up SG/Spark Plug: Klay Thompson

Back Up PG/Run Second Unit Offense: Kyrie Irving 

Back Up PF/Energy Big Man: Mason Plumlee

Back Up C/Wild Card: Boogie Cousins

Bench warmer: Chandler Parsons

Bench warmer: Kyle Korver 

2014-15 NBA Categories

NBA on ESPN is trying to forecast next season's standings. Following that they will take a look at players to watch and rookie of the year probables.
This is my take on forecasting next year's association. I took a look at all of the NBA Teams and formulated categories to put them all in. These categories are primarily for the regular season.

Here they are: 

The 5 Teams that should be the most fun to watch
1. Golden State Warriors
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Portland Trailblazers

The 5 Teams looking for a breakthrough season
1. Dallas
2. Chicago
3. Houston
4. Toronto
5. Memphis

The 4 Teams that should be really fun to follow
1. Charlotte
2. Phoenix
3. Washington
4. Atlanta

The 4 Teams that are trying to "rebuild" on the fly  
1. Denver
2. Detroit
3. New Orleans
4. Minnesota

The 6 Teams that need to pick up a piece in next year's lottery
1. Philadelphia
2. Sacramento
3. Milwaukee
4. Utah
5. Orlando
6. Boston

The 6 Teams I'm just not that into 
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. New York
3. Brooklyn
4. Indiana
5. Miami
6. San Antonio

USA Basketball Update

The latest news out of team USA's camp was the cutting of Paul Milsap, Bradley Beal, and John Wall. With the cutting of these three players, Team USA is now down to 16 players in contention for a spot on the 12 man roster. Those sixteen players include:

F Kevin Durant

F Anthony Davis

G James Harden

G Stephen Curry

F Klay Thompson

F Gordon Hayward

C Mason Plumlee

C Andre Drummond

C DeMarcus Cousins

G Kyrie Irving 

G Damian Lillard

F Kyle Korver

F Kenneth Farried

G DeMar DeRozan

F Chandler Parsons

G Derrick Rose 

Kevin Love however, may still play for Team USA after any Wolves-Cavs-76ers trade goes through but that is not very likely. The deadline for the twelve man roster is August 29th, and the Kevin Love trade could go through as early as August 24th opening up the possibility for him to suit up for the Red, White, and Blue. 

My prediction for the twelve man roster is as follows:

G: Derrick Rose, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving

G: James Harden, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry 

F: Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan

F: Anthony Davis, Kenneth Farried

C: Andre Drummond, DeMarcus Cousins

Cuts- Gordon Hayward, Mason Plumlee, F Kyle Korver, F Chandler Parsons 

NBA All Star Tournament Starting 5s

In accordance with my previous post, here is what the All Star starting fives would look like from the newly restructured divisions:

Pacific:
G Damian Lillard-Portland Trailblazers
G Chris Paul-Los Angeles Clippers
G Stephen Curry-Golden State Warriors
F Blake Griffin-Los Angeles Clippers
F LaMarcus Aldridge-Portland Trailblazers
Possible All Stars that did not complete last season to finish off roster-
Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas
Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant, Nick Young, Paul Gasol
Phoenix Suns: Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic
Los Angeles Clippers: Deandre Jordan, Jamaal Crawford
Golden State Warriors: David Lee, Klay Thompson
Portland Trailblazers: Wesley Mathews, Nicholas Batum

South Central 
G Tony Parker-San Antonio Spurs
G James Harden-Houston Rockets  
F Kevin Durant-Oklahoma City Thunder
F Dirk Nowitzki-Dallas Mavericks
C Dwight Howard-Houston Rockets
Possible All Stars that did not complete last season to finish off roster-
Utah Jazz: Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors
Denver Nuggets: Kenneth Farried, Ty Lawson
Houston Rockets: Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin
Dallas Mavericks: Monta Ellis, Vince Carter
Oklahoma City Thunder: Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka
San Antonio Spurs: Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard

Great Lakes:
G Kyrie Irving-Cleveland Cavaliers
G Paul George-Indiana Pacers
F Kevin Love-Minnesota Timberwolves
F Joakim Noah-Chicago Bulls
C Roy Hibbert-Indiana Pacers
Possible All Stars that did not complete last season to finish off roster-
Detroit Pistons: Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings, Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe
Milwaukee Bucks: Brandon Knight, OJ Mayo
Indiana Pacers: David West, Lance Stephenson
Cleveland Cavaliers: Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters
Minnesota Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic
Chicago Bulls: Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson

South East:
G Dwayne Wade-Miami Heat
F LeBron James-Miami Heat
F Paul Milsap-Atlanta Hawks
F Anthony Davis-New Orleans Pelicans
C Chris Bosh-Miami Heat
Possible All Stars that did not complete last season to finish off roster-
Orlando Magic: Arron Afflalo, Tobias Harris
Charlotte Bobcats: Kemba Walker, Al Jefferson
Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph
Miami Heat: Mario Chalmers, Ray Allen
Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford, Jeff Teague
New Orleans Pelicans: Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans

Atlantic:
G John Wall-Washington Wizards
G Joe Johnson-Brooklyn Nets
F DeMar DeRozan-Toronto Raptors
F Carmelo Anthony-New York Knicks
C (Only had 4 all stars in 2014)
Possible All Stars that did not complete last season to finish off roster-
Boston Celtics: Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green
Philadelphia 76ers: Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner
New York Knicks: J.R. Smith, Amar'e Stoudemire
Toronto Raptors: Kyle Lowry, Amir Johnson
Brooklyn Nets: Deron Williams, Paul Pierce
Washington Wizards: Brad Beal, Nene Hilario

NBA Mid-Season Tournament

Adam Silver made news recently from Las Vegas when he talked about the possibility of a mid-season tournament (like the FA Cup in the EPL), and his intentions to continue searching for ways to improve the league. I've already written about my stance on the playoffs, and to reiterate:

• Abolishing the East/West Conferences
• Taking the top 16 teams league-wide for the playoffs
• Restructure the divisions from 6 divisions of 5 teams to 5 geographic divisions of 6 teams

Here is what those divisions would look like:

Pacific:
1. Portland Trailblazers
2. Sacramento Kings
3. Golden State Warriors
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Los Angeles Clippers
6. Phoenix Suns

South Central: 
1. Utah Jazz
2. Denver Nuggets
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Houston Rockets
6. Oklahoma City Thunder

Great Lakes:
1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Milwaukee Bucks
3. Chicago Bulls
4. Indiana Pacers
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
6. Detroit Pistons

Atlantic: 
1. Boston Celtics
2. New York Knicks
3. Brooklyn Nets
4. Philadelphia 76ers
5. Washington Wizards
6. Toronto Raptors

South East: 
1. New Orleans Pelicans
2. Miami Heat
3. Orlando Magic
4. Atlanta Hawks
5. Charlotte Hornets
6. Memphis Grizzlies

Now I do agree that the 82 game NBA Schedule is too long and quite boring (Many people suggest the off-season is more exciting). I prefer the idea of a 66 game schedule, and games only certain weekdays. Similar to the NFL who only play Monday, Thursday and Sunday. However that is for another post, and my point is that I do not like the idea of a mid-season tournament as a solution to make the regular season more exciting. Here is what I want to happen:

Without the conferences, I want them to have an All Star Team for every division. Currently the divisions in the NBA are pretty meaningless. Fans only focus on overall conference standings for the playoffs, but allowing for these geographic regions to team up for the All Star Game Tournament would be very exciting and bring new meaning to NBA divisions. Like the MLB, every team would need to be represented on the 12 man roster leading to increased interest from every market. The 6 teams would play a seeded tournament, and the tournament seeds would be based on combined division win percentage. So the 2 and 3 teams and 4 and 5 teams would play first, while the best division get byes. Here is what the new week long NBA All Star schedule would look like:

Sunday would be an off day. Monday night they would do the 3point, Dunk, and Skills competitions. Tuesday night they would have the Sophomore-Rookie Challenge. Wednesday would have the  4 vs 5, 3 vs 2  matchups. Thursday would be the 4/5 vs 1 matchup. Friday would be off. Saturday night would be the All Star Tournament Final. And the following Sunday would again be off.

This new system would have several advantages:

Unlike a 4 or 8 team mid-season tournament, all teams will have representation
This increase in representation will also increase viewership
More players will get the opportunity to participate in All Star festivities
Fans would be treated to 6 super teams that would be an absolute blast to watch
The NBA can incentivize the tournament so that players would try to win
If players try to win, the tournament would not be the glorified street ball game it currently is
Piggy backing, the All Star Tournament could have meaning like the MLB All Star Game
More players like Kyrie Irving (2014 ASG MVP) would have a chance to shine on a national stage

Hopefully Adam Silver takes a look at doing something like this. In my next post I will examine what these teams could have looked like last season.

NBA's Top 20 Point Guards

I still believe that Point Guard is the most important position in the league. Miami being the oddity in their four straight finals got away with it because Dwayne Wade and LeBron James were the primary ball handlers and had better ball handling skills than many of the players on this list. Criteria used to rank these guards included: all star appearances, All-NBA Team selections, championships, talent and athleticism, statistics, and post season performance.

1. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
2. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
4. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
5. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
6. Damian Lillard, Portland Trailblazers
7. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
8. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
9. John Wall, Washington Wizards
10. Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns
11. Isaiah Thomas, Sacremento Kings
12. Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
13. Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks
14. Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies
15. Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix Suns
16. Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
17. Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves
18. Ty Lawson, Denver Nuggets
19. Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelicans
20. Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets

Love Dial. Who wants to trade for Love? 3

Cleveland, Chicago and Golden State. These are the three teams still in contention for the top 10 big man. Here are some of the popular packages running through the rumor mill. More to come when something more concrete comes through.

Option Number One-

Golden State sends
SG Klay Thompson
SF Harrison Barnes
PF David Leee

Minnesota sends
PF Kevin Love
SG Kevin Martin
SF Shabazz Muhammad

Option Number Two-

Cleveland sends:
SG Andrew Wiggins
PF Anthony Bennett
Future 1st round pick(s)

Minnesota sends:
PF Kevin Love

Option Number Three-

Chicago sends:
SG Jimmy Butler
PF Taj Gibson
PF Doug McDermott

Minnesota sends:
PF Kevin Love
SG Kevin Martin