Links of the Day (November 1, 2010)

• I was at Staples Center for this. Actually, that was just one of three highlight-reel dunks by the Clippers against the Spurs; two by Eric Gordon and one by Blake Griffin. Speaking of Griffin, he really has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated. I've never seen a man of his size seemingly hang in the air the way he does. Aside from that, he showed great balance and footwork. I'd like to see the Clips allow him to face the basket a little more, especially against a team like San Antonio, who really doesn't have anyone to cover him.
• I -- along with the rest of the world -- also got to see the long-awaited NBA debut of Spurs rookie Tiago Splitter. He was significantly less unimpressive. I wasn't as concerned with how he played during the game as I was with what I saw in warmups. His shooting stroke is hideous; it comes with a hitch at the top, and from section 109, Row 14, seat 1, at least, it looked like he shot the ball out of his palm. I got to Staples about an hour early and Splitter was doing drills with an assistant coach; he probably made no more than one-fourth of the shots he put up from 12-15 feet, with little or no defense. It's been so long since Splitter first came on NBA radars that I don't remember what kind of player he's supposed to be, but to the extent that his value is tied to his shooting ability, he's going to be a big disappointment.
• Some informal point - counterpoint from Bill Simmons and Tom Ziller on the Miami Heat that gives you a pretty good idea of the two writers' philosophies when it comes to basketball.
• This post talks about Indiana center Roy Hibbert's improved passing ability. It is my hope that Detroit coach John Kuester is paying attention to what's going on in Indy and eventually starts using rookie Greg Monroe -- like Hibbert, a Georgetown product -- in a similar way.
• Boston has the most athletic point guard in the league, and it's not Rajon Rondo.
• Rondo was actually sixth on that list, but he's first on another: Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
• The NBA D-League Draft was Monday, and the Maine Red Claws -- the D-League affiliate the Celtics share with the Charlotte Bobcats -- had the third overall pick. D-League teams aren't affiliated with NBA teams the same way minor league baseball teams are affiliated with major league clubs. Rather, NBA franchises can assign any of their eligible players under contract to the D-League. All other players are free game to be signed by any NBA club, though teams have the option to have their last three pre-season cuts allocated to their D-League affiliate in order to better keep tabs on them (you'll recall that this is why the Celtics signed Tiny Gallon right before training camp ended).
• Looking over the results, we see that the Red Claws drafted Magnum Rolle with the third pick. Rolle was picked in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers, showed well in the Orlando Summer League, but didn't make the final roster. Looking at the rest of the team's selections, it's going to be interesting to see how guys like Avery Bradley and Semih Erden and Luke Harangody -- guys with guaranteed contracts but who will spend time in the D-League this year are going to get shots. Tajuan Porter and Armon Bassett are bona fide chuckers. And no, Lawrence Westbrook is not related to Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (but is cousins with the NFL's Brian and Byron Westbrook).
• A couple days ago, I wrote a bit about the University of Vermont's Marqus Blakely narrowly missing out on becoming the school's first NBA player. He was taken twelfth overall by the Bakersfield Jam. Bakersfield is coached by Will Voigt, a native Vermonter and, as it happens, a family friend.
• Finally, what the hell is Antonio Daniels doing in the D-League draft? The 12-year veteran was taken near the bottom of the second round by the Texas Legends. Daniels was out of the league last year after being bought out by the Timberwolves, but he's not that far removed from a season in which he started 63 games for the Wizards. He was never more than an NBA role player, but isn't that Europe is for?

The Next Lamb: The Detroit Pistons

Game 4: Detroit (0-3) at Boston (2-1)

Date: Tuesday, November 2

Time: 7:30 p.m. (Eastern)

TV: NBA League Pass

In many respects, the Pistons are off to a frustrating start to the 2010-11 campaign. Three times this young season, the Pistons have taken to the hardwood. Three times, they've held a lead late in the fourth quarter. And all three times, they've left the arena without a win.

And yet in some ways, the Pistons can be encouraged by their start. Detroit went 27-55 last year, and are not projected to do much better this year. So to be within a possession of beating Oklahoma City, then come back the very next night and build a 21-point lead in Chicago -- well, it's frustrating to blow those games, but there are good things to be taken from the fact that they were in a position to blow them. Of course, that's little consolation to Pistons fans, and it won't matter much if the team doesn't start closing out some of these games, but it's something to build on.

Detroit's a unique team in that its best scorer, Ben Gordon, comes off the bench. Gordon went crazy on the Celtics during the 2008-09 playoffs when he was with the Bulls, but the Celtics -- like most of the league -- didn't get his best shot last season, his first with the Pistons. He's a feast-or-famine type player, and it may be that as he goes, so go the Pistons. Against the Bulls, Gordon scored 21 points in the first half as Detroit built a 63-44 lead at the break. But Gordon went scoreless the rest of the way -- and the Pistons didn't fare much better, tallying just 28 points in the final 24 minutes.

The other real player of note for Detroit is point guard Rodney Stuckey. At 6-5, 205, Stuckey is a lot to handle -- something he showed on January 20, when he stepped up in Gordon's absence and scored 27 points (to go along with 11 boards and six assists) in a 92-86 Detroit win. But Stuckey had trouble containing Rajon Rondo in that contest (21/8/7) and in Boston's 105-100 win on March 2 (15/4/11 for Rondo; 13/3/6 for Stuckey). Stuckey's off to a nice start offensively, but he's been torched by opposing point guards. Granted, he's not the first guy to get burned by Devin Harris, Russell Westbrook, and Derrick Rose, and he won't be the last, but Rondo's arguably a cut above those guys. If they key to stopping the Celtics is stopping Rondo, then Detroit looks ill-positioned to do so.

Ben Wallace still starts at center for the Pistons, which means that for the fourth straight game, Boston plays an opponent without an offensive presence in the pivot. The timing is good; there's at least an outside possibility that both O'Neals sit for Boston, which would leave rookie Semih Erden (himself nursing a sore shoulder) as the team's only active center. The health issues at center become a problem starting Wednesday at Milwaukee, but for now, it doesn't look like it will hurt the Cs.

Finally, keep an eye out for Greg Monroe, the rookie center who was a RwH favorite when he was at Georgetown -- provided that he gets into the game. He got the DNP-CD in the first two games, then had a minimal impact in seven minutes against the Bulls. He's a terrific passer, with the chance to be every bit as good as a KG, say, in that department. Once he starts getting regular run, expect his dimes to show up frequently on highlight reels.

Links of the Day (October 28, 2010)

• I'm slowing down on my Timberwolves blogging until TMJF returns from hip surgery, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to blast Kurt Rambis. Last night in Minnesota's opener against Sacramento, Rambis sat Kevin Love for the final eight and a half minutes of a one-point loss to the Tyreke Evans-less Kings. Rambis pulled similar stunts last year, claiming that Love and Al Jefferson couldn't play together. Jefferson was shipped out of town at a relative bargain, and now, in the opener, Love gets 24 minutes, the same number as Darko Milicic and four fewer than Anthony Tolliver. Rambis claims that the reason Love sat was because Tolliver was playing well defensively, but as Tom Ziller points out in that link, a bunch of Sacto's late points came from guys Tolliver was supposed to be guarding. I really have no respect for Rambis as a coach, and it bothers me when he does stuff like this and then reacts like it isn't a big deal, like because he assisted Phil Jackson with the Lakers he's some sort of Zen master by association. No, he's just a bad coach. Not playing the best player on a bad team because Anthony Tolliver -- Anthony Tolliver! -- is allegedly playing great defense (Sacramento did score 117 points without its best player, so I'm not sure how good the defense actually was) is just embarrassing.
• If any Wolves fans read this blog, perhaps this will make you feel better. I know McHale's involved and he's public enemy number one up there in T-Wolf land, but maybe just focus on Rambis falling on his ass. I love McHale, of course, so it definitely makes me feel better.
• Zach Lowe breaks down Boston's turnover problems. Lowe puts a lot of the blame on Rondo's shoulders, particularly in transition. I've noticed that Rondo's "feel" for the game, which is usually outstanding, disappears in transition. I'm not sure what it is; sometimes, it feels like he's too busy processing his options to make a decision.
• Everyone's talking about Blake Griffin's debut last night, with video of two spectacular one-handed jams in a loss to Portland. I link to Hardwood Paroxysm above all others because I like them best, and because Rob Mahoney's caption is clever. Oh, and because they want page views.
• Tracy McGrady was allegedly on a 15-minute cap in Detroit's opener last night, and will be for the immediate future. First of all, what investment are we trying to protect by limiting his minutes? And secondly, why would Tracy McGrady play more than 15 minutes in a professional basketball game?
• The Heat-Celtics opener was the most-watched NBA regular season game of all-time.
• I didn't notice this until this morning, but Zydrunas Ilgauskas was a game-high +17 in 10:39 of playing time against Boston on Tuesday night. Big Z's stat line: No shots from the field, 1-2 from the line, three boards (two offensive), three steals, a block, two turnovers, and four personal fouls. Not a bad contribution, but +17? That's what being on the court when LeBron James decides to take over earns you. I know +/- hardly counts as an advanced metric these days, but it's things like this that have made me slow to embrace the statistical revolution.
• DNP-CD for RwH fave Greg Monroe in Detroit's opener last night. Let's hope this doesn't become a pattern.
• Someone better bring me the head of the person responsible for this.