Winning Without Convention

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Winning Without Convention 

Post#1 » by RealGM Articles » Tue Nov 11, 2014 8:22 pm

The NBA has a soft cap with hard rules, while the NFL has a hard cap with soft rules. Managing the salary cap is a constant game of Whac-A-Mole across both leagues. One to three superstars take up a majority of cap space on most NBA teams, while most NFL teams have the salary structure of a pyramid with the quarterback alone on top. 


The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have been the most complete teams in the NFL over the past few seasons because they’ve had young quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick making 15-20x less than their positional peers, which has allowed them to spend in ways that become prohibitive when they make the market rate. Kaepernick signed his new deal in the offseason and Wilson will get his this offseason, which means both quarterbacks will be asked to win with less as the cap casualties pile up.


Chip Kelly has possibly created a genius cheat code to give the Philadelphia Eagles a chance to compete for Super Bowls without that escalating salary with his up-tempo system that allows for smart, accurate and reasonably mobile quarterbacks to thrive. The Eagles can perpetually build a complete roster around a bargain quarterback and the thinking is that a Mark Sanchez can become a Peyton Sanchez with enough weapons around him in a QB-friendly system.


The NFL may be a quarterback league, but it is also one in which a superstar at the position is not needed with Joe Flacco, Eli Manning (twice), Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer winning Super Bowls since 2000.  


The NBA is a superstar league and there’s no sneaking in a championship with four seven-game series without one. At least to date.


Kelly’s closest confidant and similarly-minded coach in the NBA is unquestionably Erik Spoelstra and the pace-and-space system of the Miami Heat is a direct byproduct of their many dialogues. If anyone is the Chip Kelly of the NBA, it is Spoelstra, who looks to create space for his dribble playmakers by spreading the floor with shooters.


Spoelstra lost his version of Aaron Rodgers in the offseason when LeBron James left for the Cleveland Cavaliers. There is no reasonable facsimile on earth for what LeBron contributed to the Heat, but signing Luol Deng, Danny Granger and Shawne Williams, along with a bigger role for Chris Bosh and the addition of Josh McRoberts gives Spoelstra a chance to survive and remain at least a playoff team. Even winning a playoff series represented exaggerated optimism.


"I always have to get my yearly connection with Chip Kelly because he's so counterculture,” said Spoelstra to Jared Zwerling in October. “He constantly asks why. He really is a true contrarian in that speaking with him just gets me to look at things differently, and he always makes me extremely uncomfortable. A yearly dose of Chip always keeps things in perspective for me."


The idea of the Heat not taking a gigantic step back without LeBron is as fundamentally opposed to conventional NBA thought as it gets given the significance of a narrow set of superstars.


Deng cannot create individually to become LeBron Deng, but he can operate in a similar way if the expectation is to produce the broader brushstrokes. The perimeter shot has improved over his time in the league, plus he’s a smart two-way player that has done the little things at an All-Star level when healthy.


"It's one part of my game I really want to focus on and bring back,” said Deng to Jason Lieser in October about his shooting. “It opens the floor so much and it fits this system so well. So I'm staying behind after practice and coming in at night just because I really want to focus on opening the floor."


Deng has an eFG% of .608 over his first seven games, which will regress at least somewhat down toward his career mark of .526, but it is a sensible bet that this system will produce a career high. That type of production from Deng has helped the Heat remain a top-five team in offensive efficiency early in the season.


“The principles are the same,” Spoelstra told Zach Lowe. “How we do it is different.”


Bosh has also become Toronto Bosh again with his usage rate up to 28.4 after four seasons accepting a lesser role with the Heat. Bosh is not as athletic as he was back in 2010, but he's a much more well-rounded player with his extended range. Bosh remains a consensus top-15 player and in the conversation for best power forward on the planet. Bosh has a PER of 27.2, which would be a career high, as his points, rebounds and assist rates are way, way up.


Returning to the Finals for a fifth straight season is still unlikely with this roster, but the Heat trust the system and with enough of the components still there, Spoelstra has an offense that won’t be adrift without LeBron. The conventional wisdom was for the Heat to let Bosh sign with the Houston Rockets and rebuild, just as it is for Chip Kelly to get or keep a "franchise quarterback" at all costs. Spoelstra and Pat Riley badly wanted to keep LeBron, but they appear to have made a more sensible decision in not walking away from what had been built just because he left.

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capwolf
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Re: Winning Without Convention 

Post#2 » by capwolf » Sun Nov 16, 2014 5:50 pm

Detroit got a chip without a superstar. So it's certainly possible.
Madgrinch knows more about basketball than me......
F'ing sig bets smh.......

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