Around the NBA 8.0

[Mystical Apples]

Besides the Cavs there are no teams clearly better than 6 or 7 others. Boston has great depth and a 2 or 3 seed but that's a different matter for the playoffs. The next 5 games are huge for Charlotte. A few teams will start separating themsleves and it could be this one.

[yosemiteben]

Interesting note about the Wiz from Schuhman's power rankings for this week:

The Wizards' starting lineup has been worse than the Lakers' starting lineup, but they're getting good contributions off the bench from Jared Dudley and Nene. After playing just four games in a 16-day stretch that ends Monday, they'll play four back-to-backs in the next two weeks. The first one of those -- against the Pacers and Hornets -- could tell us a lot about all three teams.

Click on that link and look at who has the second best starting lineup based on net rating.

[MasterIchiro]

Looking at the East I hope we make it. The only teams that can definitely beat us in a series are Cavs, Hawks and Wiz.

Cavs yes. But there's no way Hawkes and wiz are automatic wins over Charlotte. We been playing pretty good so far and it's only going to get better.

I would add the Heat, forgot about them.

Cavs, Heat, Hawks, Wiz.

Automatic against us.

[BlackOutBuzz]

Would they be favored? Sure, but not "automatic."

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[Joest2003]

Looking at the East I hope we make it. The only teams that can definitely beat us in a series are Cavs, Hawks and Wiz.

Cavs yes. But there's no way Hawkes and wiz are automatic wins over Charlotte. We been playing pretty good so far and it's only going to get better.

I would add the Heat, forgot about them.

Cavs, Heat, Hawks, Wiz.

Automatic against us.

And what exactly makes you belive that?

[HornetJail]

We usually beat the Wizards, and we typically hang very close to Atlanta. I think the Cavs and Heat would give us fits- and I would say they'd beat us in 4-5 games. Any other matchup is winnable.

[MasterIchiro]

Cavs yes. But there's no way Hawkes and wiz are automatic wins over Charlotte. We been playing pretty good so far and it's only going to get better.

I would add the Heat, forgot about them.

Cavs, Heat, Hawks, Wiz.

Automatic against us.

And what exactly makes you belive that?

All those teams have multiple stars or superstars who get calls in big games. The Hawks are the one exception but they, like the other teams, have a core group that has been together longer than us and has advanced deeper in the playoffs than us. They all have stars (thus favoritism from refs) more talent, more experience and play better as a team.

We have no chance against those teams in a series. In a game, sure, series, no way.

[JDR720]

for the guys that are interested in whiteside

Center Hassan Whiteside is looking to prove that last season wan’t a fluke. And while he’ll be suiting up for the Miami Heat during the 2015-16 season, he could be auditioning to join the Charlotte Hornets, a team that might have a glaring hole in the middle in less than a year.

Whiteside was born and raised in Gastonia, N.C., a little more than 20 miles away from the city of Charlotte. It’s a big part of who he was and still is. He played pickup games in a local YMCA waiting for the phone to ring at the start of last season and, even now, he still goes back whenever he has a chance.


As for the Hornets, they’re at a crossroads this season. CBS Sports’ Matt Moore recently profiled how Nicolas Batum, acquired in an offseason trade with Portland, fits into this season’s plans. But Charlotte is also looking ahead to how current center Al Jefferson — like Whiteside a free agent in 2016 — could be moved.

So … where does this leave Jefferson, who was the team’s marquee free agency signing two years ago, and helped make them into a playoff team before last year’s fall-off. He turns 31 this season, and picked up his option this summer. He’s an expiring contract. They also drafted (Frank) Kaminsky, and while (Steve) Clifford has been very up-front with the fact that Kaminsky is getting killed in workouts physically by the veterans, they also turned down an offer from Boston of multiple picks for the Tank. You can’t play Kaminsky and Jefferson together for long stretches because your defense will melt like a crayon under a heat lamp. So if they have money committed to (Kemba) Walker and MKG (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist), and want to make sure they retain Batum, and Jefferson’s a free agent…

Moore clarifies that he has not heard any rumors indicating that the Hornets front office is looking to move Jefferson. But he does add that the team has committed a lot of money to Walker and Kidd-Gilchrist, possibly making Batum more expendable than previously thought.

The move makes a lot of sense of both the Hornets and Whiteside. Charlotte has run their offense through Jefferson, a low-post monster (when healthy) for years. They have a glut of guards and wings and Batum, while a fine defender, playmaker and shooter, might not be a priority during the 2016 offseason.

As for Whiteside, he’s expected to make a huge leap in salary as a free agent, with some projections going as high as $20 million a year. But there’s a connection to family, home and community that could be too much to pass up.

He returned to Gastonia for a week-long trip this past summer and, as the Sun Sentinel’s Shandel Richardson put it, was “greeted by several friends and relatives who called him an inspiration.”

Even strangers look at his success story as a reason to keep climbing:

The highlight (of the trip) was an aspiring rapper, who Whiteside had never met, saying his story was the reason for refusing to give up.

Just like Whiteside.

“Everybody was just talking about how proud they are of me and how they’re not giving up on their dreams,” Whiteside said. “I’m glad that I inspire a lot of people. It’s just a blessing of just a journey I started and want to continue.”

It’s not that much of a stretch to imagine that Whiteside would find Charlotte’s proximity to home an attractive reason to join the team. And, while Heat fans are generally convinced that Miami will find a way to lock up their young center to a long-term contract, the team might be focusing on other free agents — namely Kevin Durant — next summer.

Miami fans don’t want to consider the possibility of losing Whiteside, who provides so much of what had been missing during the “Big 3” era, namely rebounding and shot blocking. But they certainly didn’t expect a former superstar on the roster to come home in 2014, when LeBron James spurned the Heat to join the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While it might be too early to tell exactly what Whiteside’s plans are for next summer, for a young player that has always to looked to the support of family and friends during his NBA journey, when it comes to free agency, there might be no place like home.

http://hoopshabit.com/2015/09/29/miami-heat-hassan-whiteside-charlottes-radar/

[Liver_Pooty]

Meh. Not a big fan.

[yosemiteben]

Paul George is having an unbelievable season. In the third quarter against the Wiz and he already has 33 points on 15 shots, 6 - 6 from three, to go with his six boards and four assists.

[fatlever]

Why does Byron Scott still have a job?

[Braggins]

Whiteside is so intriguing. His personality/maturity issues are terrifying, but I do like the fact that he seems perfectly ok with Miami not really ever running plays for him and playing him modest minutes relative to his production. He doesn't seem like he has the offensive skill to be anything more than a 3rd/4th option, but he could still get plenty of points from PnR opportunities and put backs. I just love the way Miami uses him. As long as he didn't come in with the attitude that he should be the teams offensive focal point and would be ok with us not running a ton of plays for him (no reason we couldn't feature him a bit more than Miami) and not playing him 35+ minutes every night then he could take our team to the next level. Right now in Miami he is getting about 15 points on 10 shots in about 30mpg. I think on our team, 18 points on 12 shots in 30mpg would be perfectly reasonable to accommodate within our offensive system. If he had the idea that he should come in and be our #1 option and get 15-16 shots per game then it would likely end disastrously. If we were to sign him it would be best to sign him to a short deal with a high yearly salary to offset the risk, as someone (MKG I think?) pointed out in a different thread. Something like 54-60 mil over 3 years with a team option for the final year wouldn't be bad.

Idk, I'd obviously much rather have Al Horford and I would definitely be somewhat worried if we did sign him, but at the same time it would be pretty exciting. I mean, how would teams go about trying to score on us when we could have MKG smothering their top scorer on the perimeter with this freak shutting down the paint/rim area. Teams can barely score on us when MKG is healthy with Al freaking Jefferson at center.

[JDR720]

I think we should always at least inquire signing local guys if we have the need/money, its probably our best shot at landing star players in free agency.

[Diop]

Why does Byron Scott still have a job?

Sneaky tank job?

Replace Kobe with Simmons and you have an interesting young starting 5

[yosemiteben]

[LamarMatic7]

currently 369th in adjusted plus-minus in the league.

[Eoghan]

Detroit's bench is fairly putrid. They might have the worst back up PG situation in the NBA until Jennings comes back. Lots of Reggie Jackson coasting to save some gas for crunch time. They've had a very Bobcats inspired schedule this season too, I think Bob Johnson's daughter is even forcing them on a road trip for her equestrian event at the Palace.

How dare you bring up the Jumper Classic.

That's what you get for calling me "angry and bitter."

*is never angry and bitter.*

*does hold grudges*

[EwingSweatsALot]

Why does Byron Scott still have a job?

Sneaky tank job?

Replace Kobe with Simmons and you have an interesting young starting 5

I'm all for teams getting royally screwed in the lottery since it seems to always happen to us. I've become a bitter old man that loves watching others pain because we've been burned so much.

I'm hoping they somehow have the greatest odds at the number one pick and three teams jump them so their 4th pick goes to Phoenix.

[yosemiteben]

[spaceballer]

Why does Byron Scott still have a job?