Monthly Archives: May 2010

2010 Report Card: Eddie House

: Written by Mike Kurylo : 05-28-2010 : 55 Comments

House came over mid-season from Boston, and the common wisdom was that he would put up numbers similar to his season in 2006 under D’Antoni. That year in Phoenix, he posted his second highest PER (15.2) of his career. But things didn’t quite work out as planned. In 371 minutes for the Knicks, he had a career low PER of 7.2. House’s main value is his sharpshooting from downtown, but he inexplicably only managed to hit 25%. If someone is out there is keeping track of how common wisdom performs, this one is a serious “fail” in the column of …continue reading

2010 Report Card: Jonathan Bender

: Written by Mike Kurylo : 05-26-2010 : 48 Comments

In December of the 2010 season, Donnie Walsh reached back into his past and summoned Jonathan Bender. In 1999, Walsh drafted a teenage Bender for the Pacers with the 5th overall pick. Bender is the only player of the first 10 selected that failed to amass 20,000 minutes played in the NBA. Bender failed to live up to his NBA expectations due to injuries not lack of talent. He managed only one season with more than 60 games played, and retired at the tender age of 25. Away from the league for 4 years and joining the team mid-year, Bender …continue reading

2010 Report Card: Wilson Chandler

: Written by Mike Kurylo : 05-24-2010 : 40 Comments

Here’s what I wrote in Chandler’s report card last year: One question that remains is how Chandler will develop. On the optimistic side, he did make strides in multiple areas in 2009. Chandler improved his free throw shooting (63.0% to 79.5%), three point shooting (30.0% to 32.8%), scoring (13.4 to 15.6pts/36), assists (1.7 to 2.2 ast/36) and fouls (4.4 to 3.3 pf/36). But these numbers are pedestrian. The young swingman doesn’t do anything great, and his rebounding, blocks, and steals are about what you’d expect from an average 6-8 small forward. His scoring volume is above average (15.6 pts/36) but …continue reading

2010 Report Card: Bill Walker

: Written by Mike Kurylo : 05-20-2010 : 66 Comments

When the Knicks traded Nate Robinson in February, Eddie House was supposed to be the centerpiece while Walker and J.R. Giddens were throw-ins. However D’Antoni seemed to sour on House, and Walker found himself in the rotation. He ended up with more minutes (739) than House and Giddens combined. Walker doesn’t average a lot of points (15.4 pts/36 in 2010), but his efficiency (64.9% ts%, 62.5% efg%) is through the roof for a small forward. Only 10 players 6-6 or shorter had a true shooting percentage of 60% or better last year, and no one other than Walker was north …continue reading

LeBron to New York Maybe Not So Far-Fetched Afterall

: Written by DCrockett17 : 05-19-2010 : 35 Comments

The always-insightful Kevin Pelton over at Basketball Prospectus offers a post-lottery update on teams likely to pursue a max free agent this summer. Interestingly, he unveils a “new and improved” WARP (Wins Above Replacement Player) stat that better accounts for the effects of perimeter shooting (particularly how it helps space the floor). The new and improved WARP stat (that sounds so much better than the more accurate “slightly tweaked WARP” stat) has a serious crush on New York’s perimeter shooting. In the interest of being conservative, and in taking any individual projection with a grain of salt, the new WARP …continue reading

2010 NBA Lottery Open Thread

: Written by Brian Cronin : 05-18-2010 : 41 Comments

The lottery begins shortly, so here’s an open thread to discuss the results (I’ll update it when the lottery is announced). 14 Rockets 13 Raptors 12 Grizzlies 11 Hornets 10 Pacers 9 Jazz – the Knicks’ pick does not move up 8 Clippers 7 Pistons – no one has moved up yet 6 Warriors – Philly AND Washington have moved up! 5 Kings 4 Timberwolves – so either Sixers, Wizards or Nets get #1 3 Nets – OUCH 2 Sixers 1 Wizards Congrats to the Wizards!

2010 Report Card: Tracy McGrady

: Written by Mike Kurylo : 05-17-2010 : 52 Comments

When a change occurs it always takes the mainstream a bit of time to adjust to the new idea. I recall watching a Knick game near the end of the year with the announcers talking about whether or not McGrady would be coming back next year. One of them (not sure who it was) said that McGrady would have to accept being a second star on a team. At this time, I’ll chose to reveal McGrady’s similarity scores before I continue. Similarity Scores: z-Sum FLName Year Tm PER TS eFG PTS ORB TRB AST STL BLK TOV .000 Tracy McGrady …continue reading