Offseason Addtions – David Aardsma (get excited Boston fans!)
Offseason Subtractions – Brendan Donnelly, Eric Gagne, Eric Hinske, Bobby Kielty
Biggest Strength- Depth
In a 162 game season, players are going to get injured. The thing about these Red Sox is, when their players get injured, they really don’t have to worry about it. Case and point, the likely career-ending injury to Curt Schilling. Yawn. Their 6th starter happens to be 23 year old Clay Buchholz who posted a 1.59 ERA in 3 starts last year, one of which was a no-hitter. Position player gets hurt? They got Coco Crisp and Sean Casey off the bench. Need a player at the deadline? Their farm-system is stocked enough to make that happen. Bottom line: A whole lot is going to have to go wrong for this team to miss the playoffs.
Biggest Weakness- Starting Rotation
There are no glaring weaknesses on this team, but an area that might become a concern is the rotation. Schilling’s career is likely over, Beckett has a history of injury problems, and they have 2 exceptionally talented, but unproven, young pitchers in Buchholz and Jon Lester, taking spots in the rotation.
Key Player in ’08 – Manny Ramirez
The team benifitted from a lot of players having career years in 2007, and was therefore able to overcome the worst offensive year of Ramirez’ career (.296, 20 HR, 88 RBI, .493 SLG%). Chances are they will need a lot more out of Ramirez in ’08, especially if David Ortiz isn’t fully recovered from knee surgery.
Player to Keep an Eye On – Jacoby Ellsbury
Ellsbury, 24, hit .353 in 116 AB in 2007 and provided a huge spark for the Sox as they surged towards a title. Ellsbury’s speed on the bases and with the bat will put him in a position to win a batting title and steal 40 bases in the future.
Outlook/Prediction – 1st Place, AL East. Even though they got the highest score in my ratings system, I don’t think the Red Sox will repeat as world champions. They won’t get another MVP-caliber season from Mike Lowell, I suspect Buchholz and Lester will show some growing pains and when Beckett takes his yearly trip to the DL, the team might hit a slide. They added nothing to the team, and I’m one that believes a whole lot has to go your way to win a World Series, and without a historically dominant team, it’s almost impossible to repeat. Nevertheless, there are way too many good players on this team for them to miss the playoffs.
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OK - so I came up with a little bit of a ridiculous system to do my baseball predictions this season. I wanted to give each team a score from 1-100 by assigning point values to different aspects of the team. The most important was #1 starter (10 points), least important was minor league system (1 point).
The entire system went like this:
1st starter - 10 points
2nd starter - 9 points
3rd starter- 8 points
4th starter - 7 points
5th starter - 6 points
Closer - 4 points
Bullpen - 6 points
Best hitter - 8 points
2nd best hitter - 7 points
3rd best hitter - 6 points
4th best hitter- 5 points
5th best hitter - 5 points
6th best hitter - 5 points
7-9th best hitter - 5 points
bench - 3 points
team defense - 5 points
minor league system - 1 point
Total Value: 100 points
I tried to weight it as best I could towards what is most important. For instance, pitching takes up 50%, hitting 41% and intangibles 9% of the total score. Starting rotation is 40%, but the top 2 pitchers are 19%. The 3 best hitters are worth 1% more (21%) than the rest of the bunch (20%). I included the minor league system only because there are always players called up that make a difference.I figured with such a fool-proof, complex system I would come up with definitive playoff teams. Right? Of course not. After hours of rating every player on every team, all I figured out was there are 16 teams that might make the playoffs, and 14 that probably won’t.
What I’m going to do is write a small capsule for each team with their scores in my rating system (and league rank) what their strengths and weaknesses are, their key player for the season and my outlook. I will post them all as soon as I write them. Hopefully about 1 a day until opening day. Since the point system was so close and is forcing me to actually use logic and sense to pick the playoff teams, I won’t be revealing my final picks until I’m done the capsules, because I haven’t decided all of them yet (if I have, I’ll say so in the capsule).As they are done, I’ll link to them down here
Playoffs? That was a thought not even in the back of our minds in the beginning of January after the Sixers lost 7 straight. It was clear that much of the talk surrounded the possibility of when, not if, Andre Miller would be traded, essentially conceding the season. What to do with the abundance of cap space Stefanski will have to play with and who the Sixers could get in the upcoming NBA draft.
How have things changed. Sitting squarely in the 8th playoff spot, the trade deadline come and gone and Andre Miller still leading the Philly attack, it’s time to seriously consider the Sixers playoff picture.
Eastern Conference Landscape
Good for the Sixers - New Jersey trading Jason Kidd. With all trades there is an adjustment period getting used to the new line-up, I think in this case that effect will be bigger than normal. Even better, Devin Harris will likely be out at least another 2 weeks due to his ankle injury. That leaves an inexperienced Marcus Williams leading the Nets who are only a half game up on the Sixers. Even when Harris returns he won’t be nearly the same caliber facilitator Jason Kidd was for players like Carter and Jefferson. They will sorely miss Kidd’s passing skills and knack for defensive rebounding and starting the break. That bodes very well for the Philly down the stretch.
Not so good for the Sixers - Mike Bibby traded to Atlanta. This was a great deal for Atlanta and basically the missing piece to get them over the hump. What works well for Philly is that the Hawks play their first 5 games after the All-Star Break on a tough Western road trip on which they are already 0-2. One game behind the Sixers and having to play Golden State, Utah and San Antonio on the road in their next three, the Sixers have a chance to put some distance between them and Atlanta. Philly has one very winnable game versus Miami and two games against Orlando in the next week. The Sixers played Orlando tough at home last time, only losing by two, so they will need to steal one from a good team to take the next step. What to watch for: a home-and-home with Atlanta on April 4th and 5th.
Although the Sixers are only 2 games out of the 6th spot currently held by Washington, realistically I see us finishing 7th in the East. Of course I wouldn’t be upset if the team overachieves and surprises me.
Down the Stretch
Here’s what the Sixers must do to lock up at least the 8th playoff spot:
Beat up on the bad teams. The first step of becoming a good, more consistent team is winning games versus opponents you are better than. Perfect example of what they can’t do - lose by 16 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Come on guys, you’re better than that. Perfect example of what they are supposed to do - pound the crap out of the New York Knicks by 40 points. Now that’s what I am talking about, boys!
Defend the home court. Simply put 15-14 at home thus far sucks and is a big reason the Wachovia Center is running at only 64% capacity. Playing .500 ball at home in these last 27 games won’t be good enough.
Play to their strengths. When the Sixers play well they do 3 things in particular. Offensive rebounding, currently the 3rd best in the NBA; Sammy and Reggie do a hell of a job helping the Sixers win the battle of second chance points. Defensive intensity, mainly getting in the passing lanes and racking up steals (5th in the NBA). Those steals lead to the most important aspect and the developing identity of this Philadelphia team - fast break points. For the Sixers this is where they usually win games. They need these easy buckets to offset their inconsistent half-court offense and league worst 3-point shooting (31%).
I may be in the minority among Philly fans, but I am excited about the prospect of the team making the playoffs. Which according to John Hollinger’s playoff odds, gives the Sixers an 82.6% chance of being in the postseason. It’s important for the young guys to build some character and gain some valuable postseason experience (without AI carrying them). Competing in the playoffs accomplishes that. I am also hoping the inevitable loss to either Detroit or Boston in the first round will leave a bad taste in their mouths that intensifies their desire to get better and creates that winning mentality.
So how do you feel - are you happy the Sixers are competing to make the playoffs or would you rather they be in line for Michael Beasley and a top draft pick?
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Maurice Cheeks received a 1-year contract extension, with an option for a 2nd year, that will finally put to bed the speculation he wouldn’t be back coaching the Sixers next season. In the final year of his contract, the team playing sub .500 ball, and a new president & GM on board, many believed Cheeks would be on his way out or actively asking for him to be out like this guy.
It was thought Ed Stefanski would want to bring in his own coach to lead the Sixers rebuilding effort, as it turns out that man is Mo. Stefanski clearly recognized the positives Cheeks has brought to this young team and the value he has for the organization. After the announcing the contract extension Stefanski had this to say about Cheeks,
“Since my arrival, I have been evaluating every aspect of the organization and I believe that Coach Cheeks deserves a great deal of credit for developing our players, putting them in a position to succeed and showing improvement every day. Coach Cheeks has done a very good job of installing an up-tempo brand of basketball that puts this team in a position to succeed on a nightly basis and we are excited about the future under his direction.”
We, as fans, are quick to call for a coach’s head when our team struggles for an extended period of time. More often than not the real source of the problem is a lack of overall talent and/or crapshoot collection of players that clearly don’t work well together. These have been the true reasons our Sixers haven’t won more, even during the Allen Iverson era.
Cheeks has this relatively young team playing hard every night. They have improved over the course of the season. And you can clearly see the development in players such as Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams. Is it just me, or has Samuel Dalembert been playing smarter basketball and having one of his best seasons? I attribute much of that largely to Mo.
I think Stefanski expects to make significant moves this summer in free agency and the draft that will equip Maurice Cheeks with enough talent to compete at a much higher level. This 1-year extension is essentially saying, “Mo you have done a great job with what you had to work with. Now it’s time for you take the next step and lead a more talented Sixers team against the big boys in the Eastern Conference next year.” A try-out if you will.
If the team vastly improves their record next season, I see a long-term deal in Maurice Cheek’s future. And I am rooting for just that. Who else would you want to be the face of the current Sixers franchise then a well-respected and loved Sixers great from the past?
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Forgive me while I show my true “homerism” and rant about my disappointment/anger regarding Philadelphia’s non-existent representation in the 2008 All-Star festivities.
Rookie/Sophomore Challenge
Why the hell was Thaddeus Young not on the All-Star rookie team?!? Can you say BULLSHIT. If you need a refresher on why he should have been playing Friday night check this out. Who would I replace for Young? Jeff Green. He has been nothing short of mediocre considering he plays 24.5 minutes per game and takes almost 8 shots a night. On a p/40min basis he doesn’t stack up and shoots a rookie All-Star worthy 44% from the field. Add the fact that Seattle sucks and his selection makes less sense.
When you also consider the potential entertainment value for the fans of having a high flying, super athletic Thaddeus Young in the game it should have been a no brainer to have him representing the Sixers. It’s one thing to be Tim Duncan and have a boring, yet dominant game. It’s a completely different story when your game is just as boring and your name is Jeff Green. Matter of fact, did he even play in the game? I think John Hollinger sums it up best in his post-game grade of Green (D-) “Plenty of time (34 min.) to prove unworthiness.” Enough said.
Skills Competition
For a competition that rewards speed I think we all agree the first Sixers player that comes to mind is Lou Williams. His athletic ability fits perfect for this event. Blazing fast with and without the ball, ability to stop on a dime and quickly change direction.
You put Lou in the competition this season vs. the current contestants - Jason Kidd (former winner), Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and two-time defending champion Dwyane Wade and I’d argue he’d give these guys a run for their money. Wade is all beat to crap now, Kidd is aging (albeit still quick), Paul has failed to win the past two years, and Deron Williams I think is the least quick of the bunch.
Passing ability you say? If Wade can win being the weakest passer in groups composed of Nash, LeBron, Kobe and Paul I wouldn’t worry about Louis Williams’ passing skills for this event.
Slam Dunk Contest
This section is best served with videos.
Rodney Carney
I don’t know about all of you but I am an animated basketball watcher. When this dunk happened I was screaming. Posterizing like this is always better when it’s a high profile player getting banged on. D. Wade can you say FACE!
Andre Iguodala
We can all agree he got completely shafted at the 2006 dunk contest, right?
Three-Point Shootout
Ummmmm……………Willie Green? OK ok moving on.
2008 NBA All-Star Game
We have no iconic superstar that would get voted in by the fans. (Sad) More importantly, not having a stud big man on the Sixers makes getting a current player selected by the coaches even tougher in the East. I think the PF and even more so the center position is the weakest in terms of depth in the Eastern Conference.
So right now our best hope is Iggy to get in over players like Joe Johnson or Rip Hamilton. The #1 thing he can improve individually to make it next season? Shooting percentage (44.7% this season and last). Since his shots per game increased over 10 he hasn’t shot as well from the field. Why? 3.6 three-pointer taken per game and this has increased each of his 4 seasons. That’s fine, but he isn’t hitting the magic number - 33%. Add some more Sixers wins next season and I don’t see how Andre doesn’t make it with marginal improvement.
Here’s a good article from Philly.com about Andre Iguodala and the All-Star game by Phil Jasner.
Even without any Sixers representation I am still excited about Dwight Howard in the dunk contest tonight and the All-Star game on Sunday, although not as much because of all the injuries. How bout you?
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The Young Guys - I always like to use Spring Training as a time to get a feel for the pitchers that have no chance of making the roster this year, but could have an impact on the future. I’ll always remember Spring Training 2004, when a 19-year old Cole Hamels struck-out Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Tony Clark in succession causing Jeter to say that Hamels already had one of the best change-ups in baseball. Now, he’s our #1 starter and a potential star. The names to look at this spring are Carlos Carrasco, Joe Saveryand Josh Outman. All 3 may be up in the rotation in the near future. Don’t look at their stat lines though, or listen to what the Phillies say about them - look for quotes of what opposing hitters and coaching say, they will be the most honest.
The Current Guys - I think that all Phillies fans need to appreciate what we have in Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. All 3 are in their prime, are MVP candidates, are home-grown talent, and are already the best Phillies ever at their positions. For the next 3-4 years, we will have one of the best infields in MLB history, and after that, we will all be remembering the “good ol’ days” when we had it. Appreciate it now, because it’s rare, and you are going to miss it later.
The Question Marks - Do I even have enough space to ask all the questions? Let’s see…
What can we expect of Brett Myers as a starter?
Is Brad Lidge healthy - mentally and physically?
Can Cole Hamels pitch 200 innings for the first time?
Can Adam Eaton really be THAT bad again? And if he can, can Kris Benson, Chad Durbin or Travis Blackley be slightly better?
Can Kyle Kendrick prove the doubters wrong? (note: The prevailing idea among baseball ‘scientists’ is that a pitcher with Kendrick’s strike-out rate and hit-rate cannot be better than a 5th starter in the league. They have piles of numbers to back this up. Hopefully they are wrong.)
Which Jamie Moyer are we getting?
Will Rollins’ suffer the same MVP hangover Howard did in ‘07?
Will Howard cut down his strikeouts and hit the ball to all fields like he did in ‘06?
Will Howard’s contract situation affect his play?
What on earth can we realistically expect from Geoff Jenkins and Pedro Feliz?
How will J.C. Romero pitch now that he has his contract?
How will Tom Gordon pitch now that his arm has been re-attached?
Can Ryan Madson NOT give up back-to-back walk-off HR’s to start the season this year?
At what point will we sign Roberto Hernandez, Antonio Alfonceca or Jose Mesa? June? August?
Can THIS be the team that brings us 25-year olds our FIRST championship?
The Bottom Line - Spring Training gets everyone all fired up for the season, but really, it’s much like pre-season anything in that it will only tell you who in injured and who is not. Occasionally, there will be player who plays so well that they surprisingly make the team. Greg Dobbs in 2007, Chris Coste in 2006, Eddie Oropesa in 2001 among many others. These are always the best stories to follow and the papers are always all over them - largely because of how much Philly likes an underdog. But really, once we get to about the 10th spring training game, I just get ancy and want the real games to begin. When they do, we’ll finally start getting answers to those questions.
At 19-years-old Thaddeus Young is proving to be a true diamond in the rough for the Sixers. Going into the season most people thought Thaddeus was two or three years away from really contributing. No one really anticipated he would make much of an impact right away for Coach Mo. Except Young of course.
As the 12th pick in the 2007 NBA draft with tremendous upside, there were still a few questions marks about Young:
Raw - Having played only one college season his game was undeveloped.
Tweener - Is he a SF or PF?
Strength - At 6′8, 215ish coming out of college he needed to get bigger and stronger to handle the tough play inside and become a better rebounder.
Outside shooting - Considering how much he plays on the perimeter his shot needed to improve.
Those doubts just fueled Thaddeus Young’s desire to get better. Young has quietly crept up among the top rookies this season. This emergence was best noted by John Hollinger in his All-Sleeper Team: These guys deserve your attention article on ESPN insider:
Any time a teenager has a PER above the league average, we really ought to pay attention to it. Young has been way, way, WAY under the radar because he comes off the bench on a bad team, but the 19-year-old forward is having a noteworthy rookie season. The lefty can put the ball in the hoop (15.3 points per 40 minutes) and rebounds extremely well for a small forward [8.8 rebounds per 40 minutes] — so well, in fact, that he’s often used at the 4.
He still needs to figure out a lot of things, like how to draw fouls for instance — his rate of free throws is scandalously low for a player with his athleticism. Nonetheless, Young is one of the league’s most promising young players, [ranking first among rookies in PER], and he’s received virtually no attention so far.
It’s easy to overlook, but the Korver trade did more than just free up additional cap space this summer. More importantly, moving Kyle made way for Thaddeus Young to get more minutes. From Stefanski’s point of view this was probably to evaluate him in the context of the Sixers current and long-term personnel situation.
In 23 games since Korver’s been gone, Thaddeus Young has doubled nearly all of his numbers with the added playing time (while his TOs remain under 1/g):
Thaddeus Young
MPG
FG%
3P%
FT%
RPG
APG
SPG
BLK
TO
PPG
Before Korver Trade
10.6
48.8%
0.0%
60.0%
2.6
0.3
0.6
0.1
0.9
4.2
After Korver Trade
23.0
53.4%
33.3%
75.9%
4.8
0.9
0.8
0.2
0.9
8.5
When you combine Young’s rapid development, relentless hustle, smart play and athleticism, it’s clear the Sixers have an impact player in the making. Although he is currently starting at the power forward, I think he is the small forward of the future for this team. Here’s why…
At 6′8, 220 lbs Young is the prototypical size for an NBA small forward. Add another 10-15 pounds of muscle to his athletic frame and guess what you have? A body type very similar to Lebron James. At that size he will be able to guard the 2 through 4 positions, become a much stronger rebounder and finisher after contact, as well as be more effective playing the PF on offense when the Sixers go small.
What does that mean for Andre Iguodala? Options. First and foremost sit Willie Green down, if not get rid of him entirely. Move Iggy to the shooting guard spot and now you have a bigger guard to overcompensate for a smaller PG. This makes the Sixers much better defensively overall but especially on the perimeter. Better rebounding team as well. Worst case scenario you have an up-and-coming replacement if Stefanski decides not to overpay for Andre Iguodala (more on this in a future post).
This would solidify the perimeter (as long as we “keep Andre Miller”) so Ed can work on what we really need which is a consistent scoring force inside. Can you say Elton Brand? Josh Smith? How bout Michael Beasley? Even if it isn’t one of those guys, it allows Stefanski to focus solely on that major hole at PF.
More love for Thaddeus Young
David Thorpe recently took note of Thaddeus Young’s improved play in his latest Rookie Watch:
No player has surprised me more thus far than Thaddeus Young. ACC coaches told me he was a long way from being a pro. But Young’s instincts to play inside and out are sound (and somewhat rare), and he shoots with a beautiful pace. Golfers talk about the swing speed of Ernie Els — smooth and easy — and that’s what I think of when I watch Young shoot his jump shots. Not rushed, not slow, just right. He’s not yet a good shooter, but he’s coming along. He’s now up to [first] in player efficiency rating among rookies.
It’s about time people are finally starting notice.
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I’ve been working diligently on my 7-part baseball preview, so I’ve been a little lazy of late in terms of posting. But unless I want Dannie to take over the blog entirely - I figured I’d spend my 25th birthday with some quick hits on what’s on my mind in the Philly and National sports scene.
1. The Big-5 is in trouble - Since the creation of the NCAA tournament, 1 team from the Big-5 + Drexel has made the tournament every single year. Right now, it looks like our best bet is St. Joes, and they have lost 2 straight. ‘Nova looked like they would make it, but their very young team has looked, well, very young (and phantom fouls to end the games against NC State AND Georgetown don’t help either). Usually in these types of years, we could rely on Penn to win the Ivy, but they are struggling at 2-2 in the conference and 7-14 overall. Hopefully St. Joes can finish up their A-10 schedule tough and keep the streak alive.
2. That’s all it costs for the best pitcher in baseball? The Johan Santana trade was an absolute punch in the gut for Phillies’ fans. Before that trade, the Phils had made some solid, albeit small, upgrades and the Mets and Braves had done very little. We were the solid favorites to win the division. But, not only did the Mets get the best pitcher in baseball, but they got him for LESS that the Mariners gave up for Eric Bedard and lost NO ONE who was going to be of impact to their team in 2008. The real victims here are the Twins fans (who also lost fan-favorite Torii Hunter), who just watched a once in a lifetime pitcher leave for no other reason than they don’t live in New York or Boston. Phillies fans will moan your ear off that we don’t spend enough, but I can’t imagine being as passionate about baseball as I am and live in Kansas City, Minnesota or Pittsburgh right now.
3. The Sixers are a half game out of the what?? The recent 4-game home winning streak has put the Sixers in a position that neither their pre-season expectations, nor their 22-30 record would seem to indicate: 1/2 game out of a playoff spot. Part of the recent surge has been the outstanding play of Andre Miller (NBA player of the week) and energy of the young guys. In particular, Thaddeus Young, 19, has shown he may be special player. He had a great feel for the game, is an elite athlete, and is already showing some big time moves. Also, if you watched the Dallas game tonight, he completely shut down Dirk Nowitzki. Dannie will write more about him soon, but I’m excited about him (Young, not Dannie).
4. Pitchers and Catchers on Wednesday - Please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt.
5. Chad Johnson is ticked off - TRADE FOR HIM! I very much enjoyed the recent espn.com headling “Johnson’s agent says he will not sit out ‘08″ for a couple reasons. First of all, I love the stories where they announce something isn’t going to happen that they never originally announced might happen. Something like “Bob Knight decides he will not go on a homicidal rampage” - wait, Bob Knight was going to go on a homicidal rampage? When did that happen? This is usually a big hint that ESPN is trying to make a non-story a story. The second reason I love this headline is because it means the rumors of Ocho-Cinco wanting out are true. With B-West getting McNabb’s back that we could use a big-time receiver, I still say you offer up an impressive package that the Bengals can’t resist.
One of the best things about watching Philadelphia 76ers games on TV is the enthusiastic call by long-time play-by-play announcer Mark Zumoff.
For Sixers fans: Don’t you just love it when he goes ballistic everytime one of our players ferociously throws one down or gets a blocked shot in the crucial moments in close games? So without further ado…
Here are My Top 10 Mark Zumoffisms
10. “Nothing doing”
9. “Down it goes”
8. “The bump-and-run”
7. “Playing amongst the trees”
6. “Whistles are silent”
5. “All cotton for [fill in Sixer player]”
4. “Bustin’ a move”
3. “Picking up some loose change”
2. “Locking all windows and doors”
And my #1 Mark Zumoffism is… “For the win……YESSSSSS @#*&%^?#%$^&#$#!!!!”(Sadly this one doesn’t happen as often as we all would like.)
I know these aren’t all of the signature quotes from the Sixers play-by-play man. So what’s your favorite Mark Zumoffism?
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The rumored Shaquille O’Neal to Phoenix deal is done. The big question now is what does this trade mean for Shaq, the Phoenix Suns, the Miami Heat and the rest of the NBA?
First let me start by addressing all the critics that say “Phoenix will not be as good (if not considerably worst) having acquired O’Neal.” I don’t know about you, but whenever you get a guaranteed hall-of-fame center while he can still play at an above-average level (18.16 PER), your team can’t get worse.
Is this an over reaction to the Lakers move getting Pau Gasol? Maybe. I tend to think it’s Phoenix doing exactly what Miami did two seasons ago, which is take advantage of an opportunity to win now while Shaq can still run and jump (albeit slower and not as high). Shaq looks to be the new (and largest) “contract killer” for hire. Meaning you bring him in for a short period of time to get the job done - get to the NBA Finals and play for an NBA championship. Something the Phoenix Sun team has not been able to do as previously constructed. Clearly O’Neal can no longer lead a team at this stage of his career, but he definitely can and has proven to be successful as a hired gun to get a good team over the hump (2006 Miami Heat). Yes, Dwyane Wade led that team, but does anyone believe they get to the Finals let alone win without O’Neal in the lineup?
What this means for the Phoenix Suns
While 70% of the United States (according to ESPN Sports Nation’s poll) thinks this deal doesn’t make sense for the Phoenix Suns here’s why it does.
The Suns becomes a more well-rounded basketball team. How? We already know the Suns can run and gun better than most teams in the league. And they do so very effectively with Steve Nash at the point. That won’t change as much as people seem to think with Shaq in the line-up. Rather, I envision O’Neal igniting the break with his rebounding and freeing up the younger, faster and more agile Amare Stoudemire to get out and run the break, taking Shawn Marion’s old role. Will Shaquille be running up and down with Nash, hell no. But whenever the fast break falls apart and the ball is turned over you now have a defensive safety net in O’Neal who likely will be lagging behind. Also, I expect Mike D’Antoni, an offensive guru, to implement a secondary break that incorporates the late-coming Shaq at the top of the key, very similar to what Roy Williams runs with his up-tempo UNC squad.
What you get is a more stable and diversified half-court offense. This is especially crucial come playoff time when fast-break points are harder to come by and it becomes more of a walk-it-up, half-court game especially against the better teams in the West. Phoenix can play high-low with Shaq and Amare. Can Gasol, Bynum, Oberto, Duncan or any other big in the West guard Shaq straight up? I don’t think so. Post O’Neal up where he is surrounded by some of the best 3-point shooters in the league and his passing ability is strong enough to pick doubling defensives apart. The pick-and-roll can be run with Shaq as well. He has never been known for having bad hands. With Nash’s passing ability and basketball IQ he will get the rock to Shaq in optimal scoring position.
Defense and toughness has always been a concern for this team, especially inside. Inserting 7-foot, 1, 325-pounds clogs up a lot of lanes to the basket. Will Shaq be blocking shots left and right or be as dominant on the defensive end as he has in the past? No, but where he doesn’t block shots he still alters many of them. His motivation to do so will be at a high level with the needed change of scenery and drastically better supporting cast.
Maybe most important of all is that Shaq will inflict some pain on the guys guarding him all while getting some players in foul trouble. And you can be damn sure he will use up his 6 fouls - hard. That provides an inside intimidation factor that was always lacking with Amare in the middle. So what if he fouls out? The Suns will just revert to their more up-tempo, wide-open style of play on offense. But last year’s playoff disappointment definitely played a role in this deal. Phoenix got beat up and hit in the nose - literally - by the San Antonio Spurs. O’Neal provides a presence to eliminate that soft image and weakness.
One final note on the Suns - moving Marion now gets value for him and eliminates another summer having to deal with the disgruntled forward.
How this impacts the Miami Heat?
Pat Riley has positioned his team to make a run the second half of the season. Getting Shawn Marion, a 18 and 10 guy to play along side Dwyane Wade is huge. Miami becomes younger, more athletic and maybe most importantly healthier by swapping Shaq for Marion and Marcus Banks. Miami has also sured up the point guard spot, at least temporarily, with the addition of Banks. He has been rotting on the Phoenix bench the last two season and now will finally get an opportunity to play extended minutes. He played a stretch with Minnesota where he scored 12ppg, got 4.7apg, shot 48% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc in 30 minute per night. I expect more of the same from him in Miami, if not better.
Cap flexibility. Riley has unloaded Shaq’s enormous $20M per year contract which completely opens up the possibilities for this franchise going forward. Marion’s $16.4M with $17.1M option adds more production and puts Miami in a better position financially. Picking up Marcus Banks is also a big deal considering Jason Williams will be a free agent this summer. I don’t expect the Heat to resign his erratic and, as of late, injury-prone Williams. They may actually use him as trade bait for teams looking for expiring contracts.
No matter how you look at, this deal is solid gold for the Miami Heat.
What Shaq to Phoenix means to the rest of the League
First off, Dallas, San Antonio and Denver are officially on notice. Another team in your conference has gotten bigger and better and standing pat might not be good enough now. Phoenix has filled a need for size and physicality that has been lacking the previous years.
In the next few weeks before the trade deadline (Feb. 21st) I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dallas pump up their efforts to get Jason Kidd or Denver make the Ron Artest deal happen. The West is just a beast right now. Detriot and Boston need to be weary if they have to face the Suns in the Finals because Kendrick Perkins damn sure can’t guard even a 35-year-old Shaq. And in no way is Sheed looking forward to that match up.
Best of all, as fans, we are guaranteed one of the most anticipated, exciting and competitive NBA playoffs in a very long time. It is a great time to be an NBA fan.
Make sense now? What do you think of the deal and how it will impact the rest of the NBA season?
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That’s right well-deserved!
smarter basketball and having one of his best seasons? I attribute much of that largely to Mo.
Forgive me while I show my true “homerism” and rant about my disappointment/anger regarding Philadelphia’s non-existent representation in the 2008 All-Star festivities.
The Young Guys - I always like to use Spring Training as a time to get a feel for the pitchers that have no chance of making the roster this year, but could have an impact on the future. I’ll always remember Spring Training 2004, when a 19-year old Cole Hamels struck-out Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Tony Clark in succession causing Jeter to say that Hamels already had one of the best change-ups in baseball. Now, he’s our #1 starter and a potential star. The names to look at this spring are 
At 19-year
I’ve been working diligently on my 7-part baseball preview, so I’ve been a little lazy of late in terms of posting. But unless I want Dannie to take over the blog entirely - I figured I’d spend my 25th birthday with some quick hits on what’s on my mind in the Philly and National sports scene.
One of the best things about watching Philadelphia 76e
disappointment definitely played a role in this deal. Phoenix got beat up and hit in the nose - literally - by the San Antonio Spurs. O’Neal provides a presence to eliminate that soft image and weakness.
