Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Robert Sarver Heading for the Exit

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In a strange turn of events, Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver saved the last scrap of decency to his name and began the process of looking for buyers for his clubs.

Hallelujah.

This time, it didn’t take the NBA communicating with a special ally through back channels to ease the removal process. The league didn’t have to get their hands dirty.

The news was announced in a statement, and in his admission, Sarver said that as a “man of faith,” he believes in forgiveness after atonement. I doubt that day will ever come.

The lasting impression people take with them about another individual is how that person makes them feel. I can’t imagine the men who heard his racial remarks or those who were unnecessarily exposed to Sarver’s dingus have walked away from their experience in a pardoning mood. Or the women who were subjected to his lewd comments and intimidating behavior being equally as excusing either.

One detail among the innumerable unseemly findings of the Wachtell Lipton report is that Sarver was comfortable making lascivious utterances about the wife of one of his players. According to him, the spouse of his employee likely gave “good blow jobs.”

Perhaps the rebuking comments of minority owner Jahm Najafi helped Sarver discover how unlikeable he is. Maybe it was PayPal dropping sponsorship of his team. It doesn’t matter. Eventually, the Suns and Mercury will be signed off to someone else, but it’s the league’s responsibility that the next person or group in charge aces the qualifications of integrity as much as the financial obligations.

This was unexpected and the best possible outcome that could result from the shenanigans in Phoenix. Silver had the authority to suspend Sarver indefinitely, but the power was mildly used with a one-year ban plus the $10 million fine. Eventually, he had to come back, which left the possibility of him being a disturbance to others once more.

Silver didn’t do enough, but decades from now, when the details of how it all transpired have faded from most people’s memories, history will remember his tenure as commissioner fondly. When the sales are complete, under Silver’s watch, the NBA will have rid itself of two animals who were unworthy of ownership.

In his statement, Sarver also said that “in our unforgiving climate,” it is impossible for him to make amends. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t. Forgiveness is awarded to those deserving of it. A couple of quotes expressing remorse don’t absolve him of his sins.

Maybe the door will smack some sense into Sarver on the way out.

In sports, for the rich, the rules don’t always apply

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The House Committee on Oversight and Reform sat confused. Not even an hour into the June 22 deposition that lauded Roger Goodell, the questions of morality took shape. Goodell sat firm as NFL commissioner, defending his judgment and sentencing of Dan Snyder, an NFL owner, arguing the actions were unacceptable and that the league would “not permit” any further violations of its policies.

 

When pressed on if he would remove Mr. Synder from his position, Mr. Goodell’s response was, “I don’t have the authority to remove him”. 

 

Authority. 

 

Authority is what Daniel Snyder was excessing when he suggested he would fire any player that fraternized with a cheerleader. Authority was telling a supervisor to make sure to keep all his cheerleaders “skinny with big tits.” On the threat of death. Authority again leveraged against a female employee whom he touched insistently and attempted to push into a limo after a team dinner.

 

Authority is exactly the tool that Snyder weaponized to create victims over decades. He held it with an iron fist, and grew ever more confident with time, and why shouldn’t he? It kept him safe in 2009 when the Washington Post ousted him for settling with an employee. $1.6M, the going sum for the acquisition of sexual assault. It protected him for a month while the Commanders were allowed to dictate the investigation into their own owner, instigated by findings in the Wilkinson Report, and it was protecting him now. 

 

The rules of the land dictate that 24 of 32 team owners would have to publicly confirm to remove an owner to expunge them from their position. The vote is purposely created as a super majority ruling to ensure no owner would unnecessarily be removed from property that they by law, purchased and secured – a system intentionally designed to dissuade the action itself. An owner voting to demote one of their own might force questions, questions based on the nature of precedent, questions based on the nature of business. Removing an owner is a momentous task and undertaking not just for the league but the team, all the employees, and families fed from the machine.

 

Unfortunately that’s just the kind of thoughts that empower men like Snyder. This kind of undertaking is the context that enables the horrendous actions of a man who knows he’s more protected by a system than dissuaded. This kind of context justifies the authority he presumes to wield, when he engages women in advances, and misleads league officials about monetary reporting. 

 

Adam Silver stood in front of a room on NBA Media to dissect the same kind of justification Goodell used only a few months prior, but is now relevant in the discussion of Robert Sarver. “There are particular rights here to someone who owns an NBA team as opposed to someone who is an employee,” Silver stated in a response to a question about the type of actions Robert reportedly engaged in with employees and if he held any other job, would he be let go of.

 

Certain rights once again are the “context” we use to apply authority over others. In Sarver’s case, he expressed his authority by using the N-Word on multiple occasions, selective mistreatment of pregnant employees, and inappropriate contact or sexually-related comments directed at and with employees.

 

If Sarver held any other job in America, with these types of substantiated claims, there is little doubt he would be fired. “It’s different than holding a job.” Adam Silver stated, and he was right. This is a playground for the rich and powerful, and it’s protected by rules, rules that need to be broken so publicly and so harshly that a supermajority of like-minded individuals would be willing to say, “I no longer want you to be at the table.”

 

A supermajority of millionaires and social elites living a life disconnected from our own, a life disconnected from consideration and level playing grounds. A life where authority is welded and justifications are shaped in the name of limiting Public Relations hits and maintaining the status quo. 

 

Goodell and Silver will be judged by the Court of Public Opinion, as they should be in the face of standing adjacent to men who flaunt power in such disgusting ways, but they stand as walls, layers between. Just as supermajority votes add layers between owners and removal, Silver and Goodell stand as layers between owners and accountability. Opinions will be foisted onto Silver as he answers questions, when the ones with the power to create change, stand away from the lights and behind the curtains. The ones who continue to stand and work with men who create trauma, and victims. The ones who would only vote to remove an owner, if their own jobs would be affected.

 

The nuance of the situation is crafted as noise to stifle the only real question that matters. That’s a question Sarver didn’t concern himself with when telling a pregnant employee she no longer would be coordinating an event because she needed to “breastfeed”, but it was for the woman who broke down publicly and wept in front of him and possibly still is, when her mind floats back to that moment. The questions for morality, and for NBA owners the buck should stop there. 

 

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Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Commissioner Adam Silver Didn’t Do Enough

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The NBA has temporarily rid itself of Robert Sarver, but the commissioner went soft on his ruling.  Having the majority Suns owner step away and fined the maximum penalty of $10 million under the collective bargaining agreement was an unsatisfying course of action when factoring in the findings of the Wacthell Lipton report.  

 

This situation is dissimilar to the Donald Sterling calamity that resulted in the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014. Still, given how the NBA handled that situation, it was unanticipated to see Silver not go balls to the wall.

 

The investigation focused on Sarver’s behavior and the workplace environment within the organization as a result of the Baxter Holmes report from Nov. 2021. This story detailed the insufferably hostile culture employees were subjected to by the team governor and other executives.

 

Silver addressed reporters on Wednesday and said he “was in disbelief” at the probe’s findings while feeling “saddened” and “disheartened.” According to him, the NBA handled it fairly, but Silver came up shorter than LeBron James at the free throw line in the closing moments of a game.  A one-year exile is an equivalent of sending a man of Sarver’s means into timeout and telling him he can come back after he’s thought about what he has done.  That frat boy has hurt people.  He deserves to be a league outcast indefinitely.  

 

No one should have to put up with a person who is comfortable exposing their dingaling in front of the workforce. Neither should they have to deal with some old white guy who cavalierly says the N-word even after being told not to. When people are on the job, they expect to be free of seeing or hearing about salacious behavior or *racial remarks*, but for 18 years, that was too much to ask for while working for the Phoenix Suns.

 

Yet, somehow the investigation found zero evidence of racial or gender-based animus regarding Sarver’s conduct.  This is the same man who hovered over one of his black coaches and aggressively threw a stat sheet down at the table where his instructor sat when displeased about a player’s performance.

 

Sarver is more toxic waste than asbestos.  I don’t care how involved and impactful his charities have been. Only  a man stranger to empathy has an attorney present when apologizing to a pregnant employee he insulted before chastising a witness. 

 

When Silver took questions from the media, he was hit with a curveball from Sports Illustrated Howard Beck.  He was asked why there should be a different standard for an owner than for every other employee.  Silver said, “There are particular rights here to someone who owns an NBA team as opposed to someone who is an employee.”

 

Translation of what Silver said:  Unless you’re paying my check, it’s unacceptable.  

 

It’s a shame the NBA doesn’t have an ally in this scenario as it did with Shelly Sterling in 2014.  As Ramona Shelburne explained on The Sterling Affairs, Donald was openly dating V. Stiviano. When  the tapes of his racist comments surfaced, the league had their opening to boot him because Shelly owned half of the Clippers.  She got her husband’s doctor to declare him unfit, which facilitated the sale.

 

The NBA doesn’t have an ace up its sleeve like Shelly.  For that reason, Silver said, “I don’t have the right to take his team away…” 

 

Mateo’s Hoops Diary: Cleveland’s Ceiling With Donovan Mitchell

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Donovan Mitchell is a lucky man.  He now lives in the same city as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Oh, and he’ll also be playing with a better-equipped squad to hide his deficiencies guarding opponents.

 

It might take the first couple of months of the year for coach JB Bickerstaff to calibrate the ball handling duties, late-game pecking order, and defensive principles now that his group added an All-Star.  Training camp and the preseason might highlight some favorable combinations, but the real test will come when the games matter.  But this experiment should work, at least before the Playoffs.  

 

Garland spent 95% of his minutes at point guard this season, but in 2020 as a rookie, he spent 3/4s of his time at shooting guard while Colin Sexton locked down the QB spot.  Playing off-ball is a skill Garland has demonstrated but with Mitchell integrated into the lineup, he should see more opportunities than he did in 2022.  It would allow him to work as a sniper that repositions after a screen or helps as a decoy.  Garland didn’t have many chances to show off this feature of his game after Sexton missed all but 11 games and Ricky Rubio was absent for 48.

 

The newest Cavalier, Spida, was third in usage among guards who qualified for league leaders in 2022.  Moments off-ball will come for Garland, but it’s essential that Mitchell sacrifices touches and his body for his backcourt mate and others too.  Screening is a fine technique that gets the initiator open as it does the player who received the help.  Using Mitchell as a pick-and-pop and screen-and-roll weapon would be tough to guard.  He has enough accuracy on his jumper to fire away outside the lane, or he could exhibit his speed on a cut to the rim after the catch.

 

Mitchell and Garland are elusive enough to burn a defender off the dribble to cause a breakdown.  They are also dynamic attacking through pick and roll.  If the defense is deploying drop coverage, Cleveland’s guards can force separation and pull up from the elbow while one defender is behind the hip of the ball handler and the other by the rim.

 

 Both are three-level scorers that bend defenses even when the ball is out of their hands.  Opponents will make difficult decisions when both are on the floor, and one catches fire.  If a trap or double is sent towards Mitchell or Garland, damage could be inflicted if the ball handler passes out on time to the nearest teammate, and then the rock is dished to a wide-open man.

 

But how much better are the Cavs?

 

Cleveland should enter the postseason without competing in the Play-In Tournament.  Defensively, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley provide backline protection when the Cavs’ guards get beat checking the perimeter.  Yet, always having to help because a teammate can’t stay in front of their matchup will unnecessarily tax Cleveland’s frontcourt by covering too much ground.

 

The defense’s ceiling-setting flaw is that the backcourt likely won’t guard up effectively when switched onto opponents of a different position.  If one of them is stuck in a mismatch near the paint, help will be sent, but at the risk of exposing space.

 

Garland and Mitchell are one-way players and small at 6’1. Spida’s long arms are a tool that could help him improve guarding his yard under the right defensive philosophy, but success on that end is about high ball IQ and effort.  Cleveland’s backcourt cannot afford to be overly reliant on its rim protection because the Cavs will want its twin towers as close to the paint to influence rivals into attacking exclusively from the perimeter.

 

Cleveland will be one of the most exciting teams to watch this upcoming season, but this trade doesn’t make them contenders.  Their backcourt could get hunted down if the opponent chooses to strike this weakness.  It’s an arduous challenge reaching the conference finals when a starting unit has just one player who is a liability guarding.  Cleveland has two.

 

For now, the Cavs are a second-round crasher.

 

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Mateo’s Hoops Diary: Butler’s Time in Miami Won’t be for Nothing

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Miami’s window for a championship will remain open as long as Jimmy Butler can produce as he has in two of the last three Playoffs.  Even then, he will still need some herculean efforts from his teammates, but if they fall short, it won’t mean his time wearing white-hot was a failure. 

 

Championship rings aren’t the only thing that matter in sports.  Sometimes the memories left blowing in the wind are worth as much.  In his tenure with the club, Butler-led groups gave Heat Nation two of their most enjoyable seasons in franchise history.  That was not guaranteed after LeBron James and Dwyane Wade left.

 

I’m old enough to remember when Butler arrived in Miami, the Heatles had just missed the Playoffs in Wade’s farewell season.  His addition was supposed to make the team respectable again as it briefly lingered in purgatory after Flash’s transient departure in 2016.

 

But Butler did more than that.  And now, the conversation among Heat supporters and media following the team has shifted towards the squad’s chances of competing for a title.  Butler set the bar high.

 

This wasn’t supposed to be the Heat’s outlook.  In 2019 the best players on the squad were Goran Dragić, Josh Richardson, and Hassan Whiteside.  Managing to flip two of those three in a four-team deal that netted Miami Butler was as prolific a steal as the Lufthansa Heist.  It changed the Heat’s fortunes because they got a dude who impacted winning and said the right things after the games in pressers.  

 

Butler may miss time nursing his injuries in the regular season that arise from his bruising style of play, but he’s been as dependable as one can be in the Playoffs. After Game 2 of the 2020 Finals, Butler had played over 44 minutes in the loss, and before he left the Zoom call, I asked him if he could play all 48.  He said he could and would do “whatever it takes to win.” In Game 5, he recorded a triple-double and played all but 48 seconds of the win.  He averaged 43 minutes a night in the six-game series Miami lost to the Los Angeles Lakers for the championship.

 

The fine details about a team losing Game 7 at home are infrequently remembered.  Some might point to Boston’s win at Miami to claim the eastern crown as a stain against Butler’s term.  But I don’t.  He did miss a pull-up triple on the right wing that Boston’s Jayson Tatum admitted “could have sent us home,” but his legs were dead.  He had played 47 minutes and logged 35 points and nine rebounds on the stat sheet.  Butler finished the season, leaving every ounce of effort he generated on the floor.  

 

The Heat is a relatively new franchise at 35 years old, but they, at different points in time, have been the employers of a distinguished Hall of Famers who left their indelible mark.  James, Wade, Chris Bosh, Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Ray Allen, are as legit as it gets when it comes to elite talent being a part of an organization.  With all Butler has done in three seasons, he has elevated himself to the third most important figure in the team’s history behind Wade and James.

 

******

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Mateo’s Hoops Diary: Better Scorer…. LeBron or Kareem?

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LeBron James is 1,325 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the regular season for the all-time scoring crown.  He’ll shatter the record before the upcoming NBA year concludes if Father Time doesn’t visit him and claim some of his powers.  If that happens, he’ll still have until 2025, when his contract expires.  

 

When James claims the record, will it mean he’s a better scorer than Abdul-Jabbar?  It depends on who you ask and how old they are.  

 

LeBron is one of the most efficient scorers the league has ever seen, and to his credit, he averaged a career-high in points per game in his 19th season.  The millions he spends annually on maintaining his body are paying off by keeping him in world-class shape.  

 

Indeed, the rule changes throughout the last few decades have tilted the game entirely in favor of the offensive player.  This has assisted James and players of his era by lowering the degree of difficulty to score because there is less physicality in the league now.  Defenders can’t hand check, and more recently, shooters have additional protection because of the unofficially named Zaza Pachulia rule.  According to the NBA’s law, defenders must give a shooter landing space.

 

These rules are a good thing.  When the game was more physical, it could allow certain players to affect the outcome of a match without using basketball skills.  Some of the effects of the rule changes, like the game becoming more perimeter-oriented, are not such a great thing, but that’s an argument for another day.  

 

LeBron hurts a defense primarily within 0-10 feet from the basket.  He’s never been better than a streaky shooter, but he never had to be with how efficient he is inside the paint.  Although, in certain situations, being guarded in single coverage on the perimeter, I wish LeBron would just cut or use his body to post up instead of taking a jumper.  When he settles for outside looks, he guards himself by forfeiting an opportunity to bang down low.  For his career, James converts 73.7% of the shots he takes within 0-3 feet of the cup.

 

 

In the first half of LeBron’s career, he was an unforgiving wrecking ball.  His cuts to the basket had to be guarded below and above the rim.  Those who followed his career can vividly remember when he jumped over John Lucas III on the baseline, caught a lob from Dwyane Wade, and slammed it, all with one hand.  Or when he obliterated Jason Terry with his chest for futilely trying to contest an alley-oop. 

 

James is a slasher. Despite his inconsistencies as a perimeter shooter, the more concerning flaw to his game, aside from underusing the post, is that he isn’t near automatic from the line.  He’s finished five seasons recording below 70% from the charity stripe.  In 2021/2022, James was 18th in the NBA in free throw attempts (6), but someone as tall, muscular, and agile as he should be taking close to double-digit freebies, making a minimum of 80%.

 

 

A player doesn’t have to be a flashy gunslinger to be considered the best at dropping points.  As far as the most recognized scorers of his era- Kobe Byrant, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Stephen Curry- James has a higher career field goal percentage and points per game average than all minus KD.  Durant is behind James in field goal percentage by a hair, but he barely leads the Lakers forward in scoring average.

 

Having gotten this close to Abdul-Jabbar is mind-blowing.  I thought his record was untouchable, but it’s inevitable James makes it his.  Like Kareem said, “The game always improves when records like that are broken.”

 

Abdul-Jabbar played from 1969-1989.  Basketball wasn’t the spaced-out game that is seen today because the NBA didn’t have a 3-point line until 1979, and after its arrival, it wasn’t valued by the players like the current generation does.  The ballers, then too, had more leeway with contact.  Despite that, Kareem was still lighting up the league with his arsenal of post moves.  

 

It should also be noted that Kareem played the first 12 seasons of his career, scoring on hard rims.  Any shot attempted had to be clean for it to go in, and there were not as many friendly bounces before the breakaway rim was introduced.

 

The masses ceaselessly and incorrectly give Abdul-Jabbar props saying his skyhook was unguardable.  Click here for proof of Wilt Chamberlain swatting multiple attempts on the same possession.  Julius Erving, Bill Willoughby, and Manute Bol also deserve a head nod for blocking Kareem’s hook from behind.  

 

The skyhook was indefensible against 99% of the league because it was something he worked on from the time he was in fifth grade.  It was mastered when he arrived at UCLA.  

 

Even with the NCAA forbidding dunks from 1967-1977, Kareem still dropped over 2,300 points before making the pros.  

 

Abdul-Jabbar was a master in the post. Defenders would lean on his hip to bump him off his spot, and he would respond by aiming his left shoulder at the basket and catapulting a shot with his right.  Or he would hit a fader, back down an opponent, or pivot past them for a layup or dunk.

 

One of the coldest moments in NBA history was the closing moments of overtime in Game 6 of the 1974 Finals.  Down a point with seven seconds left, Kareem caught a pass at the right elbow, pivoted, and took off towards the rim, facing a double team.  He raised on the baseline and buried his signature move, extending the season finale to another game.

 

Verdict

 

Who gets the edge?   What determines who is the better scorer, in my book, is who was harder to guard.  

 

They are dissimilar players.  James, a point-forward, he decides who gets the ball.  Abdul-Jabbar was a center and, like a wideout in football, depended on his playmaker feeding him the rock.

 

Both of them are most lethal near the rim.  At 7’2, Abdul-Jabbar is five inches taller than James, and the size advantage creates more mismatches against defenders.  Being a towering post scorer also leaves a player in great position to recover offensive rebounds for putbacks.  

 

Before LeBron developed an adequate outside shot, intelligent rivals would sag off, daring him to misfire.  It was a safer bet than guarding close up and conceding a lane.  Even through traffic, to this day,  James is an excellent finisher, but his kryptonite inside the paint is a legit shot blocker.

 

Kareem’s hook is so deadly that when he missed, it was more his fault than the man guarding him.  Aside from the Dipper, nobody had a chance of contesting it straight up.  Not in this life.  The others who blocked it from behind made unforgettable saves that must have bewildered the  “tower of power”.  But that move ate up schemes deployed to neutralize Abdul-Jabar, and he still had an abundance of other techniques to use.  

 

In this department, I’ll roll with Kareem, regardless of his reign as scoring leader, eventually coming to a close.  

 

When it’s all over, the only thing people will be able to say when examining the record is that at the peak of their powers, the league was theirs.

 

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Mateo’s Hoops Diary: The Miami Heat Remain Dangerous

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The Miami Heat are going to run it back, and it’s not such a bad thing in the short term. With the latest news that Kevin Durant is staying put in Brooklyn, the only white whale Miami remains interested in is Donovan Mitchell.  But should they give up on that hunt for now?  

 

The market will be inflated for a long time due to the Rudy Gobert trade that sent five First Round Picks to Utah with four players from Minnesota in exchange for the Frenchman.  Conventional wisdom tells me the Jazz wouldn’t be interested in letting Spida go unless they net a haul like they did trading their big-man. 

 

There’s a shortlist of players that can go nuclear like Mitchell on offense- Utah doesn’t need to buckle on its asking price in negotiations because their guy is signed for the next three seasons. They already pulled off one historic exchange this summer.  There isn’t a rush to manufacture a second so soon.

 

The best chance Miami has of getting Spida in uniform is if they sign him when he’s an unrestricted free agent or devise a way to trade for him in two years when he has one season left on his contract.   

 

The best swap Miami could offer would be Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry and two FRPs.  It’s a steep price but likely not enough unless Lowry’s spot is switched for Bam Adebayo, but that should be a dealbreaker.  

 

Mitchell is a masterful scorer, but he isn’t Dwyane Wade.  The similarities Spida has exhibited attacking the basket are reminiscent of Flash, but committing a trove of assets for a small guard who is only effective on one side of the ball should be a hard pass.  

 

The Heat have a late-game scoring issue that needs to be remedied, but solutions will likely come internally.  In Game 7s loss at home, anyone not named Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were ineffective on offense.  Boston was keying in Miami’s All-Stars throughout the game, and by the end of the night, their legs were dead.

 

When watching a team go down as the Heat did in the conference finals, it’s natural for fans or even team employees to want to feel the immediate gratification of improving the specific weakness.   

 

 It’s feasible the late-game scoring drags are fixed with a healthy Tyler Herro growing into the role of closer or Kyle Lowry having a bounce-back season as the main ball handler. Or even Victor Oladipo recapturing his former ability to get a bucket at will- fingers crossed.  One of Herro, Lowry, or Oladipo will have to be the third option alongside Adebayo and Butler in the Playoffs.

 

The Heat’s uncertainty at power forward is the team’s primary concern because the Butler era’s window for competing for a title is still open, but there is no telling for how long. He turns 33 on Sept. 14, but he is one of the legitimate difference makers in the NBA.  Miami shouldn’t waste its time on unrealistic options when other improvements are possible to keep Miami as lethal as last season.

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Former Heatle Jae Crowder, currently over in Phoenix, has one year left on his deal.  I doubt the Suns would want to let an effective 3-and-D wing like him walk as a free agent and get nothing back in return.  Perhaps Miami could explore bringing him back for the right price, and if not, next man up.  His tenure as part of the club was brief but integral in their 2020 Finals run. 

 

Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes is another complementary forward who would fit nicely in the Heat’s rotation.  The Kings are going all-in on the play-in tournament, but if the season goes sideways for them, maybe the Heat could make an enticing proposition for Barnes’ expiring contract before the trade deadline.  

 

 For now, Tucker’s absence will alter some of Miami’s defensive schemes. He won’t be around to guard the other team’s best perimeter player, be a weak side help defender on opposing drives or be a guy who can switch onto any opponent and bother them.  

 

When Tucker was a Heatle, Miami was good enough to contend. His efforts boxing out, rebounding, screening, defending, and spacing the floor made him the team’s leatherman multi-tool. Tucker would seldomly get beat defending the ball handler last season.  His instincts and force to stay in front of the rock let other Heat players stick to their matchup without helping.

 

Caleb Martin is a candidate for the Heat’s starting power forward slot.  He is a solid player, but if he can’t hold opponents in front of him, Miami’s defense could eventually suffer by repeatedly having to send help when Martin is caught in a mismatch.  Martin, who stands at 6’5, will likely guard a bigger or stronger player before a switch. To his credit, his defensive field goal percentage last year was 41.8% on 10.7 attempts by the opponent.

 

Yet, offensively, Martin at the four is practicable. His athleticism is a plus, and he is a comparable deep shooter to Tucker.  At the end of a cut, Martin has enough pop to attack from above on a dunk.  His willingness to go for the slam should grant him more trips to the free throw line in 2022/2023.  Playing next to defenders like Adebayo and Butler possibly will increase Martin’s transition opportunities where he can use his speed getting downhill to Miami’s advantage.  

 

Last season, Tucker logged 609 more minutes than Martin.  In that extra time, PJ hit 16 more triples than his former teammate, on a slightly higher rate (.2%) and volume (.1%).

 

Getting the starting nod should see an uptick in 3-point attempts for Martin and, if converted around a similar efficiency, will provide ample room for Miami’s cutters to attack the cup. 

 

If plugged in at the four, Martin’s role as a screener will be more important than ever to get his teammates and himself open.  It would utilize his explosiveness to run actions for him as the roll man looking to score after a screen.  

 

It was first reported on Five on the Floor, Miami was comfortable not signing a free agent four after Tucker’s departure because they view Martin as a better player than any on the market.  It’s possible the Heat are right, and there won’t be much drop-off in two-way potency in 2022/2023.

 

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Mateo’s Hoops Diary: A New Era in the NBA

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The NBA is in the middle of a power shift.  The three most noteworthy players of the past generation are LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.  While the three of them are still outstanding, the new faces of the league snuck in through the back door and will likely remain as the league’s premier ballers for close to a decade.  

 

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić are the NBA’s next titans.  They may not win as many rings as James, Curry and Durant have combined, but that shouldn’t be the only criteria for evaluating their greatness.  Personal records factor in, and so do the moments that took your breath away watching them.

 

For Giannis, what earned my unyielding respect for his game was his 2021 postseason run.  In the Finals, he was the focal point of two highlight plays that will forever shine in championship lore.

 

First, it was the block on Deandre Ayton’s attempted lob.  The Greek Freak was assisting PJ Tucker with icing Devin Booker on a roll.  Booker noticed the attention and hoisted a pass to the 7-footer who stood in the restricted area.  Before Ayton could plunge it down the cylinder, Antetokounmpo was at his chest and rejected the ball towards Tucker.

 

That’s as close as you will get to seeing someone float like a butterfly and sting like a bee on the court.

 

The next play happened in Game 5.  Booker dribbled into a wall in the lane and when looking to pass out, was stripped by Jrue Holiday, who started the fastbreak.  Antetokounmpo was the first Buck to make it to the Phoenix’s paint.  Holiday then flung up a pass, and the Freak snatched it, and while taking a two-handed shove from Chris Paul to the gut, still slammed the rock through the cup.  

 

It was called a shooting foul but it should have got Paul tossed, even with 13.5 seconds left.  Pushing someone in the air is slimy.  When a player has taken flight, they are defenseless and should be avoided by the opposition unless making a play on the ball.  The only reason Giannis powered through Paul’s desperate cheap shot and landed on his feet is that he is a super freak plus close to a foot taller than his aggressor.

 

Antetokounmpo’s Jedi-like maneuver distracted the refs and most observers from calling what happened what it was.  A dirty play by Paul.

 

In the next game, the season finale, Antetokounmpo delivered his magnum opus by dropping 50 points for the title.  By the night’s end, he’d won all the major awards a player can earn in the league.  He was only 26 years old.  

 

Jokić, the reigning back-to-back MVP, is on his way to becoming a historic player if he isn’t already.  If his team gets around eight more wins than this past season’s win total while he produces comparable stats to his last two years, maybe the Joker becomes the fourth player in league history behind Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird to win three consecutive MVPs.  

 

Those are big ifs, but winning a pair in two seasons is a rare accomplishment. It’s only been done by 12 other guys.

 

The Joker’s near 7-foot frame neutralizes the effects of opposing double teams because he can precisely find an open man by passing over the top of defenders.  His post game is as polished as newly minted coins, and he can step away from the paint and torch his rivals from the outside.  

 

Jokić does it all on offense.  His 82 triple-doubles in the regular season and Playoffs will attest to it.  In 2021/2022, he elevated his game and logged a career-high in points and field goal percentage while playing without two starters (Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr).  In the absence of two of Denver’s top marksmen, Jokić operated in mostly clogged paints, and he was still untouchable.  

 

Few plays are as pleasing as his no-look passes or when he finds a teammate cutting backdoor or targets another man across court in the shooting pocket. The Joker’s strongest asset is his mind.  Ninety-nine times out of 100 that he steps on the floor, he’ll be the smartest dude in uniform.

 

Then there’s Luka.  A forward who can fill up the stat sheet like James, Bird and Rick Barry.  Who could forget how at 21 and 22 years old, Dončić was making the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George-led Clippers sweat bullets because they were unable to stay in front of him?  Or specifically, when he caught a sideline pass near midcourt, dribbled over to the left wing, and pulled up for a game-winning trifecta in Game 4 of Round 1 of the 2020 Playoffs?

 

Dončić is never the fastest man on the court, but it doesn’t stop him from getting anywhere he wants.  His strength and footwork allow him to create separation when he decides to cut inside or post up.  

 

Guarding Dončić is as enticing as picking your poison.  If he is defended in single coverage, he might casually drop a 40-piece.  If help is sent on each of his drives, he’ll cut up the scheme by finding a cutter on the baseline or a shooter outside.

 

Dončić entered the NBA workforce as an All-Star caliber player.  In four years, he ascended near the peak of his profession. 

 

If I had to start a team and the only three names in the hat were Antetokoumpo, Jokić  and Dončić, I could make the pick blindfolded and be elated at my prospects.  The league is theirs for years to come.  Just as Wilt Chamberlain passed the torch to Kareem, as Bird and Magic Johnson gave it up to Michael Jordan, the cycle repeats.  James, Curry and Durant will be replaced by Antetkounmpo, Jokić and Dončić.

Mateo’s Hoops Diary: Kevin Durant Undercut his Bosses

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The Brooklyn Nets are more dysfunctional than the Royal Family and are addicted to double-dipping in misery.

 

Kevin Durant summoned the trump card when he called for his coach and general manager to hit the chopping block.   If owner Joe Tsai turns on his own, KD will have a chance to sit with the other coach killers of the mess hall. Magic Johnson, Dwight Howard, Latrell Sprewell, Stephon Marbury, Carmelo Anthony, etc., please clear out a spot for the new head of the table.  

 

There’s also the option of keeping him.   I don’t think KD has the nerve to miss camp, yet letting him show up could result in an overwhelmingly uncomfortable situation to deal with.  Leaking this info to Shams Charania has emasculated Durant’s superiors, and his insolence could spread like a virus throughout the locker room.

 

But the more likely finale to this sad affair is that Tsai taps out of this deal and trades Durant for pennies on the dollar, crippling the team for years to come. Following the report of their meeting over in London, Tsai tweeted the front office and coaching staff have his full support, and they will do what’s in the best interest of the team.

 

Initially, I wrote the Nets were better off keeping KD.  The news has changed, and so has my opinion.  He is now more trouble than he’s worth.  The bridge wasn’t burned when he asked out, but it is now.  His plan, from an outsider’s perspective, appears to be that he’s going to break balls until he gets his way.   

 

The Celtics offered Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and a first-round draft pick for Durant’s services but were denied.  I find it unlikely that Boston will be as enthusiastic this time around to offer the same deal knowing how desperate the Nets must be.  Maybe Phoenix, Toronto and Miami are still in the mix too.

 

Durant should feel frustrated the team was pantsed in round one.  But before he calls out his bosses, it would be wiser to set Kyrie Irving straight for compromising the team’s season for fear of needles or wounding his pride.  It was Irving’s selfishness and pseudo-intellectualism that cost the team an opportunity for more favorable seeding.  It would have likely led to an easier opponent to start the Playoffs.  

 

KD didn’t even hold James Harden accountable.  Before Harden was shipped out, Durant never told his buddy to slim down.  Perhaps it would have soothed the stress on the Beard’s aching hamstrings.  

 

This underhanded move #7 pulled reeks of entitlement.  Where does he get the stones to orchestrate such a machiavellian tactic when he hasn’t lived up to his end of the deal?  After all, he did get a fat extension worth $198 million a year ago, and all he has to show for it is a sweep and complaints.  

 

The Slim Reaper is still a force of nature, but it doesn’t matter who it is. Giving any player in year-16 carte blanche is a dangerous gamble.  If he’s every bit as awful as LeGM over in Lakerland at building a team, the Nets might be forced to pack up their stuff and head back to New Jersey.

 

If Tsai hands over executive powers to Durant, the appointment of one of his sycophants as coach and general manager is likely his next threat.  Tsai should tell his disgruntled employee, thanks but no thanks, and start packing your bags.  Sean Marks was doing a fine job before Durant and Irving showed up. 

 

Steve Nash should have submitted his two-week notice the moment Irving said he didn’t need a coach, and Durant called it a “collaborative effort.”  For all of Nash’s faults, he never had the trust of his star players.  Neither did Kenny Atkinson before him, and he too got canned.  

 

Call it what you want.  Durant wants two human sacrifices to wash over his shortcomings.  The only thing that will absolve him of that is a self-led deep trip in the postseason or if he parachutes into another loaded squad and they save him.

 

*****

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Mateo’s Hoops Diary: It’s All on Zion Williamson

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The fate of the Pelicans rests on Zion Williamson’s plate. To protect themselves from their star player eating himself out of the league, NOLA will periodically weigh him to ensure he doesn’t exceed 295 pounds. Although, with the threshold being such a high number, they are giving Williamson a large amount of waist room.  

 

Yet, there’s no word on Williamson guaranteed money getting touched if he misses a certain amount of games. When I asked the Pelicans about it, they did not want to provide any other information about his contract, including how the 295-pound threshold was reached by both parties, how much Williamson is weighing now and what they’d prefer his measurements on the scale to be. 

 

However, #1 is committed to getting slimmer after missing an entire season (2021/2022) with a foot injury. He has employed the services of a new personal chef who works with other athletes. But it’s the least he could do after reportedly showing up last year weighing 330 pounds.

 

It’s news to me that a professional athlete couldn’t stay in shape when going through an injury to his extremities as he was surrounded by some of the best trainers and nutritionists in the world. 

 

Williamson and his camp should be elated that the only thing affecting his guaranteed money is something he can control. Given the explosive nature of his game, it’s reasonable to believe that lowering his density would alleviate some of the pressure on his joints, ligaments, bones and muscles when coming down. 

 

Williamson is legit. But he hasn’t done anything to deserve such a commitment from his team when he’s only played in 85 regular season games in three seasons. For the Pelicans to take the next step into contention after making their first Playoffs since 2018, Williamson will have to rewrite the narrative on his availability.

 

New Orleans valiantly challenged Phoenix through six games in round one before defeat. Despite a short trip to the postseason, the prospects of NOLA having a bright future were as clear as the Weddell Sea because of how much they pushed the Suns without Williamson on deck. 

 

Hypothetically, the series against the West’s top-seeded team would have transpired differently with #1 suited up. Perhaps New Orleans still gets taken out, but what is certain is the defensive strategy the Suns used would have been altered with Williamson on the floor because of the mismatches he creates. 

 

 Replacing Jackson Hayes for a healthy Williamson in the starting lineup would have given the Pelicans four players with the ability to create their own shot to open a game. If that many players can get a bucket on their own, it limits an opponent’s capacity to send help effectively. 

 

About 70% of Williamson’s field goal attempts come from within three feet of the hoop, and it’s usually a surprise when he fails to convert from close range. He is a danger to the rim and commands a double or trap near the paint with the ball in his hands in the halfcourt. That type of attention from the defense will make sure another Pelican will get open on the opposing baseline or perimeter. 

 

An effective tactic to deploy when Williamson returns this upcoming season is using him more as the roll man after a screen. In 2021, his PNR frequency was only 5.2%, scoring 1.4 points per game on those possessions. The screener always gets open if the man he roadblocked is trying to ice the ball handler. Williamson would have a short window to receive the ball and dash toward the cup. If his man is low defending the lane, he can attack the protection by taking a shot from up to 16 feet away or attempt to go through him to force the foul. 

 

Williamson not getting enough action in PNR is a coaching crime that falls on the shoulders of Stan Van Gundy and Alvin Gentry, aside from their inability to keep him in shape. 

 

Fortunately for the Pelicans, coach Willie Green managed to direct his squad into the postseason when the chances of it happening were slimmer than a straight razor to start the campaign. Such an accomplishment adds credibility to Green because snatching the eighth seed indicated the Pelicans were farther along in their development than expected. 

 

Adding Williamson to this group could make New Orleans one of the dark horse teams in the West. They already have two three-level scorers in Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, plus a shutdown perimeter defender in Herb Jones. Inserting a skywalker like Williamson around those guys is a luxury not many teams can say they have. 

 

But none of it will mean anything If NOLA’s first overall pick can’t get on the floor. The investment to build a compatible team around him is too large for the Pelicans to fail.