1) Golden State’s Other Fresh Faces
Summary: Superteams are often plagued by a lack of depth, but are the Warriors as shallow as they seem? (from Kevin O'Connor) https://theringer.com/golden-states-other-fresh-fa...
2) Film Study: Fixing Marcus Smart’s Jump Shot
Summary: The mechanical changes that have revamped his jump shot. (from Jared Weiss) http://www.celticsblog.com/2016/10/2/13135364/marc...
3) Ersan Ilyasova: The Art Of Drawing A Charge
Summary: “I remember one time last year I tried to get an offensive foul against LeBron,” Ilyasova said this week. “He just hit me so hard. I was on the floor like 10 feet away. Sometimes when the guys go so hard on it, it hurts. But it's a really important thing as far as a change during the game.”
Few players make that particular momentum shift like Ilyasova.
Over the past four seasons, only the Kings' DeMarcus Cousins (with 120) has drawn more charges than Ilyasova's 96, according to NBAMiner.com. And no player in the NBA has drawn as many total offensive fouls — charges, push-offs, etc. — as Ilyasova, who has taken 203 of them in that span.(from Brett Dawson) http://newsok.com/okc-thunder-ilyasova-could-be-ta...
4) The Struggles Of Getting To And Sticking In The NBA
Summary: Thousands of players worldwide have NBA dreams. Only a few hundred realize them each season.(from Christopher Dempsey) http://www.denverpost.com/2016/10/01/nba-road-well...
5) The Elements Of The Magic’s Pace-Heavy Offense
Summary: The Orlando Magic plan to run a pace-heavy offense this year. It is unclear exactly what that looks like. But there are some elements the Magic need to win. (from Philip Rossman-Reich) http://orlandomagicdaily.com/2016/10/03/the-elemen...
6)
Shabazz Muhammad knows he must do more than score
Summary: Shabazz Muhammad needs to improve his defense and versatility to get on the court (from Kent Youngblood) http://www.startribune.com/shabazz-muhammad-knows-...
7) Thibodeau: Having Guys That Can Play Multiple Positions Is The Way of The League Right Now
Summary: Everyone wants to be like the Warriors."That's what you're looking for in terms of building your roster," (from Jace Frederick) http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/4128642-dea...
8) Frank Vogel Q & A
Summary: The Orlando Magic did a lot this offseason, including some things that earned plenty of criticism . They've effectively turned a 12-deep team of young, talented players into a roster built with the present in mind — though winning is no guarantee.
Still, the hardest move to criticize was the hiring of coach Frank Vogel after Scott Skiles' surprise retirement. Vogel was let go by the Pacers because team president Larry Bird felt the locker room needed a new voice — even after an injury-riddled 45-37 playoff season.
Vogel now takes over the still-young Magic, who have a compelling front court thanks to the offseason additions of Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo to go alongside Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon.
9) The 5 Teams With The Best Asset Collections
Summary: Here are the NBA five teams that have the best collections of assets in terms of cap space, picks, tradable players, and expiring contracts (from John Buhler) http://fansided.com/2016/10/04/nba-season-preview-...
10) The pursuit of versatility is hurting specialization in the NBA
Summary: With NBA training camp looming, reports are beginning to surface
detailing the plethora of skills players have added to their arsenal
over the summer. One such report indicates that Blake Griffin has worked diligently to expand his range to the three-point line.
On paper, Griffin’s desire to punish opponents from the
three-point line makes perfect sense. Shooting is the weakest part of
Griffin’s game, and becoming a threat from deep would only spread out
the defense and increase spacing for Griffin and his teammates.
Specialization going out of favor in the NBA is a huge reason why
Griffin is even putting in work from the three-point line. Versatility
has taken specialization’s place as the en vogue buzzword. Teams are
looking for guys who can utilize many different skills and play several
different positions well. The dominant train of thought is the more
versatile a player can become the better, without exception. But working
on as many skills as possible is not always what’s best for a player’s
development. (from Andrew Ford) http://upsidemotor.com/2016/10/04/nba-versatility-...
11) Vanishing Big Men
Summary:
Summary: You've got to be quick now to spot it, as if you were tracking one of
the most elusive or endangered species on the planet. Once, maybe twice
in an NBA game anymore, your focus and patience will pay off and –
THERE! – you'll catch a rare glimpse of a traditional center posting up
another traditional center for a few offensive seconds.Might as well be a snow leopard hanging out with a unicorn.
Look,
the exaggeration is only slight considering who qualifies as an NBA
"big man" these days and what that means in this post-Golden State,
pace-and-space, 3-point obsessed league. 9from Steve Aschburner) http://www.nba.com/article/2016/10/04/big-men-robi...
12) Frank Vogel Challenges Common Conceptions Of Offensive Rebounding
Summary: It is a common belief chasing offensive rebounds hurts a team’s ability to get back in transition – Frank Vogel’s teams have proven that’s not always true. (from Ricky Scricca) http://orlandomagicdaily.com/2016/10/05/how-frank-...
13) The Unboxing Of Tomas Satoransky
Summary: Wizards Rookie Tomas Satoransky's court awareness is especially important
because there are limited point guard minutes available behind John
Wall. As a shooting guard without reliable 3-point range, Satoransky
will have to create space on offense through constant movement and
exploiting unbalanced defenses. (from Adam Rubin) http://www.truthaboutit.net/2016/10/wizards-vs-hea...
