Courtside View: Previewing the 2013-14 Season
The 2013-14 season is just hours away and the reigning champs are looking to start the season. off with a victory against a newly equipped rivalry, in the Chicago Bulls. Following that game on TNT, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers are showcased. I will tell you who is the most dominant team between these two. In the past, I've always said the western conference is the better conference, but with teams like the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks, all upgrading their odds to win a championship to overthrow the defending champs. The west still have dominant teams, but not like the East. This is probably one of the biggest seasons I've been most excited about in awhile. I'll also tell you why the bottom-feeder teams are going to be looking to make their ways up to the top.
Former number one overall pick, Greg Oden, either has ended up broke, or just couldn't walk away from the game without proving himself. One of the biggest busts in NBA history, Oden has returned to the NBA, ready to make an impact with the Miami Heat. The problem with Oden is that he couldn't never stay healthy. He was always hurt. In fact he signed his big contract with the Portland Trailblazers and then said he was hurt. I can just imagine his thoughts..."I can't play now, but I definitely can cash the checks." As if the Heat needed Help, the core of the team is still in tact. With LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Heat will be there at the end, when it is all said and done. If Wade can stay healthy, this team will be more than a handful. Add Ray Allen to the pot and you now have a complete full course dish. However, the Bulls are looking to throw leftovers in that pot. You can't forget about the Bulls...The same team that derailed the Heats 27 game winning streak, and they did it without their prized possession Derrick Rose. Add him to the mix now and this team has a roster, who can outplay anyone in the league. Did I mention they went 8-0 in the pre-season. I know it doesn't count, but it is worth noting.
The Lakers and Clippers play in the same arena. The Staples center has always been home to the five time NBA champ...Kobe Bryant. Things maybe starting to change in favor or the Clippers. This is a team I'm looking forward to seeing. The Clippers are deep and now have a coach who is defensive minded in Doc Rivers. Chris Paul is a great point guard in this league, but Rivers has called out Paul. Letting him know he hasn't done anything in this league. That's one way to push a player to play harder. I can tell you, Rivers has already won that locker room over. If he gets Blake Griffin to commit to playing better defense, no opposing team will be able to score in the low-post. DeAndre Jordan has defense, he just doesn't have offense. He makes nasty looking dunks, he just can't make free throws. Rivers will have to change that, hire a guru or something, but Jordan and Griffin have to be able to make free throws. Who is playing opening night for the Lakers, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, are the only big names. Kobe Bryant, may be in the building, but he won't be on the court. The 15x all-star is sidelined due to an torn Achilles tendon late last season. It is not known, when he will return. The scale is starting to tilt towards the Clippers side. The team is younger and more talented, while the Lakers are playing, hoping, not to establish injuries along the way.
The eastern conference has gotten better as a whole. The Indiana Pacers are going to welcome their star before their star back in...Danny Granger. Granger missed the majority of the 2012-13 season, due to an patellar injury. Limited to five games last season, Granger is going to miss the first three weeks of this season, due to a calf injury. While he was out, it gave rising star, Paul George, the keys to the team. George is an all-around outstanding player. The former Fresno State product, became an all-star, became the most improved player, and was on the second all-defensive team, thanks to Granger being side-lined. This team isn't worried about missing him. With Roy Hibbert, George Hill, David West and Paul George healthy, this team will be balling-out. They replace Tyler Hannsbrough, with Luis Scola. A more well-rounded player. Scola can score and rebound. That is a great replacement. Other teams such as the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks, have been talking trash all off-season, about being the better team. Who is exactly is better? The Nets acquired aging stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. With a team who already had Deron William, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez. This team already had offensive, but now jus became defensive. If Healthy this team can go a long way. The Knicks added Andrea Bargnani, Metta World Peace, and re-signed J.R. Smith. They drafted Tim Hardaway Jr., to a team who already had Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and Iman Shumphert. No one is expecting much from this team, but I beg to differ. They broke the record for most three pointers made last season and I expect that to continue this year. That's what happens when you double team Carmelo Anthony.
Bottom-feeder teams, such as the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Milwaukee Bucks, are making the league more interesting. The Raptors, Cavaliers and Bucks have some big name people. I've seen them in the pre-season and teams won't be able to beat them, just by showing up. These teams are going to be tough to beat. They are more hungrier, than established teams, because they have more to prove. If they can hang with the tough teams in the regular season, they can make a playoff leap. The Raptors in the playoffs, yes. Same can be said about the others. You think the Washing ton Wizards are going to be easy, with John Wall, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza, Nene, Marcin Gortat. That is a good team. Notice most of these teams are from the eastern conference, the better conference. The western conference are good, but not great. The Oklahoma Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets will be in the playoffs, but with injuries, aging and first year acquisitions, I'm not sure how far these teams will go. With the Clippers they are established, throw in a coach, who can make the right moves and you now have a contender. Who will throw the Heat off ?. The eastern conference is up for grabs. Everybody got better, but the Heat really didn't. The Bulls, Pacers, Nets, and Knicks all will be throwing blows at them. The question is, will anyone of them be haymakers! This season is going to be exciting!
Showing posts with label Thunder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thunder. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
COURTSIDE VIEW: "Revenge is the Sweetest Joy"
Johnny J
2Pac once said, "Revenge is the sweetest Joy" (90% of our readers should know the rest of that line--Ed). To LeBron James, the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers were suppose to win it all. Instead, those dreams were swept in a dust pan and thrown away by the San Antonio Spurs. Six years later, with a stacked resume, LeBron looks to have the last laugh. Since that defeat, LeBron has won an NBA championship, won Finals MVP, has reached the Finals, three consecutive years, won an NBA scoring title and has two gold medals in the Olympics. Oh, did I mention that he is considered the best player on the planet right now?
This year's best scorer in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony, still hasn't learned that it takes more than one player to win a championship. Now at 28, a mature and focused James is up to the challenge of facing the same team who crushed his chance of winning his first ring.
James also has two other All-Stars on his team in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Yes, Bosh is soft, but he still was an All-Star. LeBron needed help from other superstars to eventually win a ring last year against the Oklahoma City Thunder. An Avengers team was created and the Miami Heat have been too hot to extinguish. When the Heat lose, everyone panics--everyone but the Heat. They continue to play their game. My first thought on Game 7 between the Heat and the underdog Indiana Pacers was that LeBron is going to take over. I mean he has to because his team is not showing up. Instead in the first quarter, he passed on a few shots. He had 6 points at the end of the first quarter (on pace for 24 points--that's not too shabby!--Ed) and they were only down by two. He let the game come to him. At halftime he had 18 points (36 points' pace?--Ed) and he finished with 32 points. He scored when he needed to. There was even a Dwyane Wade sighting as he scored 21 points to help LeBron and company advance to the Finals.
But if their is a team, who I believe can put the flames out, it is the Spurs. Over the first three rounds, they showed me that old men can play (besides Uncle Drew that is). They swept the Los Angeles Lakers, beat the young and talented backcourt of the Golden State Warriors, and swept the Memphis Grizzlies with the same broom they used on the Lakers. That's what opened my eyes, and then I closed them because dirt got in my eyes from the sweep. Oh wait, that was just the thought of me losing $40 bucks for thinking old men can't jump. The Spurs are not a physical team, but they can get up and down the court with the best of them. Even though they have three aging stars, they would have a total of nine days of rest before Thursday's Game 1 match-up.
(Not to be confused with the Louisville Cardinals' Second Wind. Click here, if you want to read my entry on the Cardinals' march to the NCAA Championship).
During the regular season, the Heat and Spurs played chess with each other. Both teams sent messages to one another by not playing their "Big Three" on the road during their regular season match-ups. The Spurs were fined a quarter of a million dollars for resting their big players against the Heat. Even though they lost, they only lost by five in Miami. That told me that they would still be a great team even without their stars. The Heat countered the Spurs by resting James and Wade in the Alamo (Bosh played so they wouldn't get fined, in my opinion). Amazingly, the Heat won by two on a Bosh three-pointer. I don't know if they knew they would see each other in the Finals, but they didn't want to give away any scripts. Now is the time to see if that fine was worth it. No scripts given out here!
(Unless you believe in NBA conspiracies--Ed).
I believe this is the last year for the big three in Miami. Between Bosh being soft and Wade's bum knee, they're getting weaker. Plus, with the Cavaliers getting yet another #1 overall pick, going back to Cleveland looks more appetizing for LeBron (irony much?--Ed). Is Pat Riley going to have to choke a player to get them to do what he wants them to do? The Spurs have been through this for over a decade. They know what's at stake. A dynasty is getting ready to take the floor. I'll put my dustpan away for this series. It's definitely going to be long. James is going to be looking at making his list of accomplishments even longer and all that work he has put into making a name for himself. This is the time to use the talents that took him to South Beach. This is the time to silence all of the critics and haters. This is the time for James to once again feel the sweet joy of revenge.
More NBA content is available.
2Pac once said, "Revenge is the sweetest Joy" (90% of our readers should know the rest of that line--Ed). To LeBron James, the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers were suppose to win it all. Instead, those dreams were swept in a dust pan and thrown away by the San Antonio Spurs. Six years later, with a stacked resume, LeBron looks to have the last laugh. Since that defeat, LeBron has won an NBA championship, won Finals MVP, has reached the Finals, three consecutive years, won an NBA scoring title and has two gold medals in the Olympics. Oh, did I mention that he is considered the best player on the planet right now?
This year's best scorer in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony, still hasn't learned that it takes more than one player to win a championship. Now at 28, a mature and focused James is up to the challenge of facing the same team who crushed his chance of winning his first ring.
James also has two other All-Stars on his team in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Yes, Bosh is soft, but he still was an All-Star. LeBron needed help from other superstars to eventually win a ring last year against the Oklahoma City Thunder. An Avengers team was created and the Miami Heat have been too hot to extinguish. When the Heat lose, everyone panics--everyone but the Heat. They continue to play their game. My first thought on Game 7 between the Heat and the underdog Indiana Pacers was that LeBron is going to take over. I mean he has to because his team is not showing up. Instead in the first quarter, he passed on a few shots. He had 6 points at the end of the first quarter (on pace for 24 points--that's not too shabby!--Ed) and they were only down by two. He let the game come to him. At halftime he had 18 points (36 points' pace?--Ed) and he finished with 32 points. He scored when he needed to. There was even a Dwyane Wade sighting as he scored 21 points to help LeBron and company advance to the Finals.
But if their is a team, who I believe can put the flames out, it is the Spurs. Over the first three rounds, they showed me that old men can play (besides Uncle Drew that is). They swept the Los Angeles Lakers, beat the young and talented backcourt of the Golden State Warriors, and swept the Memphis Grizzlies with the same broom they used on the Lakers. That's what opened my eyes, and then I closed them because dirt got in my eyes from the sweep. Oh wait, that was just the thought of me losing $40 bucks for thinking old men can't jump. The Spurs are not a physical team, but they can get up and down the court with the best of them. Even though they have three aging stars, they would have a total of nine days of rest before Thursday's Game 1 match-up.
(Not to be confused with the Louisville Cardinals' Second Wind. Click here, if you want to read my entry on the Cardinals' march to the NCAA Championship).
During the regular season, the Heat and Spurs played chess with each other. Both teams sent messages to one another by not playing their "Big Three" on the road during their regular season match-ups. The Spurs were fined a quarter of a million dollars for resting their big players against the Heat. Even though they lost, they only lost by five in Miami. That told me that they would still be a great team even without their stars. The Heat countered the Spurs by resting James and Wade in the Alamo (Bosh played so they wouldn't get fined, in my opinion). Amazingly, the Heat won by two on a Bosh three-pointer. I don't know if they knew they would see each other in the Finals, but they didn't want to give away any scripts. Now is the time to see if that fine was worth it. No scripts given out here!
(Unless you believe in NBA conspiracies--Ed).
I believe this is the last year for the big three in Miami. Between Bosh being soft and Wade's bum knee, they're getting weaker. Plus, with the Cavaliers getting yet another #1 overall pick, going back to Cleveland looks more appetizing for LeBron (irony much?--Ed). Is Pat Riley going to have to choke a player to get them to do what he wants them to do? The Spurs have been through this for over a decade. They know what's at stake. A dynasty is getting ready to take the floor. I'll put my dustpan away for this series. It's definitely going to be long. James is going to be looking at making his list of accomplishments even longer and all that work he has put into making a name for himself. This is the time to use the talents that took him to South Beach. This is the time to silence all of the critics and haters. This is the time for James to once again feel the sweet joy of revenge.
More NBA content is available.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: Why the Grizzlies Don't Need a Superstar
Johnny J
When Russell Westbrook, went out with a knee injury in the first round, I changed my perspective on who was coming out the west. OKC is number one in the Western Conference for a reason. Besides having one of the best scorers in the league in Kevn Durant, the absence of Westbrook, who averaged 23 points and 7 assists in the regular season, makes this an ordinary team, with one star. Ask the casual movie-goer: more stars means the movie is worth watching . One star, means the movie is not worth anything. So Durant without Westbrook, is like Abbot without Costello. So with that said, I changed my West pick from the Thunder to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies are finding ways to win after trading their star perimeter player Rudy Gay in the middle of the season. But it's not about what they gave away but what they got in return. After the six-player exchange was all said and done, they acquired a young developing player in Ed Davis, (Go North Carolina) and veteran Tayshaun Prince, and throw-in Austin Daye. The Grizzlies, who lead the league in points allowed, just got bigger and more Grizzly. Both Davis and Prince are long defenders with a good wingspan. Prince's wingspan would make him about 7-foot-2, which is about 5 inches more than his height. He plays good defense, has good ball-handling skills, and can shoot from anywhere on the floor. I'll take that back in return for my star player who is now watching his former team from his couch.
Now you throw Prince in the mix with Defensive Player of the Year, Marc Gasol and a talented power forward in Z-Bo, (Zach Randolph) and I say you have a talented, man-consuming bear attack! I call it, "when bears attack for no reason"--NBA Edition. No need to feed them, they roam in the wilderness. The same place Durant and company are going to play the next two game, Memphis, at the FedEx Forum, where the Grizzlies were 32-9 at home in the regular season, and are 3-0 in the in the playoffs. Sounds like its going to be another bear attack in the South. Just ask L.A. Clippers' Blake Griffin, who went into the woods and just wasn't the same after his bear attack. Yes Griffin is a hard, tough player, but he let Randolph push him around in the playoffs. Griffin is a big guy, but he is harmless, and physical teams will push him around.
The Grizzlies should be up 2-0 in this series against the Thunder, but cub Quincy Pondexter, couldn't hit the free throws. Too much pressure for the cub, who only has two years experience. But like every road team in the playoffs would say, "At least we took away home court advantage from them, by taking one." Now, the Grizzlies, don't have that sense of urgency to win, because they already did the hard part: Win in OKC!
The Grizzlies don't have a traditional "go-to-guy," but they don't need one. It's like Erik Spoelstra says:
When Russell Westbrook, went out with a knee injury in the first round, I changed my perspective on who was coming out the west. OKC is number one in the Western Conference for a reason. Besides having one of the best scorers in the league in Kevn Durant, the absence of Westbrook, who averaged 23 points and 7 assists in the regular season, makes this an ordinary team, with one star. Ask the casual movie-goer: more stars means the movie is worth watching . One star, means the movie is not worth anything. So Durant without Westbrook, is like Abbot without Costello. So with that said, I changed my West pick from the Thunder to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies are finding ways to win after trading their star perimeter player Rudy Gay in the middle of the season. But it's not about what they gave away but what they got in return. After the six-player exchange was all said and done, they acquired a young developing player in Ed Davis, (Go North Carolina) and veteran Tayshaun Prince, and throw-in Austin Daye. The Grizzlies, who lead the league in points allowed, just got bigger and more Grizzly. Both Davis and Prince are long defenders with a good wingspan. Prince's wingspan would make him about 7-foot-2, which is about 5 inches more than his height. He plays good defense, has good ball-handling skills, and can shoot from anywhere on the floor. I'll take that back in return for my star player who is now watching his former team from his couch.
Now you throw Prince in the mix with Defensive Player of the Year, Marc Gasol and a talented power forward in Z-Bo, (Zach Randolph) and I say you have a talented, man-consuming bear attack! I call it, "when bears attack for no reason"--NBA Edition. No need to feed them, they roam in the wilderness. The same place Durant and company are going to play the next two game, Memphis, at the FedEx Forum, where the Grizzlies were 32-9 at home in the regular season, and are 3-0 in the in the playoffs. Sounds like its going to be another bear attack in the South. Just ask L.A. Clippers' Blake Griffin, who went into the woods and just wasn't the same after his bear attack. Yes Griffin is a hard, tough player, but he let Randolph push him around in the playoffs. Griffin is a big guy, but he is harmless, and physical teams will push him around.
The Grizzlies should be up 2-0 in this series against the Thunder, but cub Quincy Pondexter, couldn't hit the free throws. Too much pressure for the cub, who only has two years experience. But like every road team in the playoffs would say, "At least we took away home court advantage from them, by taking one." Now, the Grizzlies, don't have that sense of urgency to win, because they already did the hard part: Win in OKC!
The Grizzlies don't have a traditional "go-to-guy," but they don't need one. It's like Erik Spoelstra says:
Monday, April 22, 2013
THE WESTERN CONFERENCE: Enough Said!
Johnny J
The Western Conference dominance over the Eastern Conference, has been around for some time now. Its not that the west plays a different type of basketball, but its more of a team effort. Compared to the East, teams like the New York Knicks and Miami Heat focus on a superstar. If you took away the superstar from each team, would they still be Conference title contenders, let alone NBA Title contenders? Out west, teams like Memphis, Golden State and Denver would still find away to win games minus their leading sorer. Truth be told, the West may have more superstars than the East as the latter has won the last three All-Star games. They also won five out of the last eight NBA Finals. That's what I call Conference dominance!
The East is full of depleted stars this season, due to injuries: Derrick Rose, Danny Granger, Rajon Rondo and Amar'e Stoudemire have all missed a significant amount of games this year because of injury. Who has the best chance of reaching the finals? Obviously its easier to win in the East because of teams missing their stars. So for a team like the Knicks, now is the time to turn that frown upside-down. This could be their year. The only team in their way--the Miami Heat. The Knicks have beaten them three times this season; once without Carmelo Anthony. Now just make it stick in the playoffs. I see only two teams being able to make the Finals in the East: New York and Miami.
If you look at the eight teams in the playoffs for the West, I would say six of them can make the finals. The only two who I believe won't are the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors.
Matter of fact, if you take the eight seed Rockets and put them in the East, they would be a five seed. If you take the fifth seed Grizzlies and put the in the east, they would be a two seed. So is the West harder than the East? Yes! It's because they don't rely on one person; they rely on the team. Six of the the top teams who lead the league in assists are out West. Carmelo Anthony's team ranked 30th in assists. Big difference between ball sharing and ball hogging. It just seems to work for the Knicks. The West also plays at a faster tempo. Its more of a full-court, fast-break style of play. It's all about possession efficiency and pace. Matter of fact, there is a formula that measures team pace: Team Possessions + Opponent Possessions / 2 X [Team Minutes Played / 5]
Basically, the more possessions you have, the more points a team can put up. The Rockets lead the league with 98.6, followed by the Nuggets with 97.8. Then you have the Warriors, Lakers, and Spurs in the order of four, five, and six. That's how the West dominates. Its simple mathematics. The West plays at a faster pace, while the East is mostly half-court play. Whoever comes out the East will still have to worry about slowing down their Western opponent. It's that simple! Easier said than done.
More NBA content is available here.
The Western Conference dominance over the Eastern Conference, has been around for some time now. Its not that the west plays a different type of basketball, but its more of a team effort. Compared to the East, teams like the New York Knicks and Miami Heat focus on a superstar. If you took away the superstar from each team, would they still be Conference title contenders, let alone NBA Title contenders? Out west, teams like Memphis, Golden State and Denver would still find away to win games minus their leading sorer. Truth be told, the West may have more superstars than the East as the latter has won the last three All-Star games. They also won five out of the last eight NBA Finals. That's what I call Conference dominance!
The East is full of depleted stars this season, due to injuries: Derrick Rose, Danny Granger, Rajon Rondo and Amar'e Stoudemire have all missed a significant amount of games this year because of injury. Who has the best chance of reaching the finals? Obviously its easier to win in the East because of teams missing their stars. So for a team like the Knicks, now is the time to turn that frown upside-down. This could be their year. The only team in their way--the Miami Heat. The Knicks have beaten them three times this season; once without Carmelo Anthony. Now just make it stick in the playoffs. I see only two teams being able to make the Finals in the East: New York and Miami.
If you look at the eight teams in the playoffs for the West, I would say six of them can make the finals. The only two who I believe won't are the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors.
- Houston, we have a problem: James Harden has to go back to OKC and show them why he should have gotten paid. Who's worth more to a team: Harden or Russell Westbrook? (Russell Westbrook--Ed). My answer is Harden. He led the league in free throw attempts with 792. Kevin Durant attempted 750. Imagine having them on the same team. Oh wait , that happened! Now Harden has to take his one man band into Chesapeake Arena, where the Thunder have only lost seven games all year.
- "Warriors come out and play": This isn't the 1979 classic, but more of the 21st century video game. All I can say is this is going to be a series that doesn't believe in defense. These teams can definitely put up points. Denver lead the league with 106.1 PPG and Golden State came in seventh with 101.2 PPG. Stephen Curry vs Ty Lawson: a 2013 classic!
Matter of fact, if you take the eight seed Rockets and put them in the East, they would be a five seed. If you take the fifth seed Grizzlies and put the in the east, they would be a two seed. So is the West harder than the East? Yes! It's because they don't rely on one person; they rely on the team. Six of the the top teams who lead the league in assists are out West. Carmelo Anthony's team ranked 30th in assists. Big difference between ball sharing and ball hogging. It just seems to work for the Knicks. The West also plays at a faster tempo. Its more of a full-court, fast-break style of play. It's all about possession efficiency and pace. Matter of fact, there is a formula that measures team pace: Team Possessions + Opponent Possessions / 2 X [Team Minutes Played / 5]
Basically, the more possessions you have, the more points a team can put up. The Rockets lead the league with 98.6, followed by the Nuggets with 97.8. Then you have the Warriors, Lakers, and Spurs in the order of four, five, and six. That's how the West dominates. Its simple mathematics. The West plays at a faster pace, while the East is mostly half-court play. Whoever comes out the East will still have to worry about slowing down their Western opponent. It's that simple! Easier said than done.
More NBA content is available here.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
ASK THE EXPERT: Pekovic or Bosh?
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| My resume... (photo courtesy of Felipe M) |
Recently I was asked by a fellow fantasy leaguer the following question:
"With both players playing 2 games next week, which one is the better option at center: Chris Bosh or Nikola Pekovic."
He also added that he's in a tough division where only less than 5 games separates his team from the team in last place. Also, he added, he ponies up $5 for each loss. Yikes!
It's a Head2Head, categories league: the team that wins the most categories in a weekly period gets credit for one win.
We looked at each player's schedule and noticed that Bosh will play at Oklahoma City Thunder and at home vs. the Portland Trail Blazers.
Conversely, Pekovic has a game at Cleveland Cavaliers and at home vs the Utah Jazz. The following categories are used in the asker's league:
- FG%
- FT%
- 3PTs Made
- Points
- Rebounds
- Assists
- Steals
- Turnovers
Taking a look first at FG%, Chris Bosh will face off against the 3rd best defensive team in terms of "FG% Against." Bosh gets an easier matchup with Portland and their 23rd best defensive team in that same category. However, Pekovic's opponents have been a lot more generous. Utah ranks 20th, but Cleveland owns the worst FG% Against in the NBA. So based on those matchups, I give FG% to Pekovic.
FT% is about even with Pekovic getting more trips to the line than Bosh. So again, it boils down to match-ups. OKC and Portland are ranked 17th and 8th respectively in terms of "FT Attempts Against." On the other hand, Pekovic will face two teams that hack a lot with Cleveland ranking 28th in giving up the most Free Throw Attempts, while Utah ranks 20th. Both players shoot similar FT%, but advantage goes to Pekovic.
I've mentioned that Bosh is the slightly better scorer, but looking at match-ups again, Bosh will face the 15th ranked best defense in OKC and Portland ranks 20th. Pekovic will face 18th ranked Utah and I'm sure is salivating at meeting Cleveland's 28th ranked defense. Nevertheless, I still give a slight advantage to Bosh in the points' category.
Pekovic is already the better rebounder and has better match-ups next week. He will meet Cleveland whom ranks 18th in rebound differential and while the Jazz ranked 14th. Bosh will play at OKC and the 5th best team in rebound differential, but Portland ranks 16th. Regardless, it's not enough to overtake Pekovic in the rebounds' category.
All the other categories are too evenly matched to consider, perhaps giving a very slight advantage to Pekovic for blocks. There's a higher chance that Bosh will have the green light to shoot and make a 3-pointer, but the probability is very minute.
If you look at intangibles, the Miami Heat, despite their thin roster, will probably cruise into the All-Star game and might continue to ease up on Bosh's minutes. Bosh has recorded 35 minutes or less in 4 out of his last 6 games. Pekovic, on the other hand, will probably continue to play with more consistency as the Minnesota Timberwolves are thin in their frontcourt and Pekovic has basically been their only option inside. Pekovic has played in over 35 minutes in 3 out of his last 5 games.
So the consensus pick at center is pretty clear at this point: go with Nikola Pekovic!
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