Legitimate Contenders in the NBA [2008-2009]: Part I

The 2008-2009 NBA regular season schedule has reached the 1/4 pole, as all 30 teams have played at least 20 games. Given the history of this league and …

What it takes to win the NBA Championship

… it is helpful to evaluate where they rank against one another at this juncture.

QUALITY RATING & QUALITY INDEX RANKING NBA 2008-2009 [as of Mon Dec 15 2008]
Team	W/L	Win%	PDR	PAR	RDR	QR	QIR	EC	WC
Cavaliers	20/4	.833	1	1	3	5	1	2
Celtics	23/2	.920	3	2	1	6	2	1
Hornets	13/7	.650	6	3	10	19	3		4
Blazers	15/10	.600	10	9	1	20	T-4		7
Rockets	15/9	.625	8	5	7	20	T-4		5
Lakers	20/3	.870	2	14	6	22	6		1
Spurs	15/8	.652	7	6	11	24	7		3
76ers	10/14	.417	16	8	4	28		11
Jazz	15/11	.577	9	11	9	29	8		8
Mavericks	13/10	.625	11	16	7	34			9
Nuggets	17/7	.708	4	15	16	35	9		2
Hawks	15/9	.625	12	7	17	36	10	4
Magic	19/6	.760	5	10	24	39	11	3
Bucks	11/15	.423	18	17	5	40		10
Pistons	13/9	.591	14	12	22	48	12	5
Suns	15/10	.600	13	22	14	49	13		6
Bobcats	7/18	.280	24	4	22	50		14
Heat	12/12	.500	15	13	25	53	14	7
Nets	12/11	.522	20	24	12	56	15	6
Bulls	11/12	.478	17	21	18	56	16	8
Pacers	8/16	.333	21	25	13	59		13
Grizzlies	9/15	.375	22	18	19	59			10
Timberwolves	4/20	.167	28	23	14	65			14
Clippers	6/17	.261	25	19	25	69			13
Raptors	10/14	.417	23	20	30	73		12
Thunder	2/23	.080	30	26	20	76			15
Knicks	11/13	.458	19	29	28	76		9
Kings	7/18	.280	29	28	20	77			11
Wizards	4/18	.182	27	27	27	81		15
Warriors	7/18	.261	26	30	29	85			12
Legend: W-L – Won Loss Record; Win% - Winning Percentage; PDR – Points Differential Rank; PAR – Points Allowed Rank; RDR – Rebound Differential Rank; QR – Quality Rating; QIR – Quality Index Ranking; EC – Eastern Conference Playoff Position; WC – Western Conference Playoff Position  Note: 1. Since 2000-2001 each NBA Champion and Finalist has had a QR ≤ 34. 2. Since 2000-2001 each NBA Champion has had a QIR ≤ #9. 3. Since 2000-2001 7 of the 8 NBA Champions have had a QIR ≤ #4.

Take note of where your favourite team stands today … and where it will need to get to, over the course of the next five months, in order to be considered a legit contender for the 2009 NBA Championship.

NBA’s upper echelon begins to emerge

The NBA’s regular season schedule is now in full swing with each team having played a minimum of 13 games.

As was mentioned earlier in this space, there are three tiers of teams in this League that reveal themselves on an annual basis:

1. HIGH END [above a .549 Win %]
2. MIDDLE-of-the-Pack [between a .450-.549 Win %]
3. LOW END [below a .450 Win %]

At this point, here’s what each team’s W-L record is, in conjunction with their respective Rebounding Differential Ranking [which regular readers here know is a crucial factor towards playoff success]:

HIGH END

1 LA Lakers 12-1/.923; +5.00/#3
2 Boston 14-2/.875; +3.43/#7
3 Cleveland 12-3/.750; +4.33/#5
4 Phoenix 11-5/.688; -0.25/#14
T5 Detroit 9-5/.643; +0.92/#11
T5 Atlanta 9-5/.643; -0.42/#16
T5 Orlando 12-4/.643; -0.37/#15
T5 New Orleans 9-5/.643; +0.07/#13
T9 Utah 10-6/.625; +3.50/#6
T9 Portland 10-6/.625; +4.37/#4
T9 Houston 10-6/.625; +2.06/#9
T9 Denver 10-6/.625; -0.43/#17
13 San Antonio 8-6/.571; -2.28/#24 *

MIDDLE

T14 Dallas 7-7/.500; +3.07/#8
T14 New Jersey 7-7/.500; +0.21/#12
T14 Toronto 7-7/.500; -2.14/#23
T17 Miami 7-8/.467; -5.26/#28
T17 Philadelphia 6-7/.467; +6.33/#1
T17 New York 7-8/.467; -7.20/#30

LOW END

20 Chicago 7-9/.438; -1.31/#19
21 Indiana 6-8/.429; +1.00/#10
22 Milwaukee 7-10/.412; +5.58/#2
23 Golden State 5-10/.333; -3.20/#26
24 Sacramento 5-12/.294; -1.64/#20
25 Memphis 4-11/.267; -2.40/#25
26 Charlotte 4-10/.286; -2.07/#22
27 Minnesota 3-10/.231; -1.30/#18
28 Washington 2-11/.154; -3.46/#27
29 LA Clippers/2-13/.133; -5.53/#29
30 Oklahoma City 1-15/.063; -1.81/#21

* Have played mostly without Ginobili-M and Parker-T, thus far.

Rebounding Differential Rankings in the NBA [Nov 6]

When this corner of the sports blogosphere told you earlier this fall/summer that the Raptors trade for Jermaine O’Neal was not going to be enough, by itself, to fundamentally improve Toronto’s Rebounding Deficiency from the last few seasons there were boatloads of delusional fans some who did not want to believe this specific assessment of this team, in advance of actually seeing real live NBA games this season with their own two eyes.

—————–

How could the acquisition of a former 6-time NBA All-Star …

in exchange for a smallish, erractic [but talented] Point Guard [i.e. TJ Ford], an over-the-hill, lumbering, strictly speaking part-time Center [i.e. Rasho Nesterovic], the 15th player from their roster last season [i.e. Maceo Baston], and a flip-flop of the No. 17 [overall] and No. 41 Draft Picks from the 2008 NBA Draft, who turned out to be Roy Hibbert [C] and Nathan Jawai [C], respectively …

possibly NOT improve the Raptors decidely mediocre rebounding numbers from the last few years in any significant way, shape or form?

—————–

Well … as of Thursday, November 6, 2008 the Basketball Acumen of this specific correspondent seems to be as sharp [and accurate] as ever:

[Statistics from NBA.com]

NBA Rebounding Differential Per Game 2008-2009 [as of Thu Nov 6]
Rank	Team	+/-
1	L.A. Lakers	+12.25
2	Detroit	+11.00
	Philadelphia	+11.00
4	Cleveland	+9.00
5	Phoenix	+5.20
6	Utah	+5.00
7	Atlanta	+3.66
8	Boston	+2.40
	Milwaukee	+2.40
10	Golden State	+0.40
	Portland	+0.40
12	Orlando	+0.20
13	Charlotte	-0.25
14	Chicago	-0.60
15	Houston	-1.40
16	New Jersey	-1.66
17	Sacramento	-1.80
18	Memphis	-2.00
19	Oklahoma City	-2.25
20	New Orleans	-3.00
21	Denver	-3.50
	Minnesota	-3.50
23	Dallas	-3.75
24	Miami	-4.00
25	San Antonio	-4.25
26	Indiana	-4.66
27	Washington	-7.33
28	New York	-8.75
29	L.A. Clippers	-9.00
30	Toronto	-10.50

When a certain NBA observer tells you something about ‘How the Game actually Works in this League’, in advance … it might well be in your best interests to believe what this person has to say, even though you are not able to fully comprehend it, at that point in time.

—————–

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” – Anonymous

The Better Half in the NBA: Day 1

And, so … it begins:

1 Los Angeles Lakers [W1] … A Legendary season awaits
2 Boston Celtics [E1] … Still the Champs
3 Detroit Pistons [E2] … Bad Boyz II, under MC [Hammer]
4 Phoenix Suns [W2] … Sunrise, Sunset, under TP
5 Utah Jazz [W3] … Tried & True
6 Houston Rockets [W4] … Combustible on any given night
7 Dallas Mavericks [W5] … letting Freedom Reign, under RC
8 Orlando Magic [E3] … holding strong with new additions
9 New Orleans Hornets [W6] … due for a small slip backwards
10 Portland Trail Blazers [W7] … The 2nd Coming begins
11 Cleveland Cavaliers [E4] … The King is in the house
12 Philadelphia 76ers [E5] … major moves this off-season
13 San Antonio Spurs [W8] … a struggle without Manu
14 Denver Nuggets [W9] … re-tooling their defense
15 Chicago Bulls [E6] … expect big things from VDN & ‘Mr. Rose’

Comprehending pre-season standings in the NBA

The NBA’s pre-season schedulae of games is rapidly coming to a close.

In general, how a team fares in its pre-season games … in this League, at least … provides a preliminary indication of where it actually stands, relative to the competition, heading into the new campaign.

Annually, there are three major categories of teams in the NBA:

1. Above .549 [High End]
2. .450-.549 [Middle]
3. Below .450 [Low End]

——————————————-

When you examine the current standings for the pre-season: 

2008-2009 Conference Preseason Standings
Eastern Conference
Eastern	W	L	PCT	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	L 10	STREAK
Orlando	6	1	0.857	0.0	4-1	4-1	3-1	3-0	6-1	W 6
Boston	6	2	0.750	0.5	5-2	3-2	3-1	3-1	6-2	W 2
Detroit	6	2	0.750	0.5	5-1	3-0	3-2	3-0	6-2	L 1
Atlanta	5	3	0.625	1.5	4-1	3-1	1-2	4-1	5-3	W 1
Philadelphia	4	3	0.571	2.0	4-3	4-1	1-2	3-1	4-3	W 1
Indiana	4	4	0.500	2.5	1-0	1-0	3-1	1-3	4-4	W 1
New York	3	3	0.500	2.5	3-3	3-3	0-2	3-1	3-3	L 1
Toronto	4	4	0.500	2.5	1-1	1-1	2-3	2-1	4-4	L 2
Chicago	3	4	0.429	3.0	0-1	0-1	1-3	2-1	3-4	W 2
New Jersey	2	4	0.333	3.5	1-4	0-4	1-3	1-1	2-4	L 4
Washington	2	4	0.333	3.5	0-1	0-0	0-2	2-2	2-4	W 1
Cleveland	2	5	0.286	4.0	2-3	0-1	1-3	1-2	2-5	L 1
Miami	1	5	0.167	4.5	0-3	0-1	1-3	0-2	1-5	L 1
Milwaukee	1	6	0.143	5.0	0-2	0-2	1-3	0-3	1-6	L 2
Charlotte	0	8	0.000	6.5	0-4	0-4	0-2	0-6	0-8	L 8
Western Conference
Western	W	L	PCT	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	L 10	STREAK
New Orleans	7	0	1.000	0.0	2-0	1-0	4-0	3-0	7-0	W 7
Minnesota	6	2	0.750	1.5	2-1	2-1	3-1	3-1	6-2	W 1
Denver	4	1	0.800	2.0	2-1	2-1	3-0	1-1	4-1	W 1
Houston	5	2	0.714	2.0	5-0	3-0	3-1	2-1	5-2	W 3
L.A. Lakers	5	2	0.714	2.0	1-2	1-1	5-2	0-0	5-2	W 5
Phoenix	5	2	0.714	2.0	3-0	1-0	2-1	3-1	5-2	W 3
Golden State	4	2	0.667	2.5	2-1	0-0	3-0	1-2	4-2	W 2
L.A. Clippers	4	3	0.571	3.0	2-2	2-1	0-3	4-0	4-3	L 2
Portland	4	3	0.571	3.0	3-3	0-2	2-2	2-1	4-3	L 1
Utah	4	3	0.571	3.0	3-2	2-1	1-1	3-2	4-3	W 2
Dallas	4	4	0.500	3.5	1-0	0-0	2-2	2-2	4-4	L 2
San Antonio	3	3	0.500	3.5	0-2	0-2	1-2	2-1	3-3	L 1
Memphis	2	6	0.250	5.5	0-2	0-2	2-2	0-4	2-6	L 4
Oklahoma City	1	5	0.167	5.5	0-4	0-1	0-1	1-4	1-5	L 2
Sacramento	1	7	0.125	6.5	1-7	0-2	1-3	0-4	1-7	L 6

——————————————

what you see, with only 4 days left, is generally speaking fairly representative of what you should now expect to get over the course of the 82-game regular season from these teams, in a broad sense.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Above .549
Orlando, Detroit, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia

.450-.549
Indiana, New York, Toronto

Below .450
Chicago, New Jersey, Washington [playing without Arenas], Cleveland [playing few minutes with LBJ] , Miami, Milwaukee, Charlotte

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Above .549
New Orleans, Minnesota, Denver, Houston, LA Lakers, Phoenix, Golden State, LA Clippers, Portland, Utah

.450-.549
Dallas, San Antonio [playing with Ginobili]

Below .450
Memphis, Oklahoma City, Sacramento

——————————————-

Although it’s not uncommon for a team to shift from the High End to the Middle over the course of the regular season; it is rare for a team to move from the High End to the Low End … and vice versa … once the regular season starts unless, of course, it has to play [or is playing currently] without 1 or more of its marquee players for an extending number of games.

What is usually the most interesting thing to see, however, over the course of the 82-game regular season, is which few teams are able to elevate their performance (i) from the Middle into the High End, and (ii) from the Low End into the Middle … automatically making them one of the ‘Feel Good’ stories of the year; and, which few teams, if any, will go in the opposite direction … automatically making them one of the ‘Biggest Disappointment’ stories.

Into which specific category does it look as though your favourite team is going to fit this season?

High End now that stays in the High End
High End now that drops down into the Middle
Middle now that steps up into the High End
Middle now that stays in the Middle
Middle now that drops down into the Low End
Low End now that steps up into the Middle
Low End now that stays in the Low End

More Than [just] An Interview

First-class work by JE Skeets, BDL …

==========================

Skeets: What was your most memorable experience about shooting the doc?

Belman: There were so many great experiences, but I have to say that one of the best was when I found my producing partner on the film. After I graduated from college, I spent two years trying to find a way to finish the film in the right way. Meeting after meeting yielded the same result — everyone wanted to buy the footage of LeBron, and make it a highlight reel. Nobody cared about the other players. Nobody cared about Coach Dru. Certainly nobody cared about a friendship tale of boys becoming men.

After two years of the same meeting, I met Harvey Mason, Jr. He was a successful music producer, and one of my friends used to baby-sit for his family. She set up a meeting for me to ask him some questions, to get some general advice. He had no idea what my film was about — he was taking the meeting as a favor.

After 10 minutes of talking about the film, I showed him a trailer that had been edited for the film. As soon as it was over, he started rifling me with questions: about Coach Dru, about the friendship, about everything except LeBron. I knew at that moment that we were going to finish the film together, and he promised me we’d do it right. He took a chance on me just like Coach Dru and the Fab 5 took a chance on me — I’m just so happy that they’re all so proud of the way the film turned out.

==========================

Do yourself a favour … and read the whole thing.

It’s what Life’s about.

An epic battle

The Boston Celtics, fuelled by the relentless Defense & Rebounding of Kevin Garnett … AND the heroic offensive production of Tha Truth

win a Mano-a-Mano, Plus One shootout vs ‘the King‘ (still-in-waiting).

PS. Watch this vid-clip. Listen to the accompanying lyrics, and think back to when Paul Pierce was fined $25,000 by the NBA, and stabbed multiple times. Must be nice to finally be The Truth for a day living large in Beantown, after all these years of Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Live Blogging Event: Cleveland @ Boston, Game 5

Click on this link.

Note: Was just over at the Fanhouse’s Live Blogging Event for tonight’s game and got the distinct impression that it was a waste of time and energy … few comments, even fewer about the game and a bunch of useless chatter about nothing connected to the game.

If you’re interested in commenting on the actual game … come on by and participate in a REAL live blogging event, right here instead.

Welcome Aboard!

Boston vs Cleveland, 2-2

This is what was written in this space on Dec 20, 2007 …

The Man at Crunch Time

about the plight of this year’s Boston Celtics and their pseudo transcendent superstar, Kevin Garnett.

Now, 5 months later, as the Celtics enter the 2nd phase of their Conference Semi-finals match-up with the Cavaliers … nothing much has changed, i.e. the team with the best W-L record in the League (this season) is still struggling to score the ball coming down-the-stretch of close games against a quality opponent.

Exactly as Magic Johnson (TNT NBA Analyst) suggested during last night’s national TV broadcast (Game 4) … the Celtics better find an answer to their 4th Quarter problem, i.e. KG scored ZERO points in the final 12 minutes, and fast … because

“Each round you go further in the Playoffs, the team you face gets better … and the Detroit Pistons are sitting there … waiting for the Boston Celtics … knowing how to WIN on the road.”

Yes, sir, this year’s Celtics can get past the lesser version of this year’s Cavaliers … by winning their 4 home games, as the No. 1 Seed in the Eastern Conference, with home-court advantage … but Boston will not advance to the NBA Finals this post-season, if they cannot win a single game at The Palace of Auburn Hills, where the Motor City Zoo Crew play their home games.

The C’s will only get one more chance to solve this riddle … Game 6, in Cleveland … before their 2008 playoffs begin in earnest, vs Detroit.

Detroit vs Orlando, 3-1

Except for the injury to the Pistons’ Chauncey Billups (PG), in the early going of Game 3 … this series is developing pretty much as expected.

Despite the brave assertions of certain players for the Magic, the Southwest Division champions find themselves with their backs firmly planted against the wall for tomorrow’s Game 5 match-up against this Detroit team with, perhaps, the best blend of veterans and contributing youngsters of any squad remaing in the 2008 NBA Playoffs.

While the ‘Series Preview call’ for a Pistons Sweep went by the wayside this past weekend, as it stands right now, things are still well situated for Detroit to become the first team to qualify for the Conference Finals, following tomorrow’s Game 5.

Should the Pistons take care of business at home, as the Celtics become further embroiled in an elongated series with the Cavaliers … Detroit would then be sitting in the catbird’s seat, laying in wait for the Boston/Cleveland winner.