NBA Rundown New York Preps for 2010

Jonathan Lee AccuScore Analyst
View Blog

Welcome to the new weekly feature where we break down the happenings in the NBA with a decidedly AccuScore slant. We’ll take a look at transactions, coaching, and players and how they project for the rest of the season.

NEW YORK PREPS FOR 2010

The biggest news of the weekend was the Knicks making two separate deals to create enough cap space to sign two max free agents in 2010. That is of course the year LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh among others will hit the open market. While the two deals that sent away Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph were probably smart in the long run, they do compromise what the Knicks could have been this season.

With new coach Mike D’Antoni at the helm, the Knicks are one of the early surprises of the NBA with a 7-6 record. With the loss of their top two leading scorers in Crawford and Randolph however New York is projected to win just 21 more games the rest of the season with just a 9 percent chance of reaching the playoffs. Clearly these moves were meant with the future in mind.

The Clippers meanwhile are just 3-11 and needed a change, but the acquisition of Randolph does not seem to help much except for adding to the payroll. L.A.’s other team still has just a 1 percent chance to make the playoffs, and is forecasted for just a 24-58 record. That should put it in contention for the No.1 overall pick in next June’s draft, which is probably a bad thing considering the Clipper draft history as well.

Here are the new player projections for the key players with their new teams for the rest of the season:

Cuttino Mobley (NYK) – 11.9 PPG, 2.3 AST, 3.5 REB, 1.2 STL, 43% FG
While Mobley will likely see fewer minutes and shots playing alongside Nate Robinson, Chris Duhon, and Quentin Richardson, he should still remain productive improving on his 3PT%, assists, and rebounds. His scoring however is projected to dip nearly two points to just under 12 per game.

Al Harrington (NYK) – 11.8 PPG, 5.3 REB, 1.9 AST, 1.3 3PM, 42% FG
He has been injured and disgruntled with Golden State so a change of scenery should do him good. Harrington has always been a tweener, but he does have more skills than he displaying with the Warriors where he was used almost exclusively as a spot-up three point shooter. D’Antoni would do well to use him a bit more inside-out and keep him more involved throughout the game.

Tim Thomas (NYK) – 8.1 PPG, 3.8 REB, 0.5 STL, 40 % FG, 32% 3P
Thomas is projected to lose nearly a point a half off his Clipper season average. His minutes will likely fluctuate depending on match-ups with all the frontcourt players the Knicks will employ, but his style could thrive in the up-and-down system. All of Thomas’ percentages are expected to jump the rest of the season, but that is more of a function of how poorly he has shot this year and him reverting closer to his career levels.

Zach Randolph (LAC) – 19.0 PPG, 9.9 REB, 1.6 AST, 44% FG
It’s hard to see how the Clippers will function with a trio of immobile big men and only three real guards on the roster. There are rumors that another deal is coming, possibly involving Chris Kaman for backcourt help. Either way Randolph should continue to be close to a 20-10 guy nightly. His biggest change should be in rebounding which is to be expected given the presence of Kaman and Camby. He is also projected to shoot about one fewer three per game in the more halfcourt style of the Clippers.

Jamal Crawford (GSW) – 13.8 PPG, 3.5 AST, 2.3 REB, 1.0 STL, 1.7 3PM
Crawford is the player most negatively impacted by this trade mostly due to the wealth of backcourt players in Golden State. Although he should plug in immediately at point guard and give Stephen Jackson some relief, Crawford still joins a very crowded back court. And of course, Crawford is miscast as a lead guard. Remember, Monta Ellis should be back early on in 2009 so he will be fighting for shots and minutes with him along with Jackson, Kelenna Azubuike, and Anthony Morrow. Crawford is forecasted to lose nearly six points, one assist, and nearly two threes off his season averages. That projection may be a bit pessimistic in the short-term given that Ellis is still out, but over the long haul Crawford’s numbers will likely go down.

FIRING SEASON

Two struggling teams have already made moves on the bench with the season not hardly a month old. P.J. Carlesimo is out after just 95 games with the Seattle Supersonics slash Oklahoma Thunder, and is replaced by assistant Scott Brooks. Eddie Jordan, who had been the longest tenured Eastern Conference coach, was doomed by injuries that led to a 1-10 start for the Wizards and his ousting. Washington director of player development Ed Tapscott takes over on an interim basis there.

Brooks spent 10 years in the league as a back-up point guard for six different teams, and has been an assistant under George Karl in Denver and Sacramento under Eric Musselman. He is likely to bring a more deliberate style to the Thunder, and slow the pace from where it was under Carlesimo. This could help the offense become more efficient, but in the end the Thunder just simply don’t have very much talent and are years away from contention. His main focus will be on the continued development of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Jeff Green.

Tapscott should have an easier time with the Wizards. Jordan probably didn’t deserve to be fired considering the injuries to Gilbert Arenas, Brendan Haywood, and Antonio Daniels. Once this team gets close to whole it should start winning again and even at 1-10 they have a 6 percent chance of reaching the playoffs. Thank goodness for the Eastern conference. Tapscott will try to fill the void left in the middle defensively by Haywood. Andray Blatche showed up out of shape and has regressed from last season. Rookie JaVale McGee has shown some promise, but he isn’t ready and was supposed to be at least a two year project when he was drafted.

QUEST FOR 70

The Lakers, at 11-1, are dominating the Western Conference. They are projected to win 65 games with a lock to reach the playoffs at 100 percent. Right now there doesn’t appear to be a real challenger to their hegemony with the closest team being Utah 9 games back with 56 wins. Winning 70 games takes a year-long focus on the goal and of course health so that is still a longshot for now for L.A. Still, if the team and players (re: Kobe) wants to go for it, 70 wins seems attainable. We’ll see how the season continues to progress.

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry