Official NBA 2012-2013 Season Thread

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Is Harden really a No. 1 option?

Should we have seen this coming?

After coming off the bench for the Oklahoma City Thunder and having to share the ball with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, James Harden is flourishing in his role as the Houston Rockets' No. 1 option. He is averaging a staggering 35.3 points per game on 52.9 percent shooting while dishing out 6.3 assists and grabbing 6.3 boards. His player efficiency rating? A sky-high 41.7.

Three games in and everyone wants to know: Is "Beardsanity" a fluke or is it for real?

My answer: Harden has done this before, so we shouldn't be surprised by his dominance. Plus, we've been blinded by our undying reverence for per-game averages and the star talents of Durant and Westbrook.

Harden's average of 16.8 points per game last season doesn't scream "bona fide NBA star," but it also tells us next to nothing about his ability to be a No. 1 option.

Why? First, his scoring average was artificially deflated due to playing time; Harden played only 31.4 minutes per game thanks to Oklahoma City's strategy of bringing him off the bench, which is abnormal for a player of his caliber. For example, Harden's Team USA teammates averaged 36.4 minutes per game last season. Harden is averaging 41.7 minutes per game in his first three contests this season, and we're seeing what he can do when he's treated like a star in the minutes column -- even if his playing time is unsustainably high.

Second, this season, Harden doesn't have to share the ball with two other ball-dominant players. There's no doubt that playing next to Durant and Westbrook can have its legitimate advantages (goodbye, double-teams!), but the hard truth is that sharing the court with those two stars absolutely slaughtered Harden's numbers.

Harden's hidden stats

We hear it all the time: Context is everything. When it comes to the fascinating case of Harden, this axiom nails it on the head. Let's start with a baseline. Harden scored 19.3 points per 36 minutes last season. Not bad. Using NBA.com's advanced stats page, we can see how Harden's numbers change depending on whether Durant or Westbrook was on the court, but not both. That takes some digging inside the incredible StatsCube Excel database.

So how did Harden do when he played with both Durant and Westbrook on the court?

A measly 13.3 points per 36 minutes.

Yes, that's it. You know who scored 13.3 points per 36 minutes last season? Brandon Rush. Further, Harden played next to Westbrook and Durant for the bulk of his playing time -- 60 percent of his overall minutes. And contrary to popular belief, playing the third wheel didn't help his percentages. Harden shot just 46 percent from the floor when the Olympian trio took the court, down from his overall 49 percent.

Let's go deeper inside the numbers.

What about when Harden was the second fiddle? Here, we're talking about two scenarios: First, playing next to Durant without Westbrook; and second, playing next to Westbrook without Durant. If you watched the Thunder last season, you know that the former happened a lot, but the latter didn't. Thunder coach Scott Brooks rarely paired Harden and Westbrook together without Durant there to stabilize the attack.

So, what was Harden's scoring rate per 36 minutes with just Durant? 22.8 points on 49 percent shooting in 250 minutes. And with just Westbrook? 22.3 points on 55 percent shooting in just 63 minutes, an admittedly very small sample size. The subtraction of one ball-dominant star from the equation added nearly 10 points to Harden's scoring rate. This makes sense, but it's helpful to actually put numbers behind the "sharing the ball" concept.

And now, here comes the juicy part: Examining Harden as the alpha dog, when he was released from the shackles of Durant's and Westbrook's ball-dominance.

What was Harden's scoring rate when he was the clear No. 1 option last season?

Try 32.6 points per 36 minutes.

You read that correctly; when defenses keyed in on Harden as the No. 1 option, Harden responded by scoring like Michael Jordan, and he shot 53 percent from the floor in these situations. Plus, it gets better: Harden dished out 6.2 assists per 36 minutes, up from his normal rate of 4.3 assists. And remember, he was racking up all those assists by feeding the likes of Royal Ivey, Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammed.

To recap: Harden as third wheel -- 13.3 points per 36 minutes; Harden as second fiddle -- about 22.5 points per 36 minutes; and Harden as No. 1 option -- 32.6 points per 36 minutes.

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Alpha dog dominance against all competition

So maybe we shouldn't be surprised to see alpha dog Harden taking over the league. He has already excelled in that role before, but you couldn't see it from the treetops.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Of course he dominated against second units. This seems like a reasonable rebuttal. After all, Harden faced some iffy lineups when he anchored Oklahoma City's second unit. Anyone will look like a superstar when he is going against a team of benchwarmers, right?

Well, what if I told you that he dominated against starter-caliber lineups, too?

This is the most fascinating finding when we put Harden's production under the microscope. Using ESPN.com's 2012 #NBArank feature as a barometer for player quality, every unit that Harden played against was given an average rating based on each player's #NBArank score. (For those who aren't familiar, #NBArank asked more than 100 of our contributors to rank each player on a scale of 1 to 10; LeBron James checked out at 9.9 while Eddy Curry was given a 1.2 score on the bottom end.)

With this tool, we can see how Harden did according to the strength of his opponent. To qualify as a "good" lineup, the unit had to average a 5.0 rating or higher. As expected, the majority of lineups that Harden faced as the alpha dog did not measure up. Of the 460 minutes that Harden starred as the alpha dog, only 106 were against above-average lineups.

Let's peel off another layer and look at Harden's production as a No. 1 option against good lineups.

Somehow, Harden did even better against tougher competition: He scored 35.0 points every 36 minutes and shot 50.8 percent from the floor, including an eye-popping 48 percent from beyond the arc. It's not surprising that Harden took more shots as an alpha dog, but he maintained a stellar efficiency while shouldering the load against quality opponents. That's what makes him a star.

Add all these little fragments up and we see that Harden has a history of thriving as the No. 1 option even against star-studded lineups and those featuring defensive stalwarts like Avery Bradley. That's why it's essential that we consider the context before jumping to conclusions that Harden isn't a star-caliber player because of his lukewarm per-game numbers.

He might not maintain his current torrid scoring pace, but there's a good chance he'll be in the conversation for the scoring title. When the Rockets handed a reserve player an $80 million contract, many thought Harden was nothing more than fool's gold. But more and more, it's looking like the Rockets found a true gem.
 
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Charles Barkley's uncertain broadcasting future

Asked how long he wants to continue in sports broadcasting, Charles Barkley told SI.com something shocking: He's almost done.

"I love my job," Barkley said. "I love the people I work with. And I'm going to try to do things to keep me engaged. But I have four years left on my current deal and to be honest with you, it's going to be a struggle for me to make it for the whole four years. I really don't know how much longer I'm going to do this. I need something more, or something else to do to be honest with you."

In an extended interview with SI.com, Barkley was contemplative about his future as a broadcaster. The TNT NBA analyst has uttered similar things before -- including plenty of talk about an Alabama gubernatorial run -- but he offered extended remarks about needing a new challenge. "I only thought I would do this for three or four years but now I have been doing it for 13 years," Barkley said. "When I got to my fifth year of broadcasting I was like 'OK, I'll do this a couple of more years.' But now I'm like, 'Dude, you have been doing this for 13 years and if I make it to the end of the contract it will be 17 years.' Seventeen years is a long time. It's a lifetime in broadcasting. I personally have to figure out the next challenge for me."

Last year Barkley told his Turner bosses that he needed something to re-engage him. He asked to do more games onsite as an analyst and last January Turner assigned Barkley to the Heat-Hawks game in Atlanta with Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller. Barkley loved it. "When I did the game with Kevin and Reggie I had a blast," Barkley said. "And judging by the feedback we got, I think the fans liked it too. I am excited to do that this year."

Barkley is currently scheduled to call two games as a game analyst in the first half of the season. He'll be in Miami for the Spurs at Heat (Nov. 29, 8 p.m. ET) and New York for Lakers at Knicks (Dec. 13, 8 p.m. ET).

Asked for something in broadcasting he'd like to do before he moves on to another profession, Barkley said he wants to call a college basketball game with ESPN's **** Vitale. He even went so far as to tell his bosses at Turner about his wish. What was their response? "They kind of just blew me off a little bit," Barkley said. "But I don't get my ego caught up with that. **** does a great job with college basketball and we do a great job with the NBA. I just think it would be fun for **** and I to do a game together."

For his part, ESPN's Vitale said he'd be up for it. "Let's get it done with Dan Shulman at the controls," Vitale said. "Love the Round Mound of Rebound."
Link

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Charles Barkley's uncertain broadcasting future

Asked how long he wants to continue in sports broadcasting, Charles Barkley told SI.com something shocking: He's almost done.

"I love my job," Barkley said. "I love the people I work with. And I'm going to try to do things to keep me engaged. But I have four years left on my current deal and to be honest with you, it's going to be a struggle for me to make it for the whole four years. I really don't know how much longer I'm going to do this. I need something more, or something else to do to be honest with you."

In an extended interview with SI.com, Barkley was contemplative about his future as a broadcaster. The TNT NBA analyst has uttered similar things before -- including plenty of talk about an Alabama gubernatorial run -- but he offered extended remarks about needing a new challenge. "I only thought I would do this for three or four years but now I have been doing it for 13 years," Barkley said. "When I got to my fifth year of broadcasting I was like 'OK, I'll do this a couple of more years.' But now I'm like, 'Dude, you have been doing this for 13 years and if I make it to the end of the contract it will be 17 years.' Seventeen years is a long time. It's a lifetime in broadcasting. I personally have to figure out the next challenge for me."

Last year Barkley told his Turner bosses that he needed something to re-engage him. He asked to do more games onsite as an analyst and last January Turner assigned Barkley to the Heat-Hawks game in Atlanta with Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller. Barkley loved it. "When I did the game with Kevin and Reggie I had a blast," Barkley said. "And judging by the feedback we got, I think the fans liked it too. I am excited to do that this year."

Barkley is currently scheduled to call two games as a game analyst in the first half of the season. He'll be in Miami for the Spurs at Heat (Nov. 29, 8 p.m. ET) and New York for Lakers at Knicks (Dec. 13, 8 p.m. ET).

Asked for something in broadcasting he'd like to do before he moves on to another profession, Barkley said he wants to call a college basketball game with ESPN's **** Vitale. He even went so far as to tell his bosses at Turner about his wish. What was their response? "They kind of just blew me off a little bit," Barkley said. "But I don't get my ego caught up with that. **** does a great job with college basketball and we do a great job with the NBA. I just think it would be fun for **** and I to do a game together."

For his part, ESPN's Vitale said he'd be up for it. "Let's get it done with Dan Shulman at the controls," Vitale said. "Love the Round Mound of Rebound."
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That James Harden article was a good read, thanks.

RIP to Inside the NBA
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That James Harden article was a good read, thanks.

RIP to Inside the NBA:(
trade shaq for steve kerr, c webb, and resurrect GP and the show won't dip that much
I was never a fan of C Webbs commentary. I tried to give him a pass when he was new but the stuttering and stammering was too much to bear. He was decent on inside the NBA but his in game commentary was attrocious. Out of all the names listed I would like to see GP come back, giant earrings and all.

Maybe even Reggie Miller even though all of NT hates Reggie.

I blame Shaq for this.
 
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Webber is great on TV. TNT needs to amnesty Shaq and bring C-Webb back full time.

And Reggie is THE corniest person involved with the NBA. I wouldn't be mad if I never had to listen to he or Shaq again.
 
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[h1]Jonny Flynn Goes Walkabout, Joins Melbourne Tigers[/h1]
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By Sean Keeley on Nov 5, 12:10p

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Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE

Former Syracuse Orange star joins Australia's Melbourne Tigers and becomes the latest SU player to play in the Pacific Rim.

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When things don't work out in the NBA, there are worse places that a former Syracuse Orange basketball player can go than the Pacific Rim. Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris both won championships there

When I tried to venture a guess in 2011 as to which Syracuse player would be the next to dominate the Pacific Rim, here's what I said about Jonny:
Let's face it, to say Jonny's career has been a disappointment would be an understatement. He was screwed since day one after getting drafted by the black hole known as the Minnesota Timberwolves and hasn't done himself any favors since. I can't imagine there's too many other teams interested in his services and sooner or later Minny is either going to throw him in a trade as a salary dump or just let him go. When that happens, he might kick around the league for a couple years, but, assuming he doesn't improve substantially, it won't be for long. So I say, head to the Rim and become a superstar again.
When I'm right, I'm right. Jonny's off to the land downunder.
Former top-10 NBA draft pick Jonny Flynn signed with the Melbourne Tigers of Australia's National Basketball League.

The New Zealand Herald reports Flynn is expected to train with his teammates as early as Tuesday and could play Friday night against Adelaide 36ers.
If the Tigers sound familiar, that's because that's the same team that Eric Devendorf played with briefly after dominating New Zealand.

Lest you think Jonny's NBA career is dead in the (Pacific) water, he does have some kind of clause in his contract that allows him to leave if an NBA team comes calling.
His contract with the Tigers is believed to include an ''out'' clause to allow him to return to the NBA if the chance arises, as happened when Patty Mills left the club after 10 matches last season.
Word on the street is that the Detroit Pistons were interested but had too many contracts. But if one goes away...

Either way, play on Young Flynn and keep Syracuse's dominance of the Pacific Rim going.
 
DAMB Johnny ... i liked fam...but like the artilce said minnesota drafting him set him up for failure ...they took 3 pgs in that draft if im not mistaken
 
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Just saw this on youtube, not a Mavs fan but this shi is funny :lol



A+ execution on the faces :rollin
 
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The thing is that he went for 13.5 PPG and 4.4 APG in his rookie season. The hip injury plus knowing that Rubio was coming to take your spot didn't do him any favors. I thought he should have stayed one more year to cement his skills, but when your stock is that high you have to take the money. At the pro level, he really doesn't do anything exceptionally well at the 1.
 
 
I liken the Harden situation to Tmac's situation in going from Toronto to Orlando - a player with clear All-star talent finally being given the keys to the offense and exploding.
 
Dion Waiters has shown that he has the right "motor"/drive/attitude in the first few games. He could hit a wall or he could spiral out of control, as with any rookie. But it won't be because he doesn't have the proper mindset to be on the floor at an NBA level.
 
I liken the Harden situation to Tmac's situation in going from Toronto to Orlando - a player with clear All-star talent finally being given the keys to the offense and exploding.

hopefully the rockets can surround harden with more pieces than the magic gave tmac. or more pieces than the rockets gave tmac for that matter :{
 
Speaking of Harden:
James Harden disappointed Thunder didn't give him more time to consider offer

Even with the rapid embrace of life as the franchise player for the Houston Rockets, something still troubles All-Star guard James Harden about the way his departure unfolded with the Oklahoma City Thunder: Why didn't officials give him longer than an hour to consider a final four-year, $54 million offer before trading him?

"After everything we established – everything we had done – you give me an hour?" Harden told Yahoo! Sports on Monday afternoon. "This was one of the biggest decisions of my life. I wanted to go home and pray about it. It hurt me. It hurt."

Asked if additional time might have caused him to accept a deal several million dollars short of the $60 million maximum contract Harden had long sought, he responded: "Who knows? Another day, who knows what another day would've done?"

Looking back a week later, Harden believes he likely had to leave his sixth-man role in Oklahoma City and become what Houston general manager Daryl Morey calls the Rockets' "foundational player" for the public to truly understand the depth of Harden's abilities.

"I was there with talented guys in Oklahoma City, some All-Star guys, and I would've been in the back seat there – which I was fine with – but I wouldn't have gotten the chance to show how talented I really am," Harden said. "It's a different opportunity for me here."

Thunder and Rockets executives give the same explanation for the timing of the trade four days prior to the Oct. 31 deadline for contract extensions: Houston needed a deal done on that Saturday, because Rockets officials felt that was the bare minimum to assure they could get their eventual five-year, $80 million deal with Harden into place.

Houston had been pressing hard to complete the trade on that Friday, but Thunder GM Sam Presti waited until Saturday to present his final offer with a 60-minute deadline to accept. Presti believed the Thunder would've lost leverage in potential trade packages if rivals weren't sure they could keep Harden off the restricted free-agent market next summer.

Oklahoma City traded Harden, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and two first-round draft picks. For the Thunder, the trading of Harden was a financial decision.

The organization wasn't willing to deal with the punishing luxury-tax consequences and restricted roster flexibility that would come with paying a third player beyond Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook a maximum contract. Oklahoma City had drafted Harden with the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, and he rapidly developed into a 2012 All-Star and gold-medal-winning player for Team USA in the London Olympics.

"I think they valued my talent there," Harden said. "They built me there: my work ethic, my body. They changed my life. I think they know how good I can be."

Harden has made an immense impact on the Rockets: Back-to-back games of 37 and 45 points in victories earned him Western Conference Player of the Week honors. Most of all, the performances affirmed his readiness to be a leading man. Harden insists he's embraced the role of franchise player, of team builder, of the star responsible for setting the tone.

"That's why they brought me here for: to embrace the leadership, to embrace building the camaraderie," Harden said.

On the way out of Oklahoma City, Harden has been naturally aware of the public debate his contract talks and eventual trade inspired.

"I heard a lot of those things," Harden said. "I heard that I was greedy; that I didn't care about winning; heard the questioning of my loyalty. And I'm thinking: 'Of course I want to win. I've been winning my entire life.'

"Everybody has their own opinion about me [as a role player and focus of a team]. I can do both: I'm versatile. Growing up in college, in high school, I was the focal point. I was the leader. I was the go-to guy. I was the third overall pick. I took a back seat and did whatever it took for the team to win. Some nights I scored, some nights I passed. Whatever was needed to win.

"Now, I'm back to my old ways: Needing to be the leader, needing to score. In any situation, I'm going to be good."
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Webber is great on TV. TNT needs to amnesty Shaq and bring C-Webb back full time.

And Reggie is THE corniest person involved with the NBA. I wouldn't be mad if I never had to listen to he or Shaq again.
Honestly, I really don't like Shaq and C-Webb...... Shaq is just lame, and rarely hits on his jokes. C-Webb is usually on point with his break downs, but is pretty boring for the most part. Like if Shaq and Webb could combine into one person they'd be pretty good.
 
Webber is great on TV. TNT needs to amnesty Shaq and bring C-Webb back full time.

And Reggie is THE corniest person involved with the NBA. I wouldn't be mad if I never had to listen to he or Shaq again.
yup.. all of that (especially the bolded part)

sad i missed the new espn crew with simmons, rose and wilbon.. havent seen that yet, but based on past performance i would cut magic and add uncle tony (he has chemistry with wilbon and simmons already)
 
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Ernie, Kenny, Webber and Payton and nobody would even notice anything had changed. I think that 4 would be seamless.
 
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at Keith Smart.
The Maloofs can't even afford to keep this building together, let alone take down old sponsorships so they have to resort to taping black tarp over them......

*insert Kings relocating to Seattle jokes

*insert, nobody caring 

*insert Maloofs dumbasses not ever going to sell. Which is both good and bad for Sacramento.
 
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