Things are slow in Lakerland, add to that I’ve been busy working on some site upgrades (that should go live before the start of training camp, ideally) and some other surprises and that has meant new posts have been getting the short end of the stick. For example, I started to put together a “what is the triangle†post but decided to save that for closer to the start of camp (or just after the start) when talk of Xs and Os will be a little more fresh and relevant. That’s not to mention Laker and other previews and comments.
I’ve got a couple of ideas for the next couple of weeks, but if you have any thoughts or suggestions on good topics for discussion, put them in the comments or send me an email. Or if you just have site suggestions in general, send them along,
That said, a couple of notes and thoughts:
• Remember Sunday night at 11 p.m. on TNT is the NBA fundraiser game for victims of hurricane Katrina, so tune in for an offensive show (and All-Star game quality defense). Kobe had some good thoughts on the game and the tragedy. Also, if you have not donated yet and can do so, the victims do need your money and anything else you can spare.
• Hoopsanalyst has a nice look back on the career of Hall of Fame inductee Hubie Brown.
• A little fun with stats. Kobe averaged 27.1 points per 40 minutes last season. But what if you broke that down and did a per-40 average when another specific player was on the floor — or, more simply, what returning player led Kobe to score more per 40 with him on the floor? Surprisingly, it’s Sasha. Kobe averaged 31.8 per 40 when he was on the floor. Second was Jumaine Jones with 31.5.
What if you did the same thing with Lamar Odom? Lamar averaged 16.9 per 40 last season, but that jumped to 17.8 when Luke Walton was on the floor. Again Jumaine Jones was second with 17.6.
One thing Sasha and Luke have in common is they are good passers, so that may account for some of the increase. They also are both questionable shooters, leading the guys who can shoot to take more on themselves, that may be a reason for the jumps as well. Don’t read too much into this data (unless you are Phil Jackson, in which case go over to this data on 82games and think about who should be playing more together — and why Jumaine Jones seemed to make people better).
• The Damon Jones signing was a great pick up for Cleveland, he’ll be a good fit with LeBron and Hughes, and he will likely lead the league in three pointers.
• How about my Notre Dame Fighting Irish now?