Fuck Yea[h] NBA

nbaoffseason:

gotemcoach:

As sure as you can be that five players will make the leap this season, you can be just as certain five others will regress, or make the Anti-Leap.  Here are the five guys going backwards in 2010-2011.

Danny Granger - SF, Indiana Pacers

The 2010 World Championships were a litmus test, and Danny failed the test.  Here’s the thing - you can’t really fail a litmus test, but he did it anways.  Granger couldn’t find a role to play.  Last guy off the bench.

His scoring was down last season, as were his FG, FT and 3PT percentages.  Adding a great (yeah, I said it) point guard like Darren Collison should send Granger’s stats through the roof, but Danny will find a way to keep those numbers flat.

Andray Blatche - PF/C, Washington Wizards

Look at the circumstances surrounding Blatche’s rise to prominence last season.  Gilbert couldn’t keep his heater out of the locker room and couldn’t keep his finger guns out of the huddle.  He was dismissed.  Antawn Jamison got shipped to Cleveland, and Mike Miller was injured for a good share of the season.

The stage was set for Blatche, and to his credit, he stepped up.  Problem is, Hibachi’s coming back, and his point guard, John Wall, comes from the YouTube generation that equates success with highlights.  Wall is going to dominate that ball, and limit Andray’s production.

Not only do I think Blatche sinks right back to where he started last season, I expect the Arenas/Wall pairing to be a colossal failure.  

Carl Landry - PF, Sacramento Kings

Landry was on the fast track to success.  He was a high-energy bench scorer, with a nice post game, who could finish strong at the rim.

Yao went down, and Scola’s adaptable game gave way for Carl to dominate the lane.  Everything was peaches.

Then Houston bailed and sent him to Sacramento for Kevin Martin’s awkward jumper.  Now Carl gets to play with a pass-third point guard in Tyreke Evans, who’s best play is the 1-4 isolation drive to the basket, and Demarcus Cousins, who isn’t just overconfident and overweight, but managed to lose early in the NCAA tournament while on a team with five future NBA players, including 3 lottery picks.

(Did I mention I expect John Wall to be underwhelming?)

Jeff Green - F, Oklahoma City Thunder

I like Jeff Green.  I want Jeff Green to do well.  There’s just one problem.  Okay two.  Actually, two really big problems.

1.) He’s undersized at PF/underskilled at SF.  He can’t guard Pau Gasol.  Can’t drive past Andre Iguodala.  He’s trapped.

2.) Sam Presti knows what he has in Durant and Westbrook.  He knows he’ll need another piece, and in the current NBA landscape, it has to be a perfect fit to compete for a championship.  When the trade rumors begin, and they will begin, I expect Uncle Jeff to shrink just a bit.  He’ll be faced with leaving his best buddies, and it’ll affect his game.

Andrew Bogut - C, Milwaukee Bucks

People slept on Andrew Bogut while he quietly built himself into a top-5 center in the league over the past few seasons.  Nice post moves, good defender, great rebounder. 

Then this happened.

Call me crazy, but I don’t think he’ll be back at 100%…ever.  Plus, the Bucks went and screwed it all up by taking on Corey Magette and Drew Gooden - two quintessential NBA stinkers.

My advice to Andrew Bogut?  Don’t ever do this again.

And don’t forget to read which players are making The Leap this season.

(brainworks/gotemcoach)