First of all, the Lakers are liars. Reports all year have been coming out that Dwight Howard goes 40-40 from the line in practice. Well last night the Magic welcomed him back to Orlando they only way they knew how: To hack away at his bionic(correction: formerly bionic) arms.
(OH SO SMOOTH!)
Here are a few stats from last night's box score that you won't see everynight:
Dwight went 25-39 from the FT line last night. He took 22 more attempts than the whole Magic team, and made 16 more than Orlando.
While completely unrelated, but interesting, Dwight's +/- was the same amount of that made FT differential between him and the Magic, 16.
By going 25-39, he shot 64% from the line. That is 15% higher than his season average, which currently sits at 49% after last night. By shooting this much better, he improved his season average by over a point(47.8 to 49), which is extremely rare to do in one game this late in the season.
Dwight took 39 free throw attempts, and just 13 attempts from the field, meaning he shot three times as many free throws.
Dwight in total attempted 53 shots, which is just 17 less than the entire Magic's starting five FG attempts.
With the Magic slowing the game down so much by fouling Dwight, there were only 11 fast break points in the whole game(7 by LAL, 4 by ORL.)
Kobe Bryant finished with just 11 points, and was 4-14 from the field. Makes sense seeing as he had no rhythm with the ball never getting across half court.
After last night's debacle in Boston(quick homer note: Any season the Celts make the Lakers look like that is a good season), the Dwight Howard sweepstakes seems more and more possible by the day. The Lakers are now 23-27, and 3-2 on this road trip which is their fifth "start of their season". While many people believe that Gasol could be the fall guy, it seems as though if Kobe gets his way(which is what happens in LA), Howard will be the player on the outs.
(High School pals could be on the move.)
But Howard isn't the only superstar on the move in this hypothetical trade. Josh Smith has proven he is very unhappy in Atlanta as well, and it is well known that he has very little intentions of re-signing. Could this three-teamer between LA, Phoenix and Atlanta be a solution for all parties?
Why it works for Phoenix:
-Phoenix gets a star in Josh Smith, and it is more of a no-loss situation than you would think. If Josh Smith decides to resign in Phoenix, they have a franchise guy they can rebuild around. If he doesn't resign, the Suns open themselves up for a large amount of cap to try and lock down acquisitions this year, and more importantly in the big free agency class in 2014. Unlike other bottom feeder teams, Phoenix has the warm weather to attract newcomers. They also get a young piece in John Jenkins who has taken advantage of the added playing time since the Lou Williams injury.
Why it works for Atlanta:
-Atlanta gets Howard in his hometown as a rental for the remainder of the year, and then can try and convince him to stay their long term. While one of his biggest pulls to Atlanta was originally Josh Smith, Howard has to look at the big picture and realize that Atlanta could contend with the right pieces. A nucleus of Howard, Horford(who has the athleticism to play at four) and an up and coming Jeff Teague is a pretty solid team in the Eastern Conference. More than half of the Hawks roster is on expiring deals, Dudley meanwhile, is an all-world locker room guy who will bring the type of attitude that Howard wants; laid back outside of games, intense inside of it. Plus, he's a pretty solid wing player who could play either the two or three for them.
Why it Works for Los Angeles:
-The Lakers end the Howard saga, and show some kind of loyalty to Pau Gasol who could still help them if played in the right position. Gortat is a solid backup Center who could fill in right away while Pau is hurt, and is definitely looking for a new situation. While Channing Frye is out this year with an enlarged heart(we hope he's recovering well), he reunites with the coach he thrived most with if he is able to come back. He spaces the floor better the any big man the Lakers have right now. While Lou Williams doesn't necessarily fit into the Lakers starting lineup, he gives them some much needed scoring for the Lakers for the future.
Why it might not work:
-The Lakers aren't getting back enough for this year. While Williams and Frye are solid pieces, neither will step on the floor again this year. If something like this is about to go down, you have to assume that the Lakers are cutting ties with this year. But with every game that Howard turns in like the one he turned in last night (9 points, 9 rebounds in 28 minutes before fouling out), his trade stock goes down. Maybe it is time to pull the plug and set yourself up for next year, which could be Kobe's last in LA.
-BFord
Check out our other Trade Rumors:
Check out the other posts in our February Trade Rumors Series:
The NBA trade deadline is on February 21st, for all of the arm chair gm's out there this means it's time to fire up the trade machine. In honor of this we are going to try and post about 21 trade rumors before the deadline on the 21st. These will be rumors from well known sources, or trades that we think just make sense. Make sure to check in for the Rumor of the day all month leading to the deadline.
Why for Toronto: The Raptors have been bad for a while. They are tired of having to build through the draft, then hoping they convince their high draft picks to stay. With the Rudy Gay move, they showed that they are willing to trade young players and take on salary in order to bring a max level player into Toronto.
Pau Gasol would give Toronto a post presence to combine with Amir Johnson. A lineup of Lowry, DeRozan, Gay, Johnson and Gasol is a playoff worth roster. To boot they don't have to pay Bargnani to run three point line to three point line. With the Boston Celtics struggling due injuries the Raptors see a prime opportunity to head back to the playoffs, and Pau Gasol is just the player to lead them there. Why for LA: If the Lakers truly are committed to Mike D'Antoni's system (for what reason I'm not sure) then this move will help them both now and in the future.
Andrea Bargnani hasn't lived up to his number one pick billing. He has always been a good scorer, but the other phases of his game have never developed. In D'Antoni's up tempo spread offense a player like Channing Frye was a valuable contributor. Bargnani is similar player but a much better scorer than Frye and should find a niche in LA.The Lakers also get Valanciunas, as a future center product.
Stein mentioned that the reason the Lakers needed to keep Pau was to protect themselves in the event Howard left. In this deal they would obtain a scoring starter now, as well as highly regarded prospect to play center in the future. On top of all that they would be saving $3.5 million in salary during a year in which they will struggle to make the playoffs. Please leave comments on what you think of this trade, any trades you want our take on or any other question you have. Check out the second piece in our trade rumor series here and the third piece here
Entering Wednesday night's games, the Lakers were 15-19 after 34 games, roughly 40% through this year's schedule. No longer do the Lakers have the excuse of "it's still the beginning of the season." They have been above .500 just once(6-5 after a win against Brooklyn on 11/2), and at worse have been five games under, just one game below where they sit now. Dwight Howard is out for an unknown amount of time with a torn labrum, Pau Gasol is out with a concussion while also dealing with plantar fasciitis. Even Jordan Hill, their back up plan, is day to day with a hip injury. Their emergency plan at big Robert Sacre looked average last night, but looked lost whenever he was forced to make a decision in isolation. ESPN LA "The Forum" claims that the Lakers are most likely a 6 seed who will lose in the first round of the playoffs. Here is the link to that video here.
(The Lakers have had alot of looks like this one this year.)
But how does that happen? They are four games out right now, and have lost four straight. It simply is becoming less and less of a reality that this team can make the playoffs, nevermind contend for any type of title. It doesn't help that teams like the Clippers, Warriors, and Rockets have all established themselves as playoff teams and will look to take spots taken before by the likes of the Lakers and Mavericks. In the past 10 years(not including last years shortened season), the eight seed in the West has averaged 45.6 wins. So if the Lakers had to get to 45 wins to make the playoffs, that means they have to finish the season going 30-18 to get to a 45-37 overall record. Impossible? Certainly not. Will it happen? Not without a little luck.
With the Lakers on their worst official start in the last ten years, I wanted to take an in depth look at what they had left on their schedule. So far, the Lakers have had a little bit of unlucky fortune besides all of their injuries. They have played the 9th toughest schedule in the league, and have played four more games on the road than at home.(Of course one of those was against the Clippers in the Staples Center, in which Chris Paul was getting booed on his own floor.) They have also lost seven of their 19 losses by six points or less. However, the future doesn't seem to favor the Lakeshow. Here are some stats regarding the Lakers remaining schedule:
Out of their remaining 48 games, 28 of them are against teams who currently have winning records.
The Lakers still have to head East to play 7 out of the 8 remaining East playoff teams(as of today's standings). That is road games against the Bulls, Heat, Celtics, Hawks, Nets, Pacers and Bucks.
The Lakers have still have two games to play against the following teams; the Heat, Celtics, Bulls, Grizzlies, Thunder, Clippers, Warriors, Spurs, Mavericks and Trailblazers.
They will finish their season with three at home, yet those three will be against Golden State, San Antonio, and Houston(all of whom could be fighting for a playoff spot as well, or even home court.)
(You have to wonder if this is ever going to work.)
ESPN's Hollinger odds currently has the Lakers finishing 9th at 41-1, with a 30.5% chance of making the playoffs. But when you look that all is above, can you even expect that? You can't expect that even when Gasol and Howard return that all four stars will finish off the season playing every game together. And if this continues to go downhill, do the Lakers trade Pau, or even Dwight and admit that this was a failure? While there is still plenty of basketball played, and the Lakers stress that they will turn it around, the purple and gold may be running out of time.
1. Los Angeles Clippers: 25-7, 9-1 During the Clippers 17 game win streak, Blake Griffin shot above 50% from the field in all of the games. While this team has no identity(read a great piece by the Daily Dime here), maybe they don't need one. 17 wins is 17 wins. (BF) 2. Oklahoma City Thunder: 24-6, 8-2 -The Thunder would be widely considered the best team if LAC wasn’t on a historic run. They have shown their championship meddle and will continue to improve with their young core. (EJ)
(Reggie Jackson has given the Thunder yet another boost off the bench.)
3. Miami Heat: 21-8, 7-3 -The Heat have somehow stayed out of the headlines with two of their west rivals stealing the show. Expect them to shoot back into it with games against Dallas and Chicago this week. (BF)
4. San Antonio Spurs: 25-8, 7-3 -This team has some of the greatest offensive balance of any NBA team in the league. Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli continue to play at a high level on scaled back minutes. Second in points and third in point differential, this team is a beast. (AL) 5. Golden State Warriors: 21-10, 7-3 -With every win, the Warriors are becoming more battle tested for the playoffs. It's a complete reflection of Mark Jackson's tough guy mentality that this team is 4th in rebounds without their star center. (BF)
6. New York Knicks: 21-10, 5-5 -An injury to point guard Raymond Felton will hurt; can they weather the six weeks without him by leaning on extra minutes from Jason Kidd? This team continues to rely heavily on the three point shot, but for now they are falling. (AL) 7. Atlanta Hawks: 20-10, 6-4 -The Hawks are putting themselves in contention for a three or four seed in the East with other contenders failing. The question always remains, what do they do with it? (BF)
8. Memphis Grizzlies: 19-9, 5-5 -The Grizz need to continue slowing the game down and letting there bigs do work on the interior. I need to see Marc Gasol play better after the team has lost 2 of its past 3. (AL) 9. Indiana Pacers: 18-13, 8-2 -Indiana was able to win their brawl of a contest against Memphis this past week. They have shown all season that they are elite rebounders and defenders. The question remains can they score enough? (EJ)
(The Pacers could really use Granger's scoring right about now.)
10. Houston Rockets: 17-14, 7-3 -Houston has lost back to back games, but is playing well winning 5 in a row before the losses. James Harden is playing great basketball and Omer Asik is strengthening his case for most improved player of the year. (AL) 11. Chicago Bulls: 16-13, 5-5 -As the season lets on we are seeing the Bulls miss Derick Rose more and more. Their offense is based on execution not elite scoring. This means that their offense has a higher degree of difficulty, which is what you have seen in recent losses. (EJ)
12. Milwaukee Bucks: 16-13, 6-4 -The Bucks have shown great offensive strength throughout the season. But can this team beat the best when the game is slowed down come playoff time? (EJ) 13. Denver Nuggets: 18-15, 7-3 -The Nuggets have played a ruthless schedule on the road. Since when did the Nugs piss someone off in the NBA office? (BF)
14. Portland Trailblazers: 16-14, 8-2
-Portland has a very good starting five and no bench at all. If they are going to make a playoff push I look for them to be one of the more active teams in trade talk. (EJ) 15. Minnesota Timberwolves: 14-13, 6-4
-The Timberwolves are around a .500 team without Ricky Rubio. With a healthy Rubio they are a much better team. The question is if they can get enough of a healthy Rubio to get in the playoffs playing their best ball. (EJ) 16. Los Angeles Lakers: 15-16, 6-4 -Kobe claims the Lakers are old, and that is why they are struggling. The excuses are getting pretty old for the fans in purple and gold as well. (BF) 17. Brooklyn Nets: 16-15, 4-6
Firing Avery Johnson won't solve the Net's issues. Listen to our podcast and you will know, but I put this on Deron Williams, who continues to play poorly. This team can be dangerous but right now no one is fearing them, even after winning both games of the new PJ Carlesimo regime. (AL)
(Okay Deron, is this going to work?)
18. Philadelphia 76ers: 15-17, 3-7 -They have lost 8 of 10 and looked horrible in doing so. Andrew Bynum needs to get healthy if this team wants to make the playoffs. (AL) 19. Utah Jazz: 15-17, 3-7 -This team is either playing under their capabilities or is just not very good. Either, way it seems times to give Favors and Kanter more minutes. Expect Jefferson and/or Milsap to be moved, especially with the Jazz playing so poorly. (EJ) 20. Boston Celtics: 14-16, 3-7 -Disappointing losses to both the Clippers and Golden State have left this team under 500. Maybe they can grab a win tonight against the Kings, but this team needs to turn it around soon. The return of Avery Bradley when they return from the west coast should help. (AL)
21. Dallas Mavericks: 13-19, 2-8 -Dirk is back but he is not curing all this teams' ails. OJ Mayo continues to play well, but the rest of the group lacks consistency. Darren Collison may have had the play of the year with his one footed three to force OT, but they lost anyways. (AL)
22. Toronto Raptors: 11-20, 7-3 -Toronto has won 7 of 8 and has turned around their season. Demar Derozan looked great the past couple weeks. They may pass Phili in the Atlantic if both teams continue in there current directions. (AL) 23. Orlando Magic: 12-19, 4-6 -The Magic have really been hurting since Glen Davis went down to injury. Even with Arron Afflalo dropping 26 and 28 in games last week, this team couldn't break the slide and has now lost six in a row. (BF)
(Arron Afflalo has quite a heavier load on his shoulders these days.)
24. Detroit Pistons: 12-22, 5-5 -With Drummond coming along quicker than anyone thought he would the future now seems extremely bright for the Pistons. Right now Drummond is only playing 20 minutes a game, this number will increase as the season goes along and the Celtics will be better for it. With Drummond, Monroe, and Knight coming along the Pistons are the best of the basement. (EJ) 25. Sacramento Kings: 11-20, 4-6 -With the Cousins Scandal supposedly behind them(maybe), this team can try to get back to winning. As good as they looked against Boston, it's tough to think they can stay that consistent, and Cousins can stay out of trouble. (BF)
26. Phoenix Suns: 11-21, 4-6 -Ohh the Suns. After losing a buzzer beater to the Knicks, they followed it up with three more losses on the road. This team is crashing, having lost six straight. (BF)
27. New Orleans Hornets: 7-24, 2-8 -Eric Gordon is finally healthy and scored 24 points in 24 minutes in his debut. I can't wait to see what this team does in January with a fully healthy roster. Davis and Gordon are the futures of this franchise. (AL)
28. Charlotte Bobcats: 8-23, 1-9 -They won! They won! Now the big step is where do they turn to prevent the next losing streaking from happening. (BF)
29. Cleveland Cavaliers: 7-25, 2-8 -Tristan Thompson’s improved play might make trading Varejao more palpable. As the season move along I warm on the idea of Cleveland moving Varejao. AV is a good player who is on a light contract but by the time his contract is up Cleveland might not be a playoff team. (EJ) 30. Washington Wizards: 4-25, 1-9 -The Wizards currently don't have anyone averaging over 16 points a game, anyone averaging over 8 rebounds a game, or anyone averaging over 5 assists a game. Thank god for RGIII. (BF)
