NBA Chat With Anthony Macri 10/17/11

1. dyrese

   iman shumpert and jerome jordan 2 of the knicks new rookies i think they can get minutes and i think they will both be key players off the bench bcuz td and turiaf will get injured again and thts when they are gonna shine your thoughts?

   • Anthony Macri

     Happy Monday everybody! Spent the weekend in Tampa, had a chance to visit my friend and mentor, Coach David Thorpe, along with serving as the best man at a good friend’s wedding. Great weather down there, and it looks like I dragged the weather back north to VA. I am starting to switch gears toward more NCAA hoops and evaluating players as future professionals. Let’s get to your questions…

     I like Shumpert a fair amount, though I don’t think he is a star in the future. I like that he can learn from Billups a bit, because I think the way Billups changed his game is similar to the way that Shumpert may have to change his to really be a solid to good NBA player. I do think Jordan could do some interesting things for the Knicks. I tend to like guys without a lot of experience playing who are learning the game as they go – they tend to be better players in the long run than people expect because they don’t have to break down horrific habits from when they were younger. I’m not sure I put too much faith in their ability to be the difference-makers for the Knicks, however.

2. CJ

   Hey coach, I don’t know how frequent a problem this is in the pro level, but got any advice on teaching players to be more vocal on defence? It pains me to death when my teamates lose their vocal chords when their not on offense

   • Anthony Macri

     It’s a problem at every level – communication and the ability to verbalize situations is critical to good defenders. There are definitely a few things you can do. I like two approaches more than others. First, I like to spend some time talking to players privately about how vocal I want them to be, especially individually, and then holding them accountable during scrimmages. So, for example, I might talk to a player on the side about wanting to hear him verbalize everything that’s happening on the defensive end. Then, during play, I will listen for him and even take notes on what he said, so we can talk about good talk vs. bad talk, and just that small reminder helps him to be more vocal throughout. Another technique is to have your players be responsible for each other’s talk: I will tell a player that if your team is not vocal defensively in a given game, he will be doing some extra conditioning. You’d be surprised at how much he encourages his team to be vocal. That kind of stuff works!

3. Jhayee

   Can this trade help this 3 teams???
   Jameer Nelson $8,600,000 to utah
   Ryan Anderson $2,244,601 to utah
   J.J. Redick $6,750,000 to utah
   Brandon Bass $4,250,000 to hawks

   Josh Smith $12,400,000 to orlando
   Zaza Pachulia $4,750,000 to orlando
   Marvin Williams $7,500,000 to utah
   Jeff Teague $1,579,920 to utah

   Al Jefferson $14,000,000 to hawks
   Raja Bell $3,240,000 to orlando
   Devin Harris $9,319,000 to hawks

   tnx…….

   • Anthony Macri

     Without doing anything more than a quick glance, I like it most for Utah. Not sure Orlando really is making out, however. Would need to see number of years remaining on their contracts to really think about it anyway.

4. Saulo

   ESPN has its top 10 rankings coming out this week, why doesn’t Hoopsworld do something similar? –What would yours look like? (I’d go 1. LBJ 2. Howard 3. Dirk 4. Wade 5. Durant, 6. Kobe 7.CP3 8. Amare 9. D-Will 10. D-Rose)

   • Anthony Macri

     We don’t need to do the same thing as ESPN! It has been an interesting list to say the least. Blake Griffin being #10 is a little silly, I think – he will be there I am sure, but I don’t think he’s there yet. I think your list is a good one, though I tend to push Durant and Rose a little higher. I’d have to think about it more to give you a full top 10.

5. batzo

   Do you understand why normal fans are acting so stupid? They say they just want the season to start but when Javale Mcgee is telling reporters that some players are ready to fold they are bashing him as stupid. I think its the only way to move on and get going.

   • Anthony Macri

     Professional athletes have a very limited window to make money in their careers, so I’m not surprised if players start to say they are ready to play. We will see if the superstars who are pushing for the lockout to continue are really able to subsidize how much the mid and lower level players are missing in terms of $…

6. Nick

   Can Sacramento make the playoffs this year?

   • Anthony Macri

     Is there a lottery playoff?

7. vince

   Good day, Big time Kings fan here. I love Cousins potential but I don’t think he’s good for the rest of the team, especially with our coaching staff. Would you look to trade him or keep him around? I got 2 trade scenarios which 1 is more around the value he would bring back; Horford n Teague for Cuz n Salmons or Cuz for Lowry Pat P and a 1st?

   • Anthony Macri

     Keep the player, get new coaches. It is hard to replace the kind of talent that Cousins has. However – if Atlanta was willing to give me Horford and Teague, I would have to listen – I like Horford a great deal.

8. Shad

   Who blinks first between the NBA and union? Do you think we’re headed for another 50 games season?

   • Anthony Macri

     I don’t want to give up hope yet and I would not be surprised if there is a full season with everything pushed back a few weeks. I know things have been cancelled and I have no official information – just a little feeling. Interested in seeing what comes of the Players Meeting this week.

9. Russell

   Hey did you stop the p90x?

   • Anthony Macri

     I took a break for a few months – had a lot going on and I knew I was going to be choppy in my workouts, so I took a break. Re-started from where I left off today, actually. My plan is to finish these next few weeks, then decide if I’m going to want to do P90X2 when it comes out in January 2011. Thankfully I have gained no weight since my break – still right between 198 and 201, and I still feel good – getting back into the workouts earlier today was not easy at all!

10. luvabull

    Would wizards trade blacthe and resign young trade them to bulls for boozer and charlotte pick
    to free playin time for joe crawford and shelvin mack. You will have veteran leadership in lewis and boozer

    • Anthony Macri

      I like everything you said because it involved getting rid of my two least favorite Wizards – Andray Blatche and Nick Young. I like Boozer more than most. Not sure about Mack yet though I loved the pick. I also like Jordan Crawford and I’m fine giving him more minutes. The real key is Jan Vesely – is he ready to rip and run like we hope he is?

11. john

    I read all the chats on this site and enjoy them very much. One thing that i wanted to ask your opinion about was i have not seen 1 word about Pau Gasol being mentioned in top power forwards/Centers in the nba. Why is that i mean 2 rings/ 3 finals( he had one bad year in the playoffs and no one even mentions him anymore its all about Dirk this and that. Dont get me wrong Dirk is amazing but how many Power forwards have that on their resume? not to mention he was a beast in Memphis.
    Thanks

    • Anthony Macri

      I think if you had asked two years ago, Pau would be on the list of the best PFs in the entire league. However, he had a very mediocre season this past year and it is easy to move past a guy when they don’t perform: there are just too many other great players to keep him there when he isn’t getting it done on the court. I don’t really like using championship and playoff appearances as a major factor in assessing player talent: so much depends on teammates and system. I think Pau is still in the top 6 of PFs of the NBA, a list that includes Blake Griffin, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowtizki, Kevin Love, and Zach Randolph (that list was in no order in particular).

12. Brady

    G.S. gets: Chris Bosh, Linas Kleiza, Leandro Barbosa, Andray Blatche. – gets a 20/10 franchise player

    TOR gets: David Lee, Dorell Wright, Charlie Bell, Noris Cole.- cuts major salary

    MIA gets: Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, Steph Curry, Javale Mcgee- cash Bosh in for some complimentary players next to wade/lebron

    WAS: Ekpe Udoh, Jeremy Tyler, Dexter Pittman, Joel Anthony- gets rid of a couple knuckleheads while stockpiling some young bigs.

    Looks like G.S. gets too much salary but if you break it down to small trades it works.

    • Anthony Macri

      If Miami could teach the players they would acquire how to play defense, I think they could be pretty good. But trades that are this big, they make my brain explode.

13. Student of the Game

    Coach Macri, I just wanted to let you know that you and Coach Mike Moreau have been my favorite writers/chatters on this site of all time. You have helped me learn and appreciate the intangibles of basketball, which has helped me become a much better player. I used to try playing like Marbury, Francis, AI, and score as much as possible. But now I find myself playing more like B-Roy, J-Kidd, Nash, trying to do things that make MY TEAM better. I really understand why someone like Battier/Noah/Varejo is so invalulable for a team. Thanks! Keep up the great work!

    • Anthony Macri

      Thank you for the kind words. One of my favorite moments as a coach now is talking about the game, or watching players and commenting as we go, and having other coaches ask me how I saw what I saw. I am doing some work right now with a local private high school, helping them get ready for their season, and I will be assisting them through the year depending on the status of the lockout – sharing the game is so much fun for me, I’m glad if a little piece of what has been passed on to me can be passed on to you or any other coach or player. Thanks again.

14. Ben Ireland

    What’s the best way to run a 2 on 1 fastbreak? From outlet to finish, go step by step. Should you throw an early pass to score or wait til you’re almost touching the defender? Thanks!

    • Anthony Macri

      Get the ball in the hands of a decision maker as early as possible. that decision maker should usually look to attack toward the middle of the floor, though usually they are coming from one side or the other. If the other offensive player can come from the opposite side, that is ideal. If a kick ahead is possible, we usually advocate getting the ball up the floor very quickly via the pass. The main idea in a 2 on 1 is two fold: (1) we’re getting an attempt at the rim that results in a score or a foul and (2) we are doing it in a single pass or less. Otherwise, I don’t make a lot of rules or try to teach anything more because game situations are really different. In practice, if my players don’t fulfill the first rule and if they pass more than once, that is a huge problem and we know something went wrong. The only exception to my layup rule is if we can get a three pointer in rhythm during the 2 on 1 from a guy shooting 40%+ from downtown. Hope that helps.

15. Ben

    Hello coach,
    D-Will, Keith Bogans, Iggy, Love and Bogut vs. D-Rose, Wayne Ellington, LBJ, Haslem and Perkins. which squad would win? thanks

    • Anthony Macri

      Interesting. I think I give a slight edge to the DRose / LeBron team, but the edge is not enormous. If they played 100 times, my guess is DRose and LeBron would win about 60 times.

16. John

    What do coaches look for when watching a pickup game to spot a good player? Solid screens, good passes, consistent shooting? Any other examples etc?

    • Anthony Macri

      Great question! Be sure to read my Coach’s Notebook over the next few weeks – this is exactly what I’m going to be looking at. I introduced this article series last week – find the intro article HERE.

17. AC24

    Where do you think Dwight will land? (Percentages if possible)

    • Anthony Macri

      I don’t see him anywhere but Orlando. That may seal his fate as moving elsewhere, but that is my gut.

18. paul

    Hypothetically there is no season and this years draft is a 30 team lottery. The Bulls end up with the fifth pick is there a shooting guard on the board that could help us and if so who?

    • Anthony Macri

      I think Austin Rivers is a decent fit but he might be a reach at 5. I’d definitely be looking in his direction if I’m Chicago, however – there are a lot of things he does that would look very pretty next to Derrick Rose.

19. Earl

    Do you think that the owners continuing condescending attitude towards them is the reason players have drawn a line and unless the owners address this issue, the season is over?

    • Anthony Macri

      Isn’t this always the case when ownership and workers are at odds over pay? Feels like it is the same in every industry – parties feel labeled and marginalized. I don’t think the NBA is any different in that regard. I am hopeful that both sides have some understanding that losing a season is ridiculously bad for business, but we’ll have to see.

20. john

    How can you rank Dirk higher then Kobe? and Blake Griffin? what has he done yet other then have 1 good season. I just dont get it. My top 10 is Lebron,Dwight,Kobe,Rose,Durant,Wade,Dirk, CP3,Nash,Melo What u think coach?

    • Anthony Macri

      Pretty sure my list was ranking power forwards, not all players. I said to rank all players I would have to take some time and really think about it. I can tell you that neither Nash nor Melo would likely make my Top 10 of current NBA players based on production at the current moment. Maybe after I finish my series on how to evaluate players, I’ll do the analysis and make a top 10 of my own for fun.

      That is my time folks – would love to stay and chat but I have some other responsibilities to get to – including heading over to open gym at the school I’m helping at. Let’s hope there is some kind of deal in the next week, but I’m not holding my breath. In the meantime, be on the lookout for my next Coach’s Notebook this Thursday! See you next time.