NBA Chat With Anthony Macri 11/14/11

1. Ben Ireland

   How is Kendall Marshall so good, and why doesn’t he get any credit? Tyer Zeller got credit for last night’s game, but 15 assists should trumph 27 points I think. Especially since Marshall gave Zeller his. I’d love to see him continue to be underrated, slip outta the lottery and fall to the Knicks… Drooling at the thought.

   • Anthony Macri

     It’s a sad day for NBA fans – the whole professional basketball world just went insane on me! At least I got on board with the high school program I’m helping with this season, because otherwise it would be a long winter. It looks like plenty of people have questions to get started with, so let’s get right to ‘em.

     Kendall Marshall doesn’t play anywhere near flashy enough for most people to notice. Rest assured, however, that people who really get into the nitty gritty of basketball love the tempo and control with which he plays. He is in command of the floor, which is a huge compliment to a sophomore point guard running the show for a group as talented as there is around him. I don’t think we should look at it as a competition between the two – remember, there aren’t too many guards in the top 15 of this year’s draft anyway – but more look at places where he could be a good fit. I think he has to prove the ability to shoot it a little more to be a great fit with New York and I still haven’t seen him aggressive coming off ball screen action. But those things aside, I do like his game.

2. dyrese

   jerome jordan is 7’0 knick rookie he played in fiba basketball for slovenia i think it will help him because the bigs overseas can be agressive in the paint but most bigs can hit 3 or alot from mid range any projections on what type of player he will be in the nba?

   • Anthony Macri

     Hard to know exactly what kind of player he will be but I know some people that like him a fair amount. I want to see him more before I register too much of an opinion, but suffice it to say he has shown enough spatial awareness for me to be intrigued.

3. John

   Should a player adjust his jumpshot after a long time using the same motion? It’s far from unusual but I feel like I could tighten it abit, yet when I tried, the shot wouldn’t fall. Is this a case of practice and repitition, or simply stick to what you know?
   Also I notice DRose cradles the ball under his arm before a layup… Is it just handspeed and tight angles that enables him to get his shot off, or something else? Two steps doesn’t seem like a long enough time to move the ball like he does ! Thanks !

   • Anthony Macri

     I think the question of whether or not a player should change their shooting motion really depends on what they feel they need to change and why. There are certain things I believe it is important for every player to do consistently, and some things that I leave a lot to individual player preferences. It’s hard for me to answer if you should change X, Y, or Z without watching you shoot in a game and watch you shoot in training. Sounds like your real issue comes from being fatigued and expecting the same results. The best way to fix that is to train so you don’t get fatigued as easily.

     Derrick Rose has a high level understanding of personal body position and balance. When you combine that with power and speed, you can see why he is so dangerous. In some ways, his agility markers are nearly Nash-like, which is pretty gross. His body just moves in concert with itself better than most – you can train that to a point, but a lot of it is just what he was born with.

4. Clint in New Zealand

   Coach, I’m thinking of dusting off my basketball shoes and playing in a social league for the first time in years. What specifically should I do to get into some sort of reasonable basketball shape and what drills would be benefecial? I shot some hoops the other day and the jumper was awful, but lay ups and dribblings were fine.
   Love your work, thanks.

   • Anthony Macri

     Good for you. I keep meaning to find a league that can fit my schedule – maybe this spring, one will work out. In your case, you really want to get your anaerobic conditioning up (short burst exercise) and you want to make sure that you work to get your muscles longer and your joints lubricated. I would also recommend icing after every on-court experience, whether you feel bad or good or anything in between. That will help a great deal. As for specific drills, spend a lot of time ball handling, hammering the ball especially hard and moving around as you do it. In addition, do a fair amount of lateral slides as that will help strengthen your base and protect from injury. Good luck!

5. Clint in New Zealand

   My countryman Steven Adams will be playing at Pitt this year and I see DraftExpress has him as a top 30 prospect if he declares after one college season. What have you seen of him and how do you see him projecting as an NBA player?

   • Anthony Macri

     I have to be honest I have not seen him yet. I will take a look as soon as I can. Thanks!

6. peter shah

   Regardless of who is at fault, the season is in severe jeopardy, just like it takes two hands to clap, it takes NBA owners and players to agree. How much damage, in terms of NBA position amongst other major league sports, will NBA fall in fan support/viewership?

   • Anthony Macri

     Pro basketball will return right at the level it’s at now – below football & baseball, bigger than hockey. It may take a year or two to regain the viewship and support it had this year, but it will come back. To think it’s going away is just unlikely.

7. dyrese

   billy hunter should to be sued for bad buisness by the union because i read an artilce saying bily did not want to decertify because tht would mean he loses his salary back in june now they decide to take this route it just makes it look like billy is just as greedy as the owners

   • Anthony Macri

     I get the feeling neither Billy Hunter nor David Stern really had any control over the individuals within their respective organizations, and things got a little pissy, and then peacock feathers went up all over the place, and before you knew it, everyone was chest thumping and fist pumping and it became “my way or the highway” for all.

8. dyrese

   i dont know much about ncaa ball but what teams should i look forward to watching this season? i like syracuse fyi simply because thie the home team

   • Anthony Macri

     You definitely want to watch the top five or six teams in the country – UNC, Kentucky, Connecticut, Syracuse, Ohio State, and Duke. After that it’s hard to give you exact teams. However, if you watched just those six there is enough talent to keep an NBA fan happy.

9. Earl

   It’s all on the owners now, they’ll decide if there’s going to be a season. Up to now they’ve been steadfast in their demands. Do you think they’ll cave?

   • Anthony Macri

     I get the feeling it isn’t up to either side on their own, unconnected from the other side. It looks right now like both sides have their heels dug in for the long haul. We’ll see if that remains the case.

10. TrainWreck

    Hey coach,
    did you see David stern’s interview, this guy is pure EVIL!!!…he tries and deflect every negative aspect of this situation on the players, while omitting the fact that this is an OWNER imposed LOCKOUT!!! HE IS A BULLY …pure and simple; he and HIS greedy NOUVEAU RICH HARDLINE owners tried to play chicken with the players, and paint them into a corner and fully expected to get their way….because that is how bullies think.

    I think all of us fans and neutrals can understand the current economic climate, and the need of some give backs from the players….but I believe they gave more than enough, and I’m proud of them for their resolve in standing up for their rights!!!

    The Idiotic claim by stern that the players have more to lose is asinine and baseless….the backlash from a missed season for all the faltering franchises( those same hardline owners) and the CZAR David stern will be unbelievable….look at the NHL…it still hasn’t recovered and never will….with rapidly growing sports such as MMA and SOCCER taking over much of that market share relinquished during their canceled season.

    • Anthony Macri

      I think your name got it right. Ultimately I don’t think there will be as large a long-term backlash as you seem to think there will be, mainly because I think NBA fans are NBA fans, and there aren’t a lot of casual fans to lose. Plus, the stars are the stars, and they will still be the stars when the teams start playing again. Still a few acts left in this play, methinks.

11. kdub in Toronto

    What are your thoughts on the moves the NBAPA took today? Is it time to start playing more 2k12?

    • Anthony Macri

      Watch more college bball, and it looks like it is time to play a lot more 2k12 for you gamers out there. Time to create a franchise and pilot them for 40 mythical seasons. Oh, be sure to avoid labor strife in the game (is that even something you have to deal with in that context?).

12. TrainWreck

    as a followup Coach, do you think Stern really wanted to get to this point, or did he expect the players to give in eventually?

    do you think when they do finally get a deal, it would be worst than the current one?

    and for all the talking heads claiming that the franchises that were losing money are losing less money due to a canceled season….they seem to overlook the fact many of these franchises are losing VALUE….and i wouldn’t be surprised if we get a couple contractions.

    • Anthony Macri

      I don’t think anyone wanted to get to this point, but I do think both sides underestimated the other’s resolve (whether that resolve is warranted is a separate discussion). I don’t think any deal is a zero sum gain, meaning there will be a winner and a loser in this, and it seems that given the concessions the players have already agreed to, there is no doubt the loser will be the players. Nothing I have read makes me think they really could win any litigation against the owners, which is their only real way to claim damages. One interesting note is to remember that the franchises lose value when players leave due to free agency (see Cleveland and LeBron’s departure). This is one organism – right now, it’s just fighting against itself.

13. dyrese

    well since the finger pointing has stopeped now its in the courts hands i think the owners will be accused of malicious things as far as cooking the books to make the nba look worse than it is can they be charged with illegal documentation ?

    • Anthony Macri

      I think cooking the books is a little too broad. They may have had some accounting rules that mask the BRI in one way or the other, but something we would get from a litigation process is a much more intimate look at the financial workings of the NBA. I actually think the owners have likely portrayed everything pretty accurately, just in case this situation eventually happened. The players might be disappointed to find there isn’t as much money there as they had hoped. Whether that means anything to a future deal, I’m not sure.

      Alright folks, that brings my time to an end. I will be back on Thursday with something on college hoops most likely in the Coach’s Notebook. Also, be sure to check out my column at the HoopSpeak.com Coaches Forum for those of you looking to coach teams now or in the future! Until next time…