NBA Chat With Anthony Macri 4/24/12

Coach Anthony Macri is Director of Business Development and a Player Development Consultant for the Pro Training Center. Anthony works closely with NBA trainer David Thorpe, and writes the weekly Coach’s Notebook column for HOOPSWORLD. Coach Macri gets started at his new time of 11am EST every Tuesday.

  1. Deven

    Hi Coach Macri. How can I get David Thorpe to answer my questions on the ESPN chats? I ask really good questions, but he never answers them. Any tips for me?

    • Anthony Macri

      Happy Tuesday morning everyone! We’re in the final week of the regular season, heading toward the playoffs – the East is basically set, but we have some movement yet to happen in the West. Let’s get to your questions…
      Coach Thorpe gets tons of Qs in his chats – he just grabs the ones that happen that he sees. It’s not personal. I recommend sending your Q in a few times over the course of his hour to get it recognized. Don’t feel bad – I work for him and we sometimes don’t talk for a few weeks! You could also shoot the questions to me, I’ll try to do 1/10th the job he would do!

  2. wiz123

    What do you think of Wittman and what type of coach is he?

    Who else do you think would be a good coach for the wizards? Preferably someone available.

    Thanks.

    • Anthony Macri

      I like how straightforward he seems to be with the players he coaches. It is a different experience coaching younger guys, and that Wizards team seemed to need a heavier hand. I will be honest, I try to stay away from watching the Wizards as much as possible. However, in terms of good coaches, a few names come to mind. I could see either Brad Stevens (Butler) or John Groce (Illinois) as being excellent and ready to move up to the college level. In terms of current NBA assistants, I think Mike Malone (Golden State) is a great candidate.

  3. Horace

    What chances do you give my pacers of upsetting Miami in the second round? I’m pretty confident we can take out Orlando pretty easily.

    • Anthony Macri

      I wouldn’t get too focused on Miami, because SVG is as tough an out as anyone, but it seems likely that facing Miami in the second round will happen. I think they will be very difficult to defeat in the playoffs. Someone made the excellent point to me the other day that the HEAT will actually be able to rest more during the postseason than they did during the regular season. That is a huge benefit for them, as the big three play a ton of minutes.

  4. ralph lawrence

    If the kings do trade tyreke this offseason what do you think the kings could get in return of tyreke?

    • Anthony Macri

      I think some teams will be willing to give up a lot more than others. Seems a guy like Nic Batum might be the level of guy most likely? Maybe an Iguodala if you approached it right?

  5. Andy

    If the Mavs are able to sign D-Will during the offseason, how do they fill out the roster? Resign Kidd and Jet, add KG and Ray Allen and you´ve got a pretty good group, what do you think?

  6. hangtime

    im curious- the rockets are parental middle tier team and after reading the HOOPSWORLD story and being a huge rockets fan im somewhat curious- what would be the best bet for the rockets moving forward. re-sign Dragic and lee, allow both martin/lowry to get healthy and trade em both for max value to get someone? or sign and trade Dragic/lee for say batum?

    • Anthony Macri

      I dont’ think Batum for Dragic / Lee really makes a huge difference. I like the idea of using Martin / Lowry for value, or some combination thereof – I think those guys are high value and can net some worthwhile assets.

  7. raps4ever

    Hi Mr. Macri, As a Raptor Fan, I just hope come draft time the Raptors don’t pick Harrison Barnes. I don’t believe he will be an impact player. I have watched him ever since he played for UNC, he wasn’t that spectacular base on the hype when he came out of HS. How is Barnes a Top 5 pick? I would rather pick Royce White, despite of his depression issue. Physically, he has an NBA body and better defender.

    • Anthony Macri

      I’m not as down on Harrison Barnes as others tend to be. It’s interesting, because in some ways he reminds me of Evan Turner, and I really did not like Evan Turner as a primary scorer type. Barnes strikes me as being different, however – I think he shoots the ball better, and I think he can do just fine as a system scorer (as long as you don’t ask him to continually get his own shot and create his own space).

  8. Norman Volsky

    With a young core of kyrie irving, tristan thompson, and a high lottery pick this year (could be beal, barnes, drummond, or gilchrist)the cavs have a very bright future. Varejao is great but may be out of his prime when the cavs are ready to be contenders. What do you think the cavs should do with varejao and what could the cavs receive in a trade for andy?

    • Anthony Macri

      I don’t mind moving him instead of paying him too high a price, but I also like having at least one or two older players on the roster to provide a model for the younger guys. Varejao strikes me as a hard worker who could help in their development – but there are probably other mid-career guys who could serve a similar function at a lower price: and Varejao’s value on the market actually might be good for a team that needs a guy like him to take a step in the right direction.

  9. Deven

    What’s the biggest concern for the Miami Heat heading into the postseason?

    • Anthony Macri

      Defensively, are they the same team they were early in the year? I don’t see it consistently.

  10. daniel

    Do you think Michael Jordon would have been as loved if he had played his entire career during the internet era of today? Or do you think he would’ve been more polarizing like Kobe and Lebron?

    • Anthony Macri

      Probably not as loved – From a lot of accounts, he was one of the most competitive and aggressive personalities in the NBA for a number of years. Having a career like his, without any major missteps that alter public opinion, is pretty darn lucky.

  11. Jon

    So how is your DPOY this year? The media keeps jumping back and forth. Earlier this year it was Lebron, then it was Tyson Chandler, now some say it’s Shawn Marion. And some are talking about KG again as well. All deserve it, but I think Lebron should win it this year. No player in the NBA is as versatile a defender as he is. Spoelstra puts him through hell making guard 1-4 every game

    • Anthony Macri

      He is scary good on that end when he wants to be, and when he straps up. The way Tyson Chandler gives the Knicks chances to be successful is really attractive, he is a little thing player. How no one mentions any of the guys on the Bulls makes no sense to me. I would be fine with Luol Deng (or Joakim Noah) getting the award as well.

      Not as many questions today, and my connection kept timing out, so I apologize for the delay in answers. Back next week! Thanks so much and see you then.