NBA Chat With Anthony Macri 9/19/11

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 3pm EST every Monday.

  1. Christopher

    Coach, I loved watching Noah playing for France at the Euro Championship, but his jump shot is becoming increasingly painful to watch. Is David Thorpe working on fixing it or isn’t it a huge concern at all to you?

    • Anthony Macri

      Happy Monday everyone! It turned from hot to overcast and cloudy in relatively short order here in the DC area… and we are over halfway trhough the month of September with some movement but no resolution to the NBA’s lockout. I always said early October was my “start to worry” date and I stand by that. Not sure much will change over the next few weeks, but I also don’t think everything can stay the same. We’ll see! Plenty of room in the queue for your questions, so send them in now!

      Watching Noah is a lot of fun. He was great to have in the gym, and he is a guy I constantly reference when I talking to younger players about how to be a real professional – he definitely lives the life (parties hard, etc.) but when it comes to work time, he’s all business. Coach Thorpe doesn’t work with Joakim as a permanent client, just an occasional one. During the time I spent on the court with Jo, we were trying to change a few things, specifically where he caught the ball (shooting hand behind or below the ball) and where he released it (high and with a frozen follow-thru). However, we did not really get a full amount of time to break down and build back up. To be honest, I’m not sure it is as important to him as it is to folks watching him play. The funny part is that he hits a pretty high percentage shooting the way he does – no matter how lopsided it looks. Would love the chance to streamline it a little more, but the player has to buy-in to that kind of change fully.

  2. Newmarket Brian

    11-12 Raps’ starting line-up (and why), if I’m coaching:
    PG J. Bayless now or never
    SG D. DeRozan must make 3′s
    SF A. Bargnani better out-side than in-
    PF A. Johnson underrated hustler
    C E. Davis has to play
    Comments? How many wins?

    • Anthony Macri

      I think it would be difficult to coax wins out of that group. I prefer them to go smaller with Calderon at the 1, Bayless the 2, DeRozan at the three, and Davis / Bargnani as interchangeable posts, with Johnson coming off the bench. The problem as I see it is that you are going to Bargnani covering the best athletes on the planet. Oops. Basically, Ed Davis would foul out of this lineup before the first sub is ready to get to the table – he’d be cleaning up the mess a lot.

  3. Dong of Dayton

    Hello Anthony,

    I’ve heard that Dwight Howard is working on his free-throw shooting with some expert? Do you think there is any hope for Dwight to correct his shot? What is the highest increase a player has made in FT shooting in a summer?

    • Anthony Macri

      I couldn’t tell you what the highest increase is but I definitely think there are some very small structural changes that Dwight could make that would have a sizable impact on his free throw shooting. Whether the coach he is working with is employing those changes or making others I couldn’t tell you. I do think he could pretty easily have a 5-7% increase if he does the right things this summer (and maybe more).

  4. SenseiOfSoul Chicago, IL

    Can you both rate this trade and give a breakdown how it would impact the respective teams: ATL gets L.Deng and A.Biedrins,GSW gets J.Smith, M.Williams, and K.Korver, and CHI gets M.Ellis and D.Wright.

    • Anthony Macri

      I’m not really sure which team got better – so maybe that means it is reasonably equal? I also am not a fan of Ellis playing alongside Derrick Rose. I just don’t find them to be complimentary pieces and I don’t think it makes Chicago any better to drop Deng and pick up Ellis. Thinking about it I probably like the deal for GSW ok, as I am a fan of Josh Smith and tend to think a change of scenery could help Marvin Williams. I am neutral about it for Atlanta, because while I am a Deng fan I don’t know that he brings them much they don’t have. I don’t like the deal for Chicago – for the reasons stated above. Please note that because there is no point in figuring out contract length / money with the pending CBA changes, I really didn’t consider the trade from a cap and value standpoint, just from an on-the-court look.

  5. Trevor

    With the NBA trying to go to a hard cap it seems there will be less parity seeing as in a few years you will have maybe 3 or 4 teams with the executives actually knowing what they are doing. Teams like OKC and the spurs jump out at me. Half the “winning” teams just throw money around like the magic, lakers, dallas etc. not really putting together a team but just buying the best players available and hoping it all comes together. Wouldnt this more or less be a game of front office masterminds vs idiot former players (otis smith)(kevin Mchale)(isiah Thomas) etc…

    • Anthony Macri

      I don’t think it’s fair to label the Magic, Lakers, and Mavericks as teams that just threw money around to win a championship. I don’t think those teams really took a free-for-all spending approach, actually. I do tend to think a hard cap system would help separate the wheat from the chafe (to borrow a scriptural line) for front offices – whether they are filled with former players or not. I also think it’s unfair to talk about masterminds vs. former players as if the former players can’t also be pretty shrewd and smart. What do you think of how Danny Ainge has done in Boston? Riley in Miami? And though they have fallen on hard times, most people sung Joe Dumars praises just 5 years ago…

  6. Paul

    Who is the better player now and who will be in the future, James Harden, Demar Derozan, Eric Gordon?

    • Anthony Macri

      Personally, I’m looking at Harden for both now and future, I just like the way he is able to control the game flow either on or off the ball. Derozan has more pure ability than either of them, but if he doesn’t use it, it doesn’t matter. Gordon could actually end up the best because I think he’ll grow more in his role next to Blake Griffin (Harden doesn’t have as much room to grow, and Derozan is a little too inconsistent to pick.

  7. Paul

    Who are in your opinion the best SF propects of the 2012 draft? What are your thoughts on Quincy Miller as an NBA pro?

    • Anthony Macri

      I like Harrison Barnes a lot. Always have. Just something about his personality and the way he moved on the court attracted me. Hope he can have a big year this year to continue how he ended the season last year. I have to see Quincy Miller and Michael Gilchrist a little more. I’m still undecided if Terrence Jones can play permanent three in the NBA – he can shoot it ok but the rest of his skillset might not be strong enough a this point.

  8. Paul

    Assuming there is a full season coming up which team do you perdict will be make the largest jump and which team will experience the hardest fall

    • Anthony Macri

      So hard to say as I expect there to be more middle-level contract players moving around than in any preseason of the last 10 years. But let’s assume that everyone comes back as teams currently are… I would think the Celtics are primed for a big fall. I think some teams have gotten better in the East, and I am not sure they have enough gas in the tank to really push the front-runners anymore. A few bad bounces and they could be 7th in the East this year. The team ready to take a jump would be the Clippers, who I think will flirt with .500 this year and have a chance at being even better, especially if it is a shortened season.

  9. zac

    how do you think roys knees will affect the rest of his career and will we ever see something that resembles the roy portland loves or will he just be a shell of himself for the rest of his career?

    • Anthony Macri

      Diminished is a better word to use than ‘shell of his former self.’

      Roy will develop old-man game as the knee continues to give him trouble, and that will make him more crafty so he relies less and less on explosion. I think he can be effective, but maybe not to the level Portland fans have come to expect. The real question may revolve around whether Portland fans are able to temper their expectations so that the sky isn’t falling when Roy isn’t his old amazing self.

  10. Bobbi

    What would you do to fix the Bucks team?

    • Anthony Macri

      I like what HOOPSWORLD writer Mark Nugent said in his article(LINK) on the topic. I think there might be some value in seeing what Sanders could do given more opportunity in that power forward slot, especially with the CBA situation keeping everything in relative flux. I like Luc Richard, and while pairing him with Sanders may make them struggle on the offensive end, I think I’d rather do that than overspend on a guy that really doesn’t get you that much closer to the playoffs.

  11. zac

    how do you think nolan smith and elliot williams will do this season? I think nolan smith will play more backup point guard over armon johnson because he seems more versed with both hands unlike armon, and elliot williams could step into the role that rudy fernandez had as a shooter with a bit of slashing and being a pest on defense but will be more willing to finish at the rim than mr euro ball only. what do you think?

    • Anthony Macri

      I like Nolan Smith and I think he’ll have a long career, with backup duties as a solid guy who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. I also think he can defend most NBA shooting guards effectively enough that he could be paired with some smaller shooting guards to provide balance. I like the comparison you made with regard to Williams, though that might be high praise. Coming out of college I thought he had the ability, we’ll see if he can turn it into performance.

  12. Bjørn Simen Samdal

    What is the best FA or trade option the Miami Heat have once the lockout ends?

    • Anthony Macri

      This is basically impossible to answer without knowing how the new CBA will treat cap space and over-committed teams.

  13. Anthonyk

    Helloo Anthony

    I am a very big celtics fan … But as of recently I am concerned with their current roster … What do you think of a trade that would involve Avery bradely and big baby for cris kaman?

    • Anthony Macri

      I would be concerned if I were a Boston fan. I’d want to start finding ways to get younger and faster, and I’m not sure Kaman is the answer on that score. Do Boston fans really think they can still win a championship with a core of Rondo, Allen, Pierce and Garnett? Even if you added Kaman, I’m not so sure…

  14. zac

    how do you think the west playoff picture will look this year? Ive been saying
    Thunder
    Lakers
    Mavs
    Blazers
    Spurs
    Griz (assuming they can keep Gasol)
    with the suns or jazz sneaking into the final spot

    • Anthony Macri

      I like Houston and Denver more than Phoenix and Utah.

  15. jj

    If grant hill was never injured where would u rank him. They said he was the next jordan.. I think he was lebron of the 90s

    • Anthony Macri

      Great question. I think you have hit a nice note to talk about Hill as Lebron before Lebron (though he was never as physically dominant as LBJ). There were a lot of things about Grant Hill’s game back in that mid-to-late 90s period that made me a huge fan of his, and he was probably my favorite player after MJ during that timeframe. Hard to say where he’d be ranked if he never got hurt – it is amazing to think that he and Jason Kidd came in the same year. Two all-timers who a lot of younger fans now really have no understanding of or appreciation for!

  16. George

    Iman Shumpert looks good, do yout think we can trade ( when lockout is over) L.Fields for a Center, maybe Robin Lopez? Or just hope that we get a guy like Kwame Brown in free agency?

    • Anthony Macri

      You know it’s bad when you are hoping to get a guy like Kwame Brown in free agency.

      Seriously though, I’d avoid trading Fields if I could, though I’m sure I could be convinced for the right price. I would not be too quick to push Shumpert into a huge role. Looking good now doesn’t mean much when the real deal starts.

  17. HotshotGG

    hey anthony, do you see nash being traded during the season if the team doesnt start off well or will he leave the team via free agency? Also, if he does leave via free agency, which contending teams would be interested in his service?

    • Anthony Macri

      I have a coaching friend whose man crush on Steve Nash borders on a potential psychosis. He wants a trade to happen so as to keep Nash’s legacy intact. I don’t see Phoenix doing it until the perfect offer came along – which could happen, there are a lot of potentially contending teams that could make a bid for his services, and I think New York is right up there among the possibilities, especially if they can’t see to pry Chris Paul out of New Orleans. Personally, it is fun to watch Nash play in a less than stellar situation because it provides a lot of teaching points, but I’m not sure that’s the way I’d watn to spend the remaining years of my playing life.

      Alright folks, it is time for me to say goodbye. Thanks for dropping by! I’ll be back next Monday, but in the meantime, my Coach’s Notebook will be out this Thursday. Let’s hope for an inch of movement on the lockout front before then. See you next week!