NBA Chat With Bill Ingram 12/3/12

1. spacefacemace

   who would you take horford or pau gasol.
   marc gasol or pau gasol.
   and do u think k mart can help the thunder go back to the finals

   • Bill Ingram

     Good Morning, everyone, and welcome to that chat!If I had a choice between Pau or Horford, I would go Horford at this stage of their respective careers. I would take Marc over both of them. And yes, Kevin can help OKC win a championship. They had a couple of early road bumps, but they look great now.

2. Mr. Ballistik

   I’ve read that fewer than 20% of all plays in the NBA are P%Rs. Why don’t teams run more pick-and-roll?

   • Bill Ingram

     I haven’t looked at the stats across the league in that way, but it is a strange stat if true. You have to have the personnel to pull it off, of course. Scanning the first couple of teams, the Hawks run it 13% of the time, but they don’t have an elite PG to run it with, either. You need a big man who understands spacing and can convert, too . . .so if the league-wide stats are that low, that’s likely the reason.

3. John

   How great was it to see the Magic take out Dwight Howard and the Lakers? What goes around comes around, huh?

   • Bill Ingram

     Almost looked like Jameer Nelson had a point to prove, didn’t it? The Lakers need Nash back in the worst way, and until he’s healthy they are going to be very mediocre, no matter how fantastic a handful of their parts are. People wrote off the Magic prematurely, as well. They’re not likely to be a playoff team, but they aren’t going to roll over, either.

4. Adam

   When Steve Nash returns will he fix all the Lakers problems?

   • Bill Ingram

     I will say this – it’s possible. I’ve seen Nash win a lot of games with lesser players alongside him. Do I think he’s the cure-all? No. Is it possible? Yes, it is. What seems more likely to me is that before the deadline the Lakers deal Pau Gasol to a team like Minnesota or Houston for 2-3 pieces that add depth as well as smaller contracts.

5. Ben

   Any chance that ORL or ATL agrees to a Derrick Williams trade? For Redick, or Korver, respectively.

   • Bill Ingram

     Or the Lakers, right? The Timberwolves may need a guard like JJ if Roy can’t go, and I don’t see Korver as a likely target for Target Center. Williams is going to be a good player, so there will be takers if and when the Wolves start shopping him.

6. Ismael

   Do you think the Bulls should stay put or go an find a trade for Monta, Josh Smith, Tyreke or some one like that.. what about Luol Deng Rip and 5mil trade exception for All Jefferson and Marvin Willliams?

   • Bill Ingram

     If I’m Chicago I don’t break up the core group until Rose gets back and we see what they have. If they could move Boozer and make a team take Marco in the process, adding 2-3 better players, that would be worth considering, but there isn’t a deal like that out there right now.

7. john

   Any possible destinations for Gasol? Is it possible for Lakers to fire a second coach in a year?

   • Bill Ingram

     Sure, there would be takers for Gasol . . .there will always be takers for a healthy 7-footer with All-Star and championship credentials. I don’t think the Lakers can afford to fire a second coach, no, and it’s far too early to make that evaluation. The front office handed Mike Brown a great starting lineup with no bench, and a couple of older starters who were extremely likely to miss games. They fired Brown too early . . .but you know what you get with D’Antoni and you’re getting it. The 5-10 Magic shot 50% from the field, Dwight shot 9-21 from the free throw line . . .that’s the ball game.

8. Jj

   What’s ur take on harkless & Nicholson in Orlando ?
   Good win for the magic

   • Bill Ingram

     Nicholson didn’t play . . .he’s definitely had his ups and downs, and his attitude towards the media is very interesting. Might hurt him long-term. I’d say he needs to do a better job of rebounding and other things besides scoring to earn more playing time. Harkless has potential, as well, though he has a long way to go. This year’s Magic team is all about giving guys like these playing time and seeing who they might become. Check back in 2-3 months and see what they’ve put together.

9. Jason

   Hey Bill, what move do you think the rockets will make before the trade deadline? And do you think Jamison will keep up the success he’s been having under d’antoni?

   • Bill Ingram

     Jamison has been turned loose, which is what he needed. Sometimes you have to match a system to your personnel, and the Princeton offense – though not given much time to work – might have hampered Jamison. It also might have just been an older vet needing a few games to get going, honestly. There’s no reason why he can’t average 10ppg off the bench, or more as a starter if the Lakers trade Pau.

10. Blackmamba

    Pau Gasols role with the lakers have with the years been smaller. He went from being main big man and got to three finals and won two championships. Then bynum got healthy, now howard. Bynum gave no chips, and howard with gasol doesnt look good either. Whats your take on this? I really think gasol is a underrated and a great player. Is it the system the lakers run? Personell not good enough? Or just pau who has lost it?

    • Bill Ingram

      I don’t think Pau has lost it at all . . .I think it’s the fact that he’s not a primary option in the offense and that Dwight is getting the bulk of the post touches. It will be interesting to see how Nash helps Gasol, first and foremost. Pau is still an All-Star level player if given the opportunity.

11. Drew

    Can/Should the TPups trade DWill for Tyreke Evens, Courtney Lee, Wilson Chandler or JJRedick? If so for which one? If we added our 1st next year would it make any difference?

    • Bill Ingram

      Lee isn’t available . . .and i don’t see the Nuggets trading Chandler for another guy who can’t hit the three-ball. Redick would be interesting, though I have not heard that the Magic have come off of their stance that they won’t trade him.

12. Billy M

    I’m thinking of getting a Rockets jersey with the #14 and for the name I’m going to have “Pick”.
    If the Rockets are .500 at midseason do you think they make a trade so they aren’t looking at a high lottery pick one way or the other? My gut tells me that they are waiting until the offseason though.

    • Bill Ingram

      ROFLMAO . . .you win the funniest question of the day award! I was just saying on Houston radio that for all of the changes and the excitement over Harden and Lin, all they have really done is swap one .500 team for another. They still lack the one thing they have not had since Yao started down the injury road, and that’s a legit superstar to win close games. Harden and Lin have both done it against bad teams, but the Rockets never had trouble beating the bad teams . . .Martin or Lowry would get the job done. I don’t expect Houston to wait until the offseason . . .they are waiting to pounce on the first situation that puts a star on the market, like the one in OKC that yielded Harden. Could Pau Gasol be the guy?

13. lakerfan

    Hey!

    Pau Gasols role with lakers have become smaller and smaller where he now dont get to play the fourth quarter even! He was the main big man, when lakers had their run which equaled in three finals and two championships. Then Bynum became healthy and was the primary option, but that did not bring championship, and now Howard, that doesnt look so good now either. Whats your take on this? Is it because of Pau is on a decline? Or the system? Anything else? I feel Pau is still a great player (great low-post scorer, passer and so on).

    • Bill Ingram

      I’ve talked about this quite a bit, but I’ll add this – Pau is a championship-caliber player when he’s the second option. He isn’t a #1 option guy, as we saw in Memphis, but when you have an elite scorer who be feeds off of, he can bring a title. That’s why Houston makes a great deal of sense. They have Harden to play the #1 option role, and Pau could feed on lots of open looks around the block.

14. Costas

    1 Pekovic or Gortat?
    2 Bron is now relieved that someone else has to take the last chance with Ray being around? With Ray playing like this I can’t see any competition. Agree?

    • Bill Ingram

      1) Pekovic . . .no question at all. 2) You’re right about Ray, and the fact that LeBron will defer if that’s the right play. There are only 3 teams in the East that I would call even “decent,” so there’s not much competition.

15. Jeff

    Wouldnt Bargnani be a good fit with LA? Shooting Big man, creates space, wouldnt be relied on to rebound and would be a 4th option (ideal for him).

    No?

    • Bill Ingram

      LOL . . .not a bad point. Pau could do damage in the post for Toronto as a primary option and Bargs could just hang around the perimeter and make teams pay for doubling Dwight or Kobe.

16. Adam

    What move do you think the rockets will make? Do you see them going after a young player with potential such as Derrick Williams?

    • Bill Ingram

      No, I really don’t. They have more young players with potential than they can play now, especially at the forward positions. They are looking for a home run move . . .I think they’re waiting for the Lakers to figure out they aren’t deep enough and send Pau back their way.

17. Jeff

    Any hope for the Raptors?

    • Bill Ingram

      Yeah, of all the teams that are struggling early, none is more puzzling to me than the Raptors. They have a great PG rotation, quality big men, Ross is coming along . . .good coaching staff . . .I know they’ve had some injuries, but still, I thought they would be a LOT better than this.

18. Logan

    Bargnani good fit in Houston? What are your thoughts of that to happen? Is it possible?

    • Bill Ingram

      Alright, everyone, last question! The Rockets look at the whole player, what he does on both ends of the floor, and for big men they want rebounding and strong defensive presence. That’s not Bargnani. I can see him in LA, where there are great defenders around him and they just need scoring, but in Houston they need an all-around player and Bargs is not. As always, thanks so much for spending some of your Monday with us here at HOOPSWORLD! See you here same time, same place next Monday.