NBA Chat With Joel Brigham, 3/7/13

1. Danny Two Step

   Joelseph,

   Give it to me straight – can New Mexico win the NCAA championship this year?

   • Joel Brigham

     Good afternoon, HOOPSWORLD Citizens, and welcome to another edition of my weekly chat! The buzz here in Illinois is the Chicago Blackhawks, who are doing awesome things on the ice that, by the way, are really helping keep the NHL relevant after their cruddy lockout. They really needed some positive PR right out of the gate, and like Sammy and McGuire helped get baseball back on track in the ’90s, the Blackhawks are making hockey exciting for mainstream fans, too. Really cool to watch right now, but also fun to debate which streak is better… the ‘Hawks at 24 consecutive with a point to start a season, or the HEAT at 16 straight in the NBA. I’ll hear what some of you have to think before injecting my own opinions, but both are pretty awesome streaks, and I hope one of them continues. (Hint: it’s not Miami).

     Anyway, let’s get on to some hoops questions which, as you can see, I’m extending to some NCAA chat as well, since we’re so close to Selection Sunday.

     I checked on New Mexico, Danny, and they’re projected as a four-seed right now and Vegas has them earmarked at 40-1 odds. That’s not bad considering two months ago they were at 100-1 odds, but it’s hard to predict something like that with how insane this tournament is about to be. Even though #1 seeds have won the championship in a good deal of the recent NCAA tourneys, this year’s #1′s are going to be less threatening than usual. This thing is wide open, and if there was ever a year a sneaky team could capture the crown, 2013 would be it.

     Good luck to New Mexico. I guess. I’m not sure who I’m going to root for yet. My alma mater was D3. No major connections to the big schools, so I usually just get into it for the bracket.

2. Colin

   Who wins the 6th man of the year award this season? I haven’t heard too many people mention Jarret Jack’s name but he deserves to at least be in the conversation. Is he the most underrated player in the NBA today?

   • Joel Brigham

     I’d personally have a very hard time going against Jamal Crawford at this point. He’s averaging over 17 ppg in under 30 mpg and playing a major role in keeping the Clippers among the Western Conference’s elite (remember, it’s the CLIPPERS we’re talking about, here). Jack has been amazing (I want to say he’s in the 12-15 ppg range, too, isn’t he?), as has J.R. Smith, but right now I’m on the bandwagon with Crawford. Jack is probably #3 in my voting.

3. Jon

   What player do you think might be the breakout star of March leading to a race up the draft board (i.e. Kemba Walker)?

   • Joel Brigham

     Well, not that he hasn’t already gotten a lot of people’s attention the last few months, but I think Victor Olidapo could conceivably end up getting drafted before his IU teammate Cody Zeller. I think he’s going to be a fantastic pro and can’t wait to see what Indiana does in the tourney this year. Otto Porter (Georgetown) and Trey Burke (Michigan) have a great opportunity to show they are both lottery picks, and with a deep run either guy could vault himself into that 6-10 range in June’s draft. I think Porter is closer to that right now already because of how few small forwards there are in this class, but Burke has a real shot at vaunting himself upwards a bit.

4. Cain

   Any idea why Paul George is struggling to score lately? Is he showing us that he may not be that consistent threat of offense in Indiana or will he need another 2-3 years?

   • Joel Brigham

     Nothing to be overly concerned about. He’s still scored double-digits in every game except one since January 8th, and while his percentages have been down, the Pacers have still won 7 of their last 9 games. As good as the Pacers are defensively, they’re going to be able to occasionally whether some bad offensive nights as long as they hold their opponents to very little scoring on the other end. Plus, David West has picked it up lately and really taken charge of this team, which just goes to show how important it is to have a veteran leader on a promising young team like this.

     Also, keep in mind that George isn’t even 23 years old yet. He’s been this good despite a relative lack of experience. Two or three more years of seasoning is only going to make him even scarier, and with a kid this good, the consistency will come.

5. Cain

   Indiana is still lacking a star, can they sign one or does no one really want to go play in Indiana?

   • Joel Brigham

     It’s a tough place for free agents. I love Indianapolis, personally. It’s got this really gorgeous downtown with lots of great restaurants and stuff to do, but for an athlete choosing between the cold gray winter of Indiana vs. those in Florida or California, it’s really not much of a competition. Even the cold, gray winters of New York and Chicago are at least bigger and more exciting. It’s more the destination, I think, though David West thought it was a good place to play. Mid-tier free agents like him will come, but the big names are probably going to shoot for Hollywood or someplace with a beach.

6. BobCho

   Hi Joel, The bobcats r worse then terrible they re embarrassing. Could they make some sort of move to get C Boozer, he’d enjoy being more of the main man and Walker/MKG would without doubt play with less pressure and better. Walker/Bismack/Mullens/Mkg/Hendo/Sessionswill not be contenders in next few years or maybe ever. They would still be in lottery for next 2 years(Boozer contract length)so wouldnt hurt rebuild mode and maybe wouldnt be an embarrassment to league and MJ. Chicago lose the contract & insert Taj. What do u think? Any chance?

   • Joel Brigham

     There is zero chance of this happening. I can’t imagine a world where the Bobcats would take on that contract, and I also can’t imagine what the Bulls would take back from the Bobcats in order to make the salaries match. There’s nothing there that makes the Bulls better than Boozer makes them, but if Derrick Rose ends up not returning this season, they’ll have no reason not to find a way to dump some salary. Maybe they’d remove some protections from the Tyrus Thomas pick? Probably not, but worth a shot!

7. Jason

   So whats the latest on D.Rose is he playing this year or not?

   • Joel Brigham

     There are starting to be some rumbles that he’ll make his way back in the next 7-10 days, and his sitting on the bench with the team on the road maybe lends a tiny little bit of credence to that, but overall I just can’t say anything with any certainty because Derrick himself really doesn’t seem to have any idea. I will say that I watched him shoot for a good 30 minutes before the Pacers game last weekend, and the guy looks good. He’s in great shape, is moving around well, draining shots. There was nothing at full speed, obviously, and I have no idea what his dunks look like these days, but he passes the eye test and I’ve got to think he’s close. There’s about a quarter of a season left, and if the Bulls are going to get him back out there in time for the postseason, they’ll need 15-20 games to usher him back into the rotation with limited minutes so that he’d be ready for more aggressive playoff competition.

     But will he actually get back for the final month or so of the season? That’s a great, great question Jason. I think we’re all more than ready to see him back out there, but I understand the Bulls not taking any chances with this. He’s just worth too much to them to put him back out there before he’s at “110%,” as he puts it.

8. Tarrelle

   Do you think the Mavs can get Demarcus Cousins this summer if they cant get Dwight?

   • Joel Brigham

     It’s sort of a different situation because Dwight Howard is going to be a free agent, and DeMarcus Cousins is locked down on his rookie deal for at least another year (he’ll get a qualifying offer for ’14-’15). So if the Mavericks are going to chase after DMC, they’ll need to put together a pretty good package for the Kings (Sonics, maybe?), and I’m not sure the Mavs necessarily have what Sacramento is looking for. In fact, I don’t think all their expiring deals, the Mavs even have enough guys to offer up in a trade. There’d need to be some serious sign-and-trade action happening here, and I just don’t think the Kings are buying on that with whatever new deal they end up with next year.

     So, short answer: no. That’s probably not happening.

9. Ray

   Straight answer. Will the lakers make the playoffs?

   • Joel Brigham

     Right now, I’d say yes. They’re only 1.5 games behind the Utah Jazz, and from looking at some strength of schedule stuff the Lakers not only have the easier road, but the better lineup. Keep in mind that they’re going to get Pau Gasol back in a few weeks, too, which is only going to help. I think with so little ground to make up, and with the injuries Utah continues to experience, that the Lakers seem like a decent bet to sneak into the bottom seed of the Western Conference playoff picture. Them and San Antonio in the first-round would be the must-see series of the first batch, wouldn’t it?

     Alright folks, that’s all the time I’ve got today. Thanks for the great questions, and please make sure you get back here next week for more of the same! Have a great weekend, and go Bulls!