NBA Chat With Susan Bible 12/15/12

1. Steve

   Should I pick up FA rodney stuckey or tayshaun prince in my fantasy league? Keep in my mind its a deep league.

   • Susan Bible

     Good morning and welcome to the Chat!

     I’d go with Stuckey based on the upward trend of his past five games and heavy minutes. Plus, the Pistons may undergo some rotation changes in efforts to pull down wins, which means he may start again.

2. Deven

   Hi Susan. Who’s the better team: Thunder or the Spurs?

   • Susan Bible

     We’ll find out in the Western Conference Finals. For sure, the Spurs’ bench is better.

3. Deven

   How would you grade Kevin Martin’s performance with the Thunder for this first part of the season?

   • Susan Bible

     Putting all bias aside, how can I not give him a solid “A”? He has taken to a non-familiar role off the bench and succeeded in just about making fans forget about James Harden. He’s averaging 16.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 2.2 three-pointers at .468 percentage and a terrific .933 in free throws in 29.7 minutes. He gives the Thunder exactly what they need: instant offense.

4. LSO

   Just a quckie: Eric Maynor’s play has been pretty unremarkable this season. Dis he lose “it” while he was rehabbing – or just being under-used – or what? Is he discouraged? What does your crystal portend for him and his future with the Thunder?

   • Susan Bible

     In talking to him in the locker room, he doesn’t seem at all discouraged. His injury was really serious, and it’s taking him some time to get back to normal. Contrary to what you might think, his stats aren’t all that off: 3.8 points and 2.5 assists in 13.3 minutes compared to 4.2 points and 2.4 assists in 15.2 minutes last year. His Per 36 stats in those two categories are actually higher this year. He’s in his final contract year; conventional thinking says the Thunder may not re-sign him unless he totally impresses, thereby giving Reggie Jackson the nod (however, based on Jackson’s performance last night…). I think over the past few games, Maynor’s looking more like himself.

5. L. St. Onge

   I don’t really follow the Mavericks so probably should read up before I even ask this question – but – is Derek Fisher making a difference? (I do hope I have it right that he signed with the Mavs…….?)

   • Susan Bible

     Yep, Fisher did sign with the Mavs. In just seven games – as a starter – he’s putting up numbers (7.9 points, 3.9 assists, 1.0 three-pointers) that he hasn’t recorded in years. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said last week that he’s already making an impact. Good signing for both sides.

6. Peter

   Hey Susan! Kevin Love has publicly voiced his concern regarding the future of the Wolves. He said he is not satisfied with being part of a rebuilding team every year. He also specifically praised the stability and the organization of the Spurs, Thunder and Grizzlies. With that in mind, is there a possibility that the Spurs can land the superstar Powerforward? The Grizz and Thunder are already stacked on the frontline. San Antonio, on the other hand, are looking for help up front. With TD’s career coming to an end soon, he can be the ideal replacement. Your thoughts

   • Susan Bible

     I’d say any team would be thrilled to have Kevin Love. He did say all that you described above, but he also added he would “love” to end his career with the Wolves. They aren’t about to trade him (unless the situation becomes literally unbearable, i.e. Love keeps talking in that vein) and his contract has him locked up until 2014-15.

7. LA in LA

   Hey Susan, what the HECK is up with All-star votes? 2 things that bother me:

   1) Jeremy Lin is third in votes among Western guards, and within striking distance of Chris Paul? Based off his play this year he’s NOT better than Tony Parker, Jamal Crawford, or your boy Westbrook, not even his own teammate Harden.

   2) I’m a Lakers fan but Tim Duncan should have more votes than Howard, and Griffin too. Howard’s barely at half strength (despite avg 18ppg and 11.9rpg) and Griffin’s not been great this year except for his improved jumper, likely due to injuries.

   3)KG shouldn’t be a top 3 frontcourt player. This isn’t the same dude from last post all-star break. Al Horford, Anderson Varejao, Joakim Noah are all far more worthy. They mean as much to their team as KG and are putting up career highs or near career highs (unlike KG).

   • Susan Bible

     I know, I know. But what are ya gonna do? Explain why Andrew Bynum has over 68,000 votes and he hasn’t played a second yet this season. Same with Ricky Rubio with nearly 55,000 votes. When you leave it up to fans, you get fan-favorite results.

8. Nana

   Not a question of monumental proportions and maybe not even proper for your chat – but – I’ve missed seeing KD’s mother on the sidelines at EVERY Thunder game. Did she move away? It was something we always watched, seeing him greet his mom before every game and I miss it. Corny, I know.

   • Susan Bible

     I’ve received conflicting information on that issue. A local beat writer said KD and his mom had a falling out (hard to believe), yet another well-placed source said, simply, that she lives in D.C. which makes it hard for her to attend every game. I note, however, I’ve seen her at almost every game until this season. So I don’t know the real story. And I miss seeing their pre-game kiss/hug, too.

9. Susan Bible

   Hi, thanks for doing the chat

   How will you remember nash, kobe, dirk, duncan, and kg on and off the court when they retire?

   What is your favorite memory of basketball?

   What inspired you to be a writer?

   • Susan Bible

     You are so welcome! With respect to the time constraints, let’s the play the “What’s your first thought when you hear these players’ names?” game:

     Nash – Incredibly respectful and a true point guard
     Kobe – Ridiculously talented
     Dirk – Every time he hoists the ball, I think it’s going in
     Duncan – Best to play the power forward position…ever.
     Garnett – A little scary, but a great interview

     My favorite memory of basketball? It’s a personal answer…watching my son, Nathan, play.

     What inspired me to become a writer? Actually the knowledge I gained in playing fantasy basketball, along with my legal writing background, allowed me to dare think I could write intelligently on the subject. HOOPSWORLD gave me a chance on writing headlines (which I still do) and it grew from there.

10. Yoichi

    Is the lakers bench really that bad??? D’Antoni keeps changing rotations at the 4 spot too and players play inconsistent minutes too….
    I know we are with out Nash and Gasol but Jamison was pretty much double double just a season ago, Hill was a force off the bench, and Ebanks was good against Durant in playoffs, Morrison hasn’t played since he lost his spot to Duhon. Do we have the best starting 5 (on paper) with horrible bench ???

    • Susan Bible

      The Lakers’ bench is league-ranked 27th in efficiency. We won’t know the answer to the best starting-five question until all five actually play meaningfully together. On paper, it looks like a winner, but it doesn’t solve the defensive woes. Seems D’Antoni is going with the four depending on matchups. Regarding Jamison, he’s logging 20 minutes, but his Per 36 isn’t too impressive.

11. Jim in CyberSpace

    Long time no hear from Susan. A few quick questions/comments. What are your early thoughts about the Sooners Men’s team? As much as I liked Jeff Capel, I Love Lon Kruger. He has the program pointed in the right direction, and I hope he stays in Norman until he decides to hang up his “clipboard”, solid Coach/Citizen.
    Whitney Hand/Jones career ending injury sucks…but she is keeping her chin up?
    I think Damian Lillard might just be ROY? I’m impressed. As many “bust” picks the Blazer’s have had over the years…they deserve it???

    • Susan Bible

      You missed me, eh? I had to skip the past couple Saturday morning chats because of prior commitments.

      Glad to see you follow OU basketball. Lon Kruger is the perfect fit for OU, and I hope he has a long career in Norman. It’s so refreshing to have an old-school coach at the helm. Sure can’t complain about their winning start to the season. I wish I could attend the All-College later today. I always enjoyed that. I’m so bummed for Whitney Hand. What a class act. See for yourself how she’s doing in her own words (per The Oklahoman): “At first when it happened, I was so upset because I wanted to leave this place better than I found it. I kept thinking, ‘Everything’s for nothing. All those millions of shots were for nothing.’’ I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of processing, and I’m good with it all. I’m OK. And all of the support I received, just the love, I was so overwhelmed with all of it. That helped. It was kind of like an ointment over me, for my mind and my soul. I realized, I could have played 30 more games, but my legacy would be the same. It is what it is, and I’ve done what I’ve done.”

      Without question, Lillard gets my vote for Rookie of the Year. His stat line is just beyond impressive: 18.9 points, 6.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 3.4 rebounds, 2.2 three-pointers and .840 in free throws in 38.0 minutes.

12. a loyal fan

    With Thabo Sefolosha outscoring Russell Westbrook in last night’s game, I’m wondering if there has been a mandate from Scott Brooks about Russell’s role changing to be more of a true point guard or just a matchup thing?

    • Susan Bible

      I guess Westbrook’s 13 assists vs. none for Sefolosha tells the story: Brooks wants Westbrook to do what he does best, however the situation dictates. Sometimes that’s more distribution of the ball, sometimes it’s more scoring.

      Thanks for dropping in – have a great week.