Month: February 2015

What’s wrong with the Cavaliers?

Chris McGlynn Basketball, NBA , , ,

Cleveland was finally supposed to have something to be proud of regarding sports. This city was supposed to see an NBA superstar team rise up with the acquisition of LeBron James and Kevin Love this offseason. Those two, paired with Kyrie Irving were expected to turn the Cavaliers into a top 3 team in the Eastern Conference and compete for a spot in the NBA Finals. However, this team has been average at best. James has not been as dominant as usual. Love has struggled to find his where he fits into the offense on this team. With Cleveland announcing that center Anderson Varejao has been lost for the year due to a torn Achilles, this team does not seem to be in good shape.

They sit fifth in the Eastern Conference through 32 games and would be set for series against Chicago in the first round if the season ended today. The Cavs’ point differential is an average +2.5 and rank near the middle of the league in both points for and points against (13th and 14th). LeBron and company rank 11th in shooting percentage but a lowly 25th in shooting percentage against. This team commits the same number of turnovers as it generates. Every aspect of this team shouts average. The Cavaliers do not seem to do anything especially well, other than maybe scoring fast break points. With all of the moves the Cleveland front office made spanning for landing James in free agency, to mortgaging the team’s future on Love, to bringing in a new head coach in David Blatt, to signing veterans Mike Miller, James Jones and Shawn Marion. This Cavs team resembles nothing of what it did a year ago. And it has drastically improved, just not to the level it was expect to reach. Now it is time to uncover what is holding them back.

The biggest issue has been Love’s contribution to the team. The power forward was good in Minnesota as a scorer and rebounder. Part of that though was due to the sheer volume of the offense that ran through the former Timberwolf. Love is taking close to six fewer shots per game this season than last season and his shooting percentage has dropped from 45.7% to 43.4% from the field. From beyond the arc, the drop is even worse as Love has declined from 37.6% to 33.8%. As a result, Love’s scoring average has dropped from 26.1 to 17.1. On top of that, the All Star forward has seen his rebounding totals drop from 12.5 to 10.2. Much of this can be explained away by James and Irving’s offensive skill while Love is trying to learn a new system but this is a fairly large decline in production. Love does not really fit in well for Cleveland. The Cavs really need a defensive presence around the basket and he does not provide it. The best thing the Cleveland brass can hope to do is trade Love away in exchange for a couple of draft picks, a little more depth and, most importantly, a rim protector.

Another major setback for the Cavs has been the lack of production from role players. Players like offseason acquisitions Miller, Jones and Marion have fallen flat while younger talent such as Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson have failed to make enough of an impact. Waiters is the only player averaging over 10 points per game. Marion is averaging just over five points and Jones and Miller are averaging less than four points per game. If we saw anything from the James’ days with Miami, it was that role players make a huge impact on a team when they play well. Without them, it is very hard to be a top team in the league.

LeBron also hasn’t been the same dominant player he used to be either. He is scoring two points fewer per game. More importantly, his shooting percentage has dropped from 56.7% to 48.8%. That is a huge drop off and it hurts the Cavaliers due to James’ overall drop in efficiency. His rebound numbers are down by about two per game as well while his assists are on the rise. LeBron is morphing slightly this season but his transformation has not been enough to benefit the Cavaliers. He also has had all of the minutes he has played catch up to him as well. LeBron has missed a few games this season and has been playing banged up throughout the entire season to date.

This combination of players has essentially been a bit of an experiment. Mixing Irving, who is a score first point guard, Love, who relies on his outside shooting opportunity and a high usage percentage, and James, who is arguably the best pure scorer in the league behind Kevin Durant does not translate to success. These three players are each talented in their own right but do not mesh well as a team. This is not a team that is capable of winning a championship with its current roster. This offseason will surely see a lot of changes for the Cavaliers. There is a reason the James only signed a two-year contract. He wanted to be sure this would all work out. Do not be surprised if he looks to leave Cleveland again when it expires unless the roster is seriously overhauled. It simply does not work right now. I do not think it will ever work. The best thing for Cleveland would be to rework the lineup and find a pure point guard and a defensive big man in exchange for Love while switching Irving to more of a scoring guard role. All of this is unlikely but that’s the only way this team will be successful while keeping its current core.

Buffalo joins the hunt for a head coach

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL , ,

Just minutes ago, Doug Marrone informed the Buffalo Bills organization that he is opting out of the final two years of his contract. Marrone is now a free agent and will be allowed to interview with any interested teams searching for a coach. I am surprised to see this happen. The former Syracuse coach had finished with his first winning record in his two seasons and many believed the team was heading in the right direction. Marrone has abandoned ship though. Time to break down what this means for Buffalo and other teams looking land a coach.

I will start with Marrone. I am hearing that the division rival Jets are the front-runners to land his services. Personally, I do not really like the idea. If we saw nothing from his time in Buffalo, we saw Marrone struggled to develop a quarterback, specifically E.J. Manuel, eventually benching him for Kyle Orton. The Jets have a struggling young signal caller in Geno Smith who likely will stay with the team this year and will need some serious coaching during the offseason and beyond to salvage his career in New York. The kid has shown some glimpses of potential but overall he has been a below average quarterback. However, with few other options available, this should be a last chance for the organization to work with Smith to see if he is working keeping around. I do not think Marrone is the right coach to oversee this reclamation project so I think the Jets should look elsewhere.

I think Marrone is better suited to spend a year as a coordinator in the NFL or move back to college. There are not any college jobs open at the moment as most organizations who fired their head coach have found his replacement already. The only other place I think Marrone would maybe be a fit for is Atlanta. The Falcons have a proven quarterback and desperately need help on the defensive side of the ball. Marrone helped form a top-five defense in Buffalo this year. He could be a good fit for a Falcons organization in need of fresh start with a man who has previous head coaching experience. Atlanta is an improved defense away from making some noise in the NFC next season.

As for the Bills, I think the front office should immediately bring in Mike Smith for an interview. From Smith’s time in Atlanta, it is obvious he knows how to orchestrate a top-flight offense. He will not have a ton of options to improve through the draft this year as Buffalo traded away its first round pick in the deal that landed them Sammy Watkins. Smith would have some pieces to work with though in Watkins, C.J. Spiller and Robert Woods. The offense needs a little retooling and an upgrade at quarterback to make the jump to the playoffs. I think Smith could be the guy to run Buffalo’s offense. It makes sense for the former Falcons boss to choose the Bills too because of the defense already in place. Atlanta struggled so much this season because of the woes it had on defense. Smith will not run into that in Buffalo.

In short, Buffalo and Atlanta should swap coaches. I think that would be the best-case scenario for both teams. I just do not see Marrone as a fit for New York. His lack of a track record with quarterbacks makes me think that he might not be the best man for the job. It will be interesting to see where Marrone goes and I do not see him staying on the market for very long. Let me know if you think you know where Marrone will end up or who you think should coach Buffalo.

NFL coaching changes

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Five head coaching positions opened up in the NFL on Monday. The New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders all are searching for a new man to run the show. There are dozens of candidates available so I am going to take my guess at who will be the next hire each organization makes. My decisions will be based on personnel, strong points and weaknesses as well as financial flexibility.

Atlanta Falcons
Previous coach: Mike Smith (67-49)
Projected new coach: Rex Ryan (Previous with NYJ)
The Falcons over the last two years have gone from being a Super Bowl contender to a middling team that disappoints too often. In 2012, Atlanta came within one game of the Super Bowl. Since then, Mike Smith’s Falcons went 11-21, missing the playoffs two straight seasons. This team has all sorts of offensive weapons but desperately lacks an identity on defense. The offensive line needs work too but there is some young blood there. Enter Rex Ryan. The former Jets coach may have seen a steady decline in performance over the last three years with New York, but almost all of the struggles were on offense. Ryan would have a lot of improvements to make. The Falcons defense ranked last in yards allowed per game and 27th in scoring defense as well. Atlanta also tied for second to last in sacks. Ryan is one of the best defensive minds in the NFL. Tasking him with fixing Atlanta’s defense is the best solution Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank will find.

San Francisco 49ers
Previous coach: Jim Harbaugh (44-19)
Projected new coach: Adam Gase (Currently with DEN)
Unlike Atlanta, the defense was never the problem in San Francisco. It was the dysfunctional offense. Many witnessed the 49ers miserable up and down season. Through it all, the 49ers showed that its defense might be the deepest in the entire league. San Francisco lost several defensive starters to injuries and suspensions over the course of the season yet still ranked in the top 5 for yards allowed and the top 10 for points allowed. The offense however was anemic. The unit ranked 20th in yards per game and 25th in points per game. Colin Kaepernick looked lost at times and Frank Gore finally showed signs of aging. Michael Crabtree was not as reliable as he once was making Anquan Boldin the only true weapon. The offense needs a lot of help and that is where Adam Gase comes in. Gase has spent the last two years as Denver’s offensive coordinator helping Peyton Manning run his record setting attack. Gase has proven his versatility and understanding this year with his ability to change the Broncos gameplan as needed from week to week. He will have some molding to do with Kaepernick but the potential is there. Gase is also inventive enough to deploy Kaepernick’s running abilities in a way similar to Russell Wilson, truly utilizing the dual threat quarterback. Gase will garner a lot of attention from teams but I think he will ultimately choose San Francisco.

New York Jets
Previous coach: Rex Ryan (46-50)
Projected new coach: Josh McDaniels (Currently with NE)
The Jets are in full rebuild. Owner Woody Johnson fired both his coach and GM making this hard to call right now as to the coach will be without a GM in place. New York looked poised to become an AFC power in 2011, but then the wheels fell off and the team has not fully recovered since. Part of that is due to Rex Ryan’s inability to coach the offensive side of the ball. The other is the obvious lack of talent that the Jets have on that same side of the ball. The Jets began building a better foundation this year with the additions of Percy Harvin and Eric Decker but neither has been enough to turn the offense around. That is where Josh McDaniels comes in. McDaniels has spent the last three years coaching division rival New England’s offense. The Patriots may have Tom Brady but McDaniels has played a large part in designing the offense he runs. McDaniels also has head coaching experience from his time in Denver. He would likely be assigned the task of trying to salvage Geno Smith’s career with likely a rookie developing behind the scenes as well as retooling the offense around him. New York’s defense is still in good shape following the Ryan era but needs some work in the secondary. McDaniels would have his work cut out for him. It would certainly take some time as well to turn the Jets around but McDaniels is the right man for the job.

Oakland Raiders
Previous coach: Dennis Allen/Tony Sporano (went 3-13 this season)
Projected new coach: Dan Quinn (Currently with SEA)
The Oakland Raiders seem to have more fresh starts than anyone else in the NFL, but this one is has a little bit of promise. The Raiders have two pieces, quarterback Derek Carr and linebacker Kahlil Mack, to build around for the 2015 season. This team needs a ton of help on both sides of the ball. It is going to be more than a one season project. Oakland would have a decent amount of money to play with in free agency and a high draft pick meaning Dan Quinn can go to work on the Oakland roster. Quinn, over the past two years, has coached one of the greatest defenses of all time in Seattle and that pedigree will be something GM Reggie McKenzie hopes he can carry over to the Bay Area. Oakland has a couple of other young players in D.J. Hayden and Latavius Murray who have shown some promise but the Raiders will need to get rid the aging veterans McKenzie and Dennis Allen brought in last year as stop gaps. They did not pay off and Quinn will want a fresh start. In a division where Phillip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Jamaal Charles rule, Quinn would have a tall task in making sure the Raiders’ defense is ready to compete.

Chicago Bears
Previous coach: Marc Trestman (13-19)
Projected new coach: Frank Reich (Currently with SD)
The Bears are another team that completely cleaned house this offseason. The Chicago brass decided to fire head coach Marc Trestman, general manager Phil Emory and offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer. This team will be looking all to pretend the Trestman era never happened. The Bears, in many ways, are stuck with Jay Cutler as their quarterback so it is time to bring in a man who has worked with Phillip Rivers over the last two years and made him look like an MVP candidate at times, Frank Reich. Reich is a former NFL quarterback, which bodes well for helping Cutler. He managed to keep San Diego’s offense afloat despite losing this year, Ryan Mathews, Danny Woohead and Ronnie Brown at running back this season. Keenan Allen also fell into a deep sophomore slump. However, the Bears have a ton of offensive talent and need someone to generate some production out of them. The defense struggled as well but the return of Charles Tillman and Lamaar Houston as well as continual development of a young linebacking core could make the defense much better next season. This team has a lot of work to do if it wants to avoid being one of the most disappointing in recent NFL history. Reich should be ready to get the job done.

Determining the NFL MVP

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL , , , , ,

Week 17 concludes the NFL season tomorrow and usually by this point, we all have a good sense of who the league MVP will be. For example, last year it was obvious that Peyton Manning would be named the most valuable player following his record-breaking performance where he topped the single season passing yards and passing touchdown records. Manning is still in the mix this year but it definitely not as clear-cut. I figured it would be fun to have a breakdown of some of the candidates for this year’s award.

We will stick with the reigning MVP from a year ago and start with Manning. The Broncos quarterback began the season right where he left off in the previous one (well minus the Super Bowl) and looked like he was on his way to his sixth MVP award. He averaged 305 yards and 3 touchdowns per game over the first seven he played. Then the Broncos visited New England and Peyton had his worst performance of the season at that time. In the seven games since the trip to Foxboro, Peyton has averaged only 269 yards and 2 touchdowns per game. Those are still good numbers, but they do not scream MVP either. Not to mention after throwing only three interceptions in the first seven games, he has thrown 12 in his last eight appearances. Sure Manning is still in the conversation but I do not think he is a legitimate contender this season. He does have a game against Oakland tomorrow, which he beat up to the tune of 340 yards and 5 touchdowns, but I do not think he will repeat the performance.

To another former league MVP, Aaron Rodgers might have the best chance to win this year’s trophy. He has been nothing but efficient so far this year, save two games in New Orleans and Buffalo. Rodgers got off to a “rocky start” or about as rocky as it ever gets for the Packers’ quarterback. Rodgers only has two games this year where he has thrown two interceptions. He has never thrown more than that all year and only has five in total on the season. Rodgers has also been the focal point of an offense that averages the second most points per game behind only the Patriots. The Packers’ game against Detroit tomorrow could be crucial to his MVP chances. He struggled the first time he played the Lions throwing for only 162 yards and 1 touchdown in a loss. Putting up a good performance against one of the best defenses in the league could cement Rodgers as the front-runner for the award.

It is time to look at the surprise of this year’s MVP race, Tony Romo. If I had told you this time last year that Romo would be a top candidate for this year’s award, you would have laughed at me. Romo has had a very good campaign though and has lead what many felt was a talent deprived Dallas Cowboys team to an 11-4 record so far this year. The things that stand out for Romo are his league leading completion percentage (70.3) his league leading yards per attempt (8.49) and his league leading quarterback rating (114.1). The things that hold Tony back are his yards per game average of 243, which ranks 18th in the league and the existence of Demarco Murray. Murray has rushed for the most yards in the league by over 400, which puts a bit of a damper on Romo’s campaign for most valuable player with teammate who has stolen a lot of the spotlight and offensive production. Still, Romo has a great touchdown to interception ratio (4:1) and has been stellar in the month of December. I think heading into the final week of the season, Romo is Rodgers’ greatest competition for the award.

We have a defensive player on this list as well. J.J Watt is having a season to remember, mainly due to the highlight reel has put on which includes two defensive scores and three offensive touchdown catches. Watt has been great though on the defensive side of the ball. He has recorded the most tackles by a defensive lineman this year, tied with Jason Pierre-Paul at 72. The Texans’ superstar also ranks second in sacks, just a half sack behind the league leader with 17.5 on the year. Watt also has the most pass deflections by a defensive lineman with ten. He has additionally racked up three forced fumbles and a league-high five fumble recoveries. The issue is that Watt has not done enough to even guarantee that his team will be in the playoffs. It is hard as a defensive player to make such a huge impact that you can carry your team. Watt definitely has my vote for defensive player of the year but I do not think he will be the league MVP.

I am including one darkhorse candidate as well who has not really garnered much media attention as an MVP option but I think he deserves to be in the conversation. LeVeon Bell has been the most complete back in the NFL this season. He rushed for over 1300 yards, caught 77 passes for 774 yards and scored 11 total touchdowns. His 1341 rushing yards rank second only behind Demarco Murray. His 77 receptions are tied for 21st among all players, not just running backs, and are the most by any back. His 774 receiving yards also rank second only behind Matt Forte among running backs. His 4.8 yards per carry land him third among players with more than 200 attempts. Bell also has not fumbled the ball this season. So, the guy never turns the ball over and he has generated more yards from scrimmage than any other player except Murray, by only 35 yards mind you. Bell racked up over 225 yards of offense and accounted for 3 total touchdowns the last time he met the Bengals. If he can even come close to reciprocating those numbers, he has a chance at being in the conversation for MVP.

There are other players you can make cases for in the MVP race, (most notably Tom Brady or Murray) but these are the ones I think have the best chance to win it. It will be interesting to see how Week 17 affects this tight race. I am curious to know who you think should be the MVP. Feel free to comment and tell me why. Enjoy watching on Sunday.

Is it time for Kobe to give it up?

Chris McGlynn Basketball, NBA ,

It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers are bad this year. LA is tied with Utah as the second worst team in the Western Conference. The Lakers are 6.5 games out of a playoff spot already, missing its coveted rookie Julius Randle and allowing the most point per game by any team in the league. It has been a rough year. Through all of its previous struggles, LA still has had its Golden Boy, Kobe Bryant. But the Golden Boy is starting to fade.

Bryant’s scoring, rebounding and assist numbers are pretty much on par with his career averages but his shooting is worse than ever. Kobe has been accused of being a bit of a ball hog in his time in the NBA but now more than ever he is taking even more shots. Maybe that is a product of the mostly average, if not mediocre supporting cast Bryant has played with this season. It should not mean that Bryant needs to be taking 22 shots per game. That is three more than Kobe has average throughout his career up to this point. That is not a huge difference, but it hasn’t led to any more production from the Lakers’ guard. He is shooting at a miserable career low 37.2% from the field. Bryant is only one of two players in the league taking at least twenty shots a game. The other is LaMarcus Aldridge and he is shooting converting on 45.1% of his attempts, well above Kobe’s conversion rate. Kobe is making the same number of shots he always has on even more attempts. Maybe it’s time to start spreading the ball around a bit more.

Several of Bryant’s teammates have that idea themselves. Lakers’ point guard Jeremy Lin told the press after Kobe missed his second game winning shot in a week that he, Lin, would like to have the opportunity to take a buzzer beater. Another Laker, Nick Young actually has had some success taking crucial late-game shots and has expressed that he would like a couple more touches himself. Clearly, I am not the only who thinks taking the ball out of Kobe’s hands might be worth some consideration.

It’s not as if the 18-year veteran is the picture of perfect health either. The Lakers have begun sitting Bryant just to rest him and he is still not completely back to the form he had prior to tearing his Achilles tendon. Slowly but surely, Kobe is seeing his game decline. He might have finally topped Michael Jordan on the scoring list but that is not a testament to his current skill. He simply played long enough to hit that mark. It definitely underlines his longevity in the league but that tenure has to be reaching an end.

The Lakers have looked better without Bryant in some games this year, including a win this week over Golden State. Los Angeles showed the opposite though tonight in a twenty-point loss in Chicago. The truth is that having the third all-time scorer no longer makes a major difference. The Lakers are not any better with Bryant in the lineup than they are without him in the lineup. But at the same time, sitting Kobe does not benefit them either. Sure, he can score, but he cannot score as effectively anymore which, in many ways, mitigates the scoring capabilities Bryant brings. He could try becoming more of a distributor but that seems incredibly unlikely because of his confidence in his shot as well as the marginal talent around him. This year will be just a year for the Lakers to see if there is anyone on the current roster to keep past this season.

I think Kobe should just retire following the end of this season. He might be under contract for the following season as well but, his game is deteriorating and it does not seem too likely that the Lakers will be making any shocking turn around next season either. This team is going to need to build through the draft and hope it can land a big name star in the 2016 free agency class. I think Kobe should just go out before it gets even uglier than it already has become. It definitely will not be getting any better. I know this guy is an incredible competitor but even the best have to know when it is time to hang them up and step away for good. Kobe won’t be doing himself or his team any good coming back for another year. That’s my take on the aging Lakers’ star. Let me know if you share my opinion.