Year: 2015

The post-Rondo rebuild begins in Boston

Chris McGlynn Basketball, NBA , ,

I guess Boston knew they had to rebuild already but now the Celtics are in for a full scale remodeling. Celtic’s General Manager Danny Ainge just pulled the trigger on shipping away Boston’s last piece from the Big 3 era: Rajon Rondo is now a Dallas Maverick. That is a great thing for Dallas fans, but we will get to that in a little bit. Right now, I want to look at the Celtics side of things.

The trade officially sends Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks in exchange for Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson and Brandon Wright as well as a future first and second round draft pick. Boston might lose their superstar but it gains three competent veterans that can contribute and the draft picks allow them to continue building this young team. The Celtics already have some promising young players in Marcus Smart, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynek. There are a couple players who could still pan out in Evan Turner and Tyler Zeller as well. While Boston is still a while away from being a title contender again, adding Nelson, Crowder and Wright is a plus. And this team is still only half a game out of a playoff spot in the unbelievably weak Eastern Conference. Wright has been having a very consistent and efficient year contributing on both ends of the court. Nelson is a decent scoring option and does well distributing the ball. Crowder is young and cheap. Another piece Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens has a chance to mold. None of these guys are starters by any means but they are all solid role players who can contribute and make an NBA team better.

Now for the Mavericks’ side of the deal. Dallas managed to avoid giving up very much, the one that hurts the most is Wright because of his contributions on both ends. Nelson was not getting any better at 31 years old and Crowder was barely averaging 10 minutes a game. Mavericks’ General Manager/Owner Donnie Nelson managed to keep his team mostly intact and he landed an All-Star point guard. Rondo brings a little flare offensively to the Dallas Mavericks. He is not a great shooter as it is often pointed out but he is the best distributor in the NBA. And now you pair him up with the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons, Rondo will be dishing out more assist than ever. I think it will also make Rondo into a better offensive player because he will have to shoot less and he won’t be the center of attention for the defense. Rondo also gives Dallas a good perimeter defender. He is averaging 1.68 steals per game this year, good for 11th in the league this year. Hopefully, it will improve a Dallas defense that is allowing the seventh most points per game. Assuming there are no bumps in the transition, this makes the Mavericks a title contender in the West. Rondo is an upgrade of current starter J.J. Barea, who will still fill an important role off the bench for Dallas. Rondo is still only playing around 32 minutes per game meaning Barea will still see playing time.

This trade involves two teams going in very different directions. Boston continues to plunge into rebuild mode while Dallas just elevated itself to a top pick to win the rugged Western Conference and likely the NBA title this season. While that may be true, both teams benefited from this deal. Dallas landed their final assumed final piece to the puzzle and is poised to make a title run while Boston cashed in on Rondo while it still could, as he was likely to leave in free agency otherwise. Only time will tell who got the better end of the deal but right now, Dirk Nowitzki must be really happy he took that pay cut this summer to give the Mavericks flexibility with cap space. It is likely going to pay off with a deep playoff run this year. The interesting question is will Rondo stay will Dallas passed this season. But that is something to worry about later. For now, sit back and watch Rondo assist Nowitzki on one of his famous fadeaways. It will take a while to get used to that, especially for Boston fans.

Thursday Night Preview: Week 16

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL ,

Week 16 kicks off tonight with an AFC South matchup between the Jaguars and Titans. This is not one of the exciting games between title contenders but it is a battle to avoid finishing last in the division. It is also likely that one of these teams will be holding the first pick in the NFL draft next May and this game will play a part in determining which team that is. Tennessee is coming off a mostly awful performance against the Jets last week while Jacksonville lost a tough game in Baltimore. Both teams are really more suited to begin looking towards next year but that starts with tonight’s contest. We should see some young players getting a shot to impress the coaching staff and earn themselves a job for next season.

<span “font-size:13.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:”times=”” mso-bidi-font-family:arial”=”” roman”;=””>Tennessee has been a mess this year. They have had three different starting quarterbacks in as many weeks now with Charlie Whitehurst getting tonight’s start. The only other quarterback on the roster is the recently sign Jordan Palmer. If Whitehurst were to get hurt, Palmer would be thrust into action, who has only attempted 15 regular season passes in his six-year career. The running game has not been very effective for Tennessee either ranking in the bottom quarter of the league. Defensively Tennessee has managed to hold up through the air, sitting around the middle in terms of yards allowed per game but on the ground, the defense has gotten blasted for a league-high 140 yards per contest. Tennessee might be able to hold their own tonight though as Jacksonville’s running back Dennard Robinson is out injured. Look for the Titans to work hard shutting down the running game, making Jaguars’ rookie Blake Bortles have to start carrying the offense. Bortles has been turnover prone this year and the Titans will be hopefully the rookie coughs up a couple more if he forced to throw a lot. On offense, look for a lot of shorter passes, or at least passes that don’t travel too far in the air. Whitehurst does not have the strongest arm, but he can be very accurate on the short to intermediate distance throws.

The Titans are falling apart while the Jaguars are starting to build some momentum. The Jaguars beat the Giants a few weeks back and had an impressive defensive showing last week in Baltimore. That is not exactly stringing together strong performances but it is a start. Jacksonville will also be looking to avenge a two-point loss to Tennessee earlier this year. The Jaguars have improved since the last matchup as well. Jacksonville’s defensive line has been playing better. Unfortunately, the offense is still sputtering. The offensive line has been abysmal and the running game has faded a bit. However, I still think this team has enough talent to beat Tennessee, whose offensive line, and offense in general is banged up.

Prediction: The Titans have lost two many players on offense to compete. Between the two quarterbacks ahead of Whitehurst, the versatile Dexter McCluster and several offensive linemen out for tonight, I don’t expect much. Jacksonville manages to run the ball enough to keep all of the pressure off of Bortles and the Jaguars win 20-10.

What it means to bench Jay Cutler

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL ,

The Chicago Bears announced yesterday that Jimmy Clausen will be the new starting quarterback going forward. That means that the veteran Jay Cutler will be riding it out on the bench for the last two weeks of the season, barring an injury. This move was preempted by the comments released last week that the Bears’ front office and coaching staff was feeling some “buyer’s remorse” after signing Cutler to a big extension in the off season that has left the team both cash strapped and in an unenviable position. This is showing some signs as well that current coach Marc Trestman will not go down without a fight. Trestman’s job is rumored to be on the line and the Bears’ poor play of late is not helping his odds. Everyone has pegged this as being Cutler’s fault though. Clearly he bears the burden for the team’s failures right? Well maybe not. Let’s take a second look.

Cutler is actually in the midst of a career year in Chicago. I won’t go as far as to say that he deserved all of the money he makes right now but he is definitely a serviceable starter in the NFL. Cutler was on pace to put up over 4,000 yards, something he had never done as a Bear and he already threw for a career high in touchdowns. His completion percentage is well above his career average (66.1 compared to 61.7). His quarterback rating is also at a career high while his QBR (rating system that takes into account a quarterback’s full body of work in a game) is on par with past years. The league leading 18 interceptions jump out as an indicator of a bad year but in reality Cutler has been about as average as they come.

Does that mean that he gets a pass? Absolutely not. With an offense consisting of Brandon Marshall, Matt Forte, Alshon Jeffrey and Martellus Bennett, you should not be a 5-9 team if you are a good quarterback. But all of the blame should not fall on Cutler. The Bears defense has been one of the worst in the league. This unit is giving up an average of 6.1 yards per play, tied for third worst in the league. Chicago has given up the second most passing yards and the most passing touchdowns. The run defense has been mostly average all year falling in the middle of the pack for yards and touchdowns allowed. On the whole though, the Bears have allowed the most points per game to opponents out of any team in the NFL. There Bears’ offense might not have lived up to all of its expectations but it is not hard to see why they get outscored week in and week out.

The rushing attack hasn’t been much help either. The Bears rank in the bottom quarter of the league when it comes to running the ball and Chicago’s running backs have fallen right in line with the league average per carry (4.1). By no means is the ground attack something Cutler can rely on if he is struggling or some of his top targets, most recently Brandon Marshall, are hurt. The Bears also do not have the luxury of being able to run because of how frequently they find themselves trailing in the second half of games.

So no, Jay Cutler should not be forgiven for every mistake he has made and immediately named to the Pro Bowl but the Bears woes this season do not fall all on his shoulders. Yet, time and time again, the quarterback seems to be the one who is praised when the team does well, and the one who is scapegoated when the team struggles. That is just part of the job. Cutler’s laid back attitude probably doesn’t help his image much either when it comes to fans who think he does not care enough to work harder. Unfortunately, this team needs a bit more than just an attitude change to compete again. It might begin with Cutler, but it certainly goes much deeper than that.

Monday Night Preview: Week 15

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL ,

Tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup features two teams who had higher expectations heading into this season. The 5-8 Saints take on the 5-8 Bears in Chicago. This game won’t do much for the Bears as they have already been eliminated from the playoffs but the Bears’ coaching staff could be coaching for their collective jobs. New Orleans, as poor as its record stands, is currently in first place in the NFC South and would jump a full game ahead of the division rival Falcons with a win tonight. This game should have a lot of tensions as these two struggling teams battle with completely different forms of motivation.

For the Bears, it will be a game of trying to figure out what is wrong with its abysmal defense. The unit has been given up an NFL-worst 29.1 points per game this season and ranks fourth to last in total defense. This secondary was gashed by injuries early in the season and since then has been torched by opposing quarterbacks. Against an electric Saints passing attack, look for Bears’ defensive coordinator Mel Tucker to bring the house early to throw Drew Brees off and get his defense off the field. Also expect the Bears to limit Jimmy Graham’s success with double coverage his way all night. When Graham is taken out of the game, the Saints tend to struggle. On offense, Head Coach Mark Trestman will likely look to find a balanced attack against a terrible Saints defense. Look for Matt Forte and Alshon Jeffery involved a lot in the attack plan, especially with Brandon Marshall injured.

Meanwhile, New Orleans has to find some sort of plan to fix its defense. The unit is allowed the most yards per game in the league this year and sit only two spots ahead of the Bears for the higher amount of points allowed per game. There is also some talk that Saint’s safety Kenny Vaccaro could be benched for his recent poor play. The coaching staff is clearly looking to mix it up in an attempt to give this defense a spark. Offensively, the Saint’s will probably air it out early and often against the slumping Bears defensive back but expect Brees to look away from Kyle Fuller. The Chicago rookie has been a ball magnet and can cause trouble. Look for Mark Ingram to play a role but mainly later in the game when the defense is tired.

Prediction: The Saints come out firing early on but the Bears play with a lot of tenacity causing Brees to make some mistakes and keep the game close. Watch for Jay Cutler to play with a chip on his shoulder after the “buyer’s remorse” comments made this week by the coaching staff. This is likely going to be a shootout and it should be close, but the Saints need the win more and will come away with a 38-30 win in the Windy City.

Lance’s landing spots

Chris McGlynn Basketball, NBA , ,

Lance Stephenson has not fit in too well with Charlotte. I wrote back in June that I thought this would be a good fit for the ex-Pacers guard but clearly, that hasn’t been the case as the front office is rumored to be looking to move him via trade. Today marks the first day that Stephenson can be traded because of an NBA rule regarding players who sign contracts in free agency. So now that he can be moved, it’s time to take a second look.

Believe it or not, Stephenson is actually having a career year for himself so far. He scoring 10.4 points per game and average 5 assists and 7.2 rebounds a game. All of those would be career bests. The issue is he has shot an abysmal 39% from the floor and hit only 16.7% of his three point attempts. Needless to say, he has not been an effective shooter and that is more of what Charlotte was looking for to pair with his great on ball defense. Here are the teams that I think could be interested in acquiring Stephenson.

The obvious on would be the Indiana Pacers. This is the team Stephenson walked away from in free agency because he did not get opportunities he wanted offensively. The Pacers have been decimated by injuries this year, particularly in the backcourt. Having Stephenson back could be a major boost to the team’s guard play for sure and might break Stephenson from his shooting woes. The Pacers would likely have to give up a couple of players the most likely players would be CJ Miles, Chris Copeland and maybe a future second round draft pick in exchange for the out-of-favor Stephenson. That would prevent the Pacers from giving up too much allowing them to still compete in the East and would give Charlotte a couple of talented players to work into its rotation.

Another team with plenty of guard injuries is the Minnesota Timberwolves. They struggled all year to stay healthy and have been one of the worst defensive teams in basketball this year ranking second to last in the league for points allowed per game. Stephenson would provide a much need defensive presence for a young Wolves team. He would also provide some veteran leadership on a team with rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach Lavine and second-year players Anthony Bennett and Shabazz Muhammad. In return, Charlotte could likely receive Chase Budinger and Corey Brewer. Both players have been rumored to be pieces Minnesota would like to move and could fill in as productive role players for the Hornets.

The last team is a bit of a wild card but apparently, the Brooklyn Nets are contemplating a fire sale. They would be looking move practically all of their star players. This could be the opportunity for Charlotte to snag a top player in a deal to get rid of Stephenson. The Hornets could land Kevin Garnett potentially along with a young guard in Sergey Karasev while shipping Stephenson, Cody Zeller and PJ Hariston to Brooklyn. This would give Charlotte better option at power forward creating a formidable frontcourt with Al Jefferson. It also allows the Nets to experiment with some young players.

The most likely scenario is Stephenson goes back to Indiana. I have no doubt though that Stephenson will be moved sooner rather than later. The NBA’s Eastern conference is wide open right now and if you can avoid matching up with either Chicago or Cleveland in the first round, you have a chance to run the table and win a playoff series. I think Charlotte, right now, is still thinking about competing. The Hornets made the playoffs last year and gave the Heat a run for its money in a couple of games in that series. We will see what Michael Jordan decides to do.