Post by New York Knicks on Jul 10, 2023 16:58:40 GMT -6
Randy Smith/Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks began the 2005 season with a 5-11 record. Despite having an active off-season and adding pieces to their roster, it looked like the Mavs were in store for another lost year. But not so fast. Because the Mavs followed that up by winning 8 straight games. Wins that came against quality opponents like Boston, Sacramento, and Minnesota. They beat the defending Western Conference Champion Timberwolves by 15 points. Randy Smith led the way with 20 points and 10 assists. He's been the catalyst behind their recent success. He had 28 and 9 against the Celtics. Then he scored 32 points vs Denver. Followed that up with a point god statline of 31 points and 17 assists vs Golden State. Then he finished off all over Sacramentos face with 37 points as the defensive tandem of "Slick Foots" had no answer for him. Smiths recent play was so impressive that he was named the leagues back to back Player of the Week. Overall on the season hes averaging a career high 21.1 PPG at the age of 32. Smith is proving that age is just a number.
Damon + Lavine
Damon Stoudamire and Zach Lavine are putting up some big numbers as well. They are the highest scoring duo in the ITP at 57.9 PPG. Damon is 5th in the league with 29.0 PPG and Lavine is 6th with 28.9 PPG. This high powered duo has the Lakers sitting on top of the Western Conference with a 15-7 record. As of late the Lakers have won 9 of their last 11 games. One of the losses was a 1pt defeat vs Minnesota. So they're playing some excellent basketball right now. And its largely due to the Big 2. Everytime you check the boxscore they're going off for 60-70 points. They combined for 71 points in a win vs Denver. 57 points vs the Clippers. 56 points vs Cleveland. They had a game earlier in the year vs washington when Lavine scored 41 while Damon almost had a triple double (29/11/9). These two are gonna score points. And the Lakers are gonna score points (#5 in the league in offense). But are they gonna defend enough (20th in scoring defense)? And are they gonna take care of the damn basketball? (15.1 TPG - Last in the league). If the Lakers can iron out their imperfections they're gonna become a great team. But either way they're gonna be a fun team. With Damon and Lavine they're the ITP League Pass team of the year.
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets aren't exactly a must watch team. But they do have 1 question that everybodies watching for: Is this FINALLY gonna be the year when Charlotte makes the playoffs? 5 years, 5 lottery seasons, 5 lottery picks. Their first 4 years of existence were miserable. But Last year they got pretty close finishing 1 game back of Cleveland for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. This year theyre the 6 seed with a 16-14 record. Can they maintain their position? So far the answer has been yes. Especially as of late with them going 9-2 in their last 11 games. They just had a very impressive 20 point victory vs a tough Miami team. They've also have done a great job recently vs Western Conference teams beating Minnesota, Utah, and the Los Angeles Clippers. Reigning Rookie of the year Devin Booker is having a nice sophomore season (19.9 PPG 5.3 RPG 3.7 APG). He just gotta get his three point mojo back. Last year he shot 42.8 % from downtown. This year its down to 28.3 %. But backcourt mate Nick Van Exel is making up for it with a 46.6 three point shooting percentage of his own. Van Exel and Book arent exactly Damon and Lavine. However, they're a young duo thats clearly on rise. But can they rise high enough to levitate the Hornets into the playoffs?
Miami Heat
The Heat might have had an ugly loss vs the Hornets. Besides that game, the Heat are playing dominant basketball recently. They've won 8 of their last 10 games. And they now have a top 5 record in the ITP (16-9). There have been some remarkable individual efforts from Heat players during this hot streak. In their most recent W vs Washington. Nerlens Noel filled up the statsheet with 25 points 13 rebounds 6 blocks and 4 assists. In the prior win ALSO against washington, Michael Carter Williams went crazy with a 35 point 13 rebound 12 assist Triple Double. MCW also had a 34/12 game vs Golden State. Carter Williams and this Miami Heat core group has been together for a long time. He was acquired via trade back in 2001. So this is the fifth season that Williams, Noel, Alex Len, and Issac Okoro are playing together. Is the fifth time a charm? Is the year HEAT Culture takes over the Eastern Conference?
Giannis
Theres been alot of great stories around the league this season. But none greater than the superstar evolution of Giannis Antekounmpo. I remmeber when Giannis first entered the league. He was skinny, passive, he didn't want the basketball in his hands. He deferred to others. He wanted to play more of an all around game. Score, pass, rebound, defend. He was trying to be a Jack of all Trades. But he was a master of absolutely nothing. Despite being the #1 pick back in 2000 he failed to average 20 PPG in any of his first 4 seasons
2000: 15.3 PPG 43.7 FG %
2001: 14.6 PPG 44.1 FG %
2002: 18.9 PPG 44.5 FG %
2003: 19.1 PPG 40.8 FG %
Then FINALLY there was an awakening. Last year he took a big jump to 25.6 PPG. He became a first time all-star. And he was selected to the all league team AND all defensive team. Pretty amazing season right? But that was only the beginning. This year Giannis is looking like the best player in the whole damn league. Hes leading the ITP in scoring with 32.7 PPG. Hes got 9.3 RPG 4.1 APG 1.4 SPG 1.3 BPG. Hes already made 53 three pointers in 23 games. That puts him on a pace to make 188 threes this year, which would shatter his previous career high of 126. Giannis is beautiful.
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are not beautiful. Looking at them for too long is gonna hurt your eyes. Actually prepare for the pain and look at this. Last year Phoenix finished with the worst record in the league (19-63). This year they're at it again with a 6-22 record. So they're on pace to lose more games than they did last year. Lately the losses have been just piling up for Phoenix. They did have easy give-me game vs Washington which they took advantage of (126-102 win). But that's been their only win in the last 10 games. Wolves beat them by 25. Kings won by 20. Hawks by 19. Etc etc. They're just not doing a very good job of competing. They do have some nice young pieces with Kristaps (11.4 PPG 8.2 RPG) and Cousy (15.5 PPG 7.4 APG). Looks like they're gonna be adding another top 5 pick to that group.
Milwaukee Bucks
While the Phoenix Suns are terrible, they got NOTHING on the Milwaukee Bucks. This is the sorriest shit I've ever seen. They actually went 0-15 in the preseason. And now they're 3-24 to start the regular season. They're gonna be challenging the old Charlotte Hornets for worst team in league history. They're the only team in the league scoring under 90 PPG (89.9). And theyre also dead last in field goal shooting (42.8). They've cracked 100 points once in their last 14 games. They got an uncoordinated 7'7 guy as their focal offensive option. Along with a 19 year old rookie Rahim. Randy Foye leads the league with 4.8 TPG. Hes got a great shot at breaking Stoudamire's record of 4.4 TPG. There's really nothing positive to say about this team. So lets move on.
Brooklyn Nets
Moving on to the little brothers of New York. Actually the little rodents of New York. Now that we got the Knick vs Net hatred out the way. Lets talk about the Brooklyn Nets. They've got a competitive 11-14 record. They also have a league best SEVEN players averaging double figures in points. But when you look deeper into their record, they started the year with a 9-4 record. Since then they have gone just 2-10. Offense has been the issus during this drought and throughout the whole year. They're 24th in the league in scoring and 28th in three point shooting. This team refuses to evolve in a league that's becoming more and more three point focused. The Nets used to be able to win with their inside focused offenses. But those days are dying off.
Moses
Speaking of dying. RIP to the Indiana Pacers season. Moses Malone has a broken leg and he will not return to the Pacers until after the all-star break. Hes already missed 9 games. And you can expect an additional 25+ games to be missed. With no Moses (28.5 PPG 11.9 RPG) for that long run. And George Johnson sent to Sacramento for the Pu Pu Platter Deluxe. The Pacers season is officially over. The one bright spot to look forward to is the play of Monster Mash. Mashburn has almost doubled his production from last season. Scoring is up from 10.3 to 20.5 RPG. And the rebounding has increased from 5.5 to 8.0 RPG. And his field goal percentage is up damn near 100 points (37.9 TO 47.6). And with Moses out the picture, theres gonna be alot more shot attempts available for Mash.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets had an excellent preseason. Carried it over into the regular season with an 11-6 record through their first 17 games...and then they lost 8 in a row. They got the longest active losing streak in the league. 4 of those 8 losses were by 20+ points. Including losing by 28 vs Minnesota and 26 vs Charlotte. Things have balanced back out in the Houston universe. And i envision them sucking the rest of the season. But the good news is they have all their future draft picks. So they can finally rebuild in peace.
The Dallas Mavericks began the 2005 season with a 5-11 record. Despite having an active off-season and adding pieces to their roster, it looked like the Mavs were in store for another lost year. But not so fast. Because the Mavs followed that up by winning 8 straight games. Wins that came against quality opponents like Boston, Sacramento, and Minnesota. They beat the defending Western Conference Champion Timberwolves by 15 points. Randy Smith led the way with 20 points and 10 assists. He's been the catalyst behind their recent success. He had 28 and 9 against the Celtics. Then he scored 32 points vs Denver. Followed that up with a point god statline of 31 points and 17 assists vs Golden State. Then he finished off all over Sacramentos face with 37 points as the defensive tandem of "Slick Foots" had no answer for him. Smiths recent play was so impressive that he was named the leagues back to back Player of the Week. Overall on the season hes averaging a career high 21.1 PPG at the age of 32. Smith is proving that age is just a number.
Damon + Lavine
Damon Stoudamire and Zach Lavine are putting up some big numbers as well. They are the highest scoring duo in the ITP at 57.9 PPG. Damon is 5th in the league with 29.0 PPG and Lavine is 6th with 28.9 PPG. This high powered duo has the Lakers sitting on top of the Western Conference with a 15-7 record. As of late the Lakers have won 9 of their last 11 games. One of the losses was a 1pt defeat vs Minnesota. So they're playing some excellent basketball right now. And its largely due to the Big 2. Everytime you check the boxscore they're going off for 60-70 points. They combined for 71 points in a win vs Denver. 57 points vs the Clippers. 56 points vs Cleveland. They had a game earlier in the year vs washington when Lavine scored 41 while Damon almost had a triple double (29/11/9). These two are gonna score points. And the Lakers are gonna score points (#5 in the league in offense). But are they gonna defend enough (20th in scoring defense)? And are they gonna take care of the damn basketball? (15.1 TPG - Last in the league). If the Lakers can iron out their imperfections they're gonna become a great team. But either way they're gonna be a fun team. With Damon and Lavine they're the ITP League Pass team of the year.
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets aren't exactly a must watch team. But they do have 1 question that everybodies watching for: Is this FINALLY gonna be the year when Charlotte makes the playoffs? 5 years, 5 lottery seasons, 5 lottery picks. Their first 4 years of existence were miserable. But Last year they got pretty close finishing 1 game back of Cleveland for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. This year theyre the 6 seed with a 16-14 record. Can they maintain their position? So far the answer has been yes. Especially as of late with them going 9-2 in their last 11 games. They just had a very impressive 20 point victory vs a tough Miami team. They've also have done a great job recently vs Western Conference teams beating Minnesota, Utah, and the Los Angeles Clippers. Reigning Rookie of the year Devin Booker is having a nice sophomore season (19.9 PPG 5.3 RPG 3.7 APG). He just gotta get his three point mojo back. Last year he shot 42.8 % from downtown. This year its down to 28.3 %. But backcourt mate Nick Van Exel is making up for it with a 46.6 three point shooting percentage of his own. Van Exel and Book arent exactly Damon and Lavine. However, they're a young duo thats clearly on rise. But can they rise high enough to levitate the Hornets into the playoffs?
Miami Heat
The Heat might have had an ugly loss vs the Hornets. Besides that game, the Heat are playing dominant basketball recently. They've won 8 of their last 10 games. And they now have a top 5 record in the ITP (16-9). There have been some remarkable individual efforts from Heat players during this hot streak. In their most recent W vs Washington. Nerlens Noel filled up the statsheet with 25 points 13 rebounds 6 blocks and 4 assists. In the prior win ALSO against washington, Michael Carter Williams went crazy with a 35 point 13 rebound 12 assist Triple Double. MCW also had a 34/12 game vs Golden State. Carter Williams and this Miami Heat core group has been together for a long time. He was acquired via trade back in 2001. So this is the fifth season that Williams, Noel, Alex Len, and Issac Okoro are playing together. Is the fifth time a charm? Is the year HEAT Culture takes over the Eastern Conference?
Giannis
Theres been alot of great stories around the league this season. But none greater than the superstar evolution of Giannis Antekounmpo. I remmeber when Giannis first entered the league. He was skinny, passive, he didn't want the basketball in his hands. He deferred to others. He wanted to play more of an all around game. Score, pass, rebound, defend. He was trying to be a Jack of all Trades. But he was a master of absolutely nothing. Despite being the #1 pick back in 2000 he failed to average 20 PPG in any of his first 4 seasons
2000: 15.3 PPG 43.7 FG %
2001: 14.6 PPG 44.1 FG %
2002: 18.9 PPG 44.5 FG %
2003: 19.1 PPG 40.8 FG %
Then FINALLY there was an awakening. Last year he took a big jump to 25.6 PPG. He became a first time all-star. And he was selected to the all league team AND all defensive team. Pretty amazing season right? But that was only the beginning. This year Giannis is looking like the best player in the whole damn league. Hes leading the ITP in scoring with 32.7 PPG. Hes got 9.3 RPG 4.1 APG 1.4 SPG 1.3 BPG. Hes already made 53 three pointers in 23 games. That puts him on a pace to make 188 threes this year, which would shatter his previous career high of 126. Giannis is beautiful.
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are not beautiful. Looking at them for too long is gonna hurt your eyes. Actually prepare for the pain and look at this. Last year Phoenix finished with the worst record in the league (19-63). This year they're at it again with a 6-22 record. So they're on pace to lose more games than they did last year. Lately the losses have been just piling up for Phoenix. They did have easy give-me game vs Washington which they took advantage of (126-102 win). But that's been their only win in the last 10 games. Wolves beat them by 25. Kings won by 20. Hawks by 19. Etc etc. They're just not doing a very good job of competing. They do have some nice young pieces with Kristaps (11.4 PPG 8.2 RPG) and Cousy (15.5 PPG 7.4 APG). Looks like they're gonna be adding another top 5 pick to that group.
Milwaukee Bucks
While the Phoenix Suns are terrible, they got NOTHING on the Milwaukee Bucks. This is the sorriest shit I've ever seen. They actually went 0-15 in the preseason. And now they're 3-24 to start the regular season. They're gonna be challenging the old Charlotte Hornets for worst team in league history. They're the only team in the league scoring under 90 PPG (89.9). And theyre also dead last in field goal shooting (42.8). They've cracked 100 points once in their last 14 games. They got an uncoordinated 7'7 guy as their focal offensive option. Along with a 19 year old rookie Rahim. Randy Foye leads the league with 4.8 TPG. Hes got a great shot at breaking Stoudamire's record of 4.4 TPG. There's really nothing positive to say about this team. So lets move on.
Brooklyn Nets
Moving on to the little brothers of New York. Actually the little rodents of New York. Now that we got the Knick vs Net hatred out the way. Lets talk about the Brooklyn Nets. They've got a competitive 11-14 record. They also have a league best SEVEN players averaging double figures in points. But when you look deeper into their record, they started the year with a 9-4 record. Since then they have gone just 2-10. Offense has been the issus during this drought and throughout the whole year. They're 24th in the league in scoring and 28th in three point shooting. This team refuses to evolve in a league that's becoming more and more three point focused. The Nets used to be able to win with their inside focused offenses. But those days are dying off.
Moses
Speaking of dying. RIP to the Indiana Pacers season. Moses Malone has a broken leg and he will not return to the Pacers until after the all-star break. Hes already missed 9 games. And you can expect an additional 25+ games to be missed. With no Moses (28.5 PPG 11.9 RPG) for that long run. And George Johnson sent to Sacramento for the Pu Pu Platter Deluxe. The Pacers season is officially over. The one bright spot to look forward to is the play of Monster Mash. Mashburn has almost doubled his production from last season. Scoring is up from 10.3 to 20.5 RPG. And the rebounding has increased from 5.5 to 8.0 RPG. And his field goal percentage is up damn near 100 points (37.9 TO 47.6). And with Moses out the picture, theres gonna be alot more shot attempts available for Mash.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets had an excellent preseason. Carried it over into the regular season with an 11-6 record through their first 17 games...and then they lost 8 in a row. They got the longest active losing streak in the league. 4 of those 8 losses were by 20+ points. Including losing by 28 vs Minnesota and 26 vs Charlotte. Things have balanced back out in the Houston universe. And i envision them sucking the rest of the season. But the good news is they have all their future draft picks. So they can finally rebuild in peace.
