Posts Tagged ‘Russell Westbrook’

Evaluating Jrue Holiday So Far

November 26th, 2012 by Sam Shipley | Comments Off on Evaluating Jrue Holiday So Far | Filed in Basketball, General, Sixers

Jrue Holiday Is Off To A Great Start

It is no secret anymore, Jrue Holiday has become the Sixers top player this season and it’s not even close. Coming off a season where Jrue didn’t perform as well as we knew he could, Jrue has put that season in the past and has moved on. After 14 games so far this season Jrue is averaging 18.6 ppg, 9.2 apg, 3.9 rpg, and is shooting 45% from the field. On top of that, he has five double-doubles so far this season which is tied with Chris Paul for 2nd most in the NBA trailing just Rajon Rondo. Just to put last season in perspective compared to this one so far, Jrue had just one double-double in 66 games last season.

What makes Jrue’s performance so far this season so impressing is that he is doing all of this without the newly acquired Andrew Bynum. The reason I say this is, when the Sixers traded for Bynum he was supposed to be the impact big man to help Jrue evolve and become a better player. As we all know, Bynum has yet to play a game this season. Of course the increased perimeter shooters that the Sixers acquired in the summer (Nick Young, Dorell Wright, Jason Richardson) are helping Jrue’s assists numbers, but he still has to get them the ball when they are open. Holiday has taken the teams leader role, and also is turning into the teams “star” player.

Lets compare Jrue to some of today’s top point guards in the NBA:

Jrue Holiday: 18.6 ppg, 9.2 apg, 3.9 rpg, 45% fg

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Series Preview: Thunder vs Spurs

May 23rd, 2012 by Sam Shipley | Comments Off on Series Preview: Thunder vs Spurs | Filed in Basketball, General, Sports

Who Will Win The West?

So far this postseason there haven’t been two more dominating teams than the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder, and now they will square off with the winner heading to the NBA Finals. The Spurs are the amazing story of the NBA right now, as they are 18-0 in there last 18 games. They are 8-0 in the playoffs so far and are just dominating every single game. They have won all 8 games by an average scoring margin of 13.8 ppg.

For the 2nd straight season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have reached the Western Conference Finals. Last season, they fell to the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks in a thrilling 5 game series. Now the Thunder are coming off of a very good series against the Los Angeles Lakers, which they won 4-1. 3 out of the 5 games were decided in the final moments, but Kevin Durant has proved to the world that he may be ready to be the next great closer in the NBA. His clutch steals and shots in that series really were the difference between them being in the Western Conference Finals and maybe being home to watch them. The Thunder are the team of the future, they are so young but yet so good. They have 2 superstars in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, they have the 6th man of the year in James Harden, and also have the leagues leading blocker in Serge Ibaka.

This series will be one for the ages.

Key Matchup: Serge Ibaka vs Tim Duncan

(more…)

Tags: , , , , ,

Random Thoughts 5/18 Edition: Dirk Wins Game 1 for Mavs, Flyers Sign Goaltender, Heat-Bulls Game 2, Phillies Struggles Continue

May 18th, 2011 by Scott Dargis | Comments Off on Random Thoughts 5/18 Edition: Dirk Wins Game 1 for Mavs, Flyers Sign Goaltender, Heat-Bulls Game 2, Phillies Struggles Continue | Filed in Baseball, Basketball, Flyers, General, Hockey, Phillies

Last night was a fantastic television night for sports. The Thunder-Mavs, Bruins-Lightning, and Phillies-Cardinals were within six channels  of each other, so I hope you used your clicker as much as I did last night.

Dirk takes over, Barea plays huge minutes

The comparison that is dominating the sports airwaves today is Dirk Nowitzki’s performance to that of Larry Bird. It is a fair comparison,  Dirk put on a show last night that included setting the record for the most consecutive free throws made in a game with 24. He scored 48 points on just 12 shots, he went 12-15 from the floor. It was the best performance in a playoff game in the past decade.

Oklahoma City could not find the correct scheme to shut down the big shooter. Ibaka did just about everything he could, but it was no where near enough. Dirk is in a zone right now the likes of which we haven’t seen before. The only answer is going to be finding the two people who can play the correct double team because it is clear that if you leave one person on him he is going to burn you.

Again Russell Westbrook took too many bad shots, he was able to get to the line 18 times, but you can’t shoot 3 of 15 and expect to be effective. Thunder coach Scott Brooks finally had enough and went to Nate Robinson early in the 4th quarter instead of putting Westbrook back into the game. Robinson responded with two air balls and a shot that barely hit the rim. Brooks had no choice but to put Westbrook back in. If there was a game to bench your second best player, Game 1 is the time to do that.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , ,