The old television show, Hee Haw, used to have a popular sketch called “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me.” Basically, 4 cast members dressed as hill billies would sit around singing humorous tales of how unlucky they were. One line from the chorus went, “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.”

The poor Springfield Armor may be tempted to take that song up as their theme song for this season. » Continue Reading

It is 39.8 miles from the David O. McKay Events Center in Orem, Utah to the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. For a fan, that journey takes 45 minutes (if you drive the speed limit). For a Utah Flash basketball player trying to work his way into the NBA, that journey can take most of a young lifetime.

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If I had seen the final score of tonight’s D-League game between the Iowa Energy and the Utah Flash, (Iowa 126, Utah 112), without seeing the game, my first thought would have been, “Overtime?”

Then, upon seeing that the Flash gave up 126 points at home in regulation, my next thought would have been, “Wow, the Flash were about as attentive on defensive as a couple of Northwest Airlines pilots bound for Minneapolis – St. Paul.”

The thing is, I DID see the game and that was not the case.

Despite the score, the Utah Flash actually did play pretty good defense in the half court, forcing turnovers, and often forcing the D-League leading Iowa Energy to take shots deep into the shot clock.

Where the Flash let themselves down was in TRANSITION DEFENSE, especially in the fourth quarter.

Let me set the table for you properly. » Continue Reading

On January 25, 2010, the Utah Flash hosted the Maine Red Claws. The Red Claws ended up thumping the Flash handily, but I thought the way this game played out provides some excellent insights on winning and on losing.

Here is the scoring by quarter:

Check out the points scored by each team in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Wow, huh?

A game like basketball has so many variables that it can be hard to be 100 percent sure of any particular cause and effect. Different officiating, home court verses on the road, injuries, etc. all tend to dilute analysis to some degree, so sometimes it’s nice when you can use the same game to study certain aspects of the game.

Then again, in most blowout games, the game stats as a whole aren’t very useful because the play of both teams in “garbage time” is rarely representative of the play prior.

So, what were these teams doing when they were successful? When they were struggling? Is it quantifiable and can we learn from it? » Continue Reading

First, I would like to thank the young man with the Utah Flash who handed out stats during halftime of tonight’s game. They really make a difference in understanding what is going on, and focus attention on the game. Thanks again.

Today the Albuquerque Thunderbirds avenged their New Years Eve loss with a 109 – 103 win over the Utah Flash in Orem. Credit Thunderbird Head Coach John Coffino and his team for learning from their mistakes of 3 days ago and making adjustments.

The previous match up of these two teams, on New Year’s Eve, was remarkable because the Flash battled back from a 19 point deficit on the merits of their second half defensive effort. I would have LOVED to have heard what Utah Flash head coach, Brad Jones, told the team at halftime. In the first half, the Thunderbirds exploited a casual, disinterested defensive effort from the Flash, particularly from the perimeter, as the T-birds lit up the Flash for 61 first half points. The second half, however, was a totally different story. The the Flash played 24 minutes of inspired defense, and held the Thunderbirds to just 33 second half points. In fact, the Thunderbirds scored more in second quarter than they did the third and fourth quarters combined. There was a stark difference in Utah’s defense the second half. » Continue Reading

True or false: Carlos Boozer doesn’t play defense.

Read on for the RIGHT answer. And don’t cheat. If you skip past this primer on team defense, you probably won’t get WHY the right answer is the right answer. » Continue Reading

Unlike the rest of the world, I was actually a bit surprised by NBA Development League President Dan Reed’s apology “for a Utah Flash promotion that never should have happened.” Why was I surprised? Well, because as a Utah Flash season ticket holder, I was there.

On Monday, December 7, 2009, D-League commisioner Dan Reed was in Orem, Utah. We don’t usually see Reed in Orem at Flash games, but on that night in particular, with a record attendance in excess of 7,500 people, Dan Reed was in Orem: all smiles, hovering around court side, meeting people, shaking hands, and giving interviews.

What are the odds Mr. Reed knew about Brandt Anderson’s challenge to Michael Jordan for that night? And what are the odds that Dan Reed knew Michael had not actually consented to be there that night for the challenge?

Yet if Reed disapproved in any way of the promotion, you couldn’t tell by looking at him. In fact, he seemed quite excited by it all… well, until halftime that is — but then again, a booing, vanishing crowd can have that affect. » Continue Reading

In case you missed it, the basketball world buzzed for about 15 minutes in September of 2009 about a possible one on one match between Michael Jordan and Bryon Russell.

After Michael Jordan’s controversial Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Utah Flash owner Brandt Anderson announced he would donate $100,000 to the charity of his choice if Michael Jordan would play Bryon Russell one on one during halftime of the Utah Flash’s home opener on December 7, 2009.

As a holder of 8 Utah Flash season tickets since their inaugural season, I smiled when I heard about Anderson’s challenge. I didn’t think Jordan would take it, but if he did, at least we were assured seats to the spectacle.

What I didn’t realize though, is that the spectacle would start well outside the gym. Traffic to and around Utah Valley University’s McKay Event Center was a nightmare. Adding to the mayhem was a larger than predicted snow storm. » Continue Reading

At halftime of last night’s game (Lakers at Nuggets), I got up to turn off the television and my wife asked, “What are you doing?”

“The Lakers are going to get creamed,” I explained.

“How can you say that? They are just down by two points!” she answered.

“I can say that because they gave up 58 points in the first half, and Carmelo Anthony hardly played.”

She said nothing so I continued.

“The Lakers have fallen back into bad habits. They are casual about defense, and they are on the road playing against a team that feels they have something to prove against them. They’re not getting the ball into Bynum, their advantage, or into the paint for that matter, and Kobe is obsessed with posting up his smaller defender which is what the Nuggets want instead of him driving and putting their bigs in foul trouble. Kobe’s impossible to double on the permimeter, but easy to double in the post, and who on the perimeter is going to punish the Nuggets for doubling Kobe in the post? Artest? Trust me, the second half is going to be ugly.”

Unfortunately, my wife didn’t let me turn off the TV; she wanted to see if I was going to be right so I had to suffer through it all. » Continue Reading

— Who is to blame for Yao’s injuries?

I can’t speak for the other planets, but Ballerblogger.com is the best 1-stop place for NBA basketball on our world’s world wide web, and today they posted an interesting quote from China’s state-run media:

“A commentary in the Communist Party-run People’s Daily dismissed the widely-held view in the United States that Yao’s repeated injuries stemmed from training with China’s national team during the NBA off-season.

“It can only be said that the NBA game has worn Yao Ming out,” the paper fired back.

“The physical beating taken by every player due to the long season, the high level of match play and the endless travel cannot be overlooked.

“The NBA should consider changing its match scheduling from the standpoint of safeguarding players.”

— Does China have a point?

Now I am one of the last people on earth who would side with a communist-run newspaper. In fact, I stopped buying my favorite computers in the world, IBM Thinkpads, when IBM sold the line to Chinese run Lenovo, because I didn’t want my dollars going to support an ideology I do not believe is good for us.

Neverthless, the communist-run Chinese media is 100% right, and are saying something that has already been a topic of hot debate in the United States for years. » Continue Reading

On June 16, 2009, in a blog entitled “Dynasty for Sale or Rent,” I wrote, “Maybe beating Orlando was the easy part. The hard part might be bringing the band back together next year.”

I may have jinxed the Lakers because since then Trevor Ariza left the Lakers for the most incomprehensible of reasons, and now, things seem to have fallen apart with Lamar Odom.

It’s amazing how many parrots accuse Kobe Bryant of being selfish while completely overlooking Lamar Odom’s LONG history of self-serving and very bad judgment — a history of bad decisions that goes very far beyond candy bing eating.

— HIGH SCHOOL

Lamar Odom played for 3 different high schools, not because his family was moving, but he dumped teams in perceived furtherance of his basketball career.

— COLLEGE

Lamar Odom started off at UNLV taking classes in the summer. Unfortunately, he was also taking money. Odom received payments amounting to $5,600 from UNLV booster David Chapman. That, and the academic scandal that also ensued got UNLV coach Bill Bayno fired, and got UNLV placed on probation by the NCAA for 4 years. UNLV’s storied basketball program never really recovered from the mess Lamar left it, and left it he did… for the University of Rhode Island.

In the wake of his scorched earth, after sitting out a year, Lamar played just 1 season for Rhode Island and then ditched them after his freshman year for a career in the NBA.

— CLIPPERS

Drafted 4th overall in the 1999 NBA draft, Lamar’s career started with L.A.’s other NBA team, the Clippers, where he showed much promise and made 2000 NBA All-Rookie First Team. A year later, in Novemeber of 2001, Odom was suspended for having been caught in his SECOND violation of the NBA’s drug policy.

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Phil Jackson often uses the metaphor of a journey when he talks about winning a championship. Using his metaphor, the road back to an NBA Championship next season looks like it may be a bit harder than it was this last.

A few days ago I wrote a blog I called, “The Rich Get Richer.” In it, I looked at this last season’s title contenders and one by one talked about what they had done to get better (or worse) from where they were this last season. It contained draft information, trades, and people who, due to healing from injuries, would be more of a factor this coming season than they were last season.

Then I clicked “Submit” (or whatever it is) and the browser waited forever then crashed and the story was lost.

Annoyed, I stayed away for a time.

I’m still unwilling to redo it, but to (very) roughly summarize, the Mavericks, the Celtics, the Cavaliers, the Magic and the Spurs appear to have SIGNIFICANTLY improved themselves over the teams they had last season.

And let’s not forget the Blazers, who seem to have the Lakers’ number, matured and got better as well.

That’s not to say the Lakers didn’t shake things up a bit as well in the off season, and Odom is not yet in the bag so more may come, but it isn’t at all clear that the Lakers have improved themselves with the loss of Ariza and acquisition of Artest. » Continue Reading

During the 2009 NBA Playoffs…

Trevor Ariza shot 50% from the floor. Ron Artest shot 39%.

Trevor Ariza shot 48% from the arc. Ron Artest shot 28%.

Trevor Ariza was 2nd in the playoffs in steals (behind Kobe Bryant), 3rd in 3 point field goals, and 5th in effective field goal shooting. Ron Artest doesn’t appear on the playoff leader board at all.

Trevor Ariza made clutch defensive stops again and again for the Lakers. Ron Artest, a supposed lock down defender, made boneheaded decisions that resulted in technical fouls and ejections.

Trevor Ariza knows the intricacies of the triangle offense and is productive in it. Ron Artest doesn’t, and frankly doesn’t have a reputation for being the brightest bulb in the ceiling.

Trevor Ariza is young and getting better. Ron Artest is declining.

Ron Artest is a stronger BRAND name than Trevor Ariza, but Trevor is the better player — especially for the Lakers. » Continue Reading

Maybe beating Orlando was the easy part. The hard part might be bringing the band back together next year.

Because the Lakers are young, people talk as if all they have to do is find a way to keep Ariza and Lamar Odom around, and they’ve got a shot at more titles in the coming 3 or 4 years.

If only it were that easy.

On July 1, 2009, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Luke Walton, etc., and a good number of Laker fans will be at the edge of their seats waiting for news on the return of key players.

Lamar Odom ($14.1 million), Trevor Ariza ($3.1 million) and Shannon Brown ($1 million) are free agents, and Kobe Bryant can terminate the last 2 years of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent. Likewise, the Lakers have options to keep Josh Powell ($959,000), DJ Mbenga ($959,000) and Sun Yue ($736,000).

And coming up soon are 3 more expiring contracts at the end of this coming season: Adam Morrison ($5.2 million), Derek Fisher ($5 million) and Jordan Farmar ($1.9 million).

A year after that, contracts expire for Pau Gasol ($34.2 million) and Sasha Vujacic ($10.5).

But wait, there’s more! Phil Jackson can likewise opt out of his contract this summer, or return for a cool $12 million.

Being a student of basketball history, Kobe knows full well that Michael Jordan said he would not be back in Chicago unless Phil was back. Then when the Lakers and Phil parted ways in 2004, another dominate superstar followed suit: Shaquille O’Neal demanded a trade.

Will Kobe’s return likewise be contingent on Phil’s? » Continue Reading