The Half Court Heave is a panel of four writers: Two Def Pen Hoops writers, myself, and the most chill writer I could find on Twitter to write a roundtable. Or mailbag. More like a panel. Something of that sort.
The goal of the Half Court Heave is to ask and answer the very pressing questions concerning this thing called basketball. Questions that pop up on the interwebs during the week – on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and not Google Plus. And we’ll get them answered for you.
Yes, just for you.
Hot takes are welcome here. Welcome to the Fourth Edition of the Half Court Heave. (you can find the third edition here.)
This week’s edition of the Half Court Heave features some dope writers. Here’s who they are, what they do, and where you can block them for their horrendous takes.
Dave DuFour – Coach Dave is one of NBA Twitter’s rising stars. A contributor to Real GM, Coach Dave also does post game coverage of playoff games with Coach Nick of BBallBreakdown. He also hosts his own podcast “On the NBA with Coach Dave” as well as being on the “B.O.D. Pod” panel of the Almighty Baller Podcast Network. Don’t be mistaken by his beard – he will beat you one on one. You can find him on Twitter @CoachDaveDu4.
Mike Brady – Mike is a biweekly columnist for Def Pen Hoops. He also writes for SB Nation’s Warriors site Golden State of Mind. A self acclaimed “part time geek, full time basketball enthusiast,” Mike is Scotland’s best NBA writer. You can find him on Twitter @MBHoops13.
Honi Ahmadian – Honi is a daily news writer for Def Pen Hoops. He also contributes to Lakers Outsiders and BBallNerds. He is the biggest Lakers fan I know, which means he and I simply do not get along. You can find him stannning Kobe… oh never mind. You can find him on Twitter @HoniAhm.
And I’m Austin, I help write, edit and strategize content for Def Pen Hoops. Sometimes I podcast too. You can find me on Twitter @AE_Hutchinson.
Let’s get this party started
1.) In Game One, the Cleveland Cavaliers had major issues defending the fastbreak as well as constantly turning over the ball. What adjustments can and will the Cavaliers make going forward in this series?
DuFour:
I think the Cavaliers need to find a way to counter the way the Warriors are hedging on the Pick and Roll. It felt like their entire game plan was forcing a switch with Curry and trying to attack in isolation. That just isn’t going to work.
Brady:
You can’t really stop the Warriors in transition, at least not consistently. The way I see it there are two core aspects to this;
First of all, in transition the Cavaliers are not communicating well, they’re not switching mismatches quick enough and because they’re so worried about giving up the three point shot they’re leaving driving lanes to the basket wide open. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving concern me. Love was extremely slow at getting back, even slower than usual. I didn’t follow Cleveland enough in the later rounds of the Eastern Conference to know whether or not this is a trend or if he’s potentially dealing with a minor injury. Irving on the other hand just isn’t getting back quickly enough and when he does he’s not really putting any effort in.
Secondly and more importantly, if you want to prevent the Warriors from scoring in transition don’t allow so many transition opportunities. The best way to prevent transition offense is to make your damn shots in the first place. Obviously, this is easier said than done. Durant is an excellent defender when he’s locked in, his length and ability to defend without fouling really seemed to irritate LeBron in game one. I suspect officiating could change this if they start calling more ticky tacky fouls, in the first game the officiating mostly just let those guys play it out. Draymond Green was a monster on the defensive side as well and the whole Warriors team seemed to be communicating. Cleveland will also have to cut down on the turnovers, again a lot of these were more a result of Warriors stifling defense but some were careless (especially a couple of ball handling turnovers from Irving who tried to do a little too much on occasion).
Ahmadian:
Tyronn Lue has already spoken about it but they need to make this series much more physical. That means roughing up Steph Curry and Kevin Durant as they go around screens, just enough to throw off their timing. It also means Tristan Thompson needs to be much more active. The Cavs need him to get offensive rebounds without having to send extra help and sacrificing transition defense. They also need him to be a much better rim protector so they can continue keeping the Warriors from beating them with the three ball.
Hutchinson:
Cleveland needs to take this series into their own hands. They will not beat Golden State by playing at their speed. The Warriors weren’t even at their best offensively and still beat Cleveland handedly. Tristan Thompson needs to be the physical presence in the post he was in last year’s finals. Kyle Korver, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert need to hit from deep. Or else, this Cavaliers team won’t have a chance of matching Golden State’s offense.
2.) Is this series over? What will it take for the Golden State Warriors to lose this series?
DuFour:
The series was over when Kevin Durant signed with the Warriors last July. The number one thing the Warriors were missing was a guy who could score the way he can. Steph Curry unlocks a next level, as unbelievable as that sounds, to Durant’s scoring. Game 1 was about 80% of what I think Durant’s peak can be in this offense.
Brady:
This feels like a loaded question haha. I’m a big believer in the old cliche “it’s not a series until someone wins on the road”. It doesn’t look great for Cleveland but it’s far from over. If anything last year should have taught us that until you’ve won four games the other team is still in it. That being said, I do think the Warriors will win in the end so long as they remain focused defensively and don’t encounter any injuries or suspensions.
Ahmadian:
I don’t think it’s over because the other team has LeBron James. But it sure feels like it. The Cavs are going to need spectacular LeBron performance on both ends of the court for multiple contests and they need to get hot from three in order to have a chance.
Hutchinson:
For Golden State to lose this series it would take an act of God. Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry coming down with injury or illness. Golden State has the apprehend defensively, Curry is much more healthy compared to last years finals There’s not many things they can do to hurt themselves in the long run. Kay Thompson and Draymond Green has average games at best. What happens when they have a huge night? Scary.
3.) Is appreciating the talent level in this series trump the competitive imbalance there is/is not? Who is really to blame for this perfect storm of a trilogy?
DeFour:
Ultimately, there is a competitive balance issue in the league, but this is hardly something new. The Cap spike and the Warriors very good fortune through the draft and the Curry contract have set us up for what should be a 7-9 year finals window.
Brady:
This is difficult for me. Personally, I don’t believe the Warriors have done anything wrong. They drafted most of their core and signed some great staff and free agents through savvy management and then went on to add Kevin Durant who chose to sign there. I can understand why Oklahoma fans might be pissed off with Durant but to be pissed off at the Warriors as a franchise makes no sense to me, they did what they’re supposed to do; assemble the greatest team possible.
I don’t know where the blame for the lack of competitive balance falls, I haven’t thought about it that deeply. I do however take issue with this being a hot topic right now when it’s been a “problem” within the NBA for at least thirty years or so. From 1980 until 2014, six franchises won 31 championships between them, does that sound like competitive balance? Before the Warriors’ rise to greatness in 2015, three teams owned 13 of the previous 16 championships. How about that? Does that sound like competitive balance?
As for does this series make up for it? Sure, in some ways. In theory, this series should essentially be a best-of-seven all-star game where people actually play competitively. Who doesn’t want to watch that? I personally don’t believe we have seen a final with this much talent in it (especially with both cores being in or around their peak).
At the same time, it does feel like the regular season and rest of the playoffs were simply delaying the inevitable. If I was a fan of a team like Houston or Toronto who have genuine championship aspirations and under slightly better circumstances could have had a trip to the finals I would probably be disheartened by the current state of the league. That being said, if I’m simply a basketball fan who wants to see the best of the best facing off against each other I have to be enjoying the last three finals since this Warriors-Cavaliers trilogy began.
Ahmadian:
It’s hard to say after one game. Through one half, it looked like we were going to have a classic Finals and then the warriors exploded. Competitive imbalance has always been an NBA issue though, and it took chronic ankle issues, a massive jump in the salary cap, or a shocking decision by a superstar to make this iteration happen. But dynasties never last forever no matter how unbeatable they seem. We forget that the Warriors won 73 games last year and still blew it in the Finals. They’re not immortal.
Hutchinson:
If you’re an NBA fan who truly appreciates talent you have to love this matchup. It’s LeBron James and company versus the best team ever created. In the moment, yes, this series does trump any conversations we were having last week about the “imbalance” of talent in the league. Things change. Dynasties don’t last forever,
The owners are to blame for this competitive imbalance. They are the ones who demanded the cap to be raised as the TV Money was there, instead of abiding by the suggested guidelines provided by Adam Silver to slowly raise the cap That cap raise is what allowed Kevin Durant to leave in the first place. This is just a reminder that the NBA is about making money and utilizing it to make more money. Not to necessarily to please us fans.
4.) What is one narrative/question about the NBA you’re tired of hearing and why?
DuFour:
I’m tired of trying to play the “are they trying?” game. As an analyst, I can only judge teams or players by how they perform on the court. Psychoanalyzing every game to figure out what is useful and what isn’t doesn’t interest me at all.
Brady:
I don’t like how people seem to think that the increase in three-point shooting is a bad thing. It seems to stem from people who dislike advanced analytics and most of those people only dislike advanced analytics because they don’t understand them.
There appears to be a mutual feeling among the “eye test” crowd that analytics are dictating teams to shoot as many three-point shots as humanly possible within each game. That simply isn’t the case, there is such a thing as a bad three-point shot believe it or not.
I’ve also seen people attempting to discredit three-point shooting as if it’s somehow less skilled than mid-range shooting or shooting long twos which is perplexing, to say the least.
Honestly, I dislike the division that’s been forced between “stat geeks” and the “eye test crowd”. The arguments about three-point shooting among other things only help to drive a wedge between the two and let’s be honest the answer, as always, is somewhere in the middle. This idea that we have to pick a side is ludicrous. You want to be able to evaluate what you’re seeing with your own two eyes AND analyse it from a more scientific side as well.
An informed decision means using all information that’s available to you to reach a conclusion. Let’s start doing that, shall we?
Ahmadian:
The competitive balance discussion is probably very important but it’s become a chore to listen to. I understand the concerns but we’re really overreacting to one season after a phenomenally exciting playoffs and Finals last year.
Hutchinson:
The Kobe Bryant GOAT argument is getting real old. It’s a narrative that annoys me to my inner core. If anything, LeBron James’s has a better argument for that spot. Oh well. It’s foolishness.
5.) Where do you have Kevin Durant as far as all-time scorers? Does a Golden State championship with KD leading the charge this year or to come affect that?
DuFour:
Kevin Durant is definitely a top 10 all time scorer and possibly in the top 5. He gets buckets easier than almost anyone I’ve ever seen. He’s a 7 foot alien sent to this planet to put the ball in the bucket. Unstoppable.
Brady:
I despise all-time lists and avoid these discussions with the same level of enthusiasm as my dog avoids a bath.
But… since you asked.
I see three aspects to this;
- Historical ranking statistically.
- Efficiency.
- Skillset.
Durant currently averages 1,912 points per season, taking into account the fact that he missed most of the 2015 season and a good chunk of this season (19 games) that average is probably quite a conservative expectation for him moving forward. We can realistically assume he will average around the same (although likely more) for the next five or six years. This would mean he would end up with roughly 30,593 points by the time he’s 34; which means at the very least we should expect him to finish seventh all-time. However, if I’m being honest I expect him to finish closer to fourth.
When you take into the account the efficiency of Durant the list begins to thin out a little. If you look at the top five all-time leaders in points per game you have; Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
For his career, Durant has a higher true shooting percentage (TS%) than all of them with .608 while LeBron is the next closest (.584) followed by Jordan (.569).
In regards to skill set, a lot of people believe it doesn’t matter how you score points as long as you get them by the bucket load and do so efficiently. Overall, I agree with that sentiment but when discussing the best scorers I think the skillset has to be taken into account. Being able to score in post ups from the low and high post, being able to handle double teams effectively and shoot from distance or handle the ball well enough to break down a defender and get to the rim while finishing with either hand, having a strong mid-range game with a variety of moves and ways to score as well as being able to play off the ball… to me, that matters.
As for championships? They’re irrelevant when discussing who the better scorer is (who the better player is overall, better teammate or comparing legacies, sure it matters but not for scoring).
With all that said I have Durant second all time for scorers at the moment. Behind only Jordan. Although I wouldn’t argue if someone had him third or fourth.
Ahmadian:
I tend to stay away from all-time conversations because I’m not knowledgeable enough and that leads to hot takes. That said, I have a strong inclination that Durant may be the greatest scorer ever. We’ve never seen someone of his size be an elite scorer from literally every position on the court. The Finals won’t change my mind on this but they might reinforce it after his stellar performance in game one.
Hutchinson:
As a stat nut, I think it’s clear that Kevin Durant is the second greatest scorer of all time. He is already the most efficient scorer at the highest volume (at least 35 points per 100 possessions) in the history of the NBA. Michael Jordan and LeBron James have an argument for 1 and 2, but I think that argument is largely based off of their playoff success which Kevin Durant has not yet had the luxury of receiving. He still has many years to go, but Kevin Durant is definitely the second greatest scorer ever in my eyes.
Thanks for reading the fourth edition of the Half Court Heave! Have a question you’d like to submit? Tweet at myself or Def Pen Hoops. Come back next week for the fifth edition of our panel!
