Logic Fail

Kevin Iole: “If Pacquiao, the world’s finest boxer, wins, it will be a tribute to his talent, courage and tenacity, but will be more of a statement of how completely shot De La Hoya is.”

Ahhhhhhrgh. Does anyone remember what the term “shot fighter” actually means? It does not mean someone who was competitive with Floyd Fucking Mayweather in the last year and a half. It does not mean someone who is competitive with “the world’s finest boxer.” It means…I don’t know, Riddick Bowe? Evander Holyfield? It describes a fighter who, for age-related, neurological or psychological reasons no longer reacts well to punches, cannot avoid them, and cannot perform anywhere close to his best on that basis. When you see a fighter with locked, stiff legs, or who blinks a huge amount in the ring, or who is carrying on long after he should, he can be said to be shot. Meldrick Taylor was shot at the end. De La Hoya is not, and Iole constructs this as a heads-I-win-tails-you-lose proposition where neither man can gain any respect or credit for the fight. De La Hoya wins, he was just huge; Pacquiao wins, De La Hoya was just shot. C’mon now.

Arsenal 1-0 Wigan: Turn Left

Ah, choices, choices. It’s a staple of sci-fi and fantasy shows to have at some point in their run the “what if?” episode where a slightly different choice is made at some point and consequently the world we know is totally different. This game may have been the sporting equivalent, as Arsenal absolutely bossed the proceedings for 65 minutes and might have had 3 or more on the board, until Amr Zaki came on in the 66th; from there on, it was at best even traffic and Wigan looked vastly more dangerous than previously. This could have easily ended up at anything from 4-1 to 1-2. By the end Almunia made a nice save and generally helped hold things together and the points were held in my view deservedly, but this game should be taken as another positive step in the road back to contention, not evidence that all ills are cured.

One thing that should be noted was that this was a good game for several figures and units who have come in for criticism from fans which has definitely included me. Alexandre Song was totally solid in the midfield, holding his areas, making tackles and provided a wonderful flick-on for Adebayor’s goal. It might have been his best game all year, maybe his best ever for the club. Adebayor himself looked much more the player of last season, taking his first chance well, getting other shots on target, and generally showing the effort and motor which made him so important in the past. At his best he’s a solid poacher and an underrated defensive forward who harasses and protects the midfield by forcing early errors. Denilson as well was very good indeed; few if any bad giveaways, crisp passing, probably should have scored on a shot that just hit the wrong side of the post. For most of the game as well the defense looked solid. Yes it was against Zakiless Wigan, but for stretches of this season I would not have put money on them to look stable and confident even against this Hesky-led rabble. And it must be said, Almunia was good- he made some good saves and some solid controls of the ball late on when Wigan were pressing, and if he didn’t have much to do for long stretched early on, he still did it well overall. I can only imagine this performance will be a boost of confidence for all those players, and rightly deserved it will be too. Well done, boys.

And I wish we could leave it here but as always with Arsenal of late, there’s controversy, which unsurprisingly involves Arsene and Eboue. They key quote about Eboue being subbed off as a sub is “It was a difficult decision but he had completely lost his confidence. He couldn’t keep the ball any more and had become a danger. I just didn’t want the 90 minutes’ work to go to waste. The fans contributed. He’s a sensitive boy who wants to do well and he cares about the club (…) The same fans will applaud him when he does well.”

I’d like to not read this as deliberately contemptuous of fans, but who really knows anymore. The issue is however, that it’s ridiculous to expect fans not to notice or pay attention to a player who is both playing in an actively bad manner and who has built up over the years such a terrible reputation as a cheat, a diver, a thug, and someone who simply does not seem to respect the game or his fellow professionals. This isn’t Bendtner, 20 years old and barely on his way as a professional; Eboue is 25, in his 4th year of playing regularly for the team, has had extended periods as a regular, and has built up his reputation over time. It’s even more ridiculous for a manager who pulls down millions of pounds a year partly to instill confidence and build resilient sides to throw a player coming off a knee injury out there in a high-pressure game, then pull him off and publicly name him as a danger to victory, and then claim that this is in any part the fault of fans reacting to the exact same things happening before their eyes which caused Arsene to pull the player off in the first place. I realize that he came on as an injury sub for Nasri, but Aaron Ramsey and Carlos Vela were also available and while they may be young, at least they have knees which work.

This was a good victory, and nothing should take away from that. But as we look to the future, I don’t think it’s irrational for fans to not ever want to hear about “a sensative boy” who played poorly because he couldn’t handle having his awful play noticed for what it was. I think we’re all tired of hearing about all the sensitivities of players who are supposed to be world-class title contenders. This in particular isn’t a young player vs. experienced player issue, since I don’t think anyone would accuse Cesc, Denilson, Nasri or others of mental weakness, and I do think many would accuse, say, William Gallas; but it takes on some elements of that debate since a lot of the urge for experienced players is an urge for players who are up for the challenge and can be counted on to play a hard 90 minutes week in and week out. There are a lot of such players at Arsenal right now starting with the captain, but there’s also a few who aren’t, and between those few dominating the press of late and a season full of late collapses, fans are, I think understandably, edgy and impatient. If you ask fans to support a player even when he’s playing as badly as Eboue was, you’re asking them to trust that it will all come good in the end and that best effort is being given. There’s been a lot of that asking and not enough showing in recent years, and this was one of those times when that lack of trust shines through.

Meanwhile on Arsenal blogs and comments threads the debate rages between those who say “fans are cunts” and those who say “Eboue is a bag of shit.” and so it goes.

Nets 113, Timberwolves 84

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned it here yet, so let me say: I really, really like this team. At best they’re an 8 seed in the playoffs, but every night they give you a good effort, they’re mentally strong, their young guys are good and getting better, and they play an attractive brand of basketball. When I was saying a year or two ago that the Nets should rebuild, this was exactly the sort of team I was hoping to end up with. As a fan, all my compliments to the GMs. Tonight was an important win even against an awful, awful Wolves team as the Nets recovered from a bad loss to the Wizards and didn’t allow themselves to fall into a rut against bad teams, playing down to that level. To have a chance at the postseason they’ll have to take wins against teams like this and against Philly tomorrow on the road, while that team is weak.

I’ve been on the fence about Lawrence Frank as coach for a while now, but he’s really starting to win me over not just as a good coach, but as the right coach for this team at this time. The issue with him for a lot of fans, me included, was his ability to handle and develop young talent on a team which was going to be rebuilding for a while. Sean Williams had an up and down rookie year last season and many fans, again including me, thought he should have seen more minutes to learn on the court since the team was going nowhere anyway. I had figured the acid test would end up being when Frank had more and different young players to work with. Well, a quarter of the way through this season, I’d say the early returns are positive- Brook Lopez has been very good and is getting a full and legit chance as a workhorse starter with Josh Boone out; Ryan Anderson has gotten a legit chance and played remarkably well despite a rough night tonight; and Yi Jianlian has displayed a strong improvement in his basic skills and become a solid, useful player in many respects. Williams still isn’t getting regular play, but at this point given the contrast to the others and his own habits of making really foolish fouls and thoughtless plays, a lot of that is on him. Meanwhile, Frank continues to show the strong assets his coaching offers in other areas as well: this game was competitive in the first half but the Nets adjusted at halftime, came out in a zone which confused Minnesota utterly, and blew them away in the second half. Can’t argue with that. He’s giving this team a chance to succeed and they seem on board with him.

Notes:

– Brook Lopez and Kevin Love did not end up guarding each other much, but were an instructive contrast all the same. Lopez is right now the superior offensive talent- getting more aggressive on the boards, an underrated passer especially from the high post, and fluid in motion for such a giant man. He still makes rookie mistakes however- Al Jefferson got him early on the jumpshooter’s trick of lifting the arms through a lazy handcheck, and Lopez simply has to get into the habit of going up stronger; right now he misses dunks he should hammer home for a continuation call. Love, meanwhile, was largely peripheral on the offensive end (bar his awesome outlets), but showed strong defensive instincts especially coming out to quickly trap the screen and roll, which really hampered the Nets’ ability to use guard penetration. Love plays much better on this end than his plodding quality would suggest.

-Wow are Minnesota a bad shooting team without Mike Miller. The Nets were playing off weakside wings to the point of having guys cheat all the way into the paint either to be ready for doubles or to help box out. They shot 2-12 from 3 tonight, and I do not remember the two makes. The Nets were 14-28.

– Speaking of which, Yi. How often do you see a second year power forward who was a non-shooter from range as a rookie (0.3 attempts per game, .286) become a legit gunner his second year (2.6 APG, .444)? He was 4 for 7 tonight, and a constant threat. The Nets have a good thing going with him and Anderson bailing out to stretch the defense and clearing space for Carter and Harris to drive the ball. If Lopez ever develops a solid jumper flashing to the high post….

– Screens. Kevin Love sets excellent ones for a rookie, which seems to tally with his defensive skills as suggesting a guy who simply has a very good sense of how to position his body in space to achieve separation or close it down. By contrast, if you watch Sean Williams, he has a terrible habit of setting screens so that the man he’s screening for can only be channeled directly into a help defender, and no one respects his roll because he’s not a shooter and the man he’s screened for is rarely in position to move the ball back his way. Williams, foul-prone and not possessed of a great jumper or a go-to move, is going to have to find some way of being helpful on offense if he wants minutes and refining this skill might be a place to start.

– Jim Spanarkal after Williams’ first basket: “that’s a rhythm shot for him.” He did not score again; in fact, he never attempted another shot.

– Tempting fate by saying this, but Stromile Swift played well tonight, especially moving without the ball. Doesn’t mean he needs more burn, doesn’t mean he needs resigned, but he was good.

– I don’t get to see Al Jefferson much since the Wolves are never on national TV, but man, he’s become an eerie halfway point between Zbo and Amare Stoudemire. He’s as bad defensively as either of them, possesses Zbo’s physique and move selection but Stoudemire’ s aggressiveness and touch, and is exactly as likely as they are to win a title anytime soon. Has anyone alerted Michael Beasley to his potential fate?

– The Nets as a collective are not great defensively and have only one really outstanding individual defender in Devin Harris, but they have the potential to get a lot better as a unit with a few changes. One issue in this game was that the help and rotation against guard penetration was slow and tended to be tentative, and there was too much penetration as well given that they were playing an ‘eh” shooting team missing its best shooter. Some of this is coaching, some of it is rookies playing like rookies, some of it is guys learning to play together; it should continue to improve with time.

– I hate to say it, but Randy Wittman’s getting fired. maybe tomorrow, maybe at the All-Star break, maybe at the end of the season, but it’s coming soon. His team is 4-13 and looked every bit of it tonight, disorganized and undisciplined, throwing up bad shots early in the clock, taking 2 techs including one on Wittman himself, and ultimately quitting in the 4th quarter. With about 8 minutes left they just stopped competing, going through the motions in a playground fashion. For them, this should be embarrassing.

Quickthoughts: Blazers/Celtics

– An exchange on commentary (paraphrased):

Mark Jackson: “People think Eddy House is just a knockdown shooter, but he brings so much more to the table.”

Van Gundy: “…hold on. What else?”

Jackson: (long garbled answer about “uh, uh, uh, competes on defense”)

Van Gundy: “I can’t believe you just argued that.”

– I can’t tell if Kevin Garnett is a step slower and that’s why his production is down, or if I think he’s a step slower because I know his production’s down. All the fire and drive is there, but the athleticism may be starting to decline.

– It’s hard to get a more vivid picture of just how bad Kevin McHale is as a GM than to watch the Wolves and Blazers on the same night and compare Foye and Roy. I’m not sure McHale ever made explicit his reasons behind that swap, but you immediately notice the contrast between the two in athleticism- where Foye is better- and game understanding and skills, where Roy is far superior. This year, McHale made a swap of athleticism in OJ Mayo for skills in Kevin Love; a reaction to the results of the Roy/Foye trade?

– Motor. On a play in the late 2nd, Rudy Fernandez- having an awful half- throws up an open 3, misses, the ball is rebounded by the Celtics and an outlet to Rondo finds him all alone for a lay in. Only one Blazer gets back to even try and challenge: Fernandez. Very impressive effort.

– If anything, the Celtics appear to be doing a better job this year of converting defense to offense, as on quite a few plays this game Rondo was acting almost as a goal-hanger, cheating forward from the perimeter to get an outlet as soon as a shot was released, trusting the rebounding behind him and the defense which was yielding mostly iffy shots.

– I won’t lie, I fastforwarded through most of the second half of this one. Sometimes complicated things happen in a game; sometimes one team just outplays the other man by man, and when it’s that kind of game there’s not much more to say. Portland will be awesome, but it’s still Celtics time for now.

Knicks 95, Hawks 98

I only caught the Knicks in 60 version of this one and it was the third game I’d watched on the night, so limited comments.

What to say about a game like this? No quarter had a scoring differential larger than 1 point, which is an oddity in and of itself. I’d like to focus on the good guys in this one, but honestly, that game until the final botch-a-mania on the last play by the Knicks was entirely about the Hawks, and what an odd team they’re becoming. What on earth does Mike Woodson do, exactly? His team seem to have just about 1 play to run, a spread isolation for any ol’ guy on the floor, who will then go one on one with whoever’s guarding him and hope that if he misses, one of his teammates will cut in for a rebound. It works alright because the Hawks have several good to excellent one on one players and Bibby and Johnson are decent enough shooters to handle the few kick-out passes which are thrown and the team is top-half in ORR (11th, 27.4%), but my God- how does he get away with it? The total effect is of five separate one on one games going on simultaneously and I have no idea what their “offense” is above and beyond throwing them a ball and telling them to go play with it. If Allen Iverson coached a team, it would look a lot like this; you could write their play selections on a flashcard, whose sole line would read “sometimes we should set screens, maybe.”

So, why have they beaten the Knicks 6 of the last 7, and 5 straight? Well, to put it bluntly, they’re more talented and have had a much higher energy level over games in the last year or so. But more specifically I think their style-less style actually exploits a consistant issue of the Knicks in recent times- their lack of good individual defenders. Against a lot of teams that can be partially compensated for by good rotations and help, but against a team playing these constant wide spreads the Knicks can’t really help any of their guys out and so you end up with one Knick after another getting flambe’d in playground fashion. You can see it reflected statistically in the free throw disparity: 6-6 for the Knicks, 15-21 for the Hawks, the latter number being run up from slaps on desperate late rotations and claw-backs of drivers who’d gotten a good first step. The Hawks partly compensated by shooting themselves in the foot with bad range shooting, as a team which averages 9-22 from 3 went 5-26 in this one to keep it close, but ultimately I’d chalk this loss 90% up to talent differential and a bad stylistic matchup. Now let us never speak of the Hawks again.

A last word on that last play: what happened there really can’t be allowed to happen again. You had two Knicks with open looks shuffling the ball back and forth, unwilling to take the last shot despite all kinds of chances, and one of them was Al “Sheriff and the Deputy” Harrington, who apparently found the only shot he didn’t want. I’m not going to blame or vilify those guys, but in future, it’s got to be clear that an open look must be taken. I think we really missed Nate on that play; here’s hoping his tweak isn’t a serious reinjury.