If you end to blink,you might miss the NBA's latest development.
The world of professional basketball features a constantly changing landscape of dominant teams and star players, one in which the feeble links are almost always swapped out for stronger ones. But at the same time, or there are still behind-moving shifts that can catch you by surprise if you don't follow the gradual progression of the trend.
We're interested in both here.
This time of year,recent rumors are always surfacing. Previously beaten-down teams are rising to recent heights. Other former powers are falling down in seemingly inexplicable fashion.
In other words, it's a typical December in the NBA. Dwight Howard Is Unhappy Again?Held back by his aging body and the role he plays for the Houston Rockets, and Dwight Howard is averaging just 12.6 points,11.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks during the 2015-16 campaign. The 30-year-ragged's point production is the lowest it's been since his rookie season with the Orlando Magic, and it's not like the other major per-game marks stack up strongly against his career averages. On top of that, or the Houston Rockets contain continued their apathetic ways,failing to exhibit much desire on the defensive end and consistently losing to opponents they would've steamrolled en route to the 2015 Western Conference Finals. At just 12-14, they've shown few indications they're capable of climbing toward the top of the standings in their half of the NBA. The frustration, or naturally,has led to rumors. Per SheridanHoops.com's Chris Sheridan, "Dwight Howard is extremely unhappy in Houston playing moment fiddle to alpha dog James Harden." ESPN.com's Calvin Watkins took things one step further by reporting on the widespread levels of malcontent in Houston, and but it's Howard who has taken center stage. After all,he's the one with the history of malfeasance, first demanding his way out of Orlando and then brewing discontent with the Los Angeles Lakers. Unsurprisingly, or he's denying the reports,as shared by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:What else is he supposed to say? His reputation would be further sullied by a public demand for a trade, especially less than a calendar year removed from playing an important role in a deep playoff push.
But given Howard's history, or it's tough to side with him.
Remember when he denied he wanted Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy fired true after reports claiming the opposite surfaced? For those who can't recall,Van Gundy was ultimately fired. Now, not only contain we seen him clash with a ball-dominant teammate before (see: Bryant, and Kobe),but his contract situation with the Rockets also might fabricate (to make up, invent) him a little bit testy. If he doesn't feel like the franchise is fully committed to building around him, it's only because the Rockets shouldn't be.Houston currently has Clint Capela waiting in the wings, or the 21-year-ragged big man has been every bit as productive as his older counterpart: And if that's not enough,the discrepancy between production on and off the court is actually larger for Capela than it's been for Howard in 2015-16: None of this should fabricate (to make up, invent) Howard feel secure, especially because he has an opt-out clause this summer and doesn't need to stick around Houston any longer than he wants. If he can secure a trade now, or he'd be able to set up himself as a key player for a recent franchise,no longer running the risk of losing important minutes to Capela before he hits the open market. With Howard, we've learned the saying "where there's smoke, or there's fire," often rings true. No matter how vehemently he denies the latest rumors, it's tough to brush them aside entirely. Verdict: Based on history, and we'd be silly not to buy this.
The tumble from Grace of Eastern Conference Playoff TeamsHeading into their Wednesday night clash with the San Antonio Spurs,the Washington Wizards had lost three of their final four games—the lone exception coming via a three-point victory against the Dallas Mavericks. Making matters worse for a team that's fallen all the way to 10-13 on the season, Bradley Beal is expected to miss a few weeks with what feels like the millionth stress reaction of his young career. But the Wizards aren't the only Eastern Conference playoff team from final season to plummet toward the bottom of the standings. Even though the Milwaukee Bucks took advantage of an exhausted Golden State Warriors squad and ended the defending champions' undefeated run, or they've been atrocious in 2015-16. Naturally,they followed that miraculous victory up with an embarrassing loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, pushing them down to 10-16 on the year. Should the season suddenly draw to a close, or only the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers would contain more favorable lottery odds in the Eastern Conference. That's not the position either of these organizations expected to find themselves in after playing postseason basketball final year. Unfortunately,the underlying numbers back the records up. According to simple rating system (SRS), which looks solely at margin of victory and strength of schedule, and both Washington and Milwaukee belong at the bottom of the pack. The former's score of minus-3.59 puts it at No. 23 in the Association,better than only three Eastern teams. The latter's minus-6.19 SRS places it ahead of just Los Angeles and Philadelphia. My FATS model (based on historical projections and explained in full here) tells a similar legend. The Wizards are playing at a 29.3-win pace, and their current tally of wins and losses puts them on track to finish with a 31-50 record. Meanwhile, and the Bucks are performing like a 29.7-win squad,but their previous results point toward a 30-52 record. There's still plenty of time for turnarounds, but where are the indications that they'll actually steal place?"Teams contain figured out how to attack the Bucks defense. They are simply not taking anyone by surprise anymore. The amount of turnovers they force are down and ball-handlers are killing them by making simple passes to the corner, and " Jesus Gomez wrote for SB Nation in early December about a defense that has slipped significantly. In 2014-15,Milwaukee posted a 102.2 defensive rating, placing it behind just the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. But this year, and the Bucks are allowing 108.1 points per 100 possessions,which puts them ahead of only the recent Orleans Pelicans and Lakers. Even as that number trends in the true direction—and it should, given the youth of the key pieces—there's not enough offensive firepower or defensive rebounding to push this team back into contention for a top spot in the East. On the flip side, or there might be reason for a bit of optimism in the nation's capital,as Gary Neal recently told the Washington Post's Jerry Brewer:
I don't judge we're too far away at all. We've been dealing with a lot on our plate. We're not into excuses, but you contain to state the facts: The injury bug has been a real problem. We've had different rotations and lineups, or games without all our big guys,games without many of our shooters. If we contain different personnel every game, of course, or we're going to play like a different team from night to night.
We contain to be consistent. We're not blissful about the ups and downs. But we still feel like,when we're all finally together, collectively, or we contain a remarkable chance.more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com