NaNBAWriMo | Pace and Space

COVID-19 and the Memory of Reggie Lewis

November 30, 2020 - by Fox Doucette

In 1993, Celtics star Reggie Lewis, the inheritor of the mantle of Boston’s Big Three days, the franchise cornerstone who was going to lead the Celtics into a new era after Larry Bird and Kevin McHale retired and Robert Parish went on his farewell tour, passed away from a heart condition that first manifested itself in an on-court collapse in the playoffs and finally claimed his life in a practice session on July 27. In 2015, your intrepid basketball columnist checked into the emergency room at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland with a rapid heartbeat of 240 beats …

Analysis

What Could Michael Jordan’s Career Stats Have Been?

November 29, 2020November 30, 2020 - by Fox Doucette

Michael Jordan stands fifth all-time in scoring in NBA history, third in steals, fifth in Win Shares, and second in VORP. By any account, the argument for the greatest player ever to play professional basketball is a two-horse race between Jordan and LeBron James. But what if Jordan—who played in 1,072 career NBA games, 90th all-time—didn’t spend two seasons of his prime trying to play baseball? What if he hadn’t taken three years off before an ill-fated comeback attempt in Washington in 2001 that nearly knocked him out of the top spot for points per game, leaving him in a …

Editorial

Doc Rivers: Worst Coach to Ever Win an NBA Title

November 28, 2020 - by Fox Doucette - 4 Comments.

Sometimes, a great coach takes a team to the next level and leads them to a championship, bringing the talent together and leaving open questions of just how bad the last guy was that he couldn’t figure it out. Steve Kerr taking over for Mark Jackson and leading the Golden State Warriors to glory in 2015 comes to mind. So does Larry Brown working his magic on the Detroit Pistons to get them to two straight NBA Finals and that 2004 title over a Lakers team that was about to implode. Heck, if you’re old enough to remember it, Dick …

Analysis

A Study In Glorious Failure Part 2: Mike D’Antoni

November 27, 2020 - by Fox Doucette

Yesterday, we did a deep dive into the legacy of Don Nelson, Hall of Famer, legendary coach…and one-time conference finalist without so much as an NBA Finals appearance, never mind a ring. But no discussion of the Marty Schottenheimers of the NBA is complete without the recently-sacked maven of Houston Rockets playoff disappointment, good ol’ Mike D’Antoni. Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love MDA and campaigned for him to be the new head coach of my beloved Indiana Pacers. But nobody in the history of basketball coaching embodied “live by the sword, die by the sword” like Mr. Seven …

Editorial

A Study In Glorious Failure Part 1: Don Nelson

November 26, 2020 - by Fox Doucette

There have, in the annals of NBA history, been great players who never won a title. The mere mention of the concept immediately brings to mind a slew of guys who, because they came through the league during the reign of a team they weren’t on, retired without that elusive ring. Like “every star in the league who wasn’t on the Celtics in the 1960s.” Or “Every star in the league who was in his prime between 1991 and 1998 and wasn’t on the Bulls or Rockets.” Or the stars of the Dark Ages who weren’t on the Lakers or …

Editorial

The Bizarre Coaching Career of Bill Fitch

November 26, 2020February 3, 2022 - by Fox Doucette - 1 Comment

When the NBA named its 50 Greatest Players on the occasion of its 50th anniversary season in 1996, they also named a list of the 10 greatest coaches. And on that list was a guy who had a losing record for his career on the sideline, a guy whose 55-54 playoff record was all but completely the result of coaching in Boston in the early 1980s, a guy who has the second-most coaching losses in NBA history. The guy is Bill Fitch. And how he got to a 944-1106 career coaching record, led only by Lenny Wilkens in losses (and …

Analysis

Trying to Make Sense of the Atlanta Hawks Hype

November 24, 2020 - by Fox Doucette

NBA Twitter seems to be under the impression that the Atlanta Hawks are poised to make a major leap in 2021, as the young talent they’ve drafted or acquired in free agency comes together to create the nucleus of a powerhouse team. Tommy Beer broke down the Hawks’ depth chart, and that means we can start to make some projections and take a look at whether this team’s going to be any good. A tremendous offseason for the a #Hawks. A look at Atlanta’s depth chart: PG: Trae YoungRajon RondoKris Dunn SG:Bodgan BogdanovicKevin HuerterCam Reddish SF:Danilo GallinariDe'Andre HunterTony Snell PF:John …

Editorial

The NBA’s Brilliant 2020-21 Schedule Plan

November 24, 2020 - by Fox Doucette

Earlier this month, when the NBA announced a 72-game season to commence on December 22, I posed the question “when’s the season supposed to end? How are they supposed to avoid cramming in too many games in not enough time like they did when they started a 66-game season on December 25 back in the 2011-12 season?” Well, the NBA seems to have learned its lesson from the mistakes made during and after the 2011 lockout, and they’ve taken a powerful first step toward making the 2020-21 season a success. First off, the planned end of the season is May …

Analysis

Kevin Willis, The Greatest Lousy NBA Player

November 23, 2020 - by Fox Doucette - 1 Comment

A few years ago, Jon Bois of SBNation did an episode of Chart Party where he talked about Jeff Francoeur, describing him as “my favorite worst baseball player.” The idea was that “Frenchy” had one of the most explosive first months of a career in the history of Major League Baseball, then dropped off a cliff. Go watch it. It’s good. The weird part is despite that, he lasted 12 years in the league, played in over 1400 major league games for his career, and all this despite frequently ending up with negative Wins Above Replacement (for those who don’t …

Editorial

The Charlotte Hornets’ No Good November

November 21, 2020 - by Fox Doucette

It is often said of a franchise that after the draft, trading season, and free agency, they have high hopes for the upcoming season. Well, bust out the dankest weed you got, Charlotte Hornets fans, because if you think this team’s got any hope, you must be high. It’s bad enough that the Hornets drafted LaMelo Ball (whom I covered in an earlier draft preview when the rumor mill said he was going to go first overall to the Timberwolves and I pointed out that no good would come of Minnesota drafting him.) Turns out Ball has a chance to …