James Harden Makes Return To OKC

With tonight being the first meeting between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets since the James Harden-Kevin Martin deal I figured I'd bring it full circle.  It's still early in the season but each team and key players in the deal seemed to have established themselves.  Record wise not much has changed, the Thunder are still one of the top teams in the league at 11-4 while the Rockets are .500 (they finished 34-32 last year).

When the deal happened the Thunder had a bigger hole to fill, not just in the stat sheet but also with the chemistry of the team.  So far Martin has filled in nice statistically as Harden’s replacement.  Martin is averaging 15.7 points shooting 45 percent from the field, 49 percent from three and 94 percent from the line.  Last year for the Thunder, Harden averaged 16.8 points shooting 49 percent from the field, 39 percent from three and 84 from the line.  The Thunder as a team are averaging more points per game and giving up less than last season.  As for the chemistry, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were going to be the biggest factor as to welcoming Martin and they seemed to have used his style of play very well.  Both players have seen their scoring and shot attempts go down but assists go up.  The only spot Martin might lack where Harden thrived is taking over the scoring load when Westbrook and Durant were out of the game.  But, Thunder coach Scott Brooks has adjusted his game plan and has been able to keep his team a title contender.

In a previous post I posed the question “can James Harden be a #1?” and I would say he has shown flashes that he can be the leader of the Rockets, he just needs a little more help.  Right now Harden is fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 25.1 (only .8 behind his old teammate Durant).  We’ve seen his assists jump to 5.4 but also his turnovers to 4.1 while all his shooting percentages have gone down.  With Harden already coming in as a star the Rockets were going to be built around his style of play unlike Martin trying to fit in with the Thunder.  Houston brought in Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik with big contracts as well so they had three new starters to their lineup, which basically creates a whole new team.  But even with these new players the Rockets are in the same place they were last year, fighting for a playoff spot in the highly contested Western Conference.  If the Rockets want to become a playoff staple they will need to find better compliments to Harden than Lin and Chandler Parsons (Houston’s second leading scorer).

I still believe the Thunder came out on top in the trade.  I wouldn’t say Houston lost because they received a top three shooting guard in the NBA but so far Kevin Martin has fit in nicely with the Thunder.  Let’s not also forget that OKC gets two first round draft picks from Houston and a second rounder.  So the trade turned out good for the Rockets because they have a superstar to build a team around.  But the trade turned out great for the Thunder because they are still title contenders with the opportunity to get better through the draft, which OKC is known for doing.

5 Reasons Why The Lions Are Underperforming

     Last year the Detroit Lions went 10-6 making the playoffs for the first time since 1999.  Naturally the expectations for this season were going to be high assuming the young team will improve if not at least stay the same.  However, after ten games they are 4-6 and lost a pivotal game in which they were leading the Green Bay Packers until less than two minutes to go.  Playing in the tough NFC North, the Lions are in last place again, a spot we've seen them before.  With remaining games against Houston, Green Bay, Atlanta, and Chicago (a combined 32-8) it's safe to say Detroit is out of the playoff hunt.  But how did they get here?  How did they come in with so much realistic hope after making the playoffs only to disappoint once again?  I have 5 reasons why.

     5.  Poor Special Teams Play:  The Detroit Lions are the only team in the NFL to give up multiple Kickoff and Punt returns for touchdowns.  Oddly enough all of these returns came in back-to-back weeks against the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings with the Lions losing both games.  Not only have they given up big plays, they haven't had any themselves.  Detroit averages a NFL 2nd worst kickoff return average of 18.6 yards leading to bad starting field position.

     4.  Turnover Margin:  This year Detroit has the 3rd worst turnover margin in the league at -7.  With how much the Lions throw the ball you will have interceptions, but it's hard to explain eight fumbles in ten games.  The biggest difference though is they aren't getting the takeaways like they did last season where they were 3rd best in differential with an opportunistic defense creating 34 turnovers.  Overall the defense has played better, ranking 10th in total defense, but they haven't been able to get the ball back to the offense.

     3.  Matthew Stafford:  In his first full season in 2011, Stafford was very impressive throwing for over 5,000 yards and 41 touchdowns.  However, in 2012 he has been mediocre with 12 TD's and 10 interceptions.  Stafford has been getting Calvin Johnson involved as he's on pace to have over 1,700 yards and his first 100 catch season, but Nate Burleson going down and the team leading the NFL in drops doesn't help Stafford's numbers, neither does his decision making.

     2.  Slow Starts:  For whatever reason the Lions just can't seem to have their offense ready at the start of games.  They are averaging only 3.1 points in the first quarter but a league best 12.1 in the fourth quarter.  This is supposed to be a high powered offense but can't get rolling until late which usually means they are losing at that point.  It's hard to win games when you are always playing from behind.

     1.  They Aren't As Good As We Thought:  Detroit made the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, but how good was that team really?  Yes, the Lions won ten games a season ago but zero were against teams that finished with a winning record and only one made the playoffs (Denver, who finished 8-8).  The slow starts were a problem last year as well but the Lions had four second half double digit comebacks.  So far this year three of their four wins have been 4th quarter comebacks, but again, you can't consistently win playing from behind.  The defense this year is statistically better than 2011, but last year they had an uncharacteristically high amount of takeaways.  As for the offense, Stafford was the 4th quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards, to ask for a repeat performance is asking a lot.

     With 6 games left in the season the Lions are technically not out of the playoffs, but realistically you would have to assume so.  Until they can beat quality opponents they will always have a difficult time making the post-season.  Also, until they stop digging themselves early holes they will have a difficult time beating average teams.  This is still a young team with a lot of growing up to do and a lot of potential.  But for right now they seem headed for another losing season which reminds us of the same old Lions.

Michigan Basketball's Best Team Since Fab Five

     With the college basketball season only a week away this is the most excited I've been for Michigan basketball to start for as long as I can remember.  With the team entering the season ranked 5th in the country there is reason for excitement.  This is the best recruiting class the school has had since the Fab Five and are coming off their first Big Ten regular season championship since 1986 (even though they were upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament).

     Michigan has three starters returning from last years squad, the most important has to be Trey Burke.  He has been named a preseason All-American and is arguably the best point guard in the country.  Burke thought about making the jump to the NBA but returned for his Sophomore year and with the loss of team leaders Zack Novak and Stu Douglass, Burke will be looked upon to be the leader in the locker room and on the court.  Tim Hardaway Jr. will also be back for his third year with the team.  He seemed to put too much pressure on himself last year to score as all of his shooting percentages went down from his Freshman season.  Hopefully with this recruiting class coming in they will take some of that pressure off his shoulders.  Lastly, Jordan Morgan will be back in the post for the Wolverines.  What I'm looking to get out of him this year are rebounds and hustle plays.  The thing that frustrates me that most about Morgan is that he plays below the rim more than I'd like.  Is it too much to ask for a big man that looks to dunk instead of laying it in?

     Now to the newcomers.  This recruiting class is headlined by Glenn Robinson III, big blue's highest rated player since LaVell Blanchard (Michigan's Mr. Basketball in 1999).  Robinson is a 6'6" athletic Small Forward that shot up the rankings during his Senior year of High School all the way to #18 overall.  Robinson will add offense help to Burke and Hardaway Jr. as a player who can create his own shot and break guys down off the dribble.  Originally, Mitch McGary was the coveted player of this class when he was ranked #2 in the nation at the time of his signing but unlike Robinson who moved up, McGary moved down 27th.  Although he fell I'm pumped to actually have a true big man but I'm interested to see how Beilein involves him in the offense.  I don't want him to be another Pittsnogle, that's not his game.  I want to see him be a bruiser inside that posts up and gives Michigan a consistent inside scoring presence.  What makes me nervous about McGary is that he has trouble going against players that are his size but more athletic.  I saw the game between McGary and Nerlens Noel, the #1 recruit headed to Kentucky, last year and Noel dominated the entire game.  The good thing for McGary is that he won't see too many players like that unless they make a deep run in the tournament.  Nik Stauskas is the third player ranked in ESPN's top 100 coming in this season.  Stauskas is a sniper from beyond the arc that will fill in for the loss of Douglass.  He is the typical recruit for Beilein as his teams are consistently close to the leaders in three-point attempts.  Rounding out the recruits are Caris LeVert and Spike Albrecht.

     Like I said, I can't remember the last time I've been this excited for Michigan basketball.  With a lineup of Burke, Hardaway Jr., Robinson III, Morgan, and McGary they have size and scoring options at multiple positions.  Do I think they are the 5th best in the country right now?  Probably not.  But I do know they have plenty of potential to prove they are deserving of the ranking and have their best opportunity for a Final Four run in the past 20 years.