11/8/07 Bulls vs. Pistons

I'll be leaving thoughts tonight here throughout the game. The Bulls are still looking for their first win and tonight they play the undefeated Detroit Pistons. Tonight's game is apart of a TNT doubleheader.

-In the pregame, Charles Barkley said that it is a "copout" to use distractions of the Kobe Bryant trade rumors as the reason for the Bulls' rough start. I couldn't agree more with Barkley on this.

-The Luol Deng-Tayshaun Prince matchup will be especially interesting. Both are long and versatile players who play tough defense. It will be important for Deng to start out the game strong and continue the momentum from his strong game Tuesday night against the Clippers.

-How come we haven't heard about Chris Webber's plans for this season? He is still a free agent and could be a great fit with the Pistons again this season. Webber brings the passing ability from the post that they do not have from any of their current big men. Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell, Antonio McDyess, Nazr Mohammed, and Rasheed Wallace is a nice collection of post players, but they lack that extra veteran that Webber would bring. Mohammed is signed to a long-term contract, but he brings very little to the team. The Pistons thought that Mohammed would bring rebounding and shot blocking, but they have not gotten any consistency in either area. Beyond Detroit, you would think Phoenix, Cleveland, Boston, New Jersey, Orlando, and the Lakers were have interest in bringing Webber in.

-Although he's had some character issues in the past and picks up way too many technical fouls, Rasheed Wallace has an incredibly high basketball IQ. He knows exactly how to play basketball and is great at identifying mismatches for himself and others. Wallace simply has a great feel for the game.

-Tyrus Thomas often gets too excited after he makes a great play and does too much. This happens most frequently when he'll steal the ball on one end and then try to bring the ball down himself and turn the ball right back over. Thomas needs to get the ball to a guard and continue down court and try to get rewarded with a dunk or easy basket.

-On a positive note for Thomas, he has shown some moves on offense tonight that he hasn't shown before. On one play early, Thomas recognized a slower defender on him, dribbled hard to the left and finished at the basket. On another play, Thomas caught the ball in the post, crab-dribbled twice and turned and scored on a baby hook. This is the type of offensive development the Bulls need to see from Thomas to become a legitimate starting power in the NBA.

-It is alarming to see the differences between an NBA game called on Comcast versus on TNT. Listening to Kevin Harlan and Doug Collins you actually learn things and they identify things you hadn't seen before. With Johnny "Red" Kerr, Tom Dore, and Stacey King, there is very little analysis and a lot of easy criticism. Everything they talk about is "energy" and "hustle" and basketball, especially in the NBA, is much more complex than that. The TNT broadcast is simply a higher level of thinking and analyzing than the regular Bulls Comcast broadcast.

-The Bulls defensively continue to struggle in doubling in the post and fronting post players. They are not rotating well and get burned on it continually. Tonight, Rasheed Wallace is single handidly carrying the Pistons. In previous games this year, Vince Carter and Michael Redd took advantage of small defenders and set themsevles up in the post and the Bulls struggled to handle this situations effectively.

-Doug Collins said he believes the Bulls' struggles are simply due to "missing shots" and "not finishing games". I couldn't agree with him more. He feels like they could have won three of the four games they've played this season and seems to be optimistic on his thoughts around the Bulls. Outside of the 76ers game where they were outscored in the second half by ten points, they have been right there at the end of each game. In New Jersey, the Bulls couldn't convert on a game winning possession. In Milwaukee, the Bulls were down five points with the ball with just under two minutes left. Against the Clippers, the Bulls were up by four with four minutes left, but then did not make another field goal the rest of the game. Although they are winless, they have not played as bad as some have made them out to have played.

-The Bulls are up six points right now with eight minutes left in the game. For Chicago to hold on and get their first win, they need to defend Rasheed Wallace effectively and rotate well off him. On offense, they need their big three of Hinrich, Gordon, and Deng need to stay aggressive.

-Andres Nocioni's three point attempts during his four years with the Bulls, coming into tonight: 2004-05 - 1.20
2005-06 - 2.90
2006-07 - 3.94
2007-09 - 5.00.
I question why he has become less aggressive going to the basket and has been settling for three point shots. I can understand taking a three off one of the guards' penetration, but a lot of his three point shots have been forced.

-Tonight was Luol Deng's best night scoring from the post position or low block. He has great balance and a large wingspan and really takes advantage of that. One problem thus far has been when the opposition sends a double team he does not recognize it well. This should be corrected as he and the rest of the team becomes more experienced with Deng in that spot. Another reason the Bulls have not had as much success with Deng in the post position is because of difficulty throwing the entry pass. This seems like a fundamental issue to me, but the Bulls have had a handful of turnovers trying to get Deng the ball on the block.

-With four minutes left in the game and the Bulls up five, it's interesting to see that Scott Skiles is going with Joe Smith over Ben Wallace. Smith has been the Bulls' most consistent big man this season and he has a hot hand tonight. Hopefully, he will continue to knock down the midrange shot in the next several minutes and the Bulls will come away with the victory.

-The Bulls came away tonight with the victory because they got big stops when they needed it. It really felt like a playoff atmosphere tonight at the United Center, and I am sure everyone within the organization is relieved to get their first win. However, they can't enjoy it for long because they have to come back and play Toronto on Saturday night before going on the road for six consecutive games.

Camp lures NBA clientele

OFFSEASON INVESTMENT: Camp lures NBA clientele

Garnett, Billups, others get custom workouts at local Abunassar center

By TODD DEWEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Take a summer basketball camp and replace the usual wannabes with about 50 actual NBA players, sprinkling in a handful of stars.

Add some high-tech exercise equipment and innovative training techniques tailored to each athlete.

Arm the coaching staff with certified trainers and physical therapists, and have nutritionists on hand to create customized workout recovery shakes and meals for each player.

Turn the intensity level and music on high, and the finished product is Abunassar Impact Basketball.

Former NBA Most Valuable Player Kevin Garnett and former NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups led a parade of 47 players who worked out up to six hours per day, six days per week during the offseason at AIB, located near Palace Station.

Other players who participated included Ron Artest, Al Harrington, Antoine Walker, Cuttino Mobley and Tayshaun Prince.

Previous camp alumni include Andrei Kirilenko, Vince Carter, Baron Davis, Chris Bosh and Paul Pierce.

Joe Abunassar, a former student assistant at Indiana under Bobby Knight and assistant coach at Wyoming, founded AIB, which costs $25,000 per year for NBA players.

The program is apparently well worth it, because Detroit Pistons guard Billups and others say Abunassar has played a key role in making them better players.

"Coming into the league, my skills were good, but they needed a lot of honing," Billups said last month. "(Abunassar) took me from jumping around the league the first couple years to climbing that mountain to being where I got to today."

Abunassar trained five of this year's top 11 NBA Draft picks -- including No. 7 choice Corey Brewer, No. 9 Joakim Noah and No. 11 Acie Law -- and 20 of the 60 overall picks.

"We can change their body composition and we can change their game in six weeks," said Abunassar, who has built an impressive clientele mostly through word of mouth. "(The NBA) is such a big difference from college basketball."

Prince of the Pistons said the camp provides the perfect situation for players trying to make the transition from college to the NBA.

"You get good individual instruction on and off the court, and you're going against guys at your position who are just as good or even more talented than you are," he said. "It gives you the opportunity to get better and, at the same time, to stay healthy."

A typical daily regimen at the camp consists of 90 minutes of performance training, or strength training and conditioning, and 90 minutes of on-court skills drills in the morning.

A specialized lunch precedes afternoon 5-on-5 scrimmages that are arguably the best pickup basketball games in the world.

"We compete at a very high level, whether it's one-on-one drills, individual work or 5-on-5," Billups said. "We're here mostly all day, and when we go home we're pretty tired and burnt out."

Abunassar has created basketball-specific drills to mirror each player's movements in an actual game.

In a dribbling drill, for example, Billups is connected to a Bungee cord with resistance behind him, forcing him to stay low and in control as he brings the ball up the court.

In another exercise designed for big men, Garnett wears a belt tied to a Bungee cord and tries to maintain his post position and keep the ball under control. All the while, one coach pulls the cord in different directions to try to knock him off balance and another tries to steal the ball.

Players also can experience high altitude training in a glass-enclosed chamber simulating conditions at 9,000 feet.


http://www.lvrj.com/sports/10597212.html

Oct. 17, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Pistons Add Hayes to the Mix

Today, Pistons team president, Joe Dumars, confirmed that they have signed Jarvis Hayes. Hayes adds flexibility and depth to the roster and is still only 26 years old. Hayes had his most productive year in 2004-05, where he averaged 28.9 minutes per game, 10.2 points per game, and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Hayes possesses good size and shoots the ball well from the outside. He does not have a great first step or superior elevation. Hayes shoots too frequently off the dribble and needs to take the ball to the basket aggressively more often. Hayes' size and strength allow him to defend small forwards well. Defending shooting guards can be a problem though sometimes because his lateral quickness is only mediocre. In order to be more than just a role player, Hayes needs to work on his offensive game. He needs to diversify his offensive abilities with more willingness to get to the basket and draw fouls. His shooting behind the perimeter could also gain more consistency in order to keep space between himself and the defender.

With Hayes, the Pistons have now added Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo, Cheick Samb, and Sammy Mejia since the end of last season. Additionally, they expect Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell to play more of a factor this season. I like what Dumars has done by being patient and adding pieces with limited risk and high reward. Outside of Darko Milicic, the Pistons have done a good job in developing talent internally rather than having to sign questionable free agents.

If the Pistons chose a brash approach and looked to move Rasheed Wallace after last season, it is highly unlikely that they would have been able to bring back a player with an equal skill level. Instead, Dumars hopes that bringing in more support around Detroit's experienced starting five will allow their core to save more energy for the playoffs.

Detroit most likely would still like to add one more big body upfront for the playoffs. Whether that is solved by bringing back Chris Webber or trading for someone, Dumars would probably feel more confident with one more veteran. Dumars should look to Minnesota where Juwan Howard is looking to be dealt. If Dumars offered Minnesota Ronald Dupree (expiring contract), Ronald Murray (expiring contract), a future first round pick, and the trade exception they received from the Carlos Delfino trade for Howard, then they would get the big, veteran body they need. This trade would give Minnesota even more to build on as they look to reshape their team after moving Kevin Garnett to Boston.

With veterans Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Lindsey Hunter, Antonio McDyess, Nazr Mohammed, Tayshaun Prince, and Wallace returning, Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell looking to make more of an impact, and Hayes and the other new additions to the team, the Pistons will have more depth than they have had in awhile. Dumars hopes that this group can get past the Eastern Conference finals and compete for the NBA Finals.