Other People: Canis Hoopus on Dennis Lindsey

A little while back, we discussed the possibility of Glen Taylor wising up and hiring front office personnel from the San Antonio brass. Wyn from T-Wolves blog Canis Hoopus is running an executive search series. Sam Presti replacement and Spurs Assistant GM Dennis Lindsey is the latest to enter his cross hairs.

After the Luis Scola trade, many Spurs fans were eager to have Lindsey's head on a platter, suspecting too much buddy-buddy between Lindsey and his former cronies in Houston. This is a doubtful charge since Lindsey was slighted by Houston ownership in favor of Darryl Morey. But, you know, it is what it is.

Wyn notes:

It's worth noting that Lindsey served in Houston with Wolves Assistant Coach Dean Cooper from '99 to '07. Cooper, in addition to coaching and scouting in Houston, spent some time there as VP of Player Personnel. If either one rises to a management position with the Wolves, I would imagine they'd get a hold of the other one pretty quickly.

You can read the rest of the post here.

Other People: X's and O's of Basketball

The X's and O's of Basketball does an excellent job breaking down plays, oftentimes catching things the average fan would never recognize. If you are looking to gain a deeper knowledge of in-game tactics, there may be no better daily read on the internet. The author took a look at the end of the Kings-Spurs game last night, offering a couple of quick thoughts and a telling clip:

The Kings started out doubling Duncan hard, on the first dribble after the catch. But in the last 2 possessions, they don't (well, they do double but its way too late). I don't understand why you wouldn't double hard after you just doubled Duncan hard and forced the ball out of Duncan's hands and the turnover. Watch,

Watch To Double Duncan or Not to Double Duncan in Sports Online  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

The author goes on to breakdown the last few plays, including the well executed ball-screen we ran with 19 seconds left. In his opinion Reggie Theus abandoned a defensive strategy that very well could have won the Kings the game. But, as he is known to do, he also gave Popovich proper due for running an excellent offensive set during our final possession.

Other People: The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of attending the Free Darko book signing here in Chicago. We ate some really solid deep dish, watched the Cavs/Nuggets and the Warriors/Pistons and talked with Recluse and DLIC about hoops and what not. I also had the opportunity to meet Trey. He’s alright, I guess. If you haven’t had an opportunity to check out the book (which may be many of you, as it just came out on Tuesday) make sure you pick up a copy.

As many people have noted, it’s not just 200 pages worth of blog posts bound and printed. It is a lucid and thoughtful reinterpretation of the NBA that will be relevant for years to come. I am not sure their “manifesto” actually has the potential to replace traditional forms of basketball fandom, but it certainly has inspired me to move beyond my purely partisan sensibilities. Before FD, I was a Spurs fan. Since I began reading their writing several years ago, I have blossomed into a lover of the entire Association. I still balance my allegiance to the silver and black with my more liberated side (my only serious criticism of the book would be the idea that they do not give the potential for this balance sufficient consideration), but without a doubt their writing has changed the way I think about the game.

Although the Spurs are the epitome of being “anti-FD,” the Spurs lovers out there will be pleasantly surprised to find an entire chapter dedicated to Tim Duncan. For a group of sportswriters who have raised “style” and “personality” to fetishized levels, they are genuinely intrigued by the Big Fundamental. His placidity and lack of style are enigmatic. Duncan “redefines style to encompass elements completely devoid of stylishness.” Embracing negation as a form of positivity is an idea I have been a proponent of for some time. I have written about how defense can be understood as a form of self-expression, and although understanding Duncan’s offensive game as being stylish because it abandons any semblance of style has a modal difference in relationship to my thoughts on defense, I think they spring from the same fount.

In some ways, this entire chapter reads as a kind of “come to Jesus” for the Free Darko Collective. These writers, fully-throated proponents of the systems of basketball pioneered by coaches like Mike D’Antoni and Don Nelson, have for years been haunted by Duncan’s ability to magnetically attract on-court success. Countless numbers of FD’s patron saints have met their martyrdom at the hands of Duncan’s Spurs. And yet, despite a decade of frustration, even sometimes hatred, the men of FD have seemingly come to a place where they respect Duncan and the broader role he plays in the NBA:

Duncan is a vessel through which a beam of magnificence passes. He is the NBA’s designated holder of pure athletic dignity, the kind that danced around with ring with Joe Louis and that ran with Joe DiMaggio around the base paths. Duncan emanates such honor ad humility that many members of the media have idealized him, fashioning him as some sort of puritanical savior to the league. And although this status is somewhat over-blown, without Duncan, one wonders if the Association would ring hollow to the public, who might view it as merely a noisy shell of celebrity and finesse. Duncan keeps us honest. His righteous and calming presence provides balance-- and enables the NBA to unashamedly pursue its primary function as a flabbergasting playground for all to enjoy.

I think this season may show us new sides of Duncan that we have not previously seen. Tim has never faced hardship they way he will over the coming months. The Free Darko Collective admits that the potential of inner turmoil is what drives their continued interest in Duncan: “We watch perhaps the greatest power forward in the history of the NBA go relatively unnoticed among his flashier colleagues and wonder why he does not express frustration.” In order for the Spurs to make the playoffs, Duncan may have to play the best basketball of his career, something many commentators think is no longer possible. So far he has done a heroic job struggling to keep this team afloat, although with limited success. As the losses pile up over the course of November, I am intrigued to see to what extent Duncan’s inner peace will begin to erode. Faced with the specter of mediocrity, will the saintly giant reveal that even he too is fallen?

Other People: Seven Seconds or Mess

Gian Casimiro does an excellent job making video breakdowns of Knicks games for the hilariously titled Seven Seconds or Mess. After last night's game he produced a solid analysis of the Spurs defense and how they successfully disrupted the Knicks offensive game plan.

Other People: David Robinson Gets His Due

Basketbawful: "[Robinson] led the league in scoring in 1993-94 and is one of only five players to have ever scored more than 70 points in a single game (with 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 24, 1994). He is one of only four players to have recorded a quadruple-double (with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks against the Detroit Pistons on February 17, 1994). In 1991-92, he became just the third player to have ever ranked among the league's top 10 in five statistical categories, joining Cliff Hagan (1959-60) and Larry Bird (1985-86) -- Robinson was seventh in scoring (23.2 ppg), fourth in rebounding (12.2 rpg), first in blocks (4.49 per game), fifth in steals (2.32 per game) and seventh in field-goal percentage (.551). That achievement also made him the first player to ever rank among the top five in rebounding, blocks and steals in a single season. And finally, he's also the only player in NBA history to win the Rebounding, Blocked Shots, and Scoring Titles and Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and MVP."

Other People: 9/25/08

Ziller, NBA Fanhouse: "For a few easily ascertained reasons, Manu Ginobili almost never gets mentioned in the same breath as the league's top two-guards. He gets ignored in favor of fellows like Michael Redd and, prior to last season, Ray Allen. Manu gets respect -- don't get that twisted. But it's always as a sixth man, as a firestarter and not as one of the best in the NBA, no qualifiers necessary. His role and style are so different from Kobe and Wade and Redd and Iverson that it knocks him out of the conversation, which is unfair to all of us."

FD Guest Lecture by Atticus Van Zandt: "A bad NBA player with a large contract is basically bad debt. It's an asset that's worth significantly less on the open market that what you paid for, and it sits on the books restricting your ability to manage your organization. Zach Randolph is, essentially, an illiquid asset, and there’s not much that separates NBA franchises from investment banks. During the past decade, the NBA saw an explosion of bad debt. The arms race of contracts made the competition for free agents explode and suddenly even mediocre players were getting contracts far greater than their actual worth. While such contracts had always been present in the system, during this time, they threatened to overwhelm it."

SLAM Online: "You have to love the irony of this signing. Last year’s Knicks were mostly comprised of healthy, but constantly out of shape underachievers. Now, a 37-year-old Allan Houston is making a come back despite having serious knee injuries in the past."*

Deadspin: "After putting his motorcycle in a ditch, Robles recovered from a broken right kneecap, a dislocated right elbow, and a broken right forearm. But the one thing he couldn't recover from was gnarly road rash on his pinkie finger that wouldn't heal and threatened to stall his boxing career. Since he didn't have insurance for a medical amputation, he did what any one else would do. He grabbed a chisel, a 15-pound weight and ... you probably know the rest."

Faith and Fear in Flushing: "Sometimes in the winter I'll be doing some household chore and I'll realize that for the last five or 10 minutes I've been brooding about a moment from the Mets' past, turning it over and over in my mind and wondering how everything could have gone so wrong. Sometimes I even catch myself muttering imprecations, with whatever I've been doing sidetracked by sour anger and regret."

* There is nothing I love more than making fun of the current state of the New York Knicks. This team is a living breathing manifestation of the Hindenburg. I derive so much Schadenfreude from this organization. But once upon a time, I was a Knicks fan, so I have a hard time enjoying this particular ridiculous move. As a kid I really loved Houston, and there's a part of me that wishes my idyllic memories of that time didn't have to be corrupted by watching a shell of his former self struggle to get up and down the floor.

Other People: Salim Stoudamire

So the Spurs' acquisition of Salim Stoudamire has generated a little bit of buzz around the interwebs, which is a testament to how absolutely little NBA news there is right now (actually between the Knicks waiving Marbury and Shareef Abdur-Rahim's retirement this has been a pretty busy 48 hours, comparatively). Either way I figured I'd give a quick breakdown of other people's reactions.

Tom Ziller, NBA Fanhouse: "The one constant with Stoudamire: dude can shoot. Let's ignore last season, when he only totaled 400 minutes. Look at all seasons, college and pro, when he actually got a shot. Here are his three-point shooting percentages: 45% as a college freshman, 44% as a sophomore, 42% as a junior, 50% as a senior, 38% as a rookie, 36% as a second-year player. The league average is 36%, and the Spurs are accustomed to shooting slightly higher. Salim helps that, yes?"

Pounding The Rock: "Apparently, Damon Stoudamire's stint with the Spurs was not painful enough. Now we get another vertically challenged ball hog to sit at the end of our bench. Woo hoo!! This has been the best off season ever!"

Rob Mahoney, in brief: "For the record, I don't think Salim Stoudamire will be a good fit in San Antonio."

Salim Stoudamire (as interpreted by Trey Kerby): "The first thing I want to say is, I'm open. All the time. I'm open right now, in fact. Even though sometimes it might look like I'm guarded, trust me -- I'm open. I don't know how it always happens, but for whatever reason, I'm always open. I wake up in the morning -- open. I get up in the middle of the night to pee -- open. I'm driving down the block with my Low End Theory tape in -- open. So basically, just get me the rock."

The actual Salim Stoudamire: "This is definitely my second chance and it might be my last chance. But I know how to turn negatives into a positive. After these three years in Atlanta I can say that I’ve finally become a man. Being in a situation where I wasn’t playing, it humbled me. It made me appreciate just being in the NBA a lot more. It made me work a lot harder and realize that this is a blessing. There are only 400 and something guys in the NBA and billions of people in the world. So once you take that into account, your focus is there, your clarity is there and you can move forward."

Other People: 9/18/08

I honestly have nothing to say about basketball right now. My ability to think lucidly about sports has been paralyzed by the anger and confusion I feel in regards to the current state of the general election, and more broadly the nature of media in the United States. But, alas, other people still find the strength to put pen to paper. Here is some stuff I think you should read:

Recluse brings the hammer down on Mike Fisher for his absurd criticisms of Josh Howard. One of my favorite things about Free Darko is the subtlety with which they are able to address the intersection race and sports, as well as the strength of their moral clarity.

While we're on the subject of race, check out Ta-Nehisi Coates and some of his thoughts on the notion of "black leadership."

Deadspin gives us a brief excerpt from Jeff Pearlman's new book Boys Will Be Boys, an account of the early 90's Cowboys that is packed to the brim with debauchery and absurdity. This book just shot to the top of my reading list.

This is from a couple of days ago but it's still worth reading why Ziller thinks Tony Parker is amongst the top 25 players in the league (number 25 to be exact).

This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen.
David Sparks' column at Hardwood Paroxysm continues to revolutionize my understanding of the potential of statistics in basketball.

David Weiner is pushing the envelope with this one, but I like it.

The gentlemen over at SlamOnline offer some commandments for aspiring basketball writers.

Robert McChesney gives an interesting account of the history of the media reform movement in the United States.

Straight Bangin' wandered across a pretty on-point poster.

Josh Coleman of 3 Shades of Blue stopped by HP and offered a sober assessment of the amount of responsibility that athletes have to be role models.

Moe, with the usual combination of indignation and insight that causes me to love her so, answers some frequently asked questions about the awful state of the economy and provides some links to help us figure out what the hell is going on.

And lastly, swing by the CHIRP (Chicago Independent Radio Project) and support localism, diversity and independence in broadcasting.