This is our 1st installment of NDL Hoops Magazine. From time to time I, along with some others, will be posting some news stories, game recaps, power rankings, etc to keep you updated on the latest in our first NDL Hoops Season.
Let's get started....
HOT
Danny Granger has led the Clippers to a surprising 3-0 start out west. Averaging a league best 32.3 ppg on 57.1% shooting, Granger is certainly getting off to a hot start. He's not the only Clipper doing work tho, Andre Miller leads the NDLH with 9.33 assists per game as he connects with Granger early and often. A slight concern has to be the minutes these starters are putting up however, nobody on the Clippers bench is averaging double digit minutes and that should put a toll on either his team as the season progresses.
With an 0-3 start, a Milwaukee Buck is probably the last person you'd expect to see on the first Hot or Not list for the Hot side. But Ben Wallace has been a beast on the boards averaging 11.3 rpg and over 4 of those are coming on the offensive glass. The Bucks will eventually get this thing turned around and Ben Wallace will be a big reason why.
NOT HOT
+ 
Thru 2 days of the season being open, Nick and the Niddler have racked up and impressive 15 combined games. Unfortunately for both coaches, they've combined for just 3 wins.
The Raptors are shooting near the bottom of the league at just under 40% from the field and are allowing 72.7 points against on the year, 4th worst thus far.
The Cavs are a little more confusing to analyze. Shooting a very respectable 48%, the Cavs have had their problems in two places... on the road and controlling the basketball. Cleveland is playing .500 ball at home but is 0-5 on the road thus far. Part of those road woes have to do with the 17 turnovers per game that Niddlers guys are averaging, with over 6 of them coming from 'Skip to My Lou' Rafer Alston and Kyle Lowry.
-- Stephen Jackson has been lied to and dumped more times then his owner this week. While the teams say they've squashed everything and they plan to move forward together, there is reportedly a picture (that NDLH is trying to access to) that shows the contrary.
-- Toro is the first owner on the hot seat after a poor showing in the test league and still yet to play a game or ladder. While he's expected to get some time to prove himself, he's one coach feeling some fire on his butt.
-- The_Niddler is looking to break the record for most games played and instant messages sent in a season.
5.
-- After an early stumble, Shel has the Hornets at 4-1 with impressive 29 point redemption win over the Nuggets, the team who knocked him off earlier in the year. I would expect this to be the lowest we see the Hornets on the list all season.4.
-- Plasma enters the power rankings with his Warriors after a 2-0 start. Both wins came against lower level teams so much is still to be proven by these boys out west. 3.
-- VtrunNgun opened up the season with an eye opening blowout win over everyones preseason favorite Knicks. The game wasn't even as close as the score. Impressive rebounding (1st in team rebounding) and defense (10th in points against) has led the way for the Wizards thus far.2.
-- Packsy has the Clip show playing early on in this season. The most wins of any undefeated team at 3-0. Impressive win over AJ but missed on #1 spot because other two wins were against bottom feeders.1.
-- The Rockets kick off our 1st power ranking at #1. Averaging 84 points per game and a 2-0 start is enough to catch the attention of NDLH Magazine. With Yao in the middle, Hugme looks like a possible contender.
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
The Team Spotlight segment will be a feature where i'll breakdown a team and analyze them. I'll try to point out the strong points, the weaknesses and what the future holds for the team.
First up...
Coach -- Big Red
Current Record -- 6-5 (3rd in Southwest division, 10th in Western Conf)
Player Main Averages Field Goal 3 Point FT
GP GS Min PTS OReb DReb Reb AST STL BLK TO Foul +/- PIP Dunk Layup FG ATT FG% 3P ATT 3P% FT ATT FT%
1 K Martin 9 9 26:33 4.9 0.7 4.8 5.4 1.3 2.0 0.2 1.7 1.2 +6.9 3.3 0.9 0.6 17 39 43.6 0 2 0.0 10 12 83.3
2 T Evans 11 11 26:33 12.4 0.6 2.8 3.5 2.5 1.7 0.5 1.6 0.4 -3.5 8.5 0.4 2.4 58 143 40.6 2 21 9.5 18 18 100.0
3 D Cousins 11 11 26:09 7.8 1.1 3.6 4.7 0.6 0.9 0.7 1.4 1.4 -1.1 6.0 0.6 1.6 34 73 46.6 0 0 0 18 24 75.0
4 R Westbrook 11 11 26:01 13.4 0.0 3.3 3.3 2.5 2.1 0.5 2.5 0.6 -3.6 4.5 0.7 1.2 56 134 41.8 10 42 23.8 25 32 78.1
5 J Dudley 11 9 23:47 5.7 0.4 3.4 3.7 0.5 1.4 0.1 0.9 0.1 -2.2 1.3 0.1 0.3 24 65 36.9 10 28 35.7 5 7 71.4
6 M Chalmers 11 0 10:05 2.9 0.0 0.8 0.8 1.2 0.9 0.1 0.8 0.5 +2.8 0.5 0.2 0.1 14 36 38.9 4 20 20.0 0 0 0
7 M Dunleavy 9 0 8:51 2.4 0.1 0.8 0.9 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.2 -2.4 0.4 0.0 0.2 9 29 31.0 4 12 33.3 0 0 0
8 H Thabeet 11 0 8:44 3.5 0.2 1.5 1.6 0.2 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.5 +0.6 2.7 0.4 0.8 15 20 75.0 0 0 0 8 10 80.0
9 J Dorsey 11 0 8:33 1.5 0.3 1.4 1.6 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.3 -0.8 1.1 0.0 0.3 7 13 53.8 0 0 0 2 5 40.0
10 E Williams 11 0 6:15 3.9 0.1 0.8 0.9 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1 +2.3 2.4 0.5 0.3 19 43 44.2 3 5 60.0 2 5 40.0
11 T Ford 11 0 3:07 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.0 +0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 8 12.5 1 5 20.0 0 0 0
12 H Whiteside 11 0 0:55 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 3 33.3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Positives
-- The Grizzlies are currently a game over .500 in large part to their defense. Allowing just 62.3 ppg, the Grizzlies are the 6th toughest team to score on out of the teams with games played in the league. The trade that brought Kenyon Martin over seems to be a main factor why. The bruising big man currently leads the team in minutes played with a touch over 26 mpg. The Grizz have some theifs on their team with 4 guys avg 1.4 steals or better (Westbrook 2.1, Kenyon Martin 2.0, Tyreke 1.7, Dudley 1.4). Offensively there aren't as many bright spots, but Demarcus Cousins appears to be the most efficient offensive option thus far for Memphis. His 46.6 fg% is best on the team for anyone getting significant time, however he's just 3rd on the team in touches. The team is excellent from the line, shooting 5th best in the league at 77.5% with Tyreke Evans an impressive 18 for 18 thus far from the stripe.
Negatives
-- Despite the impressive steal totals and low ppg allowed, the Grizzlies don't protect the hoop as much as you'd expect for a team that has Cousins, Thabeet and Kenyon Martin. The team averages under 4 blocks per game, with Cousins leading the way with 0.7 blocks per game. Offensively is where the real negatives come in. The two guys getting the bulk of the shots are guards Tyreke Evans and Russel Westbrook, those two are shooting 40.6 and 41.8 % respectively and 9.5% and 23.8% from 3.
Outlook
-- The West looks to be loaded and the Grizzlies are currently on the outside looking in on the playoff picture. With Houston seemingly the class of his division he'll need to get hot to capture that 8th playoff spot. With 3/4 of the season left for Big Red, he has time to do it. Some possible improvements that we see is getting better around the hoop defensively. Already a good defensive team, the Grizzlies could be practically a brick wall if they could get some more blocks. Thabeet getting more minutes could be a possible answer there. The shooting is clearly an issue right now, which we expected looking at this team on paper. A perimeter shooter will need to step up as they won't win games shooting in the low 40% range. The Grizzlies need to stop shooting 3's with Tyreke Evans, 9.5% is about as bad as it gets. A possible bridge until that is figured out would be to get these guys to the line even more, with the %'s they shoot, it could mean an additional 4-6 points per game. A trade for a guard or improvements from Westbrook and backups like Elliot Williams or Jared Dudley will be key for this team going forward.
Early Candidates for 6th Man of the Year
Everyone knows about the Deron Williams', Brandon Rush, Carmelo Anthony and Danny Grangers' that are lighting up the NDLH as the focal point of their teams, but today we're going to look into who is getting the most out of their bench players and who is in the early hunt for 6th Man of the Year.
DeShawn Stevenson, OKC Thunder
Season Main Average/Total Field Goal 3 Point FT
GP GS Min PTS OReb DReb Reb AST STL BLK TO Foul +/- PIP Dunk Layup FG ATT FG% 3P ATT 3P% FT ATT FT%
Reg 14 0 14:08 11.3 0.1 1.4 1.5 1.9 0.8 0.2 1.2 0.4 +2.4 1.6 0.4 0.2 64 130 49.2 26 52 50.0 4 6 66.7
By now, most of you probably know him as the fade away 3pt guy. His unorthodox shooting methods have helped him shoot 50% from behind the arc this season. He's also the 3rd leading scorer on the 11-3 OKC Thunder with 11.3 ppg.
Ersan Ilyasova, New Orleand Hornets
Season Main Average/Total Field Goal 3 Point FT
GP GS Min PTS OReb DReb Reb AST STL BLK TO Foul +/- PIP Dunk Layup FG ATT FG% 3P ATT 3P% FT ATT FT%
Reg 9 0 14:18 9.1 0.3 3.0 3.3 0.8 0.3 0.2 0.9 1.0 +5.7 2.0 0.1 0.6 35 64 54.7 6 9 66.7 6 8 75.
This Turkish baller has been a focal point in the 8-1 start by the New Orleans Hornets. A key point of the offensive attack, Ilyasova is scoring 9.1 ppg, which is amazingly only good enough for 6th best on the balanced Hornets ball club. Ersan's best game came on March 1st against the Nets when he dropped 16.
Antwan Jamison, NY Knicks
Season Main Average/Total Field Goal 3 Point FT
GP GS Min PTS OReb DReb Reb AST STL BLK TO Foul +/- PIP Dunk Layup FG ATT FG% 3P ATT 3P% FT ATT FT%
Reg 10 3 19:18 8.4 0.2 3.3 3.5 1.3 1.0 0.6 1.2 0.7 +1.4 4.6 0.3 0.9 38 73 52.1 4 8 50.0 4 11 36.4
Jamison has recently been thrust into the starting lineup since the big trade that sent Ron Artest out of town but the Knicks are already considering putting Jamison back on the bench as he's the key to offense on the 2nd unit. Up until the trade, Jamison was the teams 2nd leading scorer but since the new kids have come into town, Jamison has struggled. In New Yorks 5 wins Jamison is averaging 11 points per game but in their 5 losses his averages drop to just 5.8 ppg.
Louis Williams, Toronto Raptors
Season Main Average/Total Field Goal 3 Point FT
GP GS Min PTS OReb DReb Reb AST STL BLK TO Foul +/- PIP Dunk Layup FG ATT FG% 3P ATT 3P% FT ATT FT%
Reg 13 0 14:41 8.2 0.1 1.2 1.3 3.5 0.7 0.0 2.9 0.5 -1.1 2.5 0.2 0.5 41 89 46.1 16 30 53.3 8 12 66.7
Williams has been Toronto's spark plug off the bench scoring 8.2 ppg in just over 14 minutes of action per game. His 53.3% 3pt shooting has helped Toronto get back into hunt in the Atlantic division.
Nicholas Batum, Atlanta Hawks
Season Main Average/Total Field Goal 3 Point FT
GP GS Min PTS OReb DReb Reb AST STL BLK TO Foul +/- PIP Dunk Layup FG ATT FG% 3P ATT 3P% FT ATT FT%
Reg 7 0 16:18 8.1 0.3 2.7 3.0 0.4 0.6 0.9 0.4 0.1 +6.6 0.9 0.3 0.1 22 37 59.5 13 17 76.5 0 0
Batum leads the NDLH in 3pt shooting % with anyone over 10 attempts at a gawdy 76.5% (13 of 17). Batum single handidly brought Atlanta back to win a big game over the Knicks where he dropped a season high 11 points with 3 for 3 from behind the arc.
Chris Andersen, Denver Nuggets
Season Main Average/Total Field Goal 3 Point FT
GP GS Min PTS OReb DReb Reb AST STL BLK TO Foul +/- PIP Dunk Layup FG ATT FG% 3P ATT 3P% FT ATT FT%
Reg 10 0 17:43 2.4 0.6 3.9 4.5 1.5 0.5 0.8 0.7 0.4 +6.0 1.4 0.4 0.3 11 21 52.4 0 0 2 2 100.0
While Andersen isn't putting up the offensive numbers that the other early candidates are he's the leading rebounder and shot blocker of any non starter in the league and is contributing significant minutes to the Nuggets lineup.
BREAKING NEWS!
Adrian Wojanarowski just tweeted that his sources have confirmed that the NDLH will be picked up for a 2nd season. The report also says there will be 'interesting' details coming soon about the structure of the second season.
A phone call to the commissioner was answered by his assistant who said the commissioner will neither confirm nor deny the report and won't be answering any questions on the subject.
State of the League
As we approach the midway point to the league i wanted to give everyone an idea of how I feel everything has been going and what to expect going forward.
The league has been beyond a success already. The way guys have A) got their games in B) handled criticisms C) handled being on hot seat has been beyond my wildest imagination. I have certainly had to have conversations with guys about certain things, but overall, it seems like everyone is trying to do their best to make this work.
The hot seat in any normal league probably wouldn't exist. Even the slackers in our league are playing a fair share of games... however, with the concept of 'letting the league dictate how fast we move' there will always be guys below the norm needing to catch up. I've tried to give fair warning to everyone via AIM, PM, or the hot seat thread to be clear about whats expected.
The D-League was a pleasant surprise. I feel bad that none of those guys have had a chance at the big league yet but they obviously slacked getting into the league and they will need to be patient til someone slips up enough for me to boot them.
Going forward, the All-Star anouncements will be by the weekend along with the midseason MVP. I will have solid details about season 2 in the coming weeks and the playoff schedule will be announced as soon as the league games played average is closer to 25 games. At the point the league average is 25 games, i will post a 2 week notice for everyone to wrap up their season then we'll move into the playoffs.
Enjoy March Madness, get to 15 games by Thursday and keep checking the boards for further details.
