Welcome to "The Hoopsies", Where Oscar Sunday Meets the NBA!
By Rob Perez
Welcome to the 2015 ‘Hoopsies’!
NBA All-Star Weekend has ended, but NBA award season has officially-reached “The Stretch Run.” In honor of the 87th Academy Awards tonight, let’s celebrate the best moments of the year, so far, in professional basketball — and dish out some mid-season hardware…
My name is Wob, and I’ll be your host today. Out on the red carpet, the stars are out on Hollywood Blvd. beginning to make their way into the Dolby Theater. Let’s go to our correspondent, Kris Brewsard, who’s currently with one of the nominees for “Best Heat Check in a Leading Role”, J.R. Smith – take it away, Kris!
:::Click:::
It appears we are having some technical difficulties … Kris, are you there? Hello?
“YES, YES I’m here, Wob. I apologize, my sources are telling me that my feed is a couple of minutes behind everyone else’s — i’m here with J.R. Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers. J.R., thank you for taking the time to speak with us today! Do you know 17% of your shots are 16-foot+ two-pointers, and 67% of all your field goals, since joining the Cavs, are three-pointers?” – KB
“When in doubt, shoot the ball.” – J.R.
“Well, there you have it, Wob! J.R. Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the heavyweight favorite nominee for the coveted “Heat Check in a Leading Role’ award — he sounds pretty confident, sporting an unfathomable 12.3 three-Point Field Goal Attempt average per 100 team possessions…. Back to you!” – KB
Thanks, Kris!
Now that the lights have dimmed and everyone has taken their seats … on with the show!
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Best Actor in a Leading Role
The Nominees:
– Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
– James Harden, Houston Rockets
– Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
– LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
– Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
And the ‘Hoopsie’ goes to… STEPHEN CURRY!
Averaging a ridiculous 23.6 Points Per Game, a career-high 2.2 Steals Per game, and an unfathomable +9.6 average +/- … Stephen Curry is the foundation of the NBA’s best team, and the perennial favorite for the league’s Most Valuable Player Award. He not only ranks among the league leaders in all of the important advanced metrics: PER, Win Shares, Plus-Minus, Net Rating — he’s also a top 10 performer, amongst all player in the league, in scoring, threes, assists, and steals. The most impressive statistic of all? Steph Curry almost collected more All-Star votes than the immortal LeBron James. We’ve known for years how good Steph is at offense, but, his improvement on the defensive side of the ball has elevated his game from “That dude is fun to watch” to “Superstar”.
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Best Poster Dunk, Original Score
The Nominees:
– DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers
– DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
– James Johnson, Toronto Raptors
The Winner:
– James Ennis, Miami Heat
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Best Director
The Nominees:
– Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
– Jason Kidd, Milwaukee Bucks
– Dave Joerger, Memphis Grizzlies
– Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks
And the ‘Hoopsie’ goes to… MIKE BUDENHOLZER!
Sitting atop the Eastern Conference at 43-12, the Atlanta Hawks are 5.5 … FIVE AND A HALF! … games clear of the 2nd place Toronto Raptors. One of the most ridiculous turnarounds in NBA history is captain’d by Mike Budenholzer, the second-year Head Coach who spent 19 years at the “Gregg Popovich Assistant Coach Academy” with the San Antonio Spurs organization, and essentially graduated as the valedictorian. When asked why he selected Budenholzer over the other big-name coaches out there, Hawks GM Danny Ferry said he chose him because of “his strong defensive mind and emphasis”. Budenholzer hasn’t disappointed. The Hawks lead the league in points allowed per game (96.7), they’ve allowed a field goal percentage of 43.4% (4th in NBA), three-point field goal percentage of 33.6% (6th in NBA), average 9.0 steals per game (5th in NBA), force 15.5 turnovers per game (7th in NBA), and rank 3rd in the NBA in point differential at +6.1.
On the offensive side of the ball, Budenholzer has turned the Hawks into “Spurs East”. Essentially: a death machine of ball-movement, spacing, and wide-open looks. They rank 2nd in the NBA in assists per game, with 25.6, and points per game, with 103.0. From this impressive achievement to turning Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver into All-Stars, from “Middle of the Road” players, Budenholzer has truly left the nest, and spread the Hawks’ wings into a legitimate title contender.
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Best Ankle-Breaking Crossover, Cinematography
The Nominees:
– Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies
– Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers
– Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix Suns
– Ty Lawson, Denver Nuggets
The Winner:
– Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
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Best Actor in a Supporting Role, 6th Man
The Nominees:
– Lou Williams, Toronto Raptors
– Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers
– Marreese Speights, Golden State Warriors
– Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
– Taj Gibson, Chicago Bulls
And the ‘Hoopsie’ goes to… MARREESE SPEIGHTS!
Speights’ 23.8 points per 36 minutes are second only to Stephen Curry — and he’s scoring these points with ridiculous efficiency, shooting 52% from the field and 81% from the free throw line. It’s absurd that Marreese is even in the conversation, let alone the front-runner, given the type of player he was a year ago (-5.2 Plus/Minus Average per game, nearly twice as bad as any other year in his career). Alongside his bench running mates: David Lee and Andre Iguodala, Speights has increased his Player Efficiency Rating (PER) from 15.2, in 2013-2014, to a career-high 19.7 this season. (The NBA average is 15).
Is it likely that Speights keeps this up torrid pace? No, but, he’s been arguably as important to the Warriors’ success this year as the Splash Brothers. Speights’ emergence as an offensive powerhouse, off-the-bench, has allowed the team to feature him, while resting Klay and Steph — so much so, Speights’ Usage % is a career-high 28.9% — meaning 28.9% of the time he’s on the floor, he is directly involved in the possession’s final result.
It should be noted that Jamal Crawford is right there with Marreese, however, if this tear Speights is on continues through April — this “Hoopsie” is a blowout…
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Best Original Screenplay, HEAT CHECK.
The Nominees:
– Nick Young, Los Angeles Lakers
– Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
– Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
– Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
– Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
– Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
– Dion Waiters, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Winner:
– J.R. Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers
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Best Picture, Bloopers
The Nominees:
Kevin Garnett, Brooklyn Nets
Josh McRoberts, Miami Heat
Lance Stephenson, Charlotte Hornets
Mason Plumlee, Brooklyn Nets
Archie Goodwin, Phoenix Suns
Brandon Knight, Milwaukee Bucks
JaVale McGee, Denver Nuggets
Norris Cole, Miami Heat
The Winner:
Tyson Chandler, Dallas Mavericks
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That’s our show!
Thank you for joining us for this year’s “Hoopsies”, and we’ll see ya same time, same place — next season!