NBA Draft 2013: The Boston Celtics’ 5 Most Important Draft Targets
The Boston Celtics finished with a 41-40 regular season in 2013, which got them the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
They were bounced out of the playoffs by the New York Knicks in round one after putting up a fight and bringing the series to six games.
The days of the Big Three are coming to an end due to age and free agency, and the Celtics are looking to get younger with the 16th pick in this year’s draft.
Although the core of their team may be slowly deteriorating, the Celtics still have plenty of young pieces to build around, giving them hope for the future.
Here is a look at the Boston Celtics’ five most important draft targets.
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Duke Basketball: 5 Most Important Traits Mike Krzyzewski Looks for in a Player
Mike Krzyzewski is the winningest coach in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball history.
With four national championships, 957 wins, and a few more years of coaching ahead of him, Krzyzewski will finish his career as one of the greatest coaches in the history of sports.
Krzyzewski became Duke’s head coach in 1980 and has turned the basketball program into an iconic force.
The players who commit to playing for Coach K at Duke receive an incredible amount of exposure, adoration, and criticism. In order to thrive in this environment, Krzyzewski has to be very particular about the players he recruits to Durham, NC.
Each player that commits to becoming a Duke Blue Devil must exhibit the following five traits.
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Indiana Basketball: 5 Most Important Traits Tom Crean Looks for in a Player
The qualities that make a successful coach are often reflected in the players he recruits. Indiana’s Tom Crean is no exception.
When Crean accepted the job in Bloomington, several changes had to be made immediately, leading directly to the undermanned 2008-09 roster that, at one point, famously boasted only two scholarship players.
After a few seasons of rebuilding, Crean has the Hoosiers humming again by adhering to a few particular criteria.
Here’s a look at a few of the attributes it takes to become a Hoosier in the Crean Era.
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Reasons Carmelo Anthony Is the Most Important Player in the 2013 NBA Playoffs
The New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony has a lot of pressure to produce in the 2013 NBA playoffs. Always admired as one of the league’s best, Anthony has never enjoyed the kind of postseason success had by LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or even Kevin Durant.
With a 3-1 series lead over archrival Boston, it appears the Knicks will advance at least to the conference semifinals. That’s when things become more difficult with potential matchups against the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat in the following round.
There is no doubt that Carmelo is the best Knicks player, but he’s also the most important player in the entire NBA playoffs.
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Why T.J. McConnell’s Transfer Is More Important Than Aaron Gordon’s Commitment
On the morning of April 2, at a press conference before high school basketball’s most prestigious all-star game, Aaron Gordon announced his commitment to the Arizona Wildcats.
The pledge ended more than a year of speculation on his landing spot and gained national attention. It also catapulted Arizona’s recruiting class from 25th to fifth in the ESPN rankings and instantly made the Wildcats a contender in 2013-14.
If the excitement after Gordon’s commitment wasn’t enough, they then actually played the game. In a sea of incredible players at the McDonald’s All-American Game, Gordon was the best player on the court. Not only did he dunk a lot (he had nine dunks) on his way to a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds, he played great defense, handled the ball with impressive control and out-motored everyone else in the game.
At the age of 17 and with a celestial ceiling, he is without question he is the most talented recruit ever to come to Arizona.
A year earlier, away from the cameras and fanfare, another player decided to play basketball for the University of Arizona. During this commitment there was no noise, no hubbub, no announcement at a McDonald’s All-American game press conference.
On April 10, 2012, amidst little coverage at all, T.J. McConnell called Sean Miller to let him know he would be transferring to Arizona.
Both commitments, that of Gordon and McConnell are big for Arizona basketball. But the addition of McConnell is more important.
This reality can be explained best by looking at the progress over the last two seasons. In 2011-12, Arizona finished a disappointing 23-12 and lost at home in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament to Bucknell. The Wildcats’ two biggest deficiencies were size and point guard play.
Sean Miller fixed the size issue by getting a huge front line with his 2012 recruiting class. Just as important, Mark Lyons, a proven combo guard, came in to run the point. The team improved leaps and bounds in skill and talent, but more importantly, the Wildcats turned their biggest weakness into a strength.
These changes resulted in a serious improvement. The Wildcats had a great regular season where they raced off to a 14-0 start and beat several top-25 squads. In the post season they advanced to the Sweet 16 and were within a couple shots of moving on to the Elite Eight.
Just as the 2011-12 team had serious flaws, so did this latest version of Arizona basketball. The team had issues on both sides of the ball.
Offensively it was turnovers and overall decision-making that killed the Wildcats time in and time out. In almost every game, including Ohio State, the Wildcats would start to play great, but then senseless plays would allow the opposing team to stay in the game.
A couple bad shots here, a few more turnovers there, and the Wildcats never were able to reach their true potential. And while they were good enough to overcome this in most instances, it caught up to them against the better competition.
The reason for this was leadership on the court. And while leaders can come form any position on the floor, the most impactful leader is the one who has the ball in his hands every possession: the point guard.
Although Mark Lyons was a huge improvement over Josiah Turner, his play was a microcosm of the Wildcats’ offensive season.
In nearly every game he was both brilliant and infuriatingly mindless. He might make a long three, but then he’d throw the ball away on the next possession. He may get a couple of foul shots by aggressively slashing to the hoop, but then he would take a 30-footer early in the shot clock on the next possession. His play was exciting but erratic.
And when the senior leader plays this way, the rest of the team is more likely to do so. The way Lyons played rubbed off on the rest of the team. Bad decisions and turnovers became a norm. It spread throughout the season and by the end of the year, it was too late to adjust.
Additionally, there were no checks and balances. Normally when a player takes a bad shot or poor decision, the leader of the team lets him know about it (think Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson). But when the poorest decision-maker is that leader, there is no such internal check. Lyons had no credibility to do such a thing. In the end, Arizona had multiple personalities on the offensive side of the floor, and Lyons was the biggest reason why.
The defensive woes can be attributed to a focus and effort. After playing great defense to start the season, all of a sudden it stopped. Halfway through the year, the Wildcats were atrocious at stopping the other team. When explaining why, Miller said, “It’s all effort. One hundred percent.”
Rarely were the Wildcats focused and intense for a full 35-second shot-clock and never for a full 40-minute game. The problem improved towards the end of the year, but again it was too little too late.
Looking forward to the coming season, the player who can most precisely addresses these problem areas is the most important addition to the team.
And that player is T.J. McConnell.
While Gordon brings size, length, firepower and ridiculous athleticism to the team, Arizona is already chocked full of it. The Wildcats have so much size and length that good players like Angelo Chol will be hard pressed to get any meaningful minutes at all
They have so much athleticism that games early in the season are going to look like dunk contests. While Gordon makes Arizona much better, he adds in areas already covered. He adds strength to strength.
McConnell, on the other hand, while nowhere near the talent of Gordon, is perfectly built to improve the Wildcats’ biggest weaknesses.
With McConnell at point, no longer will the offense be erratic and mindless. As a sophomore he was third in the league with 5.5 assists per game, and he led the Atlantic 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio. With McConnell distributing the ball, the offense will be fluid, seamless and, above all, intelligent.
On the defensive side of the ball, energy is key. This is especially true with Miller’s pack-line. So Gordon’s intensity will be important and helpful. But in Miller’s system, the most important player on the court is the man applying the ball pressure.
Guess who that will be most often? T.J. McConnell. And he is up for the job. He has been described as Arizona’s version of Aaron Craft. In his last year at Duquesne, he was third in the nation (NATION) in steals and made the A-10’s All-Defensive team. He is an absolute pest on the ball.
Not only will he be the point man for Miller’s defense, but his ball hawking pressure is going to inspire the rest of the team. With relentless pressure out front and motor revved high at all times, it will be hard for the rest of the team to fall behind in defensive effort. His presence alone turns Arizona into a great defensive team.
McConnell makes the Wildcats much better in the areas they need the most improvement. He takes the Arizona’s biggest weaknesses and turns them into strengths. It is he, not Aaron Gordon, who is the most important addition to the 2013-14 Arizona Wildcats team.
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Why T.J. McConnell’s Transfer Is More Important Than Aaron Gordon’s Committment
On the morning of April 2, at a press conference before high school basketball’s most prestigious all-star game, Aaron Gordon announced his commitment to the Arizona Wildcats.
The pledge ended more than a year of speculation on his landing spot and gained national attention. It also catapulted Arizona’s recruiting class from 25th to fifth in the ESPN rankings and instantly made the Wildcats a contender in 2013-14.
If the excitement after Gordon’s commitment wasn’t enough, they then actually played the game. In a sea of incredible players at the McDonald’s All-American Game, Gordon was the best player on the court. Not only did he dunk a lot (he had nine dunks) on his way to a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds, he played great defense, handled the ball with impressive control and out-motored everyone else in the game.
At the age of 17 and with a celestial ceiling, he is without question he is the most talented recruit ever to come to Arizona.
A year earlier, away from the cameras and fanfare, another player decided to play basketball for the University of Arizona. During this commitment there was no noise, no hubbub, no announcement at a McDonald’s All-American game press conference.
On April 10, 2012, amidst little coverage at all, T.J. McConnell called Sean Miller to let him know he would be transferring to Arizona.
Both commitments, that of Gordon and McConnell are big for Arizona basketball. But the addition of McConnell is more important.
This reality can be explained best by looking at the progress over the last two seasons. In 2011-12, Arizona finished a disappointing 23-12 and lost at home in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament to Bucknell. The Wildcats’ two biggest deficiencies were size and point guard play.
Sean Miller fixed the size issue by getting a huge front line with his 2012 recruiting class. Just as important, Mark Lyons, a proven combo guard, came in to run the point. The team improved leaps and bounds in skill and talent, but more importantly, the Wildcats turned their biggest weakness into a strength.
These changes resulted in a serious improvement. The Wildcats had a great regular season where they raced off to a 14-0 start and beat several top-25 squads. In the post season they advanced to the Sweet 16 and were within a couple shots of moving on to the Elite Eight.
Just as the 2011-12 team had serious flaws, so did this latest version of Arizona basketball. The team had issues on both sides of the ball.
Offensively it was turnovers and overall decision-making that killed the Wildcats time in and time out. In almost every game, including Ohio State, the Wildcats would start to play great, but then senseless plays would allow the opposing team to stay in the game.
A couple bad shots here, a few more turnovers there, and the Wildcats never were able to reach their true potential. And while they were good enough to overcome this in most instances, it caught up to them against the better competition.
The reason for this was leadership on the court. And while leaders can come form any position on the floor, the most impactful leader is the one who has the ball in his hands every possession: the point guard.
Although Mark Lyons was a huge improvement over Josiah Turner, his play was a microcosm of the Wildcats’ offensive season.
In nearly every game he was both brilliant and infuriatingly mindless. He might make a long three, but then he’d throw the ball away on the next possession. He may get a couple of foul shots by aggressively slashing to the hoop, but then he would take a 30-footer early in the shot clock on the next possession. His play was exciting but erratic.
And when the senior leader plays this way, the rest of the team is more likely to do so. The way Lyons played rubbed off on the rest of the team. Bad decisions and turnovers became a norm. It spread throughout the season and by the end of the year, it was too late to adjust.
Additionally, there were no checks and balances. Normally when a player takes a bad shot or poor decision, the leader of the team lets him know about it (think Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson). But when the poorest decision-maker is that leader, there is no such internal check. Lyons had no credibility to do such a thing. In the end, Arizona had multiple personalities on the offensive side of the floor, and Lyons was the biggest reason why.
The defensive woes can be attributed to a focus and effort. After playing great defense to start the season, all of a sudden it stopped. Halfway through the year, the Wildcats were atrocious at stopping the other team. When explaining why, Miller said, “It’s all effort. One hundred percent.”
Rarely were the Wildcats focused and intense for a full 35-second shot-clock and never for a full 40-minute game. The problem improved towards the end of the year, but again it was too little too late.
Looking forward to the coming season, the player who can most precisely addresses these problem areas is the most important addition to the team.
And that player is T.J. McConnell.
While Gordon brings size, length, firepower and ridiculous athleticism to the team, Arizona is already chocked full of it. The Wildcats have so much size and length that good players like Angelo Chol will be hard pressed to get any meaningful minutes at all
They have so much athleticism that games early in the season are going to look like dunk contests. While Gordon makes Arizona much better, he adds in areas already covered. He adds strength to strength.
McConnell, on the other hand, while nowhere near the talent of Gordon, is perfectly built to improve the Wildcats’ biggest weaknesses.
With McConnell at point, no longer will the offense be erratic and mindless. As a sophomore he was third in the league with 5.5 assists per game, and he led the Atlantic 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio. With McConnell distributing the ball, the offense will be fluid, seamless and, above all, intelligent.
On the defensive side of the ball, energy is key. This is especially true with Miller’s pack-line. So Gordon’s intensity will be important and helpful. But in Miller’s system, the most important player on the court is the man applying the ball pressure.
Guess who that will be most often? T.J. McConnell. And he is up for the job. He has been described as Arizona’s version of Aaron Craft. In his last year at Duquesne, he was third in the nation (NATION) in steals and made the A-10’s All-Defensive team. He is an absolute pest on the ball.
Not only will he be the point man for Miller’s defense, but his ball hawking pressure is going to inspire the rest of the team. With relentless pressure out front and motor revved high at all times, it will be hard for the rest of the team to fall behind in defensive effort. His presence alone turns Arizona into a great defensive team.
McConnell makes the Wildcats much better in the areas they need the most improvement. He takes the Arizona’s biggest weaknesses and turns them into strengths. It is he, not Aaron Gordon, who is the most important addition to the 2013-14 Arizona Wildcats team.
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Most Important Free Agent for the Portland Trail Blazers to Sign This Offseason
Throughout this up-and-down season, the Portland Trail Blazers have proved they aren’t far away from competing at a playoff level. They are a strong offseason away with the continued development of Damian Lillard and their starting core.
Their depth has been a huge problem, and they need to add reinforcements. One player they need to sign is Chase Budinger, who is currently with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Although Budinger is a restricted free agent, the Blazers need to do whatever they can to make sure he’s playing for Rip City next year.
The three-year NBA veteran returned last month from a knee injury that cost him the majority of the season. So far this year he’s played in 17 games, averaging 9.2 points in 21.4 minutes per game. He’s been inconsistent, but that’s to be expected following so much time off.
While Budinger isn’t a big-name free agent, he can add a lot to this Blazers team for not so much money. Budinger is making $885,120 in the final year of his rookie deal.
The Blazers should be able to steal Budinger away from the Timberwolves by giving him a nice raise without paying too much.
The Timberwolves have a bunch of money committed for next year and have a big decision to make on center Nikola Pekovic. That should eat of most of their cap and leave Budinger open for other teams.
The Blazers have a lot of financial restrictions based on their cap situation. With heavy contracts for LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum, the Blazers need to find role players for cheap. Budinger is the perfect option for that.
The 6’7″ small forward would help to improve the Blazers’ three-point shooting. The team is currently ranked 20th in the league, shooting 35.1 percent from beyond the arc. Adding Budinger would give them a pure shooter who would make life so much easier for Lillard. Budinger can work on spot-ups or off screens.
Instead of having to fully rely on the streaky-shooting Batum, the Blazers could put out a lineup with Wesley Matthews and Budinger alongside Lillard to maximize their shooting potential. This lineup would help space the floor for Aldridge to work down low.
Budinger also runs the floor extremely well and would look great next to Lillard. Here is a video that includes multiple run-outs for Budinger:
As you can see in the video, Budinger is also capable of taking defenders off the dribble. He’s not the quickest guy on the court, but forcing defenders to respect his shot allows him some space to blow by people.
While adding Budinger wouldn’t necessarily take the Blazers to the next level, he’s the type of player they need to start adding to the roster. With a solid core of Lillard, Aldridge and Batum, they must find cost-effiecent guys who can impact games and take pressure off the Big Three.
Budinger adds shooting in addition to his overall scoring ability, something the Blazers desperately need from their bench. Signing him this offseason would be a strong move by the Blazers front office.
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The Most Important Role Player on Every Projected NBA Playoff Team
Come playoff time, having great role players becomes exponentially more important. We see it every year.
Just look at last season’s NBA Finals. In terms of production, the stars for the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t all that different. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 58 points, nine assists and 12 rebounds per game, whereas LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 51 points, 12 assists and 16 rebounds.
Miami has an advantage, but not a particularly significant one.
So why did the Heat win the series 4-1? Their role players stepped up. Mario Chalmers burned Durant for 25 points in Game 4, Shane Battier shot almost 60 percent from the three-point line for the series, and Mike Miller knocked down seven shots from deep in Game 5. It takes nine or 10 guys to make a real playoff run. It always has.
This year, there’s at least one role player on each potential playoff team who holds particular sway over how their team performs in the postseason. Some of them need to step up their game and some need to keep doing exactly what they’re doing.
But each of them will go a long way in determining their team’s postseason success.
All stats accurate as of 4/4/2013
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Jimmy Valvano’s Lessons Are More Important Than Ever at 30th Anniversary
“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”
Few quotations in sports live on like this one forever in our minds. When I hear those words, I see Jim Valvano delivering a powerful speech at the ESPYs less than two months before he would lose his battle with cancer in April, 1993.
Thirty years ago today, Valvano’s message was born. His North Carolina State team, which easily could have given up many times in that year, pulled off the most improbable championship in the history of college basketball.
How? With hope, survival and love.
That’s what Valvano was all about. That’s how he lived. That’s how he coached in 1983.
This week, former Rutgers coach Mike Rice stole the headlines away from the Final Four with a very different message.
The upsetting footage from ESPN’s Outside the Lines feature are also tough to erase from memory.
Rice represents the worst side of sports.
The coach had a difficult task, taking over a basketball program three years ago that has not made the NCAA tournament since 1991. But he motivated with fear and intimidation, crossing the line by physically and verbally attacking his players.
Survival of a much different nature was likely the cause. Sometimes, perspective is lost because of the pressure to win. But pressure doesn’t always lead to ugliness, and Valvano’s Wolfpack are a nice reminder of that.
NC State thrived under pressure in 1983. The Wolfpack were 17-13 before the ACC tournament that year, and likely would have missed the NCAA tournament if they hadn’t won the conference tourney.
They trailed in the final minute in seven of their final nine wins, including being down six in overtime in their opening-round game against Pepperdine. They would have been a forgotten footnote had it not been for an amazing comeback to force a second overtime, which the Wolfpack won.
They trailed by 12 in the next round against UNLV, and again, survived and advanced. After blowing past Utah and taking down higher-seeded Virginia and Georgia, the underdog NC State squad would head into the tournament finals looking to make history.
They faced a seven-point deficit in the championship game and rallied to win on a last-second bucket by Lorenzo Charles to beat Houston’s “Phi Slamma Jamma,” a team that had two players (Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler) who would go on to become NBA legends and Hall of Famers.
That play—Dereck Whittenburg’s air ball and Charles being in the right place at the right time—was the one time a Cinderella had a perfect ending. Valvano running around the court looking for someone, anyone, to hug was the perfect celebration.
Hope, survival and love. All captured in one night. Reason to never give up.
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Bracket Briefing: 25 most important players in the Final Four
USA TODAY Sports provides your March Madness therapy.
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