Friday, October 16, 2009 12:52 PM
On Triano's new book and Calderon's role
A quick thought before some things:
Jay Triano has published a book called Basketball Basics, How to Play Like the Pros. Steve Nash is on the cover and wrote a very nice foreward. There are tips and quotes from the likes of Manu Ginobili and Candace Parker and some great photos. I looked through the book on the subway on the way home from the game and found it very reassuring in the sense that a guy who has played at the highest level internationally and coached at the highest level professionally is still preaching the bedrock fundamentals of the game: dribbling, passing, catching, shooting and footwork. This is obviously a book aimed at kids – all the models for the how-to photos are young teenagers, including some guy named Dustin Triano – and as a result emphasizes that to play the game well you have to understand and be expert at the most basic aspects of it. If you were a kid serious about basketball and actually mastered the techniques in this book and could execute them at full speed, you would become a very good player. Jay’s book shows that what you need to know is simple; the trick is being determined enough to actually master them.
Anyway, nice looking book, and Jay is signing copies at the Indigo Store in the Eaton Centre on Saturday between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Some Things, v3.6:
1. So after six preseason games how do I stand? I guess I’m a bit agnostic at this point. Turkoglu is obviously not in peak form, but there is no doubt he brings something to the table offensively. The trait that stands out to me is patience. Even in limited minutes last night there were occasions when he would up-fake, get his shoulders past his man, hold his dribble in place for an instant and then rifle a pass cross-court through the seam he created. Defensively he did not try very hard; at least four or five of the Rockets triples were over him, except he didn’t get close enough to make them go over him but let’s face it, he’s on his own timetable right now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
2. If I was in a pool – and that ain’t going to happen – I would give a second or third thought to taking Jose Calderon if you were expecting his numbers to bump or even remain equal to last year’s. Two reasons: Hedo is going to cut into his ball-handling significantly. Calderon is simply not going to get as many touches in scoring or shot-creating situations as in the past. Turkoglu is going to suck up some of pick-and-roll action; kick-out for threes assists that Calderon has lived on the last few years. Also, Jarrett Jack is beginning to find his way and looked great running a high-tempo second unit last night. His presence alone means a dip in minutes for Calderon, which should hopefully keep him crisp and sharp for when he does play, but will likely hurt his stat line, if not his performance.
3. Chuck Hayes is one of those guys stats don’t explain. He’s started nearly 100 games in his career for a pretty good team, yet he averages 3.4 points and 5.1 rebounds. He’s a 6-foot-6 centre who doesn’t shoot all that well, or jump. As some doubtless know the Rockets have been the forefront in the NBA of trying to quantify things on a basketball court that matter, but don’t show up statistically: drawing charges, setting screens, forcing other players to take bad shots, sealing guys off to create rebounding lanes for you own team. And by all accounts Chuck Hayes is good at all this stuff. Last night, for one example, he set a big wide pick on someone, but there was a scramble and then a loose ball. I believe getting loose balls is a skill, like winning faceoffs. Speaking personally, I was terrible at it. I’d panic and stab and swipe and generally send the ball in some other direction. My best case was to dive on it. Last night there was Hayes and another player – Calderon maybe? – trying to pick a loose ball off the floor and Hayes just kind of got low, dribbled it up into his hands and then, realizing the shot clock was going to expire, launched a hurried shot at the rim that missed but allowed the Rockets to score on the putback. No boxscore numbers there, but two good, smart plays and a bucket.
