Episode 041 - Big Man Week

Chris and Paul try their first Skype conversation and finish up the third week of their 2014-15 NBA Preview by discussing the bigs they wrote about (Anthony Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, Carmelo Anthony), their teams entering the season, and the bigs who didn't make the cut (Dirk Nowitzki, DeMarcus Cousins, and Al Horford), plus some predictions for the NBA's Defensive Player and Coach of the Year Awards.

2014-15 NBA Season Preview: Defensive Player and Coach of the Year Predictions

We're officially past the half-way point of our 2014-15 NBA Season Preview, after the conclusion of our Big Man Week. The season is almost underway. Thank you for sticking with us here on the blog and consuming our content.

In this third week of our preview series, Chris and I wanted to pay homage to the dominant bigs in the league by profiling their games and the context within their franchises. Chris covered the new-age big men in today's NBA; starting with Monday's examination of Anthony "The Unibrow" Davis and his unfair treatment by the NBA's marketing and television departments, transitioning to Serge Ibaka's unmistakable influence on a top-tier defense in Oklahoma City, and today with a look at Carmelo Anthony's evolution into being eligible for this list and his embracing of his inner-(stretch) big man. I stuck to the more traditional mold of bigs when choosing Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge, which gave me an insight into team-building and how to potentially retain the greatest player in a franchise's history (hint: become good). Apologies to Dirk Nowitzki, DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins, Al Horford, et al, but, just like last week when we tackled two-guards, five choices aren't nearly enough. 

As we've done at the end of every one of our themed-weeks so far this preseason, we've provided some predictions for the NBA end of year awards, with the Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year Awards most closely associated with, and largely dependent-upon, the impact of the big men. The last non-center or power forward to win the Defensive MVP was in 2003-04 - back when Metta World Peace was called Ron Artest - and the Coach of the Year trophy is usually influenced by team defense, which is usually influenced by bigs. It's no coincidence that every coach on our COY-ballots feature strong players in the front-court. 

Chris and I have tried to break up some of the monotony with these lists and "ballots" that hold absolutely no influence on the actual results at the end of the 2014-15 season. We usually save our thoughts and reasoning behind the picks for the podcast, but this weeks' podcast will be delayed a day, so we supplied some notes and different looks at our predictions. There's probably no chance that a rookie, for instance, will factor into the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year this season but awards voting is usually so boring and narrative-driven that we had to attempt to have fun with it.

2014-15 NBA Season Preview: Carmelo Anthony

Credit:  Rich Barnes/Getty Images

What position is Carmelo Anthony?  Is he more suited to the small forward position or the small ball four?  Is there even a difference?  Carmelo may have been one of the most dissected players of his generation.  His timing was poor.  Not only did he come into the NBA at a time when ‘sports writing’ was under a major metamorphosis, he did so in the same draft class as the greatest player of our generation.  He’s come to represent the anti-superstar to a new wave of basketball fans (and media, the line is blurred sometimes) informed by efficiency and versatility as Paul Flannery so eloquently stated.  In a way, Carmelo is right, he is underrated.

Episode 032 - Free Agency

Chris and Paul delve into NBA free agency and the monumental LeBron James decision by discussing the moves so far this summer and the first week of summer league action.

#16 - Chicago Bulls

Joe Robbins/Getty Images North America

What I’d Do:

Elfrid Payton – LA Lafayette

6’4” (6’8” wingspan), 185 lbs., 02/22/1994 (20 years old)

Elfrid Payton is probably too good to still be on the board here at #16. At first I took him based on his value alone as the best player available for the Chicago Bulls but the more I think about it, the more this pick makes some sense beyond the value-aspect for the Bulls.