Friday Roundtable: Best NBA Coaching Hire Thus Far

Mike Malone is heading from Golden State to another California team as the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings. (nba.si.com)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: Phoenix, Charlotte, Sacramento and Atlanta all hired new head coaches for next season. Which hire will turn out to be the best for the team?

Alex:
I love Hornacek-to-Phoenix, but the Sacramento Kings have quietly made a coaching carousel coup by hiring Mike Malone. The former Golden State assistant is fresh off a strong run into the playoffs with a Warriors team featuring young principle players, much like the current Kings squad. Malone made a connection with turn-GSW guard Monta Ellis and Sacramento brass must be hopeful their new head coach can form the same kind of rapport with mercurial big man DeMarcus Cousins, while fostering a positive growth in the Kings' young backcourt.

Recent Kings coaches have not enjoyed long tenures or peaceful locker rooms. Enter Malone, who was recently part of turning another underachieving franchise in Northern California. Young, first-time head coaches always have a buzz around them, for better or worse, and pique the interest of the basketball community, free agents included. Malone's hiring makes Sacramento a slightly more appealing destination for players on the open market. Ellis is interested in re-connecting and, although bringing him in would conflict with Isaiah Thomas' development, it is a start for a suffering organization. With the Kings officially staying in SacTown, the pressure is on Malone to help steer the franchise in a winning direction. Some of the pieces are there, some still need to be acquired, but the biggest necessity has been fulfilled: getting a coach who has come out on top when encountering a situation like the one facing the Kings. Malone is that coach.

Kyle:
Right off the bat, I think you can remove Steve Clifford's name from contention. Not that I think he's a bad coach or will do a poor job, but he's walking into a nightmare in Charlotte with a team that has gone 28-120 the past two years. Clifford doesn't have much experience and even the league's best coaches would need a lot of time, patience and Tylenol to fix that program.

I actually like all three of the other hires, and since all three are first-time head coaches, it's difficult to predict which ones will adapt to the new leadership role the quickest and easiest.  I agree with Alex that both Jeff Hornacek and Mike Malone are strong fits with the Suns and Kings, but I also think Mike Budenholzer can be the type of coach the Atlanta Hawks need. Budenholzer does not have the name power of Hornacek, but he did spent the past 17 years with Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, and if there is a current coach in the league to study and learn from for 17 years, it's Popovich. More importantly, Budenholzer was not just present for the Spurs' championship years. He was on the sideline to experience that 20-62 team in 1996-97 and watch how it transformed into a frequent NBA Finals contender.

It depends on free agency, but most likely Budenholzer will have a more experienced squad than Hornacek and Malone, and definitely one that has seem more success than the Suns and Kings. But still Atlanta is looking to take that next step from just making the playoffs to winning and advancing, and Budenholzer may be the guy to do it.

Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter
Like Beats Dimes and Drives on Facebook

Michael Jordan Gets Hitched

Michael Jordan and his wife Yvette Prieto dancing at their wedding reception Saturday. (nypost.com)

While his former team, the Chicago Bulls, was battling in a three overtime playoff game against Brooklyn and the team he currently owns, the Charlotte Bobcats, being very firmly in the offseason, Michael Jordan was getting married in Florida.

The bride is Yvette Prieto, 15 years Jordan's junior, and Jordan's second wife. The two got married in a very large tent in Jupiter, Florida, with 300 guests in attendance, including Patrick Ewing and Tiger Woods. Usher was among the artists who performed at the reception, but not present was Justin Bieber, who Jordan seemed pretty excited to meet in Charlotte earlier this year.

Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter
Like Beats Dimes and Drives on Facebook

NCAA vs. NBA: Could the Top-Seeded Louisville Cardinals Defeat the Charlotte Bobcats?

Peyton Siva wrenches the ball away from Kemba Walker in the 2010-11 season. (Frank Franklin II/AP)

The Charlotte Bobcats' 15-52 record is the NBA's worst. The roster is built with former NCAA stars Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilcrist and Gerald Henderson and most of the team's players could still be part of an NCAA tournament team. Myself and BDD pose the question: could this year's NCAA tournament's top seed, the Louisville Cardinals, defeat the Bobcats in a head-to-head battle?

When comparing an NBA and NCAA team, there are a two huge differences to take into account. The NBA plays four, 12-minute quarters. NCAA games are two, 20-minute halves. NBA teams abide to a 24-second shot clock, while NCAA teams have 35 seconds to put up a successful shot attempt. Kemba Walker leads the struggling Bobcats by scoring only 17.2 points per game. Louisville junior guard Russ Smith scores 18.1 ppg for the Cardinals. Even with fewer possessions and shot attempts, Louisville's top scorer outscores Charlotte's by almost a full point.

Winners of only two of the past 10 games, Charlotte has failed to win more than three consecutive games all season. The Cardinals are winners of their last 10, most recently overcoming a 16-point deficit in the Big East Championship to defeat the talented Syracuse Orange. 

The Bobcats dwell at the bottom of almost every relevant statistical category.

BasketballReference.com

It's only fair we show the Cardinals' numbers, too.

The statistic that should pop off the page should be DRtg. 85.5 represents the number of points teams score against the Cardinals per 100 possessions. The Bobcats rank last in this category, holding a rating of 111.7. According to this, the Bobcats average nearly 96 possessions per game. Scoring at a rate of 93.1 ppg, the Bobcats manage to score a mere 1.02 ppp (points per possession), which is less than the Cardinals' average of 1.06. Keeping in mind possessions are more valuable because they are less frequent, a game where both teams abide by the same shot and game clock length, Louisville will both score and defend at a higher rate.

Where the Bobcats struggle, the Cardinals thrive. Only four teams have totaled more turnovers than Charlotte, while only one team has created more than Louisville. The Bobcats also have allowed their opponent to steal the ball away 455 times (only the Knicks have allowed more), ranking Charlotte second to last in the category. Who ranks second best in college hoops? You guessed it, the Louisville Cardinals.

The Bobcats are still professionals. The roster contains several veteran players with at least five years of experience in the league. Ben Gordon is one of those veterans who is prolific at scoring the basketball.  He also has experience playing for England at the Olympic level. An average front-court rotation contains 'quality' minutes from Byron Mullens, Bismack Biyombo and Josh McRoberts, all who are at least 6-9, with Mullens reaching 7-foot. Rick Pitino's front-court would be looking up. Only four Cardinal players are taller than 6-6 and none of them reach the 7-foot mark. Gorgui Dieng is Louisville's tallest player at 6-foot-11 and is the team's best rebounder. Chane Behanan, listed at 6-6, has tallied the second-most rebounds for the Cardinals. It is a tough match-up physically for Louisville as they also weigh 20 pounds less per player than the Bobcats. Charlotte is taller and larger before tip-off and even more experienced afterward. 

Kids are kids and professionals are professionals.  Both teams play very different basketball. That being said, it is still the same game. If the ball bounces the right way enough times, could the Cardinals score and steal their way to a victory? First, we'll see if they can defeat the competition at their own level, and maybe we could discuss it afterward.

Stats from: BasketballReference, TeamRankings.com, 

Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter

Like Beats Dimes and Drives on Facebook

Charlotte Bobcats Could Reclaim "Hornets" Nickname

Cam Newton totally likes the name "Bobcats," Micheal. Don't worry. (city-data.com)

At the time of publishing this, the New Orleans Pelicans have played zero games in the NBA. The moniker will replace NO’s current Hornets name in 2013-14 at the behest of owner Tom Benson, who purchased the team in April. The name change could alter titles in cities other than New Orleans, as well, as the Charlotte Bobcats are exploring the option of reclaiming their former label. President and Chief Operating Officer Fred Whitfield released a statement addressing the possibility on Jan. 22:

"We are aware of the impending change regarding the team nickname in New Orleans. We are currently in contact with the NBA and conducting our own due diligence relative to this matter. We will not have any further comment until we have completed this process."

Just as Chris Hansen will consider branding the franchise that eventually lands in Seattle as the Sonics or Supersonics, there is at least rudimentary support and reasoning behind the idea of bringing the Hornets back to Charlotte in name. That could be chalked up to nostalgia — again, just like the twinges being felt in Seattle — or it could be because "Bobcats" is a weak pseudonym. Fans helped name the team, but with "Charlotte Flight" bringing to mind images of pro-am teams and "Charlotte Dragons" being outright ridiculous, "Bobcats" was the obvious choice. That it happened to tie in with the city's NFL team, the Carolina Panthers, was merely a consolation.

In recent months, Charlotte's team jerseys brandished just the word "Cats" instead of the full name. A franchise in existence just since 2004 should not be so quick to make such a move lest their image be questioned. Oops.

SB Nation's Kevin Zimmerman brings up another point, one which may be the tent pole reason if a name change happens: team owner and Justin Bieber fan Michael Jordan is willing to listen to arguments in favor of a Hornets return to North Carolina. Aggregated from ESPN and Gaston Gazette articles, Zimmerman also notes the old-and-maybe-future nickname is a nod to the state's tenacity during the Revolutionary War, which immediately makes it more intimidating than "Bobcats," which may or may not be a sly reference to the franchise's original owner, Robert Johnson.

A name change does not hinge on one person's opinion, however, and plenty of money has been committed to creating an aura for a team named the Bobcats. Jordan is and has always been his own man, so there is no reason to believe he will follow Benson's whim, but he and the rest of the Bobcats organization must recognize that part of conducting "due diligence" is considering the fan base's take on the matter. Change is not imminent, not should it be, but one thing is certain: Hornets are just a tad less cuddly than Bobcats.

Michael Jordan Plus Justin Bieber Equals Heart

"LeBron really does look older than his age" - Biebs (via the Bobcats' Instragram)

Whether it's his timeless style or never-aging game, Michael Jordan is always on-target. Not that he needs consolation, but criticism was almost certainly the last thing on his mind when the beaming Charlotte Bobcats owner met Justin Bieber earlier this week.

Based on circumstantial evidence (namely, the caption offered by Bobcats digital media services), Biebs did not deem the Fightin' Charlotte Jordans worthy enough for him to attend a game. Though he probably wasn't bragging about going to any recent Lakers games, he found time in his schedule to meet Jordan before performing at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Perhaps the most important thing to repeat is that this happened before Bieber's concert, meaning there's a strong chance that Jordan took in the show. I wouldn't put it past him. He looks way more excited to meet the pop star/2011 All-Star Celebrity Game MVP than Biebs looks about the encounter. My guess is the only reason we don't see some swooped hair peeking out from under that hat is because Jordan knows that's soooooo 2010.

(H/t to Dan Devine at Ball Don't Lie and Seth Rosenthal at SB Nation)


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter
Like Beats Dimes and Drives on Facebook