Pittman, who was signed to a 10-day contract on Feb. 22, appeared in two games with the Hawks this year.

The Hawks have signed Muke Muscala in a related move. Muscala was the 44th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Briggs was really high on Muscula, for those who missed it last summer, he was hoping we would trade acquire 2 2nd round picks for PG, Nate Wolters and PF/C Muscula
Possibly even trading down for them, with Horford out,

Pero Antic
Muscula

should be part of their development plans with veterans Elton Brand and Millsap to help the process

I personally thought he was a skilled stretch 5, Briggs thought he was more of a 4

Briggs was very HIGH on Vuvevic in Orlando that was selected by Philly right before Iman, saying he likely would take 1-2years before he contributes but would become a very solid NBA C
with versatility and a shooting touch

George Karl and Daryl Morey agreed that you cannot play a slow pace in today's NBA in a panel at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Defenses are just too good, they said, with Morey citing Tom Thibodeau's ability to smother teams deep in the shot clock. The data show clearly that early scores are vital.

Morey discussed the different use of Dwight Howard by the Houston Rockets. Stan Van Gundy ran set plays for Howard when he was with the Orlando Magic, but he is getting the ball with the Rockets in unpredictable situations and scoring efficiently.

A quick-hitting, fast-thinking attack wins.

Morey recalled reports the Rockets use to run on the effectiveness of different plays called by then-head coach Jeff Van Gundy was with Houston. Above all the set plays was a play categorized as Random, when a play call broke down and a random screen was set to free up a scorer. This was the most effective play.

Karl thought back to the time after the Denver Nuggets acquired Raymond Felton. Karl said he thought Felton was perhaps his best guard at the time but Lawson had the starting job. So to improve Denver's ability to make fast decisions, Karl played them together. Karl believes this may have started a trend in the league of a two-point guard offense.

The panel discussed fouling up three in the closing seconds. Even though the numbers support taking the foul, it's not done widely. Karl cited a lack of devoted practice time to making sure teams can execute a two-shot foul.

Morey said you should win the game almost always either way, but cited coaches wanting to show confidence in their defense to stop the three, or just the embarrassment factor of not wanting to give up the three-point foul. Kobe Bryant was named as one of the best at anticipating the intentional foul and getting off an attempt from behind the arc as the contact is made.

Via RealGM Staff Report

We are one of the TOP team that do NOT TURNOVER the ball

Kidd was one of the players that consistently looked pushed the tempo and that was one of our area's where Lin was missed
This season this is one of our biggest weakness's in addition to our Coach, who clearly has loss the team, but unlike Dantoni, Woodson is a fighter and shall not admit DEFEAT....

dk7th wrote:

RonRon wrote:Sloan: Morey, Karl Discuss Why Teams Must Play Fast
Feb 28, 2014 12:07 PM EST

George Karl and Daryl Morey agreed that you cannot play a slow pace in today's NBA in a panel at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Defenses are just too good, they said, with Morey citing Tom Thibodeau's ability to smother teams deep in the shot clock. The data show clearly that early scores are vital.

Morey discussed the different use of Dwight Howard by the Houston Rockets. Stan Van Gundy ran set plays for Howard when he was with the Orlando Magic, but he is getting the ball with the Rockets in unpredictable situations and scoring efficiently.

A quick-hitting, fast-thinking attack wins.

Morey recalled reports the Rockets use to run on the effectiveness of different plays called by then-head coach Jeff Van Gundy was with Houston. Above all the set plays was a play categorized as Random, when a play call broke down and a random screen was set to free up a scorer. This was the most effective play.

Karl thought back to the time after the Denver Nuggets acquired Raymond Felton. Karl said he thought Felton was perhaps his best guard at the time but Lawson had the starting job. So to improve Denver's ability to make fast decisions, Karl played them together. Karl believes this may have started a trend in the league of a two-point guard offense.

The panel discussed fouling up three in the closing seconds. Even though the numbers support taking the foul, it's not done widely. Karl cited a lack of devoted practice time to making sure teams can execute a two-shot foul.

Morey said you should win the game almost always either way, but cited coaches wanting to show confidence in their defense to stop the three, or just the embarrassment factor of not wanting to give up the three-point foul. Kobe Bryant was named as one of the best at anticipating the intentional foul and getting off an attempt from behind the arc as the contact is made.

Via RealGM Staff Report

We are one of the TOP team that do NOT TURNOVER the ball

Kidd was one of the players that consistently looked pushed the tempo and that was one of our area's where Lin was missed
This season this is one of our biggest weakness's in addition to our Coach, who clearly has loss the team, but unlike Dantoni, Woodson is a fighter and shall not admit DEFEAT....

that's why carmelo anthony is a dinosaur. plodding and slow decision-making too much of the time.

In all fairness, is that held more accountable by Woodson, Melo, the roster/team, and the GM?
I believe Grunweld was also partly let go because he wanted to convince Dolan to keep Lin thus the delay during that summer

However, I think they originally were thinking about matching the offer to trade him for assets in the future, they were skeptical about being able to trade him with the 3year deal vs 4 year deal though

And Woodson likely felt Lin was not needed for that amount of money and felt it would create more animosity with Melo/JR, where Woodson has never been a PG oriented and prefers vets to run his system

I don't think it is a good thing that Melo allows others to rest by bringing up the ball at times, however, not majority of the times, it takes a wear on him as well too
One of Melo's attributes on fast break's is his ability to get a shot off quickly or on TAP OUT's/OFF REBOUND's, you can call it a heave/chuck but I think it is one of his higher % shot selections

Melo shouldn't be initiating the OFFENSE, he lacks IQ, the physical ability without great speed/quickness or athleticism/length
He is only able to beat his man off the dribble when certain PF's defend his shot with the correct spacing of other players as well
Melo doesn't make good decisions, is not a leader, and his style of play does not allow his team mates to play OFF his abilities in an effective/consistent manner

You put Melo in a team full of talent and a leader that Melo actually respects, he would likely do well (at least 10x better than the way Woodson enables him now), though he would have to be willing to take a backseat, like Wade/Bosh have done for Lebron

A pairing of Melo with versatile players like Batum, who is skilled in many area's, with his physical abilities in length/size/athleticism, allowing him to rebound, steals, blocks shots, and initiate/finish on the fast break
Most importantly his ability to defend multiple positions and ability to do a bit of everything
Problem is these players generally don't come cheap

For Melo to be on a contender,
While Melo would still need a good/great PG to say NO to him that Melo respects, and another STAR like LA or Kevin Love *that is a high% to initiate our offense and allow Melo to play off the other players abilities*
And on top of all this, you need more than vet min talents

Only way to come close to building such a team with similar skillsets/abilities is if Melo chooses not to OPT out this summer, probably even willing to take less in 2015

But why should he, take another year of losing in NY, while he can join many teams in the league with more assets to improve

http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm#sthash.quayVZ5D.dpuf

was selected by the Mavericks in the 1st round, he is a combo guard, more than his a PG, of course we all know the pros vs cons and risk vs rewards with a development signing like this based on his potential
Rick Carlisle called him Westbrook like potential when he was selected, obviously both Mavs and Atlanta gave up on his development though

RonRon wrote:Nicolas Batum grabbed a career-high 16 boards vs. the Nuggets during a 102-96 win to go with nine points, six assists, one steal and one 3-pointer.
He did make just 3-of-10 from the field, but Batum almost always seems to fill the stat sheet in his own unique way. LeBron James and Kevin Durant are the only small forwards with more assists while Batum also ranks in the top eight for total 3-pointers and rebounds for his position. He's a solid fantasy guy despite some quiet scoring this season.

A pairing of Melo with versatile players like Batum, who is skilled in many area's, with his physical abilities in length/size/athleticism, allowing him to rebound, steals, blocks shots, and initiate/finish on the fast break
Most importantly his ability to defend multiple positions and ability to do a bit of everything
Problem is these players generally don't come cheap

For Melo to be on a contender,
While Melo would still need a good/great PG to say NO to him that Melo respects, and another STAR like LA or Kevin Love *that is a high% to initiate our offense and allow Melo to play off the other players abilities*
And on top of all this, you need more than vet min talents

Only way to come close to building such a team with similar skillsets/abilities is if Melo chooses not to OPT out this summer, probably even willing to take less in 2015

But why should he, take another year of losing in NY, while he can join many teams in the league with more assets to improve

I love Batum. And he's Euro too! Batum's game tonight was stellar too.

17 points, 15 rebs, 5 assists, a couple of steals and a block

smackeddog wrote:Kyle Lowry seems to have cooled down lately (38%FG for Feb)- while Lowry got all the praise, I wonder if its been DeRozans performance that has propelled that team

lowry's minutes have caught up to him a bit but he's still the spiritual leader of the team. he is the engine that makes us go. he's still playing great defense and is getting in there for key rebounds/steals/charges. but demar has surpassed all expectations and is a bonafide all star. his work ethic is off the charts and he has slowly improved every single season. if he can improve his 3 point shooting, he can be a perennial all star. we rely on both of them for a bulk of our offense.

smackeddog wrote:Raptors previous GM got blasted when he signed DeRozan to that extension early, but it's looking like a great move- I don't think he's getting anywhere near the attention he deserves- he's been playing great this season.

they banked on his work ethic, age and position and it's paid off. sometimes you have to take a risk and you have to be patient. he's playing really really well and you're right, he's been under the radar.

MX25 wrote:Nets quietly above .500 now at 30-29 after win over Grizz tonight. Gotta figure they catch Raptors for Division.

raptors are 27-14 since trading rudy (including 2 wins vs. the nets). monday's game in brooklyn will be big.

mreinman wrote:SA crushes the Heat.

Then the Clips absolutely demolish the Lakers- 142-94