Dallas Mavericks veteran wing Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 31 points during a huge victory over the conference rival Houston Rockets on Sunday.
Dallas Mavericks veteran wing Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 31 points during a huge victory over the conference rival Houston Rockets on Sunday.
After joining the team last season as part of the trade that sent star big man Kristaps Porzingis from the New York Knicks to the Mavericks, Hardaway was sidelined for the final 11 games of the 2018-19 season due to injury that required surgery. But after his recent hot streak, the wing has been named to the starting lineup for Dallas.
This is especially good news because Hardaway has been very impactful when on the court with Luka Doncic so far this season.
The former University of Michigan star has connected on 23 three-pointers during the 206 minutes he has played with the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year, including 16 long-rate shots assisted by Doncic. In fact, nearly half of the three’s Hardaway has made this year have been assisted by the 20-year-old Slovenian superstar.
Dallas has outscored opponents by a ridiculously dominant 25.9 points per 100 possessions during those minutes, the best net rating in the league (!) among all two-man lineups that have played at least 150 minutes together.
During their victory over the Rockets, Hardaway made his presence known as a spot-up threat from downtown. Considering the amount of attention that defenses must provide on Doncic, it has been important for the wing to find a niche on the perimeter and fire off the catch from his star teammate.
Hardaway is averaging 1.46 points per possession on spot-up attempts, per Synergy, which currently ranks in the 97th percentile. There are currently 140 players who have had 35 possessions as a spot-up shooter but none have been more efficient than Hardaway has been thus far.
Meanwhile, the Dallas wing is producing 5.3 points per game as a spot-up shooter. That trails only five players in the NBA, though all of them have had more possessions finished on offense.
Considering that Hardaway has only started 3 of 16 games for the Mavericks, we determined what his production would likely resemble if he were to play first-unit minutes.
Based on these calculations, only San Antonio Spurs guard Bryn Forbes has been more productive as a spot-up shooter in 2019-20.
This is an especially notable improvement for him considering last season, among the 61 players who had as many opportunities shooting off the catch, only two had a worse three-point percentage than Hardaway.
Moving forward if the Mavericks continue to be in playoff contention, they will need Hardaway to keep up his hot hand from the three-point line. But with the remarkable success of Doncic and how much attention he draws from his defenders, that is far from out of the question.
Boston Celtics wing Marcus Smart, despite standing at just 6-foot-4, has done a phenomenal job defenders players much larger than he is.
Boston Celtics wing Marcus Smart, despite standing at just 6-foot-4, has done a phenomenal job defending players much larger than he is.
The 25-year-old made All-Defensive 1st Team last season but has taken another leap forward with a bigger role this year. His ability to switch on to centers has been a focal point of Boston’s defensive identity and something that allows coach Brad Stevens to use his five-man lineups in a different way than almost any other team in the league.
We looked at all of the opponents that Smart has guarded so far this season, then isolated just the players who are classified as big men by Cleaning the Glass.
Based on this research of 146 possessions, Smart has allowed just 16.3 points per 70 possessions. These players are shooting 36.7 percent from the floor on 30 attempts.
For example, look at when Dallas Mavericks’ Kristaps Porzingis attempted three post-up attempts against Smart on November 12. The 7-foot-3 big was not able to convert any, however, despite the ridiculous size mismatch.
The largest workload came when he guarded Kevin Love for a total of 31.1 possessions during the game Boston played against Cleveland on November 5.
While Smart was guarding Love during the third quarter, the five-time All-Star was left completely flabbergasted to the point where he was forced to take an undeniably bad pass.
Smart, however, tipped the ball and forced a turnover that Robert Williams was able to recover. The guard leads his team with 2.8 deflections per game so far this season. Last season, he recorded more total deflections (228) than all but just one player in the Eastern Conference.
But even more impressive was when the Celtics played the Bucks early in the season on October 30.
Smart matched up against the reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for 16.9 possessions. The superstar scored just five points and managed only two attempts from the floor. That means Smart held the Milwaukee sensation to less than half of the field goal attempts Antetokounmpo has taken against all other defenders.
Antetokounmpo had three turnovers, was impacted by his defensive presence all game and he even ended up tumbling to the floor amidst a brief scrap with Smart.
Watch Marcus Smart on D… picks up Bledsoe on the cross match, switches onto Giannis, fronts to prevent the entry pass, Milwaukee turnover. This won't go down as a turnover Smart forced, but it's a turnover Smart heavily influenced. pic.twitter.com/Tf6AL4u3u8
Here is what the scrappy defender said after the game, which was a rematch of the Eastern Conference Semifinals (via NBC Sports):
“Every time I’m boxing him out, he’s trying to throw me out the way. It lets me know he’s frustrated, I’m getting to him, especially when he’s not getting to the ball, or he’s not getting to the rim, or he’s not getting the shots that he usually gets.”
Smart also forced New York Knicks star Julius Randle into a frenzy and picked his pocket on the perimeter, creating a transition opportunity for the Celtics.
Other notable matchups against bigs for Smart include his strong showing against Dario Saric. The Phoenix Suns starter took four shots (including a three-pointer) when guarded by Smart but missed all of them.
Another highlight was when the 6-foot-4 wing was able to record a block over 6-foot-11 big man Moritz Wagner in a game against the Washington Wizards.
Smart offers Boston a grittiness that Stevens can trust against and he has played a crucial role in their hot start and placement atop the standings in the East.
Mirin Fader spent two weeks with LaMelo Ball in Australia and wrote a piece about his life. She discusses all things LaMelo on this podcast.
On this episode of The HoopsHype Podcast, Alex Kennedy is joined by Mirin Fader of Bleacher Report. She recently wrote a fantastic, in-depth piece about LaMelo Ball’s life. Alex and Mirin discuss how LaMelo has dealt with fame, his experience overseas, how he feels like people see him as “a dollar sign” rather than a person, his relationships with LaVar Ball and Lonzo Ball and more. Time-stamps are below!
1:00: Mirin spent three weeks in Lithuania with LaMelo and the Ball family last year, and then spent two weeks with them in Australia for this new piece. She talks about how this latest article came together.
2:05: Mirin talks about how she picks who she’s going to profile and what that process is like from reporting to writing.
5:00: Having spent time around LaMelo in Lithuania and Australia, how has his life changed over the last year? Mirin was curious to find out.
6:40: LaMelo started signing autographs at 5 years old and he says he can’t remember a time when he wasn’t in the spotlight. Alex and Mirin talk about how he was essentially a child star and how he has handled that kind of crazy existence.
8:40: LaVar Ball pushed all three of his sons to be professional basketball players. In Mirin’s piece, LaMelo said, “All my life, I felt like I was just supposed to go to the NBA.” He also talked about how his father pushed him away from any other career path. Does LaMelo love the game and will he be happy in the NBA, or is he just doing this to please others?
11:10: At one point, LaMelo said something very sad to Mirin: “People don’t look at you as a human. People look at you as a dollar sign.” And his manager, former NBA player Jermaine Jackson, told her, “People done made money off this kid for years… It’s damn near like he’s a prostitute.” Does this affect his relationships and ability to trust other people?
14:15: Mirin talks about the sacrifices LaMelo has made and how he’s been forced to grow up quicker than his peers.
16:15: LaMelo told Mirin that he always wanted to finish high school and spend one year at USC, but his father forced him to go to Lithuania. LaVar hasn’t been as visible recently, which seems intentional. Is he still as involved when it comes to LaMelo’s career?
19:50: Mirin talks about how LaMelo’s relationship with Lonzo seems to have changed, to the point that LaMelo said he doesn’t really get advice from Lonzo these days.
21:40: Lonzo seems fed up with Big Baller Brand. Does LaMelo have similar concerns and does anyone know the status of BBB right now?
23:55: What is LiAngelo Ball up to these days? What does the future hold for him?
26:35: Mirin wrote that LaMelo doesn’t want to do the “Ball in the Family” reality show and drags when he’s asked to film scenes. How is he handling that distraction and having so much of his life play out on a reality show?
29:00: Alex and Mirin talk about how different LaVar is from his sons.
33:14: Mirin talks about the competition in the NBL and whether LaMelo is being challenged and truly helping his development.
35:55: Will more players take the NBL route in the future, especially if LaMelo and RJ Hampton get drafted high in the 2020 NBA Draft?
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Houston Rockets superstar James Harden has redefined basketball based on the way he is able to draw contact from his defenders on the court.
Houston Rockets superstar James Harden has redefined basketball based on the way he can draw contact from his defenders on the court.
This has been an increasing trend for the 2018 NBA MVP, who has been able to get to the free-throw line more often than any other player in the league. It has defined his style as a basketball player and has recently forced officials to change the way that his games are called by referees.
Harden has taken 14.5 free throws per game for the Rockets so far this season. That is the most since Wilt Chamberlain (17.0) during his 1961-62 campaign.
On a recent podcast, The Hoop Collective’s Brian Windhorst noted that Harden is averaging four additional free-throws per game since last season (via ESPN):
“He is also on pace for one of the highest free throw seasons in the modern era. Now, free throws are a lot different than they used to be … The modern player with the most free throws ever was Dwight Howard in the 2010-11 season. Other than that, you are going back to Chamberlain. But he certainly could end up with the most free throws ever in the modern era.”
After 14 games, Harden has been awarded free throws on 18.6 percent of the offensive possessions he has finished this season. Among all players with at least 200 possessions finished, that is the second-highest rate in the NBA.
Perhaps most surprising is that the guard has also drawn a foul on a career-best 3.7 percent of non-shooting fouls per team play. He has drawn 1.47 non-shooting fouls per 36 minutes, per PBP Stats, significantly more than any of his previous campaigns.
As noted by Ben Cohen, it has become the most efficient way of scoring for Harden (via The Wall Street Journal):
“His statistics over the last six years help explain why free throws are such a priority for him. Harden’s shots around the basket are worth 1.22 points, and his 3-pointers return 1.09 points per shot. They’re both fabulously profitable shots. But they’re not as valuable as when he goes to the line for two shots (1.73 points) or three shots (2.59 points). Harden’s free throws are just about the best shots in basketball.”
The fact he has been able to get to the line even without taking field goal attempts has been a remarkably effective way for him to add points to his overall scoring distribution.
Overall, especially considering he is a much better free-throw shooter than Chamberlain, he may be able to shatter his own career-best points per game despite the addition of Russell Westbrook.
Each week, HoopsHype’s staff gives their Top 10 candidates for this season’s Most Valuable Player award. Check out this week’s rankings.
Each week, HoopsHype’s staff gives our Top 10 candidates for this year’s Most Valuable Player award. This list highlights stars who are in the mix for the 2019-20 MVP award due to their impressive play.
Which stars have stood out? Here are our latest MVP rankings:
Siakam is making the Raptors look smart for giving him that four-year, $130 million extension. This is Siakam’s first appearance in our Top 10, but he’s been playing well all season. Even if he doesn’t receive significant MVP love this year because there are so many great candidates, it’s possible that he could become the first player in NBA history to win the Most Improved Player award twice. One could make the argument that his growth over the last year (+8.8 ppg, +1.7 rpg, +1.1 apg) is just as impressive as his sophomore-to-junior leap (+9.6 ppg, +2.4 rpg, +1.1 apg). Regardless of whether he wins MIP for a second-straight year, he’s made huge strides this season. Becoming a team’s No. 1 option and a 25-point-per-game scorer is extremely hard, but Siakam has made it look easy. The 25-year-old has essentially filled the Kawhi Leonard role in this offense and it’s been amazing to watch his development in recent years. He has the Raptors sitting at 9-4, which is the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Leonard dropped down our list over the last week because he’s missed three-straight games due to a left-knee contusion that he suffered in the Clippers’ loss to the Houston Rockets last Wednesday. Leonard has been terrific on both ends of the floor when he’s suited up, but he’s now missed five of a possible 14 games this season. As we wrote in this space last week, voters tend to reward players who haven’t missed significant time when considering Most Valuable Player. The last 15 MVP winners have missed an average of 3.93 games in the season in which they won the award (with no individual missing more than 10 games). The Clippers are likely going to be cautious with Leonard moving forward to ensure that he’ll be at 100 percent for their playoff run (like the Toronto Raptors’ approach that worked so well last year). Also, when two MVP candidates have teamed up in the past (like Kevin Durant and Steph Curry on the Golden State Warriors), voters weren’t sure what to do and they basically canceled each other out. It’s possible that could happen with Leonard and 2018-19 MVP finalist Paul George, who returned recently.
The big news in the NBA over the last week was the Trail Blazers’ decision to sign free agent Carmelo Anthony. After sustaining numerous injuries and getting off to a slow start (5-9, which is the third-worst record in the Western Conference), Portland is hoping that Anthony can help revitalize this team. Last time Anthony was in the NBA, he averaged 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 threes while shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from three-point range in 10 games with the Houston Rockets. It remains to be seen how much this addition will impact Lillard and CJ McCollum, who are Portland’s top options on offense. Lillard is averaging career-highs across the board, but he’s received little help from his supporting cast, which is why the Blazers are struggling so much.
Not only has Towns been filling the stat sheet, he’s been extraordinarily efficient in the process. He’s shooting 51.2 percent from the field on 17.9 field goal attempts and he’s making 43.5 percent of his threes on 9.0 attempts. Only James Harden (4.9) is making more threes per game than Towns (3.9), and the big man’s three-point percentage is 6.5 percentage points higher than Harden’s. Also, Towns currently ranks fourth in Box Plus/Minus (+10.1), fourth in PER (30.4) and fifth in Value Over Replacement Player (1.2). With Towns making his presence felt all over the court and Andrew Wiggins playing the best basketball of his career, the Timberwolves are now 8-6 and holding the Western Conference’s eighth seed, putting them just 3.5 games back from the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.
It didn’t take long for Davis and LeBron James long to develop chemistry, as they’ve been a terrific one-two punch for the Lakers thus far. As our Bryan Kalbroskynoted, James is passing the ball to Davis 25.2 times per 36 minutes, which is more than he dished to any other past teammate, including Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, Chris Bosh and Kevin Love. It’s clear that James trusts his big man and if they’re playing this well with very little time spent getting acclimated to each other (and their many new teammates), it’ll be interesting to see how well they’ll be playing together toward the end of the season when they’ve learned each other’s tendencies more. Davis is leading the NBA in blocks per game and he’s swatted 24 shots in his last seven games.
Kyrie Irving who? When news broke over the summer that Irving (and Al Horford) planned to leave Boston via free agency, it seemed like the Celtics were going to take a significant step back. It would’ve been understandable if they shifted their focus to developing Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Co. Instead, the Celtics found a terrific replacement for Irving in Kemba Walker. The 29-year-old is posting impressive numbers and he has Boston sitting at No. 1 in the Eastern Conference standings with an 11-2 record (which is also tied for the best record in the entire NBA). It seems that Walker brings production similar to that of Irving without the behind-the-scenes drama and chemistry issues that hurt the Celtics last year. If Boston can keep this up and sit atop the East, Walker would get some MVP consideration (and deservedly so) and Brad Stevens would likely get some Coach of the Year love. And as Walker gets more comfortable with his new team, his play should only improve. With that said, there seems to be a significant gap between the Top-4 players on this list and everyone else.
Doncic is used to having unprecedented success for someone his age. Remember, he won the Euroleague MVP award at 19 years old prior to entering the NBA. Now, as a 20-year-old sophomore in the Association, his numbers aren’t too far off from what Russell Westbrook averaged back in 2016-17 when he won MVP (31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.6 steals). While posting triple-doubles no longer seems to draw the same jaw-dropping reaction since Westbrook normalized it, it’s unheard of for a 20-year-old to be having this kind of success. He had an MVP performance on Monday night, dropping 42 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds and 5 threes in a win over the San Antonio Spurs. Only two players in NBA history have posted a 40-point triple-double at age-20: Doncic and LeBron James. The sophomore is having a special campaign, his Mavericks are fifth in the West at 8-5 and he deserves to be high on this list as long as he keeps this up.
If the season ended today, Harden’s 39.2 scoring average would be the highest since Wilt Chamberlain posted 44.8 points per game in the 1962-63 season. In fact, Harden is on pace to join Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to average 39 or more points in a season. (Michael Jordan came close in 1986-87, but he finished the campaign averaging 37.1 points). Harden’s shooting percentages aren’t pretty – 42.5 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from deep – but when Houston is winning and he’s averaging nearly 40 points and eight assists per game, it feels like nitpicking to complain about his efficiency. Also, it’s worth noting that his True Shooting Percentage (.618) is actually up from last season. The Rockets have won eight-straight games and are 11-3, which is the second-best record in the Western Conference (and the third-best record in the NBA). If Harden continues at this pace, this season will go down as one of the most impressive offensive displays in league history.
At this point, James has the “best player on the best team” argument going for him. He’s filling the stat sheet on a nightly basis and it’s translating into wins for the Lakers, who are an NBA-best 11-2 (with a league-best +10.2 average point differential) thus far. Can the Lakers sustain this level of play? That remains to be seen, but James will have a strong case as long as they do. If James were to win his fifth MVP award this season, he’d become the second-oldest MVP in NBA history behind only Karl Malone (who was named Most Valuable Player in his age-35 season). Malone was 35 years and 284 days old at the end of the 1998-99 regular season. James is also in his age-35 season, but he would only be 35 years and 107 days old at the end of this regular season. Whether he ultimately wins the honor or not, nobody can deny how impressive it is for James to be producing like this at 35 years old.
Antetokounmpo is having another incredible season and while it may not feel like past years because his cheat-code dominance is no longer fresh and surprising, at the end of the day, he’s the reigning MVP and he has somehow managed to improve his stats across the board. He’s averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, three-pointers made, three-point percentage, Player Efficiency Rating, Box Plus/Minus, Defensive Rating and the list goes on and on. The advance stats love him too, as he leads all NBA players in Box Plus/Minus, Value Over Replacement Player and PER. He’s led the Bucks to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 10-3 (with an East-best +9.5 average point differential). He has the numbers, record and signature performances to potentially win back-to-back MVP awards. Also, he’s doing this without another star on his team, unlike LeBron James (who has Anthony Davis) and James Harden (who has Russell Westbrook). It remains to be seen if voters will take that into consideration, as they have in the past.
Joe Abunassar, the founder of Impact Basketball, opens up about his career training hundreds of NBA players over the last 23 years.
NBA trainer Joe Abunassar was recently a guest on The HoopsHype Podcast. Abunassar, who founded Impact Basketball, has trained hundreds of NBA players in his 23 years as a player-development expert. He’s worked with Kevin Garnett, Kawhi Leonard, Chauncey Billups, Kyle Lowry, Kristaps Porzingis, DeMarcus Cousins and many others. Here’s a condensed version of the chat. For the full interview, listen here.
For people who don’t know your background, how did you get your start coaching basketball players?
Joe Abunassar: I was a manager for Coach [Bob] Knight at Indiana starting back in ’89. My goal was definitely to be a college basketball coach. I started in ’89 as a freshman there, finished up in ’93. We had some great teams back in those days. Then, Coach Knight helped me out and I got a college coaching job at the University of Wyoming. So I actually started my career as a coach.
How did you make that shift from being an NCAA head coach to training NBA players?
JA: Well, when we were at Wyoming, we had a nice little run there. Then, after four years, I was getting ready to take another job at Bowling Green University with another Indiana assistant at the time. I wasn’t really going to start the next job until July, and around March, I got an opportunity to train a couple guys. A friend of mine that I had known from college through Lawrence Frank, who was a manager with me at Indiana, was working for an agent at the time and asked if I wanted to work out a couple players. I said, “Sure, why not?” So I went and did a little work with these guys, and I was very lucky because their names were Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups and Joe Smith, who was the No. 1 pick out of Maryland in ’95. I got an opportunity to be introduced to these guys, and my unique capability was that I also had a strength and conditioning and nutrition background because of my past in fitness and what I studied. So I was able to really come in and do their basketball work, and then also do their strength condition and nutrition.
People think of trainers today, and there are trainers everywhere, right? Every corner, every video, every Instagram post – everyone’s training somebody. This was back in the day when personal training, in terms of basketball development, wasn’t really a thing. There was no basketball development. Most NBA staffs at that time had, I would say, two, three, four assistant coaches, but none of them really focused on development. They were all focused on game prep and coaching the team, and then they had a trainer and a strength coach. Well, nowadays, many of these franchises have at least one coach for every player, if not more, with a huge medical staff, sports science, and the whole development [staff]. So this was back in the day when I was really, really at demand. I actually had contracts with several teams. Once I started working with those guys that I mentioned, I just kept picking up more and more players. And I said, “You know what? I don’t really need to go back to coaching, and nor do I want to, because I really enjoy doing this. I enjoy developing guys and really seeing how far I can push them, and what I could do with their bodies and their game.” From there, it just took off. I did three or four years where I was traveling everywhere, and then, I ended up going down to IMG Academy in 2001 and starting the basketball segment there where it really became kind of a development business. [Then, Joe launched Impact Basketball with locations in Las Vegas and Los Angeles].
There’s no question you’re a pioneer. There are so many trainers now. NBA training and basketball training in general has blown up. Twenty years ago, did you ever think it would be like this today?
JA: I’m definitely shocked. I definitely didn’t expect it. But when you think about it, if you ask any basketball coach, “When you’re running your plays, do you want all the players to be more athletic, stronger, fitter? Do you want all the players to shoot better, dribble better, pass better?” They’d probably all say, “Yes,” and they would have a better team, so it really does make sense. I had always argued that teams don’t put enough time [into player development]. And I actually went through it myself because coming from Coach Knight’s program at Indiana, film review was so big and game preparation was so big, which it should be and still is, but I think we spent too much time doing that kind of stuff and not enough time working with our guys. Because, at the end of the day, it’s about making shots and making plays. There’s all different kind of offenses you can run and scouting reports you can write, but if you have guys that can’t shoot the ball, or guys that can’t handle the ball or are out of shape, you’re not going to be very successful.
So, it really does make sense; that’s why it’s become so big and why the development side of things has really blown up. In the summertime, Alex, you know this from being around so much NBA stuff, coaches are all over the country tracking down their guys. It’s such a big part of the game. When I was back at Indiana, we ran at the track and just kind of got in shape the old-fashioned way (laughs). Now, there’s all the technology and tracking and devices that we have that are useful. So I am surprised, but it really does make sense. It’s become a very big industry from not only the trainer side of things, but also the device/technology side. There are things like the Noah Shooting System, the thing that measures the arc of your shot and tracks your shot. There areso many devices now that you can get to enhance your development that that’s become an industry in and of itself. So It does make sense. Why wouldn’t everyone want to get better, right?
That makes a lot of sense. With so many trainers today, it’s harder for trainers to build their roster of players. You’ve worked with hundreds of players over the years, including many superstars. How were you able to land so many clients?
JA: I mean, it’s been a long grind. I mean, look, I was very fortunate to start those whole journey with guys like Kevin Garnett and Chauncey Billups and Al Harrington and Tayshaun Prince. These guys had storied Hall-of-Fame quality careers and won Olympic gold medals. So being associated with those guys and helping those guys really started a lot for me. [Because of] Chauncey, at one point I had four or five other Pistons players. When Al was with the Pacers at one point, I had Jeff Foster, Austin Croshere, Jamaal Tinsley, Antonio Davis, Primož Brezec… I had seven or eight of the Pacers. So it’s a word of mouth thing.
I think it also really has a lot to do with our relationships with the NBA teams and the respect that they have for the work that we do and our ability to communicate with them. The way it is today, you’re not signing a guy to a two-year deal and then just shipping him off somewhere to train in the summer. It has to be a collaborative process, and I’ve built those relationships over a long time, not through anything more than just being around. I’ve been to more pregame sessions than just about anybody (laughs). We’ve really stayed focused on putting together a real program, whether it’s for a high school kid or for a pro. It’s not just training, not just workouts in a gym. It’s really just about creating a program for these guys that’s consistent, and that consists of not only the basketball piece, but the strength of conditioning and the nutrition piece. At the end of the day, the guy’s got to play. He’s got to be able to produce when he’s on the court. You can change their body, and change this and that, but if they’re not improving their basketball game, it doesn’t really matter. And that goes for a high school kid, college kid or pro.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a trainer or player-development coach?
JA: Stay with the basics and really make sure that you are teaching the kids, or whoever you’re training, the real moves they’ll use in a game. Don’t get caught up in being a fancy trainer. Just train basketball. A lot of people watch our workouts and they’re kind of confused/surprised by the simplicity of them. I mean, there’s really nothing fancy about it. We really, really stay focused on training the kids, or the pro players, on what they really need to do to be successful. Break them down, understand what each player needs that’s different. Insist that they do nutrition stuff and that they pay attention to their weight lifting. You can’t just have a kid come in and work out on the court and not pay attention to the rest.
I would say the biggest thing I would tell trainers as to why you’d be successful is if players buy into your system. That’s a really important piece. People can say whatever they want about concepts or techniques. If somebody doesn’t want to train with you, it doesn’t matter what you’re teaching. So, developing relationships and really caring about the athlete’s plan is important. But it’s a tough grind. There are so many trainers today, in terms of locally, but the ones that have a really good following and a really good base are the ones that have great relationships with the kids and keep it simple and just really focus on getting them better.
Kyle Lowry has trained with Impact Basketball his whole career.
You work with Kyle Lowry. I remember before the 2014-15 season when he became an All-Star for the first time, you predicted that he’d break out. You were pointing out that he had cut his honeymoon short to come back to Impact Basketball to train, he changed his diet and he was locked in. You called it. When you look back at that, what was the key for Kyle’s transformation? And can you sometimes tell which players will break out based on how they look over the summer?
JA: We really can. As a matter of fact, this year, we had a couple [breakout] guys, Troy Brown being one of them. He unfortunately had a little bit of a calf injury early in the season, but I think he’ll be back in mid-season form soon. He had a Kyle-Lowry-like summer. But what Kyle did that summer is what many guys have done. I remember the year before KG won the MVP award, his big deal was he finally bought into the nutrition piece. He was always so good, and he probably still would have been good had he eaten poorly, but I mean, he took it to that next level after years of me beating on him and saying, “You can’t be eating at midnight,” and all this stuff. For Kyle, he just said, “Look, I’m changing my body.” He got lighter, he got faster, he got healthier. He changed his nutrition. Kyle does a lot of Pilates, and we really started focusing on the Pilates and the muscle development, and those type of things because Kyle’s so thick that sometimes lifting weights will get him a little bit too big. So, the Pilates is perfect for him. And he really just made that shift.
So, yes, the answer is that we can tell. I mean, there’s always situations where it’s out of the players control, like there’s no minutes or they get traded but,for the most part, we can always tell when a guy’s going to have a really good season. It really boils down to not just the basketball work, but how focused they are on everything. Are they paying attention to their food? Are they making sure they come back again at night to stretch? Are they getting treatment at night? These are the type of things that separate players. I just left Kyle’s hotel in Los Angeles because they’re here playing the Lakers and Clippers, and he was just getting a massage on the road. And even with his broken finger, he worked out early this morning at 6:30 a.m. He did a VersaClimber class. The guy just has a different mentality. It really involves that total commitment to training.
LeBron James is one of those guys who gets it. There have been reports that he spends $1.5 million per year on his body and he prioritizes his recovery and workouts over everything. What do you make of LeBron’s longevity? Could more players be like that if they were just as serious about their body or is he kind of just a freak?
JA: I think it’s a combination. I think that he could be a freak and then not take advantage of it. He was given the great genes and the ability to be that athletic and big and fast, but then, he’s maximizing it. I don’t work with him on a daily basis, obviously. I know Mike [Mancias], his trainer, and he does such a great job with him. They’re just meticulous to the details. It’s funny, because if you were to talk with someone about investing money and you say, “If you could put in $1 million, or $1.5 million, and get back $35 million, would you do it?” You’d say, “Of course I would!” Well, that’s basically what he’s doing. He’s spending $1.5 million or whatever that number is – I don’t really have the details, but I’ve read that number before too. I’m sure with all the different things he does, that probably is about right. Then, he’s getting the return back of being paid the way he’s paid. And on top of that, you think of the endorsements and all that. But I don’t really think that’s why LeBron’s doing it, don’t get me wrong.
But yeah, from the way he eats to the way he takes care of himself to the way he recovers… Yes, he’s been gifted with some amazing opportunities. I mean, there are guys that we’ve known that have that approach, but unfortunately, they get an injury early in their career, and it’s one of those knee-type things or something where they just never get right again, and it’s not their fault. But yes, LeBron could have certainly not taken advantage of the gifts he’s been given by not doing as good of a job as he’s done with everything.
You’ve worked with a lot of stars over the years. When Al Harrington was on the podcast, we talked about how Kawhi Leonard looked during his pre-draft training since Al and I were at Impact Basketball with you guys that summer. Kawhi was so dominant, I was blown away. Kawhi obviously fell in the draft, but when you saw how gifted he was and how much potential he had, did you think, “This guy could be a superstar?”
JA: The Kawhi thing is interesting because I remember having a talk with Shareef Abdur-Rahim who, at the time, worked for the Kings. He’s now running the G League. He was in watching Kawhi and he was asking me, “What is he? Is he a two? Is he a three? Is he a four?” Because at San Diego State, he played so athletically and just kind of [roamed], and no one really thought he could shoot the ball very well. I remember telling him, “I don’t really know what he is, but this dude is good.” You could just tell. First of all, his approach to everything was different than anybody else’s. It was get there early, stay late. And usually, when we have rookies for pre-draft, they’re very much hard workers because they’re all trying to make it. Very rarely have we had a guy come for the draft and not work hard. If we ever did, they never really made it. But Kawhi was just different. The way he played, the way he interacted with everyone, the seriousness. And people who know Kawhi will tell you he’s a nice guy, talkative, but he doesn’t really have much interest in anything but business. We can tell when guys are a little different.
Troy Brown’s another guy. As an 18-year-old doing the draft training, he always came ready to go. He started in March, because he was done early at Oregon. When you’re a higher pick like that, you don’t really do all the early workout stuff, so this guy had basically two straight months of training every day, and that’s not easy. So we can tell their mentality, we can tell their skill. Of course, Kawhi had the physical tools, the length, and the way the game is played today with versatility being so important, he’s the ideal guy. He can guard big because he’s so darn strong, and he can play on the perimeter. And, look, we never thought he was a bad shooter. He shot the ball pretty darn well with us in the pre-draft, he just needed to be more reps and we knew he was going to get better shooting because of his work ethic. the experience or the maturity, but you can tell when they’re going to get it. The players that are kind of beyond their years, like Kawhi was, in terms of their maturity, you can tell they’re going to be good.
Everyone gives credit to the Spurs and Chip Engelland for fixing Kawhi’s shot, and they did do a great job once he got to San Antonio. But Kawhi started changing his shot and drastically improving his shooting at Impact. Walk me through tweaking Kawhi’s shot and, in general, what’s the key to helping a guy improve his jumper?
JA: Chip’s awesome, so those guys did do a good job in San Antonio. Remember with the draft training, we’re challenged a little bit because we don’t want to mess up his shot. So, if you’re kind of trying to rebuild it, [there’s not enough time]. But with Kawhi, he was just bringing it a little bit too far back behind his head, so it was a small adjustment to kind of keep it out in front of his forehead. And when you see the ball come off a guy’s hands and it’s got great spin, and it really looks pretty decent, but there’s just a few tweaks you need to make to it, that’s a lot different than when a guy comes in and needs to rebuild his shot. I remember I had Joakim Noah for the draft and his shot, we didn’t even change it and no one has ever changed his shot because it just is what it is. We would have had to completely reconstruct it, which we’re not going to do that in a six-to-eight week period for the draft.
But Kawhi’s tweaks were small. The spin was so nice on the ball and, remember, his hands are so big that sometimes, I think, his thumb would get on the ball and he just had to get used to shooting it. But at San Diego State, and at the college level, I don’t know [how much he was shooting]. I went down there a couple times with him at the end of the year, before he came out to Vegas, but I don’t know how many reps he put up. He was such an athletic, fast, aggressive player that he got so much of what he got at San Diego State in transition and defensively. It was just a small tweak, and then they continued it in San Antonio. And the one thing about Kawhi is that, if he was working out at 9:00, he would get there like at 8:00 just to shoot.
When you see a guy like that who’s got nice rotation and really doesn’t have a broken shot at all, just needs a couple tweaks, and who’s willing to work like that, it’s going to get better. No question. I mean, when we started working Kyle out, I remember Jerry West telling me when he was at Memphis saying, “Oh, his feet all over the place. He’s not consistent.” If you watch Kyle shoot the ball in drills now, it’s automatic. I mean, obviously he’s a little older than Kawhi, not a ton, but a little older. But the way that people can improve their jump shot through consistency and repetition is a lot different than making somebody faster. But again, all these guys we’re talking about had good forms to start with, they just needed small tweaks. There’s other guys that really have some mechanical issues that it’s not so easy just to say, “Oh, he’s going to just shoot more.” He’s got to almost break it down.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Kristaps Porzingis is one of the guys who you’ve worked out ever since he was going through the draft process. You helped him return from his big injury. What did you work on with Kristaps this summer and what’s his development plan going forward?
JA: Well, I think this summer was really about getting him back on the court and healthy. He spends a lot of time in Latvia, too. He has Valdi (Manolo Valdivieso) as a trainer that’s been with him a long time and does his strength conditioning and those type of things. He does an amazing job with Kris and got him stronger. So, his main focus in the early part of the summer, ever since the injury, was to get his strength up. It’s funny; I joke that he over-flexes in the pictures, but people saw pictures of him and he’s definitely gained some strength. But really [we worked on] his lower body, his core, making sure the knee’s healthy. Then, once we got him back on the court, he’s a machine out there. He actually gives me flashbacks of working Garnett out, because of his intensity and his consistency with the way he shoots the ball.
It was really just getting him back in the flow, getting him back in shape, getting him comfortable moving again, getting comfortable with contact. And then, as far as the development plan, he’s still so young and we just need to continually keep him strong and healthy. If you talk about working on Kris’ jumper, he doesn’t miss much. Not that anybody can’t get better at everything, but [we’ll focus on] just making him a little more efficient and maybe teaching maybe a little more of the tricks of the game, the little moves and the bumps, and the things that a guy of his size can do. No one should ever be able to block his shot with how tall he is and the way he shoots the ball and releases the ball so high. I think his plan is really continuing to keep him strong and healthy, let him play this year to kind of get back in the swing of things and then, from there, it’s all progress. I believe that the sky’s the limit for that guy’s career. His mentality, his approach and his personality are perfect to be a star. He’s got that in him, for sure.
Another young guy who I like a lot is Myles Turner. What did you work on with him this past summer and what’s your long-term plan for him?
JA: His body’s been great. He got himself in shape two summers ago, and he’s stayed in great shape. Really, we’re just getting him more comfortable shooting the three, which he really can shoot it. Getting him more open to shoot the three. Keeping him mobile on defense. I think with Myles, there’s always this battle of, do we put a little more weight on him to get him stronger for the big guys? Or do we keep him quicker? Because we don’t want Myles to get slow on his feet, which he’s not, but we don’t want to add too much weight. It’s trying to find that median where Myles should play and which makes him most effective so he can keep being a monster on the Pacers. They believe he could be one of the most dominant defensive players in the game. And offensively, he’s so skilled. He can pass the ball, he’s got great quick second jump on the glass, he can shoot the three. Myles is not only the nicest guy in the world, but he really works his butt off. He’s a real worker for sure. I think the Team USA thing this summer really will help him. That experience was great for him.
You’ve trained DeMarcus Cousins for many years. It was so devastating when he went down with a torn ACL. What was it like being in the gym when that happened?
JA: Look, this is year 23 or 24. That was as low as it gets. To see how he worked to get back… He had brought his weight down and was doing a great job, and then that play was one of the last plays of the day. We were almost done. I was just really disappointed for him. We were all in a funk for a few days, just feeling bad for DeMarcus. And to his credit, he’s picked himself back up, he’s rehabbing. He’s actually in Vegas today. While the Lakers are on the road, he’s rehabbing with us today. He’s down here with our physical therapist.
I mean, it was tough. I told him, “There’s nothing to say, man. We’re here for you, and we’re going to help get you back again. And you’ve got to work.” What do you say? There’s nothing. “I’m sorry?” It just doesn’t… “I’m sorry to see that?” or, “I feel bad for you?” I just think for a guy who was playing at an All-Star level to first get the Achilles and then come back with this, we’re going to see the real heart of DeMarcus coming back. And he’s responded to amazingly to rehab. It’s not easy. People say, “Oh, you’re making money.” Rehab every day for two years is tough. I mean, the Achilles thing was a brutal rehab with a leg-long cast to start with; he had to go around in a wheelchair because it was too heavy to even move on crutches.
It’ tough. But look, he’s not that old. He’s got many years to play ahead of him, and I think he’s got an amazing attitude right now. He’s just trying to get as healthy as he can and then get back on that court. But yeah, that was a tough time. I don’t want to say tough for us, because we just felt very badly for DeMarcus. It was tough for him. Now, we’re all here to support him and get back him back to the highest level of play.
I wrote an article about the Impact Basketball pick-up team that no one could beat one summer. It was Alan Anderson, Jared Dudley, Tayshaun Prince, Patrick O’Bryant and Ty Lue. They dominated everyone in pick-up and Stephen Jackson, Baron Davis, Jermaine O’Neal and Kyle Lowry were assembling teams and flying guys in to try to beat them. Do you remember that team coming together and dominating?
JA: Do I remember?! Of course! I watch every day. They almost cost me my business because people were like, “Look, I’m not playing anymore if you don’t break this team up.” (laughs) So yeah, they were killing. We were getting complaints about Ty Lue. What happened is, that’s when we ended up getting shot clocks because they were saying Ty Lue was running off too many pick-and-rolls. We had to put shot clocks in place to even the playing field. But yeah, I remember. And if you think about that team, it’s interesting, because none of those guys in there, as an individual, was a huge superstar, you know?
I mean, Tayshaun obviously achieved some great things, but he was a role player, Jared’s a role player, Alan was a role-player scorer. The GM that put that team together did a nice job. Everyone kind of filled their role. But yeah, we kept trying to break them up and then they wouldn’t [budge]. They were like, “We’re not playing unless we play together.” Yeah. Guys were flying in from all over the place, putting teams together trying to beat them. Jermaine O’Neal was one of the biggest guys on one of the opposing teams that used to complain about them all the time. He said, “Yeah, there’s no shot clock!” That was a lot of fun. Lot of fun. If you talk to Chauncey Billups, he’ll tell you that that was the year he was playing USA basketball, so he will still claim to this point that, had he not been playing with Team USA, they would not have had that dominance because he would have ended the dominance with his play.
Chauncey Billups and Jared Dudley playing pick-up at Impact.
You also have a CBD company called re+PLAY that you started with Al Harrington. When Al was on the podcast, he talked about the study you guys did in conjunction with the Retired National Basketball Players Association that tests whether CBD cream helps retired NBA players with knee pain. How did re+PLAY and this study come together?
JA: Yeah, that’s correct. Al lived at my house when he was 18 years old and he’s basically my oldest son. He’s my son’s godfather and we call him my oldest son. Al and I are very close. Al has a very successful cannabis business, the THC side, called Viola. About two years ago, he wanted to start a branch off of that and start the CBD side, which his Harrington Wellness, and the first brand is re+PLAY. CBD is THC-free and, yeah, I’m part of that with Al. We’re out on the market. It’s replaycbd.com. We have a topical cream that we feel is very good. We’ve done a lot of research with it, obviously not with current players because it’s still not able to be used, but from regular people to retired players. Me and Al together know a huge group of retired players that are hurting in some way. So we met with Michele Roberts with the Players’ Association. Al’s met with Michele several times. It’s something that is obviously on their radar and we’ve been in discussions with them.
In the meantime, we’re doing a study with the retired players on knee pain and whether the topical cream is helping or not helping. The study just got started finally, about two weeks ago. We have 100 retired players that are participating in it and, basically, we’re having them do weekly journals and reports through the Internet on the level of their pain, whether they’re sleeping better, how things are working just to get some more validity [and ensure] this is something that does really help. There’s certain ailments in the knees that are probably way past a cream. If you need a knee replacement or something like that obviously. A lot of the guys are still experiencing pain just from the brutal [wear and tear]. And honestly, Al is the biggest example. Al doesn’t even ice his knees anymore, he just uses the cream on them and he still stays active and works out.
It’s a very cool study. Doctor Sandy Kunkel, who was the Pacers’ team orthopedic surgeon and is now retired, did a lot of Al’s surgeries and he’s a partner with us in the business. And Doctor Kunkel is a very big proponent that this could be something that does help eliminate some of the prescription opioids and some of the painkillers that are being and have been prescribed for such a long time. Everyone talks about CBD this, CBD that. It’s an exciting industry. I mean, there’s so much still to be determined, and there’s not a ton of studies out there. A lot of it is so anecdotal, there’s really not a whole lot of science yet behind dosages and things like that. So that’s why this study is big for us to really get the idea of whether it can be something that helps these players, these former players, in any sport.
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Andrew Wiggins is playing the best basketball of his career. We break down his high level of play with stats and video.
In seasons prior, Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Andrew Wiggins commonly found himself near the bottom of lists ranking players in various advanced metrics.
Just last year, Wiggins finished the 2018-19 campaign sitting at 511th in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP), 178th in Box Plus/Minus (BPM) and 340th in Win Shares. What that means – and you can be assured, it’s impossible to spin those marks as anything but terrible – is that Wiggins was getting a lot of minutes and finishing a lot of possessions with the ball in his hands, but was extremely inefficient with his touches.
His raw averages last season – 18.1 points per game on 16.6 field-goal attempts nightly and 41.2/33.9/69.9 shooting splits – indicate the same: Wiggins was a very ineffective player.
But that seems to have changed this season, at least thus far.
The first glimpse we got of this newfound, confident and explosive version of Wiggins came on Oct. 27 when the Canadian forward exploded in the fourth quarter of a tight contest against the now 7-3 Miami Heat, finishing the outing with 25 points (16 of which came in the deciding quarter) on 50 percent shooting from the floor.
Still, though, Wiggins had flashed moments of brilliance before in his career, and they never translated to anything sustainable, so how were we supposed to know this time would be any different?
Well, if the last five games tell us anything, it’s that this time looks to be just that… different.
Over that span, Wiggins is averaging 31.6 points per game, to go with 5.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists (extremely noteworthy for a player with a 2.2-assist career average), 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks per game (with just 1.6 turnovers, an absurdly low mark considering his usage rate). The advanced stats, those that were so cruel to the 24-year-old in the past, have changed their tune as well, placing Wiggins among the Top 60 players in the Association this season. That’s still not quite elite , but in comparison to his aforementioned marks from 2018-19, Wiggins ranking 42nd in VORP, 59th in BPM and 22nd in Win Shares (!) is pretty impressive.
When asked about Wiggins’ season thus far, Timberwolves assistant coach David Vanterpool told HoopsHype: “He has been incredible at trying to make his teammates better in every facet. He’s doing a great job with his defensive assignments, and he has been great facilitating for others on the offensive end. He’s a natural scorer so even his scoring, when it’s necessary, helps those around him. He’s playing at an All-Star level.”
Vanterpool isn’t lying; Wiggins looks like a different player as a distributor recently. The Canadian forward’s vision is night and day compared to previous years – he’s keeping his head up while driving and finding secondary and even tertiary options when he draws multiple defenders.
According to the NBA’s primary stats page, Wiggins is passing the ball over 35 times per night this season, a significant jump from his 26 nightly passes last season, and proof of a more well-rounded offensive player.
At the same time, Wiggins hasn’t made a leap this year solely because of his improved willingness and vision as a playmaker. He’s gotten much more effective at putting the ball in the bucket, too.
Per Synergy Sports, Wiggins ranks as a “very good” (82nd percentile) scorer in the halfcourt, producing a total of 1.07 points per possession (PPP) in such chances. That’s a better mark than professional bucket-getters like Devin Booker (1.03 PPP out of the halfcourt) and Trae Young (1.01 PPP), for the record. Last year, Wiggins scored a paltry 0.86 PPP out of the halfcourt, which placed him in the Association’s 27th percentile.
Part of the reason for Wiggins making this massive jump in effectiveness as a scorer is the fact that he’s attempting more three-pointers (6.5) than he ever has before at any point in his career. To make up the difference, the Wolves wing is taking way less long two-point jumpers these days, a shot he used to attempt with aplomb despite it’s well-documented inefficiency.
Coming into this season, Wiggins was taking 35.9 percent of his field-goal attempts for his career from between 10 feet away from the basket and the three-point line – over a third of his shots coming from this hellscape of efficient basketball. This year, however, that number is all the way down to 20.4 percent, a much more acceptable rate for a scorer such as Wiggins.
As a result of both the better shot selection and improved passing, the 24-year-old is producing 1.3 PPP in isolation situations (with passes included) this season, a mark healthy enough to rank as “excellent,” per Synergy, and to put him in the league’s 86th percentile, ahead of All-NBA-level talents like reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (1.07 PPP) and his own teammate Karl-Anthony Towns (1.0 PPP).
All in all, Wiggins’ development this season can be attributed to (much) better shot selection, improved playmaking chops, less floating in and out of games and more consistent effort on both ends of the floor.
There had never been any sort of dispute in regards to his otherworldly physical tools…
…but now that Wiggins is going all-out, full-throttle during his time on the floor, he’s able to shine much more brightly.
The jury is still out on whether this isn’t just an extended flash of hardwood brilliance or something sustainable, but considering the lack of red flags with his production (like fluky shooting marks, for example), there’s reason to believe this is real.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
For the Los Angeles Lakers to continue their winning ways, they will need consistently good performances from third-year forward Kyle Kuzma.
For the Los Angeles Lakers to continue their winning ways, they will need consistently good performances from third-year forward Kyle Kuzma.
The former Utah Utes star is the only first-round pick originally drafted by the Lakers who’s still on their roster. Their other recent selections are now on other teams, which helped them land LeBron James and Anthony Davis. As the only young member of their core still around, there were very high expectations for him heading into the season.
Change, of course, was inevitable as Los Angeles pivoted at head coach from Luke Walton to Frank Vogel. The addition of a bonafide superstar in Davis was certain to alter his role as well. Unfortunately, however, Kuzma was unable to play in the preseason to help his adjustment period, as he was recovering from an injury sustained while playing for Team USA.
Kyle Kuzma just talked to reporters for the first time since media day. “What this team needs is exactly what I worked on this summer. Gonna surprise a lot of people,” he said. Worked on being more of an on-ball playmaker, something he hasn’t been asked to do since high school
Before his 2019-20 debut, he said what the Lakers needed is “exactly” what he worked on in the offseason. Considering how much they gave up to land Davis, they are counting on him to be their third option on offense.
But upon his return, he was shooting below the league average mark of 45.3 percent from the field in his first five games back. Kuzma, himself, has spoken to the necessity for many players to get into a rhythm by literally watching the basketball going into the hoop (via Los Angeles Times):
“A lot of scorers, they always say just seeing the ball go in a couple of times, easy ones getting to the rim is definitely going to open a lot of things.”
Part of the blame for this was his shot selection, per Cleaning the Glass, as Kuzma had taken just 17 percent of his attempts within four feet of the rim. Compare that with his frequency in this zone as a rookie (34 percent) and last year (37 percent) and the difference is especially noteworthy.
Vogel recently noted Kuzma was still “finding his way” for where his shots would come from within their new-look style.
Kuzma had looked more like his normal self without Davis, averaging 25.7 points per 36 minutes without his new teammate. The bad news: he struggled to score alongside Davis, averaging just 11.6 points per 36 in his first five appearances this season alongside the big.
Then against the Phoenix Suns, he scored 21 points during the 16.5 minutes he was on the court with Davis. His shot chart shows far more reliance on looks closer to the basket to help supplement his three-pointers, which helped secure their victory over Phoenix. It was the scoring punch that Los Angeles needs when James and Davis are not able to provide it.
However, perhaps because he is recovering from injury, he still seems to be playing without as much aggression so far this season. The 24-year-old is averaging just 3.2 drives per game, significantly lower than his marks in 2017-18 (4.8) and in 2018-19 (6.0) as well. This will be another necessary addition for him as the season progresses.
Most surprising is that the 6-foot-9 forward still has not attempted his first dunk of the season. This was the most apparent during a possession against the Toronto Raptors in which he could have avoided a block if he had gone for a slam instead of a layup.
Even those have been few and far between, as Kuzma has 16 layups compared to 36 looks from beyond the arc. He has generally not even been near the basket, averaging just 1.3 paint touches per game. That is much lower than his marks both last season (2.5) and the year before (2.4).
Instead, the forward has been used more as a catch-and-shoot option for Los Angeles. He is averaging 0.91 dribbles and 1.88 seconds per touch, both a lot lower than what he recorded in his first two professional seasons.
Kuzma has focused on improving his jumper, working with coach Lethal Shooter to make him a more polished threat from beyond the arc. While the Lakers will need help spreading the floor for James and Davis and hope he can be of service in this regard, that cannot be the only facet of his game if he’s going to be their most-trusted third option.
If he can cut to the basket more often rather than just firing from downtown, he will be a more consistent and reliable option for Los Angeles.
Al-Farouq Aminu talks about joining the Magic, leaving the Blazers, adjusting to a new team, being a top high school recruit and much more.
After making the playoffs last season, the Orlando Magic added Al-Farouq Aminu on a three-year deal in hopes that he could push them over the edge. The 29-year-old is a versatile forward who can defend multiple positions, and he’s coming off a Western Conference Finals run with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Aminu is still getting acclimated in Orlando, but he’s providing veteran leadership to the Magic’s young core and contributing to the team’s excellent defense, which ranks fourth-best in the league (as they’re allowing just 99.4 points per 100 possessions). HoopsHype caught up with Aminu to talk about joining the Magic, leaving the Blazers after four years, adjusting to a new team, being one of the top high school recruits in the country and more.
What was your free-agency process like and why did you decide to join the Orlando Magic?
Al-Farouq Aminu: I like that they’re a young team and I thought that I could bring some veteran leadership to them. Also, they went to the playoffs last year, so I knew they had a good team. I like their style of play and different things like that. I’m glad I made that decision.
How is the adjustment process going? I know when you join a new team, you have to get used to a new team, new system, new coaches, new city and so on. What’s that transition been like?
AFA: Like you said, it’s a lot of new things coming at you. But that’s why we’re professionals; we have to figure out the different ways that people play and the different schemes – all of the different ways that we’re going to attack with this team. Also, you’re adjusting in your home life. You’re getting settled in and moving all of your furniture and things like that. It’s a big adjustment, but it’s coming along smoothly.
You’ve changed teams several times throughout your career. In your experience, how long does it take everyone to get acclimated?
AFA: It just depends, man. It’s so different from team to team because of the schedule, the preseason being even shorter now and things like that. It matters who you’re playing too. It’s a mixture of things, so I think it really varies. Sometimes, it takes people a while. Sometimes, it just clicks early. It’s a number of things that have to happen for the personnel to click. But we’re starting to find our stride a bit.
Since arriving in Orlando, what’s been your first impression of the team and the city?
AFA: Aw man, it’s been so great. It’s a big change from Portland because now I’m in a sunny state. I’m wearing shorts today! It’s kind of surreal to still be wearing shorts at this time of year. It’s been really nice, man. It’s a nice change of pace, for sure. There’s a really cool energy around this team. We have a lot of great guys. From top to bottom, everyone has a really great attitude, so that makes you enjoy coming in to work. It’s nice. All of the guys are great. They’ve exceeded my expectations, for sure.
You mentioned that you were attracted to this team because of the young core (Jonathan Isaac, Aaron Gordon, Mo Bamba, Markelle Fultz, etc.). Do you get excited when you think about what this team could become?
AFA: Yeah, for sure. I really wanted to play a part in molding them. In a couple of years, when these guys are in their prime and doing their thing, it’ll be cool to be able to say that I put my touch on that. That’ll be cool. I was talking to them the other day and I told them, “Ya’ll are going to make a lot of money! Ya’ll play the right way, ya’ll are young and the league is just changing. Guys are getting paid.” I like to play around with them (laughs). But if they keep playing the same way that they’re playing now, they should be able to do okay for themselves.
I was impressed with the strong culture that you guys created in Portland; it was built around working really hard, trusting each other and having an us-against-the-world mentality. How is the culture in Orlando and what can you do to contribute to it?
AFA: They brought back a lot of the same team, so they’ve already kind of started it. My job is just to come in and add on to it, to build upon what they already have in place. I don’t feel like there’s any need to switch up their whole culture or anything. I think they’re heading in the right direction, so I’m just trying to add a couple things that I’ve picked up over the years from being a vet, having some success and winning.
I remember one day JI (Jonathan Isaac) was like, “Man, are you always the last one to leave?” He thought it was funny. I told him, “I like to stay and take my time when I’m at the facility. I have to get in all of my treatments and things like that. This is the only thing that we have to do. You don’t need to be rushing home.” There are little things like that, I think, that add to the culture. But these are guys who are already hitting their stride; it’d be different if they were rookies, but these are guys who get it. And they’ve had good vets like DJ [Augustin] and some of the older guys on the team who kind brought things together. I just feel like I can add another element.
Last year, you went to the Western Conference Finals with the Portland Trail Blazers. What was that like and did you take away any things that you can pass on to your new teammates in Orlando?
AFA: It was fun to do. You’re obviously trying to win the grand prize, but every experience like that helps you eventually get there. I think it was a really cool experience. You start to learn what it takes to win in the playoffs. There are things that work in the regular season and then, over the years, you learn what works and what doesn’t work in the playoffs.
Like I was saying about staying in the facility late, I remember I used to always think to myself, “Wow, these guys are playing all the way into July?!” It was hard for me to wrap my mind around that. But you start to understand what you need to do in order to prepare your body to go through that. Sometimes, you only understand what it takes to get through 82 games. Well, you have to learn what it takes to get through another 20-to-25 games. You have to win another 16 games, so you learn how to prepare your body for that and then do it. You have to do more than what you normally do and that’s something you learn from experiencing it. They understand that here because I’m always preaching that. Sometimes, you have to take your own lumps and go through it yourself though.
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You were with the Blazers for four years and you had a lot of success there. And I know you were close with some of the players there. Was it tough to leave Portland this past summer?
AFA: Kinda sorta. It was [tough] because I’m leaving the guys I was playing with, but a lot of the guys ended up leaving anyway, so it was kind of like, “Well, nobody is there.” Not “nobody,” but you know what I mean. The gang’s not even there anymore anyway, so it wouldn’t have been the same even if I had stayed. It would’ve been weird had I stayed. It’s not the organization, it’s the people that you get to work with every day that you end up [getting close with]. For a couple of months, you see these guys and talk to these guys even more than your family. They shape you and you’re growing with each other. Then, the next thing you know, they may not be there. Sometimes, it’s just one person; like, I remember the first time it was Ed [Davis]. Me and him came into Portland together and we became really cool. Then, after three years, he was gone and that was tough. Then, I started becoming really cool with Moe [Harkless] and Evan [Turner] and now they’re gone, so it’s like man… It’s kind of already tough to make friends in this industry anyway and then guys move on. And you still get to talk to them and stay close, but it’s different. But I think that’s why it isn’t as traumatic because those guys are in different places anyway, so the gang is gone.
Guys like Quentin Richardson and DeShawn Stevenson have told me that they were really frustrated when the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks’ front offices broke those teams up because they felt like they still had some great years left in them. Do you feel like this team could’ve done some special things had the Blazers’ front office kept guys like Ed, Moe, Evan and yourself a bit longer?
AFA: We did special things!
I know, but did you guys want to stay together longer? I guess that’s what I’m asking.
AFA: Did we want to stay together longer? Yeah, always! I mean, when you’re already having success and you already like the people, it seems like a win-win. You might as well ride it until the wheels fall off! It doesn’t seem like there’s a need to break it up unless everybody is just losing too much money or something like that, then you kind of understand. Then, in a sense, the players break it up. But I didn’t feel like that was the case. It was more so broken up just because. But I’ve seen a lot of teams get broken up so it’s not really that surprising.
I recently interviewed Jonathan Isaac and he was talking about how this Magic team takes pride in their defense and that the goal is to have one of the NBA’s top defenses. Right now, you guys are ranked fourth in the league. Is that a goal that you guys discuss as a team and do you think this team can get to No. 1?
AFA: Every day, man. We discuss it every day. We want to be a Top-5 defensive team, if not No. 1. I think it’s definitely something that this team has the ability to do and we just have to continue to click together and understand where we need to be in order to do it. I think the more and more we play together and get that cohesiveness, the better we’ll become on defense. And out of the gate, we’re already talented on defense. Now, it’s just getting that continuity and that will take us over the top.
You mentioned that you want to be one of the veteran leaders in Orlando. When you were younger, who were some of the veterans who helped you the most?
AFA: I didn’t really have what I think of as veteran leadership until I got to Dallas. Then, when I got to Dallas, it was Jameer Nelson for a little bit, but then he got traded. I was able to look at what Dirk Nowitzki was doing every day. I watched what Monta Ellis did every day. Then, later in the year, Rajon Rondo came as well as Amare Stoudemire. All of those guys were great.
During your sophomore season, the Los Angeles Clippers traded you to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of the blockbuster Chris Paul trade. Did going through that teach you about the business side of the NBA at a young age? And what are some things you learned from that experience?
AFA: Yeah. Even during that first year, I started to learn about the business of the NBA and what it all means. But then in my second year, that’s when I’m like, “Wow, this is really a business.” Even before my trade, I was seeing the business side a lot because that was the lockout year too. With everything that went down, my first two years were like a business course in a sense. It kind of just opened my eyes to what the NBA really is. I appreciated it, though. In the long run, that probably helped me out and prevented me from being so naïve to the business side of this game. Sometimes, that can happen to players. But there’s no way around it; you’re going to experience the business side of the NBA at some point. I’m glad it happened to me early.
What has it been like adjusting to Steve Clifford? He’s done a great job of getting the most out of Nikola Vucevic and helping the defense. What’s it been like playing for him and his staff?
AFA: He has a very high basketball IQ and, like you said, he really understands defenses – he’s very good at that. He pushes us to be a really good defensive team, which is really cool. I’ve been with an offensive team for a while, so it’s kind of cool that the defensive end is being highlighted. It’s just a different pace. I’m enjoying it, for sure.
You were one of the top high-school recruits in the country back in 2008. I’m really interested in that. Do you think you had to mature quicker than your peers because you had so much on the line and you were under the microscope?
AFA: Yeah, of course, man. It’s like being a childhood star, you know what I mean? I remember when I transferred to my high school as a sophomore, I was coming into this school as the new kid and I thought nobody would know me and I could just try to fit in where I fit in. I remember kids being like, “Ohh, you’re Al-Farouq Aminu! We’re going to be so good this year!” They knew my stats from AAU and all of that. And this is while I’m in high school! I didn’t get to just be a regular kid and blend in. Sometimes, you just want to be able run to the store and just do regular stuff. You can’t just do what everybody else does.
But then again, when I was growing up, I always wanted everyone to think I was good at basketball. It’s like a double-edged sword. You don’t realize what that will end up being. You want to be a top prospect, but then everybody ends up knowing who you are. And a lot of people like basketball. At first, I just wanted everyone in my neighborhood to be like, “Wow, he’s really, really good!” Then, my neighborhood became the U.S., became the world.
I don’t think people realize the sacrifices that top recruits have to make too. Your friends may be partying on the weekends, but when all eyes are on you like that, you have to carry yourself differently. You’re also working extremely hard so that you can make it to the next level.
AFA: Yeah, man. I don’t think a lot of people understand. The sacrifices start early too. Now, I’m looking at my little cousin who plays football, he’s a quarterback, and he’s already making those same sacrifices at a really young age. You have to do those things if you want to succeed, though. I remember being in the gym really late and my friends would be like, “Yo, are you coming?” They’d go hang out in the neighborhood or play video games, but I’d have to be like, “Nah, I have work to do.” But my financial situation growing up wasn’t the greatest either, so it’s kind of like I just started [working] earlier than most people do.
I think Jalen Ramsey said, “You live like nobody else, so that you can live like nobody else later.” The beauty of it is that I had to mature quicker, but then when I’m like 35 years old, I’ll be able to live a life that most other 35-year-olds can’t live. It’s the long game. I’m not mad how it turned out for me… It’s a trade off.
(@RedsArmy_John) 
