Charlotte Hornets bigs come up big

The NBA playoffs are here. The games are tighter, the lights are brighter, and the narratives are getting thick. It can be a lot to keep up with but don’t worry we’re here to help. Throughout the NBA postseason, FanSided will be gathering together some of the most talented writers from our network for a daily recap of our favorite stories from the night before.

Welcome to the Rotation.

Al Jefferson and managing Father Time

Adam McGee | @AdamMcGee11 | Behind The Buck Pass

Al Jefferson’s spirit is strong, but the vessel that carries it visibly labors up and down the court.

A master of the post since his days in Boston, Minnesota and Utah, the 31-year-old still has all of the requisite skills to exploit the league’s best big men. The problem is that he defines a role that has grown to represent something of an albatross for teams trying to keep pace in the modern NBA. Jefferson is a throwback in every sense of the word. He came into the league straight out of high school. He’s outstanding offensively when he gets inside, thanks to a nifty combination of footwork and creative post moves that were once a staple of scoring points in the NBA offense but are now nearing extinction.

It seems that with every passing year, Jefferson looks two years older. He made an All-NBA team only two seasons ago but it feels like a much more distant memory. In part, that’s likely due to the way in which the center position has almost completely transformed in that time frame. As recently as 2014, playing Draymond Green at center would have seemed like a crazy proposition.

The fact that the phenomenon extends far beyond Green renders the traditional post offense center to feel even more antiquated. A rare swiss army knife talent like Green can be shrugged off as an exception, but the Hawks set up a blowout win against the Celtics on Tuesday night by playing Mike Scott for spells at center (a move they also turned to throughout the regular season). That series has even seen Paul Millsap play some minutes at center for Atlanta, only to be successfully defended by point guard Marcus Smart.

How does Jefferson fit in a league that has flipped the tables on him? The short answer is that he shouldn’t, but somehow he still finds a way to make a difference.

Jefferson started the first two games of Charlotte’s series with the Heat on the bench and considering the apparent consensus on what an NBA center should now be, that seemed like a logical move from Steve Clifford. But there was a problem. Jefferson not appearing in the first few minutes of the game increased the likelihood for him to play later.

A tight game with a frantic pace doesn’t cater to Jefferson’s deliberate offensive play, not only that, but his presence would reduce spacing on offence and offer a somewhat easy target for more athletic, spry big men on defense. The game may be moving away from an aging Jefferson, but the best way to utilize his strengths is with early minutes. Get him out there before the heavy breathing kicks in and the game’s urgency ramps up.

Whether it was intentionally addressing that issue or not, Clifford has made this adjustment and it’s played a significant role in the Hornets rolling off three straight wins. Charlotte’s Game 5 win on Wednesday saw Jefferson head to the bench with 3:40 remaining in the third quarter not to return. That was the correct strategy too as Big Al’s work had already been done.

Jefferson had 14 points through three quarters and that was in keeping with how he’s performed in his other games as a starter, i.e. the Hornets previous two wins. Jefferson has scored a total of 33 points in Charlotte victories, with 27 of them coming in first halves. He has played seven fourth quarter minutes across three games in wins and 11 in the closing period across two games that ended in defeat.

The Mississippi native can still be effective, but his impact needs to be managed. The toll of grating injuries and heavy minutes have worn down a body that has battled the league’s strongest men from an early age, and it shows. The changing approach to offense from teams around the NBA also creates a need to adjust.

Even with a 3-2 lead, the Hornets will need to get something from Jefferson if they want to advance. Let Al get to work early and all will be fine. His body may be aching but he still knows how to play.

Frank Kaminsky belongs in the playoffs

Ian Levy | @HickoryHigh | FanSided

The Charlotte Hornets won themselves a playoff game, a big one too. With Game 5 in hand, they now have a chance to close out the Miami Heat at home. It took a team effort to beat Miami. Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin both had rough shooting nights but drove relentlessly, collapsing the defense and finding open teammates. Marvin Williams chipped in 17 big points. Nicolas Batum showed up and even Spencer Hawes made himself a highlight or two.

And don’t forget about Frank Kaminsky.

The rookie started again, part of Steve Clifford’s plan to counter Miami’s small-ball success by going big. In just over 27 minutes, Kaminsky scored 8 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Not exactly the stuff legends are made of. But he also played surprisingly capable defense against Luol Deng, closing out aggressively, holding his own in space, shutting down a pick-and-roll or two with a strong hedge and recovery. There were lapses too, Deng had the dunk of the night when Kaminsky closed out hard on his three-point shot and then lost track of him as the offensive rebound worked its way back to the Heat. It was, all things considered, a respectable performance.

Respectable means a lot. Kaminsky was a rookie whose projections cut a sharp line between boom and bust. There was not assumed to be much middle ground. The big concerns were whether his offensive versatility would translate to the next level and whether he could defend his position. On this night: check and check.

Kaminsky’s defense was not the key for Charlotte but more often than not, it wasn’t a problem either. On offense, his shooting stretched the smaller Heat lineups and he created opening three-pointers for teammates both by attacking off the dribble and drawing extra defenders in the post. In a big game, against a team that presents a horrible matchup problem for him, Kaminsky more than held his own. For a player who has been defined as much by his flaws (real and presumed) as his strengths, this series has been eye-opening. A collection of simple performances that answered a lot of questions:

Can you really be a team that wins playoff games and series if Frank Kaminsky is one of your best players?

Absolutely.

Without Curry, Warriors’ Share the Workload

Todd Whitehead | @CrumpledJumper | Nylon Calculus

Stephen Curry is the fulcrum of the Golden State Warriors’ scoring machine. His fantastic outside shooting creates the open floor spaces, numerical advantages, and personnel mismatches that power the Warriors’ offense. With Curry sidelined by a sprained knee, the rest of the Warriors have been forced to work that much harder to open up offensive opportunities for themselves, or more often, for each other. The Warriors averaged a league-high 28.9 team assists per game this season, but lately, they’re sharing the ball even more! In Games 4 and 5 of their playoff series against the Houston Rockets, the Warriors assisted on 38 of 46 made field goals and on 30 of 45 made field goals, respectively. Below is a graphic box score of Golden State’s 30 assists from Game 5 on Wednesday.

Assists produced by Golden State Warriors players in Game 5 against the Houston Rockets

In Wednesday’s game, 11 of the 13 healthy Warriors had an assist. The only exceptions were James Michael McAdoo and Mo Speights. It’s interesting to note that — Speights and McAdoo notwithstanding — the Golden State frontcourt did a lot of the heavy lifting in initiating the offense. In fact, the Warriors frontcourt players were responsible for 22 of the 30 assists; Draymond Green (PF) led the way with 8 helpers and Andre Iguodala (SF, 6), Andrew Bogut (C, 3), Anderson Varejao (C, 2), Harrison Barnes (SF, 1), Brandon Rush (SF, 1), and Festus Ezeli (C, 1) all chipped in.

This illustration also serves as a helpful microcosm of Draymond Green’s growing burden on the offensive end of the court. From last season to this season, Green bumped his assists per game rate up from 3.7 to 7.4, eclipsing Curry as the assist leader for the team and posting a top-ten all-time per-game assist rate for a big man (joining the likes of LeBron James, Larry Bird, John Havlicek, and Wilt Chamberlain). That Green was able to continue setting up his teammates on Wednesday — without the team’s linchpin, Curry, in place — is evidence that he is more than just a cog in the Warrior’s wheel. Like Curry, Green is a driving force in Golden State’s powerhouse attack. With Curry likely to miss the entire second round of the playoffs, Green and the rest of the Warriors’ machine will need to continue to pick up the slack if they hope to reach the Western Conference Finals.

Jason Terry was wrong and guarantees are dumb

Wes Goldberg | @wcgoldberg | Hardwood Paroxysm, All U Can Heat

Guarantees are like bed sheets. What’s the point of making them if you can’t pull them off?

Jason Terry, still in the league and playing with the Houston Rockets, guaranteed a win against the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 before the two squared off Wednesday night.

In the most non-twist ending ever, he was wrong. The Rockets got smacked and Terry went 0-for-8 for zero points.

The sports guarantee is a ridiculous thing in the first place. Some Hollywood dude with a big nose playing for the New York Jets (bleh) in 1780-whatever guaranteed his team would beat some other team in a Super Bowl played before dinosaurs walked the earth and ever since then athletes have been making guarantees and breaking their promises.

This idea that a guarantee can somehow galvanize a team to live up to expectations made by its own player is dumb as hell. Professional athletes routinely ridicule and run from public expectations, so why would they try to increase public expectations?

The guarantee is worth basically nothing anymore. And dudes like Terry aren’t helping. Don’t get me wrong, nothing makes me happier than Terry being wrong. Like when he thought he could defend LeBron James, and was so, so, so so so so wrong.

I give Terry’s shooting far more credit for the Dallas Mavericks’ championship than his chutzpah in getting the Larry O’Brien Trophy tattooed on his bicep before the season began.

But, hey, the Rockets are finally out of the playoffs. No one liked watching them, not even their own fans. The best thing about the 2015-16 Rockets was Michael Beasley and J.B. Bickerstaff’s suit game. Otherwise this season was a disaster. Thank goodness we can finally put it to bed.

Blowing Up The Rockets

Gerald Bourguet | @GeraldBourguet | HoopsHabit

It’s finally over, Houston Rockets fans. After a 33-point rout in Game 5 Wednesday night, one of the most disappointing seasons among any playoff team in NBA history came to an end. The Rockets had been sputtering all season long, but thanks to a quick five-game series against a Golden State Warriors team missing its best player, it’s finally, mercifully time to blow the Rockets up.

Let’s clarify though: James Harden should be nowhere near that detonation. Trades involving superstars in their primes historically don’t work out for the team dealing them away (just ask Orlando and Denver how things have gone since trading Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony).

The Beard may have shown up to training camp out of shape, he may not be much of a leader and his severe regression on the defensive end is the exact kind of poor work ethic that spread throughout the roster and ultimately doomed this team.

But blaming such a failure to launch on one person would be an oversight, especially after Harden finished second in scoring (29.0 points per game), led the league in created offense (points scored + points created off assists), and averaged a Kobe Bryant-in-his-prime stat line of 29-7-6.

Look no further than Game 5 if you’re wondering how much Harden cares. While the rest of his teammates crashed and burned with 46 points on 19-of-72 shooting (26.4 percent) in an elimination game, the Beard finished with 35 of his team’s 81 points on 12-of-23 shooting.

A big performance in a 33-point loss doesn’t exonerate Harden for the part he played in this implosion of a season, but oh how quickly people forget that he was the runner-up in the MVP race and led a ragtag group to the Western Conference Finals as recently as last year.

You can win with Harden as your best player; building around him just figures to be more of a challenge than it’d be for someone whose skill set is universally transferable like a Curry or a LeBron James. “Not being Curry or LeBron” is not exactly fair criteria to judge anyone in the NBA by.

Building around Harden is the task now facing general manager Daryl Morey, who is fresh off a 2015-16 campaign filled with mistakes just as damning as Harden’s defensive lapses. Don’t forget, it wasn’t Harden who torpedoed Houston’s chemistry by adding a washed up Ty Lawson, nor was it Harden who fired the team’s underrated head coach 11 games into the season.

The Rockets’ rebuild could go an infinite number of directions, but Harden, Patrick Beverley, Clint Capela, K.J. McDaniels and the rookie core of Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell are really the only players that make sense still being on the roster beyond this season.

Dwight Howard will opt out of his contract to join free agency and this premature playoff exit all but assures he’s gone. As a 30-year-old injury-prone center looking for a max contract, D-12 is one bullet the Rockets needed to dodge anyway.

Josh Smith and Jason Terry come off the books this summer; Michael Beasley and Andrew Goudelock are on non-guaranteed contracts for 2016-17; Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones are restricted free agents that might be too expensive to keep; and after underwhelming seasons, the last two years on the contracts of Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer probably need to be jettisoned to give Houston a fresh start.

There is no quick fix here. Kevin Durant has better options, as do fallback targets like Nicolas Batum and Al Horford. One thing is clear, however: The Rockets need 3-and-D wings who will actually knock down the open threes Harden provides, they need a rim protector to replace Howard, and they need a locker room with enough cohesion to not only cover for Harden’s defensive flaws, but — dare I say it! — encourage him to give a damn on that end.

Strip down the roster, hire Jeff Van Gundy and keep your once-in-a-generation offensive talent who needs a revamped supporting crew. There is no quick fix, but nobody said building a rocket capable of ascending to championship heights was easy.