Warriors advance, near the mountaintop
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.
Portland falls Short, Golden State King of the Hill
Todd Whitehead | @CrumpledJumper | Nylon Calculus
The Portland-Golden State series will be remembered for Steph Curry’s 17-point overtime outburst in Game 4 and for Curry’s inauguration as the first-ever unanimous MVP. Curry’s latest legendary performance and his MVP victory lap have people struggling to appropriately characterize his greatness. For my part, I’ll just point out that Curry has now led the NBA in three-pointers made during four consecutive seasons; with 272, 261, 286, and, now, 402 three-pointers made, respectively. On average, Curry stood 26.0 feet away from the basket in sinking these 1,221 three-pointers. So, over the course of the last four regular seasons, the combined distance traveled by Curry’s made threes was 31,730’. For some context, that’s a distance longer than Mount Everest is high.
Cumulative distance travelled by Stephen Curry’s made three-pointers during the last four regular seasons (2012-2016) as compared to Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, and Mount Everest.
You probably already knew that the second-most prolific long-distance shooter in the league over this period of time was Curry’s own Splash Brother, Klay Thompson. Thompson finished with the second-most three-pointers made in each of the last three seasons and he missed out on second-place by only two buckets the year before that (211, 223, 239, and 276 three-pointers, respectively). The distance of Thompson’s average three was 25.3’ and he made 949 of them for a total distance traveled of 24,012’.
On the other hand, you may not have guessed that the third-most productive three-point shooter in the NBA during the last four years has been Portland’s Damian Lillard. Lillard has been among the Top-6 three-point makers in the league for each of the last four years (5th, 3rd, 6th, and 4th, respectively). He hit 185, 218, 196, and 229 three-pointers annually for a total of 828 threes over the last four years. At an average distance of 25.7’ per long-range jumper, that’s a total distance travelled of 21,305’ for Lillard’s threes.
This trio of sharpshooters didn’t disappoint during the Western Conference Semifinals, either. Collectively, the three guards played in a dozen games this series. Among these twelve appearances, there were ten performances featuring at least five made three-point baskets; Curry had five threes in both of his games, Thompson had 28 threes in his five games (7, 5, 5, 5, 6), and Lillard had 25 threes in his five (4, 6, 8, 5, 2), including a playoff-high eight three-pointers in Portland’s lone victory in Game 3. Unfortunately for the Blazers, Lillard was unable to sustain his three-point production in Game 5, as he went 2-for-8 from behind the arc on Wednesday night. The lack of threes from Lillard, in combination with his sub-30 percent shooting from the field overall, left the Blazers short of the mountain they had hoped to climb, unable to clamber back from a 3-1 deficit to the defending champs.
C.J. McCollum is not your average Robin
Kaveh Jam | @KavehsRoom | Hardwood Paroxysm
The emergence of C.J. McCollum this year was to a degree, expected. With the departure of four starters from last season’s 51-win Blazer team, McCollum’s breakthrough was one of the reasons Portland remained an NBA League Pass mainstay. With the Blazers shifting to an up-tempo offense, McCollum’s penchant for break-neck basketball and long distance bombs figured perfectly into Portland’s overall calculus.
Watching the Blazers from afar, I always felt McCollum was some form of an unpolished gem, buried deep within Portland’s treasure chest of talent. Over the course of two seasons, he averaged 14.1 minutes of playing time – enough to show flashes but meager to display a full arsenal or maintain consistency. The issue with such depth is becoming unaware of what could be sitting on your bench.
My inkling is that Portland knew exactly what they were getting when they drafted McCollum out of Lehigh University with the No. 10 overall selection in the 2013 draft. Just as they had plucked another rangy explosive guard from another mid-major program the year before in Damian Lillard, McCollum needed a season or two to take notes, develop, and seize an opportunity. That conveniently presented itself this season after last summer’s mass Blazer exodus and culminated in a 21.6 point-per-game season and the most improved player award.
For a third-year guard with little experience prior to this season, McCollum is especially calm and confident. He appears completely unfazed in the moment – something that became exceedingly clear during this far-too-short semi-final series with the Golden State Warriors. He will take any shot on the floor irrespective of the defender but yet is still always in control and balanced. There is little unorthodox about his game, no jerked movements, no wild passes or aerial assaults on the rim.
All of this is to say yes, McCollum is an offensive marvel, even prodigious considering some of the impossible shots during the biggest of times. But he also fit’s with Lillard incredibly well despite significant overlap in skill set. As a backcourt tandem, they are undersized – yet are impossible to handle together. McCollum, for all his astute offensive ability and penchant to foray at any moment into massive scoring binges, does not stunt Lillard’s own capabilities. They play off one another in such a seamless manner it is art personified. This might be where McCollum’s greatest value resides.
Catching Portland on a night where both players are off is a rarity (a benefit of two prolific scorers). During the waning moments of the fourth quarter last night, when Lillard appeared to be running on empty, it was McCollum and his 16 fourth-quarter points that kept the Blazers alive until the end. There is no shame in losing a hotly contested playoff series to the Warriors. Portland’s stubborn resistance to fold in the same fashion many others before them have was amazing to witness. McCollum was a large reason for it as he matched Golden State dagger-for-dagger.
All things considered, this Blazer season was an improbability. They overachieved in practically every way, surpassing almost every preseason win-prediction. Individually, McCollum thrived and that should not come as a surprise.
Lowry and DeRozan, same direction, same night
Ian Levy | @HickoryHigh | FanSided
It is fairly remarkable that the Toronto Raptors were able to get to the second round of the playoffs, and a 2-2 split with the Miami Heat, given how badly their backcourt had struggled. Kyle Lowry had been working on one of the worst shooting performances in playoff history and DeRozan had been just a tick better. Their inefficiency sapped effectiveness from the team’s offense. The Raptors had been able to survive by catching a good night from or the other, or getting big nights from the supporting cast.
In a huge Game 5 at home, Toronto finally had both DeRozan and Lowry scoring (somewhat) efficiently in the same game. The graph below shows the playoffs for both player, with each game graphed by the number of points created and the number of possessions used. The dotted line represents the balance between the two — one point per possession used.
Both players averaged essentially one point per possession during the regular season but had only passed that mark a total of twice during the playoffs before Game 5 — once for Lowry and once for DeRozan. Game 5 was the second time in the playoffs that DeRozan scored 34 points, and the third-highest total of possessions used. Although Lowry was below one point per possession in Game 5, it was his second-highest scoring output of the postseason on his second-highest total of possessions used.
The offensive problems for Toronto, with regards to Lowry and DeRozan, have been two-pronged. It’s not just that both have been scoring less efficiently, they have also been using far fewer possessions. The two are obviously linked, Lowry in particular seemed hesitant as his shooting slump built.
For one night at least, the problem seemed to dissipate and the Raptors got what they needed from their potent backcourt — quantity and quality. The trick is making this the exception rather than the rule from here on out.
Bismack Biyombo’s free agency will be a sight to behold
Brad Rowland | @BTRowland | FanSided
“In this salary cap environment…”
The five words above have been bandied about for some time when discussing the 2016 NBA free agent class and, in short, those players who are hitting the free market this summer should be quite happy at their timing. Big-time names like Kevin Durant, Al Horford and even DeMar DeRozan will receive the lion’s share of attention, but an argument exists that it will actually be the middle tier of available talent that will take full advantage of the seemingly endless flow of cash.
One potential recipient? None other than Bismack Biyombo.
For many uninitiated observers, Biyombo is still seen as a draft “bust” from his time in Charlotte. The big man was acquired by the then-Bobcats with the seventh overall pick (via trade with Sacramento) in the 2011 NBA Draft, and considering that Biyombo averaged 4.4 points per game in 284 appearances across four seasons in North Carolina, it is easy to see how a casual observer would write him off in terms of a potent NBA future.
However, Bismack Biyombo is, suddenly, one of the more interesting names on the free agent market, and he has earned that distinction with play on the court. The rangy big man was always drafted for his defensive upside, and that has come to fruition during his time in Toronto this season. Biyombo averaged a career-best 1.6 blocks per game in 22.0 minutes (2.6 per 36 min), and he provided extremely valuable rim protection off the bench for a team that would have been lost without his presence in that area.
Did I mention that Biyombo is 23 years old?
Yes, you read that right. It may seem as though Biyombo was drafted a lifetime ago, but he will begin his next contract at the tender age of 24 and coming off the best season of his career. The Raptors will certainly inquire about keeping Biyombo in the fold after a season in which he posted a 13.0 rebounds per 36 minutes and a strong PER of 14.9 to go along with his quality defense, but the open market should be quite kind to Biyombo and his agent.
A peek into Biyombo’s potential upside was on full display in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat, and if he had not proven his worth already, the first half of that particular performance would serve as a strong infomercial. Prior to halftime, Biyombo scored 10 points (on 5 field goal attempts), grabbed five rebounds and blocked four (!) shots in terrorizing Miami and, in general, he was all over the floor defensively, utilizing his high-end athleticism and length to deter everything the Heat wanted to do.
Make no mistake, the numbers (outside of rebounds and blocks) will probably never be there for Biyombo, and that will suppress his visibility when it comes to casual fans. However, Biyombo made great strides in his skill development this season, highlighted by a highly reasonable 63 percent clip at the free throw line, and while he won’t be a dominant offensive player, he has proven to be more than passable on that end of the floor.
Numbers are, quite simply, going to be crazy when it comes to free agent contracts this summer, but that won’t stop people from being shocked by the potentially massive deal that Bismack Biyombo will sign. When people around the industry jump to poke fun at the massive salary he will likely earn, it will be easy to join in the fun based on his limited offensive game. However, Biyombo is the embodiment of a versatile and talented defensive center in today’s NBA, and if nothing else, he will be stellar in that role for years to come.
Oh, and he will do so as a very rich man.