- OCD Hoops -

The 2019 NBA Draft was long heralded the best draft in years or more, headlined by superstar 19 year old Zion Williamson, the surefire number one pick who the Pelicans took winning the lottery. But after him, there are plenty of stars, starters, role players and highly advanced rated metric guys... Ja Morant, RJ Barrett, DeAndre Hunter, Darius Garland, Cameron Johnson, PJ Washington, Tyler Herro, Brandon Clarke (leads all draftees in win shares added), Gran Williams, Jordan Poole, Keldon Johnson, Nic Claxton, Coby White, Daniel Gafford, Kevin Porter Jr, Terrance Mann, Jackson Hayes, Matiss Thybulle, Rui Hachimura, Taylen Horton Tucker, and more.... All have become positive impact players if not starters or stars, and at the least key rotation players.    Obviously Zion Williamson has shown us how great he is, but he's also shown us he sits out more games than he plays. Even so, before he got hurt last season he had the Pelicans at first in the West a third through ...

Underrated NBA Players who balled up at age 35 or later : Wilt who averaged 13.2 pts and 18.6reb to go with 4.6ast and who knows the blocks shooting 73%FG... At age 36 in his lasy season, Russell, Oscar, Baylor, and other older players like Jordan and Bird I won't be listing as I'm trying to stay as modern as possible. So much talk about Lebron being the only 35 year old to play at an elite level this past year got me curious. There's plenty of guys that were good NBA players in their mid 30s like 36 year old Marion on Dallas starting at forward for 30 minutes a night and averaging 10.4ppg 6.4rpg 2apg, is something any player at the age of 36 would be more than happy to put up. But over the past 25 or so years there have been some great elders that had wonderful seasons, even an MVP season from the mailman at age 35. But more importantly are guys like Detlef Schrempf, whom are normally not discussed or brought up. Lebron can match that but Giannis makes a toug...

27.5 ppg    Dale Ellis .   After some introspective thinking and some follow up research to conclude my gut feeling about how solid and consistent the wiry and clutch 6'7" Ellis truly became an elite Shooting Guard in Seattle and he's rarely mentioned with the greats. Athleticism wasn't his strong suit but he became a solid team defender and smart overall player and scorer. We've all heard about the old timers and history books. In New age hoops there are rare times where they simply don't discuss certain players or teams as much as others. Back before social media it was up to ESPN and the newspaper sports section.  But when someone asks"rank your top 5 or 10 shooting guards ever" or just "top SG NBA players over the years. While he's not Michael Jordan he definitely should be discussed more as a player of history. Dale Ellis was drafted to the Mavericks abd spent his first 3 years as a 6th man type of role producing some points off the benc...

With the NBA trade deadline looming the media has pumped out articles discussing where and how Kevin Love, Danillo Gallinari, Robert Covington, Andre Drummond, and Derrick Rose will all be traded. I smell a weak trade deadline with limited transactions. As a result I do expect the few waiver-wire players that are available to be signed.  The players I will point out and discuss can all have a positive impact as a rotation player or better on a top level playoff team. Green averaged 12.7 points per game last season Jeff Green (PF/SF) - The solid all-around swingman and stretch power-forward was waived earlier this season on a team that had no use for him.  Fast forward to present day and you have plenty of playoff caliber teams that could surely use the combo forwards skillset and veteran leadership, especially on the offensive end of the court. The Sixers, Nets, Magic, Thunder could all be buy low options, and depending on certain trades and roster moves made in t...

Finally.  The NBA preseason has been underway as teams are pacing and spacing the floor.  This newer, faster, smaller, NBA basketball overall is a tad different than the way the game was played a decade or two ago.  A lot more "European", if that makes any sense (you'd have to watch the Euro/ACB Leagues or Olympics a lot).  Teams are living by the 3, deciding not to take that long two-point shot, and playing smaller for a majority of the games as a result of the Warriors winning the title in that fashion. With the game ever evolving and team elements increasing, one can't help but wonder what will become of the Lakers in future years. So how will the men in purple and gold fair this year?  Is it fair to expect them to make the playoffs? Sadly, even as a big Laker fan, I do not see playoff games again this season.  Luckily, that doesn't bother me as the Lakers finally have a nice young core group of players full of untapped potential, as well as Kobe's...

Alright, I haven't been writing or blogging much about the NBA much in the past year... well I'm back, stronger than ever and with a mission!  Anyhow, this 2015 off-season has been quite unpredictable to some degree, and with all the great player movement this summer it seems as if the upcoming season might be one of the most competitive ones in years, possibly ever. Aside from the Philadelphia 76'ers (whom have a bright future), I can't say there is any other team that is a standout "awful 20 win max team".  League parity, as Adam Silver and the Collective Bargaining Agreement signed to end the strike a few years back has now been fully implemented, and it appears to be working flawlessly.  No longer do the big markets own free agency like they once did, no longer do owners have teams in small markets with tiny caps (actually they have to have 85% of the cap on players otherwise they will be in trouble after one season). This has all resulted in a cou...

During the start of the second round of this past years NBA Draft, I kept hoping the Lakers would buy a draft pick in that 40-50 range quite badly because of how truly deep and talented this draft class was projected to be. Last year I believe I turned off the draft after the end of the 20th pick as a result of such a poor draft class.  The only rookies worth mentioning are Michael Carter Williams, Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke and Kelly Ollnyk, and none of them were extremely special last year. I'm not trying to hate, I do think MCW and Oladipo have great potential, and other guys like Tim Hardaway Jr and KC Pope are solid role players with potential, but they were to far and in between. MCW's Rookie of the Year stat line was also quite inflated and not a true representation of how good he really is, as we can take Evan Turner for example who was 18ppg, 7rpg, 4apg, 1spg, 47%FG with the Sixers for 50+games looking like an All-Star on the highest paced team in the NBA; then he wa...

(Had to give this guy hits and props) When creating a new career and my player for NBA 2k14 these caps and starting stats help show you which "Play Style" is what you are looking for. For all you guys that play 2k14... this shows the caps for whatever position and play style you create.... a PF "Defensive" play style, for example, starts with better defensive stats and awareness but now you can see all the different play styles for each position, each attribute, speed and quickness, shot ratings, layup and dunk ratings, defensive, physical and mental awareness and consistency. Some guards have 90 shoot in traffic another, same position has 85 and another Play Style for that position is 80. You can really fine tune what your player will become.   https://docs.zoho.com/sheet/published.do?rid=12cbmb3fea1d7cd764d859dc27c75f10e00c0 Hopefully it helps (*on the link you change positions in the bottom left) 360 Gamertag:  MetaWorldSCHIZO Always gaming

Shaun Livingston isn't a household name by any stretch of the imagination.  Some NBA fans may of never heard of him until this season, or better yet till this Nets and Heat series that has Shaun in the Nets starting line-up.  He's truly resurrected his career with the Nets, being able to play PG, SG, and SF with his 6'7'' wiry frame, and an ability to create for himself or others. If you are newer to the NBA as a whole you might not know what or who he really is. If you are a big-time fan for me I think it's time we start to give this guy a ton of credit and respect. For those that stumbled upon this, it's simply a feel good story of great work ethic and not letting rejection or failure stand in your way. Shaun Livingston has been a man determined since he was born. Man of Steel, I think that's his new nickname... or Sneaky Shaun Shakin.... hah.... In the playoffs the Nets beat the Heat in Game 3 of the series, giving them a real fighters chance to...

I'm not sure any mother of any player in the NBA feels as appreciated as Kevin Durant's, after he basically broke down crying dedicating his NBA MVP Award and trophy to his mother during the ceremony and speech.  Yes, she was crying as well.  What a humble, great kid Durant is, a true role model in the NBA who is the exact opposite of almost everything Mr. Lebron James stands for ("I want to be the first billionaire basketball player") . Kevin Durant seems like he almost took away attention from himself in this years playoffs so far by deferring to his mom in the speech.  He's easily been the best NBA player in the playoffs as well, being up 2-1 to the Clippers in round 2 of the playoffs.  He's been putting up great numbers and is shooting the ball like the stud he is, yet there hasn't been enough media and discussion about it.  Maybe it's because he does have a very humble, shy personality, one in which will never "test" Lebron James a...

There are 8 NBA teams and 4 semi-final playoff series at this point.  With so many series going 7 games in the opening round (*record setting amount of first round game 7's), there was little to no rest for every single team (Heat had a week off, Wizards too). The NBA Playoffs can be so exciting yet quite interesting too... often giving us insight into the future's of each team, good or bad.  Look at the difference between the imploding number 1 seed Pacers barely beating a mediocre Atlanta team in 7 games and the under-appreciated Wizards healthy with Nene grooving and dominating the Bulls.  It's pretty telling of what's to come in their series. Anyway, let's take a look at each matchup and see what's likely to happen.... EASTERN CONFERENCE: #2 Miami Heat vs #5 Brooklyn Nets While the Miami Heat had a nice week off and easy 4 game series, the rest of the NBA teams in the playoffs were battling it out every other day, including the New Jersey Nets. Thi...

History has been made quite a bit in this years NBA playoffs. A playoff's so competitive that a contender for the Finals in the West could be kicked in Round 1 as a result of matchup problems... take Houston for example (their weakest position PF and then PG are the Blazer's two All-Star studs Lillard and Aldridge), resulting in a Blazer win in 6 games. I think people forgot how dominant the Blazers were to start this season, though they dropped a little bit as the season went on, they were also developing youth and rotations.  Aldridge was also hurt for a bit, which can hurt overall records (look at Memphis 29-30 game record without Marc Gasol this season). Clippers and Warriors round 1 has been really competitive, and even Dallas is giving the Spurs a run for their money. But the East seemed like Indy and Miami had it locked up, until about 3 weeks left in the season when Indy imploded.  Atlanta, the only sub .500 team in the playoffs and 8 seed in the East surprised...

I just wanted to make a quick post, regarding the infamous San Antonio Spurs.  Each and ever year, since 2007, it seems that we overlook them and use the "age" thing as an excuse for them to fall. While none of us can predict the future or how a star will age, it seems we've always been somewhat skeptical and negative to the Spurs.  Especially to Tim Duncan. Timmy has had an amazing season, playing just around 30 minutes a night and filling it up as if he's gotten better somehow.  To think he would somehow fall off the basketball planet at the age of 32 (back when we all felt they were done) shows how much of the NBA fan base is from bigger markets.  Tim Duncan is a first ballot Hall of Famer.  He came into the NBA as an All-Star caliber player, able to put up 20 points, 10 rebounds, and block tons of shots.  He's done so for well over a decade, and this season at 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks a game he is still as efficient and effective as ever.  ...

Every season the NBA has so many awards it's ridiculous. We all know about the MVP Award, but did you know there are Players of the week and rookies of the week. Player of the month and rookies of the month. Why not defensive player of the month? Well I guess it's hard to measure, making it more subjective than other awards.  The awards to me are very interesting, some more objective than others, all somewhat "known" because of the media's influence as well as other hype. But to boil it down OCDhoops style, I have spent far too much time coming up with the winners, and then "shout outs" for players that could of also possibly won the award.  I thought today's Hawks trumping of Indiana by 30+points in the first half took forever, but I've been pondering who wins each award for too long.  So here we go.... 2014 NBA MVP Kevin Durant Stats - 32.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.8 blocks, 38.5 minutes Finally, someone has ...