NBA.com Just Got Better

by Jeff Clark on Jan 9, 2009 10:13 AM EST in News/Links Comment 9 comments

A long standing complaint I've had is that NBA.com has been consistently bad for many years. It was always too busy looking, packed with fluff, no real content, and focused only on marketing. That's starting to change. The site is more organized, offers more content, and even though it still loads a little slow, I'm finding more useful stuff there.

Today the site got about 30 times better. Why? Because now David Aldridge started writing a daily column/blog for them.

Here's what I hope to do when we get all the bells and whistles attached: Give you a daily dose of what's going on around the league. That's information, informed speculation, interviews and, yes, some trade talk. It will always be factual. It is always subject to response and criticism. I welcome both. When others break big stories, I'll link to them. I'll have a Blogroll up soon with some of my favorite basketball-centric sites and writers, and hopefully, we'll be able to link to some of my podcast interviews and sound.

Perfect timing too - just before the trade deadline action starts heating up.

Aldridge is one of my longtime favorite writers/analysts. I enjoy his style, he has an intelligent perspective on the league, he's not afraid to talk rumors, and I actually trust his sources (as much as you can trust any sources). Side note: I met him once many years ago and I can say that he's the same off the air as he appears on it. A good quality.

He starts off by making the point that the Class of '09 might (from a certain point of view) be even better than the class of 2010. Sounds loony, I know, but he makes some solid points and talks about the state of the NBA's finances in the process. A good read.

Back to the NBA.com site, I also found an interesting chart in their Celts/Cavs preview article.

Celtics' Efficiency

Player	First 29	Last 8	Diff.
Ray Allen	17.3	12.5	-4.8
Kevin Garnett	22.1	19.6	-2.4
Kendrick Perkins	14.7	12.6	-2.2
Paul Pierce	17.5	23.6	+6.1
Rajon Rondo	19.1	12.6	-6.5

The numbers back up what we've been seeing with our own eyes. Rondo has been struggling, Ray has been slumping, and Pierce has been trying to carry the load. Sure, we need more from the bench, but it wouldn't hurt to have the starters back on their game as well.

0 recs | Comment 9 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Great news about NBA.com

I haved great respect for David Aldridge as well and look forward to reading his work.

As for the Effeciency chart, I think most people have seen this with their own eyes however I’m still amazed at how many people call out KG….yes his numbers are down but not by that much and they were pretty high to start the season…..yet give Rondo, the guy who has declined the most by far, a complete pass. He’s down a third of his effeciency. That’s huge!

by Jaycelt on Jan 9, 2009 10:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Why is that so hard to believe? one is a superstar that makes 24 million, the other is a 22 yr old who makes 1 million…KG is not carrying his weight or earning his paycheck right now as far as im concerned…
Agreed, great news for NBA.com though

by TheAncientRivalry on Jan 9, 2009 11:12 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Another thing I think is that KG really hasnt been playing up to par all along, while rondo was playing was arguably carrying us on that 19 game win streak and teams are actually gameplanning around him and hes fallen back to earth

by TheAncientRivalry on Jan 9, 2009 11:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I repeat

ONE-THIRD of his efficiency.
His 19.1 to start the season would put him 9th amongst point guards. Very good, hardly great.
His 12.6 the last 8 games would put him 35th, right between Beno Udrih & Tyronn Lue.
And I disagree that Rondo was carrying us at any point in the season.

by Jaycelt on Jan 9, 2009 1:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agree to disagree, the winning streak had more to do with Rondo, Perk, and Ray than it did Pierce or KG…mainly rondo, who when he is on makes everyone better, isnt that a point guards job? KGs play has been suppar pretty much all along

by TheAncientRivalry on Jan 9, 2009 2:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

KG

I recently read a piece about the Celtics ability to repeat….I wish I could remember where or who wrote it so I could link. It was very well written and well thought out.
Basically the writer pointed out that of the Big 3 KG is the one that has been in steady decline for the last few years. However, as he pointed out, a declining KG is still head and shoulders above 98% of NBA players.

I wouldn’t expect to see some huge turnaround on KG’s part. I think if we get anything over 20 eff from KG we should be just fine.

by Jaycelt on Jan 9, 2009 3:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

NBA.com Broadband

Good post Jeff.

I’m a Celtics transplant who travels frequently and has league pass, which includes broadband access to games. League pass broadband on NBA.com is UNREAL. You can watch all games streaming live with incredible quality.

there’s even dropdowns for real time stats. check it out folks if you have LP.

by BirdNerd on Jan 9, 2009 11:05 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Those efficiency numbers aren’t friendly to the C’s backcourt.

by Who on Jan 9, 2009 1:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah David Alldridge has always had my respect too. The guy always had the scoop when he worked for ESPN and he delivered it straightforward. You knew that when David Alldridge popped up on the TV, you were about to hear some breaking news.

Is it true they replaced him with the fool who screams a lot?

by LarBrd33 on Jan 9, 2009 2:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs