Two Sides Of The Hoop » Brandon Jennings

Rookie of the Year anyone?

Paul — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:46:42 +0000

Ryan and Paul discuss the Rookie of the Year Award for season 2010:

Ryan	I can’t believe all of the arguing about Rookie Of The Year. It’s pretty cut and dried for mine. Stephen Curry has run away with this award over the last half of the season, it’s not even close. Brandon Jennings was scorching to start the season and cooled off to the point that he wasn’t even the best point guard on his team. Tyreke Evans’ 20-5-5 is a feat up there with only LeBron, MJ and Oscar, but he doesn’t understand team ball yet. Stephen Curry was projected to struggle and not be able to play point, and excelled on the most dysfunctional team in the league and GOT BETTER as the season wore on. He got significantly better as the year wore on while playing with d-league scrubs. Curry is the ROY with or without his dad voting for him.
Paul	Curry… ah another freedom fighter wanting what the rest of the media want… Well, this could only be made worse by mentioning, oh wait, you did! Tyreke Evans had a great year, not taking that away from him but Jennings is the pick. How many Playoff games have Evans and Curry played combined? Golden State is a rabble, and as such anyone who gets the ball is encouraged to shoot. Curry is a shooter… so.. he got to shoot a lot. Nothing related to rocket-science there. In Oakland it was IMPOSSIBLE for Curry to have a bad year unless he forgot how to shoot. Evans is a ball-hog. I see really good things for him in his future but right now, I can’t envision looking back on him as ROY and liking it. Jennings has dealt with the ups, (55pts) the downs, (not scoring 55pts) and the in-betweens this year and managed to play some great Basketball on a Playoff-bound team. He’s showing leadership qualities that demand he receive this award. It’s close.. but not that close.
Ryan	Ah-ha! The reason Curry is my ROY pick is because of his passing, not his shooting ability. His ability to share the rock on a team where no one else does, even though he is such a magnificent shooter, is damn impressive. You believe Jennings is the pick because his team made the playoffs? So he gets a benefit in an individual award by playing with better teammates and therefore having more team success? Stupidity. Rank stupidity. Jennings scored 55 points and that’s about it. His numbers are average and his impact is obviously average since he wasn’t on the floor during close games, Luke Ridnour was. And as mentioned earlier, you can’t bring playoffs into this. I will say Jennings will be the better long term pro, but as to who was better THIS year, it’s Curry. Hands down.
Paul	Take a look at the history, Playoffs and team performance still influence these awards whether you like it or not. It’s the same as when Dirk won the MVP. I was shocked that he still won it then because the announcement came after his Dallas Mavericks were eliminated by the No 8 seed! It just never happens. When Atlanta wins Game 5, you watch Jennings receive his trophy before the Game 6 tip off. Lock it in! Please let’s make a pact never to reference Luke Ridnour on 2soth again. We cool?
Ryan	Sorry, but you referenced a player who’s minutes were given to Luke Ridnour. That’s damning evidence there chief. And I don’t doubt that team and playoff performance influences these awards, but that doesn’t make it right. You’re bringing to mind the “if they jumped off a bridge” analogy. The system is broken in that local sportswriters see their local players and players who get national attention (games on TV) more than teams who aren’t performing, allowing them a better look. That doesn’t mean that a player toiling on a bad team is not having a better season. 09/10 Stephen Curry > 09/10 Brandon Jennings. It’s irrefutable. So all you are falling back on is that Jennings had a better roster and front office, so in your mind he should receive an award for having a better individual season . That makes no sense.
Paul	What makes no sense is a player being rewarded for being able to shine on a terrible team. You’ve said it yourself, Sac-Town and Golden State are just awful Basketball teams. You could put Michael Olowokandi in a Warriors uniform these days and he would average 15 and 8. Ronny Turiaf is a testament to this fact. Put Marvin Williams in a Clippers jersey and watch him shine.. it’s just not that newsworthy. Brandon Jennings despite his size and despite his Iverson-like shot selection early on and despite being in Milwaukee who see practically no Nationally televised games has developed his game throughout the year. He has lost his spot, got it back again and is now playing a great series against a tough Playoff opponent in Atlanta. It’s not purely the roster and front office, it’s about the journey and the level of difficulty before the results cap it all off. Just the 55 points in one game alone does not a Rookie of the Year make. But his play down the stretch, bouncing off the rookie wall and making a run with a depleted (how are the Bucks tied with the Hawks at this stage??) team decide it for me. I see your points on the other players and I give them their respect, but it’s Brandon Jennings all the way for ROY. You’ll see come Game 6 in Milwaukee.
Ryan	I’m gonna have to whistle you out of bounds here. Again you quote Playoffs. This award must be judged entirely on the regular season. Anything else is madness. You’re right though, Curry did shine. Unfortunately for your argument, Jennings didn’t. He was adequate 98% of the time and spectacular 2%. If Luke Ridnour is outplaying your rookie, you’re basically Joel Pryzbilla here. You don’t have a leg to stand on. Brandon Jennings ROY candidacy is going nowhere
Paul	Haha, I like your style but as usual I hate your argument. The ROY is judged on the entire season, whether you like it or not. Jennings started the fastest and will finish the strongest. You get that by playing and not sitting at home simulating via NBA 2k10.

Laker Blues…

Paul — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:58:55 +0000

As a quasi-Laker fan I’m happy to celebrate the dominance that LA has enjoyed over the past couple of seasons. I enjoy watching Kobe Bryant reaching even higher than we thought the top of his game reached. I enjoy watching Phil Jackson play the NBA the same way a cat plays with a mouse before she eats it. Always seemingly in control and never panicked.

Whether you follow the Lakers the way I do, you’re a die-hard fan or anything in between, you have to be more than a little concerned with the current Laker funk. I know it’s only two games but this current Laker stew that’s being cooked stinks of failure and complacency. The only player excelling since Gasol’s hamstring injury is Lamar Odom. This is great for Lamar but seemingly horrendous for the Lakers as no one else seems willing to step up from the bench crew.

Jordan Farmar had a nice scoring night against an average Dallas squad but apart from that there’s no spark from the bench at all. Sasha Vujacic, Derek Fisher and Josh Powell are just horrible to watch. (With the exception of Fisher’s defense… I can handle that!)

They make me cringe when they shoot the ball these days and they make it look like they’ve been sitting out of Basketball for a year.

Sasha and Derek putting their heads together is like watching two hippos try to walk a tight rope. It's going to end badly...

There’s no underestimating the value of Pau Gasol in this equation. Now I’m not saying he’s the “hardest” guy in the League but I certainly think the inside-outside game that he is a catalyst of, certainly holds the Lakers in better stead.

As for Kobe, well it’s easy to consider the finger injury, the knee injury, the elbow injury etc. The only trouble is, Kobe still continues to shoot tough fall-away jump shots during the 4th quarter of close games. Surely his brain isn’t injured too?

It’s the Milwaukee Bucks that visit the Lakers tonight in LA and after only emerging victorious by one point in overtime last meeting, the Lakers are vulnerable at best. It kicks off an interesting week for the Lake Show with a visit to San Antonio, Dallas and then back home to attempt to avenge their latest loss to the Clippers.

Milwaukee present a definitive challenge to LA. The Bucks have a good presence inside and the Bogut vs Bynum match-up will be great to watch. I’m most excited to see if Phil will give Shannon Brown significant minutes guarding Brandon Jennings. I think Brown’s mixture of speed and strength will provide the perfect counter. Either way it will be entertaining! I’m predicting a triple double for Lamar Odom also… I see 14p, 16r and 10a for the lanky number 7.

Jennings could destroy the Lakers... or provide the perfect opportunity for Shannon Brown to arrive.

Buckle up no matter who you are, as when the Lakers experience the Blues, it seems everyone has a lot more to talk about.

Hey Brandon Jennings, we

Ryan — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:49:57 +0000

Okay, the committee here at 2SOTH are sold on Brandon Jennings. 55 in three quarters is a historic event for a rookie, even if it does come against the Golden State Warriors. He has had a such great performances so far in this young season and the kid just looks more and more like a special talent.

Sure, his assists aren’t sky high, but that is more a factor of who he plays with. When the mediocre cast around him in Milwaukee manage to knock shots down that he gets assists.

Brandon Jennings, you may be on the national radar already but you’ve earned a special rookie watch section here on Two Sides Of The Hoop. Enjoy that limelight young man. We are watching.

Milwaukee’s Best Brew…

Paul — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:52:34 +0000

Forget his last two plays in last night’s loss to Chicago. Brandon Jennings is the real deal. Finishing with 25 points, 4 assists and 2 steals, Jennings showed me and anyone watching the game that he is a star waiting to shine.

His offense is unpredictable but effective to say the least. None of the Chicago backcourt could stay with him, and when the Bulls frontcourt sagged, Jennings simply scored. End of story.

The rookie endured a standard but horrible “no call” late in the fourth as Joakim Noah grabbed more arm than a fat chick in a nightclub at 3am. Still, Jennings made the shot and kept the Bucks in the game.

Brandon Jennings was disappointed but played a gutsy game against Chicago last night.

Derrick Rose was served notice last night that there’s a new star Point Guard emerging in the Central Division. It will be interesting to see how he responds. The Bulls travel to Cleveland on Thursday and they renew their rivalry with the Bucks on November 20th at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

I’ll have my eye on that game for sure.

Cleveland Boycott

Ryan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:51:29 +0000

We are officially ignoring everything about Cleveland for the next week. It’s a train wreck that should sort itself out once Mike Brown gets fired and they get a coach who can organize an offense, but it’s too horrid to watch right now. Plus there are lots of other great stories going on around the league. Examples being:

Brandon Jennings (currently giving Derrick Rose an uncomfortable welcome handshake in their first meeting)
Sam Dalembert showing proof of life against Boston
Carmello Anthony starting the season so el fuego that there hasn’t been a defense that can touch him and that’s just from today.

It's probably best not to look at the carnage in Cleveland right now

Draft talk

Ryan — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:37:56 +0000

So the draft lottery is today, and there is really only two studs in the draft, although we’ve heard talk of weak drafts before that turned out to be false alarms. So much of how these kids become successful relies on what team gets them in the draft.

I’ve only seen James Harden play two games, but I was really impressed with him, and think he’ll be a great addition to a team at the 2. The Thunder would be great for him. Clips or Wiz not so much.

Stephen Curry is an interesting player too. Amazing scorer at the college level, and trying hard to turn himself into a point guard. Those kind of things rarely work out, but the reviews are quite good.

Hasheem Thabeet I think will be a complete bust. A real DeSagana Diop type situational player. Certainly not worthy of a top 5 pick, but someone will reach for him. I think the Wolves will tag him, just coz they are so dysfunctional.

I’m also interested in Brandon Jennings. Left for Europe after not gaining eligibility, and had a very so-so year trying to learn a pro-playbook and play with grown men. Yet he is still projected highly, so i’m missing something clearly. That’s probably why the only GM job i’ve been offered recently is for the Timberwolves, but then they are trying to get everyone to take that job. Only Michael Myers would be interested in that much horror.