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Camp Lessons: What We've Learned so Far in NBA Preseason

Published by Bleacher Report on Fri, 09 Oct 2015


There's not much of a living to be made in the NBA preseason prediction game. If you're drawing serious conclusions about the real 2015-16 campaign based on what's happening in early October, well...don't expect to get much right.Still, as long as we don't get too carried away, there's plenty to be learned from the NBA's annual exhibition season.Here's what we've got so far.Paul George Should Get In on This Power Forward ThingPaul George hasn't warmed up to the Indiana Pacers' plans to use him more often (and even start him) at power forward this season, but maybe he should."I don't think I'm at that point in my career where I should be changing positions," George told Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star before training camp. "Ithink guys do that later in their career."The Pacers slotted George at the 4 in the preseason opener anyway, and all he had to do was tangle with Anthony Davis. George was fine in 24 minutes, scoring 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, but it was hard to blame him for his continued skepticism about the positional switch.But in Indy's second preseason tilt, George tasted the sweeter side of life as an undersized power forward. He ripped off 32 points on 5-of-9 shooting from long range, basking in the space that larger, slower defenders gave him. The efficacy of George at the 4 became obvious: He was far too quick for typical power forwards to employ tight coverage, so all he had to do was drill open triples as the too-slow bigs tried to close out on him.And as he ran off screens, opponents unaccustomed to chasing him fell too far behind.Pretty easy way to make a living, especially for a player like George who is a career 36.1 percent shooter from deep and whose jumper looked even better in his abbreviated comeback last year. Whatever pounding George might take on defense will be worth it if he gets an endless supply of open looks.And Indy's offense will benefit greatly from the spacing his presence creates, which is kind of the whole point behind the move.This will work if George embraces it. Now he has a reason to.Everybody Thinks the Old Kobe is the Old KobeOld Kobe Bryant and "the old Kobe Bryant" are two very different things, though you wouldn't know it from the way fans and even teammates have talked about him this preseason."You aren't ever going to be in a rebuild as long as that guy is on the team," Brandon Bass told NBA.com's David Aldridge, referring to Bryant.That's true in a couple of ways. First, literally, as Bryant's presence on the Lakers truly does prevent a serious rebuild; he makes too much money, and there's been no indication that other stars want to play with him.And second, symbolically. Somehow, there's still a belief that Bryant, entering his 20th season amid profound physical and statistical decline, is among the league's best players. Go ahead and check Twitter for the sea of indignant responses to Bryant being ranked 93rd in ESPN's #NBARank series. You'll leave thinking he's still a superstar when, in reality, he hasn't produced anything of the sort for more than two years.The Lakers plan to play him a little less and at a different position (small forward) in an effort to preserve him for what should be a rollicking run to 25 or so wins. That was kind of the plan last year, though, and Bryant didn't exactly go along with the minutes restriction.Which highlights what might be the biggest problem: Even Old Kobe thinks he's still the old Kobe.The Utah Jazz Are Getting Creative in All the Right WaysWe can't get too far ahead of ourselves here because the Utah Jazz's experiment with point guard-less basketball didn't last very long in their preseason opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.The important lesson, though, is that they were willing to try it. And there were moments when it looked pretty good, per Tony Jones of theSalt Lake City Tribune:Dante Exum is out for the year, Trey Burke played the position about as poorly as it could be played last season, and Raul Neto, while intriguing, is certainly not one of Utah's five or six best players. So why not go all 1997 Ron Harper Era Chicago Bulls and ditch the point guard entirely'Alec Burks, Rodney Hood and Gordon Hayward can all do a handful of things as playmakerswith Hayward probably being the most versatile in that regard. As long as Burks is up to the task of chasing around the league's quicker point guards on defense, Utah could see this lineup (with Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert up front, of course) pay dividends.And even if Burks can't stay with his man, it's not as though Burke or any of the Jazz's other options would do much better. Besides, with Gobert and Favors lurking inside as the keys to a flat-out elite defense, any point guard who beats Burks off the dribble won't do much damage in the lane.Here's hoping we see the Jazz scrap conventional lineups even more as the preseason rolls on.Stephen Curry Feels Pretty GoodWhen you lead a team to 67 wins, collect an MVP award and an NBA title, sometimes doubt can creep in.Can I live up to the standard I've set'Was that as good as it'll ever get'From the looks of it, Stephen Curry is suffering no such crisis of confidence.That sound you just heard was the collective groan of opposing head coaches around the league.If the Bulls Don't Already Belong to Jimmy Butler, They Should SoonTry this one on for size from Joe Cowley of theChicago Sun-Times:According to the source, Butler considers Rose a friend, but doesnt have a lot of respect for his work ethic. In Butlers mind, Rose was considered the face of the franchise, and if the face of the franchise wasnt busting his butt in practice every day, especially last season, what was the message to the rest of the team'Jimmy Butler was clearly the Chicago Bulls' best player last year, and everything he's shown so far in the preseason suggests he's taken yet another step forwardparticularly as a facilitator. If it's also true that Derrick Rose had what could be kindly described as a shaky year in 2014-15, and if he isn't setting the tone for his teammates in practice, the battle for Bulls alpha dog is officially over.Even without Cowley's report, Butler had done enough to earn No. 1 status for the upcoming season. This just confirms it.The Stars Are AligningInjuries stink, but they're an unavoidable part of every preseason. And to be clear, nobody's rooting for players to get hurt.It's just that Alexis Ajinca's hamstring pull and Omer Asik's calf strain could combine to create something beautiful: Anthony Davis at starting center for the New Orleans Pelicans.With Asik expected to miss three weeks and Ajinca potentially out for twice as long, Davis is the obvious choice to start at the 5 now. And let's be honest. We all want this. We all want this badly.Oh but itis, Marc. Itis what they need.It's Davis' destiny to become a new species of player: a floor-stretching center whose threat as a roller and off-the-dribble attacker comes with an interior defensive presence never before seen in someone with so many offensive skills. Usually, employing a multi-talented offensive big man at center means sacrificing defensive integrity.Not in this case as Davis, still just 22, is already among the league's most potent defenders.We've already heard about Davis putting on muscle and shooting more threes, and the addition of head coach Alvin Gentry will surely open up new and exciting possibilities in the Pellies' offensive scheme.The circumstances of its arrival are a bummer for Asik and Ajinca, but the time has come nonetheless. Davis is going to change the game this season.The Knicks Are Still KnickingWe'll try to keep this positive by not piling on the New York Knicks too early in the preseason, but a concerning, familiar trend showed up in their exhibition tilt against Brazilian professional squad Bauru.NBA.com's John Schuhmann was the bearer of bad news:That's a problem because so much of the Knicks' failure to score last season stemmed from an adherence to principles of the Triangle offense that devalued three-point shooting. In today's NBA, that's not going to cut itunless you want to finish 29th in offensive efficiency, which is where the Knicks ranked last season, per NBA.com.Hey, it's not all bad in New York. Rookie Kristaps Porzingis was clearly anxious in his debut, but he hit a pair of threes and pinned a shot against the glass on defense. No matter what happens with the Knicks' offense this year, he'll be a source of intrigue.Moving on.Kevin Durant Is Where He Wants to BeIn terrific news for NBA fans everywhere but especially those loyal to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant has looked, sounded and acted like his old self throughout the preseason.He went 5-of-8 for 15 points in 22 minutes on Oct. 7, tossing in four assists and a couple of rebounds in a tidy performance. Best of all, Durant delivered a message that should ease the minds of OKC fans who think he'll leave as a free agent next summer."Once I got on the court, I felt right at home," Durant told reporters.What's that' The game was played in Minneapolis'I guess that settles it: Durant's heading to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2016.Seriously, though, get ready for word-parsing and overreactions like that all season long as KD's free agency looms large.LeBron James Remains a Man of the PeopleGood luck ever wiping the grins off those kids' faces.Less than three weeks until the season starts for real. Let's all concentrate really hard and see if we can make it happen sooner.Follow Grant Hughes on Twitter @gt_hughes.
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