Bleacher Report - Articles by Sonny Kung

Success Of Mid-Season Trades

Sonny Kung — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:02:27 -0400

The Suns, Mavericks and Lakers all made trades that were supposed to take them to the next level. All of three of these teams were good teams, but lacked something that would take them to the NBA Finals.

Now that the Suns have been eliminated in rapid fashion by the San Antonio Spurs, Suns GM Kerr will be criticized for okaying the trade that brought the Big Cactus to Phoenix. In a complete contrast to the Sun's uptempo game, the Suns brought in Shaq to help deal with defensive woes (ie. Tim Duncan). Shaq himself claimed that he would fit in with the Sun's offense by being the spark plug for fast breaks.

The reality was that Shaq could not contain Duncan in the playoffs. Shaq's presence in the paint also limited Steve Nash's offensive creativity. Steve Nash's assists per game dropped from 11.7 pre-All-Star game to 9.9 post-All-Star game. The Sun's had to change their style too much to incorporate Shaq and they were never able to get in- sync.

The Mavericks trade that brought Jason Kidd to Dallas resulted in similar problems. Jason Kidd was supposed to provide leadership and reduce the pressure on a less confident Dirk Nowitzki. Jason Kidd soon clashed with Mavericks coach Avery Johnson. Johnson prefers to dominate his point guards with instructions from the sidelines. This limited Kidd's natural style of play. Kidd also became a defensive liability when matched up against younger and quicker point guards.

The one blockbuster trade that has been fruitful has been the Laker's swindling of the Memphis Grizzlies. The deal brought Pau Gasol to the Lakers for practically nothing. Unlike the other two major mid-season trades, bringing Gasol to L.A. made sense. A versatile big man fit perfectly with Phil Jackson's triangle offense. Gasol's finesse complimented the Laker's athletic center Andrew Bynum perfectly.

Unlike the 35 year-old Jason Kidd and the 36 year-old Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol is only 27 years-old. The Lakers trade allows them to remain competitive for years to come as Kobe Bryant enters his prime the same time Gasol does.

The Mavericks and the Suns have made the terrible mistake of gambling away their future for the present.

Rising Hornets Have a Tough Challenge in Solid Spurs

Sonny Kung — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:54:38 -0400

Chris Paul will have to follow up his masterful performance against the Dallas Mavericks with a series against the reigning world champion San Antonio Spurs.

How about that for pressure?

The Spurs will try to contain Chris Paul with the same approach that every other team has utilized. However, the Spurs may be the only team capable of pulling it off.

One of Paul's biggest assets is his extreme quickness. This was clearly seen in the Hornets-Mavericks series when Paul, time after time, blew past the aging Jason Kidd.

Paul was also able to use his speed to dart into the passing lanes, disrupting Kidd's ability to set up for his teammates.

Unlike Kidd, Tony Parker of the Spurs has the speed to stay in front of Paul. Even if Paul has penetrated past Parker, he will run into Tim Duncan patrolling the paint.

The Spurs will probably try to limit Paul's penetration and force him to take outside shots. This may be problematic for the Hornets because in four games against the Spurs this season, Paul has only been shooting 18 percent from three-point range.

Much of the Hornets’ success this season was related to the development of Tyson Chandler as a force in the paint. Chandler will most likely be matched up against the Big Fundamental.

Duncan's defensive prowess will definitely limit Chandler's offensive capabilities. In the games between the Hornets and Spurs this season, Chandler shot 48 percent from the field. It was a huge drop from his 62 percent for the season.

Byron Scott may have coached in the NBA Finals before and may be the newly anointed Coach of the Year. However, Popovich's coaching ability is unmatched.

There are very few coaches better than Popovich at making in-game adjustments and adapting to different situations.

The biggest problem for the Hornets, though, is their bench or lack-thereof. The Hornets’ second unit is very limited and definitely has no one capable of matching up with Spurs super-sub Manu Ginobili.

The Spurs’ bench is one of the deepest and experienced in the entire league.

Chris Paul is a young superstar. Like Jordan before him, he will have to go through the defending champions if he wants to lead his team to the finals.

Chris Paul Steps over Mavericks on His Way to Superstardom

Sonny Kung — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:56:33 -0400

Sports experts commonly say that players' careers are truly defined by the performances in the playoffs.

Even though Chris Paul's playoff legacy is only two games long, it is clear that he is on his way to greatness.

Defying the conventional wisdom that playoff experience is invaluable, Paul is leading a team with limited playoff experience over a veteran playoff squad. In his second straight victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Paul simply could not be contained.

It may have been possible to simply dismiss Chris Paul's 35 points, 10 assists, and four steals performance in game one as a lucky debut.

However, Chris Paul's encore performance shattered such a notion. He ripped the Mavericks again for 32 points and 17 assists.

Even though Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson publicly stated that his team would try to contain Paul, even though the Mavericks constantly threw traps at Paul, even though the game plan was to get the ball out of Paul's hand—Paul asserted his will on the game.

His quickness and great sense of handle allowed him to split the traps, score, and find the open man. In multiple sequences, Paul darted by Kidd and managed to score on a variety of floaters and jumpers.

In the first quarter alone, Paul had six points and eight assists, contributing to the Hornet's playoff record of 39 first quarter points.

The road ahead is not going to be easy for Paul and the Hornets. The Mavericks will definitely try other methods in hopes of slowing Paul.

Also, the series now shifts to Dallas, where the Hornets have not won in over 10 years.

However, after watching Chris Paul's performances in games one and two, I don't think anyone would be surprised if that record changes in the coming week.

Rockets and Tracy McGrady Will Have to Wait Until Next Year

Sonny Kung — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:03:14 -0400

The past few postseason for the Rockets have ended in first-round exits. The man who has received the most criticism for the team's failure has been Tracy McGrady.

At the beginning of the season, the Rockets did not even appear to be in the playoff race. However, at the Rockets began their historic 22-game winning streak, they instantly became contenders again as they catapulted into the first seed of the Western Conference.

Despite the loss of Yao Ming to another injury, as long as the Rockets kept demonstrating that they could still win, they could still be considered legitimate contenders.

After Boston ended the Rocket's winning streak, they quickly became mired in mediocrity and dropped to the fifth seed earning themselves a first round match-up with the team that ended their post season run last year. The sad thing is, history is going to repeat itself.

Last year, the Rockets were taken to game seven after winning every single one of their home games and they still lost. Their home loss to the Utah Jazz eariler this week may have them given their opponents the psychological edge. Houston will have to be able to win on the road to beat the Jazz. That may be difficult given that the Utah Jazz have the best record in the league when playing at home.

The Jazz also post numerous mismatches against the Rockets. Part of the Rockets' success has been due to the never-aging Mutumbo filling in for Yao. However, Mutumbo will probably see very little time against the Jazz. The Jazz center, Okur likes to venture past the 3-point line, where Mutumbo is not very effective. The Rockets may put Shane Battier on Deron Williams to try to limit his effectiveness, but Williams has shone that when his shot is not falling, his assists soar. The Jazz's power forward Carlos Boozer will also give the Rocket's fragile front line a load to handle.

Despite the overall skill that McGrady has, he simply cannot carry his mismatched team out of the first round. McGrady and the Rockets will add another first round exit to their list and have to look forward to next year.

Fall of the Dallas Mavericks

Sonny Kung — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:40:51 -0400

Everything seems to be going wrong for the Mavericks this season.

Despite their immense failure against the Warriors last postseason, many pundits still had the Mavericks tagged to be a major player this year.

Today, the Mavericks are in a three-way battle for the final two playoff spots with the Nuggets and the Warriors.

This leads to the question, what's wrong with the Mavericks? On paper, they should be faring much better than they are.

They have the reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki. Plus, they have six players who have been All-Stars: Dirk, J-Kidd, Stackhouse, Josh Howard, Jamaal Magloire, and Juwan Howard. Heck, they could put these guys in as their starting five!

And they have one of the most respected and capable coaches in Avery Johnson.

I must say I am truly disappointed in the season that the Mavericks have put together. Despite the addition of Jason Kidd, it looks like this team will be simply gobbled up by the true NBA elite in the first round.

Who knew the first-round loss to the Warriors would leave such a scar on a once perennial contender?