The Straight Hoop

Team USA basketball is some of the most compelling basketball you can watch. International play brings together some of the best basketball players in the world and sticks them on the same team; is there anything more compelling than great players playing with other great players? Any way, the player pool for the upcoming World Cup has been released and I thought it would be great to analyze the potential roster. Check out the full list of names  here . So there are some obvious player that are locks to make the cut for the Spain World Cup. All signs point to the two Kevin's (Durant and Love) making the trip to Spain later this year. So with the out the way here are who I think we will be sending to Spain to bring back the gold. Or is it a cup now? I can never keep these awards straight. Guards: Westbrook, Curry, Irving, Rose Forwards: Durant, George, Iguodala, Harden Bigs: Davis, Love, Aldrige, Cousins You may be noticing some big names missing from this roster, namely L...

I will never like David Stern for obvious reasons. Being from Seattle, this shouldn't come as a shocking revelation. Once Stern steps down as commissioner the lasting image I will have is  this  press conference, but particularly what he said not 5 seconds into this particular presser. This is Stern at his Sterniest; the NBA's lovable villain. I'm willing to bet that Stern is the smartest person in whichever room he walks into. He is meticulous in choosing exactly the right words to convey what he wants to. If you're to slow on the uptake you will completely miss the words behind his words. That's why that statement in that presser cuts pretty deep. The funny thing is that this is exactly why people will miss him when he is gone.  Stern understands that no matter what he does there will be a segment of people that dislike him no matter what; such is the life of a figure head. So Stern, in all his wisdom, decided to own that disdain and relish in it. he wante...

Full Disclosure: I think Kyrie Irving is really good. I would go as far to say as he deserves a max deal, even though the teams led by him haven't gotten a game over .500. I know that sounds strange, but hear me out. This season, Irving has a usage rate of about 29%; a number higher than most superstars. Now you may be saying to yourself  "if he is using that many possessions, most of the blame for the losses should be on Irving's shoulders." and to that I would ask can you blame him? For the Cavs to succeed as currently constructed Irving needs to be 06-07 Lebron and that is completely unfair to him. Some players just should't be high usage players. Rudy Gay would be the poster boy for that statement. Ever since his move to Sac-Town, his usage has fallen from around 30% to 24% and his numbers are already showing signs of improvement, particularly his shooting percentages. Irving would benefit from a similar dip in usage. To do this though you would need more qu...

Me: So it's been a pretty fun season so far. Kevin: Oh for sure, it seems like every team is going through some interesting point in their long-term plans. Me: Can you say that either of the New York teams have long-term plans though? Kevin: That's beside the point. Every team has something going on; take the Suns for instance.They just blew out the Clippers at home and are 6th in the West right now. You know who the lead guard for that team is? Me: Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic of course. At this point in this teams evolution, you can't mention one of these guys without the other. Still not all that convinced Bledsoe is a legit l guard though. I know it sounds crazy but the lineups where he is the sole point on the floor have some funky numbers. Kevin: Before I tell you how wrong you are I'll let you explain yourself. Me: Well, with the recent success the Suns have been having and knowing that Bledsoe is a massive part of that I started doing some random di...