The Wrong Reasons Podcast 2/25

Why the Panthers Should Not Draft A WR in the First Round

The Panthers had a surprisingly strong season last year, finishing 12-4, with a tough home loss to the 49ers in the Divisional Playoff Round. Looking forward to next year, many pundits have identified WR as the position the Panthers need to improve the most via free agency or the draft.

Right now, both David Newton (the ESPN Panthers reporter) and Mel Kiper Jr. have the Panthers taking a WR in the first round. Kiper has the team selecting Brandin Cooks, a WR from Oregon St., with the 28th pick. This is a mistake, and they should take an OT instead.

Post All-Star Break Thoughts

59 games into the season, the Clippers are 39-20, which puts them on pace for around 54 wins.  Although the Vegas season win total before the season was 57, the injury bug has hit the Clippers more significantly than anyone expected.  Chris Paul, Matt Barnes, and J.J. Redick, arguably three of the five most important players on the roster, have missed significant chunks of games.  In light of these injuries, Clippers fans should be very happy with the team's current record.  The question now is, what factors will contribute to making or breaking the Clippers season going forward?

The Wrong Reasons Podcast 2/24

Bobcats Trade Deadline Recap

The Bobcats made one move at the trade deadline, trading Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien for Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour. (Unless Gordon's toxic attitude and contract finally get bought out?) Although the trade isn't a blockbuster, it does seem to raise some interesting questions about what the Bobcat's management forecasts for these players.

Numbers Never Lie: Clippers Edition

If you haven't seen the show "Numbers Never Lie" on ESPN2, consider yourself lucky.  It's a terrible show that poses completely subjective questions and pretends as if the statistics they provide as answers somehow give the viewer a definitive answer.  There is very little thought-provoking statistical analysis for a show that is supposedly based on numbers.  So here at D-League MVP, we are going to do our own version of "Numbers Never Lie" that doesn't totally suck.  Without further ado, let's find out: (1) if Griffin has improved his jump shot; (2) whether DJ has made the leap; and (3) is Mullens worthless?

Quick Thoughts on Clippers' Start

Eight games into the NBA season, the Clippers have navigated a fairly difficult early schedule about as one would expect, accumulating a 5-3 record.  Overall, the offense has looked even better than last year.  The Clippers are currently second in the NBA in offensive efficiency, scoring 109 points per 100 possessions.  Chris Paul has been in attack mode more often than usual early in the season, Jamal Crawford is off to a red hot start much like last season, JJ Redick is scoring efficiently, and DeAndre Jordan is leading the NBA in offensive rebounding.  Blake Griffin is off to a terrific start as well, putting up 22.1 PPG on 57% shooting.  The constant nitpicking by members of the national media of Blake’s game (particularly his offensive game) actually make him one of the more underrated players in the NBA.  So that’s the good news….

But apparently, there is this other half of the game called defense.  Somebody should alert the Clippers to this fact.  The Clippers are 28^th in the NBA in defensive efficiency, allowing 106 points per 100 possessions.  While I will not pretend to have any expert insight into the defensive schemes that Doc Rivers is implementing, the most logical explanation for the Clippers' struggles is a learning curve.  This team was middle of the pack defensively last year and the personnel is no worse this season.  As the team learns to Rivers’ principles and system, I would expect them to rise to the middle of the pack or perhaps a bit better.