This past Thursday marked two weeks since the NBA’s notably uneventful “dud-line.” There were certainly potential big time moves that could have spiced things up, like Dwight Howard getting booted out of Tinseltown, or what almost happened, Josh Smith ending up somewhere other than Atlanta. In the end, the biggest splash was J.J. Redick suiting up as a Milwaukee Buck.
We here at Sports Jerks analyzed the NBA trade deadline when it first happened, but these types of things need time to smooth over. So, below is our take on how it’s gone for some of the teams and players who got a reboot this past month.
Redick Becomes A Buck
Milwaukee Bucks received J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon, & Ish Smith / Orlando Magic received Tobias Harris, Beno Udrih, & Doron Lamb
The person who most benefited from this trade seems to be Monta Ellis. On top of rumors that he might be staying in Milwaukee, he has shot a ridiculous 61.1% for the month of March. Since the All-Star break he is shooting 48.3 FG% (though still a laughable 28.6% from downtown). Redick still has to find his groove, but the Bucks are 4-2 since he made it out to the Midwest.
Beno Udrih says he’s happier in Orlando but his numbers don’t show it. Doron Lamb also hasn’t had an impressive showing. But Tobias Harris has been a revelation. 23, 27, 6, 15, 16, 7 are the point totals he’s put up in the last six games. No doubt he’s been doing it on a very bad team, but throw in an average of 6.3 rebounds per game since becoming a Magic, and he becomes deep-league Fantasy gold.
They Steal Bases In Baseball, Top-5 Picks In Basketball
Houston Rockets received Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt, & 2nd Round Pick / Sacramento Kings received Patrick Patterson, Toney Douglas, and Cole Aldrich
The Rockets saw a major personnel change, but have been almost the same team, at least winning wise. Their field goal percentage has gone up, but mostly because they’ve since been using Chandler Parsons—who, Fantasy League owners take note, is playing out of his mind right now—and Donatas Motiejunas more. And Lin less.
Toney Douglas and Patrick Patterson, you got to feel bad for them, are the only two players on the Kings that have a positive +/- output, and they’ve only played in about eight games for them. The only two to have a positive score. Sad, really.
OKC Ups Their Championship Caliber
Oklahoma City Thunder received Ronnie Brewer / New York Knicks received 2nd Round Pick
It’s starting to seem obvious that the Knicks are more interested in their future than in chasing for a chip this year. They decided to keep a hobbled Iman Shumpert, who has plenty of upside, instead of trading for Jared Dudley. Although he was slumping, they also sent Ronnie Brewer (who provided some much needed wing defense ) to OKC for a round pick.
OKC has benefited from the Brewer addition, and certainly from re-signing Derek Fisher, as they’re 7-3 in the last ten games played. Their defense has improved in almost all fronts. Their opponents are shooting worse (41.7 FG% compared to 43.1), despite taking slightly more field goal attempts per game (84.9 compared to 85), and are rebounding and assisting to each other less. All most likely because of an increased defensive tenacity from the Thunder, which Brewer helps improve.
Telfair Joins Rudy Gay
Phoenix Suns received Hamed Haddadi & 2nd Round Pick / Toronto Raptors received Sebastian Telfair
A 2nd Round Pick continues to be good for Phoenix who will need all the building blocks possible to climb out of a bleak future. They will continue to struggle, and the most Haddadi has contributed are six fouls over two games.
The Raptors have been slightly better with Gay, but their 3-7 record for the last ten games wouldn’t tell you that. Telfair has been a nice little addition, averaging 4.3 PPG, 2.7 APG, and 1.3 STLPG, since joining the team, but isn’t going to be a marquee player anytime soon.
The Celtics Get A Scoring Punch
Boston Celtics received Jordan Crawford / Washington Wizards received Leandro Barbosa’s expiring contract & Jason Collins
Boston is surging. They’ve won seven of their last ten, and some of the wins have come against East Conference juggernauts like the Indiana Pacers. It can’t be much attributed to Jordan Crawford’s acquisition, seeing as he’s only played 95 minutes for them, but he is averaging 5.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.0 APG in 13 minutes of play—much better than an injured Leandro Barbosa.
Despite a recent improvement, the Wizards are still atrocious. However, their winning percentage for the last ten games (4 wins & 6 losses, or .400) is almost ten percent better than what they’ve put up for the season (19 wins & 41 losses, or .316). Getting rid of Crawford has helped them improve, even if by relative standards, though the results are still abysmal.
