Ask and you shall receive....

[Mark Piotrowski <markp@edu15.coe.ufl.edu>]

>The toughest move is from mediocre to good in the NBA, and I'm not so sure
>the Celts are ready to make that jump. It's certainly possible, but any talk
>of 50 wins probably is overly optimistic. I wish someone more ambitious than
>myself would go back and try to find any team that made a 14-win jump
>without adding a bonafide star via draft/free agency, etc.

Mark,

I agree with you that the biggest jump is from mediocre to good and 
that the C's are probably a year away from really making a big jump. 
But you're wish piqued my curiosity so i went back and looked (i 
doubt this makes me more ambitious than you, maybe just more geeky).

Last year 5 teams made double-digit jumps in wins last year (only 1 
team made 14 win jump, but consider San Antonio only made a 16 game 
jump when they added Duncan and got Robinson back healthy (they did 
add 36 wins when they added Robinson and Sean Elliott as rookies), 
and i think the list will surprise you (it did me).

You could argue that almost every team did it without adding a 
bonafide star, of course "bonafide" is up for debate. [Unfortunately 
i really don't have the list of who each team lost, the old addition 
by subtraction].  The conclusion that it seems to point to is that 
Double Digit wins (at least last year) come from (a) 
maturation/improvement of already present stars or soon-to-be-stars 
(b) teams gelling as a unit and (c) the addition of some solid 
supporting casts.

All of this of course bodes well for the Celtics b/c of the reports 
of Antoine's summertime dedication, and the improvement we made at 
the end of last season.

---

1.  Houston Rockets (+10)

additions:  Maurice Taylor, Jason Collier, Dan Langhi

NONE of these players are stars.  Taylor was a bust, averaging 5.5 
rebounds at 6-9, 260?!?  And his scoring avg. dropped 4 points, 
rebounds dropped 1.  The difference with the Rockets was (a) they 
were just hurt the year before so the jump in wins was back to where 
they should have been (b) Cutino Mobley doubling his rookie avg of 
two years ago (9.9 in 98/99, 19.5 this year) and (c) Steve Francis 
becoming the leader of the Rockets (instead of Hakeem).

2.  Milwaukee Bucks (+10)

additions:  Jason Caffey, Lindsey Hunter, Joel Pryzbilla

hardly any stars added here.  The Bucks won 10 more games (a) b/c the 
East was weaker this year than last (10 of the 15 teams lost more 
games this year than the previous year; 2 of the 3 teams that had 
double digit drops in wins (Pacers & Pistons) were in the East (the 
3rd?  lakers!) and (b) this team just came together, became a TEAM. 
No player made any sort of significant jump in stats (a point or two 
here, a rebound more for a couple players). They also stayed healthy, 
something that plauged them in 99.


3.  Sacramento Kings (+11 -- and the only team to have more than 43 
wins the previous year)

additions:  Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson, Hidayet Turkoglu

I would split this differential 3 ways.  (1) Chris Webber's MVP like 
season, (2) Stojakovic's development (doubled rebounds and points to 
become a legitimate 2nd option to Webber) and (3) acquiring Christie. 
Christie played phenomenal but i don't think he's a star.

4.  Dallas Mavericks (+13)

additions:  Howard Eisley, Christian Laettner/Juwaan Howard, Loy 
Vaught, Etan Thomas, Courtney Alexander/Calvin Booth, Donnell Harvey, 
Eduardo Najera, Bill Curley

Mavs added Laettner and Eisley and 3 #1 picks (Thomas, Alexander and 
Harvey) at the start of the season and J. Howard and Booth (for 
Alexander, Thomas, Laettner and Hubert Davis) at the trade deadline. 
So they added some talent but the big reason for the +13 wins was the 
coming out of Dallas' Big 3 (if you'll allow me the term): Michael 
Finley, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitski.  Finley was already arguably an 
all star, Nash avg. 3 more assists & 7 more points, Nowitzki added 4 
points and 3 rebounds.

5.  L.A. Clippers (+16 (!))

additions:   Keyon Dooling, Corey Maggette, Derek Strong, Sean Rooks, 
Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson

while Miles may turn out to be an all-star, and Dooling, Maggettee 
and Richardson will probably enjoy productive NBA careers (a la Rick 
Fox or Aaron McKie) i don't think anyone would say they fit into the 
star category right now.  I think the Clips jump was due (1) to Lamar 
Odom's maturation into a star (2) Alvin Gentry becoming coach and (3) 
the overall overhaul of the roster.