Welcome to The Triangle and 2 — a newsletter dedicated to basketball analysis, the business of sports and self improvement!
"What to do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it." — Coach Dean Smith (UNC Men’s Basketball, 1961-1997)
THE TRIANGLE…
The Triangle & 2 All Bubble Team — Part II
Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets):
This was the most challenging position to assess, given the performances of Damian Lillard, Marcus Smart (a Triangle & 2 favorite), James Harden, Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell — but “Playoff Murray” is real! For the season, Murray ranked 8th in shooting above expected percentages (by 6%, per Second Spectrum), and, even though that puts him 3rd on the list of players we considered, Murray helped the Nuggets rally from being down 3-1 twice in this year’s playoffs! Elevating his game when it mattered most, Murray’s playoff shooting above expected percentages jumped to a ridiculous 13.3% (second behind Mitchell). Murray’s array of spinning layups and acrobatic finishes against superb rim protectors and all-defense level wings made him unstoppable, even as opponents made him the focal point of their defensive game plans.
Though we previously highlighted Nikola Jokic’s passing ability, don’t sleep on Murray’s playmaking skills. Murray ranked 9th in playoff assists (6.6), but, more critically, Murray created nearly 13 shots per game for teammates (as the second best playmaker/passer on his team!). So much of this is because of how savvy he’s become reading pick and roll coverages, along with herky-jerky change of direction and speed moves. What Murray does in the clip below looks like common sense, but occupying two defenders for as long as he does (freeing up Jokic for an easy layup) isn’t something every guard in the league does this well.
Murray is a special talent and perfect for how Denver plays. They’ve become a force to be reckoned with, and, given their relative youth (average age of rotation players is 25.4 years), they should be in title contention for years to come. With the exceptions of Paul Millsap and Mason Plumlee, their group is under 30, including high-ceiling guys like Michael Porter Jr. and Bol Bol. Moreover, as today’s NBA landscape features so much player movement, the Nuggets’ roster continuity — this season was the fourth year together for three of the Nuggets starters (Jokic, Murray and Gary Harris) — allows them to be an increasingly well-oiled, in sync machine. Western Conference beware!
LeBron James (LA Lakers):
Easy selection here. This might be the hardest we’ve seen LeBron play since the Warriors-Cavs Finals in 2016. You can tell when he smells blood, and he smelled it throughout the playoffs this year, even with some minor hiccups in the 1st and 2nd rounds. For example, it’s usually difficult to execute good transition offense after a made basket/free throw, but LeBron challenged that notion with the way he brought it up the floor like a freight train off an inbounds pass. There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop him in transition — defensively, you try to “build a wall” and maybe take a charge, but LeBron is great at either drawing a foul, breaking through the wall, or both!
LeBron broke out every trick in the book for this Lakers title run. Brute force finishes in the paint (where he shot an absurd 71% during the playoffs, 13% above expectation), significantly more post ups than usual (3 per game), and much improved three-point shooting (37% on 119 attempts). His passing was off the charts, too — per Second Spectrum, LeBron created 17.7 shots per game for his teammates (2nd in the playoffs behind Jokic).
All that’s left to ask: How many more seasons/title runs does LeBron have left in him?
Do Coaches and Players Collect Cards?
As we at The Triangle & 2 have already written, there’s never been a more popular time to get into the trading card market. The combination of COVID-19, quarantine, the return of sports, and documentaries like The Last Dance have driven the market for trading cards and collectibles to unseen levels! We see the tweets from Darren Rovell every time another card or game-used item sells for an astronomical value. So we started wondering: what do collecting profiles of coaches and athletes look like?
We can report that Coach Tailor’s program has several enthusiasts and trading cards/collectibles have somewhat become a daily topic of conversation. Some things learned from these conversations: the collectors are all somewhat close in age (and grew up during the Pokemon/Jordan/Magic/Bird years), several have specific players they collect, and everyone is now thinking increasingly hard about these items as investments for their portfolios — even submitting numerous cards to PSA for grading! (Which means each card is issued a “serial number” and has its condition (e.g. mint or near-mint) graded by a third-party authentication company (in this case, PSA))
Cards that maybe 7-8 years ago were afterthoughts have suddenly skyrocketed in value; Coach Tailor’s Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard base rookie cards have spiked in value. Unsurprisingly, the prices of packs and boxes have also gone through the roof. A Panini box in 2013 cost about $100 — the 2020 edition of the same box sells for $300-400!
In fact, Coach T recently visited a hobby shop just outside of New Orleans (Markman Cards), and saw first-hand the increasing shift from collectible to investment. The store itself was set up like a mom & pop jewelry store where you have to ring a doorbell just to be allowed entry. Inside was (nearly) every current product on the market, not to mention countless investment-priced, graded cards. Being in the New Orleans area, there were plenty of Joe Burrow, Zion Williamson, and Drew Brees rookie cards, and all are selling quite well! (In line with the Triangle & 2 investment strategy, Coach T purchased (much to the chagrin of Mrs. Coach T!) a Luka Doncic rookie card (graded 9 by PSA — in other words, “Mint”))
Advice for potential collectors/investors — DO YOUR HOMEWORK and do it often! Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson said that “Separation is in the preparation” in an interview with Bill Simmons last week, and while he was talking about game preparation, this applies to just about everything, especially if you’re going to invest in cards and/or other collectibles. We’re not advocating that you throw any or all of your money into trading cards and collectibles, but if you take the plunge like we have, inform yourself first. Concepts like Rally (as we discussed a couple weeks ago) make it easy to make low-risk plays into collectibles without having to pony up several hundred or thousand hard-earned dollars! Coach T (and his fellow staffers) are increasingly interested in these types of low-risk plays!
Now, a small group of players, when quizzed about their interest in the collectible market, weren’t as enthusiastic as the older coaches and staff. Time will tell, but hopefully one day these athletes will also see the collectible market as an investment strategy! Even LeBron James is into it!
Rookie Rewind — Bol Bol (Denver Nuggets)
To say Bol Bol won the genetic lottery would be an understatement. We all (hopefully!) know he is the son of former NBA player Manute Bol. Just like his dad, Bol is huge — 7’2”, with a massive 7’8” wingspan. Add that to a strong guard/wing skill set and it’s obvious why he was the 4th ranked high schooler in the country in 2018. Though Bol’s freshman season at Oregon was cut short due to injury (9 games), he showed off his dazzling skills — to the tune of 21 PPG/9.6 RPG on 57% from 2 and 52% from 3. Per available Second Spectrum data, Bol shot 24% above what he was expected to shoot!
Nonetheless, the aforementioned injuries caused Bol to slide to the middle of the second round in the 2019 NBA Draft (44th pick), and also delayed his NBA debut (Bol didn’t play for the Nuggets until the Orlando bubble). While the fear of re-injury looms over Bol’s future, it’s hard not to fast forward to next season and think of what might be. The three most tantalizing things about Bol (that we saw in limited action) — soft touch, shooting range, and the ability to attack the rim — make him an almost unfair addition to an already loaded Denver rotation.
Here’s a tease of what we think is coming!
…AND 2
The 49ers Have A Light Therapy Room?
This week the San Francisco 49ers and Joovv, a California-based company that develops light therapy products, entered into a partnership making Joovv the official light therapy partner of the 49ers — the first ever light therapy company to team up with a pro sports franchise. Moreover, the 49ers are the first professional team with a dedicated light therapy space, with the “Joovv Recovery Room” located next to their locker room inside Levi’s Stadium. As Elliot Williams, the 49ers Director of Functional Performance, says, "Light therapy allows us to provide a player's body with an extremely valuable resource that is proven to support the body's natural inflammation process, increase cellular regeneration and aid in sleep optimization, three main aspects of recovery that ensure our players are at their best for gameday."
The Joovv Recovery Room inside Levi’s Stadium
The 49ers actually began using Joovv’s devices last season. Advancing to the Super Bowl, the team even made it a point to set up a Joovv station at their team hotel the week of the big game. In addition to the 49ers, other athletes, including Drew Brees (QB - New Orleans Saints) and Patrick Peterson (CB - Arizona Cardinals), have also begun utilizing Joovv products as part of their training/wellness routines.
A few of Joovv’s light therapy devices
So, how does Joovv actually work?
Joovv devices (which start at $445) emit both red light and near-infrared light. Per the company’s website, the red light is readily absorbed by surface tissues and cells, promoting better skin health and healing; near-infrared light (invisible to the human eye) penetrates into deeper tissues, allowing for enhanced recovery and inflammation support. While users can decide which light they want to be exposed to during any given session, Joovv’s new “Recovery+ Mode” (which will be featured in the 49ers recovery room) allows for continuous exposure to both types of light — which is “ideal for post-workout treatments.”
Undoubtedly, it will be interesting to see to what extent teams and athletes adopt light therapy as part of their training and recovery regimens — will more teams in the future have dedicated light therapy rooms?
To learn more about the science behind Joovv: https://joovv.com/pages/science
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." — Michael Jordan
Unsurprisingly, no one associates “failure” with Michael Jordan. When you’re widely regarded as the best basketball player of all-time (6 NBA Championships, 6 NBA Finals MVPs, 5 NBA MVPs and 10 NBA scoring titles), it’s nearly impossible for failure to enter into the conversation. Even if you’ve failed over and over again.
However, it’s important to remember that success is often born from struggle — from failure and disappointment. No matter who you are, things don’t always go the way you want. The result or results you wanted aren’t always achieved: perhaps you lost a competition/game, didn’t get a job you interviewed for, don’t look the way you want, haven’t accomplished some goal or milestone you set for yourself…the list goes on. It’s called life and being human. But it’s what we do with these setbacks that can lead us to the success we seek.
When we end up with the “wrong” outcome, we have a choice: (1) accept it and sulk (DO NOT RECOMMEND) or (2) learn from it and figure out what needs to change (i.e. where do you need to improve?). The path to success begins with framing an undesired outcome as instructive feedback — feedback that serves as a great teacher. You learn what must be improved, what must be done differently for a better outcome and what doesn’t work. As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
We must also remember that “failure” is sometimes just the natural price of success. How often have you heard of an entrepreneur whose 5th idea (or even 15th!) was the one that hit it big? Perhaps 5th time’s a charm…or, more likely, the lessons learned from each undesired outcome allowed the entrepreneur to learn/get better/refine his or her skills and ideas.
So next time something doesn’t go your way, don’t let it become a judgment about you (“I’m a failure!"). Instead, remember it’s merely feedback — designed to help you continually become a better version of yourself.
Just ask Michael Jordan.
We’re just getting started here and would love to get your feedback on how we can get better! Drop us a line at thetriangleand2@gmail.com and help spread the word!
— Ali K. & Coach Tailor (aka “THE TRIANGLE AND 2 GUYS”)
Ali Khan is a graduate of Harvard Law School; Amit Tailor is a graduate of Yale University and the video coordinator for Clemson Men’s Basketball