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Kids aren't the only ones who have filled out a wish list ahead of Christmas Day.
Whether it's written down and sent to the North Pole or not, NBA front offices have already dreamed up their own wish list for the 2014-15 NBA season.
With five games on tap on Christmas Day, let's dole out what should be on the Christmas Day wish list for each of the 10 teams who will tip off. Maybe it's a dose of good health. Maybe it's acquiring a certain type of player that can take them to the next level. Maybe it's the NBA equivalent of a lump of coal in your stocking: more pingpong balls.
With the first leg of the NBA season under our belts, here's the NBA wish list, in order of Christmas Day appearance.
Washington Wizards at New York Knicks, 12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
WASHINGTON WIZARDS WISH LIST: A lesson in first grade math.
The Washington Wizards are the best 3-point shooting team in the NBA, having made 38.9 percent of all shots beyond the arc. And yet for some reason, the Wiz hate taking them. They have fired up nearly twice as many midrange jumpers as 3-pointers, despite converting identical percentages on 3s and long 2s. If one apple is healthier and more delicious than another at the same price, why the heck are you going for the rotten one?
The Wiz wield plenty of capable 3-point shooters in Bradley Beal, Rasual Butler and Paul Pierce, but they seem happy to bail out the defense and pull up in the midrange. If the Wiz shifted just 150 of their 822 midrange attempts into 3-pointers at their current conversion rates, they'd mathematically jump from being tied at 13th in offensive efficiency all the way up to seventh. Just by tweaking their shot allocation. Repeat after me: three is more than two. Three is more than two.
NEW YORK KNICKS WISH LIST: Pingpong balls.
Depending on your perspective, the Knicks' 2014-15 season has either been an outright disaster or a parade-worthy, kazoo-blaring success. The Knicks completely own their 2015 pick, so this is a perfect time to hunt for pingpong balls. Right now, the Knicks are on pace for a whopping 14 wins, which would simultaneously be the worst season in franchise history and Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie's worst nightmare.
Just embrace the tank already, sit the hobbled Carmelo Anthony and replenish his trade stock. No one is dealing for a 30-year-old with a nine-figure contract and knee problems. Didn't we learn this already with Amar'e Stoudemire? The good news: the Knicks are getting blown out by 11.2 points every 100 possessions with Anthony watching from the bench this season. That's a lot of pingpong balls. Knicks fans, it's time to reel for Jahlil.
Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs, 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER WISH LIST: A clean bill of health.
In the Thunder's championship run to the 2012 Finals, neither Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook nor Serge Ibaka missed a single game the entire season. Never missed one. They played 1,664 minutes, or 25.1 minutes per game, together. Basically, an entire half every game they featured three studs on the floor.
But this season? Totally different story. Westbrook, Durant and Ibaka have played together just 173 minutes total, or 5.9 minutes per team game. In other words, OKC's three-headed monster has taken the floor one-fifth as often as it did during their only Finals campaign. Injury fortune can shift the entire NBA landscape and the Thunder know that better than anybody. Oh, and how's that Westbrook-Durant-Ibaka trio doing this season? It's outscoring opponents by 20.8 points per 100 possessions. Uncle.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS WISH LIST: A new hand for Kawhi Leonard.
Good luck finding the right size. After the Spurs and Leonard couldn't come to an agreement on a contract extension this summer, the 25-year-old has dealt with lingering issues from a preseason eye infection, five stitches due to a right eye laceration and now a torn ligament in his shooting hand that will hold him out indefinitely. Not good for the defending champs.
With his array of health issues, Leonard has missed 30 of his 39 3-pointers outside the corners, which has helped send his true shooting percentage from 60.2 percent last season down to 53.9 percent this season. Part of that efficiency decline is a result of him shouldering a heavier load on offense, but Leonard doesn't just have to have a bigger hand in the Spurs' offense, but a better hand.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat, 5:00 p.m. ET, ABC
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WISH LIST: A willing and able Emeka Okafor.
Free agent center Emeka Okafor hasn't played an NBA basketball game in 20 months, but the Cavs are desperate for some defense up the middle to complement Kevin Love's floor spacing. Right now, the Cavs rank 23rd in defensive efficiency and no NBA champion over the past decade has ranked outside the top 10 on that end of the floor. They have plenty of work to do if they want to be serious about contending this season.
Okafor won't be a panacea, and it's not even a given that he's healthy enough to play rotation minutes for a contender. But with Anderson Varejao being helped off the floor with a leg injury on Tuesday night, a big man up the middle is essential. The Cavs have scored a scorching 113.3 points per 100 possessions together with the LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love trio on the floor this season, which would rank No. 1 overall in the NBA. The issue? They don't have any defensive-minded players to stabilize that offensive firepower. We'll see if Okafor can come to the rescue.
MIAMI HEAT WISH LIST: Josh Smith chooses elsewhere.
Just let it go. With Chris Bosh sidelined and Josh McRoberts out for the season, the Heat are expected to make a run at Smith, but it's probably best if they just take Stan Van Gundy's lead and keep Smith away from the locker room. Yes, this Christmas Day matchup with LeBron James could not have happened at a worse time for the injury-depleted Heat, who are coming off an embarrassing home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. However, this is when Heat president Pat Riley and the organization must put emotion aside and think pragmatically about the situation.
Miami's 13-16 record overstates the quality of this team; by their minus-3.6 point differential, they should have an 11-18 record instead. There's no reason to rush Bosh back from a muscle strain and have him limp aboard a sinking ship. Eyes should be on the 2015 draft pick which is Miami's if it falls in the top 10. Let Smith head elsewhere, develop the youth in his place. With all the injuries piling up, the Heat should be building assets, not headaches and more hubris.
Los Angeles Lakers at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m. ET, TNT
LOS ANGELES LAKERS WISH LIST: Play Kobe Bryant and Nick Young all the time.
With the Kobe-less Lakers thumping the NBA's best team on Tuesday, this might be the most fascinating intra-squad dynamic in the NBA. Young said after the win his message to Bryant would be "pass me the ball, pass us the ball." Young has a point. A funny thing happens when Bryant plays with Young: Bryant shoots more often, not less.
Believe it. According to NBA.com, Bryant has registered a 35.8 percent usage rate this season, which is the estimated percentage of team plays used by a player via field goal attempt, free throw attempt or turnover. That's a lot. Only Westbrook has used up more. But you know what Bryant's usage rate is in the 227 minutes that he's shared the court with Young this season? Try 40.5 percent. And he shoots even worse percentage-wise (36.5 percent). How long will Young stand for this? I don't know, but I can't wait to find out. This is what the fans want to see, Lakers. Get your popcorn, everybody.
CHICAGO BULLS WISH LIST: Stop playing Derrick Rose on back-to-backs.
We know the toll back-to-backs and the NBA schedule can take on a player's body. We know how cautious Rose has been with his health. What we don't know is why the team continues to play him on back-to-backs like it did on Tuesday night.
Rose looked fantastic late on Tuesday night, but it's the exception, not the rule. Entering Tuesday, Rose had played in three back-to-backs this season. His numbers in those games? Try 10.3 points per game on 12-for-37 shooting overall (32.4 percent) and 2-for-17 from deep along with nine turnovers to just 16 assists. His PER in those three games? A measly 7.2. In all other games, he sports a 19.6 PER. If the playoffs featured back-to-backs, I could understand coach Tom Thibodeau pushing Rose to play. Alas, there are none. Keep Rose healthy for the playoffs, keep him away from back-to-backs.
Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS WISH LIST: Andrew Bogut insurance.
Tuesday's dud against the Lakers notwithstanding, the Dubs have been so dominant this season that the Hollinger odds have them at 34.7 percent odds to win the 2015 championship. One problem with that: the simulations don't know that their defensive anchor, Andrew Bogut, has needed PRP treatment on his problematic knee. That's important. Opponents have shot just 39.2 percent inside five feet with Bogut nearby, according to NBA player-tracking data, making him one of just three bigs to hold opponents below 40 percent this season (the other two are Dwight Howard and Roy Hibbert). That'll be hard to replace on the fly.
The Warriors could be on the hunt for a center if they don't fully trust Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights and can't lean on Bogut down the stretch. It's unlikely any of the Western powerhouses will aid the Warriors' cause, but here are some Eastern Conference veteran names to watch: Miami's Chris Andersen (trade eligible Jan. 15), Indiana's Lavoy Allen and Detroit's Joel Anthony.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS WISH LIST: A shot intervention with Blake Griffin.
Griffin has fired up 197 field goal attempts outside 16 feet, which makes him one of eight bigs who have taken at least 150 long jumpers -- names like Dirk Nowitzki, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love. Only issue: Griffin isn't particularly good at them. Because so many of Griffin's jumpers nestle in just below the arc, Griffin's effective field goal percentage (factoring in 3-pointers) sits at 41.4 percent. No other high-volume big man is below 47.5 percent. If you're going to take a lot out there, better make it worth it.
The power-to-finesse effect has dragged his true shooting percentage to a career-low 54.6 percent while keeping him away from the offensive boards. Like LeBron James, Griffin could be preserving his body and avoiding the rack, but the Clippers would benefit if Griffin cut back on his diet of unhealthy shots. Diversifying your game is a good thing; trending toward Josh Smith is not.
News and notes
• Remember the 4-in-5 Insider series from this summer? I highlighted the 10 most-grueling 4-in-5 stretches in the 2014-15 NBA season and we finally got to see one of them play out. The Los Angeles Clippers just went from Denver to Los Angeles to San Antonio to Atlanta in five days, covering 2,839 miles and crossing four time zones. How'd they do? They dropped three of the four. All you need to know is Kyle Korver was winning jump-ball tips by the end of it.
• Three games in, I still haven't seen anything that makes me like the Rajon Rondo trade for Dallas. That's not to say it won't work out in the end, but Rondo's defense has been less than advertised and the Dallas buzzsaw offense has sputtered. As opposing defenses camp out in the paint, Rondo still hasn't taken a free throw and he's made just one in his past 240 minutes of action. More often than not, his shooting woes make him a floor-spacing killer. Rick Carlisle has his work cut out for him.
• Is it too late for me to be dead wrong about my Coach of the Year pick? It's been 14 years since the Charlotte Hornets have outscored opponents this much (71 points) over a four-game stretch. In related news, Lance Stephenson has been out the past four games. If they find a taker...
• This week's trivia question. In the holiday spirit of giving, which player has completed the most passes over the past two seasons? Last week's trivia question/answer: Which player has been blocked the most this season? Answer: Tyreke Evans (blocked 38 times).
Tom Haberstroh
Archive
ESPN.com NBA analyst since 2010
ESPN.com Insider researcher in 2009
Developer of NBA DRAFT Initiative database -------------------
I wanna go to where the martyrs went
the brown figures on the walls of my apart-a-ment...
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