A look at the busy All-Star game uniforms

The 2014 All-Star uniforms

The 2014 All-Star game uniforms were cluttered, and would have been even if the Adidas stripes and logo were removed.

To begin with a positive: the green and blue on the East uniforms contrasted nicely. The green was a tinge too close to fluoro, but the colour combo was solid and an unfamiliar one. The West’s gear didn’t contrast as well.

The number and name fonts were restrained. More of each uniform should have followed that tone.

The chest logos looked a bit messy, probably the result of the fleur-de-lis being oversized and covered by both “E” and “EAST”, or “W” and “West”.

The collars looked particularly poor, both the shape and the coloured flaps. That cut probably wouldn’t look as bad with more detail around the neckline.

The spots on the shorts – far more noticeable for the East – were clutter. The shorts looked more like gym gear than part of an NBA uniform.

The coloured socks were okay, but far too busy to be anything more, particularly considering the rest of the two uniforms.

It is reasonable – although not necessary – for the NBA to have funky uniforms for the All-Star game. The one-night, high-profile nature of the game makes it suitable for trying new designs. But couple one or two edgy elements, if you must, with a more classic look. There’s no need for the uniforms to be so unattractive.

Moulding Klay: Scouting Thompson's Scoring

Golden State will need Thompson's production in the postseason.

The pairing of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the Warriors’ backcourt is illustrative of trends within the NBA's contemporary climate.

Their outside-oriented attack has yielded results, with Stephen Curry setting a new single-season record for total three-pointers made in 2012-13 while, after defeating the Chicago Bulls on February 6, the Curry-Thompson duo set a new league record for the longest streak of games (30) for two teammates with at least one made three-pointer.

Clearly, it’s a palpable offensive strategy, indicative of the Warriors’ (and Mark Jackson’s, especially) blind faith in their guard tandem, and a major contributing factor to the Warriors placing in the top three in the league in both 3PM and three-point percentage.

Where else, however, has Klay Thompson been able to source his points from, and is the penchant for the perimeter a fundamentally fruitful approach for the team as a whole? Barring a noticeable decline in his free throw shooting, Thompson's basic per-game numbers appear as relative parallels of his first two seasons, which shouldn’t be interpreted as a negative. He continues to connect on his three-point launches at around 41% (a more-than-handy mark). Thompson’s trademark off-ball style, though, shines through in the available player tracking data.

Whilst his usage of Golden State's possessions (21.6%) is near identical to last season’s measure, a concerning pattern lies within the bed of offensive statistics. The 6-7 shooter’s 3PAr (percentage of field goal attempts that come from beyond the arc) has incrementally risen over each season of his young professional career, currently sitting at 44.4%. It may not seem too alarming for a player with such a lethal stroke to be inclined to hoist it from the outside, yet as a result of the growth of the Warriors roster and changes in personnel – including the addition of another ball-dominant guard in Andre Iguodala – it’s a level of complacency that’s proving to be costly.

Klay’s contentedness and developing “hoisting-and-hoping” scoring method is detrimental not only to his individual efficiency, but to the flow and productivity of Golden State’s offense.

Thompson is averaging 18.3 points per game (a career-best), thanks overwhelmingly due to a spike in minutes and attempts. He is also leading the league in "catch and shoot" points per game, generating 9.5 per contest. That is to say, more than half of his points scored in each game played come directly assisted from teammates, with no dribble action involved. It’s a nice, simplistic summary of Thompson’s tendencies. The catch and shoot production is voluminous and an aesthetically friendly wrinkle in his game, but can he really be considered “elite” in the category?

To provide context, the figure below groups the Warriors’ lanky guard with players who show a comparable favoritism toward the catch and shoot mentality.

Thompson’s point production is in the same ballpark as the likes of Korver and Nowitzki (renowned shooters in their own right). Nonetheless, his accuracy (at 43.4%) in this department is more relative to Andrea Bargnani (42.1%) and Channing Frye (42.7%) – two “floor spacing” frontliners notorious for their ill-advised shot selection – than any of the other above-listed players. Sure, it’s possible (and in this case likely) that Thompson is blessed with the perennial green light and license to let it fly from Mark Jackson and the coaching staff. Either way, the unabashed confidence isn’t working too well.

It’s not only in the realm of no-dribble flings that Thompson’s quietly slumping shooting touch has reared its ugly head, either. After a scorching hot beginning to the season in the month of November, where he boasted a net rating of +9.3 and a True Shooting percentage of 58.3%, his scoring has become wayward and inefficient. According to the NBA.com stats database, since December 1, the Warriors’ #11’s conversion has been languishing, with a TS% of 51.5%. In other words, that’s a two-plus month stretch in which Thompson’s scoring arrived at a rate below league-average (league average TS% is approximately 53.7%, according to HoopData).

Over the span of this season, roughly 44.4% of Thompson's total field goal attempts have stemmed from twenty-four feet and beyond. It’s not hard to decipher the inherent sources of the scoring struggles. Due to an enduring propensity to heave shots from downtown, it’s tragically basic – when the shots are falling, all is well offensively, and when they’re not, it is not.

In 2014, for the most part, said shots have not been dropping for the third-year man. How can this overly simplistic problem be arrested for the remainder of the season? Well, as it stands, Thompson is only getting to the free throw line an average of 2.2 times per 36 minutes, with a free throw attempt rate of 14.6%. Even though the rangy Californian is not typically regarded for his ability to orchestrate the offense and attack the rim off the dribble, a slight adjustment in mindset may be the instigator for a refreshed, more efficient offensive arsenal.

In 2013-14, the Bay Area shooter is found on the list of players (qualified for the 3PT leaderboard) who are attempting at least 6.0 three-point field goals per game, while managing fewer than 2.5 free throw attempts per 36 minutes.

It’s a class limited to just Thompson, Washington forward Trevor Ariza, Suns reserve wing Gerald Green, and Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson; an undesirable situation. In the grand scheme of things, another outcome symptomatic of the shooting guard’s perimeter plight is the reality of Golden State’s overall offensive successes. Thompson’s developments (although not a sole cause) have added to the wider woes, and are one reason why the Warriors' offensive efficiency slipped to 16th in the month of January, at 105.5 points per 100 possessions (over 15 games). That’s a mark that is well below that of the laughable New York Knicks, who have a 20-32 record on the season, out of the lowly Atlantic Division.

The patterns threaded throughout Klay Thompson’s season, coupled with Andre Iguodala’s evaporating scoring and the stunted growth of Harrison Barnes’ game, have created a bevy of problems on the Warriors’ wings.

Golden State’s cast of capable shooters can cause any number of strategic issues for opponents. For this to be maximized and the team to excel beyond expectations, however, important offensive adjustments must be made. 

Add some interest to warm-up gear

Lakers warm-up gear

Adidas stripes and generic designs haven’t plagued NBA uniforms. Instead, those burdens are carried by the warm-up gear. While it’s nice that the unis are untainted, superior tracksuits are worth wishing for.

Warm-up gear is an opportunity for creativity in a spot where it belongs. The clothing must still be functional, but there’s more room for design error with warm-ups than uniforms.

Tracksuits and shooting shirts aren’t worn during the fundamental moments for a team, the actual games, and thus aren’t as essential as uniforms. A few more risks can be taken. But the warm-up gear is still on the periphery of games – worn in pre-game layup lines and on the bench, flung to the floor at the scorers’ table when checking in – and thus is still important.

That’s why it’s disappointing that NBA teams are stuck with three-striped template gear. The problem is twofold.

The three stripes and Adidas logo are prominent on the current warm-up gear. The result is the sense that it’s an Adidas jacket featuring the Dallas Mavericks’ colours and logo, for instance, instead of Dallas’s own gear.

Secondly, the clothing is largely the same for all the teams. Aside from the aforementioned Adidas issues, the warm-ups generally look pretty good, but it’s sterile and boring when they’re all similar.

Collared shooting shirts, striping on cuffs for jackets, plain fronts or backs for jackets and word marks on pant legs all mark examples of missed opportunities.

If the need for league-wide warm-up uniformity were banished, teams could utilize those opportunities and create unique, team-specific garb. There’d likely be some unattractive results, but it’d be superior to the uninspired gear seen currently.  

Some teams get side stripes right

A view of the Pistons' stripes

The New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers provide two recent examples of the benefits of clean uniform sides.

Both ditched side panels on their unis and now have some of the best uniforms in the league. There was more to the alterations than cleaning up the sides – scoop collars and colour changes also helped – but much of the success of those uniforms can be attributed to that clutter removal.

Not all side panels or stripes are detrimental, however. Some of them could even be considered beneficial to a uniform. There’s three rough categories of side panels when it comes to current NBA uniforms.

The first category is terrible side stripes and panels, the sort that are so unattractive that they bring down the uniform. Teams currently sporting this sort of element include the Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Suns, Magic, Rockets, Bobcats and Pelicans. There’s no single reason why the panels in this group are unsuccessful. Problems with colour, clutter and garish shapes exist here.

The second category is acceptable side designs. This is where teams who feature side panels that are neither attractive nor ugly fall. Among those on the list: the Spurs, Raptors, Warriors, Heat, Grizzlies and Bucks. Note that most of the teams here would probably look better with clean sides, but they aren’t in as desperate need of them as the group above.

The final category is the most exclusive: good side stripes and panels. The width of the stripe down the sides of the Nets’ uniforms makes them work well, even with the herringbone pattern. The stripes on the Pistons’ home whites look sharp, particularly with the thin white stripe separating the red and blue. The striping on the Nuggets’ alternate is superb. The simple stripe down the right side of the Heat’s black throwbacks looks great; leaving the left side clean was a good move.

It’s this last group that suggests side designs can work, albeit infrequently, and thus can’t be denounced with a blanket statement.