Fadeaway Friday: Chasson Randle and Quincy Acy sign 10-day contracts

This week, there were two guys who signed 10-day contracts from the NBA Development League. Point guard Chasson Randle signed a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers after being with the Westchester Knicks and power forward Quincy Acy signed a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets after being with the Texas Legends. I will provide a quick breakdown of transactions.

                                               (Chasson Randle. Credit: dleague.nba.com) 

Chasson Randle is a 6'2" 185 pound guard out of Stanford who has bounced around a little bit following his collegiate career. During this season with the Westchester Knicks, Randle has averaged 20.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 42.2% from the field, 40.2% from 3-point range, and 82.5% from the foul line. Randle has always been a good shooter, but due to being a bit undersized and being more of a combo guard than a true point guard, he's struggled to find a home in the NBA.

Chasson Randle has taken advantage of the D-League, using it to showcase his skills and refine his craft. His decision to sign in the D-League has paid off by getting a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers and now he looks to prove his worth by signing a second 10-day contract and sticking with the 76ers for the rest of the season.

The reason the 76ers signed Chasson Randle is due to their lack of depth at the point guard position. Jerryd Bayless is out for the season due to wrist surgery and neither T.J. McConnell or Sergio Rodríguez are exactly "lighting it up." The 76ers could use another point guard on their roster, which means there are good odds Chasson Randle gets some minutes at the point guard spot. If he performs well, I could see him staying in Philly for the rest of the season.

                                         (Quincy Acy. Credit: dleague.nba.com) 

Quincy Acy is a 6'7", 240 pound power forward in his 5th year in the NBA out of Baylor. Acy has proven himself to be a quality rebounder in the NBA, averaging 8.4 rebounds per 36 minutes of action. Acy is a banger in the post and is very physical, overcoming his lack of height to still make his presence known in the paint.

The Brooklyn Nets rank 11th in rebounding and so by adding Quincy Acy, they are aiming to get even better in this department. What Acy will provide is toughness down low and one more big body to wreak havoc inside. In some respects, signing Quincy Acy doesn't make a whole lot of sense since where they need more bodies is in the backcourt. Isaiah Whitehead is dealing with a sprained left knee and Jeremy Lin is dealing with a strained hamstring. One would think that if the Nets were looking to sign somebody to a 10-day contract, they would have tried to sign a guard.

All the same, when you are 8-31, you really could get better in every aspect of the game and so in that sense, adding a veteran big guy like Quincy Acy that can crash the boards, play defense, and be a good practice player makes sense. Due to having a healthy front court, it's hard to see Quincy Acy cracking the rotation, but if he can prove himself to be a good practice player that pushes their big men and makes them better, he could warrant a second-day contract.

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Bear Territory Thursday: Looking ahead to Cal's huge game at Stanford

     Cal will travel to Maples Pavilion on Saturday to take on Stanford in a game that is huge for both teams. Cal enters the game 16-10 overall and 6-7 in the PAC-12 while Stanford enters the game 16-9 overall and 7-6 in the PAC-12. Ironically, after it appeared as though both schools were heading in opposite directions, they now find themselves in almost exactly the same position. For Stanford, a win could vault them to a top-four seed in the PAC-12. For Cal, a win gets them back in the mix to maybe land a top-four seed in the PAC-12 tournament.

     The top four seeds in the PAC-12 tournament get first round byes, an advantage that both Cal and Stanford would love to have. Given that Utah and Arizona are locked into the top-two spots and UCLA likely the #3 spot, it's unlikely that Stanford and Cal both get first round byes in the PAC-12 tournament. That's what makes Saturday's game so huge. Both teams are in desperate need of improving their positioning for the PAC-12 tournament and only one of them can get a bye.

     As far as at-large bids for the NCAA tournament are concerned, Cal and Stanford need this win. In order to have a shot at the big dance, Cal needs to win against Stanford on Saturday, hold serve at home the following week against Oregon and Oregon State, and then get a split on the road against Arizona and Arizona State. In addition, they'll also need a strong showing in the PAC-12 tournament, which is why that #4 seed is huge.

     As for Stanford, a loss against Cal would be very bad. Stanford has had the win at Texas as sort of a "signature win" to have in their back pocket, but now that Texas is unranked, that win suddenly doesn't mean as much. In addition, their win over UConn doesn't amount to much since UConn is also unranked and just 14-10 overall. Despite having a stronger start to their season, Stanford appears to be just as much in need of quality wins as Cal.

   
     What helps Cal is that they got the split in the Rocky Mountains by beating Colorado, whereas Stanford got swept by both Colorado and Utah. Cal is coming into this game having won five of their last six games, whereas Stanford is coming into the game having lost four of their last five. Cal definitely has found its groove as of late whereas Stanford appears to have lost theirs.

     A big factor in the polarizing directions that both teams have taken is that Cal sophomore shooting guard Jabari Bird is now healthy after suffering a stress reaction in his foot and Stanford freshman forward Reid Travis is just recovering from a stress reaction in his leg. Bird is finding his groove, scoring 21 points against Utah and 16 points against UCLA, whereas Travis has been held scoreless in the last two games. Both players are important to their respective teams and it has shown in recent games.

     If Cal wants to beat Stanford on Saturday, there are four things they need to do: Get point guard Tyrone Wallace into a groove, get solid production off the bench, keep Stanford off the glass, and slow down Stanford senior point guard Chasson Randle.

     Tyrone Wallace is the heart and soul of this Cal team. He does everything for them. He scores, dishes assists, rebounds, and plays good defense. If he doesn't have a big game, there is no way Cal can win. In addition, if Cal wants to get other players going like Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews on the wing as well as David Kravish in the post, they need to have Tyrone Wallace attacking the basket and making plays.

     Cal also needs solid production off the bench. When guys like Brandon Chauca, Dwight Tarwater, and Sam Singer get into a rhythm, Cal suddenly has a really scary eight man rotation. When those guys aren't on their game, Cal really struggles since they start asking a lot from their starting five.

     Keeping Stanford off the glass will be huge. Reid Travis who I mentioned is a banger inside as is  Stanford center Stefan Nastic. Cal has had problems defending inside, so it will be huge for them to grab as many rebounds as they can, limiting the opportunities for those guys to get buckets inside.

     Last but certainly not least, Cal has to make sure Chasson Randle doesn't have a big game. In a press conference regarding Saturday's game, Cal head coach Cuonzo Martin said about Chasson Randle: "He hits big shots. We need to limit his touches, play him aggressive, and fight through those ball screens."  Martin recognizes that keeping Randle quiet is key and they have to especially lock down on him in crunch time.

     As for what Stanford needs to do to win this game, they need to make sure Cal doesn't succeed at doing the things I said they need to do. If Stanford can keep Tyrone Wallace quiet, limit Cal's bench production, dominate on the glass, and have Chasson Randle steal the show, they'll win the game. It's that simple.

     As far as what my prediction is, I think Cal is going to win. I'm not just saying that because I'm a Cal graduate and a passionate fan. I'm saying that because of the recent trends I've seen from both teams over the last five games. Cal has their swagger back and has a ton of confidence coming into this game. The same cannot be said for Stanford, who is limping into this game.

     While it is true that Stanford will be extra motivated to defend their home floor, I do believe that Cal has just as much motivation given that they lost to Stanford at home earlier this year. Cal wants to get some revenge and if anything hurt Stanford's NCAA tournament resume. The motivation is there for both teams to win, and so I'm going with Cal because they come into this game with more momentum and confidence. Go Bears!

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord 

Bear Territory Thursday: After losing to Stanford, where does Cal go from here?

                                          (Credit: hiphopandpolitics.com. Click here for source) 

     On Wednesday night, Cal lost to Stanford by the score of 69-59. The loss was made all the more painful due to the fact that Cal had a solid 31-26 halftime lead. In the end, the game came down to Stanford knocking down shots and Cal missing shots. I guess in a way every game comes down to that. After all, the goal is to score more points than the other team. But upon looking at the box score, that really was the tale of the tape.

     Cal out-rebounded Stanford 41-34. Cal had 11 assists to Stanford's 6 assists, and the turnover department was essentially even, Stanford totaling 8 turnovers to Cal's 9 turnovers. However, when it came to shooting the ball, Stanford shot 25-52 (48.1%) from the field and Cal shot 22-62 (35.5%).

     What's so alarming about that isn't just the percentages. It's the fact that Cal took more shots and made fewer. If Cal shot 28-65 from the field (43%), that would still not be good, but at least they would have been rewarded for taking more shots. Cal was instead punished for taking more shots, and Stanford was rewarded for taking fewer shots and being more efficient with each shot they took. In every sport, efficiency wins games, and Stanford won because they were the more efficient team.

     This same efficiency can be seen in how both team's respective stars shot the ball. Stanford's star senior guard Chasson Randle shot 8-14 (57.1%) from the field and scored 25 points. Cal's star junior guard Tyrone Wallace shot 6-22 (27.3%) from the field and scored 14 points. The fact that Chasson Randle was able to be so efficient allowed other guys like Anthony Brown and Stefan Nastic to get going, whereas Wallace's inefficiency didn't allow him to get other guys going. He was so concerned about finding his groove that he never found it and in the process wasn't able to get other guys involved in the game.

     After this game, it's clear that Stanford and Cal are heading in opposite directions. Stanford is turning into a legitimate threat to not only reach the NCAA tournament, but also go to the Elite 8 and possibly Final Four. I'm very impressed with how they are playing and I wouldn't be shocked if they made it that far in the NCAA tournament. Cal on the other hand is not only on the path to miss the NCAA tournament, they are also on the path to getting a low seed in the NIT.

     The question for Cal after this loss is "Where do they go from here?" This game had "bounce-back" written all over it. Jabari Bird was able to log in more minutes and actually be a factor unlike the UCLA game, and all in all, the team appeared to have more to play for than their rivals across the bay. Stanford came into the game 3-1 in the PAC-12 while also having a win on the road against a Texas team who at the time was ranked #9 in the nation.

     Cal on the other hand came into the game with a 1-3 record in the PAC-12, coming off humiliating losses @USC and @UCLA. The fact that Cal wasn't able to get the win against Stanford indicates that the whole season is in serious jeopardy and that the wheels are really starting to come off if they haven't already.

     I guess in answer to the question "Where do they go from here?", Cal has to lick their wounds, rest up, and get ready for Arizona State next Thursday and then #10 Arizona on the following Saturday. The fact that Cal has more than a week to get ready for both games while also playing both games at home is a huge blessing for this team. If Cal were to embark on a two game road trip to the Valley of the Sun after this loss, I don't know if it would even make sense for Cal to make the trip.

     Fortunately, they can take a couple of days off, get their feet under them, and try to play off of the energy of the home crowd at Haas Pavilion. They need to take advantage of this eight-day layoff to hit the reset button and approach Thursday's tilt against Arizona State as a fresh start to the season. The best way to move on from tough losses is to convince yourself that it's a new day and forget about the past. If Cal can do that and in the process have Jabari Bird back up to speed, there is a chance they can turn things around.

     Cal started the PAC-12 strong last season and ended weak, falling apart after the huge win over #1 Arizona at home. It would certainly be ironic if Cal ended up finishing the PAC-12 season strong with a win over Arizona at home being the catalyst to a late season surge as opposed to it preceding a late season collapse.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord