Congratulations to TEAM USA!!! What an exciting gold medal game! Spain played very well but there was just no stopping us tonight. Dwade - unreal offensive performance. Kobe -CLUTCH SHOTS. LeBron - passes, rebounds, blocks, defends, scores, does WHATEVER it takes to win. Tayshaun Prince - absolutely perfect in limited minutes. Bosh and Howard - TOO STRONG.
I'd like to share a few special moments I saw during the medal ceremony.
LeBron did this hilarious one-leg-shaking dance on the Gold Medal stand and urged CP3 to break it down with him. Melo accidently left the medal distributor hanging big time. I mean this guy had both of his hands extended, going for the 2-handed international handshake, and Melo just like totally didn't see it. AWKWARD! Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard sang the National Anthem - HUGE PROPS for that. Tayshaun Prince SMELLED the roses - like, took a big whiff to see if they were real.
Everyone had their hand on their heart standing in attention at the podium. They represented our country with the finest integrity, sportsmanship, hustle, and teamwork.
NOTE: This blog has absolutely nothing to do with Kobe Bryant, other than it's relation to NBA basketball. I just figured to get more people to read I'd put the title in KOBE TAGS!
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine 7 times already this year. John McCain has appeared twice.
So who's BETTER? It's a popularity contest. And the media is trying to make up your mind for you. The enormous exposure directed at Barack Obama makes him overrated. John McCain is underrated, underexposed. Based on experience you can argue that McCain is more qualified, but since neither has assumed the Presidency yet, you cannot objectively argue which man is the better president - because neither has served in that office yet. Really, either one could be the better man for the job, but the media has turned America into Obama's world - and we just pay the taxes.
This happens in sports on a consistant basis. What do sports and politics have in common? They are the preferred topic of conversation among most men - whether in the living room, at the bar, after church, on the internet, during lunch-break, or at the stadium - guys talk about sports and politics. (And sometimes women)
The difference between sports and politics is that most sports, especially professional sports, are documented, researched, videotaped, broadcasted, and analyzed. Yes, the same can be said for politics, but who has higher ratings CSPAN, or ESPN? Politics is largely the business of rhetoric and ####, rarely do voters, the people who decide the outcome of the question: "Who is the best?", concentrate on the voting records, budget appropriations, or bill sponsporships, but rather WHO SAID WHAT SHOCKING THING or WHO IS INVOLVED IN WHAT SCANDAL, or WHAT PARTY DOES SAID PERSON BELONG?
As a fan of sports and politics, I find it enormously problematic that the media creates a reputation for someone and that is often the bottom line at the end of the day when discussing such topics - and in the case of many people, that reputation is wrong. I cannot think of a more perfect example of erroneous reputation than that of Jason Kidd. And it's not like it was just fans spouting off in blogs that have been wrongly convinced that Jason Kidd was a championship-caliber point guard - LeBron James practically demanded that Cavalier GM Danny Ferry pursue Jason Kidd, while Maverick GM Mark Cuban traded away his best perimeter defender in Devin Harris.
To quote a respected NBA scout and statistican, "The All-Defense team is voted on reputation as much as performance, which is why Jason Kidd and Kirk Hinrich made the team while Devin Harris got only six votes. But if you think Harris wasn't at least the equal of those two defensively, I've got some land to sell you in Atlantis."
Interestingly, this report was made BEFORE the beginning of the 07-08 NBA season, and long before the Harris for Kidd trade. Harris was rated the best defensive point guard in the NBA by 82games.com for the 06-07 season. Anyone who watched the Mavericks in the 08 playoffs can recall Jason Kidd getting uterrly eviscerated by Chris Paul while shooting an anemic 42% from the field - good for less than 9 ppg. Reputation exceeded performance, and the Mavericks paid the price.
So let's do a little exercise. I'm going to post the resumes of two well-known basketball players. I won't use the most obvious statistics or awards, but most of you will be able to decipher the exhibits of this exercise with a simple google search. Both players have connections to European Basketball and competed at the NBA level and both were voted onto the All-NBA Third Team. Both players participated in All-Star Weekend. Athlete A is 1 year older than Athlete B. Both players played basketball in the 90s. Both players were listed the same size and stature. Both players competed for and won NBA championships.
Defensively, player A was ranked by statisticians as 7th among SG during his 4th year in the NBA and 3rd among all NBA players in his 5th year in the league. He led the NBA in steals/gm at least once in his career. However, he was never considered the best defensive player on his team. Player B was the best defensive player on his team.
Defensive composite stats and +/- are not widely recognized in most baskeball discussion but provide a much better indicator of defensive performance over just steals and blocks. Just ask Dwyane Wade.
(All statistics compiled by Tsunami and retrieved from box score listings found at basketball-reference.com)
*Statistics are mostly given in Per 36 minutes format in an attempt to compare more equally, although it should be know than player B averaged more minutes per game than player A for their careers. I did not adjust for pace of play, as this would have practically turned this 4 hour project into a thesis.
**I was unable to find any composite FINALS only statistics so I looked through each and every box score. If anyone would like a copy of the spreadsheet, I will gladly email it upon request.
Athlete A - Position, SG/SF
Athlete B - Position, SG/SF
Production
Career Regular Season Averages:
A True Shooting Percentage: 59%
B True Shooting Percentage: 56%
A Points/36 Minutes: 19.0
B Points/36 Minutes: 24.7
A Assists/36 Minutes: 4.6
B Assists/36 Minutes: 4.6
A Rebounds/36 Minutes: 5.2
B Rebounds/36 Minutes: 5.2
A Steals/36 Minutes: 2.0
B Steals/36 Minutes 1.5
A 3PFG%: 38.2%
B 3PFG%: 34.0%
A FT%: 82%
B FT%: 84%
A Avg Team Wins 59 out of 82
B Avg Team Wins 53 out of 82
Career Playoff Averages
A Field Goal Percentage: 43%
B Field Goal Percentage: 44%
A 3PFG%: 38%
B 3PFG%: 33%
A Points/36 Minutes: 18.70
B Points/36 Minutes: 22.37
A Assists/36 Minutes: 4.1
B Assists/36 Minutes: 4.2
A Rebounds/36 Minutes: 5.6
B Rebounds/36 Minutes: 4.6
A Steals/GM: 1.38
B Steals/GM: 1.38
Career NBA Finals Averages
A Field Goal Percentage: 42%
B Field Goal Percentage: 41%
A Points/36 Minutes: 17
B Points/36 Minutes: 20
A Rebounds/36 Minutes: 6.1
B Rebounds/36 Minutes: 4.4
A Assists/36 Minutes: 3.3
B Assists/36 Minutes: 4.3
A Steals/36 Minutes: 1.8
B Steals/36 Minutes: 1.5
A Finals Winning Percentage: 71%
B Finals Winning Percentage 58%
A NBA Finals Sucess: 3 Rings
B NBA Finals Rings: 3 Rings
Ok, so a few of you may have guessed who the exhibits are because you were a fan of one or both of them. A few of you may have punched in a few numbers or logged onto basketball-reference.com to find the answers. But for the ones who haven't read ahead and want to continue the exercise, here we go.
It should be very clear based on these statistics that both players left their mark on the NBA. It should also be very clear the both players are very similar. Not only in size, position, and in sucess at the highest level, but in almost every statistical category. Player A is a slighty more efficient scorer and seems to be more of an energy player with slightly higher steals and rebounds, while player B is a more prolific scorer with assists that indicate strong playmaking skills, especially in the NBA Finals. However, neither player was ever voted the NBA Finals MVP.
Now, we've hung around in the realm of the objective long enough. Let's head over into that world where it seems everybody else lives. (Everyone except you, my readers, of course.)
Subjective Awards - By nature, some awards are based on statistics: (ie The Scoring Title) and some are based on votes: (ie reputation)
A NBA All-Star Selections: 1
B NBA All-Star Selections: 10
A NBA All 1st Team Selections: 0
B NBA All 1st Team Selections: 6
A Average Salary: 53% of Player B's Salary
B Average Salary: 1.8x Player A's Salary
A Jersey Sales in USA (highest ranking during career): 17th in NBA
B Jersey Sales in USA (highest ranking during career): 1st in NBA
A All-NBA Defensive Awards: 0
B All-NBA Defensive Awards: 8
A Google Hits (Name): 1,160,000
B Google Hits (Name): 9,130,000
C Google Hits (Jordan): 14,000,000
YIKES! What happened? It seems fairly obvious that player B is recognized as a Grade-A superstar and player A is lucky to have even been voted to an All-Star Game.
But how can this be? Charles Barkley is thinking "AWR YOU SUUURIOUS? Thet's TUURRIBULL"
How can two players, the same size, same age, who play the same position, who have very similar statistics when adjusted per minute (although not adjusted for pace, player B's team played at a faster pace every season) who have both had seemingly equal sucess at the highest level be on two completely different PLANES OF EXISTENCE in the subjective arena? Especially considering that where Defensive stats are available, although hardly every recognized, player A is rated higher than player B.
Doesn't quite seem fair does it?
Both players have very impressive resumes, yet only one seems to be raking in all the awards, not to mention dollars.
Without digressing too much more, if you can READ WORDS, you can recognize that player A is underrated by those that RATE and player B is likewise overrated. Does this mean player A is a BETTER all-around player than player B? Hardly. Everyone knows that team sports are thousands of times more complex than sports like golf or tennis where it is much easier to rank players against each other.
But suffice to say, player A seems to produce on the same plane as player B and as I said before, is not even in the same SPACE-TIME-CONTINUUM as player B in the realm of subjective rankings.
The sad part about all this is that I'm not even going to TRY to mention degrees of difference between player A's media exposure during his tenure and player B's - it's exponentially more skewed than the awards listed above. Whether it be endorsements, headlines, news stories, or ESPN talking points - player A was virtually non-existant next to player B.
A sign of a poor writer (but a good lawyer) is someone who can anticipate objections from his readers / courtroom thereby proceeding to silence arguments by pre-emptively attacking them. ---> I know what some of you are thinking, and NO, this article does not make me a "hater". (Threat Neutralized.) Demonizing someone that has presented objective evidence is neither honorable nor conducive to further debate. There are PLENTY of holes in the above piece, and I hope that my fellow members of FoxSports will at least attempt to debate facts with facts - although the chances of that happening are about as likely as Barkley winning a long drive contest, or the MSM demonizing Obama.
LeBron's dunk over Garnett was unbelievable. The crowd at the Q was just waiting to explode. Looking for ANYTHING to go nuts about. I mean LeBron could have just made a jumper. But he did THAT!
I'm going to make a poster out of that dunk.
I had to turn off the uninspiring post-game show.
Charles Barkley was just lamenting that neither team gets easy baskets.
Then he said the Celtics aren't a good defensive team.
Or, NICE TO SEE SOME TEAMS THAT ACTUALLY PLAY DEFENSE. TAKE NOTES GOLDEN STATE, WASHINGTON, AND TORONTO
The Cavs outplayed the Celtics the entire game, and earned a much-deserved win by playing excellent defense, and making just enough plays to get the W. LeBron James' shooting percentage is still down, but I think credit really needs to be given to to the Celtics Defense. Twice LeBron had open looks for 3 and he hit both of them. The Celtics are a VERY GOOD defensive team and everytime the shot clock winds down, the Cavs pass it to LeBron and look for him to bail them out. Whether it's Posey or Pierce it seems they are instinctive of this and put enough of a body on LeBron to make him fade away and throw off his balance. In the 2nd half he didn't want to get called for anymore charges (from the ref 30 feet away from the play) so he basically hoisted up a bunch of fade-away 3s as the clock was ticking down on the Cavs bad possessions. He said after the game that he and the coaching staff just decided he needs to shoot himself out of the slump. I think he needs to spend more time crashing the boards. He LIVES outside the 3 point line, and as the most athletic player in the NBA, he should not be doing this. I go crazy when LeBron is just sitting there while other guys are shooting. I don't know if the he is trying to conserve energy, or if the coaches want him to be back on D, but it seems like if he picked his spots, he could crash the boards a lot.
The media coverage of the Cavs is simply pathetic - it always has been. I give lots of credit to the TNT announcers - Doug Collins and Kevin Harlen always do a great job. Other than that, it's the same old story. Cavs win = Other Team Lost. LeBron's struggles are highlighted night in and night out.
In this game, he had 13 assists, a few steals, a few blocks, and he has played outstanding D on Pierce this entire series. He was 7-20 and still clearly the best player on the court. Plus he threw down a dunk only HE could throw down.
His shot selection could be better, but the Celtics defenders are doing a great job of keeping him off balance, and out of rhythm.
As far as the Cavs role players - it is really encouraging to see Boobie Gibson healthy again. He is confident driving, and even though the Celtics are chasing him off the 3 point arc, he is finding ways to score.
The Cavs are a good rebounding team. Even though they lost their best rebounder in the trade (Gooden) they really got a solid rebounder in Delonte West. He has a great nose for the ball and saves the Cavs a lot of possessions with his great leaping ability. He came up big again tonight even though it didn't show up in the box score.
When the role players play well, the Cavs ceiling is much higher than last year's team. Varejao finally played decent tonight. If he could get back to 2007 form I think the Cavs would be the undisputed team to beat in the East. This series feels somewhat similar to the series with the Pistons last year. Not quite the same, but that dunk on Garnett felt eerily similar in context to this dunk:
Once again the Cavs showed they cannot impose their will on a team. A few times I thought they could have broken the game open, but they didn't. Part of the problem was in the 2nd quarter, the refs were calling HAND CHECK FOULS AWAY FROM THE BALL and the Celtics got into the bonus early - allowing them to slow the game down and stay close. Then when LeBron got his 3rd foul, they went on an 8-0 run. Also, RayRay finally hit a few shots. But the Cavs really just played better the whole game, and finally had something to show for it in the final 3 minutes. Some nifty passing by the Cavs. I haven't really seen that at ALL since the trade. So maybe these guys are getting more familiar with where they are in space.
Ben Wallace had a few nice touch passes, LeBron found Joe Smith with a sweet no look dump off in traffic, and Joe Smith found a cutting Varejao for a bucket late. Cavs really need to play well in game 5. They don't necessarily have to win. But they have to believe that they can beat Boston on the home court. The Cavs don't believe Boston can beat them on their court. But Boston has the home court advantage. I don't think the Cavs will need a miracle from James in game 5 like last year against the Pistons - but he is going to have to limit turnovers and find other guys for some big shots if the Cavs want to win.
Kobe Bryant is unstoppable right now and is playing perfectly within the flow of the offense. He and Chris Paul have been the MVPs of the playoffs thus far. And not the ghey version with all it's spin. Kobe has BEEN THE BEST PLAYER ON THE COURT EVERY NIGHT AND HIS TEAM HAS NOT LOST YET.
That being said, the Playoffs are not the regular season and the MVP award goes to regular season. The regular season is all 82 games not just the games after a team swaps a bottom 5 center for a top 5 center.
Kobe won the MVP. Based on the criteria that the MVP goes to the most popular player on the best team - he is WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT the most popular player (and best player) on the 2nd best regular season team and so far (CLEARLY) the best post-season team.
I have nothing against the Lakers. I actually think the players are very classy and play very good team ball.
I have nothing personally against Kobe.
I have EVERYTHING against hyper-ventilating REVISIONIST HISTORY KOBE FANS, and the MEDIA MEMBERS THAT MOTIVATE THEM! LeBron James just compiled a historic season individually. He was only the 3rd player in the history of the NBA to average 30 7 and 7 and he did it on a team that was no where near the top in offensive efficiency.
He eviscerated the myth that he isn't clutch by leading the Cavaliers to an astounding number of 4th quarter comeback wins, and he also shed the myth that he doesn't play defense - at least to those who cared enough to watch him.
What's funny is that Kobe fans still harp on this "common knowledge" idea that LeBron is an inferior defender to Kobe when I guarantee the only games they certainly watched were the Cavs/ Lakers games where LeBron checked Kobe MORE often than Kobe checked LeBron and shut him down when he did. Here's my point, plain and simple.
If the general consensus is that winning the MVP is about getting your team to win games, then Kobe or Chris Paul or Kevin Garnett deserves the nod above LeBron because their teams won more games. I don't agree with that criteria but if that IS the criteria, then Kobe deserved it.
But out of ALL THE WRITERS, LeBron only received ONE first place vote!ONE. The best season statistically out of all the candidates, on a team that dealt with FAR more unsettling personnel circumstances than the other two and he only gets ONE vote.
I mean, I didn't expect him to win it after it was clear the Cavs wouldn't win 50 games and I had to change my avatar, but ONLY ONE?!
Ok, that gets me fired up enough. (thankfully at least the Czar, Mike Fratello, shared my sentiments) So today, the ALL NBA First team awards came out.
The headline was that Kobe Bryant was unanimously chosen at one of the guard positions. Fine, I can't think of TWO guards who are better players. In my mind, it could not possibly be more obvious that Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant were the two best guards in the NBA this year.
How the HELL was LeBron James not UNANIMOUSLY chosen as a Forward?
How do you go out and average 30 8 and 7 on a slow paced team, lead the league (by far) in "clutch-performances" as denoted by 82games.com, win the All-Star game MVP, completely dominate FIBA play, and NOT be considered 1st Team All NBA?
WHICH WRITERS DECIDED THAT THERE WERE 2 FORWARDS MORE WORTHY THAN LEBRON?!
Sure, I can see some homer from Boston who genuinely thinks Kevin Garnett is more important than LeBron James. But BETTER than LeBron James? No.
And who the #### is the other guy? Nowitzki? Duncan?
Duncan's a center, so it shouldn't apply, but people keep insisting he is a power foward. After he hit that 3 against Phoenix I suppose he's a shooting guard now too. Regardless is Duncan REALLY a better player than James? Or at the very least, did he REALLY play better this season?!
Is Nowitzki a better player? Did he play better this season?
NO and NO.
Statistically they all had inferior seasons.
LeBron James has been called under-rated. Here's what he ACTUALLY is: UNDER-FREAKING-APPRECIATED.
30 8 and 7 is not just another baller. At 23 years old he's a once-a-generation talent. He's the best player in the GAME and had the best season of anyone this year. He does at least one thing every night, whether it's a drive, a pass, or a weak-side block that NO OTHER PLAYER CAN DO. In the words of Ronny Turiaf he's the fastest guy pound for pound in the game, not to mention the strongest, one of the smartest, the most athletic, and one of the best leaders.
Even if you don't buy any of what I just said, there is NO WAY you could make a case that he is not one of the best FORWARDS in the NBA.
Is it because he plays in Cleveland?
Seriously what is it. The guy gets called LeBronze, LeBrick, over-rated, over-hyped, a crybaby.
Does anyone outside of Cleveland actually appreciate the things LeBron James DOES?!
Unbelievable that there are media people that don't believe he was one of the best two forwards in the NBA this year. Simply unbelievable.
1.) If a player is fouled, say as he's driving to the basket, and after the foul, he shuffles his feet, and then puts the ball in the hoop, why does he get the continuation call? I saw this happen at least twice during the Cavs-Wizards series. Once, I vividly remember Caron Butler getting bumped as he planted on a jump stop. The bump CAUSED him to travel, but he none-the-less shuffled his feet twice. TWICE. TWO TRAVELS. Then he put the ball in the hoop and got the AND-1. Shouldn't the continuation be negated because of the travel? And it brings up a larger problem I see the NBA - continuations are RIDICULOUS. You're basically giving defenses motivation for hard fouls since you can get hacked, dance around, toss a shot over your head, get lucky, and get 2 points. I mean why not send a guy to the deck if you know he's going to be rewarded with an extra dribble, two steps, (maybe a travel or two) and a circus shot after contact?
2.) Where does the NBA draw the line in terms of what is and isn't acceptable for PA announcers? Obviously, home court advantage should come with perks - like matching t-shirts, glitzy player introductions, dancers, pump-up-music and flaming rings of fire that refuse to go out. But seriously where do we draw the line with the homer-ism of the PA announcers. In the 80s I remember the Cavs PA announcer enthusiastically proclaiming, "Mark PRICE - faaaaaaaaaarr thhaaaaREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" And when Michael Jordan would hit one it was (in monotone) 'Michael Jordan....Three Points."
Detroit really took the enthusiasm to an extreme. DeeeeeeeeeeeETROIT BassssKIT BAAAAAAAAALLLL!!!!!!!!!!! every time someone pokes the ball out of bounds is a little ridiculous. And when exactly did Mr. Big Shot change his last name to "BUH BUH BUH Billups!"?
Enthusiasm is one thing, but what about the content of what the PA announcer is saying?
New Orleans has brought this to my attention.
After Chris Paul makes a jumper, and i hear an enthusiastic "CEEEE PEEEEEEE THAREEEEEE!" from the PA announcer, there is a delay, and then a loud whooping "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Woo? So now we can just add content that doesn't pertain to the players name, or basketball situation.
At one point yesterday, San Antonio was 6 seconds into their offense, about to shoot, and I hear a big "WOOOOOO!" from the PA announcer, followed by an echoing chorus of "WOOOOOO"s from the crowd.
Where do we draw the line? Next year is the PA announcer going to taunt the other team during their half-court sets? "TIM DUNCAN BLOWS!" to the delight of 18 thousand screaming fans? I mean that sounds ridiculous, but it doesn't feel like we're that far away. Imagine if Kobe Bryant is bringing the ball up the court and some PA announcer says "Fans, just so you know, Kobe Bryant, the 'MVP' is EIGHTH in the NBA in player efficiency ranking!!!" And then the crowd starts it's OVER-RATED chants. SCARY RIGHT!? (TCB, Nique, and Bleed just crapped themselves)
Basketball shouldn't need so much artificial drama and gimmicky sideshows. Put the best players in the world on the court, and the fans will go home happy more often than not.
3.) Traveling should just be completely outlawed in the NBA. The only guys that get called for traveling are the people that LEAST BENEFIT FROM TRAVELING. BIGS. Centers, Power Forwards, and un-coordinated swing-men who receive a pass, and then shuffle their feet ever so slightly before putting the ball on the floor. Meanwhile, ultra-quick guards do it on a regular basis, are skilled as hell, and therefore look silky smooth, and never get called for violations.
I wrote a blog a year ago about Dwyane Wade and how he carries the ball on his cross-over and how that allows him to change directions without ever having to plant off a foot.
A couple of guys have caught my attention over the years. Steve Nash shuffles his feet 7 times while keeping his dribble. They call this a "hesistation" dribble. Whatever.
Tony Parker carries the ball similar to Wade, and it allows him to get into the paint at will.
Chauncey Billups often takes 3 steps when loading up for a shot off the dribble. One time on sportscenter they zoomed in on him taking like 5 steps before nailing a game winning 3. But when you watch it in real time, somehow it looks good. You slow it down, and it's like OH MY GOD - how can they not call that?!
Chris Paul is the reason I wrote this today. He is, in my opinion, the best ball-handler in the NBA. But the stuff he does with the ball is borderline ridiculous. I mean it's like watching And-1. In this series, I've seen him (TWICE) fake a pass while running full speed and keeping his dribble. As in, he brings the ball up towards his chest with one hand, puts his hand under the ball and makes a forceful gesture with his torso and then puts his hand back on top of the ball and resumes dribble. WHAT?!?! How can that POSSIBLY not be a carry? I've seen a dribble, followed by a fake pass, followed by 2 steps, followed by a layup. I've neven seen, a dribble, followed by a fake pass, followed by two steps, followed by another fake pass and a layup. I have NEVER SEEN a few dribbles, a fake pass, and then MORE DRIBBLES, and then a layup. Not until Chris Paul came along.
They seriously have to put a stop to the carrying. With the way they call fouls when guards flop these days guys like Wade and Paul are going to be shooting 20 FT a game if they need to. You can't keep them out of the paint when they are allowed to carry the ball like that. They are too quick and too skilled as ball-handlers to stop when they are allowed to bend the rules.
4.) I feel like there is an imbalance in the way fouls are called in the NBA. Fouls only seem to be called on bumps from the body. Watching the Hornets and the Celtics play defense I couldn't get over how impossible it was for San Antonio and Atlanta (in game 7) to score. Everytime they'd bring the ball up, guys would just run kami-kaze style at the ball-handler and swipe at everything. Last time I checked, reaching in, around, under, and through people is a foul. Defenders should be rewarded by shuffling their feet and keeping their position (they usually aren't since refs bail out offensive players too much in this regard). But defenders should be penalized for reaching in. Reaching is what people do when they get burned on defense or when they are being overly-aggressive.
In pick-up games no one ever calls reach in fouls (unless they want to look like a baby) and it leads to long-armed players reaching in ALL THE TIME. Get burned on defense? No problem. Just reach around the guy as he blows by you and you'll find a way to poke the ball loose. Pick up basketball games are so ridiculously infused with turnovers because of this.
In the 80s, guys were allowed to be much more physical around the basket, but most perimeter players didn't overplay or reach in. In today's NBA, I feel like the play around the hoop bails out the out-of-control forays to the rim, but allows all kinds of Bruce Bowen-like groping and overplaying on the perimeter. is it any wonder why guards in the NBA today are built like running backs, are spotty outside shooters, and can finish at the rim very well? Meanwhile, centers are rail-thin shooters who spread the floor. (Okur, Nowitzki, Illgauskas to name a few)
Obviously this is just my personal, completely subjective observations. I'm not going to try to prove it or convince you to agree with me.
But the other 3 - I can prove, and you should definitely agree with me. :)
There have been many topics I wanted to blog about, but I have been busy this week. I decided to package all my round one thoughts into this nice little blog. Lakers: To stop the Lakers, teams are going to have to play Kobe man to man. It sounds crazy, because Kobe can't be stopped when he's in man coverage especially when there are shooters on the floor to clear up the lane, but if Gasol, Odom, Vlad Rad, and Luke Walton get it going, the lakers will win every 4th quarter now until the finals. If Kobe's presence allows 4 on 3 play for the rest of the Lakers, their precise ball movement will destroy teams. They are the only team to have not shown a glaring weakness thus far. Cavs/Wizards: The Washington Wizards have been a source of great entertainment for me. Obviously Arenas has always been wacky and gained more fame for his blog and his comments than his actual play. The guy has hit some big 3s, but he's also missed some easy shots and free throws in clutch playoff situations. Now DeShawn Stevenson has gained more fame in the past month or so than in his entire career, simply because of his vendetta against LeBron James. Brendan Haywood wants a piece of the mic too. After his flagrant foul on LeBron he made comments accusing Mike Brown of overprotecting LeBron by running out on the court.
Now, after losing at home to the Cavs because of being outrebounded 51-31, we have this from Bad #### Brendan Haywood:
During the postgame interview Sunday, James said the
Wizards were trying to hurt him. At the Wizards'
practice on Monday, Haywood mocked James when he puckered
his face up like a baby and said to reporters, "Oooh,
they're trying to hurt me!"
Haywood said James wears No. 23 because of Jordan and
should act like it.
"Mike got fouled way worse than this," Haywood
said to the media. "You know what I'm saying?
Nobody is trying to hurt him. Everybody is trying to play
basketball, trying to win, trying to play tough. Leave it
alone."
Keep in mind this was in response to LeBron James being asked a question about the fouls and his answer was: They are trying to hurt LeBron James, and it's not working.
First, I offer Charles Oakley's thoughts on the whole ordeal:
"None of that would have happened if I was playing
because they would have got it the other way," Oakley
said. "If [James] was fouled hard with me on the court,
it would've been taken care of, no matter how many
fines [NBA Commissioner] David Stern would've given me.
I once told [Stern] that I have a job to do and he has a job
to do, and my job is to do whatever I can to help my team
win, including protecting my teammates."
Despite the hard fouls on James, so far his teammates have
not exactly retaliated, and that made Oakley laugh.
"I guess they don't have anyone cut like
that," said Oakley, about the Cavs' non-response
for James. "But LeBron is big enough to get back at
them, but they can't ask him to fight, score, sell
tickets, sell popcorn and park cars, too. Somebody else has
to do something."
Oakley said he never heard so much pregame and postgame
trash-talking inhis 19 years as a player. Oakley scoffed at
Stevenson's "overrated" claim. He said
it's also time for James to let his play do most of the
talking.
"How can Stevenson call anyone overrated when he
should be happy he's even in the league?" Oakley
said. "LeBron should not stoop down to [the
Wizards'] level. He's a superstar and will always
be a superstar. LeBron shouldn't waste his time with
them. Just play ball. Washington will be home soon, and if
they have a problem with what I've said, I'm easy
to find."
My Thoughts: The Cavaliers and Wizards represent two of the most contrasting organizations in the NBA. On one hand, you have the Wizards who always end up overrated at the end of the regular season. They don't play defense, they try to outscore everyone, and they have the most enabling fan base of any in the league. I have spent lots of time reading the Wizards's beat-writer's blog and the general consensus from all the fans is: The Wizards are the better team, LeBron travels constantly, if it wasn't for injuries they would easily win, and LeBron IS over-rated. This just boggles the mind. As a Cleveland fan, we often get down on our players/coaches too easily. There is a happy medium, but the Wizards fans are in a whole different league. Larry Hughes was booed out of Cleveland because he shot 40%. He was a team player, he played through injuries, was a starter on a finals contender, and yet the Cavalier faithful booed him at home games every year. No wonder Larry loved playing in Washington. DeShawn Stevenson shoots under 40%, and has talked so much trash it's almost unthinkable that the wizards have only won 1 game, and yet everyone in Washington has his back. And I have yet to hear Eddie Jordan call out any of his players, telling them to stop talking. Clearly he isn't telling them behind closed doors either, because they just won't shut up.
I'd be very interested to see what happens in the next few games. If the Wizards are down big in the game, I would not be surprised at all to see Stevenson or Haywood try to take a (another) cheap shot at LeBron. If the Wizards pull out the victory, will LeBron and Co. close out the series IN WASHINGTON for the third straight year? Celtics/Hawks: Much has been made about the Celtics entire team philosophy changing with the arrival of KG. He's been praised over and over for making this team battle hardened. Early in the season, KG started swatting shots thrown up after whistles as a kind of intimidation factor against other teams. Soon after, the rest of the team started doing this. He could often be seen on the bench waving towels, pumping his chest, and roaring after layups made during 30 point blowouts. Well that's great and all, but what happens when the other team isn't intimidated?
In game 2, I was surprised that given the blowout, KG was still in the game with under 5 minutes to play. Not only was I surprised that he was playing, he was getting into it with Al Horford. I vividly remember watching KG pound on his chest over and over during stoppage of play and thinking: The Hawks are losing because they are scared of the Celtics, but if this keeps up, they're going to be so pissed off they are going to lose their fear. If you've ever been scared to fight someone before, your fear vanishes after you've been hit in the mouth a few times. Your adrenaline kicks in, and you become angry. The Hawks became angry.
They imposed their style of play on the Celtics and have been the more aggressive team since KG's chest pounding. Often times it's the taunting and the blowouts that really ignite players.
Probably the most telling sign the the Hawks aren't afraid of the Celtics is the fact that they squandered a half-time lead and were down TEN POINTS going into the 4th quarter against the best defensive team in the NBA, and they came back and won.
Also, I found it comical that KG threw an elbow at Zaza Pachulia and then acted like a thug after Pachulia got in his face. If you watch the clip below, notice KG very forcefully pushing the referee that is grabbing him. That looks like suspension material to me.
Hard to see Atlanta winning a game in Boston, but they have exposed the Celtics weaknesses. Pistons/76ers: Not sure why everyone got back on the Pistons bandwagon after the Cavs outplayed the SAME TEAM 6 straight times last year. But, everyone did, and now everyone is shocked and talking about "switch-flipping" and other Piston buzz-words. It's this easy, people: The Pistons are that safe draft pick, you know, the guy that you know he's going to be a star, but he will never be a superstar? As opposed to the project that may someday become a franchise player. Their ceiling has a limit. They have a great starting lineup, a good bench, they play good defense, they exploit other teams' weaknesses, and they win a lot of games. But when an opposing team is geared up, and star players get into a zone, the Pistons still have a ceiling. LeBron James and the Cavs showed that last year, the 76ers are already showing that in this round. Chauncey Billups is a great point guard, but he's not worthy of all the accolades he receives. RaSheed Wallace is a cancer who should have been traded away last year. He will always implode when the situation gets grim. He can't handle clutch situations. The Pistons may prevail in this round, but don't be surprised if Philly shocks the world. I won't be shocked if they win. Spurs/Suns: Trends can catch on quick in today's fast paced media infused world. But in the case of Suns/Spurs no one is paying attention. Every year people get excited about the Suns, and every year people point out the Spurs weaknesses. And the Spurs come out on top every year. Why doesn't anyone respect the Spurs? Until they are beaten, they are the Champions and should be the favorites. They have given us no reason to write off their post season play. I keep reading about how if ever there was a team to come back from 3-0 it was this Suns team. I'm sorry, not against the Spurs - never going to happen. And whining about flopping only happens when you lose. Losers whine about the other team's tactics. Champions find ways to win games.
Oh and if the Suns/Nuggest/Warriors/Wizards/Raptors are any indication, offense alone doesn't win championships. Mavericks/Hornets: I feel like I wasted my time pointing out how overrated Jason Kidd was earlier this year. I could have just waited for Chris Paul to do it for me.
Chris Paul is one BAD DUDE. He's one of 5 players in my mind, that can single handedly take over a game along with LeBron, Kobe, Ginobili, and Duncan.
I look like a genius for saying how overrated Josh Howard was earlier in the season. Jazz/Rockets: AK47 is one of the ugliest dudes in the league, along with the old Chris Kaman, Gollem Cassell, Reggie "Nutgrabber" Evans, the new Sasha Vujacic, and Brian Skinner.
T-Mac used to be a top 5 player in the NBA. He's had one of the greatest individual seasons of the last 20 years. But T-Mac is not as athletic as he used to be and he's always been a spotty outside shooter. When they were younger, T-Mac and Kobe were very similar individually. The differences were that Kobe played better defense and T-Mac was a better passer. Now, Kobe's a much better shooter, and still has good athleticism. I feel bad for T-Mac because everyone overrates him and then blames him when the Rockets lose. He's not even a top 10 player in the NBA anymore, yet he still has top-5 star appeal. When the Rockets went on their winning streak, some people claimed he should be an MVP. The rockets were winning because of defense and Rafer Alston, not T-Mac.
The Jazz are an intriguing team because they have so many X-factors, guys that you can't trust to consistently deliver, but who can kill a team. Okur, Korver, Ak47 are three such players. Any one of these guys CAN play like an All-Star any given night, they can also go 1-6. It's a team that I think is best built for the wear and tear of the playoffs: dominant point guard, dominant big man, energy guy, shooters, good X's and O's coach, great at home. We'll see. Magic
When the threes are dropping, this team is unstoppable. When the threes aren't dropping, this team is mediocre. Dwight Howard can't beat double teams, but he doesn't have to with all those tall shooters spreading the floor. I would not be surprised if they cam out of the East. Not one bit. Props to the Raptors for making every game exciting. If the first round has shown us anything so far, it is how foolish we bloggers, and media types look for writing off teams/conferences before the games are played. I'll bet less than 15% of basketball fans thought the Pistons would be in danger of losing in the first round. I'll be less than 10% thought the Spurs would be up 3-1. I'll bet less than 1% of basketball fans thought the Hawks would win ONE game against the best regular season team in the NBA. And now they've won 2.
I think it has also shown us that taunting and trash talking only serves as a handicap to the OTHER TEAMS! When people were writing off the Bulls in '98 Jordan repeated: "They still gotta come through Chicago" - That wasn't trash talking, that was inspiration and he backed it up. Today, you have so many guys taking it too far, and it's hurting their teams.
Note to TCBDOG:
TCBDOG, in your latest blog you (once again) brought up the PER stat and how it should be dismissed. Before I try to figuratively smack some sense into you, allow me to offer a small olive branch.
PER is a number. A number derived from other numbers. Basketball is an intricate team game, it's not a series of equations. The fact that you feel PER does not adequately show everything that happens in a basketball game is not only true, it's commendable on your part.
However.....
While PER should not be valued as the Holy Grail of statistics, it should not be DISMISSED either. You, as well as others often treat the argument like we're in a court room deciding a murder trial. In other words, if evidences proves to be in any way flawed or incomplete, the judge can tell the jury to disregard EVERYTHING they've heard. No one's life is at stake here. Every bit of evidence counts.
At least a dozen times you have made the argument that PER says that David Robinson was a better player than Wilt Chamberlain. I have sat by and allowed you to say such nonsense for too long.
Here is John Hollinger's disclaimer on PER:
Bear in mind that this rating is not the final, once-and-for-all
answer for a player's accomplishments during the season. This is
especially true for players -- such as Bruce Bowen and Jason Collins --
who are defensive specialists but don't get many blocks or steals.
What
PER can do, however, is summarize a player's statistical
accomplishments in a single number. That allows us to unify the
disparate data on each player that we try to track in our heads (e.g.,
Corey Maggette: free-throw machine, good rebounder, decent shooter,
poor passer, etc.) so that we can move on to evaluating what might be
missing from the stats.
You must think you are clever for going to basketball-reference.com, and sorting the career PER stat and finding Wilt a hair below David Robinson and deciding that PER is worthless and should be dismissed.
BLOCKS, STEALS, TURNOVERS, 3 POINTERS, and TYPES of REBOUNDSwere not recorded when Wilt played!!!!!!!!!! HALF OF THE STATS that are used to create the composite PER staff DID NOT EXIST for WILT CHAMBERLAIN. Also, I highly doubt they adjusted Wilt's PER for PACE.
Comparing a player before 1973 to a player after 1973 on the basis of PER is irrelevant and YES, should be dismissed. But not because PER itself should be dismissed - simply because the stats aren't there. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Wilt got his share of blocks.
Also, Wilt's PER would be probably be off the charts if only his prime years were considered. Look at the last 3 years of his career, where he played 82 games all 3 seasons. 20 PPG, 15 PPG and 13 PPG. So his total numbers don't indicate how dominant he was in his prime. He has 3 of the top 4 PERs by season if you look at basketball-reference.com. I imagine they would be even higher if all the stats were recorded back then.
We shouldn't compare Babe Ruth to Hank Aaron, or Hank Aaron to Barry Bonds. Different Eras, different equipment, different parks. Well we DEFINITELY shouldn't compare basketball players of different ERAs since we didn't even records the stats the same way.
No one thinks David Robinson had a better career than Wilt Chamberlain. Not me, not John Hollinger, not anybody.
I'm not asking anyone on here to decide on their all-stars or MVPs by sorting a web page by PERs. But you are wrong to dismiss the stat completely just because it says Kobe Bryant isn't the most productive player in the NBA. The stat does a good job of comparing today's players against each other since some teams score 110 points a game and other score 95 and per game totals don't account for that.
Also, for the record, I have NEVER ONCE indicated that PER is the only metric by which we should evaluate a player. I have written long, involved blogs comparing players and PER is but one of the stats I use. People usually then FLAME me over it, and it is simply because PER does not always value the star players as the best players. Specifically, PER does not support the case that Kobe Bryant is the best player in the world. Again, PER does not measure intangibles, it does not measure defensive plays other than steals or blocks, and it doesn't measure on court off court differentials. There are other stats that do that, but those stats, like PER, do not account for everything.
However, in a game where we passionately debate and our fandom can get in the way of reality, stats like this can be a good source of evidence for the debates. They should not be dismissed, just kept in context.
TCBDOG, I hope we've cleared this up and we never have to hear about David Robinson being better than Wilt Chamberlain.
Random thoughts and analysis on tonight's annihilation of the Trash-Talking Wizards: Analysis:
The Wizards decided to double and triple LeBron every time he got the ball. They made it clear he would have no easy layups. He got fouled hard early and often. Two years ago the Wizards employed this same tactic in game 2 and it rattled LeBron. The Cavs lost that game before regrouping. Tonight? Only fired up the Cavs more.
LeBron got his usual efficient 30, but what impressed me the most was his activity. He had two MONSTER blocks which lead to break outs, and ended up with a Chris Paul-like 12 assists and only 1 turnover. He was a rebound shy of a triple double.
This game has the potential, in my opinion, to re-define the Cavaliers. Their season, for the most part, showed regression and under achievement. More than anything, the Cavaliers have been offensively inefficient, have been passive on defense, and have had a COMPLETE INABILITY TO IMPOSE THEIR WILL on opposing teams. Tonight they excelled in all of these things. Their defensive intensity was strong the entire game. The Wizards were overplaying on defense, double and triple teaming the ball immediately, and trying to send a message with hard fouls. The Cavs responded by pushing right back, making the extra pass on offense, and matching aggression with aggression.
Almost the entire Cavalier roster regressed this season - LeBron and Z being the exceptions. Much of this can be attributed to a plague of injuries and myriad Mike Brown rotations. The Cavs only seem in sync for about a month this season. Upon returning from injury, Boobie Gibson's shot has been horrible. Anderson Varejao looks as if he's wearing lead shoes, and Sasha Pavlovic couldn't get into any rhythm. Adding insult to injury was the new players acquired in the trade laying an egg: Delonte West has played consistently above average, but Ben Wallace has been utterly ineffective and Wally, the guy brought in to hit open jumpers, has built himself a house bigger than LeBron's with all his wide open bricks.
But tonight, the Cavs team I envisioned following the trade, showed up - and it was glorious.
Wally nailed 6 of 9 shots, including 2 threes. Boobie Gibson was flat out on fire in the 3rd quarter and finished 4-8 with 2 threes. Big Z is the guy that slows down the tempo and stabilizes the game with his tip ins and mid-range pops. He did that very well tonight. Varejao, Wallace, and Joe Smith, while starting slow, got very physical midway through the 2nd quarter, and I believe it was really this energy that the Cavs used to finally, FINALLY, impose their will on an opponent.
All in all, there is a lot to be said about this game, but this is the Cavs team that I envisioned. Z anchoring the post offense, LeBron aggressively finding holes but not forcing the issue, and finding his teammates spotted up for J's. Tonight, the Cavs hit the open shot, and they won by 30. Random Thoughts:
1.)I was shocked that Reggie Miller likened the foul on a driving Antonio Daniels to the two-handed shove from Brendan Haywood on LeBron James. First of all, upon replay, the foul on Daniels showed that the Cavaliers in fact tried to block the shot, but got there late. Daniels weighs what, a buck ninety? LeBron is 260. LeBron's got shoved hard in the side while at the apex of his jump. This caused him to completely lose body control midair, and sent him flying to the deck, drawing blood. Anytime a player is intentionally pushed while in mid-air in this way it leaves that player open to all kinds of injuries. Daniels got fouled no harder than any guard going in for a layup, he's just very light so when he gets bumped it looks worse than it is. It was obviously the right call by the officials: 2-shot foul. Reggie digressed into talk about the "good ol days" when he played and the foul Haywood gave to LeBron was just a hard playoff foul. You could tell Marv Albert thought he was full of #### Obviously he didn't go for the ball, and the fact that he was able to send LeBron's 260 pound frame turning in the air towards the deck shows how hard he pushed him. I fully expect Anderson Vajejao or Ben Wallace to return the favor to Haywood in game 3 (or 4 if he is suspended)
2.) I'd like to take this opportunity for a rare pat on the back. Back when famous (or infamous) FoxSports blogger Hoffman triumphantly declared the he liked how DeShawn Stevenson's attitude was a sign that he was a strong-willed player that wouldn't back down, I told Hoffman that NO, it's a sign that he's just an #### who blows at basketball and doesn't know how to control his mouth, nothing more. Well Soulja Boy proved me right again. I almost felt bad for the guy in the 3rd quarter when he FINALLY hit a 3 and with his team down 20+ he did his patented "you-can't-see-me" face wave in front of his face. Marv and Reggie couldn't believe it, and made a big showing of how bush-league it was. Reggie later said if Stevenson did the wave again he would walk out of 'the Q' in disgust. Immediately LeBron marched right down the court and hit a 3 in his face. This really led to a bizarre sequence, as the crowd got fired up and incredibly, Stevenson JACKED UP another long shot. With his team down 20+, he was apparently going to take over the game by himself. Instead, he got his team all out of sync, and the Cavs never looked back. Honestly I couldn't believe that Eddie Jordan didn't bench him after that. Lost some respect for Jordan there. In case anyone was still wondering, DeShawn Stevenson SUCKS. As a Cavs fan, my heart dances happily every time he launches an outside shot. Hoffman, do you STILL like what you see from Stevenson? You said you hate how teams roll out the red carpet for LeBron. Well, we're two games in, LeBron has been forcibly sent to the deck time and time again, and he's putting up MONSTER NUMBERS in playoff games. I'd love to hear what you have to say now.
3.) This is the Cavs team I envisioned. Boobie being the Boobie of last year's playoffs and this year before the injury. Wally World hitting open jumpers. Ben Wallace blocking shots and providing some mental toughness. Anderson Varejao getting under the opponents skin with hustle, hard fouls, and extra possesions. Delonte West providing full-court pressure, getting his hand on balls, and setting up the offense. LeBron dominating as usual. THIS IS THE CAVS TEAM I ENVISIONED. Mike Brown making good adjustments, like the one he did in this game to put LeBron on Arenas(2-10 3 TOs) early and to exploit the Wizards on defense with Big Z(7-11) when Haywood was out. Throw in a deep bench with true professionals Devin Brown, Joe Smith, and Damon Jones who are always ready to go at a moments notice, and you have a great, not good, GREAT team.
3.) I felt slightly compensated for all the negativity surrounding the Cavs and Cleveland in general from this game. This turned into, as Bill Simmons candidly describes, an ####-YOU game. Between LeBron swishing the three in Stevenson's eye and Damon Jones mocking Stevenson's hand-wave late in the game after drilling a triple (LeBron could be seen laughing on the bench while Arenas looked like a 5 year old who's Mom took away his candy) I felt like the Cavs took their aggression out on the Wizards and likewise all my aggression towards Cavs haters are now gone. In one big ####-YOU, we've proved our point.
4.) I was talking to X23 tonight and he pointed out that we very well might look back on this series and THANK the Washington Wizards for lighting a fire under the Cavs #### with their ridiculous comments. Obviously, the Cavs have proven to be incredibly inconsistent this year, and they are still dealing with daily changes to the rotations and injuries, but to a man, this team could be VERY VERY GOOD, either this post-season or the next. But mentally, they have been unable to impose their will on anyone, until tonight. This could be the start of something special for this new-look Cavalier team.
5.) LeBron faked a reverse windmill dunk following a whistle. In other words, he went up like he was going to tear the rim off, and then suddenly stopped and handed the ball to the official. LeBron's FAKE DUNKS look better than 99% of the NBA's actual dunks. It's not even close.
6.) Keeping with the topic of LeBron and dunks, if you can find the clip, watch the dunk LeBron does in the first half when he splits two defenders and throws it down with authority. Watch it in slow motion, you will see LeBron take contact as contorts his body to split the defenders, then duck underneath an outstretched arm then rise up and throw it down hard. In real time it looks so smooth and easy, until you realize all the things he's actually doing to make that play. Reggie Miller commented on how the Wizards game play was supposed to be no easy layups. Well, they TRIED to foul him, but he was too strong, too fast, and too agile to be denied. The same thing can be said for his driving shots against the Pistons in Game 5 of last year's ECFinals. On a lot of those plays, the Pistons were all over him, but he's so strong, so fast, and so agile that they couldn't. No one ROLLS OUT THE RED CARPET for LeBron. HE STAPLES IT THE FLOOR AND TAKES OFF.
7.) I feel like a ####-bag for going on record saying I thought the Cavs might lose to the Wizards. I had no faith in the team. I'm a Cleveland Fan, I've been through more pain the rest of you combined, but I'm not going to let that destroy my fandom. Cavs vs. Jazz in the Finals. If they fall, I guess I'll just have to live with the trash talking. But as far as I can tell, no one can stop LeBron, NO ONE. And if the supporting cast plays like they did tonight, no one can stop the Cavs, NO ONE.
8.) Is Soulja Boy still coming to game 3? Is Stevenson going to continue to throw gasoline on the fire he made? Is he the dumbest player in the history of the NBA? Is the Wizards Fan base the most pathetic in the history of professional sports for having his back through all this?? Is Hoffman the dumbest blogger in the history of FoxSports for believing Stevenson to be ANYTHING more than an ####-Clown wannabe that occasionally plays good defense? Obviously, questions remain. Stay tuned.
In 5 playoff games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, DeShawn Stevenson is now 10 for 55 -18%.
Much has been made about his "overrated" comment earlier in the season.
Hoffman loved the comment. According to him, this was Stevenson and the Wizards "not backing down". Yeah, whatever.
Here's the reality of the situation. "The Wizards are the dumbest team in the history of civilization."
I blame Gilbert Arenas. Or maybe I should say I THANK Gilbert. He can flat out play, but he's such a knucklehead. He gets the whole team sans Jamison playing with this arrogance and sense of entitlement.
Seriously, can you imagine the team that has lost 7 straight playoff games and lost a regular season game by like 50 to a certain team talking TRASH about that team?!? Shouldn't it be the other way around? The Cavs are a HORRIBLE team right now. Many people use the post-trade inadequacies as some sort of evidence that they were right all along about the Cavs not deserving to be in the Finals last year. I think you're all just making excuses. The Cavs were a top 3 team in defense and rebounding last year. This year they are a middle of the pack defensive team, and to a man, most of them have regressed in terms of production. I can point to injuries, contract holdouts etc, but then again, maybe I'm just making excuses.
Regardless, the Wizards should SWEEP the Cavaliers giving all the talk they're doing. And yet, up 2 late in the 4th quarter, they couldn't stop LeBron James - and Gilbert Arenas threw up brick after brick down the stretch. Almost every analyst I've read has picked the Wizards to beat the Cavs. The Wizards are the FAVORITES in this series, and they already blew game 1.
All the trash talking and drama makes for good entertainment. I suppose it pleases the weak fans of the NBA. But as a hardcore fan, I think I speak for all of us when I say: "Shut up and play." Or at least, "Win a GAME, before you start talking trash."
Take an example from the Cavs and from LeBron. They often talk about how they were the inferior team in last year's finals and they got outplayed by a better team. All you hear from the Wizards and from their fan base is the same old garbage: "LeBron Traveled", "They'd never beat us if Arenas and Butler were healthy". "LeBron is overrated." "They don't have the best finisher in the game."
Lots of talk - NOTHING to back it up. In case anyone wants to know the origins of all the trash talk, here is my best recap.
Neither of these teams have ever liked each other. There has been plenty of back and forth behind the scenes for the last 3 years. As far as the stuff that made it to a camera or mic:
Earlier in the season, the Cavs SMOKED the Wizards. Damon Jones is a cocky player by nature and held a 3 point pose a few times in the game after stroking 3s in garbage time.
Later in the season, the Cavs signed 2 D-league players for a game against the Wizards. It seemed impossible for the Cavs to beat the Wiz given the lack of players, yet they won the game, and celebrated like it was a playoff game as the whistle sounded.
Apparently, LeBron had made a comment to Drew Gooden about DeShawn Stevenson sometime before the trade. No one knows exactly what it was about. LeBron said it was about his game and about the Wizards, nothing about his family or anything personal. DeShawn hasn't shed any light on the content of what was said. My guess is LeBron said DeShawn has a tiny #### and DeShawn doesn't want to bring that into the national spotlight.
At any rate, during a game in Washington on March 13, Damon Jones started making fun of DeShawn Stevenson's hand-wave-in-front-of-the-face thing he does when he makes a 3. Later, after DeShawn made a 3 he mocked Damon Jones' hand-on-a-platter-thing he does after making threes. The game ended with LeBron missing a 3 at the buzzer with Stevenson in his grill. After the game, Stevenson told the media that LeBron was overrated and wanted to make sure the media attributed it to him.
In an attempt to boost readership I'm going to try to keep this short.
First, Kobe Bryant is going to win the MVP award, that's been obvious to me since the Gasol trade. The Lakers have the best team on paper and Kobe is the best player on that team, and media types have this guilt complex over him not winning it in the past. It's ironic that in the year when Dirk Nowitzki had the best regular season production and thus won the MVP he laid an egg in the first round of the playoffs and was immediately criticized as not being MVP worthy. I say ironic because for fans the MVP has transformed into this validation of a player being the best in the NBA even though that's not what the award SHOULD mean. It's even more ironic when you consider that the voters almost always give the award to the most popular players on the most popular teams. Surely, Suns fan believed that they had the best player in the NBA for two seasons even though there were a handful of players that contributed more to their teams than Steve Nash. But, Steve Nash was the most popular player on the most exciting team. Consider the Rookie of the Year award. Kevin Durant has produced the most for his team, but Luis Scola is a major contributor on a playoff team. Fortunately, the ROTY doesn't have this ridiculous framework around it. It's just the guy producing the most. It's not even the most popular player, think back to Okafor v. Howard? Well if you look at the stats that season you will notice they are comparable, but Okafor averaged about 3 more points per game. Howard was 19 and people were raving that he was the next Shaq - MUCH more publicity, yet Okafor produced slightly more individually and thus won the award.
Does anybody really think Tony Parker is the most Valuable Spur? Not many. Then how in the HECK did he win the 2007 Finals MVP? Oh, that's right, because he PRODUCED the most for the Spurs in that series - shredding Cleveland's defense over and over. The world didn't end when Tony Parker won the MVP award. People still consider Duncan and Ginobili the superstars of that team.
This brings me to the MVP award and how the arguments are being framed for Kobe.
First, a little background info: any candidate whose team does not win 50 games is immediately excluded from the club along with this worthless Moses Malone allusion. (I swear to God I've heard his name so much this year I'm starting to think he is still playing.) Apparently you could put up 40 10 and 8 and if your team does not win 50 games - nothing else matters. Here's the argument for Kobe in a nutshell:
Kobe Bryant was the most statistically dominating presence the last 5 some odd years but failed to win the MVP award because his team sucked. Now, his team is great, and even though his individual numbers are not the best in the league, it would be a crime to deny him the award since he was denied back when he DID have the most statistically dominating numbers in the NBA.
This argument was particularly strong when it was a two-horse race between LeBron and Kobe for much of the season(in spite of head to head match-ups) since LeBron '08 was seen as Kobe '06, and Kobe '08 seen as Nash '06.
This argument started looking a little weaker once Chris Paul's Hornets were a top the west and Paul's individual production was more than Kobe's. Now that the Lakers will finish a game or so ahead of the Hornets, Kobe is the most popular player on the most popular team - thus he will win the award by a mile. Here's the problem with the arguments:
Kobe Bryant was NOT the most statistically dominating presence the last 5 some odd years. In 2006 Dirk Nowitzki, and LeBron James had a higher PER than Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade was not far behind. I know every single Kobe fan out there balks at the PER stat, but let's get one thing clear - while PER doesn't indicate best player by any means, it does indicate most productive, and there's no way you can argue that a player DOMINATED his contemporaries if he's not even first in PER.
As a side note, all three of above mentioned players went farther in the playoffs than Kobe and DWade and Dirk were the best individual players in the NBA Finals that season.
Taking this argument further, Kobe has never had the most productive regular season in his career. Therefore, the argument that he so clearly deserved it in 2006 is false. He didn't SO CLEARLY deserve it. LeBron took an equally weak supporting cast to 50 wins. Ironically, Kobe still got a ton of votes (no one was making the Moses Malone argument against Kobe that year.) and split votes with LeBron James. Thus, Steve Nash came away with the award - which everyone can agree he certainly didn't deserve.
LeBron '08 is not Kobe '06. LeBron HAS BEEN the most productive player this season. He has statistically dominated everyone but Chris Paul this season, and is first in PER at over 30. If you leave Paul out of the equation, LeBron's production has been significantly more than Kobe's this season. As I've already pointed out, Kobe wasn't even the most productive player in '06 much less SIGNIFICANTLY ahead of his contemporaries, like LeBron is this season.
And for the sake of argument, Kobe '08 isn't Nash '06. Kobe's more productive, more worthy, the most popular player on the most popular team like Nash, but he's different. He is not the catalyst behind their team. He is the wingman in the triangle offense which features a dominant center, an athletic SF/PF combo, sharpshooters galore, and the winning-est coach in NBA history. Nash was the catalyst - Kobe is the strongest link in th echain. I'm not saying Nash is better or was more worthy - hell no. But it is worth pointing out that without Gasol and Bynum the Lakers a .500 Kobe led team. This is longer than I wanted it to be. For what it's worth, I will not be upset if Kobe wins the MVP. He is the most popular (and best) player on the best team - and that is what the award has come to signify by the voters.
However, the framework being used to justify his MVP is flawed.
Kobe Bryant is wildly popular and LOOKS the most like Michael Jordan in the eyes of fans. Because of this, everyone thinks it is an error of history that he has never won an MVP before. It's not. He's never been the most productive player for an 82 game season.
And I wonder what Tim Duncan thinks every-time some media type claims that "Kobe Bryant has been the best player in the game for a while now."
