It's been a while since my last post. I think I kind of burned myself out with my humongous NBA Season preview. Anyway, I came in and turned on the TV a few minutes ago only to see that it was halftime of the Denver/LA game, and Iverson had dropped 33 in the first half. Needless to say, I feel compelled to watch and keep track of just how high that total is going to go. So I'm going to monitor AI and intersperse some other NBA stuff along the way.
Right now AI has 38 with 7:00 left in the 3rd, and Kobe has 4 fouls, so he's being guarded by Sasha Vujacic. Basically, that means he has free reign to do whatever he wants. He just had a play where he danced around Vujacic for a few seconds before getting himself a wide open fadeaway.
You know Denver is going to score, but one of the reasons I thought they could be a real contender was the defensive presence of Camby and Martin, but they haven't been as good a defensive team as I expected because they inexplicably give up tons of open jumpers. Still, the season is young, and all the pieces are there.
There's nothing that LA can do against AI. Farmar just played great defense against him on two fadeaway J's, but Iverson is just so quick and elevates so quickly that he just drilled them both. He's hitting everything. 3 minutes to go in the 3rd, and he's got 47. I think you can just about pencil him in for 60+ right now, there's no one on the Lake Show that can stop him.
It's amazing that LA is still in this game. Denver just keeps giving them wide-open jumpers and they're knocking down enough of them to stay in it. BTW, J.R. Smith checked into the game, missed a lob, turned the ball over, missed a 3, and committed a dumb reach-in foul. Such a huge talent, but the work ethic and basketball mind just aren't there.
End of the 3rd. AI has 49. The way the Lakers have started keying on him, I think he'll probably get 59 or 61 by the end of the night.
Start of the 4th and Kobe is back in the game. Beautiful lob from Camby to Melo. Is there a more underrated passing center than Camby? He never gets mentioned among the league's best passing centers (probably because he isn't European), but every time I watch him he seems to show great court vision from the high post.
Jordan Farmar just got his clock cleaned by a Kenyon Martin screen. Smith ran him right into it bringing the ball up the court, and it took him a few seconds to even get back into the picture.
8:50 left in the game, and AI is still at 49. Nobody else on the Nuggets can hit a jumper.
4:24 left and AI still scoreless in the quarter. Denver has taken the lead though because the rest of the Nuggets have stepped up their production when Iverson is passing out of the double team.
Looks like we're not going to see anything too spectacular. Anyway, I'm off to make a late-night cookout run. I'll probably edit this and add some final thoughts when I get back.
Well, AI ends up with 51 and I think 5 assists in the 4th after they started really keying on him, but LA gets the win. For playing a lot of the game without Kobe and having AI go off like that, that's a very good win for the Lakers. It's obvious that this is a very good offensive team, and that's a tribute to Phil Jackson. Even when Kobe isn't out there, they move the ball well to get open looks. Offense never was the problem though, the problem is on the defensive end, where they still have a lot of issues. Getting Trevor Ariza was a good step, but they still lack anyone on the inside who really intimidates you, and they have a lot of guys (Walton, Radmonovic, Vujacic, Odom often) who are just terrible defenders.
As for Denver, they've got all the pieces. We knew coming into the season that they were tremendously talented, but it's all about attitude and effort with this team. They're one of the more interesting squads to watch the rest of the way, especially with Nene and Atkins coming back from injury.
Some other thoughts from around the league:
Yi continues to surprise me. I know his team got beat by 30, but 9 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in 29 minutes is a good night of work. I never would have expected him to be as solid as he's been, not this soon.
After watching a bunch of highlights of the Suns outracing the Raptors tonight, it got me thinking, "Has anyone ever passed as well with their off hand as Steve Nash does?" Seriously, go outside and try dribbling at full speed with your off hand and then, without touching the ball with your strong hand, throw it one-handed across your body to some target 10-15 feet away. Congratulate yourself if you get within 3 feet of it. Seriously, Nash makes that play 2-3 times a game at least and hits his teammates right in the hands. His ability to make the one-handed pass from either side is one of the main things that makes him so effective, Nobody is quicker at delivering the ball.
Impressive win for the Spurs over Dallas without Duncan. Manu Ginobili is just playing at a transcendent level right now. Much like Parker did during last year's playoff run, Manu has taken his game to another level, and the Spurs look incredibly scary because of it. BTW, you think Greg Popovich knows how to keep his team fresh for when it matters? Duncan is playing a career low in minutes, and the Spurs are one of only 4 who have nobody averaging over 35 MPG (with Detroit, Seattle and Toronto). No sane person should be betting against them come playoff time.
I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated in 2001 that was all about the new generation of players that was changing the face of the playoffs. The group of Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Tracy Mcgrady, Baron Davis, Kevin Garnett and the rest were entering the peak of their career and promising to give us compelling matchups for the rest of the decade. This was the dynamic group of players who would fill the void left by the Jordan generation, who were all either retired or soon to retire (Barkley, Stockton, Malone, Hardaway, Reggie, Pippen). Fast forward to now. We're on the other side of most of these players' prime years, and between injuries, dissappointing performances, and managerial incompetence, that generation has left us mostly dissappointed. The decade has been dominated by Shaq, the Pistons' team-oriented style, and the one star of this generation who has lived up to his billing, Tim Duncan. As the torch seems to be passing to the next wave of stars (Lebron, Wade, Melo, Parker, Bosh), its time to take a look at where there players stand in the grand scheme of things. What is the historical legacy of this group, which popularized jumping to the pros after 1 year or just straight out of high school.
In 1996, the NBA came out with a list of the 50 greatest players in its history. That was when most of these guys were just starting their careers. Of those 50, only Shaq is still an active player. So, the question is, who from this generation of players deserves a spot on that list? Keep in mind, we're not just talking about who's going to be in the Hall of Fame. We're talking about the best of the best, the guys who you're going to look back on in 20 years and be proud to tell your kids/grandkids, "yeah, I saw him play". The guys we choose have to be good enough to knock one of the guys on that list off. How will this generation be remembered? Who deserves to be called "the greatest"?
There should be absolutely no doubt about this one. He'll go down in history as the best power forward ever, and he's one of the two most dominant players of the decade. He's unarguably one of the top 50, and you can certainly make a case for him being top 10.
Along with Duncan, I think he's the only unarguable inclusion on this list. When taking into account the era that Wilt played in, Kobe might be the greatest pure scorer of all time. Whether you love him or hate him (there seems to be no middle ground), you have to be in awe of his brilliance. The most talented player in the league, bar none.
He will always be remembered for breaking open the HS to pro floodgates and for his landmark contract with the Wolves. The verdict is still out as to whether he will always be remembered as the guy who couldn't quite get it done. Regardless of whether or not Garnett ever does get his ring, he's still proven to be a remarkable basketball player. I'm willing to overlook his playoff struggles in light of his being the most versatile player ever to play the game. He's been stuck on a bad team for the past few years, but it wasn't long ago that we were debating whether he or Duncan was the better player.
I went back and forth on this one because I find it very hard to look at AI's career objectively. He's one of the most prolific scorers of all time, but he's certainly not the most efficient scorer ever to play. He's been criticized for his attitude towards practice and he's been criticized for the amount of shots he takes. However, he's one of the most competitive players in the game and plays completely without fear. To watch Iverson is to watch heart triumph over stature. At the end of the day, his amazing ability to score at a mere 6 feet tall and his playoff run where he nearly single-handedly carried the Sixers to the finals are enough for him to make the list.
On the Brink (likely Hall of Famers, but not top 50)
Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Steve Nash
Dirk Nowitzki
Nowitzki deserves a special note because I think that more than anyone, he has the potential to jump up this list. He's really just entered his prime as a player and has hit a turning point in his career after the first round loss to the Warriors this year. His place in history will be determined by how he responds to the accusations that he's a weak player.
