NBAtipoff

Hasheem Thabeet Gets His Own Shoes?

2010-03-10T09:23:00.003-05:00

Yep, Hasheem freakin' Thabeet has his own Li-Ning shoes. Let's just say it was a surprise that the extremely raw seven footer who was taken second in last years draft (which, was underrated looking at how the rookies are performing) would get his own shoes.

Either way, maybe Thabeet can somehow use this as motivation? I don't know, but this guy has a long way to go. A feature of the shoes might be "substantial development in professional basketball playing ability," then I'd see Li-Ning's logic.

The shoes don't look like anything really special. Nice Kicks has some more pictures if you're interested. They're pretty plain unless you're a big Grizzlies fan. There currently isn't a plan for a US release as of yet.

Thabeet can only work his ass off. His doubters are everywhere, but he's got some defensive skills that he could expand on. If he can add a little offense, he could be a solid player. But number two way too early Memphis.

Franchise Player: Dwyane Wade

2010-02-26T09:37:00.001-05:00

In the past week, I have started to write a series about the criteria that players have to meet to be recognized as franchise players. If you want the list of requirements that I came up with, click here. Now that you know the rules, let’s go check out our featured player of the day.

Back in 2003, teams were all lining up hoping to get the #1 NBA draft pick in what was known as the LeBron James, Carmelo and Darko draft. As crazy as it sounds today, scouts had made NBA general managers as well as the general public believe that Darko Milicic was the next coming of Dirk Nowitzki; except with shot blocking skills and a better post game. He was going to revolutionize NBA basketball (I know this post is not about Darko, but please indulge me for a few lines, we should be obliged to revisit the 2003 NBA Draft every year); or so we were told. Joe Dumars had a team that featured Chauncy Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace (in his prime no less). Looking at the roster he had, Dumars passed on Carmelo Anothony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for Darko. Just so we’re clear, up to that point, only Dirk Nowitzki , Manu Ginobili and Peja Stojakovic had been able to transition their game from Europe to the NBA and become stars. Wade and Anthony in the meantime had shined on the biggest collegiate stage possible as they dominated the NCAA tournament and both made Final Four appearances. And here we are seven years later, Darko has played for Detroit, Orlando, Memphis, New York and Minnesota while Wade and Melo are still where they started. Milicic has said himself that once this season ends, he’s packing his bags and heading back to Europe (I really hope for him his career pans out there, because that would just give me more stuff to write about for my own entertainment). On the other hand, the Miami Heat selected a 6’4 guard out of Marquette with the number five pick in the draft. Miami knew they were getting a solid combo guard, but did they truly know what they were getting?

The Heat drafted a guard with a wide array of skills in Dwyane Wade. Although he was not a good shooter when drafted, he compensated that by being a decent rebounder from the guard position and a good playmaker. However, what surprised people the most was his freakish athleticism and body control. From the moment he stepped into the league, Wade flew to the basket with reckless abandon but always positioned himself well enough to avoid contact before getting to the rim. Think about it, when’s the last time you saw Flash whistled for a charge? The former Marquette player was so good that when it came time for Shaquille O’Neal to be traded from the Lakers, he chose Miami as a destination because he saw in Wade the ability to help him win another title. Indeed, by his third season, Wade was an NBA champion. He tortured the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals with his prolific scoring and knack for getting fouled. People were quick to anoint him as the equal to Kobe Bryant (understandable, but a bit of an overreaction) and then whispers grew that he was Rated Next. I bet you’re wondering what Rated Next means. It’s a term I came up with for players that are mentioned as the possible successor to his Airness Michael Jordan. Quick note: Isn’t it funny how every time an athletic and high scoring two guard emerges in the NBA, he immediately becomes Rated Next? Look at the list: Harold Minor, Grant Hill (a small forward but still), Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter, Dwyane Wade, DeShawn Stevenson (yes, Stevenson was actually once compared to MJ, sad isn’t it?) and finally Darko Milicic. In the words of Triumph the Dog, I kid I kid. Darko was obviously never compared to Mike, but I couldn’t resist the urge of writing his name again. Considering that Wade was once mentioned in the same breath as the GOAT (Greatest Off All Time), does he make it in as a franchise player? Let’s break it down.

The Kobe Bryant Exception

So far in his NBA career, Dwyane Wade has missed the playoffs only once, and it happened in his third season. That year, Wade missed 31 games as the Heat limped their way to 15 wins. Considering that Wade still played in 51 games, it doesn’t look good on his track record that his team only won 15 games. Nonetheless, he gets a pass accordingly to the Kobe Bryant Exception. Quick note: How do Lakers fans rationalize the fact that the Lakers missed the playoffs that year? I bet you it was a conspiracy spearheaded by the almighty David Stern.

The Kareem Standard

Dwyane Wade has accumulated a bit of hardware so far in his young career. Flash has been selected to participate in six All-Star games. In addition, Wade was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP and was just recently crowed as “The Star of Stars” (David Stern’s favorite line on Al-Star Sunday) as he captured the 2010 NBA All-Star MVP award.

Magic Johnson Provision

Nobody in the NBA is more reckless than Dwyane Wade. He sacrifices his body night in and night out with incredible drives to the hoop as he seeks to posterize defenders all the while drawing the foul. In addition, I can’t recall ever seeing a guard with the same fearlessness on defense; Wade refuses to allow easy baskets to his opponents, consequently he has been dunked on a few times. Nonetheless, that never stops him from attempting to swat the shot of a guard, forward or even center trying to get his dunk on. As a result, you never forget that Wade is on the floor; it's like Doug Collins likes to say, his fingerprints are always all over the game; be it scoring, rebounding, passing or defense.

Rarely do you get the chance to witness one single play that displays a player’s personality as well as his career. Let me take you down through memory lane. It’s game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals with the series tied 2-2. The Heat are down 100-99 with 9.1 seconds left in overtime and they are inbounding the ball at midcourt. Dwyane Wade breaks free from his defender and catches the ball in the backcourt, he starts dribbling and sees Jason Terry and Devin Harris coming to double team him.

Instead of looking for the open man, Wade dribbles the ball up court on the right side of the court and keeps his dribble alive as he tries to shake free from (Avery Johnson is on that side of the court and is situated right next to Wade on the sidelines and is screaming and begging for a hard double team) from the double team. Wade has made it to the three point line and is staring at the basket from a 45 degree angle; he fakes as if he’s going to try and split the double team and then beats Devin Harris left, and drives towards the middle of the lane and gets fouled by Dirk Nowitzki. In the defining moment of his career;Wade ignored the defense as well as conventional wisdom and drew a foul. Knowing what was at stake, Wade took it upon himself to decide the game instead of leaving the team’s fate in the hands of a player that could not shoulder the pressure. After drawing the foul on Dirk Nowitzki, Wade turned into a cold blooded NBA version of Frank Lucas (portrayed by Denzel Washington in the movie American Gangster). He stepped up to the line and sank the Dallas Mavericks hopes of stealing game 5 with his two free throws. For better or worse, that will be (at least to me) the defining moment in Dwyane Wade’s career: he would not and could not shrink from the moment. There is a saying in sports: “good players take what the defense gives them; great players take what they want.” Which one do you think fits Wade?

The Karl Malone Rule

Dwyane Wade loses a huge amount of points in this category. As great as he is as a player, Wade’s attacks to the basket leave him vulnerable to vicious shots from big men. Consequently, Wade has been and will probably always be a player that faces multiple injuries. Since his rookie year in the league, Wade has played in 61, 77, 75, 51, 51, 79 and 55 games (this season). For those of you keeping score, that’s 449 games out of a possible 577 games. If we do the math, Flash has been active in 77.8% of the Miami Heat’s games during his career.

The Diesel Test

In case you’re wondering, I did change up the order in which I present the criteria in Wade’s case because one of the requirements had a direct impact on a second requirement. In this case, the requirement that we’re talking about is the answer to this question: would you blindly give Dwyane Wade a contract that averages out to $20 million annually? Several general managers would cough up the money in a heartbeat but I wouldn’t do it for two reasons:

Exhibit A: Injuries

The Marquette product misses on average 18 games per season and will continue to miss games as he gets older. As I mentioned earlier, Wade’s constant attacks to the basket (on offense and defense) will consistently lead to him getting injured and missing parts of a season at a time. In addition, unlike Shaquille O’Neal in his prime, Wade’s mere presence on the team does not make them a championship contender; but rather a team vying for a low playoff seed if he’s healthy to suit up for 82 games. Add the fact that he’s not available to play all the games, and his worth takes a dip.

Exhibit B: Tracy McGrady & Vince Carter

In no way am I saying that Dwyane Wade is the type of player that these guys are, but you have to look at the signs and wonder. Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady were once the marquee shooting guards of the NBA not named Kobe Bryant. T-Mac and V.C. were known for dunking on some of the biggest and meanest players ever (cue the Vince Carter clip when he dunks Alonzo Mourning at the end of the article……OK back to business). However, back then we saw the signs. Both players would occasionally battle a few nicks and bruises here and there and miss a few games but then be good to go and perform at a high level. However the injuries eventually caught up and it affected their psyches and their performances. McGrady was told to stay away from the Houston Rockets this season and was then shipped to New York where he performed well in his first game but then limped around the court in the following game. As it pertains to Vince Carter, well let’s just call him “Half Man, Half Missing” from now on. Vince Carter now lounges on the court and fires away ill advised shots from three point range. We now have such low expectations from Carter, that we were all amazed last Sunday when he flew in for a double pump dunk on Anderson Varejao (Vince Carter then did the “don’t mess with or else I’ll fake another injury” face). And by the way, has anyone seen Vince Carter try to play defense this year? Every time Vince Carter is asked to guard someone and that someone ends up with the ball, he looks like Sidney Prescott when she found out that her boyfriend Billy Loomis was the killer in the movie Scream. Carter seems shocked, scared and betrayed at the idea that he was asked to guard someone. Seriously, check him out the next time he’s out there on defense; and imagine the offensive player using a voice synthesizer and saying : “Hello Sidney…”

With that said, as you can see, McGrady and Carter were once in the exact same shoes as Wade is right now: they were their team’s franchise player, they carried a huge load of their respective team’s responsibilities , but as injuries mounted up it became harder to build a team around them; hence they were both traded….Twice. Does this mean that history holds the same fate for Wade? Not at all. But even with an owner willing to get his Drake on (Money To Blow), I would be real nervous about signing Dwyane Wade to a contract of $100 million over six years.

In conclusion, Dwyane Wade is a terrific player, but he is not however according to my criteria a franchise player. I could end up being entirely wrong on this one, but I believe that Flash is an extremely gifted player that needs top shelf talent in order to win consistently in the NBA. He’s not a franchise player, but man he is as close as it gets…

Photo by: Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

From: ESPN

McGrady's Garden Debut

2010-02-21T12:04:00.001-05:00

Last night at the Garden, there was no Jay-Z performance, no Alicia Keys in the building and no Empire State of Mind to get things jumping. And yet, the Madison Square Garden had great energy last. The reason? Tracy McGrady. Keep in mind though, one game does not make a season; and I’m not delusional enough to make the statement that T-Mac is officially back. However, should Knicks fans be excited about the rest of the season? Well actually, if you’re a fan of NBA basketball at all, you should start tuning in to see the Knicks play.

McGrady hadn’t played all season, therefore he wasn’t in game shape and might not have been as explosive as he needed to be considering he is still retuning from microfracture surgery. With that said, can T-Mac still play? Allow me to use an analogy: McGrady’s past year has been like Dr. Dre’s career. He might disappear for a while and you might not know just what he is doing, but no matter what, he can still produce classics regardless of whom he associates himself with. Tracy McGrady has always been a gifted and willing passer; so despite his lack of playing time in the past year and lack of familiarity with his new teammates, McGrady was still able to make some great passes against the Thunder. He only finished with five assists but was able to initiate offense because of his willingness to pass the ball to the guy that made the next pass that led to the assist. With that said, those of you that missed the game [probably aren’t too concerned with his passing, you guys probably want to know if T-Mac can still score at a high rate right?

Well last night McGrady got into a great rhythm against the Oklahoma City Thunder. I wanted to see the game because I was curious to see if he would be willing to attack the basket or just be happy standing around and firing jump shots. Check out the message I sent to my friend Supreme last night at halftime: “T-Mac (in 17 minutes) has 19 points, 3 assists on 7/12 field goal shooting at the half. He’s scored with drives, put backs, threes, free throws, post ups, reverse lay ins and mid range jumpers. I can’t yet tell if he’s explosive enough to dunk on people though.” Does that answer your question? McGrady was really good last night, but I still have two questions that cannot yet be answered:

1. Will McGrady attack the basket and will himself to the free throw line if his jumper is off?

2. As the remainder of the season unfolds, will his knee become bothersome? Last night, McGrady only jumped twice off one foot; the rest of the way he kept jumping with two feet to avoid putting too much weight and pressure on his knee.

With that said, does McGrady stil have game left? His line last night was 26 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 10-17 FGs and 5-7 FTs. And yet, the box score fails to capture one thing, check out the last message I sent to Supreme: “McGrady is on the bench with 6:50 left in the game. He gets up and goes to the scorers table and the Garden crowd immediately raises out of their seats and starts clapping as their star is set to go back in the game.” Knicks fans are some of the most knowledgeable and die hard fans out there; and they embraced McGrady as their own on his first night. If this was the equivalent of a date, you better believe that Knicks fans would have put out last night. Despite the loss, Knicks fans felt a bit better tonight about their team. Perhaps we should start paying attention…

Photo from: NBA.COM

New Poll: Rate The Deals

2010-02-21T09:15:00.002-05:00

The trade deadline has come and gone and now the new faces are starting to be acclimated with their new squads.

While all that happens, who do you think came out on top this Febuary?

Let us know why in the comments!

Kobe Bryant: Misunderstood?

2010-02-16T02:00:00.001-05:00

Let’s get this out of the way right now. Kobe Bryant is perhaps the most socially awkward NBA superstar we have ever seen. Nobody seems to get Kobe. At times, he says and does things that leave you scratching your head. For instance, when the Lakers won the title last year, instead of going to the podium and being in the middle of all the guys and sharing his joy with them; the joy that he had waited for so long to once again regain, the joy that his teammates helped him obtain; Kobe instead chose to stay be the side of his family (wife and kids) and give them the championship trophy (Laker fans, you saw this happen and never said a thing about it, you just swept it under the rug). Needless to say, they had no clue what to do with the trophy. Odd right? Well it gets better. Kobe Bryant once admitted that back in high school he would miss shots or turn the bal over purposely late in games, in order to set himself up to shoot the game winning shot at the end. It’s somewhat perplexing, but that’s what the great ones do, they play the game within the game. With that said, could Kobe Bryant still be somewhat misunderstood?

Cue in Lil’ Wayne’s Misunderstood:

“I’m just a soul who’s intentions are good, oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood. Misunderstood, let me explain…..”

Kobe Bryant entered the NBA at the tender age of 18 and did not fit in. As a basketball player, Kobe already knew who he was, but as an individual, he was viewed as just a high school kid. While the players on the team had families to take care of, and adult things to do (like hitting clubs with celebrities, going to strip clubs and making it rain), Kobe Bryant’s singular focus was basketball. So he obviously had trouble fitting in at first; especially with a team that had a dominant personality such as Shaq. At the time, Shaquille O’Neal could do no wrong. He was the guy that rapped, did movies and was adored by the public. So when the Diesel spoke, people believed him. He was like a family member in that sense; he inspired trust from the fans. As a result, when Shaq spoke negatively about Kobe Bryant, people listened. Fans saw the kid with a sick crossover (people forget it, but Kobe used to have a crossover almost as lethal as Iverson) that desperately kept trying to take his man one on one at the expense of his team’s offense. But they never heard of the endless amount of time he spent in the gym trying to perfect his craft. Instead, they looked at Kobe as a spoiled teenager that just wanted the world to bow down to his knees.

And then, something funny happened. Kobe Bryant grew into a very good basketball player. He then became an All-Star. But even then, people refused to give him credit. They were basically saying that Kobe was N’Sync while Shaq was Justin Timberlake; meaning that Kobe was riding off of the Diesel’s success. But when the Lakers could not get it done in the playoffs, Kobe and Shaq took the brunt of the blame. When Phil Jackson came to town, he gave Kobe guidelines, structure and showed him how to be the player he desired to be while still embracing the team concept. Once the team won their first title, Kobe Bryant’s fame grew as people saw him take his game to another level in the clutch. People started saying that Kobe was too cocky in the 2000 Finals; that he thought too highly of himself. But then again, how would you expect a 21 year old to react after shining bright on the biggest possible stage of his career?

Although Shaquille O’Neal will never acknowledge it, part of the rift that he and Kobe had probably stemmed from the fact that Shaq wanted and needed to be the guy. But by the second season, #24 wanted a bigger role on the team; he wanted to be featured more on offense. Mind you, Kobe Bryant should have continued to subjugate his game to accommodate his teammates; however he was not always able to do that night in and night out. Once Bryant got hot, he made sure to keep firing. Some nights though, he was like a young kid playing Duck Hunt on the Nintendo; he would just keep shooting hoping to hit one of the ducks but would miss miserably as the dog came out and started laughing at him (with the dog being Shaquille O’Neal). People criticized Bryant’s eagerness to shoot the ball, but they never applauded his ability to put his ego aside to once again fit in within the team structure. Let’s be real here folks, the Lakers do not win two more titles with Kobe and Shaq unless both agreed to play their respective roles on the team.

Cue in Joe Budden’s Forgive Me:

I’m only human, ain’t meant to be worshipped,

I’m only human I ain’t perfect,

[…] Ever so tender,

Seems the things y’all never forget,

I never remember…”

By the summer of 2003, the enigma that was Kobe Byrant became even more complex. It was always said (and visible) that Kobe Bryant was somewhat socially inept. He lived for basketball and nothing else. He literally was and still is today the most addicted player to the game; no matter how much of it he has, it’s just never enough. However, after years of not truly knowing who the Black Mamba was, he let us in into his life, but not the way he hoped it would happen. Kobe Bryant was being accused of sexual assault in Eagle, Colorado and if that wasn’t bad enough, word leaked out that Kobe violated the ultimate guy rule: he spoke out on the alleged indiscretions of another man. The man in this case was his teammate: Shaquille O’Neal. Regardless of what would happen by the end of that season, it was painfully obvious that one of them had to go. They could no longer coexist. Once again, the Diesel came out looking like the good guy (rightfully so) and Kobe’s image took a huge hit. Even today, some people just cannot bring themselves to cheer for Kobe Bryant. The man went through the fire and was vilified in opposing NBA arenas. At present time, whenever the Lakers play in Denver, he gets a fair share of boos from the fans. I cannot and will not speculate on whether any law was in fact broken that night in Colorado; but what I can say is that we have all made our fair share of mistakes in our lives; but we do not have to own up to them in front of the world. And yet, despite all the pressure, all the drama (self-inflicted) and all the hatred that he generated; Kobe Bryant never gave up. He persevered, fixed the image and made it back to the top of the world. We marvel at individuals such as Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and LeBron James that have been able to come straight out of high school and avoid negative publicity; but we forget that professional athletes are still people. Whether it’s infidelity, bad judgment (you know the usual suspects: drinking, drugs, driving under the influence), how many people hit the age of 25 with a squeaky clean life? This is not a “Forgive Kobe” piece; rather I would just like for all of us to take the time and put ourselves in the man's shoes for five minutes. If you look at the path he has chosen, he has had his share of bad decisions; but then again those decisions led to him being named the player of the decade. Funny how things work out huh?

Cue in Kanye West from Run This Town:

“You trippin’ when you ain’t sippin

Have a refill

You feelin’ like you run it huh

Now you know how we feel”

I just wanted to incorporate one last thing in this piece that I thought might be of interest to fans of basketball. Every NBA superstar is typically a great player but tends to have a hole in his game that prevents him from being the undisputed top dog. Let’s just have a quick look at some of the superstars of this past decade (in no specific order):

Shaquille O’Neal: Huge liability at free throw line; consequently did not get the ball in crunch time.

Kevin Garnett: Did not want the responsibility of being the man in the fourth quarter.

Amare Stoudemire: Viewed help defense as a disease.

Steve Nash: Kenny Smith right now could get past Steve Nash for a lay up.

Karl Malone: Much like David Copperfield, he knew how to disappear in front of the cameras in big moments.

Chris Webber: When people talk about that epic seven game series between Lakers and Kings, people talk about Mike Bibby. Know why? Webber wanted no part of the ball in the fourth quarter.

Tracy McGrady: Could not carry his team late in games.

Vince Carter: Did not want all the responsibilities that came along with being a franchise player.

Allen Iverson: Could not coexist adequately with his teammates on the court.

Can anyone tell me what hole Kobe has his in game in the 2010 season? As it stands right now, not many NBA players can hold their weight against the Mamba. Perhaps it’s time people realize he will never be the character that they want him to be, but that they recognize just how amazing of a player that he is.

Tupac comes back from the dead to close it up for us with Ambitions As A Rider:

“I won’t deny it,

I’m a straight rider

You don’t wanna @#$% with me

Got the police bustin’ at me,

But they can’t do nuttin to a G”

Photo by: Chris Covatta/Getty Images

From: ESPN

Orlando Magic (35-17) @ Cleveland Cavaliers (42-11)

2010-02-11T16:27:00.001-05:00

It seems as though every decade we are treated to a few physical specimens that just seem to defy the logic (no I’m not talking about Dirk Diggler’s elephant trunk, get your mind out of the gutter) of what a basketball player should look like. For instance, the 1980’s gave us an incredible 6’9 point guard by the name of Magic Johnson; the 1990’s gave us a brute and yet skilled 6’4 power forward by the name of Charles Barkley and the 2000’s gave us a mammoth 300 lbs. and 7’1 center with amazing quickness and agility by the name of Shaquille O’Neal. So what physical specimens do we have to look forward to in the next decade? Glad you asked……

Several people seem to think that we have already seen earlier versions of Dwight Howard. Some see a little bit of Shaq in him because of his size, strength, agility and his ability to finish at the rim; while others see some shades of Ben Wallace in him because of his willingness to be a great defensive anchor despite being an undersized center. Indeed, Shaquille O’Neal at his most devastating was a great offensive force that occasionally blocked his opponents’ path to the basket. Ben Wallace on the other hand refused to give his adversaries an inch when protecting his basket but his offensive contributions were very limited. Mix both of those guys together, and you have Dwight Howard. Put it in perspective, the thought of seeing a Shaq clone that actually cares on defense has to be somewhat terrifying.

Mind you, this decade not only brings us Dwight Howard, but it also gives us another freak of nature in the name of LeBron James. James is a 6’8 and 250 lbs. small forward. And yet, sometimes he plays like Magic (sets up offense, distributes ball and gets teammates involved) and sometimes he takes over and scores almost at will like Mike; except a bigger and more physical version. I was having this talk with a friend earlier today, if LeBron James were a prison inmate, he would probably be the biggest, toughest and most intimidating inmate in the prison; but he would also be the guy that sold cigarettes to people, just because he could do it all. Dwight Howard on the other hand would be the correctional officer that no one would mess with. Want me to push this analogy further? Ron Artest would probably be the shower guy (as evidenced by the story of the Lakers losing Game 6 in Boston and Ron Ron approaching Kobe in the showers), Steve Nash would be the cafeteria chef (you know, because he’s always feeding people) and David Stern would be the warden. So tonight, in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, we have the inmate that no one wants to test (LeBron) going up against the correctional officer that strikes fear into the inmates (Howard). What happens tonight?

The Orlando Magic are the defending Eastern Conference champions and have had the Cavaliers number for the past few years. But this year is different. The biggest obstacle that the Cavs faced last year was their inability to defend both Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. LeBron James would cover one of them while the other got off and then he would switch to the hot one to cool him off but have the previously cold one heat up. This year, the Magic are a different team because Hedo Turkoglu is no longer around and he has been replaced by Vince Carter. Vince is still a good scorer but he does not present the same mismatch that Turkoglu presented because of his size.

Hedo Turkoglu’s best contributions to the Magic came in the form of his rebounding, clutch scoring and his play making ability. He made shots down the stretch and facilitated ball movement which in turn meant that every player got a decent amount of touches. Look at Turk’s averages against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals:
In wins: 13.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 8.5 APG, 27.7 FG%
In losses: 25.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 54.3 FG%

What the numbers demonstrate is that when Turkoglu shot the ball well, he became a bit more focused on his offense and therefore did not help others get shots and also failed to attack the boards. With that said, Turk has moved on and his spot now goes to Vince Carter. How does he fit into the picture?

Let’s not kid ourselves people, Vince Carter has become a shell of his former self. He doesn’t attack the basket like he once did and has become a less than average perimeter shooter because of his questionable shot selection. Earlier this week Vince put up 48 points and it might have convinced a few people that better days were ahead, but that was fools gold. Vince Carter simply got hot from the field and started jacking up shots. Carter only went to the free throw line four times in the game. Four times! VC basically stayed away from the basket and shot jump shots, and it so happened that they went in. He will be back to normal soon enough though: settling for long jumpers, wincing in pain after every fall and acting like his shoulder is bothering him after every missed shot; we see you Vince. And tonight when he plays in Cleveland, it’s very likely that he will come out aggressive. In their first meeting back in November, Dwight Howard got into early foul trouble which meant that Vince had to assume a large part of the scoring burden. He did that rather well as he chipped in 29 points, five rebounds and one assist. However, his ball stopping habits (he catches the ball, looks at defense, waits for defense to slide into position and then shoots or drives the ball all the while putting a halt to the motion offense) prevented the Magic from getting into initiating their offense properly. Indeed, Orlando finished the game with a mere nine assists. I’m not expecting the same type of production but I can see Vince having a decent game; and that might be enough tonight against a banged up Cavs squad.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been playing great basketball as of late. Their 12 game winning streak has them at the top of the league’s standings. However, the injuries to both Mo Williams and Delonte West have to affect them at some point. The Cavs have been able to get scoring from players such as Shaquille O’Neal, J.J. Hickson and Jawad Williams during the winning streak, but those guys won’t be enough against the Magic frontline. Luckily for the Magic, their frontcourt matches up extremely well with the Cavaliers’. Rashard Lewis, Mickel Pietrus and Dwight Howard will shut them down and force LeBron to have to win the game alone. King James is capable of doing such a feat, but not without at least some type of help from his teammates. The Cavs starting backcourt is usually a strength but the absence of Mo Williams’ scoring will be too much to overcome tonight at the Quicken Loans Arena. Pick: Magic win 101-98.

Photo by: AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack

From: ESPN

Check Out Celtics Late Night Show

2010-02-07T12:08:00.003-05:00

Tonight the Celtics Late Night Show will be on at 11 PM Eastern. This will be the first show that streams from the beautiful new show site. Guests include Julian Benbow from the Boston Globe and I will have my weekly segment on the show as well (and some callers and other segments).

Check it out and support this show! It's nicely done and continues to get better.

Robert Horry: Hall of Fame worthy?

2010-02-04T11:04:00.000-05:00

I was talking to my friend Supreme last week and he mentioned that he got into a debate with his friend Shawn. It would seem that Shawn was arguing that Big Shot Bobby (Robert Horry) should be in the Hall of Fame for his contributions and clutch performances to seven championship teams. I once agreed with that line of thinking a few years back but my stance has progressively changed. My main problem with putting Horry in the Hall of Fame is this: we’re saying that he is on the same level as players such as Wilt, Russel, Bird, Magic, Kareem, Dr. J, Moses Malone, Karl Malone, Jerry West, Charles Barkley, Oscar Robertson, Kevin McHale, James Worthy, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Scottie Pippen and obviously the GOAT (short for Greatest Of All Time). But on the other hand, Big Shot Bobby has more titles then #23. So does Shawn have a valid point? Glad you asked. Let’s break it down and find out.

What are your memories of Robert Horry’s playing days with the Phoenix Suns? People forget that Horry was once traded to Phoenix. During his time there, he was a decent player but did not provide that team with much. On the other hand, he did win rings with the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. Here’s a quick look at Big Shot’s clutch performances (compiled by Wikipedia):

-May 22, 1995 Western Conference Finals Game 1 Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs

Horry nailed a jumper with 6.5 seconds left to give Houston a 94–93 win over San Antonio in front of over 35,000 at the Alamodome.[11]

-June 11, 1995 NBA Finals Game 3 Orlando Magic at Houston Rockets

With Houston up by one with 14 seconds left and the shot clock winding down, Hakeem Olajuwon kicked a pass out to Horry, who launched a three over Orlando's Horace Grant, propelling the Rockets to a 106–103 victory and a 3–0 series lead on the way to a sweep and back-to-back NBA titles.[12]

-May 6, 1997 Western Conference Semifinals Game 2 Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz

Horry drained all seven of his three-point shots. However, this proved to be not enough as the Lakers lost Game 2 103–101 and ultimately the series 4–1.[12]

-June 10, 2001 NBA Finals Game 3 Los Angeles Lakers at Philadelphia 76ers

With the series tied at 1–1, the Sixers were within one point with under a minute to play and with Shaquille O'Neal on the bench having fouled out for the Lakers. Brian Shaw found Horry in the corner and he drilled the three with 47.1 seconds left to give the Lakers what proved to be an insurmountable four-point lead. The Sixers never recovered.[12]

-April 28, 2002 Western Conference First Round Game 3 Los Angeles Lakers at Portland Trail Blazers

Down by two with 10.2 seconds left, Kobe Bryant drove on Ruben Patterson and kicked the ball to Horry, who hit a game-winning three.[12]

-May 26, 2002 Western Conference Finals Game 4 Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Lakers

The Kings led 99–97 with two seconds left when center Vlade Divac knocked the ball out of the paint after Shaquille O'Neal missed a putback layup. The ball came to Horry, who launched a game-winning three-pointer as time expired to give the Lakers a 100–99 victory. Instead of going back to Sacramento down 1-3, the shot tied the series at 2-2 and allowed the Lakers to defeat the Kings in 7 games on their way to a third straight championship.[12]

-June 19, 2005 NBA Finals Game 5 San Antonio Spurs at Detroit Pistons

Horry inbounded the ball to Manu Ginóbili who was cornered by two Pistons defenders. Ginobili returned the ball to Horry on the left wing, who then hit a three-pointer with 5.9 seconds left to give the San Antonio Spurs a 96–95 victory and a 3–2 series lead heading into Game 6. Horry scored 21 points in fourth quarter and overtime to carry the struggling Spurs. [12]

-April 30, 2007 Western Conference First Round Game 4 San Antonio Spurs at Denver Nuggets

The Spurs led by one with 30 seconds left when Horry hit a game-securing three-point shot, handing the Spurs their fifth straight playoff victory in Denver.

So the man knows how to make big shots. However, does that make him Hall of Fame worthy? When inducting players into the Hall, the voters usually look at how what you did during your era and your contributions to winning. For instance, James Worthy was one of the marquee small forwards of the 80’s and contributed to multiple Lakers championships; therefore he was granted access to the Hall. So what’s the one obstacle in this case for Big Shot’s case? He’s never really even been one of the top four players on his own team. The guys that make it into the Hall, are guys that were incredibly good and one of the top players at their position in the league. Let’s sift through Horry’s career. Look at the top fours on his championship teams.

Houston Rockets:

Hakeem Olajuwon

Clyde Drexler (one year)

Vernon Maxwell

Kenny Smith

Otis Thorpe

Los Angeles Lakers

Shaquille O’Neal

Kobe Bryant

Glen Rice (one year)

Derek Fisher

Ron Harper

San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan

Manu Ginobili

Tony Parker

Michael Finley

See, Big Shot Bobby doesn’t make the cut on any of his own teams. I would have a tough time giving a player HOF status if he wasn’t one of the truly best players of his generation. That being said, I still have not convinced myself completely. Let’s look deeper.

If chosen, giving access to Robert Horry to the prestigious Hall of Fame causes one big problem: it sets a precedent. Think about these names: Bill Cartwright, John Paxson, Vernon Maxwell, Sam Cassel, Kenny Smith, Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, A.C. Green, Ron Harper, Derek Fisher and Glen Rice. Are any of these players worthy of a spot in the Hall of Fame? The players currently in the Hall would probably answer with a song from the South: “Bitch n*gga you can neva eva, neva eva, neva eva get on my level”. And by giving a spot to Big Shot, we would have to consider the possibility of the previously mentioned players making the Hall as well. You see, to me (I repeat, to me, as in my own interpretation) the Hall of Fame is about the best players to have ever lived. When I look at players such as Dominique Wilkins, Scottie Pippen, Hakeem Olajuwon and Magic Johnson to name a few, I know I am looking at some of the greatest talents that have ever lived. These guys could do it all, and did it at a high level for a sustained amount of time in big pressure situations; whereas Robert Horry had some spurts of success. Still not convinced, let me use the comparison that Bill Simmons from ESPN used. If you were to make a Hall of Fame of the best rappers ever; we would probably have the likes of Tupac, Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Outkast, Eminem, Rakim, LL Cool J, the whole Wu-Tang Clan and another list of names attached to that list. My question to you: does Nate Dogg make the cut? Hell no, right? Because Nate Dogg is a guy that you line up with other great rappers and just ask him to do a chorus or a few good sounds like Oohs and Ahhs. I can’t tell you what solo hit songs Nate Dogg has recorded because I have no clue. But off the top of my head, I know of hits such as:

-Oh No by Talib Kweli

-21 Questions by 50 Cent

-Area Codes by Ludacris

-Bitch please by Dr. Dre

-Regulate by Warren G

-Xxplosive by Dr. Dre

-F*ck You by Dr. Dre

All of those songs have one thing in common; Nate Dogg’s name preceded by “ft” (short for featuring). Much like Nate Dogg, Robert Horry is a good complimentary role player; nothing more, nothing less. He has been fortunate enough to play with three bonafide Hall of Fame centers (Olajuwon, O’Neal, Duncan) who have put him in a position to take those shots without fearing failure. Do remember, Big Shot was open in those moments in most instances because his man was double teaming someone. In addition, Horry would never have been pegged as the goat had he missed a big shot; because that is reserved for the stars. For instance, back in 2003, in game 5 at San Antonio, Robert Horry missed a wide open three that would have resulted in the Lakers taking a 3-2 lead in the series. Instead, the Lakers lost and were eventually eliminated, but those moments never get much air time. That’s the beauty of being Big Shot Bob, your heroics are remembered but your blunders are tucked away where no one can remember them.

But in conclusion, the whole debate can be summed up with one question: are you comfortable mentioning Robert Horry in the same breath as Wilt, Hakeem, Shaq and Mike? Because putting him in the HOF puts him in conversations with those players. From my standpoint, I don’t feel comfortable putting him there.

Photo by: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images

From: ESPN

Is Pau Gasol underrated?

2010-01-31T00:14:00.001-05:00

Kobe Bryant is a phenomenal player, and his career is full of team and individual accomplishments. However, after Shaquille O’Neal left town, the Lakers missed the playoffs and then struggled every subsequent year in the postseason. The team just kept getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. By 2008, Kobe had had enough; he wanted out in the worst way. But then as the season unfolded, the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol in a trade (seriously, Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol?) that was the equivalent of swapping 50 Cent’s I Run New York with Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind. The team then took off and has been to two straight NBA Finals since acquiring the Spaniard. And yet, when discussing the best big men in the NBA, we hear about Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Amar’e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard. Pau Gasol rarely ever gets a shout from anybody. What is it that the world is missing out on? Let me make this perfectly clear: I am not by any stretch a Lakers fan; however it seems that only Lakers fans realize just how good Gasol is. Isn’t it about time someone spoke up for him? Well today’s the day….

Gasol never ever gets his just due. After getting punked by KG and Kendrick Perkins in the 2008 Finals, people labeled Gasol as soft and weak minded. And they were right. Garnett took Gasol to school in the Finals two years ago. Garnett was in his face throughout the Finals and kept pushing and screaming but Gasol never retaliated. However, there are two things about those Finals that were never mentioned:

1. Experience: Up to that point in his career, Gasol had never been out of the first round of the playoffs; so he wasn’t accustomed to the intensity of the following rounds. Nevertheless, he adjusted in the second round and the Conference Finals. The Finals were a different story altogether, or were they?

2. Joker magic trick (from the Dark Knight): Joker places a pencil on the table standing up and utters this line “Let me show you a magic trick, I’ll make this disappear.” As one of the goons approaches, Joker grabs him by the back of the head and slaps his head against the table and the pencil goes straight into his head. “Ta-dah!!” People were quick to point fingers at Gasol, and say that he disappeared in the Finals. Fans and media members were all of the opinion that Pau had pulled a disappearing act. Have a quick look at his numbers for the 2007-08 playoffs excluding the Finals:

17.7 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 4.2 AG, 52.9 FG%

Pretty good production by the Spaniard. Let’s have a look at his production in the 2008 Finals against the Celtics:

14.7 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 53.2 FG%, 33/62 FGs

The numbers don’t completely capture the story. As you can see, Gasol’s scoring went down, but he took two shots less on average in the playoffs compared to the rest of the 2008 postseason run. The production was about the same but what the stats don’t show is that his Lakers got pushed around. Gasol’s never been the biggest bully on the block and he never will be; but truth is he was blamed for the failures of his team simply because he is a finesse player. Gasol failed to set tone physically for his team. He was never physical and never committed a hard foul to send a message to the Celtics; and in turn he let the Celtics push him around a bit. You have to admit, Gasol was an easy target just like Screech Powers (Saved by the Bell reference) was; and ultimately it was easier to put the blame on him. I will say though, Lakers fans might not want to admit it, but another guy that deserved an equal share of the blame was none other than Kobe Bryant. Look at the numbers

Kobe 2008 playoffs (excluding games vs. Boston): 31.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.8 APG, 50.1 FG%

Kobe in 2008 Finals: 25.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.0 APG, 40.5 FG%, 53/131 FGs.

And yet, Pau Gasol faced tons of criticism during the offseason and had to answer several media members that openly questioned his toughness. Gasol used the negative comments to fuel his fire and came back during the 2008-2009 season with a mean streak. Gasol wasn’t Scarface, but he would use the regular season to make his opponents back down. By the time the 2009 Western Conference Finals started, Gasol was ready to take on a tough and physical Denver Nuggets squad. He took both Kenyon Martin and Nene to the Pau Post Moves shop (if such a shop really existed, the website would be YouGotPaued.com) and helped propel the Lakers back to the Finals. Look at Gasol’s numbers against the Nuggets in the 2009 Western Conference Finals:

17.5 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.3 BPG, 63.3 FG%, 38/60 FGs.

By the time the Lakers made it to the Finals, Gasol’s cojones were swollen to the point that there was no deterring him or even shaking his confidence. The signature play of the Finals for me was when Gasol went in for a dunk at the end of Game 4 and Pietrus came in from behind and pushed him hard in the back as he completed the dunk. Gasol immediately turned around and gave Pietrus the stare of death as he chest bumped him to make him back off. If Gasol was a sniper, that look alone might have taken down Pietrus. The only thing missing was for Gasol to say : “Don’t mess with me, I’m Tony Montana motherf*cker!!!” Damn, Stern might suspend me for that line. Well let’s go all out: Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Thanks for tolerating my immaturity; now back to business. Look at the Spaniard’s numbers from the 2009 Finals:

18.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.8 BPG, 60.0 FG%, 36/60 FGs.

Pretty good numbers from the Finals and his performance has carried on into this season. Gasol is averaging about the same numbers this season as he averaged in the Finals (field goal percentage is a bit lower) but there is one substantial difference this year: Kobe’s trust. Make no mistake about it, Kobe Bryant is not a closer, he is The Closer. And yet, Black Mamba is now completely comfortable with the idea of deferring to Gasol late in games. Indeed, Gasol has earned his trust with his play. He is arguably the best back to the basket big man in the NBA, he almost always makes the right play, catches tough passes in traffic and scores with great touch around the basket. The Lakers are a great team, so they are able to distribute the ball amongst themselves and ride the hot hand; however when they need an automatic deuce, they go their seven footer from Spain. So I ask the question once again: is Pau Gasol underrated? Considering that some people are upset that he made the All-Star roster despite being an unstoppable back to the basket player (we have very few of them left), I would have to say that yes Pau Gasol is underrated. Not convinced? Draw your own list of the NBA’s best big men and tell me who makes the cut; you’ll realize the Spaniard’s in there.

Photo by: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images

From: ESPN

What's Irritating

2010-01-30T21:02:00.001-05:00

You have got to be kidding me. The NBA All-Star Reserves were recently announced. Some were good picks, I liked them—but oh looky here!—Josh Smith didn't even effing made it! Are you freaking kidding me? This is a joke, right? So a Spaniard named Pau Gasol, who only played like 25 games this year, makes the team and this stud in Smith doesnt? What? Hello, is this really happening here? Now I know how smart these fans are. Yep, that's right, these are not All-Star caliber stats: 15.1 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 2.2 BPG.

Right on the money NBA fans. You got it. Though Gasol has better stats, he has played a total amount of 29 games. Compared to Josh Smith? 44. Um, okay? That's right. That's definitely the case here. Smith is just horrible. Okay, now enough with the harsh sarcasm, but David Stern, really? Are you allowing this to happen? Just change the goddamn NBA All-Star voting rules. I've now had enough with this fan voting. Just stop it!

And what the hell is going on here? LeBron James was fined $25K for kicking a water bottle. I know he was pissed, but that much money? How would you feel, NBA executives, if people pulled off this bull on you? Not feeling right...right? This just sickens me. More than Two Girls, One Cup. Okay, not the point here. But luckily, the man partnered with McDonald's. Eh, eh? Nice, eh? Eh, eh?

But back to the All-Star voting for just another second. Where's David Lee? Right now, I am not very happy with this. But screw it now, I'd rather just shut up about the NBA All-Star stuff. It's already stupid enough. Everything already happened. Can't change the past. Oh God, please give somebody a way to make a time machine!

And what's wrong the Nets? But I think I know why they are acting like this. At least I think so. Two words: John Wall. (Timmy from South Park voice comes up: "JOHNNY....WALLY!" I think it's a good idea. But watch out, the Timberwolves are in the race! The race for John Wall: who'll suck the most? Coming soon to an NBA season near you.

Pretty much, all of this that I discussed irritates me. I just hope crap like this doesn't happen often, because I've been seeing a lot like this lately.

Note to Pau Gasol: Don't worry man, you're cool

Ranking the #1 overall draft picks since 1990

2010-01-28T10:34:00.001-05:00

About a week ago, I was having a talk with my boy Da Monsta and he made a point about #1 overall picks that got me thinking a little deeper about the NBA. He mentioned that when you draft a player #1 overall, the expectation is championship or fail. So I decided to dig a little and look at the last 20 #1 number one picks (basically every #1 pick for the past 20 years); and evaluate his statement based on that. As I did the digging, here’s what I found: only two players drafted #1 overall in the past 20 years have won a championship as the team’s best player or at least second best player on their team. And only one player in the past 20 years has been drafted #1 overall and won the title with the team that drafted him. After doing such extensive research, I figured I’d take it up a notch and rank the last 20 #1 overall picks. In order to properly list them, I looked at their careers, the level of success of their teams, their personal level of success and the amount of teams they played for. The last one was important to me, because a “can’t miss” player shouldn’t be getting traded left right and center. So with that, you understand the premise, now I’m just going to ask my good friend David Stern to present each player. Ready Dave? We’re doing this in reverse order, let’s kick it…

“And with the #1 pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers select Pacific center…”

20. Michael Olowokandi

Career numbers: 8.3 PG, 6.8 RG, 0.7 AG, 1.4 BPG, 43.5FG%

Best season is 2002-03: 12.3 PPG, 9.1 RG, 1.3 APG, 2.2 BPG, 42.7 FG%

Accomplishments: None, except he was a screen saver on countless computers in the world.

Teams played on: LA Clippers, Minnesota, Boston

Analysis: The Kandi Man is one of the worst #1 draft picks in the history of the draft. NBA general managers and head coaches expect their centers (especially when drafted number one overall) to rebound, score inside at a high rate, shoot a high percentage and defend the paint. Olowokandi did none of those. His contributions to the Clippers were mostly in terms of poster material; and by that I mean he was the one getting dunked on in every Clippers poster. But then again, getting the Kandi Man allowed the Clips to eventually get the next guy.

“And with the #1 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers select Oklahoma State center…”

19. Blake Griffin

Career numbers: 0.0 PPG, 0.0 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.0 BPG, 0.0 FG%

Best season: 0.0 PPG, 0.0 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.0 BPG, 0.0 FG%

Minutes played so far in NBA career: 0.

Analysis: If the #20 spot didn’t tell you just how bad the Olowokandi pick was, this should. Blake Griffin has yet to suit up for the Clippers (scheduled to play next year after surgery) and yet he is still a better #1 pick than the Kandi Man. He smiles for the camera and gets stars to actually talk to him and give him advice. Olowokandi was like the NBA’s version of bad porn: overexposed, awkward, clearly out of place and yet you couldn’t look away.

“And with the #1 pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards select Glynn Academy center…”

18. Kwame Brown

Career numbers: 6.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.7 BPG, 48.8 FG%

Best season is 2003-04: 10.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.7 BPG, 48.9 FG%

Accomplishments: Being MJ’s biatch and being one of the few people to play with MJ and Kobe.

Teams played on: Washington, LA Lakers, Memphis, Detroit.

Analysis: In case you were trying to erase it from your memory, this is Michael Jordan’s legacy as a general manager in Washington. He selected a high school player from Glynn Academy that he hoped would become the next Kevin Garnett. Unfortunately, Jordan completely crushed his confidence in practice and Kwame Brown became one of the examples of why high school seniors should not be allowed to enter the NBA. Brown eventually left Washington to join the Lakers with hope that a change of scenery would help him blossom into a player with less pressure coming from management and the coaching staff. Turns out that Kwame Brown was exactly the same in Los Angeles as Washington. However, Lakers fans are forever grateful to Kwame because his expiring contract allowed the Lakers to get Pau Gasol and eventually win a title. Sadly, Kwame is still waiting for his ring in the mail.

“And with the #1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers select Ohio State center…”

17. Greg Oden

Career numbers: 9.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 0.6 APG, 1.4 BPG, 57.7 FG%

Best season is 2009-10: 11.1 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 0.9 APG, 2.3 BPG, 60.5 FG%

Accomplishments: Has probably committed more fouls than Bill Laimbeer and Charles Oakley combined at this point in his career.

Team played on: Portland.

Analysis: Greg Oden spent one year at Ohio State and turned the university into a Final Four. Early in his first collegiate season, Oden had damaged his right wrist and therefore was forced to play left handed for most of the NCAA season. Nonetheless, Oden was undeterred as he put himself on the college basketball map as he poured in 15.7 points per game and grabbed 9.6 rebounds per game; once again, all with one hand. He was eerily reminiscent of David Robinson. He ran the floor, jumped over people for powerful dunks and completely discouraged people from driving when he was underneath the basket. Oden led his team to the National Championship game, only to lose to a more experienced Florida team. He then declared himself eligible for what was known as the “Oden-Durant draft”. Oden went first and Kevin Durant went second in the draft. Although Oden has produced when he has played; his career has been plagued by injuries and foul trouble. Believe me when I say this, if Oden can ever stay healthy; he’ll be good. I’m talking Alonzo Mourning type good; but if he can’t, he’ll just be a bigger version of Penny Hardaway: tons of talent and potential, but too many injuries to overcome.

“And with the #1 overall pick in the 1995 draft, the Golden State Warriors select Maryland power forward…”

16. Joe Smith

Career numbers: 11.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.9 BPG, 45.6 FG%

Best season is 1996-97: 18.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.1 BPG, 45.4 FG%

Accomplishments: Destroying Garnett’s chances at a title in Minnesota.

Teams played on: Golden State, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, Oklahoma, Atlanta.

Joe Smith was never going to be the second best player on a championship team, let alone a franchise player. And yet, Golden State drafted him as such. After putting up numbers in Golden State, but failing to help the team achieve any type of success, management did what men do when they’re done with their booty call: they showed him the door. Smith went to Philadelphia and later ended up in Minnesota. He signed a mafia type free agent contract (Minnesota’s management tried to circumvent the salary cap by giving Smith money under the table); however, the almighty NBA commissioner David Stern found out and thus voided the contract when he got word of it (about a year later). He then suspended Minnesota general manager Kevin McHale for a year and stripped the team of their five future first round picks. Think about what you just read; there’s nothing in there about Joe Smith’s basketball skills, his participation in one of the best playoff games ever or anything of that nature. His legacy is that he and McHale ruined a potential championship caliber team in Minnesota by handcuffing the team’s ability to draft. And yet it seems people have forgotten…..until today.

“And with the #1 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors select Italy center…”

15. Andrea Bargnani

Career numbers: 13.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.9 BPG, 43.3 FG%

Best season is 2009-10: 17.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.4 BPG, 46.9 FG%

Accomplishments: Being a big man that doesn’t rebound

Teams played on: Toronto

Analysis: When Bryan Colangelo drafted Bargnani, the thought was that he would be the next Dirk Nowitzki. What that meant was that he and Chris Bosh were going to be the premier big men tandem in the NBA. Bosh was going to bang inside and Bargnani would mix his game up to go outside and inside to complement Bosh. However, something happened along the way; Bargnani showed some promise, but more like a broken promise. He was and still is soft. If his jumper isn’t falling, he disappears from games. He has trouble defending players on the perimeter as well as down on the block. No one is saying it, but instead of getting the next Dirk, it seems as though the Raptors have gotten the next Hedo Turkoglu; which is funny in itself because Colangelo signed Turkoglu over the summer. Think I’m exaggerating? Look at their career numbers (take this into account as well; next season Turkoglu will be making $ 9 million and Bargnani will be making $8 million):

Andrea Bragnani: 13.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.9 BPG, 43.3 FG%, 37.7 3PT FG%

Hedo Turkoglu: 12.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, o.3 BPG, 42.7 FG%, 38.5 3PT FG%

I’m well aware that Bargnani is younger and that he might develop a little more in the next few years; nonetheless, the Raptors had a shot at potentially drafting Brandon Roy or Rudy Gay and instead passed on them for a slightly taller version of Turkoglu.

“And with the #1 pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks select Utah center….”

14. Andrew Bogut

Career numbers: 12.3 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.2 BPG, 53.1 FG%

Best season is 2009-10: 15.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 2.2 BPG, 50.9 FG%

Accomplishments: None.

Teams played on: Milwaukee

Analysis: Andrew Bogut is somewhat of a conundrum. I saw him play at Utah and he was a dominant low post and high post player. He understood how to find players back door in the high post and punished his defenders in the low post. He had all the tools to be successful in the NBA. But then he got to the NBA, and well, they decided to put him on the low block but not feed him the ball. Why bother drafting a center number one overall if you’re not planning on making him a big part of the team? I seriously don’t get it. As I mentioned in the Olowokandi analysis, what you want of your center is for him to rebound, defend the paint, and make a bit more than half his shots. Well look at Bogut’s stats; isn’t that exactly what he does? I will say though, he has been injured throughout the years; but still, is there any other reason why this guy shouldn’t be a more imposing force in the NBA? Well actually there is; Milwaukee has been a predominantly perimeter oriented offense in the past few years. Between Mo Williams, Luke Ridnour, Richard Jefferson, Bobby Simmons, Michael Redd and now Brandon Jennings; the focus has never truly been to give the ball inside to Bogut. But then again, there’s probably a reason though right? Andrew Bogut might have #1 draft pick talent, but probably not #1 draft pick attitude.

“And with the #1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select Memphis point guard…”

13. Derrick Rose

Career numbers: 17.3 PPG, 3.8 RG, 6.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, 47.4 FG%

Best season is 2009-10: 19.4 PG, 3.8 RPG, 5.9 AG, 0.8 SPG, 47.1 FG%

Accomplishments: 2008-09 NBA Rookie of the Year

Teams played on: Chicago

Analysis: Derrick Rose is only this low on this list because we don’t have a big enough sample of his career. For the past two seasons, the young point guard has really impressed people around the NBA. Last season, he ran the offense and looked for his players and deferred to Ben Gordon in the clutch, as the Bulls would continuously ride his hot hand. Chicago let Gordon leave via free agency and replaced him with a guy they already had on the roster; his name: Derrick Rose or as I like to call him, Officer Rick Rose (that’s a 50 Cent reference: because once word leaked out that self-proclaimed drug lord rapper Rick Ross was a parole officer, 50 Cent baptized him Officer Ricky). Although Rose still runs the offense and finds ways to set up his teammates, he has now become more assertive; especially in the fourth quarter. A few nights ago, I watched George Hill and Tony Parker try to stay in front of Rose as he routinely went by them at will. I expect Derrick Rose to climb this list in the next few years, however his resume for the time being is lacking.

“And with the #1 pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, the New Jersey Nets select Cincinnati power forward…”

12. Kenyon Martin

Career numbers: 14.0 PPG, 7.2 RG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 BPG, 48.2 FG%

Best season is 2003-04: 16.7 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.3 BPG, 48.8 FG%

Accomplishments: 2004 All Star selection.

Teams played on: New Jersey, Denver

Analysis: Try to recall back in the early 2000’s, when Kenyon Martin was playing lock down defense, dunking on people, taking hard fouls and swatting every opponents shots away. Remember those days? Kenyon was a pure beast and you wanted no part of him. Well, look at the numbers from his best season (written right under his name); don’t you get the feeling that he produced more? The thing about K-Mart, is that his trips to the finals as well as his Charles Oakley wanna be thug enforcer persona have overexposed Martin to us. So we always think that he’s having a great game or that he’s always been a dominant NBA big man. Truth is Martin has been just about above average as an NBA power forward. Mind you, with that said, back when he was in New Jersey, you knew better than to try and block his dunk attempt (some people still tried) and you also knew better than to try dunking on him because he would foul the heck out of you. All things considered though, Martin is still a decent contributing big man in the NBA, but as the years go by and we get additional #1 picks, his spot in this list will take a hit.

“And with the #1 pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks select Purdue forward…”

11. Glenn Robinson

Career numbers: 20.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, 45.9 FG%

Best season is 2000-01: 22.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.1 SG, 46.8 FG%

Accomplishments: Two All-Star selections

Teams played on: Milwaukee, Philadelphia, San Antonio

Analysis: In his time in the NBA, Glenn Robinson was an accomplished scorer with a deadly mid-range jump shot. His size allowed him to take advantage of most players and remain consistent throughout his career. The Big Dog wasn’t much of a passer though; his game was strictly tailor made for him to put up shots and points. It’s part of the reason that he didn’t make it higher in this list. Seriously, Glenn Robinson played with Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Tim Thomas back when he gave a damn and the best they could manage was an appearance in the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals in which they lost game 7 against Allen Iverson’s 76ers. Here’s a little test, try to name me four players that played on that Sixers team………………………..Give up? Let me help you out: Eric Snow, Aaron McKie, Tyrone Hill and Dikembe Mutombo. By the way, that was the 76ers line up in crunch time. Somehow that team defeated the Bucks. That’s what hurt Big Dog in this list.

“And with the #1 pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, the New Jersey Nets select Syracuse center…”

10. Derrick Coleman

Career numbers: 16.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.3 BPG, 44.7 FG%

Best season is 92-93: 20.7 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.7 BPG, 46.0 FG%

Accomplishments: One All Star appearance (1994), 1990-91 NBA Rookie of the year

Teams played on: New Jersey, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Detroit.

Analysis: Remember when Michael Beasley came into the NBA, he came with tons of potential and a very good college career. This is what scouts loved about Beasley: left handed, great scorer that finishes around the basket, rebounds in his area, able to get tough rebounds in traffic, very good handle for his size, can run offense through him in high post and can attack from the perimeter. What scared away some of the scouts was his goofy attitude (people felt he lacked maturity and were afraid that him being a millionaire would make him a head case) and the possibility he might be more addicted to crack cocaine than Pookie from New Jack City (Ok fine you got me, I made the crack cocaine part up but you believed me right?). Here’s the thing; all of the things I just listed were said about Derrick Coleman. The general consensus is that he underachieved for most of his career. Want proof? Go ask any random NBA fan who Coleman is: three out of 10 people will have no clue, another four others will have heard about him but not know and about three people will know who he is. That means that 30% of NBA fans know exactly who Derrick Coleman is. That’s sad considering how good he was; but the man underachieved and left no legacy whatsoever.

“And with the #1 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select Duke center…”

9. Elton Brand

Career numbers: 19.6 RPG, 9.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.0 BPG, 50.2 FG%

Best season is 2005-06: 24.7 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 2.5 BPG, 52.7 FG%

Accomplishments: Two All-Star selections, 1999-00 NBA Rookie of the Year

Teams played on: Chicago, LA Clippers, Philadelphia

Analysis: This was one of the toughest players to list because his career is a bit odd. After Michael Jordan retired, the Bulls got bad real fast. So when they got the first pick in the draft, they selected the Duke product. Elton Brand just kept piling up double doubles (we’re talking 20 and 10 people) game after game, but the team kept losing. No matter how well Brand played; the team just couldn’t follow his lead. The talk around the league was that Brand was just accumulating stats on a bad team. Brand was then shipped out west, where his production remained just about the same. However, by the 2005-06 season, Elton Brand had become too good. Aided by the alien known as Sam Cassel, Brand put up the best numbers of his career and turned the doormat Clippers into a playoff team. For that one season, EB was in the same stratosphere as Garnett and Duncan (which is saying a lot because these guys are the marquee power forwards of the NBA). Brand has had a very good NBA career; but more than anything people will always remember that for at least one year, the Clippers (lost to Suns in second round) mattered more than the Lakers (lost in first round to Suns) in the NBA playoffs. And they can thank Elton Brand for that.

“And with the #1 pick in the 1991 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets select UNLV forward…”

8. Larry Johnson

Career numbers: 16.2 PG, 7.5 RPG, 3.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 48.4 FG%

Best season: 1992-93; 22.1 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 4.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 52.6 FG%

Two All-Star selections, 1992-93 Rookie of the year

Teams played on: Charlotte, New York

Analysis: Before Larry Johnson went to New York and became a below the rim power forward; he was a cross between a power forward and small forward a la Charles Barkley. At a mere 6-6, LJ averaged a double double in his first two years in the league. He punished defenders in the post with an array post moves, and also had the skills to play small forward. He took defenders outside (think Shawn Marion with a better handle) and was able to exploit them out on the perimeter with drives and short jumpers. After schooling his defender a few times, Johnson would fake the jump shot and take it to the basket strong and dunk on whoever was waiting for him underneath the basket. By his third season though, a knee injury robbed Johnson of his explosiveness. He therefore had to adjust his game; and became more of a low post threat that played with his back to the basket. On occasion he would face his defender and drive him baseline for a reverse lay up. His lack of explosiveness also forced him to work on his outside jumper; consequently Johnson became a reliable three point shooter. But Larry Johnson’s legacy has nothing to do with numbers, dunks, post moves or anything of the sort. Larry Johnson gave the Knicks franchise as well as Madison Square Garden one of the best plays in playoff history. With about 15 seconds left and the Knicks down 91-88 at home to the Indiana Pacers in game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks inbounded the ball to LJ, who gave Antonio Davis a stutter step to the right twice, took a dribble and then went left; launched a three point bomb that swished through the basket as Davis was called for a foul (one of the biggest phantom calls of NBA history by the way) right in front of the Pacers bench. Not only did LJ produce, but that memory still lingers for Knicks and NBA fans.

“And with the #1 pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets select China center….”

7. Yao Ming

Career numbers: 19.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.6APG, 1.9 BPG, 52.5 FG%

Best season: 06-07; 25.0 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 BPG, 51.6 FG%

Accomplishments: Seven All-Star selections

Teams played on: Houston

Analysis: When the Rockets drafted Yao, several people went on the record to say (yes Mr. Charles Barkley, I’m talking to you) that he would end up being a bust. Well turns out that they were wrong. In his seven years in the league, he has led his team to the playoffs five times; and finally advanced past the first round last year despite the absence of Tracy McGrady. In a league that used to be dominated by centers, we are now lacking any type of actual centers in the NBA. The only great big men we have now are listed as power forwards. However, we still have Yao. Not only is he a legit NBA center, he’s actually one of the few we have left. Earlier in this post, I mentioned the responsibilities of a center (let’s be real, only a franchise center can do all the things I mentioned earlier) and Yao fulfills them perfectly. He can score at high rate from the low post as well as the high post, he defends the paint, rebounds and scores efficiently. In addition, although his assists numbers don’t reflect I, Yao is a very good passing big man. So why isn’t Yao Ming higher on this list? There are two reason:

1.Durability – Not counting the playoffs, Yao’s has appeared in 481 games out of out of a possible 618 games and counting. The fact that he always gets injured made him take a drop in the list (but there are other reasons as well).

2. Fear – When your favorite team plays against the Rockets, does Yao Ming scare you? It’s a really simple and yet telling question. When he gets the ball down low, does he terrify you? Although it’s not necessarily a requirement for a player drafted first overall; the level of fear associated with him has to count for something though. He does not scare you on the boards, and although he protects the paint, players are always trying to attack him for a chance to dunk on him. I already know what you’re thinking; players are always attacking big men looking to posterize them which is true, but here’s my rebuttal: how often you see someone try to dunk o Shaq, Dwight, KG or K-Mart? Very rarely because they fear them. Ultimately, that ends up hurting Yao’s spot.

“And with the #1 pick in the 1993 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors select Michigan forward…”

6. Chris Webber

Career numbers: 20.7 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.4 BPG, 47.8 FG%

Best season is 2000-01: 27.1 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.7 BPG, 48.1 FG%

Accomplishments: 5 All-Star selections, 1993-94 rookie of the year

Teams played on: Golden State, Washington, Sacramento, Philadelphia, Detroit.

Analysis: If you’re old enough to have seen Chris Webber played in college, you were blessed. You remember how he changed the whole culture of basketball. The NBA is now largely seen as a Hip Hop sport and you can thank Mr. Webber for his contributions. When he was in college, he and four other freshmen became the Fab Five (Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson). They rocked the baggy shorts, the black socks and the cool Nike shoes and played with tons of swagger. When C-Webb made it to the NBA, nothing changed. He was the same guy that we had seen at Michigan. Webber punished defenders in the low post, attacked slower players from the wing and killed his opponents with hook shots and jumpers. In addition, no one and I mean no one besides Shawn Kemp was more reckless or fearless when attacking the basket. I once saw Webber drive baseline (in traffic) and do a one footed two handed reverse dunk like it was nothing. He then obviously paused for the camera and gave it a snarl and jogged back on defense. In addition to all of his gifts, Webber was perhaps the best passing big man after Bill Walton and Arvydas Sabonis. He routinely found players cutting to the basket and had a knack for feeding other players for wide open lay ups. He did it in Golden State and also did it in Washington. However he ran into some troubles with the Bullets (now known as the Wizards) and then got shipped to Sacramento. During his time with the Kings, Chris Webber was arguably the best power forward (before knee injury) in the NBA. And keep in mind, he was playing against the like of Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Karl Malone. During the 2001-2002 season, Chris Webber led his Kings squad to one of the best Western Conference Finals match up of recent history. A trip to the NBA Finals was on the line with game 7 being played in Sacramento’s Arco Arena, which was home to the loudest crowd in the NBA. The Kings eventually lost in overtime in a game that perfectly illustrated Chris Webber’s career; check out his line from the game: 52 minutes, 20 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, and 9 of 21 field goal shooting. In the biggest game of his career, Webber almost had a triple double, and yet if you ask anybody who saw the game; Webber was nearly invisible. For the first three quarters of the game, Webber was dunking the ball, screaming at Lakers players and making incredible passes to open teammates. But once the fourth quarter and overtime hit, C-Webb completely disappeared. Webber stopped shooting, he stopped swaggering and he kept looking for Mike Bibby (by the way it has to be said that it was Bibby’s best year in the NBA; Kobe Bryant had trouble defending him; which should tell you everything you need to know about his performance in the playoffs that year) to bail him out. The problem with Webber is that much like Garnett, he was the ultimate wingman. He got you in the club, had you to talk to people at the bar, got you to know the bouncers so you could eventually come back alone, but once he helped you get that first interaction with a girl you were trying to hook up with, you were completely on your own. Is that bad? I say no. Even as a wingman, Webber was a phenomenal player with a lot of gifts that helped his teams contend. However, when teams acquired him, they thought they were acquiring the guy that would lead his team to a championship as opposed to a wingman. Unfortunately for Webber, he failed to live up to expectations set for him.

“And with the #1 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic select SW Atlanta Christian Academy center….”

5. Dwight Howard

Career numbers: 17.3 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 2.1 BPG, 57.0 FG%

Best season is 2008-09: 20.6 PPG, 13.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 2.9 BPG, 57.2 FG%

Accomplishments: Three time All-Star selection, 2008-09 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Teams played on: Orlando Magic.

Analysis: Would you believe that some people actually argued (and with great reason at the time) that the Magic should have drafted Emeka Okafor instead of Howard? I think the Magic are happy with what they got. Keep in mind, Dwight Howard might be the closest thing we ever to see Shaquille O’Neal. The man scores at an incredibly efficient rate, he cleans out the boards like it’s nobody else’s business and he protects the paint. When Dwight is under the basket, point guards shoot floaters, they don’t try to attack him for strong lay ups because they know he will either swat their shot or foul them with his impressive physique. Right now, there isn’t a more intimidating player in the league on offense and defense. Howard just bullies people around to get rebounding position, to swat shots into the fifth row and to dunk on his opponents. As I mentioned earlier, the NBA just doesn’t have anymore centers. But Orlando can say they have one; and they have the best one in the league. Although his offensive game needs work, he still puts up points and in addition he will probably be the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the rest of the decade. Why isn’t Howard higher on the list though? Two reasons (which are related):

1. Lack of quality big men – There just aren’t many quality big men that are equipped to deal with the problems that Dwight Howard causes. And yet, we have not seen Dwight dominate the league the way we think he is capable of doing. At this point in his career, Dwight Howard should be putting up 25, 13 and 3 on average. He should be making every team with the audacity to play him with single coverage pay. We are still waiting to see that, which leads me to my next point...

2. Attitude - The same way I mentioned that Bogut has the talent of a number #1 draft pick but possibly not the attitude, I have to ask myself that exact same question with Howard. He's shooting 10 free throws per game (which is great) but is only taking nine field goal attempts per game this season. Considering that he's shooting 60.0% from the field this year, why isn't he demanding the ball for more shots? There’s no way that he can be happy to watch guys like Matt Barnes, Vince Carter, Mickel Pietrus, Jameer Nelson, Jason Williams, J. J. Redick and Ryan Anderson keep firing away from three point range right? But what is he doing about it? Doesn't seem as though he's been grumbling about it. This obviously is the doing of Stan Van Gundy, but the fact that Howard does nothing about it troubles me enough to have him listed as #5.

We will have a brief intermission here, complete with draft analysis from, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Jay Bilas, Stephen A. Smith and Stuart Scott.

Kenny Smith: Derrick Rose was an excellent pick for the Bulls. He's got it all folks; usually I'd show you Kenny's Pictures, but not today because the picture is simply Derrick Rose.

Charles Barkley: Kwame Brown went #1? That's just turrible. Wes Unseld and Chris Webber are rolling around in their grave.

Bilas: Dwight Howard was a real sexy pick back in 2004.

Stuart Scott: What a ridonk-culous pick by the Clippers; Olowokandi? Seriously? Boo-Ya.

Stephen A Smith: WELL OF COURSE IT WAS RIDICULOUS! BUT ABOUT WHAT ABOUT THE BARGNANI PICK? THE TORONTO RAPTORS ARE CRAZY! HE WAS A BUM THEN, AND HE'S STILL A BUM TODAY! NOW BACK TO SHYNE, WITH THE TOP FOUR PICKS!

Thanks guys. Dave, help us out again please…

“And with the #1 pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select Georgetown guard...”

4. Allen Iverson

Career numbers: 26.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.2 APGG, 2.2 SPG, 42.6 FG%

Best season: 05-06; 33 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 7.9 APG, 1.9 SPG, 44.7 FG%

Accomplishments: 10 All-Star appearances, 1996-97 NBA Rookie of the Year, Two time All-Star Game MVP, 2000-01 league MVP.

Teams played on: Philadelphia, Denver, Detroit, Memphis.

Analysis: Let me make this perfectly clear; the NBA is a league dominated by big men. If you want to win an NBA championship, you better have a combination of very good big men, or a great big man. There's no way around that. Look at the past NBA champions:

2009 Lakers - Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum

2008 Celtics - Kevin Garnett

2007 Spurs - Tim Duncan

2006 Heat - Shaquille O'Neal

2005 Spurs - Tim Duncan

2004 Pistons - Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace

2003 Spurs - Tim Duncan and David Robinson

2002 Lakers - Shaquille O'Neal

2001 Lakers - Shaquille O'Neal

2000 Lakers - Shaquille O'Neal

1999 Spurs - Tim Duncan and David Robinson

1998 Bulls - Dennis Rodman and Luc Longley

1997 Bulls - Dennis Rodman and Luc Longley

1996 Bulls - Dennis Rodman and Luc Longley

1995 Rockets - Hakeem Olajuwon

1994 Rockets - Hakeem Olajuwon

1993 Bulls - Bill Cartwright

1992 Bulls - Bill Cartwright

1991 Bulls - Bill Cartwright

1990 Pistons - Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman

The only teams without a great big man or a combination of good big men are the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls. What this means is that the NBA is a big man's league. And yet, no one ever gave Allen Iverson that memo. Year after the year, AI showed up for games, took a beating and somehow managed to will his team into the playoffs. People make a huge deal out of the fact that Iverson has had trouble adapting to his teammates and playing with talented players; but people never mention the fact that Iverson kept dragging a team of borderline D-Leaguers to the playoffs and even managed to make the Finals one year. Allen Iverson has been so good for so long that we failed to truly appreciate just how special of a talent he is. While players such as Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady were busy being spoon fed their vitamins and supplements by nurses because of minor injuries, Iverson was on the court every night giving his team the best chance to win. As years go by, people will forget just how special AI was because there might be some new guy that crosses over people and gets to the basket and finishes; but remember this: Iverson did that back when hand checking was legal and when the league allowed players to commit hard fouls. Why doesn't Iverson appear higher on this list? As mentioned earlier, because of his inability to blend his game in with more talented players. AI failed to get it done with Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene and JR Smith in Denver. He then got shipped to Detroit where a team that annually made the Conference Finals, got into the playoffs as an eighth seed and got swept (yes I'm well aware he didn't participate in the playoffs but his performance during the regular season made his team an eighth seed). Allen Iverson basically contracted The Marbury Plague (TMP for short). TMP is the phenomenon by which a talented player joins a team and makes the team worse than what it was before he got there; but once that player leaves that team; they suddenly become a good team. With that said however, Allen Iverson is sure to make the Hall of Fame one day.

“And with the #1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers select St. Vincent St Mary's forward....”

3. LeBron James

Career numbers: 27.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.7 SPG, 47.4 FG%

Best season is 2009-10: 29.9 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 7.9 APG, 1.5 SPG, 50.9 FG%

Accomplishments: Five All-Star selections, 2003-04 NBA Rookie of the Year, Two time NBA All-Star Game MVP, 2008-09 NBA League MVP.

Teams played on: Cleveland.

Analysis: Last week, I posted an article titled Whose career would you rather have: Kobe Bryant's or LeBron James'? Here's the point I made about LeBron James: "LeBron James took a small market team that no one outside of Ohio paid attention to; and turned into an NBA powerhouse within five years. Although he has yet to win a championship; whenever the conversation turns to teams with a shot at winning an NBA title, the discussion usually involves the Lakers, the Celtics, the Magic and the Spurs. James has now forced everyone to include his Cavaliers into the discussion. The Cavs are now perennial title contenders and yet with the exception of James, it is basically a team of role players. In order to fully grasp what I'm trying to explain , try to imagine watching the movie Ocean's Eleven; except you take out Brad Pitt from the equation. You essentially leave George Clooney all alone in the movie and ask him to do all the action, all the charming and all the hustling throughout the movie; and still have the same box office hit. That's LeBron James peoples; he doesn't have a truly remarkable co-star and you know what; it might not even matter." Indeed, LeBron James is the best small forward in the NBA and arguably the league's best player. He will have his time in the sun but he's only third in this list because he is missing something that the next two players have....Shall we get to them?

Kanye West interrupts: “Hold up Shyne and Mr Stern, sorry for interrupting and I’ma let you finish, but the next two guys are the only guys on this list to have won rings as the best or second best players on their teams..”

“And with the #1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic select LSU center…”

2. Shaquille O’Neal

Career: 24.3 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.6 APG, 2.3 BPG, 58.1 FG%

Best season is 1999-00: 29.7 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, 3.0 BPG, 57.4 FG%

15 all star appearances, 92-93 rookie of the year, 3 times All-Star game MVP, 99-00 league MVP, 3 times Finals MVP

played for : Orlando, LA Lakers, Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland

Analysis: Let's get this out of the way right now; Shaquille O'Neal is the proud owner of four (count them, 1,2,3,4!) championship rings. But that's merely the beginning. Around the year the 2000, the Diesel made the statement that he should be named the MDE (short for Most Dominant Ever); and the man was right. The league still has never seen a big man with his combination of strength, size, speed, agility and basketball IQ. Shaquille O'Neal made every teams best interior defender look like his younger adolescent brother. Shaq drew so many fouls that he would hold all of his opponents best big men hostage on the bench. Coaches would send in an army of goons to take fouls on Shaq and send him to the free throw line in the hopes that he would miss. Think about that for a moment; teams were so afraid of him that they purposely sent him to the line because they knew they didn't stand a chance against him once he caught the ball in the post. His best years were with the Lakers, where he and Kobe Bryant ruled a tough Western Conference on their way to three consecutive NBA titles. O'Neal eventually wore out his welcome in Los Angeles and was traded to Miami where he united with Dwyane Wade. By his second season in South Beach, O'Neal was a champion again. His leadership and rugged interior play allowed his team to reach the top of the mountain once again. Why isn't Shaq Daddy #1 in this list? Two reasons:

1. Tradeability –A truly a can't miss franchise player that’s in his prime or just a little past it; should never get traded. The only reasons that allow for a team to trade a franchise center are these:

a. Traded for a younger and better center.

b. Career is coming to a close and said player no longer produces as once before.

c. One hell of a drug problem; as a seller, not a buyer;

d. He brings guns to the facility and threatens to kill somebody.

And yet, Shaquille O'Neal does not fit any of the listed criteria. The Diesel's sour relationship with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and Lakers owner Jerry Buss eventually led to his demise. Although he won a championship in Miami, he was still traded twice afterwards.

2. Next - The main reason Shaq is listed as #2 on this list, is because the guy that comes next is much more worthy of the spot....

“And with the #1 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Wake Forest center….”

1.Tim Duncan

Career: 21.3 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 3.2 APG, 2.3 BPG, 50.9 FG%

Best year is 2001-02: 25.3 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 2.5 BPG, 50.8 FG%

11 All-Star selections, 1997-98 NBA Rookie of the year, 1999-00 All-Star MVP, 3 time mvp, 3 times NBA Finals MVP

Teams played for: San Antonio Spurs

Analysis: Tim Duncan will go down in the history books as the greatest power forward of all time. But here’s a secret: he’s more of a center than he is a power forward. And despite that, Duncan does anything and everything you could ever ask a power forward or center to do. You see, not only does Duncan do all the things that you want your power forward/center to do, but he actually made the list of requirements from franchise big men a bit bigger. Let’s look at the requirements of the Duncan List:

-Rebounds his area

-Scores on the low block

-Defends his own man

-Defends the paint

-Intimidates on both offense and defense

-Only jumps at the very last moment when contesting a shot

-Manages fouls extremely well

-Plays different types of pick and roll defense flawlessly (double team, hedge, switch, trap and recover)

-Always rotates on defense.

That my friends, is the perfect big man. And you know what? He’s been doing it for 13 years. No one really notices Duncan because he’s quiet, lacks sex appeal (it had to be said), doesn’t do rap videos or shamelessly self-promotes himself. With that said though, the fact remains that Duncan has spent his whole career with the same franchise, he has been marvelously consistent (worst statistical season ever was last year with 19.3 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game; yes that’s his worst season), he has led his team to 57wins on average every year (excluding lockout year) and has won four NBA titles. In my book, that’s more then good enough to be the best #1 NBA draft pick of the past 20 years.

Feel free to drop a comment here or send me an email at Shyne@NBAShouts.com.

Photo by: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

From: ESPN

NBA Cares: Helping Haiti

2010-01-21T16:43:00.004-05:00

It's been a week since one of the most catastrophic disasters had happened to our world. We all know what happened: The 6.0 earthquake in the country of Haiti. A boy, five years of age, was recently rescued after being trapped by rubble...for eight days. They also then found a 70-year-old woman. The NBA, heck, every sports league were devastated by this.

Players like Samuel Dalembert and Pierre Garcon were surprised, also because of family and friends living there as well. Rapper Wyclef Jean was distressed about the accident when he appeared on Oprah. He knew some of his friends died, but he knows he just can't do anything about it. It's unfortunate for our world, but the United States; along with leagues, people, and companies affiliated; are making a difference to help this country.
Click on the title of this post to read more....

It's lugubrious, indeed. A bunch of children are now orphans. But the NBA cares. Sameul Dalembert made most of the difference, and arrived just in time for the Sixers game against the Timberwolves. Though they lost, Dalembert had heart. But although he is back in the US, he's still not done with the problems surrounding the country.

"I'm doing my best," he says. "I'll take another trip with UNICEF. So we can try to get all those children out there ... you know, we have parents who have been trying to adopt for two or three years."

Tears came.

"You know and ... that's frustrating me ... you're asking people to help. And kids have parents over there who want to adopt them. I've got a hundred parents, and you have a bunch of guys sitting down with the freaking papers. All it takes is one hour to go over everything, you know what I'm saying?

"I saw somebody's leg amputated in front of me. Surgeries performed on a kitchen table ... I'm talking about a folding kitchen table ... I have some disturbing pictures. And it hurts. ... There was no surgery room ... You heard him screaming. ... Not enough alcohol. Things we take for granted, you know. They try to make one bottle of alcohol last.

"Problems just keep occurring. There's no machinery to move things around. It's taking a long time to locate the people. I know everybody is doing their best. ... It's crazy over there.

"One thing really touched my heart the most is all the children. A lot of homeless children."

Other NBA players are also making differences of what is going on. Recently, Dwayne Wade and Alonzo Mourning both raised $800K for Haiti. Along with that, Cavaliers' Shaquille O'Neal suggested that the NBA should have the All-Star game, dunk contest, etc. in Haiti actually.

"As his manager, I will only allow 'Bron to do the dunk contest if Vince Carter comes back out," O'Neal said. "If Kobe comes back out and if another big name comes back out. If we could get a big prize and have half of the money go to the people of Haiti and the other half to the winner.

"The guys that are in it, no disrespect to them, but there won't really be any competition for LeBron. I want to see Kobe. I want to see Vince and I will allow my client to enter."

But these players aren't the only ones trying to make a difference for the country. There are a bunch of NBA players listed as donors for the population of Haiti. Take a look at these players involved, via Associated Press:

Al Horford, Anthony Parker, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, Ben Gordon, Mike Dunleavy, Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, Quentin Richardson, Devin Harris, Michael Finley, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, Caron Butler and the suspended Gilbert Arenas.

It's actually very surprising to see that many, but it's great.

A lot of people are making a difference and are doing everything they can to help Haiti. I just donated $10 for the country. If all of you guys are, you are truly making difference. Like Donte Stallworth said, "Follow & let's help the people of Haiti together today!"

Quotes provided by the Associated Press

Kobe Vs. LeBron Tonight: It's Still More About Team

2010-01-21T16:11:00.003-05:00

The NBA's two premiere superstars face off in Cleveland tonight. You know I'm talking about Kobe and LeBron. The lights will be on for a nationally televised game on TNT tonight at 8 PM Eastern. Now that everyone is about half way through their season in terms of games, this game is more a mid season report card than a one-on-one game between Bryant and James.

The Lakers should remember the Christmas beating the Cavs delivered to them at home earlier this season. Los Angeles didn't execute well throughout that entire game and the level of complacency was not acceptable. Now that the road games are beginning to pile up on the Lakers, it's time for them to prove that they can win big games on the road. You know they'll be up and ready to start this game, but the consistency (LA is 9-6 on the road) is something that must be shown to put them over the top.

Cleveland just has to show the average NBA fan how they've hit their stride. The chemistry is back from last season, the new parts are fitting together nicely and though they've still got to improve, they've shown they can make noise come playoff time. I really don't want to see a lot of LeBron isolation plays in the crunch time. One key to watch is how Mike Brown wants the Cavs to execute down the stretch and how the Lakers attempt to stop LeBron James.

Phil Jackson will have a firm idea of who is the man to come and double LeBron and how to swing the defense accordingly when he makes the pass. This will be what makes or breaks any team that plays Cleveland in a playoff series.

I'm picking the Cavs to come out on top of this one in close fashion. LeBron will make a play, whether it be him taking a shot or a teammate getting an easy bucket; that will sway the game Cleveland's way. The Lakers will play well and bring the intensity, but they're still learning how to deal with road tests and this exam won't be too easy.

Whose career would you rather have: Kobe Bryant's or LeBron James'?

2010-01-21T13:09:00.003-05:00

For the past two years, we have been subjected to questions about which player was currently the top dog in the hierarchy of NBA players: Kobe Bryant or LeBron James? Everybody has an opinion on the topic but I would rather ask a different question that people have yet to ask: if I had magical powers and could grant you the wish of having the career of either player, which one would you choose? Before I answer the question, let me give you a quick review of the background of these players.

KOBE BRYANT

Kobe Bryant was such an amazing high school phenomenon at Lower Merion High School, that he chose to bypass college and go straight to the NBA. Jerry West traded up in the draft and was able to draft the young prodigy. Upon his arrival on the team, he was nicknamed Showboat and Hollywood by Shaquille O'Neal because of his penchant to forego basic fundamental plays in favor the more crowd pleasing ones. If you're old enough to remember seeing Kobe play in his first few years; he had a crossover that actually rivaled Allen Iverson's. Keep in mind though; drafting high school players at the time was still somewhat taboo. The line of thinking was that these players were kids and that their adjustment to the pros would be extremely difficult. Indeed, you now had young men like Kobe Bryant seeing things a bit like the new (he's not that new anymore, but still new) rap sensation Drake sees them now; check out a quick verse from Money To Blow:

"I am, what everybody in my path don't want me to be,

Guess what I made it,

I'm the mothaf*ckin man I just want you to see,

Come take a look,

Get a load of this %$# (rhymes with trigga),

Quit frontin' on me

Don't come around tryin' to gas me up, I like runnin on E…..

[…] They can't help it,

And I can't blame'em

Since I got famous

Well b*tch I got money to blow,

Gettin' it in,

Lettin' these bills fall over ya skin'

I got money to blow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow "

Understandably, the league had its concerns about high school seniors being paid millions. However, players such as Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant helped dispel the myth and pave the way for other high school players. If these guys remained focused on basketball, it was skies the limit for them. And in Kobe Bryant's case, we're still not sure what the limit is for him. Look at his career production:

<><><><>

KOBE
CAREER SEASON AVERAGES
Year	G	MPG	FG%	RPG	APG	PPG
96-97	71	15.5	0.417	1.9	1.3	7.6
97-98	79	26	0.428	3.1	2.5	15.4
98-99	50	37.9	0.465	5.3	3.8	19.9
99-00	66	38.2	0.468	6.3	4.9	22.5
00-01	68	41	0.464	5.9	5	28.5
01-02	80	38.3	0.469	5.5	5.5	25.2
02-03	82	41.5	0.451	6.9	5.9	30
03-04	65	37.7	0.438	5.5	5.1	24
04-05	66	40.7	0.433	5.9	6	27.6
05-06	80	41	0.45	5.3	4.5	35.4
06-07	77	40.8	0.463	5.7	5.4	31.6
07-08	82	38.9	0.459	6.3	5.4	28.3
08-09	82	36.1	0.467	5.2	4.9	26.8
09-10	41	38.3	0.463	5.2	4.5	28.3
Career	989	36.5	0.455	5.3	4.6	25.3

Great numbers right? How about we look at his list of accomplishments:

- 11 All-Star Game selections

- 3 time All-Star Game MVP

- 2007-2008 NBA League MVP

- 2008-2009 NBA Finals MVP

- 6 All-NBA Defensive 1st Team selections

- 7 All-NBA 1st Team selections

- 10th all time in career free throws made

- 19th all time in career points scored

- 10th all time in career points per game (25.3)

But here's the crazy thing about Kobe Bryant's career; when Jerry West drafted him out of high school, he was supposed to be a small piece of a 12 piece puzzle that would help the Lakers get back to the glory years. Instead, Kobe Bryant changed the puzzle that West was looking at and turned it into a four piece puzzle titled "Lakers Dynasty". Have a look at the pieces of the puzzle:

-First piece: Shaquille O'Neal

-Second piece: Kobe Bryant

-Third piece: Phil Jackson

-Fourth piece: role players.

In addition, most people have always looked at Kobe Bryant as the Robin to Shaquille O'Neal's Batman. But I feel different about it. Kobe Bryant might have been a sidekick the season they won their first title (1999-2000), but afterwards he was an integral part of the franchise. The Shaq & Kobe relationship had evolved more to a level where they should have been referred to as Superman and Batman. Indeed, both brought a particular set of skills to the Lakers:

Shaquille O'Neal: His role was to score inside, give the team toughness, defend the basket, rebound the ball and be the team leader.

Kobe Bryant: His role was to get the team into their offense, defend the other team's best perimeter offensive player, score with the shot clock running down and carry the team's offense in the clutch.

That recipe allowed for the Lakers to win three championships in a row. Although the signs had been present during their championship runs, it was clear that Shaq and Kobe would eventually no longer be able to coexist. The pair had always had disputes in public, but the 2003-2004 season was different. Kobe Bryant was facing charges of sexual assault and played that whole season thinking that there was a possibility that he might at some point land in jail. During the trial process, word leaked out that Kobe had snitched on the Diesel. When police officers made their very first interrogation of Bryant, he mentioned that he should have taken the Shaq route and given the woman in question some hush money. The criminal charges were eventually dropped but Kobe's reputation took a huge hit. On his way to rebuilding his image, Kobe became the most feared player in the league. He put up points in bunches and had that one game in which he scored 81 points. Bryant was eventually given a team to contend for a title and finally won a championship as the focal player of his team in June 2009.

LEBRON JAMES

LeBron James grew up in Akron, Ohio and became possibly the biggest high school prodigy since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. LeBron James catapulted St.Vincent St. Mary's to the national spotlight. The young man was such an amazing talent, that ESPN nationally televised one of their games. By the end of his senior year, although he had not yet declared himself for the NBA Draft, it was evident that he was destined to join the NBA. LeBron James was not going to take the same route as Jesus Shuttlesworth (He Got Game reference); he was instead going straight to the league. As fate would have it, the Cleveland Cavaliers held the number one pick in the NBA Draft and selected the hometown kid form Akron to be the face of their franchise. Back in 2003, James faced so much hype entering his rookie season, most people thought he would either disappoint or crumble under the pressure of the expectations. And yet, LeBron made his first appearance in front of a national audience against the Sacramento Kings and impressed everybody fortunate enough to watch him play that night. By the way, for those of you that are unaware, LeBron played half of is rookie season as a point guard. Head coach Paul Silas felt at the time that James' passing ability would help the team best if he played as the point guard and fed athletic players such as Ricky Davis and Darius Miles. Look at LeBron's numbers:

<><><><>

LEBRON
CAREER SEASON AVERAGES
Year	G	MPG	FG%	RPG	APG	PPG
03-04	79	39.5	0.417	5.5	5.9	20.9
04-05	80	42.4	0.472	7.3	7.2	27.2
05-06	79	42.5	0.48	7	6.6	31.4
06-07	78	40.9	0.476	6.7	6	27.3
07-08	75	40.4	0.484	7.9	7.2	30
08-09	81	37.7	0.489	7.6	7.2	28.4
09-10	43	38.7	0.51	7.2	7.8	29.6
Career	515	40.4	0.474	7	6.8	27.7

Same as Kobe, now let's have a look at his accomplishments:

- 5 All-Star Game selections

- 2003-2004 NBA Rookie of the Year

- Two time NBA All-Star Game MVP

- 2008-2009 NBA League MVP

- Three time All-NBA 1st Team Selection

- 2008-2009 NBA All-Defensive 1st Team

- Third all time in career points per game (27.3)

- 26th all time in career assists per game (6.8)

LeBron James' started his NBA career with all the expectations of the world on his shoulders. People might not recall this today, but when LeBron entered the league, there was talk that he was overrated and that he couldn't possibly succeed as an NBA player. In addition, before ever playing an NBA game, James signed a $90 million contract with Nike. Needless to say, the kid had it made. And yet, the Cavaliers organization had essentially made it clear that for better or worse, James was going to be the face of their franchise. The man-child took that responsibility and just rolled it with as best as he could. Turns out that no one knew what that meant at the time. Before acquiring LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers had finished 17-65 in the 2002-2003 season. That record helped them obtain the number overall pick in the draft to select James. Look at the steady increase in wins after James joined the team:

2003-2004: 35 wins, 47 losses

2004-2005: 42 wins, 40 losses

2005-2006: 50 wins, 32 losses

2006-2007: 50 wins, 32 losses

2007-2008: 45 wins, 37 losses

2008-2009: 66 wins, 16 losses

LeBron James took a small market team that no one outside of Ohio paid attention to; and turned into an NBA powerhouse within five years. Although he has yet to win a championship; whenever the conversation turns to teams with a shot at winning an NBA title, the discussion usually involves the Lakers, the Celtics, the Magic and the Spurs. James has now forced everyone to include his Cavaliers into the discussion. The Cavs are now perennial title contenders and yet with the exception of James, it is basically a team of role players. In order to fully grasp what I'm trying to explain , try to imagine watching the movie Ocean's Eleven; except you take out Brad Pitt from the equation. You essentially leave George Clooney all alone in the movie and ask him to do all the action, all the charming and all the hustling throughout the movie; and still have the same box office hit. That's LeBron James peoples; he doesn't have a truly remarkable co-star and you know what; it might not even matter.

As great as James is on the court, he's equally impressive off of it. His contract with Nike calls for him to release several signature shoes, but it also requires him to do several endorsements. Consequently, we have been treated to the best basketball commercials in the past few years, courtesy of the Nike-LeBron partnership. Whether it's seeing Bernie Mac preach about court vision in a church with LeBron James throwing no look passes or just seeing "Business LeBron" dive into a swimming pool with his suit on, the commercials are imaginative and humorous.

For all his talents and gifts, as well as his personality and commercials, LeBron's biggest asset so far in his professional career is his squeaky clean image. What's the biggest controversy that you can think of involving LeBron James in the NBA? As ridiculous as this may sound, the biggest failures that LeBron has had to answer for were his refusal to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest this year, and his inability to shake hands with his opponents after being eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the 2009 Easter Conference Finals.

With all these facts, I ask the question again: would you prefer to have Kobe Bryant's career or LeBron James'? After wrestling with the question for a few days, I came up with an answer in one of the most bizarre places: the movie A Few Good Men. Kobe Bryant's 13 year NBA career is highly decorated with championships and individual honors that others could only dream of. He reminds me in that sense of Colonel Jessep (played by Jack Nicholson). In the movie, the colonel was one of the most decorated individuals in the Marines and yet his attitude and his decisions made him seem unlikable, self-righteous and with an overestimated sense of self. Nonetheless, the American government trusted him because he was the best at what he did. LeBron James on the other hand has had a shorter career (six years) but has shown tons of promise as well as the ability to be The Man. LeBron James is the equivalent of Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise). He has all the gifts required for his craft as well as the personality and the intellect. He never backs down from the guys at the top and actually encourages the people around him to challenge them. Every time that Kobe Bryant and LeBron James match up, it brings the same level excitement of Kaffee questioning Jessep on the stand (possibly the best criminal trial movie ever) in one of my favorite movie scenes ever: "DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED?!?" By the end of the movie, Jessep is arrested and taken to jail; whereas Kaffee is free to go on and pursue his life but we're not sure what he makes of it. Right now, that's the story of LeBron James. The man that people are saying is part Karl Malone, part Magic Johnson and part Michael Jordan all wrapped in one. I'm not sure where the rest of his career is headed, but I would definitely pick his career at this juncture. No active NBA player is as dominant on and off the court and can captivate the public quite like he can. Game, set, match. Give me LeBron James career for now. By the way, remember to tune in tonight on TNT; where we'll be asking once again: "DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED?"

Photo by: Harry How/Getty Images

From: ESPN

Video: Monta Ellis Trick Shot

2010-01-15T16:28:00.001-05:00

NOW YOU THE NAME! MR. ELLIS!

Los Angeles Lakers (29-8) @ San Antonio Spurs (22-13)

2010-01-12T19:23:00.001-05:00

The two best teams of the past decade square off tonight in a meaningless regular season that might actually mean every thing. The knock on the Lakers is that they have just sat at home on the couch flipping channels waiting for their next opponent as if they were just playing NBA 2K on Playstation 3. Nobody is mentioning the injuries that the Lakers have battled while maintaining the best record in the Western Conference. The Spurs on the other hand are supposed to be the team that suddenly got too old and became a little too redundant and predictable. They started off slow and then the media and the NBA fans automatically wrote them off. And yet, here we are today and the Spurs have one of the best records in the west. Like I previously mentioned, the game is supposed to be meaningless; but both teams see this as an opportunity to stake their claim as an NBA powerhouse. So who wins? Let’s break it down.

“Introducing in the purple corner, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, the Los Angeles Lakers.”
The Lakers won the NBA title last year and came back this year with Ron Artest replacing Trevor Ariza on the roster. Several people thought that the union of Kobe and Artest (me included) might be the NBA version of 50 Cent vs. The Game (you know, tons of public disputes and disagreements) . Two proud individuals with their own interests above those of the team might be cause for concern considering it might have disrupted the balance of the team. And yet, we have yet to truly see any bad blood or bad chemistry on the team. I was having the talk with my friend Supreme the other day; Kobe winning a championship without Shaq might be the best thing that has ever happened to the Lakers. The Black Mamba now seems more at piece with himself and consequently displays more trust into his teammates. No longer is he going one versus three in his quest to put up 40 points on the board. Instead, he is more than happy to keep throwing the ball down low to Gasol (even in crunch time) and only asserting himself on offense when his team requires it. This year Kobe is basically doing less to do more.

“Introducing in the black corner, possibly the #1 challenger for the crown, former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, the San Antonio Spurs.”
After losing in the first round last year (4-1) against the Dallas Mavericks, the Spurs decided that it was time to upgrade its roster; so they traded for Richard Jefferson and acquired Antonio McDyess via free agency. The logic behind these moves was that the Spurs wanted one last chance to compete for a title. Mind you, early on in the season, it seemed as though the moves were backfiring. Look at their record by month:
October: 2-1
November: 7-5
December: 10-5
January: 3-2

Add all the wins and losses together though and the Spurs are 22-13, good for fourth in the west. The Spurs just keep plugging along with modest monthly records that will probably result in 50 or more wins this season. That’s just the Spurs way.

As it pertains to the game, it should be a pretty good one. The two best players of the last decade will square off tonight (Kobe and Duncan) and it should make for some entertaining basketball. People seem to think that they have lost a step, but they are still producing at an MVP caliber type level. Look at their respective numbers:
Tim Duncan: 20.0 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 55.3FG%.
Kobe Bryant: 29.6 pg, 5.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, 46.6 FG%.

Mr. Bryant and Mr. Duncan would like for you guys to listen to some Jay-Z:

“What the hell have yall done
to even have an opinion on what I been doing,
what the hell have y’all won,
only thing you can identify with is losing,
10 number 1 albums in a row,
who better than me?
[…] men lie women lie, numbers don’t,
ain’t nothing changed for me except the year it is,
I think have to send you a reminder…”

Considering that Gasol will probably miss the game, it will probably come down to Kobe, Odom, Bynum and Artest for the Lakers. Will they be able match up on the road with Parker, Ginobili, Jefferson and Duncan? On paper they should be able to, but one can’t guarantee anything at this point. If Bynum matches Duncan’s output, the Lakers win. But truth is the youngin’ still has a lot to learn before he can take on the Big Fundamental. I do expect a big fourth quarter from Kobe (big surprise) and for Artest to be featured on occasion on offense against Jefferson. The Lakers should be able to control the boards with their size and length which will give them a significant advantage in dictating the tempo. In addition, the purple and gold do a decent job as far as limiting their own turnovers while the Spurs on average turn the ball over more than their opponents. All signs point to the Lakers controlling the flow of the game even if Bynum is unable to hang within the vicinity of Duncan’s output. I see the Lakers getting a big road win in the San Antonio. Pick: Lakers win 102-100.

Photo by: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
From: ESPN

Friday's Best Games (on January 8, 2010)

2010-01-07T09:38:00.002-05:00

Die hard NBA fans as well as the general public has figured out that the NBA is star driven league. Whether advertising the likes of Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony; we all know that stars sell tickets. However, considering the amount of teams we have in the NBA, it’s not always a given that you will be able to watch a game every night with stars on opposite teams. In that sense, the NBA regular season is like hitting the clubs: some nights you get to see the crowd pleasers, and some nights you get to see the crowd teasers (the people that look good in the dark after a few beers). However, when you get the chance to catch a game with multiple stars, that’s when you tune in ladies and gentlemen. On Friday night, the NBA will serve us with a treat; as we will have the chance to watch two games involving some of the leagues best.

Miami Heat (17-16) @ Phoenix Suns (23-13)

The Miami Heat currently reside in the fifth spot of the Eastern Conference standings. Quite frankly, at this juncture in the season, the Heat should view this as a disappointment. Let me get Katt Williams to break it down for you.

Katt Williams : “I only hook up with people that keep doing things better and better and better. If you did a surprise birthday party last year, I’m not doing it again this year cuz that was last year’s thing. I try to keep things pushing around here. All I’m saying is if you been selling weed since 1999 and you ain’t moved on to coke, I don’t know what you’re doing.”

Thank you for dropping some science Katt. My point is that Miami was the fifth seed in the East last year, they need to upgrade their spot this year. The reason? Dwyane Wade is in the hunt for a championship; and if the team isn’t going to build a championship contender around him, I guarantee you that Wade is going to find a team willing to make that commitment. As a result, Pat Riley should be spending his days on the phone trying to convince, coerce or blackmail rival general managers into making a lopsided trade with him. Let’s be real, in order to get an All-Star caliber player, the only recourse the Heat has is to trade some expiring contracts (which they have) to a team who’s season is going no where. Here is the list of All-Star type players trapped on bad teams:

-Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers

-Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets

-Caron Butler, Washington Wizards

-Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards (currently suspended)

-Antawn Jamison, Washington Wizards

-Baron Davis, Los Angeles Clippers

-Chris Kaman, Los Angeles Clippers

-Montae Ellis, Golden State Warriors

-Al Jefferson, Minnesota Timberwolves

That’s a pretty substantial list and quite frankly I expect Miami to be in the thick of things at the trade deadline because standing pat is not an option currently. If the expiring contracts are not enough as bait, then Riley will have to hire some *ahem* model ladies to hang out with some of the general managers and then take compromising pictures of them that he would threaten to release on the internet if they failed to comply with their trade demands (you know, sort of like what happened with the Pau Gasol trade….I kid, I kid). Until Miami is able to make some sort of change in their player personnel, they will have Dwyane Wade carry the load and look practically invincible while his teammates falter as the team continues to play .500 ball. Although Wade will probably have a monster game in the desert, expect the Suns to run them out of the building. Pick: Suns win 115-110.

Cleveland Cavaliers (28-9) @ Denver Nuggets (22-13)

Back in June 2003, the three biggest prizes in the NBA Draft were widely assumed to be (in this specific order):

1. LeBron James

2. Darko Milicic (admit it, you forgot about the great Darko huh?)

3. Carmelo Anthony

With all due respect to Paul Pierce, the marquee small forwards in the NBA right now are none other than LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Ironically enough, if their teams become legitimately good enough at the same time, these guys might give us the best rivalry since Bird and Magic. You just shook your head and said to yourself: “this dude needs to lay off the crack and cough syrup”. But hear me out; what made Bird and Magic memorable was the fact that they were phenomenal basketball players on phenomenal teams that consistently battled one another for the NBA title. What was the one thing that could have thrown the best rivalry in sports to another level? Think about this one….Cat got your tongue? Good thing I’m here. The one thing that could have pushed the Bird-Magic rivalry to an orgasmic level (yes I just used the word orgasmic in an NBA article) would have been if Bird and Magic both played the same position. Not only would we see a champion crowned, but we would also get a definitive answer on which player was better.

Think about it, Carmelo Anthony was the guy as a freshman for a Syracuse team that won a national championship. He then declared for the NBA Draft and watched a high school player be taken number one overall (a high school player named LeBron James) while he slipped to the number three spot. If that wasn’t enough, Carmelo Anthony led his Denver Nuggets to the playoffs in his first season and yet watched the NBA declare LeBron James the Rookie of the Year. LeBron has since won two NBA All-Star Game MVP trophies and one NBA League MVP trophy. In addition, King James has had a trip to the NBA Finals whereas up until last year, Melo had been unable to make it out of the first round. If the equivalent of this had been happening in the music industry with Beyonce and Britney Spears, all the tabloids would have written stories about how Britney was jealous of all the attention that Beyonce was getting. And yet, Melo and LeBron don't seem to garner any attention at all in the media. As much as people think that Kobe Bryant has a worthy rival in LeBron James; the guys just don't have the history together. Mind you, Anthony and James have played against one another in high school, they have played together in the Rookie-Sophomore game and they have played together on Team USA. All that we need now is for these guys to play each other at some point in the NBA Finals. If we're lucky enough for this to happen, that's when all of these stories will reach the national spotlight. But until then, people will continue to like Carmelo Anthony, but the masses will keep on loving LeBron James. You better bet your bottom dollar that Melo hates it and can’t wait for fans to focus all their attention on him. For one night, he’ll get his wish. Pick: Nuggets win 102-99.

Quick note: Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups are both listed as questionable for the game against the Cavaliers, but I pretty much expect players to suit up.

Photos by: Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

Found on: ESPN

Video: Sir Charles SNL Promo

2010-01-06T13:21:00.001-05:00

This Saturday, Charles Barkley is hosting the first episode of Saturday Night Live in 2010.

Check out this promo:

I'm looking forward to this episode!

McGrady Saga

2010-01-04T10:43:00.006-05:00

The Houston Rockets have decided that they no longer want to have anything to do with Tracy McGrady. T-Mac has worn out his welcome with his injuries and demands. He has officially become the new Isaiah Washington (dude that got released from Grey’s Anatomy). People use to love him and couln’t get enough of him. But now? His own team doesn’t want him and other teams are interested but not that interested. With that said, which teams might want to explore bringing in McGrady? Glad you asked, let’s have a look at all the NBA teams.

Atlanta: Atlanta Hawks GM Billy Knight picks up the phone

Billy Knight: Hello. Who is this?

Daryl Morey: Hey, it’s Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. I wanted to know….

Billy Knight interrupts: Whoa whoa whoa wait up a second. I have Mike Bibby, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams that are playing well for me right now and they all need the ball.

Daryl Morey: Yes I am well are of that but…

Billy Knight: Settle down. Let me finish. As I was saying, they are all playing well and frankly, I’m not sure what McGrady can give me at this point. So there’s no way I’m parting with anybody in my core group for him.

Daryl Morey: Well, thanks for taking the time to listen to my….

Billy Knight: [click]

Boston: The Celtics as currently constructed can actually contend for an NBA title, so they have no real reason to part with anybody on their team to get McGrady. Danny Ainge tells Daryl Morey: “Thanks but not thanks”.

Charlotte: Larry Brown loves just about everybody in the NBA. But if he passed on Allen Iverson, what could possibly make me think they might have any interest in Tracy McGrady?

Chicago: The Bulls offer an interesting trade partner. McGrady has yet to play with a great point guard in his career and therefore the Bulls could be real attractive to him. However McGrady does not yet appeal to the Bulls all that much because they are unaware of what he can do for them. Can T-Mac still score at a relatively high rate? Can he still facilitate the offense? Does he want to facilitate the offense? Until those questions can be answered, I don’t think that the Bulls trade for McGrady.

Cleveland: Earlier in the season, I was a big believer that Tracy McGrady might be the type of guy that the Cavaliers might need to win the title. However, McGrady would only fit in Cleveland if he were completely healthy, accepted a lesser role and also agreed to commit to defense. Mind you, I haven’t seen McGrady play defense since the 2005 playoff first round series against the Dallas Mavericks. At this point, too many ifs for Cleveland to seriously consider bringing in T-Mac.

Dallas: Dallas has been collecting a bunch of individual talents and they have found a way to get them to play together so far. But imagine this scenario: it’s the second round of the NBA playoffs and the Mavs and Lakers are tied 2-2 with game 5 in Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant has spent the entire fourth quarter lighting up the Mavs and resting on defense. Tracy McGrady checks in and proceeds to take Kobe to school with an array of jump shots, drives to the basket and tons of awkward porn faces after every score. Don’t Lakers fans get nervous at this point? The one problem with that scenario is that no one truly knows how much McGrady has left. Consequently, it would be tough for the Mavericks to part with anyone important on their for T-Mac.

Denver: J.R. Smith (sorry dude, I’m not calling you Earl; only Earl I know is Earl Simmons aka DMX) is younger, more athletic at this point and costs about three times less what T-Mac costs. Questions?

Detroit: The Pistons are a confused organization right now. They got rid of some veterans to make way for some young guys but the team is still giving big money to some veteran players (Prince, Hamilton, Gordon). The Pistons will barely contend for a playoff spot, so why not just blow it up? I’m not sure what direction this team is going in; and consequently it would be tough for them to trade for McGrady. It’s pretty clear that they knew they were not going to be players in the 2010 free agent class, so getting the cap room this summer that comes with McGrady’s expiring contract does nothing for them. Hence, I think they stand pat.

Golden State: Let’s have a look the characteristics of the Warriors:

-Head coach is Don Nelson

-Team lacks discipline

-Team takes bad shots

-Team’s definition of defense is to play matador and say “Olé!”

-Head coach is still Don Nelson

-The only thing interesting about Golden State is Alcatraz

Yup, definitely sounds like a spot where T-Mac could land. If he starts pouting or acting spoiled, they can dump him at the prison. Why you think Stephen Jackson wanted out? They probably had him spend a night there!

Indiana: The Pacers are another potentially intriguing trade partner. Mike Dunleavy is a good glue guy that would actually fit with what the Rockets are trying to accomplish (team play). However his contract alone would not be enough to trade for T-Mac; so the Pacers could include T.J. Ford in this trade scenario. This move would allow the Pacers to have some cap room going into this summer. They might not necessarily sign anyone of substance this summer, but they would still reduce their payroll. Let’s be honest, that team is currently spending $93.8 million (according to ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine) and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon; so might as well pull the trigger.

L.A. Clippers: The Clippers never do anything that make sense, so it’s tough to gauge what they could do or what their interest would be. However, if I were part of Clippers management, I’d explore the idea of trading Baron Davis. Davis has the habit of disappearing during the length of his contract and resurfacing in the last year of the contract to get another payday. Baron Davis is currently signed until the 2013 season. So if you’re the Clippers, can you really afford to have one player command $13 million per year (give or take) and be constantly injured and unmotivated? I’d roll the dice and trade away Baron Davis and Marcus Camby ($7.7 million this year) for McGrady. If he can play, great; but if not the Clippers get tons of cap room to go after two of these three players: Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. And remember, the Clippers still have Blake Griffin.

L.A. Lakers: Sometimes, a guy might get involved with a woman who is already in a committed relationship without knowing. In those instances, it might happen that her man finds out and calls the other guy to talk. Trey Songz gives you the details of that convo in his cover of the song Obsessed.

“He call my phone like

Is you banging my girl?

My girl

Playa better check her

Don't wanna disrespect ya

I never even met cha

She never even mention your name

I don't know why you mad at me

You should ask your girl

She gave the ass to me

Stop harassing me

Why you so upset with me?

I don't even know you

It's clear that she had sex with me

Stop calling my phone you..”

An uncomfortable conversation indeed, but that’s the type of convo the Lakers and Rockets would have. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant, they don’t need T-Mac. Them fielding a call from Houston would almost be like cheating on Kobe.

Memphis: After going through Iversongate, I doubt that the Grizzlies would have any interest in acquiring an aging former superstar who is complaining about his playing time right now. But then again, if they think that McGrady would help boost ticket sales, you can bet your bottom dollar that Memphis will offer a few scrubs to take on T-Mac’s contract.

Miami: T-Mac in Miami makes some sense because McGrady came into the league as a small forward. The problem here though would be finding a suitable trade scenario that would benefit both teams. Obviously it helps Miami get under the cap next year with McGrady’s expiring contract, however the Heat need to contend now if they hope to keep Dwyane Wade in South Beach. If McGrady were to be bought out, a trip to Miami might make tons of sense, but via trade, I have a hard time seeing him landing in a Heat uniform.

Milwaukee: Bucks have nothing to offer in terms of talent. In addition, the only Milwaukee players that Houston might be interested in all have long contracts. Consequently, Milwaukee is probably not part of the McGrady sweepstakes.

Minnesota: The Timberwolves are in the midst of a youth movement. They want to let their young guys play and develop together. In addition, they are already scheduled to have some cap room this summer. So McGrady does nothing for them.

New Jersey: New Jersey works but doesn’t work because:

Exhibit A - McGrady would get a chance to play on a bad team and show how much game he has left. If it so happens that he can still play at a relatively high level, it helps him get a contract for next year.

Exhibit B - The Nets suck and McGrady must realize that his legacy as a first round flame out won’t get any better if he goes to New Jersey. So chances are he would block this trade and hope to get on with a contender.

New Orleans:

The Hornets don’t want to pay the tax this year, so acquiring McGrady wouldn’t help them at all considering that they are already in luxury tax territory. If the Hornets were willing to part with Stojakovic, Posey and Peterson, a deal could be somehow worked out; however the Rockets would be adding additional salaries for this year and next year; and those guys don’t help them get better in the short term or long term. Once again, thanks but no thanks.

New York: Larry Hughes and Al Harrington’s salaries combined equate to Tracy McGrady’s salary. Does this mean that the Knicks and Rockets pull the trigger on this trade? Not exactly. All three players have expiring contracts and Houston is trying to stay away from ball hungry players (yes Larry and Al, I’m talking to you guys). So from that standpoint Houston has no interest. But let’s be real, the contract that New York wants to get rid of is the Eddy Curry contract. He makes $10.5 million this year and has a player option for $11.2 million next year that he will probably exercise unless he suddenly becomes math challenged (you know, because he’s not worth the money). So the only way New York probably brings in T-Mac, is if they are able to get rid of the Curry contract. And so far, well no one has shown much interest in Curry. With that said, McGrady’s preferred destination might actually be the Knicks, considering he would get the chance to put up shots and ignore defense. But once again, the same issue that arose with New Jersey would arise in New York: T-Mac either misses the playoffs or loses in the first round. His legacy so far is that of “one and done”.

Oklahoma City: The Thunder might inquire about a possible deal but I highly doubt they would have any interest. Their nucleus right now is developing and getting better as a unit, all the while contending for a playoff spot. Bringing in McGrady would be like adding sprinkles to a cheesecake, the recipe just doesn’t make sense.

Orlando: Check out Wikipedia’s definition of a doppelganger: A doppelgänger is the ghostly double of a living person, a sinister form of bilocation. In the vernacular, the word "doppelgänger" has come to refer to any double or look-alike of a person. So hypothetically speaking, if the Magic had a doppelganger of McGrady, they wouldn’t need him right? Well turns out they have him in Vince Carter. They both are athletic shooting guards that love to shoot jumpers instead of attacking the basket, they both seem to view defense like the plague and they are both viewed as underachievers. I think Orlando says “Nah we good baby”. Quick note: One of the reasons McGrady left Toronto was because he no longer wanted to play in Vince Carter’s shadow.

Philadelphia: How’s that Allen Iverson thing going right now? Well he’s injured and the Sixers aren’t looking too good. So they might try to bring in McGrady, but there aren’t enough balls to go around for Brand, Iguodala, Iverson, McGrady and Lou Williams. So although it could happen, it’s very unlikely; and how would T-Mac fare against 76ers fans? They would eat him alive if he failed to play hard in Philly.

Phoenix: If Phoenix can get one of their spies to Houston to take a look at McGrady and deem that he can play, Phoenix could have a great thing brewing here. I would send Jason Richardson (2 years, $27 million) and Leandro Barbosa (3 years, $20 million) to Houston for the services of McGrady. The Suns would take on an extra $3 million in salary but if T-Mac can play, it’ll be worth it. In addition, with T-Mac’s contract expiring at season’s end, the Suns would be players on the free agent market. Just think about it: Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill and Amar’e Stoudemire is a solid foursome. The problem though is that the Suns would need McGrady to have a clean bill of health, and well I have a better shot at chilling with LeBron James and Michael Jordan. So this deal is not happening.

Portland: Daryl Morey calls the Trail Blazers to get some insight on their interest in McGrady.

Secretary: Thank you for calling the Portland Trail Blazers organization. Nancy speaking how may I help you?

Morey: Good day Nancy, it’s Daryl Morey from the Houston Rockets, is Mr. Pritchard around?

Secretary: I thought he was kidding when he said you’d be calling soon..

Morey: I beg your pardon?

Secretary: Uh NOTHING! Mr. Pritchard is not available currently.

Morey: No, tell him I have a killer trade proposal….

Secretary: Brandon Roy is the franchise Mr. Morey. We don’t need a former superstar guard that’s always injured, has an ego and lives in the past. Once again, we have Brandon Roy and our future is bright. Goo day Mr. Morey. [Click].

Sacramento: Three reasons why Sacramento can’t and won’t go after McGrady:

1. Tyreke Evans

2. Kevin Martin

3.McGrady would look awful in purple

San Antonio: The Spurs don’t do egos and only want players that know how to fall in line. Knowing this, there is practically no chance of McGrady going to San Antonio. They’d have no interest in a player that used to be a superstar that still thinks he is one. In addition, I can’t possibly see McGrady accepting to be the fourth option for the Spurs; consequently, the Spurs won’t show much interest.

Toronto: In order for Toronto to get McGrady, they would have to include a few players (unless they do a three team trade) into the trade, because of the salaries required to match T-Mac’s dollar figure this season. McGrady makes just about $23 million. Look at the Raptors top salaries:

1. Chris Bosh: $15.8 million

2. Hedo Turkoglu: $9.0 million

3. Jose Calderon: $8.2 million

4. Andrea Bargnani: $6.5 million (he will be making $12 million by 2015, and people say Colangelo is a great GM)

5. Reggie Evans: $5.0 million

This means the Raptors would have to trade at least two of the five players listed above. I’m not saying that the Raptors are challenging for an NBA title anytime soon, but I wouldn’t move any of those guys right now for an injured McGrady. Well actually, I’d part with Bargnani. The other aspect though is that if the Raps went after T-Mac, they would have some cap space this summer. As it stands right now, Toronto will not have any cap space and therefore keeping Bosh past this year would be extremely hard if they cannot lure in a big free agent. So Toronto should be exploring this possibility but they probably won’t because any trade involving Bargnani at this point is an admission that drafting and extending him was a mistake.

Utah: Jerry Sloan is an old school coach that does not play favorites or cater to egos. Does that sound like a place where McGrady might want to play? Mind you if I’m the Houston Rockets, the idea of swapping Tracy McGrady for Andrei Kirilenko sure seems appealing right?

Washington: The Washington Wizards are sounding more and more like 50 Cent and the whole G-Unit. For years they have been entertaining people with funny quotes, videos and antics that they have done amongst themselves or against their opponents (DeShawn Stevenson anybody?). But now they have upgraded and brought guns into the equation. The only thing missing at this point is for Agent Zero to start bragging about how many kilos of coke he sells every week. What does this mean in terms of the McGrady situation? Well the Wizards are a team with a losing record, they have a $81.6 million payroll this season and they now have a really bad image. At this point, they have to make some form of change for the sake of the organization, and that change might end up being in the form of Tray McGrady.

After seeing where McGrady might possibly fit, it is now just a matter of seeing who will be willing to invest anything to bring in the former superstar. Keep in mind though, fans still appreciate McGrady as evidenced by the amount of All-Star votes that he keeps accumulating. General managers and owners will certainly take that into consideration when pondering the idea of bringing it T-Mac.

Photo from: NBA

Can The Lakers Maintain This Level Of Complacency?

2009-12-31T09:30:00.000-05:00

The Lakers have showed early on this season that their talent level is no fluke. At 25-6, they've got the best record in the league (yes, they've only played 11 road games, but it's still impressive), but, if you ask me, they still haven't completely hit their stride. I'd say their defense is much improved (of course it can get even better yet) compared to this point last year and their offense is very close, but needs to be executed a bit better before the second season begins. While all of that sounds great, I've noticed a real rise in the Lakers complacency of late.

Take their last game against the Warriors for example. Kobe Bryant is a seasoned veteran, a legend, a special player with an amazing basketball IQ. He was frustrated with a non-foul call and got hit with a technical around the two minute mark in the fourth. The game was close at this point and even though the Lakers did pull it out eventually, things like this can't continue. While Kobe does have legit gripes at times, you can see that some of the calls he wants are not true fouls. They're, "I'm Kobe, call that," types of calls. I'm as big a Kobe fan as anybody, but if he wants to truly project maturity and a leadership role, he has to quite down a bit and complain only when it's needed (and in a kinder manner).

This goes for the whole Laker team, not just Kobe. The Lakers are second in the league in technicals with 43. They've played 31 games. That's about 1.4 T's per game. Phil Jackson knows that giving a free point away a game won't make beating the elite any easier. Nothing can be free, nothing can be easy. The Lakers have failed to cool down and let their game control the whistles instead of their mouths. That's not true title winning basketball. That's a factor that the opponents will key in on. They will find ways to irk the Lakers and that will lead to technicals. It must stop.

Since this is the same team that won it all last year (only one real change in Ron Artest), I'm confident that it will. But, one can't help but get mad that you've given up 43 possible free points. The goal is to give up nothing for free. Now the Lakers must set goals in order to make everything tough. Scoring needs to be as expensive as living in a five-star hotel all year, not a visit to Family Dollar. Got it, Lakers?

Photo by: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images, from ESPN

Listen To Me On A Celtics Podcast

2009-12-28T10:16:00.002-05:00

I was interviewed on the Celtics Late Night Show very early this morning. Check it our here. Because of some technical difficulties, you should scroll through the first seven or so minutes of babble. For a podcast that's just started, you have to expect that a little.

The rest of the show without me is great also. Andrew from Howard The Dunk was interviewed and lots of insight was given by Nick and company. I had a lot of fun doing the show, thanks guys!

Links

2009-12-27T20:43:00.002-05:00

Basketball Prospectus

Blaze of Love

Both Teams Played Hard

Celtics Blog

DraftExpress

Fanster Suns Community

Men's Basketball HoopScoop

X's & O's of Basketball

You Got Dunked On!

Happy Holidays

2009-12-24T11:54:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to wish all of you a happy holiday.

I know I've been inconsistent here on the site, but I've been going through a kind of tough time. I will be back, eventually. I don't know when I'll really start churning again, but it will happen.

Anyway, live it up this weekend! Check out this post I did on tomorrow's Celtic-Magic game while you're at it!

Did The Grizzlies Find The Antipathy of The Allen Iverson Experiment?

2009-12-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

The Memphis Grizzlies have started to pick up their play of late. While they're only 6-4 in their last 10, the heart, effort and togetherness that they're playing with is impressive. On Sunday afternoon the Billups-less Nuggets came in and the Grizzlies had their way with them in the first half. Even though they let the Nuggets make a comeback, remember the Grizzlies are a young team. Still, they played slightly above their talent level, which is a must.

All of this makes me think that Lionel Hollins has enabled the Grizzlies to make a positive out of the Allen Iverson negative. AI came in, wasn't committed to the team's purpose and hurt the team early on (2-8 start). But the Grizzlies came out of that with their heads up. OJ Mayo talked to NBA TV back on December 8th and said that, after AI left, the team ended their huddles saying, "one team." They honestly are as close to that as ever. The cohesion is better than it's ever been, the ball moves around and they have picked their pace up nicely.

Zach Randolph actually looks like a team player. That wasn't written in many blogs in the past. He hustles for rebounds, passes the ball and works tremendously with Marc Gasol. Randolph still must learn when to reset the offense and when to attempt a put back, but he's progressed. If he can keep doing what he did against the Nuggets (monster stats: 32 points, 24 boards), then the Grizzlies will continue their move upward.

Looking ahead at their schedule, they might struggle some. They are a mediocre 4-10 on the road and a four-game road trip is on the horizon. If their new-found antipathy of the Allen Iverson Experiment persists at home and on the road, they can at least start to fill some seats in the FedEx Forum.

I'm not saying this is a playoff team, I'm only saying this team is a team on the rise. Potential is rich on this squad and though talent is not growing on trees, a good crop season is fast approaching.

Video: Magic Johnson Interviews Kobe

2009-12-20T22:26:00.003-05:00

This is a preview of what will see during halftime of Lakers-Cavs on Christmas day:

Can't wait to see the rest!