A different spin on MJ

Lets state the obvious- Michael Jordan was an amazing basketball player. This, everyone knows. But he was also a very lucky player.
Michael Jordan was in his prime in an era when Magic and Larry were in the twilight's of their career, and modern potential GOAT's (greatest of all-time) like Shaq, Duncan, Kobe and LeBron were still far off their primes.
I dont wanna detract from anything MJ has ever done or accomplished. He's not the greatest winner (Bill Russell), not the most individually accomplished in the regular season (Abdul-Jabbar), doesn't lead the league in points, rebounds or assists, (Abdul-jabbar, Chamberlain, Stockton).
But his 5 MVP's, 6 Title's, 6 Finals MVP's, and a DPOY make him the most all round decorated player ever.

Just for gags, here's a few things to note about the 90's

1. The best wing player in the league at that time (besides MJ), and also the only guy capable of stopping MJ, was Scottie Pippen, whom MJ had the fortune of being on his own team.
2. The 90's had a lot of great players, but none were in the Magic-Bird-Duncan-Shaq-Russell-Kobe echelon of players. (except maybe Hakeem Olajuwon)
   In fact if we break down the upper echelon of Bill Simmons HOF pyramid, we can see how poor the 90's really were (not including MJ): Russell (peaked in the 60's), Kareem (70's), Magic (80's), Bird (80's), Chamberlain (60's), Duncan (00's), West (60/70's), Oscar (60's), Hakeem (90's), Shaq (00's), Moses (80's), Havlicek (60/70's), Elgin (60's), Kobe (00's), Dr J (70's), Pettit (50/60's), and finally at no. 18 we have another nineties player, Karl Malone. So for a tally of the top 18..
   60's: 6 (of the best 18 of all time)
   70's: 3
   80's: 3
   90's: 1
   00's: 3*
   (*LeBron, after winning his second MVP this season will have risen a few spots from no.20 and is probably now ahead of Malone, so lets increase the 2000's to 4.)
   
3. Alright even if we do include Malone and Barkley etc. how far down Bill Simmons pyramid do we go before we find another wing player from the 90's? (when i say wing player, i refer to players MJ would have guarded, or players who would have guarded MJ- sorry Stockton, but that means your out, you couldnt guard Derek Fisher)
   ...Hmm not that far, at no. 24 we have Scottie Pippen. Oh wait, they were on the same team....
   ...
   Ok at number 40 we have Gary Payton. Now it sort of bothers me that the supposed 'best of all time' had only one other great wing to play, and the fact that Payton had the jump on MJ in a few pretty important games, namely when he held MJ to 5/19 in game 6 of the NBA finals, which Chicago won, seemingly because the 2nd best wing of the 90's was also on the Bulls!
   How would MJ have performed having to guard Kobe and LeBron in the 90's? And, just as importantly, them guarding him?

Now lets consider what would have happened if MJ had peaked in different Era's...

The 60's
Good luck MJ. This decade was dominated by Boston so badly that Bill Russell has 11 Titles!! Boston were the ultimate team. They focused on passing, defence and rebounding. They had one of the 5 greatest players and best center of all-time in Bill Russell, and time and time again they proved that a team of champions can never beat a champion team, Highlighted by Russells 11 rings to Chamberlains 2.
MJ's potential rings? Depends on which team he played for but unless he teamed up with Wilt he is probably looking at 2 max.

The 70's
This era is the most unfairly calculated. It was a shit decade for the NBA as they only had half the best players in the world, the other half being in the ABA. This is not worth calculating. Its like trying to visualise how many rings LeBron would have by now if the Lakers, Spurs and Celtics were in a different league. He would have about 7.
Lets skip the 70's

The 80's
Hmmm... Now MJ would face some pretty stiff competition in the 80's. How would he go against Bird, Parish and Mchale in Boston? What about Magic, Worthy and Kareem in LA? What about Isiah and Dumars in Deeeetroit?
I'm thinking it would be pretty hard to get past the Lakers or the Celtics in the 80's. (For proof, MJ was drafted in 84, yet he didnt win a title til 1991, when Bird retired. Its not like he needed a few years to develope either, he averaged 28.2, 6.5, 5.9 and 2.4 steals as a rookie.) I can see him possibly stealing Detroits title in 89, Phillies title in 83, and maybe one of Lakers titles along the lines.
MJ's potential rings: 3 max

The decade from 00-09 (Noughties? or something)
I know this decade pretty well, lets go into more detail here.
From 00-02 the lakers 3-peated. Now how effective would MJ be having to guard Kobe for a series as well as having Kobe guard him? And unlike opponents he faced in the 90's, the Lakers had the pleasure of Kobe on the perimeter being able to take gambles on the defensive end because yep, you guessed it, they had Shaquille fucking O'neal defending the rim. Would MJ have to rely to much on his shooting stroke with Shaq patrolling the paint and blocking off drives? How effective would that be with Kobe hassling him constantly?
With the 1-2 Shaq Kobe punch, as well as a bunch of the most efficient role players ever assembled, there is no way MJ is stealing a title here.

2003 was the Spurs. They had Tim Duncan in his prime, but a rookie Tony Parker and a young Manu that is not anywhere near the Manu we know today. They also had David Robinson, but when he was old enough to be Tony's father. But like i said before, they had vintage Tim Duncan. In the 03 Finals he averaged 24.2 points, 17 rebounds, and 5.3 blocks. In the deciding game 6, he exploded for 21, 20, 10 and 8 blocks.
Now i'm sorry, but no-one in history could stop the Spurs with Tim Duncan playing like that. MJ has no chance here.

2004 was Detroit. Now this is MJ's first possible title. Detroit had a team in every sense of the word. Their lineup of Billups, Rip, Tayshaun, Rasheed, and Big Ben led them to 5 consecutive conference finals appearances, but in a time when the East was at its weakest. MJ could grab a title here, on account of Detroits seemingly inability to contain great wing players (e.g they lost to Dwyane Wade in 2006 and LeBron in 2007).

2005 was the Spurs again. Duncan was still as powerful as ever, dropping 20 & 14 on Detroit to beat them in 7. They were more even spread this time, and the evolution of the big three had well and truly begun with Parker and Manu inheriting the league's 'best backcourt' status from Detroit. MJ probably has no chance here, the Spurs were that good.

2006 brings what i think of as the worst championship team of all time. People describe D-Wade's finals performance as vintage MJ. So what would MJ have been playing then?
The 2006 Heat had Wade, an injured declining shaq, and.... nothing else. This season shouldnt even count, due tot he officiating scandal.
I'm gunna give MJ a title here.

2007 was the most boring finals ever. The Spurs completely shut down the Cavs, and it was never in doubt. As with the previous two, MJ is not likely to steal a title here. (Don't believe me? Just know that the only reason the Spurs didnt win 5 in a row was due to one unlikely 3 point play by Dirk and a few other unfortunate events that i wont go into here)

2008 is untouchable. MJ has two choices. Guard Paul Peirce(the 08 finals MVP and one of the greatest players of the decade) or guard Ray Allen, e.g chase the uber fit Allen through 5 different screens on every posession then be exhausted on offense. Remember, Boston had incredible defense that year with Garnett winning DPOY and having players like Perkins, Rondo, Posey, Peirce, and Tony Allen who were no defensive slouches. This was one of the most solid teams of all time. Allen, Peirce and Garnett were at the exact right point of their careers for this to work. They were all in the tail end of their prime, and had never tasted success in their careers. They all left their ego's at the door, sacrificed stats and individual glory for the chance at winning a championship. And don't think they weren't the mentally toughest team in the league either.

2009 had a Kobe who had finally grasped the concept of team basketball. He was at the point in his career where he could possibly cancel out MJ. So unless MJ had a 7 foot center, a 7 foot power forward with the best post game in the league, a forward who was so versatile he drew comparisons to Magic Johnson, and a solid point guard who was extremely clutch, then MJ had no chance.

MJ's potential rings: 3 max. (04, 06, 07)

Now obviously this is highly speculative. Its luck to a degree. You could get lucky with what team your drafted by, which players are on your team, or in MJ's case, what era you were in your prime.

Anyway thats it for now. You could think this is all bullshit, and MJ would still be the most decorated played of all time no matter when he played. But you would be wrong.

I'm out

NBA draft 2010

Since i'm back down in busso and cant preach nba bullshit on everyone personally, i decided to blog again.
Heres my take on the best, worst, and most interesting picks of the 2010 nba draft.

Best Picks
1. John Wall(PG) to Washington- The best prospect in this draft, and has a bright future ahead of him. Think somewhere between Russ Westbrook and D-Rose.

2. Evan Turner(SG) to Philly- Evan was easily the best player in college this season. Anytime you have a guy averaging 20-9-6, you know he will bring game in the pro's.
If Philly ship out Iguodala, he's my pick for ROY over Blake Griffin.

9. Gordon Hayward(SF) to Utah- I don't rank Gordo that high in terms of potential, but i just see his game suiting the jazz's style. Gordo is a tough, gritty, versatile role-player, and he will work well with bruising boozer, the versatile Kirilenko and D-Will's physical play. Solid pick for the Jazz. If Boozer stays, Utah could challenge LA for the West.

11. Cole Aldrich(C) to OKC via NO- This was a great trade by OKC. It solidifies thier frontcourt that got pushed around by the lakers in the first round this year. With Aldrich's size(6'10 with a 7'5 wingspan) and shotblocking(3.5 per this year) they now have a legit contender. Assuming all their core players dont get injured, this is an extremely young and exciting lineup.
Starters: Aldrich(21), Green(24), Durant(22), Sefolosha(26), Westbrook(21)
Bench: Harden(21), Ibaka(21), Maynor(23)
NBA champs or NCAA tourney champs?

12. Xavier Henry(SG) to Memphis- I think i might buy a ticket for the Grizzlies bandwagon. My favourite player in this years draft joins my favourite player from the 2008 draft (OJ Mayo) in Memphis. Saddle up Ben McKernan, once you see my man Xavier light up from downtown you will be hooked.

28. Greivis Vasquez(SG) to Memphis- I saw this guy in a few tournament games and was impressed with his range. At late first round, this is as good as a pick as you will get. he has good size for a shooting guard at 6'6, and his 19.6, 4.6, 6.3 show he has an all-round game. The downside is his age (23) but this late, its not a worry as a solid role player is all you need. His shooting is going to help make Memphis take the next step. I love this pick.

33. Hassan Whiteside(C) to Sacramento- Sactown and Memphis are the big winners in this draft. Whiteside is a great pick here. I'm surprised he fell this far. His 5.4 blocks in his only college season were very impressive. How did teams pass on this guy so late? Worst case scenario, he's the next Hasheem Thabeet(who was the number 2 pick in 09), and if he was, who would complain anyway? Best case scenario, a poor mans Dikembe Mutombo(who was still swatting away shots at the ripe old age of 41).
How did Memphis draft so badly last year when this year they are finding quality talent? The number 2 pick they chose last year put up 13.6, 10.8 and 4.2 blocks as a 22yr old in college. the number 33 pick in this year's draft, averaged 13.1, 8.9 and 5.4 blocks as a 20yr old in college. Not much difference, besides the 2 years and 31 picks between them.

54. Willie Warren(PG) to the Clippers- He would have gone lottery last year after a freshman season when he and Blake Griffin led Oklahoma to the NCAA tourney. He decided to stay another year to show he could dominate without his PF buddy. But this season he was often injured and struggled being the best player with all the defensive attention on him. But he was never going to be the first option on an NBA team, maybe the 4th or 5th so i think this is a great pick. He still has a large upside and will be a solid role player with good size at the point guard postion for years to come.

Worst Picks
4. Wesley Johnson(SF) to the Timberwolves- A 23yr old rookie who struggled to dominate in college. That should be a massive warning. He's a 23yr old junior! He's not getting any better! He's only averaging 16.5 and 8.5! When Tyler Hansbrough was a junior he was dropping 22 & 10. When Steph Curry was a junior he was dropping 30 & 7! Timberwolves have once again fucked their shit up.

6. Ekpe Udoh(PF) to GSW- I heard a comparison between Ekpe and Josh Smith. To be honest i cant really see it. Ekpe is 23, whereas Josh Smith was drafted 17th overall in 2004 out of high school. And by the time he was 23 he was avering 17, 8 and 3 blocks. If Ekpe drops those numbers this year, i will eat my words, but otherwise? He went over 11 picks too high.

18. Eric Bledsoe(PG) to LAC via OKC- This is LAC getting trapped into the whole "potential" train of thought. Yeah he may have potential, but.... He wasn't even a starter in college. There is no proof he can run a team, and how would he have gone as a sophomore without John Wall, Demarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson commanding defensive attention? At 6'2 he is undersized, his assists vs turnovers was 2.9-3.0, and he only shot 67% from FT. He should have stayed another year in college, man the drafting system is fucked.

I would rather have Willie Warren at 54 then Eric Bledsoe at 18 any day of the week.

47. Keith Gallon(PF) to Milwaukee- Anytime your PF pick has a 7'5 wingspan, but only averages 7.9 rebounds and 0.8 blocks, he's either 1) fat, 2) a midget with orangutan arms, or 3)he's shit. Well unfortunately, he's both 1 and 3. And his nickname's "Tiny". Bad choice. Shoulda gone back for his sophomore season.

52. Luke Harangody(PF) to Boston- No knock on this guy's game, but he is not going to sell any tickets. He looks like an extra from the Flintstones.
http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT/PHOTO/LUKEHARANGODY6_7A150.JPG

Interesting Picks
5. DeMarcus Cousins(PF) to Sacramento- could this go down as the best decision in franchise history? Or the worst? DeMarcus Cousins has the most potential out of any player in this draft, bar none. He has great size, a great touch around the basket, and has an extroadinary knack for getting rebounds. The only reason 4 teams past on him is because there are major questions about his maturity, determination and weight. He could end up the next Eddy Curry, or could be a superstar version of Zach Randolph. Actually Randolph is a great comparison to him. A talented headcase.
I would say he's worth the risk, though he is probably joining the wrong team. Sacramento's team leader is a 20yr old point guard in Tyreke Evans, who dominates the ball and is not the best locker-room teammate. How is this going to work with a rookie who frequently had screaming matches with his college coach John Calipari, who is probably the best coach in the NCAA right now (no offense, Coach K). Will Tyreke help unearth the monster rebounder and scorer within? Or will Sacramento be regretting this decision 3 years down the track when Cousins is 400 pounds and Evans is demanding a trade? We'll see....

27. Jordan Crawford(SG) to NJ- He will be 22 by the time the 10/11 season kicks round, and he is undersized for a shooting guard at 6'4. But he is a big time scorer, and showed he is a big time player and super clutch in the 2010 NCAA tourney. There is also the LeBron factor, so it will be super interesting to see if LeBron just annhiliates him when they play, like dunks on him and breaks his face or something. Or even more interesting, if LeBron signs with New Jersey.
(For those who don't know, at a skills camp a few years ago in a pickup game, J-Crawf dunked on LeBron and then Nike confiscated the footage. It was a major big deal at the time as no-one knew where the missing tape disappeared to. Its on youtube now though)

29. Daniel Orton(C) to ORL- This is why i think college kids should have to stay at least 2 years in college. Orton averaged 3.4 points and 3.3 boards per game this year. How is he a first rounder??? On the other hand apparently he has massive amounts of potential, which i don't see. I just thought it was interesting that the team with the best center in the league (D12) and a legit backup (Gortat) chose another center. They must obviously see something i don't, and hopefully this means they're shipping Gortats contract along with Vince for an upgrade at the shooting guard or small forward position.

32. Dexter Pittman(C) to Miami- I don't get why miami would risk drafting Dexter 'lard arse' Pittman when there is a chance he will get hungry at training one day and eat Dwyane Wade. Trade him to Cleveland so he can eat Mo Williams. If Shaq hasn't already.

57. Ryan Reid(PF) to Indiana- This was a last minute inclusion. i was scrolling down the list and saw this guy who i had never heard of and sounded like the whitest dude i have ever heard in a predominantly black league. So i clicked on his espn profile and nothing came up. Nothing! No height, weight, stats, age, anything! I think Indiana are saving money by making up a random dude that doesnt exist!

Anyway thats all i got for now, most of you will have drifted off to sleep about 10 paragraphs ago so im sorry to bore you. peace

End of Season Awards

Its that time of the year, lets hand out all the awards.

MVP

1. LeBron James

2. Kevin Durant
3. Dwight Howard
4. Steve Nash
5. Dirk Nowitzki

This is the most obvious of every award, as the winner has had it wrapped up since all star weekend. Kevin Durant played better than most 21 year olds in history and was the reason the Zombie Sonics went from (vintage) cellar dwellars to western conference finals contenders.
(In a side note, the fact that he was the youngest ever to win the scoring title was a massive achievement, but he still has no game on LeBron. In comparison, when they were both in their third season: LeBron averaged 31.4 points per game. KD: 30.1. But also, LeBron entered the NBA a year younger, so in LeBrons 4th year, when he was 21, he led his team to the NBA finals. Good luck doin that KD.)
Dwight Howard had a statistically less superior season than last year, but led his team to the 2nd best record in the league, and a smooth transition from glue guy Turko-glue to volatile Vince.
Steve Nash pulled out arguably his best season yet, averging a tidy 16 and 11, whilst leading the Suns to the 3rd best record in the West. His help? A bunch of role players and Amar'e (Amare'? Ama're?) Stoudemire, the same guy who missed the second half of last season. With all the off court issues, Steve still managed to bring the best out of these muppets.
And 5th, Dirk Nowitzki. I have him here over Kobe, due to the fact that Kobe was playing all year with basically 3 fingers on his shooting hand. And Kobe's season was extremely clutch, but not consistent enough on a team that should have won more than 57 games, considering Phoenix won 54! Dirk bounced back from 2 teeth lodged in his shooting elbow, to average 25 a game.

DPOY
1. Dwight Howard

2. Andrew Bogut
3. LeBron James

Dwight Howard was once again easily the best defensive player in the NBA. No contest.
Andrew Bogut, under the tutelage of defensive god scott skiles, went from frequent flopper to above the rim rager. His 2.5 blocks was second only to D12, and his month by month blocks show great improvement- 1.0, 1.9, 2.0, 2.7, 2.8, 3.1, 3.5. What can we expect next year?
At 3rd, i originally had Anderson Varejao, but after watching game 1 of Cavs v Bulls yesterday, i realise LeBron's impact on the defensive end is greater than Andy's. LeBron can change a game with his chase down blocks, and lockdown d. While Varejao's hustle and rebounding is matched by none, LeBron has the slight overall edge due to his defensive versatility.

Rookie
This is the hardest decision for me. I tossed and turned all season, and it only got harder as the season went on. First you have Tyreke Evans. He is the best statistically. He was the most consistent all year. He won the rookie/soph game MVP. Case closed right? Nope.
You also have Brandon Jennings. Yeah he went off for 55 points in a game. Insane. But his greatest achievement was leading the Bucks to the 6th seed in the East. He help orchestrate the smooth transition when John Salmons arrived, and when Andrew Bogut went down, kept the ball rolling. A worthy candidate right? Yep, but not the winner.
So without further ado, the Rookie of the Year race ended up like this.
3. Brandon Jennings

2. Tyreke Evans

1. Stephen Curry
My man Steph Curry. At first i thought i was being biased, but here are some facts for you.

• Tyreke's statistical advantage is not as big as it may seem.
  Curry averaged 2.6 less points per game, but the rebounds and assists were roughly the same, plus, curry averaged more steals.
  
  
• Curry was more efficient.
  SC: 46-FG%, 44-3FG%, 89-FT%
  TE: 46-FG%, 26-3FG%, 75-FT%
  
  
• Steph Curry played better for 4 out of the 6 months of the season. From January onwards, Steph outplayed Tyreke.
  
  

With this in mind, i vote Stephen Curry for the 2009/2010 Rookie of the year award.

6th Man
Anderson Varejao
He was the 4th best defensive player in the league on the team with the best record in the NBA. He could be a starter on any team in the league, but thrives in his role off 6the bench for the title favourites.

Most Improved
Kevin Durant
He went from versatile scorer in his 2nd year to the best offensive threat in the league in his 3rd. His own improvement, was mirrored in his teams improvement, and although people may think an established player shouldn't win this, no-one else improved as much over the 2009 off-season.

Coach of the Year

Scott Skiles
The one team no-one gave a shit about became darlings of the east and, before Bogut went down, was the one team Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, and Atlanta didn't want in the first round.

All-NBA
1st Team
Dwight Howard
LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Kobe Bryant
Steve Nash

2nd Team
Andrew Bogut
Dirk Nowitzki
Carmelo Anthony
Dwyane Wade
Deron Williams

3rd Team
Tim Duncan
Zach Randolph
Chris Bosh
Rajon Rondo
Joe Johnson

Random

Stuff thats been on my mind of late...

• This years rookie race is shaping up to be very similar to last years. You have the point guard who has been the favourite mostly all year- this year Tyreke Evans, last year Derrick Rose.
  Then you have the up and coming point guard who has steadily increased his numbers all year and is now a legit threat to steal the crown. Last year this was Russell Westbrook, this year its my man out of Davidson, Steph Curry.
  Remarkably if you compare the situations of the two, they are virtually the same.
  Westbrook(rookie season): 15.3, 4.9, 5.3
  Curry: 15.7, 4.2, 5.3
  Both played on a pathetic excuse for a team (OKC win % last year- 28%, GSW this year- 29%)
  Both played second fiddle to a 25ppg scorer. (Durant last year- 25.3, Ellis this year- 25.7)
  This is quite a coincidence i must say.
  
• Turning back the clock....
  Seen the play of Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups this season?
  With a combined age of 105, these three gems are averaging 15.8ppg and 8.8apg.
  And its amazing to say that they have all increased their stats from last year. Benjamin Button much? Chauncey is even going off for a career high in points, and thats playing alongside the 3rd leading scorer in the league!
  
• My apologies Andray Blatche. You are fucking amazing. No Jamison, no worries. In 11 games as a starter this year Blatche is putting up 20.8, 10.2, 3.3 with 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks. Lock him in for 2010/2011 most improved, all defense second team, and 1st time allstar. I guarantee it. And best of all... He's only 23. There is hope in Washington after all.
  
• Who would have thought, back in 07/08, when most fans thought the only thing stopping the newly formed Celtics from getting their ring was the lack of a quality point guard, that 2 years later its that same point guard that is the best player on the team, best defensive PG in the league, and future of the franchise? R^2 is legit.
  
• Although he may not be garnering much attention on the other side of 8 mile, Deeeeeetroit's Rodney Stuckey hasn't flown under my radar. His stats are getting there. Maybe Joe Dumars wasn't such a gook after all??
  Lock RodStuck in for 20 ,5 and 5 next year.
  

Tav Time, i'm out

All Star

Allstar weekend has come and gone for another year and this year it was huge!
The allstar game had a record crowd of 108,713 people. Fuck! Thats like an AFL grand final, but held in a giant dome instead.
I could go on and sound like a news report but instead, i have a list of 10 things i learned from allstar weekend. Here goes...

1. Size Matters
   In a weekend where the headlines were all about the size of the Cowboy's stadium, and the crowd it would draw, the tagline "size matters" fits nicely. But i'm not talking about the crowd.
   In the rookie-sophomore challenge, the two best players in the game were Tyreke Evans (the official MVP) and Dejuan Blair (Evan's accredited joint MVP). In a game dominated mostly by one and done college ballers, and sophomore sensations, it is rare to find a physically mature player (Not everyone comes out of high school looking like taylor lautner or LeBron James) but Tyreke and Dejuan break the mould here. Evans has proven against the best that he can bulldoze his way to the basket on any occasion, and his ability to do so was well said by my favourite blogger, Bill Simmons; "I've personally seen him turn four or five games into layup lines this season.". Evans strength, length, and ultimately, his size, assures that he can overpower nearly any opposing guard, and this was clearly evident going up against the not fully physically developed sophomore guards in this years game.
   Another beast of a player, Blair showed his physical dominance (he's only 6'7" but he's 270 pounds!) against the more experienced soph's when he scored 22 points and grabbed 23 rebounds! The sophomore's had more height, but Blair's size(he outweighed Beasley, Love and even seven footers, Gasol and Lopez) brought the victory in the end.
   
2. Demar Derozan is the next Gerald Green
   Amazing hops? Check. Occasional flashes of brilliance? Check. Wasted Potential? Ummm....
   A quick bio on Gerald Green: Drafted 18th in 2005 out of HS. Rookie year averages of 5.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 12 mins.
   Demar Derozan: Drafted 9th in 2009 out of USC. Rookie year averages of 8 points and 3 rebounds in 21 mins.
   Both are 6'7", both are extremely gifted athletes, but both, i fear, are going to underwhelm. Green, the 2007 dunk contest winner, and Derozan, the should've been winner of the 2010 dunk contest, both are known for their gravity defying antics. But if you ask anyone where Gerald Green is now, i doubt anyone could guess. Green entered the league drawing comparisons to a young Tracy McGrady. Funny how that turned out. He is now floundering in some Russian league, and the annoying thing for Green fans is that he still has so much potential. (He's only just turned 24.)
   Derozan has so far been a disappointment i must say. Other guards drafted after him have so far outplayed him. (Lawson, Jennings).
   I know its too quick to judge, but i just get that nagging feeling that his future is not as bright as Toronto hoped. Put it this way, if Jennings were playing for the Raptors, i think Chris Bosh would think a lot harder about bailing when free agency comes round later this year.
   
3. Nash is awesome
   My favourite PG put on a show at the skills challenge, dominating the 3 other guards that are all at least a decade younger than him. The last few years he has really come out of his shell, and i would say he is one of the most entertaining players in the league, along with Superman, LeBron, Boom Dizzle, and Click Clack (Pow-Arenas). As well as acting like a clown the whole weekend, and providing numerous hilarious all access moments he then went out and fed off 13 assists, mostly to hometown hero Nowitzki of whom 99% of the crowd came to see dominate. A class act. What a legend.
   
4. The Dunk Contest is lame
   Yay, lets watch rookie's and one dimensional bench players do the same dunks that Domonique and MJ did in the 80's. My prediction for next year? Once again Nate Robinson does a 360 or a reverse, the crowd goes "wow that guy is only 5'9" and he wins his 4th crown.
   On the real, if the NBA want the dunk contest to keep being fresh, they have to realise its not about the dunks anymore. There is always going to be a plethora of young guys who have 40 inch verticals and who can jump over a person standing in the key. Guys who can windmill or reverse alley oop off the backboard. There is no dunk that hasnt been done or isn't just a minor tweak from a dunk that's already been done. There is so little new and exciting idea's regardless of how original and creative the contestants are. Its not about the dunks anymore.
   Its about the personalities. The enterntainment. The reason why the last few years have been so great is we had Superman. Then we had Krypto-Nate. Before all that, we had Dwight doing the infamous sticker dunk, in which he stuck a sticker of his face to the top of the backboard, mid dunk. These were not just a display of the best dunker's in the NBA, it was a presentation of the NBA's great entertainers. Eternally happy, BFG, But incredibly athletic and powerful Dwight, versus trash talking, gangster midget Nate Robinson. It was so appealing to see someone 6'11" having a dunk comp against someone 5'9", and they brought thier personalities to the big stage with them.
   The contest also needs starpower. Now that Nate's little man guise has worn off, and Dwight Superman persona is getting old, the comp needs a breath of fresh air.
   I think next year's contest should harness all the star power it can.
   I propose the contestants be Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard. The 3 previous winner's along with James would bring more buzz to the contest than ever before. And although Kobe and Vince are disadvantaged due to their age, i wouldn't be surprised if the iternally skillful Kobe, as well as the man who once jumped over a 7'2" player in a game still had a few tricks up their sleeve.
   
5. The NBA is virtually a sports version of Gossip Girl
   The scandals, the rumours, the trials and tribulations. Its just non-stop gossip. And ESPN and NBA.com are just like Gossip Girl herself, reporting on all NBA news, whether or not the average fan would even care.
   One thing that might jeeve people is the constant trade rumours. Heading into allstar weekend, i had heard of about a thousand different trade rumours. And of the one solitary trade that went down, i had not heard a single inkling of any of the players mentioned being traded beforehand. Where is ESPN getting its intel?
   On the trade that actually happened: I think it's a good move for Dallas. Your getting Caron, who is an upgrade over the traded Josh Howard at small forward. And your getting one of the most underrated center's in the league and defensive workhorse, Brendan Haywood, who is an obvious upgrade over Dampier. And although i hate trash talking Deshawn Stevenson, he does bring some gangster swagger that the Mavs don't have with white white white ass Nowitzki and ageing Jason Kidd.
   For Washington though, it is a questionable move. After finally realising that the big 3 will never win a ring together, they realised they needed to get rid of gun toting Arenas or over the hill Antwan Jamison. So i get why they traded Caron Butler... Wait.. No i don't. It makes no sense. But regardless, they were most likely going to completely combust their lineup eventually (think NJ a few years back with Kidd, Carter and Jefferson, another Big 3 in the East that kept grabbing a 5-8 seed each year). Whether it is by the trade deadline, or in the coming offseason, they will get there. But even more clueless is why did they get rid of Haywood? What have they got at center now? Oberto isnt a starter in this league. And Javale McGee is hardly a bench player in this league. What the fuck are you gunna do wizards? Play some extreme small ball? How will Foye, Young, Howard, Gooden and Jamison go against the Lakers front line? Or any team in fact. Jackasses.
   
6. Dwyane Wade loves Dallas
   Think either Finals 2006 or his MVP performance on the weekend.
   You may hate him now Dallas fans, but would you say no in upcoming free agency if you had the chance? Put it down as a long shot.
   
7. Dallas Hates Carmelo Anthony
   Check this scenario.. West allstars down 2 points with 5 seconds left and inbound ball in their possession. Cowboy stadium is packed with Texans, and especially, Maverick fans. 108,000 people.. Hometown hero, Franchise player of the last 10 years, the greatest Dallas player of all time, Dirk Nowitzki, knows its his destiny to hit the buzzer beater 3. Everyone knows its gunna go in. Its almost destiny. The climax of the largest live basketball game in history, the hero has 22 points and a hot hand. He wants it. The crowd wants it. Heck even the East allstar teams wants it. The ball is inbounded.. time winding down.. Carmelo Anthony has it in deep three point range... all eyes are on Dirk, tussling with his man, ready to break free and hit the game winner.. Dirk makes his move, he gets open, arms outstretched, ready for the catch and release.. 3 seconds left now.. and no pass.. Dirk cuts back.. more open than ever before.. This is the shot he was born to take. If he hits this the heartbreak of the 2006 finals is erased. He smiles to himself briefly. He knows this is his moment and he is gunna own it. The crowd is on their feet. They know the moment is coming. 2 seconds left, and they know its coming. 1 second left.. the crowd knows the moment is coming, the players, coaches, commentators.. everyone knows its Dirk's moment. Everyone except Carmelo. In a flash of non-brilliance Carmelo hoists up a contested 3, and airballs. Game over. Your not welcome in Dallas, Carmelo. Don't come back.
   (A little bit of exaggeration)
   
8. Tim Duncan should respectfully decline when voted into the allstar game.
   Although Timmy is always one of the top votegetters for allstar, and always plays, it is easy to tell he is not a fan. He has never been an excitement machine. Given a wide open basket, he is more likely to fingertip jam it then throw down a Dwight-esque tomahawk backboard-shaker. And although he deserves the recognition (allstar nods are often mentioned when comparing greatness) he should not neccessarily play. This most recent game, he was highly uninterested, and it was easy to tell he would rather be home resting with his family, then participating in a no-defense dunk-fest, two things he has never been associated with in his career.
   
9. Weak draft my ass
   2009 was meant to be one of the weakest drafts in years. But instead, the rookies towelled the soph's, for the first time since 2002.
   
10. And the final thing i learnt from the allstar weekend.... I LOVE THIS GAME!
    nuff said

Back

Fuck me its been a long time.
I was worried after i came back from up north, that i would have missed out on all things basketball. I was imagining there would be all these doomsday scenarios that completely changed the NBA landscape forever. One of my fears was that the salary cap for 2010/2011 would be released and due to the flailing economy it would be somewhere around 30 million, instead of the predicted 62 or so. I was worried this would prompt LeBron to sign a 50million dollar per year contract with Euro powerhouse Olympiacos, or CSKA. Which is not completely unlikely considering the Olympiacos gave Josh Childress a 30mil for 3 year contract. (Career numbers of 11.1 points and 5.6 boards, he probably would have recieved the mid-level exception if he had stayed in the nba which is about 5.6mil per year.)
Another fear of mine was that john wall would tear his ACL going for a massive windmill dunk in a college game, and potentially become the 3rd number 1 pick in four years to miss the whole rookie season. (Even with a serious injury, who is gunna pass on John Wall in the draft?)
But my greatest fear of all was to come back and see the Lakers had gone on a 10 game win streak with Kobe averaging a triple double over that span. Lucky i have a wild imagination.

In the end though i didn't need to speculate about the state of the NBA as my man Rob Duguid sent me detailed updates every day via text, and when i was lucky, phone call. This meant that my unconditionally and irrevocably love for the NBA was satisfied. (To quote Bella Swan).

So besides a few minor hiccups (Allen Iverson starting gurad!?!) the NBA is as fantastic as ever.

• We all know the Allstar game is flawed in many ways, but thats ok because it isn't meant to be what many people wish it was. It is merely a presentation of the NBA's most talented and flashy players, having fun and demonstrating their offensive prowess.
  To dwell on Allstar snubs is always fun, sometimes provacative and always subjective, so i thought i would drop a few of my own opinions about the players selected, and those not.
  First up, at backup center, Al Horford!?! On the Atlanta Allstar depth chart, i would have him at 4th, yet he was picked ahead of two more deserving teammates. Now we all know the fan voting for the starters is flawed, but the coaches are at least meant to pick the benches right!
  Horford is averaging 13.3 points and 9.6 boards, and for a center, his 1.2 blocks are horrible. In this case i think the coaches have terribly overvalued a teams winning percentage, as NY's David Lee is dropping 19.7 & 11.5 on a team with 12 less wins. Also, Brook Lopez is putting up 18.9, 9.3 and 2 blocks. Now NY and NJ may be two pretty hopeless teams, but the Allstar game is meant to be a display of the best players, not average players on the best teams.
  Horford's teammate Joe Johnson was seemingly deserving, but how did Horford get picked ahead of Jamaal Crawford, and Josh Smith?
  Josh smith's game is perfectly engineered for allstar weekend, and most NBA scouts have claimed him to be Atlanta's MVP so far this season. Crawford explodes off the bench every night and has single handedly won many games for the Hawks this season, most recently, against conference rival Boston, of whom Atlanta swept the season series.
  Another testament as to the coaches bad decision making for allstar, consider Zach Randolph.
  In comparison to Horfords pedestrian 13.3 & 9.6 on a great team, Randolph has been stuck on bad teams for most of his 8 year career. But if you look back at his numbers, starting with his career av's of 17.1 & 8.6, you can also see that he has 4 different 20/10 seasons.
  In 06/07, he had possibly his statistically best season. But, lets compare him to the other West Allstar forward/center's of the 2007 allstar game.
  Randolph: 23.6 & 10.1 (POR)
  Okur: 17.6 & 7.2 (UTA)
  Josh Howard: 18.9 & 6.8 (DAL)
  Boozer: 20.9 & 11.7 (UTA)
  Stoudemire: 20.4 & 9.6 (PHO)
  Now you could possibly make a case for Boozer, due to his advantage in rebounds, but besides that, Randolph was statisticlly far superior. But, it was just the fact that Dallas and Phoenix finished with the top two records in the league, and Utah made the WC Finals that year, while Portland finished 14th in the West.
  Unlike MVP, i think that the allstar selections should be based purely on gameplay, and be completely independant of a team's record.
  Now i could go into how ridiculous fan voting is (Iverson, Garnett starting???) but thats not new to anyone so i will finish the allstar rant here.
  
• In a battle between the two SouthEast powerhouses, Orlando came up trumps to claim top spot in the division at a little over the midway point of the season. But keep your chin up Atlanta, D12 isn't gunna drop 31 & 19 with 3 swats every game.
  
• What a game by Mike Miller! Who the hell is Mike Miler? is what you may be asking, but the 29yr old was once a 19ppg scorer. I think the Wizards had more games like today in mind when they acquired him, as he sent the Knicks packing with 25, 9 and 8 in a rare start. He had help though as Robbie's man Jamison dealt with David Lee to the tune of 21 & 23 with 11 offensive rebounds. Box out David Lee, Box out!
  
• You gotta love the New Orleans point guard depth chart. No CP3? Pffff!! Chuck in Rookie Darren Collison, you'll be right. The UCLA alum went off for 17 points and 18 assists. He must have learnt a thing or two off the master, because he only averaged 3.8 apg in his last year of college!
  
• Andrew Bogut must be pissed off his 16, 10 and 2.2 blocks were not enough to get him selected over Horford for the backup center spot in the East. In his last five games he's averaging 19.2, 9.0 and 2.6 blocks.
  Hoford is struggling to justify his selection with 10.2, 8.0 and 0.4 in his last five.
  
• 52.
  I can name 52 players more likely to score 52 points than Andre Miller. Yet thats what he did in the Trailblazers OT victory over Dallas. It was probably one of the most efficient 50 point games ever too. He went 7/8 at the charity stripe, 1/1 from downtown and 22/31 from the feild.
  

There's so much more to write about after my massive absence but i will leave it for another day.
I'm out.

Stepping up

Lots of players have been stepping up thier game lately. Im not talking about superstars and allstars, people who you expect to step up. Just role players, and maybe even former allstars getting a chance to shine once again.
One example is the forgotten forward living in Pau's shadow, Lamar Odom. Through the last 11 games his averages are 12.9 points, 14.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. Obviously this is an incredible improvement from his season av's of 9.6, 9.8 & 3.9.
Also, one has to wonder what has lit the fire under Sam Dalembert lately. Maybe it was the devastating earthquake in his home country recently that has killed over 100,000 people. But regardless, the Philly center has put up an impressive 13.5 points, 14.3 boards and 2.8 blocks over his last 6.
This is my last blog for a few weeks. What up NBA?

• Dejaun Blair must have trampoline shoes. He's 6'7 and has tallied 37 rebounds in his last two games. And 39 points as well. Lets see how long his run goes for.
  
• Manu Ginobili is a free agent next year and has been the subject of many trade rumours. Since the Spurs are underperforming, and Duncan is untouchable, and Parker is much younger, Manu seems to be copping a bit. But at this stage, i don't think i would be so keen to acquire him if i was a GM. He can still play, but he's 32, putting up his lowest numbers since his rookie year, and has a history of injury. At this stage, i would think of him as a poor mans Rudy Fernandez. In this economy you don't wanna be paying players to play 50 games a year.
  
• The latest player to approach the 5x5? Gerald Wallace. His numbers(p,r,a,s,b): 21, 7, 3, 4, 5.
  
• How much has Randy Foye been loving the starting spot in Gilbert's absence? 20.6, 4.0, and 7.8. Makes you miss Arena's a lot less when your reserve puts up those numbers. The acquisition of Randy Foye and Mike Miller in the offseason was what i thought would be just the right move to push the Wizards into the east's upper echelon. Shame on me.
  
• This is my formal apology to Derrick Rose. Several post's ago i wrote something about him underperforming. But his scoring increase each month(11.5-16.2-20.4-22.8) and also his all round superb january averages (22.8, 5, 7.3 and 51%FG) have shut me up pretty quick.
  
• Statistically, who is playing better right now, Steve Nash or Chris Paul?
  Paul has the slight advantage in points: 19.5 vs 19.0
  Paul also has a miniscule advantage in assists: 11.3 vs 11.2
  Paul grabs more rebounds: 4.4 vs 3.0
  And the steals are a no brainer win to Paul: 2.4 vs 0.4.
  But Nash has far superior shooting percentages and plays 5 less minutes each night.
  The verdict? Nash holds his place as top PG in the game for a little longer.
  
• Man i would love to catch a GSW-Bucks game. Curry vs Jennings. Today Brandon got the win but steph dropped an equally impressive stat line. BJ: 25, 4, 7 and 4 steals whilst Steph had 18, 6, 4 and 6 steals. Can't believe how many awesome young points there are right now!
  
• Lamar Odom's first game back as a 6th man after his starting role: 7 points and 2 rebounds. Bet he's wishing he was still a starter.
  

Boom Dizzle

Went round to Al's today to watch the LA rivalry. It was a dream game to watch. Kobe choked, going 10 from 30, and at one stage in the late 3rd and early 4th he missed 9 shots in a row.
But even better than that was the revival of Baron Davis. He played like guy that i grew to love in the 2007 playoffs, throwing out some highlight reel assists. This was possibly Boom's best game as a clipper and all i can do is hope there's more to come.

• Lamar killed the boards again today pulling down 16. He is now averaging 14.1 in his last seven games.
  
• I'm loving Yi since he came back from injury. He's putting up 20.3 points and 7 boards. It has seriously taken a load off Brook's shoulder's. I think New Jersey will start winning a few games now actually. And the future does seem bright in NJ. With a core of Yi(2), Lopez(1), Douglas Roberts(1), Courtney Lee(1) and Devin Harris, plus the potential addition of John Wall, your looking at a great young core.
  
• I thought Chris Bosh was stepping up his game to the max this year, but on the real, he is just the same old predator. His scoring average in the four seasons previous to this season: 22.5, 22.6, 22.3, 22.7. and this year it is currently 23.7 having dropped from his early 25ppg average. Expect it to end up somewhere in the 22's.
  
• Chris Bosh's rebounding on the other hand, is near impossible to predict. Since 05/06 its gone 9.2-10.7-8.7-10.0-11.4. Random.
  
• Dwight Howard, my man, nearly raining in a triple double. Yewwww! Oh... wait.... Sorry, that last column read 9 turnovers, not blocks, my bad.
  Careful D12, you don't want a Triple Trouble on your resume.
  
• The weird thing about +/- is that it often doesn't tell the whole story. Boston's five starters went a combined +64 today, against Miami's -43 starters. A thrashing you say? Nope, a 6 points overtime victory for the celt's.
  
• My all time Laker 5.
  G- Magic Johnson
  G- Kobe Bryant
  G- Jerry West
  C- Shaquille O'neal
  C- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
  I know a three guard two center lineup is a little strange but i'm risking it. Whats yours?
  

Too lazy to blog, im a workin man now

Well, since i've been gone, Kobe has hit a game winning buzzer beater, the Cavs are rolling, Nash is throwing out dimes, and Arena's is playing with guns... Feels like i never left.
What up NBA?

• ATTENTION ORLANDO. You do realise you have the next Shaq starting at center, not Dikembe Mutombo. Why is he is averaging his lowest field goal attempts since his rookie year? And don't give me the "he's fouling too much this year to get enough minutes" bull. He is averaging 3.5 less FGA in 1.1 less minutes. He is SHOOTING 61%. GIVE HIM THE FUCKING BALL!!!!!!
  
• Parents of NBA players can't spell. Or they just can't read. We have Dwyane Wade, who's name looks like it should actually read DWY-AIN. And Antawn Jamison who's name is actually pronounced AN-twahn. Can you think of any others?
  
• Check out Iversons 5 year scoring decline:
  05/06: 33.0
  06/07: 26.3
  07/08: 26.4
  08/09: 17.5
  09/10: 14.0
  
• Just another reason why Steve Nash deservedly won the MVP in 05/06 when lots thought it should've gone to Kobe: look at Boris Diaws stat line comparing then, and now (playing for Charlotte), when Diaw is 27 and should be entering the prime of his career.
  05/06: 13.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 6.2 apg
  09/10: 9.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.5 apg.
  Playing virtually the same amount of minutes, hewent from a borderline allstar to a borderline starter
  
• To quote Cold Chisel, the last train out of Sydney's almost gone. And even though Andrew Bogut is from Melbourne, the same rule applies so jump on board soon or get left behind. The man is improving year after year and if he wasn't shooting at his lowest ever FG% (50.0) and was shooting instead at last years average (57.7) he would be bringing a tidy 17.6 & 9.8 per game. Good for All-NBA i reckon. He's just coming into his prime soon and with BJ running the point and Michael Redd likely on the way out in the offseason, Andy will soon be joining the prestigious 20/10 club. Then, the 05 draft will be known as the Bogut/CP3/DWill class, instead of just the latter two. And speaking of, how many other drafts in history have produced three 20/10 players? I might have to look that one up sometime.
  
• Steph Curry is quite possibly going to end up being mentioned with Ray Ray and Reggie as one of the best long range gunners of all time. Hey Denver, suck on this efficiency. 10/13 FG, 6/6 from deep. 26, 5 & 6 with 3 thefts. Boom.
  
• But speaking of, only Golden State could have three people score over 25 and still lose. While facing a Denver team without Billups and Melo.
  
• Its common knowledge that point guards facing the Suns always have big nights due to Nash's inept defence. That theory held true for Sactown as Tyreke dropped 27, 11 & 7 on the 35 year old Canadian. But Nash came out with 30, 12 and the win.
  
• And i couldn't go any longer without finally throwing a shoutout to the first ever Isralei NBA baller, Omri Casspi. The Kings scouting staff were highly rewarded for snagging this gem with the 23rd pick. He's dropped 22.5 and 8.3 in his last 4.
  
• Reckon Lamar Odom is relishing the starting role lately? Starting today, he put up 17, 19 & 9. But looking back, he's actually got 14.4 points, 13.6 boards & 4.4 dimes over his last five games. With this kind of versatility, its no wonder the Lakers are so deadly.