NBA Talk

The Best Plays in the First Half of the Season

2008-01-22T16:32:00.000-05:00

Here is my list of the best plays so far this season. Let me know how you think the plays should rank.

1) LeBron James stuffs it in Gerald Wallace's face

2) Shawne Williams slams against Philly

3) Louis Williams slams on Wade and Udonis Haslem

4) Dwayne Wade buzzer beater against Utah

5) LeBron ties game, then Deron finishes the game.

Race to my MVP list

2007-11-22T13:31:00.000-05:00

1) Statistics
2) Team’s winning percentages
3) Players ability to improve teammates
4) Lack of teammate support (this means points will be taken away from those “superstars” who are loaded with teammates. Those players have others that may possibly be the best players on the team themselves. I will subtract those points from their win percentages).

The league and the so-called “experts” have completely forgotten the importance of having a great supporting cast to WIN GAMEs. Look at the last 3 MVPs that were handed out. For example, Steve Nash has a rotation of 2 to 8 that would have started and starred in any other team. Dirk Nowitzki has the likes of Josh Howard, Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, and Jason Terry. Why Dirk and Nash the MOST VALUABLE AWARD, when for Many games, they aren’t even the most valuable player to their teams? The league might as well hand over the MVP award to the GMs for assembling a great team. Why penalize the MVP-caliber players for their GM's inability to assemble a great team? "Experts" should only penalize these superstars only when they have great supporting casts but still can't get the wins.

With these 4 categories in mind. Here is my top 10 list, in order, for MVP. I will do one every month.

1) LeBron James (He has single-handedly won 6 of his team's 6 wins thus far. Can we say the same for any other player in the league. Look at his statistics and his improved all-defensive team level defense. He also has the most sorry supporting casts.)

2) Dwight Howard (This guy is dominating any PF and Center that is thrown at him this season, I can't imagine his team playing well without his monstrous presence. He is offially the most dominant big man downlow. Sorry, Yao)

3) Kevin Garnett (His team only lost once this year, but we cannot take credit away from Ray Allen and Paul Pierce for carrying the load too.)

4) Kobe Bryant (He hasn't played particulary well this season, but his above average statistics and defense keeps him up here.)

5) Carlos Boozer (This guy is also chewing up opposing PFs)

6) Yao Ming (Yao Ming has an unstoppable outside shot and is the second most dangerous center. Tracy McGrady is taking too many shots and taking away some of the MVP shinetime)

7) Steve Nash (this guy can close his eyes, spin in circles, and can randomly throw the ball anywhere and there will be someone in Phoenix who can make the shot or three pointer. We are talking about a team with Barbosa as the 6th man, who was able to drop 38 something points in the world games. I want to see where this team ends up when Marion is no longer with the team.

8) Allen Iverson (Yes, Iverson has been the best player in Denver. Not Carmelo. In any case, he is lucky to be on this list because he is playing with the defensive player of the year, Marcus Camby, and the beast, Kenyon Martin. That J.R. smith guy is not a bad bench player to throw the ball too either)

9) Tracy McGrady (Tmac would have been higher if he didn't get injured. His team plays very well when he is playing well)

10) Chris Paul (he's getting guys open shots everywhere. His team is starting to show wear and tear. Having David West, Peja, and Chandler to finish off your passes helps too)

Almost on the list. Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Josh Howard, Emeka Okafor, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan (third best player on his team this year), Michael Redd, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, and Rashard Lewis.

LeBron, a Defensive Beast?

2007-11-19T09:34:00.000-05:00

I have never doubted LeBron James as being the toughest player to guard in the NBA. Not even for a second. This is why!

29.2 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, & 8.0 assists - The man doesn't need to take 30 shots a game to tear apart your defense. He is geting 8 assists per game with teamates that can barely catch without getting hit in the chest. Additionally, he is shooting almost .38% from behind the arc (an improvement carried over since his dominating summer play). The guy leads the league in scoring while manages to grab 8 boards and spit out 8 dimes on a nightly basis. Sickening isn't it?

Utah's coach, Jerry Sloan said: "That man is the toughest to guard, he does whatever it is he wants and we always have to throw 3 to 4 guys at him."

However, it isn't even his offensive game that drives me nuts. He is also averaging 1.8 steals and 1.7 blocks. Not only that, it appears nearly impossible to take him on in a one on one unless you are Carmelo Anthony or Kobe Bryant (but he can easily do the same to them, if not worse). In his first two seasons, you could easily see defenders taking it to LeBron. Last season, he showed us that he took a long stride with his lateral movement and rarely did he let people take it to him. This season however, he is playing some amazing help defense, blocking shots from behind in EVERY game in addition to his impeccable ability to steal the ball.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, LeBron James made it a personal goal to be on the All-NBA Defensive First Team. How does he find the time for this???

Cavaliers' coach, Mike Brown said: "LeBron wants to make a name for himself on that end of the floor because he knows defense wins championships. He leads by example and that can become contagious. LeBron's trying to definitely step up and get it done for us on defense."

One example was when he made a clutch defensive play (half block half steal) against the dominating former Cavaliers, Carlos Boozer, with 12 seconds left to seal the win. Watch video.

"I call those winning plays," said Brown, about James' blocked shots during fast breaks. "More importantly, he's busting his butt to catch people from behind to block those shots. Running people down on fast breaks, catching up and blocking their shot is a momentum changer. It's a winning play at a crucial time."

"Hopefully, we'll start to recognize he's a pretty good defender," Brown said. "As far as making the All- Defensive Team, he's not that far but my opinion doesn't count."

Watch videos of his block party against the Warriors!

Going at this rate, not only will he make the All-Defensive Team, he might even win the defensive player of the year award. And with that on his resume, the LeBron haters can finally stop giving themselves excuses for not recognizing him as the best player in the game today.

The dumbest basketball blogger award goes to...

2007-10-23T00:04:00.000-04:00

Bill Simonson: http://blog.mlive.com/hugeblog/2007/10/come_on_over_no_24.html#post

I was surfing the internet one day and accidently read one of the dumbest NBA bloggers in the young history of blogging. Unfortunately for me, I have a tendency for finishing everything I start reading. His name is Bill Simonson, a blogger for mlive.com, and he suggested that Joe Dumars trade Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups for Kobe Bryant.........and in doing so, would "give the Pistons, at least, 3 of the next 5 championship rings". After reading that, I had to declare him the dumbest basketball blogger.

Reasons:

Why would the Lakers trade Kobe for two aging players like Rip and Chauncey? If they were to trade, they would look for young talent/potential, not guys who are going to be washed up in 2-3 years max.
How is Kobe better than LeBron in every phase of the game? Is Kobe a better playmaker than LeBron? Is Kobe a better teamate than LeBron? Is Kobe a better passer than LeBron? is Kobe a better rebounder than LeBron? Does Kobe run the fastbreak on the open court better than LeBron? Who has more steals? Who has more blocks? Can Kobe take half-breeds past the Pistons and to the nba finals? The answers, are all NO.
Even if the trade succeeded, how in the world will the Pistons win "at least 3 of the next 5 championships"? With just Kobe and Tayshaun Prince? Rasheed Wallace has about 1-2 years left at most. Antonio McDyess has another 1-2 years left. Lindsey Hunter has another year left. Kobe and Tayshaun would have to beat the Bulls, Celtics, and Cavs. They will then have to face the Mavs, Suns, Spurs, Mavs and Rockets.......very unlikely, because all those teams are still be better than "Kobe's new team". Kobe and Tayshaun is not that much of an upgrade from Kobe and Lamar Odom, and at one point, Kobe/Lamar/Butler....................resulting in 35, 45, and 42 win seasons and first round exits.

"Dumars is the guy to convince Kobe that the next level for his franchise is building everything around Bryant and his game." - No Bill, it would been great to try to build a franchise around him 3 years ago. Kobe is going into his 12th NBA season, a little too late to start building a "franchise" around him.

"Kobe in a Pistons uniform would make me cry" - No Bill, reading your blog makes me cry.

Go see a shrink, Bill!!!

Gilbert Arenas' Blog

2007-10-08T11:11:00.000-04:00

Am I the only one that thinks that Gilbert is one arrogant SOB? I hope not.

Yes, I give him credit for tearing apart his doubters in the past years, and yes, I give him credit for dropping 60 points on Kobe Bryant. Yes, he is an all-star starter and an amazing player. However, you can tell from his blog that he is one arrogant SOB, way over his head, and is full of baloney.

Here is why!

He said he was going to be able to make 100,000 shots over the summer, he couldn't do it. In last season's all-star game, he said he was going to cross over Kobe, he couldn't do - instead, he was throwing up more bricks and forced shots than Kobe's rookie year. As a matter of fact, the East lost the All-Star game because of 'ZeroG'. He said he was going to drop 50 on Portland, but ended up playing one of his worst games of the season.

ZeroG claimed to be a trendsetter, whether it be style, shoes, & Jerseys. Reality check ZeroG, you are not a trendsetter, i've never seen anyone wear Gilbert Arenas shoes, but I have seen shoes by Shaq, Hakeem (payless), Kemps, Pippens, Starburys, and other not very mainstream shoes. As for your jersey, I don't think anyone wears your jerseys unless they have one of the 20,000 jerseys you give away each year; or for the very nice color set by Michael Jordan (IMO).

So please, get over yourself. Try getting past the 1st round first why don't you? If Tmac gets all this grief for not getting to the second round, then you should too. And yes, I do think that the 20 pairs of different shoes is not a very good idea.

LeBron vs. Kobe - Who is better?

2007-10-08T01:00:00.000-04:00

Kobe Bryant: 29 years old

3 Championships
2 All-Star MVPs
81 Point game
2 Scoring Titles
Countless "youngest player ever to" accomplishments
Career Averages: 24.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.5 APG, 1.5 stls, 0.6 Blks, 0.45% fg

LeBron James: 22 years old

Rookie of the Year
1 All-Stars MVP
Single-Handedly took team to Finals
11 Wins - 1 Loss (when LBJ records triple double)
Only Player since MJ & Oscar to record 30,6,6 in one season
Fifth Player in NBA history to average 27,7,7 in one season
Countless "youngest player to" records (broke every of Kobe's youngest to along the way)
Career Averages: 26.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.8 steals, 0.7 blks, 0.463 fg%

Head to Head Comparison:

1) Offense - Advantage Kobe
2) Defense - Advantage Kobe
3) Statistics - Advantage LeBron
4) Playmaking - Advantage LeBron
5) Passing - Advantage LeBron
6) Outside Game - Advantage Kobe
7) Inside Game - Advantage LeBron
8) Rebounding - Advantage LeBron
9) Teamate Help - no advantage
10) Clutch - Advantage Kobe (by slight margin)
11) Leadership - Advantage LeBron
12) Likability - Advantage LeBron
13) Marketability - Advantage LeBron
14) Killer Instinct - Advantage Kobe
15) Teamwork - Advantage LeBron

This is as difficult as it has ever been in comparing two very elite players. One, Kobe, is at the top of his game and is in the last year of his prime; the other, LeBron, is only 4 years into the league and already established himself as potentially one of the greatest players of all time, but we know he'll keep on improving. This is more diffiult than comparing any other NBA players in years. Kobe vs Jordan, Jordan was a clear cut winner. Jordan vs Nique, Jordan was a clear cut winner, Tmac versus Kobe, Kobe was a clear cut winner. Kobe versus Iverson, tough one, but Kobe wins. Now, Kobe versus LeBron is different because LeBron surpassed both, Tmac, Carter, Iverson & basically the entire league in only his third year. As a matter of fact, LeBron's third season earned him the 2nd most votes for MVP, while Kobe only had the 5th most votes. After spending an entire summer thinking about this, I have finally come to a conclusion. LeBron James and Kobe are tied as the two best players in the league. Because of that tie, this is why LeBron James is better.

They both have bad teamates, bad GMs, and no true sidekicks. However, Kobe Bryant has 7 years advantage on LeBron James. He has Phil Jackson as his headcoach, the greatest basketball mind in NBA history (besides Dean Smith), while LeBron has egghead, and offensively challenged, Mike Brown as his "coach". As indvidual team leaders, LeBron has taken his team to the NBA finals, while Kobe the team leader, without Shaq, won only about .49% of the Lakers' games, a losing record. In this regard, because of how close they are in talents, accomplishments, statististics, and marketability, LeBron James wins the comparison because he does it in 4 years, while it took Kobe 9 and one year away from his prime. Additionally, Kobe has the higher potential for marketing since the L.A. market is way bigger than that of the city of Cleveland. With that in mind, Kobe couldn't capitalize on his advantages and claim his throne; instead, a young King James came by and took it.