I Bet Kramer Wishes Cell Phone Replay Was Run By The NBA
Video replay has been near instant for decades. Why is it used so infrequently? It seems rule changes are only in response to glaring errors the year before. Two years ago, Chauncy Billups scored well after time had expired but won the game anyway because of a clock error. The NBA responded with replay to check last second shots. A year late, but good job, right? I'm not so sure.
If the goal of the NBA was to ensure the best officiating possible, with the best calls being made, they would form an investigative team mandated with the improvement the game. Now, they have a team, but they only pretend to do this, check the crack squad's results:
Officials may use replay to check...
1. Was a shot/foul taken/committed before/after the shot clock expired.
2. Who touched the ball before it went out of bounds, in the last 2 minutes.
10 NBA elites; that's all they can conjure!? The Billups shot could have been avoided in the first place. Take the common functioning replay/time rules trialed and tested in college/FIBA. Apply it. Simple, right? It should have already been in place for decades due to the duh factor. Instead we have a committee who's most visible action is inaction.
Ben Aflek Is Screaming: "NO ONE'S REVIEWS CAN BE WORSE THEM MINE! STOP!
Block/charge calls still can never be reviewed despite it being the most difficult call in sports. Potentially the most damaging to a team as well. Presumably game flow is the concern.
But broadcast crews have the play up and examined most times before the foul is even fully communicated to the scorer's table. Why can't the NBA have thier own review crew. Its not more then the time it takes for someone to walk to the free throw line to verify a call. If the right call is made no interruption takes place.
Why not let ref's call for replay when they are not sure what happened? It could be as simple as a ref clicking a 'Review Button' on his belt with a Replay Crew responding to his request. Right now when ref's miss a call they confer on the court to make a proverbial coin flip, interrupting the flow of the game. A quick word from a replay booth is, in fact, much more efficient.
What's Really Happening
Peering through the Replay Committee's veneer you see grainy marketing. Fan confidence has dipped so low the NBA is forced to show fans it's trying. You must ask, why use replay for so little and only in the last two minutes? Fixing games in crunch time draws scrutiny. Call two quick fouls on the other team's best defender in the first period. Two at the start of the second. "Wow, the refs are really taking control tonight" chirp announcers. Its just a role player, so no complaints. Then foul in the 3'rd will become "he's just not playing smart tonight" and by the 4'th the game is has been fixed. Outcomes are routinely determined by fouls because the best players of one team don't play. Duncan shooting 75% won't matter if the other starters aren't on the floor. Maybe they laughed!
Flip flop 'tradition' excuses don't hold water either. 40's-50's Hoop lacked replay because it wasn't instant: most games were not even taped. Bad calls are not part of a grand tradition... we just hadn't invented 'the television'. Since we did the NBA has adopted technology in every aspect of the game except officiating. They're just now checking the time on a last shot when I can use a pocket device to record the play so someone in Zimbabwe can say "bad call" before the commercial break. Its senseless. So, why?
The league likes black leather and whips, that's why. They blocked Tim Donaghy's book because they don't want their sticky garments aired in public... it has little to do with veracity. Star promotion via officiating is illegal (fraud) and if confirmed it will be a larger scandal then Donaghy. Illegal activities by some of the richest men in the world is naughty. So the NBA joined the "Entertainment Industry". Remember kids:
When In Doubt, Emulate WWE
Would The NBA Be Better Or Worse With Chair Shots? I Think We All Know The Answer And The Refs Are Already Trained... Bring Back The Cages, Throw In The Chairs!
Look no further. The most openly fraudulent sporting org in the world has the answer. Counter cheating with the "WWE Defense". Watch as countless refs are 'distracted' and 'don't see' the guy's head connecting with a steel chair. That means it didn't happen, right?
The Media is not allowed ref access to press them about calls, they'd crack under the pressure, so the NBA uses the WWE defense in their name. "Oh, the Ref just didn't see it. The player/team is whining so we are going to fine them $30,000 to shut them up. We have the best referees in the world! Our first party investigation says so." It's worked well. for the first 60 years of the league.
Replay guts the WWE's marketing, and the WWE defense, and likewise the NBA. WWE does not have replay because they know their matches are manipulated. Instead of blaming a ref who didn't see Kobe hit Lebron with a steel chair, we will know a replay crew, with a rewind button and angles, intentionally botched the call. Because it's obvious, they won't botch them, because they'll be found out. People knowing this, and seeing bad calls fixed regularly, will immediately put their faith back in the game and trust the NBA is doing their best to ensure honest competition. If the WWE started using legit replay eople would start taking it seriously as a sporting competition.
Without Star Treatment players will face much tougher defense. MJ/Kobe/Hogan types get ticky tack calls and therefore defenders know they can't guard them as closely as Deshawn Stevenson types. Then Kobe gets more open lanes. It's cheating, even though Kobe's not trying to. He just exists in a culture that cheats.
What would be the results if replay changed that culture?
Check them out:
The NBA's Lead Entrant In The Man Vs. Machine Contest: Dick Bavetta
Integrity? Fixed.
Image? Fixed.
Fan faith/loyalty? Fixed.
Griping players/teams? Fixed.
Donaghy scandal? Fixed.
All overnight.
Instead, McMahon/Stern/et al prop up the notion that a few 60 year old men trying to keep pace with the elite mutant athletes of the NBA/WWE works. (only one commits legal fraud) These benefits are so far reaching and solve so many major issues it indicates that something must be balancing the argument for it. Something they lose if these things are gained via replay.
One need look no further then the Lakers/Blazers series when LA came back from 15 down in game 7 via a 24-2 foul discrepancy, assisted by Portland's best player, Rasheed Wallace, being ejected for 'looking' at the ref in game 6.
Or game 6 vs the Kings in 2002 when a 18-6 4'th quarter foul disparity fueled another LA comeback.
Watch The First Clip Of Kobe Elbowing Bibby Directly In The Ref's Vision, The Entire Series Was A Joke
For a more recent example Dwayne Wade won a title in exactly this scenario. The most exciting star on the court always gets it a bit easier because it goes a long way promoting the NBA on TV. Dallas had Miami on the ropes in 07. In game 3 and 5 Wade got unbelievable calls to save the Heat from going down 0-3 and from losing game 5 while Dallas got pounded with no calls of their own.
Wade Is Easily One Of The Best Players Alive... Too Bad He Needed Shaq, And The Refs, For His First Ring
It's All About The Benjamins
What! What! Marquee match-ups going 7 games bring the bling. When those teams are down in this decade they suddenly have a great advantage at the line in game 5/6. Game 7's make millions, 100s of them, and while replay instantly restores integrity/faith to the league, it does not make more game 7's.
Maybe Replay Won't Help If The Refs Can't Even See The Screen!
That's why these Luddites will still choose to ref the game 1800's style, instead of 2000's, or hell, 1970's style. It gives the fraudulent culture control of how money is made. But if they're going to cheat, why stop there? Go big or go home.
Lets start having pro-mo interviews and face paint. Get back to our roots with the odd cage match (they used to play in cages, tradition, right?) and let a few steel chairs slip out on the court. Chair shots are entertaining and sell tickets, right? After all, in the NBA's world of no-replay, and the WWE, if the ref didn't see it, it didn't happen. Judging by their hair, I'm not sure they'll even notice.
You hear it every year you've been an NBA fan. Broadcasters. Beat writers. Basketball columnists in bunches. Players. Newspapers. Magazines. If the NBA PR machine has reach somewhere Stern is touted as the league's savior from near bankruptcy and it's proponent to global growth and expansion.
You've got to give him his due. Here's a short list of the Stern era.
Behind the scenes mastermind of the ABA/NBA merger
Expansion of the league by 7 teams.
Increased popularity: all the games were not even televised in 84 and now all have some form of national outlet and media coverage.
Introduction of the salary cap regulating team spending/player salaries
Growth of basketball's international presence
Creation of a drug testing scheme
Great list; you can hear the gushing from all sports outlets.
The only problem is its just not true. David Stern's accomplishments are more overblown then Wilt Chamberlain. Less gracious then Jordan's retirement speech. I can't contemplate many attach these league outcomes to his career. Allow me to digress.
There are three phases in Sterns career: Pre-Commish, Post-Commish and Post-Jordan (solidified after then Piston/Pacers Brawl).
Popularity dropped in response to a watered down 70's product. The rival ABA recruited disproportionate numbers of the most athletic players and created a brand of ball more exciting then the NBA. After the 76 merger quality improved as all elite talent congealed in one league.
Stern is credited with being the driving force behind the merger over Larry O'Brian. Fair enough. Except the ABA was formed with a documented intention of forcing league expansion via a merger. In 1970, 5 years before O'Brian was even appointed, NBA owners voted 13-4 in favor of a merger. No one opposed it and this table was set before Stern was even invited. Rubber arm twisting does not a best commissioner make.
Post-Commish Era
Is This A Leading Man??? You Bet Your Ass He Is!
Stern gets lots of credit for NBA growth. His brilliant marketing made it happen. So the story goes... craziest assertion of them all.
There's something I call it the Kevin Spacey rule. Look at him, a balding, ordinary man. Be it acting, athletics, music, cooking, investment advice or anything else people are willing to pay for. Talent sells. Kevin Spacey is talented therefore Miramax can easily sell a balding middle age man to the public as a a serial killer, criminal mastermind or even a GD Space Alien/Mental Patient. Everyone knows Kevin Spaceys got the goods. Its an easy sell.
Have the most talent: make the most money. The Kevin Spacey rule is universal, but infinitely amplified in the realm of professional sports. This is why the WNBA (a Stern failure) was stumbleing uphill at the exact same time the NBA thrived. How is it Stern's amazing promotional skills didn't help out? Not enough WNBA American Beauties? Uh uh, not enough Kevin Spacey. Conversely, lets look at the NBA.
True, But Who Cares About The WNBA? Epic Fail
ABA businessmen forced the NBA to accept their players, teams and entertaining style by Keizer Soze'ing them. The ABA had a plan. 10 of the next year's NBA all stars: ex-ABA players. 63 of the 82 ABA players were good enough to replace their NBA counterparts. The popularity issues started to melt away after 1976: competition got hot.
Concurrently brewing in the NCAA Larry Bird and Magic Johnson created buzz driving the most watched game in history. Bird entered the next draft. Magic the following year. Just look at who showed up to play post-merger...
1978: Larry Bird, Michael Ray Richardson, Mo Cheeks, Reggie Theus, Michael Cooper, Mike Mitchell,
1979: Magic Johnson, Bill Cartwright, Bill Laimbeer, Mark Eaton, Sidney Moncrief, Jim Paxon
1980: Kevin McHale, Andrew Tony
1981: Isiah Thomas, Mark Aguire, Buck Williams, Tom Chambers, Rolondo Blackman, Larry Nance, Danny Ainge
1982: Dominique Wilkins, James Worthy, Terry Cummings, Sleepy Floyd, Mark Eaton
People Need To Actually Look At The NBA's Cringe Worthy Campaigns Before Attaching Them To It's Success
1983: Clyde Drexler, Ralph Sampson, Dale Ellis, Jeff Malone, Doc Rivers
That was 4 years prior to "Comish Stern". Its not hard to see why heads were turning. The best players of all time were being drafted every year. Its only the beginning. Stern is doing his fannnntastic promotion now. Who's next?
1984: Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Alvin Robertson, Otis Thorpe, Kevin Willis
Just keeping track: in year 1 the GOAT and arguably the GOAT C, PF, and nearly PG (the GOAT PG wasn't drafted 4 years earlier) entered the league. Yearly strengthening repeats till the 90's peak. Keep in mind that within 4 years of Stern becoming commisoner the GOATs of every position are drafted, and most of the runner ups.
1985: Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Joe Dumars, Michael Adams, Terry Porter, Xaiver McDaniel, Detlef Schremph, Charles Oakley, AC Green, Hot Rod Williams, Gerald Wilkins, Manute Bol
1986: Mark Price, Brad Daughtery, Arvidis Sabonis, Dennis Rodman, Len Bias (ouch), Jeff Hornacek, Drazen Petrovich
1987: David Robinson, Scotti Pippen, Kevin Johnson, Horace Grant, Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson, Reggie Lewis
How Many Of These Faces Were Drafted Within A Few Years Of 1984 vs How Many In The First 25 Years Of The League?
1988: Danny Manning, Thunder Dan Marjle, Rik Smitts, Mitch Richmond, Hersey Hawkings, Rod Strickland, Anthony Mason, Avery Johnson, Tim Legler
1989: Sean Elliot, Glen Rice, Mookie Blaylock, Shawn Kemp, Tim Hardaway, Vlade Divac,
1990: Derrick Coleman, Gary Payton, Jayson Williams, Antonio Davis,
1991: Larry Johnson, Kenny Anderson, Dikembe Mutumbo, Steve Smith, Terrel Brandon, Dale Davis, Billy Owens
1992: Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laitner, Lattrell Sprewell, PJ Brown, Jim Jackson, Clarence Wetherspoon, Robert Horry
1993: Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn, Vin Baker, Alan Houston, JR Rider, Sam Cassall, Nick Van Exel, Bryon Russell, Bruce Bowen
1994: Glen Robinson, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Juan Howard, Eddie Jones, Jalen Rose
1995: Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett, Antonio McDyess, Damon Stoudamire, Michael Finley, Brent Barry, Joe Smith,
1996: Allen Iverson, Shareff Abdur Rahim, Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Antoine Walker, Kobe Bryant, Peja Stojakovich, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, Zydrunas Ilglauskas, Ben Wallace
1997: Tim Duncan, Keith Van Horn, Chauncy Billups, Tracy McGrady, Marc Jackson
1998: Mike Bibby, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Larry Hughes, Jason Williams, Bonzi Wells, Ricky Davis, Rashard Lewis, Brad Miller
1999: Elton Brand, Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Shawn Marion, Wally Scezzerbiak, Lamar Odom, Jonathon Bender, Andre Miller, Jason Terry, Ron Artest, Trajan Langdon, Corey Maggette, James Posey, Andre Kirelenko, Todd Maculough, Manu Ginobli, Chris Anderson, Raja Bell
Only a handful of the above are not all stars. All stars who I cut were Chris Gattling (who was an all star!), Theo Ratliff, Tom Gugliotta, Tyrone Hill, Cedric Ceballos, Dana Barrows, BJ Armstrong, Cliff Robinson, Kevin Duckworth, Lafyette Lever, Ricky Pierce, Kelly Tripucka, Joe Barry Carrol, Kiki Vandewedghe, Jeff Ruland, Bill Cartwright, Calvin Natt, Jim Paxon.
Jordan's Retirement Speech Went Exactly As His Playing Style Did, Overshadow Other's With A Willingness To Gut Them Publicly On National Television
There are two obvious facts.
1. The influx of talent, for over 20 years, was constant yielding multiple hall of fame caliber players every draft. They were led by Jordan on the court. Jordan was marketed by his agent, David Falk, and Nike to become the most successful athlete of all time. If you want to find out why the NBA was so successful, look no further then Jordan and the above players who pushed themselves, the actual NBA product, over the top, to become the #2 worldwide sport.
2. Stern did not, and could not, do a single, solitary thing to influence this influx of talent.
Barring voodoo secrets Jordan trying out for his HS team or Cheryl Miller's backyard beat downs on little reggie Reggie, David Stern was in no way involved. Even their influences from 60's/70's leagues existed long before Stern and have none of his fingerprints on them.
Post-Jordan Era
Since the 90's competitive peak we've seen the real Stern. Jordan and the PLAYERS who sparked 80's hoop revolution retired. The NBA became more synonymous with scandals, blunders and poor management then competition. Look at the laundry list since this time.
Funny, We All Talk About The Culture Of Fraud In The NBA, David Stern Claims Its Fabricated, Yet... He's Terrified This Book Will Be Published And Pre-Emotively Sues Without Even Reading It. Message: Stern Is Scared Because He's Already Aware Of The Content And The Damage It Will Do
Countless series being decided by atrocious officiating. (Suns vs Spurs, Kings vs Lakers twice, Mavs vs Heat in the finals).
Those officials recieving mob-like protection from the league, while some actually worked for the mob fixing games the NBA claimed were 'internally reviewed' and thus fairly officiated.
The majority of NBA teams losing money and being boat anchored, not bolstered, by the cap
New balls that were forced on the league with little to no player consultation actually started cutting player's hands.
Increasingly repetitive and boring all star games/events. Three ball???!!!???
Team City's being blackmailed for publicly funded stadiums resulting in the removal of their team (to smaller markets) as punishment and selling them to his good friends. (Seattle/Clay Bennet)
Horrendously unbalanced trades being approved that give advantages to large market teams. (Franchise Player Pau Gasol to the Lakers for nothing).
Racially engineered dress codes to white wash a black league
Obtuse fines with no congruency to the severity of actions. ($25,000 for criticizing a replacement ref who did suck, a month suspension for a single slap by Carmelo Anthony).
The lowest rated NBA finals in history due to the flawed playoff format pitting the best teams against each other in the early rounds
A near decade of unbalanced conferences often negating the finals. (LA New Jersey anyone? barf)
Countless uncommitted owners making short term bucks by mortgaging the league's future integrity. (Geogre Shin/Donald Sterling/Clay Bennet/Robert Sarver).
Expansion teams failing in new markets (Vancouver, Charlotte after one team already failed there).
Shamelessly saying the NBA has nothing to hide while at the same time blocking the publishing of Tim Donnahey's book explaining the details of why him being busted was a surprise to no one.
The superstar retirements left a vacuum. The weak drafts a deficit. In 2000 Kenyon Martin went #1 followed by the likes of Stromile Swift, Darius Miles and Marcus Fizer. 2001 was headlined by Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler. In 2002 Yao and Amare (taken 10'th) were the only legit prospects. 2003's stacked draft (LBJ/Melo) showed some light... 6 years later talent is slightly stronger but confidence in the league is at an all time low.
Round, Bald, Synthetic And Emblazoned With Corporate Logos Of His Owners... Pretty Accurate Depiction Of Our Commissioner Of 25 Years
Most people think games are fixed. Most owner's would rather use their fan loyalty as blackmail to get free stadiums and trade good draft picks for cash. That being said, 99% of deals today are done for financial, not basketball purposes. Many teams actually pay totally capable/willing players not to play instead of trading them for more talent. Horrible players with no business in the league are being traded for great players merely for cap relief. DEAD players are even considered trade chips for god's sake.
30 years with the same commissioner who's response to negativity is to promote it out of the casual fan's mind is softening the NBA. He acts as if dedicated fans who care and complain are the problem. Do we want a league supported by people who don't care?
Boxing, a shell of it's former self, was consumed by it's management. It's fans gave up. Perhaps the NHL under the 'guidance' of Gary Bettman is a better reference for what happens when a poor commissioner is given too much power for too long. I was watching an NHL playoff game that got pre-empted for... bowling. Their fans gave up.
Some still say Stern has been a maverick. A steady hand on the wheel of SS Recovery. Upon closer inspection you see a crack crew keeping things afloat while the captain is drunk in his cabin. Lucky, yes, incredibly. Great, not a chance. Easily one of the most ridiculous arguments in sports.
Raaarrrr!!! How Well Do Dino-Bots, And The Raptors, Function In This Winter's Canadian Climate?
Out of the off season slumber awakes a sleeping giant... Full Court Pest is back to start the season off with a full preview of the Home Country (in lieu of town) Toronto Raptors. The Raps have had the most active off-season of any team in the NBA and stand at a cross roads with regard to Chris Bosh and thus the future direction of the franchise.
Lets take a peek at the full roster as it stands today:
NUM
PLAYER
POS
HT
WT
DOB
FROM
YRS
NUM
3
Marcus Banks
G
6-2
205
11/19/1981
Nevada-Las Vegas
6
3
7
Andrea Bargnani
C-F
7-0
250
10/26/1985
Rome, Italy
3
7
0
Marco Belinelli
G
6-5
200
03/25/1986
Bologna, Italy
2
0
4
Chris Bosh
F
6-10
230
03/24/1984
Georgia Tech
6
4
8
Jose Calderon
G
6-3
210
09/28/1981
Villanueva de la Serena, Spain
4
8
10
DeMar DeRozan
G-F
6-7
220
08/07/1989
USC
R
10
5
Quincy Douby
G
6-3
175
05/16/1984
Rutgers
3
5
30
Reggie Evans
F
6-8
245
05/18/1980
Iowa
7
30
1
Jarrett Jack
G
6-3
197
10/28/1983
Georgia Tech
4
1
15
Amir Johnson
F
6-9
210
05/01/1987
Westchester HS (Los Angeles, CA)
4
15
12
Rasho Nesterovic
C
7-0
255
05/30/1976
Ljubljana, Slovenia
11
12
13
Patrick O'Bryant
C
7-0
250
06/20/1986
Bradley
3
13
26
Hedo Turkoglu
F
6-10
220
03/19/1979
Istanbul, Turkey
9
26
24
Sonny Weems
G-F
6-6
203
07/08/1986
Arkansas
1
24
21
Antoine Wright
G-F
6-7
215
02/06/1984
Texas A&M
4
21
You Think I'm Joking??? Sadly, I'm not. Go Huckabee! ;0
Obviously, Toronto has prudently been sticking to it's somewhat unofficial plan of signing Euro players. Something that makes undeniable sense to us at Full Court Pest. When Euro players and their families will enjoy Toronto, the most multi-cultural city in the world, and many American players (and people) believe our government buildings are under igloos, creating a Euro haven means free agents become easier to sign and Toronto becomes the ideal destination for the fastest growing group of ballers on the planet. Create a system that favors skill players and you've suddenly turned an unattractive US sell into the first place Euro's want to play.
So where does that leave us with Chris Bosh? (Note: CB4 is from Texas, about as non-euro as planet earth gets) He does not seem happy with the past few seasons disappointments but this season promises a much different outlook as the first full season without Sam Mitchell running the team. Unfortunately, due to Mitchell winning the COY award 2 years ago, his firing didn't actually happen till last year. Success oddly can sometimes castrate actual progress. Sometimes Sam Mitchel's face oddly resembles a knife in a Jewish delivery room. At least it was a success with the now thankfully defunct, www.firesammitchell.com blog.
Apologies For The Announcer, Maybe The Worst In The League, But This Game Shows The Flashes That Bargnani Was Picked #1 For, He's A 7 Footer Who CAN Take Over A Game
In lock step with that firing Andrea Bargnani picked up where his rookie campaign, of 06-07, left off. A developing big showing that his skills can translate to wins. Bargnani's production appears to have been directly linked to the coaching/freedom he received. Unfortunately this much reported hole in the post which they've wasted many assets trying to fill with the likes of Marion and Jermaine O'Neal now appears self-imposed. Bargnani's flashes went from moments in games, to scoring 20 PPG on + 50% shooting from 3 for the entire month of March. Bargnani's highly developed skills started taking over late season games which should continue now that he has his footing. He's not all offense however as he also averaged well over a block a game.
The nice shooting touch will work well to stretch the defense with new swing man Hedo Turkaloo. He proved Toronto's Euro Destination strategy was a winner when he reneged on an agreement with Portland after Hedo and his wife realized what living outside of the States and in Toronto would mean to them culturally. While Turk is a notoriously poor defender he's yet another long player with plenty of range. Hedo has also learned to close out big games in his Orlando years becoming a match up nightmare with Rashard Lewis. Combined with Bargnani and Bosh I can't see any way of defending 3 bigs over 6'10" who are all mobile, can take you inside, and shoot from the perimeter. 5 through 3, Toronto will be an absolute match up nightmare for any team in this league to defend much like the Magic were with Hedo last year.
We Know Why You Choose Toronto Over Portland, Mmmm... FCP Salutes, The Pride Of Turkey, The Kebab!
Orlando's real problem (who shouldn't have come close to challenging the Cavs let alone win that series) was the lack of a true point who could run the team. They were offensively broken, especially after Nelson got hurt, as their strategy down the stretch was to throw it to a scorer and see if they could get it in the hole. Dwight literally was jumping up and down waving his hands while open in the post as swing players (usually Hedo) were trying to split/collapse defenses on the perimeter. This will not be an issue in Toronto as they have about as pure a point guard as humanly possible.
If Jose Calderon was Heroin, the Toronto Raptors would be awaking with a massive hypodermic needle sticking out of a lipstick red dot on their chest after winning a Twist Contest. They'd also crush eyeballs under their toes in Tarantino's later kung-fu films. With his shot improving every year and last year's season being the all time best free throw season in history (at 98.1%) Calderon threatens to improve even more as he pulls his game together and is the core to Toronto's offense. With a system built around him any skilled player can be thrust into the mix as he facilitates the offense. He's not Steve Nash yet, but has yet to only approach his potential.
Rock... Meet "The People's Caretaker"
Sporting by far the league's best assist/turnover ratio at 4.23 no one takes care of the ball better. Two seasons ago, he had an unheard of, ridiculous, insane, 71-1 assist/turnover ration for the last month of the season. That's considering the raps were playing in a system not built around his special handling/passing skills and without nearly the offensive firepower while the team was playing with 0 emotion. With the organization stating (and acting) on promises to play a run/gun style this year, expect Calderon to start turning heads. For those of us paying attention, we already know he's playing at an all star level and is a serious contender to lead the league in assists if things go well.
When Calderon is not on the floor TO has picked up Jarret Jack as a more then adequate backup. Jack has spent his career as a cusp starter. He's not going to take a team over the top, but he's also not going to sink you when your point or shooting guard need to get off the floor for a stretch. On his best nights, he will take you over the top and win a game for you. That's everything you want in a reserve.
Rounding out the bench at the 2 guard spot is Marco Belineli. While slightly overlooked on the dysfunctional Nellie run Warriors, his second season saw marked overall improvement towards his very real potential as a solid player in the NBA. An accomplishment when playing behind Corey Maggettee, Jamal Crawford and Monta Ellis: 3 players who have never taken a shot they didn't like.
Straight Off The Streets Of C P T, Demar Derozen Was A Certified Draft Steal
Other moves have brought Rasho Nesterovic and Marcus Banks to the fold. While both players have something to offer neither can be described as potential impact players. Demar Derozen, while a rookie, could be seen as a steal at 9'th in this, one of the worst drafts in memory. Anyone who watched him play at USC knows he plays with heart, not ego, and works hard... always. Athletic scoring, rebounding and defense all seem to come naturally to him without taking away from his teammates or the system he's playing in. Solid starter on a good team will come very soon to his promising young career as a player with the potential to help off the bench right now. After Summer League, ESPN's David Thorpe ranked him 4'th out of all rookies and claimed he was most impressed by Demarr from the whole summer.
So whats the final ingredient to this team? Well known in Canadian hoops circles, but little known outside them, is interim made permanent coach, Jay Triano. Is he the kind of guy to take this team of gunners and make them run? A resounding YES from Full Court Pest! It was playing for Triano on the Canadian Olympic Team where Steve Nash got his groove back before becoming elite in Dallas resulting in Canada's best ever international finish in the Olympics. Triano is a Canadian legend in his own right who in all circumstances has gained and held a strong respect from his players as seen as Bargnani's near instantaneous resurgence under Triano last season. His mild tempered demeanor fits with the European talent on his team. With the respect of Coach K, and legit all-time Canadian hero Terry Fox, Triano seems to be the home town perfect fit for Toronto's players as well as it's dedicated fan base.
This leaves us with one player. Bosh. Is Chris Bosh really important to the Raptors now? Personally, I have never thought of Bosh as a franchise player type. I love his game, but I'm not sure if he's really a Duncan type of player. I'm sure the Raptors would be more then happy if he wanted to re-sign. If he does not, I wouldn't lose much sleep and seek a trade partner ASAP. The Raptors are a young, energetic, talented team. If they can resist the allure of trying to win right now and make steady moves contention is just around the corner.
Does Chris Bosh Still Fit In Here? We Love Him, But He's Got To Sort Out What He Wants
So decide now. If Bosh wants to stay, build around him. If he does not want to negotiate to stay by the all star break, make a splash and trade him for someone who does want to stay and join the Raptors talented young core of skill players. Would trading Bosh for Jeff Green and some of OK City's high draft picks be a bad idea? What about for the freakish Anthony Randolph and Stephen Curry? Would Cuban listen to a Bosh for Dirk trade? One thing is certain: Bosh is coveted in this league. His value will never be higher and legit building blocks could be obtained for him if he's no longer interested in being that block himself.
Its quite possible this is the year the Raptors turn it around. By finally playing small and running Bosh's mobility, along with the new arrivals, and Bargnani's resurgence, Toronto could be on the verge of becoming the league's next great offensive team. Whenever you take 3 players capable of scoring 20 PPG from anywhere on the court and put them on a team with a great point guard, athletic role players and a coach committed to playing to his team's strengths, big points is not only possible, but should become the norm with a concept that has frankly never truly been tried in the pro ranks.
Consider how little it would take to get Darko Milicic who excelled in Euro-play as a teenager... would his potential finally reach fruition when surrounded with others who grew up on the same courts as he did? Its astounding that no NBA teams have sincerely tried to copy the Euro model as other sports are trending towards finnese instead of force. European skill players now dominate the yearly NHL scoring books as a similar example a few years ahead of hoop.
Europeans Are Hungry To Play NBA Ball, But They Don't Have A Complementary Home... Yet?
Impact European players like Ricky Rubio, Gasol, Calderon, Hedo and Dirk become more and more commonplace and the Raptors plan to use it's city's international status as a marketing tool to attract any non-US talent. Not only that, but it appears they are building a team concept geared to reduce the adjustment from international to NBA basketball. We've seen veritable NBA all-star teams look lost on the international stage vs skill teams of notorious nobody's from countries as small as Greece and Puerto Rico. Its almost surprising that it's taken this long for someone to realize that if Puerto Rico can embarrass Team USA, and Spain can hang with a legit NBA allstar team in international style game, what happens when you try the reverse? A veritable international all star team playing that same skill game in the NBA's house. The Toronto Raptors are poised to find out.
I Smell BS: How Can A Trade Machine Piccaso Only Get 66 Wins, Must Have Been His Blue, Not Green Period
The Pest is on vacation on beautiful Jeju Island, South Korea, and has not been posting many articles. I was however reading Bill Simmon's latest mailbag and happened upon this Q/A:
A Real Life NBA GM Making A Selection At The 2009 Draft, Not To Be Confused With Donald Sutherland Playing One, Or A Body Snatcher, On TV
Something seems off... 66 wins out of 82 and one Sports Guy talking trash? Lots of teams have won more then 66 games so it must be possible, right? I've heard SG talk about his ESPN Trade Machine prowess on many occasions, so to the trade machine I went to try and "top" Piccasso himself. In about 5-10 minutes came up with this four team/15 player gem between the Knicks, Hornets, Heat and Cavs.
Here is my entry, Sports Guy, and random SG mailbag participant. A +75 win improvement making the Knicks the greatest team in history. It doesn't even matter that they're weak at center, they can play small with Beasley playing the 5 and dominate the competition as no one would possibly keep up with them.
Want to read the makings of such a master stroke? Okay... don't want to read it? Does not matter.
Step one... imagine that all the GM's in the league have been taken by aliens (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers/Simpsons aliens will do) and replaced with Isiah Thomas, Chris Wallace or a genetic FrankenGM clone of the two of them. Except the Knicks. Since they already employed Isiah they get to employ, ah, anyone. Lets say you reading this.
Then 'you' convince Cleveland to trade Lebron James, J.J. Hickson, Delonte West and Mo Williams for Cutino Mobley, Chris Duhon and Eddy Curry. 26 million. Check.
RRRAAARRRR!!! A Blood Thirsty, Meat Obsessed Member Of The Living Dead, Not To Be Confused With Cuttino Mobley In A Knicks Uniform
Then get on the horn with the Heat, maybe meet the Isiah Wallace splice-clone over a Scotch or two and let it drop that you think Dwayne Wade and Michael Beasley are about to bust their ACL's in a double career ending collision. Since you are good friends though (and New York will never fire a GM) you'll be happy to help him keep his job by giving him Al Harrington, Jarred Jefferies and Hinton Armstrong (who are about to blow up!!!!) in exchange for those woes. 16.4 million check.
Except those dang CBA agreements won't let this trade work. No worries. Just call up the Hornets and offer to trade Chris Paul straight up for Larry Hughes, you know, since their 13.5 and 13.6 million salaries match. Only if he agrees to send Hinton Armstrong to the Heat while giving you David West to make the whole deal work. Since New Orleans GM is actually a Zombie from Night Of The Living Dead you can win them over by throwing in a hunk of fresh meat and its all good. 13.6 million, check.
At Least You've Still Got A Virtual Crown Sports Guy... And Sexy White Nipple Bumps
What does this tell us? The New York Knicks have nearly 60 million dollars worth of players on their team who can't play basketball all that well, or in Cutino Mobley's case can't play basketball at all. And that's before we get into Darko Milicic who's 7.5 million is not able to be traded due to CBA rules. The Knicks realistically are probably the worst run franchise in hoop and that's incredible considering that the NBA has a team named "The Clippers" on it.
It also tells us one more thing. The undisputed King Of The Trade Machine presently resides here, at fullcourtpest.com ... unless someone out there can 'top that'. +75 is getting pretty high, but can anyone push it higher? Is a perfect season possible? Take the belt below in the comments.
When Wilt Chamberlain was 55 years of age, he famously made a claim that was so absurd I'm sure you already know it. For the rock denizens (or if this was before your time) he said in all seriousness that he had bedded over twenty thousand women. Its brought up often, but lets take a moment to examine the numbers.
I'm guessing he probably didn't have sex before puberty. Lets say he 'became a man' at age 15 (before me, damn it!) and it was 20k over 40 years. That is both sensible and gives us nice round numbers.
20,000 women a year / 40 years = 500 women a year.
Since they were different women no repeats, right?
So that means...
500 women per year/365 days =1.36 women a day
24 hours a day/ 1.36 women a day = a new woman every 17.64 hours
Wilt's Bedroom: 1. Is It Possible He Made Love To 'Wilt Chamberlain' 20,000 Times Instead??? 2. Door Disclaimer Reads, A UV Light Will Blind You
Wilt Chamberlain would have had to have had sex with a new woman every 17.6 hours from the age of 15 to 55 and must have had sex countless thousands more times if he double dipped. Suffice to say, the single greatest solution to continental drought died with Wilt Chamberlain's genitals.
I'm sure Wilt had CRAZY amounts of sex. Every kind of kinky group sex you could imagine. He had a room specifically designed in his home covered in mirrors so he could see the one he truly loved when doing the deed. I don't think its possible to have that much sex when you're spending time training; Wilt was a crazy good athlete, traveling; NBA athletes spent eons on buses and planes and who knows, maybe hanging out at his mom's house for Christmas or something.
Say... he was sick for a week... I'm sure over 40 years he got food poisoning or some such ailment. That means the next week he would have to sleep with no less then 19 women between bathroom breaks to keep up. Another record Wilt would probably claim is to have spent 40 years without a single headache.
Size Is Not Everything: Just Ask Ditya 'Romeo' Dev, The World's Smallest Bodybuilder (Note: this is must click)
If he was on a road trip spending one night in each city, and say that lasted two weeks, and say a family member died and he attended the funeral shortly after, and say he was only able to bag 10 new women for that month. The next month he'd need to get 66 more just to stay on pace.
I'm just trying to fathom the depravity that happened, or at least occurred in Wilt's 55 year old mind. Given that he spent large amounts of his life not having sex with women, much less new women, Wilt must have had rooms full of 20-30 women, new women, in lines and ready for 'the stilt'.
Chamberlain once recalled driving across Arizona or New Mexico and pulling his car momentarily to the side of the road presumably to take a leak. He says he was attacked by a mountain lion (he had scratches to prove it) that surprised him when it jumped on his shoulder. Wilt in all seriousness said he grabbed it by the tail, spun, and flung back into the woods from whence it came.
On Yo Knees Govna! My Mace Is Off Pace And Its Time For 'Your' Lamentation... BITCH!!!
The part he must have left out from the official story was with his bang count of new women in jeopardy, Wilt tracked the mountain lion to his den and made sweet love to the the lion's wife lest he fall behind his 20,000 pace. Maybe he managed to slip off with the sweet young lion daughter too... charmer that he was. Wilt most likely would have made a great comic book hero and/or spokemen for ASSociation of LAtex Producers (aka ASSLAP).
Back to surreality, if its a given that Wilt was having considerably less sex at the 15 and 55 year ends of the time frame, and it is a given, then that means he made up for the 500/year count in the middle. The sessions must have been truly epic. Maybe Wilt was counting all the reflections in the mirrors of his own love den. Either way, I've still got images of sesame street kids candle making, football players running through tires and scientists using pipettes on endless rows of test tubes. Its no wonder they called him "The Big Dipper"!
And just a PS FCP fans... I just realized that I've been able to work a midget into two straight articles without even trying. Can I complete the little people trifecta? Tune in next week, same bat channel, same bat time, to find out!
This Article Featured In: http://communities.canada.com/VANNET/blogs/kudosandkvetches/default.aspx
Screw The Suits, Little Man From Another Place, I've Found My Excuse To Put You In My Blog, You're A Star, That Gum You Like Is Going To Come Back Into Style, It IS!!!
Is that organ music I hear and cotton candy I smell in the land of Full Court Pest? I think so... or it could be the elephants. One thing I do know; I like David Lynch. Thus, I like things that are Lynchian. Starting off a sports blog post with a reference to Lynchianism may seem odd at first, until you realize that all things Lynch start off nonsensical eventually arriving at some point of clarity if only to make an obscure reference to something that should be less obscure. I guess what I'm trying to say is that TV suits sucked in 1992 when they ruined and canceled an unresolved Twin Peaks just as much as they sucked in 2005 when they canceled the kick ass show it influenced, Carnivale, which was also left unresolved. In reality, it just gives me context to make my obscure reference in the picture on the right. Umm.........
Welcome to Carnival(e) Of The NBA #65!
My favorite contribution is this diddy from Both Teams Played Hard comparing the NBA's progression to Chex Mix and other chips. There be wisdom in dem dere fried potatoes.
Side Note: I threw BTPH on my twitter account since I liked his article so much and saw the following two posts one after the other.
BothTeamsPlayedRT @sportsguy33 Did you ever notice that the Zoltar machine in Big looks like Hedu Turkoglu? sportsguy33Did you ever notice that the Zoltar machine in "Big" looks like Hedu Turkoglu?
No! Don't Do It Young Tom Hanks... Sure, You'll Be Big And Still Score Like A Guard, But You'll Play D Like, Uh, An Unpluggd Zoltor Machine, AKA Hedo Turkaloo
Low class Sports Guy. Boo Hiss! Am I to believe your columns are just a culmination of fan mail with added quotation marks??? If Simmons is not going to give credit (or at least traffic) for ripping Both Teams Played Hard off for his hilarious insight, Full Court Pest will with it's second carnival(e) themed picture.
Time to pick up the pace.
NBA Database has a decent evaluation of Joe Johnson: The Most Under Rated NBA Player. It still makes me wonder how you let Joe Johnson leave your 62 win team, or trade him for the worst NBA team's bench players. We all hate Sarver for his NBA ownership evil, yes? Its difficult for me to tell who I'd punch first or enjoy punching more: him or Clay Bennet.
Sports Agent Blog has a piece explaining Why Did Jason Thompson Pick Andre Buck. Interesting Blog with an insider feel that's just leaking out highly relevant information no one ever talks about. I checked out their First Round Break Down Of The Draft and was fascinated to get a view of the sports agent world. Just seeing who's repping who is eye opening when you consider David Falk had just as big an impact on Jordan's career as David Stern and Nike did. Great blog.
Basketball Fiend brings us The Fraternity Of Clutch comparing frat life with the best closers in the game. His ideas seem based on free thinking thoughts. ;)
explaining why playing in Europe may be why no-one knows who Joe Ingles is. The more coverage of Europe the better IMHO. Theres something real happening in Euroleague and I love it.
If You Don't Like This, Here Is Something You Might Like WNBA.COM
Retro Sports Talk has two great submissions showing how 2009 NBA CLASS REMINDS OF DRAFTS OF THE PAST. If you like Pete Maravich, as anyone who's a basketball fan absolutely should, then you'll also enjoy RICKY RUBIO BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF THE PISTOL if only to watch the clips of the two and see how remarkably similar their games are. Its not just the white skin and big hair!
Draft time is always tough for Celtics fans. They missed KD and TD, but nothing is worse then Remembering Len Bias like they have to do at Celtics Green every year. Dude had sick talent and would have won multiple rings with Bird in Beantown. Cocaine is, indeed, a hell of a drug. Great clips of Bias's I'm Ready For The Pros game. If you're too young to remember Len Bias in college you should check it out. They've also got a Summer League Update.
On a more positive Celtic note, Red's Army is trying to make lemonade out of the Rondo situation. He contends that Dannys Not Trying To Trade Rondo Hes Trying To Keep Him. Red's soldier might have a pretty good point there. I love Rondo's game too and hope it works out.
In the fantasy hibernation period of the year Give Me The Rock is creating a Fantasy HOF that you can vote on. On the ballots right now are class of 2008 players: Chris Webber and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Remember that the best pros are not the best fantasy plyaers... I like this idea lots. Yet another way to rank my guys. Your host is coming off a fantasy championship... thanks Dwight!!!
Life of a Knicks Fan submitted a post quadfecta. To Shoot or not to Shoot? deals with the perils of building your team around career chuckers and what you DO need to win. Follows it with the Knicks 2009 Draft Preview (not so easy when Stern isn't fixing the draft for you, is it knicks fans? j/k :) ). Next, The many faces of Kobe Bryant. This may or may not be due to bitterness due to the defection of ex-knicks fan, present 'Kobe Superfan', Spike Lee. (again, a joke :) ) Lastly he completes the quadfecta with Amare Vs. Bosh: The Battle Of The Not-Quite Super Stars. Lets add in Zach Randolph. Why does every forward in the league compare themselves to Bosh if they're all better then him, and then say 'go ask Chris Bosh, he'll say the same thing'? I'd like to know this as well. E for effort and good posts Knicks Fan.
A few things that are a litle dated, but I'll throw in anyway.
Not That There's Anything Wrong With That, Terrence, But Barbie And Much More So Ken, Are Gay On Many Levels
Da Bears And Bulls did a Bulls Mock Draft 2009. It has a vid of NBA clip ready, Terrence Williams which is worth the price of admission alone. I have no idea whats going on in his head, but I like it (if only for selfish reasons), and look forward to being entertained by this guy for years to come.
Jojo adds his two cents to say Thank you Vinnie DelNegro for the Bulls run. Myself, I'll say thank you Derick Rose for being Derick Rose. :) Love the split pic of the Noah dunk on Pierce. Dunk of the playoffs. Best since Davis/Kirelenko especially given the context. Massive.
Like 'what ifs' 'what ands' or 'what buts'? GeekMBA360 asks What if you have five 17-year old Kobe Bryants on your team? but I get the feeling this is a business guy promoting his blog, not a hoop fan, so he'll go to the end of the post with the rest of his ilk. Thats why its down here. Some other business blog posted Business Skills Of A Basketball Coach.html. Both are actually talking about hoop so yea, they can have a backlink but this is for NBA blogs not people masquerading as them to make money.
For Winning A Title Without Shaq, Kobe Gets A Cool Picture On Full Court Pest!
Just a note... this is not a typical Kobe article. Its about a predominantly unbiased stat trying to avoid the pitfalls of Kobe discussion. After the stat more subjective matters are discussed but its more or less separate from the stat which is homer/hater neutral. Took a long time, it's unique, no one has seen it before, so I hope you check it ot if not my own thoughts. :)
Its now the cusp of game 5, NBA finals. The Lake Show is up 3-1. They'll close out and Kobe wins a title without Shaq. The NBA and it's fans are going to be subjugated to the largest purple and gold PR in history. Its going to top Kings/Blazers. It will stymie the Isiah injury pooh pooh. It will dwarf the 2006 MVP injustice outcry.
I don't want to enter the hate zone. I don't have an agenda against him that prevents me from being fair. I'm a bigger fan of other players but if the guy does well, I'll say it. He's played great in the finals and at the end of the Denver series. He did so why deny it? His fans are going to go off the deep end in full force. Know what? After sticking with the guy and defending all the criticism they deserve a day in the sun and Kobe deserves this ring. Congratulations Kobe Klan, talk it up. Examples?
Every claim will be amplified and expounded on Ad Nauseam and doubters silenced. Kobe is the greatest of all time, top 3 or top 10. The best perimeter/mid-range shooter ever.
Kobe Got Shaq His! Or... Is That How It Really Went Down?
Shaq/Kobe history will be rewritten with such vigor that time will fold on itself and reverse. Shaq needed Kobe. They shared the team. Kobe was the better player and Shaq rode his coat tails. The best scorer, offensive player and leader since Jordan. Maybe better. Much better! Jordan just had a better team, Right? You ARE going to hear it if you're a fan.
I say: no so fast. Kudos... but titles count for too much to me. Kobe's career is top 3 because he wins 4 games and top 30 if he loses 4 games depending on who is talking. Both love/hate statements are misguided. I've got enough self-confidence that I won't be swayed by 4 out of 1000 games no matter what the stage.
In my opinion during those other games he inflates his scoring numbers by not passing. He wanted to be all time and thought scoring was his ticket. This I saw with my eyes. I was informed this is merely my subjective bias fueled by my hatred of all things Bean (though I love Jellybean(s)?!?!). To respond I made a simple stat that effectively removed a great deal of personal bias in evaluating the trend.
I took special care to not look at Kobe's numbers until the moment I crunched his data. No accusations of proving bias opinions 'with stats' as is so commonly suggested. I did not expect the results to be as significant as they were. I expected the same trends expressed volumetricly across all players.
The Premise
The only stat I considered was one I knew. In 2006 Kobe let his dimes drop from 6.0 to 4.5 and scored 35 PPG. 1.5 dimes for ~10 PPG. Good trade, right? My opinion: padding scoring by not passing. Instead of great games at a higher level he stops passing and focuses himself on overwhelming the most visible category. Result: a perception of elite play disguising imbalanced offense generating increased sportscenter highlights and attention for MVPs. That's the premise. It seems logical but a 1.5 drop is weak evidence I was informed, and I agreed. So I made...
The Stat
Meaningful Stats Don't Have To Look Like This... Do They?
Take +40 point games over a given period, subtract the average assists and from the average assists of games scoring X or more points. This gives us play making trends with respect to scoring output. The result we can call scoring/assist differential. So...
scoring/assis diff= average assists (all games) - average assists (scoring > x) and took data at 5 point increments.
Like a scoring average this stat indicates the highs and lows of play making at different levels of scoring giving general relative output. A very simple comparison of a player scoring X points to their average play.
The Numbers:
Without further adieu, lets examine Kobe and players who are prolific enough as scorers to compare him to.
Kobe: The Man
FG%
0.46
>40 FG%
0.51
dimes
5.19
>= points
dimes
differential
40
3.9
-1.29
45
3.5
-1.69
50
3
-2.19
55
2.6
-2.59
Okay, so lets compare Kobe to his peers
Lebron James
FG%; 47%
>40 FG%; 57%
dimes; 6.69
>= points
dimes
differential
40
7.15
0.46
45
7.26
0.57
50
8.5
1.81
55
7
0.31
MJ, 23 Ways To Make You Pay
FG%
0.51
>40 FG%
0.59
dimes
5.38
>= points
dimes
differential
40
5.08
-0.3
45
4.74
-0.65
50
4.53
-0.86
55
3.88
-1.5
Dwayne Wade
FG%; 48%
>40 FG%; 58%
dimes; 6.66
>= points
dimes
differential
40
7.25
0.59
45
8.14
1.48
50
6
-0.66 *
55
4
-2.66 *
Gilbert Arenas In Washington
FG%
0.43
>40 FG%
0.53
dimes
5.66
>= points
dimes
differential
40
5.44
-0.22
45
5.72
0.06
50
5.66
0
55
8
+2.44*
AI In Philly
FG%
0.42
>40 FG%
0.51
dimes
6.12
>= points
dimes
differential
40
6.07
-0.05
45
5.93
-0.18
50
5.3
-0.82
55
6
-0.12 *
Dominique Wilkins In Atlanta
FG%
0.47
>40 FG%
0.58
dimes
2.65
>= points
dimes
differential
40
3.3
0.65
45
3.58
0.93
50
3
0.35
55
4
+1.35 *
* (This is a very small sample size, more on this later)
Again, I did not even take a cursory look at people's stats beforehand. I've seen Kobe play and thought he wouldn't look great in them, but still shocked to see the disparity. I figured everyone's stats would decrease when they scored more points.
Conclusions
Based on these stats, I think its fair to say:
1. Kobe has a crap load of high scoring games in only a few seasons. He can really put it in the hoop at high volumes.
2. His scoring gets over-rated: shares the lowest shooting percentage with Iverson for > 40 point games and by far raises his shooting % at the lowest rate, almost half that of everyone else including Iverson.
3. Kobe seem to be the most selfish. Of all time? No hate, but maybe. He's a great scorer but appears to pad his stats by ignoring his teammates as his dimes continuously drop as points increase. I have two ideas about how he goes off on scoring binges based on watching.
Kobe pre-meditates big nights and intentionally focuses his energy on scoring. Such a game is his 61 with 3 dimes and 0 boards vs NYK. Before Shaq: 31 40+ point games. 4 50+. The next season he had 10 40+ point games, a third of his 8 year output despite missing almost 20 games coupled with an 8 year assist low (after career), and a 9 year rebounding low. The only season he blocked less shots was his rookie year.
By the 05/06 season Kobe realized W stats would be harder to get and went after the record books instead to vindicate Shaq's departure. Nearly tripled his previous season's 40+ games, took 7 more shots per and produced nearly the same # of 40 point nights as his first 8 seasons did. (I think he pushed too hard and wore himself out because since he's never attacked the rim the same way at all, but I digress)
When Kobe hits shots early it appears he thinks of sports center and forgets his team exists
For Younger Fans Questioning 'Nique's Inclusion On This List, Click The Triangle Shaped 'Answer Button' Above This Caption
beyond facilitating his scoring. In his famous Dallas game he hit all 7 first quarter shots, then jacked a much lower percentage for two quarters getting 0 assists for the game. With Dallas having an off night and his team up 30 Kobe put up 14 shots in the last 5 minutes of the third quarter to further pad his stats.
4. Kobe's got more 40 point games then everyone on this list except Jordan, Iverson and 'Nique. Sensible: the others have only been pros for that many seasons. Kobe had 69 40 point games after Shaq and 27 with Shaq in half the seasons.
He tries to score, more then anyone listed and possibly ever. Kobe is known for and considered the best scorer for his large number of 40/50/60 point games. Arenas only has one 60 point game. Wade 0. Lebron 0. Kobe has 5? Why? They don't alter play to focus on individual scoring. Wade gets his points by approaching a 10 point increase in field goal percentage and gets even more dimes then normal.
They elevate play across all categories. Kobe zones in on one highly visible category while sacrificing others. When scoring 45 points, Wade averages 1.48 assists more then normal. At 8 APG, Assuming 50% pass/assist completion (very high) you have to pass to a teammate in a position to score more then 14 times for those assists; likely its more. Lebron averages a full 2 assists more when scoring 50 points. In contrast, when Kobe's hot and passes you the ball, to have multiple 0 assist games... he expects it back. If Lebron or Wade were forcing those extra shots their points would be higher. So.... 5. How many more 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90+ point games would these other guys on this list have if they played Kobe ball? I'm going to say that if Jordan had 0 dimes instead of 6, and 3 boards, not 18 when he scored 69 points it would only be a questions of how close he sat to Wilt.
Lebron Playing Kobe-Ball For 2 Minutes, People Knock Lebron For Not Having A 60 Point Game? What?
If he passes 12 times to get 6 dimes and hit 62%, he's at something like 85-86 points. If he was not crashing the boards and was playing the worst defensive team in the league (Raptors) instead of great defensive team, I think Jordan break's Wilt's record.
The other guys go way up too. Wade's 48/12 pushes 60 as does 50/9, 48/11 and even 46/10. So does Iverson's 58/6, 60/6 goes up, maybe to 70, and 51/6. Arenas 60/8 pushes 70 for sure, and 51/5, 47/8 and 54/4 all push 60.
Lebron is the best scorer of this decade if he played this way. 56/5, 55/9, 52/11, 52/7/, 51/9, 51/9, 51/8, 50/9 and 50/10 all go upwards of 60 points. Consider 2009 is the first time he's even come close to his prime. Its not even close.
6. The only similar progression on the list is MJ. He also only passes kobe's differential for all 40+ games (1.22) when scoring over 55 points, ie: 9 of his 158 40 points games. In those 9 games he has a 10 dimes at 57 pts, 6 at 59 pts and 6 at 69 pts (not to mention 18 herculean rebounds!). From 50-55 he breaks 5 dimes 9 times out of 20.
Kobe has 1 8 dime game at 53. 1 8 dime game at 50. A 5 and 6 at 46. And 10 at 45. That's all his +5 dime games when scoring 45 or more. I don't have to get into the slower pace, tougher defenses or the rule changes softening perimeter defenses either. All things being equal, and they were not, its still not close.
To be fair, MJ was selfish himself. Very granted. By virtue of shooting 60% in 158 40+ point games and being Michael Freaking Jordan, unquestioned GOAT, he gets a deserved pass for most games. Him attacking a defense was often a better shot then a teammate's open jumper... while he chucked up his own 45 attempt losses he still was not nearly as selfish as Bryant.
The irony: Kobe was trying to pass him. He told Tracey McGrady when he was 19 that he was already a better player then Michael. Once Shaq left he made it his mission to try and get as close to Jordan as possible and unfortunately he, like so many others, over valued scoring and that's what will probably keep him from the truly rarified air.
The Triangle
A reader brought up the point that the triangle kills assist stats. Its seen in Jordan's stats as well proving it. Lebron/Wade et al look better because their team's offenses provide them better passing opportunities.
Its not really an assist stat though. By using average assists as a basis of comparison the sample size accounts for random fluctuation of an offense. By comparing a player in high scoring games to themselves on average we are no longer considering assists: just the change in assists. Kobe averaging 1 could kill Arenas averaging 50 in this stat. 'Nique fares great despite averaging the lowest assists of everyone as its the same offense/teammates at 30 points as 50.
I think its a question of maturity. MJ's early years were famously his selfish years. After losing to the pistons repeatedly he realized it hurt his team and changed his game to win. The change was learning how to use his scoring to help make his teammates better. Observe (with a little credit where Zen credit is due :) ):
Triangle MJ
FG%
0.5
>40 FG%
0.583
dimes
5.07 *
>= points
dimes
differential
40
4.73
-0.34
45
4.26
-0.81
50
4.54
-0.53
55
4.75
-0.32
* Note: only a .2 assist drop in the triangle
Dimes drop a bit at 45, then bounce back to 8 time's kobe's differential. Better decisions feed a superior FG%. I'm not Smushing (so to speak) it in Kobe's face about MJ. He's the only comparison for the triangle. In any offense, good decisions create easy baskets for all, keep FG%'s high. If it is maturity, it does make sense. Jordan had to play years figuring out how to balance his game. Kobe realized how hard carrying a club was once Shaq left and had to start his learning process over.
Explainable, yet one of the following has to be true.
1. After playing for years in the triangle, Kobe did not understand the offense or how to use it to play well as an individual and teammate simultaneously.
2. Kobe's career is that of a selfish player who ignores his teammates when playing his best to maximize his scoring visibility.
Comprehensive Shot Of Everyone In Staples Center Kobe Bryant Has Thoughts About Not Named Kobe Bryant Once He Gets Going
Is this fair? I can't come up with other explanations. If anyone would like to make a better one I'll gladly add it to the list (comment below).
An aptly labeled ball hog, Allen Iverson, kills him with a negligible differential at all levels of scoring. Lebron and Wade got it it in year 1, probably from watching Jordan/Kobe's struggles the same way Magic/Bird watched Chamberlain.
Use the attention to break the defense. Then score from the mismatch, whoever has it, before they recover. Its team basketball. When you play it, good things happen. Try to win yourself and a better team beats you. Russell beat Wilt. Isiah beat Jordan. And KG beat Kobe. Lebron/Wade/et al simply play team basketball (in a team sport ) at a much higher level.
The Comp
I earlier claimed Kobe pre-meditated big scoring nights contradicting the Laker truth that high Kobe scoring was the only way they could win. Challenging this is sure to draw the scorn of Kobe's legions of fans. You'll get a response something like this: (an actual response... actually)
Bryant has scored 40 or more points in 96 regular season games, third on the all-time career list behind Wilt Chamberlain (271) and Michael Jordan (173). The Lakers posted a 65-31 record in those games, a .677 winning percentage that is better than their overall winning percentage (.656) during Bryant's career. Bryant had 27 of those 40 point games in 2005-06, when he led the NBA in scoring with a 35.4 ppg average that ranks eighth on the single season scoring list; the Lakers went 45-37 overall that year (.549) but they went 18-9 (.667) in his 40 point games.
Bryant has scored at least 50 points in a game 23 times; he ranks third on that all-time career list as well, again trailing only Chamberlain (118) and Jordan (31). The Lakers went 16-7 in Bryant's 50 point games, which is an even better winning percentage (.696) than they posted in the games in which he scored 40-49 points. Bryant's only 50 point game this season happened when he set a Madison Square Garden record with 61 points in a 126-117 victory.
Sounds convincing.... look closer.
Who are these high totals against? If you believe this scoring to win theory, you may be surprised. I'm going to call it the 27, 32, 60, 32, 22, 33, 23, 37, 22, 52 club. Those are the opponent season win totals of Kobe's top 10 scoring games. 1.5 quality wins vs Dallas and Houston... the only .450+ teams. 1.5 as Vs. Houston he scored 53 twice in the same season going 1-1. LA was supposed to win the others. Its really a revision to say Kobe was shooting "because its the only way they could win" instead of padding his stats.
Quality wins, top 10 scoring. 1.5 W's .5 L.
Win 1: 62 vs Dallas they won because Dallas shot 37% and 13% from 3. Kobe's 10 3 attempts are 3 more then anyone's regular attempts with 0 assists. He reportedly told teammates he was going for 50 before the game regardless. Kobe jacked up 14 shots (almost half of his 31) with his team up 30 in the 3'rd quarter. They apparently didn't need 62 to win at all.
Win .5: 53 vs Houston HOU just started the season without T-Mac still depended on him for everything. The game still went to OT. Credit Kobe 8 dimes and 10 boards however he still took 38 shots on 44% though the other starters shot 43%, 46%, 50% and 57%.
Loss .5: 53 vs Houston now with a full lineup. Despite only 2 assists from Kobe, Smush Parker shot 58%, Kwame Brown 63% and Vladimir Radmonovic 50%. Odom shot 33% but had 17 rebounds. Kobe shot 43% and 33% from 3, on 44 shots, the sixth highest shot total in 25 years by any player. Kobe's 9 3's were more then any players FGA's in the whole game.
Now, if Kobe is shooting to win, lets look at losses in the top 10 too.
Loss 1: Kobe's 6'th highest scoring game the Lakers lose to the 33 win Bobcats. Kobe took 45 shots, the 5'th highest attempts in 25 years to beat a team featuring Adam Morrison shooting 1-15 (6.7%) and Raymond Felton shooting 7/24 (29%).
Loss 2: In Kobe's 7'th highest scoring game the Lakers posted a loss to the the 22 win Grizzles. Granted the Lakers didn't have Kwame Brown, but it was because the Grizzles played without Pau Gasol due to the ironic most lopsided trade ever for Kwame. Their second option was Darko Milicic and it gets worse from there.
Why do the Lakers need Kobe to take record shots to lose to craptacular teams? I argue the losses are due to the shooting and the wins due to the average 33 games won between the teams. I argue Kobe should get credit for big scoring sometimes, but poor offense when he plays like this.
I Bring You!!! THE KOBE KILLERS! Umm... It's Really Them... Honest
Losing to a 33 win expansion team that's given 15/29 shots to guys shooting 6.7%/29% and named Adam Morrison/Raymond Felton respectively has to go down as shameful when you are supposedly the L's best player. My head spins. 6 players on his team shot 50% or better? Kobe took more 3's then any player on his team took shots. Is that worse then losing a major pride game, at home, to a team who's best player you just stole and switched with a role player. I'm not sure, but I think I know how it happened.
From 05-09, Kobe had a solitary triple double. Plenty when Shaq was there. With 08's stacked team he got 0 and only got one before the playoffs in 09. 05-09. Lebron. 25 triple doubles. Crappy teammates, check. This is why Bron is considered better. The GM who traded a great center in his prime for Kobe said as much. Wade has 3 even though he spent 2/4 seasons injured or playing hurt.
Kobe's Help
The oft cited reason for Kobe's team suckage. Was it his teammates who damaged his career? Or was it a failed opportunity to silence critics.
If Kobe led Kwame to 55 wins he gets back to back MVPs. Maybe a West finals appearance? I, and every basketball fan, accept that he's the best since Jordan because it would be obvious as that team has no business winning that much. Kobe: the only other scoring guard to win without a dominant center. Athletically? Way beyond Steve Nash. But he played losing ball over 3 seasons, people saw through the high scoring and Nash, not KB24, got two MVP awards.
Kobe's help follow a trend. They get there. They peak. Then decline in their primes. If your uber-talented star didn't have 1 triple double in 4 years of play while you took all the blame for every loss and the star took all the glory for wins wouldn't you get discouraged? Lets take a look at his talent and their career arcs. They supposedly have 0 talent, however:
Jordan Farmar - Played huge in college where he was absolutely a good player, then he had a solid rookie season. Solid playoffs. I know he was good from watching in college. Made strides last year. Before the last finals and this season Farmar a stated reason the Lakers would win. Fisher out, Farmar in. Instead all his per 36 numbers dropped and he's gone from shooting over 70% from the line to shooting in the 50's.
Vladimir Radmonovic - shot 44% from 3 before they traded him. 44% is more then acceptable for a shooter role player type. He had value to the team too. 13/6.6/44% per 36 is very decent production for 20 minutes. He's averaging a career high in scoring per 36 minutes on 2 more shots/game with Charlotte now. His frustration was evident upon his arrival in Charlotte when he said:
"it was also frustrating not knowing when and how I'd play... Phil's system, great as it is, doesn't give a role player much opportunity... for Kobe Bryant, it's great."
Ronny Turiaf - good enough to get GSW's mid-level exception and continually improve. Often named one of the most under rated players in the NBA. 12/8.6/54% is awesome production for a guy getting 15-20 MPG and brought mad energy. His production declined after that peak though and they let him go. On GSW his FG% is back over 50% now.
Brian Cook - Good enough to be the key piece in a deal that got them Ariza, who's a great player. He was also good enough as a rookie to get rotation minutes on the HOF filled laker team that went to the finals. Then his game declined each year till they traded him. He was not able to settle into the Magic before Nelson went down and he was included in the trade for Rafer Alston before the deadline.
Sasha Vujacic - What more do you want? In 07-08 he shot 45%, 44% from 3, scored 17 ppg per 36 minutes and is positively a very above average defender. A full court pest if you will. Improved every year till the finals. Maybe if Kobe wasn't calling him She She 'The Machine' to the national media, calling him his little brother (which he hated himself viaShaq) and glaring at him every 3'rd play he would not have lost his confidence? You know he shot 92% from the line, right? As a role player, Vujacic was very good.
Luke Walton - Great, above average passer. Always has been. Can change a game without taking a shot. 12/5.5/5.5 45% per 36 minutes are very, very good numbers for a guy coming off your bench 20-25 minutes a game. Good enough to be rotation player on championship team (tomorrow).
Andrew Bynum - Raw out of high school but always had potential. His stats/36 minutes have always been great. He got derailed by injuries but I'm sure his star player hating on him didn't help start his career or his second dispirited come back great starts and it was seen in the results. When your star injures your knee and gets up with a pissed off look on his face, says nothing, and walks away its not exactly encouragnig either, but perhaps that looked worse then it was. Kobe did say Bynum was why they lost to Boston and the key to their title, that he changed their identidy as a team, with Pau Gasol. That alone indicates he's good, if quite raw.
Lamar Odom - I don't think needs to be said. He's a top tier player and one of the most versatile years. All-star calibre who didn't make it in due to a loaded west at his position. Match up nightmare and a top complementary glue guy. Odom as #2 or #3 can win games by himself with or without scoring points. He fills in any gap your team has on a given night. What more do you want?
Caron Butler - All star caliber player. LA fans don't mention that Odom/Butler were on Kobe's team at the same time. The previous year Dwayne Wade, as a rookie, and with Caron/Lamar as his second/third best players almost got them to the east finals. I repeat, he was a rookie. Kobe's team won 33 games. There's a variety of reasons but one of them has got to be Kobe and his change in style. None of them excuse 34 wins with 3 all star caliber players.
And now a special note on Kwame Brown and Smush Parker. The two guys who get the most heat for Kobe not winning more.
Kwame Brown - In Washington he had a 11/7.5/46% year. In 06 he improved playing less minutes, shot 52% overall, > 60% in 11 of his last 20 games, averaged 8 boards and had a large string of +10 board games. He's a big reason they took PHX to 7 and carried them in multiple games. One game he had a 19/6/2 blk 60% FG game that was full of potential. Overall 13 pts, 6.5 brds. 56% FG. 70% if you exclude two bad games you expect from raw players. One bad game they won and the other was the game 7 team collapse, including Kobe. Even in 07 he put up 11/8 per 36 minutes on 59% shooting. No Shaq but he wasn't giving you nothing. Its a myth.
Smush Had Heaps And Leaps Of Ability
Smush Parker - Great athlete. The guy had ups. All young prospects have downs, but man he could get up. Undeniable potential and shot a very respectable 44% in LA. No superstar but a very decent role player with heaps of potential. By year 2 his game started slipping and you could watch confidence peel off of him by the game. If Kobe spent more time building Smush up what could he have been? Parker has publicly stated that Kobe made his time on LA miserable despite him putting up good numbers.
The point is, you're not supposed to be given all-star teams. As the best player you and your coach are supposed to build those teams around you. Kobe's player's seem to fall off in the same pattern. The difference could hae made is instead of being a malcontent demeaning those without your talent on the radio, blaming them for losses and demanding trades you take those lemon players and make lemonade. Were they real lemons?
Can't help but say it... Jordan had this kid. Crazy athletic. Weak skills. Points all off dunks. His name was Scotti Pippen. Jordan turned him into the best all around player ever. With Sam Vincent as his #2, Pippen/Grant/Paxon playing 15-22 mpg, and Charles Oakley as his #3, Jordan won 50 games. They were contenders for the title and went out 4-1 to the champion Pistons. He didn't blame his teammates or destroy their confidence but pushed them to improve every year.
They made the east finals the next year. Went out 4-2 to the pistons. Got back the next year. Went out 4-3 to the Pistons. Then came back better and went on to win 3 straight. All with the same core of players who were not really good just a few years before. The similarities are striking. I think blaming Smush and Kwame for the team's failures is slightly valid but mostly weak. The fact that Kobe did it publicly and demand a trade is just cowardly. You're the star, accept the pressure or it will crack the lesser player's confidence. It did.
Why? Everyone has scrubs. Jordan had Scott Williams, Stacy King, Luc Longly, Brad Sellers, Will Purdue, Sam Vincent and others. Bron, Wade, Arenas and Iverson all played with crappy players. They all had a few scrubs who kept improving and none of them blamed the worst players on the team for losses. I won't say Smush could have been Scotti Pippen, but he could have been more then he became. He showed potential to be much more.
Something happened. Its a footnote now. LA fans will say I'm hate driven to suggest these players were anything but college scrub level. They will neglect to mention this. After a botched trade with Chicago Kobe realized his value was so high any trade for him would land him on the same kind of crappy team. Kobe realized this was his team, could not handle the scrutiny of another .500 season and played to win. His scoring went back down under 30. Assists and boards went back up. Kobe played team ball and these no talents were 15 games over .500 before Pau Gasol even arrived.
I Tried To Find A Pic Of The Chump Scotti Backed Up, But The Only Bulls Pic Was Of Pippen Throwing Down: True Story
Kobe's fans will refuse to admit that his help was anythign but terrible. I think its a perception they can't help though. The NBA culture in LA is lucky. Their city is incredibly attractive to players, talent wants to play there so they got used to being stacked long ago. In their eyes a normal team appears unfair to their stars. I didn't say star, because LA has had 2-3 or more legitimate stars for nearly it's entire history. Kobe has always had at least one or two other top tier players and solid role players around him.
Kobe Bryant - You've got to add Kobe. Love or hate him, he's a fantastic talent and has to count as more then one guy. Kobe can win any game all by himself. Subtle difference: I think he tries to win every game by himself. Result: 33, 45 and 42 win seasons. He had good complementary players, championship level role players, the best coach in history. 3 games under .500 over 3 seasons result.
Miami started a rookie poin and a sleepwalking Marion so bad they traded him for Jermaine O'Neal's corpse AND worse contract before a playoff run. Their next best player was Michael Beasley who they could only justify giving 24 MPG. Even Shaun Livingston attempting a come back got 10 MPG on that team. The previous year they won 15 games still with Shaq and a host of decentish players. Wade took them to the playoffs in a single handed 28 game win improvement.
Which Of These Superstars Has The Worst Finals Supporting Cast Of All time?
Lebron, took a horrible team to 50 wins and the NBA finals. They started Eric Snow's corpse, Larry Hughes, past prime Ilglauskus, Drew Gooden (who grew a beard on the back of his head, consider that) and Varajeo when he was putting the role in role player. His closing partner: Boobie Gibson who's now riding the pine. Only one player could manage over 30 MPG, Hughes, and he stunk it up shooting 40% and 33% from 3 for less then 15 PPG. They famously depended on Donyell Marshall 3's to win big games they were so bad. 50 wins/finals.
When they were down he stated "A Lebron James Team Is Never Desperate." That's building a winner because the process ultimately starts from losing with who you have. To make omelets you have to break eggs. To build teams you've got to got to lose some games on the backs of your teammates while taking heat on your shoulders.
I don't buy the no help card. Not all-stars or championship help, but not no-stars or losing team over 3 seasons help by any means. Not when you're as talented as Kobe Bryant.
What Could Have Been
Wade just had career highs in scoring, assists, blocks and steals and was .7 behind in boards on a far worse team. Everyone on Miami improved. Watch out for next year. With developed players LA wins that title vs rival Boston. They win this year. They probably beat PHX one year, maybe even beat the clippers in a historic LA only series and make the conference finals. That one guy totally carrying his team performance is whats sorely lacking from Kobe's resume. Its not winning without Shaq thats eluded him, its winning like MJ. While he's won, and will win again, he's never been able to elevate a team above par for that team's ability.
This is what could have been. 5 or 6 titles with Shaq if he waited to be handed the team a la TD/Robinson. LA then has a few years to build players around a winning program and Kobe probably ends with 6-8 titles, half of them finals MVPs. Instead he's got an 81 point game to hang his hat on. One of the greatest individual performances. And I'll rank it with Wilts. But both guys were intentionally setting records. Wilt did it vs 6.5 foot front line players. Kobe did it jacking shots up 20 with 43 seconds left vs the 6'(no D)" Mo Pete of the last place Raptors. I think both games go down as one of the most displays of selfishness over prowess.
PS: Kobe Just Found The Mouthwash And Deserves One More Cool Pic Of Him For Winning Without Shaq. I'm Cool With It, He Won With An Even Balance Of Scoring And Passing, I Feel Almost Vindicated Myself, But LA Fans Be Fair To The Haters, This Could Have Been A Mirror Image, And Its Not
I feel bad for Kobe honestly. He wanted to pass Jordan, a daunting task. It motivated his training but mostly his scoring. At 19 Kobe told t-mac that he was already better than Jordan, he was going to crush him. Jordan was a scorer. It had to be done. His obsession with scoring that's going to hurt his comparison. People will always say he's a truly spectacular scorer, but... that's it!
Even with Shaqless rings there are buts. But he was best as a side kick. But he shot his favored team out of the finals on a 39 point losing effort. But nothin. There are no buts for Jordan. Magic. Bird. Isiah. Kareem. West. Soon enough, Lebron. They dominated to win and lose. They accomplished everything they set out to do and carried mediocre players to success and successful players to greatness... but they always carried them and were never 'held back' by them if you get my drift.
I truly relate and feel for the guy. No one actually enjoys seeing people who clearly put in effort lose, or I don't. The guy is kind of alone because no one else is like him. Kobe set out to be the best ever and win by totally carrying a team on his back like all those others he felt challenged by... wait for it... but, 09 title or not... he failed.
