Pennyroyal “T”

By Jeremy Graham

If Sheed Was Anything, He Was Great For
Basketball: Stern's New Rules Would Have
Robbed Us Of The Entire Sheed Experience

“Don’t go away mad, just go away!” Oh wait, don’t go away either. You just might get T’d up for it. I know, act like a robot. That seems to be the only way to not get a technical foul in today’s NBA. But what happens if the referee thinks that acting like a robot is disrespectful to the game? Well then you are screwed. Don’t you think that suppressing your emotions and acting like a robot is disrespecting the game? I think it is. These men have played basketball their entire lives. They have given their sweat, blood and tears for it and now have a corporate “fat cat” telling them they cant even express themselves in a time of frustration. How wack is that?

Human emotion is the driving force in human beings. It's simple: they have led to bloody confrontations that have taken many lives. Now in “the heat of the battle” you want these men to suppress human emotion with only a split second to think. It can't be done. I am not talking about allowing the players to complain and complain like they have previously but a player should be able to show frustration, anger and a little bit of passion without facing a technical foul and a fine.

How Exactly Is Hiring Strippers To Get Down To
Their Underwear "Respecting The Game" David?
Or Is It Really Just A Respect For The Coffers Rule?

Just the other night Nate Robinson got a tech for merely hanging his head... the worst I have ever seen. Worst tech call I should say. It is up there with Duncan in 07 getting ejected for laughing on the bench. Lets break it down: Nate had just checked into the game and on the first play he fouled a cold jump shooter in Eddie House sending him to the line. A terrible way to entrance and Nate knew it. He hung his head in "self" disappointment he was immediately called for a tech.

He didn't approach the referee. He didn't say anything. Just completely and utterly disappointed in himself because he let his team down. For that he receives a tech plus fine and gives the other team an additional point with the ball. This could have proven costly to the Celtics had the Heat not stunk it up. Not only was the call terrible, the referees swallowed their whistles in the same game when Lebron was much more vocal. Reggie and the booth did not seem too happy with the call and were themselves vocal on the broadcast.

Do I think players should be given free reign on complaining and crying to refs? Absolutely not! This league is full of primma donnas. The new rule could be great for the league if used properly. The respect for the game rule should only come into play when a player vocally challenges the ref about the call in question. I am all for open dialogue between zebras and players about calls as long as the talk is civil. If a player comes whining, actually showing disrespect, rather then asking why, then go ahead and T up the whiney baby.

Another Way To Respect The
Game: Steal The Team Of A
Dedicated Fan Base And Give
It To A Friend For His City

There is no disrespect in asking a ref why he called what he did, and there is no disrespect in being frustrated with a call or upset with yourself. I know the refs like to take over games and become the focal point but even they can’t be happy with handing out T’s like they were prophylactics in the armed services circa 1944.

The only person disrespecting the game right now is David Stern. Instituting these, for lack of a better term, wussy rules is ruining the game that everyone knew and
loved. Calling techs, slowing the game down, having players shoot even more free throws is no way to create more fans. It could even turn the die hard fans away from the game. There is a reason that people hate the end of close basketball games. No one wants to watch free throw after free throw, it can be a grind.

Animated players are rather entertaining however and anything is better than free throws. Could you imagine if these rules were around with Dennis Rodman? We would have probably missed the career of the greatest rebounder ever because he would be getting ejected from every game due to his antics. If David Stern truly loves this league and the game of basketball he will do away with this rule ASAP and instead of trying to squash players pointing out how much refs stink, maybe make some rules that actually improve their performance instead of merely hide reactions to it.

Talent = Skill + Ability: The Battle Of The Steves (and Tyreke Evans)

Evans And Francis' Careers Are Mirror Images Thus Far

By: The Pest

Who's more talented... Tyreke Evans or Stephen Curry?

If you go by the evaluation of the NBA in general last year, it's Evans in a landslide which garnered him ROY honors. But is it the case?

It depends on perspective. If you consider 'right now' Evans was able to overwhelm Curry on the basis of his athletic ability, raw stats and highlight plays. If it's career based, and you picture yourself looking back at the year 2010 when they're getting ready for the Hall Of Fame, your perspective changes. Those who ranked on ability are most likely to be laughing at themselves, and those ranking on skill are most likely going to be saying 'told ya so'.

Allow me to demonstrate. The year is 2002, lets look back and compare two points, Steve Francis and Steve Nash.

Francis was electric. He dunked on people's heads. His nickname was "Franchise". He made highlight reels nightly. Nash was probably the 2'nd or 3'rd (and some may say 4th) best player on a pretty good Mavs team that won 57 games. Here are their 02 stats:

Francis: 21.6 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 42%, 35% from 3, 77% from the line, 3.9 TO, 3.0 PF

Nash: 17.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 7.7 APG, .6 SPG, 48%, 45% from 3, 89% from the line, 2.8 TOs, 2.0 PF

Francis Liked Playing With Yao So Much,
He Decided To End His Career Playing In China
For A Team Called The Ducks

If you were to say that Nash was the better player, was going to have a better career and much more a lock for the HOF, people would have ridiculed you. If you pointed out that Nash had an array of honed skills that were far superior to Francis, that he was more effective while scoring only marginally fewer points and more assists people would say you were just making excuses and that Nash, while good, was just an inferior player, he didn't have the same talent. (It should be noted that Nash's defence was rarely brought up until he was the best player on a truly GOAT level offensive team).

Looking back now though it's difficult to tell what was thicker, the irony or the heads of those laughing. Francis retired at the age of 30 and was not seriously considered an elite player after the age of 27. Almost 10 career year after this Nash is putting up a career in scoring, just came off a career season leading the 4'th best offense of all time (only surpassed by Magic's showtime Lakers, Bird's Celtic's and MJ's Bulls) with no HOF players on his team... well, except him, because he's cemented himself as a first ballot HOF player.

Where was this evident in 2002 though? You can see the difference in their 'skill stats'. Nash only played 34.6 MPG to Francis' 41.1 meaning that /36 his per game totals were even closer/better.

Nash shot much better from the field (6%), 3 (10%) and the line (12%) indicating he had wildly better shot mechanics which was also evident by watching the many bricks Francis put up when he wasn't close to the cup.

As a ball handler/passer Nash also commits far fewer TO's (over 1 less) a game which is highlighted even more by the fact that as a pass first point guard who got more dimes, Nash made many more risky plays a game dishing to his teammates, and when he was not passing most likely had the ball in his hands running a play.

Francis got more steals but this is more then partly due to his willingness to gamble for them and Nash's religious devotion to never gambling. This discipline is reflected in Nash's much foul rate too as he's not trying to make up for plays he's counted himself out of.

The result is obvious. People under rate skills and over rate natural ability. Francis is putting his feet up on the couch to watch 36 year old Nash is putting up career highs... and he has been for 6 years.

Evans Will Have A Blue Career Without A Jumper

Lets look again at the modern day Francis/Nash of Evans/Curry. Notice the parallels? Evans made sports center like crazy last year and was electric as one of the most athletic guards in the league. But Curry has game that will be effective with or without his athleticism. Tangible skills that are going to carry him through a Hall Of Fame. Evans is a low skill one dimensional player who gets 73% of his field goals directly at the rim, not to mention is only effective scoring with one hand. (note the graphic on the side).

Curry is a high skilled multi-talented player who finishes at the rim with nearly identical effectiveness yet only relies on it for 28% of his field goals. The other 72% come from all over the court including 3 pointers which I don't have to tell you, count for more.

I'll Let Curry's 'Rookie' Shot Chart Have The Last Word

Who's more talented? If you're a student of the game and think about players in terms of careers instead of sports center highlights, I think it's almost obvious Curry wins. Evans might be able to make it on ability for now but it won't last if he doesn't learn how to play more like Curry. Evans can get there, but without remarkably improving his game he will be 'disenFranchised' out of the league in 10 years because he frankly lacks talent. Talent he needs to be a truly great player.

Curry does not need to change his game in the slightest. He's already there. It's so common to misconstrue that athleticism supersedes skill in the talent equation but it's quite the opposite. Curry stands to be a better player at 33 then he is now. Improving at a normal gradual pace his talent will be swishing 3's right into the Hall Of Fame.

But you could see that even before Curry played a minute in the NBA. Observe.

The Semi-Complete List Of Shaq Getting Dunked On

Shaqtus Made A Living Doing This

By: The Pest

Lets be honest about Shaquille O'Neal for a moment. He is easily one of the most dominant, powerful and ridiculous forces the NBA, or any sport, has ever seen. I personally think Dream is the superior center, but Shaq is not a poor choice if you're talking about his pure and absolute peak.

Speaking to hard core Shaq fans though will oft yield this argument for Shaq as a defender.

Have you ever seen shaq get dunked on or someone take him one on one and punish him like he did to everyone else? Shaq has never been dunked on.

Maybe not often, but I've heard it enough times from enough people to write an article about it. I think it's crazy. It's the NBA. Everyone dunks. Everyone gets dunked on. Even Shaq. So sure to generate mass unpopularity, here is the complete list of you tube dunks over Diesel. Admittedly, Shaq didn't get dunked on much, and since he played nearly his entire career before You Tube, even fewer exist in that medium.

Now, for this no one dunks on Shaq claim. I don't know where his fans get this. Here's a short collection, and these are only the ones that make it to you tube. PS: If anyone has more clips please send them along and we will gladly include them with credit.

Bynum dunks on Shaq's pride: 

Funderburke/Robinson:

 

Derrick Coleman Just Posterizes Him:

 

Rueben Patterson Does The Same: 

 

Elton Brand:

 

Zo:

 

Arvydas Sabonis:

 

Howard dunks on Shaq's floppy pride ("Like an elephant gun took him down"):

 

 

Jason Terry:

    

Jordan:

 

Webber:

 

 Vlade Divac: Now after that sweet pass you might say "yea, Divac was afraid of Shaq", But no, watch THIS clip, when Divac retaliates after a blatant non-call when Shaq was getting bailed out by officials (edit: My mistake here, Vlade just goes by Shaq on the dunk over Walker. Got them mixed up cuz of the title of the vid and Walker's 52 being similar to Shaq's 32 from the rest of his career. But he was 34 in LA of course. But I'll leave this dunk in just for it's pure sweetness. :) )

 

You know, after watching that Divac dunk, I really don't think Shaq's fans can ever say no one has ever dunked on him again. Vlade, sometimes the poster boy for soft centers, took it right at him and stuffed it down his throat. That dunk is ridiculous! (edit: still ridiculous, but it's downgraded from a facial stuff on Shaq to just a 'weak dunk on Shaq')

In conclusion, I really don't mean to be down on Shaq. He's obviously one of the most dominant players in history. But statements like "Shaq has never been dunekd on" make him sound like he's just beyond reproach. Remember that Shaq has never led the league in blocked shots or rebounding, Hakeem handed him his ass in the finals, and that yes, Shaq has been dunked on.

The Meaning Of Value: Russell Westbrook Vs. Kevin Durant

Durant Scores More On Average, But There Is
Nothing Average About Russell Westbrook

By: Jeremy Graham

Can you be the league MVP if you are not even the MVP of your own team? That's the question facing Kevin Durant, the chic pick at the beginning of the year to bringing home the hardware. Kobe's getting older, Lebron's taking his talents to South Beach, and Chris Paul's on a “lottery team.” It's KD team, and his time to win 10 straight MVPs.

With the playoff run and the international grind Durant is starting slow. I still don’t know if he would be the most valuable player to the Sonics, yes I am calling them the Sonics. (ED: FCP says "Damn Straight!" :) ) Right now, and maybe in the foreseeable future, Russell Westbrook is unquestionably the best, and most important player on his team.

This Play Defines The Sonics Success Against LA Last Year, Not Durant's

Double take expected; I almost can’t even believe what I am writing. How can I say that a combo guard who wasn’t supposed to even be a PG can be better than Kevin Durant? Simple! In the time they have played together Westbrook has progressed much more than Durant. Westbrook was never intended to be the full time point guard yet he wanted it so bad he told the franchise "I'm your guy" and took the bull by the horns. Westbrook has progressed so far that he is now arguably a top 5 PG in the league.

I know, top 5 is alright but you have to be top 3 to be elite. After Chris Paul and Deron Williams you can play musical chairs with Nash, Rondo, Rose and Westbrook so today's "arguably top 5" is really yesterday's elite. Durant may be a top two or three player at SF, depending on how you rate Carmelo, but SF does not have the depth of the PG position in the NBA. There are four different categories to rate players on, scoring, rebounding, passing and defense. Right now I think that Westbrook is outshining Durant in all four.

Scoring

We Feel You Seattle

This is like the Kobe vs Lebron debate for who is a better scorer. Talent or Production, what to choose? Durant is, of course, the more talented scorer from anywhere on the court. He resembles Vince Carter with the way he can stroke the 35 foot three when he wants to. Westbrook is a little more modest and is relegated to inside 20 feet. Despite this Durant€ is less efficient. He scores more than Westbrook, which looks great, till you dig a little deeper.

Durant is currently shooting 42% from the field and only 31% from the the arc. For a recently appointed “best offensive player in the game,” those numbers are lacking. Westbrook isn’t lighting it up either, shooting only 3% better at 45% but when you shoot as much as both players do it adds up. By getting his buckets closer to the basket Westbrook takes higher percentage shots for better efficiency. Some say Durant gets to the line and shoots so well the easy points compensate his poor shooting nights. Good point, except Westbrook is getting to the line just a touch less and is shooting just a tad lower. For now Westbrook is the best scorer on the Sonics. Will this last all year? Perhaps not, but it's the case so far in 2010 and could continue.

Rebounding

Even Blake Griffin Can't
Keep A Good Dunk Down

It also looks like Durant is the better rebounder on the surface. He does average more per game. But he plays a position where rebounding is part of the job, whereas at PG rebounds are a bonus. Westbrook doesn’t think along those lines. He is one of the best rebounding guards in the league.

Not just from the point but of all guards. Durant pulls down 6.6 RPG and Westbrook pulls down 5.5 out of a non-rebounding position. You have to look at the offensive glass as well. Westbrook averages almost 2 offensive rebounds a game, Durant doesn’t even average 1. Durant is phenomenal, but that reeks of low effort. A PG should not be cleaning the offensive glass better than your SF. It's not how basketball works. Is it a paradigm shift in the league towards a new uber athletic PG? Perhaps... Some day Durant is going to be pulling down 10 rebounds a game, he may even hit the offensive glass. Right now though, Westbrook has him beat by a country mile.

Passing

It's Okay Ramon Sessions,
No One Else Saw It Coming Either

It goes without saying that a team's PG the better passer when compared to a SF. For the sake of this I will focus ball control. For a jump shooter that puts the ball on the floor intermittently Durant frankly turns the ball over far too often. His TOs are as high as Westbrook without running the offense. Westbrook performs the main ball handling duties putting him in position to turn it over much more often.

Advanced stats appear to disprove this. Durant does have a higher usage rate and a lower turnover percentage. Does that mean that he holds onto the ball better? Nope, it sure doesn’t. Durant has a higher usage rate because he puts up more shots, not because he has the ball in his hands more. More shots should equal fewer turnovers. Next you might say, “Well Durant plays more minutes, of course his turnovers are higher.” Good point! Until you see they both average 3.5 TO per 36 minutes. In time Durant will protect the ball and drop more dimes. Presently, Westbrook is his superior.

Defence

PG's Get Higher Then Their
Centers For Blocks Now???

It does win championships as they say. Durant has turned himself into a very decent defender after a mostly lost rookie year. Westbrook has been a very good from day one.  I am not saying Westbrook is better because of history, I am saying he is better... because he is.

Durant's length/smarts put him in position to steal the ball 1.5 times, and block about a shot, per game. Not only that but he plays solid man and team D at a more important defensive position. Westbrook may play a less important defensive role than Durant but he plays his role better. With the influx of excellent to elite PGs it's becoming more important to have a good defender at the point.

Just ask the Heat. Westbrook is able to defend elite guards without much help and gets at least 2 take aways per game and tips many passes that don't make box scores. Durant may have a slight advantage in blocks, but steals nearly always result in a change of possession. Defense is hard to judge, especially statistically and when comparing different positions, but you have to give the edge to Westbrook. All without mentioning that Westbrook can guard both guard positions very well.

Come MVP voting Durant may very well pull ahead of Westbrook and be the best player for the Sonics. His numbers very well could sky rocket. He has all the talent to do so. A few questions should still arise at that time. Will Westbrook have the better numbers? Will it matter if he does, or will Durant win the MVP because he was supposed to be? And can you be the MVP if someone on your own team is outperforming you?

Lebron James: The Easy Decision - Cookie Cutter Arguments For Cutting Corners

By: The Pest

Lebron James Before "The Decision" Make Up Team Got At Him.

I know this has been done to death. Is there really a need for another article about The Decision? Maybe not, but when writers I respect like Bill Simmons say:

And as a basketball fan, it continues to be hard for me to accept that someone who had a chance to be the GOAT took the easy way out.

I start to think maybe I should contribute another.

Jordan, Barkley and Magic all famously chided him for going to Miami too. Which is odd for two players who did their winning with the second best player in the league (Pippen/Kareem) on their teams. Especially Barkley, who lost to Jordan's team after he demanded a trade from Philly to form the super stacked Suns teams of the mid-90's. Lebron didn't even demand a trade, he just left. Magic admitted that if he  comn't going to play with Kareem, the best player in the league, he was going to change his mind and not even come to the NBA and opt out of the draft. All this time Wade is getting 0 criticism when he was just as complicit in forming the 'new look' Heat as Lebron was, if not more since he championed the idea to sign 3 players at near max contract within the organization.

Charles Barkley Wins The MVP
Trophy: 1 Year After Forcing A Trade
Out Of Philly After A Single Losing
Season. Philly Hero Dr. J Passed Him
The Franchise Only 4 Years Earlier.
The 76ers Wins For 7 Years After
Chuck Ran: 26, 25, 24, 18, 22, 31, 28.
Deserter And Hypocrite Are Both
Spelled The Same: Barkley.

The story goes, instead of winning championships in an honest fashion Lebron has taken the easiest possible route and cut corners to attain success. Can critics be referring to changing teams? No, it's just a common reality of the NBA. MJ/Magic's teammates like Kareem, Rodman and Barkley himself changed teams to improve their situations. Kareem, like Chuck, demanded a trade and forced his way off the Bucks sending his championship team to the absolute mediocrity.

The only sensible argument left is "he's a ring chaser." Like Karl Malone going to join stacked LA. They claim an act of laziness was committed in the pantheon of hoops. In cheating the hard work of those greats he's tarnished his legacy at the young age of 25. It's a valid line of reasoning, but let's examine Lebron's choices and see if there is any truth to it.

Every team in the league could have, and would have, aquired Lebron James at nearly any costs. Your team, for the next 5 years, will make billions more in revenues. You become an automatic contender. With even decent talent you have a deep playoff run every year. It means you get the highest TV revenues for the playoffs. If you win 3 or 4 titles the profits you generate become just astronomical, and the NBA is famously a business.

He had all the cards in his hand. It was his choice with 29 suitors. Considering that they are building a team from scratch in Miami and still have a plethora of unanswered questions, lets count off the teams Lebron could have gone to that would have been an easier path to the title. To rephrase, the list of teams Lebron chose not to go to that would have been easier to win on then the Heat. All these teams with Lebron have to instantly be considered huge contenders if not title/finals locks which the Heat are not. The only question: was it possible? Here's the list in random order:


1. Boston Celtics

They are already good. Great even. This is probably their last season of contention, maybe second last? They're just getting old. But with Lebron they become an instant lock for the finals. They're loaded with options to make it happen.

The first one, stiff KG and trade him. Then Cleveland has to throw in another player actually.

The second, trade Ray Allen's expiring contract and throw in someone like Big Baby to make it happen. There's no way the Cavs say no and Boston was shopping Ray Ray this summer anyway. Or you can throw in Nate Robinson. Pierce's no trade clause prevents him from being involved.

2. LA Lakers


Could easily get him by trading Bynum who is essentially perfect for the scenario. He's a flier who could bring a huge season to the new team if he's healthy and become a star. If not, the next year his deal is expiring which gives you all kinds of leverage for rebuilding. If he's healthy, that lets you make a deal at the deadline to a team trying to add that one extra piece and get back lots of quality picks/contracts in return.

Or, package Vujacic's expiring deal of almost 6 million with Walton and change to make it happen and keep Bynum. The other team gets quality guys with short term deals and good rebuilding chips. LA gets a starting 5 of Lebron, Kobe, Gasol, Artest, Bynum/Odom as Lebron tries to emulate Magic and ravage the league for wins/rings during and after Kobe's career slow down.

3.Orlando Magic

Vince Carter is past his prime but still sells tickets. On a crap team, no doubt. In a situation like Cleveland's his scoring would jump back up as well. He has 2 years left on his deal so he's your's for one season and then becomes a 'very' attractive 17 million expiring deal the next season for whatever team needs to dump salary.

If you need to sweeten the pot to make the cavs want this, you just throw in Marcin Gortat who's awesome and the cavs will take back any other shitty contracts you want. They've also got a 5 million expiring Pietrus contract and a 2 year 4 million dollar contract for Brandon Bass that could be combined with Jameer Nelson's 2 year deal that the cavs would NEVER say no to.

4. LA Clippers

Lebron could have just signed with The Clippers: they had space. A deal with Baron Davis or Chris Kaman and whoever is a done deal and he's in LAC with him and Blake throwing Ally Oops to each other like they needed them to breath.

5. Portland Trailblazers
 

They have so many assets it would have been automatic. They could package Oden with Prisbilla in a deal the Cavs can not refuse. They can package Camby or Alderidge (thoguh I do not like his contract) in a deal they take. Or they straight up trade Brandon Roy cuz it's obvious that it's a massive upgrade. But they don't need to do that at all.

6. Chicago Bulls

They didn't even need to swing a trade since they had the cap room to take him on. This team was set up perfectly for him too. He just had to show up. The Bulls roster was so suited to Lebron that it almost looked like it had been constructed with him in mind. Lightening quick point guard who could create shots. Hard working defensive center who is 100% team oriented. Then a host of role guys who would feed off him like Taj Gibson. Pretty much the #1 spot for him to win titles right away. They're ready and even adding Boozer (whom I hate) instead of Bron, they are a much more complete team then Miami. They are easily the third best team in the east and possibly the second depending on how the Magic do.

7. Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs could have combined Caron Butler's expiring 10 million deal with Deshawn Stevenson's expiring 4 million dollar deal to make this happen overnight. Done. Dirk playing with Lebron and Kidd would be, well, just unfair. That means you could put Dirk on the floor with two of the best passers of their generation.

8. San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan playing with Lebron James, even at his age, is going to result in an amazing, stellar, elite team untouchable by anyone in the league. Duncan can teach Lebron how to do the heavy lifting like Robinson did for him. It would be ridiculous how Lebron would respond to Greg Poppavich, the guy who channeled Stephen Jackson into a Laker killing playoff assassin. To make it happen they just need to trade Tony Parker's expiring 13.5 million dollar contract. They like Parker, but not as much as they'd like Lebron James. Done deal.

9. The Sonics 

Oh, the Sonics. They are literally the 'only' team in this scenario with a player that the team won't trade for Lebron. Sorry Kobe, but if it was between you and another 5-10 years of dominance with the best player in the game, you're gone... not that LA would have had to do that if Lebron wanted to come, and not that they could have since Kobe indeed has a no trade clause. But they would.

With Nick Collison's expiring 7 million deal you're half way there without losing much. Morris Peterson's expiring 6 million dollar deal. What's that? You're within draft picks of Lebron James and you've only given up a guy who's best basketball was played in Kansas and the guy who Kobe Bryant scored 81 on. Both with awesome expiring deals worth more then their legit NBA pro games. Done like dinner.

Without mentioning Nenad Kristic's identical expiring 5 million deal or Daequan Cook's expiring 2 million dollar deal, or the absolute war chest of picks that Presti has collected that make any deal in the NBA totally possible. They're also 6.5 million under the cap.

10. Cleveland Cavaliers

What? Yes. The Cavs. They may not have been the easy route to a title but they were perhaps even the easiest team he could have picked. Lebron knew there would be a backlash if he left. He knew he'd be giving up a base of fans who adored him and trading that in for hate and resentment. He knew that leaving was giving up so much of what he had attained in life never having lived outside Ohio.

Change is inherently difficult. Ask the multitudes of people who feel hopelessly stuck in unhappy marriages and they're still there because changing their situation is too much for them to bear.

This Is Not An Easy Path

In some regards, staying in Cleveland was the easiest path of all. If he stays people trumpet 'The Decision' as a wonderful charity fund raiser from a player who has not forgotten his roots. Instead of a heel he's 'giving back to his community'. It becomes the happiest day in Cleveland sports history which is probably how Lebron envisioned the special in the first place when the TV deal was made (during the all star break). Choosing a path in which millions of people hate you is obviously harder then one in which those same millions love you.

9 teams. Count them. 9. And a tenth that was inherently easier without winning rings. A third of the league. Not just teams that would have been good with Lebron, these are teams that would have pretty easily become the best team in the league with him. And 10 teams that are very easily an easier choice/path.

Especially that Sonics team. With the growth of Durant slowly taking over as Lebron gets older. They could legitimately win 4-8 titles, or if that's pushing it, the lowest possible result barring injury etc. is best team in the league for 5-10 years straight.

Maybe Portland really doesn't have the goods to be the obvious best team in the league with Lebron, but they are instant contenders in the least as much or more then the Heat are this year. The other teams, they are instantly NBA alpha dogs. Miami looks good but have lots of work left to complete. A title is not guaranteed. They are obviously not the best team in the league yet. Spending that much on 3 guys is for sure an experiment and they hardly have the depth or size to be considered the best team. Till they figure it out, The Celtics, Lakers, Magic, Mavs, Spurs are still above them. The Sonics and Bulls are better as well. Maybe that will change by the end of the season but only if Miami makes some smart deals to fix the mistakes they made on players 5-12.

Just Wanted To Get These Hawks Girls In. :)

What is certain is the very best teams had easy options to acquire Lebron should he wanted to play there and all 9 choices resulted in a stronger team then the Heat and best team in the NBA status. Miami was 'not' one of these teams. New York with Amare, Utah with Deron Williams or Phoenix with Nash would be better teams then the Heat too. Or really the Hawks too. Which makes Miami at the 10'th or more easiest path Lebron could have taken to win. Which means it was some other motivation that pulled him to Miami then title chasing or corner cutting.

If this is the case, and I contend it is, MJ, Barkley and Magic (Simmons too) should all be ashamed for kicking a dog when he's down. Lebron has not had the best summer. He's become an easy target and even if the criticism is deserved they're just making up negativity that does not exist. When you take the 10'th or more most difficult route out of 29 it's factually not the easiest path.better a

Reggie Evans: The Beareded Boarder

These Are Not The Only People Watching Evans
On The Glass This Year, Will He Be An MIP Candidate?

By Jeremy Graham

If Sampson got his strength from his hair does Reggie Evans get his strength from his beard? Are beards coming back into style? What we are trying to say, Reggie, is don’t trust sexy women unless they are into facial hair, and under any duress or circumstance… don’t shave!

Evans is the basketball cookie monster. He works himself into a frenzy and gobbles rebounds. The man is averaging 16 a game this season after barely seeing the floor in 2009 or 2010 as a perennial  bench warmer. How does one morph to being the best rebounder in the league?

Maybe it’s that only 3 games have been played this year. Makes sense, but one would have to forget that he has a history of being a pretty good rebounder; he just never saw the floor enough to be among the league leaders. He had the goods: per 36 minutes, Evans has averaged between 11.5-14.7 rebounds per game every season for his entire career.

If Rebounds Were Cookies: By Reggie Evans

Next consider his team. The Raptors are a pretty terrible on the boards. Andrea Bargnani, starting center, is averaging a paltry 3 per game and his career high is 6.2. He’s actually being out-rebounded this season by guards Jarret Jack and Demar Derozen. One could say this leaves all the boards for him, but I say it’s stepping up to the challenge with almost no help.

Once you consider his history you need to watch his game. Evans is everywhere the ball goes when it comes off the rim. Maybe this is just good luck with a small sample size and maybe he just has a sixth sense for where the ball is going to be.  It’s almost Rodman’esque. Like all the great rebounders before him, he always has position for both offensive and defensive rebounds. He is behind the player guarding him and boxing him out so he can get the offensive rebound. When you watch his game, it’s not luck but pure will and determination getting those boards; wanting the ball more. Rebounding really is only 20-30% skill, the rest is hustle… and heart. No one on the floor looks more determined to get to the ball than Evans. He will box out a teammate if he has to.

Then why is he only getting minutes now? The only thing i can think of was a lack of an offensive game and merely being an average defender. Despite being one of the toughest dudes in the league he’s still undersized at 6’8”. Having Bosh around must not have helped either but they sure could have used the rebounding and toughness down the stretch when Bosh was not giving a damn. If it’s offense I think a player getting 5 offensive rebounds a game should be considered a good offensive player. He’s not scoring himself but his offensive boards are converted into opportunities and point, not to mention prevent opponent fast breaks. Evans won’t even shoot after getting the board unless he is wide open so he is always making sure the ball gets back to the guys who run the offense.

People Forget That Making The NBA Is An Achievement
That Only The Most Elite Hard Working Athletes In The World Acomplish.
With This Attitude, No Wonder Toronto Signed Him

Hmm… I hate Chris Bosh! Yes I do, but I don’t want to end that way. Instead I will address some of the obvious questions.

Q: “Will he keep it up all year?”

A: The 16 per game pace. No. Rodman’esque is not actually Dennis Rodman.

Q: “Will he be among the league leaders at the end of the year?”

A: Absolutely. Only two things are in his way. First, he might start to lose minutes so the team can develop  younger players, especially if Ed Davis shows some life post surgery. This could happen if the Raptors fall out of the playoff race early. The second is fatigue. Evans is playing a purely strength based and energy consuming game right now.  If he’s spent his bench career preparing his body and conditioning for his break, for that kind of challenge, he will be okay. If not, it’s very likely he will slow down as the season wears on him.

One Must Agree, The Similarities Are Striking

Even considering this, if Evans gets 32 minutes a night he should easily get 12 boards a game, not to mention that 5-6 would be on the offensive end. With these numbers he could be the oldest player to win the most improved player award. Not only that but he would put himself in a good position, barring lockout, to get a nice final contract before he rides off into the sunset and eventually becomes the bouncer we all know his body made to be.ow dHow

Remember, R is for Reggie, and Rebound, that’s good enough for him.

And we mean it Reggie. What ever you do, keep the beard.

In Defence Of: Vince Carter

There's Really No Debate That This Dunk Will Be
 At Or Close To The Top Of Every Best Dunks Of
All Time List For 50 Years (At Least)

(In Defence Of is a new regular feature on Full Court Pest who's goal is to defend players who have controversial and/or negatively viewed careers in the NBA. If you'd like to see someone defended, feel free to send the suggestion along, and if I agree, will do my best, enjoy!)

Being a Raptors fan (by default when you're Canadian) inherently involves having an informed opinion on Vince Carter. I've followed Carter's entire career. I can't disagree with anything in the well established plethora of his faults, but I've also got to say that rap sheet is overly harsh on Carter. It kills to me to have to defend him but I'm compelled when history is unjust.

One thing I know about the NBA: you can't win without good bigs. You just can't. At minimum you need someone who can rebound, defend and bring some toughness at the 5. Without it, the other team's tough role players to superstar big will exploit you a la Dwight Howard vs Big Z in last year's East finals. You need a Kendrick Perkins, a la Boston/Orlando in this years finals, or you are done. Agreed?

So who's the best big that Vince played with in his pre-Orlando career? That comes down to a choice between post-prime Antonio Davis who showed up being 31 years of age after he was still a role player topping out at 28 MPG in his prime in Indiana.

Everyone Wins Titles With The Diesal

Davis was an utter post season no show in 2000 with 9, 4 and 12 boards. Played well the next year (TO came within a shot of the east finals) and after that it was evident his time being an impact player was over, all before Carter entered his prime. Davis' season ending injuries sank the Raptors to the point that Toronto's best front court players were a 37 year old Kevin Willis and a 36 year old Charles Oakley.

The next best choice is Nenad Kristic. Do I need to say more? Except Kristic got hurt, so his best big was... a 39 year old Clifford Robinson! Seriously. Or maybe Josh Boone... and that's arguable.

So you have to do some comparisons with Carter's peers.

y = Carter + x (other player's big)

x (Manu/Parker) = Duncan y = titles
x (Kobe) = Shaq y = titles
x (Wade) = Shaq y = titles
x (Pierce) = KG y = titles
x (Kobe) = Pau/Odom y = titles

And that's an entire decade of champions minus the Pistons which is a team Carter would have no place being on. In the very, very least, the result of any of those pairings is legitimate contender.

Charles Oakley And His Girlfriend

The fact is, no one is going to win or make any noise starting an injured Nenad Kristic, post-prime injured Davis or on average 38 year old front courts. Or Josh Boone. Or Brian Scalanbrine who the Nets actually did start at center while Carter was there.

Carter deserves lots of blame, but no one else in that situation, Jason Kidd or not, is going to win in the post season even if they are. Michael Jordan who actually lost with prime, not 37 year old Charles Oakley. Does Jordan win with Clifford Robinson, Kristic or Josh Boone? No. People attach the losing to Vince because he was famous, however, if you follow those player's careers as starters you can see that they had their peaks with Vince Carter. Kristic 'starts' in OK City, but only plays 22 minutes a game.

People still act as if the losing is all Carter's fault. He didn't play optimally, his heart is questionable, he lacks toughness but even if he put in MJ performances, he probably wouldn't have won much more then he did, or at all. Maybe one year in TO he gets to the east finals. That's about it. MJ on the Raptors still loses. On the nets he loses to Shaq and the Heat twice. He still loses to Big Z when he was still an effective player with Bron in 07 cuz over 40 Cliff, Josh Boone and Mikki Moore just can't compete. And no one even considers that when Kidd left the Nets the team won the same # of games, 34, as the year before. When Carter left, they won 12 and Devin Harris did not look nearly as spectacular.

Sure, Vince mailed in some games and he's hated for it. Lest we forget though that in the NBA situation is everything. Carter's attitude stank, but not nearly as badly as the dysfunctional teams he spent his prime on. Now he's frankly too old to make up for either vs an absolute defensive juggernaut.

Vince Doesn't Deserve This

Lets be fair. Look up Coleman, Derrick or Mercer, Ron for players who are much worse examples of no effort postage. He's unquestionably the greatest NBA dunker of all time which is an accomplishment and put up pretty great numbers for his whole career. People are trying to fill him full of 'blame pie' like Kevin Spacey filled the fat guy full of spaghetti in Se7en. Hey, maybe that's justified. All I'm saying is relax Kevin, now that he's full of your hate-fruit filling, is it really necessary to kick him in the stomach?

Fix NBA All Star In 10 Easy Steps

Jerry Vision turned off is still more exciting then
most of All Star Weekend

NBA All Star Weekend, bar none, was the best of it's kind in sports. Key word: was. Even with 108,713 fans in Dallas, the mid-season event was anything but classic. It seems wasted potential is now an NBA staple. The slam dunk contest was one of the most anticipated events of the year and it did deliver. It all delivered. Announcers last Sunday had so little to talk about Jerry Vision was often taking center stage. Watching a enormous screen on a little screen at home.

So what's wrong? Plenty. Can it be fixed? Absolutely! 10 sure fire (and simple) ways to instantly return all star to something meaningful, as follows.




1. Change The CBA

The easiest fix of them all! With the Collective Bargaining Agreement about to be renegotiated it's time they addressed something besides money. If the CBA makes the game easier to promote there will be more money for all. Right?

Players are required to take part in NBA Cares and a platitude of other events so just get rid of 'invitations' and make participation in all star events mandatory. If the NBA is picking it's most electric stars to compete those guys are heading to all star anyway: time off is a non-factor.

Fans watch the NBA because they want to see the highest level of competition. No one tuned in to see Gerald Wallace make an uncontested ally oop dunk. I want to see the best shooters alive, not Daquan Cook. I want to see players with pride on the line in HORSE. Lebron vs Kobe vs Durant vs Wade would deliver entertainment Omri Caspi just can't bring to the table.


2. Jocks Are Pretty Stupid, Get Off The Mic

This is spontaneous and awesome. More!

Most players are in reality pretty dull people. If someone like Shaq or Dwight are entertaining, by all means highlight them and let them speak to the fans. Giving Shaq his own dance with the Jabberwokkeez in Phoenix is one of the best all star moments ever. But why spend time interviewing someone with softball questions about their 'strategy' before a shootout? No one wants to hear an athlete stammer through a few sentences trying to find a colorful way to say "I'm going to try and make more shots then the other guy."








Fans want action. We tune in to watch stars 'play

This is not spontaneous, or awesome. Less! NONE!
Just Spare Us!

sports'. That's why they are called 'players' not actors. If I wanted to hear someone speak I'll watch actors who are paid million to speak. Past contests with multiple rounds/competitors have been traded in for talking heads standing around mumbling players waiting for something to happen. Players get crazy, grab the mic or yell into a camera and that's cool because it's spontaneous. The NBA needs to ditch obligatory stadium speaker interviews. They suck. It's staged. No one cares. It drags everything down.






3. How To Fix Horse

If the NBA introduces competitions as a TNT
joke, how can it entice serious players to
compete?

Getting rid of the ultra-stupid G.E.I.C.O. format was a tiny first step, but this could easily be the crown jewel of all professional All Star events. For two years it's been more boring then 3 ball. The NBA got so much wrong I need a bullet list just to keep it organized.

• Step one means players we actually want to see compete. Lebron vs Kobe makes this a real competition and electric because they will NOT want to lose. They have pride. HORSE just became 500% better, instantly.
• Allow dunks already! Who cares if not everyone can dunk. This is the highest level of competition and if you can't dunk, you lose HORSE. NBA players do not need to be protected by no dunk rules.
• Open the competition up to allow one fan to participate. This guy can play. This guy can own. So why not let the fans root for him? How entertaining would it be for an Average Joe to make the NBA's biggest stars sweat before they shoot him out?
• DITCH THE REF! HORSE is not a game you need a ref for. It's a game you play with your friends in a drive way. If someone tries to cheat it can easily be judged by the group. A player stagnantly informing the ref of his shot is not natural or how it's played at all.
• Get rid of unnecessary replay. I just don't need to see a guy miss a lame attempt 4 times. HORSE is fun because it's quick and people try all kinds of crazy novelty shots. If there is any more then 20-30 seconds between attempts, it drags and gets totally dull. If something is crazy enough to warrant replay the crowd and player reactions will create enough time to show them.
• Get Chuck, Kenny and EJ off the floor. Those guys are great in a studio but they are destroying HORSE. They totally interrupt the flow with their irrelevant banter. The past two contests were more about them taking jabs then the athletes competing. They distract the players, they distract the fans, they delay the competition to make yet another fat joke about Barkley.
• Get rid of the mics entirely. Again, athletes are not talkers. They are totally comfortable playing in front of 1,000's but you can sense stiffness and stage fright when their words are booming out to 100,000 plus fans and on TV's across the world. With the mics off, they'll feel comfortable talking trash, laughing and reacting to player's crazy shots. I don't need to hear a stupid interview after every dunk.
• Host HORSE in the main stadium already. What's the point of outside or a separate stadium? A lame 'play ground' feel? Who cares? I want fans cheering like crazy and amping the players up to go for it the same way they used to in the dunk contests.



Maybe The TNT Guys Are Just Getting A Little Too Greedy?
Or Maybe I'm A Little Full On Corny Fat Jokes. They Have
Ruined HORSE for two straight years. STOP!




• Scratch the Shoot Out. As Barkley pointed out, it's hardly even fair, and it's not HORSE.

What do you know, you can have 5 or 6 players competing instead of just 3 when you remove the crap. They used an extra difficult shot to give everyone an H at the start and cut the end with a shootout to fit in boring interviews, banter and replays. It should not take 5 minutes to get through one round of HORSE. Let 6 players can go for it. They call their own shots, talk trash and stick their chests out. No filler. It's like the NBA just doesn't want this to work.



4. Get Some Cool Entertainment

Usher? Really? Look, I understand that teen aged girls drive the popular music market, and I'm sure some focus group may say he's a great choice, but common sense must at some point prevail.

The White Stripes should have been
asked to perform on the strength of
Meg's glorious bouncing rack alone

USHER SUCKS!!!

Some artists sell lots of records but indeed eternally suck. Why are the Pussycat Dolls introducing NBA games? How is it possible I can reference the Pussycat Dolls in a sports blog at all? Is it not possible to get an artist who is popular with more then one age demographic? Maybe they don't have a hit song in the last week, but everyone still loves them? And maybe they've got some stage presence?


How can someone realistically think that Usher would be a better choice then say, The White Stripes? The Red Hot Chilie Peppers? Or U2? (I even hate U2 but they aren't Usher) Are there not 1,000 better choices then a dumb ass chick wearing a bear suit in a cage? If you're going to have soft-core porn why not just hire Jenna Jamison to sit in a cage? Can't the NBA on ABC license Roundball Rock from NBC just for the good of sports in general? How is it possible John Tesh can be cooler then anyone? Yet... he is.




5. Tell Players To Stop Shooting


Not a rule, but a primer. A pep talk. Before the 4'th quarter, if a play you make is not going to be spectacular, pass the ball. It took a whole half before players started going for it. We don't want pull up jumpers. We want the Harlem Globetrotters. The rookie game was factually better then the allstar game. The Mcdonalds High School All American game was more entertaining. Why make safe plays in an all star game? Deron Williams, Wade, Lebron and Howard were the only guys to even try flashy moves.


Not that shooting a 3 is bad... if you're Dwight Howard, that's awesome. If it's from 35 feet, great! If you make a few and want to get people excited by hitting 10 in a row, uber cool. Just be special. I'd rather see 1 made ally oop off the glass out of 10 attempts then 20 made jumpers from the elbow.

Have point guards post up centers, have centers run the point. If your game is defense offensive players should try to dunk on your head every time while they try to get a monster block on every attempt. Just for the sake of drama. Make it fun! Only a handful of players even got the point on Sunday.


6. Select Stars Based On Projected All Star Results

This is what an application to play in the
All Star game should look like

Sorry Chris Kaman, you're a really good player, but you're not an All Star. Shaq, Vince Carter... you're all stars and I want to watch you. Every year you can drag your sorry aging asses through the game. Why is David Lee playing? Big Daddy's personality was engineered in a lab for this. Vince Carter, while a questionable teammate, is nearly the greatest All Star player in history. He created the big moments that made past games memorable. Why is he not making dunks off the backboard and tea-bagging French dudes every single year?


The NBA talks up it's product and entertainment constantly yet is obsessed with rewarding players based on team performance and merit? If David Lee is great on a 19 or 60 win team, Shaq will provide about 50 more superior moments then Lee so he should be there. He's a star among stars and David Lee is not. It's that simple.

So let fans vote in the starters. Lee out. Shaq in. Entertainment WAY UP!

7. Fix The Dunk Contest

Fixing the CBA will do the heavy lifting here again. Nate Robinson, who has dunked 3 times all year in games, has won 3 dunk titles. Not to take it away from him, but it's obvious this is not a contest if no one worthy competes. The fixes for HORSE also apply. The dunk contest has gone from guys in jersey's creating excitement to people in suits pretending to be excited. Once the boring filler is removed and the best athletes in the game are in the contest we have more room for things we actually find entertaining.

Robbed! How Can You Not Advance That Grin?

Return to 3 rounds so it's harder to win. The judges jobbed Dwight Howard's underrated sticker dunk because only two could advance. A middle round ensures that only a true failure/mistake will bump you. Let contestants dunk 3 times taking the best two. I also prefer the old school rule of 2 attempts preventing embarrassments like Birdman and Nate Robinson's 100 attempts each on dunks they can't really complete. The fact that Nate beat Igudola after his million attempts is a failure of the system, not the players.


Lastly any foul line dunk attempts inside the foul line gets an automatic 25. It's the most overdone dunk in history. It has to go. Does anyone truly get excited anymore when they go to the back corner? Yet another imitator to jump inside the line coming up. Every time: FAIL!


8. Fix The 3 Point Contest


This should have been the field this year.


Ray Allen
Stephen Curry (the only one who should have been there)
Jason Kappano
Anthony Morrow
Danial Gibson
Arron Affallo
Gilbert Arenas (best shot in the league! snicker!)


Make room for a star or two who wants to prove they can shoot like James or Kobe. The best shooters showcasing the league's talent. People who don't watch hoop watch this contest and when they see someone clang over half their shots what's going to make them watch more? A Craig Sager interview with the guy to miss the least? Sorry, won't work.

Hmm... on that note:


9. Fire Craig Sager

How Can This Man Be Hired To
Do Anything Dressed Like That??

This man has got to go. Or fire his mom as head of wardrobe. It's must end. My girlfriend is chinese and while she speaks great English she sometimes will say something like "Were you disappointing with that All Star game?"


Sager asked if Kobe was "disappointing" being hurt for the ASG. But he's a native english speaker! The man has a little Forest Gump in him. Look NBA, ABC kicked NBC's ass and used it's Survivor money to outbid them for NBA rights. We know. At some point you have to realize NBC did a kick ass job of promoting hoop. Sometimes it's good to ignore the bottom line. Highlights were better. Intros amped us up. They covered better and more games and they didn't hire people who can't speak English or make a fool out of themselves every night with their clothing.


Craig Sager has become a personification of all that is the NBA on ABC. A lot of non-memorable cliches dressed up in a cheap suit. Fire Craig Sager, fix the NBA.



10. Fix The Voting Process


Mark Stein writes a yearly column justifying the all-star ballot committee's failures and justifying why deserving players don't make it. He actually writes it before the season starts as that's when the ballot is made. Why? Because they make the ballot before a single game is played. One year Marbury was on the ballot without playing a single game for the Knicks because he 'might' have been all-star worthy in February.

Question: Sound stupid? Maybe not in 1970 when it took time and money to print, distribute, collect and count votes... but that was 40 years ago. I don't use a telegram when I have a cellphone in my pocket. Conclusion: it is stupid.

Message to NBA: save a tree! In 2010 (as in 2000 for that matter) voting should be done online and fans should be able to select any player. What is the point of paper ballots in an arena when fans are txting which 4 year old they think did the best silly dance in the half time show? The impetus for ballots has vanished like your season ticket revenues. Use technology, open the ballot to all the players, save money, improve all-star weekend. It makes my brain bleed.

Even With A Stadium Like This, With The Largest
Crowd In History, This Was The Worst All Star
Weekend I May Have Ever Seen

This past weekend, if anything, is a textbook example of trying too hard. From the attendance record, to Jerry Vision to Sager's suit. The NBA, and ABC, just has to realize that their main product is not in their studios but is on the court. That's why players make millions of dollars: we want to see 'them'. Step back. Let the game market itself. Let it be what it is without the bear suits and glam. Give us what we want. Give us basketball. Not tivo fodder.





This Article Featured In:

A Stern Warning
Celtics Green 
Celtics Blog 
mahalo.com