Fans love to speculate on who the best NBA player in history is. While some fans point at Kobe Bryant or Kareem Abdul Jabar, a vast number of fans have settled on either Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Of course, each side highlights their own milestones and varying factors in favor of their argument. A few weeks back, NBA Hall of Famer, Scottie Pippen, went on First Take and had a conversation with Stephen A. Smith about the matter. During the course of the discussion, Pippen pointed at notable distinction that separates Jordan from James: killer instinct.
What exactly is Pippen talking about?
Pippen, who played alongside Jordan, is touching on a mental drive that fans have grown to love. It’s a desire not just to win, but to completely dominate the game. In fact, as Pippen and Smith put it, it’s the want to demoralize your opponent. It doesn’t relent. It doesn’t give up. It’s the compulsive need to demolish whoever you are playing against that night. According to Pippen, its either you’re born with it or you’re not. To him, at least, James was not.
LeBron is one of the Greatest.
Now, in all fairness, this is merely Pippen’s opinion. There are relevant milestones that LeBron James has reached that put him head and shoulders above whole generations of players who came before him. He is still a top five of All-time player. He has four MVPs, three championships, a mountain of accolades, and at least three years before he retires. He is currently the best active player in the game, in spite of the fact that he is 34 years old. He is able to impact the stretch of a game in the way very few have.
The problem is that LeBron’s Lakers are on the precipice of missing the playoffs. His late game defense is under constant attack. Angry fans, and even certain media figures, are saying that the Lakers should even consider trading the “King.” Fans are concerned that when put between a rock and a hard place, James does not have the mentality to lead his team to greatness. He is lacking something, and that something is a killer instinct.
Can he be the Greatest without a killer instinct?
No one is arguing that Brian Scalabrine is giving James a run for his money in terms of greatness. King James is being compared to Michael Jordan, his Airness, and it’s not enough to be great. LeBron James is great, but so was Jordan. In fact, Jordan is considered to be the Greatest to ever do it. That is the threshold that LeBron has to overcome, and its hard see to be him doing that without that killer instinct. This is particularly true in light of the Lakers’ lack of success.
Jordan never lost in the finals. Bryant only lost twice. Abdul-Jabar lost four times. LeBron James has lost six times. However, you frame it, that’s a significant number of losses that arguably would not have happened if James possessed the instinct that Pippen is alluding to. There is a very prevalent argument here that James gives his opponents too much leeway in ways that Jordan and Bryant never would.
Now, this isn’t a debate about ability. Fans have seen LeBron dominate the game time and time again. He is in the top 10 for All-time assists, All-time scoring, and All-time Triple Doubles. He has the ability to do whatever he wants on the basketball court. This is a question of mindset, and according the Scottie Pippen, Lebron James just doesn’t have it.
In Conclusion
History is still being written and there is plenty of time for LeBron James to emerge as the best player ever. He is barely showing any signs of slowing down. Right now, with accepting to play limited minutes, James focus will probably be on next season. However, as this season and subsequent seasons unfold, he will have the chance to prove Pippen wrong. Time will only tell if he is successful.
On Wednesday night, Kevin Durant was a little more silent than usual, and the media hated it. After dropping the hammer on the San Antonio Spurs and picking up a commanding victory of 141 to 102, Durant met with reporters at the post game interview. When pressed about why he wasn’t talking as much, Durant went on a tirade about how he doesn’t trust the media and how his words are often twisted. Before leaving the interview in a heat of frustration, Durant urged the media to grow up. While fans may be quick to call him dramatic, Durant may have a point.
Not so fast, KD.
Now, Kevin Durant has a lot to be on the hook for. As many strongly hold on to, Kevin Durant ruined the NBA. By joining a team that won 73 games without him, Durant created a power shift that has allowed the Golden State Warriors to monopolize winning in ways previously unseen. Moreover, the rich simply kept getting richer, as the Warriors added Demarcus Cousins this season to make a real-life version of the MonStars from Space Jam. Of course, Durant is allowed to make his own decisions. The fans perception of those decisions is another thing entirely. However, Durant may have a point about the media’s role in all this.
“Don’t Ask me that Again.”
When it comes to things like free agency and trade discussions, its easy for us who aren’t going through it to constantly make it a conversation point. However, for the players, it’s understandable that they don’t want to constantly be bombarded with inquiries about their next destination. A lot of players, particularly Kevin Durant, are focused on the here and now, with a special emphasis on winning. He has made it abundantly clear that his free agency decision is off limits for now, a sentiment shared with his fellow player and friend, Kyrie Irving. Perhaps Durant said it best, these guys just want to play ball.
There is another side to this argument that player’s like Durant invite these inquiries. Durant is no stranger to cryptic tweets and in person subs. He has made more than one controversial statement over the years. In fact, he has been viewed as a figure who might actually like being at the center of these kind of discussions.
We all have a job to do.
The reality may be that players want to control their own narrative. It makes sense. Players like Durant, or Irving, or even LeBron have certainly reached a position where they want to tell their own story. They’re champions, players at the top of the game, and quite frankly, it is their lives. If Durant wants to call himself as the villain, then that’s what he is. If he doesn’t want to talk free agency than maybe that’s his right not to.
At no point is Durant under an obligation to answer questions that he doesn’t want to answer. So, if he makes it clear that he doesn’t want to talk about something, then perhaps reporters should leave the topic alone. Now, of course, we all have a job to do. That includes KD, and the reporters that interview him. However, Durant’s frustration is about the job itself, but about the way the job of these reporters is being done.
In Conclusion
Durant just wants to play basketball. Maybe its unrealistic for him to believe that in his role he’ll be able to do that without garnishing certain kind of questions. Fans may not be so inclined to believe the hype surrounding his drama. Fans may be even slower to show sympathy to a man that fans liken to a snake. Whether Durant has a point or not is purely up to us. Until Durant ultimately makes a decision or decides to talk about it himself, reporters and fans should prepare for more of these kind of reactions by Durant.
The NBA trade deadline is only a few short days away. The League has been engulfed with news that Anthony Davis has requested a trade from his current team, the New Orleans Pelicans. While the Los Angeles Lakers have been the front runner for landing the perennial big man, other teams have thrown their hats in the ring to land him. Of course, the team is under no obligation to trade Davis. However, there is a good chance that he may bolt by 2020. Thus, if the Pelicans decide to facilitate a trade, here are three teams that the Pelicans may want to consider making a deal with.
The Los Angeles Lakers
While the Pelicans may be tempted to be petty and not go through with this deal, it doesn’t lack merit. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Lakers offered New Orleans Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley, and a first round draft pick. Pelicans are speculated to make a counter offer, but it’s pretty clear that the Lakers are determined to land Davis. Getting Ball, Kuzma, and one or two draft picks may put the Pelicans in a position to really build towards the future. With the likelihood that Davis’ tenure will be coming to an end, the Pelicans may want to take advantage of the Lakers’ desperation.
The New York Knicks
This may be more beneficial to the Knicks then the Pelicans, but this deal could also have its bright spots. The Knicks have recently went through a roster overhaul, trading away Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke. In exchange they received Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, and two first round draft picks. The team is clearly in the process of hitting the reset button, and that can include landing a superstar like Davis. New York could potentially offer Matthews, the two draft picks, Frank Ntilikina, and even Enes Kanter. Once again, such a deal would put the Pelicans in a position to build towards the future, which they clearly need right now. If New Orleans chooses to make a deal, this may not be a bad one.
The Boston Celtics
This a more controversial consideration, especially given the fact that Anthony Davis’ father strongly disagrees with it. However, it could make sense for the Pelicans. Last year in the playoffs, the Celtics proved just how valuable their young players are. The whole League was put on notice that the Celtics’ rising stars are not to be toyed with. While the Celtics will likely want to keep building with the core that they have now, Danny Ainge is Danny Ainge. He has pulled the trigger on deals before despite the performance of a player, which is something that Davis Sr. has a problem with. Though, as far as the Pelicans are concerned, they may be out a star and could be enticed by the proven young talent. It may not be a stretch of the imagination to see the Celtics bundle a package comprised of Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum, and even Gordon Hayward just for kicks. If the Pelicans received such a deal, it would be hard to see them say no.
Bonus Option: No One
Okay, so obviously no one isn’t a team, but this is still very realistic. New Orleans can simply disregard the request and keep Davis in a Pelicans uniform for another year. They really and sincerely don’t have to do anything. However, all that means is that Davis will idle through next season, or just not play at all. Having a toxic relationship grow in the locker room is something that the Pelican likely want to avoid. That being said, chances are that a deal for Davis may be completed in the next few days. However, don’t be surprised if the Pelicans simply just sit on their hands.
Concluding Thoughts
Anthony Davis is one of the best big men in the League. Wherever he goes will get a boost just because he’s on the floor. Obviously the Pelicans are going to do what’s best for them, which may include nothing. However, it cannot be forgotten that the ball is almost entirely in their court. Thus, fans and front offices alike will simply have to stay tuned.
It seems as if this week is the week in which former NBA players decided to defend their eras and their players. You had Stephen Jackson who was on the 2006-2007 Warriors that beat the top seeded Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs as an eighth seed. Then, you have NBA legend Oscar Robertson saying this. You have Isaiah Thomas saying this, too. So, this week was the week in which former NBA players, some all-time greats, told us how they really feel.
People are putting Stephen Curry in the category with all-time great point guards already. Former players are complaining. He’s having fun with the whole thing, though. This is not anything new. In many sports, when a generation of players retire and the new generation of players reach their primes, the old generation tends to complain. They want to hold on to their spot. They feel the need to remind the fans that were either very young or not born at the time of their primes of how good they were. Some take it to the extreme and don’t just say they were good back in the day, but that they are good now after retirement. This is not an NBA dynamic. This isn’t just a player dynamic either. This is a dynamic in all of sports.
You guys ever argue with an older person about sports? You already know how it goes, (unless you are an older person reading this, don’t stop reading though). The first thing you are going to hear about is how good the players back in their day were. Stats not even something that is brought up. You are probably going to bring up stats before them. All they would talk about is impact and what they saw with their own eyes. This is something that is very important. I personally feel that statistics hold too much weight in the sports world today because statistics could be deceptive sometimes. However, they’re going to use feelings, memories, and “vibes” to discredit the current players of your generation. The next qualifier that older fans are quick to bring up are rule changes. For the NFL, it got softer. For the NBA, it got softer. For the MLB, the game was much better back in the day because guys were better; more home runs. “But, they were on steroids. That’s why.” “Steroids don’t make you make contact with ball, trust me I’ve been watching the game since you were a baby.” On and on and on, you guys know how it is. Legitimate facts and claims might be brought up. This is a fundamental aspect of every good argument/debate. Both sides must bring up legitimate facts that both parties can agree on in order to argue about what they don’t agree on. Rule changes do change the way sports are played making the games different. However, if both sides were to be honest, there’s just a generation gap. You will never fully understand how great the former players were despite how many YouTube videos you saw of them because you weren’t alive or old enough when these players were playing. The older person may never fully understand how great this generation of players are despite rule changes because they’re so used to seeing a certain style of play, seeing how great their generation of players were, or stubborn. It’s different when you experience greatness at the time when they were great because you understand the impact. However, anybody can over or underestimate people.
Now to Stephen Curry.
He’s on pace to break several offensive records this year and he has his team on pace to win the most games in NBA history. The team that they might surpass for the most wins in NBA history is the NBA champion 1995-1996 Bulls. This is a win total that many people didn’t think would be passed for a long time. Some teams have won 67 games, but nobody has even reached 70 since the Bulls set the mark at 72 wins 20 years ago. In other words, Stephen Curry and the Warriors are having a historic season.
How do you discredit a person’s greatness when the numbers show you how great they are? You discredit everything else surrounding them. Their team was really good, he or she was just along for the ride. Or in Stephen Curry’s case, the league isn’t as good anymore and the rules changed so its easier to play the game. THEY COULDN’T PLAY IN OUR DAY! Numbers do lie sometimes. It feels like every year, a different quarterback throws for the most yards in a season. Out of the top 15 seasons for most passing yards, 12 of those seasons were had in the last 5 years. A statistic like that will show you why having the most passing yards in a season is probably not the best indicator for how good a quarterback is historically. The increase in passing yards are directly correlated with the rule changes in the NFL that make it easier for offensive players to produce.
However, the decrease in home runs over the years due to the fact that guys aren’t using steroids anymore (at least most guys). This decrease does not mean the players are worse now than they were back then. They just don’t cheat…as much. Are rules in the NBA different than they were back in the day? Yes. No hand checking. The definition of a flagrant foul has changed. However, the skill level of the competition is not the same as it was back in the day. Today’s NBA has more athletes. Today’s NBA athletes are better shooters and I know that Oscar Robertson doesn’t like that. OK, let’s be real. It was never OK to hit people in the face as they are shooting. In any era, that’s a foul. This is what you would have to do in order to stop Stephen Curry from making a three and even then it’s not promised that he is going to miss. I have literally seen Chris Paul have his hand on Stephen Curry’s chest as he’s shooting and he still made it and he turned around a looked at his coach Doc Rivers and basically told him that he had his hand on his chest so he tried his best. I think it was the same game that this happened. Shooting the basketball is shooting the basketball and I find it hard to believe that guys aren’t getting up in the best 3 point shooter in NBA history’s face to try and make him miss, despite what the legend Oscar Robertson says.
The generation gap is real. The generation gap in sports doesn’t just affect fans. It affects players, as well. When you have an NBA legend discrediting your career and accomplishments, it can hurt your career. It may not prevent you from winning rings, but it can prevent you from being thought of as highly as you would like to be at the end of your career because knowledgeable voices have influence. It can even prevent you from making halls of fame, ask Terrell Owens. I believe that in our society, we need to emphasize how influential generation gaps are in our perception of sports. Think about it, if Kobe didn’t start his career while Michael Jordan was playing and several years after like around now, maybe people wouldn’t be calling him this generation’s Michael Jordan, but the next Michael Jordan. Maybe Kobe played to close to Michael Jordan’s era so his impact was still fresh in the minds of NBA fans back in Kobe’s prime. Who know’s? Comparing players is fun is fun for fans and analysts. That’s part of what makes sports interesting. But, when well-respected former players start publicly discrediting current player’s accomplishments and the whole league, that might be a little too far. We, fans and players young and old, need to understand that we cannot completely and fairly judge a person’s career until after it’s done. Doing that might prevent us from recognizing that we are watching the best player in history, or fool us into thinking that we are watching the best player in history. While a player is playing, all we can do is speculate.
2013 seemed to be a significant year for NBA coaches. There were 12 coaching changes in the summer of 2013 with most of the changes being coaches being fired or not resigned. That summer seemed to set the tone for coaches that we see today.
Earlier this year, Kevin McHale, the coach of the Houston Rockets was fired EARLY in the season. Not even a quarter of the season went by. They went to the Western Conference Finals last year and ran into a brick wall called the Golden State Warriors. However, they were off to a disappointing start this year. Then, David Blatt, the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers gets fired. The Cavaliers went to the NBA Finals last year with a team full of key injuries and ran into a brick wall called the Golden State Warriors (you see a trend here?). He got fired right before the All-Star break and the team was first place in the East. The coaches of the two first place teams usually coach their respective conferences for the All-Star Game. The interim coach for Cavaliers coached the All-Star Game having only coached for 3 games this season. These are the types of things that are going on in the NBA.
Five coaches have been fired this year and we are at the “halfway mark” of the season which is right after the All-Star game despite the fact that more than half of the season has passed. I would say that coaches are on a short leash, but a guy like Lionel Hollins, who has been successful as a coach in the NBA before, only lasted 1 and 1/2 seasons with the Nets. That’s another level of short. I would say you would have to win quickly as a coach in the NBA, but David Blatt got fired while his team was at the top of the East. The only logical reason that I could think of that coaches jobs are constantly on the line like this is a lack of respect for coaches in the NBA.
Analytics plays a factor in this, as well. We are in a new era of NBA basketball. Math has invaded the game. General managers are looking for today’s coaches to take into account shot percentages when they are coaching offense. I don’t mean that the general managers want them to tell their players to take high percentage shots. I mean that LITERALLY want the coaches to coach players to take shots that go down at a higher percentage using the advanced statistics that are available to teams. For example, if your team makes threes at a higher rate than layups, today’s general managers are going to look for you to coach your team to jack up threes and turn down layups. This newer way of coaching with an emphasis on numbers and not just traditional offense has resulted in people looking away from older coaches despite having the numbers. Many older head coaches lament this new focus by general managers due to the fact that a coach might have the results and it still might not be good enough. This is why the Memphis Grizzlies fired their successful head coach Lionel Hollins and signed rookie, analytics focused Dave Joerger as head coach. Although, even his job isn’t all too safe. This why the Houston Rockets only score from behind the three point line and close to the basket, nothing in-between.
But, it’s more than that. You cannot tell me that coaches are having their teams at the top of the NBA, still getting fired, and there not be anything deeper going on here. Stan Van Gundy is one of the most well-respected coaches in the league and he just got his first job since getting fired by the Magic at the end of the Dwight era. It seems as if Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle, and Steve Kerr are the only head coaches that are untouchable in the NBA and I only say Steve Kerr because the Golden State Warriors might have the best season in NBA history. There is a lack of respect for the coaching position in the NBA.
Job security is important in all career fields. If a person constantly works with the pressure of one mistake costing them their job, they are probably not going to do their job well. In coaching, your job security is dependent on how other people do their jobs. It is supposed to (emphasis on supposed to) be that if the players play well, then you keep your job. However, when you look at head coaches like Scott Brooks from the Thunder, David Blatt from the Cavaliers, Tom Thibodeau from the Bulls, and others, then you see that may not be the case in the NBA. Even if your team isn’t doing well, you have to give a coach time to really implement what he wants to implement with a team. A coach has to get to know their team. One year is not enough to do this. Two years might not even be enough to do this. Look, I’m a Knicks fan and even though a lot of fans wanted him gone, and I’m not saying that they are wrong in saying that or that the Knicks are wring in their decision, I cannot be totally outraged if Derek Fisher didn’t get fired this year or even came back for another year…………… OK, that extra year might be pushing it, but my point is that teams have to allow coaches to work and work freely. In the previous eras, coaches were given time to work. If a coach has a bad year in the 1990’s, or even two, unless it’s historically they’re not going anywhere. They have time to develop an identity with their team and see if they are the right fit for a team. In addition to finding the right fit, giving the coach a few years gives the general manager time to figure out if an underachieving team is underachieving because of the players or the coach.
Who’s more important: the player or the coach? Really think about this. Gregg Popovich and the whole Spurs organization are what general managers want. They want the perfect coach, the perfect system, and players who take discounts. So, in an era where people have no patience in general, are general managers giving coaches no real time to prove themselves because they are in a rush to look for the next Pop. Or, are they blame deflecting on the coaches anytime a team doesn’t live up to the expectations of the public.
The NBA is a player’s league. If you don’t have good player’s, you cannot win no matter what system you run. Yet, organizations hold coaches accountable for a team not doing well. Part of the reason for this is that general managers choose the players so if they blame the players, they are really blaming themselves. Another reason is that general managers invest a lot of money in players so trading players, even if that may be best for the team, means that the general manager wasted their money by signing this player in the first place, so they rather stick with the player, hope that the team suddenly starts to play well, and fire the coach to look like you’re fixing the problem. These are people’s livelihoods that teams are playing with. You literally have guys like Doug Collins, Jeff Van Gundy, and maybe even Mark Jackson that do not want to coach in today’s NBA because of what they would have to deal with. They rather stick to being commentators. At the end of the day, from what I’ve noticed, these teams usually set their teams development back by firing coaches quickly so to the teams that fire coaches quickly…
These are the starters for the NBA All-Star game in this year, which is going to be held in Toronto. The left side is the Western Conference team and the right side is the Eastern Conference team. So, there were many stories that surrounded the All-Star lineup this year. Zaza Pachulia almost started. If you don’t know who he is then you should already see the problem there. Stephen Curry is an automatic shoo-in every year now since he has become the NBA’s most popular player over the last 2 years. Some people are questioning if Kyle Lowry deserves to be starting, but not that many people too mad at him starting and how would it look if the host city didn’t have representative from its team starting the game. Some people are mad that Kobe is in it at all and definitely shouldn’t be starting despite this being his last year due to his performance this year and his team’s poor record. However, those are mostly Kobe haters. Besides that and annual conversation of who got snubbed, there hasn’t been much conversation about who’s starting. When you look at that list, you think to yourself, “I guess all those people deserve to be there. However, when I look at that list, I see one glaring issue: no centers. There are absolutely no centers in the All-Star game. Why is this you may ask? This is due to the voting format.
That is Demarcus Cousins, starting center for the Sacramento Kings. These are his stats this year, so far. This was actually soon after the All-Star starters were named. So, that is how he responded to not being named a starter.
Andre Drummond plays in the East and Demarcus Cousins play in the West. So, it works out that both could have played and would not be competing against each other for votes. There are other people that got snubbed. There is Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls that’s having a career year. There is Damian Lillard who is having a very underrated year, as well. There is no doubt that everybody mentioned so far will make the All-Star team as reserves. The fact of the matter is that there are only 5 people in each conference that can start. Therefore, to Jimmy Butler and Damian Lillard, oh well. However, for Demarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond, it’s different. They aren’t starting not because there were other people in their conference and their position that were better than them, they aren’t starting because they are centers. Period.
Originally, the NBA All-Star voting was done by the position. You vote in a point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center. Then, the NBA realized that most players are able to and do play 2 positions. So, they changed the format to 2 guards, 2 forwards, and a center. Two seasons ago, the NBA changed their format to the format that we have today. They completely eliminated the center position from the voting process. Now, you vote in 2 back court and 3 front court players. This is why you have 3 small forwards starting in the East. The game of basketball is changing. The Warriors are the face of that change. They don’t shoot threes because the defense makes them. They want to shoot them. Positions 1 to 5 are above average three point shooters. They embrace spacing. And, argument can be made that their best lineup is a lineup in which Draymond Green is starting at the center position and he might be shorter than their starting shooting guard. However, Demarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond are undoubtedly the best players at their position in their conference. Can anybody really say that they do not deserve to be starting in the All-Star game.
Let’s be real. The All-Star game is a popularity contest. The most popular players always start because the fans vote for who they like and the most popular players tend to be the most liked. However, the most popular players tend to be the best players, as well. Their skill level, numbers, and success get them noticed and the better they play, the more popular they become. However, there is an issue here. There is only so much that a good center can do as far as exciting a crowd. Most (almost all) centers cannot handle the ball well enough to break somebody’s ankles. Most centers, although that is changing, cannot hit threes like guards. The traditional elite center has post moves that make them elite at scoring in the paint. The traditional elite center garners the hearts of fans by fooling their defender with posts moves like Hakeem Olajuwon. Traditional elite centers can dunk on you. The absolute, undisputed best centers possess all these skills. Demarcus Cousins and to a lesser degree Andre Drummond do. However, the best guards and forwards possess those skills as well in addition to their ability to cross you up, shoot threes, and make fancy passes. So this AUTOMATICALLY puts the center at a disadvantage in All-Star Voting. Centers can still be voted in because they are categorized as front court players. But, can Andre Drummond, a guy that is incredibly productive but in a limited way, become more popular than Carmelo Anthony, a guy that is productive as well but in a more exciting way. Unless he is dunking, Andre Drummond will not entertain you with his rebounds, but Carmelo shooting over 2 people and making the shot will. I am a Knicks fan. Carmelo Anthony has been playing very well recently (keyword: recently) and has looked like the superstar that he is. However, he does not deserve to be there over a guy who has been the best center in the Eastern Conference all year and if it had not been for this voting format, he would not have been. Carmelo only had 360 votes more than Drummond who was leading him for months. Plus, the effort put forth by his team alone should make him a starter in the All-Star game. Look at this.
And, he still didn’t make it. My point is this. If you are the best in your position, you should start in the All-Star game for your team. This is basically discrimination by the NBA against centers. The center position, despite the lack of scoring from most teams at this position, is still very important to the NBA. Centers are extremely important to a team’s defense. If you can’t rebound well, it makes it extremely hard to win a championship. Their importance to the game alone should warrant them still having a position on the All-Star ballot. It is true that the game is changing and most centers either shoot threes or get rebounds and defend. However, the best centers are still traditional in playing style. You might see Demarcus Cousins take a three point shot here and there, but his game is based off of his dominant post play in the paint. He is not a combo center/forward or whatever you want to call these new age centers. Andre Drummond is not shooting threes. Hassan Whiteside is most likely not going to take defenders off the dribble with elite ball-handling skills. But, they are the best at what they do. Most centers cannot decide to play a back court position if they want to for most of the year. But, Kobe, one of the best SHOOTING GUARDS in NBA history, is a frontcourt player this year. This is another unfair advantage. Demarcus Cousins might have to win the NBA Championship and get the Finals MVP if he wants to make an All-Star team just because he is a center despite being the best one in the NBA and that is wrong.
Now, I know that saying that it is an epidemic is maybe a stretch given the fact that not every player is not cooperating and not answering questions in post game interviews. However, it is the atmosphere that is created when that is acceptable. The players ultimately aren’t calling their peers out on it. In the Thunder’s case, Kevin Durant kind of picked up on Russell Westbrook’s behavior and kind of copied it. The fans love it and that’s the one part that many of the people who talk about press-player interactions don’t really say (I thoroughly enjoyed those Marshawn Lynch interviews when they first happened). In most cases, the coaches aren’t saying much to the players about it. And finally, the press kind of just take it. When this atmosphere is created, it creates the possibility of other players (especially future professional athletes) mimicking their behavior. After all, any publicity is good publicity, right?
This has happened before in sports. For example…
The relationship between the media and the players have always been an awkward one. If you are playing well on and off the field/court, you’re going to not mind a post game interview so much. As a matter of fact, some players would even want the post game interview to brag about their stats or their team’s win. But, when you aren’t playing well and looking bad off the court/field, you have instances like the ones shown above. In my mind, I think of the relationship like the relationship between the principal and the student. When you get called to the office and you know you’re doing well in school, you might just get some props from your teacher or get put on the honor roll or something. When you’re not doing well, you know what’s coming and then you complain about how the principal doesn’t know what’s really going on or if you want to Marshawn Lynch it, just don’t answer the questions because you already know what’s coming. The analogy may not work so well, but if you think about it long enough it might. Kind of.
I was watching a debate show called First Take on ESPN 2 and I saw this “debate” live. They weren’t really arguing the point so it’s not really a debate, but it’s a debate show.
They basically said when you don’t answer our questions, we can ruin your image. They didn’t literally say that, but they toed that line. What Stephen A. Smith said is was SERIOUS and seeing how Russell Westbrook doesn’t really care too much for the media these days, I’m surprised that he hasn’t cursed Stephen A. out already.
In the media, when a player is being disrespectful or just difficult with the media, the media seems to always portray the player as just taking out their frustration with whatever it is (either their play or off the court/field activities) on the media. See the pattern there? The media always asks good questions, right? The media never tries to sully people’s images due to personal conflicts, right? The media never oversteps boundaries, right? The reason that Marshawn Lynch doesn’t cooperate with the media is because he doesn’t trust them. Even when he has a good game, he’s not saying anything. He REALLY doesn’t trust them. Russell Westbrook has had a bad relationship with the media almost his whole career, especially with the Oklahoma City media. Mainly, because they have called him selfish, a ball hog, a bad presence in the locker room, and somebody who hurts his team rather than helps it. I am not in the locker room with his team and I have never covered the Thunder so I’m not going to completely disregard those specific criticisms. However, put yourself in Russell Westbrook’s shoes. How would you feel if you were getting triple doubles almost every night but people were still saying that you were hurting your team. Now if you check the comments on the last video, you will see a lot of people say that the players are just soft. That may be true and maybe when a player doesn’t respond to the media that he or she is showing a sign of weakness because he or she is showing that they are letting the criticism get to them. However, it could be a statement of protest because of how they feel that they are bring treated by the media. By the way, it’s mandatory in most sports leagues for the athletes to do post game interviews. When Marshawn Lynch said in an interview “I’m just here so I won’t get fined” he was really only there so he won’t get fined by the NFL. So when these players are there looking miserable, it’s because they don’t want to get interviewed.
The Players’ Tribune is a website started by Derek Jeter in 2014 for athletes to tell their stories how they want. It is basically a platform that allows athletes to become journalists. Players have social media, as well. Players have all kinds of ways to convey whatever they want however they want. So in society, the media’s role is changing. It might become a less important role in sports. So, this enables players to bypass the media by not answering questions and interact with the fans how they want to. So, Stephen A. and Skip Bayless may be thinking in a very old school way.
Despite how unprofessional his behavior during interviews may be, Marshawn Lynch is well liked by fans and not just Seahawks fans. Fans love the interviews that don’t go well, despite the fact that it is annoying for the interviewer. However, I believe that the media has to understand their place in the sports world now. Athletes are going to not make it easy for them when they aren’t in the mood because they don’t need the media to get fans to know them anymore. They have social media. As a matter of fact, they have Player’s Tribune and social media. I think that the media should take Stephen A’s advice and speculate all they want. However, I don’t think that the effect intended by Stephen A’s advice is going to happen in today’s society.
The following video is going to highlight the Spurs and their bench more than talk about the Sixers, but pay attention to the score.
The official meaning for the word ‘tank’ does not have anything to do with sports. You will not find the most common use of the word in any official dictionary. However, when you search for the definition on Google, it gives the official definitions, but incorporates the ‘slang’ definition, as well. The definition basically says exactly what the Philadelphia organization has been doing for the last 3 years which is basically losing on purpose. Now, when you tell non-sports fans about this concept, the first thing you will almost always hear is: Why would a team want to lose on purpose? This is important to recognize because the fact that this question comes up speaks to the fact that tanking goes against our very nature as human beings and therefore there might be something fundamentally wrong with it.
This is how tanking happens in sports: particularly in the NBA. In the NBA, you either want to be the best or the worst, as crazy as that sounds. The reason for that is that if you are the best, you can win a championship. If you are the worst, you have a better chance of getting the first pick in the NBA Draft, where the best college basketball players get selected by NBA teams. If you are just alright, then you’ll make the playoffs most likely but we all know that you’re not winning the championship because you’re just not the best and you’re too good to get a high pick in the draft so you’re basically stuck there trying to provide false hope of a championship to your fans and no future pretty much. An example of a team like this would have to be the Atlanta Hawks from around 2007-2011. They were good and had some good records to show for it, but they weren’t knocking LeBron out of the playoffs and the fans knew this because they would have decent attendance, but most of the fans were rooting for the other team. Many people thought that this was because you have so many people from other states that move down to Atlanta, but that might not be the case because we saw how excited the fan base could be when they feel they have a legitimate chance to do something in the playoffs last year and to a degree this year, as well.
Other leagues have drafts, as well. However, tanking isn’t as big of a problem in the other leagues due to the nature of the sport. I had an argument over Christmas with my cousin. He was born and raised in Jamaica, as almost all of my family was, as a HUGE soccer fan. When he came to America, he started to follow basketball a little bit more and decided to become a LeBron James fan. So, he saw all The Decision mayhem and he saw him go back to Cleveland, as well. Basically, as a soccer fan, he was used to seeing superstars join each other’s teams and dominate so he said he doesn’t see anything wrong with it. My position was that basketball is a different sport by nature so you can’t compare the two and that there’s something to be said for being THE reason why you win a championship in a sport where one guy can change the whole direction of an organization. It was a long argument. That being said, it is true that one or two guys can single-handedly change the whole direction of a franchise in basketball and it is hard (not impossible) to say that about football, or soccer, or hockey, or any other team sport. This is why there is more parity in the other sports, as well. Therefore, the moves being made by a team’s front office in other sports are almost always about improving the win percentage in the next season. In the NBA, who’s beating LeBron and whoever else is on his team? Notice, over the last 20 years, it’s almost always the same handful of teams winning the championship. The Bulls won 6 in the 1990’s. Kobe has 5, Wade has 3, the Pistons, Celtics, Mavericks and Warriors (to date) won one, and Duncan has 5. That’s all in the last 17 seasons, but there’s 30 NBA teams.
So now, you have the NBA draft. In other sports where tanking isn’t as common, the rules of the draft are very similar to the NBA. However, this might not be common to say, but the NBA Draft rewards tanking. Tanking is illegal in the NBA, but it’s hard to enforce a rule when you can’t really prove that a team is breaking it. The 76ers have come the closest in NBA history to show without a shadow of a doubt that they are tanking. I have never met an athlete in my life that has played a game with the intention of losing. Although, it has happened.
It is the front office that makes roster changes that directly hurt the team. Philadelphia has done nothing but make losing changes and here’s a list of them. The worst trade of all was trading away their most promising rookie in a long time who people thought they were tanking for in the first place. Now, all Philadelphia does is lose. They consistently get high draft picks though and this what they want. Is this wrong or just how business works in the NBA.
This can’t be right. That initial first reaction when you explain tanking to someone is what let’s you know that. First of all, I’m a Knicks fan and my team tanked last year and this year we look pretty good and are improving every game. I feel for the Philadelphia fans. They have tanked for so long that losing is a habit over there and it might take them a while to shake it. There must be a way in which Philadelphia can look at other teams or other leagues for guidance on how to develop a good team. The fans don’t deserve it and the city doesn’t deserve it. After all, this legend played there.
Did you see some of the shots that this man was taking? He did whatever he wanted out on the court.
For those who are not in tune with popular culture in America, this is Stephen Curry. He is the greatest shooter of a basketball that the planet Earth has ever seen and I am not exaggerating as you can see from these highlights from a game earlier this season. There have been many great shooters in NBA history, but Stephen Curry stands out. His shooting prowess has caught the eyes of the sports world and really all of America as the NBA All-Star Voting results from last season showed.
All basketball fans know that when a basketball star captivates the hearts of America, people tend to emulate them while they are playing basketball. Particularly, fans tend to emulate them. Particularly, young fans tend to emulate them. We all know someone who thought that they were Allen Iverson and we all know people who still think that they are Kobe Bryant (this may or may not be to the detriment of your team whether on a recreational court or during an organized game). Basically, NBA stars change the way that the sport of basketball is played here in America and internationally and if you don’t think that NBA stars change the way that basketball is played internationally, just look at Stephon Marbury. The emulation increases when the star wins an NBA championship and when the player’s stature is more closely related to that of somebody that doesn’t play in the NBA than somebody that does and Stephen Curry is 6’3”, 190 lbs, and won the NBA Championship last season.
But the Warriors won the championship though…
Despite Charles Barkley saying it in a very interesting way, many people who are well-respected in the professional and collegiate basketball community share the same opinion that Charles does about jump shooting teams. Many people feel that if you just shoot the basketball like crazy (especially from the 3 point line) that you cannot succeed in the NBA and many other levels of basketball. But the Warriors won the championship though…
No disrespect to the Golden State Warriors. They do more than just shoot the basketball. They are one of the most intelligent teams in the league and they play very underrated defense. However, you cannot deny the fact that their offense is concentrated primarily on the 3 point shot with the king of threes running the offense: Stephen Curry. So now when you consider the success that Stephen Curry has had, the fact that he makes it look effortless, and the fact that most guys are near his height so most guys aren’t too small to attempt Stephen Curry-esque shots, you realize that a lot of people are going to try and emulate him. It’s a given. But, not everybody can be Stephen Curry. You can’t shoot like him. If you’re reading this and you can, I will probably see you on Hoop Mixtape or Ball is Life pretty soon. So what kind of effect is Stephen Curry having on the NBA? Enter Mark Jackson…
It’s interesting that Mark Jackson is the one that is saying that because Mark Jackson is the reason that the Warriors are good. He was their coach for a few years and took them from a team with a below average record to a team with one of the best records in the West in a very short time span. An argument can be made that Steve Kerr took them to another level and Steve Kerr was the guy who replaced Mark Jackson, but at the time that he was fired, he was doing a very good job and the players loved him. So with all that love that exists between the coach and his former team, it’s surprising that he said that. However, two things have to be acknowledged. 1. Mark Jackson did not mean those comments maliciously and meant that Stephen Curry is indirectly and unintentionally hurting the game. 2. He may have a point.
Yes, this top ranked high school player is 7 feet and still opted to shoot the three after he broke the defender’s ankles although he kind of had the lane (or could make a lane at that height in high school). The fact that he was able to break his ankles at that height is impressive. If you have 7 footers looking for threes, you’re definitely going to have 6 footers pulling them like crazy. Is Stephen Curry to blame for this though?
The NBA is changing and Stephen Curry and the Warriors are the face of that change. The 3 point shot is the most dangerous shot in basketball. A series of 3 point shots can cut into a big lead in seconds. The Warriors have mastered this. Stephen Curry has become the best player in the league in the eyes of many. Everybody wants to be the best but, can you really blame the man for doing what he does best and what works for him. The incredible passing and floor leadership is very evident in the video in the beginning of this post. However, like Mark Jackson said, people don’t notice that though, they notice your biggest strength. Kids aren’t going to look to emulate Stephen Curry’s defense, footwork, or leadership too often. What is undeniable is that many people are going to try and get the 3 point shot to work for them like it does for him because of height comparisons.We cannot deny that Stephen Curry has effected the game dramatically and the basketball world will feel this effect for years to come.
But if you are going to shoot a lot of threes? Don’t do this.
(This was originally written in December of 2014. Does it still apply this season?)
Who remembers The Decision? LeBron James single-handedly put the NBA on hold for half the summer of 2010 and the eyes of the sports and, even the entertainment world, were all tuned into ESPN on July 8, 2010. He had almost every NBA fan on edge that night because the speculation about where he was going to go was all over the place. I remember that day. I was home all day with nothing to do but watch ESPN. It was as if his free agency was a marathon. The team that was in first place would change from week to week, day to day, and even hour to hour. However, on July 8, 2010, the race started to heat up, the team in the lead was changing every minute, and the finish line was near. At one point, the Bulls were the team that was in the lead. At one point, the Knicks were in the lead and there was talk about a team with new superstar addition Amar’e Stoudemire and LeBron James being a possible tandem. As a 15 year old Knicks fan, I couldn’t be more excited at that point. However, around an hour or two before The Decision, Chris Broussard, whose claim to fame was during this summer covering free agency, started to report that sources were telling him that LeBron was probably going to choose Miami. I couldn’t believe it. Chris Bosh had agreed to sign with the Heat at this time and I never thought that I would see three stars in their prime, and arguably the top two players in the game, join together to play on the same team. It was almost unheard of in the NBA. Yet, everything was still relatively up in the air and Knicks fans like me, Cavaliers fans, Lakers fans, Bulls fans, and basically all NBA fans could still be optimistic. Then, this happened.
He shook the NBA. At the time, the anger in Cleveland was what the media focused on and rightly so. However, a lot of NBA fans felt led on and angry at him for the whole television special, not to the extent of Cleveland fans but still angry. The Heat automatically became perennial favorites to win the championship. They did not get off to the start they wanted, but still ended up with a top seed in the East and ended up in the NBA Finals. Then, something interesting happened.
They actually lost. The NBA Super Team lost. And this is important to highlight as well, a Western Conference team once again won the NBA Championship. The Heat did go on to beat the young, up and coming, yet inexperienced Oklahoma City Thunder team and then if it weren’t for this shot the Heat would have lost in arguably the best Finals series’ of all time.
The Heat were on the top of the world and changed the NBA in a sense by showing a different way of winning. Not winning through developing a team through the draft, but winning through free agency. They were on top of the world and looked on paper and on the court unstoppable. Then, they lost by a record margin in the most recent NBA Finals and LeBron has gone back to the Cavaliers and started up a new Super Team with two young stars in Kyrie Irving, who was already in Cleveland, and Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The way the Spurs played in the NBA Finals to win the championship as well as the way the team was formed made just as much of a statement as the Heat’s championships two years before. They became America’s team for a period of time because of their ball movement and lack of superstars. Sure, they had players who were stars at one point in time and an aging star who was playing like he was 10 years younger than he was, but the scoring was so balanced and they were so connected on defense that you got a sense of team and not stars. Their championship made just as much of a statement in the NBA as the Heat’s championships two years before. Not just about how to play the game of basketball, but about the Western Conference, as well.
The Spurs let people know that the fundamentals of the game that worked in the era of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain still work today. Ball movement and good team defense still works. Good scouting and drafting, whether it be overseas or late in the draft, still works. Not only does it work, it works against anyone even juggernauts like the Heat. Both the Heat and the Spurs changed the NBA because the Spurs gave small market somewhat less attractive teams hope and the Heat gave large market teams in big cities a blueprint to success. Not only that, but the Spurs showed the NBA that any team can be beaten no matter who is on your team. These NBA Super Teams are not a threat to parity to the NBA. However, in the eyes of many, conferences are.
Yes, it is true that I just said teams like the Heat are not a threat to parity in the NBA, but they might be a threat to parity in their own conference. For most of LeBron James’ tenure on the Heat, there was one maybe two teams that were considered competition to them in the Eastern Conference. Now on the Cavs, the same seems to hold true in this early NBA season. Meanwhile, in the Western Conference…
That was the first and arguably toughest round for the Spurs in the 2014 playoffs. It went 7 games. That team almost didn’t make the playoffs with THIS RECORD. They were good enough to give the eventual champions a run for their money in the playoffs, but were barely good enough to even make the playoffs. It is well known in the amongst NBA players, fans, general managers, and coaches that the Western Conference is the stronger conference of the two meaning that the Western Conference has the better teams and if you go by the team overall records, it’s hard to argue against that. Meanwhile, the Heat and Pacers who were the top two seeds played sub-.500 teams in the playoffs. These two teams were so much better than everybody else in their conference that it was disturbing meanwhile 50 wins in the Western Conference does not guarantee you a playoff spot. Personally, I thought that a Western Conference team was the only team that can beat the Heat in the playoffs, but I thought that a lot of Western Conference teams could beat them. When the Knicks were struggling last year, I didn’t totally give up on them because they still had a chance to make the playoffs and almost did with a 37-45 record. Things like this have caused many to call for doing away with the conference system which has been a part of the NBA for years altogether. However, the strength of conference moves in cycles. In the Jordan era, the Eastern Conference was an extremely strong conference and although Jordan ruled the 90’s, his championships did not come easy. So, maybe getting rid of the conference system is an overreaction to a system that will fix itself in time; but, this is bad.
The Philadelphia 76ers have been accused of tanking the last two years to get good draft picks, which they have. However, they are playing at such a low level that many find it unacceptable what front office has done to their team. However, what they can’t be accused of is not planning for the future. They can go for free agents and try to rebuild that way, but have decided to go with rebuilding through the draft and only time will tell if these two seasons were in vain. What cannot be underestimated is the role that the conference that they play in plays into their rebuilding. If the conference remains this weak, maybe even the slightest improvement can get them into the playoffs where anything can happen. Will they ever have a chance to win a championship in the near future with the high level that these Western Conference teams play at every night? Who knows. Can they win with no superstar and good drafting? Who knows. Coaching was not mentioned one time in this blog post and that is representative of the general underappreciating of coaches in the NBA. However, coaching is key to championships in the NBA. When all is said and done, success in the NBA does not begin and end with the amount of stars a team has. Super Teams/Big Threes are not as big of a threat to parity as once thought, but the conference system might be. Who knows.
The Soapbox 