Michael Jordan: The Gift and the Curse!

The game of basketball has been around for years.  We have seen multiple teams win championships over the years using different ways of getting there.

In the '80s, we had three teams in that decade that won multiple championships which included the Lakers, Celtics, and Pistons.  All of these teams had something in common.  They were complete teams that played together in order to accomplish one goal. 



The Lakers had a starting lineup that included:
Magic Johnson
Byron Scott
Michael Cooper
James Worthy
Kareem Adul-Jabbar

The Celtics had a starting lineup that included:
Dennis Johnson
Danny Ainge
Larry Bird
Kevin McHale
Robert Parrish

The Pistons had a starting lineup that included:
Isaiah Thomas
Joe Dumas
Mark Aguirre
Bill Laimbeer
James Edwards

All the above championship teams had players who came together and played team basketball.  These teams had productive bench play and no one was trying to outshine their teammates.

Then came the birth of Michael Jordan.  A player who took over the NBA by himself, taking on all teams.  He led the league in scoring almost every year.  If you grew up in the '80s and '90s, you wanted to "Be like Mike".  Michael Jordan, not purposely, taught little kids to be selfish and go after your individual stats to succeed in basketball.  After many years of losing to the Celtics and Pistons, Michael realized that it took a team effort to become a championship team.  He finally figured it out, and partnered with Scottie Pippen and other great role player to win six NBA championships.

While becoming a champion, Michael Jordan birthed children like Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady.  These and other player came into the league with the belief that they had to win championships by solely leading their teams, by putting up the majority of shots like Michael did in order to become great.  Kobe Bryant quickly learned, due to veteran leadership around him, that it takes a team to win championships.

The offspring of Michael Jordan has finally grown up to become great players.  They are finally teaching the up and coming player that team basketball is the way to go.  Just take a look at the 2012 Kentucky Wildcats, who were dynamic underclassmen that came together to achieve one goal and that was a National Championship.  The Kentucky Wildcats all compromised there individual success in order to gain team success.

The NBA is finally getting back to great team basketball.  The Dallas Mavericks won last year with great team effort.  They even had bench players like Jason Terry and J.J. Barea who really made the difference during the 2011 NBA Finals.  This year you have the San Antonio Spurs currently on a 20 game winning streak playing the best team ball I have ever seen.  If you want to see basketball the way Dr. James Naismith designed it, watch the San Antonio.



We can all thank Michael Jordan, because he showed us how life was when you have all the individual honors and no championship and how life is when you make your teammates better and win multiple championships.

Who is the Villain?

Growing up in Kansas City, my father always liked taking our family to the movies during the summer.  He loved to watch a good action movie.  I could remember him arguing with his friends for weeks about different scenes in the original Terminator movie.  In all of these movies, there was a good guy to root and a villain to go against.

Over the years, there have been several villains in movies.  Superman had Lex Luthor, Batman had the Joker and Luke Skywalker had Darth Vader.  Anyone who knows me can tell you who is my
all-time villain.  That would be Wesley Snipes' character Nino Brown in the best movie ever, New Jack City. 

I thought about this topic while listening to an ESPN sports radio show discussing something similar this past weekend.  Just like in every action movie, there is a villain that the audience is supposed to go against or strangely root for.

In baseball, you could consider Barry Bonds a villain.  He broke the home run record and is known as one of the best baseball players ever with an asterisk since he took performance enhancement drugs without knowing.  Side note, if my head size went from a 7 to an 8 after age 24, I would check with a doctor about that.  He was always a complete jerk to the media.

Basketball has their fair share of villains.  Dennis Rodman is the first one that comes to mind.  He was an original Bad Boy for the Detroit Piston championship teams.  Dennis and his teammates believed it was their duty to beat the crap out of Michael and Scottie any chance they could.   

Football has a couple villains as well.  One of the most recent inductees to the villain fraternity would be Greg Williams, GODFATHER of the BOUNTY.  He turned a mediocre New Orleans Saints team to a championship defense just by giving the team an incentive (BOUNTY) to do what they were already going to do. 

Villains in the sports world can be players, coaches or even owners.  Let me know who are some people you think are the villains of their sport and what they did to give themselves the VILLAIN title.

The Kobe Effect!

Kobe Bryant is arguable one of the best players that ever picked up a basketball.  He has won 5 rings with the Los Angeles Lakers and is searching for that 6th ring to catch his idol Michael Jordan. 


This year while Kobe has been trying to lead his team to a championship, he has suffered a few injuries.  Right now he has missed 5 games due to an injured shin.  In Kobe's absence, the Los Angeles Lakers have put up a 4-1 record consisting of a impressive win on Sunday versus last year's NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks.


The amazing thing about the Lakers recent play is the production they have been receiving from role players Metta World Peace (can't believe I just typed that), and Matt Barnes.  Last week, World Peace led the Lakers past the Spurs with 26 points when he only averages 7.4 points a game.  Matt Barnes led the team past Denver on Friday with 24 points when he averages 7.7 points a game.  Why are these guys not producing on a more consistent basis.  Could it be the KOBE EFFECT?

KOBE EFFECT - The act of decreasing in productivity due to the lack of shots and confidence while in the presence of Kobe Bryant.


Let's see if this theory holds any weight when it comes to teammates that won a championships with Kobe.
  

The first year he won a championship, the Lakers traded for Glen Rice to help the team get over the hump.  Glen Rice averaged 22.3 points a game with 45% shooting the year before he became a Laker and averaged 15.9 points a game at 43% shooting the year they won the championship. 

The next year Mitch Richmond joined the Lakers and won a championship.  He averaged 16.2 points per game at 40% shooting with the Wizards then joined the Lakers and averaged 4.1 points per game at 40% shooting.

Finally, Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace averaged 17.3 points per game at 40% shooting with the Rockets then joined the Lakers and averaged 11.7 points per game at 41% shooting.


For some reason, perimeter players have the hardest time being successful with Kobe Bryant.  Is it because Kobe shoots the ball too much?  Is it the stress of playing on a championship caliber team?  Is it the lack of trust Kobe has for his teammates which results in the lack of shot attempts they receive?


One thing I've learned in the last week is the Lakers are a real contender, but if Kobe Bryant doesn't realize that he actually has good players around him that can realistically help him win that 6th ring, then he can just pop in the Luniz the cd, cause all he will have is "FIVE ON IT"!

Dwayne Wade For Sale!

For Sale

The Miami Heat was formed in the summer of 2010 with the Big 3 that consist of Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.  Each one was a star before they joined forces but none of them in their current situation were in a position to win a NBA Championship.  Not even Dwayne Wade who had already won a championship with the Heat.

This team is like a science project.  The CONTROL was each player on their original team by themselves, where each player would not become champions before joining forces.  The HYPOTHESIS, is LeBron James saying, "Not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7 championships".  After one year, we would have to start coming to a conclusion that this project just might not validate the HYPOTHESIS of a return in championships.

In any sport, a successful team wins championships due to the chemistry they display throughout the year.  It is clear that Lebron James and Dwayne Wade cannot play at their maximum ability on the same team.  They are both the same player and take up each other's space.  It would be like Dwight Howard and Shaq starting on the same team.  So, what is the answer?  Let's dissect the situation.  When the Miami Heat play without Lebron James, they are a .500 team with a record of 5-5.  When the Miami Heat play without Dwayne Wade, they are 9-1 with a .900 winning percentage.  I have to come to the conclusion that the Miami Heat are a more effective team without Dwayne Wade.

So, let's look at the Miami Heat's weaknesses.  We can all come to the conclusion that they need help at the point guard and center positions.  Since Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum are the only good centers in the league, let us direct our attention to the point guard position.  The best point guard available is Deron Williams who will be a free agent at the end of this year and has no intentions on staying in New Jersey.  Why don't we play GM Pat Riley for a second.  Let's trade Dwayne Wade to the New Jersey Nets for Deron Williams.  Since Dwayne has a couple years left on his contract, New Jersey would take him in a heartbeat since they could draw more players to play with Wade.  New Jersey could sign and trade Deron Williams so that Miami would have him under contract.  Check out the Miami starting five.

PG Deron Williams

SG LeBron James

SF Shane Battier

PF Chris Bosh

C   Joel Anthony

That starting five would be more effective than the current Miami starting five due to better chemistry with Deron Williams adding his eight assist per game.  A great point guard makes the game easy for everyone.  Just ask Kareem, Worthy, Scott, and Cooper.   

In conclusion, the Miami Heat can continue being one of the most entertaining teams in the league, or start addressing the chemistry problems and become a DYNASTY.

Legend in the Making.....

Who is the best college basketball player?  Some would say Anthony Davis.  Others would say it is Thomas Robinson.  I'm going to take it to a whole different direction.  This person plays on the only undefeated team still playing.  That would be Baylor's Superstar center Brittney Griner. 

Before you guys start forming an opinion, let me hit you with some facts.  I'm going to compare her stats with the First Team All-American Men's selection.

Thomas Robinson 17.9 ppg  11.8 rpg    1.9 apg

Anthony Davis      14.3 ppg  10.1 rpg    4.6 bpg

Draymond Green  16.1 ppg   10.4 rpg   3.6 apg

Jared Sullinger      17.6 ppg     9.3 rpg   1.2 apg

Doug McDermott 23.2 ppg   8.2 rpg  1.1 apg

Brittney Griner  23.4 PPG 9.4 RPG 5.2 BPG  

This player is in a league of her own.  When have you seen a player dominate the game like she has been this year?  Her team as of today is 38-0.  That is what I call LEADING BY EXAMPLE.  She is a Naismith Player of the Year finalists and didn't take the easy way by going to Tennessee or Connecticut.  She put the Baylor Women's Team on the map and started her own legacy.  With the numbers she puts up, the NBA needs to start looking at her.  She can't be any worse than the players picked from overseas that never come over here. Everyone likes to talk about the men playing, but we really need to start appreciating this great player while she is still playing.  Just think, how often do you get to see a collegiate woman throw down a two hand dunk on another player. 

Enough Said!

What happened to college basketball?

Growing up, I lived and breathed college basketball.  My earliest basketball memory was watching Keith Smart hit the game winner against Syracuse.  I remember when everyone was a Running Rebels fan. Does anybody remember that Fab 5 member that called the timeout against Carolina in the championship game, or number 32 for the Duke Blue Devils that hit the shot against Kentucky?  What memories do you have of the last 10 years of college basketball? Absolutely nothing!

In the '90s college basketball had great teams and great players to carry the sport.  Back then you actually watched the whole NBA draft to see your favorite player get picked.  Now we stop watching after the 5th pick.  The '90s were full of great college players like Larry Johnson, Christian Laettner, Chris Webber and Glen "Big Dog" Robinson.  There were actually great teams that you could remember the whole starting five.  You had the 1991 Duke Blue Devils, 1994 Arkansas Razorbacks, and the 1996 Kentucky Wildcats team.  I could name you the starting five of all those teams.

So, what happen to the sport?  I actually had to google who won the national championship last year.  Nobody is going to remember Kemba Walker or the other 4 players that played with him 10 years from now.  This year the media is predicting that Kentucky's freshman center Anthony Davis will win the Naismith Player of the Year.  I checked his stats and found out he averages 14.3 points, 10 rebounds and 4 block per game.  Are you kidding me.  I'm going to give you the stats of some of the Naismith Winners in the 1990s.

1991 Larry Johnson  22.7 pts 10.9 rbs 3 ast
1992 Christian Laettner 21.5 pts 7.9 rbs 2 ast
1994 Glen Robinson 30.3 pts 10.1 rbs 1.9 ast
1996 Marcus Camby 20.5 pts 8.2 rbs 1.8 ast
1997 Tim Duncan 20.8pts 14.7 rbs 3.2 ast

What has happened to college basketball when a FRESHMAN averages 14.3 points a game is our possible player of the year.  Nothing against Anthony Davis, but I have a problem with the lack of talent that is being produced in college.  We don't even draft from college anymore.  The majority of the players drafted come from overseas.  Reminds me of our economy.  MESSAGE!  Let me know what you think and how can we improve the talent we produce in college basketball.

The Dwight Howard Story: Superman has left the building, or maybe not?

The big story around this years NBA season has been what team will Dwight Howard play for in the future.  At the beginning of the year, Dwight told the Orlando Magic's executives that he would like to be traded to the Lakers, Nets, or Mavericks.  The Orlando Magic listened to trade offers the first half of the season, turning them all down hoping Dwight would change his mind and stay with the team.  In the word of Jesse Jackson,  they were "keeping hope alive".

The big rumor surfacing the league was Dwight opting out of his deal and joining Deron Williams in New Jersey.  This was the obvious plan for the last three months.  Orlando even believed this was the plan since Dwight would not accept a max contract with them that would pay him
$109 million dollars.

As the trade deadline started approaching, you heard a new rumor on Dwight every hour of the day.  Dwight wants to go to the Lakers.  Dwight is going to team up with Derick Rose in Chicago since they are both with Team Adidas.  Dwight is going to New Jersey with D-Will.  You never heard Dwight wanting to stay in Orlando.  He even told management that he was not going to stay.

So Orlando management starting fielding offers from the league to see the best deal they could get for Dwight Howard.  In the 11th hour, Dwight Howard developed a conscience and decided to opt-in to one more year with the Orlando Magic for
19 million cause he felt like he owed his teammates and the fans of Orlando since he showed such a lack of loyalty through the season.  What is he thinking?  Dwight Howard is that guy who breaks up with his girlfriend and asks her back at the end of the day cause he started feeling bad.

People always want to give Lebron a hard time, even myself, but one thing I can respect about Lebron is he did exactly what he wanted to do and didn't give a damn what anyone else thought.  By Dwight staying one more year for $19 million dollars, he risks being hurt and getting paid a whole lot less next summer.  If he wanted to stay in Orlando, in the words of DMX in Belly, "GET THE  MONEY YO".  He could have signed a max deal for $109 million dollars.  If he is staying one more year to be nice to the people of Orlando, that is dumb since you will be a free agent next year and have to go through the same media circus again.


In concluding, Dwight, if you want be the MAN OF STEEL, start first by trying to be a MAN!

B.Mac