Tag: basketball

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Something Happening in Los Angeles

Are the Lakers coming together at precisely the right time of year? That’s what happened when Kobe won his first championship in Phil Jackson’s first year as Laker coach. Something has definitely changed with the Lakers in the last two games. Witness:

  • Kobe didn’t score 40, 30 or even 20. 17 points on only 18 shots. Probably a third of those shots came in the final period which the Lakers have designated “Kobe time.”
  • The Lakers are suddenly playing physical against the smaller Suns, effectively neutralizing their quickness advantage. Also, the Lakers instigated both major altercations during Game 3, but Phoenix ended up with 3 technical fouls and L.A. only 1.
  • Phil Jackson has shown his playoff genius again with the small adjustments. For example, in Game 3 Laker players were obviously catching the ball after Laker made baskets and gently dropping the ball to the floor to keep the bounce low. So what? If the Suns can’t pick up the ball easily, they can’t run the fastbreak on made baskets.
  • During Game 2, it also became evident that the Lakers had been practicing jamming Nash’s passing lanes on dribble penetration. The passes that used to make him look like a genius now make him look like a chump.
  • Kwame Brown, previously known as Jordan’s Bane, has become a player. 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 5-8 from the field. Sure it’s easy to get numbers like that against Tim Thomas and Shawn Marion, but he’s doing it. Did he ever perform like that for Washington?
  • Even better than Brown’s improvement has been Lamar Odom’s. Odom was “the man” on Miami’s playoff team 2 years ago but he has virtually disappeared since donning a Laker uniform. Why? Mix a new system in with having to play with Mr. 35-Per-Game and I think you can figure it out. Now, there’s a good chance that Odom can play Scottie Pippen to Kobe’s Michael Jordan.
  • Another talent that Phil Jackson brings to the table is his unerring ability to get the most out of his role players. Brian Cook had 9 points and 7 rebounds (6 offensive) in 11 minutes. 11 minutes. He was a factor in the game during every second that he played.
  • More importantly, he seems to have finally convinced Kobe Bryant (just like he did 16 years ago with MJ) that no player can win without his teammates. If it’s true, the Lakers could go much further than beating the beat-up Suns.

On the other hand, it’s hard to find any good news for the Suns:

  • Tim Thomas went down hard after a knee-on-knee collision with Marion during Game 3. Sucks to be a Suns big man—Amare Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas, Brian Grant and now Tim Thomas. It’s like a curse.
  • Why aren’t the Suns running pick-and-roll more? Tim Thomas and Shawn Marion both seem like excellent candidates for that strategy with Nash or Diaw.
  • They seem to be relying too much on Nash’s penetration, which has often resulted in a blocked shot or turnover.
  • While Nash has continued to dish out the assists at his regular pace, his scoring is way down. Not only have they taken away most of his points of penetration, they have managed to reduce his 3-point production, too.
  • Leandro Barbosa, James Jones and Eddie House have virtually disappeared in the last 2 games. The Suns can’t win without them.
  • Boris Diaw has been amazing this year but has nearly sucked in this series. He has to use his quickness to find a way to make the Laker big men pay.
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Vital Statistics

Portland’s daily newspaper, The Oregonian, has an article about barefooting today that has a few paragraphs featuring me. The interview and picture sessions actually happened last fall so it was a bit of a surprise when Aimee Green (the author) called this weekend to let me know if was coming out today. The printed version appears on the front page of the “Living” section and features a rather large picture of my feet on the escalator at Pioneer Place (a mall not far from CPS). There’s a second picture of me on the Max on the inside page where the story is continued.

Update 4/27: Some editions of yesterday’s Oregonian had a picture of my feet in the teaser frame on the front page. I made the front page!

When Aimee was researching the story, she found my web page on the Internet and emailed me. She described the article she was writing and asked if I would like to participate. I answered affirmatively and invited her to a Barefoot Hike, a monthly occurence during favorable weather. As it turned out, Thomas and I were the only ones to turn up at the hike, so she walked with us for awhile and we talked about all things barefoot.

Not long after that, she contacted me again and asked if she could join me for my commute some morning. I agreed and she and a photographer met me at the Gateway Transit Center for a Max ride and a short walk to my office. Having the photographer with us was weird because he kept running ahead of us and snapping photos of my feet. Aimee also had to keep dodging out of the picture as we talked. It was quite amusing, actually.

They returned for lunch the same day and we went to the food court in Pioneer Place with the intent of encountering as many people as possible to see their reaction. The photographer took more pictures and we went to the Apple Store, where I had no particular business but I always visit when I’m close. They wouldn’t allow any pictures inside the store, so we left after a short time.

And that was it until a couple of months ago when another photographer contacted me and asked if he could ride the Max with me. I’m not exactly sure why that was necessary, but I agreed to it. That’s why I’m wearing shorts in the picture on the escalator (fall) and sweats on the Max (winter). I’m happy with the picture of my feet, but I look terrible on the Max. I really dislike pictures of myself.

The whole experience was amusing and gratifying, I have to admit. Being able to ramble on about barefooting for many minutes to an engaged audience was unlike anything I had experienced before. It made me feel important and interesting. Funny, I know.

I still haven’t read the whole article (I’ll do that tonight when I get home), but I did read the parts about me. I find it a bit disconcerting that she chose to use the quote about stepping in shit, but I suppose that’s how these things work. Oh well.

Bike odometer: 6061 miles
Current reading: Forgotten Promise by Gretchen Von Loewe Kreuter, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: Shaday by Ofra Haza, Not Blue by Various Artists, Tie Your Mix Down by Various Artists, Crooked Fingers by Crooked Fingers, Rainy Day Music by The Jayhawks
Recent viewing: Medium, CSI: Miami, Wizards at Cavaliers, Kings at Spurs, Sportscenter, Countdown
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: n/a
Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed
Cool link: Model Denied US Entry—The story is slightly amusing but the two pictures are priceless!

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Wizards at Cavaliers

  • What happened to Lebron James tonight was pretty unbelievable. Not only was he missing jump shots left and right, he was missing layups and even dunks. After showing that he was the real deal in Game 1 with a triple double, he turned in a 28% shooting night, had 2 assists, 10 turnovers and made some really bad decisions down the stretch. Of course, he’ll probably have a monster game in Game 3.
  • Neither on of these teams is good enough to go very far in the playoffs. There were turnovers and bad plays throughout the game. The winner of the series gets to play Detroit who will undoubtedly take apart either of these teams.
  • I can’t think of a basketball commentator that I dislike more than Jeff Van Gundy. He doesn’t provide any meaningful insight and tonight he was horribly biased for the Wizards. Unfortunately, he was teamed with Doc Rivers, who shares many of his coaching philosophies. When they both started talking about how much the fans loved to see a good hard foul, I just wanted them to stop. I’d really rather see basketball played. Coaches don’t really understand at all what fans want and they should just STFU on the subject.
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Vital Statistics

We had a good weekend. Thomas got 2nd in the Regional Pinewood Derby Championship and tied the track record for a short time before the 1st place winner smashed it. The weather was beautiful and we spent some time outside both days. The 2006 NBA Playoffs are also underway which is one of the highlights of my year.

Bike odometer: 6041 miles
Current reading: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
Recent listening: Dreamboat Annie, Copperhead Road, Rainy Day Music, Throw Down Your Arms
Recent viewing: Paycheck, Bulls at Heat, Nuggets at Clippers, Pacers at Nets, Lakers at Suns, Bucks at Pistons, Memphis at Dallas, Wizards at Cavaliers
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: Fixed Graham’s Pinewood Derby car (glued front axle), mowed lawn, paid bills
Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed

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Vital Statistics

Bike odometer: 5953 miles
Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
McCartney Trivia: Ringo “quit” the Beatles for two weeks during the making of the White Album. While Ringo mulled his future on Peter Sellers’ yacht, the other Beatles continued recording “Back in the USSR” and “Dear Prudence” with Paul on drums. When Ringo returned, he found his drum kit wreathed in flowers with a large “Welcome Back” sign.
Recent listening: Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Science Friday, NPR Story of the Day
Recent viewing: Suns vs. Clippers, Mean Girls, Saw, Final Four
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: cleaned and lubed bike, vacuumed house, entertained the Bartons, started taxes
Imperative To Do: Buy lug nut wrench and jack for van, finish taxes, figure out what to do about the truck
Cool link: Boot Camp: Apple released beta software to let you boot Windows on your Intel Mac. It will be included in their next OS version which is code-named “Leopard”.

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Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Thoughts I had during the game:

  • Dwayne Wade is the fastest half-court player in the NBA. Some players have great fast break speed, but Wade has great baseline and in-the-paint speed. He takes tremendously long strides when he wants to blow by someone and seems to just tilt from one side to the other as he weaves his way to the basket. I really love his game.
  • During the Laker’s first championship run, the thing that really surprised me about Shaq was what great, soft hands he has. He gathers in nearly every rebound or pass that is near him and it’s nearly impossible to dislodge the ball once he has two hands on it.
  • I used to really dislike Alonzo Mourning, both as a Hornet and later when Riley traded to get him on the Heat. He always seemed to whine about foul calls more than anybody else. I also never accepted him as a true center – he’s not even a 7-footer. However, since his return to the Heat, the guy has been the definion of a sports “warrior.” He does what he’s asked to do and never complains about his minutes. He even waived off the postgame interview after his fourth quarter heroics.
  • I can’t think of a better center tandem to have on a team than Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal. Even at this late stage of their careers, both are able to put in a great 15-25 minutes per game. I expect that if they stay together that they will be able to buoy each other’s careers tremendously over the years.
  • Speaking of great tandems, Jason Williams and Gary Payton both seem to have adjusted to the Heat game. I didn’t see either of them shooting shots that were out of the flow of the offense. You definitely could not say that earlier in the season.
  • I’m especially happy that Payton has worked out. I was really disappointed in his showing for the Lakers two years ago, but perhaps I was expecting too much from the old guy. He’s definitely playing fewer minutes now and is a long way from being the star he was in Seattle. I’m continually surprised at how few players that were great when they were young are able to mold themselves into great role players late in their careers. Ron Harper is an excellent example of that. Magic Johnson is not.
  • I hear Antoine Walker is also getting better as the season progresses, but I have seen no evidence of that yet. He still shoots more three pointers than he should, he still mishandles rebounds and he still blows layups. He needs to sacrifice a little of his alleged finesse game and add a little power. At least Riley hasn’t replaced Haslon with Walker. That would be a travesty.
  • I really doubted that the Heat would be able to mesh given all the changes that they made during the off-season, but it really seems like they are getting there. Posey was very sharp and even Shandon Anderson made a contribution in the game.
  • When I first saw Wade playing in the playoffs 3 years ago, he reminded me very much of Michael Jordan – mostly because he’s a high flyer and clearly imposes his will on the game. Since then I’ve seen a certain grittiness that even MJ never displayed. He may soon replace Allen Iverson as the toughest player in the league. If he can add a credible three point shot to his game, he could be better than Mike.
  • Check that – he would also need a good low-post game, too. No two or three has ever had the game that Michael had on the block. In fact, does anybody that’s not a center or a four have a low-post game these days?

Update: Shaq was not happy about sitting on the bench in the 4th quarter

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NBA Writers vs. NBA Fans

Jack McCallum writes in his column for Sports Illustrated that NBA fans make questionable choices when choosing the starters for the NBA’s All-Star Game. This has long been an argument from sportswriters, the so-called “experts” of the game. I think the first so-called controversy over fan-balloting that I remember was when A.C. Green was chosen over Karl Malone to start for the West in 1990. Malone was outraged and so were the writers. Even though Green was a valuable role player for the Lakers in their trip to the NBA Finals the previous, he was certainly no Karl Malone. “Nobody could argue that,” I thought at the time.

Four years later the fans voted BJ Armstrong to start for the East team in the 1994 All-Star Game and the same rumblings rolled around the NBA. But this time I took notice and offense. This time they were insulting my favorite player. Why didn’t they think BJ deserved to be in the All-Star Game? There are two answers to that question: Mookie Blaylock and Mark Price.

Price played for the Cleveland Cavaliers at the time and was arguably their best player. He was a pass-first point guard who was also an excellent three point shooter. During the Bulls’ domination of the NBA in the early 90s, the Cavaliers were the Bulls’ under-rated rival in the East. While the Pistons-Bulls and Knicks-Bulls rivalries got all the headlines, the Bulls battled the Cavs in nearly every one of their playoff runs.

Blaylock was the gutsy point guard for the Atlanta Hawks who inspired Pearl Jam to name their first album after his jersey number. I remember seeing him play in an important game where he was 0-13 from three point range. With his team down by 2, he drained a three pointer as time ran out on the game. That’s gutsy.

Armstrong, of course, was the starting point guard for the World Champion Chicago Bulls. He took over the starting duties from John Paxon in the 1992-1993 season and excelled. That year, he led the league in three point shooting percentage and helped his team to win a third championship. In the process, he successfully defended some of the best point guards in the NBA including the Suns’ Kevin Johnson in the NBA Finals. Along the way he also faced a couple of point guards named Blaylock and Price, whose teams were both swept by the Bulls. Although Armstrong was certainly not the star of the team, he was instrumental when they came back from a double-digit second half deficit against the Knicks in the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals. Down two games to none, Armstrong’s rally catapulted the Bulls to three more wins and into the NBA Finals, where they defeated the Suns four games to two.

The season after the Bulls’ third championship was their first without Michael Jordan. Despite all the dire predictions, the remaining Bulls all played better than they ever had. They turned in a 50 win season and only lost to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals on a questionable foul call. Nearly every player’s statistics improved because of the vacuum left by Jordan and BJ Armstrong was no exception. Sure his accomplishments were dwarfed by Scottie Pippen’s, who led his team in nearly every major statistical category that year, but he still looked well on his way to becoming one of the top three contributors on the team.

Still, Blaylock and Price both had superior 1993-1994 statistics to Armstrong. Why would anyone vote to see BJ start instead of the other two? Because he had more television exposure. The fans had seen him play about 20 playoff games the year before and the Bulls were playing network games nearly every weekend. Unlike the writers, who get to see all of the players play in person for free, the poor fan might go to one or two games a year but watches all the TV games he can. Fans also vote for players they like to watch play. Fans do not, by and large, vote for statistics.

So, quite simply and reasonably enough, the fans voted for BJ Armstrong because they liked to watch him play and they wanted to see him play in the All-Star Game. They liked watching him play more than any other Eastern Conference point guard they had seen play that year. And that’s what the writers and the so-called “experts” don’t understand. They live in a different world than the fan and they can’t understand the fan perspective.

So even though Jack McCallum makes a good argument, it’s only valid if you are lucky enough to see all the players play. McCallum reveals alot when he writes, “The criterion is simple: Who, in the 2005-06 season, has played the best.” That’s not the criterion at all. That’s the criterion for the reserves, which are voted in by the coaches. The fan criterion for starters is even simpler than what McCallum suggests: Who do we want to see play in the 2005-06 All-Star Game?

And, even though McCallum and his ilk don’t like it, we want to see Yao Ming play. We don’t want to see any of the Pistons play because they’re just not that exciting to watch individually. We want Dwyane Wade, not Chauncey Billups. We want Shaq, not Chris Bosh (who?). See the pattern? It’s about the excitement and the glamour. There’s nothing at stake here besides rewarding the fans for being fans. That’s something that Jack McCallum will probably never understand.

In fact, if McCallum were “in charge” of the 1992 All-Star Game, Magic Johnson’s fabulous All-Star farewell would have never happened. That was the year that Magic announced that he had HIV and retired from the NBA, but the fans voted him in anyway. The result? One of the most memorable All-Star Games of all-time.

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Suns beat Lakers

Last night and this morning I watched the Suns cream the Lakers. Nothing beats seeing one of your favorite teams beat one of your least favorite players. Here’s a few thoughts about the Suns I had during the game:

  • Kurt Thomas has turned into an excellent pick-and-roll man with Nash. He slips perfectly and has a decent mid-range jump shot for the pick and pop. Of course, nobody is better at pick-and-roll than Amare Stoudemire.
  • Even if Stoudemire doesn’t come back in time for the playoffs, I think they still have a decent shot of a deep run.
  • They hardly miss Joe Johnson. I wasn’t that impressed with him last year and didn’t understand all the hype. I thought Quentin Richardson and Jimmy Jackson were much more valuable for them.
  • The Suns made some excellent off-season moves this year. The aforementioned Kurt Thomas gives them a defensive presence in the paint that isn’t Stoudemire, but the bigger pickup has to have been Boris Diaw. I think he only took about 5 shots, but he was really huge in the game.
  • I don’t think James Jones has turned out to be the player they expected. In the games I have seen him play this season and last season (with the Pacers), he is not nearly the dead-eye shooter that a three point specialists needs to be.
  • Shawn Marion is a really great role player. And I don’t mean a one dimensional three-point shooter or defensive stopper. I mean he is great in many roles: rebounding, defending multiple positions, three point shooter, finishing, etc. He is a truly uncommon talent. I wonder why they don’t use him more on the pick and roll? Perhaps small forwards are better at defending against it. Marion’s NBA ranking in some major categories:
    • Scoring: ranked 19 (21.2 ppg)
    • Shooting: ranked 14 (51%)
    • Blocks: ranked 16 (1.89 per game)
    • Steals: ranked 7 (1.87 per game)
    • Rebounds: ranked 3 (12 per game)
    • Double-doubles: ranked 2 (29 in the season)

Update 2/2/2006: Kevin Pelton over at 82Games did an extensive analysis of the Suns’ defense during this game.

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NBA Players I Dislike

    Actively dislike: 

  • Antoine Walker: Shoot first, pass never. Shoots the three way too much for his proficiency.
  • Latrelle Sprewell: Choked his coach. Couldn’t support his family on millions.
  • Jerry Stackhouse: Once slugged John Stockton and slagged Michael Jordan. Shoots alot, never passes.
  • Rasheed Wallace: Once waited outside after a game to threaten a referee. Do you need to know anything else?
  • Ruben Patterson: Convicted sex offender and general purpose thug.
  • Ricky Davis: Once shot at an opponents hoop in order to get his 10th rebound for a triple double.
  • Tim Duncan: Boring!
  • Stephon Marbury: Totted as The Next Big Thing coming out of college, he’s a point guard who embodies everything a point guard shouldn’t be. Ten years and four teams later, Larry Brown is trying to reign him in with little or no success.
    Rehabilitated: 

  • Alonzo Mourning: The biggest whiner in the league before his kidneys went bad. Now he’s the epitomy of the “sports warrior” who just goes out and does what his team needs.
    Going backwards: 

  • Kobe Bryant: Had Shaq traded and Phil fired so he could have his own team and then found out it’s not as much fun as he thought. Seemed like he might be adopting the team concept this year, but his recent string of 40+ games says otherwise.
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Joe Dumars is an asshole

I don’t know how else to explain it. After examining the evidence, it can be the only conclusion. Sure, I know that he was so well-regarded by the NBA as a player that they named their Citizenship Award after him. I also know he was the only player during the Bad Boys era that was considered to be civil. But as an NBA executive, he:

  1. Was named President of Basketball Operations for the Pistons before the start of the season in 2000. Presumably, this means he is the boss there answerable only to the owner of the team.
  2. Hired Rick Carlisle as head coach prior to the 2001 season. Carlisle was named NBA Coach of the year for that season as he led the Pistons to a 50-32 record and the playoffs. The next year the Pistons posted the same record and made the playoffs again. Carlisle was inexplicably fired.
  3. Hired Larry Brown to replace Carlisle as head coach following the 2002-2003 season. Brown led the Pistons to the NBA Finals two years in a row, beating the Lakers in the first and losing to the Spurs in the second. Following the Finals loss to the Spurs, Brown was fired.
  4. Hired Flip Saunders to replace Larry Brown as head coach prior to the 2005 season.

So not only did he fire a coach who posted 50-wins in every season which he coached for Dumars, he also fired a coach who went to the Finals every single season in which he coached the Pistons. Evidently it’s not enough for Dumars to have a winning record or even to go to the Finals, but his team must win the championship every year! How insane is that?

This is precisely the kind of thing that is wrong with professional sports today. There will never be another “Dean Smith era” or “Red Auerbach era” because no team, organization or even fanbase has the patience for a losing season anymore. Did Dean Smith make the NCAA Tournament every year that he coached? Even Auerbach didn’t win the NBA Championship every year (although it seems like it). In fact, he didn’t win a championship until his 7th year as coach of the Celtics. Can you imagine a coach today keeping his job that long with no championship to show for it?

People blather on and on about the culture of selfishness that reigns among NBA players these days, but their attitude is no different than the owners and executives. Namely, “what can you do for me?” and “what have you done for me lately?” Winning in the short term has become so important that the NBA has lost sight of the possibility of winning in the long term.

And where is Dumars in all this? He is the worst possible offender. One could argue for the short-term advantages to firing a coach after a losing season, but firing your coaches after they perform exceptionally well? Inexcusable and an action that only be performed by an asshole.