Only Adding To Our Legend: NBA

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Good Job, Good Effort

Last night after a clutch 3-pointer by Paul Pierce, the Miami Heat found themselves from being in cruise control to a championship, to on the brink of elimination. For the second straight year it seems like the South Beach boys might fail in their one goal; bringing the title back to Miami. After watching them in this year's playoffs, one thing seems crystal clear now. The Miami Heat do not have the team to win a championship.

Now, if you know me you know that LeBron James is currently my favorite NBA player (outside of Pierre McGee). If you really know me you know that I will fight to the end to prove that LeBron is the most underappreciated player since Shaq, and his talents truly won't be admired until long after he retires. He still is scrutinized over every move he makes. He still is having his whole career downplayed over the fact he hasn't won a title yet. But perhpas the biggest gripe about James is his decisions in the clutch. Although I myself agree that in some situations in the past he has been way too passive in the final seconds of a close game, but the way people hold a double standard when it comes to him and other superstars is outrageous. To this day I will never understand how when the Spurs' Ginobli takes a desperation 3-pointer over a double team sports analysts say he should have passed it to someone more open, but when LeBron passes out a triple-team, led by former defensive player of the year Kevin Garnett, he has a twenty minute segment conducted by your's truly. Anyway, before I get on a rant let me say this; James is not going to win a ring this summer.

Looking back at "The Decision", it's obvious now that The King took his talents from Cleveland to Sunny Cleveland. Besides Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, LeBron is still alone. Looking back at history it shows that you can't win a championship playing 3 on 5, no matter how talented those 3 are. When Bosh went out in game 2 of the Pacers' series, Miami's worst fear came to a realization. The basis in which they built their team on was gone. While a team can get pretty far with three all-stars, making it to the Finals with only two is damn near impossible. Honestly, does anyone think that a team with Joel Anthony and Shane Battier starting can win a championship? When you look at the rest of the conference finalists, you see well-coached t-e-a-m-s. The Thunder are a team, Boston is a team, the Spurs have a team. Miami just has three amazing players with a coach who doesn't know what he's doing. That's a team that will win a lot of games, but doesn't have what it takes to win it all.

So, rather it ends up in Kevin Durant's first or Tim Duncan's fifth, it's almost certain it won't be LeBron's first. Now, I highly doubt LeBron will go through his whole career without winning at least one ring, but it won't happen with this current Heat squad. Best believe changes are coming, and coming sooner than you might think. Mr. Riley doesn't like mediocrity, and with standards as high as Miami has put upon itself, that's what has happened the past two years. So prepare to see a very different Miami Heat team next year, one with one less superstar, and more quality role players. They say no man is an island, so it is kind of ironic that James plays in Florida; a state that appears to be off by itself like an island, but at the end it is still connected to it's neighbors. There may be an 'I' in King, but not in team. Basketball is a collective effort, and the King needs all his men in line to bring him his crown.

What's a Mob to a King?

Last night's 61st annual NBA All Star wrapped up a weekend that was lackluster at best, but resulted in one of the best games in recent memory. As the East staged a Lebron-led comeback in the 4th quarter, a costly turnover in the final seconds sealed the victory for the West. Kevin Durant added to his mantle collection by winning the MVP award with 36 points.

Now, before I go into all the problems of All Star Weekend I have to talk about how great this game was. In the 1st quarter both conferences put on a show that put every dunk contest of the past ten years to shame. Led by Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin, almost all of these dunks would have earned a 50 in Saturday's contest; especially this dunk by the King. The 2nd quarter showed how much the game has evolved with point guards Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose stealing the show. It's amazing how point guards are considered some of the best dunkers in the league now. The second half of the game was dominated by the many records that were broken. Both Durant and Lebron were knocking on Wilt Chamberlain's all time single game All Star scoring record as they both racked up 36 points, just six points away from Mr. 10,000's 42 point mark. Dwyane Wade recorded the game's third triple double, joining Michael Jordan and Lebron James as the only players to do so. The greatest record broken was Kobe Bryant passing Michael Jordan's all time All Star scoring record. The Black Mamba even did the MJ travel as he passed His Airness. In the 4th quarter Lebron James single handedly brought the East Squad back by hitting nine straight, including six 3's as the Eastern Conference got within one point. As amazing as the actual game was, it almost doesn't make up for how bad the rest of the weekend was.

After that fiasco that was the dunk contest (with four people you have never heard of), I could honestly care less if they cancelled it. It's a shame when the D-League dunk contest it better than the NBA's. One of my personal solutions is to invite players from outside the NBA to participate such as Kenny Dobbs, Air Up There, and James White. Those three together would be a hell of a show, but we all know what needs to happen. LEBRON JAMES IS THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN BRING THE DUNK CONTEST BACK. Last night I found myself agreeing with Reggie Miller for the first time when he said the league has to do something to make Lebron do it. It's unfair to the fans and the game for Lebron James to never participate in a dunk contest. When asked what would make him change his mind, he responded that if the prize was $1 million he may reconsider. Now, as much as I defend Lebron there's no way I can defend that. It shouldn't be about the money, it should be about the fans and showcasing your talent. Lebron is the best dunker since Vince Carter, and it still amazes me how he has not done it just once.

The 2012 All Star Game in Orlando was both a success and a failure at the same time. The game will go down as one of the best ever, but all most people will remember is the decline of the dunk contest. It used to be about superstars coming up with the most creative dunks, now it has transitioned into who can ride a motorcycle into the arena or strapping an eye-cam to you. As talented as other dunkers such as Westbrook, Rose, and John Wall are, the King has to get off his throne and bring the excitement back into All Star Weekend. Whether he likes it or not, he's the face of the league, and all of the burdens are on his shoulders. While no one has there hopes up, we can only dream that Lebron will finally step up and save the dunk contest. If he doesn't it may go down as one of the greatest tragedies in sports.

Highlights and box score of the game can be found on here.

I Do, I Do, I Do

Last night after a late drive gravity assisted touchdown, the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLVI. With their second win in four years, the G-Men once again relied on a heroic catch to save the game and eventually get them the W. After all the confetti settled the real story being talked about was Eli Manning. In a sports world where championships mean everything, many sports analysts began to question if Eli is one of the best to ever play the game.

Now as much as I hate Eli Manning (for no reason other than he looks like he has down syndrome most of the time), I'll be the first to admit that this win does put him in the elite class of current quarterbacks. Winning one Super Bowl is hard, winning two is harder, and winning both against Tom Brady is nearly impossible. By all accounts Eli should be the best quarterback in the league.

Here's where I differ from most people. RINGS DON'T EQUAL GREATNESS. All I ever hear in sports is that championships equals greatness, and it's just not true. As long as these are still team sports, one player's status on championships that they don't win by themselves. We all know it takes a good team, and usually another superstar to win championships. In the NBA Michael had Scottie, Magic had the whole Showtime squad, and Bird had a Hall of Fame Celtics team. Even with one of the best players to ever touch the rock, Kobe Bryant has never won a championship without Shaq or Pau Gasol. In fact, in the years between the two Kobe didn't make the playoffs and was eliminated in the first round after not showing up in a game 7. Really, the one player to almost win a ring by himself is the man everyone loves to hate Allen Iverson, who almost won it all with this group of bums.

The worst part about the ring factor is that it takes away from truly appreciating great players while they are here. LeBron James is one of the most amazing basketball players in history, and yet every morning I have to hear Skip Bayless hate on him. There's only one trophy per season, and winning takes time. You can see that with former MVP's Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett, who won in the later part of their careers. With that being said, there will always be great players who weren't in the right situation to win a ring.

Going back to Eli Manning, there's no one on Earth who will say that the kid can't play. It's obvious by how we leads his teams to wins. At the same time, you can't place him above some other players. If someone came up to me and said Eli is better than his brother Peyton just because he has one more ring I'd get the baby powder out and slap them. In a case like this, Eli just had a better opportunity to win. I'll even argue that Eli isn't better than Tom Brady, even though he's beaten him twice in the Super Bowl. Now don't get it confused and think that rings are meaningless, that's why you play the game. All I'm saying is championships have to be taken in context. If rings are everything then Robert Horry is better than Michael Jordan, and Barry Sanders is one of the worst half backs to ever run the ball. With that being said, I think it's time to start measuring legacies by how good a player actually was, and not by how much their team won.

Who Got the Juice?

And like that Showtime was back. Yesterday reports came in that the Lakers had traded forwards Pau Gasol and Lamar Kardashian for superstar point guard Chris Paul. It seemed like Kobe Bryant was on his way to a sixth championship when The Man shut it down like Public Enemy. As the trade was being finalized commissioner David Stern blocked the trade between the Hornets and Lakers, citing conflict of interest. As L.A. fans took to social networks to vent, this led to the question of how much power should the commissioner have, and what parties, if any, should influence trades.

Now first let me say that I am not a Laker fan by any means, but this shit is cray. I can see why people are scared that there will be a league full of Miami Heats, but when David Stern actually vetos trades not only does it make the NBA look bad, but it ruins basketball as a whole. Stern said that the trade to the Lakers was a conflict of interest (The NBA owns the Hornets), and that the trade did not benefit them as much as the other team. What Stern failed to see is that this was probably the best players that the Hornets were going to get for Paul, as either way he has said he will leave after this season as a free agent. Now there is a possibiity that the Hornets will lose CP3 for nothing, just like the Cavs did with Lebron. More importantly, in a league that just ended a lockout that pitted players against owners, fans do not want to see the biggest owner of them all making decisions with their favorite teams.

While Chris Paul is only one player and the Lakers are only one team, this decision might come back to haunt the NBA. Now when it coming to trading players it's up in the air on what is a fair trade and what isn't. Basically Stern can allow one trade, but not allow another. Many are already speculating that all-star center Dwight Howards request to go to New Jersey might be denied. Teams should be able to whoever they want no matter how it looks on the surface. Even when the Lakers received Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies for what many said was nothing, Memphis ended up signing Marc Gasol who became a key piece in their playoff run. With the Paul decision Stern has only added to his "dictator" persona. It's obvious that he's been sipping on the juice that Bishop drank.

So now Chris Paul is stuck in New Orleans, a place he knows he doesn't want to play and in and a place he'll be leaving soon. Numerous reports are saying he's looking at ways to form a lawsuit against the NBA. All indicators say he'll take the Lebron route and go to New York to join Melo and Stat, but who knows if that will go through now. Lebron's former boss added his input by writing a letter to David Stern saying that the other 29 teams should have a say in another team's trade, which is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. It looks like just when the league takes steps to improve they just fall back again, which is why the NBA keeps losing fans. The resolution of this problem is on David Stern and what he decides to do in the future. There's no way he can regulate every trade. The whole point is to improve your team, and sometimes it seems lopsided. Stern is becoming more like NFL policeman Goodell, and that's not a good thing. As the basketball world did a collective Kanye shrug, as J. Edgar Stern showed who really ran things all I could think of is no one man should have all this power.

I Just Hope That You Miss Me A Little When I'm Gone...

Yesterday Shaquille O'Neal, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, announced that he was retiring from the game of basketball after 19 years. Since entering the league in 1992 Shaq had been the most dominate player of his time, and possibly ever. While his ranking among the top centers ever has always been debated among the greats, the one thing that can be guaranteed is that we will never see another player like Shaq again.

Shaq has always been one of my favorite players. He started his career with the Orlanda Magic after being picked number 1 in the 1992 NBA Draft. He played with my all time favorite player Penny Hardaway (who didn't like Hardaway with his Lil' Penny commercials?) and together they began one of the best duos in the league. After only one NBA Finals appearance during his time with the Magic, Shaq took his talents to Los Angeles and joined the Lakers. While with L.A. Shaq accomplished most of his greatest achievements. He won three championships in a row along side Kobe Bryant. He was the league MVP of the 1999-2000 season. He also made the majority of his 15 all-star appearances during the Laker years. While they were winning on the court, off court issues between Shaq and Kobe led to the end of his tenure in L.A. and the end of a dynasty.

In 2004 he was traded to the Miami Heat, where he guaranteed that he would bring a championship to Dade County. In 2006 he made good of his word as the Miami Heat won their first championship in their history. Shaq once again proved the critics who said he had lost it wrong. During his later years Shaq went ring chasing (trying to one-up Kobe) and became a journeyman. He went to play for the Phoenix Suns, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and his final team the Boston Celtics.

Despite all his accomplishments, Shaq has never truly been given the credit he deserves as a player. He was always criticized for his size and strength.Yes, he broke backboards with ease, but Shaq's strength was secondary to his skills, and it's a shame that most people will never recognize that. O'Neal was definitely one in a million on and off the court. Between the movies, the hip hop albums (look up the classic joint with Biggie), the aliases, and just Shaq being Shaq, O'Neal will always be remembered. While players come and players go there will never be another Shaquille O'Neal, and I guarantee that a few years down the line people will truly miss having Shaq in the league and will realize how special he really was. I guess it's true what they say, you don't know what you got 'til it's gone.

G.O.A.T.

And then it was finally over.

Although not official, the collective consensus around the NBA is that this was Phil Jackson's last season as an NBA coach. With the Lakers' backs against the ropes down 0-3 to the Dallas Mavericks, Game 4 was the complete opposite of everything Phil Jackson represented. From being 30 pieced in the third quarter, to Andrew Bynum getting ejected for this cheap shot, to the Lakers being swept (something that has never happened in Phil's 20 year coaching career), everything was just so unlike Jackson basketball. To top it off, the Mavericks and Jason Terry both set playoff 3 pointer records in Game 4.

Before the final buzzer even sounded in Game 4 people were already debating about what this series would do to Phil Jackson's legacy. The answer is nothing. What Jackson has accomplished puts him above any other coach in league history. The only other coach who comes close in comparison is Red Auerbach, who had those stacked Celtics teams in the 1960s. Now there are those who say Jackson only won because he had the best players in Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant. That's true, he did have the best players and the best teams. In fact, he did not win when he didn't have the best teams. He failed to win in the mid 90s when Jordan did his baseball thing. When Shaq left for Miami, he didn't win until the Lakers were literally handed Pau Gasol for next to nothing. It only seems natural to say that they players won for Jackson and he was only there to supervise.

As having Hall of Fame players helped win championships, what set Jackson apart from others was his ability to take different players and truly make them united as a team. The one thing the Zen Master could do better than anyone was take superstars with huge egos and make them buy into his system of teamwork. Everyone says that when Kobe and Shaq are on the same team it should be easy to when a ring. However, it is not so easy to take their egos and make them coexist on the same team. That is what made Phil Jackson the greatest, and why he has a record 11 rings.

So as we are all here to witness an end of an era, there may never be another Phil Jackson. He had his own techniques (there's been stories of everything from incense and yoga in the locker room to Buddhist lectures and meditation on the plane rides from arena to arena). He was always calm and let his teams play through adversary. He believed that basketball could be more than a game and that it could offer life lessons. In all other words, Phil had a certain coolness about him. He became the standard for coaching today. If this is truly his last season he is destined to be imitated but never duplicated.

Good Job, Good Effort

What's a Mob to a King?

I Do, I Do, I Do

Who Got the Juice?

I Just Hope That You Miss Me A Little When I'm Gone...

G.O.A.T.

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