A Response to "Time for the Hating to Stop"

I understand why Steve wrote what he did about Lebron. The difference in opinion was captured by the annual Q ratings that ESPN publishes. Steve and I went to the same high school and he is 100% right when it comes to the reaction. Loyalty is overvalued, especially by many NBA fans, but it shouldn't be. It's an economic business.

My issue with it is not race. I am clear, like Larry Bird, and anyone will say that it's still about race. It's about my disappointment with how competitive balance is disappearing from the League. Players like Lebron and Wade can carry teams by themselves, both economically and competitively. Lebron spurred an amazing revival for the Cavaliers. Who would've thought in the six years he spent in Cleveland minus his rookie year, the team had minimum yearly capacity of 94%? And he's a pretty damn good player too, averaging 27.7 PPG, 7.0 APG, and 7.7 RPG for his career. Those numbers are unreal, and they held up this year (26.7 PPG, 7.0 APG, 7.5 RPG). In the playoffs, he's grabbing 8.7 RPG, blocking 1.4 shots per game, and he is down by nearly one turnover to 2.8 per game. While the rule is 2 Hall of Famers or don't even think about seeing the Larry O'Brien trophy, Dwyane Wade absolutely dominated the 2006 Finals. Shaq shot 29% on free throws and only averaged 13.7 PPG in the series. Antoine Walker shot too damn much, and Wade shouldered the scoring load as everyone else focused on shutting down the Mavericks and hitting the open shots, which no one had to consistently do during that series.

But now they're playing together because they're friends. I don't think that Isiah and Jordan were friends (see: here and here). However, Jordan was friends with other NBA players, like Barkley (kind of playing into Jeff Van Gundy's mind games theory). But Jordan, like other players during the 1980's and early-to-mid 1990's, had a different perspective on collaboration: if you were the alpha, you ran by yourself and you ran your pack until, like Barkley, you realize that you aren't able to handle the responsibilities of providing stats. Sure, some alphas don't realize that they sometimes can't provide like they once did (see: Jordan in Washington). But they were willing to isolate themselves and prove themselves alone.

Lebron, who in no way lived a cushy life, has a different perspective on how this friendship should manifest. You can see it in More Than A Game, the documentary that followed Lebron and his St. Vincent-St. Mary teammates through high school. The title speaks volumes about Lebron: I bet he loves basketball, but he values what it has given him: his best friends from before he became famous. Hell, he always said if he'd decided to go to college, he would've gone to Akron because two of his high school teammates, Dru Joyce III and Romeo Travis, were playing there.

My problem with Lebron is that he embodies this change. He is a great team player. It is ridiculous how talented he is. The man has amazing touch from everywhere, he could average a double-double every game if he wanted to focus more on crashing the boards or became more pass-first in his approach.

But Lebron has changed a standard that made the NBA so great: the greatest player never banked on another star to help him get a ring until his prime ended (see: Oscar Robertson, Gary Payton). Now, Lebron has helped to decrease competitive balance within the League by making these partnerships more acceptable. This summer, if the Hornets get contracted, we will probably see Chris Paul end up with the Knicks to team with Amar'e and Carmelo. As Steve points out, it remains to be seen whether Melo and STAT will take the opportunity seriously and step up their defensive games. I mourn the time when stars went for it on their own or with one companion followed by a supporting cast. But I cannot fail to mention, I am extremely excited to see these teams gather great players and wage more classic battles like we've seen throughout these playoffs.

The Kobe Rules

Yes, I was one of the many that called Kobe the next Jordan, and I want to clarify that calling to be our Jordan. Kobe is going to go down as the dominant guard of our era. The Celtics are a collective that looked amazing on paper and then played amazing in reality. The PGA Tour/Three Amigos/Big Three are this era's equivalent to Parish/Bird/McHale, with an obviously more guard-oriented approach compared to the '80's trio. Each has quite a bit of time left in the NBA, besides having time left as teammates before contracts run out (the first to do so will be Ray Allen in 2010). As well, the Celtics are the defensive juggernaut that the Bad Boy Pistons were, and were the first team to demonstrate how to shut down Kobe this year. The analogy remains, as Kobe may one day conquer them (that possibility being next year, when he will probably have a healthy Andrew Bynum to go along with Gasol...will Phil platoon the two of them at center? We shall see...).

The Group of Death Resolves Itself and Boston Loses Another Finger To a Ring

I'd like to start this post off by saying that one of the most important parts of this blog while your dear friend Pappy is in the Delaware Valley is Comcast with their okay internet and excellent cable services. However, they charge exorbitant fees, and they do something that Time Warner never does in Syracuse: have 24 straight hours of a service outage. The funny part to me is that while this storm that supposedly took out service for so many people was occurring, nothing happened to my cable service. But 2 days afterwards? Of course it will take out your service. The logic is beautiful.
However, not as beautiful as the beautiful game (futbol (soccer)) was yesterday, and the Euro action was pretty ugly. In order to prevent the throwing of games, both games are played concurrently, so I joined a friend at a West Philly bar and got to watch both on big screens right next to each other, but it was still tough to pay attention to both at the same time.
The Italians took their dives, as Luca Toni did in the 24th inside the box, drawing a red card for Eric Abidal that probably should have been a yellow for Toni. Andrea Pirlo, who probably has the most accurate foot in the world right now, easily put the penalty past Coupet, and Italy was set to coast. This was especially easy because Ribery, France's best midfielder, fell to injury in the 10th. It looked like a Zidane break where he would get off the stretcher on the sideline, squirt water on his leg, and go right back on. But it was actually a REAL injury. Samir Nasri came in for him and proved to be pretty terrible, as he was replaced by Jean Alain Boumsong in the 26th. A deflected De Rossi free kick closed the scoring in 62nd, and the Italians marched on with barely a hint of trouble, which was a Karim Benzema shot that barely missed. France did what its army regularly does in war and what it's soccer team does once every two or three tournaments: disappear completely. They only managed one goal in this tournament. I don't know what type of shape Zidane is in right now, but his national side needs him pretty badly.
So, one uncompetitive side in the France-Italy match meant that the Romanians needed to pull off a win against the less offensive Dutch oven which was weaker due to a big chunk of their starting lineup that destroyed the French and Italians resting for the quarters. Not much going on in the first half, although the Romanians did put on some pressure. However, the Dutch showed that they could attack well even without their best players, and Huntelaar in the 54th and Van Persie, who seems to have recovered from the injuries that limited his time at Arsenal this year, in the 87th, dashed Romanian dreams of advancing to the quarters.
To round out the day, the NBA Finals concluded in Boston as the Celtics mauled the Lakers 131-92 for the franchise's 17th. Boston could do no wrong (33:7 Assist:Turnover ratio, 32-37 from the line, 13-26 from 3, 43-87 from the field, and Sam Cassell didn't play), and Kobe looked like a giant poop. Paul Pierce is your Finals MVP to no one's surprise. So now, we look to next year. Right now, the early consensus is another Lakers-Celtics Final, but it could play out completely differently because of one factor: Andrew Bynum. He is a top 5 big man in the NBA when healthy, and if he can put in at least 70 regular season games, the Lakers will probably be able to keep their roster together (Ronny Turiaf's contract expired, and Vujacic could go where the money is that the Lakers can't pay him) but could make a trade this offseason in order to improve. The Celtics will also have the same roster minus the probably retirements of Sam Cassell and PJ Brown, whose role will be filled by "Big Baby" Davis. This is what the NBA wants: a rivalry between the two most storied franchises in the league, with players remembering last year. The Spurs are going to try to return to glory, but they have never looked so bad getting eliminated (They took the Mavs to 7 games in 2006, but a paltry, basically uncompetitive 5 against the Lakers? I don't think so.). I'm sure Donaghy will be in Arkham Asylum like the Riddler at the end of Batman Forever, being asked by Bruce Wayne why the series didn't go seven, and Donaghy telling him that Stern wanted to make sure no one knew he did actually pay off the referees. Well, we'll see what happens next year if 2 big market teams, 1 from the East and 1 from the West, make it to the conference finals. I'm pretty sure they'll both make it to the NBA Finals, but that isn't my business...shit, they found me; I'm fleeing like Jerry Fletcher in Conspiracy Theory.

Peanut Butter is a Dairy Product

Well, Larry David is courtside for Game 4, I'm hoping this doesn't happen to Pau:

I don't know whether Larry would be able to help in a game of Scattegories, and for that matter how much Pau watched Seinfeld reruns in his native Spain. Luckily, he isn't sitting between the bench and the scorer's table.

******EDIT******

LD was actually between the Lakers' bench and the scorers' table, and it seems that even in real life the Lakers can't win with LD sitting there. As Shaq was lost for 10 days on Curb, the Lakers squandered the biggest lead in NBA Finals history after the 1st quarter and fell victim to the Finals' largest ever comeback. If Larry returns to those seats for Game 5, I don't think Lakers fans will have such a positive reaction.

Your One Stop Shop NBA Finals Preview and Future-Telling Device

You could say that I, like America, am much more excited about this NBA Finals matchup than say, Jemele Hill.

(When I searched for the article on ESPN, it came up with this preview: "Lakers versus Celtics? Please. If basketball fans know what's good for them, they want to see Pistons versus Spurs in the NBA Finals." Makes Jemele sound like an abusive parent cracking their belt. Also, while people complain of Bill Simmons' Celtics fandom, why do we not bring up Hill's? She was born in Detroit for heaven's sake! Of course she wants to see them in the Finals, but unlike Simmons, her writing style demands that she not explicitly say so, so she does it the only other way possible: implicitly using mind-control.)

Anyways, back to the preview: besides the fact that this is Lakers-Celtics Round 12, it also is something even more important to the NBA: new-guard vs. new-guard. We're about to see a rivalry return to prominence and set off a 1980's golden age redux (still to be another post). The Celtics have jack squat Finals experience compared to the Lakers (see: Kobe and Fish circa Lakers 2000-2002), but their hunger may make up part of that difference. Let's look at the matchups to determine what the hell is really going to happen; ladies and gentlemens, THE FUTURE TELLING DEVICE!

Point Guard

Rajon Rondo vs. Derek Fisher

This is the barometer for this series. Rondo may be forced to help on Kobe drives and doubling down into the post onto Gasol, in which case Fish will have the chance to hit open jumpers that will make things much easier for the Lakers. On the other end, Rondo has to avoid turnovers, especially with the thievery that Fish has displayed during the playoffs (3.5 per game against Utah and 2.27 per throughout the playoffs, enough to earn the nickname to a nickname "A Fish Called Wanda"). I'm giving this matchup to the Lakers.

Shooting Guard

Kobe Bryant vs. Ray Allen

The bell goes off here because it's a matchup of perennial All-Stars. Alas, one (Kobe) is a superstar that is about to be the league's image (already for the D-League's logo) the way Jordan was in his hey-day. Jesus Shuttlesworth may have a magical stroke from the land of the trinity that has been on as of late, but he will be no match for the all-around dominance that the Mamba has been displaying throughout the playoffs. I also don't think that Ray-Ray will be the primary defender on Kobe, as Pierce will be a more physical matchup that will give Kobe more problems. Still, this one goes to the Lakers.

Small Forward

Vladimir Radmanovic vs. Paul Pierce

When I was in 10th grade gym class, our teacher asked us for examples of great shooters. I immediately said John Wilkes Booth, who displayed some amazing athleticism by jumping from Lincoln's balcony after his shot heard 'round DC, although he broke his leg and didn't land it. he interrupted me to remind me that we were talking about basketball shooters, and I immediately said "Vladimir Radmanovic." And for good reason: Rad-man could stroke it in international play, but was just less effective from 3. He's been playing extremely well in the playoffs to the tune of making great cuts so Kobe has somewhere to pass when he contortions in the air and realized that Tim Duncan is breathing down his neck a la Brainy from Hey Arnold!, and hitting open shots. He will probably start out on Pierce as to avoid Kobe having to foul people and so Kobe can play that off-ball sneak-up-on-your-candy-ass defense. But Paul Pierce is "The Truth" for a reason: he truly can play, and he's been damn clutch in the playoffs, especially in Game 7s. Both players will get theirs, but Pierce will get more, so the advantage in this matchup goes to the Celtics.

Power Forward and Center

Lamar Odom & Pau Gasol vs. Kevin Garnett & Kendrick Perkins

I'm thinking that Garnett comes out on Gasol because Garnett is a fucking stalwart on D and Gasol has been giving teams serious fits with his length and a post repertoire similar to Yo-Yo Ma's of cello. However, this will leave the Celtics at a disadvantage as Perkins has a dearth of speed compared to Odom's bounty. However, matching up the other way will still disadvantage the Celts because Perkins will also be vulnerable guarding Gasol.

With the Celtics on offense, Garnett will probably be guarded by Odom to start out, leaving the active Perkins crashing the offensive glass (averaged 2.8 per against the Pistons), so Gasol will have no rest on D. Inevitably, Gasol will end up guarding Garnett (Gasol also could inevitably start the game on Garnett, who will definitely be using his unstoppable midrange game to draw out whoever is guarding him and get them into some foul trouble.). Though Lamar Odom has been playing out of his mind as of late, I think the Celtics have the advantage because Kevin Garnett is the best front court player in the league.

Bench

I've watched nearly every game by each team so far in these here Playoffs, and there is one glaring difference in these teams: The Lakers bench can put five right in like Dean Smith with his "Blue Team," while the Boston bench is powerless by itself like the Silver Surfer sans board. Jordan Farmar will be starting when Fish is done; he is definitely the heir to the point guard position, and he has been playing like it should be his now. Sasha Vujacic is a solid semi-flopper who talks trash but can also microwave like Vinnie Johnson. Luke Walton is an amazing passer and a smart scorer. Ronny Turiaf has been putting in good minutes against starting forwards in the past two series, and Trevor Ariza should be getting more time, but he may be nursing his injured right foot that kept him out for the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs. PJ Brown has been solid off the Celtic bench, but no one else really has, especially on the road (Only James Posey, with his championship experience with the Heat, averages more than 4 points a game). The Lakers bench is definitely going to cause more problems for the Celtics  than the Celts' will do for them.

Coaching

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAAHAHA...

Sorry. I sometimes forget about Doc Rivers coaching the Celtics, and Phil Jackson's status as coach of the Lakers. Doc Rivers is just not that good of a coach. Sorry Celtics fans, but the Lakers take this one easily. 

Prediction: Lakers in 5. The Celtics may get one of the first two, but I think the Lakers steal homecourt and win 3 straight at home to take the championship in front of their own fans. The Lakers are about to do some dynasty building next year with a healthy Andrew Bynum, who will help take this team to the future (sans Kobe) along with the other younger Lakers, which could possibly include a lot of Larry O'Brien trophies.

Also, Mike Tranghese retired today. He had worked in the Big East since its inception and was the commissioner for 19 years after the retirement of Dave Gavitt, the league's first leading the continued growth and the quick recovery from the ACC defections. The Big East, though only the 8th oldest of the 12 D-I-A conferences, is still one of the more powerful because of Tranghese's efforts to draw in Miami (especially their football) and Notre Dame sans football. He led the salvation of the league after the ACC defections that put in play an amazing concept with the 16 team basketball conference, the largest of all time, that was able to get a record 8 teams into the tournament last year. Now that he has retired, he is planning on doing something else, and we wish him lukc in whatever that may be.