Lessons from Derrick Rose's Season Ending Injury

After the first few games of the NBA playoffs, one thing is on my mind: playoff strategy in giving playing time to NBA superstars.

The NBA is a business and it has the responsibility for giving the basketball fans what they want-- and that is a competitive game with the superstars on them. Teams, therefore, should do their best to win games (*cough*Bobcats Tank*cough*). If that means putting the team's best players and stars on the floor during the games, especially in the playoffs.

In the case of the Chicago Bulls, coach Tom Thibideau insisted on playing Derrick Rose in the final minutes of their series opener against the Philadelphia 76ers, even though the game was going into Chicago's favor. In the final minute of the game, Rose tore his ACL and would be out for the rest of the post-season.

We all know tickets prices for the Los Angeles Lakers are some of the most expensive in the NBA and it gets harder to buy tickets when the playoffs come. (If you're looking to find floor seats to the Lakers, good luck-- they're all probably sold out.) So you'd expect the team, particularly Lakers coach Mike Brown to maximize Kobe Bryant to playoff victory.

In the NBA's shortened season, that is going to dangerous territory.

Kobe missed seven games late in the regular season and I think the Lakers should be cautious in playing him 38-40 minutes a game in the playoffs. The better move looks like relying on Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol on the post (like giving them around 30+ field goal attempts per game) and giving Kobe around 32-35 minutes per game.

I'm not saying the Lakers should stifle Kobe, but rather save enough of his energy to go deep in the playoffs. NBA folks know the conditioning regimen that Kobe is going through, but 16 seasons and over 1,300 games (regular and post-season) should get folks scared a bit.


Technorati: NBA

Why I'm Not Yet Sold on Jeremy Lin

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a defeat at the tail-end of a back-to-back against the New York Knick.

The main culprit? Big Apple's latest hoop darling: #17 Jeremy Lin.

Lin scored a career-high 38 points and dished out 7 assists to lead the Knicks to the their fourth straight win and hand the Lakers their third loss in four games. In the four Knick wins, Lin started at point guard.

I think Lin is skilled and has NBA-level talent, to call him as Basketball's Next Big Thing? I'm not so sure about that. I have four reasons to be skeptical about "Linsanity":

• Point guards have been the Lakers' weakness - In the last 15 years, point guards have made careers by abusing the Lakers and this season is no different. The current Lakers roster is not constructed to bottle up slashing point guards. I'll join the "Linsanity" after Lin goes up against Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, and Tony Parker and lights them up.
• Too small a sample - Lin belongs to the NBA for sure, I don't doubt that. But what I'm skeptical about is how people are crowning him as New York hoops' messiah. People are jumping the gun the praise because the Knicks desperately needs a distraction from its sub-.500 winning record.
• Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire are still inactive - One of the key reasons Lin got so many shot attempts (18.5 per game since he started) is because two of the Knicks starters were out of commission. The pair take up about 40% of the team's shot attempts and 50% of the team's free throw attempts. Once the duo comes back into action, I see Lin's attempts going back to earthly portions.
• D'Antoni needs to keep his job - Prior to the winning streak, the Knicks were spiraling into the NBA Draft lottery and the Madison Square Garden faithful were asking for the axing of coach Mike D'Antoni. But then two things happened: D'Antoni shuffled his line-up and the Knicks began to win. Had the Knicks kept losing despite Lin in the line-up, all this hoopla wouldn't be happening.

I'm not dissing Lin, I just think he's not proven yet. But one thing's for sure, people have taken notice, including the Lakers' Kobe Bryant.

In the post game interview after the loss to the Knicks, Bryant said, "Enjoy it, they'll receive judgment next season."

Technorati: NBA

The Chris Paul Saga Continues: Twitter Backlash on the NBA

New Orleans Hornets Chris Paul point guard was supposed to the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade. But in an unprecedented move, the NBA, which owns the Hornets, vetoed the trade. Why? Because of "basketball reasons."

After this announcement, public sentiment has been strong against the NBA in Twitter.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

How the Lakers Got Screwed in the New NBA Deal

I just read an article at ESPN.com that outlines the differences from the new CBA from the 2005 CBA.

My initial reaction was, "WTH! The Lakers got screwed in the new deal!"

Here's one item that really grabbed my attention:

• 2005 CBA: Teams paid $1 for every $1 their salary was above the luxury-tax threshold.
• 2011 CBA: Teams pay $1 for every $1 their salary is above the luxury-tax threshold in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Starting in 2012-13, teams pay an incremental tax that increases with every $5 million above the tax threshold ($1.50, $1.75, $2.50, $3.25, etc.). Teams that are repeat offenders (paying tax at least four out of the past five seasons) have a tax that is higher still -- $1 more at each increment ($2.50, $2.75, $3.50, $4.25, etc.).

We all know that the Los Angeles Lakers' owner Jerry Buss doesn't spare a dime to make the team competitive. As a result, the team has gone over the luxury tax with regularity since 2005. But the results for the Lakers since that CBA was ratified has been great: No missed playoffs, three NBA finals appearances, and two NBA championships.

With the new deal, the Lakers are looking to pay up to three times their luxury tax.

Here's another item:

• 2005 CBA: No additional limits for taxpaying teams.
• 2011 CBA: Taxpaying teams have a smaller midlevel exception, can acquire less salary in trade, and cannot use the biannual exception. Starting in 2013-14, teams more than $4 million above the tax level cannot receive a player in a sign-and-trade transaction.

This means that a team like the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves get offer a veteran a higher mid-level exception compared to the Lakers. This is the league becoming serious about "competitive balance."

And that doesn't make sense to me.

With the exception of the Oklahoma City Thunder (which relies on young players with lesser committed contracts), most of the playoff performers are spending on players.

So instead of encouraging teams to spend to win, they punish spenders while giving the cheapskate teams no incentive to spend more.

The deal is good for ten years (with the option to be reviewed after five years) and the future looks restricted for the Lakers.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

NBA Doesn't Let Shannon Dunk

Last year, there was much hoopla surrounding the anticipation whether Shannon Brown would be joining the NBA Dunk Contest. It made perfect sense: Brown was a high flyer that electrified crowds with his forays to the basket. He also was seen as a player who had yet to get a break, until he joined the Los Angeles Lakers. Pairing that with the league's desire to add up and coming players, it was a matter of Brown getting an invite.

It also helped that the fans were abuzz about it. There was a pretty good viral campaign with the Let Shannon Dunk website getting traction among the Laker fans.

However, with the poor performance of Shannon Brown in the 2010 NBA Dunk Contest (he finished third out of a lot of four) a lot of people (and I guess the NBA) were disappointed. The result? No Shannon Brown in the dunk contest.

If you ask me, that's perfectly fine-- I don't think anyone can beat Human Dunk Machine Blake Griffin in this year's dunk contest.


Technorati: NBA Dunk Contest

Cleveland's Stinging Responds to LeBron James

James: "Should I be who you want me to be?" 

Cleveland: "We wanted you to be who you said you'd be."

Ouch!


Technorati: NBA

Technical Fouls = Wins in the NBA?

I was reading a blog post from Yahoo's Ball Don't Lie Blog about the NBA's  new officiating policy on technical fouls. It prompted me to check the technical foul stats from last season. I observed a very interesting trend.

Here's top six teams that got the most technical fouls:

1. Boston Celtics
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Orlando Magic
4. Denver Nuggets
5. Charlotte Bobcats
6. Cleveland Cavaliers

Here's bottom six teams that got the most technical fouls:

1. New Jersey Nets
2. Minnesota Timberwolves
3. New York Knicks
4. Philadelphia 76ers
5. Oklahoma City Thunder
6. New Orleans Hornets

I that the teams that got the most technical fouls last season averaged 54 wins, which translates to a winning percentage of almost 66%. On the other hand, the bottom six teams averaged only 28 wins, with a winning percentage of 34%. It's also worth noting that all the top six teams all made the playoffs, whereas in the bottom six, only the up and coming Oklahoma City Thunder made the post-season.

The trend suggests that the really competitive teams contest a lot of calls and complain a lot. It also paints the picture that teams that complain a lot will win almost twice as much as the meeker teams.

So, if your team rags the officials a lot, be happy. It means they're on the league's better lot.


Technorati: NBA

Fearless Forecast: 2010 NBA All-Star Game Line-ups

The NBA will be announcing the 2010 NBA All-Star lineups in January 28 with the starters being announced a week earlier. Folks like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Dwight Howard are shoo-ins for the game, and there are a few deserving folks whom I think will be chosen by the coaches (Pau Gasol, Joe Johnson). So here's my first forecast for year, the 2010 NBA All-Star Game line-ups:

East Team:

1. Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat (G)*
2. Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers (G)*
3. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers (F)*
4. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics (F)*
5. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic (C)*
6. Vince Carter, Orlando Magic (G)
7. Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks (G)
8. Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks (F)
9. Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics (F)
10. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics (G)
    
11. Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors (F/C)
12. Gerald Wallace, Charlotte Bobcats (F)

West Team

1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers (G)*
2. Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns (G)*
3. Carmelo Anthoby, Denver Nuggets (F)*
4. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks (F)*
5. Amar'e Stoudamire, Phoenix Suns (C)*
6. Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers (F/C)
7. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder (F)
8. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs (F/C)
9. Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers (G)
10. Deron Williams, Utah Jazz (G)
11. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets (G)
12. Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies (F)
    

* - starters

Of course, my main assumption is that Tracy McGrady will be traded before the All-Star Game. Otherwise, I'll put him in the starting guard spot, then moving Steve Nash to reserves, then bumping off Chris Paul.


Technorati: NBA

Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown Update

We are closer in finding out the dunkers who will compete in the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas.

After a tough elimination round, 10 dunkers from the eight U.S. cities and two online selections by none other than LeBron James reached the semi-finals and it is now up to us to determine who will be the group's Final Four.

To vote for your favorite dunker, log on to http://nba.com/dunk to watch dunks from each of the ten semi-finalists. The winner will receive a grand prize of $10,000 and will attend the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during NBA All-Star Saturday Night on Feb. 13, 2010.

The voting period begins today and runs through August 24, 2009.


Technorati: NBA

LeBron James: Royal Loser

If Lebron James is "The King," he definitely acted like a spoiled monarch after they lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals (ECF).

After the Cleveland Cavaliers lost 103-90 in Game Six of the ECF, LeBron James walked off the court and refused to shake the hands of the victors. Talk about being a sore loser! Here's what LeBron had to say:

It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them. I'm a winner. It's not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake somebody's hand.

WTF?!? Just because you're a "winner" you're spared from sportsman-like protocol?

Well LeBron, you haven't won any rings yet so you're technically not in the winner's circle.

It also annoys me to no end that LeBron's team has either kept mum or defended his unsportsman-like actions. This tolerance just spoils James further and fuels his whining attitude. Can you imagine Phil Jackson defending Kobe Bryant in this type of situation? (Jackson has criticized Kobe and called him "uncoachable" in the past).

So to LeBron James, shake the hands of your vanquishers. It's not supposed to be fun, but it's what real winners do.


Technorati: LeBron James

Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown

Talk about Slam Dunk Competition: Web 2.0 style!

The NBA and Sprite have up with a very good innovation to the annual Slam Dunk Competition at the All-Star Weekend: let the fans join in on the slam-dunking fun! They have launched the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown where dunkers from can join via a live dunking contest or submit entries online! Fans from all over will vote for the dunkers who will go to Dallas in the 2010 All-Star Weekend.

The Los Angeles leg of the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown will held this May 16, 2009 at the Universal Studios Hollywood CityWalk (3-10pm). Each dunker participant will receive an adidas jersey, shorts and shoes.  The top dunker in Los Angeles will receive $1,000, a Flip Video Camera and be eligible to win the Grand Prize. Second place dunker will receive $500. The 40 dunk contestants who participate in the Showdown events in each market will receive authentic jerseys, shorts and adidas basketball shoes.

To make sure that the quality of dunkers will be top-notch, NBA MVP LeBron James will be selecting two dunkers from the top fan-rated videos.

I'll keep everyone posted on the progress of the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown. :)


Technorati: NBA

Stephon Marbury to Boston Celtics: WTF?!?

Stephon Marbury, AKA "Starbury", is reportedly going to the Boston Celtics. Marbury was embroiled in a messy buyout situation with his former team, the New York Knicks. and was bought out a couple of days ago.

Now, let me get this clear: Marbury is an All-NBA talent who can dish, drive, shoot from deep, run an offense, and get occasional highlight slick passes.

BUT...

He's also responsible for capsizing four NBA franchises, he alienates his teammates, and he plays selfishly to the point that he makes your typical ballhog seem like Steve Nash.

The Boston Celtics are rolling the dice here.


Technorati: NBA

Greg "Glass" Oden Out with Injury: What's New?

One of the blogs that I love to hate has a story that Portland Trailblazers center Greg Oden is out with an injured left knee.

To give you a background, the blogger from Blaze of Love practically threw a party when Andrew Bynum went down with an injury.

So to you Mr. Blaze of Love, what's new with Oden going down with an injury? I've given him a nickname: "Glass" Oden, for his penchant for rebounds and his brittleness.


Technorati: NBA

NBA All Star Voting Ends Today!

Today's is the final day for fan voting for the starters for the 2009 NBA All Star Game at Phoenix.

Based on the fourth return last week, here's the tally:


2009 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING - EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: LeBron James (Clev) 1,940,162; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 1,375,814; Yi Jianlian (NJ) 1,216,348; Chris Bosh (Tor) 751,927; Paul Pierce (Bos) 486,656; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 366,174; Shawn Marion (Mia) 264,888; Danny Granger (Ind) 199,200; Josh Smith (Atl) 163,145; Michael Beasley (Mia) 157,286; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 144,337.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,818,717; Allen Iverson (Det) 1,278,600; Vince Carter (NJ) 856,498; Ray Allen (Bos) 552,094; Devin Harris (NJ) 474,637; Gilbert Arenas (Wash) 403,577; Luke Ridnour (Mil) 379,806; Derrick Rose (Chi) 293,483; Jose Calderon (Tor) 274,509; Joe Johnson (Atl) 236,993; Jameer Nelson (Orl) 227,226.

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 2,102,368; Samuel Dalembert (Phi) 257,527; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 255,950; Jermaine O’Neal (Tor) 224,583; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 198,811; Al Horford (Atl) 191,105; Brendan Haywood (Wash) 178,868; Ben Wallace (Clev) 159,132; Emeka Okafor (Char) 133,501; Zyrdrunas Ilgauskas (Cle) 122,607; Kendrick Perkins (Bos) 85,855.

2009 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING - WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Tim Duncan (SA) 1,454,918; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 905,121; Amar’e Stoudemire (Pho) 894,690; Ron Artest (Hou) 890,992; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 837,482; Pau Gasol (LAL) 618,943; Bruce Bowen (SA) 509,593; Shane Battier (Hou) 482,724; Luis Scola (Hou) 281,372; Josh Howard (Dal) 255,698; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 212,651.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,903,798; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 1,216,224; Chris Paul (NO) 1,059,161; Manu Ginobili (SA) 669,837; Tony Parker (SA) 614,939; Jamal Crawford (GS) 462,039; Steve Nash (Pho) 441,746; Jason Kidd (Dal) 381,906; Rafer Alston (Hou) 372,130; Jason Terry (Dal) 323,279; Brandon Roy (Por) 267,053.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 1,758,499; Shaquille O’Neal (Pho) 1,006,383; Andrew Bynum (LAL) 356,280; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 292,845; Greg Oden (Por) 195,552; Andris Biedrins (GS) 170,732; Tyson Chandler (NO) 128,086; Al Jefferson (Minn) 121,944; Nick Collison (OKC) 105,534; Marcus Camby (LAC) 74,638; Chris Kaman (LAC) 27,112

As you can see, Yi Jianlian is still third on the Eastern Conference forwards list and still trails Kevin Garnett by roughly 159,000 votes. Another interesting thing: Ron Artest, who is injured, only trails Carmelo Anthony by 15,000 for the starting forward slot. Gee... I wonder where those votes came from?



Tags: NBA

LeBron James' Traveling Exposed?

The recent "Crab Dribble" brouhaha NBA star LeBron James has stirred up has many people wondering: What exactly is a Crab Dirbble? Jalen Rose offered an explanation of what a Crab Dribble is:



So, a Crab Dribble is the dribble you take while posting up. As we see in the video, King James isn't exactly posting up, and not dribbling when he went for the shot. I'm aware that NBA stars get away with traveling calls but what irks me is LeBron's insistence that he did not travel and maintained that he will continue to use his Crab Dribble in future games.

Whatever LeBron does in his games is his business, but I do hope the Crab Dribble is NOT going to be taught in basketball classes or imitated by youngsters. It's traveling.


Tags: NBA

Yi Jianlian still 3rd Forward in All-Star Votes

Continuing my campaign to get New Jersey Nets forward Yi Jianlian to become a starter in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, I am happy to report that he is still third in the voting for the starting forward position in the Eastern Conference.

In the latest NBA All-Star voting returns, Yi has amassed 762,162 votes. This figure has exceeded his votes last season. Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett only leads Yi by approximately 140,000 votes for the second starting forward slot.

140,000 votes would be easy to overcome once the votes from China and Asia would be pouring in. We may see the first All-Star game with not one, but two Asian starters. :D

So support the Yi Jianlian to the 2009 All-Star Game by casting your votes now!


Tags: NBA

5 Best Players in the NBA that Did Not Win the MVP Award

I was reading this article from Sports Illustrated, where it says that Steve Nash is done in Phoenix. Well, done in the sense that he's a shell of his former MVP self. The comments of the people were generally pointed to the opinion that Steve Nash was not an MVP-caliber player ever. He was good for a brief stretch, but if you look at his career, it's hardly one for the NBA greats.

So it got me thinking, "Who were the MVP-caliber players to never have won the MVP award?" Here's my all-time list of players who have played in the last decade that never won the regular season MVP award:

1. Jason Kidd
2. LeBron James
   
3. Tracy McGrady
   
4. Chris Webber*
5. Gary Payton*

* - Retired


Tags: NBA

Yi Jianlian to the All-Star Team!

The NBA All-Star Game is all about the fans. That's why we saw Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets start over former Laker Shaquille O'Neal at his prime. That's also why we saw Tracy McGrady start over Steve Nash in the latter's first MVP season. It's a system that's far from perfect, but it makes the fans happy.

That's why I am inviting everyone all over the blogosphere to make history again: Let's put the New Jersey Nets' Yi Jianlian to the 2009 NBA All-Star Team! If the West Team benefited with Yao in the starting spot for the good portion of this decade, then it's only appropriate to start a new tradition on the East Team-- Yi Jianlian to the All-Star Team!

Who wants a Kevin Garnett or LeBron James in the All-Star Game as starters? Yi Jianlian is the perfect ambassador to a game that's truly emerging as a global sport. I want to see Yi don the Eastern Conference All-Star jersey this coming February in Phoenix. If you want that to happen to, vote Yi Jianlian in at NBA.com!

Remember: Yi Jianlian as an All-Star = NBA a global game!


Tags: NBA

Photo by Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger

So much for LeBron James to the Lakers...

As impossible at it may sound, people were hoping that the Los Angeles Lakers would be clearing cap space to join the bumper crop of free-agents for the 2010 sweepstakes. We're looking at a group of impending free agents that include LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, and Tony Parker. Even Lakers Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, and Sasha Vujacic will be unrestricted free agents by then. (Thanks to RealGM for this free agent list)

The consensus is that LeBron James is the grand prize of that lot. People are already speculating if he's bolting Cleveland to join a new team as early as this season started. The popular opinion is that Bron will be in New York two years from now.

All the hypothetical talk of LeBron to the New York Knicks may have come closer to being facts as the Knicks traded Jamal Crawford, Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins in two separate deals to free up an estimated $27 million... enough money to make a run at LeBron and perhaps Dwayne Wade. This amount could also have the Knicks make a run at LeBron plus two solid starting rotation players.

While the Lakers can still be players at the 2010 free agent sweepstakes, I'm betting LeBron James won't be going for purple and gold.


Tags: NBA

Fox Sports' Mike Khan: Paul Pierce is NBA MVP so far

FOX Sports' analyst Mike Kahn says that Paul Pierce is the NBA's MVP this early on in the season.

You gotta be kidding me. When did this guy drink the "Paul Pierce is the best player in the world " Kool-aid? Sheesh.

UPDATE:

Magic Johnson, 3-time NBA Most Valuable Player, seems to be part of the Paul Pierce love fest. Magic said in an interview with ESPN's Maurice Brooks:

Now, was Pierce better than Kobe in the Finals? Of course he was. He was better than everyone. Pierce is one of the top three or four players in the world. He's right up there with LeBron [James] and Kobe.

"Top three or four"??? Magic, have you jumped in the Paul Pierce bandwagon too?


Tags: NBA