Jemele Hill: Swagged... Big Time

Wow, what can be said about an article this putrid? Other than just, "wow." Where to begin? When my brother, Ball Hog, called to my attention an article that claims Kobe is not only far and away the best player in the NBA now, but even better than Jordan, I actually got excited. I was expecting a John Hollinger-esque number breakdown with statistics, and coefficients that might tackle the age old problem of comparing the stars of yesteryear with the stars of today. Instead what I got was this. Basically Jemele Hill just says Kobe's better than Jordan, and then backs it up with a bunch of spurious claims about today's players being better than Jordan's colleagues. Not only can she not back up her thesis with any evidence, she can't back up her evidence with any evidence.

"At the very least, Kobe's scoring spree over the last week should put to rest any lingering doubts that he's the best player in the NBA."

Says who? I'll certainly entertain the argument. And a convincing one can certainly be made. But that argument could be made before Kobe started increasing his chucking percentage. The bottom line is Allen Iverson could've routinely put up 50 point nights, but that's not so easy to do when you also average 7+ assists per night. Something else that both Kobe and AI share in common is their low FG% (obviously AI's is lower). I don't know when this stat became so inconsequential to Ms. Hill (and everyone else). Can you point out the season where Kobe averaged 30+ pts to go along with 54%FG? I'll save you the trouble, it never happened. Jordan did it twice. In fact Kobe's never even sniffed 50% from the field, including this year, in which he's shooting a career best 47%FG. I agree it's historic what Kobe did(scoring 50+ four times in a row), but he also did it to 4 teams that, barring any miracles, will not be in the playoffs. I might add that none of the 4 teams had guys like Bruce Bowen or Tayshaun Prince covering him. It may still be difficult, but it's obviously easier, to do that against the defensive likes of Mike Miller, Rasual Butler, Brandon Roy and Ricky Davis.
Calling him better than Jordan is a laugh. I agree they're comparable on defense, and in the clutch. Also that they're comparable in their ability to get to the hoop and their competitive ferocity. But Jordan won championships with Bill Wennington, a 90 year old Bill Cartwright, Luc Longley, but no Shaq. Furthermore, Jordan made Pippen, and to a lesser extent Rodman and Harper. Kobe has turned approximately zero players into all stars, let alone even slightly better players. In fact there's considerable evidence to suggest he makes the players around him worse, as they now spend 48 minutes a night standing around watching him play. But that's not to say Kobe's got nobody. Lamar Odom would be an All Star on any other team, Luke Walton's development into a decent player was obviously slowed by learning nothing from Kobe. Bynum's already a better center than Longley and Wennington combined, and just at the beginning of his rise. Kobe's got no Pippen, but his team is not exactly setting the world on fire, so that shouldn't be evidence either way. Yeah Jordan could be a jerk and probably would have had ego competition with Shaq. So? What the hell does that have to do with anything? No serious basketball pundit bases their ranking of Kobe on his off-court arrogance. The bottom line fact is that Kobe's amazing, but he's just no Jordan.
On to the most disturbing of the myriad unsubstantiated statements in this article:

"Yesterday's NBA player certainly was more fundamentally sound, but there's no question that today's player is bigger, stronger and faster. When Jordan played, he was a singular force that could not be equaled. Jordan was guarded by the likes of John Starks and Joe Dumars, who were fine players but weren't nearly as skilled or physically imposing as LeBron, D-Wade, Tracy McGrady or even Vince Carter. The NBA is tougher now."

My word that was a mouthful. Are you absolutely shitting me? I agree with the first part, the NBA of Jordan's era absolutely was vastly more fundamentally sound. And I agree that by in large the players of today are physically more terrifying. But why take 4 guys with decidedly suspect defensive capabilities and use them as your example? If you're asking me right now who I'd pick to cover Kobe, Joe D or Vince Carter, I would choose Dumars so fast I'd get whiplash. Is that some sort of joke? For that matter I might consider Starks as well. There are a handful of defensive stalwarts in the league now, but back then the superstars played on both sides of the ball. Is Shaq the most dominant physical presence ever? Yeah. But he's still only a hair better than guys like Olajuwon and Robinson. And in terms of D, I wouldn't hesitate to pick the Admiral 1st.

"Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio are all better than the Utah, Portland and the Charles Barkley-led Phoenix team that Michael met in the NBA Finals."

Ummm, that is not at all obvious enough to me that it shouldn't merit some sort of supporting evidence. But let's say, for the sake of argument, that I grant that premise. Okay. Fine, Dallas San Antonio and Phoenix are better than the old Portland, Phoenix and Utah. Great, well Jordan dominated those teams thoroughly. There was never a moment of doubt that his team would win (except maybe briefly against Phoenix that one year). Kobe's Lakers got beat by Dallas by 36 points last they met. And they either lost (or won by slim margin) in their meetings this year with Phoenix and San Antone. And is there even a single reasonable sports writer on the planet who thinks the Lakers (with the 6, 7, or 8 seed) stand even a small chance of getting out of the first round of the playoffs this year? The sad truth is this Lakers team is not only completely outclassed by the big 3, but also by Utah and Houston. But that was me granting the premise. And in reality I don't grant it. I think this Suns team is very special, but I'm not that confident they would run all over the 92-93 Suns, which featured Barkley, KJ, Majerle, Ceballos, Danny Ainge and Tom Chambers, amongst others. I'm certain that today's Dallas is better than those Portland teams, although the 91-92 squad that got thrashed by the Jordan featured Drexler, Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey, Ainge, Duckworth, Cliff Robinson and Buck Williams. In short they were no slouches. But maybe Hill's boldest statement is throwing those unreal Utah teams in the mix as clearly inferior. The 97-98 Jazz that got steamrolled by Jordan in the Finals beat the Kobe/Shaq Lakers 4-0 in the conference finals. Good call, that team must've really sucked compared to today's "bigger, stronger and faster" players.
How to sum this up other than calling it what it is? She's jumping on Kobe's bandwagon. And don't get me wrong; Kobe is one of the greatest players to ever lace 'em up. I'd throw his name in with Malone, Drexler, Dr. J, Wilkins, Barkley, Maravich, Havlicek, etc. He's definitely one of the 50 greatest ever. But there's a separate rung that's occupied by a very select few; Jordan, Bird, Magic, Chamberlain and Robertson. Guys who not only dominated, but made their teammates dominate as well. And by those standards, Kobe can't hold a candle.
The issue is you still can't accurately compare the players of then with the players of now. But with this article, Ms. Hill has set the science of trying to compare the eras back 150 years. She has re-invented the wheel... and it's a square.

G Walls: Get Yer Dollar Up

Gerald Wallace is one of my favorite players in the game right now. Both as a multi pronged Fantasy WMD, and as a solid, versatile swingman. He's one of the few guys in the league that can give Bronny and Kobe fits, he can shoot from anywhere on the court, he's a high flying dunksmith, and he's the polar opposite of Artest in terms of media whoring. He's everything you wanna see out of a combo guard-forward, with the exception of a nagging injury bug that has caused him to miss 154 games over the last 6 seasons. He's the best offensive player and best defensive player on the young Bobcats. So this little bit from the Sacramento Bee is pleasing:

Come July, though, Wallace will have options. He is considered among the top free agents available. The Bobcats seem to place Wallace as a priority and have the spending room to follow through, but they are also amid change. Michael Jordan, the team's managing member of basketball operations, announced Tuesday that coach-general manager Bernie Bickerstaff won't be courtside next season, though he likely will retain his upper-management duties. Still, Wallace said he likes the direction of the franchise. "It feels pretty good to me, the way the organization is going and the way they're putting everything together," Wallace said. "I like the guys they're (bringing) in, so it's pretty much a good situation for me here." Wallace had it good against the Kings, with his squad winning despite his struggles against Ron Artest. The Kings small forward held Wallace to 13 points on 5-for-13 shooting, and Wallace fouled out with 3:37 remaining.

I haven't liked a Gerald this much since this guy.

Weak End at Bernie's

Bernie Bickerstaff will not be returning as the head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats. Read the whole story here, from Yahoo! Sports.
Much like the firing of Dwayne Casey earlier this year, I'm not crazy about this move. Bick has been, in my opinion, one of the best GMs in the league over the last couple seasons, putting together the hottest looking young core of 1st round picks in the league. He's done it while maintaining an almost impossibly low payroll. To put it in perspective; the Bobcats pay Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, Ray Felton, Sean May, Primoz Brezec, Matt Carroll, Brevin Knight, Adam Morrison less in combined salary, than the Knicks pay for just Franchise and Starbury. Who would you rather have? Granted there are a lot of rookie contracts in there, and the reason they have so many good rookies is that they're so perennially awful that they always have a high 1st round pick. Still, Okafor and Wallace should both have been All Stars this year, Felton and May could both become major contributors, and the other guys have bright futures as role players. Bickerstaff is the one who put the team in position to sign both Vinsanity and Rashard Lewis this off season. They're the only team in the league that can literally outbid anyone. If they play their cards right, they could be in the hunt for Lewis, Carter, Garnett, Gasol, Billups, and anyone else who might hit the market this summer. As a coach, I also like what Bickerstaff has done with a constant injury epidemic. His team could be a lot worse, with Okafor and Wallace always down, and the young guys having no vets to look up to, Charlotte is a piece or two away from the playoffs. They've got 22 million in contracts coming off the books as soon as the season ends. They have to consider giving Wallace fat money to keep him, but it's not a necessity, as they'll also be walking into the best draft since '03 with yet another top 5 pick. I feel like this is the wrong time to announce this. They're already deep enough in the hole that they don't need to "play for the draft." Meaning they could go 15-5 to finish the year (massively unlikely) and still end up with a top 5 pick. So why completely undermine the rest of Bick's tenure by announcing his lame duck status? The Cats are in a unique position to really start getting creative and juggling lines. They have 20 games that don't matter at all, maybe they should spend them getting to know just how good Brezec, Carroll and Hollins are? Now's the time. Okafor's injured, again, might as well deactivate him for the homestretch, let him rest up and give the "younger" guys a chance to show what they've got. On top of that, is the fact that they're either gonna re-sign Wallace, sign-and-trade him, or let him go. Regardless of the situation, now's the time to showcase him. If they want to use him to get Pau, they'll need to up his dollar. Wallace, a Bickerstaff favorite, is less likely to be amenable to... anything, with Bernie gone. Jordan's saying Bickerstaff will remain in the organization, but as what GM? Cheerleader? By being shadowy, Jordan gives me the sneaking suspicion he's about to get his hands dirty and his feet wet. Can you say coach Jordan? I know the fans of Charlotte can...

UPDATE: This just occurred to me, but can you think of a better fit to replace Bickerstaff than Paul Silas?? Oh man, that'd be flawless casting by Jordan...

Stockton or Nash?

John Stockton '89-'90
78 games
37.4 min/game
17.2 PPG
.514 FG
.819 FT
2.60 rebs/game
14.5 assists/game
2.65 stls/game
3.49 TOs/game

Steve Nash '06-'07
Already missed more than 4 games
35.3 min/game
19.1 ppg
.533 FG
.882 FT
3.3 rebs/game
11.7 assists/game
2.3 treys/game
3.8 TOs/game

Those are both stellar lines, and very hard to pick one over the other. What would you rather have? Nash's %s and threes? Or Stock's extra dimes and steals? The thing that puts Stock well over the top in my book is that he put up numbers in that ballpark for 19 straight seasons(playing in all 82 games for 16 of those seasons). Nash on the other hand is enjoying a late-in-the-career renaissance. For my money? I'd take Johnny Stock (AKA the Pasty Gangsta) every time. And he played in the era of giants. I know, Bronny, Wade, 'Melo, Kobe, these are legends. But I'm talking giants. Stockton had to play against the likes of Jordan, Magic, Bird, Zeke, Drexler, and Barkley. Don't get it twisted, some day Bronny and Wade will be mentioned in the same breath as those guys. But not yet. Bottom line, Stockton was as good as Nash if not better and never won the MVP, let alone twice (maybe thrice?) in a row.

Friday Pits and B-Sides

From BasketBawful, a demonstration in humiliation:



Gah!

From RealGM, the journeyman who wouldn't retire:

The Knicks have explored signing free agent swingman Jimmy Jackson to fill the massive void left by Jamal Crawford's season-ending stress fracture injury, according to the New York Post.

From HoopsHype, the deal (I already said is) screaming to be done:

If I'm Orlando chairman Rich DeVos I only have eyes (and a maximum contract) for Vince Carter the moment he opts out of New Jersey. You can't find a more ideal complement to Dwight Howard and restricted free agent Darko Milicic. New York Post

From TrueHoop, the bittersweet memory of Dax-Devlon Ross (on dreaming of being like Mike):

It never crossed our minds that we were being sold a false bill of goods until we were introduced to Arthur Agee and William Gates four years later in Hoop Dreams. Watching their dreams fade faster than MJ’s hairline made us realize how dangerous all of those hours of dreaming we could one day fly like Mike would be if we didn’t pack a parachute.

From SportSwag, the show stealing Cavs point guard in between Mark Price and Andre Miller:




Don't recognize those sick moves? It's Terrell Brandon, who faded away too soon and with not enough fanfare. Dude was still doing 18pts, 3 rebs and 9 assists while being a top 10 steals guy up to 2000 in Minnesota. Speaking of which, how the hell do we go from Price to Brandon to Miller to Rip Van Winkle, er, I mean, Eric Snow? Snow's a great vet presence and competent point runner, but, as we celebrate his 65th birthday later this year, you have to wonder what happened to the position of point guard in Cleveland...

Me Likey TrueHoop + Great Jordan Story

TrueHoop really rules the ass off any other blogs, and the reason is Henry Abbott is so damn respected and connected, he constantly gets great stuff before anyone else. So I will now use his advantages to my advantage. Peep this (from an email Abbott got from Andrew Lawrence of SI):

It starts with Jordan shooting around at practice at old Chicago Stadium when he looks up and notices the m&m race on the jumbotron. Curious, he asks one of the Bulls' staffers what's up and learns what he is seeing is actually a dry run-through of the night's in-game entertainment, in which the jumbotron and m&m race factor prominently. (I'm pretty sure this was before shooting t-shirts out of an air cannon captivated a nation.) Naturally, MJ wanted to know if the winner of the race was predetermined. Of course the 8-bit graphics betrayed the answer: a resounding "yes".

So later that night, Phil calls a time out and Jordan & co. repair to the bench. As he's sitting down, he looks up at the jumbotron to see the m&m race about to start. So he nudges Scottie.

MJ: "Bet you 5 grand yellow takes this."

Pip: "Bet."

I'm told this went on for years before Scottie ever got wise...

Wow, Jordan's a real jerk. I believe that's what Bloggers might refer to as pwnage.

KG Compares RM to MJ... WTF?

Look even I said, yesterday, that Reggie Miller has a better shot at coming back than Pippen. But maybe Garnett's going a little overboard. Peep this, (from Rick Alonzo at the Pioneer Press):

Wolves forward Kevin Garnett said he thinks Miller, now retired, could make the transition from the broadcast booth back to the court.
"If it's Reggie Miller, yeah," Garnett said. "Michael Jordan, yeah. Any other old names you want to put in there, I don't think so."

First of all, as much as we all love Michael Jordan, have you seen him lately? He's what we in the sports industry might call tubbier than hell.
He looks like he swallowed Ron Harper. Him and Charles Barkley went to a Ponderosa the other day for lunch and the staff had to change their famous "all you can eat" policy at the buffet. But that's neither here nor there, because when the hell did we start throwing Reggie's name in with Michael Jordan? And when did it pass Scottie's name on the list of all time ballers? If we expanded the 50 greatest ever to 60, Regg doesn't make the cut. In fact, I'd argue you pretty much have to expand to the top 100 ever to find Reggie's name. Granted, Reggie's old enough to be KG's dad, but maybe Garnett's showing a little too much respect.

Pippen Ain't Easy

According to the Chicago Tribune, Scottie Pippen is coming back to the NBA. As a coach? As a GM? As a mascot? Nope. He's back to play. Pip says he wants to play for a contender, and at the age of 41, apparently there's no shortage of teams ready to give him a shot. Imagine my shock when the Cavs were listed as the 2nd or 3rd most likely to land the legend. Of course the Bulls are in the mix, and the Lakers have to be strong contenders. Oddly I have this strange feeling he might end up in Utah. Don't ask me why, I just have this premonish. Pippen claims he's in the best shape he's been in 5 years. Well, 5 years ago he was washed up. But I'd still love to see him return and make a difference for someone... just not the Cavs. The last thing we need is to stick a piece of gum on the leak in our ship. Why have Pip play Point Forward when we could have Bron just do it himself. If we're giving up on the hunt for a true point guard, I'd rather see Bron bring it up or even Hughes. Let's see how it all pans out.

Progs: Pippen gets signed by the Jazz: Pippen flourishes, playing about 15-20 minutes per night and lending much needed leadership and age to the Jazz. Sloan falls in love with him and cuts Deron Williams. Jazz get knocked out in the Conference Finals by either Phoenix, San Antonio or Dallas.
Pippen gets signed by the Cavs: Cavs go on a 24 game losing streak, miss the playoffs and Pippen re-retires.
Pippen gets signed by the Bulls: They still can't beat the Cavs, Pistons, Heat or Wizards in the playoffs.
Pippen gets signed by the Lakers: Pippen flourishes, Lakers get knocked out in the Conference Semi Finals by either the Jazz, Suns, Spurs, Mavs or Rockets... but they do take it to 7 games.