Back in October I posted about L.A having so much talent on their team. Well, they have been on a losing streak and are currently in 9th place in the West. Who would have thought? I'm also surprised to see the Brooklyn Nets only in 8th place in the East.
Like I said before, regardless of how much talent you have on a team, if you can't develop the right chemistry and keep egos in check, you are in trouble.
Congrats to Miami and Phoenix for having a great year and leading their respective conferences!
I haven't been paying too much attention to the off season trades and acquisitions so I was shocked when I saw what the Lakers squad looks like for the upcoming season. They are now stacked with Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, and several other veteran players.
I know there is much more to winning than having big names on your team, but if they can develop the right chemistry and keep all the egos in check, they should have a dominant year.
I'm sorry, but it's that time of year again and I have to voice my concerns yet again about All Star Weekend. Apparently the NBA has not read my previous complaints on this blog about their Dunk Contest format.
It's been a tough year for basketball fans. Covid kept spectators out of the arena, the NBA went Woke last year and now I hear they have decided to narrow down the participants in the slam dunk contest from four to just three. Why on earth?
I may be opinionated but I am also humble. There are few things I brag about and I think most people do most things in life much better than I can, but I could do so much better at organizing the NBA dunk contest than whoever made the decision to allow this lame format.
I will still watch the highlights and look forward to it but I just don't understand why they would put such restrictive limits on the main event from Friday night All Star Weekend. Are they also going to limit the 3 point contest to just 3 participants?
Maybe they should invite a couple professional dunkers like Jordan Kilganon or Jonathan Clark to participate to motivate the NBA players to really bring it. This was a great series to watch a couple years ago and it offered a more in depth look at a long-term dunk contest. I really enjoyed this show and I'm sure any dunking enthusiast would too.
I can appreciate the safety protocols that professional sports implement these days but when I look back at old NBA footage I am reminded how tough the sport used to be. I'm sure there are tough players today, but the game has definitely changed. Big men don't bang under the basket like they used to. They stretch out beyond the arc, play with more finesse, and shoot the 3.
When I see current video highlights entitled fights, they usually end up being pushing matches or just technical fouls. When players "fight" these days they push each other then run away or wait for their teammates to quickly restrain them before anything can happen.
This is a big contrast from the basketball toughness of the 80's and 90's. Names like Charles Oakley, Rick Mahorn, Kenyon Martin, Xavier McDaniel, Darryl Dawkins, Maurice Lucas, Bill Laimbeer, Charles Barkley, and others come to mind. When those guys threw a punch they actually connected. Even the guards were much scrappier and physical back then. I can't blame today's players for not being as physical, they have no choice since the game has just evolved.
I don't advocate dirty play, but I still remember so many flagrant foul plays between the Lakers and Celtics. I remember seeing the Pistons and Knicks go after Jordan, especially during playoff times. Back then you could block someone's shot or dunk on a guy and stare them down and talk smack to them. Today you get a T for even thinking about it.
It's been interesting to see the evolution of the game and how it has softened over time. I am all for clean play, sportsmanship, and safety, but I still miss some of the hard nosed, physical, old school basketball from the past.
I am glad the NBA was able to resume their season in the bubble. I am enjoying watching the playoffs but I'm not a fan of the virtual spectators in the crowd. All the heads are all different sizes and I don't care to see people staring at their computers in place of a crowd. I wish they could just photoshop real crowds from past games on a green screen.
As grateful as I am to be able to watch some highlights again, I am not a fan of the politicized version of the NBA since it started back up. During the first few weeks it felt like I was watching CNN with guys playing basketball in the background. I respect the athletes rights to their opinions and causes that they are passionate about but I think promoting so much social justice and BLM has hurt their ratings when people just want to watch sports and escape all the political polarization and strife that we are flooded with everywhere else.
I'm looking forward to seeing the Lakers win it all this year.
I remember the early 90's when the public started using the Internet. My first memories of basketball online were sports chat rooms where the conversations usually looked something like this:
"Hakeem is the greatest"
"What? He sucks Shaq rules!"
"You're an idiot. Have you ever played basketball dude?"
"Shut up loser. Wilt would destroy anyone".....
If we look forward 30 years we are basically hearing the same thing today but with a lot more budget and production value. I sometimes get amused hearing Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless, Colin Cowherd, Shannon Sharpe, Max Kellerman, and others pontificate, debate, and argue but it frequently comes across as being biased and shallow opinions.
Over the years I have encountered many independent sports channels on YouTube that I enjoy. One basketball channel I really like is JixmHighroller. He has produced great videos focusing on basketball over the last 3 years. The video below shows the detail he goes into to compare which active players today most resemble Michael Jordan's game. I'd love to have a channel like his but I'm not willing to put in the time for research and production work that he does. I guess I will just enjoy his good work.
Here is another interesting video I just came across this week. I've never seen Danger Productions before but this video does a great job breaking down the GOAT debate we have all heard a thousand times before but it adds so many more insights. I am a huge LeBron fan and would love to see him surpass Jordan someday but after watching The Last Dance recently and seeing this video breakdown it has reminded me why Jordan is still the greatest.
I hope you enjoy these two videos. I appreciate all the research and work that goes into making them. I enjoy these type of productions more than listening to famous, opinionated sports analysts arguing with each other on ESPN.
I love playing basketball but I have not done so for 8 months. I went back to Ghana in October and said goodbye to playing the usual pickup games with friends 2-3 times per week. I have really missed playing ball and couldn't wait to come back and start again since it is my favorite sport and is really the only social activity I have with friends.
I was counting down the days to play again at home and was so excited to be able to come back in April, but that was before the Coronavirus closed borders, shut down airlines, spoiled an amazing NBA season, and changed the world. At this point it looks like I wont be able to return home for at least another month or two.
My biggest fear when I do finally get back is not being able to play ball like we used to. I can see how people can play tennis, golf, frisbee, or other games and still social distance but 5 on 5 full court basketball requires close physical contact, getting in people's personal space, and getting sweat on each other. Playing 6 feet apart from people while wearing a mask sounds about as fun as playing basketball on an outdoor rim with no net and a flat ball.
Speaking of sweat, I love this clip from Along Came Polly. It's only funny because it has happened to me so many times when we used to play shirts and skins.
This makes me miss both pickup games and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I hope things improve soon. There are many sacrifices I am willing to make but saying goodbye to basketball is not one of them.
