Lucky Shots

Many players have been accused of being lucky when it comes to making a shot, but I think the more a person  practices, the luckier they get.

Domimique Wilkins

When I was young, my favorite players were Dr. J., Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, and Dominique Wilkins. These players all had great athletic ability and were great dunkers.

I think Dominique Wilkins was a pioneer when it came to dunking. He would pull off dunk contest caliber dunks in close games.  He was also the originator of the windmill dunk. Lots of guys can cradle the ball and wiggle it around before they dunk it, but Dominique started the full blown windmill. Nobody could come near the range of motion he pulled off with his windmills.

There have been many players with great leaping ability, but Wilkins also had great dunking power. He wasn't content with just flushing the ball through the rim but looked more like he was trying to rip the rim off with his power dunks.

 I was a little surprised when he was not named to the top 50 greatest all time players since he was one of the top 10 all time career scorers in the NBA at the time.  The Human Highlight Film may have been known more for his scoring skills and dunking than he was for defense, but he still made some big contributions to the game.

 

NBA Memes on Facebook

I like the NBA Memes on Facebook. They usually have some 

funny stuff there. That's where these came from.

The Big News in L.A.

You might think the title to this post is about the Lakers landing Dwight Howard and dealing Bynum. That's big news, but I'm even more surprised by what I read yesterday about Kobe's statement that he has nothing to learn from his fellow Olympian teammates.

I am not a Kobe hater but I'm sure those who are can't wait to jump all over him for that statement. I understand that he is the elder statesman on the team and has had a distinguished career so he is where most of his teammates would like to be down the road, but saying he has nothing to learn from them is ridiculous.

Maybe his comment was completely sarcastic and was meant as a joke, or taken out of context, but if he seriously believes he has nothing to learn from his fellow All Stars, then maybe he is right and he is done improving.

I would think that any great player would never stop learning from their teammates and opponents. That doesn't mean he has to idolize them or have posters of Lebron and Durrant hanging in his bedroom.

I'm looking forward to seeing the new look Lakers next season. It's too bad Kobe won't be learning anything from Steve Nash because it wouldn't hurt his game to be able to dish out a few more assists.

Chuck Taylor Converse

I have a lot of respect for the old school players. Not only did they have to play in black and white (according to the old footage I've seen), but they also played while wearing horrendous footwear. I can't believe that some guys played professional ball while wearing Chucky T's.

First of all, I really like the Converse brand and Weapons were my shoe of choice when I was younger. I wish Converse made more basketball shoes these days. I had a pair of Chuck Taylor canvas shoes when I was in high school, but they were just worn for leisure and I would never think of seriously playing in them.

Old canvas basketball shoes are the equivalent of the old leather football helmets that football players used to wear when they would try to win one for the Gipper. It makes me wonder how much longer some of the old legends could have played if they had today's hi tech footwear as opposed to the shoes they wore which pretty much resembled bowling shoes.

The other day when I was at the mall, I slipped into a Foot Locker store in order to avoid a pushy kiosk salesperson. While I was there I noticed how expensive the basketball shoes were. I can't see paying over $100 for a pair of shoes and they had pairs for close to $200. The kid working there said he owned 7 pairs of Kobe shoes. I guess I know what he does with his paycheck each week.

My hat is off to the players who had less than ideal equipment, gear, and shoes to play in, yet still excelled at the sport.

Hakeem Olajuwon

I think Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is not only one of the greatest big men to ever play in the NBA, but one of the top 10 players of all time. He compiled some impressive stats over the course of his career. He is the #9 all time leading scorer, #11 all time rebounder, #1 all time shot blocker, and surprisingly #9 for all time steals which is unheard of for a big man.

Despite his solid play, I think he gets overlooked for how well rounded he was as a player. If you look at the top 20 all time NBA leaders for points, rebounds, blocks, assists, and steals, Hakeem and Kevin Garnett are the only two players to be listed in 4 of the 5 categories.

His inside moves and footwork were amazing and he often made defenders look foolish with a huge array of pivot moves in the post. His abusive "Dream shake" moves were to big men, what ankle breaking is to guards.

Olajuwon earned two championships for the Rockets while outplaying the likes of Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, and Shaquille O'Neal. He is the only player to earn the NBA MVP, defensive player of the year, and NBA finals MVP all in the same season (93-94).

Aside from his great play, I also like the guy because he was a good role model off the court. Despite one year when he was having contract disputes in Houston, I don't ever recall any negative press about the guy. He was a devout Muslim and I've read he would fast during Ramadan even if it conflicted with basketball games.

Hakeem could not only teach some of today's players a thing or two about post moves, foot work, and defense, but he could also teach them about class.

Black Holes in the NBA

Basketball is a team game, but some players don't realize this and they have a reputation for being a black hole. If you pass the ball to them, you can count on them putting up a shot. This post is dedicated to the most famous Ball hogs who have ever graced the game. I am not saying these are bad players. If they were on my team, I'd prefer they shoot the ball each time. I am just saying some of them are a little more one dimensional than other players.

I've played ball with some guys who feel obligated to force up a shot as soon as they get the ball. As a result, they are double and triple teamed each time they touch the ball because the defenders know that passing is not an option for them. If these guys could just learn to to kick the ball out to an open man when they got double teamed, their assists would sky rocket, the team shooting percentage would improve, they'd have better team chemistry, and even the ball hog player would benefit because the defenders would not be able to double down on them anymore if they knew they could also pass.

I have listed some of the players who are most frequently accused of being a ball hog along with their average points and assists per game over the course of their career. I have also included their field goal percentage even though I have not factored it into the equation. I know this ratio might be very simplistic, but it is still very telling. The higher the player is listed on this list, the more likely they are to shoot instead of pass to a teammate.

Dirk Nowitzki- 22.9 Points per game / 1.5 Assists per game / .475 Field Goal %

Kevin Durrant- 26.3 PPG / 2.8 APG / .516%

Reggie Miller- 20.6 PPG  / 2.5 APG / .471%

Carmelo Anthony- 24.7 PPG / 3.1 APG / .532%

Vince Carter- 21.4 PPG / 3.9 APG / .444%

Kobe Bryant- 25.4 PPG / 4.7 APG / .509%

Allen Iverson- 26.7  PPG / 6.2 APG /.425%

Lebron James- 27.6 PPG  / 6.9 APG / .483%  (averages more assists than anyone else on this list)

Tyreke Evans- 18.2 PPG / 5.3 APG / .441%

Derek Rose- 21.00 PPG / 6.8 APG / .464%

Russell Westbrook- 19.00 PPG / 6.8 APG / .430%

All of these players are starters who play most of the game and they can all score at will, but I think it is interesting that some of these guys who are known for being ball hogs are probably not quite as guilty as others. Kobe and Westbrook take a lot of heat for being ball hogs, but you seldom hear people say that about Nowitzke and Durrant even though their stats show they are even more guilty of shooting before passing.

I would expect more assists from some of these players, especially the guards, since they touch the ball every play. I know that shooting percentages, team mates field goal percentages, and other factors should come in to play in order to get a better analysis of this topic, but until I get a crack staff of statisticians to help me out, you will have to settle for what I just gave you.

In summary, I think all of these players are amazing and they get the job done for their teams when it comes to scoring. It's not such a bad thing to be labeled a ball hog or a black hole if you actually make your shots and it helps your team win games. I just think it is interesting how some of these great scorers are more one dimensional than others, but that is a topic for another day.