Tag Archive: Scottie Pippen


Putting a Bow on the LeBron Discussion

Filed Under: '10 - '11 Season, Comparing Players / Teams, NBA by Tweener — 10 Comments
06/16/2011

Alas, my friends.  The time has come to put a bow on Season 2 of hoopservations.com .  Hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have.

In closing, I think it’s appropriate to wrap up the LeBron conversation.  Assuming we have a basketball season to talk about in October, people’s opinions and perspectives on what we just WITNESSED are likely to change.  Now that the discussion is fresh, let’s do some year-end hoopserving about it.

My five-part rant generated a few comments about King James, disagreeing with my conclusions.  I’ll take them in turn:

COMMENT:  Did Magic play with Kareem and Worthy? Didn’t Clyde Drexler and some others team up with Hakeem to win? Also didn’t Malone and Payton team up with Shaq and Kobe to win a championship? Shaq played with Kobe (arguably both could be considered in the top 5 to ever play the game). Jordan and Pippen were nominated in the 50 best players ever and Jordan is arguably the best to ever play. For all the hate that everyone has against Lebron for choosing who he works with, it sums up to jealousy. Last night Van Gundy stated this and he made a great point.

RESPONSE:  We’ll start with Magic.  I’ve already blogged about this.  He won his first championship when Kareem was injured.  By the time he won the last one, Kareem was washed up.  Magic had won two before Worthy even joined the team.  In any event, it’s not like he spent 7 years failing to win with his own team and then ran to join a team with Kareem and Worthy.

Re Drexler, it’s true that he didn’t win until he joined Hakeem.  It’s also true that nobody talks about him as a top-15 player.  If you want to agree not to rank LeBron ahead of Drexler, I’ll agree that the situations are comparable.  The problem is that LeBron gets much more credit than Drexler, without credentials to warrant it.

Re Malone and Payton, yes they both joined the Lakers when they were old, after having spent their careers failing to reach the promised land.  It was lame of them.  And it didn’t work.  They still failed to win.  And nobody puts them in the top 15.  (Simmons ranked Malone #18, and Payton #40.  I’m assuming that Simmons would have to acknowledge that Wade and Dirk have both moved ahead of Malone since he published his book.)

Re Shaq and Kobe, now you’re just being silly.  The year before Shaq joined the Lakers was 95-96.  (Shaq’s stats here.)  Kobe wasn’t even in the league that year.  (Kobe’s stats here.)  So Shaq leaving Orlando for LA is not at all comparable to LeBron leaving Cleveland for Miami: one guy quit on his team to join a team that already had an established superstar, and one guy did not.

Re Jordan and Pippen… ah, I’m not gonna go there.  Already done that.

Re “it sums up to jealousy,” now you’re not even making sense.  I’m fat, slow, and can’t jump.  As a result, I’m jealous of all the guys in the NBA.  Even Brian Cardinal.  Hell, I’m jealous of some dude named Tim whom I met at the park, because he was able to complete a reverse lay-up without twisting his ankle.  There’s a reason why LeBron is the source of my anger, and it has nothing to do with jealousy.

COMMENT:  Lebron should be applauded and emulated. Lets look at some of the positives he has done verse others in our beloved sport – he actively sought out Warren Buffet. He took the power of making his professional life more fulfilling. Don’t we all do this when we search for a new job or career?

RESPONSE:  I don’t follow the Warren Buffet thing.  Regarding the idea of “we all do this,” it’s true that we all try to make our lives as fulfilling as possible.  It’s also true that we aren’t all in the discussion for being one of the top 15 basketball players of all time.  Thus, if I go to work for an established organization, it’s probably because I want to make a few more bucks or have a bit more job security — not because I’ve taken the easy way out on the quest for greatness.

COMMENT:  He has two kids with the same woman and has never been accused of negative or illegal activities. So far he has embraced being a role model. He plays team first basketball – what he loves passing – the horror. He loves playing defense – don’t follow that habit.

RESPONSE:  I have one kid with the same woman, and have embraced being a role model.  I’m still not in the conversation for top 15 basketball players of all time.  Bruce Bowen loved playing defense.  He isn’t, either.

COMMENT:  I hope Lebron wins, dances, and then Miami throws a party even more out there then their intro party. When this happens you will see me in the middle of it. Don’t hate because our game is captivating and beautiful to watch.

RESPONSE:  I hope you enjoyed the party.

COMMENT:  That is definitely the most credit you’ve given LeBron that I’ve read. Almost, for a second, sounded as if you liked him- but then I kept reading. Although I always enjoy your posts, I’m going to disagree with something you wrote (surprise)- I do not think Lebrons decision to go to Miami was cowardly- at all. He did what anyone would do to get ahead in his job, further his career and achieve the ultimate goal. He has taken ridiculous amounts of abuse from every city around and has held his head high through it all. He is a leader and has not tried to steal the spotlight at all. He has his eyes on the prize as does the rest of the Miami Heat players.  If he was wearing a USA jersey for the Olympics the country would be cheering for him.

RESPONSE: When LeBron decides to play for Team USA, it’s not like he’s looking at 30 different options and choosing the one that represents the easiest path to a title.  Team USA happens to represent the easiest path to a gold medal, but it’s not like LeBron chooses to be on Team USA instead of other teams.  He’s on Team USA because he’s an American citizen.

Now, before closing out the season, let’s summarize why LeBron is so disliked:

* He came into the league with more hype than any other player.  This isn’t necessarily his fault, but he certainly added fuel to the fire.  He tattooed “Chosen 1″ on his body.  He wore the number 23.  His nickname is King James.  His ad campaign says “We Are All Witnesses.” Clearly, he was trying to be something other than just an ordinary superstar.  (For some perspective, remember that other dudes near his level have nicknames like “Durantula,” and ad campaigns about falling down 7 times and getting up 8, or something like that.)  With so much hype and such an oversized personality, things were destined to come crashing down eventually if he failed to win a title.

*  For years, he fought sports gravity.  The general rule in sports is that people root for their own teams.  They sometimes become fans of guys on other teams, but rarely in mass numbers.  For the first few years of his career, LeBron was a phenom, and people generally rooted for him.  Then, about the time he stopped getting the benefit of the doubt as a result of being a phenom, his free agency was approaching. Fans of multiple teams thought they were getting him, so, instead of rooting against him like they ordinarily would, they rooted for him, almost as if he was one of their own players.  This, too, was destined to lead to a backlash, for reasons that are not necessarily LeBron’s fault.

*  ”The Decision,” and the following celebration, were both obnoxious.  If these were the only reasons people had to dislike LeBron, people would have gotten over them eventually.  But they weren’t the only reasons.

*  Even if he hadn’t done the stupid tv show or celebration, the decision (lower-case letters) to go to Miami was infuriating.  At the end of the day, ignoring everything else, he had to decide where to continue his career, and he made the unprecedented choice of trying to pursue greatness while taking a backseat to a superstar who had already established himself.  Millions of people (including me) see it as an act of cowardice, and don’t want him to be rewarded for it.

All of that said, it’s true that he hasn’t committed a crime and that, by all accounts, he’s a good family man off-the-court.  So, nothing he has done is irreversible.  Reversing the negative feelings about him, though, will be very difficult, because now he’s stuck on Wade’s team.  Now that people have woken up to what he did, there might be a ceiling on the amount of credit he’ll get, even if he does everything right and the team wins.  It will be hard for him to reverse things very quickly because the team would be excellent without him.  Decisions, though, have consequences, and that is the consequence of The Decision.

As far as human dramas go, it’s really quite fascinating.  I know that I’ll be watching next year, to see how he responds (assuming there’s a season!!).

Until then, enjoy the off-season, hoopservers!!!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

The Anger Is HEATing Up – Part 3 (The MJ Comparison)

Filed Under: '10 - '11 Season, Comparing Eras, Comparing Players / Teams, NBA, Talking About Hoops by Tweener — 1 Comment
05/26/2011

The rant continues to develop.  In the meantime, as promised yesterday, here is a comparison of LeBron’s performance this year with Michael Jordan’s accomplishments.  For those who don’t feel like reading a bunch of stats, here’s a quick summary of the comparison:  There’s no comparison.  None whatsoever.

Those who want to see the numbers are encouraged to continue reading.

Where to begin?  Well, the notion, endorsed by LeBron defenders, that LeBron’s accomplishments are comparable to Jordan’s is based on the idea that Jordan “had Pippen and Grant.”  Pippen and Grant, Wade and Bosh.  6 of one, half-dozen of another.  Or so the thinking goes.

Preposterous.

Before either of them ever played with LeBron, Bosh and Wade each had a long list of accomplishments.  To name a few:

Wade:  Led Marquette to the Final Four (2003), won NBA Finals MVP (2006), NBA Scoring Champion (2009), 6 time NBA All-Star (2005-2010), 2-time All-NBA First Team (2009, 2010), 2-time All-NBA Second Team (2005, 2006), All-NBA Third-Team (2007), 3-time All-Defense Second Team (2005, 2009, 2010).  (Again, thank you wikipedia for the info.)

Bosh: 5-time NBA All-Star (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), All-NBA Second Team (2007).  (Info here.)

In contrast, when Jordan first got Pippen as a teammate, Pippen’s big accomplishment was that he was a consensus NAIA All-American at Central Arkansas. Horace Grant’s big accomplishment when he first became Jordan’s teammate was that he played at Clemson University.

Measuring the accomplishments of Wade / Bosh before they teamed with LeBron against the accomplishments of Pippen / Grant before they teamed with Jordan isn’t completely fair, because Pippen and Grant joined Jordan’s team as rookies.  So, let’s take a broader view.  Horace Grant’s highest scoring average for any season during his career is 15.1 ppg.  (Here are his stats.)  He averaged 10 rebounds or more twice.  Bosh has already averaged more than 15.1 ppg 7 times, and more than 10 rebounds per game 3 times.  (Here.)  Wade has averaged more points per game than 15.1 every single year of his nine-year career.  (Here.)

Scottie Pippen averaged more than 20 ppg four different times.  (Here are his stats.)  He averaged more than 8 rebounds per game twice.  He averaged more than 6 assists three times.  Bosh has already averaged more than 20 ppg five times, and more than 8 rebounds seven times.  Wade has already averaged more than 20 ppg eight times, and more than 6 assists six times.

And, yes, I know all about Pippen’s defensive prowess.  Wade’s pretty good at D, too, don’t ya’ think?

Enough about the accomplishments of the teammates.  Let’s look at MJ and LeBron themselves.  There are so many different ways to demonstrate that MJ’s accomplishments dwarf LeBron’s that it’s hard to know which numbers to look at.  I’ll do it this way: look at MJ’s numbers during his first championship run, and compare them to LeBron’s run this year.

During his first championship run, the lowest point total Jordan had in a single playoff game was 22.  I kid you not.  Check it here.  He had 25 or more 16 times.  As for assists, his lowest game was 5.  He had 7 or more 12 times.

Looking at LeBron’s Game Log from this year’s playoffs, we see that his lowest point total is 15.  He had fewer than 22 points – Jordan’s low, remember – 4 times.  He had 25 or more 7 times.  As for assists, his lowest game was 2.   He had 7 or more twice.

I could do this for hours, but, at this point, it’s just piling on.  Game, set, match.

Hopefully nobody’s going to say that LeBron is approaching Jordan’s greatness, or I’m going to have to pick this back up.

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

The Anger is HEATing Up – Part 2 (More Numbers)

Filed Under: '10 - '11 Season, Comparing Eras, Comparing Players / Teams, NBA, Talking About Hoops by Tweener — 1 Comment
05/25/2011

The rant developing deep in my soul continues to take shape.  It now has some words, but no sentences yet.  Lots of numbers, though.  Lots and lots of numbers.

For starters, some numbers about the Miami Heat… The Heat were were well positioned to compete for a championship before LeBron signed.  Last year, they finished 47-35, good for 5th in the East, carried almost entirely by Dwyane Wade.  Their second-leading scorer was – I kid you not – Michael Beasley, at 14.8 ppg.  Their third-leading scorer was – I couldn’t make this up if I tried – Jermaine O’Neal, at 13.6 ppg.  (Complete stats here, in case you’re interested.)

Yes, Jermaine O’Neal.  The same Jermaine O’Neal, who, as the 5th guy in the Celtics starting 5, constituted their weakest link.  He was the third leading scorer on the Heat last year.  Yet, they were 47-35, because Dwyane Wade is Just That Damn Good.

The Heat team of last year, though, is not the team that LeBron joined.  No.  He joined a significantly better version.  See, before LeBron signed with the Heat, they had already signed Chris Bosh.  Bosh had just completed five straight seasons of averaging more than 22 ppg, and two straight seasons of averaging more than 10 rpg.  (Stats here.)

In other words, a team that was 47-35 had retained its superstar, Wade, and had upgraded from Michael Beasley to Chris Bosh – a legitimate star (I’ve knocked him before, but he’s probably one of the top 30 players in the game, and is, unquestionably, significantly better than Michael Beasley).  They were clearly on their way to a 50-win season.  That’s before LeBron came on board.

Generally, this point of a discussion about LeBron is about the time when LeBron defenders say something like “Well, all championship teams have multiple great players.  Magic had Kareem and Worthy, Bird had McHale and Dennis Johnson.  Michael had Scottie.  LeBron isn’t getting more help than those guys got.”

This is line of thinking is, um… what’s the word???? Oh, yeah… ASSININE.  That’s the one.

Let’s get specific.  We’ll start with Magic, and the notion that the help he got from Kareem and Worthy was the same as the help LeBron is getting from Wade and Bosh.  Kareem, whose greatness is undeniable, was injured during the 1979-80 Finals, and Magic, then a rookie, turned in one of the legendary performances in NBA history, going for 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists.  (Details here, in case you want them.)  I’m not saying that Magic carried the team that season, I’m just pointing out that one of his defining games came without Kareem.  By the time Magic won his fifth title in the ’87-88 season, the tall dude lumbering around the court in a jersey that said “Abdul-Jabbar” on the back averaged less than 15 points and played less than 29 minutes per game.  (Kareem’s stats here.)

As for Worthy, Magic had already won two titles before Worthy got drafted.  You’re familiar with the legendary North Carolina team that won the ’82 NCAA Championship with Jordan, Perkins, and Worthy, right?  Well, that was the season Magic won his second NBA title.  So don’t waste my time with the “Magic had Worthy” nonsense.

Now let’s talk about Bird.  Yes, he had McHale.  You know how many points and rebounds McHale averaged in 1980-81, the year of Bird’s first championship?  Guess.  What do you think, 15 and 8?  Lower.  12 and 6?  Lower.  10 and 4?  Yup.  (Check here, if you want details.)  On the ’83-’84 championship team, Bird averaged more than 5 points per game more than the next highest scorer on the team (Robert Parish), AND he had 182 assists more than the next best passer on the team (Dennis Johnson).  (Go look here, if you want.)

Translation, for those who aren’t interested in numbers: Bird carried a much larger share of the burden for the Celtics than LeBron carries for the Heat.  It’s not even close.

That brings us to Michael.  Actually, we’ll save that for tomorrow.  The contrast between what Michael did and what LeBron is doing is so stark that it deserves its own post.

For now, to close this portion of the statistical analysis, I simply note that, while it’s true that Magic and Larry had multiple great teammates, it’s also true that there were fewer teams back then, diluting the talent in the league.  The talent around Magic and Larry only seems comparable to the talent around LeBron if someone looks at them all in a vacuum.  But when one looks at the talent around those guys relative to the talent on the other best teams, it becomes clear that the Celtics and Lakers were not ready to compete for a title without Larry and Magic.

Back then, Raptors were an extinct species of dinosaur, not a mediocre team in Toronto.  Wolves, Grizzlies, and Bobcats were running around the jungle, but they weren’t diluting the talent pool in the NBA.  The Hornets, Magic, and Heat weren’t around yet, either.

In today’s game, where Dwayne Wade and a bunch of spare parts is good enough to win 47 games, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh together is a championship contender, and, with the right role players, possibly even one of the top favorites.  Without LeBron.

No more for now.  Tomorrow, MJ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

More ‘Melo Musings

Filed Under: '10 - '11 Season, GM Consultant, NBA, Talking About Hoops by Tweener — Comments Off
01/26/2011

It’s been a few weeks since I blogged about the possibility of the Knicks getting ‘Melo (here, if you missed it or want to read it again).  Well, the guys on local sports radio are still talking about it (and so are the guys on the podcasts I listen to), so I might as well keep going.

Add him, Knicks.  Like, yesterday.

From the people who don’t think it makes sense for the Knicks to acquire him, I hear two general themes: (1) that he isn’t “efficient” on offense, and (2) that he isn’t very good on defense.  I’ll address them in turn.

He Isn’t “Efficient” On Offense: As the argument goes, Carmelo takes a bunch of bad shots, and is a “ball-stopper.”  The guys who make this argument back it up with some new-age statistics.  I’d respond with some statistics of my own, but, in my experience, people typically aren’t interested in reading nerds argue about basketball statistics and, well, I’m having enough trouble recruiting readers as it is.  So I’ll stay away from a heavy statistical argument.

Here’s the deal: the Nuggets were 17-65 the season before Carmelo arrived.  Now, they’re consistently one of the top-10 offensive teams in the league, as measured by total points scored.  (Last year – #3; 2008-09 – #6)  During each of those seasons, Carmelo was their leading scorer.

So… either Carmelo is “efficient” on offense, or Nene and the Birdman have been operating at a level of “efficiency” never seen before, in order to make up for his deficiencies.  I don’t need complicated statistics to tell me which of those two things has been going on in Denver.

He Isn’t Very Good On Defense: Some Knicks fans believe that Carmelo, on the defensive end, represents a significant dropoff from Wilson Chandler. To hear them talk about it, you’d think that Wilson Chandler plays D like Scottie Pippen, and Carmelo gets all of his points by cherry-picking.

Talking about defense is tricky, for at least two reasons: (1) it’s harder to measure statistically than offense, and (2) even when watching a game, it’s easier to identify good offense than good defense – the difference between “good defense” and “bad defense” on a given possession can be imperceptible to a casual observer, like, for example, a good defender getting his hand within 2 inches of a shot and a bad defender getting within 4 inches of a shot.

Frankly, I haven’t sat down with hours of video comparing Carmelo and Wilson Chandler reacting on defense in similar situations.  So, maybe I’m just missing something.  But I’ve seen enough of Wilson Chandler to know that he’s no Scottie Pippen, and I’ve seen enough of Carmelo to know that, whatever his defensive shortcomings may be, he’s spent his entire NBA career as the best player on a playoff team.  (And he won the national championship during his only year at Syracuse.)  If he’s not playing any defense, opposing coaches are doing a pretty lousy job taking advantage of that.

And the statistics, for what they’re worth, undermine the argument that Chandler is a significantly better defender than Carmelo.  Chandler, for his career, averages .7 steals per game, .9 blocks per game, and 5.3 rebounds per game.  (As my coach always said, rebounding is a part of defense, because getting a rebound takes an opportunity away from the other team to score.)  Carmelo, for his career, averages 1.1 steals per game, .5 blocks per game, and 6.3 rebounds per game. Consider that Carmelo plays more minutes per game, and it’s about a statistical wash.

Yes, I understand that the Knicks would be giving up more than just Wilson Chandler, but Chandler, from what I’m hearing, would be the main piece.  Landry Fields is good, and draft picks are nice to have, but those things shouldn’t hold up a trade for Carmelo Anthony.

At bottom, there are two fundamental reasons to get Carmelo: the first is that he’s one of only a handful of players in the league – there are, what, 10 of them? – with a track record of consistently being the primary scorer on a high-scoring offense.  Wilson Chandler… not so much.  The second is that, when your team has Mike D’Antoni as its coach and Amar’e Stoudamire as its big man, nobody’s going to confuse you for the Bad Boy Pistons on the defensive end.  Your formula is to score a whole bunch o’ points, and play just enough defense to hold your opponents to about 105 points per game.  Carmelo fits — he improves the team on offense, and, even if he does nothing else on D, his offensive prowess provides the Knicks with the luxury of plugging defensive-minded players like Turiaf into the lineup for more minutes.

Make the trade, Knicks.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Be Where You Belong

Filed Under: GM Consultant, Positions by Tweener — Comments Off
12/04/2010

Talking about LeBron – as many people have been doing recently – brings up lots of conversations that are worth exploring on their own.  When he was on the Cavs, lots of people said that his “supporting cast” wasn’t good enough to win with (a view that I disagreed with, as I’ve stated many times on this blog).  Then, when he joined up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, lots of people predicted that they’d be a dominant team, and, when they started the season slowly, lots of people spoke about the “chemistry issues” that the team was having.

In order to really delve into a discussion that tests the validity of any of those opinions, it’s first worthwhile to have a more general discussion about how to construct a good team.  I’ve already blogged about the importance of having players who fit particular basketball roles.  (Here.)  That’s an important part of the process, but it’s only part.

The other important part of the process of constructing a good team is having a roster of guys who, for a lack of a better phrase, “are where they belong.”  You want the best guy on your roster to be someone built to be the lead dog on a good team.  You want your second best guy to be suited to be second best, your third guy to be suited to be third best, etc.

True hoopsters undertstand that this is hard to accomplish.  Not everyone who’s suited to be a #1 guy on a roster can simply become a #2 guy on a roster successfully.  And not everyone who’s great at being a #2 can necessarily become a viable #1.  The same is true of players up and down the roster.  And it’s important to have guys in the right “slots”; if the players on a team are merely one slot “off” it can be the difference between a terrible team and a championship competitor.

Speaking generally, the guys who are best suited to fill the “lower roles” on a team are able to make contributions without dominating the ball on offense.  That doesn’t mean they can’t be scorers; some of them might be spot up shooters or guys who do most of their scoring in the paint.  Or, they can be guys who contribute without scoring much at all, usually by blocking shots and rebounding.

One of the players who illustrates this most clearly is Scottie Pippen.  Pippen was a great #2 – perhaps a perfect #2.  He was an adequate #1, but not fantastic, and certainly not great.  The Bulls teams he played on without Jordan never made the Finals, and the talented Blazers teams that he played on never did, either.  (Nor did the Rockets teams that he was on, but I don’t think of him as the “#1 guy” on those teams.)

In today’s game, there are multiple guys who illustrate the point.  To name a few:

Ben Wallace.  Not long ago, he started for – and was an important contributor to – a championship team.  But, put him on a bad team, and he’s not capable of making them competitive.  I think that, even now, towards the end of his career, there’s still a role for him to play on a good team.  But Detroit might be the worst team in the league, and having him in the starting lineup does next-to-nothing to make them competitive.

Ray Allen.  During his time on the Sonics, he was only a mediocre “top dog.”  (There’s a reason they traded him in his prime.)  On the Celtics, where he has generally been the #2 guy (while Garnett was hobbling and Rondo was ascending) or the #3 guy (since Rondo’s ascension), he is a great weapon.

Nate Robinson.  On a bad Knicks team, his inconsistency was crippling.  They didn’t have enough to win when he wasn’t scooting around the court like Sonic the Hedgehog, but he wasn’t consistent enough for them to depend on.  Coming off the bench for the Celtics, he is a valuable asset.

Moving “up” on the totem pole obviously has its risks; Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince are not nearly effective as a 1/2 punch (sorry, Rodney Stuckey) as they were when Chauncey was the top dog.  Going the other direction, Shawn Merion used to be an All-Star as the #2 on Phoenix, but isn’t making much of a contribution being lower on the Mavericks’ totem pole.

Seeing basketball through this prism helps explain the successes, failures, and difficulties of a number of NBA teams this season.  That’s the subject of the next posting.  In the meantime, I hope you’ll share your comments!

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

Assume Your Positions

Filed Under: '10 - '11 Season, Evolution of the Game, GM Consultant, Positions, Talking About Hoops by Tweener — 1 Comment
11/13/2010

There are a couple of developing storylines in the NBA, like the Hornets being awesome and the Heat being mediocre, that I’ll be hoopserving about over the next few weeks.  Before getting into the specifics, it’s necessary to set the table with a general discussion about the 5 positions on a basketball team.

Basketball is different from other sports, like baseball and football, where distinct positions have clearly defined roles, and correspond to specific places on the field.  In baseball, for example, the first baseman stands in a different place than the second baseman, who stands in a different place than the center fielder, etc.  In football, the offensive linemen block the opposing defenders, the wide receivers run routes to get open, and the quarterback puts his hands on the center’s gluteus muscles at the beginning of most plays.  There is some room for flexibility — think infield shifts in baseball and the Wildcat offense in football — but not much; if a WR lined up for a play with his hands on a teammate’s gluteus muscles, well… let’s just say that it would throw the other team for a loop.

Our game, basketball, is different.  On any given possession, guys are moving around, regularly occupying multiple spots on the court.  People often talk about 5 distinct positions on a basketball team, but those positions are not nearly as distinct as they are in other sports.

Partially because of this flexibility, teams started taking liberties with the positions, almost disregarding them in some instances.  Now we have “combo guards” like Tyreke Evans.  We have teams that try to play without a center.  The Raptors, for example, start a “center” who averages more 3-point-attempts than blocks per game.  (There’s probably some kind of joke to make about the fact that HIS NAME IS ANDREA, but nothing is coming to me at the moment.)  And, as I’ve already blogged, I have no idea what the difference is between a shooting guard and a small forward in today’s game.

I’m no traditionalist, but this movement away from traditional positions strikes me as a problem.  The positions exist for a reason; there are different roles on a basketball team that need to be filled.  Basketball teams need a guy to control the tempo, pressure the ball on D, and break the opponent’s D down with dribble penetration — typically, the PG.  They need a spot-up shooter, to take advantage when defenders go help out on the ball — typically, the SG.  They need a guy to create his own shots from the wing — typically, the SF.  And, they need two guys responsible for the paint; posting up on offense, rebounding and intimidating on defense — typically, the PF and C.

Theoretically, the roles are not specific to any position.  Teams can rely on a “point forward” to create shots for teammates (think Anthony Mason, when the Knicks were good in the ’90′s).  They can rely on a small forward to rebound and block shots (think Shawn Marion from his days on the Suns).  But these attempts generally fall short.  The positions are not completely interchangeable.

To be sure, it’s true that some teams have won without some of the roles being filled. Jordan’s Bulls, Shaq’s Lakers, and Kobe’s Lakers generally won without getting major minutes from an excellent, traditional point guard.  This doesn’t prove that it’s a good idea to play with glaring voids, as much as it proves that, when you have Jordan playing with Pippen, Shaq playing with Kobe, or Kobe playing with Pao, you’ve bought yourself some flexibility to depart from the typical template.

So… that’s a very long-winded way of saying that the impressive play of the Hornets, who have the game’s best true PG (CP3), a center who rebounds and blocks shots (Okafor), a low-post scorer (West), and guys who fill in around them, is not so surprising.  Nor is the disappointing play of the Heat, who have a subpar PG and no interior presence.  More on that to come.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment