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David Thorpe speaks on the core concept of “Royal Jelly”
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PS. Those stats gurus who believe that “players are who they are,” simply do not understand the FUNDAMENTAL concepts of outstanding elite level coaching.
Andrew A. McNeill and David Thorpe, on the sublime talents of the San Antonio Spurs’ “Mr. Moneyball”:
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When taking apart his game, we see that each individual piece can at least be termed “good enough.” He rarely beats a defender with a powerful or eye-opening physical play, but he has made dozens of plays above the rim. But those types of plays don’t define his game. His talent lies in the “in-between game.” He can shift from gear to gear almost invisibly to the naked eye. On film, scouts point out his subtle skill at adding or subtracting speed just a notch or two to throw his defender off rhythm.
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Simply put …
According to the the facts, Manu Ginobili is one of the very best basketball players on earth, who actually excels in each phase of the game.
Please watch the following interview with David Thorpe [ESPN, NBA Analyst]:
and, then, ask yourself the following question:
Does it sound to you as though Mr. Thorpe has ever coached the game of basketball successfully at a high level?
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PS. Please keep in mind that basketball is … first and foemost … a Team game which requires a minimum of 12 players [i.e. divided into 2 squads], and 2 coaches [i.e. one for each team] and, at least, 1 official to play, according to the rules.
PPS. If anyone can fill in the details about where Mr. Thorpe has, in fact, coached successfully in the past – i.e. use the comments section – it would be sincerely appreciated.
According to Kevin Arnovitz …
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David Thorpe had this to say about Portland rookie Luke Babbitt: “He’s very comfortable as a scorer. He knows he has many option [sic] to choose from to get the ball in the bucket. He plays the game with a great pace — not unlike James Harden. That allows him to let plays develop. He’s going to be very effective in his shot-fake attack game.”
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Houtson Rockets 67
Portaln Trail Blazers 84
Complete Game Summary
Tuesday, July 13 the Blazers are scheduled to tip-off against the Raptors, on Day 4 of the Las Vegas Summer League.
This should present an interesting opportunity to see how:
* Ed Davis [No. 13 Draft Pick/2010] and Solomon Alabi [No. 50 Draft Pick/2010] perform for Toronto against the young bigs of Portland, i.e. Dante Cunningham [No. 33 Draft Pick/2009 and Jeff Pendergraph [No. 38 Draft Pick/2009],
and
* Luke Babbitt [No. 16 Draft Pick/2010] performs against the young wings of Toronto, i.e. DeRozan [No. 9 Draft Pick/2009 NBA Draft] and Sonny Weems [No. 39 Draft Pick/2008 NBA Draft].
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PS. FYI, James Harden – the player to whom David Thorpe compared Luke Babbitt’s skill-set, above - was acquired last season by the Oklahoma City Thunder, as the No. 3 [overall] Selection in the 2009 NBA Draft.
PPS. Although, this corner considered James Harden to be an over-rated player last summer, in the No. 3 position of the 2009 NBA Draft, anytime a team can obtain a player with his type of ability in the latter half of the 1st Round, there’s a definite possibility this team might end up with someone who eventually could be considered as “the steal” of his specific draft class.
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Update:
An apology of sorts is in store here, since the schedule for the 2010 Las Vegas Summer which is now published on this web site no longer shows that the Raptors will play against the Blazers later on this evening. Instead, Toronto will meet Houston. This was not the same information which was published on that site late Sunday night/early yesterday morning … which had a Raptors/Blazers match-up scheduled for today. It should still be very interesting to see the Raptors/Rockets match-up today, as 4 of Toronto’s so-called Young Gunz - i.e. Ed Davis, Solomon Alabi, Sonny Weems and DeMar DeRozan – will be in solid match-up situations against the core pieces of Houston’s summer team who either [i] spent last season in the NBA – i.e. Jordan Hill [PF], Jermaine Taylor [G] and Chase Budinger [G/F] – or [ii] were also selected in the 1st Round of this year’s NBA Draft - i.e. Patrick Patterson/No. 14 – after being by-passed by the Raptors.
In his weekly chat, David Thorpe [ESPN NBA Insider/Analyst] provides his succinct assessment of Shaquille O’Neal’s legacy, as an NBA player, when all is said and done:
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Christopher, Germany: Hi David, love your chats. After they ended their carreers, who ranks higher on the all-time list: Shaq or Kobe?
David Thorpe: Shaq.
Nate (New Haven): David, no way shaq ends up higher. Kobe’s got 3 rings, 5 finals appearences, same number of all nba teams and 8 more defensive team appearences. What planet are you living on?
David Thorpe: Shaq is top 3 all time in terms of pure dominance. His stats are unreal. Here on earth, we consider such things.
Christopher, Germany: who are the other two all-time-best in pure dominance?
David Thorpe: I’d suggest Wilt and Kareem, in totally different ways.
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Well … this corner of the blogosphere does NOT concur with Mr. Thorpe’s opinion … in regard to the ‘Big Aristotle’, as a once dominant NBA player.
Speaking strictly as a Center … Shaq doesn’t place in the Top 5 all-time … amongst those I would choose to anchor the middle for a Dream Team.
1. Bill Russell [11 NBA titles in 13 years ... nuff, said]
2. Kareem Abdul Jabbar [the greatest offensive force in hoops' history]
3. Hakeem Olajuwon [the most skilful Post Player of all-time]
4. Wilt Chamberlain [the most physically dominant player in any era]
5. Tim Duncan [the Big Fundamental ... nuff, said]
When considering other players, as well, who’ve played other positions … at least, the following individuals would also rank well above ‘the Diesel’, in terms of their all-time dominance …
1. Michael Jordan
2. Oscar Robertson
3. Magic Johnson
4. Larry Bird
5. Kobe Bryant
… at the height of their physical prowess.
There’s no doubt whatsoever that Shaquille O’Neal is the single Most Powerful Force [of Nature] in the history of the game … i.e. combining Size, Strength, Speed, Agility, Quickness, Explosivity and Intelligence.
This FACT is a given.
BUT[T] … and, it’s a rather LARGE One, at this point … there is simply NO WAY, SHAPE or FORM, he should legitimately be listed amongst the MOST EFFECTIVE [i.e. 'the Greatest', or 'the Best', or 'the Most Dominant'] players of all-time.
Whether your are ranking by (i) most championships won, (ii) most all-star appearances, (iii) most prolific individual statistics, or (iv) most combined areas of standard productivity/efficiency measures … including overall skill level and/or competitive will, etc., … neither Shaq’s actual performance nor his crunched numbers [associated with his overall body of work] stack up well, in comparison with the greatest players in the history of the game.
