khandor’s sports blog

Instead of trying to ‘put down’ the dynamic duo of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade [Miami Heat, 2010-2011], by comparing them to the perceived to be ‘less-than’ dynamic pairing of Jack Sikma and Gus Williams [Seattle Supersonics, 1978-1979] …

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Bringing it all together

So why were two good players able to team up and win it all when some of the all time greats (Wade and LeBron, Stockton and Malone, Drexler and Porter) have failed to do so? The answer is that they had perfect timing. They were in the league when the requirement to be a top team was much lower and the competitive advantage of a top team wasn’t as high. Additionally the playoffs were easier if you were a top team. Putting this all together let team work prevail! Of course as I’ve chronicled, this is not  the way things are any more. And that’s why modern superteams can still fail and why teamwork is no longer enough to win it all.

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… what ‘Mr. Dre’ SHOULD really be doing is asking the following question:

“How do the Dallas Mavericks/2010-2011 compare favourably with the same TEAM of Seattle Supersonics?”

The answer, on a person-to-person basis, might actually surprise him … when it comes to understanding the construction of a championship-winning TEAM.

FYI …

re: Basketball on Paper WAR and the Best Peak Regular-Season Players Since 1978

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Comment #45
khandor Says:
August 1st, 2011 at 11:29 am

re: “Also the #1, #3, and #8 seasons are all from the ’80s. They belong to Jordan, but they took place in the ’80s.”

When MJ was at his most prolific level of statistical production, as an individual player, the teams he played on were incapable of winning the League Championship. Hmmm … However, as he then began to develop a more mature/sophisticated understanding of “How the game of basketball is actually supposed to be played, at its highest level of competition”, he produced individual stats which were less prolific AND the teams he played on were then able to capture multiple League Championships. Hmmm … Likewise, other all-time great players like Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird are only found further down the stat charts which purport to measure accurately the “individual ability” of an individual basketball player who, by definition, functions exclusively within a “team” environment comprised of 3 main phases [i.e. Offense, Defense and Rebounding]. Hmmm … It continually amazes that so many seemingly intelligent people spend copious amounts of time looking in the wrong direction when trying to identify correctly those who rightfully qualify as being amongst the legitimate group of GOATs. In no particular order … What determines an individual player’s ability to play the game properly are relatively innocuous things like Assists, Rebounds, Assists/Turnovers, Steals, Deflections/Tips, Blocked Shots, Successful Helps & Rotations, Penetrations [i.e. allowed & made], Appropriate Cuts & Floor Spacing, Screen & Pick execution [i.e. setting & evading], Conditioning, Energy [i.e. positive, neutral, or negative], Team Spirit, and Competitive Greatness … the group of which cannot yet be found in a single reliable metric, TTBOMK. Conversely, examining “Just how far above the production level of an ‘average’ player someone is,” would appear to be little more than a giant waste of resources … at least, when it comes to increasing the current level of understanding for what’s actually required to win the League Championship. In the end, isn’t THAT really what the game is all about?

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In general, Neil Paine does a terrific job running the Basketball-reference.com blog.

Do yourself a favour and watch THIS interview:

Bravo to The - incomparable -Howitzer!

… for doggedly carving out his own unique place in the glorius history of the game.

What you saw Miami do on defense last night vs Dallas’ vaunted Pick-and-Roll/Pop Game … featuring Dirk Nowitzki, as “The Picker”:

Heat Defensive Adjustments

#1. Zydrunas Ilgauskas [i.e. the Heat's worst PNR Defensive Big] was not dressed.

#2. The pick defender was asked to “switch” initially; and, then, once the original ball defender had “fought his way around the pick and re-established his position against the ball-handler”, the pick defender was sent back to defend against the picker.

#3. The weak side wing defender who was responsible for checking the weak side wing player also had “the responsibility of running at Nowitzki,” in order to “buy time” for the original pick defender to “recover back” to Dirk, after executing his original “switch.”

Given Miami’s personnel, this was absolutely the “Correct Systemic Call” for Coach Spoelstra to implement against Dallas, since it forces the ball out of [A] Dirk Nowitzki’s and [B] Jason Terry’s hands and creates additional scoring “opportunities” for the Mavericks’ less efficient offensive players.

From a coaching standpoint, the “proverbial ball” is now in Rick Carlisle’s hands, going into Game 2.

… here are two separate video montages for your viewing pleasure:

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which should be mandatory viewing for all authentic basketball aficionados.

[PLEASE NOTE: If you're truly interested in what provided the motivation for this blog entry, then, take a minute and drop by, "The Bird-Dirk Advance Stat-off," authored by Neil Paine. ]

With the recent departure of Chris Bosh, the Toronto Raptors will now be led by Andrea Bargnani [C, 7-0, 250], the former No. 1 [overall] Selection from the 2006 NBA Draft.

Although different voices on-line have discussed Bargnani’s ability, as a No. 1 Option [i.e. offensively, defensively and in rebounding] for the team, ad nauseum … and, to a large extent, still see him as a gifted scoring, uniquely talented Big Man, in the mold of a young Dirk Nowitzki:

Exhibit A, B, C and D 

the view from this corner, remains essentially unchanged:

1. As Bargnani’s Points Scored [Pts] and Minutes Played [MP] have steadily increased over the last 4 years, this is what the Raptors’ W-L records have been:

2006-2007, 1629/MP, 751/Pts, 47/W
2007-2008, 1861/MP, 792/Pts, 41/W
2008-2009, 2453/MP, 1202/Pts, 33/W
2009-2010, 2799/MP, 1376/Pts, 40/W
2010-2011,?/MP, ?/Pts, ?/W

Toronto Raptors Franchise Index

Conversely, this is what those same stats look like for the first 5 years of Nowitzki’s career in Dallas:

1998-1999, 958/MP, 385/Pts, 19/W
1999-2000, 2938/MP, 1435/Pts, 40/W
2001-2002, 3125/MP, 1784/Pts, 53/W
2002-2003, 2891/MP, 1779/Pts, 57/W
2003-2004, 3117/MP, 2011/Pts, 60/W

Dallas Mavericks Franchise Index

2. If Bargnani averages 20 pts next season … What does it really matter, in the grand scheme of things?

3. During his 5th season in the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavericks won 60 games, finished 1st in the Mid-West Division, and Lost in the Western Conference Finals … with the following roster.

Those who think the 2010-2011 version of the Raptors might actually approach 60 wins are hopelessly delusional.

3. The name Bargnani name does not warrant inclusion in any basketball-related article which also deals with the abilities of Dirk Nowitzki.

4. Bargnani is only a polarizing player for those fans who don’t truly value being able to compete for a league championship.

5. To this point in his NBA career, Andrea Bargnani has been an overt symptom of what has actually ailed the Raptors franchise – i.e. the first in a series of baffling personnel decisions which have not focused on creating a well-balanced team, overall, with a raft of multi-dimensional players who are capable of poducing first-class Team Defense [e.g. Points Allowed], Team Rebounding [e.g. Reb Differential] and Team Offense [e.g. Points Scored Differential] – rather than a constructive part of the solution.

6. At this point of the off season, all indications are that the Raptors … led on-court by Andrea Bargnani … will probably find themselves right back in the NBA’s Draft Lottery next summer … which might not be a bad thing, at all,

if the long term objective for this franchise is to be able to compete for a League Championship sometime in the not-too-distant future.

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“From the ashes of defeat can the makings of victory arise … if it’s handled properly.” – khandor

Dan Devine [no ... not THAT one; the OTHER one] goes yard, in a major way.

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On Nowitzki, savoring success and recognizing your team’s saints

Transformational players — the kinds of guys that can put cities on the map or breathe life into dead franchises; the kind of guy Nowitzki’s been — don’t come around that often. You’ve got to appreciate the bounty they provide, and you’ve got to do right by ‘em. If you don’t — if, say, you panic, ship them out in the wrong deal and lead them into sad, inglorious endings — well, as the Big Aristotle once said, “Trade a legend, bad things happen to you.”

I don’t want to see that. Mavs fans definitely don’t want to see that. Anyone who really cares about what makes this game special can’t want to see that.

Freeman implores us to “acknowledge [Nowitzki] for what he is, not what he isn’t.” It’s the right idea. Too often, we allow our recollections to veer dark and become muddled. For Dirk, and for all the wonder children that have blazed across the sky and fallen short, may our hearts and memories point us toward a better path.

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Enjoy!

PS. Raptors fans, presently dealing with the Chris Bosh situation, should take heed. Franchise best players simply DO NOT come along every day.

For those who might not have seen it yet …
 

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The Mavs only made 3 player substitutions in the quarter:

08:32 Kidd replaced Terry

07:01 Terry replaced Barea

00:28:02 Humphries replaced Nowitzki

and Nowitzki’s individual Box Score line for the game looked like this:

which included 4th quarter contributions of:

29 points [7-8/FG's; 14-14/FT's], 5 Rebs, 2 Ast

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“On all of these plays, I’m looking at Mehmet Okur. He has on his tap dancing shoes … he can’t stay in place. Whoahhh! … he gave it to you, Mehmet.” – Steve Smith [NBA TV Analyst]

Gallinari Practices and the Knicks can barely contain themselves
The superlatives and expectations keep growing for Gallinari, the sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft. He showed no signs of discomfort in Tuesday’s two practices, or any indication that he had undergone minor back surgery five months ago.

He did, however, show off his full range of skills while playing with the first unit in the evening scrimmage.

Standing on the perimeter, Gallinari beat Larry Hughes off the dribble and fed David Lee inside for a layup attempt. (Lee missed.) When Al Harrington missed a 3-pointer, Gallinari soared in for a putback dunk. And in the highlight of the night, Gallinari spun past Ron Howard and flew in for a two-handed dunk. He missed a 3-pointer, but shooting is one skill the Knicks know Gallinari has in abundance.

D’Antoni has never wavered in his enthusiasm for Gallinari and is not concerned about raising expectations. Gallinari, 21, said he was not concerned either.

“I’m happy for that, because I think that if a player wants to be at a good level, you need responsibility, you need expectations,” Gallinari said, adding: “I like that. I know how to deal with that.”

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Remember the words, “Larry Nowitzki”, and exactly where you read them first.

If Gallinari can stay healthy this season … those who think that the Knicks are simply going to be push-overs in the EC [including many of the good folks in Raptorville] will be in for a rather Rude Awakening v1.

[ ... which, almost, unbelievably, led to this, this, this and, then, finally, this and this ... when we were all a great deal younger than today.]

Related:

Best shooter I’ve ever seen

re: How an astute NBA observer might expect the first part of the schedule to unfold for the Raptors this year

The first back-2-back of the season for the Raptors will be a difficult one to win. In general, whichever team gets the best player in a NBA trade will eventually be seen as “the winner” in that specific transaction. In this instance, Dallas won the 4-team player swap of the summer by acquiring Shawn Marion, who is a flat-out better player than Hedo Turkoglu. Shifting Dirk Nowitzki to the Center position this season will present the Mavericks with their best possible 5-Man Unit, allowing Josh Howard and The Matrix to co-exist as interchangeable #3/SF-#4/PF’s, in an under-sized line-up that is going to be very difficult for opponents to match-up against, given their ability to rebound ball with their superior athleticism. Rookie PG, Rodrigue Beaubois has the makings of a future “star” in the NBA, and it will be very interesting to see whether or not the Mavs choose to integrate him into their line-up this season with J-Kidd, Jason Terry and JJ Barea still on their roster. The Mavs are going to be a very good team this season and a tough out in the WC playoffs.

Game 6– @ Dallas [Sat Nov 07]

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 2-4