khandor’s sports blog

What today’s TrueHoop article REALLY means …

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The moment the talks fell apart

“System changes”

There’s another thing that could be happening, too.

Remember The Decision? That night in July 2010, something happened that angered basketball fans like nothing else. It can be framed as LeBron James being egotistical, or cowardly, or whatever else. But it can also be framed as a young black man just being sick of doing what old white guys tell him to do.

There was a playbook for free agency, a procedure, some decorum. And James tossed it. No, after earning Dan Gilbert the sun, the moon and the stars, he does not also owe him a phone call. No, he doesn’t have to let some other, whiter, older entity control the production of his announcement. No, he doesn’t have to stick to the storyline of local hero, or even player. He really does have the power to play GM, to assemble a super team, and that’s what he would do.

The message to a lot of fans was that James just got it all wrong. But the message to a lot of players was that James did what 1,000 players have been dreaming of doing for years — he acted fully empowered — and it’s hard to say he failed at it. He made his millions, and the Finals. His team is intact. His business life is sound. He’ll be contending for championships for years.

It’s a business revolution with young black men, basketball players, in the corner offices. A new way of doing things, long overdue, and happening now.

And maybe that’s what Stern encountered in that hotel room in New York: a new generation of fully empowered players who no longer believe they have to conform to much of anything.

Just three days earlier, with James in attendance, James’ teammate Dwyane Wade had yelled at David Stern. “You’re not pointing your finger at me,” Wade said, sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher. “I’m not your child.”

On Friday, a role player for a middling team got a surprise phone call, from just about the biggest name in the sport — somebody who had never called him before. The message: Hold firm at 53. We’re not caving. Hang in there. It wasn’t the only call of its kind, and when you talk to players now there is religious fervor, around the number 53, and around not giving owners any freebies on the other issues.

Owners are indignant that they have endured dreadful losses that must be righted. Players, meanwhile, are indignant that compared to the old CBA every concession to date has come from them. The issues are sounding more religious than ever, and it’s doubtful that, at the moment, anyway, either Hunter or Stern is capable of rallying his followers to build a bridge to the other side.

And if it’s driven by players’ blossoming and deep-rooted self-determination, then they can’t be expected to budge. I just hope, for the NBA’s sake, that they chose the correct line to draw in the sand.

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is that there will probably be no 2011-2012 NBA season with each side involved in the current lockout unprepared to meet the other at the halfway point between 47.0% [i.e. the NBA owners' best offer] and 53.0% [i.e. the NBAPA's minimum requirement], in terms of Basketball Related Income [BRI].

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.

According to Dennis Velasco …

The 10 best shooting guards of the last three decades

OTOH …

According to yours truly, the 10 players in this specific list should actually be ranked in the following order:

1. Michael Jordan;

2. Kobe Bryant;

3. Clyde Drexler;

4. Dwyane Wade;

5. Joe Dumars [NOTE: Should actually be considered only as a Combo Guard];

6. Manu Ginobili;

7. Ray Allen;

8. Reggie Miller;

9. Tracy McGrady; and,

10. Mitch Richmond;

as elite level basketball players … if one is going to evaluate them properly, as Off Guards, while considering ALL relevant aspects of the game.

Related:

Joe Dumars ranked the 9th best shooting guard of the last 30 years

FYI …

According to what was written by David Friedman, on Thu-Jul-07-2011, in an article about the Cavaliers:

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Analyzing the collapse of the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers

“ … it will likely only become more difficult for Miami to win a championship, particularly if the lockout wipes out an entire season of James/Wade/Bosh in the prime of their careers.”

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According to what was written by yours truly, on Sun-Jul-10-2011 [published by the host at 11:56 PM], in a comment on David’s blog:

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Comments for “Analyzing the collapse of the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers”

David:

If someone was inclined to make you the following wager:

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During the course of the next 10 seasons, I say that the Miami Heat will, in fact, win at least 1 NBA Championship with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James on their team.

In contrast, you say that this will not happen.

=================================

might you be inclined to accept it?

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According to what was written by David Friedman, on Mon-Jul-11-2011 [published by the host at 11:56 PM], in a reply comment on David’s blog:

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Comments for “Analyzing the collapse of the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers”

Khandor:

I said exactly what I intended to say on the subject and I am not foolish enough to wager about hypothetical happenings 10 years from now. We don’t even know if there will be a 2012 season, let alone what the salary cap/financial structure will look like when the NBA lockout eventually ends: there could even be a scenario in which the Heat have to break up the “Big Three” to get under the salary cap, so it is possible that the Heat may never win a championship with the nucleus that they had last season.

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According to what was then written by yours truly, on Mon-Jul-11-2011 [sometime after 5:05 AM], in a 2nd reply comment submitted to David’s blog:

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David:

re: “I said exactly what I intended to say on the subject and I am not foolish enough to wager about hypothetical happenings 10 years from now. We don’t even know if there will be a 2012 season, let alone what the salary cap/financial structure will look like when the NBA lockout eventually ends: there could even be a scenario in which the Heat have to break up the “Big Three” to get under the salary cap, so it is possible that the Heat may never win a championship with the nucleus that they had last season.”

1. Which is all the more reason someone who holds the opinion that you do – re: the supposedly increased difficulty Miami will have winning the NBA Championship during the next several seasons, with a core of Wade, Bosh and James, than they had this year – might actually be inclined to accept the wagering opportunity I outlined for you in my original comment, that was a follow-up question to the quote from your original article.

2. I asked you a simple question based on the quote from your original article. “What you’ve said” in the original article leads in the direction of the question I asked you and some might consider it disingenuous on your part not to answer it with a straight-forward, A. “Yes,” or, B. “No.”

3. Personally, I think your answer to the question asked might actually be, B. “No” … in which case, the extent to which you actually believe the original observation made in this quotation might be called into question by a thoughtful reader concerned with your own motivation for making it in the first place.

4. The British bookmakers who accepted the wager made by Gerry McIlroy and friends several years ago … i.e. that his young son Rory would actually win the British Open by a specified age, years in the future [somewhere in his mid-20s, IIRC] … were, in fact, MORE committed to their belief than you seem to be to your own observation about the difficulty Miami is likely to have winning the NBA championship with a core of Wade, Bosh and James.

PS. FWIW, at this point, I would not be prepared to bet my own hard-earned money on the threesome of Wade, Bosh and James winning the NBA title together, either, even though I believe that this will actually become EASIER for them to accomplish as each year goes by prior to them moving beyond their prime.

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which – interestingly enough – has not yet been published by the host … even though other, more recently submitted comments from other contributors do seem to have been published on his blog.

As each day goes by, it will certainly be intriguing to note, if and when David actually chooses to publish this comment on his blog … with a suitable reply, or not.

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PS. FWIW, please be aware that yours truly also happens to believe David Friedman is, in fact, one of the best and most accomplished NBA writers working in the business today.

Plenty of NBA observers … of both the astute and non-astute variety … have made the mistake of thinking that the current version of the Heat is “LeBron James’ team” because he is thought to be the best basketball player in the world today.

Miami Heat 88
DALLAS MAVERICKS 86
Complete Game Summary; Highlights
Heat lead the series 2-1.

In reality, however, nothing could, possibly, be further from the truth, in this specific situation.

The authentic LEADERS of this version of the Heat happen to be:

#1. Micky Arison [i.e. their owner who stays out of the way];

#2. Pat Riley [i.e. their President/GM who has seen and done everything the game has to offer];

#3. Erik Spoelstra [i.e.  their terrific head coach in-the-making who has apprenticed under a ma;ster] 

#4. Udonis Haslem [i.e. their longest-serving rotational player who has 'sacrificed' the most for t;he team]

#5. Dwyane Wade. [i.e. their best player who has "been HERE ... and Succeeded" before];

in this exact order.

According to what was reported by Michael Wilbon, in the aftermath of last night’s Game 3 victory by Miami:

i. The Heat players took careful stock of themselves following their colossal late-4th quarter collapse in Game; 

ii. The 2 players who led THEIR team through this process were, in order:

A. Udonis Haslem, and B. Dwyane Wade;

their respective Co-Captains.

When Dwyane Wade was interviewed by Doris Burke after the game, he said the following:

“I am the leader of this team and I’ve been here plenty of times before.”

Last night, he played like it … and, as a result, the Heat are back in control of the NBA Finals.

Some people make the mistake of thinking that:

“Leadership” means the exercising of a dominant personality type 24-7-365 … when, in fact, it does not.

Authentic “Leadership” actually means doing whatever is necessary to get the job properly, whether it be:

I) Exercising a dominant personality, when the situation calls for it; and/or,

II) Allowing others to exercise a dominant personality, when the situation calls for it; and/or,

III) Ensuring that each person fulfils their proper role … according to their own personality type … in oder for the TEAM to succeed in a major way; and/or,

IV) The ability to distinguish accurately between I), II), and III).

In sharp contrast to what many “stats-based NBA analysts” might suggest, the eventual outcome of a specific basketball game is determined by much more than just the on-court “production” of the players on the floor.

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Related:

David Friedman and khandor discuss recent goings-on with the Miami Heat

LeBron defers to greatness of Wade

Update:

FWIW … This is the comment which was left at

David Friedman’s fine blog a few minutes ago, by yours truly:

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Hi, David.

Just as I first told you it would be, back in March:

FYI

should the Heat eventually be able to go all the way this season and win the NBA Championship.

Cheers

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“The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”
- Anonymous

PS. Unfortunately, it seems as though David Friedman has not yet got around to publishing this specific comment.

Ten months ago …

This is how things started for the team that Pat Riley built:

PART 1: Winner Within understands DNA of a Champion [July 9 2010]

PART 2: Chief reason Bosh fits well, as an authentic Leader, with James, Wade and Riley [July 10 2010]

PART 3: The DNA of a NBA champion [July 11 2010]

PART 4: Los conquistadores en la playa al sur están casi terminados [July 21 2010]

Now, on the day the 2010-2011 NBA Finals are set to tip-off …

This is how things stand for the Miami Heat:

PART 5: Championships change everything [May 31 2011]

Enjoy the read.

#1. The following 5-man unit:

is the best in the league.

#2. If their opponent chooses to go “small,” Miami does not need to make adjustments to their best 5-man unit, in order to be able to cope successfully.

#3. If their opponent chooses to go “big,” Miami does not need to make adjustments to their best 5-man unit, in order to be able to cope successfully.

#4. That said …

Miami’s bench now includes a mix of players with diverse skill-sets that capably support their best 5-man unit, including:

i. Mike Bibby, PG [veteran 3PT-shooter with good size, relative to his position]

ii. James Jones, OG [veteran 3PT-shooter with good size, relative to his position]

iii. Joel Anthony, PF [veteran shot-blocker, solid rebounder and interior defensive specialist]

iv. Mario Chalmers, PG [perimeter defender with good size and quickness, relative to his position, and a spot-up jump-shooter]

v. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, C [veteran high percentage mid-range jump-shooter with good size]

vi. Eddie House, OG/PG [veteran perimeter shooter with a championship ring and large size cajones]

vii. Juwon Howard, PF/C [one ‘tough hombre’; veteran ‘Leader’ on the bench]

viii. Jamaal Magloire, C [veteran non-disruptive ‘tough guy’, along to ride ‘shot-gun’, if necessary]

ix. Erick Dampier, C [veteran non-disruptive ‘nice guy’, along for the ride]

x. Dexter Pittman, PF/C [typical Pat Riley ‘project’ – with a terrific ‘background story’ - who is eventually going to be a solid player in the NBA]

#5. Regardless of their opponent’s style of play on offense, Miami has a profound commitment to Team Defense and Rebounding, as The Foundation of their Collective Identity, which is a Cohesive Unit that refuses to be broken apart.

#6. This Collective Identity includes having 4 individual players who are each capable of defending in an adequate way against the Mavericks’ best and most important player, Dirk Nowitzki, in a 1-on-1 match-up:

I. Udonis Haslem;

II. Chris Bosh;

III. Joel Anthony; and,

IV. Juwon Howard.

This provides the Heat with tremendous versatility at their Big positions.

#7. Erik Spoelstra [Head Coach] really does know what he’s doing, as a strategist and tactician, after being mentored for 16 years by – the one and only – Pat Riley.

#8. Pat Riley [President & GM] really does know what he’s doing, as a strategist and tactician, after being a dominant head coach in the NBA for a period of 20 years and winning 6 NBA Championships [i.e. as a former player, head coach and GM].

#9. Micky Arison [Owner] has been willing to do what’s necessary, over an extended period of years, in order to build a championship-winning franchise in South Beach … which includes:

A. Being patience [when needed];

B. Being quiet and remaining in the background;

C. The will to pay-the-toll-required on, “The Championship Highway.”

#10.  Unfortunately … Life does not always provide a happy, story-book ending, even for a “great teammate” and “tremendous individual player” like Dirk Nowitzki [PC/C].

Hopefully, Raptors fans who doubted Chris Bosh’s ability and willingness to play the Center position for a high end team in the NBA have been paying close attention, now that Udonis Haslem [PF] and Mike Miller [SF] have resumed their rightful places in the regular rotation of the Miami Heat:

STARTERS
PG, Mike Bibby
OG, Dwyane Wade
SF, LeBron James
PF, Udonis Haslem
C, Chris Bosh

KEY SUBS
PG, Mario Chalmers
OG, James Jones
SF, Mike Miller
PF, Joel Anthony
C, Zydrunas Ilgauskas

RESERVES
OG-PG, Eddie House
PF-C, Juwon Howard

EXTRAS/OUTS
PF-C, Dexter Pittman
C, Jamaal Magloire
C, Erick Dampier

When Coach Spoelstra uses their personnel like he did in Game 2 and 3 against Chicago [i.e. with all hands now on-deck], then:

* Chris Bosh has the opportunity to play the game in a way which best reflects his true nature, as a person and a player, at the Center position, where he can effectively take advantage of [I] his relative quickness [i.e. offensively, defensively, and in terms of rebounding] and [II] his psycho-emotional stability, on a consistent basis … without having to be a dominant scorer, each and every night, which is actually incongruent with his personality/character;

and,

* Miami becomes a truly formidable contender to win this year’s League Championship, led by their “Big 7″:

i. Micky Arison [Owner];

ii. Pat Riley [GM];

iii. Erik Spoelstra [Head Coach];

iv. Udonis Haslem [Foundation Player #1];

v. Dwyane Wade [Foundation Player #2];

vi. Chris Bosh [Foundation Player #3];

and,

vii. LeBron James [Foundation Player #4].

As was mentioned in this space on Monday …

The adjustments which Miami needed to make in order to win their series with Chicago included:

1. Giving increased playing time to [A] Mike Miller/SF, [B] Zydrunas Ilgauskas/C, [C] Eddie House/OG and [D] Udonis Haslem/PF];

2. Reducing the playing time of [A] Mike Bibby [PG] and [B] Jamaal Magloire [C]; and,

3. Having Dwayne Wade [OG] check Derrick Rose [PG].

Given the result of last night’s Game 2, it is now fair to say that a main reason this series is tied, 1-1, is because Erik Spoelstra [Head Coach] actually implemented several of the “strategic” adjustments which were recommend, in advance, right here.

For example:

#3) For significant stretches of the 4th quarter, Miami used the following 5-man unit with the associated Individual Match-ups:

PG, Dwayne Wade [vs D-Rose]
OG, Mike Miller [vs Keith Bogans or Kyle Korver]
SF, LeBron James [vs Luol Deng or Ronnie Brewer]
PF, Udonis Haslem [vs Carlos Boozer or Taj Gibson] 
C, Chris Bosh [vs Joakim Noah or Omer Asik]

#2.B) Jamaal Magloire was used for only 5 minutes.

#1.A) Mike Miller was used for 18 minutes.

#1.D) Udonis Haslem was used for 23 minutes.

If Coach Spoelstra wants to ensure that the Heat will win this series … by an ever-widening margin, then … all he really needs to do is implement the remaining “strategic” adjustments which were listed here on Monday that he chose to disregard in Game 2, i.e. 2.A, 1.B, and 1.C.

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PS. Last night, actually Coach Spoestra did a solid job of earning his salary. Unfortunately, the same thing cannot be said for Coach Thibodeau … especially, when he fell asleep at the switch, and was much too slow in substituting Ronnie Brewer back into the game, in the latter stages of the 4th quarter, after Coach Spoelstra showed that he was going to milk the “3-1 Pick-and-Pop” – with LeBron James as Miami’s primary ball-handler, since Kyle Korver/OG was still in the game and being used to check Mike Bibby/PG

PPS. BTW … For those who still believe that Chris Bosh is incapable of playing Center for a title-winning team in the NBA, last night’s game serves as Exhibit A for how exactly this young man can best be used by an organization that is being run by a GM who really does know what he is doing when it comes to being able to win it all.