khandor’s sports blog

A fine article by Adrian Wojnarowski:

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Winter wants Krause, Jackson to make up

As they turned Krause into a punch line through the years, Jackson and Michael Jordan forgot something about the man. Krause had the vision to bring everyone together, to make those Bulls the greatest dynasty of modern times.

Krause was right: Organizations do play an immense part in winning championships. No one does it alone. Those words were twisted on him, like so much of the way the people clutching for credit on those Bulls twisted Krause’s legacy. All those years that Krause so relentlessly pushed for Winter’s inclusion into the Hall, no one was ever so grateful, so loyal, to Krause to do the same for him.

Yes, Krause inherited Jordan, but what he did to discover the most successful head coach, assistant, system, sidekick and supporting cast for six championships over two distinctly different eras is unmatched in history. As a scout with the Baltimore Bullets, he has the drafting of Earl Monroe and Jerry Sloan on his rèsumè. Krause has never even made the ballot for the Hall of Fame. There should never be another executive who goes into the Hall of Fame before him. Ever.

Krause plucked Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant out of the 1987 draft to go with Jordan, traded Charles Oakley for Bill Cartwright, and carefully surrounded Jordan with the proper pieces to complement him and the triangle offense.

As soon as Krause was hired as general manager in 1985, he hired Winter as an assistant coach. He wanted him to work with his big men, because he knew that Jordan would make it impossible for them to ever draft high enough to get the good ones. Someday, too, Krause thought the triangle could be transcendent in the NBA. He hired Jackson out of the Continental Basketball Association as an assistant to Doug Collins, when Jackson feared he could be driving team vans back and forth to Maine forever.

“No one wanted to hire him,” Krause said. “He would’ve gone home and been a lawyer in North Dakota.”

Jackson and Winter became fast friends, inseparable, and Krause knew that if he made Jackson, a student of defense, his head coach, he would implement the triangle and be the man to sell Jordan on its benefits.

“I’ve always said, “Phil was a great coach on very good teams,” Krause said. “When I hired him, I told him, ‘I’ve hired you to win in the next couple years, and if you don’t, you’re gone.’ The team was ready to win. It wasn’t a very popular move to let Collins go, and I told Phil, ‘I’m putting my rear end out there for you.’ Everyone with a typewriter and a microphone in Chicago criticized the hell out of me. ‘That idiot fired Collins, after winning [47] games and getting to the Eastern Finals?’ I got crucified in Chicago for it.”

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It takes a ‘Big Man’ to keep a steady course in the face of such adversity.

MJ and PJ, the proverbial ball is now in your hands.

Time to MAKE IT HAPPEN for ‘the man’ most responsible for your respective successes together.

It is always interesting when so-called stats gurus attempt to appraise the greatest basketball players of all-time.

It is also interesting to examine carefully which specific stats … thought by some to be objective [?] … are used to make this determination and which others … thought by some to be subjective [?] … are discarded.

To wit:

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

Comment 60

khandor Says:
August 9th, 2011 at 2:38 pm

Here’s a simple question for other basketball observers to answer.

For those who worship at the “alter of individual production stats”, when it comes to making an accurate assessment of which basketball players are, in fact, the best ones in the history of the game:

Was the version of Michael Jordan who played the game of basketball during the early part of his NBA career with the Bulls [i.e. between the ages of 21-26, prior to the first of Chicago's title-winning teams] a superior basketball player, in comparison with the version of Michael Jordan who played the game of basketball during the 2nd half of his NBA career [i.e. between the ages of 27-33, when the Bulls won 6 NBA Championships in a span of 8 seasons]?

If your answer is, “Yes,” then it says everything that needs to be said about your personal level of understanding regarding how “the game of basketball” is actually supposed to be played.

[Hint: i. The "Rules of Basketball" do not allow a game to begin without each team having 5 players, a designated coach, and there being a designated official[s]. ii. When a single player takes a ball and practices on his/her own, with or without a rim, or a court, or a coach, or an official, or an opponent team of players and coach, etc., this player is not actually “playing the game of basketball.” iii. There’s an old saying that goes like this: Many play with a basketball; but, relatively few become actual “basketball players.”]

Conversely, if your answer is, “No,” then it also says everything that needs to be said about your personal level of understanding regarding how “the game of basketball” is actually supposed to be played.

[Hint: i. According to the known "facts," the best basketball player in recorded history happens to be a certain former Boston Celtic after whom the NBA Finals' MVP Trophy has recently been named. ii. Btw, a "fact" is something which is actually indisputable, e.g. the sun rose in the sky today on the planet earth.]

Street fighter? LOL,

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

The Chicago Bulls of the Michael Jordan era were, unquestionably, some of the best NBA teams of all-time.

Although the man who assembled those teams has endured more than his fare share of criticism, over the years - mostly for being far less-than “personable” … i.e. Jerry Krause Bio… so, too, should he receive well-deserved kudos for sticking by his word and refusing to set foot inside the Basketball Hall Of Fame until legendary coach Tex Winter was actually seen fit to be inducted.

Jackson, Krause expected at Winter’s Hall of Fame induction

If Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, Jerry Krause, et al., do eventually join Tex Winter for his induction ceremony, in Springfield, Massachusetts, later on this summer, it will truly be an historic occasion worthy of a celebration for the NBA.

Here is what the head coach for the Orlando Magic had to say concerning the ability of Scottie Pippen, as a “non-superstar” player in the NBA:

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Stan Van Gundy: Was Scottie Pippen really a superstar?

Then he went to Michael Jordan’s dynastic Bulls and their six championships. Van Gundy speculated that perhaps Jordan was the only superstar on that team.

“I have always wondered, as good as Scottie Pippen was, would he have been considered a star if he hadn’t played with Jordan and had to carry a team on his own,” Van Gundy explained. “We’ll never know, but my point is that sometimes we make the determination after the fact. In other words, after Chicago won championships, we branded Pippen a star.”

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Here is what Yahoo! Sports’ lead “NBA fan-blogger” – and terrific basketball writer – had to say concerning the accuracy of Stan Van Gundy’s assessment of Scottie Pippen’s actual basketball ability:

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Stan Van Gundy talks about Scottie Pippen, gets it all wrong

Stan Van Gundy, in a less annoying way than his brother usually does, often comes through with statements for effect. Not things he really believes in, but something stated to help shift the narrative, usually to help his (read: his team’s) own cause. This allows for people like us to take the piss out of him, but he doesn’t usually care. Just as long as his team gets the calls, the next time around. Or just as long as his boy Dwight makes the cover of something.

But this? For anyone, this is a ridiculous statement. For someone with Stan Van Gundy’s basketball smarts? This is a betrayal of the depth of hoop knowledge that we’ve long admired and often talked up. I’m sure, if pressed, Van Gundy doesn’t feel this way; but I’m too tired to try to understand his motivation here. I don’t get his angle. I don’t care. This was a dumb thing to say, Stan Van Gundy.

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Hmmm …

Did SVG say that Scottie Pippen was a less-than stellar NBA player?

Did SVG say that Scottie Pippen belongs somewhere other than being on the NBA’s list of 50 Greatest Players Of All-time?

Did SVG say that Scottie Pippen was NOT, in fact, one of the best defensive players in the history of the NBA?

No, he did not … according to what this pair of eyes can see.

However …

Did SVG say that Scottie Pippen may not actually belong on the list of the NBA’s authentic “superstar” players?

Does SVG believe that Michael Jordan belongs on the list of the NBA’s authentic “superstar” players?

Yes, he does … according to what this same pair of eyes can see.

If SVG had been asked which players he believes warrant inclusion on the list of the NBA’s authentic “superstars”, he may well have identified an ultra exclusive group of men like:

Bill Russell
Michael Jordan
Wilt Chamberlain
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Oscar Robertson
George Mikan
Tim Duncan
Kobe Bryant
Shaquille O’Neal
Hakeem Olajuwon
Julius Erving

Although there have been a number of fantastic players in the grand history of the NBA, could it possibly the case that Stan Van Gundy may not consider the majority of them to be properly qualified to fit into the exclusive category of an authentic “superstar”?

Pippen sits out final 1.8 secs

Kudos to Stan Van Gundy for his mostly accurate assessment of Scottie Pippen’s ability, as an elite level player.

The view from this corner is that:

Cap is, once again, ‘nothing but wet’, when using his patented weaponry:

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar questions Scottie Pippen’s argument that LeBron James ‘may be the greatest player to ever play’

How Soon They Forget: An Open Letter to Scottie Pippen

Dear Scottie,

I have nothing but respect for you my friend as an athlete and knowledgeable basketball mind. But you are way off in your assessment of who is the greatest player of all time and the greatest scorer of all time. Your comments are off because of your limited perspective. You obviously never saw Wilt Chamberlain play who undoubtedly was the greatest scorer this game has ever known. When did MJ ever average 50.4 points per game plus 25.7 rebounds? (Wilt in the 1962 season when blocked shot statistics were not kept). We will never accurately know how many shots Wilt blocked. Oh, by the way in 1967 and 68, Wilt was a league leader in assists. Did MJ ever score 100 points in a game? How many times did MJ score more than 60 points in a game? MJ led the league in scoring in consecutive seasons for 10 years but he did this in an NBA that eventually expanded into 30 teams vs. when Wilt played and there were only 8 teams.

Every team had the opportunity to amass a solid nucleus. Only the cream of the basketball world got to play then. So MJ has to be appraised in perspective. His incredible athletic ability, charisma and leadership on the court helped to make basketball popular around the world — no question about that. But in terms of greatness, MJ has to take a backseat to The Stilt.

In terms of winning, Michael excelled as both an emotional and scoring leader but Bill Russell’s Celtics won eight consecutive NBA Championships. Bill’s rebounding average per game is over 22.5 lifetime, MJs best rebounding years was eight per game (1989). But we will never know exactly how many shots Bill Russell blocked because again, they never kept that statistic while he played. However, if you ask anybody that played against Russell, they will just roll their eyes and say he blocked all the shots he wanted to block in the crucial moments of a game.

Bill played on a total of 11 championship teams and as you very well know, Scottie, the ring is the thing, and everything else is just statistics. So I would advise you to do a little homework before crowning Michael or LeBron with the title of best ever. As dominant as he is, LeBron has yet to win a championship. I must say that it looks like Miami has finally put the team together that will change that circumstance. Its my hope that today’s players get a better perspective on exactly what has been done in this league in the days of yore.

Affectionately,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,
NBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer

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while KD is the member of the on-line hoops community who, unfortunately, comes across …

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s nasty open letter to Scottie Pippen

Stats that, 21 years later, Kareem can’t get enough of. Stats that, even with Jordan flashing six rings to Wilt’s two, are enough in Kareem’s eyes to hold Wilt in higher regard over MJ.

Stats that, as we’ve known for years, can’t really be trusted.

Because not only were Chamberlain and Russell playing a different game back then, acting as modern era athletes (hell, both Wilt and Russell to a lesser extent would be modern-era dominant all-world athletes even today) in an ancient game, but they were playing a different game amongst a different game.

There were often 30 or 40 more possessions per game back then, as shots caromed off the rim (on average) 60 percent of the time, and teams endlessly raced up and down the court as a result. It was a cherry-picking time for stats even amongst the guys who didn’t have Wilt and Russell’s athletic gifts, modern timing, and smarts. But for those two? With that package? It’s you against a 5-year-old on a Nerf hoop, and you’re allowed to shoot from wherever you want.

But that’s not really the point here, is it? Kareem, obviously, is arguing on his own behalf. A classic passive/aggressive move that sees him arguing with a stats-based stance for players who scored less, rebounded less, and blocked fewer shots than Kareem.

And of course Abdul-Jabbar isn’t going to point out the difference in competition and pace in his argument, or point out how the game grew significantly in the 1970s. It’s the reason he averaged nearly 10 points per game fewer in his athletic prime in the late 1970s (before Magic Johnson came by, mind you, to take a bunch of shots) then he did at the young age of 24 while in Milwaukee. He knows, and it’s slipping away. He’s probably been doing nothing but watching cable TV and listening to talk radio over the last week, he’s not even being mentioned amongst the top-five players in NBA history on some occasions, and it’s clearly set him off. So much so that he’s embraced the “legacy” (his word) of a former unfriendly combatant in Chamberlain.

It’s all a sad show.

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as the “embittered” lost soul, holding a child’s balloon which has just been popped.

Those who seek to de-construct the game of basketball to its strict basis in ’numeric values’ are failing to enhance a proper understanding of the game.

Playing the game of basketball at the highest level is most defintely a form of collective art …

which needs to be appreciated as such in order to decipher its authentic majesty.

It is truly amazing how otherwise extremely intelligent people can become wholly mis-directed when they watch and attempt to decipher correctly what has actually happened on a basketball court, concerning the success or failure of a specific team in a particular season.

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The Person Buying the Groceries Might Be the Problem in Charlotte

Let’s summarize where I think the problem lies in Charlotte. 

- Larry Brown was one of the few coaches we found to have a statistically significant impact on player performance (Brown’s impact was only significant at the 10% level).  Yes, Wallace has declined. But I am not sure that is about Brown (I am not sure why that has happened, but I don’t think it is about Brown).

- Even if Wallace had not declined, though, the Bobcats were not likely to be as good as they were last year.  This is because MJ hasn’t been able to find very many productive players.

And now we hear Jordan really wanted Brook Lopez and he might want Baron Davis. If these stories are true, that again doesn’t speak well of the talent evaluation skills of Jordan.   Remember, Jordan once drafted Kwame Brown with the first pick in the draft (a player who is once again with Jordan in Charlotte) and Adam Morrison with the 3rd pick (a player who Jordan could easily have again).  So the track record is not encouraging.  And it is this track record that leads me to think the problem in Charlotte wasn’t the person making the dinner, it was the person buying the groceries.

Let me close by saying I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy Holidays!!  And although Phil Jackson doesn’t want to work on Christmas, I think most NBA fans are happy he is. Jackson should also remember if he coached the Bobcats, he probably wouldn’t be working on Christmas (yes, Jackson is good, but even the Zen Master couldn’t save this collection of players).  But then — like Larry Brown (and now Paul Silas) — Jackson would have other issues to worry about.

- DJ

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Larry Brown has been a very successful basketball coach over the course of his Hall Of Fame career.

Last season, Larry Brown did a terrific job coaching the Charlotte Bobcats to their first ever playoff appearance, by putting his players in the best possible position to accentuate their individual – and, therefore, collective – strengths while, simultaneously, minimizing their respective weaknesses.

This season, however, Larry Brown stopped doing that … primarily because the cast of players at his disposal was no longer to his liking … and by Game 28 on the Bobcats’ schedule had, instead, become a major factor behind the poor performance of the players on this team, many of whom were no longer listening to what he had to say as their head coach.

Responsibility for what has happened with the Charlotte Bobcats, so far, this season, lies with the following individuals, in this specific order:

1. Michael Jordan, i.e. the person who pays for the groceries;

2. Rod Higgins, i.e. the person who buys the groceries;

3. Larry Brown [and his coaching staff], i.e. the cook who makes the meals;

4. The Leaders amongst their collection of 14 players, i.e. the primary consumers of the meals;

5. The Followers amongst their collection of 14 players, i.e. the secondary consumers of the meals.

The operation of a successful NBA franchise is based upon a “top down” leadership model with 5 specific levels.

Hopefully, Michael Jordan’s recent decision to replace Larry Brown – i.e. the embodiment of an ‘unhappy camper‘ – with Paul Silas – i.e. the embodiment of a ‘happy camper‘ – will mean that the Bobcats have now found a head coach who is more in tune with the specific strengths and weaknesses of the individual players on THIS TEAM, for THIS SEASON and beyond.

Each year in the NBA is different from those which have preceded it.

Unless a team has the right coach … who is actually the ‘right fit’ for its specific collection of players … it has zero chance of reaching its ‘maximum capacity’.