khandor’s sports blog

Okay, here’s a simple question for you to give your own answer to … and, perhaps, discuss further in the comments section, if you’re so inclined. 

If Red Auerbach - the legendary, now deceased, GM for the Boston Celtics - was in charge of running the Chicago Bulls, for this season and the foreseeable future …

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Proposed Trade [i.e. which appears to be doable, as of Dec 16, 2010, according to ESPN's NBA Trade Machine]

To Chicago Bulls:

1 Carmelo Anthony, SF/PF [$17.15 M/yr];

and,

To Denver Nuggets:

1 Luol Deng, SF [$11.35 M/yr],
2 Ronnie Brewer, SF/OG [$4.75 M/yr],
3 Kurt Thomas, PF [$1.80 M/yr], and
4 A future 1st Round Draft Pick.

Yes, or No?

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Related:

What Carmelo Anthony Might Have Cost the Bulls (besides money)

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PS. FWIW … from the perspective of yours truly, the correct answer to this question is an unmitigated, “Yes, he would, in less time than a single heart-beat.”

There has considerable debate in the on-line hoops community recently, regarding the actual worth of Carmelo Anthony/SF-PF, as a supposed “top drawer” NBA player.

Examining this cacophony of mostly nonsense, perhaps, no other single article stands out as much as this one:

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What Carmelo Anthony Might Have Cost the Bulls (besides money)

Let me close by noting an article on Red Auerbach by Beckley Mason.  One suspects — after reading this article — that Auerbach wouldn’t have been fooled by Carmelo Anthony.  Consider the following quote (from something I posted three years ago and very similar to what Mason noted):

Auerbach said that the Celtics represent a philosophy that in its simplest form maintains that victory belongs to the team. “Individual honors are nice, but no Celtic has ever gone out of his way to achieve them,” he said. “We have never had the league’s top scorer. In fact, we won seven league championships without placing even one among the league’s top 10 scorers. Our pride was never rooted in statistics.”

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when it comes to representing accurately the practical dilemma associated with an over-reliance on “statistical” information in the proper evaluation of what is truly important in a NBA game, in the first place.

The only meaningful question which remains, at this point, is this:

Q1. Do you think David Berri actually understands the irony involved with his use of the final 7 words of Red Auerbach’s cited quotation? … in a mostly fruit-less attempt to be-little the skill-set of a stalwart scorer/player like Carmelo Anthony.

A1. FWIW, yours truly is of the belief that he actually does not.

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PS. IMO, if Red Auerbach was in charge of the Chicago Bulls today … although he would have no interest in trading Luol Deng/SF + Joakim Noah/C, straight-up for Carmelo Anthony/SF/PF, at this time … he would, in fact, have no qualms, whatsoever, in trading a slightly different package of Luol Deng/SF [$11.3 M] + Ronnie Brewer/OG-SF [$4.7 M] + Kurt Thomas/PF [$1.8 M] + a future 1st Round Draft, to the Denver Nuggets, in exchange for Melo [$17.1 M] … on Dec 16, 2010, after the various trade restrictions on a few of these specific players will have expired.

 Bill Russell’s radio interview

“One of the things that I’m really proud of is that … for 12 straight years I was second on the team in assists. Now, could I have been first on the team in assists? I probably could, if I’d wanted to; but, then, what would my Point Guard do if I was going to lead the team in assists> See, I played my game so that my teammates could play their game while we were on the court at the same time.”  – Bill Russell

Mandatory listening for all.

Mr. Russell truly is a special man.

When Bill Russell Writes About Red Auerbach
In the twelfth game of his rookie season, Russell became enraged because Auerbach had Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman trying to post up on offense while Russell stood around, out of position. Auerbach called timeout, and as the other players stood around the coach, Russell sat on the bench, disgusted. Auerbach asked Russell why he wasn’t in the huddle. “Everybody else is playing center tonight,” Russell recalls complaining. “I don’t need to be in the huddle to know how to get out of their way.”

This was a rookie talking back to Red Auerbach, though Russell was an outstanding rookie and Auerbach hadn’t won an NBA title yet. But still. A rookie can’t talk to a coach that way in his twelfth career game. Auerbach thought for a few seconds and then said, “Okay, nobody plays center but Russell.” For Russell, a man who disliked authority figures to that point, it showed Auerbach was willing to listen — and that he would coach to win, not to feed anyone’s ego, including his own. It was the same reason why Auerbach didn’t try to change Russell’s then-revolutionary shot-blocking game when some of his other coaches had urged him to stay on the ground on defense. The shot-blocking worked, and Auerbach understood that. Russell admits that he was too stubborn — and perhaps too suspicious of white authorities as a relatively radical young black man — to have gotten along with Auerbach had the coach been an unreasonable tyrant.

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1. There are several reasons why Bill Russell is one of the greatest athletes of all-time. This is merely one of them. 

2. When yours truly writes on-line that the Raptors need to understand that Chris Bosh [as a poor man's version of Bill Russell] is THE Center on their team … not Andrea Bargnani … this is some of what’s involved in understanding how the game of basketball actually works.

i.e. Other Celtics players could certainly ‘post-up’ their individual checks … but … there was NO DOUBT, at least, after this incident, who THE Center was on those great teams for the Boston Celtics.

Those who fail to understand what it means to be THE Center for a basketball team simply DO NOT have a thorough and sophisticated appreciation of the NBA game, yet.

Basketball is a game played in three distinct phases:

* Offense
* Defense
* Rebounding

What it takes to win the NBA Championship [Dec 12, 2007]

Teams which combine these three phases of the game, in the most well-balanced way, succeed … on and off the court.

Quality Rating (QR) is a simple measure which combines the:

* Points Scored Differential Ranking (PSDR)
* Points Allowed Ranking (PAR)
* Rebounding Differential Ranking (RDR)

to produce a Quality Index Ranking for each of the 16 teams which eventually make the playoffs in the NBA.

Legitimate Contenders in the NBA, Part I [Dec 18, 2007]

Since the early part of the 2007-2008 regular season schedule, the Celtics established themselves as THE dominant team in the League; at one juncture, ranking #1 in all three measures (i.e. PSDR, PAR & RDR) and with a QR of 3 …

Legitimate Contenders in the NBA: Part V [Apr 18, 2008]

which, fundamentally, did not change throughout the balance of the season.

Most NBA observers fail to understand the value of Rebounding & Defense at the highest level of competition.

Most NBA observers fail to understand the value of Individual Match-ups & Mis-matches in determining Winners & Losers within a specific game.

Most NBA observers fail to understand the value of a Core Covenant built upon Rebounding, Defense, Individual Match-ups and the concepts of Shared (Unselfish) Offense, Teamwork and Ubuntu!

Red Auerbach understood these things.
Bill Russell understands these things.

So, now, does Danny Ainge …
and Doc Rivers,
and Thom Thibodeau, Armond Hill, Kevin Eastman & Clifford Ray,
and Bryan Doo, Walter Norton & Ed Lacerte,
and Paul Pierce, Ray Allen & Kevin Garnett,
and Kendrick Perkins & Rajon Rondo,
and James Posey, Eddie House & Scott Pollard,
and Tony Allen, Leon Powe & Brian Scalabrine,
and Glen Davis & Gabe Pruitt,
and PJ Brown & Sam Cassell.

As did Grady Rivers.

Kudos to the Men in Green … on a job supremely well done, from worst to first!

Calls grow louder for Boston to erect statue to honor Bill Russell
He’s the most decorated sports champion in a city of sport champions. He won 11 world titles as a player, two of those while simultaneously coaching and playing. He was named to the All-Star team 12 times and Most Valuable Player five times.

But in the city he so decorated, there is no statue, plaque, street marker or tunnel that mentions the name Bill Russell …

“It needs to be done,” Kilbert Pierce Jr. said. “It’s not an easy thing either. It’s a real touchy subject. Russell was never one to mince words. That was then, this is now. It doesn’t seem Bill Russell is holding a grudge against Boston. It’s time for Boston to show appreciation by building a statue to him.”

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Time for the City of Boston to step up to the plate and simply … Do The Right Thing for Mr. William Russell.

It has been a long time coming but … 12 years after being drafted No. 5 (Overall), in 1995, by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Spirit of the Times dictates that this is the season this young man lays claim at last to what he’s been about his entire adult life …

 … winning an NBA championship.

Garnett sets the tone for Boston’s winning ways

After coming this far … from:

(1) Finishing 5th in the 2007 NBA Draft Lottery … and missing out on both Greg Oden & Kevin Durant
(2) Having the worst W-L record in the League last season (2006-2007)
(3) Experiencing the painful loss of their ‘eternal architect’, Arnold Jacob ‘Red’ Auerbach (Oct 28, 2006)
(3) Finishing 3rd in the 1997 NBA Draft Lottery … and missing out on Tim Duncan
(4) Experiencing the tragic death of Reggie Lewis (Captain, 1993)
(5) Experiencing the traumatic death of Len Bias (No. 2 Overall Selection, 1986)

there is no way that the Boston Celtics, with men like ‘The Big Ticket’, ‘The Truth’, ‘Jesus Shuttlesworth’, & Co., are going to be denied this season … not after amassing 66 Wins in the Regular Season, going to 7 games against the Atlanta Hawks (a young athletic team), going to 7 games against the Cleveland Cavaliers (led by the 2nd best player in the world), going to 6 games against the Detroit Pistons (a veteran team with the 2nd best W-L record in the entire League this season) … and, then, now reaching the NBA Finals against their franchise’s arch-nemesis, the Los Angeles Lakers.

This corner’s R.E.S.P.E.C.T. for Phil Jackson, The Triangle, Kobe & Co. is immeasurable … but 

these Boston Celtics:

* Have 3 proven scorers
* Have quality depth at each of the 5 positions
* Are an outstanding Defensive team
* Are an outstanding Rebounding team
* Are an Unselfish Offensive team
* Have the extra Home court game

and have been possessed with the spirit of Ubuntu! … since their training camp began their season.

There is no more powerful force in this world than …

an idea that’s time has finally come.

Bloodied, battered and bowed …

but never, ever broken …

as this is THE season of Celtic Pride restored.

Arnold would have been oh, so proud … of the ‘Men in Green.’

zeit·geist
Pronunciation: \ˈtsīt-ˌgīst, ˈzīt-\
Function: noun
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: German, from Zeit + Geist spirit
Date: 1835

: the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era

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A comprehensive assessment of both teams in the NBA Finals indicates that there are a number of important factors in favour of the Celtics …

* Rebounding Differential (BOS/+3.1; LAL/+1.3)
* 9 of the last 12 NBA titles (75.0%) have been won by the team with a superior Rebounding Differential; and 19 of the last 28 (67.9%) 
* Offensive Rebounds Allowed (BOS/11.0; LAL/12.1)
* Home court
* Absence of Andrew Bynum & limited contribution of Trevor Ariza
* Overall depth at the 4 & 5 positions
* 3 proven scorers (Pierce, Garnett & Allen) vs 2 (Kobe & Gasol)
* Interior Defense (with the Lakers missing Bynum’s shot-blocking)
* NEXT YEAR is the Lakers’ SEASON OF DESTINY, as a team, not this one (which has always been about Kobe Bryant’s MVP and getting the Lakers pointed in the right direction, once again)
* THIS YEAR has always been about CELTIC PRIDE and the inter-connectedness of …

Danny Ainge & Red Auerbach & Bill Russell & Kevin Garnett & Paul Pierce & Ray Allen & Leon Powe & Doc Rivers and …

Ubuntu: I am what I am because of who we all are.

“No Rebounds, No Rings.” – Pat Riley

WE not Me … Basketball is a Brotherhood.

PLEASE NOTE: The Celtics (66-16, .805) finished 9 games ahead of the Lakers (57-25, .695), have home court advantage, and are +170 (moneyline) to win this series. There will never be a better opportunity to Capitalize on an ‘incorrect’ line.

Q1. How important are Shot-blocking and Rebounding when it comes to Winning and Losing games in the NBA?

A1. ‘Red on Roundball‘

(1) Shot-blocking

(2) Intimadation

(3) Rebounding

It’s a game about gaining possession of the ball.

If you could choose but 12 players and 2 coaches from amongst all those who have ever played the game to form YOUR personal team, and represent what it is YOU stand for, on and off the court …

Who would these 14 be?

These are mine:

Starters:
PG – Magic Johnson
OG – Michael Jordan
SF – Larry Bird
PF – Kevin McHale
C – Bill Russell

Bench:
Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Julius Erving, Dennis Rodman, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Rick Barry, Hakeem Olajuwon

Head Coach:
Red Auerbach

Assistant Coach:
Phil Jackson

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Who is on YOUR team for all-time?

NBA at 50