Jack’s Blog

Dwyane Wade reached out to a couple of his friends and the three talked about hooking up and creating a dynasty.  The first year, they went to the NBA Finals and lost.  This year, well, you know what happened.  The Celtics pulled off the same move, getting Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join forces with Paul Pierce.  That move turned out OK too.

With the new CBA being what it is, teams will be using this philosophy to build an instant winner.  Which, after all, is what the fans want.  I find it amusing that when a team is getting older, one question that’s always thrown out is, “Should the team be blown up and built back up again.”  There are a variety of opinions.  I have never doubted the sincerity of those who say the team should be blown up.  Yet I wonder how many of them will stick by their team through the rebuilding process.

Often, which decision is made is based on the location of the team.  Small market teams usually have a more devoted fan base and can withstand growing pains better.  Not that losing doesn’t hurt.  Whatever the case is with those clubs, the teams found in large markets have a loyal group of fans as long as the team wins.  If there’s a prolonged (a short?) period of losing, many will say, “Good luck.  Get back to me when you start winning again.”

Contending isn’t enough for these clubs.  There’s “blow up” talk regarding the Knicks (at least they’re finally good enough to talk about blowing them up), Celtics, Spurs, Mavs and the Lakers.  It’s hard to believe that anyone who has anything to d0 with the Los Angeles Lakers would ever considering anything for their team but challenging for the championship.  I just turned 64 and can’t remember a season in which LA wasn’t a serious contender.

The latest move the Laker brass pulled off will either give the team a chance to add another title to the rafters or . . . call for the bomb squad.  For years the pundits listed “point guard” as a negative for the Lakers.  Adding Steve Nash to their current group will eliminate that problem - unless the talk turns to defense.  Now, if a deal can be made to trade Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard (don’t ask for the details or why Pau Gasol isn’t the big guy traded), the Lakers become deeply involved in title talk.

After this past season, people became believers in LeBron’s multi-championships boast.  The Oklahoma City Thunder is, for many - especially for small market teams - the prototype organization.  Young and built through the draft, the Thunder made it to the finals this year.  If not favored to win it next year, they’ll certainly be one of the favorites.  The problem is the draft’s so fickle, it might be too hard a road to take.

When the Knicks traded for Amare Stoudamire, Tyson Chandler and Carmelo Anthony after the Celts and Heat made theirs, the boundary lines were set.  After Phoenix acquired so many draft picks for Nash, small market teams were given their game plan.  The problem for the NBA is there are so many more small market franchises that, while ratings for the Finals will be great, the league office might consider condensing the regular season again.

These arguments will be further bolstered if the Lakers get Dwight Howard.  And if that happens, everybody will have to deal with it because at that level, the best advice could be a line from Zig Ziglar:

“Don’t be distracted by criticism.  Remember, the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.”

Many of the names occupying the sports pages recently have been old favorites, some still working, some looking for employment and some deciding that maybe now’s the time to hang ‘em up.

Lance Armstrong gave the two-wheeler one last shot and found it might be time to just make commercials - on a stationary bike.  Did he give the Tour de France one last go because he thought he could actually win it?  If anyone would know, it’s Lance - no one’s won that race more.  Or, was he trying to prove to his accusers he could, at his age, win it all, squash all speculation of PEDS, end in yellow, kiss girls (at the end of the race) and ride off into the sunset - in low gear?  Whatever, it didn’t end that way.

One “elderly” chap - a true fans’ favorite (as well as a popular guy among his peers), John Daly, turned heads at the course where golf was invented - at least according to the inhabitants there.  Ol’ JD sported some pants that made him impossible to ignore and his play spoke as loudly as his drawers.  If anyone was looking for a comeback story, St. Andrews was a good place to start.

St. Paul might be home to another comeback story.  Maybe it’s not a comeback tale as much as it is a never leave one.  Brett Favre looks like he’ll be in purple & gold again this season.  The only debate surrounding Favre is whether he needs the additional time to heal or whether he’s just trying to avoid training camp.  Who cares?  His job is one where he is pampered nearly every day of his working life - except for the one day a week he poses as a human pinata.  If you think his decision is nerve-racking, how would you like to be his backup?

Another pigskin prodigy (or is the term pigheaded) is Terrell Owens.  He claims he is ready to play and, love him or hate him, one thing that’s never in question is his body.  If no one picks him up (which would be for a variety of reasons, all non-talent related), he ought to forget reality TV - in which he displays a very spoiled, hate-able side - and head up America’s War on Obesity.  Have those kids follow TO around and they’ll be in shape in no time.  What else they’ll become is another matter.

Another old warrior - and reality TV star - looking for work is Shaquille O’Neal.  He might be encountering some of the same issues TO is.  A talented guy who grabs more attention that his current ability warrants, Shaq has a couple of problems to deal with that Owens doesn’t - due to the demands of his sport.  While TO is still a serviceable wide receiver (although certainly not as prolific as he once was), Shaq has been exposed in recent years as a defensive liability anywhere outside of 15′ from the basket (especially in Cleveland), as someone a running team would have to wait for on offense (Phoenix) and a player a coach would rather not have on the floor at the end of a game if the team had a lead (everywhere).  Plus, the money he’s asking (demanding, begging) for might outprice him in the current market. 

Why is it guys seem to want to hang on so much longer?  The adulation can’t be the sole answer since many outstay their welcome and boos become more dominant that cheers at this stage of their career.  For my money - which ain’t much - the reason is that the key to a successful job is:

“Find something you love to do and get somebody to pay you to do it.”

It’s off to SoCal and an AAU tournament - the first that son Alex will perform before NCAA coaches.  No pressure on him.  How he does could determine the course of his life - for the next 50+ years.  Relax and enjoy it.  Jack’s Blog will return Sunday.

Yeah, it’s good news - for David Lee.  We often hear about “character” guys in professional sports.  David Lee is the poster child for character guys.   No one with the talent Lee possesses and the effort he exerts - every night - should be stuck in such a mess as is the current Bockers.  Now that they’ve shelled out a max contract for Stoudamire, the Knicks will be forced to let Lee go.  Hooray for Lee! 

Some have asked why Amar’e would go to a club like the Knicks - a perennial loser with awful chemistry, led by Stoudamire’s former coach (whom he butted heads with often in Phoenix) and with no one at the point closely resembling Steve Nash?  Amar’e is considered a defensive liability - so that would explain why he’d want to play for Mike D’Antoni, a brilliant offensive mind who feels defense is something to be tolerated until you can get the ball back.  As for his feelings for Nash, please see my 7/1/10 post regarding Amar’e and it will explain why he doesn’t mind leaving his meal ticket.  Hint: I think he felt if anyone was anyone’s meal ticket, he (Amar’e) was the benefactor.  

Money is the one word answer that explains his decision.  In most players’ minds, that’s what matters.  “Rings” may separate players from each other but money is what separates them from the rest of society - especially the “haters” as they’re referred to.  Teachers are often placed in that category.  And why shouldn’t money be a determining factor?  After all, only one team is going to win the championship and each team begins the year as a 29:1 underdog.

Plus, should there be a lockout after next season, as many expect, Stoudamire doesn’t exactly possess an abundance of skills outside of those that make him one of the game’s best power players, so to lock in that kind of cash sets him up for life.  All his talk at the press conference about the tradition of the Knicks, being in New York and winning championships means squat when someone is putting a nine-figure deal in front of you.  Ditto for Joe Johnson and his agent’s spiel about how, now that Joe inked a max deal - 6 years for $120 million (put your arms around those numbers), his next move is to woo other stars to join him in Atlanta.  Yeah, Joe, the city that’s possibly the worst major market professional sports city in America.  One of the reasons you said you were looking to move.  Could leaving approximately $30 mil on the table had you signed anywhere else have been a factor in you choosing to stay with the Hawks?

Money means a lot to a good portion of society, more so in the NBA because, paraphrasing Mark Victor Hanson:

“Some people tie their self-worth to their net worth.”

The Los Angeles Lakers were up 18, the Phoenix Suns fought back.  The, with under a minute to go, Ron Artest, with the Lakers up three, missed a free throw line jumper.  LA got the ball back & promptly kicked it out to Artest, who was standing wide open beyond the three-point line. 

For reasons unknown to knowledgeable basketball people, Artest, with 22 seconds on the shot clock, hoisted a three.  The result was identical to the others he’d shot from beyond the arc - a miss (other nouns would have described the shot more accurately).

The Suns rebounded the errant toss and jacked up 3 three’s of their own, the final one by Jason Richardson, which he banked in.  Tie game, 3.5 seconds left, time out Lakers - their ball at midcourt.  No one in the Staples Center was surprised when the inbounds pass went into Kobe Bryant.  I must admit I was shocked that Kobe turned and, while being double teamed, hurled the ball toward the hoop. 

With three-and-a-half seconds, I thought for sure Kobe would try and split the double team, attempting to draw a foul or at least, because the last thing Phoenix wanted to do was put him on the line, get a little closer for one of his game-winning baseline jumpers.

J-Rich, who displayed a ton of emotion following his (non-called) banker, must have been thinking about what he was going to say about his clutch 3.  Replays showed him ball watching - as Ron Artest, who just moments prior, was being vilified for taking the ill-advised shot when they could have run off 20 more seconds, possibly scored or got fouled and, for all intents and purposes, iced the game, dashed to the bucket and stuck back Kobe’s air ball as the horn expired, ending the game and giving the Lakers the oh-so-important Game Five victory.

I enjoy watching games but, honestly, I look forward to the analysis (before, halftime and post-game) as much as I do the actual contest.  Quite shocking were the remarks made by Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller, each saying he thought Artest’s decision was a good one.

Come on, guys.  Of course, Reggie, you’re right in saying he was wide open, had his feet set and it was a great look.  And Kenny is dead on when he said that if the shot goes down, it’s game over.  That’s what they would have - and possibly, should have - done!  But they were great shooters - in Miller’s case, the all-time leader in NBA made threes.  The guy with the ball in his hands, though, was a guy who is shooting 25% from beyond the stripe in the playoffs, meaning the probability of a pressure shot going down would about halve the percentage.

All that said, it was the comments from the leading characters that was most amazing to me.  When asked about the wisdom of the shot, given time and score (not even mentioning ineptness of the shooter), Artest talked about how you have to play the game, something about the playgrounds, yada, yada - meaning he still didn’t think it was a bad decision.  Although elated with the win, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson alluded to an error in Artest’s judgment.  Although hes a big-time talent, who gives it his all, there are times you’d swear Artest would play the game exactly the same if he had a frontal lobotomy.

As for the flip side, i.e. “hero to goat,” Richardson talked of how he thought Kobe’s shot was going to hit the rim, of how he checked his man just before the shot went up and of how Ron “slipped inside” (although it’s clearly evident that he stood flat-footed and watched the flight of the ball), never giving any consideration to attempting to block out his man.  He even mentioned about how Channing Frye said he should have grabbed it (in a good teammate’s way of trying not to throw his buddy under the bus at such a crucial time).  Once again, the video showed Frye tied up, attempting - and succeeding - to keep his man, Pau Gasol, from rebounding the miss.

As I blogged about a couple of days ago, this game was chock full of player complaints to officials (”What, no foul?” or “Who, me foul?”).  They are the world’s best athletes, but I’m beginning to think NBA stands for:

“N-o B-ody’s A-ccountable.”Â