Jack’s Blog

What a coincidence!  I just read an article this morning in this week’s Sports Illustrated on Portland’s point guard, Damian Lillard and damn, if he doesn’t go out in his first game - against the Los Angeles Lakers (who, if they don’t get it straightened out soon, will not be deserving of italics) - and puts up 23 points and 11 assists.  Nice debut.

In the article it began with Lillard proclaiming in the fall of his frosh year at Weber State that he was going to the league.  He wasn’t referring to the Big Sky.  Phil Beckner, an assistant coach told him that it wouldn’t happen because he didn’t understand pick & rolls (P&R).  Then, as a good assistant would do (and there are more out there than most people realize), he got him a DVD of Steve Nash, Tony Parker and Deron Williams running 10 P&Rs each.  Beckner proceeded to work with Lillard for four years (yeah, some kids still go to college that long).  All that pre-practice P&R work paid off as Lillard was taken with the sixth pick by the Blazers.

The young fella has got to be excited about playing with LaMarcus Aldridge who certainly is head and shoulders (gee, that was too easy) better than his opponents and WSU partners from last year.  During training camp Portland’s GM asked him how he was doing and he said, “I can’t believe it’s so easy.”  One can only imagine how he feels after last night’s double-double.  Somehow, when the Blazers get to the three-quarter mark of the season, i.e. after he’s played 65 or so NBA games, and the same GM comes by and says, “Hey, get ready for the last twenty games.; we gotta start our playoff run push,” don’t be surprised if Lillard’s answer might be:

“I can’t believe it’s so long.”

Carmelo Anthony signed with the Knicks and began torching opponents from his first game.  Baron Davis played his first contest for the Cavs and sank the game winner.  Deron Williams has been setting assist records for the Nets.  The list goes on.

Talking heads are dissecting the recent trades in terms of winners and losers. Maybe the new guy has found his true home.  Possibly all he needed was a change of scenery.  The chemistry is just working (or it’s not working).  Simply put, figuring it all out takes time.

Many of the “stars” who were traded feel the need to impress immediately - and have the talent to do just that.

But the answer to which teams made the right deals can be found in the line coined by Cavett Robert, the founder of the National Speakers Association - and not until such a time.  Robert’s quote was:

“The definition of commitment is following something through after the enthusiasm of the moment has passed.” 

With Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams heading east, is there cause for concern in the NBA?  One area to start would be small market teams.  Sure, the Thunder are contenders but you’d have to think they’re the exception rather than the rule.

Today’s star has his eyes on more than salary.  No doubt they want to win but recent history has shown us that superstar friends combining efforts - in large market cities, i.e. places that offer endorsement deals - is in vogue among the NBA’s elite.

What can this mean to clubs located in Toronto, Detroit, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Sacramento and Memphis?  Those places, as great as they may be to raise a family, are tough sells to the young multi-millionaire.  If LeBron couldn’t get guys to join with him in Cleveland - and don’t think he didn’t try - then, as much as those Ohio faithful claim they love their Cavs, their franchise could be heading for ruin.

Many of the small market teams are going to have high draft choices and, quite possibly, they might be able to land someone with quality game - and character - like a Kevin Durant.  It will be interesting to see if that family atmosphere in Oklahoma City is anywhere near the draw that the bright city lights of New York (and, yes, that also means the Nets), Boston, Miami, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles (including the Clippers, assuming their owner decides he really wants a winner).  Dallas, Philly and DC might qualify too.

It’s frightening to think teams like Walton’s Blazers, Hakeem’s Rockets the current Spurs (how much longer can those three guys perform at such a high level anyway?) may never be witnessed again.  This is the new NBA and the chance of Chris Paul selling great ones to hook up with him in New Orleans, as opposed to him “taking his talents” elsewhere, is more and more remote.

Charlotte, Orlando and Phoenix are certainly more attractive options than Rochester, Fort Wayne and wherever the “Quad Cities” were.  Supposedly, progress is what caused the old NBA to change into the current version.  We should be ready for more change but need to heed the saying:

“There is no progress without change, but not all change is progress.”

When an NBA lifer calls it quits - in the middle of the season - red flags start flying.  Especially after the guy in question is Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and his abrupt resignation takes place suspiciously close to an altercation he had with talented point guard Deron Williams.

Something sinister - with a villain?  Apparently, the answer to that depends on . . . your date of birth.  Old timers yearn for the days when the coach called the shots - even if Red Auerbach had to privately meet with Bill Russell and ask him to play along when Red yelled at Russ at practice because if he did, the rest of the guys would see Red was the boss.  This was in the day when winning took precedence over everything - including contracts, no-trade clauses, endorsement deals, personal stats.  Of course, Auerbach’s and Russell’s Celtic teams won every year so that strategy paid off handsomely - for one team in the league anyway.

Back then, there were no halftime extravaganzas, Kiss cams, tattooed players or agents.  Of course, there also weren’t chartered flights, three-point shots, NBA television network and smoking was allowed in the arenas.  In short, they weren’t the good old days as much as, merely, the “old days.”  It’s up to the individual to decide which days are good.  Or better.

What’s most disappointing about the Sloan situation is the post-announcement posturing, led by the coach himself who took the high road, a stance somewhat inconsistent with the way he normally confronted issues.  Definitely different from the way he played.  Jerry Sloan never backed down from a good battle.  Then again, maybe he was being completely honest, that it was “his time.”  Maybe the new breed of superstar (or even average player for that matter) had simply worn him down to where he realized these confrontations were no-win options.

That’s the indication the fan on the street gets when former players like John Stockton and Karl Malone make public statements regarding how highly they think of their old coach.  Each said they were surprised by his move and felt the word “quit” was something they’d never associate with their old boss.  Certainly not in the middle of the season.  Malone, when questioned about verbal player-coach battles when he was playing, openly admitted there were many, but maintained every player on the team knew who was in control and that person was the coach.

Woodard and Bernstein coined the phrase “non-denial, denial” when they reported on Watergate.  After hearing Williams’ response to Sloan’s retirement, that was the exact phrase that came to mind.  He didn’t deny the verbal disagreement he had with Sloan but claimed that, in no way was he attempting to give management an ultimatum.  Most damaging to Williams’ non-denial, denial was ESPN’s Chris Broussard, who has made his bones as the NBA’s leader in spreading gossip - and the nastier, the better.  Broussard, doing his best Stephen A. Smith impersonation, said that the removal of Sloan from the Jazz bench would be welcome to Williams, as would the promotion of assistant Tyrone Corbin who, as Broussard said, recommended different plays during games than those that Sloan did, but which Williams thought were better.  If ever something defined the difference between the old NBA and the new, that statement was it in a nutshell.

Fans of today’s NBA are witnessing superior athletes than those of yesteryear, yet a game that’s less team oriented than it was decades ago.  Some of this is due to rules changes and some of it is due to a change in culture.  Which is the better product is left to the viewer.  In the case of young fans, they don’t know any other style and seem to enjoy the game as much as their parents and grandparents did at their age.

When Pat Riley coached, he used to forbid his players from even talking to opponents before a game and actually fined them if they helped up an opposing player up after knocking them down.  Chatting it up when the teams take the court prior to formal warm ups is common place today.

Which side is right in the Jerry-Sloan-stepping-down argument?  As well respected as Jerry Sloan is, there certainly are many who will say that today’s players just don’t respect authority.  The flip side are those who state, as Thomas Jefferson (definitely classified as an old-timer) did:

“If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.”

My close friend, Dave Severns, assistant coach for player development with the Los Angeles Clippers, and I were discussing the plethora of outstanding point guards.  Dave mentioned that the two most difficult positions to play (in team sports) are quarterback and point guard.  I’ve always felt point guard is tougher (not to devalue QB - see the 11/15/10 blog and the John Harbaugh quote regarding comparisons) because the point guard has to play both offense and defense and is handling the ball or guarding it 90% of the time.  One reason for our conversation was that the Clips had just played the Utah Jazz who has, arguably, the best lead guard in the league in Deron Williams.  Dave gets to watch these guys up close and we came to the conclusion that never before have there been as many great - and at all using that word lightly as often is the case in discussions in sports - point guards as there are today.  Williams is certainly one, but by no means is he the consensus pick.In fact, if you were a general manager and had to select a point guard for your team right now, you could be satisfied if you selected no higher than, say, tenth!  Really?  Let’s count them.  Beyond Williams, there’s Derrick Rose, another point whose name is bantered about as the best in the NBA.  As early as a few weeks ago, Rajon Rondo or Chris Paul was the sexy pick.There can’t be too many GM’s who’d be disappointed if they had to go into a game with Steve Nash as their starter at the one and, although he’s been in the league as long as nearly everyone else currently playing, Jason Kidd ruled the lead guard roost for quite a while.  The rap on Kidd was that he was a classic big guard who was an incredible passer, but couldn’t shoot.  His rookie year, he made just 27% of hos three-point attempts.  Now in his 19th season (yeah, nineteenth) his three-point accuracy is around 45% (after shooting over 42% from three-point land last year). Show me a coach who doesn’t moan and groan about how difficult it is for their point guard to keep Tony Parker from penetrating?  As far as young guards, last year’s rookie-of-the-year Tyreke Evans hasn’t played anywhere near the way he did last year, but the other candidates for ROY, Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings wouldn’t disappoint too many clubs if they wound up on their rosters.  Plus, the youngest, John Wall, although beset by injuries recently, was the talk of the league from the summer league until he went down. The up-and-coming team in the NBA,

Oklahoma City, is led by Russell Westbrook who seems to be the perfect complement to future MVP Kevin Durrant.  And, as far as a good match for the team, I’m not so sure the Lakers would want anyone other than their two-headed point, Derek Fisher and Steve Blake.Nowhere in this conversation have the names Chauncey Billups or Devin Harris come up, neither of whom are slouches.  And there are more!  The position of point guard is as difficult a challenge as there is in team sports, but as George S. Patton said:“Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.”