Jackie MacMullan Discusses Kobe Bryant
Boston Globe columnist and ESPN.com contributor Jackie MacMullan has written two articles about how Kobe Bryant is playing this year. The first one appeared in the
Boston Globe last week and is based on her conversation with Bryant prior to his 43 point game versus the Celtics :
Bryant Undisputed King of this CourtBryant told MacMullan that he no longer focuses on one-on-one matchups with the league's other stars: "You know you're growing up when the big matchups don't excite you anymore. I used to crave all of them. Vince [Carter] to Tracy [McGrady] to Ray Allen to [Allen] Iverson. I was ready. But now? I've got other things I'm working on." Those "other things" are helping to develop the young talent on the Lakers' roster and transforming the team back into a championship contender.
MacMullan's piece about Bryant for ESPN.com is even more detailed. Here is the link, but it might not be possible to access it unless you are a subscriber to ESPN Insider:
The Transformation of Kobe BryantAs I've indicated here more than once, I'm not a big fan of the idea that Bryant has "transformed" himself this year. Of course, intelligent people do grow and mature throughout their lives, so it is only natural for anyone to change somewhat as time passes--but that is a lot different than suggesting that someone did not understand how to play winning basketball and now has figured that out. That is like the "analysts" who cover their behinds by saying that Bill Belichick did not know how to coach when he was in Cleveland but "matured" before he got the New England job. Right--that's why his Browns beat Bill Parcells' Patriots in a playoff game and why Parcells never won a single playoff game without having Belichick by his side (you read that right).
Although I don't like the title of MacMullan's piece, the article itself is not bad. In fact, it contains a Bryant quote that basically dismisses the premise of the title. Talking about charges that last year's scoring explosion showed he is selfish, Bryant said: "It was hurtful to hear that kind of stuff. Did they think this was something I all of a sudden discovered I could do? I've been able to put up points since the day I walked into this league. But, in the past, I deferred from doing that to win championships. It was necessary last year for me to score. We had a new system and too many young new players. Phil and I discussed it. He told me, 'You are going to have to shoulder the load until everyone else catches up.'"
That, of course, is exactly the way
Jackson explained the situation to me last year prior to the Lakers' game in Cleveland on March 19: "I think that early in the year, obviously, while the team got adjusted to playing with each other under the system we work that it was really a necessity for him to carry a load."
MacMullan writes that Bryant sometimes has to correct people who think that everything has been handed to him--even his own teammates:
Bryant reminds his young teammates he averaged 15 minutes a game as a rookie and can sympathize with their struggles to earn consistent playing time. "I remember Devean George telling me, 'You came into this league with a silver spoon in your mouth,'" Kobe says. "I told him, 'Your history isn't so good. Check the books.'"
posted by David Friedman @ 3:34 PM
The Score, the Key Stat, the Bottom Line: Tuesday Night's Action
There were only five NBA games on Tuesday night, but some interesting story lines played out. Here are the scores, key stats and bottom line meaning of three of those contests:
The Score: Detroit 109, Boston 102
The Key Stat: Detroit is 8-3 since signing Chris Webber.
The Bottom Line: Letting Ben Wallace go and "replacing" him with Nazr Mohammed (6.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg this season) was a ghastly error. To paraphrase Dennis Green's overused and yet very catchy phrase, Nazr Mohammed was what I thought he was--and Chris Webber is letting Joe Dumars off the hook. I never understood why anyone thought that Mohammed is a significantly better offensive player than Ben Wallace--who does not score much (neither does Mohammed, by the way) but who sets screens, passes and gets offensive rebounds--or why anyone believed that he would be an adequate replacement in the middle for Big Ben. Detroit started the season 21-15, a far cry from last year's 64-18 record. Then, the Philadelphia 76ers decided to hit the "reboot" button and injected new life into two franchises: Denver received Allen Iverson and Detroit received Chris Webber (the 76ers have been playing better, too--a subject worthy of discussion in another post). Webber's numbers as a Piston are not eyepopping (12.5 ppg, 7 rpg, 3.3 apg) but they are tremendous compared to Mohammed's. More importantly, Webber's passing fits in perfectly with Detroit's offense, particularly the off the ball cutting abilities of Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. Joe Dumars did a great job building a championship team in Detroit but in recent years there has been a lot more talent leaving the Palace at Auburn Hills than arriving there: Larry Brown, Ben Wallace, Mehmet Okur and Darko Milicic have departed and the team has done worse in the postseason each year since winning the title. I heard Chauncey Billups recently say that he thinks that Detroit should have won the championship each of the past two years. I wonder if in ten years we will look back at this era of Pistons basketball the way that we see the 1980s Chicago Bears: one year wonders who squandered the opportunity to win multiple titles. I'm still not convinced that Flip Saunders can steer this ship to the Finals even in the depleted Leastern Conference but he seems to have a better chance now than he did 11 games ago.
Postscript: Look at Boston Coach Doc Rivers' face, which seems to be etched with the battle scars of each defeat from the team's franchise record 15 game losing streak: does anyone age faster than coaches or political leaders? The grey and/or receding hair, lines on the face and bags under the eyes index for those two fields is off the charts.
The Score: New York 102, L.A. Clippers 90
The Key Stat: Eddy Curry had 23 points and eight rebounds, David Lee chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds and Jamal Crawford scored 23 points for the victorious Knicks, who are just one win away from equalling last season's total.
The Bottom Line: This message is for everyone out there who made fun of Isiah Thomas as an executive and/or coach. Isiah Thomas is responsible for assembling the current New York Knicks roster and he has now spent 50 games coaching it. The Knicks are one of the most improved teams in the NBA. Curry has blossomed into a legitimate All-Star candidate. Lee is averaging a double-double. Crawford has been unstoppable at times and has not only produced a 50 point game but he has also made numerous clutch shots. Is there any reason that Thomas should not be a candidate for both Executive of the Year and Coach of the Year? In Bill Parcells' parlance, Thomas bought the groceries and cooked the meal. I am still skeptical of the idea of having Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis on the same team, but Thomas' Knicks are doing better than just about anyone expected. Is it possible that Thomas--who is an NCAA Champion, a two-time NBA Champion, a Hall of Famer and a Top 50 player--might know more about basketball than his numerous media and fan critics? Jermaine O'Neal, Brad Miller and Al Harrington all improved markedly while Thomas coached them in Indiana and the same thing seems to be happening with the Knicks' young players. Will Thomas and the Knicks be able to keep this up long enough that Thomas' critics will have to borrow from the Bill Belichick/Kobe Bryant story template and explain how much Thomas has "changed and evolved" this year?
The Score: Houston 98, Memphis 90
The Key Stat: Houston is 15-6 since Yao Ming was forced out of action with an injured leg.
The Bottom Line: I agree with the ESPN NBA Coast to Coast panelists who laud the contributions of Dikembe Mutombo and Shane Battier to Houston's recent success--but that is also known as burying the lead. Let me place the lead in bold, capital letters, so no one misses it:
TRACY MCGRADY. He had 33 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the win over Memphis. Yes, the Grizzlies are dreadful but T-Mac's production in the last 20 games (he missed one game since Yao's injury; naturally, the Rockets lost) is fantastic: 28.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg , 6.2 apg. Last year, the Rockets could hardly win a game without him but were a very solid team when he was in the lineup, even if Yao was out of action. Again this season, the Rockets are proving to be a formidable team whenever T-Mac steps on the court, even without Yao. It would be great to see what this team is capable of with a healthy T-Mac and a healthy Yao on the court at the same time. I don't see why anyone should question T-Mac's status as an All-Star starter this year. The Rockets are 7.5 games behind Phoenix. Let's trade Amare, Marion, Diaw and Bell for Mutombo, Juwan Howard, Shane Battier and Rafer Alston and see how well Nash and his new teammates would do.
posted by David Friedman @ 4:10 AM
NBA Leaderboard, Part IX
All-Star Weekend is fast approaching and the 2006-07 NBA season is already well past its midpoint. The Dallas Mavericks, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett and Steve Nash sit atop the leaderboard in wins, scoring, rebounding and assists respectively. Who will wear those crowns at the end of the season? Nash is the only sure bet at this point; the races for most wins and best rebounding average are too close to call and it is still possible that Anthony will fall back to the pack and/or one of his closest competitors will get hot for a sustained stretch of time.
Best Five Records
-------------------
1) Dallas Mavericks, 39-9
2) Phoenix Suns, 39-10
3) San Antonio Spurs, 32-16
4) Utah Jazz, 32-17
5) Houston Rockets, 31-17
It has pretty much become a two horse race for the best record in the NBA. It will be interesting to see if Steve Nash's shoulder injury tips the balance in favor of Dallas; one of the few questions about Nash concerns his durability, both in terms of becoming worn out over the course of a long season and also in terms of getting injured. The Spurs, Jazz and Rockets are in an extremely tight race for the third spot; just behind them are the Lakers, who feasted on their early home games and will have to do well on the road the rest of the way in order to move up in the standings (they are currently 30-19). What about the East? Detroit is number one, for the moment, with Washington and Chicago not too far behind; the Pistons would be sixth in the West, barely ahead of the Lakers.
Top Five Scorers (and a few other notables)
------------------
1) Carmelo Anthony, DEN 31.0 ppg
2) Gilbert Arenas, WSH 29.4 ppg
3) Allen Iverson, DEN 28.9 ppg
4) Kobe Bryant, LAL 28.8 ppg
5) Dwyane Wade, MIA 28.8 ppg
8) LeBron James, CLE 26.6 ppg
10) Vince Carter, NJN 25.0 ppg
13) Tracy McGrady, HOU 23.8 ppg
The top five has not changed since the previous leaderboard, but Melo's average is going down while Bryant and Wade's are going up. Last week I expressed doubt that Kobe will repeat as the scoring champion but now he is only about 2 ppg back with about 30 games to go. If Melo drops below 30 ppg I think that Kobe will repeat as the scoring champion. LeBron's numbers are going down as he battles his toe injury. T-Mac should receive serious All-NBA consideration this year: the Rockets are 15-6 since Yao Ming got hurt and, laudable as Dikembe Mutombo's contributions have been, let's get real: without T-Mac's scoring and ability to draw defenders, the Rockets would be in big trouble. Last year they could barely win a game without T-Mac in the lineup, even when Yao played.
Top Five Rebounders (and a few other notables)
----------------------
1) Kevin Garnett, MIN 12.4 rpg
2) Marcus Camby, DEN 12.2 rpg
3) Dwight Howard, ORL 12.0 rpg
4) Carlos Boozer, UTA 11.8 rpg
5) Tyson Chandler, NOK 11.5 rpg
8) Tim Duncan, SAS 10.8 rpg
11) Shawn Marion, PHX 10.1 rpg
12) Ben Wallace, CHI 10.0 rpg
22) Rasheed Wallace, DET 8.3 rpg
23) Jason Kidd, NJN 8.0 rpg
The likelihood of Howard becoming the youngest rebounding champion ever seems increasingly remote; early in the season he was ahead of everyone by more than 1 rpg but now KG has opened up a .4 rpg lead over him. Marion is within shouting distance of the top ten, which is pretty remarkable considering the listed heights and weights of the other leaders. Kidd has stayed steadily in the 8 rpg range throughout the season.
Top Five Playmakers
----------------------
1) Steve Nash, PHX 11.8 apg
2) Deron Williams, UTA 9.1 apg
3) Jason Kidd, NJN 8.8 apg
4) Baron Davis, GSW 8.7 ppg
5) Chris Paul, NOK 8.6 apg
For the first time in quite a while we have a change in the top five. Davis moved up to fourth and Andre Miller slipped to sixth as Andre Iguodala assumed some of the playmaking duties for Philadelphia. "Starbury" dropped to 22nd and is averaging 5.4 apg.
Note: All statistics are from ESPN.com; also, the previous leaderboard should have been numbered "VIII," not "IX." This is in fact the ninth leaderboard that I have posted here.
posted by David Friedman @ 1:25 AM
Online Basketball Chat on Friday February 9
On Friday February 9, I will participate in an online basketball chat with Chinese basketball fans via the Sports.Sina.com website, which is the largest portal Chinese website and usually ranks in the top ten on Alexa.com's worldwide website traffic list. Sports.Sina has already posted my photo and bio, plus a link that fans can click on to post their questions:
Sports.Sina.comThe primary subject of the chat will be Yao Ming and how he compares to the all-time great centers, but I will field questions about any basketball related subject. Renjun Bao has graciously arranged this chat and he will translate the questions from Chinese to English for me and then translate my answers from English to Chinese for publication at Sports.Sina.com. I very much look forward to this opportunity to communicate with Chinese basketball fans and I plan to post a transcript of the chat in English at 20 Second Timeout.
posted by David Friedman @ 4:33 AM
The Score, the Key Stat, the Bottom Line: A New 20 Second Timeout Feature
How important are regular season NBA games? What does the outcome of a particular contest really mean? Usually at 20 Second Timeout I write an in depth post about a game that I either covered in person or watched in its entirety on TV. Of course, I can't see every game and sometimes I catch part of a game or some highlights of a game but I notice something about that game that I think is significant in some way. Without further ado, here are the scores, key stats and bottom line meaning of three of Saturday night's games:
The Score: Lakers 118, Wizards 102
The Key Stat: Kobe Bryant (39 points, six rebounds, six assists, two steals, 14-26 field goal shooting, 2-5 three point shooting, 9-10 free throw shooting) outplayed Gilbert Arenas (37 points, five rebounds, four assists, one steal, 9-29 field goal shooting, 3-15 three point shooting, 16-17 free throw shooting).
The Bottom Line: The last time these two teams met, Gilbert Arenas scored 60 points--including 15 in overtime--in a 147-141 Wizards win. Bryant said that Arenas' shot selection indicates that the self proclaimed Agent Zero "doesn't seem to have much of a conscience," which caused some critics to assert that Bryant is the last person who should be criticizing someone else's shot selection. I
took Bryant's remarks at face value, looked at the numbers and concluded that Arenas is indeed a gunner--in both the good and negative senses of that word; he is a fearless, high volume offensive player but he also takes a lot of bad, low percentage shots. Some 20 Second Timeout readers asserted that since Arenas shoots a good three point percentage that his low overall field goal percentage and high number of three point attempts should be excused but I responded that if Arenas shoots 6-9 from three point range in one playoff game and 1-9 in the next then the Wizards will go 1-1 at best in those games despite the fact that his three point percentage would be .389. Having your point guard jacking up eight or nine three pointers a game--particularly on a team that is not good defensively anyway and has poor court balance--is not a formula for postseason success. Look again at the numbers: some of the categories are close, but Bryant outdid Arenas in every single area and his team won by 16 points in regulation. So, in the two Lakers-Wizards games this season, the Wizards won once in overtime when Arenas hit a much higher percentage of his shots than normal (and shot a very high number of free throws) and then got routed at home when Arenas shot 3-15 from three point range.
Postscript: Kobe's overall numbers in the two games: 42 ppg, 7 rpg, 8 apg, 29-50 field goal shooting (.580), 9-16 three point shooting (.563), 17-20 free throw shooting (.850). Agent Zero's overall numbers in the two games: 48.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 6 apg, 26-61 field goal shooting (.426), 8-27 three point shooting (.296), 37-44 free throw shooting (.841).
Second Postscript: The most amazing thing about all of this is that I know, with near 100% certainty, that someone will look at the above numbers--in which Kobe outperformed Arenas in every category except total points--and conclude that Arenas is equal to or better than Kobe. In the discussion here about whether or not Gilbert is a gunner I referred to regression to the mean, a fancy way of saying that all of the extra shots that Arenas hit in his 60 point game he will miss in subsequent games; look at how Arenas' field goal percentage plummeted to its normal level around .430 after just one more game against the Lakers.
The Score: Jazz 108, Suns 105
The Key Stat: The Suns are now 1-7 against the other top teams in the West (Dallas, San Antonio, Utah and the L.A. Lakers)--and 36-3 versus the rest of the league.
The Bottom Line: To win a championship, the Suns will have to beat at least one of the four Western Conference teams that they have struggled against this year and then, if they pull that off, beat the best Eastern Conference team in the NBA Finals. Yes, the Suns are fun to watch and their twin double-digit winning streaks this year are very impressive but being nearly perfect against the weaker teams does not necessarily prove one's ability to beat the elite teams. In Saturday's game the Jazz did not even have the services of All-Star Carlos Boozer, their best player. The Suns will win likely win 60+ games this year but may not even make it back to the Western Conference Finals.
The Score: Heat 117, Bucks 98
The Key Stat: Dwyane Wade (32 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, four steals), Shaquille O'Neal (20 points, 8-11 field goal shooting in 20 foul plagued minutes) and Jason Kapono (career-high 28 points, 6-7 three point shooting) led the Miami attack.
The Bottom Line: I believe that it was the comedian Denis Leary who used to have a commercial with the tag line "I think you hear me coming and I think I'm coming in." That is a good slogan for the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Who exactly should scare Miami? Washington, with Arenas misfiring three pointers from all angles, a leaky defense and no hope of guarding Shaq? Uh, no, I don't think so. Detroit? I don't like to be negative, so how can I put this delicately? When--I said "when," not "if"--Pat Riley returns, do you suspect that a coaching matchup with Flip Saunders worries him? How about facing a Pistons' defense that lacks Ben Wallace as an anchor? Cleveland? Yes, LeBron James can take over a playoff series but Wade can match him and Shaq will tip the scales--pun intended--in the Heat's favor. Chicago? Now we're getting warmer. The Bulls are the one Eastern Conference team that I think could beat a full strength Heat squad in a playoff series; Chicago made a pretty good run at Miami last year without Ben Wallace. With Big Ben, they will not have to double team Shaq as much. Still, Wade showed last year how one superstar can take over a playoff series. Chicago does not have that kind of player, while Miami not only has Wade but also Shaq, who may no longer be able to dominate an entire series but can certainly still dominate a game and still commands double teams that open up the court for Wade, Kapono and the rest of the Heat.
The scary thing about the Heat for everyone else in the East is that Miami could actually be better in this year's postseason than they were last year when they won the championship. For one thing, the Heat already know that they can win a title with this group, so any pressure or doubt relating to that issue is no longer present. Also, Kapono has emerged as a dead-eye three point shooter who even can make some off the dribble shots now; it's like Miami added a 6-8 Steve Kerr, only Kapono is more mobile and is an above average individual defender. With Wade attacking the basket, Shaq anchoring the paint and Kapono firing from deep, how exactly is a team supposed to guard the Heat? Granted, Shaq's old wheels could fall off at any point and Wade always seems to be one tumble away from a serious injury but if health does not bring down the Heat they may make a return trip to the Finals. Yes, Miami is currently the eighth seeded team in the East but they are also only 5.5 games behind the Wizards with 35 games to go. We'll find out if Agent Zero's hibachi can reach the same temperature that the Wade-Shaq Heat can.
posted by David Friedman @ 12:02 AM
5-9 and Under Article Reprinted at Legends of Basketball
Legends of Basketball has reprinted my article about the five players who stand 5-9 or less and played at least eight NBA seasons:
5-9 and Under
posted by David Friedman @ 11:54 PM
A "Sad" Performance for the Lakers at Indiana
The L.A. Lakers squandered a nine point third quarter lead and lost 95-84 to the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse on Friday night. The Lakers scored just six points in the first 10:40 of the fourth quarter, their offense grinding to a complete halt after producing 29 third quarter points. In his postgame standup, Lakers' Coach Phil Jackson first offered a serious explanation for the fourth quarter collapse: "I might have been putting too much of a responsibility on Lamar (Odom) out there with the younger kids. They've done pretty well over the course of the season but they weren't ready for that tonight." Pressed further, Jackson turned a bit whimsical, saying, "They just got 'sad' tonight--'s-a-d,' you know what that is, right? It's sunlight deprivation--when you get out here, it's all gray and the California boys get depressed and they can't take it. They were very 'sad' tonight." There you have it--the first NBA loss ever attributed--tongue in cheek--to seasonal affective disorder.
Kobe Bryant finished with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and a season-high five steals, but he shot just 7-25 from the field. A couple of those misses were desperation three pointers in the last minute of the game but he also made a couple three pointers during that time, so he actually shot better on his late three point attempts than he did during the bulk of the contest. Smush Parker had a nice game with 20 points and a season-high six steals, while Odom had 10 points and 12 rebounds but also shot 4-10 from the field and committed six turnovers. Jermaine O'Neal led Indiana with 22 points, adding nine rebounds and four blocked shots but he shot just 7-21 from the field. O'Neal shot 4-4 in the game's first 3:24 and just 3-17 the rest of the way. Jamaal Tinsley had a solid game (16 points, six assists) and Jeff Foster provided his customary work on the boards (12) and scored nine points. The real story off of the bench for the Pacers was Darrell Armstrong, the 38 year old point guard who seems to have discovered the Fountain of Youth. He had 14 points, three assists, three rebounds and a spectacular blocked shot in less than 16 minutes of playing time.
The first half of the game was marred by sloppy ballhandling--each team had 11 turnovers--and poor shooting (.381 for the Pacers, .368 for the Lakers). Indiana led 44-41 at halftime but it almost felt like the Lakers were winning because Bryant had shot just 1-8 for seven points and it looked like the slightest bit of production from him in the second half would be enough to carry the Lakers to a win. The pace of the game picked up in the third quarter but Indiana maintained a two to five point lead until Bryant's fast break layup tied the score at 53 at the 5:57 mark. The Lakers turned on the defensive pressure in the latter part of the quarter and converted the resulting steals into a 17-8 run to take their biggest lead of the night, 70-61. Armstrong scored on a layup after a defensive breakdown near the end of the period, making the score 70-63 going into the fourth quarter.
Bryant took his customary rest to start the fourth quarter--and the Lakers did not score a point the entire 3:53 that he sat out, during which the Pacers tied the score at 70. As Odom said after the game, "When Kobe goes out, we act like we don't know what the hell we are doing." After Bryant's return, the Lakers took leads of 72-70 and 74-72 but they were unable to regain any real offensive rhythm. Odom's two free throws with 5:04 remaining were the Lakers' only points between the 7:11 mark and the 1:23 mark. Indiana led 89-76 at that point but Bryant's back to back three pointers cut the margin to 89-82 with :58.1 remaining, providing at least a glimmer of hope for the Lakers; the crowd certainly got quieter, at least for a moment--but Bryant subsequently turned the ball over and missed two shots, while the Pacers hit six of eight free throws to clinch the win.
*****************************
Notes From Courtside:
During his pre-game standup, Coach Jackson was asked what he thought of LeBron James' flagrant foul against Dwyane Wade on Thursday night and if James should be suspended because Bryant was suspended previously. With his trademark wry grin, Jackson replied, "I think that we should start wearing helmets with facemasks in the NBA and that will settle it right there."
Jackson also answered a question about the Lakers' next game, a Saturday showdown with Agent Zero, who heated up his hibachi for 60 points the last time the Lakers played the Wizards. Is Jackson worried that Bryant will deviate from the game plan in an effort to either shut down Gilbert Arenas and/or go back at Arenas to score a lot of points? Jackson replied, "We're not concerned at all. Actually, Kobe asked to guard Arenas late in that ball game, in the fourth quarter. I think Arenas had, what, 15 points in the overtime and nine were on free throws? Am I right? (
Arenas actually made six free throws in the overtime). That's a very unusual situation with that amount of points scored late. But, there is a rivalry there and there will be a point in the game when I put Kobe on Arenas. That's not how we're going to start and that is not what we are thinking about now." Jackson also asked some of the members of the media about Arenas' catch phrases--Agent Zero, hibachi, "quality shots," calling this year "the takeover"--and after we listed them he said, "I like that. He's got a quirky nature that I like."
Former Laker Caron Butler is now an All-Star with the Wizards. Jackson said, "We didn't want to have to trade him. There's no doubt about it but we had to give up something to get a big man. At that particular point we really needed a big man in this organization. We got Andrew (Bynum) and Kwame in the same year and Caron was the guy who had to go in that situation. I never had the opportunity to coach him but I liked the way that he played." Reading between the lines, you can't help but speculate that if the Lakers had known how quickly Bynum would develop that they might not have traded Butler.
I asked Jackson the following question: "There is a lot of talk about how Kobe is passing the ball more this year but isn't there also an adjustment by the other players, that they are more willing and able to be in the right position in the triangle to catch the ball and make shots? So there has been at least as much a change with how they are playing as there has been with how Kobe is playing. Would you agree with that?" Jackson replied, "Yeah. One of the things that set us off the right way is that Kobe was out early. Early in the season, they came out and played well and understood the offense and (when Kobe came back) he just kept the offense rolling."
I followed up by asking, "Would you say that that change even started to occur a little bit toward the end of last season and into the playoff series, with the players finally getting used to the triangle?"
Jackson answered, "Well, Kobe got off on a scoring run last year that was unbelievable. That was great, but during the playoffs we said that against a great team like Phoenix one person is not going to outscore their team, so we have to have other contributors. We were able to execute it and Kobe really bought in to it and understood that he could get himself a 45 point game but that we needed 100+ points (to win), so we needed some other scoring to do that. We had our chances. That was a good playoff for us, gave us a lot of confidence and guys came back from that with a feel (for how the team needs to play to be successful)."
---
Kobe Bryant was the last Lakers player to emerge from the training room and face the media after the game. He joked that the media members covering this game were the "select few" who were not sent to the Super Bowl and then tried to explain what went wrong down the stretch. Bryant said that the fourth quarter was one of the Lakers' worst of the season from an execution standpoint because "the ball stayed stagnant too much and didn't move."
As for his poor shooting, he shrugged, smiled and said, "The ball just wasn't going in for me. I'm an eternal optimist, so hopefully I will shoot better tomorrow. It was just one of those nights."
Someone asked Bryant why do the Lakers look so good on some nights and so bad on others and how can they sustain a high level of play and he responded, "It comes from maturity. We have to understand how to bring that effort every night, especially on long road trips. On long road trips, (other) teams are going to be ready to play and we have to continue to increase our intensity level and learn how to do that."
As for Saturday's game against Agent Zero and the Wizards, Bryant said, "They're playing extremely, extremely well and we have to be ready. I'm excited for the challenge and I'm sure that everybody else is excited, especially after the way that we played tonight, and hopefully we will give a good effort."
I asked the natural followup: "What are your thoughts about going against Gilbert Arenas? Everyone is talking about this game because he had 60 when he played against you guys the last time. What are your thoughts about going against the Wizards and, specifically, Arenas?"
Bryant answered, "I'm looking forward to the game. I think that it is a 'we' thing more than a 'me' thing. I'm not really tripping about him, to be honest with you. I think that he is a great player who got hot that night and had a hell of a game but for us as a team it is much more important--much more important; this is a big game for us. We're 1-2 on this trip and we want to come out there and try to win this game."
Odom and Sasha Vujacic got into some sort of argument on the sidelines during the game, sparked by Armstrong blocking Vujacic's shot in the fourth quarter. Someone asked Bryant what he thought about this and what he said to them. Bryant replied, "There's nothing you can do about it. That's what I was telling them. It was almost comical. There's nothing you can do about shouting and yelling. If my wife is mad because I didn't put the toilet seat down, what am I going to do? I have to put it down the next time. What are you going to do? You can't sit there and bark my head off. I didn't put it down; I'll put it down the next time. Right? You've got to move on. You've got to forget about it and move on to the next play. Especially as a guard, you have to be able to detach yourself from the game somewhat. Sasha cares so much about trying to do the right thing that he gets too wrapped up into the game emotionally. He's got to be able to step back from that and be more calm...In this type of offense you really have to learn how to be fluid and really separate yourself from the game. That is one of Phil's big teaching points. You can't go out there and play so emotionally that you kind of lose your way."
Vujacic is still learning how to do this, Bryant added: "It's a challenge for him. It's just like learning how to handle the ball or learning how to shoot. It's part of the game. Phil is a master of teaching that and once he (Vujacic) understands how to separate himself emotionally I think that things will sharpen up for him, because then it becomes inconsequential whether you have a turnover or you get fouled or you miss a shot. You just forget about it and move on to the next play."
By this point, it was getting late and the other media members left, so I was the last one remaining as Bryant headed out of the locker room and toward the team bus. I mentioned to him that he always has had the kind of focus that Vujacic is still trying to develop--bad plays never seemed to dissuade Bryant, even as a young player. I said to him, "Other players never learn that (how to focus) or it takes them a lot longer." Bryant replied, "I was a big Bruce Lee fan growing up. Watching him and analyzing him, listening to his philosophies kind of carried with me. Once I came into the NBA and once Phil came on board, he has a similar philosophy--you can't top it."
The classic early example of Bryant's confidence and unflappability, of course, is the three air balls that he shot against the Utah Jazz in a playoff game. I told Bryant, "I'll never forget that game because a lot of people were saying, 'What is that guy doing? He's the youngest guy on the team and he keeps shooting these airballs.' I said at the time, 'No, he's going to be a great player because he keeps thinking he's going to make it. Eventually, he's going to be making them.'"
Bryant laughed as he recalled that snapshot from his early struggles and said, "For better or worse, I'm very optimistic. I'm glad that I don't have a gambling vice."
posted by David Friedman @ 2:55 AM
All-Star Reserves Announced on TNT's NBA Tip-Off
The NBA All-Star team rosters are complete now, as the seven reserve players for each conference have been announced. While fan balloting selects the starters, the reserve players are chosen by NBA coaches (who cannot vote for their own players). The Eastern reserves are New Jersey guards Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, Detroit guards Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, Washington forward Caron Butler, Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal and Orlando center Dwight Howard. The coaches pretty much "cheated off of my paper," so to speak:
in my January 25 post about the NBA All-Star starters, I listed who I would pick for the Eastern Conference reserves and came up with virtually the same group. The only difference is that I would take Chicago's Ben Wallace in place of Billups. When TNT's NBA Tip-Off crew (the usual cast of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith plus guest Magic Johnson) discussed Eastern reserves, Magic Johnson objected to Detroit having two All-Stars, although he didn't specify which one he would not have picked. Magic's point is that Detroit has not had a dominant enough season to deserve having two All-Stars when a team like Chicago has none. Using similar reasoning, Barkley said that New Jersey--which has won less than half of its games--should not have two All-Stars, either. Magic correctly noted that Kidd is having an MVP caliber season, so--without saying it in so many words--Magic and Barkley suggested that Carter should not be on the team. Kenny Smith took a different approach, saying "It is disrespectful to say who shouldn't be there." He thinks that all of the selected players are deserving of the honor but that there are also some players who were left off who could be considered to be equally deserving; Chicago is right in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race and Ben Gordon is the Bulls' fourth quarter closer, so Smith mentioned him as a worthy candidate, without voting anyone off of the island, so to speak. I still think that Ben Wallace should have gotten that spot. Forget the headlines and the headband and everything else: every year since Jordan, Pippen and crew won their last title, the Bulls have gotten off to a slow start. The Bulls are doing better prior to the All-Star Game this year than they have in recent seasons and the major change that the team made was signing Wallace. Critics have sniped at him all year but he is putting up similar numbers to what he did last year; Detroit's record has also gotten much worse without him, so he has actually had a significant impact on two Eastern Conference teams. He should have made the All-Star team this year.
The Western reserves are Phoenix guard Steve Nash, Denver guard Allen Iverson, San Antonio guard Tony Parker, Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, Utah forward Carlos Boozer, Phoenix forward Shawn Marion and Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire. Magic immediately voiced an objection that Phoenix has three All-Stars and San Antonio, Detroit and New Jersey have two All-Stars each but Dallas--the team with the best record in the league--only has one All-Star. Again, Magic did not say who he would take off of the team, but he said that winning should be recognized and that Dallas' Josh Howard should be on the team. Of course, Howard may still end up going to Las Vegas because starter Yao Ming and reserve Carlos Boozer both will not play in the All-Star Game due to injury, which means that NBA Commissioner David Stern will select two replacement players. Barkley insisted that Howard and Denver's Carmelo Anthony must get those two spots. Magic agreed, going so far as to say that Anthony was the best player in the league this season prior to his 15 game suspension--that suspension cannot be ignored, though, and no doubt played a part in why the coaches left him off of the team. Ernie Johnson brought up two interesting facts: the first fact is that the leading scorer in the league at the All-Star break has always made the All-Star team; the second fact came in the form of a question: how many double-doubles does Anthony have this year? Barkley guessed 17, which indicates that he has not watched too many Nuggets' games this year (or followed their boxscores). The correct answer is Gilbert Arenas' number: 0. Melo is a one dimensional scorer and that is why, even though he is leading the league in scoring, I don't have a problem with leaving him off of the team. In the post that I mentioned above, I again agreed with the coaches on six of the seven selections; I would substitute Howard for Parker. With Boozer and Yao out of the mix, though, I would not have a problem with Howard and Melo being the replacements; Melo, Parker and Ray Allen were the top three players I mentioned as alternate choices, so with Parker already on the team and two spots opening up I would have room for Melo now.
TNT sideline reporter David Aldridge weighed in with his take, saying "It's a travesty that Melo did not make it" and adding that Melo "should have made it instead of Allen Iverson" because "Carmelo's season has been more successful than Allen's so far." Aldridge, who saw Iverson up close as a Philadelphia based writer, pointed out that Melo and Iverson both have missed a lot of games and that they have not played too many games together so far: Melo put Denver in the playoff hunt before Iverson arrived, while Iverson's Sixers were well off of the pace even before they dealt him to Denver. Both players have good individual numbers, but the difference in team success is why Aldridge would take Melo over Iverson. Ernie Johnson responded that Anthony probably lost votes because he missed his games due to suspension. Aldridge replied that he understands that but that Melo is leading the league in scoring, which means that he has been productive on a consistent basis. The irony is that the final decision will rest in the hands of Stern, who suspended Anthony in the first place. Will he "forgive and forget?" asked Smith. My guess is that Stern will choose Howard and Anthony.
The Tip-Off show included an interesting "fundamentals" segment on rebounding, featuring Dwight Howard. He talked about the importance of boxing out, locating yourself on the opposite side of the court from where the shot is taken and having the desire to pursue the ball. He also demonstrated the swim move (pushing down the arm of someone who is boxing you out and then stepping in front of them; Howard noted that sometimes you will be called for a foul when doing this) and the tap move (tapping the opponent on one side and then going around him on the other side). Barkley, one of the game's greatest rebounders, enjoyed the segment and liked the fact that Howard understands the importance of positioning. Barkley also joked that when people tell him how good a rebounder Dennis Rodman was that he replies, "Dennis was great and if he gets a few thousand more rebounds he'll catch me." That is a funny line--and Barkley added that he likes Rodman--but in reality Barkley only had 592 more career rebounds than Rodman, who averaged 13.1 rpg compared to Barkley's 11.7 rpg.
While Barkley and Magic are Hall of Famers, Smith is an excellent college player who became a solid pro. He has a different perspective on the game--and I suspect that he would be a very good coach. Smith recalled that when Bill Russell was his coach in Sacramento that he used to instruct that team's big men about rebounding by saying "just go get it." Smith astutely observed, "For a great player, certain things are so simple that he can't even explain them. Everybody can't just 'go get it.'" That is why some of the best coaches--Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich--are guys who were not NBA superstars. They have playing experience and may have even been good players at levels below the NBA, but they had to spend time analyzing the step by step process for doing certain things on the court. That gives them the understanding and the patience to be good teachers. Jackson has always been commended for how well he has done coaching superstars like Jordan, Pippen, Shaq and Kobe but I think that ESPN's Greg Anthony makes a good point when he mentions that Jackson gets the most out of his role players and that his teams never underachieve. The fact that Jackson was a role player during his NBA career and that he spent a lot of time talking strategy with his Hall of Fame coach and mentor, Red Holzman, no doubt has a lot to do with that.
posted by David Friedman @ 11:36 PM
The Ultimate "Five Tool" Players
Versatility is a prized trait in all sports. Baseball scouts have a name for it: a “five tool” player is someone who hits for average, hits for power, runs well, has a strong throwing arm and fields his position well. The basketball version of this is a player who scores, rebounds, assists, steals the ball and blocks shots. Only five players in NBA/ABA history have led their teams in each of those categories in the same season: Julius Erving, Dave Cowens, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady. My newest NBCSports.com article examines the accomplishments of basketball's "five tool" players:
The Ultimate "Five Tool" Players
posted by David Friedman @ 1:05 AM
Two Final Thoughts on Kobe Bryant's Suspension
I don't intend to do a frame by frame analysis of the Kobe Bryant-Manu Ginobili play as if the footage came from the Zapruder film but after seeing the ubiquitous highlight a few more times I noticed something that I did not see before and have not heard anyone else mention: right before Kobe's arm whacks Manu in the face Manu appears to make contact with Kobe's right shoulder. I do not disagree that Kobe's arm movement looks a little "unnatural" but I think that at least part of what Kobe was doing was a combination of trying to fend off Manu's block attempt, trying to draw a foul and reacting to the contact. If you are shooting and someone makes contact with your arm, then your follow through (and the flight of the ball) is going to be altered; think of how much difference it makes if a defender just lightly taps a shooter's elbow--that can be enough to cause an airball and it often goes unnoticed because the official is looking for possible contact at wrist level or above, not by the elbow.
My second thought about this is not about the alleged "crime" but rather about the punishment. The suspension was not handed down until Tuesday, apparently just a few hours before the tip off of the game in question. So the Lakers not only lost their best player but they had to deal with this on very short notice. The NBA should have an appeals process in place whereby if the player appeals then the punishment does not take place until after the appeal is heard. That is what happens in Major League Baseball--except that MLB drags things out so much that even if the player knows that his appeal has no chance he can seemingly time it in such a way that the rejection and subsequent suspension will happen at a relatively more favorable time. The NBA should give 24 or 48 hours for the appeal to be filed, should hear it quickly and then make a quick decision.
The bottom line is that it just would not make sense to intentionally commit a flagrant foul on a defender while you are in the process of trying to make a game winning shot. If the NBA wanted to discipline Kobe for his "unnatural" movement or the extreme nature of the contact, it would make more sense to charge him retroactively with a flagrant foul and assess a fine. If Kobe really becomes a habitual offender in this regard then he would accumulate enough flagrant foul points to get a suspension; meanwhile, this would not have such an adverse immediate affect on the Lakers team as a whole and on the New York fans who missed their one chance a season to see Kobe play. While Kobe's move may seem "unnatural," particularly in slow motion, I don't see how one can conclude that he intentionally hit Manu as opposed to simply fending him off and/or reacting to contact that he felt. Ironically, near the end of the Lakers-Knicks game that Kobe had to sit out there was a similar play but I guess in this instance the movement was deemed "natural."
Suspending someone for a game based on a subjective judgment and then not hearing the appeal until after the suspension has been served just does not seem right. The play in question is a lot different than the ones involving Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Garnett, who each clearly and deliberately threw a punch at another player. Throwing a punch automatically leads to an ejection and a suspension and all of the players know that. Striking a defender in the face with an "unnatural" follow through is a much more subjective call and this is a thin reed upon which to base an immediate suspension.
posted by David Friedman @ 12:09 AM
