The NBA's COVID-19 Bubble Has Burst
The NBA received a lot of praise for the "bubble" that enabled the league to finish the 2019-20 season and conduct the 2020 playoffs, but this season the NBA's bubble is bursting. Tonight, Kevin Durant was prohibited from starting for the Brooklyn Nets due to the health and safety protocols, then he was permitted to play in the game, and then he was abruptly pulled from the game due to the health and safety protocols. His status for upcoming games is uncertain, though he sent out a tweet shortly after being removed from the game: "Free me." At least Durant is keeping everything in perspective during a pandemic that has claimed the lives of over two million people worldwide; his desire for the freedom to get paid millions of dollars to pay basketball is clearly the most important issue here, right?
Let's be honest: if "health and safety" was the primary concern, then if there were any realistic chance that Durant is infected/could infect others he would have been immediately isolated, as opposed to being held out, then permitted to play, then pulled from the game. The NBA is not primarily focused on protecting its players, let alone protecting other people; the league is primarily focused on completing this season at all costs while appearing to act in a responsible manner--and many media members are complicit in this sham, praising the NBA for running its business as it sees fit while criticizing other people and businesses for living their lives as they see fit.
The NBA is a privately run business, and the league has the right--within the confines of federal and state laws/regulations--to run its business how it sees fit. So, if the NBA wants to have a season and is following those laws/regulations, then it is up to consumers to decide to support or not support the NBA's efforts. That is how capitalism works, and--for all of its flaws--capitalism works better than any other system that has been tried.
That being said, the NBA can stop making pious-sounding statements about how it is trying to handle things responsibly and prioritizing health and safety. The NBA is trying to make as much money as possible. Period. Otherwise, the season would not be taking place now under these conditions; the NBA would be back in the "bubble" or the start of the season would have been delayed until more people have been vaccinated and the case counts/death rates dropped.
Many NBA games have been postponed/canceled due to health and safety protocols, many players have openly flouted the precautions that they are supposed to follow--potentially endangering not only themselves but also others--and it has become increasingly apparent that the league is motivated by money above all other considerations, which should not surprise anyone who has followed the league's hypocritical pronouncements and policies, including its shameful abandonment of its most elderly and vulnerable retired players: the league could have spent just a few million dollars--a drop in the bucket of billions of dollars that the league rakes in every year--to ensure a comfortable retirement for its "pre-65ers" and retired ABA veterans, but instead the league dragged its feet while dozens of retired players died in poverty, and even now the league still does not fully provide for the players who laid the foundations for the riches enjoyed by owners and players alike.
The league is very willing to be outspoken about some issues when taking those stands will likely help--or, at the very least, not hurt--revenue, but the league is silent while millions of people are brutalized by a Chinese government that has a mutually profitable relationship with the league.
President Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly declared that China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity. This is not a partisan issue, as President Biden's Secretary of State Antony Blinken has publicly agreed with Pompeo's assessment. China's horrific conduct is not new but, sadly, it is also not news--the media has many other topics that it prefers to cover--and it has zero impact on the NBA's lucrative financial dealings with China.
The NBA cares about profits above all else. That is why the league will not cut ties with China, that is why the league finished last season in a "bubble" during the middle of a pandemic, that is why the league started the current season prior to Christmas Day as opposed to starting the season in January 2021 (the early start preserved at least several hundred million dollars in revenue), and that is why the league is determined to throw together some kind of All-Star Game this season even though many players--including LeBron James--are publicly opposed to that idea. The All-Star Game is worth millions of dollars to the NBA and its media partners, so the show must go on, with lip service paid to "health and safety."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver initially denied that the league's players would "jump the line" to be vaccinated but recently he has suggested that NBA players could be vaccinated as part of some kind of public service campaign; ostensibly, vaccinating NBA players would increase public confidence in the vaccines, but it should be obvious that public service announcements could accomplish this without potentially leaving some of the most vulnerable people exposed to COVID-19 while some of the healthiest and least vulnerable people receive vaccines in order to protect their millions of dollars and the NBA's billions of dollars.
The league has no credibility to speak collectively on social or political issues, because the primary motivating factor for the league is money. This is not a call for players to "shut up and dribble"; individual players who walk what they talk should speak their minds, but the notion that the league as an organization is "progressive" is, at best, deceptive and incomplete. The league's hiring practices may be more equitable than the hiring practices of other sports leagues--and that is commendable--but no one should be looking to the NBA for words of wisdom about foreign policy, COVID-19, or any other political/social issue that in any way affects the league's bottom line.
I am not saying that the NBA is right--or wrong--in terms of how the league is running this season; I am saying that the NBA is hypocritical because its words/public statements do not match its deeds not only regarding COVID-19 but also regarding a host of issues, including genocide being committed by one of the league's biggest financial partners.
The silence of many media outlets, corporations, and entire governments during the Holocaust is vile and inexcusable. The silence of media outlets, corporations, and entire governments during the Chinese genocide is vile and inexcusable. Much has been written and said about who is on the "right side of history" and who is on the "wrong side of history." Unfortunately, regarding China--and other issues beyond the scope of this article--there are far too many media outlets, corporations, and governments that are on the wrong side of history.
Labels: Adam Silver, Brooklyn Nets, COVID-19, Kevin Durant, NBA
posted by David Friedman @ 11:52 PM
The Defense Rests: The Harden Effect/Defect
Many media members love offense, and they also love "advanced basketball statistics." This is why we used to see and hear so many stories about how efficiently Steve Nash's teams played on offense, and that is why we often see and hear so many stories about how efficiently James Harden's teams play on offense. Of course, Steve Nash's teams never advanced to the NBA Finals, and James Harden's lone trip to the NBA Finals happened nearly a decade ago when he was Oklahoma City's third option behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
The stories that we do not see and hear as often as we should pertain to defense and rebounding. If you are college age or younger, you were not alive during the "Last Dance" season when the Chicago Bulls capped off their second three-peat in 1998. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were great offensive players who could score inside or outside and who could create scoring opportunities for their teammates with their passing skills. You may have seen their highlights and assumed that the Bulls won six championships because of all of the points that Jordan and Pippen scored.
However, if you want to watch or study just one game to understand why the Bulls were so great then that game would be game seven of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals, when the Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers, 88-83. The Bulls shot .382 from the field, with Jordan (9-25, .360) and Pippen (6-18, .333) both shooting poorly. However, Pippen led both teams with 12 rebounds and six offensive rebounds, while Jordan had nine rebounds (including five offensive rebounds). The Bulls were physically and mentally drained after making deep playoff runs for so many seasons, but with their season on the line their defensive principles, their rebounding, and their tenacity carried them to victory.
Another defensive masterpiece that is worth watching and studying is game three of the 1998 Finals, when the Bulls set numerous records while humiliating the Utah Jazz, 98-54. The Bulls held the Jazz--who featured the legendary pick and roll combination of Karl Malone and John Stockton--to .300 field goal shooting. Even the Bulls could not replicate that suffocating defense every game, but that game--in a series during which the other games were each decided by five points or less--highlighted the Bulls' defensive dominance, and made it clear that the Bulls were the superior team that would find a way to prevail in the series. Game six of that series was a defensive slugfest during which Pippen aggravated a back injury that would require offseason surgery to repair two ruptured disks, but he had a game-high +16 plus/minus number; Pippen made his presence felt during that game not so much on offense (eight points on 4-7 field goals shooting, four assists in 26 minutes) but rather on defense. Jordan got the headlines and the Finals MVP after scoring 45 points (on 15-35 field goal shooting) and nailing the famous game-winning jumper over Bryon Russell, but the Bulls were in a position to win because of their defense.
While those two games are outliers in terms of rebounding and defense, they represent excellent examples of the building blocks of the Bulls' greatness. The 1997-98 Bulls ranked ninth in points per game and 15th in field goal percentage, but they posted a 62-20 record and won their third straight title because of their stifling defense, ranking third in points allowed and fifth in defensive field goal percentage.
Being the high-flying, high-scoring "Air Jordan" helped Michael Jordan to sell merchandise and become a pop culture icon--but playing defense helped Jordan and his teammates become champions.
Great defense is not a "sometime" thing; great defense is built on habits and principles that must be established team-wide from the start of the season, and those habits and principles must be emphasized during practices and games.
Nash is now the head coach of the Nets, and his top assistant is Mike D'Antoni, who was Nash's coach when Nash won two MVPs with the Phoenix Suns. The D'Antoni-Nash philosophy is to play up tempo, shoot a lot of three pointers, score a lot of points, and play just enough defense to survive. The Nets give lip service to playing defense, but defense is not a part of the team's core philosophy: it is not part of their daily grind, and when things get tough during the playoffs it is not a pillar upon which they will be able to lean when the offense gets bogged down--and if a Michael Jordan-led offense can get bogged down, then any offense can get bogged down.
While the defensive mindset starts with the coaching staff, it is essential that the players adopt that mindset. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were great defensive players throughout their careers. In contrast, James Harden's defense is notoriously bad: he is slow to get back in transition, he does not stay attached to his man off of the ball in the half court set, and he is far too often little more than a traffic cone as an on the ball defender on the perimeter or in the open court. In recent years, Harden's supporters point to his post defense as a positive, and there are "advanced" numbers that support the notion that he is a good post defender. You don't need the numbers to know that, though; the eye test shows that Harden is deceptively strong, and that his strength enables him to hold his own even against bigger players, including elite players such as Kawhi Leonard (as we saw the other night, when Leonard could not budge Harden in a post up situation). Harden appears to take it as a personal challenge when the opposing team engineers a switch and then posts him up. Of course, holding one's ground in the post for a few seconds on a few possessions a game does not mean that someone is a good defensive player; what Harden does--and does not do--during the rest of the game matters more, and sets an example that his teammates follow.
If media members are going to give Harden so much credit for Houston's offensive efficiency the past several years, then media members should also mention the defensive numbers. Last season, the Rockets ranked 23rd out of 30 teams in points allowed (114.8 ppg) and they ranked 14th in defensive field goal percentage (.462). So far this season, the Rockets rank eighth in points allowed (109.1 ppg) and they rank fifth in defensive field goal percentage (.447). The numbers for the Nets are reversed; without Harden last season, the Nets ranked 18th in points allowed (112.3 ppg) and they ranked sixth in defensive field goal percentage (.446), but this season the Nets rank 28th in points allowed (117.8 ppg) and they rank 11h in defensive field goal percentage (.457).
No, one player should not receive all of the credit or blame for his team's defense (or offense, for that matter), and yes, the sample size for this season is small, but these numbers are worth monitoring.
Kevin Durant proved that he can be an above average defensive player on two championship teams. Kyrie Irving proved that, at the very least, he can avoid being a fatal defensive liability on a championship team. However, if Harden does not commit to becoming a good defensive player then the Nets are not strong enough defensively at other positions to make up for his deficiencies. The Nets do not have a strong defensive presence in the paint, nor do they have a defensive stopper on the perimeter. It may be true that their offense will be so good at peak power that they will not need to be great defensively to win a title--though I am skeptical of that notion--but they will not win a title if they are below average defensively, and since Harden joined the Nets the team is well below average defensively.
Labels: Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, James Harden, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Steve Nash
posted by David Friedman @ 6:49 PM
The Ageless LeBron James
LeBron James is one of the select few players who belongs in the conversation for the title of the greatest basketball player of all-time, but there will probably never be a consensus choice for that distinction: Bill Russell won 11 championships in 13 seasons, Wilt Chamberlain set numerous individual statistical records and led two dominant championship runs, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six championships and had incredible longevity, Michael Jordan broke some of Chamberlain's scoring records while posting a 6-0 NBA Finals record, and a handful of other players merit being mentioned as well.
However, one title that LeBron James may clinch--if he has not done so already--is greatest "old" basketball player of all-time. "Old" can be defined in various ways, but this article stipulates that an "old" player is one who turns 35 during a given calendar year. Historically, that age is a meaningful milestone. For example, Jerry West made the 1973 All-NBA First Team and finished sixth in MVP voting just before turning 35, but he played only 31 games as a 35 year old before retiring after the 1973-74 season. Only a relatively small number of players extend their careers past the age of 35, and a much smaller number of players that age perform at an All-Star level, let alone at an All-NBA, MVP, and/or Finals MVP level.
I first wrote about pro basketball's ageless wonders in the November 2002 issue of Basketball Digest, and then I revisited that subject in the April 2004 issue of Basketball Digest. The first article used 35 as a demarcation point, while the second article--written in the wake of Michael Jordan's two year stint as a Washington Wizard--focused on the 40 and over club, which LeBron James has not yet joined.
The first article crowned Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as "the unquestioned king of the 35 and over club," noting that he posted Hall of Fame caliber numbers just in the eight seasons comprising that portion of his career, including playing an important role for four Lakers' championship teams while receiving eight All-Star selections, four All-NBA First or Second Team selections, one All-Defensive Second
Team selection, and one Finals MVP. He ranked among the league's scoring,
field goal percentage and shot blocking leaders in several of those
seasons. To put those accolades into perspective, Hall of Fame centers Dave Cowens, Bob Lanier, Willis Reed, and Nate Thurmond each earned eight or fewer All-Star selections in their entire careers!
Jordan turned 35 during his final season as a Chicago Bull, and he authored perhaps the greatest season by a 35 year old player, winning the scoring title (28.7 ppg), the All-Star Game MVP, the regular season MVP, and the Finals MVP while also being selected to the All-NBA First Team and the All-Defensive First Team. He then retired for three years before coming back to play two seasons as a Wizard, when he earned two All-Star selections but no other seasonal honors (he finished 13th in the 2002 MVP voting).
Jordan may have been the greatest 35 year old ever, but his overall post-35 body of work does not match up with Abdul-Jabbar's.
Other players who had notable accomplishments at 35 or older include Bill Russell (in his final season he finished fourth in MVP voting, made the All-Defensive First Team, and averaged 19.3 rpg for a championship team as player-coach), Wilt Chamberlain (one Finals MVP, two rebounding titles), John Havlicek (four All-Star selections, second only to Abdul-Jabbar in this age category), Julius Erving (three All-Star selections, and he holds the record as the oldest member of the 100-100 club), Dennis Rodman (three rebounding titles while playing for three championship teams), and Karl Malone (won the 1999 regular season MVP as a 35 year old).
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to three straight NBA Finals and back to back titles in the 12th-14th seasons of his career, mirroring what Jordan did with the Bulls at a similar stage in his career (but Jordan was older, because he played three years of college ball compared to Bryant going straight from high school to the NBA), and it seemed that he might challenge Abdul-Jabbar and Jordan as the greatest "old" player of all-time, but ultimately Bryant's body gave out. Bryant was playing at an MVP level (he finished fifth in the 2013 regular season MVP voting) when he ruptured his Achilles just a few months prior to turning 35. He played 107 games over three seasons at ages 35-37, but he never regained his old form, though he did finish his career on a high note by setting the all-time record for most points scored in a player's final NBA game (60, more than doubling John Havlicek's previous record of 29) while also becoming the oldest player to score at least 60 points in an NBA game.
If Bryant had not suffered such a serious injury then he seemed on track to be an elite performer past the age of 35, but of course injuries are a part of the game, and injuries are one of the major reasons that most players do not even play past 35 at all.
LeBron James turned 35 last season, when he averaged 25.3 ppg, a career-high/league leading 10.2 apg, and 7.8 rpg. During the playoffs he averaged 27.6 ppg, 8.8 apg, and 10.8 rpg, and he led the L.A. Lakers to their first title of the post-Bryant era. James won his fourth Finals MVP after averaging 29.8 ppg, 11.8 rpg, and 8.5 apg as the Lakers beat the Heat in six games. He is the second oldest Finals MVP, trailing only Abdul-Jabbar.
This season, through his first 20 games James averaged 25.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and 7.5 apg. He is on pace to post a career-high three point field goal percentage (.417), though that may be an artifact of a small sample size.
When comparing "old" Abdul-Jabbar to "old" James it is important to remember that Abdul-Jabbar--arguably the greatest college basketball player of all-time--played four years at UCLA before joining the NBA, while James jumped straight from high school to the NBA. Thus, James is currently a 36 year old in his 18th season, while Abdul-Jabbar turned 40 years old late in his 18th season, and Abdul-Jabbar turned 36 years old late in his 14th season. Thus, you cannot fairly compare the two players only on a season to season basis, because that gives James a four year age advantage over Abdul-Jabbar.
Abdul-Jabbar's post-35 career is quite remarkable.
As a 35 year old in his 13th season, Abdul-Jabbar averaged 23.9 ppg and 8.7 rpg during the regular season. That was the worst season of his career up to that point, and he slipped to 10th in the MVP voting after finishing third and first in the previous two years. However, he and Norm Nixon each averaged 20.4 ppg in the playoffs (Nixon scored one more point than Abdul-Jabbar over the span of 14 playoff games) to share the team lead as the Lakers won their second title in three seasons.
As a 36 year old in his 14th season, Abdul-Jabbar averaged 21.8 ppg and 7.5 rpg during the regular season. He again finished 10th in the regular season MVP voting. Abdul-Jabbar led the NBA in playoff scoring (27.1 ppg), but the Lakers were swept in the NBA Finals by one of the best single-season teams of all-time, the Moses Malone-Julius Erving Philadelphia 76ers.
As a 37 year old in his 15th season, Abdul-Jabbar averaged 21.5 ppg and 7.3 rpg during the regular season. He finished fourth in the regular season MVP voting. He averaged 23.9 ppg and 8.2 rpg in the playoffs, but the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games in the NBA Finals.
As a 38 year old in his 16th season, Abdul-Jabbar averaged 22.0 ppg and 7.9 rpg during the regular season. He finished fourth in regular season MVP balloting and made the All-NBA Second Team before winning the Finals MVP after averaging 25.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 5.2 apg, and 1.5 bpg as his Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in six games. He led the Lakers in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots during the Finals, while ranking second on the team in assists behind Magic Johnson.
Abdul-Jabbar made the All-NBA Team for the final time--earning First Team honors--as a 39 year old during his 17th season. He averaged 23.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and 1.6 bpg during the regular season, and he finished fifth in regular season MVP voting. He was the Lakers' leading scorer during the regular season and the playoffs (25.9 ppg) as the Lakers lost to Houston in the Western Conference Finals.
As a 40 year old in his 18th season, Abdul-Jabbar averaged 17.5 ppg and 6.7 rpg during the regular season and 19.2 ppg and 6.8 rpg during the playoffs. He was the Lakers' third leading scorer during both the regular season and the playoffs as the Lakers won the title after a 65-17 regular season.
Abdul-Jabbar averaged at least 40 mpg in each of his first seven seasons. Then, he averaged between 35 and 39.5 mpg in each of the next six seasons. He averaged between 31-33 mpg in the next five seasons, before averaging 28.9 mpg in season 19 and 22.9 mpg in season 20.
James' mpg numbers have followed a similar trajectory: he averaged at least 40 mpg for four straight seasons early in his career, but he is averaging a career-low 33.1 mpg this season. However, James is more productive on a per minute basis now--as a scorer, rebounder, and playmaker--than he was during most of his previous seasons: his 2021 per minute numbers are his second best ever in scoring, his second best ever in rebounding, and his fifth best ever in assists. The most amazing thing about James' play as a 35 year old--and now as a
36 year old--is that when you watch him, if you ignore that he is developing a hairline resembling "old"
Abdul-Jabbar, you cannot tell his age, nor can you tell that he
is an 18 year veteran.
In terms of accolades, Michael Jordan's 1998 season was even better than LeBron James' 2020 season, but the way that James played last season and the way he is playing so far this season seems different--looks different--than "old" Jordan or "old" Abdul-Jabbar or any other "old" all-time great discussed above. "Old" Jordan was extraordinarily productive: he was crafty, and after an intensive exercise regimen he was probably stronger than he had ever been. However, you would never mistake "old" Jordan for Air Jordan in terms of athleticism and explosiveness.
Similarly, "old" Abdul-Jabbar posted impressive statistics while playing an integral role for four championship teams, but he was not the highly mobile and incredibly athletic marvel that he had been during his prime years.
In terms of retaining elite athletic ability at an advanced age, Julius Erving ranks as highly as anyone: he took off from just inside the free throw line in the 1985 Slam Dunk Contest at 35, and he was a more prolific shot blocker at that age (109 blocked shots in 78 games) than James ever was (James had a career-high 93 blocked shots in 81 games as a 24 year old in 2008-09)--but, even accounting for Erving's late career shift from forward to guard, he was not the rebounder that he was during his prime, and he did not consistently play above the rim to the extent that he did during his prime. During his final season at the age of 37, Erving claimed that he could still do any single move that he had ever done before, and that was probably true, but Erving could no longer do those moves repeatedly every game over the course of a season.
In contrast, James is still flying through the air on a regular basis, still posting elite scoring numbers with a high field goal percentage (.496, just below his career average), and still able to go head to head with much younger MVP caliber players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard not only using craftiness, strength and guile, but also at the very least matching their athleticism as well.
I would take young Jordan and young Bryant over James, for reasons that I have discussed at length in various articles--but "old" James is obviously better than hobbled "old" Bryant, "old" James' peak is better than "old" Abdul-Jabbar's peak, and "old" James is at least comparable to the 1998 version of "old" Jordan ("old" James is better than "old" Jordan from the Wizards, though to be fair to Jordan he was several years older at that time than James is now).
It remains to be seen if James will have a post-35 career as long and productive as Abdul-Jabbar's and/or if James will still be an All-Star at 40 as Jordan was, but in terms of peak value James has already made a strong case that he is the greatest "old" player of all-time.
Labels: Bill Russell, Jerry West, John Havlicek, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain
posted by David Friedman @ 3:01 AM
