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Sunday, February 14, 2010

Legends Brunch Honors Alonzo Mourning, Five Great Mavs

Most mainstream media coverage of this All-Star Weekend either revolves around the seemingly 24 hour a day party circuit that has become this event's trademark or the spectacle that will take place tonight at Jerry Jones' billion dollar pleasure palace--but the hidden gem that sparkles brightest for me is the Legends Brunch. It is both a duty and a privilege to recognize, acknowledge and praise the people whose hard work and sacrifices built NBA basketball into the popular sport/multibillion dollar business that it has become.

One of the really fun aspects of the brunch is that except for the tables right at the front that are reserved for certain players and their families you can sit wherever you want, providing an opportunity to really mingle with the retired players. My tablemates included Ollie Taylor, Nate Williams (one of Pistol Pete Maravich's teammates with the New Orleans Jazz), Major Jones (one of four brothers who each played at Albany State before playing in the NBA) and Jones' wife Renee Taplin-Jones.

TNT's Ernie Johnson served as Master of Ceremonies, deftly mixing self-deprecating humor with appropriate praise for the distinguished gathering of all-time greats. NBA Commissioner David Stern opened his remarks by acknowledging how big this event has become (the attendance likely exceeded 1000 people in one huge ballroom): "Standing room only is what this group deserves." He called the Legends Brunch "a highlight among highlights" during All-Star Weekend. "Former players are the foundation of our success," Stern added.

This year's Legends Brunch honored a particularly eloquent and accomplished group. Stern presented the Legend of the Year award to Alonzo Mourning, whose tireless work for Haiti's earthquake victims is just the latest in a long line of his charitable endeavors. The face of Mourning known to the general public was perpetually twisted into an intense and fiery visage during his playing days but we saw a completely different side of him during his acceptance speech. Mourning said, "This particular honor I will cherish simply because of Wayman Tisdale," the Phoenix Suns' great who was honored at last year's Legends Brunch shortly before losing his battle with cancer. Mourning added, "I've always been hesitant about receiving awards for doing what you are supposed to do." Mourning believes that every person has an obligation to do something to make the world a better place and that the world would be completely different if more people fulfilled that obligation. He quoted Muhammad Ali: "Service to others is the rent you pay on Earth."

Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time rushing leader who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame later this year, presented the Legends Leadership Award to Derek Harper. Harper was the point guard for some great Dallas teams in the 1980s but he readily acknowledged that he "owes Mark (Aguirre) money" because all of the Mavs from that era know that "we lived off of Mark," one of the most underrated forwards in pro basketball history.

Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman presented the Pioneer Award to Rolando Blackman, who was born in Panama City but raised in New York City. Blackman praised his "great, cerebral teammates" who helped him to be so successful. Blackman said that he is known as a deadeye shooter (the four-time All-Star owns a .493 career field goal percentage) but that many people don't understand that teamwork played a big role in that success; his teammates set good screens and delivered their passes on time and on target. Blackman said that this lesson applies to life in general because "We really don't do anything by ourselves."

Three-time All-Star and two-time Sixth Man of the Year Detlef Schrempf presented the Humanitarian Award to Sam Perkins, who seemed to be truly surprised and humbled. Perkins thought that he was just going to attend the Brunch until he found out shortly before he traveled to Dallas that he would in fact be one of the honorees. Mourning mentioned how difficult it is for him to accept that his playing days are over but Perkins joked that he can deal with this because he is not the oldest retired player in the room: there are "cats, cougars and mountain lions," so Mourning and Perkins are just starting out down that trail. Perkins said that he is more of an "honorable mention" than a true legend when compared to some of the all-time greats present at the brunch.

Bill Walton presented the ABC (Athletics, Business, Communities) Award to James Donaldson, a one-time All-Star with Dallas who previously had been Walton's teammate with the Clippers in both San Diego and Los Angeles. The massive Donaldson--listed at 7-2, 275 pounds during his playing days--was born in England and after 14 NBA seasons he finished his playing career in Europe before returning to the United States to open a thriving physical therapy business.

Magic Johnson presented the Career Achievement Award to his long-time friend Mark Aguirre, noting that Aguirre still holds the Maverick single season scoring average record (29.5 ppg, 1983-84). Johnson applauded Mourning for his charitable work before turning his attention to Aguirre and the other Maverick award winners, declaring, "What you've seen here this morning are some of the smartest guys to play basketball." Johnson added, "We (Johnson's L.A. Lakers) used to hate to play Dallas" because the Mavericks executed their offense better than any other team in the league.

Aguirre seemed to be truly overwhelmed by the whole event, gushing that he had no idea about the extent of Mourning's philanthropic endeavors or about some of the worthwhile projects being led by the other honorees. Aguirre expressed his desire to become more involved in those activities and offer whatever support that he can. He also praised the "incredible mentors" who helped him along the way, specifically mentioning legendary DePaul Coach Ray Meyer. Aguirre revealed that Meyer taught him how to perfect Oscar Robertson's trademark one handed jumper so that he could always keep defenders guessing about the timing and release point of the shot. Most of the speakers echoed Mourning's call that we should all be givers and not just takers but Aguirre admitted that he "took" a lot of ideas during his playing days: besides Robertson's shot, Aguirre also "stole" Alex English's runner and Bernard King's patented spin move. Aguirre reminisced about playing an old Mattel NBA game as a child and said that he is proud to pass on to his daughters knowledge about the history of the game and the feats accomplished by his heroes, including Oscar Robertson and Bill Russell.

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posted by David Friedman @ 3:39 PM

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Thursday, February 05, 2009

NBA TV Panel Weighs in on Kobe Versus LeBron

I just posted my skill set-based take on the differences between Kobe Bryant's 61 point game at MSG and LeBron James' 52-11-10 performance there (2/6/09 edit: the NBA has taken a rebound away from James, so he officially had a 52-11-9 performance); prior to this season I explained why I still give Bryant a slight edge over James for the title of best player in the NBA. So I listened with great interest to NBA TV's GameTime program as Kenny Smith, Eric Snow and Alonzo Mourning compared Bryant to James (for what it's worth, host Marc Fein chose Bryant, citing his defense and his superior outside shot).

Mourning said that he is partial to defense and so he chose Bryant without hesitation: "Defensively he can have a tremendous impact on the game and offensively he can create his shot at any time. He doesn't need anybody else to hit shots to open up the offensive opportunities for him. He can create a shot any time that he wants to and I think that Boston exposed the weakness of LeBron last year: if you shut down one part of his game, keep him out of the paint and force him to shoot jump shots, then it is going to be a lot tougher night for him, as opposed to Kobe--he can put the ball in the basket any time he wants to." Regular 20 Second Timeout readers will immediately recognize that Mourning emphasized precisely the point that I have been making about Bryant and James for quite some time now; "stat gurus" ignore this, some fans don't want to hear it and perhaps such talk does not make my site as "popular" as the ones with flashy pie charts and "cool" graphics but people who understand basketball analytically see the game the way that I have been describing it here.

In fairness to James, he has improved tremendously on defense since he came into the league and I consider him an All-Defensive Team caliber player now, so Mourning's criticisms of James' defense may be a bit harsh. That said--and contrary to what many fans and non-experts seem to believe--the extra .9 bpg that James averages compared to Bryant does not make James a better defensive player than Bryant. It is interesting that some of Bryant's critics contend that Bryant is the "prettier" or "flashier" player but that James is more skilled, because the reality is the opposite: James has more highlight dunks and more weakside blocked shots but he is neither a more versatile scorer nor a better defender than Bryant--and the latter was shown during the last head to head matchup when Bryant was the primary defender on James for almost the entire game, while James only took the primary defensive duties on Bryant late in the contest. James is a very good defender now and he may be a more athletic defender than Bryant at this stage of their careers but Bryant is still a wilier and more complete defender.

Fein then turned to Smith, apparently expecting him to be an advocate for James, and tried to give Smith some ammunition by noting that James had a triple double along with his big scoring night in New York, while Bryant had three assists and no rebounds. Smith retorted with the old line about "lies, damned lies and statistics" and made it clear that those numbers have no bearing on his thought process. Smith declared, "Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player on the planet, bar none." Smith cited Bryant's "intangibles," including the "fear factor" that Bryant inspires in opponents and Bryant's ability to raise his teammates' play to a championship level. Smith then added something that would be easy to misconstrue if you did not listen carefully: Smith said that for the way that he played as a point guard, it would have been easier for him to play with James because of the way that James runs the floor and because of the way that James drives and kicks to three point shooters. Smith did not say that James is a better teammate than Bryant, merely that James' style would have meshed with Smith's better than Bryant's (and I consider that debatable, because spot up shooter Derek Fisher won three rings playing with Bryant, so Smith could have fit into that role much the same way that he did while playing in Houston). Smith concluded that if he were a general manager trying to build a championship team that he would take Bryant over James without hesitation, a view immediately seconded by Mourning, who noted that Bryant brings an element of championship experience to the table that James does not have. Smith added that Bryant showed the value of that championship experience when he took over in the fourth quarter of the gold medal game in last summer's Olympics.

Snow went last and as someone who not only played with James but is still technically a member of the Cavaliers one would expect him to make the case for James. Instead, Snow showed admirable objectivity by saying, "I think that Kobe Bryant is the better player (and) the way I see it is like what Kenny said: it's the intangibles. I think there was a time in LeBron's career when he just wanted to be the best player on the team. (Only) last season was his focus more, 'I want to be the best player in the league.' I think Kobe has more of the intangibles from day one 'I want to be the best ever' and then it comes out and you see the work that he puts in in doing that. It's been like that from day one, so when I see LeBron James go and spend time with Kobe Bryant (as members of Team USA), then come back and you see a totally different work ethic now you see that this guy (Bryant) is a little ahead of LeBron because he's made LeBron James realize 'I've got to take my game to another level.'" To a man, the coaching staff and players from Team USA all repeatedly said that Bryant set the tone for the team from day one with his workout and practice habits, so Snow's comments just reinforce that point and also carry the added weight of coming from someone who obviously has firsthand knowledge of James' thought process and work habits.

Smith recalled an interview that James did early in his career during which James candidly admitted that he did not have Bryant's "killer instinct." Smith was surprised by that statement because he does not think that Bryant or Michael Jordan would have ever said such a thing about another player (whether or not it was true).

The segment concluded with Mourning saying that James is still maturing while Bryant is already there at the peak of his game and Smith making the analogy that James is like a cake that has been in the oven for a little while: it smells good and you can peek in the oven and see that it is almost finished.

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posted by David Friedman @ 2:25 AM

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