20 Second Timeout

Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones, and Terry Rozier Arrested as Part of a Wide-Ranging, Two-Pronged Federal Illegal Gambling Investigation

Three people with NBA connections--Hall of Fame player/Portland coach Chauncey Billups, former player Damon Jones, and current player Terry Rozier--have been arrested by the FBI in connection with a widespread, years-long, two-pronged probe into illegal gambling that allegedly involved multiple Mafia families, including Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese. The NBA placed Billups and Rozier on leave. Tiago Splitter will be Portland's coach until further notice. Billups, Jones, Rozier, and the other people who have been arrested and charged are innocent until proven guilty, but it is important to understand what is being alleged and the wider implications if the allegations are true.

One prong of the allegations is that the Mafia paid Billups and Jones to act as "face cards" to lure wealthy individuals to high-stakes poker games that were rigged with elaborate, sophisticated technology. This allegation does not appear to have a wider implication for the NBA; if Billups and Jones are guilty, then their NBA careers are over and they will face legal consequences, but their alleged activities had no connection to the NBA beyond the fact that being associated with the NBA made Billups and Jones wealthy enough and well known enough to be useful for the Mafia.

The second prong of the allegations is that the Mafia paid Jones and Rozier to provide insider information for use on wagering. The second prong is connected with the Jontay Porter matter. The NBA banned Jontay Porter for life in 2024 after he pleaded guilty to prematurely leaving two NBA games so that "under" prop bets would win. Porter is the first NBA player banned for violating gambling rules since Jack Molinas, who the NBA banned for his role in the infamous point shaving scandal that almost destroyed college basketball. Molinas was selected to play in the 1954 NBA All-Star Game, but was replaced by Andy Phillip and Molinas never played again in the NBA. 

In 2007, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felony charges pertaining to wire fraud and transmitting wagers related to games that he officiated. Despite widespread speculation, in depth investigations by both the federal government and the NBA produced no evidence that Donaghy point shaved or fixed games. In my recap of the Donaghy scandal, I warned about the dangers of legalized gambling: 

...the advent of widespread, legalized betting on NBA games opens up the potential for a large number of problems; as the ESPN writer noted, citing some research done on this issue, the more money that is added to this situation the greater the likelihood for wrongdoing and scandal. Just look at the recent Anthony Davis melodrama; is he going to play, is he not going to play, is he going to play hard, is the team going to play him in the fourth quarter--there are numerous ways for one or more unscrupulous parties to manipulate the point spreads for New Orleans' Pelicans' games. Then you have the issue of rest (or "load management," the new catchphrase for sitting out otherwise healthy players), not to mention the issue of tanking. What if someone is able to get the inside scoop about which stars are going to rest for which games, or which teams decided to tank 10 games before the general public could tell that those teams are tanking? The NBA's recent embrace of widespread legalized gambling is fraught with peril. 

The Porter case and the allegations against Jones and Rozier are exactly the type of situations that I warned about. Legalized gambling is a major threat not just to the NBA but to professional (and college) sports in general, as Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder noted decades ago:

Gambling should be made difficult for the average man. It should be something he budgets to do once or twice a year. Vegas was best when it was hardest to reach.

You see, it isn't the two or three percent, the house edge, that beats you. Otherwise, people would only lose two or three percent, and so what? It's the psychology. A guy goes to a casino. He wins $500, he's ecstatic. He goes home, buys his wife a present, springs for a night out. Fine. Now he goes back. This time he loses $500. O.K., altogether he's even. But does he quit $500 down the way he did $500 up? No. He takes another $500 out of the bank. And now he's pressing, so he blows that and borrows $500. Now he's out $1,500, and this is a guy who only makes 20 to 25 grand a year. He goes home, gets into his wife's checking account. 

This is what happens when gambling is too accessible. Everybody gets hurt but the casino. The guy can't buy the new summer suit or the new shoes for his wife. He lets the tune-up go. The stores are hurt, the restaurant, the gas station. This is the kind of stuff you'll start to see soon at Atlantic City.

And if they legalized sports betting, the little guy would be just as dead. We'd find a way to beat you. Right now, if we—me, anybody—tried to bet more than $50,000 on any game, we'd have a hard time. And when you only got $50 riding, you can't pay enough to fix a game. Put a pencil to it. But with legalized gambling, there'd be so much money bet you could get down a million or more on one game. So now it's worth it to pay for a fix, isn't it? And that's easy. You don't need the quarterback. Just gimme the center. Gimme the referee. All I'd need is one offside at the right time. You don't even need to get a guy to throw it for you. Suppose we just pay a big star $50,000 to stay home with the flu? Nobody ever thought of that before, did they?

I don't buy the argument that behavior and morality cannot be legislated and that people simply have to be responsible for their decisions; gambling has been proven to be addictive, so making an addictive activity easily accessible to the majority of the population will inevitably lead not only to scandals but also to a public health crisis, even if the ramifications of that public health crisis are not immediately apparent. A lot of people are losing a lot of money that they cannot afford to lose and that they would not be losing if gambling were not so widely accessible, and this is going to destroy families. Ultimately, we will all pay for this looming public health crisis, both financially and emotionally as the damage ripples throughout society. 

I also don't buy the argument that widespread legalized gambling makes gambling easier to monitor and regulate; in contrast, and as Snyder noted, widespread legalized gambling incentivizes cheating while also making cheating harder to detect. In addition to a public health crisis compounded by honest gamblers losing money because of point shaving and other shenanigans, we have already seen and heard about threats made against athletes by gamblers who lost money because of how well (or how poorly) athletes performed. Will it take someone injuring or killing an athlete over a wager for society to understand the dangers?

I am not suggesting that all wagering should be banned, but I think that wagering should be much more restricted than it is, and I think that sports leagues and their media partners should not be in the business of promoting wagering. Of course, the reforms that I am proposing are unlikely to happen because the leagues and their media partners are making a lot of money off of this misery and they will not voluntarily give up that money.  

Labels: Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones, FBI, gambling, Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, NBA, Terry Rozier, Tim Donaghy

posted by David Friedman @ 8:52 PM

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Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inducts 13 Member 2024 Class, Including Vince Carter and Jerry West

The 2024 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony was originally scheduled for the weekend of August 16-17, but was shifted to the weekend of October 12-13 on a one-time basis after a basketball-packed summer that included Team USA winning the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. 

The Class of 2024 includes 13 inductees, eight of whom have strong NBA ties: players Dick Barnett, Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Michael Cooper, and Walter Davis, plus contributors Doug Collins, Herb Simon, and Jerry West. This year's other five inductees are Seimone Augustus, Harley Redin, Bo Ryan, Charles Smith (a Louisiana high school coach, not the former NBA player) and Michele Timms. 

As usual, this report will focus on the inductees who have NBA connections.

Billups led off the proceedings, and he was presented by Tina Thompson and his Detroit teammate Ben Wallace. His Detroit Coach Larry Brown was also supposed to present him, but Brown was unable to attend the ceremony. Billups noted that his grandmother had dreamed of someone in the family doing something that would establish the family name in a positive light. He said that his father Ray was his first coach/role model. 

It is obvious that playing for five different teams in his first six NBA seasons both stung and inspired Billups, who was the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. Billups played 51 games for the Boston Celtics as a rookie before they traded him to Toronto, and he lasted just 29 games in Toronto before landing in Denver. He played 58 games for Denver in parts of two seasons before being shipped to Minnesota. Billups credited Minnesota Coach Flip Saunders with being the first NBA coach who believed in him. Billups said that during his time in Minnesota he received point guard mentoring from Terrell Brandon and general mentoring from Sam Mitchell, who later became the 2007 NBA Coach of the Year and is currently a commentator on NBA TV and SiriusXM NBA Radio.

Billups enjoyed two solid seasons in Minnesota before signing with the Detroit Pistons as a free agent. That decision put Billups' career on a Hall of Fame arc, as he led the Pistons to six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances (2003-08), two NBA Finals appearances (2004-05) and one NBA title (2004). Billups earned the 2004 NBA Finals MVP as his Pistons beat the favored but injury-riddled L.A. Lakers 4-1. Billups recalled that in those days the Pistons called themselves "The Best Five Alive" and they did not believe that any team could beat them. 

Billups said that his parents inspired him while laying a solid foundation in life for him and his siblings. Speaking directly to his three daughters--who all attended the event--Billups said, "Legacy is not something you leave for someone. It is something you leave in someone."

Ty Lue--who coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA title--encouraged Billups to become an NBA coach, telling Billups that the job is stressful but that he will love it even though he will gain weight and have bags under his eyes from watching so much game film/video. Billups acknowledged that everything Lue told him about coaching turned out to be true. Billups has a career 81-165 record in three seasons as Portland's coach, but he declared that he will be a winner as a coach just like he was a winner as a player. Billups thanked the coaches who helped him become a great player, and he mentioned that no coach pushed him harder than Larry Brown, who helmed Detroit's 2004 championship team. Billups concluded by thanking his grandmother for her prayers, and he said that her prayers came true in terms of him putting respect on the Billups name.

Herb Simon, who purchased the Indiana Pacers with his brother Melvin in 1983, is the longest serving NBA team owner. He was presented by Larry Bird, Tamika Catchings, and Reggie Miller. Simon, who looks, moves, and acts significantly younger than his age, declared that he is "excited as ever" for the start of the NBA season on October 23, which will be his 90th birthday. Simon's favorite part of owning the Pacers is how the team brings his family together, and he proudly noted that all eight of his children attended this ceremony.

Simon said that his three presenters represent almost the entire time span that he has owned the Pacers (and the WNBA's Indiana Fever). He said of Miller, "You epitomize everything it is to be a Pacer." Miller spent his entire 18 season NBA career with the Pacers. Simon noted that Catchings brought him his only championship when she led the Fever to the 2012 WNBA title. Simon declared to Bird, "You are a winner at everything you do."  During his tenure with the Pacers, Bird won the Coach of the Year award (1998) and the Executive of the Year award (2012). Bird also selected Kevin Pritchard as his successor to run the team, and Simon indicated that Pritchard's moves are a major reason that he is so excited about the upcoming NBA season. 

Returning to the family theme as he finished his speech, Simon pointed to his niece Cynthia A. Simon Skjodt in the crowd and said, "If ever an award deserved two names this one deserves it, so in closing I want to dedicate this recognition to the memory of my brother Mel." 

I had never heard of Charles Smith, a Louisiana high school coach, before he received this honor. What struck me most about his story and his speech is that he has lived a life dedicated to service. He had opportunities to pursue fame and glory by coaching college basketball, but he stayed grounded in his roots and taught his students not only the game of basketball but the game of life. To this day, he is still a math teacher and a school bus driver at Peabody High School.

Jerry West is the first three-time inductee, going in this time as a contributor after previously being honored as a player (1980) and as a member of Team USA's 1960 Olympics team (2010). West, who passed away on June 12, 2024 at the age of 86, was presented by Rick Welts, Bob McAdoo, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Pat Riley, Jamaal Wilkes, Vlade Divac, Del Harris, and Michael Cooper. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pau Gasol, and Shaquille O'Neal were listed as presenters for West in the Hall of Fame's official press release, but they did not attend the ceremony.

Jerry West's son Jonnie spoke on his behalf. Jonnie noted that his father was obsessed with winning, and "The truth is, my dad would have struggled to accept all this recognition. He had a habit of tuning out all of the praise and hearing only criticism. But I'm here today to talk about how good he was at his job, whether he likes it or not, because Jerry Alan West was an overlooked kid from little Chelyan, West Virginia who is now a Hall of Famer for a historic third time."

Jonnie described a man who was so competitive that if he made a hole in one he would be upset about how the ball rolled into the hole. Everyone who is successful in life is competitive to some extent, but there is a difference between being competitive and being obsessed with competition, and there are a select few who are obsessed with competition. It is clear from Jonnie's descriptions and from all that is publicly known about his father that Jerry West--like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant--had an obsession with competition that few other people have.

Jerry had a tremendous eye for talent, and he had the courage of his convictions. He drafted Vlade Divac at a time when it had not yet become popular to draft European players--and Divac rewarded this faith by having a Hall of Fame career. Yet, when the opportunity arose to draft a promising 17 year old Kobe Bryant, West traded Divac to Charlotte for the necessary draft pick. Jonnie asserted, with pride but also justification, that Jerry West's nearly simultaneous acquisitions of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant may have been the most impactful back to back moves of any executive in sports history. 

Jonnie did not mention the contentious nature of his father's departure from a Lakers organization to which he contributed so much, but it must be said that the rift between Jerry West and the Lakers is not only sad but it reflects poorly on the Lakers--and it is likely not a coincidence that the Lakers were a lot more successful with Jerry West in the fold than with Jerry West in exile. Jonnie pointed out that after his father left the Lakers he helped build the Memphis Grizzlies into a 50 win squad after the team had previously never won more than 23 games in a season. Jerry West also made meaningful contributions to Golden State and to the L.A. Clippers, for whom he was working as a consultant at the time of his death. The Clippers issued a statement describing West as the "personification of basketball excellence."

Jonnie noted that despite his father's obsession with competition, he also maintained compassion and connection in his interactions with his co-workers. 

Just five years ago, Dick Barnett spoke powerfully at the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony about his Tennessee A&I squad that was the first team to win three straight collegiate championships, so it was poignant to see the wheelchair-bound Barnett unable to speak at his own induction. Barnett's teammate Bill Bradley described him as a two-way player who was an essential member of the Knicks' championship teams in 1970 and 1973. Barnett's signature move was his "Fall back, baby" jump shot, with that trademark phrase signifying that his team can fall back on defense because he was sure that he would make the shot.

Doug Collins earned four NBA All-Star selections, but he joins the Hall of Fame not as a player but as a contributor. Like West, Collins distinguished himself in multiple roles during a long basketball career, excelling as a player, coach, and broadcaster. His Philadelphia 76ers teammate Julius Erving said of Collins, "I never played with a guy whose feet and hands were so quick. That quickness was also a part of his mind, and his heart and his energy. He was one of the greatest players I ever had as a teammate." Grant Hill said, "Doug was the best coach I had in the NBA." Grant Hill, Billy Cunningham, and Jerry Reinsdorf served as presenters for Collins.

Collins brought a basketball on stage with him, and declared that everyone assembled should think about that basketball: "Eight pounds of air, and what it has done for all of our lives." During his speech, Collins described himself as a storyteller, and he told many stories in a speech that lasted for nearly 30 minutes. In theory, there is a time limit for each speech, but in practice it is rare for anyone to be given the hook, because these speeches are a chance for these inductees to frame how history will remember them. Collins was a member of the 1972 Team USA squad that was robbed of Olympic gold by what Collins rightly term "political" reasons, and he never won an NBA championship as a player or as a coach, so his time on stage clearly had great meaning for him as an opportunity to talk about what he learned and what he felt during his basketball journey. 

Collins, like West, is the ultimate basketball junkie/basketball purist, as anyone who followed his career knows very well. Collins declared, "I've never been afraid to fail," and he emphasized that young people should understand that failure is a way to grow. His passion for the game is obvious and contagious, from his description of playing for Coach Will Robinson at Illinois State through his recounting of the 1972 Olympics to his statement that the premature end of his NBA career due to injury "broke my heart." 

Collins transitioned from playing to broadcasting, and then Jerry Reinsdorf hired Collins to coach the Chicago Bulls after being struck by how well Collins analyzed the game on TV. Collins noted, "You're always being evaluated." Collins posted a 442-407 regular season record with the Bulls, the Detroit Pistons, the Washington Wizards, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

I enjoyed Collins' recollections of the players he played with and against, and the challenges he faced during his injury-riddled NBA career. Collins described seeing Erving for the first time, at the Maurice Stokes Benefit that used to be held annually at Kutsher's Country Club. Collins said that while he was warming up he heard a buzz in the crowd, and then he saw Erving walk on the court holding a basketball in each of his huge hands. Erving jumped up, dunked one basketball and then dunked the other basketball. Collins recalled thinking that he was playing the wrong sport!

There were some murmurs from the crowd as Collins' speech approached the 30 minute mark, and Collins hearkened back to Jimmy Valvano's legendary ESPYs speech when Valvano dismissed the blinking light that indicated that his time to speak was up. Collins closed by thanking his family members individually--including his grandchildren, children, and wife--and he stated that he had followed Coach Robinson's advice to never leave home without a basketball. That advice served him well, and carried Collins all the way to the Hall of Fame!

Bo Ryan spent his entire college coaching career in the state of Wisconsin. He was presented by Roy Williams. Jim Calhoun, who was supposed to be his other presenter, took ill and was not able to attend. Ryan spoke the line of the night: "The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The meaning of life is to give it away." He praised Williams and Calhoun for embodying that ideal.

Seimone Augustus is one of the greatest female basketball players ever. Her speech was noteworthy because she recited most of it in poetic form, and because she stated that she plans to be successful enough in her post-playing career to be inducted a second time. Harley Redin was inducted posthumously for his significant contributions to the women's game. Michele Timms is still one of my favorite female basketball players of all-time because of her high basketball IQ, her deft passing, and her grit; she is a pioneer of the modern women's professional game who did not post gaudy WNBA statistics but who had a major impact on team success both as a professional and as a member of the Australian national team.

Younger fans may not know about Walter Davis, but if you followed college and pro basketball in the 1970s and 1980s then you will never forget the smooth, graceful style of "The Greyhound." Julius Erving, who could be termed the poet laureate of the NBA because of his ability to succinctly and vividly describe the essence of a player's greatness, said of Davis, "A player who was not only skilled, but made other players better. He was poetry in motion." Davis was presented by David Thompson, Bob McAdoo, Jerry Colangelo, Roy Williams, Charlie Scott, and Bobby Jones. Davis' daughters attended the ceremony and provided brief recorded remarks but did not give a live speech.

Michael Cooper's career does not fit the traditional statistical profile for a Hall of Famer because he was not a high scorer nor was he a perennial All-Star; in fact, he never made the All-Star team, though he did earn the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year award plus eight straight selections to the All-Defensive Team (1981-88). However, Cooper was a very important player on five championship teams (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-88) as a member of the L.A. Lakers before coaching the L.A. Sparks to two WNBA titles (2001-02). He was a versatile player who could play three positions--point guard, shooting guard, small forward--at both ends of the court.

Cooper's presenters were Magic Johnson, Pat Riley, and Lisa Leslie. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was not able to attend. During his speech, Cooper mentioned that he was raised by his grandmother and extended family members. His high school coach cut him twice, but taught him a lifelong lesson that passion for sports goes hand in hand with devotion to God. Cooper gave tribute to Jerry West, who drafted him for the Lakers: "He was a friend and a mentor. I owe him more than he could ever understand, and I miss him more than I can ever express." Cooper said that winning the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award in 1986 meant a lot to him, and he pledged to use his platform to give back to the game and the world that has given so much to him.

Vince Carter is probably the 2024 inductee who is most familiar to younger fans, as Carter retired from the NBA in 2020 after playing for a record 22 seasons. He initially achieved fame for his spectacular dunks--and the signature moments of his career include winning the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest and posterizing Frederic Weis during the 2000 Olympics--but Carter also won the 1999 Rookie of the Year award before earning eight straight All-Star selections (2000-07). After being traded to Orlando, Carter began the transition from star player to role player, a subject that I discussed with him after an Orlando-Indiana game in 2010.

Julius Erving and Carter's cousin Tracy McGrady presented Carter. Befitting a player who had the longest career in NBA history, Carter spoke for nearly 30 minutes, longer than any other inductee other than Collins. Carter began by paying tribute to his connection with McGrady, a bond formed when they found out that they were related not long before they became teammates in Toronto. Then, Carter talked about Erving: "We all have heroes, and I am thankful to have my hero up here." Carter lived out the dream held by most basketball fans in the 1970s and 1980s to not only meet Erving but to have a meaningful connection with him; interviewing Erving on the phone, meeting/interviewing him at the 2005 ABA Reunion, and speaking with him at other All-Star Weekends are highlights that will never be topped during my basketball journey.

Carter thanked various family members, friends, and teammates who helped and supported him. Carter talked about the enduring influence that his University of North Carolina experience had not just on his career but on his life, because he always considered himself a student-athlete as opposed to an athlete-student. He reviewed his NBA career in reverse chronological order, beginning at the end with the Atlanta Hawks and then concluding at the beginning with the Toronto Raptors. Although the Basketball Hall of Fame differs from some Halls of Fame that primarily identify each inductee with a specific team, Carter stated emphatically his preference to enter the Hall of Fame as a Raptor.

Erving appeared as a presenter for the first time since 2021. The official records for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame presenters only go back to 2001 (which is an odd limitation for an organization that is supposed to be dedicated to preserving and honoring basketball history), but there is good reason to believe that no one has been a Hall of Fame presenter more often than Julius Erving. A person must be a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee to be a presenter. Erving was inducted in 1993.

Here is the list of each of the 18 times that I can confirm that Erving has been a Hall of Fame presenter:

Julius Erving as Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Presenter

1994: None
1995: Presented Cheryl Miller
1996: None
1997: Presented Alex English
1998-2000: None
2001: Presented Moses Malone
2002-2003: None
2004: Presented Clyde Drexler
2005: None
2006: Presented Dominique Wilkins
2007-2010: None
2011: Presented Artis Gilmore
2012: Presented Katrina McClain, Ralph Sampson and the All-American Red Heads
2013-2014: None
2015: Presented John Calipari
2016: Presented Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal
2017: None
2018: Presented Maurice Cheeks and Charlie Scott
2019: Presented Chuck Cooper and Bobby Jones
2020: None
2021: Bill Russell
2022: None
2023: None
2024: Vince Carter

Articles About Recent Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies:

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's 2023 Class Includes Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, and Gregg Popovich (Class of 2023)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's 2022 Class Includes NBA Players Lou Hudson, Tim Hardaway, and Manu Ginobili (Class of 2022)  

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Welcomes 15 New Members and Honors Bill Russell a Second Time (Class of 2021)

Kobe Bryant Headlines the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (Class of 2020) 

The Basketball Hall of Fame Welcomes A Diverse Class of 12 Inductees (Class of 2019)

Thoughts and Observations About the 2018 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony (Class of 2018)

Labels: Basketball Hall of Fame, Bo Ryan, Chauncey Billups, Dick Barnett, Doug Collins, Harley Redin, Herb Simon, Jerry West, Julius Erving, Michael Cooper, Seimone Augustus, Vince Carter, Walter Davis

posted by David Friedman @ 2:03 PM

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Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's 2024 Class Includes Dick Barnett, Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Doug Collins, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Herb Simon, and Jerry West

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's 2024 class includes 13 inductees, eight of whom have strong NBA ties: players Dick Barnett, Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Michael Cooper, and Walter Davis, plus contributors Doug Collins, Herb Simon, and Jerry West. West joins Lenny Wilkens as the only three-time inductees, as West was previously inducted as a player and as a member of the 1960 Team USA Olympic team. This year's other five inductees are Seimone Augustus, Harley Redin, Bo Ryan, Charles Smith (a Louisiana high school coach, not the former NBA player) and Michele Timms. At 20 Second Timeout I focus on the NBA game, but I will note that Timms is one of my favorite female basketball players of all-time (along with Cynthia Cooper, who I interviewed during the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend). Timms was a heady, scrappy player whose impact on winning was greater than her individual numbers might suggest.

The eight inductees who are connected with the NBA have impacted basketball from the 1950s through today.

During the 2019 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Barnett narrated a powerful tribute to his school--Tennessee A&I--and his college coach, John McClendon. Barnett led Teneessee A&I to three straight NAIA championships (1957-59) before enjoying a successful 14 season NBA career that included winning two NBA titles with the New York Knicks (1970, 1973) and earning one NBA All-Star selection (1968). Barnett averaged a career-high 23.1 ppg in the 1965-66 season, and he finished his career with 15,358 points (15.8 ppg).

Billups won the 2004 NBA Finals MVP as his Detroit Pistons defeated the L.A. Lakers, who had won three straight championships (2000-02) with the powerful Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant duo leading the way. He earned the nickname "Mr. Big Shot" because of how often he rose to the occasion in clutch situations. Billups ranks sixth in ABA/NBA history in free throw percentage (.897). Billups was not a dominant player or a perennial MVP candidate, but he earned five All-Star selections, three All-NBA selections, and two All-Defensive Team selections. Also, every NBA Finals MVP who is eligible for Hall of Fame induction has been inducted except for Cedric Maxwell.

Carter holds the record for most ABA/NBA seasons played (22), breaking the mark of 21 previously held by Moses Malone (19 NBA seasons, two ABA seasons), Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, and Dirk Nowitzki. After Carter retired, I analyzed his Hall of Fame candidacy:

Should Carter be selected as a Hall of Famer? The answer to that question depends on how you think about the Hall of Fame. If you think that the Hall of Fame should only welcome the absolute best of the best, then you would likely think that Carter is not worthy. Carter is not one of the 50 greatest players of all-time, and may in fact not be one of the top 100 greatest players of all-time. However, if you think that the Hall of Fame should welcome players who played at a high level for an extended period even if they never reached MVP level then Carter easily meets that standard. Carter was no worse than a top 20-25 player for an eight to 10 year period, which is excellent peak value. He then spent an even longer period as a solid rotation player; those final seasons lowered his career per game averages, but should Carter's Hall of Fame resume be downgraded because he had great longevity compared to his peers whose bodies failed them at a younger age, or who were not able to adjust to a lesser role in order to stay in the league? Carter proved that he was a coachable player who was willing to help younger players, and he proved that there was more to his game than just eye-popping leaping ability. Carter's role in elevating (pun intended) pro basketball in Toronto, and his iconic dunks (both in games and in the Slam Dunk Contest) are intangibles that bolster his Hall of Fame candidacy.

Cooper won the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year award, and he made the All-Defensive Team for eight straight seasons (1981-88), including five First Team selections (1982, 1984-85, 1987-88). He was a key member of all five Showtime Lakers championships teams (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-88). Cooper was a prototype for what is now called a "3 and D" player; in addition to his defensive prowess he ranked in the top 10 in three point field goal percentage three times (1984, 1986-87), and he twice ranked second in the league in three point field goals made, albeit with numbers that do not look impressive in today's NBA (38 in 1984, 89 in 1987).

However, while Billups fits the Hall of Fame profile as a Finals MVP and multiple-time All-Star and Carter was a top 20-25 player for an extended time, Cooper's resume lacks such credentials. Thus, Cooper's induction raises more questions about what it means to be a Hall of Famer: it is one thing to determine that players such as Billups and Carter deserve Hall of Fame induction, but if Cooper--who never made the All-Star team, and never averaged more than 12 ppg, 6 apg or 4.5 rpg in a season--is a Hall of Famer then where is the line drawn? Should Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen be inducted as well? This is not meant to diminish the value that Cooper, Horry, and Bowen provided to multiple championship teams; the point is that at no time during their playing careers did any credible analyst seriously consider them to be Hall of Famers. With very few exceptions, Hall of Fame status meant, at a minimum, playing at an All-Star level for a sustained period. Cooper, Horry, and Bowen were tremendous role players who played alongside multiple players whose Hall of Fame credentials are beyond reproach, and those first ballot Hall of Famers likely could have won championships with other supporting casts, but one cannot picture Cooper, Horry, or Bowen being the first, second, or third best player on a championship contender.

I am not saying that Cooper should not be a Hall of Famer, and I am not trying to rain on his parade, but I am saying that the criteria for Hall of Fame induction should be clarified; the criteria seem to have evolved or shifted.

Davis was known as "The Greyhound" because of his graceful and smooth playing style. He won the 1978 Rookie of the Year award over Hall of Famer Bernard King, and Davis finished fifth in MVP voting that season as well. He earned two All-NBA Second Team selections (1978-79), and he was a six-time All-Star (1978-81, 1984, 1987). Prior to his NBA career, he was an excellent college player at North Carolina and an Olympic gold medalist in 1976.

Collins earned four All-Star selections in his injury-plagued eight season NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers before compiling a 442-407 record as an NBA head coach with Chicago, Detroit, Washington, and Philadelphia. He also established himself as one of the premier color commentators on NBA and FIBA telecasts. 

Herb Simon has owned the Indiana Pacers longer than any other owner has owned a team in NBA history. He co-owned the team with his brother Melvin from 1983 until Melvin died of cancer in 2009. Under Simon's ownership, the Pacers have reached the Eastern Conference Finals eight times (1994-95, 1998-2000, 2004, 2013-14) and the NBA Finals once (2000).

West is a Pantheon-level player who also coached the L.A. Lakers for three seasons (1977-79) before enjoying one of the most accomplished front office careers in NBA history, building Lakers teams that won eight NBA titles (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-88, 2000-02); although West left the Lakers after the 2000 season, it is fair to say that the Lakers would not have won their 2001 and 2002 championships had West not brought Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to L.A. West won the Executive of the Year award twice (1995 with the Lakers, 2004 with the Memphis Grizzlies). The dust jacket to Roland Lazenby's Jerry West biography asserts that West is "a man who has done more to shape basketball than anyone on the planet."

Labels: Basketball Hall of Fame, Chauncey Billups, Dick Barnett, Doug Collins, Herb Simon, Jerry West, Michael Cooper, Vince Carter, Walter Davis

posted by David Friedman @ 8:44 PM

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Twyman-Stokes Award Honors the Enduring Importance of Friendship and Character

Maurice Stokes passed away before I was born and I never had the opportunity to interview Jack Twyman (who passed away on May 30, 2012), so I do not have firsthand knowledge about either of them--but I know that both men are historically significant not just for their achievements on the court but also because of the way that their interconnected lives embody a tremendous triumph of the human spirit. Twyman, who was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983, was one of the NBA's greatest scorers in the 1950s and 1960s, averaging 19.2 ppg in his 11 year career and pouring in a career-high 31.2 ppg (second in the league to a rookie named Wilt Chamberlain) in 1959-60. Stokes, who was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, was one of the most overlooked and underrated players of all-time but the significance of his life story extends far beyond his considerable abilities as a basketball player: he made the All-Star team in each of the first three seasons of his NBA career as Twyman's teammate with the Rochester Royals (the franchise now known as the Sacramento Kings) but in the final game of his third season he suffered a head injury that soon led to permanent paralysis. Stokes, who was on course to become one of the greatest players in NBA history, was struck down before he even reached his prime; he faced massive medical bills and the daunting prospect of life as a physically disabled person but Twyman--then a newly married 23 year old with young children--stepped in, became Stokes' legal guardian and not only raised the money to provide for Stokes' medical care but also regularly visited Stokes and often had Stokes over for dinner. The part of the story that should not matter--but does matter considering our country's history of racism/racial discrimination--is that Twyman was white and Stokes was black. Twyman and Stokes remained close friends until Stokes passed away in 1970, 12 years after suffering that life-changing injury.

The NBA has just created the annual Twyman-Stokes Award to recognize the NBA's teammate of the year, as voted on by NBA players from a pool of finalists selected by NBA legends. NBA Commissioner David Stern says, "The Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award recognizes friendship and selflessness among teammates and celebrates the legacy of Jack and Maurice." This is a great initiative by the NBA to not only honor and preserve the memory of the wonderful Twyman-Stokes friendship but also to commend players who demonstrate strong character. Chauncey Billups is the inaugural winner of the award, finishing ahead of Shane Battier and Jason Kidd. Twyman's son Jay spoke at the award ceremony:

Dad truly felt that he was the one who benefited most from the relationship. He would visit Maurice nearly every day over that period. Also, Maurice would come to our house most Sundays for dinner, which was not a small undertaking for transporting a 6'8" 250‑pound man in and out of the hospital. Dad felt and we all feel that we gained so much from helping to care for Maurice. And here is Maurice Stokes, he was at the top of the NBA, a world‑class athlete one day, paralyzed and bed‑ridden the next, reduced to communicating through blinking his eyes. None of us can ever remember Maurice ever being down, and he always approached each day upbeat ready to fight for his recovery. I remember a poster growing up that Maurice prominently had hung above his bed. It read "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world." And that was his attitude. He was never down. And I think Maurice truly did feel blessed with all the support he received from so many, especially from our father.

Neither Twyman nor Stokes won an NBA championship but they are two of the greatest champions in NBA history and it is very appropriate that the NBA has named this prestigious award for them.

Labels: Chauncey Billups, Jack Twyman, Maurice Stokes

posted by David Friedman @ 2:25 AM

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Pistons are "Stuck" in Last Place

Joe Dumars is a Hall of Famer who won two NBA championships as a player and one championship as an executive; there is no doubt that he understands what it takes to win at the highest level, which makes his apparently undying belief in Rodney Stuckey all the more baffling: Dumars essentially got rid of three All-Stars (Chauncey Billups, Allen Iverson and Richard Hamilton) in order to hand the keys to the car to Stuckey, who has proceeded to drive the Pistons straight to the bottom of the standings. The Pistons missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons and they are currently 1-8, sitting in last place in the Central Division and ranking ahead of only the 0-7 Washington Generals--I mean Washington Wizards--among the league's 30 teams.

If you click here for NBA betting at Top Bet you will see that the oddsmakers think that even the Dwight Howard-less Orlando Magic have a better chance to win the NBA championship than the Pistons--and Stuckey has played a major role in Detroit's pathetic record: he shot .282 from the field while starting in all eight losses and, probably not coincidentally, the Pistons finally cracked the win column when he sat out the ninth game of the season due to illness.

Only four NBA franchises have won at least three championships in the past 25 years: the Lakers, the Bulls, the Spurs and the Pistons--but the Pistons are not likely to add to that total as long as Stuckey is the team's second highest paid player and a key member of their rotation.

Labels: Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars, Richard Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey

posted by David Friedman @ 6:30 AM

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2005 NBA Finals Review: San Antonio Outlasts Detroit

A slightly different version of this article was originally published at Suite101.com on July 14, 2005.

The NBA Draft has come and gone and summer league play is underway, but before we completely turn our attention to the 2005-06 season it is worthwhile to briefly examine the 2005 NBA Finals. After blowouts in the first four games, basketball fans were treated to a classic championship battle--in effect a three game mini-series for the title. San Antonio won "game one" on Robert Horry's clutch three pointer but Detroit countered by winning "game two" on the strength of 23 point by Rip Hamilton and 21 points with no turnovers (!) by Chauncey Billups, who channeled Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth when he memorably described Detroit's motto as "If it ain't rough, it ain't right." Detroit had come back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the series and then bounced back from Horry's heroics to knot matters once again. It had certainly been "rough" for Detroit and when the Pistons took a 48-39 lead in "game three" of the mini-series it seemed like it would turn out "right" for the defending champions--but Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili made all the big plays down the stretch and the San Antonio Spurs claimed their third title in seven years.

Sports are a second guesser's delight. Would Miami have won the title if Shaq and Wade were healthy? Did fatigue from the Miami series cause Detroit's slow start in the Finals? (the Pistons took three of four from the Spurs in the middle of the series and might have won four straight games if not for Horry's shot) Why on Earth did Rasheed Wallace leave open the guy who had been killing the Pistons the whole second half of game five--the guy whose nickname is "Big Shot Rob"--to shoot a three pointer when Detroit was up two with less than 10 seconds left? How good would the Lakers have been if Shaq had lost weight and willingly deferred to Kobe the way that he lost weight and willingly deferred to Wade? The first two questions are unanswerable, the third will cause Larry Brown, 'Sheed and Pistons' fans endless sleepless nights for years and the fourth sounds like the basis for a future article.

While second guessing is entertaining, sometimes it is important to stick to cold, hard facts--just the stats, ma'am, to paraphrase a famous line. The Finals stats make for some interesting reading. One team outscored the other by nearly two ppg, had more assists, more steals, more blocks, many more field goals made (248-216), a better field goal percentage, a better free throw percentage, fewer turnovers and was only outrebounded by .7 rpg. That same team had six players average at least 10 ppg, compared to four such players for the other team. If you think that the team with the gaudy stats was San Antonio then you were not paying attention to the Finals. So how did the Spurs win? They dominated Detroit from behind the three point arc, punctuated and symbolized by the one moment that will always be remembered from this series--Horry's game five dagger. San Antonio made 51 threes and shot .398 from that distance, compared to 18 and .240 by Detroit. San Antonio won so convincingly in this category that the Spurs could lose almost every other statistical category and still emerge victorious. Despite his roots as an ABA player and coach, Larry Brown is not a big fan of the three point shot that was made famous by that league and after looking at the 2005 Finals stats he probably likes it even less.

If Larry Brown returns to coach the Pistons in 2005-06 it will be interesting to see how the Pistons seek to narrow the "three point" gap--will they add more shooters to the roster or will they place more emphasis on reducing the three point accuracy of their opponents? This question brings to mind a memorable sequence in Shaquille O'Neal's ESPN reality show; during a road trip bonding session with his new Heat teammates, O'Neal said that Phil Jackson's coaching philosophy versus the Spurs was to single cover Duncan and not leave any shooters open, believing that they could not create their own shots and that Duncan would not have four monster games in a seven game series. Who will test that theory first against the Spurs--Shaq's Heat in the NBA Finals or Jackson and Kobe's Lakers in the Western Conference playoffs?

Labels: Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons, Manu Ginobili, Richard Hamilton, Robert Horry, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan

posted by David Friedman @ 2:31 AM

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2005 NBA Finals Preview: San Antonio versus Detroit

This article was originally published at Suite101.com on June 8, 2005.

The NBA Finals matchup of San Antonio versus Detroit should not be surprising to my readers. Detroit had a slightly tougher time with Miami than I expected, winning in seven games instead of six, and San Antonio beat Phoenix faster than I predicted, prevailing in five games instead of six, but we have arrived at the Finals confrontation that I envisaged in my April 21 First Round Playoff Preview article. Overall, my record is 9-5 in picking playoff series winners this season; in five instances I also correctly predicted the length of the series.

Let's take a closer look at the battle between the only franchises other than the Lakers to win titles since Michael Jordan ended his run in Chicago.

2005 NBA Finals

San Antonio (Western Conference Champion) vs. Detroit (Eastern Conference Champion)

Regular season records: San Antonio, 59-23; Detroit, 54-28

First Round result: San Antonio def. Denver, 4-1; Detroit def. Philadelphia, 4-1

Second Round result: San Antonio def. Seattle, 4-2; Detroit def. Indiana, 4-2

Conference Finals: San Antonio def. Phoenix, 4-1; Detroit def. Miami, 4-3

Head to Head: Tied, 1-1

Team Playoff Leaders:

Scoring--San Antonio: Tim Duncan (24.9 ppg); Detroit: Rip Hamilton (21.3 ppg)

Rebounding--San Antonio: Tim Duncan (11.7 rpg); Detroit: Ben Wallace (11.7 rpg)

Assists--San Antonio: Tony Parker (4.8 apg); Detroit: Chauncey Billups (6.6 apg)

Analysis/Prediction: The Detroit Pistons' playoff runs during the past several seasons have a James Bond-like quality to them--just when it seems that there is no escape they find a way out. The Pistons overcame a 3-1 deficit versus Orlando in the first round of the 2003 playoffs and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before getting blitzed 4-0 by New Jersey; last year in the first round Detroit gave away home court advantage to Milwaukee by losing game two before closing out the Bucks with three straight wins. Then, in the 2004 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Detroit trailed New Jersey 3-2; Detroit eventually advanced to the NBA Finals only after beating the two-time defending Eastern Conference Champions in New Jerseys in a close game six and then routing the Nets 90-69 in game seven. In the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals, Detroit lost game one to Indiana before taking four of the next five contests. This year Detroit trailed Indiana 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals before reeling off three straight wins. So, when Miami took a 3-2 lead in this year's Eastern Conference Finals and many people broke their legs jumping off of Detroit's bandwagon, the Pistons were probably thinking to themselves, "What's the big deal? We do this all the time." Reversing the order of what they did to New Jersey last year, Detroit won a game six blowout and a game seven nail biter to return to the NBA Finals, becoming the first team to win an Eastern Conference Finals game seven on the road since Julius Erving and Andrew "Boston Strangler" Toney led the Philadelphia 76ers to victory over the Celtics in the Boston Garden in 1982. Suffocating defense and resiliency are the trademarks of the Detroit Pistons. They do their best work when their backs are planted firmly against the wall; while they may seemingly give away a game early in a series, they simply will not beat themselves once they face elimination.

The Spurs' title chances seemed a little dicey at the start of the playoff; Tim Duncan had been hobbled by repeated ankle injuries and a hot Denver team stole home court advantage from San Antonio in game one of the first round. Since then the Spurs have rolled, taking four straight wins from Denver, beating Seattle 4-2 and completely dismantling Phoenix--the team with the NBA's best record--4-1 in the Western Conference Finals. Duncan's scoring average has risen steadily in the postseason--22.0 ppg versus Denver, 25.2 ppg against Seattle and 27.4 ppg in the Phoenix series. Other than his occasionally erratic free throw shooting he completely lives up to the nickname that Shaquille O'Neal gave him--"The Big Fundamental." It is easy to predict--but difficult to stop--what Duncan will do on offense: when he is not putting his defender in the "torture chamber" on the left block with jump hooks and power moves to the hoop, he likes the top of the key jumper and he has a deadly bank shot, particularly from the left wing. If his defender crowds him, he will drive to the hoop and finish with authority. Duncan also foils defensive pressure on his jumper by swinging the ball underneath the defender's arms and then going up for the shot, invariably drawing contact and earning two free throws. His footwork (on offense and defense) is balletic, he has tremendous hands and his rebounding and shot blocking numbers discredit the notion that he is not "athletic." Without question Duncan is the best individual player in the series. All-Star guard Manu Ginobili, who led Argentina to the gold medal in the Athens Olympics, ranks second on the Spurs in scoring and assists, third on the team in rebounds and leads the way in steals. He and backcourt mate Tony Parker are the only Spurs other than Duncan who average more than 9 ppg.

As I indicated in my preview of the Detroit-Miami series, Detroit does not have a superstar player but the Pistons' starting five of Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups is probably the best in the league. Foul trouble has limited Rasheed to 33.2 mpg, but the rest of the starters are averaging at least 38.8 mpg in the playoffs (no Spur is averaging more than Parker's 36.9 mpg). If you think that this heavy workload is going to wear down the Pistons, answer this: Did fatigue seem to affect Detroit's execution in the pressure-packed final minutes of game seven in Miami?

There are several excellent reasons to pick the Spurs to win this series, including home court advantage, more than a week's worth of rest leading up to the Finals, the brilliance of Tim Duncan and the electrifying Manu Ginobili. There were also good reasons to pick the Pacers in last year's Conference Finals, the Lakers in last year's Finals and the Heat in this year's Conference Finals--but Detroit won each of those series and the Pistons will win this series as well, repeating as champions by beating the Spurs in six games.

Labels: Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons, Manu Ginobili, Rip Hamilton, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan

posted by David Friedman @ 2:20 AM

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Kevin Durant Leads the Way as Team USA Wins FIBA World Championship for First Time Since 1994

FIBA World Championship MVP Kevin Durant capped off a spectacular tournament with a game-high 28 points plus five rebounds to carry Team USA to an 81-64 gold medal game victory over Turkey. Durant set Team USA FIBA World Championship records for points in a tournament (205) and scoring average (22.8 ppg) while shooting .556 from the field (including .456 from three point range) and .912 from the free throw line. In Team USA's 89-74 semifinal win versus Lithuania, Durant set a Team USA single game FIBA World Championship record with 38 points. The seemingly effortless way that Durant scored at will throughout this event was remarkable to watch and was reminiscent of how Brazilian legend Oskar Schmidt poured in points in FIBA play during his prime years.

I concluded my FIBA World Championship preview article with this statement:

Team USA can win the gold medal if they play smart and tenacious defense, force turnovers and score a lot of points in transition--but even if this team plays the best basketball that they are capable of playing they will probably have at least one or two close games; it should not surprise anyone if Team USA fails to win the FIBA World Championship.

Team USA followed the above prescription en route to posting a 9-0 record in the tournament but--as I expected--they had to survive a couple close games: they slipped by Brazil 70-68 in the third game of the preliminary round after the Brazilians missed a potentially tying shot at the buzzer and they trailed as late as midway through the second quarter in the quarterfinal game versus Russia before prevailing 89-79.

Team USA's defensive execution was inconsistent during the early part of the tournament but they used their depth, their athleticism and Durant's scoring punch to get victories. They hit their collective stride defensively in the elimination portion of the event but even at that stage I think that depth was an underrated factor in their success; while Durant was far and away the best player on Team USA, the other main players in the rotation were largely interchangeable (at least in terms of their overall impact in a FIBA setting): opposing teams could often hang with Team USA in the early going but when both teams went to their benches Team USA experienced little or no drop off while the opposing teams became significantly less effective.

After the 2008 Olympics, I authored a report card containing grades for each of Team USA's players. Here is how I explained my methodology:

Players are listed in order of minutes played because that statistic provides a hint about Coach Mike Krzyzewski's evaluation...It should go without saying--but I'll say it anyway--that it is not meaningful to compare a player's numbers in 40 minute games played under FIBA rules with his numbers in 48 minute games played under NBA rules...

The grades listed below represent how well a particular player filled his respective role on the team; obviously, some players had bigger roles than others, so a bench player's "B" does not mean the same thing as a starter's "B." Production when games were close is given a heavier weight than production that took place after the victories were already well in hand.

Using those same standards, here are my grades for the 2010 version of Team USA:

Kevin Durant (28.2 mpg, 22.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 13 steals, six blocked shots)

Durant led Team USA in scoring, three point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, he ranked second in both rebounding and steals and he tied for second in blocked shots. No opposing player had the right combination of foot speed and length to be able to guard him effectively; the only method that has a chance versus Durant is to play him very physically (a la Ron Artest in the first round of the 2010 NBA playoffs) and it is surprising that Team USA's opponents did not try that approach more consistently: frankly, while it is true that Durant made some very impressive one on one moves, it is stunning how often Team USA's opponents left Durant open for face up jumpers--particularly since Eric Gordon was the only other regular member of the rotation who was consistently making jump shots.

Grade: "A"

Chauncey Billups (23.1 mpg, 9.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.1 apg, 11 steals, zero blocked shots)

"Mr. Big Shot" looked like "Mr. Brick Shot" for much of this event: his .391 overall field goal percentage was the worst on the team and he fired up the second most three point attempts despite shooting just .318 (seventh on the team) from long range--and FIBA's "long range" (20 feet, six inches) is actually a midrange NBA jumper. As an All-Star and former NBA Finals MVP, Billups was supposed to be a stabilizing force for his younger, less experienced teammates but instead he seemed to be channeling the shot selection of his NBA teammate J.R. Smith; Billups attempted more than twice as many three pointers as two pointers, a ratio only approximated by Eric Gordon--but Gordon was this team's version of Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson off of the bench (particularly against weaker opponents), while Billups was misfiring from all angles regardless of how closely he was being guarded or how much time remained on the shot clock. Billups scored 19 points on 5-7 three point field goal shooting versus overmatched Angola but he had just four points and missed all five of his field goal attempts in the gold medal game versus Turkey. In the semifinal game versus Lithuania, Billups scored three points on 1-5 three point field goal shooting. Billups scored 15 points on 4-8 three point field goal shooting in the quarterfinal game versus Russia. One out of three may get you into the Baseball Hall of Fame but one good game out of three in the final stanza of this event when you are supposed to be one of the team's leaders is hardly impressive.

Billups ranked second on the team in scoring and assists, he had the best assist/turnover ratio among the team's primary ballhandlers and he played solid defense against bigger, slower opponents (though he struggled versus quick guards); those are the reasons that he started every game and played relatively heavy minutes but he was not nearly as efficient as he should have been as a scorer.

Grade: "B-/C+"

Derrick Rose (23.1 mpg, 7.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, 10 steals, three blocked shots)

Rose led the team in assists but after playing very well in the first four games of the preliminary round he slumped in the next four games, culminating in a scoreless performance versus Lithuania during which he played just 12 minutes and was benched for the entire fourth quarter. He struggled to make outside shots and could not find his way to the hoop as consistently or as effectively as Russell Westbrook did.

Grade: "C-"

Lamar Odom (22.0 mpg, 7.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, .4 apg, five steals, six blocked shots)

As I predicted in my preview article, Odom led Team USA in rebounding. Despite all of the talk about Odom's versatility, the reality is that the one skill set area in which he is significantly above average is rebounding. He is an erratic shooter (and therefore an inconsistent scorer) and his ballhandling decisions are at times questionable (leading to offensive fouls or other turnovers) but there is no doubt that he is a very good rebounder and he did yeoman's work for Team USA despite playing out of position as the starting center. One of Odom's best contributions to Team USA is that he attempted just four three pointers, making three of them; he is not a great outside shooter, so he showed good judgment with his shot selection.

ESPN's Fran Fraschilla heaped praise on Odom throughout the tournament, particularly during the final two games. There is no question that Odom played very well versus Lithuania (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Turkey (15 points, 11 rebounds); in those games he not only did excellent work on the boards but he emerged as the second scoring option behind Durant, connecting on drives, putbacks and cuts to the hoop. However, his 28 points in those two games nearly matches his scoring output in the first six games (36 points). Odom only had four total assists, though it must be noted that he made some outstanding outlet passes that fueled fastbreak scoring opportunities.

Odom is an excellent complementary player because he understands and accepts his role, something that proved to be as true when he played for Team USA as it is when he plays for the Lakers.

Grade: "B+"

Russell Westbrook (19.4 mpg, 9.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 12 steals, four blocked shots)

Westbrook ranked third on the team in scoring, assists and steals despite not starting a single game. There were extended stretches when he was Team USA's most effective guard. In contrast to Billups, Westbrook did not pad his stats against Angola but he scored in double figures in each of the final three games, though his two point field goal percentage versus Russia and Turkey was not great. Westbrook drew Fraschilla's ire sometimes for missing dunks or attempting flashy plays but overall he had a very positive impact off of the bench, providing a change of pace (literally and figuratively) that opposing teams could not match.

Grade: "B+"

Andre Iguodala (18.8 mpg, 5.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 16 steals, zero blocked shots)

Iguodala started every game at small forward and he emerged as the team's designated defensive stopper on the perimeter. Like Odom, he wisely limited his three point attempts (seven, making just two of them) and he pretty much restricted his shot attempts to dunks and layups. He led the team in steals and ranked fourth in rebounding. Iguodala is used to dominating the ball as an NBA player but he adjusted very well to being a complementary player for Team USA.

Grade: "B+"

Eric Gordon (17.6 mpg, 8.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg, .6 apg, eight steals, two blocked shots)

Gordon's main role on this team was to hit open jumpers, particularly from three point range, and he did an excellent job, ranking fourth on the team in scoring, second in three pointers made and second in three point shooting percentage despite not starting a game and ranking just seventh in minutes played. However, Gordon did most of his damage versus Tunisia (21 points) and Angola (17 points) while making very minimal contributions in the final three games, scoring six, three and zero points against Russia, Lithuania and Turkey respectively. He did what he was asked to do but his lack of production versus the top teams in the most important games lowers his grade.

Grade: "B-"

Rudy Gay (13.4 mpg, 7.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, .8 apg, nine steals, eight blocked shots)

Gay is the kind of athletic, versatile forward who is perfectly suited for FIBA play and that is why in my preview I suggested that he could be an X factor for Team USA. He started out strongly with double figure scoring efforts in the first two preliminary round games but he did not score in double figures again except for the Angola game. Minutes were a bit hard to come by for him at times because he could not match Durant's scoring or Odom's rebounding.

Grade: "B-"

Stephen Curry (10.6 mpg, 4.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, four steals, zero blocked shots)

I love watching Stephen Curry play and his father Dell Curry is one of my favorite non-superstar NBA players of all time--but it was quite predictable that Stephen Curry would have a small role for Team USA. As I have repeatedly stated in my articles about FIBA play, contrary to popular belief it is not necessary or desirable to stock Team USA's roster with players whose primary and/or exclusive skill is three point shooting; the FIBA three point shot is a midrange NBA shot anyway and it is much more important for Team USA's perimeter players to be able to defend and to be able to handle the ball against pressure than it is for them to be able to hit spot up shots.

Curry almost got whiplash a few times as he watched quicker guards drive around him and on other occasions he had some trouble defending screen/roll sets, either ending up out of position or switching on to a bigger player and getting abused in the post.

Again, I love watching Stephen Curry and I think that he has a great NBA future but Coach Krzyzewski's substitution patterns tell you all you need to know about Curry's role on this team: Curry played double figure minutes in the first game versus Croatia and in the blowout wins versus Iran, Tunisia and Angola but he did not play at all in the nailbiter versus Brazil and he logged just five, two and seven minutes respectively versus Russia, Lithuania and Turkey.

When the "experts" say that Team USA needs shooting specialists but Coach Krzyzewski wins gold medals while deadeye shooters like Michael Redd (in 2008) and Curry ride the bench except for garbage time are you going to believe the "experts" or are you going to believe Coach Krzyzewski?

Grade: "B-"

Kevin Love (8.8 mpg, 5.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, .8 apg, three steals, one blocked shot)

Fraschilla repeatedly raved about Love but I never quite understood the fuss; before the tournament I predicted that Love would "put up impressive per minute statistics during garbage time" and that is exactly what he did. Although I was not correct that he would be the team's 12th man (he logged 11 more total minutes than Granger and played two more total minutes than Chandler), Love--like Curry--saw very little action against the top teams: Love played just five minutes versus Brazil, three minutes versus Russia, eight minutes versus Lithuania and one minute versus Turkey.

I like Love as an NBA player and I think that he will be a better pro than many people originally predicted but the prototypical FIBA big man is lithe and mobile (Chris Bosh, Kevin Durant, Lamar Odom, Rudy Gay), two words that do not accurately describe Love.

I am sure that "stat gurus" everywhere are salivating over Love's per minute numbers and wondering why he did not play 30 mpg but I'll trust my own eyes and Coach Krzyzewski's judgment over "advanced statistics" that are the product of Love's garbage time production against inferior opponents.

Grade: "A" (again, keep in mind that the grade is based on production relative to one's role, so this does not mean that I am equating Love with Durant)

Danny Granger (9.7 mpg, 4.1 ppg, .9 rpg, 1.0 apg, one steal, one blocked shot)

As I expected, Granger did not crack the regular rotation and most of his minutes came in garbage time--in two of the nine games he did not play at all. I don't see how to fairly give him any grade other than "incomplete."

Grade: "I"

Tyson Chandler (8.6 mpg, 2.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, .4 apg, two steals, five blocked shots)

Chandler was probably the most disappointing player on the team. Despite being the only true center on the roster he not only failed to hold on to the starting center spot but he dropped out of the main rotation entirely as Coach Mike Krzyzewski elected to go predominantly with a "small" lineup--a strategic decision that I predicted in my preview article, though I still thought that Chandler would be part of the regular rotation.

Despite his limited minutes, Chandler tied for fourth on the team in fouls committed. He failed to provide much of a presence defensively or on the glass and, as usual, his offensive repertoire was largely restricted to point blank shots.

Grade: "D"

Final thoughts:

I analyze NBA games from an objective perspective, not as a partisan fan, but as an American I am happy that Jerry Colangelo, Coach Krzyzewski and a dedicated corps of players (the 2008 Olympians plus the current members of Team USA) have helped USA Basketball earn respect not only by winning gold medals but by doing things the right way on and off the court. Basketball was invented in America, so it was embarrassing to go a decade and a half without winning the sport's world championship, but the exemplary way that this team conducted itself en route to the gold medal wipes out the horrible memories of the desultory performances of previous editions of Team USA (with the nadir being the sixth place finish in the 2002 FIBA World Championship held in Indianapolis, Indiana).

While I enjoyed watching this team play, it is hilarious to read/listen to much of the mainstream commentary about FIBA play in general and Team USA in particular; we are consistently told that in order to win in FIBA events you have to have big men and you have to have shooters, despite the fact that both of these contentions have repeatedly been refuted: Team USA's winning recipe consists of stingy defense--particularly versus screen/roll plays and versus opposing three point shooters--forcing turnovers and scoring in transition. Team USA's halfcourt offense will never be as smooth or sophisticated as the halfcourt offenses of the other elite FIBA teams, true back to the basket big men are not as valuable as versatile, mobile forwards who can face the basket offensively and guard multiple positions defensively and the ability to hit three point shots is not nearly as important as the ability to defend against opposing three point shooters; reread the preceding sentence and you will understand why Michael Redd and Carlos Boozer hardly played for the 2008 version of Team USA and why Stephen Curry and Tyson Chandler reprised those players' respective roles on the 2010 version of Team USA--but I have no doubt that prior to the 2012 Olympics we will once again hear "experts" declaring how important it is for Team USA to add shooting specialists and big men to the roster.

Labels: 2010 Team USA, Andre Iguodala, Chauncey Billups, Danny Granger, Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom, Rudy Gay, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Tyson Chandler

posted by David Friedman @ 4:26 AM

4 comments

Team USA Faces Major Challenge in FIBA World Championship

The FIBA World Championship begins on August 28. This competition rarely receives much publicity in the United States but for many basketball-minded nations it is very important, equal to--if not even greater than--the Olympics in terms of prestige; American kids who play basketball dream of winning an NBA championship but kids in other countries dream of leading their homeland to the FIBA World Championship title.

The significance of this year's FIBA World Championship for Team USA is that the winner receives an automatic bid for the 2012 Olympics (Team USA captured the 2008 Olympic gold medal but the previous Olympic champion is not guaranteed a spot in the next Olympic games); if Team USA does not win the FIBA World Championship then the United States will have to qualify for the Olympics by playing in the 2011 FIBA Americas tournament and that could be a dicey proposition if the NBA endures a strike/lockout: during the 1998 lockout, the U.S. fielded a team of non-NBA players that worked very hard but only managed to win a bronze medal in the 1998 FIBA World Championship (after the lockout ended, Gary Payton, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Tim Hardaway led Team USA to a 10-0 sweep in the 1999 FIBA Americas Tournament to qualify for the 2000 Olympics). It is extremely unlikely that a Team USA squad consisting entirely of non-NBA players could win the FIBA Americas Tournament in 2011, so if Team USA fails to win the FIBA World Championship and the NBA suffers the work stoppage that many people are anticipating then the United States may not send a basketball team to the 2012 Olympic Games for just the second time ever (the first time was when the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980 to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan).

Team USA sent the "A" team to the 2008 Olympics--including Kobe Bryant (the sport's best all-around player), 2000 Olympic gold medalist Jason Kidd (who has never lost a game in FIBA play), LeBron James (who subsequently won two NBA MVPs) and 2006 NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade--but for a variety of reasons none of the members of the so-called "Redeem Team" will be participating in this year's FIBA World Championship; this year's squad is headlined by Kevin Durant, who has never played for the national team before. Durant, Chauncey Billups, Danny Granger and Derrick Rose are the only members of the team who have ever been NBA All-Stars, while only Durant and Billups have made the All-NBA Team. Billups and Lamar Odom are the only Team USA players who have won an NBA championship. This year's team lacks star power, championship experience and FIBA experience.

Team USA has historically not fared well in this event, finishing first just three times in 15 FIBA World Championship appearances (in contrast, the U.S. men's national basketball team has captured 13 of a possible 17 Olympic gold medals); the last U.S. team to earn a FIBA World Championship gold medal was the 1994 squad (the so-called "Dream Team II") led by a star-studded cast including Shaquille O'Neal (18.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg), Reggie Miller (17.1 ppg, .526 3FG%), Dominique Wilkins (12.6 ppg) and Joe Dumars (12.6 ppg). After that came the lockout-depleted 1998 team that earned a bronze medal, the embarrassingly inept 2002 team that finished sixth despite enjoying homecourt advantage (in Indianapolis) and the 2006 team that settled for a bronze medal despite featuring some big name players (including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Chris Bosh) who have been in the news for various reasons this summer.

In a September 4, 2007 article titled The Real Story Behind Team USA's Losses in Previous FIBA Events, I refuted some misconceptions about why the United States suffered humiliating defeats in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championship. The points that I made in that article are still relevant regarding Team USA's prospects this time around:

1) Most FIBA teams rely on the ability to drive to the hoop, draw in the defense and then kick the ball out to open three point shooters. In order to be successful, Team USA's guards must control dribble penetration. Also, Team USA's defense must be "on a string" when opposing teams run screen/roll actions, because otherwise their opponents will either shred Team USA with wide open layups or bombard them from three point range.

2) It is certainly a nice luxury for Team USA to shoot well from three point range but it is far more important to shut down opposing three point shooters without compromising the interior defense; this requires communication, discipline and hustle, because otherwise at least one player will be out of position and the whole defense will fall apart, something that was a recurring theme during Team USA's dreary performances in 2002, 2004 and 2006.

FIBA play is more physical than NBA play, particularly on the perimeter; expect to see opposing teams be very physical with Durant, who did not fare well in the first round of the 2010 NBA playoffs versus Ron Artest's bump and run defense. No FIBA team has an individual defender who is as skilled and as strong as Artest but the FIBA rules allow for a lot more contact than NBA rules do so it will not be easy for Durant to rack up 25-30 ppg while shooting a good percentage from the field and he likely will not be granted as many free throw attempts per game as he receives in the NBA.

Tyson Chandler is the only true center on the roster but I am not very concerned about Team USA being outrebounded or having a lot of trouble defending the post; Team USA is athletic enough to compete with anyone on the glass and the nature of the FIBA game (the wide lane and the general style of play) is such that it is very unlikely that opposing teams will just pound the ball into the low post. Team USA will certainly go "small" for a significant percentage of the time, putting Lamar Odom or another forward at the center spot.

NBA TV's Steve Smith declared that Odom is the second most important player on the team (behind only Durant) but, with all due respect to Smith's basketball acumen and Odom's skill set, if that turns out to be true then Team USA will settle for the bronze medal again. Derrick Rose has to be the team's second best player and he will have to be the go-to player in clutch situations if the opposing team smothers Durant. Rudy Gay may not be the third best NBA player on the roster but his size and athletic ability should enable him to have an impact from either forward spot; he could prove to be a real X-factor and should be one of the team's leading scorers after Durant. Chauncey Billups will likely be the other starting guard alongside Rose and the team will rely on him for calm, veteran leadership, rugged defense and timely three point shots. Odom's primary responsibility for Team USA will be the same as it is for the Lakers: rebounding. Odom may very well lead Team USA in that department. Other than that, Odom needs to monitor his shot selection (i.e., stop shooting three pointers and long jumpers) and cut down on his turnovers (he had a 6-3 turnover/assist ratio during the four game exhibition tour).

Andre Iguodala started all four exhibition games at small forward but he shot just .333 from the field and .125 from three point range, bringing back (bad) memories of Richard Jefferson's performance during the 2004 Olympics (Jefferson started all eight games despite shooting just .321 from the field and .261 from three point range). Iguodala should be a valuable player because he can score, pass and defend but it remains to be seen how well he will adjust to the FIBA game.

Eric Gordon's ability to both shoot and defend could earn him a key spot in the rotation but it will be difficult for him to supplant Billups or Rose; likewise, Russell Westbrook's athleticism could be valuable but there are only so many possible minutes at the guard spots (keep in mind that FIBA games last 40 minutes, not 48).

Stephen Curry will be this team's version of Michael Redd on the 2008 Olympic team: the dead-eye three point shooter who mainly gets in the game when--or, in this team's case, if--Team USA has a comfortable lead. Curry actually is a better all-around player than Redd, though, and his ability to play both guard positions could help him to carve out a slightly larger role than Redd had two years ago.

Danny Granger played sparingly during the exhibition tour and he struggled with his shot, so even though he has been an All-Star it will probably be difficult for him to move up the depth chart at this point.

Kevin Love is the designated 12th man, a rebounder/passer who will put up impressive per minute statistics during garbage time.

The nightmare scenario for Team USA (other than an injury or foul trouble sidelining Durant) is for an opponent to carve them up with screen/roll plays, hit a high percentage of three point shots and use physical defense to frustrate finesse wing players such as Durant and Gay. Team USA's players are mostly young and inexperienced and could get that "deer in the headlights" look if an opposing team hits them with a 10-0 run. Team USA lacks a lock down perimeter defender--a role that Bryant filled brilliantly in the 2008 Olympics--and does not have a defined go-to scorer other than Durant.

Team USA can win the gold medal if they play smart and tenacious defense, force turnovers and score a lot of points in transition--but even if this team plays the best basketball that they are capable of playing they will probably have at least one or two close games; it should not surprise anyone if Team USA fails to win the FIBA World Championship.

Labels: 2010 Team USA, Andre Iguodala, Chauncey Billups, Danny Granger, Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom, Rudy Gay, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Tyson Chandler

posted by David Friedman @ 2:10 AM

6 comments

First Round "Midterm" Report

Each NBA playoff series is past the halfway point, so now is a good time for a "midterm" report about the first round.

Cleveland 3, Chicago 1

1. As expected, this series has been lopsided in Cleveland's favor--three double digit wins and one very close loss. If the Cavs had not been bored/disinterested for most of game three then they would have already swept the Bulls. I stand by my statement before this series that the Cavs' second unit could give the Bulls' starters a run for their money: possible matchups in such a hypothetical encounter would be Delonte West versus Derrick Rose, Daniel Gibson versus Kirk Hinrich, Zydrunas Ilgauskas versus Joakim Noah, Anderson Varejao versus Taj Gibson and Jamario Moon versus Luol Deng. Before you scoff at the notion that such a series would be competitive, remember that on April 8 a full strength Bulls team played a must win game at home against a Cavs team sans LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal and Delonte West (and Antawn Jamison sat out down the stretch after tweaking his right foot)--and the Bulls barely escaped with a 109-108 win.
2. Cleveland Coach Mike Brown has many critics among fans, bloggers and even some mainstream media members--and those critics are clueless. Brown is blasted for his supposedly unimaginative offense and he is blamed for not giving J.J. Hickson more playoff minutes. This season, the Cavs ranked ninth in scoring, second in point differential and third in field goal percentage, so whether you measure total points, margin of victory or shooting efficiency the Cavs are a top level offensive team. As for Hickson, he started 73 games this season due to Shaquille O'Neal missing 29 games, Zydrunas Ilgauskas missing 18 games, Antawn Jamison not arriving on the scene until the final third of the season and Anderson Varejao proving to be highly effective in a reserve role--but now that the Cavs' deep frontcourt is at full strength it would make no sense to give Hickson minutes over future Hall of Famer O'Neal, two-time All-Star Jamison or veteran defender/rebounder Varejao; there simply are not enough minutes to go around, particularly when you add Ilgauskas to the mix and factor in that LeBron James gets some minutes at power forward. Depending on matchups/foul trouble/injuries, Hickson's number may be called more frequently in subsequent playoff series but the Cavs have the deepest frontcourt rotation in the league so it is quite understandable that the least experienced member of that crew simply has to wait his turn.
3. Brown has led the Cavs to the best regular season record in the NBA two years in a row and his playoff resume is very strong: one NBA Finals appearance, two Eastern Conference Finals berths and an upset of the favored Detroit Pistons in the 2007 playoffs. The only time that a Brown-coached team has lost a series in which they were considered to be favorites is the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals versus Orlando. Brown has a 39-25 career playoff record (.609) and in five trips to the playoffs his teams have never lost in the first round (I am including this year's series against the Bulls even though it is not officially over). Here are the career playoff records of some deservedly renowned NBA coaches: Rick Adelman, 79-78 (.503), eight first round losses in 16 appearances; Don Nelson, 75-91 (.452), six first round losses in 18 appearances; Jerry Sloan, 97-99 (.495), nine first round losses in 20 appearances.

Orlando 3, Charlotte 0

1. Foul trouble has kept Dwight Howard in check offensively but the Bobcats have been unable to contain Orlando's three point shooters, particularly Jameer Nelson (25.7 ppg, 10-22 three point shooting).
2. Vince Carter's overall per game statistics are underwhelming but he scored a team-high 19 points in game two, he has done a good job reversing the ball--part of the reason that the Magic have been able to launch so many open three pointers--and the reality is that sometimes great players have to be willing to sacrifice personal statistical glory in order to win a championship.
3. Stephen Jackson is leading the Bobcats with a 21.3 ppg scoring average versus Orlando but he is shooting just .393 from the field, including .200 from three point range. It is very difficult to win in the postseason when your leading scorer is that inefficient.

Atlanta 2, Milwaukee 1

1. This series is flying somewhat under the radar, likely because the Hawks still have not proven that they can beat a contender in a playoff series and because the Andrew Bogut injury ended any pretense that the Bucks could do much more than simply avoid being swept.
2. The real test for the Hawks will come in the next round when they face Orlando; if the Hawks upset the Magic then they will be taken much more seriously but for now they seem to be filling the role of the 1980s Milwaukee Bucks--an excellent team that cannot quite match up with the conference's powerhouse teams.

Boston 3, Miami 1

1. The bottom line on this series is pretty simple: the Celtics have three future Hall of Famers plus a young All-Star point guard, while the Heat have one future Hall of Famer; the obvious and significant talent disparity explains why Boston is in the driver's seat.
2. The Celtics did not have a great home record--by their standards--this season, so I thought that Miami could steal a game in Boston, a possibility that seemed even more likely after Kevin Garnett got suspended for game two; Miami's failure to take advantage of that opportunity indicated that this will be a short series.
3. Dwyane Wade's game four performance was breathtaking but it still won't prevent the Heat from being eliminated in five games.
   
4. While reports of the Celtics' demise may have been premature, taking out this limited Heat team hardly proves that the Celtics are a serious title contender; Garnett still looks like he has a bad wheel, Pierce and Allen are both apt to disappear for long stretches and all Rasheed Wallace seems to care about is that the Celtics "CTC" (Sheed-speak for "cut the check"). The Celtics are not as effective or intimidating defensively as they were during their 2008 championship season.

L.A. Lakers 2, Oklahoma City 2

1. Call this series "Mythbusters" because what we are seeing is shattering a lot of cherished but wrongheaded beliefs while reaffirming the truth of what I have been saying for several years about Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
2. I am not surprised at all that the Lakers look shaky and I would not be surprised if they lose this series: in my playoff preview I said that if Kobe Bryant did not average at least 26-28 ppg while shooting at least .450 from the field then the Lakers would lose regardless of what anyone else on the team did; Bryant is averaging 24.0 ppg on .384 shooting. The Lakers escaped in game one despite Bryant's 21 points on 6-19 (.316) shooting because the jittery Thunder shot just .403 overall, including a 7-24 (.292) performance by 2010 scoring champion Kevin Durant. Then the Lakers won game two narrowly as Bryant produced 39 points on 12-28 (.429) shooting, including 15 fourth quarter points. In the Lakers' two losses at Oklahoma City, Bryant scored just 36 points on 15-39 (.385) shooting; Bryant scored 24 points in game three but shot poorly, while in game four he shot well but not frequently enough as the Lakers started the game by trying to force feed their post players--and promptly fell behind by double digits.
3. Belatedly, some members of the national media have finally figured out that the Lakers are not a deep team--and, contrary to a new popular story line, this has nothing to do with Andrew Bynum's late season injury moving Lamar Odom into the starting lineup: Odom has been inconsistent all year and the Lakers' bench made Coach Phil Jackson want to vomit (his statement, not mine) even when Odom was the team's top reserve. Back in the 2007-08 season, the Lakers had a decent bench: Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic were productive players at that time, Ronny Turiaf was a very solid big and Luke Walton kept the Triangle Offense clicking with his passing. However, even at that time the Lakers were hardly the deepest team in the league--contrary to a widely stated fiction--and their starters were not as talented overall as Boston's, which is why the Celtics (led by three future Hall of Famers supported by a very deep bench) defeated the Lakers in the NBA Finals. In 2008-09, the Lakers lost a lot of bench depth due to injuries and roster moves but their starting lineup was more talented because Pau Gasol was in the fold for the entire year, Andrew Bynum made it through more than half the season (barely) and Trevor Ariza emerged as the starting small forward in the last fourth of the season. This season, the Lakers bolstered their starting lineup by replacing Ariza with Ron Artest and by keeping Bynum healthy for 65 games but their bench was a disaster area: purported triple double threat Odom spent most of the season averaging a triple single (he pushed his scoring average into double figure territory only after getting some spot starts) and no other reserve could be counted on consistently to provide a spark offensively or defensively. Vujacic buried himself in Phil Jackson's doghouse with poor play and a bad attitude, Farmar regressed, Walton was hurt for most of the year and Shannon Brown--who had some good moments in 2008-09--showed why he was the 15th man on the Cleveland team that made it to the 2007 NBA Finals. This season, Daniel Gibson ranked third in the NBA in three point field goal percentage but he hardly is getting any playoff run for the Cavs behind Mo Williams, Anthony Parker and Delonte West; Gibson--a poor man's B.J. Armstrong--would absolutely be the first guard off of the bench for the Lakers and his deadeye marksmanship could help him make a push for Derek Fisher's starting job, though Jackson clearly has a lot of trust in Fisher's veteran leadership despite Fisher's obviously declining skills.
4. The term "franchise player" is poorly defined and vastly overused. There are very few true franchise players in the NBA: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant--these guys can carry a team based on some combination of physical dominance, one great defining skill and/or tremendous skill set diversity. The next tier of NBA talent consists of great players who are not quite as dominant as the players listed above. Pau Gasol is a wonderfully skilled All-Star but he is not a franchise player: he does not have the mindset to be one nor does he have the ability to consistently dominate elite teams in playoff competition as the focal point of his team's offensive attack. Since joining the Lakers, Gasol has flourished as a second option benefiting from the double and triple team attention drawn by Bryant; the Lakers' best play is a screen/roll action involving Bryant and Gasol, because Bryant reads the defense excellently, knowing when to drive, when to shoot the midrange jumper and when to pass the ball either to a cutting Gasol or else to an open shooter on the weak side if the defense goes into full rotation to trap Bryant while also checking Gasol.
5. Even with Gasol missing the early part of this season, the Lakers still had the best record in the NBA as Bryant put up some of the best and most efficient numbers of his career--but the Lakers' season started to go south as Bryant's injuries piled up, beginning with a broken finger sustained in December and then including back, ankle and knee ailments.
6. During the 2009 playoffs, the Lakers went 6-0 when Bryant scored at least 35 points (he shot at least .464 from the field in each of those games). The Lakers went 1-2 when Bryant scored fewer than 20 points (he shot .412 or worse in each of those games). The Lakers went 12-1 when Bryant shot at least .455 from the field but they went just 4-6 when he shot .452 or worse. Overall, Bryant averaged 30.2 ppg on .457 field goal shooting in 23 playoff games as the Lakers won the NBA Championship.
7. During the 2008 playoffs, the Lakers went 4-0 when Bryant scored at least 35 points (he shot at least .500 from the field in each of those games). The Lakers lost the only game in which Bryant scored fewer than 20 points (he shot .316 in that game). The Lakers went 12-3 when Bryant shot at least .474 from the field but they went just 2-4 when Bryant shot .394 or worse. Overall, Bryant averaged a league-best 30.1 ppg on .479 field goal shooting in 21 playoff games as the Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals.
8. Despite all of the fevered talk about depth, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol and other factors, the bottom line reality is that when Kobe Bryant is highly productive and efficient--which I define as scoring at least 26 ppg while shooting at least .450 from the field--the Lakers are a dominant team because opposing defenses must commit multiple players to Bryant, thus creating easy scoring opportunities for his teammates. There is no evidence that Pau Gasol can shoulder a similar workload for a sustained period of time (i.e., attempting over 20 field goal attempts per game while dealing with double teams); indeed the Memphis Grizzlies traded him precisely because they felt that he could not be that kind of player and that they therefore would be better served rebuilding their team.
9. Bryant's accomplishments--both from an individual standpoint and as the team leader--have not been fully appreciated. He is the main reason that the Lakers posted the best record in the competitive Western Conference for three straight seasons (2008-10); the last team to accomplish that feat was the Utah Jazz from 1997-99, but that included the lockout shortened 50 game 1999 campaign during which the Jazz tied with the Spurs for top honors in the West. Prior to the Jazz, the only team since the 1976-77 NBA-ABA merger to have the best record in the West for at least three straight years was the Showtime Lakers (1982-90).
10. The last few games of the 2010 regular season--and games three and four of this series--provide stark proof of just how ordinary the Lakers really are when Bryant is not able to be a dominant force. It is easy to say now that Bryant should have rested earlier in the season to allow his injuries to heal but the reality is that he made six game-winning shots this season (seven if you count his de facto game-winner against Dallas even though it was not a last second shot). Even more significantly, he bailed the Lakers out many other times in the fourth quarter; if Bryant had missed a significant portion of the season the Lakers would probably have not even qualified for the playoffs: only seven wins separate the top seeded Lakers from the eighth seeded Thunder and while it is too simplistic to just subtract Bryant's game-winners from the Lakers' win total it is definitely not a stretch to assert that he was worth more than seven wins and that the value he provided could not be replaced over the long haul by anyone else on the roster. Please do not be deceived by the Lakers' record in the handful of regular season games that Bryant sat out; isolated, random games--some of which were against teams that were also injury-depleted--have nothing to do with how the Lakers would perform without Bryant for an extended period of time, let alone how they would do against elite teams. In the past three to four weeks we have essentially seen the Lakers without Bryant--at least, without the Bryant who dominated the playoffs the past couple years--and the results have been ugly.
11. It is unclear what exactly has caused Bryant's performance to decline. The broken finger surely plays a part but Bryant seemed to have adapted to it earlier in the year; I think that the real problem is with his wheels, either his balky ankle and/or his right knee (which has been operated on twice during Bryant's career). I suspect that at least one of three things is true regarding Bryant's knee: 1) It will not function properly until Bryant gets at least a month off; 2) It will require offseason surgery; 3) If neither of the first two statements is true then the cumulative effects of Bryant's 14 year career have affected his hops so severely that he will have to change his style of play to adjust, much like Michael Jordan did during his first comeback with the Bulls.
12. Game five is a do or die situation for the Lakers, so if Bryant is physically able to do so he will score at least 35 points while shooting at least .450 from the field and the Lakers will win. If Bryant is unable to do that then the game will be very much up for grabs.

San Antonio 3, Dallas 1

1. San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich looks like a genius now; it appears that he deftly managed his older players' minutes so that they would round into peak form just in time for the playoffs, which was his stated goal all along. He made it clear that he cared much less about regular season wins than postseason sharpness. The Spurs settled for the seventh seed but they are one win away from knocking off the second seeded Mavs, a team that many people thought could advance to the NBA Finals. The Spurs were never fully healthy all season long and seemed to have suffered from significant defensive slippage compared to their championship years, so after considering them a viable title contender prior to the season I jumped off of their bandwagon on the eve of the playoffs. Assuming that the Spurs close out the Mavs it will be very interesting to see just how far they can go. Just a few months ago it was widely thought that adding Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess made the Spurs a significant postseason threat and that may very well prove to be true.
2. Something weird is going on within the Dallas organization; it is hard to understand why the team would bring in Shawn Marion and Caron Butler to be key pieces but then Coach Rick Carlisle would bench both players in the second half of game three only to restore them to their normal spots in the rotation in game four.
3. Dallas owner Mark Cuban often brags about how much of an edge his team derives from their proprietary "advanced basketball statistics"; however, all of that number crunching has resulted in just one Finals appearance plus an embarrassing first round loss in 2007--and while a first round loss to the veteran Spurs this year may not be embarrassing it would certainly have to be considered a major disappointment.

Phoenix 2, Portland 2

1. It seems like the Blazers are one injury away from making it to the Finals; after all, every time a player goes down the team exceeds expectations, so it is only logical--in a bizarre way--to assume that if someone else gets hurt then the team will be practically unbeatable. Seriously, though, Coach Nate McMillan deserves a lot of credit for instilling a defensive mindset in his team and his players deserve credit for stepping up in place of their fallen comrades.
2. The Suns looked so good after the All-Star Break that they almost turned me into a believer, particularly since they seemed to be paying more than cursory attention to the defensive end of the court. I should have known better. The Suns' game one loss at home to the Brandon Roy-less Blazers was inexcusable and even though the Suns subsequently regained homecourt advantage this series looks like a tossup now.
3. During the TNT broadcasts, Charles Barkley made an excellent point about a major weakness for the Suns: Steve Nash's complete inability to guard top level point guards forces the Suns to crossmatch in ways that not only can compromise their overall defense but that also sap the energy of his teammates. Nash is a great passer and a stunningly accurate shooter but I will never, ever, ever understand how anyone can seriously put him alongside players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade in MVP discussions: those players are significantly bigger and more versatile and they have an impact at both ends of the court.

Utah 3, Denver 1

1. Shortly after the Detroit Pistons traded Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to Denver for Allen Iverson last season (McDyess later returned to the Pistons, much like Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned to the Cavs this season after the Antawn Jamison trade), everyone's favorite associate professor of applied economics declared that Iverson--or, more specifically, the allegedly vast superiority of Billups to Iverson--is the sole answer explaining both Detroit's decline in the standings and Denver's alleged improvement--never mind that Detroit changed coaches and suffered tremendous roster upheaval or that the Nuggets made other personnel moves and benefited from the decline of several teams in the West. Fast forward to this season and we see that after Iverson's departure from Detroit the Pistons tumbled from 39 wins in 2009 to 27 wins this season; based on the associate professor's "logic"--namely, that one variable should be considered the prime reason for a team's success or failure even though many other variables are actually involved--one could say that Iverson is the sole answer explaining Detroit's 12 win decline. Similarly, after advancing to the Western Conference Finals last year the Nuggets are on the verge of being eliminated in the first round this year. If Billups was the main reason for Denver's success last year then he must be the main reason for their (relative) failure this year, right? Of course, that is all just nonsense. The Pistons were a declining team before they made the Iverson deal--that is why Joe Dumars changed coaches and overhauled his roster in the first place. One could debate the merits of Dumars' various choices but it is absurd to suggest that Iverson single-handedly destroyed the team or that if Detroit had kept Billups then the Pistons would have been a contender. As for Denver, the Nuggets went 50-32 in 2007-08 with Iverson leading the league in minutes played and ranking third in scoring, eighth in steals and ninth in assists; Iverson was more productive and dominant that season than Billups has ever been. Billups certainly played very well for Denver in 2008-09 but the reason that the Nuggets moved up from the eighth seed to the second seed despite only increasing their win total by four is that several Western Conference teams moved backward in the standings due to injuries, personnel moves and other factors.
2. This season, the Nuggets' win total declined by one but they dropped from the second seed to the fourth seed because some of the teams that had off years in 2009 bounced back this year. Still, the fourth seed looked like a decent spot to start a playoff run considering that the fifth seeded Utah Jazz had been decimated by injuries.
3. The Nuggets are certainly dealing with their own challenges, including the cancer that has prevented George Karl from coaching the team down the stretch and the injuries that have limited Kenyon Martin, but with homecourt advantage and a supposedly championship caliber roster guided by Billups' leadership the Nuggets definitely should be able to defeat the Jazz--but instead Utah is one win away from eliminating Denver.
4. Last season, all we heard were stories about how Billups' influence had helped the Nuggets' various knuckleheads to become more mature and focused on and off the court. If Billups received all the credit for Denver's success last year then doesn't he deserve at least some of the blame for the team's current meltdown? The Nuggets have been terrible defensively and they still have wretched shot selection. The funny thing is that instead of Billups "changing the culture" it seems like the "culture" in Denver has changed Billups; now Billups is taking goofy shots, committing careless turnovers and making bad plays at the most inopportune times.
5. Billups did not "change the culture" in Denver. He joined a good team at just the right time and for one year they caught lightning in a bottle thanks to some down years by other Western Conference teams. Overall, the Nuggets did not materially change--they did not become a serious, defensive-minded, championship contending team; that should have been obvious when the Nuggets melted down at home in game six versus the Lakers last season (Billups shot 2-7 from the field in that game, scoring 10 points with nine assists and five turnovers in a team-high 39 minutes) and it is definitely obvious as the shorthanded Utah Jazz are pounding the Nuggets into submission.

Labels: Chauncey Billups, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James

posted by David Friedman @ 7:40 AM

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