20 Second Timeout

How High Will the Rockets Fly Without Harden?

The championship aspirations of James Harden's new team, the Brooklyn Nets, are much discussed, but it is interesting to observe Harden's former team as well. The Houston Rockets did not win a title with Harden, and they are not likely to win a title any time soon without him, but historically speaking an MVP-level player is typically worth at least 15-20 wins. Examples of this abound, including NBA-ready rookies Larry Bird and David Robinson, whose teams improved 32 wins and 35 wins respectively upon their arrival. Bird and Robinson were not entirely responsible for those win increases, but in both situations they were primarily responsible for turning around their franchises.

Harden received the 2018 regular season MVP, and he has finished second in the MVP voting three times (2015, 2017, 2019). If he is worthy of being considered a perennial MVP candidate then he should also be worth at least 15-20 wins.

After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 104-101 tonight, the new-look Rockets are 5-3 since trading away Harden, a significant improvement from their 3-6 start to the season with Harden (Harden missed one game, a Rockets win versus Sacramento). After his final game with the Rockets--during which he scored 16 points on 5-16 field goal shooting as Houston lost by 17 to the L.A. Lakers--Harden publicly expressed his view that the Rockets were just not good enough. It is obvious that Harden quit on the team, and that the Rockets were not as bad as they looked with Harden, but it is also obvious that replacing Harden with Victor Oladipo is not a huge talent drop off, regardless of what the NBA's MVP voters may think.

This is obviously a small sample size of games in an unusual season dominated by the specter of COVID-19 and the associated health and safety protocols enacted by the NBA to attempt to complete an abbreviated 72 game schedule. However, the notion that the Rockets could be a good team without Harden should not be shocking to anyone who has followed Harden's career.

Harden has been putting up video-game level individual numbers for many years, but those numbers did not translate into consistent postseason success for the Rockets. Harden's Houston teams lost in the first round three times in eight seasons while making just two trips to the Western Conference Finals, and failing to reach the NBA Finals. As discussed in my analysis of Daryl Morey's Houston legacy, that is not elite level playoff performance.

Harden reminds me of Gilbert Arenas and Stephon Marbury, two players who put up gaudy individual numbers but who had very little positive impact on winning. After Arenas suffered an injury that caused him to miss extensive playing time and the Washington Wizards were not much worse without him, I asked Is Gilbert Arenas the Most Overrated All-Star in the NBA? Arenas' fans did not like that article, but they also could not refute the reality that even with Arenas the Wizards struggled to stay above .500. The record shows that Arenas did not have much impact on winning when he played, and the Wizards did not completely fall apart when he did not play.

There are players who score 30 points in a way that compromises opposing defenses and leads to team success, and there are players who score 30 points in a way that has little impact on team success. If you take Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant off of a team then that team is going to struggle unless/until that team acquires a legit MVP-level player (the 1993-94 Chicago Bulls did not collapse without Jordan primarily because the Bulls still had Scottie Pippen, arguably the best all-around player in the league at that time other than Jordan). If you take Arenas or Harden off of a team, that team can survive by either adding an All-Star level player, or possibly even by pooling the collective efforts of several good but not great players.

Marbury did not score as prolifically as Arenas or Harden, but he averaged at least 20 ppg and at least 8 apg in six different seasons, a feat exceeded only by Oscar Robertson, who had 10 such seasons. Robertson was a master of the all-around game, a basketball genius; Marbury was the antithesis of Robertson in every meaningful way. Marbury made the playoffs just five times during his 13 season career, and his final playoff appearance was as a little-used reserve for the 2009 Boston Celtics; as a starter he never advanced past the first round. Marbury had all of the physical tools--he was strong, fast, and durable--but he did not know (or care) how to play winning basketball.

To a lesser extent, Steve Nash falls into the category of overrated player, but with some important caveats. At his peak, Nash was legitimately an MVP-level player, and he had a Hall of Fame-caliber career--but there is no way he should have been a two-time regular season MVP while his far more impactful contemporaries Shaquillle O'Neal and Kobe Bryant each won one regular season MVP. MVP voters assigned a value to Nash's performance that is not fully supported by what happened on the court. Of course, Nash was a better teammate than Arenas, Marbury, and Harden, and Nash had a much better understanding of what it takes to win--Nash just did not have the physical capability to dominate a game all over the court to the extent that players like Jordan, O'Neal, and Bryant could while leading teams to multiple titles. 

During Nash's final season with the Dallas Mavericks (2003-04), Dallas went 52-30 in the regular season, and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Next season, the Mavericks replaced Nash with Jason Terry--a good player, but hardly an all-time great--and lost in the second round of the playoffs after posting a 58-24 regular season record. The Mavericks advanced to the NBA Finals in 2005-06 after going 60-22 in the regular season, and they eventually won an NBA title in 2011; Jason Terry was the sixth man for that team, but still ranked third on the squad in minutes played per game.

Meanwhile, Nash's Phoenix teams--which were stacked with All-Stars and All-Star caliber players, including Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, and Joe Johnson--advanced to the Western Conference Finals three times in eight years but never made it to the NBA Finals.

If your former team can replace you with a solid player and have better results, and if you cannot lead a stacked team to at least one NBA Finals, then you are not the best player in the NBA. Most NBA MVPs won at least one title. The exceptions are Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

The first three players on the list each led at least one team to the NBA Finals. Westbrook was the second best player on one Finalist, and Harden was the sixth man for that 2012 Oklahoma City squad. Rose's career trajectory was altered by injury, but he also won his MVP at least in part due to the negative narrative surrounding LeBron James after he quit in the playoffs before fleeing Cleveland for Miami.

Antetokounmpo is the only player from this group who is still in his prime, so he gets a pass for now--Michael Jordan and LeBron James each won multiple regular season MVPs before they won their first NBA titles, so it remains to be seen what path Antetokounmpo's career will take.

When the Rockets shipped out Harden, they did not get rid of a player who is worth 15-20 wins. If Oladipo and John Wall--who was initially acquired to play alongside Harden--can both stay healthy then the Rockets can continue to be what they were during the Harden era: a good team, but not quite good enough to win a title.

Labels: Gilbert Arenas, Houston Rockets, James Harden, John Wall, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Stephon Marbury, Steve Nash, Victor Oladipo

posted by David Friedman @ 11:27 PM

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Nets Acquire Harden in Four Team Deal

Insulting your teammates, sulking, and not playing hard works--at least if you are James Harden, who sleepwalked through the past several games while publicly proclaiming that his team is just not good enough, which must have made his teammates (including five-time All-Star John Wall) feel wonderful. Harden achieved his goal: he made the situation in Houston so untenable that the Rockets traded Harden to one of his preferred destinations, Brooklyn. Harden is thus able to flee Houston despite having three years left on a contract worth nearly $133 million. Some would call this an example of "player empowerment," while others would--correctly--say that this is an example of an employee getting away with a massive breach of contract: the Rockets agreed to pay Harden more than $100 million to be an elite basketball player for them, but Harden decided that he no longer wanted to fulfill his part of that deal, and as an end result the Rockets are deprived of his services while Harden will receive the full contract value from his new, preferred employer.

Here are the details of the deal:

The Brooklyn Nets acquired James Harden, and a 2022 second round pick from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Houston acquired Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dante Exum, Brooklyn forward Rodions Kurucs, three of Brooklyn's first round picks (2022, 2024, 2026), four first round pick swaps from Brooklyn (2021, 2023, 2025, 2027), and a 2022 first round pick from Cleveland..

Cleveland acquired Brooklyn center Jarrett Allen and Brooklyn forward Taurean Prince.

It has been reported--but not yet officially confirmed by the NBA or the teams--that Indiana will be the fourth team in this deal, sending Victor Oladipo and a second round pick to Houston and receiving Brooklyn guard Caris LeVert plus a 2023 second round pick from Houston in return.

The Cavaliers upgraded their roster immediately. It is far from certain that the draft picks that they gave up would have yielded players who are more productive than Allen and Prince. The Cavaliers were not a contender prior to this trade and they are not a contender now, but this is a good deal for Cleveland. 

Assuming that the Pacers participate in this deal as reported then they will have gotten rid of a disgruntled and injury-prone Oladipo in exchange for LeVert, who has All-Star level talent. This is a good deal for Indiana as well.

The Rockets were never going to win a championship with Harden as their best player, so if the franchise's goal is to win a title then any deal that ships out Harden in exchange for even a modicum of talent plus draft picks is without question a good deal--and the Rockets did much better than that: if Wall and Oladipo can both stay healthy then the Rockets could be a playoff team that also has stockpiled a lot of draft assets that can be used to rebuild, or can be packaged to acquire veteran talent. 

Of course, most of the attention regarding this deal will focus on Brooklyn. Assuming that Kyrie Irving rejoins the team at some point, the Nets now have a "Big Three" consisting of two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant, 2016 NBA champion Irving, and three-time scoring champion Harden. It will be interesting to see if Harden or Irving emerges as the second option, but there can be no doubt that Durant is easily the team's best player and first option on offense. It is important to remember that Oklahoma City traded Harden to Houston in 2012 primarily because Harden was unwilling to accept being the third option behind Durant and Russell Westbrook--and it is also important to remember that Harden failed to mesh well with every single All-Star the Rockets subsequently acquired to play alongside him, from Dwight Howard to Chris Paul to Russell Westbrook to (briefly this season) John Wall. Now, Harden will have to put his substantial ego in check and accept that Durant is the primary option on offense. 

Harden is talented enough to be the second or third option on a championship team, but the question has always been whether or not he has the mentality to accept such a role. Harden is a proven playoff choker whose high variance game is not conducive to sustained postseason success, and in his final days in Houston he quit despite the fact that the franchise catered to his every whim throughout his tenure with the team. Chokers do not tend to become winners, and quitters tend to quit when the going gets tough. Harden brings a lot of baggage to Brooklyn, and he has a lot to prove if he wants to be remembered as anything other than a talented but selfish high scoring loser.

Irving was a very effective second option behind LeBron James on a championship team, but Irving also chafed at times regarding that role so it will be fascinating watching him wrestle with Harden to be the second option behind Durant. It is difficult to picture the Nets' chemistry being great--unless Harden and Irving change patterns of behavior that they have displayed throughout their careers--and it is easy to picture it being disastrously bad. 

Another potential issue is whether or not the Nets are willing/able to play championship caliber defense. Durant is capable of being a good defender, as he showed while leading Golden State to back to back titles, but both Harden and Irving are subpar defensive players. The Nets' will also miss Allen's paint presence. Even if the Nets' three stars agree regarding the offensive pecking order and produce a highly efficient scoring attack they probably cannot score enough points against an elite team in a seven game playoff series to make up for how many points they will allow. 

First year Brooklyn coach Steve Nash, who won two regular season MVPs but no championships during his playing career, faces the daunting task of figuring out how to make this work. One of his assistant coaches, Mike D'Antoni (Nash's head coach during Nash's MVP seasons in Phoenix), is well acquainted with Harden's shortcomings and quirks--D'Antoni had the full Harden experience as Houston's head coach from 2016-20. D'Antoni also coached the Lakers to a 40-32 record in 2012-13 (he took over from Mike Brown when the team was 5-5), and his brief tenure in L.A. was most notable for (1) benching Pau Gasol (the second best player on the Lakers' 2009 and 2010 championship teams), (2) playing an aging Kobe Bryant so many minutes that Bryant's Achilles ruptured from the stress of carrying the team to a playoff berth, and (3) getting swept in the first round of the playoffs by the fourth largest margin of defeat in NBA postseason history in a performance so awful and inept that Hubie Brown declared during game four, "You can use all the excuses you want but the defensive game plan was zero here tonight--the execution of it, whatever it was." 

The popular, easy pick is to call the Nets the favorites in the East, but it is way too early to say that. All that can be said now is that the Nets have enough talent to win the East; how well that talent will function together to produce team success is far from clear. In 2013, the Nets mortgaged their future to obtain Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce; that experiment did not turn out well, and it will be fascinating to see if the Nets receive a greater return on their mortgaged future this time.

Labels: Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, James Harden, John Wall, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Mike D'Antoni, Steve Nash, Victor Oladipo

posted by David Friedman @ 6:11 PM

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Analyzing the Russell Westbrook-John Wall Trade

The Houston Rockets had high hopes when they reunited former Oklahoma City teammates James Harden and Russell Westbrook prior to the 2019-20 campaign, but that backcourt pairing of two former regular season MVPs lasted just one season: the Rockets have traded Westbrook to the Washington Wizards for John Wall and a 2023 first round draft pick. 

Before looking at what this trade means for each player and each team, it is important to note that Houston made this deal because Westbrook is the third great player who James Harden could not get along with--at least on the court--for even a brief period. Harden's partnership with Dwight Howard lasted three seasons. Harden's partnership with Chris Paul lasted two seasons. Also, Harden spent his first three seasons as the third option in Oklahoma City behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but Harden chafed at that role. 

The problem is simple and obvious: Harden does not want to be challenged, does not accept constructive criticism, and refuses to alter his "dribble, dribble, dribble" playing style even though this style has repeatedly flamed out during the playoffs. Harden and Westbrook did not have as many public blowups as Harden did with Howard and Paul, but it is known that Westbrook challenged Harden to play harder and to play less carelessly, and it is also known that Harden did not appreciate those critiques. It is likely impossible to get the return for Harden that the Rockets would want--they value him much more highly than any other team in the league does--so when Harden clashes with another All-Star the other All-Star has to go.

It will be very interesting to watch how the relationship between Harden and Wall develops, but the likelihood is that in three years or less this partnership will be over.

Many media members underrate Westbrook's accomplishments, but the reality is that Westbrook has had a fantastic career by any objective standard. Although many self-proclaimed experts questioned if Westbrook could be a great NBA point guard, I asserted that Westbrook would be Kobe Bryant's heir not only as the league's best guard but also as its most underrated superstar--and Westbrook fulfilled both portions of that prediction, winning the 2017 NBA MVP but also being the subject of a lot of unfair and unwarranted criticism.

It has been asserted that Westbrook is not a winner, but Westbrook was an All-Star/All-NBA level performer for four teams that advanced to the Western Conference Finals, including one team that reached the NBA Finals. 

It has been asserted that Westbrook does not make his teammates better. I prefer evaluating whether a player makes his team better, because one player cannot make another player better than he is but one player can have an impact on his team's success. It is difficult to logically argue that any of Westbrook's teams would have been better without him, or that he played in a way that diminished the opportunity for team success. Also, many of his teammates had their best individual seasons while playing alongside him, the most prominent examples being Kevin Durant (who won his only regular season MVP while playing alongside Westbrook) and Paul George (who had his best season and finished third in MVP voting while playing alongside Westbrook). Harden posted the second highest scoring average of his career during his one season playing alongside Westbrook, en route to capturing his third straight scoring title. If Westbrook were selfish, or a "stat-chaser," or a ball hog then his teammates would not have performed so well. Harden is a great example: since he became the number one option in Houston, no All-Star who has teamed up with him has performed better than he did while not playing with Harden.

It has been asserted that Westbrook is not a great leader, but Westbrook sets an excellent example by playing hard, and making no excuses. 

In addition to winning the 2017 regular season MVP, Westbrook also has won two scoring titles (2015, 2017) and two assist titles (2018-19). He is the only player in pro basketball history who has won more than one scoring title and more than one assist title. 

Westbrook led the NBA in triple doubles for five straight seasons: 2015 (11), 2016 (18), 2017 (42--the all-time single season record), 2018 (25), 2019 (34). Last season, Westbrook ranked fourth in the NBA with eight triple doubles. He ranks second all-time with 146 career triple doubles, trailing only Oscar Robertson (181). Westbrook is the only player to average a triple double in each of three consecutive seasons. Oscar Robertson is the only player to accomplish this feat even once, though it should be noted that Robertson averaged an aggregate triple double over the course of his first five seasons. 

Westbrook has been selected to the All-NBA Team each of the last six seasons. Here are his scoring, assist, and rebounding averages for each of those seasons: 

Labels: Houston Rockets, James Harden, John Wall, Russell Westbrook, Washington Wizards

posted by David Friedman @ 8:15 PM

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Isaiah Thomas and the Triumph of the Human Spirit

Isaiah Thomas scored 53 points--including 29 in the fourth quarter/overtime--to lead the Boston Celtics to a 129-119 overtime victory against the Washington Wizards. John Wall scored 40 points and dished 13 assists in defeat. Boston now leads this second round series 2-0. Thomas is the only player in the storied history of the Celtics to have a 50 point game in the regular season and the playoffs in the same campaign. John Havlicek (54 points) is now the only Celtic ahead of Thomas on the franchise's single game playoff scoring list. The last player to score more than 53 points in a playoff game is Allen Iverson, who dropped 55 in 2003.

However, this game was not about numbers or skill set analysis; this game was about heart and the triumph of the human spirit. We all know that Isaiah Thomas just buried his sister Chyna, who recently died in a car accident. But did you know that Tuesday would have been her 23rd birthday? TNT's David Aldridge asked Thomas how he managed to play at this level during this trying time and Thomas gave all of the credit to Chyna, saying that he did it for her and that she is watching over him.

Thomas also said that as soon as leaves the court the reality hits him that she is not here.

Thomas was a remarkable story even before this tragedy happened; he is a 5-9 superstar in a league where the average player is 6-7 and thus he was already a great example of the triumph of heart over measurables--but now he is also showing the capacity of the human spirit to overcome devastating loss and suffering by creating positive energy.

It should be noted Thomas lost a front tooth in game one of this series on Sunday and he had several hours of oral surgery on Monday after the initial attempt to reposition the lost tooth failed. Thomas will likely have to undergo more oral surgery, as other teeth were affected as well. 

Even if you are rooting for Washington, Thomas is inspirational.

Labels: Boston Celtics, Chyna Thomas, Isaiah Thomas, John Wall, Washington Wizards

posted by David Friedman @ 1:13 AM

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Boston Versus Washington Preview

Eastern Conference Second Round

#1 Boston (53-29) vs. #4 Washington (49-33)

Season series: Tied, 2-2

Washington can win if…John Wall dominates the series at both ends of the court. He is a modern-day Micheal Ray Richardson but without Richardson's off-court baggage. Richardson was an elite player when his mind and body were right and he spearheaded the Nets' shocking 1984 upset of the defending champion 76ers. Like Richardson, Wall scores despite not being a great shooter, he passes very well and he can be very disruptive defensively.

The Wizards will also need a high level performance from Wall's backcourt mate Bradley Beal, a smooth and deadly perimeter shooter.

This team started the season slowly but rallied down the stretch and is viewed in some quarters as the biggest threat to LeBron James' streak of six straight Eastern Conference championships. First, though, the Wizards must deal with the number one seed Boston Celtics.

Boston will win because…the Celtics may be one of the weakest number one seeds in recent memory but they are still the number one seed and they showed a lot of resilience while rallying from a 2-0 first round deficit versus the number eight seed Chicago Bulls.

The Celtics rely heavily on the wizardry of 5-9 point guard Isaiah Thomas, who is mourning the recent death of his younger sister in a car accident, but they also have four-time All-Star center Al Horford, defensive ace Avery Bradley and gritty forward Jae Crowder.

Coach Brad Stevens is considered a rising star and it will be interesting to see which buttons he pushes as this series progresses.

Other things to consider: The Eastern Conference pecking order is interesting. The Cavaliers are the established champions and the Raptors are the veteran challengers while the Celtics and Wizards are the up and coming young teams. At some point the Cavaliers will either fall off or be knocked off and it will be intriguing to see which of these three teams accomplishes that feat (not necessarily this year)--or if the task is ultimately accomplished by a different team, such as Milwaukee.

Labels: Boston Celtics, Bradley Beal, Isaiah Thomas, John Wall, Washington Wizards

posted by David Friedman @ 9:26 AM

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All-Star Weekend Impressions

NBA All-Star Weekend is by far the best event of its kind--the comparable NFL, MLB and NHL talent showcases are not nearly as entertaining--but it is not as great as it used to be or as great as it could be. The best thing about NBA All-Star Weekend is that it provides a platform to show the world just how fast, strong and explosive NBA athletes are. I am not a big fan of the Rising Stars Challenge--mainly because the event is characterized by a serious lack of defensive intensity/competitiveness--but the game provides national exposure for some talented young players who are members of small market teams. The Shooting Stars competition enables current NBA players to compete with and against NBA legends and WNBA players. The Skills Challenge is fun to watch, though during a real game one does not need to master the "skill" of passing a ball into a barrel or dribbling through cones. The Three Point Contest is a pure demonstration of a fundamental basketball skill being executed at the highest level by some of the sport's top marksmen. The Slam Dunk Contest lets fans live vicariously through the exploits of some of the league's best gravity-defying leapers. Sunday's Legends Brunch pays tribute to the players who built the sport from the ground up and was my favorite event to attend during the six years that I covered All-Star Weekend.

Team Hill defeated Team Webber 142-136 in the Rising Stars Challenge. Detroit's Andre Drummond grabbed MVP honors, leading Team Hill with 30 points and a game-high/Rising Stars record 25 rebounds--but suffice it to say that video of this game will not be used at any basketball camps as an example of fundamentally sound basketball, particularly at the defensive end of the court. Chris Bosh won his second straight Shooting Stars event, leading Team Bosh (including Dominique Wilkins and Swin Cash) over Team Westbrook in the championship round. The problem with this event is that each team is required to make a half court shot in each round, which is much more a matter of luck than skill; I'd prefer that either the half court shot is scrapped or else the entire event is morphed into a HORSE contest, maybe pitting a retired player versus an active player (with no dunking allowed). Damian Lillard and Trey Burke won the Skills Challenge; it is the second such title in a row for Lillard, who took top honors last year when the Skills Challenge was a solo event. Journeyman Marco Bellinelli--who has played for five teams in his seven season NBA career--outgunned a host of All-Stars (including Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Joe Johnson, Damian Lillard and Kevin Love)--to win the Three Point Contest.

The Slam Dunk Contest is the crown jewel of All-Star Saturday night but I about fell out of my seat when I saw the TNT graphic touting the Slam Dunk Contest judges. Who is "Julius Irving"? How is it possible that one of the league's primary networks cannot properly spell the name of one of the sport's all-time greatest players? Magic Johnson and Dominique Wilkins joined Erving as judges. Team East (Paul George, Terrence Ross and John Wall) defeated Team West (Harrison Barnes, Damion Lillard and Ben McLemore) and Wall was selected by the fans (via online voting) as the Dunker of the Night. Wall's clinching dunk, a double pump after grabbing the ball out of the hands of the Wizards' mascot, was impressive but overall the event lacked star power, excitement and suspense. Almost every year, Kenny Smith, Magic Johnson and/or some other prominent figure proclaim that the Slam Dunk Contest is "back" and they once again said that after Wall's victory but I don't buy it. The reality is that there is not likely any way to make the Slam Dunk Contest as great now as it was in the 1980s. Back then, many of the league's brightest stars competed on an annual basis and a missed dunk all but eliminated a player from winning the contest; competing in the Slam Dunk Contest was like doing a trapeze act without a net but that did not deter all-time greats like Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Clyde Drexler from participating on multiple occasions. The two biggest problems now are that most of today's biggest stars don't participate and that the format removes suspense/anticipation by permitting players to miss multiple dunks without any penalty. During a recent "Open Court" program, Wilkins cut to the heart of the matter, declaring that today's players do not really want to find out who is the best dunker, because they might risk not earning that title. Erving amplified this excellent point, mentioning that players have agents and marketing advisers who tell them that the downside of not winning the contest outweighs the potential upside of emerging victorious.

Some people suggest that putting a million dollars--or some other similarly extravagant sum--on the line might motivate more stars to participate but that is ridiculous: these are highly paid professionals and if they don't want to test their skills against their peers while also entertaining the fans then that is really a shame. Erving participated in his final two Slam Dunk Contests when he was 34 and 35 years old; he did not win either event but he defied Father Time by proving that he could still take off from the foul line and dunk. There is no way that any 34 or 35 year old all-time great would compete in the Slam Dunk Contest today; even all-time greats who are in their prime--most notably, LeBron James--refuse to put their dunking reputations on the line.

In addition to being a Slam Dunk Contest judge, Erving also participated in a panel discussion honoring Bill Russell during Sunday's Legends Brunch. Erving described how much he looks up to Russell and how Russell has been providing sage advice to him since he was a student athlete at the University of Massachusetts; Russell told young Erving that the most important building on campus was not the gymnasium but rather the library and Russell told the then-50 year old Erving that as one ages one should pare down one's life to essential people and activities, focusing on what is most meaningful and letting go of that which is less meaningful.

Russell was not a great shooter, he did not possess the all-around skill set of Oscar Robertson or Magic Johnson and he was not as statistically dominant as Wilt Chamberlain or Michael Jordan--but a strong case could be made that Russell is the greatest individual performer in team sports history; his teams won the championship in almost every season of his basketball career, extending from high school to college to the 1956 Olympics to the NBA, where he led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented 11 titles in 13 seasons, including a record eight straight crowns (1959-66).

The All-Star Game itself was record-setting (most combined points, most points by one team, most combined three point field goals made, etc.) but watching it felt more like gorging on junk food as opposed to feasting on gourmet fare. The East's 163-155 victory over the West lacked competitive spirit. I know that this is an exhibition but I like what Kobe Bryant--who did not play due to injury--said during his in-game interview: "The fans want to see us do what we do best, which is compete hard, and to go up here and run up and down and just play the game in a silly way, I don't think that shows much respect to the basketball gods." All-Star Games are often high-scoring affairs just because both teams have so much offensive firepower but in the past players competed harder at the defensive end of the court. The previous highest scoring All-Star Game (the West's 154-149 overtime win over the East in 1987) featured a combined 63 fouls and 14 blocked shots, two indicators that the players played at least some defense; the 2014 All-Star Game included just 21 fouls and no blocked shots--that's right, in 48 minutes of action the sport's best players did not manage to block even one single shot! In 1987, the teams combined to shoot 6-17 from three point range; in 2014, the teams shot 30-100 from beyond the arc. At times, the 2014 All-Star Game looked like a very high level pickup game with players shooting uncontested three pointers and driving through the lane unimpeded, not a competition pitting the world's greatest athletes against each other.

The 2014 All-Star Game featured several outstanding individual performances, though the gaudy numbers would have meant more had they been posted against greater defensive resistance. Kyrie Irving had a fantastic game (31 points on 14-17 field goal shooting, plus a game-high 14 assists), winning MVP honors after leading the East to a come from behind win. Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points, set the All-Star single game three point field goals made record (eight) and he committed three fouls, including one to stop Blake Griffin from scoring in the open court (Anthony playing defense at any time, let alone an All-Star Game, may be a sign of impending apocalypse). LeBron James made a solid all-around contribution to the East's win (22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists). The West's Kevin Durant (38 points, 10 rebounds, six assists) and Blake Griffin (38 points on 19-23 field goal shooting) both made serious runs at Wilt Chamberlain's All-Star single game scoring record (42 points).

NBA All-Star Weekend is a lot of fun, whether one experiences it in person or just watches it on TV. If the league tweaks the Shooting Stars competition and the Slam Dunk Contest and encourages the All-Stars to elevate the competition level of Sunday's game then All-Star weekend will be even better.

Labels: Bill Russell, Chris Bosh, Damian Lillard, John Wall, Julius Erving, Kobe Bryant, Kyrie Irving, Marco Bellinelli, NBA All-Star Game, NBA All-Star Weekend, Trey Burke

posted by David Friedman @ 7:18 PM

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