Bron Bron: Getting Aerial

Only LeBron James's achievements get qualified for his fantastic athleticism. On Sportscenter this afternoon commentators were discussing his alley-oop postering of John Lucas III, and the anchors and analysts claimed that the dunk wasn't that great, that Shawn Kemp had hundreds more impressive, that Vince Carter jumping over a Frenchman a decade or so ago set the bar for superiority, etc. But the commentators ignore two factors. First, as with all of his movements LeBron exhibits a Joe Dimaggioesque ability to make exceptionally complex plays appear routine. Notice that he goes from a slow walk at the three point line into three casual steps and then catches a ball thrown almost to the point where the top of the box extends to the edge of the backboard. He makes what in a dunk contest with nobody else on the court would be an awful alley-oop pass appear perfectly positioned. Second, and most importantly, LeBron shows that with a defender--albeit, a 5'11" one--in position and attentive to the offense's play he, LeBron, can get the ball anywhere in an increasingly vast set of physical dimensions and convert it into a field goal. Perhaps what is most impressive (and most ignored) is that LeBron was able to do all of this without getting injured and  while maintaining his balance upon landing. (Note that mid-flight Lucas III basically undercuts LeBron, who reacts as if having both feet physically removed is of no consequence and manages to locate the ball, score and re-position himself for an easy landing.)

Highlights from Louisville Basketball Players' Bios

DBSF was doing some research on college basketball when he inadvertently came across bios on the University of Louisville's men's basketball team. Documenting 19 year old's thoughts and personal philosophies is probably not that much of a mistake considering other social media outlets but that didn't mean there wasn't something to learn.

Gorgui Deing (C) wears number 10 because "the best players in sports wear than number". While all time greats, like Walt Frazier and Earl the Pearl wore #10, contemporaries include Keith Bogans and Joel Przybilla, who may or may not still be playing in the NBA/ professional basketball/ working in some capacity related to basketball/ living. (Grant it, Dieng is from Senegal, and as a foreigner he is allowed to believe that Lionel Messi (#10) is the greatest player.)

Kyle Kuric (G/F/ bro) would most like to meet "Michelangelo". Obvious time, space and language factors will likely impede Kyle from achieving this goal. Interestingly, if Angel Nunez (G/F) could meet anybody--literally any living, dead, fictitious, whatever, you call it--he would like to meet Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. From the glass-is-half-full perspective in contrast to Kuric, Angel has what one has to classify as an 'achievable goal'. It’s called the Mall of Memphis. Anfernee is probably in the food court right now. Like by the Sbarro waiting for his Hawaiian to heat-up.

Chris Smith (G), who despite having the rosary neck tattoo, earns DBSF 'favorite Louisville Cardinal' distinction for listing as his favorite player as no other than JR Smith. DBSF's pride in Chris's selection was somewhat mitigated upon learning that his other favorite player is Baron Davis, which makes Chris--save Baron Davis's immediate family--the only person that lists Baron Davis as their favorite basketball player.

Some other slightly less noteworthy findings include that Wayne Blackshear's (G/F) favorite website is "Google", which DBSF can't deny is a solid if not imprecise selection, and most everyone on the team majors in sports administration (i.e., is planning a basketball-related career), lists the Bible as their favorite book (i.e., not a lot of readers, definitely the most nameable book), and over the last ten or so years XBox appears to have teetered over the line from pastime into lifestyle. 

JR Smith & the CBA: Optimism

As it becomes more and more apparent that his People's Republic of China (PRC) basketball team won't let JR Smith return to America until the Chinese Basketball Association's (CBA) season concludes in March and that no NBA team will let JR shoot the ball  40+ times a game DBSF has resigned to accept a 2012 of professional American basketball sans one JR Smith. If he wishes to see JR in action DBSF must either follow gritty recordings on Youtube or travel to the PRC and witness JR first hand. Considering the twenty-some hour, quadruple layover, economy flight necessary for US-Sino navigation DBSF recognizes that the former isn't likely to happen.

But there is some room for optimism. For those that don't frequent asia-basket.com either because of american-centrism/ xenophobia or because of fear that hard drives will become infested with a virus that results in incessant pop-ups apparently promoting low-cost Japanese ring tones, JR is shooting over 48% from threes in the CBA. See here in lies a great benefit of JR playing in the CBA and not the NBA--objective measures and standards don't exist in the PRC. Currency valuation? Unemployment levels? Housing prices in comparison to median incomes? In the PRC none of this matters. The government just makes it up. So who cares if JR is shooting 28% from downtown. JR thinks JR shoots 50% so the CBA marks him for half. If you want to appease a potentially disgruntled American player simply give him the stats he wants. (4.3 assists per game? Eh eh.) If he were back stateside with the Nuggets JR would be battling with Al Harrington for zero-pass, six seconds into the shot clock contested threes. But in China JR seems to have found a community that celebrates his mien if not his actual achievements.

Celtics looking to trade Big Three

Yahoo is reporting that the Celtics are willing to trade the Big Three to get younger. To clarify, one of the worst teams in the East is willing to disband a corps of players producing career lows and the youngest of whom will be 35 this year in a league where the average age is around 26.

The obvious direction to turn for the upgrade is Kevin McHale as he was the Timberwolves' head coach and was instrumental in sending Kevin Garnett to the Celtics for 5 players none of whom still play with the Timberwolves. The problem however, is that McHale is currently coaching the Houston Rockets, who have the kind of players that exist so as to be part of that anonymous third team that facilitates a trade involving a superstar. And they have Chase Buddinger . . . and Hasheem Thabeet, who while possessing minimal basketball value offer high entertainment value when viewed standing next to each other.

That leaves the Celtics in a predicament as they can now only negotiate with the most socially-ostracized lepers of the NBA--teams like the Wizards and Bobcats. Fortunately, between the Wizards, Celtics and Bobcats' roster you have a year-in, year-out 10 seed. Unfortunately, it appears that the NBA is sticking to its eight team per conference playoff model.

Josh Harrellson--Getting all Eastern European

How DBSF sees it there is one of three ways that an individual makes it in the NBA. The most common method is having exceptional athletic ability and size. It probably accounts for over 90% of the NBA and is found in players varying from future superstars like Blake Griffin to Andray 'didn't I play enough defense in the first quarter to get you off my back for the rest of the game?' Blatche. The second group--and by far the smallest contingent--consists of players with exceptional work ethic. If effort determined eligibility in the NBA then 5'9" D-III shooting guards would have a monopoly on lottery picks. Of course, that's not the case so we get Eddie Curry. When you get a player who combines natural ability and size with work ethic then you get LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. With the right GM these hybrids become franchise players.

The third and final method for entering the NBA is to be a niche player. These players possess a mastery of a specific skill-set, most often three point shooting (i.e., Eddie House, Matt Bonner, Jason Kapono, etc) or defense (i.e., Keyon Dooling, Joel Anthony, Ronnie Brewer, etc). Over the last decade and a half as Europeans have invaded the NBA a new niche player has emerged from Eastern Europe--the 7-foot'ish 25-foot, no-jump, jump shooter. Mehmet Okur best exhibits this form of niche player. He likes to kind of set picks at the top of the key and from his presence around the basket on offense one is led to deduce that he believes the rule is one second in the paint not three. Apparently, this Eastern European niche-strain is invasive as it has infected St. Charles, Missouri's/ University of Kentucky's own Josh Harrellson. At 6'10" 275 pounds and possessing the celerity of shoppers at the Mall of America Ashley Stewart one assume that Harrellson would prefer banging (or plodding) closer to the basket so as to disguise his deficiencies. Instead, he's attempting almost 3 threes per game, which represents over half of his field goal attempts. While Josh deserves credit for shooting 43% from the three point line over the last three games, DBSF is just concerned about the pernicious effects that the migration of bigger, fatter, slower whites outside the three point line might have on JR Smith's long range shot count. That is, once (and if) the PRC grants JR his amnesty.

Two NBA Distinctions from the First 2.5 Weeks

The Solipsists/ 'nothing exists outside the self' distinction--Through ten games and approximately 210 minutes of basketball Derrick Favors has 0 assists. (DBSF is scouring the internet for data on passes and dribbles per individual because he assumes Favors' dribble to pass ratio is probably peaking in the JR Smith 50:1 range, which is phenomenal for a PF with no discernible ball-handling skills.) DeAnrde Jordan is a close second with 1 assist over 256 minutes. These gentlemen adhere to the philosophy of magnanimity of the self. Related to the solipsists are another distinguished group who not only take provocation at the lightest intimation of them passing the ball, but at the same time practice little discretion w/r/t its possession. While Andrew Bynum might seem like the undisputed leader of this group with an average 0.8 assists and 3 turnovers per game, in fact DeMarcus Cousins' average of 0.6 assists per 3.3 turnovers for a most un-Nash'ian 0.18 assist to turnover margin reigns supreme. D-Mark, as DBSF is now thinking about referring to him, also dominates the league with 4.8 fouls per game which is over a half a foul per game more than the next hacker. Fortunately for DeMarcus, DBSF can attest (as much as one can attest to the considerations of another, whom the attester has never met) that he, D-Mark, genuinely doesn't care.

Second, there's the 'presumably it only gets better' distinction: This is actually a partial team award and it goes to the entire Washington Wizards backcourt. Currently, Nick Young leads all guards in making 37.8% of his field goals. And this isn't like some nerd advance-stats measure of field goal percentage that controls for things like contested shots, time left on the shot clock, defender, and whether the host city has a Miami or Salt Lake City nightlife scene. No, literally Nick Young will make about one out of every three shots you give him and he's the most accurate guard on the roster.  After Young it drops to John Wall's 33.8% which as a batting average garners NL MVP consideration, but in basketball basically means that you make your lay-ups and not much else. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly if you've actually watched the Wizards)  the remaining three guards on the roster--Roger Mason, Shelvin Mack, and Jordan Crawford--all average 33.3%. In other words, if there were zone defenses in the NBA these guys would make at most one fifth of their shots. But it's not all bad for the Wizards' backcourt as second-year PF Kevin Seraphin anchors the team with a 14.3% FG%, which basically makes Seraphin the NBA's Adam Dunn. (Eric Gordon and Reggie Evans also deserve consideration. Gordon is shooting 8% on threes while taking 6 a game and Evans has made 1 of 9 free throws but injuries and limited playing time prevent the two from qualifying.) DBSF should note that many of these distinctions should be asterisked as JR Smith is still being held in Chinese basketball asylum and once released will likely retain his supremacy in these categories.

CP3 Trade Block Revisited

Back in December when David Stern blocked Chris Paul's trade to the Lakers virtually anyone with interest in the NBA protested that Stern's autocracy had finally started to compromise the integrity of the NBA. Commentators, like Bill Simmons, argued--and probably correctly--that Stern made the decision at the behest of small market owners, whom Stern had to just the day before coerced into accepting a collective bargaining agreement that many small-market owners felt was unfair. The thinking went that 'Chris Paul to the Lakers reflected yet another case of a star dictating which big-market team he wanted to play with'. As a result, the NBA was becoming a bifurcated lead of the big-market haves and the small market have your choice of Jarron or Jason Collins, also Ricky Davis and Wally Szczerbiak are free agents if you're interested.


Critics were correct--in the short-term--in pointing out that the deal benefited all teams and perhaps the Hornets the most as they traded one superstar who planned on leaving in six months and in return received three quality starters. But DBSF always supported Stern. And it is the long-term interest of the league and the players involved that show Stern was right.

NBA fans are unique from other sports in that dedications rest more with superstars than teams, save dynasties like the Lakers and Celtics. As a result, most NBA fans--and networks with broadcasting rights--prefer to see superstars play together on select teams. And it should come as no surprise that 25 year old multimillionaire superstar basketball players prefer cities, like New York and Los Angeles, over Milwaukee or San Antonio. This presents a problem to the NBA in its efforts to expand its fan base. While it’s great for short-term ratings to have superstars team-up in major cities it prevents marginal fans in small market cities from taking interest in the NBA. What benefit does a marginal basketball fan in Charlotte have in following the Bobcats if there is no chance for his home team to compete because no stars want to play in her or his city?

In the long-term DBSF is confident that Stern's actions will help preserve the NBA and allow it to grow rather than remain some fantasy all-star game prized by big-market fans and core followers who want to watch more an offense-fueled video game than basketball. But what about the players and the teams involved in trade?

DBSF thinks that while this wasn't his purpose Stern alerted superstars to the dangers of the big-market, super-team model. With the exception of Kobe, every superstar was made better off. If Paul goes to the Lakers and they lose Odom and Gasol, they're still at best a four maybe three seed in the West. Kobe's age has become a factor. While he's still healthy Bynum is not a dominate big man and Meta World Artest is becoming mad Luke Walton'ish.

Paul probably won't accomplish much with the Clippers this year but if Blake develops into a superstar and not just a highlight reel, the Clippers are young enough and a big man away from becoming a presence in the West. During the whole trade debacle Dwight Howard was demanding a trade to the Nets. Now we hear nothing of it as the Nets are the Washington Wizards +6 and Deron Williams very well might not resign with a team that emptied house to acquire him. Further, Howard need only look at the Knicks to see that putting two stars together doesn't guarantee success. 


After signing Tyson Chandler this off-season the Knicks are essentially locked-in with their big-three front court. The problem is that even if Amare stays healthy all year they're still a three seed at best. The sad truth that Stoudemire is finding out is that if Carmelo doesn't give you 25+ then taking into account his laissez faire defense and how he slows up the D'Antoni seven-seconds and shoot express he can become a liability. 


So the super-team model doesn't guarantee success. Now back to Stern's blocking the Paul trade. Why would Stern block a trade that benefited all teams especially considering Paul announced that he would leave in the off-season? Interestingly Kobe made the same demand a few years ago--and was about to be traded to Chicago except the Bulls refused to give up Deng--and then the Lakers re-tooled with Gasol and Odom, and Kobe wins two more titles yet no one ever went back and asked Kobe in retrospect what he thought about his demand to be traded in response to the decision of the Lakers' front office.


Consider if Paul was still with the Hornets. We know Dwight Howard wants out of Orlando. New Jersey and New York are out for him. The Lakers have an aging Kobe and they're record is the same so they become less attractive. After David West's departure it seems logical--assuming winning a title and not playing in a big-market remains his primary goal--that Dwight consider teaming up with Paul in New Orleans. Not only would New Orleans have young, dominant players at the two most important positions in basketball, but they'd have money to bring in another scorer. This is what was missed in the hype surrounding Paul to the Lakers. Superstars make demands--it’s what they do. General Managers, on the other hand, are supposed weather the ego-driven storms and build contenders. Whether or not anyone recognized it, Stern's blocking the Chris Paul trade could have created a New Orleans dynasty.

John Elway wants Tebow to Fail so He can Draft an Actual QB

After Sunday's loss to secure home field in the first round of the playoffs, the Denver Post interviewed John Elway about the Broncos and the ever-righteous Tim Tebow. On Tebow he said "The key thing ... is to go out, put everything behind him, go through his progressions and pull the trigger. . . When you get into these playoff situations, he's a good enough athlete, you know what, to pull the trigger." Basically, let loose Tim and fire away. Despite being a lifetime Elway fan and being able to discern reality from statistical anomaly during their 6-game win streak, DBSF couldn't help but take some pleasure in seeing the discomfort Tebow's success caused Elway in the press box. Consider that with a 2-5 record, Elway throws in Tebow to appease Denver's massive red state fan base while figuring it also to be the surest way to 2-14 and RGIII and maybe even Andrew Luck. But what happened? Basically the same cosmic forces took action that lead to Powerball winnings and to survival among people that jump off suspension bridges and don't die. Now, if Elway has any hope of drafting a QB and protecting his role as Executive VP of Football Operations with the Broncos he has to resort to psychological subterfuge. Only those individuals who prioritize things like same-sex marriage and prayer in school over the economy and national security when assessing a political candidate's worth can fail to objectively recognize that Tebow's greatest weakness as a quarterback is when he's not a direct snap running back and has to actually throw the ball. Thus, Elway is encouraging Tebow--at the expense of the Broncos' playoff hopes--to go pick-six or bust, which will inevitably lead to one of those Brett Favre Vicodin-blurred games where Favre, believing he was some figurative--and at times literal--gun-slinger and would throw interception after interception because his 8 Demoral breakfast presented distortions and, thus, football-related complications. 


Joe Gibbs thinks the Redskins need a QB. Noble thought. But does he mean like Jason Campbell or Mark Brunell. Or, maybe he meant Todd Collins.


Paul Westphal got fired from the Sacramento Kings, which is like getting denied service at Denny's. DBSF looked it up and Westphal's only been fired three times, but he definitely seems like one of the MLB managers/ Wade Phillips-types who's career consists of coaching awful to mediocre teams for two to three years until the organization decides to go with a virtually identical coach, which leads to virtually identical results. Ergo, Kings will be lottery picking. 


Now that's out of the way, onto the Wizards. From Sports Bog. Words aren't necessary. Pure Wizardry.

And, just when you think things can't get anymore Wizards'ish . . . Andray Blatche goal tends a free throw (fast forward to 0:51).

Lance Stephenson hasn't yet made a field goal this year

DBSF doubts that starting 0-7 will dissuade Lance from firing away. Very "equal opportunity shooter". No Jump Shot Left Behind. Even JR Smith while watching Lance's college game tapes at Cincinnati would call for more ball movement. Nick Young : Lance :: Warhol : Basquiat. Very much "get" each other. Also, Sebastian Telfair is still in the league. If you want to call it that. Finally . . . will actually result in improved aesthetics.