The LeBron's

Until tonight, I never believed in the Cavaliers. I thought that they were just the LeBron's and that their playoff performance against the Magic last year justified that belief. I watched in disgust as a team that has (in my humble opinion) the greatest player in the league fell from grace. They tripped, they fell, they tumbled, and nothing LeBron could do would stop the inevitable crash as a team that would have easily lost to a Garnett-lead Celtics team slowly crushed the playoff life out of them.

What bothered me most was the way in which Cleveland lost. The game plan seemed to be give James the ball, and pray for true greatness to occur for 48 minutes on 7 separate occasions. This worked as much as it could, but even LeBron transcendent him was not enough to outlast a clever and effectively coached Stan Van Gundy team as they ground the LeBron's to a stop. And when things got rough, the "coach of the year" disappeared. He would arbitrarily place James on a random Magic player and blow a 7 point half-time lead within 3 minutes of the start of the third quarter. He would deliberately run plays that had LeBron shooting fade-away jump shots. It was madness.

Tonight, I eagerly watched the Hawks and the Cavaliers play in Atlanta. If I were to have told you that LeBron was going to play very poorly offensively, against a hostile crowd and a fired-up Hawks team, you would have told me (erroneously) that the Cavs would certainly add another loss to their record. My statement to you would have been wrong, though, so do not judge yourself too harshly. LeBron did play incredibly poorly offensively. He almost had as many turnovers as he did made shots. He missed time after time when he had a chance to blow the game open. What fascinated me was the lack of the other two premises upon which my statement stood. The crowd was not hostile. The Hawks were not fired-up.

This is partially their fault, but I would like to give credit to the Cavaliers more than take it away from Atlanta. Mike Brown's preparation for this game, right after an emotional victory over the Lakers, was impeccable. It astonished me. He prepared a defensive scheme that made Joe Johnson look much worse than LeBron did in this game. It involved James shutting him down and throwing different double-teams at him every time he touched the ball. His execution silenced an emotional team and emptied a stadium full of fans thirsty for vengeance after an embarrassing sweep from last year. It reminded us what a championship caliber team looks like, and what a team that is not nearly there, regardless of what PER might lead us to believe, truly is. For now, my hat is off to Mr. Brown. He shocked me. The Cavs won with teamwork, and gutsy play from both Mo Williams and Delonte West. They won with fierce defense, certainly worthy of any team in the NBA. Most importantly, they won with LeBron shooting six for twenty (yes that is 30%), missing all five shots from beyond the arc, turning the ball over 4 times, and mere mortal play. Goodbye LeBron's, hello Cleveland.

True Garbage

What has happened? I remember recently sending a slightly over-enthusiastic text message to my brother which stated that the Utah Jazz were fifth in team PER as rated by Hollinger. This was big news. For once I believed in this ridiculous statistic (the individual one is better, but I still have my doubts about it as well) partly because of my obvious biases toward my hometown team, but also because it described what I was seeing myself with the few bits of box scores, two-minute highlights, the win-loss spread over the last ten games, and other scraps that I can accrue in Seattle.

Then Minnesota struck. For the fourth time of the season and the second time against Utah. Of their twenty losses, Deron Williams owns none. Of their four wins, Carlos Boozer owns half. This is pathetic. And after beating such teams as the Lakers, the Magic, and the Spurs, no less. This was then followed up by a 2-3 road trip, in which I was able to watch one of the most sloppy games I have ever seen against the Heat. Dwayne Wade usually owns the Jazz, but on this day, he didn't even have to (he did score 29 points). Carlos Boozer scored 12 points in the first couple minutes and then 2 points (free throws!) for the rest of the game. Okur looked like a joke. A big ugly, joke. I hate to pick on the guy. Lord knows every team needs an unathletic white center who can't play defense, can't create his own shots, rarely rebounds, and can shoot threes all day, while making a slightly less than great percentage of them. In defense of the big man, he did do something that very few (if any) have done before and very few (if any) will do again: he made Boozer look like a first-team defensive player.

What makes me more furious about this team is the trade of Eric Maynor. Unless this is the precursor to a blockbuster trade of Boozer for a good big man, this trade is unacceptable. If the Jazz didn't want to pay over the salary cap, they shouldn't have re-signed both Boozer and Milsap. Don't ruin the future to make up for your poor off-season management. At this point, I am at a loss: I don't know which league the GM is watching. We are slow, we can't play defense, and we are wasting the talent of a truly brilliant player in Williams. Now, we have ruined the great picks of two rookies (one undrafted) to clear up some money (apparently). Utah is too good for this. We have too much tradition for it. We were infamous as a dirty, defensive team that was *nasty*. Now, it seems that management of the team is content to sit back and sneak into the playoffs in a very talented conference, unwilling and unable to make bold moves and surround our only hope for salvation with some real talent, instead of ugly big men (Lamar Odom still looks and balls like Ms. America compared to Okur). This is all I want for belated Christmas: a dedication to trying to win a championship, risking losing more games while attempting to win more. In the words of another ugly white guy, "Merry Fucking Christmas." (Larry Bird)

Why It's Hard to Follow Basketball from Afar

This video conveys my general feeling of trying to glean NBA coverage without actually attending games or watching them on TV. True, this video is for LA fans, by what a slight bit of research would probably reveal is the local Lakers TV channel. But it speaks to a larger point. This game was largely covered in the national media as a case of Kobe having a broken finger. Which isn't to say that Kobe's finger, his sickness, or playing two games in a row didn't have anything to do with the loss. But it seems to me that the sports media's obsession with stories they already know leaves them unable to cover stories they don't know. What we end up seeing, presuming we don't have the local Utah Jazz station, is very much like the video that opened this post. It's a reel of Lakers highlights, and yet, if we ever glance at the score, we'd notice that the Lakers are behind and staying there.

This isn't to single out the Lakers, who are generally singled out as the NBA team (but that misses the point). I think the larger problem is staying on top of stories as they develop. It's waiting for things to be solidified in stone so you don't end up making the wrong calls. Predicting a team is going to the moon, when its only going to Minnesota. It seems to me (though, granted, my view is askance and taken from afar; meaning I don't follow the NBA nearly as much as I should to be pontificating on its followers' weaknesses, but that's my life) that coverage of the league always lags about a year behind where it should. Therefore, the Orlando Magic are one of this year's big stories. Not to say that that's wrong, but I suspect that other teams are creeping up, ready to strike when everyone in the media least expects it. Pretty soon it'll be mid spring and journalists will start making a retroactive case that 09/10 was their year, ensuring that we'll be inundated with mass amounts of coverage of them as next year's team to watch, while yet another team (one hopes the Jazz) prepares for its moment.

Then again, its very hard to predict these things. Is Atlanta the future of the league, or was November just a hot month? I don't know. (And its hard to know when I only hear about the Hawks in relation to the Celtics, which is partly the fault of coverage and partly the fault of my own biases: my strong emotional connection to Garnet over, say, Josh Smith. But that emotional bias, which limits my ability to take in Hawks or Smith stories as important to me, is itself due to a lack of past coverage, a lack of any narrative to connect new data to.) What I do know, however, is the way coverage is means that really awesome stuff often doesn't make it onto the public consciousness to every one's detriment. And although that video might not capture the whole truth of the league either, it does show that our current vision may be heavily distorted. Plus, it provides solid evidence for my beliefs about Farmer.

Disappointments

After the first couple of games, here is a premature and overly-analytical look into some teams that are not living up to the hype:

CLEVELAND:
LeBron James is amazing. I have said it before and I will certainly say it again. The Cavaliers are seriously disappointing to me, however. In what seems to be a silly attempt to get him to sign on again after this season, they signed Shaquille O'Neal. Now they have a triplet of misfits at the center position: one quick one who is scrawny, one old one who can't keep up on defense, and one very large, very over the top of his career man in the middle. I don't know what they were thinking. It is a shame, but at least we will get to see James in New York next season.

UTAH:
Although they really beat up on San Antonio tonight, the Jazz have disappointed so far. Boozer has played incredibly poorly, injury seems to be creeping in again, and they have played some of the worst fourth quarter play in recent memory. In all three of their losses, they were close, but got whipped in the last period. I don't know if it is conditioning, mental issues, or what, but if they are to make any splash in this immensely competitive conference, they need to step it up.

SAN ANTONIO:
Two losses, one at Utah and one at Chicago, are not devastating. This team is similar in many ways to the Spurs: a fantastic big and leader coming back from injury, and a stacked, veteran team that is championship tested. The Spurs haven't been as dominant as I thought they would be at this juncture, but I will still be shocked if they aren't rolling come playoff time.

PORTLAND:
The Greg Oden is an enigma. He played well in college, but I have never been particularly impressed with him. I did not think he deserved the first draft pick overall, and I certainly thought and still think that he will face injury issues throughout his career. What makes him puzzling is not his character, or even his style of play, but it is the hope and dreams that he seems to inspire in Portland fans. They keep waiting for him to turn into some basketball superstar, some KG over night. It won't happen. He will still be fumble-prone on offense. He will still get too many fouls. He will still follow a brilliantly athaletic (watch Charles Barkley) play with a profoundly dumb-headed one. My prediction: he will be what he is. He isn't going to change. He will be a good defensive presence and not much else. He will be a valuable asset, but not a savior or a ring-fetcher. I beg Blazers fans to cut the guy some slack. It pains me to see him work so hard to try to be something that he never was and never will be. I see this guy settling in with a coach like Doc Rivers, in which the coach asks realistic things out of him and gets them. He will never be Kevin, and it was silly to ever think he would be anything of the sort. That said, the Blazers have seemingly taken a step back from last year. They look one year younger and don't have the swagger that was theirs after last season. If they can regain that, they will be serious challengers in the West.

Back from vacation

Welcome back to the season everybody! After taking a brief hiatus from posting, I am back as well. NBA 09-10 so far looks to be a good conclusion to this resurgent decade of basketball. There are so many story lines that are happening right now it is hard to pick which ones to write about, but all three games from yesterday will be a good start. I will talk about them and their implications for the season:

Lakers vs. Clippers
After Griffin went down, I couldn't help but wonder if this team is destined to be the Chicago Cubs of basketball. Continually awful, disappointing, and never able to catch a break, even in the form of a talented first draft pick. The Lakers, without center extraordinaire Pau Gasol, looked slightly sloppy, but had no real need to try hard or play well. Kobe is dominant as always, Ron Artest crazy as ever (the hair/shorts combination is unbeatable), and Phil Jackson cool, calm, and collected. I think this team is probably still the favorite in the league and nothing I saw yesterday changed my mind.

Blazers vs. Rockets
There is plenty of excitement for Brandon Roy and the Blazers up here in the Northwest. In fact, I have them as the third best team in the Western Conference this year. Last night did not help their image though. After a good preseason, Greg Oden was hot and cold. The cold felt really cold to me. There were a few times after a silly mistake or characteristic foul that he looked up in desperation, the agony plainly painted on his face. The crowd desperately wanted him to succeed and took to cheering every time he touched the ball, but to no avail. He had some good blocks, but against a very mediocre Houston bunch. They certainly looked like they were feeling the lack of all of their stars. I expect to see Portland get better and Houston too probably. I hope that Oden gets better over the season, but I remain sceptical. I can't help but see him as a sort of tragic case, never living up to his potential. He would do very well under a coach like Doc Rivers who could ask for the best that he could do and no more.

Celtics vs. Cavaliers
Clearly the most exciting match up of the evening, it was a good game to watch. The Rondo issues have not cleared up and neither has KG's knee. If they both do, which is a big if, then this team should be favored to win a championship. What excited me most from Boston was their depth and defense. Both have been discussed extensively all off season, and both did not disappoint. I actually believe that this bench could start and make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Paul Pierce is looking good, and Rondo is still immensely talented and quick. KG was obviously hurt still. As for the Cavs, they were not very exciting. LBJ is truly a gift to this sport. He is so immensely talented that teams seem content and almost used to him putting up 38 points. Boston, which played good defense, was not stunned nor even surprised when James would drain a 3-point shot with hands in his face. Their philosophy seemed to be "Well, he can't outscore all 10 of us, so we should be good." It is my opinion and fear that this is still the case with the Cavs. James is amazing, the rest, mediocre. When push comes to shove, the Magic and Celtics will have an answer and Lebron won't be able to outgun the entire other team.

The lasting message from last night? Thank God for basketball.

The Return of J.R. Rider?

Though only a rumor at this point, it appears that Isaiah "J.R." Rider may be primed for one of the most surprising NBA comebacks in recent memory. Undeniably, the 38-year-old guard has roller-coasted his way to one of the leagues most volatile careers since he was selected 5th overall by the Timberwolves in the 1993 NBA Draft. Although Rider hasn't played in a game since the 2001-02 season when he appeared in a whopping 10 matches for Denver, his agent reports that Isaiah has "been working out hard". According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, this stringent level of effort is met by "playing pickup ball with local college guys in suburban Phoenix". Something tells me that whatever jokes might arise regarding the possible effectiveness of such a workout regimen would only give the feeling of shooting fish in a barrel. I'm just going to move on.

The following article will look at this recent come-back news in context of JR Rider's overall career, but first I can't resist the opportunity to point out his bizarre similarity to Jason Kidd. Rider and Kidd both attended high school in the town of Alameda, California, only 2 years apart. Both having March birthdays, Rider and Kidd went on to attend traditionally non-powerhouse collegiate basketball programs in UNLV and UC Berkeley. Despite this, only 3 picks separated their respective top 5 selections in the NBA Draft. Both are strong rebounding guards. All of this may seem like coincidence, and I am even willing to concede that it could just be something in the Alameda water that pushed the players to similar domestic abuse troubles, but then again...

There must be something to the fact that both players boast assault charges on the records stemming from a dispute over fast food. Granted Kidd's assault was prompted by being denied a french fry and Rider's by receiving the wrong flavor of Jack in the Box milkshake (see number 9, add physical altercation), but aren't we just splitting hairs here? How many people, let alone NBA players, can put that on their resume? Just remember, everything happens for a reason... I'll let you know when I figure out what it is.

In the end, I'll concede that it would be an unfair comparison. But only on the basis that, while Kidd has certainly compiled an impressive list of domestic abuse and anger related problems, he has also shown at least a slim measure of remorse. Rider, on the other hand, has never been shy about unabashedly piling it on. It would be an insult to Rider's legacy to simply lump him in with the general NBA populace of dime-a-dozen troublemakers. That's the minor leagues and the last place that this deity of deviance belongs.

Back to the roller coaster. In his prime, Rider was a tangled mix of explosive talent and volatile behavior. On one hand, JR Rider is remembered for the sensational "East Bay Funk Dunk" that won him the 1994 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest and left Charles Barkley stammering that it was perhaps "the best dunk (he'd) ever seen". He's also remembered for the college Dunk of Death when he knocked a defender out cold with a knee to the head. In his rookie season, Rider scored 30+ points 3 times in one month and was named to the All-Rookie First Team, but also managed to miss the first practice of his NBA career (*He repeating this feat by showing up late to his first practice with Atlanta). Both within the single month of December, 1995, Isaiah completed what Timberwolves' announcer Tom Hanneman called the "Play of the Decade" and served a team suspension.

While leading the Hawks in scoring, Rider also managed to be immortalized in Atlanta basketball lore via the “J.R. Curse”, referring to the 9 year playoff drought that followed Rider's demoralizing stint with the team. The powerful black mark left by having traded for Rider is believed to have resulted in the firing of Atlanta GM Pete Babcock as well as the forced resignation of Hawks coach Lenny Wilkins.

Rider has always stood by his delinquency as if on principle. When the NBA ordered drug counseling, he refused, racking up $200,000 in fines. When suspended 3 games by the Hawks for arriving late to a game, he demanded his release rather than submit to the punishment. Really, find me a reasonable comparison. Despite such free cash flow for violations and fines, Rider's rebellious spirit was never satisfied. He was even caught evading phone bills by charging an illegal cell phone to someone else's account. I get the feeling it was more out of habit than a lack of money.

With upwards to 2 dozen arrests to his name, JR Rider has been cuffed for everything from felony cocaine possession to assault, grand theft auto, domestic violence, rape, public gambling, parole violations, marijuana possession (laced with cocaine), failure to complete community service, kicking a woman in the back at an autograph signing, kicking a female sports bar manager, and, my favorite, a kidnapping and battery in which he forced a female acquaintance into his car and proceeded to speed through Marin County with his car door open, holding the screaming woman down. Even though a subsequent court order banned Rider from the county, he was there once again a few weeks later, becoming involved in a car chase that resulted in an auto accident. The incident chalked up another charge of cocaine possession, battery, and police evasion for his record.

Rider's more mundane basketball related issues include instances of threatening to have a reporter killed, going into the stands after a fan, spitting on fans, and violating the league's anti-drug policy. Here is an objective list of incidents and violations committed by Rider during one of his relatively well behaved years with the Portland Trailblazers.

Oh yeah, and in case you're wondering if this pattern is merely a leftover from wilder days, the grand theft auto example is less than a year old. So whether or not it turns out that Isaiah Rider still has the athleticism at age 38 that allowed him to be effective nearly a decade ago, at least we know we'll be getting plenty of Funk in the Trunk, "Slammin' hard like a monster dunk!" (see JR Rider rap track, 1994). When it comes to his finely honed nose for trouble, that's what he built his legacy on and damn he's still got it.

With all that said, it's only appropriate to finish with a vision of Rider's future in his own words from a recent TNT interview regarding his past and the possibility of playing in the NBA again. Openness, commitment, regret. It all seems to be there in a surprisingly eloquent package. If I were in his chair, I'm not sure I would go out of my way to remind everyone that "actions speak louder than words", but like he says, "The proof is in the pudding".

This Month's Media Gems

It's that time again to review the most recent developments in the realm of arguably NBA-related media. In a new twist, this month will begin the first of a set of themed Media Gems installment. This month focuses on the category of just plain strange. So without further ado, here are this month's awards:





1) Strangest Casting Decision:
According to various reports last month, the world should brace itself for a new basketball movie that cross-breeds the likes of Queen Latifah, rapper Common, NJ Nets President Rod Thorn, and a handful of unspecified Nets players. The film is reportedly a romantic comedy, to be called "Just Wright", about the love story between an athletic trainer and the basketball player she is rehabilitating from injury...













Aside from the obvious, this award was given primarily according to my emphatic agreement with Ball Don't Lie that the film severely miscast its focal NBA team. If the Houston Rockets can't even land a movie role about debilitating sports injuries, I don't know what this world is coming to.

2) Strangest Disguise
When Steve Nash wanted to play some pick-up basketball in Beijing this month, he tried to blend into the local culture by wearing a disguise. Nash attributed the photographs and stares to the ineffective nature of his disguise, stating "As soon as I walked on they recognized me. It didn't really work," but perhaps there was another explanation. Maybe it had more to do with the fact that he looked like some sort of Horace Grant, a British school girl, and an Indie Pirate. Who wouldn't bust out their camera? I think the pictures speak for themselves, you decide.

3) Strangest and Most Humiliating Roster Decision

After playing for the national champion Lakers last season, Vujacic was cut from his native Slovenian National Team this month. Maybe there was some underlying injury or commitment issue, but let's just say that Pao Gasol, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli have all had injuries hold them out of recent Olympic play and you can bet that they weren't cut. Poor machine.

4) From the Vault: Strangest Match-up
This classic Jordan clip sees the NBA great, along with a variety of other stars including Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird, facing off against Kenny Rogers at his 1988 Classic Weekend. Country music, roasted chicken, and basketball. Who knew it could be such a winning combo? The commentary by Lakers' Chick Hearn is priceless.