No More Comparisons

Sometimes, Canadians are plain smarter than Americans. The NHL hands out both a regular season MVP and a playoffs MVP plus the obvious Finals MVP. It silences a lot of pointless arguments about if a player was truly deserving of the MVP distinction after a playoff meltdown. All meaningless arguments would be resolved with the simple addition of an award, plus it’s not like sports has ever been against more awards. Look at college football, they have a freaking best punter award (look it up: it’s the Ray Guy Award). Would any professional basketball fan, player, or executive question the addition of a trophy that has been deserved since the inception of the league? It’s so simple. And then we wouldn’t have to spend a week debating if Derrick Rose deserved the MVP recognition this year; because the answer is yes. And yes. And yes.

MVP voting has always been a fickle matter. There is no rubric for how a voter should cast their vote, which results in a lot of mixed views. Let’s start with “Most Valuable” or which player had the greatest impact on their team, who drives their team to more wins by their overall play and leadership. Realistically, there were three candidates for voting this year: Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, and Lebron James (with Dirk Nowitzki receiving an honorable mention). If replaced with an average player at their position which team would falter the most? Not the Miami Heat. Although Lebron accounts for their playoff success, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh could have carried that team to a four or three seed in the regular season considering how Wade lifted the Heat to a five seed last year by himself. Dwight Howard has a reasonable case because the Magic’s offense is based upon his play. However, it’s hard to gauge the Orlando team holistically because of their mid season trade and how much that boosted the team versus how much the previous players were hurting the team. That being said, the Magic would falter without Howard but former Magic backup Marcin Gortat proved himself to be an adequate replacement when Howard was out of the game. A Gortat-Magic could stumble into a mid seed depending on all the different trades the team would make.

 However, Derrick Rose gets the nod because without him, the Chicago Bulls would struggle to even make it into the playoffs, let alone have regular season success. The Bulls would still have a staunch defense because of head coach Tom Thibodeau’s philosophies but would be an offensive joke without Rose. Who would create the offense, Luol Deng? Not if last night’s performance was any indication as the Bulls desperately needed any shot to fly through the net, Deng could only be found in the corner hoping Derrick Rose made something happened. Carlos Boozer didn’t even play at the end of the game because the head coach has such a lack of trust in him. In terms of value, there was no better player in the regular season this year than Derrick Rose.

Others think MVP means best player in the regular season, and if that’s the definition, then Lebron James should be the MVP. But it should not be the sole basis for a media member’s vote, just like the pure value of a player shouldn’t be the decision for a member vote either (although it should be the foundation of their vote). Another factor to consider would be the media story of the year or looking back, what stands out the most in the regular season. Derrick Rose and the charging Chicago Bulls surmounting the number one seed was the story all year. (Pre season goes to “The Decision” and Miami’s shenanigans and post season goes to young teams collapsing and Dirk’s surge.) Derrick Rose was the MVP of the 2010-11 regular season because of his value and memorable rise to greatness as a point guard, even if he wasn’t the best player on the court at all times. Maybe he wasn’t your MVP and that’s ok, but at least you should understand my argument as to why Rose was mine.

Everyone seems to drop the regular season before the MVP title, even the bitter Lebron James who mentioned Rose by “MVP” in his on court interview with Craig Sager following their Game 4 win. The irony is that Lebron signed with Miami to win championships—which they are on the verge of completing that mission—but James thought he could still hold on to his individual titles. Michael Jordan didn’t receive the MVP award several times because voters became bored with voting for the same player multiple times in a row, a distinct possibility with Lebron this year as he won the last two MVPs. No one question Lebron’s greatness, but the recent comparisons to Jordan are absurd.

Scottie Pippen trumped all when he uttered the blasphemous “"Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to ever play in the game, but I may go as far as to say that LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game because he's so potent offensively that not only can he score at will, but he keeps everybody involved and you have to be on your P's and Q's on defense because no guy on the basketball court is not a threat to score when LeBron James is out there. Not only that, but he's also doing it on the defensive end."

It’s hard to truly compare Jordan to James because Lebron’s career isn’t over but even if we limit it to the first eight years (James is in his eighth year), Jordan is still a better player even though he didn’t play the majority of his second year due to a foot injury But can we stop with the Lebron is suddenly great on defense stance, especially when comparing him to Jordan? Jordan has been on the NBA All-Defense 1^st team since his fourth year (1987-88) and remaining on the team from that point on (remember we’re acting as if MJ’s career ended after his eighth year), Jordan also won NBA Defensive Player of the Year in his fourth year as well. Lebron has only recently entered NBA All-Defense 1^st team in his sixth year and hasn’t touched an NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Jordan had been a great defender earlier than James and stayed that way throughout. However, since Lebron’s impressive shut down of the regular season MVP Derrick Rose is so recent, people forget how good Michael was.

Offensively, Jordan was always better, look at the awards. MJ has been on the All Star team since his rookie year and James started his consecutive All Star streak in his second year. Jordan was the league’s scoring champion since his second year and James has only received the award once in 2008 (his fifth year). Jordan has three MVPs, James two, but maybe that’s why Bron Bron was so upset that he didn’t receive the award this year? Then there is the obvious: championships. Michael has two with the third around the corner and James must win one this year to keep pace.

In every way Michael Jordan has been better than Lebron James up to this point: credentials, championships, even pure eye test, MJ beats Lebron. Now, because LBJ is our modern star and MJ’s former teammate who has been jealous of his prowess and greatness since they began playing with each other, we want to crown Lebron King? Admittedly, Lebron is a better passer than Michael (James- 7.0 assists per game Jordan- 5.6  assists per game) and a slightly better rebounder (James- 7.1 boards per game Jordan -6.0 boards per game) but MJ was better defensively, offensively and was purely a better winner than Lebron. Hell, Jordan’s HOF speech was filled with digs or gripes against various players because he cared that much. Jordan has so many career defining moments that they made a video game about his top ten, if the game was made about Lebron it would be answering the interview questions from Jim Gray correctly at “The Decision” (You’re taking your talents to: A) Cleveland B) South Beach C) Pluto or D) Metropolis) and his epic comeback against the Detroit Pistons and that’s it.

So, please shut your  jealous mouth Scottie Pippen and everyone else who believes LBJ is better than MJ, at least for now. Maybe Lebron can transcend Michael like so many desperately want him to do, but I doubt it. And if Lebron is ever crowned the King, I’m moving to Canada.

Hater While You Were Hating...

Anakin Skywalker: “If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy.”

Obi-Wan Kenobi: “Only a Sith deals in absolutes.”

Has to be in the top ten of movie quotes of all time, indisputable. At this point, we know Anakin has turned to the dark side to save Padame but this moment crystallized his transformation. We all know what happens next: Obi-Wan defeats Anakin, Anakin turns into Darth Vader but not before his son Luke and daughter Leia are born who will eventually lead the Rebel forces to defeat the Imperial army therefore saving the galaxy (spoiler alert!). Almost all of us have watched at least one Star Wars epic (Episode II doesn’t count) but none of us have learned that fundamental message aforementioned by Obi Wan.

“Only a Sith deals in absolutes.”

As evidenced when I was recently talking to some friends about the botched 1993 draft by the Orlando Magic, who along with me are Magic fans. I was shooting off my mouth (surprisingly) why Chris Webber made so much more sense for the Magic after they lucked into the No. 1 pick that year. Webber was one of the few breeds of forward who was as stellar at passing as he was shooting, great defender down low (Hardaway was a sieve), and had more raw talent than Hardaway had talent. Instead, Orlando traded back to the No. 3 pick because they were so impressed with Hardaway’s one workout that no one else saw. By drafting Chris Webber, the Magic had a greater chance of convincing Shaq to stay—O’Neal and Hardaway had a falling out that convinced Shaq to leave—kept  Scott Skiles to run point in 1994 and possibly sign a role player like Steve Kerr who was fundamental in the Bulls’ second threepeat. Don’t forget Orlando also drafted Darrel Armstrong in 1994 who proved to be a valuable asset and fan favorite in Orlando. The Magic could have had a starting five of Skiles, Armstrong, Kerr, C-Webb, and Shaq for the next six to seven years at least and fill in various role players and low level veterans throughout to patch the holes of the team. That sounds a lot better than a failed 1995 Finals performance, Shaq leaving, watching Hardaway flame out, and Orlando basketball entering obscurity until they drafted Dwight Howard.

No Magic fan can convince me that they would rather have the what-if starting five instead of the one year of greatness Orlando had. However, my Magic friends were telling me how crucial Penny was to the ’95 run (true) and at least he had a decent career post-Shaq. Since when has basketball been about just being able to compete? It seemed they were all too wary of criticizing their team and being seen as a hater. This hater notion has to be the most frustrating inanity of sports fandom.

Either I’m a die-hard fanatic who loves every financial and athletic move my team makes or I’m an annoying hater who isn’t a true fan. Which leads us to Lebron James, the most polarizing athlete in professional sports. I like Lebron, he’s distanced himself as the best player in the NBA right now. However, I, along with 85% of the country, hated The Decision. I distaste the Miami Heat’s basketball version of Two and a Half Men (when is Bosh being replaced by Ashton?) and how they have a good chance of winning the championship destroying any concept of team I’ve ever known. Despite all that, I can’t deny how great Dwayne Wade and Lebron James have been this postseason. Any labels of choke artist have been stripped from Lebron as we watched him crush the Celtics’ dreams in Games 4 and 5 scoring the last four points to force overtime, the go ahead basket for the win to start overtime, and score the last 10 points of the game of Game 5 to close out the series. He then rallied against Chicago putting the team on his back again scoring only the last seven points this time. Watching both James and Wade kill themselves on offense and defense with Wade clearly rattling both Ray Allen’s and Derrick Rose’s shooting performances in the respective series has been an absolute treat. The problem is no one can separate The Decision between their decision if they like the player or not. Criticizing is fair and should happen like Orlando’s botched draft in 1993 but bashing a player’s talents, calling him overrated simply because he was selfish is the definition of a true hater. No more hating, I thought we dealt with that a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Clutch, Closers, and Kleptomaniacs

One of the most valued characteristics of modern sports is the clutch ability. Can he hit the game winning 3, lead the 2 minute drive, get 3 outs in the bottom of the 9^th? We as fans ask a ludicrous consistency from our players, expecting Peyton Manning to always lead the Colts down the field, telling our friends “Ray Allen always makes this shot,” when in reality they don’t. The NBA Playoffs have been a microcosm study of our fascination with closers in sports and has led to a humanizing of our favorite players, our heroes. Even if we don’t want to admit it.

Let’s define the difference between being clutch and what a closer is in NBA terms. Being clutch is the ability to hit the game winning shot when the team has the last possession to win or tie the game. A closer is defined by the player that the offense runs through in the last 5 minutes of a game. For example, even though Derek Fischer is the point guard for the Lakers, Kobe Bryant begins running the plays in big games with five minutes left. Speaking of which, wasn’t Kobe Bryant “the man” when it came to being clutch and a closer, not this year. Most of the time, closers are seen as an offensive threat but the defensive capabilities of a team and the closer on that team should be considered as well. The Lakers were leading by seven points with five minutes left in both Games 1 and 3 against the Mavericks but they lost both games. They ceased to play defense and those fade away jumpers that Kobe used to always swish through the net, started hitting the rim. Most will point to the Lakers’ porous defense for their playoff debauchery but Kobe did miss that three in Game 1 and he did become ineffective as the Laker closer in Games 2 and 3. This shouldn’t be a surprise though, examine the Lakers’ last regular season game and watch Kobe Bryant miss shot after shot with five minutes left in the 4^th quarter but then switch into classic Kobe by nailing the game tying shot in a fall away manner. Eventually the shots stop falling for the closers in the NBA and instead of reasoning to realistic causes like age, stellar defense by the opposing team, or even a poor call, they are thrown asunder. However, for 25 other teams in the NBA, they want Kobe on their team taking that shot every time.

As much as people tout Kobe Bryant as Mr. Clutch, he also holds the record for most missed game winning shots. Before the Lakers won their last two championships, Bryant was tied for most game winning shots in the playoffs (4 for 8 before 2009 Playoffs) by the man who is being criticized for his late game heroics: Lebron James. Before Game 5 of the Celtics-Heat series, Lebron has been atrocious at clutching a victory as a member of the Miami Heat. Some will tell you that the last play usually comes down to the closer of the team creating his own shot and winning the game. Part of that is true, but how often do teams with the last shot come out of a time out before their last possession.  I would argue at least 75% of the time. It would then make sense for that team to have some sort of play to execute for the last possession, even if it is creating separation between the defense and the closer. Yet, the Miami Heat have been a work in progress all year, every part of their game has struggled, so when they stumble in executing the final play of the game, why would it not be expected for them to falter in that area of play? Don’t get me wrong, Lebron James should be partly blamed for his late game woes but let’s not solely blame him for his team’s late game tribulations.

That being said, when he finally produced in Game 5 against the Celtics scoring 10 points by himself, he shouldn’t have acted as if he had won the Olympics all over again by kneeling on the ground, overcome by emotion. Give America a break. The Heat are merely halfway through winning the championship and after defeating the team that hasn’t won the championship the past two years, yet they act like their high school girlfriends finally gave up their v-card. Forget about the Chicago Bulls looming around the corner whose matchups are terrible for the Heat (Chicago’s Rose and Noah are far superior than Miami’s Bibby and Anthony. Carlos Boozer vs. Chris Bosh is a toss-up depending on who feels like playing that night) or that they still have to make the freaking NBA Finals.

The Russel Westbrook-Kevin Durant argument that has been constructed within the playoffs particularly against the Grizzlies shouldn’t be an argument. Russell Westbrook has a better matchup than Kevin Durant but if my point has somehow been lost here it is: give your best player the freaking ball. Stats become meaningless within the last shot of the game, if they meant something, Greivis Vasquez (whose first name clearly doesn’t know the rule I before E except after C) should take the final shot for the Memphis Grizzlies. No matter if they are on a cold streak or are finally showing their age, they are still your best player. Let’s all stop being such kleptomaniacs. Everyone knows who the best player is on their respective team and who they want shooting in the final possession; just as everyone outside of the Miami Heat and their fans knows their win was miniscule if they fail hereafter. Then again, maybe I’m the klepto because I care about sports this much.