‘Melo’s Street Cred

By Ryan McNeill

While cleaning my condo this week I came across a Dime Magazine from last August with Carmelo Anthony on the cover with his fists up ready for a fight. After the scrap that happened earlier this month at Madison Square Garden curiosity got the best of me so I quickly flipped through the article.

While reading through the article by Patrick Cassidy one section that stuck out is when he wrote that “there’s something about Carmelo Anthony that seems to connect with people. Maybe it’s because of the way he plays fearless, smooth in spurts, but smash mouth when it’s called for. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t look like he’s been hewn from stone: he has to work hard at staying in shape. He’s not seven-feet tall and he’s not a genetic anomaly like LeBron James: ‘Melo has a tinge of every man to him. Maybe it’s the fact he isn’t perfect, that he’s fallible and he has endured the slings and arrows because he does come across as a normal human. Someone spits in your girl’s face, like what happened when Carmelo popped that dude in the bar in 2004? Can’t we all see ourselves reacting like that?”

I couldn’t agree more with Cassidy about peoples attraction to ‘Melo being attributed to the fact that he’s fallible. After receiving some negative press numerous professional athletes have seen their endorsements deals shrivel up quicker than a man suffering from “shrinkage.” Players like Kobe Bryant and Stephen Jackson have had some problems off the court and their marketability hasn’t returned to anywhere close to the same levels as they were prior to their issues. Between arguing with Larry Brown over minutes during the last Olympics, being part of a gang related video called “Stop Snitchin’” and his involvement in the brawl at Madison Square Garden earlier this month you would think that his rep would be in shambles. Instead, these events have helped to create a street cred for ‘Melo that is unrivalled by any of his peers in the NBA.

‘Melo’s street cred was illustrated perfectly in the Dime article when Cassidy wrote, “we saw ‘Melo’s appeal first hand when we moved out photo shoot for this issue from the sidewalks of Manhatten’s Lower East Side. Within minutes, it looked like a full-on block party had broken out. The street flooded with men, woman, and children gathered around Carmelo, snapping pics of him with their digital cameras while he was being shot for Dime. Construction workers on their way home from work yelled to ‘Melo from the back of their truck while kids gathered for closer looks. Men and woman hung out of apartment windows and one woman made a point of letting Carmelo know that she thought he was one ‘big ol’ adorable bundle of joy.’”

A huge part of the reason why ‘Melo fascinates me is due to the fact that he has made mistakes and he doesn’t try to stand on the traditional podium that we place our favourite athletes. His image is a little grimy and because of that I feel I can relate to him more than I can that of the clean-cut image of a player like Dwyane Wade.

While the 2003 NBA Draft has cultivated countless marketable stars in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Kirk Hinrich, I think the player that will have the biggest impact on and off the court will be ‘Melo due to heart for people in need within his community, his insatiable desire to win games and the innate ability he possesses to build street cred through making PR mistakes that would doom the marketability of his peers.

Interview with BYU Assistant Coach Walter Roese

By Ryan McNeill

I had the pleasure of interviewing BYU assistant coach Walter Roese earlier this month for an interview that is now online at 5StarHoops.com. Walter’s collegiate playing career saw him attend the University of Houston, West Texas A&M and BYU-Hawaii while playing at the Division I, Division II and NAIA levels and he has played and coached for the Brazilian National Teams.

Some of the topics that I chatted with Walter about are;

* The highlights of playing pro ball in Brazil in Italy and some of the challenges he faced
* Walter holds the Brazilian professional league record with 23 assists in a game and he talked about racked up so many assists in one game
* He was the first Brazilian born full-time assistant coach in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball history and he talked about what it feels like to have that honour
* In 2005 he helped the Cougars become the nation’s second-most improved team with a 20-9 overall record. Walter fills listeners in on how the team plans to improve upon the success of last season
* He was the director of basketball at BYU when Rafael Araujo entered the NBA draft and he talked about how rewarding was it to see one of your players get selected in the NBA Lottery
* He talked about some coaches that helped you grow as a player and what attributes make a successful coach

You can listen to the entire interview by going to 5Starhoops.com but you can listen to a five minute clip of the interview for free by clicking here. In this clip Walter talks about what it was like to see a former player and close friend Rafael Araujo get drafted into the NBA and he talks about some of the struggles Araujo has had as a pro.

Baltimore Sun Article on Lincoln Scoring 201 Points

By Ryan McNeill

Last week Bill emailed me an article that he found in the Baltimore Sun called “Lincoln gets right to the points” which has me worked up about this game all over again. Earlier this month I wrote an article about my displeasure at this school running up the score and this article only served to infuriate me further as the coach and players don’t seem to understand the problem with what transpired earlier this month.

The first problem I had with this article came when Lincoln forward Dwight Dean told the Sun:

“They were a backup team that wasn’t really supposed to play. They only had six players, and the biggest was about 6-2, maybe 6-3. We press every game no matter who we play. It just came together and we executed at will. Everybody [all 16 Lincoln players who dressed] got significant minutes.”

Adding to my frustration was the quote immediately following Dean’s this article by Vincent Carter-Bey who said:

“We executed off their mistakes, and just took it as a normal game. Our style is up and down, and we score a lot of points. Unfortunately, we scored so many.”

First off, are they an underhanded team that you took it easy on or did you treat this like a normal game and show no mercy? I think that the players lack of clarity in this shows that they weren’t sure how to approach this game. I also want to stress that since these players are barely out of their teens so I don’t feel the responsibility for sportsmanship should fall upon them. Rather, it should be placed on their head coach that dictated defensive sets and doles out playing time. While players should be held accountable to some extent for their actions on the court I don’t think you can blame a player for going out and doing what his coach has instructed him to do.

Also, there’s no reason for any team to use press during a blowout. There isn’t a rule in NCAA hoops about this but in the elementary school league that I coach in there’s even a rule that stipulates that teams up by more than 15 points aren’t able to use a press.

Later in the article the writer, Kent Baker, tried to make excuses for Lincoln scoring 201 points by writing:

“The Lions are averaging 115.3 points, and have topped 90 points in five of their first six games.”

Kent, these stats aren’t helping Lincoln’s case. To me this is like a NBA beat writer not being surprised because the Phoenix Suns scored 201 points in a game because they have a high octane offense. To me the bottom line is Lincoln nearly doubled what they had been averaging against a team they admit was weaker competition.

Something else that got my blood boiling is when Dwight Dean said:

“They knew our style. There wasn’t any disrespect.”

To me this is the equivalent of a bully in grade 8 picking on the smallest kid in grade 5 and this being accepted because he’s bigger and older. The fact that Lincoln is a stronger team and that OSM was missing some players doesn’t mean that Lincoln can kick them around the court.

The final part of this article I want to address is Sam Wylie’s stat line. I talked about this in my previous post on this game but I want to vent again. Baltimore Sun writer Kent Baker summed up Wylie’s game by writing:

“Sami Wylie made an NCAA-record 21 three-point shots and scored 69 points”

How could a head coach ever let his star player chuck up 41 attempts from beyond the arc and score 69 points? I’ve talked to some coaching friends since I posted my first article about this game and none of them can fathom what could have been going through the mind of Lincoln’s head coach.

I’ve played in and I’ve coached some games that were blowouts, however I’ve never witnessed a game where a team scored over 200 points while the opposition failed to score 100.

After reading this article in the Baltimore Sun trying to justify the actions of Lincoln’s players and coach I still can’t see the sportsmanship in how Lincoln played against OSM. What does everyone else think about this game?

Hey! Whatever Happened to Mitch Richmond

By Brian Taylor

In today’s NBA, you have your rebounders, shot-blockers, jump shooting assassins, and lock-down defenders. The position of “pure scorer”, however, isn’t filled by many in the league. Many are called, but even fewer are chosen, to be the guy to get into the zone and fill the stat sheet. Everyone remembers Kobe’s 81-point explosion against the Raps, and a few nights ago, we were treated to a 60-point masterpiece from Gilbert Arenas. Very few players in history have had what it takes to be the “scorer”, and one of those guys from back in the day was Ft. Lauderdale’s own, Mitch Richmond.

For those that don’t really remember Mitch, he was one of the aforementioned “pure scorers”, a guy that could hurt you inside/outside/posting up/at the free throw line/from the concession stand/ he was deadly. Everyone remembers his 1988 Olympic team as the one that prompted us to create the “Dream Team”. In his first days fresh out of Kansas State, Richmond was scooped up by Golden State, Mitch (“Rock” to his teammates) ran with Chris Mullin and Timmy Hardaway to form “RunTMC”, one of the illest NBA cliques ever. Milwaukee had Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Glen Robinson. The Knicks had Sprewell, Houston and Ewing, and the Wizards have Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, but those three really started the “3 star trend”.

What made Mitch really standout on the NBA landscape was his work in the California capitol (Sacramento), where he was shipped for “the leagues’ most traded man” Billy Owens. In Sacto, a revolution took place.

Gone were the lame powder blue and red jerseys, also gone was the losing attitude, and Mitch brought a team that was lame for eleven years straight into the playoffs. Who could forget those horrendous half-black/half-purple checkerboard jerseys, or the fact that Bobby Hurley was never the same after that car accident? Richmond averaged a good 21-22 points per game from 1992-1998, actually netting All-Star MVP honors in the 1995 game.

In one of the dumbest trades in league history (yes Wes Unseld, I’m still pissed), Mitch was shipped to the newly renamed Washington Wizards for then-beast power forward Chris Webber. Everyone gave the lame excuse that Webber and Howard played the same position, and that Calbert Cheaney wasn’t cutting it at the 2 spot, well by the time we got Mitch, he still had gas left in the tank. The backcourt of Rod Strickland and Mitch Richmond was…on paper….supposed to be the nastiest in the league, but really they lost a ton of games. Mitch wasn’t as explosive as he was out west, and it showed in his game. A typical Richmond possession:He’d catch it on the wing, back his man down, brick a fadeaway jumper and spend 15 seconds mouthing off to referees before thinking about heading downcourt to play D on his man (who’d already scored at this point).

This was the beginning of the end, and he was soon waived by D.C., (with some Jordan guy, who was really good, taking his place).

But all was not lost for Mitch, he did the “Old Guy World Tour” and caught on with the Kobe-Shaq Lakers and got him a ring riding the pine.

Nowadays, he does scouting for the Golden State Warriors (he needs props if he’s the one that found Monta Ellis!) So if you need a reminder of “the Scorelord” at work, check this out!

 

The Raptors’ First 20 Games

By Jeff Wong and Ryan McNeill

HoopsAddict.com’s resident Raptors fans Ryan McNeill and Jeff Wong exchanged some emails this week to discuss the teams first 20 games. While they were both excited about the marked improvement from last season’s 3-17 start they both realized there is still plenty of room for growth.

Ryan: The Raptors are now 20 games into the season and I think we’ve seen enough to start discussing our thoughts on the season so far.

The first topic I want to handle is how nicely the Euro players are fitting in. Jorge Garbajosa got off to a slow start but ever since he was inserted into the starting line-up he’s been a great “glue” player for us who doesn’t put up flashy stats but does a lot of great stuff on the court for the Raptors. Anthony Parker didn’t impress me in training camp games but over the past month he’s been one of the Raptors top scorers while also guarding the opposing team’s top player (a role Morris Peterson filled last season). Rasho Nesterovic has seen spot minutes but whenever he’s been called into action he’s been a reliable vet. What’s your take on these three players Jeff?

Jeff: I love Garba (I absolutely refuse to call him “Garbo”). Even before I saw him play for us, I liked what I’ve read about him from DraftExpress and from Raul Jimenez. And when I saw him in action, you can’t help but be impressed by his basketball IQ. He knows where to be both offensively and defensively, thus picking up key rebounds and taking charges. The only thing I don’t like are his shots – they’re flat as flapjacks. But as long as they go in…

I’m also growing to like AP. At first, like you implied, he had a bit of a slow start, but he’s really coming on. Like Garba, he’s a heady player who can be at the right place at the right time at both ends of the floor. AP’s points are inconsistent right now, but he should sustain it a bit better once he gets used to playing in the Association again.

I like Rasho, too. In my first season of fantasy basketball he was on my roster, so I know that he can get us some blocks. The only question for me is how he’d do in the Raptors running game, but Sam Mitchell has mixed and matched well according to opponent (like starting him against Big Z and the Cavs).

Ryan: We can’t talk about the “Euro Invasion” and not bring up Andrea Bargnani. Heading into the Draft I was hoping to draft LaMarcus Aldridge from Texas which only proves that I have no business playing armchair GM. Bargnani had a hard time adjusting to the style of play of the NBA (as shown by the amount of fouls he accumulated early in the season) but he’s now found his groove and is averaging over 12 points over his last six games. It normally takes a couple years to evaluate a big man but what do you think of Bargnani from what you’ve seen so far?

Jeff: I was talking in my Game Notes for the Raptors/Cavs game about how LeBron James is that rare type of player that combines size with guard skill. You can say the same thing about Andrea Bargnani. He’s over 7 feet tall, but can drive and kick out, dish no-look passes, swat, hit treys, and dunk. He is the real deal. Maybe not in the King James stratisphere, but he is legit star material.

Ryan: Another advantage of adding Bargnani this summer is that it allowed the Raptors to deal some of their size (Charlie Villanueva) for the point guard they need in TJ Ford. Ford was slowed by missing training camp which has resulted in him struggling to get used to playing with his new teammates early in the season but it’s clear that he’s the best point guard this franchise has had. What are your thoughts on Ford so far?

Jeff: I’m not totally sold on TJ yet, but at the same time I understand he’s only had about two seasons of NBA experience – he’s nowhere near his peak yet. But he’s got some great tools: arguably the fastest point guard in the league who’s willing to give the ball to our franchise player. His shot is improving, which was a concern from previous seasons. The concerns now are his decision-making and his health. But you know I’m a big Jose Calderon fan…

Ryan: I know where your going with that but I’m loving TJ as the Raptors point guard of the future – emphasis on future. He’s posted solid stats in the first month of the season and I’m stoked to see him take his game to another level once he’s fully healthy and he’s used to play with new teammates. Ford was slowed by missing training camp as that would have been his first chance to get used to playing with new teammates. A big part of being a floor general is knowing where your teammates like their passes and getting used to their tendencies on the court and missing training camp really set Ford back. I think that by January you’ll see Ford consistently posting double-dips while Calderon plays 10-15 solid minutes off the bench. However, with that being said I think Calderon could be starting on some NBA teams like the Lakers, Cavs, Philly or Boston.

Which if the Raptors free agents signings this summer has impressed you the most? Jorge Garbajosa, Fred Jones or Anthony Parker?

Jeff: Before we move on, let me assure you that I haven’t soured on Ford. I agree with you that he’s young and simply short on experience. I love the “Spanish Fly” (gotta find a better nick for him) but I have no illusions of him starting for us. That said, he’s a good true PG for our second unit, and I just love his intensity and vocality (is that a word?). I like all three of the guys you mentioned, but Garba is number one of the three for me – just a smart, smart player. AP is moving up my charts because of his defensive presence and improving offence, and Freddy’s cooled after a hot preseason start.

Ryan: Jeff, as we wrap this up, what are your thoughts on the Raps win total at the quarter mark of the season? I was worried heading into training camp that it would take Sam Mitchell a long time to get nine guys used to his system and playing together. After watching them breeze through preseason games I got a bit of premature confidence and thought they were a lock to win the Titanic Division this season. Despite being a couple games below .500 I can’t help but be happy with the increased win total from this point last season. What are your thoughts on the team’s win total so far?

Jeff: Well, generally, I’m just happy that most guys on the team are finding their roles, especially the “big names” like AP, Garba, Rasho and Bargnani. The four-swingman rotation still needs to be ironed out, though, with Fred Jones and Mo Pete having to get their games in gear.

But back to your question – yes, I’m happy with the current win total.

Ryan: As a follow up question, are you drinking the Red Kool-Aid? Can the Raps make the playoffs as the winners of the Titanic Division?

Jeff: Oh yeah! Er, maybe. In their recent slide, the Raptors have shown that they can’t do it (yet) without Chris Bosh on the floor. Without their star, they just can’t keep up in the shooting and rebounding categories. If the Raptors want to make the playoffs, they’ve got to either keep Bosh healthy or make the other players step up. As for winning the division, I have doubts about that, even with the New Jersey Nets floundering a bit.

Ryan: This season has had its frustrating moments but I can’t help but be optimistic that the franchise is making solid steps forward. I feel confident with Bryan Colangelo at the helm and I’ve really enjoyed watching the better ball movement this season. If the Raps can get away from chucking up so many bombs from beyond the arc then I’ll be content with the teams progress this season.

A Dominant Center Equals an NBA Championship

By David Wilson

It is said by nearly every NBA writer and commentator that the game has changed for good. No longer are dominant centers necessary to win championships. After all, didn’t Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls teams prove that point? Just look at the Phoenix Suns 2005-06 season, as they played the overwhelming majority of the year without Amare Stoudemire.

Today the game is dominated by point guards like Steve Nash, Chris Paul, and Tony Parker. It is ruled by versatile swing men like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Tracy McGrady. Perimeter scorers lead teams – as they go, the team goes. Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Gilbert Arenas, and Richard Hamilton rule the roost in the 21st century NBA. Yet, for all the highlights these and other players like them provide, in the end they do not win championships.

Teams with dominant centers win championships.

These are not the ravings of a mad basketball purist. Saying dominant centers win championships doesn’t banish me from ever typing another word on hoops. It doesn’t mean I wish for “days of yore” or Daisy Dukes on men wearing Chuck Taylor’s while the fans – after games, many of the players, too – smoke in NBA arenas. I am a purist in this respect: I believe that the key to an NBA dynasty is the ability of a team to keep its stars, the ability for a coach to establish a flexible hierarchy within the team’s structure, that a team must have a true center – a big man capable of scoring when necessary and defensively capable of, not necessarily blocking shots, but altering shots in the lane. I contend that in the modern history of the NBA (from 1957-present), with the exception of four years, and two of the four should have asterisks next to them, each NBA champion had a, or a combination of centers that were competent on both ends of the floor.

The names of dominant centers are by now legendary: Bill Russell, Bob Pettit-Ed McCauley, Wilt Chamberlain, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dave Cowens, Bill Walton, Elvin Hayes-Mitch Kupchak, Jack Sikma, Robert Parish, Moses Malone, Bill Laimbeer, Scott Williams-Bill Cartwright-Will Perdue-Stacey King, Hakeem Olajuwon, Luc Longley-Bill Wennington-James Edwards, Luc Longley-Bill Wennington-Bison Dele-Robert Parish, Shaquille O’Neal, and Tim Duncan. These are the centers or center combinations of all but four of the championship teams in the past 50 years, or 92% of all the winning teams.

Of all the championship teams of the past 50 years, only nine, or 18%, were not multiple winners. However, only two of those teams had no dominant big man or men, which brings the percentage down to 16%. Additionally, if we discount the 1958 St. Louis Hawks and the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers because of the Boston Celtics dynasty (we can eliminate that Sixers team because Wilt Chamberlain also won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972, making Wilt a multiple winner), the 1972 L.A. Lakers because Wilt won previously with the Sixers and because the New York Knicks won multiple championships during that period, the Portland Trailblazers because of injuries to Bill Walton, and the 1983 76ers, as the Celtics and the Lakers were dominant then, we are left with only four teams, the 1978 Washington Bullets, the 1979 Seattle Supersonics, the 1998 Chicago Bulls , and the 2004 Detroit Pistons who won championships without someone dominant in the middle. And even then, we are left to wonder if the 1977 Bill Walton-led Portland Trailblazers would have won in 1978 and 1979 had Walton been healthy.

All-in-all, discounting Walton’s balky feet, 92% of all NBA champions of the past 50 years were able to control, if not dominate the paint. If you include the injuries to Big Red, the only other season a teams left are Chicago and Detroit – 48 out of 50 NBA champions.

The 1998 Bulls triumvirate of Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, and Joe Kleine together averaged 16.9 ppg, 8.2 assists per contest, and 1.3 blocks per game. These aren’t shabby numbers, by the way. But what excludes then from dominance is their poor performance in the playoffs. By this time Kleine was on IR, so the Bulls were left with only Longley and Wennington. The two centers averaged a paltry 10.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and 2.8 bpg.

I excluded Wallace purely because of his lack of offensive production. However, he the was runner-up to Ron Artest for defensive player of the year, had the second-best rebounds per game average (Kevin Garnett was first and Wallace was tied with Tim Duncan) and was second to Theo Ratliff in blocks per game. Had Wallace averaged six more points per game (15.5 rather than 9.5) he too would have qualified as an overall dominant center.

That the Jordan-Scottie Pippen combination was the sole reason for the run of the Bulls is a misnomer. Taking, for instance the 1993 four-headed center combination of Scott Williams, Bill Cartwright, Will Perdue, and Stacey King (I know he also played some forward) we have the following per game averages: 21.6 ppg, 14.7 rpg, and 2.1 bpg. In the playoffs that season the four combined to average 17.8 ppg, 14.7 rpg, and 4.2 bpg. Those are, by any measure, dominant statistics for the center position.

Now let’s move ahead and look at the 1997 Bulls center combo on Longley, Wennington, Robert Parish, and Bison Dele. These four averaged 23.4 ppg 13.5 rpg, and 2.3 bpg during the first 82. In the playoffs with only Longley and Dele, the two came out with solid numbers: 12.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg, and 3.9bpg. The overall season effort was easily enough to qualify them as more than competent on both ends of the floor. Looked at from this angle, the question becomes, without solid-to-dominant inside play, how many rings would the Jordan-Pippen have today?

Taking a cursory glance at “deep statistics,” if we exclude a seven-year run by Jordan, 75% of the players with the season-high Player Efficiency Rating (PER) were centers.

All of this leaves us with the very high probability of being able to discount any team without a center capable of dominating, at least for long stretches of games, both ends of the floor from winning the 2006-07 NBA crown. So, take a close look at your favorite team or your preseason prediction.

There aren’t but a select few squads that will be holding the Larry O’Brien in June.

If any heads out there have further evidence to support or refute this post, please do comment. I’d love to be able to write an update that includes your knowledge of the game.

Iverson Says He Won’t Play for Charlotte

David Wilson

So they were trying to send Allen Iverson to Charlotte. Early Monday morning, after looking at the entire situation, I felt Ed Snider was going to make every effort to ship AI to Charlotte. All signs pointed toward a malicious Snider hooking up with an, “I need to put butts in seats,” Bob Johnson, majority owner of the Bobcats.

However, according to David Aldridge of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Iverson indicated that there was no way he’d play for Charlotte: “The Sixers, according to a source, were close to sending Iverson to the Charlotte Bobcats for a package of players Monday afternoon. But Iverson indicated his displeasure with being sent to the Bobcats – the league’s newest team, having begun play in 2004 – and the deal died, the source said.”

At least one team believed the Bobcats were in the driver’s seat earlier Monday. “It’s Michael (Jordan)’s deal to turn down,” said an executive of one team that is involved in the trade discussions, referring to Charlotte’s new minority owner.

Aldridge seems to think that Sacramento now has the inside track to get Iverson. However, as I wrote this yesterday morning, from a basketball perspective, this move would be potentially catastrophic for the Kings.

Again, surveying the trade landscape, it appears that Boston and Minnesota are the most likely landing points for AI.