2023 NBA Playoffs Ruminations (May 22nd)

DAMN, THE CELTICS ARE GETTING THEIR ASSES BUST

From what I've been able to gather, there's been more blowout losses during this year's playoffs than close games.  That would imply that the NBA's parity thing isn't working, or something like that.

I'll give it to the Heat that they're obviously a tough out.  But it's still hard to believe that they truly went from barely making the playoffs to now being the most formidable team in the East.  Or if that is the case, and if it's also true that the Lakers got to the WCF by merit, then maybe I should take a step back and say to the contrary, parity is working, as now any seed can make it to the Finals.

One issue I see with the Celtics roster which I'm sure I mentioned last season also is lack of interior presence, besides for Robert Williams of course.  They need someone that can block shots when these fearless Miami scab players come driving into the lane.  Some of these teams that have been neglecting size for the past few years, like the Kings and I guess you can Warriors also, are now suffering due to their folly.

SHOUTOUT TO CARMELO ANTHONY

I still think it's kinda grimey that no team picked up Melo this season, but I guess they had their reasons.  Today he finally retired from the NBA - you know, might as well type shit - meaning that he may still head over the China and average over 20ppg.

I was recently doing research on Anthony and discovered that there was a time he was actually considered a better basketball player than Lebron.  And he appears to be a true phenom, i.e. someone who nobody even thought of as a potential NBA player until like his senior year in high school.

SHOUTOUT TO THE NUGGETS

This is what I always pictured the Nuggets to be if they were actually healthy - a championship squad.  If Miami proceeds to beat them also, then I'm calling it quits.

My only gripe with Denver is that at 6-feet 10-inches tall, Michael Porter Jr seems to spend all of his time lurking around the perimeter on offense.  But he is their third-leading scorer, so something is working right.  And to illustrate just how good the Nuggets are, they've only been running an eight-man rotation during these playoffs.  Meanwhile other teams who were forced or chose to do the same, like the Suns and Warriors, fumbled.

Accommodating the High-Scoring, Aged Superstar

I remember some years ago playing a pickup game in NYC .  This particular basketball hoop wasn't the conventional height, maybe being something like 8 feet tall.  My moms ex-boyfriend, who's like 6'3" with a lean, NBA-like build, also came to the park that day, so I, as a captain, picked him up as well as some other dude who was lingering around for a 3-on-3 against some locals.

My moms ex was in his mid-to-late 40s at the time.  So the dude he was defending, who was at least 20 years younger, just kept blowing by him and dunking.  And it was like... I don't even know how to explain it.  Like half of mom's boyfriend's mind was there with us, and the other half was up at that great basketball court in the sky.  It's like he really couldn't care too much because first of all,  he couldn't practically do anything to defend dude anyway.  And secondly, like fukit, it's just a basketball game anyway.

The NBA also a lot of the dudes that when they retire, like ain't really nothing wrong with their offensive game.  The issue, especially as far as the greats go, usually is that they can no longer defend at a useful level.  In some cases, if the legend scores enough points, his defensive deficiencies may not be particularly noticeable except to us gurus.  Superstars usually aren't criticized for lack of defense unless they fall out of favor with the media.  But this is athletics, and even if the opposing player isn't stronger or faster per se, it's like, as illustrated in the example with my mom's ex, with younger guys their bodies just react to their thoughts faster.

With most greats, guys like with Carmelo Anthony or Blake Griffin, you can look at them at a certain point and be like 'you've lost a couple of steps, and now the whole world can notice it.  So maybe it's time to hit the bench or retire.'  But shit is more complicated when you're dealing with a Lebron or a Steph or a Dame.  I believe Melo or D-Wade, even if they were playing right now, can average 15ppg if their teams needed them to.  But LBJ and Curry and Lillard are the types who can more or less score 40 points at will.  In other words, as old and injury-ridden as they are, they're still by far the best scorers on their respective teams, and that'd likely be true no matter what squad you put them on.  Say what you want about AD being the number one option and all that shit, which I've always agreed with, that the Lakers, as is their winning tradition, run through C.   But he's not a better scorer than Lebron.

So it really is an unenviable situation, folks.  You have the highest-scoring, most-popular dude on your squad, the one who sells tickets and jerseys yet who, if overplayed, can prove more of a liability towards winning than an asset.  Scoring 30ppg and occasionally dropping game winners doesn't actually mean that the team is better with you in the starting lineup.  But then at the same time, how can you not start one of the biggest players on the planet?

LEBRON JAMES

Since pulling off the Russell Westbrook trade and adding more quality depth, the Lakers are arguably better without Lebron than they are with him, which may not be saying much, but still.  As I've been arguing pretty much all season, the issue is that Lebron can no longer play anywhere near quality defense.  In order to rationalize having LBJ out there scoring 40pts and potentially winning games, you need to have all four of the other starters being above-average defenders to mitigate his defensive shortcomings.  In other words, you would need three 3&Ds + AD.

This is not a diss since LBJ can at least brag that for a time there, he was one of the best defenders in the game.  And it's watching Lebron play now, more than anybody, who reminds me of my mom's ex.  It isn't that he's mentally refusing to play D.  Rather, his body simply cannot react fast enough to keep up with opposing youngsters.  It's like somewhere deep in his subconscious his brain is saying 'fuk if I chase these whippersnappers around.  I done passed that point.'

So if you dig through this blog, you'll see that pretty much from the time LBJ went to the Lakers, or at least since he more or less forced the Ingram generation out, I have argued that this was a doomed experiment.  The way I was envisioning things, Lebron was supposed to come in and lead/mentor the youngins into contendership, which would have only taken maybe 3-4 seasons, but that's too long for his timeline.  Instead, after one season, he decided to go the instant championship route with AD - who has been dealing with injury issues his entire career - and they did get that one championship but probably aren't going to come anywhere close to winning another.

So I believe at this point, LBJ should be coming off the bench.  I'm not saying that there's anybody on the Lakers' roster, with the exception of AD, who's even remotely better than him.  But at Lebron's age, being unable/unwilling to play defense, it's better to just slot him into games when LAL needs a scoring or morality boost, and then take him out when exceptional defense is called for.

STEPH CURRY

Steph Curry, according to what I read online, recently beat the Bucks, the best team in the NBA, pretty much singlehandedly.  His case is more complicated than Lebron's for three reasons.  First, he's younger.  Second, he led his team to a championship just last season.  And third, he's been on the same team his entire career and has had the same coach for almost a decade, so benching him would be more of a sentimental affair than if you did so with LBJ.

I also just realized, amongst all of the shenanigans going on, that Andrew Wiggins hasn't been playing, which would help, in part, to explain the Warriors' slump.  But as with Draymond, that doesn't really change my argument.

Last season, due to some unforeseen circumstances, Steph did come off a bench for a brief spell near it the end and into the First Round of the Playoffs, and was averaging like 30 points a game?  That's something I never heard of even with the greatest sixth men, averaging 30pts off the bench.  So one had an answer for that shit.  So my argument was that since the Warriors were dominating for like the first time that season, Kerr should just leave him there and used to opportunity to pass the reign to Jordan Poole sooner rather than later.   Instead they slotted Steph back into the starting lineup, and the he did go on to win Finals MVP.  At the end of the day I did eat my words somehow, but it doesn't particularly look like lightning is going to strike twice, though with the Dubs especially you never know.

So the Steph situation is even more complicated than Lebron or Lillard.  That's because neither LAL or POR has other players who could viably replace James or Damian as starters, but the Warriors do have someone who can start over Curry in Poole, giving the elder more rest and allowing him to come into games when most needed or when opposing teams are most vulnerable.  But it looks like, if nothing else, Steph has earned the right with the Warriors to go to the bench when he decides to do so.  And maybe, like Iverson, he'll eventually retire while skipping that experience altogether.

DAMIAN LILLARD

Unlike both Lebron and Steph, I believe that Lillard, given Portland's roster, should be starting.  I also give the Blazers a lot of credit for putting a respectable roster around him this season on the fly, and I give Damian extra credit for showing up to play, while I was rather predicting that he was washed.  But now it looks like they aren't making the playoffs, so his efforts, somehow, have been in vain (besides making the All-Star Game).  And the sad thing about it is that Portland shot themselves in the foot really by obviously underestimating the impact of Josh Hart and trading him away for whatever reason they did so, just like they traded away CJ McCollum for whatever reason they did so.  And it was also pretty tough luck that the Gauntlet couldn't play this season, because I really thought he would be a nice fit next to Lillard.

Sometimes, I do feel like Damian lingering around is hurting the development of younger  players on the squad, but not really in a Steph Curry kinda way, because at least Anfernee Simons is starting alongside him.  But the Blazers have sacrificed part of their future keeping a formidable roster around him.  And there's another player that they should have moved on from a long time ago (instead of McCollum), but I guess no braintrust is perfect.

Also, Lillard's presence is a sorta like Lebron's in LA.  If he doesn't play, then it's like the team loses 85% of its viewership appeal.  And that's no disrespect to AD, but it's like the world is only now getting used to him regularly playing again.

Like Steph, Damian was never really a feared defender to begin with.  But PGs are able to get away with being subpar defenders, even as they age (ala the Beard).

So Dame may be kicking that 'last loyal superstar' shit, an alltime great who refuses to demand a trade from the organization that drafted him, even though they're like never going to win a championship together.  But at a certain point, that story starts getting old, and his dilemma becomes like what team would he go to anyway, since it isn't particularly easy to slot a PG in who's used to shooting at will.  If it is an older squad, he can disrupt the established chemistry, and if it's a younger one, his chucking would impede on player development.  But for some reason, I can picture Dame fitting in on the Bucks and finally getting the ring he deserves.

CONCLUSION

I thought this post would have some type of uniform theme, i.e. aged superstars being liabilities due to their defensive deficiencies, but now I realize it's more complicated than that and that each case, when it comes to these all-time greats, is different.  But I guess what it boils down to is asking certain players, like those highlighted above, to come off the bench would be sorta like asking President Biden to let the VP Harris give the State of the Union instead of himself.  Kamala would probably do a better job at it, and doing so may also be wiser in terms of prioritizing the future of the team versus the present.  But then people would be like 'how can the President himself not give the State of the Union?'  So it's not only a pride thing but also a popularity issue.

But that said, certain teams, at least imo, need to become bolder and more creative in addressing these types of issues, because if you do prioritize the reigning superstar over the up-and-comers, then you run the risk of ending up in an unenviable situation like the Lakers or what the Warriors have now become, i.e. a team with A list billing that can only consistently provide a C list showing.

Why I Feel Sorry for Lebron James

I remember watching a clip of the first NBA game Lebron James ever played in.  And if I remember correctly, it was in Sacramento.

Before the game he was on the court stretching, and there was like a circle of cameras around him.  You know, the media was more interested in this rookie than the established vets on the court.  And back in those days the Kings had a couple of stars on their team - still do, I guess.

But anyway, the television announcer said something that I will never forget.  What he said was something like 'never in the history of sports has there been so much anticipation around the arrival of a rookie'.  In other words, Lebron James was the most-popular and respected rookie in any sport ever, i.e. a professional athlete who was famous even before hitting the big leagues.  And that fame wasn't a result of his looks or personality.  Rather it was because he's a damn good and highly-athletic basketball player.  But with these gifts, especially in the post-Jordan era, also came the pressure of winning championships.

Now if you or I were to make the NBA, that would be considered a major accomplishment in and of itself.  In fact if you ever watch those post-draft interviews, it's like every player always says the same thing - 'I feel so blessed to have made it to the NBA.'  I'm sure Lebron himself said some shit like that when he was drafted.  And it's true - even for these dudes who basketball scouts have been dickridin from their early teens and sometimes even prior to that, there's no guarantee they'll make it to the NBA.  Being a basketball star in high school or even college doesn't guarantee that you will be drafted and make an NBA squad.  And if you don't believe me, just respectively ask the likes of Lenny Cooke or Victor Page.

So now, we had this teenager coming into the NBA being expected to eventually yet expeditiously win a championship.  Now I don't know how old you are reading this post, but that's a lot of pressure to put on a kid - or anybody for that matter.  And part of the reason is because when it comes to competing in professional team sports, there's so many variables which are simply outside of a single player's control.

So basically, it's like you have this dude making tens of millions a dollar a year and playing so well that he leads the 2006-07 Cavs, which has to be the most-mediocre roster to ever make the NBA Finals, to the big dance.  But still, he's being told that despite unanimously being considered one of the best players in NBA history, if he doesn't win a championship then he's a failure.  And remember, Lebron was more or less a kid at the time.  So who can blame him for becoming engulfed by the Mamba mentality and transforming into a feen?

Back in the days you could team Lebron with just about any pair of superstars - Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh or Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love - and expect a championship (though that latter Cavs' team had a pretty good roster overall).  But last season - for the first in his career really - LBJ showed signs of mortality.  So even though now he has AD and Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony on his team, nothing is to be taken for granted.  In fact I would venture to say that last postseason's Lakers, even with AD injured, if it were 2007 Lebron he still could have taken that half-assed team to the Finals (if they were in the East).

And the reason I'm bringing all of this up is that, even though the Lakers recently won the championship in the bubble, I believe that Lebron would be better off at this very moment if he hadn't gutted the roster of the team when he first came over.  In fact if I remember correctly, the original plan was for him to serve as a superstar mentor to the likes of Julius Randle, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart and for the squad to become contenders more gradually.  I mean the Lakers weren't winning back then, but they put together a promising core nonetheless.  And Lebron would be better to have those dudes around him right now as opposed to Carmelo and them.  And that's taking nothing away from AD and Westbrook, who are still amongst the most-productive players despite being tenured vets.  But the point is that it is that feen mentality that always has Lebron superteaming and consequently fuckin up the rosters of teams he plays on.  However the problem is that now, even he is not as good as he used to be, so a new strategy needs to be adopted.

CONCLUSION

Truth be told, the Lakers are my sentimental favorites to win the championship.  But I'd be lying if I said I actually believe they're going to accomplish that goal.  That is not to say I would be surprised if they did so, but there's better teams out there than L.A.

If Lebron had actually stuck to the plan to tough it out with the young Lakers' core he was met with when he came out West, right now, when you look at the development since then of players like Ingram and Randle, they would now perhaps be the best team in the NBA.  But instead, being a feen and all, Lebron's like flipping rosters every season.  And King James, as great of a player as he is, may not be good enough to pull that shit off anymore.  So it's like is he a feen?  Yes.  But it would appear that he was forced to adopt such a mindframe, in the name of winning championships and getting critics off his back.  And you know how they say - old habits are hard to break.

NBA Minute 190404: The Road to Zion

FUK IS MELO?

Long time I heard anything 'bout Melo.

It was generally believed that after Houston cut him some time back he would latch on to some team that needed a bench scorer or whatever (even though Melo is more than a bench scorer).  The media turned against him; his plus/minus was fukedup or whatever, and he fell out of the league.  And ultimately I believe there were two main reasons why the masses in general turned against him.  One is that he always had this diva kinda persona.  In fact he was one of the first superstars, perhaps even the first, to like force himself off a team.  And second is that in an age obsessed with championships Melo was not nor appeared to be on his way to becoming one, despite his overall talent.  But one thing Melo can do is score his ass off, and even if he isn't "efficient" in doing so there are some teams that can use that skillset.

Note: This is an old picture of Melo.  Dun is probably at home right now,
sleeping on the bed of racks and chillin' his ass off.

The one Playoff(?) team I think could use him the most is the Detroit Pistons.  Since these dudes have had scoring issues for the last umpteenth years, Melo would definitely help in that regard.  Plus having someone like Andre Drummond around could help make up for Carmelo's well-documented defensive issues.  Also at this point it seems pretty obvious that Blake Griffin's health is not something you can rely on.  And second on the list of teams that could possibly use Melo I would say is the San Antonio Spurs.

THE ROAD TO ZION

There has been a history of allegations that the NBA has rigged its drafts dating back to before I even started watching basketball.  We've all seen popular hometown boys like D-Rose, LBJ and Lonzo Ball go their city's teams, Cleveland get three number-one picks within four years, etc.  But statistically-speaking, sh*t happens.  In other words the same organization that has been accused with the cheating is the same organization that is responsible for stopping the cheating.  So in that regard, Mr. Adam Silver, I think that the Atlanta Hawks are the currently-garbage team that would benefit the most from drafting Zion Williamson.

'Fukin camera out my face, biatch.'

First off let me say that I'm not on that 'Zion is the next LBJ' sh*t.  Zion reminds me more of Andrew Wiggins, not that he will become as generally irrelevant as Wiggins currently is but rather in the sense that just like Wiggins people are comparing him and Lebron.  And just like Wiggins, he lost in a tournament that Lebron, had he participated, likely would have won (if not at least taken his team to the Final Four).  So as for me personally, I don't particularly see him as the next LBJ, not at this point.

But like every other fan, I'm looking forward to seeing Zion in the NBA.  And in that regard this is how I think he would rank in terms of fit on the teams that, as far as I know, are the most-garbage and thus have the highest probability of getting the number-one pick:

6 - NEW YORK KNICKS

If the Knicks sign a couple of superstar free agents, they would likely stifle (i.e. through chucking) the development of Zion Williamson.  If no superstar signs with the Knicks and they get Zion, the onus would be on him to be the man from day one, and that too is not ideal, especially since he can't even lead a team to a NCAA Championship.

5 - CHICAGO BULLS

As of now honestly I couldn't even tell you who the point-guard of the Bulls is, and Zion needs a point-guard.

4 - PHOENIX SUNS

Seeing him on Phoenix would be intriguing, but to my understanding Devin Booker is a chuck, and with dun dropping 50 points at will it's kinda hard to tell him not to be.  Rather the Suns are tasked with putting a team together around him(?) that can win as opposed to chasing superstars.

3 - NEW ORLEANS PELICANS

I think the Pelicans would be perfect for Zion if they actually retained Anthony Davis, but right now that looks like a long shot.

2 - DALLAS MAVERICKS

Seeing Zion on the Mavericks with Luka and co. would also be pretty-damn cool, but there's a better option.

1 - ATLANTA HAWKS

If the Hawks land Zion Williamson we're looking at alley-oop city.  In other words coupling Williamson with the electrifying Trae Young as well as an Atlanta team that is already enjoyable to behold would instantly make the Hawks like one of the top must-watch teams in the NBA, even more than the Lakers.  In fact if Atlanta lucked out like this (which would eventually attract other players that could fit their system), at this point I'll go as far as to say that Trae Young's career may prove to be even more-successful than Luka Doncic.  And while I'm at it, fukit, let me take it a step further - sign Melo after you get Zion.  Contenders anyone?  So please Mr. Silver, do your thing.