So where are we at this point of the NBA season? If the playoffs would start today we'd have these teams in the East:
1. Cleveland
2. Orlando
3. Boston
4. Atlanta
5. Toronto
6. Chicago
7. Miami
8. Charlotte
and in the West, we'd have:
1. L.A. Lakers
2. Denver
3. Utah
4. Dallas
5. Oklahoma City
6. Phoenix
7. San Antonio
8. Portland
Finally, all teams that would participate would have a .500 or above record. This hasn't happened since the 2004-05 season! Obviously the season is not over so the teams might not all be above .500 but this statistic is definitely worth pointing out.
The teams in the east seem more of a threat now than they were earlier on in this season. Obviously, the Cavs, Magic, and Celtics were known as the three primary teams that could win the finals--but suddenly the Hawks are getting up in the race because of their energetic young group; the Raptors won eight of their last ten; the Bulls are on the longest active Eastern Conference winning streak right now; the Heat are a respectable competitor for their win in 2006 and dominance this past decade; and the Bobcats are just a bipolar group to face (they could beat the best on any given night).
The teams in the west are strong all the way you down: Lakers and Nuggets, enough said; the Jazz keep finding ways to win like in last nights 20+ point overcoming deficit against the Blazers (Boozer is a beast); the Mavs are always in the picture; the Suns with their MVP Nash; the Spurs with Duncan and Parker; and of course the Blazers who simply cannot win once they have a large lead--it's been their problem all year.
All sixteen teams are intimidating and have something better than another squad. On any given night, it seems that the "underdog" could win the game.
Now on to my predictions for this year's finals. Although the Cavs are going through a 3 game slide right now--I think they will end up in the finals. I think that the Bobcats will end up in the seventh seed and beat the Magic. The Celtics will beat Bulls (in seven games)--however I am hesitant because of last years Bull outbreak. And the Hawks will beat the Raptors. I think the Bobcats will beat the Celtics and go to the conf. finals with the Cavs--in which the Cavs will win.
I think the Nuggets will verse the Jazz in the second round, while the Lakers verse the Thunder. I think the Nuggets will advance against the Lakers--and I believe the Nuggets are going to get in the finals. The Cavs will beat the Nuggets in six games.
We'll see how accurate my predictions are in a couple of months, but at this point I think it's important to recognize the Thunder. The new franchise substituted the Supersonics of Seattle into Oklahoma City. Durant has been the pillar and pure dominant force of the team. They are on a nine game winnings streak and just find ways to win a game. They might not be the most stable all-around team--but in a couple of years... I think they will be on top of the Western Conference every year.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
New York Cavaliers of Cleveland.
Jamison goes to the Cavaliers, McGrady goes the Knicks, Larry Hughes is gone, Krypto-nate leaves to Boston while the Knicks get House, Brewer goes to the Grizzlies, and the big Z leaves the Cavs. A couple more people shifted areas but these are the marquis players I'll focus on.
Two major questions: (1) Are the Cavaliers going to win this year? (2) Where are the Knicks going to be next year?
As for the first question, I think the Cavaliers have all they need to win the finals. They have come so close for so long and finally developed a starting five that is just plain scary. Mo Williams at point, Anthony Parker at shooting guard, James at small forward, Jamison at power forward, and Shaq at center. Or you can even go big and substitute Parker and throw Hickson or Varejao.
By adding a 20 point, 8 rebound threat into the mix who has the ability to draw out a big men because of his respectable shot--the Cavaliers create a mismatch galore. LeBron and Antawn are two of the top eight small forwards in the league.
Having a strong small forward is essential to advancing in the playoffs strictly for mis-matching purposes. If a team has a taller and stronger player that can be a three-ball threat, it causes much more room for guards/forwards to drive in. Spacing is clutch and now that the Cavs will have each wing--a serious scoring threat, the defense will be utterly disrupted.
Of course the question comes up of who whether or not both will play forwards--if so, will one get over-powered by a team's number four. I don't see that happening because James seems to be able to guard any size in the league (he wasn't able to stop Melo last night but James can contain any size player).
What do I think is going to happen? I think the Cavs will win this year. I thought they were going to win in the beginning of the year because I can't see James being stopped again--and now I can't see that much talent with size and speed losing.
Now the Knicks--they're creating some more salary cap for next season to try and land two superstar athletes (James, Wade, Bosh, Stoudemire, etc.). Will it work? I don't know. If James wins this year--I don't see him moving to another team despite how much he has fallen in love with NY. Remember when he wore his Yankee hat and the pinstripe shoes during the Indian-Yankee playoff games? It was all a tease Knicks fans. I would be the first person to tattoo a picture of James on my back if he came to the Knicks--but it probably won't happen. But if he does--the city will be parading with LeBron pictures.
As for the rest of the season; the Knicks barely have any hope to conserve even the back alley to the playoff spots--unless McGrady brings back his vintage game. Goodbye Nate. Goodbye Hughes. Let's go House? I think House is going to become our key player--to be honest. He can shoot lights out--hey, we don't have anything else to lose.
Let's run and gun. Let the threes fly.
Two major questions: (1) Are the Cavaliers going to win this year? (2) Where are the Knicks going to be next year?
As for the first question, I think the Cavaliers have all they need to win the finals. They have come so close for so long and finally developed a starting five that is just plain scary. Mo Williams at point, Anthony Parker at shooting guard, James at small forward, Jamison at power forward, and Shaq at center. Or you can even go big and substitute Parker and throw Hickson or Varejao.
By adding a 20 point, 8 rebound threat into the mix who has the ability to draw out a big men because of his respectable shot--the Cavaliers create a mismatch galore. LeBron and Antawn are two of the top eight small forwards in the league.
Having a strong small forward is essential to advancing in the playoffs strictly for mis-matching purposes. If a team has a taller and stronger player that can be a three-ball threat, it causes much more room for guards/forwards to drive in. Spacing is clutch and now that the Cavs will have each wing--a serious scoring threat, the defense will be utterly disrupted.
Of course the question comes up of who whether or not both will play forwards--if so, will one get over-powered by a team's number four. I don't see that happening because James seems to be able to guard any size in the league (he wasn't able to stop Melo last night but James can contain any size player).
What do I think is going to happen? I think the Cavs will win this year. I thought they were going to win in the beginning of the year because I can't see James being stopped again--and now I can't see that much talent with size and speed losing.
Now the Knicks--they're creating some more salary cap for next season to try and land two superstar athletes (James, Wade, Bosh, Stoudemire, etc.). Will it work? I don't know. If James wins this year--I don't see him moving to another team despite how much he has fallen in love with NY. Remember when he wore his Yankee hat and the pinstripe shoes during the Indian-Yankee playoff games? It was all a tease Knicks fans. I would be the first person to tattoo a picture of James on my back if he came to the Knicks--but it probably won't happen. But if he does--the city will be parading with LeBron pictures.
As for the rest of the season; the Knicks barely have any hope to conserve even the back alley to the playoff spots--unless McGrady brings back his vintage game. Goodbye Nate. Goodbye Hughes. Let's go House? I think House is going to become our key player--to be honest. He can shoot lights out--hey, we don't have anything else to lose.
Let's run and gun. Let the threes fly.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Krypto-Nate wins again!
Standing tall at 5'9", Nate "the Great" Robinson, also known as Krypto-Nate--won his third dunk contest in the Sprite Slam Dunk competition this past weekend in Dallas.
Krypto-Nate is the only player to have ever won the dunk contest thrice; but is there really any pride in winning the dunk contest anymore?
The years of real competition--with Jordan, Wilkins, Dr. J, Carter have passed. Now the competitors are a toss up every year as to who actually wants to participate. Nate did not play much the first half and had less than a dozen dunks during the season; but of course he makes it because he is a two-time champ.
Demark DeRozan wins the Dunk-in preliminary round to advance to the Sprite Dunk contest with Nate, Wallace, and Brown. DeRozan passed into the next round and put up some pretty solid dunks (at least the judges thought so), and ended up losing by 2% of the fan votes!
It's amazing how close the competition actually was between the two contestants--however the contest has had a dramatic drop. What happened to the spin the wheel dunk contest? What happened to the excess creativity? I don't want to see another tomahawk or another jumping-over-a-teammate dunk.
Robinson won his three competitions not because the dunks were spectacular but because he's 5'9", a fan favorite, and he has swagger. When it comes down to it--he doesn't get about the rim as high as many people in the league.
All of the participants barely got above the rim, which is extremely disappointing for me to watch. Creativity can be utilized when you have a grand leap; LeBron's dunks are frightening because he gets more than a foot above the rim at times.
The dunks this past competition were simply not impressive because they barely got 6 or 7 inches above the rim.
Players need to consider participating in the contest for the sake of the fans. Obviously, being a contestant is not a goal for them because they want to enjoy the weekend--but when you have repetitive dunks every year, please do something about it.
I truly believe that the NBA should bring back the wheel for the dunkers to spin. If you want to add an element to the dunk contest--add this, not another mini dunk contest.
We'll see what happens next year--until then, I think Nate is going to win a couple more dunk contests because let's face... no one else who could win would want to participate.
Krypto-Nate is the only player to have ever won the dunk contest thrice; but is there really any pride in winning the dunk contest anymore?
The years of real competition--with Jordan, Wilkins, Dr. J, Carter have passed. Now the competitors are a toss up every year as to who actually wants to participate. Nate did not play much the first half and had less than a dozen dunks during the season; but of course he makes it because he is a two-time champ.
Demark DeRozan wins the Dunk-in preliminary round to advance to the Sprite Dunk contest with Nate, Wallace, and Brown. DeRozan passed into the next round and put up some pretty solid dunks (at least the judges thought so), and ended up losing by 2% of the fan votes!
It's amazing how close the competition actually was between the two contestants--however the contest has had a dramatic drop. What happened to the spin the wheel dunk contest? What happened to the excess creativity? I don't want to see another tomahawk or another jumping-over-a-teammate dunk.
Robinson won his three competitions not because the dunks were spectacular but because he's 5'9", a fan favorite, and he has swagger. When it comes down to it--he doesn't get about the rim as high as many people in the league.
All of the participants barely got above the rim, which is extremely disappointing for me to watch. Creativity can be utilized when you have a grand leap; LeBron's dunks are frightening because he gets more than a foot above the rim at times.
The dunks this past competition were simply not impressive because they barely got 6 or 7 inches above the rim.
Players need to consider participating in the contest for the sake of the fans. Obviously, being a contestant is not a goal for them because they want to enjoy the weekend--but when you have repetitive dunks every year, please do something about it.
I truly believe that the NBA should bring back the wheel for the dunkers to spin. If you want to add an element to the dunk contest--add this, not another mini dunk contest.
We'll see what happens next year--until then, I think Nate is going to win a couple more dunk contests because let's face... no one else who could win would want to participate.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
He's just not the average Joe
Every now and then, there comes a question of which MVP player would you rather have. In 2005, would you rather have A-rod or Pujols? In 2006, Morneau or Howard? Or we can go back in the 90's and debate between Griffey or Walker? Bagwell or Thomas?
There could be a serious debate as to who would you pick between any of the above--and this year raises a similar dilemma; would you rather have Pujols or Mauer.
On the one hand, you have a player that will probably end up destroying the all-time home run record while the other side has a dominant player in a position that is not particularly known for hitting.
Pujols hit 47 homeruns in the 2009 season, 135 RBI's, 186 hits, 124 runs, 115 walks, and only 64 strikeouts. Pujols has had 32 homeruns or more in each season in all of his nine years in the league. He has had 103 RBI's or more every season as well as batted .314 or above year in-year out.
Pujols has been getting more walks every year too; he started off with 69 walks in 2001, then 72, 79, 84, 97, 92, 99, 104, and 115 last year. His intentional walks have also increased every year too; 6, 13, 12, 12, 27, 28, 22, 34, and 44 last year. He is becoming a force that pitchers do now want to deal with at any cost--except now he has a safety spot in the line-up right after him so pitchers will have to respect Holiday and try to get Pujols out.
What is the most surprising thing about Pujols is not his dominance or the fear he creates, it's the concentration at the plate--his strike-outs have been decreasing every year as well. He started off the league with 93 strike outs and have cut it down in the 60's for the past eight years. He is more focused, more accurate, and simply more of a beast. And the best thing about him is he's clean. He hasn't been mentioned with the steroid drama and thus he has elevated to a higher platform on baseball--he is the most deadly clean player in the game. Hands down. End of story. He is 30 years old and easily has another 10 more years to play, and he can definitely get another 400 homers in that span.
Now let's take a look at Mauer. He's not the average Joe; he batted .365 last season and had 191 hits, 28 homers, 96 RBI's, 94 runs, and still won the AL MVP by playing only 138 games. Mauer has been in the league for 6 years now and has become one of the faces of the league--along with players like Jeter and even Griffey until this day. He too is clean from the tainted HGH era, and MLB has never been so happy to have such a player.
He is the best catcher in the league right now. He does not strike out often, he calls the game as good as anyone else in the league--and his arm is ridiculous. He is kind of like a Raul Mondesi from the catching position. I can't remember the last time a catcher won the batting title let alone actually have a catcher going for .400 average! Every year, he floods the headlines with his average. In 2006, he batted .347 and there was that same headline!
Mauer is not as dominant of a player as Pujols (in terms of batting), but he is a leader in all aspects. He orchestrates the pitchers and makes 3 errors a year. His fielding percentage was .996 last season and rarely gets any lower.
To be a catcher and not be placed in the lower part of the line-up is amazing; but to be batting third and becoming a dependent force in the batters box or right behind plate is the most looked for quality in all of the position players. A player who can hit from the catching position is simply more valuable then a player who can hit from any other position. It transforms a liability to an asset.
There are other players that play first base that hits homeruns--it's a cliche and almost expected that if you play first, you hit homers. If you play catcher, you bat 8th.
There's also the team factor--Mauer plays for a team that lacks hitting while the Cardinals have a line-up that can make any pitcher cry. It's obvious that Mauer's numbers would be worse in terms of the team he plays and of course Mauer is not as intimidating as Pujols, but if Mauer had a team with more than just Morneau--his numbers would elevate exponentially.
Either way, you can't go wrong between picking either of these players but what I find amazing is that there actually could be a debate; if it was any other player in the league, I don't think I would pick anyone over Pujols. He's just not the average Joe.
There could be a serious debate as to who would you pick between any of the above--and this year raises a similar dilemma; would you rather have Pujols or Mauer.
On the one hand, you have a player that will probably end up destroying the all-time home run record while the other side has a dominant player in a position that is not particularly known for hitting.
Pujols hit 47 homeruns in the 2009 season, 135 RBI's, 186 hits, 124 runs, 115 walks, and only 64 strikeouts. Pujols has had 32 homeruns or more in each season in all of his nine years in the league. He has had 103 RBI's or more every season as well as batted .314 or above year in-year out.
Pujols has been getting more walks every year too; he started off with 69 walks in 2001, then 72, 79, 84, 97, 92, 99, 104, and 115 last year. His intentional walks have also increased every year too; 6, 13, 12, 12, 27, 28, 22, 34, and 44 last year. He is becoming a force that pitchers do now want to deal with at any cost--except now he has a safety spot in the line-up right after him so pitchers will have to respect Holiday and try to get Pujols out.
What is the most surprising thing about Pujols is not his dominance or the fear he creates, it's the concentration at the plate--his strike-outs have been decreasing every year as well. He started off the league with 93 strike outs and have cut it down in the 60's for the past eight years. He is more focused, more accurate, and simply more of a beast. And the best thing about him is he's clean. He hasn't been mentioned with the steroid drama and thus he has elevated to a higher platform on baseball--he is the most deadly clean player in the game. Hands down. End of story. He is 30 years old and easily has another 10 more years to play, and he can definitely get another 400 homers in that span.
Now let's take a look at Mauer. He's not the average Joe; he batted .365 last season and had 191 hits, 28 homers, 96 RBI's, 94 runs, and still won the AL MVP by playing only 138 games. Mauer has been in the league for 6 years now and has become one of the faces of the league--along with players like Jeter and even Griffey until this day. He too is clean from the tainted HGH era, and MLB has never been so happy to have such a player.
He is the best catcher in the league right now. He does not strike out often, he calls the game as good as anyone else in the league--and his arm is ridiculous. He is kind of like a Raul Mondesi from the catching position. I can't remember the last time a catcher won the batting title let alone actually have a catcher going for .400 average! Every year, he floods the headlines with his average. In 2006, he batted .347 and there was that same headline!
Mauer is not as dominant of a player as Pujols (in terms of batting), but he is a leader in all aspects. He orchestrates the pitchers and makes 3 errors a year. His fielding percentage was .996 last season and rarely gets any lower.
To be a catcher and not be placed in the lower part of the line-up is amazing; but to be batting third and becoming a dependent force in the batters box or right behind plate is the most looked for quality in all of the position players. A player who can hit from the catching position is simply more valuable then a player who can hit from any other position. It transforms a liability to an asset.
There are other players that play first base that hits homeruns--it's a cliche and almost expected that if you play first, you hit homers. If you play catcher, you bat 8th.
There's also the team factor--Mauer plays for a team that lacks hitting while the Cardinals have a line-up that can make any pitcher cry. It's obvious that Mauer's numbers would be worse in terms of the team he plays and of course Mauer is not as intimidating as Pujols, but if Mauer had a team with more than just Morneau--his numbers would elevate exponentially.
Either way, you can't go wrong between picking either of these players but what I find amazing is that there actually could be a debate; if it was any other player in the league, I don't think I would pick anyone over Pujols. He's just not the average Joe.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Yankees and Red Sox Rivalry
The New York Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox are undoubtedly the greatest franchise rivalry in Major League Baseball and you can certainly make a case for it being the best rivalry in sports history.
The all-time season record between the two teams are 1,117-933-14 (.545 winning percentage) in favor of the Yankees. The post-season record is 11-8, also with the Yankees maintaining the upper hand.
The Yankees have the largest marginal victory in this rivalry--they won 22-1 back in June 19, 2000. There was the Boston Massacre the other year at Fenway Park, where there were multiple 20 run games that the Yankees won.
Interestingly enough, there's a couple of things to be mentioned about this rivalry: (1) Which team is the better team of this past decade?; (2) Is the rivalry less competitive?
I am a Yankees fan, so naturally I'd have biases towards claiming that Yankees have the better team of the decade--but I say this in terms of what it means to win in baseball. Unlike football, it is not as difficult to win the world series 2 out of 4 years; but to win and maintaining a post-season standard, while rebuilding over ten years is more impressive.
The Red Sox won back in 2004 as well as 2007; the Yankees won in 2000 and in 2009. Both have two world series victories this decade--but the Yankees have played in the World Series 4 times opposed the Red Sox who have reached there twice in this millennium.
In terms of whether the rivalry is less intense--it could be seen that way because as of recent history, both teams have strong rosters but there is more of sheer dominance during the games. When I think of the rivalry, I think of Zimmer going down--I think of "Who's your daddy?"--I think of the curse of the great Bambino--I think of brawls practically every series!
I don't see these occurrences anymore. The players might have gotten better, but the rivalry might be dropping off a bit.
Hopefully the battles are intensified with the newer acquisitions for each club, and maybe we'll actually see some physical confrontations; anger and pure frustration is what creates a real rivalry.
I want to see A-rod glaring at a pitcher after he gets hit, or even some dirty base-running pushes to knock the ball off a glove--it's the biggest rivalry known to sports history!
My goal for this next season is watch some Yankee-Red Sox fights--it isn't the morally right thing to want, but it's what made these teams so well known. In any sport--you could like teams and like their rivals like Nets and Knicks, same division but because both the teams are so poor, I still root for both of them. I should hate Duke because I like UNC but I enjoyed both the atmospheres. When it comes to the Red Sox, I simply hate their team because it's just a rivalry that you must despise each other.
April 4th is the opening day and the Yankees will play against the Red Sox. Will see how this year pans out...
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Ichiro
In the past nine seasons, Ichiro Suzuki led the league for six seasons while coming in second the remainder three seasons. He has had a combined 2030 hits in nine seasons--undoubtedly the highest number of hits this decade, yet he has not been honored with an MVP award since his rookie year in 2001.
Even when Ichiro batted an amazing .372 with 262 hits--he was not awarded the MVP. And today, there are fans that make a claim that he is not worth his current contract (the extension of 5 years 90 million dollars). Ichiro has not only been one of the best table-setters in the game but he has also become a complete player on the field.
He has won a Gold Glove Award every year he has been in the Major League Baseball, and he has also been selected into the All-Star game every single year. He currently holds the single-season record with 262 hits and is one of the most admirable players because he does all the small things.
He has hit a career total of 84 homeruns. Deion Sanders hit almost half as many homeruns as Ichiro!
What distinguishes Ichiro from all the other players, is not just his running swings--but also his uncanny ability to play defense. He has a total of 82 outfield assists in his career and has moved around int the outfield quite a bit.
The most essential players on the club are not the ones that can clear the bases but the ones that can put their team in the position to win. Ichiro is the epitome of a team player. Which raises a greater question, would you rather have a player that will get you hits or a player that is focused on the longball--obviously having a player that can do both is ideal, but I'm asking in terms of either having Suzuki or Ryan Howard?
Of course, both players play different positions but in terms of batting--who would you rather have?
Even when Ichiro batted an amazing .372 with 262 hits--he was not awarded the MVP. And today, there are fans that make a claim that he is not worth his current contract (the extension of 5 years 90 million dollars). Ichiro has not only been one of the best table-setters in the game but he has also become a complete player on the field.
He has won a Gold Glove Award every year he has been in the Major League Baseball, and he has also been selected into the All-Star game every single year. He currently holds the single-season record with 262 hits and is one of the most admirable players because he does all the small things.
He has hit a career total of 84 homeruns. Deion Sanders hit almost half as many homeruns as Ichiro!
What distinguishes Ichiro from all the other players, is not just his running swings--but also his uncanny ability to play defense. He has a total of 82 outfield assists in his career and has moved around int the outfield quite a bit.
The most essential players on the club are not the ones that can clear the bases but the ones that can put their team in the position to win. Ichiro is the epitome of a team player. Which raises a greater question, would you rather have a player that will get you hits or a player that is focused on the longball--obviously having a player that can do both is ideal, but I'm asking in terms of either having Suzuki or Ryan Howard?
Of course, both players play different positions but in terms of batting--who would you rather have?
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Bryant's Platform
Image extracted from http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kobe_bryant/career_stats.html
Kobe Bryant surpassed Jerry West in the Lakers all-time leading scorer last night on February 1st, 2010. He is 14th on the all-time leading scorer list behind the 3-point specialist Reggie Miller.
The list goes as follows:
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
2. Karl Malone 36,928
3. Michael Jordan 32,292
4. Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
5. Shaquille O'Neal 28,119
6. Moses Malone 27,409
7. Elvin Hayes 27,313
8. Hakeem Olajuwon 26,946
9. Oscar Robertson 26,710
10. Dominique Wilkins 26,668
11. John Havlicek 26,395
12. Alex English 25,613
13. Reggie Miller 25,279
14. Kobe Bryant 25,208
15. Jerry West 25,192
Bryant has a career average of 25.3 points per game, but in the past 5 years, he averages 30.08 points per game. Let's say his pace for the rest of his career is about 28.05 points (between his recent average and his career average)--this means he will average about 2272.05 points per year.
Let's take out about two games year because he has played an entire season only 3 times in his career--so we'll readjust his average yearly scoring to 2215.95. With that being said, he will need to play another six seasons to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Will Kobe Bryant do it? Will be the all-time scoring leader by the end of his career? Bryant is in his 14th season of the NBA, and is currently 31 years old.
Bryant has averaged more than 20 points in eleven season (not including 98-99 where he averaged 19.9). He has also averaged 30 or more points in three seasons of his career (his career high average being 35.4 ppg).
Of course we all know that Bryant has also scored 81 points in a single game, which was one of the most dominant performances in NBA history. Bryant is simply amazing and unstoppable. He has a a switch that can be turned on at will--and no on can even slow him down.
Every night, the best defender attempts to stop his offensive game and Bryant ends up scoring 20 points (on a bad night). Bryant is not Michael Jordan, and he will never be Jordan. He cannot be compared to Jordan, nor does he want to be compared to Jordan.
Michael Jordan did not average 25.3 points a game--he averaged 30.1 points per game in his entire career. His career high average was 37.1 ppg for a complete season (he averaged .482 from the field that year as well). What distinguishes Jordan from any other guard in the league to ever play was his dominance and efficiency. His career field goal percentage was .497 (Bryants' .455), and Jordan averaged 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.35 steals every single night along with his 30.1 points.
Bryant averages 25.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.7 apg, and 1.5 spg.
By me saying Bryant will probably become the all-time leading scorer--in no way makes a case for him being the "best player to ever play the game"; that title is reserved and utilized by Jordan for the basketball eternity.
I don't see Bryant slowing down with his scoring--and I definitely see him playing until he's about 38-40, which gives him ample of time to shatter the record.
Right now Bryant is enjoying the glory of being the all-time leading scorer for the Lakers, but in no time--he will be all-time leading NBA scorer.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Pro-Bowl
The AFC won the Pro-Bowl game! I guess it doesn't really matter though so you don't really care whether or not they won or lost.
Aaron Rogers and Matt Schaub each threw two touchdown passes for their respective conferences--except when I thought of the two top pro-bowl quarterbacks going at it, I envisioned Manning and Brees. Of course those two quarterbacks will play on the stage--I mean THE STAGE, on Super Bowl Sunday with all the commercials and hype and excitement.
But it's kind of sad to see that the pro-bowl really did not get utilized to its full potential because not all the stars were able to play. I think having the pro-bowl before the Super Bowl is pointless and less enjoyable for the players as well as the fans; the bigger picture however is the fact that the pro-bowl literally means nothing to the season.
The National Basketball Association has the NBA All-Star game midway through the season and Major League Baseball has their All-Star festivities about 81 games in. Both games are played during the midpoint of the year in order to create a sense of resurgence in interest of the sport and a sort of "clean slate" mentality to improve records.
The MLB uses the All-Star game to decide which team receives home field advantage during the playoffs--which I think is the best method for weighing significance during such a festivity.
If the All-Star or Pro-Bowl game actually meant something valuable to a teams fate--players would be a lot more enthused and the games would be much more exciting.
I enjoy watching the top athletes of a sport participate in the greatest possible competitive game (most possibly competitive due to the level of talent on the field/court) because it should be an amazing game. But it is rarely the case that the players put everything they have out unless there is importance to the game.
Of course players are not increasingly competitive in such an atmosphere because they want to have fun and enjoy the honor--but that detracts the potential of an outstanding competition. Especially if you consider a game like baseball where a player cannot play anymore if he has been substituted in for another player. If Jeter is taken out of the 3rd inning of the All-star game--Jason Bartlett is playing for the rest of the game, unless Michael Young is willing to play shortstop--then he can play there for a couple innings too.
With an environment that restricts the termination of a players impact on a game once he is retracted from the line-up, he can't contribute to the outcome on the field anymore.
This doesn't effect any of the other sports, which is why I wish there would be some more competition during the special games. Football's pro-bowl is about as appealing to me as a fork on a pedestal--it's highlighted but with not really interesting.
I don't know what the NFL could do because football is much more physical compared to the other sports, which forces it to be a more injure-prone sport. Thus if a player participates in the pro-bowl, it might be getting a trip to a sunny place--but there's a high chance of being paralyzed for life.
It's hard to make the pro-bowl more appealing, but the NFL really has to do something.
Aaron Rogers and Matt Schaub each threw two touchdown passes for their respective conferences--except when I thought of the two top pro-bowl quarterbacks going at it, I envisioned Manning and Brees. Of course those two quarterbacks will play on the stage--I mean THE STAGE, on Super Bowl Sunday with all the commercials and hype and excitement.
But it's kind of sad to see that the pro-bowl really did not get utilized to its full potential because not all the stars were able to play. I think having the pro-bowl before the Super Bowl is pointless and less enjoyable for the players as well as the fans; the bigger picture however is the fact that the pro-bowl literally means nothing to the season.
The National Basketball Association has the NBA All-Star game midway through the season and Major League Baseball has their All-Star festivities about 81 games in. Both games are played during the midpoint of the year in order to create a sense of resurgence in interest of the sport and a sort of "clean slate" mentality to improve records.
The MLB uses the All-Star game to decide which team receives home field advantage during the playoffs--which I think is the best method for weighing significance during such a festivity.
If the All-Star or Pro-Bowl game actually meant something valuable to a teams fate--players would be a lot more enthused and the games would be much more exciting.
I enjoy watching the top athletes of a sport participate in the greatest possible competitive game (most possibly competitive due to the level of talent on the field/court) because it should be an amazing game. But it is rarely the case that the players put everything they have out unless there is importance to the game.
Of course players are not increasingly competitive in such an atmosphere because they want to have fun and enjoy the honor--but that detracts the potential of an outstanding competition. Especially if you consider a game like baseball where a player cannot play anymore if he has been substituted in for another player. If Jeter is taken out of the 3rd inning of the All-star game--Jason Bartlett is playing for the rest of the game, unless Michael Young is willing to play shortstop--then he can play there for a couple innings too.
With an environment that restricts the termination of a players impact on a game once he is retracted from the line-up, he can't contribute to the outcome on the field anymore.
This doesn't effect any of the other sports, which is why I wish there would be some more competition during the special games. Football's pro-bowl is about as appealing to me as a fork on a pedestal--it's highlighted but with not really interesting.
I don't know what the NFL could do because football is much more physical compared to the other sports, which forces it to be a more injure-prone sport. Thus if a player participates in the pro-bowl, it might be getting a trip to a sunny place--but there's a high chance of being paralyzed for life.
It's hard to make the pro-bowl more appealing, but the NFL really has to do something.
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