There is a growing desire amongst basketball stat folks to say that Wilt wasn't really that great of a player because: 1) he played 48 minutes a game versus a normal starter's minutes of around 36; and 2) teams played at a far higher pace in the 1960s than they do today.
What these well-intentioned folks seem to miss is that people during Wilt's day were playing under the same rules and at the same pace of play he was playing at. They had the same opportunities to play all 48 minutes, if they could hack it. There was nothing peculiar about Wilt's situation that permitted him to sleep more or travel less or rest in practice more. Wilt was just able to play 48 MPG without fouling out or diminishing his skills substantially on a per-minute basis.
If the "Wilt wasn't that good" argument were correct, then we would assume that Wilt's scoring marks and rebounding marks would be roughly equivalent to others of his day or perhaps 10-15% higher than, say, the 5th place guy in the statistical categories. That just simply did not happen.
Wilt's stats were routinely 30-50% higher than the 5th place finisher. The only players who challenged Wilt for supremacy as a player were Russell and Oscar. Neither of these guys put up the rebounding AND scoring numbers that Wilt did. Russell was always fighting Wilt for the rebounding title, but Russell never scored 20 a game (those who seek to normalize Wilt's stats probably need to state how they feel about Bill Russell claiming to the #1 player of all time and scoring an adjusted, what? 10 ppg? Imagine a player in today's league claiming #1 status and performing at 2004 Ben Wallace levels).
And the final thing to consider is this -- when you are looking for outrageous statistical achievements in scoring and rebounding (and even triple doubles, where Wilt is the only guy to go 20-20-20) who do you turn to? Wilt. If Wilt really wasn't that great, then why wouldn't there be at least 20-30 Wilt-like efforts sprinkled into the mix? I saw a stat the other day that said "there have been 58 games of at least 39--29 in NBA history -- Wilt has 53." Allen Iverson played a ton of minutes. Paul Silas played LeBron one night in Minneapolis after LeBron literally lost consciousness on the sideline and had to be helped back to the locker room for an IV. There have been guys played to death by their coaches. Where are the 39-29 performances or the 20-20-20 performances? Where are the instances of guys going for 45+ for 20 consecutive games? How about 35+? Wilt averaged 50 a game. Jordan, I am pretty sure, is second at 37 a game. There was never a better player than Jordan, but he couldn't go 48 minutes a night and get 50 a night even though the pace of play in 1987 was pretty fast.
Anyway, hoping that when people run down Wilt that someone might do a Google search and find this item and re-think their assessment.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Jodi Arias -- Doesn't Deserve the Death Penalty
http://news.yahoo.com/lawyers-jodi-arias-trial-last-bids-life-death-141302508.html
It is a close call, I will concede. But this is obviously a very troubled and disturbed woman who snapped due to the mistreatment by her sort of boyfriend.
While certainly no one deserves to die, the victim here was not altogether blameless in his death. He used this girl for sex and led her along with the belief that he was somewhat serious about her. In reality, she was never a serious candidate for a serious life long relationship with the guy. She was, for lack of a better analogy, a substitute for Kleenex or a towel or an old shirt or an old sock. He used her to get off. When there is a relationship between two parties, there is almost always going to be an imbalance in power, but you probably ought not to mislead a woman with respect to your intentions when she is so crazy that she doesn't mind dressing up in little boys' underwear and having you sodomize her. I mean, geez, you have some psycho-sexual issues issues and you are taking them out on this girl....and she allows you to do so, with the false hope that by doing so she will get you to love and marry her.
Can you really be all that surprised when one day she completely loses her mind and decides you have effed with her (and effed her) long enough?
Look, I will concede that I have had a couple of unbalanced relationships in my life where I was more like the Travis Alexander side of the relationship. Both relationships were with extremely intelligent women. Extremely intelligent. One was under 20 and in need of attention, the other was borderline insane. Had the first one decided one day to wake up and kill me, I would have been disappointed, but I cannot say I wouldn't have slightly deserved it. The second one? She on several occasions told me that she would stab me, she told me her dad would have me killed, she told me that I better watch myself..... In light of the fact that I knew her imbalance and still conducted myself as I did, had she killed me, should she go to prison forever? Sure. Would my ghost wander the earth if she didn't get the death penalty? No. (That said, I will quickly note that I have seen neither person for 23+ years so any desire to kill me would NOW be completely unjustified - you have had a 23+ year cooling off period).
If I were not on the jury, I would not vote to kill Jodi Arias.
It is a close call, I will concede. But this is obviously a very troubled and disturbed woman who snapped due to the mistreatment by her sort of boyfriend.
While certainly no one deserves to die, the victim here was not altogether blameless in his death. He used this girl for sex and led her along with the belief that he was somewhat serious about her. In reality, she was never a serious candidate for a serious life long relationship with the guy. She was, for lack of a better analogy, a substitute for Kleenex or a towel or an old shirt or an old sock. He used her to get off. When there is a relationship between two parties, there is almost always going to be an imbalance in power, but you probably ought not to mislead a woman with respect to your intentions when she is so crazy that she doesn't mind dressing up in little boys' underwear and having you sodomize her. I mean, geez, you have some psycho-sexual issues issues and you are taking them out on this girl....and she allows you to do so, with the false hope that by doing so she will get you to love and marry her.
Can you really be all that surprised when one day she completely loses her mind and decides you have effed with her (and effed her) long enough?
Look, I will concede that I have had a couple of unbalanced relationships in my life where I was more like the Travis Alexander side of the relationship. Both relationships were with extremely intelligent women. Extremely intelligent. One was under 20 and in need of attention, the other was borderline insane. Had the first one decided one day to wake up and kill me, I would have been disappointed, but I cannot say I wouldn't have slightly deserved it. The second one? She on several occasions told me that she would stab me, she told me her dad would have me killed, she told me that I better watch myself..... In light of the fact that I knew her imbalance and still conducted myself as I did, had she killed me, should she go to prison forever? Sure. Would my ghost wander the earth if she didn't get the death penalty? No. (That said, I will quickly note that I have seen neither person for 23+ years so any desire to kill me would NOW be completely unjustified - you have had a 23+ year cooling off period).
If I were not on the jury, I would not vote to kill Jodi Arias.
New "Dancing With the Stars" Contestant Charlotte McKinney's Twitter Pics
https://twitter.com/Char_mck/media
Do yourself a favor -- take some time to run through the pics. Reported measurements: 32D-24-34.
Do yourself a favor -- take some time to run through the pics. Reported measurements: 32D-24-34.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Guys Who Played At a High Level for the Longest Time
With KG's return to Minneapolis set for Wednesday, let's review the list of guys who played at a 10+ Win Share level for the most seasons. KG no longer plays at that level, but he is on the list in a tie for 18th place. See below for the name, dates, and (at the end) number of seasons a guy managed to get 10+ Win Shares (led by Kareem's 16 seasons). The "one of this guys is not like the other" guy would be Reggie Miller.....certainly not a top 25 (or probably not a top 50) player, but he is tied for 7th place on this list. (For you younger folks, Bob Petit was ten times first-team All-NBA.).
| 1 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | 1970 | 1986 | TOT | NBA | 16 |
| 2 | Karl Malone* | 1988 | 2003 | UTA | NBA | 14 |
| 3 | Wilt Chamberlain* | 1960 | 1973 | TOT | NBA | 13 |
| 4 | John Stockton* | 1988 | 2002 | UTA | NBA | 13 |
| 5 | Tim Duncan | 1998 | 2010 | SAS | NBA | 12 |
| 6 | Dirk Nowitzki | 2001 | 2014 | DAL | NBA | 12 |
| 7 | Kobe Bryant | 2000 | 2013 | LAL | NBA | 11 |
| 8 | Magic Johnson* | 1980 | 1991 | LAL | NBA | 11 |
| 9 | Michael Jordan* | 1985 | 1998 | CHI | NBA | 11 |
| 10 | Reggie Miller* | 1990 | 2001 | IND | NBA | 11 |
| 11 | Oscar Robertson* | 1961 | 1971 | TOT | NBA | 11 |
| 12 | David Robinson* | 1990 | 2002 | SAS | NBA | 11 |
| 13 | Bill Russell* | 1958 | 1969 | BOS | NBA | 11 |
| 14 | Charles Barkley* | 1986 | 1996 | TOT | NBA | 10 |
| 15 | LeBron James | 2005 | 2014 | TOT | NBA | 10 |
| 16 | Bob Pettit* | 1955 | 1964 | TOT | NBA | 10 |
| 17 | Jerry West* | 1962 | 1973 | LAL | NBA | 10 |
| 18 | Larry Bird* | 1980 | 1988 | BOS | NBA | 9 |
| 19 | Kevin Garnett | 2000 | 2008 | TOT | NBA | 9 |
| 20 | Shaquille O'Neal | 1993 | 2005 | TOT | NBA | 9 |
Friday, February 20, 2015
Full List of NBA Trade Deadline Deals 2015
Goran Dragic to the Miami Heat from the Denver Nuggets in a three-team deal:
- Miami gets: Goran Dragic, Zoran Dragic
- Phoenix gets: Â Danny Granger, Justin Hamilton, John Salmons, two 1st-round picks
- New Orleans gets: Norris Cole (per ESPN), Shawne Williams (per Woj)
Winner -- Miami, if it can re-sign Dragic, has gone from one of the worst PG situations in the league to top 10. I don't know how Wade will adapt to a good PG, but Miami at least didn't stand pat and just let the roster die out.
Miami B+
Phoenix -- got two #1s for a guy who wasn't going to stay, so they also did well, but their decision to sign a third PG in the off season (Isaiah Thomas, see below) caused all of this unnecessary drama in the first place -- so, B
New Orleans -- I guess they figured that since Jrue Holiday is completely unable to get healthy that they needed someone. Cole sucks -- yet another guy who rode LeBron James to an OK career before being exposed. C minus.
Enes Kanter to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Reggie Jackson to the Detroit Pistons in a three-team deal:
- Oklahoma City gets: Enes Kanter, Kyle Singler, D.J. Augustin, Steve Novak
- Utah gets: Kendrick Perkins, Grant Jerrett, protected future Oklahoma City 1st-round pick, Detroit 2nd-round pick, rights to Tibor Pleiss (per ESPN)
- Detroit gets: Reggie Jackson
Winner -- Detroit. I think Reggie Jackson can be a really good player, and they gave up bench shit that no one should ever want. Grade - B plus
OKC -- I don't see Kanter as a big upgrade from Stephen Adams. But Adams has a broken hand, so the Thunder are desperate. Adams will eventually return, but the difference between Kanter and Adams is not noticeable against better opponents. So they basically got a good 24 minute center for a terrible player (Perkins) and a guy I like (Jackson), oh, and a low #1 -- so, C minus.
Utah -- no fucking idea what they are doing here. Take a guy who plays for you and get one of the worst players in the league (Perkins), a low #1, and.......Tibor Pleiss??? Maybe Pleiss is the new Marc Gasol, but if not then the Jazz gets an F.
The Suns, Sixers, Bucks, and Celtics engage in a massive four-team trade:
- Phoenix gets: Brandon Knight, Marcus Thornton, Cleveland's 2016 1st-round pick (per Woj)
- Philadelphia gets: Los Angeles Lakers 2015 1st-round pick (top-five protected)
- Milwaukee gets: Michael Carter-Williams, Miles Plumlee, Tyler Ennis
- Boston gets: Isaiah Thomas
Winner -- Phoenix -- they get the deal's best player (Knight) and a #1 and give up a guy they should have never signed in Thomas (good player, but effed up their chemistry really badly). Grade A minus
Philly - got what could be a really high #1....or a really awful 1. Grade B
Milwaukee - Why would you get Ennis AND MCW? MCW is only effective at 35+ MPG. High usage, low percentage shooter. Plumlee was great for one year in Phoenix, then they dump him? Bucks Grade -- B minus
Boston -- Thomas is a good player. No one wants Marcus Thornton. He defines "one-dimensional". Grade C
Arron Afflalo to the Portland Trail Blazers from the Denver Nuggets:
- Portland gets: Arron Afflalo, Alonzo Gee
- Denver gets: Will Barton, Victor Claver, Thomas Robinson, lottery-protected 2016 1st-round pick
Winner -- none. Denver gets a low #1, Portland gets a couple guys who won't make them appreciably better. Both teams get a C.
- Minnesota gets: Kevin Garnett
- Brooklyn gets: Thaddeus Young
Wolves -- Odd, odd deal. A desperate effort for a veteran leader and a name to sell tickets. Management will always take the easy path, never acknowledging that the way to draw a crowd is to become a consistent winner. Grade C minus (Young is so awful defensively, he really isn't a guy you can play 24+ minutes, and he was going to leave anyway).
- Detroit gets: Tayshaun Prince
- Boston gets: Jonas Jerebko, Gigi Datome
Um, no winner here. Old washed up guy for a young never-will-be guy. Both teams get a D.
JaVale McGee to the Philadelphia 76ers from the Denver Nuggets:
- Philadelphia gets: JaVale McGee, Oklahoma City Thunder's 2015 1st-round pick (top-18 protected), Chu Chu Maduabum
- Denver gets: Cenk Akyol
Denver got itself into a Wolvesian situation where it was paying a #1 to dump a guy (ala Wes Johnson to Phoenix). How do you ever become that desperate? Cut the frigging guy (ala Josh Smith). Grade D.
- Houston gets: K.J. McDaniels
- Philadelphia gets: Isaiah Canaan, 2nd-round pick
Philly -- they put together an awful, awful team and guys like McDaniels refuse to quit and play hard enough to win way more games than I predicted (I said 6-76). The reward? Your walking papers....for nothing. If you didn't want the guy, just let him ride out the season and leave with a good feeling. Grade F
- Washington gets: Ramon Sessions
- Sacramento gets: Andre Miller
Wiz -- got Miller off their asses. Sessions sucks. Grade D. (Hoping for addition by subtraction).
Pablo Prigioni to the Houston Rockets from the New York Knicks:
- Rockets get: Pablo Prigioni
- Knicks get: Alexey Shved, two 2nd-round picks
Knicks -- Phil loves big point guards who can defend and stand around and hit an open three (Ron Harper, Brian Shaw). But acquiring Shved is like saying "I like tall divas who dress up a lot and wear a lot of makeup" and getting RuPaul. Technically meets the criteria, but......
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Your 11 Best Smaller Guys Who Almost Never Shot 3 Pointers
http://bkref.com/tiny/L34Q1 How about some Elton Brand!!!
| 1 | Adrian Dantley* | 1980 | 1987 | TOT | NBA | 6 |
| 2 | Elton Brand | 2002 | 2007 | LAC | NBA | 4 |
| 3 | Julius Erving* | 1980 | 1983 | PHI | NBA | 4 |
| 4 | Marques Johnson | 1980 | 1983 | MIL | NBA | 3 |
| 5 | Anthony Mason | 1996 | 2001 | TOT | NBA | 3 |
| 6 | Sidney Moncrief | 1982 | 1984 | MIL | NBA | 3 |
| 7 | Cedric Maxwell | 1980 | 1981 | BOS | NBA | 2 |
| 8 | Maurice Cheeks | 1986 | 1986 | PHI | NBA | 1 |
| 9 | Alex English* | 1983 | 1983 | DEN | NBA | 1 |
| 10 | Bernard King* | 1984 | 1984 | NYK | NBA | 1 |
| 11 | Calvin Natt | 1985 | 1985 | DEN | NBA | 1 |
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Dirk Passes KG For 7th On the Career Win Shares List
Barring some horrible injury to Dirk or the invention of a new steroid for KG, I think Dirk has passed him for good.
In other developments, Duncan slowly inching his way toward becoming the 6th guy with 200 career Win Shares. LeBron has passed Reggie Miller and assuming he can get 5 WS the rest of the way, he will pass Barkley and David Robinson this year and sit just outside the top 10 at age 31. Below Magic sits Paul Pierce, who seemingly will play forever. He is 8 short of Magic right now, so he will need a couple good years or three OK years to reach the top 20 (again, NBA only -- Dr. J, and Gilmore rise up the list if you include ABA WS).
Coming on hard -- Chris Paul shows no signs of slowing down and at his current pace of 15 a year he could be top 22 by 2016.. Durant is trying to shake off some early career woes and has yet to reach 100. Pau Gasol will soon pass Buck Williams for 40th place.
Your top 20 Win Shares players (NBA stats only) as of the morning of February 10, 2015:
In other developments, Duncan slowly inching his way toward becoming the 6th guy with 200 career Win Shares. LeBron has passed Reggie Miller and assuming he can get 5 WS the rest of the way, he will pass Barkley and David Robinson this year and sit just outside the top 10 at age 31. Below Magic sits Paul Pierce, who seemingly will play forever. He is 8 short of Magic right now, so he will need a couple good years or three OK years to reach the top 20 (again, NBA only -- Dr. J, and Gilmore rise up the list if you include ABA WS).
Coming on hard -- Chris Paul shows no signs of slowing down and at his current pace of 15 a year he could be top 22 by 2016.. Durant is trying to shake off some early career woes and has yet to reach 100. Pau Gasol will soon pass Buck Williams for 40th place.
Your top 20 Win Shares players (NBA stats only) as of the morning of February 10, 2015:
| 1. | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | 273.41 |
| 2. | Wilt Chamberlain* | 247.26 |
| 3. | Karl Malone* | 234.63 |
| 4. | Michael Jordan* | 214.02 |
| 5. | John Stockton* | 207.70 |
| 6. | Tim Duncan | 196.78 |
| 7. | Dirk Nowitzki | 190.07 |
| 8. | Kevin Garnett | 190.04 |
| 9. | Oscar Robertson* | 189.21 |
| 10. | Shaquille O'Neal | 181.71 |
| 11. | David Robinson* | 178.67 |
| 12. | Charles Barkley* | 177.21 |
| 13. | LeBron James | 174.84 |
| 14. | Reggie Miller* | 174.40 |
| 15. | Kobe Bryant | 173.14 |
| 16. | Moses Malone* | 167.07 |
| 17. | Bill Russell* | 163.51 |
| 18. | Hakeem Olajuwon* | 162.77 |
| 19. | Jerry West* | 162.58 |
| 20. | Magic Johnson* | 155.79 |
Thursday, February 05, 2015
Brian Williams of NBC News -- Liar
http://news.yahoo.com/brian-williams-iraq-war-story-twitter-remembers-135917143.html
Good lord. How do you lie about being on a chopper hit by an RPG? "I misremembered."
Example from My Past -- "You know, Sunday, I was in Phoenix and I had sex all night with Katy Perry after she got her newest tattoo."
OK, well, I did watch her on TV and thought she was hot, and I saw a picture of her new tattoo. Sorry. Misremembered.
Good lord. How do you lie about being on a chopper hit by an RPG? "I misremembered."
Example from My Past -- "You know, Sunday, I was in Phoenix and I had sex all night with Katy Perry after she got her newest tattoo."
OK, well, I did watch her on TV and thought she was hot, and I saw a picture of her new tattoo. Sorry. Misremembered.
Tuesday, February 03, 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)