Friday, July 17, 2015
Friday, July 10, 2015
Why Some People Love Donald Trump
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/10/1401019/-New-National-Poll-Confirms-The-Republican-Presidential-Field-Is-Now-Led-By-An-Unabashed-Racist
Look, I grew up on a 100 acre farm in western NY. The county voted about 67% Republican. My dad was a Democrat, and my mom was a George Wallace Democrat. She voted Democrat; she just hated all minorities.....probably still does.
I know the type of people who love Donald Trump. So let me defend/explain them a little here.
1) General hatred of minorities: Most older people in the sticks hate minorities. Let's not pretend that the North is appreciably better than the South. If you are a typical person who was born in the 1920s-40s, you hate minorities. You believe that white people work very hard and never get ahead and that minorities just decide to stay on welfare, have kids, and get the government to pay for them.
2) Feelings on illegal immigrants: Illegal immigrants around the 1960s and 1970s used to be thought of as slightly better than American minorities because they came to the U.S. to work (not go on welfare). You will see that in the North and the Southeast the hatred of illegal immigrants is probably less than the general hatred of minorities. The issue with illegal immigrants is that HUGE populations of crotchety old white people live in California, Texas and Arizona. The minorities that the old folks see every day are generally illegal immigrants. They often do not speak English, which is a huge pain in the ass, and they also have kids who go to school -- old crotchety white people hate paying for public school and they certainly hate paying MORE so that kids can learn English. So, illegal immigration pisses off people in some huge states, so that needs to be a big deal politically for the party of old crotchety white people.
3) The World Is Against/Taking-From Me: There is a general feeling of old white people, and many young middle to lower class white people, perhaps best epitomized for me by my mom, that the world is against them and that, but for some awful plot hatched specifically against them by someone, they would be successful. A corollary to that rule is that the person desperately wants to be a super-wealthy Mitt Romney type, and would be but for some SOB keeping him or her down. Therefore, the person keeping him or her down cannot be a Mitt Romney type. Well, it also cannot be the people "like me" who are white and working poor/middle class. So who is left? The minorities. They are taking all of the money and leaving me with none. Ask a person of this sort, "What % of the U.S. budget goes to social programs for the poor like welfare?" You will get answers like 40% or 75%. (It is like 5-12%). Why 40-75%? Because I work and work and work and my fucking taxes go to people who do jack shit. If I didn't have to pay taxes to these leeches, I would be wealthy like Mitt Romney....or Donald Trump.
4) Why Won't People Tell the Truth? This is probably the most valid reason that Trump voters have for supporting him. If I know L.A. gang members, none of whom are white, are killing people and crime is awful in inner city areas, can I say, "Black and Hispanic people are killing each other every day!" Answer - no. If I know a woman who is Asian and she doesn't have a job and has 12 kids, can I complain about that, saying, "I know this Asian woman....? Answer - no. Why? Because to do so is "racist." This is particularly hard to swallow. Recall that these Trump voters have a hard enough life -- they are generally poor to middle class. They think everyone hates them and is trying to screw them out of success. They hate almost everyone. So life sucks. Now they are told that they not only cannot tell racist jokes anymore (which used to be extremely popular) but they also cannot actually complain about things that are, in fact, happening.
One of the toughest pills to swallow is the claim that illegal immigrants are not, in fact, illegal immigrants, but merely "undocumented". These immigrants didn't legally come into the country with acceptable papers and then just somehow misplace their passport. They aren't waiting for their citizenship papers that are lost in the mail. They are here, knowingly, in violation of federal law. They are illegal immigrants, why make up a different term? I have a brother who functions at roughly a 4 year old level. He suffered damage to his brain at age 2. OK. For 52 years he has been "mentally retarded." Since 2012? He has an "intellectual disability." WTF is an intellectual disability? He cannot understand old William Buckley lectures very well? He only gets 45% of Dennis Miller's most obscure quips? Come on. He has mental retardation. He lost substantial use of his brain. I think no less of him for being mentally retarded, and I think no more of him for being intellectually disabled (wouldn't it be "differently abled" by the way?). Why try to make a nicer term. Just say mentally retarded, because in 10 years we will find intellectually disabled offensive and go somewhere else with the term.
Against this backdrop comes Trump. He is a rich white guy -- therefore, he is everything these voters worship. HE is not the one holding them down. In fact, he is what the voters would be, but for the constant plot of people against them. He is against minorities. He is particularly against illegal immigrants, and he understands that these "rapists" and "murderers" and general "criminals" and whatever else Trump has called them are destroying our once great country (where good hard-working people could get ahead, but for the constant forces conspiring against them). And, most importantly, Trump will say what he really means. No mealy-mouthed discussion or dog whistle terminology. "Minorities are bad, there are trillions of them, they are destroying us, and I am here to be the one person in the world who cares about you and who is not trying to screw you!"
Well, thank goodness. Someone finally understands my plight and will tell the truth. And maybe if he gets elected, we can all go back to telling the truth and telling racist jokes.
It makes sense. It really does.
Now, Trump has several problems with pulling off a win using this approach:
1) these people also believe a lot of things that they will want affirmed as well -- no gay marriage or other rights for gays, one God, prayer in school, right to discriminate against minorities, tougher drug laws for minorities, no abortion rights, "men's rights" (which is basically the right to do whatever you want even if women object). You cannot be soft or waiver on any of these issues. Remember, Trump lives in the Northeast. He may not defend Jim Crow laws (Rand Paul will). He may feel that certain private decisions (swearing, divorcing a million times) are perfectly fine. He may not toe the crazy person line. There is no room for that. You are 100% with us or 100% against us.
2) There are some people out there like my mom who value education. Most of her kids got an education and they advanced themselves. My mom likes to learn and she likes to know stuff. The current positioning of the GOP as the party of Sarah Palin really bugs the shit out of her. She would vote for a Republican who admitted that global warming is a problem and that we need to teach evolution and that there is a place for public education and smart people. But she called me in 2008 after she voted and said, "I hate to say it, but I voted for that [fill in word] Obama. I thought of your kids and I could just not stick your kids with that Goddamned woman. That just isn't right." She, of course, was talking about Palin. Trump's position, while popular, almost certainly appeals to the "know nothing" side of the party. There are still people out there who hate minorities but would prefer to be governed by someone who is at least their intellectual equal.
Maybe not many, but when you are in a 52-48% world. you cannot drop 2%.
3) The people with money love illegal immigrants. They do. They are cheap labor. They trim my grass and they feed my kids. I go to Home Depot and hire 12 from the parking lot. If I am worth $2,000,000 to $5 billion, I want illegal immigrants around. Same thing if I own a hotel or a fast food restaurant. Why do fast food restaurant owners fear ICE audits? BECAUSE THEY ARE HIRING PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE ILLEGALLY! I mean, come on. No matter how much money Trump has, it is awfully hard to win the election when you are fighting the powers that be in the party. As I have said repeatedly, Mike Huckabee was a rising star until he had the audacity to say that MAYBE it didn't need to be 85% of the GOP platform to insist on tax cuts for multi-millionaires. That was it. Done. SUGGESTING that tax cuts should not be the primary goal of the party? Nope. (Which is really remarkable, when you think about it -- a huge majority of GOP voters are broke ass folks who pay no taxes. Why these people are SO STUPID as to believe GOP "tax cuts" are for them still astounds me.).
But I digress. For those of you wondering why anyone would vote for Donald Trump -- there ya go.
Look, I grew up on a 100 acre farm in western NY. The county voted about 67% Republican. My dad was a Democrat, and my mom was a George Wallace Democrat. She voted Democrat; she just hated all minorities.....probably still does.
I know the type of people who love Donald Trump. So let me defend/explain them a little here.
1) General hatred of minorities: Most older people in the sticks hate minorities. Let's not pretend that the North is appreciably better than the South. If you are a typical person who was born in the 1920s-40s, you hate minorities. You believe that white people work very hard and never get ahead and that minorities just decide to stay on welfare, have kids, and get the government to pay for them.
2) Feelings on illegal immigrants: Illegal immigrants around the 1960s and 1970s used to be thought of as slightly better than American minorities because they came to the U.S. to work (not go on welfare). You will see that in the North and the Southeast the hatred of illegal immigrants is probably less than the general hatred of minorities. The issue with illegal immigrants is that HUGE populations of crotchety old white people live in California, Texas and Arizona. The minorities that the old folks see every day are generally illegal immigrants. They often do not speak English, which is a huge pain in the ass, and they also have kids who go to school -- old crotchety white people hate paying for public school and they certainly hate paying MORE so that kids can learn English. So, illegal immigration pisses off people in some huge states, so that needs to be a big deal politically for the party of old crotchety white people.
3) The World Is Against/Taking-From Me: There is a general feeling of old white people, and many young middle to lower class white people, perhaps best epitomized for me by my mom, that the world is against them and that, but for some awful plot hatched specifically against them by someone, they would be successful. A corollary to that rule is that the person desperately wants to be a super-wealthy Mitt Romney type, and would be but for some SOB keeping him or her down. Therefore, the person keeping him or her down cannot be a Mitt Romney type. Well, it also cannot be the people "like me" who are white and working poor/middle class. So who is left? The minorities. They are taking all of the money and leaving me with none. Ask a person of this sort, "What % of the U.S. budget goes to social programs for the poor like welfare?" You will get answers like 40% or 75%. (It is like 5-12%). Why 40-75%? Because I work and work and work and my fucking taxes go to people who do jack shit. If I didn't have to pay taxes to these leeches, I would be wealthy like Mitt Romney....or Donald Trump.
4) Why Won't People Tell the Truth? This is probably the most valid reason that Trump voters have for supporting him. If I know L.A. gang members, none of whom are white, are killing people and crime is awful in inner city areas, can I say, "Black and Hispanic people are killing each other every day!" Answer - no. If I know a woman who is Asian and she doesn't have a job and has 12 kids, can I complain about that, saying, "I know this Asian woman....? Answer - no. Why? Because to do so is "racist." This is particularly hard to swallow. Recall that these Trump voters have a hard enough life -- they are generally poor to middle class. They think everyone hates them and is trying to screw them out of success. They hate almost everyone. So life sucks. Now they are told that they not only cannot tell racist jokes anymore (which used to be extremely popular) but they also cannot actually complain about things that are, in fact, happening.
One of the toughest pills to swallow is the claim that illegal immigrants are not, in fact, illegal immigrants, but merely "undocumented". These immigrants didn't legally come into the country with acceptable papers and then just somehow misplace their passport. They aren't waiting for their citizenship papers that are lost in the mail. They are here, knowingly, in violation of federal law. They are illegal immigrants, why make up a different term? I have a brother who functions at roughly a 4 year old level. He suffered damage to his brain at age 2. OK. For 52 years he has been "mentally retarded." Since 2012? He has an "intellectual disability." WTF is an intellectual disability? He cannot understand old William Buckley lectures very well? He only gets 45% of Dennis Miller's most obscure quips? Come on. He has mental retardation. He lost substantial use of his brain. I think no less of him for being mentally retarded, and I think no more of him for being intellectually disabled (wouldn't it be "differently abled" by the way?). Why try to make a nicer term. Just say mentally retarded, because in 10 years we will find intellectually disabled offensive and go somewhere else with the term.
Against this backdrop comes Trump. He is a rich white guy -- therefore, he is everything these voters worship. HE is not the one holding them down. In fact, he is what the voters would be, but for the constant plot of people against them. He is against minorities. He is particularly against illegal immigrants, and he understands that these "rapists" and "murderers" and general "criminals" and whatever else Trump has called them are destroying our once great country (where good hard-working people could get ahead, but for the constant forces conspiring against them). And, most importantly, Trump will say what he really means. No mealy-mouthed discussion or dog whistle terminology. "Minorities are bad, there are trillions of them, they are destroying us, and I am here to be the one person in the world who cares about you and who is not trying to screw you!"
Well, thank goodness. Someone finally understands my plight and will tell the truth. And maybe if he gets elected, we can all go back to telling the truth and telling racist jokes.
It makes sense. It really does.
Now, Trump has several problems with pulling off a win using this approach:
1) these people also believe a lot of things that they will want affirmed as well -- no gay marriage or other rights for gays, one God, prayer in school, right to discriminate against minorities, tougher drug laws for minorities, no abortion rights, "men's rights" (which is basically the right to do whatever you want even if women object). You cannot be soft or waiver on any of these issues. Remember, Trump lives in the Northeast. He may not defend Jim Crow laws (Rand Paul will). He may feel that certain private decisions (swearing, divorcing a million times) are perfectly fine. He may not toe the crazy person line. There is no room for that. You are 100% with us or 100% against us.
2) There are some people out there like my mom who value education. Most of her kids got an education and they advanced themselves. My mom likes to learn and she likes to know stuff. The current positioning of the GOP as the party of Sarah Palin really bugs the shit out of her. She would vote for a Republican who admitted that global warming is a problem and that we need to teach evolution and that there is a place for public education and smart people. But she called me in 2008 after she voted and said, "I hate to say it, but I voted for that [fill in word] Obama. I thought of your kids and I could just not stick your kids with that Goddamned woman. That just isn't right." She, of course, was talking about Palin. Trump's position, while popular, almost certainly appeals to the "know nothing" side of the party. There are still people out there who hate minorities but would prefer to be governed by someone who is at least their intellectual equal.
Maybe not many, but when you are in a 52-48% world. you cannot drop 2%.
3) The people with money love illegal immigrants. They do. They are cheap labor. They trim my grass and they feed my kids. I go to Home Depot and hire 12 from the parking lot. If I am worth $2,000,000 to $5 billion, I want illegal immigrants around. Same thing if I own a hotel or a fast food restaurant. Why do fast food restaurant owners fear ICE audits? BECAUSE THEY ARE HIRING PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE ILLEGALLY! I mean, come on. No matter how much money Trump has, it is awfully hard to win the election when you are fighting the powers that be in the party. As I have said repeatedly, Mike Huckabee was a rising star until he had the audacity to say that MAYBE it didn't need to be 85% of the GOP platform to insist on tax cuts for multi-millionaires. That was it. Done. SUGGESTING that tax cuts should not be the primary goal of the party? Nope. (Which is really remarkable, when you think about it -- a huge majority of GOP voters are broke ass folks who pay no taxes. Why these people are SO STUPID as to believe GOP "tax cuts" are for them still astounds me.).
But I digress. For those of you wondering why anyone would vote for Donald Trump -- there ya go.
Wednesday, July 08, 2015
NBA's Greatest All-Around Players - James, Bird, Jordan, Havlicek, Oscar
Recall that I have already gone through and ranked the top 36 greatest players, so everyone do NOT freak out here. The point of this entry is to identify guys who were great at every significant measurable aspect of the game of basketball -- scoring, rebounding, assists, and defense.
Now, judging a "great all-around player" is difficult, because you need to evaluate what makes a "great" all-around player. If someone gets 7 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists a game, are they "great"? Does being a great all-around player mean you need to score 20 points a game? 25? Is 15 enough?
The hardest thing in evaluating guys from the ancient days of the NBA is the NBA didn't keep steals and blocks before, I believe, 1976, so you cannot really look at steals or blocks. To fix this problem, I went with Defensive Win Shares where I considered defense.
What I did was considered a variety of season results to determine what guys consistently show up on the charts. I did 5 searches on the www.basketball-reference.com database, using what I believe to be various examples of what a reasonable person would consider to be a great all-around season. The guys who appear on all 5 lists:
LeBron James
Larry Bird
Michael Jordan
John Havlicek.
That is it. Oscar Robertson appeared on 4 of the lists (ranking highly on many) but failed to have 4 seasons or more with 4+ defensive win shares. Nevertheless, I will place him 5th, to create a full starting 5.
What is most remarkable about the search results is the absolute and utter dominance of LeBron James. Table 1: first by 2 seasons; Table 2 - tied for first with 3 point guards; Table 3: first by 4 seasons over Oscar, 7 over Bird, 8 over Jordan; Table 4: tied for first; Table 5: first by 6 seasons over Bird and Jordan.
Table 5 is perhaps the most shocking result I stumbled upon. There have been only 19 total seasons in which a player has gone 25-6-6 with 4 DWS. LeBron has NINE of them!! Almost half.
This would explain why James can take absolutely horseshit teams to the NBA Finals - he has the ability to do everything on the court and fill in enormous gaps left by his teammates.
I used a variety of searches:
Table 1 -- Most seasons with 20 points/5 assists and 5 rebounds per game (see very bottom, I couldn't move it for some reason)
Table 2: Most seasons with 7 points, 7 assist and 7 rebounds per game
Table 2
Table 3 -- 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists a game, plus at least 2 Defensive Win Shares:
Table 3.
Table 4 -- Seasons With 15 points/4 rebounds/4 assist and 4 Defensive Win Shares
Table 4
Table 5 -- Seasons with 25 points per game/6 rebounds/6 assist and 4 Defensive Win Shares:
Table 5
Table 1 (Seasons with 20-5-5 average)
Now, judging a "great all-around player" is difficult, because you need to evaluate what makes a "great" all-around player. If someone gets 7 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists a game, are they "great"? Does being a great all-around player mean you need to score 20 points a game? 25? Is 15 enough?
The hardest thing in evaluating guys from the ancient days of the NBA is the NBA didn't keep steals and blocks before, I believe, 1976, so you cannot really look at steals or blocks. To fix this problem, I went with Defensive Win Shares where I considered defense.
What I did was considered a variety of season results to determine what guys consistently show up on the charts. I did 5 searches on the www.basketball-reference.com database, using what I believe to be various examples of what a reasonable person would consider to be a great all-around season. The guys who appear on all 5 lists:
LeBron James
Larry Bird
Michael Jordan
John Havlicek.
That is it. Oscar Robertson appeared on 4 of the lists (ranking highly on many) but failed to have 4 seasons or more with 4+ defensive win shares. Nevertheless, I will place him 5th, to create a full starting 5.
What is most remarkable about the search results is the absolute and utter dominance of LeBron James. Table 1: first by 2 seasons; Table 2 - tied for first with 3 point guards; Table 3: first by 4 seasons over Oscar, 7 over Bird, 8 over Jordan; Table 4: tied for first; Table 5: first by 6 seasons over Bird and Jordan.
Table 5 is perhaps the most shocking result I stumbled upon. There have been only 19 total seasons in which a player has gone 25-6-6 with 4 DWS. LeBron has NINE of them!! Almost half.
This would explain why James can take absolutely horseshit teams to the NBA Finals - he has the ability to do everything on the court and fill in enormous gaps left by his teammates.
I used a variety of searches:
Table 1 -- Most seasons with 20 points/5 assists and 5 rebounds per game (see very bottom, I couldn't move it for some reason)
Table 2: Most seasons with 7 points, 7 assist and 7 rebounds per game
Table 2
| 1 | LeBron James | 2005 | 2013 | TOT | NBA | 6 |
| 2 | Magic Johnson* | 1980 | 1989 | LAL | NBA | 6 |
| 3 | Jason Kidd | 2000 | 2008 | TOT | NBA | 6 |
| 4 | Oscar Robertson* | 1961 | 1966 | CIN | NBA | 6 |
| 5 | Larry Bird* | 1987 | 1991 | BOS | NBA | 3 |
| 6 | Fat Lever | 1987 | 1989 | DEN | NBA | 3 |
| 7 | Wilt Chamberlain* | 1967 | 1968 | PHI | NBA | 2 |
| 8 | John Havlicek* | 1971 | 1972 | BOS | NBA | 2 |
| 9 | Grant Hill | 1997 | 1997 | DET | NBA | 1 |
| 10 | Michael Jordan* | 1989 | 1989 | CHI | NBA | 1 |
| 11 | Norm Van Lier | 1971 | 1971 | CIN | NBA | 1 |
| 12 | Darrell Walker | 1990 | 1990 | WSB | NBA | 1 |
| 13 | Russell Westbrook | 2015 | 2015 | OKC | NBA | 1 |
Table 3 -- 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists a game, plus at least 2 Defensive Win Shares:
Table 3.
| 1 | LeBron James | 2005 | 2015 | TOT | NBA | 11 |
| 2 | Oscar Robertson* | 1962 | 1970 | CIN | NBA | 7 |
| 3 | Larry Bird* | 1985 | 1988 | BOS | NBA | 4 |
| 4 | Michael Jordan* | 1989 | 1992 | CHI | NBA | 3 |
| 5 | John Havlicek* | 1971 | 1972 | BOS | NBA | 2 |
| 6 | Rick Barry* | 1974 | 1974 | GSW | NBA | 1 |
| 7 | Clyde Drexler* | 1992 | 1992 | POR | NBA | 1 |
| 8 | Richie Guerin* | 1962 | 1962 | NYK | NBA | 1 |
| 9 | Jerry West* | 1966 | 1966 | LAL | NBA | 1 |
| 10 | Russell Westbrook | 2015 | 2015 | OKC | NBA | 1 |
Table 4 -- Seasons With 15 points/4 rebounds/4 assist and 4 Defensive Win Shares
Table 4
| 1 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | 1970 | 1980 | TOT | NBA | 9 |
| 2 | Larry Bird* | 1980 | 1990 | BOS | NBA | 9 |
| 3 | Kevin Garnett | 1998 | 2007 | MIN | NBA | 9 |
| 4 | LeBron James | 2005 | 2013 | TOT | NBA | 9 |
| 5 | Michael Jordan* | 1987 | 1997 | CHI | NBA | 9 |
| 6 | Scottie Pippen* | 1990 | 1997 | CHI | NBA | 8 |
| 7 | Wilt Chamberlain* | 1964 | 1971 | TOT | NBA | 6 |
| 8 | Walt Frazier* | 1969 | 1974 | NYK | NBA | 6 |
| 9 | John Havlicek* | 1968 | 1973 | BOS | NBA | 6 |
| 10 | Bob Cousy* | 1957 | 1961 | BOS | NBA | 5 |
| 11 | Dave Cowens* | 1973 | 1978 | BOS | NBA | 5 |
| 12 | Karl Malone* | 1994 | 2003 | UTA | NBA | 5 |
| 13 | Dwyane Wade | 2005 | 2011 | MIA | NBA | 5 |
| 14 | Kobe Bryant | 2000 | 2010 | LAL | NBA | 4 |
| 15 | Julius Erving* | 1979 | 1984 | PHI | NBA | 4 |
| 16 | Chris Webber | 1997 | 2003 | TOT | NBA | 4 |
Table 5 -- Seasons with 25 points per game/6 rebounds/6 assist and 4 Defensive Win Shares:
Table 5
| 1 | LeBron James | 2005 | 2013 | TOT | NBA | 9 |
| 2 | Larry Bird* | 1985 | 1987 | BOS | NBA | 3 |
| 3 | Michael Jordan* | 1989 | 1992 | CHI | NBA | 3 |
| 4 | John Havlicek* | 1971 | 1972 | BOS | NBA | 2 |
| 5 | Clyde Drexler* | 1992 | 1992 | POR | NBA | 1 |
| 6 | Oscar Robertson* | 1964 | 1964 | CIN | NBA | 1 |
Table 1 (Seasons with 20-5-5 average)
| 1 | LeBron James | 2004 | 2015 | TOT | NBA | 12 |
| 2 | Larry Bird* | 1981 | 1992 | BOS | NBA | 10 |
| 3 | Oscar Robertson* | 1961 | 1970 | CIN | NBA | 10 |
| 4 | Kobe Bryant | 2002 | 2015 | LAL | NBA | 9 |
| 5 | Michael Jordan* | 1985 | 2002 | TOT | NBA | 9 |
| 6 | Clyde Drexler* | 1987 | 1992 | POR | NBA | 6 |
| 7 | Walt Frazier* | 1970 | 1975 | NYK | NBA | 6 |
| 8 | John Havlicek* | 1969 | 1974 | BOS | NBA | 6 |
| 9 | Tracy McGrady | 2002 | 2008 | TOT | NBA | 6 |
| 10 | Jerry West* | 1962 | 1968 | LAL | NBA | 6 |
| 11 | Rick Barry* | 1974 | 1978 | GSW | NBA | 5 |
| 12 | Grant Hill | 1996 | 2000 | DET | NBA | 5 |
| 13 | Wilt Chamberlain* | 1964 | 1968 | TOT | NBA | 4 |
| 14 | Magic Johnson* | 1981 | 1990 | LAL | NBA | 4 |
| 15 | Scottie Pippen* | 1992 | 1997 | CHI | NBA | 4 |
| 16 | Elgin Baylor* | 1961 | 1970 | LAL | NBA | 3 |
| 17 | Steve Francis | 2002 | 2005 | TOT | NBA | 3 |
| 18 | Kevin Garnett | 2002 | 2005 | MIN | NBA | 3 |
| 19 | Richie Guerin* | 1960 | 1962 | NYK | NBA | 3 |
| 20 | Dwyane Wade | 2005 | 2009 | MIA | NBA | 3 |
| Rk | Player | From | To | Tm | Lg | Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Russell Westbrook | 2013 | 2015 | OKC | NBA | 3 |
Monday, July 06, 2015
Thursday, July 02, 2015
Top 99 NBA Free Agents as of Midnight Last Night, With Status
Source -- www.hoopshype.com
2 Marc Gasol Unrestricted
1 LeBron James Unrestricted
2 Marc Gasol Unrestricted
3 LaMarcus Aldridge Unrestricted
4 Kawhi Leonard Agreed to terms with San Antonio $90
million, five years
5 Kevin Love Agreed to terms with Cleveland $109 million,
five years
6 Jimmy Butler Agreed to terms with Chicago $95 million,
five years
7 Dwyane Wade Unrestricted
8 DeAndre Jordan Unrestricted
9 Tim Duncan Unrestricted
10 Goran Dragic Agreed to terms with Miami $90 million, five
years
11 Draymond Green Agreed to terms with Golden State $85
million, five years
12 Brook Lopez Agreed to terms with Brooklyn $60 million,
three years
13 Paul Millsap Agreed to terms with Atlanta $59 million,
three years
14 Greg Monroe Unrestricted
Just signed max deal with Bucks.
15 Monta Ellis Unrestricted
16 Brandon Knight Agreed to terms with Phoenix $70 million,
five years
17 Reggie Jackson Restricted
18 Rajon Rondo Unrestricted
19 Tyson Chandler Agreed to terms with Phoenix $52 million,
four years
20 Khris Middleton Agreed to terms with Milwaukee $70
million, five years
21 Josh Smith Unrestricted
22 Tobias Harris Restricted
23 DeMarre Carroll Agreed to terms with Toronto $60 million,
four years
24 Tristan Thompson Restricted
25 Enes Kanter Restricted
26 David West Unrestricted
27 Robin Lopez Unrestricted
28 Louis Williams Unrestricted
29 Patrick Beverley Restricted
30 Wesley Matthews Unrestricted
31 Thaddeus Young Agreed to terms with Brooklyn $50 million,
four years
32 Danny Green Agreed to terms with San Antonio $45 million,
four years
33 Omer Asik Agreed to terms with New Orleans $60 million,
five years
34 Paul Pierce Agreed to terms with LA Clippers $10 million,
three years
35 Manu Ginobili Unrestricted
36 Iman Shumpert Agreed to terms with Cleveland $40 million,
four years
37 JR Smith Unrestricted
38 Corey Brewer Unrestricted
39 Brandon Bass Unrestricted
40 Amare Stoudemire Unrestricted
41 Brandan Wright Agreed to terms with Memphis $18 million,
three years
42 Carlos Boozer Unrestricted
43 Arron Afflalo Agreed to terms with New York $16 million,
two years
44 Jordan Hill Unrestricted
45 Marco Belinelli Unrestricted
46 Ed Davis Unrestricted
47 Rodney Stuckey Unrestricted
48 Kosta Koufos Unrestricted
49 Gerald Green Unrestricted
50 Kevin Garnett Unrestricted
51 Jae Crowder Agreed to terms with Boston $35 million, five
years
52 Amir Johnson Agreed to terms with Boston $24 million, two
years
53 Jeremy Lin Unrestricted
54 Mike Dunleavy Agreed to terms with Chicago $14.4 million,
four years
55 Luis Scola Unrestricted
56 Maurice Williams Unrestricted
57 Aaron Brooks Unrestricted
58 Mirza Teletovic Restricted
59 Andrea Bargnani Unrestricted
60 Tyler Hansbrough Unrestricted
61 Andray Blatche Unrestricted
62 Nate Robinson Unrestricted
63 Al-Farouq Aminu Agreed to terms with Portland $30
million, four years
64 Thomas Robinson Unrestricted
65 Jason Terry Unrestricted
66 Alan Anderson Unrestricted
67 CJ Watson Unrestricted
68 Jonas Jerebko Agreed to terms with Boston $10 million,
two years
69 Kevin Seraphin Unrestricted
70 Michael Beasley Unrestricted
71 Alexey Shved Unrestricted
72 Luc Richard Mbah a Moute Unrestricted
73 Jameer Nelson Unrestricted
74 Gary Neal Unrestricted
75 Tayshaun Prince Unrestricted
76 Sonny Weems Unrestricted
77 Alexis Ajinca Agreed to terms with New Orleans $20.2
million, four years
78 Larry Sanders Unrestricted
79 Bismack Biyombo Unrestricted
80 JaVale McGee Unrestricted
81 Kyle Singler Agreed to terms with Oklahoma City $25
million, five years
82 KJ McDaniels Restricted
83 Ishmael Smith Unrestricted
84 Glen Davis Unrestricted
85 Marcus Thornton Unrestricted
86 Derrick Williams Restricted
87 Norris Cole Restricted
88 Richard Jefferson Unrestricted
89 Jason Smith Unrestricted
90 Cory Joseph Restricted
91 Leandro Barbosa Unrestricted
92 Wayne Ellington Unrestricted
93 Aron Baynes Restricted
94 Reggie Evans Unrestricted
95 Gigi Datome Restricted
96 Jose Juan Barea Unrestricted
97 Nick Calathes Restricted
98 Ben Gordon Unrestricted
99 Matthew Dellavedova Restricted
Friday, June 26, 2015
Generally, Young Small Rookie Point Guards Really Suck
The Wolves select Tyus Jones, whom I love (my son once hit a home run off Tyus Jones). But history teaches us that only one small young rookie point guard has been very good -- Chris Paul.
After that, Brandon Jennings, Tony Parker and Stephon Marbury were OK, Rajon Rondo and Isiah Thomas were mediocre and everyone else was pretty much flat out bad, even if they played a lot.
Of course, Isiah ended up in the Hall of Fame, as will Parker. Brandon Jennings regressed. Rondo was the PG on a title team.
So, it is safe to say that the rewards of picking Tyus Jones are unlikely to come in year 1.
That said, the analytics guys who love Tyus state that his #1 comparable is...........Chris Paul.
After that, Brandon Jennings, Tony Parker and Stephon Marbury were OK, Rajon Rondo and Isiah Thomas were mediocre and everyone else was pretty much flat out bad, even if they played a lot.
Of course, Isiah ended up in the Hall of Fame, as will Parker. Brandon Jennings regressed. Rondo was the PG on a title team.
So, it is safe to say that the rewards of picking Tyus Jones are unlikely to come in year 1.
That said, the analytics guys who love Tyus state that his #1 comparable is...........Chris Paul.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Draft Express's Top 14 picks and Some of My Comparisons
14. Cameron Payne -- Brandon Jennings
13. Kelly Oubre - Randy Foye
Willie Cauley-Stein - Brendan Haywood
Trey Lyles -- Channing Frye
Devin Booker -- Eric Gordon
Frank Kaminsky -- Mehmet Okur/Troy Murphy
Stanley Johnson -- Marvin Williams
Emmanuel Mudiay -- John Wall (good) or Robert Pack (bad)
Krispas Porzingas -- Andrea Bargnani
Justise Winslow -- Wilson Chandler
Mario Hezonja -- Peja Stoyakovic
D'Angelo Russell -- Deron Williams
2. Jahlil Okafor -- Al Jefferson/Zach Randolph
1. Karl-Anthony Towns -- Rasheed Wallace/Kevin Garnett
13. Kelly Oubre - Randy Foye
Willie Cauley-Stein - Brendan Haywood
Trey Lyles -- Channing Frye
Devin Booker -- Eric Gordon
Frank Kaminsky -- Mehmet Okur/Troy Murphy
Stanley Johnson -- Marvin Williams
Emmanuel Mudiay -- John Wall (good) or Robert Pack (bad)
Krispas Porzingas -- Andrea Bargnani
Justise Winslow -- Wilson Chandler
Mario Hezonja -- Peja Stoyakovic
D'Angelo Russell -- Deron Williams
2. Jahlil Okafor -- Al Jefferson/Zach Randolph
1. Karl-Anthony Towns -- Rasheed Wallace/Kevin Garnett
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
2015 NBA Draft Guide
These guys do a great job: http://bballbreakdown.com/2015/06/23/2015-bballbreakdown-official-draft-companion-guide/
Of particular interest is their description of players by category:
Of particular interest is their description of players by category:
| Traditional PG | Chris Paul |
| Scoring PG | Russell Westbrook |
| High Usage SG | DeMar DeRozan |
| Facilitating SG | James Harden |
| Two-Way Wing | Jimmy Butler |
| Specialists | Kyle Korver/Tony Allen |
| 3-and-D wing | DeMarre Carroll |
| Point Forward | LeBron James |
| Stretch 4 | Kevin Love |
| Hustle 4 | Kenneth Faried |
| Scoring Post | Enes Kanter |
| Rim Protector | Rudy Gobert |
| Help 5 | Joakim Noah |
Doug Gottlieb's Big Board
http://www.cbssports.com/general/writer/doug-gottlieb/25219531/nba-draft-dangelo-russell-is-no-2-on-gottliebs-big-board
I swear to God, if Karl-Anthony Towns is a "young Sam Perkins" and the Wolves select him, I will have to be talked down off the ledge. A "young" Sam Perkins' best year was 15-8 and 1.2 blocks.
If Towns = Perkins, here is what that means: 0 all-star game appearances, 0 all-NBA appearances, a "Hall of Fame Probability" of 0.000.
Awesome.
I would much prefer to think of Towns as four-time all-star Rasheed Wallace or 3-time all-star and 3rd team all-NBA player Al Horford.
I mean, if you are going to compare Towns to Perkins, you might as well declare him an outright bust and pull out names like Larry Demic or James Ray or Bill Garnett or Kwame Brown or Michael Olowokandi. Towns is #1 on your board and is considered as the #1 pick in the draft, for God's sake. If you are drafting a guy who will never be an all-star and who has a 0.000% chance of the Hall of Fame, you sure as hell ought to draft someone else. D'Angelo Russell is a Steph Curry/James Harden hybrid and you have him behind a guy who you think will never be an all-star or make an all-NBA club?
The new rip on Tyus Jones is that he has poor court vision? What Duke games has Doug Gottlieb watched? I have watched Tyus play since high school and have seen him in AAU games. Guys who can score want to play with Tyus because their scoring averages will go up 10 ppg. Reid Travis was a top 100 prospect - played one year of AAU with Tyus - top 40. Brock Bertram as a freshman was ranked super high as a college prospect because.......he played with Tyus. Once he started playing without Tyus - stock plummeted. I never understood why Rashad Vaughn would not play more AAU with Tyus - he would have scored 35-40 a game.
Tyus ran the Duke offense every single possession and played 35-40 minutes a game. I guess Duke's championship and ridiculous record against top 15 teams (something like 12-3) was DESPITE the mediocre point guard play they were receiving on, well, every single offensive possession of every single game....
I swear to God, if Karl-Anthony Towns is a "young Sam Perkins" and the Wolves select him, I will have to be talked down off the ledge. A "young" Sam Perkins' best year was 15-8 and 1.2 blocks.
If Towns = Perkins, here is what that means: 0 all-star game appearances, 0 all-NBA appearances, a "Hall of Fame Probability" of 0.000.
Awesome.
I would much prefer to think of Towns as four-time all-star Rasheed Wallace or 3-time all-star and 3rd team all-NBA player Al Horford.
I mean, if you are going to compare Towns to Perkins, you might as well declare him an outright bust and pull out names like Larry Demic or James Ray or Bill Garnett or Kwame Brown or Michael Olowokandi. Towns is #1 on your board and is considered as the #1 pick in the draft, for God's sake. If you are drafting a guy who will never be an all-star and who has a 0.000% chance of the Hall of Fame, you sure as hell ought to draft someone else. D'Angelo Russell is a Steph Curry/James Harden hybrid and you have him behind a guy who you think will never be an all-star or make an all-NBA club?
The new rip on Tyus Jones is that he has poor court vision? What Duke games has Doug Gottlieb watched? I have watched Tyus play since high school and have seen him in AAU games. Guys who can score want to play with Tyus because their scoring averages will go up 10 ppg. Reid Travis was a top 100 prospect - played one year of AAU with Tyus - top 40. Brock Bertram as a freshman was ranked super high as a college prospect because.......he played with Tyus. Once he started playing without Tyus - stock plummeted. I never understood why Rashad Vaughn would not play more AAU with Tyus - he would have scored 35-40 a game.
Tyus ran the Duke offense every single possession and played 35-40 minutes a game. I guess Duke's championship and ridiculous record against top 15 teams (something like 12-3) was DESPITE the mediocre point guard play they were receiving on, well, every single offensive possession of every single game....
Friday, June 19, 2015
Matthew Dellavedova 2015 Playoffs -- Basically The Worst Guy Who Played Much
http://bkref.com/tiny/JE3JA
Of 22 guys who played the number of minutes he did (497) or more, Delly ranked:
Win Shares - last
WS.48 == last
Points Per Game - last
Rebounds per game - tie for last with JJ Redick
FG% - last
2 point % - next to last (beat out teammate Iman Shumpert)
3 point % - 14th
Effective FG% -- last
True Shooting % -- last
Interestingly, if you open up the sort to only 400 minutes played, you do get guys who challenge Delly a little for suckiness. Marc Gasol shot .394 with no 3s, so he had a worse FG% and eFG%.
Andrew Bogut, by the by, played less than Delly and shot 5-13 from the line.
Of 22 guys who played the number of minutes he did (497) or more, Delly ranked:
Win Shares - last
WS.48 == last
Points Per Game - last
Rebounds per game - tie for last with JJ Redick
FG% - last
2 point % - next to last (beat out teammate Iman Shumpert)
3 point % - 14th
Effective FG% -- last
True Shooting % -- last
Interestingly, if you open up the sort to only 400 minutes played, you do get guys who challenge Delly a little for suckiness. Marc Gasol shot .394 with no 3s, so he had a worse FG% and eFG%.
Andrew Bogut, by the by, played less than Delly and shot 5-13 from the line.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
How Does LeBron's Playoff Work Compared to the Other Greats?
My top 36 Players of all-time:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ray Allen, Charles Barkley
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ray Allen, Charles Barkley
Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird
Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Drexler
Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Julius Erving
Patrick Ewing, Kevin Garnett, John Havlicek
LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan
Karl Malone, Moses Malone, George Mikan
Reggie Miller, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowtizki
Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Paul
Gary Payton. Bob Petit, Scottie Pippen
Oscar Robertson, David Robinson, Bill Russell
John Stockton, Dwayne Wade. Jerry West.
On List and Went to 6+ finals:
Kareem
Baylor
Kobe
Wilt
Duncan
Havlicek
LeBron
Magic
Michael
Shaq
Pippen
Russell
West
Led Their Team to 6+ Finals -- That is, Were the Best Guy On 6 Finals Teams
Kareem (2 w/Bucks, I will give him 80, 82, 83, 84 w/Lakers)
Wilt (7 Finals, even by 1972 he was still 1st team all-NBA, so...)
Duncan
LeBron
Magic (I would say 5, but if you give him 84, which is about when the team became his, it goes along with 85, 87, 88, 89 and 91)
Michael
Russell
West (at least has an argument for the lion's share of the Lakers' appearances, I will leave him here, though it may not be possible to leave both him and Wilt on)
Guys Who Led Their Teams to 6+ Finals and Ended Up With Both More Titles (2) and More Finals MVPs (2) Than LeBron Now Has
Magic (3 MVP, 5 titles) - note that Magic's teams lost Finals in 1983, 1984, 1989 and 1991.
Michael (6 and 6)
Duncan (3 and 5)
Should add Bill Russell (11 titles) even though there was no Finals MVP back then.
So yes, LeBron haters, he is a terrible player and a disgrace to playoff basketball. There are a grand total of 4 guys who have led their teams to the Finals as many times and done better overall.
On List and Went to 6+ finals:
Kareem
Baylor
Kobe
Wilt
Duncan
Havlicek
LeBron
Magic
Michael
Shaq
Pippen
Russell
West
Led Their Team to 6+ Finals -- That is, Were the Best Guy On 6 Finals Teams
Kareem (2 w/Bucks, I will give him 80, 82, 83, 84 w/Lakers)
Wilt (7 Finals, even by 1972 he was still 1st team all-NBA, so...)
Duncan
LeBron
Magic (I would say 5, but if you give him 84, which is about when the team became his, it goes along with 85, 87, 88, 89 and 91)
Michael
Russell
West (at least has an argument for the lion's share of the Lakers' appearances, I will leave him here, though it may not be possible to leave both him and Wilt on)
Guys Who Led Their Teams to 6+ Finals and Ended Up With Both More Titles (2) and More Finals MVPs (2) Than LeBron Now Has
Magic (3 MVP, 5 titles) - note that Magic's teams lost Finals in 1983, 1984, 1989 and 1991.
Michael (6 and 6)
Duncan (3 and 5)
Should add Bill Russell (11 titles) even though there was no Finals MVP back then.
So yes, LeBron haters, he is a terrible player and a disgrace to playoff basketball. There are a grand total of 4 guys who have led their teams to the Finals as many times and done better overall.
Explaining the NBA Finals 2015 Very Briefly
Most effective players in the finals:
This teaches us, of course, that James was the MVP and, if he was not, then it should have been Curry. But, moving on....
Delly, Smith, Shumpert and James Jones failed to play at a
level equal to these guys: http://hoopramblings.blogspot.com/2015/03/who-is-nba-replacement-player-for.html
Unfortunately, rather than reaching this lofty "I am as good as a random replacement player" goal, Delly, for example, actually far, far worse.
James
Curry
Iggy
Green
Mozgov.
If Mozgov was pretty good, why did the Cavs lose?
Well, the Cavs’ backcourt was SO awful that it wiped out virtually all of LeBron’s Wins
Above Replacement (he had +1.7, they cost -1.5).
Howard Eisley, JJ Barea and Gerald Henderson level of play
would have netted the Cavs a title.
Unfortunately, rather than reaching this lofty "I am as good as a random replacement player" goal, Delly, for example, actually far, far worse.
Guys With at least 3 Win Shares in At Least 5 Playoff Seasons
| 1 | Michael Jordan* | 1989 | 1998 | CHI | NBA | 8 |
| 2 | LeBron James | 2007 | 2015 | TOT | NBA | 7 |
| 3 | Magic Johnson* | 1984 | 1991 | LAL | NBA | 6 |
| 4 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | 1971 | 1984 | TOT | NBA | 5 |
| 5 | Wilt Chamberlain* | 1962 | 1972 | TOT | NBA | 5 |
| 6 | Tim Duncan | 1999 | 2014 | SAS | NBA | 5 |
| 7 | Shaquille O'Neal | 1995 | 2004 | TOT | NBA | 5 |
So, what you see here, once again, are my top 6 NBA players of all-time, slightly out of order (I have Magic at #6, he is #3, I have LeBron at #4, he is #2, etc.), plus Shaq (my #9 best NBA player).
If you tighten the criteria so that you also need to have a WS/48 greater than .200, you get:
| 1 | Michael Jordan* | 1989 | 1998 | CHI | NBA | 8 |
| 2 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | 1971 | 1984 | TOT | NBA | 5 |
| 3 | LeBron James | 2007 | 2014 | TOT | NBA | 5 |
| 4 | Wilt Chamberlain* | 1962 | 1972 | TOT | NBA | 4 |
| 5 | Tim Duncan | 1999 | 2014 | SAS | NBA | 4 |
| 6 | Shaquille O'Neal | 2000 | 2004 | LAL | NBA | 4 |
| 7 | Chauncey Billups | 2004 | 2009 | TOT | NBA | 3 |
| 8 | Magic Johnson* | 1985 | 1987 | LAL | NBA | 3 |
| 9 | Jerry West* | 1966 | 1969 | LAL | NBA | 3 |
My top 6 guys plus Shaq, Jerry West and Chauncey. How about Chauncey putting up over 3 WS on the 2009 Nuggets!?!?!? Who remembers THAT? Not me.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Consistently the Best Players in NBA Playoff History
I originally was looking for guys with the most 3+ Win Shares seasons (Michael first, LeBron and Magic next), but then I figured that Wilt and Russell and those guys didn't get super long playoffs to put up 3 WS, so I dropped it to 2WS and added that you actually had to be really good -- .200 WS/48 or better.
The .200 WS/48 figure with 2 WS is reachable (5 guys made it this year), yet it does present an obstacle to guys who have put up WS but not been particularly efficient (LeBron 2015 has 3 WS but is at .184).
So, without further ado:
Interestingly, the top 6 guys are also the guys I have listed in my Top 6 players of all-time. I have 6-1 as Magic/Duncan/LeBron/Kareem/Wilt/Jordan, and this list, adjusted for alphabetical order, has Duncan and Magic flipped.
I have Shaq at #9 (behind Russell) and this list has him tied for 6th. I had West 11, here he is tied for 9. I had Russell 8, here he is tied for 11th. Bird I had 13, he is tied for 13. Kobe I had 18, he is tied for 13.
Some outliers -- Hakeem I had 15, he is tied for 6th here. Chauncey is not a top 36 player, but he is tied here with Jerry West for 9th. Kevin Durant I had at 25, and I was, quite frankly, shocked to see his name on this list -- but that will give you pause to think about what an unbelievable career he has had in 7 years. It will also tell you that if Durant can have 7 more years like his first 7 years that he will be a top 10 player of all-time and maybe better.
The .200 WS/48 figure with 2 WS is reachable (5 guys made it this year), yet it does present an obstacle to guys who have put up WS but not been particularly efficient (LeBron 2015 has 3 WS but is at .184).
So, without further ado:
| 1 | Michael Jordan* | 1988 | 1998 | CHI | NBA | 9 |
| 2 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | 1970 | 1984 | TOT | NBA | 6 |
| 3 | Wilt Chamberlain* | 1960 | 1972 | TOT | NBA | 6 |
| 4 | LeBron James | 2007 | 2014 | TOT | NBA | 6 |
| 5 | Magic Johnson* | 1980 | 1989 | LAL | NBA | 6 |
| 6 | Tim Duncan | 1999 | 2014 | SAS | NBA | 5 |
| 7 | Shaquille O'Neal | 2000 | 2004 | LAL | NBA | 5 |
| 8 | Hakeem Olajuwon* | 1986 | 1997 | HOU | NBA | 5 |
| 9 | Chauncey Billups | 2004 | 2009 | TOT | NBA | 4 |
| 10 | Jerry West* | 1962 | 1969 | LAL | NBA | 4 |
| 11 | Kevin Durant | 2011 | 2013 | OKC | NBA | 3 |
| 12 | Bill Russell* | 1960 | 1965 | BOS | NBA | 3 |
| 13 | Elgin Baylor* | 1960 | 1961 | TOT | NBA | 2 |
| 14 | Larry Bird* | 1984 | 1986 | BOS | NBA | 2 |
| 15 | Kobe Bryant | 2001 | 2009 | LAL | NBA | 2 |
Interestingly, the top 6 guys are also the guys I have listed in my Top 6 players of all-time. I have 6-1 as Magic/Duncan/LeBron/Kareem/Wilt/Jordan, and this list, adjusted for alphabetical order, has Duncan and Magic flipped.
I have Shaq at #9 (behind Russell) and this list has him tied for 6th. I had West 11, here he is tied for 9. I had Russell 8, here he is tied for 11th. Bird I had 13, he is tied for 13. Kobe I had 18, he is tied for 13.
Some outliers -- Hakeem I had 15, he is tied for 6th here. Chauncey is not a top 36 player, but he is tied here with Jerry West for 9th. Kevin Durant I had at 25, and I was, quite frankly, shocked to see his name on this list -- but that will give you pause to think about what an unbelievable career he has had in 7 years. It will also tell you that if Durant can have 7 more years like his first 7 years that he will be a top 10 player of all-time and maybe better.
Monday, June 15, 2015
NBA Playoffs -- 400 Points, 100 Assista and 200 Rebounds in a Playoff Season
http://bkref.com/tiny/b45EZ
Duncan 2003 -- 593+127+369
Barkley 1993 -- 638+102+326
Bird 1984 -- 632+136+252
Bird 1987 -- 622+165+231
James 2012 -- 697+129+224
James 2015 (one game remaining) -- 569+160+208
Duncan 1089
Barkley 1066
Bird 84 1020
Bird 87 1018
James 12 1050
James 15 937
The most win shares -- Duncan. The best WS/48 - James 2012. The most minutes played - Barkley 1026.
Assuming that James'15 can go 30-10-10, one more game will give him a total of 987. Two more games at that pace 1037.
James'15 also needs .2 WS to pass Bird'87 and get out of last on the WS list. It is likely that James will stay ahead of Bird'87 on WS/48.
Duncan 2003 -- 593+127+369
Barkley 1993 -- 638+102+326
Bird 1984 -- 632+136+252
Bird 1987 -- 622+165+231
James 2012 -- 697+129+224
James 2015 (one game remaining) -- 569+160+208
Duncan 1089
Barkley 1066
Bird 84 1020
Bird 87 1018
James 12 1050
James 15 937
The most win shares -- Duncan. The best WS/48 - James 2012. The most minutes played - Barkley 1026.
Assuming that James'15 can go 30-10-10, one more game will give him a total of 987. Two more games at that pace 1037.
James'15 also needs .2 WS to pass Bird'87 and get out of last on the WS list. It is likely that James will stay ahead of Bird'87 on WS/48.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Porzingas -- Pros and cons
When it looks like your biggest drawback as a player is that you are, for lack of a better word, a wuss, that does not bode well for your NBA career.
Andrea Bargnani Part II. Good outside offense, nothing else.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Nearly 5 Years Have Passed -- Let's Relive Dan Gilbert's Letter Regarding LeBron -- Annotated By HM
Note 1 -- I don't have the ridiculous font Gilbert used.
In July of 2010m Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert posted this letter on the team's website after LeBron James' announcement he was leaving for the Miami Heat.
Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;
Note 2 -- As of that moment there were a lot of "Cavaliers Supporters" outside NE Ohio, then by 4 years later there were very few; now there are a bunch again.
As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.
Note 3 -- Ouch
This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.
Note 4 -- True. If LeBron was going to leave, he should have just left. The Decision, as an event, only made sense if he were staying.
Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.
The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.
There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.
Note 5 -- We really have our eye on a young man named Anthony Bennett.
You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.
You have given so much and deserve so much more.
In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:
"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE"
Note 6 -- I wonder if fans ever collected on this alleged "guarantee."
You can take it to the bank.
Note 7 -- I tried, and no bank was willing to take Gilbert's word that the Cavs would win before the Heat. I wonder if Cavs fans were able to obtain ticket refunds when James beat OKC in June of 2012?
If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our "motivation" to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.
Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.
Sorry, but that's simply not how it works.
Note 8 -- What the hell does that mean? LeBron wanted to win a title but didn't want to die (i.e. stay in Cleveland) to do so? Is that really a positive comment to your fans? "Look, I know living in Cleveland fucking sucks, but LeBron should have to live here and pay that awful, awful, unthinkable price to win...."
This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown "chosen one" sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And "who" we would want them to grow-up to become.
Note 9 -- What is the quoted "who" supposed to mean? "Grow up" isn't a hyphenated term. Come on, Dan, think of other similar usages. "If I had a party would you show-up?" "That issue with him is really going to blow-up." Come on.
But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called "curse" on Cleveland, Ohio.
The self-declared former "King" will be taking the "curse" with him down south.
Note 10 -- Nope.
And until he does "right" by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.
Just watch.
Note 11 -- I watched. He and the town where he played won 2 titles and went to 4 Finals while the Cavs slid into obscurity.
Sleep well, Cleveland.
Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day....
I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:
DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue....
Note 12 -- This "energy" resulted in having the #1 pick and selecting Anthony Bennett, resulting in having the #1 pick again. I cannot figure out the importance of the capitalized "Delivering you." If it is that crucial, wouldn't the "you" after I PROMISE be capitalized? Rich people, clearly, are not always smart people.
Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers
Note 13 -- At least he put his name at the end. He owns this pile of crap forever rather than just saying "The Cleveland Cavaliers Organization."
In July of 2010m Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert posted this letter on the team's website after LeBron James' announcement he was leaving for the Miami Heat.
Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;
Note 2 -- As of that moment there were a lot of "Cavaliers Supporters" outside NE Ohio, then by 4 years later there were very few; now there are a bunch again.
As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.
Note 3 -- Ouch
This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.
Note 4 -- True. If LeBron was going to leave, he should have just left. The Decision, as an event, only made sense if he were staying.
Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.
The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.
There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.
Note 5 -- We really have our eye on a young man named Anthony Bennett.
You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.
You have given so much and deserve so much more.
In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:
"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE"
Note 6 -- I wonder if fans ever collected on this alleged "guarantee."
You can take it to the bank.
Note 7 -- I tried, and no bank was willing to take Gilbert's word that the Cavs would win before the Heat. I wonder if Cavs fans were able to obtain ticket refunds when James beat OKC in June of 2012?
If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our "motivation" to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.
Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.
Sorry, but that's simply not how it works.
Note 8 -- What the hell does that mean? LeBron wanted to win a title but didn't want to die (i.e. stay in Cleveland) to do so? Is that really a positive comment to your fans? "Look, I know living in Cleveland fucking sucks, but LeBron should have to live here and pay that awful, awful, unthinkable price to win...."
This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown "chosen one" sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And "who" we would want them to grow-up to become.
Note 9 -- What is the quoted "who" supposed to mean? "Grow up" isn't a hyphenated term. Come on, Dan, think of other similar usages. "If I had a party would you show-up?" "That issue with him is really going to blow-up." Come on.
But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called "curse" on Cleveland, Ohio.
The self-declared former "King" will be taking the "curse" with him down south.
Note 10 -- Nope.
And until he does "right" by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.
Just watch.
Note 11 -- I watched. He and the town where he played won 2 titles and went to 4 Finals while the Cavs slid into obscurity.
Sleep well, Cleveland.
Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day....
I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:
DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue....
Note 12 -- This "energy" resulted in having the #1 pick and selecting Anthony Bennett, resulting in having the #1 pick again. I cannot figure out the importance of the capitalized "Delivering you." If it is that crucial, wouldn't the "you" after I PROMISE be capitalized? Rich people, clearly, are not always smart people.
Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers
Note 13 -- At least he put his name at the end. He owns this pile of crap forever rather than just saying "The Cleveland Cavaliers Organization."
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
What Have We Learned From LeBron James and Russell Westbrook and Their Ridiculous Usage Rates?
The Usage Rates of post-season James and regular-season Westbrook (sans Durant) have been astronomical. While Kobe has still managed to hold down the all-time season mark for Usage (38.7% at age 27), had Westbrook had a full year without Durant, he could have been above 40% Usage.
James in the Finals Game 1 had a 45% Usage. While that dropped under 40% in Game 2, having a 41.4 Usage % over two games is insane.
So, what have we learned?
1) It is possible to hog the ball this much. One would imagine that it would be so emotionally and physically exhausting to have the ball this much and have so much pressure on you that there is a physical limit for Usage that must be about 27 year old Kobe level (38.7%). You'd think that would be the ceiling.
Not true. If you literally feel that you have no choice except to lose, it appears that Usage of 40-41-45% is possible and the ball hogging player can come back night after night and play and continue at that same rate for a long period of time.
2) It Doesn't Necessarily Lead to Losing. Westbrook was able to keep his team in the playoff chase and James has kept his Cavs in the title chase through a remarkable level of ball hogging. Again - this is contrary to what most folks would believe. Spread the ball around, allow more guys to touch it, you are going to win more. Do the opposite, you will lose more. Not necessarily true.
3) Opponents Will Not Necessarily Try to Take the Ball Out of the One Guy's Hands -- you would imagine that the opponent would pick up full court and double team and trap and do anything in its power to make the other guys (who are almost per se not very good) beat them. You would be wrong. Teams against the Thunder did not do so, and the Warriors continue to single team James and even go so far as to say that they are more concerned with him passing than scoring 40 points.
4) High One-Player Usage Can Be Used to Speed Up or Slow the Game -- Westbrook will get his shots and get them quickly. He doesn't provide much thought process to what he is doing. On the other hand, LeBron's hogging of the ball appears to serve the same purpose that the 1989-91 Minnesota Timberwolves offense did -- to slow the game WAY WAY down and limit possessions by a vastly superior opponent. (In the 1984-1994 time period, those two Wolves teams ranked 2nd and 8th slowest out of roughly 250 team seasons for pace of play). Remarkably, a very slow pace of play and isolation basketball has been successful in the past. Both the 1990s Pistons and the 1992-93 Bulls were amongst the slowest playing teams of their eras, and both featured a ton of half court isolation ball. Both won titles.
5) It is Ugly Basketball -- not much else needs to be said on this point. The Cavs have basically revisited Mike Brown's old "23 Stand" offense where #23 stands 23 feet from the basket and holds the ball for 23 seconds of the shot clock. The only difference with the Cavs is that they do occasionally screen and they do occasionally run LeBron into the post. But it is basically 23 Stand. Westbrook's style is more akin to the guy who you just HATE playing pickup ball with who makes reckless forays into the paint time after time after time, hits 35% of his layups and then complains that he is being fouled every time.
The one issue that will be interesting to see with LeBron is whether his Usage dips slightly after the first couple games here. Westbrook about 75% of the way through the year was on path where maintaining his remarkable pace would have surpassed Kobe's all-time mark, but in the last month of so of the season, his rate suffered for whatever reason - one would expect that since Russ has no conscience that it had to be due mostly to fatigue. The Finals will likely go at least 6 games. It seems difficult to believe that a 265 pound man can maintain a 41.4% Usage rate over the next 180 minutes of play. I mean, my God, he is being guarded by 3 very good defenders (Barnes, Iguodala, Green). Try playing one-on-one until you score 10 baskets against three top flight different defenders who are rotated in. You probably never reach 10. Now imagine that after every shot you take you have to go to the other end and possibly be switched onto Steph Curry.
Not pretty, unlike 48 year old Salma Hayek:
.
James in the Finals Game 1 had a 45% Usage. While that dropped under 40% in Game 2, having a 41.4 Usage % over two games is insane.
So, what have we learned?
1) It is possible to hog the ball this much. One would imagine that it would be so emotionally and physically exhausting to have the ball this much and have so much pressure on you that there is a physical limit for Usage that must be about 27 year old Kobe level (38.7%). You'd think that would be the ceiling.
Not true. If you literally feel that you have no choice except to lose, it appears that Usage of 40-41-45% is possible and the ball hogging player can come back night after night and play and continue at that same rate for a long period of time.
2) It Doesn't Necessarily Lead to Losing. Westbrook was able to keep his team in the playoff chase and James has kept his Cavs in the title chase through a remarkable level of ball hogging. Again - this is contrary to what most folks would believe. Spread the ball around, allow more guys to touch it, you are going to win more. Do the opposite, you will lose more. Not necessarily true.
3) Opponents Will Not Necessarily Try to Take the Ball Out of the One Guy's Hands -- you would imagine that the opponent would pick up full court and double team and trap and do anything in its power to make the other guys (who are almost per se not very good) beat them. You would be wrong. Teams against the Thunder did not do so, and the Warriors continue to single team James and even go so far as to say that they are more concerned with him passing than scoring 40 points.
4) High One-Player Usage Can Be Used to Speed Up or Slow the Game -- Westbrook will get his shots and get them quickly. He doesn't provide much thought process to what he is doing. On the other hand, LeBron's hogging of the ball appears to serve the same purpose that the 1989-91 Minnesota Timberwolves offense did -- to slow the game WAY WAY down and limit possessions by a vastly superior opponent. (In the 1984-1994 time period, those two Wolves teams ranked 2nd and 8th slowest out of roughly 250 team seasons for pace of play). Remarkably, a very slow pace of play and isolation basketball has been successful in the past. Both the 1990s Pistons and the 1992-93 Bulls were amongst the slowest playing teams of their eras, and both featured a ton of half court isolation ball. Both won titles.
5) It is Ugly Basketball -- not much else needs to be said on this point. The Cavs have basically revisited Mike Brown's old "23 Stand" offense where #23 stands 23 feet from the basket and holds the ball for 23 seconds of the shot clock. The only difference with the Cavs is that they do occasionally screen and they do occasionally run LeBron into the post. But it is basically 23 Stand. Westbrook's style is more akin to the guy who you just HATE playing pickup ball with who makes reckless forays into the paint time after time after time, hits 35% of his layups and then complains that he is being fouled every time.
The one issue that will be interesting to see with LeBron is whether his Usage dips slightly after the first couple games here. Westbrook about 75% of the way through the year was on path where maintaining his remarkable pace would have surpassed Kobe's all-time mark, but in the last month of so of the season, his rate suffered for whatever reason - one would expect that since Russ has no conscience that it had to be due mostly to fatigue. The Finals will likely go at least 6 games. It seems difficult to believe that a 265 pound man can maintain a 41.4% Usage rate over the next 180 minutes of play. I mean, my God, he is being guarded by 3 very good defenders (Barnes, Iguodala, Green). Try playing one-on-one until you score 10 baskets against three top flight different defenders who are rotated in. You probably never reach 10. Now imagine that after every shot you take you have to go to the other end and possibly be switched onto Steph Curry.
Not pretty, unlike 48 year old Salma Hayek:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)