All Star Reserves

All Star Reserves


The announcement for who will be reserves in the all star game are just an hour and a half away, so whats better fitting then a post on who should and shouldn't be in the all star game. Lets get to it.

In the West


Guards


Deron Williams: He has lead a bad team to a very respectable record. Although his play has slipped recently and he has been injured he had a terrific start to the season, and is with no doubt in my mind all star worthy. Paul Millsap and Al jefferson should not be giving you a 29-20 record and without Williams this team would have pushed the panic button a long time ago. He is the third best point guard in the league and my eyes and is no doubt worthy

Manu Ginobili: The best player on the best team gets in. It is a law so he has to be here.

Fowards

Dirk Nowitzki: He plays good defense has an underrated post game and is a spectacular shooter. What more do you want? O he also brings the best plan to the table if there is a lockout. Tell me you wouldn't like to see him in his natural habitat. 

Kevin Love: However bad his defense is i forgive him because he is cleaning up the glass like moses did. The Man is amazing at grabbing rebounds. He barely gets plays ran for him and yet he is 16th in scoring and shots 40% from behind the arc. If he doesn't get in it will be one of the biggest snubs in recent memory.

Center

Tim Duncan: Lets be honest, the man is a center. More then one player one the Spurs has to get in so i put Duncan in because Parker doesn't deserve it and he is playing smaller minutes and is a spectacular defender. P.S. I love Duncan's face here.

Wild Cards & Yao's replacement.

Blake Griffin: The Commish is going to put him in because of his dunks and entertainment ability. The game is in LA so he deserves a spot and also its the All Star Game its a dunk competition anyways.

Russel Westbrook:  One of the best rebounding guard in the NBA with a handful of Triple Doubles to show for it the dude is playing out of his mind hes so explosive and athletic.

Pau Gasol: It was between him and Aldridge and it came down to this. Aldridge needed to be the man to get all star consideration while Gasol didn't he is posting soild number and playing well without taking so many shots and being the center of the offense.

The East: Just Play your starters maybe let Pierce or Rondo in a  little bit but NO ONE ELSE. Thats all.

Also this column about the all star game from sun and gun is amazing much better then this one i recommend you read it. 

The Clutch Debate

Recently there has been a lot of talk about Clutch specifically directed towards Kobe Bryant, the (thought to be) "clutchest" player in the league. I have debated with people who say there is something called clutch, and people who deny it and say it’s just the best player having the ball. I do believe in clutch (I've typed that so many times that now when I think about it how cool is that word. Clutch) Specifically, I believe Kobe is the clutchest player in the league simply because he has something no one else has. The Unguardables. That's what I call them, they are those 4-7 jumpers that Kobe takes, usually with around 7 minutes left in the fourth, to either get his team back in, or to put them up front.


This is how I describe these shots 1. He is being played with tight man to man defense on the wing usually around the wings. 2. The shot looks like an awful decision and its completely forced. 3. You know it’s going to happen (the only time I thought it was going to happen and didn't was game 7 Boston in 08 and game 7 in Boston 2010) you just have to sit there and watch. Even if these shots aren't measured as clutch by 82 games, and even if they’re not in the last two minutes make no mistake these shots are clutch. These shots usually come when his team needs it the most. For example, in game 6 against the nuggets in 2009 the shots came with 5 minutes to go in the first half. After the game George Karl sighed and said: "No. 24 had a great five minutes at the end of the (first half) that no one in basketball could have covered him. He made about four shots in that stretch that I think Jesus would have had trouble covering. And those took the game from a manageable game to 13 (points)."

 The one thing worrying me is that Kobe either can't or doesn't want to take those shots anymore. In game 7 I was watching waiting for The Unguardables but they never came. He then proceeded to brick four in a row and decided to stop going 1on 1. At the time there were only two logical explanations. Either Kobe was off the mark or Paul Pierce SHUT HIM DOWN. Paul Pierce shutting him down made the most sense but still didn't work out well.


Kobe hadn't been playing against lock down defenders much in the playoffs. The Complete list: Sefelosha (an athletic good defender) Durant (a "getting there" defender) Wesley Mathews (above average but still young) Grant Hill (good defender not great but I would put him on the opponents best player). No one there really played “MY GOD THAT MAN IS GOOD” defense and Paul was by far the best defender he faced in the playoffs. (Ray Allen also did a good job on him) So is he simply not able to do it anymore? Or, does he just not want to (tired, knees hurt, saving himself). Let me explain, in the Lakers loss on Friday these where his shots, starting from the two minute mark.

1:53 misses a hard 10 footer not his usual clutch shot but it's still one he likes.

1:13 misses a three pointer. Really Kobe a 3 in clutch your trying to pad your clutch stars here. your shotting 31% from behind the ark and when your team needs you your going to go and jack up a three.

:49 seconds left 8 foot pull up jumper now there down 5

:32 seconds left Kobe makes two freebies 

:20 Kobe chucks another three

:8 and another 

:2 and another one

That’s four out of seven. FOUR OUT OF HIS SEVEN LAST SHOTS WHERE THREES. Yes I understand the last two were desperation heaves but the first two weren't and 2/5 is still awful shot selection, especially for someone who isn’t great from downtown and has such a good post game and shooting touch. So does Kobe simply no longer want to take these shots? Is he worn out? Another possibility is that defenses are so focused on him he can't do anything. When the Lakers outscored the Rockets by eight last night in OT they did it by playing offKobe. When they gave Kobe the ball they struggled in the end of the fourth, but when they played off of him they did great. When the playoffs roll around maybe we will find our answer. However we still no there is something as clutch because all we have to do is look at Robert Horry. Someone who is not a great shooter, not a great scorer, but whenever anyone needed him in the clutch the man was money. That is what Clutch is. Look at Chauncey Billups, he was the third leading scorer on the 04 Pistons yet he always delivered in the last five minutes of a close one. Do you know why? Because the man is clutch. Kobe might not be clutch now but the man is one of the all time greatest players in the end of the game. If you want more proof remember last season. He alone had six game winners, if that's not clutch nothing is.

People claim we don't remember his misses. Do we remember his makes? Does anyone remember this Lakers victory 108-107. That shot looks impossible to make especially with one of the top defenders in the league right in his face, but Kobe made that and he wouldn't normally. That is what clutch is stepping up to the plate and making shots you wouldn't normally. Kobe is clutch. 

MVP Race How it should and how it will stack up


This is an excerpt from the Book Of Basketball By Bill Simmons (great book). These are four question about the MVP ranked in order.

Question no. 1: If you replaced each MVP candidate with a decent player at his position for the entire season, what would be the hypothetical effect on his team's record? 


Question no. 2: Who was the alpha dog that season?


Question no. 3: Ten years from now, who will be the first player from that season who pops into my head?


Question no. 4. If youre explaining your MVP pick to someone who has a favorite player in the racea player that you didnt pick will he at least understand where your coming from?


These are the four most important MVP questions and these questions are the basis of this post. We have multiple candidates this season but LeBron can't win because hes not as valuable as he used to be. Replace him with Luol Deng, ( a solid starter very good defender) there still the fourth best team in the East. They have Wade & Bosh with Deng as a third option that sounds like a better version of what Chicago is. Yes I no they still don't have a bench and Chicago has Noah but it's still pretty good. Lets start by answering the questions.

Q1 (these are all approximate)

Derric Rose: The Bulls would probably win 30 if he was to be replaced with someone like Ty Lawson. I'm a Heat fan and the Bulls scare me more then any team in the East, because we don't know how good they really are when there healthy. If you replace Rose they are nothing like what they are now. They miss their leading scorer and facilitator of their offense. Hes irreplaceable for them. With him they're contenders without him they are bottom feeders.

Chris Paul: Before we get any further I want you to know this I LOVE CHRIS PAUL so ya he'll be ranked higher then he should be for most things. Replace CP3 with Ty Lawson or D.J. Augistin and the Hornets become worse then Minnesota. They leave New Orleans for Seattle. The only team they could beat would be Cleveland. If David West is your best player that's a problem and if you can take that team to possibly the 4th seed in the west you deserve a lot of credit.

Lebron James: Replace him with Deng the Heat still win 50 and possibly 60 (Wade and Bosh start running an amazing Pick & Roll) so Lebron James is not that valuable anymore.

Dwight Howard: Replace him with a HEALTHY Marcus Camby i can't see this team doing much more then 30 wins. They become a terrible version of the Knicks and probably just end up doing a lot of trades. I mean who's their second best player Nelson? J-Rich? Agent 0? I dont know. This team is nothing without Dwight because they built their team around him.

Dirk Nowitzki: We already saw what happened when he's not there, replace him with Josh Smith the team probably gets 25-35 wins and nothing more. They're a mess without him but with him they are a great regular season team.

Amar'e Stoudemire: Replace him with David West and they win 35. New York although not a contender they are a threat (they could take any top 4 Eastern team to 6 or 7). They have proved they can run with the big dogs and Amar'e is the reason why. Knick' basketball is no longer a joke and they are playing quite well this year. He dispelled all "he needs Nash" talk and he is the second greatest power foward at this hour. New York could survive without him but he makes them so much better.

Q2 Lebron James he's still the greatest basketball player on the face of the planet.

Q3 I have to say Carmelo but for the wrong reasons.

Q4 You can do it with all of them but Amar'e and Dwight

How it should stack up (my opinion)


1. Derric Rose
He means more to his team then anyone does to theirs. He is playing spectacular ball, and he is one of the most electric and exciting players in the game the man knows what it takes to be great and he's willing to work. He makes the Bulls a contender. Trust me if the Hornets were contenders Chris Paul would be here.

2. Dirk Nowitzki
Didn't see that coming did you. It's because without him this team is terrible, I still think Marc Cuban will pull of a trade, and prior to the injuries they where only a game behind San Antonio at one point. As much as i hate him hes a good player who mean so much to his team. When hes on the floor they're one of the top teams in the league. He plays for a contender and thats why hes ahead of everyone else. Derric Rose is light-years ahead of him though so no need to worry about him winning two MVPs.

3. Chris Paul
Well here we are. My favorite player not in a heat uniform the man puts in work plays stellar defense and controls the game better then anyone else right now. New Orleans is a train reck without him and thats why he means so much. I have no idea how they where able to get 37 wins last year.

4. LeBron James
If you're the greatest player in the world you should at least get some mention. He's the alpa dog. If i want one player i want LeBron cause he can turn clevland into a 60+ win juggernaut.

5. Dwight Howard
He's the best player on a very good Orlando team. He needs to work on foul shotting but hes a physical freak and a spectacular player and he means a lot to his team. There's not much to be said except it still bother me that he ripped the superman thing from Shaq (side note maybe we can make it so that the best center at this hour becomes superman).

How it will end up

1. Derric Rose
Unless he gets an injury no one can catch up to the stuff this man is doing for his team

2. Lebron James
Because voters won't put him lower

3. Dirk Nowitzki
Dallas is a very good team and hes their best player

4. Manu Ginobili
One Spur has to get some mvp consideration and hes the best player on the Spur

5. If the Knicks win 50+ this is Amar'e If the Hornets win 55+ Plus its CP3 If Orlando comes in third in the East its Dwight's If none of that happens its Kobe

Top 5 pg's of all time

so in DDL (daily dime live) there where multiple pg discussions about who was the best ever so here are my top 5 and give me your comments on them

1. Magic Johnson. The man was amazing hiv cut his career short ,but nothing stopped him my favorite version of him was his 18-9.5- 9.6 season (82 season young magic) where he almost averged a triple double. The man lead the most successful entertaining fastbreak ever. Although it took him a little bit to become the alpha dog of his team, he was a spectacular player who was unstoppable and contributed to basketball history in so many ways.

2. Isiah Thomas. Man was the greatest pure pg ever he led decent teams to back to back champions. He would play through anything. Later things (cough eddy curry cough) would destroy his reputation but the man was rock soild and an amazing player. However a little known fact when he took over the knicks brain tumors took over his body and caused him to destroy the team.

3. Oscar Robertson. Ok simple enough you average a 30 10 10 you get in here no ifs ands or buts.

4. John Stocktonn. You play consistently well for 14 years. You hold every major pg record. You convince Bill Simmons your actually an alien. You average 14 ast a game for two seasons. You deserve some credit and thats why hes here, and Kidd, Nash, Frazier, and Gary Payton aren't.

5. Chris Paul. I no hes not done, but I think if he recovers 100% from his knee injury he'll be amazing. The dude plays great, with lockdown defense (the best ever from a pg not named Gary Payton) along with spectacular offense. He controls the floor so well always in command. He was on pace to be the first person since frazier to lead the leauge in points and assist. In my opinion he's  the 3rd best player in the world (I think hes better then Durant) Chris Paul amazes and thats why there are 5 more worthy suitors for this spot but they don't get it. The man makes a terrible team amazing and he does it better the J Kidd did. This is more of a prediction though because if his career was to end now he wouldn't be this high. In my opinion his peak would be at number two if he can win a ring.

P.S. Follow me on Twiiter at http://twitter.com/#!/isiahbraintumor