In the milieu of professional sports, winning has been, and always will be, the best elixir for washing away the sins of an athlete.
And for the better part of six years, Los Angeles Lakers small forward Ron Artest has been thirsting for a sip from that cup since he was the center of an altercation among fans and players during a game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers.
The infamous brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, Michigan cost Artest the remainder of the 2004-05 NBA season, which totaled 73 games and the playoffs, and became the signature moment in the career of the eccentric and enigmatic Queens native.
So when the Lakers allowed Trevor Ariza, a key contributor in the team’s 2009 championship run, to depart via free agency, many pundits questioned the decision to acquire Artest to fill the void; particularly after Los Angeles finished almost ten victories short of their win total in the 2008-09 season.
The 2010 NBA Finals raised additional questions when, in Games 4 and 5, Artest averaged 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while shooting a dismal 31.6% from the field, in losses that pushed the Lakers to the brink of falling to the Boston Celtics in the Finals for the second time in three years.
However, in performances that belied his virtual non-existence in the previous two games as well as his volatile past, Artest played the two best games of his career to lift Los Angeles to its 16th NBA Championship and help Kobe Bryant enhance his legacy in the process.
In a defensive performance for the ages, the Lakers held Boston to only 67 points in Game 6 to force a deciding Game 7 at the STAPLES Center.
Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 26 points and Pau Gasol finished one assist shy of a triple-double (17 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists), but it was Queensbridge’s own Ron Artest who was the difference maker on both ends of the floor.
Artest scored 15 points and snared 6 rebounds while holding Celtics captain Paul Pierce to only 13 points, on 6 for 14 shooting, in a game that certainly reminded his hometown why he earned the nickname ‘Tru Warier’ in his youth. But Artest would save his best for last in the final game of the season.
With Los Angeles struggling on offense in the first half, it was Artest, not Kobe Bryant, who carried the team, scoring 12 points, all in the second quarter, to keep the Lakers within striking distance of Boston, who controlled play for the first 24 minutes.
The second half saw Artest score 8 points but none bigger than a three-point shot with one minute left to give Los Angeles a six-point cushion on their way to holding on to the slimmest of margins for their second consecutive NBA Title.
More importantly, in the most committed effort to defense and rebounding that has ever been displayed by the Lakers, Artest led the charge once again by limiting Paul Pierce, Boston’s best and most versatile offensive weapon, to only 7 second half points.
‘Ron-Ron’ would finish the game with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals while exhibiting championship poise and tenacity on defense whose true value can’t be measured with words alone.
After the game, Kobe Bryant, who shot a horrific 6 for 24 from the field and was admittedly “out of gas”, sang the praises of the man he has dubbed “The Spaniard”; and deservedly so because Pau Gasol came up huge with 19 points and 18 rebounds.
But it was Ron Artest who scored 35% of Los Angeles’ points in the first half, it was Artest who held Paul Pierce to 33% shooting for the game, and it was the ‘Tru Warier’ who hit the three-point shot that gave the Lakers the separation they needed to secure the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
On a final note, it was Artest who saved Kobe Bryant from having to answer a multitude of questions about a sub-par performance, for his standards, in the most significant game of his career and from having the growth of Bryant’s legacy stunted by the team that dealt him the most embarrassing loss of his NBA tenure.
At the same time, Artest established a legacy of his own, for his stellar play on the court this time, and is now a media darling after thanking everybody in his hood and his psychiatrist in a post-game interview.
Bottom line, by being an integral factor in a championship-clinching game, Artest has finally taken a sip of the elixir that is a morality cleansing for professional athletes.
And the 2004 brawl in Detroit will merely be a footnote in Artest’s rise from selfish thug to selfless champion.
Click here to read the rest of this article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a pleothra of videos.
After the first five games of the 2010 NBA Finals and with the Boston Celtics one victory away from their second championship in three years, several observations should be firmly embedded in the minds of analyst and fan alike going into Game 6.
From the Celtics reaffirming they have the most complete team in the league to the Los Angeles Lakers being exposed for their lack of depth, it has become crystal clear that Boston’s mastery of the Lakers has not been limited by roster changes and modifications to the game since this rivalry began to simmer in 1959.
Now, over five decades later, the Celtics are on the cusp of defeating Los Angeles for the 10th time in 12 Finals match-ups between the two most successful franchises in league history.
On the two occasions that the Lakers did defeat Boston in the NBA Finals, Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson led the charge, first in 1985 and again in 1987.
These historic triumphs would be redemption for Johnson and Los Angeles after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Larry Bird and the Celtics in the 1984 Finals, in which ‘Magic’ inexplicably dribbled out the clock in regulation time of Game 2 to force an overtime that saw the Lakers fail to grab a 2-0 series lead going back to the Great Western Forum.
Subsequently, in Game 4, with Los Angeles leading the series 2-1, Johnson would be given the new nickname of ‘Tragic’ for throwing an errant pass to Celtics center Robert Parish late in the fourth quarter and missing two crucial free throws in overtime as Boston would go on to even the series and eventually win the NBA Championship in seven games.
However, as previously mentioned, Johnson would erase the memory of 1984 and cement his place among the greats of Lakers lore by ending the Boston hex in two out of the next three years.
And although the faces and names have changed, Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant found himself in a similar predicament entering this year’s reboot of the hotly contested rivalry as he attempted to help Los Angeles exorcise the demons of a loss to the Celtics in the 2008 Finals, which included a humiliating 39-point defeat in the decisive Game 6 at the TD Garden.
A series victory for the Lakers would mean a second consecutive championship for the organization and it would give Bryant his fifth championship, tying him with ‘Magic’ Johnson, his second championship ring without Shaquille O’Neal, who many view as primarily responsible for getting Bryant his first three, a Finals victory over a heated rival and, most importantly, a legitimate right to be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan.
But a legacy-enhancing series for Bryant could become another in a long line of post-season disappointments since Shaquille O’Neal was shipped to the Miami Heat in 2004; and if this does come to fruition, the finger of blame can be first pointed at Lamar Odom and Ron Artest.
Entering this year’s Finals, LA’s Queens, New York connection of Artest and Odom had to place their unique imprints on the series in order for Los Angeles to overcome the tremendous depth of the Celtics; however, in the last two games especially, the former AAU teammates have been unable to find their respective games.
In Game 4 and Game 5, Artest, born and raised in Queensbridge Projects, has averaged 8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 31.6% from the field. Meanwhile, Odom, a native of South Jamaica, Queens, has averaged 9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
In addition, the Lakers, as a team, have played what Kobe Bryant has dubbed 'milk-carton' defense; particularly when it comes Artest's match-up with Paul Pierce. Matter of fact, Pierce was torching Artest so frequently in Game 5 that Bryant went so far as to ask Los Angeles head coach Phil Jackson to be matched up with the Celtic captain.
These performances aren’t going to cut it when Lakers center Andrew Bynum is hobbled by a torn meniscus in his right knee and when Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are all playing at high level at the offensive and defensive side of the floor.
And if Artest and Odom don’t begin exhibiting the intensity and toughness that made them hard court legends in Queens then Kobe Bryant will be left wondering whether they can ever compete on his level when it counts the most.
According to YahooSports.com, Bryant was heard screaming in the locker room after Game 5 that he needed some-bleeping-one to make a stand with him and, in his post-game interview, Kobe, as if talking to the rest of his team again, said, “Just man up and play”, when asked about the enormity of the Lakers facing elimination in Game 6.
Artest and Odom need to take Bryant's statements to heart because if they can’t produce, besides Bryant, Pau Gasol, and to some extent Derek Fisher, the Lakers don’t have anyone else that can consistently compete on Boston’s level.
Bottom line, Artest and Odom need to bring Queens back into their respective games in order for Kobe Bryant’s legacy to get bumped up another notch because Bryant isn’t in the same conversation with ‘Magic Johnson’ or Michael Jordan unless he wins one for the thumb and defeats the Boston Celtics in the process.
Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation featuring Kobe Bryant.
As the city of New York aches with anticipation at the prospect of LeBron James signing with the New York Knicks this summer, there are several reasons why New Yorkers should be tuning in to the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Upon closer examination, no pun intended, of the pageantry and hype surrounding this year’s Finals match-up, it should become evident that a rich cast of New York alumni have their respective hands on the renewal of, arguably, the best rivalry in professional sports history.
And the list of New York natives and former Knicks players is an illustrious one indeed. So if New York City has been looking for a single reason to take their eyes off the reality television drama that has become the life of LeBron James, here are five for their consideration.
5. Boston Celtics head coach Glenn ‘Doc’ Rivers
Prior to head coaching stints with the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics, ‘Doc’ Rivers was an All-Star point guard for the Atlanta Hawks.
After seven quality seasons in Atlanta (1983-1991), playing alongside Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, and one forgettable one with the Los Angeles Clippers (1991-1992), Rivers was shipped in a deal, that included Bo Kimble and Charles Smith, to New York for Mark Jackson prior to the 1992-93 season.
Although a member of the Knicks for only two seasons, Rivers would be part of the teams that went to the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals in consecutive years.
4. Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson’s ties to New York are also rooted in his playing days with the Knicks. Like Rivers, ‘The Zen Master’ was a second round draft pick but, unlike Boston’s head man, Jackson was selected by New York, where he would go on to play 13 seasons.
In addition, Jackson, as a top reserve and fan favorite, was a member of the Knicks’ first championship team in 1970 and its last championship squad in 1973.
And speaking of free agents, whether he leads the Los Angeles Lakers to their second straight NBA Championship or not, Jackson will hit the open market this summer as he is in the final year of his contract with the Lakers; a fact that the Knick front office should not overlook while finalizing their agenda for the next few months.
3. NBA on ABC broadcast team (Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy & Mark Jackson)
All three men responsible for telling the story of each game of the NBA Finals have strong ties to the New York area.
Play-by-play commentator Mike Breen was born and raised in New York City and graduated from Fordham University in 1983.
Breen, a 14-year NBA broadcasting veteran, is also the main voice for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network.
Breen’s color commentating broadcast partner, Jeff Van Gundy, served as a Knick assistant coach for six seasons before becoming the head coach in March of 1996.
During Van Gundy’s five-year tenure, the Knicks would make the playoffs every season and an NBA Finals appearance in 1999.
Van Gundy, a graduate of Nazareth College in Rochester, New York, would resign as Knicks head coach nineteen games into the 2001-02 season and, in the nine seasons since, New York would make the playoffs only once. In light of this, there is something to be said about getting out when the getting is good.
The third member of the aforementioned broadcasting triumvirate is Mark Jackson, who has the most ties to New York of them all.
Jackson was born and raised in Queens, New York and gained a reputation as one of the nation’s elite point guards while attending Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn.
Jackson’s New York basketball legend only grew when he blossomed into a star at St. John’s University, which resulted in him being selected with the 18th pick in the 1987 NBA Draft by none other than the New York Knicks.
After averaging 13.6 points and 10.6 assists per game in his first season, Jackson was named the 1988 Rookie of the Year; and, along with Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, Jackson would help the Knicks become perennial playoff contenders for the next four seasons.
However, Jackson’s run in New York would come to an unceremonious end when he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers prior to the commencement of the 1991-92 season.
But even though Jackson would also play for the Indiana Pacers, the Denver Nuggets, the Toronto Raptors, the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets before retiring in 2004, he will always be a New Yorker at heart.
2. Los Angeles Lakers forwards Lamar Odom & Ron Artest
The games of the versatile Lamar Odom and the defensive-minded Ron Artest were shaped on the tough playgrounds of Queens, New York, with Artest being born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects, the largest housing project in the United States, and Odom being brought up in South Jamaica, Queens.
From their humble and poor beginnings, Artest and Odom, like hundreds of NBA players before them, would use basketball as an escape and, in their early years, would be teamed on the same Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team after becoming stand-outs in high school; Odom with Christ The King Regional High School and Redemption Christian Academy and Artest with La Salle Academy.
After gaining fame playing in some of New York City’s high-profile summer basketball tournaments at Nike Pro City, Hoops in the Sun in the Bronx, and Dyckman Park in Washington Heights, Artest would follow in Mark Jackson’s footsteps by becoming a stand-out at St. John’s; where he helped the Red Storm get to the Elite Eight in the 1999 NCAA Tournament.
Both Artest and Odom were first round draft picks in the 1999 NBA Draft and have taken circuitous routes to get to Los Angeles, while along the way establishing themselves as two of the most enigmatic players in the league.
And there is no doubt that the Queens natives must put their best feet forward in order for the Lakers to triumph in the Finals.
1. Boston Celtics reserve point guard Nate Robinson
After living in obscurity on Boston’s bench after being dealt by the Knicks at the trade deadline, Nate Robinson has reminded the basketball world why he was such a fan favorite in New York.
Robinson’s ‘13 points in 13 minutes’ performance in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Orlando Magic inspired the Celtics to victory in a game they needed to win to close out the series to avoid a Game 7 in Orlando and the potential of blowing a 3-0 series lead.
For an encore, Robinson scored 12 points in 17 minutes off the bench in a pivotal Game 4 of the NBA Finals, and played crucial minutes in the fourth quarter, to help lift the Celtics to victory yet again to even the series with the Lakers.
And, at the rate he’s going, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Robinson place his unique imprint on another one of the upcoming games in the Finals; which goes to show that a liability for one team can easily become an asset for another.
What can also be said is that New York is definitely in the house at the 2010 NBA Finals.
Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and videos recapping Game 4 of the 2010 NBA Finals.
In sports as in life, second chances are always there for the taking if you want it bad enough.
In game five of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers/Phoenix Suns, Lakers forward Ron Artest after two ill-advised shots redeemed himself by rebounding a Kobe Bryant miss into the game-winning shot.
The Lakers now have a 3-2 series lead with game six being played on Saturday.
Recently on OTB....(like 15 minutes ago...you can see we're trying to enhance this), we featured Ron Artest's crazy new haircut that he donned for the Lakers/Magic weekend NBA affair but since the Lakers lost, he decided to ditch it.
Artest told reporters the meaning behind the crazy hairstyle and the reason he shaved it off.
Ron Artest broke out a crazy new hair style on Sunday against the Orlando Magic. He dyed his hair laker gold with the word the word defense inscribed in 3 languages, Japanese, Hebrew and Hindi.
According to his hairstylist "Boogie", it took 3 hours to bleach his hair, 1 hour to do the designs and another 45 minutes to paint it purple.
"Lakers F Ron Artest channeled his inner Dennis Rodman. His hair was dyed blonde with letters in three different languages in Lakers purple. He didn't want to talk about his hair, but he posted on his Twitter page that the letters spelled "Defense" in Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese."
Today's Stats vs. Magic:
38 minutes
8 points on 2-10 shooting, 1-5 3pt FG's
6 boards
1 assist
2 turnovers
Solid performance from Ron Ron today as the Lakers drop their 3rd straight to Orlando. Here's a lesson Ron; you are not Dennis Rodman and you never will be Dennis Rodman. You cannot pull it off. You cannot rap (although this may be the most entertaining tribute in the history of music). Play defense, thats all you can do and that's all you should do.
Above is your first NBA sponsored Youtube video of the season. Anyway, on to the new feature: Sleeping with the Sleepers!
Anyone can read a boxscore and anyone can live blog a game, but not everyone can combine the two (or weave one of the two, or neither) into something vaguely or falsely or, I don't know, prophetically resembling a narrative. The NBA season kicked off today, and OtB just looked at the top 50 NBA players in the NBA. Many of them populate the contenders and perennial playoff participants. This doesn't mean the NBA's basement doesn't contain personalities and perspectives worth covering. Far from it. Towards the point, OtB will be taking the opportunity this season to look at some of the sleepers in the league. We'll be looking at teams that look like they might be on the outside of the playoffs looking in. This will come in the form of the good and bad, the pros and cons, the Nocturnal Daydreams (as most NBA games are played at night) and the Nightmares. With that said, our first edition gives the sleep study to the LA Clippers' Baron Davis during the first game of the season. We pick up the frequency from Boom Dizzle as the third quarter gets under way...
I can't believe I have to wait a whole month to see New Moon. OMG! I can't believe Bella and Edward aren't like bf/gf forevs!
Marcus Camby LMFAO! Opportunist is not generally a good thing to be. I know you liked it when they called you that in New York, but that was 12 years ago!
Oh no he didn't! Reggie called me Kimbo Slice!?! Actually, I"m okay with that...
Hmm...am I more like my new, unfortunately sidelined because Stern made us play too many preseason games team mate Blake Griffin or beard buddy Pau Gasol? Maybe I should reconsider this beard thing.
Oh noes! Bassy's making me look bad, and he's making Camby look good!
I don't care if he can make those, Tsar, Marcus shouldn't be taking threes! He did it in Denver. Why do you think we got him so cheap? Fire Mike Dunleavy dot come, anyone?
Nocturnal Daydreams:
I gotta get tickets to see that Michael Jackson movie tomorrow. Maybe J-Alba will go with me. I could be a third wheel! I'll get a Snickers...
Maybe I'll sit out the 4th. Yeah. Oooh, look at Shannon Brown go!
I look better than Kobe. And I'm bigger on Youtube than him, amn't I?
Eric Gordon kind of reminds me of Monta Ellis. Maybe it's time to force a trade. Maybe Stephen Jackson will switch with me.
I missed another three! It's okay, though. I put money on us to lose. The whole season! Just kidding.
Artest hasn't made a three tonight either. Well, he's missed more than me anyway.
Oh look! Machine! I have more hits on Youtube than him too, right? Wanna play the staring...wait. He cut his hair! I thought this was going to be a shaggy year. Someone forget to send me the memo? Hey, Sasha! We can see your face and it needs an oil change!
Nightmares:
I can't believe I'm a Clipper. In another city, this roster could've stolen this game.
Lamar Odom. He gets Khloe and he makes a three.
I'm going to dream about Ron Artest's hair tonight. So sad when a basketball soldier is lost.
Argh! The lead's back up to 15. This low calorie diet is really making me grumpy.
Oh my goodness! Replay? We forfeit already. We forfeit!
The Lakers are 20-1?!? On opening night!?! Oh, wait, that's just your daily Reggie Miller nonsense.
Nocturnal Daydreams:
Inside the NBA! It's about time!
Look! It's me! Highlights of the game we just lost!
Haha! Charles missed the reason for the Cavs stagnancy and I caught it! It's because they lost they're offensive genius from last season John Kuester. They haven't been terrible on offense for years. They had been 'til last year, and it looks like they're going to be again.
Chuck wants the Cavs to run. He's brought up both bets from previous seasons, the one where he raced Dick Bevetta and the one where he had to kiss a donkey. Think he wants to race LeBron? Or how 'bout Shaq? Shaq vs. Charles. Yeah.
Rockets-Blazers highlights! Portland gets revenge. You can bet this won't be a bad match-up for the Blazers this year like it was last year. Outlaw for 6th man of the year?
Gil is back! If he looks that good, I must be looking real pretty.
I should move to Portland. They're kinda like the Bay Area up there, hippies and all. Hey, Dunleavy, trade me for Andre Miller! Nah, not now, when he gets tired of not being needed up there.
Charles says the Rockets will have the worst record in the West! Not us! Yay!
OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Sunday there are/were 16 days left.
So I had this idea. For day 16 on our countdown 'til the NBA season, the day claimed by Carmelo Anthony, I would write about how said 'Melo has been a bit of a forgotten child since he got to the league. Such a thought reminded me of a David Bowie song, which then took me to the following nursery rhyme.
I love, by the by, that Wikipedia (copy and past does wonders nowadays) feels the need to Wiktionary-link to 'woe' for us, as if we've forgotten what the word means in this new and glittering age! The Bowie song entitled Thursday's Child takes the nursery rhyme to mean that a child born of a Thursday will forever be behind the ball, perhaps in relative obscurity, that such a child will have a harder time of it than say one born on Monday or Tuesday or, heaven bless them, on Sunday. I thought, maybe Carmelo falls under that umbrella, and I proceeded to investigate the matter. Whilst examining other NBA star's birth dates, I became engrossed. Thus, a day passed, rain fell, and no NBA Top 50 post went up for Sunday.
Now I know all of you are now wallowing in disarray due to your lack of countdown-y goodness. You may even be wandering in a land where the undead rule the day. Have no fear, however, for your Monday will be fair of face, and two f's in a descriptor can only be described as second to none but the storied 'double tap.'
In other words, ye heathens, you're gettin' two today because I got caught up in looking up these guys's birth-days and trying to come up with some significant conclusions. Obviously, the sample size isn't big enough for reliable statistical results, but the determining factors are qualitative in nature anyway. The real hump to get over for this study was the temptation to go astrological. That's been done and dead; it's the grounds for newspapers, not edgy blogs on the crepuscular outskirts. That's a good thing, Holmes. Anyway, we get some of that because it's inevitable that some guys born under the same sign (read: month) are similar. But we'll get to that. To begin.
The first and most salient point to this study is 'Melo. Dude's not a Thursday. He's a Tuesday. What does this mean? The rhyme says Tuesday's children are "full of grace." Sounds great, but how does it translate? Other Tuesday guys: Deron Williams, Amare Stoudemire, Ron Artest, and Lamar Odom. In my searches, I started with top players, meaning all-nba teams, overwhelming personalities, and the guys who have recently come or will soon be coming on this list. Of these initial players, these four joined Carmelo on the list of Tuesday children. Deron is the apt comparison. Williams and Anthony share a common thread of being looked over. Williams will seemingly never live down the comparisons to Chris Paul--though in head to head match-ups he generally comes out on top--and 'Melo has the LeBron comparisons to deal with. Tuesday's children have pretty steady careers, when all is said and done, but their "grace" is actually a euphemism for silently taking second shrift. These guys can't seem to shake off the shadows.
'Melo and Deron play nice with the rep, as they're fairly normal, well-adjusted NBA stars. See, most NBA players are born either in the December to January and sometimes February period or else in the May to July months. It's actually kind of striking, how regular this is. All the stars I looked at, unless otherwise stated, are born in these months. You have the stray Duncan in April (Taurus, fittingly) or Shaq in March (hello, Pisces)--if, by the way, you don't know your astrology, it's not hard to look up--for the most part, though, NBA stars tend towards those two periods of the year. Stoudemire, Artest, and Odom, however, are the odd November babies, and they're Tuesday boys too. Anyway, it explains the obvious difference between the Scorpios and Williams and Anthony. Still, the five of them share the shadow of more prominent personalities/talents, whether it's a rival on another team or Steve Nash.
So what about those over-shadowers? Being born on Sunday, of course, is the big prize. The rhyme even devotes two lines and four adjectives to the day. So what kind of players does Sunday produce? Try this list on for size: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, and the burgeoning Devin Harris. Oh, a certain recent Hall of Fame inductee not named David or John is a Sunday baby too. Bonny, blithe, good, and gay? I'd say so.
Monday is just about as good a day to be born on as Sunday. Fair of face? These guys are the stars who are a little more under the radar. They don't exactly get overshadowed, but they don't stick out and accumulate the accolades like the bonny Sabbath boys. Monday births amongst NBA stars include Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, Tony Parker, Joe Johnson, and, incidentally, John Stockton. Shaq is also a Monday, but guys just don't fit any molds. The Pisces thing might be right on. Ah, I don't want to get into it.
Wednesday is supposed to be filled with woe. The incredible research tool of Wikipedia states that older interpretations have Wednesday and Friday switched. The wives' tales that these kinds of rhymes stem from were very concerned with the seasons, the way the world turned and how the stars aligned. If the days were switched, it must've been for good reason, because using NBA stars as our barometer sure makes a convincing case for Wednesday births leading to lives, if not exactly woe-filled, that are not bereft of hardship. And the Wednesday ballers bear the marks of this burden. They are: Kobe Bryant (Denver), Kevin Garnett (the first round), Gilbert Arenas (knee problems...zaniness...), Vince Carter (Dickensian expectations), Danny Granger (the Pacers...Granger's another quiet April man). Another Wednesday's child of note? Carter's landmark victim Frédéric Weis. Talk about woe.
Thursday's children, the kids who started all this for me, don't fare much better than Wednesday's. Remember, a Thursday birth supposedly means bad news bears. The star representatives make this case a pointed one. Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill, and Paul Pierce all have faced major challenges to their careers. It's not to say they haven't done well for themselves, but it hasn't been exactly easy. Steve Nash, despite not missing a whole lot of games, has had a history of back problems, and he was perpetually slept on until he went the 'far way to go' and signed with Phoenix. Let's hope the rhyme can be taken literally for Kevin Durant, as he's just getting started. Hopefully his 'far way to go' is always a measure of potential, and we continue to see the possibility for growth for years and years to come. Durant is a September dude, which we'll talk about when we get to Saturday. Darko Milicic is another Thursday's child. Y'know, the guy Detroit took second in '03 over Carmelo? Six years in, he's still got a ways to go.
Friday presented an interesting wrinkle to my examination of birth days for NBA players. There were no active NBA stars born on a Friday. I looked at over thirty of them, and none of them fell on a Friday. It's not to say that my investigation is by any means comprehensive, but you'd think there'd be at least one in thirty. Therefore, I decided to go back and see if the same held true for different eras. Thus, we came to the MJ is a Sunday and Stockton's a Monday factoids. I also found that fellow recent inductee David Robinson, along with legends Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Does that mean that the present-day NBA is less loving and giving? In an age where players are increasingly image consciousness, we might conclude as much. However, because I'm biased (and this study is so objective), let's keep caution out of the wind. Since there are so few Friday-born NBA stars, it makes more sense that superlative talents and personalities like Bird and Magic would provide the exception to the rule. Robinson works for this explanation as well. I will say that it must be hard being as loving or giving when your fame puts you under public scrutiny so often.
People born on Saturdays are supposed to be hard workers. Saturday held a bit of a different meaning when Sunday was your sole day of rest/prayer, and Saturday had to be that much busier in preparation. We see Saturday's prediction borne out in the NBA stars revealed to have been born on this day: Shane Battier and Chauncey Billups, both of whom were also born in September. An odd month for NBA players, and odder still that two of the three I came across would also fall under the Saturday category. If anything, it means the hard workers don't stand out as much. Remember, the thirty or so players I chose from at first were players who made all-nba teams, or who were in the higher reaches of my own ranking. It's not like it's at random. Still, perhaps I and those who vote for such accolades don't notice the guys who tend to be born on Saturday.
With this in mind, I set about looking for NBA players who weren't as heralded. I looked for teams that were strictly middle of the pack. It wasn't an easy distinction to seek out; you want to have guys you can talk about, y'know? I settled on looking at a role player on the 15th and 16th best teams in the league, according to standing. These ended up being east coast teams, so I also looked at similar west coast teams. The records were a bit disparate, but consider it an adjustment. In this manner, I chose to look at Kirk Hinrich of the Bulls, Donyell Marshall of the Sixers, Carl Landry of the Rockets, and Erick Dampier of the Mavs. I thought it was a nice cross section of talents/skills/dispositions. Turns out, according to the rhyme, not so much. Landry and Dampier were Mondays. Hinrich and Marshall were Fridays. Turns out Fridays aren't so rare. There's a problem, though. Whereas the stars seemed to fit the rhymes descriptors, these role players don't seem to. Marshall and Hinrich both seem like generous and lovable guys, but wouldn't Hinrich be better suited as a hard-working Saturday? Marshall seems more like a Tuesday, while we're at it: never the hero, though he's saved quite a few days for his teams. Landry looks like a Tuesday too, and it occured to me that all role players might seem to be overshadowed from the distance of fan-hood. Still, I couldn't let it go. Dampier, a fair face? Something just didn't add up.
So I looked up Tim Thomas birth day of the week. Saturday. And that does it. There's no way this rhyme can be an accurate predictor if Tim Thomas is supposdly a hard worker. Still, a lot of the stars seemed uncannily suited to their birth days. Of course it doesn't determine your fate, but perhaps it does determine to what pitch whatever fate you eke out will be played. Perhaps Tim Thomas works hard at scamming teams out of millions of dollars. I looked into the rhyme's portents further, but none of it makes sense after Tim Thomas. If you care: Brian Cook is a Thursday's child; Devean George is a Monday; Cedric Simmons is a Friday; and Kareem Rush is a Thursday.
But wasn't I supposed to be talking about something else? Oh yeah! 'Melo's number 16, and I wonder if I'm discounting him at all with that ranking. Am I letting him be Tuesday's child, despite the game that says he's fair of face, or even bonny and gay? Not sure. What I do know is that he's still the most important player on a very, very good Denver team. His numbers may be down, but they bely his greater commitment to rebounding and defense. Last season, he didn't rebound quite as much per game as he did in 07-08, but his rate was a bit better. In other words, he's not taking backward steps. Furthermore, he missed a bunch of games this past season. If he can keep consistent this season, he'll probably be even more dangerous. He gets it for ineffably having no questions heading into the offseason of 2010. Maybe it feels a bit like even Chris Bosh leapfrogged him in terms of importance for that reason, but it's a safe bet that impending free agency will be at least a small distraction for Bosh, Wade, and King James. Anthony has no such distraction, and therefore boosts his stock for 09-10. I think I've said enough.
There are 47 days 'til the NBA's first tip off of the 09-10 season. OtB is counting down the days by ranking the top 50 players in the league.
This is the guy who started it all for me. My buddy Thatchmo e-mailed me enraged that random announcer-x stated matter of factly that Artest is one of the 10 best players in the NBA. Thus, a discussion of "best" ensued much as it does annually when people are pissed at the likely MVP award recipient. As I've stated before, I think this argument can be broken down into three components: talent; talent-maximization (or effort); and skill. Talent is obvious. It is the potential that is talked about as upside, and it is the quiet inner nexus that allows players to grow. Obviously, you need to have this if you’re going to be one of the elite. (Quick aside: top 5 most talented players ever have to be MJ, Lebron, Chamberlain, Dr. J, and Magic) The other aspect that goes hand in hand with talent is effort. Effort is often thought of as the refuge of role players and glue guys. I look it as the maximization of potential. Think of talent as a bubble and maximization as the extent to which a player fills this space with actual ability and accomplishments.
The last aspect speaks to those abilities filled out through maximization. Tops ever would probably include Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Bird, MJ, and Chamberlain. The difference between talent and skill is that skill exists outside of realms solely inhabited by athleticism. Skill is generally acquired, often through a long procession of maximally realized years, whereas talent lies latent in the thews and sinews and fibrous, nerve-ending tissues of the athlete. You're born with talent; you create skill out of using your talents, maximizing them, and learning how to continually do that.
We'll save the big guns debate for higher up in the rankings, but for now looking at these aspects helps to talk about the Tru Warrier or, as we shall come to know him, the big King of Pop tributer. Before talking about Ron Ron, I want to touch quickly on the outcome of last summer's discussion with Thatchmo. First of all, I ended up putting together a list of my picks for best NBA players, and made it as long as necessary to get to Artest. It took me 'til 49, which means Tru Warrier is actually moving up in my estimation. I just can't seem to rationalize him any higher.
The Skinny: Ron's a bull on defense and potentially potent (word play!) on offense. He won the D-PoY in 2004 and has made 4 All-D teams, so we know the people with the votes think he's good. He made was an all star and third team all NBA in 2004 as well. I could get into advanced stats, but there are other scribes who do it better than me, so I won't over step my abilities, unlike Ron Ron. It's not that he doesn't have the talent to be the dominant defensive or offensive force he touts himself as. It's just that when he thinks he's doing this he's more often detracting from his team's ability to function as a unit. On defense, he can tend to focus on locking down his defender even when he should be rotating to complement what his teammates are doing on D. Offensively, he tends to jack up shots at the most inopportune time. In short (and skinny...I wish), he seems like he has the weapons of mass destruction, but he just can't remember the codes to set them off.
Why he's #47: Before Malice at the Palace (you didn't think I'd get through this without the obligatory mention, did you?), the Pacers looked to be one of the top teams in the league. Artest was arguably their number 2 guy, though that roster was more of an ensemble featuring Jermaine O'Neal, Reggie Miller, and Stephen Jackson, along with Tru. The point is Artest could be a legit second marquee player on a legit contender. Even last season, he was the best player for the last games as the Rockets took the Lakers to 7 games in the conference semis. It doesn't look like that kind of output is in his near future, as he joins a stacked Lakers team. And, in the end, conference semis are conference semis and beer brawls with fans cannot be erased from public consciousness or, perhaps, Ron Artest's psyche.
To end: if he's your number 3 guy, you're probably well on your way to playing in June. He goes higher than your celebrated role players at the lower slots and moves up two spots from last year, when he was coming off a season in Sacto obscurity. I will be including my rankings from last year for comparison's sake, when available. Watch out for broken table legs...and death. Embrace the moment, kiddies.
Fairly new site The Wrestling Daily has a nice article up about the importance and intricacies of being a "heel," which for those of you not familiar with the parlance is pro wrestling's foil to the (baby-) "face." The article's author Mike Bessler talks about the great themes central to all stories throughout history: suffering and redemption. It's a nice piece in the kind of series TWD looks to produce, and Bessler's series is all about villains. Obviously the NBA is a beast differing from that presented by pro wrestling, but it's not a lesson we NBA heads can't learn from. I've written before about the need of villains in the present day pro basketball scene. I've just never considered it through the poignant lens of suffering and redemption, which when you get down to it is just plain silly of me.
See, even though pro basketball is not scripted as is pro wrestling, it is sculpted from the clay of career long narratives that etch themselves into the public's consciousness. More so, I'd argue, than any other sport, which is also why it's by far the most prolifically covered sport in the blogosphere. However, some close observers of the league have begun to sour on the trajectories on which present NBA stars have been taking their careers. Or, at least I have. Rivalries have been weak and have lacked any real fuel with which to fan flames. The league is plagued by an abundance of "faces," and a veritable absence of "heels." Much the opposite of today's WWE, as it were.
Now, I'm not saying I want a return to the pitiable days of the Jail Blazers or the Malice at the Palace. And really I think conglomerations of badness like those helped to usher in this Golden Calf age. Players are scared to look like a thug, and instead the end up looking like petulant young men when they make the inevitable mistake or two. What I am (still) clamoring for is a bit of a trajectory to these narratives, instead of the constant brick throws I've been seeing.
I know it's a bit tired to keep looking askance of the best player on the planet, holding him up to the phosphorescence left behind by the Greatest of All Time, but bear with me. Last week, Jared Wade of Hardwood Paroxysm wrote about the perfect career trajectory of Michael Jordan. Well written, well argued, kudos. Here's where the pro wrestling reference comes into play. Bessler says narratives are made memorable out of suffering and redemption. Often in wrestling, the suffering comes from an outside source, a "heel." Thus, redemption can be achieved by defeating the heel. In basketball, I would argue, players are more often likely to find their greatest tormentors come from within, or from society at large. The Bird-Magic rivalry was great because Bird was the perfect heel to Magic's golden boy, million-watt-smile persona. And, yes, it's not impossible to have a heel people can adore or even root for on a casual basis. The point is the persona with which a star's impression is made.
Jordan's early career suffering came at the hands of all the old powers that held his ascension back. He busted through that barrrier in 1991. Then came the personal demons. His father's death. His depature for baseball. His gambling. We loved watching him climb the mountain to redemption again. More importantly though, then came the second reign. He was so dominant that the rest of the league was suffering, and we only saw that once he retired. He became the quintessential, perennially powerful heel. Bessler writes about Ric Flair as playing a similar role in pro wrestling, the difference being Flair was always able to put over his opponents. But Jordan is not the persona to examine here.
I want to, of course, look at Lebron James. I want to put these, his early years into perspective. If you compare him to Jordan, then yes he's still got a bit of rising to do, and the jury is still out. Suffering is not always immediate. Lebron has seemed to overcome challenges so inexorably that there's very little suffering evident, and thus very little redemption. The antics that have painted him a bit negatively over the last few months have seemed a little out of character. People were surprised when he refuses to shake the hands of the Orlando Magic after Cleveland's playoff defeat. They were surprised about the controversy over the tape of him getting dunked on. Some of them wrote it off as his youth; others said it was the real character in him coming out. When looked at through the lens of suffering, however, it makes perfect sense. Lebron has been in the league for six years now and has had a bevy of success. He's made it to the finals, but he still hasn't won that first ring. Now is when the narrative arc is really supposed to start kicking in. These two incidents in the King's non-reign are just the outpouring of the frustration that is starting to build. It's the beginning of the King's heel turn.
The greatest players, at least in terms of recognition, have all made that turn at some point in their careers. This is why, in my opinion, Olajuwon doesn't make all time great lists ahead of Abdul-Jabar. Maybe Abdul-Jabar in the end was a more prominent player, but he also had a more prominent persona colored by a bit of heel heat. The same can be said for Shaq as opposed to David Robinson, or Kobe instead of Duncan as the prominent player post-Jordan. These players are comparable when it comes to play on the court, but guys like Kobe, Shaq, and Kareem hold a longer lasting legacy because of their rounded out persona in the public's eye. As of six months ago, Lebron was relatively two-dimensional. He was a great player who came off a little too slick. There was no suffering there, at least none the people can relate to. Will he acquire a little more heat and get "over" with the NBA narrative aficionados? We'll see. Will he he have his "We're going to rip their hearts out" moment like Kobe? Honestly, I hope so.
One other wrinkle for this dichotomous lens: Stephon Marbury and Ron Artest. As the last of the post-Jordan era stars fade out of relevance (prime examples of strong trajectories nearing their ends are Garnett and Iverson), the last great heels seem to have entered the final chapter of their legacies. Stephon is firmly entrenched in the suffering that has plagued his last few years in and out of the league. It seemed he achieved a bit of redemption last season with his successful stint with the Celtics. The hope was that he would find some team where he could contribute positively this off season. Instead, it looks like all that suffering has adled his brain, and he is no longer the intriguing persona that could captivate fans and make New Yorkers whisper of a new era. Rather, he's become a figure deserving of pity and not much else. Artest, on the other hand, is still curving up and down with how the public regards him. He was looking good for awhile there in Houston, but now stories are leaking out about his running around in underwear and little else. Um. Anyway, the time in LA will he be a successful undercard heel that people will appreciate years from now, like say Dennis Rodman, or will he go the route of Latrell Sprewell, where people just kind of shake their heads and try not to remember?
Okay, so these things pretty much speak for themselves at this point, but here's Ron Artest's latest venture. It's a "music" video of him and "his new Artist from Beijing's new song call Beijing this is a rough mix so don't be too critical the footage is from the beach in Hong Kong" (sic). That's the Youtube descrip. From Artest's twitter page, he re-tweeted the artist Shin Shin's tweet that there was a photo shoot going on along with the song. Apparently, when Ron and his associates say "photo shoot," they mean Ron taking one handed pictures while holding the video camera in the other hand. I guess.
Pause to shake our collective heads. Artest seems to have been pushing this as a sexy, bikini photo shoot. But, really, all I saw was Shin Shin's hair. Honestly, I'd rather see...any other kind of hair style than that. Or even no hair. Furthermore, she didn't seem to be frolicking in the waves so much as sitting there wondering what Ron means for the direction of her career. I can tell you Shin Shin, none of us know more than you. Really, it's an interesting relationship the two seem to be building. Shin Shin was the camera person for Ron's somewhat controversial video re-hashing Malice at the Palace last week. At this point, though, is anything with Ron-Ron controversial anymore? Especially with Starbury out there crashing cars.
So I'm definitely in the summer doldrums slump, but sports goes on. I'm not invested enough in baseball or football to care enough right now, so I've fallen to watching pro wrestling like I was 14 again. Let me say that it was 1998 when I was 14, as in right in the thick of the nWo, Monday night wars, and invasion storylines that drove the Attitude Era. Suffice it to say, things are different now. I've heard the current era called "the PG era," and it's just one more thing going slack during the recession. Still, things have to happen. Life doesn't stop long enough to always be interesting (though we try to make it so).
Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, and newly (almost) heel-turned CM Punk seem to be ushering in an age of heel dominance. The popular "faces" are not showing long term potential, as Jeffy Hardy is rumored not to be returning when his contract expires and Rey Mysterio, Jr. has pretty much peaked story-wise as the lovable little-guy/luchador. (A pairing with...Dolph Ziggler? Wait, who?) It's a sad state of a "sport" when the plus-40s are running it, as Shawn Michaels, Rick Flair, Brett Hart (all inactive at the moment), and the Undertaker are looked at to revive fan interest as we head towards Summer Slam. (Check out the FDH series on ideal events for a long view towards 'Mania 26) You could see it at Night of Champions, though I didn't (why pay per view when you can pick up the essentials on Youtube?). WWE doesn't have a hold on their fanbase's reactions.
Philly was dead on Sunday. Big Show was Jericho's big (pun...groan) surprise partner, and then the fans started cheering on Jericho despite huge heel promos lately. The fans also sent a bit of booing John Cena's way, which is not supposed to happen to one of the biggest faces in play right now. CM Punk? His heel turn and straight-edge posturing have been priceless and play off/up Jeff Hardy's popularity perfectly. But Punk lost Sunday night. Which begs the sad question: is this the farthest they're going to push the Punk story? Because, quite frankly, it's been the most intriguing thing in pro wrestling right now. Granted, the crowd at Smackdown Friday didn't really get the angle, but he turned in a nice promo Sunday.
Specifics aside, I thought about writing something a little thoughtful, a little Epochryphal, but it's been done already, and I'm not energetic enough to do the legwork necessary for a new spin on it all. If you didn't catch it, and you're interested in further reading, former McMahon foil Paul Heyman has a great piece up on The Heyman Hustle about how WWE screwed up five years ago and how the lack of talent influx is leading to the...well, lack of talent. And weak storylines. And there's no real competition making WWE push itself. Although, in my opinion, I think pro wrestling needs to take MMA, UFC stuff as a serious competitor if not a potential conqueror. See: Brock Lesnar's UFC 100 show, as well as Shaq's bid to compete with Lesnar. We'll get back to Shaq, but the last idea it's important to take away from Heyman's thoughts: Japanese wrestling. The Japan circuits have always been big. What I'd love to see is a bit of a recreation of what pro wrestling looks like. Bring in some of the talented Japanese wrestlers already performing stateside, especially in a kind of Invasion story line...though that might get a litte racist-undertones questionable. Never mind. Just a thought.
What there really is left to focus on in pro wrestling is Shaq's guest role as GM of this week's Monday Night Raw. It's one of the more interesting things to come out of the Donald Trump takeover gimmick, that Raw has new hosts every week. Seth Green was pretty good. ZZ Top was a little stiff. I'm hoping Shaq makes it exciting, and of course the 300 lb basketball player in the room...question is: will the Daddy get in the ring and make it physical? That's the one everyone will be watching for, of course.
Instead of getting serious, though five paragraphs in maybe it's too late not to be serious, I want to give a little heads up for any cross-over fans that may be attracted by Shaq's presence at Raw. In the spirit of the cross-over, what I want to do with the rest of this post is compare the 12 wrestlers from Night of Champions to 12 NBA Players. I didn't write about the ECW guys because, well, I don't care about ECW. And 'care' is a relative word here...
Randy Orton is Ron Artest: I wanted to start with Orton because I feel like he has to be a major player in the WWE's future. He's still young, but he's already one of the most important names, and he's got a great hook for potential story lines. He's evil, a viper. He's the Legend Killer. And he hears voices. With the snakey moniker and the sinuous fluidity of his game, you might think Kobe here, but the Mamba's too established. We got with Kob's new teammate Ron-Ron instead, because Orton and Artest both seem to assasinate the competition while marching to the beat of a different drummer. Artest is stepping in to the big time lights and the thought is Orton should be doing the same. Artest also has some questionable friends from his past. I really wish Orton's connection to Legacy would go away.
Triple H is Kobe Bryant: Speaking of Mr. 81, he's the perfect comparison for the Game. They've both been around for awhile and they're both consumate competitors. Furthermore, Triple H isn't the biggest guy around; he's not slouch, but he's more Kobe than Lebron if you get what I mean. He's the Cerebral Assasin, and what label is more perfectly suited for Kobe? Of course, with Triple H's marriage to the owner's daughter, he might have more in common with Phil Jackson, but that's another story.
John Cena is Lebron James: Might as well finish out the Night of Champions triumvirate with a comparison to the King. Both Lebron and Cena have been groomed to be headliners, but both have seemed to slip a bit recently. Everyone's probably familiar with James' gaffes, so I won't revisit them here (oh wait, how 'bout a link? The wonder of the interweb!). Cena just doesn't seem to work up a crowd anymore. So, though Lebron probably has more potential at this point, with his summer of slip ups, his personality's begging for this comparison.
Jeffy Hardy is Paul Pierce: He's an enigma, but really he's not that hard to understand. A fan favorite. A guy living out his dream as new champion. With the exuberance and high-flying game, I thought Dwight Howard right off the bat. Hardy's had a bit more of a path to the top, though, in which case Paul Pierce is the right comparison. Get out of here with the KG stuff, because Pierce has been steadier when it comes to career rises and falls and fan devotion. After winning that championship, KG became a bit of a questionable character, as he dogged lesser opponents. I can't see Hardy ever doing that. At least, here's hoping.
CM Punk is Dwight Howard: Punk doesn't ooze athleticism like Howard, but when you look at Punk's straight-edge angle the baby-faced Howard necessarily comes to mind. When he came out, Howard looked like the second coming of stars of old we didn't know we were missing. He also had that whole God thing going for awhile, until that illegitimate child un-did that. Punk becomes the comparison here as his straight-edge angle is souring quickly. Similar to Lebron, Dwight made a few missteps on his way to the NBA finals, most notably calling out his coach and getting suspended for rough play. To top it all off, of course, his team won without him. I don't think the WWE would be better off with Punk, but we'll see. Of course, the WWE and NBA are different animals, as heels are actually valued in pro wrestling as I've contended they should be in pro basketball.
Rey Mysterio, Jr. is Chris Paul: Do I even need to explain this one? They both have incredible control over their games and both can scare up a rabid following out of thin air (or howling, levee breaking air as it were). Mr. 619 is always pitted against the giants, and Chris Paul has shown considerable propensity for tackling the NBA's pillars, like taking the Spurs to the brink in the second round of 2008's playoffs. And, really, does it have to be more complicated than knowing both could easily play the role of unassuming overachiever at a family barbecue? I can just see it now.
Dolph Ziggler is Deron Williams: Just kidding.
John Morrison is Kevin Durant: I know Morrison wasn't on Sunday's Night of Champions ticket, but he looks to be the next face promoted, so I'm including him here. He's got the title match against Jeff Hardy on this Friday's Smackdown. I couldn't resist the comparison with Durantula, as they're both the veritable new kids to the adults' table, both have a nice set of good moves, and both have had some nice victories in their still young careers. With Hardy possibly taking a break from WWE, Morrison might be Punk's next rival, which could play quite well. Both Morrison and Durant haven't really shown audiences their true personalities, but they've both shown enough ability that we're intrigued.
Legacy are Coby Karl and Mike Dunleavy, Jr.: Seriously, maybe Ted DiBiase, Jr. and Cody Rhodes are decent wrestlers, but I'm just tired of them. I mean, is DiBiase a wrestler or the idiot boyfriend from Wedding Crashers? And why did I enjoy his father's one night turn on Raw more than anything he's ever done? Jeez Legacy, get off the jockstraps of your fathers. I threw in Coby Karl for the whole father thing, but really Legacy are more like the Indiana Pacers. They're nice pieces (and, really, Granger is great, but he doesn't make me care), but they're still waiting for their Orton to show up.
Chris Jericho is Kevin Garnett: Forget that Jericho has faced down some of the biggest names of his era and come away with a whole handful of championships, whereas KG only has the one. Jericho's going through a stage where he's trying to make the tag team genre matter, an initiative you can also see WWE pushing in Cena and Triple H teaming up against Orton and Legacy. KG didn't get that ring 'til he teamed up with the Truth. Furthermore, Jericho spent a good deal of his career being very well liked, but is not completing a full scale heel turn. We saw signs of the same from KG last season.
The Big Show is Shaquille O'Neal: At this point in his career, Shaq really only bears comparison to the laughably large guys in WWE. Shaq is probably past his Kane days (Kane's been looking good, but he needs a real match-up for crying out loud), and he does dip into the whole Great Khali-esque fiasco, but Big Show really is an apt comparison. Paul Heyman says Big Show is actually great at breaking new faces, and Shaq has done that throughout his career, from Penny Hardaway to Kobe, to Dwayne Wade, and now on to Lebron James. With the Big Show, it's hard to tell if he's a heel or a ham. Shaq suffers from the same dichotomy. Lastly, of course, if Shaq were to call himself the Big Show, it'd be one in what seems like a thousand names he's called himself including the word 'Big.'
Now the Big Question (can we get Allen Iverson on growth hormones to be the Big Answer?) is will Shaq get in the ring with Big Show Monday night? Or maybe he'll bring Brock Lesnar in with him! Anyway, two-ish months before NBA training camps get going. Lol.
Ron Artest, not even officially signed to the Lakers 'til Wednesday, is already acclimating himself to life in the lime-light. In fact, Artest is looking to supplant Shaq as the most readily sound-byted star in the NBA stratosphere. He handily out did Ama're Stoudamire's "I'm getting traded" tweets, Ron-Ron took his followers in one direction, making it look like he was actually referring to his record deal, and then going ahead and signing with the Lakers too.
Now, speaking of his status as a recording artist, Artest cut a tribute to Michael Jackson. It's actually kind of catchy, and if you're into it you can download the mp3 too. I promise it's the last time I throw up an MJ tribute, but with the memorial ceremony at Staples Tuesday, it seemed appropriate. Following his tribute to the King of Pop, Artest declared he'd go with the jersey number 37 in LA, as that was the number of weeks Jackson's "Thriller" topped the charts.
(Major mahalo to NBA Fanhouse for the Artest track)
We at OTB have been all over this summer's NBA free agency season. What with the major pieces falling in to place, it's time to take a step back and look at what really it all means for next season. To begin with, a little recap. San Antonio started it all off by trading for Richard Jefferson. Cleveland announced the trade for Shaq shortly afterwards. The Magic quickly made this series of acquisitions into an arms race by going off and trading for Vince Carter (oh, and by the way, who wins in an arms race but the profiteers?), effectively showing Hedo Turkoglu the door. Then, late Friday, Ron Artest announced his desire and reciprocated intention to sign with the Lakers. The Celtics, meanwhile, worked to get in on the fun by sending a handful of reps to persuade Rasheed Wallace to play for them, though Carter has been outspoken about wanting Rasheed to make Orlando into the new San Antonio Spurs and the original land of the aging free agents has also come calling.
In all the furor over the Artest signing and the courtship of Rasheed (interesting how they're both landing coastal/major-market since Detroit-Indiana), I think there still remains a player out there who could affect this whole scene. His name is Lamar Odom. Not only do the Lakers NEED to re-sign him now that Ariza is gone and Odom-pal Artest is in the fold, the Lakers need to sign him because he is their emotional core. If he departs, the chemistry in Lala-land looks a lot less hunky-dory. I could talk specific player dynamics and interaction, or I could give you one eye opening macrophenomenal reason Odom is so important right now.
First, let's look at the other teams. Who are the emotional leaders there? Lebron, obviously, in Cleveland. Garnett in Boston. Chauncey Billups on the conspicuously quiet Nuggets. Duncan and Pop in SA. Dwight How...well, we'll get to the Magic in a second. And those are your honest to goodness contenders for next season. And none of them stack up well against the Lakers if Lamar Odom re-signs. Here's why.
When you look at a team's chemistry, their emotional make-up and composure, you don't always look to the most emotional or talented player for that. You look slightly to the left. Okay, in Cleveland, Lebron makes his own way, but perhaps that's cause for concern. In Boston, it's not KG that leads the team in huddles and pre-game chants, it's Paul Pierce. Though 'Melo is the most talented player in Denver and Chris "Birdman" Anderson is the most fiery, it took Chauncey to make them into the contender they now are. San Antonio is so professional it doesn't need an emotional nexus, and I can probably get away with saying that because they take after their coach.
And what about Orlando? Where do they get their emotional center? It's not from their big, affable superstar of a center. No, he was too busy trying to figure out a post move or else bashing his coach for trying to hide his struggles. I honestly think Dwight will get there, but he's not there yet. He's still on call out, folks. Where else could the Magic turn for their emotional core? Not Rashard Lewis. He's too busy trying not to make mistakes, because he thinks that justifies his huge contract. (Please drive more next season, Rashard. Show us that brashness that put you in the green room even though it turned out so horribly.) Jameer Nelson is only three years older than D-Ho and only now coming in to his own as a player. AND coming off of injury. Maybe, someday, he too will be able to team with D-Ho in leadership, but for now the Magic are struggling in that department.
Don't look for Vinsanity to step into that void, either. He played second fiddle to Devin Harris (and there are very few emotions, channel-able ones at least, on a team that lost as much as New Jersey did last year) and has been shrinking from leadership for years now. But let's look at all that player movement. Turkoglu, probably moving North of the border next year, was the closest thing to an emotional leader the Magic had on their run to the finals. What about the solid six? Denver's not making any substantial moves, and San Antonio's not going anywhere. Cleveland and Boston, however, have committed incredibly risky nexus faux pas in their free agent acquisitions.
Lebron has been the established leader in everything for that team since he got there, which reminds me a little of a queen bee and how the rest of her hive are simply extensions of her will. Didn't you kind of get that feeling watching him orchestrate those pre-game antics last year? Now, the Big Jester is coming to town, and though you suspect Steve Nash or Ama're Stoudamire should have been more of a focal point for that Phoenix team's personality, Shaq totally dominated the way that team functioned, to the point of mimicking Lebron's movements. I have no doubt the two will get along in 09-10, and the rest of the Cavs will probably love Shaq, but what I'd be concerned with if I was Danny Ferry, Mike Brown, and the King, is whether or not Shaq will become the attitudinal core of that team to the point of making Lebron's championship aspirations slightly marginalized.
The Celtics, in bringing in Rasheed, also bring in a personality who's used to be being the nucleus of his team's composition. Oftentimes Rasheed doesn't get the respect he deserves for being an emotional leader, but he's always been that. Sure, he goes off on refs and shatters records for technical fouls, but he's also the guy who cares deeply for the other players, who doesn't care how many touches he gets as long as his team's feng shui is satisfied. Actually, I think Lamar Odom is better at accurately sensing his team's needs and metamorphosing to meet them. So, I kinda tongued my cheek at the Palace Brawl earlier, and I want to bring in one salient fact. Rasheed did not get suspended because of the tussle. Smart maybe--you don't need a team mate to be as gung-ho loyal as Stephen Jackson was--but even Reggie Miller got a one game suspension. I think Lamar would be there for his team mates, and Rasheed is a little bit too chilled out.
In many ways, Lamar and Rasheed are the most similar players in this free agent class. Here's the one telling piece of evidence you need to see: both Lamar and Rasheed lead their teams in pre-game rituals. That's right. It wasn't Kobe or Derek Fisher or Phil Jackson in the middle of that 1-2-3-ring! circle the Lakers ran last season; it was Lamar. In the same fashion, Rasheed led the Pistons in pre-game fervor-stirring (this dance has more energy than the one above, that's just a better shot video). Despite the similarities, Lamar's signing will be more important than Rasheed's. Why? Because no team should have more than one emotional firebrand. The Magic have none. The Cavs and Celts now have two.
Ron Artest, despite the wake of soundbytes he creates, will not disrupt this balance for the Lakers. On the Rockets, Ron-Ron allowed Shane Battier to be the man leading the chants. He sacrificed in the wrong ways, speaking to the media and having the loudest on-court game but never fully developing as an emotional leader. On the Lakers, he will complement Lamar as Kobe already does. In my mind, I imagine a bi-pedal emotional structure, like the dinosaurs that eventually became birds. Artest and Bryant are the legs that can push off from the media baseline, and Fisher is the tail that provides balance. Odom is the body that will allow this team to grow and take to the sky.
