Thoughts on LeBron not being in the dunk contest

Last night, while watching the All-Star game, I got so frustrated every time I saw LeBron James flying through the air to catch an oop from Wade or contort his body mid-air after jumping from a dead sprint, to reverse slam it, and monkey swing on the rim. As I'm watching this, all I can think of is "now why didn't dude enter the dunk contest?" The only legitimate reason a player can give me for not wanting to enter the dunk contest is fear of injury. I respect that. I understand that. A player's body, esp. their knees, ankles, and feet (crucial elements in jumping and landing from any dunk attempt) are how they eat, so I TOTALLY understand not wanting to injure yourself in non-essential activity like the dunk contest. HOWEVA, if you tell me that, yet turn around and do the EXACT SAME ACROBATICS in another non-essential activity like the All-Star game the VERY NEXT DAY, then I have a serious problem and must ask some tough questions. As a team owner I would have the same outrage if my star player got hurt dunking in a dunk contest that I would have if my star player got hurt dunking in an All-Star game. LeBron didn't approach the All-Star game in the same fashion as KG did. KG has a bad knee. KG shot jump shots yesterday. KG was not running around full speed trying to catch oops thrown up higher than the square on the backboard. KG played like someone who was concerned with not getting hurt. LeBron didn't. LeBron was "showin out"! I was impressed and I was disgusted. I'm like - "if you gonna show out, why not show out in the contest where you are judged and rewarded for showin out!". Since risk of injury OBVIOUSLY was not the issue, then I must ask, LeBron, are you afraid of losing the dunk contest? I tend to think that is the reason why dude didn't compete. Why else, after being totally unprovoked at last years All-Star game, would he say he would compete in the dunk contest in Dallas, and then back out? I've already established that risk of injury couldn't really be the reason. What I'm left to conclude is LeBron was afraid of losing the dunk contest, so he didn't compete. I can't really trip on him for having that feeling, because I had the same feeling in 8th grade. I won my school's spelling bee in 7th grade, but I was scared to lose my title in the 8th grade (esp. when I heard they had allowed 4th graders to enter the competition. I couldn't bear the potential shame of being eliminated before a 4th grader did, so I didn't compete). In hindsight, it was a punk move. I admit it. All I need for LeBron to do is admit it too. He's still my favorite NBA player, regardless. I am just a little disappointed. The All-Star weekend here in Dallas was ridiculous even without his participation in the dunk contest. If LeBron had of been in it, it would have just made the weekend legendary.

Kobe Doin' Work: A few observations

• Kobe is a very intelligent basketball player. His greatness isn't just in his physical abilities, it's in his mental approach to the game as well.
• Kobe and LeBron are interesting icons of the culture they live in. In one scene, Kobe commented on how he and Bruce Bowen are such great competitors. It's interesting for me to hear guys speak of their greatness WHILE they are still in the midst of their prime (LeBron spoke of his greatness at the post game press conference when he went off for 47 in Game 3 of their series against the Hawks). I don't think I recall Magic or Bird or Isiah speak about their greatness while their careers were in progress.
• I love the way Kobe communicates on the floor, especially on the defensive end. He's literally another coach on the floor. Even if you can't get with Kobe the man, one must at least give him kudos that he understands what the other team is trying to accomplish offensively and how best to make it difficult on them to score. 
• Kobe is only great when he plays with talent. He needs other players with high basketball IQs around him to flourish. He's not that great of a teacher. I get the sense that he is able to provide information to his teammates. However, there is a wide gap between providing information and being able to teach. Teaching requires a level of subtly and nuance that I don't sense Kobe has in his personality. 
• It was interesting hearing him speak on how much he loves L.A. I'm curious then about how serious he was about leaving L.A. to go to Chicago when he was a free agent and if he loved L.A. so much, then why the trade demands two summers ago?
• He admitted to throwing elbows. I wonder if anybody else heard when he said that or was surprised by that admission? I don't think he even realized what he was copping to, but he admitted it plain as day.
• I like the Triangle Offense. It's suited to the free-flowing, unpredictable nature of basketball. In basketball I prefer concepts over plays. Plays breakdown, concepts have options. Don't give me fish, give me a fishing pole...
• I didn't know teams could watch replays of the TV broadcast at halftime. It seemed to me that they were watching a DVR recording of the 1st half of the game when they were in the locker room at halftime. Instant video feedback. Is this legal in the NFL? Do they do this in college basketball too?
• I really couldn't see Kobe playing well for any other coach than Phil. The only evidence we have thus far is the whole Rudy T. experiment, which didn't last long or go well. It will be interesting to see what the Lakers do if Phil retires this year (which I think he will. Remember Tex Winters is already gone). How will Kobe react to somebody new at the helm? Kobe is very vocal and even expressed himself how a coach needs to be able to keep his ego in check to be able to deal with all of Kobe's input. Phil and Kobe are on the same page, but Phil's page is the only one Kobe has had to be on. Can he get on another coach's page? Or better yet, will another coach have the humility to deal with all that is Kobe Bryant?
• I think Kobe's teammates respect him for what he has accomplished, the supremely gifted player that he is, as well as his knowledge of the game, but I don't know how much they enjoy following him. He does lead them, but I get the sense his team's followship lacks the intimacy that Magic's teammates or Isiah's teammates or most recently LeBron's teammates have for their leader. Kobe's followers are similar to Jordan's followers, except I think Jordan's teammates had a level of fear of him and a sense of not wanting to let him down. After seeing the clip of Kobe hitting the 3rd quarter ending 3 point shot, he commented that when he makes that type of shot it gives the 2nd teammers who are going to start off the 4th quarter energy - it gets them enthused and they get up off the bench and give high fives to their teammates coming back to the bench. All of this is true and good stuff. However, I contrast this with how the Cavaliers relate to each other and how they don't require a high-degree-of-difficulty, quarter ending 3 point shot to respond to their teammates in an enthusiastic fashion. They are hype for each other from the initial jump ball. Similar to the Jordan's teammates, but maybe from different motivations, LeBron's teammates have his back and don't want to let him down. Kobe's teammates don't seem to have that feeling at all. They are enthusiastic about each other when things are going well, but don't seem to have each other's backs when they encounter adversity. I think we don't see this side as much with the Lakers because they are typically so good that they rarely face adversity. But their track record with adversity has not been good sense Shaq's last season in L.A. when they lost to the Pistons in the Finals. On the positive side, they are so good this flaw in their team rarely shows up. On the flip side, they typically find such adverse situations deep in the playoffs and haven't responded well when they faced with it (practically swept by less talented Pistons team, blown out in closeout Game 6 in Boston, blew HUGE lead in Game 4 at home vs Boston).
• To the previous point, it seemed to me a little forced in how Kobe spoke of how he looks out for his teammates with the officials. He says he really only talks to the refs to stick up for his teammates. In all the games I've watched him in, he seems to get the most animated when he's arguing his own case about how HE is being fouled. I think he understands what a good leader should do, but it didn't seem authentic when describing his role as protector for his guys. 
• Kobe's not a spring chicken anymore. When you start getting ice on your knees while the game is still in progress, it shows there are a lot of miles on his tires.
• He threw a not-so-subtle jab at both Shaq and at Smush Parker. He told Pau Gasol that he never had a big man who could make that kind of pass to him. I agree that Pau is a great passer in the high post of the Triangle, but he could have complimented Gasol purely on his passing skills and not in reference to the big men he played with in the past. He also said he trusts kicking the ball out to Derek Fisher for 3s and said he wouldn't have made those types of passes the previous year (when Fisher was not with the team). 
• Kobe desires the adulation of the crowd. He was soaking up the fact the Staples Center crowd was chanting M-V-P. He really wants to be liked. I'm not sure I've seen that trait in other NBA superstars as high as it is in Kobe. (of course we all want to be liked, but what I'm questioning is the degree to which we desire it. I'm sure Barkley wants to be liked, but I don't think it bothers him if he isn't. I would put Barkley and Kobe on extreme opposite ends of this spectrum.)
  

Thoughts on the NBA Playoffs Round 1

• The Bulls Celtics series was not the greatest series ever. It was one of the most compelling to watch, but let's be clear, these were two middle-of-the-pack teams who matched up well against each other. If you duplicated the same exact events that happened in this series, but changed the names on the front of the jerseys to Memphis and Minnesota, would everybody really be falling over themselves to call this the greatest series ever? Come on. People get a grip. Stop worshiping the god of Now. It was great to watch, but please, have some perspective.
  
  
• I was impressed with the shot making abilities of both Big Baby Davis and of Tyrus Thomas. My theory is it helped both of them that they played together in college. I can imagine that familiarity made them both comfortable offensively when they saw their former teammate guarding them and took away some of the fear factor associated with playing basketball on the big stage. I thought both of them played with a lot more confidence than what I would have expected otherwise.
  
  
• When Ray Allen was going off for 51 all I could think about was his pregame shooting routine. A lot of the shots that he took in Game 6 were reminiscent of the types of movements he practices before the game. That's the only way I can see him being so comfortable shooting so quickly and getting himself the slight space he needs to get off his jumper.
  
  
• I think one of the secrets to successful offense is spacing the floor (DUH!). However, I don't see many teams making use of the baseline corner to accomplish this, though I've heard the Spurs incorporate this concept (think: the Bruce Bowen corner 3) and D'Antoni uses it in his system as well. The situation where I think this spot is not used to the extent it should be is in fast break situations. On the break, guys running the wing tend to make a 45 degree cut toward the basket once they get to the three point line. I'm an advocate of running to the corner instead of cutting toward the basket in this situation, especially when there is a defender already waiting in the lane. Running to the corner creates the greatest distance for defensive players getting back in transistion to cover and it keeps the lane open for the ball handler in the middle of the floor to make a 1-on-1 move to get by the defender in the paint. If the lane is clogged, passing out to the shooter in the corner presents a good look for a 3 and it puts the defense in a scramble situation, even if they are able to close out on the shooter in the corner. 
  
  
• Stan Van Gundy has been the focus of a lot of rhetoric, ridicule, and other media attention this season. Van Gundy called Shaq out for flooping, Shaq in return called him the "Master of Panic" (a comment reiterated by a backup center on the Magic), Van Gundy went after the Knicks for their treatment of Ewing, and Dwight Howard has mocked his Van Gundy's overstressed demeanor pretty much all season long. It's obvious this guy has something stuck in his behind and for a while I was like, dude needs to "just shut up!". But, upon further review, I'm backing off the guy. I thought back to how Pat Riley knifed him in the back and took the Heat to the championship in '06 and it all made sense to me. He has to have been really scarred by getting kicked to the curb like that, so I can see why now he's so panicky and overly confrontational. He knows he's going to get fired again within the next 3 years (NBA coaches have VERY short tenures, ask Avery Johnson about it), so I can see him being very insecure about his job and wanting to get off anything that's on his chest before he gets the ax. For that, I'm going to lay off him.
  
  
• Maverick fans, please do not get excited about them beating the Spurs. No Ginobili + a hurt Duncan = a team that's average at best. It was a good matchup for Dallas. Denver is not. Denver is going to spank that tail.
  
  
• My Pistons were unwatchable in their series with the Cavs. I knew we weren't going to do anything this year, even before we traded Chauncey. However, it was still tough to watch us get rolled like that. It reminded me of 1991 when the Bulls steamrolled us to end the era of Bad Boys Part 1. It made me sick then, and it makes me sick now.
  
  
• Though I did get caught up in the drama of the Bulls Celtics series, please understand nothing matters in this playoffs until  the Cavs meet the Lakers in the Finals. I know the NBA was glad to be able to milk a subplot (drama filled Bulls/Celtics series) out of what is a pretty pedestrian lineup of playoff series, pre-Finals. The sizzle and steak will be there when it's LeBron versus Kobe. Anything else is mozzeralla sticks. Even if the mozzeralla sticks have a good marina dipping sauce, it ain't steak. Kobe versus Lebron is filet mignon.
  

A LeBronsian Obama?

As I've watched the media coverage leading up to Barack's inauguration, I was struck by the very lofty expectations and comparisons used by pundits in relation to Barack. On several occasions, pundits in the midst of their analysis, would launch into a roll call of past great presidents (including the likes of Lincoln and JFK) and invariably an implicit or explicit connection would be made to Obama. This caused me to ponder the question of why is Barack being attributed greatness (specifically in relation to other presidents) without ever having a day in office? His name was used in a list of great presidents and he was not yet even the President! If this were 8 years down the road and Barack had helped turn the economy around, reformed the broken education system, and figured out a solution to the impending Social Security armageddon - I could understand such elevated comparisons. I understand and firmly believe he has the potential to be a great president, but to already label him as such is a bit premature.

As I pondered this further, the only thing I could compare it to was the type of talk I heard from basketball pundits when LeBron was coming out of high school. It was amazing to me back then the level of expectations that were placed on the head of King James before he ever took a dribble in the NBA. The really crazy thing about LeBron is that he has actually (IMHO) surpassed those expectations. This is when I coined the term "LeBronsian". It describes a person who enters a situation with the label of being great and over time actually performs to the level (or beyond) of the expected greatness.

It is fascinating to me how LeBron and Obama's rise to perceived greatness followed a similar track. LeBron may or may not be the greatest high school basketball player ever, but it's safe to say he was the greatest high school basketball player that most of the country had to ability to see play WHILE he was still in high school. LeBron opened the flood gates for high school sports to be shown prominently on ESPN other cable networks. He created such a buzz that people like Jay-Z and Shaq would attend his games and his games would have commentary by top announcers like Dickie V. LeBron also was not the first to go from high school to the pros, but he was the first to have the country paying attention to his assent from the beginning. His rise to prominence was not as some local playground legend that was unleashed on the country during the NCAA's March Madness. Rather it was on a national stage that we all began to be "witnesses" of the high school phenom. Similarly, Obama rise to prominence was also done on the national stage. His explosion on the scene at the Democratic National Convention just 4 years ago, put him on the map. And given the extended campaign season that began almost 2 years ago, the nation also had a front row seat to his rise to being the #1 draft pick (so to speak). What is also similar is the luck, good fortune, providence (or whatever you want to label it) for each of them coming to the stage. If LeBron where a high school senior graduating in '09, he wouldn't be eligble to enter the NBA draft this spring. Cleveland had to win a lottery in order to be in position to pick LeBron #1 (I submit to you that part of LeBron's meteoric rise is because he started his NBA career in Cleveland. He would have been special wherever, but I don't know if he would have jumped off the entire package both on and off the court, if he wasn't operating from the home base). Taken all this together, several things beyond LeBron's control had to go right in order for him even be in the position that he is in currently. In late fall '08, Obama found himself in a situation that that was fortuitous to him, that also had several elements beyond his control. He was running against the incumbent party who had a historically unpopular president and the bottom fell out of the economy. The comparions don't end there. Both James and Obama had situations that could have derailed their rise before they really got off the ground. LeBron had the Hummer-gate. Barack had Jeremiah Wright.

Ultimately, it will be quite interesting to see if President Obama is indeed a LeBronsian figure. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, but Obama better have done some serious neck excersies because he has a King James-like crown that is being placed on his head on day one.

I thought Kobe was supposed to be hurt

How is it a guy who was SOOOO hurt that...

• he couldn't play but 3 minutes in the All-Star game


• he needed to put an ice pack the size of Mt. Everest on his hand when while he sat on the bench during the All-Star game


• the team doctors recommended surgery


• he is being viewed as being a tough competitor because he's putting off surgery until after the Olympics

yet...

• dropped 50 on the Mavs


• destroyed the Heat


• beat the Suns


• and is dunking HARD with his supposedly injured right hand

I didn't do a lot of dunking during my basketball playing days (read: never), but it seems to reason that banging my hurt hand against the rim several times a night would not allow me to go out the next night and shoot over 50%?

This reminds me of the old story of Michael Jordan having the flu and then going out and scoring 38. I've had the flu before and I didn't even feel walking 10 feet from my bed to the bathroom, so how was it that Jordan not only scored 38 but trusted to dunk a missed Scottie Pippen layup on a fast break (see around 2:03 on the video)?

C'mon, these guys do seem to do superhuman things (like LeBron's "I believe I can fly" dunk vs. the Bulls), but do we really need to add tall tales to the legend? There may be something out of whack with Kobe's finger, but I'm having a hard time believing that he is hurt.

LeBron Inc.

He's not another dumb jock. It's crazy that a guy so young understands so much about the game (yes, it's a double entendre...every once and a while I like to flex my literary device swag).

Jay-Z and LeBron

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports wrote an intriguing article discussing the relationship between Jay-Z and LeBron. As I was reading it, the first thing that came to mind was the NBA rule against collusion and tampering, e.g. Owners and GMs can't talk publicly about their interest in players under contract with other teams. Apparently, even when Jay-Z, part owner of the Nets, spoke publicly about LeBron potentially coming the the Nets, the league didn't punish him. The second thing that came to mind was how fascinating and how statistically unlikely it is that a guy who grew up in the housing projects of Akron and a guy who grew up in the housing projects of Brooklyn could one day be collaborators with both operating huge media conglomerates. The third thing I thought about was how cool it was that two guys who "made it" through the conduit of entertainment (read: playing sports and rapping) have translated their on court and on mike skills into successful business ventures. So many young people see playing ball or rappin' as their only way out of their 'hood. It is nice to see that 2 guys who are amongst the few who "make it" from their communities aren't content with the currency of fame and notoriety with somebody else receiving the bulk of the profits from their abilities. They both seem to understand how to exploit capitalism instead of being exploited by capitalism.

Sacrilege or just good old fashion capitalism?

Is there a line where marketing or a TV show crosses into the realm of sacrilege? I was flipping between several TV shows and landed on an old Good Times episode where Fishbone the Wino was mistakenly thought to be dead and attended his own funeral dressed as a woman. When it was discovered that Fishbone was not dead, Willona, JJ and other cast members began clapping, jumping, and singing about Fishbone in a manner obviously parodying stereotypical black church exuberance (notice I didn't call it worship...that's a completely separate topic) in celebration of Fishbone not being dead. Was this sacrilege?

The second thing I came across to today was this post about the Christian imagery and themes used to promote LeBron James. Is Nike simply consistently using a transcendental motif to market and uplift "King James" to the rare, crossover, iconic status of M.J. and Tiger Woods? Or is it taking it over the line and prostituting Christian imagery and text for profit? Is Nike wrong for trying to do so? Or is this reflective of the ends that the producers capitalism will go in order to feed itself. Can Christians be upset at this infringement of their religion by capitalism when capitalism seems to be welcomed by Christians when people purchase their books, buy their sermons, attend their conferences, and watch their movies? There have been times in the history of Christianity where it has co-oped something pagan and made it Christian (Christmas and Halloween are two examples of such actions). Since Christianity has shown a willingness to lift from that which is pagan, sanitize it, and make it their own, how much of a problem should Christians have when the reverse happens?