Tag Archive for Michael Jordan

Jon Salley Is On Crack

August 16, 2012 NBA

When we discuss NBA legends, one of the first names to come out of our mouths is Michael Jordan. He only scored 32,292 points in his 15 year career, once averaging 35 points per game during the 1987-88 season. Air Jordan also dished out 5,633 dimes, pulled down 6,672 rebounds and recorded 2,514 steals. And to top it all off, number 23 won 6 NBA championships, and 6 NBA championship MVP’s. He would have won 7 in a row if he didn’t take a season off to try baseball. The reason why I bring this up, is because earlier this week, former teammate of Jordan, Jon Salley made some crazy remarks.

Joining Colin Cowherd on “The Herd” Salley ranked his top 5 players and somehow managed to leave MJ out. Salley-in order- put Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Kevin McHale ahead of the former Chicago Bulls great. Salley took it to another level when he said Isiah Thomas was the best player he ever played with, even though Salley was a member of the 1996 Bulls, a team that won 72 games. Salley went on to say that he is a Jordan fan but that he is not the greatest because he was selfish and Salley’s Detroit team knew how to stop him consistently.

 
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The Pistons did beat the Bulls in 3 out of 4 playoff series during Jordan’s time, but after the Bulls won their first against the “Bad Boys” the Pistons never beat them again until 2007 and we all know Jordan was long gone by then. Jordan, hands down, is a top 3 player of all time. The other two spots are always up for the discussion, but if Jordan is not number 1 then he is definitely in the running for top 3. Jon Salley needs to check himself, and while he can’t take back those statement, he can correct himself. Who knows, maybe he feels bad for Isiah because of the way Jordan treated him by not wanting him on the Dream Team. Thomas was old in 1992 and couldn’t play with them. If that is the case, Salley needs to apologize for insulting one of the greatest athletes of all time.

 

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Dream Teams: 1992 vs. 2012

July 12, 2012 NBA

 

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard Kobe Bryant’s claim that this year’s US Men’s Basketball team could beat the original 1992 Dream Team. Before examining this debate, it needs to be noted that Kobe’s comments should come as no surprise; anyone who has heard Bryant’s comments to the press throughout the years knows that the Mamba is supremely confident – he was not “talking trash” or trying to incite any controversy. Regardless, as this year’s Olympics draw closer, I think it is important to examine this claim through a number of lenses.

First, it is important to disregard the margin of victory for the original Dream Team. That team faced much less competition than the 2012 team will. To put it simply, the `92 squad put basketball on the international map and since that summer in Barcelona, the international talent pool has grown immensely. For proof of this trend, just look at the proliferation of top draft picks that have come from across the Atlantic– whether or not those draft picks developed into stars is another question entirely. However, the point remains, one cannot point to the original Dream Team’s win margin as proof that they are better than the 2012 version. » Read more..

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The Most Iconic Athlete of the Past 25 Years

July 7, 2012 Uncategorized

Who is the most iconic athlete of the past twenty five years? This is what we will figure out in the next month or so. I have created a bracket of sixty-four teams, exactly the same format of the NCAA March Madness tournament. There will be four groups, each with sixteen teams that are seeded 1-16 based on how iconic they were in the sports world. You, the fans/readers, and I will debate the winner of each matchup in an effort to determine who is the most iconic athlete of the past twenty five years. This tournament will include athletes that were active, at any point, from 1987 to 2012.

I am going to need you, the fans/readers, to send me in who you think should be in the running for the most iconic athlete of the past fifty years. There will be some automatic locks for this tournament, like Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, and Wayne Gretzky.

What does iconic mean? I have made five simple guidelines for you to follow in choosing who should be in this tournament, as well as who should win this tournament.

1. Dominance: How dominant was this athlete? Wins, rings, awards, and records all matter for this category.

2. Effect on Pop Culture: Is this athlete known around the globe?

3. “A Day in Their Shoes” Factor: Does this athlete make you want to switch places with him/her for a day…maybe even longer?

4. Showmanship: Did this athlete dominate and look good doing it?

5. Coverboy Factor: Was this athlete the face of their respected sport during (and after) their career?

As the title reads, The Most Iconic Athlete of the Past 25 Years, this tournament will allow teams, or groups of athletes, in the running. For an example, I expect the 1992 US Olympic Basketball “Dream Team” to be in the running as well as Michigan’s Fab Five to compete in this tournament as well.

Do not forget that female athletes are eligible too. I expect Serena Williams and Mia Hamm to be involved in the tournament, as well as others.

Happy Voting and chose wisely as we prepare to find out who is The Most Iconic Athlete of the Past 25 Years.

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Charlotte Bobcats Have a 14.9% Chance of Winning

March 28, 2012 NBA

Looking at the NBA standings, I couldn’t help but just point and laugh at Jordan’s Bobcats.  What an awful awful team.  Their current record sits at 7-47, which turns out to be a 14.8% winning rate, and dead last in the NBA.  If they played 100 games, they’d struggle to win 15 of them.  What a joke… and these guys are professionals?

The 2011-2012 player salaries for the Charlotte Bobcats (7-47) totaled $56,424,056.  Some comparisons – Utah Jazz (27-23) $50,877,672, Denver Nuggets (27-23) $51,112,645 and Indiana Pacers (29-19) $57,765,981. These teams have 4 times the wins with similar player salaries – if not 5 or 6 million less.  I’m sure you could find some players overseas to play for half the salaries and get you at least 8 wins… at least.  What does it come down to? The front office…owners…Michael Jordan.  Overpaying for underqualified players, unsuccessful coaching strategies… hopefully the vendors at Time Warner Cable Arena are at least pulling their weight.  In this case, if I were an NBA owner I wouldn’t want to be , “Like Mike”.

Some other aspects of life that have a greater probability/odds of happening over the Charlotte Bobcats getting A SINGLE win…
(these were researched)

- An adult believes a homosexual should not give a public speech (16.8%)

- The President of the United States attended Harvard University  (27.9%)

- Minnesota Vikings getting a win last year sitting at 3-13 (18.7%)

- Nations in Europe will eventually abandon the Euro currency (16%)

- Rolling a 4 on a di in just one roll (20%)

- Your brain will one day be infected with Brain Parasites affecting memory, vision and driving abilities (16%)

- Your smartphone has feces (poop) particles on it (16%)

- Men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their life (16%)

- Being the one who gets killed in ‘Russian Roulette’ (1 bullet in a 6 chamber gun-trigger pulled at 6 individuals, 16%)

- Passing all 4 CPA Exams on the 1st try (16%)

- One day you will attend some sort of a therapy class (17%)

- Wizards get the number 1 overall pick in the NBA draft (16.9%)

- The Philadelphia 76ers will make the NBA Finals (18.9%)

- in 2008, the new XBOX360 would break down on you and would need to be sent back for repair (16%)

- Some sources say, Obama’s chance of re-election (17%)

- Having a second autistic child (20%)

- A teenager between 14-19 becoming a marijuana abuser (20%)

- Two mainline Protestant religions who marry and will be divorced within the first 5 years (19%)

I hope this puts it into perspective just how bad the Charlotte Bobcats really are. 


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Is Tracy McGrady HOF Worthy?

March 16, 2012 NBA

When I think of the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, I think about Michael Jordan, Ervin “Magic” Johnson, and Larry  Bird. If you were to bring up Tracy McGrady I would give you a quick no. T-Mac, a 15 year veteran, is only 32 years old and will most likely be remembered for his time in Toronto with cousin Vince Carter. Both players have very similar careers and will not make the Hall.

McGrady’s numbers have declined over the past couple of years and you can blame those on injuries. This year as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, McGrady is only averaging 5.7 points per game. In his past three season, McGrady has been on four different teams (Hawks, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets). In those three seasons combined, T-Mac is only averaging 7.5 points per game as a role player. After being his cousins little shadow in Toronto for three years, Tracy went to Orlando for the 2000-01 season and things began to take off. McGrady’s points per game went up by 11 from 15 to 26 that year. For the next eight seasons, McGrady averaged more than 20 points per game. In his final two seasons with the Magic, McGrady led the league in scoring with 32.1 and 28 points. That is really all he has to lean back on.

When you think of Hall of Fame credentials you think of championships or at least carrying their team as far as they could. Well Tracy doesn’t have any rings and he did not carry his team. As a matter of fact, McGrady never got out of the first round of the playoffs. THE FIRST ROUND.  For some reason T-Mac still thinks he is a Hall of Famer, “If we’re going by the numbers, I think they’re Hall of Fame numbers. You total (two scoring titles) up along with my points, my playoff average (28.5 in 38 career games), so, yeah, I think I have the credentials.” Tracy, that is a lot of first round playoff games.

Like many I will remember Tracy for his appearance in the 2000 Slam Dunk contest when he assisted Airsanity in the greatest performance of all time in the event. Unfortunately that will not get him into the Hall of Fame. So Tracy, if I could suggest anything, it would be to retire now so you stop averaging 5 points per game the rest of your career. All you are doing is hurting whatever chance you have of being enshrined.

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Michael Jordan Is Not The Best…

March 3, 2012 NBA

Michael Jordan is hands down the best basketball player to ever play in the NBA. I know I never saw Wilt, Russell, or Pistol Pete play, but I am still going to say that Jordan was the best to every play. Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won 6 championships in 8 eight years, and if Jordan never retired to play baseball, I think it is safe to say that Jordan and the Bulls would have won 8 in a row. We all know the accolades Jordan accumulated during his NBA career, but there is one thing that Jordan is not the best at.

And that is being the owner of an NBA franchise. After Jordan’s second retirement from the Bulls in 1999, MJ returned to the NBA as part owner and President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards. Jordan received mixed reviews from other upper management in the Wizards front office for his over paying of unpopular players, Juan Howard and Rod Strickland. Jordan then drafted one of the biggest busts of all time in the 2001 NBA draft. With the first pick, Jordan and the Wizards selected high schooler Kwame Brown and we all know how that worked out. Some players that Jordan passed on in the 2001 class included Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Joe Johnson, and Tony Parker.

In the 2002 NBA draft, Jordan drafted one of my least favorite players of all time Jared Jeffries 11th overall and in front of Tayshaun Prince, John Salmons, and Carlos Boozer. Jordan then made his final comeback with the Wizards and when he was done at the end of the 2003 season, Jordan thought ht would still have a position with the Wizards. On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as Washington’s President of Basketball Operations. In 2006 MJ bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats becoming the team’s second-largest shareholder behind majority owner Robert Johnson. Jordan was given the title of Managing Member of Basketball Operations. In that years draft, the Bobcats had the third overall pick in the draft. This is where things got good.

Charles Barkley, a good friend of number 23, spoke with MJ before that years draft and said to him,

“I said ‘Michael, I think you should take Brandon Roy, and he said ‘We like Adam Morrison,’ ” Barkley said. “I said ‘Adam Morrison can’t play. I said let me ask you a question, did you say Adam Morrison first and [the Bobcats front office staff] agreed with you or did they say Adam Morrison first?

He said ‘What do you mean?’ I said ‘Michael, nobody wants to disagree with you. You are such a powerful personality nobody, especially your flunkies as I call them, the flunkies are never going to disagree with you.’ Adam Morrison is a nice kid. He can’t play in the NBA.”

Needless to say, Jordan and the Bobcats drafted Adam Morrison from Gonzaga with the 3rd pick in the draft. Notable players drafted after Morrison included Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Rajon Rondo, and Kyle Lowry. Morrison’s best season was his rookie year where he averaged 30 minutes per game and almost 12 points per game. That was his best season as he only averaged 7.5 points to go along with 1 rebounds and 1 assist per game.

In the 2008 Jordan and the Bobcats had the 20th pick overall and drafted Alexis Ajinca. I have never even heard of him. Alexis played for three teams in three years and I don’t think he is in the NBA. Jordan could have drafted Ryan Anderson, Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, or DeAndre Jordan. Jordan has done well the past three years drafting Gerald Henderson in 2009 and Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo in the latest NBA draft.

The Bobcats currently have a 4-30 record, the worst in the NBA. Since Jordan took over in 2006, the Bobcats have a records of 182-262. They did reach the playoffs in 2010 after a 44-38 record but were swept in the first round. The Bobcats have a long way to go to become a contender in the NBA and like Charles I am not sure if Jordan is the right guy. Jordan is surrounded by “yes” people. Jordan needs to hire people like Charles Barkley, people who are not afraid to tell Jordan how it is. While he may be the best player ever, Michael Jordan is not the best owner.

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Better Dunker: Blake Griffin or Shawn Kemp

February 29, 2012 NBA

So I did my daily check in to Bleacher Report and came across an article that caught my eye, and since we like to start controversy here at Welcome to the 716, I figured this would be a great topic.  Blearcher Report writer Timothy Rapp, a featured columnist, stated that Shawn Kemp was a better dunker then Blake Griffin.  Here is his argument.

“They way I see it, you can lump slam dunks in the NBA into two categories: power dunks and athletic dunks.

Power dunks rattle the rim, scare women and children and in the old days would even shatter the glass. Athletic dunks involve spins, players jumping over other players and inspire “Oooohs” and “Ahhhhs” throughout an arena.

Very few players are a master of both varieties. The closest in today’s NBA is Blake Griffin, but Shawn Kemp would like to remind everyone Griffin isn’t in his league.

And he’s right. Here are his comments.”


Obviously Tim and Shawn have a different perception of dunks then I do.  The reason why Blake’s amazing dunks look like “extremely athletic lay ups” is because big men are trying to block them and instead are getting a faceful of Blakes you know what in their face which leaves only one option for Griffin and that is to throw the ball in the hoop.

In the video Kemp says that Blake’s dunks are considered “slap ins”.  I have never heard of that expression.  Kemp also goes on to say that a dunk is “when you aggressively dunk the basketball and the rim bends”.  Really?  If Blake wanted to hang on the rim and bend it like you say Shawn he would get T’d up, something they did not call back in the day when you payed.  Kemp must still be on crack.


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I wish we could put Blake and Shawn in a dunk competition because Blake would crush Kemp, who was only known for his “aggressive” dunks.  Blake could not only throw it down with authority but also with creativity.  Blake Griffin will go down as one of the top 5 dunkers of all time.

1) Michael Jordan

2) Vince Carter

3) LeBron James

4) Blake Griffin

5) Julius Erving

Agree or disagree?  Leave your comments below.

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Biggest Bust In NBA History

February 21, 2012 NBA

What do Kwame Brown, Michael Olowokandi, Stromile Swift, and Marcuz Fizer all have in common?  They were all busts in the NBA, but none of them compare to former Ohio State star Greg Oden.  The Portland Trail Blazers took the 7 foot center with the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft.  The Trail Blazers may be the worst drafting franchise in all of sports.  They pass up on Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft and instead take Sam Bowie, and pass up on future MVP Kevin Durant.

Where do I start?  In Oden’s five years in the league, he has played a total of 82 regular season games.  That’s right, that is only a full seasons worth of games.  In those 82 games, he played 61 in the 2008-09 season and then 21 in the 2009-10 season averaging 9.4 points per game, and 7.3 rebounds per game.  At a Ohio State where he only played for one season, Oden averaged 15.7 points per game, 10 rebounds a game, 3.3 blocked shots, and shot 62% from the field.

Why has Greg Oden only played 82 games in his five year career?  Knee surgeries.  Yesterday Oden’s injury-riddled career took another turn for the worse.  During a minor procedure to clear out debris in Oden’s left knee, a surgeon determined Portland’s center would require a third micro fracture surgery ending his season before it began.  The surgery was the second on Oden’s left knee — the same knee that required surgery for a fractured kneecap.

Compare Oden’s 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game to Durant’s career totals of 26.1 points and 6.5 rebounds (in 346 games), and you can see why Greg Oden is the biggest bust of all time.  Oden will become an unrestricted free agent after the season, and I think it is safe to say that no team will sign the former number 1 overall pick.  With all his free time, Greg can take more mirror pics that will end up on the web.

C'mon Son!!!!

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Kobe Bryant Has Got it Going On

January 12, 2012 NBA

Maybe Vanessa Bryant filing for a divorce with NBA superstar husband Kobe Bryant was the best thing that has ever happened to him.  Let us not forget about the torn ligament in his right wrist, the fact the David Stern vetoed the trade that would send Chris Paul to the Lakers, and Dwight Howard afraid to come to LA because he thinks Kobe is too old.  With all of that in the background, Kobe Bryant may be having the best year of his career.  At the age of 33 and after 1,300 career games Bryant has been putting on a show for Los Angeles fans, and he wants them to know which team runs LA.

After losing their first two games, the Lakers have now won eight of their next ten to improve their record to 8-4.  In Kobe’s last six games, he has put up some staggering numbers, averaging 36.7 points per game including a 48 point performance against the Phoenix Suns, and then coming back the next night and dropping 40 on the Utah Jazz.  With the shortened season, every game is crucial, and that is evident by Kobe playing more minutes.  Over the course of his career, Bryant averaged 36.5 minutes per game, but this year he is averaging 37.  Maybe the knee surgery Bryant had over the summer in Germany is paying off.

I have never been a big fan of Kobe Bryant, and I hate how people compare him to Michael Jordan, but Bryant has had one hell of a career, and quite a stellar season so far.  Like Tom Brady, PBS has a boner for Kobe Bryant, and like all of his friends will tell you, he is the biggest bandwagon fan ever.  I will tip my cap to Kobe Bryant for a solid career, and what he is doing so far this season, but will never call him the greatest.

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League-Owned Hornets, Finally Make Deal

December 15, 2011 NBA

It does not surprise me that a team that is owned and ran by the league, AKA David Stern, demanded so much from the LA Clippers to finally close this deal.  Originally, sources were reporting that the Hornets were wanting too much in return for star point guard Chris Paul.  It was only a matter of time before Blake Griffin and the Staples Center were demanded to finish this deal.

The deal that was agreed upon by the league-owned Hornets and the LA Clippers was that the Clippers will send guard Eric Gordon, center Chris Caman, and forward Al Farouq Aminu and Minnesota’s first round draft pick while the Clippers receive Chris Paul and two future second round picks.  This trade has perks to NBA fans, not just Clippers fans.  It makes the Clippers an even more fun team to watch.  Blake Griffin alone was not going to be able to make his team a dynasty but bringing another big name to this squad will truly get them the attention that they need.  Griffin has changed the way people look at the Clippers and has drawn in the attnetion from other players desiring to play with him.  Goal accomplished Blake.  I am excited to see Chris Paul dishing alley-oop passes to Blake Griffin on ESPN’s top 10 plays on a daily basis.  I would have preferred to see Paul head to the Lakers but the Clippers are a decent settling point.  This trade looks good even with the Hornets asking for a lot.

Honestly, I think that I would give the edge to the Hornets in this deal.  Eric Gordon is an up and coming point guard in this league and could become an established, elite player.  Chris Caman might be one of the most underrated players in the NBA.  The two together will help this squad out tremendously, not to mention a future first rounder.  That being said, I think CP3 will help the Clippers in the wins department, the ticket selling department, and the Clippers future as a whole.  Isn’t it comical that the once laughed about LA Clippers are now going to be the team to watch in LA, over the Lakers?  Regardless, the trade will benefit both teams and I am excited to see how both perform throughout this shortened season.  Let’s just say, I’ll be watching a few more Clippers games than I will Hornets.

I’m still very bothered about the fact that Stern-man shut down the original trade that was going to send CP3 to the Lakers.  In doing so, Dwight Howard no longer wanted to be a Laker, the Lakers are still without a good point guard, Chris Paul heads to a different LA, Lamar Odom is shipped to the Mavericks for literally nothing, and Pau Gasol has to play for a team that doesn’t really want him.  David Stern abused his power and I couldn’t have disagreed more with him.  Out of all commissioners among major, American based, sports, David Stern is easily my least favorite.  He has made the NBA soft.  He demands for more technicals to be called if a player simply raises an eye brow, he has 2 lockouts on his resume, where this most recent uncovered a majority of the league’s teams financial inequities, he made ridiculous pronouncements during the lockout, he abuses his power like a fantasy sport commissioner in vetoing fair trades, he runs the league like a dictator, and has created this very serious speculation the the NBA is fixed.  Don’t get me wrong, when David Stern began as commissioner in 1984, the league was not in a phenomenal spot, and he did a decent job while players like Jordan, Bird, and Magic were coming up through their primes.  The players alone were going to gain the media’s and the publi’c's attention so I can’t give too much credit to Mr. Stern, but that is what little I will give him.

That was me just blowing off a little steam on the old Stern-man.  Back to my point:  I think this trade was good for the league.  I don’t want to sound contradicting because of my displeasure with David Stern.  I still disagree with his tactics and was a little upset with the Hornets through all of this trade dilemmas, but at the end I don’t mind seeing Chris Paul and Blake Griffin teaming up.  I am a big Blake fan and can’t wait to watch him play along with another All-Star.


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