Dwyane Wade: the Finals, the Aftermath and the Offseason

As a long time Dwyane Wade fan, the last few weeks have been very uncomfortable. There are just so many questions that I have no answers too. Watching Wade throughout this season has been a roller coaster. 

In some ways he has added to his legacy this year, shooting an outrageous 55% from the field and being a star on a team who made it to their 4^th straight finals. In other ways he has shown more of his age than ever before, clearly unable to play at a high level every night of the NBA season. Through the playoffs, Wade looked very good in patches, again being very efficient and making huge plays on both ends. He also had a strong start to the finals. He then faded quickly over the last three games, showing the state of his body and also state of his mind. He’s simply missed too many games and hasn’t taken enough shots over the past year to maintain his very important level on confidence. 

This heat roster, Wade being the prime case, looked far worse in the Spurs series than they probably are. Coming up against a hungry, ready force like the 2014 spurs would have been very tough. On the back of three straight finals appearances, and with a team so reliant on players at the very end of their careers, the heat simply didn’t have the energy to play with the spurs, and they knew it. I cant imagine how hard it would be mentally to play with a high level on energy and commitment when your opponent is running an almostperfect offence and not missing any shots in doing it. There were many times throughout the series when the heat simply didn’t work hard enough, or weren’t able to contest the shots that they had easily contested in the previous three years. Even when they did play adequate defense, the spurs hit the shots anyway. This made the heat look so much worse than they probably deserved to look. The spurs were the worst possible team to come up against, and they took full advantage of the heats deficiencies. Also, a team like Miami thrive off missed shots and getting out in transition. Its very hard to do that when your opposition literally never misses a shot. The boys were flat, deflated, exhausted, and outmatched, Wade included. By the end of the series Wade could not play the defense required, and on the other he consistently beat his man off the dribble (often spectacularly) but then almost never attempted to finish at the rim. His confidence and energy were shot. Wade constantly and effectively made outrageous passes to wide open perimeter shooters, who missed every time. Chalmers, Cole, Battier etc were awful, and Wade couldn’t simply go into top 20 all time mode anymore. That season is over.

So as a Wade fan, what do I want to happen now? As a fan who likes seeing him win championships, the ideal situation this off season is obvious. Wade follows Lebrons lead in opting out, and the signs a new 3 or 4 year deal worth less per year allowing the heat to retool. Wade could still be paid respectfully, but allow the team to add depth of which the heat had literally none of for most of the season. The perfect comparison here is Tim Duncan ,who in my mind has become the all time great franchise player. In 2012, Duncan had 4 rings, multiple MVPs and a top 10 NBA career. If Duncan had asked the Spurs for a max deal to see him out, he would have earned it,though it would have prevented the Spurs from filling out their roster withquality role players as they have now. Instead Duncan took a 3 year deal worth around 10 million per year. Still an amount that aligned with his worth in terms of production, but not a deal that handcuffed his team financially. 

On the other hand Kobe was in a similar position last year, coming off a majorinjury after a very productive, but in no way elite season. Kobe decided totake a 2 year deal worth roughly 24 million per year. Again, Kobe had earned this pay day after all he has done during his great career for the Lakers. Even though his current production did not warrant anywhere near that money, hiscareer had justified giving Kobe whatever he asked for. The issue here is that Kobe has long said that his only motivation to keep playing is to win championships. By signing that contract, Kobe signed away any chance he had of achieving that dream, and he knew it. So now the narrative quite tragicallygoes, that Kobe has been let down by the Laker front office for not surrounding him with quality teammates, while Tim Duncan is lucky to continue to play with great team mates. The truth is that both of these players sealed their fatewhen they signed these last contracts. This brings us back to Wade. Wade could easily decide to opt in to his current deal, and earn just over 20 million for the next 2 years. This would leave him at age 35 with 3 rings, and a top 20 NBA career. 

Nothing to sneeze at and he has earned the right to do this. If this is his decision, I will be disappointed that Wades championship window has closed, but not angry. The media of course will go after Wade as they often seem to do. While Kobe was signing an extension, Wade would simply be playing out his current deal, and should not be heavily criticized for it. If he wants to win however, he will opt out and sign or more Duncanesque deal. I think that Wade probably will do the winning thing over the money thing, but I cant be sure. I would not be surprised if Wade already knows his plan, and knows exactly how things will go from here. Theres no way that he, LeBron , Riley and Co haven’t already discussed this in detail. Wade is probably waiting it out, letting the world talk about him as he has always liked the attention (so does every other player in the L, Durant and Rose included).

This whole thing is just very uncomfortable, rooting for your boy to accept that hes not as good as he used to be. Im not ready for this heat team to stop competing for rings, although Im not the one who has to give up 10 million a year. Of course the average NBA fan can just move on, find a new guy, treat their old favorite like that Great Aunt with dementia that you have stopped talking about. But I cant, even at this point he's still worth watching for the chance that he will fake right, go left while splitting the double team, gather with two strides going opposite directions and then finish at the rim. It still happens sometimes, but not as much as I would like. 

Breaking News: LeBron says he will sign with Miami for $24.80

Heading into the offseason after a disappointing loss in the NBA Finals LeBron James, who has a big decisions to make in terms of where he wants to be playing in the coming years, has mentioned he will sign with Miami, for next to nothing.
Each of the Big 3, who together, have made the last four NBA finals, have the option to opt out of their contract this year, and resign wherever they like.
LeBron being the most valuable of the three has come under a lot of scrutiny in terms of where he will be taking his talents. Many teams have been freeing up cap space and packaging a tempting enough lineup to lure the superstar forward. Some franchises have even gone to the extent of sending love letters with chocolates and sometimes even roses to LeBron's Miami residence in an attempt to woo him into "bed" with them.

Although only minutes before getting on a plane with his wife and kids to go on vacation King James made comments about his future. He first told reporters how devastated he is about the Finals loss. "Thats what its about, this game, its all about winning that one series, and we didn't, we weren't good enough." He then went on to say how since Chris (Bosh) has mentioned he will be willing to take less money to keep his home near to the warm beaches of Florida, so is he. "Its all about putting the best team together, we have had that in the past, and I'm more than willing to take a bit less money, to make that again."

Although as the games best player continued to talk, things came to light that seem to suggest that a "bit less," is a massive under exaggeration.
"It makes sense, I take less money, so does Chris and Wade, and we can afford to bring a few more assets to this winning franchise," when questioned he mentioned he doesn't need the money "Dude, have you seen my Nike deal, and hey the more chips I get the money I will accumulate anyway dawg! I'm set."

"Ive spoken to Pat and the organisation, they are all in, I've messaged Kevin (Love) and Kyle (Lowry), and they both sent emoticons back so they should be all good for it," "I'm pretty sure Melo would be keen as well."
Pat Riley confirmed shortly after that LeBron has decided to sign with the Heat as soon as possible for $24.80. "He didn't have any cash on him and there was a shirt he saw at one of the markets that he really wanted on the way in, so I just gave him the cash and he said he would sign with us again."

This one

Things were looking great for Miami, the possibility of keeping their Big 3 whilst having the funds to add a few extra high quality players. That was until yesterday when Kobe posted a tweet, trash talking Wade, saying he mustn't be a franchise player thats respected enough to be paid anything reasonable. Dwayne now says he will be signing for no less that $48.6 million, so thats all screwed.

- Sorry for the Satire -

The NBA Champs: Plus Some Things a Few Men Went and Said

The 2014 Finals are over..... damn!! Now we have to endure the offseason, pretend to care about the summer league then force ourselves to get excited about regular season match ups.

The surprise of how good the playoffs actually are for an NBA fan hits me every year as the dull of the regular season diminishes my excitement. Although the expectation for whats coming makes it all worth it. The Finals are always, even when it is a 5 game massacre, the perfect climax to the perfect crescendo.

This year we witnessed exactly that, an absolute routing of the defending champs. Not only did the spurs win, they won by a lot. After the series was tied after two games everyone thought we had another 7 game series on our hands. Then game 3 the Spurs pulled out a 71 point half, you know what happened, flipping amazing happened. Although we all knew Pop's team had that, or something close to that, we knew they could blast a team away with their fast paced High-Volume-Unselfishness per possession rate (HVU) offence. Lets not forget, the Heat were playing pretty well at this point on offencsive end as well, shooting 57% at the half, yet still getting absolutely pumped.

Game 4 came along and we all expected LeBron to have an FU game, or the Heat to just come out and fight for their pride. I expected a tied series at 2-2.
The game the spurs brought out for the 4th of the series was really something amazing. To do it once to an elite team was possible, to do it twice in a row, on the road, is ridiculous.
Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson kept throwing around remarks about how "surprised," and "disappointed" in the heat they were.
They were right. We all witnessed the two best teams in the league go head to head. One of which are the 2 time defending Champions and we saw the better team, destroy them. It was surprising, it was disappointing, but man it was beautiful.

At the start it didn't look like they were going to, but they finished game 5 the same way they played the final 3 games. And now the Spurs, are the NBA Champs. Tim Duncan one of the best of all time, top 10 for sure, wins his 5th. Tony has 4, and a hall of fame badge to go with it, I assume you get a badge, you should definitely get a badge.
Manu has 4, and should get a badge as well. The Spurs, what a dynasty.

You can read the x and o's elsewhere, although you can check out some of the lovely things we heard from the wonderful broadcasting team of Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy (JVG), and Mike Breen here.

I think they did a great job might I add, but from an aussie fan, having to watch my favourite sport through League Pass, (which works sometimes) this is what I heard.

Mark Jackson - "Who, What, When Where Kawhi?"

Pre-Game
"Hey Mark, your looking pretty tired today,"

"Jeff, yeah man, I had a long one last night,"

"oh really, raccoons get into the kitchen again?"

"Nah man, just,...(yawns)..... doing work ready for today, was up till 4,"

"Greif, you plan out the whole broadcast did you?"

"ahh, noo, nope. Just, just working on, one line,
hmm, yeah, yeah its pretty good,"

"oh, okay Mark, well I look forward to it."

"you will know when it happens,"

Post-Game
"Great broadcast guys, very smooth, what a game!"

"Thanks Mike, you and Jeff really carried me again... (group laughter)..."

"Whatever Mark, you killed it as usual coach, spewing you didn't get the line you worked on in there though."

"oh nah, I ahh, I threw it in there,"

"oh you did? I'm... I'm sorry, I must have missed it"

"nah Jeff you responded, when Leonard made that dunk?"

"oh wait, was it the, what not, when, Kawhi something one?"

"yeah, yeah it was, Who, What, When, Where, Kawhi,"

"damn, I'm sorry Mark, yeah that was a... it was a good one, well done buddy, thats why we have you here," (said through a toothy smile).

People liked it though so that's fine (Per twitter). In the big scheme of things, he was correct though. We knew the Spurs were capable of this onslaught, although it was a massive surprise to see it, especially against Miami.
Mark Jackson's comment is completely justified and validated by the Finals MVP.

Going in, each of the teams respective Big 3's were going to be good, and for the most part they were. Check out the averages for the series (points, rebounds, assists, turnovers).

LeBron James - 28 ppg 7.8 rpg 4 apg 3.8 tpg
Dwyane Wade - 15.2 ppg 3.8 rpg 2.6 Apg 3.6 tpg
Chris Bosh - 14 ppg 5.2 rpg 1 apg 0.8 tpg

The Spurs big 3 kept well up to pace, besides LeBron being the best player in the world. They were still extremely impactful and forced the Spurs into dominating most of the series, with averages of:

Tony Parker - 18 ppg 0.4 rpg 4.6 apg 2 tpg
Timothy Duncan - 15.4 ppg 10 rpg 2 apg 2.4 tpg
Manu Ginoboli  - 14.4 ppg 3 rpg 4.4 apg 2.4 tpg

The battle of the big 3's, for the most part is fairly even. You could throw in a hundred arguments to throw the table either way. Considering not just the stats, general performance as well, LeBron had big nights, but that's scaled by quiet Bosh and Wade appearances. Yet from this series, although Miami's should be a lot better, the run of the big three's ended in a pretty close race.

What won this series, was the Kawhi factor,

JVG - "Hey guys you know the mystery of the Big Foot, well I think there is a new myth circulating through the San Antonio area, the myth of the Big Hand, BIG HAND KAWHI LEONARD." (Paraphrased quote)

This comment was so unfortunately forced, the "Big Hand," isn't a great nick name, but it's one that Jeff fully expects to catch on throughout NBA fan bases. Which it won't. He is also attempting to call Kevin Durant "Long arms," and LeBron "athletic man."

Kawhi, although was magnificent, and it was the supporting cast led by the well hung man himself (coz you know what big hands mean) (its just science), was what won it for the spurs. check out the series stats for the spurs supporting big 3.

Kawhi Leonard- 17.8 ppg 6.4 rpg 2 apg 1.8 tpg
Danny Green - 9.2 ppg 2 rpg 1.2 apg 1.2 tpg
Boris Diaw - 6.2 ppg 8.6 rpg 5.8 apg 1.6 tpg

Kawhi was massive, especially in the last 3 games, Danny Green did what Danny does and hit 3's and Boris was consistently masterful passing the ball.
Miami, had next to no supporting cast outside of a few plays from Ray, none that showed up regularly at least.
Hey and even Patty Mills was just as good as him, oh you don't believe me

Patty Mills - 10.2 ppg 1.4 rpg 1.6 apg 0.2 tpg
Ray Allen - 9.8 ppg 3 rpg 1.8 apg 1.6 tpg

(AUS pride reppin)

The Spurs supporting Big 3 + the rest of the contributors, were what brought it home for them. Those stats don't mention the Defence put up by those guys. Kawhi himself was guarding LeBron most of the time, Diaw when Leonard wasn't. Danny Green was intense and came up with big steals and made people adjust when he didn't.

Mark Jackson - "Hand down, Man Down,"

I have never been more sick of a phrase in my life, surely you can think of something new, 3.23 minutes after you just said it. Seriously, Mark found the inconceivable need to say the same flipping thing every time someone made a three. 

Which if you didn't notice, the Spurs do a heck of a lot. The Finals MVP, Manu, Danny, Diaw, Marco, Patty even Tony was knocking them down. The San Antonio, fast paced, Dantoni-esk offence, which makes more passes and screens than any motion we have seen in a long time, provides open looks for all of the highly capable shooters. It was beautiful.

Yes Kawhi got MVP, but Tim could have easily got it as well. 

I recon they should have just given it to Pop. He is the real MVP of this team, he makes it all work, he convinces every player to buy in and he makes them all better. 

The Big 3's had their battle, and in the end it was pretty close, with only LeBron being the obvious outlier. Although thats all Miami had. The Spurs on the other hand, had the Power of the Pop. He brought his veterans to the finals playing the best basketball they have all season, he backed his role players as usual and they outperformed the opposition more than comfortably. And he unleashed the "Big Hand" on the world, to wreck havoc as the future of the franchise. 

They were supreme in every facet. The Spurs NBA champs.

Jeff Van Gundy - "Spend your fathers day this year with the WNBA, the Mercury facing off against the Lynx starting at 1pm this weekend."

Or.... kids, wives, grandchildren and all those who respect a Dad somewhere, you could buy him a saw. Ten years ago, let it get wet, leave it out in the sun so it gets nice and rusty.
Then give it to him this fathers day.

No Jeff, during the NBA Finals, watching almost perfect basketball, I don't want to watch the WNBA, I would rather, well, cut my hand off with a rusty saw.

Well done.

J -

Are the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat Actually Any Good at Basketball?????

LeBron wasn't really ever liked by everybody. People generally respected his game, they acknowledged he was the best. But a lot still didn't like him, getting annoyed by his arrogant attitude and amplified antics. Then he made the decision, Cleveland turned on him like Mr Iscariot turned on his bro, and so did most fan bases when he made another super team happen. Today most of the dislike of LeBron has worn off. ("dislike," not hate, there is still more than enough hate, see how twitter when off its twits when he had some cramping game 1).
Although there was once a time when fans wouldn't want to watch the Heat because they couldn't stand the Super Star forward, or just hated the thought of the team leading the league for the coming seasons.
Today some are becoming fed up with Miami, which is natural unless your a long time supporter. No one who isn't part of the Heat fan base wants to see the same team win titles for very long. A lot of people want this to be over.

How much damn makeup is he wearing!

There seems to be somewhat similar feelings toward the Spurs. Mainly from the west. None of their stars are particularly disliked like the Heats. although they are so very good. They have had their shot, and although never charging for three straight like the Heat, they still have that "just go away already," feel about them. Seriously, its been 15 years. Maybe just share it around for a bit. The prolonged dominance is truly outrageous and many fan bases just want this to be over.

To answer the many emails that I'm getting from anonymous accounts questioning whether the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat are actually any good at basketball, I say yes. Yes they are.

In fact, we are seeing two of the best basketball playing, basketball teams ever. I am neither a Heat nor a Spurs fan and have been burnt by both in the past, one just last round. But I can't allow my hate to blind me from the brilliant basketball that is being played.

The Miami Heat have the best player in the World, a two guard, who when on the court and at his best can be the best shooting guard in the league and an underrated good defensive big man who still looks like a raptor. The Heat would be great just running on these three engines with a few extra cogs to surround them. Although they aren't just great, they are brilliant, 2 chips proves that. They don't just play a three man game, they play one of the best team games around. Role players such as Ray Allen, Noris, Rashaad, Oden, Rio, Birdman, play actual roles, and play them well. Although what is more admirable, is the unselfishness, increasingly so, of the three stars. All of the big three are very unselfish players, not just in the way that they are willing to make the extra pass and give up their own 2 points. Its to the extent where they are willing to give up their usage, their ball time. LeBron has had to do this the least, because LeBron is still the best. He has to be, otherwise what is the point of having him. Although his basketball IQ for the player he is, is outstanding, he makes the right plays, almost all of the time. Is more than happy to kick it out to a shooter and doesn't get phased by the pressure of the game or his haters.
More interestingly although is the reduction in status taken by Wade and Bosh. Before the Big three took it to south beach, Wade was the man in Miami, and so was Bosh in Toronto. It took them a while to figure it out, don't get me wrong, but they have got it.
Wade has slotted into being the second guy so well, the change he has had to make isn't nearly as obvious now since its been a while and he isn't playing as much. Although throughout the 2012 season the step back he took in usage whilst still keeping an elite level of performance was humbling. He allowed LeBron to take control yet stayed an explosive second option.
Bosh has done much the same, he has adapted, lessened himself to do what is best for the team. He has become a better shooter, stretching the floor on offence and keeping the lane open for Wade and LeBron. These days getting out as a reliable 3 point option and being the guy "that makes it all work," as coach Eric Spoelstra likes to say just about every day of his human life.
Speaking of Spo, he has also contributed to making this team and Elite performing machine. Particularly on defence, having constructed the Miami, gunning trap that thwarts most teams, and is really impressive to watch. Miami isn't just a loaded team, they are a star led group with a heap of contributors. Everyone is unselfish, the ball moves, and there are shooters all over the court. Yes, the Heat can play Basketball.

The Spurs on the other hand are a whole different vehicle. They have stars yes, but in 2014, they aren't the dominators like a LeBron James or Kevin Durant. Although in saying that, Tim Duncan is still a consistent worry for teams like the Heat that don't Defend inside as well as others, and clearly a consistent double double. Tony Parker can absolutely subjugate a lot of point guards when he wants to and is healthy, look what he did to D Lillard. Oh wait, Damien is one of the worst defenders around, whoops. He still did it though, and yes Miami is containing him better than last year, he still had 21 points of 8-15 from the field, 7 assists, and only 1 turnover. Manu can turn it on and is the anchor of the second unit, a reliable scoring source of the bench for years and years.
Although the stars hold it all together, both in terms of talent and character, the Spurs play possibly the best team game ever. Only Kawhi plays 30 minutes a game throughout the regular season, and the real contributors come from right down the end of the bench. Hey, Mr Bonner may even start a game here and there.

The schemes are brilliant, the coaching unquestionable, like really, don't question him. They move the ball like every coach wants to teach his under 12 team to, and the ball "doesn't stick." Their dribble penetration from Parker or Ginoboli leads to lots of open shots for the Spurs perimeter guys, whilst Tim is always a good inside option. The Spurs machine is really something for any basketball fan to behold.

As I said Im a fan of neither organisation. But we really have the two best Basketball teams playing in the Finals at the moment. Going from watching these two titans clash to the weirdly product non-offence of the Thunder, or the ridiculous, dribble the heck out of it Jim Rocket ball. Or even the Non-existent scoring end of the Pacers and the lack of working joints for the Nets, will just be disappointing.

The Heat and the Spurs play impeccable basketball, on both ends, and I would hate for you to miss it. Even though you may still be watching the games, no matter how much we hate them or are sick of their "winning," don't let it hinder your enjoyment of this beautiful sport played at its best. Seriously these first three games have been outstanding.
Game 3, in the first half the Heat were shooting a great 58% from the field, and still getting pumped, because the spurs were absolutely playing out of their minds.
The Pop-Duncan Spurs may be gone after this year, we may not have many more games to watch their combo live.
And LeBron will be around for a while, although he only has so many prime years, this could be the best player we see in our generation, wouldn't want to miss it because of some bad decision.

Greg Oden say's Embiid is the Most Promising Draft Prospect

Greg Oden, the man most well known for not owning Microsoft, not being able to tap dance and not playing NBA basketball has come out and said that Joel Embiid is the most promising rookie prospect for the 2014 Draft.

Embiid is a dominant big man, with an NBA ready body. In many ways he shows a lot of the same promise Greg Oden did going into the 2007 season. Although due to several recent injuries, Joel Embiid has been dubbed questionable by several analysts and NBA general managers. Injuries, especially back injuries, and especially in big men are a major concern in a fast paced league with an extreme workload.

 

Although Oden is willing to overlook these unfortunate injuries and possible lingering hindrances, and says "we should focus on his potential."

Quality Centres are the hardest thing to come by in the league today as well as being one of the most important parts of a team. Because, fact: it is one of the 5 positions listed on a coaches clip board.

 

When questioned whether Oden felt like Embiids case could be anything like his own, considering he has spent the last 7 years (sometimes, occasionally, rarely) successfully moving from bench to physio table to bench, Oden was still optimistic about his affects on the team.

"I'm a finals guy, no don't question this, I made the finals."..... "Joel (Embiid) can only dream of being like me."

 

Greg has also made it known that he would love to mentor Embiid if the chance ever came his way. Saying that he organised and developed a lot of the techniques he used for his injury rehab as well as his game conditioning. Believing that he could greatly help Joel and his future career, maybe even get him to the NBA Finals like he did.

Oden said that worst case scenario is he causes Joel Embiids knees to explode simultaneously, destroying any chance of a career, although stopping any pain in his back being at all relevant.

NBA Finals, Irrational Quickfire Questions

Here we will answer some questions with the same irrationality and speed that a ICG takes his first deep three when he is subbed into the court. These are supposedly the burning questions everyone has about the league at the moment, according to ESPN.
Rules, no real planning is allowed, and answers must be able to be read within the time that it takes Ron Artest to punch someone in the face.

Finals Predictions??

S - The general media seem to be giving a decent edge to the spurs, because for some reason they feel like the heat won last year because of a lucky shot. Sure, the shot was very tough and an unlikely way to save game, but to think that’s the only reason the heat won is to sell them way short. The heat won because Lebron was comfortably the best player in the series, tony parker was a tiny bit hobbled for the last few games (his ankle is a question mark again) and wade was completely unstoppable in the mid range (the part of the floor the spurs were happy to give up). Those things could easily happen again. If the spurs win, it will be because they’ve improved, not because they should have won last year. Duncan was better last year, Parker was better last year, Manu is way better this year and so is Sugar K.

Key factors for me are Pakers ankle, Lebrons defensive energy, Wades usual stuff, Boshs confidence, and Manus ability to deal with a disciplined defence. 

I havent bet against the heat in 4 years, and Im not about to start. Id feel too dirty. If the heat are gona win it will be in 6 and so ill say heat in 6.

J - My hate for the Spurs has grown surprisingly Large since they just knocked the boys out. They are the best team. They are ridiculously deep and extremely well coached. Although despising them, I truly want them to win, for this one reason, they can then piss off. Fingers crossed.

I still have a weird feeling the Heat are going to win, and I find it so hard to pick against the Best player in the league.
I'm going to go semi with my heart tho, Spurs in 7
 

Where does LeBron sit on the all time players list if the Heat win? Dwyane?

 

S -  The LeBron and Wade thing is something ill write about after the season, but if they get another one, LeBron moves to top 5, and Wade I’m not sure, I have to look at it closer.

J - LeBron will get into top 5 at least, will have to do some research to distinguish how high, Wade I don't know, he is high though, clearly cemented himself as one of the best 2 guards ever.

As a Heat fan, what will be your reaction every time Danny Green hits a 3?

 

S - Danny green will be annoying, but along as the shots are contested I wont be too angry. He didn’t hurt the heat last year all series, just the first half.

J - Not a Heat fan, but I will be pooling all the money from my sisters piggy banks so I can put a decent ransom on his head if we have to face him again.  

 

If the spurs win, will Tim Duncan and Pop retire, thus making life better for everyone? Lose?

S - If they win they both retire, if  not they go again.

J - Please just go.

 

K-Love? 

 

S - Kevin Love is something I have no idea about, but I think the Lakers have a good chance.

J - I think the Lakers have a chance just because they are the Lakers, but it makes no sense for him. He has said he wants to win, and I'm sorry but the Lakers aren't winning any time soon.

 

Your a consultant to every NBA GM in the league, what do you tell them about Lance? How much do you pay?

S - I'd only touch Lance if I had a very mature, stable locker room with leadership but really need a SG. Theres not many teams like that. Buy many Gms are dumb.

J - I thought Larry Bird killed him after game 6?

 

Does OKC need to make changes? How?

 

S - OKC are very close, they need a better bench, you cant have Fisher playing meaningful minutes. Maybe start Adams? Durant needs to continue to improve, Russell needs to let him. They really really need to run a legitimate offence, their huge talent is in someways doing them a disservice. They can also just wait till the spurs are gone and the heat change direction, Where they are now might be good enough next year or the year after anyway.

J - They definitely need to make a few moves this offseason, an extra piece of the bench would be lovely. Steven Adams will be starting very soon. I'm not sure about Thabo, like is he good anymore? he definitely cant play offence and his D was unusable against the Spurs. Jeremy needs to develop, Offence needs to be run and Hasheem needs to get his pants sorted out (http://theirrationalconfidenceguy.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/western-conf-finals-game-3-recap.html).

Considering your overflowing bank accounts, what turned you off purchasing the Clippers?

S - The Clippers name turned me off, they should become the California African Americans.

J - I was keen but then they told me that I wouldn't be allowed to arrest Mr Sterling and use him as half time entertainment. I was going to put him in medieval style stocks in the middle of the court allowing people to throw food as they wish.
This was going to be my main promotion or the team and when that fell through it just didn't seem profitable.

How sad will you be if D-Fish retires?

S - In my mind Fisher retired in 2004 so I don’t really mind. Im not sure what he will do next. He wants to be a coach and could be a good one. I don’t think he’s as popular around the L as people think. He did an awful job of leading the players association.

J - I recon Fisher tries to out last Kobe so he goes to Germany this offseason and gets bionic legs.

BREAKING NEWS: LeBron James called for Charging foul

As LeBron James entered the airport on his way to the team jet, Ed Malloy, NBA official by day and model train hobbyist by night, called a charging foul on the 29 year old forward. It has been sourced that LeBron stepped aside to let an elderly woman pass, when the official made the call from his very advantageous angle.

It was reported that one young adult male from the Indiana airport crowd was forced to no longer be able to produce offspring when Ed bent the knee and erratically drove a punch forth with all the force he could muster. Clobbling the poor gentleman right in the plums.
After the incident Ed was questioned and told police, "thats how I do it every time I make that call."

After some time he did acknowledge the fact that a bustling airport wasn't the same as the NBA hardwood he usually operates on, and assured police he would make sure he had room next time before doing the stupidly pointless dance move he does every time he calls a charge.

The Irrational Confidence Guy : Lance Stephenson

The Irrational Confidence Guy is most certainly not the best player on the team. He hopefully isn't the second and maybe not the third. Although at any given time during the game of what we have named after the circle shaped object you throw a ball into, he becomes completely convinced that he is the best player in the league.

These type of players, quite obviously are irrational, they refuse to take into account any sort of logical cues and over rate every single one of their own attributes. 

They will back themselves in any situation, assume the offence as soon as they get on the court and rarely play defence. The last 3 seconds of the game is their ball park and they specialise at dribbling the air out of the flipping thing. 

This player rarely takes the good shots, and believes "as long as its me shooting, every attempt is a good one."

All NBA players are confident, although those who back themselves as much as these guys are known for actually being really good. Like KD, he should never take the shots that he does, those step in go ahead threes, although when he is taking them, they are a good shot.
Superstars are confident because they are actually good. Much like the Greg Oden wong picture, that wasn't irrational confidence, from what I've heard he had the weight to back it up. (Pun semi intended). So in my opinion, superstars are exempt.

Nate Robinson, Earl "JR" Smith, Jamal and Jordan Crawford, Jason Terry, Brandon Jennings, Nick "Swaggy P" Young, Patty Mills, Noris ColeThe list of players who overate their game, are to themselves "always hot," and are all likely to celebrate a miss, could go on.

Stats tell us that they also all talk like this,

There is lots to say about these guys although right now we have to talk about the one closest to our hearts, the main guy who is still contributing in the ECF. Lance "the 8th grader" Stephenson. Since the effect that the Indiana Pacers have on our league I feel it necessary to tackle this guy from both views. Firstly,

From an OKC Bias

therefore I want anyone other than Miami to come out of the East. I hate Miami, but so does everyone, although I know they are by far and away the best team in the east.
So I'm rooting for the Pacers, knowing full well they were never going to win. To me, Lance could have almost, if he hadn't kept certain qualities, worked his way out of the "irrational confidence" category. Almost.
Mostly because he has become so used by the Pacers coz there offence is so piss to help run the offence that I have almost gotten used to his antics.
Yet those few qualities i mentioned have stood out the last few games of this series.

His irrational confidence coming in the form of taunting the leagues, worlds best player, saying his "trash talk was a sign of weakness,"
Gotta respect his balls, (how often do you say that?)
Unfortunately he couldn't follow it up and instead crapped the bed in game 4.

And then there is the flop, what the heck.

"WHAAAAAHOOOOW
WHAAOOO, HE HIT ME"
He screams whilst crumbling to the ground and flailing his arms like the camera is around the next bend on a roller coaster.
then he does the classic, "Crap, this is going poorly, Abed pretend like your asleep."

J-

From a Miami Bias

Yeah its a real shame that Lance doesnt have a better head on him, its both his reason for success and his biggest flaw. Lance Stephenson should be a decent scorer, a guy who can carry the 2nd unit for stretches, and hit annoying as hell shots at the most annoying moments. He should also be a great lock down defender, who can be relied upon to give guys like Wade and Harden trouble. In many ways he does achieve these things, but its all the extra stuff which hurts his team. 
Why does he need to question the greatness of Wade and Lebron in the media? If he had any kind of brain he’d know that these are two guys who thrive of criticism. This has been his biggest mistake this post season. While Lebron doesn’t need any more motivation, his bid to be a top 3 all time guy is enough, its clear that the heat take a special joy in punishing Lance and certainly have not played any worse because of his comments. 
I don’t understand why players call out the games greats in the media and expect to get away with it. You think Lebron is going a tiny bit harder against Lance because he’s a dick? You can guarantee that Wade thinks about Durants comments every time he’s working out. You know Russell enjoys each clutch play he makes a little more because of the people who say the thunder are better without him. 
Lance also has a huge effect on the attitude of his team, partly cos he’s a dick, and partly because the team only has one leader, David West, who’s not in their top 3 players. Why can’t Lance bring his skills to the team, without having to be the dominant guy? Paul George should set the tone on that team, as its best player, but the team seams to be taking on Lances persona. While the Heat have adopted Lebrons laid back - then explode persona, the Pacers have been whining, making excuses, making delusional comments, pointing fingers, all classic ‘Born Ready’ stuff. 
Lance is the most relevant ICG, cos he’s a huge part of a title contender. I hope we see Swaggy P on a good team one day, that will be a thrill ride.

S-

All this talk is great, but I have to ensure you that although we may not like certain players at times, as a whole, we love the Irrational Confidence Guy. They are fun, completely unpredictable, and all in all make the NBA a better place.

One of the best examples of their brilliance came a few games ago. With a fantastic play from the 8th grader himself, thats what they do, they make big plays. 

Although even more interesting is the manner in which he celebrates, its like he just made a buzzer beater to win the series. 

Sorry Lance, its half time and you are down 4. Classic ICG. 

J - 

ELITE NBA BIG MEN, WHO'S NEXT?

Ive done a fair bit of reading and youtube watching for Joel Embiid. Theres like 4 guys that interest me in this draft, but at this stage he’s the only one that really excites me. Since I literally like none from last years pool, with the exception of Victor possibly (who I haven’t watched enough of to know), Im starting early on this years class. Im not getting ahead of myself though as I’ve only seen him play 1 college game, but he’s definitely the guy who I like the sound of the most. A legit 7ft with great defensive instincts, massive wing span and hands, great athlete, great skills for only a few years playing and moves well (simmons describes him as a taller serge). Other than Jordan and Wade, most of my favourite players have always been big men.

This playoffs is proving their importance again. If you want to make the playoffs, get an all star of any position and put some pieces around him. If you want to win a ring, get 2 or 3 all stars and make sure one of them is big (or Lebron James).Ive always wished that I could have seen more of Olajuwan and Robinson in their prime, but have only seen a couple of their games. Their defensive numbers are just amazing and they have attributes that set them apart. Hakeem in the post was just beautiful and Robinson was an absolute freaklete. 

Seriously, look at this guy

From what Ive read he could cover a stupid amount of ground defensively. I’m also trying to savor what its like to watch Tim Duncan, although I need to despise him right now, and certainly did last year, (I'm an all time Wade fan, and therefore follow the Heat) he’s probably going to be in the top 5 players I will get to watch in my life time.

"What did you say about me not having a Title?"

Over the next 50 years there will be other great players, but ill always remember watching Duncan, Kobe, Lebron, Wade and Durant, thats a lot of top 25 guys playing around the one time. And I also got to see a lot of KG and Shaq but they were out of their primes before I got to see many of their games. Watching KG absolutely destroy the league defensively on those early celtics teams will always be a good memory. Anyway, the point to all this is that I hope that Davis, and possibly Embiid can join this big man group one day. When the most intimidating big in next years playoffs might be Hibbert or Ibaka or Gasol or even Dwight, that sucks. Im keen for the next elite big man to come (Dwight never quite got there). I was a big Dwight fan in his first few years and I fully expected him to be the leagues next dominant championship, KG type big man. While he was elite on D for a few years, he never developed as a scorer, passer or leader and therefore fell way short of the guys I mentioned before. 

So Im going to compare the first few years of a few of the best big men from the past 20 years and see what kinds of things Davis needs to do to get into that conversation. Ill include KG, Duncan, Hakeem, Robinson, Malone, but not Shaq. Shaq was just too different and is not even worth comparing. Its like he played an entirely different position. Obviously these guys are the best of the best, and most of them have rings to back up their numbers. KG has huge career totals and will finish his career with one of the all time best combination of points, rebounds, blocks and steals. He has also won an MVP, DPOY and a ring. Duncan is the best PF ever, Hakeem is the best post player ever, is the all time leader in blocks and has 2 rings etc, Robinson is one of the all time great PER monsters and has a couple of rings and Malone is currently 2 on the all time list for total points. He scored more points in his career than MJ. So this is a pretty damn good list to be compared too, and obviously Davis has a very long way to go. To finish his career alongside these guys he will need to win a ring or two and continue to improve and put up big numbers. But based on what we have seen over his first 2 years, he has a great chance of being right there. Here’s the numbers for the first 2 years of this group. Note the drastic differences in the age that these players were drafted due to college/ high school trends.

Average stats after 2 years

Name	Rookie Age	PPG	RPG	APG	BLK	STL	PER
Kevin Garnett	19	14	7	2.5	1.8	1.5	17.0
Anthony Davis	19	17	9	1	2.5	1.5	24.1
Tim Duncan	21	21	11.5	2.5	2.5	0.8	23
Hakeem Olajuwan	22	22	12	2	3	1.5	22.6
Karl Malone	22	18	9.5	2.5	0.5	1.5	15.8
David Robinson	24	25	12	2	2.5	0.8	26.8

 Per NBA reference.com

The thing with big men is that they take a long time to develop, firstly they need to fill out physically and also very few have polished offensive games when they first come in. So for KG to come out of high school and play at 19 was a very interesting move. After a few years he obviously turned into a beast, but to begin with hes at a clear disadvantage just because of his age (he was almost Kevin Durant thin anyway).  Compare him to David Robinson who started playing at 24 after a full collage  career and time in the Navy to become on of the most manly men to ever man, and you can see why their numbers are so different. Seriously its incredible that Robinson put up those numbers in his first 2 years, Id take rookie Robertson over any NBA big man now in their prime. Comfortably. But at 24, he wasn’t really a rookie, he was a full grown man victimizing other men like they were children (while also being the nicest guy ever, he thought he was getting to egotistical so he went on a Christian cleansing camp…….what). Anyway Duncan, Hakeem and Malone all had college careers and came in at 21/22. Now obviously Davis’ raw numbers don’t quite stack up, expect on defense, but his PER is second only to the 24 year old Robinson! And he came in after one year of college at 19. Pretty impressive.

Now lets assume that he improves slightly over the next 3 or so years and his raw numbers increase while maintaining an elite PER. Heres what he will be aiming for

  

Average stats after 5 years

Name	Rookie Age	PPG	RPG	APG	BLK	STL	PER
Kevin Garnett	19	18	9	3.5	1.8	1.5	20
Tim Duncan	21	23	12	3	2.5	0.8	24.3
Hakeem Olajuwan	22	23	12	2	3	2	23.5
Karl Malone	22	25	10.5	2.5	0.5	1.5	20.8
David Robinson	24	25	12	3	3.8	1.7	27.2

As far as I can tell, keeping with this group is totally achievable from a statistical standpoint. Its fair to expect him to climb to roughly 22, 11, 2, 2.5, 1.5, 27 over that time which would statistically put him right there with Duncan, again only trailing the much older Robinson and Hakeem.

Barring injury theres no reason why this shouldn’t happen. His career is going to need to be assisted greatly by teammates, and hopefully things go more towards the Duncan or Malone rout rather than the KG one. KG wasted his youth and prime in Minnesota playing for horrible teams. Had he been drafted somewhere else, KG v Duncan could have really been a legitimate conversation. I just hope that AD doesn’t get stuck in a horrible situation.

He's obviously very thin, and a little injury prone at this stage, but his upside is through the roof. Hes a 6”11 PF who can handle the ball, shoot from range, score around the rim, and be a defensive menace. If he adds either a solid low post game or develops his corner jumper into a major weapon, I can see him averaging 25 for sure. Going in another direction, his brow is a funny gimmick at the moment. Hes still young and can get away with something goofy like that. However if he's going to become a superstar, hes going to want his play to shine brighter than his brow. I think he will get rid of it at some point.

"Hey Girl"

On to the next big man related topic, Ive heard media people pronounce Embiids name both Joel and Jo-el. Im not sure which one I think sounds better. Obviously Joel is a better name for 99% of the population, but I kinda like Jo-el Embiid. Maybe my reservations are due to Jo-el Anthony, a man who I dearly love, and whos game is the worst case scenario for any big man. Joel Embiid sounds solid, dependable, and so on, while Jo-el Embiid sounds exotic and unpredictable. Its these kinds of observations that convince me I’m destined to write for ESPN.

S-