I am glad you came to your senses and realized how incredibly dominant Chris Paul has become. Like you said, he is having one of the greatest seasons of all time, and his team is fighting for the #1 spot in the WEST. Not the Leastern Conference, the WEST. He is the leader of a young team that is playing out of their minds and for that I think he deserves the MVP.
But I think you might have accidentally left a couple players out, it's okay, everyone's human, but I'll just remind you of a couple others who should get some MVP buzz.
How bout the man holding the Magic together? Yep, none other than Hedo Turkoglu! He is having his best season of all time (is it a contract year, by the way? I'll have to look into that), including triple-doubles, game winners, an awesome nose, and the most clutch player on a team that potentially could make some noise in the East playoffs. Which I guess isn't saying much because the Kansas Jayhawks could make some noise in the East.
Take a look at his numbers though: 20 pts, 6 boards, 5 assists a game. What?! Hedo?! HeWHO?! Obviously he isn't going to win the award considering all the bias out there about about Euro's, if the NBA only gave Euro's a fare chance... But he should be recognized for having a great year, and dare I say, being the best player on a team that should win 50 games.
And then there's Kevin McHale. Boston should give him the MVP, maybe not the official one, but at least a plaque of recognition for all his efforts towards making the Celtics relevant again. If not for McHale and his bumbling GM abilities, the Celtics would just be another Eastern Conference 40 game winner. But the way McHale so gallantly handed the C's Garnett, which in turn made them a ring-hunter free agents winter destination: Posey, House, Cassell, they should build a statue outside the arena with him signing the papers that sent Garnett on his way. It's the least they can do. He's done so much.
Hedo for MVP!!!!
KT
08 April 2008
06 April 2008
No Doubt About It
Let's talk MVP.
I don't necessarily want to, as I find that every year people make too much of a deal out of postseason awards, and predicting postseason awards, and just repeating what everybody else says about players because they've lost capacity to generate independent thought. I generally can't stand sports radio because most times they don't even talk about sports.
A popular local sports radio show is the "Isaac and Big Suke" show. A typical discussion on this show goes like this:
Isaac: Well, before we get started talking about the MVP, we have to define what it means.
Big Suke: You're right. Does it go to the best player in the league, or the best player on the best team?
Isaac: Good question. Nobody ever asks that. I say best player in the league. If you're the best player in the league, you're the MVP. That's how it goes. Bottom line.
Big Suke: I don't think so. It should go to the best player on the best team. They're the best team because they have the best player. Case closed.
Isaac: You know, something that nobody seems to realize is that the league's definition of the term "MVP" is purposefully vague. You're supposed to make up your own mind.
Big Suke: Wow, that's deep. You're like, operating on another level of consciousness.
Isaac: That's what she said.
This short dialogue contains the three necessary elements of a successful sports radio show:
1. Touching on a broad sports topic to demonstrate your supposed knowledge of sports.
2. Using big words to fool the audience you are smarter than you actually are.
3. Bad jokes, and/or declarative statements that are supposed to be jokes, judging by the speaker's tone, but can't technically be classified as such, as determined by the bad timing or complete nonsensical content.
I feel, though, that if I ever want to get paid for writing about basketball, which I've determined that I'd be okay with, I guess, I'd probably have to bite the bullet and write about things that I don't necessarily want to write about. What a glowing intro to my MVP column, by the way. OK, here goes.
There's only four MVP candidates worth mentioning, and the media has slowly narrowed it down with such precision that voting for somebody that might be deserving, like Hedo Turkoglu, would be just out of the question, because he hasn't been "recognized" as a bona fide candidate. I'm not saying Turkoglu should be the MVP; I'm merely expressing that voting for sports awards shouldn't be like politics. It is, though; you have a limited amount of candidates, and you have to pick one.
Your MVP candidates:
Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
Garnett was the early season favorite as his Celtics zoomed off to an early league lead. But I think people slowly realized that his team has three all-stars, so he's not exactly bearing the brunt of the load by himself. He probably leads the league in excitability, passion, love of the game, and unselfishness, but that stuff can't be quantified. He might get a sympathy vote or two, because Garnett's a great guy who tried to tough it out in Minnesota, and his loyalty was repaid by years of mishandling of the team's roster by management.
Garnett's still lucky, though. He ended up in Boston, a perfect situation for him in a city packed with latent basketball obsession. Boston was expected to kick ass this season, and they have. They're the odds-on favorite to win the championship, and the biggest reason is probably Kevin Garnett. But he's not the MVP, and he might not even be the MVP of his own team, as Paul Pierce is quietly having one of the best years of his career.
Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers
Kobe, seen here wearing one of my granddad's old fishing hats, will probably win it, but he doesn't deserve it. He's never won before, and a popular theory is that he's too good to have never won an MVP. He needs an MVP to cement his status as one of the greatest players of all time, which he obviously is to even any casual observer. People who hand out sports awards are alot like people who hand out movie awards. I've long stopped paying attention to anything that goes on in the movie/entertainment industry, but from what I remember, it seemed like actors or directors would be given Oscars as a reward for their career, rather than for whatever movie they're nominated for. That's why Michael Jordan didn't win ten MVPs. Jordan was probably the most valuable player in every sense of the word ten years, but he only won five. He only won back-to-back MVPs once, which is criminal considering his stature and total domination of the game. Writers who didn't vote for Jordan would actually go on record saying stuff like, "Well, we can't just give it to Jordan every single year."
On the plus side, Kobe's become much more likeable this season. His team is winning, and he's adopted this underdog persona that makes him one of the most intriguing athletes of all time. It's hard to watch him and not be captivated by his presence on the court, especially when they play a team like the Spurs, who might be the most genuinely unlikeable basketball team of all time. Nevertheless, I look at the Lakers, and I wonder how good they would be without Kobe. With Phil Jackson running the show, and Gasol, Fisher, Odom, and Bynum, they'd still be pretty damn good. Also, you can't ignore Kobe's whining during the offseason. I still think it was warranted, and it might have been what propelled Kupchak to finally pull the trigger on the Gasol deal, but judging by Kobe's play in the first ten games of the season, he had every intention of mailing in the whole year, until it was evident that this team could get deep into the playoffs - and even that was when they still had Kwame Brown!
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
First things first - LeBron is no Kobe. At least not yet. He's close, but he's not as good defensively, and his outside shot is still a bit shaky, and I have a feeling he isn't as obsessed with basketball as he needs to be if he really wants to play at Kobe's level. He's busy with his "business ventures", whatever that means, and well on his way to his stated goal of being the most wealthy, most powerful man on the planet. I'm serious - he actually said that. He almost singlehandedly brought his team to the NBA Finals last year, and this year his new-look Cavs wouldn't be near the playoff race without him. Yes, even in the East.
The problem is that his team's performance has been positively unimpressive during the regular season. They can't win big games against the league's best teams; their coach still doesn't know how to utilize LeBron in the half court game; they're still having chemistry issues (which is excuseable considering the magnitude of the trade); and they fade down the stretch. LeBron's been great, and he's put together another amazing season, but there's no way he's more valuable than...
Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
The main reason why Chris Paul won't win the MVP is because of his name. He doesn't have a flashy, recognizable name. Garnett, Kobe, LeBron... Chris?
The Hornets have been playing out of their minds all season, but to be quite honest, I haven't been that impressed with what I've seen from Paul. Granted, I've only seen the Hornets play three times all season, but I just wasn't convinced. I thought the talk about possibly signing Paul as a free agent in the summer of '09 was foolhardy. He would come in and expect to have the same type of free reign, I reasoned, that he had with the Hornets. It couldn't possibly work with our system, with pieces like Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Fernandez, and Outlaw all needing points to satisfy their egos.
I was wrong. Big surprise. Now, I look at what the team's done this season, and it might be one of the most unexpectedly great seasons from a team... ever. If New Orleans wins their last six games (which is probable at this point), they will finish with 60 (!) wins. This from a team that missed the playoffs last season and had every intention of missing them again, if you were to listen to anybody with their finger on the pulse of the league, the Hornets weren't on anybody's radar. Except Kevin, who apparently is inching closer to omniscience.
Chris Paul leads the league in assists and steals, and is 17th in the league in scoring (the 2nd highest scoring point guard in the league). Oh yeah, he also shoots 50% from the field, and has had one of the best seasons ever at the point. He is picking up where Steve Nash (remember him?) left off, completely dominating his contemporaries and proving that people like me are idiots for ever doubting him.
And, in case you're wondering:
Yes, the Blazers could have had him.
TJH
I don't necessarily want to, as I find that every year people make too much of a deal out of postseason awards, and predicting postseason awards, and just repeating what everybody else says about players because they've lost capacity to generate independent thought. I generally can't stand sports radio because most times they don't even talk about sports.
A popular local sports radio show is the "Isaac and Big Suke" show. A typical discussion on this show goes like this:
Isaac: Well, before we get started talking about the MVP, we have to define what it means.
Big Suke: You're right. Does it go to the best player in the league, or the best player on the best team?
Isaac: Good question. Nobody ever asks that. I say best player in the league. If you're the best player in the league, you're the MVP. That's how it goes. Bottom line.
Big Suke: I don't think so. It should go to the best player on the best team. They're the best team because they have the best player. Case closed.
Isaac: You know, something that nobody seems to realize is that the league's definition of the term "MVP" is purposefully vague. You're supposed to make up your own mind.
Big Suke: Wow, that's deep. You're like, operating on another level of consciousness.
Isaac: That's what she said.
This short dialogue contains the three necessary elements of a successful sports radio show:
1. Touching on a broad sports topic to demonstrate your supposed knowledge of sports.
2. Using big words to fool the audience you are smarter than you actually are.
3. Bad jokes, and/or declarative statements that are supposed to be jokes, judging by the speaker's tone, but can't technically be classified as such, as determined by the bad timing or complete nonsensical content.
I feel, though, that if I ever want to get paid for writing about basketball, which I've determined that I'd be okay with, I guess, I'd probably have to bite the bullet and write about things that I don't necessarily want to write about. What a glowing intro to my MVP column, by the way. OK, here goes.
There's only four MVP candidates worth mentioning, and the media has slowly narrowed it down with such precision that voting for somebody that might be deserving, like Hedo Turkoglu, would be just out of the question, because he hasn't been "recognized" as a bona fide candidate. I'm not saying Turkoglu should be the MVP; I'm merely expressing that voting for sports awards shouldn't be like politics. It is, though; you have a limited amount of candidates, and you have to pick one.
Your MVP candidates:
Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
Garnett was the early season favorite as his Celtics zoomed off to an early league lead. But I think people slowly realized that his team has three all-stars, so he's not exactly bearing the brunt of the load by himself. He probably leads the league in excitability, passion, love of the game, and unselfishness, but that stuff can't be quantified. He might get a sympathy vote or two, because Garnett's a great guy who tried to tough it out in Minnesota, and his loyalty was repaid by years of mishandling of the team's roster by management.
Garnett's still lucky, though. He ended up in Boston, a perfect situation for him in a city packed with latent basketball obsession. Boston was expected to kick ass this season, and they have. They're the odds-on favorite to win the championship, and the biggest reason is probably Kevin Garnett. But he's not the MVP, and he might not even be the MVP of his own team, as Paul Pierce is quietly having one of the best years of his career.
Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers
Kobe, seen here wearing one of my granddad's old fishing hats, will probably win it, but he doesn't deserve it. He's never won before, and a popular theory is that he's too good to have never won an MVP. He needs an MVP to cement his status as one of the greatest players of all time, which he obviously is to even any casual observer. People who hand out sports awards are alot like people who hand out movie awards. I've long stopped paying attention to anything that goes on in the movie/entertainment industry, but from what I remember, it seemed like actors or directors would be given Oscars as a reward for their career, rather than for whatever movie they're nominated for. That's why Michael Jordan didn't win ten MVPs. Jordan was probably the most valuable player in every sense of the word ten years, but he only won five. He only won back-to-back MVPs once, which is criminal considering his stature and total domination of the game. Writers who didn't vote for Jordan would actually go on record saying stuff like, "Well, we can't just give it to Jordan every single year."
On the plus side, Kobe's become much more likeable this season. His team is winning, and he's adopted this underdog persona that makes him one of the most intriguing athletes of all time. It's hard to watch him and not be captivated by his presence on the court, especially when they play a team like the Spurs, who might be the most genuinely unlikeable basketball team of all time. Nevertheless, I look at the Lakers, and I wonder how good they would be without Kobe. With Phil Jackson running the show, and Gasol, Fisher, Odom, and Bynum, they'd still be pretty damn good. Also, you can't ignore Kobe's whining during the offseason. I still think it was warranted, and it might have been what propelled Kupchak to finally pull the trigger on the Gasol deal, but judging by Kobe's play in the first ten games of the season, he had every intention of mailing in the whole year, until it was evident that this team could get deep into the playoffs - and even that was when they still had Kwame Brown!
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
First things first - LeBron is no Kobe. At least not yet. He's close, but he's not as good defensively, and his outside shot is still a bit shaky, and I have a feeling he isn't as obsessed with basketball as he needs to be if he really wants to play at Kobe's level. He's busy with his "business ventures", whatever that means, and well on his way to his stated goal of being the most wealthy, most powerful man on the planet. I'm serious - he actually said that. He almost singlehandedly brought his team to the NBA Finals last year, and this year his new-look Cavs wouldn't be near the playoff race without him. Yes, even in the East.
The problem is that his team's performance has been positively unimpressive during the regular season. They can't win big games against the league's best teams; their coach still doesn't know how to utilize LeBron in the half court game; they're still having chemistry issues (which is excuseable considering the magnitude of the trade); and they fade down the stretch. LeBron's been great, and he's put together another amazing season, but there's no way he's more valuable than...
Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
The main reason why Chris Paul won't win the MVP is because of his name. He doesn't have a flashy, recognizable name. Garnett, Kobe, LeBron... Chris?
The Hornets have been playing out of their minds all season, but to be quite honest, I haven't been that impressed with what I've seen from Paul. Granted, I've only seen the Hornets play three times all season, but I just wasn't convinced. I thought the talk about possibly signing Paul as a free agent in the summer of '09 was foolhardy. He would come in and expect to have the same type of free reign, I reasoned, that he had with the Hornets. It couldn't possibly work with our system, with pieces like Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Fernandez, and Outlaw all needing points to satisfy their egos.
I was wrong. Big surprise. Now, I look at what the team's done this season, and it might be one of the most unexpectedly great seasons from a team... ever. If New Orleans wins their last six games (which is probable at this point), they will finish with 60 (!) wins. This from a team that missed the playoffs last season and had every intention of missing them again, if you were to listen to anybody with their finger on the pulse of the league, the Hornets weren't on anybody's radar. Except Kevin, who apparently is inching closer to omniscience.
Chris Paul leads the league in assists and steals, and is 17th in the league in scoring (the 2nd highest scoring point guard in the league). Oh yeah, he also shoots 50% from the field, and has had one of the best seasons ever at the point. He is picking up where Steve Nash (remember him?) left off, completely dominating his contemporaries and proving that people like me are idiots for ever doubting him.
And, in case you're wondering:
Yes, the Blazers could have had him.
TJH
05 April 2008
I Can't Be Satisfied
First of all, Kevin, kudos on the Joe Wolf reference, although I don't think he ever started for us. Maybe he started a game or two, at the end of a season when we were resting our black players for the playoffs, which leads to the obvious question: Was Joe Wolf the most recent NBA player to sport a mullet?
My basic point with Greg Oden is that I don't think he was risking anything playing pickup ball with friends at the gym. Keep in mind that over a month ago he was seen jumping around and dunking in the background of a Blazers pre-game telecast. They replayed it like a million times, and it was pretty incredible because at one point it showed one of those dunks he does when he just tried to rip the rim off with both hands. There's wasn't any concern expressed at that point - the general sentiment was, "gee, I guess Greg's coming right along!"
I understand that the pick-up game was unauthorized by the club, and technically it's within the club's jurisdiction to penalize a player for this type of thing, and signing your name on the contract binds you to the agreements of said contract, etc etc etc. But when I think of players putting themselves at physical risk, I think of Jay Williams crashing on a motorcycle and ruining his career, or Shawn Kemp having sex with four women a night, or Zach Randolph eating Crisco right out of the can, laying on his couch watching Scarface.
I figure Oden is playing basketball every day in his rehab, and I like to assume that he isn't stupid enough to put his rehabilitation at risk by overdoing it in a pick-up game. But here's the thing: we don't know what exactly happened, and so, in all honesty, the Blazers probably were right in freaking out. I guess I'm supposed to have faith in current management, but you have to understand it's still hard for me to trust any management after the disastrous Whitsitt era and the damage it reaped. It's just an automatic response that I've developed, to be immediately pissed off at any move management makes. I can't help it. And it's gonna take alot more for management to keep making average moves to get into my good graces again. We finally have people running the show that aren't unequivocal failures at their job. Woohoo...
I love how I originally complained about how much publicity this was getting, and now I'm the only one still bringing it up.
TJH
My basic point with Greg Oden is that I don't think he was risking anything playing pickup ball with friends at the gym. Keep in mind that over a month ago he was seen jumping around and dunking in the background of a Blazers pre-game telecast. They replayed it like a million times, and it was pretty incredible because at one point it showed one of those dunks he does when he just tried to rip the rim off with both hands. There's wasn't any concern expressed at that point - the general sentiment was, "gee, I guess Greg's coming right along!"
I understand that the pick-up game was unauthorized by the club, and technically it's within the club's jurisdiction to penalize a player for this type of thing, and signing your name on the contract binds you to the agreements of said contract, etc etc etc. But when I think of players putting themselves at physical risk, I think of Jay Williams crashing on a motorcycle and ruining his career, or Shawn Kemp having sex with four women a night, or Zach Randolph eating Crisco right out of the can, laying on his couch watching Scarface.
I figure Oden is playing basketball every day in his rehab, and I like to assume that he isn't stupid enough to put his rehabilitation at risk by overdoing it in a pick-up game. But here's the thing: we don't know what exactly happened, and so, in all honesty, the Blazers probably were right in freaking out. I guess I'm supposed to have faith in current management, but you have to understand it's still hard for me to trust any management after the disastrous Whitsitt era and the damage it reaped. It's just an automatic response that I've developed, to be immediately pissed off at any move management makes. I can't help it. And it's gonna take alot more for management to keep making average moves to get into my good graces again. We finally have people running the show that aren't unequivocal failures at their job. Woohoo...
I love how I originally complained about how much publicity this was getting, and now I'm the only one still bringing it up.
TJH
04 April 2008
Remember him?
I found this little blurb on www.hoopshype.com, maybe some good news for the Blazers concerning Darius Miles after all.
"While the immediate future brightened, the long-term financial standing of the Blazers inched closer to a positive resolution. General manager Kevin Pritchard said Darius Miles was examined by an independent doctor in New York on Wednesday to determine if the injuries to his right knee are career ending. Pritchard said he is "optimistic" the doctor's ruling -- which should be finalized by early next week -- will find Miles' to be physically unable to play. If that indeed is the case, the Blazers can waive Miles and will receive $18 million in cap relief from the final two years of his contract. In two years that cap relief, along with the expiring contract of Raef LaFrentz ($12.5 million), figures to make the Blazers a major player in the free agent market in the summer of 2009. Oregonian"
KT
"While the immediate future brightened, the long-term financial standing of the Blazers inched closer to a positive resolution. General manager Kevin Pritchard said Darius Miles was examined by an independent doctor in New York on Wednesday to determine if the injuries to his right knee are career ending. Pritchard said he is "optimistic" the doctor's ruling -- which should be finalized by early next week -- will find Miles' to be physically unable to play. If that indeed is the case, the Blazers can waive Miles and will receive $18 million in cap relief from the final two years of his contract. In two years that cap relief, along with the expiring contract of Raef LaFrentz ($12.5 million), figures to make the Blazers a major player in the free agent market in the summer of 2009. Oregonian"
KT
It's Your Job
Ty, I gotta admit, the last thing I want Greg Oden doing while he is rehabbing is playing a pick-up game at 24 hour fitness. Why? BECAUSE WE ARE PAYING HIM MILLIONS NOT TO! Simple.
I see what you mean about "him being a human being" and all, but more importantly than that, whether you believe it or not, he is the hope and future of our little franchise. As we slide all the way below .500 for the 100th year in a row, it has became painfully clear that, with a healthy Roy, we need Oden, or someone like Oden who can play D and score in the low post. It's nice to see Joe P try and save his year by actually rebounding for once this year, but the dude is the most inept STARTING center we've had since Joe Wolf. And at least with Joe Wolf the crowd got to howl likes Wolves whenever he touched the ball. The only thing people do when Joe touches the ball is moan when he drops the pass.
So yeah, I have a huge problem with him playing on his own. The other stuff, Mohawk and politics and what not, I applaud. Even though I don't think superstar athletes like Tiger and MJ should HAVE to voice their opinions about stuff. How often would normal people get on a soap box and voice their opinions, or even have opinions? Not many. That's why George Dub is in office.
You are getting paid millions to REHAB. Don't do anything that we aren't paying you to do. PERIOD. Too many players in too many sports get hurt doing things outside of work. And if he holds the way the club treated him against them when it's time to re-up, he needs to grow up. It's a business. I doubt he will have any negative feelings towards them when it comes to it. Especially after he wins Rookie of the Year and we get the 6th seed next year in the playoffs and everyone is falling prostrate before him everywhere he goes in Portland.
I see what you mean about "him being a human being" and all, but more importantly than that, whether you believe it or not, he is the hope and future of our little franchise. As we slide all the way below .500 for the 100th year in a row, it has became painfully clear that, with a healthy Roy, we need Oden, or someone like Oden who can play D and score in the low post. It's nice to see Joe P try and save his year by actually rebounding for once this year, but the dude is the most inept STARTING center we've had since Joe Wolf. And at least with Joe Wolf the crowd got to howl likes Wolves whenever he touched the ball. The only thing people do when Joe touches the ball is moan when he drops the pass.
So yeah, I have a huge problem with him playing on his own. The other stuff, Mohawk and politics and what not, I applaud. Even though I don't think superstar athletes like Tiger and MJ should HAVE to voice their opinions about stuff. How often would normal people get on a soap box and voice their opinions, or even have opinions? Not many. That's why George Dub is in office.
You are getting paid millions to REHAB. Don't do anything that we aren't paying you to do. PERIOD. Too many players in too many sports get hurt doing things outside of work. And if he holds the way the club treated him against them when it's time to re-up, he needs to grow up. It's a business. I doubt he will have any negative feelings towards them when it comes to it. Especially after he wins Rookie of the Year and we get the 6th seed next year in the playoffs and everyone is falling prostrate before him everywhere he goes in Portland.
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