Thoughts of an Alabo

Making Your Teammates Better: What is it really?

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:55:04 -0400

In the midst of the NBA Finals, praise for Lebron James is at an all time high, and deservedly so. He’s led a Miami Heat team to a 3^rd consecutive Eastern Conference Championship despite the recent inconsistent play of 2/3 of the vaunted Big 3. ESPN runs special after special on the greatness that is Lebron James and sports analysts around the country and probably the world sing his praises every day. A common phrase used to praise great players like Lebron is that they “make their teammates better.” Well, what does that really mean? Lebron is an elite facilitator who can get the ball to almost anywhere on the floor with what seems like a flick of the wrist. His teammates tend to shoot a much higher percentage when he is on the floor because they honestly don’t have to do much other than be ready to score when given the opportunities. But is that what it means to make your teammates better?

Assists are a misleading measure of whether or not a player is making his teammates better. In an offense where the ball moves, someone will inevitably get the assist. That doesn’t mean that the person who racks up the most assists is necessarily the initiator or focal point of the offense. There are plenty of ways to make your teammates better. Many of them aren’t measurable. When we talk about making teammates better, we also have to differentiate that from making the team better. There are certain guys who don’t directly make any one teammate better, but the team plays better as a result of their play. There are other guys who, because of their style of play, make their teammates better statistically, but it doesn’t necessarily add up to wins. Another question that arises from making this distinction is whether or not it is even worth it to focus on improving your teammates. The only time in recent memory when one guy carried a team with inferior talent to a championship was Dirk Nowitzki versus the Miami Heat in 2011. But did Dirk make his teammates better? What exactly did he do to make those guys better than they already were?

An interesting character in this discussion of making their teammates better is free agent point guard, Chris Paul. He is arguably the best point guard in the NBA, and can usually be found near the top of the league in assists. His superior ball handling, decision-making, and scoring ability gives him the tools needed to control a game for himself and his teammates. Despite all of these advantageous traits and an obvious willingness to share the ball, he has only led his teams out of the first round of the playoffs twice in his career. This season was particularly disappointing. Throughout the regular season, Paul’s LA Clippers were regarded by many as championship contenders in the NBA. It is almost a general consensus that he makes his teammates better. So why do his teams fall short when the going gets tough? Maybe his teammates just aren’t good enough. Maybe he is a little overrated as far as the impact he has. Maybe he actually isn’t making them better. Passing to a teammate for a wide-open shot isn’t necessarily making that teammate better. It’s the correct basketball play, but who says that your pass had an impact on how well your teammate shoots? How much better does a Chris Paul pass make you than a Jamal Crawford pass? In our narrative-driven views of players, a loss isn’t just a loss. It is a referendum on a player’s legacy and indirectly all the guys that play like him. Chris Paul is an enigma because he does everything the narratives say he should but loses regardless of how good or bad his teammates are. No matter how much he elevates his team and “makes his teammates better” they can only go as far as he takes them.

The next guy I’d like to analyze is one that doesn’t come to mind when you think of making his teammates better. Carmelo Anthony has been known as a shoot first-shoot second guy his whole career. ESPN Radio analyst, Colin Cowherd has made him the poster child of selfish, one-dimensional play and a lack of care for anything that doesn’t involve him scoring. But is Cowherd’s assessment of Anthony too shallow? One can easily look at Melo’s assist numbers and dismiss him as a guy that helps no one but himself. But whether he means to or not, he makes life a lot easier for his teammates. His mere presence causes defenses to shift towards him and open up opportunities for his teammates. Guys like JR Smith and Raymond Felton are given opportunities to flourish when Carmelo is on the floor that they wouldn’t have otherwise. But does this count as making your teammates better? If it does, many people need re-evaluate how they measure the impact of guys like Melo.

Making your teammates better can be as simple as being consistent in your role. Look at future Hall of Fame big man Tim Duncan. He has been a model of consistency in San Antonio since his rookie season. He has won 4 championships and has countless awards and accolades. He can score, rebound and has an extremely high basketball IQ. Does he make his teammates better? Well, he isn’t really a high assist guy. But he does what he does so well, that he allows his coach (Greg Popovich) to build his entire system around him both offensively and defensively. Being consistent is an underrated aspect in making your teammates better. When a teammate knows that you will always make the right decision, that teammate has one less variable to deal with when trying to play his role. The consistency of a Tim Duncan made it possible for the development of a star like Tony Parker to happen. His consistency is a major part of San Antonio’s current 50-win season streak. His consistency has made him an anchor that gives his teammates a template of what is expected of them. Does he directly get them points? Not necessarily. But there is no doubt that he makes his teammates better.

The narrative of making your teammates better is one that basketball fans hear whenever basketball is discussed. When we analyze the impact players have on the game and their teammates, we have to understand that this is a two way street. Basketball is a game of mutual relationships. For Lebron James to record his assist, the recipient of the pass must finish the play. We must recognize that making your teammates better isn’t necessarily measurable by one metric or the other. It is however, an integral part of what makes a superstar.

Evaluating and Comparing Basketball Players in Context

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:45:44 -0400

Every avid basketball fan has discussed with their peers about their thoughts about one player or another. It is an integral part of fanhood. Now more than ever, due to unprecedented access to information regarding players and teams, fans have evolved into “fanalysts”(Fan + Analyst = Fanalyst). Everyone brings in their biases, narratives, and expectations when talking about different players. These differences of opinion many times lead to heated debate. Unfortunately, these debates rarely lead to any sort of definitive conclusion. Instead, it leaves both parties further entrenched in their positions. These debates happen in living rooms, barbershops, and basically anywhere basketball fans meet up to talk. But no platform has facilitated such passionate debate as much as the social network called Twitter. The beautiful thing about talking basketball on twitter is the unprecedented access the user has to hundreds (if not thousands) of opinions at the click of a mouse. As one would expect, plenty of things get lost in translation and conversation gives way to contempt. I think this is because most of these debates don’t have any kind of consistent context. Context is vital in evaluating anything, especially basketball players.
What is context when talking about a basketball player? The truth is, no player preforms in a vacuum. Context in this case describes the circumstances under which the athlete performs. What team does Player X play for? Who are Player X’s teammates? Who is Player X’s coach? What kind of system does Player X’s coach run? What is Player X’s role in his coach’s system? These questions are important because their answers give us insight into why certain players do what they do.
One debate I see often is whether Rudy Gay of the Toronto Raptors is really a star caliber player, or just a volume scorer that shows flashes. Most of those who say Rudy Gay is a star player say that he passes the MOTE test (My Own Two Eyes). He has a 6’9” frame, elite athletic capabilities, a good perimeter shot, can finish around the basket, can handle the ball, and makes difficult plays that the average player simply can’t. His detractors point to his inefficiencies such as his poor shooting percentage (40.6 %) and poor shot selection. 76% of his field goal attempts are jump shots, and he only puts up a 38.6 eFG% (82games.com). These statistics don’t indicate the dominance expected from a star player, but his talents and abilities are undeniable. So which is it? Is he a star or not? The answer lies in how he is being used by the team he is on. Rudy Gay started this season on the Memphis Grizzlies, a contender in the Western Conference, 43% of his points were assisted. On a rebuilding Toronto Raptors team, only 34% of his points were assisted. He simply had more help in Memphis. He had a poor shooting year in both places this season shooting 40.8% in Memphis and 40.3% in Toronto, but this isn’t his usual standard. In fact this is the first time he’s shot under 45% for a season since his rookie season. In Memphis, they played from the inside-out, utilizing their stellar big men, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Defenses couldn’t key in on him defensively as much as they do in Toronto. As far as Rudy Gay’s place among the stars is concerned, time will tell. He’s still only 26 and is on a team that doesn’t have an identity yet. Their former #1 overall pick in Andrea Bargnani is being chased out of town. They also have some intriguing prospects such as Demar Derozan, Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross. The latter two are in their rookie seasons and are still learning the NBA game. Derozan is also still developing his game and is showing flashes of a bright future. For Gay, finding your place in a situation like this in the middle of a season where your role isn’t quite defined isn’t an ideal one to judge him on.
Another debate I see and engage in frequently is the comparison of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant to New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony. They are both on teams that are second place in their respective conferences. They also lead the league in scoring averaging 28.4 and 27.4 points per game respectively. How they are regarded by basketball fans and the media is where their major difference lies. Durant is the new darling of the NBA and regarded by many as the second best player in the NBA behind Lebron James. Anthony is regarded by many as a career underachiever that has top 5 talent but was rated in the teens by most of the preseason rankings. Those who point to Durant as the superior player point to his higher efficiency and assist numbers. Durant is shooting 50.2% from the field and averaging a career-high 4.5 assists per game. Anthony is shooting 43.5% and averaging 2.5 assists per game. At face value Durant is clearly the better offensive player, he scores more, with more efficiency, and gets more assists. But there is more to this argument than meets the eye. They have very different roles on their respective teams. Durant plays alongside another offensive juggernaut in all-star point guard Russell Westbrook. This keeps offenses from loading up on him the way they do Anthony. Durant’s role players have also proven themselves to be very useful compliments to his skill set. OKC shooting guard Kevin Martin can score from anywhere on the floor and is especially adept at the 3pt shot. OKC big man Serge Ibaka has vastly improved his offensive game this season and has expanded his range to the 3 point line. This creates plenty of room to operate because help defenders can’t come help off of Durant’s role players. Anthony doesn’t quite have the same pieces to work with. His most viable second option is mercurial guard JR Smith. Smith is frequently compared to former Knicks guard John Starks who was as streaky as they come. Smith has the ability to carry a team as well as the tendency to completely shoot his team out of contention with ill-advised long, contested jumpers. Point guards Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd have seen their peaks and valleys as far as shooting the ball this season. Kidd shot below 25% from 3 point range in the month of January this season. Felton is also a streaky shooter, defenses seem to encourage him to shoot long jumpers rather than allowing him to enter the lane. Amare Stoudemire was supposed to be the all-star Carmelo came to New York to play alongside, but he has only played a month this season before another surgery has put him on the sideline for the rest of the regular season. As far as supporting casts go, Durant definitely has a better one at this point in time. From a statistical standpoint, Durant has 52% of his field goals assisted as opposed to only 41% for Anthony (82games.com). Durant has a lot less creating to do when it comes to finding his shot. So who is better offensively? It depends on who’s style you prefer. They are both great offensive players but are still very hard to compare because they aren’t in identical situations.
When It comes to comparing players, it’s very easy to make blanket statements or point to numbers that back up your bias. Try and take a deeper look as to not just what the player does, but why and how he does it. The debates are fun, but be objective. The fact that you dislike a player’s style doesn’t make him a worse player, it just means you don’t like him. Understand that, get past it and make a logical case for your point. Also, use these discussions to learn something, I’ve picked up so much basketball knowledge from other people by simply listening to what they are saying rather than just trying to be right.

Thanks for reading this!

Feel free to leave any comments to me on twitter @ChiefIke

Kendrick Lamar - Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe ft. Jay-Z...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:54:51 -0400

Kendrick Lamar - Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe ft. Jay-Z (Official Remix)
Produced by Sounwave | Mixed By Ali

“good kid, m.A.A.d city” is in stores and on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/gkmc

The torch has been passed!! Wow!

What do y’all know about this throwback Robin Thicke and...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:31:53 -0500

What do y’all know about this throwback Robin Thicke and Jadakiss?

trollfacecomic: Troll Face - This may apply to a select type of...

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:55:03 -0500

trollfacecomic:

Troll Face - This may apply to a select type of woman

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Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:47:58 -0500

ayocanada: “We used to call them Super Chickens. Now they are...

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:43:53 -0500

ayocanada:

“We used to call them Super Chickens. Now they are once again Super Eagles,” said another supporter in the capital, Abuja, dressed from head to toe in his team’s colours of green and white. Fireworks flickered across the sky as celebrations continued into the night. “We are champions,” said David Oji, another follower, tears streaming down his face, “For once we are the best at something good.” (via African football: Nigerian heroes | The Economist)

simplybasketball: Kyrie Irving DESTROYS Brandon Knights Ankles

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:42:45 -0500

simplybasketball:

Kyrie Irving DESTROYS Brandon Knights Ankles

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Sat, 09 Feb 2013 21:56:52 -0500

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Sat, 09 Feb 2013 13:35:23 -0500

theculturelp: Feb 21st, support a great cause #NYC...

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 13:34:08 -0500

theculturelp:

Feb 21st, support a great cause #NYC #NIGERIA

Check out GiveABall.org for more information!

afrocentrico: africa cup of nations 2013

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 13:32:00 -0500

afrocentrico:

africa cup of nations 2013

nbaoffseason: And here’s Gerald Green with the most underrated...

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 13:30:01 -0500

nbaoffseason:

And here’s Gerald Green with the most underrated contest dunk in All-Star history, The Birthday Cake. It’s clear why it was unappreciated in its time; live, it was hard to see what exactly Green was doing. But on the replay, you can’t help but be impressed by the delicacy of Green’s move - he blows out the candle and dunks so gently that the cupcake stays on the back of the rim. In a contest that was ultimately won by Dwight Howard in a Superman cape throwing the ball in from a few feet away - not technically dunking at all - Green’s dunk was a true artistic statement. Of course, he didn’t even make the finals.

storyboard: Ukiyo-e Heroes: Donkey Kong Visits 17th-Century...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:51:17 -0500

storyboard:

Ukiyo-e Heroes: Donkey Kong Visits 17th-Century Japan

Mario racing a rickshaw, Kirby wielding a katana, and Donkey Kong bounding past cherry blossoms. In his fantastical Ukiyo-e Heroes series, 29-year-old illustrator Jed Henry reimagines classic video game characters in the style, setting, and medium of traditional Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). Growing up in Indiana in the 1980s, Henry learned to draw by copying the art in his video game manuals. It was an exciting time to be a gamer, as companies like Nintendo and Sega raced to create the best systems and graphics. A decade later, with a degree in animation and living in Utah, the illustrator and children’s book author is working with Canadian (by way of Tokyo) printmaking master Dave Bull to to create fine art prints of his characters. With the help of a Kickstarter campaign — Henry raised $290,000 more than his original goal — his illustrations are celebrating Japan’s vibrant pop culture, both then and now. We talked to him about his craft.

How do you choose which video games to feature?

I’m a big retro gamer. I played a lot of games as a kid, and my heart is really stuck on those games — a lot of Nintendo, Konami, and Capcom titles. So, that’s how I choose, it’s just my favorites from when I was a kid.

Read More

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Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:46:38 -0500

gopherbooks: Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:44:29 -0500

gopherbooks:

Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Five people and their lives during the secession of Biafra from Nigeria in the 1960s.

blkspaniard: thisx10000000

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:41:50 -0500

blkspaniard:

thisx10000000

blkspaniard: hazamamama: By:ヒロタケ This game made me the man I...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:12:59 -0500

blkspaniard:

hazamamama:

By:ヒロタケ

This game made me the man I am today

My Top 5 Current NBA Coaches

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:03:32 -0400

In my opinion, a good NBA coach is one that gets the best out of their players. Lots of coaches have systems. Lots of coaches are fundamentally sound when it comes to scheme. But only a select few have all those things and still manage to get the best out of all of their players. I’m going to list my top 5. Feel free to disagree.

5. George Karl - He is very good at adapting to the personnel he has on his rosters. He has made the Denver nuggets a team to beware of despite having no elite players on the roster. He encourages every player on the floor to be a playmaker of some sort and doesn’t overly depend on any one player.

4. Tom Thibodeau - Probably the best defensive coach in the league today. He was instrumental on the most recent Celtics championship run and has turned the Chicago Bulls into a contender despite it being only his first coaching gig. He needs to be a little more creative offensively. But I can’t say his players have underachieved in any sense. He’s made the best out of what he’s had.

3. Rick Carlisle - His work, especially in the 2011 NBA Playoffs has provided the blueprint on how to succeed in the current NBA without a constellation of superstars on your team. Preaches defense and can coach an uptempo or half court style. To me, he is very underrated and was just what the ‘11 mavs needed to get past the juggernaut that is the Miami Heat.

2. Doc Rivers - He’s probably my favorite coach in the league. He consistently gets the best out of his players and has the uncanny ability to get stars to buy into his way of doing things. I hope he becomes the next coach of Team USA. Just look at the Boston Celtics in the past few years and you can say they are arguably the best coached team in the league. No wasted movement and highly efficient on offense, while high pressure and committed to defense. Can’t argue with that.

1. Greg Popovich -Pop, as he is fondly called has been the epitome of optimization in the NBA. Guys seem to go to San Antonio and just work out. Every project seems to work for him (see: Dejuan Blair, Danny Green, Stephen Jackson, Gary Neal), and the few that don’t cant blame him (see: Richard Jefferson, Tiago Splitter). He’s had the luxury of stability around Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. But he’s been able to plug in role players and change playing styles seamlessly as the years go by. Popovich has made a small market team in San Antonio a basketball powerhouse.

I guess it’s like riding a bicycle because I do this like...

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 07:49:42 -0400

I guess it’s like riding a bicycle because I do this like twice a year.