Friday Roundtable: Andrew Wiggins SI Cover

As if the hype wasn't enough, Sports Illustrated as KU freshman Andrew Wiggins on the cover with Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning. (bleacherreport.com)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: Kansas' Andrew Wiggins is on the newest cover of Sports Illustrated with Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning. Is it fair to Wiggins to have him on a cover with two of KU's best and put that level of pressure on him before he's played a collegiate game?

Alex:
Absolutely, it is fair, although SI's choice to put Andrew Wiggins on the cover is less impactful than it would be if the NBA's one-and-done rule wasn't in place and the young Canadian still chose to play through a year (at least) in the NCAA. As it stands, Wiggins is exactly as important to Kansas as Wilt and Manning were during their respective post-commitment, pre-playing days. Although he likely will not single-handedly dominate or lead the Jayhawks as a freshman, Wiggins' marriage to KU brings the program the credibility that can only be attained by obtaining a No. 1 recruit who happens to be heavily lauded as a once-in-a-generation talent. It's the kind of thing a university's men's hoops team can leverage during scouting trips and home visits for years, even coasting if it so chose -- and head coach Bill Self is not one to coast, as evidenced by the steady stream of excellent ability that flows through the program he commands.

That Wiggins chose Kansas means even more in a landscape in which John Calipari can trot out five freshmen starters at Kentucky each season with expectations for roughly half of his roster to enter the NBA draft. While UK and KU are both tradition-rich programs, Calipari's superb recruiting tactics may have diluted the public's perception of the Wildcats in a way that the Jayhawks and every other collegiate team have escaped by not filling their squads around all-around unproven quantities, whether those programs have the requisite recruiting weight to do so or not. 

Wiggins is one of the few high school players with critical mass-level hype that make it to college without flaming out. By going to Kansas instead of Florida State (another school that made it into his final four choices), Wiggins has hedged his bets against seeing his star dim before becoming a professional. He won't have to carry the Jayhawks like he would have done for the Seminoles. The kid is -- or his parents, or his handlers are -- smart. Wilt towered above and overpowered his opponents; Manning was a four-year KU denizen led a miracle team to a championship; and, when all is said and done, Wiggins won't match either of those profiles, but he will be exactly as important to Kansas' basketball legacy as the two players he shares the SI cover with. Yes, he is worthy of the pressure.

Kyle:
First off, it's important to not get the wrong idea about the cover. SI is making a comparison about freshman hype, yet some may take it as SI is calling Wilt, Manning and now Wiggins the three best freshmen to ever play at KU. Freshmen weren't allowed to play varsity basketball during Wilt's days and Manning scored twice as many points his senior year than he did as a freshman. He was still very good as a freshman (14 points per game), but nothing like by the time he was a senior (24 ppg). But what all three have in common was the hype around getting them to Lawrence. Ben McLemore now owns the freshman scoring record at KU after last year's performance. Even so, people were calling McLemore a bust because of his inconsistency. Wiggins can put up Manning and McLemore-like freshman numbers, but that's not what the cover represents. No one in recent years has been hyped as much as Wiggins. It is an automatic burden he must live with, much like Wilt.

Is it fair? Sure. It wasn't libelous or painting Wiggins in a poor light. But can it be easily taken out of context and in turn throw massive amounts of pressure on the kid? Absolutely. It's one thing to label Wiggins as the best in his class (I'm not going to even get into the LeBron comparisions) but even without saying he will be in the pantheon of Kansas basketball without playing a game, and merely making a comparison of the circus each player drew, is not something that should be placed on his shoulders.

I'm worried about the national attention and analysis of Wiggins. People are expecting Wiggins to put up a performance similar to what Kevin Durant did during his one season at Texas. But here's the biggest difference: Wiggins is both blessed and cursed to have so much talent around him. Durant was able to score so much because he was the guy. Look at the Texas roster from 2006. D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams had solid years and ended up as fine college players, but Durant took more than 200 more shots than Abrams and 300 more than Augustin. Durant was the offense.

Now look at what Wiggins has. Wayne Seldon has the potential to be a star; Joel Embiid could be a future No. 1 draft pick if he stays a few years and has had his footwork compared to Hakeem Olajuwon; and some are saying sophomore Perry Ellis still might be the leading scorer on the team. Wiggins will be good. Probably very good. But he won't average 25 points per game because he won't need to. He has so much talent around him to make plays that fans and analysts won't just be able to look at his stat line to know what kind of player he is. He could still have a great impact on the college landscape this year, but be wary of expecting Durant's numbers and don't call him a bust if he averages 16 ppg instead of 24.

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LeBron James Wins Fourth MVP Award, Joining Elite Company

LeBron James won his fourth NBA MVP award in five years. (nydailynews.com)

The hype started in high school. The criticism started once he reached the NBA and has followed him every year since, because that's what hype from a young age brings.

But LeBron James built up more firepower to fight the critics Sunday when he was named the 2012-13 NBA MVP, the fourth of his nine-year career. James received 120 out of 121 first-place votes.

Only James and a handful of players, four others to be exact, have won four MVP awards. That's impressive. But James has won those four awards in the past five years, which is unheard of.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who leads everyone with six MVP awards, Michael Jordan, five, Bill Russell, five, and Wilt Chamberlain, four, are the only other players on the exclusive list to win the award four or more times. While every player above is known for their scoring ability, you must be a complete player to win this honor. Sure, if LeBron wants to score, very few can stop him, but his game has evolved into so much more.

James finished fourth in the scoring race at 26.8 points per game, trailing Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant, but he was the most efficient, joining Chris Mullin as the only players to shoot 55 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range in a season. James also tallied eight rebounds,  7.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, showing he could dominate a game through all facets. This isn't new. He has averaged at least 26 points, six rebounds and six assists every year since his first season in the league.

At the rate James is playing, it's hard to imagine him not winning two more MVP awards to tie Kareem, especially if, at the age of 28, he is able to play another six or seven seasons mostly injury free.

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Friday Roundtable: Who Should Be The NBA Midseason MVP?

Our roundtable panel discusses if LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Durant would be our midseason NBA MVP. (sportsnet.ca)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among three of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: Who would be the NBA midseason MVP?

Kyle Davis: 
Nike's ad campaign tries to convince you that Kevin Durant is not nice, but his game sure is. This is really a three-horse race between Durant, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, but I think Durant is the close winner, and if I had a ballot, that would be my order. Durant has really evolved from being a pure shooter to a complete scorer. His post game has improved, he is great in transition and he is the best shooter out of the three. Durant is also continuing to improve in all other aspects of his game as well. His numbers this year are higher than his career numbers in rebounding, assists, blocks, steals, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. Not bad. And remember, he's only 24 years old. These numbers could get even better.

James is still the most complete player in the game and Anthony probably would have been my pick after the first month of the season, but has battled injuries that are keeping him out of games. Neither player has been able to get their team to where the Thunder are right now, which always plays a factor in MVP voting (which is why Kobe Byrant is not in this conversation, and the fact he's needing too many shots to get his points). The Thunder look to be on a clear path back to the NBA Finals with Durant scorching opponents along the way. 
 
Alex Skov:
Kevin Durant, already an All-Star and scoring champion, has taken his play to new levels since the Oklahoma City Thunder traded their vaunted sixth-man to Houston. Carmelo Anthony, too, has put together impressive an impressive case for himself with his usual array of offensive weapons (he's second in points per game at 29.3, fifth in total points with 878) and by finally improving the other aspects of his game (his new willingness to pass and play defense have helped him get to fourth in the league in Player Efficiency Rating). Even Chris Paul is worth of candidacy for midseason MVP, having turned the Los Angeles Clippers into a freight train, but he plays relatively few minutes each night (he's outside the top 20 in mpg) and LA's excellent bench makes his impact less apparent when he leaves the floor.

LeBron James is more important to his team than all of those stars and he's still playing at a level competitive to or exceeding them. He's doing it playing the third fewest nightly minutes of his career, too. Miami's Big Three is not Dwyane Wade, a Mega-Pippen and Chris Bosh. It's not even James and two Pippen-type sidekicks. The Big Three is LeBron; an aging and, because of nagging injuries and a loss of explosiveness, often ineffective Wade; and an inconsistent Bosh playing center.

With the weight of three big contracts on his shoulders, James is ranked 10th in assists, 13th in defensive rebounds and tenth in field goal percentage, the latter being a category where Durant barely cracks the top 20 and Anthony is not in the field. Though James may be trailing Durant in other statistical fields (points, Win Shares, Win Shares per 48 minutes), he is the league leader in PER. Part of reason Miami is viewed as "struggling" with a 26-12 record is because of the big names on its roster and the intense speculation that LeBron draws, but he is also the reason this isn't a just-over-.500 team right now.

Shawn Deegan:
My midseason MVP has to go to Kevin Durant. Despite moving James Harden this past offseason, the Thunder have improved again this season, boasting the best record in the NBA. This is in no small part due to Durant’s performance this season. Durant is shooting a blistering 52 percent from the floor so far this year and is again in the top three in points scored per game with nearly 29. He also has raised his game from behind the arc, hitting 40 percent of his shots from downtown, his best since his sophomore season. He has a career high in assists per game and is still rebounding very well. I seriously considered picking Lebron James or Carmelo Anthony. ‘Melo is having a career year, and Lebron is as good as he’s ever been. However, neither has been able to propel his team to where Durant has the young Thunder squad. Durant has been a leader for the Thunder since before the team ever moved to Oklahoma City and it’s showing up this season more than ever. All these components are why Durant is my pick for midseason MVP.


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Kevin Durant's Niceness Is Becoming Marketing Gold

Durant's marketing ability is through the roof, including recently starred in a kid's movie. (probasketballtalk.com)

Kevin Durant seems to have this superstar thing all figured out.

We first mentioned this last summer, acknowledging how Durant humbly stayed with the small-market club and showed all the qualities of a different (and better) type of star.

Durant didn't complain about not playing in a huge city (cough, cough, Dwight) and he doesn't mind his teammates taking shots (are you listening, Kobe?). He seems to never get angry at the media and handles himself with class.

Durant's approach doesn't seem to be hurting his marketing ability at all. Nike has launched a "KD is not nice" campaign that plays off the fact Durant is one of the most likeable faces in the NBA. It's a smart concept, because his track record makes it easy to tell the slogan isn't serious, while it plays on the fact that what KD does on the court, and how good he is, isn't nice for opponents. He'll shake your hand, but after he drains the game-winning three.

 Durant also starred in a recently released kids movie called "Thunderstruck." I'm sure the movie went straight to DVD and don't think it broke any box-office records, but regardless, Durant is the one staring in the movie, not LeBron or Kobe.

By being the humble, quiet and yes, nice, star, Durant has separated himself from the pack and created a new way to market himself. What makes it even more likeable? It's because this humble persona is genuine. It has to be or else this wouldn't work. That's why Dwight and Kobe haven't had Nike pitch this to them.

It's much more difficult to be an athlete in the social media and Internet era, where every aspect of an athlete's life is revealed. One wrong step (or decision, if you will) can change the way a player is viewed (just ask LeBron how his decision went). Yet no one seems to have a negative thing to say about Durant. He still has a long career left where adversity could get to him, but it just doesn't seem like he will snap and be hated. 

If Durant doesn't have that misstep, and if this "KD is not nice" campaign takes off like it has started, the humble superstar will continue to grab the hearts of NBA fans across the country. The only time fans will be able to hate him is when he beats their team with great performances, and that's the kind of hate Durant can probably live with. 

Friday Mini-Roundtable: Who Will Be The NBA's Next 30,000-point Scorer?

(sneakerbardetroit.com)

BDD's Friday (Mini-)Roundtable is a weekly discussion among three two of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: Kobe Bryant scored his 30,000th career point Wednesday night, making him the sixth player in NBA history to accomplish the feat. Who will be the next NBA player to reach the 30,000-point career scoring mark?

Kyle Davis:
It's difficult to persuade myself to pick anyone other than LeBron James. He reached the 5,000 and 10,000-point mark faster than Kobe, and is nearing in on 20,000 for his career, which he should easily hit this season. The other obvious choice to me was Kevin Durant, and Sports Illustrated agreed, but James has a four-year head start, and I don't see him slowing down enough for Durant to surpass him. I do think an interesting argument is if there is a scenario where Durant reaching the 30,000 milestone at a younger age than James. James has a head start by coming into the league out of high school, where Durant played a year at Texas. But looking at their style of play, it wouldn't be horribly shocking. Durant is a better pure shooter than Lebron, we know that. And as James gets older, even though he is a freak physical specimen, he will probably need to rely more on his jump shot. Both have remained healthy throughout their careers, but a knee or any leg injury would hurt James' explosiveness, which he thrives on, more than Durant's jump shot. Regardless of who is the youngest to get to 30,000, I think we'll see both names among that Pantheon of great scorers.

Alex Skov:
LeBron James and Kevin Durant are the two names that immediately come to mind, and for good reason. Durant already has several scoring titles and still has his prime years ahead of him while James is, well, the most dominant basketball player in the world. But Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus notes that Dirk Nowitzki is the next active player that could feasibly hit the 30,000-point mark. He is only 5,866 points away, compared to Durant's 10,527 and LeBron's 19,519. Still, at 34 years old and with the injury bug starting to bite -- not to mention O.J. Mayo's ascendance in his absence -- I can't call Nowitzki a shoe-in. Even playing the fewest minutes per game of his career, James should pass 20,000 career points this season and keep up the scoring pace as it becomes more and more evident that Miami's Big Three is actually LeBron, a past-his-prime Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (...and his faces). Durant will get there eventually, but James' path to 30,000 points is clear barring major injury and he will reach it before any other player.


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Thunder Trade James Harden to the Rockets Three Days Before NBA Season Starts

Oklahoma City won't have this beard to trim around any more. (EdmontonJournal.com)

On Saturday evening, James Harden's trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets shocked even Kevin Durant, one of Harden's teammates in OKC and in London with this summer's Olympic gold-medal winning incarnation of Team USA.

Let's set things straight, though:  Harden's was not entirely a surprise. The timing — three days before the start of the NBA's regular season — was unexpected, certainly, but Thunder GM Sam Presti's dream of building a championship team entirely through the draft was inherently flawed.

If the point of participating in the draft (rather than trading away picks for used assets) is to get young players that fit or can be molded to fit into a preset system and thrive in their surroundings — which, by the way, is the point — then the OKC front office did exceedingly well. In all probability, they defied the odds by drafting talents like Durant, Russell Westbrook and Harden in consecutive years (2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively).

Finding athletes that complement each other in such a way that, after playing together for a relatively short amount of time, they are contending for titles is not easy business, so kudos to Presti and his team for doing just that. But the problem arises when this kind of farm system works too well and too many individuals are expecting to be paid like superstars, no matter their actual status.

That's exactly what happened with the Thunder. Too many cooks in the kitchen or what have you. Extending Durant was a must. He's a three-time All-Star, a scoring champion three times over and he competes for the MVP award year in and year out. Westbrook's extension makes sense, too, given his scoring acumen and ability to incorporate others into OKC's game plan, although some critics are quick to decry giving a maximum contract to a sometimes streaky (read: moody) point guard with a ceiling that may be out of reach. Even Serge Ibaka's extension was a no-brainer — he's the sturdiest stanchion in the defense, plus he's young and still very coachable, having only been playing competitive basketball since 2007.

Consider what other contracts the Thunder already had on the books past 2012-13 and Harden's impending unrestricted free agent status next summer, and the Bearded One was left as the odd man out — a position the Rockets became accustomed to after purging the best-known names from their roster to make room for a legitimate superstar, only to be shrugged off by the best of this summer's free agency class, namely Dwight Howard.

Whether or not Houston now has that kind of centerpiece is debatable. Harden won the Sixth Man of the Year award for 2011-12, but has only started seven games during his three years in the NBA. In those games, the Thunder have gone 4-3, counting losses to Miami's newly formed Big Three in '11-'12 and the Chris Paul/Blake Griffin-propelled Los Angeles Clippers last season.

That record does not accurately reflect Harden's overall sterling body of work. In each of his three campaigns, Harden has played increased minutes in successive seasons and produced a better field goal percentage and defensive rebounding numbers each go round. Likewise, the stats in his assists column has improved year-to-year, spiking last year at 3.7 apg — up 1.6 assists from the season prior.

Harden's advanced stats also reveal the damage Harden does to competitors. His win shares per 48 minutes played showed up at .230 last season. To put that into perspective, it more than doubles the league average of .100, eclipses Westbrook's .163 and equals Durant's .230 WS/48. Other than his lanky teammate, only LeBron James and Paul recorded better numbers.

WS/48 encompasses a player's contributions over an entire game, but against Basketball-Reference.com's league-standardized per-minute production of 15, Harden shines again with a 21.1 regular season PER.

Harden's ratings in the majority of these and other notable categories dip slightly during the playoffs, with his WS/48 dipping significantly to .184 last season and .188 for his career during postseason play.

Still, that's more than what the Rockets had in the stable after jettisoning premier forward Luis Scola and point guards Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic. Their offseason addition of former New York Knicks pointman Jeremy Lin comes complete with its own questions, but Lin is also capable of putting up almost-All-Star numbers while incorporating his teammates. While that will behoove Harden, the Thunder transfer is also capable of creating his own shot, having made 309 baskets throughout all of last season and only being assisted on approximately 50 percent of them.

Harden's going to get his baskets regardless. Given his scoring prowess, there is even a chance that he rivals Durant for a scoring title. The Rockets are young — the franchise's oldest player is 30, and no one else is over 27 —and there are other players who can score, but they don't even approach Harden's ability to fill the bucket.

Harden, creating. (NBA.com)

A starter's role is different than a sixth man's, and being cast as a leader is another beast entirely. The bench squad in OKC accepted Harden as the go-to guy and perusing Houston's roster, there is no reason to believe any Rocket will question His Beardness.

Point blank: the Rockets had to make a move like this. Lin is a good, potentially great pick-up, but Harden is a proven talent that was ready to ascend from a reserve to be one of the first players on the floor every night. 

There are few players worthy of the maximum contract Houston has promised to deliver Harden. That gesture alone speaks volumes, however, and if Harden delivers he could stand as bait to draw other notable free agents to the Texas town that is now his home base.

That likely hinges on several seasons, but the early months of 2012-13 will assuredly be a test for the Rockets. Lin is coming off knee surgery and Harden has less than half a week to become acclimated with his teammates, coaches, playbook and surroundings. It takes time to develop the chemistry that worked so well for Harden and his Thunder cohorts.

In fact, the team Harden leaves behind is expected to take the brunt of the force from this seemingly instantaneous trade. According to NBA.com writer John Schuhmann, OKC head coach Scott Brooks entrusted Harden to lead the charge without Durant or Westbrook for 7.5 minutes per game last season. That is a big chunk of time — undoubtedly enough to affect the outcome of a contest. Whether or not Brooks can find anyone on the bench to command that kind of time as the on-court focal point is a question. 

Veteran shooting guard Kevin Martin, obtained from Houston in Saturday's deal, is a logical option but he is not nearly as efficient as Harden. Fellow trade acquirement Jeremy Lamb has upside as a two-guard, but is just entering his rookie season, as is OKC-drafted small forward Perry Jones III, who recently starred at Baylor. Backup point guard Eric Maynor has been good in the preseason, although the fact remains that he had knee surgery in January, although he knows the system and was a reliable chemistry guy before the injury.

There's that word again. Chemistry.

The combined impact of Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward heading to Houston cannot match the fact that the Thunder traded away their third — second, some would argue — best player, an offensive firecracker that will see more touches this year, as scary as that may be for opponents. They could have held onto him longer, until the trade deadline or next summer, when another franchise would have almost certainly offered him a maximum contract if he avoided in bumps in the road as he rode out '12-'13 with OKC.

But the front office sold high, before the season even started, getting two players, two first-round drafts picks and a future second-rounder for someone touted as one of the league's best shooting guards.

It's a mastermind move, really, the more I think of it. The Thunder will grab a high seed in the Western Conference playoffs on the strength of Durant and Westbrook, even if it falls outside of the top two, in which they were projected to land. The trade leaves Houston satisfied, but scrambling, dropping games early because of a new addition that happens to be a major cog in the Rockets' machine still getting used to his environment. That will not last forever, and the Rockets should win some games coupling Harden's offense with head coach Kevin McHale's sermons of defense.

At best, the Rockets grab a mid-seed in the playoffs — a seed the Thunder more than likely can avoid by landing higher in the bracket. That sounds preferable to racking up regular season wins, swinging the same deal just before the trade deadline and letting Houston sneak into the postseason with a 7- or 8-seed, set to face a Thunder team that Harden knows front and back. And, who knows? Maybe Harden's a little disgruntled and comes into the contest firing at free rein. It has the makings of an upset scenario.

Of course, those last two paragraphs are merely machinations from my mind. Those ideas? All hypothetical. But it is certain that after striking out more than once, Rockets GM Daryl Morey is happy to have a young scorer to build around and that Presti is having machinations of his own about how to cultivate those draft picks into proper pieces to surround Durant and Westbrook once they reach their respective primes.


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Chris Paul: The Sometimes Overlooked - But Not Underappreciated - Heart of Team USA

Chris Paul celebrating a gold medal with the American flag. (USA Today)

It was the scene everyone expected to see, yet the fact that it was anticipated didn’t take away from the scene of watching Team USA celebrate like excited kids as the U.S. defeated Spain 107-100 to win the gold medal at the London Olympics.

Superstars of the game, who one would assume work hard on their public appearance and try to seem cool, jumped up and down, hugged their coach and celebrated just as hard as the athletes we only hear about every four years. And that’s the way it should be. Although it was expected, the team earned the right to celebrate.

You saw LeBron James hitting clutch 3’s, Kevin Durant’s monster scoring performance and Kobe exiting his last Olympic Games on top. What you might have overlooked was the nucleus of the team whose play during the tournament should not be discounted.

The excitement of playing in the Olympics seems to have a carry-over effect with the following NBA season. Playing with the best players in the world looks to help players prepare better than pick-up games and summer leagues back in the States. Theories have been documented that playing in the Olympics has helped fuel players in their next NBA season. Kobe Bryant won an NBA title, and an NBA Finals MVP award, after the 2008 Olympics. The same happened for Michael Jordan and the Bulls following the appearance of the Dream Team in 1992. The rest of the offseason will now be spent determining who will use the Olympic experience to shine in the Association this year.

Team USA’s three-headed monster of LeBron, Durant and Kobe will be obvious front runners. LeBron proved he is the best player in the world, Durant can drain shots from every spot on the floor in any country and Kobe still has that killer instinct that paralyzes opponents. They all are expected to explode in the NBA this season.

Organizing the gold-medal winners was Chris Paul; you know, that guy who made sure LeBron, Durant and Kobe had the ball where they needed to so they could put up those great performances. Paul may have flown under the radar, but was not unnoticed. Paul quietly became one of the most important pieces for the squad, coming up big when his team needed it most. The best example came when you might expect it, with 50 seconds remaining in the gold-medal game against Spain. After crossing-over a defender, Paul flipped in a layup just before the shot clock expired, all while the U.S. clung to a lead in the final minute of the game. The play was a dagger into Spain’s back that made Coach K jump in excitement — something Mike Krzyzewski rarely does — and epitomized Paul’s role and worth to the team.

Paul scored 11 points, dished out two assists and added three steals in the gold-medal game, which are numbers that won’t make your jaw drop to the floor. But sometimes what you see when watching the game doesn’t show up on the stat line. Paul made big plays at big moments throughout the Olympics, but also knew how to best use the Goliaths of basketball playing with him in USA jerseys. His 11 points came on only nine shots, meaning Paul was two things you love to see in true point guards. He was consistent and effective, taking good shots when he had them and making plays for his teammates when he didn’t. Paul didn’t need to score 25 points per game for Team USA to sweep the competition, and his understanding of his role and how to play within that role made that team better.

So while Durant and LeBron will come back to their respective teams and light up the competition, don’t be surprised if you see great play out of Chris Paul this NBA season. The transition period should be complete after a full season with the Clippers, and Paul will look to make the same type of plays with high-flyer Blake Griffin as he did with his Olympic teammates.

Don’t let the stats fool you. Paul may not lead the league in scoring, but that doesn’t take away from the quality of his performance. The rewards he is reaping from a successful stint as Team USA’s floor general can only be a positive when he returns to Los Angeles. Paul will have more confidence, experience and a better understanding of how his international counterparts in the NBA play the game.

It’s amazing what a little gold can do for a player’s motivation.


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LeBron James: Handballer, High Jumper, Gymnast?

If you’ve been paying any attention to handball, you probably know that America is terrible. That probably shouldn’t surprise you; if you’re like me, you barely knew about the sport before the Olympics started. But if you actually watch the sport, it immediately becomes clear that America should dominate. It involves a lot of running, throwing, dribbling, passing and everything else that America loves and is really good at. What’s even more surprising is the fact that the USSR won more gold medals in the event than anyone else. At the very least, you would think that Richard Nixon would feel that national security was being threatened and personally handpick his own team.

(fnt-usa.org)

Anyway, while I was watching the sport the other day, I couldn’t stop thinking about how great the U.S. basketball team would fair at the sport. It wouldn’t even be hard — they would probably only need three or four practices to learn the game and be great at it. LeBron James seems to be specifically tailor made for this game, but that’s mostly because he is such an insane athlete, and you could put him in almost any Olympic event and he could compete. So just for fun, I decided to speculate on how LeBron and the rest of Team USA would compete in other events.

Beach Volleyball

This is a sport where tall guys with long wingspans can excel. The movements aren’t that dissimilar to basketball so it wouldn’t take long to pick up. While watching the American men play volleyball, I couldn’t help but think that Anthony Davis would completely dominate the game. Don’t get me wrong: the thought of having The 'Brow represent America like a foreign diplomat scares me, but shot blockers are really important in the game. Miraculously, while I was writing this piece, I found a video which might prove my theory right, if someone would teach Kevin Durant the rules.

Swimming

Again, this is a sport where long wingspans can give athletes a huge advantage. I don’t know how good Team USA is at swimming, but I think they could pick it up with time. The only exception would be James Harden, whose beard would cause way to much drag in the pool.

100m Dash

I doubt LeBron could ever medal, but if there was a heavyweight division (and who wouldn’t want to see 250 lb. guys racing each other?) I would expect him to take the gold.

High Jump

Again, he might not be one of the best in the world, but if you add a heavyweight division (which might be even more entertaining than big guys running), I expect another gold for LBJ.

Gymnastics

This would take LeBron a lot longer to train for than the rest of the competitions, but if he wanted to, I doubt anyone could stop him. He’s a great jumper, which would help on the floor routine, and has great upper body strength for the rings.


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Don't Confuse Team USA's Great Performance with Running Up the Score

Team USA was accused of running up the score in a 156-73 win against Nigeria (Bleacher Report)

Lopsided was an understatement.

It was domination, a clinic or whatever colorful phrase you wish to call it.

The USA basketball team defeated Nigeria 156-73 in the fourth game of pool play, which some called unsportsmanlike. Team USA was accused of running up the score, embarrassing their opponent. When the U.S. began to run away from Argentina, ultimately winning 126-97 in the final game of pool play, Argentina showed their anger in the form of cheap fouls.

This topic is popular mainly in high school and college sports. Overmatched teams getting overrun until the final whistle saves them from the torture.

But in the Olympics?

These are the world’s best athletes who have earned the rights to be there. For some it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and for a lucky few, they will return with multiple chances for gold.

The Olympics ask for the best of the athletes competing. This competition isn’t for those who don’t give their full effort. Olympic and world records hang over athletes like pinatas, waiting to be broken. With the 156-73 stomping of Nigeria, Team USA broke the Olympic record for points in a game, win margin, 3-point shots made in a game and, individually, Carmelo Anthony scored the most points in an Olympic game by an American. Yes, it was a night to forget for Nigeria, but isn’t that the kind of performance we want to see from Team USA?

This wasn’t running up the score. It was a just a good game where every player was on. Team USA wasn’t running a full-court press, trying to steal every pass and get easy fast-break points. They were shooting 3s and long 2-point shots, which were supposed to be lower-percentage shots, but they just happened to go in. Was Anthony Davis just not supposed to dunk when he was on the receiving end of multiple wide-open alley-oops? Was Anthony supposed to aim his open 3s at side of the backboard? The Americans shot 71 percent from the field and 63 percent from 3-point range. It was just their night.  

Michael Phelps doesn’t slow down from world-record pace just because the swimmer in second is 50m behind. Usain Bolt doesn’t care how far back his fellow racers are, and has even been known to turn around before the finish line to taunt his competition. That’s what we love. We love watching great athletes do great things.

The opposite end of the topic includes the news of the Olympic badminton scandal, where teams were losing on purpose to get a better seeding. Kids are taught to do their best and try their hardest, and it is disappointing to the fans and opposing team to know a team won only because the competition blew the game on purpose. So couldn’t this be worse? Should we be worried about a team breaking an Olympic record when teams are showing much less sportsmanship and class by throwing matches?

I understand the Olympics continue to push sportsmanship and integrity in the sporting events, which it should. But sportsmanship wasn’t in question with Team USA. Maybe the USA was running up the score if Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant would have played the entire game, but LeBron and Kobe played just 11 minutes a piece, a no starter played more than Chris Paul's 22 minutes.

Why wouldn’t this team want to break an Olympic record when given the chance, not knowing if that opportunity will again become available? Team USA wasn’t taunting or keeping starters in the game. The USA didn’t pressure on defense or try to draw fouls. They simply made shots, which they should not be faulted for.

Team USA just happened to have a great game where every shot was going in. Let’s not blame them for this as if it is a bad thing, because I know viewers around the world enjoyed watching the performance, and instead appreciate the spectacle that no other team in Olympic history has accomplished.


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NBA, Players Need To Put Greed Aside And Stay With Olympics

(ibtimes.com)

By far the most popular athletes on the most popular team in the 2012 Olympics may not be back in four years.


It would be another example of greed and money ruling sports, and it would be a shame.


Pride has been restored to the USA Olympic Basketball team, where the game’s biggest superstars now care about winning gold again and are so dominant the task looks relatively easy. But Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wonders why the NBA is letting the Olympics make a huge profit while using its athletes. Instead, Cuban suggested making Team USA a 23-and-under club again for the Olympics, while the NBA makes more money forming a “World Cup”-caliber tournament with their best players representing the U.S.


Cuban’s idea is based on the notion that this new “Basketball World Cup” will be wildly successful, because, after all, this is about money. Soccer’s World Cup is much more popular than Olympic soccer, but it also is a sport much older and established than basketball, with the most fans worldwide. This wouldn’t happen with a basketball tournament overnight. It would take years before the tournament built up enough viewership and credibility to make it worthwhile, even with the world’s greatest player. Plus, it would probably be a tournament held every four years, yet you wouldn’t want to compete in Olympic or soccer’s World Cup years, when the audience already has a love affair on TV.


Just look at the 2010 FIBA World Championships. Team USA consisted of NBA giants* Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, Andre Iguodala and so on, yet that worldwide basketball tournament is miles behind the coverage and attention of Olympic basketball this year. I haven’t heard players pass on the chance for an Olympic gold medal to rest and possibly win a FIBA World Championship trophy. It just doesn’t compare.


Having Team USA comprised of NBA stars is good for the Olympics and it is good for the sport. As I mentioned in a previous column on the Dream Team, having the best players at the Olympics can only strengthen the game internationally as more people watch how great the sport can be.


You already have the spotlight on the world’s biggest sporting stage, so why leave? For a little more cash? The NBA already has a stigma as being a greedy league, so instead take one month of every four years to put pride in your country and your sport ahead of your love of money.

* Giants now, not necessarily then. 


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There's Always a Place for Pure Shooters

Incoming KU freshman Andrew White (Rivals)

The first night University of Kansas incoming freshman Andrew White arrived on the KU campus in Lawrence, he went to the gym to shoot around. His idea of a shoot-around doesn’t mean practicing trick shots or his dunking, but instead making game-type shots. And he makes lots of shots. 

A story on KU Sports.com tells of White shooting 150 3-pointers that night in the gym, with 135 of them going in. For those counting at home, that’s 90 percent. White takes his shooting ability seriously and even created his own drill where he shoots from 10 designated spots on the floor - five of the spots from 3-range. He has to make 50 shots from each spot on the floor - 500 makes total - and two weeks ago he made his 500 shots in just 592 attempts. Again for those counting, that’s a staggering 84.5 percent. White said in an interview for that story that he breaks his goal of hitting the 80 percent mark roughly one-third of the time.

White follows a shooting philosophy that seems to be slipping away in the college and pro game. It is not about the number of shots, but about the number of makes. Any player can claim they shoot 500 shots every day, but making 500 shots is much more difficult and time-consuming. Those 500 makes will also make you a better player than 500-shot Guy.

White is one of the few who represents the great equalizer as a basketball player. He’s a pure shooter.

The growing phenomenon, especially in the NBA, is of players who use strength and speed to overpower their defender and get to the basket — a.k.a. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, and the list goes on. These players — minus Howard — can still make shots, but it is not their strength.

But there will always be a place in the college and professional game for great shooters. Kevin Durant has the height, but not the size, to be a power forward in the NBA. He can, however, hit shots over anyone from every spot on the floor.

Stephen Curry was said to be too small to play in the NBA, but his electrifying shooting not only got him from a mid-major standout to a first-round draft pick, but now Curry is a successful professional player.

Stephen Curry showing his shooting touch at Davidson (Sports Illustrated)

Ray Allen has embodied what all pure shooters strive to accomplish. He’s the all-time 3-point leader in the NBA and a future hall of famer. Every ball he shoots looks like it is going in, and it is expected to. If players can learn enough of a complementary offensive game to still get open for shots, shooting ability can get them a long way in the league.

Ray Allen (Celticslife.com)

What makes people fans of shooters, of course, is they are fun to watch when they’re hot. Unless he’s playing against your team, you probably won’t complain about Ray Allen or Stephen Curry hitting 8-of-9 3’s to start the game and hope he starts dinging them off the backboard.

It is fun to watch great shooters work — making defenses look around helplessly as another shot goes in — just like it is fun to watch great dunkers or great quarterbacks who unmercifully pick apart defenses. Shooters are great to root for because what they’re doing isn’t due to natural athletic ability. It took thousands of hours in the gym, continuously perfecting the craft to get to what we see on TV.

Hopefully White and other current and upcoming college players take pride in the ability to shoot well, and allow us to continue in awe of all those hours in the gym paying off.


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Kevin Durant - OKC's Humble Superstar

Getty Images

Kevin Durant is the modern-age superstar we’ve been waiting for.

It’s amazing what success and talent can do to an athlete’s image. We want our athletes - and therefore our role models - to not only be great on the court, but be friendly, charismatic, down-to-earth and stay out of trouble off the court.

It’s asking a lot. They are only human. Jordan gambled, Kobe was accused of rape in Colorado and LeBron crushed an entire city on national television. But we still love them. Tiger Woods and Michael Vick taught us that success on the field can figuratively heal the wounds of their indiscretion. We want to watch physical specimens reach the height of their sport, and if they happen to take time for autographs and give time and money for a good cause - and act like we expect our children to act - that’s just icing on the cake. We assume the better the player, the more arrogant he is, and we learn to live with it.

Then there’s Durant. He’s the man who gives his mom a hug and kiss after every game.

He’s the man who didn’t make excuses against the referees for a missed foul call on the biggest stage, but simply said he should have made the shot.

He’s the man who thanked the media for all their coverage after losing the NBA finals.

And most importantly for Oklahoma City, he’s the man who signed a long-term deal in a small market to share the spotlight with other up-and-coming stars and give an area of the country that is new to the limelight a chance to make some noise. The announcement wasn’t made on primetime television, because that’s not who Durant is.

Not to mention he continued to behave like this while being the NBA’s scoring leader, second in MVP voting and while taking the Thunder to the NBA Finals. That’s pretty close to the summit of the sport.

It’s sad this column even has to be written. Why should we be so surprised? There are many other athletes, including in the NBA, that we’re told are all-around good guys. But for every one of them there is Gilbert Arenas with a gun and Dwight Howard trying his best to get his coach fired.  

Steve Nash, Grant Hill and Derek Fisher are among those who should be praised for their leadership and service. They understand they are in a position to make their community better, and they are taking advantage of that opportunity.

All of these guys mentioned are talented, veteran players, but none of them rose through the ranks of the NBA quite like Durant. Remember, he’s only 23 years old. He’s not supposed to be this mature, and he’s not supposed to be this good.

What makes him so humble; so seemingly genuine and kind?

His location could play a factor. Oklahoma City is a small market in terms of NBA cities and in the Midwest, where national news travels less. The logic makes sense, although he is still a household name with billion-dollar companies wanting to put his name on their products. Not to mention a big-fish-in-a-small-pond situation like Durant in OKC can often lead to more arrogance on the part of the superstar. Plus, the Thunder are the only game in town, which means Durant stands out more there than, say, Kobe Bryant in LA, where celebrities are everywhere.

Another explanation could be he didn’t know how good he really was. By that I mean, I’m sure he always knew he was great at basketball, but it’s different when you have millions of people reminding you how good you are. Durant got a lot of that this year, and there’s no sign of that going away anytime soon. But Durant’s season ended on the sport’s biggest stage, three games away from a title, and he still was the class-act he’s always been.

Maybe the reason behind it is the simplest reason; that’s who Kevin Durant is. He is a pure shooter with ice in his veins who after staring down the final shot, goes over to his mother, and then thanks everyone who made the win happen.

I want this to be the case. We need a Kevin Durant to show us you can be the best in aspects of your life off the court, as well as on it, and to show kids how to conduct yourself when everyone is looking.

Only time will tell, but I hope this is the real Kevin Durant we saw this June, because if so, he’ll have the love of more than just Oklahoma City.


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