Category Archives: Basketball
Basketball Greats: GOAT, GOTE or OOTG?
What could be more subjective in a basketball discussion than debating who is the greatest of all time (GOAT)? Nothing! And it always boils down to the question – “Is it MJ or LBJ?” Kobe, Kareem, and even Steph were sometimes inserted in GOAT discussions.
But who should really be the basketball’s GOAT? What criteria should be used to determine the greatest among the basketeers?
Should it be the number of championship rings won? Bill Russel should be it, then. He holds the record for most NBA championships with 11 titles during his 13-year playing career with the Boston Celtics. Jordan and Kareem each have 6, Kobe 5, and Lebron 4. However, Bill was rarely mentioned in the GOAT discussion because there were fewer teams and a lower level of competition during his era. When Jordan, Kareem, and Kobe won their championship rings, there were also fewer teams than when Lebron won his.
Declaring MJ as the GOAT, and not LeBron or anyone else, because he won six finals without losing any is illogical. Is it proper to say that Michael Jordan won all those trips to the NBA finals, or the Chicago Bulls did? That’s the problem with adding “winning six NBA titles and losing none” in the GOAT debate. It is as if only MJ should be credited for the feat. Lest it be forgotten that basketball is a team sport. Not only one player should get the credit.
Objective criteria should be set to determine who the GOAT is. Deciding who the best cager is cannot be done through debates in “barber shops” and agreeing to what biased and prejudiced sportscasters say.
The most objective criteria that can be created should be based solely on numbers, not on the opinion of self-proclaimed experts and diehard fans. A statistical model or formula should be created to quantify all the known and measurable aspects of a basketball player’s performance. Determining the GOAT must be based on the players’ performance-related statistics, not on the narratives created by talking heads. There’s no better method but through analytics… not what the Stephen Smiths and Shannon Sharpes of the world say.
Including the number of championship rings won in the formula is not statistically valid. Firstly, those vying for the GOAT status played in different periods. The rules of the game during their respective times are different. They don’t have the same set of teammates as well. In comparative statistical analyses, the population must possess the same characteristics and qualifications for the analysis to be considered statistically valid.
As to what are the measurable areas are well-known. They are the categories listed in the box score of a basketball game – points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, and turnovers. These are the bases upon which the National Basketball Association measures the player efficiency rating (PER). The NBA has also come up with a better way of analyzing the performance of its players through Player Impact Estimate (PIE).
Will the PIE model be enough to determine the GOAT?
The problem is that all metrics used by the NBA to gauge players’ all-around contribution to the game were implemented only recently. Putting the numbers of the GOAT candidates in a comparative matrix is obviously easier said and done.
Assuming that the comparative matrix can be created, is the PIE model enough to determine the GOAT? It seems incomplete and not inclusive, with missing “slices” in the PIE.
The statistical computation should also include the number of teams competing during the seasons that the GOAT candidates hoisted the championship trophy with their teams. The mathematicians in the NBA can figure out how to insert that component into the statistical model.
And there exists a gray area that must also be addressed if and when the GOAT dispute gets settled via analytics – the changes in the rules as the game of basketball evolved into what it is now. There were subtle changes to the regulations that perhaps went unnoticed, and there were obvious ones. Noticeable or not, those changes in rules affected the way the games were played before and now. Such changes in the rules should be factored in when creating the statistical model or formula to determine who the GOAT should be. If not, any statistical comparative analysis will be considered invalid. An inclusive “analytics model” is needed to comprehensively and objectively measure players’ performance to determine the greatest among them.
This leads to the question – Is it possible to create an inclusive “analytics model” to settle the GOAT debate?
Are the categories “number of teams playing when a championship was won” and “effect of the changes in rules during the playing years of the players” the only missing slices in NBA’s PIE? What about “availability to play”? In the number of years the GOAT candidates played, how many of the games were supposed to be played by their respective teams in a particular season they played?
What about factoring their age in the analytics? As they become older, are they still productive? As they age, do they still positively affect the results of the games they play, or have they become more of a liability to their teams? Can the answers to the preceding questions be measured and included in the NBA’s PIE?
We need to realize that with all those other categories that should be added to the GOAT formula, the statistical model becomes more and more complicated.
Suppose all those categories cannot be added to the “analytics model.” In that case, there is no way we can determine with utmost objectivity who among basketball players (past and present) is the greatest.
Why don’t we just slay the GOAT (debate) and bury it? Instead, let’s search for the GOTE – Greatest Of This Era. A GOTE “analytics model” is less complicated and is easier to formulate than that for the GOAT.
But there’s another path we can go the AI way… not ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE but APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY. For the uninitiated on Appreciative Inquiry, you can simply look at the meanings of the two words in context – APPRECIATION and INQUIRY. An online dictionary defines appreciation as recognizing and valuing the contributions or attributes of things and people around us, Inquiry, exploring and discovering in the spirit of understanding, and being open to new possibilities. Appreciative Inquiry is a method of problem-solving that was popularized by David Cooperrider in the 1980s.
I bet that when AI is applied to determine greatness in the hardwood, we will refrain from seeking out who the GOAT or the GOTE is. Instead, we will come out declaring the OOTG – One Of The Greatest.
There is no need to put one basketball player on the pedestal of greatness and put other basketball players down. We can learn to appreciate the greatness of the players we idolize without making any comparisons with other players.
LEBRON’S GREATNESS
You can love LeBron James or hate him, but you can’t ignore his greatness. “The kid from Akron” has accomplished much, not just as an athlete but as a businessman, that even his staunchest critics and haters, the “Skip Baylesses” of the world, could not help but sing praises.
The list of his career highlights and awards is long. On top of that list are 4 NBA championship rings and the same number of NBA Finals MVP trophies. He was also voted NBA MVP 4 times. His critics would be quick to mention that Michael Jordan has more rings and trophies than Bron and therefore is a greater player… and the greatest of all time. Bill Russel won more championships than Jordan and Lebron combined. So, should he be the GOAT? I could almost hear basketball pundits calling me names for asking that question. They might even say that I know nothing about basketball for not agreeing that MJ is the GOAT.
For the record, I don’t buy the idea of declaring a basketball player as the GOAT. Each of the aforementioned players is/was great. The list of great players who showcased their superb talents and have brought us entertainment through the years is long. The GOAT debate is just like a championship ring. It is rounded and has no beginning or end. Discussions about it would always end in a stalemate. Nobody could definitively say who among past and present basketball players is the greatest of all time. Nobody could claim that they have a statistically sound metric to objectively determine who among those basketeers should be declared the best. Not because ESPN’s Stephen Smith says that Michael Jordan is the greatest hooper that everybody in the basketball universe would already accept it as the truth.
We cannot disregard the greatness of a certain athlete by saying that another one is better. We should not diminish LeBron’s greatness by saying that Jordan (or anyone else) is a better cager. We should learn to appreciate the accomplishments of players individually, not comparatively.
I find it amusing how the LeBron doubters would eagerly await that he fails at something or his team would not perform as well as expected for them to have something to say against him. Is it because they expect too much from him or do they just hate to see him succeed? They won’t consider him helping bring his teams (Miami & Cleveland) to eight straight finals as an accomplishment but rather a monumental failure having succeeded only thrice in those multiple trips to the NBA finals. They refuse to give him credit for leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to come back from a 1-3 deficit and win the championship citing as the reason the suspension given to Daymond Green in Game 5 of that series. They also considered the championship he won with the Lakers as insignificant because the 2020 NBA season was shortened and disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In short, his critics would always find a way to either downgrade or disregard his greatness.
But no matter what the fault-finders say, LeBron remained steadfast in his quest for greatness. At the age of 38, he remained competitive. I don’t know if any player could beat him in the category of longevity. And it is not just a matter of playing as long as they could but playing at a level the way Lebron has been doing it.
Whether he could play as long as Kareem Abdul Jabbar (who retired at the age of 42) remains to be seen. But what is certain to happen is him passing Kareem as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. As of today (01-04-23), Lebron has 37,903 points. He needs just 485 more points. He is therefore at the precipice of another great milestone. Estimates have it that sometime in February, 2023 the “Kid from Akron” will be breaking the said record that stood since 1984.
King James, for me, is an epitome of a person “aging like fine wine.” At the age of 37, (according to Forbes) LeBron James is the first active NBA player ever to become a billionaire. At the age of 38, he is about to become NBA’s all-time leading scorer. By the way, among the top 5 all-time leading scorers, he has the highest number of assists and is third in total rebounds.
We don’t know if those who despise Lebron so much would be happy to see him add all those feathers to his cap. They may be. Skip Bayless said he is. I have no reason to doubt Skip… or should I?
An Unforgettable Triumph
I am a big fan of basketball. I love the game so much. I can’t recall a day that I didn’t visit websites that cater to basketball – particularly the NBA. It is through ESPN and FOX Sports that I keep track of the standings of my favorite teams, the performance of my favorite players, and the latest developments in the world of basketball. I get updates on professional basketball in the Philippines through pba.ph.
Lebron James is still my favorite player and it is quite difficult to accept the fact that he (and the Lakers) are not playing in the playoffs. But had he not suffered that groin injury, the narrative could have been different.
I also follow college basketball both in the US and in my country. My heart bled when Zion Williamson and the Duke Blue Devils were defeated by MI State.
I could not recall missing any FIBA basketball tournaments also, especially when the Philippine team played.
I would either watch basketball games live (thanks to betting websites that stream them for free) or catch their highlights through Youtube.
I am into fantasy basketball as well. In 2016, I joined a Yahoo fantasy basketball league organized by a fellow expat here in South Korea. My team (M2 Trappers) lead by Lebron James won. For winning that tournament, I earned 80,000 won.
I also enjoy playing hoops and coaching/training a basketball team. I don’t have very fond memories as a basketball player though. I have always been a benchwarmer who would be called to play only when somebody needs to rest for a minute or two or when my team needs to send to the foul line a poor free throw shooter from the opposing team.
However, my being a basketball coach-trainer is a different story. It’s a colorful one.
Aside from teaching and writing, another thing that I do passionately is coaching a basketball team. I have coached basketball teams for school and inter-school competitions. Once upon a time that I was also a manager and coach of a basketball team in the barrio (a geographical unit smaller than a town ) where I am residing in the Philippines.
Some of the teams I coached reached championship rounds. There were times we ended up as runner-ups but of course there were times also that we emerged as champions.
What I consider as the most memorable of all the basketball championships in my collection is the one my team won during a sportsfest (in the college where I worked) many years ago. That time I coached students taking the course Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM).
It was a championship so hard to forget because the manner it was won was too good to be true.
It was epic!
I actually wrote an article about that championship run. It was published in the school paper that year. I decided to reprint here the said article entitled “No Championship Could Be Sweeter.”
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No Championship Could Be Sweeter
What inspired me to write about the championship which my team (BLUE) collared during the Sportsfest 2000 was not the desire to brag about it nor an intention to magnify our triumph. We could brag about it should we decide to do so but there was no need for that. No need to magnify it either for winning the basketball men crown in the fashion the HRM team did it was in itself huge that need not be magnified. Writing about it is simply my way of giving tribute to the players who immortalized themselves in the memory of those who watched (as well as those who heard) how they bravely persevered in winning three (3) games in a span of six (6) hours en route to winning the title.
(August 23, 2000)
The BLUE team was loaded with talent making them one of the pre-tournament favorites. The team had 2 good point guards, a shooting guard/forward capable of shooting the lights out from beyond the arch, a lanky dependable center, and a formidable go-to guy who can play point-forward. Predictions had it that they will vie for the championship.
But predictions can go either way…right or wrong.
The BLUE team’s lofty billing (and their morale) were sent crashing back to earth when the BLACK team (Com Sci – Octoberian), the defending champion seeking to “three-peat” and composed mainly of the members of the school’s basketball varsity, dealt them an ego-bruising trashing.
All the hype about the BLUE team were gone. Just that and they were no longer regarded as title contenders. Suddenly, the BLACK team had no more competition to being the darling of the tournament and became the sole favorite to win the crown.
While the BLACKS developed a cloak of invisibility, the BLUES, with their defeat right on their first game, began to doubt their capabilities.
(August 24, 2000)
Such a doubt in themselves became very apparent when in their second game on the second day of the tournament, despite the fact that they had a relatively light assignment (against the GRAY team), they held only a 2-point lead at the half.
Before that game, I talked to the players, pointed out the mistakes which led to their eventual defeat to the BLACKS on their first game and asked them to avoid committing the same. We were literally on a cliff’s edge for the tournament format provides that 2 losses would boot a team out of the competition.
Somehow they responded. They made a conscious effort to avoid their loopholes in game 1 but the problem during the first half of game 2 was their lack of enthusiasm. They played a lackluster brand of basketball which was giving their opponents confidence. So, during the huddle when the second half was about to start, I started cursing and swearing and even called my key players names. I told them that they would become a shameful bunch of idiots should they lose the game.
Cursing and swearing and calling my players names come dead last in my repertoire of motivational methods. I was forced to use them for it was my intention to offend them, make them angry, and push them to prove that they indeed know how to play basketball.
It worked!
For the first few minutes of the second half my players played like men possessed in both ends of the floor. While they scored an avalanche of points their counterparts struggled and had to bleed for theirs. At the end, the BLUES emerged victorious with plenty to spare.
(August 25, 2000)
The third game was very meaningful and integral. Not because we won over a formidable opponent (the GREEN team); not because I finally discovered the team’s best offensive and defensive combinations; and not because the players got their confidence back burying in oblivion the ghosts of game 1. It was meaningful and integral for what one of my players did (not in the playing court but before the start of the game). When I granted him permission to talk he reminded me about one missing ingredient to make the team stronger…PRAYERS. He asked if we could pray before the game. He put me in an awkward position because I’ve never done that. Yes I believe in God and I pray but I do it privately. I don’t know if it was his way of telling me that instead of cursing and swearing to motivate the players why not try praying to God instead. Praying before playing wouldn’t do the team any harm. Nobody objected to it. So, from then on, we would always have a short prayer in one corner of the tournament venue before entering the playing court.
For our second win, we claimed the scalps of the GREENS and faced the tall order of defeating the WHITES for the right to square off against the BLACKS (who enjoyed a twice-to-beat advantage) for the championship.
That night was almost a sleepless one for me. I pondered about the bleak prospects that await my team the following day. We had to beat the WHITES once the BLACKS twice so we could hoist the championship hardware.
Winning three games in a row was a tall order. Honestly, I doubted our chances. Defeating the equally-determined WHITES in the do-or-die game and the seemingly invincible BLACKS twice all in the same day was “mission impossible.” I believed it was probable for us to win the first two games. But when the third game comes, it would take super-human efforts from my players to win.
(August 26, 2000)
I was so disappointed upon seeing that morning that of my 14 players only 7 came. To make matters worse, one of my two good point guards, was one of those who did not come. I used to play both my point guards together during the 1st 5 minutes of the game and one of them not showing up affected my rotation. But we were at the point of no return.
I told the players to employ a half-court offense in every possession unless there’s a clear fastbreak opportunity. Not that they can’t run but with only 7 players, and with the possibility of playing a total of three games that day, they needed to conserve energy.
Though I predicted a win for us, the WHITES we knew were tough nuts to crack. We watched the previous day how they gave the BLACKS a scare before losing by just two points. But as it turned out, my players were tougher. Despite playing with only 7 men in the rotation, the BLUES won and primed themselves for the daunting task of defeating the BLACK team twice for the crown.
Our team was given by the tournament officials just half an hour to rest before we began with the championship game. We prayed, as usual, before entering the playing court. Then one more of my players came, not the good point guard, but an additional pair of fresh legs just the same that somehow deepened a bit our rotation.
While the BLACKS were busy with their pre-game rituals, I asked my players to just shoot free throws and catch-and-shoot from the 3-point line to conserve their energy.
I reminded the players that they were up against the defending champion with most of the members playing together for the past three years and that they were trying to nail another championship to complete a “three-peat.” I told the BLUES that only them are capable of spoiling the BLACK’s impending victory party. The following were my words for them before the opening tip-off… “You have nothing to lose but everything to gain. We’ve gone this far. Let’s go a bit further.”
Once more I asked them to use the game plan we employed against the WHITES earlier that day.
When the final buzzer for that game sounded, the BLUES raised their hands in triumph.
By winning against their first-game tormentors, the blue team effectively exorcised the ghosts of that defeat shattering at the same time the BLACKS’ cloak of invisibility. That was the first time in three years that that team suffered a defeat. At that time my players knew that they were capable of defeating the defending champions. The players of the opposing team recognized also that despite having only 8 players our team could defeat them.
The winner-take-all match was scheduled to be played at 1:00 PM giving both teams just one hour to rest. My players had a light meal and I bought for them energy drinks (Lipovitan). Then, we again prayed… harder… for we all knew that it would take a miraculous performance from them to win a third straight game (twice) against the BLACKS who had more players and fresher legs.
My players were very tired having played twice in the morning that day. Fatigue was one of the two formidable opponents they needed to contend with that afternoon the second one being the strong and determined team BLACK aching to avenge their defeat and continue their winning tradition.
However, neither fatigue nor the strong determination of their opponents could prevent the BLUE team from realizing their victorious date with destiny.
The BLUES vanquished the BLACKS, crowned themselves the school’s Sportsfest 2000 Basketball-Men champions and handed me my first (and sweetest) championship as a basketball coach.
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Thank you Niño, Hector, Ramon, Irish, Edward, Ruel, Rommel, Rowell, Arnold, Jaysan, Francis, Ivan, Angelo, Audie, and Sir Jyx. But remember…it was GOD who made it possible for us.
Warriors-Cavs: It’s 3-1…Again
The Cavs avoided the dreaded broom and prevented the Warriors from celebrating a historic sweet 16-0 Playoffs sweep.
The Warriors’ flirtation with a perfect Playoffs record ended. However, despite losing Game 4, the faithful citizens of Dub Nation are not worried believing that the 2017 NBA Larry O’Brien trophy is still heading to the San Francisco Bay area. They may be right for it would take a super human effort to win 4 straight games against their “juggernaut” of a team.
It may seem a tall order to recover from a 0-3 hole to make a series a little more competitive but it has been done in the past. NBA records show that there were 9 teams that forced a Game 6 after losing the first three games and 3 forced a game 7.
It would take a super human effort for the Cavs to win 4 straight games against the “juggernaut” Warriors. They had that kind of effort in Game 4 clinching them a win. But still the “Hydra” from San Francisco Bay is up 3-1. Do the Cav’s “Hercules” (Lebron) still have what it takes to slay the many-headed monster? The Cavs indeed face a herculean task of clawing back from a 1-3 hole. They did it last year. Would they be able to do it again this year? They cut one of the Hydra’s head (Curry) last year. But cut one head and two heads would emerge from the fresh wound. It happened. Curry’s back playing healthy and with him sprang the Hydra’s additional head, Durant!
All roads lead to the Oracle, not of Delphi, but the arena in San Franciso on Monday night! Let’s see who the basketball gods favor this time.
The New York Knicks snared 3 consecutive wins after losing the first 3 games of the 1951 NBA Finals to push the Rochester Royals to a deciding Game 7. The Knicks lost the deciding game though, something that the Warriors could hope would happen should the Cavs, again, succeed in bringing the series to a winner-take-it-all finale.
The Warriors and their legion of hopefuls are counting on the fact the no NBA team has brought home the championship trophy after going down 0-3. But the Cavs and their throng of believers are certainly not looking at the picture anymore as rising from a 0-3 grave but climbing a 1-3 mountain. And there was a team who succeeded in scaling that mountain to become NBA champions…the Cavs themselves.
Déjà vu? Not exactly.
Just like last year, after four games, the Warriors are up 3-1. Then, horrendously, they dropped the next 3.
Will history repeat itself?
Nobody knows.
However, the circumstances (which favor the Warriors) are much different this year. Now the Warriors have a Kevin Durant and a healthier Stephen Curry. These are the reasons that made basketball experts believe that it’s almost impossible for the Cavs to recover from either a 0-3 or a 1-3 deficit.
But, again, nobody knows what would happen. With Lebron finally getting ample support from Irving and Love, the Cavs are harder to beat. It’s worth noticing that when Smith finally got out of his scoring slump, they almost won in Game 3. Smith again came out to play in Game 4 scoring 5 threes and Tristan Thompson, finally, played the way he was expected to contributing 10 boards and 5 points. Finally, the Cavs won. Not only that Lebron’s teammates started contributing, but the Cavs are also finally shooting better from downtown.
Analysts of the game are unanimous in saying that the Warriors need to need to win Game 5 to end the series. If not, the possibility of a playing a game 7 is strong. Then, it can be anybody’s ballgame.
Golden State Warriors Up 2-0
It’s no longer surprising that the Golden State Warriors are up 2-0 against the Cleveland Cavaliers and it doesn’t take one to have a head full of gray basketball hair to figure out why. What has given the Dub Nation a distinct advantage against the Cleveland is the addition of its “new citizen” Kevin Durant.
The Warriors also raced to a 2-0 start last year then split their next two games in their opponents’ turf to hold a commanding 3-1 lead. The rest is history. The Lebron-led team won the next 3 games, including 2 in the Warriors’ own homecourt, to give Cleveland its first ever NBA championship.
That lost was indeed painful for the Dubs. They are aching for revenge. But with the powerhouse team that they already had in 2015 and 2016, they found Lebron James and the Cavs tough nuts to crack with them being pushed to Game 6 in 2015 before prevailing and beaten in 2016. So, they thought they need another superstar to add more firepower in their arsenal in order for them to be ready against King James and his Cavaliers. Luckily, they found one willing to join them, a basketball star who also have a score to settle against Lebron James – Kevin Durant. It should be remembered that Lebron, donning a Miami Heat uniform, defeated Durant’s OKC for the 2012 NBA diadem.
2-0 is a familiar hole for the Cavs. It was the same situation they were in last year before the series switched to their homecourt. But this year may be a different story. They may have dug themselves a hole difficult to climb back from with a Kevin Durant helping the Warriors to plug it.
The statistics are too difficult to ignore. In games 1 & 2, both Cavs’ starting line-up and bench were outscored by their opponents.
The Cavs getting outworked in both ends of the floor is not also surprising. NBA records show that during the regular season, the Warriors ranked first in offense and their efficiency in the defensive end is above the league’s average. Conversely, the Cavs came in fourth in offense but way below the league’s average in defensive efficiency.
Not the Cavs’ “big 3” are not contributing the numbers that they are expected to. In the 2 games played so far, the troika of Lebron, Irving and Love produced a combined 142 points, 59 rebounds and 32 assists. Unfortunately for them, this year, the Warriors have a “super 4” – Curry, Thompson, Green and Durant – who produced bigger numbers than their – 180 points, 66 rebounds and 43 assists.
Compounding Cavs problems is not only the Warriors’ bench churning out better numbers than their supporting cast but also their not getting enough contributions from the other members of their line-up – Smith and Thompson.
Perhaps it’s time for coach Tyron Lue to tweak his starting line-up.
Kevin Durant has been averaging 35.5 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists in the series so far. That’s the big difference, the main reason the Warriors are up 2-0.
Had Durant not joined the Warriors, who would have produced the said numbers?
WARRIORS VS CAVS: TAKE 3
Basketball experts were proven right with their prediction. The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are locking horns for the 3rd time in 3 years for the right to hoist the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy.
The Warriors almost effortlessly destroyed the pretenders to their throne in the West during the regular season while the Cavs performed erratically relegating themselves to 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
With their (the Cavs’) lethargic performance during the 82-game grind, the “uninitiated” were quick to dismiss the defending champs doubting their chance of reaching the championship round. Conversely, those with keener basketball sense knew that the Cavs were either disinterested in winning games that do not count or were simply reserving their strength for the playoffs.
The inconsistencies on the part of the Cavs could also be attributed to injuries to key players, the need to rest the stars of the team, and the mid-season changes in their line-up.
But when the playoffs gates were opened, the Cavs were like hungry lions unleashed. The players who came back from injury got their rhythm back, the new players got fully integrated into the system, and their key players were seemingly playing with fresher legs and sharper focus. Result? They decimated their playoff opponents, losing only once to the top-seeded Boston Celtics for an impressive 12-1 win-loss record in the playoffs.
More impressive though is the Warriors’ clean slate (12-0). They did not lose a single game in the Western Conference playoffs. However, some experts are not giving the Warriors full credit for such a feat due to Kawhi Leonard’s injury in Game 1 of the Warriors-Spurs series. Many even believe that the Warriors would have lost that game had Leonard not gotten injured.
As it is, it’s Warriors versus Cavs once more.
The oddsmakers installed the Warriors (-270) as the heavy favorites and the Cavs (+230), the underdogs.1
Even majority of ESPN sportswriters predict that the NBA trophy will be reclaimed by the San Francisco Bay team. 23 out of 28 who were asked see the Warriors winning the championship with 8 of them saying that the Cavs might win just a single game.2
That much respect the Warriors are given. That’s nothing new for the Cavs. They’re in a familiar territory.
The Cavs were also the underdogs in 2015 NBA Finals. The Warriors defeated them 4 games to 2 but it should be noted that that series was played without Kevin Love when he suffered an injury in the Cavs’ playoffs series with the Boston Celtics. Kyrie Irving got injured as well in Game 1 and did not play the rest of the championship series. But notwithstanding the injuries to those key players, the Cavs extended the series to a game 6 even managing to race to a 2-1 lead.
In the 2016 NBA Finals, the Cavs were give the same tag (underdogs) with the Warriors being predicted to breeze through them having then achieved a seemingly improbable NBA milestone… they set a regular season 73-9 win-lose record eclipsing the Chicago Bulls’ record of 72-10 that stood for 21 years. And when the Warriors raced to a 3-1 lead, their fans started to release the confetti in celebration.
But the whole sporting world knows what happened. the basketball gods had other plans. They allowed the team from Cleveland to set a seemingly improbable record of their own. Given up for dead, the Cavs, with all their key players finally playing together in championship games, rose from the grave to become the first team ever to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win an NBA championship.
That was of course, the most painful way to lose a championship. The Dub nation knows that. They are aching for a payback. They were aware that during the 2015 NBA Championship, the Cavs, with Lebron James as the only legit superstar in the lineup to carry the team, they were stretched to a Game 6. The following year (in the 2016 championship series), they witnessed how potent was the combination of Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love that even when they had what was believed to be an insurmountable 3-1 lead, they lost.
The Golden State Warriors’ front office have probably concluded that the team’s main core of Draymond Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have had and will have a hard time dealing with the Cav’s troika of Lebron, Kyrie and Kevin. So, they recruited another superstar… Kevin Durant.
Now, the Warriors have 4 superstars as against 3 of the Cavs. Thus, it doesn’t take a genius to understand why the former are the overwhelming favorites to win the 2017 NBA Championship trophy.
Why is it logical and completely understandable that the Golden State Warriors are heavily favored?
With the inclusion of Durant, the Warriors now have 2 MVPs in their lineup bringing to 4 the total of All-star players in the team. They also registered the best win-loss record in the regular season (67-15) winning 27 of their last 28 games including 12 straight in the playoffs. NBA records show that they ranked first in offense and their defensive efficiency is way above the league average.
On the other hand, the Cavs came 4th in offense and way below the league average in defensive efficiency.
Nevertheless, it is difficult to write-off the Cavs. Why? They have Lebron James in the line-up who knows what it takes to win. He’s been playing superbly in the playoffs. And don’t forget the brilliance of Kyrie and the resurgence of Kevin, not to mention the quiet effectiveness of Tristan Thompson who might as well be the 4th superstar in Cav’s uniform. If Tristan Thompson does not deliver the way he used to (and the way he ought to) and the Cavs end up losing the NBA crown, then the front office of the Cleveland Cavaliers must recruit an additional player, another superstar, in response to the Warriors adding a Kevin Durant in their line-up for clearly, if there’s one reason the NBA championship trophy returns to the San Fracisco Bay area, it’s Durant.
But as the late coach Rudy Tomjanovich said after the Houston Rockets repeated as NBA champions in 1995, “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of the champion!” However, as to which NBA champions (2015 or 2016?) would say so when the current NBA season concludes, remains to be seen.
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1Source: Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook (Thru: NBA-ESPN)
2 Source: http://www.espn.com/nba/
M.A.D. LIGAYA
M.A.D. L I G A Y A 
Lebron and That Game Against GSW
Feb 1
Posted by M.A.D. LIGAYA
It’s really difficult not to take notice and appreciate the greatness of Lebron James as a basketeer… unless you are a certified Lebron hater or your concept of being a basketball fan is such that you can embrace only one great player and everybody else is a pretender.
Only the Skip Baylesses of the world would find it insulting to heap praises on Lebron James for what he has accomplished in the NBA. And bad news for the LBJ haters…he’s not done yet. Much to the chagrin of those who hate to see King James succeed, at the age of 39 and in his 21st season, he keeps stuffing the stat line. In their latest game against the Golden State Warriors, the Akron Hammer hammered his way to a triple-double with 36 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 assists.
Those numbers are not the most impressive parts of Lebron’s stat line in that game against the Warriors. Despite being 39 years old, he played for 48 minutes, making Father Time scratch his head in exasperation. Of course, we know that Father Time is undefeated. But in the case of LBJ, he has to wait a little longer. As to how long, we don’t really know. For now, let’s continue to marvel at the way Bron makes his haters wonder how, in the world, he managed to stay competitive.
In that game against the Stephen Curry-led team, he proved that he could still compete at the highest level and lead his Lakers’ team and contend for a possible championship if he gets to have a competitive supporting cast.
What was on display in that game is how “The King” has seemingly created a blueprint for players’ longevity. Longevity as in playing competitively beyond NBA players’ typical retirement age (35 to 37). He is the only remaining active player from the 2003 draft class. He is currently the oldest active player.
He is the NBA’s scoring king, surpassing Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s record almost a year ago. After scoring 36 against the Warriors, he is less than 300 points away from becoming the first NBA player to score 40,000 regular season points. With the Los Angeles Lakers playing more than 30 more games and currently averaging 25 points per game, he is expected to reach the milestone way before the playoffs start. It is a record that, according to basketball pundits, will be hard to surpass. That record is expected to get even higher, given that he could still play for 2 or more years. He also holds the record for playoff points at exactly 8,023.
He also belongs to the NBA top 10 in assists (fourth). No one else among the top 10 NBA all-time scorers is on that list. This is a testament to his being an unselfish player not looking to just score points but getting his teammates involved.
Undoubtedly, he is one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game.
Forget about the GOAT debate. Unless a completely objective and statistically sound rubric can be created to determine the greatest to have played the game of basketball, the GOAT discussion will remain tainted with bias, prejudice, and subjectivity. We can always appreciate the greatness of our favorite player without putting down another player.
Hopefully, when Lebron decides to hang his jerseys, he could write a book about how he managed to stay strong and competitive. What is remarkable is not just his longevity but also his durability. He has not sustained a major career-threatening injury that would have kept him sidelined for a long time. There may be times that he played through injury… and that is a testament to how much he loves and respects the game.
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Posted in Basketball, Lebron James, NBA, Sports Commentary
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Tags: Basketball, Lebron James, Longevity, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, sports