Didn’t Draw Iron - an NBA Basketball Blog

I admit it. I’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid too. Cleveland is among the 3 or 4 elite teams in the NBA and LeBron is a near lock for MVP. Right? The NBA community sure seems to think so. Just take a look at the latest power rankings:

Hollinger: #2
Stein: #3
NBA.com: #1

And the Hollinger ranking was made AFTER the Detroit loss. Any chance we might be jumping the gun on both LeBron and the Cavaliers? The evidence suggests we might…

Current record: 9-3

However, every one of their wins has come against bad teams (with the possible exception of Denver). They’ve beaten Dallas, Indiana, Milwaukee, Denver, Utah w/no Deron, NJ and Chicago twice. Their combined records are 43-48, and that’s with Denver at 8-4.

They’ve played 3 tough teams - Boston, New Orleans and Detroit, and lost to all of them.

Lebron’s current averages are 29pts/8rbd/7ast and shooting 48%. Amazing to be sure. But how has he done against the real title contenders?

vs BOS: 22/7/6 @ 42%
vs NO: 15/7/13 @ 40%
vs DET: 25/6/6 @ 38%

All off his average. Obviously you might expect his numbers to dip somewhat against better competition, but the shooting % is the most telling. When playing teams that don’t allow him to drive to basket like he’s merging onto the freeway, he’s only shooting 40%. And that’s with him drastically cutting down his 3pt attempts this year; taking just 39 so far (which he’s shooting at 25% btw).

That said, Cleveland is beating the teams they should beat. They’re clearly better than they were last year and LBJ might be the MVP come May. But I think it’s also clear that they don’t deserve the high rankings, or to be talked about in the same breath as Boston or Detroit in the East. Not just yet.

Unfortunately, we won’t find out how good they really are anytime soon. Cleveland’s easy schedule continues through December. The “toughest” games they have are Toronto, Houston, and suddenly struggling Atlanta twice. We’ll really see what they’re made of in January when they play Boston, NO, LA, Portland and Orlando.

Till then, the jury is out…

UPDATE: Now that I’ve released a video version of my original blog post, I thought it might be a good time to update the story with some of the more recent incidents. The new video is below, and the updates are at the end of the blog post.

Is anyone else sick of KG’s act? His talent may be outmatched by his tendency to be a complete ass. He’s got a history of bullying lesser players, overreacting, and generally showing little class. So let’s take a brief run down memory lane in this “profile in courage”.

It’s no secret that KG and Wally Szczerbiak didn’t get along in Minnesota. By all reports, KG would openly glare and berate Wally during games. Source of their trouble? You can read what you want into KG’s quote given after Wally was traded:

“I want to clear this up,” Garnett said in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I’ve never had a beef with ’World.’ As the primary on this team, I felt it was my responsibility to have the ball come through me, and consolidate it and distribute it to everybody. “

The situation reached a low point in 2000 when after a contentious practice, KG rushed Wally and sucker punched him in the head. (it’s even been reported he was on the training table when hit). During the practice Szczerbiak shouted, “Why don’t you call out the screens?” Garnett shot back with, “Why don’t you play some defense?” The sucker punch followed.

An even more pitiful incident happened in 2004. During a pickup game, Garnet punched 2nd year Wolves player Rick Ricket. He required seven stitches. According to reports, Rickert scored several times on KG and other players got on him about. When Rickert scored again, KG punched him without warning. “Rick was surprised that Garnett reacted the way he did,” said Rickert’s agent, Mark Termini. No action was taken by the team.

Rick Rickert is surprisingly all smilesafter his run-in with KG.

And his latest show of class? His reaction to Jose Calderon apparently yelling something to him as he shot a jumper:

Class act I tell ya. Trash talking is one thing, but is there another player in the league that could have gotten away with such childish nonsense? Is there another world-class player that would do it in the first place? Would it surprise you to know the Celtics were losing at that point? Am I asking too many questions? (the Celtics did come back to win the game BTW, leaving room for the excuse that he was just “firing up his team”)

Fact is, Garnett is a touchy bully who overreacts and then takes cheap shots. Need another example?

Step 1: KG overreacts to standard contact by Zaza Pachulia of Atlanta and throws an elbow (with that name, how is this guy not a boxer?). Yet when confronted he does nothing:

Step 2: Game 7 of the same series with the Celts up by 34. He takes his cheap shot revenge:



Guess Wally was right when he said KG has a problem calling out screens. My favorite part is when the announcer says, “Kevin Garnett showing restraint this time”, followed by Mark Jackson yelling it’s not a cheap shot. Wonder what he would have said if it was the other way around?

The video has been wiped off the face of the internet, but KG once even took a cheap shot at Tim Duncan by slapping him in the back of the head when he wasn’t looking.

What goes around does come around every so often. He once went after the smaller Anthony Peeler, but Peeler decided to answer:

Did you happen to notice who is seen leaving the scene in frame 3? Yep, his old pal Wally Szczerbiak. Wonder why he’s not jumping in? Could be too busy doing cartwheels in his head.

EDIT: Grainy video of the last few seconds of the Peeler fight has surfaced. Maybe it was taken from the grassy knoll? It catches the action just as KG tries to intimidate Peeler with an elbow to the body. Peeler responds, sending Garnett into a menacing bounce!

And what does KG do when faced with a player his size? The moonwalk:

I’ll admit that none of this stuff drives me as crazy as watching him punch his chest and yell like his foot’s just been cut off after every tipped ball. Act like you been there once in awhile. I understand that Garnett’s act is all too easy for the press to love. But I know there are a few out there, just like me, who find watching this therapeutic:

Maybe this June, if I’m really lucky, I’ll get to watch Garnett mumble through four post-game news conferences after tough playoff losses. Sitting there slumped over with his head down, we’ll all salute his profile in courage! My advice to the microphone? Duck!


UPDATE: Added 1-2-09

♦ On Dec 30th, about to lose again (see a trend here?), KG “accidentally elbows LaMarcus Aldridge (see my video at 3:30).

♦ Garnett clearly pushed the referee after the ZaZa incident but wasn’t punished. I don’t think it was that big of a deal, but with all the other evidence of the league looking the other way on KG it’s worth a note. At 13 seconds, you see him look down at the ref (so he’s aware who it is). He shoves him a few seconds later:

♦ KG laying out Sasha right in front of the ref in game 3 of last years finals drives Laker fans especially crazy (although it does act as a great metaphor for the complete beat down the Celtics laid on LA, so it tough to feel sorry for them). Watch the top of the screen 14 seconds in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XoZ6R-rM-Y

♦ He was suspended for hitting Andrew Bogut in the face after a rebound tussle. Ironically, I think this may be the one case where he had a reason to take a swipe. Bogut was awful clumsy on the rebound and whacked KG a few times. Given the history though, I’ll show and you decide:

End

Has the baby face and soft demeanor of Andrew Bynum fooled you into thinking he just goes with the flow? Well I’m guessing it hasn’t fooled Sasha Vujacic. Turn up this video and listen to what he yells at Sasha around 9 seconds in:

This is actually a GREAT sign for Bynum and the Lakers. One of the potential knocks against him was a lack of passion and fire. Guess maybe he might just have some after all (those dunks, blocks and rebounds might also be a clue).

I’m just glad my Mom doens’t work for the Lakers. She’d wash his mouth out with soap…

If you repeat something often enough, it becomes fact. This has certainly held true for one of the most frequently repeated opinions regarding Kobe Bryant: “He doesn’t make his teammates better”.

It stopped in 2008, when coincidentally the Lakers had an actual team around Kobe. But during the previous 3 years, it’s been repeated more than THIS (which is almost mathematically impossible). It seemed every time Barkley and Kenny Smith would discuss Kobe, they’d mention it. As David Stein of the Sporting News said in June of 07, “Whenever anyone sits behind the SportsCenter desk or the talk radio microphone and critiques Kobe, it’s always the same. “He doesn’t make all the players around him better … like you know who.”

“He may be the leading candidate for league MVP, but, unlike Steve Nash, he doesn’t seem to have either the desire or the knack to make his teammates better at the same time.” Tim Dahlberg -San Francisco Chronicle, April 06

It would be interesting to see what Dahlberg would say about Nash this year? He’s got one hell of a supporting cast, yet his “knack” seems hindered. Has Kobe and Nash changed that much, or have their teams?

I almost never see it challenged. So after waiting years for someone to make the case, I decided to make the case myself…

The theory kicked into high gear after the Shaq trade. Many blamed Kobe for the Diesel leaving, and being selfish was the given reason. True or not, that “selfish” tag stuck. He puts up big numbers but they don’t win enough = selfish.

The reality of the 3 years following the Shaq trade was high expectations and bad players. Laker management filled the roster with a Kareem, Walton, and Jordan; problem was it was Kareem Rush, Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar. Maybe the question should be “how far do you have to carry mediocrity before you get credit for it?” The answer for Kobe seems to be “a lot farther than the first round.” Take these guys past the first round? Kobe should have gotten the MVP for taking these guys to McDonalds.

So to address the myth that Kobe doesn’t make teammates better, I’ve listed most of the players the Lakers have counted on to contribute since the Shaq trade, and tracked their career with and without Kobe.

Let’s get started!

Lamar Odom: Lamar is and always will be a complimentary player, best when he’s the 3rd best on a team.   Now that LA has some talent around him besides Kobe, you’re seeing his real value. That said, lets look at his first four years with the Clippers, one with Miami, and those that followed with Kobe and the Lakers.

Rebound average first 5 years: 7.8, 7.7, 6.1, 6.6, 9.7
Rebound average with the Lakers: 10.2, 9.3, 9.7, 10.1

Verdict: His worst year with LA is better than his best anywhere else. Kobe made him better.

Caron Butler: Caron was part of the Shaq deal in 04-05. With LA that year, he had career highs in FG%, points and rebounds. Kobe reportedly wasn’t happy when they traded him for Kwame. Since the trade, Caron has continued to blossom. Kwame hasn’t, and was used in the trade for Gasol.

Verdict: Played his best year of ball up to that date with Kobe.

Luke Walton: If there was ever a player made to look better than he is by playing with Kobe and the Lakers, it just might be Luke. Analysts admit he’d be a role player at best with a decent team, but for the Lakers he played 20 minutes a game in 06 and 33 in 07. So hard up for talent were the Lakers that they signed him to a 6 year, $30 million dollar deal over the summer.

Verdict: Looks much better than he is with Kobe

Devean George: George is my favorite example of the “Matrix effect”; a player made to much better than he was by everything around him. When you watched the Matrix, you somehow forgot how bad of an actor Keanu was, right? He’s been paid good money for 17 non-matrix movies since - can you name one? Not a hit in the lot. Kobe (and Shaq) have had a similiar affect on players; making them look better than they are and they’re later given a big contract elsewhere because of it. (Mark Madsen ring a bell?). Since getting good money from Dallas , George has been a big disappointment.

John Hollinger of ESPN: 2006-07 season: “Well, he wasn’t as bad as Greg Buckner. Like his teammate, George was a veteran role player stuck into a major role due for no apparent reason, and like Buckner’s, his offense was dreadful. George posted a sub-50 true shooting percentage for the fifth straight season, ranking 60th among the league’s 70 power forwards, and his rebounding was even more ineffectual, ranking 63rd.

As a reward for all that great production, Dallas played George 21 minutes a night. Worse yet, he started and played a whopping 31 minutes in Game 1 of the playoffs. For the series against Golden State , he averaged 18.5 minutes a game but scored 3.5 points and shot 20 percent. 2007-08 outlook: I don’t know what’s more shocking — that George opted out of the final year of his deal when he would have made $2 million, or that the Mavs opted to pay more than that ($2.4 million) to keep him. Um, was there some kind of bidding war I didn’t hear about?

I have no idea why George played so much last year… Provided his contribution is limited to just those 10 minutes a night, it won’t do Dallas too much harm. ”

Not do “too much harm”? Maybe Kobe did make him look better than he was (unless you think Kareem Rush did that?).

Verdict: Well thought of when playing with LA and Kobe. Now? Currently shooting airballs in Dallas and waiting for Mark Cuban to jump around the corner and whack him…

Vladimir Radmanovic: The general consensus is that Vlad’s been a bust in LA. However, his FG% is actually higher in his two years with the Lakers than any of his pervious years. Think the open looks he gets due in large part to double and triples on Kobe help?

Verdict: Higher FG% with Kobe

Chucky Atkins: 8 years in the NBA. He played with LA for only one season, and averaged 35 minutes (6 more than any other year). He averaged 13.6 pts and 38% from 3 with LA; both career highs. His eFG% of that year is still a career high.

Hollinger of ESPN: “Although Atkins is unlikely to repeat his effort in Memphis a year ago, the Nuggets will be happy if he can replicate his performance of two years earlier as a Laker. That season he took advantage of all the attention on Kobe Bryant to hit 38.7 percent on 3-pointers and average 13.6 points per game; if he does that here the Nuggets can knock a big item off their checklist. “

Verdict: Played some of his best ball with Kobe

Brian Cook: Spent 5 years with the Lakers, averaging about 15 minutes a game. A power forward who had a decent shot, but can’t rebound or defend (a great combo). He was traded to Orlando in 08, and just about all of his stats have slipped. Month of March: Avg 15 minutes and 3.7 points. This season he hardly gets off the bench.

Verdict: So far he’s better with LA and Kobe than Orlando.

Chris Mihm: He had career highs in points and FG% his two full years with the Lakers (he played 5 years in
Cleveland and Boston ). He picks up fouls like you wouldn’t believe, but looked like a good option compared to Kwame. That said, he certainly can’t be counted on when you needed a hoop. With the addition of Bynum and Gasol, we may have seen the last of Mihm.

Verdict: Best years with Kobe

Maurice Evans: It’s hard to evaluate his play because he had a funky role with the Lakers. He came off the bench, and never found his niche. He was traded to Orlando for a Trevor Ariza. He was traded to ATL in 09, and is currently producing the worst FG% of his career.

Kareem Rush: Rush played 3 fairly miserable seasons with the Lakers. He left LA for Charlotte where he did little, and was cut by the Sonics in training camp:

John Hollinger of ESPN: “2006-07 season: Rush was cut by the Sonics at the end of training camp and played overseas last season. Before that, he’d had an up and down 2005-06 campaign with the Bobcats — mostly down, in fact. He played his way out of the lineup and was eventually released, with the team taking the odd step of issuing a press release that blamed his poor work habits. “

Verdict: He couldn’t make the Sonics 3 years later, but he’s expected to help the Lakers and Kobe? He found work with Indiana in 08 but his bad play continued. Currently getting about 8 minutes a game in Philadelphia.

Slava Medvedenko Hard to get a better example than Slava. He played 6 years with LA, and averaged under 5 pts for all but one of them. An all around hack as a player. He was waived by LA in 06, and picked up by Atlanta where he played 14 games. He’s currently out of the league.

Verdict: Without Kobe, I doubt he would have lasted 1/2 a season with another team.

Jumaine Jones: Jones played for the Lakers for only one season. He averaged 24 minutes a game and 7 pts. He was traded the next year to Charlotte and then signed as a free agent with Phoenix in 07 and played in 18 games. Currently out of the league.

Devin Green: Green signed with the Lakers for 05-06. He did nothing for LA, averaging 5 minutes and .9 points. Hasn’t played a game since the 27 he played with LA. Currenly out of the league.

Laron Profit: Laron had previously played with Washington for 3 seasons. In his one season with the Lakers in 05-06, his FG% was the highest of his career at 47%. He also did in 11 minutes what took him 17 to do his best year in Washington . Had surgery, and is out of the league.

Shammond Williams: Brought to the Lakers in his 7^th season. His field goal percentages rose from the previous few years, but he did very little for the Lakers and he is currently out of the league.



Kwame Brown: Not sure to start with Kwame. I won’t bash, and instead concentrate on the “does Kobe make him better?” angle:

His FG% his 4 years in Washington : 35/45/49/46.
His FG% his 3 years in LA: 53/59/52
His FG% since leaving LA for Memphis : 42

In Memphis , an absolutely horrible team, Kwame is averaging 11 minutes a game yet the Lakers relied on him for almost double that. He scored 8 one game, but usually gets 0-4.

And remember: Kobe ALMOST got past Phoenix with Kwame and actually had him playing well that series. Just maybe Kobe got a hell of a lot more than anyone else every will from Kwame…

Verdict: Better with Kobe - went to Memphis and at this point isn’t playing at all.

Smush Parker: After averaging about 10 minutes his previous 3 seasons, LA started him and played him over 30 a night. He responded with an 11pt average and very inconsistent play. He moved to a horrible Miami team in 07, where every stat dropped ending in 20 minutes and 4.8 points a game. He had a fight with a valet, was banished from the team, picked up and then cut by the CLIPPERS, then the same with Denver, and is now playing in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Verdict:Out of the league. You think maybe Kobe made Smush better?

THE OVER-THE-HILL VETERANS

Aaron McKie: McKie played 2 seasons, 05-07. Turned out to have nothing left (shot 25% in 14 games one year). LA used his contract to help get Pau Gasol, so he did finally show some value. Retired.

Jim Jackson: Another “at the end of his career” player that joined in 05-06 to help LA. He didn’t. Shot 29% in 13 games, then traded to Phoenix. Currently out of the league.

Brian Grant: The end of his career came quick. Played a few games the next year for Phoenix and is currently out of the league.

Vlade Divac: Signed but never recovered from injury. Didn’t play a game.

THE YOUNG

Ronny Turiaf: He didn’t play much his first year, coming off heart surgery. Started to come on in 07 and has turned into a nice role player for us this year. An high-energy role player like Turiaf can only show real value on a good team, which is why his value is really showing now.

Andrew Bynum: Bynum is going to be a hell of a player. Kupchak earns back a few points here and then some. That said, just as I reminder I will note that he didn’t contribute in 05-06 and faded from fatigue in 07. And if you watched the first 1/3 of the Laker games this season, you know how the attention Kobe gets has helped Bynum. Their pick-and-roll was deadly. Verdict: Kobe makes him better

Jordan Farmar: (06-07, 07-08) Farmar was a mixed bag as a backup point guard in 07, as rookie point guards often are. He ranked 61st out of 67 point guards in turnover ratio, and hardly got to the line (only three guards in the NBA were worse at that).

BUT, he really took it upon himself to workout in the summer and improve. (driven partly because the Lakers drafted Javaris Crittenton who threatened to take his spot). All his numbers have improved, as has his confidence and decision making. Hopefully he can keep it up.

Von Wafer: Wafer signed as a rookie. Only 16 games and 1.3 pts in 05-06. Played 1 game the next year for the Clippers. He played a little at the beginning of the year with Portland , and is now really taking off with Houston.

So that’s it. A wonderful mix of:

Over-the-hill veterans: Aaron McKie, Vlade Divac, Brian Grant and Jim Jackson

Terrible players that Kobe improved but ultimately went nowhere: Kareem Rush, Jumain Jones, Slava Medvedenko, Smush Parker, Devin Greene, Laron Profit, Kwame Brown and Shammond Williams

Mediocre players that Kobe improved: Chucky Atkins, Luke Walton, Devean George, Brian Cook, Chris Mihm and Vlad Rad

Young players how have finally blossomed: Farmar, Von Wafer, Turiaf and Bynum

Along with a few talented players just for kicks: Lamar Odom (really best as 3rd option)
Caron Butler (traded after one season)

With a list like that, I’m surprised that Kobe didn’t go nuts the summer of 06 and demand a quick trip out of town! Oh, wait…

I think it’s clear that Kobe was making terrible players better, but they were nowhere near good enough for anyone to notice. Shaq made Kobe better by giving him an inside presence and Kobe made Shaq better by giving him a closer and someone you could trust in the last 5 minutes of a game (I seem to remember Shaq sitting at the end of few games, but I never remember that with Kobe).

And now the writers have validated their argument by giving Kobe MVP because he’s FINALLY learned to trust his teammates! Yikes. Take another look at that list above, and tell me who was he supposed to trust?

Well, as Barkley sometimes says: “I may be mistaken, but I’m never wrong.”

Indeed.