Spurs Make History Again

The Becky Hammon Impact

The San Antonio Spurs have had one memorable year thus far in 2014. In June they won the franchise’s 5th NBA championship since 1999. The Spurs managed to demolish the Miami Heat in 5 games, beating them by an average of nearly 15 points per game, which is one of the largest margins of victory in NBA Finals history . However what the Spurs did recently topped all of  the team’s previous achievements.

Tuesday the Spurs announced WNBA star, Becky Hammon, as a new assistant coach of the team. Hammon had been practicing with Spurs and even attended a few of the team’s games during the previous NBA season. Becky Hammon will go down in history as the first female to ever be hired on an NBA coaching staff, opening doors for possibly more females to be hired by other NBA teams in the future.

Hammon recently announced she would be retiring from the WNBA after 15 seasons and that this would be her last season with ironically the San Antonio Stars. Hammon is a seven time WNBA All-Star and is ranked as one of the top 15 WNBA players of all time. In her career she  has averaged nearly 13 points, 4 assists , and 2 rebounds per game. Hammon’s best basketball skill is her ability to shoot the basketball, as she has shot the three pointer  at nearly  37% throughout her career.

Hammon should be the perfect fit with the Spurs who shot the ball exceptionally well in the NBA Finals and throughout the season. The Spurs shot the 3 pointer at nearly 40% all season and shot 49% from the field during the playoffs. With the hire of Becky Hammon as an assistant coach, the idea that a woman could lead a group of men seems more realistic than ever. However Hammon still has a WNBA season left to complete, as the San Antonio Stars are currently in playoff contention. With that being said, the Spurs have definitely made an enormous mark on the game of basketball and have opened the eyes of young women around the world.

 

The King is Back

LeBron Returns to Cleveland

After waiting anxiously for it sports fans finally got to hear what they wanted to, LeBron James finally made his decision on who he would play for next. It was announced Friday around 1 pm  via SI.com that LeBron James would be “coming home”, meaning he would return to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he began his NBA career. After witnessing his jersey being burned by Cleveland fans in the summer of 2010 when he joined the Miami Heat, LeBron is now responsible for Cavaliers season tickets selling out nearly 8 hours after making his decision.

“What’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio” , James said in the SI.com article. LeBron James led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals back in the 2006-2007 season, where they were demolished by the San Antonio Spurs. He now returns to Cleveland with basically a new team, Anderson Varejao is the only remaining teammate from LeBron’s last season with Cavaliers. He has a new coach in David Blatt, who is in his first season as NBA head coach.

Still Cleveland fans are hopeful with “King James” back in town that he will get them back in the playoffs and maybe produce an NBA championship. James will now be teaming up with All-Star Kyrie Irving and possibly Andrew Wiggins who was the first pick in this year’s NBA draft. LeBron will now be the most experienced player for the Cavaliers something he was not in his first stint with the team.

In LeBron James four years with the Heat he led Miami to two NBA championships, won two NBA Finals M.V.P.s and two regular season M.V.P.s. James averaged nearly 27 points, 6 assists, and 7 rebounds per game with the Heat. Now the question is what is the future of the Miami Heat?

All-Star forward Chris Bosh resigned a new 5 year contract with the Heat worth $118 million. Sources via ESPN say that the Bulls are interested in Dwayne Wade, but he is likely to resign with the Miami Heat. One thing for certain is that the “Big Three” era in Miami is over and they can kiss this promise from LeBron James goodbye!

Why Should Bosh Stay?

The Future of Chris Bosh

LeBron James is the Miami Heat’s best player and to most people he is the best player in the NBA, as he has won the NBA Most Valuable Player award multiple times in his career. However to Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, he is not the most important player on the team Heat center/forward Chris Bosh is. Bosh has averaged nearly 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block per game in his NBA career.  He joined the Heat in the summer of 2010 with LeBron James and Heat star guard Dwayne Wade,  as they were dubbed the nickname“The Big Three”.

Chris Bosh may take the back seat to Wade and LeBron now but he is definitely not a “scrub” in the NBA. Bosh was drafted 4^th in the 2003 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors, out of Georgia Tech University. Ironically LeBron James went 1^st in that same draft and Dwayne Wade was drafted 5^th by the Miami Heat.

According to ESPN, Bosh averaged nearly 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block per game in his rookie season with the Raptors. He had the best season of his career with the Raptors in the 2009-2010 NBA season, in which he averaged nearly 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. He represented the Raptors in 4 All- Star games from 2006-2009 and is the team’s All-Time leader in points, blocks, rebounds, free throws, and just about every other statistical category.

In Bosh’s first season with the Heat the team made it all the way to the 2011 NBA Finals, but the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games. He averaged nearly 18 points per game and 7 rebounds  in the 2011  NBA Finals. The Miami Heat would return to the Finals the following year and demolish the Oklahoma City Thunder in 5 games. Bosh averaged nearly 15 points, 9 rebounds,  and 1 block per game in the 2012 NBA Finals

The Heat also won in the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs,  giving “The Big Three” its second title together . The Heat beat the Spurs in 7 games and Bosh averaged just a  shade under 12 points per game and 9 rebounds. The Spurs and Heat met again this year in the 2014 NBA Finals, however the Spurs destroyed the Heat in 5 games. The Spurs beat the Heat by an average of nearly 15 points per game and Bosh averaged just 14 points per game along with just 5 rebounds.

 

Now the question is will Bosh leave Miami? The Houston Rockets offered Bosh a contract worth nearly 90 million dollars over 4 years, something the Heat can’t compete with financially  if they want to keep the “Big Three” together in Miami.  Sources have suggested that if James stays with the Heat, that Bosh would stay in Miami as well. The Rockets already have two All- Stars on their team in center Dwight Howard and guard James Harden, so Bosh would give them a third star. Will Bosh stay in Miami or will Houston have a new “Big Three” of their own?

Small Guards

Heart over Height

The NBA has changed, no longer are point guards looking to pass to open teammates, but majority of them look to score. Also the ways the new guards of the NBA are scoring don’t just involve layups some of them involve dunks, which require a tremendous amount of athleticism. Chicago Bull’s Derek Rose, Philadelphia 76ers’ Michael Carter-Williams, and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook   are all the new ideal “Big Guards” in the NBA. Unfortunately to most NBA scouts and general manager’s bigger means better causing them to pass on smaller guards.

While Westbrook , Rose, and Carter- Williams are all great players none of them have won an NBA championship, something “small guard” Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, has done four times in the NBA.  Now Tony Parker does have a great big man on his team in Tim Duncan, but Parker won the 2007 NBA Finals M.V.P. Also unlike the bigger, more  athletic guards of the NBA, Parker’s game is based on his basketball IQ and his quickness.

What about scoring and being able to see through the defense to find open teammates? Westbrook, Rose, and Carter-Williams are at least 6 foot 3 making it easy for them to see over the smaller guards in the league, however there is one guard in the NBA that is listed at 6 foot and still finds ways to score and find open teammates.  Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers is arguably to some the best point guard in the NBA, he has averaged nearly 19 points and 10 assists throughout his NBA Career.

Even with the success of guards like Chris Paul, Tony Parker, and even 5 foot 9 NBA Slam Dunk Champion Nate Robinson, NBA GM’s still continue to  pass on the smaller guards of the NBA draft. 6 foot guard Russ Smith out of Louisville, led the Cardinals to the 2013 NCAA championship and averaged nearly 18 points and 4 assists per game his senior season. However even with all of his college basketball career accomplishments he was still only taken 47^th in this year’s NBA Draft by the New Orlean’s Pelicans.

Similar to Smith UConn senior Shabazz Napier, another small guard was taken 24^th in the NBA draft by the Charlotte Bobcats then traded to the Miami Heat. Napier led the UConn Huskies to two national championships and was the M.O.P. of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. In the championship game he outplayed Kentucky’s “big guards” Andrew and Aaron Harrison who are both taller than 6 foot 3, still though Napier was the 4^th point guard selected in the NBA Draft.

The size, athleticism, and success of the “big guards” in the NBA has made it harder on smaller guards to impress NBA GM’s. Even with players like Paul, Robinson, and Parker NBA GM’s  are still choosing to select bigger guards first in the NBA . It is up to the smaller guards like Russ Smith and Shabazz Napier to prove that those teams that passed on them made BIG mistakes!

 

The Big Three

Is This The End?

In the 2003 NBA Draft LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh were all selected in the top 5. LeBron was the number 1 overall pick selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bosh was the number 4 pick selected by the Toronto Raptors, and Wade was the 5^th selected by the Miami Heat. LeBron was indeed the most hyped player in the 2003 Draft, but Dwayne Wade was the first of all three to win an NBA championship and Finals M.V.P. in 2006. Wade was also the most unselfish because he actually took less money for Chris Bosh and LeBron James to join him and the Miami Heat in 2010.

When James, Wade, and Bosh got together in 2010 there were high expectations for the trio, however the people expecting the most out of them were themselves. Everyone remembers this video from the Miami Heat’s welcome party in 2010,the trio believed that the sacrifices they had made individually were going to amount to many NBA championships. LeBron even sacrificed being thought of as “Cleveland’s King”, to having his jersey burned and not being able to be safe in his own hometown of Akron, Ohio.

In The Big Three’s first year together, they made it all the way to NBA Finals only to get beat by the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games. In their second year together they went to NBA Finals again, however this time they demolished the Oklahoma City Thunder in 5 games. LeBron James and Chris Bosh  finally got their first rings and LeBron was the 2012 NBA Finals M.V.P. In 2013 Miami went to the NBA Finals for third straight year and faced the well experienced San Antonio Spurs. The series was epic going all the way to a game 7 in Miami which led to a Heat win and the trio’s second NBA championship in a row.

Things did look good for the Heat coming into the 2013-2014 NBA season as they had hopes of winning a third NBA championship, something that has not been done since the Lakers back in the early 2000’s. The Heat looked poised in the playoffs , defeating the Indiana Pacers to become Eastern conference champions and advance to NBA Finals for the 4^th straight year. They would face the San Antonio Spurs again, only this time things would be different!

The Spurs beat Miami in game one, then the Heat won game two in San Antonio, after that the Spurs basically embarrassed the reigning NBA champions. They beat Miami in three straight games, including two in Miami, to win the 2014 NBA championship. The Spurs beat the Heat on average by 15 points per game,  and Kawhi Leonard was name the 2014 NBA Finals M.V.P. LeBron averaged 28 points per game, while Bosh and Wade together averaged just  29 points per game! After an embarrassing NBA Finals performance the trio was very upset especially, LeBron James leading to him doing the unthinkable.

LeBron James last Wednesday, decided to opt out of his contract with the Heat, this would cause many to think LeBron may leave Miami. The fact that just this Saturday according to ESPN, both Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade have opted out of their contracts as well does make things even more confusing. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh can officially sign with other teams starting on July 1^st , if they would like too. A lot of people think the Trio will stay together in Miami, however some people believe that is not going to happen. Will they stay together or is it the end of Miami’s Big Three?

Legacies On The Line

Melo and LeBron Again

Tomorrow will be the 2014 NBA Draft and a few young college stars will be welcomed into the NBA. Freshmen Andrew Wiggins out of the University of Kansas and Jabari Parker out of the University Duke are projected to be the number 1 and  number 2 NBA draft picks. The Cleveland Cavaliers again have the number 1 draft pick, however there is no question the best number one pick by them was in 2003. In 2003 they selected a high school star, LeBron James out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. Since then LeBron has had a pretty decent NBA career, as he is only been viewed by many as the best basketball player in the world.

Also in the 2003 NBA Draft the freshmen forward out of the University of Syracuse, Carmelo Anthony, was drafted as the number 3 overall draft pick by the Denver Nuggets. Carmelo had one heck of a season as a freshmen at Syracuse, as he led Jim Boeheim and the Orangemen to an NCAA championship. Carmelo was also named the M.O.P. (Most Outstanding Player) in the tournament averaging 22 points per game.

Now to their NBA Careers, LeBron has managed to now capture four NBA regular season M.V.P. (Most Valuable Player) trophies. He led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007 but they were embarrassed by the San Antonio Spurs ironically. Eventually after years of not having post season success in Cleveland, LeBron announced in 2010 that he was going to leave the Cavaliers and become a member of the Miami Heat. He since then has won two NBA championships and two NBA Finals M.V.P. trophies, but LeBron has lost in the NBA Finals twice.

How about Carmelo? Well Melo has been good as well, as he consistently is always one of the top scorers in the NBA. He played for the Nuggets until to 2010 and because of the lack of the Nuggets post season success Melo decided to become a member of the New York Knicks. In the 2012-2013 season Melo was named the league’s scoring champion and he also has been 7 straight years since the 2006-2007 NBA season. However unlike LeBron, Melo has not really had post season success and has never been out of the second round of the NBA playoffs. Melo’s  record in NBA playoff series is 3-10, which is an undesirable 30%.

So it’s 2014 and besides being drafted in the same year, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James are now both free agents! Carmelo opted out of his contract with the New York Knicks Sunday and LeBron opted out of his contract with the Heat just yesterday. Both of them are still in their prime as Melo is 30 and LeBron will be 30 in December. However one could make the case that these are indeed huge career defining decisions for both. LeBron is trying to continue to have post season as he has been to the NBA Finals four straight years, while Melo is still trying to get to an NBA Finals game.

What will they do? There are many options for both and even rumors of maybe LeBron joining forces with Melo on the same team. Cleveland could be a good choice for LeBron as I am sure fans would slowly embrace him again. Melo has been rumored to be a good fit in with the Chicago Bulls, hopefully to be paired up with a healthy Derek Rose. Still though no decisions have been made by neither Melo nor LeBron so their futures are still uncertain. Where will the number 1 and number 3 NBA draft pick of 11 years ago end up?