Derrick Rose Injury

As we all know Derrick Rose missed all of the 2012-2013 season because of a torn ACL. There was a lot of controversy going on because towards the last part of the year, the doctor cleared Rose to play. However, Rose did not feel confident enough to come back and play at full strength. People began to say he was a baby and he is soft. My perspective was why not wait to you feel that you are 100% before you go back out there. Basketball, just like all sports, is a mental game as well and if you do not go into the game mentally prepared then you will most likely have a bad game.

This year Derrick Rose started off the season playing from the opening tip. In the off season Rose was asked questions like who do you think is the best player in the NBA? Rose answered and said himself like most players of his caliber would say. So now there were tons of people that predicted him to be the MVP this year and all this talk about him being the best. So to start off this year Rose was not playing good at all. He was only averaging around 13 points per game and turning the ball over way too much. I feel like all the hype he had to live up to was too much for him, plus coming off a season where you did not play one minute of action is tough.

Then on November 22, 10 games into the season Rose went down again. This time he tore his right meniscus. Rose will miss the rest of this season with season ending surgery. There were two surgery paths he could have taken. A quick surgery that prepares the meniscus for the short run and gets you back on the court this year, but in the long run you will have knee problems. The other one is a six month process that keeps you out for the whole year and prepares the meniscus 100%. Dwayne Wade picked the short-term surgery when he tore his meniscus in his college days and not he is paying for that with bad knees. I think Rose made a good choice on taking the longer route.

(Derrick Rose warming up before the game on November 6, 2013)

 

                                                          (My image Dominique Neely)

Paul George

Paul George is a shooting guard that plays in the NBA for the Indiana Pacers. Coming out of college at Fresno State, George was an overlooked rookie that no one had really heard of. He got to the Pacers in 2010 at 6'8 and was expected to get time off the bench. His rookie year he averaged 7.8 points per game. The following summer George shot up to 6'10 and that is huge for a player that plays on the wing.

George's numbers have went up pretty significantly every single year he has been in the league. His second year he average 12 points per game, last year he average 17.5 points per game, and this year he is on the brink to be a MVP candidate average 23.9 points per game. The Pacers are in first place in the East with a record of 16-2 which is the best record in the NBA. George is a tough match-up for wing players because most wing players in the league are 6'6 to 6'8.

Off the court he has done some pretty neat things in my opinion as well. His Alma Mater Fresno State had a football game coming up this season and George decided to buy all of the tickets for that game and give them away for free. That is a pretty neat thing to hear because I am sure they're are families out there that would like to go the game, but do not have the money to go. George gave these people an opportunity to attend the game and I think that is pretty neat.

(Paul George Coming off A Screen on November 2, 2013

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                                                         (My Image Dominique Neely)

Young Rising Star

Kyrie Irving is a 21 year old point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers that is approaching superstar status. Irving was born in Australia, but he dazzled the crowds at St. Patrick's High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. His dad was a professional basketball player over in Australia making Kyrie born there. There has been stories told that Irving had a hoop that only had half the backboard growing up. He used to practice on that using crazy spin shots at the rim. This is why when you watch him play he is hitting all kinds of different shots at the rim. Irving also has arguably the best handle in the league, and he said that he used to ball handling drills with a plastic bag covering the ball.

Kyrie Irving attended Duke University where he played for one of the greatest coaches ever in Mike Krzyzewski. As a freshman Kyrie average 17.5 points per game, shooting 53% from the field, and an incredible 90% from the free throw line. Kyrie was injured 8 games into the season and then ended up being able to play 3 games at the end in the NCAA tournament.

Playing only 11 games of college basketball had some people questioning where he should go in the NBA draft. Irving went number one in the draft and very quickly showed that he was well worthy of it. Kyries rookie year he averaged 18.5 points per game to go along with 6 assists. He won a well deserved rookie of the year that season. Last year in his second season he averaged 22.5 points per game and 6 assists while dazzling crowds with his late game heroics. Irving can be quiets all game, but when that 4th quarter hits, watch out. There is a reason they call him Mr. 4th quarter. In only his second season Kyrie earned a spot on the NBA All-star squad. This season he is off to a pretty good start having scoring games of 41,39,29,and 28 already.

"Kyrie Irving shooting a technical foul free throw on November 2, 2013"
(My image Dominique Neely)

Right or Left Hand?

Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavaliers is an up and coming player in the NBA these days. The Canada native played his college ball at the University of Texas. Thompson ended up playing one year at Texas and then he managed to enter the NBA draft.

Over the summer Thompson made a change that most the players in the NBA could not do. Thompson changed his shooting hand from right hand to left hand. Granted that he is ambidextrous, making that kind of a change is pretty remarkable. He was actually shooting around in the summer for his Canadian National team when this was brought to his attention. Jeremy Pargo challenged Tristan Thompson to a shooting contest with their opposite hands. Thompson impressively beat him very handily and Pargo encouraged him to switch his hands. Pargo told him that he is a very solid NBA player, but he thought that if he made the switch to the right hand that he could become an all star.

In his first and second seasons in the NBA Thompson shot a poor 55% and 60% from the free throw line. Now in his third year he has started off the season shooting an impressive 75% from the line. Whether the change is better for him remains to be seen, but so far it is looking good for the young kid.

"Tristan Thompson tries to find the open man on November 2nd, 2013"
(My image Dominique Neely)

First NBA game of the year

On Saturday, November 2nd, I attended my first NBA game of the season between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers. The game was held at Bankers Life Arena in Indianapolis, IN. The Cavaliers came in with a record of 1 and 1 beating a top eastern conference team in the Brooklyn Nets and loosing to a poor Charlotte Bobcats team. The Pacers came in at 2 and 0 beating the Orlando Magic and the New Orleans Pelicans.

Coming into the game I expected it to be a very competitive game. The Pacers are the better team, but their starting point guard, George Hill, and their starting small forward, Danny Granger, was injured. Cleveland is expected to make the playoffs this year and they have enough talent to compete with anyone.

Starting off the game Cleveland looked ready to go playing with great energy. Anderson Varejao started them off with four straight jumpers leading them to a pretty solid first quarter. The game stayed relatively close all the way to the fourth quarter. The Pacers had a seven point lead heading into the fourth quarter and ended up winning by fifteen.

I was disappointed in how Cleveland played overall. I thought Dion Waiters took way too many shots as he finished with a team high 17 points, but shot 7-21 from the field which is not efficient at all. Kyrie Irving is the Cavaliers star player and  has started off the season in a slump as he finished with 15 points going 6-17 from the field. The biggest disappointment was the Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson. The first game of the season he had 18 points and 9 rebounds and the second game he had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Against the Pacers he had 2 points and 4 rebounds which was a huge key at why the Pacers won.

The Pacers got a huge game from Lance Stephenson who is filling the role of Danny Granger right now while he is injured. Stephenson finished with 22 points going 5-7 from the three. The Pacers star player Paul George had a nice game with 21 points and 13 rebounds. The only disappointment I saw from the Pacers was their sure-handed power forward David West who only score 4 points and grabbed 3 rebounds.

"Tristan Thompson and Roy Hibbert tip it up on November 2, 2013"
(My image Dominique Neely)

Co-existing Superstars

Dwayne Wade and LeBron James are two alpha dogs who had amazing careers before they joined forces in Miami. James was busy putting up ridiculous numbers at Cleveland and Wade was doing the same thing in Miami. Wade in 2006, was considered the best player in the league after winning his first NBA championship. Since then Wade has always been considered a top five to top ten player in the league.

I think it is pretty amazing for these two superstars to co-exist and make a run like the Heat are doing right now. The Heat have one the last two NBA championships and are looking to make it a three peat. Being able to co-exist is a combination of your game and your personalities. LeBron has always been a team player since he has been in the league and I've noticed the advice that he gives to younger players is be the best teammate that you can be. I feel like Wade deserves the most credit because he had to swallow his pride and let LeBron be the main guy on the team for the Heat to succeed. Dwayne Wade would be the number one option on about 26 out of the 30 teams in the league, that is how good he is.

I look at last year at how Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard could no co-exist at all. They are also two superstars who joined forces, but they could not get along. Kobe is not the type of player who is going to let another player share the spotlight with him and Dwight is too soft to realize Kobe is not going to baby him. Dwight Howard is not in Houston so we can see how far that got. Another example is Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire co-existing in New York a couple of years ago. Along with Kobe, Carmelo does not want to share the spotlight let alone let his scoring average go down because of another player. Now it has gotten to Amare coming of the bench and not even close to the player he used to be.

"My view as James and Wade get ready to defend the Pacers on February 2, 2013"
(My image Dominique Neely)

It comes down to wanting to win championships and Dwayne Wade has sacrificed his numbers for 2 more championships so far. Wade has also helped out LeBron in a big way that people do not realize. LeBron used to be dancing and goofing around on the sidelines all of the time and you do not see that anymore. It is all about business now and LeBron has become more mature.

Potential Playoff Matchup

The Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat met in the Eastern Conference Finals last year and it was a great one. The series was tight the whole way through ending up in game 7 where LeBron and the Heat eventually prevailed. Last year, the best player on the Pacers from the previous year, Danny Granger, was hurt for the whole season so NBA fans were not expecting a playoff run like they had. In the absence of Granger last year, Paul George stepped up and became an all star at the age of 22.

This year the Pacers have Granger back and are expected to start George at the 2 guard position standing at 6'9. There have been a lot of questions about Granger and George playing with each other after the injury. Granger was the go to man before the injury, but now George has become their number one option.

I believe that in the Eastern Conference Finals this year that the Pacers will face the Heat again and here are the player match-ups.

Point Guards: George Hill(Pacers) vs Mario Chalmers(Heat)
George Hill has good size and plays terrific defense along with being a good offensive player. Chalmers is a good three point shooter and is a pest defensively.
Edge: Geroge Hill

Shooting Guards: Paul George(Pacers) vs Dwayne Wade(Heat)
Paul George is an all star that is a mismatch for almost every team in the league. He can shoot it from 3, pull up with a mid range jumper, or get all the way to the rim. Dwayne Wade is a 3 time world champion and an all star who is looking to be healthy this year and be back to the old ways of Wade.
Edge: Dwayne Wade

Small Forward: Danny Granger(Pacers) vs LeBron James(Heat)
This isn't even a question. No explanation needed.
Edge: LeBron James

Power Forward: David West(Pacers) vs Udonis Haslem(Heat)
David West is a force down in the post, having a variety of post moves and a terrific mid range shooter. Haslem is more of a guy to do all the dirty work like rebounding and hustling.
Edge: David West

Center: Roy Hibbert(Pacers) vs Chris Bosh(Heat)
Roy Hibbert is really becoming an all star standing at 7'2. He has been a huge problem for the Heat in the past and is a force down low by scoring, rebounding, and blocking shots. Chris Bosh would rather shoot from the perimeter then to go down low in the post. He is an all star but is someone I believe that should be at the power forward position.
Edge: Roy Hibbert

Despite the match up advantage for the Pacers I believe the Heat will potentially win the series again because the Pacers do not have an answer for LeBron James.

"My view as LeBron James defends Paul George on February 2, 2013"
(My image Dominique Neely)