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)

Kobe Jordan or LeBron?

This past week there has been a buzz going around the NBA about who you want to take the last shot of a game? ESPN The Magazine recently interviewed twenty-six current NBA players and asked them who they would want to take the last shot of a game: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or LeBron James. Respectively, twenty-three players rolled with Jordan and three went with Kobe Bryant.

LeBron James obviously got zero votes from the twenty-six players and I am having a hard time understanding that. LeBron James is the best player in the NBA today and some people even think it is unarguable. I am not saying that I would take LeBron over Jordan, but I am saying that I would take him over Kobe.

Since LeBron entered the league in the 2003-2004 season, no one has made more game tying or go ahead shots in the final twenty-four seconds of a playoff game than LeBron. He has shot a remarkable 7-16 from the field on a 43.8% field goal percentage. The league average on those type of shots is 28.3%, so James is way above that mark. Kobe Bryant is shooting 25% on 7-28 from the field and Jordan eclipses them all shooting 50% on 9-18 from the field.

My opinion is that LeBron should have gotten more votes than Kobe Bryant, but that was not the case. I have spent time thinking about why that is and I have came up with a couple answers. First, LeBron has always been thought of to not have a "clutch gene", which means that he does not perform well in the clutch moments. LeBron has always been put on a high pedestal since he entered the league and I think every time he fails it's more of a bigger deal then when Kobe fails. Second, LeBron is a reigning two time world champion so I am assuming the rest of the league is not to fond of him.

"LeBron's numbers speak"
(My image Dominique Neely)

Return of The Injuries

The biggest headlines coming into the NBA season are the return of All-Star players due to injuries. Those being; Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, and Kobe Bryant. They will have the most impact.

Derrick Rose grabs attention coming off his ACL injury. Before his first preseason game on October 5th, Rose had not played an NBA game in 526 days.  Rose has done a collection of commercials that say his main focus is to go all in for Chicago. Last year the Chicago Bulls had a fairly good season without him, earning the 5th seed in the playoffs and making it to the second round before losing to the champion Miami Heat. This year with Rose back expectations are very high and they are expected to make a run for the title.

Russell Westbrook is coming off a freak injury, suffered in the first round of the playoffs last year. Westbrook was going to the sideline to call timeout and Patrick Beverley made a controversial play at trying to steal the ball. Westbrook tore his meniscus and had to miss the rest of the playoffs. The Thunder struggled without Westbrook losing to Memphis in the second round 4 to 1. Westbrook was expected to play around the start of the season this year, but something went wrong after surgery on his knee and he has to miss 4 to 6 weeks when the season starts. Without Westbrook to start the season I think the Thunder will struggle, without Westbrook they will not be a contender in the Western Conference.

Rajon Rondo tore his ACL last year during the regular season. The Celtics seemed to struggled without him by receiving the 7th seed and getting knocked out the first round. Rondo doesn't have anything to look forward to in his return because they traded Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry. In my opinion the Celtics won't make the playoffs this year.

Injuries can have a big impact on a teams success
(Photo Dominique Neely)

Kobe Bryant is coming back from a torn achilles and trying to make a push for the playoffs. However with the team he has  this year it is not looking good. Kobe will not make it back for the start of the season and I don't see the Lakers winning a game without him. Laker Fans will be taking a back seat to their cross town rivals the Los Angeles Clippers for the second year in a row.

NBA Hoops

Welcome to a blog where the National Basketball Association will be discussed weekly talking about the biggest headlines at the current time. I will be having a variety of different blogs that will include individual players, teams, performances, and match-ups. I am a sport management major and I am looking to get into a position that deals with the NBA. I would consider NBA basketball to be a passion of mine so my knowledge about the game should reflect that.

LeBron James happens to be my favorite player in the league and has always been my favorite since he went to the Cavaliers in 2003. Just to clear things up I am not a Miami Heat bandwagon fan, I am a LeBron James fan. A lot of people like to down play Lebron right now because he is at the top and I will discuss more on that in future blogs.

Because of my location in college the Cleveland Cavaliers are a team that I am starting to follow. I think this year will be a year they can really make a leap especially if Andrew Bynum keeps his hair normal and actually plays a game.

I look forward to sharing my knowledge about the league in the coming weeks.

A symbol of what this blog is going to be all about.
(Photo Dominique Neely)