Michael Jordan the great and the bad…

Michael Jordan was the NBA superstar who appeared at the right time to propel the league to new heights.

Everybody knows when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird came to the NBA in 1979 they help elevate the sport–they were the 2 best players on the best teams. Multiple times the Lakers and the Celtics met in the NBA Finals.

In 1984, when Jordan was drafted, the NBA needed new stars to take over from the Magic and Bird show. Jordan became the savior immediately. He was in the slam dunk contest in 1985 and lost to Dominique Wilkins. In 1986 Jordan scored 63 points in a playoff game against the Celtics.

The NBA league exploded with the emergence of Jordan. He was great for the increase in player salaries, players were now getting lucrative basketball shoe deals and television rating went through the roof. Players like Shaq and Iverson had shoes named after them because of the popularity of the Air Jordan’s.

The dunk contest meant something because Jordan and Wilkins would compete yearly for the title. The two were great scorers who also happened to be great dunkers. Last weekend’s dunk contest was filled with bench players that nobody really knew.

The problem with Jordan’s success was that the NBA marketing was geared towards individual players instead of teams. Now games were be marketed as Jordan and the Bulls against Isaiah and the Pistons. The team aspect slowly eroded.

Many fans knew that Magic and Bird won their championships because of their teammates–not only because of them. People knew Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish were also All-Star and Hall of Fame players.

The Bulls team was all about Jordan. Scottie Pippen’s role during their 6 NBA Titles wasn’t appreciated enough by the fans and the media. He never received any big commercial deals and was not mentioned as one of the great players in the NBA. The media would always refer to the team as Jordan and the Bulls.

I blame the media for creating the selfish attitude that many players have now. Everybody believes they are ‘Da Man’ and no one wants to be second fiddle to anyone. Unfortunately, this has now gone to the extreme with 1 player taking twice as many shots as their teammates. Every good player believes they should be highest paid player on the team.

The quality of the team game concept is non existent; sharing the basketball and thanking your teammates for their contribution to victories is minimal. Many small-market teams were destroyed because the second best player didn’t want to be Pippen or Robin to Batman. The Orlando Magic team cornerstones’, Shaq and Penny, feud was over shoe commercials that pitted the players against each other. Shaq left through free agency and the Magic still haven’t recovered.  The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Stephon Marbury was upset after Kevin Garnett got a twenty-million dollar-a-year deal. Timberwolves had to trade Marbury. The Raptors’ franchise hasn’t been the same since Tracey McGrady didn’t want to play with his cousin Vince Carter because he wanted to be ‘Da Man’. Tracey McGrady left through free agency.

The Celtics were able to merge 3 aging stars to win a championship. It worked because at that point in their careers it was more important to win a NBA title than to score a lot of points. Garnett, Pierce and Allen made 2 NBA finals appearances and won an NBA Championship with the Celtics.

The Miami Heat players took a slight pay cut to be together and won a championship. LeBron, Bosh and Wade are working well together again this season.

Some players understand now that it takes a very good team to win an NBA Championship. An individual who shoots and scores a lot isn’t enough to win a title. Bryant was reminded of that lesson when he forced Shaq out of Los Angeles Lakers so he could be Da Man. Kobe didn’t win another title until Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum joined him and Derek Fisher.

The social media discussions to decide who’s a better one-on-one player between Kobe and Lebron are irrelevant. This also a negative aspect of Jordan’s rise to fame because Magic and Bird always talked in terms of NBA Championships they won not who was better one on one. Basketball is a team game. Kobe’s Lakers won’t make the playoffs this year. We shouldn’t care.

The NBA organizations need to go back to building very good teams–not have a franchise player who is being paid maximum contract while the team only wins 30% of their games.

What is your take on Jordan?

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The Raptors’ playoff hopes are…

The Toronto Raptors’ playoff hopes are still alive, but barely.

The Boston Celtics are without Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger for the remainder of the season. The Celtics usually use only an eight-man rotation. They don’t really have anybody to step up in place of their injured players. Now Jason Collins, Chris Wilcox, Fab Melo and Leandro Barbosa will have to play more minutes.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will have to play 35 minutes a game, which, due to their age, could lead to injuries.

The Celtics are presently 24 – 23 with 35 games remaining. All they need to do is go 16 – 19 to get to 40 wins, which should be enough to hold onto 8^th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors have to pass the 76ers and the Pistons before they can worry about catching the Celtics.

The Raptors’ current record is 17 – 31 with 34 remaining. If they want to reach 40 wins they must be 23 – 17 the reminder of the season. It is not going to happen.

The Dwight Howard injury will now force the Los Angeles Lakers to keep Pau Gasol. I can’t see them trading Gasol to the Raptors for Andrea Bargnani. The presence of Rudy Gay makes it plausible for the Raptors to go after Gasol. In a weak Eastern Conference, Gay and Gasol can elevate the Raptors to contenders immediately.

Colangelo will attempt the Gasol trade once again in the summer. Bargnani fits the Mike D’Antoni offensive system which encourages the power forward to shoot three point shots.

Do you believe the Raptors’ playoff hopes are still alive?

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The Eastern Conference at the mid point…

The Eastern Conference will be won by the Miami Heat. They will have home court throughout the playoffs. LeBron James is having another MVP season 26.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7 assist per game. Dwayne Wade is having a down year for him season 20.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assist per game. And the final member of the Big 3 is Chris Bosh who is having an average season 17.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 assist per game.

Miami’s lack of size may finally cost them. If they meet the Indiana Pacers Roy Hibbert, David West and Tyler Hansbrough are very good physical rebounders who can also post up and score. Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem can’t be the only inside players for the Heat. The Heat will not win an NBA championship this year without adding any size to their line up. Even a player like Aaron Gray of the Raptors would help them. Chris Andersen is not enough. The Heat doesn’t require a great inside presence but they need some big bodies to win a Championship.

The New York Knicks will have to prove to themselves that they can maintain their great start.  Carmelo Anthony was having a great year 29.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.5 assist per game until the Kevin Garnett altercation. Amar’e Stoudemire has only played 8 games so far and still getting into game shape. J.R. Smith 16.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3 assist per game production will slow down once Stoudemire is healthy. Tyson Chandler is averging a double.

The Knicks are 2 – 2 against the Brooklyn Nets, 3 – 0 against the Heat and against the Celtics. In the playoffs they can’t beat the Heat, Celtics and the Pacers. If the Knicks want to make it to the Eastern Finals they would have to beat minimum 2 of those teams. Lack of inside scoring, depend too much on the 3 point shot, lack of bench scoring and leadership will doom the Knicks.

The Brooklyn Nets are over rated. They may win the Atlantic division over the Knicks. The Nets so called best players have no heart. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson are former all-stars who are good at scoring on some nights and disappearing on other nights. This inconsistency will keep them from going to far in the playoffs. Under sized rebounder Reggie Evans against the Pacers will be ineffective. Brook Lopez should get more shots. Kris Humphries should be playing more minutes. If the Nets win the Atlantic Division it will give them hop court advantage until they face the Heat.

The NBA and the television networks would love to see the Nets and Knicks face off in the playoffs. The headlines would be Jay Z and Beyonce vs Spike Lee. Yes, I know neither party is playing but you know the networks and media will take that angle.

The team that is best equipped to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals is the Indiana Pacers. Danny Granger hasn’t returned from injury yet. He still has to get himself in game shape. The key to the Pacers playoff run is when Granger returns how many shots will he take? Right now Paul George is there go to guy. There 3 insu\ide players Indiana Pacers Roy Hibbert, David West and Tyler Hansbrough are very good. My concern for the Pacers is their point guard George Hill shoots too much. They would be in a better position with a pass first point guard like a Jose Calderon.

The Pacers could be the team to stop the Miami Heat representation of the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

Who do you feel will be in the Eastern Conference Finals?

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