Lebron vs Jordan

"I'm not MJ, I'm LJ" - Lebron James (@KingJames)

If you're a basketball fan then you know this is a historic week in the NBA.  Michael Jordan the greatest player who ever lived turns half a century this upcoming Sunday.  All week ESPN will be showing his career highlights as we reminisce about allow his greatness.  As he celebrates his historic birthday  and contemplates a possible comeback at 50, I wonder if anyone will overtake him as the greatest to ever play.  Current NBA superstar Lebron James is having a historic week himself.  He has scored 30 points or more and shot 60 percent or better in six consecutive games, which is an NBA record. He has an NBA championship, Finals MVP, 3 regular season MVP awards, numerous All-NBA and All Star nods.  At 28 he is only getting better, improving his shooting efficiency and rebounding at a higher rate.  So I pose the question is: will Lebron overtake Jordan as the greatest player in NBA history?  According to my calculations Lebron is currently ranked number 15 on greatest player of all time rankings. Unless he suffers a career ending injury he is only going to rise in ranking.  According to ESPN First Take host Skip Bayless Lebron will need 7 NBA Championships 7 Finals MVP's  and 6 NBA regular season MVP's to eclipse Jordan.  If we're using these stats as a metric then lets break down the probability of Lebron achieving these milestones.

I think Lebron will NOT win 6 more championships.  With Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and an excellent three point shooting supporting cast they have talent to contend for the next three or four seasons.  But there are young teams out West like the Los Angeles Clippers and more importantly the Oklahoma City Thunder with championship admirations and the talent to get the job done.  Kevin Durant, Westbrook and company have the talent to overtake the Heat in a possible NBA finals.  I think they will overtake the Heat if not this year then definitely next year.  Another problem stopping Miami from obtaining seven rings is the same thing that got them there current team, free agency.  Superstar players are leaving the teams that drafted them and are bolting to larger markets that have the financial flexibility to  create championship contending teams for years to come.  Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and soon probably Kevin Love.  With super teams being established overnight it will be harder for Miami to dominate the NBA.

I think Lebron will win two more championships over the next four years and possibly one in the back end of his career.  That would give him four championships for his career .  As far as the regular season MVP awards I believe Lebron will win three or four more MVP awards.  He is arguably the best player in basketball posting an efficiency rating of close to 32 but,  Kevin Durant is closing the gap between number 1 and 2 and OKC currently has more wins than the Heat.  I don't expect Lebron's production to magically fall off but Durant possesses something that Lebron lacks.  A clutch gene or closer ability.  While Lebron is criticized for deferring down the stretch, Durant amazes us by hitting clutch shots over defenders.  Other players like Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving are getting better every year and will create stronger competion for the MVP award but ultimately Lebron gets 3 in the next six years.  That would give him 6 for his career tying Kareem Abdul Jabar for most all time.  Lastly as the undisputed leader of the Miami Heat, I think Lebron will be the MVP of all the finals of all the future NBA titles the Heat win.

Overall I think Lebron will retire with 4 NBA championships, 6 regular season MVP awards, 4 Finals MVP awards. With these accomplishments I think he will be undoubtedly a top five player all time. The only knock on his legacy will be the fact that he has already lost two NBA Finals and will probably loose another by the time he retires number 6.  Furthermore he was unable to bring his original team the Cleveland Cavilers a title in the seven years he was there.  Something that Jordan did in his seventh season with the Bulls.  Lastly  Lebron will probably never be the closer that Jordan was. The ability to hit clutch shots to win your team playoff series and NBA Championships is something the basketball fans salivate over. Not to take anything away from King James he is a force this league has never seen; his strength and athleticism are unmatched.   His ability to score, rebound and assist is as unique as the efficiency he is able to accomplish this feat with.

-Antonio King (guest writer for dunksdimesdribble.blogspot.com)

A Superstar in the Making

Fantasy Basketball Leagues. Something I was not a fan of in the past, which seems weird because I love talking about stats and analyzing the best players in the league. I take extreme interest in players who produce and have great number but don't get the recognition they deserve. I just found the fantasy leagues to be too time consuming, so I rejected any offers to join leagues in the past. Prior to this season, my homeboy from college, Jean, invited me to join a league and after some persuasion and trash talk (he knows how to push the right competitive buttons), I joined the league.

The day of the draft I was stuck in church and couldn't actually draft my own team. The next day I looked at my roster and was very disappointed. I had two point guards. One being Chris Paul, which made me very happy, and then a rookie named Damian Lillard who I honestly knew nothing about. If I did participate in the draft I know for a fact he would have been someone I overlooked. Being that I didn't actually pick my roster I was immediately lost interest in the league. I guess everything happens for a reason. A few days pass and Jean randomly texted me and said he had a trade proposal. George Hill for Damien Lillard. Immediately I rejected the trade. I knew if Jean wanted him I figured Lillard was something special. I didn't know he would be this special.

After doing some research I found out a little more about the 6’3 point guard. Damian is product of Oakland California, where he played his high school ball before going to Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. At Weber he was named to the All-Conference first team in his freshman year and had an outstanding collegiate career as he dominated the Big Sky conference. He decided to forego his last year of eligibility but not before becoming the number 2 scorer in Weber State history. He was even named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award given to the top men’s collegiate point guard. Portland scooped him up with the sixth pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Barring injury Lillard without a doubt will be labeled Rookie of the Year and one great thing about fantasy basketball is I can start Lillard and Paul in my backcourt without worrying about mismatches on defense. Lillard is averaging 18.1 points per game to go along with 6.5 dimes. What's more amazing is his efficiency rating is +17. The Trailblazers are in playoff contention as we approach the halfway mark of the season and seem to be a young promising team. They have a solid big man in Aldridge, a lengthy scorer and defender in Batum, and Wesley Matthews is still a sharp shooter and great perimeter defender. What Damian brings to Portland is more than what pops off the stat sheet. He orchestrates the offense well, gets the ball to his teammates that were previously mentioned (who all average over 15 points), and he is a knockdown shooter, especially down the stretch.

One thing that bothers me is the fact that he is two years younger than me, which means I have to come to terms with the fact that my dreams of playing in the NBA simply won't manifest. But, I guess that’s a personal gripe. Lillard is going to be a name in the league often mentioned for years to come and if he keeps playing the way he is, the Portland Trailblazers may be contending for more than just a playoff berth in the next few years. He's a superstar in the making. We may be looking at the first rookie guard to be an All Star since Michael Jordan in 1985. That we will know for sure in about a month or so.

Bold Prediction

While watching the Lakers game yesterday against the Rockets one thing kept coming to mind. With or without Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, the Lakers still cannot play defense. Therefore, going forward, I will make a very bold prediction.

The Lakers and Kobe Bryant will see number 6 this year. It just may not be the number 6 that Lakers fans what to see. No Kobe will not win his 6th ring. This will be the 6th season in Lakers history that they do not make the post season.

Dating back to the 1940's when the Lakers franchise represented Minneapolis, they have only missed the playoffs a total of 5 times. And to think Mr. Buss built this monster team to sweep through the west coast and bring Kobe to the mountaintop (that is bring him up to where his idol, Jordan is). This is looking to be the a very expensive experiment that has failed. Going into last night's game the injured players on LA's roster made up 51 million dollars of the payroll (equivalent to the Rockets payroll, period).

The 2012-2013 Lakers team currently stands four games below .500 having played 34 games so far. Now that may not be a big deal to some but it is to me when looking at the big picture. Standing in 11th place in a western conference that has 6 teams guaranteed to make the playoffs, another 4 teams that are young and athletic with deeper rosters than the Lakers. All of these teams are above .500,  so it's safe to say Lakerland should be in panic mode.

To close out the week Kobe's squad has to face the never aging but old Spurs and the top seeded Thunder. It's plausible to see the almighty Los Angeles Lakers a whopping 6 games below .500 mid way through January. Granted, after this week the schedule does lighten up for them, but knowing this season's purple and gold, no game is an easy win.

After letting Mike Brown go because the Lakers weren't winning, the Buss family employed Mike D'Antoni. Unfortunately, the reason why there were no wins was because there was no defense. Now it's new coach same results. D'Antoni's lack of defense is so bad that Amare Stoudemire (a big time player who's career was almost entirely played under D'Antoni) was recently quoted as saying he need had a coach that taught him defense. Even though the Nash-D'Antoni reunion sounded promising it probably will not work because depending on a point guard that is almost 40 to carry you to the promised land may be too much even for Nash. (Sidenote: Congratulations to Nash who surpassed 10000 assists, being only the 5th person to do that).

Kobe seems to be the only constant for LA as he currently leads the league in scoring but obviously that isn't enough. Dwight Howard has been the definition of a disappointment this season. The idea of having two 7 footers who can provide offense and defense is a falsehood in Hollywood. Howard is much more of a liability than an asset and his trade value is declining. To save their season and to prove my prediction to be inaccurate, they need to trade him ASAP. Only problem with that is he probably won't do a sign and trade deal and no team in the league will probably rent a hobbled Howard for a season especially with what the Lakers will ask for in return.

As a fan who despises the Lakers but somehow finds a way to surround myself with Laker fans, it delights me to make this prediction.

The Los Angeles Lakers of 2012-2013 will NOT make the playoffs.

Stat is Back!!!

Anyone that knows me, can testify that I am a huge Knicks fan. Therefore it's only fitting that my first Post is in reference to Number 1 playing his first game of the season on Jan 1. I thought about writing an analysis of his performance but let's face it, anyone that thought he would have break out game after not playing for 2.5 months just doesn't know basketball. But, as the fanatic that I am, I watched the game yesterday from beginning to end looking for promising signs of cohesion between Melo, Stat and the rest of the squad. With that said,there were a few things the Knicks can hang their hat on with Stat back in the line up. Here's 5 reasons why Amar'e will fit just fine in the Knicks rotation.

1. The most effective play in professional basketball is the Pick & Roll ESP with Stat involved.

Knicks love the Pick & Roll. Playing a key role off the bench Amare can be the main pick and roll guy with the second unit with Kidd or Pablo (who plays the P&R very well.) Also one dimension that he brings to that play that Tyson can't is a mid range shot on a pick and pop. Hopefully Stat grasps the concept that starting doesn't matter but what matters is what 5 are on the floor down the stretch. JR has learned that and now he's having the best season of his career including not one but two buzzer beaters.

2. Playing is all he cares about.

Under Mike Woodson if you don't play defense... Well you don't play at all. Something Melo has bought into and he seems to be thriving on both ends of the floor. We all know Ronnie Brewer is a prime example of getting playing time all because he can lock up. He's shooting under 70% from line and he is competing with Chuck Hayes to have the worse form I have ever seen. A commitment to defense can get Stoudemire on the court either at the 4 or 5. Playing  the 5 off the bench he has big defensive shoes to fill taking the place of last season's DPOY and the anchor of the Knicks defense. He has said he will do whatever it takes for the team to win. I believe it so Stat needs to either put up or shut up.

3. Efficiency

Despite the injuries, "not being able to gel" with Melo, the fact that he is possibly overpaid, Amare can still score. And efficiently at that. In Woodsons offense and the fact that Melo passes out of double team now, Amare can get good looks from the midrange. Plus, we all know from his days in Phoenix he has mastered the Pick & Roll so that'll get him point blank shots and trips to the line. With that being said, a solid 25-28 minutes a game can produce a solid 18 PTs and 10 rebounds give or take a break out game every once it a while.

4. There's minutes for everyone.

Amare can play the 4 or 5. Melo can play the 3 or 4. Chandler has a problem staying out of foul trouble. Camby And Kurt are old. Need I say more? This whole notion that minutes are hard to come by is false. Granted players like White and Copeland have played well enough to get playing time so if Stat doesn't produce he can see more time on the pine than on the court. But he will produce because he has pride, will thrive in his new role, and Coach Woody is damn near coach of the year.

5. Felton, JKidd, Pablo

Last but definitely not least, the Knicks have three PGs that can pass, run an offense, score the ball and find the true scorers on the squad. So offense is a given but the defensive side is a great plus too. All three guards pressure the ball well and with Iman returning, JR Smith playing at his peak and Brewer doing what he does best,  perimeter defense can keep the explosive guards on the perimeter. Point blank, Amare won't get exposed in the paint (well at least not too often).

In conclusion, I hope I'm not blinded by belief and these are legitimate reasons but only time will tell. Let's go Knicks. #knickstape