NBA - Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard are both Superman

     Why don't we hear "All Dwight Howard does is dunk"? Well, in that defense, (no pun intended) Howard is the best defensive "big-man" in the game, period. Dwight is one of the top 2 rebounders in the league (Kevin Love competition) averaging 14.0 boards per game (compared to Griffin's 12.1 per game). This is what Howard can do and does best in the entire league: anchor's the defense and blocks/alters shots better than anyone in the entire NBA, thus his current third consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award a portrait of his impact on the game defensively. Offensively speaking, in his 7th, hopefully (this year) to be 8th season in the NBA at age 26 he is far behind Griffin even in many aspects overall.  Both players, though, are Franchise Tag players, and will be leading teams to the Playoffs and more depending on whatever happens with the team that's put around them.

I am just curious why the internet's sports population aren't claiming "Howard only dunks"? Especially after 7 seasons averaging a consistently poor 60% or lower percentage from the free throw line, which ultimately allows the "hack a Shaq" style defense go to work.  Griffin also shot a poor 64% from line, though he slowly improved his percentage (gradually and minimally) as the season progressed. This is a large reason why Dwight and Griffin average a high amount of free throw attempts each game (14.0 Rpg Howard / 12.1 Rpg Griffin).  Though offensively Griffin is much more versatile and explosive offensively all around ( 3.9 assists per game for Griffin compared to Howard's 1.9 assists), Griffin is able to quickly make a move and finish while drawing the foul, leading to as many "and 1's" as anyone in the league, including Mr. Howard, who is one of the best big-men at doing this. 

Am I the only one that finds it eerily similar, no, not just their physical greatness with a mature outlook at young ages, just slightly eerie both guys are in the mid to lower 60 percentile from the line (64% Griffin / 59% Howard last season), and both guys shot some of the most free-throw attempts per game. After only his rookie campaign, I project Griffin becomes a 70 percentile shooter at the line next season.  It only seems the trent with the way his numbers, along with his work ethic, improved and increased each month during the season.  But all around physically these guys are very similar (6'10" 251lb Griffin / 6'11'' 250lb Howard). It's amazing how identical they are physically and yet the very different style of play each play has on the court.  Both in their efficient and impacting manner.  

Without a doubt, Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard could be twins physically, yet are polar opposites on the court, and while Howard has the definite edge right now Griffin has become a "Franchise Player", we just can't be sure exactly what Griffin becomes, or if he hovers around the same numbers, or even fluctuates in certain stats is very possibly.  Howard has for 4 seasons straight been a legit 20 Ppg and 13+Rpg with 2.5 blocks a game Center, carrying his team to the playoffs, and in 2009 they went to the NBA Finals, though the Lakers pretty much ate them up.  Howard has carried his teams for a few years now, with Gilbert Arenas being traded for Rashard Lewis and then Hedo Turkoglu coming back after his stint with the Magic and a big part of their 2009 Finals run.  Personally, I feel that they could have done better with their roster, considering their payrolls, though Shard's $20 million a year deal is tough to trade when he hasn't been the same player since his days with the Sonics.  The Magic will continue Playoff dominance as long as Dwight is there, but if they can add a piece, via trade or free-agency, they could make an impact.  Dwight, compared to say Shaq, has never had a Dwayne Wade or Kobe Bryant playing alongside himself.  Of course recent rumor of Dwight leaving stay possible, understanding he wants to have that "great scorer" next to him.

For now, Blake Griffin has Eric Gordon as his "Dwayne or Kobe".  Gordon is coming off a career year, though it was an injury riddle season, he managed to play 55 games and average 22.3 points (Averaged 25 Ppg before injury), and they did manage to finish the season at 31-36 (nearly .500) after starting the season 1-14 without All-Star Center Chris Kaman and while Clippers Point-Guard, Baron Davis, ended up being traded for Cleveland's Mo Williams.  I'd love to note that with "clipper'esque karma" the Clippers ended up trading their first round pick in the deal that got them a younger Point-Guard (much cheaper too ultimately) who fit's in pretty well.  But hey, as I like to say: "THEY GOT CLIPPED".  That 9th pick ended up being the 1st pick in the lottery.  They could of kept Baron, along with his gigantic contract, and drafted Kyrie Irving to be their starting Point-Guard... right?  But would "the NBA Lottery" have ended up the same had that trade never happened? 


Ironic? Or simply "clipper'esque karma".  As for Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin, I wouldn't be surprised if they met in the NBA finals sometime in the next 10 years.  Both will be top 5 type of players (assuming no major injuries occur), and both will be so similar, yet different, in their domination during games.


-Los Angeles Clippers: Their future looks bright.  With DeAndre Jordan also coming along just great playing at Center next to Blake Griffin (Power Forward) adds to what looks like a NBA Playoff bound team, possibly more considering Chris Kaman is back, a proven 18 Ppg/ 10 Rpg / 2 Bpg Center with the Clippers when healthy.  In 2009-2010 he was an All-Star who averaged 19+Ppg, 9+Rpg, 1.5 Bpg for the Clippers, and showed he complemented Blake Griffin well, along with DeAndre Jordan playing legit minutes at Center for them. Kaman can play the 11+Mpg next to Jordan as a Power Forward, seeing that Griffin plays the usual 37 minutes per game. Next season, whenever that is, Kaman could play a great starting Center for the Clippers, playing around 30 minutes a game allowing DeAndre Jordan to still play his impactful 24-30 minutes a game (it all works with Griffin's 37 minutes a game).  If Eric Gordon can stay healthy and continue doing what he did last season, they have a great chance... and who knows, Aminu could become a solid Small Forward (I'm thinking Trevor Ariza but more explosive), or Kaman could become a great trade piece for them to get that gaping hole at the SF spot.


LA Clipper Future Rotation:

PG: Mo Williams / Drew Bledsoe / Willie Warren
SG: Eric Gordon / Randy Foye
SF: Al-Farouq Aminu / Jamario Moon / Ryan Gomes
PF: Blake Griffin / Ike Diogu / Craig Smith / Brian Cook
C : Chris Kaman / DeAndre Jordan


LA Clipper Future season:  I'd say they're Playoff Bound as long as they stay healthy, and Kaman looks like a great complement C playing next to Griffin; though DeAndre Jordan does fit the bill and will also play great again this season leading the league in blocks and dunks (he's a great and explosive athlete and future great anchor to a team's defense) he does his thing in 24-30 minutes a game, allowing for a great big-man rotation with one Franchise player in Griffin and another All-Star Center in Kaman, and a growing defensive Center Jordan.  It also gives the Clipper's a great chance to use Kaman as a trade chip to get that much needed Small Forward (gaping hole at that position).  Imagine, he's actually an Unrestricted Free Agent: Shane Battier.  While he may have aged, he's that perfect savvy veteran Small Forward that fits the spot perfectly: he's still one of the top 5-10 perimeter defenders in the NBA, and he's a consistent 40%3ptFG, the perfect type of player that would make this Clipper team a serious player.



-Orlando Magic: They have a solid roster (and a very high roster payroll, thanks in part to Gilbert Arenas), and Dwight will continue getting them to the Playoffs, but he need's a sidekick come playoff time, unless he can increase his scoring output another 4+Ppg like he did last season.  Jameer Nelson is what I call a "Great 2nd Tier PG" as in he is a good 3pt shooter, a legit mid-range and layup/floater threat, but lacks the ability to see the court like the best Point-Guards in the NBA.  Gilbert Arenas was one of those Point-Guards that lead his team to the playoffs on 29+Ppg scoring (that was his prime of course, and now he's 30 years with the injuries that plagued him the past few years hopefully behind him). Hedo provides a veteran presence that can do a little of everything and help initiate the offense (I do mean "little"), though he is a great clutch time performer as well.  They have nice pieces, but Dwight definitely wants that "scorer" on his team soon, thus all the trade rumors (and possibility he leaves for the Knicks or Nets or Lakers, etc). 

Orlando Magic future Rotation:



PG: Jameer Nelson / Gilbert Arenas / Chris Duhon
SG: Jason Richardson / J.J. Reddick
SF: Hedo Turkoglu / Quentin Richardson / Earl Clark (China?)
PF: Brandon Bass / Ryan Anderson / Malik Allen
C : Dwight Howard / Daniel Orton


Orlando Magic Future Season: Definitely another Playoff Bound season... anymore will depend on likely trades or vast improvement by an individual player like Arenas. If they end up making a move and somehow getting that scorer I can see them easily becoming a "Contender".  Otherwise, I see another great season by Howard and company, a DPOY/MVP nominee at the least, and a playoff season where they go 1 or 2 series.  There's also that off chance Howard is traded, as speculated, as the Magic will want to get something in return for him, rather than lose him to the 2012 Free Agency, assuming a new CBA is met and a season goes on. 




Here's a nice mix of the two players done my someone on YouTube.... players are identical physically...

-----------------------------------------------------------------


I just want to say this to all the Twitter fans and ESPN.com fans:

"All Blake Griffin does is dunk".  

I've heard and read that statement nearly every other post sometimes.  

It's such a misinformed statement, and while it initially causes me to giggle at the stupidity of the poster, after seeing so many different people say the same basic thing, well, I realized that maybe people are just misinformed.  Many seem to be making judgments on Griffin simply by the youtube mixes and Sportscenter highlights he was steadily on during the season.  ESPN and Sportscenter have the top 10 plays daily, so of course Griffin's amazingly spectacular dunks that seemed so new and unique each time were consistently on the highlights.

If you say "Blake Griffin only dunks" you're simply proving a couple things: 

1- You are a homer that only watched highlights on sportscenter and youtube

2- You don't appreciate or understand that IN-GAME DUNKS are the highest percentage shots in the game. 

3- I wish you'd say "he sucks because all he does is not settle for bad, quick shots and instead he attacks the rim with his insane ability to do so, for easier, high percentage dunks and layups". 

                                                                  

                                                                                                            -Josh Farcone (aka JoshFarc)

NBA 2K12 - A Great Game (plays into 2k13)

GamePlay:  9/10

    The Negative-The passing has gone from one extreme to another; why Jason Kidd isn't capable of making a post entry past to Dirk who's wide open more than 50% of the time is not "sim style", especially when I make the dribble towards Dirk to create the passing angle.  The computer/AI is a bit weird, sometimes they are extremely stupid and sometimes they are genius... and of course the 3pt shooting is a bit overloaded for the CPU, it's just worth mentioning.  And the last complaint would be the "collision detection" when trying to close out and play on-ball defense.  The animations get weird and often trying to play on-ball defense (when playing against someone online) causes the guy to easily drive past you, hoepfully a patch will fix some of that.

   -The Positive: Best offline simulation style Basketball game created to date.  Love playing 12 minute quarters, 48 minute games and having a real box score, real player stats, real FG% (not so much the 3pt%), and realistic scores anywhere from 85-110. No longer do will kids holding turbo non-stop get them anywhere in this game, while using the turbo button correctly and at small intervals is very effective.  No longer can you grab a defensive rebound with say, Kwame Brown, and then sprint down the full-court while dribbling and get to the rim successfully; I love how most likely Kwame (and most other PF/C's) will dribble off their leg if you hold turbo and try to act like a guard with them. The My Player gameplay has been improved, rewarding you for correct spacing, good ball movement, etc, and penalizing you more for turnovers and the likes.  TRAINING CAMP is a must for all of us, those new to the game and those like me who've been playing since the early 2000's, or earlier for some.  It's a great mode to teach you how to play this game correctly, in all aspects of the game.  Love how they simplified the pre-draft game and draft, and the interviews by GM's of teams interested in you (I managed to play well in the Rookie Showcase and was able to tell Utah to "F*** off" and tell the Warriors I would love to be their "Franchise Player".  Post Game interviews are great, the billboards, advertising, endorsements, all great add-ons.  Also, starting as a 60 is a much better thing, since a 60 is still usually good for close to the worse overall on a team; and since I'm a rookie Small Forward that was drafted in the Lottery it makes since to be a 60. But overall the gameplay is great, a pretty big change from 2K11 (which I like for the most part.. just miss my crew) that takes some getting used to.  The game is a challenge for me on All-Star, which I absolutely love.  No more hop-step cheesing, no more Lebron power layup cheesing, no more pick-n-roll dominance (actually they need to fix that a bit because the passing is so poor for pick-n-rolls), no more half-court alley-oops that go in every time, no more dunking 90% of the time, I'd go on but I think you get the point.

OVERALL:   9.2 / 10

Kevin Garnett - Laker's Kobe/Phil Situation in 2007 NBA Comments

The BIG TWO!

(what if?)

"QUOTE":
Kevin Garnett was linked to the Lakers in the summer of 2007, but ultimately ended up being traded to the Celtics.

"I was pretty close to be honest," said Garnett. "What disturbed me about the whole Lakers situation was Kobe (Bryant) and Phil (Jackson) at the time. They were at each other pretty bad, and it was a new situation I didn't want to get into ... It was my choice, yeah. There was a lot going on and I didn't want to be a part of it."

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/215418/Garnett_Turmoil_Between_Kobe_Phil_Led_To_Boston_Trade#ixzz1WpGBKIsw

I love the "what if" situations that come out of interviews with players discussing the past, and I thank KG for saying there was a possibility he would of gone to the Lakers but chose not to. (Ultimately I like my Lakers how they are, but this "what if" still needs to be answered.  Click the link under "Read More" for the actual article with Kevin Garnett.

Let's say the Lakers traded for KG at his discretion in 2007, losing Bynum and Odom, respective 6th man of the year and solid center (with injury problems) though he's shown 20/10 w/2+bpg potential (though in 2008 Bynum was hurt and Odom up and down.

Lakers 2007/2008 Projected Roster:

PG: Derrick Fisher / Jordan Farmar / Smush Garker (would be cast out by all)
SG: Kobe Bryant / Sasha Vujacic
SF: Luke Walton / Trevor Ariza / Vlad Radmanovic
PF: Kevin Garnett / Chris Mihm
C: Kwame Brown / Ronnie Turiaf


That would of been the team for the season, as Farmar would become the starting PG in real life and Smush outcast for life, for Fisher to join and duel for PG duties, as DFish would hold it as he did in reality.  With Ariza improving to an all around player and defender with a decent 3, Garnett manning the paint at PF and the defense with Kwame and Turiaf at the center position (one a solid defensive player w/small hands like a midget, the other a shot blocker and aggressive athlete w/midrange shot).  KG could also man the Center position allowing the Dfish/Vujacic backcourt with Kobe/Garnett/Turiaf in the front-court, (Odom/Bynum) being Garnett as if it were the 2008 finals, in which the Lakers played that lineup a ton, and lost to the Celtics, WHOM had Garnett and the "Big 3".

Who knows, Kevin Garnett could have impacted Kwame Brown's career like he did Perkins and Glen Davis, making Kwame a true defensive center. I know, it's unlikely, but stars like Garnett who practice till it hurts could of made the entire team's defense the best in the NBA.  With Garnett, a DPOY nominee yearly, and Kobe, a All Defense 1st or 2nd team yearly defender, along with Fisher's veteran defense, getting Ariza, Walton, Kwame, and Turiaf to understand and play defense better seems like a plausible "mesh" the team would go through in the season.   Ariza was unpolished in 2007/08, but KG could of helped extremely with defensive leadership to go along with the offensive leadership of Kobe.

TWO PERFECT CAPTIANS.

One of the best offensive players ever, and one of the best defensive players ever.

I'd imagine that, though not a dominate team because of sporadic bench play, defensively I imagine them being solid and probably winning the 2008 championship, assuming the Celtics had Ray Allen and Pierce they would likely not have made the Finals.... and the Pistons may have been the competition with their core intact and Stuckey & Afflalo the youngins backing up Chauncey and Rip Hamilton.

Detroit Pistons 2007/2008 Projected Roster:

PG: Chauncey Billups / Rodney Stuckey
SG: Rip Hamilton / Juan Dixon
SF: Tayshaun Prince / Aaron Afflalo
PF: Rasheed Wallace / Amir Johnson
C: Antonio McDyess / Nazr Mohammed

That's a great matchup! Assuming they get by the Cavs of 2007/08 like they couldn't it 2007, a Lakers vs. Pistons Championship would have probably occurred.  It would have been legit, and honestly I'd say the Lakers in 6 games is likely.  Of course, a purely subjective analysis will not suffice for everyone, but these "what if" situations are impossible to be completely objective.  But we know the Pistons made the ECF in 2007/08, and lost to the Big 3 Celtics which would not have been.

I'd say the Big 2 of Kobe and Garnett, along with the great and solid role players would be too much for the aging Pistons of 2008.

Agree or Disagree?

The great "could of been" situations......

The NBA Lockout Resumes.... What if there is a Season?

While the title is negatively toned at the NBA labor dispute, this site will update the status of the situation, but rather than focus on the events going on around the NBA, discuss the possible season ahead of us.  Yes, even a shortened season still counts, which I assume this whole things will result in.  Can we say 40 game season?

But let's act like all things were running smoothly.  There was a solid draft, plenty of solid trades, and the landscape of the NBA and it's teams look rather solid.  Of course, there remain many "free agents" in the NBA now, even plenty of players are under contract in Europe, but with NBA "out clauses" in their contracts, so we don't have to worry about them once the season starts... say in January. Hah.

Some players are going to China, much less, as they are no longer giving contracts with "NBA out clauses", so we'll have to see if any of the role players/starters/stars end up signing there for a year to make a statement, though it could alter their career in the NBA when all is said and done.  But with all the speculation about a season at hand, does everyone just speculate the Heat will be the champs if there is a season?  Many teams have improved, and will look to improve once the labor disputes are over, and if we begin looking at the layout of the NBA, there are many solid teams.  Veteran clubs that have only added pieces, or young teams getting better, or even solid teams making a trade to become a playoff contender (early call on the Bucks).

So let's forget about this NBA dispute, and let's get back to talking about the teams: rosters, coaches, players, new rotations, lineups, and schemes.  No more triangle offense for the Lakers, though it's possible they keep parts of it, while they hope to improve their defense.  The Heat are looking to likely obtain someone the free agent route, and I'm sure Jamal Crawford, the reigning 6th man of the year would love to play there.  The Celtics still have their big 3-4 playing well yet aging, will Jeff Green and others help them out?  The Mavericks are a year older, but adding Rudy Fernandez and a healthy Caron Butler (if signed) would only make them as dangerous as a contender again.  The Bulls had a year to gel under new head coach Tom Thibadeau, but it seems Boozer and the team can get better, possibly an upgrade at SG via free aganecy and Boozer picking up his game and chemistry with Rose and the team.  So many teams have started discovering themselves, like the Hawks realizing they are great with Horford at PF and need to get a true Center to put alongside him.  Every team was making a ton of moves prior to this lockout, and it's time we take a look at what the projection for the season is....