Pretend that you're not at a TV right now and you get a text from a friend that Stephen Curry is starting to heat up from downtown in a big playoff game. Now picture the urgency with which you would drop everything that you were doing and run to a TV to turn on TNT as fast as you could. That same sense of urgency is the sense of urgency that you need to have to run to theaters and go watch Guardians of the Galaxy. Seriously. The movie came out just this Friday and I saw it today. It was an experience so incredible that I felt compelled to bring back this blog, which I haven't used in over 8 months, in fact which I haven't used at all this calendar year, just to rave about it. So without further ado, here some of my random thoughts on the magnificence that was Guardians of the Galaxy. And I'm breaking them down into a "spoiler-free" section and a "possible spoilers" (section just in case you haven't seen it yet and don't want my rambling heinie ruining it for you.
SPOILER-FREE THOUGHTS
Wow, Chris Pratt! What a job he did playing Peter Quill a.k.a. Star Lord. Pratt's portrayal of Quill didn't fit into the traditional hero archetype but that was the best part. He took all the awesome aspects of other heroes, super or not, and blended them into one breathtaking character concoction. The technology of Batman, the dry wit and general badass-ery of Iron Man, the genetic freak narrative of Superman, the audacity of Han Solo, the almost anti-hero persona of Hancock, the humor and the literal looks of Seth Rogen... OK maybe this description tailed off a bit at the end, but Chris Pratt's Peter Quill was nothing short of phenomenal. Well done.
What is with this whole thing of hyper-intelligent, weapons competent, talking animals in cinema lately? Yeah, I'm talking about you Rocket Raccoon! Maybe it's because the last movie I saw before this was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. But nevertheless, Rocket might have been my favorite character in the movie and was the only character that could manage to match, and even sometimes, surpass Star Lord's wit. He blew that dinky raccoon from Pocahontas right out of the water.
Favorite quote from the movie: "I come from a land of outlaws. Bonnie and Clyde. Billy the Kid. John Stamos."
Second favorite quote from the movie: "You think you can seduce me with your pelvic sorcery?" Oh man, that sounds like it was picked right from some uptight music critic's review of Elvis from the 1950s.
I especially loved this film for the cast! Especially Michael Rooker, a.k.a Merle from the Walking Dead! I think I loved him so much because his character, Yondu, was basically Merle with blue skin. The volatility, the way he calls Star Lord "boy," that little chuckle he does. Vintage Merle right there! Only this time, he magically grew his right hand back and had a Mr. T haircut. Awesome.
MERLE!!!!
And going off that, it was nice to see what Rooker was like playing a character in charge. In The Walking Dead universe, he always played second fiddle, whether it be to the Governor, to Rick, or even to his brother. Cool seeing him as the head honcho this time around. And in true Dixon fashion, his weapon of choice was an arrow. I LOVE IT!
Another AMC veteran in this film was the main bad guy, Ronan, played by Lee Pace, a.k.a. Joe MacMillan in Halt and Catch Fire. Man, this film was essentially the AMC alums with different colored skin. Made for quite the convincing villain though. Didn't have quite the charm of Joey Mac but he had a Darth Sidious look going on and put on quite a show.
And oh man, the soundtrack! All these throwback 70s and 80s R&B/rock goodies. The tunes lifted the film from "amazing" to "transcendent." More to come in the spoilers sections if you want some specifics on what songs played.
Groot's definitely on my team for the zombie apocalypse. Guy can do everything and most importantly he can regenerate. His auto-cannibalism might be a bit of a problem though.
Zoe Saldana with green skin? I didn't feel it that much. But she did play a damn good Gamora though.
Meanwhile, Gamora's sister Nebula looked like 2007 Britney Spears. Yeah.
What isn't Bradley Cooper in? I swear, he's the John Goodman of our generation.
One of the characters resembled one of the goblins that runs Gringotts in Harry Potter. I got a kick out of that.
NO WAY!!! THAT WAS BATISTA!!!!!???
The whole ragtag team of misfits model is becoming a bit cliche nowadays but Guardians really pulled it off well.
Going off that, the Guardians of the Galaxy were a pretty epic 5 man superhero team. But I think they're still my second favorite 5 man hero squad of all-time.
I couldn't take Ronan and Thanos seriously though. I kept calling them "Ronan Atkinson" and "Thanos Antetokounmpo in my head." Anybody else have that problem?
I really liked how the movie didn't fall into the trap of cliche love scenes and cliche motivational speeches. In fact, it even spoofed them at times which was brilliant.
And I love, love, loved how they didn't overly rely on special effects. Don't get me wrong, special effects were a big part of this movie but one of the reasons why I can't stand Zack Snyder movies (and heck, we'll throw Michael Bay into the discussion too) is because the reliance on special effects is so heavy that it detracts from the film as a whole. Not a problem here. They found a perfect balance.
Had to shake the image of the StubHub tree from my head to properly appreciate Groot. Just saying.
Those raccoons that hang out in my backyard every now and then are welcome now. Raccoons have been through a lot. This movie opened my eyes to that.
I have a short attention span (I can only watch half hour shows on Netflix with regularity) and even if this film ran for over 2 hours, it kept my attention all throughout and I only checked my watch twice. I'm usually in the 10-12 range and my all-time record is somewhere around 4369 when I watched King Kong in 2005 and drank too much soda.
The whole thing had a poor man's Star Wars vibe about it. And I mean that in the best possible way when I say "poor man's." Because Star Wars is pretty darn good in case you didn't get the Memo Ochoa.
I almost left while the end credits were rolling. Then I remembered it was a Marvel movie. The moments after I realized it looked something like this.
And I didn't even see this film in 3D and it was still amazing.
POSSIBLE SPOILER THOUGHTS
Going back to the soundtrack because that was really groovy. We had some David Bowie in the building, we had Marvin Gaye, we had Joan Jett. Even that Pina Colada song that Taco Bell ruined/reinvigorated.
There's always that snarky laugh in the theater whenever Stan Lee's cameo comes up. Never gets old.
The Kevin Bacon "Footloose" references were fantastic. Also kinda reminded me of the part in "Summer Girls" where Rich Cronin goes "I like Kevin Bacon, but I hate Footloose." Heck, I think I'm gonna listen to both songs now. Excuse me for a minute.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK HAD A BUNCH OF HITS
And now I know where the song that Tupac sampled on "Keep Ya Head Up" comes from. Thank you Marvel.
Heck, I almost stood up and started dancing in the aisles when they played "I Want You Back." A good rule of thumb for me is if Michael Jackson's involved, I'm on board.
Star Lord gave the Mike Scioscia middle finger!! Could this film get any better??
I wasn't too sold on the orb being the most powerful thing in the universe. It looked like something you buy from Pottery Barn for crying out loud.
And I was a bit bummed about "Spirit In The Sky" being in the previews but not in the movie. I had the exact same gripe with "Communication Breakdown" and American Hustle. Isn't this some sort of false advertising or something? Nevertheless, the rest of the movie more than made up for that minor lapse.
That scene where Star Lord got a bath in orange water in prison reminded me of Drake's bit on Blake Griffin and the Cheetos at the ESPYs. Great stuff.
CHEETOS
No raccoons or tree creatures were harmed in the making of this film." I thought that was gold, Jerry. Gold.
Howard the Duck at the end!!!! The perfect icing on the cake of awesomeness. I love me some bad movies and Howard the Duck is the most gloriously bad movie of all-time. It was phenomenal.
In conclusion, Guardians of the Galaxy was nothing short of a religious experience. If you haven't seen it yet, what the heck are you waiting for?!! Go, go, go!!! Definitely the movie of the summer and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it has officially taken over the title of my favorite Marvel movie of all-time. Not many films have the ability to compel me to resurrect a blog that's been dormant for nearly a year. And who knows. Maybe this will start a new period of activity for me here on this blog. And it's all thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy. Best damn movie I've seen in a long, long time.
2013 is about to draw to a close. This year has certainly left us with a lot in the world of sports. Breakout stars, unlikely upsets, miracle shots, massive blunders, record-breaking performances, and much, much more. So I think now it's appropriate for me to hand out my end of the year awards to celebrate the best (and worst) in sports for the wild, insane and ultimately unforgettable year that was 2013.
Game of the Year: Game 6, NBA Finals, Spurs vs. Heat
I already touched on this game at length on the night after it happened in one of my very first blog posts so feel free to go back and take a look at it for all the juicy details. But this one stands head and shoulders above the competition for 2013 because it had everything. It had posterizations (Kawhi Leonard on Mike Miller anybody?). It had improbable buzzer beaters (Mario Chalmers banking in a long 3 at the end of the 3rd quarter). It had clothing loss (Mike Miller losing his shoe, yet still canning a 3 and LeBron James losing his headband and then promptly turning into the Human Cyborg of Death). Massive blocks, improbable stepback 3s, wild momentum swings, all capped off by an unforgettable sequence where the Heat looked poised to bring this one home but then costly turnover after costly turnover put the Spurs up 5 with less than 30 seconds standing in between them and an NBA championship, while bandwagon Miami fans began to leave for the exits. Protective yellow tape to prevent fans from rushing the court was being placed, the championship trophy was rolled out, ready to be presented, the whole nine yards. But wait a minute! Boom, LeBron hits a 3. Clunk Kawhi Leonard misses a clutch free throw. And finally swish, Ray Allen hits a miraculous 3 to tie the game (don't worry we'll touch on this shot in great length later). Now all of a sudden, we're in overtime where the two teams claw and scratch before Chris Bosh stuffs a late Danny Green 3 point attempt and wouldn't you know it, we have a Game 7! That Game 6 was one for the ages. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows for Heat fans, Spurs fans, and NBA fans alike. And at the end, we were all out of breath, all exhausted and exhilarated, not quite sure what it was that we had just witnessed. But one thing was for certain, we were watching what greatness was all about. Not many games can give us that feeling. But Game 6 of the NBA Finals last June was all that and then some.
Play of the Year: Chris Davis missed FG return, Iron Bowl
War Eagle! This could very well have been the most thrilling sequence that the sports world saw over the course of the last 365 days. It was just the most absurd thing ever. The Iron Bowl. Here was Alabama, back to back defending national champions and winners of 3 of the last 4 and their fierce rivals, the Auburn Tigers, poised to pull off the huge upset over the best college football program in the nation. And for four quarters, they matched each other blow for blow. Though Alabama looked to have a chokehold on the Tigers at times, especially after a 99 yard Kodak moment TD from AJ McCarron to Amari Cooper, Auburn fought back. When it all came down to the one last play in the fourth quarter and the game still tied at 28, Nick Saban inexplicably elected for his young kicker to attempt a Janikowski-level field goal of 57+ yards instead of eating it and sending the game into OT. It was a semi-questionable decision at the time but nobody was prepared for what came next. The field goal was predictably short but Auburn's Chris Davis caught it in the end zone, ran it out, caught a couple of blocks, found some daylight, and miraculously took it 109 yards to the house giving Auburn the upset win and promptly sending the sports world into a downright frenzy. What in the name of Nathan Vasher had just happened?! I mean, when have we ever witnessed an ending even remotely comparable to this?!?! Probably not since Kordell Stewart's Miracle at Michigan or Doug Flutie's Hail Mary or when Joe Starkey proclaimed "The band is out on the field!!!" And to think that this was the team on the right side of the Immaculate Deflection against Georgia a few weeks earlier. Yep, the college football gods are definitely with Auburn this year. And my play of the year award is definitely with Auburn this year as well.
Fight of the Year: Bradley-Provodnikov
To be honest, it wasn't a great year for boxing. Most of the marquee fights featuring the marquee fighters were either disappointing and/or ridiculously one-sided (see: Mayweather-Guerrero, Mayweather-Alvarez, Bradley-Marquez, Pacquiao-Rios). In fact, some of the better efforts of the year were given by lesser known fighters like Adonis Stevenson, the Garcias, and Nonito Donaire Jr. However, the one fight that stands out for me was the 12 round slugfest that was Timothy Bradley vs. Ruslan Provodnikov. This was no holds barred. While some of the middle rounds slowed when the fighters decided to get a little more conservative, most of the fight, particularly the first 2 rounds and the last 2 rounds were wild. A flurry of punches thrown by both fighters, wild exchanges left and right, none of that "cover up and let the other guy punch out" nonsense but rather both fighters alternating with one another seamlessly between attack mode and counter mode. Bradley's speed vs. Provodnikov's power. Provodnikov hurt Bradley arguably even more than Manny Pacquiao did, even scoring a couple of vicious knockdowns. But Bradley fought back and used his speed and well-timed counter punches to tag Provodnikov with solid shots of his own. Both men paid the price in this fight as a huge cut opened above Provodnikov's eye late in the fight, while Bradley was taking brutal hooks to the chin all night long and just barely beat the count at the end of an epic 12th round after an all-out assault from the Siberian Provodnikov. Bradley went onto hang on for the victory via the judge's scorecards but this breathtaking welterweight championship fight was one that could have gone either way. It was one that delivered for boxing fans everywhere in a year where there wasn't a whole lot to get excited about in the sport.
Knockout of the Year: Pacquiao-Marquez
So this fight technically happened in late 2012. Oh well. It's my blog. It's my awards. Sue me. The fact of the matter is that this knockdown has been the defining image, the defining story of the boxing world for the last 12 months and it has had an impact that transcends what any calendar says. And as much as I would have liked to, I really can't sweep this one under the rug. Pacquiao-Marquez IV was supposed to be a lot of things. It was supposed to be a tuneup for a possible Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown. It was supposed to be the end all be all to the saga between the two fighters. It was supposed to be where Manny Pacquiao finally established once and for all ultimate dominance over his bitter rival who had cast a shadow on him for the better part of a decade. And it was almost all of those things. Sans one big hiccup in the third round, Pacquiao was fighting better than he'd fought in any of their previous 3 bouts. He had broken Marquez's nose and was showing an aggressiveness and vigor that we hadn't seen from him since maybe the Hatton and Cotto fights. But then the end of round 6 happened and Pacman, just trying to get in one last lick before the bell sounded, stepped forward right as Marquez turned his head, closed his eyes, and let loose a massive right hand. It was perfect. And Pacquiao walked right into it. The result was a violent knockout that snapped Pacquiao's head back and sent him crashing facefirst to the canvass. And that was the end of that.
At that moment, it seemed like time had stopped. You could hear a pin drop when we all began to realize that Pacquiao wasn't getting up, wasn't moving. There was legitimate concern for his well-being and it seemed almost as if Marquez had literally knocked him into another dimension. I mean, boxing has had its fair share of brutal knockouts but never anything this brutal on this big of a stage. The only parallels I can think of the sport has ever seen are probably Tommy Hearns' KO of Roberto Duran and Lennox Lewis flooring Mike Tyson. And this was way past that level. Even Pacquiao's huge KO of Ricky Hatton just a few fights earlier. At least Hatton was lying on the canvass lucid, awake, and conscious! Pacquiao was just "Good night" and that's all she wrote. That knockout is something that's gonna be talked about for years and years to come and the impact, the image, the lasting power it's had for the last 12 months is good enough to win my 2013 (technically 2012, yes, yes, we've touched on this before) knockout of the year.
Breakout Star of the Year: Jameis Winston
Where on earth did Famous Jameis come from? In the preseason Heisman watch, there was a clear top 7 of elite QBs. Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, OSU's Braxton Miller, Georgia's Aaron Murray, Clemson's Tajh Boyd, Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel, Oregon's Marcus Mariota, and Bama's AJ McCarron. And if it wasn't gonna be a QB, South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney, USC's Marqise Lee, and Bama's TJ Yeldon would have been the logical choices. Nowhere on the radar was this freshman QB playing in the ACC. Nowhere was Florida State's Jameis Winston. When he threw for 356 yards and 4 TDs against Pitt in FSU's season opener, people were quick to label him a one game wonder. Only problem was that he kept us this torrid pace for the entire season. All of the Seminoles games were turned into blowouts by halftime and a destruction of Clemson combined with an insane statistical season (nearly 4000 yds passing, 38 TDs, close to 70% completion percentage) led FSU to the #1 overall ranking in the nation, a shot at the national championship, and a Heisman Trophy for Mr. Winston. Breakout superstar material indeed.
Team of the Year: Boston Red Sox
Even if I pined to give this award to the Miami Heat, there is really no other team to give it to than the Boston Red Sox. This was a team that was supposed to finish in the cellar this year! They did finish 69-93 just a year before after all. So after a massive salary unloading trade dumped their biggest names like Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett to the Los Angeles Dodgers, expectations were low. They said Pedroia couldn't do it on his own. They said Papi was washed up. They said the pitching was crap. They said John Farrell couldn't manage his way out of a wet paper bag. Yet now here the Red Sox are, 2013 champions of Major League Baseball. Every single odd was defied. Every expectation surpassed. A shaky bullpen supposed to be led by the likes of Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey suddenly turned into the Doom Corps later in the year with Junichi Tazawa, Craig Breslow, and Koji Uehara virtually untouchable. David Ortiz found the fountain of youth and hit nearly .700 in the World Series. John Lackey was out there coming back and pitching like it was 2007 (Insert teardrop here). Rookies like Jackie Bradley, Xander Bogaerts, and Jose Iglesias were making tangible impacts. And alas, the power of the beard reigned supreme and the Red Sox clinched the World Series at Fenway for the first time since 1918. Team of the Year status? I think so.
Moment of the Year: Ray Allen 3 to tie the game in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals
Call me a homer but how can I not give this award to (brace yourself) the clutchest shot in the history of the NBA??? If we ever made a Mount Rushmore out of the greatest big-time shots ever hit on a basketball court, the three no brainers would be Magic Johnson's baby hook at the Garden in '87, Jerry West's 60-foot prayer in 1970, and Michael Jordan's iconic Last Shot against the Jazz in '98. Well ladies and gentlemen, I think we've found out the fourth. When Jesus Shuttlesworth, the greatest three-point shooter of all-time, backpedaled to the three-point line, caught the ball in the corner off a Chris Bosh offensive rebound, planted his feet perfectly behind the line, steadied his body for a split second, then let it fly and hit nothing but net, he claimed his rightful place alongside those indelible moments in NBA history. And here's why this shot tops them all.
Let's look at the stakes here. Take Magic's shot. What if he missed it? Throw out the fact that Kareem would have been right there to tip it home and throw out the fact that Larry Bird missed an open jumper at the end of that game that he made 9 out of 10 times. Say Magic misses the baby hook and the Lakers lose. That was Game 4. The Lakers still would have had 3 games to get 2 wins (including 2 at home) to bring home the championship. Now take West's 60 foot heave. Despite a degree of difficulty that was off the charts and the fact that it was from SIXTY FREAKING FEET OUT, if West misses that shot, the Lakers lose. But it wouldn't have mattered because that shot sent the game into overtime where the Lakers lost anyway. Now take MJ's iconic J from the top of the key to clinch the '98 Finals. If His Airness misses and the Bulls lose, they still have one more chance to get in done in Game 7. With Ray Allen's shot? If he misses? Over. Done. Sayonara. Goodbye. Cue the fat lady because that series would have been OVER. Allen misses that shot, the San Antonio Spurs are the champions. Simple as that. Duncan gets his 5th ring, LeBron James' legacy falls to shambles, we spend an entire summer talking about what went wrong, Ray gets skewered and ridiculed for his decision to leave Boston, and there's a good chance that the Miami Heat, as we know it today, ceases to exist. But as fate would have it, when you call Jesus Shuttlesworth's number, Jesus Shuttlesworth answers. And he answers with the greatest shot in NBA history. And that is why Ray Ray's 3 tops em all to win my award for Moment of the Year for 2013.
Athlete of the Year: LeBron James
Was there any other choice other than LeBron Raymone James?? How could he have possibly topped a 2012 campaign where he won the regular season MVP, the NBA championship, and NBA Finals MVP while putting up superhuman numbers? By doing it all over again in 2013 just with even more ridiculous numbers. What can't this guy do?!? It's getting to the point where we're just so used to his greatness and so used to his other worldly talent that we don't even bat an eye anymore when he does things like baptizing Ben McLemore and Paul Millsap, like single-handedly resurrecting his team from the grave, like making the SportsCenter Top 10 every other minute. He improved in almost every major statistical category (including shooting a career best in FG%), won his 4th MVP in 5 years, and took the Miami Heat to the top once again downing the veteran Spurs in 7 games en route to a second consecutive Finals MVP. To cap it all off, he was awarded the AP Male Athlete of the Year award a couple of days ago becoming only the third NBA player (after Michael Jordan and Larry Bird) to receive that honor. Did I mention that he just turned 29?? Just sit back and enjoy the ride, folks.
Polarizing Star of the Year: Johnny Manziel
I swear, there's something about this guy. Maybe it's the Johnny Football charm. Maybe it's how fun it is to watch him play with his heaves off the wrong foot and the way he runs circles around defenders behind the line of scrimmage. Maybe he's just pure money. Whatever the case may be, Johnny Manziel was without a doubt, the most polarizing sports star of the year. He captivated the nation with everything he did: leading Texas A&M to big win after big win, lofting impossible touchdowns to Mike Evans, getting kicked out of Manning Camp, going to frat parties, the infamous autograph scandal, the subsequent money celebration. Everything. There's something about him. The way he sucks you in. Almost like Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs. You know that this guy's bad news and that he rubs everyone and everything the wrong way but he just has something about him that sucks you in and before you know it, though it goes against every bone in your body, it's almost as if you find yourself rooting for the damn guy in the end. It's crazy. Congratulations Johnny Football. It takes a special athlete to get me to pull out a Quentin Tarantino reference from my back pocket. Now let's just hope he fares better after life in the College Station than Michael Madsen did after Dogs.
Upset of the Year: #15 Florida Gulf Coast makes it to the Sweet Sixteen
Florida Gulf Coast. Even the name just sounds like Round of 64 NCAA Tournament fodder. Well that's what they were supposed to be. But evidently, somebody forgot to send the memo to Dunk City as they came out of left field to upset #2 Georgetown in the first round of the 2013 tourney, then continued the magic in the next game by upsetting #7 SDSU to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Though they would fall to Florida, they captivated the nation with their high-flying, energetic, up-tempo play as Dunk City became a thing and Andy Enfield's crew did their best impression of the 2006 George Mason Patriots. Dunk City, it's been fun.
Best Individual Season of the Year: Peyton Manning
This was a ridiculous season even by Peyton Manning's standards. Look at these numbers. 68.3% completion percentage (third highest of his career). 450 completions (tied for the highest in his career). 115.1 QB rating (second highest of his career). 10 interceptions (tied for the second-fewest in his career). 5,477 passing yards (career high and all-time single season record). 55 TDs (career high and all-time single season record). Are you kidding me?? Manning smashed virtually every single season statistical record for a quarterback, blazing a path of destruction to lead the Denver Broncos to a 13-3 record and a #1 seed in the AFC, and making us wonder if he had surpassed the likes of Dan Marino, John Elway, and Joe Montana as the greatest quarterback of all-time. And this is a guy who's 37 and less than 2 years removed from major neck surgeries. (Yes plural). He's a shoo-in for MVP and his 2013 season will go down as one of the greatest statistical years across all sports, right up there with Michael Jordan's '91, Wilt Chamberlain's '62, Wayne Gretzky's '86, Tiger Woods' '00, and the rest.
Dunce of the Year: Alex Rodriguez
Can he just go away? Please??? The once great slugger known as Alex Rodriguez made headlines for all the wrong reasons over the last 12 months and set a new precedent of obnoxiousness and egomania for professional athletes everywhere. After an entire summer full of Biogenesis news, the MLB handed down a 211 game suspension to Rodriguez that would keep him sidelined through the end of the 2014 season. But it was just the beginning of a saga that had already been dragged out for far too long. A-Rod decided to milk every last inch of the appeals process to death which enabled him to ludicrously make his season debut just hours after his suspension was announced. Jokes of "A-Rod's playing 3rd, batting 4th, and pleading the 5th" ensued and each day the story continued to lurk over Major League Baseball's head like a plague. There was the backlash after Ryan Dempster plunked A-Rod at Fenway. There were the accusations A-Rod made that Bud Selig had a vendetta for him, that the Yankees wanted him gone, that there was a larger conspiracy to keep him out of the sport, that the Illuminati had put out a hit on him (OK, maybe not that last part but it almost seemed like that after a certain point). Meanwhile, fellow cheaters like Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta took their suspensions and disappeared from the public eye. But not A-Rod. He leaped at every opportunity to extend his 15 minutes of infamy and put on a performance that even outstank the likes of Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito (a story that has gotten so overblown and overcovered this year that this is all the mention I'm going to make of it. Enough has been said about it. No more.) A performance truly worthy of Dunce of the Year honors for 2013.
Dunk of the Year: DeAndre Jordan over Brandon Knight
Yes, I know. This dunk has been played and replayed to the point that we're almost sick of it, to the point that we've almost memorized Ralph Lawler's exact words. But that doesn't take away from the greatness of it. The wildly athletic center out of Texas A&M, DeAndre Jordan sauntered up to the three point line as if to set a pick in semi-transition, then darted to the hoop getting behind his man and forcing poor Brandon Knight to rotate over and futily contest as Chris Paul, the best in the business provided a pinpoint alley and DJ rose up over the leaping Knight and threw down a vicious, disrespectful, and downright fillthy oop sending Knight crashing to the floor and delivering the ball through the hoop with such brute force that it rocketed back down and nailed the already humiliated Knight right in the face. Damn. And the dunk face at the end just added to the legend.
Catch of the Year: JB Shuck
Sorry Kodi Whitfield, Josh Donaldson, JJ Worton, and Co. This award belongs to one Jack Burdett Shuck the Third. While you might not have been surprised that an Angels outfielder would win this award, you were probably expecting it to be Mike Trout or Peter Bourjos. Alas, it's the rookie Shuck who takes home the honor after this unreal catch where he tumbled into the first row of the left field bleachers at Angel Stadium to rob the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista of a sure home run. The concentration. The extension. The timing. It was all exquisite. And I love the reaction of the Angels dugout and of Kole Calhoun leaping around in celebration in right field. I tip my hat to you JB Shuck.
Goal of the Year: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Of course I gotta give some love to soccer!! Over the last couple of weeks, I've become a newly converted soccer fan (Chelsea Headhunter, if you must know) so I think the time is right to give a shoutout to soccer, the Bernard King of sports (forgotten at times but still no less great). This goal by Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic defies every last law of physics. Chases the ball down, hits it in stride as it's on its descent and unleashes a colossal bicycle kick from another area code and somehow finds the net. Pure instincts and skill right there. This one is in the Pacquiao-Marquez Corollary. The calendar will tell you that it happened in 2012 but the lasting impact it has had, the memories that it has given us, tell otherwise. That's the kind of goal you see once in a lifetime.
Coach of the Year: Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
How can you possibly top Coach Spo's combination of accolades, tactical genius, and innovation? I'll give you a hint: you can't. Not only was Spo as instrumental as anyone to the Miami Heat's second championship in as many seasons, and not only did he preside over the second longest win streak in NBA history but you look at what he's done from a strategical standpoint and it's just breathtaking. Despite not having a single traditional center on the roster (not counting newly-signed Greg Oden who still has yet to play in a single regular season game), Spoelstra has taken the Miami Heat to Herculean levels with his revolutionary positionless, pace and space motion offense that has opened up wide driving lanes for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade by forcing the defense to cover every inch of the floor by shrewdly positioning shooters everywhere. On defense, Spoelstra calls for aggressive trapping of pick and roll ball-handlers which forces turnovers left and right and even if the ball-handler can find a way to pass out of the trap, Spo's emphasis on communication and quick reactions allows for help defenders to rotate seamlessly back and forth to suffocate the offense. Toss in hard closes on shooters and you have a defense that forces countless 24 seconds violations and numerous bad shots by opposing offenses whose plays have suddenly broken down. And by focusing on winning the battle in transition, the Heat are able to overcome being arguably the weakest rebounding team in the league. Not to mention Spo's brilliant ego management and people skills. I saw a quote the other day after another one of LeBron's hyperefficient superhuman performances that went along the lines of "When you can get the best player in the world to take only 11 shots, that's what you call coaching." And Spo's even managed to get Michael Beasley to give a damn! He's gotten him to actually play defense, put forth an effort on the glass, and stop launching bad 3s! I am absolutely in awe.
Commercial of the Year: NBA Finally Forever
This 30 second spot that aired during the NBA Finals last June had to be one of the best things I'd ever seen. Just all those images, it was so damn beautiful. Let's take a moment to recap the images shown.
Magic Johnson juxtaposed with Larry Bird. The greatest rivalry of all-time. Two superstars in every sense of the word playing for the two most storied franchises in NBA history. A relationship that transcended race, that transcended culture. The hard-working country boy from French Lick and the fun-loving youngster from Michigan. Together they saved an NBA that was on life support thanks to the cocaine era of the 1970s that threatened to derail the league. And not only did they save it, they transformed it into the global juggernaut it is today. We'll never see anything like it ever again.
Garfield Heard's miracle shot in the 1976 Finals. Nobody gave this Phoenix team a chance. They were up against the mighty Boston Celtics, a team that had won 12 of the last 19 championships. They weren't even supposed to be there. But this scrappy Phoenix team gave Boston everything it could handle. And Heard's shot was the improbable of all improbables, sending Game 5 into triple overtime. And though the Celtics would go onto to win the game and eventually the championship series, it taught us never to count out the underdog.
Julius Erving with his unreal behind the backboard reverse and Michael Jordan with famous his "righty, no, lefty" layup (I can still hear Marv Albert's voice saying "A SPECTACULAR move by Michael Jordan!). Two legends who also helped save the league on the front and back ends of Larry and Magic. Two of the most iconic athletes of all-time with two of the most iconic shots of all-time. Wow.
Kevin Garnett at center court pounding the Celtics logo after winning the championship. A guy that left it all out on the court every single time. Love him or hate him, the guy brought it night in and night out and had his teammates' backs through thick and thin. Now here, he had finally reached the top of the mountain. And you can bet your life that he was thinking about Malik at that moment.
Dirk Nowitzki. A guy who had been called a lot of things. A choker. Soft. A loser. A liability on defense. And here he was taking down the Goliath Miami Heat to win his first NBA championship.
Kobe Bryant after winning his fifth ring. Getting a chance to celebrate on his homecourt with his home fans for the first time without Shaquille O'Neal. That moment was everything to him.
Mario Elie. A guy that bounced around for many years looking for home. Played everywhere you could think of before coming to the NBA. Ireland, the USBL, Argentina, Portugal, the CBA. Even bounced around once he made it to the NBA. Played for the 76ers, the Warriors, and the Blazers. Now here he was with the Houston Rockets, his 9th team in less than a decade. And now he was a champion. That's a look of pure joy right there.
Dave Cowens diving on the floor for a loose ball and desperately calling timeout. Giving up his body. All for one more chance. One more possession. Cowens is one of the NBA superstars I'll always have eternal respect for. Just a simple man that loved the game. All those stories about him moonlighting as a taxi cab driver to get his mind off things. Those tales of him sleeping on a park bench the night after winning the championship. And how he walked away from a chance to play with a young Larry Bird and an almost guaranteed championship because his heart just wasn't in it anymore and he didn't feel like he could give the team everything he could anymore. Respect, Dave.
Isiah Thomas writhing in pain in the ground after spraining his ankle horribly. Then coming back, running on pure drive and adrenaline, to drop 25 points in a single quarter in the Finals against the fearsome Showtime Lakers. Heart of a champion.
Willis Reed limping out of the tunnel and showing up to play in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals despite a TORN thigh muscle. Comes out, knocks down his first two shots, and gives the Knicks the spark they need to hand it to Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and the rest. Unforgettable.
The flu game. Despite a nasty stomach flu, Michael Jordan comes out to lead the Bulls to a victory over the Jazz, scoring 38 points and playing 44 of 48 minutes. And here is, so exhausted and sick that Scottie Pippen has to carry him to the bench. But he's still here. He's still playing. Still giving it his all. GOAT.
Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, and John Havlicek. The winningest trio of all-time. I dare you to find a trio with more championships than that trio. I dare you.
Magic's baby hook at the Garden timed perfectly in sync with Kareem's skyhook to lead the Bucks over the Celtics in double OT. That's everything that clutch is about right there.
Magic hugging Butch Lee after putting up the greatest performance in NBA Finals history. An injured Kareem forces rookie Magic to start at center and he plays all 5 positions on his way to 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead the Lakers over the powerhouse Dr. J Sixers. That image represents a kind of youthful innocence for me. For Magic, this was before everything. This was before egos. This was before fame. This was before money. Before the vices of life in LA in the 80s. Before the Westhead fiasco. Before the 1984 Tragic Johnson backlash. Before HIV. Before everything. Just a kid from Michigan with a big smile who was on top of the world and was tasting what it was like to be an NBA champion. It's just really special moment.
George Mikan. The first great NBA superstar. The face of the league during its infant stage. The one who blazed the path for generations of superstars to come.
Tim Duncan and David Robinson hoisting the championship trophies. That was a brotherhood right there. Two of the greatest big men this league has ever seen accomplishing great things. Together.
Finally, LeBron James after winning his first NBA championship. The guy went through hell and back to get here. A kid from Akron dubbed the next Jordan when he was still a teenager. The loftiest expectations dogged him for nearly his entire life. Media scrutiny followed his every move. The pressure put on him ever since St. Vincent-St. Mary was unlike anything any athlete had ever had to deal with. 7 years of futility with the Cavaliers and then the wrath of an entire city and really an entire nation after The Decision when he decided to join forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. He became the villain. The most hated athlete in all of America. And when he fell to the Mavericks in 2011, the entire world rejoiced in his pain, in his failure. That he still hadn't won a single NBA championship. And now here he was after he picked himself up off the ground and reached the top. Finally. After all these years. After everything he had been through. Now he had champagne in his eyes, the championship trophy in his arms, and the smile of a kid on Christmas on his face. He had finally made it.
All these images are about the journey. About the heart of a champion. About legacy. About victory. About perseverance. About greatness. And it managed to encompass all of those themes in a span of 30 seconds. Finally forever. Forever is big. Forever is big, indeed.
Comeback Player of the Year: Mariano Rivera
43 years old. Coming off a torn ACL, the most devastating injury a professional athlete can suffer. Yet Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer this sport has ever seen, made it back. And made it back not as a shell of his former self running on fumes and ego, but as the same vintage self that we all had come to know and love. He sported a 2.11 ERA and recorded 44 saves and won the All Star Game MVP as the baseball community gathered at Citi Field and heard "Enter Sandman" play one last time. He even had one of the better "Who's chopping up an onion?" moments of the year when his Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte, his teammates for life who had been going to battle with one another since the mid 90s, came out to escort him out of his final game at Yankee Stadium. We're gonna miss you, Mo. Thanks for everything.
Quote of the Year: David Ortiz- This is our f***ing city
It was just so perfect. The timing, the person delivering it, the atmosphere, the message. When David Ortiz stepped in front of the Fenway Park crowd in Boston, a city broken and shaken after the Marathon bombings just a few days earlier, and declared "This is our f***ing city," it was everything you could have wanted. A city looking for something to cheer about, for something to help it get back on its feet, got just that. And from David Ortiz nonetheless, a larger than life figure in the city of Boston, a man whose name in a few years will be spoken by Bostonians with the same reverence as guys like Bill Russell, Larry Legend, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams Bobby Orr, and Tom Brady.
The national pastime has a way of bringing us together in the face of unspeakable tragedy. Derek Jeter's flip play and Mike Piazza's home run to lift the city of New York after 9/11. Virginia Tech alum Joe Saunders proudly sporting the VT cap in his next start for the Angels after the massacre. And now David Ortiz's declaration. Even the FCC approved. What a moment.
Remembering Those We Lost In 2013
And now before I wrap things up, I'd like to take some time to acknowledge the sports icons we lost in 2013. Ken Norton, a true heavyweight great who is one of the few who can say he beat Ali in Ali's prime. Walt Bellamy, Bill Sharman, and Vern Mikkelsen, three giants in the NBA world who helped define the game in its infant stages. Tommy Morrison, one of only 5 men to beat George Foreman. Bud Adams and Jerry Buss, a couple of owners who lifted both their franchises and their sports to great heights. Deacon Jones, one of the most terrifying defensive studs the NFL ever saw, the leader of the Fearsome Foursome. Stan "The Man" Musial and Earl Weaver, two defining icons of Major League Baseball. And to all the rest we lost. You will all be missed. Rest in paradise, champs.
2013, it's been real and 2014, I look forward to what you have to offer in the world of sports and beyond. Happy New Year everybody!!!
Tonight, the Heisman Memorial Trophy Award, the honor annually bestowed upon the most outstanding player in college football, will be presented in New York. The six finalists in the running to take home the 79th Heisman Trophy tonight are Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, Boston College running back Andre Williams, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (the winner of last year's award), Auburn running back Tre Mason, and Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. Here's my take on the odds of victory for each of the 6 finalists.
Andre Williams, running back, Boston College Odds of winning: 90-1
The six foot senior back out of Schnecksville, Pennsylvania definitely put up the counting stats galore this season leading the nation with 2112 rushing yards (he was the only person to rush for 2000 or more yards this year) and finishing tied for 7th with 17 scores on the year. While those numbers certainly are impressive in it of themselves, there's a lot of negatives that Heisman voters would have to overlook to give Williams the Heisman. The Eagles finished an uninspiring 7-5 (including a 34-10 demolishing at the hands of unranked North Carolina in October) whilst playing in the not all that tough ACC. Additionally, that 2112 yards rushing loses a bit of its luster when you see that he led the league in rushing attempts as well with 329. Toss in the fact that only two running backs have won the award in this millennium (USC's Reggie Bush in 2004 and Alabama's Mark Ingram in 2009), it's hard to envision a situation where Andre Williams walks away with the trophy.
Jordan Lynch, quarterback, Northern Illinois University Odds of winning: 50-1
Lynch is by far my favorite player amongst all the Heisman finalists. I have a soft spot for dual threats quarterbacks putting up popcorn numbers for small schools. However, I don't have much of a say in the Heisman voting and Lynch, despite being the most impressive player in the nation statistically speaking, is probably not going to end up etching his name in history tonight. But wow. The man threw for 23 touchdowns this year, rushed for 22 more, and even recording a receiving TD for good measure. His robust 6.9 yards per carry on the year is the stuff of legend and he was only picked off 7 times on the year while recording a 63 percent completion percentage. However, the Huskies play in the Mid-American Conference which "boasts" an almost Eastern Conference level of stink and a trouncing by Bowling Green in the MAC championship game effectively ruined any of Lynch's Heisman hopes. So even if Jordan Lynch could very well be the best player in college football, per Heisman lingo, he wasn't the most outstanding so he's a longshot to win tonight.
Johnny Manziel, quarterback, Texas A&M Odds of winning: 50-1
Ahh Johnny Football. Last year's Heisman Trophy winner is once again a finalist this year but the sophomore will have a hard time duplicating his success this time around. A&M's 11-2 record last year while playing in the terrifying blitzkrieg known as the SEC (including a huge upset over Alabama), combined with Manziel's overall brilliance were enough to propel him to the 2012 award. But these year, the Aggies regressed a bit going 8-4, trampling all the unranked teams but falling to all of the legitimate opponents. Manziel himself regressed a tad compared to last year as even though his passing numbers improved (sans the 13 interceptions), he was a shell of himself on the ground rushing for less than half as many yards and 13 fewer TDs as he did last year. And if those Heisman voters find themselves affected by voter fatigue, that all but ensures that Manziel does not repeat.
Tre Mason, running back, Auburn Odds of winning: 25-2
Tre Mason is a big time performer. After not even being in the discussion for the Heisman for a good three quarters of the year, Mason put himself squarely in the picture with huge performances in the last two weeks of the season. His 164 yards and a TD in Auburn's beyond breathtaking win against Alabama in the Iron Bowl and his ridiculous 304 yards and 4 touchdowns against Mizzou in the SEC championship game helped poiwer the Tigers to a showdown in the National Championship with Florida State. Though he didn't have the year round dominance that Andre Williams had, he propelled his team to new heights and certainly fits the "most outstanding player" criteria. Still, with 11 of the last 13 Heisman winners being quarterbacks and seeing how stacked the competition is against him (one player in particular who we'll get to later), I can't imagine Mason winning the award tonight.
AJ McCarron, quarterback, Alabama Odds of winning: 12-1
Yep, this guy's still around. He's been the model of consistency throughout his 4 years at Bama and with 26 TDs compared to only 5 interceptions, there's a lot to like about his game. He's not a dual threat QB but he exhibits the pocket poise, the instincts, the arm strength, and the good decision making abilities that you'd want from a quarterback. He even had his Heisman moment with his 99 yard strike in the Iron Bowl against Auburn and already walked away with another top honor, the Maxwell Award. But the one fly in the ointment for McCarron (and this one is so huge it could very well be a Jeff Goldblum movie), was the loss in that game to Auburn. What the Bowling Green game was for Jordan Lynch, the Iron Bowl was for AJ McCarron. And that loss was more detrimental to McCarron seeing how Alabama was the unquestioned #1 in the nation to that point and a victory against Auburn, then a victory in the SEC championship game could have been the icing on AJ McCarron's Heisman cake. But it was not meant to be.
Jameis Winston, quarterback, Florida State Odds of winning: 5-4
If this one seems like it's already wrapped up with a bow, it's because it is. Famous Jameis Winston will walk away with the Heisman Trophy tonight and if he doesn't, it will be an absolute shocker. The freshman has had an even more impressive season than Johnny Manziel's freshman Heisman season last year and he has led the Seminoles to an undefeated record, the #1 ranking in the nation, and a situation where only one victory separates them from a national championship. Winston really has been the most outstanding player in the nation this year with a nearly 70% completion percentage, a cool 38-10 TD/INT split, and an immaculate QB rating of over 190. He has led that team to big win after big win (the shellacking of the Clemson Tigers who were ranked #3 in the nation at the time is probably the most impressive victory in college football this year in any game not named the Iron Bowl) and now that his sexual assault case appears to be firmly in the rearview window, there's nothing that can stop Jameis Winston from winning the Heisman trophy tonight. Unless somebody hires Duane Ford and CJ Ross to be a couple of the voters.
Last Friday night was a gut punch for the NBA community and their fans. And this was no ordinary gut punch. This was a devastating George Foreman right hand straight to the kidney. Within the span of just a few hours, three major injuries rocked the NBA world, leaving basketball fans around the globe feeling like a ton of bricks had just fallen on them. First, reigning defensive player of the year Marc Gasol exited Memphis' game against the San Antonio Spurs with an apparent left knee injury. Then, 2010-2011 MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, who had just worked his way back from a nearly 2 year absence from the game since tearing his left ACL, came up lame in the third quarter of a game against the Portland Trail Blazers and hobbled off. And to top it all off with some icing on the cake of despair, versatile Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala had to head to the locker room in the third quarter of their game against the Lakers and did not return. Slowly, we started to hear whispers of how serious these injuries might potentially be. Rumors began to swirl that Gasol had suffered a torn MCL, rumors that gained even more steam after comments that Zach Randolph allegedly made to Tim Duncan basically confirming the possibility of such an injury. Then, we saw the images of Rose needing assistance from the training staff just to make his way out of the arena after the game. He was apparently unable to put any weight on the leg and felt severe pain in the knee, usually two telltale signs of an ACL injury. Seeing that he had worked so hard to make his way back from the ACL tear to his left knee, another ACL tear, this time to his right knee, would be absolutely devastating. And a couple hundred miles away, word got out that Andre Iguodala couldn't even walk and said that he felt a pop in his hamstring. Things were looking quite bleak for these three and all we could do was wait until their respective MRI results were released the day after. All in all, NBA fans everywhere were able to breath a mini-sigh of relief after the MRIs revealed that things could have been a lot worse. Marc Gasol only had a Grade 2 MCL sprain, Derrick Rose had a torn medial meniscus (ACL and MCL fully intact), and Andre Iguodala would not require surgery on his hamstring. But the good news ended there as all three were labeled out indefinitely as their teams began preparing to be without them for a significant period of time. Here's what these three injuries mean.
First, we'll start with the Marc Gasol injury. Though he has no timetable to return, injuries of this sort typically need 6-8 weeks to recover from and it is impossible to overstate how much the Grizzlies will miss his contributions on both ends of the floor during that span of time. This is the reigning defensive player of the year! He is the anchor of Memphis' top notch defense, he is their rim protector, and their best post defender. And on the offensive end of things, his wide array of exquisite post moves and his ability to stretch the floor with his reliable midrange game have always been the secret weapon for the Grizzlies offense. Not to mention his fine skills running the offense out of the high post where he can handle the ball and hit the open man for an easy layup or an open jumpshot. Now with the most effective weapon that Memphis has on offense unavailable, I am expecting the Grizzlies O to stagnate a little bit. With the lack of firepower Memphis has beyond the arc (the newly signed Mike Miller is the only 3 point sniper on the roster and he comes off the bench), they have always relied on the attention that Gasol and Zach Randolph draw in the post in order to create open looks for their complimentary offensive players. Now, with Gasol out of the equation, teams can blitz the aging Randolph in the post (who definitely still has reliable post moves and a midrange game of his own, but is starting to look more and more washed up by the day) and force Tony Allen, Tayshaun Prince, and Mike Conley to beat them from the perimeter. Granted, Gasol's replacement, Kostas Koufos, has shown that he can be an effective NBA big man, but he is nowhere near the offensive threat that Gasol is and could very well wind up being the #5 option of that offense. And defensively speaking, Koufos is no rim protector (0.8 blocks per game for his career), and while the Grizzlies are strong on the perimeter D front, relying on Randolph and Koufos to deny the paint could get ugly quick. Dave Joerger might have to get creative and play a lot of small ball with Randolph at the 5 and Tayshaun Prince as the stretch 4. And seeing how loaded the West is across all 8 potential playoff seeds (especially with Kevin Love playing out of his mind and the Blazers coming, true to their name, blazing out of the gates this year), the playoffs may be far from a guarantee for a Memphis team that plays at the slowest pace in the league and relies heavily on their defense in order to succeed. Marc Gasol can't get back soon enough.
Next, we have the Derrick Rose injury. Well, the Bulls are no stranger to playing without Derrick Rose, which is what they did for the entire year last year, but if today's 39 point loss to the Clippers is any indication of what the Bulls will look like without him, Bulls fans might start turning their attention to cheering on the Bears to win the NFC North. Rose, who had been historically awful in the first dozen games of the season as chronicled in one of my earlier posts, will nonetheless be sorely missed by Tom Thibodeau and Co. The good thing is that the Bulls know how to run offensive sets without Derrick Rose, a skill that they got a lot of chances to hone last year, but those offensive sets are ghastly. They involve a lot of tedious, complex plays that work the ball around and eat a lot of clock but usually just result in a Boozer midrange J, pounding the ball inside to Noah, Deng attacking the rim, or a shooter launching a 3. The presence of the explosive Rose added that wrinkle to an otherwise dry offense and gave them a chance to produce at a high level. But without him, expect a lot of boring and complicated offensive sets that will be almost identical to the offense that they were running last year except with Mike Dunleavy now in place of the departed Marco Belinelli. Defensively speaking, the Bulls elite defense may not be in that bad shape because Rose's replacement in the lineup, Kirk Hinrich, is a deadly perimeter defender, but I'm more concerned for what this means long-term for Derrick Rose. This injury, a torn medial meniscus, may seem minor just because everyone was fearing the worst for him, but still this is a very serious injury. I can't say I'm surprised because the odds of such an injury happening to a player in Rose's predicament were pretty good. When you suffer a major knee injury like that to one leg, naturally, your other leg begins to compensate and all of a sudden you'll find that your "good" leg gets much weaker than the leg you originally injured. So while I can't say that I'm surprised, I'm definitely worried that Rose will never be the same. Major surgery on both knees by the age of 25. Do you know what that does to an explosive, lightning-fast, and crazy-athletic player like Derrick Rose? It ruins them. Rose relies on his athleticism and explosiveness more than anything else and such surgeries will take huge bites out of those abilities. There's definitely precedent as well. Look at Penny Hardaway. A dynamic, young scoring point guard who was heralded as the next Magic Johnson lights the universe on fire in his first few seasons only to blow out his knee and never be the same afterwards. Be a real shame if something like that were to happen to Rose. And as far as recovery time, this is a similar injury to what Russell Westbrook just came back from (Westbrook had a torn LATERAL meniscus, a bit different). Yes, Westbrook and Rose are similarly built explosive players but the difference is that Russell Westbrook was Superman before getting hurt, never missing a game in HS, college, or the pros. And even so, he came back a lot later than he wanted to, missing the early part of the season after the knee swelled up again and he needed cleanup surgery. All bets are off with Rose who has already had to make his way back from the most devastating injury an athlete can suffer. There's no telling when we'll see him on the basketball court again. Get well soon D-Rose!
And finally, we have the Andre Iguodala injury. Reports are that his injury is a strained hamstring and there is no timetable for his return either. His is probably the least severe of the 3 but these types of injuries, even for a guy like Iggy with no history of hamstring issues, have the potential to become a chronic problem if it's not handled correctly and he tries to rush back (see: Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys). With Iguodala on the shelf for the time being, this is a big blow to the entire Warriors team. He had really found his jumpshot this year so that added perimeter threat to go along with the Splash Bros. as well as David Lee and Andrew Bogut down low made the Warriors offense truly potent to this point in the season. He's also their best ball-handler (sorry Steph Curry) and a lot of the open looks they got so far this year were the result of Iggy's great court vision and passing skills. Plus, he was one of their most aggressive offensive players, not afraid to attack the rim to keep the defense off balance if need be. And we haven't even gotten to his contributions on the defensive add as he is about as destructive of a one on one defender as they come. Quick hands, physically imposing against smaller wings, this guy could do it all on defense. Now take Andre Iguodala out of the equation and you have a problem. Now, especially with their other top perimeter defender, Toney Douglas, on the shelf, you're gonna see a lot of Klay Thompson defending the other team's best perimeter player, which was the case last year. With all the energy and effort that go into hounding the other team's top offensive threat, that takes a lot out of you on the other end. Thompson has been on a tear to start off the year, canning open jumpers from all over the floor. But now that most of his effort will be going into defense with Iggy out, expect a bit of a regression, especially since the open looks that he has been getting might not be there without Iguodala there to get him the ball in space. So now, other teams can focus on containing the Splash Bros. and the Lee-Bogut post duo rather than having to worry about jack of all trades Iguodala potentially breaking down the defense. Harrison Barnes is definitely a capable replacement for Iguodala in the lineup (I'm a big fan of his underrated post-up game in particular), but the chemistry that Barnes was developing with the second unit will quickly be disrupted. Hopefully, Andre Iguodala, as well as Marc Gasol and Derrick Rose, can get back in action soon for the sake of their teams and for the sake of NBA fans. Here's to a speedy recovery for all 3!
So now that we're about a good ten games into the 2013-2014 NBA season, we've learned a lot of things already. The Pacers are hungry, the Heat are lethargic, the Sixers can do no wrong, the Jazz can do no right, and a Timberwolves team with a healthy Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio is insanely fun to watch. So in the spirit of the first ten or so games of the NBA season, I decided to provide 10 things that I'm liking so far this season and 10 things that I'm not liking as much. Shoutout to Zach Lowe from Grantland.com because I am following this 10 likes and 10 dislikes format that he introduced in one of his articles earlier this week.
10 THINGS I LIKE 1. The San Antonio Spurs
Don't look now but the Spurs are 9-1. Everybody always overlooks and underestimates the Spurs every single year. They're too old. They're too boring. Age will catch up to them. Parker's gotten slower. Duncan's a wash. Ginobili's bald. All that nonsense. Yet, at the end of the day, the Spurs get Ws and manage to finish atop the Western Conference and make deep playoff runs year after year. This year, they've been annihilating opponents, turning games into blowouts by halftime. Their stingy D ranks only second to the Pacers in terms of fewest points allowed per game. And it always seems that every night, it's somebody different from their bench stepping up. One night it could be Boris Diaw. The next it could be Marco Belinelli. The day after it could be Ginobili. And you want to know what the scariest thing is? The Spurs haven't even hit their stride yet. Duncan missed a few games with injury, Danny Green has been woefully inconsistent, and Kawhi Leonard hasn't even been putting up anything remotely similar to his big time playoff performance last postseason. Once the Spurs start really clicking, the rest of the NBA better be on high alert.
2. Kevin Love's passing
We know Kevin Love is a monster. The double-double machine puts up video game numbers night in and night out and his ridiculous stat lines are so common for him that we barely even bat an eye anymore. But this year, he has expanded his arsenal even further and thanks to the way Rick Adelman's offense is set up, we are learning how great of a passer Love is as well. Despite never averaging more than 2.5 assists per game in a single season, this year Love is averaging better than 5 assists per game. And it's all thanks to Adelman's new system that places a lot of emphasis on Love's passing from the high post. Thus far, he's doing a great job of facilitating and finding the open man with crisp passes inside. And his outlet passes! My goodness, something out of the book of Wes Unseld. Wow. Now that he's added another wrinkle to his already refined all-around game, it speaks even further volumes as to how truly special a player Kevin Love is.
3. The Golden State Warriors offense
The Warriors offense has been such a joy to watch this year. They are instituting some new split action plays on offense which confuse the defense and force them to commit to doubling one wing or the other. And when the defense commits, the ballhandler (in this set, most often their big men David Lee and Andrew Bogut) hits the open man for an easy layup or an uncontested three. And because Lee and Bogut are such capable passers AND because the defense will refuse to leave Klay Thompson or Stephen Curry alone for a 3, more often than not, this play results in success. It kind of reminds of the read option in football, almost as if Lee and Bogut act as the quarterback and read the defense before determining the next course of action. And the rest of their offensive sets haven't been too bad either. Curry is a master at the pull-up jumper, Klay Thompson has been curling off screens (sometimes double-screens) and nailing his 3s, and Iguodala has discovered the jump shot that has eluded him throughout his entire career. Meanwhile, down low, David Lee has been keeping opposing bigs off balance with arrays of pump fakes from the high post (which the D has to honor because of Lee's prolific midrange game) and then putting his head down and attacking the basket or finding Andrew Bogut for an easy layup once Bogut's man slides in to help. The offense is both sophisticated and a lot of fun to watch unfold and so far, that's been a winning combo for the Dubs.
4. Andrea Bargnani
Bargnani, the Italian who was a former #1 overall pick, has become something of a running punchline in the NBA. He grabs a pathetic number of rebounds for a 7 footer, gets a bad wrap for being flatfooted and disinterested on D, and doesn't do much else other than shoot jumpshots. He was unloaded to the Knicks for next to nothing this offseason by Masai Ujiri in one of Ujiri's first moves as the GM of the Raptors and expectations were quite low for him. But then, Tyson Chandler was lost for 4-6 weeks with a leg injury and with no capable bodies left, Bargnani was immediately thrust into huge minutes at center. And he has performed admirably. He turned some heads with an un-Bargnani like 8 rebound performance against the Bobcats and turned even more by following a few days later with 11 rebounds against the Hawks. He's hitting the open jumpers that the Knicks are creating for him and he's even blocking a shot here and there (the most memorable of which was a rejection of Dwight Howard last night). Plus, he's proving that he's not a completely useless one-on-one defender (just don't expect much in terms of help defense). The usefulness of Andrea Bargnani has been one of the more pleasant surprises in the first couple of weeks of the NBA season.
Well, except for this. Oh well.
5. JJ Redick
Perhaps nobody has benefited from a change of scenery this offseason more so than JJ Redick. A slinky mover off the ball and an elite 3 point shooter that has been known for canning triples ever since his days at Duke, Redick is really benefiting from playing with an elite point guard in Chris Paul. Paul gets him the ball in space right on the money and Redick always there to knock down the open shot. Before this year, Redick's point guards were Jameer Nelson and Brandon Jennings. Not exactly the best facilitators in the world. But now in Los Angeles, the Chris Paul effect has resulted in career best numbers: he's scoring a career high 16 ppg and connecting on a career best 47% of his shots. Plus, he's shown a bit of ability to create his own shot, put the ball on the floor, and throw in a nice ball-fake or two to create an open look at the rim. Well done JJ.
6. The Phoenix Suns
So thought the Suns were the headlining act for Tankapalooza 2013/2014 did you? Well apparently nobody gave the memo to Eric Bledsoe and Co. as they come blazing out of the gates with a surprising 5-4 record. Bledsoe has been unstoppable, Markieff Morris has been getting to the rim and posting gaudy numbers off the bench, Gerald Green has been showing that he's more than a dunker, and Miles Plumlee has emerged as a decent low post threat. Throw in the fact that the Suns are running early and often under new coach Jeff Hornacek and you have yourself quite the fun team to watch. Once Goran Dragic gets fully healthy, the Suns could take it up even further. This moderate early success may not be sustainable for the entire year but for now, let's just sit back and enjoy the ride.
7. The Atlanta Hawks
Ahh, the Hawks. Everyone forgot about them and just assumed they were cast-offs, doomed to rot away in the doldrums of the Eastern Conference after losing Josh Smith to free agency. Not so. The Hawks have kicked off the year with a 5-4 record. Jeff Teague has been posting career bests all-around. Al Horford continues to show us why he is one of the most underrated centers in the league. Paul Millsap is putting up numbers reminiscent of his best days in Utah. And Kyle Korver has been an absolute sniper from behind the arc. Don't be surprised if this Atlanta team slides under the radar and vultures a #5 or #6 seed in the East.
8. Lance Stephenson
This guy was supposed to be an afterthought. He filled in admirably for Danny Granger in last year's playoffs as the starting SG but Granger was supposed to come back this year, send Stephenson back to the bench, and all would be fine and dandy. Well, Granger suffered a new calf injury to go along with his recovery from knee surgery and Stephenson's number was called upon once again. And boy has he responded. He is averaging a popping 14-6-6 line on the season as the 4th or 5th option for the Pacers. His three point shot has been on, he's been making plays, and he's been chasing down loose balls. He even had a 13-11-12 triple double in 34 minutes against the hallowed Memphis defense (who we'll get to in a moment) the other day. Not bad for a guy who was supposed to be an afterthought.
9. Gordon Hayward
Yes, the Jazz are 1-9. Yes, they look completely lost and have no chemistry whatsoever on the court. Yes, opponents are scoring at will on them. And yes, Jazz fans are probably already pre-ordering their Andrew Wiggins/Jabari Parker jerseys from eBay. But don't blame any of that on Gordon Hayward. He looks brilliant. Averaging 20-6-5 on the season, he's been doing it all for that team. He's been making plays for Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter to get good looks down low. He's been aggressive and getting to the rim often. He's showed an expanded offensive arsenal and has amped up his defensive intensity. And he really hasn't shied away from being handed the keys to Tyrone Corbin's Ford Pinto offense. So even if the Jazz could be headed for a historic level of stink, at least Gordon Hayward is fun to watch go to work.
10. The proposed Iman Shumpert-Kenneth Faried deal
I know a lot of people are sour on this deal but I think this deal makes a lot of sense for both teams. The Nuggets need a perimeter defender badly ever since losing Andre Iguodala to free agency. Randy Foye is best served in a bench role and Evan Fournier isn't quite ready for a major role yet. Trading for Iman Shumpert would solve a lot of problems for them. He does a little bit of everything: defense, getting to the rim, hitting jumpers, crashing the glass, a true glue guy. He could immediately start on the wing and while his 3 point shooting isn't exemplary, in the long term, the Nuggets will have Danilo Gallinari healthy again to space the floor. On the Knicks side of things, trading for the Manimal makes sense now because they are absolutely desperate for size, for rebounding, for a presence down low, especially with Chandler on the shelf. Faried defines hustle, has a nice touch around the rim, and is one of the best young rebounders in the game. Plus, when Chandler returns, they'd be able to co-exist because Faried isn't much of a ballstopper and doesn't need the ball in his hands down low all the time. A Faried-Chandler frontcourt. Can anyone say "offensive rebounding?" And while I doubt that such a deal will actually get done, at the very least, it's quite an intriguing proposition.
10 THINGS I DISLIKE 1. The way Scott Brooks, Dwane Casey, and Larry Drew are running their teams
These are the three coaches that stand out to me in terms of grossly mishandling their teams so far in this season. Remember when Scott Brooks was widely concerned to be one of the best coaches in the NBA after he led the young 2011-2012 Thunder to the NBA Finals? Those days seem like a distant memory now with his questionable rotations and coaching decisions. Brooks is a stubborn man as evidenced by his propensity to give huge minutes to his favorite veteran has beens, namely wash up Kendrick Perkins and washed up from being washed up Derek Fisher, while letting his young, promising pieces, namely the New Zealander rookie Steven Adams and the exciting Reggie Jackson, rot on the bench. Dwane Casey meanwhile isn't doing much better. He is running his offense through the black holes on the perimeter known as Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry, and DeMar DeRozan, guys who absolutely love the contested midrange jumper aka the worst shot you can take on a basketball court from a pure efficiency standpoint, and he's wondering why he's not having success. Take the Raptors double OT loss against the Rockets the other night. Rudy Gay took 37 shots, bricking 26, DeRozan took 25 shots, clanking 19, and Lowry took 16 shots, clunking 10. For those of you keeping score at home, that's FIFTY FIVE MISSED SHOTS in the span of one game amongst three players. Missed shots, not even the number of total shots taken. Meanwhile, the piece of the future, Jonas Valanciunas is struggling to get touches thanks to this Axis of Evil on the Raptors perimeters and is even struggling to get minutes thanks to Casey's love for Amir Johnson and Tyler Hansbrough (and even Aaron Gray to an extent). Well done Dwane. And now let's get to Larry Drew. It takes a special man to have a more questionable rotation that Scott Brooks. But when you're parading out a "meaningful" lineup of Nate Wolters, Brandon Knight, Gary Neal, Khris Middleton, and Ekpe Udoh, you take the cake. This is a man who benched the Bucks 44 million dollar man Larry Sanders for entire quarters on end (a guy we'll get to a little later) and refuses to start his best big man, John Henson, despite the fact that he only has 7 or 8 healthy players on his roster. I am dumbfounded by these three coaches.
2. The Matt Barnes incident
In case you didn't know, a little brouhaha went down the other night at the Staples Center when the Thunder squared off with the Clippers. Blake Griffin and Serge Ibaka, who have a bit of a history dating back to when Griffin posterized Ibaka in OKC and Ibaka responded the next time they faced off by making a not so subtle attempt to disguise taking a low blow at Griffin as typical box-out fare, got tangled up in the first half, some light pushing and shoving ensued before Barnes escalated things by jumping in and shoving Ibaka. Both Barnes and Ibaka were ejected after cooler heads prevailed but the real story was what Barnes tweeted after the game.
Nevermind the choice language or the fact that he tweeted while the game was still going on, a clear violation of NBA rules. What really bugs me is the ideals behind this. Barnes is basically calling out his teammates and telling them to fight their own battles. It's really a shame what the NBA has become nowadays. What happened to the days of enforcers? Whose one job it was to protect the team's stars? If a team's star got hit with a dirty play, the enforcer would come in, rough up the offending party, the offender(s) would know to never pull those shenanigans again, and that was the end of that. Call me nostalgic for an era of basketball I never even lived through but what happened to the Bill Laimbeers? The Charles Oakleys? The Rick Mahorns? The Kermit Washingtons? The Maurice Lucases? The guys who kept basketball pure, who had their brothers back at all times no questions asked. Granted, there are some players that still try to uphold this tradition of good, old-fashioned, hard-nosed ball like they played back in the day (see: Udonis Haslem clobbering Tyler Hansbrough in the 2012 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals), but Matt Barnes actions and words the other night all but ensure that this style, this tradition, this era of basketball is all but dead. And that sucks.
3. The Rockets Twin Towers 2.0 Experiment
Well that didn't work. I never took the Rockets preseason experiment to try to recreate the glory days of Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon with Dwight Howard and Omer Asik. I'll refer you to a few tweets that I made when this experiment first came to light. Note the August 16 date
So now that the Rockets have tried and failed with it in the regular season, I must ask. Was I right or was I right? The two big men have slowed down the Rockets breakneck pace, have performed worse on defense when together than when on the court separately, and have clogged up driving lanes and made it difficult for the Rockets wings to penetrate. It seems as though Kevin McHale has come to his senses and benched Asik in favor of capable floor spacer Terrence Jones, but now Asik is once again demanding a trade from the Rockets. In fact, last night, during the Rockets-Knicks game, the TNT crew showed Asik sulking on the bench, shaking his head whilst sitting quite uncomfortably next to Dwight Howard. I think that about sums up how this Twin Towers experiment has gone. What a disaster. 4. Derrick Rose
We knew he might be rusty after 18 months away from the game. We knew he might be bad. We knew it might take a while for him to find his groove. But we didn't know it would take this long, that he'd be this rusty and this bad. The 2010-2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose has looked like a shell of himself to say the least in the first couple of weeks of the young season. After lighting the universe on fire during the preseason looking aggressive and a penchant for showcasing his increased 3 point range all of that has disappeared in the regular season. Rose is shooting 33% from the field, 25% from behind the arc, leads the league in turnovers per game, is struggling to make plays and find the open man, and ranks tied for dead last in win shares at -0.3 meaning that the Bulls would average 0.3 more wins if Rose wasn't on the court at all. Ognjen Kuzmic has contributed more win shares to his team!! Now Rose is out with a hamstring injury that seems minor but has the potential to be nagging if not handled well. Yikes.
5. The Miami Heat defense
The championship level defense that the Heat pride themselves on has been a bit lacking as Miami has stumbled out of the gate to an un-Heat-like 5-3 record through their first 8. The intensity has been nowhere near as fiery, closes are late, traps are less aggressive, and the team is a half-step slower getting back in transition. The two-time defending champs are giving up over 100 points per game and maybe you can chalk it up to them not being as hungry, chalk it up to the overused "The Heat don't try until the second half excuse," chalk it up to the championship hangover, or chalk it up to adjusting to the new pieces (Rashard Lewis with a meaningful place in the rotation and Michael Beasley existing) but the one thing we can all agree on is that the defending champs have to get their act together on defense and get it together soon.
6. The Brooklyn Nets
Well there's only one basketball and with all those mouths to feed in the Brooklyn offense, Nets fans' worst fears have been confirmed a bit. Brook Lopez has emerged as the alpha-dog in that offense and looks great with clean averages of a shade under 20 ppg and 6 rpg. But the rest of the team? All averaging career lows or near career lows in production. The worst of whom have been Deron Williams (who is only managing 11 ppg on sub-42% shooting) and Kevin Garnett (who looks awful with only 6 ppg, a disappearing midrange game, and a defensive game that looks as though he's running through cement, particularly concerning because he prides himself on defense). And that "stacked" bench? Led by Andray Blatche's 6 points per game. Terry looks lost, Kirilenko is hurt, and Alan Anderson is a non-factor. And to top it all off, Jason Kidd looks completely lost and clueless often turning to Lawrence Frank and his assistant coaches to run the show. Granted, they did get a quality win against the Heat, but it's hard to live up to the championship hopes when you're 3-5 giving up 101 points per game while scoring less than 96. Especially when you're getting blown out by the likes of Orlando and Sacramento.
7. All Pelicans not named Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis is having a breakout year. He's aggressive on both ends, has the midrange J working, showed off improved post-moves and is hitting the glass with a passion. He's averaging an unreal 22-11 line with 3 blocks per game on the season. Wow. But the rest of the team? Bluck. It's good to see Eric Gordon be aggressive getting to the rim but his jumper is appearing on milk cartons and it's only a matter of time before he's hurt again. Meanwhile, Tyreke Evans is struggling to lead the second unit and he's seen major dips in production across the board. And Jrue Holiday is having nowhere near the success he had statistically in Philly and is having a hard time adjusting to Monty Williams' offense. That's what happens when you have all those ballstoppers on the perimeter. And at the same time, Ryan Anderson is still hurt, Jason Smith is inconsistent, Greg Stiemsma just got hurt, and Jeff Withey is nothing more than a dunking prop. No wonder the Pelicans are 3-6. Without the Brow, they'd probably be 0-9.
8. The Detroit Pistons
What's eating the Maurice Cheeks gang? Remember that terrifying huge frontcourt of Josh Smith, Andre Drummond, and Greg Monroe? They've looked awkward and slow with one another and it makes spacing a real issue. Smith is launching his trademark awful 3s and Cheeks and Chauncey Billups aren't doing as much good as I thought with Brandon Jennings who has been chucking pretty hard and had some comments the other day that said that he'd be looking to get his shot off more rather than facilitating. For a guy like Jennings who is one of the most notorious chuckers in the league to be saying this bodes poorly for a Detroit offense looking to find its identity. The bench is a semi-bright spot but the Pistons have fallen flat on their faces out of the gate and have us all wondering if it's time to start hitting the panic button. Something's rotten in the state of Michigan.
9. Larry Sanders
Larry Sanders is a clown. After getting inked to a 44 million dollar extension with the Bucks in the offseason, he responded with an awful preseason that translated into an awful regular season. He averaged a paltry 2.7 and 3.7 rebounds to go with 2.0 blocks in a shade over 17 minutes per game. This perfect storm of Sanders' ineffectiveness and Larry Drew's incompetence led to friction and ultimately it boiled over one night with Sanders at a local bar. He allegedly instigated a fight, threw punches, and broke champagne bottles over people's heads. He lucked out because he wasn't slapped with criminal charges but the luck ran out there because he required thumb surgery to repair an injury suffered in the fight and he will be sidelined for at least the next six weeks. That's the worst thing that you can do for a guy like Sanders. Sign him to a big contract because that's when this kind of stuff starts to happen. Clown.
10. The Memphis Grizzlies defense
On paper, the Grizzlies have the best defense in the league. With two elite perimeter defending guards in Mike Conley and Tony Allen, the reigning defensive player of the year Marc Gasol, and the far from useless Zach Randolph and Tayshaun Prince, Memphis and new head coach Dave Joeger in particular seem to pride themselves on defense. Well that's not translating to success on the court. The super-perimeter duo aren't getting as many steals as we're accustomed to while Prince looks overmatched chasing his man around and Randolph looks particularly washed up on the defensive end. And Marc Gasol is "leading" the team with 0.9 blocks per game. They're even forced to roll Mike Miller out there fighting through screens on defense because they need his shooting so desperately. Giving up nearly 100 points on defense is a major problem when you're scoring less than 95 a game. Clean up your act Memphis!
