Why the NBA Beats College Ball

Take yourself back to mid-February...now name 5 NCAA college basketball players...

If you succeeded, congratulations; you just named 0.111% (that's just barely over 1 out of a thousand) of Division I college basketball players (not to mention Division II AND Division III). If you failed, don't feel bad. So did I.

Now name 5 players in the NBA. How about 10? 20? Even if you only named 5, you still named more than 1% of the players in the league. Now, when was the last time you purposely watched strangers play basketball? Do you ever drive to the local high school to catch a game (assuming you don't have a friend or family member on either team)? How much do you enjoy watching Euroleague basketball games when they are randomly broadcast on NBA TV? The fact is, we want to watch basketball games when we know the players! It's impossible to become familiar with the 4738 players in Division I basketball, especially because they are only in the league anywhere from one year to a maximum of four.

While growing up, I remember several people trying to convince me that college basketball was so much better than professional basketball. I'm sure these people still try to convince innocent young men of the very same thing. They would say things like, "It's a faster paced game" and "It's more exciting."

Ok...

Still, anytime I would tune into CBS on a Saturday afternoon to watch Keith Van Horn lead the Utes or Mateen Cleaves putting up points for the Spartans, I never got the same feeling as I did while watching Patrick Ewing dunking in MSG or John Stockton dishing out assists in his short shorts. In fact, it wasn't even close. I continued to wonder where these people got these crazy "NCAA is better" ideas. Several weeks ago, The Grey Nathan sent me text informing me of someone's Facebook status: "March Madness....best time of the year!!" You would expect this to have come from a college-aged male. Wrong. College-aged female who is blatantly not a sports fan. How does this happen? Are some people really not interested in any other sport all year long but they legitimately love March Madness basketball? Or is this a social fad with no real explanation other than it's "cool" to like March Madness?

I am coming to realize that times have changed. I don't think I'm old enough to have realized this on my own, but I understand that it's a growing trend for college players to only stay in college for one, maybe two, years before entering the NBA draft. 20, 30 years ago, players stayed. Their college careers were just as meaningful to them as signing a big contract. This is nothing but bad news for the quality of the college game; it only means that all the good players are gone as soon as possible. Less talent equals a less good game. Is it possible that the college game USED TO be "more exciting" and "faster paced?" Maybe. I don't know.

The only thing that makes NCAA basketball more exciting is its single elimination tournament format. If the NBA had the same playoff format, it would become just as "exciting." A bunch of 20 year olds shooting a lot of 3-pointers with a few dunks scattered in now and again is not more exciting than watching Blake Griffin and Lebron James consistantly throwing down unhuman-like dunks. I don't think the more exciting system is necessarily better or worse than the current NBA best-of-7. In fact, it's easy to argue that the "best" team doesn't in fact win the NCAA championship a lot of the time.

If a person attended a particular college, or maybe their parent graduated from there, then understandably their March Madness experience will likely be enjoyed more than a casual NBA fan's playoff experience (as most people haven't graduated from an NBA franchise).

As in any sport, art, hobby, or game is it more enjoyable to watch a professional or an amateur show off their talent? Would someone rather admire a Da Vinci painting or one painted by the kid down the street? Who would give a better chess-watching performance: your grandpa or Bobby Fischer? Basketball is the same. NBA players are in the NBA because they are the best in the world at what they do. The games they play are simply more enjoyable than the games played by college students.

That being said, I still didn't get enough Jimmer.

Six Surprising Season Suprises

I wanted to stick with the alliteration theme from the previous posts. As this season is quickly coming to a close, I wanted to have a little review of some of the surprising events in what has been a great season. While there have been many things that I didn't really expect, only six things have truly surprised me about this season. Some were examples of excellence, while others were almost baffling. This list is in no specific order, so don't try to read into it too much.

1) How good the Spurs have been

I always expect the Spurs to be in the playoff hunt, but as Duncan and the other main players on the team have been getting older, it just seems natural that they would slowly slip down the Western Conference totem pole. Not so this year. As of today they were 58-19, had clinched the southwest division, and were 2.5 games ahead of the defending champion Lakers. To me, it was completely surprising that they were this good. They did it by basing their attack on their aging stars and by picking up the pace, something which seems contrary to the Spurs organization. I hate the Coach of the Year award, but Popovich really deserves it.

2) How good the Bulls have been

This is pretty similar to my first surprise, but for some very different reasons. I knew the Bulls would be better this year after signing Boozer, but I really didn't think they would be that good. At the start of the year I would have put them in fourth at best, and possibly even 5th (behind Miami, Boston, Orlando and possibly Atlanta). Right now, like the Spurs, they are leading the Eastern Conference by 2.5 games and are very close to a 60 win season. Unlike the Spurs, however, they have gotten there with a brand new coach, a very young set of stars (especially Derrick Rose), and a focus on defense. Rose has really been the key to their success, and my surprise. There was no way I thought he would be a top MVP pick who would be leading his team back to greatness. Crazy!

3) How terrible the Cavs have been

This one is completely opposite to the first two things that surprised me. I knew they would be bad this season. There is no way they could have replaced Lebron after he left, but a league-worst 15-61 season? 26 losses in a row? They didn't win for the whole month of January! If you went back a few games, they went 1-36 for a stretch. That's just crazy to me! They had some pretty decent players, even if the whole team was built to work around Lebron. They also have a pretty good coach, but even that didn't help. Again, don't think that I was picking them to make the playoffs. But I did think they could at least compete for the last spot (not because they were good, but because the other teams sucked too!). You'd think their professional pride would have at least got them a few more wins.

4) The Jazz debacle (or T-wah's nightmare)

If I had to rank these surprises (which I don't because it's my own post) I would probably put this at the top of most surprising. No one could have seen this coming. I actually was thinking they were a darkhorse to get to the finals. They had lost Boozer in the offseason, but did a very good job at replacing him by getting Al Jefferson (could he just be unlucky? He's always been on a loosing team and at the short end of trades). Add that with a hall of fame coach and one of the best point guards in the league, and you had a contender. But then out of no where Jerry Sloan retires, and then even more suddenly Deron Williams gets traded to New Jersey. Wow! What a crazy season for a team that was an example of stability. Now instead of contending in the playoffs, they've been eliminated and are most likely into full rebuilding mode. Now that was a surprise!

5) Kevin Love's breakthrough season

This was probably the least surprising of this list, but I still didn't really see it coming. I thought Love would eventually be a good NBA player, especially after Jefferson was traded and he became the best player on his terrible team (I mean, it had to be him, cause it sure wasn't gonna be Beasley or Darko!). But when he got his 30 point-30 rebound game, something which hadn't happened since Moses Malone did it in the 1970s, I was a little caught off guard. Then he went out and set the record for double-doubles in a season, which really surprised me because of all the good double-double guys that had played in the league recently (Garnett, Duncan, Howard, Shaq, etc.). How did Love get it when none of them had? I don't really have an answer, but the fact remains that he did, and that surprised me.

6) The New York Knicks

This one seems like an obvious choice because of all the stuff that's happened to them recently, but I put it on this list not for the reasons you may be thinking. I have to publicly admit that I thought the Stoudemire signing was not going to turn out. I was wrong, and I will admit that. The start of the Kinicks season was what really surprised me. They were such a good team with Stoudemire playing like an MVP, and the other guys around him really pulling their weight. Then came the Melo trade, which really wasn't that surprising (other than the Knicks gave up half their team for a guy they knew they could have signed in the offseason. I guess they must have really been afraid that he would have signed the extension and been traded to the Nets. Or they were just idiots!). What is surprising now is how bad they are. Everyone knew their defense would suffer, cause Melo doesn't play defense, but how are they so bad that the 76ers could beat them? They really should have been a threat in the first round. What a weird season for the Knicks!

So there's my list. Like I said, many other things were surprising to me, but these six I didn't see coming at all. Now please comment on this! I want to know what you think about these things, whether you agree or disagree, and if you feel that something else deserves to be on this list rather than what I've written. Let's make this website what we've wanted it to be. Fats out!

Playoff Predicting Penguin (...I wanted an alliteration)

As the NBA playoffs get nearer every day, only one thing is on my mind: Will the Utah Jazz be in or out? At only 1.5 games behind 8th place Memphis, it is certainly possible. Every night I find myself rooting for the Grizzlies, Rockets, Suns, and Hornets to lose while desparately inhaling every Jazz win I can get. In an effort to see if this is plausible, I present my playoff predictions.

These prediction are not at all based on emotion or hope but solely on statisics (although very rough ones). As of 4:30 pm (MDT), I took every NBA team's record and calculated their estimated win/loss record after playing all 82 games. There is only one rule to my calculations: if your record is better than your opponent's, you win. Homecourt advantage is not taken into account as I have no hard statistics proving what it does for a team's performance (an even record goes to the home team, however). Also, each team is likely to have roughly the same number of home and away games the remainder of the season, thus somewhat nullifying any calculated advantage. And, yes, this was probably a waste of time, but at least it gives me some indication whether or not to get my hopes up.



Not so fast, Lakers and Celtics...

First, the East:
1. Chicago
2. Boston
3. Miami
4. Orlando
5. Atlanta
6. New York
7. Philadelphia
8. Indiana

And the West...
1. San Antonio
2. LA Lakers
3. Dallas
4. Oklahoma City
5. Denver
5. New Orleans (tie)
7. Portland
and 8..........................................Memphis. Crap.

I'm Obsessed With Jerseys

While vacationing in Hawaii in January, I visited the Aloha Stadium Swapmeet. It is a collection of tents/booths set-up around the outside perimeter of a football stadium (the same stadium where the NFL Pro Bowl was played), and located about 1 mile from Pearl Harbor. Most of the tents are full of t-shirts, necklaces and other Hawaiian knick-knacks. There was one tent, however, off the beaten path, that I contained not one traditional Hawaiian souvenir. I don't think it had a name but if it did, it would be, "T-Wah's NBA Emporium." It was a mini heaven in already-heaven (Hawaii). There were basketball jerseys hanging from every bar and pole holding up the tent. It had a special gravitational pull and I somehow ended up separated from my wife who was busy finding a plastic hibiscus to put in her hair.

As I walked in, a young fellow was transacting the purchase of an authentic vintage Pete Maravich blue and green Atlanta Hawks jersey. Cool! My eyes then glanced over at the salesman; he was wearing a Pete Maravich LSU jersey (where he played college ball). Lining the walls were the jerseys of many of today's NBA All-Stars: KG, Lebron, Kobe, Wade, Durrant, etc. Other than jerseys, there were a couple of pieces of memorabilia: Steve Nash and Jason Kidd action figures, a book about Wilt the Stilt, and a few baseball caps. I purchased a jersey, but not before considering 3 others: an authentic Atlanta Hawks Spud Webb home jersey, a Phoenix Suns Yuta Tabuse (the only Japanese to play in the NBA) away jersey, and a Steve Nash team Canada jersey. The grand prize...a green and yellow "Pistol" Pete Maravich Utah Jazz away jersey.

This was a hard decision. The jersey, itself, is a piece of crap. It looks like it was made in a high school sewing class and the #7 on the front is so frayed it will probably fall off soon. The shape of it even sucks. The neck hole is too small and I'm pretty sure that Grimace was the model for the shape. I decided that if I bought a jersey that it should probably be from my favorite team. The Pistol is the favorite player of one of my brothers. He introduced a new style of ball to the league and although I never saw him play in my lifetime he remains one of the greatest, if not the greatest, ball handler of all time. It was time for me to bring a part of my team's history into my home for only $15.



Which brings me to my obsession with collecting NBA jerseys. With my most recent acquisition, I felt it appropriate to discuss my entire collection:

1. Karl Malone, purple, Utah Jazz away - My 1st and favorite jersey. Can't beat it. It was my first prized NBA possession and purchased when the Jazz were at the top of the world (almost). My cousin, who lived in Utah, bought it for me and brought it to me when he came to visit.



Don't mind the background...those are
the kinds of bedspreads they give you
in Hawaiian condos.

2. Vince Carter, purple/black, Toronto Raptors away - I hope everyone remembers Vinsanity in his heyday. There was no one better. My life was better when I watched him play.

3. Donyell Marshall, white, Utah Jazz home - By far the crappiest jersey I own. It brings the most laughs (both from myself and anyone who knows the league very well). Bought it for $10 on a clearance rack at the Delta Center.

4. Jason Williams, black, Sacramento Kings away - I love(d) this jersey. The colors are wicked. I think Snakes has it. I want it back.
5. Shaquile O'Neal, purple, Phoenix Suns away - Another good laugh. My wife bought it for me at Walmart while we lived, and worked, in Phoenix.
6. Carlos Boozer, baby blue, Utah Jazz away - What can I say? He was the next Karl Malone.
7. LeBron James, maroon, Cleveland Cavaliers away - People used to like him, you know. Bought this at an outdoor mall in Orlando....clearance.
8. Deron Williams, dark blue, Utah Jazz away - Remember when he played for the Jazz? Me too...
9. Kevin Durrant, blue, OKC Thunder away - My least favorite-looking jersey. Refer to my previous post a few months ago to see what I recommend instead. I bought this jersey in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho before people had mancrushes on KD.

10. Al Jefferson, blue/gold/green, Utah Jazz away - This one is brand new and autographed. I love it. I love "Big Al" (also how he signs his name). My brother bought me this jersey on a vacation to Utah before the season started. I needed this jersey from the moment I found out about his trade to Utah.

Jerseys are an extension of my passion. Each one tells a story and although I don't get to wear them often, they put a smile on my face every time I look at the bottom rack of my closet.

Why the Mavs will finally win the NBA title

I know I know. You're all laughing at me right now and many of you really want to bring up the meltdown against Dwayne Wade and the Heat in 2006 and then the ugly first round upset by Golden State the next year. Some of you would point out that the Lakers have won the last two titles and there is really nothing stopping them from making it a three-peat, other than the Celtics, Heat, Magic, Bulls, Thunder or Spurs that is. Then those of you who really know what you are talking about will look at what has happened to the Mavs this year, losing Caron Butler, their second best player, for the whole season, and say that there is no way they can make up for that loss. Well screw you all is what I would say to that! Although all the teams mentioned above had a legitimate shot at winning it all this year, I am going to argue that it will end up being the Mavs who will be hoisting the awkwardly shaped NBA trophy this June.

It all starts with Dirk. He's having an incredible year and is a strong candidate for MVP. Just look at what happened when he was injured, and the team sputtered to a terrible record. Then take a look at his stats this year. Although his rebounds are down from his '06-'07 MVP season, his points are close (22.8 vs. 24.6), and both his field goal and three point shooting percentages are actually better than his MVP year (they're actually career highs of 52.5% and 42.4% respectively), meaning he has become more efficient at what he is doing. He's still one of the best clutch shooters, making teams double team him, which frees up many of the other shooters on the team.

Jason Kidd is showing his age (his career low points per game is at 8.4, the same as his assist per game number, which is quite respectable), but in the playoffs, when teams slow it down much more, he is still great at making the right pass and setting up his teammates. His back ups, Jose Barea and Rodrique Beaubois, are both strong players and can either take over for Kidd or play alongside them. Then bring in Jason Terry, who is still one of the best sixth men in the league, and the guard position is well looked after.

Anchoring the newly defensive minded team is center Tyson Chandler, who seems to get a lot of the credit for bringing the Mavs back into title contention. Apparently he can do a lot more than just catch lobs, like he did with Chris Paul in New Orleans. Then you have back up center Brendan Haywood, who can still be a strong presence in the post, despite some regression this year. I also think the Mav's bench is one of the deepest in the league, with former All-Stars Shawn Marion and Peja Stojakovic and soon to be picked up Corey Brewer, the former number 7 pick in the 2007 draft. Marion and Brewer bring intensity and great defense, while Peja, along with Terry, Beaubois and DeShawn Stevenson, can space the floor and knock down the long ball.

All this adds up to a team that I think is one of the most dangerous teams in the league, and one that most other teams will not want to face come playoff time. They have size, speed, deep threats, defense and an MVP candidate, all of which can add up to a championship. I am a little hesitant to give them the title right now, as they have had some problems in the past, but this team feels different. The '06 team still felt a bit shakey, and the Golden State upset, when looked at closely, could be seen quite easily. I just feel that this team has the experience and toughness needed to make the full run. I do think it will be a tough road to the championship (San Antonio is always a tough opponent, the Lakers will wake up come playoff time, and I think Boston, who made some great trades at the deadline, is the best in the East and a really deep team as well), but I have confidence in my team. I look forward to boasting this June and all summer long on the Pads about my team and their first ever NBA championship! I hope you're all as excited as I am!