Friends, Mothers, and MVPs

Kevin Durant’s MVP speech made my Mother’s Day blog this year pretty easy. I’ve watched it a few times and wept every time. Sure I might be an emotional sap but it really struck a chord with me on several different levels. But I’ll only talk about two.

First, KD talked about each and every teammate and gave specific examples on how they have positively influenced his life. There were times throughout the season, and even his entire career, which he felt discouraged, where he failed, where the odds were stacked against him. But he survived in no small part because of the community and teammates around him. Yes KD is the star on the team. And yes, he had the best 2013-2014 NBA season of any player including Lebron James. However, that does not imply he did it alone or by steer will power of self-strength and fortitude. Even though that particular narrative of a lone superstar “willing his team to victory” has become the staple by which elite players are judged by it’s also unreal. No one can win alone.

In the same way several people in my life, which I could give specific examples of, have helped me “win” this game called life. I need encouragement and affirmation just like anyone else. I also need wisdom when I’m trying to figure stuff out. I also need examples to watch and mimic in order to have epiphanies and “Oh, that’s how you do it” moments.

Second, and the most appropriate for this weekend, KD talked about his mother and gave her the most praise. He talked about how much she sacrificed, how much she motivated him while he was playing basketball as a kid, how she kept him off the streets, the nights she went hungry so that he wouldn’t, which ultimately led to this moment, “mom, you’re the real MVP.” The camera capturing Durant’s mother’s reaction while he was saying these things was priceless.



I kept thinking about my mom and all the same things she did for my sister and I. Sadly, I would never have the opportunity to express the immense gratitude like Durant did. I don’t know if she could still see me now. But if she could I believe she would have a similar reaction much like Durant’s mother. And as the years passes by I realize more and more my mother is the real MVP.

Happy Mother's Day.

ESPN Films: 'The Announcement'

Film Summary

On Thursday, Nov. 7, 1991, Earvin "Magic" Johnson made people stop and watch at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. But this time it wasn't his basketball brilliance as a perennial NBA All-Star and three-time MVP that was captivating audiences worldwide. Instead, the 32-year-old groundbreaking point guard was holding a press conference to make the stunning announcement that he was HIV-positive and would be retiring from basketball immediately. But the shock of this declaration went deeper. Having the AIDS virus in 1991 was widely seen as a death sentence, and the commonly held belief was that we would be watching a beloved sports hero die excruciatingly and swiftly in front of our eyes. Yet Magic had a different narrative in mind. He defied the odds, not just surviving, but truly living and prospering. From his MVP performance in the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, his participation on the original Olympic "Dream Team" later that year and an NBA comeback in 1996, to his astounding success as a businessman, philanthropist and ambassador in the fight against AIDS, Magic has lived up to the promise of his nickname.

Some Background

With ESPN Films coming out with The Announcement, I thought I would write this. I grew up not really knowing my biological father. I’ve only seen him a handful of times in my life and don’t have very many memories of him. My first stepfather was physically abusive. My second stepfather was completely disengaged and lacked a backbone. In short, I never had a positive male role model growing up and was basically left to figure out life for myself while in a broken home and without any Christian influence. As you can imagine, my teenage years didn’t turn out so well.

1st Hero

I’ve mentioned often that young boys need heroes in their lives. My first hero was Magic Johnson. I remember how he, and Larry Bird, completely turned the NBA upside down. Magic’s teammates loved him because he was unselfish. He had charisma and a charm that captivated most of the world. Young boys at my middle school wore Magic shirts all the time, myself included. Magic was the man who first got me interested in the game of basketball.

Growing up and going to school in a rough neighborhood, basketball kept a couple close friends and me out of trouble. I started learning the lessons of life through wanting to become a good basketball player. It takes hard work to achieve anything of note. But you don’t have to step on other people to get to your goals. Magic achieved greatness by making his teammates better, by convincing them of their personal value to the team, and ultimately getting a group of individuals to work together as a singular unit. He was a leader. He was also the first person who made me want my life to actually mean something other than simply existing.

The Day I Thought My Hero Died

When Magic made his Announcement, it was my sophomore year in high school and I had just finished basketball practice. I noticed the coaching staff looked completely shocked. I looked around and asked, “What happened?” One guy on the team told me but I didn’t believe him. Then I went to one of my coaches and he confirmed the news. I went back into the team room, sat in the dark and wept for a couple of hours. I thought, “My hero was going to die.”

I remember the entire city of Los Angeles, and the entire sports world was in mourning. One of the most beloved sports figure of all time had to retire. I had to endure nonsense from high school friends saying, “Why are you so sad? You don’t even know him?” I never responded to pointless questions. There’s no reason to waste my time with ignorance.

Trial to Triumph

Through perseverance Magic Johnson turned something tragic into something triumphant. He educated the world on the subject of the HIV virus, which caused AIDS. Much of the world had ignorant ideas about HIV and AIDS. Not anymore. And it was because of Magic Johnson.

Reflections

Now that I’m older, I’ve often thought Magic didn’t really have to tell anyone he was HIV positive at the time. He could’ve said it was an injury and it was simply his time to retire. But he didn’t and for being transparent, he endured much ridicule and ignorant accusations. Maybe he felt that he owed it to us (fans) because we were like family to him. He was one of the few athletes who seemed to genuinely care about the fans.

Today, I have many heroes. People who are/were passionate about things of eternal value. People I actually know personally who have invested into my life. But that doesn’t mean I’ll ever forget my first hero and what he meant to me during a very dark time in my life. I don’t care if Kobe gets his sixth title (one more than Magic), Magic will always be, in my eyes, the greatest Laker of all time.

Magic Johnson makes me think, “Why doesn’t everyone love this game?” That’s just a snapshot of why I love this game. And if people still think I’m crazy for being so invested in a sport, I don’t have time for ignorance.

Magic Defied Tragic

It's been 20 years since Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive. Today I spent my lunch break reading reading articles about this very special day. It still brings tears to my face when I think about it. When HBO came out with the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird Documentary I wrote this:

Finally, there was Magic’s HIV announcement. After a physical before the 1991–92 NBA season, Johnson discovered that he had tested positive for HIV. In a press conference held on November 7, 1991, Johnson made a public announcement that he would retire immediately. He stated that his wife Cookie and their unborn child did not have HIV, and that he would dedicate his life to "battle this deadly disease." Johnson initially said that he did not know how he contracted the disease, but later acknowledged that it was through having multiple sexual partners during his playing career. At the time, only a small percentage of HIV-positive people had contracted it from heterosexual sex, and it was initially rumored that Johnson was gay or bisexual, although he denied both. Johnson's announcement became a major news story in the United States, and in 2004 was named as ESPN's seventh most memorable moment of the past 25 years. Many articles praised Johnson as a hero, and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush said, "For me, Magic is a hero, a hero for anyone who loves sports.”

I remember being in high school when Magic’s HIV announcement hit me like a frozen sledgehammer. Some of my female friends couldn’t understand why I was so depressed over it saying idiotic things like, “You don’t even know him, why do you care so much?” I just gave them the “You’re absolutely dumb and it would be a complete waste of time to even try and explain it to you” look and moved on without saying anything.

How would they ever understand the connection of a fatherless boy and his sports hero, the only positive male role model he’s known (at the time)? How would they ever understand how the heart of a man yearns for the inspiration of other greater men? How would they ever understand that all young men desire to be great but need personification of that greatness to see what it looks like? How would they ever understand the heart of a man seeks advantage and we live that advantage vicariously through our sports figure? Given the historical context, HIV was a death sentence. There was little awareness of how the virus could infect a person or how they could even live through it. “My hero was going to die,” I thought to myself. No high school girl will have the ability to understand this. And I don’t blame them.

Reflecting on the life of Magic Johnson, I began to realize how much of an impact he had on my life. As I get older I try and keep things in perspective. The reason he contracted the HIV virus was a direct result of his infidelity. But instead of hanging his head in shame, he become a spokesperson for HIV awareness. As a result, the general public seems more educated on the subject.

There have been mistakes I've made in the past where I've spend a great deal of time in despair. No I'm not perfect. Either was Magic Johnson, my childhood hero. However, how a person deals with tragedy could completely alter the path of the individual's life. Magic Johnson could've given up and simply laid down and waited to die. Instead, he turned tragedy into a symbol of hope. Whether you enjoy basketball or not I believe there is a lesson here for all of us.

That’s A Wrap

What a great NBA season!!! And an even better NBA Finals! In the aftermath there has already been plenty of ink spilled over Lebron’s 4th quarter disappearing act, his post game comments, and everything else All-Lebron. Sadly, the Dallas Mavericks, you know the team that won, are almost an afterthought. Dallas Coach, Rick Carlisle said it best, “When are we going to stop talking about the reality show that is Lebron James? And when are we going to start talking about this team?” Emphasis on the word “team.”

I don’t want to talk about Lebron. Throughout the Finals it felt like the Miami Heat were Wade’s team anyway. I want to talk about the big picture. There’s a reason why everyone outside Miami wanted the Heat to lose. There’s a reason why most people are rejoicing and happy to see players like Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd win a championship. There are people giving Rick Carlisle his due for an outstanding coaching job and rightfully so.

Most of us know about The Decision 11 months ago by Lebron James, Miami’s “Welcome Party” and Lebron predicting “not 5 . . . not 6 . . . not 7” championships (maybe you should've stopped at "not 1?"), and Wade and Lebron mocking Dirk’s sickness in front of the Dallas camera crew before game 5.

Bill Simmons said it best:

Let's say you're in college and one of your buddies says, "See that girl over there? I'm taking her home tonight. And I'm doing this because I'm the funniest and best-looking guy in this room." And let's say he's COMPLETELY serious. Guess what you're doing if it doesn't happen? You're making fun of him. Relentlessly. Really, that's what 50 percent of the Miami-related vitriol was about; the other 50 percent was because LeBron tried to stack the deck by playing with his biggest rival (we didn't respect it), and because he broke Cleveland's hearts on national TV (we didn't like it). To this day, LeBron hasn't shown any real regret about last summer; that's the main reason everyone rooted against him. He couldn't handle it. He caved. And now we're here.

People hate arrogance and see humility as a virtue. It’s rare to see a superstar in Dirk, who is humble and uncomfortable with getting attention. When he left the court at the end of game 6 to be by himself, no doubt to weep uncontrollably because he was overcome with emotions, the team had to convince him to come back out. Dirk would’ve been completely content being by himself with his thoughts and the 13 years of pain as a result of coming up short for all those years. After coming out of the locker room, Dirk received his Finals MVP trophy, well deserved. The camera cut to Dirk’s shooting coach Holger Geshwindner standing there observing the cerebration while tearing up. It was the look of a proud father who has put in all the hard work in his son and realizing the blood, sweat, and painful tears was all worth that exact moment. It made me think, “How does EVERYONE not love this game?” It’s so much more than basketball but the story of human emotions and epic tales triumphs and failures.

We look at Miami and see arrogance and entitlement. We cheer Dallas because their star is humble and his supporting cast knew their role. The “Team” beat out “Pure Talent” once again. But what does this say about us as society? Doesn’t this point out to some objective reality that arrogance is bad and humility is good? Anyway.

Now with the NBA Draft over and the NBA heading towards a lockout and possibly losing an entire season it’s caused me to reflect more on why I love this game because, you know, we may not have it much longer. The virtues in basketball are often direct parallels to virtues that could be found in everyday life, which is another reason why I love the game so much.

For the record, I don’t think Lebron is a bad person just a 26-year-old who has been worshipped his entire life who lacks some self-awareness. Okay, enough about Lebron. My point is there are always good narratives throughout the NBA. It’s not just a game but stories within stories that are interesting, complying, and often times (for me) provoking. Whether it’s the Lebron James “taking his talents to South Beach” story, Derrick Rose rising to superstar statue or Dirk’s journey to redemption, the narratives aren’t scripted, which is the beauty of watching the stories unfold before your very eyes as they take shape in front of you. Lets hope these stories continue and not end because of the lockout. That would be a bad ending to any story.

Champs and Chumps

Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times tells the story of Kim Hughes, former Clippers assistant and interim head coach who was diagnosed with prostate cancer while he worked for the Clippers.

Hughes' new doctor, Stuart Holden, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, was receptive to doing the surgery the following week.

But then Hughes encountered yet another major obstacle.

"I contacted the Clippers about medical coverage and they said the surgery wouldn't be covered," Hughes said. "I said, ‘Are you kidding me?' And they said if they did it for one person, they'd have to do for everybody else."

When Dunleavy learned the Clippers wouldn't cover the cost of Hughes' surgery, he mentioned it to his players.

Several of them, including now Milwaukee Bucks forward Corey Maggette, Chris Kaman, Elton Brand and Marko Jaric, were taken aback by the news and decided to offer their assistance.

"Kim was one of our coaches and he's a really good friend of mine, too," Maggette said. "He was in a situation where the Clippers' medical coverage wouldn't cover his surgery. I thought it was a great opportunity to help someone in need, to do something that Christ would do.

"It shows your humanity, that you care for other people and not just yourself. Kim was in a life-and-death situation."

It was indeed a dicey time for Hughes. After a biopsy was taken, he learned his prostate cancer was much worse than he believed.

The cancer had quickly spread and was on the brink of moving to other areas of his body.

There are a lot of different reactions one might have to that.

One of the most obvious is to add yet another well deserved log to the bonfire of owner Donald Sterling's reputation.

Henry Abbott posted this story on ESPN.com early today. But I wanted to point out two things here. First, it was noble for the players to step up and help their assistant coach when they had the means to do so. And secondly, the contrast between how the Clipper organization handled this situation and how the Lakers handled the Ronny Turiaf situation back in 2005.

Recently, Ronny Turiaf shared his experience when asked about Wes Leonard, the basketball player from Fennville (Mich.) High School who died last week.

On July 16, 2005, with no prior symptoms or related family medical history, Turiaf was diagnosed with an enlarged aortic root. The discovery came during a routine checkup while he was playing on the Los Angeles Lakers' summer league team. Alongside Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak and assistant GM Ronnie Lester, Turiaf met with doctors, who gave him two options.
"They said, 'Ronny, you are lucky to be here today; you could have died at any point,'" Turiaf recalled. "[They said,] 'We have two choices for you: Choice A, either you stop playing basketball and can't do any contact sports, and you have to take medicine for the rest of your life. Or you have the surgery done.'

Turiaf choose to go with the surgery. Even though the Lakers voided his newly signed contract for health issues, they paid for the heart surgery and the treatment to get him back on the court. If you follow the Lakers for any amount of time you know that Turiaf returned to the court and was able to play basketball again. He played well enough that in the summer of 2008, the Golden State Warriors signed him to a four-year, $17 million contract.

Is it a wonder why one organization is Champs and the other Chumps? The Clippers are not cursed, they just have a cheap owner who lacks compassion. I hope Blake Griffin remembers this when he’s a free agent in the summer of 2014.

Dwight Howard interview by The Post Game

Today thepostgame.com released an interview with Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. When asked about his Christianity he didn't shy away from the topic but mentions Christ by name. I thought this was interesting and I pray that the Lord would continue to use him to influence lives in a God-pleasing manner (and that he would sign with the Lakers in the summer of 2012).

ThePostGame.com: When you were entering the NBA you said you wanted to be vocal about Christianity, but you haven’t been that vocal publically? Did you want to be more private and how do you feel now?

Howard: “It’s not hard. I’m a Christian and I’m always going to be one. I represent Christ wherever I go. I think the whole thing about being a Christian, I think people made it seem like I was trying to change the whole NBA by myself. But my job is not to change the NBA. It’s the people that watch the NBA, the fans around, the people that look up to basketball to be role models. We all make mistakes and that’s one thing I try to let kids know, teens know and everyone we come across. Hey, we make mistakes. Learn from the mistake and try to move on. Being a Christian, I know that everything I do is being magnified and put on a whole different level. It hasn’t stopped me one bit for living my life and I’m grateful for where I am as a person. I understand that I represent God. Everything I do is for him. I’m not ashamed for that. I’m a Christian and always a Christian. That’s never going to change. I’m not worried about what everybody says about it. I’m just going to remain the same person I am.”

To read the whole interview click here.

Good Riddance Indeed

It’s official. The Sasha Vujacic Era is over. As most of you know, I’m a Laker fan and have been ever since I realized that every fatherless boy needs heroes. Despite being a hardcore Laker fan, I can tell you with every fiber in my being that I hated Sasha Vujacic. Hated. I don’t like to throw the word “hate” around very often because I believe it to be a strong word, which shouldn’t be used loosely. Here is my running list of things I hate (in no particular order):

Traffic
Slow internet
Busy work (i.e., education classes, any reason to go to the DMV, etc.)
Every form of evil
Sasha Vujacic

You could see that the list isn’t very long. I don’t even have any ex-girlfriends on the list. For right now lets focus on the Sasha Era. The 27th pick in the 2004 draft from Yugoslavia came into the league with potential. He didn’t play much his rookie year but worked his way into the rotation his 2nd year, being a scrappy defender and decent long-range shooter.

As time passed, Sasha never seemed like he was learning the game of basketball or displayed any type of common sense. He would D-up his player 90 feet from the basket as though he was trying out for Compton Dominguez High School never realizing, “Hey this is the NBA and every starting PG for every team could beat me easily 90 feet away from the basket so maybe I should back up.” If they kept a stat of fouls 90 feet from the basket, I know that Sasha would be the all-time leader in a landslide. Moreover, when Sasha would complain about foul calls he looked exactly like a third-grade girl who was just given a Time-Out (This year’s soccer-girl hair do didn’t help shake that image). It’s as if he never learned the rules of basketball.

I remember taking my buddy Tyson to a Lakers vs. Kings game when M. Bibby was still playing for the Kings. It was a tight game until the 4th quarter when they put Sasha in to guard Bibby. Bibby is a vet who knows all the tricks. Sasha played defense 90 feet from the basket and you wouldn’t believe what happened next . . . wait for it . . . he fouled Bibby. That’s not even the worst part, he kept fouling Bibby in the backcourt, got us in the penalty, and Bibby nailed the game shut with free throws. Everybody in the crowd was in disbelief that a professional basketball player kept making the same mistake over and over and over again never realizing that maybe, just maybe, he should try something different. I could tell you countless stories like this but I think you get the picture. Here's a great article by Kevin Ding from OC Register.

In 2008 (Sasha’s contract year) he played had his best season: Games played 72, FG% 45, 3P% 43, FT% 83, PPG 9 while playing about 18 mpg. Not bad. During the summer, while negotiating a new contract, Sasha complained about not getting enough money and years and even threatened to play in Europe if he didn’t get the contract he wanted. Remember that this was the summer after Sasha gave Ray Allen a lay-up in Game 4 of the Finals that killed our chances of winning the title that year. When asked during the post-game why he didn’t foul, he replied, “I was scared.” After the Lakers gave him 3yrs for about $15M, his game just went into the toilet (I wish someone gave me $15M to be scared to do my job). I can't stand players who after they get a contract their game goes into the toilet.

Here are his numbers the following two years:

2008-2009: Games played 80, FG% 38, 3P% 36, FT% 92, PPG 6 while playing about the same amount of minutes in 2008 (He didn’t score a point in the 2009 Finals).

2009-2010: Games played 67, FG% 40, 3P% 30, FT% 84, PPG 3 while playing 8mpg.

Yes, I will say that Sasha hit the biggest free throws in Laker history in Game 7 of the 2010 Finals. But considering that he complained loudly about his contract, lost count of how many games he cost us, and had an un-teachable attitude, that’s the least he could’ve done.

I’m currently starting a poll at work with how long it takes for Maria Sharapova to call off the engagement. The current over/under is three months. Once the trade was reported I got some text messages and Facebook postings saying, “Good riddance” and “Finally, we got rid of him.” These were from fellow Laker fans as well (The deal saves the Lakers about $9M).

I do have to admit, Sasha did make attending Laker games a lot more fun because I would always start a “We-hate-Sas-ha” chant with the boys in section 303. Every time he checked into the game we would boo him. But since he hardly played anymore I had to give all my boos during the pre-game warms up when Sasha would pop-up on the Jumbo-Tron. That’s the part of Sasha I’m going to miss the most. No matter who we were playing we always had a villain, even though it was in-house.

So let me be one of the millions of Laker fans who say, “So long” into oblivion. Pencil me in for the Jan 14 game vs. the Nets. I can’t miss an opportunity to boo Sasha one last time because he’ll be playing in Turkey next year (and no longer engaged to Maria Sharapova).

And I'll leave you with one of my favorite Sasha moments, which almost cost us game 6 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals:

Training Camp - "One Away"

This past week I've been sick and dealing with a pulled right hamstring. I haven't been able to workout because of work, sickness, and house hunting. This morning I woke up and realized that training camp begins for the Lakers. I said to myself, "Screw it! I'm hitting the gym." After meeting my buddy Carlos at the gym, we starting rehabbing my hamstring. It felt great to be back in the gym and working out. Although I'm not 100% and still unable to play basketball, it still felt good to be somewhat active.

But do you know what else feels good? That's right, basketball season is around the corner and The Lake Show will be going for the 3-peat. I've already talked about the games I'll be attending and I even planned out Christmas Day. With the Miami Heat getting all the hype this season, I'm giddy to see how this year plays out. No, I'm not concerned with Andrew Bynum missing the beginning of the season. If you remember, P. Gasol missed the beginning of last season and Kobe brought his summer workouts with Hakeem with him and turned into a 6'6 Olajuwon. It was a joy to watch him punish every shooting guard in the post. I'm looking for more of the same this year. As long as Bynum is healthy (enough) during the playoffs we'll be fine.

Interestingly, the wife suggested the "Dream Season" being that the Lakers beat Boston again in the Finals. Imagine that Kobe and the Lakers beat the C's again with Shaq on the team in a year that Miami received all the hype and didn't even make the Finals? Wow! I'll need life insurance because if this were to happen (possible) I would explode. At the height of the Lakers/Celtics rivalry in the 80s, they played three times in the Finals (Lakers winning two out of the three). I say it's only fitting that they play three times in this era as well (the Lakers also winning two out of the three). Furthermore, the Laker franchise is only one championship away from tying the hated Celtics at 17. Also, Kobe is only one championship away from tying Michael Jordan (and no, I'm not one of those Laker fans who thinks Kobe is better than MJ. In certain aspects of the game, yes but not overall. Still, it would be fun watching him tie the great one and let the talking heads speak on that achievement for days on end.). So then, I'm officially naming the 2010-2011 NBA season "One Away." That should be our war cry this year. Did I mention that I'm giddy?

For kicks here's a nice youtube clip that emphasizes my point:

NBA Schedule 2010-2011

The 2010-2011 NBA Schedule is out and therefore the Lakers schedule is out. Although I'm still on the fence with renewing my season tickets I'm going to pretend I am. Since I already mentioned the Christmas Day games lets move on to the rest of the schedule. Shall we?

Oct 29, 2010 - vs. Houston - This is opening night and of course there will be a ring ceremony. But this time Trevor Ariza watches Ron-Ron get his ring. If Ariza hasn't fired his agent he needs to, like right now.

Oct 31 or Nov 21, 2010 vs. Golden State - I usually take my buddy Chris Hunt to one of these games because he's a big Warriors fan. The problem here is that they are both Sunday night games. Chris and I both help lead Grace Groups (home bible study) and they meet on Sunday nights. We'll have to think of a good excuse for missing the night. Any suggestions? . . . ANY?

Jan 9 , 2011 - vs. New York - The new look Knicks are in the house. They should be an exciting team if Amar'e hasn't blown out his knee by then.

Jan 17, 2011 - vs. Oklahoma City - K. Durant is in town. He'll be considered the best player in the league in about three years. The only problem with going to this game is that it's our anniversary. Does the wife really want to go to a ball game on our anniversary? My selling point will be that we'll celebrate it during the weekend instead of a lame Monday. Do you think she'll buy it? I don't think so either.

Jan 25, 2011 - vs. Utah - First home game against Utah. What are the chances that Kobe lights up Raja Bell for not signing with the Lakers? I think he goes for 50 that night.

April 3, 2011 - vs. Denver - This is always an exciting game because of the colorful characters.

April 12, 2011 - vs. San Antonio - The were are best rivals during the better part of the decade. I'm going to this game simply out of respect for them (although I hope we crashed them badly).

Now at a glance you might notice that I'm not going to many games this year but that could change when the season gets under way. But since the wife and I are in the process of buying a home, who knows what's going to happy. I know that it's been great having these tickets. One of my hope(s) is to have them long enough for when Junior Jr. comes along and educating him in Laker lore. That would be sweet! Maybe I'll sell the wife on keeping the tickets will be future investment on some good father-son time (and no, I haven't thought about having a girl, yet). Do you think she'll buy it? . . . neither do I.

2010 Christmas Day Planned

Now that the NBA schedule (partial) has come out I've already planned my Christmas Day. In short, it's basically watching basketball all day. Last year Becky (sister-in-law) wanted me and the wife to stay over on Christmas Eve. Since everyone was pretty much out of town, Becky wanted to know that someone was going to be there on Christmas morning. It was actually heart-warming and I enjoyed the sleep over (even though we had to share the living room with the dog). I love being a part of a family filled with tradition and love.

The tradition at the Davis household is on Christmas morning everyone gathers around the Christmas tree to prepare for opening of the gifts. People open gifts from youngest to oldest. However, once everyone gathers someone usually points out that Eric (2nd oldest) has an angel ornament on top of the tree claiming that he's the "golden child." Mom refutes that fact, however, she won't take down the Eric angel ornament for some reason so the family continues to argue. In any case, here's the Christmas Day schedule:

12/25 - Chicago at N.Y., ESPN 9 a.m.
We'll be opening up gifts during this time but since I'm at the father-in-laws it will be DVR(ed). Yes! I'll fast-forward through the time outs and commerce and be just in time for:

12/25 - Boston at Orlando, ABC 11:30 a.m.
This is probably the time I'll be asking the wife if there's any food.

12/25 - Miami at Lakers, ABC 2 p.m.
During the pre-game, I'll get antsy and ramp myself up where I almost hyperventilate right up until tip-off. Of course if my team loses I'll no longer feel like being in the holiday spirit (or any Spirit for that matter). In this case, I'll be happy that I sold these tickets for 3x the price. The wife will later put things in perspective for me and I'll feel like an idiot. This is my own Christmas tradition. On the other hand, if my team does well and wins, I'll be in a much better mood and won't need to be rebuked by the wife later. Go Lakers!

12/25 - Denver at Thunder, ESPN 5 pm.
I'll try and watch this game but I'll be too tired to stay awake and end up taking a nap.

12/25 - Portland at G.S., ESPN 7:30 p.m.
After the nap, I'll just check the box score of the final two games, blog about the day, and appreciate the holiday season. Merry Christmas!

Kobe vs. Lebron 2010 part II of II

Kobe

To my Laker brethrens, remember that Kobe in 2004 opted out of his contract for free agency. Of course it wasn’t nearly the spectacle of the train wreck in that one-hour special on ESPN Lebron had to do. Interestingly, Kobe was also 25 years old at the time. We all know that he elected to stay and even demanded to be traded a couple of years later. No, Kobe is not perfect, far from it. But no one is.

I watched him his entire career, even when he was playing the summer league at Long Beach the year he was drafted. Yes, he’s made mistakes along the way but everyone does. I remember some of the dumb decisions I’ve made in the past and I would hate it if people held it over my head for the entirety of my life. We allow ourselves the room for natural maturation why not give the room for pro athletes?

Kobe is now older and when it was time for another contract to be signed, he did it, quietly determined not to let it become a distraction to the team because he has one goal in mind every year. Win the championship. No he’ll never be as good as Jordan but he’s the closest thing. I’ll take it.

By all accounts, Lebron will finish with a better statistical career than Kobe. He’s always been more gifted and athletic. I didn’t even write this blog during the year because it was no contest. Lebron had an amazing year. But when we start talking about who’s the better player we need to first define what a “better player” truly means. Here’s a question: Would you want the most gifted guy that will only reach 90% of his ceiling because he’s got other invested interests? Or a guy less gifted (but not far off) who maximizes his talent, wants to get better every year, and only cares about winning?

Look at it this way, when Lebron lost to Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009, he reacted by spending the summer promoting his book and documentary. He hung out with Warren Buffet to receive advice on investments. AND HE JUST LOST!

Kobe on the other hand, WON the championship!! He spent the same summer with game Hakeem Olajuwon working on a post!! He came back the next year with a nasty and wicked post game. Since guards weren’t use to guarding guys in the post, Kobe abused them, badly. I watched opponent after opponent shaking their heads in discouragement as they returned to the bench in foul trouble.

Kobe, after winning his fifth title (second without Shaq), has put himself in the conversation of Bird, Magic, Jordan, and Russell. Kobe haters cling onto his 6 for 24 Game 7 shooting performance like insecure elementary school children. Taking one line out of the box score without considering the context is like looking at a single Bible verse in isolation and interpreting it anyway we want. That’s how cults are formed. This article puts Game 7 in perspective better than I can. Regardless of his terrible shooting, he still contributed to the win by working his tail off on defense, rebounding (15 from the guard position is remarkable), and getting to the line late in the game when points were hard to come by.

In short, I would gladly take my less gifted guy who spent his entire career (14 years and counting) on my team (with all of his flaws – and yes, there’s plenty) who always looks to get better every year and has always cared only about winning (5 titles and counting) over the modern day Oscar Robertson for 7 years, 0 titles, and a big slap in the face one-hour TV special telling me how much I suck and that he’d rather be somewhere else.

Don’t get me wrong. I want Lebron to be great. I hope he matures and becomes the player we all know he could be but since he doesn’t have a strong father figure and a bunch of “yes men” for buddies I’m not sure he’ll ever get it.

By the way, do you think Kobe isn’t seething with all attention Miami is now getting? The “Miami Thrice” introductions were much more ostentatious than the Lakers’ championship parade. How many extra hours do you think he’s going to spend in the gym this year gearing to kick their butts? I know that’s how Jordan would be thinking.

Kobe vs. Lebron 2010 part I of II

Believe it or not I really don’t care about this argument. So why write about it? I’m writing about it because there’s a new twist to this argument now that Lebron had joined Bosh and Wade in Miami. It isn't about the stats but about drive and passion.

Lebron James was a free agent and by that very definition he is free to go anywhere he pleases. It is his right, and I don’t mind him leaving Cleveland. People have had different opinions about Lebron leaving for another team and that’s fine but what is unanimously agreed upon is the narcissistic, self-absorbed, and insensitive manner by which he did it. Bosh and Wade hired a production company to film the entire free agency process in order to make a “documentary.” This documentary will no doubt end with Lebron’s announcement as the climax in which he embarrasses his hometown over national television. This has left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth (expect in Miami’s of course). This is why EVERYONE will be watching them next year, not cheering for them but hoping they lose.

As it’s already been pointed out, no other professional athlete could generate this much interest in a decision other than Lebron. The reason being that he has the pedigree to be the best player of all-time. Which makes his decision to go to Miami all the more disappointing. If I were 25 years old, rich, and everyone worshipped me I would probably want to go to South Beach with my buddies too. But there’s a competitive fire in athletes that we admire that’s much bigger than a buddy system. Lets take a quick look at history.


Bird and Magic

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are great friends today. But it wasn’t because they played AAU together has kids. It wasn’t because they played USA Basketball together. It was because they tried to destroy each other every time they played against each other and they respected each other for doing it. They brought the best out of each other and as a result they reached heights they couldn’t have reached without driving one another to do so. Now, years after their playing days, they are linked closer to each other than they are to any of their former teammates. In the HBO documentary, Larry Bird said, “They’ll be talking about this [Bird and Magic] for a 100 years.” And you know what? He’s right.

Jordan

One of my theories on why Michael Jordan retired the first time after the 1993 season was that Bird and Magic were retired and there was no one left to conquer. He didn’t do well in baseball, got bored, and decided to come back to the NBA. He didn’t make a spectacle of it, just a simple fax with two words, “I’m back.”

Jordan came back with only 17 games left in the 1995 season and lost to the Orlando Magic in the semi-conference finals in 6 games. Magic forward Horace Grant was carried off as the hero on the Bulls court, having left the Bulls the previous season for Orlando because he “didn’t feel appreciated.” I’ll never forget the look on Jordan’s face during that game. He watched with pressed lips as though he was holding back the fire that was burning his soul.

Do you know what happened the following season? Jordan went full “Destroy Everyone” mode the entire year, lead the league in scoring (30.4 ppg), winning the All-Star MVP, regular season MVP, leading the Bulls to the NBA all-time best record of 72-10, won his 4th title and was named Finals MVP (his 4th). Now THAT’S how your react after losing! You don’t promote a documentary about yourself after you lose. You don’t promote a book about yourself after you lose. And you certainly don’t join the competition when you lose.

Jordan never cared about being a “global icon” or selling his “brand.” He was consumed by winning. Ironically, winning was how Jordan sold his brand and became a global icon. That’s something Lebron has yet to figure out.

Lebron

If Lebron truly wanted to win then why not go to Chicago where he clearly would have been “the guy?” He would’ve had D. Rose, an elite point guard who happens to play very similar to D. Wade but less polished. He would’ve had one of the best defensive/rebounding centers in Noah. He would’ve had a low-post threat in Boozer (something he’s never had).

The wife tells me, “I think it’s okay that Lebron is not wired the way everyone else wants him to be wired. If he’s content playing with his buddies and partying in South Beach during the off season then he should be free to make that decision.” Valid point. However, maybe that is part of the problem. An athlete as gifted as Lebron shouldn’t have that mentality. How is that not “burying your talents” instead of multiplying them?

Furthermore, Lebron has always wanted to be beloved by the people. How is he going to handle the villain role? Do you think only Cleveland is mad at him? What about the other cities he was jacking around? The Nets, Knicks, and Bulls aren’t going to be mad? Those cities fan base aren’t going to spit venom when he comes to town? He didn’t have the stomach to be “the hero” (although he keeps referring to himself as “the king.”) now he’s content with being a Mega-sidekick for D. Wade? How is this not disappointing?

As a Laker fan, I didn’t have a horse in the free agency race. But as a basketball fan, I want to see basketball at the highest level. Lebron going to Miami instead of Chicago or staying in Cleveland was a major let down. Bill Simmons says it best, “Michael Jordan would have wanted to kick Dwyane Wade's butt every spring, not play with him. This should be mentioned every day for the rest of LeBron's career. It's also the kryptonite for any ‘Some day we'll remember LeBron James as the best basketball player ever’ argument. We will not. Jordan and Russell were the greatest players of all time. Neither of them would have made the choice that LeBron did. That should tell you something.” This brings me back to my point about the Kobe vs. Lebron thing.

For part II click here.

The Decision – Made!

There has been a lot of ink spilled over “The Decision” Lebron has been so why bother writing a blog about it? What hasn’t been already said? Surprisingly, there are a few things that I want to address that haven’t been already said. Also, I’ve been in deep dialogue with my fellow Laker brethrens as well as friends in the Lebron camp. Let me start with a couple of things that have already been said.

For the record, I don’t blame Lebron for leaving. But Bill Simmons sums it up nicely,

“It's one thing to leave. I get it. You're 25. You don't know any better. You're tired of carrying mediocre teams. You want help. You want the luxury of not having to play a remarkable game every single night for eight straight months. You want to live in South Beach. You want to play with your buddies. I get it. I get it. But turning that decision into a one-hour special, pretending that it hadn't been decided weeks ago, using a charity as your cover-up and ramming a pitchfork in Cleveland's back like you were at the end of a Friday the 13th movie and Cleveland was Jason ... there just had to be a better way.”

I truly feel badly for the city of Cleveland. They really believe that God hates them. I’m starting to wonder myself.

Simmons goes on to say,

“Michael Jordan would have wanted to kick Dwyane Wade's butt every spring, not play with him. This should be mentioned every day for the rest of LeBron's career. It's also the kryptonite for any ‘Some day we'll remember LeBron James as the best basketball player ever’ argument. We will not. Jordan and Russell were the greatest players of all time. Neither of them would have made the choice that LeBron did. That should tell you something.”

What is the most disappointing thing about this for me, speaking strictly about basketball greatness, is that Lebron has set himself up where anything short of a title each year is a complete failure. Furthermore, if/when Miami does win a championship everybody would say, “Of course they’re going to win, look at those guys!” It would be the same pressure that Team USA goes through every Olympics but it would be for every NBA season. How much of that will take their mental and emotional energy? This has to be the first time in NBA history where everyone isn't gunning for the returning champions but for another team that’s being crowned before they play a game. How is this not a slap in the face to the rest of the league? How is every single team NOT going to bring their “Eff you” effort against them every night? EVERYONE outside of Miami will be cheering for them to lose. Lebron has the talent to be "the guy" on a championship team. But he took the easy way out. More on Lebron later.

At Least Two Years

Miami won’t win the title for at least a couple of years. The first year will be a major learning curve for all these guys to adjust to playing with each other. Also, the three have eaten up most of the cap space. Trading away Michael Beasley helps. But the league requirement is that you have 13 guys under contract. If the rumors are true that Mike Miller will take the 5 yr 30 million dollar offer that would be the rest of the salary cap. They already have Mario Chalmers under contract so that leaves 8 spots with only minimum contracts to offer (if they keep their two 2nd round picks that will leave 6 spots).

The media has been saying that there’s going to be plenty of veterans wanting to play with them and that Pat Riley will sell them on “being a part of history.” Now I admit that Riley is a mastermind but who’s really coming? Who’s playing center? Who’s playing back-up center? Who’s going to say, “Sure I'll go play with those dudes never shoot the ball, do all the dirty work, never get credit and do it for pennies. I'll even do it the year before the lockout." Are you really going to find 8 or 9 quality roles players that are going to say that? Not to mention, the market determines the value of players. This summer’s market:

Amare – Knicks 5 years, $99.7M
J. Johnson – Hawks 6 years, $120M
Haywood, Mavs 6 years, $55M
R. Gay – Grizzles 5 years, $80M
R. Allen – C’s 2 years, $20M
D. Wright – Warriors 3 years, $11M
A. Morrow – Nets 3 years, $12M

I could go on about the ridiculous amount of money for guys who don’t deserve it. But that’s how the market is going. Ironically, it’s due in large part to the very three guys in Miami with teams clearly cap space to make their pitch. As a result, there will be hardly any role players going to Miami (at least this year) playing for the minimum when there is a lockout looming. Everyone is getting money now while they can.

Last I checked it was Derek Fisher who won game 3 of the Finals and Ron Artest who won game 7. Also, who’s guarding D. Howard? The Celtics brought everyone back and I think they still have one year left in them to at least reach the Finals. The Bulls are up-and-coming. Do you really trust C. Bosh (who’s never played a big game outside of the Gold Medal game in 2008) to stick Pau Gasol? What would be the over/under for Pau’s PPG average, 40.5? Nothing is a given for Miami (or any other team for that matter).

The “Miami Thrice” in their second year, oh wait . . . are we even having a second year? The current NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement will expire the summer of 2011. We don’t even know if there’s going to be a season yet. But if there is it’s surely going to be shortened due to the lockout. Furthermore, how is Miami going to continue to build their team? One of things the owners are pushing for is getting rid of all the salary cap expectations (e.g., mid-level, bi-annual, etc.). These are ways that a team over the cap could continue to build their team. Miami's three studs will eat almost the entire salary cap for the Heat. It’s just a big unknown right now because there is not a new CBA in place. That’s why I don’t think Miami wins it in 2011 or 2012. I don’t care what Vegas thinks. After that? Look out! Maybe.

Tomorrow – My 2010 Kobe vs. Lebron blog with a new twist.

Magic & Bird Documentary

I had a terrible childhood growing up. Growing up without a father and having an abusive stepfather didn’t help matters. Needless to say, there were not a lot of pleasant memories. One of the few positives in my childhood was that I lived through and had the privilege of watching the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird/Lakers and Celtics rivalry, which “saved the NBA.”

I can’t remember the first time I started watching basketball and fell in love with the Lakers. I do remember watching the team throughout the 80(s) and remembering it vividly. I can’t remember anything I learned in high school, but I remember Kevin McHale’s clothesline of Kurt Rambis in the 1984 NBA Finals. I had a hard time with math, but I could tell you all of Magic’s career statistics from memory.

I hated the Celtics and I hated Larry Bird. Recently, however, HBO decided to do a documentary about Magic and Bird in “Magic & Bird: A Courtship Of Rivals.” I don’t have cable and was unable to watch the showing but by the Lord’s providence the vice principal at my school, knowing I was a Lakers’ fan, recorded the show and burned me a copy. It was like I was meant to watch this.

The DVD was burning a hole on my desk because I waited for the father-in-law (aka “Big Pappa”) to be available so we could watch it together. This is a man who nearly missed the birth of one of his children because Magic and Bird were playing in the Finals. Good thing the game didn’t go into overtime or one of his sons might still be emotionally scarred. Now that’s the type of guy you want to watch this with. For the record I would’ve missed the birth of my child if it were necessary and simply not tell him/her. My justification would be that everyone has children but how many people could say they saw Magic and Bird play in the Finals?

Now that I’ve effectively offended every mother in the world lets move on. The documentary gave insight into the human component of both Magic and Bird and gave me a newfound appreciation for both players. And no, I no longer hate Larry Bird.

There were three things that stood out to me regarding the documentary. First, I was wondered why Bird played with such a chip on his shoulders. It turns out that Bird needed to hate his opponents in order to perform well against them. I’m also reading the book “When The Game Was Ours,” which gives vivid insight into the heart and mental approach Bird took towards the game of basketball. I had to take a break from reading the book because I began acting like Bird by yelling at teammates at the local gym when they didn’t perform well (I’m not making this up).

Second, the racial tension during that time period hit an all-time high. Being a middle school student at the time, I was completely unaware of how the media tried to paint the racial picture of Magic vs. Bird as really Blacks vs. White. Interestingly, neither Magic nor Bird saw it that way. They just wanted to win basketball games and simply looked at each other as the main competition.

Finally, there was Magic’s HIV announcement. After a physical before the 1991–92 NBA season, Johnson discovered that he had tested positive for HIV. In a press conference held on November 7, 1991, Johnson made a public announcement that he would retire immediately. He stated that his wife Cookie and their unborn child did not have HIV, and that he would dedicate his life to "battle this deadly disease." Johnson initially said that he did not know how he contracted the disease, but later acknowledged that it was through having multiple sexual partners during his playing career. At the time, only a small percentage of HIV-positive people had contracted it from heterosexual sex, and it was initially rumored that Johnson was gay or bisexual, although he denied both. Johnson's announcement became a major news story in the United States, and in 2004 was named as ESPN's seventh most memorable moment of the past 25 years. Many articles praised Johnson as a hero, and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush said, "For me, Magic is a hero, a hero for anyone who loves sports.”

I remember being in high school when Magic’s HIV announcement hit me like a frozen sledgehammer. Some of my female friends couldn’t understand why I was so depressed over it saying idiotic things like, “You don’t even know him, why do you care so much?” I just gave them the “You’re absolutely dumb and it would be a complete waste of time to even try and explain it to you” look and moved on without saying anything.

How would they ever understand the connection of a fatherless boy and his sports hero, the only positive male role model he’s known (at the time)? How would they ever understand how the heart of a man yearns for the inspiration of other greater men? How would they ever understand that all young men desire to be great but need personification of that greatness to see what it looks like? How would they ever understand the heart of a man seeks advantage and we live that advantage vicariously through our sports figure? Given the historical context, HIV was a death sentence. There was little awareness of how the virus could infect a person or how they could even live through it. “My hero was going to die,” I thought to myself. No high school girl will have the ability to understand this. And I don’t blame them.

Now that we’re more educated on the subject, with proper treatment people could go on living a normal and healthy life. The part that was most interesting was seeing it from Larry Bird’s perspective. He said that there were only two times in his life when he cried, the first time being when his father died and the second when Magic announced he had HIV. Bird went on to say, “For the first time in my life I didn’t feel like playing basketball.” I never knew how much Magic pushed Larry to greater heights and how much Larry pushed Magic. As a result, a mutual respect and a bond were formed. From two hated rivals to a kinship that cannot be explained.




Anyone who loves the game of basketball needs to know about Magic and Bird and how they saved the NBA and pushed each other to greater heights (You can bet this will be a lesson in the Jamreonvit household when Junior Jr. arrives). I admire men who are completely devoted to their craft and Magic and Bird were two of the very best. You know someone has accomplished something special when years after those accomplishments are done people still talk about it and stand in awe of it.

It was a great documentary. It reminded me of the great basketball legacy of two of the all-time greats. I have always appreciated what Magic has done for the game and I have come to appreciate what Bird has done as well.

… but I still hate the Celtics.

Round 1 - Game 3 Thoughts

Towards the end of the regular season watching my Lakers stubble into the post-season I had to endure all the articles being written about how they’re going to fail from repeating as champs this year. I hate to admit it but it’s looking more like that assertion is accurate.

After two close games with the up-and-coming Thunder I really wasn’t surprised at the outcome of last night’s game 3 lost (The Thunder were favored -3.5 and covered. Not that I notice these things.). I’ve watched basketball long enough to know when I “feel” a lose coming and game 3 certainly had that feel.

Yes it was a very winnable game. But Kobe, yes Kobe of all people, was the person who killed it for us. I had to watch Big Pappa (aka The father-in-law) grow increasingly frustrated with every stupid Kobe shot and throw his Starbucks cup across the room. The wives weren’t surprised at his reaction. What they were surprised by was how calm I was able to stay despite losing a very winnable game. As a long time Laker fan you have to know you simply live or die with Kobe and certainly last night we died. You just come to accept these things.

Here is a positive to take away. The last 5 times the Lakers have gone up 2-0 in a series they have lost game 3 all 5 times. They have also won all 5 series. That’s an encouraging fact. In addition, Phil Jackson is also 51-1 in series in which he has led at any point. So I like our chances against the Thunder who are playing their first playoff series (although in a couple of years when they get some experience I might not want to face them). If you remember last year in the opening round against Utah, Kobe had a bad game 3 and came back in game 4 and kicked butt. Repeat of history? I say, "Yes!"

Now I believe the Cavs will probably win the title this year. That doesn’t mean I won’t be routing for my Lakers with everything in me. But I’m trying to be objective and prepare myself emotionally if we come up short this year. If I don’t the wife will have a mess on her hands.

How the Lakers Could Win the Title:

Lebron looks like he’s at his peak. My buddy Bryan and I have conceded that he’s clearly the best player in the game despite being Laker fans. Kobe is banged up and it shows. Not a good sign because you’ll only go as far as your best player will take you.

After Kobe missed his 900th shot in a row last night, Phil Jackson finally called a time out. In the final two minutes, Kobe stopped settling for threes and started driving and kicking to open teammates. Guess what . . . they started scoring again. It’s easier to score when you have the ball. Kobe needs to change his game according to the context of the situation. Last night, he clearly wasn’t going to shot the Lakers back in it like he usually does. But can he change in a short time? Can he change from being “the guy” in those situations to simply one of the guys trying to win? I’m not sure. But if he does I like our chances much better because we have the best overall team talent-wise. With that, I’m already starting to feel good about game 4. I don’t have that “feeling” of a lost coming. Kobe will look to redeem himself. In what form, will be the interesting question. Will it be the mindless gunner? Or doing what the situation calls for? If it’s the latter, I think Big Pappa will hold on to his Starbucks this time.

Holiday Cheer 2009

Yes, it’s here, my annual Holiday Cheer blog. I realize that it’s a little early. I usually write after Christmas but before New Years. This year I couldn’t wait. Last year,the Davis family (wife’s family) treated me to my first full-Christmas experience. It was Christmas morning and the family sat around the Christmas tree opening their gifts starting with the youngest person (Becky) to the oldest (big poppa). It’s really an all-American family. I was the poor fool that was completely unprepared and didn’t buy any gifts when I was showered with them.

Not this year baby! I’m hooking up the family. Jon already got a pair of Laker tickets (the Miami game where Kobe hit the game-winner). Becky already knows some tickets are coming her way. That’s all I’ll say for now because it isn’t Christmas yet.

Speaking of the family experience, apparently the Davis family has their Christmas decorations stored up in boxes that take up about a third of their garage. I asked them why would they keep that stuff around when you only use it about a month out of the year. The mother-in-law told me “because it’s Christmas” like it was self-explanatory. For most people it would be self-explanatory but for a guy who didn’t have much of a Christmas tradition growing up it almost seemed foolish to use up that much storage.

The mother-in-law continues and says that one day I will be doing the same thing when the kids come along. I replied, “What does Christmas decorations have anything to do with raising kids?” She says, “It has a lot to do with raising kids.” I wouldn’t have ever made the connection between Christmas decorations and raising kids. After giving it some thought, I realize that having a family tradition where you think outside of yourself (getting gifts for other people) and coming together to show that we care enough to put some thought into the gift we give each other shows community and love towards one another. It builds an environment and atmosphere of family and togetherness. It shows that you're not the center of the universe and what truly makes the holidays great is the gathering of God's people in the form of families. Even Becky wanted the wife and I to stay over on Christmas Eve so we could wake up together on Christmas morning. If you know Becky, she never openly admits that she wants us around. It’s just been ingrained in her since she was a child that this is a time where the family is to be together.

All right, I will concede the fact that I will probably start decorating for Christmas in the future but I certainly won’t take up a third of the garage to do it. Besides, I have visions of the garage being my “man-room” where I study the Scriptures, play video games, watch basketball, and invite the guys over for poker night (all in that order).

Okay, on to more important things like the NBA on Christmas. In years past there use to be a game or two on Christmas at the most but now there’s a full schedule (five games in all). Of course the match ups of match ups, the Lakers vs. Cavs, Kobe vs. Lebron! Since the NBA went through all this trouble to schedule Christmas day games I decided I should schedule my day around it. Here it is:


8:00am – Wake up and have some breakfast, open gifts, and make fun of other people’s gifts.

9:00am – Miami @ New York: I’m going to DVR this game while I make the family watch “Always Showtime,” a documentary on Magic Johnson. The other night the wife and I were watching it and she says, “I didn’t know Magic was such a good passer.” My reply, “For being a social science major you really don’t know your history.” I promised myself that no one in the Jamreonvit household would ever say something like this again. Surprisingly, even the father-in-law hasn't seen "Always Showtime." He loses Big Poppa points for that one.

After finishing the documentary with the family I’ll watch Dwayne Wade light up the Knicks and fast-forward through all the time-outs and commercials just in time for:

11:30am – Boston @ Orlando: KG vs. Dwight Howard. Even though Paul Pierce isn’t playing because of a knee infection it’s still going to be a good game. Of course this is all a warm-up for:



2:00pm – Cleveland @ L.A. Lakers: Like I said, Kobe vs. Lebron! Do I really need to say anything else? Historically, the Lakers and Kobe haven’t played well on Christmas (4-6 in there last ten Christmas games) but I believe last year’s win over Boston is a turning point. One game won’t settle the Kobe vs. Lebron debate but it will sure to add fire to it. I’m fired up just thinking about it. After the Lakers win I’ll cerebrate by drinking too much root beer in one sitting and regretting it later. Yes, a Christmas tradition in the Jamreonvit household. Happy holidays.

My picks for the games (home team in caps):

NEW YORK (-2.5) over Miami
ORLANDO (-5) over Boston
LAKERS (-5.5) over Cleveland
PHOENIX (-9.5) over Clippers
Denver (+5.5) over PORTLAND

2010 NBA All-Star Ballot Part II of II - West

For Part I click here.

The West:

Forwards
Carmelo Anthony: He's playing like an MVP and keeping Denver in the title contenders conservation. People talk about Lebron's strength and size at small forward. Carmelo doesn't get enough attention in that area. His combination of size and quickness makes him almost impossible to guard. I'm glad to see that he wasn't content with one good playoff run.

Dirk Nowitzki: Now I vote for Tim Duncan for this spot annually like clockwork. I don't even look up Duncan's numbers because I know what he means to his team and what he brings to the table both offensively and defensively. But if you look at Dirk's and Timmy's numbers this year - TD: 15/12/2 and Dirk: 26/8/3. Dirk, as of now, is having a better year. You might be saying, "didn't you just say it's not about the number?" Yes, it's not solely about the numbers. But the disparity can't be ignored and coupled with the Spurs slow start and Dallas' decent start, I have to give the edge to Dirk right now. Furthermore, Dirk had some major personal issues to deal with over the summer. He didn't even pick up a basketball but went backpacking Into the Wild style for almost the entire summer. But instead of eating the wrong berries and dying a slow and lonely death like Christopher McCandless, he came back to the NBA and is playing at an All-Star level and will make 20 million dollars this year. I think that is a much happier ending, don't you? On top of all that the All-Star Game is at Dallas this year. Way to overcome your issues and perform in front of the home crowd, Dirk.

Center:
With Yao out for the year and Shaq getting traded to the Eastern Conference the door is wide open for the up-and-comers.

Andrew Bynum: This is another coin flip and the other side of the coin is Chris Kaman. Here are the numbers: Bynum - 20/10/2 shooting 55% from the field and 76% from the line (great for a center) vs. Kaman's 22/9/2 shooting 57% from the field and 73% from the line (also good for a center). There isn't that much of a difference in regards to numbers (the difference is most people expected Bynum to have a strong year because he's healthy but no one expected that Kaman would be putting up these numbers). When this happens you usually go with team success. Lakers vs. Clippers? Do I need to go any further? Lets move on.

Guards:
Chris Paul: He's the best point guard in the game today. Another MVP candidate who probably won't get the award because he's on a crappy team. It's sad really. New Orleans was an up-and-coming team only a couple of years ago but regress because expectations became too high and the owner is more concerned with the luxury tax than wins. Despite that, Paul is dropping 26/10/4 and shooting a whopping 63% from the field and a sizzling 68% from 3-point land. I doubt he keeps those shooting percentages up the entire season. But if he gets anything close to that by the All-Star break he's got to start.

I hate to see special "once in a generation" type players like Paul stuck on crappy teams. If you don't believe me that Paul is a "once in a generation" type of player, compare his first four years to the first four years of all the point guards who ever came in the league and you only come up with one other player comparable - Magic and that's it.

Even though Boston creamed my Lakers in 2008, I was slightly (ever so slightly) happy for KG. KG was stuck in lottery hell with the T'Wolves for years wasting away his talent playing for nothing. He gets traded to Boston and transforms an entire franchise over night, rejuvenates the careers of Paul Piece and Ray Allen, saves Doc Rivers' job, and restores the Celtics to their former glory. And in so doing, creates one of the best "What if" questions - "What if KG had the same type of supporting cast as Tim Duncan?" Would KG be considered better? Would it even be a debate? One wonders, right?



Pipe Dream Warning: Anyway, my point being is that it isn't right that Paul is stuck on a crappy team. Here's my solution. Paul has an opt out clause after the summer of 2011. Everyone is making a big deal about the free agents for 2010 (Lebron, Wade, Bosh etc. - But I'm guessing that most of them stay with their respective teams [because they could offer them the most money] and all the hoopla was for nothing. Players say that "winning is the most important thing" but at the end of the day their actions say otherwise. If it's true that "winning is the most important thing" then why not sign for less money so your team will have cap room to get more players? But I digress.) People should be making more of a deal with Paul's pending free agency the following summer because he might actually leave. He's clearly frustrated but is playing the good solider by not complaining and just playing hard. Now, what if the Lakers could convince Kobe and Pau to take less money (both contracts are up in 2011 - unless Kobe signs an extension this year) because they want to go after Paul?

Both players look at each other and say "Holy S***!, Chris Paul!!" Pau says, "Kobe, you've already made a ton of money and you're getting millions more with endorsements." Kobe says, "Okay, if you take less I'll take less." Pau, "Deal." Jerry Buss, "Done and done." Kobe will be 33 by then and Pau will be 31. If they look at it from a career standpoint, Paul setting the table for them instead of Kobe and Pau creating for themselves will add another four or five years to their careers because Paul will only be 26 by then. Not to mention another four or five rings. Bynum will only be 24 in 2011. So you have Paul and Bynum picking and rolling teams to death for the first 40 minutes of the game and having enough SportCenter highlights to fill the week, while Kobe and Pau take over the last 8 minutes? Scary thought.

Depending on how much less Kobe and Pau take, the Lakers still won't have enough for a max deal for Paul. But here's the kicker, every team with cap room this summer is intent on spending it, all of it. This will leave most, if not all teams, with little to no cap space for the summer of 2011. Now Paul has a choice to resign with New Orleans for a max deal and live in lottery hell throughout his prime like KG did with the T'Wolves or he could sign for less with the Lakers and follow in the foot-steps of Magic Johnson and dominate for an entire decade. If winning is truly the most important thing, then every player in this situation takes less money for the ultimate goal of winning championships for the rest of their careers but of course, I'm dreaming. It's still fun to dream.

Kobe Bryant:

He gets his own blog, which I will post at the end of the week. I'm despicable I know.

2010 NBA All-Star Ballot part I of II - East

Here is the 2010 NBA All-Star Game ballot. The fans vote for the starters (this is the first year you could text your vote) and the coaches vote to full out the rest of the roster. Coaches cannot vote for their own players.




Every year fans ruin one or three spots on the starting roster. Although I'm a Laker fan I want to give my picks and my justification for them. I like trying to be objective in my evaluation (that's why I'm not picking the Lakers' starting five) even though you may not agree with everything I'm saying, I'll give sound reasons for my starters this year.

First, it's only be a few weeks into the season. It's probably a little early to be thinking about the All-Star game already. But since the ballots are out, why not at least start talking about it. Second, my picks are based on who is playing the best right now. Of course this could change in two/three months time. But if we HAD to pick the starters today, based on the few games that have been played already, who deserves to start? I'm not a fan of the "he's exciting to watch so I'll vote for him even though there are three or four guys playing better than him" mentality. Finally, there are tough choices to be made when there are only a limited amount of spots and a larger number of great players. Someone is not going to make the cut although they might be deserving. When there are several deserving players for a particular spot, I like to use character as one of the deciding factors. Something that most people don't even consider. You could make arguments until the cows come home but at the end of the day this is just my humble opinion. You don't have to agree with me. And if you don't, I really don't care.

The East:



Lets get the easy ones out of the way.

Forwards:
Lebron: Do I really need to say anything?

KG: Now KG might not be putting up his Minnesota numbers and other forwards, like Chris Bosh, are putting up better numbers. But you can't statistically measure what KG brings to the table in the form of defensive intensity and keeping Boston operating as one singular unit. That can't be measured by numbers. KG doesn't care about stats and that's a lost virtue in today's game and should be honored with a starting spot in the All-Star game.

Center:
Dwight Howard: He's the best center in the league. I chuckled when the Cavs traded for Shaq "so he could guard Dwight one-on-one." Really!? Maybe if it was 2001 but it'll be 2010 when the playoffs start. And Shaq currently weighs about 500 pounds. Wouldn't it be ironic if the Cavs and Magic meet in the playoffs again (likely) and realize that they can't stop Howard with Shaq alone (more likely) and employed the "hack-a-Howard" with Shaq on the team? All those years of Shaq complaining of such a tactic? What would be the comical scale? An 8 or 9?

Guards:
Dwyane Wade: He's picking up where he left off last year when he was leading the lead in scoring. He'll be in MVP talks all year and has the Heat to a surprising 6-1 start. He's one of the most exciting players to watch and by all accounts seems to be a decent person with a crazy ex-wife.

Derrick Rose: Okay, I have to admit this might be a mistake at this point because how can you choose someone over Rajon Rondo who is currently shooting 59% from the field, leading the league is steals (3.10) and dropping 9 dimes per game? Here's my reasoning, there were a few experts who predicted the Bulls were not going to make the playoffs this year. By all accounts, it looks like that might not be the case. A big part of that is Derrick Rose. Yes Rondo is putting up better numbers but again, it's not all about the numbers.

Factoring in the immaturity issues that Rondo apparently has and Rose gets the edge. I'll fully admit that if Rondo gets the starting spot it wouldn't be a bad choice. You could really flip a coin on this one. But I'm guessing since Boston is a title contender that Rondo will get it anyway.