Last year at this time I wrote a post about my dissatisfaction with the complete lack of Sixers representation in All-Star weekend. Well this year I thought about doing the same thing, but we actually had Thad playing in the Rookie Challenge so I decided against it.
Rookie Challenge
Thad finished the game with 13 points (tied with Jeff Green as the second leading scorer) on 6-7 shooting, 4 boards, 1 nice alley oop assist, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and hit a three. To say the least, Thad looked like the Thad we all know. He just went out there and fit in. He wasn’t going to dominate like Durant or Beasley because that’s just not his personality or game at this stage of his career. He isn’t flamboyant or aggressive like those guys are, and he doesn’t quite have the ball skills to go get the rock and take his man every possession like Beasley and Durant did in the final 10 minutes of the game.
I was really hoping to see him come out of his shell just once. This would have been the perfect game to go out there and do his thing and have a lot of fun doing it. He is a real team player, and that characteristic is greatly appreciated and coveted. And I am glad the Sixers have him. But this was a game where it’s actually okay to go out there and do your own thing, show off the full compliment of your game and get a little flashy in a contest amongst his young peers. I really wanted to see him do something special to give me an idea of what’s to come. He didn’t. He was same ol’ Thad. Everyone has high hopes that Thad will become a superstar, and that’s cool. Optimism is great. There is no question he has talent and potential. But there have been a ton of guys with that. Will he be aggressive and assertive (necessary traits) enough to really become a star is still really in question for me. For now though I will take him for what he is, a good role player.
By the way Kevin Durant is ridiculous!
H.O.R.S.E.
I was excited about this because H.O.R.S.E. is an age old hoops game. Everyone has played it and likely still does. But it wasn’t as I had hoped for two main reasons.
- Personality – We had three guys that barely talk, and I think this game needs to not only be about the trick shots but about the individual players putting on a show as well.
- Not enough tricks – I thought the guys lacked creativity, and the game eventually was one by Durant simply getting hot making normal three point shots. Boo. This is an easy fix though. Add one more player and make it so a player get’s a letter if all the competitors make the shot. That rule is there so the game doesn’t just become a normal shooting contest. It will force guys to play the game as it was created. Make shots with the idea that your competition can’t do it. Otherwise it becomes NBA players just taking unguarded practice shots.
Kenny Smith mentioned the idea of putting some retired players in the competition. I like that idea a lot.
Three Point Shootout
Umm, don’t the Sixers need three point shooting?
Didn’t we originally draft this fellow?
Ok, moving on.
Dunk Contest
I can think of a number of words and phrases to describe this year’s NBA Dunk Contest….
- Trash
- Unimpressive
- Boring
- Weak
- Cheesy
- Underwhelming
- Over-hyped and under delivered
- etc. etc. etc.
I think you get the point. I think the dunk contest has officially gone too far in the wrong direction. It’s no longer about the actual dunk. It’s about the theatrics leading up to the dunk and after it. Maybe I am just old school, but that doesn’t sit well with me. Here is how I look at it…
What makes you jump out of your seat during the dunk contest? The actual dunk. Not the costumes or ugly florescent green apparel. But it seems now the competitors put much more planning, thought and energy into what they are going to do before they actually dunk and what they will do after they make it. That is, if they actually make the dunk in two tries or less. Once you miss 6 times, no level of post-dunk performance will get the crowd hyped after watching that many clangs off the rim.
Another thing, what real competitor would help his opponent beat him? Maybe I am relatively old school, but I know damn well Larry Nance, DR. J, M.J., Dominque Wilkins or Vince Carter would never assist their opponent to complete a dunk. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of it being a competition? Sportsmanship is competing fairly and by the rules. Key word, competing. We need less nice guys and more competitors. Guys that want to dominate the competition. It would provide for a much more entertaining competition. Vince Carter in 2000 is the perfect example of an individual deciding he was going to dominate. And the M.J./Nique battles are the definition of what the dunk contest is all about. It would behoove the NBA to make a point to get back to that. Because what I saw last night was a muscle-bound little person using a step stool to do a boring ass one-hand dunk. That shit was trash! He should have gotten 5’s for that nonsense.
Also get better judges. Way too many scores of “50″ are being given out now. Stick with the greats, Doc, Nique, Gervin, Jordan and Magic.
Random
Who does Thaddeus Young think is his nightmare defender?
I play the 4, so all of them are hard to get by. But I’ll say LeBron. When you lay the ball up, or you throw a hook shot, it’s like he’s there. You could’ve left him, but then he just comes out of nowhere and blocks your shot. And you’re like damn, where in the hell did he come from?! I see him get lots of blocks in transition. You’ll run the ball up and he just comes out of nowhere and swats it out of bounds.
Reggie Evans is someone’s nightmare defender?
Michael Beasley
Reggie Evans. He’s one of those guys who just doesn’t care about anything. He’s plays hard every second of the game. He’ll get mad. He’ll break your neck before he lets you score on him. You just gotta come with it against him. He and I got in a bit of a tussle, because me being who I am and where I’m from, I’m not one to be scared. But playing against guys like him…I love it. He makes you work a little harder, but it’s fun and competitive. I like to bang, and he’s a real strong guy.
I think this is a great series courtesy of TrueHoop
Since we are on the subject of defense. Please read this article about the Houston Rockets and Shane Battier. It is the definition of great defensive preparation and execution. Money quote for me…
My job is not to keep him from scoring points but to make him as inefficient as possible. – Shane Battier
That is exactly how I would teach basketball to kids. Going into it that way allows you to defend smarter.
2009 NBA All-Star Game
You can use this post to talk about the game. I will end with a few questions for you guys to get the conversation started…
- Who are you rooting for – East or West?
- Regardless of your rooting interest who do you think will win and why?
- Who will dominate the game and win MVP?
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
1. I am rooting for the EAST
2. I think the EAST will win because of their speed.
3. If the EAST wins, it will be because of Dwade or LeBron so ill go with one of those two. If the WEST wins, I predict Chris Paul will win because he has the ability to take control of the game and with him passing to all of those targets could be unbelievable.
Dunk Contest:
I agree with your points. They have taken the Contest and turned it into a show. I dont think I dislike that as much as you seem to though. Why did everybody love the Superman Dunk? Because none of us had ever seen anything like it. It was simply spectacular to watch in the moment. That was the dunk that made you jump out of your seat screaming. But after you look back on it, it seems kind of lame.
The dunks that these guys are starting to do, are awesome in the moment but in a few years they seem to get old.
Heres the thing. We have seen so many people come out into the contest and throw the ball up in the air and do a windmill. I said this on the Grizzlies post. YAWN! We have seen it. Nate jumping over Spud. YAWN! Jumping over Dwight is the same thing. We have seen it before. That is why I like Dwight in the Contest. He does things we have not seen before.
Things that will make it better are:
1. An attempt limit
2. Better judging (agree completely with your point)
3. No fan voting for who is in the contest or who wins it
4. An appearance by Andre Iguodala
Dannie and Zack, great article on Battier; Artest and Battier both accomplished defenders that do it in completely opposite ways. Battier using his smarts and scouting reports, Artest just muscleing you anywhere he wants and physically beating you up.
Royal Ivey is a role player.
T. Young may not be as aggressive and as assertive as we may like but I think he is beyond the “role playe”r status already.
I see the NBA as having five type of players. You have stars (watch the all star game for these guys), you have premier players (Iguodola), you have contributing players (T. Young, Andre Miller, Dalembert)
and you have role players (W. Green, Evans, Ivey, Ratliff, Speights, Lou Williams) and you have bench players (Rush and Marshall).
As you wrote recently, we need that star and we need Speights, Williams and another shooter (that we do not have) to be contributing players instead of role players.
Next year, Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand MUST represent the Sixers in Dallas for the All-Star Game. They needed some “defense” in there, plus the East was very shallow in the frontcourt. The West dominated the East in the paint. But it was great to see Shaq and Kobe be the co-MVPs of the game, hopefully putting an end to the Kobe-Shaq feuds or whatever happened back then. Samuel Dalembert was a distant second behind Dwight Howard in the voting for Eastern Conference Centers, but defensively they could have used a guy like Dalembert. Anyway, it was a great weekend, but you know it can be BETTER if you include more Sixers and higher ratings!!
Dannie: excellent post. article was introspective and moving at the same time. i had to read the whole thing. best kept secrets. to think he had the same qualifications as the almighty Webber.
Dunk Contest is pretty much a bunch of kids playing around for me. Maybe they will get smart and change the rules… there will be more of this so brace yourselves. I can’t even grace it with any more words.
if Thad is a role player, or contruibuting player if you like, then he will be a VERY GOOD one. I dunno if he ever develops the handles or aggressiveness necessary to take him to the next level but I think his unique combination of talents give enough incentive to invest time in him. Of course I’d soon as ship him off for J.Richardson but I dunno bout getting worried bout him at this point. We’ll just watch and see.
guest: bout the dunk contest> don’t you think there is a limit to how many UNIQUE creative things you can do to dunk a basketball (within the athleticism of a normal NBA athlete bar LeBron) that in a few more years of this show-off, it will be as monotonous as the 3pt contest.
honestly, beyond all of the glitz and theatrics, the actually quality of the dunking was pretty excellent. like jkay says, there are only so many ways to dunk a basketball. i appreciate that the participants have taken it upon themselves to make the event as entertaining as possible. much better than the period when every dunker won with the same between-the-legs dunk (jr rider, kobe, vince, richardson, etc.). and dunking on a twelve foot basket? i guarantee you’ve never seen that before. is the “show” getting in the way of the dunking? maybe a little. but still, you’ve gotta appreciate a finals that comes down to two guys with a 15 inch height difference collaborating on the winning dunk. all-star weekend is about showcasing the skills of the greatest athletes on the planet, and i think the dunk contest accomplished that.
i do agree, the judging sucked. the judges (and the announcers) didn’t even attempt to hide their disdain for rudy fernandez (i’m not particularly crazy about the guy, but i was shocked at the way they talked about him like he’s a joke or something), but otherwise gave out too generous of scores.
Funny how the TNT guys want Iggy back in the dunk contest!! Can you imagine though Iguodala, James, and Robinson as the three contestants, while the fans vote on the 4th one. Hopefully, Iggy will be in a slot.
As mentioned in my earlier post, from the Grizzlies-Sixers game, are the possible things Iggy could do in the contest. Iguodala as Spider-Man would be very interesting and a great way to get the crowd back on his side, like he did in Houston. Luckily, Dallas will be just as great to him!! The fans love an underdog!!
We Need The Sixers To Well Represent the All-Star Weekend!! Joe Johnson was scorless in the game, probably spending too much time with HORSE. And speaking of HORSE, that trophy was something!! That is cheap!! LOL
Also, the judges have to former dunkers (Jordan, Wilkins, Carter, Bryant, Richardson,etc). But NO TNT guys!!!
If Andre Iguodala will be Spider-Man, then that makes Nate Robinson a little Goblin. Take your pick on which one. With the blue and orange, he could be Hobgoblin. The green makes him the Green Goblin. Either way, the good guy MUST win next year and triumph over evil!! But give Nate credit this time around with the Kryptonite wardrobe and the Lex Luthor style, unlike 2006!!!
Rob – the judges were former dunkers (Chambers, Ceballos, Nance etc) not great dunkers (Nance excluded he was a great dunker). Guys that won’t give out 50’s because of what the contestants are wearing. Last year Jordan was one of the toughest judges I have seen.
According to one of their N.B.A. writers on E.S.P.N. sunday the Kings and Blazers were the 2 teams most likely to make some kind of move come the deadline. That was E.S.P.N. radio. Our Sixers, I think, will be happy adding 4 new players next year without trading any of our young guys, patience is a virtue. Jason,Elton,T.Lawson, and A.Parker[M.L.Ex.] or Jason,Elton, Budinger, and Sessions [M.L.Ex.]. Either of these scenerios would be alright in my opinion.
Jkay/Noah – The number one way you judge the entertainment value of a dunk contest is…
Saturday night for me personally the only dunk I got excited for was Dwight Howard’s off the side of the backboard dunk. That was flat out the best dunk of the contest if you look at it again. He had caught the ball and had his arm cocked back almost completely outside the paint. I flipped out on that one. That’s it.
If you paid any attention to the crowd they was one of the most tame crowds for a dunk contest in years. That says something about the quality.
Rudy’s dunk from the behind the basket was nice. But when you miss 7 times the crowd now knows what you are trying to do and the element of surprise (which is critical to shock value) is gone.
No I don’t think there is a limit to the number of creative ways to dunk. That would be saying there is a limit to ones creativity and I think that is something that is limitless for people that open their mind to it.
Besides that, it’s not only about coming up with an entirely new dunk it’s also how you add your unique spin and tweaks to existing dunks. It’s a process called creative adaptation. When Vince went crazy and dominated the show in 2000 was a perfect example of original creativity and adaptation. But that isn’t happening now because people no longer focus their planning on the dunk all the thought goes into the build up and the post dunk posturing. That doesn’t do it for me personally. Some may like it.
By the way yes I’ve seen guys dunk on baskets higher than 12 feet and they weren’t 7-footers either. I know without question I can find people I know that could come in and do better dunks. Don’t know how much street ball you guys play or watch but there are plenty of dunks the NBA guys have yet to try that guys down the park do with regularity. Why haven’t we seen anyone do a 720? The air up there from AND 1 has a freakin major media commercial for DLP HDTV and has been on talk shows doing it. These guys catch oops off walls and shot clocks in games.
Where is James White when you need him? (by the way check out where Rodney Carney “tried” to dunk from) He did Howard’s foul line dunk WAY better.
All I am saying is don’t think because you haven’t seen a new dunk that there aren’t any. Creativity isn’t limited like that. And since they are suppose to be the best athletes in the world I expect more.
Dannie, that video is 10 times better than what the N.B.A. contest has become.Where IS James White ????
Suede - Last I heard he was playing in Turkey for Fenerbahce Ulker. And yes he won the Turkish league dunk contest in 2008. He is easily won of the best dunkers of all-time no one talks about.
I had the same exact argument with all of my friends last night, the only dunk out there that was worth anything was Dwight’s “off the side of the backboard” dunk. Also, I think there needs to be some type of “legit” scoring system. I am not exactly sure how they could but there is a year to figure it out, at least make it to where if the player misses his first dunk the most he could get was a 9 or something.
All of these “props” need to go! No more phone booth, no bells and whistles, just players and basketballs.
If I were the Knicks management I would penalize Robinson and Chandler, I mean did you see his back in the slow motion? That was dangerous and shouldn’t even of been allowed.
I think this whole weekend was a wash and I am pissed I actually took my time to tune into all of the events before the actual game.
Next year Iguodala has to enter his name again. I know he has his faults and isn’t the greatest shooter, but you could argue that he may be the best dunker in the game right now beside Lebron and it would make for a great matchup.
The Dunk Contest should bring back “Spin the Wheel” like in the 2002 All-Star Weekend in Philly. That was something!!
Also, I preferred it when the players wore their own jerseys for the ASG and the Rookie-Sophomore game. It was easier to tell who was who and the many colors made it interesting!
The 3 Point Contest, should not be based on who hits the most threes in a season and they should not pick SCORERS. The focus is on picking SHOOTERS: Ray Allen, Peja Stojakovic, Eddie House, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kapono, etc. Those type of guys fit the bill for the contest. Granger is a SCORER.
If Lou develops some ball handling skills, he should be in the Playstation Skills Challenge. He is quick and will eventually be consistent with a jump shot.
Where do you guys think the All-Star game in 2011 will be played? It’s been a while since they went back East!! New York perhaps!
Ryan: I was thinking the exact same thing about Chandler. His back had to absorb a lot of force. Knicks management definitely must have been breathing a sigh of relief that he didn’t get hurt. And on the replay you can see Robinson’s foot slipping a bit. For a moment there, when he left the arena (to change into his - *sigh* - KryptoNate gear) I thought he tweaked something and was getting it looked at. Anyway, yeah, that’s enough theatrics. Would love to see Iguodala go against James. Just them and the ball. Leave the kryptonite and phone booths at home.
Just read over at si.com that there is talk of portland being interested in Andre Miller. Watch for the trade that i barked about 6 weeks ago, miller and reggie for lafrenz and bayless
Not happening. Portland isn’t trading Bayless let alone for renting Andre Miller for the last part of the season and playoffs.
The word is they want an elite point guard. Do they consider Andre Miller an elite point guard? I don’t know. He is very good at what he does. But they aren’t going to give up a nice young talent they actively went after in the darft for a half season rental of a guy that doesn’t make them a contender. And I see no point at all in them resigning him for anywhere near $10M especially when they aren’t going to have the cap room they thought now that Miles is playing.
Fantasy basketball as Stefanski has been saying to people.
Pritchard: ” Ed, I!ll give you Lefrenz!s contract and Rodriguez and a future 2nd rounder for A.Miller and Evans.” E.S.: “Kevin, I!ll give you A.Miller and Evans for Fernandez,Outlaw,Rodriguez and Lefrenz.” Kevin: Goodnight Ed.
Suede…You either work for the phone company or the NSA. Either way, all my conversations will be face to face and in crowded, public places from now on. Can’t be too careful, you know.
Shame what happened to Terry Porter. The defense first coach got grilled in PHX, but in Philly….?
E-mailed Stefanski late this afternoon to see if anything was up on the trade front. His response: “Nothing has changed. We continue to talk to teams throughout the league but nothing is imminent.”
Like Mo, Porter is a great ASSISTANT coach, but not a good head coach. He is certainly an assistant coach that would be great for the Sixers from a defensive standpoint. Again, I said assistant coach!
Tom, please provide Ed’s EMAIL address; Don’t want Suede spending time in the slammer from listening into his phone conversations.
NBA all star weekend: ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….
The real dunk contests each year: …are in college. The NCAA dunk contest is shockingly underrated. You take away all the stupid glamor glitz and spectacle of the NBA, and then take 6-8 guys that can usually jump through the friggin roof…no gimmicks, no costumes, just, as Dannie said, “The ball and the basket.”…and you have the NCAA dunk contest. Usually has a handful of players everyone knows from benches or starting 5’s of major teams, and then another 3-4 from smaller schools most people aren’t aware of. Very under-marketed, and always entertaining.
Andre Iguodala’s dunks: I’m still pissed Nate Robinson’s stupid 80th try dunk won over Iggy. I mean…damn. That from behind the basket, off the backboard, self pass, raise it to his chin and THROWING IT DOWN dunk? We need some more of that. Two of Iguodala’s dunks were jaw dropping 10/10’s that became more impressive on repeat watchings.
Thad Young & aggression: The point about aggressiveness, for now, IS true. You can’t “teach” to have cajones of steel in your genetics, and to take over a game…some people just have those genes, and Thad isnt one of them. But I REALLY disagree with people saying you cannot learn to improve in this area.
Some players are just flat out tentative and don’t know how to use their full arsenal yet, and take longer to blossom; some players have a psychological block that can be taken down; some players find a drive and hunger they never knew they had as their career takes off; etc, etc.
Remember, people in Boston weren’t exactly raving about Joe Johnson’s ability to just put a team on his back and take over a game, and be a future top 3-4 dominant SG in the game…ditto in Phoenix, even when he started to look good. The knock on him was that he had the talent but was soft, hesitant, didnt have the nuts, the fire, the will, etc. Well, look at him now. Danny Granger would be a more recent comparison…he’s gone from an undersized college PF to someone that is turning into a real killer with every game that goes by.
The one trait that Thad Young possesses, which The Greek mentioned and I absolutely agree, is Thad’s DRIVE. This kid has one of the best work ethics in the NBA. He might not be hungry on the court yet, in the sense that he doesn’t yet 110% trusts his ability and wants to kill people out there…but he has a WILL to freaking IMPROVE that is top rate in the NBA. You hear him in interviews…he is more of a professional at age 20 than many NBA guys are at age 27+. Poised, composed, just seems so dedicated to always improving and seems damn near like a workoholic. He is not flashy, doesn’t care about style, and has a love and respect for the game most teams would kill for in a youngster.
This kid is going to learn his craft at an alarmingly quick rate in off seasons…and when the skills are better in place, I have a feeling the “on the court” hunger is going to erupt. High schoolers, freshman and soph’s that leave early tend to take 3-5 years to develop. He is in year two, and IMO, has been impressive as hell. Plenty of flaws, but he has the character and drive to work them out.
Hey Morty, over on deepsixer Dean is STILL ripping E.S. for the Korver trade.
Suede: No way!??!!
Well, for those of you who were interested in it, Sammy for Chandler is no more. Chandler went to OKC for Wilcox and Smith.
My own quick hits:
- All Star game should be between old guard and new guard. Not sure where you’d draw the line, age or number of games played? I’d love to see teammates play against each other, like Tony Parker trying to take on Ginobilli.
- About Stefansky’s “fantasy basketball” quote – one way to take it is that he has no imagination when it comes to trades. OR, other GMs have become so conditioned to ripping off the Sixers in trades that when Stefansky proposes something that’s not lopsided in their favor it’s shot down instinctively; he has no choice but to defend the trade deadline inactivity somehow.
Isn’t the T-Mac-for-Vince discussions “fantasy basketball”? How is Tom Moore’s Andre Miller for Turkoglu idea “fantasy basketball”, but the NJ-HOU proposed trade isn’t? The “fantasy basketball” line is bulls—.
- Dannie, Pete: if he isn’t traded by the trade deadline, can I do a “guest post” defending Jason Smith? Like I’ve said, I hate repeating myself, so I’d like to have my say once and then move on. But it’s a pretty lengthy defense.
- The real reason the Sixers don’t have an All-Star, and won’t have one in the foreseeable future: they take turns scoring in the half-court game, and it’s hard for one player to amass a ton of a certain stat if a lot of your team’s offense comes from fastbreaks. Andre Miller doesn’t lead the fastbreak every time – one time it will be Iggy, and another time it will be Willie, etc. Same goes for the finishing of the break. So Miller doesn’t accumulate all these assists, and it’s hard for one of our guys to get 30+.
So I don’t get why DiLeo was fluffing Iguodala up for the All-Star game – the Sixers are one of the few teams in the NBA that win as a group and lose as one. When Thad has a bad game, someone else will pick up for his lack of output. I don’t like that DiLeo put Iguodala above his teammates in that way, because it’s not like Iguodala shoulders most of the load for this team.
When you gameplan against the Sixers, you don’t focus on one particular player, because you could argue that this team is just a bunch of really, really good role players – can you argue with what Dannie said here (under “Looking at the Sixers Roster”)? Coaches don’t come in here fearing Iguodala, or Andre Miller – they wanna put the brakes on our fastbreak game.