It will never snow in Florida.

This is not altogether unexpected right? We crowned him King only to watch him never truly earn his crown. Then we crown his team the champion before a game is played only to watch them stumble out of the gate and look not only beatable but downright average. We should be used to this by now, Lebron James for all his talents has always fallen just short of the expectations we placed on him. "This guy will average a triple double, guaranteed", not quite..."He will lead the Cavs to a championship" , almost but not really. Now this , the latest disappointment, is one we should have all seen coming. The worst part is that we continue to make excuses for him, continue to point the finger elsewhere when we should all acknowledge right now, Lebron James is his own worst enemy.

Playing in his near hometown of Cleveland had been easy. Here was the homegrown hero, never held accountable and always revered. He could get away with whatever he wanted up there, after all he gave Cleveland seven years of record breaking, high flying and spectacular basketball the likes of which they had never seen. For the first time since 1964 they had reason to believe they could actually win a championship and it was all because of King James. Along the way he broke every age related NBA scoring record and put up the kind of all around stats that would make Fat Lever blush. Unfortunately all the impressive stats added up to exactly one less than stellar NBA finals appearance and zero championships. Lost in all the excessive coverage and mind numbing stats were the bad habits he started to develop. Habits that real hoop heads had to know would come back to haunt him later.

I haven't watched a whole lot of Heat basketball this season, but I can't be the only one who noticed that Lebron is at his best when surrounded by mediocre talent. In Cleveland, Lebron never had to learn how to share the ball with other ultra talented teammates and it led to the greatest current myth in the NBA, Lebron James makes his teammates better. Over his seven year career in Cleveland , the Cavs brass paired him with numerous talented players only to watch it blow up in their faces year after year. As much as he helps a player like Andy Verajao , he hurts a guy like Larry Hughes. Putting James on the floor with Eddie House , James Jones, Chris Bosh and _____ Center seems to work best for the Heat right now and that's a shame. For a team that can conceivably boast a new school answer to Jordan and Pippen , to flank James with those guys is absurd. When Wade and James are on the court together it's almost as if Wade is relegated to Mo Williams status, watch Lebron iso and be ready to catch and shoot. That is a complete waste of his ability. Granted the guy is playing with a sore hamstring right now, which is one of those lingering kind of injuries, but the guy has to have room to play his game.

It's would seem as though it's not too late to make adjustments, after all the season is only about 20 games old. However, if you factor in that these problems are not new to this season and look overall at his body of work it becomes increasingly clear that this may not be so easily fixable. Right now Lebron looks to be headed for a career that could be an mixture of Allen Iverson and Steve Francis. No one questions the heart and talent Iverson had in his prime, but it was damn near impossible to build around him. There is also no doubt that Steve Francis was one of the most electrifying athletes in the NBA during the early part of the decade but the little things escaped him. Building around Lebron James should be easy, he can literally do everything on a basketball court. He is an above average rebounder, a tremendous finisher and his court vision is up there with the best in the business. If you look a little closer though, all of the things he does well kind of mean he has to dominate the ball for the entire game and that can tend to hurt his teammates. Just because you're a great passer doesn't mean you're not also a ball stopper. If you build your team specifically around Lebron James, you're going to end up with a bunch of limited one dimensional players surrounding him. Some strong rebounders and guys who can finish close to the rim, and some spot up shooters who can defend and I don't think that's what the Heat had in mind when they put this "super team" together.

Someone in Miami has to step up as a leader and take control of this team and I think that person has to be Dwyane Wade. He's the only one of the big three who has made his game work with another superstar and won a championship in the process. He is already the scapegoat for the Heat's early struggles even though his stats compare favorably to the King (identical shooting percentage, more rebounds, blocks and less turnovers) so why not go all the way and just take the reins? If he actually steps up and holds Lebron accountable for his play and makes him mesh with what the team is trying to do, it can really be lights out for the league. They have the talent but running the Cavs old offensive sets with Wade spotting up is not the way for this team to win. Right now the Heat are not playing like the team we envisioned when this all began back in July, and even though I'm an admitted hater of Lebron and the whole super team concept, as a fan of the game I can't deny I was secretly hoping that they would play the kind of basketball the likes of which the NBA has never seen. With Lebron facilitating and moving the ball and Wade in all-out attack scorer mode, the sky is truly the limit.

The scary thing is they're probably going to figure all this out and win 60 games and shut us all up. If they don't, the blame should be placed squarely on Lebron James and his ego. No one has ever held him accountable before, but starting now could rewrite NBA history. If you're anything like me you're praying they don't get it together while simultaneously crossing your fingers that they do. One thing is for certain, even if he doesn't go down as the G.O.A.T. like we all thought he would, Lebron James decision (ha) in July of 2010 might have made him the most polarizing figure in NBA history. Then again, falling just short of our expectations should be what we all expect from him by now, right?

Truer words...

As true today as it was in 1998, Kobe Bryant is currently playing some of the best basketball seen this side of the year 2000. His 33.7 points 8.3 assists and 7.2 rebounds in the series against the Suns are only slightly more stunning than his 29.4 6.2 and 5.1 over the course of the playoffs.
At 31 and 14 years in the casual fan would say he is past his prime , slowing down and at best second best. As more than a casual fan I'm here to tell you that while he can't jump as high or dunk with as much flash as he used to , Kobe Bean Bryant is better than ever, and currently the best player in the game.
The only real competition he had , Lebron, is currently sitting at home watching the playoffs, eliminated convincingly in the second round by a Celtics team that no one had given a chance. If Kobe is no match for Lebron physically , then I counter that Lebron is no match for Kobe mentally. For all his flaws , (and all the rumors) Kobe has never took 2 nights off in a playoff series. His will to win is unmatched by his current peers, and possibly only matched by the consensus G.O.A.T. Micheal Jordan. I don't know that we can yet say that about Lebron. He is easily the most physically imposing player in the league, but he has yet to put it together in a way that wins.
Kobe's accolades should speak for themselves , but the fact is Lebron has been handed his throne before his time is up. Seven time conference champion, four time nba champion (playing for a fifth), twelve time all star , eight time all-NBA first team , eight time all defense first team, mvp , three time all star mvp and finally the most important of his career a finals mvp. Still scoring 27 a game , grabbing 5 and half boards on a team loaded with rebounders and when healthy locking down the best player on the opposing team. What else does this man have to do before you stop trying to strip him of his best player in the game title? A better question what has Lebron done to earn it?
We are all witnesses at the moment. We just witnessed one of the most masterful performances in playoff history. We are witnessing one of the great talents of all time, locked in and skillfully picking apart whoever is in his way. We are witnessing a player still in his prime, still putting a stranglehold on a title that only belongs to him. The title of best in the world.
When the votes were cast and the ballots counted , nobody asked Kobe if he was ready to pass the torch. It's an old sports cliche' that you don't lose your position due to an injury, but as any quarterback can tell you, if you blink you're out and sportswriters across America are wondering aloud if your team is better off without you. Kobe Bryant was hurt all season, he didn't get worse, his skills haven't diminished, yet for the past two seasons all we've heard is how he has been surpassed. His injury had cost him his standing and right now, healthy for the first time in months he is dominating the landscape and taking back what should never have been lost to begin with.
The 2010 NBA finals begin in 3 days and still the most dominant question in the sports media is "where will Lebron end up next year?". While supposed journalists fall over themselves trying to get the inside scoop that none of them will get, the best player still playing will be playing in his seventh finals for his fifth championship, with no end in sight. In what should be the most exciting few weeks in basketball, time is being wasted on trying to figure out the next destination of the second best player in the world. I refuse to give in and I'll be busy enjoying the two best teams in basketball fight for the most important prize they can have. And when it's all over, and the dust settles Kobe Bryant will still be the best player in the game, no matter how many people try and take it away from him. He's not giving it up anytime soon.

A lot of things to discuss but first and foremost on my mind :Allen Iverson.

This whole situation has sucked from the word go.Allen Iverson is not a 17 minute per game player and I completely understand where he is coming from, if you're only going to use a player of his caliber for 17 minutes a game , you're wasting his talent and everyone's time. The root of the problem in my opinion is the coach. Micheal Curry is a rookie coach and I don't know if he is trying to establish an identity for himself or what but you do not bench your best player and if you think AI isn't the best player on the pistons then you're kidding yourself. This isn't college and as an nba coach you have to continually make adjustments to meet the personnel on your team. No one can reasonably expect to replace Chauncey Billups with Allen Iverson and play the same style of ball. It. Can't. Happen.
Now I've long been a pistons antangonist but even I was excited about this trade when it was first made because on paper they should be right up there with the cavs and boston for the best record in the east. The Pistons problem over the last couple of years in my opinion is a lack of offensive identity. It's ok to hang your hat on defense as long as you have someone who can pick up the scoring load when needed. Looking at the roster, you have all the ingredients for success. Rasheed Wallace: Solid post scorer , excellent post defender when motivated and capable spot up shooter. Antonio Mcdyess: superb rebounder and defender and able to score when called apon. Tayshaun Prince: the glue guy who does everything it takes to win, think Shane Battier with less reservations about shooting. Rip Hamiliton: an absolutley perfect 3rd option , although with Sheed and the post as the second option chances are he would get more than his fair share of shots. Finally you have Allen Iverson : A stone cold scorer and capable creator on offense, able to generate points by the dozens at any given time and knows when to give up the ball regardless of what the naysaysers think. PLus a deep bench which includes Rodney Stuckey and Jason Maxiel. With that roster there is no reason for them not to be 15 games above five hundred right now and with that said we need to stop focusing on what Allen Iverson doesn't bring to the table(defense, good practice habits etc) and start focusing on What Micheal Curry took off of Allen Iversons table. As I said earlier when you're a coach in the nba you have to make adjustments as needed and Curry in my opinion hasn't made a single concession for this guy. He wants to play exactly the same was as the pistons have played for the past 7 years and you can't do that fall 4 games under .500 and expect to not be blamed. Only he has't been properly blamed for his shortcomings as a coach because they brought in AI to be a scapegoat.The Pistons problems don't end with Micheal Curry but they definitley begin with him. The same way Terry Porter was axed early for not playing to his team's strengths so should be Curry. You have literally the most dynamic scorer in the NBA over the last decade and you have him averaging 17 points per game?
Don't try and tell me Iverson is done either, in the three seasons prior to this one he averaged 33.0 ppg, 26.3 ppg and 26.4 ppg and 7+ assists in each of those seasons and if you want to point out that scoring was down, I will point to that as proof that he can share the ball when he has someone capable of carrying some of the load. I've heard a lot of things over the past few days , He holds the ball too long , he can't shoot and has refused to learn over his career. His field goal percentage sucks , he turns the ball over too much etc etc. First off, the pistons play a slow down game so it doesn't actually hurt for him to hold the ball and try and create some buckets. Second, saying he can't shoot is implying a lack of ability to shoot the ball and this goes hand in hand with the fg% arguement. Look at the numbers. Now look at the numbers again. When he was playing with a dependable second option his fg% was up. He shot 42% from the field in his MVP season when he was literally the only offensive option. When Chris Webber came he averaged a career high 33 ppg on 44.7 % and in the following two years with Carmelo Anthony he shot 45% from the floor. Saying he can't shoot is just flat out false. If you want to criticize the shot selection sure but please don't call the man Jason Kidd. As far as turnovers go? He had throughout his career what we can now call Dwyane Wade Syndrome. One guy versus five guys euquals turnovers at a high rate. Let's put this in perspective Allen Iverson averages 22.1 shots a game for his career and 3.6 turnovers. Also he averages 6.2 assists which equals about 31 touches right there, not included swing passes and trips to the foul line. So lets call it 40 touches a game, per every touch he averages .09 turnovers. Anyone who handles the ball as much as he does and is asked to do as much on the offensive end would be in the same boat. So all that being said, what now?

Boston? No way would he sit the bench behind Ray Allen and I shudder to think about both he and Stephon Marbury on the boston bench remembering the good old days.But it also is a very good chance for a ring. So is LA but they only play this sport with one ball and you would need one for Kobe , one for Allen and one for the rest of the team to possibly make that work. In my opinion if boils down to two teams. The Bobcats and the Knicks.Both need help at shooting guard , both have a plethora of role players who could play off of him perfectly and he would be the unquestioned go to scorer on both teams. Charlotte has Larry Brown and Iverson loves Larry Brown for whatever reason so thats a pro for them. The Knicks have Mike D' Antoni and everybody loves Mike D'Antoni. So who do you choose? The coach who took you to the finals or the coach who will let you shoot 30 times a game? Play down south in Charlotte? Or the worlds most famous arena? Also if he plays well enough at either spot on a one year contract he could generate some buzz for himself the following year. In New York he could stay and hope the Knicks do in fact sign Lebron James or Chris Bosh which would be ridiculous.
So where does this story end up? There is no telling , but if Detroit is his last NBA stop it will be a sad day for a lot of basketball fans.Allen Iverson is a bona fide NBA superstar and culteral icon and he deserves better and we as fans of the game deserve and should demand better. Allen Iverson got me to love the game of basketball instead of just loving the knicks and for that I thank him and hope this works itself out.

We love you too.

Oh is that for me, your loyal fan? Thank you so much New York Knicks for showing me and all of your fans how little you care about winning. I was very excited to see that my season preview was being dis proven every night. The team was competitive , and actually winning more games than they were losing which has been so incredibly rare these last few years.It seemed we were missing just one piece, that stone cold perimeter scorer who could take the pressure off Zach every night and really push the ball. Where could we find that? Not Chris Duhon..no..Jamal Crawford! Oh wait he's a career 40% shooter which means as hot he has been lately there are a couple of 0-12 nights in his future.Sorry can't count on that. Wait a minute do we not have a former all star and member of arguably the greatest draft class in nba history on the chllin' list? What's his name? Stephon Marbury! right, the holder of career 19 point and 8 assist averages. The guy who can drop 35 on any guard in the league and if he isn't he can do other things with the basketball. No we can't use him though, a consistent go to guy never works in the nba, so lets pay him 21 million dollars to sit on his ass. Still though we were moving in a great direction Duhon was serviceable , Crawford was on fire (who cares if he was a 6'5 shooting guard averaging less rebounds per game than pretty much everybody in the entire NBA)Nate Robinson was an early candidate for sixth man of the year Z-Bo was an absolute beast. The New York fans finally had something to smile about , we could see the light in the darkness.Less 36 hours ago I wasn't ashamed to say I was Knick fan anymore. I could see progress and fire and a new look for the future finally, now I see we are competing for the D league championship because winning doesn't matter anymore. We had a team that could compete night in and night out. A team that had a chance to see the playoffs from the bottom half and now we jettison our best scorer and rebounder and a hot streak shooter for Tim Thomas, Cuttino Mobley and Al Harrington? If this was 2001 we would be talking about a great future line up , unfortunately Cat Mobley is past his prime and Al Harrington is going be Marbury's stiffest competition for malcontent of the year. Oh but Thomas has his best season under D'antoni he can help. Right , so he plays in a system that exploit his (useless on any other team) talents for 2 years then he gets another contract and we are subjected to another 4 years of this waste of a basketball body.So now the plan is to sit through two years of bad basketball (maybe we can get another Gallanari in the draft!) and hope beyond hope that Lebron James or Dwyane Wade give us a look in the summer of 2010. Let's think about this though, say what you want about Danny Ferry , but he tries. It may not work , but he tries to surround Lebron with talent and this year it may have finally paid off. Dwade is 2 years removed from winning an NBA title and Pat Riley is in charge which means he will not put up with losing for long. Two teams that have at least shown they are committed to trying to win ballgames are not going to lose their respective best players to a team that gave up any shot at competing this year or next hoping to win the free agent lottery.And if you think for a second that any other free agents are going to go near the knicks to play with Chris Duhon or anybody else on that roster please put down the drugs.I don't understand this.I understand moving crawford , his stock was never higher than it was these first few weeks, Hell even Randolph was playing the best ball of his career, which means we A) we could have gotten more or B) we could have kept them and won some games. We need a coach like Herm Edwards out here again. You play to win the game folks and the Knicks just flushed their season. Dolan Walsh and D'antoni better have wink wink deal with one of those class of 2010 free agents or we're in for a long half decade.

Point/Counterpoint

As a lifelong Knicks fan I pretty much followed anything the blue and orange did including getting drubbed by the Bulls every year or John Starks shooting us out of a championship while Rolondo Blackmon and his 49% career shooting percentage grew roots on the bench.That being said I paid little attention to anybody else.
In 1996 that all changed. Like a bolt of lightning Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury exploded onto the scene.Iverson was wrecking Jordan which was great cause he played for the Knicks arch nemesis Bulls and Marbury was straight out of Brooklyn which gave a 12 year old from the same city a dream. Here were two guys who played the game in a way I had yet to notice, crossing people over dropping buckets and assists like they had been here before and before long they were engaged in a battle for the rookie of the year and my favorite player.Iverson came out on top in the ROY race but many people believed and still believe Marbury was more deserving because he carried his team to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but there was no denying the numbers of Iverson 5 straight 40 point games, making Jordan look ridiculous and even dropping 50 on the Cavs.I decided Iverson won me over but I had to make room for my hometown hero Steph.
Twelve years later the debate almost looks silly especially to someone who hasn't been watching since day 1. While for his entire rookie year Marbury was praised as an unselfish pure point guard who was gonna spend his career setting up his teammates ,Iverson was conversely criticized for being a showboating selfish ballhog.If you can find anyone who in 1997 predicted what's happened since , I'd like to meet him and ask him how my life is going to turn out before it's too late.AI has gone on to win the hearts of millions scoring on any and everyone (27.6 ppg career) leading a weak sixers team to the finals where they handed the juggernaut Lakers their only loss of the 2001 playoffs before being sent packing.Stephon meanwhile has been toiling in his shadow for years hardly even making the playoffs let alone a finals and turning into the selfish player everyone thought Iverson would become.He has appeared in a total of 18 playoff games and has worn out his welcome in every city including apparently his hometown team, the New York Knicks.
Twelve years later they stand on opposite sides of a career crossroad. At 31 Marbury is inactive and awaiting his team to either cut him or trade him so he can hope for a chance at redemption , Iverson supposedly slowing at 33 was traded for the second time in his career to the Detroit Pistons and looks to make a push toward his first championship with a team very similar to the one he took to the finals seven years ago.Many people myself included are baffled by what's become of Marbury, benched in favor of Chris Duhon and Nate Robinson.He's still at worst the second most talented player on the Knicks roster and arguably THE most talented , but somewhere along the line he lost sight of who he was and where he came from. In this respect he could take a lesson from AI who has played everyone of his 832 nba games as if he was gonna die when the buzzer sounded,who gave it all he could for every one of his 34749 minutes and who earned every single one of his 23044 points. After twelve years in the league Iverson has shown minimal signs of slowing down , he can score on anybody and sharing the ball the past 2 seasons with another top five scorer has done nothing to slow him down.Scoring 26 a game while being your teams second option is no easy task.
Allen Iverson is getting another chance , possibly his last at winning a ring,he brings to the table immeasurable toughness and gives the Pistons the stone cold scorer they have lacked over the past three or four years and they're hoping it will put them back in the finals to compete for that ring.Stephon Marbury deserves another chance. He came to camp in great shape , he has kept his mouth shut while being benched and for the first time the game he loved has been taken away from him , so he is unable to take it for granted. He is still one of the quickest and strong point guards in the league and can help the Knicks win, whether he is the best player on the Knicks is debatable but he is their best point guard.Building for the future is great but you play to win the game.Let the man play , let him write his own happy ending to what started out brilliantly but has lost its luster over the years.
Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson were supposed to be two of the greatest to play the game when it was all said and done.Marbury was gonna lead the league in assists and Iverson was gonna lead the league in scoring and they were gonna lead the NBA into a silver age of point guard play.Sometime in the past 12 years half of that equation got lost, and anyone who knows math will tell you half any equation won't get you an answer.


This is the way it's supposed to end , except they're supposed to be on opposite teams playing each other for a championship.One congratulating the other after a hard fought game 7. AI is gonna get his chance , when is Marbury gonna get his?

Knicks Preview.

So I'm new at this sports blog thing but I figure I'll give it a shot.
2008/2009 Knicks Preview.
Depth Chart:
PG- Stephon Marbury ,Chris Duhon , Nate Robinson
SG- Jamal Crawford -Mardy Collins, Anthony Roberson
SF- Quentin Richardson, Wilson Chandler Danilo Gallinari
PF- Zach Randolph, David Lee, Jared Jefferies
C - Eddy Curry , Jerome James

In a perfect world we would get rid of some these players , maybe acquire a legit shot blocker while making room for David Lee to get on the floor more.In the meantime lets work with what we have.



Point guard Stephon Marbury has a lot of haters right now but I for one believe he still has some good basketball left in him , especially playing at a more uptempo pace.This is a guy who was railroaded by his last two coaches which is especially shocking since Isaiah Thomas was a scoring point guard himself.Nevertheless , his 13.9 ppg and 4.7 apg were by far a career low signaling to some this may be the end. Lets get this straight he is only 31 years old. He can still bounce back near his career averages of 19.7 and 7.8 .He still possesses top notch quickness, power, speed and ball handling ability. The problem with Marbury has always been the Iverson complex: great player +shitty teamates= Malcontent. I look for Marbury to realize the writing is on the wall and to work hard to buy into this system , a system in which I believe a player of his talents can flourish. Backing him up are Duhon and Lil' Nate. I look for Lil Nate to overtake Duhon as the primary backup in the Barbosa mold that D'antoni is used to.The little guy can score in bunches and plays the game with great passion if not always great maturity.He is a year older and its time for him to start showing his potential more often.Duhon has good leadership and won't really piss anybody off which if all my hopes for Marbury fall through is a HUGE upgrade. I think if Steph falters Duhon gets the nod because Nate is so dangerous against a second unit.Joining them in the backcourt is Jamal Crawford , who is basically John Starks with less conscience and less heart.When he is on he's a truly gifted scorer who can be absolutely deadly in this offense.To get him more minutes I see Nate getting some time here as well his speed is going to be a real asset to this team.Quentin Richardson is hoping to reach the level he was at in Phoenix which is a good bet since he has a good season every other year.Following that Schedule look for him to put up about 15 points and 6 rebounds while nailing three pointers on the break.If he falters look for Wilson Chandler to step in and fill the spot nicely. An improving shooter and hustling defender he's gonna end up stealing minutes from the onset and if Richardson can't take the heat I look for him to steal the spot entirely.Not much to expect from Rookie Gallinari , he has a good feel for the game whatever that means , but at this point he's got to get stronger, quicker and smarter which will only come from experience. I like the talent but not this year.In the post you have Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph both of whom we would be better off without , Marbury is poison enough we don't need a crybaby and a black hole to make matters worse.Unfortunately they're on the roster so we move forward. Eddy Curry is a dead mans Shaq. Watching Shaq labor up the court in the Sun's offense last year will look like a Usain Bolt race with this guy. First of all to start a break you have to rebound which he doesn't do, then if you want to get a shot up in seven seconds or less you better have him posting up while the rest of the team is on defense.He really can score with his back to the basket when given the touches but his touches are sure to dwindle with the guards trying to push the ball up the floor. For the sake of this preview I would call Eddy and Zach interchangeable. Neither one of them can block a shot or defend the post.(can't is strong I guess won't works), both can score the ball , Zach has more range, Curry has more size.Either way I look for David Lee to take the lions share of the minutes at forward and Curry and Zach splitting minutes as the token post scorer in case the transition game comes apart. He rebounds , he hustles and he is athletic enough to run in this offense and finish the break as a trailer.Jared Jefferies will contribute the occasional good defensive spurt while Jerome James will contribute to the heartache of Knicks fans every where and serve as a reminder of the Isiah Era.

Expect an improved team over last year, but not enough to make the playoffs. D'Antoni knows how to play an uptempo game and I think he has the bodies to pull it off. For the time being look for 28-32 wins and signs of life as a step up and hold your breath for the future. If we can unload one of the Post Twins for an athletic shotblocker and get these guys on the same page I predict even bigger improvements. Making Stephon Marbury go with the program is gonna be the toughest test and if D'Antoni can pull that off , this might be his best coaching job to date.