Dwyane Wade and the........ Utah Jazz?

Say whaaaaat? Let me start by saying I am not breaking any news here or predicting this will happen. I do not have secret information from an inside source or anything. I am simply looking at the situations of both Dwyane Wade and the Utah Jazz and pointing out that uniting could be a great win-win situation for both parties.

It appears right now that the Miami Heat do not want to give D-Wade the money or the respect that he deserves for what he has done of that origination. It looks like he is either on his way out of Miami, or he is going back for less $$$ than he deserves. If the Heat and Dwyane do go their separate ways, Wade might want to look at the Utah Jazz. The Jazz also should want to pursue D-Wade. The Utah Jazz could offer Dwyane Wade everything he could dream of from an organization and more. And Wade could be exactly what the Jazz are looking for.

What the Jazz bring to the table for Wade:

Money - Dwyane Wade could get more money from the Jazz than any other team is willing or able to offer. Because of the collective bargaining agreement (particularly how max contracts and the salary cap work), no big market team is going to give Dwyane a max contract. And most current contenders cannot afford to give him a max contract right now even if they wanted to. The Utah Jazz have been smart with their contracts and budget these last few years and have a TON of money to blow this off-season. They are already stacked full of young, potential-filled talent (Gobert, Favors, Heyward, Hood, Exum, Trey, Alec, Booker, etc) so they aren't particularly looking for any more young pieces. They don't need any more "nice pieces" or "supporting players." They are looking to give someone a max contract. A player to come be their final piece of the puzzle. Wade could make more money signing with the Jazz than probably any other team is willing (or able) to offer.

Low Stress - Dwyane Wade is getting older and has a past full of injuries. He should look for a team where he doesn't have to do "too much." On the Jazz, Gordon Heyward and Donte Exum would guard the other teams best players (LeBron, Curry, Harden, Westbrook, etc), so Wade doesn't have to work so hard defensively. Also, with Gobert and Favors down low, Wade could "cheat" for easy steals and close out on three point shooters knowing "The Wasatch Front" is in the key watching his back.

Playing Time- Wade doesn't want to go to a team where he does "too little" either. He wants to play. He doesn't want to go to a team to sit on the bench. Dwyane Wade would start on the Jazz, play as many minutes as he wants, and be the primary scoring option.

Winning - Wade wants to play for a contending team. The Utah Jazz, after trading Enes Kanter last year, finished the season going 19-10 (0.66) with a plus/minus over 5 and and allowing opponents to only 89 PPG. Since every player on that team is young and growing, they should be even better next year. The Jazz roster is currently a supporting cast missing a star. They were perhaps the best defense team in the NBA (after the Kanter trade). They have the tallest starting line up in the entire NBA. Dwyane Wade would be the missing piece and could really contend with this team.

Great Fans and Low Expectations - the Jazz fans are great. They love their players, whether they win or lose. The Utah Jazz have never won a ring, so the pressure of winning rings obviously isn't there. If you play for Utah, you will be loved. Even the least talented of players that only played in Utah for even only a few years (like Earl Watson and Trevor Booker to name a few) are still beloved by the fans. John Stockton and Karl Malone never won a title but there are statues built and roads named after them. Wade, if he were to go to Utah and win a title, he would be treated like a God. And if he were to go to Utah and not win a title, he would still be treated like royalty in Utah forever.

What Dwyane Wade brings to the table for the Jazz:

The Needed Position: The Jazz have a strong starting 4. Gobert and Favors as the bigs, Exum is the PG, and Heyward is one of the wings. Throughout the year, the Jazz experimented with different wing players. I believed the guy that started the most as the other wing next to Heyward was... wait for it... Joe Ingles! Imagine the upgrade Wade would be compared to Ingles. Elijah Milsap (Paul Milsap's brother) also started in that spot more than a few times. Rodney Hood and Alec Burks are getting better, but a great wing player like D-Wade would really complete that starting 5.

Scoring: The Jazz defense is great. It is their offense that they should look to improve. Heyward and Favors fine scorers, but they should be more of a secondary option than a #1 option. The Jazz could really use a guy that is their "go to guy." A primary scoring option. Favors, Heyward, and Exum are all-around players and Gobert right now is a defensive specialist. A #1 scoring option like D-Wade would complete that starting 5.

Leadership and Experience - Most of the players on the Jazz roster have little-to-no playoff experience. They could really use a veteran leader on that team that has "been there, done that." D-Wade has been to 5 finals, winning 3 times and has one finals MVP. His experience and leadership would do wonders for this Utah Jazz team.

Overall:

The Jazz are a small market team with a ton of money to spend this off-season. As a small market team, you're going to have to take big risks if you're going to win a championship in today's NBA. One of those risks includes "overpaying" for free agents like Dwyane Wade. Wade will not go to a small market team for the same amount as a larger market team, so you have to pay up. The Jazz, however, have more than enough money this off-season offer Wade more money than probably any other team.

If Dwyane does leave the Heat, he should look at the Jazz. The Jazz would be a great fit for him. He could probably get more money playing there than anywhere else. Their will be low stress, low expectations, and plenty of playing time without having to "carry the load." The fans are great. And he will have the chance to be the best player and leader on a contending team.

And if Dwyane does leave the Heat, the Jazz should try to go after him. The Jazz really could use a guy just like D-Wade. An experienced leader, superstar, #1 scoring option, wing player.

Meme's I've Made

 LeBron be carrying the injured, inexperienced, and just straight up less talented Cavs while Steve Kerr leads a powerful, well oiled machine.

 Love, Varejao, and now Kyrie will miss the rest of the finals with injury. LeBron and JR Smith have been cursed by the Based God. And now Iman Shumpert got his talents stolen by the MonStars. Steph Curry be like "What are you going to do, bleed on me?"

JJ Watt's his name!

 Sometime people picks small samples or select specific stats very carefully to make one play look better than the other.

One can always make a meme to make one player seem better than the other.

 These next two came because I've been in discussions about Derrick Rose and how he might ever get to the finals and people often say things like "LeBron James owns him. He needs to get away from LeBron James." Then I thought "what if that's what everyone is doing and that's why the West is so good??"

 USA draws Argentina in the semi-finals in Copa America 2016.

Duncan is a center who play a bit of power forward when sharing the floor with David Robinson. He played center all four years of college. He played center his entire NBA career.

I fixed a meme that was trying to say Kobe was actually robbed of MVP awards. The stats were of course rounded in Kobe's favor, sometimes completely wrong, and only showed a few stats to try to make Kobe look better than the person who won MVP. So.... I fixed it and put, according to the logic of that meme, "more deserving" players of that particular year. Also, using the logic that meme, LeBron should have won the only MVP award Kobe ever won.

Sometimes when some tells me "True kings never leave their kingdom," i use Disney references:

I did not make this one. I'm just sick of having to go back and find it so I'm posting it here.

didn't make this one just want to be able to find it later.

Dwyane Wade playing for the Cavaliers next year would be a lose-lose situation

Because of problems in contract negotiations between the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade, there has been plenty of speculating that Dwyane Wade could join his ex-teammate LeBron James in Cleveland next year and play for the Cavaliers.

Unlikely.

First of all, the Cavaliers cannot afford to pay Dwyane what many other teams can. More than a couple teams are very desperate for a player just like Dwayne Wade. He's a star. He can be the leader and best player of your team. He has plenty of experience (including 3 titles and 1 finals MVP). There are teams that will him all the money he wants and more. I know the Utah Jazz would gladly do that. Other teams off the top of my head: Hornets, Lakers, Celtics, Kings.... Teams are desperate for stars. Guys that can be the best player and lead the team. 

Secondly, Dwyane Wade is a big gamble. He hasn't played 70 games in a season since the 10-11 season, and many of those games he has played at much less than 100%. He's had several knee problems. Also his back, hamstrings, hip, and ankles have caused him problems. The Cavaliers have the best player in the world right now in LeBron James. They are in the finals. They have a good thing going for them. They can't afford to give a lot of money to the risk that is Dwyane Wade. 

Other teams, however, are more than willing to overpay for a high risk. And, particularly small market teams, have no other choice but to take huge risks. The Hornets gave Al Jefferson a max contract. The Jazz game Gordon Heyward a max contract. Small market teams HAVE to take risks if they want to get a star. The Lakers right now seem pretty desperate for a star. Young teams like the Celtics or the Bucks need a good veteran leader. I'm sure the Kings (seeing how Dwyane Wade won his first title with Shaquille O'neal) would love the chance to pair Wade with their young stud DeMarcus Cousins. Teams that don't have an all star or two are more than willing to pay top dollar for the chance to get Dwyane Wade.

Lastly - Dwayne Wade isn't a very good fit with LeBron James. We saw this in Miami. They play a similar game. Both LeBron James and (even more so) Dwayne Wade were not utilized in their best way. They both sacrificed their own strengths to play with each other. The Cavaliers can't afford to pay a guy a lot of money that's going to be highly underutilized. The Cavs are better off paying players that complement LeBron's game, and not take away from it.

In summary, the Cavs cannot afford Wade's price tag. If they want to be as good as they can, signing Wade, even if it's at a semi-reduced price, is not worth it for the Cavaliers. 

HOWEVER - Although I doubt Wade comes to Cleveland for all the reasons I just stated... I wouldn't be overly surprised if it did happen.

The Cavs are notorious for doing things that are bad for the team just because LeBron likes it. That's what they did when LeBron was there before he went to Miami. And (in my opinion) they picked right up where they left off - with the Kevin Love trade. I thought the Kevin Love trade was a bad from the start (see here). So history tells me that if LeBron tells the Cavs he wants to play Wade, they will overpay him to make it happen. 

On the other side, I can see Wade taking (comparatively) less money to play in Cleveland. Dwyane likes LeBon and he loves winning titles. Not less enough money to make the signing worth it for the Cavs, but enough so the Cavs don't have to pay top dollar for him and feel justified in signing a huge injury risk that doesn't complement LeBron's game.

In short, the Cavs can't afford to give pay Dwyane Wade enough money to play there, and Dwyane Wade won't go there for the amount that would be worth it to the Cavs. But, I can see a scenario where they both compromise and meet in the middle, which would most likely end up bad for both sides. Wade making less than he could be making AND the Cavs paying Wade much more than they can afford. The good-old "lose-lose situation."

Basketball Tiers

All-Time Greatest NBA Players
by Spencer Keele

Tier 5

25 - Scottie Pippen

24 - Bob Cousy

23 - Charles Barkley

22 - Kevin Garnett

21 - Isiah Thomas

20 - Bob Pettit

19 - Karl Malone

18 - John Stockton
17 - Julius Erving

16 - Elgin Baylor

15 - John Havlicek

Tier 4

14 - Kobe Bryant

13 - Moses Malone

12 - Jerry West

11 - Tim Duncan

Tier 3

10 - Hakeem Olajuwon

9 - Shaquille O'neal

8 - Larry Bird

Tier 2

7 - Oscar Robertson
6 - Magic Johnson

5 - LeBron James

Tier 1

1 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1 - Wilt Chamberlain1 - Bill Russell  
1 - Michael Jordan 

Comments - I originally had named each tier, but then I changed it because I liked it better with just the tier levels and no explanation. Tier 5 was "honorable mentions." Tier 4 was something to the effect of "on a another level from tier 5 players, but not quite on the same level as players from tiers 1-3." Tier 3 was something like "Defiantly top 10 player of all time, but defiantly not the BEST player of all time either." Tier 2 was "Almost had it! Gotta be quicker than that!" - just need(ed) a little more to get to tier 1; or better yet "Definitely one of the best, but I cannot say THE best."  And then Tier 1 was "G-O-A-T Tier - Each has a legitimate case for the best player of all time." Also, the last 4 are all listed as "1" because I refused to rank them. They all have a really good argument for the best player of all time.

I guess the best way to describe how the tiers work is how I answer the question "Is (blank) the greatest basketball player of all time?" So:
Q - "Is __________ the greatest basketball player of all time."
My answer any Tier 1 player  - "Quite possibly yes."
My answer any Tier 2 player  - "It's close, but no."
My answer any Tier 3 player  - "No. But they're right up there with the best of the best."
My answer any Tier 4 or 5 player  - "No. But they're definitely one of the greats."


(WOW-stats for tier 1)
Bill Russell (11 rings in 13 years, 2nd all time rebounds, played before blocks/steals were counted, second most MVP's all time, 5 MVP's)
Michael Jordan (Career 30 PPG, highest PER all-time, 5 MVP's)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Most points all time, 3rd most rebounds all time, most MVP's all time (6), 3rd most blocks all time)
Wilt Chamerlain (100 point game, had a season averaging 50 PPG, career average of 30 PPG, most rebounds all time, 4 MVP's)

Links
Bill Simmons has LeBron James in his top 8
Myths about Wilt Chamberlain
Kareem says Oscar Robertson was better than MJ and LeBron

My Most Misquoted - Kobe Bryant edition:

As a blogger talks and writes about an athlete, particularly if that blogger talks and writes about why they believe an athlete is overrated, said blogger often gets misquoted.

Lately, I have been misquoted about things I have and haven't said about basketball star Kobe Bryant. I want to clear the air. Here are the 3 biggest things from which I am often misquoted about Kobe Bryant and what I actually said about them:

1. "Rings don’t matter."

What I actually believe: Rings do matter! And rings are a very good stat to use when measuring an athletes overall greatness or debating which athlete is better than another. 

What I actually said: Rings are a great stat, but they are not the “tell-all” stat. When measuring an athlete's greatness, their total championships are a great measure, but cannot be the only one. For example: Robert Horry is not a better basketball player than Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, and Moses Malone combine just because “he has more rings than those three combined.” In fact, Robert Horry (7 rings) is not better than either of those three guys! Thus we see you cannot say an athlete is better than another athlete just because they "have more rings.”

2. "Shaq carried those Lakers by himself to all 3 of their titles."

What I actually believe: Kobe was a huge part of that team.

What I actually said: Shaquille O'neal was a luxury that Kobe Bryant had where other great basketball players like Michael Jordan or LeBron James did not. Shaq is arguably one of the best and most dominate players of all time. Shaq was also the most valuable player on those Laker teams. Even if by the smallest of margins, Shaq was the most valuable Laker during that 3-peat. Kobe, no doubt, was very valuable to those teams as well. (Phil Jackson, Robert “Big Shot” Horry, Derrick Fisher, and others also contributed greatly.) Kobe was defiantly not Darko Milicic coming off the bench in garbage time. He played like an all-star no doubt. However, Shaq won all 3 finals MVP’s for a reason. Shaq also won the only season-MVP in those 4 years for a reason. Because he was MOST valuable player to that team (even though Kobe was very, very valuable as well).

3. "Kobe Bryant is not top 10 all time"

Ok. You caught me. I actually said that one. On the “alltime list,” I’ve got Bill, Wilt, Big O, Kareem, Bird, Magic, MJ, Dream, and Shaq well ahead of Kobe. On the outside looking in, I've got Kobe right around all-time greats like Jerry West, Moses Malone, and Tim Duncan.

Links:
My Top 25
Why Kobe is Overrated
My Perfect Mount Rushmore
LeBron: The Scorer

Does the Media Owe the New England Patriots an Apology?

All this week, the media (and most NFL fans) have dog-piled on the Patriots - Calling them cheaters. Demanding the firing of Bill Belichick. Wanting a suspension for Tom Brady. Asking for the Patriots to be taken out of the Super Bowl.

Finally, we have some answers.

First, I will give a quick explanation of what happened... No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

The Patriots beat the Colts 45-7 in the AFC championship game. The footballs that Patriots were using got air added to them by the officials at half time because they "were under-inflated by about 2 pounds per square inch, ESPN reported. Regulation pressure is 12.5 - 13.5 psi"(link). After the game, the media slammed the Patriots because of the deflated footballs, saying they cheated and tried to get a competitive advantage by deflating their footballs. This caused millions of fans to get furious and cast premature accusations and to slander the Patriots. Lots of people were more than willing to defame the Patriots. Former QB Troy Aikman said that this is worse than when the Saints paid each other money to hurt other players and knock them out of the game ("bounty-gate") and that "the punishment for the Patriots and/or Bill Belichick has to be more sever than what the punishment was for the New Orleans Saints"(link).  Former QB Mark Brunell said "I did not believe what Tom had to say... Those balls were deflated. Somebody had to do it." Even current politicians like Maine Governor Paul LePage and White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest took the opportunity to slander the Patriots before the facts came out.

Now facts have come out. Science. Physics. Not just accusations and defamation.

The Ideal Gas Law in Physics states that the pressure and temperature are related. If you put an inflated balloon into a freezer and check on it after a few hours, it will be deflated. If you take the balloon back out and put it back in room temperature, it will start to inflate back up.

Martin Schmaltz, a Professor of Physics at Boston University, teaches, "If they (whoever inflated the balls in the first place) had inflated the balls inside the building and put it to the minimum amount, and then brought it outside to temperatures that were about 30 degrees lower, that would drop the PSI by between 1 and 2"(link).

An anonymous postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology used his own math and predicted a "1.78 PSI [decrease] by halftime if the balls were filled at room temperature" (link).

Michael Naughton, the chair of Boston College's physics department, adds "If you inflate the ball to 12.5 PSI  in an even warmer room where it was, say , 80 degrees, and then played outdoors at 40 degrees, that 12.5 PSI would become 10.5 PSI - a drop of two PSIs"(link).

In the rules of football, the officials pump up the footballs in their locker room (room temperature). And since the game was played outside in cold, Boston weather, Physics tells us the footballs would deflate themselves.




#ScienceRules




{A GOOD WATCH: Bill Belichick held an "impromptu press conference" today. His actual speech, which was about 15 minute long, was very insightful and informational. He talks about the rules about the footballs, the procedures, and more. If you have 15 minutes to spare and you are an NFL fan, I recommend you watch this. [LINK]   (PS - the last 7 minutes or so is a Q&A with Bill Belichick and he does not expound on anything so it's kind of a waste of time. When they start asking questions, I suggest you save yourself the 7 minutes and just stop watching.)}

3 Myths About LeBron James' Shooting and Scoring abilities

While discussing sports with colleagues and acquaintances, I've heard some very silly things said about LeBron James that just are not true. Mostly about his scoring and his shooting. Whether or not LeBron James is a pass first / defense first type player or not, his scoring and shooting ability is among the best if not the best in the league.



Myth 1: LeBron is not an elite scorer.

FACT: In the past decade, no other player has been as good of a scorer as LeBron James when it comes to total points. In the last 10 years, LeBron James is the only one to finish in the top FOUR in points per game every single year:

(Green-underline is LeBron, black is Kobe Bryant)

That's amazing scoring talent combine with incredible consistency.

FACT: The only player that's even close to him is Kobe Bryant, who's finished in the the top four for eight of those ten years (finished 5th three years ago and didn't play last year). So over the last decade, LeBron and Kobe have pretty much been in a scoring league all of their own.

FACT: For a "pass first player" to finish top 4 in PPG for 10 straight years, that's insane. Finishing ahead of or right behind the other best scorers in the league every year, most notably Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant. And he's the only one to do it every single year for the last decade. If LeBron were to take more shots, he would obviously score even more points. If LeBron were a shoot first player like those other guys, he would likely win the scoring title every single year.

FACT: LeBron's FG% is much higher than all those guys as well. That means he's finished in the top 4 in scoring every year for 10 years and he's done it by taking less shots than all those guys every year!

Career FG%
LeBron James      - .497
Kevin Durant       - .479
Carmelo Anthony - .455
Kobe Bryant        - .454
Allen Iverson        - .425

and LeBron is just getting better and better. Last year he shot .565. That was behind only 4 players that just dunk the ball all the time (DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, and Serge Ibaka). Durant was 27th overall at Carmelo was 71 overall.



Myth 2: LeBron is not a SHOOTER like Kobe is or those other guys are. When it comes to Jump Shots, LeBron is not good.

FACT: LeBron is a great jump shooter. Here is a website where you can measure a players FG% counting ONLY jump shots: (here)

As always, let me do the grunt work for you so you don't have to:

(That's hard to see but you can use that link and look it up yourselves if you can't see it and don't believe me.)

Interpretation:  I took the "jump shot % only" stat from 2012-2013 season for the following players:

LeBron James - 39.8%
Ray Allen - 39.7%
Kevin Durant - 37.8%
Carmelo A. - 37.3%
Stephen Curry - 33.5%
Kobe Bryant - 31.4%

That's LeBron James leading all those guys in JUMP SHOTS. Does he lead all of them in jump shots every year? Probably not. But he's always right up there with the best of the best. LeBron James is one of the best jump shooters in the game.

Just for fun, here is Derrick Rose in his MVP season jump shots:

31.9% ....that's right around Kobe range but not quite up to LeBron / Melo / Durant level.




Myth 3: LeBron can't shoot 3 pointers like MJ, Kobe, and the rest of them. He is a bad three-point shooter.

FACT: Here is a list of the top 20 all time scorers (who shot a lot of threes) and their 3P% (with LeBron added to prove a point).

Reggie Miller             -   39.47 %

Dirk Nowitzki            -  38.18 %

LeBron James           -   34.10 %

Kobe Bryant             -   33.50 %

Michael Jordan          -   32.68 %

Dominique Wilkins     -  31.87 %

Allen Iverson             -   31.30 %

LeBron is surely no Reggie Miller or Steph Curry when it comes to three point shooters, but to say he's a bad three point shooter is like saying MJ or Kobe are bad three point shooters. His percentages are better than Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Allen Iverson at 3 pointers. Say what you will about LeBron's three point shooting abilities, but whatever you say the same goes for Kobe's and MJ's three pointers. Like I said, he's not going to lead the league in threes. 34% isn't "great." However, it does put him right up there with (in fact just ahead of) great shooters like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

(PS. He has improved at his 3 pointers. His last 3 seasons he averaged .362 .406 .379 respectively)


Bottom Line: 

scoring: LeBron James has finished in the top 4 in points per game for 10 years straight (for some perspective - Carmelo Anthony, who some believe to be the best scorer in the NBA, has only SIX finishes in the top FIVE in those last ten years). LeBron has also won a scoring title and has been shooting 56.6% for the last 2 years. LeBron James IS a top scorer and arguably the best scorer in the NBA.

jump shots: LeBron is a great jump shooter.

three pointers: LeBron's 3 point shooting is on par with, in fact just ahead of, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.



Update: 12/9/2014 - Can't believe I didn't share this stat when I first wrote this post. LeBron James is 3rd all time in career PPG right behind the two best scorers of all time: Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. LeBron is one of the best scorer's this league has ever seen. To think otherwise is just ignorance.

Update:  12/17/2016 - LeBron's is on a monster streak of scoring at least 10 points in a game. Right now he's at 739 straight games. That's 3rd best streak behind only Kareem and MJ. Well ahead of everyone else.