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.

The new Brady vs Manning debate

The classic Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning. Two legends nearing the end of their careers. But two players have been set up to take their place. These two players are so similar to the two legends they are taking over for.

Wilson vs Luck.
Brady vs Peyton.

Here's how the debate goes:

Player A - Peyton Manning = Andrew Luck
Player B - Tom Brady = Russell Wilson

Player A was the 1st overall draft pick. Player A had been hyped up since high school as the next big deal. Player A was picked to be the future of the franchise. Player A has great offensive weapons. Player A puts up stats like crazy and always makes the playoffs every year. Player A totals up yards and passing TD's like it's nobody's business.

Players B was drafted late in the draft, well after the first round, in the same draft as Player A. Player B was drafted to be a back-up QB. Player B also has great numbers, but Player A's overall yards and TD's overshadow Player B's overall stats. Player B also makes the playoffs every year. However, Player B always has more playoff success. He has been to and won more superbowls than Player A.

Player A has overall better stats, but can be negated by having had better offensive weapons than Player B. Also, perhaps playing in a Indianapolis dome with perfect controlled weather conditions has helped when throwing the ball vs Player B other playing consistently in cold, snow, rain, and/or just play out bad outdoor weather in (Boston/Seattle).

Player B has more superbowl rings and a much better playoff record (Player A actually has a losing record in the playoffs), but Player B has also had a much better defense. ("Defense wins championships.")

Player A has throw for much more yards. Player B has thrown much less interceptions.

Player A has had good coaches, but Player B always had an all-time great coach in (Belichick/Carroll).

So who's better? They guy who played with the better offense, worse defense, played in perfect dome weather, and accumulating much more overall stats? Or the guy with a better defense, worse offensive weapons, much less total stats but amazing ratios and great stats none-the-less, and much more playoff success?

What do you think?

update 1/18/2015 - With Russell Wilson and Tom Brady both getting to the superbowl, and with Luck and Manning both with another early exit, my doppelganger theory is growing stronger. Here are the 3-year side-by-side stats (in picture form) -

The Perfect NBA Mount Rushmore

Many a people have thrown out names for an NBA Mount Rushmore. But there is a perfect 4 people that, if there really was a Mount Rushmore for the NBA, would have to on there. They are: Bill Russell (Washington), Wilt Chamberlain (Jefferson), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lincoln), and Michael Jordan (Roosevelt).

Russell and Wilt were the pioneers of the NBA. The first greats. They still hold records today.

Bill Russell won like nobody else will be able to win again. 13 season, 12 finals, 11 rings. The finals MVP is named after this man. He is the first person that has to be an NBA Mount Rushmore

Wilt Chamberlain scored like nobody else will be able to score again and. The 100 point games. More 60+ point games than everyone else combine that's ever played in the NBA. Bill and Wilt, like George Washington and Jefferson, have to be on an NBA mount Rushmore.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds two records that force me to put him on. He is the all time leader in points scored and the all time leader in MVPs. He's 3rd all time in rebounds and in blocks. He has 6 rings. He was so good for so long. You can't have a Mount Rushmore without the leading scorer / leading mvp's.

And in a Mount Rushmore, how can you leave out Jordan?

I've thought about all of this a lot and discussed it with a lot of different people. This is the perfect NBA Mount Rushmore and you cannot make a better one than this.

Stats:

Bill Russell: 11 championships (12 final appearances in 13 seasons), 5 MVPs, Finals MVP named after him, 2nd all time rebounding...

Wilt Chamberlain:100 point game, more 60+ points games than everyone else combine, 4 MVP's, 1st all time rebounding...

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Most MVPs all time (6), 6 rings, Most points all time, 3rd most blocks all time, 3 most rebounds all time...

Michael Jordan: Most famous and most advertised player of all time. Face of the NBA (and everything else). 6 finals MVPs, 5 season MVPs. Probably more recognized American sports player in the world.

PS - Two people that were right there but not. 1) Oscar Robertson. He was Jordan before Jordan was Jordan. He was a big, fast, strong guard. He averaged 30+ points AND a triple double for several seasons. No one else has ever averaged a triple double. Oscar is one of the best players of all time. 2) Magic Johnson. Also one of the best players of all time, plus one of the most recognizable. Magic really changed the NBA for the better. Many say he and Larry Bird "saved" the NBA. Had I have a 5th or 6th spot, Magic and/or Oscar would be up there.

There are 7 contenders for NBA's greatest player of all time. Then there's everyone else.

In the history of the NBA, we have seen some great basketball and some great basketball players. When talking greatest of all time, there are so many factors that to into that. How good was their competition at the time? How many points did they score? What were some of their best games? Were they good under pressure? Were they well rounded? Did they play defence and offence? What's their averages look like? What's their career totals? Did they dominate games? Could they take over games? What if this? What if that?

After much research and much debating, I've found there to be what I call the "Tier 1" of basketball players. This is made up of 7 players who can be argued as the greatest player of all time. They are:

TIER 1:  (MVPs)

Bill Russell (5)

Oscar Robertson (1)

Wilt Chamberlain (4)

 Kareem Abdul-Jabbarr (6)

Ervin "Magic" Johnson (3)

Michael Jordan (5)

LeBron James (4)

These are players who dominated the game. (I personally like to leave LeBron out of the conversation because he's not done yet.) These are players that have stats that will blow your mind. These are players that have 4 MVPs or more (besides Oscar Robertson smushed in between Wilt and Bill). These are players with multiple championships. These are players that are well rounded. These players play good defence and offense. These players make their teammates better (except maybe Wilt...). These players can pass, rebound, shoot well, steal, block... they do it all. They all have great leadership and are all winners. I've heard great arguments for each of those players as the greatest of all time. If you want to argue one of seven, that is respectable and you might be right.

After tier 1, we have:

TIER 2:  (MVPs)

Bob Pettit (2)

Elgin Baylor (0)

Moses Malone (1)

Jerry West (0)

Julius Erving (1)

Larry Bird (3)

Isiah Thomas (0)

Charles Barkley (1)

Patrick Ewing (0)

Hakeem "the dream" Olajuwon (1)

John Stockton (0)

Scottie Pippin (0)

Shaquille O'neal (1)

Allen Iverson (1)

Kobe Bryant (1)

Tim Duncan (2)

(etc.)........

These guys are great players. However, they simply didn't dominate as did the tier 1 players.

Some of these guys are specialists who dominate some things (Iverson at scoring, Stockton at passing/stealing...). These guys have around 1 MVP. Some of these guys were victims of circumstance (Stockton played against Jordan, Iverson had bad teams, Pippin was always number 2...) Others were benefited by circumstance (Kobe drafted by the Lakers, played with Shaq and for Phil Jackson) (Hakeem won his only 2 championships the 2 years Jordan didn't play). Some of these guys lacked leadership or had problems with attitude. Some of these guys hid weaknesses by playing their role perfectly. Some of them never won a single ring or MVP.

Do you think Magic Johnson or LeBron James would have complained about having Shaq as a teammate and forced him out as Kobe did? No. Instead, they would have lead that team to win 8 championships with Shaq and Phil Jackson.

People who argue tier 2 players as "greatest of all time" are usually baseless and without facts. They maybe top 10 all time, or perhaps make your team of top 13, but you cannot convince me that any one of these players is the G.O.A.T. All the facts, the stats, the eye test, and everything else point to one of the seven players in tier one being the best of all time.

For more stats on the tier 1 guys and on a few tier 2 guys, check out my top 10 I did a while ago: http://keelesports.blogspot.com/2014/03/top-10-nba-players-all-time-keeping-in.html

4 Reasons the Cavs Should Not trade for Kevin Love

The Cavs are very desperate to get Kevin Love right now. They are willing to trade their top pick this year Andrew Wiggins plus other assets. They are also willing to take on bad contracts like JJ Barea and Kevin Martin. Here are 4 reasons why they shouldn't do it:

1. LeBron didn't make any demands when he came to Cleveland. He said he wanted to help the young talent get better, and he wanted to help the city of Cleveland. He said he wanted Cleveland to become a place where young stars want to come and play. Cleveland can still contend without trading for Love. By keeping Wiggins, this makes them contenders now and contenders in the future. If they trade Wiggins, they will be better now, but much worse in the future. LeBron said wants to help Cleveland be better for the long term. Keeping Wiggins will help you stay contenders for a long, long time.

2. They have a lot of cap space right now. Adding Kevin Love and resigning him would take most of their cap space. Then they'd be stuck with the team they have right now and wont have the cap space next year.


3. It'd be better to wait for next year to pull the trigger. Again, LeBron came to Cleveland with zero demands. He said himself he doesn't expect to win a championship right away. Next year there will be a lot of great free agents (starting with Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge). If you wait one year, you can keep Wiggins and still get a Love or an Aldridge next year with all your money you still have from not trading Wiggins.

4. There's a great fit out there they could sign right now and still keep Wiggins: Greg Monroe. If they Cavs have to make a move now, they should go with Monroe, not Love. They could sign Greg Monroe with all that cap space AND keep Wiggins. Monroe is a great rebounder, he's a good defender, and he's 6'11" with a good wing span. Monroe is a perfect fit when it comes playing with LeBron James. I love Anderson Varejao, but Monroe plays bigger and stronger. With Monroe and Varejao playing big, LeBron and Wiggins on the wings and Kyrie at 1, there's a real good looking starting lineup! (Or go small with James at the 4 and stick Waiters and Wiggins on the wings.) Monroe would also (probably) be cheaper than Love. I think I'd rather have Monroe+Wiggins (and whoever else you keep) than just Love+two bad contracts.

Conclusion. The Cavs have some great options right now and most of them include keeping Wiggins. Wiggins is the number one pick in what's being called "the best draft since LeBron's 2003 draft." He is super athletic and has such high potential. There's no reason to trade him and take on bad contracts to get Kevin Love right now. The Cavs could go get Greg Monroe right now and keep Wiggins. Or wait till next year when there's a plethora of unrestricted big men (Love, Aldridge, Tyson Chandler, Roy Hibbert, DeAndre Jordan, Marc Gasol, Omer Asik........) and sign one of them, and still keep Wiggins!

My sports friend Mo said it well: "LeBron went to Cleveland supposedly to rebuild a franchise. Kevin Love makes them mortgage their future for now."

What do you think?