Archive for the ‘NBA History’ Category

In every game of sport, there’s a winner and a loser. And if there isn’t, then it’s not really a sport, soccer excluded. But, how often does the best team win? It can be argued that the best team always wins, since of course, they won.

That being said, some of the teams that don’t win are pretty good too. What we have below is a look at some NBA teams that were right on the cusp of being the best, but not quite. Consider them the best losers of the past three decades.

10. 2001-2002 Sacramento Kings
Regular Season Record: 61-21
Playoffs Record: 3-1 over Utah Jazz; 4-1 over Dallas Mavericks; lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-3 in Western Conference Finals

Despite finishing the season with the best record in NBA, the talented Kings fell short to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. Chris Webber, Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic led the way with solid contributions from Vlade Divac, Doug Christie and Bobby Jackson. What sunk the team was Robert Horry and some Game 7 duds from the Kings, to say the least. I call it karma for the way Christie and his wife had their corny signals to each other as there is unsubstantiated proof that his testicles are still in her purse.

9. 1991-92 Portland Trail Blazers
Regular Season Record: 57-25
Playoffs Record: 3-1 over Los Angeles Lakers; 4-1 over Phoenix Suns; 4-2 over Utah Jazz; lost to the Chicago Bulls 4-2 in NBA Finals

The Blazers owned the best record in the Western Conference, second-best in the entire NBA, behind only the eventual champion Chicago Bulls. At this point, the Blazers were one of the elite NBA teams for a few seasons running, led by the backcourt duo of Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter. Jerome Kersey, Cliff Robinson, Kevin Duckworth and Buck Williams were the frontcourt muscle. However, it was the Bulls’ year and there was no stopping Michael Jordan, which will be a running theme for this post.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, we took a look at the backcourt players on the verge of becoming NBA legends, so today, we continue with frontcourt players. I’m sure there will be some dissent from readers, but that’s fine. One thing about a list like this is that we won’t truly know its validity for at least several more seasons. By then I may have a different identity. In any case, the criteria to make the list is to have four or less seasons in the NBA and from there I look at statistics and potential.

Some players that I considered that didn’t make the top 10 include Greg Monroe, Nicolas Batum, Ed Davis, Tyler Hansbrough, Tiago Splitter, Jason Thompson, Roy Hibbert, Jeff Green, Derrick Favors, DeMarcus Cousins, Thaddeus Young, DeAndre Jordan and Hasheem Thabeet (kidding). But, let’s now focus on those that did make the top 10.

10. Michael Beasley, Miami Heat (2008-10), Minnesota Timberwolves (2010-Present)
232 G; 15.9 PPG; 5.8 RPG; 2.2 APG; 0.5 3PTM; 45.7 FG%; 77.3 FT%; 0.8 SPG; 0.6 BPG; 16.2 PER

At this point Beasley is more known for his love of grass, intricate braids and face mushing at pro-am games, than his basketball skills. It’s too bad, since Super Cool Beas just came off a season where he averaged a career-high 19.2 points per contest. He complements teammate Kevin Love very well, but with the drafting of Derrick Williams, what will the Timberwolves rotation look like? I’ll assume Beasley will get the most minutes between he and Williams, if only to up his trade value.

I’m sure that Beasley isn’t the only one in the NBA that loves Mary Jane, but maybe he should ease up a bit, because last season saw him flash that skill set many people in the NBA fell in love with before he joined the Association. He showed his ability to score from anywhere on the court and a degree of maturity. Beasley has the talent to do damage and needs to stay motivated in order to truly succeed. He has the ability, and considering his youth, I’m betting on him building on last season’s success, whether it’s in Minny or not.

Read the rest of this entry »

After spending the last several weeks focusing on the tops at each position during the past three decades, I’d like to continue my rampage of creating lists during this lovely NBA lockout by forgetting the past and focusing on the future. This week we put on our Zoltar turban and throw down some names of young guns (four or less seasons of NBA experience) in the backcourt that have the best chance of being one of the greatest ever. Feel free to comment on the players or order itself.

Let’s do this!

10. DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors (2009-Present)
159 G; 13.0 PPG; 3.4 RPG; 1.3 APG; 0.1 3PTM; 47.7 FG%; 79.7 FT%; 0.8 SPG; 0.3 BPG; PER: 14.4

DeRozan improved in every major statistical category, other than field goal percentage, from his rookie to sophomore season and there is still room to grow. He’s already one of the NBA’s better dunkers, but has improved his jumper. During DeRozan’s rookie season, he shot 31.0 percent from 10-15 feet and last season, he improved significantly to 46.6 percent. From 16-23 feet, he improved from 38 to 40 percent shooting, but showed more confidence in this shot as he went from 2.3 attempts to 5.1. Continued improvement from the perimeter will serve DeRozan well. (Shot location percentages via Hoopdata.)

DeRozan seems like a worker and will put forth the effort to get better. After going from 8.6 PPG his rookie year to 17.2 PPG last season, how big of a jump can he make? Starting 82 games in 2010-11 gives DeRozan solid experience and confidence. He should continue to be the team’s second option behind Andrea Bargnani, but will take over some nights as the main gunner. DeRozan will get a lot of opportunities to do it big and I’m betting he’ll seize them and shine.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here we are, with the final position rankings for the last three decades after hitting the point guards, shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards. Whew! I hope you have been enjoying reading the rankings as much as I have enjoyed writing them.

With this final position, a note: It has always been my intention to only include players that played most of their careers during the 1980′s, 90′s and/or 2000′s. So, a couple of shout-outs are in order.

Honorable mentions go to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11 seasons pre-1980; nine seasons in the 80s) and Bill Walton (five seasons pre-1980s; five seasons in the 80s; most of his renown in the 1970s, so judgement call to keep him off the list). If included in this list, Kareem would have been first overall for being first overall in points, winning championships and mastering the most unstoppable shot ever seen, the SkyHook. Walton would make it somewhere at the end with his mystique being more than his production.

Here are the factors, in varying degrees, taken into account in making this ranking – statistics, impact on the game, awards and honors, longevity, playoff performance and my own gut instincts. Feel free to disagree and make cases for others in the comments.
Read the rest of this entry »