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This past weekend Orlando, Florida was the center of the basketball universe. It hosted the NBA’s annual All-Star weekend. This means that all of the top players in the NBA were there, along with the top NBA groupies, a plethora of celebrities, and everyday people that traveled there with hopes of spending too much money to get into the club and “party” with stars. I am a huge fan of the NBA All-Star game. Once a year we get to see the best the league has to offer (except for Josh Smith) on one court. The game is always highly entertaining for 3 quarters, and intensely competitive for the final quarter. It is by-far the best all-star game in sports. In addition to the actual game, I also enjoy seeing what the shoe companies will have their live billboards wearing on the court. Only in the All-Star game will players wear mismatched shoes (Tracy McGrady started it and high school and college kids immediately followed suit), or awesome shoes in colorway’s that don’t remotely match the uniform. It is truly an awesome event that deserves all of the pomp and circumstance that it currently receives.
The number of All-Star appearances on your resume is a badge of honor for NBA players. It is an acknowledgement that you were one of the best or most popular players (fan voting) in the league for any given year. All-Star players are celebrated by basketball fans, the media, as well as their peers. They are usually the players that receive the endorsement deals, shoe contracts, and guest appearances on television shows and in movies. They are shouted out in rap songs, and practically own the towns in which they play. This is the glamorous NBA life that kids grow up dreaming about. However, this is not the NBA life that everyone gets to experience. NBA teams are allowed to carry 15 players and have 12 in uniform for games. Five of those players start the game, and are generally considered to be the best players on their team at their given positions. Most teams have three bench players that contribute heavy minutes. The remaining players are who we consider to be the “scrubs”. They generally don’t play unless a regular rotation player is out of action due to an injury, suspension, etc. This means there is a generally accepted belief among basketball fans that about seven players on each roster (with some exceptions of course) are not very good players and could be easily replaced.
Let’s pause for a brief PSA:
Before I proceed, I want to be clear about one fact. Every player on an NBA roster is a great basketball player (with the exception of Mario West who is thankfully no longer taking up space for the Atlanta Hawks). They would be the first player picked and the most dominant player on the court at any recreation or fitness center in the world. However, when comparing NBA players to other NBA players, some of them are TERRIBLE! This is the perspective that I am using in this blog. These guys may be good basketball players, but they fall short of the mark of a good NBA player.
O.K, now back to the regularly scheduled blog already in progress.
There are many bench players in the NBA that are walking-talking punch lines for fans, the media, and other players. Note to NBA players: Here are some signs to look for to see if you fit into the “walking-talking punch-line” category:
-You only get into the game in the fourth quarter when your team is up or down by 25+ points.
-The fans chant your name as a sign to the coach to put you into the game (again, only when the game is already been decided).
-Your teammates jump up and down, cheer, and wave towels around their heads like a helicopter (shout-out to Petey Pablo) whenever you score.
In other words, watch a Chicago Bulls blowout and see the treatment that Brian Scalabrine receives. If your experience is similar to his, YOU ARE A SCRUB!
These players are easy targets for ridicule, so I will not waste any time discussing how they are basically stealing money, or how they are so lucky to wear NBA licensed warm-up suits for a living. However, I do want to discuss another group of NBA players. They are what I would like to call the Anti-All-Stars. These are the players that start for their respective teams, which would lead us to believe that they are good NBA players.
However, the truth of the matter is that they suck! They really make you wonder just how bad their back-up is. (Please note that this list is based strictly on current ability. It has nothing to do with previous performances, or a players potential.) These players aren’t celebrated like their all-star teammates (and they shouldn’t be), but I am going to give them some attention anyway (which I’m sure that they don’t want).
I now present to you, the 2012 NBA Anti-All-Star Team (cue the applause):
Point Guard – Derrick Fisher: Fisher is a victim of evolution. He came into the league when a point guard’s job was to bring the ball up court, get the team organized, space the floor, and hit open jumpers when the center was double-teamed. Unfortunately for the old and slow Fisher things have changed over the last 15 years and a lot more is expected of today’s point guards. First and foremost, they are no longer depended on to space the floor, they are now responsible for getting into the paint and finishing or finding finishers and shooters. Not to mention the fact that these younger guys are freakishly athletic. I think it’s safe to say that point guards in 1996 didn’t have the speed or agility of Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, or Russell Westbrook, all of whom have given the aforementioned Fisher recurring nightmares. Even the more conventional guards of today, such as Chris Paul and Deron Williams are simply stronger and too skilled for Fisher to even hope to contain them. Therefore, Fisher is to the Laker’s the very definition of a defensive liability, and on the offensive end, he is only good for 5.5 points and 3.4 assists per game. I guess he is still the starter because there really isn’t a better option behind him. His backup, Steve Blake isn’t exactly tearing it up with his season averages of 6.8 points and 3.0 assists per game. Although Fisher has had a better career than he could have ever dreamed of, it is safe to say that he is no longer a starting point guard for a contender. As of right now, the Lakers are not serious contenders so I guess Fisher isn’t exactly holding them back. However the addition of a legitimate starting point guard like say Rajon Rondo in a trade, could easily change the outlook for a team like the Lakers.
Shooting Guard – Thabo Sefolosha: I don’t know how in the world he is still in the Thunder’s starting lineup when James Harden plays behind him. Sefolosha is nothing more than a token starter. That being said, I really don’t understand the point of a token starter in the NBA. Thabo only plays 20 minutes per game, while Harden plays nearly 32. The token starter contributes only five points to the scoreboard on a nightly basis, while you can pencil Harden in for nearly 17. The feeling in Oklahoma City is that Sefolosha is a defensive stopper, which is why he is in the starting lineup. On that I’m calling BS! In today’s NBA, calling a player a defensive stopper is just a polite way of saying that he contributes nothing on offense. The last true defensive stoppers in the league were Bruce Bowen, Ron Artest (when he was actually Ron Artest), Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace, and Dennis Rodman when they were all in their prime years. Sefolosha isn’t 1/8th of the defender that they were. These players gave opposing players fits and made opposing coaches alter their game plans. I haven’t heard one star perimeter player talk about how Sefolosha makes it difficult for them to attack, as a matter of fact, I’m sure that opposing coaches are glad that Sefolosha is keeping the Thunder point total down by keeping Harden off of the court. The Thunder are really helping their opponents out by bringing Harden off the bench. Benching their “defensive stopper” who doesn’t stop anyone and putting Harden in the starting lineup will give them the most complete starting five since the ‘’03 Pistons.
Small Forward – Marvin Williams: Marvin Williams was inexplicably drafted before both Chris Paul and Deron Williams. He was drafted on potential, not actual ability or college production. Apparently former Hawks GM Billy Knight was the only person who saw this potential, because no one else saw it before the draft and Marvin has yet to show it since entering the league. Williams averaged a somewhat respectable 14.8 points per game in his third season, but instead of using that season to spring-board his career, he felt that it was too good, and decided to regress. He is now down to a whopping 9 points per game this season (and that’s without Al Horford, so there should be more opportunities for him). To put in perspective just how bad Williams is, the oft-injured, light-years past his prime Tracy McGrady is seeing minutes for the Hawks at the small forward position, when Williams at 25 years old should be entering his prime. The Hawks have been smart enough to keep him off the court in crunch time when the game is on the line. Now they just have to be smart enough to replace him with a capable starting small forward. Knowing the Hawks they will try to trade him to San Antonio for Richard Jefferson, which would be tragic because Williams barely beat out the equally inept Jefferson for this spot. Don’t put it past them, this is the team that passed over Paul and Williams, and (close your eyes if you have a weak stomach) TRADED DOMINIQUE WILKINS FOR DANNY MANNING!
Power Forward – Boris Diaw: When Boris Diaw played for the Hawks, he was honestly the worst player in the NBA. I promise you, I am not exaggerating. This may not be common knowledge because the Hawks were terrible during those years so no one outside of metro-Atlanta was forced to watch them on television. Then he went to Phoenix and became a capable NBA player, proving that Steve Nash can indeed make anyone look better than they actually are. He later moved on to Charlotte, where he has morphed into an over-weight power forward that only contributes 7 points and 4 rebounds per game for the worst team in the league. Boris isn’t a terrible basketball player, in fact he is very skilled, however, at the power forward position his lack of athleticism is a huge liability. After looking like a promising player with the Suns, it is obvious that Diaw doesn’t care anymore and is simply collecting his guaranteed contract, while he continues to ask the equipment manager for bigger uniforms.
Center – Brendan Haywood: Here we have Mr. Haywood, or as I like to call him the “Black Shawn Bradley”. He may not look like Bradley, but his play is about as good as Bradley’s. Brendan Haywood is 7 feet tall and weighs 263 pounds, yet he averages just 5 points per game. In a league that only has three real centers that can actually play (Dwight Howard,Andrew Bynum, & Roy Hibbert), you would think that Haywood would dominate. His teammates should be able to toss him the ball and let him dunk it. He has the size to get any post position that he wants. Now you would think that since he isn’t exactly a scoring machine, Haywood must use that size to dominate the boards and grab every rebound in sight. WRONG! Haywood averages only 6.8 rebounds a game. Kevin Durant (the guy that weighs 103 pounds) averages more. Then you would think, he must be a shot blocking machine. WRONG AGAIN! John Wall (yeah, that John Wall, the point guard) is just as scary a shot blocker as Haywood is. Although Haywood is big and tall, he isn’t very athletic at all. Everything about his movement on the court is awkward and his production is underwhelming. I guess that explains why he is indeed the worst starting center in the NBA.
And now for my Baller & Scrub of the Week….
BALLER – Robert Griffin III: I am a football nerd, so naturally I have been watching the NFL combine. While doing so, I saw Robert Griffin III run a 4.38 40-yard dash. That is absolutely ridiculous, especially when you consider that he is a quarterback. That is the second fasted time by a quarterback in the history of the combine (Vick ran a 4.31). We all know that he will be a threat the moment he touches the field in the NFL. Teams will be preparing for his speed, because of his reputation alone. However, now he has posted a number that will ensure that opposing defensive coaching staffs have lots of sleepless nights before facing him. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that he won’t be getting caught from behind once he gets into the secondary. Oh yeah, he also has a strong arm and is extremely accurate. This is going to be fun to watch!
SCRUB – NBA Slam Dunk Contest: END IT NOW! That is all.
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Showing posts with label all-star. Show all posts
Showing posts with label all-star. Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
NO RESPECT!
Follow me on twitter @scashhomey
Not only am I an Atlanta resident (actually I live in a suburb just east of Atlanta), but I was born and raised here. I love my city. After college, I turned down any out-of-state job offers because this is where I want to live. In my opinion, there is no better city in America in which to reside. Atlanta really has it all. This is the quintessential big city with a small town feel. We have perfect weather (winter temperatures were in the sixties until this past week), a variety of museums and playhouses, phenomenal restaurants, several Fortune 500 companies, an assortment of interesting tourist attractions, great shopping, and plenty of awesome venues for live music. In addition to those amenities, Atlanta has also become a new music, television and film Mecca, and has a tremendous nightlife. If you feel like just kicking it with some friends, there are plenty of lounges to choose from. For those that like to party, there is no shortage of nightclubs to frequent. The world famous Magic City (not to be confused with the Magic Kingdom) is also located here. Single guys say that for the right amount of money, you could perhaps have a life changing experience there. These are several reasons that people move here in droves.
Although my city is a lot of wonderful things, there is one thing that it is not, A SPORTS TOWN! I find this fact particularly frustrating because I am such a huge sports fan. Sports in this city simply aren’t a priority. We have three major professional teams in this city as well as one major college that plays Division I athletics. The attitude of the city’s residents towards all of these teams is ho-hum at best. Although I have lived here my entire life, and I am the biggest sports fan that I know, I must admit that I really don’t care much about the teams that represent this city. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the populous share this opinion with me. I believe there are several different reasons for this, which we will discuss.
ATLANTA IS A CITY FULL OF TRANSPLANTS – Whenever I meet someone for the first time and I tell them that I was born and raised here in Atlanta, they first thing that they say is, “Wow, that’s rare! You are the first person that I have met that was actually born here.” The secret has gotten out to the rest of the country that the ATL is indeed the place to be. This has definitely helped out the local economy, but it has also eliminated any home court/field advantage that our sports teams would expect to have. There are as many Yankees, Mets, and Phillies fans living in Atlanta as there are Braves fans. Also, please don’t get me started on the NBA. Whenever the Knicks come to town, it looks like Spike Lee is filming a scene for one of his movies in Philips Arena. You can actually shoot a Timberland commercial in the arena filled with New Yorkers wearing Knicks hats and their peanut butter colored boots. If Timberland ever decides to do that, I will make sure that they cut me a check for stealing my idea.
WE DON’T HAVE ANY SUPERSTARS – The biggest star in this city before Michael Vick was Dominique Wilkins. The biggest star in this city since Michael Vick is…….. well we haven’t found him yet. One thing that I hate about my city is the fact that the people here are so superficial, which has created a celebrity (real or imagined) culture. You can easily cross paths with celebrities on any random day at any random place. This makes people feel as though they are a celebrity too, and that they should be wherever the celebrities are to feel important. When Michael Vick was a Falcon, the Georgia Dome was transformed from a football stadium to the place to be. Women were wearing stilettos with their best club attire to football games. I guess they actually thought the players were going to come up into the crowd at halftime to play the dating game. This naturally made the guys step their game up because they wanted to take advantage of these women whose heads were filled with such “basic” thoughts. The festivities didn’t end when the game clock struck 00:00, in fact they were just beginning. Of course there was an after party hosted by Vick, some other player(s) or a local or visiting celebrity. So really it was never about football, it was always about being “Hollywood” and on the scene.
The Falcons and the NFL for that matter are trying their best to make Matt Ryan an elite quarterback and a superstar. This is simply because he is the anti-Mike Vick. During his tenure in Atlanta, Vick was caught with weed, treated for herpes (under an alias), and incarcerated for dog-fighting. I can guarantee that none of these things will happen to Matt Ryan, which is commendable. However, I can also guarantee that he will never have the dome rocking or the city buzzing like Vick once did and still does when he visits with the Eagles. Even if he becomes a great quarterback (which he won’t), he will never own a city that values style over substance as Vick once did.
Unfortunately the Hawks are also void of a superstar player that carries a national reputation. Our best player is Joe Johnson. He is as quiet as Tim Duncan, paid more than LeBron James, but plays like Kevin Martin. No disrespect to Kevin Martin, he’s a good player, but it’s safe to say that he will never be the best player on a championship team. When your best player is not good enough to lead you to a championship, you would at least hope that he could put butts in the seats. Unfortunately no one is coming to see Joe Johnson display his assortment of mid-range jump shots. The Hawks do have their very own high-flying highlight machine in Josh Smith. Not only does he put up solid numbers and make plays that are “Sportscenter Top 10” worthy, he is also an Atlanta native. This combination should mean that people will come out in droves to see him. That is not the case. He simply isn’t very charismatic, and doesn’t have any real star qualities. Up until three years ago, the Hawks advertised their games by making commercials that encouraged fans to come out and see LeBron, Kobe, and Dwight Howard at the Highlight Factory (Philips Arena). Thankfully those days are over, and they are finally using their own players in their commercials (mostly Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Al Horford). However, party promoters are still paying visiting stars to use their name to promote parties after the game. I bet you can’t guess which strategy is working the best. Let’s just say that the “Velvet Room” is usually jumping after a weekend Hawks game, while the Philips Arena crowd is usually small enough to fit on one Marta train (that is unless the Heat, Lakers, or Knicks are in town).
BAD OWNERS MAKE STUPID DECISIONS – The Braves are owned by a faceless corporation (Liberty Media) that views them as simply a line-item on their balance sheet. The Braves have one purpose, and one purpose only to their owner, which is to make a profit. Payroll is kept low and winning baseball games is seen as a bonus. In my book that qualifies them as horrible owners.
The Hawks are owned by a group of people who didn’t have enough money to buy the team individually. Aside from that, they really don’t get along all that well. They tried to sell the team this off-season, but apparently the potential new owner wasn’t quite NBA rich. He may have been MLS (Major League Soccer) rich, but he didn’t have deep enough pockets to join the ranks of NBA ownership. This group of inept owners has made some really bad mistakes over the years. The first of which was to hire Dominique Wilkins as the color analyst for the television broadcasts. He is absolutely terrible! I’m going to guess that he never got anything above a "D" in any Spelling, Composition, Literature, or Speech class that he has ever taken. Yet, he gets paid six-figures to talk for a living. That has nothing to do with the on court performance, but it is still an excellent example of bad decision making. They also agreed to pay Joe Johnson $119 million for six years of slightly above average basketball. That pretty much assures they won’t be able to pay a real superstar. It’s unfortunate because Atlanta native Dwight Howard is set to become a free-agent. It’s probably also why he isn’t even considering the Hawks. First of all he knows that they can’t afford him, and secondly he knows that ownership is a mess and that they will never take the necessary steps required to become an elite team. The Hawks have been the perennial four seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for most of my life. Why on earth would that change now? I used to be the World’s Biggest Hawks Fan, but now it is hard to be interested in them. It was fun seeing them build themselves back up from nothing and become respectable. Unfortunately they are unable to take that next step from respectability to contending. At the beginning of each season I know that the Hawks will be the four or five seed in the playoffs and lose in the second round, no matter how well they start. That’s just the way it is, so why waste my time watching a movie that comes on every year and ends the exact same way.
Truth be told, I like Arthur Blank. I think he is a man that wants to win very badly and is willing to spend the money necessary to do so. Unfortunately, he has also made some incredibly stupid decisions during his tenure as the Falcons owner. The first thing that he did was make a change for change sake. He fired Dan Reeves because the Falcons had a terrible season when their franchise (Michael Vick) was hurt during the 2003 season. For the record, Reeves was a heck of a coach (who took the Falcons to the Super Bowl), and he kept the team relatively competitive in Vick’s absence. He replaced him with Jim Mora, who exploited Vick’s talents and took the Falcons to the NFC championship game. The bottom quickly fell out from under him shortly thereafter. He then surprised everyone with the hiring of Bobby Petrino, which also didn’t work out so well. To his credit he has bounced back nicely from the Petrino episode and the Falcons are now respected throughout the league. Although he has made his share of mistakes, he is still by far the best owner in the city, and is working hard to bring a championship home. Unfortunately he has a quarterback that is closer to Mark Sanchez than Aaron Rodgers, so I don’t see it happening anytime soon. However, it will be fun watching him try.
Atlanta is a city that is full of sports fans. Unfortunately, it isn’t a city that is full of Atlanta sports fans. Part of that blame belongs to the fans for not supporting the home team, but an equal amount of blame belongs to the teams for not providing the fans with the type of teams that they will support. The advent of cable television, the internet, and satellite radio has made it really easy to follow any team from anywhere in the world. This is one instance where technology is hurting my city. Now people can continue to follow their native teams when they move here as if they still lived in their hometowns.
Truthfully, I don’t know if it’s possible for Atlanta to ever become a real sports town. I just don’t see it happening. There are some that would say that the ATL is not a strong sports town because we don’t have a strong history of winning championships. I honestly don’t think that would be enough. The only thing that will get people’s attention here is for us to win championships with style. If Tim Duncan had played his entire career in Atlanta and led the Hawks to four NBA championships, Philips Arena would still be mostly empty on a nightly basis, simply because Duncan plays a fundamental and boring brand of basketball. However, Allen Iverson would have been able to fill the arena up on a nightly basis, and he has no rings. In a city full of celebrity wannabes, flashiness and drama have become necessities for entertainment success. This is precisely why more ATLiens can name the Real Housewives of Atlanta than can name the Hawks starting lineup. Pathetic, isn’t it?
And now for my Baller & Scrub of the Week….
BALLER – Jeremy Lin: Alright, this is the obligatory Jeremy Lin mention that is required in all things written about sports for the last two weeks. Please excuse my sarcasm, but ESPN is making it impossible for me to enjoy what is really a remarkable story. Their coverage of this guy reminds me of their coverage of some guy who plays running back (sorry they call it quarterback there) in Denver. Jeremy Lin has literally come out of nowhere and taken the NBA by storm. He has been playing great basketball ever since he finally got his shot with the Knicks. Over his last six games, Lin has averaged nearly 27 points and 8.5 assists per game. It is certainly no accident that the Knicks are also on a six-game winning streak entering Wednesday’s game. His statistics as well as the results that they are producing prove that Lin and Tebow are certainly different in one aspect. Lin is a legitimate NBA point guard, while Tebow is a terrible NFL quarterback.
While the rest of the world is going “Lin-sane in the Membrane” over the latest phenomenon, I will try my best to enjoy it for what it is. A kid from Harvard is taking the NBA by storm. He is the real deal, and once all this hype dies down, he will have a long career as a solid NBA point guard. Although I don’t think will become one of the truly elite point guards in the game (i.e. Rose, Rondo, Paul, Westbrook, or Williams), I do predict that he will be the Eastern Conference starter at point guard in the 2013 All-Star Game. Will he deserve that honor? Probably not, but you must remember that he Chinese-American. China, the world’s most populous country, is absolutely crazy about the NBA. They also love voting for the all-star team, which is why Yao Ming was a mainstay. I think it’s safe to go ahead and pencil him in as next year’s leading vote-getter.
SCRUB – NBA Coaches: The NBA allows the fans to vote for the starters of their annual all-star game. The reserves are chosen by the coaches. When looking at the list of reserves, there was one glaring omission. For some reason Atlanta’s own, Josh Smith was not listed. Smith is currently averaging 15.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. He also ranks 6th in the NBA in blocks with 2.1 per game. The fact that he was left off of the team yet again, really drives home the point of this blog entry. My outrage may sound like sour grapes from an Atlanta native, which is a fair point, but let’s look at the numbers. Luol Deng was selected as an all-star by the coaches at forward. He is averaging 15.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Is he having a better season than Smith? I think not! How about Andre Iguodala, and his 12.4 points and 6.6 rebound averages? You couldn’t make a recreation league all-star team with those numbers, and yet he was chosen. Josh Smith being left off the team is a disgrace and really shows that our teams really don’t exist on the national sports scene.
Follow me on twitter @scashhomey
Not only am I an Atlanta resident (actually I live in a suburb just east of Atlanta), but I was born and raised here. I love my city. After college, I turned down any out-of-state job offers because this is where I want to live. In my opinion, there is no better city in America in which to reside. Atlanta really has it all. This is the quintessential big city with a small town feel. We have perfect weather (winter temperatures were in the sixties until this past week), a variety of museums and playhouses, phenomenal restaurants, several Fortune 500 companies, an assortment of interesting tourist attractions, great shopping, and plenty of awesome venues for live music. In addition to those amenities, Atlanta has also become a new music, television and film Mecca, and has a tremendous nightlife. If you feel like just kicking it with some friends, there are plenty of lounges to choose from. For those that like to party, there is no shortage of nightclubs to frequent. The world famous Magic City (not to be confused with the Magic Kingdom) is also located here. Single guys say that for the right amount of money, you could perhaps have a life changing experience there. These are several reasons that people move here in droves.
Although my city is a lot of wonderful things, there is one thing that it is not, A SPORTS TOWN! I find this fact particularly frustrating because I am such a huge sports fan. Sports in this city simply aren’t a priority. We have three major professional teams in this city as well as one major college that plays Division I athletics. The attitude of the city’s residents towards all of these teams is ho-hum at best. Although I have lived here my entire life, and I am the biggest sports fan that I know, I must admit that I really don’t care much about the teams that represent this city. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the populous share this opinion with me. I believe there are several different reasons for this, which we will discuss.
ATLANTA IS A CITY FULL OF TRANSPLANTS – Whenever I meet someone for the first time and I tell them that I was born and raised here in Atlanta, they first thing that they say is, “Wow, that’s rare! You are the first person that I have met that was actually born here.” The secret has gotten out to the rest of the country that the ATL is indeed the place to be. This has definitely helped out the local economy, but it has also eliminated any home court/field advantage that our sports teams would expect to have. There are as many Yankees, Mets, and Phillies fans living in Atlanta as there are Braves fans. Also, please don’t get me started on the NBA. Whenever the Knicks come to town, it looks like Spike Lee is filming a scene for one of his movies in Philips Arena. You can actually shoot a Timberland commercial in the arena filled with New Yorkers wearing Knicks hats and their peanut butter colored boots. If Timberland ever decides to do that, I will make sure that they cut me a check for stealing my idea.
WE DON’T HAVE ANY SUPERSTARS – The biggest star in this city before Michael Vick was Dominique Wilkins. The biggest star in this city since Michael Vick is…….. well we haven’t found him yet. One thing that I hate about my city is the fact that the people here are so superficial, which has created a celebrity (real or imagined) culture. You can easily cross paths with celebrities on any random day at any random place. This makes people feel as though they are a celebrity too, and that they should be wherever the celebrities are to feel important. When Michael Vick was a Falcon, the Georgia Dome was transformed from a football stadium to the place to be. Women were wearing stilettos with their best club attire to football games. I guess they actually thought the players were going to come up into the crowd at halftime to play the dating game. This naturally made the guys step their game up because they wanted to take advantage of these women whose heads were filled with such “basic” thoughts. The festivities didn’t end when the game clock struck 00:00, in fact they were just beginning. Of course there was an after party hosted by Vick, some other player(s) or a local or visiting celebrity. So really it was never about football, it was always about being “Hollywood” and on the scene.
The Falcons and the NFL for that matter are trying their best to make Matt Ryan an elite quarterback and a superstar. This is simply because he is the anti-Mike Vick. During his tenure in Atlanta, Vick was caught with weed, treated for herpes (under an alias), and incarcerated for dog-fighting. I can guarantee that none of these things will happen to Matt Ryan, which is commendable. However, I can also guarantee that he will never have the dome rocking or the city buzzing like Vick once did and still does when he visits with the Eagles. Even if he becomes a great quarterback (which he won’t), he will never own a city that values style over substance as Vick once did.
Unfortunately the Hawks are also void of a superstar player that carries a national reputation. Our best player is Joe Johnson. He is as quiet as Tim Duncan, paid more than LeBron James, but plays like Kevin Martin. No disrespect to Kevin Martin, he’s a good player, but it’s safe to say that he will never be the best player on a championship team. When your best player is not good enough to lead you to a championship, you would at least hope that he could put butts in the seats. Unfortunately no one is coming to see Joe Johnson display his assortment of mid-range jump shots. The Hawks do have their very own high-flying highlight machine in Josh Smith. Not only does he put up solid numbers and make plays that are “Sportscenter Top 10” worthy, he is also an Atlanta native. This combination should mean that people will come out in droves to see him. That is not the case. He simply isn’t very charismatic, and doesn’t have any real star qualities. Up until three years ago, the Hawks advertised their games by making commercials that encouraged fans to come out and see LeBron, Kobe, and Dwight Howard at the Highlight Factory (Philips Arena). Thankfully those days are over, and they are finally using their own players in their commercials (mostly Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Al Horford). However, party promoters are still paying visiting stars to use their name to promote parties after the game. I bet you can’t guess which strategy is working the best. Let’s just say that the “Velvet Room” is usually jumping after a weekend Hawks game, while the Philips Arena crowd is usually small enough to fit on one Marta train (that is unless the Heat, Lakers, or Knicks are in town).
BAD OWNERS MAKE STUPID DECISIONS – The Braves are owned by a faceless corporation (Liberty Media) that views them as simply a line-item on their balance sheet. The Braves have one purpose, and one purpose only to their owner, which is to make a profit. Payroll is kept low and winning baseball games is seen as a bonus. In my book that qualifies them as horrible owners.
The Hawks are owned by a group of people who didn’t have enough money to buy the team individually. Aside from that, they really don’t get along all that well. They tried to sell the team this off-season, but apparently the potential new owner wasn’t quite NBA rich. He may have been MLS (Major League Soccer) rich, but he didn’t have deep enough pockets to join the ranks of NBA ownership. This group of inept owners has made some really bad mistakes over the years. The first of which was to hire Dominique Wilkins as the color analyst for the television broadcasts. He is absolutely terrible! I’m going to guess that he never got anything above a "D" in any Spelling, Composition, Literature, or Speech class that he has ever taken. Yet, he gets paid six-figures to talk for a living. That has nothing to do with the on court performance, but it is still an excellent example of bad decision making. They also agreed to pay Joe Johnson $119 million for six years of slightly above average basketball. That pretty much assures they won’t be able to pay a real superstar. It’s unfortunate because Atlanta native Dwight Howard is set to become a free-agent. It’s probably also why he isn’t even considering the Hawks. First of all he knows that they can’t afford him, and secondly he knows that ownership is a mess and that they will never take the necessary steps required to become an elite team. The Hawks have been the perennial four seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for most of my life. Why on earth would that change now? I used to be the World’s Biggest Hawks Fan, but now it is hard to be interested in them. It was fun seeing them build themselves back up from nothing and become respectable. Unfortunately they are unable to take that next step from respectability to contending. At the beginning of each season I know that the Hawks will be the four or five seed in the playoffs and lose in the second round, no matter how well they start. That’s just the way it is, so why waste my time watching a movie that comes on every year and ends the exact same way.
Truth be told, I like Arthur Blank. I think he is a man that wants to win very badly and is willing to spend the money necessary to do so. Unfortunately, he has also made some incredibly stupid decisions during his tenure as the Falcons owner. The first thing that he did was make a change for change sake. He fired Dan Reeves because the Falcons had a terrible season when their franchise (Michael Vick) was hurt during the 2003 season. For the record, Reeves was a heck of a coach (who took the Falcons to the Super Bowl), and he kept the team relatively competitive in Vick’s absence. He replaced him with Jim Mora, who exploited Vick’s talents and took the Falcons to the NFC championship game. The bottom quickly fell out from under him shortly thereafter. He then surprised everyone with the hiring of Bobby Petrino, which also didn’t work out so well. To his credit he has bounced back nicely from the Petrino episode and the Falcons are now respected throughout the league. Although he has made his share of mistakes, he is still by far the best owner in the city, and is working hard to bring a championship home. Unfortunately he has a quarterback that is closer to Mark Sanchez than Aaron Rodgers, so I don’t see it happening anytime soon. However, it will be fun watching him try.
Atlanta is a city that is full of sports fans. Unfortunately, it isn’t a city that is full of Atlanta sports fans. Part of that blame belongs to the fans for not supporting the home team, but an equal amount of blame belongs to the teams for not providing the fans with the type of teams that they will support. The advent of cable television, the internet, and satellite radio has made it really easy to follow any team from anywhere in the world. This is one instance where technology is hurting my city. Now people can continue to follow their native teams when they move here as if they still lived in their hometowns.
Truthfully, I don’t know if it’s possible for Atlanta to ever become a real sports town. I just don’t see it happening. There are some that would say that the ATL is not a strong sports town because we don’t have a strong history of winning championships. I honestly don’t think that would be enough. The only thing that will get people’s attention here is for us to win championships with style. If Tim Duncan had played his entire career in Atlanta and led the Hawks to four NBA championships, Philips Arena would still be mostly empty on a nightly basis, simply because Duncan plays a fundamental and boring brand of basketball. However, Allen Iverson would have been able to fill the arena up on a nightly basis, and he has no rings. In a city full of celebrity wannabes, flashiness and drama have become necessities for entertainment success. This is precisely why more ATLiens can name the Real Housewives of Atlanta than can name the Hawks starting lineup. Pathetic, isn’t it?
And now for my Baller & Scrub of the Week….
BALLER – Jeremy Lin: Alright, this is the obligatory Jeremy Lin mention that is required in all things written about sports for the last two weeks. Please excuse my sarcasm, but ESPN is making it impossible for me to enjoy what is really a remarkable story. Their coverage of this guy reminds me of their coverage of some guy who plays running back (sorry they call it quarterback there) in Denver. Jeremy Lin has literally come out of nowhere and taken the NBA by storm. He has been playing great basketball ever since he finally got his shot with the Knicks. Over his last six games, Lin has averaged nearly 27 points and 8.5 assists per game. It is certainly no accident that the Knicks are also on a six-game winning streak entering Wednesday’s game. His statistics as well as the results that they are producing prove that Lin and Tebow are certainly different in one aspect. Lin is a legitimate NBA point guard, while Tebow is a terrible NFL quarterback.
While the rest of the world is going “Lin-sane in the Membrane” over the latest phenomenon, I will try my best to enjoy it for what it is. A kid from Harvard is taking the NBA by storm. He is the real deal, and once all this hype dies down, he will have a long career as a solid NBA point guard. Although I don’t think will become one of the truly elite point guards in the game (i.e. Rose, Rondo, Paul, Westbrook, or Williams), I do predict that he will be the Eastern Conference starter at point guard in the 2013 All-Star Game. Will he deserve that honor? Probably not, but you must remember that he Chinese-American. China, the world’s most populous country, is absolutely crazy about the NBA. They also love voting for the all-star team, which is why Yao Ming was a mainstay. I think it’s safe to go ahead and pencil him in as next year’s leading vote-getter.
SCRUB – NBA Coaches: The NBA allows the fans to vote for the starters of their annual all-star game. The reserves are chosen by the coaches. When looking at the list of reserves, there was one glaring omission. For some reason Atlanta’s own, Josh Smith was not listed. Smith is currently averaging 15.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. He also ranks 6th in the NBA in blocks with 2.1 per game. The fact that he was left off of the team yet again, really drives home the point of this blog entry. My outrage may sound like sour grapes from an Atlanta native, which is a fair point, but let’s look at the numbers. Luol Deng was selected as an all-star by the coaches at forward. He is averaging 15.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Is he having a better season than Smith? I think not! How about Andre Iguodala, and his 12.4 points and 6.6 rebound averages? You couldn’t make a recreation league all-star team with those numbers, and yet he was chosen. Josh Smith being left off the team is a disgrace and really shows that our teams really don’t exist on the national sports scene.
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