Tag Archives: RDT

Basketball

Top 100 Pro Basketball Players Ever: #90 – #81

See the tab at the top of this article to understand the process for these selections

#90: Shawn Kemp

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All-NBA 2nd Team: 3x (’94, ’95, ‘96)

NBA All-Star: 6x (’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ‘98)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 3x (’95, ’96, ‘97)

NBA Top 10 Blocks: 2x (’93, ‘94)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 1x (‘94)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 3x (’94, ’95, ‘99)

2nd Best Player on one Runner-Up: 1996 Sonics

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 88th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 150th

Everyone talks about The Fab Five and Lenny Bias bringing playground to the big time, but Shawn Kemp was right there with them. Kemp was a symbol of the 1990s attitude that combined flash with power. Kemp is one of the all-time greatest dunkers, which was further amazing as he played power forward. Each night there seemed to a differently angled alley-oops between Kemp and Gary Payton. Kemp was going to be one of those players that kept people watching the NBA in the post MJ era…assuming that fans wouldn’t be turned off by that attitude.

But yeah, Kemp was really good too. The Kemp-Payton era peaked with 55 wins in 93 and a Conference Finals Game 7 loss to Barkley’s Suns, a 63 win campaign in ’94 (where they were the first #1 seed to be upset in Round 1 by Mutombo’s Nuggets), a 57 win 1995 (another bad first round loss), a 64 win 1996 (and a near title win, losing in six to the 72 win Bulls) and a 57 win 1997 (lost another tough seven gamer to the Hakeem-Drexler-Barkley Rockets). That’s a pretty nice peak. Kemp was a 18-10 guy for each of those teams with offensive ratings between 110 and 115 when the average was about 108. Kemp was also a very good defensive player, something that was missing when Blake Griffin was compared to Kemp earlier in his career.

Things fell apart in Seattle when Jim McIlvaine, a terrible center who averaged 2 PPG and 3 RPG in 14 MPG the season before, got paid money that Kemp was expecting. Kemp forced a trade, which landed him in Cleveland. Kemp’s personal life began to fall apart, and while he had a still okay 1998 (bad offensively though) and a surprisingly good 1999 (Cavs GM Wayne Embry said he weighed 315. Kemps normal playing weight was around 230), he got caught up in drugs, had weight problems and had seven kids with six women. He had some stints in Portland and Orlando, but it was over.

Kemp makes the list because his peak was pretty good. If it were longer, he’d be higher up. You could win a NBA Title with Shawn Kemp as one of your top two guys for sure. He was also successful in a Western Conference that had tons of great big men (Karl Malone, David Robinson, Hakeem, Barkley) and held his own in most of those match-ups (while outplayed by him, Kemp holding his own against Malone, including shooting 69%, was a big reason the Sonics and not the Jazz made the 1996 NBA Finals).

#89: Robert Horry

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All-NBA Rookie 2nd Team: (’93)

Role Player on seven NBA Champs: 1994 Rockets, 1995 Rockets, 2000 Lakers, 2001 Lakers, 2002 Lakers, 2005 Spurs, 2007 Spurs

Played in the Playoffs Every Season of His Career

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 84th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 355th

I’m with Simmons on this one. It takes a special choice to be a guy who says “you know what, instead of being this 30 minutes a game, high scoring popular athlete, I’m going to sit back, wait till coach calls me, and hit all the big shots I’m asked to”. I’m going to just post a bunch of box scores and clutch shots Horry completed over the years here. Remember that Horry’s career averages are 7 PPG and 5 RPG. There are ALL playoff/Finals games.

5/22/93: In Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals against the Sonics and the game tied at 91, Horry beats the shot clock with 33 seconds left for a two point lead. Rockets would end up losing though. He was a rookie here by the way.

6/1/95: The Rockets defeat the San Antonio Spurs in six games of the Conference Finals. Horry had a good series, with a 22-7 in the clincher with six three pointers.

6/11/95: The Rockets go up 3-0 on the Magic in the NBA Finals. Horry has a 20-9-4, where he also scored 11 fourth quarter points. Three of those were a dagger with 15 seconds left that gave Houston a 4 point lead.

6/14/95: Horry goes for 21/13/5 as the Rockets complete the sweep of the Magic.

6/19/00: With the Pacers pushing for a Game 7 in the 2000 NBA Finals, Robert Horry scores eight points in the 4th and helps the Lakers put it away.

5/26/02: Lakers vs. Kings, Game 4 in the Conference Finals. Surely everyone remembers the final shot where Horry hits the game winner after Kobe and Shaq miss. But you know what else? Horry actually hit a three with 1:30 left to bring the game to 96-93. That’s two threes in the last 90 seconds of game time that the Lakers won by one. Here’s a video of the winner.

6/19/05: With the Pistons looking to take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals, Big Shot Bob does it again with a 21-7 game with five three pointers in Game 5. The crazy part? He had 0 points in the first 35:57 of regulation. He scored all 21 points starting with 3 seconds left in the third. Oh yeah, he also scored the Spurs last 5 points in OT when they were down 95-91, including a gem of a three pointer with 6 seconds left when Rasheed Wallace left him open.

I’m starting to think I put him too low.

#88: Chris Mullin

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All-NBA 1st Team: 1x (’92)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 2x (’89, ‘91)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 1x (’90)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ‘93)

NBA Top 10 Points: 4x (’89, ’90, ’91, ‘92)

NBA Top 10 Steals: 3x (’89, ’91, ‘92)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 3x (’90, ’91, ‘92)

Member of one Runner-Up: 2000 Pacers

Member of the 1992 Dream Team

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 82nd

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 88th

Chris Mullin, like some others on this list, represents someone who threw away part of their career due to a vice, in this case alcohol. To Mullin’s credit though, he beat the disease and became one of the best dead eye shooters in the NBA, even rivaling Larry Bird. Mullin would put together five straight seasons of 26 PPG in one of the toughest eras in NBA history talent wise. Unfortunately, his body began to break down in 1993.

Why Mullin over someone like Kemp? Mullin was regarded as THE small forward in 1992 once Bird was pretty much done. To put things in perspective, Scottie Pippen was coming along and the 1992 Bulls were regarded as the best team in forever. And Mullin beat Pippen for All-NBA First team that year. At his peak, Mullin was an unstoppable shooter. Problem was, his peak didn’t last too long.

#87: Bob Dandridge

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All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (‘79)

All-NBA Defensive 1st Team: 1x (’79)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’70)

NBA All-Star: 4x (’73, ’75, ’76, ‘79)

One of the Best Three Players on two NBA Champions: 1971 Bucks, 1978 Bullets

Third Best Player on one Runner-Up: 1974 Bucks

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 80th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 91st

One of the players that I have to read about more than actually see. There are two defining Bob Dandridge stories. The first (according to Simmons) is that in the 1978 Conference Finals Dandridge outplayed Julius Erving which was a key factor in the Bullets getting past the Sixers in route to their title. The only stats show that Dandridge hit 61 FGs in the series and averaged 22.8 PPG while Dr. J hit 53 and scored 21.5 PPG. The second defining story is really an anti-Elvin Hayes story. Turns out that Hayes fouled out of Game 7 against the Sonics in the ’78 Finals, and Dandridge led the Bullets to the Championship anyway.

That’s enough winning for me. Combine that with his Pyramid and 500 rankings and I feel good about his spot here.

#86: Paul Westphal

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All-NBA 1st Team: 3x (’77, ’79, ’80)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (‘78)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81)

NBA Top 10 Points: 3x (’76, ’78, ’79)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 2x (’77, ’79)

NBA Top 10 Steals: 1x (’76)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 2x (’76, ’79)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 4x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’80)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 3x (’78, ’79, ’80)

Role Player on one NBA Champion: 1974 Celtics

Best Player on one Runner-Up: 1976 Warriors

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 79th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 141th

Seemingly an all offense point guard who scores a lot and gets a lot of assists. Westphal makes it this high as he was the top PG of the late 70s, highlighted by his three 1st Team selections. He was a solid role player for the 1974 Celtic title team and almost won the title in 1976 against the same Celtics. He led the upset over Rick Barry’s Warriors in 1976 as well.

Westphal is more of a resume thing. By all indications he was a top player of the late 70s, even though it was a short period of time.

#85: Dan Issel

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All-ABA 1st Team: 1x (‘72)

All-ABA 2nd Team: 4x (’71, ’73, ’74, ‘76)

ABA All-Star Game MVP: 1972

ABA All-Star: 6x (’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA All-Star: 1x (’77)

ABA All-Rookie 1st Team: (’71)

ABA Rookie of the Year: 1971

ABA Points Leader: 3x (’71, ’72, ’73)

ABA Top 10 Points: 5x (’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Points: 2x (’80, ‘82)

ABA Top 10 Rebounds: 5x (’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’76)

ABA Top 10 PER: 5x (’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’76)

NBA Top 10 PER: 4x (’77, ’80, ’81, ’82)

ABA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 2x (’74, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 5x (’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82)

ABA Offensive Win Shares Leader: 2x (’73, ’74)

ABA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 5x (’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 5x (’77, ’78, ’80, ’81, ’82)

ABA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ‘75, ’76)

ABA Top 10 Win Shares: 5x (’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 4x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’80)

ABA Top 10 WS/48: 6x (’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 4x (’77, ’78, ’80, ’82)

ABA All-Time Points: 2nd

ABA+NBA All-Time Points: 10th

ABA All Time Rebounds: 6th

ABA+NBA All-Time Win Shares: 22nd

Best Player on one ABA Champion: ’75 Colonels

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 76th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 106th

One of the toughest to rank for sure. His ABA stats just scream offensive player and little else, although he did seem like a good defensive player by ABA standards. Ironically, his worst ABA season led to a Championship, showing perhaps Kentucky was better off with him being the 2nd guy. He seemed like a very good but not great NBA guy as well. He won two NBA playoff series as a featured guy, and as soon as the Nuggets moved on to Alex English and Calvin Natt, the Nuggets nearly went to the Finals. So I don’t know. He doesn’t seem that highly regarded. We’ll go with very good offensive weapon that could be a 3rd guy on your NBA title team. Seems fair.

#84: Artis Gilmore

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ABA MVP: 1x (’72)

All-ABA 1st Team: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

All-ABA Defensive 1st Team: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

All-NBA Defensive 2nd Team: 1x (’78)

All-ABA Rookie 1st Team: (’72)

ABA All-Star: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA All-Star: 6x (’78, ’79, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’86)

ABA Top 10 Points: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Points: 2x (’78, ’79)

ABA Rebounds Leader: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 7x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’85)

ABA Blocks Leader: 3x (’72, ’73, ’75)

ABA Top 5 Blocks: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Blocks: 7x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’85)

ABA PER Leader: 1x (’72)

ABA Top 5 PER: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 PER: 5x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’81, ’82)

NBA Offensive Rating Leader: 1x (’82)

ABA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 1x (’76)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 5x (’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85)

ABA Defensive Rating Leader: 2x (’74, ’75)

ABA Offensive Win Share Leader: 1x (’72)

ABA Top 5 Offensive Win Shares: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 5x (’78, ’79, ’81, ’82, ’83)

ABA Defensive Win Shares Leader: 4x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75)

ABA Top 5 Defensive Win Shares: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 5 Defensive Win Shares: 1x (’77)

ABA Win Shares Leader: 2x (’72, ’73)

ABA Top 5 Win Shares: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 7x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’85)

ABA WS/48 Leader: 2x (’72, ’73)

ABA Top 5 WS/48: (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 5x (’77, ’79, ’81, ’82, ’83)

All-Time ABA Points: 17th

All-Time ABA+NBA Points: 24th

All-Time ABA Rebounds: 2nd

All-Time ABA+NBA Rebounds: 5th

All-Time ABA Blocks: 1st

All-Time NBA Blocks: 23rd

All-Time ABA+NBA Blocks: 4th

All-Time ABA PER: 3rd

All-Time NBA Offensive Rating: 116.9 (21st)

All-Time ABA Defensive Rating: 95.0 (1st)

All-Time ABA Win Shares: 82.2 (1st)

All-Time ABA+NBA Win Shares: 189.7 (9th)

2nd Best Player on one ABA Champion: ’75 Colonels

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 75th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 84th

Quite the resume. Gilmore dominated the ABA obviously and the NBA he was quite good as well. Has to get the edge on Issel because his NBA career is stronger, although not great either. Gilmore’s Bulls teams didn’t win anything and only made the playoff twice, but when he got to team up with George Gervin the Spurs were a force. They still couldn’t get by the Lakers in ’83 and wouldn’t have any success in the Gilmore era.

Still, both Issel and Gilmore were quite good players.

#83: Tracy McGrady

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All-NBA 1st Team: 2x (’02, ’03)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 3x (’01, ’04, ‘07)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 2x (’05, ‘08)

NBA Most Improved Player: 2001

NBA All-Star: 7x (’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ‘07)

NBA Top 10 Points: 6x (’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ‘07)

NBA Top 10 Steals: 1x (‘05)

NBA Top 10 Blocks: (’00)

NBA PPG Leader: 2x (’03, ’04)

NBA PER Leader: 1x (’03)

NBA Top 5 PER: 4x (’01, ’02, ’03, ’04)

NBA Offensive Win Shares Leader: 1x (’03)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 4x (’01, ’02, ’03, ’04)

NBA Top 5 Defensive Win Shares: 1x (’05)

NBA Top 10 NBA Win Shares: 3x (’01, ’03, ’05)

NBA WS/48 Leader: 1x (’03)

NBA All-Time Single Season WS/48: .262 (59th, 40th in 3P Era)

NBA All-Time Single Season PER: 30.3 (17th, one of eight players to hit 30)

Has a 62 Point Game

Never Won a Playoff Series

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 77th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 97th

When I wrote my “What-If Injury All-Stars” article one name I did not include but I was asked about was Tracy McGrady. And while yes, injuries did cut short a tremendous career, the truth of the matter is T-Mac still had the opportunities to have a better career than he did, but he just didn’t want it badly enough.

There was an article that I read a while ago that I THINK came from Grantland that wrote about how everything came so easily to McGrady that the drive to push himself just wasn’t there. Here’s someone with such physical gifts that he actually was Top 10 in blocks one year (2000) despite being a small forward and 6’8”. He also managed to have a top 10 season in steals as well. What you are looking at is someone who had everything offensively. He could be an elite shooter, an elite driver, an elite passer (and in 2003, was those things) and POTENTIALLY could be as good as, if not better than, Scottie Pippen defensively. That is no exaggeration.

In 2003 in terms of pure physical gifts I would take McGrady over Kobe Bryant without question…that’s how great McGrady was. T-Mac’s 2003, before hand checking was banned, was 32.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, 46% FG, 38% 3P, 80% FT, 116 Offensive Rating on 35.2 % usage for a WS/48 of .262 and a 30.3 PER (one of eight players to hit 30). Kobe never touched that. Not even Kobe’s crazy 2006. The only teammates T-Mac had that season with a PER above 15? Grant Hill for 29 games and Drew Gooden for 19.

T-Mac was so good that he nearly led his Magic team to a huge upset of the 2003 Pistons. The Magic were up 3-1 (T-Mac famous said that “it was nice to finally get past the first round) but the Pistons won three straight. T-Mac shouldn’t be faulted though, as here were the players who started with him in those playoffs: Gooden (7 games), washed-up Darrell Armstrong (1 game), Pat Garrity (1 game), Gordan Giricek (7 games), Jacque Vaughn (6 games), and Andrew DeClerq (6 games). Even a “how the hell is this guy still in the league” Shawn Kemp played about 10 minutes per game. This team was awful. The fact that McGrady got this team almost over a Pistons team that would make six straight Conference Finals is nuts. It’s also a great what-if, as I think T-Mac’s Magic can beat Iverson’s Sixers in Round 2, and then I have no idea how the Nets planned to guard him.

Back to reality, McGrady never reached those heights again, which was crazy because he was only 24. He had a good season in 2004…he still led the league in PPG, but it wasn’t as transcendent as the year before and since the Magic still sucked around him the team plummeted (and got Dwight Howard in the draft). McGrady went to Houston to team up with Yao, only they couldn’t both stay healthy or win anything (and when the Rockets did win a playoff series…McGrady was injured). McGrady’s last great moment was when he led the 2008 Rockets to 22 straight wins. Those 2008 Rockets again lost in Round 1.

It all comes down to how hard did Tracy McGrady try. I think up until 2003 he tried his damnest (although, even then, the destructive defensive potential he had wasn’t being realized). Then he coasted on his natural talents. When Phil Jackson wrote about how McGrady was potentially going to get traded for Kobe, Jackson said “everytime someone asked McGrady to play defense his back hurt”. Ouch. Even T-Mac’s 62 point game, there’s a point near the end where he could have gotten more but he starts laughing and missing free throws. It’s an odd lack of focus (it’s also the most entertaining game between two 20 wins teams ever probably, as Gilbert Arenas also goes for 40).

I think that’s the big difference between T-Mac and Kobe. Yes T-Mac had an edge in physical, pure basketball talent. But Kobe wanted it more. Kobe wanted to be the greatest. Kobe worked out every day. I think that’s why T-Mac’s body fell apart when Kobe’s didn’t. And that’s a big reason why Kobe is where he is and T-Mac’s down here. Nothing wrong with #83, but he’s someone who should be in the top 20.

#82: Joe Dumars

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NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’89)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (‘93)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 3x (’90, ’91, ’93)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’86)

All-NBA Defensive 1st Team: 4x (’89, ’90, ’92, ’93)

All-NBA Defensive 2nd Team: 1x (’91)

NBA All-Star: 6x (’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’95, ‘97)

NBA Top 10 Points: 1x (‘93)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 1x (’97)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 1x (‘93)

Role Player on two NBA Champions: 1989 Pistons, 1990 Pistons

Role Player on one Runner-Up: 1988 Pistons

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 74th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 78th

Dumars is also a tough one to rank, as his advanced metrics defensively suck (as do pretty much all the Piston players of those title teams do…just wait till we get to Isiah) and a lot of his greatness seems to hinge on reputation. Truth is though, Dumars was a tough defensive player, one who gave Jordan tons of problems in the late 80s. Defensive rating just isn’t going to capture a perimeter player’s value. Dumars was so respected defensively that it was considered that he would replace the injured John Stockton on the Dream Team. That’s high praise for sure.

Otherwise, Dumars was fit as a 2nd or 3rd option for title team. His 1989 Finals, where he won MVP, were pretty ridiculous at 27 PPG, 6 APG, 58% FG. That actually made me want to rank him higher. He couldn’t be a leader of a playoff team, but as a 2nd or 3rd guy he was a deadly weapon.

#81: Sidney Moncrief

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NBA Defensive Player of the Year: (’83, ’84)

All-NBA 1st Team: 1x (’83)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 4x (’82, ‘84, ‘85, ‘86)

All-NBA Defensive 1st Team: 1x (‘83)

All-NBA Defensive 2nd Team: 4x (’82, ‘84, ‘85, ‘86)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ‘86)

NBA Offensive Rating Leader: 1x (’81)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 5x (’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’86)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 5x (’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’86)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 1x (’84)

NBA Top 5 Win Shares: 5x (’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’86)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 6x (’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’86)

NBA All-Time Offensive Rating: 119.4 (6th)

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 73rd

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 90th

“When you play against Moncrief, you’re in for a night of all-around basketball. He’ll hound you everywhere you go, both ends of the court. You just expect it.”

That’s a quote from none other than Michael Jordan.

Moncrief’s Bucks were always a tough out in the playoffs. In 1981 they lost by 1 point in Game 7 to the Sixers (although Moncrief was merely a role player then). In 1982, another tough loss to the Sixers although still Moncrief was coming along.

1983 was a breakout, as Moncrief average 23.3 PPG as the Bucks beat Bird’s Celtics in a sweep…but again fell to the (best) Sixers team in the Conference Finals. The Bucks would be back in the Conference Finals again, but this time Bird’s Celtics were ready for them.

The 1985 playoffs are notable because Moncrief’s Bucks are historically one of seven teams to beat a Michael Jordan team in the playoffs, and one of four unique teams (’85 Bucks, ’86 Celtics, ’87 Celtics, ’88 Pistons, ’89 Pistons, ’90 Pistons, ’95 Magic). Moncrief had an insane 150 offensive rating against the Bulls in that series. Jordan was still great, but his 44% shooting was low for him even as a rookie and part of that was because of Moncrief. The Bucks would fall to the Sixers again.

The Bucks would make their third Conference Finals in four years, but the best Celtics team was ready for them. In 1987 it took seven games for the Celtics to get by the Bucks. Moncrief’s body would break down after that, and Terry Cummings and an old Jack Sikma weren’t enough to contend in the East.

Losing to Dr. J, Moses Malone and Larry Bird year after year isn’t that bad. If his career was longer and healthier, who knows, perhaps it’s the Bucks in the 1987 Finals. Too bad Moncrief couldn’t stay healthy. He’s one of the best two way players of all time. Even Michael Jordan said so.

Pro Wrestling

RDT Reviews The 1993 WWF King of the Ring

WWF King of the Ring ‘93
June 13, 1993
Dayton, OH

The New Generation was hit with Hulkamania brother!

Hulk Hogan had “retired” at the conclusion of Wrestlemania VIII. After a top feud of Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage, Vince McMahon had Flair drop the World Title to Bret Hart. While Bret was a new face on top of the card, he had been an excellent IC and Tag Champion over the years. There weren’t any heels built for Bret to face off with, but Bret still carried the top title with pride and his match quality night in and night out proved he was worthy of being the Champion.

Who knows why the decision at Wrestlemania IX was made to have Bret drop the title to Yokozuna who then immediately dropped it to a returning Hogan. The crowd was hot for the finish, sure, but long term that was one of the worst the WWF had ever made. Unless of course, we were getting Hogan vs. Bret at Summerslam ’93. But first we’re getting Hogan vs. Yoko II. Bret will have to carry the PPV match quality wise…while Hogan has to “draw the money”, brother.

The Card

This is being billed as the first King of the Ring, but there were previous non-televised KOTRs before.

King of the Ring Qualifier: Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon

This is a rematch from the ’93 Royal Rumble. Ramon had just began his program with The 1-2-3 Kid, which would lead to a face turn.

Razor was such a cool character. Really could have been a top guy in pretty much any era.

Razor definitely has heat…huge “1-2-3” chants.

Pretty awesome false finish where Bret tries for a backslide out of a Razor’s Edge, but then flips over Razor by using the turnbuckles and rolls Razor into a small package.

Bret Hart wins via pin in 10:25. Razor goes for a belly to back suplex off the top, but Bret turns in midair and lands on Razor for the 1-2-3. Good match that made Razor look really strong as he went toe to toe with Bret. Interesting to see a Bret match where he doesn’t go for the legs at all.

Man, I can’t believe they were building toward a Mr. Hughes vs. Undertaker program. I mean how dreadful does that sound?

King of the Ring Qualifier: Mr. Perfect vs. Mr. Hughes

This was Mr. Perfect’s short WWF comeback, but it wouldn’t last and he’d retire again shortly. He would be back in 1997 of course.

The role of selling for the monster is something Perfect was a master of…but this isn’t pretty to watch.

Ha. Bret gets asked who he would wrestle between these two. I mean, you think he laughed like hell before or after he answered Mr. Perfect?

Hughes crotches the 2nd rope and he sells it like he’s taking a shit. I think I’ve had enough.

Mr. Perfect wins in 6:02 by DQ. Hughes takes the urn and whacks Perfect for the DQ. I mean whatever really. This match can be best described as Mr. Perfect wrestling himself. But even then, it was better than it had any right to be. And we get Perfect vs. Bret II.

Mr. Fuji and Yokozuna interview. Trying to save face about Wrestlemania IX here. I don’t remember Yoko ever cutting English speaking promos though, so that was something.

King of the Ring Qualifier: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan

One of the last WWF matches of Duggan’s early WWF run. He’d show up in WCW when Hogan did.

Match is built around whether or not Duggan can slam Bigelow or not. A small story is better than none I guess.

Duggan gets the slam…but the end would be near for him.

Bigelow wins via pin in 4:59. Duggan misses the 3 Point Stance clothesline, and Bigelow comes off the top with the headbutt to advance. Interestingly, if I were watching this without knowing the results I would have assumed Luger was coming from the other side of the bracket against Bret, but Luger vs Bigelow would be heel vs. heel, so either Tatanka was going over or something screwy was happening.

King of the Ring Qualifier: Tatanka vs. Lex Luger

Luger was still the Narcissist here (with awesome music). I assume if Bret were still champion and Hogan wasn’t around, Luger would be winning this tournament to face Bret at Summerslam.

Interestingly, both Luger and Tatanka were undefeated, so something had to give here.

Refs make Luger cover the metal plate in his arm with an elbow pad…which doesn’t make any sense, but it works.

This hasn’t been too bad. Luger still gave a shit at this point it seemed.

Only real complaint here: announcer’s pretty much give away the finish bringing up the time limit constantly.

Draw: Time Limit: Other complaint: Luger and Tatanka don’t really gain a sense of urgency as time ticks away. Luger gets big cheers asking for five more minutes. I wonder if Vince had the idea of turning him face at this point. Luger then whacks Tatanka without the elbowpad!

Match was a solid back and forth affair. They would have much worse matches later for sure. Anyway, this draw puts Bam Bam in the finals.

King of the Ring Semi-Finals: Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect

First, Bret and Perfect have a hilarious promo, which includes Bret saying Stu Hart beat Larry Hennig, and Perfect responding with “your dad never beat my dad”.

The commentators tell the story about Razor stomping on Bret’s hand in their earlier match. According to Bret’s book, this was to allow Bret to use three different finishes and give him an excuse not to use the Sharpshooter.

So far this match has been ahead of its time. Hard, crisp moves that remind me a bit of the Angle vs. Benoit series.

Ridiculously stiff European uppercut from Bret late in the match. What a match this has been.

Great psychology! Bret goes for the Sharpshooter and Perfect grabs Bret’s damaged hand!

Vertical suplex sends both men to the outside, which was a unique spot for sure.

Bret Hart wins via pin in 18:56. Perfect puts Bret in a Small Package…but Bret reverses into his own and wins! Amazing match, possibly the 1993 Match of the Year. Very similar to technical matches a decade later.

Hogan interview. The last in his WWF career for some nine years.

WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan© vs. Yokozuna

Whatever you think of Hogan’s drawing power at this point, the live crowd was still pretty hot for him.

This is the rematch from Wrestlemania IX.

Match starts off really slowly, with Yokozuna just beating on Hogan.

Hogan goes for the slam! But doesn’t get there.

Hogan no-selling a belly to belly isn’t exactly putting Yokozuna over here…

Yoko surviving the big legdrop though…that definitely is putting Yokozuna over.

Yokozuna wins the WWF Title by pin in 13:08. Hogan calls for a slam after Yoko kicks out of the legdrop…but is distracted by a camera man. The camera blows up in Hogan’s face, and Yoko hits a big legdrop of his own to finish off Hulkamania in the WWF until Hogan returned at No Way Out 2002.

Match is awful. Maybe it flew for 1986, but in 1993 Bret had shown the main event style was headed in another direction. He also didn’t put over Yokozuna clean either. I mean an exploding camera? Interestinly, Undertaker would do the whole surviving Yokozuna’s splashes and such better in 1994, although those matches had other problems. Crowd was very pro-Hogan for what it’s worth, which isn’t much at this point.

Yoko lands a Banzai Drop on Hogan to finish him for good.

We get an interview with the IC Champ Shawn Michaels. He names his new bodyguard Diesel here.

Money Inc. and The Headshrinkers vs. The Smokin’ Gunns and The Steiner Bros.

Seems like a thrown together match just to include the tag division.

The Gunns and Steiners win when Billy Gunn pinned Ted Dibiase in 6:49. Dibiase takes out Billy with the Million Dollar Dream, then cockily let’s go. Billy rolls him up for the win, which is a pretty lame finish. Probably done to get the Gunns over as Dibiase’s career was coming to a close anyway.

Yokozuna victory celebration!

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Shawn Michaels© vs. Crush

This was near the end of Crush’s good guy run. I never saw Crush as a money drawing top face, but some thought he should have gotten the run instead of Luger. I would disagree though.

Match started off okay with Crush hitting HBK with power moves and HBK selling them to death.

Match terrible slows down though when Diesel rams Crush into the post and HBK then locked in a headlock. Killed the match.

Shawn Michaels retains by pin in 11:14. Two Doinks show up and distract Crush, and HBK gets a superkick to the back of the head for the pin. A contender for HBK’s worst PPV match post-Rockers to be honest.

King of the Ring Finals: Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

The beginning of the match can be described as Bam Bam viciously kicks Bret Hart’s ass.

The middle of this match can be described as Bam Bam viciously kicks Bret Hart’s ass.

Luna Vachon gets a chair shot in, and Bigelow finishes Bret with the flying headbutt! A second referee comes in to say the match continues because of Luna’s interference. Weird moment there, as I mean, should Hogan have gotten a 2nd chance earlier then?

Bigelow STILL kicks Bret’s ass, and to be honest it’s pretty awesome.

Bret makes his comeback and we get a great back and forth.

Bret Hart wins King of the Ring via pin in 18:11. Bret gets the victory roll for the win. A tremendous big man vs. little man match. Shockingly, there was no Bigelow vs. Hart program afterwards (makes sense with the screwjob finish in the middle), but Bigelow went nowhere after this. Don’t you think Taker vs. Bigelow makes more sense than Hughes vs. Taker? Come on now.

Jerry Lawler attacks Bret during Bret’s coronation, legit injuring Bret’s ribs. Lawler even throws the throne chair at him. Great heel stuff from Lawler as the PPV ends.

There’s a some great (Bret-Perfect) and a bunch of good (Bret everywhere else). There’s some historical significance here too with Hogan’s last WWF PPV for nine years and Diesel’s PPV debut. There’s a lot of bad too, showing that the WWF just didn’t have a deep talent roster at this point (Mr. Hughes?!) or didn’t know what to do with such talent (The Steiners or even Doink here). Luger vs. Tatanka was okay, but the rest of the non-Bret matches just weren’t good.

But Bret Hart showed that World title belt or not, he was the MVP of the WWF at this time. Soon Vince would have no choice than to put the strap on him.

Final Grade: B-

Basketball

This Day In Sports 6-12: The Chicago Bulls…and Michael Jordan win Title #1 (1991)

On this date 24 years ago, Michael Jordan shed the label of a star who couldn’t win like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. On June 12th, 1991 Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls over Magic’s Lakers four games to one to win the NBA Championship.

Jordan had a monster series: 31.2 PPG-6.6 RPG-11.4 APG-2.8 SPG-1.4 BPG on 56% shooting.  Scottie Pippen provided the Bulls that extra push with a big series himself.

Game five historically was the last NBA Finals game of Magic Johnson’s career, and the last regular season or playoff game for him until his brief comeback in 1996.

Basketball

This Day in Sports 6-8: The Celtics Win Championship #16

Perhaps the NBA’s all time greatest team, the 1986 Boston Celtics, defeated the upstart Houston Rockets 4-2 to win their league leading 16th Championship. Larry Bird and Kevin McHale each chipped in 29 points. Hakeem Olajuwon was held to 19 and (an injured) Ralph Sampson held to 8, on a combined 10 for 26 shooting.

Despite the loss, it was expected that the Rockets would be the future of the NBA. Hakeem especially had brought the franchise to life and was in only his 2nd season. The Hakeem-Sampson combo had overwhelmed the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The Rockets would fall apart around Hakeem over the next few years though, leading Hakeem playing the Kevin Garnett on the Minnesota Timberwolves role until 1993.

The Celtics would nearly defend their title…the Lakers would take them out in six though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYsABYH9n_E

Basketball

RDT’s 2015 NBA Finals Prediction

#2 Cleveland Cavaliers @ #1 Golden State Warriors

It’s interesting that one of the biggest reasons LeBron James went to Cleveland was the expectation of an improved supporting cast than he had in that last year in Miami (young Kyrie Irving over past his prime Dwyane Wade, and at worst Chris Bosh and Kevin Love would cancel one another out, although Love was regarded as superior), and yet, here we are. LeBron has carried this Cavs team throughout these playoffs. It’s not Irving or Love’s fault; both have been injured. Kevin Love had a disappointing year…for him. He was still quite capable of being a third banana. Kyrie Irving had been fantastic before injuries caught up to him. Throughout the Chicago series Irving played a role I expected Steve Nash to play for the Lakers when their big four was expected to go to the NBA Finals, which was a dangerous spot off shooter that could make a play anywhere on the court. Of course, Irving is far more capable of that. Kyrie’s health is almost as important as LeBron in this equation. Yes the Cavs have acquired some parts during the year that have helped immensely in Iman Shumpert, Timofrey Mozgov and J.R. Smith. Yes, J.R. Smith can win a game himself. Yes Tristan Thompson has become quite an underrated player who the Cavs might be better off with than Love. I just think the Warriors are too good.

I originally thought Golden State in five. I also saw everyone else seems to have the same prediction. Jalen Rose just said on commentary as much. But I mean, just look at LeBron these playoffs. His shot hasn’t been falling at all…and he’s STILL unstoppable. LeBron just finished the Eastern Conference Finals with a 30-11-9 average and his shot didn’t fall at all. Say what you want about the Hawks, I called them the worst 60 win team ever, but they were still a 60 win team. Cleveland also got by Chicago, which were quite a good team (they are probably the 90’s Knicks to LeBron’s Jordan). LeBron James is having one of the all-time sick playoff runs, easy opponents or not. Again, the Cavs have dominated with two of their signature players on the bench for a lot of the playoffs, sporting a 15-2 overall record. That’s why I don’t think it’s Warriors in five anymore.

The Warriors are absolutely stacked. They have a guy who went off for 37 in a quarter in Klay Thompson. They have crazy depth with Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Andrew Bogut. They have multiple players that can at least hinder and slow down LeBron in Draymond Green and Iguodala. The team is so good they bench a guy like David Lee, who offensively could still be a 17-8 guy today. Oh, and they have the league MVP, a guy who just dropped 30 a game and nearly shot 50-50-80%s in the Western Conference Finals in Stephen Curry. I don’t know if Shumpert, one of the best perimeter defenders in the league can handle him. I don’t think a hobbled Irving can do it. And LeBron may be able to, but it will be exhausting and may affect his offensive play. Golden State has lost three games TOTAL at Oracle Arena this season (46-3).

LeBron James has been a combo of Iverson, Magic and Jordan in these playoffs. But It’s just not going to be enough. Golden State is stacked beyond stacked.

But LeBron will keep them in it.

Warriors in 7

Basketball

This Day In Sports 6-1: The Seattle Supersonics Win the NBA Championship (1979)

Once upon a time there was a NBA Team named the Seattle Supersonics. Famously, the ’79 Sonics were known as the only NBA Champions without active players without a Hall of Famer until Dennis Johnson was inducted in 2010. Led by DJ and Jack Sikma, the ’79 Sonics took out the defending Champs the Washington Bullets. Interestingly enough, this was a Finals rematch as the Sonics lost in seven the year before.

The next year Larry and Magic showed up, and Seattle fell to the Magic led Lakers in the Conference Finals. But they’ll always have 1979.

Poker

This Is the Greatest Tournament in the World! A Little About the World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker is still, without a doubt, the most important and prestigious tournament series when it comes to poker. Amateurs come from all over the world (including myself) to face off with the world’s top professionals hoping to win the WSOP’s trophy: a World Series of Poker bracelet. There are great players out there, top players even, who have yet to win a WSOP bracelet. Almost all great players try every year.

While the mainstream popularity of poker had waned over the years (from 2003 through 2006, poker was a huge deal everywhere, which led to huge ESPN deals and pushed the popularity of online poker to ridiculous heights…to which it came crumbling down in 2011 with “Black Friday”), poker is still far more popular than it was in 2002. In 2002, the World Poker Tour introduced card cameras on their tables to allow watchers at home to follow the action. Before this, quite frankly, poker was boring and unsatisfying to watch. The introduction to card cameras combined with Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event win led to poker exploding into the mainstream. To show just how important the card cameras were, there is a key bluff Moneymaker, an amateur who won his $10,000 entry seat online, makes against professional Sam Farha. It was a key hand that allowed Moneymaker to win the tournament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D16DberFu3Q

There were 631 entries in the 2002 Main Event of the World Series of Poker. In 2003, there were 839, which was the biggest live poker tournament ever at that point. In 2004 though there were 2,576. The WSOP Main Event would peak in 2006 with 8,773 players. Since then, the field for the Main Event has ranged from 6,000 to 7,000.

Some online types, specifically on 2+2 Forums (probably the best poker message board out there in regards to strategy, although it’s rules and posters can be quite immature and at times disgraceful),  will tell you that poker is dying. What they are getting at is that poker is a mathematical game in every form and at some point, people are going to solve it. Back in the pre-Moneymaker days, sure there were your mathematicians, but it was still a gambling game at heart. Back in the old days you’d hear someone going all-in and someone wondering if they should call or fold. Now, the question is whether or not someone should be calling or raising a 4-bet pre-flop. There certainly is other mathematical analysis done on the other games (meaning, non-No Limit Hold’em, which the Main Event is played) as well. With computers and tech, this is the way it’s going to go.

But it doesn’t change the fact (or my opinion, whatever) that the WSOP is the greatest tournament series in the world. Poker can be played in so many ways, and only the WSOP really hits on all of them. Like Omaha? You have your choice of Pot Limit, or High-Low. Maybe you are a fan of the split pot games, to which there are Omaha 8, Stud 8 and a OE 8 (both Omaha and Stud) event (I’ll be playing the Stud 8 for sure). This year the WSOP smartly has added a $565 and $777 event (previously, the smallest WSOP event in modern times in terms of buy-in has been $1,000) to attract more recreational participants (the $565 event, the Colossus, is projected to have about 15,000 to 20,000 players, which would shatter just about every live poker record). There is pretty much everything available to play if you play any type of poker. Hell, there’s even a Dealer’s Choice event!

The WSOP is doing just fine. While it probably will never hit the mid 2000s level of popularity it once did, there is still fun to have and money to be made. I just hope this year is my year to win a bracelet.

Basketball

RDT’s 2015 NBA Playoff Predictions: The Conference Finals

Woo I made it before Game 1 tonight!

First question I have to ask, why the heck is Warriors-Rockets the first series starting? Cleveland and Atlanta were done for what seems like weeks ago. Why should Houston have to just come back in two days?

Anyway, I posted my predictions on Twitter again in case I was late, but I’m not late this time! Then Grantland’s Zach Lowe copied me! (Or has no idea what RDTWorldofSport is, I give it a 50-50 chance).

An interesting tidbit about these Conference Finals: while the NBA is the most anti-parity league in basketball (we have a #1 seed against a #2 on each side, for example) this is the first playoffs in what feels like forever where none of these four teams really felt like true Championship contenders before the season began, other than possibly Cleveland. LeBron’s return to the Cavs got them here, fine. But the Hawks? Where did that come from? The Rockets looked like a two man team without enough depth to make it far, and it looked like they were who we thought they were until Josh Smith decided to realize his potential ten years into his career for a quarter and a half and led the Rockets to a stunning Game 6 comeback. The Warriors were a fun team to pick, but fun usually means “really good team that gets beat by the Spurs in the playoffs”. Instead, Stephen Curry owned the league, Klay Thompson made the rumors he’d be traded for Kevin Love look foolish and Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green led a great defense to create the clear title favorite at this point. Just some crazy stuff.

Eastern Conference Finals

#2 Cleveland Cavaliers @ #1 Atlanta Hawks

How the Cavs got here: Well, they convinced LeBron to come home. They got pretty lucky with #1 Overall picks, hitting Kyrie Irving in 2012, missing on Anthony Bennett and nailing Andrew Wiggins. They sent Wiggins and Bennett to Minnesota for Love, and while Love actually had a good (not by his standards) season, it’s debatable whether that’s been a good idea long term. They also got Mozgov, JR Smith and Iman Shumpert at the trade deadline, giving the Cavs decent depth. Obviously they key has been LeBron.

How the Hawks got here: To be honest, I have no idea. Kyle Korver was dealt to Atlanta a few years ago for cash. Paul Millsap had always been pretty underrated but a solid hand that Utah didn’t bother with and let walk. Al Horford was the #3 Overall pick right behind Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Jeff Teague was another Hawks draft pick who upped his percentages enough to go from an average player at best to good player. DeMarre Carrol is a former late 1st round pick of Memphis who bounced around before finally finding a place in Atlanta.

The Hawks are probably the worst 60 win NBA team in the history of the league. Unsurprisingly, they fell apart down the stretch after a really hot start. Brooklyn was a mess themselves and yet put up a fight, Washington was a secretly a mess themselves, only Toronto was in worse shape so suddenly they looked a lot better than they were (I picked Atlanta in 4 there, but I wasn’t underrating Washington, I was overrating Atlanta). This a poor man’s Spurs’ team at best and I still have no reason to believe in them.

You know who I believe in? LeBron James. I’ve still yet to see a reason why a LeBron lead team won’t win the East. Sure, he’s not the LeBron of a few years ago, but he’s still the best player in the league. And he has enough weapons around him in Smith and Irving to make sure the Cavs can score enough. Yeah, the Hawks probably win Game 1 and go up 2-1, but we know the story by now.

Cavs in 6

Western Conference Finals

#2 Houston Rockets @ #1 Golden State Warriors

How the Rockets got here: Stockpiling assets and landing deals for stars! That’s how James Harden and Dwight Howard got here. Then, take a chance on some troubled stars, like Josh Smith. Then, some of your younger guys work out, like Terrence Jones, and you’re good! Remember, the Rockets got very little for the Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady departures, yet it hasn’t mattered one bit.

How the Warriors got here: Landed Stephen Curry #7 in the 2009 NBA Draft. PGs taken higher: Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio. The secretly great Andrew Bogut-Monta Ellis trade. Landing Klay Thompson at #11 in the 2011 NBA Draft, right after Jimmer Fredette and Kemba Walker were selected. Finding Draymond Green in the 2nd round in 2012.

The Rockets are obviously lucky to be here. After their shocking Game 6 victory that justified the Josh Smith signing and a solid Game 7 win, they now face a team that hasn’t slowed down one bit. The Warriors, unlike the Hawks, have decisively taken care of business in each of their two series thus far. The Pelicans bring Anthony Davis to take on the Warriors, no problem, Warriors sweep. Memphis gives Golden State a tough time early on, Coach Steve Kerr makes the adjustment regarding Tony Allen Golden State cruises to three straight victories.

There’s really no reason to think Golden State isn’t the far better team here. Can’t wait to see Jason Terry chase Curry around for 30 minutes a night. Patrick Beverly would have been a great help.

Harden probably gets one 10 for 28 with 20 free throw games made in their to steal one.

Warriors in 5

Basketball

The Slightly Late 2015 NBA Playoff Predictions: Semi-Finals

Just to show I’m not using the results of the various Game 1s that have been played, I posted my predictions on Twitter beforehand. It was a busy weekend. Let’s delve into this before the Conference Finals!

Western Conference

#5 Memphis Grizzles @ #1 Golden State Warriors

The only chance the Grizzlies have here is to really hound Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and force them to miss shots. They have the defensive players to do it, although one of them, Mike Conley missed Game 1.

It’s going to be tough for the Grizzles because not only do they need to stop Golden State from scoring (good luck with that with MVP Curry), but they need to put up some consistent points as well. They can’t afford to lose a game where the Warriors score less than 100 points. Game 1 showed that Golden State definitely can hold down Memphis as the Grizzles only managed 86 points while Golden State did whatever they wanted. You just aren’t beating the 2015 Golden State Warriors that way I don’t think.

Memphis has been a fun tough out the past few years, but unless everyone from Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph to Vince Carter and Jeff Green show up (Carter in Game 1: 1 for 7), they just aren’t winning. They are in a lot of ways, the 1990s New York Knicks. Always good, but never great.

Warriors in 6

#3 Los Angeles Clippers @ #2 Houston Rockets

How can you not be impressed with the LA Clipper team? They were down 3-2 to the San Antonio Spurs and pulled out all the stops to steal back the series. Chris Paul got hurt in Game 7, came back and put up a game that will go down as one of the all-time great playoff performances. I was absolutely impressed. The Clippers still make huge mental mistakes…they should have outright won Game 2…but for the first time I also saw their mental toughness.

The Rockets? We really don’t know anything after Rajon Rondo ruined the Mavericks’ season. That shouldn’t be held against the Rockets obviously. I believe in James Harden but no one else on that Rockets team. I made my prediction after I learned there was a good chance Paul would miss Game 1, and seeing how Game 1 played out I feel great about it. The Rockets are a one man show with the occasional Superman appearance. That would be great for 2005 I guess (it’s how the 2006 Miami Heat were built), but in 2015 that ain’t gonna fly. The Clippers showed me in the 1st round that they are a great team. (The Clippers blew the Rockets out in Houston…without Chris Paul).

Clippers in 6

Eastern Conference

#5 Washington Wizards @ #1 Atlanta Hawks

I already missed the games on this one. I have a theory that sometimes it’s easy to overrate and underrate a team because of their round 1 results. For example, I thought the Wizards were pretty lousy coming into the playoffs, but lucked out in facing a just as lousy Raptors team and beating them decisively. That caused (in my view) the Wizards bandwagon to jump up a bit. Likewise, the Hawks had a little trouble taking out the Nets, even though the Nets were a hot team at the end of the year and probably better than the Raptors. This caused the Hawks to be underrated. So I figured the Hawks would make quick work of the Wizards, but I forgot something. I forgot the Hawks had a lot of problems down the stretch too. I think the point is, the East sucks.

Anyway, I shouldn’t have predicted that a Paul Pierce team would be getting swept, especially with the playoff experience the other Wizards gained last year against Indiana. Big mistake on my part. Washington’s been here already. The Hawks really haven’t. Sure Horford has played his share of playoff games, but Atlanta’s never had this pressure of being the big favorite. I wish I could take back my games prediction at least since Washington won Game 1, but I still think the Hawks are winning in 7. Alas.

Hawks in 4

#3 Chicago Bulls @ #2 Cleveland Cavaliers

Oh boy. LeBron did not show up for Game 1 and in the current state of the Cleveland Cavaliers I don’t know if he can have these bad games anymore. I still thought Cleveland was cruising to the Finals without Kevin Love, but talent wise this Bulls team is stacked and have a lot to prove. Derrick Rose of course wants revenge from 2011. Pau Gasol has a lot to prove after he fell apart in LA. Joakim Noah hates LeBron.

This is going to be one of those series that either adds to the legacy of LeBron, or shows that perhaps he needs elite teammates. One of the defining Michael Jordan stories of course is how he overcame those tough teams when his teammates weren’t always there. The 1992 and 1993 Knicks series. The 1998 Pacers series. MJ always came through. Can LeBron come through?

I need Cleveland to sweep through the rest of the way to be 100% here, and I wouldn’t count it out.

Cavs in 5

Basketball

It’s Time Chris Paul

For Chris Paul’s sake, the Los Angeles Clippers need to win tonight. Despite pretty much being the best point guard in the NBA ever since the moment he was drafted (ok, that’s a little much, but he’s always been top 3 in the position. Only Nash and Rose can say they were better at one point), CP3 has fallen short in the one (somewhat flawed) metric that seems to matter to everyone these days: winning. I had a conversation with someone who told me they thought John Wall was just as good as CP3 because they both went to Round 2. That’s nuts.

But there’s some merit to this as well. How much a player wins in a team game usually tells a story about that player. Did that player take over (see Jordan, Michael)? Did that player shut down an opposing key player (see Olajuwon, Hakeem) that swung a series? Or did that player provide the key leadership aspect that allowed the team to become something greater than their parts (see Garnett, Kevin or Duncan, Tim)? Or lastly, did a player take a team of clearly overmatches players (other than himself) and will them to something greater than expected (again, Jordan, Duncan, Olajuwon).

At one time Chris Paul fell into that last category. CP3’s performance in a six game loss to the Lakers in the 2011 playoffs was one of the best examples of a top player going against a team by himself (CP3’s supporting cast: Carl Landry, washed up Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza and Marco Belinelli, when your starting lineup looks like a decent bench, that’s a bad sign). CP3 otherwise always seemed to run into other top players: Durant and Westbrook’s Thunder last year (7 game loss), a determined Grizzlies team anchored by Marc Gasol in 2013. The Spurs got a sweep in 2012. The Kobe Lakers in 2011. The last great Chauncey Billups year and Carmelo’s best playoff year in 2009…and then 2008.

2008. CP3 submits the perhaps greatest PG season ever, gets robbed of the MVP and takes care of business in round 1, pretty much establishing that Jason Kidd and the Mavericks were yesterday’s news. Paul’s supporting cast is a solid David West, a great two way player in Tyson Chandler (yes, even then Chandler was a crazy efficient offensive player), and washed up but still good shooting Peja. The Hornets went toe to toe with the Spurs, who were looking to defend their NBA Title. The Spurs, with one of the best defensive players of all time anchoring the middle, had no answer for Paul. Game 1: 17-13, Game 2: 30-12, Game 3: 35-9, Game 4: 23-6-5, Game 5: 22-14, Game 6: 21-6-8. That being said, it was only good enough for 3 wins.

It came down to Game 7 in New Orleans…and the Spurs prevailed. Paul played well of course, but it wasn’t enough. But hey, he was only 22 years old. There was more than enough time. This was in 2008.

It’s 2015 now. It’s Game 7. We’re on CP3’s home court again. It’s against The Spurs. It’s against Duncan, Parker, Manu, Pop (and now featuring Kawhi). He’s 29. It’s time CP3.