As you may or may not have noticed two nights ago was the NBA All-Star Game, or as Kobe Bryant rightly coined it, "The World's Greatest Pickup Game." The All-Star Game in my mind accomplishes two good things for the NBA: 1) It gives a great spotlight for the games greatest players, 2) It proves that the NBA is actually capable of playing defense.
Stick with me here, I'm not saying the NBA All-Star Game is a great spokesperson for NBA defense. In fact there is little to no defense played at all. But what it does prove is that on any given night a team filled with NBA players can go out and score 150 points if they're faced with the All-Star Game type defense. In reality NBA teams average a little under 100 points a night and this is a testament to the type of D the NBA has. To keep these supremely talented players under 100 in 48 minutes is actually quite a defensive accomplishment and shows just how hard these teams do play.
Which brings me to the Bobcats... Charlotte was represented this All-Star weekend by one man, Gerald Wallace. Wallace was scheduled to compete in both the All-Star game and the dunk contest, and although I watched most of both events, I'm still not sure whether Wallace made it through the snow in Dallas in time for those events.
Wallace was a no-show during the dunk contest. Putting up uninspired dunk attempts and eventually getting eliminated in the first round. Say what you will about the dunk contest (and it was terrible) but at least the young kids they have in it appear to care. DeMar DeRozan had the best creativity of any dunker this year and even a young Gerald Wallace came up with great dunks when he was in it 8 years ago.
LeBron, Kobe and D Howard would be great in the dunk contest. I would watch and they'd get great ratings but really the young kids are they ones who will come up with the more creative dunks. Give me the players who have something to prove when they get to the dunk contest and if you need an example just look at the difference between 2002 Gerald Wallace and 2010 Gerald Wallace.
Now on to the actual All-Star Game. I made the decree on Sunday night that the player with the worst All-Star Game performance would have his team eliminated. Gerald Wallace was again scheduled to appear but showed up with only 2 points and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes. He was also a depressing -12 on +/- for the game but I'm not going to use All-Star +/- as a statistic to judge someone. It probably just means that Wallace didn't get to play with LeBron on the court at the same time. Heck Dwayne Wade won the MVP but finished with a -2.
The point is, I'm eliminating the Bobcats because Gerald Wallace is the first All-Star they've ever had and he showed up like he didn't understand why he was in Dallas. Bill Simmons made the joke earlier today that Wallace should claim he got roofie'd on Friday night after his All-Star performace. I'd have to agree with him.
If I'm going to follow a team it's because there star player shows up on the biggest stage. I want a player who shines the lights are bright and doesn't act like he's there just to enjoy the after parties.
I don't dislike the Bobcats. I sang the praises of Captain Jack in a previous post. Raymond Felton is solid contributor on my fantasy team. D.J. Augustin while at Texas was kind enough to treat me to two of my favorite games as a KU fan.
Lots of potential for the Bobcats, and I think they're a big time bandwagon team when this year's playoffs come. But Gerald Wallace's performance this weekend has kept me off of that bandwagon.
Obviously giving Dallas casino advice and not dunk contest tips.
No comments:
Post a Comment