Thanks Coach K
Symbols of Greatness
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Serious Addiction
I don't know if you're like me but I love everything about basketball. The game is so fascinating to me in every way. The rhythmic pounding of the leather against the hardwood, the frantic squeaking of the rubber soles, it's a symphony of sounds that transcends the boundaries of culture, race, gender, and even language. It's therapeutic to watch the elegant flow of an offense or the dominant stopping power of a dedicated defense. From the playground to the gym, from high school to NBA, the game is all the same. The game is just simple, systematic, sequential, and superb. What can I say, I love it. I have to say though, I am a Duke fan first and foremost. I live and breath Duke basketball. I keep up with everything, from recruiting to team injuries. My wife said I have a problem. I even named my dog Duke. She wants to get another dog and I already want to name her Cameron. This year's team has a LOT of holes though. We (yep, I said we) don't have a clear leader on the team. The perimeter defense is almost non existent. We don't even have a clearly defined point guard at this point in the season. Despite all this, the greatest coach in sports today is still finding ways to win at a high level. I love the NBA most of all though. I usually follow individual players but I have recently claimed the Bulls as my team. Two reasons, the first reason is because Derrick Rose is the most dominant point guard in the league. His combination of speed, power and control is something that almost impossible to stop. The second reason is because their starting lineup consists of two former Duke players. I feel obligated to say that I am VERY disappointed in the way Carlos Boozers played last year. He did not earn his contract but is making a strong case for it this year. Luol Deng is probably the most underrated small forward in the game. He is the best defense stopper on the team, an excellent slasher, and the second best midrange shooter on the team behind Rip Hamilton. I think he'll get strong consideration for the All Star team this year. Of course, Lebron, and Melo will probably start at the forward spots in the east, but I his value to his team is equal to or greater than any other forward in the east. Hopefully, his recent injury won't hold him out long so he can help the team in their championship chase.
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I'm with you on the love of the game. Of course you know I can't second that choice of college ball team. UNC for life. Hopefully we can get this defense together before the Madness starts. I think with all the suprises in the ACC that tourney is going to be great. The Bulls are going to be a great team. Which is a whole lot more than I can say for the Magic. They need to good ahead and trade Dwight so I'll have another team to follow. There is no excuse for them going out there scoring less points than a high school girls team. I really like the NBA, but with all the players trying to pick who they play with sucks. I want to see the great players play, but if they're all on the same team why watch. What do you think about that?
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel about that other blue school Kev. I don't expect you to change that one bit. It looks like we agree on the lack of defense from our squads. I like the way the guys looked against VT. You could tell there was a genuine effort there. This win is a nice stepping stone on the way to playing the way their capable of playing. I'm excited for the tournament. UVA has been a pleasant surprise and I can appreciate what FSU is doing with the team they have. It's gonna be a better tournament than it has been in recent years. As for the growing trend of teams with "super friends," I think you have to look at the teams they came from. Lebron and CP3 Dwight never had that clear cut number two that could be counted on to back them up in a crunch. Each of these guys communicated to their respective teams (or former teams) that they needed help. Lebron got two over the hill big men in Shaq and Antwan Jamison, and a bunch of 3 point shooters. CP3 got Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor. Dwight got Gilbert Arenas... and all his ego. They were all talented but aside from Shaq, they never had any real success as the number one or number two guys in the past. I think the frustration of giving a team your all just to see them make feeble attempts in the free agent market got to them in the end. I can't say that I blame them either. Oh, there's also that thing that happened with Lebron's Mom... I would have left too.
ReplyDeleteI think the defense will improve as will improve as we get closer to tournament time. Everyone seems to play a little better defense when it for a title. Besides I haven't seen anyone this year that could just win sorely based on offense. Which will make for some really good tournament games. What do you think of the additions coming to the ACC next year? Have you seen what they are going to do with the scheduling? The scheduling will be something to get used to since not everyone will play each other twice (Home and Away). Each team has is matched with someone they'll play twice every year. Of course they kept the UNC and Duke rivalry, but with the other teams improving if you lose to them in the conference you won't get a chance to avenge that lost unless they meet in the tournament. I like the way you've named these NBA teams as "super friends." I understand that they may not have had a clear cut #2, but why couldn't they improve the talent they had around them? Rather than work to improve what they had they complained, which only made things worse this year's Magic for example. Before this "super friends" concept, the players came together as a team and made it work. Now if someone doesn't like the players on their team to become issues in the locker room. Not all of them may go public, but when the star isn't happy they're not going to bring the team together. Its just going to push them a part, like when Kobe use to be all to himself during the Kobe and Shaq years. I agree that the teams that Lebron, CP3 and Dwight had to deal with didn't make the greatest moves. I just think it was more of a issue of what they asked the team to do. In the past teams would've drafted someone and they would've built a team that way. Now you got teams building from FA, which is why they keep ending up with old players. They need to learn how to draft better talent or the talent needs to stay in school until their ready. As for Lebron's Mom she should've known better and so should his teammates.
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