Hello,
Update: Add Dwight Howard's Rockets to the Bulls and Knicks to the teams that didn't make the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round. Howard missed 4 of his last 5 free throws, all of which came in crunch time. That would be shameful for a good high school player, but pretty much par for the course for Howard. I love how the announcers have been praising his 64% free throw shooting in the playoffs. Just because that's better than his regular season numbers, doesn't mean it's acceptable. Just imagine the kind of player Howard would be if he was a 80% free throw shooter? I guarantee the Rockets aren't going to win a NBA title with Howard as one of their two key players.
Just a quick blog today, all three of these players are in the news today. Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer and Dwight Howard. (I would like to thank ESPN.com for all the stats used in this blog.)
First up the worse of these three players, the player that has been living purely on reputation the last few years, Mr. Carlos Boozer. (Or as some Jazz fans started calling him Loozer.) The Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday when they lost to the Wizards 75-69. Yes, that's the final score and not a halftime score. Boozer, who was paid (not earned) $15.3 million this year averaged 24.2 minutes, 42% shooting, 89% free throw shooting, 7.8 rebounds and 9.6 points in the 5 game series. That means he only played over slightly half of the time he could.
Not only that but Taj Gibson played most of the 4th quarter, well duh he should as he's a better player. He cares a lot more than Boozer does, which doesn't take much. Boozer rarely, if ever, plays 100%. His number 1 concern is himself, not his team. I thought this was a bad deal when the Bulls signed him in free agency. I had to laugh before Boozer even started his Bulls career, he injured himself at home.
I watched him play in Salt Lake for the Jazz. He missed a lot of games due to "injury" (one might say lack of heart) and didn't give full effort then either. I was so glad when he signed with Chicago, let someone else take the dead weight. Now the Bulls are stuck owing him $17 million for next season. Can you imagine paying $17 million for that scrub? Well the Bulls can't either, they are thinking about using the amnesty clause on him. I wish someone would pay me $17 million dollars to go away. There's a reason the Jazz didn't fight to keep him and he's only become worse since then.
The Bulls lead me to the NBA's next most fake superstar, Carmelo Anthony. There are rumors that the Bulls may make a run at Carmelo in free agency. Didn't they learn from signing fake superstar Carlos Boozer already?
Would the Bulls really sign a player that doesn't play defense, even though they have a very defensive oriented coach in Tom Thibodeau? As Rick Majerus use to say about some of his players, the next time he plays defense will be the first time. I just don't see the Tibs/ Brickmelo tandem working. Anthony will probably have more say about happens with the Bulls than Tibs does. So where does that leave Thibodeau, it seems like they'll be the 2013-2014 version of this past season's Knicks.
I have no idea where Carmelo Anthony gets his reputation as a great scorer. He simply isn't. NBA experts like to call him a "volume shooter" which is a nice way to say he takes a lot of shots. He doesn't trust his teammates and so rarely passes, he's the true definition of the term "black hole". Not only does he take too many shots, he doesn't even hit half of them. Of course his shooting percentage would be better if he didn't take so many bad shots.
Will someone remind me how the Knicks are doing in the playoffs? Oh yeah, that's right the Knicks didn't even make the playoffs. Even in the pathetic Eastern Conference, which apparantally only has one good team, the Knicks didn't make the playoffs. And to think James Dolan thought this was going to be the year the Knicks would win a title. That thought is as funny now as when he first said it. Of course so much of the Knicks dysfunction has to be placed on Dolan. He and Jerry Jones are the two worst owners in all of professional sports.
A lot of the blame for the Knicks missing the playoffs has been placed on Mike Woodson, but I argue he was in a no win situation. James Dolan wanted Carmelo Anthony so guess how much leverage that left for Woodson in dealing with the fake superstar? Not much, so that hindered Woodson in his game plan. He knew he had to build the offense around Anthony, leaving the Knicks to run a bunch of isolations for Carmelo. With his propensity to not pass and shoot a lot, that left his teammates not much to do. Most NBA players play harder when they get touches and shots. Then when the complete non-team player went to the other end of the court and played matador defense, what are his teammates to think? Why would anyone want that sort of player on their team? Not to mention his best move is the drive to the basket, push off and go to the foul line. He gets way too much love from the officials.
Also how much does a player that has been in the league for 10 years have left? He says he's sick of rebuilding and wants to play for a winner. But he's been his team's best player for the last several years and the farthest his team has got in the playoffs is the second round. I think having Anthony on your team is a near guarantee that your team will be rebuilding.
Anthony shot below average 45% from the field, making about 9 of every 20 shots. an excellent 40% from the 3 point line and 85% from the foul line. He also had a solid 8 rebounds a game. The Knicks paid $21.4 million for that level of performance?
Lastly but not least is Dwight Howard, his Rockets look to be eliminated from the playoffs tonight. Now I have to admit that Howard is playing better than I expected he would this playoffs, but I never get the sense that he's playing 100%. His shooting range is literally a foot and less in. The announcers talk up how good he's doing from the free throw line in the playoffs, he's shooting about 64%. in a very small sample size. If his regular season free throw percentage is a true indication, he's due for a couple of brutal foul shooting games soon. He's making $20.5 million for that? And the Rockets have the misfortune of overpaying him for 3 more years.
In Howard's first season in the NBA he made 67% of his free throws, this past season he made 55% of his free throws. That followed the previous two seasons when he didn't even make half of his free throws. First of all, how is he getting worse from the free throw line? And why doesn't he put in the work to become at least an average foul shooter? It's clear he doesn't because he would be a lot better if he did. I'm guessing if there were bonuses in his contract for shooting 70% from the line, he'd be hitting a much better percentage.
One trait all 3 of these players share is when they are disinterested that's how they play. But no one is worse at this than Howard. Near the end of his run in Orlando, there were games where clearly he didn't care about showing effort. Then in his one season in LA he clearly didn't want to be there. Like so many all about me players he throws tantrums until he gets his way. He's more interested in gaining more baby mamas than winning titles. He gave up $30 million so he didn't have to play in the bright spotlight of LA. Let's not even talk about the meltdown he had in the 2013 playoffs when he got himself ejected. I think that was purposeful as he was done. Essentially I think he took his ball and went home.
I can't believe that all those teams lined up in the offseason to try and sign him. Houston won that battle, but will lose the war.
These are the three most fake superstars. None of these players will ever lead a team to a NBA title with any of them being that team's best player. Again Anthony's Knicks didn't even get to the playoffs, Boozer's Bulls lost to the Wizards in the first round and likely the Rockets will lose in the first round as well. If the Rockets can come back and Howard is responsible for a lot of that, I then will give him a lot more respect. Both Houston and Chicago had home court advantage as well.
None of these players are leaders in the positive sense of the word. Of course it's hard to lead when your team isn't your #1 priority. People can sense a person's true motivation. If that motivation isn't about winning a title, then players will lose respect for you. How many of ya'll follow someone you don't respect?
Fans of those teams and players will make up excuses for why their teams under performed. But other teams had similar challenges and they are still in the playoffs. In fact has there ever been a team to win a title without overcoming long odds? While one can never discount the team dynamics that go into winning, Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire on the same team for instance, I argue that these teams would have been better if they had better and harder working players as their team's best player.
themusicaddict
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