Kobe Bryant’s Dream Team is Dreaming

The 2012 summer Olympics are just around the corner, and as if the shortened NBA season wasn’t enough, a few select players earned the opportunity to compete at the sport they love for the country they love. So this summer brings new headlines within the basketball world. Simple questions have been asked such as “How will the players feel about playing more basketball after such a short and tough NBA season?” or “Should there be an age limit implemented on the team USA Men’s roster?” But the real question at hand isn’t about mental or physical toughness; it’s whether or not this new team USA can match up with the 1992 Dream Team.

Of course, people will always compare everything with the past, if they didn’t, what would people use to measure any sort of greatness in the sports world? In sports today, it’s not becoming a question of how good are you? But are you better than the other guy? We all know LeBron James is great, but is he better than Michael Jordan? We all know that Peyton Manning is great, but is he better than John Elway or Joe Montana? While competing for future championships, players are also competing with past winners.

As the summer 2012 Olympic games kick off, Kobe Bryant felt it necessary to not only compare his “Dream Team” with the 1992 USA Dream Team, but to even find the courage to say that the 2012 team is better than the 1992 Dream Team. And so just as in any other sport when something great is on the verge of happening, let’s compare the past with the present…

The Teams

1992 US Men’s Basketball Team

Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Christian Laettner, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, John Stockton.

2012 US Men’s Basketball Team

Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Andre Igudala, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams.

The Greats

The 1992 USA Men’s Olympic basketball team had 11 future Hall of Famers, with a combined 23 NBA titles, along with 105 All-Star appearances. Both Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson were the best at their position and would easily still create a mismatch with the current USA Men’s Olympic  team. Putting Michael Jordan back in his mid-90’s prime, he would easily dominate with his shear athleticism, perimeter shooting, and determination to win.

With Magic Johnson’s size (6’9’’), he could easily penetrate the lane and dish the ball out to sharp shooting legend Larry Bird. While the current guards may be more athletic than Magic Johnson, what Johnson lacked in speed he made up for with pure court vision, racking up 138 career triple-doubles, while also holding a record for a career assists per game at 11.2. Both Jordan and Johnson alone would create trouble for this year’s team.

Power

With Hall of Fame centers Patrick Ewing and David Robinson, the only current center on the 2012 team that could match either center for power is Tyson Chandler, but both Ewing and Robinson had an overall better game than Chandler. The strength and power provided by Charles Barkley and Karl Malone could only be match by LeBron James and Blake Griffin.

The Long Ball

The 1992 ‘Dream Team’ had sharp shooters Larry Bird, John Stockton and Chris Mullin. Bird had a career average of 37% from behind the arc. Stockton averaged 38% from behind the arc, followed by Mullin at 38%.

The only two real three-point threats that strike me on the current Olympic team are Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant. So far, Durant is averaging 36% from behind the arc while Kobe is averaging 33%.

In terms of qualitative date, the 1992 team has the advantage.

The Wing Men

The 1992 team had Clyde Drexler and Scottie Pippen, players who could play both the two guard and small forward positions. Although the 2012 team has Blake Griffin and Kevin Love, who both could play significant minutes at center, the 1992 team also had Barley and Malone who could play center.

Defense Wins Championships

Jordan, Pippen, and Stockton were all considered to be in their defensive primes while on the Dream Team. Jordan racked up nine All-Defensive First team honors, Pippen eight such honors and Stockton five. While Stockton was on the All-Defensive second team a number of times, he holds the record for most career steals at 3,265. In the front court Ewing and Robinson were great at protecting the rim.

On the 2012 Olympic team, Chandler, James, Iguodala and perhaps Bryant would be considered the team’s best defenders, but none of them compare to the defensive abilities of Jordan, Stockton, and Pippen.

Skill Positions

The current Olympic team may have the slight advantage at the point guard position, due to the sheer athleticism of point guards Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams. But I believe that both Stockton and Johnson could keep up with their experience, court vision and defensive abilities. The current Olympic team may also have an advantage at the small forward position with James and Durant creating some mismatches with Bird, Pippen, and Mullin.

When asked about Kobe’s remarks about the Dream Team, Charles Barkley laughed and said that the only players on the current team who could make the 1992 team would be Bryant, James, and Durant. I fully support this statement as Bryant and James have locked in Hall of Fame spots and Durant is well on his way.

Conclusion

While the current USA team may have more explosive and athletic players, I believe that the 1992 Dream Team would still come out on top. What the current players have in explosion and athleticism, they lack in pure fundamentals. What the 1992 Dream Team lacked in explosion and athleticism, they made up for in an uncanny winning attitude.

I wish that both teams could play today, but father time refuses to allow such a spectacle to take place. I’m not saying that the 1992 team would win every game, but if it were a 7 game series, I’d put my money on the old dogs.  I’m sorry Kobe, but with regards towards your comments on the 1992 Dream Team, keep dreamin’.

The General

NBA Finals Review

The Miami Heat won their first championship in the LeBron James Era for two reasons: Miami is a deeper and more cohesive team than OKC and Miami’s Big 3 is better than OKC’s.

Game 2: Shane Battier scores 17 points. Thunder non-Big 3 score 16.

Game 3: Heat non-Big 3 score 27 points. Thunder non-Big 3 score 32. James Harden drops 9.

Game 4: Mario Chalmers goes for 25 points. Thunder non-Big 3 score 19. James Harden drops 8.

Game 5: Mike Miller scores 23. Russell Westbrook follows his 20-32 performance in Game 4 with a 4-20 night.

While two unavoidable factors are the disappearance of James Harden and the surprising depth of the Heat, both stem from the genius of Miami’s stars. James, Wade and Bosh defended and scored at the high levels expected of them.

However, their willingness to play help defense (leading to the elimination of Harden) and their effort to make the extra pass brought the role players into the fold at the perfect time. LeBron James deserves all the credit he will receive. He flat out played at the level that everyone always knew of him (read: complete domination at both ends).

On the bright side for Thunder fans such as myself, the team is young and this is how the NBA works. The Thunder blew away the adage of playoff basketball being a veteran game all the way until the final step.

Also, while the humility of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook already goes unquestioned, this loss could do wonders for the heads of players such as James Harden and Serge Ibaka. If OKC is going to win a title they will need to keep Ibaka and Harden in the fold. Just before the Finals, a roundtable of ESPN basketball writers unanimously voted that Harden was a max contract player. I found that absurd then, and it is quite clear that it is absurd now. Harden is a very good player but he showed himself to clearly not be the type of player you can build a championship team around. Same goes for Ibaka.

While Ibaka and Harden will both undoubtedly be offered large contracts in the coming years, this loss can be seen as a lesson in the necessity of quality teammates. James and Bosh ditched their old teams to make a fearsome trio. Harden and Ibaka would be hard pressed to find a better destination than Oklahoma for their future championship aspirations.

The Big Guy

The Storm Will Roll

Box scores are like naturally beautiful women. No make up. No flash. Just simple, plain Jane sex appeal.

No metric will ever trump actually watching the game, but checking out the box score after the game can shed some light on the things you overlooked. Wade finished with 19?! Bosh took 11 shots? Mike Miller played? Ten minutes?!?

Monday’s NBA Finals Game 1 box score suggests both teams’ offenses are completely dominated by two stars. While Wade/James and Durant/Westbrook got theirs, neither Bosh nor Harden played significant roles. Bosh finished with 10 points, Harden a measly five.

An alien with Box Scores 101 under his belt would say Shane Battier is clearly the Heat’s third best scoring threat and would predict another 17 some odd points from the Dukie in Game 2. That’s why aliens don’t write sports blogs (about basketball at least).

Including Tuesday’s he-can’t-keep-making-those-fucking-shots 6-9 shooting performance, Battier is shooting 34% and averaging 6.3 PPG this postseason. According to the Keith Bogans Law, we can safely expect Battier to score -11 points tonight. Or we could give him his normal 6 and give the other 11 to Wade, which would boost him to 30 tonight.

Include the fact that Mario Chamlers, Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller all scored about what you would expect and that means that as long as Battier returns to orbit and Wade and James both put up huge numbers, the Heat still score 94 tonight. That ain’t gonna win it.

The Thunder have scored at least 98 points in each of their last nine playoff games. Give Bosh a few more than 10? Well then we gotta give Harden a few more than five.

It is hard to see how the Heat can come back to win this Game 2. Look for Nick Collison to have another productive night against the centerless Heat, and keep an eye on this statistic:

The Thunder scored 24 fast break points in Game 1. The Heat scored 4. 

If that differential remains anywhere near 20, expect the Thunder to roll.

Prediction: Thunder 111- Heat 98

The Big Guy

The Real Big Three

Forget LeBron James’s superhuman athleticism and Kevin Durant’s silky nature. Look past Russell Westbrook’s explosiveness and Dwyane Wade’s lateral agility. Cast aside James Harden’s offbeat drives and Chris Bosh’s baseline jumper.

The NBA Finals will be dominated by talk of Oklahoma City and Miami’s Big Threes. Post-game chatter will throw overblown accolades to the winning trio and undue blame on the losing triumvirate. But the determining factor in the series will be which team’s role players contribute most.

In some weird way it fits that thunder is a singular noun and heat is an uncountable noun. A cursory analysis of the series suggests that it all comes down to one Big Three versus the other. In that light, The Big Guy will introduce some plurality with the introduction of The Secondary Big Threes.

Miami’s Secondary Big Three:

• Mario Chamlers, PG: The Heat’s fourth leading scorer in the playoffs is a point guard in name only. Miami runs without a true point and both Wade and James are averaging more assists than Chalmers in the postseason. Chamlers primary role in this series will be to defend either Russell Westbrook or James Harden, either one a tough draw. When Chalmers isn’t chasing down one of the Thunder Big Three, he will be asked to do something he has proven rather good at— knock down open shots. Over half of Chalmers’s shots this postseason have come from beyond the arc and he is shooting 36% from downtown. The Kansas product will need to continue to make the kickouts from James and Wade for the Heat to stand a chance in this series.
• Udonis Haslem, PF: Can you believe Haslem is only 32 years old? And only in his 9th NBA season? With all his race-defiant adjectives he conjures (gritty, grinder, hustle guy) it is hard to believe he should be just exiting his prime. Either way, the hometown starter will be put to the test when paired with fellow Secondary Big Three Serge Ibaka. Combine Ibaka’s defense with Haslem’s 5.5 PPG in the postseason and there is little to expect offensively from Haslem. However, Haslem has averaged nearly offensive rebounds per game and whether he is able to provide second opportunities for his team will play a strong, subtle role in close games.
• Shane Battier, SF: Will he be a factor? Battier will likely defend Durant for the first three quarters as Heat coach Erik Spolestra tries to keep LeBron James fresh and out of foul trouble. Considering his 31% shooting this postseason, Battier will only impact the game if he is able to slow down Durant. Don’t count on it.

OKC’s Secondary Big Three:

• Serge Ibaka, PF: The aforementioned native on the Republic of Congo led the league in BPG this year. With fellow OKC Secondary Big Three Kendrick Perkins, Ibaka will be trusted to protect the basket against James’s and Wade’s drives. The explosive help side defender will not intimidate Miami’s best players, but a few key blocks and an elimination of Haslem will make a major impact on the series. Fun fact: Ibaka is OKC’s fourth leading postseason scorer with 10.7 per game. If he maintains that, the Thunder win. Period.
• Kendrick Perkins, C: Big Perk already has a ring. The anchor of the 2008 Boston Celtics defense will now attempt to slim the scoring in what is likely to be a high-scoring series. The lumbering 270-pounder’s playing time may again waver if Miami runs short, but OKC’s half-court defense will rely on Perkins for organization.
• Thabo Sefolosha, SG: Change that SG to DG— defending guard. Sefolosha’s containment of Spurs’ point guard Tony Parker flipped the Western Conference Championship on its head. Sefolosha’s level of success in pestering Wade could turn Miami’s offense into the LeBron James Show. While that may not sound too bad for Miami, don’t expect the Thunder to score at the tepid pace Boston did in the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron might go for 40, but OKC will still win.

Basketball is a team game. Plain and simple. While the Finals is blessed with more young stars than any before, expect the Big Threes to cancel each other out. The series will be decided on second chance points, turnovers and chemistry. That Big Three favors OKC.

Prediction: OKC in 5.

The Big Guy