Shooting 2

1) You know the saying “A man amongst boys”? Think Shaq when he was with the Magic against anyone other than the Rockets or Lebron in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons. It looked like a Division II college player in a scrimmage with 7th graders. Forget about the talent difference. You know he’s going to dominate the action because he’s physically bigger and stronger than them.

Blake Griffin is the opposite. He’s like a boy amongst men. Only in this situation, it’s a high school all-stater playing in the local YMCA 50 and over league...and they decide to play on 8-ft hoops. Everyone is the same size, but nine of the guys on the court have uniforms partially consisting of knee braces and Dr. Scholl’s products, while one guy is prancing around like a deer in heat.

When I was young, Shawn Kemp was my idol. I had three t-shirts from the Kemp clothing line (yep, that’s right, he had a clothing line) plus his Team USA jersey, his home Sonics jersey, and their away team shorts, so I could look just like him no matter if his games were home, on the road, or abroad. I cried when I figured out that my hair couldn’t hold a flat top (although that notion has to be partially credited to Boyz II Men). I watched him finish alley-oops from Hersey Hawkins and Gary Payton and I wanted to be just like him. (The nearest this desire ever came to fruition was at halftime of a Pittsburgh Piranhas game. The Piranhas were a “professional” basketball team from, I believe, the Continental Basketball Association. Sadly, it was the closest to the NBA that the city of Pittsburgh has gotten since the the movie ‘The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh’, and a halftime dunk contest on a Fisher Price hoop was the closest I got to the NBA, ever. I laced up my green Reeboks and strutted out to half court in front of those 325 screaming fans like a 4’8 Reign Man. I had gone over this situation 10,000 times on the hoop hanging on the back of my bedroom door. This was my chance. I approached the hoop like Carl Lewis approaching a triple jump and unleashed a windmill dunk that can best be described as a divine blend of Kemp, Dominique Wilkins, and Jesus, himself. However, my shining moment was clouded when some little punk who could barely reach the rim won on pity from the crowd’s applause. My consolation prize was a Piranhas shirt that would still be too large for me. As a prize for a children’s dunk contest, they awarded XXL shirts. With savvy like that, it’s a wonder why the franchise didn’t make it.)

I still make it a point to watch Kemp highlights on youtube when I'm feeling down (the top 3 are unreal):




Kemp could jump with more power than anyone else and he loved to show it off. It was like he played the whole game just for that one chance to make the highlight reel. And when that chance came, he took it with more ferocity than his predecessors like Connie Hawkins, Larry Nance, and Dominique. There have been others to come along and deserve to be in the discussion, but none looked like Kemp. Young Amare had similar power, but lacked a little of the athleticism (not to say that he isn’t an amazing athlete, his dunks just didn’t match Kemp’s) and Lebron has the athleticism, but lacks slightly in the ferocious category.

Amazingly, only twenty games into his rookie season, I think it’s safe to say that Blake Griffin is that next step. Griffin’s enthusiasm for dunking is my favorite part. Every game, it looks as though he just woke up that morning and discovered that his vertical leap went from 20 inches to 40 inches. Imagine if that happened to you. You would find the closest pick up game and every time you got within 12 feet of the hoop, you would attack the rim and try to flush it. Griffin plays every game like the ability to dunk is a new toy.

Luckily, they show Clippers games in San Diego and it’s turned into one of my favorite shows. (By the way, I think this is the first season the word “luckily” has preceded that last sentence.) When he faces up on the wing and puts the ball on the floor, you know his hand is getting to the rim. They may strip the ball or hack him on the drive, but his body isn’t going to stop until he gets to the rim. It’s amazing to see.

Of course, there are still phases of his game that need work. He needs to develop a better 16 foot jump shot and he tends to start off strong but then disappear for stretches of the second and third quarters. But, he is only a rookie. And he’s the most exciting rookie I can remember.


2) With the influence of Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, a generation of elite point guards have changed the league from a defensive struggle to an up-tempo sprint. One of the best debates in the NBA is who are the best at the position. Do you want score-first or pass-first? Would you rather have quickness or size? Here’s my top ten:

10. John Wall - (18 points, 9 assists, 2.7 steals per game) With the depth at this position, it’s a testament to how much he controls the game already to be considered top ten after only 11 games. He’s the best athlete out there 85% of the time he steps on the court and he has the confidence to hold up an arena while he Dougies for 30 seconds.

9. Jason Kidd - (8 ppg, 9 apg, 2 spg) His numbers are down across the board, but he’s still one of the better rebounding point guards in the league and has so much testosterone in his blood that his son had facial hair at birth, so that has to count for something. Bottom line is, if I were playing a game today, I’d take him over Wall.

8. Raymond Felton - (18 ppg, 8 apg, 2 spg) I wasn’t happy when the Knicks locked him in at $7 million a year this offseason, but then again, I’m used to having Isiah Thomas making decisions for my team, so I’ve grown skeptical. After a shaky start, he’s averaging over 10 assists in his last 6 games and has developed enough chemistry with Amare to win 8 of their last 9 games and sit at 2 games over .500. Let that one sink in a little...2 games OVER .500. That means the Knicks could lose their next two games and still wouldn’t have lost more than they’ve won. I have until at least Monday to say that I root for a winning basketball team. The air smells cleaner, the birds sound more delightful, ground beef tastes like filet mignon. Life is alright. I’m going to wear my Sprewell jersey with pride this weekend.

7. Tony Parker - (17 ppg, 7 apg, 1.7 spg) The frenchman has three titles and he’s still only 28. He might not be the best teammate in the world, but, at least on the court, he seems to be pretty unselfish. He definitely shares the wealth. He’s one of the best finishers around. He likes holding the trophy but he doesn’t care too much for the ring. He’s relentless. You can deny him and deny him and deny him, but in the end you both know he’s still going to come...alright and moving on...

6. Steve Nash - (18.5 ppg, 10 apg, 1 spg) - I both love and hate Steve Nash. On one hand, he seems to be a really likable guy. He’s funny, Canadian, and a top-notch soccer player. But on the other hand, he set the bar way too high for short white guys in the NBA. If there’s a 6’2 white guy, he’s inevitably going to be compared to Nash and if he doesn’t live up to those ridiculous standards, he might not make it in the league. It’s probably the sole reason I’m not in the NBA right now.

5. Russell Westbrook - (24.6 ppg, 8.6 apg, 2.2 spg) - This summer at the World Championships, I thought he looked a little out of control. He would get tot the hoop with ease, but he didn’t finish at a high enough rate when he got there. However, this season, he looks like the best player on his team. I still think Durant will step it up and prove he’s the leader, like he was this summer, but Westbrook is definitely pushing this next guy as the best athletic point guard in the game.

4. Derrick Rose - (26 ppg, 8 apg, 1spg) - His dunk against the Knicks earlier this year is all you need to see.




3. Rajon Rondo - (11.4 ppg, 14 apg, 2.2 spg) - He’s tied with Steve Logan of Cincy and Jeff Boschee of Kansas as my favorite college player of all time. Rondo’s playing in a true point guard’s dream right now in Boston. He is surrounded with determined veterans who can hit open shots, and most importantly, know that the offense starts with him. I love the fact that he realizes this and is blatantly going for the assist crown.

2. Chris Paul - (16 ppg, 10.5 apg, 3 spg) - Paul doesn’t have near the supporting cast that the previous three guys do, but he gets similar production out of them. He ran into a tough New York team on Friday, but having the Hornets at 13-6 has to give him the early lead for MVP.

1. Deron Williams - (22 ppg, 10.2 apg, 1 spg) - There isn’t one part of his game where you could say, “yeah, but I wish he did this a little better.” He’s got size and quickness. He can shoot, drive, dish and defend. I guess, if I wanted to nitpick, his tattoos could be better.

The best thing about this list is that 7 of the 10 have 5 years or less NBA experience. There is no deeper position in the league than point guard and the future is only looking better.