So I have a hot take I would like to share. And this may or may not be a hot take to some. However, I gotta put it all out for the sake of this blog. *Braces myself*
LeBron James is the 4th best player in the NBA. Yeah I said it and its okay if he isn’t. That’s not to say LeBron is washed or isn’t good anymore, as I still have him in my top 5 category and it doesn’t take away from his Hall of Fame credentials. In the beginning of the year, the gap on LeBron against the field was thin but now it looks like the gap has closed. As far as who the best player in the league is, I think its Steph Curry. He has been unbelievable this year and will probably win MVP again. The Warriors have been historically great and he is the driving force behind it. Others can make a case for Kevin Durant. He has had a sensational year following his injury filled campaign last year. Offensively, he is a juggernaut and can score effortlessly which isn’t something new. Kawhi Leonard has also developed into a great two way player who is now the heart and soul of a great defensive Spurs team. Just look at him. He was made to be a Spur. Now one could make arguments for LeBron to keep his spot on the throne but my argument against is that the three I mentioned are all better shooters than he is and with the game played today, having good/great shooters is a must and they’re really hard to find. Speaking of that, you need to be able to defend as well. Kawhi is the best defender out of the four. Curry in my opinion is an underrated defender because his team-defense attribute goes unnoticed due to the casual fans obsession with man defense. As for Durant, he is an above average defender and his length helps with that. There are times where LeBron is more Harden-esque on defense and he doesn’t (at least willingly) have the desire to defend all 5 positions like he used to anymore. As far as other skills go, Curry is probably the better passer (spoiler; more assist per game does not necessarily mean better passer) & Durant is probably a more serviceable rebounder. In other miscellaneous points, Kawhi & Steph like I said are spearheading all-time great teams. Durant is half the reason why the Thunder have at least a shot (if Durant nor Westbrook weren’t around the Thunder would be in trouble). And while the Cavs are still atop of the Eastern Conference and are likely to win it, there is a bit of a crisis going on with that team and hilariously he is sort of the backbone to that with his social media shade, alleged string pulling in the front office, and comments of teaming up with CP3, Melo, and Wade when they all become senior citizens. The soap opera that is the Cavs may see their downfall as a result of the internal distractions. Durant is in a contract year and it’s not even as distracting, think about that. Everyday there is something new about the Cavs. (Note; he is still an overall good dude, he’s just…weird). Again, LeBron has deserved everything he has accomplished and he has been an elite player for about a decade now. And he could take back his number one spot because he is that special of a player. However, as of now Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry are all better than he is and moving forward I’d rather have any one of those three on my team than him. Especially at the fact that he’s played so many minutes throughout his career and that he is 31. To end this fiery take post, here are some stat lines of the four players. I’ll let you *guess* who’s who. You also can take these stats and put them into your own context as well. Player A: 24.9 PPG 6.6 APG 7.4 RPG 1.4 SPG .50/.28/.72 (FG%, 3p FG%, FT %) 11.4 WS (Win Shares) 8.4 PM (Plus Minus) .57% TS% (True Shooting) Player B: 20.8 PPG 2.5 ASG 6.8 RPG 1.8 SPG .50/.46/.88 12.4 WS 8 PM .61% TS% Player C: 30.1 PPG 6.6 APG 5.4 RPG 2.1 SPG .50/.45/.90 15.5 WS 12.4 PM .67% TS% Player D: 28 PPG 5 APG 8.3 RPG 1.3 BPG .50/.38/.89 12.7 WS 7.5 PM .63% TS%
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Here we are with #WomensEmpowerment part dos! In part one, I kicked off the women’s history month series with shout outs to the late and great Amy Winehouse, the Williams sisters, and Justice Sotomayor. This time around I will be shouting out an NBA assistant coach who hopefully will become a head coach in the future, a talented musician who uses her platform for good, and a well-known and entertaining basketball analyst who is better than me at basketball. Let’s start these shout outs with the one and only Janelle Monáe. Janelle Monáe; (Musician) – The all worldly entertainer has been making major moves on the scene for about a decade now. This beautiful woman creates great music, has a great mind, and strives to see that fellow African Americans get their due, respect, and equality. She is often vocal and hands on when it comes to movements like Black Lives Matter and standing up for women in general. She has released two great studio albums called The ArchAndriod and the Electric Lady which harness her talents and good songwriting into one. Janelle also spearheaded the jumpstart to Wondaland Records which includes a roster of talented black individuals so her eye for talent is there. Aside from the music, she has success of being the spokeswoman for Cover Girl and acting, as she will be making her big screen debut in the upcoming film Moonlight due out this year. Becky Hammon; (Coach) – The Colorado State native made history by becoming the first full time female assistant coach in any of the core four American sports. She has a bright mind in terms of the game of basketball and prior to this stint she had a good career as a WNBA player. She went undrafted yet carved out a nice career where she played Point Guard for 13 seasons overall while notching All-WNBA honors 4 times in addition to becoming a 6 time all-star. She also led the league in assist once. In 2014, San Antonio Spurs head coach Greg Popovich took her under his wing as an assistant coach and a year later in the summer of 2015, she became the first female NBA coach to win the Summer League title. Her basketball IQ and work ethic keeps the drive going and someday I’m sure she’ll turn out to be successful at coaching. Doris Burke; (Reporter/Analyst) – Before I end these shout outs, take a look at this, this, and finally (Unrelated to the sport but still) this. Now then, Doris gets a shout out here for not only her good touch on the ball but for her entertaining and good insight on the game of basketball. Being a color analyst for NBA on ESPN and ESPN College Basketball is not an easy task for anyone yet she handles both and does it well. The New York native played basketball at Providence College and became the school’s all-time leader in assist. In addition to being an analyst for the programs above, she also covers the WNBA, specifically with the New York Liberty. Her sideline reporting is also considered a plus to her repertoire as well. Speaking on which, here’s a fun fact! She became the first woman to call a New York Knicks game on the radio and TV! Not only do I commend her for the work she had done in the field of broadcasting but also her brilliant ball handling. Again, she could probably beat me in a game to 11…never mind she would. March is a special month for plenty of reasons. For one it’s an indicator that spring is almost here and the 35 years of winter is almost gone. Another reason is that it’s Women’s History Month. The month were women everywhere are appreciated for their greatness although a month isn’t enough to show our gratitude towards them.
Like my black history month series, I will shout out women who have excelled in the arts and athletics among such. There are plenty of areas where women have made strides and broke barriers in a world where they don’t get enough respect and unfortunately receive disrespect. The following individuals have earned my upmost respect and do their best to combat the disrespect they receive. The first few individuals to get a spot on this list are the legendary tennis sisters. The Williams. Serena & Venus Williams; (Tennis Players) – The California natives are some of the more prolific and dominate athletes ever. Serena is widely considered one of the greatest singles tennis players ever and is no doubt one of the most dominate athletes since the turn of the century. Her sister Venus also is regarded as an all-time great despite injuries she sustained throughout the years. Both of them have a combined 28 grand slam titles, 13 double grand slam titles, and both have been ranked number 1 at some point in their careers (Serena is currently number 1). These two have revolutionized the sport by simply being themselves and skilled at the same time. Shout out to these two elite and beautiful black women. Sonia Sotomayor; (Associate Justice) – The Princeton/Yale graduate made history when she was appointed by President Obama as the first supreme court justice to be of Hispanic descent, also being the third woman overall to being appointed. The Bronx native has worked hard throughout her time to advocate for better treatment of minorities, including the Latino community. She is clearly intelligent and has had plenty of experience in the field of Law & Justice and she’s even one of the people who have been calling for the reformation of the criminal justice system in the U.S. Anyone who attempts to use the power they’ve been given for the greater of good deserves the upmost respect from me. And Justice Sotomayor earns it from me. Amy Winehouse; (Singer/Musician) – The late and great vocalist from the U.K. Amy Winehouse is regarded in elite company when it comes to music surrounding pop/soul. Her albums Frank and Back to Black are both great albums which displayed her vocal skills and creativity. Many place Amy as one of the best soul singers ever despite her short career which was cut short due to her death in 2011 at the age of 27. Amy was successful critically and commercially in addition to becoming the first British female to five Grammy awards. One of my favorite Winehouse songs includes In My Bed from Frank. If you haven’t listened to any of her music I encourage you to do so! |
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March 2017
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