Chris Paul: The present and future

It has been a minute since I posted anything on here. Work, life, and just complete laziness has kept me from just sitting and writing. However, I have been revitalized! My revitalization comes in the form of one Chris Paul, the New Orleans Hornets revolutionary guard. So much has been written of the iconic young point man that I'm not sure what else there is to say. I came to a conclusion that I wanted to come at Paul from a perspective I haven't seen written about him yet: comparing him to an NBA Legend. The legend that comes to mind when I watch Paul play is one Isiah Lord Thomas lll.

The obvious of this is the physical comparisons. Thomas played at 6'1, 185. Paul, meanwhile, plays at 6'0, 175. Thomas was known as the Baby-faced assassin during his player days, playing with a fearless style of play that belied his size. Much like Zeke, Paul plays with a certain fearlessness despite his minute stature on the court. They both have cat like quickness and spectacular hand/eye coordination. While small, both players are stronger than they look and have underrated athleticism. The biggest thing both have is heart.

It has been said that leadership skills are born to the person, not learned. If so, these guys have that gene in their DNA ten fold. While Thomas has seemed to lose this genetic prize while impersonating a coach/GM with the Knicks, he had no such shortcoming while playing. He was one of the unqestioned leaders during the Bad Boy Pistons back to back title runs on the court and in the lockerroom. Despite his young age, Paul has taken the reins of a young and impressionable Hornets team and has not looked back. He leads by his play and also his words. Players naturally gravitate to Paul's outgoing personality. Where Paul goes, so go the Hornets. Much like Thomas was in his heyday, Paul is an extension of the coach on the court.

All great Point Guards in the history of the NBA have an unnatural vision and court sense. From The Big O, to John Stockton, Magic, down to Nash. Thomas is 5th all time in assists and 9th all time in steals in league history. He had an uncanny knack for seeing plays before they happened, either threading a beautiful pass or playing the passing lanes and getting steals with his quick hands. Paul, while only in his 2nd season, plays like he has eyes on the side and back of his head. He leads the league in steals and assists, and hardly ever turns the ball over. He baits defenses into coming at him with a second help defender, and Paul waits till the last second and once the help defender is commited, Paul always seems to find the left open teammate. On defense, Paul has some of the quickest hands and always seems to be in the right defensive position and knows how to play angles in the passing lane. Throw lazy passes and watch Paul racing back in the opposite direction.

Isiah Thomas was a very cerebral player. He always seemed destined to be a coach once his playing days came to an end. Despite his current debacle in New York, Zeke was actually a decent coach while with the Pacers. Paul has the same cerebral understanding of the game. While on the floor you can see Chris directing teammates to where they should be on the floor, both on offense and defense. He has knowledge of the game that makes his young age all but irrelevant.

When all is said and done, Paul has the potential to be mentioned among the all time greats. While Thomas was the original small point god, I would not be surprised if Paul ends up better than him. While his present in indeed bright, his future is damn near incandescent.

Portland Resurgence

What is in the water in Portland these days? The Blazers are thoroughly impressing me and just about any other basketball fan or pundit. As of today, these Blazers have won 13 games in a row and show no signs of letting up. It has definitely got me stand up and take notice of a team that a little more than a year ago was falling into irrelevancy. So I decided to take a closer look at this streak from a team that no one saw coming. As I look up and down their roster I see a lot players with less than 3 years of NBA experience and wonder exactly how they have been looking like the Rip City of old, when winning and playoff trips were as common as a Jason Kidd triple double. There is no doubt that a look into their success starts with the exceptional play of one Brandon Roy. Last seasons R.O.Y. has certainly elevated his play to that of an All Star level. Coach Nate McMillan has put the ball in Roy's hands as a facilitator of the offense and his numbers have been superb, to say the least. He is averaging 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists a game while averaging less than 2 TO's a game. Pretty impressive for a guy handling the ball at about the same rate that LeBron does for the Cavs. In a team full of young guys, the former UDub star leads them like a seasoned vet. Not sure if you could consider last seasons R.O.Y. the year for most improved, but he would certainly merit my vote.

But lets look deeper. 13 in a row is not accomplished without team play. LaMarcus Aldridge is certainly the next brightest talent on this squad, but he has been injured for the better portion of this streak. The Blazers certainly got the better of the draft day trade of Tyrus Thomas for Alridge. Things start getting a bit cloudy after these top 2 talents. Greg Oden was drafted #1 overall after the Blazers forgetful season last year and looked to provide some much needed size and rebounding, but he won't suit up till next season due to knee surgery. The remaining starters are Martell Webster, Steve Blake, and a tag team of Channing Frye/Joel Pryzbilla at the 5. Certainly an underwhelming trio. Webster has a nice outside stroke and makes 3's at a 38% clip, but he is sort of a one trick pony. Blake, the former Maryland star, is sure ball handler and is shooting 3's at an impressive 45% clip, but is a defensive liability. The Frye/Pryzbilla combo averages about 13 points and rebounds a game, which are numbers I'm quite sure Oden could average by himself if healthy. The top reserves are Travis Outlaw, Jarrett Jack, and James Jones. All role players outside of Outlaw, who has provided energy and scoring off the bench after 3 subpar years since being drafted out of highschool. This certainly has the look of a young team that might give you a run for 3 quarters and then bow out, but not of a team in the midst of the second longest streak in franchise history.

So in the end, let's look at the coach. Nate McMillan is a coach who preaches defense first and is a proponent for not turning the ball over. He emphasizes team over individuals. To sum up, he coaches like he used to play. He expects his team one thru twelve to give all out effort for 48 minutes. He is like the bizarro Isiah Thomas. He empowers his players but is not afraid to bench a player not giving full effort. He takes the criticism when the team plays poorly, but is quick to give his players all the credit when they play well. There is a story making the rounds about a particular rough practice in San Antonio around the time these Blazers had lost 9 of 10 games. McMillan made rules in practice where players couldn't switch off on screens and players were only allowed to dribble once before passing. With players trying fight thru screens and having to move without the ball, things got chippy, which is exactly what Nate wanted. Players almost went to blows, Roy yelled at teammates, and the normally reserved Blake even thru a chair Bobby Knight style. McMillan loved it and the players seemed to get the message. He wanted the team to stop playing soft and he got his young team to toughen up, mentally and physically. The message showed up 2 games later on a last second shot by Outlaw that beat Memphis and started this imcomparable streak.

How long can the Blazers keep this up? The road gets tougher in the next month with more road games and better opponents on the schedule. Will they make the playoffs? Are they going to set a new franchise record winning streak? Can Roy continue his amazing play? Can coach McMillan continue on his coach of the year push? No one knows for sure. But there is one certainty in all of this. I will be watching.

Ramblings on UM

This UM coaching search is really starting to irritate me. UM's AD Bill Martin knew as early as after the second game of Michigan's season against Oregon that Lloyd Carr wasn't going to return. Some reports suggest he knew even earlier than that. So the man has had basically 3+ months to devise a list of potential candidates to replace Carr. I cannot understand how this man is botching this hire so bad?! This is only UM's most important hire in about 20 years! Les Miles is a UM man, a former player and coach under the legendary Bo Schembechler. He was by far the #1 candidate on the list. But yet he claims he never got an offer even though UM had permission to speak to him and Bill Martin could not be reached when Miles agent tried to contact him about an LSU offer to try and keep him as their coach. That is unacceptable. It is rumored that Carr is strongly against hiring Miles because of what he feels were back handed recruiting tactics Miles supposedly used to lure some prospective UM signees away from Ann Arbor and to LSU. Honestly, I say who cares?! The man has stated numerous times his love for his alma mater and he is the best coach out there! After Miles signed his extension with LSU, UM offered the job to Greg Schiano from Rutgers, who is not a bad option. Still, he turned us down to stay at Rutgers. No big surprise because he is from there, but we actually offered him LESS than what he was already making at Rutgers! Now it is being reported that Miles has been contacted again and may still decide to come to UM after LSU plays in the championship game. Whatever. At this point, UM already has egg on its face. Bill Martin needs to get with the times and get more aggresive in his coaching search and open the bank account up. Get it done already, Bill! Or get out the way and let someone else do your job.

Basketball - My Passion

I love almost all sports. Sports is the view of life in general. Sports brings people from all walks of life togther, no matter race, religion, gender, or financial stature. It is the essence of all things that we deal with in everyday life. In sports you compete, realize your potential, make friends, form bonds, understand the importance of helping out your fellow man or woman, recognize your weaknesses, bask in acheivement, learn from disappointment, etc. I could go on and on. The point I'm making is sports is a remarkable tool with which you can learn alot about yourself and life in general. But one particular sport has always had my heart. That sport is basketball. I love all levels of basketball, from the playground to the Y, all the way up to the NBA. Basketball is such a beauty to watch when played the right way. Don't get me wrong, I love watching highlights of an Amare Stoudemire dunk or a Ray Allen 3 pointer, but i'll take a beautiful dime from Steve Nash over these any day. I admire the fundamentals of basketball. I simply enjoy watching the Princeton offense run to perfection. I revel in the basics of the game. Screens, cuts, boxing out, making the extra pass, spreading the floor, a perfect outlet pass; basically, all the things that don't get hyped about on ESPN. Basketball is such a pure sport. You can absolutely get lost in the game. I would rather shoot jumpers and free throws for hours then play the latest Madden game on PS3. Basically, basketball is my remedy. Whenever I have a bad day, I know I can always run to the local rec center and burn away all the negativity from that day. The essence of sports in general, and basketball in particular, is the passion that drives my daily endeavors. Grab your sneakers and find a run or plop down on the coach and find a game and get lost in it.