On Point: NBA Fans Will Have Plenty to Cheer For in the Next Decade

(Photo Credit LJ World)

It seems like just yesterday I was hanging out with my buddies, collecting basketball cards, and screaming things like "I got a Jason Kidd game worn jersey card in this pack!" or "Check out my Steve Francis chrome rookie card!" Yes, it seems the wave of NBA stars from my childhood has passed us. The elite, and more specifically, exciting crop of NBA point guards no longer consists of guys like Jason Kidd, Steve Francis, Sam Cassell, Allen Iverson (yes, those technical fans out there remember he at one point was listed at PG), Mike Bibby, Baron Davis, Stephon Marbury, Chauncey Billups, Gary Payton, and Gilbert Arenas. Part of me has been sad to finally admit that these guys are either done or way past their prime. The other part of me, however, is incredibly excited for the years to come.

(Photo Credit Yahoo)

After watching Ricky Rubio play in person last night-still on a less than 100% healthy knee may I remind you-I began to think about the direction of the NBA is headed, specifically the point guard position. My level excitement immediately ROSE (pun absolutely intended). Watching Ricky Rubio play in person was an experience that any NBA fan could appreciate. From the tenacious defense, to the unbelievable passes, to the obvious will power that propels the kid to not give up, he is something special to see in person. I can't help but wonder "what if" he had a completely healthy knee along with a completely healthy Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic, not to mention a healthy Chase Budinger? NBA gurus would have to agree that they could have made some noise this year with the leadership of Rubio at the helm.

(Photo Credit Sports Illustrated)

Think for a second, about all of the point guards in this league at the moment. Now, think of them a couple of years from now. Imagine the excitement! As an NBA fan in general, this thought thrills me. I can't wait to see a developed Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Damian Lillard, and Ricky Rubio. Exciting guys like Ty Lawson, Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, and Steph Curry will be in the thick of their prime and should still be solid players. Will Shved get a gig elsewhere? He's sure shown a lot of promise as a rookie. And then there is the already established stars like Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, and Chris Paul. How much better can D-Rose and Rondo get? Well, imagine if they developed a consistent jumper. Imagine if Russell Westbrook learned to make veteran decisions for his team. Chris Paul is as good as he'll be at this point, but should still be dominant in a few years too.

(Photo Credit Getty Images)

This group of point guards could end up being one of the great groups of the past century. Let's make sure we cherish it! This wasn't intended to be a factual, nor debatable article. This was simply a fan thinking out loud about the years to come. I hope I have instilled even more love for the NBA within your soul. I know I'm excited. Are you?

Joakim Noah: The most complete center in the NBA and DPOY candidate

 

(Photo Credit sports24.com)

Coming into his career with the Bulls, Joakim Noah knew only one thing: Winning. At Florida he won two NCAA titles under Billy Donovan and was known for his emphatic, tenacious, passionate play on the court. He was a stud with the Gators. Then, starting with the hideous tuxedo choice on NBA Draft night in 2007, something changed. 

 

(Photo Credit joakimnoahonline)

His rookie season he produced only 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, barely 1 assist and not even a full block or steal (ESPN). There was more to be expected from a 1st round draft pick coming in to fill a huge need in the front court on a struggling team. The next year he managed to improve slightly with a 6.7PPG, 7.6RPG, and roughly the same assist, steal, and block numbers (ESPN). However, in May of 2008 he was charged with possession of marijuana (Inside Hoops). The start to his NBA career was not what Bulls fans had in mind... Not in the slightest. 

Fast forward to his 2012-2013 season, and I assure you, Bulls fans have a completely different feeling about the guy. He has shown a change in his play that would have been hard to believe in 2008. This year Mr. Noah has been exactly who the Bulls envisioned on Draft Night back in 2007. He is hustling for every rebound, emphatically contesting shots on every position, working for a dominant post position when guarding his man, stealing and blocking the ball at an all time high as of late...I mean, everything you want from a center, he is doing. I've even caught the man leading the fast break after ripping down a board! I believe a big reason for his success is due to the coaching of Tom Thibodeau. Joakim Noah is the definition of a Thibs type player if there ever was one. He has bought into Thibs' system and style of play, and boy has he ran off with it.

 (Photo Credit Terra Sports)

Noah's 2012-2013 has been filled with double doubles, a pair of triple doubles, a handful of technicals, and a lingering injury. It has been quite an eventful year for Joakim, especially with making his first career All Star Game. Thus far, he has put up 12.0 PPG (career high), 11.4 RPG (career high and also 4th in the NBA), 3.9 offensive RPG (3rd in NBA), 4.3 assists (career high and best among power forwards and centers), 2.3 BPG (career high and 6th in the NBA), and 1.3 SPG (All stats credited to ESPN).. He is also 7th in the NBA (tied with his teammate Carlos Boozer) in double doubles (ESPN). 

To think he has put up these kinds of numbers while battling a lingering plantar fasciitis injury-not to mention the constant distraction that is Carlos Boozer's yelling-is astounding. I am sure Bulls fans are salivating at the possibilities of a completely healthy Joakim Noah. Without the play of Noah this year, the Bulls would be no where near as scary on defense as they have been at times. Is he the best defensive player in the game this season? I don't know. There are a lot of deserving players in guys like Tyson Chandler, Lebron James, Larry Sanders, and even KG at his age. What I do know, is that Noah is up there and sure deserves to be in the conversation.

Homosexuality in Sports: The Idiot That Spearheaded My Frustration

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Your first thought when reading this is probably correct: Yes, Chris Culliver prompted this post. Just days before the Super Bowl, Chris Culliver of the 49ers was asked how he would feel having a gay teammate. He responded in a matter that sent shock waves through the world of sports: "No, we don't got no gay people on the team. They got to get up out of here if they do.” Culliver proceeded to get burned over and over again by Ravens wideouts in the big game, en route to a loss. He later apologized and many assume (including myself) it was his publicist doing the talking for him to try and reinstate what was left of his image.

Now, I'm not going to turn this into some obscene street preaching sermon. I am a Bible-believing Christian, yes. But, while the Bible says many things, it also says in the book of John to love all people, just as Jesus loved us. Interestingly (and sadly) enough, many 'Christians' chose to agree with Culliver and his statement. I have no problem with you agreeing with his overall belief on Homosexuality, however, I do have a problem if you agree with the way he went about it. Culliver is a pure example of why people associate this type of behavior with 'Christians.' Let me assure you before you read any further, though I have my own beliefs, I will NEVER backhand someone of a different sexual orientation, race, or belief than myself. And that my fellow sports lovers, is a giant reason why people have such a hate towards 'Christians.' Pssst...a secret between you and I, they're not all like that!

Anyways, getting back to the matter at hand, I firmly believe that if a player can play the game he or she is involved in at a high enough level, it should not matter if they are gay, straight, or any other orientation. If I am a GM in the NFL looking at my current position in the draft, and it comes my turn to pick, I'm looking at the best available player for our current needs. If we need an offensive lineman and there's a guy who is married to a horse and collects blow up dolls while treating them like his own children, but he put up 45 reps on the bench press at 225, ran a 4.7 40 while weighing over 320lbs, and has a vertical surpassing some of the tight ends and wide receivers, MAKE NO MISTAKE, that guy is playing for my team! End of discussion!

For a player to say something like Culliver said while getting paid millions of dollars to just play football, is outright pathetic and there should be severe action taken to prevent future mishaps like this. I'm talking fines, suspensions, whatever is necessary. I for one, would be completely pissed off and humiliated if a player publicly told the world he did not want to play on the same team as me because of some personal or religious affiliation.

You may not condone something, but it doesn't mean you need to condemn it. Leave that for the judge, or better yet, leave it to the ultimate judge, God himself. All we can do while on this earth is love people and treat them the way they deserve and the way Christ treated them.

Manti Tebow? The Tim Tebow Effect Will Surely Follow Manti Te'o

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God Bless Tim Tebow. He is an inspiration and role model to young men all over the world. He has done countless acts of good for countless individuals and organizations. Donating money, autographs, and game worn attire, building an orphanage, making appearances at schools...this guy is a class act.

The circus that seems to follow him, however, is a different story.

Some statistics to enlighten you:

*The average number of social-media comments for an NFL game on CBS is 107,637 (for the 2011-2012 season). During the Steelers-Broncos wildcard game, there were a staggering 788,050 social-media comments made regarding this game. (Credit Ag Age Media News)

*Social-media comments pertaining to Tim Tebow during the 2012 AFC Wild-Card Game numbered 1,162,546 -- an amazing 54% of the total comments for the game. (Credit Ag Age Media News)

*As of May 2012, he ranked 4th in the Top 10 in the endorsement category of all celebrities, according to The Marketing Arm's Davie-Brown Index (DBI), which measures nearly 3,000 celebrities, including current and retired sports figures. (Credit Sports Illustrated)
*In 2012, Tebow drove more than half (61%) of New York Jets social media conversations in October propelling them to be the sixth most discussed team, despite a lowly 3-5 record. (Credit Cision Global Analysts)

(Photo credit ESPN)

*On Tim Tebow's birthday in 2012, ESPN dedicated what seemed like an entire show to him. During the one hour episode, Tebow's name was mentioned or appeared on the screen 29 times. TWENTY-NINE! And only three of those were directly related to Tebow playing football for the Jets.(Credit Cork Gaines, Business Insider)

*Doug Gottlieb, who worked for ESPN for 9 years and later left for CBS said in November 2012, "I was told specifically, 'You can't talk enough Tebow.' I would jokingly throw it into a segment. 'I gotta find 15 seconds here to talk about Tebow.'" (Credit Deadspin)

You get the picture. Here's my opinion: If the media has been this crazily obsessed with a quarterback who openly professes his faith, how much more will the media flock to Manti Te'o? I mean, you've seen athletes get attention before. Brett Favre, Barry Bonds, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Tim Tebow... They all had their moments in the spotlight last far too long.

We're not talking about a divorce, an affair, an illegal drug, or even religion in sports. We're talking about a guy who got fooled into thinking he was in a relationship with a woman for 3 YEARS! It turns out, his psychopathic cousin decided he had a homosexual obsession with him and pretended to be a woman whom never existed.

(Photo credit Bossip)

I imagine the team that decides to draft him will have their hands full. Personally, I don't want this circus coming to my team's locker room. I highly doubt coaches like Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin, the Harbaugh brothers, and a handful more would want that kind of mess on their hands. You would have to be insane to think that this whole fiasco will simmer down over time. I'm sorry, no it won't. Manti Te'o's legacy (or whatever it will be called) is already tarnished and he hasn't even set foot on an NFL field yet. I don't care that he supposedly missed only 1 tackle all of last year. I really don't. It's not worth the distraction. Not a bit.

So here's my fair warning to teams interested in drafting this gem:

Don't put your team through something that you wouldn't allow your own fake girlfriend to endure.

Why Derrick Rose Should Hold Off on #TheReturn

(Photo credit The Sports Quotient)

Early on in the 2012-2013 NBA season, Chicago Bulls fans were eager to have their beloved MVP back on the court.At the beginning of February when the Bulls were 11 games above .500, even I'll admit I wanted him back this year. The way Thibs had this team playing was astounding. They had played games without every single one of their starters up to this point, on top of playing without Derrick. No matter what player was hurt, Chicago still managed to win. It may not have been pretty, but the steady COY candidate had them playing team basketball. More importantly, they were playing lights out on defense.

Fast forward. It's February 27th and the Bulls have gone a measly 4-8 this month and are currently sitting in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics-yes Bulls fans, the Celtics-on their tails, threatening to send Chicago down to the 7th seed where another rival (Milwaukee) will be nipping at their heels.

If I am Derrick Rose, I would listen to my brother. "What? How dare you!" shouts every Bulls fan reading this. Listen, I'm not a fan of family members speaking to the media on behalf of their superstar athlete. But, Reggie has a point. "But Luol Deng and Joakim Noah were All-Stars this year!" Yes, they were. And they've been the glue that sticks this team together throughout the past few seasons. But, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng are also not completely healthy. Both have had lingering issues-Luol with his wrist and Joakim with his foot-that need to be addressed in the offseason. Combine this with the insane amount of minutes Thibs has given them (39MPG for Lu and just over 38MPG for Joakim, credit ESPN.com) and they are no where near their full value to this team. If Joakim goes down, Chicago depends on Taj Gibson. While Taj is normally a solid fill-in and energy player, two things hamper this option in the frontcourt: First, HIS backup is either Nazr Mohammed or Vladimir Radmonovic. That speaks for itself. Second, Taj is now injured and out for a "few weeks" (credit Nick Friedell, ESPN). What do the Bulls do now? They have a less-than-100% Joakim Noah in the starting lineup, with backups that have gotten than ample playing time in recent years.

(Photo credit Spokeo)

"Carlos Boozer is having a phenomenal season!" No, he's having a decent season. Averaging 15.5PPG and 9.3RPG on the year, Boozer is finally producing somewhat solid numbers (credit ESPN.com). But, any Bulls fan who has watched a handful of games this year will tell you he still cannot guard a fig tree. Perfect example: He allowed Luke Walton to make some key plays in last night's loss to Cleveland. LUKE WALTON. Did half of you reading this even think he was playing in the NBA anymore? I admit, even I did a double take last night when he entered the game. Boozer has had a good season, but not a 5 year, $80 million season. In fact, I now wonder "what if" the Bulls had traded him? Save some money, let Bargs hit a few shots, who knows what would have happened?

(Photo credit Bleacher Report)

So, we've established that Chicago's 3-5 spots have been less than excellent this season; and they do not have any depth in their frontcourt if one of them goes down. Let's talk about the backcourt. Surprise, surprise there have been injuries. Kirk Hinrich has been the bright spot as of late, other than his missing the last couple weeks with an elbow injury. He's shown veteran presence and that he's dependable in crunch time. His relievers? Nate Robinson and Marquis Teague. Robinson is probably the most inconsistent, streaky player I can remember in recent years. Thibs has shaken his head more at Nate Robinson during games than all of his teammates combined this year (not an official stat, but who would disagree?). The guy makes a couple of shots and then decides he's invincible, forcing up off-balanced jumpers while double-teamed, fading out of bounds on the baseline. Not to mention, I'm fairly sure he'd have been a better dancer than basketball player. How many times does he have to dribble the ball at the top of the key before he makes a decision? Marquis Teague, God bless him, has just not had enough experience to know how to handle certain situations in the NBA. He's had his fair share of rookie mistakes. He's also had a few shining moments when streaking to the hoop and laying it in with an athletic move. But, in the end, with everybody healthy on this roster he is just the 4th option at point guard. That should speak volumes.

(Photo credit  Jared Wickerham/Getty Images North America)

Then, there's Rip and Marco. Rip has had a LOT of bad games in a Bulls uniform. This year he's managed games of 1-7, 3-14, 5-14, 4-11, 4-11, 6-18, 2-7, and 2-11 shooting (credit ESPN.com). He's a starting SHOOTING guard? Come one now. There have got to be some backup SG's in this league that Bulls fans would take over those performances. Marco Bellinelli has given Bulls fans a few "stand up and shout" moments this year. The most memorable was probably his shot to send it into OT against Boston earlier this season. However, he's also had 14 games where he has made 1 FG or less (credit ESPN.com). I will stop my rambling.

The point is, why would Mr. Rose hurry back to join THIS team? If I'm Derrick, I do just what I said and wait until I am 110% healthy. After an ACL tear, that will more than likely be the start of next season. Hopefully by then Gar and Pax have completely renovated this team's depth. I for one, would not like to see Booz, Rip, Nate, Nazr, or Vlad in a Bulls uniform next season.