Shaky Ankles

We’ve covered Kevin Durant’s crossover several times this season, and in its effective ability to create efficient baskets, this one is no different. Durant only made five baskets in this game (which these days is rarer than standing outside in a downpour and not getting hit with any rain). He did, however, pull this move off—a sequence of beauty that should probably count for more than your typical two points. It’s so difficult not to love.

For a majority of this lockout shortened 2011-12 season, LeBron James was a solid five or six strides ahead of everyone else in the always entertaining race for MVP. The Miami Heat looked unbeatable when they wanted to be, and the biggest reason for that was James’ consistent magnificence.

Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul joined him in early season conversation, but eventually LeBron simply pulled away, looking like a man on a mission. Playing in a condensed season that posed a lose-lose situation for both him and his team (the Heat could have gone 66-0 this season and nobody would care unless they won the championship), James began to put up historical numbers. When Dwyane Wade went down for an extended stretch, the question was posed as to whether Miami was actually a better team with LeBron running the show by himself. Wade is one of the league’s 10 best players on an off night. This train of thought was insane and intriguing at the same time.

I don’t recall anybody ever saying the Bulls were better without Scottie Pippen, or the early 2000 Lakers were better without Kobe Bryant. This was hard evidence for just how other-worldly LeBron’s season was earlier this season. There was a Bryan Cranston at the Emmys type of feel about LeBron and the MVP award this year. It was his to lose. Nobody was close.

Then March 20th happened. In a game against the Phoenix Suns, with the outcome already decided, James and Grant Hill crashed into each other diving for a loose ball. The collision was so violent, there was talk James might have suffered a concussion. Three nights later, he had a surprisingly subpar effort against Detroit, going 6-15 from the field for a puny 17 points. Granted LeBron had 10 assists, four steals, and his team won, but with LeBron the expectations are always higher than everyone else’s.

Two days later, in a much anticipated Sunday night matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder—and more importantly, prime rival MVP candidate Kevin Durant—both LeBron and his team floundered. The result was a seismic shift in the race. LeBron went head to head with Durant and was badly outplayed. For the first time, LeBron’s five fingers appeared to be slipping off the trophy.

Exactly one week later, the Heat were handed their worst loss of the season, and James recorded 0 assists (passing is the largest advantage his game has over Durant’s) while the Thunder handed the league’s best team (record wise) their worst beating in recent memory.

Between the win against Phoenix on March 20th and last night’s 41 point demolition of Philadelphia, Miami was 3-3, playing like an average basketball team at best. And LeBron’s MVP candidacy is on the ropes like a popular politician enduring a sex scandal in early October.

The trophy is officially up for grabs.

As we go into the three main components that decide who should be named MVP, it should be noted that for the rest of the season, this is a two horse race; it would be “Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has been nominated for an Osacr” type shocking if either LeBron James or Kevin Durant did not win. They’re the two best players in the league, and until further notice, their respective teams are headed on a probable collision course this June.

But this column isn’t about them so much as it is the award’s selection process. Each year, or so it seems, the requirement to win is altered. One year it could be awarded to the best player, another year it could be given to someone dragging his team by the scruff of its neck into playoff obliteration. Is it too much to ask for a little consistency?

(Quick Tangent: It’s absolutely INFURIATING to hear former players, analysts, and reporters speak about the MVP on television as if it’s a little child swaying back and forth on a swing. When there’s a month left in the regular season it makes absolutely no sense to say one guy has “passed” another just because he outplays him in a single game. This award is supposed to validate an ENTIRE season’s body of work. Right? It doesn’t matter who you think should win, please, for the love of God, just present your case with some logical evidence and move to the next topic of discussion. Thank you.)

There are so many different paths that can be taken to receiving the MVP award. Here, in my opinion, are the three most important: Narrative, Statistics, and Value. Read more…

Of all the amazing things Kevin Durant is able to do with a basketball, the way he manages to tighten his gangly arms into a crisp, effective crossover while moving full speed towards the basket might be the most understated. He can make it flashy, but Durant’s game isn’t about that; his performances widen eyes staring at his post game box score almost more than his actual game time play. He gets it done, every night, with no exceptions. In line with almost every other action he conducts during a game, Durant uses the crossover as a vessel to score the basketball, and the way he’s able to use it traveling at all different types of speeds makes him that much more of an unbeatable, once-in-a-generation talent.

If your enjoyment of basketball as a game runs deep into the whys and hows which explain the tendencies of every player, then you probably love advanced statistics. They exist to explain what’s unexplainable (at first) to the naked eye. They’re both fun to pour over when you’re bored and crucial instruments in deciding the limits of million dollar contract extensions.

The statistic being put under the microscope right now is one rarely—if ever—mentioned on television broadcasts or highlight reels. It’s awkward from the tongue and slightly confusing as to what it specifically constitutes, being that it’s so based on the subjective, but “percent of field goals assisted” (%ast) is underrated in its importance. Read more…

In the grand scheme of what’s altruistically important in life, I believe it’s fair to suggest all teachers, doctors, surgeons, and members of the armed forces should be given financial compensation of equal or greater value to that of which is awarded professional athletes. Their actual impact on human life is indisputably greater, more important, and further reaching. Of course, they don’t (and never will) because the businesses they’re in don’t create the billions upon billions of dollars in gross revenue that the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL produce on an annual basis. They also have an uncountable number of members in their labor force, making each worker’s slice of pie much smaller than that of the athlete. Call it sad. Call it unfair. Call it horribly disproportionate. Call it the real world. Read more…

Which part of Kevin Durant’s game is the most hellish for a hopeful defender? He can kill in a variety of diabolical ways, but it’s safe to say none would even be close to inflicting the same amount of pain if it weren’t for that sweet, nightmarish jump shot. Trying to stop it must feel like hiding on a golf course. It can come from any direction, at any distance; never accompanied with a warning.

Thanks to that shot—part beauty, part carnivor—Durant’s offensive repertoire is too much to handle, like water seeping through porcelain tiles beside an overflowing bathtub.

A few days ago, Truth About It’s John Converse Townsend dragged Durant’s crossover into the light:

But where Durant really raised eyebrows was with his dizzying display of crossovers — executed with more precision and purpose than his Melo League counterparts, Chris Paul included — and a deceivingly quick burst to the hoop. Possession after possession, Durant left defenders off balance, outwitted and out of the picture before scoring with his choice of clever kisses off the backboard or inimitable two-handed jams over traffic.

The one we’re most accustomed to seeing (in the NBA) isn’t too flashy, but it’s effective, usually resulting in a path to the basket and frosty dunk to ice off the play. With one of the longest strides in the league, once he gets that sliver of room and takes off for the hoop, it’s at least two points for Oklahoma City.

The first two aren’t crossovers, but when his quick feet are combined with blatantly overlooked handle that defies physical laws, Durant shows off why at 22-years-old, he’s already the most unstoppable offensive player in the world.

Back when I was in high school, at least twice a month I elected to get my hair cut at a communal barbershop located just outside Cambridge’s Central Square. Each time I visited I was greeted with vivacious conversation surrounding one of three topics: Basketball, boxing, and African-American artistry. The discussions were almost ceremonious in their consistency; questions were posed, debated, and ultimately resolved by whoever happened to be holding the long, potentially threatening, wooden broom. Men of wide ranging knowledge such as Henry Louis Gates Jr. were regular participants, and the chatter which made the shop palatial would put any talking head program airing on popular television today to permanent shame. Read more…

Last night the Thunder and Warriors played in one of the more exciting games we’ve seen since the All-Star break. Down six with less than 15 seconds to play, Reggie Williams knocked in a long ball to cut Golden State’s deficit to three, and on the ensuing inbound pass, Daequan Cook threw the ball to Monta Ellis who, of course, drained a game tying three-pointer. It was a miraculous comeback in a sea of regular season muck, but as the narrative tends to lean in basketball games played in Oklahoma City, the Thunder managed to pull things out in the extra period, winning the game 115-114 after Monta Ellis missed what would have been a game winning jumper as time expired. Read more…

1) If you haven’t already seen it, one of my favorite writers, Bethlehem Shoals, took on the upcoming cycle’s least important free agents. It’s neither a sanguine nor pretty open market out there.

2) Last night David West suffered what might be a career shifting knee injury. In recent weeks he’s been quite talkative about his upcoming free agency; rightfully optimistic, sounding like a player who’s ready to reap the benefits of all the hard work put forth towards his profession. The primal screams that can be heard from the video linked above are as difficult to hear as anything in the sport, and I can only hope a good guy like West comes back stronger than before. On the long list of Things That Aren’t Fair In This World, a dedicated athlete tearing an ACL is definitely up there.

3) Not to be a selfish Sally, but if Kevin Love’s really out the rest of the year with a groin injury, my fantasy basketball team can kiss its championship chances goodbye.

4) Video evidence that the game’s most intense man is for real.

5) I like StatsCube. You should too. Here it takes a look at who should win the Most Improved Player award.

6) Great article on the staying in school vs. leaving early argument.

7) Hardwood Paroxysm’s wonderful look at the pressures Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant have ahead of them, and how they could shape the two youngsters.

While LeBron James and Dwyane Wade (two superstars with no room for excuses) want to talk about the older brother bully on the block, OKC find themselves in a more similar situation with those late 80′s Chicago squads.  With the addition of Perk and Donkey, a rematch of last season’s surprisingly competitive six game slugfest between L.A. and the Thunder could easily decide which team represents the Western Conference.