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All-Star Break Power Rankings Review: Heatles Are Up There
by nba is the worst on Feb 19, 2011 8:09 PM EST
on Peninsula is Mightier
Just about every professional basketball-related website has a power rankings page, so here's a summary of some of the most prominent.
Power rankings sites fall into 2 basic categories.
I will refer to the first as "Statistics-based", where there's a mathematical formula which yields the rankings (and is therefore unbiased). Best known examples are ESPN's (John) Hollinger rankings, which update daily, and Neal Paine's primarily point differential-based model on basketball-reference.com.
I call the 2nd type "Opinion based", where a sportswriter (or team of same) votes based on whatever criteria they decide. These are generally updated weekly, and are more apt to give more weight to the last 7 days of a team's performance than the stats-based. Examples of this type are Marc Stein's ESPN page which updates on Mondays and SB Nation's which updates on Tuesdays - so their Allstar Break editions won't be up until early next week.
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Eddie House Fined for "Crotch-Related Obscene Gesture" after big shot vs OKC
Mildly irritating political correctness from Stern and Co - $25K for the "big balls" thing?.
In a somewhat amusing and interesting-in-comparison (and very HOT) sidebar, check out the PETA suberbowl ad story on the same link - girls in bikinis kissing and fondling various vegetables!
(Scroll down until the story appears)
Somehow I doubt we will see this during Sunday's big game...
LeBron: "We call ourselves the Heatles" - nothing on PIM about this?
by nba is the worst on Jan 6, 2011 12:03 PM EST
on Peninsula is Mightier
Hard to believe nobody has even mentioned this here...
From the Miami Herald:
The Heat is referring to itself as the "Heatles'' -- as in the Beatles -- these days because of the large crowds it receives on the road, said James. ``I see we sell out 99.1 percent on the road, so we call ourselves the Heatles off the Beatles, so every time we take our show on the road we bring a great crowd,'' James said. The obvious question: So who's Paul McCartney and who's John Lennon? ``I knew that was going to be a question,'' James said. ``We're just the Heatles, man.''
The postgame interview initial quote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1syKef-llfo&feature=related
And some notable (over)reactions from around the league after the jump.
Exhaustive Back-To-Back Spreadsheet For Both Season and Game-By-Game Analysis
by nba is the worst on Nov 9, 2010 10:22 AM EST
on Silver Screen and Roll
I just saw this and thought it to be incredibly interesting AND useful. This is the best analysis of an NBA schedule I've ever seen. The spreadsheet has 2 tabs: The 1st is a season analysis for B2Bs AND 4 games in 5 days by team, and the 2nd is the ENTIRE NBA schedule by date!
Major props to AnacondaHL on basketbawful.blogspot.com for creating this comprehensive data!
http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2010/11/unnecessarily-comprehensive-and-overdue.html
Lakers Outplaying the Knicks, Heat and Suns at Their Own Game (With Comparison to Last Season)
by nba is the worst on Nov 6, 2010 12:25 PM EDT
on Silver Screen and Roll
Remember last season when the Lakers' perimeter shooting was a weakness? Their regular season 3-pt FG% was .341, good for 24th out of 30 teams.
Opening Night Block Party in South Beach in Jeopardy Due to Police Protest
by nba is the worst on Sep 22, 2010 12:01 AM EDT
on Peninsula is Mightier
Don't circle the last Friday in October on your calendar yet. Plans for a huge, downtown celebration on the Miami Heat's opening home night may have been put on hold amid concerns over a planned protest by police and worries about crowd control
It's hard to believe that the Mayor is having trouble getting support for a party from his own police force, but it looks like the boys in blue are serious about raining on the Heat's party...
http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/nba/21998508;_ylt=AmTG5cGl9L5gZaCA_feqOSi8vLYF#nba/21998508
Marijuana possession charges against Haslem dropped
by nba is the worst on Sep 16, 2010 9:50 PM EDT
on Peninsula is Mightier
From the Associated Press through ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5580777
MIAMI -- Prosecutors have dropped all marijuana possession charges against Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem, simply saying the case could not be proven.
Haslem's attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, told The Associated Press that he received a call with the decision Thursday afternoon.
"The State Attorney's Office will not be able to file charges," Assistant State Attorney Errol Portman wrote in what's known as a "no action" memo.
Haslem expressed relief that the situation was over.
"I am really looking forward to getting back to basketball and focusing on the upcoming season," Haslem said Thursday night in a statement released through the team.
Portman wrote that Haslem's fingerprints were not on the container of marijuana found in the vehicle, and as such, it couldn't be proven that Haslem was actually in possession of the contraband.
The Heat forward was arrested Aug. 15 after being clocked driving 78 mph in a 60 mph zone on the Gratigny Parkway in Miami-Dade County. A search of his 2008 Mercedes turned up marijuana, which passenger Antwan Fleming claimed ownership of when questioned by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Fleming's fingerprints were found on the container, Portman wrote.
"While there was probable cause for the arrest of Udonis Haslem [it was in the car driven by Udonis Haslem, the car belonged to Udonis Haslem, the cannabis was in the immediate vicinity of Udonis Haslem, etc.], the State could not prove Udonis Haslem's knowledge or possession of the cannabis beyond a reasonable doubt," Portman said.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel first reported the case's dismissal.
Haslem was facing one third-degree felony count of marijuana possession and four misdemeanor counts of having drug paraphernalia. The felony charge could have carried maximum punishments of a $5,000 fine and a five-year prison sentence.
Haslem's 2008 Mercedes, valued at more than $100,000, was returned to him earlier this week after it was seized by FHP, Schwartzreich said.
Haslem likely will not face NBA sanctions.
"We love him, we have great respect for him, and we're going to let this run its course," Heat president Pat Riley said last week.
Haslem has spent all seven of his NBA seasons with the Heat, and the South Florida native signed a five-year contract to stay with the team earlier this summer. Haslem has averaged 10.0 points and 8.1 rebounds for Miami, and helped the Heat win the 2006 NBA championship.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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More fuel for Heat Haters: LeBron to host "Dawn of a Dynasty" Oct. 21, 2010
by nba is the worst on Sep 14, 2010 12:28 PM EDT
on Peninsula is Mightier
It seems like a certain Heat player just can't help himself from motivating the rest of the league - I wonder what Pat Riley will say to "defend" THIS...
http://www.elitesocialite.com/featuredevent.html
To continue to put this type of hype out is understandable - as Riley said, the Heat held back tickets to sell to groups and for special events - but it's another instance of proclaiming something which hasn't happened yet, and can only be judged years from now.
Better get your tickets early - at these prices, it will sell out fast!
Jermaine O'Neal Is Reaching For The Ring
Here's an interesting interview with Jerome on why he signed with the Celtics. Here's the Heat related quotes:
"The choice to come to Boston was difficult to make but easy to live with. Knowing the intentions to build a star-studded team in Miami, O’Neal could have stayed with the Heat this offseason.
But the Celtics had players who had been through similar things as O’Neal.
"I look at Paul Pierce,’’ he said. "I know he understands being on a good team to being in a terrible situation to being good again. So I’m sure he can vouch for what I’m saying, how valuable your time is when you’re there. That was the situation. I went from being at a really high point to being at a very low point.’’
The Celtics also had a championship-proven formula built around unselfishness. The Heat, O’Neal said, are still untested. How Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade will coexist is unknown. The Celtics have made two Finals appearances while balancing three superstars and allowing Rajon Rondo to emerge as an All-Star as well.
"There’s no ego, and it’s hard to find no egos,’’ O’Neal said. "As good as individual players are, especially when I look at a situation like Miami, none of those guys had to really deal with sacrificing.
"That’s what made Boston more intriguing for me and a situation I thought would be better for me. These guys [in Miami] are all really good individual guys that are used to shooting 20 times a night just last year. These are all young guys.
"So no matter what you say or how you say it, they’re going to still want the credit. But I know the Boston Celtics aren’t about that.’’
After 14 years in the NBA, he has experienced the highs the league has to offer. He’s after the feeling Pierce had two years ago.
"That’s self-validation,’’ O’Neal said. "That helps me think, ‘OK, you know what, Jermaine, everything you went through, every good moment, every bad moment, every issue that basketball has caused, strife it’s caused to your family, to your friendships, to your relationships, to your business, whatever it may be, this validates going through that.’
"That’s how I see it.’’
STAN VAN GUNDY FIRES BACK AT RILEY
Van Gundy, who worked in Miami with Riley for 12 seasons from 1995-2006, fired back on Saturday at the many inconsistencies in Riley’s behavior and criticisms through the years.
``I thought it was pretty typical. I was kind of amused by it, especially reading down through the interview,’’ Van Gundy said. ``He goes into Charles Barkley, me and Otis and then says he doesn’t worry about what people say. Wait, you called the press conference, you went off and everybody and you don’t care what people say? Clearly, he cares a great deal about what people say. I was laughing when I saw that.’’
Anderson Varejao Comments on LeBron
-- Anderson Varejao on LeBron James
" I don't know if it's fair or not. LeBron did a lot for (Cleveland) and, of course, when you lose LeBron everybody is going to feel that. ... I'm not the guy that's going to say that's fair or not to have to be angry at LeBron. "
"He was a big part of that team. I'm not disappointed in him. It's his decision. He chose to go to Miami. It's his career and he knows what is best for him. ... Whatever he thinks is the best for him, I just wish good luck for him.''
Oscar Robertson sides with LeBron on His Decision to join the Heat; Rodman has a Diss
Good perspective from perhaps the most qualified player in history to empathize with LeBron. Not really comparable in that he had no choice but to stay in Cincinnati in the Celtics' era of domination due to the reserve clause, and the best season for them was 55 wins and 2nd place behind the Celtics. At 32 he was traded to the Bucks, where he won a ring with Kareem in his 2nd NBA season. The Big O's stats were still incredible - 19.7 ppg on .496 FG%, 8.2 ast and 5.7 rebs per game.
Then a short paragraph from Rodman essentially saying Pippen was better than Lebron:
http://blogs.bulls.com/2010/08/rodman-dont-compare-pippen-to-lebron/?loc=interstitialskip
""People talk about LeBron," said Rodman. "You’ve got to understand, LeBron has no business even being in the same conversation with Scottie. Scottie was the epitome of the (do it all elite player). What do you want me to say? Scottie was great.""
Isiah (Thomas) ‘Strongly Disagrees’ With Jordan, Magic on LeBron Criticism
"While still disappointed that James didn’t choose to play for the Knicks, Thomas says he doesn’t agree with his fellow legends about LeBron’s decision. From the NY Post: "Thomas added Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan were wrong to condemn LeBron for joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. ‘I strongly disagree with their comments,’ Thomas said. ‘[Magic] had a great team. They said they wouldn’t have left but look who they were playing with. Those teams were stacked."
A Question of Chemistry - "Whose Team is the Miami Heat"?
by nba is the worst on Sep 6, 2010 5:07 PM EDT
on Peninsula is Mightier
On most championship teams, there is a "go to" player, who has the ball in his hands at "winning time". For the Lakers, it's Kobe Bryant, for the Celtics, Paul Pierce, for the Spurs, Tim Duncan, and for the Heat, at least until this season, Dwyane Wade.
This has been a popular topic on NBA websites, with thousands of comments posted on ESPN, and a current debate on Slam Online.com with their "article" " on Reggie Miller's take - which is actually just 4 sentences, as quoted from the Herald:
"Dwyane Wade is the Derek Jeter here. LeBron James is the Alex Rodriguez. One of those guys will have to sacrifice, and it will have to be LeBron. This is still Dwyane’s team."’
http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2010/09/reggie-miller-on-heat-this-is-still-dwyanes-team/
I've seen a fair amount of debate on this subject in the last couple of months here, and with lots of time left until training camp, I'm hoping for an interesting discussion, given the lack of any news. Primarily the arguments fall into a few main categories:
1. LeBron joined the Heat, so it will be Wade's team
2. LeBron is the best player in the league, so it will be his team
3. Other, including an equal sharing of responsibilities, Mickey Arinson, Erik Spolestra, etc.
Personally, I am in the group that thinks LeBron doesn't deserve alpha status after that pathetic showing in the Celtics series in games 4-6, no matter how well he plays with the Heat. I also don't think there's any chance of him averaging a triple double as has been bandied about by his fans.
As well, I have a real concern that it will be a decided challenge for Wade and LeBron to adjust to a lesser role offensively than what they have been used to for virtually their entire careers - particularly in crunch time.
But it's the opinions of the PIM readers I'm looking for.
What do you think?
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