Vlookup Vince is no NBA expert. He follows the major storylines, watches a dozen games from October through April, catches a few more down the stretch, and pays attention during the two month playoff marathon, mostly because playing series and the subplots that emerge are extremely compelling. Seeing the best players turn it on for a sustained period is impressive. As is watching Ben Gordon become a top 20 player in the league for 7 games. As is seeing a team gel and play its best ball in the playoffs as the Cavs are. As is seeing Mark Cuban resort to his last resort and run his mouth as his team fades into utter inconsequence. No, that was a lie. We’d all prefer Mark Cuban to remove himself from the limelight.
I was pointed to this article over at ClipsNation discussing who the best player in the league is, and namely, why Kobe ain’t it. You may ask what this has to do with the Clippers – but obviously they have nothing about their own team worth writing about, so Kobe, BronBron, and DWade it is.
My initial reaction was what’s the new point you are making? The article is written as if 90% of NBA fans think that Kobe is the best player in the league, and that LeBron and Wade are widely considered to be a distant second. I then realized that the writer probably lives in LA, and in his world 90% of people still think Kobe is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Well, Mikey P, I am happy to be the bearer of good news: The rest of the country has known for a while now that LeBron is the best player in the league. The majority of people likely would have taken him as the league’s best heading into the season, if not well before that. Don’t let the obnoxious LA, Kobe fans persuade you otherwise. Your stats and evidence are more than enough to prove this point.
The more interesting debate right now is whether its preferable to have Kobe or DWade as your team’s cornerstone for the next two seasons – three plus years from now Kobe’s skills will most certainly begin to diminish. This year’s MVP voting, in which Kobe and DWade were separated by less than 20 votes, shows how close these two are perceived to be. However for three reasons in addition to those laid out in the article above, I believe DWade is the pick:
1. Even over the next 2 years, Kobe’s performance will almost certainly diminish due to age. Kobe has crossed the 1,000 game mark. Bill Simmons talks as if 1,000 games is the equivalent of turning 55. While he won’t completely fall off a cliff, the games are bound to continue taking their toll.
2. Wade finally knows how to play the game. I firmly believe that he willed the ’06 Heat to the championship. Similarly to how young pitchers ‘throw’ for their first several seasons before learning how to ‘pitch’, Wade ‘balled’ in ’06, but has since learned how to play the game, and is a much better player for it. Ironically, I think his last lesson in learning the game came from Kobe himself in the Summer Olympics. Seeing Kobe’s work ethic and approach to the game was significant in Wade becoming the player he is today
3. Wade wants it more. I see the fire in his eyes. I don’t see that fire in Kobe. I can’t tell if he thinks he is entitled to breezing through the playoffs, bored, knows he is going to lose to the Cavs inevitably, or just doesn’t have the drive anymore, but I don’t see the fire in his eyes. It may come forth in the second half of the playoffs, but I saw it over the last 2 months of the regular season from DWade.
Bloggged Kobe beef? Spoiled goods!: – http://tinyurl.com/ofylh2
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Interesting analogy about D-Wade willing his team through the playoffs and young pitchers throwing. I immediately thought of Josh Beckett, who by the numbers could be considered one of the best post-season pitchers of all time. But I still don’t think he’s learned how to “pitch.” Sure, he’s got Varitek (who is a god behind the plate in gamecalling, at least that’s what the media tells me). He’s got the stuff. He’s got the mentality. I just think he’s missing something, and I think Wade found it. It’s a type of efficiency that many players lack because they rely on talent only. Anways, good post.
Thanks. Totally agree on Beckett – and I think thats why Schilling only flourished much later in his career – he finally learned how to pitch, as opposed to throwing. And yes, too many athletes solely rely on the natural talents, rather than learning the game and adding the mental aspect to it, which often makes good guys pretty good.