NBA message boards have become popular with fans over the last few years.
Instead of sitting around and listening to overpaid analysts give their opinions about the list of games each night, a message board provides forums for the fans to express their thoughts and feelings. After all, who doesn't want to read your biased predictions for your favorite team?
However, every now and then, a fan gets caught up in what those professional analysts lean on for their discussions. It becomes the norm that particular scenarios, stories or aspects of the game are twisted into misunderstandings that seem to appear in many arguments over time.
Below are five of today's misunderstandings that you'll find while tuning into these analysts, or just browsing a message board.
Honorable Mention) Kobe Bryant is Selfish.
This is an honorable mention because, over the last couple of seasons, the talk has died down quite a bit.
Contrary to popular belief, this can be proven wrong simply by stats alone. In the three Lakers' dynasty seasons, Kobe averaged the most assists per game on the squad. In 2004-05, after Shaq's departure, Bryant set a career-high in assists, at six per game, during an injury-plagued season that saw the Lakers win just 34 games.
In a time line that saw Bryant throw an alley-oop game-winner to O'Neal, multiple game-winners to Lakers' sharpshooters, and pass those attempts out to the likes of Luke Walton and Lamar Odom as well, it's hard to prove that, throughout a significant number of games or seasons, Kobe Bryant was a selfish basketball player.
5) Tracy McGrady is the Only Guy Who Just Can't Get it Done in the Postseason.
Not quite. In eleven, completed NBA seasons, McGrady has had seven first-round exits, which means he has missed the playoffs the other four times.
However, Carmelo Anthony just finished up with his fifth consecutive first-round elimination, in his five-year career. Many also forget that Yao Ming was drafted in 2002, and has had four first-round KO's in six NBA seasons, even though only one of them was without Tracy.
Stephon Marbury is also a first-round virgin, even though he was a consistent twenty and eight player for seven straight years.
4) Steve Nash's MVP Seasons Were Incredible.
They were good, but not incredible.
In Nash's first MVP season, he averaged 15.5 PPG, while dishing 11.5 APG. If you know your history, you'd remember that John Stockton surpassed those combined totals four times in his career, between 1989-1992.
You'd be shocked to hear that Kevin Johnson did it as well, in his second NBA season, averaging 20.4 PPG and 12.2 APG, capping off the season with a 55-win total.
What's even more questionable? Neither of them received a single first-place MVP vote in the years noted above.
Before Steve Nash, the last MVP to average under 20 points was Bill Walton, back in 1978. Before that? Wes Unseld, 1969.
3) LeBron James Is the Next Michael Jordan.
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about 1 month ago
great article...the only minor detail i would argue with is about MJ. When he first came into the league, his jump shot wasn't very consistant yet. It wasn't bad, but it was NOTHING like what it eventually developed into. So, that can somewhat be a similarity between him and LBJ. Thats about it though as far as what they do on the court. The one they they DO have in common is the IT factor. Jordan had it, and this made him just as much of a star off the court as he was on it, LBJ has that too.
about 1 month ago
Very nice article...I think the MJ vs Lebron argument can be made over star power. You did a nice job dispelling the on court differences.
You did contradict yourself in your closing paragraph. Statistics can indeed lead you into a world of trouble. Your analogy of changing the time on your watch illustrates that point perfectly. You can make numbers fit any argument you want to make. For example:
Robert Horry is one of the NBAs greatest champions- 7 NBA rings. More than Magic, Bird, Kareem, Dr. J and Jordan. So what does this stat mean...nothing.
Two of my favorite thoughts on statistics:
He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts - for support rather than for illumination. ~Andrew Lang
Then there is the man who drowned crossing a stream with an average depth of six inches. ~W.I.E. Gates
See what I mean...trouble!
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