TediVillasor.com

I can still hear Marv Albert commentary, "A spectacular move by Michael Jordan!"

With the 2009-2010 National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoffs & Finals right around the corner, I looked back and realized that this is my 20^th year of watching professional basketball.

Has it really been that long?

The Memories

I can still see the Los Angeles Lakers Sam Perkins drilling a three-point shot to stun the Chicago Bulls at the end of Game 1 as well as Michael Jordan’s classic right-to-left under goal lay-up over the same Sam Perkins in Game 2 of the 1990-1991 NBA Finals.

Bulls versus Lakers.

Those were the years.  The veteran laded Los Angeles Lakers versus the hip, up-and-coming Chicago Bulls.

Memories.

The Questions

With that said, I decided to test that memory (use of references are forbidden!) and challenged myself with these questions: Over the last 20 years, which teams have participated in the NBA Finals?  Who were the winners?

Tall order?

At least not initially as the key to these questions would be to determine who were the winners and the bridesmaids would surely follow suit.

Clutch City won it's first NBA title with the five of Hakeen Olajuwon, Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, Robert Horry, and Otis "OT" Thorpe.

The Answers

Starting with the 1990-1991 season, this was a no-brainer as it signified the first Chicago Bulls dynasty (1991, 1992, and 1993).  This was followed by the Jordan-less years of 1994 and 1995 wherein the Hakeem Olajuwon led Houston Rockets dispatched the New York Knicks in seven games en-route to the first NBA Championship (1994).  The Rockets then repeated in 1995 when they swept the youthful Orlando Magic in four games.  The championship also etched the Houston Rockets in NBA annals as the lowest seeded playoff team (6^th) to capture the title.

From 1996-1998, the Chicago Bulls again regained their dominance over the NBA with their second three-peat.  In the 1998-1999, the league played a 50-game lockout shortened—no All-Star Weekend—season.  The finals featured the overachieving New York Knicks (8^th seed) and the Twin Tower (“The Admiral” David Robinson and “Big Fundamental” Timmy Duncan) led San Antonio Spurs.  If I am not mistaken, it was Spurs in six…or was it in five.  One thing is for sure, the Spurs were simply too much for the Ewing-less Knicks.

The partnership between Tim Duncan (left) and David Robinson has produced two NBA Championships for the city of San Antonio.

The turn of the century brought yet another string of championships for Coach Phil Jackson (2000, 2001, and 2002), but this time with a Los Angeles Lakers team that was bannered by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.  In 2003, the San Antonio Spurs gave their “Admiral” David Robinson a great retirement gift when they captured their second NBA crown.  This also marked the only finals match-up wherein I was unable to recall whom the runner-up was.

Hitting the curb

NBA seasons from 2003-2006 took a little more time to flesh out.  Questions such as the three seasons wherein the San Antonio Spurs captured championships as well as the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat championship years were among the last to be identified.  But once the aforementioned sequencing and cast of teams were identified, everything fell into place.

Back to business

Shaquille O'Neal and a young Kobe Bryant set aside their differences in order to win the coveted Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy in 2000.

The 2003-2004 NBA season featured future hall-of-fame members Karl “The Mailman” Malone and Gary “The Glove” Payton joining the potent Los Angeles Lakers for another run at an NBA Championship.  However, this was not meant to be as they had the rug pulled out from under them by the blue-collar Detroit Pistons led by the likes of Ben Wallace, Richard “Rip” Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Chauncey “Mr. Big Shot” Billups.

The following season (2004-2005), Detroit again made it back to the NBA Finals but lost out to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.  This season, in my mind, was best remembered for those Rasheed Wallace WWE inspired NBA Championship belts that he got for the whole Pistons team.

I wonder what ever happened to those belts?

The 2005-2006 NBA season featured two first-timers to the NBA Finals stage: The Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat.  This season was a classic example of momentum gone awry as it really looked like the Dallas Mavericks had this series all but locked up with a 2-0 advantage and a huge lead in Game 3 of that series.

Then Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. happened and the rest is history.

Miami upset the Mavs in Game 3 and proceeded to take the next three contests and captured their first NBA championship.

Whatever happened to WWE inspired Championship Belt named "Roscoe"? Only Rasheed knows the answer to that one...

The NBA Finals in 2006-2007 was forgettable to say the least.  I remember that the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers finals match-up to be one of—if not the lowest—rated finals in history.  I didn’t even bother to try and watch any of the games that year.  Spurs swept the Cavs in four.

On the other hand, the 2007-2008 season was more promising with Boston Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge engineering several trades that brought Kevin “KG” Garnett and Walter Ray Allen, Jr. to the Celtics for practically everyone on their team with the exception of Paul “The Truth” Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and Kendrick Perkins.  This development, coupled with the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Pau Gasol the year before, set the stage for a Lakers verses Celtics finals match-up.  One that fans haven’t seen since 1986-1987.

It was a great match-up with the Celtics capturing their league-leading 17^th NBA banner in six games.  For more information on this season, I’ve written an extensive post on the Celtics championship season here.

Lastly, the 2008-2009 finals match-up featured the Los Angeles Lakers returning to the big dance along with the young Orlando Magic team lead by the dominating Dwight Howard.  In this particular series, there was a lot of heartbreak for the Orlando Magic as they squandered numerous opportunities to truly establish themselves in the finals.  However, this does not take anything away from the Los Angeles Lakers who truly deserved the The Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy.

After Game 2, everything that Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. threw up against the hapless Dallas Mavericks just seemed to go into the bucket.

This championship also broke a tie between legendary icon Arnold Jacob “Red” Auerbach of the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson for most NBA championships by a head coach.  Jackson now takes the top spot with 10 championships.

In summary

Well, that was 19-years of NBA Finals basketball and I look forward to the end of the 2009-2010 NBA regular season, an interesting NBA play-offs, and hopefully, an epic finals match-up.

—————-
Now playing: Incognito – Don’t Turn My Love Away
via FoxyTunes

2008-2009 NBA Playoffs – First Round – Houston Rockets @ Portland Trailblazers (Game 2)

Portland fans sent Dikembe Mutombo off the court with a standing ovation.

As the aged Houston Rockets veteran Dikembe Mutombo clutched his injured knee underneath the Portland basket during Game 2 of last year playoffs, it not only marked the end of a remarkable long career but it also closed the curtain on the last active National Basketball Association (NBA) player that was born in the 1960’s.

I then posit the question…

“With the 2009-2010 NBA regular season right around the corner, how many NBA players born in the 1970’s are still active?”

And the results are not surprising.

How many are left and the luxury of having a guaranteed contract.

As of this writing, there are a total of 120 NBA players born between the period of 1970 to 1979. This target group represents about 27% of the entire player population in the NBA (assuming that all 30 teams carry a maximum of 15 players). This number is further wilted down to 26% if you remove unsigned free agents (e.g., Raef LaFrentz (POR) and Malik Rose (OKC)), players who are still under contract but are unable to play or have retired due to injuries (e.g., Matt Harpring (UTA) and Cuttino Mobley (NYK)), and sadly, players who still have a contract but are no longer valued by their team (e.g., Brent Barry (Free Agent)).

Chicago's Lindsey Hunter is the league's most senior player at 38 years and 10 months.

This leaves the league with a total of 115 players between the ages of 30 to 39.

Age is but a number

There are still a number of prominent players who play on a high level and I’ve listed them down based on their birth year:

1972 – Shaquille O’Neal and Grant Hill
1973 – Jason Kidd
1974 – Steve Nash, Rasheed Wallace, Derek Fisher, Marcus Camby, and Antonio McDyess
1975 – Walter Ray Allen, Jr., Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Allen Iverson
1976 – Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Chauncey Billups, Antawn Jamison, and Andre Miller
1977 – Paul Pierce, Vincent Lamar Carter, Manu Ginobili, and Jason Terry
1978 – Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Richard Hamilton, Stephen Jackson, Mike Bibby, and Shawn Marion
1979 – Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Baron Davis, Mehmet Okur, Elton Brand, and Michael Redd

Brent Barry is the last "active" NBA player who was born in 1971.

Other facts

• The Chicago Bulls Lindsey Hunter (1970) is the oldest player in the NBA and the youngest would have been Ricky Rubio (10-21-90) if he suited up for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Instead, that honor goes to Philadelphia 76ers guard Jrue Holiday (6-12-90).

• Players born in 1978 and 1979 (26 members each) represent almost half the players born in the 1970’s (45%). While Brent Barry (1971) and the aforementioned Lindsey Hunter (1970) are the only remaining members of their respective birth years still active in the NBA.

• Should Brent Barry not get an opportunity to latch on to any other team this season, 1971 would be the only birth year in the 1970’s not represented in the NBA.

—————-
Now playing: The Brand New Heavies – After Forever
via FoxyTunes

The Celtics New #30: Rasheed Wallace

It’s been almost 16 months since the Boston Celtics celebrated their 17th NBA Championship against the Los Angeles Lakers in the TD Banknorth Garden.

And in all honesty, if the Celtics had a healthy Kevin “KG” Garnett going into the 2008-2009 NBA Playoffs–who knows what might have happened.

In 2009-2010, the C’s are primed (and heavily favored) to bring home yet another Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy back to Boston, Massachusetts with new off-season acquisitions Rasheed Wallace (free agent signee from the Detroit Pistons) and Marquis Daniels (free agent signee from the Indiana Pacers) ready to help out.

Till then, here is a look back to June 17, 2008.

One shot:

“Check it. You know how I be. Last week Kobe couldn’t do without me.”

- Shaquille O’Neal (Freestyle rap in a NYC nightclub [6/23/08])

The world bleeds green once again

For the unprecedented 17th time.

The Boston Celtics are the NBA (National Basketball Association) Champions.

And they made it look easy with a resounding 131-92 drubbing of their rivals—The Los Angeles Lakers—in Game six of the 2007-2008 NBA Finals.

From L to R: Allen, Garnett, Posey, and Pierce pose with the Larry O'Brien Trophy

But that wasn’t always the case.

Longtime Boston Celtics beat writer Peter May shared that at the start of the 2007-2008 NBA season, Celtics’ Head Coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers urged his stalwarts—specifically team captain Paul Pierce and newly acquired NBA All-Stars Walter Ray Allen, Jr. and Kevin “KG” Garnett—of the importance of “seizing the moment” as “the can’t afford to wait” (since they are getting up their in age and opportunities to win a championship are few and far between). Rivers added that the talented trio need to play with a sense of urgency and liken their situation to being their “one and only chance to win.”

Rivers, then 46, sold them on the concept of defense and Garnett was the first one to follow his lead—eventually ending the season as the league’s top defensive player—the first of his decorated career.

And that wasn’t all

An exodus of more than half their players from the 2006-2007 NBA season in order to acquire Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Allen from the Seattle Supersonics posed to be yet another challenged to the 24-win club.

The Celtics defense in 2007-2008 started with Defensive Player of the Year (DOP) Kevin Garnett

By the time the season started, the green and white has nine new faces on board—the aforementioned Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, free agents James Posey, Eddie House, Scot Pollard, rookies Glenn “Big Baby” Davis, Gabe Pruitt, and returnees Tony Allen, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe, Brian Scalabrine (whom some sources have said, has the same basketball IQ as the legendary Michael Jordan), Rajon Rondo, and the Captain Paul Pierce. Before the close of the regular season, The C’s added two more faces, 15-year veteran P.J. Brown and guard Sam Cassell.

Cohesion and lack of bench strength were points brought up by critics all season long and despite a 66-16 season—successfully securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs and the NBA Finals. It was the largest single season turnaround in NBA history, yet the critics still kept on talking.

It didn’t help that their journey to the NBA Finals was a rocky one.

Rajon Rondo surveys the court for an open teammate

The young 8th seed Atlanta Hawks (37-45) brought the Celtics to 7 games in the first round. LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers (45-37) also pushed the Celtics to the distance in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals (and if it were not for Paul Pierce’s 41 points—who knows how that may have turned out). As for the Eastern Conference Finals, well, that series went six grueling games against the cohesive Detroit Pistons (59-23).

The Celtics went 10-1 at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts and 2-8 on the road for the duration of the playoffs. Doc Rivers put it best when he said, “that’s why the regular season is so important. We fought for it all year” (Pertaining to home court advantage).

Onward to the NBA Finals

After winning the first two games at home and stealing one of the next three at the Staples Center—The Boston Celtics were on the cusp of greatness—an unprecedented 17th World Championship.

By halftime of Game 6, the outcome had already been decided as the Lakers seemingly lost the fight in them.

58-35 at the end of two—A twenty three-point deficit.

Walter "Ray" Allen, Jr. hit an NBA Finals record 22 treys.

The Celtics were running on all cylinders, led by their injured point guard Rajon Rondo, who finished with a stat line that Jason Kidd would be envious off (21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, six steals, and only a single turnover in just under 32 minutes of action).

Ray Allen also recovered from a first-half eye injury to finish with 26 points (7-9 from downtown). Associated Press Sports Writer Howard Ulman added that Allen also set a record “for most 3-pointers made in a finals series with 22. The previous mark of 17 was set by Dan Majerle with the Phoenix Suns in 1993 and matched by Derek Harper with the New York Knicks in 1994. Allen’s seven 3-pointers also tied the finals record shared by Houston Rockets Kenny Smith and the Chicago Bulls Scottie Pippen.”

The Celtics juggernaut didn’t end there as Kevin Garnett tied Allen for game high honors with 26 points and 14 rebounds. James Posey (whom Pierce considers “invaluable” during his brief time with the Celtics) finished with 11 points (perfect from the field, including 3-3 from downtown) three steals, and a block. And who can forget the performance of Paul Pierce (17 points and 10 assists) thought the series.

In the end, it was only fitting that that Pierce, the Celtics Captain, be named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Finals as he had certainly endured a lot of heartaches over the last 10 years in a Celtics uniform.

With a title now safely under his belt, those days are certainly over.

17 banners. Jersey Numbers #1, #2, #3, #6, #10, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #31, #32, #33, #35 and #00 also hang from the rafters.

Could #34 be that far behind?

2007-2008 NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce celebrates with the Celtics fans at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Addendum:

- The Celtics played an NBA record 26th post-season game when they stepped on the Red Auerbach Parquet Floor for Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Associated Press Sports Writer Howard Ulman wrote:

- The Celtics’ 39-point margin in the championship clinching Game 6 win is the largest in a decisive NBA finals game.

- In fact, Boston now has four of the six biggest margins in games that clinched titles. The Lakers have the other two in championships won while they were in Minneapolis. The previous biggest winning margin in such games was 33 points by Boston on April 25, 1965, when it beat the Los Angeles Lakers 129-96.

- Boston’s 52 baskets from 3-point range erased the finals mark of 51 set by San Antonio in 2005.

- The Celtics also put on a record-setting defensive performance Tuesday with 18 steals, eclipsing the single-game finals mark set by Golden State against Washington in 1975.

- The Lakers put their own stamp on the record book, despite being crushed in the decisive game. League MVP Kobe Bryant’s 16 steals in the series tied the mark held by some pretty special players—Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Dwyane Wade.

- And Boston broke its own NBA record for most championships with 17. The Lakers are second with 14.

Associated Press Sports Writer Jimmy Golen added:

- The Celtics joined the 1975 Golden State Warriors and the ‘77 Trail Blazers as the only teams to win it all a year after missing the playoffs.

The Champs share a moment with David Letterman

The Champs on Letterman

The following evening on The David Letterman Show, guests Walter Ray Allen, Jr. and Kevin Garnett shared:

“How you feeling, champ?” Ray Allen asked KG.

“I feel good,” Garnett replied. “How you feeling, champ?”

Said Allen, “Oh, I’m doing good.”

And with that, the world is right again…

—————-
Now playing: Jon Secada – Take Me
via FoxyTunes

NBA Draft Lottery

Annually, the NBA Draft brings together the best crop of collegiate and international talent into Madison Square Garden in New York City. Prior to this momentous occasion wherein young aspirants take their first step to earning millions of dollars, NBA teams spend months and sometimes years scouting and assessing talent across the United States, Europe, and even Asia.

Some teams have a knack for assessing good talent like the Golden State Warriors (Latrell Sprewell 24th pick in 92’; Gilbert Arenas 30th overall and 1st in the second round of 01’; and Monta Ellis 40th selection in 05’) and San Antonio Spurs (Manu Ginobili 57th 2nd round pick in 99’ and Tony Parker 29th selection in 01’).

Another team with what I would like to call, “a great draft sense” (along with superior scouting and assessment skills) is the Phoenix Suns. They were able to draft a number of solid NBA players over the last 20 years (“Thunder” Dan Majerle (1st rd; 14th overall in 88’); Steve Kerr (2nd rd; 50th overall in 88’); Former New Jersey Nets’ All-Star F/C Jayson Williams (1st rd; 21st overall in 90’); Cedric Ceballos (2nd round; 48th overall in 90’); Michael Finley (1st rd; 21st overall in 95’); 2-time MVP Stephen John Nash (1st rd; 15th overall in 96’); their lone choice the following year named Stephen Jackson (2nd rd; 42nd overall in 97’); Shawn Marion (1st rd; 9th overall in 99’); Amar’e Stoudemire (1st rd; 9th overall in 02’); traded for San Antonio Spurs draft choice Brazil’s Leandrino Barbosa (1st rd; 28th pick in 03’).

Not bad right?

The Phoenix Suns will be celebrating their 41st year in the 2009-2010 NBA season.

Well, with “new” Phoenix Suns’ owner Robert Sarver’s mandate to tighten his squads spending, several first round draft picks from 04′ to 07′ were traded elsewhere in order to avoid paying them since 1st round picks are guaranteed a two-year rookie deal under the current NBA collective bargaining agreement.

From 2004-2007, there are the players that the Suns virtually gave away. Luol Deng (1st rd; 7th overall in 04’) was sent to the Chicago Bulls in a prearranged deal. Two-time Slam Dunk Champion Lil’ Nate Robinson (1st rd; 21st overall in 05’) was traded to the New York Knicks along with guard/forward Quentin Richardson for F/C Kurt Thomas and the right to 2nd round pick Dijon Thompson (2nd rd; 54th overall in 05’).

2006 didn’t shine any brighter for the Suns who owned two 1st round draft selections (#21 & #27). The Suns drafted Rajon Rondo (1st rd; 21st overall in 06’) and traded him, along with Brian Grant to the Boston Celtics for their 2007 1st round draft (a picked conveyed to the C’s by the Cleveland Cavaliers who got guard Jiri Welsch in a prior deal) and cash considerations. With the 27th selection, the Suns drafted promising Spanish guard Sergio Rodriguez (1st rd; 27th overall in 06’) but traded his rights to the Portland Trailblazers for cash considerations.

Can you imagine Rudy Fernandez in a Suns uniform? I sure can.

The 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers 1st round selection turned out to be Spanish sensation Rudy Fernandez (1st rd; 24th overall in 07’) who was subsequently dealt again to the Portland Trailblazers along with shooting forward James Jones for cash.

Ouch.

Can you imagine if the Suns kept half those guys instead of deciding on personnel moves like signing Marcus Banks to a five-year $21 million dollar contract in 06’ or absorbing Shaquille O’Neal’s contract in 08′?

In both cases, the Suns did “rectified” their “mistakes” by trading both of the aforementioned players in separate deals by 2009.

But at the end of the day, what do the Phoenix Suns have to show for it? They are certainly a shadow of the team that made the Western Conference Finals in 2005.

The window to win any kind of championship involves so many factors: talent, a blend of youth and experience, teamwork, and most of all, that unquantifiable element called “luck.”

But at this point, with their current talent “getting on” in years and their youth movement nowhere what it would have been had they kept their picks…

How much do the Suns have left?

—————-
Now playing: Hiromi’s Sonicbloom – My Favorite Things
via FoxyTunes

Category: Books
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Author: Michael Leahy

When Nothing Else Matters

Published in 2004, author Michael Leahy shares his experiences during Michael Jordan’s last comeback to the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Leahy’s portrayal of Jordan showed a different side of the basketball legend which is not normally seen in the eyes of the public. Jordan, the “the most marketed player in the history of the NBA,” was finally…”mortal” and did go through the same trials and tribulations (from a heightened perspective) that we all go through at some point in our lives. Leahy accounts the days wherein Jordan was at his best and would score 35 points over the span of several games to the days wherein he wasn’t unstoppable and hit his career lows of 8 and 2 points respectively.

What stood out for me was Jordan’s lambasting of players who didn’t play up to his standards. Leahy quotes Jordan on numerous occasions wherein he would lambast teammates. Coach Fred “Tex” Winter, an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers and former assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls summed it up best, “you either work hard or Michael has no use for you.”

But the one paragraph in Leahy’s entire book which rocked my very foundation of emulating Michael Jordan was the following:

“His people had held him up as a man to be emulated, making Jordan more than a half-billion in endorsement dollars in the process…he had raised the bar on his behavior during 17 years of unremitting self-promotion, in campaigns approved by the Jordan camp and coordinated by Nike and other corporate sponsors that elevated him from great athlete to hero and, finally, to moral symbol.

…when you present yourself as virtuous in years of ad campaigns and TV commercials, you will be fairly held in time to that standard. Fairly held because you have sold your basketball shoes to people plunking down in excess of $100 not merely for a chance at better Ups but for a way to rub up against your aura, to feel a tiny sense of you in that admittedly silly way people feel when they wish to emulate anybody, to be inspired by your class and elegance, your morality and grace, as they’ve heard it told. And if some of that was artifice, then so, too, was everything you sold with your likeness on it.”

Disturbing but quite true, personally, I have seen myself on many occasions wanting to “be like Mike.” I’ve bought the shoes, worn the clothes, gotten the cards, read the books…and it is only now I realized. What about me? Leahy’s book showed me that. In the years that I have been collecting “Jordan” in order to be inspired, all I needed to do in the end was look in the mirror in order to be inspired.

This is a great book that puts any not only Michael Jordan’s life in perspective but also that of your own, especially if you are a Jordan fan who has collected his paraphernalia over the years.

—————-
Now playing: Justice – DVNO
via FoxyTunes