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Friday 10 June 2011

Steve Nash deserves a championship

It is a warm, summer afternoon I am sitting reading a basketball blog in my Phoenix Suns Steve Nash jersey and it got me thinking about my favourite basketball player. I am a Phoenix Suns fanatic and think the world of Steve Nash and cherish him playing on my favourite team. But our sub-standard 2010/2011 season and subsequently transitional years and rebuilding that should follow this past season has got me thinking would any Suns fan begrudge Nash leaving the team and joining a championship-chasing team? Would Suns fans be upset with a 2-time MVP moving teams to get a championship ring to cement his greatness?

This 2010/2011 season as a Phoenix Suns fan has been somewhat of a disappointment. The previous season was a great surprise, the great run to the Western Conference Finals got me excited for the coming seasons with the Phoenix Suns, then Amar'e Stoudemire left to join the New York Knicks and it seemed the wheels were in motion for the Phoenix Suns to start building for the future and enduring a few transitional years along the way. Nash has now lost both his wing-men in Shawn Marion and now Amar'e Stoudemire, leaving him as the final piece left from the Mike D'Antoni Phoenix teams of 2004-2008. I might be biased in saying this but in my time of following the NBA, I have never seen a point-guard like Nash that brings the best out of some many team mates on his team. Players like Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and Leandro Barbosa erupted and had career years under Nash's leadership in the D'Antoni years. Nash has come desperately close to making the NBA finals, often part of Phoenix teams that run out of steam come the Western Conference Finals games. But surely you cannot say that Nash is somewhat that of a bottle-job in the playoffs. His playoff stats with Phoenix exceed his regular season stats with the team by some way if that is possible given his excellent regular season stats. He has got a bit unlucky, like having no Amar'e Stoudemire throughout the 2006 playoffs where it was a big chance for Nash to reach the NBA finals.

Nash has also suffered heartache in 2003 with the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, who are both his and Phoenix's nemesis in playoff basketball it seems. I cannot think of a lot, if any NBA MVP's that have never played in the finals before and with Nash ageing and reaching the end of his career time is running out for him. Can we assume this Phoenix team can challenge for the title, not remotely likely. The sad thing is that unlike other greats that have joined perennial playoff teams in bids to win titles (see karl Malone), Nash still is playing at a high level, much better than most point-guards in the league. I cannot see Nash asking to leave the team but he does deserve one final shot at a title and will not get it with this current Suns team unfortunately.

In finishing this article, I would be happy for Steve Nash if he was traded to a contender where he could have a few more cracks at the NBA finals. For all he has done for this franchise, he resurrected us and brought excitement back into Phoenix upon arrival for his second stint with the team. If we could get young players to build for the future from any potential Nash deal then that would be terrific but I would not want to see an NBA modern great's career peter out into retirement full of what-if questions. Steve Nash deserves better, he deserves a championship.


Friday 3 June 2011

You cannot win with shot-first point guards

NBA 2010/2011 regular season has just ended, and the overwhelming consensus is that Derrick Rose will be crowned as the league MVP for the season. His individual stat line was very good, perhaps not the best in the league but he was imperative to his team. He has had to deal without the Chicago Bulls main off-season signing Carlos Boozer and also center Joakim Noah for large portions of the season, yet lead the Bulls to a league-best 62-20 regular season record. The Bulls picked up the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and had the number of the big teams that could rival them on getting to the NBA finals. A lot of fans were expectant that he could lead Chicago to their first NBA finals title since the legendary Michael Jordan led them to six titles throughout the 90s. But can you really win it all with a point guard that is a shoot-first guard?

A point guard is supposed to run the game from an offensive point of view. They are usually the ball handler and playmakers of their teams and have to get the ball to a team’s main offensive threats with every play. A quality point guard will act as a game-manager on the court, carrying out offensive plays wanted to be run by the head coaches. Can a shoot-first point guard do this? Chicago Bulls were soundly beaten 4-1 in the best of 7 series Eastern Conference Finals by the Miami Heat. Obviously Miami Heat were expected to go far this year after bringing in Lebron James and Chris Bosh to a team that already has a superstar in Dywane Wade. But Rose’s performances, especially in the Conference Finals were particularly sub-standard and was this a result of having an extra burden of being a game manager at point guard and also being the team’s main offensive weapon and point scorer. If we look at D-Rose’s stats from the post-season, it shows that he averaged roughly around 23 shots a game for only an average of 27 points. Also his fg% was very low at .396 and also he attempted a lot of 3PM’s and only has a success rate of .248 which is terrible for a player taking a good volume of 3PA’s. This proved to be the undoing of the Bulls as he was under so much pressure to be the catalyst for the offense and it showed he was usually taking shots with maximum risk to make things happen for the team. Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder also is more of a shoot-first point guard. This also was a problem for OKC when he was taking on average 20 shots throughout the playoffs and only making .394% of his shots. Furthermore he had one of the league’s best scorers in Kevin Durant next to him yet decided to try and become a volume scorer of the team. His turnover rate was quite high as well often putting the team at jeopardy. It begs the question whether players like Westbrook are real point guards or are they two-guards?

The recent history of winning NBA teams show that the role of the point guard is to be the playmaker, creative spark and get the ball to the main attacking threats in their team. Recent winning teams like LA Lakers, Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons have point guards such as Tony parker, Rajon Rondo, Chauncey Billups, Derek Fisher, that like to do not take a lot of shots and do not put the team at risk as much as shoot-first point guards. Players like Rajon Rondo of the Celtics play their part in the offensive scoring but do not make it their main job within the team. The dynamics of the Celtics team would be very imbalanced if Rondo attempted a lot more shots and stopped getting the ball to the primary scorers Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. By my recollection the last shoot-first point guard to win the championship was Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons, in the late 80s but shoot-first guards like Allen Iverson that could potentially play as a two-guard have not found success on the biggest stage. To be fair to Iverson his Philadelhpia teams in the prime of his career were never championship-calibre and he did immensely well to reach the NBA championships and even take a game off the formidable LA Lakers.

The point of this article is to raise the question whether point-guards that are the primary scorers in a team can lead their team to ultimate glory in the NBA. After all, it does add extra pressure to that position that not everyone can handle.

Thursday 2 June 2011

Jose Reyes needs to be re-signed at all costs - Even if that means sacrificing David Wright

It is June 2011; the baseball season is in full swing. As a New York Mets fan, I am watching on with no real expectations of this current Mets team that has a crippling financial lawsuit looming over the owners of the team. However I am enjoying watching Jose Reyes swing the bat better than I have ever seen him do in any part of his career to date. He is the only real positive note of the 2011 New York Mets season up to date. However he becomes a free agent in the off-season and the Mets’ financial plight means that they might struggle to offer a long-term deal, similar to that of Carl Crawford’s Red Sox deal. That leaves the Mets with the ultimate quandary of whether to trade Reyes whilst he is so hot at the plate and is showing he can stay healthy. I am going to present my case of why the Mets should maybe think about attempting to keep Reyes and instead offload the face of the franchise David Wright.

If we look at recent seasons Reyes has struggled to stay healthy in last 2 seasons or so despite displaying durability early on in his career. David Wright until 2009 was compiling a very commendable stat line for his career that displayed him as an RBI machine and also could hit for contact. However since the move to Citi Field in 2009, a widely renowned ‘pitchers’ ballpark that is big in dimensions and means that power hitting is a premium. The dimensions however are catered to the strengths of Jose Reyes with the space around outfield means it will be easier for him to hit triples and round the bases. If we look at this season where even trading both players has been mentioned, it has been Reyes that is having a career year. Obviously this must have something to do with the fact he is in his final year of his contract looking to get a lucrative deal but it is also the first year since the Mets have been at Citi Field that he has been fully healthy. Reyes is in line to have career highs in hits, doubles, triples, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, and career low strikeouts. Obviously he will cool down as the season wears on but the fact is that Reyes is in his best ever form whilst David Wright seems to have regressed in the last couple of years.

David Wright is recognised as the face of the New York Mets franchise but since 2008 he has not been the same David Wright as the previous years. I know he has played with injury this year but he seems to strikeout a lot more these days than he used to, his batting average has gone down and after his 2007 season, his season hit count has gone down by as many as 30 hits. Fact is now that for a man that usually bats in the cleanup spot in absence of Beltran or bats third when he is available is that he strikes out far too much (increased to 161 K’s in 2010), meaning we either leave runners on base or this offers no real protection to the cleanup hitter. His walk count has been down in recent years, (but 2011 has improved) meaning he has become undisciplined at the plate. If we quickly gloss over the fielding element of both players, Wright is a multiple gold-glove recipient and is a quality infielder, but also Reyes is a very good defensive player at a premium position within baseball. Reyes has a much more exciting game, plays in a more important position; he also brings in the fans to games when he is turning out great performance after great performance like this season. It is unbelievably hard to find a man as electric on the bases to lead off like Reyes does as well. Once he gets on base, he can wreak havoc and put himself in run scoring positions time after time. Sure there is the boneheaded play with him now and again, whether it is a base-running error or a fielding error but the fact is few players are as dynamic as Jose Reyes and his exciting style is what can take the New York Mets to another level.

I am not saying at all that I want to see the Mets get rid of David Wright. In an ideal world I would love us to keep all of our marquee talent and build a team equipped to challenge but our financial position means we are not able to fulfil this ambition. In my opinion if we look at the ballpark we currently play in, we should be looking at players that can hit for contact and speed to make use of the dimensions instead of trying to bring in power hitters (see Jason Bay). Having said that, the way Reyes is playing now I would rather sacrifice David Wright in the off-season and keep Reyes as he is the spark our offence feeds on and when he is hot, the Mets offence tends to follow suit. But will I be saying the same comments come September?

LETS GO METS!

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Why Luka Modric is a must-buy for Manchester United this summer

The 2010/2011 season has finished, Manchester United have bounced back from a largely sub-par 2009/2010 season. 19th English top flight domestic league title, returning to the UEFA Champions League final again, also a domestic cup semi final. However these accomplishments have not appeased all United fans that have been yearning for the last few years for new blood to take the team to the next level. Despite making it to the final against Barcelona, the game exposed a few players on the grandest stage and regardless of Barcelona being brilliant, a few home truths about United players measuring up to the world’s best hit home to fans are media alike. Ryan Giggs has been brilliant in centre midfield for Manchester United this season but he was horribly overrun by the Barca midfield. A big reason was not that the Barca midfield was physically stronger than Giggs but because they are constantly on the move, playing short, one-touch passes means that you have to do a lot of chasing, to get near Xavi, Iniesta or Busquets. Giggs is most effective when he is on the ball, not just passing but dribbling and marauding through midfields using his strengths he used as a winger in the prime of his career. If we look at the quality of the United central midfielders, it is evident that that group could benefit from maybe one world-class operator amongst the ranks. Michael Carrick has refined his role within the team somewhat to a more defensive minded midfielder that can dictate and keep things ticking over from a deeper role on the pitch. Anderson keeps showing signs of progressing into a talented, box to box midfielder but with each positive step, seems to take a step back. Darren Fletcher has suffered with illness but should be back in the reckoning come August when the new season starts.

With Paul Scholes also retiring and the imminent release of Owen Hargreaves, potentially Sir Alex Ferguson will go out and make a big money signing in central midfield. With the emergence of Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney partnership up front means the central midfielder has to be acclimatised to that role in a 4-4-2 unless United change back to 4-3-3 or the 4-2-3-1 operated in last few years. For me, this should eliminate Wesley Sneijder and he plays a free role and flourished in a 4-2-3-1 under Mourinho. Whether he could produce in a 4-4-2 remains to be seen. Modric plays in a 4-4-2 at Tottenham, has a fantastic passing range, glides across a football pitch with grace that portrays minimal ease. can dribble with pace and can actually tackle and is disciplined in keeping position to keep an organised team shape. To quote one scout on his twitter, “Luka Modric is the only player that would add class to this present Barcelona team.” He can also play the withdrawn role off the strikers if United play a more defensive minded formation away from home in bigger games.

To summarise, he would command decent money but if United want to make the leap to challenge the likes of Barca on a consistent basis then they need to start bringing in the likes of Luka Modric.