One Week In: The Warning From the Peak

Wow. Just...wow. One week into the season and we have an early announcement from the mountaintops of the Basketball Realm: Carmelo Anthony has arrived. Some may be thinking, "He's already been an all-star and is respected as one of the Elite players in the Association." That's true; but you know how I do it here at FU. My definition is a little different. It shall be explained after the random picture...

Before I get to Melo, my explanation must begin with Lebron. Prior to Lebron becoming the best player in the world, he was facing the same barrier two years ago. Then, in that epic seven-game series against the Celtics, he rose and threw one down over KG--the Defensive Player of the Year. Ever since, Lebron has been a different, meaner animal on the court; and it has taken a lot for teams to beat him, especially in the postseason. Yes, Lebron has already reached an NBA Finals and never faced a first-round exit. But that dunk on KG symbolized something more than just two points—more than just momentum in that game. It was a personal truth that he will forever hold self-evident.

Last season, Dwyane Wade was forced to reannounce his might. Coming off two injury-plagued seasons after Flash-ing his superpowers against the Mavs in the '06 Finals, people in South Beach and all around the NBA began to lose faith in their hero. But then, straight out of Marvel Comics, he harnessed his inner strength and emerged a new, better Flash. Last March, against his hometown team, Wade makes a steal and hits a running buzzer-beater three. The play in itself would have been enough, but the resulting leap onto the scorers' table and emphatic proclamation of "This is my house!" makes it that much more impactful. It was as if Wade was sick of all the doubt, the rumors of his demise—of his flaws. He needed to reassert himself as pillar of Awesome, and that table was his platform to do so.

So what can Melo attribute to this breakthrough and discovery of an even greater source of his abilities? Like most things in life, it's a combination of ingredients. Part of it is from watching Kobe's shinobi-like work ethic in Beijing. Part of it is due to losing the team war to the Mamba's Lakers in the Western Conf. Finals, despite winning the individual battle ('Melo bullied Kobe all over the court). The question that is begged is: Why did he proclaim "I'm back?" Few, if anyone, have doubted his offensive abilities. So why did he decide to yell that? I don't know him personally, but this is my assessment: "I'm back," wasn't the whole statement. He hasn't returned from anywhere other than the offseason. It was more like he was saying, "I'm back, meaner than ever." Anthony, to me, was letting the rest of the Basketball Realm know that his nickname will no longer be linked to his game. He will be a force on the grandest of magnitudes from this point forward. The scream wasn't a taunt meant to embarrass Paul Millsap, or a showboating gesture. Melo was simply saying that there's a new fire that burns inside of him; and it will take a hell of a lot for him to be defeated. Beware, NBA.



Peace.

NBA Team Structure-Chaos Spectrum: An FU Graph

If you're new to FU, then allow me to explain the basis of how I see Basketball. I stand by the creed that Basketball is the only team sport in which a player fuses the game with his personality and soul. No two players can play exactly alike. Kobe can study all the Jordan film he wants, he'll will still shoot his fadeaway in his own Mamba way. Whether noticed or unnoticed, a player's "game" is defined by the kind of person he or she is. Richard Hamilton will never use screens the same way Reggie Miller does. Blake and Taylor Griffin are brothers; and even they have totally different inner methodologies that could never be copied. The shooting form in my banner pic is mine and mine alone. I'm not referring to how productive a player is on the court; so the last guy on the Nuggets isn't a worse person than Carmelo Anthony because he isn't as good as 'Melo. I'm theorizing that how a person sees Basketball is a reflection of their personality.

An addendum to my FU creed is that a Basketball fan's like/dislike of certain teams is also a reflection of how a person is. All 30 teams fall somewhere between "conventional" and "unconventional." This is along the parallel of my yin/yang series, as well as "Money" Mike Benjamin's "Form/Function" series over at Points Off Turnovers. Characteristics such as offensive tempo, play-calling, rosters, and the blurring of traditional positions are included in a team's mixture. And I, to the best of my ability, graphed them. Western Conference teams are on the left, and the East is on the Right. Peep the result and an explanation at the end of this sentence.
The first thing I think readers will notice about the graph is that the Lakers and Celtics are in the middle of Chaos and Structure. This doesn't mean they are "perfect" teams; but rather that they've achieved the most exact blend of those two ideals. The graph is also Conference exclusive. Eastern and Western Conference teams aren't necessarily compared to each other. For example, the Pacers are more conventional than the Bucks; but they're not necessarily as conventional as the Rockets with Yao. A third idea is that I'm not associating better teams with being closer to the center of the graph. As you can see, there are contenders scattered along the spectrum.

This is a graph about the teams as a whole. Each of them has at least one player opposite of its place in the spectrum. And your like/dislike of a player has no bearing on how you feel about a team. So you may like watching Deron Williams; but that doesn't mean you enjoy watching the Jazz. And allegiance to one's favorite team does not apply to this graph because that bias will distort your view. It's understood that some players—particularly the Elite ones—exponentially add interest to their respective teams through fans' appreciation of their work. I'm a huge fan of Chris Paul, yet I cannot stand watching the Hornets. In this graph, an individual player does not correlate to the overall enjoyment of watching the entire team.

The Rockets and the Sixers were given two spots on the graphs because they had drastic alterations to their team's chemical makeup. Both teams became more successful when they were forced to abandon structure and become more chaotic to survive. Thaddeus Young became the hybrid SF/PF that Philly needs to get out and run; and the Rockets just played on pure guts and let Aaron Brooks be Atom Ant. It was a bit of Adelman's smoke and mirrors, but Houston somehow won 2 games without Yao against the future NBA champs. As for the Sixers, that first-round series with the Magic was a lot closer because they had to be fast break-oriented. Andre Miller, now playing in the Rose City, was the reason the transition from structure to chaos was seamless. Elton Brand must adapt himself to the fast-paced Sixers and not the other way around. It makes them much more dangerous.

Where our individual personalities factor in on this graph is that it will point out the many facets we have as people. I'm infatuated with the pure ruthlessness of the anarchic Warriors as well as the Spurs mechanization through the Big Fundamental. Portland's young near-completeness and Oklahoma City's developing Revolution are both microcosms of my personality. That's the beauty of Basketball. Just when you think you've figured out everything about your self, you discover something new about who you are as both a person and a hoops fan. Find yourself through this art. I have and am continuing to do so with each passing season.



Peace.

Mr. Can't Get Right

If most of you don’t know, my favorite current NBA player is Carmelo Anthony. No not Gilly the Kid, not Lebanon James, not even the Black Rapist himself. This is for a few reasons. One, even though he was born in NYC, he reps B-More. Now everyone knows I don’t claim B-More, but I definitely know that it is the most important city in Maryland. (Baltimore and I have a love-hate relationship but that’s another note.) I love Maryland ballers (no homo) and since I am the epitome of an “objective homer”, there was no doubt when I watched Carmelo throughout his freshman year at Syracuse that I respected and admired him. When I watched him slip to the 3rd overall pick behind bench sensation Darko Milicic (ask Detroit if they would do that twice), and go to the rebuilding Denver Nuggets, I instantly became a Nuggets fan.

But ever since Melo has been in the league, he’s been plagued by not-so-smart decisions and affiliations (not including his marriage to La-La, that was a good one). There was the first Marijuana charge at the Denver Airport, the whole “Stop Snitching” video fiasco, ANOTHER marijuana related incident, and the Knicks-Nuggets brawl of 2006. Some of these incidents have extremely bad timing, such as the K-N brawl coming while he was leading the league in scoring (he ended up averaging 28.9 ppg even after the 15 game suspension), and subsequently lead to the trade for A.I. (subsequently leading to a drop in Anthony’s ppg.). But withal, I thought that with the gold medal win in Beijing, Melo was turning a new leaf.
But then he committed the unthinkable; he refused to come out of the game when coach George Karl tried to sub him out. Now, to some other people whose basketball love and IQ are not very prudent, this might be an “Ok…..so?” type of ordeal. But as all b-ball heads can agree, you just don’t defy your coach on the court, in-game, on NATIONAL television. If you rebel against the coach, what are other players going to think of you? Are they going to respect the coach after that if he takes no action? Are they going to respect YOU for not showing any respect? George Karl has probably been coaching basketball longer than Carmelo has been alive. If George Karl wants to take you out for a rest, just get out. Its not like he will never put you back in, YOU'RE CARMELO ANTHONY. I think a few minutes of rest won’t kill your career Melz.

That got me to thinking, why in the world would a player do that? Is it ego? Did Melo take for granted that he was NOT the coach of the Denver Nuggets or knew how to manage and make substitutions for a professional basketball team? Has someone gassed up his head so much that it caused him to do said action? Has all the accolades gone to his head? Are the Indiana Pacers that important of a team that he would want to stay in? Were Indiana Pacers standing between the Nuggets and the last spot of the Western Conference Playoff Bubble? (Not paticularly, the Nuggets are 7th in the tightly contested West)

Maybe its an intrinsic force inside Carmelo to rebel. Maybe he feels he is owed respect due to his expansive repertoire of offensive skills. Maybe the thin Denver air is getting to him. Whatever it is, Carmelo Anthony is one of the greatest talents the NBA has to offer right now, but until he can get his off the court (and on the court) issues resolved within his game or within himself, he well be pounding on the glass ceiling to NBA Legendry.

Love, Peace, and Hairgrease

(had to bring the signature back)