Please stop destroying tradition in the NBA!

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the NBA.

I have loved the players, the teams, the courts, the uniforms but must of all, I have loved watching great basketball.

For some reason though, the NBA has been making a lot of changes lately and it just doesn't feel right to me.

All Star Game

The first thing that was changed was the Allstar game. Instead of the best of the west playing the best of the east this year, two team captains will pick their teams, irrespective of conference.

It was an effort by Adam Silver to make the Allstar game more competitive this year.  For the past several years, the NBA Allstar games have been a joke.  None of the players have competed and it has deteriorated the game to the point where it is a glorified layup drill. 

The Allstar game used to be one of my favorite games each year.  It was the one chance to see all the best players in the world but on a show, but more importantly compete to see who is best player/team in the world, at least for one day.  I remember watching Jordan score 40 in the 1988 All Star game, Magic, Bird and Jordan putting on a show in their last Allstar game together in the 1990 Allstar game, Magic returning from retirement in 1992 to win MVP, Kobe and Jordan going head to head in 1998, and Iverson leading the east from behind in 2001.  Those games meant a lot, because the players competed hard. 

But because players have stopped competing, Allstar records have also become meaningless. Last year, Anthony Davis scored a record 52 points.  In the same game, Russel Westbrook scored 41 points and the West won 192-182 but it was one of the worst all-star games I have ever seen.

This year, Adam Silver hopes that the changes will make the game more competitive. Personally, the problem is not with the teams, but the attitude of the players.  I understand that they don't want to be injured, but when in the history of the all star game has a player been injured due to playing hard and competing?

I hate that players aren't competing and I hate destroying the 70 year tradition of East v West. 

Uniforms

I was really excited when I heard that Nike would be producing the uniforms. I didn't like the sleeved jerseys that Adidas pushed and I was hoping that Nike produce some nice uniforms.

But then came the advertising on the jerseys. I don't like it and I think it just cheapens the whole look.  I have seen other leagues around the world that have more advertising on the jerseys and you can barely tell what the team name is and what are the sponsors. I understand that its all about money and these advertisers are paying a lot of money to have their names on the jerseys.  I understand it, but I don't like it.

What I really hate though is some of the jerseys.  Firstly, what is going on with the Lakers' jerseys.  The Lakers have one of the most classic jerseys in the NBA and somehow they got the color completely wrong.  It looks horrible. Just look at this comparison between the classic Lakers purple and gold and the new banana yellow.

(Don't get me wrong, not all jerseys are horrible. I love the Wolves, the Heat and some of the other teams).  

The other thing that's really annoying me is the uniform colors for home and away teams.  Previously, home teams generally wore white and away teams wore their colors. But this year, for some reason, they have changed it.  When the Bulls and the Lakers played in LA last week, the Bulls wore there white home uniforms and the Lakers wore their banana yellow.  It just looked horrible.  

The Lakers also don't seem to be wearing their classic purple uniforms anymore.  Why would the most successful franchise in the past 30 years change their classic look?

I know change is good sometimes.  But I just don't like these changes...

Why Michael Jordan will always be better than LeBron James (and it has nothing to do with six rings)

With LeBron James recently overtaking Jordan in total games played, there has been a lot of talk that LeBron James is closing in on Jordan's greatness and that by the end of his career that he will overtake MJ as the greatest of all time.

But with LeBron’s loss in the finals this year, he has won just 3 out of the 8 Finals that he has appeared in.  On the other hand, Jordan was a perfect 6 out of 6 in the Finals.

Some people argue that Jordan’s perfect 6 for 6 in the finals means that his status as the GOAT is unattainable for LeBron.  Others argue that the fact that LeBron made it to the Finals 8 times is more impressive than Jordan’s 6.

But is unfair to both LeBron and Jordan to only compare finals wins.  Being the GOAT is about so much more than that.  So here are 3 reasons why Jordan is better than LeBron that have nothing to do with rings.

1. The Decision

I am not talking about the ESPN television special in which LeBron declared that he was going to take his talents to South Beach.  I am talking about LeBron’s actual decision to leave Cleveland to join two superstars in Miami to win “not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not 6, not 7” championships.

A lot of people argue that LeBron Cleveland left because the Cavs were a terrible team.  That is just not true.  In fact, in the previous two seasons (2008-09 and 2009-10), the Cavs had the best record in the NBA. They won 66 games in 2009 and 61 games in 2010.

In the previous four seasons, the Cavs also had made it to the NBA finals once, the Conference finals once and the Conference semi-finals twice. Clearly, they were an elite team in the NBA.

LeBron fans also argue that LeBron had no help in Cleveland.  While he certainly didn’t have Wade and Bosh, he did have All-Stars Shaquille O’Neal (15 time All-Star), Antawn Jamison (2 time All-Star) and Mo Williams (1 x All Star).  Mo Williams and Shaq were both All-stars as recently as 2009 and Jamison in 2008.  Zydrunis Ilgauskas was also an All-star in 2003 and 2005.  It certainly wasn’t like LeBron didn’t have talented players around him in Cleveland.

But why does LeBron’s decision matter? LeBron fans argue that he still had to win those championships in Miami.  But the league MVP joining a team with Superstar Dwyane Wade (All NBA First team in 2010) and Chris Bosh (11 time All Star) made winning those championships significantly easier for him.  It also set a precedent for players like Kevin Durant to go from the Thunder to go to the 73 win Golden State Warriors.

LeBron fans will argue that Jordan never won any championships without Scottie Pippen, which is true.  However, Pippen was drafted by the Bulls as a raw talent and as a rookie, he averaged just 7.9 points per game. Jordan helped develop Pippen into the All-Star player that he became and Pippen improved every year he played alongside Jordan. Similarly, Horace Grant developed from a 7.7 points per game in his rookie year to a very solid power forward. Jordan pushed his teammates every day in practice to make them better players that could help him win the championship.  He didn't just look to join two other established stars.

Imagine if in the late 1980’s, Michael Jordan went to the Celtics to join up with Bird and McHale, or if he went to the Pistons to play with Isiah and Joe Dumars, or the Lakers with Magic and Worthy.  Sure, he still would have won 6 or more championships, but they wouldn’t have been as meaningful as they were by building a championship team in Chicago.

Again, after the Bulls 6^th championship in 1998, Jordan was a free agent and could have easily signed with the Lakers to play with Shaq and Kobe, Spurs to play with Duncan and Robinson, Utah and played with Stockton and Malone, Houston to play with Hakeem, Barkley and Pippen. Jordan could have gone to any of those teams and won 2-5 more championships depending on how long he played for.

But unlike LeBron going to Miami, Jordan never even considered about joining two other superstars to chase more championships, because for Jordan the challenge and the competition was why he played.

That attitude of competition and challenge is one thing that sets Jordan apart from LeBron. LeBron wants to team up with the best players.  Jordan wanted to beat them.

2. Playoff Failures

Even after joining Wade and Bosh in Miami, LeBron failed to win the Championship in 2011 losing to the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games

LeBron’s performance in that series against the Mavs is one of the worst, if not the worst, performance by a superstar in the NBA finals ever. 

He averaged just 17.8 points in series against the Mavs. In game 4 of the series, LeBron had maybe his worst game ever, scoring just 8 points on 3-11 shooting and 4 turnovers.  LeBron followed that game up with a 17 point game in game 5 on 8-19 shooting and a 21 point game in game 6 where Miami was -24 when on the floor.

Not only was he completely outplayed in the series by Dirk Nowitski who was finals MVP averaging 26.0, 9.7 and 2.0, but also Dwyane Wade (26.5, 7.0, 5.2) severely outplayed Lebron.  Even Chris Bosh averaged more points (18.5) and rebounds (7.3) than LeBron in the series. 

LeBron has a history of these types of failures in the playoffs. In game 5 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semi finals, LeBron had another terrible game, scoring just 15 points of 3-14 shooting.  LeBron appeared to be so disinterested in that game that many people speculated that LeBron had already given up on Cleveland.

In 2007, LeBron carried the Cavs to the NBA Finals against the Spurs.  But on the biggest stage, LeBron had a terrible shooting series, shooting an incredible 35.6% from the field.  While he did average 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6.8 assists in the series, he also averaged 5.8 turnovers per game.  LeBron’s loss to the Spurs in a 4-0 sweep should not be held against him, but his poor performance in those Finals definitely should.

Even LeBron‘s loss in the Finals to the Warriors in 2015 should not be held against him, especially after the Cavs lost Kyrie Irving to injury in game 1.  LeBron fans will say that LeBron had one of the greatest series' ever averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists.  But what they never acknowledge is that LeBron shot just 39.8 percent from the field in that series.

LeBron fans usually argue that Jordan lost to the Bucks in 1985, to the Celtics in 1986 and 1987, the Pistons in 1988, 1989 and 1990 and the Magic in 1995.  Like LeBron, there were times where Jordan’s teams were not as good as their opponent.  But unlike LeBron, Jordan’s individual performance Jordan never faulted during those series.

Yes, Jordan has had some bad shooting games in the Playoffs.  For example, in game 3 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, Jordan shot just 3-18 from the field.  But he came back the next game and scored 54 points on 60% shooting.  LeBron simply hasn’t bounced back from bad shooting performances the way that Jordan has.

Jordan’s most famous playoff failure occurred in game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the Orlando Magic.  The highlight of Nick Anderson stealing the ball from Jordan in the final seconds has been shown thousands of time.  We all know that Jordan came back the next year and destroyed the Orlando Magic.  But what is rarely mentioned is that the very next game, Jordan scored 38 points on 17-30 shooting, with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocks as the Bulls won to steal home court advantage from the NBA best Magic. Jordan averaged 31.0 points (on 47.7% shooting), 6.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.8 blocks during that series against Orlando including 40 points in game 3 and 39 points in game 5.  Jordan’s statistics during that series, which is considered to be one of Jordan’s worst in his career, are actually better than LeBron's career playoff numbers.

Overall in the playoffs, Jordan has higher points per game (33.4 v 28.4), Field goal % (48.1 v 46.7), Three Point % (33.2 v 33.0), Free Throw Percentage (82.8 v 74.2), Steals (2.1 v 1.8), fewer turnovers, (3.1 v 3.5) and PER (28.6 v 27.9).

Similarly, in the finals, Jordan has higher points per game (33.6 v 27.7), Field goal % (48.7 v 48.5), Three Point % (36.8 v 35.9), Free Throw Percentage (80.6 v 72.6), Steals (2.1 v 1.8), and fewer turnovers (2.4 v 3.9).

Overall, Jordan is the far superior playoff performer and that is another reason why LeBron will never be able to catch Jordan as the GOAT.

3. Bronzed – Twice

One blemish in LeBron’s career that is rarely mentioned is the fact that LeBron failed to win the Gold Medal in the 2004 Olympics and then again in the 2006 World Championships.  The failure to win the Gold Medal, not once but twice, has to be one of the biggest disappointments of LeBron’s career.

In 2004, LeBron was coming off his rookie year in the NBA where he was named Rookie of the year. He was teamed with Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Stephon Marbury and Amare Stoudemire.  By far they were the most talented team in the Olympics and should have won the Gold medal easily.

But in their first game, USA lost 82-73 to Puerto Rico, their biggest lost in Olympic History.  Prior to the 2004 Olympics, the USA had only ever lost two games.  In the 2004 Olympics, USA lost three games and only finished with the bronze medal. LeBron averaged only 5.4 points, 1.0 rebound, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.4 blocks and 1.1 turnovers per game. He also only averaged 11.4 minutes per game (in a 40 minute game).

LeBron has a chance at Redemption in 2006 after his third year in the NBA at the World Championships.  Teamed with Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard and Joe Johnson, the 2006 USA team was ridiculously stacked. But yet, somehow, they did not win the gold medal

In 2006, Lebron led the team in minutes played (24.2 minutes in a 40 minute game). He also played 30 out of the 40 minutes in the loss in the semi-finals against a Greek team that had no NBA players.

LeBron fans may argue, LeBron was too young or that he didn’t get enough playing time.

But compare LeBron’s stats with 21 year old Michael Jordan’s stats in the 1984 Olympics.  17.1 Points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.9 blocks.  More importantly, he led a team of college players who had never played an NBA game to a perfect 8-0 record and the gold medal.  Jordan scored 20 points in the gold medal game against Spain.  He also led them to a perfect 8-0 record against NBA select teams which included Bird, Magic and Isiah.

LeBron fans may argue that Jordan faced lesser international talent in 1984 than LeBron did in 2004 and 2006. This may be true (although the 2006 Greek team did not have any NBA Players), but Jordan certainly didn’t have teammates like Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Stephon Marbury, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard and Joe Johnson in 1984.

Secondly, LeBron fans may argue that the whole offense was centered around Jordan, whereas LeBron had to share with all of the other All-stars that he played with and that is why Jordan was so much more effective than LeBron was.

Thankfully, YouTube has many highlights and some full games of Jordan’s 1984 Olympics.  Jordan played within Bobby Knight’s structured system but still was able to shine.  His defence and hustle alone would have earned him playing time on any team, especially teams like the 2004 Olympic team that were severely lacking those qualities.

LeBron went on to win 2 Olympic Gold Medals in 2008, 2012, matching the two that Jordan has.  But the two bronze medals will always be a blemish on LeBron’s career compared to Jordan.

When comparing anyone who wants to be considered as the GOAT to Jordan, they almost need to have a perfect career. Jordan's career had very flew blemishes.  LeBron's career already has far too many blemishes to be considered the Greatest of All Time.