LeBron in the Dunk Contest?

8.03.09 2:13 pm by Matt

During All-Star 2009, LeBron threatened to “clean up” the Dunk Contest. He hinted that if the rules were tightened up and he talked some fellow superstars into it, he’d participate.

Here’s the thing: sure, LeBron can jump high. REALLY high. But there’s just a limit to how high people can jump. Through the legs and a variant thereof is the go-to move in the finals every year, which leads to boredom, which led to a push toward creativity, costumes, and chicanery of all sorts.

Since LeBron and his superstar competitors can only repeat the through-the-legs so many times, I’m here to bring some ideas to the table for an All-Star filled Dunk Contest.
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The Bummer of 2010

7.26.09 10:02 am by Matt

NBA analysis seems to consist of relating every move to the Summer of 2010, dreaming of players for teams to get during the Summer of 2010, or just talking about the Summer of 2010 for no other reason. The Summer of 2010 probably has a player card on ESPN.com. “The Knicks are smart to pick up those contracts that will expire in the Summer of 2010 so they can make a run at LeBron James.” “That’s a great trade for the Pistons, clearing that cap space aimed at Dwyane Wade in the Summer of 2010.”

Well I say PHOOEY. Here’s why we’re in for a big, massive, giant, huge BUMMER of 2010:

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CM’s Quick Hits: Monday, July 13

7.13.09 4:55 pm by CM
  1. Slow sports week, as you can tell buy the media coverage around the dunk that could have been. Lebron getting dunked on is the biggest non-story since Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were married. Speidi > Dunkgate.
  2. Home Tun Derby tonight, I am taking Pujols. Just like the U.S. Open in golf, I bet on the best story going in to events like this. Pujols at home on a triple crown season is that story.
  3. Brock Lesnar is a BEAST and is a perfect champion. America can not wait for this man to lose, he has brought a WWE character with him to the octagon and it is going to make him a rich man.

    4. Read the rest of this entry »

Comparing Eras: Lebron James (2008-2009) vs. Oscar Robertson (1961-1962)

6.10.09 9:40 pm by Alex

LeBron James’ rare combination of skills have often led to him being compared with Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson. In the 1961-62 NBA season, Robertson averaged a triple-double for the season (30.8 pts, 12.5 reb, 11.4 ast), a feat that hasn’t been accomplished before that or since then. LeBron’s impressive 2009 MVP season (28.4 pts, 7.6 reb, 7.2 ast) has left people wondering whether he’s capable of replicating Robertson’s feat.

LeBron will probably never match Robinson’s ‘61-’62 season. In that season teams averaged 118.8 points per game, compared to only 100 this past year. Assist(23.9 vs. 20.9) and rebound(71.4 vs. 41.3)  numbers were higher as well. I’ve seen this done several different ways, but lets take a look at where LeBron would stand using these league-wide numbers as a reference point (Era multipliers calculated by dividing the per-game numbers from the ‘61-’62 season by the corresponding data from ‘08-’09):

LeBron 08-09 Era Multiplier LeBron Adjusted Robertson 61-62
Points 28.4 118.8/100.0=1.18 33.5 30.8
Rebounds 7.6 71.4/41.3=1.72 13.1 12.5
Assists 7.2 23.9/20.9=1.14 8.2 11.4

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