It Takes Two, Bad Lakers

If you know anything about me regarding sports, you know that I like players, not teams. Teams evolve year after year and I couldn't possibly identify with an organization simply because they bare a certain name, color, or because I was raised where they play. The only team that I will forever cheer for is my alma mater, my Uconn Huskies. For me being a Huskies is indelible and they will always be my team.

Moving on...

Let's face the fact, I am a Kobe Bryant fan. There is no disputing that, but I would like to believe that I remain unbiased in conversations regarding basketball. I know that many people will say that I am wrong when I say that Kobe Bryant is the best NBA basketball player of all-time, but that is neither here nor there.

Since I am a huge Kobe fan, that would make me a Los Angeles Lakers' fan since he is currently on that team (I was a huge New York Knicks' fan back in the day when John Starks played, then Allan Houston and Latrell “Choke” Sprewell) . I have been seen roaming the streets of Boston in my Magic Johnson Lakers' jersey because Magic Johnson is my favorite player of all-time.

Right now the Lakers are in disarray. They were just embarrassed, humiliated, and dethroned by the Dallas Mavericks. Trust me, I hate people that ride the bandwagon. I stick with my player/team through the good times and the bad times, but I turned the television off in the middle of the third quarter after Ron Artest missed a lay-up. Enough was enough.

For a franchise with so much rich basketball history, for them to be belittled on national television, on Mother's Day, a day you show your mother what kind of man or woman you've become, was too horrid to watch. And then to hear that they started acting like spoiled toddlers because things didn't go their way just the icing on the cake. I will solemnly say that I am ashamed to be a Lakers fan after that display.

Now I know you can't win them all, and I have been preaching for a long time that it's not about winning and losing, for me at least. Sometimes the ball just don't fall, sometimes you're an inch out of place, sometimes the ball slips out of your hand, or sometimes you slip, shit happens. What I care about when I watch or play basketball is intelligence and desire, two things the Lakers didn't show, specifically, in game four and for much of the series.

To me the only players on the Lakers that seemed to give a damn were Bryant and Lamar Odom. Odom played hard all series. Of coarse we know Kobe takes each game to heart, but I saw a fight in Odom that can't be forgotten. He on several occasions took the ball hard to the whole and played defense the best he could. He unfortunately missed too many free throws, but that happens, even though it shouldn't, they are called “free” throws, got to make them count.

To be honest I don't even want to talk about Paul Gasol's performance in the playoffs this year, but mentioning his name gives me a segue to my next topic, next year for the Lakers.

By now you have probably heard talks about Dwight Howard possibly going to the Lakers and what the Lakers would have to give up to get him. What should the Lakers give up to get Howard you might ask? Everything but the kitchen sink, and I shouldn't have to tell you that Kobe is the kitchen sink, or do I (smiley face)?

Now the first thing that popped into my head when I heard about the Dwight Howard rumors was, “Hell yeah!” But then I started to think and I was like, “Whoa, I don't want the Lakers to be next year's Miami Heat team, bringing superstars together because individuals can't hack it on there own is sad (Sorry ass LeBron).” But then I got to thinking about Michael Jordan and inevitably Scottie Pippen. Without taking anything away from Jordan and how dominate he was, he was not wearing rings until Pippen was in a Bulls' jersey and when Pippen was wearing that Bulls' jersey in the 90's he was wearing the hell out of it.

Like my friend Mr. Jenkins loves to say verbatim, “Men lie, women lie, numbers don't.” Scottie Pippen put up numbers when he played with Jordan and when he played without Jordan. And for his play on the court he received honors as being one of the fifty greatest basketball players of all-time. Say what you will about Pippen and how Jordan made him a better player, I don't believe that flummery; slouchers don't get named as one of the fifty greatest players of all-time, so realize that.

Therefore, I want to say that a championship team should be allowed, with no prejudice to have two all-stars on their team at the same time. I think three is unfair and poor sportsmanship, but I think two is a fair number. Like I already mentioned, the Bulls did it in the nineties along with the Houston Rockets (Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler), the Lakers in 2000's (Shaq and Kobe) with the San Antonio Spurs (Tim Duncan and David Robinson) just to name a few.

Basketball is a team game, but teams need superstars to win championships. So with that said, Gasol in this year's playoffs was no superstar by any stretch of the imagination and that's what hurt the Lakers greatly. Next year, if Dwight Howard gets that epiphany and the Lakers hit my cell phone up looking for Derrick Fisher's successor, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Lakers will be in the Finals next year, even if they don't call me, even though they should.

Mr. Felder

Loves

At one point in my life I used to believe in true love. I used to believe that God had put one person on this planet that was meant for you and only you.  And that life was a journey; all the things that happened to you in your life happened so that when you finally met your true love that both of you would be ready to begin a life together.

Those ideas I had about love were from a long, long, long, long time ago. Since then my views on love have changed, greatly. 

What I have learned about love is that there are many types of love. A quote that has stayed with me from Ken Burns, “There are many kinds of love: Joyous, zestful, desperate, the kind of love that is a gloomy, confused, dependency, never filled, therefore insatiable, a love that asks more of its object than it can give.”

I personally have lived and witnessed loves that were described in the quote above and others, loves that were parasitic, out of control, and mercurial at times, loves that were clandestine and never surfaced, ones that were overly devoted, suffocating, and unrelenting, loves that were stalled with no chance of growth, and even a few loves that seemed to be just right.

I am almost sure that almost everyone at some point in a long-lived life will experience many types of love in their life. What I have come to notice about people is that many people run away from love and sometimes choose to ignore it, hoping that at some point in the future that there will be something better out there for them. Or even disregard love, not seeing it as something important in their lives, therefore putting physical attributes, jobs, money, and other mundane things at the forefront of their lives. 

What I have come to understand is that love isn't what is truly important to most people, happiness is. Love can bring you happiness, but it can also bring you discomfort, jealousy, confusion, misery, and agony, the kind of agony that can cause you to lose your breath, that can hurt worse than daggers and inflict pain into your life that may never go away.

Just as it will never always be sunny, love will not always be blissful. In life you have to take the good with the bad and sometimes even the bad with the ugly. The things that are most special in life are the things that you work for, and love shouldn't be any different; the timing for love may not always be right, but more importantly, it’s what you do when the time comes. Real love takes work, understanding, patience, diligence, and sometimes even the offering of forgiveness.

I have never met a perfect person in my life; imperfections are sometimes the things that people love the most about a person. Short comings show that a person is human and shouldn't always be abhorred.

As you may know or should know if you ever want to be truly loved by someone in your life you will have to love yourself first and love the things about a person that you wish you could change. But remember, you're not perfect yourself.

MVP Talks (NBA)

As the regular basketball season is coming to a close, there is big talk about who will be rewarded this year's MVP (Most Valuable Player). This is an honor that been given to many basketball greats over the years. Michael Jordan, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and many others have been bestowed this great award.

The MVP award in not something given to bums that play in the NBA. Those that receive this award are the ones that drastically effected the game that particular season and raised their team above almost every other team. The MVP award would not be given to the best player in the league on a team with a horrible record. There is no allure to that kind of situation.

Instead, a player must not only shine, but make his team rise to heights that would not be possible without him. Therefore, one can not only play well, but must make those around him better.

Now growing up I used to believe that the MVP award went to the best player in the NBA. As I began to understand the game of basketball better I realized that was not the case. When I was growing up, Michael Jordan was the NBA. To many he was the best player in the NBA and throughout his career received the MVP award a whopping five times. Kareen Abdul-Jabbar won it six times, but I wasn't alive then and never really seen him play, so I have no opinion of his game, but respect him nonetheless. With Jordan winning it five times and being regarded as the best player in the NBA it became my belief that the MVP honor would be attained each year by the best player in the league.

When the 2004 MVP award was announced I realized that not to be true any longer (I had a better understanding of the game by 2004 and paid closer attention to basketball). Kevin Garnett won the MVP award that year. I know many Boston fans will probably exit from this page right now, but for those of you still reading, let me make my point. Garnett, since the beginning of his career had been an excellent player. It was very unfortunate that he was however on a sub-par team that could barely make the playoffs most years, plus playing in Minnesota did not offer him much publicity. But as time went on in Garnett's career, the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to attract a few solid players that were able to help Garnett improve the Timberwolves to be one of the dominates teams in the west. In the 2003-2004 season the Timberwolves earned the top seed in the West and did damage in the playoff, but lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers, who lost to the Detroit Pistons in the Finals.

There is no doubt about. Garnett was a great player then and still is. But he definitely was not the best player in the NBA then. And that's when I realized that the MVP didn't go to the best player in the NBA, it went to the most valuable player on the most talked about team in the NBA with regard, key word “regard”. People were surprised to see the Timberwolves excelling and happy to see that Garnett finally have other core players around him, therefore, the Timberwolves began to be heavily talked about. Garnett's statistics throughout his career have remained constant pretty much since his third year in the league, with a drop since joining the Boston Celtics for obvious reasons.

Check out the MVP recipients since Kevin Garnett:

Steve Nash – MVP award 2005 and 2006. The Phoenix Suns were a non-stop offense and Nash was their catalyst. The Suns were an exciting team to watch. The media loved what Nash was doing and scoring points is how to get people's attention. Admitted by many, they played no defense and basketball has two sides.

Dirk Nowitzki – MVP award 2007. He played very well that year, but was knocked out in the playoffs in the first round. Dallas Mavericks owner heavy in the media, publicizing the team. Mavericks were good that year and Nowitzki was playing well. Made it to the NBA Finals the year prior and is actually playing even better in 2010-2011, but will receive no MVP award because his team is not being talked about like before, and they are still really good.

Kobe Bryant – MVP award 2008. Might be the first year in a long time the award went to the best player in the NBA. But that season the Los Angeles Lakers were talked a lot about because of Bryant trade rumors, then big acquisitions during the season kept them in the media more than any other team along with the Boston Celtics. The Celtics' big three are just that, the Big Three and the MVP award can only go to one person. Bryant made it to the NBA Finals and lost. Bryant won the NBA Championship two years in a row following, no MVP award then.

LeBron James – MVP award 2009 and 2010. Great player, stand out player in the NBA. Those two years he won the award, non-stop talk about whether or not he would stay in Cleveland after his contract was up. Flashy player, big dunks kept him on the media and people's minds. Teams was atop the Eastern Conference, should get the MVP award if he was the best player on the best team. Was he the best player on the best team? Didn't make it to the finals either year, and did a few years before, however, no MVP award that year.


So then who is going to receive the NBA MVP award this year? Derrick Rose. If he doesn't get it I will be shocked. Rose has raised the Chicago Bulls back to stardom. He is the best player on his team and proves it just about every night. Yes, he has a bad shooting nights here and there, but who doesn't? He deserves the award this year, not saying he is most deserving of the award, but he deserves it.

Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls have been heavily talked about this year behind the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat, the Heat the foremost. But the Heat have three stars and that is just one over the threshold this year for MVP honors I believe. That would seemingly leave Bryant and Rose fighting it out, but let's face the facts here. People like the underdog and Rose is an underdog when you compare him to Bryant. Plus, everyone expects the Lakers to excel and Rose and the Bulls came out of left field and caught everyone by surprise. That shock will knock Rose ahead of Bryant and give him the MVP award this year.


Mr. Felder.

Lakers, Heat: The Heat Is On!

One thing is for certain, Kobe Bryant is lucky that LeBron James plays in the East and not the West. James has had Bryant's number when it comes to head-to-head matches. I can't exactly explain what happens to Bryant and the Lakers when James comes around, but they fall short the majority of the time and last night was no different.

Los Lakers versus El Heat was a great match up, and kudos to the NBA once again for honoring Spanish Heritage Month. By the first quarters numbers it looked as though the game was going to be a shootout, but things soon settled down and at times got pretty sloppy, causing both teams not to reach the dollar mark.

For the Heat, Dwyane Wade at times during the game looked as though he had never dribbled a basketball in his life, costing the Heat four turnovers on ridiculous amateur errors. But he was not alone, Chris Bosh added four as well. Mike Miller only had one turnover, but his was a fundamental mistake on a two-on-one fast-break with Wade, against a smaller Derrick Fisher, inexcusable. I'm sure Red Auerbach rolled over in his grave after that one and said, “Bounce pass, young fella!”

Wade and James shot selection during the game was questionable to say the least. James at times found it easy to penetrate the Lakers' defense, but after doing so often found himself in less than favorable positions to make a shot, but shot it anyways, leading to many empty trips for the Heat. Wade, basically on the “same” hand for some reason decided to turn almost every outside shot he took into a fade-away shot, even if no one from the opposing team was near him. Needless to say, his outside shooting was not good.

For the Lakers, Paul Gasol's basketball acumen made Chris Bosh look like a fool for much of the game. Bosh however did return the favor a few times, but Gasol for most of the game had his way with Bosh.

Kobe Bryant went to work from outside the arc, hitting four threes, one of them from Orlando with just over two minutes left to play. Other than a pretty and-one shot against Wade, Bryant had a macabre shooting performance, choosing to fade-away unnecessarily too many times like Wade.

The end of the game was interesting as it came down to the wire. With ninety second left Wade made up for one of his turnovers in which Ron Artest peeled him like a potato. Wade returned the favor stripping Kobe like a struggling female pre-med student, ending with an assist on a LeBron slam.

With less than a minute to go Wade went past Kobe with help from LeBron who looked as though he was playing hockey as he barreled into Kobe, sending him a good ten feet across the court. Wade finished the strongly contested lay-up against Gasol, putting the Heat up by four. Kobe missed a long distance three with twenty-four seconds left, ending the chances of a Lakers' win.

Quick Food For Thought:

With less than seven minutes left in the game Kobe was still on the bench. He might have been exhausted, but that definitely hurt the Lakers in the end. Kobe usually enters the game in the fourth quarter around nine minutes, but for some reason tonight was different. His last game against the Celtics, Kobe played the entire fourth quarter, leading to a Lakers' victory. Maybe Kobe cares more about the Celtics than LeBron, since Paul Pierce has one of his rings and LeBron James has none at all.

And could this win be what helps pick the Heat back up?

Mr. Felder

Heat: Red Alert

Okay, yes the Heat are in trouble and everyone can see that. They have just dropped five straight and are not producing wins like everyone expected.

Should the Heat organization hit the panic button just yet?

No.

The Heat are the Heat. They are the most talented team in the NBA and talent can get you far. Too much talent can also hurt you at times if you're not careful.  Relying on only your talent in basketball 9 out of 10 times will not work out so well.

I remember my high school basketball coach telling me, “Hey, you can teach any idiot to shoot, but knowing when to shoot is something that takes intuition.” He didn't exactly say it like that. My high school basketball coach by his own admission was a prick. But I realized what he was saying. Having the skills to do things in basketball will not ensure success. That is where the Heat are currently. They have all the skills in the world. They arguably have two of the five best players in the NBA on one team and sharp shoots that rival Black Ops.

What is wrong with them? A lot.

When I watch the Heat play it seem as thought there is no game plan. They don't try to execute anything on the floor, all they try to do is produce. You would never see the Celtics play like that or the Spurs. And you only see the Lakers do that when something breaks down or Kobe Bryant is frustrated and tries to take over the game. Sorry, have to reiterate this, Kobe is the best player in the game and has five rings that say he can do whatever he wants with a basketball on the court; LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are nowhere near him.

The Miami Heat right now are a show: Flashy passes, great dunks, with one-on-one entertainment. That might have been enough to get it done in the 90's when Jordan played, but not anymore. The NBA has evolved. You need to have a strong team game. Your big men need to be involve to set up easy spot up jump-shots (like the Orlando Magic). And yes, you need a star player on your team. The only basketball team I can remember winning a NBA Championship without a true star player was the Detroit Pistons (2004) and they beat the Los Angeles Lakers that had four hall-a-fame starters. Their was turmoil on that Laker team at that time, but there is no excuse losing to the Pistons with the roster they had.

So why is it that the Heat will be okay?

Because they have the talent, and that talent is not going anywhere. James and Wade, along with Chris Bosh are smart enough players to know that when crunch time comes that it's enough with the Hollywood show and it will be time to make something special like an indi-movie. You might say they will turn into Mickey Rourke and their playoff run will amount to something like the movie “The Wrestler”.

When the playoffs come things will settle down for them internally. Yes, the media will be pushing them, trying to get a story, but underneath all that mayhem, they will be calm and cool. Imploding will not do them any good and will cause them to make an early exit out of the playoffs. James will be passing more. Wade will stop taking crazy fade-away shots. Bosh will get closer to the basket and Mike Bibby will start running the team like a point guard should.

I still have the Heat making it to the second round. And for you avid sports fans, if you think a slumping team is down and out, I just have to mention two teams. The New York Giants during the 2007-2008 season and the Super Bowl that year. And the Boston Red Sox improbable playoff victory against the New York Yankees in the ALCS in 2004.

Therefore, my advice to all those Heat-haters, save your breath till it's all said and done.

Mr. Felder

Just Like Music

When it comes to music I like to think of myself as something of a connoisseur. I know that I'm not, but I generally like to listen to all types of music. I love the 70's Motown, Jazz of all ages, R&B is a must, real Rap (Rhythm Americ Poetry), Hip Hop, and all types of Rock, although, not a fan of Heavy Metal and you'll never catch me hitting play on my iPod for it, I can however listen to it if someone else is listening to it, but I draw the line at Country music.

I have on a number of occasions given Country music a chance. When Garth Brooks was bigger than Jesus I tried listening to his music and others, but I just couldn't stand it. I even recently tried again. I saw Derks Bentley preform live and I wasn't the least bit amused by his music. I certainly believe to each their own, but I like to recognize good music when I hear it. Maybe I just don't have an ear for Country music, therefore, I can't embrace it, but I have earnestly tried.

Lately, I haven't been happy with the music that has been coming out. I don't know what changed in the last ten years, but 90% of all music that is released to the public now is garbage. I personally think what Lady Gaga has done to music is worse than what George Bush did to America, and we all know how bad Bush f#@*ed up. Trust me, she is not alone. Soulja Boy and T-Pain are right there with her, but hey, they are stacking figures so I can't hate on that.

There are lot of artists that I don't like in genres of music that I do like. But I can respect what some of them do, because they at least do it with some class and dignity. The music industry needs a revolution, Lady Gaga has to go and fast!

Now I have a lot of favorites, and it would be very monotonous for me to mention them all so here are a few of my personal favorites:

Sam Cooke – 60's soul singer. Considered by many people that know of him as the inventor of soul music. “Live at The Harlem Square Club, 1963” is probably the greatest live album of all-time. Someone else told me this and I didn't believe them. Let me just say, I stand corrected.

Tupac – Some say Biggie, I say Tupac.

Justin Timberlake – I love me some Justin.

Frank Sinatra – When I was looking for a job when I got out of school and couldn't find one, I must of listen to “That's Life” by Frank a thousand times, along with his other great melodies.

Curtis Mayfield – The funk man, and he's a sensitive soul too. I personally think “There's No Place Like America” is the best album of all-time. You have to give it at least one listen.

Red Hot Chili Peppers – I know they are not the greatest rock group, but I find solace with them. Their album “Californication” was great for me and still is.

Aretha Franklin – Need I say more?

Ray Charles – The man.

Billie Holiday/Etta James/Nina Simone – I know it's not right to put these three ladies together, but I just have one word for all of them, AMAZING!

Remy Shand – Now this person, I doubt many people know of him. He only produce one album, but it was a great one, “The Way I Feel”.

The Beatles – I myself am not a huge fan. I have listened to a lot of their albums, even had to do a college essay on the “White Album”, I adulate their work even though sometimes their music sounds like a cacophony, no offense.

When it comes to music I think we are all neophytes. There are so many songs that we have never heard and will never get to hear. I have recently watch the movie “Blue Valentine” and found one of the most amazing songs. “You and Me” by Penny and The Quarters. I have probably listened to it in the last five days, at least 70 times. It was a demo for a little known group in the 60's or 70's and they never made it big. You have to youtube this one, you won't be disappointed.

One of the problems I use to have with finding great music that I hadn't heard of was, where was I suppose to find it? I didn't want to be a crate-diggger, that takes way too much work. When I heard about Pandora my music woes were cured. I have found so many artists like the ones that I love and even enjoy some of them more than the ones I knew about before.

There is just so much great music out there, have a listen.

Mr. Felder

Magic and Early look at the Playoffs

Last night in the NBA opened many people's eyes to one or two things – either the Miami Heat are all hype or the Orlando Magic are the real deal and are heavy contenders in the East.

I believe the latter to be true. The Magic not only beat the Heat last night, but they beat them in the most incredulous fashion. They came back from down more than 20 points to beat the NBA's most talented team. This is not an easy feat and couldn't be done by any team, except a team that is a true contender for the NBA championship.

Now, yes, the Heat have lost a number of games to teams this year, and have struggled to beat teams that are over 500, but I don't want to pay attention to that. Last night the nail was in the coffin for the Orlando Magic, and they could have easily packed it in and said, “Hey, we'll get 'em next time.” They however didn't do that. They were resilient. Ryan Anderson, probably the most underrated player on the Magic, hit two consecutive three's in the third quarter that gave the Magics life.

Gilbert “Gun” Arenas played like the player people thought he would be by hitting shot after shot with no regard. Jameer Nelson played very well. He is definitely not one of the top point guards in the league, but there are days when he plays, that he deserves to be consider one of the elites and last night's performance was one of those nights. On one particular play he beat his man off the dribble and drove from the side straight at Chris Bosh and laid it up high off the backboard, leaving Bosh defenseless and earning the Magic' two points. Nelson is a great point guard and the NBA needs to realize that.

Dwight Howard played well and hit his free throws. When the playoffs come around and Howard is hitting his free throws over 65% the Magic will be hard to stop and every playoff team in the NBA knows that. Teams this year will not be able to play Dwight like Hack-A-Shaq in the late 90's and early to mid 2000's.

This year's playoffs are setting up to be one of the finest. The Spurs look tough, Lakers look questionable, but still tough, and Mavericks can't be counted out. The Celtics are tough, Magic are tough, and the Heat haven't been tested in the playoffs yet, so nobody knows what we're going to see from them when it's crunch-time.

My best guest right now for the NBA finals has to be, Spurs and Magic. I can't see either of these teams losing before then. Everyone knows that Kobe is the best player in the NBA, hands down. But having to preform at the top of his game in the Conference Finals every night will be hard to do. Paul Gasol has been timid at times and unless he plans on changing that in the weeks to come, the road for the Lakers this year will end in the Western Conference Finals.

As for Boston, they traded their size and for speed. Size is what got them to the NBA finals last year and they were only four points away from bringing Boston another title. That's only two missed jump shoots, which could of been fixed. I just don't see them having an answer from Dwight Howard this year now.

Therefore, Dallas and the Miami are the wild cards in the NBA elites, maybe they will mix it up, or maybe they will just fall flat on their faces. Then LeBron James and Mark Cuban can hold a press conference together this off season where James can pick a new team and Cuban can complain about how the referees suck.

Mr. Felder

My First

This being my first blog post I wanted to say hello to anyone that will be reading my blogs.

I first began writing about four years ago.  And there was a catalyst of coarse that made me begin writing.  I can't tell you exactly what that catalyst was since there is a number of them, some of them personal, but as you read my blogs from here on, you being intelligent individuals will be able to piece them together.

Writing has opened my mind to so many things.  It is my escapism.  It is where I can channel my energy, my concerns, and my joys, and remember them forever; as well as share them.

I feel that it is also important to note that not all my posts will be true.  Some will be for entertainment purposes.  Others will be because I am upset.  Others will be uplifting (I hope).  And some will be just down right not for everyone, but still enjoyable.  Therefore, like the saying, "I always tell the truth, even when I lie.", these pieces are from me.

Please enjoy,
Mr. Felder