For the first time this postseason, the Miami Heat resembled the team that won 27 consecutive regular season games.

For the first time this series, Dwyane Wade looked like the “Wade of Old” and not just, well, old.

After an unsettling, lethargic outing in Game 6 that left many Heat fans feeling sea sick, the “Big Three” played a game worthy of the moniker, even if Chris Bosh is still as watchable as Justin Bieber’s outfit choices.

With all of the swirling speculation stemming from the hyper-analytic deconstruction of LeBron’s Cleveland reference and Wade’s seemingly passive-aggressive response about “sharing the ball,” James faced yet another career-defining crossroad.

Would he resort to a Kobe Bryant/2Pac — “Me Against the World”—approach and take matters entirely into his own hands, knowing that a high-scoring individual performance would absolve him of at least some of the blame regardless of the result?

Or would he continue to throw passes to open teammates, the same players who continually clanked open shots throughout the first six games, and hope that his 2010 accomplices would finally wake up and seize the moment?

After the game, James told the “Inside the NBA” crew about his recent discussions with Wade and Bosh going into Game 7. “The last two days I was on them,” James said, telling his All-Star teammates: “I cannot afford for you two to struggle again.”

The message was received. Shaquille O’Neal claimed he knew the Heat would win once he saw LeBron dancing in the locker room (of course he did), but for most observers that sentiment was not shared until Wade began the game with a first-step and aggression reminiscent of the increasingly distant pre-Big Three days.

After complaining about a lack of touches in Game 6, Spoelstra adjusted the game plan to give Wade more secondary pick and rolls, basically dusting off the 2008-2010 playbook, which allowed Wade to return to his Eurostepping roots and attack the considerably slower Hibbert. When he didn’t have the ball, he relentlessly crashed the offensive glass, creating extra possessions and doing his part with eight rebounds to offset Indiana’s massive size advantage.

For the second straight postseason, Wade bounced back from a series filled with obituary-inspiring performances to remind the national media once again that you write him off at your own peril.

There are many who are still convinced that LeBron will bolt back to Cleveland in a year’s time for Kyrie Irving as much as the anticipated p.r. boost. Had Miami lost, the defining Sportscenter story the next few months would again have been “Where will Bron go?”

As talented as Irving is and as tempting as it has been for the national media to speculate endlessly on LeBron’s future, you can’t overstate the importance of the big-game experience that this Heat team, especially Wade, possesses. Irving will no doubt be a superstar for the next decade, but as Paul George’s whimper of a Game 7 again proved, experience often trumps untested talent. James knows this as well as anyone.

To his credit, James did all he could to get Wade involved early on.

“The first play of the game I called a set for D-Wade to get in the post,” James told Barkley and Co. after the game. “He didn’t shoot the ball, but the simple fact that he felt like he was involved right from the gate allowed him to attack later in the game.”

After James averaged 22 shots during the last three games, most of which came on outside jump shots, he attempted just 17 in Game 7. Instead, James relentlessly challenged the rim and took 16 free throws, twice as many as any other game in the series. In doing so, he put the onus on the referees to call fouls on Hibbert, which they eventually did.

Just as important was Chris Bosh’s rebounding effort after getting manhandled for most of the series. The Heat’s collective swarming defensive effort simply overwhelmed Indiana’s offense and made life miserable for their ball-handlers. And of course there was Shane Battier being the most efficient towel boy in the league. Seriously, just wait until they create an advanced metric for this.

It’s this level of effort that will have to again be exhibited in the Finals for the Heat to repeat as champions. Anything less and those excited murmurs will return loud as ever.

Going into Game 7, those who believed Wade would rescue the Heat did so more out of a faith built on nine years of clutch performances, but not anything recent or tangible.

Now, faith rewarded, there is a resolute confidence that had been missing for weeks, which should carry over throughout the Finals. Or at least until the next loss.

By Thomas Johnson (@tjohnsonwriter)

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Magic Johnson is awesome.  He was awesome in 1980, awesome in 1990, and he’s definitely still awesome in 2013.  He reminded us again this week, offering $1 million to the winner of next year’s dunk contest if LeBron James enters the competition.  Can you think of a cooler thing for an ex-player to do?  I can’t.  I could do a whole separate piece on just how happy it makes me, as a true basketball fan, to see one of the game’s greats do something like that purely because he loves the competition and wants to see how amazing it can be with guys like LeBron and Blake Griffin involved and fully engaged.  But in this case, Magic has done more than just be his usual awesome self – he’s opened the box on a bigger underlying idea, one that I’ve discussed with friends for some time and have always been surprised to never actually see happen:

What if more wealthy people (celebrities and non-celebrities alike) followed Magic’s lead?  What if more well-off sports fans were openly willing to put down serious cash to sweeten the dunk contest every year?  God knows rich people in this country spend their money on tons of ideas far more ridiculous than that.  Seriously, is it that far-fetched?

The idea extends far beyond just the dunk contest.  Imagine if there were this type of incentive for every section of the Skills Competition on All-Star Weekend.  Sure, the contests are somewhat entertaining currently – but of course they’re nowhere near game speed.  Of course they aren’t really going 100%.  Hell, I’m not sure any of these guys even break a sweat outside of the actual All-Star game itself.  Don’t you think that changes if the winner of each competition goes home with a round million or two?

Think about it.  If it’s still sounding ludicrous, I want you to picture Mark Cuban in your head.  This is a guy who, over a period of years, has dropped millions just because he didn’t want to shut his big mouth.  Consider that for a moment.  Mark Cuban pays the NBA more money each year than I’ll amass in 10 years…because he feels like making a couple dickhead comments about referees or David Stern.  Throw in the fact that (obviously) he’s a huge basketball fan, and you’re telling me that guy wouldn’t toss seven figures on the table if it meant seeing the game’s top athletes in their primes in a once-a-year specialized skills competition?  Ditto that for any number of other owners or part-owners – James Dolan, Mikhail Prokhorov, Buss family, Jay-Z, I’m looking at people like you.

Of course, it doesn’t just have to be owners or celebrities within the sport putting up all the dough.  If an idea like this were to gain traction, you’d have private citizens coming out of the woodwork from all angles.  For a courtside seat and maybe some player intros or other considerations – plus the allure of the amazing competition, as we’ve discussed – I’m willing to bet there’d be lots of people interested in pitching in some cash.  If I won the lottery tomorrow and had $100 million, you bet your ass I’d be on board in a second – and for way more than just $1 million, too.  And there are hundreds of people out there worth more than $100 million.  Surely at least a few of them are big enough sports fans to have some level of interest.  There has to be a way to make this happen.

This works for more than just basketball, too.  In fact, the idea only came to me as I watched the NHL Skills Competition just over a year ago.  As an avid Toronto Maple Leafs fan, I was rooting for Leaf winger Phil Kessel (certainly one of the quickest players in the league) in the fastest skater competition.  I watch nearly as much hockey as I do basketball, and had seen each player in the competition skate many times before.  As a result, I was disappointed when the two rookies in the contest – neither of whom could even think of matching Kessel’s speed in a real game – clocked easily the two fastest times.  They did so, of course, because Phil and all the other non-rookies weren’t really giving it their all.  And who could blame them?  What incentive was there for any of them to take even the slightest risk of injury to really go 100% and win the competition?  It’s no wonder All-Star competitions in all the major sports always struggle to draw major ratings boosts – we all know these guys aren’t really trying their hardest.

Once you get going with the idea, the possibilities seem endless.  With enough contributions, you could even put increased emphasis on the actual All-Star games themselves.  A nice six-or-seven-figure check could go a long way towards convincing the NBA’s elite to play real defense and simulate a real game atmosphere for all four quarters.  It might be tougher to convince hockey players to go full-check just for an extra million or so – oh wait, these guys mangle each other 82 times a year (48 this year, whatever, shut up) and many of them don’t even make $1 million a season since no one with money south of Minnesota gives a crap about hockey!  They’d totally be in!

Sure, there’d be potholes along the way.  Baseball, for instance, might have a tougher time with this kind of thing – but that’s only because baseball is boring and never really requires 100% effort for more than a few seconds at a time anyway.  Also, there’d certainly be issues across all sports with stingy owners who wouldn’t be willing to risk their players’ health (their investment, in other words) for something they weren’t getting a cut of.  This is America, though, and if you throw enough money at them most of these problems tend to solve themselves.  Getting these owners a cut would be easy enough, and you know that’s all most of them care about deep down.

So this is my plea to all you rich people out there with some interest or connection to sports.  Make this happen.  I want to know if Phil Kessel is actually the fastest player in the NHL.  I want to watch LeBron go head-to-head with Blake and KD and whoever else thinks they can hang with those guys above the rim.  I can’t be alone in wanting to see this.  Make some magic happen, Magic.

By Ben Dowsett (Twitter)

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Water Cooler Basketball: Ep. 6

In this week’s episode, Thomas and Mike cover a range of NBA topics including:

Derrick Rose’s imminent return. Will a healthy Bulls team threaten the Heat? Can Rose be the NBA’s Adrian Peterson?
The whitest team in the league, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Should Minny go after Pau Gasol?
We preview the OKC-Miami Christmas day showdown.
Will Steve Nash fix the Lakers?
Which East team should be more worried: Boston or Brooklyn?
Who is the most awkward player in the NBA?
Plus, the debut of our new feature: “King of the Court.”

By Michael Levkowitz (Twitter) and Thomas Johnson (Twitter)

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Water Cooler Basketball: Ep. 5

In this week’s episode, Thomas and Mike cover a range of NBA topics including:

Kevin Love’s controversial comments. Where will he play in 2015?
The revitalized Paul George and his Indiana Pacers.
Mark Jackson and his streaking Golden State Warriors.
Will Portland make the Playoffs?
Should the 5-20 Cavs get two players into the All Star Game?

By Michael Levkowitz (Twitter) and Thomas Johnson (Twitter)

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Right now the panic level in Minnesota is somewhere between 2009 Miami and 2010 Cleveland, regarding the possible departure of their star forward, Kevin Love.

After Timberwolves fans booed Love last night — never a good sign — Love doubled down on his original comments today at practice, simply stating: “I told the truth,” according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Love is clearly frustrated with management and what he perceives as a slight, namely their past hesitation to give him a max offer.

Love told Adrian Wojnarowski:

“I don’t know who labels people stars, but even [T'wolves owner] Glen Taylor said: I don’t think Kevin Love is a star, because he hasn’t led us to the playoffs,” Love told Yahoo! Sports. “I mean, it’s not like I had much support out there. That’s a tough pill to swallow.”

In that same article, he also criticized Wolves management for a lack of direction.

“You walk into the locker room every year, and it’s completely turned over,” Love says. “There’s new guys everywhere. And then it happens again and again. You start to wonder: Is there really a plan here? Is there really any kind of a … plan?”

He then ominously added:

“I have a very, very good memory, and I always remember the people who have done right by me, and the people who have done wrong by me,” he says. “It will be embedded in my brain, and something I won’t forget about. There’s no telling what will happen. I would love to compete for a championship in Minnesota, but …”

For teams with acres of cap space, the summer of 2015 cannot come soon enough, as Love will be able to opt out of his current contract and perhaps find a new team.

It might be two and a half years away, but let’s take a look at a few teams that have a strong chance of enticing the league’s premier power forward. While the majority of teams will have sufficient cap space by then, let’s be honest, the man isn’t going from one frigid, under-achieving franchise to another, so that removes quite a few teams from the conversation. (Yes, we’re looking at you Charlotte.)

Here, in reverse order are the six favorites.

6. Boston Celtics

They would be ranked higher if Rajon Rondo would still be under contract by then. If Rondo re-signs before 2015, then you have to like Boston’s chances. From what we know, Love appears to have an appreciation for the history of the game, the fans would instantly embrace him, and he’d actually look great in green. Plus, by 2015 the Eastern Conference could offer a far less challenging road to the Finals considering that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will be entering their primes.

5. New York Knicks

Believe or not, everyone’s favorite over-spenders only have $8 million on the books going into the 2015-2016 season (you read that correctly.) Chances are, Carmelo Anthony’s new deal will eat into a significant portion of that, but considering Tyson Chandler will be 33 by then (not to mention Marcus Camby will be 86), it’s hard to see anyone outside of maybe Raymond Felton or J.R. Smith staying beyond their current deals. Call it a hunch, but the Knicks probably  won’t be in a rush to re-sign Amar’e to another uninsured 5-year/$100 million deal.

4. Houston Rockets

You can’t bet against Daryl Morey at this point. After landing James Harden and stealing Omer Asik from the Bulls, Morey will be able to offer Love a max deal and the chance to play with the best shooting guard in the league (by then). Fortunately for Houston, Lin’s deal will be off the books by then.

3. Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers will definitely still have Damian Lillard and Nicolas Batum, and they’ll probably be able to re-sign LaMarcus Aldridge unless things suddenly sour. If that’s the case, wouldn’t this roster be a near-perfect fit for Love? Their fans are great, plus, considering the Portland-Minnesota rivalry, wouldn’t Love signing with the Blazers be the ultimate eff-you to a management team he clearly has issues with? You can’t discount the revenge factor.

2. The L.A. teams

Whenever the topic of Love leaving Minnesota comes up, it seems that many people just assume that he’ll head to Lakerland,primarily because he’s from California. While the Lakers obviously have a history filled with free-agency coups, there are too many factors at play to automatically assume that Love would choose the Lakers over their in-city rivals. What if Kobe Bryant has retired by then or isn’t close to the player he is now? Keep in mind Bryant will be 37 by then. What if Blake Griffin is no longer in the picture, but Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan are? What if Dwight is playing in Atlanta and Nash has retired? Again, too many variables.

1. Chicago Bulls

Assuming Derrick Rose is able to regain at least 80% of his past form, Chicago will be in the strongest position to land Love. Going into the 2015 summer, they will have roughly $20 million in cap space AND Rose, Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson all under contract. Plus, Love looks like he enjoys a deep dish pizza.

Wild Card: Miami Heat

Homer pick, right? Maybe, but consider this: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem, can all opt-out after the 2014 season. Hypothetically, what if Bosh is satiated with a couple of rings and decides to go elsewhere in search of a larger role? Obviously, the odds are long, but after 2010 are you really ready to rule out Pat Riley? Didn’t think so.

By Thomas Johnson (@tjohnsonwriter)

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Many videos were posted of Pelicans attacking dogs and your children.  Some of the articles had the vibe of hipsters getting high and reading Wikipedia, and instead of cracking jokes with friends, posting articles on sports sites (Rembert Browne, please accept this reward.)  Others, such as Carles, who is the blogosphere’s (there’s that word again) version of Carlos, called Chris Paul a homegrown talent, which only works if we are talking about the species of Hornets that are from Charlotte.  Brendan Jackson of CelticsHub, jumped straight to puns with “PeliCAN-or-PeliCANT” rhetoric (I’m sure he put the capitals in there just in case it went over your head.)  Of course, this has all drawn my ire, partially because it has launched Scarface back into the YouTube canon (clearly Cubans think pelicans are pink, thanks for the reminder J.A.)

First things first, the name had to change.  In a town that is filled with transplants, New Orleans accepts some, but others can never really make it feel like home.  The Hornets fit into the latter category; they never seemed to make New Orleans their home.  It was closer to a tourist who got lost during Jazz Fest one summer and decided to stay after enjoying some Crawfish Bread.  So the name had to go.  Michael Jordan wants it back in Charlotte anyway, and after losing their owner and their star player, it’s safe to say a new beginning is not the worst thing in the world for the New Orleans basketball team.

In the too-brief-a-time that I lived there, it didn’t exactly seem Pelican-centric, but being a transplant who no longer resides by the bayou, I wasn’t sure what to think.  It wasn’t exactly what comes to mind when I think of New Orleans (that being said, this would hardly be an appropriate guideline for a team name, since the New Orleans Po-Boys, New Orleans To-Go Cups, the OPP, and the New Orleans Spiced are all problematic in different ways.)  However, you could have easily talked me into the Sazeracs and the Etouffees (just to have a team named after a cocktail or to see everyone stumble over the chant “Let’s Go Etouffee.”)

The other two names that were said to be tossed around were the Krewe and Brass.  Krewe, for those of you who don’t know anything about Mardi Gras besides the bartering of beads for boobs, are the organizations that are in charge of their own particular parade, each one with its own unique history and theme.  Brass would be as in the bands, not the knuckles.  I was in favor of both of these.  They both are intrinsically New Orleans, and even though Brass has that troublesome plural issue, they both seem damn good to me.

Of course, it doesn’t really matter how connected to the city it is before it becomes a part of the team, it just matters if the city stands behind the name after the team adopts it.  The Los Angeles Lakers make no sense after their move from Minneapolis, lakes aren’t that fierce either, but it doesn’t matter because their fans love the name, whether because of the prestige or the alliteration, something clicks for Denzel, Ashton Kutcher, Jack, and the 19,000 other people they don’t show on TV every game.  The fact that they are claiming lakes that are closer to Chicago and Canada doesn’t matter (at least not to Los Angeles.)  The same goes with the Milwaukee Bucks.  You’ll be hard-pressed to find a human being who is scared of a deer (when I Googled it as a possible phobia, deerophobia came up, so there’s always that.)  But Milwaukee has a pretty substantial home court advantage every year, so you better damn well “fear the deer” in that context.

There are no (rarely?) grizzlies in Graceland, but it doesn’t really matter.  As much as New Orleans may love Kermit Ruffins, Trombone Shorty, and every Marsallis, the fact that they probably won’t feel at home in Salt Lake City has absolutely no effect on Utah’s decision to keep the name.

Essentially a team name is supposed to be something that a city can get behind, can rally with, something that their city and team can be proud of.  Menacing creatures such as deer and monkeys have been used as a part of a rallying call, with “Fear the Deer” being a Milwaukee Bucks staple, and the rally monkey being the most lucrative player on a couple of low-budget baseball teams in the ’90s.  Ace Venture used all sorts of animals to escape from antagonists and all sorts of animals can be mascots, if the city enjoys it (like how Ace enjoyed the company of Skunks.)

Team mascots are not judged on their coolness or marketability or how they would do if an arc was made with all the mascots and Darwin’s law came into play.  Fierceness need not apply to a mascot.  “Pelicans are not fierce?” So what, the “Magic” Kingdom may be menacing if you have a bad back, heart condition, or are pregnant, otherwise, it’s safe to say Mickey’s pretty tame.  All that the pelicans need to do is be conducive to sissy-bounce.

So I decided to ask two of my native New Orleanian friends what they thought about the Pelicans.  The first text I got was “Pelicans are HYPERCARNIVORES.  How badass is that!” by a Doctor Robert, who is not a real doctor, nor is he named Robert, though he does prescribe a good amount of Kilbeggan for what ails you. This is also about as good a time as ever to give a shout-out/thank you to Barry Petchesky, who gave New Orleanians a good fact to latch onto with his Deadspin article.  The second source I went to, who we shall call BOB, responded with a text where she stated “Haha, I think it’s offensive to pelicans.”  I believe it is safe to say that neither party found the pelican to be insufficient as a logo.

In the end, the Saints are not menacing, and most people will groan when an outsider requests to hear that song at a bar, at a ratio similar to that of old meth-heads requesting “Freebird.”  But gods be with you if you talk poorly of the football team.

The Pelicans, as oddly as it seems, may really fit with New Orleans.  It has been well-documented that it is the state bird and appears on the flag.  It hasn’t as often been stated that New Orleans had a baseball team by the same name, where a certain “Shoeless” Joe Jackson would play, way before his socks became black.  If you’ve been to New Orleans, you know it’s a town that loves its history, hell it lives its history.

In the end, what hipsters in Los Angeles write between watching 80s videos on YouTube, and what fact-finders dig up in New York has absolutely no effect on what the people of New Orleans will think about their basketball team’s new name.  Matter of fact, the attention this is getting, is part of the reason that I believe the name will stick with New Orleanians.  In my experience living in that town, nothing riles up and brings the town together like something that the masses and authority figures don’t like or understand.  So whether you’re a confused sports blogger, or an angry commissioner (Besitos, Goodell!), know that it only fuels New Orleans, and they’ll take their go-cup and second line to it.  So for all you naysayers, the New Orleans Pelicans are here to stay, put that in your mouth and swallow it.

By Christopher Romaguera

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Or perhaps Stephen Jackson simply isn’t a fan of Congolese basketball players.

During Friday’s game between the Thunder and Lakers, Ibaka got into a skirmish with Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, which led to both players receiving technical fouls.

Shortly after the incident, Jackson tweeted:

“Somebody tel serg Abaka. He aint bout dis life. Next time he run up on me im goin in his mouth. That’s a promise. He doin 2 much.”

Of course, Jackson eventually deleted the tweet, but not before being fined $25,000 by the league office. Obviously, this isn’t the first time Jackson has defended Artest. Jackson infamously followed Ron into the crowd during the “Malice at the Palace,” back in 2005 when the two were teammates for the Indiana Pacers. At least this time it only involved a key board.

However, considering his recent comments about Artest in Grantland’s oral history of the brawl, in which Jackson described Artest as “selflish,” and said he was”disappointed” when Artest demanded a trade, you got the impression the two weren’t on the best of terms.

On Instagram, Jackson mentioned Artest:

“my ibaka comment had nothing to do with Ron artest. Last 2 times we played he ran up on me and i told him in the game next time u run up on me im going in ya mouth. Im speaking for myself. For u all who wanna jump to conclusions.”

So maybe it has less to do with Artest, and Jackson just genuinely dislikes Ibaka, although the timing  makes it appear to be more than coincidental. Either way, it adds another level of intrigue to the Spurs-Thunder game on December 17, while also solidifying Jackson’s spot on the All-NBA Dark Alley team.

By Thomas Johnson (@tjohnsonwriter)

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Water Cooler Basketball: Ep. 4

In this week’s episode, Thomas and Mike re-calibrate their preseason predictions and look at the top-4 teams in both conferences.

Things that were debated:
What team will finish with the better record: Brooklyn or New York?
Assuming Miami wins the East, which Western team would be the most the entertaining opponent?
Will the Lakers finish get home court in the first round?
Is DeAndre Jordan a top-5 center in the league right now?
Can any team in the West beat the Oklahoma City Thunder?

Oh, and the intro tune should be recognizably awesome to anyone who watched basketball in the ’90s.

By Michael Levkowitz (Twitter) and Thomas Johnson (Twitter)

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It’s no mystery to informed folks around the league that the Jazz are looking to make a move.  They have four NBA-caliber starters in the frontcourt (Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter), but only two starting spots available.  Common sense suggests that we should expect at least one of these guys to be traded, especially when Utah’s roster has several other holes in need of plugging.

But you knew that already.  What you (and the rest of us) aren’t yet sure of is exactly who will be leaving town, and also what the Jazz will be expecting in return.  And while that part might still seem murky to the casual observer, there have certainly been some telltale signals which point to a move in a particular direction.

Ever since his arrival to Salt Lake City in 2006, Millsap has been a fan favorite.  His never-ending motor, constant hustle and team-first mentality endeared him to Utah fans, who identify more with that type of blue-collar effort than with flashy star power (likely because they can never lure or keep superstars).  He’s one of those guys who never seem to be criticized by anyone, a rarity not just in the NBA but in all sports.  Teammates, coaches, opponents and even broadcasters have spent the vast majority of his career lavishing him with praise for being an above-average player, despite a significant height disadvantage at his position.

It appears now, however, that the honeymoon may be coming to an end.  I’m no Jazz insider, but it doesn’t take a psychologist to see the way Millsap’s game and (more importantly) his demeanor have changed in recent weeks.  It’s easiest to see if you break down his numbers; after a strong start to the season, his stats took a sudden plunge starting with a November 17^th game against Washington.  His minutes are slightly down – he’s averaging 29.2 mpg in the nine games since then, compared to 31.9 for the rest of the season and 32.8 last season.  But his scoring is down to a meager 10.9 per game in this recent stretch, a far cry from the 16.7 he was averaging until that point.  After shooting 50% or better in five of his first 10 games, Millsap has eclipsed 45% just once since and is shooting a miserable 35% in that nine-game stretch.  Even with an injury keeping Favors out and increasing Milsap’s minutes the last two games, he has failed to make a major impact.  No matter how you look at it, Paul clearly isn’t on top of his game the way Jazz fans have come to expect over the years.

On the surface, the reasoning is obvious – Favors’ vast improvement has forced coach Ty Corbin’s hand.  But this is where it goes beyond just the numbers, because production hasn’t been the only thing missing from Millsap’s game in this stretch.  His tenacity, his endless hustle are also nowhere to be found.  Most importantly, gone is his commitment and leadership we had all become so used to seeing.  What I see when I watch Jazz games (and I watch all of them) is a lethargic, uninterested player.  It couldn’t have been more clear than in the Jazz’s comeback win last week against Denver, during which Millsap sat the entire fourth quarter as Jefferson and Favors anchored Utah to a big win.  No less than four separate times, Jazz network cameras panned to Paul, sitting on the bench with a distant look in his eyes.  He never displayed any emotion even as the Jazz rallied from a 14-point deficit in front of a fired-up crowd.  Clearly, there’s something wrong here.

Is it so much of a stretch to think that Millsap has been informed of his impending departure by Jazz management?  Of course I could never prove this, but is it really that far-fetched?  A guy who’s been an emotional leader for six years doesn’t suddenly stop caring for no reason.  We certainly can’t put this type of thing past the Jazz – GM Kevin O’Connor had no problem shipping out another fan favorite in Deron Williams to avoid a Melo-drama, there’s no reason to think he’s become any more of a softie since then.  And isn’t this exactly how you’d react if you were in Millsap’s shoes?  You spend six years being the perennially underrated and underappreciated glue guy who brings 110% every night and never gets selfish or steps a toe out of line, but as soon as there’s some new blood in town you’re being told you’re expendable.  It’s not the only possible explanation, but the more I watch the more plausible it seems.

Now, before you even ask why Jefferson shouldn’t also be under consideration as a trade piece, let me stop you (this is mostly for my sentimental friends in Utah who can’t stomach even the idea of Millsap on another team).  There are several reasons why Millsap makes more sense, both from a fiscal and a basketball standpoint.  The most obvious, of course, are their contracts – Millsap makes about $7 million less per year, making him far more attractive in a trade.  This point becomes moot in a sign-and-trade (which is a very real possibility given that both players are in the final year of their deals), but it’s still worth mentioning because even in that scenario Jefferson would be likely to command a far larger deal than Millsap.

As much as some folks would hate to admit it, Jefferson is the far better player.  Both are unimpressive-but-acceptable defenders, but Big Al boasts a much more polished and effective offensive game.  He’s the absolute heart of the Jazz offense – while on the floor, he is responsible for 33% of all Jazz points and is especially effective in the fourth quarter, shooting 58%.  He also fits the model the Jazz appear to be building around much more effectively than Millsap, who has the unfortunate disadvantage of being undersized on a team fond of using their size to overpower opponents down low.  Millsap , the hard-working tweener, is far more effective in an offense based on ball rotation and slashing rather than Utah’s preferred inside-outside post isolation game.  I know you love him, Jazz fans.  I do, too.  But if someone has to go, the choice seems clear.

There are many potential destinations for a favorable expiring contract like Millsap, although of course it’s difficult to gauge specific teams’ interest levels without public reports surfacing.  There’s been a great deal of speculation about the crowded point guard situation on the Clipper’s roster, with youngster Eric Bledsoe the topic of many a trade discussion.  On the surface, this seems to be a fairly beneficial move for both teams – both have a surplus at one position (Jazz at big, Clips at point) and need depth that the other could offer.  Bledsoe has been exceptional so far this year, though, so who knows if Los Angeles would push for a larger return.  Other deals I kicked around with the boys at NYFWC included a swap for Kawhi Leonard with the Spurs (decent), a move for Danny Granger with Indiana (hate it, price would be too high for a mediocre player) and even a trade involving Rodney Stuckey out of Detroit (I like the idea, always thought Stuckey was underrated).  Tom tried to talk me into including Tyreke Evans as a possible trade…let’s just say I’ll do unspeakable things before I’ll even consider writing a hypothetical trade that puts Tyreke Evans on the team I root for.  Obviously there are probably plenty of other teams who’d at least be willing to listen if the Jazz call, these are just a few that make sense.

So brace yourself, Jazz fans.  Get a big glass of water and prepare for what might be a very tough pill to swallow.  Favors’ injury could slow the process somewhat, but as soon as he’s back, the Utah frontcourt will only get more crowded.  And as much as we all love him, it might be time to move in a different direction, one not including Paul Millsap.

By Ben Dowsett (Twitter)

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The San Antonio Spurs mastermind head coach Greg Popovich made headlines before Thursday night’s game against the Heat even started.  Pop decided to send Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and Danny Green home early from a 6-game road trip.  Thursday night was going to be their 10^th straight day on the road in a month that already had an 8-day road trip.  San Antonio’s Big Three have obviously put a lot of miles on their bodies, and Danny Green has actually led the team in minutes up to this point in the season.

Before the game tipped off, people were criticizing the move, largely citing the integrity of the game being at stake.  The media circus was in full spectacle mode, which Popovich greeted with a perfect Popovichian response of, “I’m so happy to be here with you guys at the Finals.”

Israel Gutierrez, a writer for the Miami Herald and ESPN, as well as theoretical spokesperson for the East Side, apparently tweeted for the masses when saying: “Ok, how about this compromise next time, Pop: Rest ‘em one or two at a time.  Less disappointment that way.”  John Hollinger, the analytical voice for ESPN’s NBA Page with no directional affiliation, tweeted: “Talk of fining Pop for sitting stars is ridiculous.  But they should fine him instead for making his stars fly Southwest.”  No reports yet on whether Stern will try to fine him as well.

I have no problem at all with what Popovich did (and not just because I’m a ruthless Heat fan who will take a win any which way I can), but because it is part of a long-term proven plan for success.  Since we are at the Watercooler, let’s discuss this a bit.

First things first: the individual game at hand.  While much to the chagrin of a certain writer who wanted to watch the Saints game unimpeded, the Heat never blew the lid off of this one (maybe the Heat were trying to spare me the pain of the Saints game).  While the glass was used a lot less than if Duncan was in the game, and Wade and Manu didn’t have a Eurostep-off as we had hoped, the game was more than just competitive.  Not only did the Spurs stick around, but they were up by 7 with 4:48 left in the game, and up 98-93 after a Gary Neal three-pointer with about two minutes left.  The Heat needed a savior (Jesus) to hit a three in order to pull ahead and win the game.

While the Heat won this game, extending their winning streak to five and snapping the Spurs’ winning streak, Popovich has never been overly sentimental with win streaks.  Pop sat his three stars against Utah last season, even though it meant surrendering an 11-game win streak.  The fact of the matter is the Spurs almost won last night’s game, losing 105-100, getting a free test run of their offense against the at-one-point-in-time-vaunted Heat defense, as well as taking a look at the Heat offense.

But the fact of the matter is this was a move done with the long-term in mind.  Assuming that an NBA coach’s main goal is to guide his team to a championship, what Greg Popovich did was a thing of beauty.  For those who are not in the analytical camp (you can all put your hands down now), it is still an obvious notion that teams shouldn’t overextend their aging superstars if they want to make it to the playoffs in one piece.  If you look at the Celtics and Spurs’ rotation over the past few years, it is obvious that this has been the practice.  And this practice has brought the Spurs championships in 2005 and 2007, and the Celtics a championship in 2008, with the Celtics losing in the Finals in 2010, the Spurs having the best regular season record in the Western Conference the past two years, and both teams being the runners-up in their respective conference last year.

But to put some numbers on it (yes, for you in the back), let’s go to an article published by Henry Abbott in January.  Abbott found stats that showed a team hasn’t won an NBA championship when a player on their squad has surpassed the 3,000 minute mark (which is the equivalent of playing 37-minutes a game for an 82-game season) since Ben Wallace did it for the 2004 Detroit Pistons.  While numerous players who sell shoes worldwide have played over 3,000 minutes since 2004, not a single one has was an NBA championship since Big Ben did.  If you are a fan of traditional stats, only 4 players have ever averaged over 39 minutes per game and won an NBA championship, and they were Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquile O’Neal (Duncan was the last person to win a title averaging over 39 minutes a game, and he did it a decade ago in the 02-03 season.)  You may have heard of these fellows.

Abbott found that 33 minutes per game is something of a magic number in order for players to avoid a major drop-off or injury during the season/post-season. In an 82 game season, that would equate to slightly over 2,700 minutes (to save you from scratch-paper or your iPhone, 33*82=2,706.)  In a lockout shortened season, 2,700 minutes, turns out to be 2,174 (rounding up.)

So let’s apply some of this math to what happened last season.  First off, only two players averaged over 39 minutes a game, and they were Kevin Love and Luol Deng.  Both guys missed double-digit games due to injury, and Love’s team would miss the playoffs.  Deng’s team would make the playoffs, and while Rose and Noah’s injuries had more to do with the Chicago Bulls becoming the fifth top seed to lose in the first round than anything else, Deng would see a drop in his points per game as well as shoot an abysmal 57% from the free throw line.

Now if we take the top three guys from each of the four teams that played in the Conference Finals and average their minutes out, we will see that three of the four teams comply with the average minute cap of 33.  The three Heat players who played the most minutes last year were LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Mario Chalmers (Dwayne Wade averaged more minutes, but missed more games than Chalmers.)  Those three averaged a combined 31.1 minutes per game that the team played.  The Oklahoma City Thunder were the only team that surpassed that total, as their Big Three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden combined to average 34.5 minutes per game that their team played.  Of course, they would be closer to the anomaly, having three players who were all 23 or younger.

Both the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs, the runners-up in each conference, would average less than 30 minutes per game for their top three guys (and in both instances, like the Heat, their top-three guys would include a role player instead of one of their superstars, with Kawhi Leonard and Brandon Bass playing more total minutes than Manu Ginobli, Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen.)

The fact of the matter is 18 players played 2,174 minutes or more last year.  Of those 18, eight of those players made it to the second round, and three made it to the Conference Finals and then the NBA Finals.  Of those three, all were under the age of 30, and only one, LeBron James, would win an NBA championship.  The other two, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, both were 23 or younger, and Durant was the only person who played at a ratio that would have had him surpass the dreaded 3,000 minute mark.

All these numbers are being brought up in order to validate and explain the decision that Greg Popovich made with his team, not to validate his right to make it.  A head coach should be allowed to coach a team as he wishes, whether it is Pat Riley running 3-hour long practices, or Mike D’Antoni refusing to acknowledge the concept of defense.  Resting one’s superstars is an age-old practice, and even David Stern’s personal puppet Adam Silver said as recently as last year: “The strategic resting of particular players on particular nights is within the discretion of the teams.  And Gregg Popovich in particular is probably the last coach that I would second guess.”

By fining the San Antonio Spurs and/or Greg Popovich, David Stern will be reprimanding them for a practice done by the majority of the teams in the NBA.  The Spurs rested their Big 3 on three separate occasions last year and went 2-1 in those games.  Hell, the Heat, who for the first time in God-knows-how-long weren’t in the spotlight tonight, left their Big 3 out of a nationally televised game last April against the Celtics, in a 78-66 slugfest that made viewers’ eyes bleed as Dexter “Sexy Dexy” Pittman led the team in scoring with 12 points.

But that’s what this is really about, the fact that it is a nationally televised game that Popovich so callously held his players out of.  David Stern has somehow found a way to make the most pompous coach in the NBA a sympathetic figure.  Stern looks so money hungry that it is now fair-game to wonder if he is going to allow fans to vote on the starting line-ups of nationally televised games like they do in the All-Star game.  Stern’s message will be loud and clear to the rest of the NBA, that there is a reason why the biggest sports network in the States starts with an E for Entertainment…

By Christopher Romaguera

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