It feels like it has been a long time, almost as long as a typical Red Sox-Yankee game, but the baseball season is finally upon us. Technically, the season has already begun, but there are very few people actually aware of that fact since the Dodgers and Diamondbacks started the MLB year not under the lights at Chavez Ravine or at Chase Field, where the Dodgers players took the longest swim in a pool after winning the NL West since Leonardo DiCaprio in the Titanic (seriously, there was room on that raft for two people), but instead, played ball at four in the morning in Sydney, Australia. While I have nothing wrong with baseball trying to expand its market to a more global platform, don't you think the season should start in the country where most of the games are actually played (don't worry I remembered the Blue Jays, so Toronto fans can be happy about something since the Maple Leafs defense just let up two goals as I wrote this sentence and have now lost 9 straight games in regulation).
Last year was one of the best major league seasons that we have seen in recent history and I'm not just saying that because the Red Sox won their 3rd World Series since 2004. Ok, I am entirely saying that because of the fact that the Red Sox went from chicken and beer in 2011 to 69 wins and their worst season since 1960 (Ted Williams's last year with the team) in 2012 (thank you Bobby Valentine) to the best team in baseball in 2013. Aside from the Sox going from worst to first, we also saw Miguel Cabrera nearly win his second straight triple crown, we were able to watch the greatest closer in the history of baseball in Mariano Rivera say goodbye, we had the privilege of seeing Clayton Kershaw literally never give up a hit, we were lucky enough to watch the emergence of young stars like Yasiel Puig, Jose Fernandez, Michael Wacha, and Xander Bogaerts, and we also witnessed the Houston Astros attempt to play baseball (you know you are having a bad season when you draw a Nielsen rating of 0.0 in your local area during a home game against the Indians or when you finish the season 21-62).
However, aside from the fact that I am already preparing for the Red Sox to repeat as champions for the first time in the major leagues since the Yankees three peat from 1998 to 2000, the 2014 MLB season should be even better than last year in terms of entertainment value. One of the three greatest shortstops in the history of baseball in Derek Jeter is in his final year, Bud Selig is entering his 22nd and final year as the commissioner of the major leagues, we will finally have extensive instant replay in baseball, Albert Pujols is approaching 500 home runs and also a retirement home, the Phillies are hoping that their 180 million dollar opening day payroll can help them finish with more than 73 wins, the Mets are trying to finish above .500 for the first time since 2008, baseball is finally seeing a shift towards younger players like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and Manny Machado, A-Rod is nowhere to be found, and the Astros will attempt to play baseball once again (Scott Feldman is their opening day starter; that is all). What else could be better.
AL East Preview:
There has not been a division in sports that has been dominated quite like the AL East outside of the AFC East in football (the Patriots, though, are fortunate enough to be competing against the Bills, who have not finished above .500 since 1999, the Dolphins, who have won one playoff game since Dan Marino and have a locker room that is reminiscent of a team with Gilbert Arenas, and the Jets, whose passing game was only ahead of the Bucs last year. The Jets, Dolphins, and Bills have combined for 2 seasons of 11 or more wins since 2002 and the Patriots have had 9 such years). The Yankees and Red Sox have won the AL East 16 of the last 19 years and 25 of the last 38 seasons, which includes 10 World Series and 16 American League pennants between the clubs.
Boston Red Sox Preview:
With the Red Sox coming off their 8th World Series, they are the front-runners to come out of the AL East and the American League once again this season, and that is widely accepted, not just my Red Sox love bleeding out. After having the 4th worst ERA in all of baseball at 4.70 in 2012, the Sox pitching had a complete turn around last year, finishing 7th in strikeouts with nearly 8 per game and having their most quality starts in a season with 95 since 2002 (a season where Pedro Martinez was 20-4 with a 2.26 ERA and Derek Lowe was 21-8 with a 2.58 ERA and the tandem finished 2-3 in the AL Cy Young race respectively).
The Sox rotation is as good as it has been since the glory years of Pedro in the early 2000's. Jon Lester is going to be the ace of the staff once again this year, not only because he is in a big contract year at the age of 30, but also because his cutter is looking like one of the best in the big leagues once again, especially against left handed hitters, who have a 3.36 strikeout to walk ratio against him. I never thought I would utter this sentence but John Lackey should be another reason why the Sox will have a very good rotation in 2014. After literally being the worst pitcher on the face of the Earth and finishing with a laughable 6.41 ERA in 2011 (Doc Ellis could have done better sober) and missing 2012 with Tommy John Surgery, Lackey not only had a 3.52 ERA during the season in one of the most hitter friendly ballparks in the majors, but he then had a 3.52 ERA in 5 playoff appearances and was the winning pitcher in the clinching game 6 in the World Series. Lackey went from being the most hated man in Boston since Rick Pitino to being the Red Sox's most reliable starter (Farrell trusted Lackey enough to put him in to pitch against the Cardinals in game 4 in his first relief appearance since 2004). There has not been an athlete that fell from grace or into relative obscurity and then revitalized their career quite like John Lackey since maybe Josh Hamilton (before he struck out every other at-bat with the Angels after getting Albert Pujols syndrome), Garrison Hearst, or James Braddock (watch Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe, a movie that tells the story of James Braddock, which I would say is best boxing movie of all-time aside from Raging Bull and Million Dollar Baby).
While Boston will certainly miss Jacoby Ellisbury, a guy that stole 52 bases last year and had a 5.7 WAR, they bring back a majority of their lineup that scored the most runs in the majors since the Red Sox team back in 2011. With the additions of A.J. Pierzynski for Jared Saltalamachhia, who hit just.218 against left handed pitching, and the amazing Xander Bogaerts replacing Stephen Drew, who played some quality defense but batted .111 in the playoffs, the Sox have even more depth in their order to go with their sluggers, David Ortiz and Mike Napoli, in the middle of their lineup.
New York Yankees Preview:
For just the second time in the last 19 years since 1995, the Yankees failed to appear in the postseason, and New York absolutely hates missing out on baseball's biggest stage. You may be thinking that this is a rather conspicuous statement because every team wants to make the playoffs every year, but the Yankees are different. If the Cubs don't make the playoffs, they still have that lovable Chicago spirit and the history of Wrigley Field. If the Pittsburgh Pirates miss out on the postseason, their fans understand that they are a small market team without the resources of bigger clubs. If the Royals are not in the playoffs, their fans do not even react because they do not even remember what it is like to watch a postseason game since they haven't played extra baseball since they won the World Series with George Brett and Bret Saberhagen in 1985. But if the Yankees don't make the playoffs, there is nothing quite like it in sports.
After the Bronx Bombers missed out on the postseason in 2008, they spent 441 million on players the following off-season including 180 million on Mark Teixeira, 161 million on CC Sabathia, and 82.5 million on A.J. Burnett (Burnett could be the only pitcher I know to get 16.5 million per year, go 34-35 with a 4.79 ERA, and not be remembered as a failure because he pitched that great game 2 against the Phillies when the Yanks were done 1-0 in the 2009 World Series and absolutely needed a win).
Similarly, this off-season after missing the playoffs, the Yankees committed 471 million dollars to players, bringing in Masahiro Tanaka (7 years, 155 million, which is questionable for a pitcher to be paid the 5th most ever despite never throwing in the big leagues), Jacoby Ellisbury (153 million over 7 years, which they will regret in four years when he loses his speed since he has only batted above .305 in a full season once in his career), Brian McCann (5 years, 85 million for a guy who hit .226 in his final 55 games last year), and Carlos Beltran (45 million over 3 years, which is not a bad move for a proven postseason hitter that will cancel out Mark Teixeira). While I'm not sure about the years or the money amount on any of those contracts, they will put the Yanks in position to do some definite damage this year. Tanaka looked impressive in spring ball and Michael Pineda is going to be one of the breakout pitchers in 2014. Although he is not the same guy that threw 97-98 mph fastballs in Seattle when his strikeouts per 9 innings was the second best in the AL, he can still hit the mid 90's and he has a pretty good change-up.
The question with the Yankees comes in their infield, as Teixeira and Jeter played a combined 32 games last year and Kelly Johnson and the 36-year old Brian Roberts are not anywhere near top tier second and third baseman.
Baltimore Orioles Preview:
In Baltimore, Buck Showalter may be the biggest genius since Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting. How anybody can lead a pitching staff of Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Jason Hammel, and Wei-Yin Chen to 85 wins by mixing and matching the bullpen is something else. The Orioles are going to give up a fair amount of runs once again this season, especially since Camden Yards saw the 4th most home runs leave the ballpark in 2013, but they did bring in Ubaldo Jimenez on a 50 million dollar deal from the Indians and they will also have Bud Norris for a full season. Jimenez does not have the same velocity on his fastball that he did when he started the 2010 season 15-1 with the Rockies, but if he keeps his fastball down in the zone, he can still be effective.
At bat, the Orioles could arguably have the best lineup in baseball if Manny Machado can return somewhere near the player he was last year when he hit 51 doubles and had a 6.4 WAR. The middle of their order is just deadly with Chris "I will hit every ball over the fence" Davis, Adam "I can literally hit any pitch" Jones, Nelson "Performance Enhanced" Cruz, Matt "I've hit 20 home runs every year since 2011 but nobody notices me" Wieters, and J.J. "I'm actually a power hitting shortstop" Hardy. Last season, these 5 guys alone had more home runs than 16 other MLB teams including the Yankees, Dodgers, and Cardinals, which helped the Orioles hit a league high 212 home runs on the season. They have some of the most powerful hitters in baseball and despite the fact that I will fight to my grave that PED's impact on players is immeasurable, Cruz and his performance enhanced swing is perfect for Camden Yards and will be great insurance behind Crush Davis.
The main question with the Orioles will be their bullpen, which is so important to any team that has Showalter as its manager. Buck will go to his bullpen early and often, which means that for Baltimore to be successful, they will have to have a solid pen. After going 29-9 in one run games in 2012, helping them make their first trip to the postseason since 1997, the Orioles went 20-31 in such games last year because their bullpen was unreliable and blew the third most saves in baseball with 27. Jim Johnson and his sinker have gone off to Oakland, so it is up to Tommy Hunter to be the steady presence at the back end of O's bullpen.
Tampa Bay Rays Preview:
As if the AL East wasn't tough enough, the Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff is just nasty and the scary part about their rotation is that every guy is under the age of 28, which would mean even more except for the fact that the Rays probably wouldn't even pay for a gum ball machine in their clubhouse. Tampa likely has their best pitching staff since their run of success began in 2008, which is saying something since they have been to the playoffs 4 of the past 6 years and made the World Series back in 2008. David Price looked like a Cy Young pitcher at the end of last year when he finished the season 9-4 with a 2.53 ERA in his last 18 starts, as his cutter and change-up allowed him to not rely so much on his fastball. Matt Moore has the ability to be one of the majors best pitchers as long as he stays in the strike zone. His 4.5 walks per 9 innings was the second worst amongst pitchers that threw at least 150 innings in 2013 and yet he still ended up 17-4 because his stuff is just that good. Alex Cobb went 11-3 with a 2.76 ERA last season and will only improve in his 3rd full season in the big leagues and Chris Archer is one of the game's brightest young pitchers with his ability to hit the mid 90's on the fastball so that he can set up his deadly slider. Aside from maybe the Tigers with Verlander, Scherzer, and Sanchez, the Rays staff is the best in the American League, as no other team has the power arms throughout their rotation like Tampa Bay.
However, as has always been the question with the Rays and their 3rd lowest MLB payroll, their offense will need to be able to score enough runs in order for them to win ballgames. With a healthy MVP type guy in Evan Longoria, a full season of do it all Wil Myers in right field, and the always steady Ben Zobrist playing any position imaginable, the Rays lineup is as balanced and well equipped as it has been in a while.
Tampa has lost in the ALDS 3 of the last 4 years, but this seems like Joe Maddon's best chance to get the Rays their first ever franchise World Series and bring them out of a championship-less category that includes the San Diego Padres (lost in the 1984 World Series to the Tigers and the 1998 World Series to the Yankees), Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers (11th team to lose back-to-back World Series), Houston Astros (lost in the 2005 World Series to the White Sox), Colorado Rockies (lost in the 2007 World Series to the Red Sox), Milwaukee Brewers (lost in the 1982 World Series to the Cardinals when they were still in the AL), and Seattle Mariners. In the NFL, 12 teams have never won a Super Bowl (Bills, Browns, Bengals, Texans, Titans, Jaguars, Chargers, Vikings, Lions, Panthers, Falcons, and Cardinals), in the NBA, 13 teams have never hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy (Raptors, Nets, Pacers, Cavaliers, Bobcats, Magic, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Jazz, Clippers, Suns, Hornets, and Grizzlies), and in the NHL, 11 teams have never won Lord Stanley (Sabres, Panthers, Blue Jackets, Capitals, Blues, Wild, Predators, Jets, Coyotes, Canucks, and Sharks).
Toronto Blue Jays Preview:
Finally, we get to Rob Ford (if only America had more mayors like him, which I am saying only half jokingly because we did have an extortioner in office in Detroit with Kwme Kilpatrick). You have to commend Rob Ford's local baseball team for spending money and at least attempting to improve their club but it is hard to defend a front office that thought trading Travis d'Arnaud and paying around 200 million dollars for one year of Josh Johnson and his dead arm, one year of John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio, six years of Jose Reyes getting injured and not batting over .300, four years of a steady but declining Mark Buehrle at the end of his career, and three years of R.A. Dickey was a good idea.
The Jays do have a pretty solid lineup from top to bottom, especially if Jose Reyes can stay on the field and be the table setter for the team by stealing 30 or 40 bases and scoring 100
Despite Melky being a manifestation of Jose Guillen or Lenny Dystra, Toronto will be able to score runs, but their pitching staff is far and away the worst in the very difficult AL East. In a ballpark that was the site of the 4th most runs in the MLB last season, the Blue Jays are going to struggle with a rotation of the very young 23-year old Drew Hutchison, the often injured Brandon Morrow, Mark Buehrle, and R.A. Dickey, a pitcher that doesn't even know where his knuckleballs are going to end up most of the time. Rob Ford could probably do a better job as the GM of this time (until he was found in his car using Melky's PED's).
AL Central Preview:
The American League Central has typically been the odd division out when it comes to the American League. This may have to do with the fact that the last time the Royals made the playoffs in 1985 Nelson Mandla was in prison, the Berlin Wall was still standing, and Super Mario Bros. was just released, the White Sox are Chicago's other team, the Indians cannot even get fans to their games at Progressive Field (only an average of 43.5 percent of their ballpark was full on a given night, the lowest in the majors despite the fact that they made the playoffs), the Twins are in a small market, and the Tigers are in a more football obsessed city. Before the major leagues went to the two wild card system in 2012, only once in 17 years did the AL Central send two teams to the postseason (Twins and Tigers in 2006) and the division has only had one team ever finish with 100 wins or more (Indians in 1995). Much should be the same this year, as the Tigers are the clear class of the AL Central with little competition from the teams around them except for possibly the Indians.
Detroit Tigers Preview:
Often times after a team makes a big money move and it doesn't work out, they sit around and wait for the contract to expire until they can finally get out of the bad deal. Obviously, with some of baseball's heinous contracts it is impossible to do anything with them because nobody is going to trade for Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Howard, or Jason Werth (except for maybe Alex Anthopolous in Toronto) and have to pay them all the money that is in their deals.
The Tigers were in a similar position this off-season. After signing Prince Fielder to a nine year, 214 million dollar contract in 2011, it was evident that the move was not working out as the Tigers had thought it would with Cabrera and Fielder in the middle of their order. Fielder had career lows in almost every batting category last season and in two full postseasons with Detroit, he had just 1 home run, 3 RBI's, and hit below .200 in 24 games. Also, with Fielder at first base, Cabrera had to play third, which is not his favored position and hurt the Tigers defensively and hampered their best hitter at the plate. Thus, when the Tigers got their chance, they were smart to trade Fielder to the Rangers for one of the three best second basemen in baseball in Ian Kinsler. Kinsler is a guy that gives the Tigers their most legitimate second basemen since Lou Whitaker in the 1980's and 1990's and he will get on base for guys behind him like Cabrera and Victor Martinez. In the last four years, Cano, Matt Carpenter, Pedroia, and Chase Utley are the only second basemen that have a better weighted on-base percentage than Kinsler.
Aside from Kinsler, it is also very important that Victor Martinez stays healthy for the Tigers so that he can protect Miggy and collect any of the 292 million dollars that falls out of his pockets (a very well deserved contract though for Cabrera in all seriousness).
Meanwhile, the Tigers rotation is going to be great once again this year with 2011 Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander, 2013 Cy Young Max Scherzer, and last year's AL ERA champion Anibal Sanchez (my sleeper pick for the Cy Young this year). Verlander and Scherzer can just throw gas (among many other things) and Sanchez has the best slider in baseball except for Yu Darvish, Zack Greinke, and maybe Madison Bumgarner. The Tigers have a top three pitching staff in the MLB along with the Nationals rotation of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Gio, and Fister and the Dodgers staff of Kershaw, Greinke (highest paid player in baseball this season), Haren, and Hyun-jin Ryu.
Last year the Tigers bullpen was their downfall in the ALCS against the Red Sox because essentially Verlander, Scherzer, or Sanchez went 7 innings and barely let up anything and then Veras or somebody else would blow it late in the game (thinking about it, how did the Red Sox win that series. The Sox had one hit through the first 14 innings of game 1 and 2 and somehow came away from Boston tied 1-1 in the series). Although left hander Drew Smyly is moving into the rotation, the Tigers did bring in the always dependable Joe Nathan to be their closer, who had 43 saves and just 3 blown saves with the Rangers last year in route to the second highest WAR for a relief pitcher behind Koji Uehara.
Kansas City Royals Preview:
I'm calling it now: the Kansas City Royals will be one of the two
American League wild card teams this year and will finally make the playoffs for
the first time in nearly 30 years (the only thing worse than not making
the playoffs since 1985 would be not winning a playoff game since 1993
and going 0-7 in the process including losing a game after leading 38-10
in the 3rd quarter. I guess some things are just in the water in Kansas City). Since the Royals last made the postseason, the Yankees and Braves have each made 17 trips to the playoffs. The Toronto Blue Jays are the only other MLB team with a playoff drought of more than 12 years (they last made the postseason in 1993). The Minnesota Timberwolves have the longest NBA playoff drought at a relatively short 10 seasons, the longest NFL postseason drought is 14 years held by the Buffalo Bills, and the Edmonton Oilers have the longest NHL playoff drought at just a short 7 seasons.
Despite it being hard to believe that a team could actually go nearly three decades without making a single postseason and still have fans, the misery is going to end very shortly for the Royals (I was going to say Kansas City but then I remembered they still have Andy Reid coaching in playoff games where clock management and playing well in the 4th quarter is actually needed). The only positive in not making the playoffs since winning the World Series in 1985 (thank you umpire Don Denkinger) is that you get to stockpile picks in the MLB draft and after years of high picks and compensation selections, the Royals are finally near a playoff team. Eric Hosmer, who the Royals took with the number 3 overall pick in 2008, has gotten better each year in the league, improving so much last year that he won a Gold Glove and was one of two AL first basemen, along with Miguel Cabrera, to bat above .300 and also have more than 15 home runs and 75 RBI's. Hosmer's big and powerful bat goes well with Billy Butler, a first round draft pick in 2004, in the middle of the Royals lineup. Butler is a very underrated player, as he has batted above .288, had a slugging percentage above .411, and finished the season with 78 or more RBI's every year since 2009.
Kansas City also has more complimentary pieces this year than ever before, which will give their lineup great flexibility, especially if their middle of the lineup guys struggle for parts of the season. Norichika Aoi has had an on-base percentage of .355 and .356 in two MLB seasons, which is of the utmost importance for a leadoff hitter. While it has not worked out exactly as planned for Alex Gordon, who was taken 2nd overall in 2005, or Mike Moustakas, who also got picked 2nd overall but this time in the 2007 draft, they have showed signs of why they were considered top prospects. Gordon has won three straight Gold Gloves in left field and his WAR of 12.1 from 2011 to 2012 was the 4th highest in the majors over that stretch, only behind Braun, Cabrera, and Cano. Moustakas has also been really good with his glove, going a Royals record 47 straight games without making an error, and he is destined to have a solid year in his 3rd MLB season.
Meanwhile, with a pitching staff of James Shields, Jason Vargas, Jeremy Guthrie, Bruce Chen, and the rocket throwing Yordano Ventura and a closer in Greg Holland that had the 3rd most saves in 2013 behind Jim Johnson and Craig Kimbrel, the Royals can finally play a meaningful game in October.
Cleveland Indians Preview:
The Indians are going to be a solid team once again this season in the AL Central but so few people in Cleveland will actually know that since Progressive Field has been imitating the attendance level that was present, or more preciseness not present, at Crosley Field during the 1960's before the Reds became the Big Red Machine with Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, and Dave Concepcion. Since 2010, the Tribe have had the lowest attendance in baseball and one of the worst stadium capacities in the game (when you are bringing in less fans than the Marlins, you know something is wrong).
The Indians are destined for a season anywhere from 80 to 85 wins, as there is no team in the major leagues more average than Cleveland (something their basketball team would actually take). They have an an average to above average lineup and a below average to average pitching staff that should put them above .500 for just the 4th time since 2002 but just outside the playoff picture, which would deny them their first back-to-back playoff appearances since they made the postseason every year from 1995 to 1999.
From top to bottom, the Indians have a very solid batting order but nothing that is going to make the Red Sox, Tigers, or Rangers fearful. Last season, Cleveland was 10th in the MLB in home runs with 171, 10th in total base with 2,240, 13th in batting average at .255, and 15th in hits with around 8.6 per game. Nick Swisher is going to hit in the 20-30 home run range with an OPS+ around 120, Jason Kipnis can drive in 80 runs and a have a OPS in the .800's (could be the most widely unknown player to ever make 52.5 million dollars in a contract), Carlos Santana has some power and can have a slugging percentage around .450 and an isolated power of .200, and Asdrubal Cabrera and Yan Gomes are above average hitters for their respective positions of shortstop and catcher. There are few teams with the depth in their lineup of the Indians, who have a solid player at every single position, but most of the other top teams in the AL have a big time hitter in the middle of their lineup, which the Indians lack (Red Sox have Big Papi, Orioles have Chris Davis, Tigers have Cabrera, Rangers have Beltre/Fielder, and Angels have Trout). Since a Hall of Famer like Nap Lajole, Tris Speaker, Earl Averill, or Lou Boudreau is not walking onto the field in Cleveland any time soon, the Indians are not going to score enough runs in order for their questionable pitching staff to bring them to the postseason.
Danny Salazar could turn into something really special for Cleveland, but it may be too early to count on him to be his best for an entire season at just the age of 24. Salazar, though, looked impressive in his few starts last season, throwing a mid 90's fastball and bringing back Luis Tiant rookie year comparisons. Justin Masterson and Zach McAllister are both solid rotation guys, but having to rely on them to be top end starters even 2004 Matt Hasselbeck thinks is wishful thinking (I do love Masterson's slider though and wish my Sox never traded him for Victor Martinez, who never came up with a big hit in Boston). The Indians, who had a MLB low 2 extra innings losses last season, will also need to hope that their bullpen of guys like Marc Rzepczynski, Cody Allen, John Axford, and John Axford's beard will be able to finish out close games.
Minnesota Twins/Chicago White Sox Preview:
Since the Twins and White Sox should be two of the worst three teams in the American League along with the Astros, I am just combining their team previews into one paragraph because the chances of them making the playoffs are as slim as James Harden actually playing some defense in the next five seasons. After winning the AL Central six out of ten years from 2001 to 2010 and finishing with a record above .500 in 9 of those seasons (2007 being the exception), the Twins have had three straight seasons of 96 or more losses for a record of 195-291, their worst stretch since 1998-2000. In fact, their 99 losses in 2011 were the second most in a season since the franchise moved to Minnesota from Washington in 1961, only behind the 1982 year when the Twinkies went 60-102. Meanwhile, after winning the World Series in 2005 for the first time since 1917, the White Sox have not won a playoff series since and their 99 losses last year was their worst season since they went 56-106 all the way back in 1970. The Twins and White Sox should see their recent struggles continue once again this season.
The Twinkies, who finished second to last in the AL in runs and last in the league in earned runs last year, did make some small improvements to their ballclub in the off-season. Joe Mauer, who will be getting paid 23 million dollars a year until 2018 but has played less than 115 games two of the previous three seasons, is only going to play first base this year, which should keep him much healthier for Minnesota. Despite having the second best batting average in the AL and the third best on-base percentage in the league in 2013, Mauer will be looking to regain his power stroke (he hit 28 long balls in 2009 and has hit 33 in the four years since then). The Twins also added veteran Ricky Nolasco (coming off his best season), Phil Hughes (coming off his worst season), and Mike Pelfrey (also coming off his worst season) to their rotation, which is likely going to get hit very hard by teams like the Tigers, Royals, and Indians. Aside from some of the young minor leaguers that may come up during the season (Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Alex Meyer), the only thing for Twins fans to look forward to is Ron Gardenhire becoming the 10th manager to ever win 1,000 games with the same team their entire career (Connie Mack, John McGraw, Walter Alston, Tommy Lasorda, Earl Weaver, Mike Scioscia, Tom Kelly, Danny Murtaugh, and Red Schoendienst being the others).
Meanwhile, the White Sox have something to look forward to every 5th day when the current version of Randy Johnson takes the mound in the form of Chris Sale. Sale is right up there with David Price for the best left handed pitcher in the majors in the non-Clayton Kershaw pitching category. Last season, Sale had a 3.07 ERA (7th in the AL), a 1.073 WHIP (3rd in the AL), 226 strikeouts (3rd in the AL), a 4.913 strikeouts to walk ratio (2nd in the AL), and a 6.9 WAR (2nd in the AL for pitchers), and yet he finished 11-14 (3 less wins than CC Sabathia, who had a 4.78 ERA and 1 less win than Jeremy Hellickson, who had a 5.17 ERA). This is once again a remainder that pitchers can not only be judged based upon wins and losses because Chris Sale is undoubtedly one of the best pitchers in the league. He should, however, have some more run support than last year when the White Sox averaged an AL worst 3.69 runs per game. Jose Abreu, the Cuban defect who the White Sox signed for 6 years and 68 million dollars in the off-season, seems to have some real pop in his bat, as does big time prospect Avisail Garcia, who the White Sox acquired in the Jake Peavy, Jose Iglesias three way trade last season. Finally, Chicago's other team (yes, it's true) will also be entertaining because the Adam Dunn strikeout count is always something to keep tabs on during a season (This will alarm you, but Adam Dunn is likely two seasons away from 500 home runs. If we take the steroid guys out of the equation, which would be Bonds, A-Rod, Sosa, Palmeiro, Palmerio, Palmeiro, and Sheffield, the worst hitter to ever go yard 500 times in his career is likely Reggie Jackson or Eddie Murray. Adam Dunn is not even on the same planet as those guys, so it would be odd to see a career .238 hitter on that historic list).
AL West Preview:
The AL West has been the hardest division to figure out over the past few decades in the American League. The Red Sox and Yankees have had a stronghold over the AL East and the winner of the AL Central has been fairly obvious coming into each season with the Twins dominating the 2000's until the Tigers recent resurgence. However, the AL West has had no such pattern in the teams representing the division in the postseason. We all remember the Seattle Mariners team that went 116-46 in 2001, a record that tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs for the most wins in a season, but the following year, the Mariners did not even reach the postseason. Similarly, in 2002, the Angels made the playoffs as a wild card team from the AL West and won their first World Series in franchise history, but in 2003, the team did not even win 80 games (although the 1998 Marlins are impressed by that). In 2012, the A's had the second lowest payroll in baseball at around 55 million dollars, but they won the west for the first time since 2006 over the Angels and their 154 million dollar roster and the Texas Rangers, the two-time defending AL pennant winners. The A's won the AL west again last year, their first back-to-back division titles since 2002-2003 (moneyball years) despite the fact that Josh Hamilton and his 17.4 million dollar contract nearly equaled what Oakland was giving to Dan Straily, A.J. Griffin, Josh Donaldson, Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, Josh Reddick, Brandon Moss, Jed Lowrie, Bartolo Colon, Seth Smith, and Grant Balfour combined (essentially their entire starting rotation and a majority of their positional players). My argument is basically that it is safe to assume that you can assume nothing when it comes to the AL West.
Texas Rangers Preview:
Yu! Yu! Yu! If the Rangers are going to make the playoffs for a 5th straight season (they didn't make the playoffs at all from 1961 until 1996), it will largely be because of Darvish, the most dominant thing out of Japan since Godzilla himself. Texas does have some major holes when it comes to starting pitching depth and the bottom of their order, so they will need a lot out of Yu (Darvish is my 2014 AL Cy Young pick. It can't get must worse for me since my pre-season NL Cy Young prediction last year was Matt Cain, who ended up having a 0.5 WAR and a worse ERA than Jorge De La Rosa - any sentence that goes a worse ERA than insert Rockies pitcher name here is just bad news). Darvish, though, is arguably the best right handed pitcher in the major leagues (King Felix of Seattle, Jose Fernandez, Verlander, Scherzer, or a healthy Stephen Strasburg may contest that claim). He throws a ton of sliders and cutters, which look like his fastball until they dip down in the zone before they reach the plate. No pitcher in baseball had a higher pitch value on their slider than Darvish, whose 27.6 slider pitch rank was well better than Justin Masterson's second best 18.7 slider pitch value. For this reason, Yu is a strikeout machine, as his 277 k's in 2013 were the most in a single-season for a pitcher not named Randy Johnson since Curt Schilling in 1997 (Randy had more strikeouts in 1998-2002, 2004) and his 11.9 strikeouts per nine inning rate was also the highest in a season for a pitcher not named Randy Johnson since Pedro Martinez in 1999 (Johnson had a better SO/9 in 2000-2002). Darvish is one of the few must watch guys in baseball when he takes the mound because his stuff is good enough where any time out he could do something really special like when he took a perfect game into the last batter on opening day last year against the Triple A-Astros or when he struck out 15 batters against the Triple-A Astros in the middle of August.
After Josh Hamilton left the Rangers for the Angels last off-season, Texas just decided that to spite him, they weren't going to have any quality left handed bats in their lineup (or there were just not any left handed hitters available on the market). Their left handed batters hit a paltry .244 in 2013 (in comparison, their right handed bats hit .276). Texas made sure that they addressed one of the biggest concerns in the off-season, making two of the biggest moves in the majors by bringing in Prince Fielder from Detroit and signing Shin-Soo "I've never hit above .310 in my career and have never hit more than 22 home runs in a season but I'm getting paid 130 million dollars" Choo. Despite some of his postseason struggles and his alarming inability to move off first base, Fielder has some unique power that few guys can match in the big leagues. Since 2007, only Miguel Cabrera has more long balls than Fielder, who is averaging more than 36 a year since that date. He will be helped by the short right field wall at Globe Life Park in Arlington, and also Adrian Beltre, the most underrated hitter in baseball hitting behind him (he has hit more than 28 home runs, added at least 92 RBI's, and hit better than a .295 batting average each of the last four years). On the other side of things, any left handed hitter that doesn't hit home runs and gets signed to a big deal just scares me because of what happened with Carl Crawford on my Sox, but Shin-Soo Choo does get on-base like a machine. His .423 on-base percentage was the 4th best in the league last season and Matt Holliday is the only other outfielder to have two seasons with an on-base percentage better than .400 in two different years.
The Rangers main concern right now though is getting healthy, especially on their injured plagued pitching staff. Matt Harrison, Colby Lewis, and Derek Holland will all begin the season on the disabled list (Atlanta and Oakland know how that feels), so Texas will need Tanner Scheppers and Martin Perez to hold down the fort for the beginning of the year until their rotation can get healthy as the season goes along.
Los Angeles Angels Preview:
When the Angels signed Albert Pujols to a 10 year, 254 million dollar contract in 2012 and also signed left hander C.J. Wilson to a 5 year, 77.5 million dollar deal within the same week, there were a lot of people that immediately jumped on the Angels bandwagon. Despite some of the struggles that the team faced in their first year with Pujols and Wilson, things still seemed to look positive when Mike Trout came up from the minors and instantly became one of the best position players in baseball along with guys like Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Andrew McCutchen, Dustin Pedroia, and Robinson Cano. Los Angeles even signed Josh Hamilton, who was coming off a season of 43 home runs, 128 RBI's, and a slugging percentage of .577 in 2012 with the Rangers, to a 5-year, 125 million dollar contract the following off-season to bolster their lineup. After bringing in Hamilton, most people felt that the Angels were destined for a deep run in the playoffs with superstars across the board. So, did I set up this entire little preface so that I could talk about how I did not think LA was going to be one of the best teams in the AL, despite the Pujols and Hamilton signings, because of their poor pitching staff? I would be lying worse than Pete Rose if I said I did not want to gloat about my Charles Xavier like psychic abilities on this prediction (I can't brag too much though because I did pick Maurice-Jones Drew in the first round of a fantasy draft last year). Not only have Pujols and Hamilton both struggled on their new ballclub, but the Angels have had an ERA well over 4.0 the past two seasons (4.02 in 2012 and 4.23 last year, the 7th worst in the league. All the teams in the 2012 postseason had an ERA well under 4.0 and Cleveland's ERA of 3.82 was the worst for a team in the playoffs in 2013, which is a wide gap from the Angels).
Once again this season, I am not sure that the Angels and their 155 million dollar payroll will turn things around and make it to the postseason. There is no doubt that the Halos have offensive fire power throughout the rather deep lineup, as they are right up there with Boston, Detroit, and Texas for the best order in the American League. Even in the worst case scenario where Albert Pujols realizes he no longer has the bat speed to catch up to fastballs and is just waiting out his contract (Steve Nash style) and Josh Hamilton continues to get hurt and breaks every bone in his body (Dodgeball reference sort of), the Angels will still be able to produce a lot of runs. Mike Trout is already the best player in baseball in just his third year in the league and the Mickey Mantle comparisons to the young center fielder are not even hyperbole. He has lead baseball in WAR in each of the last two seasons and his 10.9 WAR in 2012 was the 2nd best by a positional player not linked to steroids since 1976 (Cal Ripken had a 11.5 WAR in 1991). Meanwhile, all Raul Ibanez does is hit, no matter if he is as old as Hugh Hefner. His .281 career batting average against right handed pitching will help an Angels lineup that has a lot of righties with Trout, Pujols, Howie Kendrick, Chris Iannetta, and Chris Cowgill. David Freese, another right handed hitter, should also have a bounce back year after being the biggest World Series hero in 2011 since Joe Carter or Kirby Puckett, batting .293 with 20 long balls in 2012, but then hitting .262 with just 9 home runs last year. If the Angels can just get Brandon Belt or Mike Napoli like production out of Pujols and Alex Rios or Jay Bruce kind of offensive output from Hamilton, the Angels should remain amongst the top 7 in the league in runs scored for the 3rd year in a row.
The thing that really concerns me about this team is their pitching staff, which has been a bigger train wreck the past two years than Tony Romo in any meaningful game. The Angels are already short on arms without any injuries, which is destined to occur over a full 162 game season. More than ever before, the Angels are going to need Jered Weaver to remain healthy and be the ace of their staff. After finishing in the top 5 of the AL Cy Young from 2010 to 2012, Weaver made his fewest starts last year since 2006 as a result of a fractured left elbow. He should be back, however, with his unique delivery and his nasty compilation of off-speed pitches including his slider and change-up that tail away from right handed hitters who have a .229 career batting average against him. Although CJ Wilson is pretty good in those old spice commercials, he has certainly not been worth the 15.5 million that the Angels are paying him each year. Nonetheless, he is a solid pitcher that LA will be able to rely on for around 200 innings (he has pitched at least 200 innings the last four years) and a strikeout per 9 inning rate anywhere from 7 to 9. The back end of the Angels rotation, though, is as big of a question mark as the Cowboys defense (two Cowboys jokes in one paragraph. I somehow need to balance it out because of Dallas's eternal mediocrity). Behind Weaver and Wilson, LA's pitching staff is made up of Garrett Richards, Hector Santiago, and Tyler Skaggs, which doesn't even scare the Astros and will likely be the team's downfall in hopes of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2009.
Oakland Athletics Preview:
The Oakland A's back-to-back 90 win seasons have been one of the best success stories in baseball over the past few decades (behind the 1987 Twins, 1990 Reds, 2003 Marlins, 2007 Rockies, and 2008 Rays in terms of their overall achievements, but still very impressive considering their financial limits). I was even beginning to think that the A's could pull off the biggest surprise since M. Night Shyamalan's twist in The Sixth Sense by making their first World Series since the Rickey Henderson, Bob Welch team that got swept by the Reds in the 1990 World Series. However, just as the baseball gods would have it so that the teams that spend huge amounts of money and make the game more profitable are satisfied, the A's were killed by devastating injury news to their very consistent and important pitching rotation. A.J. Griffin, who had the 6th best WHIP at 1.125 and the 5th best hits per 9 innings rate in the American League last season, is going to spend significant time at the beginning of the season on the disabled list with flexor tendinitis. Meanwhile, Jarrod Parker, who is one of the many pitchers that people don't know from an Oakland staff that finished 4th in opponents batting average last year, is out for the entire 2014 season, needing the way to common Tommy John surgery to fix an arm problem (Parker can join the club of Medlen, Beachy, and Corbin). The A's do have more pitching depth than most teams in the majors, but any club that loses two of its best starters is going to have some issues replacing their arms in the rotation. Oakland is going to have to rely on Sonny Gray, Dan Straily, Tommy Milone, and gasp, Scott Kazmir to pick up the load for some of the injuries that the team has suffered.
The A's are a team that play a lot of close games, which means that they will need a solid bullpen in order to make sure that they can win some games where their starting pitching, or particularly their offense, is just not there. Jim Johnson is slated to be the team's closer after Oakland acquired him from Baltimore in an off-season trade. Last year, Johnson joined Mariano Rivera and Eric Gagne as the only three closers to ever have at least 50 saves in multiple seasons (Rivera did so in 2001 and 2004 and Gagne did it in 2002 and 2005), and yet he looked as bad as somebody can when still registering 50 saves in a season. His WAR was just a paltry 1.5, behind 12 other closers with at least 13 saves, mainly because he blew a league leading 9 saves, tied for the 4th most in a single-season since 2010. His sinker was hit hard and very often and he was constantly having to get out of jams because his hits per 9 innings went from 7.2 in 2012 all the way up to 9.2 in 2013. If Johnson does struggle, the A's do have a lot of other arms in the bullpen with guys like Luke Gregerson, Sean Doolittle, and Dan Otero, who were all very good last season.
At the plate, Oakland does not have the superstars, the power, or the speed of a team like the Rangers or the Angels, but they do have some good depth and a full lineup capability of being the hero on a particular night. Josh Donaldson, who finished 4th in the AL MVP race despite not making the All-Star game (no love for Oakland players), hit .301 with a .384 on-base percentage (6th in the AL) and added 24 home runs and 93 RBI's to go along with a very high 8.0 WAR, the 2nd best in the AL behind only the God that is Mike Trout. Donaldson, Coco Crisp, and Jed Lowrie should provide consistent hitting for the A's all season, so the overall productivity of their offense will come from three guys that can either hit a lot of home runs or strike out as much as any player that is not named Adam Dunn. Yoenis Cespedes showed to the entire world his freakish natural power when he won the 2013 Home Run Derby and Brandon Moss hit 30 home runs last year (one of only 6 major league first basemen to do so along with Chris Davis, Paul Goldschmidt, Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Trumbo, and Adam Dunn), but both of their K% last year were amongst the worst 9 in all of baseball. Similarly, despite hitting 32 home runs in 2012, Josh Reddick struck out 151 times over the course of the season, the 10th most times in the American League behind the usual suspects like Adam Dunn, Curtis Granderson, Carlos Pena, Josh Hamilton, and Mark Reynolds. If Cespedes, Moss, and Reddick can limit their strikeouts and get on-base a little more often, Oakland could increase their run total and help make up for the losses of Griffin and Parker in the rotation.
Seattle Mariners/Houston Astros Preview:
Out of pure laziness and the fact that we are nearly 9,000 words into this article (take that Les Miserables), I am combining the team previews for the Houston "don't watch this team play baseball if you want to maintain your sanity" Astros and the Seattle "we spent a lot of money this off-season but aren't close to winning anything" Mariners. The Astors have finished with more than 105 losses in three straight seasons, the first team in baseball history to do so (the 1915 and 1916 A's teams both lost more than 105 games, as did the 1941 and 1942 Phillies. Oddly enough, the Athletics did that after reaching four World Series in five years and winning three of them). While the Astros are practically a triple-A ballclub, the Mariners at least went out and spent some money this off-season to try and reach the playoffs for the first team since they won 116 games in 2001. They signed Corey Hart, got Logan Morrison in a trade, signed closer Fernando Rodney, and obviously, spent the big bucks to get Robinson Cano for 240 million dollars. We will see how much 24 million dollars really means to Cano after this season because the Mariners are more than likely going to finish under .500 for the 5th straight year, their longest stretch since a period where they didn't have a winning season from 1977 to 1990.
Looking at the Astors lineup, they actually only have three legitimate major league players that would play on any other team, except for possibly a club like the Marlins or Cubs. Houston traded for the speedy Dexter Fowler so that he could be the team's solid lead-off hitter, and more so as a precaution to make sure that they don't come close to the 1962 Mets for the most losses in a season since 1900. You know that your team is as bad as the Bucks when their best player has never made an All-Star game and has never had a season with a WAR of at least 3. Jose Altuve is a more than good enough second basemen for a team, as he has gold glove ability and can steal some bases while Jason Castro is also a solid player behind the plate. I was going to include Chris Carter on that very short list of actual MLB players on the Astros but then I remembered that he strikes out at a rate that competes with Adam Dunn and Mark Reynolds (he had the worst K% in the history of baseball at 36.2% last year and the 3rd most strikeouts in a season ever with 212). The Astors have a lot of very young arms in their rotation with guys like Brett Oberholtzer and Jarred Cosart, which means they will likely have some significant growing pains throughout the season.
The biggest move of the baseball off-season, aside from Chris Stewart going to his 7th different MLB team in a trade to the Pirates of course, was Robinson Cano moving on from the Yankees (When was the last time a star like Cano actually said no to the Yankees. When was the last time a star like Dwight Howard left the Lakers? How did the Yankees and Lakers lose out on bringing back their one of their star players in the same year? Andy Pettitte was likely the last big name to leave the Yankees when he signed with his hometown Astros in 2004, but he did eventually return to the Bronx in 2007. The last big time Laker that left the team in free agency was A.C. Green in 1993 when he went to the Suns, and he only ever made one All-Star game). Cano will face some serious difficulties though in Seattle. Safeco Field is not a safe haven for runs, as it ranked dead last in runs scored two years ago, and is continually towards the bottom half of the majors in home runs. He will also not have the same opportunities with guys getting on-base in front of him because Abraham Almonte and Brad Miller don't even make the Lion from Wizard of Oz afraid and Justin Smoak and Kyle Seager are not going to make teams pitch to Cano. The Mariners do have the third best King in the world behind LeBron and Lorenzo de' Medici from Da Vinci's Demons with King Felix (yes, I actually just made a Da Vinci's Demons reference, which is the best show on Starz since their last big show Spartacus), but the rest of their projected rotation of Erasmo Ramirez, James Paxton, Roenis Elias, and Blake Beavan have 25 combined career wins. It could be worse for Seattle; they could be without a NBA team.
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Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Saturday, March 22, 2014
NCAA March Madness - The Greatest Opening Two Days In Tournament History
We have seen the craziness of the NCAA tournament time and time again. We have witnessed shocking upsets that crush brackets across the nation year after year (I went 10 games into the tourney this year before giving up on my bracket after watching one of my upset picks in North Carolina St. somehow blow a game after leading by 8 points with 1:41 remaining. Never trust Mark Gottfried no matter what you do. Trust him less than Larry Drew, which is saying something. It is, however, longer than I went last year when I gave up on my pool after a whopping two games when Butler beat my upset pick in Bucknell). March Madness has been the home to unthinkable finishes and seemingly implausible moments ever since the field expanded to 64 teams all the way back in 1985. Honestly, the tournament has more twists and turns than an episode of The Walking Dead and everybody, including Rick Grimes, has come to expect the madness.
Just look at last year's tournament as a snapshot of the insanity that is inherent in the big dance. Florida Gulf Coast, a school that was established less than 25 years ago, beat Georgetown, a program that has been to the Final Four 5 times (3 times in a 4-year stretch during the days of Patrick Ewing) and then went on to become the first 15 seed to reach the sweet 16 after beating San Diego St. in the next round. It was the second time in tournament history that a 15 seed (Florida Gulf Coast), a 14 seed (Harvard), a 13 seed (La Salle), at least one 12 seed (Ole Miss, Cal, and Oregon), and at least one 11 seed (Minnesota) all won a game in the big dance (the only other time was in 1991 when Richmond, Xavier, Penn St., Eastern Michigan, UConn/Creighton got the victories as double digit seeds). For just the 4th time ever, there was only one team along the top three seed lines in the Final Four (the other years were 1980 with Louisville, Iowa, Purdue, and UCLA, 2000 with Michigan St., Florida, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, and 2011 with UConn, Kentucky, Butler, and VCU). Wichita St. also became the first 9 seed to reach the Final Four since the field expanded in 1985 and the second 9 seed to reach the National Semifinals since the NCAA began to seed in 1978, joining the Penn team from 1979 that lost to eventual champions Michigan St. and Magic Johnson.
With all this in mind, you know things have to be nothing short of outrageous when the first two days of the tournament can totally surprise fans, even those that have grown accustomed to the madness of march. That is no hyperbole either, as this was the greatest slate of opening games in the history of March Madness.
We saw a little bit of everything from the 2nd round of the tourney. There were shocking upsets all over the place in the four regions. Mercer, a team playing in its third ever NCAA tournament game, beat Duke, a school that has won four National Championships. It was Mercer's first ever win in the big dance, topping a Duke program that has won 99 tournament games, the third most all-time in postseason history, only behind Kentucky's 111 and North Carolina's 109. The Bears won the game despite the fact that the Blue Devils made 15 three pointers (the record for threes in an NCAA tournament game is 21 by Loyola Marymount in 1990 against Michigan). Who would have thought that Duke would lose to a 14 seed or lower in two of the last three NCAA tournaments (Coach K is turning into John Thompson III). Saint Louis was the only 5 seed to move on to the third round, as Harvard beat Cincinnati (nothing like Harvard kids ruining perfect brackets and taking a billion dollars away from others), North Dakota St. topped Oklahoma (the best thing that has probably ever happened in North Dakota), and Stephen F. Austin stunned VCU in 5-12 match-ups. It was the just the fourth time in tournament history that three different 12 seeds won a game in the tourney along with 2002 (Missouri, Tulsa, and Creighton), 2009 (Western Kentucky, Arizona, Wisconsin), and last year (Oregon, California, and Ole Miss).
Upsets were so rampant that there was an extended period of time in the Virginia-Coastal Carolina game where it looked very possible that a 16 seed could finally beat a 1 seed for the first time in 120 attempts before the Cavaliers pulled away in the latter stages of the second half (Virginia was down 5 at half). Mark my words: in the next 10 years a 16 seed will beat a 1 seed. We have already had seven 15 seeds knock off 2 seeds (Richmond in 1991, Santa Clara in 1993, Coppin St. in 1997, Hampton in 2001, Norfolk St. in 2012, Lehigh in the same year, and Florida Gulf Coast last year) and as 16 seeds Princeton and East Tennessee St. got within one point of a victory in 1989 and the next year Murray St. took top seeded Michigan St. to overtime before losing by 4. A 16 seed will win against a 1 seed before the Cubs win the World Series (which isn't saying a lot). Ok, how bout this: it will happen before the Nets get under the salary cap again or before the Cleveland Browns have the same starting quarterback for an entire season.
However, there are always upsets in the big dance, and the opening two days of this tournament had a whole lot more than that.
We had a buzzer-beater from Texas, courtesy of Cameron Ridley, in their 87-85 victory over Arizona St. in the Midwest Region, which is always a much needed necessity. Although it will certainly not go in video montages forever like the Laettner shot against Kentucky from 1992, the 1983 Lorenzo Charles dunk against Houston, or the Bryce Drew jumper vs Ole Miss from 1988, it was the first loose ball, scramble on the floor, layup buzzer-beater I've ever seen in my life. It was also the first ever buzzer beater from somebody that is as big as Prince Fielder.
There were five overtime games in the first two days of the tournament with UConn and Saint Joseph's, North Dakota St. and Oklahoma, NCST and Saint Louis, San Diego St. and New Mexico St., and VCU and Stephen. F Austin, which set the record for the most overtime games in the round of 64 (Iowa and Tennessee also played a overtime game in their first four game). It makes up for the last two years, each of which only had one nail-biting, overtime game (North Carolina vs Ohio in 2012 in the sweet 16 and Kansas vs Michigan in 2013 in the regional semifinals as well).
The first two days of the tournament also featured one of the wildest endings to a basketball game that you will ever see (I'm talking USA-USSR 1972 Olympic Gold Medal game crazy). It had everything a great comeback needs (ask the 2007 Phillies or the 2011 Rays): an impressive resurgence (1992 Bills like), a terrible collapse (Jean Van de Velde 1999 British Open bad), and a crazy sequence of events at the end of the game (think fifth down game) that made people question if this is real life or if this is actually a dream state where Leonardo DiCaprio is coming to save us all (if that joke didn't make sense it goes perfectly with the plot of Inception). I'm referring to the madness that was the VCU-Stephen F. Austin game, which broke twitter much more than any Ellen DeGeneres selfie. After staying close for the majority of the game despite coughing the ball up 17 times against a VCU defense that was the best in the nation in forcing turnovers during the regular season, Stephen F. Austin had to come back from 10 down with 3 minutes to go, and they did just that. Although the Lumberjacks got some help from VCU's very poor shooting from the free throw, they still remained down by 4 points with 10 seconds left and Jordan Burgress on the foul line for VCU. What occured next was so crazy that it made Project X look docile. Not only did Burgress, nearly a 70 percent free throw shooter, miss both free throws, but Desmond Haymond for Stephen F. Austin then nailed a three and got fouled. Why JaQuan Lewis got anywhere near a Stephen F. Austin player taking a three when the Rams were up four will be one of sport's biggest mysteries along with if the immaculate reception was really a legal catch, did Michael Jordan retire because of gambling in 1993, did Geoff Hurst goal really go in against West Germany in 1966, and did David Stern fix the 1985 NBA draft so that the Knicks could get Patrick Ewing (so I guess it's not as big of a question as those, but still, why did he get anywhere near a shooter up by four points in the waning seconds of the game). The Lumberjacks went on to win the crazy game in overtime, in a much better finish than the ending of The Sopranos.
You know the first two days are just something else when I haven't even mentioned Kansas escaping against 15th seeded Eastern Kentucky (the game was tied with 8 minutes to go), Louisville likewise narrowly beating Manhattan (the Cardinals needed two Luke Hancock threes to top the Jaspers by 6), Bryce Cotton breaking his back from nearly carrying Providence over North Carolina (the First Team All-Big East guard had 36 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds in the two point loss), or Adreian Payne setting a Michigan St. postseason record of 41 points against Delaware (he was 17 for 17 from the charity strike, breaking Bill Bradley and Fennis Dembo's free throw record without a miss). It wasn't an oversight on my part that I didn't mention the Gonzaga-Oklahoma St. because in a great two days of basketball that game had more whistles than the theme song of The Andy Griffith Show.
We can only hope that the rest of the tournament can come somewhere close to the greatest of the first two days and it certainly has the potential to do so. Every big tourney needs its fair share of giants, and this one is no different with Florida, Syracuse, Kansas, Michigan St., Arizona, Louisville, and Michigan amongst the favorites for the National Championship. We also have the storyline of Kentucky trying to bring all of their ridiculous talent together for a deep run in the dance (I don't see it because I just don't think they will get consistent enough guard play from the Harrison brothers). Not to mention the fact that Wichita St. is trying to become the 8th team to finish a season undefeated with a National Championship at the end of it (they would join Bill Russell's 1956 San Francisco team, Lennie Rosenbluth's 1957 North Carolina club, Gail Goodrich's 1964 UCLA squad, Lew Alcindor's 1967 UCLA club, Bill Walton's 1972 and 1973 UCLA teams, and Scott May's 1976 Indiana squad to have a perfect, title winning season).
I think it is safe to say that even the Russian judge loves March Madness.
Just look at last year's tournament as a snapshot of the insanity that is inherent in the big dance. Florida Gulf Coast, a school that was established less than 25 years ago, beat Georgetown, a program that has been to the Final Four 5 times (3 times in a 4-year stretch during the days of Patrick Ewing) and then went on to become the first 15 seed to reach the sweet 16 after beating San Diego St. in the next round. It was the second time in tournament history that a 15 seed (Florida Gulf Coast), a 14 seed (Harvard), a 13 seed (La Salle), at least one 12 seed (Ole Miss, Cal, and Oregon), and at least one 11 seed (Minnesota) all won a game in the big dance (the only other time was in 1991 when Richmond, Xavier, Penn St., Eastern Michigan, UConn/Creighton got the victories as double digit seeds). For just the 4th time ever, there was only one team along the top three seed lines in the Final Four (the other years were 1980 with Louisville, Iowa, Purdue, and UCLA, 2000 with Michigan St., Florida, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, and 2011 with UConn, Kentucky, Butler, and VCU). Wichita St. also became the first 9 seed to reach the Final Four since the field expanded in 1985 and the second 9 seed to reach the National Semifinals since the NCAA began to seed in 1978, joining the Penn team from 1979 that lost to eventual champions Michigan St. and Magic Johnson.
With all this in mind, you know things have to be nothing short of outrageous when the first two days of the tournament can totally surprise fans, even those that have grown accustomed to the madness of march. That is no hyperbole either, as this was the greatest slate of opening games in the history of March Madness.
We saw a little bit of everything from the 2nd round of the tourney. There were shocking upsets all over the place in the four regions. Mercer, a team playing in its third ever NCAA tournament game, beat Duke, a school that has won four National Championships. It was Mercer's first ever win in the big dance, topping a Duke program that has won 99 tournament games, the third most all-time in postseason history, only behind Kentucky's 111 and North Carolina's 109. The Bears won the game despite the fact that the Blue Devils made 15 three pointers (the record for threes in an NCAA tournament game is 21 by Loyola Marymount in 1990 against Michigan). Who would have thought that Duke would lose to a 14 seed or lower in two of the last three NCAA tournaments (Coach K is turning into John Thompson III). Saint Louis was the only 5 seed to move on to the third round, as Harvard beat Cincinnati (nothing like Harvard kids ruining perfect brackets and taking a billion dollars away from others), North Dakota St. topped Oklahoma (the best thing that has probably ever happened in North Dakota), and Stephen F. Austin stunned VCU in 5-12 match-ups. It was the just the fourth time in tournament history that three different 12 seeds won a game in the tourney along with 2002 (Missouri, Tulsa, and Creighton), 2009 (Western Kentucky, Arizona, Wisconsin), and last year (Oregon, California, and Ole Miss).
Upsets were so rampant that there was an extended period of time in the Virginia-Coastal Carolina game where it looked very possible that a 16 seed could finally beat a 1 seed for the first time in 120 attempts before the Cavaliers pulled away in the latter stages of the second half (Virginia was down 5 at half). Mark my words: in the next 10 years a 16 seed will beat a 1 seed. We have already had seven 15 seeds knock off 2 seeds (Richmond in 1991, Santa Clara in 1993, Coppin St. in 1997, Hampton in 2001, Norfolk St. in 2012, Lehigh in the same year, and Florida Gulf Coast last year) and as 16 seeds Princeton and East Tennessee St. got within one point of a victory in 1989 and the next year Murray St. took top seeded Michigan St. to overtime before losing by 4. A 16 seed will win against a 1 seed before the Cubs win the World Series (which isn't saying a lot). Ok, how bout this: it will happen before the Nets get under the salary cap again or before the Cleveland Browns have the same starting quarterback for an entire season.
However, there are always upsets in the big dance, and the opening two days of this tournament had a whole lot more than that.
We had a buzzer-beater from Texas, courtesy of Cameron Ridley, in their 87-85 victory over Arizona St. in the Midwest Region, which is always a much needed necessity. Although it will certainly not go in video montages forever like the Laettner shot against Kentucky from 1992, the 1983 Lorenzo Charles dunk against Houston, or the Bryce Drew jumper vs Ole Miss from 1988, it was the first loose ball, scramble on the floor, layup buzzer-beater I've ever seen in my life. It was also the first ever buzzer beater from somebody that is as big as Prince Fielder.
There were five overtime games in the first two days of the tournament with UConn and Saint Joseph's, North Dakota St. and Oklahoma, NCST and Saint Louis, San Diego St. and New Mexico St., and VCU and Stephen. F Austin, which set the record for the most overtime games in the round of 64 (Iowa and Tennessee also played a overtime game in their first four game). It makes up for the last two years, each of which only had one nail-biting, overtime game (North Carolina vs Ohio in 2012 in the sweet 16 and Kansas vs Michigan in 2013 in the regional semifinals as well).
The first two days of the tournament also featured one of the wildest endings to a basketball game that you will ever see (I'm talking USA-USSR 1972 Olympic Gold Medal game crazy). It had everything a great comeback needs (ask the 2007 Phillies or the 2011 Rays): an impressive resurgence (1992 Bills like), a terrible collapse (Jean Van de Velde 1999 British Open bad), and a crazy sequence of events at the end of the game (think fifth down game) that made people question if this is real life or if this is actually a dream state where Leonardo DiCaprio is coming to save us all (if that joke didn't make sense it goes perfectly with the plot of Inception). I'm referring to the madness that was the VCU-Stephen F. Austin game, which broke twitter much more than any Ellen DeGeneres selfie. After staying close for the majority of the game despite coughing the ball up 17 times against a VCU defense that was the best in the nation in forcing turnovers during the regular season, Stephen F. Austin had to come back from 10 down with 3 minutes to go, and they did just that. Although the Lumberjacks got some help from VCU's very poor shooting from the free throw, they still remained down by 4 points with 10 seconds left and Jordan Burgress on the foul line for VCU. What occured next was so crazy that it made Project X look docile. Not only did Burgress, nearly a 70 percent free throw shooter, miss both free throws, but Desmond Haymond for Stephen F. Austin then nailed a three and got fouled. Why JaQuan Lewis got anywhere near a Stephen F. Austin player taking a three when the Rams were up four will be one of sport's biggest mysteries along with if the immaculate reception was really a legal catch, did Michael Jordan retire because of gambling in 1993, did Geoff Hurst goal really go in against West Germany in 1966, and did David Stern fix the 1985 NBA draft so that the Knicks could get Patrick Ewing (so I guess it's not as big of a question as those, but still, why did he get anywhere near a shooter up by four points in the waning seconds of the game). The Lumberjacks went on to win the crazy game in overtime, in a much better finish than the ending of The Sopranos.
You know the first two days are just something else when I haven't even mentioned Kansas escaping against 15th seeded Eastern Kentucky (the game was tied with 8 minutes to go), Louisville likewise narrowly beating Manhattan (the Cardinals needed two Luke Hancock threes to top the Jaspers by 6), Bryce Cotton breaking his back from nearly carrying Providence over North Carolina (the First Team All-Big East guard had 36 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds in the two point loss), or Adreian Payne setting a Michigan St. postseason record of 41 points against Delaware (he was 17 for 17 from the charity strike, breaking Bill Bradley and Fennis Dembo's free throw record without a miss). It wasn't an oversight on my part that I didn't mention the Gonzaga-Oklahoma St. because in a great two days of basketball that game had more whistles than the theme song of The Andy Griffith Show.
We can only hope that the rest of the tournament can come somewhere close to the greatest of the first two days and it certainly has the potential to do so. Every big tourney needs its fair share of giants, and this one is no different with Florida, Syracuse, Kansas, Michigan St., Arizona, Louisville, and Michigan amongst the favorites for the National Championship. We also have the storyline of Kentucky trying to bring all of their ridiculous talent together for a deep run in the dance (I don't see it because I just don't think they will get consistent enough guard play from the Harrison brothers). Not to mention the fact that Wichita St. is trying to become the 8th team to finish a season undefeated with a National Championship at the end of it (they would join Bill Russell's 1956 San Francisco team, Lennie Rosenbluth's 1957 North Carolina club, Gail Goodrich's 1964 UCLA squad, Lew Alcindor's 1967 UCLA club, Bill Walton's 1972 and 1973 UCLA teams, and Scott May's 1976 Indiana squad to have a perfect, title winning season).
I think it is safe to say that even the Russian judge loves March Madness.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
NCAA March Madness - West Regional Podcast
Cory's West Regional Bracket:
Round of 64:
1. Arizona
16. Weber St.
8. Gonzaga
9. Oklahoma St.
5. Oklahoma
12. North Dakota St.
4. San Diego St.
13. New Mexico St.
6. Baylor
11. Nebraska
3. Creighton
14. LA Lafayette
7. Oregon
10. BYU
2. Wisconsin
15. American
Round of 32:
1. Arizona
9. Oklahoma St.
5. Oklahoma
4. San Diego St.
11. Nebraska
3. Creighton
7. Oregon
2. Wisconsin
West Regional Semifinals:
1. Oklahoma St.
4. San Diego St.
3. Creighton
2. Wisconsin
West Regional Finals:
9. Oklahoma St.
2. Wisconsin
Rory's West Regional Bracket:
Round of 64:
1. Arizona
16. Weber St.
8. Gonzaga
9. Oklahoma St.
5. Oklahoma
12. North Dakota St.
4. San Diego St.
13. New Mexico St.
6. Baylor
11. Nebraska
3. Creighton
14. LA Lafayette
7. Oregon
10. BYU
2. Wisconsin
15. American
Round of 32:
1. Arizona
9. Oklahoma St.
12. North Dakota St.
4. San Diego St.
11. Nebraska
3. Creighton
7. Oregon
2. Wisconsin
West Regional Semifinals:
1. Arizona
4. San Diego St.
3. Creighton
2. Wisconsin
West Regional Finals:
1. Arizona
3. Creighton
NCAA March Madness - East Regional Podcast Part 2
Rory's East Regional Bracket:
Round of 64:
1. Virginia
16. Coastal Carolina
8. Memphis
9. George Washington
5. Cincinnati
12. Harvard
4. Michigan St.
13. Delaware
6. North Carolina
11. Providence
3. Iowa St.
14. NC Central
7. UConn
10. Saint Joseph's
2. Villanova
15. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Round of 32:
1. Virginia
8. Memphis
5. Cincinnati
4. Michigan St.
11. Providence
3. Iowa St.
7. UConn
2. Villanova
East Regional Semifinals:
1. Virginia
4. Michigan St.
3. Iowa St.
7. UConn
East Regional Finals:
1. Virginia
3. Iowa St.
NCAA March Madness - East Regional Podcast Part 1
Cory's East Regional Bracket:
Round of 64:
1. Virginia
16. Coastal Carolina
8. Memphis
9. George Washington
5. Cincinnati
12. Harvard
4. Michigan St.
13. Delaware
6. North Carolina
11. Providence
3. Iowa St.
14. NC Central
7. UConn
10. Saint Joseph's
2. Villanova
15. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Round of 32:
1. Virginia
8. Memphis
12. Harvard
4. Michigan St.
6. North Carolina
3. Iowa St.
7. UConn
2. Villanova
East Regional Semifinals:
1. Virginia
4. Michigan St.
3. Iowa St.
7. UConn
East Regional Finals:
4. Michigan St.
3. Iowa St.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
NCAA March Madness - South Regional Podcast
Cory's South Regional Bracket:
Round of 64:
1. Florida
16. Albany/Mount St. Mary's
8. Colorado
9. Pittsburgh
5. VCU
12. Stephen F. Austin
4. UCLA
13. Tulsa
6. Ohio St.
11. Dayton
3. Syracuse
14. Western Michigan
7. New Mexico
10. Stanford
2. Kansas
15. Eastern Kentucky
Round of 32:
1. Florida
9. Pittsburgh
5. VCU
4. UCLA
11. Dayton
3. Syracuse
7. New Mexico
2. Kansas
South Regional Semifinals:
1. Florida
4. UCLA
3. Syracuse
2. Kansas
South Regional Finals:
1. Florida
2. Kansas
Rory's South Regional Bracket:
Round of 64:
1. Florida
16. Albany/Mount St. Mary's
8. Colorado
9. Pittsburgh
5. VCU
12. Stephen F. Austin
4. UCLA
13. Tulsa
6. Ohio St.
11. Dayton
3. Syracuse
14. Western Michigan
7. New Mexico
10. Stanford
2. Kansas
15. Eastern Kentucky
Round of 32:
1. Florida
9. Pittsburgh
12. Stephen F. Austin
4. UCLA
11. Dayton
3. Syracuse
7. New Mexico
2. Kansas
South Regional Semifinals:
1. Florida
4. UCLA
11. Dayton
2. Kansas
South Regional Finals:
1. Florida
2. Kansas
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Saturday, March 1, 2014
The Craziness Of Kansas Winning Its 10th Consecutive Big 12 Regular Season Championship
Immediately after watching Kansas beat Oklahoma for its 10th consecutive Big 12 regular season championship, I began to search the web for the most impressive streaks in sports history.
I will admit that there was a rather long period somewhere in there where I played ESPN's NBA draft machine so that I could fantasize about the Celtics landing Joel Embiid or Andrew Wiggins.
A quick thought I had during my adventures on the draft machine that has nothing to do with the C's: I really like the trade that the 76ers made with the Pelicans during last year's NBA draft. Despite giving away a 23-year old point guard coming off a career year averaging 17 points and 8 assists per game, Philly not only got Nerlens Noel, who could be one of the league's best rim protectors like a Larry Sanders type, but they also got the most important thing of all, a top five protected pick in the best draft since AI, Kobe, Ray Allen and Steve Nash in 1996, or at the very least, since the superstar draft of 2003 with LeBron, Carmelo, Bosh, and Wade (funny how 3 of them are on the same team now).
The Pelicans should remain in the lottery, especially with Jrue Holiday's leg injury, Anthony Davis's shoulder problems, Al-Farouq Aminu and Luke Babbitt combining to play nearly 45 minutes a night, and the team allowing opponents to shoot 46 percent from the field, not to mention the fact that they are named the Pelicans and play in the Smoothie King Center (a close contest with the Overstock.com Coliseum, KFC Yum! Center, Sleep Train Arena, and Jobing.com Arena for the worst name of a stadium in sports). The 76ers could conceivable wind up with something like Jabari Parker and Aaron Gordon, Julius Randle and Rodney Hood, or Andrew Wiggins and Gary Harris in the lottery. Philly fans could actually see their lineup change from a bunch of guys that make the 1997-1998 Denver Nuggets cringe - no offense to Hollis Thompson, Henry Sims, and Elliot Williams - to a respectable core group of young players with the likes of MCW, who has the best acronym in pro sports other than AK47 or Run DMC, Noel, Tony Wroten, and whoever they draft this year.
I just wasted way too much time on a team that is 3-21 over the last two months, let the Bucks score 130 points in an actual NBA game, and is tanking as hard as Tulane did in 1985.
Anyway, back on topic, so here is the list that I have come up with for the best streaks in sports.
1. Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941
You know a streak is just crazy when it allows you to win a MVP over a guy that is still the last hitter to bat over .400 in a season and the only batter since Rogers Hornsby in 1924 to do so (many people do not realize that the sacrifice fly rule was not instituted into the MLB on a permanent basis until 1954, and therefore Williams would have actually batted .411 had the rule been in place). Who cares if I wasn't born until 54 years later, I'm still bitter about the splendid splinter losing out to DiMaggio (and the fact that Grady Little left Pedro in the game in 2003, but that's besides the point).
There is no doubt that it takes a little bit of luck to go 56 consecutive games with a hit, no matter who you are in baseball (unless maybe you are Babe Ruth in 1921). In fact, in 34 of those games during the hit streak, Joltin' Joe had just one hit and was just that close to losing the historic mark (in DiMaggio's 35th game of the hit streak he was 0-3 going into his final at-bat of the seventh inning and was fortunate enough that St. Louis Browns pitcher Bob Muncrief disobeyed his manager Luke Sewell and didn't walk him, allowing the Yankee Clipper to get a base hit in his final at-bat. Two games later against the St. Louis Browns again, DiMaggio only got a hit in his final at-bat in the 8th inning because Red Rolfe walked and got on base for him). No player has ever gotten close to threatening DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak, as Pete Rose is the only batter since to ever surpass 40 games in a row with a hit, but his streak ended at 44 in 1978.
Taking into account the fact that DiMaggio batted .357 in 1941, advanced metrics tells us that his probability of getting a hit for 56 straight games was the slimmest of odds at 1 to 40,000 (nearly the chance of being killed by an asteroid or comet, dying in a bath tub, or getting struck by lightning. I'm not even making this stuff up or am I? To take a page out of How I Met Your Mother, 83 percent of my statistics are just incorrect). Despite my reference to a show that has lasted 3 seasons too long, DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak is the most legendary run in sports for a very good reason, and the chances of another batter going 57 straight games with a hit is as likely as the Bobcats making the playoffs (oh wait, how could I forget that the East is the biggest joke since the Johnny Depp's The Lone Ranger. Your 27-30 Bobcats, ladies and gentleman, meet the 7th seed in the East right now).
2. Bryon Nelson's 11 Consecutive PGA Tour Wins
This run is far too underrated, as it is rarely ever mentioned in the conversation for the best streaks of all-time. It may have something to do with the fact that Nelson went on his roll in 1945 when televisions weren't even around (checking the Internet now to see if I'm just dead wrong with that fact too). Going five months without losing a tournament in a time period with golfers like Jimmy Demaret, Lloyd Mangrum, Ben Hogan, and Sam Snead is just insane. Lord Nelson (I feel like this has to be his name, especially after Lord Bendtner started trolling the world with Arsenal this year) won the 1945 PGA Championship during the streak, in a match play format, over a guy that played 8 years in major league baseball (contemplating if this should really be the second best streak ever).
In 2011, the top five golfers on the PGA tour's wins list did not even accumulate 11 victories combined during the season, and in the last 60 years, only Tiger Woods in 2000 (9 wins) and Vijay Singh in 2004 (9 wins) have had more than 8 wins in a season. Nelson eclipsed that in less than half a golf calendar in consecutive starts. In fact, Ben Hogan is the only golfer to have more wins in an entire PGA Tour year than Nelson did over the course of his ridiculous streak in five months, as Hogan had 13 victories in 1946, which included a PGA Championship at Portland Golf Club. Tiger Woods got close to Nelson's record in the 2006-2007 season, winning seven straights PGA tour events from the British Open in July to the Buick Invitational in January, but he still feel well short of Nelson's incredible mark. This streak will leave an indelible mark on history for its longevity, especially with Tiger Woods hooking his driver like he is Jim Furyk on the 16th tee at Olympic in 2012.
3. Roger Federer Making 23 Straight Appearances In Grand Slam Semifinals
This one I really struggled with just because of some of the other absurd streaks I was leaving off of this list. There are some consecutive start streaks that are just Inception mind-blowing (ok, not that far) such as Cal Ripken playing 2,632 straight games in an Oriole uniform (the guy closest to Ripken and the iron horse Lou Gehrig is Everett Scott at just 1,307 games, nearly an entire 8 seasons less) and Brett Favre starting in 297 straight NFL games. Hockey's version of DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak is Wayne Gretzky's glamorous streak of going 51 consecutive NHL games recording a point in 1983-1984 with the Edmonton Oilers (other than the great Mario Lemieux, who had a goal or assist in 46 straight games for the Penguins in 1989-1990, no other hockey players has ever eclipsed a 30-game NHL point streak). Finally, this should not come as a surprise, but Wilt Chamberlain has a bevy of records that deserve to be touched upon in this category. He had 126 straight games scoring at least 20 points from 1961 to 1963, seven straight games scoring 50 points in 1961 (not even Terrence Ross can do that), and a streak of nine games in 1967-1968 with the Philadelphia 76ers where he had a triple-double in each contest.
However, by a very slim margin, I think that Federer's run to 23 consecutive semifinals in majors is just a little bit more impressive than some of the aforementioned streaks. Federer went on his outrageous streak from Wimbledon in 2004 to the Australian Open in 2010, during a time when tennis saw the likes of Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin, Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic rise to prominence. To put in perspective just how impressive it is to go nearly six years (119 matches) without losing before the semifinals of a grand slam, the record before Federer went to 23 straight semifinals was just 10 (54 matches), set by the always exuberant and emotional Ivan Lendl from 1985 to 1988, showing that nobody is even in the same hemisphere with Federer for this record (it's like the Oscars was when 12 Years a Slave was nominated). Federer avoided upsets in grand slams for nearly six years, something that all-time great Rafael Nadal has struggled with, as he has gone down to low ranked players Lukas Rosol and Steve Darcis in consecutive Wimbledon opening rounds in 2012 and 2013. Federer was also able to remain amazingly consistent on all surfaces, unlike tennis legend Andre Agassi, who lost before the semifinals of the French Open 12 times in his career.
After going through these unfathomable streaks, I realized I had made one small error. (I promise a small misstep like Neil Armstrong forgetting to say one small step for "a" man or the crew of the Titanic not seeing the giant iceberg right in front of them, which was actually a pretty big blunder... but you know what I am saying) The streaks I had previously just discussed were all individual records and the subject of my article here is on Kansas's unbelievable team streak. Have no fear, though, because here is a list of the best team streaks in sports history.
1. 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers 33-Game Win Streak
Any evidence of just how how hard it is to rattle off win after win in the NBA was demonstated to us last year by the Miami Heat. Their 27-game win streak, which was the second longest run in NBA history, was just as difficult, if not more arduous, than capturing their second straight championship. The NBA is very different from the NFL from the standpoint that the season is so long, and filled with so many games, that it is impossible to bring the same spirit every night. Teams typically have a few games during the season where they just don't show up or don't play with the same energy as usual (unless it's the New York Knicks, who just decide to do this every night). While the Heat's win streak last year helped them stay motivated after coming off of an NBA title, their run took an inordinate demanding toll on the team. Towards the end of the streak, the Heat were so drained that they had to come back from double-digits almost every night just to somehow escape and keep the run alive (the Heat had four consecutive double-digit comebacks towards the end of the streak - a 17-point comeback against the Celtics, a 27-point comeback against the Cavs - tied for the 8th biggest comeback of all-time, a 11-point comeback against the Pistons, and a 11-point comeback against the Bobcats - and they had to come from behind 11 times in the fourth quarter during their run).
The Los Angeles Lakers went on this same exact run in the 1970s except they went on to win 6 more games than the Heat, bringing their total to 33 in a time when the league was not as watered down as it is today (there were only 17 teams in the league in 1971-1972, as opposed to the 30 that are in the NBA today, meaning the Lakers had to face Kareem's Bucks, Havlicek's Celtics, Frazier's Knicks, and Archibald's Royals almost every night, and even the other few teams in the league still were made up of the NBA's best since there weren't as many players in the game). Obviously, it becomes a lot easier to set a ridiculous NBA record with a team of Gail Goodrich, Jerry West, and Wilt Chamberlain, but it doesn't matter who is on the floor, because going 40 percent of a season without losing a single game is just crazy.
2. UCLA's 7 Consecutive NCAA Titles From 1967 to 1973:
UCLA was fortunate enough to hire John Wooden from Indiana St. in 1948, the greatest maverick basketball has ever seen (and to think that if there wasn't a snowstorm in the Midwest, Wooden would stayed in the region and gone to Minnesota. Imagine this story today: Wooden chooses Minnesota over UCLA because a snowstorm knocked out the Golphers phone-lines and he thought he had been passed over for their job). The Wizard of Westwood was not only a genius from a basketball scheming standpoint, implementing the high post into his offense like no one before him, but his "Pyramid of Success" and other motivational sayings have become a trademark for what coaches around the country use today.
However, a wizard is only as good as his tricks, and Wooden's magic was his players (I feel like I'm explaining the plot of Now You See Me). The amazing part about UCLA's 7 NCAA Championships in a row was that they did it with so many different stars leading the way.
When the Bruins won their titles in 1966-1967, 1967-1968, and 1968-1969, Lew Alcindor was the team's 3-time NCAA Player of the Year (it needs to be mentioned that he also got a lot of help from Lucius Allen during the first two titles). UCLA's next two championships in 1969-1970 and 1970-1971 were from a more balanced attack with All-Americans Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe leading the way. The Bruins final two NCAA titles of their unprecedented run were lead by arguably the greatest college basketball player of all-time, 3-time NCAA Player of the Year Bill Walton, and his sidekick, Keith Wilkes, in 1971-1972 and 1972-1973. UCLA won 28 straight NCAA tournament games over the stretch (the Bruins actually won 38 straight overall from 1964 to 1974 because they won the title in 1964 and 1965 and didn't make the tournament in 1966 before going on their streak from 1967 to 1973. Duke has the next most tournament wins in a row with just 13 from 1991 to 1993). While the Bruins won 7 titles in a row, no other college basketball team has been able to win more than two consecutive titles (Oklahoma A&M won in 1945 and 1946, Kentucky had a repeat in 1949 after winning in 1948, San Francisco won two in a row in 1955 and 1956, Cincinnati went back-to-back in 1961 and 1962, Duke won in 1991 and again in 1992, and Florida won two straight titles in 2006 and 2007). This record is definitely very safe (much like how Ukraine is safe from Russian intervention, just kidding on that one).
3. Boston Celtics 8 Straight NBA Championships From 1958-1959 to 1965-1966:
The two greatest dynasties in the history of sports (aside from the Mighty Ducks series) deserve to have their historic title runs next to each other for the final part of our greatest team streaks of all-time. Both UCLA during the 1960s and into the 1970s and the Celtics from the late 1950s and into the 1960s had an impeccable formula for success, an ingenious and shrewd head coach and a team littered with transcendent superstar players. The similarities between the clubs is apparent, as the teams have more in common than the plots of Skyline and Battle: Los Angeles or White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen. Much like how UCLA had John Wooden, the Celtics had the greatest coach in the history of the NBA with Red Auerbach (fun game to play: name all the players or coaches with a color in their name - Red Auerbach, Paul Brown, A.C. Green, Tim Brown, Vida Blue - this game is not as much fun I first thought). Auerbach was a coaching visionary, getting the Celtics to play together as a team at a level that no other coach had been able to do before him, and paraphrasing DJ Khaled "all he did was win" (Red had one of my favorite sports quotes: "Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser"). I just did an injustice to society by quoting DJ Khaled and then Red Auerbach, but at least I didn't quote Tom Cruise.
Much like how UCLA had a collection of different stars during their title runs, Auerbach also had to make sure his various superstars were able to coexist and thrive at a high level. This was made much easier with the "constant" he had in his lineup throughout the Celtics 8 straight NBA Championships, Bill Russell. The greatest center in NBA history was the defensive cornerstone of Boston's championship runs and he just cleared everything on the glass. In the Celtics early title years, Russell teamed up with Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn, and Frank Ramsey for basketball domination. However, towards the end of the run, it was stars like Sam Jones, John Havlicek, and Tom Sanders that helped Russell continue the Celtics streak, and round out their 8th straight NBA title. In the playoffs from 1958-1959 to 1965-1966, Boston had an incredible record of 64-31, and no other team has ever won more than three NBA titles in a row. Put it this way: the Celtics were so good that their 8 playoff victories in each of their NBA playoff runs is just as many postseason wins as the Washington Bullets/Wizards have had in the least 26 years, or since 1988.
After spending a significant amount of time looking at the best individual and team streaks in the history of sports (my lists were as long as Lawrence of Arabia, except I'm not Peter O'Toole), it is time to look at a run right now in college basketball that is already quite impressive, and could, if it continues, be one of the best team streaks of all-time. I'm referring to Kansas's 10 straight Big 12 regular season titles, which is quickly becoming one of college basketball's most amazing streaks (pales in comparison to Adam Sandler's streak of being in just atrocious movies though).
Before I begin with my main point, let me assert that I am not one of those people who think that the college basketball regular season is totally meaningless (anybody who watched either one of those Syracuse-Duke games this year can tell you that there are some really great games that happen during a college basketball season). While I believe the college basketball season still matters, many people would agree that it has been devalued a little bit by the expansion of the tournament field to 68 teams, as the difficulty of reaching the postseason has drastically decreased for big budget institutions. Meanwhile, for as much as people have condemned the BCS like it is the Arizona religious freedom bill, the value of the college football season cannot be argued, as it provides fans with the most exciting regular season in all of sports, and that's not even close! Each and every week teams are playing with National Championship implicatoins because one loss can take you out of the National Championship picture (just ask Michigan State).
However, people that solely judge a program's success in college basketball based on their performance in the Big Dance, and do not even care about the team's play in the regular season, are making a little bit of a negligent assessment. I know way too many fans that have been calling for Josh Pastner's job because some of Memphis's postseason failures over the past three years (the Tigers have only had one tournament win since Pastner took over, despite the fact that they are 106-34 over the span).
Much like Josh Pastner, John Thompson, Mark Few, and even Bo Ryan to a certain extent, Bill Self has had some bad postseason losses over the years at Kansas. In 2005, as a three seed, Kansas was stunned by Patriot League foe Bucknell in the first round of the tournament in a shocking loss, and the following year, this time as a 4 seed, the Jayhawks fell to Missouri Valley's Bradley University, once again in their opening game. Then came Kansas's loss to 9th seeded Northern Iowa in the second round in 2010 and finally their defeat to 11th seeded VCU in the Elite Eight the following year, both of which came in tournaments where Kansas was a number one seed and one of the major favorites for to win a National Championship. Obviously, sports are all about winning, and if a coach's team continues to struggle in the postseason, then there are going to be some real reasons for concern. However, Self won a National Title in 2008 and got to the NCAA Championship Game two years later in 2010 (Steve Fisher, Billy Donovan, Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams, and Coach K are the only active coaches with more title appearances than Self).
The debate over the job that Self has done with some of his very talented teams in the postseason can be deliberated until you are red in the face, like the kid from Insidious. However, much like how many people look at college basketball through the vacuum of how teams perform in the postseason, which I don't necessarily entirely agree with, lets look at Kansas's amazing Big 12 championship winning run through the prism of their accomplishments solely in the regular season. When viewing Kansas's streak from this standpoint, and not letting everything else cloud your mind, it is rather conspicuous to see just how impressive their run has been, as it shows an incredible amount of consistency (the last time Kansas didn't win a Big 12 title, our world had the privilege of not knowing Justin Bieber) .
Kansas's streak of 10 Big 12 regular season championships in a row is almost unprecedented in the great history of college hoops. It is tied for the third longest streak of consecutive conference titles, only behind UCLA's 13 straight conference titles from 1967 to 1979, Gonzaga's 11 West Coast Conference championships in a row from 2001 to 2011, and tied with Connecticut's 10 straight conference titles from 1951 to 1960 and UNLV's 10 consecutive Big West championships from 1983 to 1992.
However, I would say that Kansas's run is more impressive than the other schools that have had at least 10 conference titles in a row other than UCLA. While it is obviously very hard to finish at the top of any conference year after year, some of the other teams in this conversation did so in much easier leagues. Gonzaga only really had to compete with Saint Mary's out West and although the Gaels did have the beast that was Omar Samhan in 2010, the Zags have not really faced any real competition for the WCC crown. The same goes for UNLV, who played in the very weak Big West conference, a league that only had one team make the tournament four of the ten years UNLV won the conference. Similarly, not only did UConn have their conference dominance in a league called the Yankee Conference, (the only worse conference idea was naming the Big 10 divisions Leaders and Legends) but their biggest competition was also Rhode Island in a very weak six team league. However, Kansas has won 10 consecutive conference titles in the very competitive Big 12, one of the powerhouse leagues in college basketball with top tier programs like Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., and Kansas State (although playing Colorado each year was nice for Kansas before they left for the Pac-12).
In modern day college basketball, no team has come anywhere close to matching the prolific success that Self has had with the Jayhawks in the Big 12, as Kansas is 138-25 over the past ten years in conference games. Coming into this season, Harvard from the Ivy League, Bucknell in the Patriot League, Long Beach St. from the Big West, and Belmont, in the Atlantic Sun first and later moving to the Ohio Valley Conference, are the programs with the longest current conference championship streak at just three in a row, and none of them are in college basketball's major leagues.
Even some of college hoops most dominate teams have never had the same conference supremacy as Kansas has had over the past 10 years with Self. Coach K, who has the most Division I wins, has won 12 ACC Championships, but his longest run of conference titles is 5 in a row from 1997 to 2001. Tom Izzo, whose 6 Final Fours in 12 years have only been matched by John Wooden and Coach K, has won 7 Big Ten regular season titles at Michigan St., but his longest streak of conference championships is 4, which happened from 1998 to 2001. Jim Boehim, who has had the most wins at one school in Division I history, has won 9 Big East Championships, but he has never won more than 2 consecutive conference championships. Billy Donovan, who is one of just seven coaches to lead a team to back-to-back National Championships, has won 7 SEC regular season titles at Florida, but his longest streak of conference championships is 3, which occurred from 2000 to 2002. Finally, Rick Pitino, who is the only coach to take three different programs to the Final Four, has won 7 conference championships in 22 years at Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville, but has never had more than a back-to-back regular season crown.
One of the most impressive parts about Kansas's Big 12 regular season titles streak is that they have done it with so many different players, as the Jayhawks have had to sometimes face yearly changes in their personnel on the floor, and their assistant coaches on the sidelines. In the Jayhawks 10 consecutive conference championships, they have had a different player lead their team in overall scoring 8 times (Wayne Simien in 2005, Brandon Rush in 2006, Darrell Arthur in 2008, Sherron Collins in 2009, Marcus Morris in 2011, Thomas Robinson in 2012, Ben McLeMore in 2013, and Andrew Wiggins this year). While the early Jayhawk teams had role players like Mario Chalmers and Julian Wright, those players quickly morphed into glue guys like Cole Aldrich, Tyshawn Taylor, Markieff Morris, Jeff Withey, and Trevis Releford.
Another amazing feat that the Jayhawks have had over their title winning stretch in the Big 12 is that in the day of one-and-done players, the program has been able to retool each year, often times having a bench player step into the lineup after someone departed to the NBA, and playing just as well as the previous starter. Self has certainly had some prominent one year college stars like Xavier Henry in 2010 and Ben McLemore (red-shirt freshman) last year, but many of his main contributors have stayed in school and become star players after sitting on the bench and learning how to improve in the fast-paced nature of college hoops (you would think this would happen everywhere in college basketball, where a starter leaves, and a bench guy replaces him and steps up to fill the void, but it really doesn't. Often times, if you aren't a star your freshman or sophomore year, or don't show flashes of talent, the team forgets about you). Sherron Collins played fairly well behind Mario Chalmers in Kansas's 2007 and 2008 teams, and then was a second team All-American in 2009 and a first team All-American in 2010 when he was handed the keys to the offense. Jeff Withey played behind future first round pick Cole Aldrich and didn't see a lot of court time in 2010, but by the end of his career, his resume included a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2012 and a Co-National Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. Despite averaging 20 points and 17 rebounds per 40 minutes, Thomas Robinson only played 15 minutes per game for Kansas in 2011 because the team was led by the Morris brothers (so many brother combinations in sports right now: Lopez brothers, Bryan brothers, Sedin brothers, Pouncy brothers, McCourty brothers). However, after improving his mid-range game and getting much stronger, Robinson was the Big 12 Player of the Year and a first team All-American in 2012.
The scary thing about Kansas is that their future looks as bright as Rihanna's forehead (my best analogy ever), as they could actually be better next year than they are this year. Andrew Wiggins is going to leave for the draft after this season although I think that Jabari Parker and Julius Randle are more ready to play in the NBA given their rookie seasons (hopefully he doesn't follow in the footsteps of fellow Canadian Anthony Bennett, whose 4 points per game and 21.6 three point percentage puts him dangerously close to being the worst #1 overall pick since Josh Smith, Michael Olowokandi, or Kwame Brown). While I think Joel Embiid could greatly improve by staying in school and working on his very raw offense game (remember that he has only been playing organized basketball for 3 years), my instincts tells me he will leave school, just because it is so hard to turn down being a lock for a top 3 pick in the NBA draft. Even in the worse case scenario, where both Wiggins and Embiid depart for the pros, the Jayhawks are likely going to return a back-court of Naadir Tharpe and Wayne Selden Jr., along with Perry Ellis down low. Self is also adding two top-11, five-star recruits, according to ESPN, with power forward Cliff Alexander and small forward Kelly Oubre, who should make Kansas a real National title threat. A starting lineup of Tharpe, Selden, Oubre, Ellis, and Alexander (and possibly Embiid if he pulls a Marcus Smart, minus the fan pushing) could make the Jayhawks the pre-season #1 in college basketball next year and begin their push towards challenging the longest streak of conference or divisional championships in sports: the Braves 14 straight NL divisional titles from 1991 to 2005. However, the Braves streak is not as impressive as Kansas's run since they won 11 of those championships in a five team NL East, which is actually four teams since the Mets were part of the division!
To wrap up this 5,535 word monster, I don't think that the impact of the Jayhawk faithful can be underestimated when it comes to looking at Kansas's unparalleled Big 12 dominance. Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, the KU fanbase, has been the fortress for Kansas's supremacy for years, and opponents that have enter Allen Fieldhouse have become more poised with clouded thoughts, uncertainty, and doubt than Othello in the Shakespearean tragedy. Since the Jayhawks streak began in 2005, their record on James Naismith Court is an astonishing 77-5 in Big 12 Conference games, and they have one game left to play at home this season against Texas Tech. Fanaticism is not only present in Cuba with the following of Castro, but it is also evident in college basketball gyms throughout the country, especially at Kansas.
This brings me to a story about my brother, Rory. One day in Florida he was getting out of an elevator when he saw somebody wearing an Alabama shirt (unfortunately for him, it wasn't Katherine Webb). As the man was getting into the elevator, Rory said to him, "roll tide," and he got a very emphatic "roll tide" right back. He told me it was one of the happiest moments of his life. It is the small things that make sports fans happy. Of course we would want a nice porsche or a big time job, but what we really want more than anything is for Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving to get along, or for the Raiders to finally get a quarterback, or for Ricky Rubio to stop shooting like he is Victor Oladipo or even, gasp, Josh Smith. As ESPN so perfectly coined, "It's Not Crazy, It's Sports."
I will admit that there was a rather long period somewhere in there where I played ESPN's NBA draft machine so that I could fantasize about the Celtics landing Joel Embiid or Andrew Wiggins.
A quick thought I had during my adventures on the draft machine that has nothing to do with the C's: I really like the trade that the 76ers made with the Pelicans during last year's NBA draft. Despite giving away a 23-year old point guard coming off a career year averaging 17 points and 8 assists per game, Philly not only got Nerlens Noel, who could be one of the league's best rim protectors like a Larry Sanders type, but they also got the most important thing of all, a top five protected pick in the best draft since AI, Kobe, Ray Allen and Steve Nash in 1996, or at the very least, since the superstar draft of 2003 with LeBron, Carmelo, Bosh, and Wade (funny how 3 of them are on the same team now).
The Pelicans should remain in the lottery, especially with Jrue Holiday's leg injury, Anthony Davis's shoulder problems, Al-Farouq Aminu and Luke Babbitt combining to play nearly 45 minutes a night, and the team allowing opponents to shoot 46 percent from the field, not to mention the fact that they are named the Pelicans and play in the Smoothie King Center (a close contest with the Overstock.com Coliseum, KFC Yum! Center, Sleep Train Arena, and Jobing.com Arena for the worst name of a stadium in sports). The 76ers could conceivable wind up with something like Jabari Parker and Aaron Gordon, Julius Randle and Rodney Hood, or Andrew Wiggins and Gary Harris in the lottery. Philly fans could actually see their lineup change from a bunch of guys that make the 1997-1998 Denver Nuggets cringe - no offense to Hollis Thompson, Henry Sims, and Elliot Williams - to a respectable core group of young players with the likes of MCW, who has the best acronym in pro sports other than AK47 or Run DMC, Noel, Tony Wroten, and whoever they draft this year.
I just wasted way too much time on a team that is 3-21 over the last two months, let the Bucks score 130 points in an actual NBA game, and is tanking as hard as Tulane did in 1985.
Anyway, back on topic, so here is the list that I have come up with for the best streaks in sports.
1. Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941
You know a streak is just crazy when it allows you to win a MVP over a guy that is still the last hitter to bat over .400 in a season and the only batter since Rogers Hornsby in 1924 to do so (many people do not realize that the sacrifice fly rule was not instituted into the MLB on a permanent basis until 1954, and therefore Williams would have actually batted .411 had the rule been in place). Who cares if I wasn't born until 54 years later, I'm still bitter about the splendid splinter losing out to DiMaggio (and the fact that Grady Little left Pedro in the game in 2003, but that's besides the point).
There is no doubt that it takes a little bit of luck to go 56 consecutive games with a hit, no matter who you are in baseball (unless maybe you are Babe Ruth in 1921). In fact, in 34 of those games during the hit streak, Joltin' Joe had just one hit and was just that close to losing the historic mark (in DiMaggio's 35th game of the hit streak he was 0-3 going into his final at-bat of the seventh inning and was fortunate enough that St. Louis Browns pitcher Bob Muncrief disobeyed his manager Luke Sewell and didn't walk him, allowing the Yankee Clipper to get a base hit in his final at-bat. Two games later against the St. Louis Browns again, DiMaggio only got a hit in his final at-bat in the 8th inning because Red Rolfe walked and got on base for him). No player has ever gotten close to threatening DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak, as Pete Rose is the only batter since to ever surpass 40 games in a row with a hit, but his streak ended at 44 in 1978.
Taking into account the fact that DiMaggio batted .357 in 1941, advanced metrics tells us that his probability of getting a hit for 56 straight games was the slimmest of odds at 1 to 40,000 (nearly the chance of being killed by an asteroid or comet, dying in a bath tub, or getting struck by lightning. I'm not even making this stuff up or am I? To take a page out of How I Met Your Mother, 83 percent of my statistics are just incorrect). Despite my reference to a show that has lasted 3 seasons too long, DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak is the most legendary run in sports for a very good reason, and the chances of another batter going 57 straight games with a hit is as likely as the Bobcats making the playoffs (oh wait, how could I forget that the East is the biggest joke since the Johnny Depp's The Lone Ranger. Your 27-30 Bobcats, ladies and gentleman, meet the 7th seed in the East right now).
2. Bryon Nelson's 11 Consecutive PGA Tour Wins
This run is far too underrated, as it is rarely ever mentioned in the conversation for the best streaks of all-time. It may have something to do with the fact that Nelson went on his roll in 1945 when televisions weren't even around (checking the Internet now to see if I'm just dead wrong with that fact too). Going five months without losing a tournament in a time period with golfers like Jimmy Demaret, Lloyd Mangrum, Ben Hogan, and Sam Snead is just insane. Lord Nelson (I feel like this has to be his name, especially after Lord Bendtner started trolling the world with Arsenal this year) won the 1945 PGA Championship during the streak, in a match play format, over a guy that played 8 years in major league baseball (contemplating if this should really be the second best streak ever).
In 2011, the top five golfers on the PGA tour's wins list did not even accumulate 11 victories combined during the season, and in the last 60 years, only Tiger Woods in 2000 (9 wins) and Vijay Singh in 2004 (9 wins) have had more than 8 wins in a season. Nelson eclipsed that in less than half a golf calendar in consecutive starts. In fact, Ben Hogan is the only golfer to have more wins in an entire PGA Tour year than Nelson did over the course of his ridiculous streak in five months, as Hogan had 13 victories in 1946, which included a PGA Championship at Portland Golf Club. Tiger Woods got close to Nelson's record in the 2006-2007 season, winning seven straights PGA tour events from the British Open in July to the Buick Invitational in January, but he still feel well short of Nelson's incredible mark. This streak will leave an indelible mark on history for its longevity, especially with Tiger Woods hooking his driver like he is Jim Furyk on the 16th tee at Olympic in 2012.
3. Roger Federer Making 23 Straight Appearances In Grand Slam Semifinals
This one I really struggled with just because of some of the other absurd streaks I was leaving off of this list. There are some consecutive start streaks that are just Inception mind-blowing (ok, not that far) such as Cal Ripken playing 2,632 straight games in an Oriole uniform (the guy closest to Ripken and the iron horse Lou Gehrig is Everett Scott at just 1,307 games, nearly an entire 8 seasons less) and Brett Favre starting in 297 straight NFL games. Hockey's version of DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak is Wayne Gretzky's glamorous streak of going 51 consecutive NHL games recording a point in 1983-1984 with the Edmonton Oilers (other than the great Mario Lemieux, who had a goal or assist in 46 straight games for the Penguins in 1989-1990, no other hockey players has ever eclipsed a 30-game NHL point streak). Finally, this should not come as a surprise, but Wilt Chamberlain has a bevy of records that deserve to be touched upon in this category. He had 126 straight games scoring at least 20 points from 1961 to 1963, seven straight games scoring 50 points in 1961 (not even Terrence Ross can do that), and a streak of nine games in 1967-1968 with the Philadelphia 76ers where he had a triple-double in each contest.
However, by a very slim margin, I think that Federer's run to 23 consecutive semifinals in majors is just a little bit more impressive than some of the aforementioned streaks. Federer went on his outrageous streak from Wimbledon in 2004 to the Australian Open in 2010, during a time when tennis saw the likes of Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin, Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic rise to prominence. To put in perspective just how impressive it is to go nearly six years (119 matches) without losing before the semifinals of a grand slam, the record before Federer went to 23 straight semifinals was just 10 (54 matches), set by the always exuberant and emotional Ivan Lendl from 1985 to 1988, showing that nobody is even in the same hemisphere with Federer for this record (it's like the Oscars was when 12 Years a Slave was nominated). Federer avoided upsets in grand slams for nearly six years, something that all-time great Rafael Nadal has struggled with, as he has gone down to low ranked players Lukas Rosol and Steve Darcis in consecutive Wimbledon opening rounds in 2012 and 2013. Federer was also able to remain amazingly consistent on all surfaces, unlike tennis legend Andre Agassi, who lost before the semifinals of the French Open 12 times in his career.
After going through these unfathomable streaks, I realized I had made one small error. (I promise a small misstep like Neil Armstrong forgetting to say one small step for "a" man or the crew of the Titanic not seeing the giant iceberg right in front of them, which was actually a pretty big blunder... but you know what I am saying) The streaks I had previously just discussed were all individual records and the subject of my article here is on Kansas's unbelievable team streak. Have no fear, though, because here is a list of the best team streaks in sports history.
1. 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers 33-Game Win Streak
Any evidence of just how how hard it is to rattle off win after win in the NBA was demonstated to us last year by the Miami Heat. Their 27-game win streak, which was the second longest run in NBA history, was just as difficult, if not more arduous, than capturing their second straight championship. The NBA is very different from the NFL from the standpoint that the season is so long, and filled with so many games, that it is impossible to bring the same spirit every night. Teams typically have a few games during the season where they just don't show up or don't play with the same energy as usual (unless it's the New York Knicks, who just decide to do this every night). While the Heat's win streak last year helped them stay motivated after coming off of an NBA title, their run took an inordinate demanding toll on the team. Towards the end of the streak, the Heat were so drained that they had to come back from double-digits almost every night just to somehow escape and keep the run alive (the Heat had four consecutive double-digit comebacks towards the end of the streak - a 17-point comeback against the Celtics, a 27-point comeback against the Cavs - tied for the 8th biggest comeback of all-time, a 11-point comeback against the Pistons, and a 11-point comeback against the Bobcats - and they had to come from behind 11 times in the fourth quarter during their run).
The Los Angeles Lakers went on this same exact run in the 1970s except they went on to win 6 more games than the Heat, bringing their total to 33 in a time when the league was not as watered down as it is today (there were only 17 teams in the league in 1971-1972, as opposed to the 30 that are in the NBA today, meaning the Lakers had to face Kareem's Bucks, Havlicek's Celtics, Frazier's Knicks, and Archibald's Royals almost every night, and even the other few teams in the league still were made up of the NBA's best since there weren't as many players in the game). Obviously, it becomes a lot easier to set a ridiculous NBA record with a team of Gail Goodrich, Jerry West, and Wilt Chamberlain, but it doesn't matter who is on the floor, because going 40 percent of a season without losing a single game is just crazy.
2. UCLA's 7 Consecutive NCAA Titles From 1967 to 1973:
UCLA was fortunate enough to hire John Wooden from Indiana St. in 1948, the greatest maverick basketball has ever seen (and to think that if there wasn't a snowstorm in the Midwest, Wooden would stayed in the region and gone to Minnesota. Imagine this story today: Wooden chooses Minnesota over UCLA because a snowstorm knocked out the Golphers phone-lines and he thought he had been passed over for their job). The Wizard of Westwood was not only a genius from a basketball scheming standpoint, implementing the high post into his offense like no one before him, but his "Pyramid of Success" and other motivational sayings have become a trademark for what coaches around the country use today.
However, a wizard is only as good as his tricks, and Wooden's magic was his players (I feel like I'm explaining the plot of Now You See Me). The amazing part about UCLA's 7 NCAA Championships in a row was that they did it with so many different stars leading the way.
When the Bruins won their titles in 1966-1967, 1967-1968, and 1968-1969, Lew Alcindor was the team's 3-time NCAA Player of the Year (it needs to be mentioned that he also got a lot of help from Lucius Allen during the first two titles). UCLA's next two championships in 1969-1970 and 1970-1971 were from a more balanced attack with All-Americans Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe leading the way. The Bruins final two NCAA titles of their unprecedented run were lead by arguably the greatest college basketball player of all-time, 3-time NCAA Player of the Year Bill Walton, and his sidekick, Keith Wilkes, in 1971-1972 and 1972-1973. UCLA won 28 straight NCAA tournament games over the stretch (the Bruins actually won 38 straight overall from 1964 to 1974 because they won the title in 1964 and 1965 and didn't make the tournament in 1966 before going on their streak from 1967 to 1973. Duke has the next most tournament wins in a row with just 13 from 1991 to 1993). While the Bruins won 7 titles in a row, no other college basketball team has been able to win more than two consecutive titles (Oklahoma A&M won in 1945 and 1946, Kentucky had a repeat in 1949 after winning in 1948, San Francisco won two in a row in 1955 and 1956, Cincinnati went back-to-back in 1961 and 1962, Duke won in 1991 and again in 1992, and Florida won two straight titles in 2006 and 2007). This record is definitely very safe (much like how Ukraine is safe from Russian intervention, just kidding on that one).
3. Boston Celtics 8 Straight NBA Championships From 1958-1959 to 1965-1966:
The two greatest dynasties in the history of sports (aside from the Mighty Ducks series) deserve to have their historic title runs next to each other for the final part of our greatest team streaks of all-time. Both UCLA during the 1960s and into the 1970s and the Celtics from the late 1950s and into the 1960s had an impeccable formula for success, an ingenious and shrewd head coach and a team littered with transcendent superstar players. The similarities between the clubs is apparent, as the teams have more in common than the plots of Skyline and Battle: Los Angeles or White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen. Much like how UCLA had John Wooden, the Celtics had the greatest coach in the history of the NBA with Red Auerbach (fun game to play: name all the players or coaches with a color in their name - Red Auerbach, Paul Brown, A.C. Green, Tim Brown, Vida Blue - this game is not as much fun I first thought). Auerbach was a coaching visionary, getting the Celtics to play together as a team at a level that no other coach had been able to do before him, and paraphrasing DJ Khaled "all he did was win" (Red had one of my favorite sports quotes: "Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser"). I just did an injustice to society by quoting DJ Khaled and then Red Auerbach, but at least I didn't quote Tom Cruise.
Much like how UCLA had a collection of different stars during their title runs, Auerbach also had to make sure his various superstars were able to coexist and thrive at a high level. This was made much easier with the "constant" he had in his lineup throughout the Celtics 8 straight NBA Championships, Bill Russell. The greatest center in NBA history was the defensive cornerstone of Boston's championship runs and he just cleared everything on the glass. In the Celtics early title years, Russell teamed up with Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn, and Frank Ramsey for basketball domination. However, towards the end of the run, it was stars like Sam Jones, John Havlicek, and Tom Sanders that helped Russell continue the Celtics streak, and round out their 8th straight NBA title. In the playoffs from 1958-1959 to 1965-1966, Boston had an incredible record of 64-31, and no other team has ever won more than three NBA titles in a row. Put it this way: the Celtics were so good that their 8 playoff victories in each of their NBA playoff runs is just as many postseason wins as the Washington Bullets/Wizards have had in the least 26 years, or since 1988.
After spending a significant amount of time looking at the best individual and team streaks in the history of sports (my lists were as long as Lawrence of Arabia, except I'm not Peter O'Toole), it is time to look at a run right now in college basketball that is already quite impressive, and could, if it continues, be one of the best team streaks of all-time. I'm referring to Kansas's 10 straight Big 12 regular season titles, which is quickly becoming one of college basketball's most amazing streaks (pales in comparison to Adam Sandler's streak of being in just atrocious movies though).
Before I begin with my main point, let me assert that I am not one of those people who think that the college basketball regular season is totally meaningless (anybody who watched either one of those Syracuse-Duke games this year can tell you that there are some really great games that happen during a college basketball season). While I believe the college basketball season still matters, many people would agree that it has been devalued a little bit by the expansion of the tournament field to 68 teams, as the difficulty of reaching the postseason has drastically decreased for big budget institutions. Meanwhile, for as much as people have condemned the BCS like it is the Arizona religious freedom bill, the value of the college football season cannot be argued, as it provides fans with the most exciting regular season in all of sports, and that's not even close! Each and every week teams are playing with National Championship implicatoins because one loss can take you out of the National Championship picture (just ask Michigan State).
However, people that solely judge a program's success in college basketball based on their performance in the Big Dance, and do not even care about the team's play in the regular season, are making a little bit of a negligent assessment. I know way too many fans that have been calling for Josh Pastner's job because some of Memphis's postseason failures over the past three years (the Tigers have only had one tournament win since Pastner took over, despite the fact that they are 106-34 over the span).
Much like Josh Pastner, John Thompson, Mark Few, and even Bo Ryan to a certain extent, Bill Self has had some bad postseason losses over the years at Kansas. In 2005, as a three seed, Kansas was stunned by Patriot League foe Bucknell in the first round of the tournament in a shocking loss, and the following year, this time as a 4 seed, the Jayhawks fell to Missouri Valley's Bradley University, once again in their opening game. Then came Kansas's loss to 9th seeded Northern Iowa in the second round in 2010 and finally their defeat to 11th seeded VCU in the Elite Eight the following year, both of which came in tournaments where Kansas was a number one seed and one of the major favorites for to win a National Championship. Obviously, sports are all about winning, and if a coach's team continues to struggle in the postseason, then there are going to be some real reasons for concern. However, Self won a National Title in 2008 and got to the NCAA Championship Game two years later in 2010 (Steve Fisher, Billy Donovan, Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams, and Coach K are the only active coaches with more title appearances than Self).
The debate over the job that Self has done with some of his very talented teams in the postseason can be deliberated until you are red in the face, like the kid from Insidious. However, much like how many people look at college basketball through the vacuum of how teams perform in the postseason, which I don't necessarily entirely agree with, lets look at Kansas's amazing Big 12 championship winning run through the prism of their accomplishments solely in the regular season. When viewing Kansas's streak from this standpoint, and not letting everything else cloud your mind, it is rather conspicuous to see just how impressive their run has been, as it shows an incredible amount of consistency (the last time Kansas didn't win a Big 12 title, our world had the privilege of not knowing Justin Bieber) .
Kansas's streak of 10 Big 12 regular season championships in a row is almost unprecedented in the great history of college hoops. It is tied for the third longest streak of consecutive conference titles, only behind UCLA's 13 straight conference titles from 1967 to 1979, Gonzaga's 11 West Coast Conference championships in a row from 2001 to 2011, and tied with Connecticut's 10 straight conference titles from 1951 to 1960 and UNLV's 10 consecutive Big West championships from 1983 to 1992.
However, I would say that Kansas's run is more impressive than the other schools that have had at least 10 conference titles in a row other than UCLA. While it is obviously very hard to finish at the top of any conference year after year, some of the other teams in this conversation did so in much easier leagues. Gonzaga only really had to compete with Saint Mary's out West and although the Gaels did have the beast that was Omar Samhan in 2010, the Zags have not really faced any real competition for the WCC crown. The same goes for UNLV, who played in the very weak Big West conference, a league that only had one team make the tournament four of the ten years UNLV won the conference. Similarly, not only did UConn have their conference dominance in a league called the Yankee Conference, (the only worse conference idea was naming the Big 10 divisions Leaders and Legends) but their biggest competition was also Rhode Island in a very weak six team league. However, Kansas has won 10 consecutive conference titles in the very competitive Big 12, one of the powerhouse leagues in college basketball with top tier programs like Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., and Kansas State (although playing Colorado each year was nice for Kansas before they left for the Pac-12).
In modern day college basketball, no team has come anywhere close to matching the prolific success that Self has had with the Jayhawks in the Big 12, as Kansas is 138-25 over the past ten years in conference games. Coming into this season, Harvard from the Ivy League, Bucknell in the Patriot League, Long Beach St. from the Big West, and Belmont, in the Atlantic Sun first and later moving to the Ohio Valley Conference, are the programs with the longest current conference championship streak at just three in a row, and none of them are in college basketball's major leagues.
Even some of college hoops most dominate teams have never had the same conference supremacy as Kansas has had over the past 10 years with Self. Coach K, who has the most Division I wins, has won 12 ACC Championships, but his longest run of conference titles is 5 in a row from 1997 to 2001. Tom Izzo, whose 6 Final Fours in 12 years have only been matched by John Wooden and Coach K, has won 7 Big Ten regular season titles at Michigan St., but his longest streak of conference championships is 4, which happened from 1998 to 2001. Jim Boehim, who has had the most wins at one school in Division I history, has won 9 Big East Championships, but he has never won more than 2 consecutive conference championships. Billy Donovan, who is one of just seven coaches to lead a team to back-to-back National Championships, has won 7 SEC regular season titles at Florida, but his longest streak of conference championships is 3, which occurred from 2000 to 2002. Finally, Rick Pitino, who is the only coach to take three different programs to the Final Four, has won 7 conference championships in 22 years at Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville, but has never had more than a back-to-back regular season crown.
One of the most impressive parts about Kansas's Big 12 regular season titles streak is that they have done it with so many different players, as the Jayhawks have had to sometimes face yearly changes in their personnel on the floor, and their assistant coaches on the sidelines. In the Jayhawks 10 consecutive conference championships, they have had a different player lead their team in overall scoring 8 times (Wayne Simien in 2005, Brandon Rush in 2006, Darrell Arthur in 2008, Sherron Collins in 2009, Marcus Morris in 2011, Thomas Robinson in 2012, Ben McLeMore in 2013, and Andrew Wiggins this year). While the early Jayhawk teams had role players like Mario Chalmers and Julian Wright, those players quickly morphed into glue guys like Cole Aldrich, Tyshawn Taylor, Markieff Morris, Jeff Withey, and Trevis Releford.
Another amazing feat that the Jayhawks have had over their title winning stretch in the Big 12 is that in the day of one-and-done players, the program has been able to retool each year, often times having a bench player step into the lineup after someone departed to the NBA, and playing just as well as the previous starter. Self has certainly had some prominent one year college stars like Xavier Henry in 2010 and Ben McLemore (red-shirt freshman) last year, but many of his main contributors have stayed in school and become star players after sitting on the bench and learning how to improve in the fast-paced nature of college hoops (you would think this would happen everywhere in college basketball, where a starter leaves, and a bench guy replaces him and steps up to fill the void, but it really doesn't. Often times, if you aren't a star your freshman or sophomore year, or don't show flashes of talent, the team forgets about you). Sherron Collins played fairly well behind Mario Chalmers in Kansas's 2007 and 2008 teams, and then was a second team All-American in 2009 and a first team All-American in 2010 when he was handed the keys to the offense. Jeff Withey played behind future first round pick Cole Aldrich and didn't see a lot of court time in 2010, but by the end of his career, his resume included a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2012 and a Co-National Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. Despite averaging 20 points and 17 rebounds per 40 minutes, Thomas Robinson only played 15 minutes per game for Kansas in 2011 because the team was led by the Morris brothers (so many brother combinations in sports right now: Lopez brothers, Bryan brothers, Sedin brothers, Pouncy brothers, McCourty brothers). However, after improving his mid-range game and getting much stronger, Robinson was the Big 12 Player of the Year and a first team All-American in 2012.
The scary thing about Kansas is that their future looks as bright as Rihanna's forehead (my best analogy ever), as they could actually be better next year than they are this year. Andrew Wiggins is going to leave for the draft after this season although I think that Jabari Parker and Julius Randle are more ready to play in the NBA given their rookie seasons (hopefully he doesn't follow in the footsteps of fellow Canadian Anthony Bennett, whose 4 points per game and 21.6 three point percentage puts him dangerously close to being the worst #1 overall pick since Josh Smith, Michael Olowokandi, or Kwame Brown). While I think Joel Embiid could greatly improve by staying in school and working on his very raw offense game (remember that he has only been playing organized basketball for 3 years), my instincts tells me he will leave school, just because it is so hard to turn down being a lock for a top 3 pick in the NBA draft. Even in the worse case scenario, where both Wiggins and Embiid depart for the pros, the Jayhawks are likely going to return a back-court of Naadir Tharpe and Wayne Selden Jr., along with Perry Ellis down low. Self is also adding two top-11, five-star recruits, according to ESPN, with power forward Cliff Alexander and small forward Kelly Oubre, who should make Kansas a real National title threat. A starting lineup of Tharpe, Selden, Oubre, Ellis, and Alexander (and possibly Embiid if he pulls a Marcus Smart, minus the fan pushing) could make the Jayhawks the pre-season #1 in college basketball next year and begin their push towards challenging the longest streak of conference or divisional championships in sports: the Braves 14 straight NL divisional titles from 1991 to 2005. However, the Braves streak is not as impressive as Kansas's run since they won 11 of those championships in a five team NL East, which is actually four teams since the Mets were part of the division!
To wrap up this 5,535 word monster, I don't think that the impact of the Jayhawk faithful can be underestimated when it comes to looking at Kansas's unparalleled Big 12 dominance. Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, the KU fanbase, has been the fortress for Kansas's supremacy for years, and opponents that have enter Allen Fieldhouse have become more poised with clouded thoughts, uncertainty, and doubt than Othello in the Shakespearean tragedy. Since the Jayhawks streak began in 2005, their record on James Naismith Court is an astonishing 77-5 in Big 12 Conference games, and they have one game left to play at home this season against Texas Tech. Fanaticism is not only present in Cuba with the following of Castro, but it is also evident in college basketball gyms throughout the country, especially at Kansas.
This brings me to a story about my brother, Rory. One day in Florida he was getting out of an elevator when he saw somebody wearing an Alabama shirt (unfortunately for him, it wasn't Katherine Webb). As the man was getting into the elevator, Rory said to him, "roll tide," and he got a very emphatic "roll tide" right back. He told me it was one of the happiest moments of his life. It is the small things that make sports fans happy. Of course we would want a nice porsche or a big time job, but what we really want more than anything is for Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving to get along, or for the Raiders to finally get a quarterback, or for Ricky Rubio to stop shooting like he is Victor Oladipo or even, gasp, Josh Smith. As ESPN so perfectly coined, "It's Not Crazy, It's Sports."
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
The NBA Mount Rushmore
If I were to survey one hundred Americans, I would venture to say that less than a third of them would know that Mount Rushmore is in South Dakota. For as much as people love to talk about who should be carved on Mount Rushmore from the sports world, how many people have actually gone to the metropolis that is South Dakota? I think the answer to that question is not too many, which is pretty much how the players on the Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians must feel like when they look around their ballparks on a nightly basis. I mean, seriously, if a tree were to fall inside of Jobing.com Arena in Phoenix, would it even make a sound? I have a sense that my hypothetical survey here would definitely draw some criticism, especially from some anonymous general managers and executives who don't have the courage, unlike Michael Sam, to come out and say what they believe without being kept shamefully nameless.
Before I digress to a point of no return, where two hours from now I'm wondering how I just had the biggest rant since Jim Mora in 2001 or Dennis Green in 2006, I'm going to reign myself in like the Dolphins so successfully did with Richie Incognito (oh wait). Don't worry though Dolphins fans, your head coach was vindicated in the Ted Wells' report, as he had no idea what was going on inside his own locker room and was unaware of any form of harassment from members of his own team. Joe Philbin can now finally ask Greg Schiano and Bobby Valentine what it's like to lose control of a team. Alright, I need to move on before I go full Michael Bay.
In a recent interview with NBA TV, Lebron James was asked by Steve Smith his Mount Rushmore of NBA players. He replied, "I would say the easy three, that we all talk about in our league. You got Michael Jordan, you got Larry Bird, and you got Magic Johnson. And I would say my fourth... this is so tough. The greatest players of all-time that I would like to see on Mount Rushmore... This is not fair... You know how many great players there is? Oscar Robertson... Those are my four."
Lebron's answer stirred a debate over who should be on Mount Rushmore for basketball greats. Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant said, "If I had a four it would be Michael, Larry, Magic, and Kareem, the all-time leader in points. How many championships does he [Kareem] got? Multiple championships. MVPs. He's got it all. As far as accolades and championships, he's got it all."
When asked about his Mount Rushmore, Lakers legend Kobe Bryant proclaimed, "I would say Magic, Bird, Michael, and Russell. That's impossible to do four, though, man. Come on. That's crazy. That's tough. Absolutely tough."
Former Heat and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy added, "Man, you're talking four guys on Mount Rushmore. So, for me, I got Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson for sure, Michael Jordan, and probably...yea, I'll put LeBron there. Look, you could probably throw a lot of other names at me and I'd say 'yea,' it's tough. Really it's tough... That's at last as good a four as anybody is going to put up there."
Obviously, there is no set way to define the world's greatest players, as there are just too many factors to consider (championships, statistics, intangibles, transcendence) and too many difficult barriers in comparing stars (time period, league rules, games, teams) in order to make a list that is universally accepted as definite.
For example, common names for the NBA's Mount Rushmore would be Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan. Nonetheless, some fans would say that George Mikan deserves to be on the Mount Rushmore of the NBA because he changed the way basketball is played. Others from the 1950's would argue until they are blue in the face that Bob Cousy is the greatest playmaker of all-time. People who value rebounding as the most important facet of basketball would assert that Moses Malone needs to be on the Mount Rushmore of NBA players.
Despite some of the difficulties in assessing who should metaphorically be chiseled onto the NBA Mount Rushmore, sports would not be sports without the great debate over who is the best of all-time and the legacy of certain players. Here is my look at the four-man Mount Rushmore of all-time NBA players.
NBA All-Time Mount Rushmore: Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson
Let's start with the two centers, who both played the prime of their careers in the NBA during the 1960's. As I was looking through some of the greatest players of all-time, I was amazed at just how many of them were centers, especially as compared to nowadays were small ball is the prevailing way to play in the league (just look at the Miami Heat or the New York Knicks. Actually, do not get within 100 yards of a television that's showing the Knicks).
A rather loose argument could be made that Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain do not even belong on the Mount Rushmore of NBA centers with a plethora of big men like George Mikan, Bob Pettit, Nate Thurmond, Wes Unseld, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willis Reed, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal to consider. It would certainly be quite a bit of a stretch, but nobody would consider you Amanda Bynes crazy for saying that Bill Russell is behind Hakeem Olajuwon in terms of greatest NBA centers. In fact, executives have made much worse decisions in the past (the Pistons picking Darko Milicic over Melo, Bosh, and D-Wade, the Supersonics trading Scottie Pippen for Olden Polynice in the 1987 draft, basically any move Joe Dumars, Billy King, or Ernie Grunfield have ever made, and Matt Millen drafting three straight abysmal wide receivers in the top ten from 2003 to 2005, which is not even basketball related but is just that bad that I feel obliged to mention it here).
However, Russell and Chamberlain undoubtedly deserve to be on this list.
Bill Russell is the definition of what it means to be a champion. When Russell was in the NBA from 1956 to 1969, everybody in the league felt like Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone, and John Stockton because Russell was about as good of a passer of the Larry O'Brien Trophy as Carmelo Anthony is in the Knicks offense. In 13 seasons in the league, Russell won 11 titles including 8 in a row from 1959 to 1966 (only the Minneapolis Lakers from 1952 to 1955, the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993 and 1996 to 1998, and the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 to 2002 have ever won at least than 3 championships in a row). You could be playing in a recreation league in Wyoming or in the SEC, but 11 titles is just incredible no matter how you look at it.
In a sport where people can sometimes get lost in points and field goals made, Russell's impact on a game was astounding for a player that never averaged 20 points per game in a season. He is far and away the greatest defensive player in NBA history with the six best single-season defensive win shares and the best career defensive win shares at 133.64 (no other player has a career defensive win share of at least 100). Russell is also one of the two most dominate players on the boards along with Wilt, going ten consecutive seasons averaging at least 21 rebounds per game and finishing his career with the second most rebounds ever with 21,620. Despite the fact that Russell averaged just around 13 shots per game, his ability to control the defensive end of the floor has never, and likely will never, be matched.
As great as Russell was during his career, his response to LeBron James after being left off his hypothetical Mount Rushmore was equally legendary. Russell said to James before the All-Star game in New Orleans,"Hey, thank you for leaving me off your Mount Rushmore. I'm glad you did. Basketball is a team game. It's not for individual honors. I won back-to-back state championships in high school [McClymonds High School in West Oakland], back-to-back NCAA championships in college [San Francisco], I won an NBA championship my first year in the league, an NBA championship my last year, and nine in between. And that, Mr. James, is etched in stone." Game, set, and match to Mr. Russell.
Meanwhile, Russell's arch rival, Wilt Chamberlain, essentially holds every record there is in points, field goals, and rebounding in the history of basketball (he also has some other unbreakable records but I won't expand on his 20,000 women claim in this article. I would rather not get Raheem Sterling or Antonie Cromatie too excited, especially after the Jets celebrated like they had just found the Fountain of Youth after finishing 8-8 this year and having their 36th season in franchise history without finish above .500 in 54 years. The only things more outrageous are Oliver Giroud apologizing to his wife for having an extramarital affair over, get this, twitter or Kolo Toure pretending to be a car salesman to have a relationship with a model.
Despite some of his off the court escapades and the fact that he was rarely ever able to overcome his rival Bill Russell, the Big Dipper is likely the most dominate player in the history of basketball. Anybody that averages 50 points and 25 rebounds in a season, needs to be considered amongst the best of all-time. In fact, Wilt was so good that when reporters brandished him as an egotistical and selfish player (he did lead the league in field goal attempts his first seven years in the NBA in their defense), he decided to prove them wrong by winning the assists title in the 1967-1968 season, the only center to ever do so, just because he could. While Wilt was a massive 7-foot center that was just way better than most of the other players in the league, as he did not face the same competition as the players do in the game today, some of his numbers are still just jaw-dropping. Aside from his very noticeable 100 point game in 1962 against the Knicks, Wilt also holds the 2nd best points per game average at 30.07, the best rebounds per game average at 22.89, and the 2nd best win shares at 247.26 in the history of the NBA.
Just a quick tangent. Many people think that Wilt's single-game points record is one of the hardest records to break in sports, but I would not totally agree with that assertion. Is it too behind the realm of possibility to think that Kevin Durant could get really hot one game, start knocking down threes left and right against the Sacramento Kings and their non-existent defense, and challenge Chamberlain's record. David Thompson did score 73 points on just 38 field goal attempts in 1978 (Wilt took 63 shots in his 100 point game), and Kobe scored 81 against the Raptors just 8 years ago in 2006, so I think it is possible as Vladimir Putin showing restraint if his Russians do not win the gold in hockey.
Tougher records to break in my view include winning more than 11 NBA championships, topping John Stockton's 15,806 career assists total (if you averaged 10 assists per game for 19 seasons without missing a game, you would still be short of the record), eclipsing Wilt's own single-season points per game record of 50.4 (Jordan's 37.09 points per game average in 1986-1987 is the most for anybody other than Chamberlain), or breaking George McGinnis's single-season turnovers record of 422 turnovers, which is more than 5 per game (only two players have ever had more than 321 turnovers in a season since 2000).
The next player on our Mount Rushmore is the greatest player in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan. MJ, who Larry Bird described as, "God disguised as Michael Jordan" after he scored a NBA record 63 points in a playoff game in 1986 against the Celtics, brought the NBA into unprecedented popularity during the 1980's and 1990's.
On the court, Jordan did things that nobody had ever done before him, but even off the court, his shoe deals and marketing campaigns were transcendent, as they transformed the way people look at the NBA and the entire advertisement business that surrounds professional sports. Michael's Air Jordans are so popular that he still makes 60 million dollars a year from his shoe line. And to think he wanted to sign with Converse and Adidas over Nike. Jordan also pulled off the biggest upset in the history of basketball, helping Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and the Looney Tunes defeat the world's most dominate team, the monsters of Nerdlucks. I'm not sure if Jordan's 1987-1988 season, where he averaged 35 points and had a 31.7 player efficiency rating, can match up to his performance against the aliens in Space Jam. Those monsters had unparalleled size and length.
While many fair-weather followers (also known as many Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers fans) hold MJ in their heart for his play in Space Jam, his performance on the floor puts him at the top of the Mount Rushmore discussion. All joking aside, Jordan was a once in a generation player, somebody who nobody had ever seen the like of in not only the NBA, but in all of sports. His insane hyper-competitiveness may not have been the most inviting or joyous for his teammate if they made some mistakes (Jordan's intense nature include stories of him punching Steve Kerr in the face in training camp or telling Robert Parish he would kick his ass if he didn't play better in practice), but it gave him an edge never before seen on the court. Jordan had by far the most seasons leading the league in scoring with 11, the best points per game average at 30.12, the best player efficiency rating at 27.91, and the best win shares per 48 minutes at .2505.
With the game on the line, Jordan was the most clutch player in NBA history and the only inquiry that remains is whether his shot over Craig Ehlo in 1989 or his game 6 winner in the NBA finals in 1998 against the Jazz can match his dunk against the monsters in Space Jam (the only thing more unrealistic than that dunk is a game from Friday Night Lights. How did every one of the episodes come down to a last second touchdown? Syracuse must be trying to pull off their best Friday Night Lights season one impression with all their close victories this year, seven wins by 6 points or less to be specific. I would love to play that joke off as my own, but my brother actually blurted it out after watching Cuse escape against North Carolina State this weekend. I am happy he brought it up, though, because Syracuse will be testing out of one sports most fascinating questions: Does winning a lot of close games help a team in the postseason or does it just show that the club is beatable and not as good as people think.)
We end our discussion of the all-time NBA Mount Rushmore with Oscar Robertson. Despite winning just one NBA Championship (1971 with the Milwaukee Bucks) in his 14 seasons, and often being overlooked in the greatest to ever play the game conversation, the Big O was as good as anybody in the history of basketball. In fact, all-time points leader Kareem Abdul-Jabaar said, "LeBron is awesome, MJ was awesome, but I think Oscar Robertson would have kicked them both in the behind. Absolutely. Oscar was awesome. He had brains... He had all the skills... He could rebound and box out guys four and six inches taller than him. He was ruggedly built. He had fluid, quickness, and just understood the game. No flair, he just got the job done every night. Who's going to average double figures in points, assists, and rebounds?"
While Oscar benefited from playing in a time period where the pace of the game was much faster and points were scored at a much higher rate (in Oscar's triple double year in 1961-1962, the league averaged a NBA record 118.8 points per game and since 1995, the league average in points per game has never exceeded 100), he was as smooth as any player to ever play in the NBA. At 6-5, Oscar was the league's first really big point guard, and his large frame allowed him to do anything on the floor from being able to shot the ball (he had a .485 career field goal percentage) to rebounding on the glass (he is the only guard to ever average more than 10 rebounds per game in a season, which he did in each of his first three years in the league). Oscar will forever be remembered for his triple-double season in 1961-1962, where he averaged 30.8 points, 11.4 assists, and 12.5 rebounds in 41 games with a triple-double, but the even more staggering fact is that he essential had the same numbers each of his first five NBA seasons, averaging 30.3 points, 10.6 assists, and 10.4 rebounds over the span.
Oscar's ability to do it all even showed itself off the court, as he made the NBA into the league that it is today. His antitrust lawsuit against the NBA in the 1970's as the President of the NBA Players Association helped facilitate a new policy of free agency and some of the new draft regulations that he filed enabled players to receive higher salaries from teams (when Robertson filed the antitrust lawsuit in 1970, the average league salary was just around 35,000, but four years after the league reached a settlement on the suit in 1976, the average league salary had catapulted up to 180,000). Just to show how big the NBA is in the world nowadays, largely due to the role of Robertson in the NBPA during the 1970's, Emeka Okafor, who has not played in a game this season and has not even eclipsed 10 points per game the least two years, is getting paid nearly 15 million dollars annually (what owner would possibly in their right mind sign Okafor to a 6-year, 72 million dollar contract. Oh yes, the great Michael Jordan. In my defense, I put him on my Mount Rushmore for his performance during his playing career and not as an owner or president because I can't even say Kwame Brown without chuckling or crying after realizing that Pau Gasol went two picks later in that 2001 draft).
Come ten years from now, though, I could see my NBA Mount Rushmore having some alterations.
Before LeBron's legacy changing 45 point, 15 rebound display against the Celtics in the Heat's elimination game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012 (the greatest single game I've seen from a player given the circumstances), there was a time when King James's place amongst the pantheon of NBA greats was deservedly questioned. However, one ridiculous game 6 performance in 2012 and a Ray Allen three in 2013 (we may be having a different conversation if Kawhi Leonard made both his free throws) and LeBron is well on his way to taking his place on the NBA Mount Rushmore. I think the only thing worth pondering about LeBron's career is whether he will be looked upon as the greatest player to ever step on a floor when it is all said and done. While I would put my life on Jordan making that final shot, no player has ever been able to do as much and affect a game in as many different ways as LeBron.
Meanwhile, I think Kevin Durant could go down as the best pure scorer in the history of the NBA, passing some of the game's other greatest scorers like Jordan and Kobe. KD is already one of seven members apart of the 50-40-90 club, which he did last year shooting 51 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from three, and 90.5 percent from the free throw line. He is also leading the league in scoring once again this year, which puts him in position for his 5th career scoring title, only behind Michael and Wilt in the all-time ranks. The league has never seen a player like Durant, as he is a guy that is listed at 6-9 (he's probably an inch and a half taller than that, which puts him around the height of big men like Zach Randolph and Blake Griffin), yet he is shooting from three at a clip well above 40 percent. Durant's offensive efficiency is just something else.
Before I digress to a point of no return, where two hours from now I'm wondering how I just had the biggest rant since Jim Mora in 2001 or Dennis Green in 2006, I'm going to reign myself in like the Dolphins so successfully did with Richie Incognito (oh wait). Don't worry though Dolphins fans, your head coach was vindicated in the Ted Wells' report, as he had no idea what was going on inside his own locker room and was unaware of any form of harassment from members of his own team. Joe Philbin can now finally ask Greg Schiano and Bobby Valentine what it's like to lose control of a team. Alright, I need to move on before I go full Michael Bay.
In a recent interview with NBA TV, Lebron James was asked by Steve Smith his Mount Rushmore of NBA players. He replied, "I would say the easy three, that we all talk about in our league. You got Michael Jordan, you got Larry Bird, and you got Magic Johnson. And I would say my fourth... this is so tough. The greatest players of all-time that I would like to see on Mount Rushmore... This is not fair... You know how many great players there is? Oscar Robertson... Those are my four."
Lebron's answer stirred a debate over who should be on Mount Rushmore for basketball greats. Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant said, "If I had a four it would be Michael, Larry, Magic, and Kareem, the all-time leader in points. How many championships does he [Kareem] got? Multiple championships. MVPs. He's got it all. As far as accolades and championships, he's got it all."
When asked about his Mount Rushmore, Lakers legend Kobe Bryant proclaimed, "I would say Magic, Bird, Michael, and Russell. That's impossible to do four, though, man. Come on. That's crazy. That's tough. Absolutely tough."
Former Heat and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy added, "Man, you're talking four guys on Mount Rushmore. So, for me, I got Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson for sure, Michael Jordan, and probably...yea, I'll put LeBron there. Look, you could probably throw a lot of other names at me and I'd say 'yea,' it's tough. Really it's tough... That's at last as good a four as anybody is going to put up there."
Obviously, there is no set way to define the world's greatest players, as there are just too many factors to consider (championships, statistics, intangibles, transcendence) and too many difficult barriers in comparing stars (time period, league rules, games, teams) in order to make a list that is universally accepted as definite.
For example, common names for the NBA's Mount Rushmore would be Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan. Nonetheless, some fans would say that George Mikan deserves to be on the Mount Rushmore of the NBA because he changed the way basketball is played. Others from the 1950's would argue until they are blue in the face that Bob Cousy is the greatest playmaker of all-time. People who value rebounding as the most important facet of basketball would assert that Moses Malone needs to be on the Mount Rushmore of NBA players.
Despite some of the difficulties in assessing who should metaphorically be chiseled onto the NBA Mount Rushmore, sports would not be sports without the great debate over who is the best of all-time and the legacy of certain players. Here is my look at the four-man Mount Rushmore of all-time NBA players.
NBA All-Time Mount Rushmore: Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson
Let's start with the two centers, who both played the prime of their careers in the NBA during the 1960's. As I was looking through some of the greatest players of all-time, I was amazed at just how many of them were centers, especially as compared to nowadays were small ball is the prevailing way to play in the league (just look at the Miami Heat or the New York Knicks. Actually, do not get within 100 yards of a television that's showing the Knicks).
A rather loose argument could be made that Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain do not even belong on the Mount Rushmore of NBA centers with a plethora of big men like George Mikan, Bob Pettit, Nate Thurmond, Wes Unseld, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willis Reed, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal to consider. It would certainly be quite a bit of a stretch, but nobody would consider you Amanda Bynes crazy for saying that Bill Russell is behind Hakeem Olajuwon in terms of greatest NBA centers. In fact, executives have made much worse decisions in the past (the Pistons picking Darko Milicic over Melo, Bosh, and D-Wade, the Supersonics trading Scottie Pippen for Olden Polynice in the 1987 draft, basically any move Joe Dumars, Billy King, or Ernie Grunfield have ever made, and Matt Millen drafting three straight abysmal wide receivers in the top ten from 2003 to 2005, which is not even basketball related but is just that bad that I feel obliged to mention it here).
However, Russell and Chamberlain undoubtedly deserve to be on this list.
Bill Russell is the definition of what it means to be a champion. When Russell was in the NBA from 1956 to 1969, everybody in the league felt like Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone, and John Stockton because Russell was about as good of a passer of the Larry O'Brien Trophy as Carmelo Anthony is in the Knicks offense. In 13 seasons in the league, Russell won 11 titles including 8 in a row from 1959 to 1966 (only the Minneapolis Lakers from 1952 to 1955, the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993 and 1996 to 1998, and the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 to 2002 have ever won at least than 3 championships in a row). You could be playing in a recreation league in Wyoming or in the SEC, but 11 titles is just incredible no matter how you look at it.
In a sport where people can sometimes get lost in points and field goals made, Russell's impact on a game was astounding for a player that never averaged 20 points per game in a season. He is far and away the greatest defensive player in NBA history with the six best single-season defensive win shares and the best career defensive win shares at 133.64 (no other player has a career defensive win share of at least 100). Russell is also one of the two most dominate players on the boards along with Wilt, going ten consecutive seasons averaging at least 21 rebounds per game and finishing his career with the second most rebounds ever with 21,620. Despite the fact that Russell averaged just around 13 shots per game, his ability to control the defensive end of the floor has never, and likely will never, be matched.
As great as Russell was during his career, his response to LeBron James after being left off his hypothetical Mount Rushmore was equally legendary. Russell said to James before the All-Star game in New Orleans,"Hey, thank you for leaving me off your Mount Rushmore. I'm glad you did. Basketball is a team game. It's not for individual honors. I won back-to-back state championships in high school [McClymonds High School in West Oakland], back-to-back NCAA championships in college [San Francisco], I won an NBA championship my first year in the league, an NBA championship my last year, and nine in between. And that, Mr. James, is etched in stone." Game, set, and match to Mr. Russell.
Meanwhile, Russell's arch rival, Wilt Chamberlain, essentially holds every record there is in points, field goals, and rebounding in the history of basketball (he also has some other unbreakable records but I won't expand on his 20,000 women claim in this article. I would rather not get Raheem Sterling or Antonie Cromatie too excited, especially after the Jets celebrated like they had just found the Fountain of Youth after finishing 8-8 this year and having their 36th season in franchise history without finish above .500 in 54 years. The only things more outrageous are Oliver Giroud apologizing to his wife for having an extramarital affair over, get this, twitter or Kolo Toure pretending to be a car salesman to have a relationship with a model.
Despite some of his off the court escapades and the fact that he was rarely ever able to overcome his rival Bill Russell, the Big Dipper is likely the most dominate player in the history of basketball. Anybody that averages 50 points and 25 rebounds in a season, needs to be considered amongst the best of all-time. In fact, Wilt was so good that when reporters brandished him as an egotistical and selfish player (he did lead the league in field goal attempts his first seven years in the NBA in their defense), he decided to prove them wrong by winning the assists title in the 1967-1968 season, the only center to ever do so, just because he could. While Wilt was a massive 7-foot center that was just way better than most of the other players in the league, as he did not face the same competition as the players do in the game today, some of his numbers are still just jaw-dropping. Aside from his very noticeable 100 point game in 1962 against the Knicks, Wilt also holds the 2nd best points per game average at 30.07, the best rebounds per game average at 22.89, and the 2nd best win shares at 247.26 in the history of the NBA.
Just a quick tangent. Many people think that Wilt's single-game points record is one of the hardest records to break in sports, but I would not totally agree with that assertion. Is it too behind the realm of possibility to think that Kevin Durant could get really hot one game, start knocking down threes left and right against the Sacramento Kings and their non-existent defense, and challenge Chamberlain's record. David Thompson did score 73 points on just 38 field goal attempts in 1978 (Wilt took 63 shots in his 100 point game), and Kobe scored 81 against the Raptors just 8 years ago in 2006, so I think it is possible as Vladimir Putin showing restraint if his Russians do not win the gold in hockey.
Tougher records to break in my view include winning more than 11 NBA championships, topping John Stockton's 15,806 career assists total (if you averaged 10 assists per game for 19 seasons without missing a game, you would still be short of the record), eclipsing Wilt's own single-season points per game record of 50.4 (Jordan's 37.09 points per game average in 1986-1987 is the most for anybody other than Chamberlain), or breaking George McGinnis's single-season turnovers record of 422 turnovers, which is more than 5 per game (only two players have ever had more than 321 turnovers in a season since 2000).
The next player on our Mount Rushmore is the greatest player in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan. MJ, who Larry Bird described as, "God disguised as Michael Jordan" after he scored a NBA record 63 points in a playoff game in 1986 against the Celtics, brought the NBA into unprecedented popularity during the 1980's and 1990's.
On the court, Jordan did things that nobody had ever done before him, but even off the court, his shoe deals and marketing campaigns were transcendent, as they transformed the way people look at the NBA and the entire advertisement business that surrounds professional sports. Michael's Air Jordans are so popular that he still makes 60 million dollars a year from his shoe line. And to think he wanted to sign with Converse and Adidas over Nike. Jordan also pulled off the biggest upset in the history of basketball, helping Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and the Looney Tunes defeat the world's most dominate team, the monsters of Nerdlucks. I'm not sure if Jordan's 1987-1988 season, where he averaged 35 points and had a 31.7 player efficiency rating, can match up to his performance against the aliens in Space Jam. Those monsters had unparalleled size and length.
While many fair-weather followers (also known as many Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers fans) hold MJ in their heart for his play in Space Jam, his performance on the floor puts him at the top of the Mount Rushmore discussion. All joking aside, Jordan was a once in a generation player, somebody who nobody had ever seen the like of in not only the NBA, but in all of sports. His insane hyper-competitiveness may not have been the most inviting or joyous for his teammate if they made some mistakes (Jordan's intense nature include stories of him punching Steve Kerr in the face in training camp or telling Robert Parish he would kick his ass if he didn't play better in practice), but it gave him an edge never before seen on the court. Jordan had by far the most seasons leading the league in scoring with 11, the best points per game average at 30.12, the best player efficiency rating at 27.91, and the best win shares per 48 minutes at .2505.
With the game on the line, Jordan was the most clutch player in NBA history and the only inquiry that remains is whether his shot over Craig Ehlo in 1989 or his game 6 winner in the NBA finals in 1998 against the Jazz can match his dunk against the monsters in Space Jam (the only thing more unrealistic than that dunk is a game from Friday Night Lights. How did every one of the episodes come down to a last second touchdown? Syracuse must be trying to pull off their best Friday Night Lights season one impression with all their close victories this year, seven wins by 6 points or less to be specific. I would love to play that joke off as my own, but my brother actually blurted it out after watching Cuse escape against North Carolina State this weekend. I am happy he brought it up, though, because Syracuse will be testing out of one sports most fascinating questions: Does winning a lot of close games help a team in the postseason or does it just show that the club is beatable and not as good as people think.)
We end our discussion of the all-time NBA Mount Rushmore with Oscar Robertson. Despite winning just one NBA Championship (1971 with the Milwaukee Bucks) in his 14 seasons, and often being overlooked in the greatest to ever play the game conversation, the Big O was as good as anybody in the history of basketball. In fact, all-time points leader Kareem Abdul-Jabaar said, "LeBron is awesome, MJ was awesome, but I think Oscar Robertson would have kicked them both in the behind. Absolutely. Oscar was awesome. He had brains... He had all the skills... He could rebound and box out guys four and six inches taller than him. He was ruggedly built. He had fluid, quickness, and just understood the game. No flair, he just got the job done every night. Who's going to average double figures in points, assists, and rebounds?"
While Oscar benefited from playing in a time period where the pace of the game was much faster and points were scored at a much higher rate (in Oscar's triple double year in 1961-1962, the league averaged a NBA record 118.8 points per game and since 1995, the league average in points per game has never exceeded 100), he was as smooth as any player to ever play in the NBA. At 6-5, Oscar was the league's first really big point guard, and his large frame allowed him to do anything on the floor from being able to shot the ball (he had a .485 career field goal percentage) to rebounding on the glass (he is the only guard to ever average more than 10 rebounds per game in a season, which he did in each of his first three years in the league). Oscar will forever be remembered for his triple-double season in 1961-1962, where he averaged 30.8 points, 11.4 assists, and 12.5 rebounds in 41 games with a triple-double, but the even more staggering fact is that he essential had the same numbers each of his first five NBA seasons, averaging 30.3 points, 10.6 assists, and 10.4 rebounds over the span.
Oscar's ability to do it all even showed itself off the court, as he made the NBA into the league that it is today. His antitrust lawsuit against the NBA in the 1970's as the President of the NBA Players Association helped facilitate a new policy of free agency and some of the new draft regulations that he filed enabled players to receive higher salaries from teams (when Robertson filed the antitrust lawsuit in 1970, the average league salary was just around 35,000, but four years after the league reached a settlement on the suit in 1976, the average league salary had catapulted up to 180,000). Just to show how big the NBA is in the world nowadays, largely due to the role of Robertson in the NBPA during the 1970's, Emeka Okafor, who has not played in a game this season and has not even eclipsed 10 points per game the least two years, is getting paid nearly 15 million dollars annually (what owner would possibly in their right mind sign Okafor to a 6-year, 72 million dollar contract. Oh yes, the great Michael Jordan. In my defense, I put him on my Mount Rushmore for his performance during his playing career and not as an owner or president because I can't even say Kwame Brown without chuckling or crying after realizing that Pau Gasol went two picks later in that 2001 draft).
Come ten years from now, though, I could see my NBA Mount Rushmore having some alterations.
Before LeBron's legacy changing 45 point, 15 rebound display against the Celtics in the Heat's elimination game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012 (the greatest single game I've seen from a player given the circumstances), there was a time when King James's place amongst the pantheon of NBA greats was deservedly questioned. However, one ridiculous game 6 performance in 2012 and a Ray Allen three in 2013 (we may be having a different conversation if Kawhi Leonard made both his free throws) and LeBron is well on his way to taking his place on the NBA Mount Rushmore. I think the only thing worth pondering about LeBron's career is whether he will be looked upon as the greatest player to ever step on a floor when it is all said and done. While I would put my life on Jordan making that final shot, no player has ever been able to do as much and affect a game in as many different ways as LeBron.
Meanwhile, I think Kevin Durant could go down as the best pure scorer in the history of the NBA, passing some of the game's other greatest scorers like Jordan and Kobe. KD is already one of seven members apart of the 50-40-90 club, which he did last year shooting 51 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from three, and 90.5 percent from the free throw line. He is also leading the league in scoring once again this year, which puts him in position for his 5th career scoring title, only behind Michael and Wilt in the all-time ranks. The league has never seen a player like Durant, as he is a guy that is listed at 6-9 (he's probably an inch and a half taller than that, which puts him around the height of big men like Zach Randolph and Blake Griffin), yet he is shooting from three at a clip well above 40 percent. Durant's offensive efficiency is just something else.
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