The Game In Transition/Success Is On The Wings.

Basketball is a game that is most enjoyed when it's in transition. Perpetual motion and fast breaking styles were the norm back in the 80's. Teams were reaching the hundred point mark by the end of the third quarter and most centers in the game back then could run the floor like small forwards and shooting guards. The game went through a change during the mid nineties when team execs felt the need to slow down the game and thought that big centers that clogged the lane was the ticket to success.

I have been following basketball for a long time and I have often heard many experts state that in order to win a championship, a team needs a dominating big man. A good center that can go to work in the low post and draw double teams in order to open up the perimeter game for the wing players. I couldn't disagree more with this notion. Maybe this could have been a requirement back in the 70's and 80's but the game of basketball has evolved since then. These days, the game is dominated by ultra-athletic wing men and forwards with the skill set of some wing players. The majority of young centers coming into the league today have a paucity of skill sets. In other words, they are extremely raw and require a few years before they become.......ripe!!! Even after maturation, these new centers will not be able to dominate and take over a game as the centers of old used to. After Shaquile O'Neal retires, the game of basketball will be rid of the very last player to clog the middle and slow down the game. I should note that I am not writing this to bash O'Neal and other great centers. I am just noticing a trend that can not be ignored. In order for most teams to be successful, they will need to have good wing players and role playing or moderately talented post player.

Shaquile O'Neal, the last true big man will retire in the next couple of years and thus will end the string of dominant big men to play in the league. Shaq's pending retirement will officially close the chapter on a long line of great centers. Centers like Moses Malone, Patrick Ewing, Wilt Chamberlain, David Robinson, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and my favorite player of all time; Hakeem Olajuwon. These big men were the cornerstone of their respective teams and even though they did not all win a championship ring in their careers, it was a certainty that their teams would have been worse off without them.

A few years ago the Phoenix Suns brought back a trend that was last used by the New Jersey Nets with Jason Kidd running the point; and before the Nets, it was the Golden State Warriors with their RUN TMC brand of basketball. None of these teams had a traditional big man guarding the post. Instead, they ran an offence that required fast and athletic wing players that could improvise and create something out of erratic play. More and more teams are realizing that in order to stay competitive, they will need to find a way to incorporate various elements of the run and gun style that is predicated on being athletic on the wing. With this style of basketball, traditional big men will become seldom used and often will be relegated to being the grab-a-rebound and the block-a-shot role. In order for teams today to be successful, they must invest in their perimeter play instead of their post play. I am not suggesting that the post player will become obsolete in the new NBA but rather, the center position will become more of a complimentary one to the wing position. Teams will still want and need big men but the focus will be on a big man that can run the floor, grab rebounds and get garbage points though put backs.

Here is further breakdown of my analysis. In the closing moments of a very tight game, a wing player can provide more offensive options for his teammates. A dribble drive offense requires perpetual motion from all members of the team by creating mismatches and confusion because it draws positional players away from their guarding assignments and comfort zone. It requires that the point guard bring the ball up the middle and passing to the wing players. The wing player now has a plethora of options based on how the defense reacts. He can choose to shoot; if his man leaves enough room to get a shot off. Drive to either his left or right; if his man rushes at him in anticipation of a shot. This dribble-drive will draw the opposing post players to collapse on him. He can now elevate to get his shot off in the middle of the key, pass to his very open big man, kick the ball out to the baseline or top of key for an open shot, or......another dribble drive possibility. Many teams in the league will soon be adjusting and installing a variation of the dribble drive offense that sometimes looks like a team is fast breaking at all times. It will be a revelation one day when the catalyst wing man in this scenario is actually a big man a la "Disco" Dirk Nowitzki.

Did I say revelation. As in, it will one day happen? Pardon me because "it" already happens. Albeit, only a few teams have players that combine the physical stature with this skill set.

The new breed of centers will player more like Dirk Nowitzki. They will be able to shoot the long ball, put the ball on the floor and dribble to the hoop from twenty feet out. They will be versatile like kevin Garnett and play defense on a point guard from half court. Block shots and grab the rebound in one move and then lead the fast break. The new big man will play more like a 6'6 wing man.

The game has changed a few times in the last twenty years. The influx of young players coming into the league that knew how to dunk before they made their first three point shot is forcing teams to play a game that is transition in style. This makes for a very exiting brand of basketball for the fans that want to see more running and gunning. Teams will evolve and almost every positional player will be interchangeable with almost all the positions; it is my opinion that some day in the near future, teams will look to think further outside of the box (Pun intended...Get it??.....C'mon!!!The box. As in the low post being known as "the box") when it comes to the type of players that will best fit their style on offense.

Ten years from now, you and I might go to a basketball game and hear the announcer introduce the starting lineup for our team.......

....starting at small forward, 7 foot 2 from Timbuktuuuuu...........

You look at me and I look and you. We simultaneously chime "our starting wing man is 7'2. That's amazing!"

That's when the NBA would truly be "were amazing happens!!!"

...ahem. Not saying it isn't amazing as it is right now.

Sportacularly yours,

The Vicarious Athlete

My NBA: MVP-Decider System (MVP-DS). Part 1 of 14.

Is it too early to start the race for the league MVP?

Nope!!!

CP3 is one of the players leading the way for MVP considerations; at least in my opinion. After six games into the 08/09 NBA season, his averages are:

21.3ppg, 5.2rpg, 11.7apg and 3.3stg

A strong case can be made for Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer. Heck, I would even toss my man Chris Bosh in there. After all, a winning team record is one of the main criteria in deciding whom the MVP designation belongs.

In order to make it more fun for myself, I have come up with my own way of determining the leagues most valuable player.

Every six games, I will evaluate players and their performance during that small period of time. Team record during the six game period will play a role but performance will be considered high and above all. Team record will only come into heavy play at the end of the season. In this case, if a player gets more votes in my system but his team does not make the playoffs, then he will get stripped of the award. The player with the second most votes and also has a playoff bound team will be declared the winner. In case of a tie...........I'LL JUST FLIP A COIN!!!

Nah, I'm just kidding. Overall team record will come into play and if there is another tie, then I'll really flip a coin!!!

All in all, the player that gets the most votes after 82 games, with my evaluation system, should be the league MVP. This means that each player has a potential of getting 14 MVP votes.

(82 divided by 6 equals 13.6. Round that up and you get the magical number 14)


It will be an almost impossible task for any one player to garner all 14 votes. This is because of the caliber all the players that are in contention for the award this year. The only time I can say a player would have earned all 14 votes in my system would be in 1961-62 when Oscar Robertson average a triple double for the entire season. Wilt Chamberlain obviously gets a node also but his average or 50 points and 25 rebounds per game were rivaled by Bill Russel's 19ppg and 24rpg. This debate can go on forever because of Wilt's scoring average but I make this argument that outside of Russel, there were no other "good-enough" centers that could contend with the Stilt on a nightly basis. Robertson on the other hand had to face great players almost on a game by game basis.

Getting carried away here! Back to my "MVP-Decider System." Right now, I would say that it's a four way tie. I have already made a case for Chris Paul. Here are the other three guys that are in the running at this point:

Lebron James: 28ppg, 9rpg, 7apg, 1bpg and 1spg
Dwayne Wade: 26ppg, 7rpg, 8apg, 3bpg and 2spg
Dwight Howard: 22ppg, 14rpg, 4bpg and 1spg

So after 6 games; according to my "MVP-DS": CP3, LBJ, DWade, and Superman2 all have 1(one) vote each. I hope that after another 6 game set, there will be a little bit of distinction between these players. Heck, another player might just outplay them. I hope so!!!

Be on the look out for thirteen more of these to determine whom the 08/09 NBA's Most Valuable Player will be.

Sportacularly yours,

The Vicarious Athlete


NOTE: The "MVP-Decider System" or" MVP-DS"; in relation to the NBA most valuable player award is a trademarked creation of The Vicarious Athlete and thus the name and the ideology behind it cannot be used without permission and written consent.