Basketball Fiend

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Hello friends. Basketball Fiend here. Welcome to the NBA Finals.

It’s Lakers-Celtics again this year, which means there’s excitement in the air. Excitement from Lakers fans (revenge!), Celtics fans (we didn’t expect to be here!) and ABC (we don’t have to suffer crappy Suns-Magic ratings!).

I’m excited too. Lakers-Celtics is the matchup I was hoping for. Not only are they the two most talented teams in the league (sorry, Orlando), they’re also part of the most vitriolic feud in basketball. Which means they inherently bring the best out of each other. Which translates to a hard-fought series at worst; an all-time classic series at best. There are no losers here — unless the Lakers win; then we’re all losers (comical Phil Jackson XI hats aside).

When it comes to Lakers-Celtics, the rivalry is always the biggest and best storyline. The animosity between these two franchises (hell, these two cities) transcends everything else — kind of like how the great directors (Spielberg, Scorsese, Tarantino, etc.) always take top billing of whatever movie they’re doing. Other factors (Kobe, Phil, Doc, Rondo, Pau, the Big Three) are important. They’re just never as important as the rivalry itself.

This happens for good reason. L.A. and Boston are meeting for an NBA-record 12th time in the Finals — the Celtics have bragging rights with a 9-2 Finals advantage, creating a rare inferiority complex for fans in L.A. They’re not used to being on the losing end of anything.

Some say the rivalry angle is “played out,” but those people are crazy. NBA fans outside of Phoenix, Orlando and Cleveland couldn’t have hoped for a better Finals matchup. Lakers-Celtics is as dramatic as it gets, especially considering the amount of talented players and combustible personalities involved. From Cousy and Russell battling West and Baylor in the 1960s to Bird and Magic’s famous duels in the 80s to Kobe and Pau going head to head with the Big Three in 2008, you’d be hard pressed to find a rivalry with a richer history.

With that said, talking about the rivalry gets tedious after a while so let’s explore some of the other storylines in play.

1. Kobe Approaching Jordan Status

Two years ago, I didn’t think I’d be discussing this topic. I considered it an impossibility. Kobe as good as Jordan? No way. Kobe’s selfish. Kobe can’t win without a bigger superstar leading the way. Kobe can’t elevate the play of his teammates. Obviously I was wrong.

The Lakers’ championship win last season was emphatic and convincing — as was their romp through the playoffs leading up to this matchup with the Celtics — and Kobe has been a big part of that. He averaged 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists throughout the playoffs in ‘09 and has posted similar numbers in the postseason this year — with better shooting percentages to boot.

More than anything, though, last season’s championship proved he is a true alpha dog and the kind of player who can raise the quality of play of those around him — which was one of Jordan’s best qualities.

If the Lakers can overtake the Celtics in the Finals, it’ll be Kobe’s fifth championship, putting him just one title behind MJ.

Jordan still has a number of bragging rights over Kobe — his playoff numbers are better, he has won more Finals MVP awards (six to Kobe’s one) and he never lost a championship series (something Kobe has done twice) — but the gap is closing.

Regardless of what happens in the Finals, the Lakers will be title contenders for at least two more seasons — all of their principle players are under contract until 2012 — perhaps more, putting Kobe in a position to pass Jordan in terms of rings.

That alone wouldn’t be enough to etch Kobe’s name higher than Jordan’s in the Pantheon of Basketball Greats, but it would certainly make for an argument worth having. (Quick tangent: I would absolutely hate it if this happened. Jordan has been considered the greatest of all-time since I was 13 years old and, like many basketball bloggers, I grew up idolizing him. I don’t want to see him dethroned. On top of that, I’m a Kings fan, making Kobe the equivalent of the Smoke Monster to me. Needless to say, I’ll be rooting vehemently for the Celtics in this series.)

From a legacy standpoint, it’s important to Kobe to beat the Celtics. And when Kobe’s motivated, there are few who can stop him. Are the Celtics up to the task?

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This section is essentially the same as “Fiending for Links,” but I didn’t like the name “Fiending for Links,” so now it’s “The Daily Fiend.” Feels kind of newspaper-y, doesn’t it? I like that.

The new site will be up soon (perhaps later today, perhaps Monday).

That’s enough housecleaning for now. On to the links…

1. LeBron James has Jay-Z in his corner. Now Nas is stepping forward to support Ron Artest. The Illmatic rapper says he wasn’t a Lakers fan before, but he is now that Artest is in the fold. The two grew up in the same neighborhood, Queensbridge, and often cross promote one another. It’s too bad the Cavs aren’t going to the Finals. We could have had two hip hop legends–former rivals turned friends–in the same arena.

2. …and the disrespect for Boston continues. The Top 10 playoff performers, according to Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie: Pau Gasol, Rajon Rondo, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Jason Richardson, Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams, Dwyane Wade, Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard. How Nelson made the list over Ray Allen (16.9 pts, 33 made threes, four 25-point games) and Kevin Garnett (16.2 pts, 8.6 reb, great defense) is beyond me. The Celtics are up two games to none on the Magic, right? Okay, just checking.

3. The NBA draft combine is off to a rousing start. There’s just one problem: only a few top tier players are participating in actual drills. The majority of them have decided to partake only in measurements, interviews and physicals, according to Draft Express. Patrick Patterson, one of the only top players to participate, is standing out as a result.

4. Chris Bosh has reportedly narrowed his list of preferred teams to five: the Raptors, Bulls, Lakers, Heat and Knicks. A source close to the situation says Bosh’s decision will hinge on where LeBron goes. So much for Bosh returning home to Texas…

5. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is hilarious.

(Photo courtesy of @HawksPRman)

1. Hawks coach Mike Woodson arrived at Monday’s Hawks-Rockets game inexplicably missing his eyebrows. How very “lady working behind the counter at Carl’s Jr” of him. What’s next? Heavy blue eyeliner and a three-sizes-too-big polo shirt? C’mon, Mike. Stop losing bets and keep your eyebrows where they ought to be.

2. Javaris Crittenton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of an unregistered firearm Monday. According to Crittenton’s lawyer, the guard “legitimately feared for his life” in the aftermath of the dispute with Gilbert Arenas.

3. From the land of “I bet you didn’t know this…”: Amar’e Stoudemire’s agent, Happy Walters, is an accomplished music producer who has worked on movies ranging from “The Fast and the Furious” to “The Big Lebowski”. He also has one of the most kick ass names on the planet. If Happy Gilmore and Barbara Walters had a child together, and inexplicably decided to let the child keep his mother’s name, Happy Walters would be that child. (This is why you shouldn’t write content at 3 am.)

4. Hot NBA trade rumor: Monta Ellis for Ray Allen. Supposedly the Celtics want to get younger and the Warriors want to groom Stephen Curry as their franchise player. It’s an interesting thought, but I doubt the trade will happen. Ellis’ skin is too thin for Boston. They’d eat him alive.

5. Drake was at the Lakers-Raptors game Sunday. Halfway through the game he stood up and urged the crowd to do an MVP chant…for himself. Humble guy, that Drake.

(Okay. He didn’t really lead a cheer like that. But you believed he did, right? Admit it, you clicked on the link.)

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In the NBA there are only a handful of players who can be trusted at the end of games. Which makes sense. Performing in the clutch is difficult. The weight on a player’s shoulders in these situations is enormous. It’s not a job for the faint of heart.

Which is why it takes a rare player to deliver, time and again, in high-pressure situations. A clutch player; one with guts of steel, the heart of a lion and cajones so large even Sam Cassell gets jealous.

These are the members of the Fraternity of Clutch; an elite fraternity with no room for pretenders. Mobb Deep said it best. There ain’t no such thing as halfway crooks.

You’re either clutch or you’re not.

Members of the fraternity are invaluable, irreplaceable, and irresistible to fans. Ice water runs through their veins. They strike fear in the heart of opponents. Deadly, spine-chilling fear; the kind that makes you second guess every defensive switch, every double-team.

Members of the fraternity are focused. They’ll stop at nothing to win the game.

Their game face makes your game face look like William Hung.

If you’re a coach, these are the guys you diagram plays for at the end of the game before bowing your head in prayer. If you’re a GM, you’re willing to pay anything to get them on your roster. And if you’re a gambler with a taste for the NBA, these are the guys who have saved your degenerate ass time after time.

There are over 300 players in the NBA and only a handful of them can be considered clutch. Members of the Fraternity of Clutch have elite skills that most other players can only dream of.

For one, they are consistent, focused and don’t take games off, especially not in the playoffs.

Two, they have skill; the ability to create shots in traffic, get to the free throw line, and hit dagger threes. There’s a famous saying: where there’s a will there’s a way. But in the case of the clutch player, will alone is not enough. He has to have the skills to finish the play.

Three, they are basketball savvy, as cunning as a wolf. Any player can take a big shot, but the best of them are able to get the high percentage looks, not off-balance jumpers. Getting separation and finding cracks in the defense is half the battle. If a player can’t do that on a regular basis, he has no business in the Fraternity of Clutch.

When a player has mastered these three guidelines, heis  ready to turn in his pledge pin and accept a position in the fraternity. The following players have reached that level.

Without further ado, the 2008-09 Fraternity of Clutch.

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