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Authored by Matt McCready - 10th December, 2007 - 7:42 pm
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Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans
The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
A Melo Behind The Superstars
Carmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
A Melo Behind The Superstars
Carmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
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The EA Sports 'Curse' is one of the stranger trends in sports. The notion of the ‘curse’ stems from the disproportionate amount of cover boys from the Electronic Arts video game series that have either suffered a significant drop off in performance or a serious injury after appearing on the box.
The list of casualties is a long one with Marshall Faulk, Daunte Culpepper (NFL) and Luis Gonzalez (MLB) being just some of the names who have never achieved the success they had before they put their careers in the voodoo stained hands of the Electronic Arts sports department.
The best (or worse) example is probably Dany Heatley of the NHL's Ottawa Senators (then of the Altanta Thrashers). After gracing the cover of NHL 2004, Heatley was involved in a terrible car accident that resulted in the tragic death of teammate/friend Dan Snyder. Heatley himself suffered a broken jaw, a minor concussion, a bruised lung and kidney. He also had surgery to repair torn medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments as well as the lateral meniscus in his right knee. Today, he’s one of the league’s best players once again, but he was practically run out of town in Atlanta.
Last April, Gilbert Arenas seemed incredibly proud of his 'NBA Live' cover, even going so far as to say it was a bigger honor than his selection to the All-Star team earlier that season. Keep in mind that the press conference to announce the cover was during his team's playoff run, which he was absent from due to a knee injury. The timing perturbed many in the Wizards' organization.
Going into their Friday night game against the Phoenix Suns , the Wizards have a winning percentage of only 37 with Arenas and 60 percent without. How is that possible when Agent Zero is the team's best player? I disagree with that notion, and its not even a knock on Arenas. It's just that Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are proving and reminding how talented they are with Arenas injured.
Since being dealt for Vince Carter at the 1998 entry draft, it seems like no matter how good Antawn Jamison has played he has been under-appriciated. He began his career as 'the man' with the terrible Golden State teams of the late nineties which featured one top draft-pick bust after another (Mike Dunleavy Jr., Adonal Foyle). With the Warriors unable to make any progress in the standings, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks where he was asked to come off the bench. A sixth-man-of-the-year award followed. The sixth-man-of-the-year award may be considered a joke by some, but the sixth man position is an important one.
The amazing Celtic teams of the 80s always had a great player to bring off the bench, whether it was Bill Walton or Kevin McHale (the only player in NBA history to average over 60 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line). Jamison's tenure in Dallas only lasted a year, however, (keep in mind this was the Mark Cuban era where the entire roster - minus Dirk Nowitzki - was significantly altered each season), and he was dealt to Washington in return for Jerry Stackhouse and Devin Harris. With Washington he assumed a new role of veteran leader, and he's done a spectacular job. He's a professional that any team should be glad to have, whether it be coming off the bench or being 'the man' like he was last year during the playoffs for Washington when he averaged an amazing 32 points per game while still shooting a good percentage.
I still feel that the Jamison led Wizards would've given their playoff opponent (the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers ) a run last year if they had Caron Butler playing for them. For a couple years following his solid rookie season, I was not too much of a fan of Caron Butler’s game. Upon entering the league he was being proclaimed as the 'next Paul Pierce' but really struggled during his sophomore campaign when Miami brought in Lamar Odom. A decent year followed as he adjusted to playing with Kobe Bryant. His time with Bryant was an invaluable learning experience for Caron as Bryant and Gilbert play similar styles.
There aren't too many basketball players in the world that can deal with having to guard Caron; he's a match-up nightmare. He uses his speed and court smarts to get into good scoring positions and has a solid mid-range game. The strength he has added since his debut has allowed him to create easier shots by backing defenders down into the post. This year he is actually leading the NBA in three point shooting percentage, which is a ridiculous improvement when looking at his career numbers. His numbers from the field this season are more than 100 percentage points better than his first two seasons.
Gilbert Arenas is not a bad player by any stretch, and the team is much better with him in the lineup. I also believe he deserved more of a chance with Team USA.
However, his shooting percentages have never that strong to begin with, and he has never been a good playmaker from the point position. Caron Butler's continued increase in production, and Antawn Jamison's under-appreciated play makes me think that Gilby is only Washington's third best overall player, albeit still their top offensive option when healthy.
There is no denying, however, that he is much better than Brandon Haywood. |
