Coin Flip II: 2016 NBA Finals

Are y'all awake yet? We got action!

If you thought Mamba Day and the Warriors' achievement of eclipsing the 1997 Chicago Bull's regular season record were going to be the last exciting moments of the NBA season until the hallowed Finals, you missed some epic basketball.

Before Stephen Curry proclaimed "I'm here. I'm back," as if to really say, 'This is my Jordan moment,' in front of a stunned Trailblazers crowd in the Western Conference Semi-final; and before the Cavaliers went on a ten-game tear, going undefeated until they crossed international borders to play in the '6', we all assumed the playoffs would go as scripted.  Eight teams from each conference get to extend their season into the spring, but did we really entertain the thought that anyone other than King James and the Cavaliers would emerge from the Eastern Conference as champions? And how could two-time reigning MVP and the Golden State Warriors at 73 wins and 9 losses be stopped?  Since last summer, all signs have been pointing to a necessary rematch: King James' shot at redemption and Stephen Curry's validation, but we almost spoke too soon.

After a month and a half of playoff basketball, storylines have shaped shifted and shifted some more.  Making it all the way to the Conference finals last year, the Houston Rockets were relegated to vacation status after the first round.  The Clippers, yet again, were snubbed by the injury bug, unable to see what kind of fruit their floor general and high-flying slammers could bear.  We also saw flashes of Dwayne Wade's youth, as he willed-in every contorted lay-up and clutch three-ball he took throughout the Hornets and Raptors series.  If only leading shot blocker Hassan Whiteside stayed healthy, we could have not only seen Lebron's return to a post-season Miami environment, but also two best friends compete for a trip to the NBA Finals.

More glaringly, it might be the end to the efficient, well-oiled, crisp passing machine of the San Antonio Spurs after the six game destruction by the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli, despite the emergence of Kawhi Leonard, and Lamarcus Aldridge, appeared to run out of the proverbial gasoline.  Remember when a dejected 40-year old Duncan walked to the bench, head down, after Serge Ibaka of the Thunder swatted what would have been a routine slam? if only he had young legs.  For all the championships and milestones Duncan has achieved, that split second was a microcosm of what fans had been watching all year; a depleted GOAT having to more carefully pick his moments of attack, realizing his body could no longer follow what his mind enacted.

As fast as that block had happened was how quickly Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant coasted in transition to take momentum in the West as a legitimate championship contender. KD and Russ had been proving their greatness as a duo for the entire season.  Westbrook dominated, angrily, tallying 18 triple-doubles this tour, and Kevin has matured so beautifully--an assassin with endless ammunition.

You can't help but feel like the Warriors and the Cavaliers were destined for a rematch.  The Dubs, and more specifically Klay Thompson and Andre Igoudala, ripped Game 6 away from the Thunder.  Thompson, who hit 11 three-pointers to break an NBA playoff record, scored 17 tough points in the fourth quarter to will his team back in the game.  Igoudala's stifling defense on back-to-back possessions, swiping the ball away from both Durant and Westbrook sealed the deal on a stunning road win.  Game 7 happened, but it was over before it started.  OKC had the lead at Oracle, but Steph's high floater off the glass to end the half was a signifier that the Dubs were just heating up.  

Lebron and the Cavs controlled their destiny throughout the East.  Even when they lost Games 3 & 4 in Toronto it seemed like they rather conceded the victories when you consider some were "oot and aboot" late on the town. Say what you will about the lack of parity in the Eastern Conference, but James has figured out the winning formula for the last six straight years.  No other players have been able to achieve such a feat since the Boston Celtics were the mainstay in the Finals, every year, from 1956-1969.  Although Lebron has had a strong supporting cast to help, there's no denying the value on the court and psychologically that King James adds to a roster.

The biggest difference from last year's appearance in the Finals is health.  Kevin Love suffered a playoff ending shoulder injury in the first-round and Kyrie Irving was sidelined for the rest of the Championship after his knee gave out in Game 1.  At 100% and having played the most offensively efficient basketball in the league, the Cavaliers don't have to rely on James' heroics, like they did last year, for their first taste of glory.  Their losing effort wasn't all for nothing, though.  The Warriors exposed holes in the Cavaliers' lineup that GM David Griffin has been filling in anticipation of this rematch.  As seldom as it was to see Lebron off the floor in 2015's Finals, the Cavaliers offense became stagnant against Golden State's active defense when he was on the bench, struggling to keep pace with their motion offense and flurry of Splash Brother three's.  Adding Richard Jefferson, who is making his return to the Finals after a thirteen-year hiatus, and Channing Frye, who is shooting over 50% from three-point range has helped the Cavs' secondary lineup in Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert continue their scoring edge.  At 35 and 33 years of age respectively, you wonder if these veterans can consistently make an impact against a fast-paced, younger Warriors squad.

The Warriors quest for back-to-back championships began at the very first tip-off of the 2015-2016 season.  They made twenty-four straight victories to begin their campaign look easy, especially with Assistant Coach Luke Walton at the helm, while Head Coach Steve Kerr, rested an ailing back.  Opposing teams certainly made it interesting, whether Golden State would reach the elusive 72-wins mark, but all that team chemistry and improvement by Curry and Thompson paid dividends throughout the season.  Honestly, we didn’t start to see the kind of championship resolve this team had until they were faced with elimination by the Thunder.  Many were clamoring that the Warriors had been “figured out” once Durant, Westbrook, and New Zealander Steven Adams began running the same high-octane, fast-transition offense better than the Dubs.  If there’s one thing we learned this season, though, is that the Warriors are never ever out of a basketball game.  Draymond’s strip steals and outlet passes to a flashing Curry or Thompson for a quick three is enough to ignite a lethal group of weapons that once warmed up, are hard to stop.

This bout deserves to go seven rounds, and I would not be surprised if it did.  Home-court has been well protected by higher seeds in this year’s playoffs.  The Cavaliers have yet to lose in Quicken Loans Arena and Steph reiterated that his team would be better prepared to defend Oracle Arena, unlike when OKC stole Game 1.  The 2016 Warriors and Cavaliers are not the same teams that met last June.  Golden State, most importantly, has experience; they know what that atmosphere of the NBA Finals feels like and they know how to complete the task.  The Cavaliers have re-tooled, creating a different complexion of who they were a year ago.

I think about what this series means in the broader conversation about basketball, and I get excited.  We’ve watched memorable Finals matchups a-la the Celtics and Lakers in the 2008 and 2010 Finals, but when was the last time we witnessed the two best players in the world at the peak of their powers compete to be crowned champion? The game has been starving for a heavyweight title fight; we never got to see Kobe vs. Lebron in a winner-take-all.  We’d have to go all the way back to Michael Jordan’s first NBA Finals appearance and Magic Johnson’s last when the Bulls and Lakers met in 1991, something I wasn’t alive to see.  Stephen Curry has earned every bit of his successive Most Valuable Player awards, and all the way on the opposite coast, a King still reigns. 

Father Time lurks behind the scene, who knows when he pays a visit to Lebron James, but until then, what’s keeping him from reaching another one or two more NBA Finals?  And are mere Finals appearances enough to proclaim oneself the best basketball player on the planet? Three rings in seven total appearances to the Finals, each corresponding with a Bill Russell trophy, is very hard to argue against.  Lebron would have no contemporary equal.  Make it 2-5 with a loss again to the Dubs; however, and that’s just as many Finals accolades as the spritely Curry.  After the next two weeks unfold, there might not have to be a conversation over which star is brightest.  You can’t argue with two championships and two MVPs back-to-back.  Jersey sales indicate that Stephen has already become the face of the Association, but dominion comes with consistent victory.

The winner of this series will be the team that can defend home-court and steal one on the road.  You could feel the emotion ooze out of Lebron and the Cavs when they escaped Oracle with a Game 2 win last year, but they also had the stench of champagne baths from Game 6 permeate through the away locker room of the “Q” for the entire summer.  Match-up wise, I’m wary that Golden State exposes the lack of defensive prowess of Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.  But it’s also possible that the combination of James, Irving, Love, Smith and Frye is too much weaponry for a smaller Warriors lineup.  I don’t know who wins and my gut hasn’t identified a clear favorite yet either, so this time around I’ll actually leave it to a coin flip.  The Cavaliers are heads and the Warriors are tails.

Heads it is.  Cleveland Cavaliers in seven.

Series Schedule

Game 1: Tonight @ 9pm

Game 2: June 5th @ 8pm

Game 3: June 8th @ 9pm

Game 4: June 10th @ 9pm

Game 5: June 13th | If Needed

Game 6: June 16th | If Needed

Game 7: June 19th | If Needed

* All games to air on ABC

Kings of the Underground

We know basketball runs New York.  If you're from NYC, chances are you've played ball outdoors on the double-rim hoops.  Football, though, remains underground; a niche group of players looking to assert their dominance on the gridiron rather than the court has generated a new age of pick-up competition.  Eight teams representing the best street football clubs in New York came to compete in the Street Bowl Championship, but only two made it to the final day, vying for the $16,000 come-up.

We were introduced to Carver Mobb's leader, O.G. Pamz, in episode one of Kings of the Underground, Vice Sports' chronicling of the two-day tournament, as he talked about the ferocity of street football in the streets of the Concrete Jungle.  For all the smack he and his team from the Spanish Barrio talked, they also walked the walk beating arch-nemesis Undarated twice to advance to the championship. 

AFC was one of the more enigmatic teams in the tournament.  Originally from Queens, the squad comprised of doctors, lawyers, and college educated guys was written off as soft, unable to adapt to the grimy ways of up-town street football.  Despite their lack of bravado, AFC had a seasoned athletic pedigree that was unmatched by any other team.  Myron and Travis both AFC wide receiver/corner backs played collegiate football at American International College--a Division-II school--while Travis went on to add three more years of arena football to his resume.  Their skillful play along with some clutch playmaking led the underdog team to the finals.

Vice has unveiled the curtain to one of the most unique sports leagues in the United States.  We've all got our teams we root for on Sunday, but there's something special about watching neighborhoods within New York battle for supremacy.  It's not just for the money.  It's personal. 

Peep episodes two, three, four, and five to see how the tournament unfolded here.

Mamba's Muses

We were preparing the whole year for 'Mamba Day', Kobe Bryant's last game of his NBA career. Only dawning the Laker purple and gold for twenty years, Bryant added to the dynasty while forging a legendary path of his own--five titles, eighteen all-star appearances and the highest scoring guard in NBA history.

Kids my age know about Kobe.  I was in kindergarten when he helped push Shaq over the top and reignited the Lakers dynasty of old.  I didn't get to witness all of those Jordan moments, but I saw the Mamba ascend to the mountain top, this time on his own, in 2009 and 2010, and I watched him ride out into the sunset with 60 points on 50 shots.  I grew up with him.  Kobe was the first basketball GOAT I watched.

The game is going to miss Kobe Bryant even though it's about damn time that he left.  Despite the start of the NBA playoffs, the Black Mamba's exit has remained a topic of interest for sports reporters.  The interviews of old friends speaking on his high school days at Lower Merion and the oral history of the boy from Philadelphia's epic saga reveal just how much basketball meant to Kobe Bryant.  

It's true that you don't truly know what you have until it's gone.  As Kobe's illustrious career unfolded before our eyes, we weren't aware of the full extent this man went to prepare, practice and dominate his craft.  Over a decade after Michael Jordan's final game, basketball-heads are still learning larger-than-life factoids and anecdotes of his Airness.  This past week has welcomed many former teammates, opponents and coaches of Bryant to reminisce on the more private subtext of his playing days.

Take some time to get a fuller scope of the enigmatic Kobe Bryant with these riveting articles and visuals.

"I remember sitting in the locker room at halftime and saying to myself, 'You know what, you may lose everything in life because of the situation that you put yourself in,'" Kobe recalls.

"'You may lose your family, your freedom, but I'll be damned if I lose basketball. Because this shit I can control.' - Mamba Out by Ramona Shelbourne

Photographs by Andy Bernstein chronicle his final night

The explicit lyrics of Jay Z, long before he became the POTUS-approved, hip-hop scion, blare through the speakers. Bryant slows down and lowers the volume.

"This stuff is a little harsh, huh?" he says, swapping out the CD after about the eighth n-bomb. "You like the Spice Girls? A lot of people hate them, but the positive image they project, how they make kids feel, I admire that." -The never ending story: Who is the authentic Kobe? by Mike Wise

"I remember when I got to the Lakers in ’99, I went to a TGI Fridays with Kobe in New Mexico. We had a long conversation, and he wanted to pick my brain about what MJ was like. “How much did he practice? How did he work out? How did he evolve his game?” I told him, MJ brought a new thing every year. One year, pull-up jump shot. The next year, fadeaway. “How did he carry himself?” I told him MJ was always in a suit and tie. When MJ went to work, he went to work. Kobe was really intrigued about all that." - Horace Grant in How We'll Remember Kobe

Join InTheRough's Bracketology Pool

Another year.  Another tournament.  More Madness.

This year's 68-team NCAA Men's Basketball tournament is no more predictable than any of the previous tournaments.  In fact, the 2015-16 college basketball season has been on of upsets and unpredictability from Day 1.  Since the Associated Press launched its first Top 25 poll in 1948, no grouping of top-10 teams suffered more losses than this season with 74.  Moreover, top-5 teams were upset 21 times by unranked opponents, tying for the most ever.

So, how do you predict a tournament where a 3 v. 14 upset, like Stephen F. Austin over West Virginia, has the potential of wrecking your entire bracket?  Thanks to data acquired from the Department of Education, Business Insider filled out this year's tournament bracket based on the total revenues generated by each of the 68 basketball programs.  The average Division-1 men's basketball program brings in an average of $8 million per year, which makes teams like Oregon ($8.3M), Texas A&M ($8.1M), and Utah ($8.3M), who are highly ranked in the tournament, susceptible to upsets by programs generating more revenue.  All three of these teams according to the BI bracket, are ousted before the Elite Eight by basketball heavyweights Duke ($33.8M), Texas ($16.7M), and Gonzaga ($12.2M).  As you can see, the money in college basketball follows the blue blood programs who have histories of winning national titles, recruiting the best players, and having the best coaches, as Duke, Arizona, Syracuse, and Kentucky--the Final Four participants--combine to bring in $107 million annually.

Source: Business Insider

With all of this money being thrown around in collegiate sports and collegiate athletes being viewed as amateurs, is it time to institute a pay-for-play compensation scale? Well, to stratify the data provided by the Department of Education, BI was also able to calculate the value of an individual player on these 13-man rosters of D-1 programs using the NBA's recent collective bargaining agreement, giving players a minimum of 49% of all revenue.  Based on the average revenue of a basketball program ($8M), the average D-1 basketball player is worth a whopping $296,723 per year.  This value becomes markedly higher when players attend the likes of Louisville, a team that has the highest annual revenue of $45.8M yielding a $1.7M per year value for each of their individual players.  Other notable programs with high individual player value include Indiana ($905,185), UNC ($782,927), Northwestern ($567,399) and Pitt ($562,623).

Source: Business Insider

Objectors to the pay-for-performance concept in collegiate athletics often bring up the fact that athletes attend school for free and are provided the opportunity to play on the nation"s stage garnering media exposure and other perks of the trade.  Some argue that this current agreement should suffice.  When regular students are struggling to pay for a school's tuition expenses, the spoils of an athlete seem to be fair.  In reality, the rewards of of collegiate sports have become so lucrative for coaches and institutions that the athletes are wondering where their share of the pie is.

In 2011, USA Today tabulated the scholarship values of that year's Final Four teams' players (Butler, UCONN, Kentucky, and VCU).  The average among them was $38,119, which adjusted for inflation, is equal to approximately $40,182 in 2016.  This means the players at mid-major schools and even in the Power 6 conferences generate roughly seven times the amount of their granted scholarships.  Imagine playing for Louisville where a player's value of $1.7M could exceed an average scholarship by twenty-seven times and not reap any financial gain.  If I'm spending anywhere from 30 to 45 hours per week on athletics, time that's taken away from valuable class sessions, extracurricular involvement and educational learning by the university that, by the way, is also responsible for hanging my jersey in its bookstore windows, I'm not all that agreeable to what's currently given to me.  It sounds to me like I'd be an unpaid university employee.  The marginal cost of not being given a fair and equal education no longer equals the marginal benefit of the multi-millions of dollars that are slipped into the pockets of everyone except the athlete.

All things being equal, there is still time to fill out your brackets in whatever manner you see fit. Join in on InTheRough's own craziness and play in our pool on ESPN.  First round matches begin tomorrow at noon Eastern time. Who ya got?

Prince Curry

Is Stephen Curry the greatest basketball player on the planet? 

The slender kid from Davidson College who absolutely electrified the 2008 NCAA Tournament, joining Clyde Louellette, Jerry Chambers, and Glen Robinson as the only college players to score over 30 points in their first four career tournament games, while leading his team to the Elite Eight, is not just a kid anymore.  

Five years later, Stephen Curry has amassed an NBA Championship, MVP, and multiple three-point shooting records--collegiate and professional.  His game and body, for that matter, took time to adjust to NBA rigors, but Curry has emerged from his first journey to the pinnacle as the NBA's deadliest weapon. 

He saunters up the court, ready to pull the trigger at any point.  He knows no range.  His step-backs, runners, and side-steps all fluid and natural.  Give him a sliver of space and he's either a blur or the deadliest shooter the world has ever seen.  When the three point line was adopted in the 1979-80 season, I don't think the rule makers imagined the evolution of a game-wrecker like Stephen Curry.  In the month of January alone, he and the Golden State Warriors managed to beat King James and the Cleveland Cavaliers (at Cleveland for the first time since winning the championship last June) AND the San Antonio Spurs, who are 45-8, by a combined 64 points. The Warriors' games have become so laughably one-side that Curry will sometimes sit in the fourth quarter, while still leading the league in points per game with 29.8.  Golden State is an unbelievably well-coached, highly skilled unit that is rivaling Michael Jordan's 1997 Bulls team, but when Curry is not in the lineup Golden State looks like a spitting image of themselves. Like Jordan and James, he is a basketball anomaly; a once-in-a-lifetime player who's skill, style and popularity will transform the game of basketball into a new modernity.

***

After a Game 5 defeat in the 2015 NBA Finals, Lebron James responded to a question of his comfortability performing on the game's biggest stage by simply proclaiming, "I feel confident because I'm the best player in the world.  It's that simple."  Despite the King's adamant belief in himself, his response raised some eyebrows as it is rare you hear an athlete elevate him/herself to such a high pedestal.  In context though, you kind of believed him; I mean averaging 35 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists dragging along a tattered Cavaliers lineup is the epitome of hero-ball.  Having seen the outcome of the Finals and having witnessed the relentless rampage of Stephen Curry, should we still believe Lebron James? 

Over time, one's achievements elevate a player to such a platform, but who ascends to the throne and for how long are only questions reserved for the basketball gods.  There is no defined criteria for becoming the world's best basketball player.  However, the curriculum vitae of past athletes who were regarded as the globe's best--I'm talking Kareem, Magic, Larry, MJ, Kobe, and Lebron--provides a conceptual framework of the road left to travel for Stephen Curry.

To be the GOAT, the Greatest of All Time, or a "once-in-a-generation" player, winning is everything and it is the only thing.  Championships, yes that is multiple, are vital as well as Most Valuable Player awards in the regular season and in NBA Finals appearances.  Perhaps the most important element of this journey is the ability to put together successive seasons of championships and awards; legends have to continue to prove their greatness and defeat those who are just as hungry as they are for that transcendent tag.   

The sustained dominance of these eight legends is the reason why some of basketball's greatest players and hall-of-famers have not been able to achieve their own dreams of winning an NBA championship (e.g. Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and Kevin Durant).  Each legend ruled over the NBA for a given period of time, some simultaneously, accumulating championships and post-season honors along their quest.  

No other basketball player has as many championships as Bill Russell with 11! In the 1960s, the Boston Celtics, the team he played center for, failed to win the championship just once.  The Celtics owned that decade and Russell was their anchor.  With five MVP awards during that span, King Russell ruled from 1959-1969.  

Before there was an Air Jordan, Kareem set the standard.  Winning Rookie of the Year in 1970 and back-to-back MVP awards in the two years following, Jabbar's twenty-year career included the highest amount of Most Valuable Player awards given to a player with six.  Besides Kareem's lone title with the Milwaukee Bucks, who drafted him in 1970, his championships came with the flash of the Showtime Lakers, but his unprecedented skill set ran rampant across the NBA for the better part of the 1970s.  

The 1980s saw better league parity compared to the NBA's early years; however, two players and their teams, the Celtics and the Lakers battled repeatedly for supremacy.  Larry Bird and Magic Johnson collided early in their careers during the 1979 NCAA Basketball Championship that would foreshadow the dominance and control they wielded in their respective conferences--Larry in the East and Magic in the West.  Three times (1984, '85, and '87) did they meet in the NBA Finals to settle who would reign supreme.  Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers got the better of Birds' Celtics, winning the lifetime series 2-1.

Then there was Michael Jordan, who came and went and came again just to make sure we didn't forget what Air Jordan meant.  From his off-court personality, the man with the shoes and movie deals, to his on-court demeanor--the killer and ultimate trash-talker--Michael Jordan ushered the league into its modern-era by defining what it meant to be a superstar.

The exodus of the league's highest exalted left a void of entertainment and power.  Imitating Jordan's style and flare, Kobe Bryant, a child prodigy emerging straight out of Lower Merion high school, traversed a twenty-year NBA career to mature as the "HeroVillain."  It wasn't all sunshine in Hollywood under the Black Mamba's reign, as the consummate power forward, Tim Duncan, and the San Antonio Spurs became a constant territorial enemy in the West. 

If you have Lebron James on your team, you have an immediate opportunity to win a championship.  For five straight seasons, Lebron has ended his year fighting for the right to call himself and his team the best.  After twelve years in the league, King James is still stuffing the stat sheet, playing the game as the Jack-of-all-trades.  His engine, though he'll deny it, is starting to deteriorate.  All of those games played well into the summer--Finals series and Olympic games--as well as the grueling minutes are starting to take a toll on James, sighting lower back and hamstring issues as chronic injuries.  Time waits for no man and the mortality of Lebron James has been particularly evident watching a more spritely individual wow and amaze us just like the kid from Akron did before he blazed his NBA path just some years ago.

I don't think it's a question of if Stephen Curry becomes the most dominant basketball player rather a matter of when that time comes, if it hasn't already.

He has the number one selling jersey in the NBA and he was second in All-Star votes behind Kobe Bryant, who made his final All-Star Game appearance just yesterday.  It is evident that the tide of popularity has shifted in Curry's favor.

Wardell Stephen Curry II is not just running away with his second MVP award, but he's doing it while embarrassing great teams with great players.  It gets harder and harder to refute his on-court dominion and notion that this league is his when he's running circles around the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, in Kawhi Leonard, making him look silly and making King James question the possibility of winning another NBA championship.  At twenty-seven years old, Prince Curry has entered the prime of his NBA career.  If he wishes to join the esteemed list of all-time greats he must continue to dominate and continue to win.  It is time for him to build his legend.