Old School: The Vault

Those magnificent bastards (Seinfeld reference) at Sports Illustrated have opened their vault.

Well, that's what they call it anyway. They have made available every cover, every article, every photo gallery, or simply, every darn thing in their archive and made it available for online users. I eat this stuff up. I'm always sifting through old newspapers reading old recaps, boxscores, anecdotes, anything I can get my hands on. (Which reminds me, where can I get one of these shirts?)

Anyway, periodically I'll be linking up any PG-related stuff from the pages of SI, and what better way to start than with a little Magic - as in Magician Johnson (making his nickname into a longer name will catch on people). Enjoy.

Tale of Two PG's

As crazy as it sounds, Atlanta is going to the playoffs.

Well, it’s not a guaranteed thing, but right now they’re sitting in the eighth seed, a game-and-a-half ahead of New Jersey. It would be their first playoff visit since ’99, and what do you know, that’s the last time they had a good PG – Mookie “Don’t call me Daron” Blaylock.

Think about it, the guys who came after the Mookster and before Mike Bibby: Jason Terry (a loud-mouthed two trapped in a ones body), Dan Dickau (forever destined for backup status), Jacque Vaughn (he of no jump shot), Tyronn Lue (has been looking for Iverson since June of ’01) and Joe Johnson (great young player, but better at a different position).

And you know, Bibby isn’t the most traditional of PG’s - nobody is going to mistake him for Mark Price (just thought I’d throw out a vintage name out there) – but he has playoff experience, takes care of the ball (just 2.4 TO per) and best of all, makes big shots. What? You haven’t seen many Kings games in recent years?

Anyway, his departure from Atlanta has had a two-pronged effect: Bibby gives Atlanta their first good PG of the decade; Sacramento immediately promoted Beno Udrih, poor man’s Calderon, to the starter spot, where he played so darn well while Bibby missed a large chunk of the season’s first two months.

Udrih, banished by Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, has given the Kings a ton of stability at the point, averaging 12.8 points and 4.4 assists in 60 games this year. Who spiked his Gatorade? And I know this may come as a surprise, but he’s playing for a contract. I know, we’ve never seen a guy have a career year when he’s playing for a contract, but Udrih probably thought (in broken English), “If I play good, I get money…” And in all honesty, he's a bargain-basement guy: $561,000 this year.

Now that I’m sidetracked, Udrih should re-sign with Sacramento, unless they pursue better available players at his position – something tells me Agent Zero wouldn’t place Sac-Town high on his priority list, but who knows? Bottom line: Udrih has made the most of his King-sized opportunity, no doubt earning a nice contract, and he’ll get to watch his ex-teammate (Bibby) make the playoffs (and get bounced four-straight by Boston).

Everybody wins.

Player Spotlight: Deron Williams

How good is Deron Williams?

Well, just last week he passed Pete Maravich for fifth place on the Jazz all-time assists list. It took Williams just a shade under three full seasons to catch what Maravich compiled in five and one-half seasons, two which were practically wiped out from injuries.

Of course, their respective Jazz roles are (and were) different.

Williams, in just his third season, is easily one of the top five PG’s in the league, and is knocking on the door of ten assists per-game – he is one of the best passers in the league. His rapid improvement since his rookie year – he’s almost a 20/10 guy this year - more than justifies Utah’s decision to take him ahead of Chris Paul in the ’05 draft.

Maravich, on the other hand, played for New Orleans, who were an expansion team at the time The Pistol arrived and were a squad who needed their Meal Ticket to shoot more than 20 times per. Maravich is one of the great oxymoron’s of hoops: The greatest passer who ever lived was considered, by some, to be a ball-hog.

Also keep in mind the level of teammates for both Williams and Maravich.

Funnily enough, three of the game’s more noted gunners – Maravich, Karl Malone (second) and Adrian Dantley (seventh) – occupy spots on the Jazz all-time assists list.

One final note: Williams has a better chance of passing Malone on the all-time scoring list (he’d need roughly 36,000 points to do that) than he does of passing Stockton’s assist record of over 15,000. Seriously. That Stockton mark is residing on another planet, one that can’t be reached.

Player Spotlight: Mr. Big Shot

Both of my readers will point to my weekly column immediately after reading this piece and say, “Didn’t he write just last week that Chauncey Billups should never have been a MVP candidate in 2006?”

Of course, I still stick by this – see my column for further explanation – claim, because while it’s entirely possible for Billups to be named MVP of a five-game Finals series (’04 against the Lakers), it isn’t even close to being possible for an 82-game season.

However, that’s not what I’m here to explain, but rather, Billups’ enjoyment of playing against the best PG’s in the league.

After he burned Nash and the Suns for 32 points in Detroit’s OT win Monday night, I broke into a cold sweat (OK, maybe I didn’t) while thinking about the time Billups did something eerily similar to Little Stevey on the day after April Fools Day ’06. Why do I remember it? Well, it was a Sunday afternoon, the game was on ABC, and Phoenix was wearing those Tom Chambers uniforms; it’s safe to say Nash’s defense would’ve made Chambers proud that day. (Billups went for 35, including 28 in the second half while holding Nash to 13).

After digesting tonight’s game, I was wracking my brain to think of a time when Billups was outplayed by another top PG – I couldn’t do it. So, in a time like this, I go to Bball-Ref and sift through their gadgets to get the statistical evidence.

(Note: I checked all Billups’ head-to-head matchups with fellow stud PG’s for all games played beginning with the ‘03 season. Why? Well, that’s since he became the Billups we all know and love, and besides, the Billups prior to that was somewhat of a journeyman, yet to reach his potential, and was handed around by many, not unlike Harold Miner’s rookie card when we all realized that he was just a dunker. With the Miner reference, I realize I’m sidetracked, back to the head-to-head.)

BILLUPS VS TOP PG’s - 2002-03 TO PRESENT

BILLUPS VS STEVE NASH
Billups: 19.7 ppg, 5.8 apg; Nash: 19.1 ppg, 9.2 apg

BILLUPS VS JASON KIDD
Billups: 17.3 ppg, 6.9 apg; Kidd: 12.8 ppg, 8.3 apg

BILLUPS VS CHRIS PAUL
Billups: 20.8 ppg, 7.6 apg; Paul: 17.0 ppg, 9.8 apg

BILLUPS VS DERON WILLIAMS
Billups: 19.2 ppg, 5.8 apg; Williams: 18.8 ppg, 9.2 apg

BILLUPS VS BARON DAVIS
Billups: 16.3 ppg, 4.2 apg; Davis: 14.5 ppg, 7.3 apg

As you can see, Billups has more than held his own. For the record, Billups has a career average of 14.8 points per game, and in each of these instances he’s above it. This is some crazy stuff.

Old School: Stockton, circa '88

Yes, there was a time when John Stockton was fighting just to be noticed.

It actually took him three full seasons to become a starter in Utah, and his coming-out party was the ’88 Western Conference Semi-Finals against the defending champion Lakers. The Jazz took LA to seven, where they eventually lost.

Stockton earned league-wide respect with his ridiculous 115 assists in the seven games – that’s 16.4 per game for you math majors trying to tabulate.

He also handed out 24 assists in Game 5 in LA, still tied for the all-time playoff record. It’s a game they air on NBA TV on occasion – one that ended with a Michael Cooper buzzer-beater - and Stock’s performance needs to be shown to any kid who wants to grow up to play the point guard position the right way. He also had 29 and 20 in Game 7 - do I need to even try to explain just how crazy that is?

In honor of Stockton’s amazing series, I’ve done some digging around to find links to further reading (courtesy of the NY Times archives) -

Game 3 \ Game 4 \ Game 5 \ Game 6 \ Game 7

(UPDATE: Found on YouTube (of course) Stockton's record-setting game and a recap of the Jazz-Lakers series)

Player Spotlight: Calderon/Ford

When Jose Calderon seemingly thrived with the absence of TJ Ford - who usually starts ahead of him - things got so out of control that at some point in late January, some experts were using the word “All-Star” in the same sentences that contained the word “Calderon.”

Ford, he of never-ending injury bug, went down in December, and it allowed Calderon, an incredibly efficient backup point guard, to step in and play unimpeded minutes. His vision went from one-eye-on-court-other-on-bench to two-eyes-on-court. And the results were freaky. As a matter of fact, right now he’s on course to become just the fourth – fourth – player in league history to average at least eight assists while shooting better than 50% from the field and 90% from the line.

The others? Points gods known as Magic, Price and Nash.

Of course, Ford rained on this little Spanish parade by becoming healthy by February. Shame on him. And so Toronto had the “problem” of having two above average PG’s locking horns to see which could get the better part of the 48 minutes they had to share.

And both have struggled… predictably.

Predictably because Ford is trying to successfully come back after a serious injury; Calderon, because he has seen his minutes hacked into with a chainsaw by Coach Sam Mitchell, who has no choice but to play both.

Ford has played 21 games since returning: 9.7 points, 5.0 assists, 19.9 minutes per. Calderon, who has started all 21: 10.6 points, 7.6 dimes, 29.8 minutes, this after averaging 15 points and 10.5 assists in the month of January. So basically, having too much of a good thing, in this instance, is well, a bad thing.

I saw the Raps game in LA two weeks ago, and with Calderon struggling in the second-half, Mitchell went to Ford, who proceeded to carry the Raptors on his back. He scored 28 points – his high since coming back – and looked about as close to Kevin Johnson, circa ’90, as anyone alive. He was in the paint, he was disrupting things, heck, he even tried to dunk on Kobe. (He was fouled, no call). But then there are nights like March 7, against Washington, when Calderon had it going (20 points, nine dimes) and Ford got just 14 minutes.

Isn’t there something wrong with two immensely talented guys competing for minutes that aren’t really there?

Yeah, and while it’s a nice problem to have, just remember that ever-so-rarely they actually play well together. Plus, screwing their minutes around has obviously messed with Calderon, and Ford, the former starter, is adjusting to a new role – that of coming off the bench.

So while it may appear nice that having two of the 15 best PG’s in the game at your disposal sure would be nice, if mishandled, it isn’t beneficial at all.

AI comes home

I'd love to commemorate Allen Iverson's return to Philly with about a million anecdotes that I have from watching him play for the Sixers.

But this does a much better job.

Take the time so sift through it, it should make the appreciation for what this guy does every night - every night for the last 12 years - only grow.

ALSO: Part 2

Got one more in ya, J-Kidd?

I’d love to take credit for this tidbit, but I can’t.

It was actually my Dad who realized it the day Jason Kidd was traded to Dallas - that his (Kidd’s, not my Dad’s) quest for 100 career triple-doubles was basically flushed down the toilet. And after seeing Kidd’s one-point, three-board, seven-assist stink-bomb against LA Wednesday night, I realized something: The old man might be right.

Unlike in NJ, where Kidd had to do everything short of selling popcorn, it no longer seems likely that the planets will align in Dallas one night where they’ll need him to play the all-around game that he actually made look routine for the Nets.

And really, this isn’t that big of a deal, but for a retrospective/fantasy-driven guy like myself, 99 doesn’t look as good as 100.

But while I’m at it, Kidd has been somewhat overlooked when thinking of his place amongst the greatest PG’s ever. This probably is because his career overlaps that of names like Stockton, Payton and Nash. Guys you may have heard of.

But consider this: Kidd may have the best all-around statistical resume of any point guard ever. Ever. That’s right. He has plenty more career boards (6810) than Stockton. Way more steals (2010) than Magic or Oscar Robertson, who we actually don’t know how many steals he had… whoops. More three-pointers (1336) than Payton, a noted gunner. More career points (14,434) than Nash.

And 99 career triple-doubles. That’s right. 99.

Rajon, meet Sam

I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t think Sam Cassell heading to Boston was going to be all that fine and dandy.

Why? Well, Cassell is, and always will be, a guy that demands a lot. Out of himself, out of teammates, coaches, me, you, the guy who bags your groceries. He can be obnoxious, but then make a clutch play that makes up for all the other stuff that comes in the Cassell Package.

With Sammy in Boston, there’s very little doubt that Cassell will want to play the bulk of the crunch-time minutes in any big games the C’s from this point forward. Is that good?

Probably not, considering that they’ve been grooming a young PG (Rajon Rondo) for those particular occasions since the day the Big 3 became, well, the next Big 3.

And it’s not that the 106-year-old Cassell is done – he showed Monday night in San Antonio that he isn’t – but it’s his effect on Rondo that is the question. Would Rondo, a dark-horse for the Most Improved award this year, handle being on the bench in late-game situations (a Cassell specialty) knowing this time last month he was definitely going to be counted on in those situations?

The first such occasion came Monday night against the Spurs, and with Ray Allen out (blessing in disguise), Boston turned to their diminutive duo in the fourth, playing them together… with great results.

Look, Cassell hitting daggers (like the go-ahead three with 46 ticks left) isn’t a great surprise, but Rondo outscoring reigning Finals MVP Tony Parker head-to-head (20-17) was. And while having them share time late in games probably won’t be the norm, at least Boston has two reliable PG’s when the time does come.

Cassell shouldn’t plan on standing on Rondo’s toes, despite the fact that his demeanor, demanding treatment of teammates, and cocky play suggests otherwise. This is Rondo’s team to run, and Cassell needs to adopt the mindset that it’s 1994, when he boosted the Rockets off the bench and all but had “It’s not who starts, but who finishes” tattooed on his chest.

So, in a way, he’s come full circle.

Rondo, meanwhile, can’t be looking over his shoulder with that good-looking lad Cassell hawk-eyeing from the bench. Sure, the Big 3 have done everything expected (maybe more?), but it’s been Rondo’s play that has been easily the most exciting thing the C’s have had.

Rondo’s not above one of those stupid Darrell Walker-like lines of inflated boards (he’s had at least six caroms 16 times) and assists, with low points. As a matter of fact, he’s had eight games where’s he had more boards than points. And he’s a point guard. And he’s 6’1’’. You have to love those guys. Of course, his scoring isn’t needed, but still, the guy is good.

That’s why Cassell’s presence hopefully won’t be a hindrance.

From the Tube: Stric(k)tly Good

Yes, someone actually went to the time and effort to make a Rod Strickland mix, and who am I to complain? Hey, I grew up in the golden era, I remember he led the league in assists in '98, I remember him single-handedly keeping the '93 Blazers (the year after they made the Finals) afloat with Drexler out, I remember him kicking a towel in the direction of Rick Pitino during his tenure with the Knicks, and I also remember the over-the-head pass to no one in the dying moments of Game 7 the '90 WCSF against Portland.

We love you Rod Strickland.

Player Spotlight: Anthony Carter

If you were to pick the perfect guy to play alongside Allen Iverson, you’d for sure have a guy who is a) Not a willing participant in offensive forays (too technical?), b) A guy who can merely dribble the ball over half-court and pass to either wing, and c) A guy who can guard both guard spots well.

Sounds simple, right? Well, it hasn’t always been that way.

History has taught us a helluva lot when looking at the guys AI has played with.

Believe me, his first lab partner, Jerry Stackhouse, was never going to play well next to the rookie Iverson. Everyone said they’d need two basketballs to survive; everyone was right. Stack lasted one full season, plus two months into a second, before heading to Detroit.

There was a lot of scoring, a lot of frustrated yet highly capable teammates who were shut out, a whole bunch of losing, and even a car park rumble between, as the story went, “Stack’s guys” and “Iverson’s guys.” When asked about it, Stack said it was a fight between “guys who didn’t want to fight, and guys who didn’t know how to fight.” Which one was he?

Then Philly drafted Larry Hughes in ‘98, and the “Flight Bros” (as dubbed by the best in the play-by-play biz – Marc Zumoff) were born. These guys perhaps would’ve been better in aviation, designing planes or something, than on a basketball court.

Then there’s the greener grass, the guys who succeeded alongside AI, or better yet, the guys who allowed AI to form into this 70-inch shooting guard we have come to know and (on occasion) love: Eric Snow (most notably), Kevin Ollie (at times), Steve Blake (last year) and (currently) Anthony Carter.

Just an opinion, but I think Carter has been alongside AI during perhaps the best stretch of his career. During the first few weeks of the season when Carter (and Chucky Atkins) were out, AI had to shoulder a lot of the ball-handling which took a lot of energy - something this guy has a lot of anyway – to do.

Sure enough, Carter comes back, and within a week Iverson goes absolutely freaking ballistic offensively (29.3 ppg in their first full month together, up from 23.6 in a month spent mostly without Carter), including a 51-point doozy on the Lakers.

And Carter’s not one of those guys who your going to knock people over to draft in your fantasy league. But he’s hard-nosed, he’s a very good defender (in last week’s game against Phoenix, he positioned himself against Nash as well as anyone has), and he can also hit shots over the backboard. (Sorry, Miami Heat 2000 playoff flashback there – and how can this not be on YouTube? Does anyone remember this shot/game?).

Also: Carter needs to start ahead of Chucky Atkins for the simple reason that Atkins is a gunner who would be far better suited playing against other second-teams because he’s a scorer first and foremost.

Player Spotlight: Andre Miller

Not-so-chilly Philly have won nine of 11, to go from being on the outside of the ultra-competitive (ultra-sarcastic) East playoff race to suddenly be knocking on the door of the sixth placed Wiz.

And you can look no further than Andre Miller as the numero uno reason.

And no, it wasn’t his 32-point, five-board, seven-assist effort in a win over the Spurs Saturday night that prompted me to dash to the keyboard. Nope, sorry. He’s being doing it each of the last 11 games, putting up 18.8 points and 6.5 dimes per in this mini Sixer revival.

Funny thing is, the guy has been putting up nice numbers for going-on nine years, yet he’s never been noted as one of the top-three PG’s in the game, even when he led the league in assists in ’02. By the way, that was an amazing accomplishment; he had Lamond Murray and Wes Person as his main passing options – ladies and gents think about that please.

(It’s also worth noting that he’s not at about 13 points and six assists per game, which it feels like he did every year from 2003 to 2007!)

Miller has been the best he’s ever been in ’08, and he actually has Philly in the playoff hunt, while the team who dealt him (Denver) may be off fishing in late April. Oh, how the wonderful East operates. However, don’t overlook what Miller, having a career-year at age 31, has done. Hollinger even has him ranked ninth among PG’s (second on Philly) in efficiency, ahead of guys like Kidd, Devin Harris and Sam Cassell.

Definitely one of those dudes who has slipped through the cracks – not unlike Mookie Blaylock in that regard during the golden era – but is probably fine with that.

Opening Tip

Right now I’m shooting 0-1 from the field in the blogosphere.

Reason? Well, I tried this blogging deal early last year, made it for any NBA ramblings that I had, but with other writing commitments (Hi to the folks at 411mania.com) as well as the fact I work roughly 50 hours a week, I wasn’t devoting near enough time to it as I should have. My bad.

OK, but I have decided that had to change. If I want to get anywhere writing about hoops I’ll need more than one column a week. So in order to fully cleanse my blogging structure and upgrade my own writing, I ditched the good ‘ol “Hoops Journalist” moniker and decided to focus squarely on one particular subject. Why was anyone gonna wanna read my ramblings on everything from Tim Donaghy to the mighty Western Conference when they can just head over to the capable guys at ESPN and Yahoo!?

So, instead I’ve become a blogging monopoly.

I just write about PG’s now. P-o-i-n-t G-u-a-r-d-s. That’s right. No 2’s. No 3’s. No nothin’… but PG’s. Why? Well two reasons: 1) There is an inordinate amount of great-to-very-good ones running teams in the L as we speak (Nash, Paul, Kidd, Deron Williams, to name only the best of this diminutive crop); 2) I was one myself in college (although my former teammates may severely question that). So I’d like to think I at least “understand” what’s going on.

The aim here is to bring light to all things regarding point guards. If I read something about one of the PG’s right now – like this piece on Philly’s Andre Miller – then I’ll link it up. If there’s a stat or comparison you guys need to see, which you’ll no doubt find it here, I’ll do that too. If someone ever decides to put up a decent Dennis Johnson or Fat Lever clip on YouTube, you can bet I’ll be hitting it up here. I’ll be breaking down performances, analyzing the past greats of the position, and if you’re lucky, I’ll throw in a tragic anecdote from my all-too-brief career. OK, I promise I’ll try not to do that, but the rest you can put me down for.

Let the Point Guard Nation begin.