Continuing the theme of epic moves this week in the NBA, Blake Griffin's one-handed dunk over Kendrick Perkins could possibly be the best dunk of the year so far, but then again, we're still in the beginning of the year. However, this dunk is an absolute must see!
In the end, a 112-100 triumph last night ultimately ended the Thunder's four-game winning streak in a matchup of division leaders. Griffin had 22 points to go with Chris Paul's 26 points and 14 assists.
Earlier today, I had the chance to witness one of the cleanest alley-oops ever! And when I say clean, I mean graceful, effortless and jaw-dropping (or maybe that would be a bit of an exaggeration). This afternoon, Miami Heat played the Chicago Bulls (a match-up between last season's Easter conference finalists)... and this is what transpired during the game:
The game proceeded normally until LeBron James decided to jump over somebody - and that somebody was Chicago's guard John Lucas III - to complete an alley-oop from Heat guard, Dwayne Wade. Simply ridiculous!!!
On a more personal note this week, I celebrated my 23rd birthday just this past Monday and the weekend leading up to it, was absolutely amazing! For the first time in 2 years, I had the chance to attend a Toronto Raptors game as part of my surprise birthday gift... what a game! Although I've lived in Toronto most of my life, I've never exactly been a Toronto fan for any professional sport or major sport league, which may be unfortunate, but in my eyes there are so many other teams out there with great talent and players who are on the rise to stardem - something Toronto has always had bad luck in. Toronto will always be my home to me no matter where life takes me, but its just unfortunate that it hasn't had much luck with any of its professional sport teams in the recent years.
Jan.20 -- Toronto Raptors vs. Portland Trail Blazers
As I mentioned before, I had the amazing chance to attend a NBA game this past weekend and it was an absolutely amazing game for a few reasons regardless of the fact that the Toronto Raptors lost. One of the main reasons this game was SO exciting for me was because of LaMarcus Aldridge!
LaMarcus Aldridge has been in the pro league for 5 years now and during the game I was fortunate to witness, he scored a season-high of 33 points (not far from his career-high of 42 points) and a career-high 14 defensive rebounds and 23 total rebounds during the game!!! With these stats and his past stellar performances, Aldridge is ranked for the following (regular season), just to name a few (according to NBA.com):
Ranks #2 in the NBA in field goal attempts (320)
Ranks #3 in the NBA in field goals made (157)
Ranks #5 in the NBA in points (386)
Ranks #7 in the NBA in points per 48 minutes (29.3)
Ranks #7 in the NBA in points per game (22.7)
It was absolutely amazing being able to watch his stellar performance in person and to say that I was actually there when it all happened... Aldridge could very well be the best power forward in the game right now. James Johnson of the Toronto Raptors didn't even come close to playing as well as Aldridge even though he was a top performer for the Raptors that night. Johnson was able to score 23 points and 6 rebounds, which doesn't even come close to that scored by Aldridge. This game was not only talked about through media, but also between teammates. According to Aldridge's teammate, Jamal Crawford, Aldridge put the whole team on his back that night, during the game, and that's what players do. With that being said, I can confidently say, there's another star on the rise!
To me, one of the most exciting things about basketball and any major league sport are the trades, as they leave much to the imagination and create havoc for those who participate in fantasy sports and follow the league with great regard and dedication - it creates excitement, anxiety, anxiousness and curiosity all at once! One of the biggest events and created one of the NBA's most discussed, cussed, free agent bounties in some time and biggest coming out parties was the free agent signings of Chris Bosh and LeBron James to the Miami Heat, joining already team member, Dwayne Wade. This signing not only created a 'dynasty' (as some thought), but it was an introduction to a new 'Big Three' or so they were labeled. But, were they really what people were hoping them to be? Were they everything that the name 'Big Three' encapsulated?
I personally don't believe that Miami created a dynasty - I felt that the signing was just overrated in a sense that everyone expected them to be great... more than great, to create a dynasty of 'three kings.' Yes, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade are amazing players, but they're amazing players individually, and that in itself is even arguable. The amount of hype that was created globally was incredible and the amount of attention it received was phenomenal, but was it all intentional?
This brings me to the main focus of my post, "buddy ball." Are these signings controlled by the players themselves, for the sole purpose of allowing star players to play with their "buddies?" This may have not been the case of Miami Heat's Big Three, but with recent trades that have occurred within the league, specifically within this season alone, you can't help but question what exactly is going on within the league? Some say, the glory days are officially over.
As much as I dislike Miami Heat, I believe their off-season acquisitions weren't made just so their top three players could play together on the same team, unlike recent trades that have taken place this season, Putting together the Big Three in Miami took years of planning that involved salary-dumping, and a long process of recruitment to even make the trade possible. So at the very least, I give Miami credit for that. Another team that has done incredibly well for themselves considering the players on the team and their development of the years is the Chicago Bulls (one of my favourite teams of all time). Derrick Rose (my favourite player) has been an incredible player from the very beginning, and one of the main reasons why their team is so successful without having to acquire star players is because he's one of the few players in the league who has a team building around him. Talking about basketball and their players is like talking about any sport team in general, whether you have star quality players with God-given talent, a team isn't going to be successful if all they have are star-quality players and nothing else, but again, that's arguable. In the case of Miami, they one have 3 players, and not much of anything else, but is that what's going to bring them a championship ring? It didn't work last season, but who knows.
In the case of other teams and the trades that have happened this season, its almost hard not to think that in 3 years or so, the league will be boasting about 6-7 super-teams and nothing else. But that's my thought. Has the league lost all its glory because of their star players' trade preferences and what has been happening? And is it because of "buddy ball?" Does "buddy ball" even exist?
