Category Archives: Basketball

Basketball, College Basketball, March Madness, Sports, Uncategorized

BRACKETIQUETTE

March 17, 2014 Wayne Cavadi 3 Comments

Big news here at The Wayniac blogosphere. I am proud to introduce our first guest writer. Mike Dunton, aka Q-Tip if you’ve read my shout outs, is an old friend from Delaware. He’s a long-time UNC fan which makes him a professional Duke hater. He has already helped out by providing valuable information for my Hate Duke Nation piece in February. Today he becomes a full-fledged contributor to the ever growing Wayniac Nation.

Dunton is the overly excited guy in the middle. Benny Smalls is the guy to his right that if I didn't add him, he would yell at me. — Dunton is the overly excited guy in the middle. Benny Smalls is the guy to the right that if I didn’t add him, he would yell at me.

So without further ado: BRACKETIQUETTE (we’re TMing this baby!)

Brackets are here! Some teams had their bubble burst on Sunday, some weren’t even considered, but for 68 teams all of the hard work paid off with their long awaited invite to the Big Dance. For me, Selection Sunday is like Christmas morning. I can remember laying on the floor in my parents’ living room with a bracket I made on oak tag during the Big 10 championship game so I could fill it out as the teams were announced. I waited all day for the selections, waiting to fill out each team as they were announced. There were times I felt that CBS should have a camera on ME filming my reaction to the match-ups, the cheering for those who snuck in, and the helpless eye rolls of despair of those who didn’t make the cut. Today, things have become much easier thanks to technology, but it is still a piece of my childhood. Every time I hear that siren’s song of CBS’ March Madness music, I get antsy watching who’s in and who’s out. Then I wait with bated breath to see where my favorite team (UNC) and least favorite team (Duke) are heading. After taking in all the glory that is the NCAA bracket, I try to figure out which region is the proverbial walk in the park — this is usually where Duke lands — and which team’s chances of making it to the Final Four are like surviving the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones.

With all of this excitement, there are a few things to remember as you prepare to fill out your bracket for your office pool or your chance at the $1 Billion from Warren Buffet. Here are some rules I have lived by for the majority of my life when it comes to entering these pools:

5 Ways to Ensure People Don’t Hate You During the Madness:

1. You can only fill out one bracket per pool that you enter. I loathe the person who enters a pool with multiple brackets. You are showing us that you can’t decide if Delaware is going to beat Michigan State in Round 2 (formally known as Round 1). Not cool! This is not a true bracketologist. There is no skill to this — you are hedging your bets! This is a person who enters multiple sheets all with different scenarios and then, if by chance they win, they brag about their “mad skills” as if they were the next Joe Lunardi. Well, that doesn’t fly in my world. Fill out one bracket per pool. If you want multiple scenarios, enter multiple bracket pools. At the very least it will make you look like you know what you are doing instead of being a person who dropped $50 in order to win $100.

2. Enter a pool that allows upset points for the lower seeds victories. This makes the games so much more entertaining. There was no greater thrill I had than watching the 15 seed Coppin State Eagles take down the 2 seed South Carolina Gamecocks in the 1997 tournament and knowing that I had picked it. My friends and I were fully invested in the game because I had a chance to receive an additional 13 points on that pick. Without the upset points, I could have cared less what happened to the Eagles after their win. Instead, I became one of those jackasses screaming at the one TV that no one is watching. Those teams may become yearly picks for you if they pay off one time in your brackets. After all, that’s how Gonzaga made their name!

3. No one wants to hear that you picked based on mascots or colors. That line is older than, “How you doing?” It’s played out. We get it — you didn’t know anything about the 7 vs.11 matchup in the West region so you looked at the cute bear and picked that team. There are people like myself who watch a lot of college basketball and feel betrayed by teams when they let us down in games that we thought we picked right. If you happen to pick based on your favorite color and win, just smile and say, “lucky guess” when asked how you knew that team was going to win.

4. Pick with your brain not your heart. It is going to be hard for me to pick against my alma mater Delaware next week. It’s tough to make a pick that will knowingly break my heart. I am pretty sure that, as much as I want them to win, my wallet is pulling for the higher seed. So here is what I tell you: take a realistic look at the whole region “your” team is in. If you think that their opponent in round 2 has no realistic chance of winning the region, then pick with your heart. It’s fun to have a game like that on your bracket on the off chance your team pulls the upset. But you have to face reality. Let your brain start picking after that first game. It is going to keep you in the pool longer, and you will be happier down the road.

This is your brain picking Delaware to win it all... — This is your brain picking Delaware to win it all…

5. Know what teams you picked on your bracket. Nothing makes me more irritated than spending the day with a group at a sports bar and listening to someone tell me, “I think I picked that upset, I think I picked that one too, and that one.” Then hours later you check your pool’s standings and they were wrong on 3 out of 4 of them. All that means is that you wanted to pick it but did not have the cahones to do so. If you make an upset pick, you are going to know that you picked it and we won’t question it. A little bit of help here is to print out your bracket(s) and bring them with you if you don’t think you will remember teams. I had mine in 2011 at the Time Warner Arena in Charlotte so I could keep up with the games and ended up walking out of the arena next to Pat Riley. Guess who signed my bracket? See, they can come in handy for other things too!

Now go have some fun and pick some winners! (You can follow Dunton on Twitter at @dartbus1521).

Basketball, College Basketball, March Madness, Sports, Uncategorized

Let’s Party Like It’s 1999!!!

March 11, 2014 Wayne Cavadi 4 Comments

Last night, the University of Delaware delivered quite the birthday present to my fellow Blue Hen alums Rinalli, Andrew, and Larry by stamping their ticket to March Madness. The Ass Kickin’ Chickens will be making just their fifth appearance in tournament history but we are Dancing nonetheless. Yes, Blue Hen Nation we are Dancing to some sweet, sweet music and as Delaware alum, still current resident, and Delaware’s sharpest jeweler , Taco, so eloquently put it, we hope the DJ keeps spinning through March!

When I was accepted at University of Delaware way back in 1993, we were amid a two year run in the tournament. In fact, the spring before I moved into Dickinson Hall F in 1993, we nearly upset Louisville losing 76-70. In August of that same year I made Newark my home and Delaware basketball fell off the map. Luckily for me, I seriously messed up my freshman year of college (do you realize how far Dickinson was from main campus? Why would I walk there when I had beer from State Line Liqours sitting in my fridge?) so I got to stay there for a fifth year before entering the “real world”. While most of the friends I walked into Freshmam Orientation with were gone, I got to stay around and watch the Blue Hens make the tournament in 1998. I remember the championship game being on ESPN and my good friend Ryan Law rushing the court and being so happy that he saw his shirt sleeve on national T.V. in the highlights. I remember this turtle-neck, sports coat-wearing, former Duke assistant named Mike Brey being regarded as the savior of Delaware athletics. I also remember that my Philosophy teacher was a Purdue grad and gave us off for the first round game against his alma mater. We were blown out of the water. I’m pretty sure I remember Purdue scoring 18 points before we were on the board, and it was one measly free throw. We lost that game 95-56 and I left Newark athletically unfulfilled.

We made the tourney again in 1999 but once again lost big to Tennessee. Since then the only promising hype Delaware had about basketball was Elena Delle Donna. She led the nation in scoring as a junior, took the women deep in the tourney, and became the second overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft.

Now, with Selection Sunday less than a week away, the Blue Hens have returned to The Dance 15 years later. Monte Ross is our head coach as Mike Brey left to become a national figure at Notre Dame. Last night, the patios at Deer Park and Klondike Kate’s better have been overflowing. God Street Wine, Grinch, Caravan, Love Seed Mama Jump, Jefe, and Mr. Greenjeans better have been blaring through the Mall, Harrington Beach, and the Student Center (the old one, not that new brightly lit, crazy one). There better have been some beer spilled for The Stone Balloon. And there better have been hundreds of college mistakes made at the wee hours of the morning. Why? Because this team not only made the tournament but has the chance to be your 2014 Bracket Buster.

TOP THREE REASONS WHY THE BLUE HENS HAVE A CHANCE:

YouDee says we're number 1 — YouDee says we’re number 1

3. We’re from CAA Country!

The Delaware Blue Hens beat William and Mary 75-74 in an exciting, down-to-the-wire finish to claim their first ever Colonial Athletic Association Championship. The CAA has been producing Bracket Busters pretty steadily over the last decade. Most people remember George Mason’s shocking run to the Final Four in 2006. A few people remember Old Dominion bouncing Notre Dame, coached by the aforementioned Mike Brey, in 2010. But most NCAA March Madness fans remember Shaka Smart and his Virginia Commonwealth Rams running from The First Four to The Final Four just 3 years ago. That same year the CAA had a rare two teams in the tourney as George Mason earned an outright bid by winning the CAA Tourney. The Patriots went on to upset Villanova in their first game before being bounced by number one seeded Ohio State. The CAA is sleeper country, folks, and you never rule out the Fighting Blue Hens!

2. We have experience.

Like most small schools, Delaware has the luxury of avoiding one-and-doners. Three of the starting five are seniors. Three have played together for a few years while the other two transfers have gelled in nicely. Monte Ross took over the depleted program in 2006 and while it has not been easy, his teams have shown improvement each and every year. This team has been patiently waiting for their chance. Now they have it.

1. The Ass Kickin’ Chickens are flat out good.

We have one of the more underrated starting 5s in the nation. All five average over 10 points a game as they run a fluid, unselfish offense. If Saddler has a big game one, Baptiste will have a huge game two. That’s how they operate and that’s what makes it difficult to shut down one guy for opposing defenses.

It all starts with Carl Baptiste staying out of foul trouble. Standing at 6’9″ and 260 pounds he’d be better named BapBEAST. He is going to cause match-up problems for a lot of schools because he is not just a huge hulking body but he can shoot and move. Jarvis Threatt is the floor general and has a handle on the ball that is dangerous for opposing defenses. He can slice down the middle and put in a sick lay-up, dump it to Baptiste who will dunk it down the opponents’ throat — or kick it out to Davon Usher, Kyle Anderson, or Devon Saddler waiting to drain a three. Threatt’s numbers show how important he is to the all-around game of the Blue Hens, averaging 18.1 points with 5.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. Usher and Saddler, both seniors, are legit scoring threats as both averaged over 19 points per game. They are also solid on the glass and can drill it from three point land. Anderson reminds me of Ollie from Hoosiers except he shoots a hell of a lot better than that underhand garbage. He fills his roll nicely as the perimeter guy but can sneak inside if you give him too much space.

The only question that remains for Delaware is the Blue Hens’ opponent in Round One (or Two, or however it works these days). Of course, the biggest question The Wayniac has been asked over the last 12 hours is, “What happens if Delaware draws Syracuse?” And I got to tell you, folks, that is a tough predicament for me. If you haven’t read my bio, then you are unaware that I have rooted for Syracuse longer than any other team I have affiliated myself with since basketball was my first true love. Since 1986 and Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, and Rony Seikaly, I have bled Orange. If you follow @UofDWayne on Twitter, then you know I’m part of #CuseNation. But when push comes to shove, the University of Delaware was five of the best years of my life. They gave me the skills that made me The Wayniac. They gave me one of my oldest friends who edits every piece I write. And they gave me 20% of their tournament visits while I was there. The very least I could do is give them my allegiance. It will be an emotional roller coaster of a game, I’ll tell you that. I’ll curse while cheering. I’ll be yelling while clapping. I’ll probably throw up somewhere. But right now I’m in the Cockpit gearing up to wear my blue and yellow and represent Blue Hen Country. Sorry Cuse fans.

Till next time folks, LET’S GO BLUE HENS!!!

Basketball, Sports, Uncategorized

Hate Duke Nation!!!

February 23, 2014 Wayne Cavadi 4 Comments

I have hated Duke for as long as I can remember. I never really had any reason other than that they were the Yankees of college basketball. Each year they got the best recruits, Coach K mostly convinced them to hang around for 4 years, and they made winning 30 games look as easy as finding something bad to say about Justin Beiber. Now I have a reason.

It wasn’t that it was a bad call. It was probably, as Boeheim said in his presser, the worst call of the year. In fact, earlier in the game, the same call on Michael Gbinije WAS a blocking foul. I used to be an assistant high school basketball coach. The one thing that was instilled in me by my mentor was that bad calls happen all of the time, but they happen on both sides of the ball so you can never blame the refs for a game. Well, folks, I’m going to be a little whiny brat and tell you that this game did not go down that way. The right call would have been a no call, which would have tied the game and let these young kids who gave their all decide the outcome, not the referees.

But I digress. I am not here to write about 12 seconds of a single game. I’m here to talk about almost 35 years of tyranny under Coach K. I needed the help of an expert hater of Duke in compiling this list, so I called my guy Q-Tip (no, not from Tribe) who lives in Raleigh and has been an avid UNC fan since the day I met him. He was there Thursday night when Duke went down to UNC and he was thrilled to help me compile a list of his biggest enemy ever.

5 REASONS EVERYBODY SHOULD HATE DUKE

5. The Players.

Christian Laettner. Chris Duhon. Cherokee Parks. Bobby Hurley. Grant Hill. Jay Williams. Greg Paulus. Trajan Langdon. Corey Maggette. JJ Redick. All of the Plumlees. Steve Wojciechowski. Aren’t those names sickening? None of these players went on to NBA super stardom. You can make a case that Grant Hill was on his way to a Hall of Fame career, but injuries ended that too quickly. You can look at someone like Redick who does his job well as a shooting specialist but he’s a one-dimensional player, not a NBA star. My biggest beef is and always will be Christian Laettner. I hate that I have to admit that he is the best college player of my lifetime, but he undoubtedly is. He put together a respectable NBA career hanging around for a long time but was never part of the elite of the game. How that guy got to be on The Dream Team is beyond me.

4. Coach K.
It’s not that I hate Coach K. He’s done a lot of good things for basketball, especially with Team USA over the years. The primary reason he makes my list is because Coach K is the one person who stands in Jim Boeheim’s way of being the winningest coach in NCAA history. Throw on top of it this whole he runs a clean program image and it gets even worse. Many pundits and former opponents will tell you that he bullies officials. Or take the Corey Maggette scandal. Maggette admitted to taking money from Myron Piggie, no lie, Myron Piggie, before signing his letter of intent with Duke. A year later Duke goes 37-2 and loses to UConn in the National Championship. No sanctions were ever levied, and 37 more wins were added to Coach K’s illustrious clean career. Add to it that Maggette declared early, which almost never happened with Duke athletes, and you have to wonder what exactly Coach K knew. (Coach K, incidentally is less than 37 games ahead of Boeheim.) When it comes to his overall record, there is also his one-year sabbatical at which you need to look. The team went 2-14 during his ’94-’95 absence, yet those loses were part of Pete Gaudet’s record while even Coach K admits they should be added to his.

3. Duke Vitale and the rest of the Duke loving media.
Much like Coach K, I don’t hate Dickie V. I just hate when he announces Duke games. I don’t understand how he and Jay Bilas are allowed to cover nationally televised games. People hate the Yankees enough as it is, but could you imagine if someone like Yogi Berra called the games for Fox? Granted, last night both Bilas and Dickie V seemed shocked and appalled at the end result of the game, but overall ESPN and their analysts have no problem openly displaying their love affair with Duke.

2. Cameron Crazies.

OVER RATED!!! (Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap) OVER RATED!!! (Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)

Best fans in college basketball? Puh-lease. Is the Black Hole in Oakland the best fan base in the NFL? Much like Duke, with the Black Hole, you see the craziest of the crazies on TV but miss out on the whole picture. A 2012 report showed a steady decline in attendance over the previous 5 year period. There were several reasons given but the most glaring was a lack of competitive top-ranked teams playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Really? So you’re too busy to support your team when they play in-state rival Wake Forest, but you can show up for a huge showdown? Is it me or does that sound like a fair-weather fan? These are annoying hooligans who jump around and make stupid noises or wave their hands in an opponent’s face and that has earned them the right to be declared the best fans in college hoops? Have you seen Kentucky’s attendance over the last decade? Have you watched Syracuse pack out the Carrier Dome, shattering the NCAA single game attendance record with each big game that comes through? Have you been to Syracuse? It’s like 50 below for half the season, yet they manage to cram 35,000 into the Dome. You can take your 9,200 seat high school gymnasium – I’ll take Otto’s Army any day.

1. Duke Rules.

I live in ACC country. When Syracuse moved to the conference people told me to be prepared to lose at Cameron every year because the refs won’t let you win. I thought that was a sign of sore losers, a group of fan bases whose teams could never find a way to beat Duke. Unfortunately last night’s game did nothing to prove those fans wrong. That being said, here are some of the most famous calls that make you wonder…

It all starts with Laettner in the 1992 East Regional Final. Everyone my age remembers watching that shot and cringing when it miraculously went through the net. But… should Laettner have even been on the court to take the shot? I’m sure Aminu Timberlake would think not. For those of you that don’t remember Timberlake, he was the one who Laettner ADMITTEDLY stomped on his stomach while he lay on the ground. Laettner did draw the technical but remained in the game. So take note all of you aspiring high school basketball players, punching an opponent will get you ejected, but kicking someone in the guts is A-OK.

Do you remember just one week ago when the officials fouled up in the Maryland game? The Terrapins were up 56-54 when a jump ball occurred. The possession arrow pointed towards Duke so they took the ball, tied the game, and went on to win 69-67. A day later, the ACC acknowledged that the officials had forgotten to change the possession arrow and that it should have been Maryland’s ball instead of Duke’s. They also conveniently mentioned that once games are finished they can not change the outcome but just offer an apology.

Remember when Greg Paulus was practically in the stands and made a “great save” on the ball to keep Duke, the number 2 seed, in the game against Belmont, the number 15 seed, back in 2008? He was CLEARLY out of bounds by two or three steps. Duke won that game 71-70.

How about the 2001 Championship game against Arizona when certain members of the media counted a whopping seven fouls committed by star point guard Jason Williams?

And let’s not forget in 2009 when 3 officials were actually suspended for messing up an obvious call against FSU. Duke won that game 97-96.

These five reasons all equate to one thing: People hate Duke because they are the power house you wish your team was. If Boeheim had 4 championships, then I’m sure Syracuse would be hated nationwide and I would wear the badge as an honor. Can you point the finger for Syracuse’s loss at Ennis and Cooney for playing a subpar game? Sure. Can you say that a team that shoots 28% from the floor in the first half doesn’t deserve to win the game? Absolutely. The bottom line is that Cuse found a way to stay in that game and that they lost that game because as usual, the refs made a call that favored Duke. In the end, that is all we need to unite as a Hate Duke Nation.

I need to cool off, folks. All I can hope for is that there is a Round 3 on a neutral court where my boys and Coach K’s kids can settle this once and for all.

Basketball, NBA, Sports, Uncategorized

Space Jammin’ on The King

February 16, 2014 Wayne Cavadi 3 Comments

USA! USA! USA! What a way to wake up yesterday, America! Another episode in one of the classic rivalries in the history of the world. Starting with the 1972 Olympics when the Russians cheated us, to The Miracle at Lake Placid, all the way to Rocky and Ivan Drago, yesterday was yet another opportunity to show the world we are the Yankees to their Red Sox. Segue to this evenings NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, where the biggest All-Star of them all takes the stage for the East against his Western Conference counterpart Kevin Durant and his gang of high-flying hoopsters.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant are the Wilt vs. Russell or the Bird vs. Magic of the new millennium. They are the best in the business and they are the clear cut leaders of the two best teams currently in the NBA. So, on this NBA All-Star weekend, it is time to reflect on one of the current great debates: The King or His Airness?

With each season that passes, many feel King James makes a bigger case for himself as the greatest the game has ever seen. I don’t think it is even close. In fact, I would argue Kobe Bryant is closer to Jordan 2.0 than the King. A lot of the debate circles around a wait and see approach, wondering how LeBron James will end his career. I don’t think it will matter. If Lebron were to win 4 more championships and tie Jordan, Jordan is still the greatest of all-time.

5 REASONS HIS AIRNESS REIGNS SUPREME

So, seriously, are you a super hero or something?

5. The Stats:
The easy and lazy way to approach the topic is to merely whip out the numbers and whoever has better stats is clearly the best. That being said, I’m still going to do it. Not counting LeBron’s 2013-14 stats at the halfway point, let’s examine Jordan versus James through year 10 of their careers:

Michael Jordan: 21,998 points, 4,219 rebounds, 4,025 assists, and 2,445 steals.
LeBron James: 21,081 points, 5,553 rebounds, 5,302 assists, and 1,323 steals.

Well this just doesn’t help much at all. Jordan is tops in two stats and James ousts MJ in the other 2. Here’s something that may help separate the two. Jordan’s official tenth season was his first retirement which means to get stats for 10 seasons we need to jump to his ’94-’95 return, when played in 17 whole games. Nine seasons earlier, Jordan’s second, he broke his foot in the third game and wound up playing in just 18 games that season. James has never played in less than 62 games in a season. You give Jordan those missed games back or have him not retire and these numbers are ALL Jordan. To appease to the bling is the thing mentality, Jordan has three rings by year 10 and LeBron has two.

C’mon MJ, we are the two greatest actors of our generation. Stick with us, kid.

4. Do you know, do you know, do you know?:
Sure, LeBron has his own line of sneakers, but that’s because Jordan paved the way. I was in middle school when Air Jordan’s hit the market and for those of you who weren’t alive, it was total pandemonium. People were getting killed for their shoes. Mars Blackman, aka Spike Lee, became Jordan’s sidekick in one of the more memorable ad campaigns of the 80s. (Incidentally, a few months back I found an It’s Gotta Be the Shoes Nike shirt at Rag-O-Rama in Atlanta and I snatched that baby right up!)

Yes, LeBron is Mr. Gatorade and even had his own gum flavor for a minute but EVERYBODY knew Michael Jordan. By the mid-1990s he had to be one of the most recognizable faces in the world. He was an actor, he was on the Dream Team, he was an adman, he sold out minor league baseball games, he IS one of the most famous logos ever which in turn made Nike into what we know it, and he made an awesome guest host appearance on SNL. Like Magic before him, Jordan knew he WAS the NBA and he stepped up to bat, put the NBA on his shoulders and carried the league to new heights. Sure he was smug and arrogant, but he was Michael Freakin’ Jordan. LeBron? We can’t even get this guy to dunk on All-Star Weekend. Which brings me to…

3. The Slam Dunk Contest:
Imagine if you would, that the year is 1988. NBA All-Star Weekend is in Chicago. Bill Lambier, Mugsy Bogues, Kevin Johnson, and Terry Porter take the stage for the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest. A sold-out arena heads for the doors.

The Slam Dunk Contest is the Slam Dunk Contest because back in MJ’s day the best dunkers in the NBA participated. Jordan, Dr.J, Drexler, Nance, Spud Webb, and Dominque Wilkins all participated in dunk contests leading up to the greatest of them all, the 1988 ‘Nique versus Jordan showdown (which Dominque should have won). Last night was a bunch of bench or role players dunking. I grew up walking the streets of New York City where I could watch dunk contests with guys I never heard of quite often. I want to see the big guns go at it. If you are too good to be in the Dunk Contest then you are too good to play in the meaningless showboat game that the NBA All-Star Game is. Stay home and let someone else shine.

2. The Hardware:
It’s not just what MJ has on LeBron in the rings and trophies, it is how he accomplished it all. King James beat up on 15 and 16-year-olds half his size to win some state championships and jumped right to the NBA. Jordan decided to go to college first but not because he couldn’t have made the jump. Want proof? In his first year at UNC, he won the 1982 Freshman of the Year en route to the National Title in which he hit the game-winning shot over Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown Hoyas. 2 years later in 1984, he was the NCAA Player of the Year winning the Wooden, Rupp, and Naismith Awards which of course earned him the honor of being drafted AFTER Sam Bowie. Imagine if Jordan had those three years in the NBA?

Both James and Jordan won the Rookie of the Year award in their NBA debuts. Jordan has 5 MVPs and LeBron has 4, so he may very well surpass him. LeBron has 2 NBA Championships while Jordan finished with 6. Make no mistakes, folks, the Rockets weren’t the ’93-94 and ’94-’95 NBA Champs because they were the best team in the league. They won because MJ “retired”. The Bulls would have won 8 Championships in a row if Jordan stayed. If that were the case this wouldn’t even be a debate.

1. The Joran Era:
I’m probably biased but I feel that I grew up in the greatest era of NBA basketball which is why I find it so hard to watch today’s NBA. The early 80s to the mid-90s was an amazing time for the NBA. They had characters like Sir Charles and Magic, they had classic player rivalries like Bird and Magic and Ewing and Olajuwon, and they had The Bad Boys. That era also had the greatest players to ever suit up.

This is what makes MJ’s 2 “three-peats” so amazing. His Bulls won 6 championships defeating the likes of Magic Johnson and James Worthy, Drexler, Sir Charles, Gary Payton, and John Stockton and Karl Malone. These aren’t just Hall of Famers, these are Top 50 NBA all-time players. Jordan and Pippen routinely beat up Ewing and Isiah Thomas in the East to get to the Finals. LeBron and the Heat lost to Dirk and the Mavericks their first go at the title. Jordan’s Bulls didn’t lose, and he made sure of it.

Jordan never had to leave and go join another team to win. People came to him. Dennis Rodman could have gone anywhere and probably had a bigger role but instead he decided to go to Chicago and form possibly the deadliest Big Three combo in history. If Pippen, Jordan, and Rodman had stayed together a few more years who knows what would have happened. On the other side of the debate, many experts already see James, Wade, and Bosh’s window quickly closing with more discussions weekly on where LeBron will sign next.

Dissecting it even further, look at the MVP awards we discussed earlier. Here are the second place finishers in Jordan’s MVP seasons: Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, David Robinson, and Karl Malone. That’s some pretty hefty competition. They were all members of The 1992 Dream Team and they are all Hall of Famers. LeBron has beaten out Kevin Durant three times and Kobe once. There just hasn’t been much competition for the MVP trophy and it seems like lately it’s a two man contest. When it comes down to comparing the greatest ever, Jordan beat the greats to prove it, LeBron never will. He won’t get to play a Magic, a Bird, Mailman, or a Sir Charles. Yes, he ousted the Tim Duncan led Spurs, but what would have been if that Spurs team was in their prime like the Heat. Even Kobe had a few years to go at Jordan to prove his greatness. LeBron never will.

All in all, LeBron is no slouch. He will finish amongst the greatest to ever suit up. Maybe one day, Sega will make us a Jordan Vs. James throwback game to try and help the discussion. Until then, King James rules the current NBA but His Airness still rules the world.

I need to cool off. Until next time, remember, lucky wins are good wins. Refuse to lose Cuse! UNDEFEATACUSE!!!

Wayne Cavadi's Online Portfolio

Category Archives: Basketball

BRACKETIQUETTE

Let’s Party Like It’s 1999!!!

Hate Duke Nation!!!

Space Jammin’ on The King

Welcome to my website. Here you can get an idea of my work and find writing samples as well as the DII Nation Podcast.

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Welcome to my website. Here you can get an idea of my work and find writing samples as well as the DII Nation Podcast.