Bleacher Report - Articles by The Ace Report

The NBA's Eastern Conference's Big Three

The Ace Report — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:37:40 -0400

In the NBA Eastern Conference, there are three teams…and then everyone else. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team in the league with 60 wins, Boston (the defending champs, by the way) are taking everyone’s best shot and sitting in second place, while the Magic have one of the most dynamic teams, and players, we’ve seen in a while.

With just under two weeks left in the season, the playoff picture is becoming clearer and it seems as if the Eastern Conference representative in the NBA Finals will be one of these three.

I am no prognosticator, so no predictions will be made here. However, it is important to delve deeper into the status of these squads, with this assumption that they will battle each other to the very end.

The Cavs have arguably the best player in the NBA right now. We all know LeBron’s value to his team and his role in resurrecting the franchise. We endlessly debate the pressure placed on him in his comparisons to Michael Jordan and his quest for his first championship ring.

For the first time, he’s been given valuable help in Mo Williams, but perhaps the biggest change between last year’s campaign and this one happened this past summer.

LeBron learned.

I’m not saying that he didn’t have the capacity to do so prior, but that his experience of witnessing the willpower, hard work, and drive to win in peers like Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, and Dwyane Wade taught him to be better.

All his life, he was "the guy." When he got to the NBA, he was "the guy." When he got to Beijing, he became "one of the guys."

He saw the drive in his teammates and learned that he could not only be great in the league…he could become the greatest player of his generation. We are seeing the fruits of this realization…to the tune of a 60-win season. Cleveland is in the driver’s seat.

Boston has been taking hits all year. Ray Allen and, more recently, Kevin Garnett have battled injuries.

At some points during the season, they seemed in postseason form, easily dispatching contenders and proclaiming their dominance. At other points, they seemed lost, a patchwork team of past-their-prime veterans.

The Celtics are an enigma heading into the playoffs.

Too many questions are being asked to have any solid confidence. Will KG be okay? Which team will show up on any given night? After winning it all last year, do they still have that chip on their shoulder? Doc Rivers’ squad has the goods…we’ll see if they follow through.

The wild card of the east…the Orlando Magic.

The team plays solid inside-out basketball, feeding Dwight Howard and then seeing one of two results: him dunking the ball or a pass out to the wing where any one of the other Magic players takes a wide open three-pointer.

The Magic lead the NBA in three-point field goals and Dwight Howard leads the league in dunks. This is a direct result of the team being the best at what it does.

The defense can be shoddy against slashing guards (see Dwyane Wade), but if Howard decides he wants to rule the paint…he will.

Three teams are vying for the east crown. Each has the tools to do so. Each has the obstacles of the NBA playoffs…It’s where amazing happens (or so I’ve been told).

Smashmouth Basketball: A Defensive Clinic at the Final Four

The Ace Report — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:53:22 -0400

Jim Calhoun. Jay Wright. Roy Williams. Tom Izzo.

These are the men leading the teams who will compete for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship this weekend in Detroit. Two semi-final games on Saturday and then the final on Monday night.

One of those four coaches will help his team hoist the wooden plaque, which has been labeled as perhaps the worst championship trophy that exists.

Still, there is something intriguing about this year’s Final Four.

Three of these coaches have already won a National Championship, while the other (Jay Wright) is making his first trip to the Final Four.

Story lines abound, as Jim Calhoun is being questioned in his recruiting tactics, Roy Williams is trying to get the monkey off his back and win the Championship everyone (including President Obama) is expecting, Tom Izzo is playing the underdog role for perhaps the first time in his tenure at Michigan State, and Jay Wright is just happy to be able to play for a title.

If you tune in on Saturday and Monday (which you should), you won’t see the NBA talent we’ve seen on the court in years past.

Sure Ty Lawson, Hasheem Thabeet, AJ Price and perhaps Scottie Reynolds will eventually make appearance in The Association, but they won’t be the superstars Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose and others were.

What you will see are hard-nosed teams willing to grind it out on the floor for 40 minutes to survive and advance.

Connecticut, Villanova, Michigan State and North Carolina. The only team of those who is even close to a high-powered offense able to score 90 in a game is UNC.
Even they have a defensive efficiency rating in the top 20 in the nation (according to KenPom).

Each of these four teams plays solid defense, and you know what they say about defense and championships.

There won’t be a prediction made here, but just an exhortation to watch and enjoy collegiate basketball with some grit thrown in.

Last year’s finale was exciting, thrilling, and pretty much as good as it will ever get.

But be prepared this year for a low-scoring, hit-you-in-the-mouth kind of Championship.

After all, it’s the kind of season we’ve experienced all year.

Josh Childress Heads for Europe: What's Greek for 'Tweener'?

The Ace Report — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:12:17 -0400

Let’s get one thing straight. Josh Childress didn’t sign with Olympiacos of Greece because he wants to get away from the Hawks, because he wants more playing time, or because he thinks his game might be a better fit with a European league. A

ll of those aspects might be valid—the Hawks are dysfunctional, Childress is a sixth man who wants to start, and he’s just the kind of finesse player with a good outside shot who thrives in Europe. But in this case, it’s all about the dollars—or should I say, the Euros.

Childress is a classic tweener. He’s 6’8”, but he only weighs 210 pounds. He isn’t strong enough to take advantage of his height on the inside, nor is he fast enough to play with the guards. He’s just the kind of player who, back in the 90s, washed out of the NBA in a few years—remember Ed O’Bannon, anyone?

But in today’s game, with limits on the handchecking rules, increasing numbers of finesse players from Europe, and very few true centers, tweeners actually have some value. They still don’t usually make it as starters, but they can definitely have value off the bench as sixth mem.

That’s where Childress has made a niche for the past four years, averaging between 10-13 points and 4.9-6.2 rebounds per game every year. He is a very efficient offensive player—57.1 shooting percentage this year—both inside and outside, even though he isn’t a commanding offensive presence. All in all, it’s a great package for a sixth man.

Thing is, when teams are looking at career sixth men as free agents, they really aren’t going to break the bank. The Hawks were offering Childress a five-year, $33 million deal as a restricted free agent, and that was more than fair. You won’t find sixth men making more than that, unless they are players on the back end of deals signed back when they were starters.

In the old days, that would have been the best offer Childress could see. But this time, it isn’t—Olympiacos reportedly is offering Childress a three-year deal worth over $20 million, even after taxes. The Hawks losing Childress is the first American basketball victim of the weakening US dollar against the Euro.

There is nothing intrinsic about American leagues that makes them pre-eminent in every sport. Players from other nations have flocked to American leagues because American owners paid the best, and the highest salaries have led to the highest levels of competition. The dollar was the best currency in the world, and everyone wanted to be paid with it.

Now the dollar is in a freefall, and other options seem just as good. Athletes have returned to Europe (Juan Carlos Navarro, Carlos Delfino), others decided to never come to America in the first place (Tiago Splitter, Fran Vazquez), and players who couldn’t make it in the NBA have opted to play in Europe (Trajan Langdon). What is entirely new is that now even American players in their primes who are valuable players in the States are being lured by the Almighty Euro.

I’m not trying to give a doom and gloom speech here based strictly on the loss of Josh Childress. There are plenty of Josh Childresses available for NBA teams right now, and the NBA isn’t going to collapse because a few players decide not to grace it with their presence.

But the Childress signing is symbolic of a shift in the international attitude toward the NBA. Where once going to Europe was a threat that was made by free agents for leverage, but never actually taken, now it is a real possibility.

WNBA players have been supplementing their income by playing in Europe for years. Childress and prep hoopster Brandon Jennings are simply the first male American basketball players to follow the money.

In the future, there is the very real possibility that the NBA will not automatically get access to all the best players in every league—it’s rejoining the pond of basketball leagues.

For the past 20 years since Sabonis and Petrovic, we have assumed that any player of any ability would try coming to the United States, whether from Europe, South America, or even China. Everywhere else was for those who weren’t good enough. There was the NBA, and there was everybody else.

That is no longer true.

NFL Rookie Contracts: Just Bad Business

The Ace Report — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:34:05 -0400

Imagine the following scene:

A top corporation with billions of dollars in revenue, a significantly bright future in terms of market stability, and a well-known brand name is in need of an entry level manager for one of their sub-brands. The position would guarantee an influence on the overall vision for the corporation, and a solid position for upward mobility.

The hiring committee settles on a candidate; one with a great upside and trainable talent. Before the candidate sets foot in his/her new office, he is offered an executive salary, comprehensive benefits better than those of his superiors, and stock options outnumbering all but those on the board-of-directors.

In the normal business world, a scenario like this would be met with government inquiries, accusation of insider treatment, and numerous front pages in the Wall Street Journal. It would be taboo, and as such, it is never seen.

Yet, take a look at the National Football League (NFL), and one is met with a school of economics that would make John Stuart Mill roll over in his grave. Last month, Jake Long signed with the Miami Dolphins as the first pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. His contract covered five years and $57.5 million, making him the highest paid offensive lineman in the league.

Jake Long has yet to play a single snap of official NFL football.

The structure for rookie contracts in the NFL is that of an upward spiral. Last year, JaMarcus Russell signed with the Oakland Raiders under a six-year $61 million deal, with $29 million guaranteed. This would suggest that if Russell turned out to be a bust, like Ryan Leaf a few years back, and was released, he would still be paid that $29 million.

Every year, the top picks in the draft expect to be paid more than those of the previous year. To this point, their demands have been met, despite being paid these grand sums on the ’science’ of speculation. Collegiate success is no true barometer for professional success. There are many cases where the two coalesce, but most of the time, the two are mutually exclusive.

This has veterans in the NFL more than a little discouraged. While NFL owners are shelling out supersized checks to unproven rookies, star veterans are up a creek without a paddle for no other reason than they started playing a few years prior. There have been numerous cases where rookies were required, as an act of initiation into their new squad, to purchase gifts from a veteran’s wish list.

Clearly, there is a significant disparity in wages of players in the NFL. In any other business there would be an outcry for egalitarian measures, where salaries would become more appropriate to some calculation of talent, production, and value.

This is certainly the case in the NBA, where David Stern fought a long battle in the 1990s to obtain a rookie-contract limit. This means that although Chris Paul has been a force throughout the playoffs, he is still earning less than nearly every name on the backs of the jerseys he faces. If he continues to produce in this manner, he will certainly sign a superstar deal when his current contract ends. But not a minute sooner.

This is the path the NFL and Roger Goodell must take. NFL owners have the cash to throw around, but the main issue is the disparity between those players who have proven to their teams and fans their value and the rookies who are simply paid on hype and speculation.

Fairness is lauded throughout all of sport, and this is a case that deserves a series of discussions, meetings, and inquiries until such equality is achieved. It’s necessitated everywhere else, so why does the NFLPA think it’s exempt?

MLB Collusion: Five Votes Down

The Ace Report — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:19:40 -0400

It’s the middle of May, over 30 games into the baseball season, and teams have already begun the process of identifying needs and reevaluating their talent.

Traditionally, teams make their most serious adjustments after Memorial Day, but it’s never too early for a team to make a change to their roster if it seems so obvious as to be necessary.

This makes it all the more interesting to see that three of the most decorated, dominant players of the past few decades—if not all time—are still sitting at home, unemployed. With each passing day, it seems increasingly likely that we’ve seen the last of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens.

In 2007, Bonds hit 28 homeruns in 340 at bats, to go along with a league-leading .480 on base percentage, remaining a powerful offensive force in his age. Meanwhile, Clemens famously signed mid-season with the Yankees, and pitched 99 innings of 4.18 ERA ball—a far cry from his established level of performance, but more than respectable in this day and age. And Sosa shocked everyone by coming back from a one-year hiatus to hit 21 homeruns for the Rangers, including his 600th career homer.

Last year all three demonstrated that they can still put up solid individual performances. And yet they all three share the ignominy of being ignored this season. Oh, and for being three of the names most associated with baseball’s steroid era—but who remembers that?

As it happens, team executives around the league remember, and for good reason. Fans, journalists, and bloggers have regularly suggested that their teams pick up one of these three free agents, seeing them as an easy, guaranteed way to add performance to a team looking for one last piece.

David Chalk of bugsandcranks.com has spent the past six months begging for his Tampa Bay Rays to sign Bonds to become a real contender, while Ken Rosenthal on foxsports.com suggested in a video story yesterday that the Tigers ought to look at signing Bonds to solve their early-season funk. The Rays and the Cardinals are known to have looked at Bonds, while a number of teams have been suggested as options for Sosa’s right-handed bat. The Astros and Yankees fans have occasionally speculated about replacing their young, unproven, and nonperforming arms with Clemens.

These pleas have been consistently ignored by executives, and Bonds’ agent, Jeff Borris, has speculated that there is collusion against his and other clients, for surely, who wouldn’t want such a potent bat in the middle of the lineup?

Some have jumped on the collusion bandwagon, noting that Frank Thomas, recently let go by the Blue Jays, signed on with the A’s within a week of his release. Thomas is still a strong hitter, but is every bit the defensive liability that Bonds or Sosa is and is not even as good a hitter as Bonds at this point in their careers.

But Bonds, Sosa, and Clemens advocates are mistaken when they think they can merely add the numbers of these aging stars to their own teams like a simple mathematical equation—Rays Team on the Rise + Bonds = A Better Team, a Playoff Contender. Or Yankees Strong Offense + Clemens = Better Yankees Squad.

Baseball doesn’t work like that. Because Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens don’t just bring their stats with them—they also bring the circus. A quick jaunt through baseball-reference.com will indicate that the Giants’ offense—which numerous bloggers and fans thought might be one of the worst of all time, being a bad offense last year and now lacking Bonds’ big bat in the middle—is performing at exactly the same rate as last year: an OPS+ of 89. It’s not a good number, but it hasn’t declined a bit in the absence of Bonds.

Meanwhile, the Yankees and Rangers are seeing similar results after the departures of Clemens and Sosa. The Yankees pitching staff is pitching to nearly identical results as last year (96 ERA+ in 2008, 99 ERA+ in 2007), while the Rangers offense is actually outperforming last year’s (111 OPS+ in 2008, 98 OPS+ in 2007).

Coincidence? Maybe. Or it could be that we’re seeing there is some truth to what teams say when they label a player like Bonds a “distraction.” At this point, the Rays and Cardinals have been linked to serious internal discussions about signing Bonds, and both decided against it. Could it be that these teams have seen that the positive impact of Bonds’ individual performance is completely negated by the negative impact the Bonds circus has on his teammates?

The Cards and Rays are both playing very well this year, and would risk harming their successful team chemistry and performance by bringing such a polarizing figure on board. Similarly, both Yankees and Astros brass have clearly decided not to take any action as to signing Clemens. Sosa hasn’t found any takers for his services yet, either.

While there are always going to be some people in every front office that will be wowed by the sheer numbers these players could put up, it looks like they’re being outnumbered by suits who see the overall impact a Bonds, Clemens, or Sosa has on a team, and not just on the league leaderboard. Although the old stars have many supporters, it looks like they’re coming up a little short so far in every personnel discussion.

We might not see much of these players until they hit the Hall of Fame Ballot in five years—and it sure will be interesting to see whether they fall a few votes short there, too.

NBA: Humble Chris Paul Pays Tribute to Special Child

The Ace Report — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:16:10 -0400

Last summer, ESPN created a ‘My Wish’ feature for their SportsCenter broadcasts that showcase individual athletes giving back to the community through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Stars ranging from Tedy Bruschi to Kobe Bryant, and Wayne Gretzky to Derek Jeter gave their time, and often a lot more, to brighten a child’s day. These children often face the fears of dealing with a terminal disease or live in constant pain from chronic illnesses and deformities.

While ESPN gave these children a voice through the 10-part series shown last July, numerous other professional athletes often give of their time, fortunes, and hearts to provide a ‘wish come true’ to countless children who deal with the same issues. Too often, however, these stories are ignored.

Last night, Chris Paul, the phenom point guard for the New Orleans Hornets, honored one of these children with a simple gesture. He wrote the name of an 8-year-old boy on his shoes.

There is a significant story to be shared in this. Brian, a young boy suffering from leukemia, had been granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to see his hometown Hornets play the San Antonio Spurs this past Monday night. He would watch the game, meet CP3 and have his mind taken off the horrible disease plaguing his body.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. That Monday morning, little Brian came down with an intense fever, was hospitalized, and passed away that evening, as the Hornets put away the Spurs to go ahead in the series 2-0. When the Hornets organization heard the news, owner George Shinn offered to pay for funeral expenses, but the boy’s family declined.

To honor the memory of Brian, Paul wrote the name Brian on his shoes. It was a small gesture indeed, but it certainly defied the mantra of athletes these days. Too often we hear of athletes being arrested for drug and weapon charges; beating their spouses; or refusing to play on a team because they want to be superstars.

Chris Paul is a young budding superstar in the NBA. One can only hope his character is a sign of a bright future for athletes acting positively in the community.

Brian said he knew he was going to heaven, and wanted to meet Jesus in his Chris Paul jersey. The boy was buried this week wearing the name of his hero.

Chris Paul wore the name of one his heroes last night.

“I was speechless,” Paul said before Game 3 Thursday night. “Even now, it’s something that words can’t describe. This is probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life."

Eight Belles and the 2008 Kentucky Derby

The Ace Report — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:11:19 -0400

The 134th running of the Kentucky Derby ended in tragedy as Eight Belles, the first filly to run since 1999, broke both front ankles and was subsequently euthanized.

Moments after Big Brown won the race by a little more than four lengths, Eight Belles collapsed while over 15,000 attendees were celebrating the undefeated champion.

It was a relapse into the despair felt when Barbaro succumbed to a fracture in his rear leg during the Preakness just two years ago. At the time, the sentiment was that Barbaro’s fate was a once-in-a-lifetime situation that wouldn’t happen again in a quarter of a century.

The statistics that have been cited support this theory. Two tenths of one percent of all race horses end their lives in this manner. Before Barbaro and Eight Belles, people who tuned in to watch the most famous races that make up the Triple Crown were almost assured of seeing a clean race, sans tragedy.

Now, in just the past three years, there have been four euthanized thoroughbreds in major races. In 2005 at Belmont, Funfair broke a hind leg in the Breeders’ Cup Mile and was euthanized that day. In 2006 Barbaro broke his hind leg at the Preakness. In 2007, two-time European champion George Washington broke down in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Monmouth Park and was euthanized on the scene. And now, we have Eight Belles.

That hardly seems like two tenths of one percent. And this is why there has been a public outcry on a number of fronts in regards to horse racing. The majority of the general public see this as an incomprehensible tragedy, unexpected and without reason.

Many may not sit down to watch the final two legs of the Triple Crown for fear of additional grief, but they aren’t blaming racing as a sport for the fate of Eight Belles.

The media, on the other hand, have decided to use Eight Belles as a soapbox. While there are a number of outlets who have expressed opinions both for and against issues of banning horse racing, punishing the trainers, changing the rules, etc., there have been an exorbitant amount of op-ed pieces lamenting horse racing and exclaiming the atrocities of the sport.

The New York Times was one of the first to hop on the blame wagon and PETA followed by saying that the jockey should be suspended.

There is clearly an issue that needs to be resolved in terms of horses dying in races. However, the masses are quick to jump to the conclusion that these bone breakages are solely the result of the races. The horses broke their ankles after running a race, therefore it must be because of the race. The logic is sustainable if only used in the localized setting of a single race.

However, what has been neglected is the reality that horses break their legs in the wild. In fact, more injuries occur outside of horse racing than occur in the sport. More people see the instances that occur in a high-profile race setting than out in the wild.

While racing itself cannot be blamed for the injuries these horses suffer, racing can improve the environment in which these horses compete. Synthetic surfaces have a significant opportunity to lessen the frequency of injuries as well as the magnitude of those injuries that do occur. However, such improvements must be met with a greater understanding of the sport; more than the general fan and media opportunist can glean from watching three horse races a year.

Eight Belles proved to be more than up to the challenge of "hanging with the boys" and her unfortunate death has created a forum for discussion about ideas, treatment of animals, and how people in general react to tragedy.

“It wasn’t that, it wasn’t the distance, it wasn’t a big bumping match for her, she never got touched,” trainer Larry Jones said. “She passed all those questions…with flying colors. The race was over, all we had to do was pull up, come back and be happy. It just didn’t happen.”