In the Lane with Licht: Resolutions, Email & NBA’s Boos and Cheers of 2006
December 29, 2006
I’m not a big proponent of New Year’s Resolutions as a way of helping me deal with the transition from one year to the next, but in the spirit of the season and out of respect for those who diet, quit smoking, and make other proclamations at this time of the year I have include a few Hornets Resolutions in this week’s edition of the LichtCast.
EMAIL-OF-THE-WEEK:
Alphonse Shropshire asks:
“Could Iverson have fit into our system?”
Alphonse, I’m a huge Iverson fan. He’s the toughest player, pound for pound, in the NBA (and maybe some other leagues too). He’s a scorer, a leader, and a streaky shooter. His quickness is a major asset on the defensive end of the floor as he is annually among the league leaders in steals. Although he’s not a pure point guard he can distribute the ball and involve his teammates in the offense when the idea strikes him. His basketball IQ is among the best in the game. However, all of those attributes notwithstanding, he would not be a good fit with the Hornets because this is Chris Paul’s team. Adding AI would have required pairing him with CP3 and I doubt a backcourt averaging 6-0 170 could consistently win in today’s NBA. The combination of player salaries Jeff Bower would have been required to put together to match Iverson’s $17 million per year contract would have sacrificed the future viability of the franchise. Iverson will be a big time scorer in anybody’s offense. Exciting? Obviously. Productive? Definitely. Practical? Not really. I believe Iverson went to the perfect team in Denver. The Nuggets wide open, run and gun style fits beautifully with AI’s skills and preferred playing style. Together with Carmelo Anthony they will have the best 1-2 offensive duo in the league. George Karl also has big shooting guard J.R. Smith to play along side his new star or can go small (minature?) with Earl Boykins off the bench. The Hornets need scorers with their top five offensive players injured; but they didn’t need to sacrifice the future or disrupt the chemistry and building blocks around star point guard Chris Paul by acquiring the best little man in the game.
NBA’S TOP 10 BEST AND WORST OF 2006
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Bob LichtEMAIL-OF-THE-WEEK:
Alphonse Shropshire asks:
“Could Iverson have fit into our system?”
Alphonse, I’m a huge Iverson fan. He’s the toughest player, pound for pound, in the NBA (and maybe some other leagues too). He’s a scorer, a leader, and a streaky shooter. His quickness is a major asset on the defensive end of the floor as he is annually among the league leaders in steals. Although he’s not a pure point guard he can distribute the ball and involve his teammates in the offense when the idea strikes him. His basketball IQ is among the best in the game. However, all of those attributes notwithstanding, he would not be a good fit with the Hornets because this is Chris Paul’s team. Adding AI would have required pairing him with CP3 and I doubt a backcourt averaging 6-0 170 could consistently win in today’s NBA. The combination of player salaries Jeff Bower would have been required to put together to match Iverson’s $17 million per year contract would have sacrificed the future viability of the franchise. Iverson will be a big time scorer in anybody’s offense. Exciting? Obviously. Productive? Definitely. Practical? Not really. I believe Iverson went to the perfect team in Denver. The Nuggets wide open, run and gun style fits beautifully with AI’s skills and preferred playing style. Together with Carmelo Anthony they will have the best 1-2 offensive duo in the league. George Karl also has big shooting guard J.R. Smith to play along side his new star or can go small (minature?) with Earl Boykins off the bench. The Hornets need scorers with their top five offensive players injured; but they didn’t need to sacrifice the future or disrupt the chemistry and building blocks around star point guard Chris Paul by acquiring the best little man in the game.
NBA’S TOP 10 BEST AND WORST OF 2006
| (1) Miami’s comeback from 2-0 Title Series deficit to win the NBA championship in June. | (1) Larry Brown’s dismissal from the Knicks in May. One of the worst coaching marriages in recent memory. | |||
| (2) Kobe’s 81 point explosion against Toronto in January, the 2nd-best point total in league history. | (2) Carmelo’s sucker punch at Madison Square Garden. It brought back memories of the Palace Brawl two years earlier between Detroit and Indiana. | |||
| (3) Gilbert Arenas scores 60 points and 54 points in December, and Kobe questions Gilbert’s shot selection! | (3) the new Microfiber ball is introduced in September only to be pulled out of circulation at the end of the year. | |||
| (4) Chris Paul’s best highlight as a pro is his explosive dunk over Dwight Howard in Orlando in December. | (4) Injuries ruin the first eight weeks of the Hornets season as their top four scorers all miss significant time and the team falls below .500. | |||
| (5) Hornets sign the best free agent shooter, Peja Stojakovic, in July and extend the contract of last year’s leading scorer, David West in October. | (5) In November, the Chicago Bulls tell new free agent signee Ben Wallace not to wear a head-band, since it’s against team policy. Lighten up Scott Skiles! | |||
| (6) Hornets get off to the best start in franchise history (4-0) in November. | (6) Philadelphia trades superstar guard and second-leading scorer Allen Iverson to Denver in December and receives Andre Miller and a pair of low first round draft picks. | |||
| (7) Steve Nash wins his 2nd-straight NBA MVP award in June. Can he make it three? | (7) Detroit trades Darko Milicic to Orlando for a future #1 pick, thus admitting one of the worst draft day decisions in recent memory. (The Pistons chose Darko ahead of, among others, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony). | |||
| (8) Utah opens the season 12-1 and Jerry Sloan wins his 1,000th game. Carlos Boozer goes from trade bait to MVP candidate. | (8) Golden State hires Don Nelson... again. The Warriors have gone 12 years between playoff appearances. The last time they made it…you guessed it…Don Nelson was their head coach. This was taking “old school” a little too literally. | |||
| (9) New Orleans native Avery Johnson wins NBA coach of the year award after leading the Mavericks to the western conference title. | (9) Shaq and Phil Jackson continue their ridiculous “war of words” between Miami and LA. Benedict Arnold? Not a hard worker? Let bygones be bygones fellas…it’s getting old. | |||
| (10) Chris Paul wins the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award after leading the Hornets to an NBA-best 20-game improvement. | (10) Brian Davis and Christian Laettner. They not only attempted to purchase the Memphis Grizzlies without enough capital…they tried to re-start Lattener’s pro career by inviting him to training camp, only they forgot to tell coach Mike Fratello. |
