"Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein." - Former Washington Redskins QB, Joe TheismanBesides the obvious mathematical implications of relativity, Albert Einstein's theory has paved the way for pop culture and sports arguments. The word "Relativity" and all of its derivatives has been the fulcrum allowing me to use my arguments as a lever for years. Relativity always applies. I went to an all-male high school and there was a semi-attractive teacher. Compared to all members relevant to the criteria we judged on (namely the possession of female genetalia) this teacher ranked as high as Aphrodite. It's the same reasoning as to why Neve Campbell would probably look hot if you saw her in Rosedale, but why she was insanely overrated when targeted as a sex-symbol by magazines back when she was popular (relative to some of the Vixens of her day - see: Wild Things). I'm just not buying what they're selling.
The importance of relativity in sports arguments cannot be underscored. What's the greatest team ever? Who is the greatest player ever? All of these arguments require points comparing relative players, statistics, intangibles, time periods, trends, etc. This brings me to Mark Blount.
Blount came in the Wally Trade, which I was all for except for the 1st round pick. First off, there's no questions Blount is an upgrade from Olowakandi. Unfortunately, being better than Olowakandi is an accomplishment on par with getting a triple bogey on a mini golf hole. I had not watched any Boston Celtics games since they lost game 7 of their 1st-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers in 04-05. The only relevant Boston Celtics information I read was from the Sports Guy's columns and those columns definitely did nothing to promote my confidence in Blount. Since I had never seen Mark Blount play, all I had to work with were his statistics. From his stats, I noticed that in the past three years, Blount was giving his team roughly 11 points and 6 rebounds in 27 minutes. This destroyed Kandi's statistics, and I actually had an optimistic view of Blount watching the tail end of the disappointing 2005-2006 season.
Enter the 2006-2007 season, my first as a Wolves season ticket holder. What little faith I had in Blount was destroyed in the sixth game of the season against the Orlando Magic. The stats cannot even convey the level of destruction that Dwight Howard levied on Blount. I know Dwight Howard is the next coming, but this is just the most visual difference in Blounts attitudes versus other post players in this league. Blount looked weaker than Screech in that game. Feel free to check the game stats for 2006-2007 and you will notice a trend of rebound and point domination by the opposing centers. The exception is games 29-36.
Game 29 was on New Year's Day. I joked with my buddy Ryan, who bought season tickets with me, that I hoped Mark Blount had a New Year's resolution to play tougher. Well, I think he really made the resolution. He rebounded more, played with some attitude, and I think I even saw him yell once. In that stretch, the Wolves won 7 of 8 and were back in the contention in the division. That's when the resolution was broken and any form of swagger on Blount's part was gone. The Wolves went 12-34 to end the season.
What does this have to do with Relativity? I still hear listeners calling into KFAN arguing people are too tough on Blount and that his stats are this and that. I think these are the same people that don't watch the games. Blount might score you 14, but he's probably going to be responsible for giving up 20-25 a night between the guy he's guarding and the second chance rebounds he's allowing. Relative to his opponent, Blount is in the red. It's like going into a fantasy football game last year with Larry Johnson and realizing the opponent has LT. However you want to skew the math, you're going to lose.
MORE WOLVES REACTIONS:
- Not much to say from the game the other night against the Hawks. They got killed. I wasn't a fan of how little they played Brewer. It's tough to add anything relevant when the projected starting and back up point guards are injured. Al Jefferson continued to do what I expect him to be doing on a nightly basis.
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3 comments:
I was looking at salary structures - Juwan Howard's deal has a player option for next year -even if we can't deal him for expiring this year - do you think he will walk either way next year?
I think he will walk. I know he would be walking away from a lot of money, but keep in mind he was the first $100 million dollar player in BA history (7 year, 105 million in 1996.
Obviously, his current contract paid him a handsome sum on top of that initial one. I think he will walk and try for a mid-level at a contender and ultimately settle for either a portion of the mid-level or the veteran's minimum.
Neil - thanks for the propers, I'll try to see what I can do. Hopefully I can get away from Blount related material.
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