These are the type of comparisons we all love to make and your intrepid author is no exception.

Joe Johnson can’t carry Kobe Bryant’s jock strap you may say, but if you break down the stats it turns out he can carry Kobe’s jock strap and carry it rather well.

Entering Tuesday’s game, Bryant was averaging 27.7 points on 47.5 percent from the field, 35.0 percent from 3-point range and 86.9 from the line. Johnson was averaging 21.6 points on 43.3, 34.4 and 80.5 percent, respectively.

Break down Bryant’s points and you’ll find that 14.6 percent of them come on 3-pointers, 27.5 in the paint, 22.5 on free throws and the other 35.4 percent from midrange.

Johnson’s breakdown is 27.3 percent on treys, 26.7 in the paint, 16.9 on freebies and 29.1 percent from midrange.

They score in a similar fashion.

source

But you know that there is more to it than that, don’t you? You do, don’t you? Well?

Yeah, there is that intangible part that makes Kobe great and Joe really good. The difference is in that skull thing that sits above the neck on both players. Kobe has what some would call a genius of athletics. Can we say that? Guess we already did. Kobe knows he will take your team to the mountain, he will win the game, make the big shot, the big pass, whatever it takes and he has done it before.

Isiah Thomas used to say that Michael Jordan was the most competitive athlete he ever met. If you beat Michael Jordan at hoops then be prepared to play until he wins or you drop dead. If you did drop dead then Michael would probably be a bit upset at not getting a chance to beat on you. You can just picture Michael dragging your dead body out on the court and jumping over you to jam the ball and shouting out, “That is 1 to nothing, your outs!”

Kobe has that and Joe would like to get it.

Maurice Evans, Bryant’s former backcourt mate in L.A. and Johnson’s current backup in Atlanta, agrees. “I think you see a little bit of the mental edge [with Bryant] as far as the confidence level, as far as winning championships and having a greater level of success,” Evans said. “When [the Hawks] played Boston last year and they went to Game 7, Kobe’s been in situations where he’s actually won that game and had that type of success. Once Joe gets that under his belt, I think he can start playing on that level.”

source

When Joe gets that edge then maybe, just maybe he will earn a category on my blog. Until then, Joe better keep taking it to Kobe until he wins!

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Check out this list of free agents.

Now you can see why the Pistons, Nets and other teams are clearing off salary cap room for next year:

PLAYER	TM	TYPE
LeBron James	CLE	player option
Dirk Nowitzki	DAL	player option
Josh Howard	DAL	player option
Dwyane Wade	MIA	player option
Michael Redd	MIL	player option
Amare Stoudemire	PHX	player option
Joe Johnson	ATL	unrestricted
Ben Wallace	CLE	unrestricted
Marcus Camby	DEN	unrestricted
Richard Hamilton	DET	unrestricted
Amir Johnson	DET	unrestricted
Antonio McDyess	DET	unrestricted
Tracy McGrady	HOU	unrestricted
Jermaine O’Neal	IND	unrestricted
Darko Milicic	MEM	unrestricted
Steve Nash	PHX	unrestricted
Shaquille O’Neal	PHX	unrestricted
Manu Ginobili	S.A.	unrestricted
Carlos Boozer	UTA	unrestricted
Mehmet Okur	UTA	unrestricted

Player option: Player has right to opt out of contract if he wants.

It is just amazing to even think about it.

It could become the most talented free agency class ever in professional sports in that there will be five players — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson — with already one NBA championship, two NBA Finals, four U.S. Olympic team invitations and 16 All-Star appearances among them and not one of them will be older than 30 in 2010.

If that doesn’t whet the appetite, then there will be an available 32-year-old former league MVP (Dirk Nowitzki) and a just-turned-31 Michael Redd, one of the game’s deadliest perimeter sharp shooters.

source

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Joe Johnson had 20 in the 4th quarter

Image details: Boston Celtics v Atlanta Hawks – Game Three served by picapp.com

You must admit it.

You did not see this coming.

Atlanta has taken both of their home games and now the series with the Boston Celtics is tied at 2 to 2.

Game 5 is back in Boston.

So how did Atlanta do it?
Well, it may have started with the trade for Mike Bibby.

Oh, you want to know what happened in the game?

After starting the game on a 16-3 run, the Celtics cooled down as Atlanta secured a 97-92 home win in Game 4 on Monday.

On an off night for rookie Al Horford, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith combined for Atlanta’s final 34 points. Johnson led the way with 35 points and six assists, while Smith chipped in 28 points, six rebounds and seven blocks.

source

This is a Hawks team that now believes that they can win. Sure, the Hawks know that Kevin Garnett is a great player, and so is Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, but they can be beaten!

The game was still close going into the fourth quarter when Joe Johnson took over and left the Celtics wondering what happened.

The credit for this Atlanta stunner goes largely to Johnson, who took control in the final quarter. After Smith’s jumper put the Hawks ahead to stay 81-79, Johnson scored nine straight points to keep the Celtics on the ropes.

The knockout came when Paul Pierce drove to the hoop and left it short, then tumbled over a cameraman alongside the basket. When the Boston star finally climbed back to his feet, he had a look of disbelief—which pretty much sums up the way the Celtics are feeling about this series.

source

You have to wonder if any Boston fans bought game 5 tickets. They had to be sure this series would be over in 4 games.

NBA Basketball special comment Will Atlanta win this series? No, but they have acquired a huge dose of confidence and experience that has to pay dividends.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Tracy McGrady in his signature form, shooting the jump shot in Atlanta

It has to be smoke and mirrors.

How are they doing it? There is no Yao. The ultimate collapse was predicted.

Yet, the Houston Rockets rolled once again.

Houston 83 Atlanta 75

Ok, so the Hawks are not exactly prime time with Mike Bibby or not, it is still 20 in a row!

The Rockets tied the second longest win streak in NBA History and were led by Tracy McGrady.

The Rockets joined the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33 straight) and 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (20) as the only teams to win 20 or more in a row.

“We did enough to win,” Adelman said.

Tracy McGrady scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half for Houston, which led only 71-70 with 5 minutes remaining. McGrady then scored five points in Houston’s 10-0 run to take control.
source

Now this gets complicated, because the number of non-contenders on the win streak schedule. Even when they faced the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki was serving a one game suspension for brutality. The experts will say that Houston has beaten no one and their playoff spot is still in jeopardy and there is some truth to that statement.

But come on, 20 in a row against Middleville Junior High would still be impressive. The NBA is a grind. You get any team at home and they are apt to shoot the lights out and beat you just for some momentary respect.

And give some credit to the players that have stepped up in Yao’s absence, like Battier, Alsten, Landry and others.

And defense, did anyone tell you, Houston is playing some fine defense.

Houston allowed only 89.3 points per game during its 19 straight wins and set a low scoring pace against the Hawks.

…Houston has held two straight opponents to 75 or fewer points, following a 91-73 win over New Jersey on Monday.

So there is Houston one game away from the Lakers and the best record in the Western Conference and still no respect for what they have accomplished.

“It’s unbelievable,” McGrady said. “For me to be on this team that has accomplished 20 straight wins, that has got to be right up there with the most gratifying things I’ve accomplished in this league. … You look at the Bulls that were 72-10, they didn’t even do it. So this is pretty remarkable.”

Added Adelman: “You could see the guys, it really means something to get this and just keep not only the streak going, but keep moving in the right direction.”

The Rockets are for real and seem to have rallied around Yao and the feeling of them against the world.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the Rockets make an impact in the playoff?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Mike Bibby will bring shooting and poise to the Hawks

On the surface, most fans are saying, “So what.”

Mike Bibby gets traded from one under .500 team to another under .500 team.

But there is more here than meets the eye.

In the Western Conference, to be under .500 is to be out of the playoff race. In the Eastern Conference, only 5 teams are above .500. That is right, only 5 teams.

Atlanta is still in it.

The Hawks played my Pistons the other night in a nothing pre-All-Star-time game and took Detroit down to the wire.

Now admittedly the Pistons were having a tough time staying interested in that game and needed a Rasheed Wallace referee blowup to get excited, but Atlanta was busy showing off young talent at the same time.

You have a team with Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Josh Childress, Al Horford, Marvin Williams and, lo and behold, no point guard. That is until now.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson said Bibby, acquired from the Sacramento Kings for four players on Saturday, will provide scoring help for Joe Johnson. Atlanta’s All-Star shooting guard often faces gimmick defenses because he’s the team’s only outside shooting threat.

“There’s another option now,” Woodson said. “It’ll be like a one-two punch in the backcourt.” source

And Sacramento?

Don’t kid yourself about these deals. Sacramento picked up a bunch of expiring or almost expiring contracts and probably nothing more. They just want cash space in the off season to pursue players.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Can Mike Bibby ignite the Hawks?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed