1. So far, the most pressing sociological phenomena has been the lack of calls for the two white starting point guards, Kirk Hinrich and Steve Nash. Steve Nash is last year's MVP; usually that means he gets the benefit of the doubt. Not so in Game 4 against the Lakers.
Captain Kirk is almost an All-Star caliber point guard in the 3rd year of his young career, but also gets no love. You gotta be tough to be a white guard in the NBA.
2. Scott Skiles has shown Chicago fans that he is an intelligent man by his coaching all season. But he has just revealed that he may understand basic economics better than most of America:
"All of the conspiracy things you hear over the years -- I even thought this as a player -- that's all made up,'' Skiles said before the game. "But I think the price of oil is simply supply and demand; it has nothing to do with the government and big oil. Call me crazy." (emphasis added)I need a Scott Skiles jersey.
8 comments:
So my question is, who do you think should have received the MVP?
The case for Kobe for MVP is compelling, considering the sheer number of points he's put up. But, upon closer inspection, the Lakers only won 45 games, and the playoff version of the Lakers is revealed to be a decent team IF KOBE WOULD PASS THE ROCK.
Lebron will win it someday, and Nash was heroic, but this year's MVP was my main man Dirk Nowitzki. He's improved his game this year to add to his already inimitable skill set. The Mavs won 60 games, and without Dirk, they'd have won 8.
Glad to see another Hinrich fan. He was one of the key components of my fantasy basketball championship. Also, he has always been able to play D-Wade well, going back to Kansas domination of Marquette in the Final Four a few years ago (ruining my Syracuse-Marquette finals matchup).
I like Dirk, but he's pretty much just a wing scoring threat - he should be getting more than 7 free throw attempts a game. Not a great defender. Or a particulatly great passer.
Kobe passing the rock is dependent on the cast around him. Sure, if his teammates are playing good ball, him passing the rock gives them the best chance to win. But, witness Game 5 - Kwame had some silly turnovers, Luke and Smush shot poorly. If Kobe would've taken more than 17 shots, the Lakers would've had a better chance.
Finally, saying that something is just supply and demand is oversimplifying it (though not by all that much). Maybe 80/20 for Supply and Demand vs. Other factors? After all, we do know that it's not a pure market in the sense that players will often choose to ignore demand (and more importantly it's possible influence on predicted future demand), in order to milk profits from what they have ample supply of, particularly once we factor in the possibility of a myopic player. Plus, big players have the ability to keep small players from entering the game. Just because there's ample demand for alternative forms of energy doesn't mean that the energy companies will release that technology right now, if the believe that it's more profitable to continue with oil-based ones. This doesn't seem to be the pure, market-based "supply and demand" like Smith envisioned.
-Chairman
...my fantasy basketball championship
Your pseudo/half championship...
Hinrich
Can anyone tell me how Kirk got left off the Olympic team in lieu of Luke Ridnour?? The token white spot clearly belonged to Mr. Hinrich.
As for him not getting foul calls? Well, in Game 4 vs. the Heat, I seem to remember him running into a set and still Shaq and heading to the line. One exception does not necessarily break the rule, though.
Oh, and looking at how good Kirk is, how good could Frankie have been if he just mustered an effort?
this year's MVP was my main man Dirk Nowitzki
I can agree with that. The Sports Guy stole all my rationale, but that Nash won the MVP again was, to me, a travesty.
Chairman,
Sharp reminder of that Marquette-Kansas game, I forgot that Hinrich met D-Wade in the NCAA. I do remember thinking that Wade had the raw ability to compete in the NBA, but I didn't see Kirk improving so much.
>>Dirk...just a wing scoring threat<<
I'm not sure what this means. Diggler may not get to the rack like Kobe or Lebron, but he can drain 3's. He also added some weird post moves to his arsenal that are effective against smaller defenders. He got 9 boards a game. None of the MVP contenders have great defense, including Kobe, who is still living off of his days of playing in front of Shaq. Kobe got a rep for being an "agressive" defender when Shaq was watching his back (because Kobe could afford to gamble), so now the refs let him get away with murder and we all think he can D.
>>Kobe passing the rock is dependent on the cast around him.<<
Or maybe the converse is true. His cast around him is dependant on Kobe giving up the pill, and now we see that Kobe is entirely able to pass, he just never wanted to. Perhaps Game 5 reinforces the idiocy of hogging the ball the entire regular season. The Lakers are in the playoffs, and Kwame is still in shock when he gets a touch.
>>it's not a pure market in the sense that players will often choose to ignore demand<<
Players ignoring demand does not harm the market; in fact, the free market provides the best punishment for ignoring demand, by encouraging competitors to respond more effectively.
Westy,
I blame the Bulls loss on you, by your mentioning of Frank Williams, you cursed us. Watch your front.
Maybe Kobe's lack of passing is harming Kwame, but it is just as likely that Kwame didn't get much playing time until the last month of the season when Mihm went down. Kwame has some tantalizing talent. but right now the games seems to move too fast for him at times. He's going to be good if he keeps working. I hope that this taste of greatness will whet Kwame's appetite, and that he lives up to the expectations that he had placed on him a few years ago.
As far as ignoring demand goes - it's true that the free market punishes folks that don't capture demand. But if you buy into the Porter's 5-Forces Model (which actually seems somewhat natural) there's an aspect of entry into the market. If the costs of getting into the market are high (consider the infrastructure that oil, gasoline, etc. have, and consider the cost of converting on a mass scale to non-petroleum based products), then that can be a barrier that keeps potential competitors out. Some would argue that it's the government's job to keep the balance of healthy competition. Which brings ties to lobbyists and the like. The supply and demand definitely drives the main effect. However, I think that there are all sorts of subtle issues that are very real and can't be glossed over.
-Chairman
Well, I'm glad to see that Kobe failed in Game 7.
Chairman, I agree that "supply and demand" does not exhaust every nuance of economic theory, but it does tell most of the story.
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