The Chris Bosh Situation

John Askins
Staff Writer

As many basketball fans may know, superstar forward Chris Bosh’s career with the Miami Heat, and possibly the NBA, has come to an end.  Bosh has battled issues with his blood in the past three years, including clots in both of his legs that have caused him to miss large portions of the past two seasons. These clots have a possibility of breaking free and travelling to a critical area such as his lungs or heart, which would likely be fatal.  Bosh is forced to take blood thinners to combat this condition, which in turn makes him extra vulnerable to even the smallest of cuts, since his blood cannot coagulate and stop the bleeding.  This is the same condition that caused former Trail Blazers star Jerome Kersey to lose his life earlier this year.  Kersey had a clot in his right calf, which eventually moved into his lung, and caused his premature death.  Kersey’s tragic story highlights just how serious Bosh’s condition is: a matter of life and death.  Bosh failed his physical with the Miami Heat last Friday, which means that he cannot play basketball with the Heat organization this season, and Team President Pat Riley went as far as to say that Bosh’s career with the Heat is over. 

A deciding factor behind the decision to sit Bosh likely stems from a personal experience that head coach Erik Spoelstra endured while playing college basketball for the University of Portland in 1990.  Loyola Marymount University was a powerhouse that year, compiling a 26-5 record thanks in large to power forward Hank Gathers. Gathers was a supernatural athlete, possessing the strength and athleticism to dominate the position at just 6’7”.  However, he suffered from an irregular heartbeat, among other vascular problems. Portland was set to play LMU for a bid to the NCAA Tournament on March 4th, 1990, a game which garnered national attention and a packed house.  Gathers had been dominating the game early, and with 13:34 left in the 1st half he went up high to stuff an alley-oop jam.  After scoring, he ran back on defense, then collapsed on the court.  Gathers was announced dead that evening, shocking the world; especially Erik Spoelstra, who was a mere 6 feet away from Gathers when the incident occurred.  Spoelstra says that the image still haunts him, and it is very possible that this experience is playing into the Heat’s decision to take the cautious route with Bosh and not allow him to risk it all by continuing to play.

Chris Bosh is one of the most sincere and personable players in the NBA, which is why it is such a tragedy that he is faced with these circumstances.  Since being selected with the 4th pick in the epic 2003 NBA Draft that featured the likes of Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Bosh himself, he has been an emphatic player and genuine person.  Getting to know him, his passion for computer science, and witnessing his goofy antics on the sidelines has made the basketball world fall in love with him. His early days with the Toronto Raptors saw him rise to be one of this era’s greats, as he churned out 20-10 double-doubles for 7 years on his way to 5 All-Star game appearances and an All-NBA 2nd Team selection.  The next 6 years were spent with the Miami Heat, where he tacked on 6 more All-Star appearances and 2 NBA Championships, while being an integral part of one of the most talented teams in NBA history.  Even when Lebron James and his posse packed it up and headed for Cleveland, Bosh signed a new 5-yr deal with Miami, which would cement him in the upper echelon of Miami Heat basketball forever.  Bosh has played with a tenacity and passion that will surely put him in the Hall Of Fame conversation when the time comes.

While we are all hoping to see Bosh in a Miami Heat jersey again, his well-being is the primary objective.  Above all, I sincerely hope that he can recover in full and live a long and prosperous life. But I’m gonna miss that pretty left-handed jumper.

Get well soon Bosh.

2016-17 Breakout Star: Harrison Barnes

John Askins

Staff Writer

After barely being able to hit the broad side of a barn in the 2016 playoffs, Harrison Barnes signed a 4yr/$94.4m max deal with the Dallas Mavericks in the offseason.  We all knew a max deal was coming his way, but his departure to the Mavericks turned some heads.

Barnes was drafted 8th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, and has since spent 4 years playing third and fourth fiddle to the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.  We obviously can't argue with that, those are three of the 10 best players in the league right now.  But given the right attention and opportunity, Barnes has the chance to become a potent scorer.  Coming out of high school, he was the #1 overall recruit in the nation, and it wasn’t hard to see why.  He possesses spectacular athleticism (check out these posters on Nikola Pekovic and Ersan Ilyasova), can shoot the ball well from 3 (career 38% from beyond the arc), and put it on the floor and take it to the hoop with some vigor.  He didn’t quite turn out to be the #1 overall college or NBA player he was initially expected to be, but he was (and still is) brimming with potential. 

The problem is, Barnes hasn’t shown a whole lot of improvement through his 4 years in the association.  His PPG has risen each of those years, however that number has risen from 9.2 as a rookie to just 11.7 this past season.  On top of that, there hasn’t been a significant change in his shooting percentages or secondary stats like rebounds and assists.  As stated before, the tools are there, but he wasn’t given the attention needed to thrive in the midst of a crowded Warriors roster.  However, that’s exactly what’s going to be different with the Mavs; they’re likely going to run a starting lineup of Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, Barnes, Dirk Nowitzki, and Andrew Bogut.  That's quite a few other mouths to feed, but none of the aforementioned players are possession eating scorers, meaning Barnes will get his shots.  The only person he’ll clearly have to take a backseat to is Dirk, who is still a fantastic basketball player, but isn’t quite the ball-dominating star he used to be.  Moreover, Barnes is the second highest paid player on the team, so the front office is going to make sure that coach Rick Carlisle gives him every chance to succeed and become a star.

On the topic of Carlisle, the Mavericks coach has proven in his 8 years that he knows how to make the most out of his players.  While not many recent Mavericks have crossed the 20-point-per-game threshold with the exception of Dirk, there have been a few teams like the 2011 Championship squad that featured a plethora of very productive players like Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, and J.J. Barea.  Both Terry and Marion were at the late stages of their career, well past their prime, but nonetheless put up 15.8 and 12.5 points per game, respectively.  The best part is, Barnes has an even higher ceiling than both of the mentioned players (at that point in their career) and I can confidently say he can put up somewhere between 16 to 20 points a game.  The Mavs like to share the ball, and that will bode well for Barnes, who should be a focal point on offense and will be given the opportunity to make plays on that end of the floor.

If Barnes can develop some more consistency on his jumper and continue to improve his ability to take the ball inside, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.  He has already shown that he has a solid turnaround-J, ferocious athleticism, and -- of course -- a one-dribble pull-up (his personal favorite).  If he gets the confidence to knock them all down regularly, then you have yourself a complete scorer.  Don’t be surprised to see Barnes leading this Mavericks team on a playoff run next Spring.

The Black Falcon takes flight to Dallas.


Let us know in the comments who you think will breakout this upcoming season.

Philadelphia 76ers Offseason Report: R.I.P. the Process

Daniel Arellano
Staff Writer

From the outside looking in, the last three years of Philadelphia basketball had been a tumultuous cocktail of abysmal talent mixed with years of shrewd planning. Spearheaded by Sam Hinkie, the 76ers had become a target of both praise and jeering. Regardless of opinion on the matter, a few things had become undeniable:

1. The 76ers were truly gaming the system. Losing as many games as possible by filling out the roster with young nobodies placed the 76ers in as strong of a position as possible before each year's lottery. They even struck gold (or at least silver) in their discovery of the then-unknown wing Robert Covington.
2. The front office had only blown up a roster that had already been doomed by the enormous price of Andrew Bynum. Making things worse, after multiple knee injuries and surgeries Bynum admitted that he simply  didn't have the same love for the game that he once had.
3. The Sixers were bad. Like, really bad. This was reflected in the ticket sales. After Hinkie's hiring the Philadelphia attendance rate dropped from 17th to 29th to dead last  in 2015. 

As interesting of a game theory experiment it may had been, "The Process" was a stain upon the NBA's brand. Even the most casual of fans had heard about the infamous 26 straight losses in the 2013-2014 season and the 28 game losing streak during the 2015 calendar year. But what many didn't acknowledge was that Philadelphia had acquired a treasure trove of assets in exchange for veterans and the franchise's proud history. In any case, the success of "The Process" simply cannot be evaluated yet. Whether Sam Hinkie was a visionary or simply the blind leading the blind will be determined by the next few years in the City of Brotherly Love.

The introduction of the Colangelo duo to the franchise marked the end of Hinkies tenure. In a remarkable display of coincidence, Bryan Colangelo was appointed GM by his father the day immediately following Hinkie's resignation. Whispers around the league have suggested that commissioner Silver may have played a role in the disestablishment of "The Process." Boom or bust, Hinkie will not be able to reap the seeds that he has sown in Philadelphia. 

At the very least, the Sixers are beginning to resemble an NBA team thanks to a couple of signings in the more orthodox approach taken by the Colangelos. Two much needed veterans have been signed in the form of Gerald Henderson and Jerryd Bayless (2 years/$18M and 3/$27M, respectively). Although these contracts could be considered slight overpays by the front office, it is a great sign for the organization that two veterans have chosen to come to a team that can be instantly ruled out by most free agents. Both are guards that should complement incoming rookie Ben Simmons well due to their ability to function without the ball and provide spacing. Although neither are enough to turn around any team in the association, this is a strong step towards a functioning roster. 

Of course, the Sixer's pride and joy lies not with its tactful free agent signings but with its seemingly limitless supply of draft picks and incoming rookies. The athletic duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid has one of the highest ceilings in the NBA, but it is not without some very obvious question marks. Perhaps the most obvious is the health of Joel Embiid, a rookie member of the draft class of 2014. Let that sink in for a minute. This is no Euro stash that chose to play overseas, such as Dario Saric. Rather, Embiid has simply been unable to participate in a single game since being drafted over two years ago. Although believers may point to numerous Instagram videos of him beating up on poor assistant coaches, anybody that remembers Yi Jianlian will wisely withhold judgement until he sets foot on an NBA court.