Kidd Leads Nets to Record-Setting January

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd has been named the NBA's Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for January after leading the Nets to a 10-3 record, the league announced today.

This marks the first Coach of the Month honor for Kidd in his first season as a head coach. The Nets' 10-3 (.769) record in January marked the best winning percentage for the month of January in the franchise's 38 NBA seasons.

However, it was not too long ago, that some thought Kidd should be fired.

Let's take a walk back. At the start of the NBA season, many were critical of the Brooklyn Nets management for hiring Jason Kidd as an NBA head coach. After all, he had just retired as a player from the New York Knicks only a few weeks prior to the head coach announcement.
Kidd lacked experience said his detractors.

As the regular season got into full swing and the Brooklyn Nets went on a downward spiral losing game after game, the naysayers amplified the chatter for the firing of the rookie coach.

With the Nets on a losing streak and many calling for the proverbial hammer to come down, Kidd made a decisive turn in early December; he demoted his primary assistant, Lawrence Frank, by "reassigning" him to report-filing duties.

The Nets fortunes didn't turn around on a dime and the team continued to experience misfortunes in December.

Center Brook Lopez broke his foot in December. There was also the embarrassing 95-78 Christmas Day loss to the Chicago Bulls.

On December 31, The Nets left the court early during a blowout loss to the Spurs on December 31, forcing Kidd to take a timeout so that he could retrieve them from the locker room.

With a new year, often come new resolutions; and the Brooklyn Nets as a team must have decided to resolve to win in the new year.

The Nets strung together two five-game winning streaks under the first year head coach's guidance and held nine of their 13 opponents under 100 points, resulting in eight victories. Brooklyn also won four of five road games in January, including a buzzer-beating victory to begin the month at Oklahoma City January 2.

Kidd, who won NBA Player of the Month honors twice as a member of the Nets (November 2001 and December 2002) and once as a member of the Phoenix Suns (April 1999) becomes the fourth person in NBA history to win both coach and player of the month honors, joining Larry Bird, Larry Drew, and Jeff Hornacek. Kidd also becomes the second person to win both honors with the same franchise, joining Hornacek, who captured both honors with the Suns, including Coach of the Month in December 2013.

Kidd becomes the fourth head coach in franchise history to earn Coach of the Month honors, joining Avery Johnson (November 2012), four-time winner Lawrence Frank (February 2004, April 2005, March 2006 and April 2007) and two-time winner Byron Scott (December 2002 and December 2003).

Speaking of Avery Johnson, even though he won Eastern Conference Coach of the Month in November 2012, Nets management lost patience with the team's struggles and fired Johnson the following month in December 2012.

He's the reason why I started to watch basketball and became interested in the sport. He's the reason why at an undersized height of 5'8, I thought I had a chance at organized basketball, at least in my thoughts. The generations before mine grew up watching greats like Jerry West, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan.

I had Allen Iverson.

I still remember the day I purchased his #3 Jersey, the home all white Jersey representing the Philadelphia 76ers logo and uniforms from 1997-2009.

On Saturday night March 1, 2014, the 76ers organization during a home game hosting the Washington Wizards, honored its former franchise player by retiring his jersey during halftime.

His Jersey was hoisted up to the rafters joining the likes of other retired numbers of #6 Julius Erving, #34 Charles Barkley, and #13 Wilt Chamberlain. It was a heart-warming ceremony in which past 76ers greats and some of Iverson's teammates, including Dikembe Mutumbo and Julius Erving among others, were in attendance on the floor to celebrate with him.

It's actually not ludicrous to mention his name among those greats. He was that good.

Iverson received an MVP award in 200. He made 11 All-Star appearances (2000-2010); he's a 2-time All-Star game MVP awards winner (2001-2005), a 4-time scoring champ (1999, 2001-2001, 2005) and a 3-time All-NBA First team member (1999, 2001, 2005). But, wait, there's more!! Iverson was All-NBA Second Team for three years (2000, 2002-2003); an All-NBA Third Team member (2006); the NBA Rookie of the Year for 1997; All-Rookie NBA First Team also in 1997, and a 3-Time NBA Steals leader three years in a row from 2000-2003.

An Olympian, Iverson was selected to be a part of Team USA for the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament which was held in Puerto Rico. Iverson averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game while helping the USA Team finish with a perfect 10-0 record.

Other than never taking a night off from stepping foot on the hardwood, Iverson's retirement resonates with me because of the cultural and revolutionary impact he has made as a professional athlete. The NBA's dress code from dress-down to casual and formal is a result of Allen Iverson.

The cross-over dribble becoming as popular as it is today, was a torch passed down from Pearl Washington to Tim Hardaway and then to Iverson who modernized it and elevated its variations to his own style. He incorporated the moves of the pickup games of the playgrounds into NBA arenas which made him box office. His clothing choices off the court prompted the general public to question his character which in result compelled Iverson to attach the famed metaphorical phrase to himself of "don't judge a book by its cover".

He was also a trendsetter, making the cornrows hairstyle a global necessity as everyone had to have it. A hairstyle mostly sported by criminals became accepted by the general public as Iverson stated in one of the best interviews conducted by sports journalist Stephen A. Smith of ESPN once upon a time on his show, "Quite Frankly," "I made it Alright." Iverson inspired a generation of people, specifically targeting the children, to not just play basketball, but to be themselves.

In a post-retirement interview, Iverson, regarding his on-court attire and gear which included a headband and an arm sleeve throughout the better part of his playing days, stated that I wanted to look like a superhero. Sporting the arm sleeve began during the 2000-01 regular season. Iverson wore the right arm sleeve recovering from an injury that affected his right elbow. If that's the case who's to say that same attire and compilation of on-court gear hasn't inspired the likes of Miami Heat F Lebron James and New York Knicks F Carmelo Anthony, two players known for sporting the headband and arm sleeve combo. He tried his crossover on a Hall-Of-Famer in Michael Jordan successful in his attempt as Jordan bit on Iverson's change of direction as he drifted to his right off the hesitation crossover pulling up for a jump-shot which was all net.

One of my favorite Iverson moves was a sequence of events where Iverson was draped all over by then Kings Forward Peja Stojakovic at the corner of the three-point line in which Peja's defense was so compressing, that Iverson dribbled the ball from his right hand to the other behind Peja's back to free himself off the corner.

It was plays like that one that drew me to Iverson as a player. I marveled at the fact that someone of such a small stature could dominate a game single-handedly to his advantage causing numerous problems for the opposing team's defensive alignments and strategies. I remember how tough Iverson was, relentless in attacking the basket despite the punishment he received in return resulting in several injuries occurring throughout his career. It didn't matter who suited up for the other team assigned to protect the rim, Iverson penetrated and more times than not, you can count two in. Fans root for their teams with all their energy, but when Iverson came to town, it was hard to send negative resentment in the form of boos his way because we all knew we were in attendance to see what he would do next.

There was no answer for "The Answer", a name given to Iverson by Shaquille O'Neal, an All-Time great as a center acknowledging Iverson's greatness.

Iverson has totaled a career of 79, 40-point games for the regular season, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 271, Michael Jordan's 173, Kobe Bryant's 117, and Elgin Baylor's 88. Iverson also had 11, 50-point games following Wilts 118, Jordan's 31, Bryant's 24, Baylor's 14 and Rick Barry's 13.

Sounds like pretty good company to me.

Although Iverson's career has featured incredible highs, trouble was not too far behind as Iverson experienced his share of public controversy and legal problems.

Iverson made national headlines for feuding with coaches he has played for because he disagreed with their principles and methods. A disappointing season due to the team's overall success in the mid-2000s called for an ugly divorce, as management and A.I. had a falling out which led to Iverson's departure from the Sixers.

This then started an NBA tour as Iverson made short stints with the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, and Memphis Grizzlies from 2006-2010. Iverson played three games with the Grizzlies until his contract was terminated by both parties, Iverson and the Grizzlies management, came to an agreement to part ways.

With Iverson facing thoughts of retirement, an opportunity for one last stand to validate his value in the latter stages of his career arrived with the 76ers who offered Iverson a one-year deal for the duration of the 2009-10 NBA regular season on December 2.

Complications to his daughter's health halted Iverson's progress from completing the season as he attended to his daughter's aid.

After a brief stint in the Turkish Basketball League and declining an offer to play in the NBA's development league, Iverson's officially called it quits, retiring from professional basketball entirely on October 30, 2013.

The final chapters of an excellent career had finally closed which led us to the celebration of Iverson's career with his Jersey retirement ceremony on March 1.

Fans, basketball enthusiasts, and sports analysts would all agree that maybe if Iverson accepted a lesser role towards the tail end of his career, he could have achieved the most coveted award of being granted a chance at an NBA title.

But he didn't. He believed he was too great to come off the bench, a role that would hurt his pride in admitting along with the general public that he no longer was the player he once was. He had other ideas.

Because that alternate ending was not a reality let's just reflect on what was and is a Hall-of-Fame career.

Allen Iverson is one of the best little "big" men to ever play the game.

An all-time great.

".. I still feel in my heart and everything I believe that I'm the best Basketball Player in the World and the Best Basketball Player to Eva play this Game," Iverson once expressed.

Long live the Legend of "The Answer", Allen Iverson.

I feel like the good life lived is one where you take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves as well as making sure that you are doing what you love to do. Last night in Oklahoma City, there was evidence of that theme exuding from one particular individual who happens to play professional basketball at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, returned to his habitat, his environment, and the place he feels most comfortable, helping his teammates on the basketball court at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. And, last night, he aided his OKC teammates in a 103-96 victory over the Phoenix Suns, recording 21 points and 7 dimes. If his performance didn't inform you that he was elated to be back on the basketball court, then his postgame interview was the answer as he was all smiles conversing with a Fox Sports media correspondent.

"Good," says Westbrook referring to playing his first game of the season this year. "It was tough but we won and that's all that matters, I found my rhythm and continued to play."

For those unaware, Westbrook suffered a slight tear in his right meniscus due to a steal attempt by Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley who collided with him during Game 2 of the Thunder's first-round playoff series against the Rockets in the 2013 postseason. Although Westbrook continued to play periodically throughout the duration of that game, the seriousness of his injury resulted in a technical knockout removing him from participating indefinitely. Without a healthy Westbrook, fellow star and teammate Kevin Durant experienced life without his trusty sidekick, fending for himself to no avail. In Westbrook's absence, Durant became the center of attention receiving double teams, dealing with constant pressure and having the responsibility to be the offense with little to minimal contribution from his teammates who have yet to garner that respect from defenses as Durant's talent is superior to most.

The reason why Westbrook is essential to the overall makeup of the Thunder's appearance is because of what he is. Westbrook, this early into his career is a complete player. Standing at 6'3, Westbrook is taller than most guards and maintains an attacking mentality, believing that he can take almost every point guard off the dribble in penetrating the paint and converting. Westbrook's athleticism and leaping ability help him keep most point guards honest, restricting them from the paint and keeping them on the perimeter. Westbrook continues to improve on the offensive prowess, continuing to develop a mid-range game among the best in the League. These skills provide the evidence as to why Westbrook has already been selected to three all-star games all before the age of 25.

In the premier basketball league in the world, it is exceedingly exhausting to pin the hopes of an entire franchise's fortune on the accomplishments of one individual. Now, to win it all, every franchise's strategy is to produce "Super Teams." A "Super Team" is the pairing of two or more stars or superstars with intention of winning an NBA Championship in my best explanation. Throughout the history of the NBA, almost every "Super Team" was able to deliver the goods. The Chicago Bulls boasted guard Michael Jordan and forward Scottie Pippen. They held the league for ransom during the 90s, as they successfully captured six world titles in two three-peats. Los Angeles Lakers icons guard Magic Johnson and forward Kareem Abdul Jabaar, along with a more than capable supporting cast helped seize five world titles for the shooting stars of Hollywood in the 80s. The Boston Celtics sustained a similar formula. They were fortunate enough to have the services of forwards Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. They teamed up to nab three titles, also in the 80's.

All of these players are acknowledged on the list of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history.

I say all this to highlight the importance of Westbrook and what he means to Oklahoma City because with him they are a title threat and without him, they are just another team awaiting elimination from the postseason competition.

Westbrook and Durant, together form one of the leagues most feared scoring tandems, as they combined for 54 points against the Suns in their most recent matchup.

Westbrook's return is not just an upgrade to the Thunder's first unit; it provides us with the opportunity to watch.

Sunday was just the beginning and I expect a lot more Thunderstorms in the weeks and months to come.