Knicks vs. Lakers and The Problem With Early Returns

Today's throwback video takes us to November 11, 1990: An early season matchup between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers from the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. This video features two legends facing off for teams that are in flux: one on its way in and one on its way out.

The New York Knicks entered the game 3-2, coming off of a win the night before in Sacramento. This was the second game of a 4-game west coast set. The Lakers were 1-2, playing their fourth game at a point in the season when most teams had played their fifth or sixth. 

The Knicks won on the road 109-103 over the Lakers, making it their third straight. LA's loss fell to 1-3 on the young campaign. The game was a back-and-fourth shootout on both sides, but the Knicks were able to pull away with a 11-4 run in the final 3:47 of the game. Patrick Ewing led New York with 27 points and 14 rebounds despite being triple-teamed on multiple occasions. Kiki Vandeweghe added 22 points, scoring 20+ for the third straight game.

Magic Johnson led the Lakers with a triple-double: 24 points, 15 rebounds, 14 assists. Byron Scott added 24 of his own. Despite big performances from Magic and Scott, the Lakers bench was outscored 32-19, which made a difference in the long run.

While it seemed like the two squads were trending in certain directions (the Knicks on the way up, the Lakers on the way down), things soon turned in opposite directions for both sides.

The Knicks would split the final two games of the west coast trip with an overtime win at Seattle and a high-scoring loss at Portland. From there, however, they would have two wins bookend a five-game losing streak. GM Al Bianchi saw this as an opportunity to fire head coach Stu Jackson and replace him with John MacLeod, a man Bianchi tried to hire in 1987 after being his assistant coach for 11 years in Phoenix. Bianchi would be fired midseason and John MacLeod would leave for Notre Dame after the season. The Knicks would end the campaign 39-43 and was swept by the eventually champion Chicago Bulls. Former Lakers coach Pat Riley would step in the following season.

The Lakers were starting the season slowly as they adjusted to new head coach Mike Dunleavy, who looked to establish more set plays than the Showtime Lakers were used to under Riley. Los Angeles would start the year 2-5 before reeling off 8 straight wins. They'd go on a 16-game win streak in January and February and finish the year 58-24. The Lakers would take the Western Conference crown in six games over defending conference champ Portland. They would fall in the NBA Finals to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, four games to one.

It goes to show that the season is a marathon. Early returns - like a few weeks in - don't always foretell how things will turn out over the course of 7 months. The grind is real!

Video courtesy of NBAOLDTWO. Marv Albert and John Andariese are on the call for MSG Network, with a special appearance from comedian Richard Lewis in the third quarter.

Kobe Bryant: A Uniform Success

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Lakers posted an interactive visual that shows every jersey that Kobe Bryant has worn over his illustrious 20-year professional, international, and all-star basketball career.

It goes without saying that the whole thing is frickin' awesome! It's cool to go through and be reminded not only of great moments in Kobe's career, but of evolution of uniforms over the past two decades. You may notice that Kobe's Lakers uniform doesn't change until his fourth season, and he doesn't wear anything outside of the purple and gold until the tail end of his sixth season. The floodgates open from there, from numerous Lakers throwbacks and alternates to the progressively more lavish All-Star uniforms. The interactive page says a lot about both NBA fashion in the new millenium and the longevity of an All-Star's - and future Hall-of-Famer's - career. Be sure to click-through and give the page a look. Which jersey of Kobe's is your favorite? Tell me in the comments below!

Bulls vs. Lakers: Shaq Instagram Debate Settled

In July 2015, NBA legend and TNT studio analyst Shaquille O'Neal posted the above picture on his Instagram of what he felt were the all-time starting fives for the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls. O'Neal, whom put his self in the Lakers five, felt his squad could beat the Bulls five "by fifty". Once the debate was sparked, several YouTube videos were posted using NBA 2K15 to figure out who would win. While they're all good videos, I felt that not having a virtual Kareem Abdul-Jabbar available - forcing gamers to create or download their own - took away from the experience a bit. With Kareem being included in NBA 2K16, I decided to give this debate another look.

Here are the video highlights, our first video on the new Scenario Mode TV YouTube channel. Analysis and setup information is provided under the video:

I played a CPU vs. CPU game between the Lakers and Bulls with 12-minute quarters. Since Shaq started this debate, the Lakers are the home team. I used the following versions of each player for the starting fives:

BULLS

PF Horace Grant ('92 Bulls, 80 overall)

PF Dennis Rodman ('96 Bulls, 85 overall)

SF Scottie Pippen ('96 Bulls, 92 overall)

SG Michael Jordan ('96 Bulls, 99 overall)

PG Derrick Rose (Current player with attributes from his 2K15 MyTeam MVP card, 94 overall)

LAKERS

C Shaquille O'Neal ('01 Lakers, 96 overall)

C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ('87 Lakers, 94 overall)

SF Elgin Baylor ('65 Lakers, 91 overall)

SG Kobe Bryant ('01 Lakers, 95 overall)

PG Magic Johnson ('87 Lakers, 97 overall)

The game was played on Superstar difficulty with simulation sliders. I wanted to see how this starting five would shake out over a full game, so I turned off fatigue and injuries and set the rotations so each player was set to play a full 48.

When this debate first came about, I set aside my Bulls bias and conceded that the Lakers definitely had the advantage in this scenario, though the Bulls wouldn't lose by 50. A lot of people pointed out that Artis Gilmore should have been put in at center for the Bulls, and I agree. Having hall-of-fame and hall-of-fame-caliber centers in the frontcourt are to trump two all-star power forwards over a 48 minute span. But switching out an all-star forward for a hall-of-fame center could change some things. But these are the ten that Shaq set forward, so we're going to roll with it.

Here are the results. As I thought, Shaq's Lakers didn't beat the Bulls by 50. They beat them by 5, 125-120. While I made sure that each player played the full game, I forgot about disabling foul outs. So when Derrick Rose picked up his sixth with 23 seconds in the fourth quarter, I had to cut the experiment short. Below are the stats:

In the end, it was the instigator of the Instagram debate that made the difference. Despite scoring almost exclusively in the paint and struggling at the line, the Lakers were able to pull out the narrow win thanks to one Shaquille O'Neal. Horace Grant gave a valiant effort, but Shaq was just too much for him, amassing 42 points and pulling down 11 boards.

I figured the difference would come down to the frontcourt, and that was the case here. Kareem and Shaq are two centers that were major scorers in their careers and know how to get to the basket. The duo combined for 54 points. Grant and Rodman were looked at for rebounds and rim protection. They finished with a combined 19 points. In the context of this game, that meant that the Lakers had five scorers on the floor the entire game, while the Bulls had three. Jordan, Pippen, and Rose were able to get their points through much of the game. But in the later stages, the Lakers were able to focus on those three defensively while pulling off a 7-2 run of their own to put the game away.

In the end, it was a fun game. Discussions about who is better and who is best make the basketball world go 'round. It's always good to watch it actually play out instead of just talking in hypotheticals. Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below. Do you think these are truly the all-time starting fives for both teams? What other NBA team starting fives do you think could stand up to the Lakers or Bulls?

Scenarioballin' on a Thursday

Kobe Bryant hosted the Bulls for a final time last night. On the court he finished with 10 points. In a game of Scenarioball, his 2-7 shooting from outside and 2 turnovers saw him finish the night with -1 points.

Yesterday I told you about a game I started playing to make the games I watch more interactive. I named it "Scenarioball", which may not be the most inventive sport name, but we're just going to roll with it. I decided to try out my game on TNT's Thursday Night doubleheader. Last night's slate consisted of the undermanned Knicks taking on the Raptors in Toronto, followed by the Bulls visiting Kobe for the final time as they took on the Lakers in LA. Here are my results:

The Knicks were able to keep the game somewhat close, losing 93-103 despite being without Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jose Calderon. The Knicks were mostly blah outside of Afflalo going 3-for-3 from three and Vujacic going 3-for-6 from outside with 2 steals. The Raptors on the other hand were pretty fun to watch. Kyle Lowry knocked down a few treys and got a few steals, James Johnson got 4(!) blocks, and DeRozan, Ross, and Biyombo threw down a dunk each.

As a Bulls fan, it felt good to see them not play down to an opponent. This was a free win coming in and they took advantage with the decisive 114-91 victory. Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson rose to the Scenarioball occasion by notching double-figures. They both had three dunks each, with Butler receiving two alley-oops. Butler also swiped four steals. The Lakers, though they were blown out in Scenarioball and in real life, defied my expectations. Brandon Bass, a guy I largely ignore, led the way with 5 points. D'Angelo Russell, a guy I'm really hoping pans out as an NBA player, was at the bottom with -3 points in 24 minutes of play.