2 Weeks into Free Agency, the Off Season and some thoughts...

[Grayson]

Re: 2 Weeks into Free Agency, the Off Season and some thoughts.........

That's not 16 equivalent seasons, bro. You're assuming that if you played at least 70 games, then that makes an entire season.

But I do agree that Garnett has a lot of wear and tear due to starting very early and playing 80 games many many seasons in the NBA. I once thought and considered the prospect that Garnett could potentially break the records of Kareem and Robert Parish in terms of longevity and production, because starting at 19 years of age and playing till the age of 42 would make for some crazy stats.

But I guess this was the first generation to experiment with that mindset and this is the result of playing a large amount of games from high school on. I guess the wear and tear could potentially ruin that longevity. So the Celtics, with all three stars and extra parts, are a real risk for a make or break season in terms of success.

But we're also just assuming that the Celtics would just get injured by being older. This was the first year that this happened to the team. For all we know, it could've been a fluke that Garnett wasn't going to play the entire season and could make up for it next year, even though we still don't know the progress of his knee.

So until we actually see the season play out, let's not make any assumptions, because they're health is at risk, but the Cleveland Cavaliers have ALWAYS had bad luck with injuries as well (Chones, Carr, Daugherty, Price, and Z). We might've just had a really lucky season for all we know.

What I do know is this:

When all teams are healthy, the Cavs and Celtics are top 2, Magic is top 3, and Washington and Atlanta are a pain in the @$$ for any team with their athleticism and stars.

Hopefully, it plays out where we actually beat the shit out of the Celts and Magic this time around.

Here's the math that I used to come up with that figure.

39635 minutes played
Divided by
30 minutes. That is assuming an average of 30 minutes played a game over a season.
Equals
1321 games played
Divided by
82 games in a season. Yes I'm discounting playoffs, in a way. What I'm doing is going strictly by minutes played. So if a player is consistently in the playoffs, it's like playing more season. Of course the Timberwolves weren't always in the playoffs, and when they did they had many early exits.
Equals
16.11 seasons. So that's how I got to this number of seasons played.

OR
39635/30=1321
1321/82=16.11

Kevin Garnet is 33 years old. But people on this very website are all up in arms about Anthony Parker being 34 years old. Claiming that his age is a problem, he's lost a step, and he not as athletic. So would the same arguments apply to Garnet. But even discounting the age, look at it another way.

If Garnet had gone to college and played, say 2 season in the NCAA, then when he gets to the NBA he'd be 20. Now add to the 16 years of NBA ball, logging high minutes. His age would be then 36.

The question is, how many 36 year old power forward log heavy minutes in the NBA? And how many are key to their teams current and future seasons? I can't think of any. I know that there are older players that contribute, but no team relies on a 36 year old to be the most important cog in the teams machinery.

As a side note, isn't it weird to call 34-36 old ?

Yes, I am assuming that the Celtics will get injured just by being older. You saw it start this season with Garnets knee. They thought it would be a simple rest and recover deal. Come back for the playoffs and let's win a championship. Didn't happen because he's played so much time, and played it so hard. So he had surgery, and is getting back now. But I have no faith on the Geriatric Celtics staying healthy all season.

Besides, it's been proven time and time again that at a certain point, basketballs players lose the physical ability to do what they do. With Garnet and Ray Allen, having the physical ability is key to what they do. Paul Peirce not so much, he just tries to bull people over then flail and whine for a foul.

 

[rabman_gold]

I appreciate the way you calculated your formula for Garnett's years, but I still don't think 30 minutes a game is enough to justify the result. Remember that people of Garnett's caliber tend to play more minutes because 1) They're more durable than the fragile types (Yao and Z) and 2) Their impact requires them to play more. 36 minutes would be more appropriate in this case, and it's even used as a main stat on sites like Basketball Reference.

So, if I used the same formula, but used 36 minutes as the basis:

That's closer to his real amount of years played at 13. Still, because he has played in 80+ games in 8 seasons and at least 70+ in all but 2 seasons (one being the lockout year)... KG may end up having as much wear and tear this season too.

So don't use 30 minutes a game as the basis for superstars. LeBron spent the first 5 years playing 40+ minutes while Michael Jordan was usually above 37 like many stars that are relied upon.

As for the Celtics, keep an open eye on them. They either are good to go or fall later on. No guess work right now would be good.

 

[Tribrocavs]

Carlos Arroyo apparently wants back into the league. The article mentions that he is Vegas this week meeting with an undisclosed team. It goes on to suggest that the Cavs as a possible destination for Carlos primarily as a back up to Mo. Pure conjecture, but maybe worth considering.

Primera Hora

Translation: Spanish » English

Carlos Arroyo could have a contract with an NBA team for this week if all goes as sight.

The Canastero fajardeño, who is in Puerto Rico to participate in the training of the National Pre-Selection Premundial of the Americas, will leave Wednesday to Las Vegas to meet with an NBA team, whose name was not disclosed, and negotiate a deal.

"If all goes well, I will be back in the NBA," said Arroyo, who revealed that it will not participate in Las Vegas NBA Summer League. "I will not go to play, I only want to meet with a team. But I do not want to give more details until everything is official. "

In the summer league in Las Vegas part 21 of the 30 NBA teams and quintets that are there and require assistance in the position of the listed owner of Sacramento Kings (team chose his friend, and Israeli Omri Casspi whose rookie Tyreke Evans is not a creator to his companions), the Cleveland Cavaliers (need a substitute for Mo Williams and Arroyo has the same agent LeBron James), the Houston Rockets (a substitute for Aaron Brooks), of the Clippers Los Angeles (a substitute for Baron Davis) and the Detroit Pistons (Rodney Stuckey for assistance).

Ready for Selection
On the other hand, Arroyo launched yesterday in the court of Aguas Buenas their internships with the National Team for the Premundial to be played in late August at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum.

"I am well pleased because we will play at home, our people and I am confident that we will have a good team. There are many rising young players that have improved a lot and others who have been on the team and also have improved. The competition will be tough and I know we have a good team, "said the now former player for Maccabi Tel Aviv.