Ice Bucket Challenge continues to draw well-needed attention for ALS research

As celebrities and television personalities continue to show their support for ALS research, the Ice Bucket Challenge has quickly extended to the sports world. During this past week, athletes from all around the world and across different sports have generously poured ice-cold buckets of water over their heads for a great cause.

According to the ALS Association (you may find more information at alsa.org), Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a horrible progressive degenerative disease that effects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurons, which reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles in the body, often die which causes the brain to lose its ability to control muscle movement. This often may lead patients to become totally paralyzed in the latter stages of the disease. Although there have been treatment to slow down the progress of ALS in patients, extended research is required to find a cure. The ice bucket challenge helps spread awareness for ALS research and encourages many to donate to the research in hopes that someday a cure could be discovered.

The challenge starts with an individual or group who would go on with the challenge before naming three individuals who they would like to see take it on. The three individuals would subsequently have 24 hours to either dump a bucket of ice water over their heads or make a donation to the ALS Association at alsa.org or do both as many already have.

All over the internet, one may find footage and pictures of the likes of major football stars like Payton Manning or the entire New York Jets squad as they get soaked and drenched. Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has recently took on the challenge and has called out Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, and Lil Wayne. Even WWE Executive and former pro wrestling star Triple H has actively participated, challenging his father in-law and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon who has already responded.

Given the fact that this is primarily a blog focusing on basketball, I could not leave out the fact that Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, the entire USA basketball team, and many more active NBA players have already accepted the challenge. It is pretty hard to pinpoint who has challenged who and where everything starts but it is always nice to see numerous communities, organizations, and individuals who are willing to spare a couple of minutes to spread awareness and to donate to a great cause. Take a look at some of the compilation of NBA greats and what they have done to show their support:

Video Courtesy of Ashok Gamer via YouTube

I think that the ALS Ice Bucket challenge is only one of many examples of how the social media can spread support and well-needed media attention to those organizations that need it the most. These are the moments where we all have to accept the fact that the social media can be be a positive and powerful tool to be utilized for the betterment of our communities; it is really up to the people to dictate what they do with that power.

Once again, for or more information on ALS research and to donate, visit alsa.org.

Throwback Thursday: Laker Great Mychal Thompson

Photo Courtesy of Mike Powell-Allsports

Power forward Mychal Thompson was already considered a great player during his days in Portland and San Antonio but when the savy veteran came to the Lakers franchise, he definitely solidified his career as a solid competitor who had just the right size and length to complement the Lakers fast break offense.

Thompson was chosen by the Portland Trailblazers as the first pick of the 1978 draft. Thompson's rookie season was already a productive one as he averaged 14.7 points and 8.3 rebounds a night. His best season came in the 1981-1982 campaign when his numbers hiked up to 20.8 points and 11.7 total rebounds per game. After seven years in Portland, the team found itself in a rebuilding period and decided to let Thompson go. In 1986, he was eventually picked up by the Spurs and played 49 games with them until his name was, once again, placed on the trading block. Thompson was a 32 year old veteran with eight years under his belt, the Spurs were looking for younger players to develop as their team was looking at a long stretch of improvement and development to come.

Meanwhile, the Lakers were in need of a smart and lengthy big man who could possibly relief Kareem Abdul-Jabaar in games that may go down the stretch. General Manager Jerry West, Coach Pat Riley and point guard Earvin "Magic" Johnson all knew that Thompson was the perfect fit for their team. After being eliminated in the Western Conference by the Houston Rockets in the previous season, the franchise went into the off season looking for players that could potentially improve the Lakers and get them back to the championship caliber form they were in 1985. Thompson was a player that was always on their radar but nothing ever seemed to go into fruition. In all turned around in the month of February in 1987, when the Lakers managed to trade Steve Johnson and a couple of draft picks for Thompson.

Coach Riley was stoked and Thompson did not upset. Playing in only 33 contests as a Laker reserve, Thompson picked up 10.1 points and 4.1 rebounds a night. He was the player that the Lakers needed to defeat an aggressive Boston Celtics team, a player who was willing to go alongside Kareem, Kurt Rambis and A.C. Green in boxing out and fighting for loose balls and rebounds.

Photo Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

One of Thompson's biggest assets was his ability to run the floor which was perfect for the Show Time brand of basketball. He applied much pressure to his defenders with his speed and agility to loop around screens. Standing at 6'10'' and weighing only 226 lbs, Thompson was a nightmare to chase around for any big man.

In game four of the 1987 NBA Finals against the Celtics, Thompson's shining moment came during a hustle play in which he was able to deflect the ball off of Kevin Mchale's hands after Kareem had missed a free throw. Trailing by one with seven seconds to go, Thompson had given the Lakers another opportunity on the offensive end, the opportunity that turned out to be Johnson's legendary running hook over Mchale, Robert Parish, and Larry Bird which put away the game, 107-106.

Thompson would go on to win the 1987 championship with the Lakers and would manage to come back the next year for a repeat in 1988. The Veteran would play five seasons with the purple and gold before retiring in 1991.

Thompson is currently a television analyst and commentator for the Golden State Warriors, the team that his son, Klay Thompson, currently plays for.
        

A Tale From the Sidelines Part Eight: Reality Check

(Continued from Part Seven: The Lost Summer)

At the start of the pre-season, I had a new mindset and approach to the game that I held confidently to. I knew my strong suite was on the defensive end and that was the skill set that I knew would have to bolster my entire game. However, given the fact that it would be my second year on the team, I knew that I would have to step up my game as a leader on the team.

We had a couple of players on the team who have not been given much playing time their freshman year so it was a huge opportunity for me to become a great leader. Now I knew that the guys were not possibly going to pick up anything from my game on the offensive end, but I did not expect them to. As a matter of fact, during the course of the season, I would soon learn that they would actually teach me a thing or two. However, I hoped to lead the team and encourage them to play better on the defensive end. I am not a very vocal person so I decided to push myself even harder on the defensive end during practice and in games to set good examples. Too bad it never really caught on.

Pretty soon, we had our first contest of the pre-season and all of us were still in square one, ultimately individuals on a regulated team. Our head coach turned out to be Coach Jones, San Gabriel's former Varsity football coach who took his teams to two consecutive CIF contests. Coach Jones proved that he is very capable of leading a football team but after a few years, Coach just decided to fall back on teaching mathematics which he had already been doing along with coaching. Having coached the Varsity girls basketball team for a season or two, it was clear that Coach Jones was not only a great football coach but was also a seriously exceptional basketball coach during his brief stints. With our season approaching and without a head coach, it was only logical to give the reigns to Coach Jones.

Coach Jones is a great "effort" coach which means that he loves to emphasize effort plays and hustle over anything. He is clearly an optimist and brings nothing but positivity but he came to our team just a few weeks shy from the start of the pre-season. We had spent the entire summer training camp without any real coach and so given these circumstances, it was pretty clear that our team was not really prepared for the first contest yet alone the regular season. I have to say, we sill but up quite a fight.

During that opening night, I was in the best shape defensively than I have ever felt. I was also in high spirits after Coach Jones had announced that I was going to start the game after months of coming off the bench.

The game itself picked up pace relatively quickly. People often get heat checks on the offensive end of the floor but I think I got on steady momentum runs defensively. On one play I was able to force a turnover from the point guard off a five second count (in high school basketball, one player may not hold the ball past a five second count) and on the following play I stripped the ball from the same guard which ended up deflecting off his leg; then I forced a 10 second, half court violation. I screamed and yelled "let's go!" to my teammates. I was hyped and excited to be out there but that was not enough. Our offense was sloppy and all over the place; our team defense was still atrocious; rebounding was out of the question.

That opening game defined the rest of the pre-season for the team and it really did not look pretty. Some of the guys really stepped it up their scoring game like sharp shooter Kyle Che who was really firing on all cylinders while sophomore Javier Bobadilla was growing into his potential has a scoring and rebounding machine at the center position, but we were playing out of sync and not like a unit. It felt like freshman year all over again, as though we threw away everything that we learned about cohesion and balance in what basketball is really about: a game played collectively.

By the end of the pre-season, our team had only won a single game over Mountain View. Things did not look too good as we were opening the regular season against Mark Keppel on our home floor. Keppel is the most elite team in our team and we were not ready for them. All of my defensive magic evaporated quickly and I turned into a mediocre player incapable of getting the guys together.

The entire campaign was a bust but it was critical for me to further understand and at least attempt my boundaries. I now knew that I was not a person capable of seriously getting a team together; I was a person who played a great role on the team and in an essence, that was enough for me. We all take different things out of a season and I learned a lot from the experience of actually being an intricate and huge part of the team. There was quite a lot of pressure and I really could not handle that responsibility of getting on the players when they needed a push. I already knew my role and the season helped me understand that. It was great to step beyond those boundaries and playing a second year on Junior Varsity was a great opportunity that I did not and will not regret.

Some of the other guys had great outbreaks in the season to. Che and Bobadilla may have started up the chain of great performances but players like Carlos Olivares and Brandon Miramontes emerged as the season progressed. The younger players were finding their confidence and the balance in playing time was the best that I have ever seen. Coach Jones really knows the importance of keeping his word, he told us that those who worked hard and hustled will get time and that was that. Every night was different and because of this, different players were matched up with the appropriate assignments.

What we lacked was time together and that cost us more than anything. We had a team of people who have not worked or played together and we did not have enough time to build the type of unity that we needed to get together and make a consistent effort. We did not play for each other until it was all too late. However, we all came out of the season with much learned lessons and a sense of maturity that would help us progress with the years of high school basketball to come. As a junior, this meant that I really had one more year, one more season to make a difference before the end of the competitive basketball journey that I had built for the last three years.

Off-Season Prediction: How the Los Angeles Lakers have a shot at taking the 7th or 8th spot of the NBA playoffs

Photo Courtesy of lakernation.com

 Although the NBA season has not officially started, many have already begun to count out the purple and gold from playoff contention, naming the coming season yet another "rebuilding period" for the struggling storied franchise. However, the Lakers' off season moves and pick ups have given them a decent team consisting of a few veterans very capable of leading a young and athletic squad. With the signing of a solid head coach in Byron Scott, who knows how far the team may actually go this year.

Last year, guards Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant, the prevalent leaders of the Lakers, were hobbled by injuries which left the responsibilities to a team full of young and inexperienced players with the majority signed to one year contracts. This year, the Lakers athletic trainer, Gary Viti, has announced that both Nash and Bryant are 100 percent and ready to go for the coming year, which means that there may potentially be quite a backcourt full of experience that younger athletes on the team may take advantage of.

Nash may be seeing to some reduced playing time as he packs in his 19th (and probably final) NBA season but his worth to the team may very well take place behind the scenes and in the team's practice facility where he may help guards like Jeremy Lin and Jordan Clarkson develop important skills any point guard would need moving forward and competing with other elite players in the league. Just ask Goran Dragic, he will probably give you all the details on Nash's influence on his game.

Photo Courtesy of Christian Peterson-Getty Images

Having missed the majority of the season last year, it is definite that Bryant will come back with an aggressive mentality. Although I do not think that Bryant will be the same guard we have seen over the past 18 years of his illustrious career, I still think that he has enough gas left in the tank to be a major threat on the floor. His work ethic and expectations for his teammates has defined his character over the years and this will only help his team get better. It will take Bryant some games to get used to his teammates but the five-time NBA champ has enough experience to adapt and come back into the regular flow of the game promptly.

Photo Courtesy of Andrew D. Bernstein-Getty Images

Now do not get me wrong, the Lakers still have a lot of youth on the roster that consists of players who are likely to stick around for a year or two, but these players are not playing to play or impress other teams that may potentially pick them up next year, they are now playing behind veterans who are hungry for a NBA championship, veterans that are running out of time.

With the addition of effective bigs in Carlos Boozer and Ed Davis, the return of Nick Young, Wesley Johnson, and Xavier Henry, and a huge prospect in Julius Randle, the Lakers are not looking completely the same has the rag-tag team assembled last year. The guys who are returning have had an entire year working together and growing together, the newcomers are excited and eager to play with the veterans, and the veterans are hungry for a championship before their careers are all said and done. The formula may still be uncertain and there are still a lot of question marks surrounding the team but the build during the off season has looked quite decent thus far.

Photo Courtesy of fancloud.com

In addition, the Lakers are not too far off in contending with the other Western Conference squads. It is obvious that the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, and the Memphis Grizzlies are sure to make the top spots in the playoffs and give the Lakers a very tough time, but most of the other teams are very capable of defeating.

The Los Angeles Clippers are probably going to make the playoffs in the third or fourth slot given the play of their very dominate front court. However, the team has proven to be quite inconsistent and sloppy at times (note the fact that the Lakers pulled out a victory over the Clippers in the season opener last year). The Lakers could definitely steal some games over their cross town foes with any given moment.

Houston has lost some talent with the departure of Omer Asik, Chandler Parsons, and Jeremy Lin while also adding in some serious drama within the franchise in the wake of the whole James Harden-Dwight Howard "Cornerstones" conflict. The Rockets are still quite a tough team but the Lakers may also snag a win from them.

The Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns are all loaded with relatively young talent that are in similar predicaments as the purple and gold. These are the teams that will be fighting very hard to slip into the post-season, so the Lakers will have to make a statement to these teams early on.

Most importantly, Los Angeles has to be able to defeat the teams that know they can. The Minnesota Timberwolves have picked up a huge name in Andrew Wiggins and the New Orleans Pelicans still have the skills at the center position in Anthony Davis but these games are games that the purple and gold can put away with the talent they currently hold in their roster.

With this all being said. The outline of the Los Angeles Lakers are seriously unknown but Laker fans must trust in their team in the process moving forward. As a basketball city, fans tend to be quite impatient with these periods of ambiguity and may lack patience. All in all, fans should not expect an easy season, the Lakers are going to have to fight pretty hard to get into playoff contention and there will definitely be times of struggle but I think that with the potential in the roster and coaching staff, perhaps this year, the Los Angeles Lakers will surprise a lot of people.

COMMENTARY:NBA Basketball: One-on-one spectacle over team sport

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Basketball is not the same as it used to be. I am pretty sure that anyone who genuinely watches the game as an avid fan can see this. Having played for a program in high school, I have learned to appreciate particular aspects of the game that I feel have been long gone and its quite depressing.

As anyone can see through the hike in individual endorsements and marketing ploys of the current stars of the NBA, there are no doubt that basketball is a highly mainstream sport that is beginning to invest in the components of the teams rather than the teams themselves. People seem to be forgetting that basketball is, in itself, a team sport that involves five players going head to head with another five.

 More and more people are discussing how particular players could dominate the league or who is better in one-on-one situations rather than engaging in heartfelt conversations of that concern the entire squadron.

This bothers me and is a huge reason why I have developed the idea of starting a blog like this; a blog where I could find some time to address aspects of the game that I feel may be lost including the idea of teamwork and selflessness in the sport. This blog is also dedicated to the hardworking players that may be overlooked or overshadowed by the greatness of those who have already established a particular lovable character along with their skills to bring to the fans.

Sure, gifted players are entitled to the recognition that they receive but there has been an influx and abnormal focus on these individuals that are not evident in other sports. When we think soccer, football, and baseball, there are sure to be names that come up almost instantaneously but we all generally acknowledge the fact that they are nothing with their teams. However, for basketball, particular names come up and people feel that the team cannot thrive without that player.

For instance, once LeBron James set off for Cleveland and left Miami in the dust, some fans already feel that the Heat may be out of contention for the championship title already! It is crazy how fast fan bases are willing to give up. The media is also another outlet to pay close attention to in this obsession for star status players.

Photo Courtesy of Andy Lyons-Getty Images

The San Antonio Spurs may be the only team that comes closest to sharing their success amongst its entire team. They occasionally have veterans Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to headline their portion of media coverage but they are ultimately your model for what a team should look like. Although Duncan and Parker are placed as the helm for the squad, the duo does not really detract or take from the attention that the rest of the guys on the team may receive. Despite winning the championship the best way a franchise could possibly have, it is funny how the Spurs have not received much media attention this summer.

Instead, we have seen the influx of coverage on James, despite the fact that he has already made his decision to return to Cleveland. By simply searching the web, one may find stories on James' weight loss, James returning to his originally "23" jersey, or James hanging out with Johnny Manziel.

Photo Courtesy of nikebasketball.com

I cannot remember the last time that team work reigned higher in concern than individual talent but I would say that the most noticeable transition must have been during the Era of Michael Jordan. Although basketball greats such as Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird made much headway during their prime, their names were not often singled out as much as Jordan and his brand of basketball. When Johnson's name was mentioned, it was often accompanied by the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, James Worthy, Byron Scott, and much more. When Larry Bird's name got the call, it was shared with Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and Danny Ainge.

Photo Courtesy of Jerry Wachter-Getty Images

These were the days when headlines often read 'The Los Angeles Lakers and Johnson' or Boston Celtics and Bird' rather than 'Jordan's Bulls.' Okay, maybe this is a bit of an over exaggeration on my part but all I am trying to say is that the image of basketball has grown to be way to individualistic and it has hurt the image and prestige of the sport.

Children who are starting to play the sport at a younger age are starting to try to emulate their favorite players. They often prefer to run much more isolation plays than rotating the ball and playing as a team. I thought that the whole essence of team sports, well for children, was to contribute to the betterment of the team. I thought that the true lesson was to be able to learn to be willing to make an extra pass to ensure that the team gets the best look on the offense and to actually play some defense.

It is disheartening to play any sort of pickup games at the park nowadays given the fact that once the ball is in bounded to a particular player, that player is likely going to be the one to take the shot. Everyone just wants to take it all on their own and that is that.

When I speak to colleagues and friends who love soccer, baseball, hockey or football over basketball, I often ask them why they may not like basketball, they often scoff before telling me that the game is inflated with individual play, marketing ploys, and is simply way too mainstream.

People who loyally support other team sports have lost their respect in basketball and it really is hard to overlook the flaws of these particular qualities of the sport in its modern era. While professional soccer, baseball, hockey and football are highly entertaining, they are still respected as highly competitive sports that require everyone's cooperation and assignments whereas basketball leaves enough room for an individual player or recognizable face to show boat every night.

I love the game and although the highly competitive end of it is over for me, I still enjoy to play recreationally and watch the pros. However, it is difficult to swallow when other sports seem to bask in their organizations cohesiveness and unity while basketball chooses to highlight only glimpses of a particular group of talent and not the complete potential of their respective teams.

A Tale From the Sidelines Part Seven: The Lost Summer

(Continued from Part Six: When It Hits)

The departure of Coach Tri left a lot of question marks pertaining to where next season would hold. I was now a junior with a better mindset for the game and really had a lot of potential. I knew this because Coach Jay began to place me in many more workouts with the varsity squad which was supposed to make me quite happy but it did not.

I noticed that although Coach Jay was generous with minutes when it comes to the Summer League, he was not so enthusiastic about giving equal playing time during the regular season. He was also a coach that was not a big fan of substitutions and giving his starting five much breathers. As a junior entering into a squad primarily dominated and filled out by seniors, I might as well find my favorite seat on the sidelines to enjoy the show.

However, I decided to keep quite and stick with the varsity squad going into my second Summer League under Coach Jay's playbook. I guess I was hoping that playing the Summer League would allow Coach to give me a chance; he would be able to see my game and how much it has grown from the previous year which followed my very unproductive freshman year. Coach Jay gave me the opportunity to improve last season and gave Coach Tri a good word about the defense that I was very capable of playing. He put me on the map and gave me the chance to play and I was grateful for that. I was hoping that this summer would be the "reboot part 2" or something. Well, long story short, it was not.

With much more players getting entering their senior years, Coach Jay played most of the guys that would probably be at the receiving end of the minutes during the regular season as the younger guys who just finished a year in Junior Varsity would all watch from the sidelines for the majority of the games. I get Coach's decisions and in retrospect, I do not blame him for not giving the younger guys more opportunities; it was only logical for him to work on the guys that he has been working with for three years rather than players whom he has only seen for two years during the summer. But if this was the case, why not let us work out with a separate JV squad, why drag us all along the ride?

We were all told that practicing with Varsity would only build our strengths and that if we could surpass the effort of the Varsity players, perhaps we could earn a spot on the starting lineup of the best team in the San Gabriel High School Basketball program. We all knew that this was a bit far-fetched but we all had wide eyes and felt that perhaps there was nothing that could possibly hurt our game. I do not know about the other Junior Varsity players but for me, it all hurt my confidence.

During the Summer League, I did not perform anything close to the "improved player" that I was supposed to be. When I did check in, I could not do much with the time that I had on the floor. I played about five to eight minutes a game and simply guarded my assigned player, occasionally received the ball only to pass it back out, and that was it. There were no points scored, not much rebounds, occasionally a foul or turnover, and nothing else. To me, the Summer League ended quickly and in a whirl but I knew one thing for sure, I was seriously hoping to not make the Varsity team.

A lot of people do not understand the hardship it is to be in a Varsity team just to be in a Varsity team. As a member of Coach Tri's JV team, we would occasionally catch some of the Varsity games which were obviously played during the "prime-time" or 7:00 slot following our games. During these games, I get to see the anguish in the eyes of the players who basically sit on the bench and do not play a single minute in contest. I knew that feeling, I felt it first hand during my Freshman year and I was not about to go back to that, not after all that I had done to get to the status as a role player during the last campaign I was in.

I knew that Coach Jay wanted me to be a part of his Varsity squad. He liked my defense but I knew he did not trust my offense enough to allow me to play during the season. I saw this and I recognized this during the Summer League. He would put me in to guard the point guard for awhile, get the opposing players to get weary and when they were, I would be subbed back out. If that was my role during the Summer, if five to eight minutes were considered generous, then I knew that my role in Varsity would be a practice defender; to lay all my heart out to guard Phillip Ly, the current starting Varsity Point Guard at the time.

But I felt like I was worth more than just a practice player, I wanted to play basketball because that was what I had joined for in the first place. I knew my role and I knew my limitations as a player, but I felt good enough to play solid and consistent minutes that would not be available in the Varsity team. So as many of my teammates worked on in hope of earning a spot on the Varsity, I tried to think of ways to tell Coach Jay that I wanted to stay in JV.

This was surely going to be the hardest part. How can you possibly tell a coach, a coach who has seen potential in you for quite some time, that you want to stay on JV when you seriously may have a spot on Varsity? It was hard and unfortunately, I never told him.

I told one of the players on the Varsity team and during a drill which I had botched, the player had spilled the beans. He told coach, "He doesn't even want to be on Varsity, he wants time to improve on JV."

I still cringe at the memory of the moment when Coach J just bluntly looks of and tells me to go over to the other end of the court where the JV was practicing. He did not say a single word more. From that day on, I practiced with the JV team, always looking over at the Varsity end and thinking about the decision that I had made. It hurt at times but I knew that I had no real future with the Varsity team at that particular time. Now that I was in JV, I knew that when the moment came where I was ready to play for the Varsity squad, opportunities may not be as plentiful. I knew that Coach Jay would likely trust the other players in my class because they had stuck with him but if, for just one more year, I got to play basketball as an intricate part of the JV team, it would be all worth it, including the sacrifice of my spot on Varsity.

At the moment, I guess I just wanted to play basketball and JV would give me the opportunity to start. Looking back, I have no regrets about my decision to stay on JV, although I always beat myself up for not telling Coach Jay myself. I was scared, afraid, and not brave enough to approach him on my own, to let down a coach that had done so much for me.

But what was more important at the time was getting to know my younger teammates and what the course of the upcoming season would look like. I was the veteran on the team and I needed to bring my A-game. We were still coachless at the moment but we had a few weeks to get prepared, nevertheless. I got to work.

   

Commentary: Injuries are real consequences for "Super-Athletes"

In the spectrum of sports, especially in this modern era, we tend to spoil ourselves. We tend to believe that athletes are these super humans that have the capability of doing, achieving, and risking everything without consequences. Unfortunately, there are consequences and injuries happen to be the ones that keep us all in check; things that we do not want to necessarily foresee.

As avid fans of sports, we tend to get carried away. It is perfectly normal to be amazed and want more from athletes when they soar above the rim and manage to do tremendously difficult maneuvers in mid-air, for them to use their seemingly effortless stealth to get up and down the court. It is easy for these kind of athletes to receive instant praise and attention,but it is also easy to get hurt.

Photo Courtesy of Johnathan Daniel-Getty Images

I am not saying that dunking and acrobatic lay-ups and hard drives to the basket all lead to injuries but no one can ignore the increased possibilities of trying to attempt these maneuvers. It is funny how I am saying this given the fact that I am supposed to part of this new generation of sports fanatics that love the run and gun; quick-paced offensive force that has taken over the NBA as of late, but in all honesty, I am a fan of the "slow-it-down-and-run-some-offense" era of professional basketball. Because of this, I find it quite easy to compare the stars of the past and the new talents destined for success.

Given the way athletes have played in the past, many have been able to become valuable veterans who have stuck around the Association for quite some time; stars like Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan who have played through two-three different decades of basketball without major injuries until late in their careers, are testaments of this older era.

Now with this being said, think about the hike in injuries as of late. Franchise leaders like Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook have dealt with their fair share of injuries early on in their illustrious careers. All that I am saying is that we, as fans, must have a better understanding of these consequences and not hold these athletes in such a high account for their skills. When Rose returns next season, I hope that nobody complains if he errs in the side of caution and slows down his game a bit. As much as he would love to please the fans with the same bounce, lets face it, we have seen the dangers of Rose playing too quickly.

And then their are the times where things just happen. Injuries like Paul George's and Kevin Ware's occur and it is horrible. They are reminders that anything can happen at any given time when playing a sport as active as basketball; it is a reminder that these athletes, these poster-boys are human too and their bodies are constantly at risk when they are performing out there. With all of this considered, I believe that we must be much more conscious of what athletes are actually capable of doing when they give all their energy and effort that they can to possibly win.

When we see that an athlete has slowed down a bit and may not drive as hard to the basket, lets not respond with an "ah-man" but rather recognize that athlete's wise decision to care for his or her body. Let us praise the individuals will power to return from those injuries and pray for those in recovery.

Let us not be selfish and care solely for the franchise and season, lets take the time to think and encourage athletes to keep making progress in their recovery, and when the do come back, lets cheer as loud as we possibly could.

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Injuries are a force of nature that, for the most part, are uncontrollable so it is important to be considerate when an athlete may refuse to play with the "super" hops they once had.

Vince Carter, the former 2000 dunk contest winner has not shown his athleticism for years and because of it, his popularity did take a dip. However, his care and caution following his knee injury has allowed him to stretch out his career as an effective back-up forward.

Nevertheless, lets stay open-minded guys and not hold players to such high regard, that way they may not feel over-pressured by the expectations, after all basketball is a game where anything can really happen.