Voting for the All-Star and all-NBA teams showed that fans and reporters respected how good Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh were last season but all that respect just fueled their hate for them.
The latest Miami Heat Index article at Bleacher Report analyzed the NBA players most overrated by the fans and the media. The following steps were taken to identify the players most overrated by the fans and the media:
- Players were grouped by their designated position on the All-Star ballot and all-NBA teams.
- Players were ranked by the number of wins they produced and the number of votes they received from fans for the all-star teams and media for the all-NBA teams.
- Players with a difference of more than two spots between their ranking in wins produced and their rankings in votes for the all-star and all-NBA teams were the most overrated by the fans and the media.
What Wins Produced Says and What It Does Not Say
Calculating Wins Produced
Frequently Asked Questions
This spreadsheet reports the results of that analysis. The spreadsheet shows that NBA fans and the media ranked Wade, LeBron and Bosh within one spot of where they ranked in Wins Produced.
Calculating Wins Produced
Frequently Asked Questions
This spreadsheet reports the results of that analysis. The spreadsheet shows that NBA fans and the media ranked Wade, LeBron and Bosh within one spot of where they ranked in Wins Produced.
Fans Appreciated the Three Kings
Wade received the second-highest number of All-Star votes from the fans at guard and also ranked second in Wins Produced among guards on the All-Star ballot behind Chris Paul. LeBron led all forwards in All-Star votes and ranked second in Wins Produced among forwards on the All-Star ballot behind Kevin Love. Bosh ranked 11th among forwards in All-Star votes and 12th in Wins Produced.
The fans' evaluation of Wade, LeBron and Bosh's talent was pretty consistent with their productivity.
Media Appreciated the Three Kings
The media ranked Wade third among guards in all-NBA voting behind Kobe Bryant (the fans' #1 choice, too) and Derrick Rose (the media's MVP) but still ranked second in Wins Produced. LeBron ranked first in all-NBA voting and second in Wins Produced. Bosh ranked 13th in All-NBA voting and 12th in Wins Produced.
The media's evaluation of Wade, LeBron and Bosh's talent was pretty consistent with their productivity, too.
Why All the Hate?
If the fans and the media respected the Three Kings as much as their All-Star and All-NBA votes illustrated, then why is the Heat Shit List filled with fans and media members that spent the season hating on them? I think Nas said it best in the video for Hate Me Now, "People fear what they don't understand, hate what they can't conquer. Guess it's just the fury of man..."
Since NBA fans and the media knew how good Wade, LeBron and Bosh were, they hated them because they didn't think they could be conquered and, as Nas said, people hate what they can't conquer. It's just the fury of man.
Since the Three Kings were conquered by the hockey goons Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, will fans and the media still hate them next season? If so, then it would be a curious case indeed...
HEAT fans: Do you think the Miami HEAT will be hated next season? Do you think any HEAT players are overrated or underrated by HEAT fans and reporters? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
I think Mike Miller was under-rated last season because people saw him simply as a spot up shooter but he didn't do that because of injury. He contributes in so many other ways.
ReplyDeleteI think Lebron and (to a lesser extent) Bosh are hated because they do not fit the traditional notion of what an American athlete should be. They do not do what is expected and don't pay attention to the Basketball Dead Poet's Society. (Bosh calls them "White Noise")
I didn't hate the Heat because they decided to team up. I respected their decision to do that, and I think it's cool, frankly.
ReplyDeleteI hated how they chose to go about it. The Decision, the parades, the press conferences, the guarantees.
It all stinks of a type of arrogance I can't stomach.
It's not what you say, it's how you say it.
@brgulker:
ReplyDeleteThat's a curious case indeed... http://miami-heat-index.blogspot.com/2011/07/heat-check-curious-cases-of-curt-flood.html
@kabelo:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on Mike Miller. As for "white noise", Bosh & I have something in common - http://miami-heat-index.blogspot.com/2011/01/off-index-carmelo-anthony-and-white.html