'No respect!' for Jason Terry (and Jason Kidd)

Perhaps Jason Terry is the Rodney Dangerfield of the NBA. He has been putting up numbers for years and where is the respect?

Even after he made the biggest shots of the pivotal Game 5, including the game clinching three in Lebron James eye; Michael Wilbon mentioned that the series was short on star power as there were only three (potential) Hall Of Famers in the series.

Wilbon was assuredly referring to the three drawing stars of the series, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzky. But Jason Kidd is undoubtedly a first ballot Hall of Famer. And more interestingly, what about Jason Terry? Is he not a future Hall Of Famer? One has to wonder.

But first, let us consider the Jason Kidd omission. He makes most people's top five or ten lists for all-time best point guards. He gets mentioned in the same breath as John Stockton and Magic Johnson. Certainly, Wilbon simply forgot that Kidd was a part of the series (as he's not that stupid). 

It is a somewhat understandable error. By his own admission, J Kidd is not the 'ferrari' he used to be. Nonetheless, it  is a glaring omission. After all, Kidd is still a team leader and a crucial component of the Mavs success on both sides of the court.

But the more compelling question is is Jason Terry a future Hall Of Famer? He has never been named to an all-star team. Could a man that has never been named an all-star be a Hall of Famer? It is a realistic proposition. He has had all-star types of seasons, averaging more than 19 in three seasons.

But it is his consistency combined with longevity that is compelling argument. He has averaged 16.2 ppg and scored a total of  15,537 points and he is closing in on 20,000 points.

Twenty thousand points is basically basketball's version of baseball's 3,000 hits. The unwritten rule in baseball is that any player that reaches 3,000 hits will go into the Hall Of Fame. In basketball, no player that has reached 20,000 points has been denied Hall of Fame status. 

Terry is 34 and certainly he is nearing the twilight of his career. But if he continues to play at a high (but practical) level for four more season he can reach 20,000 points. Certainly he seems to keep in great condition and avoid injuries. So it certainly can happen.

And when it is all said and done, Terry will be remembered as Robin to Dirk Nowitzky's Batman. One would have to wonder if Dirk reaches two NBA Finals (and potentially wins one NBA Finals) without Terry.

Terry may not be a super super hero, but he is relevant in the scope of great success. Certainly he gets overlooked though (as Wilbon has shown). 

Terry's that rare great player that does not go to all-star games (Manu Ginobili was in that boat for a long time). He might not get his due until he is giving a speech in Springfield!

Picture: Will 'The Jett' (Jason Terry) land in the Basketball Hall Of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts?

Man Ram, The Next Rafael Palmeiro?

Rafael Palmeiro hit 569 home runs and 3,020 hits. Before him, nobody in the history of baseball had hit either mark and was not voted into the Hall Of Fame on the first ballot. But none of those players were busted for using performance enhancing drugs or had waved their finger at Congress, claiming adamantly that he was on the up and up.

Today, Manny Ramirez 'retired' after receiving inside information that he would be banned for 100 games due to his third offense of using banned drugs. (By the way, why are players finding out ahead of time about these offenses? This demonstrates MLB's looming corruption.)

One has to wonder Man Ram will receive the Palmeiro treatment when he makes his way on to the Hall Of Fame ballot. Or will the media execute one of their patented double standards? 

When that time comes, do not allow the media to throw out the Palmeiro's finger wave as a red herring. Cheating is cheating. When a player cheats, he is corrupting the game while being millions of dollars and often breaking records. It makes no difference whether he's piled shame upon shame and lied to Congress or committed perjury (Barry Bonds) or continued to hang out with his supplier (Alex Rodriguez).

Palmeiro's reaction to the 2010 Hall Of Fame Voting

"This is one of those dark days in my life. The last five years, ever since that incident, I've felt like they were putting me in a coffin and putting nails in. Today, they were throwing dirt on my coffin."

Picture: Well known cheaters, David Ortiz (left) and Manny Ramirez (right) embrace.