Ever since Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James made The Group Decision to take their talents to South Beach -- which totally wasn't collusion in any way -- almost everybody outside of South Beach has been taking pot shots at the three of them and the Miami Heat organization.
Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy suggested that Bosh was acting like Wade's bitch ("Well, he's been following him around for two weeks like his lapdog.") while Magic GM Otis Smith openly questioned the existence of LeBron's testicles ("I thought he was, I guess, more of a competitor.")
The Super Friends even got busted on by NBA legends like Charles Barkley ("I thought that his little one-hour special was a punk move. I thought them dancing around on the stage was a punk move, and I thought he should've stayed in Cleveland. Him joining Dwyane Wade's team was very disappointing to me."), Magic Johnson ("We didn't think about [joining forces] cause that's not what we were about. From college, I was trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird."), Larry Bird ("I remember back in my days, I'd rather play against Earvin Johnson than play with him.") and Michael Jordan ("There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team.'").
Of course, Barkley twice jumped ship (from Philly to Phoenix to Houston) for better championship opportunities, while Magic (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Byron Scott, etc.), Bird (Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, etc.) and Jordan (Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, coach Phil Jackson, etc.) had their fair share of legendary sidekicks.
Anyway, Pat Riley is feeling a little pissy about all the judgement:
Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy suggested that Bosh was acting like Wade's bitch ("Well, he's been following him around for two weeks like his lapdog.") while Magic GM Otis Smith openly questioned the existence of LeBron's testicles ("I thought he was, I guess, more of a competitor.")
The Super Friends even got busted on by NBA legends like Charles Barkley ("I thought that his little one-hour special was a punk move. I thought them dancing around on the stage was a punk move, and I thought he should've stayed in Cleveland. Him joining Dwyane Wade's team was very disappointing to me."), Magic Johnson ("We didn't think about [joining forces] cause that's not what we were about. From college, I was trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird."), Larry Bird ("I remember back in my days, I'd rather play against Earvin Johnson than play with him.") and Michael Jordan ("There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team.'").
Of course, Barkley twice jumped ship (from Philly to Phoenix to Houston) for better championship opportunities, while Magic (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Byron Scott, etc.), Bird (Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, etc.) and Jordan (Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, coach Phil Jackson, etc.) had their fair share of legendary sidekicks.
Anyway, Pat Riley is feeling a little pissy about all the judgement:
"I take a little umbrage to some of the things that came from people in our game who, all of a sudden, have become the moral conscious or moral authority on the decision of every team or some individual might make," Riley said Friday during a conference call with South Florida writers. "I know one thing: Our team will be ready. And I think that's the way we can answer all the critics."Mind you, during the 1984 NBA Finals, Riley referred to McHale and the Celtics as "thugs." He also gave Jackson the rasberries during the Knicks-Bulls rivalry. Ditto for Jeff Van Gundy during the Heat-Knicks rivalry. And we all know about how he stabbed Stan Van Gundy in the back in taking over Miami's coaching job a few years back. So I'm not sure why he's casting stones now. Neither does Van Gundy:
"Charles Barkley, to me, went way, way, way over the top taking these personal attacks. Calling these guys a bunch of punks is a personal attack," Riley said. "For him to say that is wrong."
"I thought that (what Smith said) was an absolutely stupid remark. He never made any kind of comment like that when he signed Rashard Lewis and brought him from Seattle (in 2007) with a $128 million contract," Riley said.
"I thought it was pretty typical. I was kind of amused by it, especially reading down through the interview," Van Gundy said. "He goes into Charles Barkley, me and Otis and then says he doesn't worry about what people say. Wait, you called the press conference, you went off and everybody and you don't care what people say? Clearly, he cares a great deal about what people say. I was laughing when I saw that."Wow. I haven't seen bickering like this since watching two teenage girls get into a slapfight over the last Twilight hoodie at Spencer's.
"Pat's thing calling Otis' remarks stupid, I don't think they were any different than what several ex-players who played when Otis did had to say. They looked at the game differently back then and backed up what we said," Van Gundy said. "The position LeBron and Bosh took isn’t necessarily wrong, but it's different from what (Michael) Jordan, Magic (Johnson) and Larry Bird would have done. Otis was a part of that generation -- he wasn't at that level -- but that's the way those players looked at (James and Bosh going to Miami). Those (former players) wouldn't have tried to team up. So what Otis said wasn't a stupid remark. Unless of course you have a different opinion than Pat, then apparently it's stupid."
"Whether it's appropriate to do it or not (to pass judgments) is another issue, but if it's OK for Pat to do it he shouldn't be judging other people," Van Gundy said. "Pat was upset that he and his guys have gotten some criticism and he's sensitive and the funniest part of the whole thing is him saying he doesn’t worry about what people say. My question is then, 'Why did you go and call your own press conference?'"
"Pat getting onto people for making moral judgments made me laugh," Van Gundy continued. "I was with Pat when we had all of those Knicks series and he had no problem making moral judgments on my brother. What I read into that was that I guess Pat is the only one allowed to make those moral judgments and the rest of us can't do that. I guess we didn't realize that Pat's the only allowed to do that."
Labels: Pat Riley, Stan Van Gundy
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but good post. Barkley did the exact same thing except his buddies were over 30 in houston and they didn't win jack
Kaptcha: laeced; as in "all the Miami hating is laeced with hypocricy."
DWade for GM of the year?
Does anybody remember the circumstances? Was that a sign-and-trade, was there a list of preferred destinations or anything that would make it comparable to the 2010 moves (including the Melo situation)?
DING DING DING! We have a winner.
1. what if it was "collusion" ? 3 guys decide to go play for one team AS FREE-AGENTS. they don't force trades, don't go vince carter on their teams (raptors fans should still hate carter way more than bosh, btw).
2. all gave up money for a chance to win. fans are usually all mad when players chose money, now when they give up money, they still act all buthurt about it. make up your fuckin mind, would ya ??!
same shit with egos. when players are selfish, it's not good. when they team-up, still not good.
3. i'm pretty sure they'd have gone to ny had the knicks had the cap space. no one else's fault they didn't. miami went all in and won. teams and reporters were making fun of the heat for doing it. even ira winderman (heat beat writer) wrote that on opening night the heat's starting line-up will feature chalmers, joel anthony and cap space.
i'm pretty sure any quality organization would have been considered by those 3. yeah, miami had no tax and the beach, but they're star nba players, they don't need the beach to see naked women, and during the season they're not home much anyway. had boston, la or dallas had that much cap-space, i'm sure they'd have had a pretty good chance of landing all 3.
in the end (IMO) it was more about the quality of the organization and the desire to win a title (by said organization).
4. otis smith should STFU. he's the dumbass that paid rashard 20 mil/season and he's never been in the position to make such a decision, cause he was a scrub. also, he traded FOR vince carter, seeing him as the missing piece of a title team.
5. i really like barkley. a lot. but he forced a trade, so basically he failed to honor a contract. and listening to some old interviews of him with dan lebatard he said he wished he forced the trade 2 years earlier. all that talk about being ok to chase a ring after 30 ? well, lebron's been in the league since he was 18, so he's already played as many games as a 30 yr old jordan or barkley.
i'm also pretty sure that had chuck had a chance to play with mj, he'd have done it. now he says he wouldn't, but in his time they just didn't have the opportunity, mainly because contracts were longer, so less chances for free agency.
and when he had the opportunities, he did team up with hakeem and pippen.
6. magic johnson had kareem and james worthy, just like bird had dennis johnson, parish and mchale. they didn't NEED to band up with another star, cause their organizations were able to build a team around them. cleveland wasn't.
7. and everyone clamoring about how kobe wouldn't do that needs to take some pills to help their memory. kobe freaked the fuck out after just 1 year of not having a decent supporting cast.
so yeah, maybe riles criticizes others for what he once did. he was wrong then, but now he's right. i didn't like the guy at first, but i grew to really admire him.
PS: i didn't read all of riles' comments before typing this. cracks me up to see he mentioned rashard and his salary. this alone makes me like riles even more.
Dan B. - Day has been made.
And they would have gone to the Knicks if a) Dolan b) Eddy Curry's contract eating up space c) the tax difference weren't so crappy d) sunny beaches and hot womens e) Dolan again.
Same with the Nets, replacing Dolan with Avery.
I can't believe everyone seemed to forget that he pushed out Stan just so he can put another championship in his resume
I bet he'll do the same for the current coach.
Gone within a year I say.
They were the #1 seed TWO YEARS IN A FUCKING ROW!
The real crap on the team was the leadership and performance from the top player [James] in the big moments.
I don't give too much of a rat's ass that he/[they] chose to play in Miami, other than the slight dislike of people who attempt to "stack a squad" in order to run the gym.
Which, as discussed before, I like Steve Nash.
"What's the opening day roster boss? Cool. Let me maximize these guys and get this joint jumping." ~S. Nash (sort of)
http://www.slcdunk.com/2010/9/2/1598079/center-a-festering-problem?ref=yahoo
oh... anf FU Seikaly!!!!!
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/sports/Heat-Dancer--102715209.html
Say what you will about the men in Miami, but the women of Miami are smoking hot. This truly sucks.
@caseta
But since we are at it let me start by quoting Cortez here.
"Crap team?
They were the #1 seed TWO YEARS IN A FUCKING ROW!
The real crap on the team was the leadership and performance from the top player [James] in the big moments"
Magic, MJ, Bird, Duncan, Kobe. They all had the good fortune of playing alongside great players.
Make no mistake though, the Pippens, Worthys, Tony Parkers, Kevin McHaleswere great because they always did what they were asked to do and rarely went out of character.
They --for the most part- are/were a byproduct of the situation they were put in. They all became legends/stars after their roles alongside "the great ones"
NOBODY CAN EVER ARGUE that McHale vs. Bird or Magic vs. Worthy or MJ vs Pippen or Kobe vs. Odom was something the fans and the league was pried from ever enjoying.
Maybe and again "maybe" the only one that got handed something in a silver plate was Kobe (Gasol).
Then again, do we forget that Gasol was booed for two seasons in a row by the Memphis faithful.
Do we forget that people down there was almost to the point of rioting if he didn't get traded.
Most of all, do we forget that he had won 0(ZERO) play off games in what, 3 tries?
And please don't tell me that Manu Ginobli, Danny Ainge, Michael Cooper, Ron Harper or Andrew Bynum are making the HOF anytime soon.
Lebron, DWade and Bosh will to shut down all the criticism coming their way ON THE COURT.
Until then, the "three stooges", Pat Riley and the Heat fans will just have to keep putting up with the rantings of guys like me.
Maybe we can get a thread going on what reasons Spoelstra will give for leaving the team midway through this year (so Riley can get back on the bench already!). My vote goes to "family issues," with "personal reasons" a close second, and "Because no one can make Chris Bosh a superstar" being my darkhorse reason.
You'd think he'd be more laid back (so to speak), right?
You are right, I forgot that we have to look at Manu in terms of being native from "Argentina"
But you get me right?
@Ignarus
SVG and Pat Riley is the best off the court basketball rivalry since Kobe vs. Shaq
Let's just look at his credentials. Vince "la dunk de la morte" Carter is far and away the most gutsy, electrifying SG this side of the GOAT himself. It's like Smith got the opportunity to give MJ the all-star big man he never had alongside Rashard "the tall man's Steve Kerr" Lewis.
If ANYONE's qualified to assess a legit superstar's competitive scruples, it's the guy who stole Vince Carter from Rod "The East Coast Chris Wallace" Thorn.
And don't you dare forget the magnificent Fran Vasquez triumph!
When it comes to stashing Spaniards in Spain for year on end, Otis Smith was David "Darko is the best passing big man I've ever seen" Khan before David "Darko is the best passing big man I've ever seen" Khan was David "Darko is the best passing big man I've ever seen" Khan.
And don't go bringing in that "Otis Smith never thought to stockpile unappreciated point guards" nonsense - Smith is paying an unappreciated Rashard Lewis more money than all seven of Khan's point guard COMBINED! 'Nuff said!
Awesome.
Classic, mind-numbing quote from that article:
"What has Allen Iverson done to not warrant interest in him?" Moore said.
I think that quote, ALONE, deserves a bawful post.
If anyone is qualified to talk about Lebron's decision to leave town and play with better people, it's gotta be KG - the guy who made the "stay in Cleveland" decision and regrets it after going somewhere with top quality teammates, winning it all immediately, and then getting a knee injury that's hobbled him since.
Once KG got on a team with legit talent, the former MVP won his first ring. Sam Cassells and Latrell Spreewells just don't cut it.
I mean, the dude had been so depressed about his odds of winning that he famously screamed "anything is possible" for about 9 minutes when he (second among big men only to Tim Duncan in his generation) won an NBA title with the Celtics (the most title-winning NBA franchise in history).
This isn't just my interpretation, either. When asked about it, KG encouraged Lebron to seriously consider his options in his upcoming free agency, pointing out that players only get so many good years in the league before the body breaks down. He didn't say Lebron should leave Cleveland, but he had his shot to say that "great players try to do it on their own until they hit 30" and he didn't.
And it's not like KG isn't a fiery, competitive guy.
I wish I had the interview link for you, but I remember it well because I wanted him to stay in Cleveland come hell or high water and it pissed me off - mostly because it was reasonable and compelling. It also didn't contradict KG's long-standing reasons for staying in 'Sota "there's no guarantee you'll win somewhere else just because you left." He didn't sign off on going to Boston until Ray Allen was signed and he thought the Celtics would be true title contenders. (Suck on THAT, Paul Pierce! KG would have rather stayed in 'Sota than babysit you! ...Sorry, I just hate that douchebag. He's only been a "Celtic for life" because Danny Ainge couldn't stomach his seriously limited trade value.)
But back to KG...KG is a fierce competitor, great teammate, and a genuinely intelligent guy, so when he's not speaking in 90% f-bombs, I pay attention.
Seems like Lebron did, too, and as much of a PR hit leaving the Cavs was (even if he'd not gone "The Decision" all over our asses), NBA fans now get to make fun of Chris Bosh for acting like he's anywhere near as good as Lebron and D-Wade.
I leave you with a link to a classic Onion article making fun of Kendrick Perkins when the last "Big 3" was formed.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/kendrick-perkins-under-assumption-hes-one-of-celti,5941/
If anyone is qualified to talk about Lebron's decision to leave town and play with better people, it's gotta be KG - the guy who made the "stay in Cleveland" decision and regrets it after going somewhere with top quality teammates, winning it all immediately, and then getting a knee injury that's hobbled him since.
Once KG got on a team with legit talent, the former MVP won his first ring. Sam Cassells and Latrell Spreewells just don't cut it.
I mean, the dude had been so depressed about his odds of winning that he famously screamed "anything is possible" for about 9 minutes when he (second among big men only to Tim Duncan in his generation) won an NBA title with the Celtics (the most title-winning NBA franchise in history).
This isn't just my interpretation, either. When asked about it, KG encouraged Lebron to seriously consider his options in his upcoming free agency, pointing out that players only get so many good years in the league before the body breaks down. He didn't say Lebron should leave Cleveland, but he had his shot to say that "great players try to do it on their own until they hit 30" and he didn't.
And it's not like KG isn't a fiery, competitive guy.
KG is a fierce competitor, great teammate, and a genuinely intelligent guy, so when he's not speaking in 90% f-bombs, I pay attention.
I leave you with a link to a classic Onion article making fun of Kendrick Perkins when the last "Big 3" was formed. Think of Chris Bosh when you read it :)
http://www.theonion.com/articles/kendrick-perkins-under-assumption-hes-one-of-celti,5941/
anyways not complaining about his decision just the 1 hour break up special like on a reality TV show
All three took completely unnecessary cheap shots at Bosh, LeBron, or the team. Riley wasn't in the wrong for calling them out about it.
Riley's history doesn't invalidate what he had to say in this case.
"The position LeBron and Bosh took isn’t necessarily wrong, but it's different from what (Michael) Jordan, Magic (Johnson) and Larry Bird would have done. Otis was a part of that generation -- he wasn't at that level -- but that's the way those players looked at (James and Bosh going to Miami). Those (former players) wouldn't have tried to team up. So what Otis said wasn't a stupid remark. Unless of course you have a different opinion than Pat, then apparently it's stupid."
Bull shit. We already have the quotes from Magic saying he wouldn't have entered the NBA draft when he did if it meant he would have been picked by a team other than the Lakers (who were already loaded).
And does anyone really believe that someone as obsessed with winning as Jordan wouldn't have fled to greener pastures if he had to play with the types of supporting casts that LeBron has had over the years?
Give me a break.
And of course Larry had just about the cushiest situation of all, getting to play with three other hall of famers.
It's time for people to wake up and realize that almost every NBA title team in history has had multiple hall of famers. LeBron never even played with another all star in his prime, let alone another hall of famer in his prime, while in Cleveland.
How are we even talking about this? The most enjoyable, fierce, dedicated, and just plain likeable U.S team we've seen for about two decades just won a world championship. Like I could give a shit about the super fags right now.
(Not to bring back the Epic debate about whether "fag" should be used as a slur, mind you.)
Durant scoring at will and cementing his place as one of the game's most exciting players to watch.
Rose blowing by defenders.
Westbrook and Iggy straight hustling.
Odom playing center and playing it well.
I'll miss watching the team, but it got me even more pumped about the coming season. There's always some bullshit drama like this before the season simply because something needs to be talked about, something needs to be stirred up. But when the basketball starts, there will be much more substantial stuff to discuss.
When Jordan scored 63 against the Celtics and lost, in '86 he was otherworldly. When the Bulls clinched the title in '96, he was not.
Lebron's certainly had some poor outings in the playoffs. The Celtics have certainly been able to put the clamps on him, and San Antonio did too in 2007. But against the Magic last year, he was dominant. It's not his fault Mo Williams was MIA, no one else could step up, and Dwight Howard dominated the entire Cleveland frontline.
David, Riley isn't wrong for saying they're cheap shots. He's a hypocrite for telling others they can't take them.
It's become my opinion that since the guys on this team won the world championship they should be allowed back to play at the London Olympics. I think it's very weak for the Beijing Olympic team to skip the worlds after "redeeming" their country at the Olympics and just expect to be back on the team at the next Olympics.
Thoughts?
but Durant was amazing. In fact Bill Simmons just gave him another blowjob (it was earned) http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100913
Yup. That was some awesome basketball. When Durant came into the league, I wasn't sold on him, but I have to say that now I'm very close to worshiping the dude. Very few times have I seen someone score with such ease. He's definitely got one of the sweetest strokes out there.
That being said, there was one thing that disappointed me about Team USA in the final game: their "pointguards" going into "AI mode" and just forcing stupid unnecessary shots. Luckily, they were up against a team of scrubs, who were probably shitting their pants at the sight of them, and not to mention that they hustled like hell after every mistake they made. Iguodala is, without a doubt, a beast, and he should get credit for playing his heart out on the boards and on D.
Also, all this Miami talk is the result of the general opinion that "nothing is happening" in the world of basketball right now. I'm glad to see that some people beg to differ.
On the other hand, can we just make one thing clear, so we can get on with our lives? All the Superfriends/Miami/Riley hate out there is grounded in the fact that they are the most likely team to win it all, and not just this year, but in years to come. I can understand that. They're not the only team in the NBA, and there are particularly nice teams that actually worked hard to develop their players (e.g. OKC), so it's a bit sad to see it all most likely go to waste. Still, I think a lot of people have went from "supporting and believing in my team, regardless of who Miami's got" territory, into the "fuuuuck, fuuck, fuuuck you motherfuckin' assholes - fuck you Superfags, fuck you Riley, and fuck you LeBron in particular!!!" area, which, unfortunately, qualifies them as douchebags...
Just let the game do the talking. Nothing's a given, and you might just get to see your team beat the Heat. Just don't act like flaming assholes, and stop coming out with ridiculous claims you'll regret later.
WV: "sweami" Insert "Sweami Heat" joke.
Mladen - I wouldn't go that far. I agree in thinking we should keep in perspective that nothing like this has ever happened before, so comparing it to past events is fairly futile. Let's look towards the future and see what happens.
But I don't think Miami is the favorite to win it this year, and hopefully that thinking is a minority opinion. The hate-train formed due to a combination of all aforementioned things. Once they use up an MLE or 2 (assuming the MLE stays in the CBA), they'll probably be clear favorites, pending LeBron's mom sexing Chris Bosh.
BTW, for the haters, I hope you've read the entries at Mrs. LeBron Wade's blog. (start from the older entries reading backwards)
Lebron is not piggybacking. I'm 100,1% sure he won't step down or get less ofensive responsability in Miami, as I think is possible for 2 starts to co-exist in equal ground (Bosh is no superstar, so he's ok as a - great - 3r stringer).
Problem is that the Miami choice is absolutely the opposite of everything James did in his career! He claimed to be the King! Kings don't share the trone. See, in ancient Rome, you had the triumvirates, but it always finished in 2 of them getting killed so just one could become sole emperor. What they have in miami is a triumvirate. And that never lasts.
Exactly. Some of the guys on this team will make it; some of the Olympic gold medalists will too. No reason to act like one group deserves a better chance than the other to make it in.
My very-preliminary guess for the 2012 team, assuming no injuries:
CP3, Wade, Bron, Bosh, D12
DWill, Kobe, Durant, Melo, Griffin?
Igoudala, Westbrook
I don't know which group would be considered "starters", but I do know opposing teams would never get a break.
WV: grangu. I think he was on the WC roster, but he rarely played.
pippen, worthy and mchale are hof-ers and amongst the best 50 EVER, so wtf are you talking about ?
you tell me they were kinda like role players that were playing their roles ?
yeah, if the roles included dominating the nba finals. DJ and parker got finals mvps while "playing their roles" next to bird and duncan.
kobe not only got gasol after whining a freaking the fuck out after just one season without a good supporting cast, but apparently he refused to play for the hornets, that's why they traded his rights for divac.
magic did the same thing, saying he wouldn't have played for the bulls.
the part where they have to prove themselves on the court, that i agree with.
other than that, you can rant all you want.
WV: floolya. as in "hey, nba GMs, don't let riles flool ya ... ooops, too late".
Just in this case, the case I was specifically writing about.
"Lebron's certainly had some poor outings in the playoffs."
Yeah. He's even (amazingly) had a poor triple double. Imagine that!
"and just because it succeeds doesn't mean its star played well."
If you win a series in the playoffs 99.999999999999% of the time your star played well. Maybe not "otherworldly" but he (or she) certainly didn't show up and pull a disappearing act.
"When Jordan scored 63 against the Celtics and lost, in '86 he was otherworldly. When the Bulls clinched the title in '96, he was not."
He may not have been "otherworldy" however he still DOMINATED the game while MISSING SHOTS by defending, rebounding, and getting the Sonics into fouls trouble most of the series. Despite having a off shooting night in game 6 he had his man (and the rest of the team) on ice skates. I'm almost certain he was the leading scorer (of both teams) also.
AND THEY WON!
Now compare that to Lebron. A 20 something man-beast jacking up jumpshots despite being the best athlete on the floor, looking up the ceiling without a clue of how to motivate his (60+ win) crew and loosing the ball off-the dribble in the clutch trying to pull off some unnecessary and ill-refined dribble move.
pippen, worthy and mchale are hof-ers and amongst the best 50 EVER, so wtf are you talking about ?
Come on! don't take my comment out of context.
McHale, Pippen and Worthy are HOFers alright.
But would anybody ever be like "shit man, I wish those two guys never banded up together, we really missed out on a good rivalry" ?
Lebron jumpshiped from a CONTENDER to join forces with the clear cut #2 guy in the league.
But that's not the reason he is the target of all this hate.
He is being hated on and made fun of because he is a jerk and a pussy amongst other things.
From the puppet commercial where he is counting all the way up to 2010.
This one, to the MVP Tshirt, to the Break Dancing on the face of Joakin Noah in a game where the Cavs pounded the Bulls, to his unsportsmanlike behavior in the 2009 East finals against Orlando, to the ill advised TV show in which he announced his marriage to DWade all the way to the end of that same show in which he takes full credit for donating the Ad proceedings generated by his freak show to the boys scouts.
Lebron has done nothing but to give us further proof that he isn't in it for the same reasons as the great ones.
So his name --hopefully-- will never be written in the same sentence as them.
His game though, will ultimately either prove us all wrong or simply confirm the writing that all along we've seen painted on the wall.
Kobe refused to play for the hornets, that's why they traded his rights for divac.
Really?
So Jerry West is lying when he said that he did everything in his power to acquire him huh.
kobe not only got gasol after whining a freaking the fuck out after just one season without a good supporting cast
Lemme see, if I remember correctly the Lakers starting five in TWO playoffs in a row were:
PG = Smush Parker
SG = Kobe Bryant
SF = Luke Walton
PF = Lamar Odom
C = Kwame Brown
So the starting five of a playoff caliber team consisted of at least TWO MEMBERS OF THE ALL TIME WORST TOP 50.
Oh, and Kobe was demanded to be traded to the Bulls, which at the time had.
Hinrich, Gordon and Deng as the cornerstones of the team.
With Noah coming in as a rookie.
The Bulls team that Lebron passed on consisted of:
Rose, Noah, Deng + Boozer.
A GREAT IMPROVEMENT compared to the team Kobe would've inherited had he been traded to the Bulls.
See, now you are making me turn this into a Kobe vs. Lebron conversation. The last thing I want to do is embark into any kind of argument that ends up with me being pro Kobe. I don't think I'm ready to go there just yet ;)
The last installment of "Worst NBA champions" was almost a week ago.
Just sayin...
PG: Chalmers
SG: Wade
SF: Lebron
PF: Bosh
C: Anthony or Ilgauskas
-or-
PG: Wade
SG: Miller
SF: Lebron (handles "PG" duties)
PF: Bosh
C: Anthony or Ilgauskas
And at some point, Riley...I mean Spoelstra will give up on defense and roll out all-scoring line-up of Wade-Miller-Lebron-Haslem-Bosh.
And this is coming from a Canadian. We're not really known for our national pride.
It just seems to me like they're lacking some heart. I know they all (or most) just went to the playoffs after a long NBA season and whatnot... But it just bothers me. I guess I'm just ranting.
caseta said...
'kobe not only got gasol after whining a freaking the fuck out after just one season without a good supporting cast'
Wrong. Just plain wrong. So you admit Kobe didn't have a good supporting cast in 2007. Do you think he had a good supporting cast in 2006? What about 2005? Give me a break.
I think Z will come off the bench behind Haslem.
Haslem has played the undersized center role A LOT for the Heat.
So he is already used to it.
Z might start some games depending on match ups but other than that I see them going "small".
Small being a very subjective term there.
I think is gonna be:
PG: Lebron
SG: Wade
SF: Miller
PF: Bosh
C: Halem
Would that be enough to open the floor for James and Wade?
Who knows but I think they'll wait until they have their annual exception before they sign up someone else to start instead of Z or Haslem.
Who knows, they might even sing Ericka Dampier.
WV latte- Bawful, stop sipping your latte and write something funny, chop-chop.
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/08/how-good-will-the-heat-be-on-defense.php
The dude has never been good at catching the ball and scoring quick, but he's a well above average defensive center. He's good in man to man situations and actually blocks shots at a ridiculous rate.
For that reason, I think he'll start over Haslem. UD can come off the bench and slide to the 4 or 5, depending on what the situation calls for.