the_way
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Post by the_way on May 3, 2006 10:00:45 GMT -5
There are too many words in this discussion. Can someone summarize? MCI hates Kobe Bryant, and, thus, cannot muster the fortitude to acknowledge Kobe's greatness. ;D
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on May 3, 2006 10:02:03 GMT -5
I'll give Kobe credit for taking Raja's thuggery play like a man. See. I can say something good about him. Its Arenas whom I have trouble giving any credit to.
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the_way
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Post by the_way on May 3, 2006 10:11:57 GMT -5
I'll give Kobe credit for taking Raja's thuggery play like a man. See. I can say something good about him. Its Arenas whom I have trouble giving any credit to. Why Arenas? I still think he has a ways to go. I think he is a slight notch below the great ones. I think he is good, but his talent is exaggerated at times. I've been hearing his name mentioned in the same breath as Iverson's a lot lately by peopl, and I just bite my tongue. Arenas is good, but I think he has a ways to go be in the same company of Kobe and Iverson. I think Lebron and Carmelo are just about there. They need some more refinement. Wade is there already, IMO. But Arenas is a notch below those guys.
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VelvetElvis
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Post by VelvetElvis on May 3, 2006 10:37:10 GMT -5
Black Mamba has impressed the hell out of me this post-season. In the past I disliked him b/c I thought he was stand-offish, devisive and really only out for himself.
Arenas - It has been fun to watch him develop here in DC
Bubba is Bubba
Lebron and Carmelo - Lebron has whined about every call that has gone against him during the Buzzards series. He is still amazing to watch. Such a big dude. Carmelo has been the most disappointing! To be considered in this conversation you have to step up and be vocal and show some semblance of the ability to will your team to win. The entire Nuggets team should be punished for that showing.
Side note - Who did a bigger disappearing act than Pau Gasol this post-season?
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on May 3, 2006 10:58:18 GMT -5
Tom Knott and the Washington Times treat him as if he was the Second Coming. It gets annoying after awhile.
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the_way
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Post by the_way on May 3, 2006 11:04:08 GMT -5
Tom Knott and the Washington Times treat him as if he was the Second Coming. It gets annoying after awhile. Well, you should read the Washington Post. You would get more objective, professional, and accurate coverage. ;D
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on May 3, 2006 11:29:55 GMT -5
Ha! Walked right into that one I guess.
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RDF
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Post by RDF on May 3, 2006 11:41:56 GMT -5
The difference in posts is that when I bash Garnett--it's not that he can't play--it's that he's not an elite player who can carry a team--he's NOT a franchise player--but I acknowledge he's talented and when he plays well, I'll give him credit--which he did in Game 7 against Sacramento. You are blindly stating a guy is outplaying someone who is beating him in every way on the court. Then dismiss it as "one game doesn't matter"--well it does, especially in the Playoffs, and especially when you are 1 play away from being 2-2 or down 3-1 in a best of 7.
I answered all of your questions/comments against me--you ignored my points which proved you wrong--that is why you got the response you did. If you look at the points being brought up, it's obvious that I addressed your dissenting views--I replied to them and you ignore and created your own "Take" on what I was saying--which again I addressed in the last post. It's that simple. I don't like people who can't acknowledge they might not have everything cornered--hell I agreed with you a few times in this entire thread and in the last post--but you saw what you wanted. I just can't stand those who ignore FACTS=--look at what was stated and if you deny it, you are denying actual things that have happened--not innuendo. If I did bring up something that was an opinion like Nash not being MVP worthy--I mentioned that it was my opinion or standards I hold--which don't mean a thing. But your assessment of certain things were just silly and petty, and most of all wrong. You made statements about officiating and "If that was Bryant, he'd have gotten the call....." and failed to acknowledge the fact he did NOT get calls at many times which disputes your initial/main focus of the thread.
Just agree to disagree and I apologize for taking it to far, but it was beyond odd to see someone who does watch/follow the NBA act like they were a NBA hating RUBE who refuses to see reality because of their dislike for someone/some team.
As for Arenas being mentioned with Allen Iverson--I will finish typing after I am done cleaning up my monitor from laughing and spitting water on it. NO BLEEPING WAY---very good, but we're talking about a future Hall of Famer and a man who is one of the best to EVER play--and might be the best at his size ever.
Wade is someone I respect/like but if he continues to pull this "Willis Reed" thing every postseason, he's going to go on the Vince Carter list soon. The dramatics are unnecessary. It seems every playoff he has to leave a game and make a dramatic "From the lockerroom" appearance and it's getting old. If you can play, play. If not, don't. Just don't milk the injury thing--it's tired and very Vince like.
What a shock, Pacers have a series lead, get routed at home and are on verge of getting knocked out again. Bird needs to blow that team up, and start with Jermaine O'Neal and AARP Tinsley who plays less games then any of us on the board do.
Shaq continues to look like he's on his last legs--Sweetney was taking it to him again and Miami is not a threat to win anything--they are too gutless at certain spots and Shaq's not playing good basketball--Zo called him out last night and it wont' matter. I'd play Mourning the entire 4th quarter if I wanted to win a game--and Shaq would play some alongside him--where Shaq kills Heat is he's a terrible defensive player and for his size a digustingly bad rebounder. He also is a non factor late because he's just going to get fouled. Heat will likely get routed in Game 6 and if it does go 7, expect their low character guys to fail to show and gag--as they are known to do. Wade will have to carry the load, but if he takes a spill, who wants to bet he'll be in training room for some time instead of the court??
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miamihoya
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Post by miamihoya on May 3, 2006 12:11:16 GMT -5
Wade is someone I respect/like but if he continues to pull this "Willis Reed" thing every postseason, he's going to go on the Vince Carter list soon. The dramatics are unnecessary. It seems every playoff he has to leave a game and make a dramatic "From the lockerroom" appearance and it's getting old. If you can play, play. If not, don't. Just don't milk the injury thing--it's tired and very Vince like. While i'm with you on the whole kobe argument, couldnt disagree more with this comment. Wade is not trying to be dramatic with the injuries (despite his "fall seven times, get up eight" commercial). Last season he suffered a serious injury in the playoffs, had to miss a couple games because of it, and wasnt 100% when he returned. It is for that reason only that they lost to detroit in game 7. If you were actually watching the game yesterday, he took a nasty fall and was clearly in pain. Trainers did what they are supposed to do, check him out and take x-rays. They came back negative so he was allowed back on the court, and proceeded to dominate the bulls and lead the heat to a blowout victory. Not sure where the "dramatics" are there. Its no different than what any other player would have been forced to do in that situation. As for Shaq and the rest of the team, things looked a bit better yesterday. Foul trouble continues to be an issue tho, but I really not sure what Shaq can do to avoid that. Clearly the refs have decided to call him as tightly as humanly possible, so unless he just decides to not even run back on defense, things arent going to change. I'm not one for complaining or conspiracies, but Shaq has legitimate beef in saying that the reffs thus far have been terrible, to say the least. Heat will win this series, probably in 6 games. What happens from there is anybody's guess, but dont count them out just yet. They are still as talented as any team in the East.
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RDF
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Post by RDF on May 3, 2006 13:23:09 GMT -5
Miami, you made good points on Wade and I was probably too harsh on him--but last night to me didn't warrant the theatrics. Last year I understood more--but he also went to lockeroom and came back in Game 7 after he decided to give it a run--which to me was a bit overdramatic. I like him and he's a great player but if this becomes a trend each Playoff season, then it's going to get called out. As for now, I'll give your viewpoint benefit of the doubt.
Shaq is using officials as excuse--his performance is nowhwere near the level it should be/has to be for them to win a championship. He's getting outhustled, outworked, and isn't providing much other then a few early hoops in 1st Quarter/Half. Shaq better up his play or they could get upset this round.
Nothing Heat have shown says this ends in 6--it's going to go 7. Their team hasn't played well at all in Chicago and if you run them, that gets Shaq tired and less effective. History of Heat says get the series to Game 7 and your chances are pretty good you will win/pull an upset-if I'm Bulls, that's all I want is a crack at Heat in a Game 7 situation because outside of Wade and Mourning, I'm not confident in any of those other guys to step up--Shaq will play solid but he is worthless down stretch due to his awful FT shooting and poor defensive/rebounding at this stage of his career.
If Heat do advance, I see Detroit taking them out in 5 games this year--don't like the moves Riley made to match up with Pistons--Walker, williams, Payton, do not bring a thing to help this team--where last year's team wins with healthy Wade--so why change it? I do like Posey over Eddie Jones though--that is an upgrade in my opinion--but Walker, Williams, and Payton are garbage.
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on May 3, 2006 13:27:21 GMT -5
The difference in posts is that when I bash Garnett--it's not that he can't play--it's that he's not an elite player who can carry a team--he's NOT a franchise player For a person who claims I am not reading correctly I would like you to point out when and where have I ever written that Kobe was not a talented player. In other words you are guilty of the same things you are accusing me of being. You are assuming I made remarks that I in fact did not. How is it blind, RDF? I did not watch the games so I looked at the box score. Nash was efficient at very category,; he shot the ball well, scored more points off less shots and had more assists. Now from where I'm standing that's being the better player in the series. But just because one is the best player or playing better doesn't always mean one's team will win. Would not be the first time that happened. Now if you want to argue that Kobe was doing the inangible things that don't show up in the box score to lead his team to victory I would not argue against that since I didn't see the games. But to brush off my opinion that Nash was the better player in the series and to do so mostly because of Nash's mistakes in Game 4 (all the while ignoring Kobe's choke job in Game One based upon highlights and the box scores) and because the Lakers were winning...well, lets just say I found that absurd. Stop. I had long reports from you, miami, nyhoya and The-way to respond to. I can't get to every last statement or comment. If there was a part that I thought any of you made a solid point there was no need for me to keep fighting over it. So i let it go. At the same time there were points that I still adamantly disagreed with in those posts that I never responded too either perhaps because of fatigue, limitation of time or simple indifference. I didn't know I had to respond to every point. I wouldn't hold anyone to such a ridiculous standard on a message board so why are you? To say that "you didn't respond to comments of mine that were right because you know it was wrong" comes across as childish. Are we in second grade? I thought both of us were responding to the meat of what each of us had to say without having to go over every detail. These days I don't have much time on my hands to do something like that which is why my responses were coming late at night or very early in the morning. Today my workload is much lighter and that is the only reason why i can get away posting this stuff right now. There's the problem right there. You feel what you say is factual and that my opinions are absurd and silly and petty. That's on you. I made my points rather well (I thought I did at least) and didn't need to sink to repeated jabs and upper case typing to get it across. Again the only person getting irate was you and if you get upset over a conversation concerning sports than there is something wrong. Again the assumption is that my statement meant that Kobe never gets called for a foul. How did you come up with that? He may never foul out but he does get called for fouls. Never said the man neevr gets a bad call thrown his way. But if he was in Nash's position on Sunday in Los Angeles the refs would never allow a nobody like Walton to grab his arm without calling a foul. That's how I feel. If you don't then so be it. I spent too many times defending the NBA to come across as a NBA basher. You went on attack mode because you were assuming I was a basher and whose fault is that? If I wanted to bash the NBA I would have been one of those losers sarting those threads like "This is Why I don't watch The NBA". But i actually prefer the NBA over any other professional sport. That being said I do have the right to point out how badly officiated a game is just as I have that right when its the NFL or NCAA basketball. I am not going to waste any more time trying to convince you of my protectiveness of the NBA. If you don't believe me then there's nothing else I can do. The key thing is civility. Even in fierce disagreements, even with Terp fans, I do my best to be civil. Its not until I get pushed that I start attacking on my own which you have seen me do a few times to other posters over the years. I would expect that the two of us could be civil since we have gotten along for years and typically see eye-to-eye. I did not understand why your post had to be filled with any venom or animosity at all. Once again...its just sports. You have your opinion on this issue and I have mine. I think you know enough about the game for me to respect your opinion even if I disagreed. I hope you feel the same about me.
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RDF
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Post by RDF on May 3, 2006 14:01:56 GMT -5
To sum it up--we agree to disagree and I was admitting I took it too far--but you want to keep dragging it out. So let me simply state 3 points I find where we're not seeing same game
1. Nash's outplaying Bryant based on stats. Statistical analysis is fun to look at but rarely tells the entire story. Based on stats, it should be argued that Ronny Turiaf should start for the Lakers tomorrow night based on his performance last night. I am NOT saying you think like this--but see how it is silly to base performance on statistics right?
2. Bryant "would've gotten the call" Nash didn't and he "choked in Game One". He didn't shoot well in Game One and they lost--he played worst game of Series there, you are correct. He also came back and led his team to 3 straight wins to take 3-1 lead--and yet he's being outplayed? No.
As for the officiating-if you watched Game 1, Bryant drives to hoop with his team down 3 pts late and gets whacked in the face which leads to him missing a high percentage shot and no call was made. Don't you think that is similar situation? Late in 4th quarter under a minute and he gets hit in the face to a point he had a welt as physical evidence and yet no call? That is all the proof needed that officials dont' play favorites. He didn't do anything to even warrant a question of if he should've fouled out in Game 4- when he had 5 fouls, so you are arguing a point that is moot. IF he hit someone and they didn't call it--you have a point but that never occured. Also, on his game tying shot he was hit to an extent that if he were Jordan that would've been an "And One" and they let it go and gave Suns a shot to win the game with last shot--so it doesn't add up.
3. I know you watch the NBA and are a fan--as I typed--it surprised me that you would write some of this stuff because of your passion for it--not because I think you don't know anything. To me it was surprising how biased you were coming off for someone who should know how things work and do work. Let's face it, the better team wins--we can wish/think up all of the reasons that so and so is getting "cheated" but the best team wins in Pro Sports because they get to prove it on the field/court. Suns can still win and NAsh could end up outplaying Bryant-which I have stated but he could also do this by playing a game where Bryant has 90 pts and Nash only has 15--points/stats don't indicate who is dominating a game.
The game you trash Bryant on-with him scoring 81 in win over Raptors, he led his team from double digit defecit in 3rd Quarter--and it helped them win--so it should be lauded. If you are scoring 81 pts and lead your team to a win--who cares if you have any assists? You helped team win. Now if you lose game, I agree more with you. It's all about helping team win games and to me the team who wins has arguments on their side.
I agree with you on Iverson being best player on court in Sixers series--and I love the little guy but if I were building a team I wouldn't want Iverson ahead of some other players due to his stubborness in certain areas of his game. Statistically he had a great year this year--but I felt as a fan/viewer last year he should've been considered more seriously if not named the MVP--he was that dominant/great. This year I thought he played crappy and result is shown in standings/how his team flopped.
So while I see your points and agreed with many you made--I took major issue and was annoyed by your statements that were proven wrong with factual events that took place--and I've mentioned at least 4/5 times in this thread. Ask those who watched game if they took place. That's all I'm saying. Don't let dislike cloud your viewpoint. I hate plenty of guys who play sports but I judge them for what they do/don't do, not what I wish would happen or think could happen as you have done with the entire "Nash got screwed because Kobe would've gotten that call". Way I see it, if Bryant dribbles into a double team, doesn't call timeout and is in Phoenix--that is a jumpball too--as it's been with him getting hit in face, slapped, pushed in back, and Bell flopping--and they've either ignored Suns fouls or given Bryant the foul.
But you are right--I should've shown more respect to a fellow poster and not treated you like that piece of garbage Hifigator and for that I was out of line.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on May 3, 2006 15:21:09 GMT -5
There are too many words in this discussion. Can someone summarize? Elvis, the only thing worth noting in is that -- apparently -- Sam Cassell is still in the NBA. Who knew? Good ole' Sam Cassell. What is he, like 60? Every sports trivia question should have the answer: "Sam Cassell" Also, Shaq is Mike Sweetney's bitch, RDF hates Shawn Marion (no surprise), MCIGuy hates the Arenas & the Wizards almost as much as Kobe (no surprise), and I know nothing about the NBA (REALLY no surprise). Oh, and there may or may not be a David Stern-led conspiracy to get the Lakers to the conference finals. The NBA should have goalies. All I know is, you don't hear hockey players complaining about tough hits. NBA = wussies! ;D ;D
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on May 4, 2006 0:00:56 GMT -5
Well, now that we’ve gotten past the animosity I will try to address points more specifically.
Rarely tells the whole story? Don’t agree with that. Stats may not always tell the whole story but it does more frequently than you’re giving them credit for. Productive stats by a player, especially when the numbers are so efficient, provide more concrete facts than any of ours opinions and speculations. And Nash’s numbers going into game five clearly suggested he was being the more productive player. Lets toss out the Turtiaf example because it is based on one single game in the series. But over a five game period Nash appears to have been the better player. You argued earlier that based on the Lakers’ having won more games that that in itself was clear evidence of Kobe getting the better of Nash. But is that so? You and I both can think of playoff series (or individual regular season games) in which one star player out duels another start player, but his team ends up losing anyway. Jordan outshined Bird in ’86 but the Celtics were clearly the better team that series than the Bulls. MJ also outplayed Isaiah Thomas for three straight seasons in the playoffs but his Bulls kept falling to the Pistons. Last year Amare was better than Tim Duncan when the Spurs and Suns hooked up (and Tim played very well I should add). But it were the Spurs who won in five games, All this suggests is that basketball is still a team game when it comes down to it. The Lakers have been the better team in this series. But that does not mean Kobe has been the better player. Of course this is my own opinion. I can’t claim it to be a fact that Nash has been better overall than Kobe when the results of the players and teams are relatively close. But in the same token I am not buying your position that it is fact that Kobe has been better. It’s a matter of interpretation and until one player clearly pulls ahead of the other I this series it will remain that way.
I can argue that Lamar Odom was more responsible than Kobe in leading the Lakers to three straight wins because Odom has just been as productive as Kobe in this series. On the other hand until game five or perhaps game four when Diaw stepped up, no Sun had come close to matching Nash in terms of effectiveness.
From your description it does sound as if Kobe did not get preferential treatment in that first game. Surely Jordan would have gotten that call. But lets not jump to the conclusion that just because there are moments in which the stars don’t get calls that there is no such thing as preferential treatment. Or perhaps a better way of putting it: refs tend to give stars, especially veteran stars, the benefit of the doubt more than they would other players. This has been admitted by a couple of refs. It is the biggest flaw in the NBA although its bogus, as NBA bashers suggest, that outcomes are determined solely by such one-sided calls. And as I’ve mentioned earlier I do not think there are any conspiracies afoot from the NBA Offices. However it is what it is. Just as MLB has inconsistent strike zones thanks to the umps, the NBA does have a star treatment factor. Hardcore NBA fans may not always like this but they tend to accept this. Getting back to Kobe and his game one no-calls…just as there were games in which Shaq or even MJ had games in which the refs did not give them the calls and their teams lost only to be followed by games in which the refs make up for it, I wonder if the same pattern did not happen to Kobe from games 2 to 4. Perhaps I’m dead wrong on this. I didn’t watch most of those games so I can’t really say.
Best teams can win with a little bit of home cooking and some bad officiating to. It happen. Not as much as bashers think but it does happen.
If Kobe puts up 90…he’s dominating the game. I don’t care how efficient Nash is in comparison or even if the Suns win.
Funny thing is I never trashed that 81 point game. I merely said that was when the media “forgave” him and started fawning over him all over again. It was the 50-point, one assist game I ridiculed. Why? It came late in the season and it was ONE MORE 40 point plus, 2 assist or less game that he put up this season. Hey, I love scoring more than I do defense. But trust me when Iverson used to have huge scoring games in which his assists total were four or less I didn’t view it as great a showing as when he had 39 plus points and double digit assists. Kobe is a talented ball handler and passer. He could have done better dishing out the rock.
Lets look at it this way….if the Lakers are playing so well as a team right now, playing at a higher level, couldn’t they have played like this during the season? I mean its one thing if they made a gradual improvement over the course of the season. But I’m to believe over night Kobe’s sidekicks suddenly had their light bulbs go off and started to contribute more regularly? Nah. So whose fault was that? Phil Jackson not putting his foot down? Was it Kobe’s fault? Were the Lakers’ organization more interested in Kobe finally winning that scoring title to the detriment of the team? Did Kobe only realize now that his teammates are capable of playing this game? You see this is why he doesn’t get serious consideration for MVP from me. Sure he wants to win but he wants to win his way and by that I mean he wants to dominate the ball. I have made the same criticism of Iverson with Sixers fans on their message boards from time to time. Like Kobe Iverson is a great talent but to often he has tunnel vision and does not fully grasp the team concept. But I do give AI more of a break I’ll admit? Why? Well, yes, in part because he went to Gtown and that makes him one of my favorite players. But also because Iverson gets his just criticisms and more from the media (especially from ignorant radio talk show hosts who don’t spend a minute looking at the NBA because they are too obsesses with the NFL and MLB). And also I give Iverson some slack because his assists numbers are usually respectable to great. Even when he was a two guard. If AI could accumulate good assists totals with teammates like Eric Snow, Mutombo and Lynch than Kobe should be doing at least as well ion that end with the more offensively gifted teammates he plays with.
Now maybe I’m being harsh and the fault lies in Kobe’s teammates for not stepping up until the post season. If that’s the case then give me Marion over Odom. Yes, Marion struggles in the post season but if he does not produce the numbers he does during the long grind of the regular season chances are his team does not make it to the playoffs in the first place. If Odom was always capable of playing the way he is now then he shouldn’t get any credit for dogging it throughout the season only to show up when the brightest spotlights are on. He is the type of player that lets others do the heavy lifting only to show up during the very end. If Odom played like this all year long the Lakers would have a higher seed. And isn’t that what counts? So either the coach, the star or the supporting players need to be chastised for the Lakers not playing during the season like they are during the current playoffs. Maybe its all three at fault.
He didn’t play crappy. His shooting was much better, and his turnovers were way down. But the problem with AI is that despite all his talents and heart he does not instill a sense of urgency amongst his teammates to approach every game seriously which in turn would put them in a position to win the games they should win. Instead its always a case of the Sixers giving away games to lesser teams (how can Philly have a winning record against the Western Conference and a losing record against East coast teams?). Its not until the last 20 games that Iverson and the Sixers start taking the season seriously. That’s no good.
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VelvetElvis
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Post by VelvetElvis on May 4, 2006 6:30:38 GMT -5
There are too many words in this discussion. Can someone summarize? Elvis, the only thing worth noting in is that -- apparently -- Sam Cassell is still in the NBA. Who knew? Good ole' Sam Cassell. What is he, like 60? Every sports trivia question should have the answer: "Sam Cassell" Also, Shaq is Mike Sweetney's bitch, RDF hates Shawn Marion (no surprise), MCIGuy hates the Arenas & the Wizards almost as much as Kobe (no surprise), and I know nothing about the NBA (REALLY no surprise). Oh, and there may or may not be a David Stern-led conspiracy to get the Lakers to the conference finals. The NBA should have goalies. All I know is, you don't hear hockey players complaining about tough hits. NBA = wussies! ;D ;D People in this discussion should come out and admit the fact that the NBA is getting closer to "sports entertainment" every day! Did you see Arenas come up out of the ground the other night? I was waiting for him to spit water in the air HHH style. Music plays over the action and in some arenas (Buzzards included) they have a freakin' DJ and an MC! Oh, that and the outcomes are predetermined. C4 in the door, walk far away and.....
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on May 4, 2006 9:26:49 GMT -5
I'm beginning to warm up to Arenas. That being said I found Tom Knott's column in the WTimes to day to be obnoxious. But that's nothing new? Knott is not a writer. He's a ranter who lets his bias get in the way of journalism. Considering that Arenas is one of the most well known criers when it comes to handling foul calls against him, Knott should be more objective when picking on LeBron. washingtontimes.com/sports/20060504-124040-4461r.htm
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miamihoya
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Post by miamihoya on May 5, 2006 13:44:01 GMT -5
MCI, i'm kind of confused by your dependence on stats...you say that even if you dont watch the game, stats tell most of the story and thus Nash has outplayed Kobe in the series. Yet you say that you cant go on stats alone in naming MVP and that intangible make Nash a better canidate than Kobe (i.e. making his teammates better). Personally i think you need a bit of both. I think its ridiculous to assume that if you look at a boxscore you know what happened in the game. Kobe stats werent that pretty in the first 5 games of the series, yet if you watched the game you would realize that he was playing as good as ever, just not taking as many shots and getting his teammates involved. Stats tell half the story, but all of it. They can easily decieve.
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RDF
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Post by RDF on May 5, 2006 14:56:52 GMT -5
Congrats to your Heat MiamiHoya--you called it. I didn't see that coming in Game 6 but you hit that on the spot. Good win and O'Neal finally showed up and played some ball, instead of being lazy and stubborn. Nice games from Haslem and Posey who I like a great deal-but still not sold they can hang with Detroit.
Suns-Lakers game was best game of Playoffs I've seen this year (I know it's early, so take with grain of salt). It was a case of a team winning and nobody losing the game-guys stepped up and made plays and Suns played ball--didn't let distractions get to them. What I find interesting is the team that is spending the most time whining to refs in this series and letting themselves get distracted is the team who is losing and allowing themselves to place blame on something that doesn't exist. With that said, Lakers were 1 rebound away from advancing and now they'll likely get spanked by at least double digits in Phoenix on Saturday night. Bryant was solid--but I thought this was his worst floor game--despite being an unreal scorer last night. I thought this was Nash's best game of the Series too, although I didn't like that he passed up a shot on that last possession in regulation initially--he's got to step up and shoot that and he didn't take one before then either--with Kwame Brown on him who he torched on the switch all game. Tim Thomas shot was very "Horry-like" and credit to Barbosa for a great game and Diaw for showing up in OT. Shawn Marion's rebound was a huge play too--and I thought he played his best game I've ever seen in Playoffs all around--still think he's overrated but he did what was needed to win and that was important.
Only person on the floor last night that was AWOL and has been the best 2 games is Smush Parker. You couldn't get a crumb down his throat he's gagging so much. If I am Jackson, I'd play Sasha Vujacic in his place and bring Parker off the bench--or even give some of his minutes to Jimmy Jackson. Parker was scared and that is uncalled for--screwing up or failing is acceptable, but being AFRAID is not tolerable.
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Post by HoyaLawya on May 7, 2006 7:44:14 GMT -5
Black Mamba has impressed the hell out of me this post-season. In the past I disliked him b/c I thought he was stand-offish, devisive and really only out for himself.
I think Barkley pegged Kobe a/k/a Black Mamba just right, in his commentary about Game 7. Three shots in the entire second half ... Sir Charles felt it was because he didn't want to take the responsibility for their loss. Kobe's body language said it all.
I'm glad for the Suns and glad for Nash. He deserves his second MVP. There's no "quit" in him. Kobe's middle name was "quit" last night.
Leandro's performance makes me want to urge JT III to start scouting for Hoya recruits down in Brazil.
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MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,423
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Post by MCIGuy on May 7, 2006 8:22:29 GMT -5
I haven't watched the whole recording of the game yet so I haven't gotten around to Sir Charles' comments. I think Charles' opinions can be very idiotic from time to time but he will also speak the truth just as much. When I learned that Kobe only took a few shots in the second half I said to myself he "quit on the team". I don't care how much double-teaming you get, I don't care how much you are trying to pretend to get your teammates involved, a superstar of Kobe's ability must take more than three shot attempts in a second half. If your team is going down go down firing. Don't leave any bullets in the chamber. And this isn't the first time that Kobe has not been aggressive enough for my tastes in the post season.Which is why I never understand those who say he is as good as MJ. Not only did Jordan shoot a better percentage he also had a motor that prevented him from ever being passive or invisible during a half of a post season game.
I can totally believe that Kobe did not shoot enough in part to distance himself from the sorry perfromance of the Lakers. Especially considering his true favorite coach, Coach K, was in the stands watching the game.
If Nash can remain at this leevl next season and Stoudemire returns as good as ever, I'm penciling in the Suns as my favorite to win it all.
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