Are you baiting me? They are all, to varying degrees, wrong. Dwyer is one long catastrophe, and Abbot, of late, has been little more than a cheering section for the ABC-NBA World Championship Series (TM). Simmons's sins are at least specifically limited to the things to which you point.
I detect no specific arguments in your comment, Timothybot.
So that was serious? That God allowed you to dunk...it means He is more concerned with compassion than justice.
Look, flopping is out of control, and makes the games sucky. LeBron mails it in sometimes, and that's too bad. Jordan never mailed it in, and that was awesome, but it's also maybe too high a standard. These are the points those guys make. You disagree with which ones?
Does any current player have the ability to palm the ball like this?
Holy fuck. I've never seen that one before.
I'll bait you SCMT:
I absolutely love watching the Spurs play basketball. If there is one team in the NBA that I wish my team would model themselves after it is the Spurs. If I watched the Spurs 82 games a year I would be a very happy fan.
The first hald of the game last night was one of the best halves of basketball I've seen in a long time. Then, the Suns couldn't keep up that intensity and the Spurs did.
Amazing.
I also thought Abbotts post about the Suns /Spurs series was good. Although I disagree with him about the need for the Suns to make changes to their roster.
They were undoubtedly one of the top 4 teams in the league this season and all it would take would be an injury on another team or a good run and they're in the finals.
flopping is out of control
This, absolutely, is ruining the NBA. And I blame Mike Krzyzewski.
I'll deal with Jordan issues separately, but:
1. Flopping is out of control, not because we lack anti-flopping regulations, or because the Euros have imported it from soccer, but because of the changes in the way the game is being called. I've probably seen more charges called this season than in all other previous seasons combined. Of course people are going to flop: it works. It'll go away once the refs start consistently calling fouls again. Simmons, like everyone else, likes the enervated NBA. You can't have one without the other.
2. LeBron mails some in; so what? He's 22 and in the Eastern Conference finals. It doesn't seem to have hurt him too much so far. At the end of the day, the point is to win, and he does. He's certainly doing better than Jordan was at (a) a similar age, or (b) a similar point in his career.
3. I avoided Game 6, so I didn't see the D'Antoni meltdown. But claiming that the series wouldn't be 3-3, heading to Phoenix, if the Suns had been allowed to use Stat and Diaw in Game 5, is insane. In which case, you'd say the series favored the Suns. And if they won, then, suddenly, D'Antoni's "lack of leadership" would be transmuted into "passion." All Abbot has really said is that winners win and there must be a reason. As magical as coaching and "leadership" are, talent wins.
Does any current player have the ability to palm the ball like this?
I hadn't seen it either. I seem to remember someone catching, rather than blocking a shot, though.
It was new to me, too. I remember something very much like it from a regular season game I saw on tv during one of his last seasons - he faked a pass with one hand palming the ball, the defender went by, he brought down the ball and shot - but this was the only video result for "michael jordan palm."
1. I agree that Simmons doesn't get the reasons right. I'm not sure the refs can fix this. All the block calls are also annoying.
2. I don't want to see a superstar mail it in. Pretty simple, really. I don't care about LeBron personally--if it works for him, fine, but it's no fun to watch.
3. Maybe. Go Spurs.
They were undoubtedly one of the top 4 teams in the league this season and all it would take would be an injury on another team or a good run and they're in the finals.
If the Suns pick up Brewer, I think they're fine against the Spurs next season. The Suns problem wasn't Duncan--who remind everyone (certainly me) that he's an absurdly talented player, and probably the best player in the league--but Parker. He's a hard problem to solve. But Brewer is really, really quick (or so he appeared in the championship game). If the Suns can afford to have him on the floor, he can control Parker, and if the Suns control Parker, they will win the series pretty convincingly.
Maybe. Go Spurs.
I think the Spurs are going to have a much tougher time against Utah than people think. Deron Williams can body up on Parker. Boozer's really, really good. And Utah will be happy to be at least as dirty as the Spurs. Even if (as I expect) the Spurs get through, I don't see them beating the Pistons unless the Pistons completely lose focus.
I agree with you about the Utah/Spurs series. Boozer is going to give them problems.
Surely this will bait someone.
The Jordan post talks about him listening to people who know what they're talking about, and included Phil Jackson. Maybe, just maybe Phil Jackson's record with the Lakers demonstrates he can't coach worth dick.
Jordan posts are almost inevitably hagiographic garbage. Phil's a really good coach; I'm not sure we're ever able to distinguish more finely than that.
I don't want to see a superstar mail it in.
This is why I always like Kobe better than Shaq. Fucking Shaq has no work ethic. Kobe would come in from the offseason ready to kick ass, while Shaq would be a fat fuck who still couldn't hit a free throw.
I'd rather see the Jazz win, if only for variety.
Flopping in basketball and diving in soccer are a case of convergent evolution, not common descent.
I think the Spurs are going to have a much tougher time against Utah than people think
Heh.
(Guys, you know how secretly happy I am about the suspension controversy? It actually makes my favorite team somewhat sexy.)
I'd rather see the Jazz win, if only
...to spite Karl Malone.