- 695
- 22
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2006
Pretty funny the situation the NBA is in right now.......
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by crank lucas,
- Start date
- 5,193
- 35
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2004
There has been so many quotes that the message doesn't even fit in the box.
That is too funny
- 11,773
- 70
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2006
before this post goes completly off a tangent, here's an article by Jamele Hill on that specific doomsday scenario.
America should be pulling for Pistons-Spurs
Hill
By Jemele Hill
Page 2
(Archive | Contact)
Updated: May 23, 2008, 1:44 PM ET
* Comment
* Email
* Print
Forgive me, citizens of Easily Entertained, Need-Flash-To-Appreciate Nation for this blasphemous proposal:
Let's root for another edition of Pistons versus Spurs in the NBA Finals!
[+] Enlarge
Tim Duncan
AP Photo/Mark Avery
Maybe fans should stop grumbling about Tim Duncan being boring, and start appreciating his incredible success.
(Trying to block out the sound of 260 million people collectively groaning.)
I'm hoping that suggestion doesn't make NBA commissioner David Stern lose his lunch. But if Stern could overcome his nausea at the thought of anotherclash of these underappreciated titans, even he would have to admit that Pistons-Spurs would be the best thing for the NBA.
Full disclosure: As a Detroiter, I would love to see the Pistons in the Finals for the sixth time in my lifetime. But this isn't about me. This is aboutthe league's credibility.
As an NBA fan, there is nothing more irritating than when the league's credibility is challenged by cockamamy conspiracy theories. (See: New York Knicksand Patrick Ewing, and Michael Jordan's impromptu first retirement.)
The biggest NBA conspiracy theory going right now is that the league is trying to make a Boston-L.A. Finals happen, because it would mean insane televisionratings and a return to the time when the dominance of those two franchises overshadowed everything else in sports.
This has undoubtedly been the NBA's best season since MJ's heyday. The Western Conference was the most competitive conference in NBA history, the SlamDunk Contest returned to relevancy, trades rejuvenated the Lakers and Celtics, Chris Paul emerged as the league's next transcendent player, and thedrastically improved TV ratings in the playoffs showed that sports fans were gobbling it all up.
If this were any other NBA season, the insinuation that the league was somehow working to orchestrate the return of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry would beconsidered a real reach -- but not when the Tim Donaghy betting scandal is still looming.
Many fans have long believed that the relationship NBA officials have with players and coaches influences how the games are called. But now those conspiracytheories have teeth, because Donaghy's lawyer, John Lauro, filed presentencing documents in federal court that supported what those conspiracy theoristshave been screaming for years.
Also in the Lauro papers were charges that other referees besides Donaghy participated in gambling activity. Couple that with what was reported aboutJordan's extensive gambling and Charles Barkley's initially "overlooking" that he owed the Wynn casino $400K, and Donaghy's issues all ofa sudden look like they're a part of a problematic NBA subculture.
Certainly, you can look at the Donaghy situation and think of Matt Walsh, another guy who seems difficult to trust. The commissioner has said Donaghy'scamp is making these wild accusations only so he can gain a more lenient sentence.
That could be true, but that still doesn't do anything to change the perception that the outcomes of NBA games are somehow tampered with. If there are anycontroversial calls that favor Boston or Los Angeles, or if there are games in which either of those teams makes a ton of trips to the foul line, the CTs(conspiracy theorists) will ask: What would prevent the NBA from urging the officials to call games a certain way to ensure a Finals involving teams from twoof the biggest media markets in the country?
But if it's Pistons-Spurs, the NBA Finals will be conspiracy-free.
I anticipate the crybabies will complain that the Spurs and Pistons are boring to watch. But most real basketball and sports fans won't think that way --just those casual NBA viewers who want it both ways. You know, the ones who deride the NBA for promoting individuals, but whine when Kobe, LeBron or some otherone-named superstar isn't in the Finals. The ones who claim they love underdogs, but won't give the Pistons or Spurs a chance.
[+] Enlarge
Richard Hamilton
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Rip Hamilton and the Pistons are one step closer to another NBA Finals after dumping the Celtics in Game 2.
If you're someone who grumbles that NBA players don't play defense, you should root for Pistons-Spurs (although Boston may play the best defense of theremaining playoff teams). If you complain you're sick of seeing NBA teams that don't play hard, root for Pistons-Spurs. If you love teams that winbecause of their commitment to team basketball, root for Pistons-Spurs. If you're sick of seeing basketball dominated by And-1 wannabes, root forPistons-Spurs.
These are two teams loaded with unselfishness -- and they feature players who are among the NBA's best citizens.
When people call Tim Duncan milquetoast, it makes me want to break kneecaps. First, Duncan is a thoughtful quote -- as are most of the Spurs. Second, Duncanshouldn't be penalized because he'd rather frustrate his opponents with precise passing out of double-teams and unstoppable bank shots, rather thantrying to make the Top 10 Plays on "SportsCenter."
Duncan is perhaps the best player of his generation. The Pistons, who are in their sixth straight Eastern Conference finals, are maybe the closest thing theEastern Conference has had to a dynasty since Jordan's Bulls.
If it's Pistons-Spurs, it's our core sports values at work.
Besides, unlike the Lakers and Celtics, the Pistons and Spurs didn't get to the conference finals with the help of questionable blockbuster deals. Talkabout your NBA conspiracy theories. The Lakers got Pau Gasol for 10 rubles and a John Tesh DVD. And Kevin McHale forked Kevin Garnett over to the franchise hejust so happened to win three NBA titles with. Nothing suspicious about that, right?
The Pistons and the Spurs built their teams the old-school way -- through coaching, drafting and crafty pickups. The Pistons drafted Tayshaun Prince as well askey reserves Jason Maxiell and Rodney Stuckey. They signed Antonio McDyess and Chauncey Billups -- nobody wanted "Bad Knees" McDyess, and Billups hadplayed for five NBA teams before the Pistons. And they traded for Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton -- Wallace had a bad rep as a hothead but propelled them tothe NBA championship in 2004 , and when they traded for Hamilton, people thought they were crazy because it meant giving up Jerry Stackhouse.
The Spurs drafted Duncan, as well as sleeper-picks Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili -- pretty good choices, no? And who would have guessed Michael Finley wouldwin a championship before former teammates Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash? But that's what happens when you roll with the smartest organization in the NBA.
Pistons-Spurs -- that's what we all should be dying to see.
Jemele Hill can be reached at [email protected].
America should be pulling for Pistons-Spurs
Hill
By Jemele Hill
Page 2
(Archive | Contact)
Updated: May 23, 2008, 1:44 PM ET
* Comment
Forgive me, citizens of Easily Entertained, Need-Flash-To-Appreciate Nation for this blasphemous proposal:
Let's root for another edition of Pistons versus Spurs in the NBA Finals!
[+] Enlarge
Tim Duncan
AP Photo/Mark Avery
Maybe fans should stop grumbling about Tim Duncan being boring, and start appreciating his incredible success.
(Trying to block out the sound of 260 million people collectively groaning.)
I'm hoping that suggestion doesn't make NBA commissioner David Stern lose his lunch. But if Stern could overcome his nausea at the thought of anotherclash of these underappreciated titans, even he would have to admit that Pistons-Spurs would be the best thing for the NBA.
Full disclosure: As a Detroiter, I would love to see the Pistons in the Finals for the sixth time in my lifetime. But this isn't about me. This is aboutthe league's credibility.
As an NBA fan, there is nothing more irritating than when the league's credibility is challenged by cockamamy conspiracy theories. (See: New York Knicksand Patrick Ewing, and Michael Jordan's impromptu first retirement.)
The biggest NBA conspiracy theory going right now is that the league is trying to make a Boston-L.A. Finals happen, because it would mean insane televisionratings and a return to the time when the dominance of those two franchises overshadowed everything else in sports.
This has undoubtedly been the NBA's best season since MJ's heyday. The Western Conference was the most competitive conference in NBA history, the SlamDunk Contest returned to relevancy, trades rejuvenated the Lakers and Celtics, Chris Paul emerged as the league's next transcendent player, and thedrastically improved TV ratings in the playoffs showed that sports fans were gobbling it all up.
If this were any other NBA season, the insinuation that the league was somehow working to orchestrate the return of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry would beconsidered a real reach -- but not when the Tim Donaghy betting scandal is still looming.
Many fans have long believed that the relationship NBA officials have with players and coaches influences how the games are called. But now those conspiracytheories have teeth, because Donaghy's lawyer, John Lauro, filed presentencing documents in federal court that supported what those conspiracy theoristshave been screaming for years.
Also in the Lauro papers were charges that other referees besides Donaghy participated in gambling activity. Couple that with what was reported aboutJordan's extensive gambling and Charles Barkley's initially "overlooking" that he owed the Wynn casino $400K, and Donaghy's issues all ofa sudden look like they're a part of a problematic NBA subculture.
Certainly, you can look at the Donaghy situation and think of Matt Walsh, another guy who seems difficult to trust. The commissioner has said Donaghy'scamp is making these wild accusations only so he can gain a more lenient sentence.
That could be true, but that still doesn't do anything to change the perception that the outcomes of NBA games are somehow tampered with. If there are anycontroversial calls that favor Boston or Los Angeles, or if there are games in which either of those teams makes a ton of trips to the foul line, the CTs(conspiracy theorists) will ask: What would prevent the NBA from urging the officials to call games a certain way to ensure a Finals involving teams from twoof the biggest media markets in the country?
But if it's Pistons-Spurs, the NBA Finals will be conspiracy-free.
I anticipate the crybabies will complain that the Spurs and Pistons are boring to watch. But most real basketball and sports fans won't think that way --just those casual NBA viewers who want it both ways. You know, the ones who deride the NBA for promoting individuals, but whine when Kobe, LeBron or some otherone-named superstar isn't in the Finals. The ones who claim they love underdogs, but won't give the Pistons or Spurs a chance.
[+] Enlarge
Richard Hamilton
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Rip Hamilton and the Pistons are one step closer to another NBA Finals after dumping the Celtics in Game 2.
If you're someone who grumbles that NBA players don't play defense, you should root for Pistons-Spurs (although Boston may play the best defense of theremaining playoff teams). If you complain you're sick of seeing NBA teams that don't play hard, root for Pistons-Spurs. If you love teams that winbecause of their commitment to team basketball, root for Pistons-Spurs. If you're sick of seeing basketball dominated by And-1 wannabes, root forPistons-Spurs.
These are two teams loaded with unselfishness -- and they feature players who are among the NBA's best citizens.
When people call Tim Duncan milquetoast, it makes me want to break kneecaps. First, Duncan is a thoughtful quote -- as are most of the Spurs. Second, Duncanshouldn't be penalized because he'd rather frustrate his opponents with precise passing out of double-teams and unstoppable bank shots, rather thantrying to make the Top 10 Plays on "SportsCenter."
Duncan is perhaps the best player of his generation. The Pistons, who are in their sixth straight Eastern Conference finals, are maybe the closest thing theEastern Conference has had to a dynasty since Jordan's Bulls.
If it's Pistons-Spurs, it's our core sports values at work.
Besides, unlike the Lakers and Celtics, the Pistons and Spurs didn't get to the conference finals with the help of questionable blockbuster deals. Talkabout your NBA conspiracy theories. The Lakers got Pau Gasol for 10 rubles and a John Tesh DVD. And Kevin McHale forked Kevin Garnett over to the franchise hejust so happened to win three NBA titles with. Nothing suspicious about that, right?
The Pistons and the Spurs built their teams the old-school way -- through coaching, drafting and crafty pickups. The Pistons drafted Tayshaun Prince as well askey reserves Jason Maxiell and Rodney Stuckey. They signed Antonio McDyess and Chauncey Billups -- nobody wanted "Bad Knees" McDyess, and Billups hadplayed for five NBA teams before the Pistons. And they traded for Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton -- Wallace had a bad rep as a hothead but propelled them tothe NBA championship in 2004 , and when they traded for Hamilton, people thought they were crazy because it meant giving up Jerry Stackhouse.
The Spurs drafted Duncan, as well as sleeper-picks Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili -- pretty good choices, no? And who would have guessed Michael Finley wouldwin a championship before former teammates Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash? But that's what happens when you roll with the smartest organization in the NBA.
Pistons-Spurs -- that's what we all should be dying to see.
Jemele Hill can be reached at [email protected].
- 38,018
- 40,470
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2006
I can't stand Jemele Hill...
She says that it would be conspiracy-free if the pistons and the spurs made the finals. I don't understand why this is true. Are the spurs better then thelakers? Are the pistons better then the Celtics? We don't know that's why we play the game. If one team gets more calls then other usually that team isthe more aggressive team.
Now if both series go 7 and the lakers and Celtics get more calls ( Touch fouls away from the rim), then maybe...
But I think some people need more things to do. Stop sitting around talking about conspiracies and just enjoy the game.
Also she is a piston fan!
She says that it would be conspiracy-free if the pistons and the spurs made the finals. I don't understand why this is true. Are the spurs better then thelakers? Are the pistons better then the Celtics? We don't know that's why we play the game. If one team gets more calls then other usually that team isthe more aggressive team.
Now if both series go 7 and the lakers and Celtics get more calls ( Touch fouls away from the rim), then maybe...
But I think some people need more things to do. Stop sitting around talking about conspiracies and just enjoy the game.
Also she is a piston fan!
- 233
- 10
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2003
Jemele is lame and she is also a Pistons fan, 2 reasons why the article is worthless. and I am a Pistons fan
- 2,400
- 300
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2007
