If only we applied the “shut up and dribble” across industries and political leanings…
If someone offered me that I’d average 24.4pts, 7.8rbs, and 8.2ast per game in the NBA at any age, I’d take it with unbridled enthusiasm, let alone at 40.
Spencer Ejected!
- Thread starter SDakaGordie
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If someone offered me that I’d average 24.4pts, 7.8rbs, and 8.2ast per game in the NBA at any age, I’d take it with unbridled enthusiasm, let alone at 40.
David Robinson is who you are thinking of.
"Bill Russell: In the 1960s, I tried to move to Wilmington, MA, but nobody would sell me a house. So, I moved my family to Reading, a predominantly white town 16 miles north of Boston. Bigots broke into the house, spray-painted “Nigga” on the walls, **** in our bed. Police cars followed me often. I looked into buying a different house in a different neighborhood, but people in that neighborhood started a petition to persuade the seller not to sell to me."
Believe it or not, that kind of stuff can kind of make you less friendly and smiley. He probably shouldn't have done any of the fan stuff layer in life. Maybe he needed the money.
Yes, David Robinson - I'll get it right eventually. Also, the point about Russell I was making at Casa de Campo was that he was the only one of the 7 black NBA players who were playing that day who was an arrogant nasty jerk. Perhaps the other black guys never experienced terrible racism like Russell. I doubt it. Plus, Russell was nasty to the black Dominicans at the resort as well.
I prefer to ignore the inflated importance folks both in the media and my everyday life. They're everywhere, in all walks of life. Has nothing to do with shut up and dribble.
GOUNUII
Eh. I don't hate LeBron, hatred seems pretty irrational and it's probably the wrong word to use in the context of almost everything in this thread, even from the folks saying it about themselves. But I get not liking him.
As a person, I have nothing bad to say about him. He seems like a decent husband, father, family member, and he's done good things for various communities. He is probably very arrogant and entitled, but as many have pointed out, that seems to come with the territory and he doesn't seem actively malicious. Maybe he is or has been, but I haven't seen it.
I do not like him as a player for a few reasons. Recognizing he is a great talent and a determinedly hard worker, I've been unhappy with the consequences of his impacts on the NBA with regard to having successfully (and not soley) turning charging for a penalty on the offense, to an almost guaranteed three point play for the offense - at least when he's the guy ramming into set defenders, and the resulting damage that has had on defensive play that has not just damaged the NBA but has trickled down to college ball.
I also haven't liked the way he has chased success from team to team, getting coaches fired and using his influence to force the hiring and firing of team mates. He isn't alone in this behavior, he's just the highest profile - iirc Durant did this as well, and caught appropriate heat for it, but not the Miami kind, that was definitely LeBron. But I can understand the drive to grab the brass ring and maybe the problem has been more about how much sports media has built a circus around every thing he has done and said, trying to create drama and clicks. LeBron and the media have definitely been part of why I lost interest in the NBA years ago. Coincdentally, I was looking at all the play off team rosters a few days ago as a side effect of watching Spencer's laughable ejection video, and realized I have no idea who 90% of the players are on these teams.
Sadly for him, he will never the GOAT in basketball. No matter how many records he eventually breaks, the only thing he'll really be the best at is length of career. He'll only ever be really really good and probably a top five guy at his peak. And that's ok, unless you're a huge LeBron fan - or LeBron himself.
As a person, I have nothing bad to say about him. He seems like a decent husband, father, family member, and he's done good things for various communities. He is probably very arrogant and entitled, but as many have pointed out, that seems to come with the territory and he doesn't seem actively malicious. Maybe he is or has been, but I haven't seen it.
I do not like him as a player for a few reasons. Recognizing he is a great talent and a determinedly hard worker, I've been unhappy with the consequences of his impacts on the NBA with regard to having successfully (and not soley) turning charging for a penalty on the offense, to an almost guaranteed three point play for the offense - at least when he's the guy ramming into set defenders, and the resulting damage that has had on defensive play that has not just damaged the NBA but has trickled down to college ball.
I also haven't liked the way he has chased success from team to team, getting coaches fired and using his influence to force the hiring and firing of team mates. He isn't alone in this behavior, he's just the highest profile - iirc Durant did this as well, and caught appropriate heat for it, but not the Miami kind, that was definitely LeBron. But I can understand the drive to grab the brass ring and maybe the problem has been more about how much sports media has built a circus around every thing he has done and said, trying to create drama and clicks. LeBron and the media have definitely been part of why I lost interest in the NBA years ago. Coincdentally, I was looking at all the play off team rosters a few days ago as a side effect of watching Spencer's laughable ejection video, and realized I have no idea who 90% of the players are on these teams.
Sadly for him, he will never the GOAT in basketball. No matter how many records he eventually breaks, the only thing he'll really be the best at is length of career. He'll only ever be really really good and probably a top five guy at his peak. And that's ok, unless you're a huge LeBron fan - or LeBron himself.
Morey was forced to apologize for tweeting out support for the protestors in Hong Kong. That's absurd.
I'm not in the "shut up and dribble" camp, and I appreciated many of the things that LeBron said and did around the BLM movement. But then to turn around and criticize Morey for voicing support for the Hong Kong protests struck me the wrong way. It was basically personal and corporate fealty to the Chinese government, which has committed (and continues to commit) egrious human rights violations against its own people (and those in Hong Kong).
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That's too bad. You're missing out. The NBA's fun to watch, at least in my opinion. Tune into game 7 of Rockets vs Warriors tonight, and you may even get to see Spencer back in the game in garbage time (with the Rockets leading).
So many of those old guys everyone idolizes would be seen as deeply flawed today by so many who nit pick the behavior of a superstar. They were not even remotely as exposed as today’s players are.
This is the age of social media and basically everyone having a camera or microphone up their asses. More stories and info is going to come out. And, as it goes both ways, the real superstars will have a lot more power as a consequence of their position as influencers. It’s just the way it is.
I will never like guys like Durant or LeBron, who chase instead of building titles. And guys who get way more calls than they deserve. The only way for me to like guys like that is if they play for my team.
But that has nothing to do with liking them or not outside basketball. LeBron has been remarkably shady events free. While Kobe everyone seemed to quickly forget he was credibly accused of sexual misconduct.
The problem with LeBron is that he was vocal at times. And the people who don’t like what he was vocal about just can’t stand that.
This is the age of social media and basically everyone having a camera or microphone up their asses. More stories and info is going to come out. And, as it goes both ways, the real superstars will have a lot more power as a consequence of their position as influencers. It’s just the way it is.
I will never like guys like Durant or LeBron, who chase instead of building titles. And guys who get way more calls than they deserve. The only way for me to like guys like that is if they play for my team.
But that has nothing to do with liking them or not outside basketball. LeBron has been remarkably shady events free. While Kobe everyone seemed to quickly forget he was credibly accused of sexual misconduct.
The problem with LeBron is that he was vocal at times. And the people who don’t like what he was vocal about just can’t stand that.
Agreed. Playoff basketball is fun and intense. I also recommend that the haters check out tonight’s game. Let me know if you don’t think they are playing defense or it’s not physical enough.
Uh, what does that mean. The NBA is not fun until the playoffs and I'll probably watch tonight so I can root for Steph Curry. Probably the best shooter in history. But the NBA is nowhere near as much fun as college basketball
Uh, it means lots of folks on this board don’t think they play defense in the NBA. It means NBA basketball is played at the highest level with the most skill. And the intensity level and physicality of playoff basketball is really impressive in my opinion. And you are welcome to your opinions (you certainly have no shortage of them) but regular season college basketball (other than NU) is not that compelling for me either.
I felt like you did but after watching some of the playoff games this year, I gotta say, it's great entertainment!
To each his own. I'll probably watch the Warriors tonight because I'm impressed by Steph Curry and my son-in-law and 2 grandsons will be at the game. I don't really care what the hell you watch, but I'm sorry you don't care for my opinions, although I'll probably get over it,
Yep, it should be a defensive slugfest. I predict neither team will score 100 points, similar to game 1. I'm just not sure which team will win.
Well, I also predicted that both teams would be hard pressed to get to 100 points and that I wasn't sure who would win in the end, so I wasn't far off there.
If you had told me that Buddy Hield would score 33 points and would make 9 of 11 three-pointers, then I would have said the Warriors would win in a blowout. Not much you can do when players not named Curry or Butler put up those kinds of numbers.
You probably mean David Robinson. And, as for Bill Russell, I would think playing in Boston in the 1960s might have turned a guy sour more than playing in another town or another generation.
As for Lebron, I think he's mostly been a first-rate superstar. The one thing I can't get past was the made-for-TV event where he gathered a bunch of Cleveland area kids for his announcement that he was leaving them behind to take his talents to South Beach. Of course he has the right to play wherever he wants, but to invite a bunch of kids, who presumably are Cavs fans just to stick it in their faces that he's leaving seems pretty dickish to me. But that was a long time ago, and he seems to have been a stand-up guy since then. Chalk it up as a youthful indiscretion.
You have to give the Rockets coaching staff credit for adjusting their defense to a 3-2 zone with the middle perimeter defender cheating on Curry in game 5. GS couldn’t shake Curry free and ended up having to hurry late into the shot clock with subsequent poor looks. With the one day turnaround, it looked to me like Kerr decided not to change much off the basic motion staggered screen offense they usually run in game 6, and again they could not get much going. Last night, they adjusted in the first half, sped up their possessions and looked to swing the ball quickly. They changed their spacing, and consistently picked off the weak side defender, opening Heald for excellent looks or getting the ball to Green for intermediate openings. Heald is a step slow to get open against a balanced defense, but when he gets open, as Houston gave him the space last night, he is pretty deadly. Houston shifted back to a more standard defense in the second half, and Curry was able to light them up again. Overall, it was a balanced and interesting series, but GS has just a little more depth and experience than Houston at this point.
Yeah, just a bit more experience. A team with four championship rings versus one with Fred VanVleet and a bunch of 22 year olds. Not surprising which one came out on top in a big game 7.
Two other quick thoughts:
1. Loved the story about Amen Thompson attending Curry's basketball camps in the Bay Area ten years ago and now being assigned to guard him in the NBA playoffs. Amen played his heart out last night.
2. Draymond Green can be such a punk on the court, but he comes across as a thoughtful, sincere person off of it. He was asked the other night about Popovich retiring, and his response was very moving.
Back in his MSU days, Green struck me as a kid with a big heart and non-existent impulse control and anger management skills.
I don't think age has changed him much in either regard.
I don't think age has changed him much in either regard.
I didn’t watch a lot of Rockets basketball, but it seemed Green pulled a James Harden in the series, except for the game Jimmy buckets didn’t play,
The difference is that Green is 23 years old and Harden is 35. This was Green's first playoff run, whereas Harden's on like number 15.
The jury's still out on Green, but in his defense, he's still young (he's still green, pun intended).
Then you still will only have one player that can shoot from the outside.Nah, but I'll take LeBron (and Pat Spencer).
Returning to the original subject of this thread, Pat Spencer, he played some meaningful time in the second half after Steph Curry left the game at Minnesota with a hamstring injury. Spencer scored 4 points in 11 minutes as Golden State held on to the lead through the entire second half without Curry on the floor.
From The Athletic's gamer:
Pat Spencer was given backup point guard duties in the second half and bolted off the bench with his tough, aggressive approach. He poked away two steals, grabbed two rebounds and hit a layup and running hook. Kerr said Spencer will be a part of the Game 2 rotation without Curry.
“Pat is a damn good basketball player,” Green said. “I know it don’t look like it. … The No. 61 don’t help. … But Pat is one of the toughest players on this team.”
///Announcers had the obligatory reference to his lacrosse/NU background, too.
Pat Spencer was given backup point guard duties in the second half and bolted off the bench with his tough, aggressive approach. He poked away two steals, grabbed two rebounds and hit a layup and running hook. Kerr said Spencer will be a part of the Game 2 rotation without Curry.
“Pat is a damn good basketball player,” Green said. “I know it don’t look like it. … The No. 61 don’t help. … But Pat is one of the toughest players on this team.”
///Announcers had the obligatory reference to his lacrosse/NU background, too.
Thanks for highlighting this. It’s hard to believe this is the same guy that has been such an ******* on the court for so many years.
The mustache isn’t helping either. And he looks slower than he is with his body type.
I think it’s one of the more remarkable stories in the NBA. Has there been another player (especially at his size) who took 4 years off and then made the NBA?
Spencer’s checking in to Golden State’s playoff game halfway through the first quarter.
But, more importantly, what does @No Chores think about LeBron?
But, more importantly, what does @No Chores think about LeBron?
