The NBA thread

[Mandark]

Not really. There's nothing wrong with being a fan of a player moreso than being loyal to one team/organization. Shaq has been my favorite sports athlete since I was a little kid. Orlando was my favorite team, then the Lakers, then Miami, then Phoenix. Didn't care too much for the Cavs or Boston though...

So I haven't had a favorite team in awhile. I'll go back to being a Pistons fan when Dumars is fired.

PD votes for the candidate, not the party.

[Flannel Boy]

There are important distinctions between parties--the only distinction between franchises is laundry.

[Mandark]

I'm already looking forward to when Dirk retires and I get to pick a new team.

 

[T-Short]

http://www.nba.com/2013/news/07/11/pistons-agree-with-billups.ap/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts

Nice!

[Phoenix Dark]

remember when Joe Dumars kept the Pistons core together too long instead of trading them to better position the team to rebuild? Fun times. Now we have Sheed on the coaching staff and an old Billups instead of Trey Burke.

I've met Billups a couple times, very nice guy. Not too mad.

[TakingBackSunday]

Could you root for your Browns if they signed Rapistberger?

Why would I root for the Browns when I already don't root for the Browns?

The more proper scenario in this odd parallel is if Pittsburgh signed...I don't know, Tom Brady.  I'd still hate him because fuck Tom Brady, but the Steelers are my team through and through.  I've put up with shitty fucking people on this team in the past; Ben being one of them, Santonio Holmes being another.  And yet I wanted to suck dey dicks after both single-handily won Pittsburgh's sixth ring.

[Phoenix Dark]

I've shaken Tom Brady's hand. He's a good man. Haters gonna hate

[Steve Contra]

I gave Tom Brady a pity handie in a Phoenix bathroom in 2007 after Eli beat him.

[TakingBackSunday]

I've shaken Tom Brady's hand. He's a good man. Haters gonna hate

I met Sam Bradford a couple months ago in a bar in Nashville.  He mentioned he was in town filming some commercial with older NFL stars.  Cool dude, he bought me a beer. 

[Am_I_Anonymous]

I've shaken Tom Brady's hand. He's a good man. Haters gonna hate

This is a fact. I played with TB at Michigan, and you won't find a better guy.

[Stoney Mason]

I think I've mentioned it before but I don't really have team allegiance in the NBA. I didn't grow up in a town that had a basketball team so I had no city team to grow roots with like I did for football.

So I've always migrated around from players I like to following those teams and then moving on to somebody else. When I was a kid I liked Larry Bird so I was a Celtics fan. I liked Rolando Blackman and Reggie Miller so I liked the Mavericks and the Pacers and so on. Even though the Heat are a state team, I wasn't overly a heat fan and still wouldn't really consider myself one. I'm a Lebron fan and was since the first day I say him play.

The one saving grace to this approach is that you don't have to be stuck following awful franchises but to balance it out I don't consider myself a bandwagoner. It's always based on whether I like the play style and occasionally personality of the person. For instance I never liked Michael Jordan or the Bulls. Always rooted against them. Same with Kobe and the Lakers. Just didn't like the game of either of those two or their personalities which isn't to say I didn't respect them as basketball players.

[TakingBackSunday]

Not really.  We just like watching good basketball.  Which is why I will not be watching any Laker games next season.

[Steve Contra]

Nah, the Lakers of late are the Tea Party.  Make a lot of noise in the regular season, but come post-season they've been quietly shuttled off.

[TakingBackSunday]

a more apt comparison along your line of thinking would be that Lebron is John Boehner.  A dark-skinned man who's from Ohio but really doesn't want to ever go back to Ohio ever again.  And kills the progress of other groups in Congress/NBA.

[etiolate]

fucking casual bandwaggoners up in here

[Am_I_Anonymous]

fucking casual bandwaggoners up in here

I am with you....I've been a Cav's fan since the dark days before Price, Nance, and Brad.

However the NBA is much more of an individual sport when it comes to accolades than baseball or football where it's always teams first. Blame the ESPN culture of showering glory on Lebron since high school in their quest for the next MJ.

[Stoney Mason]

meh.

The majority of people don't grow up with NBA teams in their home towns. The idea that I need to slavishly follow some team from another geographic region for the sake of being hardcore is silly.

[Steve Contra]

fucking casual bandwaggoners up in here

Small market fans

[Am_I_Anonymous]

fucking casual bandwaggoners up in here

Small market fans

+1

[Am_I_Anonymous]

meh.

The majority of people don't grow up with NBA teams in their home towns. The idea that I need to slavishly follow some team from another geographic region for the sake of being hardcore is silly.

Oh and that's another great point. My dad was involved with the Cav's when I was a kid in Cali but I often wondered who somebody from Oklahoma (prior to move) or Kentucky rooted for when I was young


I miss the Sonics.

[Stoney Mason]

I also don't believe that an incompetent franchise necessarily deserves slavish devotion. If a team is trying and makes the right moves but just doesn't succeed and gets a bit unlucky then that's one thing. But utter incompetence would be hard to root for now that I'm older.

And I say this as a lifelong fan of my hometown Tampa Bay Bucs who were utterly and completely one of the worst run franchises in history when I was a kid. But I didn't know any better as a youth and desperately wanted them to win and was shocked every season when they were awful.

I also find it a little weird when I know people who slavishly and feverishly root for certain college teams. For some reason I know a decent number of people who love Ohio State football and basketball despite not being from Ohio and not going to that college and in certain cases never having been to college period. I don't understand that sort of fanship once you aren't a kid anymore.

[Steve Contra]

I also don't believe that an incompetent franchise necessarily deserves slavish devotion.

Poor Cajole :'(

[Stoney Mason]

[Phoenix Dark]

I also don't believe that an incompetent franchise necessarily deserves slavish devotion. If a team is trying and makes the right moves but just doesn't succeed and gets a bit unlucky then that's one thing. But utter incompetence would be hard to root for now that I'm older.

I can't do it. If I jump off the Lions bandwagon and they start winning, I'd feel unclean jumping back on. I'm in for the long haul.

[Flannel Boy]

Stoney bringing the real talk.

[Human Snorenado]

Sports fandom is weird in general.  The only sport I genuinely love is baseball; I grew up watching and following it, the Braves started their extended run while I was just entering my teenage years so I had a really good team to root for.  We rooted for them when they sucked ass during the mid/late 80's too, though.

The NFL I never got into until my mid-20's, and by that point I just liked the game and was following it for fantasy purposes.  The Falcons were consistently mediocre back then.  I still don't have a team I really root for; I say I root for the Pats to troll people, also because I had Brady/Moss/Welker on my fantasy team during the 16-0 season.  I kind of keep up with the Falcons, but not too well.

Basketball is just meh for me... watched Jordan during his peak because it was a spectacle to behold, don't really watch too much these days.

College sports of all varieties are for functional distinguished mentally-challenged fellows.

[Stoney Mason]

I use to love all sports when I was kid and had unlimited time to watch such things. Baseball was the first sport I was passionate about and followed all the stats because I had those stat based videogames like MicroLeague Baseball when I was a kid. That was followed closely by basketball and football. As I got older though sports just dropped one by one. I dropped baseball. I dropped college sports. I only really follow the NFL and the NBA when it comes to team based sports and I barely follow the NFL at this stage. Basketball was the only sport that was able to maintain my interest and relevance through life. I've always had favorite basketball players and that has been able to carry and maintain my interest in basketball versus the other sports. For whatever reason watching good basketball is more compelling to me than watching other sports. I get a heart in my throat kinda feeling when I watch the NBA finals that I just don't get watching baseball or football.

College basketball was pretty great when I was a kid but I consider it mostly unwatchable nowadays but that's just a personal opinion.

[TakingBackSunday]

Yeah man you're so right.  If by being right means absolutely fucking stupid.

[Human Snorenado]

I'm still kind of confused as to the nature of your animus towards Lebron, awesome-o.  I mean, sure he's a dumb manchild whose entire life has been manufactured for him by a shoe company, but compared to other genuinely shitty human beings that happen to play sports he's not so bad.  By most measurable metrics, Kobe Bryant is by far a shittier person. 

[Stoney Mason]

I'm still kind of confused as to the nature of your animus towards Lebron, awesome-o.  I mean, sure he's a dumb manchild whose entire life has been manufactured for him by a shoe company, but compared to other genuinely shitty human beings that happen to play sports he's not so bad.  By most measurable metrics, Kobe Bryant is by far a shittier person.

He equates Kobe's "intensity" to some aspect of his own personality.

But yeah. I could see someone not liking Lebron personally but then to love Kobe with all the shady shit he has pulled in his career just tickles me.

[Stoney Mason]

He's a massive douche.

By any metric, Chris Bosh is far more of a douche, but he also hasn't been built up as the next big thing since 16, so there's that.

If he were a quiet guy who just put his head down and played, like Durant or Dirk, he wouldn't have half as many haters. He also thinks "humbled" means the opposite of what it actually does, which is pretty offensive.

I'm tempted to make a list of all the douche moves Kobe has made in his career but I don't a solid hour block to start up the list at the moment.

I'm also curious. What douche moves has Chris Bosh pulled? I don't understand that a lick.

And this comes from someone who isn't a fan of Bosh on the court.

[Human Snorenado]

I guess you're just one of those irrational by nature sports fans.  It's cool.  I'll just not ever take anything you say about sports seriously at all again.

[Stoney Mason]

He did spawn that whole "Like a Bosh" meme.

Second biggest travesty of Boston and San Antonio not closing out their 3-2 leads against Miami 2012 and 2013 respectively, after the loss of "he'll never give you four quarters" jokes, is the death of Like a Bosh. That shit was amazing.

The Chris Bosh meme stuff is based around the idea that he's viewed as a superstar but isn't really a superstar. Which may be true. But its not like he's a dick or something. Like a Bosh could easily be like a Rudy Gay. Another  guy who doesn't seem like a jerk but is probably over-rated relative to how he actually performs. I may not like Chris Bosh as a player but its but not like Chris Bosh is constantly doing boneheaded things personally in his life or making douche moves. He actually seems like the most goofy and likable in a sense of the big three. The most normal.

[TakingBackSunday]

basketball players are egotistical megalomaniacs, news at 11

[Stoney Mason]

Lakers amnesty Artest.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Kobe is going to drown one of the NBA's anchor franchises.I have always hated him and now I really hate him.

Kobe,

You are not MJ
You aren't even LBJ
Nobody outside of Cali buys your jersey
You ran off Shaq after he won you 3 chips
You are not media friendly
Your twitter sucks
Fuck you for fucking Mike Brown because you failed


I hate you,

AiA

[Am_I_Anonymous]

So much bullshit in that post.

Which part? MJ? Dat Shaq carry?

[Stoney Mason]

I have to admit I'm liking the effects of the new cba. It makes you put your money where your mouth is regarding winning and salary.

The fact that Kobe chews up $30 mil on the salary cap is delicious.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

I have to admit I'm liking the effects of the new cba. It makes you put your money where your mouth is regarding winning and salary.

The fact that Kobe chews up $30 mil on the salary cap is delicious.

The fact his crippled ass won't give a discount is better.

100 bucks saya MJ in that situation would play for a dollar a game if he could get one more ring.

[bachikarn]

College sports of all varieties are for functional distinguished mentally-challenged fellows.

fuck you

[Stoney Mason]

Andrei Kirilenko to the nets.

The Nets are now projected to have a starting lineup of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Pierce, Garnett and Brook Lopez, with a bench that features Shaun Livingston, Jason Terry, Kirilenko, Reggie Evans and Andray Blatche.

[Flannel Boy]

College sports of all varieties are for functional distinguished mentally-challenged fellows.

fuck you

Triumph, along with the entire world outside of the States, is correct.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

College sports of all varieties are for functional distinguished mentally-challenged fellows.

fuck you

Triumph, along with the entire world outside of the States, is correct.

Their loss. College ball is pure.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Andrei Kirilenko to the nets.

The Nets are now projected to have a starting lineup of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Pierce, Garnett and Brook Lopez, with a bench that features Shaun Livingston, Jason Terry, Kirilenko, Reggie Evans and Andray Blatche.

That is one hell of an expensive also-ran...sheesh.

[Stoney Mason]

They will be a hell of a team on nba 2k14 though.

[Human Snorenado]

So much bullshit in that post.

Which part? MJ? Dat Shaq carry?

I will give you #1 and #5. Don't know enough about twitter to know if #6 is correct or not.

Uh.  #4 is also 100% spot on.

[Stoney Mason]

Derrick Rose Wondering If He Should Start Rehabbing Knee Sometime This Summer

CHICAGO—Fourteen months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL, Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose told reporters Wednesday that he’s thinking about getting around to beginning rehabilitation on his knee sometime this summer. “I’ve enjoyed my time off, but I should probably get started soon if I still want to make it back by midseason,” said Rose, adding that with injuries it’s important to patiently wait for the first year or two before diving back into any activity whatsoever. “I don’t want to rush anything, but I guess I should begin those exercises where I can bend my knee and eventually walk again.” Rose, who admitted that he was enjoying the nice weather in Chicago, was reportedly leaning toward starting his physical therapy next year.

 

[Mandark]

If you could only keep one player after 2004

That's sort of the key phrase.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

1) You're dead wrong about Shaq.

2) Orlando's kid coming against us in summer league ball against my cavs;



He ain't a bad spitter.


Might wanna focus on that instead of being a D-League 4 on the Fakers.

[Stoney Mason]

The Dallas Mavericks have struck a three-year deal worth at least $25 million with free-agent guard Monta Ellis, according to sources close to the process.

 

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Actually that price isn't so bad.

[close]

As expected they are getting killed in the press.



http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/mavericks/post/_/id/4697015/monta-ellis-deal-seems-like-kind-of-move-mavs-vowed-to-avoid
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/61357/monta-ellis-on-a-stat-geeks-team

[Your Stalker]

Does Dirk walk next year?

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Does Dirk walk next year?

Before Ellis? Nope

Now? 20% chance.

[Human Snorenado]

This is apparently a thing that happened

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1702478-baron-davis-recalls-time-he-was-abducted-aliens-now-armed-with-killer-crossover?hpt=hp_t3

[etiolate]

Ben McLemore just displayed the prettiest looking series of bricks in summer league history.

In a Simmons podcast, Chad Ford said Ben couldn't dribble. It really looks like that is true so far. Still, his stroke is good and he gets good shots. The question will be how easy he is to defend at the NBA level. That was the major difference between him and Oladipo. If you are one dimension then you're pretty easy to defend at the NBA level.

Ray MacCollum looked good. Mekel for the Mavs looked good out there as well.

[Beezy]

World Peace to the Knicks. Games against BK to be replaced with Hell in the Cell matches.

[Himu]

MANDARK

http://www.click2houston.com/sports/Rockets-hire-Olajuwon-to-coach-big-men/-/1735736/20982282/-/ntytvnz/-/index.html

[Mandark]

This will be like when MJ imparted his killer instinct and high post game to Kwame Brown.

[Himu]

[Am_I_Anonymous]

MANDARK

http://www.click2houston.com/sports/Rockets-hire-Olajuwon-to-coach-big-men/-/1735736/20982282/-/ntytvnz/-/index.html

Hopefully Dwight fucking pays attention...because that's post Jesus right there...

[Smooth Groove]

Kobe is going to drown one of the NBA's anchor franchises.I have always hated him and now I really hate him.

Kobe,

You are not MJ
You aren't even LBJ
Nobody outside of Cali buys your jersey
You ran off Shaq after he won you 3 chips
You are not media friendly
Your twitter sucks
Fuck you for fucking Mike Brown because you failed


I hate you,

AiA

Spot on, except for bolded

Kobe got some bad press during the rape trial but Lebron's crime made Kobe's transgressions insignificant to most of the media. 

Also, the media love Kobe's endless spouting of clichés and macho posturing.