Artest labels Kings as favorites against Spurs

[vladetomiller]

Dazed and confused man.

At the point that you have constructed entire intricate scenarios of who's conspiring to do what and when (with my normal notation that a conspiracy encompassing dozens if not hundreds of people is virtually impossible to sustain without somebody saying something + writing a million dollar tell all book)...that's not coming from outside, that's coming from inside. Its science fiction.

Let alone in basketball of all sports where you would have to conspire to alter literally dozens of plays in the course of a series to ensure one team winning, and where people's hot and cold streaks are completely out of your control. And then apparently do this throughout the playoffs? Year after year? Come on now -- most soap operas have a better plot than that.

You dont need that many people to have a plan. To write a tell all book they need proof but the way i see nba doing it, it cannot be proved.

1. Stern, Stu and three refs is all you need to decide a game / series
2. Stern/Stu dont tell the refs to make one team a winner, they give hints about how to call a game, which is known to everyone and you cant find fault with that or accuse them of conspiracy. Examples of how they send a message across before a game

a. Watch for Shaqs elbow into the defnder
b. Alternatively, watch for defenders pushing and grabbing shaq, control the game where it doesnt get too physical

c. Watch for Brad's illegal screens in P&R
d. Watch for defnders using hands to puch off Bibby in a P&R

these scenarios are very normal and you cant find fault with them, but they send a message about how the league wants the game to go. Shaq will not be effective without the elbow to the chest to score points and when offensive fouls are called he is ineffective thus making it difficult for his team to win the game and it takes extraordinary efforts from his teammates to win the game. On the contrary if the defenders pick up a couple of quick fouls for leaning on shaq then its the other way around, shaq is dunking every posession.

Brad getting called for offensive foul on a P&R or the defender getting called for a foul makes a big difference in the outcome of a game when these plays are the bread and butter for the teams. it makes the game that much more easier or difficult and maybe there is no conspiracy that can be proven.

Can you say that all the games are consistently called with consistency atleast within a series. why are certain smart coaches so interested in knowing who the refs are before a game starts, why should who the refs are have any bearing on the outcome of a game. Why is it that the lakers fans are happy when benny salvatore comes for a game and not so much when joe crafford is around.

Ps - by the way i have told you this once before, a few years back in Jordans days a few refs who supposedly didnt buy into sterns theories were booked by IRS for tax evasion (they sold their first class airline tickets and took the profits and didnt report them ) Though it is a practice with all refs to do that why were only a few prosecuted in that regard.

 

[GoGoGadget]

Wow.

 

[Bricklayer]

You dont need that many people to have a plan. To write a tell all book they need proof but the way i see nba doing it, it cannot be proved.

1. Stern, Stu and three refs is all you need to decide a game / series
2. Stern/Stu dont tell the refs to make one team a winner, they give hints about how to call a game, which is known to everyone and you cant find fault with that or accuse them of conspiracy. Examples of how they send a message across before a game

a. Watch for Shaqs elbow into the defnder
b. Alternatively, watch for defenders pushing and grabbing shaq, control the game where it doesnt get too physical

c. Watch for Brad's illegal screens in P&R
d. Watch for defnders using hands to puch off Bibby in a P&R

these scenarios are very normal and you cant find fault with them, but they send a message about how the league wants the game to go. Shaq will not be effective without the elbow to the chest to score points and when offensive fouls are called he is ineffective thus making it difficult for his team to win the game and it takes extraordinary efforts from his teammates to win the game. On the contrary if the defenders pick up a couple of quick fouls for leaning on shaq then its the other way around, shaq is dunking every posession.

Brad getting called for offensive foul on a P&R or the defender getting called for a foul makes a big difference in the outcome of a game when these plays are the bread and butter for the teams. it makes the game that much more easier or difficult and maybe there is no conspiracy that can be proven.

Can you say that all the games are consistently called with consistency atleast within a series. why are certain smart coaches so interested in knowing who the refs are before a game starts, why should who the refs are have any bearing on the outcome of a game. Why is it that the lakers fans are happy when benny salvatore comes for a game and not so much when joe crafford is around.

Ps - by the way i have told you this once before, a few years back in Jordans days a few refs who supposedly didnt buy into sterns theories were booked by IRS for tax evasion (they sold their first class airline tickets and took the profits and didnt report them ) Though it is a practice with all refs to do that why were only a few prosecuted in that regard.

Holy black helicopters batman!

"a few refs who supposedly didn't buy into sterns theories" is a pure fabrication of course. Its a few refs all right. The rest is just inaccurate.

here's the story if it actually matters: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1997/vp970731/07310395.htm

15 refs did it. Through one travel agent. One gets caught. Turns on others. Clearly Stern owns the IRS and court systems too.

And even more amazing, even after being having Stern sick his IRS goons on them, not one of those refs ever pipes up after the conspiracy? And you absolutley do NOT need proven facts to back up a book. Just tell a good story. Jose Canseco blew up baseball by doing nothing more than writing a book with at the time no physical proof that anyone had used but him.

As for the rest...actually...not even going to bother on that front. In my many long years of debate never once have I managed to actually convince a conspiracy guy that there wasn't a conspiracy. Did once accidentally manage to convince one particularly far gone exemplar that I myself was part of the conspiracy. And so this is my advice: quit watching. Seriously. Conspiracy nuttiness is a sickness, and you'll never be able to sit back and enjoy any sport so long as you're seeing the boogie man in every win or loss. The sport is lost beneath your phantoms. Better simply not to watch and go engage in some activity where you trust the results.

 

[chelle]

Wow.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[zero signal]

If you think it's fixed, why watch?

 

[Gargamel]

There's a LONG way from saying the above to announcing that you are the favorites to beat the defending champs, on the road, in a season in which they've won 63 games. A LONG way. All kinds of room in between the two extremes to express confidence without looking foolish.

Eh, not really a biggie. He's seen in a semi-Rodmanesque way. It's different than Bibby saying it.

 

[VF21]

Wow.

...

...

What she said...

 

[cdep73]

Wow.

Yea you took the words out of my mouth.

 

[vladetomiller]

Holy black helicopters batman!

"a few refs who supposedly didn't buy into sterns theories" is a pure fabrication of course. Its a few refs all right. The rest is just inaccurate.

here's the story if it actually matters: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1997/vp970731/07310395.htm

15 refs did it. Through one travel agent. One gets caught. Turns on others. Clearly Stern owns the IRS and court systems too.

And even more amazing, even after being having Stern sick his IRS goons on them, not one of those refs ever pipes up after the conspiracy? And you absolutley do NOT need proven facts to back up a book. Just tell a good story. Jose Canseco blew up baseball by doing nothing more than writing a book with at the time no physical proof that anyone had used but him.

As for the rest...actually...not even going to bother on that front. In my many long years of debate never once have I managed to actually convince a conspiracy guy that there wasn't a conspiracy. Did once accidentally manage to convince one particularly far gone exemplar that I myself was part of the conspiracy. And so this is my advice: quit watching. Seriously. Conspiracy nuttiness is a sickness, and you'll never be able to sit back and enjoy any sport so long as you're seeing the boogie man in every win or loss. The sport is lost beneath your phantoms. Better simply not to watch and go engage in some activity where you trust the results.

LOL Brick.

i watch the game because I like the game and the athletes, I would watch ncaa, international basketball or anything related to basketball thats on tv. That means that i like the game, that doesnt mean that i have to take nba for what it is and hold back on my thoughts regarding the same as well.

As per my theory, i dont expect the spurs and the pistons to be in the finals and maybe if they reach the finals then I will consider giving my theory a rest. But at the same time if the lakers reach the WCF I will come back strongly saying that there is a conspiracy .

I guess we can leave it at that and agree to disagree. In the end if the kings end up beating the spurs you are happy and I am happy for whatever reasons that might be. I will be watching the series very closely though and really I will be watching Shaq's elbow very closely in the playoffs

 

[hoopsfan]

"Why is it that the lakers fans are happy when benny salvatore comes for a game and not so much when joe crafford is around."

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Laker fans are not happy when Benny Salvatore refs a game... there's a reason his initials are B.S.

 

[Dave McNulla]

i think the kings are hot. they went 19-8 in their last 27 games? spurs aren't bad, they went 20-7 in that same span. i expect the spurs to win, but not by much in each game or in the series - four close wins in six games. i can't blame anybody for believing in themselves or their team. kings have some good reasons to have confidence. i just don't think they have enough overall talent. spurs are a machine and most games somebody on their team will be hot and score a lot of points.

 

[FrenchCanadianKING]

what is ron supposed to say? hes our vocal leader and id be pissed if he said "yeah were gonna get the sh*t beat out of us"

Hells yeah. At least he believes in this team. Weither they get killed or not isnt the point. Atleast with Ron's attitude and vocal leadership he's putting the Kings in a position where they actually have a chance to win! Cause we all know if they go in this series thinking they're gonna get slapped around then we have absolutely no chance of upsetting. Extreme confidence inside the team when the stakes are stacked against you is the reason why the 1980 U.S hockey team beat the Soviets in the Olympics and why Duke beat ultra-dominant UNLV in 1991. Realistically, its unlikely we'll beat the Spurs, but like I said, atleast by thinking that way and saying what he said, Artest is making it POSSIBLE.

You Go Ron-Ron!

GO KINGS!

 

[FrenchCanadianKING]

Exactly my thought, through all the conspiracy theories it makes me wonder why people would bother watching if they think it's all fixed?

Wrestling is fixed and it's quite popular.

 

[Bricklayer]

Wrestling is fixed and it's quite popular.

Nobody complains about it being "fixed" because its not really "fixed" -- its much closer to a movie or play for boys with a plot and characters than it is a sport.

 

[VF21]

This thread has been sanitized for your protection.

We are not going to end up talking about the Lakers, and we are not going to have our threads hijacked by fans of other teams.

 

[kennadog]

I think there's a difference beetween confident talk and arrogance/smack talk. Some even say that you should win something before saying things. But then, the Spurs have won a few blings in the past few yrs, yet i haven't heard anything disrespectful coming from 'em about their adversaries.

The funny thing is, Ron really doesn't say anything disrespectful about the "other" team. Unless you consider him saying the Kings are going to win disrespectful to the Spurs. His quotes are about how he feels about his abilities and his team's abilities. As a matter of fact, if he talks about the Spurs at all, he is very complimentary .

Today on the radio when asked who the Kings needed to worry about on the other team, he said "Everybody." He said the Spurs were a great team, and they play great team basketball. That doesn't stop him from saying the Kings will win. You may think he's not facing reality, but I say how can you win unless you believe you will?

As they say, you can't "try" to do anything. You either do it or you don't. Right now, Ron plans on "doing," not "trying." And I don't think he means any disrespect by saying that.

On the other hand, if I felt that way, I wouldn't say it out loud. That takes more guts than I have. Yes, guts. Because you open yourself up to the possibility of a much more public failure. But whatever works for Ron. Bibby is the kind who just believes, but doesn't want to talk about it, he'll let his game speak for him.

 

[6th]

kennadog, excellent analysis. Ron is showing confidence, but at no time does he say anything....that is anything....bad about his opponent. In fact, the opposite is true. He makes it clear that everyone on the Spurs must be taken seriously. They play well as a team. He simply says that the Kings will win. There is no put down there.

 

[Bad Boy Bo]

The Great Ron Ron told me we going to make the play-offs. And we made the play-offs. Great one also told me that we were going to make it past the first round and is the team to beat. We will make it passed the first round and is the team to beat.

He's been right so far. *bows*

But seriously, I am loving this attitude. He's not negetive, not about himself, not about the Kings, and not about the Spurs either. He knows what he has to do, he knows where he has to put his mind at, and he realizes the opposition. Exaggeration about our abilities? Well, heck yeah. And for good reason.

Let me also reiterate the point, as a few have already, that Artest says we are the team to beat, and NEVER did he say we are better. It's obvious the Spurs are a superior team, but Artest believes the Spurs will have to play our game instead of us playing theirs. Isn't that how most games are won?

It's no secret that the Kings are bad road team, and Artest emphasizes the fact we do not have homecourt advantage. We must admit, our team goes in looking like losers in road games. But, Artest has the right idea, because if we go in thinking that they need to beat us then they have a better chance to put the effort they stage at home.

Like, friggin OMG, go Kings!

 

[Sac.Kings]

Ron says what he feels, but more importantly, what he believes in. All we need is for EVERYONE to step their game up and back up Artest, word for word, by their actions on the court. If we beat the Spurs, I think the kings would go into the 2nd round pumped and get the mentality that "If the World Champs couldn't beat us, who can." Hope the Kings go in game 1 with something to prove.