The 2013 NBA Finals: (1) Miami Heat vs (2) San Antonio Spurs
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well, congrats Miami. kinda weird to have Wade and James hitting jumpers, Battier be unconscious, Chalmers doing his toddler reaching for the cookie jar thing and still have the game as close as it was. hats off to the Spurs, too, brillaintly fought, especially by Leonard, who might have been the Spurs best player this series. in his second year. with enormous potential. doing the exact stuff the Kings would need. Petrie, Westphal and the Maloofs can all collectively go to hell, btw.
really have trouble believing that. Leonard strikes me as to smart and as having to good a work ethic to be held down even by someone like Smart. he also reputedly had already worked a lot on his jumper coming out of college, meaning he'd probably already be better than any SF we have now. nevermind that there wouldn't have been much of an alternative, even if Petrie still signs Outlaw.
I was joking with the JJ comparison. Of course Leonard would be our best SF by several miles, my point is merely that San Antonio was the best possible destination for him to develop his game. Improved jumper and defensive effort aside I really have trouble envisioning him with such good offensive awareness and efficiency (no off the dribble chucking, quick to exploit mismatches down low, no hero drives in the paint with multiple defenders protecting the rim etc.) at only 21 while also being a part of Smart's "do whatever you want" offensive system.
yeah, clearly you're right with saying he's developed as well as he could under Pop and his staff, I just think he'd be that much worse under Smart for the sole reason that Smart wouldn't have had any real options outside of Leonard at the SF.
well, not really. Thompson pretty much is what he is, he has actually fared better under Smart than most others. Evans, Fredette, Thornton and Thomas all stood in each other's way and even had someone like Brooks thrown in their way, too. this wouldn't have happened with Leonard, because of a lack of alternatives.
well, not really. Thompson pretty much is what he is, he has actually fared better under Smart than most others. Evans, Fredette, Thornton and Thomas all stood in each other's way and even had someone like Brooks thrown in their way, too. this wouldn't have happened with Leonard, because of a lack of alternatives.
yes, I do, it's why I'm asking, because the numbers don't strike me as fundamentally worse. especially the per36 numbers. he's also had career best PER numbers the last two seasons. it just strikes me as odd that you'd pick him as an example of a player doing much worse under Smart when he was probably one of the few players on this team that actually had a good season last year.
I don't know? Do you really think Smart would have played Leonard with Salmons on the team?
Alright... I couldn't stand it any more.
Really?!?
I mean, I understand not wanting the Heat to win and being against the idea of superstars conspiring to join together via free agency for a super team. That makes some sense to me.
But what has LeBron done to deserve the loss of your respect that Kobe hasn't?
Really?!?
I mean, I understand not wanting the Heat to win and being against the idea of superstars conspiring to join together via free agency for a super team. That makes some sense to me.
But what has LeBron done to deserve the loss of your respect that Kobe hasn't?
I'm starting to think that people have more forgiveness for Mike Vick running a dog fighting rink and Ray Lewis being connected(allegedly) to a homicide than they have for Lebron leaving a basketball team and, stupidly, running a live, national television program to announce his departure. The hate is unparalleled.
Well, yeah. I know what LeBron did. The question is why that's worse than all the crap Kobe has pulled in his career?
So the guy who waits until his contract is up and chooses which team he'd like to play for deserves less respect than the guy who has made a public trade request because he doesn't think his team has given him enough help? The same guy whose behavior led to Phil Jackson and Shaquille O'Neal leaving his team? And that's just off-court basketball related stuff. Are you even considering on-court or all the way off-court stuff?
So the guy who waits until his contract is up and chooses which team he'd like to play for deserves less respect than the guy who has made a public trade request because he doesn't think his team has given him enough help? The same guy whose behavior led to Phil Jackson and Shaquille O'Neal leaving his team? And that's just off-court basketball related stuff. Are you even considering on-court or all the way off-court stuff?
I'm not feeling this argument on any level: at least uolj presents a relevant argument (i.e., made an argument with an actual NBA player). Contrary to popular opinion, everybody doesn't give a **** about football and, even among those of you who do, clearly not all of you feel the need to equivocate their behavior. Or, to put it like Michael Wilbon did last week on Kornheiser's radio show, "don't use football metrics to measure how [you] consume basketball." Even if I did like football, how felt or didn't feel about football players would have no bearing on how I felt about basketball players, regardless of whom did what.
EDIT - Also, it's "ring," not "rink." He didn't take the dogs skating.
EDIT - Also, it's "ring," not "rink." He didn't take the dogs skating.
Wait, who's comparing sports, me or you?
I'm talking about athletes. I don't care that you don't like football because football has nothing to do with this. It's called a comparison. Ever heard of it? You've always been a smart-a$$, and to be quite honest, I don't have the patience to deal with your s*** right now.
I'm talking about athletes. I don't care that you don't like football because football has nothing to do with this. It's called a comparison. Ever heard of it? You've always been a smart-a$$, and to be quite honest, I don't have the patience to deal with your s*** right now.
Well, you're half-right: it's called a non-equivalent comparison. Or, alternatively, a poor comparison. How one feels about Michael Vick or Ray Lewis should have nothing to do with how one feels about LeBron James, is the point. There's a perfectly reasonable world outside your little bubble where somebody can think that Ray Lewis belongs in jail, and still think that Kobe Bryant is more deserving or respect than LeBron James, or is that a concept too difficult for you to grasp?
Don't give me that "who's comparing sports" nonsense; if you didn't want to defend your decision to introduce football players into the conversation, then you shouldn't have brought them up. They have nothing to do with this.
Don't give me that "who's comparing sports" nonsense; if you didn't want to defend your decision to introduce football players into the conversation, then you shouldn't have brought them up. They have nothing to do with this.
The difference is apples to apples versus apples to bananas. If you respect Kobe more than LeBron, which TyFreak Evans claims he does, what do Michael Vick and Ray Lewis have to do with it? In the first place, why would you think that comparing LeBron to a guy who was convicted of a crime, served his sentence, and was released would be a fair comparison and, in the second place, why would you even assume that he doesn't hate Michael Vick or Ray Lewis? One does not preclude the other.
Why would you think that Michael Vick and Ray Lewis' names belong in a Kobe/LeBron conversation? What relevance could they possibly have? Why didn't you bring up Pete Rose and Ty Cobb, while you were at it?
Why would you think that Michael Vick and Ray Lewis' names belong in a Kobe/LeBron conversation? What relevance could they possibly have? Why didn't you bring up Pete Rose and Ty Cobb, while you were at it?
Because Lebron(an "athlete") is being crucified for opting to join another team-something no one has ever done(shocking, right?)- while other athletes who have done crimes or been accused of crimes don't receive the same treatment(right now) as Lebron does. And what Lebron did, was nothing. Get that thought your thick skull.
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