Cavs/Nets Redux, Racial Semiotics pt. 493372, Clubbin with Chris
I couldn't be happier to see the Cavs fade into Bolivia. There, I said it. Regardless of the fact that Lebron has slightly worn out his Sportscenter welcome and regardless that there could not be a more exciting player in the NBA than Angry Vince, I am just sick of Cleveland. Sick of them losing. Sick of their sulking faces. And for one simple reason: They have become Timberwolves East. One guy, saying all the right things to the media, playing his heart out every night in attempts to make everyone better mixed up with a bunch of lowlifes. I can't take it. It hits me too close to home.
In other news, Bulls vs. Wiz is happening: LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD. The NBA Gods have truly blessed me. I will accept The T-Wolves drafting Johan Petro in the first round this year as a gesture of balanced karma.
And, in the news:
From ESPN.com (Marc Stein):
"With Ginobili and Tony Parker constantly progressing and two dangerous shooters off the bench (Brent Barry and recent signee Glenn Robinson) the new Spurs are equipped to win with offense as well as defense"
KILL THAT SPURS BIAS. Bigging up B-Barry (who is averaging near career lows on FG% and 3PT% despite averaging career highs on open looks) and Big Dog (no discussion necessary) as "dangerous?" I swear, every time the Spurs acquire a new player Stein treats it like the messiah has arrived. If the Spurs picked up Shawn Kemp right now, he would probably be referred to as a "veteran presence." Sprewell would be referred to as "gritty" and "intense." Ok, obsession over.
From St. Paul Pioneer Press:
In an interview on KFAN radio Wednesday morning, host Paul Allen hypothesized that Szczerbiak is shifted around by the Wolves because it's the most "low-maintenance" avenue for the team. Then Allen asked Szczerbiak if he felt that way.
"No question," Szczerbiak replied. "I've heard that ever since Flip (Saunders) was coach, he said you're a white guy, you have a target on your chest, it's going to be harder for you to succeed in this league. Flip told me that my first two years in the league. He said people are going to try to keep you down.
Hold up. This HAPPENS???!! Flip said this? Wally repeated this? OK, answer me this. Sheed says the NBA is exploiting blacks. JO'Neal says that the fact that the league is mostly black factors into the age limit discussion. Woody Paige, Stephen A. et al. have a FIELD DAY. But this comment gets no press? Something just isn't right. This comment has ten times the firepower of the KG-Guns quote of playoffs past.
From NY Daily News Gossip section:
Sports gods Charles Oakley and Terrell Owens partied till the wee hours at Glo - even though neither of them was drinking booze. Also there was NBA great Chris Mullin, whose gold Rolls-Royce Phantom was idling outside...
In my head, when I think of who would complete the in da club trinity of OAK-T.O.-? , Chris Mullin falls just between Mario Lemieux and Mia Hamm on the most likely list. And the gold Rolls-Royce? This is fugking ridiculous....
posted by Dr. Lawyer IndianChief @ 4/22/2005 12:40:00 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Spurs bias? Dude, yer nuts. Stein is like the only one in the national media who isn't a huge Spurs hater. Because they play in a small market and because Duncan is business and not flash there's a huge anti-Spur bias. You've obviously sipped this kool-aid (that, or you're just another bitter timidwolves fan).
We discussed this move when it happened. I didn't see how picking up a career 20ppg guy for nothing was anything less than a coup. You felt differently. Since then Dog has gotten along wonderfully with everyone on the squad, and said all the right things about accepting his role off the bench. Dude seems genuinely thrilled to be out of exile and playing for a contender. The other night he almost single-handidly kept us in that Memphis game, leading the team with 23pts off the bench on 9 for 11 shooting. Seriously, how you gonna fuck with 9 for 11 shooting off the bench? That doesn't qualify as "dangerous?" Really?
STOP FUCKING HATING!
i think the t-wolves east analogy is brilliant, but it has some disheartening implications.
-the wolves have always been capable of putting together some offense aside from garnett; the cavs rarely are. you could argue that the team lives and dies with the performance of people like spree, casell, and wally, which have little or nothing to do with how brilliantly garnett plays. that forces me to think that while KG may be a phenomenal player who can do everything, he can't affect all things at all times. and is thus less of a god than i believe him to be
-or, if you think that the cavs' personel should be able to do SOMETHING other than stand around and watch lebron, and he is capable of having a pivotal effect on everything and anything the team does, then it reflects poorly on him. in an iverson-esque kind of way. if he's like a meta-point guard (that's right, i said it), then the cavs' diastrous play is partly his responsbility.
and as for the media bias. . the media loves three things in the nba: shaq, the spurs, and the pistons. the suns are clearly the most dominant team in the league, yet experts still insist that they're just waiting to be felled by the "smart, veteran, defense-oriented, well-coached" pistons and spurs.
i have to say, though, that on paper the spurs are no joke. the backcourt is deadly, bowen shuts fools down, and then there's that duncan guy in the post. and that bench. the pistons are similarly well-constructed. anyone can see this, but it's annoying how much the media acts like this puts them on a whole different level than "flawed" teams like the suns, heat, mavs, celtics, etc.
THIS IS A LEAGUE OF STARS!!!!!!!
LeBron gets the guys good looks, but he can't make them knock down the shots. Their crappy shooting isn't his fault.
What do coaches always say when they are asked about playing a team with a superstar? Well he (KG/LeBron/AI,etc) is going to get his, we are going to make the other guys beat us. And LeBron and KG's teammates just weren't up to the task this season.
I don't see the problem with the Spurs coverage, I mean the team is for real. It's not like their the Knicks- some team that completely sucks and yet I somehow know their whole roster, salary cap situation, trade rumors, blah blah blah.
Big Dog can score the rock, no doubt. but has there ever been a more prototypical anti-spur? It's just weird. Like Malik Rose on the Knicks.
BS, you claim that the media loves only the spurs, the pistons and shaq. if this is true, there is an obvious reason for it--they are the ones who have won, and many who cover "the association" follow the rudy-T "never underestimate the heart of a champion" school of thought. personally, i don't think it's true since the media clearly loves kobe, lebron and KG, and has been fully behind this phoenix thing (look how much ink stein and e.neel have devoted to their nash MVP campaigns, even though that should be a total joke since dude is a defensive liability--gotta give it to shaq).
I dare to say that the media (read: white guys) likes the Spurs and Pistons because they are teams filled with "hustle players" that play a gritty, defense-oriented game that's mostly below the basket (like white guys).
it's true, the press has been excited about the suns, bron,etc. but when it comes to picking winners, they all act like the shaq/spurs/pistons axis is a foregone conclusion
as for getting other guys their looks. . .players do it in different ways, to different degrees. i agree that lebron gets a variety of players a variety of shots, and they just can't execute. with iverson, it was only ever that one guy trying to his mid-range jumper, maybe a three from the corner for mckie.
kg and duncan are somewhere between those two extremes, esp. if you're talking about their effect on other frontcourt player or wings. but both need active guard play for the offense to really open up.
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