More Burbly Furnace
Longform ode to Amare up at the Haus. Please click over and pay it sizable mind. Despair not, the next hefty post I do will be on my native FreeDarko shores. Bambie willing, I'll have good news to write about after tonight.
Special thanks to everyone defending my good name in that lurid comments section, if nothing else because it makes for a hilarious clash of civilizations. Now my enemies are bashing FD over there, including one eyeless cur who has me and Billups confused.
Incidentally, does anyone think that Diaw's absence makes a lick of difference? Last May, he had that one game where it looked like his arrival was complete and total. Now, Barbosa's growth alone (scoring mayhem, improved PG play) can compensate for him.
FREE JALEN!!!!!!!! I REMEMBER 2005 JIM JACKSON!!!!!!
posted by Bethlehem Shoals @ 5/16/2007 01:09:00 PM
17 comments
17 Comments:
So in the photo, the hippo represents the NBA urinating into the barrel of purity that was the Suns-Spurs series?
I had a similar reaction re: Jalen Rose. When I heard about the suspensions, I was immediately angered and disappointed... until I remembered that the Suns have Jalen Rose. Tonight, there's a good chance he'll play significant minutes tonight, which he hasn't played in MONTHS.
It's time.
Jalen Rose needs to pull a William Munny in tonight's game.
This is completely unrelated but did anyone else read this story?
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=rollinginrubles
Most obvious statement ever: Diaw's absence by itself doesn't make a big difference, but with Amare out too it's huge. I may be the only one, but I still have faith in Boris that if needed, he could step up huge like he did in last year's playoffs. Especially with Barbosa strugggggling this series.
This is totally unrelated to what everyone else is talking about, but here it goes anyway: Has anyone else noticed that the NBA doesn't really have its own regular show on ESPN? The NFL has NFL Live, and MLB has Baseball Tonight, but the NBA doesn't have any regular analytical program unless its before a game. Is it just me, or does it seem like ESPN wants to pretend the NBA doesn't exist?
The Lig does have the TNT crew.
If the Suns do win this game, would D'Antoni be credited with the majority share of the win?
Sean - ESPN has NBA Fastbreak. It's usually part of The Trifecta (one of three highlight/analysis shows ESPN squeezes into an hour), but on Tuesdays during the regular season it ran for two hours, I believe.
Amphibian, I think that depends on how the Suns win (if they were to do so). If they win just playing the same way with no new wrinkles then I don't know how much credit he'd deserve. However, I think for the Suns to win they either need a few new wrinkles or they have to catch fire like the Bulls did yesterday.
Anybody see Simmons' post today? Say what you will about the guy, and I've been less than pleasant towards him at times, but the guy loves basketball.
cmg: Isn't NBA Fastbreak on ESPN 2, though? I know which show you're talking about: the one in which ESPN "peaks" into other games going on around the country. This is fine, but it seems it's almost like a benchwarmer show compared to everything else ESPN broadcasts.
I just think it's ridiculous that the NFL gets a daily show even in the offseason, while the NBA can't even get a regular program (and not just before games) during the playoffs. It justs seems a little unfair to me, that's all.
cw: Yeah, Simmons was on his game today. Couldn't agree with him more right now.
What happened to NBA2Night? Is that no longer on?
I liked Simmons' column as well, but I'm annoyed that he wants to lay the flopping trend solely at the feet of the influx of Euros, and who wants to just call out Bowen as a dirty player. How can a guy who watched his beloved Celtics battle the Bad Boy Pistons not see that all this nonsense started with that team? Laimbeer, Rodman and those guys showed you could win by playing dirty and by flopping. That type of basketball no doubt leads to more frustration on the basketball court, which of course leads to fighting; and I do like that he points out that as a response to the increased fighting the league focused on just the fighting itself rather than the type of play that led to the increased frustration.
If you're playing and losing cause you're just flat out getting beat, that's a lot easier to swallow than if you feel you're being cheated. Those Detroit teams made it almost an unspoken motto that they were going to try to win by any means necessary, whether it was honorable or truly earned or not. The league has allowed this type of play and "success" to continue while only turning their attention to trying to stamp out the anger and frustration this type of play results in. Whether it was the Knicks or Bulls in the 90's (Charles Oakley's brutality, John Starks deviousness, Scottie Pippen's reliance on stepping in to draw a charge, Rodman's antics), whether it was Stockton and Malone's dirty play, or Diekembe Mutombo winning all those Defensive Player of the Year awards while nailing everyone he could with his elbows, or whether it was Vlade Divac's efforts to neutralize Shaq by flopping.
This all led to Bowen becoming the kind of player he is (how many 1st Team All Defensive teams has he been on?), and Raja Bell now following in his footsteps. Dirty players who are wily and smart about fouling without getting caught get rewarded with a reputation which makes the refs less likely to call fouls on them, and this perpetuates the cycle. Just remember, everyone flops, not just the Euros, and the Euros wouldn't have done it if it didn't work in the NBA; and the same goes for dirty play by a few players. You encourage this type of stuff by looking the other way or even worse by rewarding it, and this is what you get. Change the rules to discourage rather than encourage this type of play and you won't have anywhere near the need to worry about brawls breaking out on the court.
chris broussard just brought up race on sportscenter. when does that ever happen?
@Yams
i think you have a valid argument there, but that's one more reason why i think it's unnecessary to bring Pippen in this narrative. I don't think willingness to take a charge can be called dirty. Let's not get to the point of reducing every self-reflexive move to mere cheating.
I'm not saying that a willingness to take a charge is necessarily dirty play (undercutting a guy who's skying to the rim is though), but to me it's just an extension of the whole flopping thing. It's looking to the ref to bail you out on defense. I don't want to see the players ever looking for the refs to have their back, that's what your teammates are for.
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