I don't know what broke my mind first. The idea that Tony Parker is better than Chris Paul or Nom's avatar picture. Replace Tony Parker with Chris Paul, just swap them, Chris Paul has a BETTER year and Tony Parker has a worse year. No contest.
The last 3 or 4 minutes was one big Marc Gasol meltdown/tantrum. Punctuated by him trying to stomp a hole in the court when the buzzer sounded. He then devolved into the retarded kid who dropped his ice cream at the zoo. He cried a little then he went back to stomping around mad for a while. The camera should have stayed on him the whole time. I felt bad, then I didnt, then I did. It was a roller coaster of emotions from a guy/team/game I didnt give a shit about.
It's not the most unreasonable argument I've heard, but the guy is still an average defender who can't shoot threes very well and is only an OK rebounder.
This may be from Grantland. Titled "The Spurs are your Dad." Spoiler netw3rk: The dream was twofold: stave off that broom and become the first team to come crawl out of an 0-3 grave. And why not dream? This has been the best season in Memphis Grizzlies history: 56 wins in a loaded Western Conference; one of the best defensive teams in the league; and with two overtime losses in the first three games of the series, Memphis could be forgiven for thinking they could plausibly be up 2-1, had a few balls bounced kindly. It also would have helped if Lionel Hollins hadn't chosen his lineups by reading animal entrails; Jon Leuer straight-up had to pause Angry Birds when Hollins called the dude’s number in Game 3. The Grizzlies had the buzz, the catchphrase, the Defensive Player of the Year, and one of the great NBA characters in Z-Bo. But the Spurs — those efficient, boring, well-oiled, fatherly Spurs — don’t care about your dreams, Grindhouse. Now button your damn shirt. Spurs Dad reacted to Memphis’s Game 4 hopes and dreams like your dad did when you told him you wanted to quit school and start a blog. Every Memphis run was met with a long sigh, and a ponderous, "when are you going to grow up?" shake of the head. Spurs Dad ain’t about fads and thinks Hustle & Flow is a vacuum cleaner. Spurs dad is about bodying Ws, managing his 401k, and warm milk before bed. Now turn off that rap noise, we’re going to the Finals. It so so goddamn true.
I think I meant it more in the sense that he runs that particular system very well, not 1-on-1 individual talent. If that's the case, I'd take Paul, Westbrook, Rose, and Curry without hesitation. However, within that particular offense, he becomes just as good as those guys. Switch him with any of them, and they undoubtedly would get much better. Same reason Tom Brady is considered better than Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers, amirite?
A lot of people are actually making the 1-on-1 argument, or taking the irritating weasle-wordy ESPN tack of "You have to consider the argument that..." (Also Brady's stats are better, whereas Parker's are not. Rodgers, get back to me in 7 years)
Yeah, that stuff is over-the-top. I won't take it that far. I just appreciate how well Parker utilizes his strengths. For all the things he can't do as well as the other top PGs, I think his ability to change direction is better than any of theirs (CP3 included). While Westbrook and Rose attack the basket (almost) with sheer athleticism, Parker does it from being very elusive. Tony Parker sort of reminds me of Ben Roethlisberger: he may not have the greatest stats and many people might not say he's in the top 5 for his position, but he gets it done when it matters. I know how incredibly ridiculous that sounds, and I don't have a Very Self-Important Theory That I Invented Just Now to back that up like Bill Simmons would; it's just a gut feeling. Also, playing with Popovich and Duncan doesn't hurt, either.
I love "my" Spurs. Live in San Antonio, followed them all my life, even freelanced basketball articles about them for about 5 years ending up in a press pass offer (the pinnacle of any sports blogger's dream) which I had to decline after I went into the hospital with a fucking brain tumor. Point is, I'm about as biased toward them as you can be. That being said, this "Parker as the best PG" debate has gotta stop. It's horseshit. Parker is a system PG with some wildly amazing strengths, an infallible desire to improve himself, and a coach who knows exactly how to utilize him to make the product greater than the sum of it's parts. Parker doesn't have a "walk" gear; he sprints, everywhere, like he's running away from Pepe Le Pew. So Pop takes has his bigs set picks and screens all over the place and Parker just darts around them like a gauntlet of football tackling dummies. He could lose the lady who found Bin Laden in those offensive sets. And if that doesn't free him up, he makes a "well duh" pass to an open shooter, or takes a mid-range jumper that he has a good chance of making. tl;dr Parker is NOT the best pg, nowhere close. Top 5 or 7 easy though. But he's faster than a lubed-up shit rocket, has a decent mid-range jumper, and most important plays within a system that is specifically tailored to highlight his strengths and disguise his weaknesses.
So the Pacers can totally pull this off right? I'm getting pretty goddamn tired of the team peaking at the same time as the best players ever. First Jordan, now this.
Interesting argument but I'd almost argue that their play within a system has the opposite effect on their perception. Its making Parker seem like he's a top 3 PG, whereas I think Roethlisberger is alot better than some people give him credit for, but he gets downgraded as part of the Steelers system because, granted, his first SB was just managing that team and not making mistakes, and because its such a traditionally run heavy franchise. He threw the ball all the field in college, and could be just fine in a pass first system. But your last statement is pretty correct, dude just gets it done somehow, always has.
He is still a dirty teammates wife fucker, who anally pleasures himself with baguettes let's not forget. So glad the Pacers won that game. That LeBron screen was definitely a foul, the Wade traveling was not, but its hard as fuck to catch that in real time because he was using every fucking step he had.
LBJs 6th foul was ticky tacky. The 5th was total bullshit. I dont think the refs cost the Heat that game, they just made it almost unwatchable.
It was just questionable cause it was his 6th and where it the game it was. He moved his leg out. That gets called 90% of the time. Got to give credit to Lebron though, it takes a special sort of balls to make haughty and arrogant comments about flopping like he did and then pull this shit less than 24 hours later.
It's probably worth noting that the LeBron never fouls out. Like, ever. Handful of times in his entire career. Once in the playoffs last year, once in April 2008, once in November 2006, once in December 2004. It's almost impossible to overstate what a freak occurence him fouling out is. This is #5 in a ten year career where he's averaged over 40 minutes a game. The funniest part is actually the David West counter-flop. "Aw shit, he went first. Now I gotta do it too, or everyone's gonna think I'm an idiot."
James definitely threw his hip into the guy, though there were some worse moving screens on both sides that didn't get called. I'd call it a wash considering the shot clock violation and that ball that looked like it went off Ray Allen. Jesus, Indiana's bench is horrible. If Wade shows up to play, Miami should win. I don't have any clue if that will happen. Bosh is overwhelmed inside and the Pacers aren't doubling Lebron enough for Battier, Allen, and Chalmers to get as many open 3's as they're used to.
The scary idea for Miami fans is what if Wade IS showing up to play? What if this is just what Dwayne Wade looks like now?
Much ado about nothing: the best part about last night's game was getting an update from my new favorite Twitter account: Also, I have never simultaneously enjoyed and hated watching a player as much as Lance Stephenson. He's the JaVale McGee of the backcourt.
It was questionable because Wade didnt even use the screen. No advantage was gained, so most opinions say it was a particularly picks call for a 6th foul. The one I was talking about was the offensive foul 90' from the basket on LBJ vs West. The one right before the Stephenson 3. Lebron got fined $5k for flopping, but so did West and Stephenson. West also got a Flagrant 1 for that foul on Wade's layup.