He coulda blown it out on the first play of the next game. If its going to happen, its going to happen. If he wouldn't have missed those games in the regular season, it coulda happened against the T Wolves on a Tuesday night.
<a class="postlink" href="http://tracking.si.com/2012/05/01/report-knicks-amare-stoudemire-punches-fire-extinguisher-injures-hand/?sct=hp_t11_a2&eref=sihp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://tracking.si.com/2012/05/01/repor ... &eref=sihp</a> Oh shit. Who is Carmelo not going to pass to for the rest of the series?
According to Yahoo!'s Marc Spears (the only good basketball writer/reporter on their payroll, as far as I'm concerned), paramedics were called, his arm is in a sling, and Tyson Chandler estimates Amare will probably be out for the next game. Regardless, this has to be one of the dumbest sports injuries ever, and it couldn't have come at a worse time for the Knicks.
You can see pictures of the bloody carpet on Twitter. The Knicks were done. Amare is pissed that he signed on to be the #1 option and he gets 9 shots (5 in garbage time) while Melo jacks up 26.
Fixed that for you. I said it before. Amar'e wanted badly to be number one. It was the beginning of the end for Amar'e as soon as LaLa got here. Not to mention the basic basketball mechanics just don't work, then it was doubly fucked with Chandler that can't score unless he's directly under the rim. Non issue anyway, New York never wants to grow a basketball team through acquiring the right people and players. They want names, then names on names, then names with personality. From Rep You pray to God the Bulls don't win more than one game. If they do, that is a HUGE asterisk. Especially if the games are remotely close. Multiple writers have already mentioned there being a possible asterisk.
You mean like the HUGE asterisk next to Michael Jordan for never beating a healthy Larry Bird and only beating the Lakers without Worthy and Scott? Granted, Bird and Worthy weren't the elite players that Derrick Rose is, but they were decent. It's cool you're a Bulls fan and all, but you have to choose between being a fan and knowing what you're talking about.
How are Bird and Worthy not elite? Bird is a 3-time MVP, 12-time all-star, 2-time finals MVP, has three rings, and a shitload of other awards. You could make more of a case for Worthy, but he's also a three-time champion, a NBA Finals MVP, and a seven-time all-star. And there are no asterisks in the playoffs.* A championship is a championship, period. *Except for the Saints. Because fuck New Orleans.
That is the dumbest thing I've ever read given that Bird started in the league 10 years earlier. Should we add an Asterisk for Oscar Robertson not being there also? How about Kareem? Are you kidding me? Bird was at the end of his career and Jordan was at its peak. LeBron isn't on his way down any time soon, and Rose is on his way up (and the younger of the two.) The Miami Heat might end up getting to the finals going through the number 1 team, without their MVP player. That gets an asterisk, even according to the biggest Miami dick rider there is: Gator. And with this whole asterisk conversation, I really just mean "Fuck Miami" because if it was any other team I wouldn't even bring this up. So we can all move on.
Am I the only one that remembers Boston kicking the shit out of Miami a few weeks ago? If they quit stepping on their dicks, they can get by the Rose-less Bulls.
How many people actually put an asterik next to Hakeem Olajuwon's two titles? Any time I have watched former players discuss basketball history they may say the Bulls could have won more if Jordan stayed, but never say that Hakeem's are tainted. Mark McGwire deserves an asterik, he cheated. Whoever wins this title played the teams that were put on the court against them and beat them, that's all you can do.
It makes me throw up in my mouth every time you mention Lebron and Rose in the same sentence. Might end up getting to the Finals? Like they did last year? On Chicago's home court? And why does everything gotta involve dick with you?
They may not be "tainted" but the first thing that popped into my head when I Googled what years the Rockets won was...Oh yeah, the OJ finals. 2nd thing? Thats right...no Jordan. I dont necessarily think that happens in this case because Lebron is the best player in the NBA and they beat the Bulls last year. Then again, everybody hates LBJ, so they will use any excuse to tear him down.
Playoffs are a new game. I think the Heat were what, 2-6 against Boston & Chicago last regular season. How did that work out in the end? The Heat are built for playoff series.
I am hoping that anyone can beat Miami, mainly because I live with one of those Lebron fanboys who can't watch any team play without somehow bringing up how good Lebron is. But, even if you say that Hakeem's titles were won because Jordan was not in the league, D Rose and the Bulls have not won the last three titles and I can guarantee they are not winning the next three. Also, some people are talking about the Knicks getting rid of Stoudemire, is there anyone who would take that contract?
Brooklyn would. Dan Gilbert would take the contract, but I don't see him giving anything up in a trade. I could even see Boston or Dallas looking to rebuild without sucking for a while. Boston and Brooklyn are in their division, though, so that probably won't happen. He would probably go to a small-market team who would have no hope of signing someone like him on their own.
As much as I would love to believe that Boston would beat Miami, it's not happening in a seven-game series. It's just not. Boston is too old(Rondo being the exception, and Rondo alone isn't doing shit). Lebron is the best player in the NBA right now. The only one in the discussion is Kobe, but you can make the argument that he's on his way down. A good counterargument is that Kobe isn't known for disappearing in the 4th quarter, whereas Lebron is infamous for it. Rose has the potential to be the best in the NBA 3-5 years from now, but that all depends on how he comes back from this injury. But yeah, I hate Lebron and I hate the Heat. Why? Because they are blatantly buying a title(or at the very least increasing their chances of one). Their "championship ceremony" during last years preseason just cemented it. Jordan said it best, when he said(paraphrasing): "You know, I never thought of calling Larry and Magic and saying 'Let's form a super team.' I was trying to beat those guys." Right now, if my beloved Bulls make it as far as the Eastern Conference Finals I'll consider it a victory. Goddamn you, basketball gods...
Incidentally... <a class="postlink" href="http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/01/scottie-pippen-writes-open-motivational-letter-to-bulls/related/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... s/related/</a> I'm sure the Bulls appreciate the gesture, as it was an awesome thing to do. I don't see it helping against the Heat though. The Bulls are winning this round. I give it 50-50 they beat the Hawks/Celtics. But it'll take nothing short of the ONE TRUE GOD coming down during halftime taking the Holy Crowbar to Lebron's kneecap for the Bulls to beat the Heat this postseason.
Fuck, shit, fuck, fuck fuck. Whatever the fuck Doug Collins said to his team during halftime shit on Scottie's very nice letter. They came out firing and making every goddamn shot. They were in the 70s as a team until the end of the 3rd, then hovered around that in the 4th as the Bulls's defense gave up lobs and were getting destroyed on the fast break. 5+ minutes left the building started to vacate. Thibs has a few different line-ups I haven't seen him try that he could and hope for the best. Other than that, this was a shitty loss.
I find the whole idea of "asterisks" by certain championships ridiculous. Whether a certain team or player shows up or is healthy is not the winning team's concern. They competed against all the other teams in the league and beat them fair and square. Certain eras are weaker than others. For instance, the late 90s, when Jordan's Bulls dominated, are widely considered the weakest era of the last 32 years. The average team back then sucked. The mid 80s to early 90s are widely considered a golden age. But all of those championships are as legitimate as any other. Right now, I think the NBA is the most competitive it's ever been. I've watched games featuring "bad" teams that went 23-43 and missed the playoffs that were playing pretty damn well. Any team that manages to win this year is a hell of a championship squad, much like Dallas was last season. And considering the Heat beat the Bulls with a healthy DRose last season in just 5 games? I don't think they were exactly scared out of their wits at the prospect of facing them. As for the games today, Paul Pierce was absolutely amazing, and Atlanta gave up a golden opportunity. Now the Celtics are in the driver's seat, and with Rondo coming back refreshed and motivated, have a significant advantage in the series. I still think the Bulls are okay against the Sixers; they're the best road team in the NBA for a reason, and have outstanding depth. Might go to 6 games, though.
The Bulls are still fine(for now), but I can't have been the only one screaming "IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS!!!!!" at the TV during that 4th quarter.