Oh, now the Jazz poisoned Jordan? I've heard it all.
Posted on 06/04/2002 7:37:53 AM PDT by mrustow
Article argues that NBA Commissioner David Stern wanted so much for the Los Angeles Lakers to extend their two-consecutive NBA championships to a "threepeat," that he fixed the Western Conference Finals against the Sacramento Kings.
There are a lot of very talented players who don't have NBA contracts.
Thanks for bringing that up. It is just one more case in which today's athletes are not forced to play by the game's rules. (Although I don't watch the ladies in the WNBA that often, when I do, they always seem to do the basic stuff that NBA players all used to be forced to do.
But is it just Shaq who goes over the foul line? In a previous post, I noted that today's NBA players routinely travel on their way to the hoop (game analysts used the fond nickname, "the Ewing bunny hop" for Patrick Ewing's version). They also frequently go over the line when landing from taking three-point shots, without being called on it.
Non sequitur.
These cats just can't shoot the rock anymore.
Today's players may be better athletes than their forebears, but they are not forced to learn and maintain the fundamentals.
This is just silly. Shaq travels almost every time he touches the ball - he has a little shuffle he does with his feet before he makes his spin. Ewing did the same thing in his heyday, but they didn't call it on Ewing, just like they don't call it on Shaq, because, not only are they superstars, but they play [or played] in two of the biggest television markets in the world.
As another poster mentioned above, Shaq also steps into the lane every time he releases a free throw. Of course, the NBA doesn't call lane violations on free throws anymore, so I guess maybe that doesn't count.
The worst of Shaq's violations, however, is the dropped shoulder. We all know that he routinely bowls over defenders on the way to the basket. Big white stiffs, like Greg Ostertag, and big black stiffs [God, I hope that doesn't trigger the porn censors], like Brendan Haywood, are forbidden to move their opponents in this manner. There was a call, I believe in the first half of game three last year, when Dikembe was standing at the baseline, just to the side of the basket, with his hands straight in the air, and his feet planted, and Shaq proceeded to elbow him in the torso, then lower his shoulder, then elbow him in the face [fouling Dikembe about three times in the process], and the foul was called, of course, on Dikembe. The series was over with that call - the Sixers had traded all their youthful quickness and speed to the Hawks to get the older, slower, but taller Mutombo, for the sole purpose of guarding Shaq in the finals. When it was clear that even Dikembe, the perennial winner of the NBA's best defensive player award, would not be allowed to guard Shaq, the whole series turned into Roller Derby. If I had been Larry Brown, I would have pulled my team off the floor, taken them back to the locker room, then returned by myself, grabbed the lead official by the hair on his head, dragged him over to the NBC courtside monitor, shown him the replay, and told him: You change that call, or we walk. The integrity of the game was on the line, and no one stood up to defend the game. As a result, you now have The World Wrestling Federation of Basketball. [Of course, no one stood up to challenge Bubba when he lied under oath to a federal judge and then sent his cabinet officers out to lie for him, but, then, that's why we live in a Banana Republic.]
Anyway, if you even try to argue this point, you're just making an ass of yourself.
Oh, now the Jazz poisoned Jordan? I've heard it all.
There are a lot of very talented players who don't have NBA contracts."
Yes, there are a lot of very talented players who don't have NBA contracts; They're still in college ball.
The best college team (Maryland) will not beat the lamest NBA team (e.g. Golden State Warriors) except maybe in one chance out of fifty.
1. Rick Adelman is a worthless coach who always has great athletic teams, and somehow finds a way to lose. In Game 7 at the start of the 4th quarter, he tells his players: "They have 2 players, we have 5. Stop the 2." Rick Fox, Robert Horry, and Derek Fisher go on to score 16 of the Lakers' 27 4th quarter points. Good call, Rick.
2. Bobby Jackson ignited the Kings in the first half and helped them to a 7 point lead. After halftime, why did Dippy Rick keep him on the bench until 2 seconds were left in the 3rd quarter? Especially when Christie was bricking everything.
3. Someone mentioned a King airball and a possible fix. That was Stoyajokovic (sp?), who had a sprained ankle and really shouldn't have been in the game.
4. If the game was fixed, why call the ticky-tack foul on Kobe with less than 10 seconds to go in the 4th which allowed the Kings to tie the game? Yet, on the ensuing play, there was no call on Bibby on the same fould? Yeah, and Bush was selected, not elected. (/sarcasm)
5. Vlade is a small forward trapped in a power forward's body. He cannot play defense, whether it be against Shaq, Horry, or anyone. He knows his defense is worthless, so he flops, trying to trick the officials into calling fouls. And it worked in the first 6 games. IMO, if you flop and cry to the referees on EVERY %$^@#ING PLAY, you don't need to be playing - you are an embarassment to the game of basketball. Of course Horry and Fox flopped as well, but they rarely were given the calls like the Kings were.
6. Chris Webber is not a team leader. He has been a failure since his days at Michigan (timeout! timeout!) and lacks the leadership necessary to lead a team to a championship. He is a Mark Aguirre or an Adrian Dantley, at best - a scorer with no hope of stepping up to the next level.
7. Note to Dippy Rick - have the team shoot free throws at practice. If your team shoots 30+ free throws and converts less than 60% of them, don't freaking whine about the referees. Grow some huevos and accept some responibility.
The Kings were close to winning, but choked at the end due to the lack of leadership, quality coaching, and patience. To win next year, this is what they need to do: a)re-sign Bibby, b)coerce Adelman into accepting an office position with the organization and hire anyone, heck, my little sister could probably deliver, and C)ship Divac and Christie to Miami for Alonzo Mourning - giving you a starting lineup of Bibby, Jackson, Stoyakovic, Webber, and Mourning. I think you can compete with the Lakers then.
Although a sick, twisted part of me wants to see Bibby sign with the Lakers just to further infuriate the Sore Losermans.
You assume that the best players are in the NBA and that won't always be the case.
Some of them are still in high school and some of them never made it past high school. There's a reason players like Oneal watch high school games in places like Akron, Ohio.
Oh? Please provide a source for that. Thanks in advance.
How could you possibly know that Jordan had a bad pizza in Utah in Game 5 of the 1998(?) finals, threw up the morning of the game, and proceeded to score 38 points in leading them to victory.
Because I watched the game and I have it and most of the series recorded. Jordan was most likely faking the sickness for ratings and drama. But I bet you were there and you saw him throw up, right?
That's valid. As long as you're behind the line when your feet are on the ground, it's a 3.
This is the purest hogwash. I saw that play. Bibby had his arm around Kobe's waist trying to keep him from getting the inbound pass. I don't think that is legal in the NFL let alone the NBA. Kobe was simply trying to get himself free of that grip when he smashed Bibby's nose. I don't recall Bibby complaining about the call. Nobody likes to get a smash in the nose but he knew he was holding Kobe, that's what his coach told him to do.
What really happened in this series is the better team going in choked and transformed themselves into the second best team. Not choking is something winners learn how to do and losers (like the guy that wrote this article.) don't.
Right, and soccer players don't fake injuries when they fall down. And nobody flops when they come in contact with an offensive player in basketball. And all the birds are chirping and it's a sunny day year round. What did Santa bring you last year?
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