HornetLoveJones
05-09-2011, 09:39 PM
We've heard all series long about Pau Gasol and his "off court issues", whether it's true or not surrounding the dumping of Gasol by his long time gf due to Yoko Bryant getting her b*tch vibes out again (remember Malone in 2004 and Glen Rice in 2000??) that's for another discussion though. I just want to think over examples of when NBA players have things that hover around them emotionally yet they come to play.
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Mentally tough
1996 - Orlando Magic Center Shaquille O'Neal returns to his team after a week of mourning the death of his grandmother and score 21 points in a losing effort to the Bulls despite not touching a basketball for 6 days.
QRWWmrOVaOU
2003 - Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant took to the court after flying midday from a trail in Eagle, CO to LA for a home game against the Nuggets to score 13 points 5 assists including the game winner.
tX7C4RWhdgo
2007 - Utah Jazz backup point guard Derek Fisher returned to Utah for game 2 against the Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals without practice was inserted into the game with Deron Williams in foul trouble to guard Baron Williams at the end of regulation and then hit the pivotal 3 pointer to seal the game in overtime.
PWerZsJqZAY
2009 - Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki faced elimination in Game 4 in the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals after his team was down 0-3 but the real story was the off court drama which involved the arrest of Nowitzki's fiancee Crystal Taylor who had been the suspect in scams, had 8 warrants against her and the allegations of a pregnancy (proved later to be false) Nowitzki took to the court in game 4 and staved off elimination with a 44 point 13 rebound performance. Nowitzki was also the only positive sign for the Mavericks in that series averaging 34.4 points and 11.6 Rebounds.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/n/nowitdi01/gamelog/2009/
VkdlYl7qbNE
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Mentally soft?
2007 - Cleveland Cavaliers all star Lebron James finished the regular season with averages of 27.3 pts. 6.7 rbs. 6 asts. and led his team to the NBA finals against the San Antonio Spurs but the media was focused on the impending delivery of James' son and the question of whether the star would play in the Finals or be with his girlfriend took national stage. Perhaps the nerves and off court distractions proved to be too much for James as his production fell off across the board and only watched the Spurs win their fourth championship with a clean sweep. James had averaged 22 pts. and 6.25 turnovers in the losing efforts.
2011 - Los Angeles Lakers Forward Pau Gasol has been pointed the finger at for the stunning sweep of the Lakers by the Dallas Mavericks due to his declining production in the entire series. In contrast to Dirk Nowitzki who is receiving national praise for his play in the Semifinals Gasol has seen his numbers dip to a career low level in the playoffs and in the process lost his potential credential as the 'best power forward in the game today' against the man who swept his team out of the playoffs in Nowitzki and in the process put up a personal 8-0 record against the Spaniard.
...
Any other examples of this? Mind you we're only focusing on mental or emotional situations not physical limits (i.e Jordan flu game, Rondo's dislocated arm return)
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Mentally tough
1996 - Orlando Magic Center Shaquille O'Neal returns to his team after a week of mourning the death of his grandmother and score 21 points in a losing effort to the Bulls despite not touching a basketball for 6 days.
QRWWmrOVaOU
2003 - Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant took to the court after flying midday from a trail in Eagle, CO to LA for a home game against the Nuggets to score 13 points 5 assists including the game winner.
tX7C4RWhdgo
2007 - Utah Jazz backup point guard Derek Fisher returned to Utah for game 2 against the Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals without practice was inserted into the game with Deron Williams in foul trouble to guard Baron Williams at the end of regulation and then hit the pivotal 3 pointer to seal the game in overtime.
PWerZsJqZAY
2009 - Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki faced elimination in Game 4 in the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals after his team was down 0-3 but the real story was the off court drama which involved the arrest of Nowitzki's fiancee Crystal Taylor who had been the suspect in scams, had 8 warrants against her and the allegations of a pregnancy (proved later to be false) Nowitzki took to the court in game 4 and staved off elimination with a 44 point 13 rebound performance. Nowitzki was also the only positive sign for the Mavericks in that series averaging 34.4 points and 11.6 Rebounds.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/n/nowitdi01/gamelog/2009/
VkdlYl7qbNE
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Mentally soft?
2007 - Cleveland Cavaliers all star Lebron James finished the regular season with averages of 27.3 pts. 6.7 rbs. 6 asts. and led his team to the NBA finals against the San Antonio Spurs but the media was focused on the impending delivery of James' son and the question of whether the star would play in the Finals or be with his girlfriend took national stage. Perhaps the nerves and off court distractions proved to be too much for James as his production fell off across the board and only watched the Spurs win their fourth championship with a clean sweep. James had averaged 22 pts. and 6.25 turnovers in the losing efforts.
2011 - Los Angeles Lakers Forward Pau Gasol has been pointed the finger at for the stunning sweep of the Lakers by the Dallas Mavericks due to his declining production in the entire series. In contrast to Dirk Nowitzki who is receiving national praise for his play in the Semifinals Gasol has seen his numbers dip to a career low level in the playoffs and in the process lost his potential credential as the 'best power forward in the game today' against the man who swept his team out of the playoffs in Nowitzki and in the process put up a personal 8-0 record against the Spaniard.
...
Any other examples of this? Mind you we're only focusing on mental or emotional situations not physical limits (i.e Jordan flu game, Rondo's dislocated arm return)