Simmons: 20 Asterisks Titles

[urunobili]

1999 Spurs #2.

03, 05 and 07 also deserved consideration...

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7883334/the-footnote-title

:wakeup

[Venti Quattro]

All Spurs rings are asterisk rings. :lol :lol :lol

I love Bill Simmons. :lol

[BlackSwordsMan]

jesus every spur win really?

[Sec24Row7]

Gotta do something since the Celtics didn't get to draft duncan

[TimmehC]

:lol Spurs been trolling Simmons hard.

[venky]

It's best not to take Simmons too seriously. It's not like what he says matters at the end of the day.

[jestersmash]

What was the rationale for gifting the '06 ring to Miami? Was it just a polite gesture to a legendary coach (Pat Riley), Miami's big market, or some combination of both (or something else)?

The '02 Lakers ring that nobody recognizes except for the most delusional Lakerfans was almost certainly "big market."

Spurs '07 over Lebron was helped by nefarious reffing (Donaghy). Althyough the Spurs would've beaten the Cavs legit that year anyway, this was Phoenix's year to win it all.

[Venti Quattro]

It's best not to take Simmons too seriously. It's not like what he says matters at the end of the day.

Is this another anti-Boston comment?

:cry oh he roots for the Celtics vehemently, everything he writes sucks! :cry

[Juggity]

Damn Simmons, you mad? :lol

[Venti Quattro]

Well here's the full list:
1994 Rockets
1999 Spurs
1958 Hawks
1978 Bullets
1988 Lakers
1968 Celtics
1973 Knicks
1995 Rockets
2012 NBA Champions
2005 Spurs
2006 Heat
2002 Lakers
2007 Spurs
2003 Spurs
1965 Celtics
2009 Lakers
1974 Celtics
2010 Lakers
2008 Celtics
1976 Celtics
Honorable mention:
1987 Lakers
1989 Pistons
1983 Sixers
1993 Bulls

[DMC]

What Bill is doing is saying asterisks are for pussies and assholes, and that you can pretty much attach an asterisk to any championship if you dig deep enough.

[BlackSwordsMan]

Well here's the full list:
[list=1]
1999 Spurs
2012 NBA Champions
2005 Spurs
2007 Spurs
2003 Spurs

Every spur championship :cry

[venky]

Is this another anti-Boston comment?

:cry oh he roots for the Celtics vehemently, everything he writes sucks! :cry

Way to project. I don't care what his affiliation is. All I know is he's an entertaining writer while at the same time a terrible analyst.

Next.

Btw, what an incredibly stupid and ignorant assumption to make. You must also think I read what those idiots at the LA Times have to write, idiots such as Adande, Simers, Plaschke etc.

[midnightpulp]

He's really reaching by putting the '05 Spurs on the list. No, a healthy '05 Pacers team wouldn't have been better than the '05 Pistons. And lol at calling the '07 Spurs the best ever Spurs team. That was arguably the weakest championship Spurs team of all time. I'd also remove the '02 Lakers. While the Kings were on the wrong side of some terrible officiating in Game 6, those cocksuckers screwed themselves over twice in that series. The first time by giving up a 20 point lead to the Lakers in Game 4, which concluded with Horry's famous buzzer beater, and then by missing 17 fuckin' freethrows in Game 7. That team was a walking chokejob. Plain and simple. And lol at suggesting the '03 Kings would've done shit if Webber was healthy for the playoffs.

[Venti Quattro]

MP, the 2002 WCF also featured some of Hedo's best airballs.

I wonder why he never mentions about the 2000 Lakers title. That can make up for a good footnote -- what if the Blazers never missed 15 straight shots in Game 7 of the WCF?

[hater]

if, woulda, shoulda is for losers

spursfan could play that loser game too:
2004: if clock worker had done his job Spurs woulda won
2006: if manu didn't have a brainfart spurs woulda won
2008: if manu had been healthy....
2009: if manu had been healthy...
2010: if manu didn't have a broken nose....
2011: if manu didn't have a broken arm...

[venky]

if, woulda, shoulda is for losers

Basically, but his book on those 50 what if situations were entertaining.

[Venti Quattro]

Basically, but his book on those 50 what if situations were entertaining.

Those were just 33. But yeah, a very fun read. I'm almost done with it. :lol

[RollingBlackOut]

Venti's argument just exemplifies that you can make an argument for an asterisk on every NBA championship. So much happens over a long NBA season and you can pick countless examples that provided the champion "Fortunate Breaks"

[midnightpulp]

MP, the 2002 WCF also featured some of Hedo's best airballs.

I wonder why he never mentions about the 2000 Lakers title. That can make up for a good footnote -- what if the Blazers never missed 15 straight shots in Game 7 of the WCF?

Another interesting stat in that series is that Shaq went 24 of 32 from the FT line in games 6 and 7. Pretty clutch for him.

[Venti Quattro]

Another interesting stat in that series is that Shaq went 24 of 32 from the FT line in games 6 and 7. Pretty clutch for him.

Yeah, and you're right about the series. Why Sactown screwing themselves of a potential 3-1 lead never gets mentioned at all when talking about this series kind of annoys me. They complete that stop and they're on their way to the NBA Finals, and the 2002 title.

They were a rebound away. A fucking rebound. And they couldn't grab it with their two fucking hands.

[midnightpulp]

Yeah, and you're right about the series. Why Sactown screwing themselves of a potential 3-1 lead never gets mentioned at all when talking about this series kind of annoys me. They complete that stop and they're on their way to the NBA Finals, and the 2002 title.

They were a rebound away. A fucking rebound. And they couldn't grab it with their two fucking hands.

Lol Vlade backtapping the potential rebound instead of grabbing the fuckin' ball. Then the idiot follows it up by going 5-10 from the line in Game 7.

[Venti Quattro]

Venti's argument just exemplifies that you can make an argument for an asterisk on every NBA championship. So much happens over a long NBA season and you can pick countless examples that provided the champion "Fortunate Breaks"

In a league with a season and a rigorous playoff format like the NBA, you need a few lucky bounces here and there. I think this is more of a compilation of the luckiest bounces en route to a NBA title. Very few title teams (or not one even) can say to themselves that they relied on little to no luck at all to catapult their way to the championship.

[Dinamita]

:lmao

Sp*rs

:lmao:lmao

[Venti Quattro]

Lol Vlade backtapping the potential rebound instead of grabbing the fuckin' ball. Then the idiot follows it up by going 5-10 from the line in Game 7.

crofl. If they wanted to avoid the infamous Game 6 cheat job, they should have thought of grabbing that rebound imho. To blame it on the Lakers and the refs for cheating is stupid. It wouldn't have come to that if they weren't stupid to play hot potato with the ball in the first place.

[djohn2oo8]

all that matters is that when the game clock has 00:00 on it, your team has more points than the other. There's no what ifs in sports.

[midnightpulp]

crofl. If they wanted to avoid the infamous Game 6 cheat job, they should have thought of grabbing that rebound imho. To blame it on the Lakers and the refs for cheating is stupid. It wouldn't have come to that if they weren't stupid to play hot potato with the ball in the first place.

Yep. They ALSO lost game 1 on their home floor. Losing home court advantage in game 1 is a death sentence more often than not in a playoff series between two equal teams.

[ElNono]

Only 4 non-asterisk champs in the last 14 years? (Lakers in 2000, 2001, Pistons in 2006 and Mavs last year)

[Venti Quattro]

Yep. They ALSO lost game 1 on their home floor. Losing home court advantage in game 1 is a death sentence more often than not in a playoff series between two equal teams.

especially against Phil Jackson.

[Venti Quattro]

Only 4 non-asterisk champs in the last 14 years? (Lakers in 2000, 2001, Pistons in 2006 and Mavs last year)

Nono, I think you mean Pistons in 2004.

Well let's see what made these teams stand out

2000 Lakers: This deserves a footnote imho. Det Game 7 of the WCF will raise a lot of questions for fans.
2001 Lakers: They just tore through the competition like a lawn mower cutting through grass. Not much to find.
2004 Pistons: They tore a discombobulating Lakers team apart in one of the worst showings of a Lakers finals team.
2011 Mavs: Dem Mavs went through hell and back to win this championship. They fought the hardest opponents en route to the title. Nothing questionable.

[Shastafarian]

Only 4 non-asterisk champs in the last 14 years? (Lakers in 2000, 2001, Pistons in 2006 and Mavs last year)

You could make a case for 3 of those 4 also having "asterisks" due to injuries (Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Ginobili, etc etc). Simmons loves going back and showing he knows something about history. Only he usually just ends up sounding like an idiot.

[midnightpulp]

I'd also remove the '99 Spurs. Shortened season or not, teams in shape or not, those Spurs had a near prime David Robinson and a young Duncan anchoring the paint, Avery Johnson at the point (who was one of the fastest players in the league), and a very good Sean Elliott at the 3. Let's assume every team was "in shape." Who could've beaten them? They swept the Blazers in the WCF, who made the WCF the very next season while "in shape" and were a chokejob away from winning the title. You're telling me an extra month of training camp and preseason games would've made a difference in that series or any other? :lol

No team was on the Spurs' level that year, regardless of the circumstances. Near prime Robinson and a young Duncan + a good overall perimeter = gg NBA.

[ElNono]

Nono, I think you mean Pistons in 2004.

Sorry, yes

[venky]

If Michael Jordan had won in 99, no one would call it an asterisked title. Huge double standard. That's why I don't call the Spur title an asterisked title.

[InRareForm]

lol Did he really discredit the strength of those 2005 teams?

Those teams were both Deadly on defense. Both top 5 in defense in the decade imo.

[InRareForm]

LOL spurs prime for another one 2012. lol

stupid ass simmons

[pass1st]

I'd put 2006 Heat higher, but otherwise solid l*st :tu

[rjv]

pre-historic asterisks:

titles won by 'dynasties' (e.g., celtics) in decades lacking any parity and diluted in talent. the ABA was more exciting than 60's NBA basketball overall.

[Venti Quattro]

pre-historic asterisks:

titles won by 'dynasties' (e.g., celtics) in decades lacking any parity and diluted in talent. the ABA was more exciting than 60's NBA basketball overall.

Contrary to common knowledge, the 60's NBA were stacked with talent. It become diluted during the 1970s when the NBA and the ABA were engaging in an arms race. That's also the era when the two leagues started churning out mega-size contracts for players who did not deserve it.

The merger fell through in 1976 because the ABA had run dry giving undeserving monkeys large contracts. That, and because Mikan lowballed Kareem so much that it got him fired. Kareem would have been the sure-thing talent that would've swung the balance of power to the ABA.

[Spurs9]

The whole talk of asterisk titles is stupid. Anyone can go down with a injury at any time, you don't win a championship thru a fluke, you have to get past all rounds and win 16 games. Will we hear bulls fans talk about whoever wins the title this year that the title was a asterick, because Derrick Rose went down, and they would have had that title on lock if he was healthy? Will Knicks fans call it a asterisk title, because Amare went nuts and punched glass, and they would have won if he was healthy? Shit happens, Derrick Fisher hits a .04 shot, and knocks us out. If you win the title you deserve it with play and series of events going in favor of your team moreso than any other team in the league.

[LongtimeSpursFan]

Championship teams win titles via good coaching, good players and good luck. You can control two of those variables but luck is somthing you cannot control. All teams fall prey to this. Since all teams are equally exposed to good or bad fortune we cannot pick or choose when 'luck' should be applied.

[dbreiden83080]

LOL What a troll job this is




The Verdict: Hakeem the Dream deserved to win at least one championship. (Look at this clip, for god's sake.) But winning it the season after the league's greatest player ever briefly and inexplicably retired at the peak of his powers? Come on. That's earning a 48-point WTF footnote. At least.

:lol Give me a break..

[Ashy Larry]

and yet he doesn't throw in the 1984 Celtics????

Lakers practically gave them that series .......

[J.T.]

Injuries to players on other teams isn't worth a footnote on the winning team's title. Injuries happen in every sport. If that were a legit point to make, you could easily say all 46 Super Bowl winners get asterisks because every year I'm sure there's a team that doesn't live up to its potential because of an injury.

Asterisks are for things like Spygate, Bountygate, Horry hip checks, Gasol trade collusion, etc. Shit for the fans to talk about.

[blah blah blah]

There's only a few teams I feel that can completely avoid a "footnote" since the 80's. (Wasn't old enough to watch back then)

-Any of the Jordan Bulls teams
-01 Lakers by tearing through the playoffs
-04 Pistons. Even though they played a disgruntled Lakers team, you can't hold that against them because there was nothing you could do to change it. That was the roster they had
05 Spurs I think they beat the 05 Pacers/Heat anyway
11 Mavs played all of the big dogs when healthy and had as tough a run as anybody

[UZER]

I dont think any title deserves an asterisk, but winning in a full season with the same core players helps to "validate" it for the most part. Its more a perception thing. The spurs didnt truly shed the asterisk talk, fair or unfair, until they won in 03.

[dbreiden83080]

I dont think any title deserves an asterisk, but winning in a full season with the same core players helps to "validate" it for the most part. Its more a perception thing. The spurs didnt truly shed the asterisk talk, fair or unfair, until they won in 03.

Somebody had to win in 99 and somebbody has to win in 2012. No such thing as lesser championships or asterisks. Injuries and strikes are a normal part of sports.. The whole media is ready to celebrate Lebron's first ring. Anyone else gets them less excited and the excuses will come in.. But people's stupid opinions does not degrade any accomplishment..

[UZER]

Somebody had to win in 99 and somebbody has to win in 2012. No such thing as lesser championships or asterisks. Injuries and strikes are a normal part of sports.. The whole media is ready to celebrate Lebron's first ring. Anyone else gets them less excited and the excuses will come in.. But people's stupid opinions does not degrade any accomplishment..

I dont disagree with you. But if lebron never wins another one, the lockout season title will hang over his head. I dont thinks its fair but it will.

[Venti Quattro]

I have a feeling that Riles might break up the Superfriends if they don't ring this year.

[cantthinkofanything]

What Bill is doing is saying asterisks are for pussies and assholes, and that you can pretty much attach an asterisk to any championship if you dig deep enough.

x2

Build the best team possible. Injuries happen. Collect them rings.

I didn't look at the full list but did he include the year that the Mavs took out Derek Anderson so the Lakers could win?

[Juggity]

I have a feeling that Riles might break up the Superfriends if they don't ring this year.

By that, I assume you mean sending Bosh packing and bringing in a real center. Or sidestepping the star center question and trying to make it all come together with several higher-caliber role players.

[djohn2oo8]

I have a feeling that Riles might break up the Superfriends if they don't ring this year.

That's my feeling too. Bosh would be on the way out.

[resistanze]

But who's gonna absorb Bosh's contract?

[DMC]

I don't think the Heat break up. They are paid 15m each (Wade and Lebron) and I think Bosh makes a few million less. Meanwhile you have Kobe and Tim Duncan getting 20+ a year, Kobe's actually going to get 30 next year, that's Lebron + Wade.

They aren't going to get any decent drafts for a long time, so they best make this thing work.

However, the caveat being that they might move Bosh for a legit 5.

[Venti Quattro]

But who's gonna absorb Bosh's contract?

That's going to be the downside of signing him a contract like the level of LeBron or Wade's. It's going to be harder to send him packing.

[rayjayjohnson]

Good thing he let me know what his dad thinks. I was really worried for a minute there he wouldn't tell me.


ESPN needs to asterisk every Simmons article: *ESPN acknowledges this article is written by a homer fag

[DMC]

Simmons is probably the best writer on ESPN, and one of the best sports writers in the world, imo. He's a homer, but he makes no bones about it.

[rayjayjohnson]

No he's not. He's a glorified blogger

[DespЏrado]

:lmao

Sp*rs

:lmao:lmao

The asterisk goes under the u, get it right.

[Venti Quattro]

No he's not. He's a glorified blogger

He's biased but he backs up what he writes with evidence.

[DMC]

No he's not. He's a glorified blogger
Bill has a couple best sellers and is widely considered one of the best sports writers out there. He's a bit more than a blogger.

[crc21209]

Might as well put an asterisk on every title. Injuries, suspensions, and lockouts happen. Too fucking bad....

[Pero]

Yeah, and you're right about the series. Why Sactown screwing themselves of a potential 3-1 lead never gets mentioned at all when talking about this series kind of annoys me. They complete that stop and they're on their way to the NBA Finals, and the 2002 title.

They were a rebound away. A fucking rebound. And they couldn't grab it with their two fucking hands.

While that is true, if the refs hadn't royally screwed up in the first half by donating the Lakers 3 points, that shot wouldn't have mattered.

[lefty]

No he's not. He's a glorified blogger

This

[lefty]

At 2:54 in this video

Guess who the stunned dude with the navy blue shirt on the right is

v=_I_h19aFbnM

[Girasuck]

If any title deserved an asterisk it was the Bulls 1998 title and the Dick Bavetta screwjob put on the Jazz in game 6.

[phyzik]

Asterisks are bullshit when it comes to titles.... Every team is subjected to the same circumstances as any other. Its not like one team was given an advantadge over another due to league rules.

Racing applies the same way, You run what you brung... Not the V8's fault you brought a 4-banger to the race.

[TDfan2007]

Uhhh...everyone is aware that he mentioned at the beginning of the article that the word "asterisk" is too harsh. He preferred the term "footnote." So he's not saying that the teams didn't deserve their titles, but rather that they had easier paths than most.

[Venti Quattro]

While that is true, if the refs hadn't royally screwed up in the first half by donating the Lakers 3 points, that shot wouldn't have mattered.

Boo fucking hoo. That Samaki Walker shot wouldn't have mattered if the Kings didn't choke so bad.

[LnGrrrR]

Bill Simmons is making money doing something everyone of us probably wishes we could make money doing.

[pass1st]

Bill Simmons is making money doing something everyone of us probably wishes we could make money doing.

Pretend to be expert sport analysts?

[LnGrrrR]

Pretend to be expert sport analysts?

I don't think he's ever pretended to be an expert.

[baseline bum]

If any title deserved an asterisk it was the Bulls 1998 title and the Dick Bavetta screwjob put on the Jazz in game 6.

The Ron Harper basket was bad and the Eisley call was truly awful, but Stockton still had that game won until Malone choked it away, not paying attention to Jordan on that post-up. Damn, and no way Pippen plays that game 7.

[lefty]

If any title deserved an asterisk it was the Bulls 1998 title and the Dick Bavetta screwjob put on the Jazz in game 6.

I agree

[dbreiden83080]

I dont disagree with you. But if lebron never wins another one, the lockout season title will hang over his head. I dont thinks its fair but it will.

We'll see what happens. The funniest thing to me is the media saying Riley will blow them up if they lose in the finals again.. Yeah a big 3 that is still young and made the finals 2 times in a row is gonna get blown up..

No.....

[TDMVPDPOY]

this guy mustve got owned in competitive sports when he was younger...

[DMC]

Everyone hates the writer until he has something good to say about your team, at which point you post the article here and pretend it's confirmation about the greatness of your team.

Suck it up you limp wristed faggots.

[rayjayjohnson]

Bill has a couple best sellers and is widely considered one of the best sports writers out there. He's a bit more than a blogger.

:lmao "bill".

First name basis are we?