benstanfield
04-25-2013, 02:44 PM
This just occurred to me:
One is black. The other is nearly translucent, and possibly gets sunburned by the stadium lights.
One is a moron, literally dumb as nails and gets himself in trouble every time he opens his mouth. The other is well read, well spoken, and always an entertaining interview.
One has an almost superhuman physique, is a physical specimen. The other has no apparent physical gifts, and in street clothes could be mistaken for a high school math teacher.
One relies on easy points and rebounds to rack up high numbers, doing almost no scoring that doesn't involve putbacks, alley-oops, and isolation plays on the block. The other has to scratch and claw for every point, either by finding open areas and taking long threes or by working off the dribble and putting up tough shots.
One contributes nothing to the offense but setting screens and drawing double-teams on the block; he is literally too dumb for his team to run any sort of complicated play for him. The other cannot contribute to the offense except by being smart & savvy, knowing where to be at all times, and creating space by drawing defenders to the perimeter.
One uses his athletic gifts on defense to physically dominate other players and intimidate slashers with his presence as a help defender. The other, just by being on the floor, causes every opposing player to lick his chops, and must rely on footwork, positioning, and grit to contribute solid individual defense.
One could barely be considered a basketball player if he were not 7 feet tall; he has no fundamental skills and sinks his team when asked to make actual skilled contributions (footwork, free throws, dribble in isolation without turning it over, make a jump shot, rotate on PnR). The other relies purely on fundamentals to contribute in the NBA, be it shooting, working off the pumpfake-dribble, or playing defense, and sinks his team when asked to do things that are outside his skillset (playing at SF, grabbing contested boards, blocking shots, creating his own offense).
One was drafted straight out of high school. The other played 4 years in college and graduated with a bachelor's degree.
One floats around the court acting goofy, throwing elbows, and whining to the refs, and puts up 20 and 10 without serious effort. The other knows his role, executes it, and is a solid teammate and a standup guy in limited minutes, and puts up 10 and 5 on a good night.
One has been handed the keys to 2 franchises and done nothing but whine and moan about how the situation is never perfect. The other has been a career role-player and a fan favorite wherever he's been.
One is an NBA champion, the other is a fucking bum that will never. ever. win an NBA championship.
:hat Congrats to Matt for finally putting together a few decent playoff games.
One is black. The other is nearly translucent, and possibly gets sunburned by the stadium lights.
One is a moron, literally dumb as nails and gets himself in trouble every time he opens his mouth. The other is well read, well spoken, and always an entertaining interview.
One has an almost superhuman physique, is a physical specimen. The other has no apparent physical gifts, and in street clothes could be mistaken for a high school math teacher.
One relies on easy points and rebounds to rack up high numbers, doing almost no scoring that doesn't involve putbacks, alley-oops, and isolation plays on the block. The other has to scratch and claw for every point, either by finding open areas and taking long threes or by working off the dribble and putting up tough shots.
One contributes nothing to the offense but setting screens and drawing double-teams on the block; he is literally too dumb for his team to run any sort of complicated play for him. The other cannot contribute to the offense except by being smart & savvy, knowing where to be at all times, and creating space by drawing defenders to the perimeter.
One uses his athletic gifts on defense to physically dominate other players and intimidate slashers with his presence as a help defender. The other, just by being on the floor, causes every opposing player to lick his chops, and must rely on footwork, positioning, and grit to contribute solid individual defense.
One could barely be considered a basketball player if he were not 7 feet tall; he has no fundamental skills and sinks his team when asked to make actual skilled contributions (footwork, free throws, dribble in isolation without turning it over, make a jump shot, rotate on PnR). The other relies purely on fundamentals to contribute in the NBA, be it shooting, working off the pumpfake-dribble, or playing defense, and sinks his team when asked to do things that are outside his skillset (playing at SF, grabbing contested boards, blocking shots, creating his own offense).
One was drafted straight out of high school. The other played 4 years in college and graduated with a bachelor's degree.
One floats around the court acting goofy, throwing elbows, and whining to the refs, and puts up 20 and 10 without serious effort. The other knows his role, executes it, and is a solid teammate and a standup guy in limited minutes, and puts up 10 and 5 on a good night.
One has been handed the keys to 2 franchises and done nothing but whine and moan about how the situation is never perfect. The other has been a career role-player and a fan favorite wherever he's been.
One is an NBA champion, the other is a fucking bum that will never. ever. win an NBA championship.
:hat Congrats to Matt for finally putting together a few decent playoff games.