Agree with you on the labels T6. I'm just saying that it's in his best interest to learn and implement what works. That's why Wes Unseld is a perfect model. Same size, build, and strengths. It has nothing to do with being a superior athlete, what it is...is the ability to outwork your opponent using what you got. A sort of basketball Jeet Kune Do.
Bruce Lee once said:
Hence my request for Blair to watch, learn, and implement. It's sound. It's Bruce Lee sound. It's MAN IN BLACK SOUND.There is only one type of body, 2 arms, 2 legs, etc that make up the human body. Therefore, there can only be one style of fighting. If the other guy had 4 arms and 2 legs, there might have to be a different one. Forget the belief that one style is better than the other, the point of someone that does not just believe in tradition, but actually wants to know how to fight is to take what you need from every martial art and incorporate it into your own. Make it effective and very powerful, but don't worry if you are taking moves from many different arts, that is a good thing.
It's a fine short list. I could add other but you know what?
Do the research on your own. I gave you a list. If you don't know about the games those undersized guys listed provided for their respected teams...Get off your ass and do research. LEARN SOMETHING. Then go point and counter point with me and tell me why I'm wrong...if you're capable.
The fact that Bruce Lee said that doesn't mean it's worth quoting. That's a ridiculous premise if that's the full context.
All it really means, is you're truly who you say you are.
YOU CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING.
It's an apt name indeed.
And apparently you don't understand the philosophical context...again, you're aptly named.
no way. You could have said "It's not the size of the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog". But you didn't. You threw out some quote by Bruce Lee to show everyone how deep you are. The problem is that half of the quote is just plain nonsense. At a certain point physical limitations do come into play. There isn't just one body type. And no matter how hard someone may try and want to win, they just aren't going to be as effective as someone with superior physical characteristics. Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Blair fan and nothing gets me as psyched as when he gets 20+ boards or makes a monster dunk and I realize heart counts for something. But it only goes so far.
Wrong...again...so what else is new.
All he meant was the following. Because everyone has 2 arms and 2 legs, there isn't going to be a huge difference in how one fights. It matters not where you learn it from. You just try to advance your own human potential.
I will say that since Basketball is a game that's usually played outside in, that being taller could be construed as an advantage. It's only an advantage if you can place yourself in a position to use that height. If a smaller man with a wide base can hold his position against the taller opponent, than that height advantage is negated. That is all.
I see you and I both want positives from Blair. I just see the Unseld thing as a strong foundation to go from. Him playing like Pau, Tim, or Amar'e isn't going to work because he's not blessed with their type of length. But again, Unseld is dead on....right down to the bad knees later in Wes' career.
Good luck, DeJuan
Again, I don't know the complete context of the quote but there will be a huge difference in how someone fights depending on their own personal attributes. There's no need to try to find something deeper. It is what it is.
100%
Yes, but as an absolute, taller is better. It doesn't matter how much I want to win, how large my BBIQ is, or how good my technique is. Sean Bradley will always be picked before me. Blair can take up a square yard on the court, but a 7' player will capture the top feet of that box if you extend it upwards.
I'm not quite old enough to know much about Wes Unseld so I probably shouldn't have disputed that. I do know he is mostly considered as elite.
Obviously we all want Blair to be the best player he can. But he isn't Barkely. I don't think he is even Milsap or Stucky but I'm willing to be wrong.
Blair definitely compares to Unseld at this point in his career - but in todays NBA he will have to add the 12-15ft jumper to go to next level as player - his rebounding, hands (the way he taps alot of rebounds to control them), and his ability to quickly get the ball on the rim/backboard after rebounds all look alot like films you see of Unseld - however Unseld was a better defender as a young guy and the other thing was his ability to ignite the fastbreak - after most rebounds the ball left his hand within a second and suprisingly low turnovers
Pop won't just replace Bonner with Splitter in the rotation. It's like we just met coach Pop yesterday. He must have a stretch 4. He has a boner for stretching the floor with a PF. They've tried to compensate for Bonner's sucking in all sorts of ways...Anthony Tolliver, Haislip, etc. Rest assured, there will be a 3-point shooting PF on this team for better or worse. If they can't find anyone they like better than Bonner, they'll bring him back.
Sad, I agree, but Pop likes what he likes.
Unless you grow a few more inches, sorry pal, you are simply too short to start for a championship caliber team.
Larry Johnson as a junior in college was averaging 21/11, a first-team All American, and leading his team to an NCAA le with a much better all-around game that translated to the NBA with zero dropoff. Three years later he was an All-NBA second teamer.
Blair is a better rebounder, but other than that I don't know how one would say his game is better than Johnson's. You see him being All-NBA second team in three years?
Greetings!
I completely agree with you man.
Lets hope Blair continues to improve. Regards.
hes proved his worth.... give him what he wants
Keep in mind that Wes Unseld is one of only 2 players (Wilt Chamberlain) to win the ROY and MVP in the same season. He even led the league in rebounding in 1975, and FG% in 1976. I can definitely see some of him in Dejuan Blair, as far as his brute strength and sheer determination. But if he could ever learn to set picks and pass like Unseld could, WATCH OUT!!
If Dejuan Can get That 15ft jump shot to fall consistently, His Game Will improve Drastically
Obviously not much of a Bruce Lee fan. He developed Jeet Kune Do as a response to the rigidness of other fighting styles. In a sense, Jeet Kune Do was superior (in his mind) to other fighting styles because of the adaptiveness of the style to any situation.
Also, Bruce Lee was not the biggest of people, yet defeated guys many times his size based on his ability to adapt and respond as well as his smarts. If you can gain an advantage using smarts and positioning (like Tim Duncan) you can overcome some physical limitations (like Bruce Bowen on the perimeter).
Physical skills diminish over time, but smarts only grow, hence why a player's "prime" is about the 26-29 age range. It's the time when the smarts and physical skills are at the peak. While a player continues to get smarter as he gets older, he doesn't have the physical skills to match anymore.
You know, what Bruce Lee said seems to also resemble what Sun Tzu says in the Art of War about knowing yourself and your opponent. If you know your opponents weaknesses and your strengths, then you know how to defeat the opponent 100% of the time by using your strengths to exploit those weaknesses. Of course, he said it better than I could.
If he develops an outside game, then yes. That was the whole point of the discussion. Nice stats for LJ in college, but it was mostly against 2nd and 3rd tier college teams. Don't get me wrong. LJ was a fantastic player. The point is DeJuan, at his age, has the ability to improve and be just as good.
so is ian
I still think the player with the most similarity to Blair at this point is the guy I compared him to when he was first drafted: Danny Fortson. I think Blair definitely could be better than Fortson; Fortson never really developed a jumpshot, never learned to play D with getting into foul trouble, and his conditioning got worse as his career progressed. Blair can do better. To get better he needs (1) to work on his defensive fundamentals (2) to improve his conditioning/mobility and (3) if he really wants more minutes, he will have to fit better alongside TD, meaning he needs to develop a little more range.
If I remember correctly, he was pretty good at the foul line, as far as big men go.
Blair does need some help there doesn't he?I think I kind of try to forget about free throws. It makes it easier to be a Spurs fan.
I can't say I know a lot about Bruce Lee. Just some odds and ends. But if someone asked me who the Michael Jordan of martial arts is, I would probabaly have said Bruce Lee. Somone who's mental makeup and wherewithall were in the top 1% of their fields. It's be nice for Dejuan to be in that category but chances are that he's not.
I totally agree that one can improve one's odds by always learning and being a step ahead of your opponent.
But at some point, physical limitations do put a cap on what someone can do.
Although it seems easy enough to compare bball and martial arts, I really don't think it's a good analogy. Martial arts has close to an infinate amount of moves, counter moves, and styles that allow for a large amount of improvment for one wiling to put in the study time. But we're talking about Blair's ability to make a basketball play. Compared to martial arts, there is a limited about of things that can be done on any one 2-3 second play. Also, Blair might be able to learn everything about his 7 foot opponent and capitalize on his mistakes. But in the end, that other guy is still 7 feet and will still have a good chance to block Blairs shot or pull down the rebound.
IMO, he's going to have to develop a decent jumper to make himself just a good role player and have some time in his career.
Malik Rose sucks Dbag.
Wow. Time to back away from the crack pipe. LJ put up the same numbers in the NBA.
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