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mouse, i don't hate AJ. he's taken on a little too much mav-at ude to be as likable as he used to be, but he's always a part of the first spurs championship team.
Spurs actually really stunk up the joint in the 99 finals. I did not remember just how BAD they played until i got the boxed set DVD's and re-watched the 99 finals. Knicks were so depleted and while it was only 5 games, every one of them was down to the wire basically. Sean Elliot was awful, AJ was mediocre for the most part, the bench play was not very good. Really it was just D-Rob and mostly Timmy carrying them across that finish line. The 05 or 07 Spurs would have mopped the floor with the Knicks in 99.
mouse, i don't hate AJ. he's taken on a little too much mav-at ude to be as likable as he used to be, but he's always a part of the first spurs championship team.
I hate AJ because people act like hitting a jump shot with a minute left to go against an 8 seed and being up 3-1 in the series...is clutch.
That wasn't a clutch shot...that was an inevitability. Someone was going to hit that shot...it just so happened to be AJ.
Get over yourselves...
The real reason that series was even close if you re-watch it is because Elliot was GOD AWFUL the whole series. If he had played like he could, with Duncan dominant in every game and D-Rob playing like he did, they would have blown the Knicks out every game and that shot by AJ never would have been required in game 5.
I as a life long spurs fan for 30 years, am sick of the AJ hate on this board. I can understand the betrayal of him becoming the Mavs coach, but as a fan, I will always respect AJ for what he did for us. He was definitely one of my favorite Spurs during his time here, and can understand why the organization is doing this....
C'mon admit it, you hate AJ b/c he coaches the Mavs. You're just foolin' yourselves..
not if the Warriors get Mavs first
I'd say 95% of AJ haters fall into one of three categories:why all the AJ hate?
-Hate AJ the Mav. These fans would be all for retiring AJ's number if he retired and took over for Stan Kelly or the Coyote or something similar. But because he went to what is now the arch rival, he is hated. I can understand this reason somewhat because I dislike AJ the Mav coach and I especially dislike him when he goes against the Spurs.
-Weren't Spurs fans during the AJ days. These fans look at the numbers and see how AJ barely did anything stat wise and wonder WTF the Spurs are thinking. Again, a pretty valid response. But most Spurs fans at the time realized AJ was the heart and soul of the '99 team and helped ins ute the Spurs Basketball culture of substance over style.
-Don't understand how the bar is set. If you retire Johnny freakin' Moore for getting good assist numbers while losing games, you retire Avery Johnson for getting good assist numbers while winning a championship.
we were up 3-1!!!!!!!!!!!......................to the knicks for crying out loud.
Do the other 5% fit in the category that doesn't agree with how the bar is set? I understand how low it must be to retire Moore's jersey. But does that mean that we should continue to keep the bar low?
AJ deserves it
And I think the Spurs should have done it 2 or 3 years ago
Understanding that the bar is way too low apparently means that you have to agree with it.
Ive been a fan of the spurs since before AJ, and i personally never even really liked him to begin with.
I dont hate him, but then again, he really isnt anything to write home about.
Ba. Those that were Spurs fans during and before the AJ days...before we won a championship...and realize that our culture got butt ed by the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets with regularity in the playoffs with AJ leading the show.....or without AJ leading the show. And that he was not a catalyst of any sort for that 99 le, and that credit rigthfully belongs to other players. Most specifically...one Mario Elie.
I want to see what AJ's speech is tonight...
IF he's all about himself and tries to ride the bogus media hype that he suddenly was the guy that showed the Spurs how to win les...he's going to remain lame.
If he says...I want to thank David Robinson and Gregg Poppovich for the help they gave me in my career(and yes I know Drob and Pop will deflect that)...Nice job AJ.
And if he doesn't just completely lavish praise upon Mario Elie for what he did for that 99 team...I will know exactly what kind of person AJ is....
Mario is his friend...Mario is the guy who did what AJ could never do...make this team mean(and knock down a ing J that mattered)
It'll be interesting to see which AJ shows up...
Let em make his own number AJ?
Or the guy you actually did pull for because he got cut so often and had to work so hard to get to the NBA.
The guy who actually lead the Spurs to the 99 le and forever changed the course of this franchise...will never have his jersey retired....that's Mario Elie, and every guy on the 99 teams knows it, but he wasn't the guy that media latched on too. He was just a journeyman that showed up...mean(and with a J). I want to see if AJ takes Mario up there with him to the rafters....because if it was not for Mario Elie...AJ would definitely not be getting his jersey retired.
True Spurfan knows Mario Elie was the guy who changed things...
Last edited by whottt; 12-22-2007 at 12:40 PM.
I will never tire of timvp vs. whottt, but everybody's en led to their opinion.
Even if the Spurs never considered retiring #6, I'd still love Avery to this day (Mavs coach or not).
AJ does what he thinks will help his team win and I don't fault him for one second. They don't keep guys around because you're nice... they keep you around because you win.
I don't hate AJ. I'm a life long Spurs fan (fan of the transplanted Dallas team and onward) and will always like him for his effort and grit shown while he was a Spur. After saying all that I really don't think that be belongs in the rafters with the others. His numbers really don't merit that but I guess my bar is set at a different level, too.
Moore's numbers speak to me just like AJ's. He shouldn't be there, either. Was this mostly a sentimental gesture on the Spurs part after 00 was forced to retire b/c of Desert Fever? I dunno but I believe that you should get there due to merit and not neccessarily because your stats were equivalent to someone else's who is already there. Kinda of like legalizing pot just because alcohol and tobacco are. But I will grant that AJ did bring those neccessary intangibles to the game - heart and grit - needed to win a championship. So I don't neccessarily believe he belongs there I won't lose any sleep over it either. This is a decision by the FO based on their criteria and it really wont effect our on court chances to repeat.
So, should we retire Jaren Jackson's too? He hit a few big shots against the Fakers one year...Did you forget who made the wining basket to put a ring on the San Antonio Spurs fingers after 25 years?
you should retire his ing boxer shorts!
why all the AJ hate?
I am sure you know that AJ hired Mario this summer to work for the Mavs well aware of the role he played for the Spurs. Funny thing about Mario-- fans first hated him for calling out David.
Everyone knew that one day the Spurs would retire AJ's number. Teams do this not only for on the court accomplishments, but off as well.
LJ, I think that some fans do not like AJ because they believe that Tim did not like him and wanted him gone.
AJless once he wins the mavs a le will probably care less about his jersey retirement.
I'm glad we have parker.
did you forget one shot does not change all the other games and behaviorDid you forget who made the wining basket to put a ring on the San Antonio Spurs fingers after 25 years?
you should retire his ing boxer shorts!
why all the AJ hate?
why do you care you say you are not a spur fan
two face
Then hate the people man. It's not AJ's fault what people say about him weither it's good or bad.
I actually liked AJ the Spur, and have no problem with his number being retired, as I'm sure Parker's, Ginobili's, and Bowen's eventually will be. On the other hand, AJ the Mav's coach makes me sick.
Spurs fans who hate AJ for being a Mav coach are as small-minded as Mav fans who boo Michael Finley for joining SA.
Congrats AJ.
I can't stand AJ because back in WCF 2006 after the spurs beat the mavs in game 1 AJ started crying about some of the bad calls that went against the mavs. all he did was WHINE like a little baby about the officials.
we never heard POP whine after game 7 in WCF we all know Duncan and Manu got wacked at the end of the game and no call
"Bear hug defense" was all I needed to hear to decide that he was no longer a Spur. Sentimentality clouded my brain prior to that, but let me know that AJ was faithfully towing the company line of complain about the refs if you can't win straight up.
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