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Not even gonna bother reading it. Phoenix isn't winning a le this year either.
I'm now expecting a long playoff run.
Oh, what a shocker, he slobbers all over the Suns' too! Never thought I'd see the day that Bill Simmons would go gay for Phoenix.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/080326
Not even gonna bother reading it. Phoenix isn't winning a le this year either.
I broke down and read it. Not nearly as harsh as I thought it would be. Hard to argue right now that the Kidd trade was a good move. But once again, it's not his douchiness but the fact that he just doesn't do research or fact-check:
That was NEVER on the table. NEVER. Kobe made it clear he wanted to come to Dallas to play with Dirk, not Josh Howard and Jason Terry. Dallas couldn't have made that deal because it was never offered.Biggest mistake: Not trading Dirk for Kobe before the season. Getting the best player in basketball would have been a good move. I'm almost positive.
I know his 99 East Conf. All-Stars was just a throwaway joke, but I'll still point out that Jamaal Magloire wasn't even in the NBA in 1999.
Bill Simmons knows his stuff.
The only chance Dallas had of getting Kobe was for the Lakers to get off to a craptastic start this year, Kobe to keep whining, and for the Lakers to panic trade him. While in October that seemed likely, unfortunately it didn't happen.
The Lakers were never going to trade Kobe until they absolutely had to, which was this coming summer if he was still unhappy. He can opt out in 09, so they could still get something for him this summer. There was absolutely no chance he was going anywhere until AFTER the Lakers season was over.
It was going to be very hard to satisfy Kobe's demands of having enough talent around him with his new team while the Lakers got back an acceptable package to rebuild around. Dirk for Kobe straight up would probably have been a good deal for both teams, but Kobe wanted Dirk as a teammate, and he has a no-trade clause.
everyone has the right to poop on the mavs right now
you know what I wonder now?
how many championships the Lakers would have now, if the Mavs were stupid enough to pull the trigger on the Shaq for Dirk trade? seriously, Kobe and Dirk is probably the absolute scariest offensive combo you could put together in the NBA today... it would really be one of the scariest offensive combos in NBA history as they are both among the greatest offensive players ever for their positions. In all honesty, if I was making an all-time offensive team, Kobe would be my SG, and Dirk my PF.
That doesn't bother me, but criticizing them for something they couldn't do? Weak . There's plenty of ammo without resorting to fantasy trades that weren't a possibility.
true...surprised he didnt bring up the reason why the mavs have failed this year is because they waived Fazekas instead of Ju-Ho after the trade
I, for one, still think the Dallas Mavericks are a great team...for me to poop on.
Fazekas will probably never be more than a role player, but he's already more useful than Jamaal Magloire. Same with DJ Mbenga as opposed to Juwan. Mavs have ed themselves plenty this season.
Biggest strength: In the third quarter of 20-point blowouts against terrible teams, they look like the Showtime Lakers reincarnated. So, um, they have that going for them.
Gotta admit -- that's some funny right there.
good stuff
Speaking of pooping, I'm about to do something most foul in the bathroom stall up here at work.
No, that's for the day the Mavs' season ends. I ate at Potbelly. That meatball sandwich is now resting comfortably at the bottom of a porcelain bowl.
You've made a mighty sacrifice to the porcelain god, my son, and you will be justly rewarded.
The Italian with hot peppers is some good shiznit.
Seriously, they don't make a bad sandwich at all. I hate the , but even the chicken salad looks good.
I found the bold part amusing...
1. LOS ANGELES LAKERS (49-22)
Scouting report: This team has everything you'd ever conceivably want in a playoff contender -- a superstar, two more scoring options, a low-post player who has to be double-teamed, a shotblocker, multiple three-point shooters, a bench that can affect games, a superior coaching staff, and most importantly, a scorer who's going to get every borderline call in a close game because he's Kobe Bryant ... if they're healthy and running on all cylinders, they have the highest ceiling of any playoff team ... of course, we don't know if they're healthy yet, so all bets are off ... they're most vulnerable in round one as they're working back Bynum and Gasol into the rotation, which is what makes a potential Lakers-Warriors series so damned tantalizing.
Biggest strength: Whether they win the le or not, it's been a sincere pleasure as a basketball fan to watch Kobe tap into his talents, trust his teammates, pick his spots, forget about statistics and become the player we always wanted him to be. Whether he wins the MVP award or Chris Paul wins it, we haven't seen two better individual seasons in the same year since Jordan and Barkley in 1993 ... and if you throw in the fact that LeBron is averaging an absurd 31-8-8 right now, you'd have to go back to Bird, Magic and M.J. in '88. Holy schmoley. Should I write the word "amazing" again? Probably not. This season has turned me into "The Bachelor."
Biggest weakness: I know he's been playing out of his mind lately, but I still don't trust Lamar Odom. During regulation of Monday's Warriors game, he went to the line in the final few seconds with a one-point lead, endured a few taunts and standing-in-front-of-him maneuvers from Davis and Jackson ... and eventually, he had this weird smile on his face, almost like the smile a boxer gets right before he's about to get knocked out. Of course, he missed the first free throw. Mark my words -- there's going to be at least one monster moment in April, May or June when Odom has to come through in a humongous spot for the Lakers. And he won't.
(Follow-up to that story: In that same game, the Lakers were up two with four seconds left in overtime when Kobe got fouled. Three interesting things here. First, none of the Warriors came within 10 feet of him. Second, he stared down all the Warriors around him, drained the first free throw and muttered "Game over, game over" to everyone who would listen. Third, he made the second one and that was that. The lesson, as always: It's good to have Kobe Bryant on your team.)
Biggest X-Factor: Bynum. Can he bounce back from the knee injury? Can he get back in shape in time? Will he be able to effectively defend Shaq or Duncan in round two or round three? Every Lakers fan just stopped breathing for a few seconds.
Unsung Hero: Sasha Vujacic, quite possibly the league's best bench player of anyone who plays 20 minutes or less. He's a feisty defender, he shoots 40-plus from three, he can guard anyone and play three positions, he's a legitimate threat to get punched in the face during the playoffs, and if that's not enough, I'm almost positive that he's wearing some sort of hair net. We haven't had a so-much-fun-to-hate-him playoff villain like this guy in eons. He's like Bruce Bowen crossed with one of John Lithgow's henchman in "Cliffhanger."
Best-case opponents: New Orleans, Denver or Utah.
Worst-case opponents: San Antonio or Golden State.
Prediction: A throwback Lakers-Celtics Finals will end up being the single best thing to happen to the NBA in 10 years. And that's an understatement.
Eventual 2007-08 Legacy: Put it this way -- I wouldn't bet against the answer to this question being, "The year Kobe won the MVP and the le and earned his rightful place among the greatest players ever." As always, stay tuned.
I'll say this right now: when the Mavs season ends, I'll post pictures of me sadly eating the KFC failure pile. But if they improbably win, I'm going to Texas de Brazil for a victory feast.
rofl:
Unsung Hero: According to John Hollinger's PER ratings, Shane Battier is the 45th best small forward in the league right now. I give up. Uncle. I can't fight the good fight anymore. Somebody else needs to take over.
A few things:
#1 - he's right about Josh Howard... as soon as he became an All-Star, Josh lost any chip on his shoulder and started jacking up jumpers
#2 - he's kind of right about the Suns being likeable but getting no calls (except for the Spurs game a few weeks ago)
#3 - he's right about Lamar Odom being weak mentally and Vujacic getting punched in the face
#4 - he's right about Hollinger's PER being a joke
How can we be so sure of what deal is on the table or not ? we're only fans not gm... and press and official talk are often es....
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