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US men's basketball gets shit kicked out of them by Puerto Rico. This time it counts.
- Thread starter biteme
- Start date
Robert Jan
New member
hahaha
chewyxrage
New member
pathetic
I wish the top athletes would actually compete though.
I wish the top athletes would actually compete though.
i watched tilll half time and they were 20 back
still wondering how so....
this doesnt look good for college bros getting drafted
so many nba scouts checking out other talents ....
this next year will be HS dudes and international style bro... some say only 40 % will usa college kids OUCH
still wondering how so....
this doesnt look good for college bros getting drafted
so many nba scouts checking out other talents ....
this next year will be HS dudes and international style bro... some say only 40 % will usa college kids OUCH
S
Spartacus
Guest
THE RIGHT SIDE WON
(Iverson related from sportsreporter.com
Woody Allen said that 90% of life was just showing up. Larry Brown and the Pistons knew that to get over the hump and reach a goal, that planning and teamwork would beat those who are content to be talented 90-percenters.
THE RESULT of the 2004 NBA Finals – Pistons in 5, nearly a sweep considering they lost Game 2 in overtime – warms my heart because it helps to prove that better planning, combined with the great American work ethic can still win out over the growing epidemic of clueless star-power selfishness, and the sense of entitlement it carries.
(The Pistons’ title also warms my heart because the Sports Reporter Premier Players Club NBA handicapper used the Pistons in four out of the five games and earned a 3-1-1 series record for members, while Sports Reporter Online members won two totals and a side and also got out at 3-1-1 for the series. But that’s besides the point.)
You won’t hear the name Allen Iverson mentioned in connection with the Pistons’ 2004 NBA Title, even though the Philadelphia 76ers’ misguided guard was the catalyst for it. You won’t hear his name mentioned because nearly all straight-up sports reporters have short memories and lack the creativeness to link cause-and-effect relationships that aren’t as obvious as, say, the record of two teams five months after a big player-trade between them.
Detroit head coach Larry Brown would never have left Philadelphia for Detroit had Iverson not proven to be a relatively uncoachable, non-team player. Iverson got through college on a free pass from John Thompson at Georgetown, where he learned nothing about team play and not much about the intricacies of basketball, either. After a tempestuous beginning to his NBA career, Iverson started to give reluctant acceptance to Brown’s teachings as 76ers’ head coach.
But to Iverson, it was a trade-off. He’d get his teammates more involved as long as he could skip practice when he wanted to.
You remember the video clips of Iverson stating his severe disdain of practice. The guy actually called a press conference to fight against criticism directed at him for missing the practices of Larry Brown, considered one of the best teachers in the game: "I’m talking about practice, practice, not the game, not the game, that I work my heart, my soul, out for, just practice. What are we talking about here? We are talking about practice.”
As if the guy who invented phrase ‘’practice makes perfect’’ was some kind of an A-hole, and Iverson was re-inventing the formula for success – just show up.
Any straight-up fan who listened to Iverson and admired any piece of what the man said will undoubtedly hit a wall in this life. Iverson could tell the world that he puts his heart and soul in the game, and plenty of people will think, ‘yeah, get off his case.’ But with a blatant disregard for practice – where strategies are mapped, bonds glued, hearts hardened and souls mated -- it just shows that his heart and soul are a fraction of the size of the average athlete. Who cares if he’s investing all his heart and soul when their sum total is spit?
Brown took a look at their respective contracts – length and size – and realized that the 76ers’ would always be Iverson’s team. Brown knew his own strengths could be better employed elsewhere. He knew that despite Iverson’s immense physical talents, that his weaknesses made the player a Human Anchor to the 76ers.
Larry Brown knew that his way was the better way, and that his way would work out better elsewhere. Because when you can’t reach the guy you need the most in order to reach a team goal, then the only thing to do is pack it in and wish the guy luck. Because he’ll certainly be needing it.
Over the last three seasons, the 76ers winning percentages against the spread were 47.6%, 45.6%, and 46.5%. Anyone flat-betting the team at $100 per game in that span lost -$3,000. Lost a thousand a season on Allen Iverson’s team. He didn’t want to prepare the right way. Anyone betting on the 76ers was putting hard-earned money on a team that was always out of sync.
When the recently concluded season began, Philadelphia was favored to win the NBA East in despite Brown’s departure, because people see “Iverson” and expect great results. But the 76ers were out of the division race by January and missed the playoffs entirely. Philadelphia became so bad that in early February, they fired the head coach who replaced Brown. At the time, Brown was in the middle of of grooming a real team in Detroit. The 76ers – good coach gone and star player allowed to set the tone in a bad way -- were collapsing.
At the time, the Pistons were a decent team with no real stars who frequently went ice cold on offense. Now they are the NBA Champs, because a coach who knew how to maximize a team’s strengths, minimize its weaknesses and get them to learn all about each other in practice joined them. The only other significant difference in the team from last season was Rasheed Wallace, added to the Pistons nine days after Philly had canned Randy Ayers, who never had a chance. In different eras, Brown and Wallace played ball for the same university – North Carolina. It couldn’t have hurt. They each learned a heck of a lot more at UNC than Iverson learned at Georgetown. Wallace, like Iverson, was a career malcontent. But he had the good sense to listen to someone who knew what he was talking about and could make a difference in his career. Now he’s a champ, and Iverson is a chump.
Personally, based on what I was watching, I think the officiating in the NBA Finals was incredibly one-sided favoring Detroit. Personally, I think that the NBA wanted it that way. Once the Lakers made the Finals, it really didn’t matter if they won or not. The rats – in this case the straight-up fans who make up the ''market'' that watches the Lakers – were already in the trap. They were going to watch – win or lose.
But did the NBA need for Kobe Bryant to be on trial for rape while wearing a 2004 League Championship ring? Doubtful. The guy is an incredible egomaniac whose off-the-court self-awareness is so low that he guaranteed a Game 5 win while under indictment by the state of Colorado. He may be innocent of the charges against him, but he still cheated on his wife. Does the NBA want to promote infidelity hand-in-hand with winning? Doubtful. Not yet, anyway.
Did the NBA need for a punk like Gary Payton to win a ring after deciding he wanted one? Doubtful. The guy was tossed from a lot of games this season, showing that he didn’t want to work hard enough to get the job done. He lost a lot of playoff games in Seattle and with three-time champions O’Neal and Bryant at his side, he helped Human Anchor dragged them down in the end – not a surprise.
Same thing with Karl Malone. ''I want a ring, so I’ll take less money and play with the younger superstars.'' Malone came to L.A. hurt, and he missed 34 games while hurt. Both he and Payton cheated home and away fans who had bought tickets to see them as key continuous parts of the Lakers. Neither really wanted to work hard toward their stated goal of winning a title.
When they got to L.A., both Malone and Payton were hailed by fans and media as making ''personal sacrifices'' in order to win a title, because they accepted lower salaries than they had been accustomed to making. But nobody suggested that their best chance to win a title had already been blown. If Payton and Malone had taken less money while with Seattle and Utah, they could have enabled those teams to add a third scoring option or an all-around talented and experienced difference-maker (like Rasheed Wallace), gotten out of the West more times than they did, and put themselves in better position to win the title they thought they deserved.
That light bulb never had a chance of being switched on in the head of either ''Hall of Famer.''
Man, with all that poor sportsmanship and unethical behavior going on with the Lakers, PLUS a head coach who only goes to teams with superstars, rolls the balls out on the practice floor and lets them play, it was so EASY to root for the Pistons. Our NBA handicapper was all over that bad Lakers karma, too. Larry Brown, winner of no prior NBA titles, ripped the pants off Phil Jackson, winner of nine prior NBA titles. Who’s the better basketball coach?
So, does Allen Iverson have an ''Answer'' for why Larry Brown won a title as soon as Brown chewed through the handcuffs that linked him with someone who would question the merits of practice? And, do you think Kobe Bryant will guarantee a win when his trial verdict is due?
(Iverson related from sportsreporter.com
Woody Allen said that 90% of life was just showing up. Larry Brown and the Pistons knew that to get over the hump and reach a goal, that planning and teamwork would beat those who are content to be talented 90-percenters.
THE RESULT of the 2004 NBA Finals – Pistons in 5, nearly a sweep considering they lost Game 2 in overtime – warms my heart because it helps to prove that better planning, combined with the great American work ethic can still win out over the growing epidemic of clueless star-power selfishness, and the sense of entitlement it carries.
(The Pistons’ title also warms my heart because the Sports Reporter Premier Players Club NBA handicapper used the Pistons in four out of the five games and earned a 3-1-1 series record for members, while Sports Reporter Online members won two totals and a side and also got out at 3-1-1 for the series. But that’s besides the point.)
You won’t hear the name Allen Iverson mentioned in connection with the Pistons’ 2004 NBA Title, even though the Philadelphia 76ers’ misguided guard was the catalyst for it. You won’t hear his name mentioned because nearly all straight-up sports reporters have short memories and lack the creativeness to link cause-and-effect relationships that aren’t as obvious as, say, the record of two teams five months after a big player-trade between them.
Detroit head coach Larry Brown would never have left Philadelphia for Detroit had Iverson not proven to be a relatively uncoachable, non-team player. Iverson got through college on a free pass from John Thompson at Georgetown, where he learned nothing about team play and not much about the intricacies of basketball, either. After a tempestuous beginning to his NBA career, Iverson started to give reluctant acceptance to Brown’s teachings as 76ers’ head coach.
But to Iverson, it was a trade-off. He’d get his teammates more involved as long as he could skip practice when he wanted to.
You remember the video clips of Iverson stating his severe disdain of practice. The guy actually called a press conference to fight against criticism directed at him for missing the practices of Larry Brown, considered one of the best teachers in the game: "I’m talking about practice, practice, not the game, not the game, that I work my heart, my soul, out for, just practice. What are we talking about here? We are talking about practice.”
As if the guy who invented phrase ‘’practice makes perfect’’ was some kind of an A-hole, and Iverson was re-inventing the formula for success – just show up.
Any straight-up fan who listened to Iverson and admired any piece of what the man said will undoubtedly hit a wall in this life. Iverson could tell the world that he puts his heart and soul in the game, and plenty of people will think, ‘yeah, get off his case.’ But with a blatant disregard for practice – where strategies are mapped, bonds glued, hearts hardened and souls mated -- it just shows that his heart and soul are a fraction of the size of the average athlete. Who cares if he’s investing all his heart and soul when their sum total is spit?
Brown took a look at their respective contracts – length and size – and realized that the 76ers’ would always be Iverson’s team. Brown knew his own strengths could be better employed elsewhere. He knew that despite Iverson’s immense physical talents, that his weaknesses made the player a Human Anchor to the 76ers.
Larry Brown knew that his way was the better way, and that his way would work out better elsewhere. Because when you can’t reach the guy you need the most in order to reach a team goal, then the only thing to do is pack it in and wish the guy luck. Because he’ll certainly be needing it.
Over the last three seasons, the 76ers winning percentages against the spread were 47.6%, 45.6%, and 46.5%. Anyone flat-betting the team at $100 per game in that span lost -$3,000. Lost a thousand a season on Allen Iverson’s team. He didn’t want to prepare the right way. Anyone betting on the 76ers was putting hard-earned money on a team that was always out of sync.
When the recently concluded season began, Philadelphia was favored to win the NBA East in despite Brown’s departure, because people see “Iverson” and expect great results. But the 76ers were out of the division race by January and missed the playoffs entirely. Philadelphia became so bad that in early February, they fired the head coach who replaced Brown. At the time, Brown was in the middle of of grooming a real team in Detroit. The 76ers – good coach gone and star player allowed to set the tone in a bad way -- were collapsing.
At the time, the Pistons were a decent team with no real stars who frequently went ice cold on offense. Now they are the NBA Champs, because a coach who knew how to maximize a team’s strengths, minimize its weaknesses and get them to learn all about each other in practice joined them. The only other significant difference in the team from last season was Rasheed Wallace, added to the Pistons nine days after Philly had canned Randy Ayers, who never had a chance. In different eras, Brown and Wallace played ball for the same university – North Carolina. It couldn’t have hurt. They each learned a heck of a lot more at UNC than Iverson learned at Georgetown. Wallace, like Iverson, was a career malcontent. But he had the good sense to listen to someone who knew what he was talking about and could make a difference in his career. Now he’s a champ, and Iverson is a chump.
Personally, based on what I was watching, I think the officiating in the NBA Finals was incredibly one-sided favoring Detroit. Personally, I think that the NBA wanted it that way. Once the Lakers made the Finals, it really didn’t matter if they won or not. The rats – in this case the straight-up fans who make up the ''market'' that watches the Lakers – were already in the trap. They were going to watch – win or lose.
But did the NBA need for Kobe Bryant to be on trial for rape while wearing a 2004 League Championship ring? Doubtful. The guy is an incredible egomaniac whose off-the-court self-awareness is so low that he guaranteed a Game 5 win while under indictment by the state of Colorado. He may be innocent of the charges against him, but he still cheated on his wife. Does the NBA want to promote infidelity hand-in-hand with winning? Doubtful. Not yet, anyway.
Did the NBA need for a punk like Gary Payton to win a ring after deciding he wanted one? Doubtful. The guy was tossed from a lot of games this season, showing that he didn’t want to work hard enough to get the job done. He lost a lot of playoff games in Seattle and with three-time champions O’Neal and Bryant at his side, he helped Human Anchor dragged them down in the end – not a surprise.
Same thing with Karl Malone. ''I want a ring, so I’ll take less money and play with the younger superstars.'' Malone came to L.A. hurt, and he missed 34 games while hurt. Both he and Payton cheated home and away fans who had bought tickets to see them as key continuous parts of the Lakers. Neither really wanted to work hard toward their stated goal of winning a title.
When they got to L.A., both Malone and Payton were hailed by fans and media as making ''personal sacrifices'' in order to win a title, because they accepted lower salaries than they had been accustomed to making. But nobody suggested that their best chance to win a title had already been blown. If Payton and Malone had taken less money while with Seattle and Utah, they could have enabled those teams to add a third scoring option or an all-around talented and experienced difference-maker (like Rasheed Wallace), gotten out of the West more times than they did, and put themselves in better position to win the title they thought they deserved.
That light bulb never had a chance of being switched on in the head of either ''Hall of Famer.''
Man, with all that poor sportsmanship and unethical behavior going on with the Lakers, PLUS a head coach who only goes to teams with superstars, rolls the balls out on the practice floor and lets them play, it was so EASY to root for the Pistons. Our NBA handicapper was all over that bad Lakers karma, too. Larry Brown, winner of no prior NBA titles, ripped the pants off Phil Jackson, winner of nine prior NBA titles. Who’s the better basketball coach?
So, does Allen Iverson have an ''Answer'' for why Larry Brown won a title as soon as Brown chewed through the handcuffs that linked him with someone who would question the merits of practice? And, do you think Kobe Bryant will guarantee a win when his trial verdict is due?
Razorguns
Well-known member
When will people realize success at sports is more than just take all the best players and throw them in a pot. Ask any general manager who threw tons of money at signing every hot shot player in the league, and STILL never won the world series or nba champsionship.
great powerful talented monster TEAMS EVOLVE thorugh talented players, coaches and proper management.
great powerful talented monster TEAMS EVOLVE thorugh talented players, coaches and proper management.
fistfullofsteel
New member
damn biteme. that bicep looks jacked. did you shave your chest?
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