Weekend edition:
Ryan Jones of SLAM: “Here’s what Lute (Olson) and I can agree on: The one-and-done rule is a “farce.” Where we don’t agree is on WHY it’s a farce, and what to do about it. Lute thinks it’s a farce for the same reasons most college coaches think it’s a farce, because it makes their jobs harder by taking away what they believe is rightly theirs: The “right” to pimp the best young basketball players in America for fun and profit before releasing those players to actually go make a living. I think it’s a farce because it’s hypocritical, immoral, and unfair (and maybe even unconstitutional!) That’s just me.”
Charley Rosen of Foxsports: “But here’s the real litmus test of whether or not Jackson can bring Artest into the fold: Is Artest any more emotionally unstable than Dennis Rodman? Obviously not. Indeed, is there anybody unencumbered by rubber rooms or prison walls who is?”
J.E. Skeets of Ball Don’t Lie: “I am stoned as a harlot. Whoa. I can’t believe how stoned I am. I really shouldn’t have smoked that much dope on my way to practice. In hindquarters, that was not a good decision. See: this why you never take the bus to practice, Brad (Miller).” (PG-13)
Basketbawful: “Marvin “Bad News” Barnes — who received his nickname for various off-the-court problems, like (allegedly) attacking Providence teammate Larry Ketvirtis with a tire iron — was one of the NBA’s great wasted talents. Marvin’s greatest sin was his crime against Mighty Science. In 1975, during his rookie year with the ABA’s Spirit of Saint Louis, Barnes showed up for a team flight and was told that it was scheduled to leave Louisville at 8 a.m. and land in St. Louis at 7:57 a.m. This, of course, was due to a time zone change, but Barnes couldn’t wrap his head around the concept. As he explained to Bob Costas (who at the time was the Spirits’ announcer): “I ain’t goin’ on no time machine. I ain’t takin’ no flight that takes me back in time.” So News rented a car and drove to St. Louis.” (PG-13)
20 Second Timeout: “One of the best testaments to Kobe Bryant’s greatness is that he led the Lakers to the playoffs twice despite having Parker as the starting point guard and Kwame Brown as the starting center. Point guard and center are arguably the two most important positions on a basketball team and while it is not necessary that the players at those positions be the two best players on the team it is usually vital that a team receives a certain amount of consistent production from those positions.”
Trevor Smith of Hoops Addict: “The majority of basketball fans prefer to watch and debate the game subjectively. That is to say, they go with what their eyes and gut instincts tell them. One might watch a Detroit-Phoenix game and come away thinking Phoenix is a superior offensive team. This is of course still debatable, since each has different sets and operates player abilities within different systems. But what if we restrict the debate to one core element of each team’s game: shooting ability? Given the existence of statistical tracking of Field Goal Percentage, one might think a verdict would be straightforward and clear. Yet it usually never is.”
