» July 8, 2009 6:58 PM | By Brandon Hoffman
- Charley Rosen piles on LeBron James: “Truly great players — like MJ, Kobe, Bird, and Magic to name just a few — simply refuse to lose. In win-or-go-home playoff games they rise to the occasion and dominate every clutch play. LeBron’s mediocre performance in Game 6 against the Magic gives him something to prove in 2009-10. If he can forget about the sophomoronic sideline antics that the Cavs demonstrated in the name of togetherness last season, and instead devote all of his considerable abilities to the game on the floor, then he just might transcend his current status as a less-than-meets-the-eye basketball standout.” Rosen is one of my favorite NBA scribes. But this is revisionist history. Magic Johnson lost four NBA Finals. Jordan didn’t win a ring until his 7th season. The notion that all-time greats like Jordan, Magic, and Bird always rose to the occassion in “win-or-go-home playoff games” is absurd.
- Jonathan Feigen: “In an indication that Yao Ming will miss all of the 2009-10 season, the Rockets signed Trevor Ariza using the disabled player exception they expect to receive with Yao out. The use of the injury exception would indicate he plans to undergo season-ending surgery, rather than choosing the more conservative option of immobilizing the injury again in the hopes that his hairline fracture would heal without surgery. The upcoming season will be the fifth consecutive season that has been interrupted, ended or in this case missed because of a bone injury.”
- Austin Burton: “I know I’m not the only person who wondered aloud why — for an event where the list of speakers was obviously carefully selected from a large pool of candidates — Kobe Bryant was on stage alongside Magic Johnson. OK, I do know why: The memorial was in L.A., Kobe is the most populer person in L.A. right now, he has a clear link to Magic (if not Michael), so he was granted a spot to speak. And I’m not criticizing Kobe at all; a lot of people in his position would be honored to receive the invitation, and if he’d turned it down, it would be a bigger, more negative story than if he’d accepted. But watching Kobe on the stage, I realized his real connection to Michael. That in a lot of ways, Kobe represents a lot of what Michael Jackson has been in his public life. The initial comparisons are easy: Both supremely talented child prodigies who were raised to be superstars and followed through on their potential, both resonate with fans in other countries arguably more than with their rabid fans in America, both dedicated students of their respective crafts with clear influences from past idols (Michael by James Brown, Kobe by Jordan). But the clearest and most lasting similarity goes deeper than that. For all their talent and considering all the people who are obsessed with knowing every detail of their lives, no one has ever really been able to figure out Kobe Bryant or Michael Jackson.”
- Ethan J. Skolnick of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “I covered Iverson at Georgetown, and I’m an admirer of what he has accomplished in the NBA. How could you not be? His toughness and competitiveness have never been in question. He’s a Hall of Famer. He took a mediocre supporting cast to the Finals. And he has shown the capacity to defer when surrounded by elite players. He has done so in All-Star games, though his behavior at the Olympics was not quite as exemplary. He and Dwyane Wade could play together, sharing ball-handling responsibilities, as long as Iverson understood who got the ball most when it mattered. And as long as he put in some effort on defense. Off the court? Different story. The ‘South Beach flu’ was coined for him. If he signed with the Heat, would he ever make it to a shootaround again? Does that matter? On this young team, it does.”
- The AP: “Stoudemire said Wednesday he is ready for next season, five months after eye surgery. But he doesn’t know if he’ll be with the Suns, who have been fielding trade offers for their All-Star power forward. ‘Nothing’s solid,’ said Stoudemire, who had surgery to repair a torn retina in February. ‘That’s what’s crazy about the situation is that there’s no solid decision right now. I don’t think nobody knows. From a player standpoint, nobody knows what’s going on, so it’s difficult for us right now to focus on our approach to the upcoming season because we don’t know who’s going to be here.’ Stoudemire can become a free agent after next season, but said he’d like to remain with the team that drafted him in the first round in 2002 — as long as the Suns are contenders. Phoenix missed the playoffs last season. ‘Right now, it all depends on what team I decide I want to go to,’ Stoudemire said. ‘If I want to sign an extension with a mediocre team — probably not. I’ll sign an extension with a team that has a future. You follow what I’m saying? The ball is in their court now.’”
Category: Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, NBA Issues, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Points in the Paint, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards
Tags: Allen Iverson, Amare Stoudemire, Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Heisley, Yao Ming
Discuss in Forum
July 9th, 2009 at 3:06 am
i’m stunned that people are upset with LeBron’s playoff performance against the Magic.
oh wait, Rosen wrote it – nevermind – he hates LeBron.
July 9th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
not only does rosen hate lebron, he hates cleveland, and possibly all of ohio.
ironic that my boy aussie b. points out that both Michael “hehe” Jackson and KOBE!! are total weirdo’s.
July 9th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
what a difference playing in LA makes.
Last year Kobe goes out and gets embarrassed in the finals – and within 3 weeks he’s “the greatest player on the planet” again with his 40% shooting in the olympics.
Meanwhile LeBron puts up quite possibly the greatest numbers in playoff history – and a month later all I read is hate-filled comments in EVERY SINGLE NBA post.
I mean, he might be the most hated player in the NBA right now.
July 10th, 2009 at 2:47 am
What about Mike Brown’s freestyle? That was hilarious!
July 10th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Tsunami: This has nothing to do with LA. No one is criticizing LeBron’s effort against the Magic (Although I really wish you would get off this “greatest numbers in playoff history” nonsense. The Pistons and Hawks had no business being in the playoffs, and you know it. LeBron had two or three of the greatest playoff games of all-time versus Orlando, and two very mediocre performances. That doesn’t add up to the the “greatest performance in playoff history” to me. I don’t care what his Player Efficiency Rating was.)
LeBron is being criticized because he acted like a poor sport after the Cavs were eliminated by the Magic. Plus he showed no remorse a day later. And because he allegedly instructed a Nike official to confiscate a tape that showed him getting dunked on.
I mean seriously…
July 10th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
A-Train: You should give “The Blowtorch” a bookmark. He publishes two or three funny blogs a week.