Boston C’s Party
The last time the Celtics and Raptors hooked up it was close, an OT thriller that Boston won in the last seconds. But for any number of reasons — no Chris Bosh, no Bargnani or Garbajosa, Boston having had more time to build chemistry, T.J. Ford not being on fire, Paul Pierce not being ice-cold — Friday night wasn’t that kind of party. The C’s routed the Raps, getting 23 points from Kevin Garnett (buckets over Joey Graham instead of Bosh) and 18 from Pierce … Are we really at a point where the Spurs are so good, Tim Duncan is merely icing? Since TD went down (ankle/knee) earlier this week, his squad has knocked off two of the top teams in the League, taking out Dallas a few days ago and Utah last night. Again Manu Ginobili carried the load, putting up 37 points and getting into the lane at will despite everyone knowing what he wanted to do. Tony Parker had 16, including a huge top-of-the-key jumper in the final minute. Throw in some Mike Finley and Robert Horry Bong Show on top of it all, and you’ve got a major statement win for San Antonio … How about Duncan on the bench looking cleaned up? OK, so the sports coat/t-shirt/jeans thing isn’t exactly Kanye-style fashion forward, but considering it’s Duncan, that’s about as GQ as he gets. If there wasn’t a dress code, Timmy might have shown up in board shorts … Chris Paul? Nasty. He dropped 43 on the Grizzlies, and made the game-winner in OT on a drive where he crossed over and switched gears about three times before finding an open lane to float one above the trees. CP wasn’t just gunning, though; he put up 9 assists and got 4 steals. A pass-first point guard, yes, but when you need it, CP can take over and become as lethal a scorer as and PG in the game … Enough questions about whether the Magic are for real (something we’ve been hearing astounded road announcers concede at the end of a lot of Orlando’s wins). What about the Pacers? They’re only .500, but last night they beat Orlando, a few days ago they hung right there with Phoenix, and they’ve also got W’s over Denver, Dallas, New Orleans and Utah under the belts. Last night saw another big game from Jamaal Tinsley (20 pts, 10 asts, 7 rebs), as he led a big second-half comeback while the Magic’s shooters went cold … Dwight Howard had his standard 30-point, 15-board, Man-Sized-Dunks type of night, but he can put up numbers all day and Orlando will still lose if the rest of the guys (namely Rashard, Hedo and Bogans) aren’t hitting … Gilbert Arenas wasn’t around to drop 50-something on the Suns, but the Wizards picked up the slack and stuck with Phoenix for half. Then Steve Nash put on his Superman glasses and started seeing everything a few frames ahead of everyone else. Nash ended up with 19 assists. Watch him: he’s headed for a 20-assist game some day real soon. He’s on a serious roll right now … Jason Kidd came back, with no migraines but — intentionally or not — a message sent that the Nets need him too much. Last night, though, Kidd couldn’t do anything about the simple fact that Lawrence Frank had to guard Yao with one of the few guys who might be slower than him: Jamaal Magloire. Yao gave him buckets (25 pts) and threw in a fitted hat for Boki in the process … We’re out like winning at San Antonio …
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December 8th, 2007 at 5:39 am
kowtz says:
Wow… first… stupid me… ;D
By the way, who said Manu Ginobili cannot carry a team again? and he’s only good as 3rd stringer???
December 8th, 2007 at 5:53 am
Keith says:
It was hatinonmanu who said Manu is overrated and would be shut down if he were to try to carry the team. Then, after his previous 37 point game, he said it’s only one game. Blah, blah, blah.
December 8th, 2007 at 6:07 am
K.i.n.G. says:
Wow shaq was right about the fact the he still shoots the ball well but doesnt get enough touches (13 points 6/6) pat riley sat him out the entire 4th and the heat had the lead the entire way until their meltdown in the 4th quarter. People need to lay off shaq, miami as a team is playing like shit and unless they pray for a miracle, they will not make the playoffs
December 8th, 2007 at 6:16 am
João says:
What in the world Pat Riley is doing ??? He went “Avery Johnson playing small ball” and took Shaq and Zo the entire fourth quarter and we lose 38-20 after leading by 18 … Shaq was 13 and 10 6/6 in 21 minutes ,,, he should be piss ,,,, Nice game by Dorrell though 19-17
December 8th, 2007 at 7:24 am
S-SiN says:
that’s a damn shame. maybe diesel should consider sitting out with a migrane headache for a game or two.
December 8th, 2007 at 8:06 am
sans says:
Yes, I hold hate in my heart for Manu. Only because he gets away with ridiculous flops by using very good acting techniques. He’s got skills, hustles, and plays the “whole game” (like Pippen in his prime) but his bullshit Vlade impersonations are aggravating to watch. Seriously, it hurts the games, and Manu is so good at it, that every freshman boys game I see, there are two flops a day by good players trying to turn the tide for their team.
Oh, and I hate Tony Parker for how he carved up my Cavs. As good as the Spurs are, not hating them is unAmerican. Like rooting for Duke and the Yankees exclusively.
December 8th, 2007 at 8:19 am
kowtz says:
Manu’s and Vlade’s Flopping…
Wade’s three “after dribble” steps…
AI’s hop step and warding off fore arm…
Shaq’s and Dike’s elbows…
I could go on and on…
My point is, it’s called street smarts… If the ref’s can’t see it, or see’s it but doesn’t call it, it’s their fault… not the player’s…
Riley should really step down… find another good coach, ala stan vang gundy to make the heat good again, then fire his ass and take over…
December 8th, 2007 at 8:25 am
kowtz says:
Oh btw… Raptors hung with the C’s Big three for four quarters without CB4,Bargnani and Garbajosa and with a cold TJ Ford…
Maybe now someone would suggest to trade them for Bynum, K.Brown, Farmar, and Mhim… ;D LMAO…
December 8th, 2007 at 9:03 am
djKianoosh says:
maybe it’s me, but i didn’t see one ginobili flop last night. are people actually watching the games anymore? i think people’s impressions of manu have overtaken reality at this point. in fact, didn’t i see deron williams take a flop, errr i mean charge, against TP early in the game? just play the game. beat him to the spot, and the refs will call a foul on him. that’s it. just beat him to the spot.
December 8th, 2007 at 9:09 am
dagwaller says:
Good points, kowtz. I hate that stuff too, but good points. Also, good joke about the trade, ha
December 8th, 2007 at 9:29 am
the_don_mega says:
S-Sin’s right.. The Diesel should call in sick one of these days… im out like not putting Durant in today’s smack…
December 8th, 2007 at 9:35 am
kobeef says:
yeah – TJ was awesome last night and am completely re-thinking his status…let me walk you through the Raps numbers:
- Raps were down 22 at the half
- TJ had 4 turnovers and 3 assists in 21 min vs Calderon’s 3 assists and 0 turnovers in 14 min (why was Calderon all of a sudden benched?)
you are right –
“I have seen the future of the raptors and his name is TJ Ford”. -C. Barkley
Speaking of seeing the future STAT is 21 of 25 from the field in his last two games and also – another awesome game from Durant in a win with 35 points and 5 blocks.
December 8th, 2007 at 9:39 am
Bron42 says:
I think when people say many isn’t good enough to carry a team, they mean like a avearage team ala hawks, grizzles, a lebron less cavs team. Duncan is hurt but its not like the spurs are suddenly gonna fall apart. They have mad experience and guys who have played big games all the way down the bench. So while manu has carried the scoring these last two games, its still not like hes doin it all by himself or teams are just planning on stopping him and him alone. and sorry to say it but flopping is wayyyy more annoying and called wayyy less than all the other stuff you named, although wade did used to get away with the extra 3 steps after his spin for a while.
December 8th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Ian says:
hatinonmanu
again u r an idiot
finally u did watch a game
i said one ill say it again
manu can put up tmac numbers and even better than tmac he can make his team win
manu can be a number one option on any a team
so 37 7 7 vs dallas and jazz not impressed yet?
December 8th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Bron42 says:
and come on, no cmment on tinsley hittin the isomotion button on hedo? I swear if he coiuld stay legit for a whole season…
December 8th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Bron42 says:
and did you just really say manu is better than tmac? i’m sure i just read that wrong. you say that like tmac is some bum and manu has gone undefeated his whole career. tmac is way more well rounded than manu and more clutch…dont let a few good games cloud your memory. Manu is a good SLASHER who has put up big scoring games recently on a still good spurs team and still has yet to carry a bad team or be the focus of defenses..I mean come on, he was gettin guarded by ronnie brewer. tony parker parker had 16 and a huge bucket and his team won, are we gonna start sayin he is a number one option on any team and better than chris paul or something next? please.
December 8th, 2007 at 10:04 am
IGP says:
Since when is rooting for the Yankees unamerican? What an idiot…
December 8th, 2007 at 11:26 am
SWAT says:
Thank you Bron42 for stating that…you beat me to it. Ian don’t get me wrong Manu is sick and i love the spurs (except when they play my boys) but you made the insinuation that Manu is better than Tmac…i’m hoping you were joking. Plus the spurs are Nba elite and have a point who knows his range and kills the lane. Oh, only if my boy Skip could take a lesson…
And i love the yankees…well actually maybe just the hats. C’mon blue fitted with wheat tims, classic.
December 8th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Bron42 aka Global4Areason says:
did me and swat just agree? must be the holidays lol…plain and simple, manu is nice (although he def flops more than anyone in the league) but hes not a elite superstar. No team has every started throwin double and triples teams at him. No team went “ok, duncan is hurt, how we have to shut down manu to win this” And its not like if duncan was done for the season, manu would keep this kinda productivity up and carry them to the playoffs. Hes a complimentary piece, a good one but still.
December 8th, 2007 at 11:43 am
TG says:
No mention of the Bulls’ big road win over the Pistons? Or that Ben Wallace made 8 — count ‘em, EIGHT — straight free throws?! Or that Nocioni again went off in the second half to key the victory, ending up with 22 points (he’s averaing 20 PPG OFF THE BENCH so far this month). Now Chicago gets to take on the Celtics tonight.
December 8th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
kowtz says:
Bron42: No team went “ok, duncan is hurt, how we have to shut down manu to win this”
Yeah… you’re absolutely right… maybe that’s the reason why he’s dropin 37 and Spurs are still winning…
I agree though… flopping is soooo much more irritating, mainly because it’s so obvious, but refs still fall for it… HA!
talking about Jkidd dishing 20… did anybody see the game where Skiles dished 30? was that like drop the ball to shaq and gt my assists, or more of really distributing the ball???
BTW, talking about street smarts? I wish you guys could have watched a Filipino PF named Bong Hawkins… he was like 6’3″ vs 6’8″ PF here in Manila… and of course, since he was Fil, he was not that athletic, had like an inch and a half jump, but dude was killing under the paint… even against 6’8″ American players… he used them all, moving his pivot, fore arm, travel, flop, everything… ;D
December 8th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
the_don_mega says:
ei kowtz… how can u forget “the captain”? dude was and would always be better than bong hawkins…
December 8th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Data says:
Raps need to deal TJ. Sam Mitchell has the worst subsitution patterns in the league. As long as TJ is on the team he’s gonna take away Jose’s valuable minutes. Sam why not start the PG with the highest assist/turnover ration in the league? Yes TJ has his good games every now and then but he’s not better than Jose. What PG are all GMs impressed with Jose yet Sam still feels it necessary for them to play equally. This is the NBA not intramurals not everybody has to play equally. The raptors biggest problem might be that they just have to much depth. I’m out like a premature sam mitch sub!
December 8th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
nick says:
good point data. tj needs to be gone cause he is a cancer when is not in his pass first mode. when he has more points then assists the raps usually lose. jose should start but won’t due to the indifference in the salary between jose and tj.
December 8th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
jnuh says:
Ford & Calderon are a package deal. No one is going anywhere. Together they are the best PG tandem in the league. Why would anyone want to split that up? I find it hilarious that just because one is on a roll (Calderon) & one is playing inconsistently (Ford) all of a sudden there’s got to be a trade made!
I seem to remember Ford tearing it up the first part of the season before he got injured. What are people going to say when they’re both killing the opposition for 42 straight minutes?
Exactly.
December 8th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Duke says:
How is Tmac more clutch than Manu?
December 8th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Bron42 aka Global4Areason says:
Kowtz: Ya thats my point, hes not a superstar liek that. Hence the coaches weren’t really focused on stopping him. Now they are but hes still not a superstar. On any team hes been on, usa or international, hes never been the focal point. Hes been on balanced teams and played his part. If he was on the hawks where teams could plan ahead for him, or double team/ triple team him like they do the kobe,tmac,wades of the league, then that would be different. Him scoring 37 in 2 games doesn’t mean jack because its the NBA. Any guy can go for big games. Hell Gerald wallace had like 4 30+ games last year and he has no jumpshot. The difference between the elite wings and manu is they can put up these kind of number WITH people knowing that their gonna do it. You can triple kobe and he’d still give you like 25+ points. Manu is more of a player who is good when theres ball movement and getting to the basket. His game isn’t well rounded enough to carry a team single handedly. You can’t seriously sit there and think, if duncan never comes back ,manu has the game to carry the spurs to the finals himself.
Duke: How is tmac more clutch? a) hes hit more big shots
b) more importantly like i said before, hes done it WHILE being the focal point. if houston were down by 2 with 4 seconds left, you KNOW its going to tmac. you cant say the same about the spurs cuz they have so many guys who can hit that shot. Parker, Manu, horry, duncan, hell even mike finley. So its not like “ok everyone just run at manu” the way you would with tmac. yet hes still has more big shots to his nba resume than manu.
December 8th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
skurv says:
just face it. spurs are unstoppable. and yes, no one hates the dress code more than tim. he use to rock jean shorts, button up linen shirt(unbuttoned) showing of the ‘beater underneath and rounding it off with the flip flops. thats how they do it in the islands baby. and the mics on the coaches ties are really stupid. the only material they used was pointless. and they had pops mic on one time when he yelled BULLSHIT. classic. i think hubie tinkled himself.
December 8th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Brown says:
jnuh, you have no idea what you’re talking about. The reason Ford has to get traded is because Calderon is a FA at the end of the year, and someone is gonna give him more money than the Raptors can afford. You can’t spend 15-18 mill on your PGs. Since Jose is obviously the better player, a Ford trade is inevitable. You obviously haven’t seen TJ play this year, and how many games he’s cost the Raptors with his terrible shot selection and turnovers at crucial times in the game. Don’t look at Ford’s stats, they’re extremely misleading. If there was a stat to track basketball IQ, Jose would destroy TJ.
Try to find 5 people who actually watch Raptors games who would disagree with me……..
Exactly.
December 8th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Jon says:
Brown:
I watch every Raptors game, and I disagree with you. This team needs Ford in a very bad way. Outside of Bosh he is the only player on the team who can actually create his own offense and get to the free throw line on a consistent basis. Calderon is not a better player. He is a safer player who takes no chances with the ball, ever, and who racks up assists mostly on simple passes along the perimeter. I love Calderon, but he is completely unable to create anything on offense without someone setting a pick for him. Not too mention he is completely inept on defense. I’ve never seen a point guard get destroyed off the dribble on such a consistent basis. If he were a full-time starter this would be exploited even more then it already is. Ford has his faults as well. He does, at times, force things that aren’t there. But to say he’s cost the Raptors games is complete bull crap. In the beginning of the season, before his injury and before Bosh started playing well, Ford was carrying the team (like he did last year when Bosh was injured) and was the only reason the Raptors won the games they did.
And the Raptors will keep both players. Only two teams this offseason will have any cap space (I believe Philly and Charlotte or something) and neither is in a great need for a PG. Plus, considering all the other free agents this summer Calderon won’t get more then the mid level exception, which the Raptors will most likely match…there’s also the fact that as a base year compensation player, Ford is just about impossible to trade this year.
December 8th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Bron42 aka Global4Areason says:
Actually I could see the bobcats throwin some money at calderon since felton is shaky and who is their backup? mcguinesses? he sucks.
But I completely agree with jon. its all fine and dandy to jump on the jose band wagon now like hes been dominating for years when he actually is only on a hot streak. In reality, him and ford balance eachother out. Kinda like football..you have your power running back and your speedy running back. need both to have a balanced attack because if you split them up it gives the defense a better chance to key in on the flaws that each one of them have.
December 9th, 2007 at 2:53 am
dagwaller says:
Yeah. Except in this case, the difference is so obvious that there are only two people that don’t understand it. Again, there’s NO ON IN THE LEAGUE better than jose in terms of t.o. to a. ratio. What else do you want in a pg? “creating a shot?” ok. Take your d-wade or whatever. Stupid. Not saying they should trade him, or that they shouldn’t. Just that at this point, it’s obvious who’s superior, and I can spot two people that don’t understand.
December 9th, 2007 at 4:29 am
kowtz says:
Wow… another fil…
@the_don_mega
Dude, the captain was a beast… but he was more athletic and more powerfull… he could even dunk the ball at 6’2″…
but bong hawkins was like arvydas sabonis athletic… still he killed…
I know the captain was better than him no doubt, but he was gifted, bong hawkins was not gifted physically…
December 9th, 2007 at 4:33 am
kowtz says:
Ford+Calderon = Ward+Childs
December 9th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Bron42 aka Global4Areason says:
actually no dag, personally i could care less about either one of them cuz the raptors will always suck. My point is sure calderon has a good turnover assist ratio but he still has a ton of flaws in his game too. So its not like if they got rid of tj, the raptors would jsut dominate. They both balance out eachothers flaws. and ya, anybody and their mother would take wade over calderon or tj. calderon superior? ya in some aspects but don’t make it like hes the best pg in the league. He is a good decision maker who isn’t a good shooter, doesnt play defense and cant great his own shot. Tj is fast penetrating guard who gets to the line but is kinda sloppy. Neither are stars or should be playin star minutes but they still fill eachothers weak points.
December 9th, 2007 at 11:05 am
the_don_mega says:
“but bong hawkins was like arvydas sabonis athletic…”
u hit it right on the money kowtz!!!
yeah!!! reppin’ Manila here!!!
December 9th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
dagwaller says:
Bron, I see what you mean. I pretty much agree with you that they shouldn’t trade TJ, unless he’s used in some big trade that another team comes at them with (in other words, don’t go looking for a TJ trade). I like TJ, and I think he’s good. It’s just that…
A.) I was hammered when I posted that, so, sorry. Don’t drink, kids.
B.) MY point is just that Calderon IS better. So if they were left with JUST Calderon, they’d be fine, and any arguments saying that TJ is better are bunk.
December 9th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
kowtz says:
I thinc Cle would be more interested in Calderon than Cha… Still think they should have made a run for Udrih or at least jasikevicius
December 9th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Brown says:
Jon:
Steve Nash gets abused on defense too, so is he terrible because of that? Hell no. I seem to recall Calderon taking it to the rim off the dribble and finishing consistenly (with either hand), whereas Ford can hardly make a layup unless there’s nobody within 10 feet of him. He’s just too short to finish in any sort of traffic, including just having one defender on him.
If you’ve been watching Raptors games this year, you would have noticed that on more than one occassion, the game was close in the final minutes, Ford comes in, jacks up a couple of low-percentage shots, misses them, and they end up losing. And what about the game where he came down and jacked up a 3 with 18 seconds left on the clock and the Raps down by 3. A smart PG would have looked to get the ball to Kapono or Parker, the team’s best two shooters, or at least tried to look for a better option than jacking up a contested 3 when your shot hasn’t been falling all night.
If that isn’t costing your team the game, I don’t know what is. Open your eyes dude.
I’m not saying Ford will be traded this year, but in the summer the Raps may be forced to decide on one of the two depending on who has cap room (the trade deadline hasn’t passed yet, and some teams could open up cap room for the offseason). If they want to win, they should logically choose Calderon over Ford, since the team plays better when Calderon gets the majority of minutes at the 1. They can pick up another PG to spell Calderon and be his backup. Plus they still have Ukic stashed away in Europe.
December 9th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Ian says:
bron
u must out of your mind
yes i did say that manu puts up numbers like tmac o kobe
in fact he can even do it in his current team if he got starter minutes
tmac is more clutch u say lmao
when has t mac been more clutch in a few regular season wins because he sure as hell doesnt do it in big games
then the funniest thing in the whole post that manu has balanced teams and he never has to be the man even in international play
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
wasnt he the best player in his euroleague team
and wasnt he the leader and mvp of his olympic team
do u even know who manu is or what he did before he came to league
manu has 20 5 5 in just 25mns a game and u tell me he cant do 25 8 8 with ten more minutes a game pleaseee
manu is just a slasher u say he is a better jump shooter than tmac and by far better from the three point line.
u know what u gotta make up your mind because when u have the balls to say garnett is better than duncan(which is retarded btw) u say duncan has a stacked team full of stars thats why he wins. but when we praise manu for being a star (which he is) o come around and say hes just an ok compliment and wins because he has duncan
bron make up your mind which one is it?
manu ranked 9th last season in per and is 2 this year
light years ahead of allen hamilton johnson and all other sg’s not named kobe
December 9th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Ian says:
Saurabh Saraf (London): Has a bench player ever ranked #2 (as Ginobli currently is) for PER at seasons end?
John Hollinger: No, this would be completely unprecedented. It’s a testament to how selfless Manu is that he’s accepted this role without complaint despite being more skilled than about 98% of the players in the league.
Usually secondary players on championship teams become somewhat overrated. Ginobili is the glaring exception to that rule. He’s perceived as a nice, solid, complementary player because he averages 16.5 points a game and comes off the bench and plays in a small city. Guess again: This guy’s a superstar. If he played in a bigger market or played more minutes, it would become more apparent just how good Ginobili is, and what a travesty it was that he neither made the All-Star team nor won the Sixth Man award.
Ginobili ranked ninth in the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating last season. Not ninth among shooting guards or ninth among internationals — I mean ninth out of everyone in the universe, right behind Kevin Garnett and just ahead of Carlos Boozer. He ranked ahead of five players — Boozer, Gilbert Arenas, Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, and Chris Bosh — who finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting.
all that is from espn insider
December 9th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
dagwaller says:
Damn. Ian just brought it. Brown, I’m with you, too.
December 9th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Bron42 says:
ian you REALLY need to learn to read. I’ma start with the easiest one first.
I NEVER said KG was better than duncan. I said skill and talent wise their both even, specially considering career stats, out duels duncan. I said if you switched KG and duncan, based on STATS they would be a pretty even switch. And i didnt even say the spurs were stacked with “stars”, i said it was a balanced team with guys who were hand picked to fit around duncan. Bowen aint a star, parker is barely a star, finley isn’t a star, manu isnt a star. Their all role players who are built AROUND duncan. none of them are really ever asked to do more than fill their role. So my mind has been made up for a while. The simple fact that the timberwolves traded ONE GUY and now only have 3 wins, says enough about KG so I don’t have to. Duncan has had a legit supporting cast since he came into the league as a rookie. And then whent he older guys like robinson left, the team was built around him. So if your seriously gonna say, the other guys on the timberwolves were equal to the spurs then your retarded. Plain and simple, look it up, KG duplicates duncans stats, so for me to go off of that and Kgs actual game credentials, than ya trading him and duncan wouldnt really be a big deal.
Now onto the manu shit, and this might be long so you’ll have plenty of time to keep his balls in your mouth. manu is in NO WAY on the level of tmac or kobe. No way. email espn right now and ask them. all you did was stated what I stated, yes he can put up numbers, but hes never been on a team where it was just him. So its not like people are throwin ron artest at him or shit like that. he picks his spots and sets up. hes never been the focal point and you cant count these last 2 games as that. Once again your stupid ass proves you cant read because I said even in his euro team, it was a balanced team. It was not manu vs the world. cuz if thats the case, scola is a bitch, herrman is a bitch, delfino is a bitch etc…and manu just carried them all. Thats never been the case and hes never had to carry a team for a long time. And the euro mvp? wow lol…tony parker won playoff mvp, was he suddenly the leader of the spurs and the reason they won it? no he just murdered a rookie in that series. And then you say hes light years ahead of other guards lol LOOK AT THE TEAMS THEIR ON. I really love how you keep comparing manu to guys who are like double and triple teamed all day on no name teams…hell matt bonner is efficient on the spurs. Jason kapono was the shit just for playin with shaq. When you have a dominant low post player, and in the spurs case a above average pg, everyone else is gonna have good stats. Your giving way too much credit to manu and takin too much from everyone else. And while i give you credit, quoting one person from espn in a article pretty much about manu doesn’t really help your case cuz i could easily quote steve A or someone all the times they ripped him. So instead of makin me type page after page, we’ll agree to disagree since unless he gets traded we’ll never actually kno.
December 9th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Bron42 says:
as for brown, calderon isnt nash and yes, nash’s lack of defense kills the team and its a big part of the reason they’ll never win a ring. All the dominant west teams have good point guard play. and if deron williams, tony parker, etc… continue to average 40 points on him in the playoffs, it doesn’t matter if he has 11 assists or not cuz it cancels out. So like the old saying goes, defense wins games.
December 9th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
dagwaller says:
Yea, Nash sure kills the Suns. I’m sure everyone in Phoenix is pining away for those pre-Nash years. Being one and done in the playoffs or not making the playoffs is so much better than where they are now…
December 10th, 2007 at 1:23 am
DOC says:
I agree Manu is a good player and if he was a T Wolf he would get exposed but Nash is nice like that.
December 10th, 2007 at 1:37 am
Jon says:
Brown:
I know the game you’re talking about (the Ford taking that contested 3) and I’ll agree that was a really bad decision. But your criticism for Toronto’s end of game plays should be directed at Sam Mitchell, not Ford. Mitchell always just runs that same iso play for Ford where the shooters spread the floor and Ford takes his guy off the dribble from the top of the key. The thing is, they’ve run this so many times other teams know to just stay at home on the shooters so that Ford has to take the shot.
And I will concede that Ford is not playing well right now, since he’s come back from his injury. He probably isn’t 100% right now. But when he is, he is a more talented and better player then Calderon, in my opinion at least. I know others disagree.
I still don’t see a reason in trading either unless Calderon does get a substantial offer in free agency. Right now Toronto gets 48 minutes of good PG play, and that’s not something many teams can say.