Support NeoGAF

[thekad]

:lol Good shit here, NBA age.

 

[numble]

GQ has a good article on Starbury balling in China for those interested:
http://www.gq.com/sports/profiles/201105/stephon-marbury-china-basketball

Here are some excerpts:

One got the sense that the finer points of graceful living didn't count much in the Brave Dragons' hometown of Taiyuan, an industrial city variously described in the online travel literature as "gritty," "smoggy," and "a fucking shithole." Outside, in the late autumn chill, the coal plants were going full tilt. Even with the windows closed, the air smelled like an emergency and had a salty chemical flavor you could taste with your eyes.

Still, Marbury seemed not to mind. "You get used to it," he told me before the meeting. "Really, it's not too bad, except this—" He gestured out the window at the unhandsome landscape of grease-blackened garages and industrial warehouses engulfed in the brown gloom. "And this—" He pointed at his mouth, indicating his distaste for the local cuisine. "When I first came here, for the first two weeks, I wanted to kill myself. But now I don't think about it."

Unlikely as it may sound to hear a multimillionaire athlete so emphatically resigned to a place like Taiyuan, it's worth recalling that by early 2010, when Marbury first cast his lot with the Dragons, he had reached a place in life where options did not abound. After leaving the NBA at age 32, the two-time All-Star's career had been defined not by his triumphs on the court but by what happened off it—a catalog of errors that included public spats with coaches, romancing a Knicks intern in his truck, and a series of candid Webcasts in which he wept, burst into song, ate Vaseline, and generally volunteered grist for broad speculation that he had gone out of his mind.

But then, when things looked dire indeed, associates put Marbury in touch with Chinese steel magnate Wang Xingjiang, who owned the Shanxi Brave Dragons. Until last year, Chinese law limited teams from paying their American players more than $60,000 per month (a sum Marbury characterized to me as "a little change"). As further enticement, Wang promised to crack China's growing market of 300 million basketball fans for Marbury's Starbury brand of low-cost apparel and shoes, a business that had been on ice since 2008. Promising an initial investment of $2.2 million, Wang and his associates would facilitate the selection of factories, coordinate construction of a nationwide franchise, and assist with the beleaguered point guard's rebirth in the fastest-growing economy in the world.

So Marbury left behind his family in genteel Purchase, New York, tried it out for a season, and found, to his great relief, a population of adoring fans willing to overlook his past. He drew record crowds to Brave Dragons games. At signings in Taiyuan within a month of his arrival, he moved 1,000 pairs of Starbury shoes in a few hours. He'd recently discussed with Shanxi a three-year contract and had not ruled out the possibility of retiring here.

With the season opener fifteen days away, Dragons management was eager to check in on the condition—physical and otherwise—of the team's six-foot-two point guard. But Marbury had more immediate concerns. The previous season, he'd stayed at the five-star World Trade Hotel, which sits on the toniest strip Taiyuan has to offer, convenient to Rolex and Burberry shops, with a half-dozen restaurants and a spa on the premises. This year, to his displeasure, he'd been stabled instead at the Grand Metropark Wanshi Hotel, whose sumptuousness was a notch or two below what you'd expect at the Omaha airport Sleep Inn.

Upon arriving, he'd complained to his handlers, to no avail. Marbury did not fancy the idea of spending four months in this hotel, whose rooms were carpeted in cigarette-pocked low-nap the color of earwax and whose mattresses would have registered respectably on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Nor did he want to stomach four months of meals at the Wanshi's restaurant, an undersea-themed eatery whose evening buffet included such dishes as Grab Stick, Intestine Duck, Best Thick Seam, Ear Rabbit, Black Fungus, Meat, and Duck Bloody Piece.

"Okay! We believe you! Ha! Ha!" said Cindy, in a tone of forced enthusiasm. "So, ah, now Mr. Song want to know, before you come to China, you maintain the trainings?"

She cast a nervous eye over Marbury's middle, which was a tad softer and rounder than it had looked beneath the lights at Madison Square Garden. Marbury nodded.

"Every day?"

"Listen," said Marbury. "All you need to know: When December 10 comes, when they throw the basketball up, I'll be ready."

Waking up in Taiyuan, a city of 3.5 million located 250 miles southwest of Beijing, was breathtaking in the literal sense. The city lay under an ochre fog of startling opacity. Even behind the fixed panes of my hotel windows, the air had a dizzying reek you could faithfully reproduce by sealing your head in a sack of Match Light charcoal. A walk around the neighborhood turned up symptoms of an industrial economy in transition: lots of people driving Mercedeses and Lexuses, yet still more people carrying multiple offspring and lumber on mopeds that seemed to be made mostly of tape. Sephora stores and Cadillac dealerships verged on aged tracts of cratelike concrete buildings Pompeian with particulate grime. Not a single window you couldn't have graffitied with a fingertip.

Inspecting the local firmament, I could see no birds in flight. "If you see one, let me know," said Marbury when I told him this. In fact, during my week in Taiyuan, I would not see a bird, or a rat, or an ant, or a cockroach, or any living creatures at all, except for human beings and a substantial population of upsettingly adorable and horny stray lapdogs.

Still, in the city's defense, "shithole," with its connotations of biotic robustness, was an unfair epithet. It was more like an engine, which was how Marbury regarded his adoptive home. Riding through Taiyuan, he pointed out the gleaming condominium towers going up along the custard-colored Fen River, and the storefronts where he imagined Starbury outlets opening their doors a few months from now. "This is one of the richest cities in China, and I'm here to be a part of it," he told me several times. The Starbury Corporation's future projects here might range from skyscraper construction to lumber and cotton, to "anything that's got anything to do with something being made." Even in the coal soot itself, Marbury saw future riches. "You just gave me an idea," he replied when I marveled at Taiyuan's grime. "Mobile car washes. Give these people a taste for being clean. I'm gonna get the schematics on that immediately."

Improbable as Marbury's schemes of merchandising/real estate/mobile car wash/import-export magnatehood might sound, it's worth considering that (a) Marbury is arguably the biggest star in the CBA, and (b) in China's increasingly basketball-obsessed but notoriously stingy consumer population, it's hard to imagine a product better poised for success than a celebrity-endorsed sneaker that sells for fifteen bucks. It is also important to note that behind Marbury's lofty visions are three Starbury corporate offices (North Carolina, New York, Los Angeles) and a staff of eighteen—two attorneys, two MBAs, accountants, a designer, etc.—working full-time to make the dream real.

And yet, so far, Marbury's days in Taiyuan seemed curiously devoid of the meetings and factory tours you might expect of someone building a billion-dollar empire. Save a single one-on-one workout and a few treadmill sessions, Marbury didn't seem all that concerned with getting in shape. So while the Chinese members of the Brave Dragons were off playing exhibition matches and training twice a day, the preseason stretch in Marbury's entourage was a purgatorial study in petit-opulent torpor: usually emerging from quarters near the two o'clock hour for a meal at McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway, or Kentucky Fried Chicken; then to the World Trade Hotel for another bruising massage; then dinner at said American franchises.

The only break in the monotony came one evening when the American members of the Brave Dragons coaching staff mounted a plan to go out on the town. In the lobby, I waited for the others with a young guy named Wes, a former player for Oregon State, who was picking up a few bucks as a freelance assistant coach of the Brave Dragons junior squad.

I asked him how the team was looking. "They got this one kid who's good," he said. "You don't understand. They keep these motherfuckers in a dorm and make them lift weights three, four hours a day."

If the Chinese were such rigorous cultivators of talent, I asked him, why had China produced only one international basketball star, the pituitary marvel Yao Ming?

"This next generation, they'll probably have a few more. You don't know. They're probably breeding the motherfuckers from petri dishes."

Then, after two days of near invisibility, he e-mailed me, asking me to come to his room. When I entered, he was on the phone with a travel agent, booking a hotel room in Beijing for the following night. "Yeah, sure, the Marriott. I'm just looking for the cheapest thing," he said.

He hung up and gave me an unhappy look. "I'm leaving Taiyuan," he said. "I been compromised." Management, he told me, had informed him that his services as a player were no longer required for the regular season. "If they make the playoffs, then they'll use me, is what they said. Otherwise, they want me to help coach."

He was, in other words, being asked to recapitulate his humiliating final season riding the bench for the Knicks. It was hard to understand this "offer" as anything but a ploy to force Marbury to quit the Dragons, which, he told me, was what he had done.

The following day, a platoon of solemn well-wishers gathered at the Taiyuan airport to say good-bye. Marbury posed for a few last photos. He told his fans how sorry he was to leave Shanxi but said little else. In the meantime, the Brave Dragons' GM, Zhang Aijun, was handling the breakup with considerably less aplomb. Since the rupture had become final, Zhang made a spirited public effort to saddle Marbury with blame for the split. What helped poison the contract, Zhang said, was Marbury's insistence on a $30,000 health-insurance policy for himself and his family and, and, his request for a $14 upgrade to the World Trade Hotel.

 

[Mystagogue]

They're probably breeding the motherfuckers from petri dishes.

This made me laugh unnecessarily hard.

 

[Sanjuro]

Billups is out for Game 2.

 

[KingGondo]

Billups is out for Game 2.

Same for Afflalo.

 

[Mystagogue]

Same for Afflalo.

Not that I take pride in defeating undermanned teams, but this helps. They have enough weapons as it is! Ready for this series to be over, thrilling or not.

 

[captmcblack]

Billups is out? Then the legend of Toney Douglas grows tonight.

 

[numble]

Not that I take pride in defeating undermanned teams, but this helps. They have enough weapons as it is! Ready for this series to be over, thrilling or not.

Who says this before Game 2?

 

[Celsior]

Same for Afflalo.

2k11 better not update the rosters for fucks sake.

 

[Red Blaster]

Who says this before Game 2?

Bandwagoners, IE every Chunder fan in existence.

 

[SamuraiX-]

So, everyone be honest, who knew that Bulls fans would be the real Triple Ls running through this thread come Playoff time?

I know they're the #1 seed in the East and all, but it just surprised me.

Heat fans have won their first two games more convincingly and they've been more quiet. I guess that's because pimp isn't here anymore throwing up his nonsense all over the page.

I'm going to dress up as a NBA boxscore for halloween to scare the hell out of people.

I laughed way too fucking hard are this. LOL

 

[DCX]

I have a good feeling about tonights game. The only thing that scares me is Landry Fields. He look a bit overwhelmed by the moment. He doesn't trust in his offensive game...he has hit a wall. I would play Bill Walker more..or even start him.

STAT needs at least 16 shots tonight, 4-6 of them in the last 3 minutes of the game. Pierce and Green defend Melo better than Peg Leg and Baby does Amar'e. Lets make them pay.

DCX

 

[The Frankman]

Billups is out? Then the legend of Toney Douglas grows tonight.

Expect Carmelo to bring it up alot and much more D'Antoni ball. Douglas and Carter seem to play better with a quicker tempo, although Carter can do both...

I wonder how YEAR OF UMPS NBA STYLE ® will bail out Boston tonight. Seriously Dolan better send some money to cancel that shit out.

Pierce and Green defend Melo better than Peg Leg and Baby does Amar'e.

See I don't think we know that because Pierce was getting bailed out. If Carmelo doesn't settle he should kill Pierce. Jeff Green? Yeah right... we need a return of the inside-out game, Shawne Hornacek/Bill Walker/Toney D from deep.

 

[Sanjuro]

Expect Carmelo to bring it up alot and much more D'Antoni ball. Douglas and Carter seem to play better with a quicker tempo, although Carter can do both...

I wonder how YEAR OF UMPS NBA STYLE ® will bail out Boston tonight. Seriously Dolan better send some money to cancel that shit out.

You are pathetic.

You were handed the game in the final seconds. Blew it. Blame refs. Makes perfect sense.

 

[The Frankman]

You were handed the game in the final seconds.

Yes, the Celts were!

LOL

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Yes, the Celts were!

BOSrefs

 

[Sanjuro]

Yes, the Celts were!

You must have been watching the wrong game then.

Knicks ball, with what eight seconds left? Celtics forget that Knicks don't have a time out. Coverage is scattered. Celtics also forget that they have a foul to give, don't foul anybody. Carmelo gets the ball. Wastes precious time. Takes terrible hero shot, blows the game.

or

REFS.


hmmm....

 

[numble]

BOSRefs
BOSRefs
BOSRefs

 

[Sanjuro]

BOSrefs? Who was here complaining about the refs for us?

 

[The Frankman]

I don't think you're supposed to complain when your team is the one getting all the calls. I mean you could have honor or something and mention it, but whereas I have the Jimmer Fredette tag honor may not be your strong suit.

Pretty damning when Bill Simmons is more objective than you are.

 

[Mystagogue]

Who says this before Game 2?

I think you took my comment a bit too literally.

 

[Sanjuro]

I don't think you're supposed to complain when your team is the one getting all the calls. I mean you could have honor or something and mention it, but whereas I have the Jimmer Fredette tag honor may not be your strong suit.

Pretty damning when Bill Simmons is more objective than you are.

I don't sit here and complain about the refs. You just sound like a baby. You had two more fouls than we did in the game. Guess being a real fan means I need to go back and find flaws with the officiating to combat your "argument".

At most during a game I'll call out something, sure. I've never sat here after a game and blamed the refs solely for a loss. It's just a cowardly thing to do.

 

[The Frankman]

At most during a game I'll call out something, sure. I've never sat here after a game and blamed the refs solely for a loss. It's just a cowardly thing to do.

Laker fans, handle trollboy here. I just fell out my chair laughing.

 

[diehard]

I don't think you're supposed to complain when your team is the one getting all the calls. I mean you could have honor or something and mention it, but whereas I have the Jimmer Fredette tag honor may not be your strong suit.

Pretty damning when Bill Simmons is more objective than you are.

I still don't know why you got that tag but its the best one in here, imo.

 

[Sanjuro]

Laker fans, handle trollboy here. I just fell out my chair laughing.

Again, explain how I'm a troll? You have yet to do so.

I'm at peace with most of the Laker fans here. They have a few bad eggs in their sea of posts during LA games, overall all of them are more tolerable than you.

Maybe if the Knicks didn't let Jermaine O'fuckingNeal lead a Boston comeback from down double digits, the game wouldn't have been close enough to let the refs (who have made TERRIBLE calls in 75% of the crunch time in playoff games so far) make an impact on the game. The refs may have given Boston a few calls, but the Knicks' terrible decisions (going away from Amare) are the reason they lost.

Shut the fuck up Bread, you don't know anything. Clearly Jermaine O'Neal didn't outplay Carmelo, he was just a REF the whole time!

 

[Bread]

Expect Carmelo to bring it up alot and much more D'Antoni ball. Douglas and Carter seem to play better with a quicker tempo, although Carter can do both...

I wonder how YEAR OF UMPS NBA STYLE ® will bail out Boston tonight. Seriously Dolan better send some money to cancel that shit out.

Maybe if the Knicks didn't let Jermaine O'fuckingNeal lead a Boston comeback from down double digits, the game wouldn't have been close enough to let the refs (who have made TERRIBLE calls in 75% of the crunch time in playoff games so far) make an impact on the game. The refs may have given Boston a few calls, but the Knicks' terrible decisions (going away from Amare) are the reason they lost.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

The refs were terrible, Melo and Billups were just as bad. Can't be an all or nothing thing, bad calls but also Melo being Melo.

 

[diehard]

Melo gonna Melo.

 

[The Frankman]

Hey, Sanjuro wanted to make it a discussion. I obliged. Last thing I'm saying is it's pretty hard to extend a lead with Carmelo's poor shots/going away from Amar'e, the many BS fouls on the Knicks AND the non-calls on Boston. Everyone was pretty much in agreement with that on Sunday. I don't expect the Boston fans on here to own up to that, it's their opinion. But to then say it's the Knicks own fault they lost is laughable.

Onward to Game 2 and Dolan sending more money!

 

[SamuraiX-]

Come on, baki. Leave all the Knicks fans alone.

It's the first time they've made the Playoffs in seven years and the last time they did they got swept.

Any fan of any team would be acting as pissy as they are right now if they were in the same situation after what happened at the end of Game 1.

 

[Sanjuro]

Come on, baki. Leave all the Knicks fans alone.

It's the first time they've made the Playoffs in seven years and the last time they did they got swept.

Any fan of any team would be acting as pissy as they are right now if they were in the same situation after what happened at the end of Game 1.

I would have accepted this post, but then I read Frankman's last one.

"But to then say it's the Knicks own fault they lost is laughable."

There is just so much wrong with that statement. I rather make the argument that Player A > Player B, etc. I could sit here and tell you about the no calls on Amare during the game and whatnot, but even if we lost or won I'm not going to go back look them up and make some sort of pathetic argument on it.

My god.

 

[ph33nix]

who cares

you both are going to get smashed on by the heat anyways

 

[captmcblack]

Dude, even the Celtics fans on the Celtics blogs agree that the refs handed you the game.

Enjoy the win, it counts and everything. Even troll about it and say "yeah, I'm trolling you"...but don't lie to yourself and deny the refs' fucking that game up.

Because they did.
The Knicks undoubtedly lost the game - but even blowing their slim lead and even allowing that bonehead backdoor alley, they still were up. It was bad calls that changed the game's outcome.

That said, things the Knicks have to do tonight:

- Amare must be the focus of the offense, either with his shot attempts, or the threat of his motion pulling defenders away from Melo or outside shooters. Nobody on the Celtics can hold him, as evidenced by his season-long abuse of KG, Big Baby and Zombie O'Neal. Amare must also realize that they are eventually going to be allowed to drape the entire team on him in the 4th quarter, in which case he's got to trust that someone is going to punish the C's for it.

- Melo must play more point forward, and score within/direct the flow of the offense.

- Landry Fields must be allowed to stay in the game, even if he's not scoring. He defended Allen very, very well in the first half - and the best 3 point shooter in the game must be forced to shoot contested shots over a taller player for the entire game, especially since he only needs one shot to fuck the game up (see: Sunday). He'll eat Douglas and Carter alive all game if they're going to do the primary coverage.

- Bill Walker and Shawne Williams must be present to facilitate outside shooting/spacing. If Bully is going to do like he did in Game 1, there basically should never be a point in the game where either he or Melo is not on the floor at the 3.

- The 3-headed center must be used to perfection again. Make sure to use Sheldon Williams tonight, if only to beat up Jermaine O'Neal a little bit more. He is old, guys - it's time to remind him of his age.

- Not too much Anthony Carter. He is awesome at 10 minutes of pestering defense and crafty PG play, but that's it. This game is DWTDD's to control...and he's got to control it.

 

[Bread]

But to then say it's the Knicks own fault they lost is laughable.

"I don't expect the [New York] fans on here to own up to that, it's their opinion."

A dumb opinion, but an opinion nonetheless.


edit: also, random question, why do people use the +/- stat like it means anything?
Amare in game 1: 12-18, 11 rebounds, 28 points, -9
Big Baby in game 1: 1-8, 5 rebounds, 2 points, +13

 

[Sanjuro]

Okay, Knicks fans,

- Jermaine O'Neal shot for 100% and out played Carmelo Anthony who was 5-18 shooting.

- Chauncey kept throwing up ill-advised shots and was 3-11 in his terrible outing.

- Knicks completely butchered in the final moments of the game a chance to tie by not paying attention as little as the Celtics were.

Is this the refs fault? This is simply a YES or NO answer.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

I'm done naming specific examples, but this has to be the roughest start to an NBA playoffs for refs that we've seen in a long time. It can hardly continue in the same manner, I would think.

 

[DCX]

Reason why we lost, or plays that effectively helped us lose are two different things.

Reasons why the Knicks Lost:

1- Carmelo went into John Starks mode
2- Billups went into Starks mode
3- Billups injury
4- 3 minutes left=no Amar'e
5- Allowed Celtics to score with an inbounds play up 5.
6- Didn't pull Billups or Landry " Ghost" Fields when both of them traded 4-5 straight possessions of garbage
7- Melo rise and fire 3 FTW from 30 ft when you need two to tie
8- Hot Amar'e no touches :'(

Plays that effectively helped us lose:

1- No call on Billups Layup that injured him
2- No call on Pierce when he was setting up the last shot where he appeared to shove Melo outta the way
3- No call on Garnett trip/screen
4- No call on O'Neal all game using off hand to drag defender down to "vault" him to block a shot
5- cheap YMCA foul on Melo trying to pry his hand from...
6- ... Pierce hooking Melo which, yes..wasn't called
7- 21 seconds, reset to 21.1

Ok, that last one is reaching. Yes we lost mainly because of list A...if we take care of LIST A, LIST B wouldn't be nails in our coffin.

As it stood, LIST B had a huge effect. Especially Melo offensive foul and Pierce/Garnett no calls.

On that last chance for the Knicks Melo would have drove to the bucket, and would have gotten mugged to a no call...i'm sure he was thinking of that as it happened to him a few times during the game already.

DCX

DCX

 

[StickSoldier]

Lol, to all you guys who are mad about the refs, be prepared to watch more bad shit from them, or should I say a single ref. The Mavs have Dan Crawford reffing their game tonight, and in the playoffs their a dismal 2-16 since 2001 with him reffing their games. In games that he's not a part of, the Mavs are 45-40. Be ready to watch some of the most bullshit reffing.

I'm done naming specific examples, but this has to be the roughest start to an NBA playoffs for refs that we've seen in a long time. It can hardly continue in the same manner, I would think.

Let's see how the Mavs/Blazers game goes, it'll probably be horrible day for them.

 

[DCX]

who cares

you both are going to get smashed on by the heat anyways

not sure if serious?

DCX

 

[Bread]

Plays that effectively helped us lose:

1- No call on Billups Layup that injured him
2- No call on Pierce when he was setting up the last shot where he appeared to shove Melo outta the way
4- No call on O'Neal all game using off hand to drag defender down to "vault" him to block a shot

Yeah these weren't fouls.

 

[The Frankman]

DCX you forgot the BS offensive foul on Amar'e that negated the Toney Douglas 3... but hey who's counting?

See we had this yesterday.

 

[DCX]

Yeah these weren't fouls.

I already listed the reasons why we lost...list B is reason why they wanted us to stay lost.

DCX

 

[SephCast]

Man, I was at the gym on the treadmill while Amare styled in the fourth quarter. I was "WOOOOO"-ing like a fool to a Knicks game. Then they stopped giving the ball to him and I got sad. Fuck the C's.

 

[Sanjuro]

See why are we having this discussion? We did this yesterday.

The correct answer is Post Number 9513.

Which is the reason why you edited your original comment to just,

We did this yesterday.

You make no valid points, arguments, and accuse me of being a troll where every indicator in this thread points right back to you. It's old.

 

[Bread]

I already listed the reasons why we lost...list B is reason why they wanted us to stay lost.

DCX

But you're listing them like they should have been called...

The point is that all of this was irrelevant, because even with dirty play injuring billups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD5Qi4xmZ90#t=0m24s

I don't see anything dirty about this...

 

[captmcblack]

Okay, Knicks fans,

- Jermaine O'Neal shot for 100% and out played Carmelo Anthony who was 5-18 shooting.

- Chauncey kept throwing up ill-advised shots and was 3-11 in his terrible outing.

- Knicks completely butchered in the final moments of the game a chance to tie by not paying attention as little as the Celtics were.

Is this the refs fault? This is simply a YES or NO answer.

The point is that all of this was irrelevant, because even with dirty play injuring billups. even with earlier chucking by melo and billups, we were still winning. even with that poorly-defended backdoor alley-oop, we still lead. even with that floppy bitch-ass flop by pierce and the 3 free throws, we still were winning.

Even with all of that shit, we still were up. In fact, we'd just hit a clutch 3 pointer with less than half a minute left, and were up 4. And then the refs sold the game out.

They let KG do the most illegal moving screen and trip possible.
They let Delonte West be an extra man off the bench during the game with no penalty.
They let Lawrence Frank be on the court screaming in Carmelo's ear during the last possession with no penalty.

The league suspended Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson for entire pivotal playoff games in important series for "letter of the law" stuff like that. They argue the "letter of the law" as the reason why Melo's breathing on Pierce was a foul. So which is it? Are you letting them play, or following the letter of the law?

Again, Celtics won - no taking that away, congrats, etc.
But the Celtics won with ref help. You are literally the only person in this thread, and probably even amongst pundits and shit that doesn't agree with that.

So yeah, the refs gave Boston the game. This is not arguable. Of course if the Knicks could simply hit every shot they took, they could've beaten Boston by 30 and it'd have been moot...but that isn't a valid/realistic point to make. So don't make it.

 

[Sanjuro]

Man, I was at the gym on the treadmill while Amare styled in the fourth quarter. I was "WOOOOO"-ing like a fool to a Knicks game. Then they stopped giving the ball to him and I got sad. Fuck the C's.

This is the proper reason for why they probably lost. The guy was just teleporting the ball through the Celts arms.

captmcblack, I get what you are saying. I if we lost under the same circumstances trust me, I wouldn't be here cheapening your victory today with nonsense.

 

[The Frankman]

One person doesn't make it a discussion, ignore the comment then. You made it a discussion (and a logically flawed one) by your replies. Now I'm done, good day sir.

 

[SamuraiX-]

- Melo must play more point forward, and score within/direct the flow of the offense.

Hate to break it to you, but that's never going to happen.

I would be shocked if Melo brings the ball up the court regularly in Game 2, as opposed to Douglas.

 

[kevo_huevo]

Lol, to all you guys who are mad about the refs, be prepared to watch more bad shit from them, or should I say a single ref. The Mavs have Dan Crawford reffing their game tonight, and in the playoffs their a dismal 2-16 since 2001 with him reffing their games. In games that he's not a part of, the Mavs are 45-40. Be ready to watch some of the most bullshit reffing.



Let's see how the Mavs/Blazers game goes, it'll probably be horrible day for them.

When I heard Dan Crawford was going to be the head ref tonight, it made me want to vomit in my cubicle at work. A couple more juicy tidbits from Bill Simmons (last year):

Against the spread, the Mavs are 4-14 with Crawford officiating ... and 45-40 in all other playoff games.

[The Mavs] averaged 21.9 free throws in the Crawford games; 27.1 free throws in the non-Crawford games.

It will cerainly be an interesting game tonight.