I know it’s been awhile since I posted anything on this blog but the truth is I was waiting for the real season to start. And boy did it…
In case you haven’t heard, Game 1 of the Spurs/Suns series was an all-timer, 2OT multiple clutch shot contest which the Spurs ended up winning on an all too easy Ginobili layup. Here’s the video, if you need to catch up.
You can go just about anywhere for a game recap, in fact I suggest the post at SpursDynasty.
I’d like to talk about some interesting things I noticed about the game, you know, basically just ramble to myself…
- The Suns Won’t Get Any Better
What do I mean by that you ask? Well simply this… until the Suns can admit to themselves that they were beat by the other team (read: Spurs) they can never be considered a championship contender. For a number of seasons it’s been, “Oh well if not for the suspensions” or “Oh we had some key injuries.” Always with the excuses these guys… they’ll never improve as long as they keep using them.
- Why Do People Hate the Spurs?
Besides the obvious jealous factor. Why is it when Manu draws a charge it’s called a flop but when Nash does this it’s good defense? (As if Nash can play good defense, just pretend here people.) This shouldn’t bother me but it does simply for the matter that people keep asking for a great team completely ignoring what’s in front of their face. On TrueHoop today, Henry posts this reader comment : “I don’t like the Suns for any reason other than they are enjoyable to watch and I feel that on some level they ‘deserve’ to win.” The idiocy of this statement astounds me. In what way do they “deserve” to win. No team deserves to win; a championship team goes out and takes what they want regardless of the circumstances.
- The Best Possible Way to Win
Seriously though… the only thing better than outright beating a team in the first game of a series is to give them confidence then win it against all odds. Bwahaha…
Well those are my thoughts for now. See you all after Game 2.
No Comments »Posted April 21st, 2008 by Mooquache in Other NBA Teams, Playoffs, Video
It had to happen sooner or later; I knew at some point I was going to write a serious post within this site and now it’s happened. This post functions as a semi-rebuttal to the posting The Black Man/Celtics Dynamic by Vincent Thomas at SLAM. I had far too many issues about this important article to just sit back so feel free and read my rant or if you prefer not thinking, please ignore. Oh and for the record, I am neither white or black. My ancestors are Aztecs.
First off it has to be said that while well developed and insightful, Vincent’s article smacks of the rationalization inherent in band-wagon fans. By laying the groundwork for a perceived “change” in the methods of the Celtics organization, he is building the board for his now undeniable powerhouse of the league. Never mind the notion that although the team makeup is predominantly African-American it is not profoundly more so than it has been throughout much of the current decade. In fact, the 2005 team featured such prominent black players as Antoine Walker, Paul Pierce, Ricky Davis, Gary Payton, Al Jefferson and was coached by Doc Rivers. To say that this year’s Celtics are somehow more representative of the black majority within the NBA is both misleading and ignorant.
Vincent also cites players such as Larry Bird and Kevin McHale in a manner that downplays the abilities of these two players. Although never much of a McHale fan myself, it was clear that during his career he was a legitimate talent and a player capable of starting/subbing in a majority of the teams across the league. And if we’re going to talk about not giving enough credit where deserved, the glossing over of Larry Bird’s abilities is a downright travesty.
Still, it resulted in deep, pervasive, long-lasting backlash within the black community. (And from players, too. When Dennis Rodman, later cosigned by Isaiah Thomas, said that Larry Bird wouldn’t be lionized if he were black; that was not essentially a knock on Bird, it was indictment of the American media and public.
Immediately, one should call into question the wisdom of suggesting that Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman are worthy representatives of the Black community. By reaffirming the quote as an indictment of the American sports media; the author not so subtly confirms his own belief in this theory. Anyone who has seen Bird play in person or highlights cannot question the immense talent and willpower this man possesses. To state that the 80’s Celtics were Larry’s teams downplays the fact that Bird possessed the the talent to be the go-to man on any team in the league including the author’s own Lakers. And Magic would have been glad to have him.
To give the author some credit, his paragraph concerning “hood-heroes” is spot on; the same sentiment can be seen today in people perception of my own San Antonio Spurs. Just replace Dr. J with Allen Iverson or Moses Malone with LeBron and you have the very same feeling which makes the Spurs the “scourge” of many current NBA fans. Now, as was then, people are attracted to flash and style which all too often is trumped by form and function. As a result seeing LeBron fail miserably in the Finals versus a team based philosophy has the same affect on the Spurs as seeing Dr. J fail against a team based in Boston; more often than not people will prefer to discount the team over the person.
In addition, the author makes many good points concerning the cities past in regards to race relations in the nation overall. Boston was at the center of one of the most divisive issues in our nations history, segregation in school, and no doubt had a great number of people who would openly identify themselves as racist. However, this was in the past and while some of those ideas persist, it is primarily in the actions of the past generation exposed to that nonsense. To hold, the modern and better educated citizens of Boston liable for the sins of their fathers is cruel and unfair.
In fact, the most disconcerting notion of this article is that the author continues to push the notion that the color of the team is a reasonable method for choosing your favorite team. Only now it is in the reverse; a portion of Black basketball fans are using race as a rationale for selecting a favored team. I’m not saying that one cannot oppose a clearly racist institution; in fact, it is every persons duty to oppose ignorance in any form. However, I am hard pressed to state that the Boston Celtics franchise is a racist institution while evidence suggests quite the contrary. Ultimately, this article boils down to a race-based view of team favoritism. This shows a lack of progress on our parts as Americans and human beings; indeed it does a disservice to those who fought and died for their belief in a united human race.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
No Comments »Posted January 3rd, 2008 by Mooquache in Other NBA Teams
It’s been posted everywhere but I just had to repeat it. Thanks DwayneWadeSucks at YouTube!
1 Comment »Posted November 15th, 2007 by Mooquache in Other NBA Teams
Hmmm… where to begin? It was pretty much a crap game all the way around. The guys looked like they didn’t care and, to be honest, who can blame them. These guys are used to playing about a season and a half every year. And this is game 4 of 82 in the regular season. Still… it’s hard to not get a little upset about their attitude. Regardless here are my reasons to fear the Rockets:
- Yao gets better every year; if only they could teach him to dunk every time he’s within arms reach of the basket (which is quite often)
- What the hell is Bonzi’s problem? The only time he resembles a good player is against the Spurs. The rest of the time he just resembles a lost puppy. A very ugly puppy.
- T-Mac is still a Spur killer as much as I hate to say it.
- Scola’s overrated
So you’re thinking that I’m thinking that the Rockets are a good team huh? Foo, you outta yer mind! That said, here’s my reasons not to fear the Rockets:
- Yao doesn’t know to dunk every time he’s near the basket
- Bonzi is Bonzi, only a matter of time now til he throws some kind of tantrum
- T-Mac is weak when it matters
- Steve “The Franchise” Francis (does that nickname work anymore?) is lurking in the background, waiting to bring everything crashing down
- Rick Adelman is also weak when it matters (sorry, it had to be said)
- I like lists
Oh and there was this too…
So no worries Spurs fans! Let them have their victory; it was a good one for their team. Just have faith that the men in black will bring it when it matters.
1 Comment »Posted November 7th, 2007 by Mooquache in Game Recap, Other NBA Teams, Video
The Suns always lose! No, seriously if you go to this season-by-season listing, you’ll see that the Suns have a remarkable ability to lose within the first two rounds of the playoffs. That kind of consistency is hard to come by these days…
Okay so then you ask, how is it in this modern day when the media is all over their basketballs and the Great White Hope (read: Steve Nash) is given all the love do the Suns not accomplish more (and won’t this season either). It’s an interesting question. Well let me take it upon myself to break it down for you, it pretty much amounts to a couple of major points:
Mike D’Antoni may be the stupidest coach in the history of the NBA. Any coach who bases his offense around the need to shoot within 7 seconds is an idiot. What happened to the idea of taking a shot because it’s a high percentage shot? Call me crazy but I think high-percentage shots are a good thing.
Mike D’Antoni may be the whiniest coach in the history of the NBA. He sures likes to talk big though, just look at these quotes
- In regards to a Phil Jackson timeout late in a Laker blowout
“I thought he disrespected our players. But he likes to play the mind games and that’s fine. He might want to try to do it in playoff time when we bust them every year.”
- In regards to Finley choosing the Spurs over the Suns
“You know, I’m sure it was a hard decision for him. He has a couple friends on our team that I’m sure he disappointed, but again, it’s just an opportunity for other guys to play a little bit more minutes and we have a slew of guys on the roster that are capable. Really I hate it for him that he’s going to miss a championship.”
- On last seasons playoff loss to the Spurs
“If we played well we would have beaten San Antonio last year,” D’Antoni said. “If we stayed on the bench, if LB (Leandro Barbosa) would have had a great series, if Boris would have had a great series, if they don’t hit bigshots and if they’re not as damn good as they are.”
Although I do have to say, that last quote may be the closest thing to the truth that he’s ever said.
Steve Nash is getting older. And Larry’s getting largerrrr…. They’re the two basic truths of the universe. And the 7 seconds doctrine is speeding up time. So basically if he’s going to do it, he has to do it now. Which brings me to…
Amare Stoudemire is dumb. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great athlete. But as an example, let’s analyze the part of the game he worked on this summer. Three-point shooting. Yes, you read that right. The big tall guy who has incredible hops and whose main role on the team is to jump really high once Nash gets him an open look wants to hang out on the perimeter now. He could have worked on his atrocious defense which accounts for him being in foul trouble most games or perhaps his ability to stay seated during a meaningless altercation. But no, he chose to work on three-point shooting…
Good luck on being the main defender on Timmy this year. Ha.
Shawn Marion just wants to be loved. By everyone. All the time. Not much more to say on this except that it’s not a champion’s attitude.
Grant Hill may disintegrate before the seasons over. And it’s really a shame because he’s a class act. Although he could of chosen to join a Spurs rotation that would have kept him from seeing heavy minutes and perhaps finish a season without injury. No chance that happens in 7 seconds land. Oh well, live and learn I guess.
The Phoenix Attitude is for crybabies. You see in Phoenix they believe they are the only team to have ever been on the receiving end of a bad call. Or to have some unfortunate injury happen to one of their stars. They also believe they are owed a ring for being entertaining. Bullocks to that.
Championships are earned through blood, sweat, and tears. As a Spurs fan I’m cursed with the memories of Lakers series that were unfairly called, the Mailman elbowing DRob unconscious and picking up the foul, 0.4, and Manu’s stupid foul. But the Spurs don’t complain, they just go back at it and they overcome. And as many bad memories as there are, that attitude has also given me many more good memories.
Oh and the Suns don’t play defense either. Did I forget to mention that?
3 Comments »Posted November 6th, 2007 by Mooquache in Other NBA Teams
