Scout200

If you were to take a player from your rival team and send one of your own players to that rival team, who would they be?

Personally speaking, if I held a grudge against every player whoever made a mistake, then that would be everyone lol. Players are only human! But if it happens consistently, then there's a problem...

When you see a NBA player make a game changing mistake, do you hold a grudge against that player?

Well, to be totally honest, I think comparing players across eras is somewhat useless. If Bill Russell had been born in the 1970's or 80's, when people understood childhood nutrition and health care far better than they did in the 1930's, he might have ended up being 7'1 rather than 6'9. And if they understood fitness and weightlifting in the 1950's and 60's the way they do today, he and Wilt might have had muscles that made Shaq look like Peewee Herman (exaggeration, obviously). That's why I'm not impressed with people who say "oh, Pettit/Russell/Unseld would never be able to survive in the NBA today." It's apples to oranges. If Shaq had been born during the 1940's, he wouldn't have ended up looking like Shaq.

I think the guys on my all-time first teams had skill sets for their respective positions that would have translated most effectively across eras. Russell was the greatest defensive center of his time, and really revolutionized interior defense. Pettit did the same thing for inside-out players at the PF position. Russell was the Celtics dynasty, which was arguably the most dominant in the history of pro sports. Pettit gets my nod in large part because his Hawks were the only team to take down the Russell/Cousy Celtics when both players were in their prime. Pettit absolutely dominated his position during his time. I was tempted to give Baylor the nod over Bird at SF for the same reason (he absolutely dominated the SF position) but Baylor's lack of a title (even if it's no fault of its own) prevents me from doing so.

Pettit also had this said about him:

The man who said that? Bill Russell. If Bill Russell basically calls you the best competitor in the game (other than Russell himself, of course), that says volumes.

(As an aside, my browser has asked me a couple times if I meant "Pet tit" instead of "Pettit." Brilliant.)

Awesome perspective! I never thought of this that way...

Several people have a favorite player.. but who do you think is the greatest player in your NBA history?

D Rose is the MVP!

Originally Posted by Derrick Rose

“The way I look at it within myself, why not? Why can’t I be the MVP of the League? Why can’t I be the best player in the League? I don’t see why-why-why can’t I do that? I think I work hard, I think I dedicate myself to the game and sacrifice a lot of things at a young age and I know if I continue to do good, what I can get out of it and if that’s me going out or doing whatever, I’m willing to do it because I know in the long run, it’s going to help me.”

So well deserved!!

It's an early dinner of Corndogs for me tomorrow night :biggrin:

(I've tried to eat a corndog at halftime to give the team energy - but it didn't work. I'm confident that the key is having at least one corndog fully in the digestive process prior to tipoff...then one in the second quarter...and since this is a KEY game, I'll probably have one more at the ready in case it is close at the end or we go to O.T.)

note: I don't see this as superstition...just playing it smart :kickcan:

:rofl: That's great!

LOL...I have three. One is not really about me. It's the dreaded:

I see those and I just freak the f#@k out....

The other thing is I try to be as negative as possible during the game. Well...I used to. I don't do it as much anymore, but I used to purposefully contain my excitement. Like the basketball Gods were watching me and if I got too happy, they'd change the outcome of the game. But if I was negative and pessimistic, I felt like the Hawks would do the opposite and pull out a victory.

The last thing is, I've never seen them lose live...and I'm so afraid to go to a playoff game it's killing me.

Ha, nice!!

Several people are superstitious when watching their team play... Do you have any rituals that you partake in when watching the game?

I don't think anything will ever top games 3, 4 and especially 6 against the Celtics in 07.

Agreed! They were very memorable!!

The playoffs are quickly approaching... What is your favorite playoff moment?

Nowitzki (spelling?) Team is horrible without him but is insanely good with him, seems like the textbook definition of a valuable player to me.

Nicely said!!

Who do you think will be the MVP this season? I think Derrick Rose is most deserving of that title...

That .810 winning pct for the Spurs sticks out for me.

Ooh, nice one!

What do you think are the craziest/most interesting stats of this NBA season?

He single handedly scored 8 points in 9 seconds and won the game for the Pacers by 2 after being down 6 with 16 seconds remaining. Enjoy:

He also threw up 25 points in the 4th (5 3's) against the Knicks in another game - and went back and forth with Spike Lee in the stands after every basket. Very entertaining stuff.

It would be interesting to see what he would be like with today's protective handchecking rules.

Nice! Thanks for posting those!

What are some great NBA moments? I'll start by mentioning Tracy Mcgrady with 13 points in 35 seconds...

If you could give advice to a NBA player to improve how they play, who would you give advice to and what would it be?

Absolutely. He is not only the worst NBA owner ... he is the worst owner in sports hands down.

I agree completely!!

Looking at a broader spectrum than just this year, who do you think is the worst NBA owner?

Many people are saying that a lockout is inevitable for the 2011-2012 season. What impact will it have on the NBA, players, fans.. and in general, America? Also, if there is a lockout, who would be to blame?

Bingo. Even guys who do make it like Tracy McGrady would have been more marketable and entertaining coming with two years of development under their belts. Toronto smartly drafted him and then got very little out of him because he spent half his time in Toronto playing a minor role developing rather than being ready to contribute and that is a star coming from HS. As a fan, you want teams to have meaningful scouting reports on prospects and for the guys at the top of the draft to be able to hit the ground running and not spend their first few years getting their feet wet.

Excellent point!

The NBA players hope to end the age restriction that forbids players from entering the NBA directly out of high school. How will this decision impact the NBA?

There's been a lot of talk (yet again) about the NBA going to Europe... Do you think the NBA will give up home games in order to reach out to a larger base? How do you think this will impact the NBA?

If you had the ability to relocate a NFL team, where would it be and why?

-Scout