Let me begin this post by saying that ESPN NBA analyst Greg Anthony is an idiot. In one, 30 minute show this evening, he made three statements that made me want to jump through the television and slap some sense into him. He said:
#1-That the Rockets will definitely make the playoffs without Yao Ming.
I'm not saying it's impossible; what really pissed me off was his reason why: "The Rockets have players who know how to win, like Shane Battier and Luis Scola."
What have either of those guys won in the NBA??? Luis Scola is a freakin' rookie!!! I'm well aware that Scola has experience winning in international play, but international play is not the NBA. If international play were the NBA, then the USA team wouldn't have lost in the 2004 Olympics.
Battier spent a bunch of seasons losing as a member of the Grizzlies, and the Rockets haven't won a playoff series since he's arrived, either. Has he won a playoff series anywhere? I don't think he has. What the hell is Greg Anthony talking about!? I know Battier had experiencing winning at Duke (I bet you know where I'm going with this), but college basketball is not the NBA!
Hey Greg, I have a question for you -- when did international and college basketball become equivalent to the NBA? What are you talking about with Scola and Battier!!??
As for my take on the Rockets -- I can't see them maintaining a playoff spot. Look at it this way, they are on a 13-game winning streak and yet they are only No. 7 in the West. The Denver Nuggets are on the outside looking in right now and they're only 3.5 games behind Houston. With their Big Three intact -- Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby -- I see the Nuggets overtaking the Rockets, probably with relative ease.
Tracy McGrady's shot has flattened out and as a result, he's even streakier now than he was in the past. I can't see him pulling a Kobe from the past two seasons and leading a team of misfits to the playoffs in the NBA's clearly superior conference. Speaking of Kobe and the Lakers...
#2-Anthony said that he's concerned about the Lakers in the playoffs because they lack "big-game experience."
The Lakers have Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe is the premier clutch player in the league and I'd have no problem arguing that Fisher is a top 5-10 clutch shooter. They have six rings between the two of them. Phil Jackson is their head coach...he has nine rings. Well, let's see, that's 15 rings between the three.
Hey Greg, fifteen rings equals "not enough playoff experience?" How many do they need? 30? 40? 1,221?
Give me a break.
Look, if Kobe and Fisher isn't enough, Lamar Odom has participated in the playoffs the past three years. Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton and Vladimir Radmanovic have all been in the playoffs the past two seasons.
Greg, I can't handle your opinion. I just can't.
#3-Greg Anthony said that Monta Ellis is definitely the Warriors' MVP.
What the hell happened to Baron Davis!!?? I'm not trying to take anything away from Ellis, not by any stretch of the imagination -- he's rapidly becoming one of the elite combo guards in all of basketball.
But...Baron Davis is still the best and MOST VALUABLE player on the Warriors. Ellis probably wouldn't have developed into the scorer he is without Davis' commandeering of Golden State's up-tempo offense. Stephen Jackson wouldn't be averaging near a career-high in points without Baron. Andris Biedrins wouldn't be shooting like 90% from the floor without pretty dimes from Baron. Their success all funnels back to Baron.
I don't care if Greg Anthony had a long career in the NBA. There is no doubt in my mind that I know more about today's NBA than he does. ESPN...I'm waiting.
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