uPtoWnNY said:

Anyone see the Dream Team special? Pretty fucked up the way they blackballed Isiah Thomas. Much as I hate Isiah the executive, I always respected his game(I'll never forget his early 80s playoff duel against Bernard King). It was a disgrace he wasn't on the Dream Team, but it was either him or Jordan. I'm sure Jordan & Pippen weren't the only ones.

I was ticked about Laettner too, but Shaq Fu got the last laugh - four rings and a future spot in the HOF.

Yeah, nice doc, but weird vibes. It shows you how much even the guys who have respect for one another don't really "like" each other.

uPtoWnNY said:

Anyone see the Dream Team special? Pretty fucked up the way they blackballed Isiah Thomas. Much as I hate Isiah the executive, I always respected his game(I'll never forget his early 80s playoff duel against Bernard King). It was a disgrace he wasn't on the Dream Team, but it was either him or Jordan. I'm sure Jordan & Pippen weren't the only ones.

I was ticked about Laettner too, but Shaq Fu got the last laugh - four rings and a future spot in the HOF.

Isiah was 1st class asshole. Malone wanted 2 KILL the guy. Rememebr when he busted Malone's head?

I actually remember Malone busting Isaiah in the head with his

elbows as he often did purposely swinging his elbows wildly to

make contact with someone. I remember Isaiah wanting to kill

him but coming to his senses knowing he couldn't take on a

250 lb DE in shorts. Malone was the asshole. He made far more

enemies than Isaiah ever did.

Graycap23 said:

Cerebus said:

Not if the refs have anything to say about it! Right?

Come on man, how are you gonna go and bail on your own point that easily? If you think the refs are deciding the outcome of the game then there is no "either way".

Wrong....the NBA wants 7 games after a strike filled injury plagued season.

NBA tv is more popular than ever.

Ratings and attendance were up this season.

The playoffs this season were regularly achieving record ratings (and they were almost completely on two cable channels).

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with you saying the refs are giving games to Miami then claiming there's going to be a seven game series that OKC wins. That's a total contradiction of your own point.

Karl Malone was an ass on the court (man I hated those Jazz teams), but it doesn't seem like Isiah was very well liked in general. Something that may have carried over into his post playing/coaching career.

Isaiah can take comfort in the fact that Jordan is as incompetent as he is running a team.

uPtoWnNY said:

Isaiah can take comfort in the fact that Jordan is as incompetent as he is running a team.

True.

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

Wrong....the NBA wants 7 games after a strike filled injury plagued season.

NBA tv is more popular than ever.

Ratings and attendance were up this season.

The playoffs this season were regularly achieving record ratings (and they were almost completely on two cable channels).

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with you saying the refs are giving games to Miami then claiming there's going to be a seven game series that OKC wins. That's a total contradiction of your own point.

I think some folks just hate Miami and are using any excuse to come up with why OKC lost. I'm not much of a Heat fan myself but COME ON NOW!

Timmy84 said:

Cerebus said:

NBA tv is more popular than ever.

Ratings and attendance were up this season.

The playoffs this season were regularly achieving record ratings (and they were almost completely on two cable channels).

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with you saying the refs are giving games to Miami then claiming there's going to be a seven game series that OKC wins. That's a total contradiction of your own point.

I think some folks just hate Miami and are using any excuse to come up with why OKC lost. I'm not much of a Heat fan myself but COME ON NOW!

Oh I get that, and I know you're right. That's why I said I wanted the Heat to win this year. I just want to get it over with. Fortunately I think the Thunder and the Heat are going to be around doing good things for the next few years. Should make for some nice rivalry games. You can bet their head-to-heads next season (they'll probaly have two) will be "game of the week" style, regardless of who wins the finals.

Cerebus said:

Timmy84 said:

I think some folks just hate Miami and are using any excuse to come up with why OKC lost. I'm not much of a Heat fan myself but COME ON NOW!

Oh I get that, and I know you're right. That's why I said I wanted the Heat to win this year. I just want to get it over with. Fortunately I think the Thunder and the Heat are going to be around doing good things for the next few years. Should make for some nice rivalry games. You can bet their head-to-heads next season (they'll probaly have two) will be "game of the week" style, regardless of who wins the finals.

True.

Timmy84 said:

Cerebus said:

NBA tv is more popular than ever.

Ratings and attendance were up this season.

The playoffs this season were regularly achieving record ratings (and they were almost completely on two cable channels).

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with you saying the refs are giving games to Miami then claiming there's going to be a seven game series that OKC wins. That's a total contradiction of your own point.

I think some folks just hate Miami and are using any excuse to come up with why OKC lost. I'm not much of a Heat fan myself but COME ON NOW!

If the Heat and OKC play straight up without ref interference........the Heat might get 1 game.

Timmy84 said:

Cerebus said:

NBA tv is more popular than ever.

Ratings and attendance were up this season.

The playoffs this season were regularly achieving record ratings (and they were almost completely on two cable channels).

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with you saying the refs are giving games to Miami then claiming there's going to be a seven game series that OKC wins. That's a total contradiction of your own point.

I think some folks just hate Miami and are using any excuse to come up with why OKC lost. I'm not much of a Heat fan myself but COME ON NOW!

I totally agree Timmy! I happen to be one of the rare fans of the Heat. I would love to see them win. I think both teams deserve the title, so it will come down to the better team in the end. To say the Heat are winning because the refs are giving them calls, I disagree with that and I think it's just sour grapes for those that don't like them.

To be frank, most of the Dream Team were pretty much dicks... Especially Isiah and Michael.

Empress said:

Timmy84 said:

I think some folks just hate Miami and are using any excuse to come up with why OKC lost. I'm not much of a Heat fan myself but COME ON NOW!

I totally agree Timmy! I happen to be one of the rare fans of the Heat. I would love to see them win. I think both teams deserve the title, so it will come down to the better team in the end. To say the Heat are winning because the refs are giving them calls, I disagree with that and I think it's just sour grapes for those that don't like them.

lol it ain't like the refs are cheating for Lebron. David Stern hates the Heat anyway.

Timmy84 said:

To be frank, most of the Dream Team were pretty much dicks... Especially Isiah and Michael.

True. Isiah played the way he came up hard which didn't take away from his talent because his talent definitely outshined his bad moments on the court. The Bad Boy Pistons definitely crossed the linesof physical play but was the way they played any less physical than the way the Celtics played. Even though it was a little out of character for Kevin McHale his blatant midair clothesline of Kurt Rambis still remains the dirtiest play i've ever seen. Michael was painted as a choir boy but he was definitely an ass just like Isaiah, Karl, Barkley, Bird, and others. It was fucked up the way Magic turned on Isaiah and Isaiah doesn't need to kiss his ass or Jordan's ass to be remembered as one of the greats in the game. Isaiah was light years ahead of John Stockton in terms of talent and should have been on that Dream Team instead.

phunkdaddy said:

Timmy84 said:

To be frank, most of the Dream Team were pretty much dicks... Especially Isiah and Michael.

True. Isiah played the way he came up hard which didn't take away from his talent because his talent definitely outshined his bad moments on the court. The Bad Boy Pistons definitely crossed the linesof physical play but was the way they played any less physical than the way the Celtics played. Even though it was a little out of character for Kevin McHale his blatant midair clothesline of Kurt Rambis still remains the dirtiest play i've ever seen. Michael was painted as a choir boy but he was definitely an ass just like Isaiah, Karl, Barkley, Bird, and others. It was fucked up the way Magic turned on Isaiah and Isaiah doesn't need to kiss his ass or Jordan's ass to be remembered as one of the greats in the game. Isaiah was light years ahead of John Stockton in terms of talent and should have been on that Dream Team instead.

True. And yeah the Pistons of that era definitely left a bad taste in most mouths. I get why Isiah is on many of their shit lists, same with most of the other Pistons (Dennis anyone? ). He was talented as fuck though @ Isiah I agree...

Do or die for OKC tonight. This is their game 7.

Graycap23 said:

Timmy84 said:

I think some folks just hate Miami and are using any excuse to come up with why OKC lost. I'm not much of a Heat fan myself but COME ON NOW!

If the Heat and OKC play straight up without ref interference........the Heat might get 1 game.

You're either trying to stir the pot with hyperbolic comments or you know far less about basketball than you claim.

Timmy84 said:

phunkdaddy said:

True. Isiah played the way he came up hard which didn't take away from his talent because his talent definitely outshined his bad moments on the court. The Bad Boy Pistons definitely crossed the linesof physical play but was the way they played any less physical than the way the Celtics played. Even though it was a little out of character for Kevin McHale his blatant midair clothesline of Kurt Rambis still remains the dirtiest play i've ever seen. Michael was painted as a choir boy but he was definitely an ass just like Isaiah, Karl, Barkley, Bird, and others. It was fucked up the way Magic turned on Isaiah and Isaiah doesn't need to kiss his ass or Jordan's ass to be remembered as one of the greats in the game. Isaiah was light years ahead of John Stockton in terms of talent and should have been on that Dream Team instead.

True. And yeah the Pistons of that era definitely left a bad taste in most mouths. I get why Isiah is on many of their shit lists, same with most of the other Pistons (Dennis anyone? ). He was talented as fuck though @ Isiah I agree...

Hated those Pistons teams!

HATED those Celtic teams... wait... ALL Cetlics teams!

Not sure about that Isaiah statement. He might have had more scoring talent, but Stockton isn't the assist leader by accident. The guy could run an offense and pass the ball like nobodies business.

Looking at the list of players being discussed it seems like there's a pretty clear correlation between their attitudes/hardness (percieved or otherwise) and their greatness. I bet there isn't one of them who would turn in their stats for the opportunity to be viewed as a "nice guy".

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

If the Heat and OKC play straight up without ref interference........the Heat might get 1 game.

You're either trying to stir the pot with hyperbolic comments or you know far less about basketball than you claim.

Saying you don't need refs. Are you kidding? It's like saying "let them get injured and kill everybody in the arena."

Timmy84 said:

Cerebus said:

You're either trying to stir the pot with hyperbolic comments or you know far less about basketball than you claim.

Saying you don't need refs. Are you kidding? It's like saying "let them get injured and kill everybody in the arena."

Ref interference = BAD calls

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

If the Heat and OKC play straight up without ref interference........the Heat might get 1 game.

You're either trying to stir the pot with hyperbolic comments or you know far less about basketball than you claim.

Lol.........u are zero 4 2 with those comments.

Graycap23 said:

Timmy84 said:

Saying you don't need refs. Are you kidding? It's like saying "let them get injured and kill everybody in the arena."

Ref interference = BAD calls

I knew what you meant. You're still saying the refs are deciding the games. And it's still completely untrue. OKC would be up 3-0 if they had made the free throws for the calls they got. It's that simple. And that doesn't even take into account the ridiculous fouls they made (because without argument, they made some bad fouls), the bad shot attempts and the broken plays (like the inbounds at the end of game three). Again, OKC could easily be up 3-0 if they had just PLAYED BETTER. Nothing to do with refs.

Graycap23 said:

Cerebus said:

You're either trying to stir the pot with hyperbolic comments or you know far less about basketball than you claim.

Lol.........u are zero 4 2 with those comments.

Not from where I sit. See my last post. Anybody who blaims refs for the outcome of games is either hating or not paying attention.

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

Lol.........u are zero 4 2 with those comments.

Not from where I sit. See my last post. Anybody who blaims refs for the outcome of games is either hating or not paying attention.

Nonsense. Refs make bad calls all the time. The key is overcoming those ref calls. So far, OKC has not. Plain and simple. As I stated before, if OKC hits their free throws, they are up 3 - 0.

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

Ref interference = BAD calls

I knew what you meant. You're still saying the refs are deciding the games. And it's still completely untrue. OKC would be up 3-0 if they had made the free throws for the calls they got. It's that simple. And that doesn't even take into account the ridiculous fouls they made (because without argument, they made some bad fouls), the bad shot attempts and the broken plays (like the inbounds at the end of game three). Again, OKC could easily be up 3-0 if they had just PLAYED BETTER. Nothing to do with refs.

Bet the refs had something to do with the free throw misses.

Timmy84 said:

Cerebus said:

I knew what you meant. You're still saying the refs are deciding the games. And it's still completely untrue. OKC would be up 3-0 if they had made the free throws for the calls they got. It's that simple. And that doesn't even take into account the ridiculous fouls they made (because without argument, they made some bad fouls), the bad shot attempts and the broken plays (like the inbounds at the end of game three). Again, OKC could easily be up 3-0 if they had just PLAYED BETTER. Nothing to do with refs.

Bet the refs had something to do with the free throw misses.

See reply #84.

uPtoWnNY said:

Isaiah can take comfort in the fact that Jordan is as incompetent as he is running a team.

None of the ex-basketball players besides Larry Bird and Phil Jackson and (I done forgot the name of the other coach ) have run a team well and definitely not ex-b-ball players who own such teams.

Graycap23 said:

Timmy84 said:

Bet the refs had something to do with the free throw misses.

See reply #84.

But even then the players themselves had to get right. Refs are gonna do what they gonna do, fair or unfair...

Bulls probably go to the 1994 finals if not for that Hue Hollins call against the Knicks. The year before, Jordan & Pippen hammered Charles Smith in a crucial playoff game, but nothing was called. The Kings got screwed out of a title in 2002 - fans still talk about that conference finals vs the Lakers. And in football, remember Super Bowl XL?

Shitty, inconsistent officiating can have an effect on games. It's magnified in the playoffs where every possession is important.

[Edited 6/19/12 17:56pm]