2018 NBA Random Rant

[Andrew]

Back on Embiid, he also has a tendency towards petty and childish stuff like this:

phpBB [video]

Basketball is going to get chippy and testy from time to time, but Embiid seems to make something out of nothing.

[NovU]

Speaking of the devil, Embiid also is notoriously known for trolling in social media. This began before he logged a minute in the NBA. Disrespectful and immature if you ask me, not sure why he acts this way unless he is a pure idiot hungry for attention. Being competitive is not it's all about, his acts are irrational both on and off the court. Not fun, it's just annoyance.

[Andrew]

I guess he's a bit of a class clown. Hopefully, he outgrows it before his audience does. It's a bad look, the older you get.

[air gordon]

Would you prefer that they just "shut up and dribble"?

this. You sorta have to put up with or just ignore the shenanigans but the nba stars (and modern day athletes) voicing their opinions on today's issues is great. that's one thing lebron james has up on the great michael jordan. jordan would just say republicans buy sneakers too and keep his mouth shut. jordan could've been his generation's jim brown or bill russell.

my rant is nba tanking. while its great to have the close West race between 1 & 2 and then 9 teams vying for the other spots.... i dont even want to watch the bulls play. there probably isn't a set of rules silver can come up with to solve these half ass attempts of nba lineups.

[Jeffx]

Embiid's a great talent with a bright future as long as he stays healthy, but his attitude bugs me as well. Confidence is one thing, but you need to prove yourself a little more before you can big note yourself like that and not have it seem like hot air. Even then, I'm not a big fan of brashness, so he's probably not ever going to be one of my favourites. As long as he doesn't become the next Gilbert Arenas though, it's hard to argue with the results.

I find myself cringing every time a three-pointer goes up these days. I don't want to say that players falling in love with the three has totally ruined the game, but it does lead to some ugly basketball. Sure, it's worth an extra point so the chart says keep launching them, but when a team bricks five or six of them in a row while passing up good looks around the basket, that hardly seems like a winning strategy.

Call me old-fashioned and out-of-touch old man, but I hate seeing big men take threes, Andrew. I want my big man doing damage in the paint, on BOTH sides of the ball. I'll always prefer basketball played inside-out (that's how I do it in 2K, lol).

[Jeffx]

Definitely not. There is a risk in it though, because while an NBA player may say something intelligent and admirable - and they are of course entitled to use social media to express their opinions on any matter, if they so wish - they may also say something foolish, ignorant, or arrogant. Or get caught out using a burner account. Freedom of speech and the right to an opinion are not shields from criticism or dissenting thought, and there's nothing inherently wise or admirable in simply speaking your mind without a filter. That comes down to what you're saying, and the rationale behind it.

Players shouldn't shut up and dribble, but social media does grant them an opportunity to look bad. The same goes for any of us, of course; famous people just happen to have a bigger audience, and people interested in what they have to say. It's a risk they're taking, and a factor in how their public image is cultivated.

No one should "shut up and dribble". We ALL have a right to be heard, whether we agree or not. So many Americans yap about free speech, as long as it's speech they agree with. They conveniently forget about the "right to dissent".

I wonder if the b!tch who told LeBron to "shut up and dribble" told Ted Nugent to "shut up and play" when Nugent said Obama can suck on his gun. I doubt it.

LeBron's following in the steps of Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Kareem, Arthur Ashe, Curt Flood and many others.....using your voice/platform as a force for positive change for the greater good (to make the country better). That's what a real man does. Unfortunately, too many Americans have a problem with black folks (whether or not they're athletes) showing backbone and speaking their minds.

[Andrew]

Definitely with you on that one, Jeffx.

[Stress Fracture]

I still don't get it why people still have problems on athletes speaking out on social issues. So many still sided on Laura Ingraham when she said that idiotic "shut up and dribble" remark.

[Andrew]

As I already clarified, I don't have a problem with that. Indeed, it's admirable. It's the less admirable behaviour and interactions - like Kevin Durant's burner account - that end up making people look bad. There's wisdom in all of us taking a moment to think about what we're about to say before we put it out there on social media.

[[Q]]

To me, if they want to give a voice to the voiceless, more power to them. Our country is run by a bunch of old rich white guys with a few women sprinkled in so we need some variety out there

[Andrew]

Again, no argument here about speaking out on important issues.

[Andrew]

I've mentioned it in other threads, but I'm still not feeling the changes to jersey assignments/nomenclature. Part of it is frustration that it's such an unnecessary change while other issues that I believe are a bigger problem (officiating, tanking, competitive balance) haven't really been addressed, but I also liked the consistency of the old approach, the idea of having a league-wide standard. To draw the obvious video game comparison, it's like EA or 2K making a noticeable but ultimately inconsequential cosmetic change rather than addressing a troubling gameplay issue.

[Stress Fracture]

My only problems with the jersey assignment is that the Lakers use their whites on the road and the Rockets not using it that much lol

[NovU]

Interesting. Nick takes on our topic. "Should The NBA Shoot LESS Three's?"

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He expects even more threes to be taken.

[Andrew]

My only problems with the jersey assignment is that the Lakers use their whites on the road and the Rockets not using it that much lol

It does seem out of place.

[[Q]]

I've mentioned it in other threads, but I'm still not feeling the changes to jersey assignments/nomenclature. Part of it is frustration that it's such an unnecessary change while other issues that I believe are a bigger problem (officiating, tanking, competitive balance) haven't really been addressed, but I also liked the consistency of the old approach, the idea of having a league-wide standard. To draw the obvious video game comparison, it's like EA or 2K making a noticeable but ultimately inconsequential cosmetic change rather than addressing a troubling gameplay issue.

I read that Nike has been overly controlling on which ones teams wear on most nights, as opposed to having teams or players choose. This has led to Lakers wearing their gold jerseys at home like they always have but also away since they're technically away jerseys. It was refreshing to see the purple ones last night. They should have made gold home, purple away and have the white as the statement like the Knicks did

Andrew have the bulls been wearing red both home and away all year?

[Andrew]

I think it's mostly been the red Icon jerseys at home, unless there's been a conflict or it's a game where they've worn the white City Edition jersey.

[Dee4Three]

They should have made gold home, purple away and have the white as the statement like the Knicks did

Isn't that kind of what they have been doing since like the year 2000 anyway? Home was yellow, with White as the home alternate. Purple was away. I think they split the white and gold like 50-50 for home games.

[[Q]]

Gold has always been home and purple away. They added white in the 2000s as their Sunday jerseys so they actually only wear them on sundays like teams used to do

But yes my point was gold is technically now away with white as home and purple alternate

[Dee4Three]

Gold has always been home and purple away. They added white in the 2000s as their Sunday jerseys so they actually only wear them on sundays like teams used to do

Gotcha.

Still, I agree with the people who state they dislike the change of what they are doing with the uniforms. I think it looks sloppy to have two teams wearing away jerseys against eachother, I think it hurts tradition as well.

In regards to Nike taking control of who wears what on any given night, that doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, I expected that from them.

[shadowgrin]

LeBron's following in the steps of Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Kareem, Arthur Ashe, Curt Flood and many others.....using your voice/platform as a force for positive change for the greater good (to make the country better). That's what a real man does.

[Andrew]

Gold has always been home and purple away. They added white in the 2000s as their Sunday jerseys so they actually only wear them on sundays like teams used to do

Gotcha.

Still, I agree with the people who state they dislike the change of what they are doing with the uniforms. I think it looks sloppy to have two teams wearing away jerseys against eachother, I think it hurts tradition as well.

In regards to Nike taking control of who wears what on any given night, that doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, I expected that from them.

I can't shake the feeling the advertising patches are going to get worse, too.

[[Q]]

I'm used to it now but it shouldn't become like WNBA or soccer jerseys

[Andrew]

I was personally picturing the jerseys we have in the NBL.

[shadowgrin]

I wouldn't be surprised if the league allows the regular use of leg sleeves again for more space for sponsors.