Is anyone as sick of Bill Simmons as me?

[Jims_Doors]

Bill Simmons is mad because he's been the nerd at the table with Magic, Wilbon and Rose forever. He's tired of people telling him how wrong he is all the time.

Simmons is the only bright spot at the table.

What Magic brings to the table:

"Chicago is down by 11 at the half and shooting 34%. If they're going to win this game then they need to shoot a better percentage in the 2nd half"

His "rocket science" analysis makes so many others smarter about the game.

 

[HammerDown]

Simmons is the only bright spot at the table.

What Magic brings to the table:

"Chicago is down by 11 at the half and shooting 34%. If they're going to win this game then they need to shoot a better percentage in the 2nd half"

His "rocket science" analysis makes so many others smarter about the game.

Yeah, Magic clearly has the reputation of a very dim basketball mind. Barely understands the game at all.

 

[Jims_Doors]

On the court playing, great basketball mind. Behind the mic not playing, the bulb is very dim. That's why his coaching and color commentating careers lasted a combined 15 seconds.

 

[Lakers+USC=#1]

The year Melo was traded, he had a player option after that 2010-2011 season. He would have probably opted out, became a UFA and try to sign with the Knicks.

Rivers still had 3yrs left on his Boston contract.

Nothing similar about the 2 situations.

Thank you! Melo didnt force anything. He was leaving at the end of the year anyway, and by tellin the Nuggets where he wanted to go, he gave them a chance to make a trade and get players back. The Nuggets weren't forced to do anything, because they could of just let Melo walk at the end of the season and got nothing back. I rather have a player like mel tell me he leaving, then a player like Lebron or Howard not telling me and end up leaving and I get nothing out of it.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

LBJ did a sign and trade iirc and D12 was traded. The only thing those franchises lost out on was having that player on their team.

About Magic...

I honestly think that the analysis you see on TV has been dumbed way down for us viewers to understand it. They use minimal jargon and rarely go in depth when discussing matchups out side of *he big, we put big guy on him*.

*cave man voice*

They do go into fronting and pick and rolls etc but not a lot. NBA TV is a lot better about this.

 

[tlance]

Thank you! Melo didnt force anything. He was leaving at the end of the year anyway, and by tellin the Nuggets where he wanted to go, he gave them a chance to make a trade and get players back. The Nuggets weren't forced to do anything, because they could of just let Melo walk at the end of the season and got nothing back. I rather have a player like mel tell me he leaving, then a player like Lebron or Howard not telling me and end up leaving and I get nothing out of it.

JimDoors is right. My original analogy was a lazy one. Now don't you dare make the mistake of lumping LeBron in with Howard and Melo.

LeBron played out his contract and gave his all to the Cavs for the duration of it. He did not allow his impending free agency to be a distraction at any point. People say he quit during the Celtic series, but that is BS.

Melo and Howard's obsession with free agency put such a circus like atmosphere around their franchises, that the season leading up to it was a lost cause. Nugget leadership made the right choice to move Melo, but only after he made it unbearable.

Also, the Knicks trade for him was a terrible deal. They gave up so many unnecessary pieces. They had all the leverage and they failed to use it.

The franchise never "wins" when they trade a superstar away. Regardless of what LeBron had told Cleveland, there was no way that they could have traded him.

 

[tlance]

LBJ did a sign and trade iirc and D12 was traded. The only thing those franchises lost out on was having that player on their team.

About Magic...

I honestly think that the analysis you see on TV has been dumbed way down for us viewers to understand it. They use minimal jargon and rarely go in depth when discussing matchups out side of *he big, we put big guy on him*.

*cave man voice*

They do go into fronting and pick and rolls etc but not a lot. NBA TV is a lot better about this.

Magic obviously knows the game extremely well. The problem is that he doesn't communicate his knowledge effectively. This made him a shitty coach and makes him a mediocre TV analyst.

 

[Jims_Doors]

JimDoors is right. My original analogy was a lazy one. Now don't you dare make the mistake of lumping LeBron in with Howard and Melo.

LeBron played out his contract and gave his all to the Cavs for the duration of it. He did not allow his impending free agency to be a distraction at any point. People say he quit during the Celtic series, but that is BS.

Melo and Howard's obsession with free agency put such a circus like atmosphere around their franchises, that the season leading up to it was a lost cause. Nugget leadership made the right choice to move Melo, but only after he made it unbearable.

Also, the Knicks trade for him was a terrible deal. They gave up so many unnecessary pieces. They had all the leverage and they failed to use it.

The franchise never "wins" when they trade a superstar away. Regardless of what LeBron had told Cleveland, there was no way that they could have traded him.

That's not true at all.

This is from an article right after the trade was made, Feb. 23rd 2011:

It was Anthony's refusal to take the extension when the Nuggets offered it to him last summer that forced them to explore trading their leading scorer. The Knicks hoped they could sign him next summer in free agency, but felt they couldn't wait because Anthony wanted the extension this season, before a new collective bargaining agreement next summer could severely restrict salaries, and that could have forced him to lock in long term with whatever team Denver traded him to.

Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said in a statement the Nuggets enjoyed watching Anthony grow during his seven seasons with the team.

"However, Carmelo made it very clear early in the season that he wasn't willing to recommit to the organization and wanted to pursue other opportunities in basketball and life," Kroenke said. "At that point, we decided it was imperative that we do what was in the best interest of the Denver Nuggets and our fans. We wish Carmelo the best in his career and sincerely thank him for what he's helped us accomplish."

 

[jayviabay]

The franchise never "wins" when they trade a superstar away. Regardless of what LeBron had told Cleveland, there was no way that they could have traded him.

Most of the time this is true but IMO I think Denver was a winner in the Melo Deal

 

[tlance]

Most of the time this is true but IMO I think Denver was a winner in the Melo Deal

Yes.

But only because the Knicks gave up a shocking number of assets to appease Melo's wish to get a deal done before the new collective bargaining agreement. Good for Melo, bad for the Knicks.

 

[HammerDown]

On the court playing, great basketball mind. Behind the mic not playing, the bulb is very dim. That's why his coaching and color commentating careers lasted a combined 15 seconds.

How much does ESPN choose to pay Magic Johnson every year for his "very dim bulb"? How much money is the man worth? Have you seen his mansion in Beverly Hills?

 

[HammerDown]

Magic obviously knows the game extremely well. The problem is that he doesn't communicate his knowledge effectively. This made him a shitty coach and makes him a mediocre TV analyst.

He wasn't a shitty coach. He had a shitty team and found out quickly he had no desire to do what Pat Riley did. It's pretty easy to find out what happened if you're interested.

 

[Tubbs1518]

How much does ESPN choose to pay Magic Johnson every year for his "very dim bulb"? How much money is the man worth? Have you seen his mansion in Beverly Hills?

Networks choose to pay all kinds of morons who are crappy in the booth. How much ESPN pays him means nothing.

 

[HammerDown]

Networks choose to pay all kinds of morons who are crappy in the booth. How much ESPN pays him means nothing.

You're a full-of-shit troll, Tubbs. Get better at it or quit. This "moron" happens to be worth a conservative $750,000,000 and ESPN pays him millions of dollars because he's universally known as a basketball genius. Except you. You know better.

 

[Heatles84]

You're a full-of-shit troll, Tubbs. Get better at it or quit. This "moron" happens to be worth a conservative $750,000,000 and ESPN pays him millions of dollars because he's universally known as a basketball genius. Except you. You know better.

You're kidding right? After every game of the NBA Finals, he said something along the lines of "This series is over. The Heat/Spurs have figured out the other team and I don't see how they could recover." Or, regardless of how this series plays out, Pat Riley is going to have to break up the Big 3. The rest of the NBA has figured them out". Last I checked the Heat are back-to-back champs. But keep thinking that being a great basketball player makes you a genius as an analyst.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

But only because the Knicks gave up a shocking number of assets

Never underestimate a GM's ability to be horrible at their job. Patriots are a great example of this, they keep making players look good and trading them for much more than they are worth. The Lakers were very good at this too.

But keep thinking that being a great basketball player makes you a genius as an analyst.

Not necessarily but for an all time great point guard it does. They have to understand so much more of the game. You can not think any all time great went through the game with out an immense knowledge of how it is played? That is exactly what analysts do, they interpret the game for the viewers.

Also not to ESPN* but I have to assume ESPN and the NBA wants to build each game into much more than it is. I am not so sure they tell their analysts what to say but who would be surprised?

*ESPN - blindly make shit up

 

[trojanfan12]

You're kidding right? After every game of the NBA Finals, he said something along the lines of "This series is over. The Heat/Spurs have figured out the other team and I don't see how they could recover." Or, regardless of how this series plays out, Pat Riley is going to have to break up the Big 3. The rest of the NBA has figured them out". Last I checked the Heat are back-to-back champs. But keep thinking that being a great basketball player makes you a genius as an analyst.

Pretty much every analyst on every channel was doing this. Largely because you had the Spurs win a close game 1 and then there were 4 straight blowouts with each team taking 2!!

As for the rest of the NBA having the Heat figured out, they kind of do!! If you look at the series with the Pacers and the Spurs and just base things on talent, the Heat should have won both of those series in 5 or 6 games.

However, those teams were able to attack the Heat where they are most vulnerable and because of that, both series went 7 games and if not for Ray-Ray's 3, the Heat don't get their repeat!! Heck, even the injured Bulls were able to give the Heat a tougher time than they should have for the same reason.

I don't know if Riley needs to break up the Big 3 (that would be pretty unprecedented coming off of a championship), but I think he needs to do something to address the Heat's vulnerability in the paint. The Pacers and Spurs may not have been able to beat Miami, but they did provide the blueprint!!

 

[OutlawImmortal]

I don't blame you for thinking Bill Simmons is knowledgeable Doors, some folks on here think Jeff Van Gundy is a basketball genius lmao.

 

[tlance]

He wasn't a shitty coach. He had a shitty team and found out quickly he had no desire to do what Pat Riley did. It's pretty easy to find out what happened if you're interested.

I will pass on that. Maybe he wasn't a bad coach, but he wasn't a great one either.

As for his ability as an analyst, he isn't terrible, but he isn't particularly good either. He is pretty emotional, just like he was as a player, and he sometimes seems to speak before he really thinks about what he is saying.

What Magic is, is a valuable commodity to ABC/ESPN. He is an all-time great as a player and he has a magnetic personality that people are drawn to. People love watching Magic even though his commentary may not be as insightful as some analysts.

Magic knows a lot more about basketball than any of us here who are judging him. To say he doesn't know what he is talking about is silly. It is fair to say that he isn't great at expressing his views or his vision.

Great player does not equal great analyst, coach or owner/front office guy. MJ has proven that, but it doesn't make him less great as a historical player.

 

[wildturkey]

I think Magic's problem is he can't give insight on a produced segment. I've seen clips of him in non structured segments and he's genuine, funny, and can express his knowledge and how he feels. But as soon as the redlight goes on for a produced segment, he's a stumbling mess. You can see him going over what he's trying to say in his head and not being able to get the words out. If they could ever get past that, Magic could be a good TV guy. But it may just be that some people just suck on TV.