panthera leo fututio

December 30th, 2012 at 5:19 AM ^

NBA players are pussies and/or fundamentally weak? I don't know, man. I look around the league, and I just don't see it. At all. You can always point out the isolated Bargnani/Blatche, but can you name a single roster where guys aren't willing to mix it up and the players who see the floor aren't substantially more polished than the best NCAA teams? I can't.

As to the other faults: you can make an argument that the level of play in the NBA would be higher if the season had fewer and more meaningful games, but I'd counter that the average early March contest still features a vastly higher level of play than you'd see in a standard big-conference NCAA game. The same goes for officiating. And with respect to being a "superstar" league, I'm more invested in basketball than marketing and so don't really care how the NBA brands itself.

Joined: 09/15/2008

MGoPoints: 2154

CRISPed in the DIAG

December 30th, 2012 at 8:52 AM ^

I appreciate your opinion on this - maybe agree to a certain extent - but I actually enjoy the League and get a bit tired of the obligatory "NBA sucks" or "soccer sucks" posts that appear here.  The OP is making a legitimate post and you are adding noise.  

I understand you and many others don't like certain sports and leagues, so please don't waste our collective time by reading and posting on topics that don't interest you.  End of rant.

Joined: 11/08/2010

MGoPoints: 47493

Ender

December 30th, 2012 at 10:39 AM ^

I'm not sure what you mean when you say lack of fundamentals.  NBA players are almost entirely fundamentally sound (i.e., proper offensive and defensive spacing, play execution, etc.) - those that aren't either wash out or have some elite skill that allows them to stick around.

100% agree on length of season/players don't care, though.  I haven't paid for a regular season game in a long time for this exact reason.

Joined: 02/04/2012

MGoPoints: 360

CRISPed in the DIAG

December 30th, 2012 at 6:07 PM ^

I watched an NCAA men's tournament final between Duke and Butler that went down to the final shot that still managed to bore the living shit out of me.  That final shot - the most exciting moment of the game - clanged of the rim, like most of the other shots that evening.  I love college basketball, but have a lot of trouble believing that its a better style of play than the NBA.

Joined: 11/08/2010

MGoPoints: 47493

MGlobules

December 29th, 2012 at 8:45 PM ^

 "There's not a lot of guards at his size that can be combo guards and be great defensive players as well. It's a great opportunity for him to build that reputation."

Darius did the right thing, no question. Getting minutes over Antawn Jamison at this stage, with D'Antoni, Howard, and Kobe praising him. Serious business. 

Joined: 11/17/2008

MGoPoints: 47688

Mdjohnny5

December 29th, 2012 at 9:50 PM ^

I would say it is still a little early to say that Darius did the right thing "no question."  He is in the second year of his 2nd round pick contract, which is the final year.  If he gets picked up again next year and gets a decent contract?  Then yeah; good call.  It's definetly not a slam dunk he will be retained.  If he played his way to a late first round pick, he would have had 2 guaranteed years and team options for 3rd/4th years at a price that teams rarely turn down.  4 years to find a niche is better than 2.  I am a huge fan of Darius and hope he has great success, but leaving early to be a 2nd round pick is a dicey proposition.  

Joined: 01/20/2010

MGoPoints: 344

MGlobules

December 29th, 2012 at 10:06 PM ^

and doing what he wants to do with his life. Likely he stays with the Lakes, but if not he's elsewhere in the NBA--watch. He has had much more chance to better his game there than he would have had here, and he is being praised by D'Antoni and Bryant for his DEFENSE, another thing the idiot savants here said he was no good at. Nothing dicey about it. 

Joined: 11/17/2008

MGoPoints: 47688

America

December 30th, 2012 at 11:06 AM ^

Frame away to try to hold onto your original opinion. He is also making 1.2 million to play basketball on one of the top 2 franchises in the NBA. And starting. And playing in front of family/friends. Do you seriously think he would be better playing Carlton Brundige in practice as opposed to kobe Bryant?Just let go he left at the right time. Be happy that M has started to churn out NBA players.

Ps: when players leave this year don't take such a strong stance against it. This will make cheering for their success as opposed to failure possible

Joined: 09/19/2009

MGoPoints: 812

blueheron

December 29th, 2012 at 10:09 PM ^

I would say we're way past the point of questioning his decision. Look here:

http://www.spotrac.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/darius-morris/

Even after taxes he could buy several years of out-of-state tuition at UMich.

To address the other part: "If he played his way to a late first round pick ..." Lots of bad things (emergence of Trey Burke, injuries, more time for scouts to pick apart his game, less "upside" value as a junior, etc.) could have happened that way, too.

Joined: 03/26/2009

MGoPoints: 31023

LSAClassOf2000

December 30th, 2012 at 8:54 AM ^

"I'm really blessed to have a coach that even would do that on a big stage like, to have confidence in me," said Morris. "That just gives me the strength to thinking I can go out there and get it done, no matter how big the giant is you just need to go up and face the challenge. It's all about your heart at that point. "

It's great to hear that Morris is getting the most of the opportunity and using it as a springboard experience of sorts from which he can continue to learn and improve, and it seems like he is getting some solid mentoring in that respect as well. He's got a great attitude and it is showing in this quote.

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130636

Charlie Chunk

December 30th, 2012 at 9:27 AM ^

He's getting a "look" and that's great.  LA is feeding off his energy.  They were playing stale and now they've found something to rally around.

To me, the Coach needs a little credit here.  The beautiful part of the whole situation is the complete lack of ego.  Guys want to give Darius a chance and he's willing to do what he can.  His future looks pretty bright in that organization.

Joined: 05/02/2011

MGoPoints: 903