NBA THREAD: Toilet Fleet Jr 2013!!

[altars of radness]

I think I'd be kinda down on the NBA if the Pacers made it to the finals. Did Roy Hibbert get fat? I actually wanted this team to get to the finals last year or two

I hate the Pacers. I always thought George and West seemed like jerks, and Hibbert is turning into a giant, unreliable pussy. I hope they get killed. I also hope Miami beats them.

[Ray]

I was hoping Atlanta or the Wizards would beat them! Especially the Wizards.

[altars of radness]

That would have been great. I had no idea Washington was such a fun team to watch.

[TF@work]

the leastern conference may be top-heavy and full of unique dogshit teams, but i think we're overselling how bad their playoff teams really were this year: atlanta's an interesting matchup for probably 12 out of the other 15 playoff teams, and the bobcats would have given miami (or any other team) far more trouble if a-jeffs doesn't get a flat tire early on. if the remaining 'bad' teams are a gassed bulls squad (really, thibs needs to get a little talking-to about how rest works in the modern ene-be-a), the brooklyn retirement home, a very talented and occasionally high-executing wizards, and the raptors? records aside, that's still interesting ball one through eight

let's be real: if the thunder have a halfway good offensive coach, they are odds-on to win the next three chips, right? if i have to pick between durant/westbrook/ibaka and james/wade/bosh, i know who i'm choosing--plus okc has better rotation players.

[Natas]

Your last point is interesting. I still don't know how James does it with that team though I'm falling in love with Wade all over again (hated his new bad boy attitude). Ibaka is great but can't create his own shots. So the offense is always seemingly devoid of play running: KD or Westbrook just go do your thing & we'll rely on broken plays and Ibaka's wide open jumpers (which are fucking deadly). But of course he's gone which sucks cock. How awesome was Lebron's defense at the end of the last game btw? Holy shit! including the block on JJ in the last minute.

Though part of me still finds SA's effectiveness very boring much like the Patriots, we'll have to look back on this as a great team of its era (duh?), especially if they go to the Finals again. That Splitter signing is looking better and better. He's such a typical boring good player for that team. Always in position on both ends, very smart.

One thing OKC needs is a few shot makers like SA, Miami & Dallas have and to share the ball like those teams have done to be successful. Loving the shit out of Adams on the Thunder btw. Stephen or whatever.

[TF@work]

no way an ibaka-less thunder beats the spurs imo, considering how deficient the other three of their starting five would be on offense. you're right that ibaka's not creating his own shot, but considering the spacing they could get in a non-scott brooks offense with the two killer offensive players they have, he wouldn't necessarily have to. but again, that's assuming they get a coach that can run a system. it's not even like they need to run hard and fast set plays: just put in an offensive scheme that isn't just durant at the wing ad infinitum. whatever. i hate scott brooks. as good of a job i think he'd do in detroit, i wanted the thunder to get fat van gunty, because even if he normally relied on beasts in the low post, he can scheme an offense to the existing talent better than most (pop being the champ obviously). really, if okc can find a halfway competent five on offense, their ability to run an outside-in game busts wide open.

the latter-day spurs are a weird animal that makes zero sense when you consider the rest of the modern-he-says-while-making-a-jacking-off-motion league. is knocking at the door every year with the occasional chip enough for us to consider them one of the great teams of this era? or do they get lost in the discussion as often as those 76er teams? shame if that happens

[TF@work]

i guess people gave up once it was all top seeds

lo and behold, an ibaka-less thunder can't keep the spurs out of the paint. that really sucks, and i wanted two healthy teams to punch each other to death in the west. cart before the horse, but is it possible for the spurs to get out in 5, and give parker time to heal completely while the heat and/or pacers slog it out for 6 or, likely, 7? i think that gives us our best shot at a really fun and competitive finals (that the spurs will win thank you based diaw)

[Natas]

This sucks. Durant and Westbrook have to go crazy for four games to do this, and I don't even know if that's enough. And for a while I've been wondering: Has Scott Brooks actually done a great job or something getting them this far? Maybe he can save his job with a miraculously respectful series and 2-3 wins? Not likely. I mean I was surprised they were in the game all night. Just sucks. Just bring in Lionel Hollins or something.

[TF@work]

durant and westbrook can keep them in games, but without ibaka's rim protection :/

brooks isn't even on a hot seat: he should be on a seat attached to a rocket ship returning him to whatever ineffectual planet he comes from

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

they have two top ten players, lucked into another great scoring sixth man after cheaping out and letting a third all-nba-er walk, and have an elite shot-changing defender that also is buck wilin from midrange—and their postseason resume is what it is. it's acceptable, sure, but it's not nearly what it should be given their talent. barring ibaka's injury, the thunder have the talent and rotation pieces to be the superior iteration of the heat, but instead, they're the little brother. that's on the coach.

[Natas]

I disagree that the Thunder's talent should get them anything more than what they have. Can a better coach raise them up a level? Yeah I guess. So fine get rid of Brooks. Maybe that's it. But you know and I know that Westbrook is still in the playoffs again b/c he simply performs better than Harden and yes, maybe his defense isn't incredible but it's very good and fucking waay better

[Ray]

Harden's a secret fatty while Russell Westbrook is one of the most athletically gifted people on the planet. I'm not trying to argue anything, I just felt like saying that.

[Natas]

Harden's style is so weird and smooth it looks like he's hardly ever even putting in lots of effort

[TF@work]

if we're talking heads-up talent, again, i think okc's three moved past miami's three the second ibaka figured out that his midrange game could be above average and dwyane wade's knees retired. chalmers/whatever pf is admittedly better than sefolosha/perkins. when it comes to the bench, i'd say overall push, offensive edge and interior production edge to the thunder, defense going to the heat.

[as far as westbrook v. harden, i will concede here that harden is not as much of a defining player. maybe his game seemed that much better to me when he was coming off the bench and not expected to anchor a team? but still, they didn't have to let him go, and i think they'd be better with him. anyhow, old news]

so when you account for the personnel, what does that leave? coaching, either in on-the-fly game/personnel management or establishing a system. okc has three hundos kept together with masking tape. they need to buy a fucking wallet.

[Natas]

I can give the coaching nod to Miami for getting such production form all of its guys. That's what makes the Heat and Spurs so great. I still say Miami's non big three roster is better though. I give Spoelstra tons of credit.

Unfortunate that I have to hear Mark Jackson's stupid voice again. At least when he gave his stupid inspirational speeches to the Warriors I only had to hear it once in a while. He is so fucking tired. Good game so far.

[altars of radness]

I never thought I'd say this, but I feel bad for Lance Stephenson.

[TF@work]

with the first pick in the 2014 nba draft, the cleveland cavaliers select a used immersion blender from williams-sonoma outlet

[Natas]

Needless to say I had a shit eating grin on the entire game last night during the classic thunder blitzkrieg. Wesbrook rules, and is exciting as hell even when he's having a bad game.



And now, I present to you, Yinka Dare. For those who don't know: 4 assists in 110 career games.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... eyi01.html

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

Worst. Passer. Ever.



By Basketbawful at 10:28 AM

10 comments






YinkaThe NBA is shockingly full of bad passing and ball-hoggery; we hold this truth to be self-evident. But can you imagine somebody playing 1,002 minutes in 110 games over a four-year career and dishing out only four assists? Well, believe it or not -- and if you read this site you probably do -- it happened. The culprit was the "Nigerian giant" Yinka Dare, possibly the worst passer in league history.

After the New Jersey Nets selected him 14th overall in the 1994 NBA draft, Dare had some strong words for anybody and everybody who would listen:

"When I see myself play, I think of Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal. For instance, Shaq is explosive around the basket, and I am, too. If I play my best, I'll be better than some of the best big men who ever played. I'm going to be an All-Star. The teams that didn't draft me made a mistake."

As it turned out, those teams knew exactly what they were doing. Dare wasn't even good enough to get dunked on in one of Shaq's posters. His career averages of 2.1 PPG (on 39 percent shooting) and 2.6 RPG are proof of that. He even had a negative PER during his rookie season, a fact that probably caused John Hollinger to throw up in his Wheaties. But those dubious achievements are nothing compared to Yinka's greatest legacy: 77 games and 770 minutes played without a single assist -- an all-time NBA record for passing futility.

Dare didn't dish his first assist until midway through his third season. Although, to be fair, he got injured three minutes into his very first game and missed the rest of the year. But he played 58 games (and 626 minutes) in his sophomore season without registering an assist. He did, however, commit 72 turnovers and earn the nickname "Stinka Dare" from teammate Kenny Anderson. A sports writer also commented that "Dare" was Nigerian for "comes to NBA without game."

The 1996-97 campaign was Dare's greatest passing season: three assists in 41 games and only 21 turnovers. Unfortunately, the good times were over; Dare would play only 10 games -- dishing one assist -- in his next and final season. Dare finished his NBA career with 4 assists and 96 turnovers, for a miraculous 16:1 turnover-to-assist ratio. According to his bio on NBA.com, Dare's career assist average is 0.0.

Sadly, Dare died of a heart attack in 2004 at the age of 32. Ironically, his last act on this earth was to "pass away."

Update: Thanks to josh for providing me with a link to this Yinka Dare Tribute Site. There learn fun Yinka Facts, like how he invented water and won the 1996 Mr. Universe contest.

[Zerohero]

Needless to say I had a shit eating grin on the entire game last night during the classic thunder blitzkrieg. Wesbrook rules, and is exciting as hell even when he's having a bad game.



And now, I present to you, Yinka Dare. For those who don't know: 4 assists in 110 career games.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... eyi01.html

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

Worst. Passer. Ever.



By Basketbawful at 10:28 AM

10 comments






YinkaThe NBA is shockingly full of bad passing and ball-hoggery; we hold this truth to be self-evident. But can you imagine somebody playing 1,002 minutes in 110 games over a four-year career and dishing out only four assists? Well, believe it or not -- and if you read this site you probably do -- it happened. The culprit was the "Nigerian giant" Yinka Dare, possibly the worst passer in league history.

After the New Jersey Nets selected him 14th overall in the 1994 NBA draft, Dare had some strong words for anybody and everybody who would listen:

"When I see myself play, I think of Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal. For instance, Shaq is explosive around the basket, and I am, too. If I play my best, I'll be better than some of the best big men who ever played. I'm going to be an All-Star. The teams that didn't draft me made a mistake."

As it turned out, those teams knew exactly what they were doing. Dare wasn't even good enough to get dunked on in one of Shaq's posters. His career averages of 2.1 PPG (on 39 percent shooting) and 2.6 RPG are proof of that. He even had a negative PER during his rookie season, a fact that probably caused John Hollinger to throw up in his Wheaties. But those dubious achievements are nothing compared to Yinka's greatest legacy: 77 games and 770 minutes played without a single assist -- an all-time NBA record for passing futility.

Dare didn't dish his first assist until midway through his third season. Although, to be fair, he got injured three minutes into his very first game and missed the rest of the year. But he played 58 games (and 626 minutes) in his sophomore season without registering an assist. He did, however, commit 72 turnovers and earn the nickname "Stinka Dare" from teammate Kenny Anderson. A sports writer also commented that "Dare" was Nigerian for "comes to NBA without game."

The 1996-97 campaign was Dare's greatest passing season: three assists in 41 games and only 21 turnovers. Unfortunately, the good times were over; Dare would play only 10 games -- dishing one assist -- in his next and final season. Dare finished his NBA career with 4 assists and 96 turnovers, for a miraculous 16:1 turnover-to-assist ratio. According to his bio on NBA.com, Dare's career assist average is 0.0.

Sadly, Dare died of a heart attack in 2004 at the age of 32. Ironically, his last act on this earth was to "pass away."

Update: Thanks to josh for providing me with a link to this Yinka Dare Tribute Site. There learn fun Yinka Facts, like how he invented water and won the 1996 Mr. Universe contest.

I used to see Dare play in person often in college. Big ass dude.

[Natas]

Needless to say I had a shit eating grin on the entire game last night during the classic thunder blitzkrieg. Wesbrook rules, and is exciting as hell even when he's having a bad game.



And now, I present to you, Yinka Dare. For those who don't know: 4 assists in 110 career games.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... eyi01.html

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

Worst. Passer. Ever.



By Basketbawful at 10:28 AM

10 comments






YinkaThe NBA is shockingly full of bad passing and ball-hoggery; we hold this truth to be self-evident. But can you imagine somebody playing 1,002 minutes in 110 games over a four-year career and dishing out only four assists? Well, believe it or not -- and if you read this site you probably do -- it happened. The culprit was the "Nigerian giant" Yinka Dare, possibly the worst passer in league history.

After the New Jersey Nets selected him 14th overall in the 1994 NBA draft, Dare had some strong words for anybody and everybody who would listen:

"When I see myself play, I think of Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal. For instance, Shaq is explosive around the basket, and I am, too. If I play my best, I'll be better than some of the best big men who ever played. I'm going to be an All-Star. The teams that didn't draft me made a mistake."

As it turned out, those teams knew exactly what they were doing. Dare wasn't even good enough to get dunked on in one of Shaq's posters. His career averages of 2.1 PPG (on 39 percent shooting) and 2.6 RPG are proof of that. He even had a negative PER during his rookie season, a fact that probably caused John Hollinger to throw up in his Wheaties. But those dubious achievements are nothing compared to Yinka's greatest legacy: 77 games and 770 minutes played without a single assist -- an all-time NBA record for passing futility.

Dare didn't dish his first assist until midway through his third season. Although, to be fair, he got injured three minutes into his very first game and missed the rest of the year. But he played 58 games (and 626 minutes) in his sophomore season without registering an assist. He did, however, commit 72 turnovers and earn the nickname "Stinka Dare" from teammate Kenny Anderson. A sports writer also commented that "Dare" was Nigerian for "comes to NBA without game."

The 1996-97 campaign was Dare's greatest passing season: three assists in 41 games and only 21 turnovers. Unfortunately, the good times were over; Dare would play only 10 games -- dishing one assist -- in his next and final season. Dare finished his NBA career with 4 assists and 96 turnovers, for a miraculous 16:1 turnover-to-assist ratio. According to his bio on NBA.com, Dare's career assist average is 0.0.

Sadly, Dare died of a heart attack in 2004 at the age of 32. Ironically, his last act on this earth was to "pass away."

Update: Thanks to josh for providing me with a link to this Yinka Dare Tribute Site. There learn fun Yinka Facts, like how he invented water and won the 1996 Mr. Universe contest.

I used to see Dare play in person often in college. Big ass dude.

His quote was the best in that there spoiler. Did you see him in warmups? If so, what if someone made a shot and he got the ball after it went through? Would he pass it? Or would he whisper Hakeem,Ewing or Shaq's name in fake announcer voice while imitating one of their moves

[Zerohero]

Needless to say I had a shit eating grin on the entire game last night during the classic thunder blitzkrieg. Wesbrook rules, and is exciting as hell even when he's having a bad game.



And now, I present to you, Yinka Dare. For those who don't know: 4 assists in 110 career games.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... eyi01.html

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

Worst. Passer. Ever.



By Basketbawful at 10:28 AM

10 comments






YinkaThe NBA is shockingly full of bad passing and ball-hoggery; we hold this truth to be self-evident. But can you imagine somebody playing 1,002 minutes in 110 games over a four-year career and dishing out only four assists? Well, believe it or not -- and if you read this site you probably do -- it happened. The culprit was the "Nigerian giant" Yinka Dare, possibly the worst passer in league history.

After the New Jersey Nets selected him 14th overall in the 1994 NBA draft, Dare had some strong words for anybody and everybody who would listen:

"When I see myself play, I think of Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal. For instance, Shaq is explosive around the basket, and I am, too. If I play my best, I'll be better than some of the best big men who ever played. I'm going to be an All-Star. The teams that didn't draft me made a mistake."

As it turned out, those teams knew exactly what they were doing. Dare wasn't even good enough to get dunked on in one of Shaq's posters. His career averages of 2.1 PPG (on 39 percent shooting) and 2.6 RPG are proof of that. He even had a negative PER during his rookie season, a fact that probably caused John Hollinger to throw up in his Wheaties. But those dubious achievements are nothing compared to Yinka's greatest legacy: 77 games and 770 minutes played without a single assist -- an all-time NBA record for passing futility.

Dare didn't dish his first assist until midway through his third season. Although, to be fair, he got injured three minutes into his very first game and missed the rest of the year. But he played 58 games (and 626 minutes) in his sophomore season without registering an assist. He did, however, commit 72 turnovers and earn the nickname "Stinka Dare" from teammate Kenny Anderson. A sports writer also commented that "Dare" was Nigerian for "comes to NBA without game."

The 1996-97 campaign was Dare's greatest passing season: three assists in 41 games and only 21 turnovers. Unfortunately, the good times were over; Dare would play only 10 games -- dishing one assist -- in his next and final season. Dare finished his NBA career with 4 assists and 96 turnovers, for a miraculous 16:1 turnover-to-assist ratio. According to his bio on NBA.com, Dare's career assist average is 0.0.

Sadly, Dare died of a heart attack in 2004 at the age of 32. Ironically, his last act on this earth was to "pass away."

Update: Thanks to josh for providing me with a link to this Yinka Dare Tribute Site. There learn fun Yinka Facts, like how he invented water and won the 1996 Mr. Universe contest.

I used to see Dare play in person often in college. Big ass dude.

His quote was the best in that there spoiler. Did you see him in warmups? If so, what if someone made a shot and he got the ball ball ball after it went through? Would he pass it? Or would he whisper Hakeem,Ewing or Shaq's name in fake announcer voice while imitating one of their moves

I lafffed at that Shaq quote, cuz Shaq was a pretty decent passer.

I actually didn't realize he even played that long in the NBA. And didn't know dude was dead.

[Ray]

[Wang Mandu]

Gatorade ✔ @Gatorade
Follow
@ryanbkoo The person cramping wasn't our client. Our athletes can take the heat.

[Zerohero]

Danny Green.

Not good enough to play in the NBA, according to Mike Brown and Danny Ferry.

[Natas]

some employers want to hire talent that doesn't have to be trained or developed. Someone should tell Cleveland they don't fit that bill.

Good game until James left late in 4thQ

[Zerohero]

some employers want to hire talent that doesn't have to be trained or developed. Someone should tell Cleveland they don't fit that bill.

Good game until James left late in 4thQ

that was the best part.