Recently, an article written by Grantland's "The Masked Man" (David Shoemaker) caught my attention. He was creating comparisons between NBA players and WWE Superstars (not wrestlers, damn it! [this is sarcasm]). The idea for the article was solid at best, but the execution was greatly flawed. No disrespect to him, I usually enjoy his writing, but this piece was not impressive in the least. However, it did give me a great idea. Instead of comparing the NBA and WWE, how about I do something a little bit bigger? How about comparing NBA players to some TV characters? The moment I came up with this topic, I immediately thought of several comparisons.
Lebron and Dwyane Wade = The 2 Gay Guys from Modern Family
Just kidding.
Lebron = Spongebob Squarepants
No. Really. He is. Stop laughing! Think about it. When Spongebob first showed up, he was loved by many and hated by few. After many seasons, Spongebob is rarely funny, and the children that once loved him have grown up, and now despise him in the newer episodes. Doesn't that sound like Lebron? Everyone loved him when he first came into the league. Then progressively as his career went on, he started to garner a lot of hate. If that does not sound like Spongebob, I do not have a clue as to what does.
Kobe = Will Smith in Fresh Prince
Kobe reminds me of watching the Fresh Prince re-runs every morning as I get ready for school; he has been doing it for so long, its like watching re-runs. And I love it every time. When all is said and done, Kobe will not be considered the greatest of all time; there is no surpassing MJ; but he will be considered the greatest Laker of all time, and he will be a top 2 player. He refuses to slow down, just like Fresh Prince is still funny to me, 16 years after it got canceled. Even more of a coincidence? Kobe entered the league at the same time Fresh Prince got canceled. I am a genius.
Dwyane Wade = Jerry Seinfeld
Wade has not been as great as he normally is this season, but people keep waiting and watching for him to return to that mode he always gets in. This is similar to Seinfeld. Did anyone watch Seinfeld because it was funny? Probably not. They watched it because everyone knew Jerry Seinfeld had the potential to be funny, just like people watch Wade because he has the potential to methodically destroy any team.
Derrick Rose = Aang
For those of you who don't remember Avatar: The Last Airbender, it was a show that started coming on around the time I entered junior high, got postponed because Nickelodeon thought it might be too violent for children, then came back on 2 years later on a satellite only channel that I do not get. So, it did take me awhile to finish the series, but the similarities between Derrick Rose and Aang, especially this postseason, are uncanny. What makes me think of these two as similar? At the beginning of the show, Aang shows up unexpectedly, the savior of a war-torn world. Who expected the Bulls to get Derrick Rose? Aang meets up with Katara (Joakim Noah) and Sokka (Luol Deng). This sounded better in my head. Hell, you can even make the argument that the Heat are similar to the Fire Nation, with Lebron being Azula and Wade being Ozai. I miss this show. Luckily, there's a new season of it! Your welcome, Nickolodeon, I just informed my readers (all 2 of them) about your new show. That's free advertising. Consider us even.
San Antonio Spurs = The Big Bang Theory
Only the educated will enjoy watching them.
Stephen A. Smith = Eric Cartman
Seriously, nobody likes you. Go away. You make Skip Bayless' arguments make sense. Screaming does not make your point.
Two brothers, Joe (25) and Mike (18). Not many people love the Bulls like we love the Bulls, might as well write about them. Enjoy
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Watching Erik Spoelstra Coach is Unbearable
How does a man like Erik Spoelstra get a job? Has a team ever won with a doormat of a coach? Honestly, there were, and still are, better options for a coach. But who cares about that? They have the ever-wonderful superstars Lebron James and Dwyane Wade! That should be enough to conquer the lowly Pacers, right? Wrong.
The case has been the same for the Heat all season: when Lebron can take over, they are unstoppable. This comes to no surprise. He is, after all, the best player in the world currently. When do the Heat lose? Its when an up and coming coach like Frank Vogel outcoaches Erik Spoelstra. This should surprise no one. I knew Spoelstra was a bad choice to begin with. He was a video coordinator. That's the same job I did for a high school team my junior year. That means absolutely nothing to me, that he did the same for an NBA team. (I guarantee you, his commentary was not nearly as entertaining. My topics ranged anywhere from actually talking about the game (when they were playing a close game) to Pokemon (when they were getting blown out) to other things that are unrelated to basketball)
The reason I feel so strongly about Spoelstra is the fact that he is just an awful coach. If he was coaching my kid's high school team I would be worried. He obviously cannot handle egos, and that is what high school coaching is: handling egos. This man is coaching a professional basketball team that features two players who are as arrogant as any high school student. I personally know adult coaches that could do a better job of handling people like Lebron and Wade. As an aspiring coach (and journalist), watching Spoelstra is painful. If these are the guys that are getting the big jobs, where does that leave me? Hell, where does that leave the potentially great coaches that actually have gone to school in order to coach high school ball (and P.E.)? I know dozens of coaches throughout this area just from watching my high school team from the bench. There are a few of them that leave my head scratching. Teams with all the athletic ability and skill in the world, just not a good enough coach to win. And then I see coach Spo.
He looks frightened; like a car salesman who finds out he needs to sell a Ferrari to someone who thinks the dealership will take his Link card to keep his job. Coaching frightened is something that will never work. Phil Jackson is known as the Zen Master; he does not get rattled, he does not get frightened. He does the job he needs to do. Spo just doesn't! Besides, any NBA coach that believes the "zone offense" is actually a zone offense needs to be replaced immediately. Pat Riley needs to find a new coach immediately; the Heat will not succeed with Spo. There is also a good possibility that they cannot succeed with Dwyane Wade, but that is a story for another time.
PS: I should not have linked to Bl00dblitz, my night is now gone.
The case has been the same for the Heat all season: when Lebron can take over, they are unstoppable. This comes to no surprise. He is, after all, the best player in the world currently. When do the Heat lose? Its when an up and coming coach like Frank Vogel outcoaches Erik Spoelstra. This should surprise no one. I knew Spoelstra was a bad choice to begin with. He was a video coordinator. That's the same job I did for a high school team my junior year. That means absolutely nothing to me, that he did the same for an NBA team. (I guarantee you, his commentary was not nearly as entertaining. My topics ranged anywhere from actually talking about the game (when they were playing a close game) to Pokemon (when they were getting blown out) to other things that are unrelated to basketball)
The reason I feel so strongly about Spoelstra is the fact that he is just an awful coach. If he was coaching my kid's high school team I would be worried. He obviously cannot handle egos, and that is what high school coaching is: handling egos. This man is coaching a professional basketball team that features two players who are as arrogant as any high school student. I personally know adult coaches that could do a better job of handling people like Lebron and Wade. As an aspiring coach (and journalist), watching Spoelstra is painful. If these are the guys that are getting the big jobs, where does that leave me? Hell, where does that leave the potentially great coaches that actually have gone to school in order to coach high school ball (and P.E.)? I know dozens of coaches throughout this area just from watching my high school team from the bench. There are a few of them that leave my head scratching. Teams with all the athletic ability and skill in the world, just not a good enough coach to win. And then I see coach Spo.
He looks frightened; like a car salesman who finds out he needs to sell a Ferrari to someone who thinks the dealership will take his Link card to keep his job. Coaching frightened is something that will never work. Phil Jackson is known as the Zen Master; he does not get rattled, he does not get frightened. He does the job he needs to do. Spo just doesn't! Besides, any NBA coach that believes the "zone offense" is actually a zone offense needs to be replaced immediately. Pat Riley needs to find a new coach immediately; the Heat will not succeed with Spo. There is also a good possibility that they cannot succeed with Dwyane Wade, but that is a story for another time.
PS: I should not have linked to Bl00dblitz, my night is now gone.
Song of the Day: Dropkick Murphys- Never Alone
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)