HOF
Posted 28 June 2013 - 09:17 AM
Someone just sent me the Simmons/Rivers clip, and Simmons is spot on...Just own it, Doc, that's all. It's ok that you knew what was happening/going to happen in Boston, but don't keep changing the story..Simmons may be a Boston loyalist to a fault sometimes, but he's right on this one.
Doc's playing the PR game like everyone else. I agree though he seems to have a few different stories. I doubt he would've been welcomed back in Boston if the Clippers thing didn't work out.
HOF
Posted 28 June 2013 - 09:31 AM
In the limited time I saw Shane Battier, I didn't think he was great, but I don't think he was as bad as everyone else said he was. I kind of blame ESPN for putting him in that position without any real training. I actually think in the right spot, he could have a future in TV, it's probably not as a SLR though. I've always been a Shane Battier fan even if I strongly dislike Duke
I'm not sure how I feel about Simmons reacting after many picks like a fan. That's sort of why he was there was to give the non-player, Average Joe perspective. But it got a little repetitive IMO. It's one thing after the first pick is a surprise, but he needs to maintain some level of professionalism IMO.
CFB Analyst
Posted 28 June 2013 - 11:10 AM
His son, Jeremiah fired back at Simmons in a series of tweets.
And then there's this:
Bill Simmons
@BillSimmons
When I get home I'm signing up my 5 and a half year old son for Twitter so he can defend me against Doc Rivers' kids.
HOF
Posted 28 June 2013 - 11:42 AM
One of the best parts of last night was my father, after years of seeing Simmons on PTI and some other ESPN shows and now a season on NBA Countdown and the Draft, finally asking me--basically--who the hell is he? 
HOF
Posted 28 June 2013 - 12:15 PM
And then there's this:
Awesome!!
MVP
Posted 29 June 2013 - 01:28 AM
Someone is going to have to explain to me how 18 pts & 8 assists per game on a team with literally no one else is nothing special. That's Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook territory.
The value in this trade all boils down to how good you think Noel will be. HIs size is a concern, he plays great defense but doesn't have a traditional big man game and would rather hang out at 12-15 feet and play pick and pop. To me it just looks like the Sixers trading for another injured big man.
The draft pick they get from New Orleans is top-5 protected. They're calling next year's draft deep, but sitting at 3 & 6 or 5 & 8 hardly seems worth giving up a real player. And take all draft projections with the same grain of salt that had Harrison Barnes entering college as a likely #1 pick or Noel & Muhammed rated as elite coming into this year. If you're not getting Wiggins or Parker for that pick (and if they're as good as everyone thinks you won't) I'm having a hard time buying this as anything but a self sabotaging tank job by the Sixers.
Judging a players worth by going by his points and assists total is the exact reason Hinkie was able to get Noel and 1st rounder next year for him.
http://insider.espn....95/jrue-holiday
He was 50th among point guards in pure point rating, 44th in true shooting percentage, and only in the middle of the pack in usage rate, and did nothing dramatically better than league-average offensively.
He's fine. He's a good defender, he is maddening at times because of his refusal to be aggressive and attack. He rarely gets to the free throw line and he can hit 3's but he doesn't take them enough. Part of it was probably Collins' system but I've seen him pass up many open 3's. If you think he is an elite point guard you have not watched him play.
Also, you are right in that the 76ers are going full tank. Noel probably won't even play until January, they won't resign Bynum, and they've been trying to trade everyone. Jrue's value is never going to be as high as it is now and they cashed in it to turn the team from a 35-40 win team for the next 3-4 years to a 15win team next year with the potential to have Noel, MCW, Thad Young, and two top 10 picks (and probably one top 3) in a loaded class next year. Hinkie is a Morey disciple and his goal is to stockpile lottery picks and eventually gather enough talent to either convince a star to sign with Philly or trade for one. He doesn't want to be the next Atlanta Hawks he's willing to tank for a year or two in order to be contenders for the years after that.
Posted 29 June 2013 - 01:14 PM
It's semantics but I'd say there's a pretty big gap between "elite" and "nothing special". I think we're in agreement that this is more about smashing their own potential thereby raising the value of their own picks than it is about calling trading Holiday for Noel (who's upside is Larry Sanders IMO, and who could easily be Joel Anthony) and a pick likely to be between 5 & 9 in what's being called a "deep draft" based on high school talent a win. It may be palatable in an "ends justifies the means" way of thinking, but it seems to be that we're calling this a good move because it's so bad.
I think evaluating Holiday who was running an offense absolutely devoid of other talent is tough. Finding driving lanes and getting to the line is a heck of a lot tougher when opposing teams don't have to truly commit to defending the rest of the floor. San Antonio did a great job early in the series of keeping LeBron from driving and out of the lane and we all know that Holiday is no LeBron and his supporting cast isn't close to the Heat's.
I understand the Morey reverence but by my count his teams have been an 8th or 9th seed in the West every year since he's taken over. And while sound in theory, outside of Oklahoma City, what team has built themselves into a real contender by stockpiling lottery picks?
HOF
Posted 29 June 2013 - 01:18 PM
I think this is a good deal for the Sixers because of the potential upside. They weren't going anywhere anyway so it makes sense to roll the dice.
Holliday is good, but not likely to become a star imo.
MVP
Posted 29 June 2013 - 01:27 PM
It's semantics but I'd say there's a pretty big gap between "elite" and "nothing special". I think we're in agreement that this is more about smashing their own potential thereby raising the value of their own picks than it is about calling trading Holiday for Noel (who's upside is Larry Sanders IMO, and who could easily be Joel Anthony) and a pick likely to be between 5 & 9 in what's being called a "deep draft" based on high school talent a win. It may be palatable in an "ends justifies the means" way of thinking, but it seems to be that we're calling this a good move because it's so bad.
I think evaluating Holiday who was running an offense absolutely devoid of other talent is tough. Finding driving lanes and getting to the line is a heck of a lot tougher when opposing teams don't have to truly commit to defending the rest of the floor. San Antonio did a great job early in the series of keeping LeBron from driving and out of the lane and we all know that Holiday is no LeBron and his supporting cast isn't close to the Heat's.
I understand the Morey reverence but by my count his teams have been an 8th or 9th seed in the West every year since he's taken over. And while sound in theory, outside of Oklahoma City, what team has built themselves into a real contender by stockpiling lottery picks?
Have you watched Holiday play on a consistent basis? He's much closer to nothing special than to elite.
Posted 30 June 2013 - 10:33 AM
Thanks for sharing... How would you say it differs from being watching on TV? Is it the type of thing you'd do again? Any other observations?
It's pretty similar to what you see on TV. The arena has their own commentary guys that you can hear over the loudspeaker, but they aren't very good. I would've rather heard the ESPN guys. Between picks they do different kinds activities (trivia, giveaways, etc.) to interact with the fans. After every pick they show a highlight package of the player on the big screen. The crowd was really fun and rowdy for the first half of the draft, but kind of dwindled off after the lottery until the Nets and Knicks picks. After those, 75% of the arena emptied out. I was definitely surprised how little people made it all the way through the first round.
The best part was probably just interacting with fans of all different teams. Every team in the league had fan representation. There was a group of a dozen fans or so dressed head to toe in Lehigh gear sitting right behind us just rooting for CJ McCollum.
It's definitely one of those things that you have to really enjoy the NBA to have fun there. I'd imagine it'd be pretty tough on a casual fan. Me and a few friends of mine pretty much used the draft as an excuse to go to New York for a few days, but I'd probably go again. Don't think I'd make it an annual event though.
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