# Wizards Dare Nocioni to Beat Them Again



## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

http://www.suntimes.com/output/basketball/cst-spt-wiz26.html



> For the record, Andres Nocioni's birthday isn't until Nov. 30, but the Washington Wizards weren't being literal Monday when they wished the Bulls rookie birthday greetings.
> 
> On a playground, the talk emanating from the MCI Center after practice would be translated as, "Enjoy your career night, Andres, because it's not going to be that easy the next time.''
> 
> ...


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## BealeFarange (May 22, 2004)

Geez, what punk comments from the Wizards. They know they _ should _ give him a little credit, but they can't help but whine and moan in the process. I hope Nocioni outrebounds their entire frontline...again.


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## ace20004u (Jun 19, 2002)

Daring Nocioni is not a smart move on the Wizards part. He will definitley draw motivation from that.


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## superdave (Jul 16, 2002)

That's hilarious. Arenas has played in exactly one playoff game. Keep yappin blah blah blah


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## kukoc4ever (Nov 20, 2002)

You would think that the American players would take the beatings they received in the Olympics a little bit to heart. I guess not.

I doubt that Chapu considers last Sunday's game his "career night," but I could be wrong.


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## Rhyder (Jul 15, 2002)

Happy Birthday, Andres!









:thinking:


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## Kismet (Mar 1, 2003)

Nocioni (a rookie) has gotten into their heads! I wonder if they intended to hand Gordon a birthday present as well. Then again, if they honestly think Noce was THE big reason why the Bulls won, someone ought to read that group of illiterates the Game One stat sheet...and place emphasis on their 38% shooting percentage. Perhaps, more than just Andres' performance, it was the Bulls team defense (with Chandler playing a mere 16 minutes) that put them to bed.


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## such sweet thunder (May 30, 2002)

. . . . . . ."I choked and can't own up to it."


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

We should start the "Official This Series Is Getting Spicy Thread".

What's reassuring to me about all this talk is that when so many Wizards are bringing it up, it's a good indication that it's filtering down from their commander. If this is what constitutes Eddie Jordan's plans to steal game 2, we're in great shape.

And let me state for the record that I will take a fired-up Nocioni over a fired-up Antawny Jamison 100 times out of 100. I said it in the "no more 3 guards thread" -- Noce can neutralize this guy easy as falling off a log.


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

Just another reason to be a proud Bulls fan...not just for their play, but for their class. Thinking back this season, the Bulls haven't yapped their jaws at all it seems. They all just shut up and play. As for Noch, they can zone in on him all they want, but that only makes things easier for the other Bulls. If they're worrying about our "role player" as Stan Van Gundy calls him, they won't be thinking so much about Hinrich, Othella, etc. It seems we've gotten into their heads already.


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## bullet (Jul 1, 2003)

Haha - as Kismet said , Chapu got to them.

anyway - it won't matter whatever they say , and Arenas Comments before did not matter to Noc as well. He's been playing allout for 8 years now , regardless to other teams words. You saw him in the English interview - he's a sweet modest guy , but on court he's always a beast. He might not get those numbers every game , but he'll still get in their heads.


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## The Truth (Jul 22, 2002)

Typical classless comments from a team full of punks.


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## LegoHat (Jan 14, 2004)

It's pretty sad that they can't even acknowledge the fact that Noc played a great game, and basicallly outplayed their whole frontline... But I think it will just make hime even more motivated to do it again, and that will be an advantage for us.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

Of the couple dozen news threads I've posted in the past few days, somehow I knew THIS one would actually generate traffic!

:laugh:


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## GB (Jun 11, 2002)

The odds are against him having another game like that.

I'd expect our next hero to be Tyke.


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## bullet (Jul 1, 2003)

The bottomline here is - Wizards frustration just makes me happy!


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## giusd (Apr 17, 2003)

I think much of this has to do with the fact that Arg won the Olympics and noci was a big part of that. A lot of the NBAers are still ticked about losing the Olympic gold medel and still can not bring themselfs to admit that other counties are putting out outstanding Bball players.

Noci is a rough kid and i dont think any of the wiz are going to me mixing it up with him. 

david


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## PC Load Letter (Jun 29, 2002)

So, Arenas admits he fired up Nocioni with comments, then follows that up by basically doing it _again_??? :laugh:


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## kukoc4ever (Nov 20, 2002)

giusd said:


> Noci is a rough kid and i dont think any of the wiz are going to me mixing it up with him.


I would love to see Jamison try and tangle with Chapu. I think it would be ugly.


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## Hustle (Dec 17, 2003)

PC Load Letter said:


> So, Arenas admits he fired up Nocioni with comments, then follows that up by basically doing it _again_??? :laugh:


I was about to say the same thing what an idiot.


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

You know, up until now, Nocioni's admitted weakness has been to try and do too much. 

Maybe, what Washington is trying to do is egg him on, try to make him feel like he's the one who has to carry the Bulls.

He just has to remember that he is part of a team, and that he doesn't have to do this every night. If he's not shooting as well, Kirk, or Othella or someone else will. That's how the Bulls win.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

kukoc4ever said:


> I would love to see Jamison try and tangle with Chapu. I think it would be ugly.


Jamison would be eating and wiping with the same hand for months after the fact.

giusd, I would be shocked if any of the Wizards know or care about what happened in the Olympics. That is giving them too much credit.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

Good Hope said:


> You know, up until now, Nocioni's admitted weakness has been to try and do too much.
> 
> Maybe, what Washington is trying to do is egg him on, try to make him feel like he's the one who has to carry the Bulls.
> 
> He just has to remember that he is part of a team, and that he doesn't have to do this every night. If he's not shooting as well, Kirk, or Othella or someone else will. That's how the Bulls win.


That was the beauty part of game 1 -- Nocioni really didn't force much (it's hard to "force" defensive rebounding and defense, anyway). 

He has earned the right to take wide-open set jumpshots imo. At this point, I'd almost rather have him shooting those than anyone but Gordon (Kirk's inability to hit wide-open threes took a couple years off my life). And his forays to the hoop were judicious and timely -- his nice little drive early on was a true ice-breaker that might have saved us from a 20-4 deficit or whatever we rang up in the last regular season game in DC.


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## theanimal23 (Mar 2, 2005)

Noce might put up the same stats, but he'll still get 16 and 10. Thats ok, they can focus on Noce, because we got guys like Tyson who will **** them up. 

If Ben stays hot, and Kirk shoots a little better, and Tyson is not in foul trouble, this game will be over quick.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

do the wizards really think they can win this series by mouthing off in the press?

does eddie jordan think that by calling up a bunch of coaches asking "how do i get my team to play defense" is going to actually work this late in the game?

wow. fire it up, baby.

we *must win* wednesday then the UC crowd should start singing "how old are you now? how old are you now? how old are you....areeeennnnaaaas, how old are you now?"

:laugh:


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

PC Load Letter said:


> So, Arenas admits he fired up Nocioni with comments, then follows that up by basically doing it _again_??? :laugh:


:laugh: I was thinking the same thing!


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Someone has said it already, Tyson played just 16 minutes last game and we still won. I look for Chandler to play more. That is not good news for the Wizards.


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## LoyalBull (Jun 12, 2002)

Good Hope said:


> You know, up until now, Nocioni's admitted weakness has been to try and do too much.
> 
> Maybe, what Washington is trying to do is egg him on, try to make him feel like he's the one who has to carry the Bulls.
> 
> He just has to remember that he is part of a team, and that he doesn't have to do this every night. If he's not shooting as well, Kirk, or Othella or someone else will. That's how the Bulls win.



Absolutely.

I understand (kind of) what they are getting at.

They are saying, hey... if Nocionni is the one beating us... we can live with it because we don't think he will step up.

What they fail to realize is that MAYBE... just MAYBE... Nocionni and the Bulls backcourt had something to do with the poor games of Jamison/Arenas.

If they keep thinking its just "bad games" and don't realize that we are forcing them into bad games... thats great!

Keep doing what you are doing Wizards... Im sure it will all come around... sometime... soon... maybe.

As for Nocionni, there isn't much to fault. Kid didn't do too much... he just was relentless.

Sure, go ahead and broadcast that game one was just your team "not bringing it" and "giving birthday gifts"... That is an even worse reality to face than simply saying "Nocionni busted his tail tonight."


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

Its been said before in one way or another, but the beauty of this team is, if the Wiz focus their energy on making sure Noc doesn't have another big game, we have plenty of other players who can step up.


But again, lets not get too full of ourselves over one win. There were some ugly stretches in that game, and whether our defense caused the Wiz stars to go cold or not, Game 2 is a whole new ballgame. We have to focus on disrupting Hughes, Arenas, Jamison et al again. Some of their problems probably WERE Game 1 jitters and we can't count on them staying rattled.

We have a good team -- a very good team -- even missing 2 starters.

But we ARE missing 2 starters and aren't SUCH a good team that we have any right to get cocky.


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## bullet (Jul 1, 2003)

truebluefan said:


> Someone has said it already, Tyson played just 16 minutes last game and we still won. I look for Chandler to play more. That is not good news for the Wizards.


Yeah - Tyson had foul trouble (and I guess some Ankle trouble) so in a way It's good he had some Partial rest in game 1 (although he had 3 blocks). Usually it's Tyson who takes care of our defensive rebounding and I believe Chapu only replaced him in that in game 1. The fact that Noc will not take down 18 boards again does not mean we will not have control of the boards , since full scale TC can even go 20 rbds as we've seen him a few times before. Noc should keep the defensive effort , score on his opportiunities and be active on the board , but with Tyson playing we don't need 18 rbds from him...


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## UMfan83 (Jan 15, 2003)

Keep talking trash Wizards. They make it seem as if they played their worst possible game and we played our best. I believe we have home court advantage for a reason, because we won 47 games and they only won 45. We must have done something right....


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

lol. nba.com have these "cheesy on purpose" trash talkin' e-cards!



*this is the one nocioni will be sending to the wizards!!*











http://www.nba.com/jsp/EcardBranded.jsp


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## afireinside (Jan 8, 2004)

UMfan83 said:


> Keep talking trash Wizards. They make it seem as if they played their worst possible game and we played our best. I believe we have home court advantage for a reason, because we won 47 games and they only won 45. We must have done something right....


You have the 27th hardest schedule in the league.

Also known as the 4th easiest schedule in the NBA.

It's also not hard to shut down Jamison. I think he is trying to fight from being called a role player since we don't need him to score so he does retarded things on the court like shooting three's when he has Duhon guarding him.


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

aftermath said:


> You have the 27th hardest schedule in the league.
> 
> Also known as the 4th easiest schedule in the NBA.
> 
> It's also not hard to shut down Jamison. I think he is trying to fight from being called a role player since we don't need him to score so he does retarded things on the court like shooting three's when he has Duhon guarding him.


According to this, the Bulls have the 26th hardest schedule in the NBA. The Wiz had the 25th. Their schedule rating was all of 0.12 higher than the Bulls.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/nba0405.htm

I have no idea what goes into an NBA strength-of-schedule ranking, but when the difference between the hardest schedule (NO, 90.72) and weakest (Miami, 89.22) is so small, it tells me that this isn't like Nebraska scheduling Div I-AA teams for its homecoming game. The only reason I can see that the Bulls have a lower strength of schedule in relation to the rest of the teams in the east is that they played Miami and Boston three times instead of four.


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

Good call, ScottMay.

I couldn't think of what could possibly be the difference in schedules over the course of a season.


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## italianBBlover (Mar 5, 2003)

Ahaha, after this words tomorrow Andres will literally _eat_ the Wizards :rofl:

And you people must make explode the UC :clap:


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## airety (Oct 29, 2002)

I imagine that when word got to Nocioni about this, he was too busy eating razors and wrestling bears to care what the Wizards had to say.


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## SausageKingofChicago (Feb 14, 2005)

ScottMay said:


> We should start the "Official This Series Is Getting Spicy Thread".
> 
> What's reassuring to me about all this talk is that when so many Wizards are bringing it up, it's a good indication that it's filtering down from their commander. If this is what constitutes Eddie Jordan's plans to steal game 2, we're in great shape.
> 
> And let me state for the record that I will take a fired-up Nocioni over a fired-up Antawny Jamison 100 times out of 100. I said it in the "no more 3 guards thread" -- Noce can neutralize this guy easy as falling off a log.


Yeah but Tawny Ant has got a killer pair of brows

I give him that

Looks like a real Metro..

Noc looks like he could do with a tint to augment them to try and keep up with Twany


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

italianBBlover said:


> And you people must make explode the UC :clap:


This isn't to make fun of you -- Lord knows your English is miles better than my Italian -- but don't ever say something like this when you're in line at an airport.


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## Darius Miles Davis (Aug 2, 2002)

The thing about Nocioni is nobody works harder than him. I have a ton of respect for the kind of effort he brings on a daily basis out there. He just has more energy than everybody else. Jamison is a good player, but his insults seem a little hollow to me because he just wasn't working nearly as hard out there as our Chapu. Then again, he just doesn't have it in him to do that, and few in the league do.


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

aftermath said:


> You have the 27th hardest schedule in the league.
> 
> Also known as the 4th easiest schedule in the NBA.


Uhhhhhh...Wha? I don't care about "strength of schedule." We got to the playoffs against all odds, after an 0-9 start, and with a core of 4 rookies, a second year player, 2 4th year players who had previously underachieved and several cast-offs from other teams, who weren't expected to do dink.

And we ended up with the 3rb best record in the east.

Don't discount the significance of that. This is a good team.


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## PC Load Letter (Jun 29, 2002)

aftermath said:


> You have the 27th hardest schedule in the league.
> 
> Also known as the 4th easiest schedule in the NBA.


What are you, the BCS? SOS in the NBA means virtually nada.

After looking at that chart, I see Miami and Detroit have the two lowest SOS rankings. Oh, well no wonder they have the two best records in the East! Cup-cake schedules, baby!

All that chart really tells you is that the Western Conference was the better conference.


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## JRose5 (May 4, 2003)

:laugh:

The first thing that comes to mind is, Who talks trash after _losing_ a game?
Second thing, if you're going to talk trash, come up with something better then "Happy Birthday."

lmao
That is hilarious, Happy Birthday. hahaha

Like it was a birthday present that the almighty Jamison would come down to Nocioni's level, for one game, just so he'd have a shot at, maybe, competing with said deity.
:laugh:

Happy Birthday.

Wow.

:rofl:


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## Shanghai Kid (Mar 7, 2003)

I think the comments by Jamison were stupid considering Noc owned him. If Noc dominates Jamison the whole series than Chicago definetly will win.

I didn't see anything negative in Arenas's comments. He said he fired em up, he had a good game, and if he can continue that than congradulations. 

But Nocoini is a real X-Factor, him outplaying Jamison just changes the series in a bad direction for the Wiz.


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## El Chapu (Oct 23, 2004)

At least the Bulls arent firing back, Im sure Skiles told the fellas about this. 

Shut up and play. Let the game talk for you (?).


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

I agree. Keep the Bulls quiet off the court.

Nothing sounds dumber or looks more pathetic and desperate than a one way war of words.

:bsmile:


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## ViciousFlogging (Sep 3, 2003)

PC Load Letter said:


> What are you, the BCS?


Haha, I thought exactly the same thing. You know you're grasping at straws when you justify a loss in the NBA playoffs by referring to end-of-season strength of schedule, especially given that you're playing a team in your conference. I must have missed the 16 games apiece we played against the Bobcats and Hornets this year. That must be the only reason we finished with the 3rd-best EC record.

That said, as satifsying as game 1's victory was, I'm not exactly pulling out the brooms or anything yet. We didn't pull away until the final moments even though Arenas and Jamison had terrible games. There's no doubt that the Wiz can play better. Luckily, so can we.


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## afireinside (Jan 8, 2004)

I wasn't degrading the Bulls. They've had a great season. You could argue that they had the best turnaround from last season. I was just stating that Chicago had a easier schedule which could of resulted in doing 2 games better than Washington. I'm just throwing out facts and letting you guys argue them.

Here's the source by the way: http://teamrankings.com/nba/27powerratings.php3


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

aftermath said:


> I wasn't degrading the Bulls. They've had a great season. You could argue that they had the best turnaround from last season. I was just stating that Chicago had a easier schedule which could of resulted in doing 2 games better than Washington. I'm just throwing out facts and letting you guys argue them.
> 
> Here's the source by the way: http://teamrankings.com/nba/27powerratings.php3


Getting beyond SOS, here's what the same site has to say about the two teams overall:

Chicago -- Click for further analysis

In sum:

Record: 48-35
Power Rating: 101.76
Ranking: 11



Washington -- Click for further analysis

In sum:


Record: 45-38
Power Rating: 100.19
Ranking: 15




FWIW


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

A few points, though most have been said in some fashion throughout the course of the thread.

Even having a back and forth about strength of schedule is ridiculoud. This is so meaningless it's laughable. Maybe, _maybe_ between the toughest schedule and the easiest there are a couple of games that could have gone differently. With the Bulls and the Wiz, it's lunacy.

Talking smack to me seems really unwise. First, it clearly demonstrates that Noce and the Bulls are in the Wizards' heads. You had the "Nocioni is dirty" comments. Now you have them talking smack saying that Nocioni basically was just playing way over his head and basically daring him to try to repeat his performance. Gee, I wonder if they're a little rattled by this guy? It's great. I love seeing him under their skin. 

Second, obviously it seems unwise to offer us anymore bulletin board material for the locker room that will get the team motivated. 

Third, as TB was saying, it seems likely now that they'll be keyed up on Nocioni, which may allow Kirk, Tyson, Othella, or whomever to explode in the next game. We're definitely a tough team to scheme for. Other than maybe Gordon, you never really can focus on someone who you know is going to have the big offensive game.

In any event, this is all very entertaining and fun. Happy Birthday Noce. Go out there and be a pest again.


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## The Krakken (Jul 17, 2002)

It won't be nocioni that gets loose tomorrow. It will be Duhon. Mark my words.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

HAHA
How are the Wizards going to gameplan to stop El Chapu?

Is Eddie Jordan going to tell them to rebound more? To not get owned by El Chapu's defense?

The things El Chapu did, you can't gameplan to stop. Now if on offense they aren't going to leave him when we drive down the lane....well that's great. Considering who is going to be out on the floor with him, that means wide open 3 pointers for Kirk, Ben, Duhon, Piatkowski.

I expect Tyson Chandler to be huge in this game though.

The Wizards missed the real reason we won if they think it was all El Chapu. When we were able to play our Bigs we pretty much owned the Wizards. If we don't have to play Reiner tonight then it's going to be harder than game 1 for the Wizards to do damage.

And what if Kwame Brown doesn't come in as fired up as he was in game 1?


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## T.Shock (Feb 11, 2003)

futuristxen said:


> HAHA
> How are the Wizards going to gameplan to stop El Chapu?
> 
> Is Eddie Jordan going to tell them to rebound more? To not get owned by El Chapu's defense?
> ...


Yea Arenas might get his. Hughes won't light it up, Dixon and Brown went for 24 combined...that will not happen again especially with Brown at prolly 75 percent or something like that. I mean come on. If you won Game 1 fine then talk a little if you really want to, see if you get the team to over-exert themselves. The Bulls are the kind of team that'll read this, laugh about it, come up and beat the **** out of a punk team like the Wizards by 25.


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## such sweet thunder (May 30, 2002)

airety said:


> I imagine that when word got to Nocioni about this, he was too busy eating razors and wrestling bears to care what the Wizards had to say.


 Or at the very least, eating sbarros and wrestling baskin robins.


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## GB (Jun 11, 2002)

TomBoerwinkle#1 said:


> I agree. Keep the Bulls quiet off the court.
> 
> Nothing sounds dumber or looks more pathetic and desperate than a one way war of words.
> 
> :bsmile:



Until they blow you out.


Ok---heres the question I'm wondering: Is it harder to coach and prepare a team after a win or after a loss?

Seems like Skiles has the tougher job to me. The Bulls aren't going to change their gameplan much since it got them a win. So Washington knows what to gameplan for. What do the Bulls gameplan for?

We beat them because they were bad. We can't count on them being bad again, and we can't count on Nocioni being as good again.

Whats the plan?


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## GB (Jun 11, 2002)

> "They do have to realize that guys are going to key on them," Brown said after the Bulls took Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round series, 103-94.
> 
> "They'd been called the Big Three all year," Brown added. "So I'm sure all the scouting reports and tape are geared toward stopping them. So it's gotta to be me, guys like me, like Juan [Dixon], to come off the bench and be a spark early and they can go for theirs later."
> 
> ...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14266-2005Apr24.html


Internal squabbling.


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

But this is why we like Skiles.....

He's never satisfied. He never says, "shoot, that worked. I don't know why. But we'll just keep doing it."

I think he's got the time to make adjustments and anticipate adjustments from the WIZ. 

I don't think he's counting on Noce to do the same thing. But I also agree with everyone else. I'm not sure the WIZ know how to gameplan against that kind of intensity, and it isn't just Noce who brings it. (Tyson, gordon, Kirk and Duhon, for example, all in their own way)


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

GB said:


> Whats the plan?



Play defense, rebound, and share the ball. Just like Gordon said, we've just got to play our game. I don't know what other adjustments there are to be made right now. Obviously, if the Wiz do something different you've got to react to it, but at the moment, it's not like there's some secret that we can rely on to surprise them. We've just got to play fundamental basketball. It's not sexy, but it works.


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## The Krakken (Jul 17, 2002)

GB said:


> Until they blow you out.
> 
> 
> Ok---heres the question I'm wondering: Is it harder to coach and prepare a team after a win or after a loss?
> ...


I disagree. The bulls have A LOT to learn from game 1. For starters, the defensive rotation on the frontline has GOT to be more crisp and decisive. That is why all of our bigs ended up in foul trouble in the first half. 2nd, we've got to find a way to EFFECTIVELY involve them on the offensive end as they WILL be keying on Hinrich, Gordon, and Nocioni. 3rd, we've got to stay aggressive, and in the case of Ben Gordon, I'd tell him to attack the rim MORE. The wiz will likely contest EVERY jumpshot this time around. I'd tell nocioni, NOT to get caught up in the bravado with Jamison, who WILL come out and try to be physical with Nocioni....if ONLY to goad him into 2 quick and early fouls.

There's plenty to improve upon in this game.


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## The Krakken (Jul 17, 2002)

Good Hope said:


> "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Heb. 11:1


I absolutely HATE modern english translations.....

I'll fix it for you



> "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." Heb. 11:1


There.....much better.


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## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

Wow- they're mean mofo's aint they? Hopefully this just motivated Andres


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## qwerty (Oct 26, 2004)

From another board i post at that is not basketball related... as sad as it is i think he may be right.



The cheat said:


> They're a bunch of racist mo-fo's
> 
> That's right, I just called them racist. They called him a dirty player because he tries hard on every play, plays tough defense. If he was black, they would respect him (Ron Artest) -- But he's from a different country, is a goofy lookin white guy, so he's target #1.
> 
> **** them, I hope Noc goes off again.


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## Kismet (Mar 1, 2003)

"Argentines have always idolized and emulated players like Nocioni, whether in basketball, boxing, soccer or tennis," said Oclander, citing tennis players Guillermo Vilas and Jose Luis Clerc, auto racing's Juan Manuel Fangio and soccer legend Ubaldo Rattin. "The one quality they have to have is *'garra,' or claws*, and when you have this, the sacrifice and the passion, you become a cult figure in Argentina."

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...lsnoce,1,5531768.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

When Nocioni was labeled dirty by Detroit coach Larry Brown and Miami's Stan Van Gundy, and suspended by the NBA for a game earlier this month, it cut him to the core.

"It was a real insult, a grave insult to his South American heritage," Bach said. "Most of us wouldn't like it but could shrug it off. But it was a deeper wound than that to him."

Maybe certain outspoken types who are quick to claim they're being disrespected and who rationalize everything that affects them adversely as racially motivated ought to think twice about what they say about someone from another culture. Racism can come from anywhere...whether it springs from the mouthes of whites like Brown and Van Gundy or blacks like Arenas. 

Dirty player? Hell, everyone in the league is a dirty player to some degree. It's part of the game. Some people ought to simply shut their mouthes and play the game. But then they wouldn't have a handy excuse to use when they choke.


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## BG7 (Jun 25, 2003)

Nocioni will get in their heads again, who knows Curry and Deng might get in their heads too in game 2 because they were cracking jokes about Arenas' next game shooting of 4-20


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## UMfan83 (Jan 15, 2003)

Good, I am glad that they are going to key in on Noc. What will they do with Othella responds for 19 points? How about when Hinrich or Pargo come in and provide quick offense?

The Wizards are pretty cocky, but if they think they know the Bulls game plan they don't. Nocioni, at least offensively, was a benefactor of the system. You key on one guy, the system produces another hero. The team has been buying into this system all year and no one seems to be able to stop it. 

Defensively, nothing you do will change Noc's rebound positioning. 60% of his rebounds are hustle rebounds. That is his style of basketball. 

Boy the Wizards are pretty cocky for a team that LOST game 1


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## T.Shock (Feb 11, 2003)

I think a lot of people were suprised by Nocioni's gamesmanship in Game 1, but I for one wasn't. See the difference for NBA and international players is that the Olympics actually matter to the people playing for the other teams. I'm sure Nocioni's games in Athens were the most important of his career and had a more intense feel to it than any NBA playoff game he could possibly play in. So I'd expect similar efforts from Noc for however long we participate in this postseason.


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## Future (Jul 24, 2002)

Jamison used to be one of the only player I liked on the Wizards... now he is just a punk like the rest of them. Enjoy Nocioni shutting you down and tearin u a new a-hole ya punk...

now Michael Ruffin is the only player I like on the Wizards.


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## Tragedy (Dec 9, 2002)

not to intrude but, this right here is HILARIOUS



> Originally Posted by The cheat
> They're a bunch of racist mo-fo's
> 
> That's right, I just called them racist. They called him a dirty player because he tries hard on every play, plays tough defense. If he was black, they would respect him (Ron Artest) -- But he's from a different country, is a goofy lookin white guy, so he's target #1.
> ...


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## Tragedy (Dec 9, 2002)

kukoc4ever said:


> You would think that the American players would take the beatings they received in the Olympics a little bit to heart. I guess not.
> 
> I doubt that Chapu considers last Sunday's game his "career night," but I could be wrong.


 I don't recall Arenas, Jamison or any other Wizard for that matter being invited to the Olympics.


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## Bulls4Life (Nov 13, 2002)

Rhyder said:


> Happy Birthday, Andres!
> 
> 
> 
> ...





such sweet thunder said:


> . . . . . . ."I choked and can't own up to it."


:rofl:

Y'all crazy!
:krazy:


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Nocioni responds to the Bday remark lol not much

Antawn's bday remark, if you haven't heard them

Hinrich on Noc

AD on the bday remark; how the Bulls have to work hard.

Skiles on limiting fouls; what the Wizards may do


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## Bulls4Life (Nov 13, 2002)

Kismet said:


> "Argentines have always idolized and emulated players like Nocioni, whether in basketball, boxing, soccer or tennis," said Oclander, citing tennis players Guillermo Vilas and Jose Luis Clerc, auto racing's Juan Manuel Fangio and soccer legend Ubaldo Rattin. "The one quality they have to have is *'garra,' or claws*, and when you have this, the sacrifice and the passion, you become a cult figure in Argentina."
> 
> http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...lsnoce,1,5531768.story?coll=cs-home-headlines
> 
> ...


Excellent point!
:clap:

Now if you honestly think about it, is Nocioni's game any dirtier than Michael Jordan's was? How about John Stockton's, who to this very day is CELEBRATED for his dirtiness?
:banghead:


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## El Chapu (Oct 23, 2004)

spongyfungy said:


> Nocioni responds to the Bday remark lol not much
> 
> Antawn's bday remark, if you haven't heard them
> 
> ...


Not working.


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## kukoc4ever (Nov 20, 2002)

Tragedy said:


> I don't recall Arenas, Jamison or any other Wizard for that matter being invited to the Olympics.


That's not what I said. Arenas, Hughes and Jamison are American players.

Its like they are shocked that Nocioni could have a big game and they are suprised that it happened.

Argentina smoked the "dream team" this summer... and they should know and remember that.... and adjust their expectations accoridingly.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

strange...works for me. it's just audio


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## BG7 (Jun 25, 2003)

Well, I told Nocioni after I heard these comments to say this to Antawn Jamison.

"Hey Antawn, I got you a birthday present"

Antawn: Oh yeah

Noc: Yeah, I'll get it to you at halftime

[Fastforward to halftime]

Noc: Here you go, I hope you like it, you will be able to use this very soon.

[Antawn Opens The Present]

Antawn (sarcasm): oh.....thanks for the fishing pole, all I got you was this broom.


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## bullsville (Jan 23, 2005)

Ken Bikoff, editor of _Basketball News_, during an ESPN chat today:

"What I don't understand is why the Wizards continue to call out Andres Nocioni. They should have learned their lesson from Game One. I guess not."

Also,

" Veronica (Chicago): Did Andres Nocioni really scream with every one of his rookie-playoff-record 18 rebounds in game 1? 

Ken Bikoff: Pretty much. He was grunting like Monica Seles. But when he plays like that, I think the Bulls will allow him to yell anything he wants "


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## bullsville (Jan 23, 2005)

OT, but from the same chat:

"As for Jamal Crawford, he's not close to a stud. He's streaky as a shooter, and although he's quick, he makes bad decisions and can be mentally rattled"


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## lgtwins (May 18, 2004)

bullsville said:


> OT, but from the same chat:
> 
> "As for Jamal Crawford, he's not close to a stud. He's streaky as a shooter, and although he's quick, he makes bad decisions and can be mentally rattled"


Come on, Bullsville, Most guys as of now want Jamal thread go away in a natural death path and you are not HELPING !!!!!


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## Pay Ton (Apr 18, 2003)

Talk is cheap.

Play hard on the court you pansies.


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## remlover (Jan 22, 2004)

You know what Richard Vernon would say:








"Don't mess with the bull young manm you'll get the horns."


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## bullsville (Jan 23, 2005)

lgtwins said:


> Come on, Bullsville, Most guys as of now want Jamal thread go away in a natural death path and you are not HELPING !!!!!


I know, that's why I threw it in here instead of the other thread. 

But here's more from the same chat:

"As for your question, Ginobili isn't dirty, and neither is Nocioni. They play hard, they do the little things that most NBA players skip, which makes it stand out. I think Nocioni and Ginobili get a bad rap. Look at Reggie Miller. He kicks out his legs when he shoots to try to draw fouls. Shaq runs people over. Everybody has their little things."


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## bullsville (Jan 23, 2005)

remlover said:


> You know what Richard Vernon would say:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


"*Dick*! I'm sorry, Rich- Will milk be made available?"

Or for Mrs Arenas and Senorita Jamison, some cheese to go with their whine?


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

Pay Ton said:


> Talk is cheap.
> 
> Play hard on the court you pansies.



your avatar is _genius!_


:laugh:


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

bullsville said:


> Or for Mrs Arenas and Senorita Jamison, some cheese to go with their whine?


I prefer to call them Gilberta and Antoinette . . . but obviously there's a little leeway when using demeaning feminine terms as nicknames for effete and arrogant opponents.


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## Pay Ton (Apr 18, 2003)

mizenkay said:


> your avatar is _genius!_
> 
> 
> :laugh:


Thanks, miz.

I got so mad when I read the article, I know I shouldn't, but I did.

This made me feel a little better. It's my therapy.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

nocioni responds:




> Forced to respond to incendiary comments for the second time in four days, this time words that suggested Nocioni's monster Game 1 was a birthday present from the Wizards, the rookie forward looked about as comfortable as the opponents upon which he inflicts his relentlessly physical style.
> 
> "I don't say nothing," Nocioni said. "It's OK. I'm ready for this game. I don't worry."
> 
> ...




:yes:



http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...6bulls,1,870656.story?coll=cs-bulls-headlines




and a gem of pre-game analysis from KC:



> The first-game jitters are gone. A new officiating crew will require some adjustments. But this one should be a _doozy_, with Washington looking to attack the basket more rather than settling for perimeter shots.




it's gonna be a doozy is right!!!


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## Ragingbull33 (Apr 10, 2005)

Tragedy said:


> not to intrude but, this right here is HILARIOUS



if u think it isnt highly possible then u im sorry bro, but u dont know anything. go play ball as a white guy and watch the lack of respect. best is when they play up on u because they think u only have a j and then take em to the hole.


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## The Krakken (Jul 17, 2002)

Ragingbull33 said:


> if u think it isnt highly possible then u im sorry bro, but u dont know anything. go play ball as a white guy and watch the lack of respect. best is when they play up on u because they think u only have a j and then take em to the hole.



I've witnessed this firsthand. :biggrin:


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

*Bulls are the Borg*

I liked this article from Telander 
link 



> No doubt the Wizards will adjust quite a bit for Game 2 since they were, in a sense, humiliated.
> 
> But to whom do they adjust?
> 
> ...


That quote from Steve Kerr says it all. This is such a fun team to watch. And I really do think that the Wizards are fools for trying to make it personal. 

There's another Suntimes article from today that talks about Skiles' ability to focus. 

My strong feeling is that the Bulls are a little bit like the Borg, from Star Trek. They are so dispassionate in what they do on the floor, in the sense that it is not about them. They are passionately serving the team. You can't focus on one person, because it isn't one person. 

This is why DaBullz is way off base in trying to present Gordon as the STAR for this team. (I suspect that DaBullz is a devotee of Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged. Are you, DaBullz? She saw the world in terms of stars and plebians. Personally, it's a repugnant view of the world, to me). 

Whatever, the Bulls-Borg can't be attacked on a one to one basis. The Wiz will shoot themselves in the foot if they try to do it. The only way they can overcome is to play like a team themselves. But I don't think Arenas has it in him.


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