# Nasty little jab from ESPN



## endora60 (Jan 5, 2006)

Bill Simmons from ESPN on this year's MVP race. It's all pretty ugly stuff, but especially nasty is the gratuitous slash he takes at Kevin Garnett:



> Kevin Garnett: Can you name another alleged "superstar in his prime" who missed the playoffs for two straight seasons? How was his supporting cast worse than Gasol's crew in Memphis, or even Chris Paul's team in New Orleans? Did you know that we haven't had a former MVP miss the playoffs in consecutive seasons in his prime since Bob McAdoo (who never should have won the MVP in the first place because Rick Barry got robbed)? Isn't it his job to carry a crappy team? What do you think Barkley was doing in the late-'80s and early-'90s in Philly? Nobody in the league gets more of a free ride than KG. Nobody.
> 
> (Note: There's a difference between being "competitive" and being "no fun whatsover to play with," and KG crossed that line about five years ago. You can't carry yourself that way for eight months each season without eventually committing a homicide. You just can't. He's wound too tight. So if you're reading this 50 years from now and wondering why KG only made it past Round 1 once in his career -- as well as why he murdered everyone in Minnesota's locker room after a 20-point blowout loss during the 2007-08 season -- please consider everything in this parentheses. Thank you.)


http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060414

What a twit.

Laurie


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## JuX (Oct 11, 2005)

Thanks for putting it up. I couldn't agree more with you.

:sad:


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## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

I've said it so many times that KG has free pass. It's about damn time.


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## Cyberwolf (May 15, 2003)

I just think it is hilarious that Simmons actually believes someone will be reading his garbage (or even remember who he was) 50 years from now. What a hack.


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## endora60 (Jan 5, 2006)

jibikao said:


> I've said it so many times that KG has free pass. It's about damn time.


How on Earth is Garnett getting a free pass? How has he ever?

Like Kobe with the Lakers, Nash with the Suns and LeBron with the Cavs, KG gets all the blame with the Wolves, no matter what goes wrong. No matter who else on the team does what, the superstar takes the heat, and Garnett's taken it for Minnesota for years.

Laurie


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## iverson101 (Mar 4, 2006)

LOL he had Chris Paul as #7 on his MVP list, and agreed with that guy who said Paul had one of the greatest rookie seasons ever (even better than Magic, who co-led his team to a championship as a rookie). Regardless of what you think about KGs career to date, Simmons has no crediblity anyway.


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## endora60 (Jan 5, 2006)

iverson101 said:


> Simmons has no crediblity anyway.


Well, there _is_ that. He never was much.

Laurie


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## JBoog35 (Nov 21, 2005)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA to Mr. Bill Simmons.

I can't believe that man has the balls to even print that. How dare he say anything negative towards a man that has done so many unselfish things for one community. As the players from other professional teams bolt and go to greener pastures, KG stays "sota" to the end. As other players like Iverson and Kobe take control of their teams, KG chooses to be unselfish. He chooses to be a leader. Let me ask you Mr. Simmons, when Kobe won championships who did he have with him? When Iverson got to the finals who was with him? When the great MJ won his titles, did he not have Scottie Pippen? For every great game changing scorer, there is a Chris Webber, an Eric Snow, a Deven George, a Raja Bell. This is a team sport. I am sorry that KG has not chosen the route of Kobe Bryant, I am sorry he chooses to involve his team in hopes to make them better, whether or not they get to the playoffs. He chooses to not "carry this team" because he cannot win a championship that way. One player cannot win a championship. I will make a prediction for you Mr. Simmons, no one on the Lakers team is going to help Kobe win in the playoffs, that team has not gelled as a normal championship team could. What wins championships Mr Simmons? It's defensive and offensive unity. Every player has a role, every player knows where the other is going to be, when they are in unity such as the Pistons and Spurs are year after year. What is the best defense a team can have, I'm not talking zone or man, I'm talking help defense. You know what that means, that means Griffin knows what KG is gonna do, KG knows what Griffin's gonna do, when they stop the other team, Hassell knows to push the ball to Banks because he's already up the court lobbing it to Ricky Davis. I'm sorry the Kobe Bryant's (Lakers) have no team unity because everyone watches Kobe play or they watch a one on one match up, no motion, no unity, no nothing.. Kobe may score 50 points in a game but he is not helping his team become a championship team Mr. Simmons. Yes, great players can carry a team, but it must be a team first. It isn't all about talent Mr. Simmons. Very few basketball players make the NBA, which means the one's that do are the best. KG is the best of the best every year. KG has more heart and passion for the game then Kobe Bryant does in his pinky. If and when the Wolves make the playoffs next year, it will be because the team has an identity and a unity that a playoff team has, not because they gained an all star, or drafted a great player. No sir, it will be because KG unselfishly got every player on the team to gel and take on a role. KG has been the most consistant player in the league over the last nine years. He takes no nights off and has a heart bigger than the Target Center. The next time you see KG "take over a game" will be when he plays again, and his stats will read: 25 pts, 15 rebs. 5 assts. 2 stls, 3 blks, and the man "who is no fun what so ever to play with" will carry on with the same intensity night in and night out win or loss.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it you no skill hack of a writer.


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## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

Oddly enough, he actually gave Pierce props despite a similar situation.


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## The King of the World (Dec 28, 2003)

P-Dub34 said:


> Oddly enough, he actually gave Pierce props despite a similar situation.


That pro-Paully article of his from a few weeks back is the first thing that I thought of when I read his KG comments. Pierce has more good, young talent around him too, in a weaker conference. That last line will probably make it sound like I'm trying to make excuses for KG (I'm definitely not), but whatever.

edit: by the way, fantastic avi!


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## abwowang (Mar 7, 2006)

grr that makes me pissed off. 

KGs cast is just too crappy... its not his fault. How is he getting a free pass? 

I'm not much of an arguer, so if I came face to face with simmons... i'm just gonna fight him. lol


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## socco (Jul 14, 2002)

abwowang said:


> How is he getting a free pass?


Some people don't care about facts. Simmons is obviously one of those people.


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## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

Pierce's young talent is exactly that - young. I don't know if the Wolves' outside of Garnett are much worse than the Celtics, if at all.


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## Jonathan Watters (Jul 20, 2002)

Garnett could shut every critic up by playing a more post-oriented game, and hitting a big shot once in a while. He just isn't a go-to presence anymore. I don't doubt that a lot of what Simmons wrote was unfounded, but there is little doubting that Garnett would find much more success on a team that he didn't have to carry.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

ive got a feeling that after the team success (or lack there of) and the flaming he has taken personally this season that KG is going to come out huge next season, and have another MVP type year, hopefully its for the wolves, but wherever he is playing its going to be a very very angry and inspired KG


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## moss_is_1 (Jun 14, 2004)

He has MVP type numbers every year just not MVP type wins.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

MVP season... including carrying a team to the playoffs... itl be a new, refreshed KG next year ready to prove the doubters wrong


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## endora60 (Jan 5, 2006)

Avalanche said:


> MVP season... including carrying a team to the playoffs... itl be a new, refreshed KG next year ready to prove the doubters wrong


But he's got to have some decent help. They _have _ to help him out.

Laurie


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## JuX (Oct 11, 2005)

endora60 said:


> But he's got to have some decent help. They _have _ to help him out.
> 
> Laurie


True, but _will_ Kevin McHale make it happen? He said so last offseason and he didn't do anything much.


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## endora60 (Jan 5, 2006)

Juxtaposed said:


> True, but _will_ Kevin McHale make it happen? He said so last offseason and he didn't do anything much.


But the way this season ended has to be a wake-up call for the front office--even McHale can't ignore this. I have to believe good things will come to Minnesota in the off-season. You just can't waste somebody like Kevin Garnett. It's not right.

Laurie


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## JuX (Oct 11, 2005)

endora60 said:


> But the way this season ended has to be a wake-up call for the front office--even McHale can't ignore this. I have to believe good things will come to Minnesota in the off-season. You just can't waste somebody like Kevin Garnett. It's not right.
> 
> Laurie


I surely hope it is a wake-up call. If not this time, consider McHale done we are at the wits end with him. Stick a fork in him because he is doing nothing but rotting the team.


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## endora60 (Jan 5, 2006)

Juxtaposed said:


> I surely hope it is a wake-up call. If not this time, consider McHale done we are at the wits end with him. Stick a fork in him because he is doing nothing but rotting the team.


Is McHale just dim, or is he evil like Isaiah Thomas? I mean, does he know what he's done/doing to his team? If he does, what's he getting out of wrecking the Wolves?

Laurie


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## JuX (Oct 11, 2005)

He was pretty ok back then, but I don't think he's evil. He has put no efforts in his work. Lacking IQ of a GM, maybe. Actually I don't know what he will plan to do this offseason. I sure as hell hopes he can do better than that, look at him he has done everything 2 years ago acquiring Cassell then Sprewell and signed Kandi and Hassell. I don't even know why he did not do the same thing last year. What he did was easy said than done.


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## Jonathan Watters (Jul 20, 2002)

I don't think we can completely blame McHale for this. The Wolves have been horrible in close games. They have nobody to step up and hit big shots. This isn't on the supporting cast. This is on the guy that is expected to hit the big shots. My thoughts are that KG is more of an "ultimate complementary" player at this point in his career, rather than a true go-to star. Until he proves he can hit carry a team in the clutch, his stats are just eye candy...


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## socco (Jul 14, 2002)

Jonathan Watters said:


> I don't think we can completely blame McHale for this. The Wolves have been horrible in close games. They have nobody to step up and hit big shots. This isn't on the supporting cast. This is on the guy that is expected to hit the big shots. My thoughts are that KG is more of an "ultimate complementary" player at this point in his career, rather than a true go-to star. Until he proves he can hit carry a team in the clutch, his stats are just eye candy...


The same could be said about Tim Duncan, and look at the success he's having. Big men simply aren't big time clutch players (as if such a thing exists), it's unrealistic to expect him to "carry the team on his back" when he has to fight through three defenders on his back at the same time. Big men can be taken away much easier in those situations than perimeter players. I don't see his play at that portion of the game being any different now than it ever has been, so I'm a bit confused at what the "at this point in his career" part is supposed to mean.

KG is one of the only guys on this team that knows how to win games, and I think that's the biggest problem with the Wolves tar.his ye It's not necessarily "clutch" players that are need,ed it's veteran players who have experience playing in crunch time in this league who can either hit open shots or create for themselves. That really has nothing to do with Garnett, and it's unrealistic to expect him to be a cure for that. It could also be argued that teams win close games not because of one guy elevating his game over anybody else, but instead the entire team making smart plays. The Wolves don't have a whole lot of smart players outside of Garnett, and I think that's a bigger problem for them losing close games than Garnett's supposedly unlcutch play.


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## endora60 (Jan 5, 2006)

Jonathan Watters said:


> I don't think we can completely blame McHale for this. The Wolves have been horrible in close games. They have nobody to step up and hit big shots. This isn't on the supporting cast. This is on the guy that is expected to hit the big shots. My thoughts are that KG is more of an "ultimate complementary" player at this point in his career, rather than a true go-to star. Until he proves he can hit carry a team in the clutch, his stats are just eye candy...


Nobody can do it alone, unless he's Kobe Bryant--and even Kobe requires something more than vaguely warm bodies, which is all Garnett's got to work with.

Big men aren't typically clutch players; that's not their function. Take Tony Parker away from Duncan this season, and is Duncan still Duncan? Remove DWade from his position with lips firmly attached to Shaq's butt, and does Shaq still function as Shaq? That's not to say the big guys don't carry their teams--they do, as does Garnett--but they need at least one complimentary player who can shoulder a share of the load. Duncan and Shaq have those complimentary guys; KG doesn't. Not even close.

And stats aren't eye candy. They prove, in this case, that what good there is in Minnesota is still Kevin Garnett. Playing one-on-five, as he had to do a goodly portion of this season, is simply an impossible proposition. Even Kobe couldn't do it; he had to try last year, and look where the Lakers ended up. It was only when a few other Lakers stepped up this year that he was able to bring his team back. Garnett needs/deserves that too.

Laurie


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## Jonathan Watters (Jul 20, 2002)

How is it Garnett's teammates' fault when it is KG going cold in the clutch? The Wolves have been in plenty of close games this season...and there is no go-to scoring presence on this team, at least not when it counts. This rests on Kevin Garnett, not his teammates. 

Kevin Garnett isn't even close to the same player that Tim Duncan is in the clutch. Duncan doesn't hit every big shot for the Spurs, but he's hit plenty. Comparing those two and their clutch accomplishments is laughable. 

Furthermore, Garnett isn't your typical big man. He can score from anywhere, at anytime. The big man argument only works on players that actually play in the post with their backs to the basket, and can be effectively double teamed. Garnett doesn't play in the paint. You can't double team a 7-footer shooting a 20-foot fadeaway. He makes it or he misses it. And in clutch situations, he has overwhelmingly missed this season. 

And yes, Garnett's game has regressed from where he was during Minnesota's WCF's run. You have to be fairly blind not to see this.


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## socco (Jul 14, 2002)

Well, for the record, KG actually does hit more clutch shots than Duncan (hits more and hits them at a better percentage), but let's not start getting facts into this discussion. That's pretty impressive since Garnett is the #1, #2, and #3 option, while Duncan has two other great players and more often than not isn't even the focus at the end of games. And I'm not sure how you can suggest that he doesn't get double-teamed at the end of games. It happens every single time. You have to be fairly blind not to see this.


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## Jonathan Watters (Jul 20, 2002)

Can you back up your first sentence? After Tim Duncan's countless big plays in big moments over the years, vs Garnett's one season of good clutch play, are you really trying to argue that Garnett is a better clutch player than Tim Duncan? 

And I'm not saying Garnett doesn't get double teamed at the end of games. I am saying that a double team really doesn't effect a 7-footer shooting a fadeaway from the perimeter. You can put 5 guys on him, he's still going to shoot the same type of shot, and still brick it in the clutch.


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## socco (Jul 14, 2002)

*Garnett*
05-06: http://www.82games.com/0506/05MIN14E.HTM
04-05: http://www.82games.com/04MIN10E.HTM
03-04: http://www.82games.com/03MIN12E.HTM
02-03: http://www.82games.com/02MIN11E.HTM

*Duncan*
05-06: http://www.82games.com/0506/05SAS13E.HTM
04-05: http://www.82games.com/04SAS14E.HTM
03-04: http://www.82games.com/03SAS15E.HTM
02-03: http://www.82games.com/02SAS12E.HTM


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