Et Tu, Sports Guy? / Bill Simmons questions KG (merged)

[LarBrd33]

It's just a bad article.  Simmons is being a total baby right now.  I love Simmons, but if I was his friend I'd go over to his house and slap the hell out of him.  He's being a baby... it's as simple as that.  He's no better than the crybaby fans on this board who flip out after every loss.   Simmons isn't happy that the first two series have gone 7 games.  Maybe he had money on it... maybe he expected way more... but he's taken his frustration and disappointment and lashed out in his last two articles.  All I'm seeing is "whaaaaaaaaaaa.... whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa".   And trust me, I love Simmons and read nearly every one of his articles.  I usually defend him.  But right now he's just being a total crybaby. 

It's part of the reason I love reading him though.  He's witty and funny... and represents the entire mentality of so many fans in a fantastic way that most forum posts can't capture.  It was funny to me when I listened to his podcast a while ago and he had the Lakers and Celtics in the finals, but was picking the Lakers to win.  Come on...  Simmons is a diehard Celtic fan.  He's just as obsessed with the team as us.  The only reason he picked the Lakers was because he was trying a reverse jinx.  Clearly he wants the team to win and clearly he expects the team to at the very least make it to the finals.   Now that they aren't coasting through the eastern conference he's just losing his mind and screaming for his baby bottle.

Simmons (and a lot of fans) expected us to just cruise right on through to the finals.  The Atlanta series, losing every game on the road and barely beating LeBron is seen as a massive disappointment.  He (and the fans who think like him) need to wake the heck up and realize that we are a year removed from being the 2nd worst team in the league... and we are currently one of 4 teams still standing.  That's all that matters.  Quit crying about how we got here.   Enjoy the freakin ride.  Before you know it, we could be right back in 20 years of horrible basketball and you'll look back on this season and go, "man I really should have soaked in the success while it lasted for a season".

[Mr October]

I'm a big Bill Simmons fan. But yeah, its totally weak to swing your opinions and write such a generic article. He totally mailed it in.

[Birdbrain]

Lets not forget Captain Clutch Paul Pierce also has had his share of bad turnovers down the stretch of games..Like dribbling the ball too much out around the 3 point line..Must have been a half dozen TOs I can think of..

So Pierce might want the ball more than KG down the stretch, but Paul does'nt exactly always come up with the Big/ SMART plays..

If KG is doubled he has to get rid of the ball not take stupid contested shots..

A team is only as good as the sum of its parts..Each guy has to do what is expected of him and performances vary from game to game

First off, every single player who is considered "clutch" has failed and made bad plays in big situations so I am not sure how PP doing it is relevant to KG not being clutch.

If you were watching that Cleveland series, KG was man uped by wallace and side show bob basically the entire series, if there was a "doulbe" it was soft coming from the top of the key. Cleveland was defending our perimeter b/c they didn fear KG going for 35 against them 5 out of 7 games. It isnt how he plays.

He is a great great player, best second option in the history of the NBA, he is our most important player defensively and second most important player offensively...nothing wrong witht that at all

but our O is 100% better when it is run through PP, and PP may not be as clutch as jordan or bird, but he is our best shot at dominating all facets of the game offensively, scoring, passing, drawing fouls etc, forcing teams to shift defenses towards him - in big games

Not that you need me to say it but your one post had more basketball knowledge then totality of all Bill 'My dad and my buddy House' Simmons' has included in all of his articles.  Seriously the guy is complete hack and let's his emotions play a part in every article he writes about the C's.  Does he even know what professionalism means?  Not too mention he looks like my mom could take him 1 on 1.  I realize that means very little when discussing the merits of someone's basketball knowledge but, it's like the 'cherry on top' in regards to the laundry list of complaints I have with him.  Please for love of 'insert spiritual figure' please stop writing about the C's your embarrassing yourself Billy.

[Redz]

I guess I'm just a "bottom line" kinda guy, but I'm looking at a team sitting on home court advantage at the start of their Conference's Championship series against a team they've beaten both home and away.  I'm a happy camper. 

The rearview mirror is for historians.  In the present the Celts are right where we hoped they'd be.

[NoraG1]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3403820

I don't buy it.  KG was big in game 5 and 6.  He was statistically down in game 7 but I thought was still great.  I don't view it as a "choke" at all.

Not to mention if not for KG in game 1(where I believe PP scored a grand total of 4)game 7 does not likely happen unless Celtics win on the road...

[Tommy Gun]

Lets not forget Captain Clutch Paul Pierce also has had his share of bad turnovers down the stretch of games..Like dribbling the ball too much out around the 3 point line..Must have been a half dozen TOs I can think of..

So Pierce might want the ball more than KG down the stretch, but Paul does'nt exactly always come up with the Big/ SMART plays..

If KG is doubled he has to get rid of the ball not take stupid contested shots..

A team is only as good as the sum of its parts..Each guy has to do what is expected of him and performances vary from game to game

First off, every single player who is considered "clutch" has failed and made bad plays in big situations so I am not sure how PP doing it is relevant to KG not being clutch.

If you were watching that Cleveland series, KG was man uped by wallace and side show bob basically the entire series, if there was a "doulbe" it was soft coming from the top of the key. Cleveland was defending our perimeter b/c they didn fear KG going for 35 against them 5 out of 7 games. It isnt how he plays.

He is a great great player, best second option in the history of the NBA, he is our most important player defensively and second most important player offensively...nothing wrong witht that at all

but our O is 100% better when it is run through PP, and PP may not be as clutch as jordan or bird, but he is our best shot at dominating all facets of the game offensively, scoring, passing, drawing fouls etc, forcing teams to shift defenses towards him - in big games

All true but our offense is best when Pierce moves the ball via the pass or takes a dribble or two and a shot..As soon as he goes into his curly neal trickey dribbling routine he gets trapped and bad things happen..

As shooting goes Pierce has been relatively clutch. So you want him shooting the ball..But the ball is actually moved best when you run it thru Garnett.

Pierce's weakest point of his game is his passing ability and finding the open man when he is doubled or tripled

[Brendan]

Our offense is best whenever everyone does their part. Pierce's job is to be the number one threat which makes sense since he can drive on, shoot over, post, or hit long shots. However Rondo has to attack the Rim, Perkins has to make the easy bunnies, Ray Allen has to be ready to catch and shoot and take it to the whole. I thought a big problem in th last round was that we went iso to get guys going.

I much prefer D'ing up Detroit than CLE - how many great defensive stands did Lebron ruin with great individual effort? I see that being harder for DET.

[PlayRyanGomes]

I prefer the offense running through Pierce over ensuring Garnett gets a touch in the post in every possession.  Posting up Garnett tends to relegate Pierce and Allen to spot up 3 point shooters.  Pierce is a much better creator and often finds KG for wide open 15 to 18 ft jumpers which he knocks down at a very high percentage.  KG is not a dominant force in the post and Pierce shooting spot up 3s is not making use of his value.  The offense just seems to flow better when Pierce has the liberty to operate at the top of the key.  Granted it shouldn't be all one or the other.  I just find the offense stagnating when they commit to dumping it down to KG every possession.

[Tommy Gun]

I agree Pierce is the best scoring option..But ultimately I would rather see Rondo with the ball as that is his role..Than Pierce trying to play point guard and scorer..

Final minute give it to Pierce..But with 10 minutes to go in the 4th you better keep on running your offense and moving the ball which includes finding KG..

Look no further than what happened to Cleveland..4th quarter game 7 they gave the ball to Lebron and got out of the way..No one else got involved and they lost

[Pawtucket Pat]

I hate The Sports Guy. He has gotten to the point where he literally embodies every  tired, wretched stereotype about Boston Sports fans. He panics at the drop of a hat, calls out players for the smallest of perceived slights, is shockingly myopic, and, worst of all, when things are going well thumps his chest and brags incessantly, making us all look like a bunch of sore winners, but when things are going poorly, he immediately starts pointing fingers and making excuses.

I mean, if the Celtics are able to win the championship, how can he even feel good about it? He just trashed the team's best player, and the biggest reason, I might add, that we are even in the Conference Finals. But I'm sure he'll just have his cake and eat it too, acting like an obnoxious braggart if they win it, but chanting 'I told you so' if they don't.

He makes us all look bad. That hatchet job of an article was an absolute joke.

[Mean Gerald Green]

KG doesn't elevate his game in the clutch.  That's fair.  He's the same player he always is.  He doesn't have a "sixth gear".

However, I also don't think he struggles as much as Simmons and others imply.  KG has had some phenomenal games in the playoffs this year, particularly in Game 1 and Game 5 against Cleveland.  Without his clutch play down the stretch in Game 1, we lose that game, and most likely, the series.

I couldn't agree more with your analysis. KG has hit some big shots during the playoffs, shots that have stopped runs and killed the Hawks and Cavs momentum. I guess because these shots haven't come in the final minutes of the game they're not considered clutch.

I have faith in Garnett and trust him with the ball in his hands with the game on the line. He's done nothing to make me think otherwise. The offense should be running through Pierce anyways, much like Duncan and Ginobilli.

[quidinqui33]

Based off of the Sportsguy's last two articles and his comments on his podcasts, I truly believe he is trying to say a bunch of negative stuff about the C's so noone can blame him if we don't win the championship like the pats.  He wrote that article comparing the pats to the 86 celts and completely jinxed them before the superbowl and I know he's feeling the heat.

With that said, some the stuff he has written are true, but quit throwing your favorite team under the bus on a national website.  That aint Celtic Pride!

[Birdbrain]

I hate The Sports Guy. He has gotten to the point where he literally embodies every  tired, wretched stereotype about Boston Sports fans. He panics at the drop of a hat, calls out players for the smallest of perceived slights, is shockingly myopic, and, worst of all, when things are going well thumps his chest and brags incessantly, making us all look like a bunch of sore winners, but when things are going poorly, he immediately starts pointing fingers and making excuses.

I mean, if the Celtics are able to win the championship, how can he even feel good about it? He just trashed the team's best player, and the biggest reason, I might add, that we are even in the Conference Finals. But I'm sure he'll just have his cake and eat it too, acting like an obnoxious braggart if they win it, but chanting 'I told you so' if they don't.

He makes us all look bad. That hatchet job of an article was an absolute joke.

That's precisely it.  Hey embodies everything that people say about Red Sox nation.  It's beyond embarrassing really.  He’s worst kind of fan.  He's exactly the type of fan that he would chastise in his own articles.  He talks about trying to get into the mind of players.  Give me dang break.  Dude your easier to read then a Dr. Suess book.  He's completely irrational and has no patience and never admits when he's completely off base.  Ugh yeah the Clippers will be the team to beat in a few years.  Sam Cassell was the perfect move in April (due to big nads) the worst move in May.  I'm seriously being to hate the guy as well.  And the fact that Boston fans can't see right through him because he's a fan of their team PO's me even more.  He makes me root against all other teams from Boston but, he won't kill my love for the C's no matter how bad his articles get.

[the_Bird]

I hate The Sports Guy. He has gotten to the point where he literally embodies every  tired, wretched stereotype about Boston Sports fans. He panics at the drop of a hat, calls out players for the smallest of perceived slights, is shockingly myopic, and, worst of all, when things are going well thumps his chest and brags incessantly, making us all look like a bunch of sore winners, but when things are going poorly, he immediately starts pointing fingers and making excuses.

I mean, if the Celtics are able to win the championship, how can he even feel good about it? He just trashed the team's best player, and the biggest reason, I might add, that we are even in the Conference Finals. But I'm sure he'll just have his cake and eat it too, acting like an obnoxious braggart if they win it, but chanting 'I told you so' if they don't.

He makes us all look bad. That hatchet job of an article was an absolute joke.

"Hate" is probably too strong a word, but he's definately getting tiring.  He definately loses perspective very quickly (as we all tend to do), but the last thing I wanted to read before game 7 was that complete hatchet job on Doc Rivers.  I mean, I get it - I accept that Doc's a crappy coach, I'm hoping we win in spite of him - but I don't want to read his complaining constantly.  I mean, it's like he wanted to get a head-start on the whining in case we lost the game.  It's just...  tiring.

And...  it just seems like he's writing the same stuff over and over again.  His voice isn't fresh any more. 

[GroverTheClover]

I don't understand why everyone is getting all riled up about what Simmons writes. He writes the articles from the viewpoint of a fan. Yes, he has irrational knee-jerk reactions, just like many of us (I include myself.) do after a loss. Obviously, they're supposed to be his own opinions and biases. He's not an analyst nor does he claim to be one. He's not writing under the guise of impartiality, but as a "Boston" sports fan. I don't necessary agree with some of his articles, but at the same time, it is what it is. There's more entertainment value in his articles anyways. Would you prefer him writing something that you agree with 100% all the time?


But, that being said, he does embody the worst aspects of Boston sports fans and does portray us as incessantly whiny and spoiled. He suffers from the "What have you done for me lately attitude?" (Which, I admittedly do too.) that makes us all look like a bunch of tools. The difference being he does it on a national stage.