Synthetic

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I didn't really sleep yet. I just laid down though for a while. I feel like the aazz factory. Is it me or are the Spurs better without Tony Parker? I really don't know. He is out for the postseason but I remember Spurs fans saying for years that Parker was on the decline. I also don't really know who they are using to replace him either right now.

I would be on cloud 9 if San Antonio knocks out the Warriors. It would be hilarious...

I don't want the Warriors in the Finals cause it's a trend that there has never been a 3-peat of the same teams matched up. I'd like that for that trend to remain unbroken. Everyone expected the Cavs to go down before reaching the Finals, but I just don't see it. If there is anything LeBron has taught us the past several years is that he WILL show up in the postseason. 

I wish Houston had to play Golden State cause I know they would at least beat them up before losing. Curry is already getting muscle strains and they're fearing injuries. He's an injury prone player IMO. 

I've been off/on tonight reading a bit. 

I'm interested now in this book about AI. Deadspin had a really good piece about him last year, that I think was a promotion piece for the book. It went into details that you speak of, and it specifically talked about the fan following he had. Due to the hatred he received in the early 2000's, AI did have a pretty dedicated fan base that stuck up for him all the time. 

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He married his high school sweetheart too, a black girl he started sleeping with when he was like 16. And he really never sounded like he ever wanted another woman but her. He became an alcoholic too and used to just pound doors at night screaming at her that she probably was cheating on him.

I read about this before somewhere, and something about his son that he abused at times....

This sounds sadder than the Chamberlain book. With Chamberlain, it's difficult to really feel sorry for someone who lived a grandiose lifestyle of fame and fortune, and was never short of that. Iverson went through really rough stuff, and I agree with you his talent was surely wasted. He did manage to win an MVP and was awesome in the early part of his career. 

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I think most have seen the Magic Johnson tweets about going after every single FA big name. Also because IT talks to Kobe now. It is possible that people don't realize that IT might want advice and guys like KG are kinda odd at times. Kobe has always said young players can ask him for help on things. And since he is newly retired, many people know he knows many of the current players and how things work. 

Also since Kobe has retired, EVERYONE calls him. It's like he is supposed to be a 24 hour hotline despite having a newborn baby.

Magic Johnson has pretty much quieted down since taking the job (unlike the orange clown that he was initially compared to). He still tweets, but he don't do the ridiculous 'omg look at this funny stuff' type posts that everyone was laughing at. 

Last year, they attached both Russell Westbrook and Durant's names to L.A. even though there was no reports that either of them visited the Lakers. I think the media gets this idea cause L.A. is a big market and is a huge spot for rumors. The reports were definitely false with Westbrook, he was never leaving OKC. 

So far, PG is the only one who's rumors have had some truth to them. The rest of them sound crazy. 

I wish they would stop bringing Kobe into EVERYTHING and just let the guy enjoy retirement, but it's never going to stop. Kobe blinks or shaves his face, and it would become news. 

Kobe talks to IT from where I read, he's giving him hints on his shots and helping him. He's also talked to Leonard in San Antonio, and given him advice (Leonard looks up to him as his hero). If Luke Walton struggles as a coach, they'll be talking about hiring Kobe to replace him (I don't want this to happen cause I like Luke and there were times this year that the Lakers looked like they had some juice in them with good play making) 

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Not sure I believe Lebron would call KG to give him a bench role. But it did work with Ray Allan so worth a shot? In that case can we get KG and Kobe and Paul Pierce to join the Cavs for the finals?

Paul Pierce omg.  He and Rondo threw that big fit and are still to this day complaining about Ray Allen joining the Heat. Don't know if Pierce ever would, but LeBron did befriend Ray Allen and Pat Riley brought him to Miami. He was an essential player when it came to their Finals against San Antonio (the one they won, he was too old and injured in the rematch). 

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Kawhi Leonard is awesome though. I can't wait till he craps on the Warriors.

I hope this happens. 

The Warriors are beatable. Problem is, they get banged up team after banged up team. I can't remember the last time they played a 100% healthy team, besides the Cavs in the Finals. 

I'm telling you too, Durant is NOT the antidote against LeBron. I went back and re-watched the OKC/Miami Finals recently, and Durant looks so clueless in that series guarding LeBron. LeBron was not scared of him at all to shoot over him, he even hit 3's with Durant guarding him. 

I don't even have to say this though, cause people have been saying this for years how Durant is a choker and how LeBron owns him. And the Warriors are tainted chokers too from last year. Never forget, their lone championship, they needed 6 freaking games to get past a bruised and injury riddled Cavs team where LeBron was taking them to OT games all by himself and with Mike Brown as head coach.

I'm hoping Mike Brown screws the Warriors royally. He's a horrible coach.  

Wow!!!! Reading on Twitter and the BIG BALLER trolls really do exist. 

LaVar Ball has a troll army defending him and those stupid 500 dollar shoes. 

Seriously why hate LeBron anymore? ^^^^ That guy right there actually gives easy reasons to warrant hatred, and he's not even a player, so it's fair game. He's setting his son up to fail and is a laughing stock. 

I'm probably heading to bed soon. I'm over hay fever but still lingering a bit with allergies. I barely slept all week due to the pain in my neck, probably need to catch up on my sleep. 

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Side note: I once heard and this is a rumor in Boston.......that KG barely slept the year the Celtics won it all in that postseason. Like in the playoffs, he was so intent on winning it all finally he never could sleep. It's an urban legend around KG. KG is kinda weird though.  

Speaking of KG, story has it that the Cavs called him this past year and offered him to come and help out with their bench, but he turned the offer down. I don't know how true that is though, just a rumor from what I heard. 

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The paperback is 20 bucks. BTW is it also true that Wilt like never slept at all? Like he was a total insomniac as well on the side? I know about the sex addiction. But, it almost sounded like he NEVER slept or really had any sort of healthy life either?

According to the book, Wilt slept till late in the afternoon and this is documented cause it caused problems with team practices in Philly. There was a pretty infamous incident of Wilt refusing to change his sleeping schedule. The coach at the time was forced to set up the team practices late in the day over his sleeping routine. The coach didn't make him show up early, they ended up scheduling everything later to accommodate his own sleep routine, and this enraged part of the team. Wilt also lived in NYC at the time, and when asked to move into the city of Philly, he refused, and basically told the team that he wanted to live in NYC instead. 

This is what I mean that Wilt is a polarizing figure that you kinda have to come up with your own conclusion about. His fans will defend this stuff, where his haters will point to those kind of stories and say it makes him egotistical. Honestly, I think he was ALL of these things and more. He was not an easy predictable man, he was complex as hell and could be weird at times. Just the very reason he is such a polarizing person. 

The book gets a little into the sex addiction here and there. The journalist who wrote it, believes that Wilt wanted to move to L.A. so he could increase his celebrity image and to date white women openly. This probably is true, cause it was back in 1968 and Philadelphia had extreme racism problems at the time, and Wilt had spoken about it before. 

Wilt made a lot of the sex stuff up about himself, that's according to sources who were his friends and such at the time. But it was true that he was a swinger and liked to live that lifestyle. 

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I bet Lebron was even slightly uncomfortable a bit with the glam Miami stuff. I mean he sounds to have been more into community events there at times and not being in the hottest neighborhoods. I am sure he had a good time a bit, but he seemed to really want to go back to his roots again.

LeBron lived in Coconut Grove while he was in Miami....It's a middle class gated community place, but NOT glamorous at all. It's low key, one of the most quiet parts of the city and it's considered the ideal place to live in the city if you're not super rich and just want to live nice and quiet (it's in Dade County/Miami city and not in Miami Beach, which is kinda a big deal, since Miami Beach is what gets glamorized the most) 

Most of the celebrities in Miami live on the islands or in Miami Beach. Star Island is celebrity central behind a gated community and it's nothing but big multi-million dollar mansions. Dwayne Wade and Shaq both have a mansion there, and a few other celebrities. Don Johnson had a home there too back in the 80's during Miami Vice's run. Then there is South Beach (Miami Beach), which is party central, and you cannot live on South Beach unless you have serious money, and it's truly a haven for partying. 

LeBron choosing Coconut Grove to buy a home, actually says a lot cause it is far away from the more upper class, super rich people there. It put him in a community, and he was more active there with community events according to local sports fans in Miami. LeBron didn't go there and live a rock star lifestyle, he settled down and was quiet like a normal person, which made the locals respect him more. 

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Have you read about Lebron's upbringing btw? It's so sad at times. He was sleeping on couches a lot of places his mom brought them too who she was friends with or dating etc. Iverson is even worse. We all know the story or it's in the book about how his mom let the sewer clogging go and Iverson once had to wear boots in the house to protect his legs. He got into Georgetown to play basketballs since his mom begged John Thompson who ran the program to give her son a chance. Since back then, John Thompson took anyone to help out. This was after Iverson got put in jail for an altercation in Virginia beating up white boys outside of a bowling alley which many say was wrong and provoked an uproar since these boys were calling him the N word. And the Governor eventually gave him a break on it. And Iverso was the target. Iverson was also late a lot too running drugs for his mom or getting drugs for her.

I've heard a bit about both of them. Iverson dealt with serious racism, as you pointed out and he came from nothing. 

IMO I always believed that cause Iverson came from nothing and was dirt poor as a child, that this was why he blew through his money so fast. It's a classic example of a poor person getting outrageous money for the first time in their lives and not knowing what to do with it. 

Iverson changed the NBA"s image with the tattoos. Before him, no players had tattoos all over their arms or in public display. The Fox/ESPN writer Jason Whitlock wrote an article wanting Iverson banned, cause of the tattoos. Iverson started the whole debate of "black men with tattoos" in basketball. I don't think anyone realized how his image would revolutionize the league in general, cause now, no one cares about this at all. Most players have tattoos, it's not a big deal. 

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Kobe's life was a little hard for people to relate to as well which is why he was best off going to Hollywood and being on a showy team. Kobe was born in America as we know, but he grew up in Italy since his dad was part of some international basketball league I believe? Kobe spoke Italian as well as English young. He names his daughters Italian names and he prefers Italian cars. On the side, I think Kobe is Italian at heart. Kobe did not grow up bad at all, I admit that. He grew up well in Italy which is why some have always said he was a more well spoken intelligent sounding guy compared to others. But even Kobe got busted with sex, which was bad since I bet nobody had more sex then the 90's Bulls which is why MJ was on Kobe's side.

I don't know a whole lot about Kobe's childhood. I do know a little bit about his dad, Joe Bryant. His dad was a good player. Not a memorable Hall of Famer like his son, but he was good, and his basketball knowledge certainly helped Kobe in the long run. I sometimes wonder if it was his dad who inspired his work ethic. His dad was a good player and later became a coach, and Kobe's work ethic and dedication was insane. You could tell from his dedication, he studied the game and had a passion for it that was unmatched by others. 

I knew Kobe could speak Italian, I've heard about that from somewhere. 

Kinda funny and ironic; Joe Bryant was a guy that Donald Sterling brought into the Clippers when he was trying to make a cheap fix to have the team compete with the Showtime Lakers in the early 80's (when Sterling was getting rich off cheap housing around the town too). I've heard this from L.A. fans, it's ironic cause his son would be drafted by the Lakers 15 years later and become a Hall of Famer. 

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I am pathetic with Kobe I really am. My dad is the one who heard the stuff about Kobe chatting with IT lately and stuff. And when he mentioned it I stayed at their house to talk about it for a few hours yesterday. And it's all true. And then my dad says to my mom "She only stays to talk if we bring up the NFL or Kobe Bryant."  

You have nothing to be ashamed of with loving Kobe. I'm the guy who still can't let go of Brett Favre. 

I wish the media reports would stop bringing Kobe's name up though. All you ever read about anymore in media reports is how the Lakers don't have their Kobe Bryant, and acting like a new player is going to become the next Kobe. Kawhi Leonard gets compared to him now too, since Kobe was his idol. Seriously, why do we need a new Kobe? I wish they would stop...Just let these players be their own players. Let Brandon Ingram be Brandon Ingram, let LeBron James be LeBron James, they don't need to be compared to a previous era player. Let them be their own guys. 

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No joke though, some claim out here that MJ is going to target IT in FA.........

 

 

Magic not MJ.

At this point, what big name player hasn't been brought up in an FA rumor with the Lakers? 

I'm beginning to think a lot of this is just rumors in media reports, cause L.A. is a big market. 

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I will be back later tonight. I need to lie down for a few hours or so to clear my head since my glands feel swollen in my neck. I am totally sleeping in tomorrow around the house.

I hope you don't get hay fever. If you feel bad during the week, get some nyquil and rest will be your best bet. Hope you get to feeling better, I've been in misery all week, spring allergies are the worst. 

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Thats the problem though, Lebron is NOT a bad unlikable guy.

Yes!!! OMG, that is the point!!

Even when I hated LeBron, I struggled cause it's really difficult to find a reason to dislike him as a person and off the court. I used to be more active with Miami sports fans online, and there were incidents when fans had met LeBron at community at events and around town, and they spoke so highly of him, saying how he was down to earth and a class act. LeBron didn't even move to Star Island or a rich place there either, he lived in Coconut Grove and his family was active around the locals. Far from the famous lifestyle many celebrities have there. 

It's easier to relate to LeBron too cause he came from nothing and was dirt poor. He wasn't some kid who had everything handed to them like LaVar Ball's kids are getting. 

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I would rather read the book on Wilt. Been reading this Iverson book I got slowly and........omg most depressing thing ever is Iverson. It is so DEPRESSING. He was a HEADCASE.

Oh yeah, Iverson was a headcase indeed. It's one of the biggest issues with him, and some of the things he did later on. He sorta just went crazy for a bit. 

This is the Wilt Chamberlain book, it's pretty good. I've had my copy for some years. 

https://www.amazon.com/Wilt-Larger-Than-Robert-Cherry-ebook/dp/B009N3585M/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

I'm guessing this book is hard to come across these days, and that might be why the price is inflated a bit on there. 

That book is not really written from a fan's standpoint or a critic. It's critical of him at times, and also praises him. It's probably the closest you're going to get of a book that tries to pick middle ground and allow the reader to come up with their own conclusions. 

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But when you speak about Wilt and how he was always the GOAT or the choker......thats Lebron. With Lebron everything is an absolute and a generalization. It's always as if people live from game to game with him and the end of that game and the result/stats is FINAL with who he is as a player.

That's why I make the comparison, it's kinda like that....

Wilt haters call him a choker and he had that tag for many years. His Philly team was the first ever to blow a 3-1 lead. They blew it to the Boston Celtics.

Wilt had a poor record in game 7's...His haters love to bring this up. Where LeBron shows up for game 7's, Wilt was the opposite, and that book I linked criticizes him heavily in some of those game 7's. I don't know his record in game 7's, but I know he had some pretty infamous losses in them; the one to the Celtics where they blew the 3-1 lead is the one that most of his haters bring up. 

I think another fair comparison is that Wilt was really the first guy to make a "big 3". he demanded the Sixers trade him to L.A. and the original big 3 was him; Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. 

Wilt was the first most polarizing player the NBA had. You either loved or hated him, there was no middle ground. If you want to compare him to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, I think Wilt was only 32 years old when he retired. Wilt's retirement was pretty selfish, as he wanted money and decided to go coach the ABA one year for a big pay check (Wilt had been threatening for years to join the ABA for more money). Kareem played until he was 42 years old. Wilt was still in great shape post-retirement, and was active with workouts and gym work, but we never really will know how long he lasted, since he let the money get to him more. 

I'm beginning to think Wilt Chamberlain may be the best comparison to LeBron right now....

Reason why, and this is after doing some reading the other night on Wilt and revisiting a book on him. Wilt was the first most polarizing player the NBA had seen. Ask anyone about Wilt and you always get a different opinion. To most back then; he was either the GOAT, or he was the ultimate choker who always lost in game 7. 

He might be a fair comparison to LeBron cause Wilt had extreme haters too and still to this day, I think there is a high level of hatred towards him that hasn't really died out. LeBron though is nothing like Wilt though in terms of the person. Even the most diehard fans of Wilt, have to admit, he deserved a lot of criticism for some of his actions. Especially when it came to how he would threaten Philly with going to join the ABA to get a pay raise (he was already the highest paid player in history at the time) and tons of other isolated incidents. Going back and rereading his biography made me think about this. In terms of personality, LeBron is a hell lot more likable and down to earth. 

LeBron haters really have lost their minds since he beat GS in the Finals last year.....

Most fans I see praise LeBron now as one of the best ever, cause they recognize what he accomplished this past year was so remarkable. Not only did he come back from a 3-1 deficit, he beat the "greatest team ever" who won 73 games....I can say, the level of respect for LeBron has INCREASED when it comes to average fans and the fair weathered crowd. I even see Lakers fans praise him, which is saying a lot considering how much they despised the Miami Heat. 

It's LeBron haters who will never be satisfied. I mean, nothing is ever good enough for his haters. I'm just waiting on them to start saying how it's "rigged" like they did last year over the Draymond Green suspension. 

The hate LeBron gets is far worse than anything I've ever seen. You may remember the hatred Kobe Bryant got back in the mid 2000's. The hate for Kobe was bad, but never the level of LeBron hate. Most of the Kobe hate was centered around one guy; Shaq. When Shaq got his 4th ring with Miami, and won another MVP, it intensified Kobe hate, and the Kobe hate kinda settled down after 2010, with Shaq even making fun of himself over Kobe surpassing him in rings...but with LeBron, his haters compare him to literally EVERY GREAT PLAYER. It don't just end with MJ, it has to be everyone and everything. Bottom line usually is that he will never be good enough. 

I can't get over this....

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You and Bogie both constantly call him the GOAT on your Profile pages when you talk about him, go back and look at the archives. Tons of Posters that are Cavs fans do the same thing on ESPN. Everyone on ESPN has him 2nd behind Jordan at worse, I mean everyone and they always say can he catch Jordan for the GOAT? How is he even 2nd? What makes him better than Magic or Kareem or Kobe? What has he done those guys haven't done.

"Go back and look at the archives" ....Declaring LeBron as a potential GOAT is a sin, Jules. Just remember, he'll never be good enough. He'll always be behind X, Y and Z...shame on you for enjoying watching LeBron play good basketball!

Yeah that video was worth watching. It shows how modern NBA really still has the exact same foul calls that the 90's had. No change at all. Jordan's era wasn't "tough"....What changed the game was the zone defense rule which has made the game so much more complex and tougher for super stars to score. 

What gets me is how LeBron haters say he wouldn't have survived in the 90's. Where do they get this idea? He's much taller and weighs more than most centers of the 90's. Bill Laimbeer isn't joking when he says that he is nothing like they seen in that era. And with no zone defense, and weaker overall defenses, he'd be dominating. 

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I am not in the mood right now to partake with "them" in the NBA thread who is praying Toronto wins. I give you mad credit since I see you are partaking in it.  

LeBron hating made me do it...

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I am sick of the haters. With Lebron I think he gets treated like Brady does at times. You bring up Brady as the best and with him you get "But what about deflate gate........spygate......having Bill. B.,Montana being perfect in Super Bowls."

 

Montana=Michael Jordan now

Oh yeah, like MJ going 6 for 6, they leave out the other 15 years of his career. 

You could make a similar argument with Montana, cause at one point, he DID have that streak where he got knocked out in the first round 3 years in a row. If it were not for the 1988 playoff run and the back to back SB's between 1988 and 1989, Bill Walsh would've been fired and the whole mythology of Montana would've never came into existence. 

Fun fact, Montana never beat the Giants in the playoffs....Steve Young's problem was the Packers, but he did eventually beat them in his last playoff game. Montana never got past the Giants ever. If you want to compare to Brady, well Brady did at least get past Manning a number of times. 

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But regardless I think Celtics/Wizards may be longer of a series now then I expected.......

What happened with that big fight? I didn't catch it yesterday. I was busy with other stuff (about to start a bible study this weekend) 

I am seeing Cavs fans and even Lakers fans going off nuts about some fight, they say Boston got away with a dirty play that led to an ejection. 

I hope you don't get hay fever. I would never wish that on anyone, oh man...You would know if you're having it cause your head or ear would start burning. Sometimes it starts with a cough. I had 3 shots and still was suffering. Yesterday was the first day I felt OK since last Thursday. 

If you get hay fever though, I have to say, at first it feels like your mouth is inflamed. When I went to the doctor about it, they told me that many people mistake it as an abscessed tooth. That's how it can start out, it started out that way for me. I thought for sure it was abscess until it got much worse the following day.