Ric Bucher and Marc Stein join Bill to break down the broken-down Lakers, reexamine the Harden trade, discuss PEDs in the NBA, and much more. http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/50570/b-s-report-ric-bucher-and-marc-stein?ask Just sharing the love
Man Bucher sucks. Listening to him talk about Rose, the dude is straight up making things up. He says Rose will not be 100% until next year and is not playing 5 on 5 -- Simmons calls him out on it saying Wilbon (e.g. an actual reporter) had stated Rose was doing so, and Bucher starts backpedaling and hedging like a middle school student caught in a lie. Bucher sucks. Simmons, who I really like, needs to keep this desperate parasite clinging cravenly to the NBA world off of his, typically, very good podcast.
How little the three of those men know about PED's boggles my mind. How do you get to be iconic sports writers while still being completely ignorant is beyond me. There are trade-offs. I'm sick of them saying taking HGH is nothing big and that the leagues ban this substances arbitrarily. Steroid use has negative side effects. It isn't some magical drug that improves the quality of life for all, but for some reason these idiots think it is. They speak in anecdotal remarks but leave out any real science. "Someone's grandma takes HGH so it must be safe". Really? Then why isn't every red blooded American running to their doctor's begging for a prescription? If I could take a supplement that makes me buff with no side-effects you don't think I would do it? The safety of the athletes should be paramount.
I liked Simmons, but when he called our offense a gimmick offense, then I didn't like him so much. He's generally a funny and straight shooter, but seems to have lost his edge a little.
Ditto. He called the Lakers offense a gimmick offense even though the spurs & a lot of other NBA run the exact same offense or slight variations of it.
Because HGH is very expensive (several thousand per month) and the only effective delivery system is via injection. So its not as easily as swallowing a pill you can by at the GNC.
I am not sure what a gimmick offense is but I do think that two of the major components of our offense are fast break points and three point shooting, neither of which is a recipe for playoff success.
He tweeted he regretted that comment after Houston dropped Chicago on national TV. But as the above poster wrote, this offense is going to face problems in the playoffs. Either the 3-point shooters are on, or the team loses. There's no secondary plan. It's really that simple, when Parsons/Morris/Delfino are on, the team wins. When they aren't shooting well, the offense collapses. When the Spurs were running a fast paced, high 3-point shooting offense, it stayed consistent in the playoffs because they could still throw the ball to Duncan. And even at this stage in his career, he can still more than half the time, get a bucket against Serge Ibaka, Nowitzi, or Gasol. The run & gun Nash's Suns had Amare and Marion, both of whom could score around the basket. Fact is, the Rockets' offense won't be consistent until they have an inside threat. A powerforward that can score down low and grab more than a few rebounds is what's keeping them from being a Top 4 seed. You give the Rockets Al Jefferson right now, and they're a Top 4 seed. They immediate become a big threat in the playoffs.
Don't you just hate.. "They're never worried because the Lakers believe they can get any player/star to play for their team".
They're talking about PEDs in general. And you don't have to inject them. Balco rub: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BALCO_Scandal
Good analysis- There are not as many great big men in the league now- Duncan knows exactly what to do. I'll admit I do not like the Spurs - but I do respect them.....They are so lucky to have gotten that draft pick in '96 instead of Boston- Duncan has been Popp's enforcer on the team shutting up any dissent and keeping everyone in line. -When you have a quality big man like Duncan -it is so much easier to build around him as the size and quality is so rare......
Sorry I got off topic- IMHO Bill Simmons has been a Rocket hater for more than 5 years. He has become a more prominent featured writer on the NBA and has an opinion on every game - though I have doubts he really watches much
Sounds like you're the one who doesn't know much about PED's. Of course there's negative side effects if abused, but if taken under doctor supervision like most of these guys are doing, I'd say the health risks are extremely minimal. FYI there's a lot of red blooded American's running to their doc's for Test and HGH... if they have the money/insurance for it. You probably think taking protein and creatine is unnatural/unneccesary too, amirite?
-"gimmick" offense If his point was that our style of play, overall, is not sustainable in the long run (ie getting into the playoffs and beyond), because we sacrifice defensive soundness for a faster pace of play, I could see that. But our roster, as it is currently constructed, from an offensive point of view, would be foolish to slow down the game and not drive and dish out at every opportunity. We do not have any post presence for a more balanced offensive playbook to work. Our offense is sound because we play to our strengths.