The issue of "heart" is a legitimate issue, BUT it is largely meaningless without talent. Remember the kid in P.E. that played any game completely out of control? He was unathletic, overweight, and clueless, but played every moment with great enthusiasm like a Chris Farley character. "If you need me, I will be living in the bus down by the river!" "Heart" may be best defined by what it is not, the lack of heart. The lack of heart means you don't care, you are lazy, do as a little as possible, passive, disinterested, careless, and unmotivated. "Heart" is not just an issue in sports, but every area of life. Ritualism is another word for "heartlessness." Ritualistic people just go through the motions; they are unmotivated and disinterested. There is no hop in their step, no life in their voice, and little joy in their life. They are often depressed, listless, and unhappy.They go about their daily tasks in a lifeless and routine manner. The reason "heart" is such a big issue in athletics is because everyone is watching. Players who are good AND play with heart will always be popular. Fans love players in any sport whose motor never stops running, who give their all, never quit, and play like they are having fun. D. Wade comes to mind in the NBA. K.G, Kobe, LeBron and many others play well and with a great deal of heart. Even Duncan who is not an animated player still demonstrates heart. He challenges everything, he stays focused, competes hard, and never quits. I for one greatly respect these qualities which describe the characteristic of "heart."
So how does Landlord Landry feel about you ripping off his name [/QUOTE] Well I didn't realize I was ripping him off until a little while after I joined. I thought I was being original *sigh*, oh well so far we haven't run into each other.
this is about attitude, a measure of being professional, a NBA player. it's unacceptable quitting games now and gain catching his teammates with surprise and disappointment. he brings no help and discourages, confuses his teammates even he is on court. I think tmac should take a full break for sakes of the team and himself.
were you responding to my anagram right above your post? come on, AntiSonic...you know we get along. chill. Hater and Heart being anagrams is funny. Are you saying you never hated a girl for loosing heart. ...laugh with me.
The reason why this topic was created ... topfive, you're right, it's partially a semantic issue. Since we're on a word-based communication forum, I happen to feel that the words we use are pretty important. The problem is that a term like "heart" is so ambiguous and amorphous that it's worthless. If it were used here and there as an expression, that's fine. But it is way overused and abused. In basketball, everyone can generally agree to what a rebound is. Everyone can watch a game, then look at the numbers and tell you when a team is superior defensively, or a team consistently performs above league average offensively. Those are the outermost measurements and least debatable, the world of numbers. A layer underneath that is causation - and these are terms that I am happy to live, things such as talent, effort, desire, determination, energy, stamina, decision making, perseverance, physical limitations. You look at the outer levels of statistics and then you can speculate as to the "whys" using causation terms. "Yao rebounds poorly - why? lack of mobility, lack of stamina." You can use what your eyes see in the game, and what the numbers tell you on paper, and make a smart guess as to why those things are happening. Most people in attempting to convey their understanding of "heart" use these kinds of ideas in the process. The above two worlds - the statistics, and the underlying causes are things I am happy to live with. Point to the numbers, and speculate, theorize, explain why they look that way. But when people start talking about "heart", it reminds me of stuff out of a chick flick, and there is no longer grounds for intelligent basketball discussion. And, as we can see here, thought its tossed about so much, there isn't quite consensus on what the meaning is. I think we should then, avoid attributing people of playing with heart or not playing with heart. Not that we can't talk about those things, but say what you mean. If the dude looks straight lazy and doesn't appear to give any effort then say that instead. If the guy is a mental midget with basketball decisions, but he dribbles a lot and runs fast then say that. Ultimately too, it IS all about production, not of individual statistics, but of wins through the regular season, and of playoff success. In this sense, I really agree with thacabbage, JeopardE, blender, probably a few others who have posted here. When it comes down to it, it is all about delivery of the goods, and whether there was "heart" (whatever that is) involved in the process doesn't ultimately matter. For us as sports fans, I think "heart" gives a great aura to the sports stories of our lives. Hoosiers, Remember the Titans, the 93-94 & 94-95 Rockets ... Balls of Fury... I was there, man! BTW, tinman, the 90's called, and they want their newspapers back. I'm glad we won back then, but I'm still hoping for some butt-kicking & name taking this season. Here's to a season not yet over ...
Good post. Agree with everything you said. Duncan has as much heart as anyone in the league. Just doesnt demonstrate it. Bottom line is that he is a winner. heart doesnt mean much if you don't have talent.
The reason why this topic was created ... topfive, you're right, it's partially a semantic issue. Since we're on a word-based communication forum, I happen to feel that the words we use are pretty important. The problem is that a term like "heart" is so ambiguous and amorphous that it's worthless. If it were used here and there as an expression, that's fine. But it is way overused and abused. In basketball, everyone can generally agree to what a rebound is. Everyone can watch a game, then look at the numbers and tell you when a team is superior defensively, or a team consistently performs above league average offensively. Those are the outermost measurements and least debatable, the world of numbers. A layer underneath that is causation - and these are terms that I am happy to live, things such as talent, effort, desire, determination, energy, stamina, decision making, perseverance, physical limitations. You look at the outer levels of statistics and then you can speculate as to the "whys" using causation terms. "Yao rebounds poorly - why? lack of mobility, lack of stamina." You can use what your eyes see in the game, and what the numbers tell you on paper, and make a smart guess as to why those things are happening. Most people in attempting to convey their understanding of "heart" use these kinds of ideas in the process. The above two worlds - the statistics, and the underlying causes are things I am happy to live with. Point to the numbers, and speculate, theorize, explain why they look that way. But when people start talking about "heart", it reminds me of stuff out of a chick flick, and there is no longer grounds for intelligent basketball discussion. And, as we can see here, thought its tossed about so much, there isn't quite consensus on what the meaning is. I think we should then, avoid attributing people of playing with heart or not playing with heart. Not that we can't talk about those things, but say what you mean. If the dude looks straight lazy and doesn't appear to give any effort then say that instead. If the guy is a mental midget with basketball decisions, but he dribbles a lot and runs fast then say that. Ultimately too, it IS all about production, not of individual statistics, but of wins through the regular season, and of playoff success. In this sense, I really agree with thacabbage, JeopardE, blender, probably a few others who have posted here. When it comes down to it, it is all about delivery of the goods, and whether there was "heart" (whatever that is) involved in the process doesn't ultimately matter. For us as sports fans, I think "heart" gives a great aura to the sports stories of our lives. Hoosiers, Remember the Titans, the 93-94 & 94-95 Rockets ... Balls of Fury... I was there, man! BTW, tinman, the 90's called, and they want their newspapers back. I'm glad we won back then, but I'm still hoping for some butt-kicking & name taking this season. Here's to a season not yet over ...
No big deal having driver's license, everyone has one. But its a big deal when you DON'T have it. Gotta start bumming people for rides, pay people gas money on time, they'll start holding it over your head, gotta use 1 hour public transportation for a regular 10 minute drive....etc Like how you cant tell who the most talented drivers on the road are, people with heart can be indistinguishable. But you can pick up on the ABSENSE of heart. The term "HEART" in this BBS is an amalgamation of a bunch of traits put together. Like mental & physical toughness / work ethic /effort /focus /competitiveness/ motivation /PRIORITIES Will agree talent definitely is the main factor. A fierce, hardworking 3A high school team can't beat the laziest NBA team. But the point is against mostly EVEN competition, in the cliche game of inches, you dont want talent leaving 5 points off the board cuz, even though he has basketball IQ and talent, he didnt want to "get his uniform dirty"
I don't think anyone would question that effort is a big part of heart. It's necessary but not sufficient. T-Mac's quit. What's his beef with the Rockets? He's getting paid max salary, he's one of the highest paid players in the league. The guy's got zero heart and he needs to go.
one of the aspects of playing with heart is going out there and giving it everything when you are on a team that isn't doing well. It's easy to play hard when you have won 10 in a row.
"Playing with heart", refers to someone who wants to win so bad that he doesnt care what it takes to get it done. If you want to watch someone who "played with heart", go back watch tapes of Mario Elie when he was with the Rockets. Yao and Tmac have no heart. Tmac doesnt want it bad enough, he is more happy with being a Superstar and having his max contract. Yao only uses this team as a paycheck. He doesnt want to win either, just as long as he gets his max contract also. He cares more about playing for the China National team than this team. He just wants to get the season over so he can go back to playing with his national team. During the Olympics he showed more emotion than he has ever showed here with the Rockets. As long as you have players like these, this team will never win.
Where we overmatched? I disagree. Did you forget that Rafer missed the first 2 games. The games Rafer played we won 2 and the 1 we lost was a close game with a bad call at the end. All the games in Utah were close except the one in which Rafer went out with a injury. The one in Houston when Rafer played was a blow out. If healthy we win the series because Houston matched up better defensively.
Ok. Interesting thread . To me, heart is leaving it all out in the court. If, for example, the team loses, they reflect on their mistakes, consult one another, and make the necessary improvements for them to be successful. If one player is at fault, the team will be solidarily liable. On the lighter side...taken from answers.com Anatomy. The chambered muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood received from the veins into the arteries, thereby maintaining the flow of blood through the entire circulatory system. A similarly functioning structure in invertebrates. The area that is the approximate location of the heart in the body; the breast. The vital center and source of one's being, emotions, and sensibilities. The repository of one's deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs: an appeal from the heart; a subject dear to her heart. The seat of the intellect or imagination: the worst atrocities the human heart could devise. Emotional constitution, basic disposition, or character: a man after my own heart. One's prevailing mood or current inclination: We were light of heart. Capacity for sympathy or generosity; compassion: a leader who seems to have no heart. Love; affection: The child won my heart. Courage; resolution; fortitude: The soldiers lost heart and retreated. The firmness of will or the callousness required to carry out an unpleasant task or responsibility: hadn't the heart to send them away without food. A person esteemed or admired as lovable, loyal, or courageous: a dear heart. The central or innermost physical part of a place or region: the heart of the financial district. See synonyms at center. The core of a plant, fruit, or vegetable: hearts of palm. The most important or essential part: get to the heart of the matter. A conventional two-lobed representation of the heart, usually colored red or pink. Games. A red, heart-shaped figure on certain playing cards. A playing card with this figure. hearts (used with a sing. or pl. verb) The suit of cards represented by this figure. A card game in which the object is either to avoid hearts when taking tricks or to take all the hearts. God bless us everyone
How can you be a Rockets fan if this is true? So if they win, they are worth something and you like them; and if they lose, they are "worthless" and you don't like them? This is the essence of bandwagon fandom.
Exactly. Therefore we can say pretty much that we don't like players who give half assed effort. If there ever were a player/team that COULD half ass their way to a title, that'd be pretty cool.
If TMac made his shots, made the right passes, while playing half-assly, people would say, "He's so talented and smooth, he makes it look so easy." It's when he is shooting like crap when his "heart" is questioned.
