As much as I dislike Cuban's antics, I'd have to side more with him on this than Smith/Barkley. While Kenny and Charles played in the NBA, they're not coaches who sees the game from an outside perspective. I wouldn't be so quick to say they're better and drawing up defensive plays than Avery Johnson. In addition, neither commentators were worth much on defense when they played in the league. Of course, I didn't watch the game and can't comment on the plays mentioned. But Steve Nash is absolutely amazing at pick&roll plays. In fact, I really doubt ANY method of defense against it if they executed it well and the shots dropped.
The ironic thing is Cuban being a big baby about this whole thing is just going to make Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith diss the Mavs even more.
His stat argument doesn't do it for me. Im sure stats can be instructive in certain aspects, but I have a feeling they can receive too much emphasis also. Can you imagine Red Auerbach making the decision whether to switch based on a stat report? Basketball aint economics, and after all, his team really is a bunch of creampuffs.
Well, you know what I mean- they'll put Cuban's blog on the air, then they'll Photoshop Cuban's head with a baby's body and ridicule him- it's just a no-win situation because, although he says he does, Cuban does not have a sense of humor and the sarcasm to match Barkley. I used to like Cuban, but the more I read his own words, the more I'm convinced that he's very self-serving and that it is more about him than the Mavericks.
If any of us here on this forum become ridiculously rich....and we went and bought the Houston Rockets, you can bet your sweet ar$e that many people here would be just as outspoken in the media. Now personally, I wouldnt go calling out Barkley or Smith. But obviously Cuban lives and breathes Mavs basketball and if he feels he has the stats to back his claims up...fair enough. I have no problem with what Cuban does, he is passionate about basketball and his is passionate about the clubs he owns. He is living the dream of many sports fans and is having fun in the process. Im can think of a number of teams that would kill to have an owner like him.
I respectfully disagree. You have many owners of teams, all with the opportunity to use the media as their personal sounding board, who don't make a**es of themselves like Cuban does. And I do have a problem with what Cuban does, because when I watch a basketball game, I want to watch the coaches and players, not some dumba** owner. That goes for actors, too. Jack Nicholson is one of my favorite actors, but when he throws fits against referee calls like in the game last year, I could care less and would rather the celebrity-hungry TV stations leave the camera off him. If I were a Mavericks fan, I'd definitely have a problem with him because he replaces better with less talent (Nash with Dampier, Finley with Christie) and takes away from the team. Hey, I used to be a huge fan, but his act is old.
I have to agree with Dandorotik. Owners aren't supposed to be getting into wars with the media...players and coaches really shouldn't either, but especially owners. Cuban himself said it was comparing apples to oranges. But he's the one spitting out stats, something a coach should be doing, or the media does, but not an owner. The only numbers Cuban should be worrying about is the amount of rings on his finger, which right now is NONE. As far as I'm concerned from what he's done all he cares about is having an exciting team that sells tickets and makes him money...then a championship caliber team after that. That's the problem...he's being too much of a fan. It's great that he loves his team...the media doesn't have to hear about it all the time though. Still, I think behind all the enthusiasm is a greedy business man. He wants money above all else. Either that, or he's just a complete moron that has no idea what it takes to build a championship team.
It is impossible for Cuban to "win" this, not only do Kenny and Charles not care about what Cuban says they don't take themselves too seriously, where Cuban clearly does care about what they say. How can he possibly get the better of them in this circumstance? The TNT group, lead by Barkley and Kenny, is the most entertaining sports group on TV IMO. They are insightfull (far more than ESPN's basketball guys), but also loose and funny where it is clear they often say things tongue and cheek. I like ESPN's baseball guys for knowledge too (Reynalds), but they are not near as funny. I actually enjoy watching their show where as 95% of the time I wish guys in comparable after/pre shows just shut up and show the highlights.
I could almost like Cuban just for his enthusiasm for winning and the sport, but he ruins it with that no class - obnoxious attitude. In last year's playoff in Houston he did the "gesture" to the Houston home crowd -"just to freak us out". I did not appreciate it-he is an owner and should show more class. He is a jerk who was in the right place at the right time during the dot com boom and got rich through no talent of his own.....He now preaches about business acumen..... He needs to shut up - enjoy being an owner of a good franchise, and be responsible enough and gracious enough to show some class....
That's my point. If I wanted to talk about how to promote and sell a business to make money, he might be one of the first I'd consult. But about the game of basketball? Please. You know, I'm all for individuals delving into several areas to make money, but that doesn't mean I have to listen or buy in. I like Jack Nicholson for his acting, Michael Stipe for his songwriting, Steve Jobs and his team for their technology innovations, Mario Batali for giving me ideas about how to best prepare chicken cacciatore, and Smith/Barkley for insights into the game of basketball. Cuban's like one of those overbearing parents who think that by being 100% involved with every thing their kids do, this makes them a better parent. Not true- sometimes, you have to step out of the limelight and let your kids develop w/o being in on everything (e.g. not suffocating them). That in and of itself is a form of caring, at times, that is more important than being intrusive and suffocating.
I hate cuban just as much as anyone of you are; but knowing basketball as a player has little to nothing to do with composing a team or talnet hunting. Remember who picked up Kwame Brown?
I thought it was funny. Of course, I'm not a big fan of Kenny and Charles on TNT, or commentators in general.
Let me see, should I side with the most immature know it all self made billionaire in the history of the world, or the loud mouth idiot HOF who constantly puts his foot in his mouth. Just because you play doesn't mean you know more basketall than the next guy and just because you own a team and read a bunch of over quoted stats means you know more. One thing I thought was a low blow, I think Kenny did say once he wanted to go into coaching but he also talked about going into broadcasting when he was with the Rockets.
I also agree with dandorotik. Nothing is worse, IMO, than a meglomaniacal owner and Cuban is definitely one of those types of owners (Jerry Jones, George Steinbrenner, Al Davis, etc.). That's great he has all that enthusiasm (sp?), but people get tired of hearing it all the time. Actually, to tell the truth, I really don't have a problem with him complaining about Barkley and Kenny "dissing" his team. However, he should have shown some class about it as the way he went about it was wrong and just makes him look like an ass.
I got no love for Barkley or Kenny. Kenny has been side shotting the Rox since the days he got in the TNT studios. Barkley is a fat piece of merde who doesnt know shiznit. Barkley has shown time and time again that he DOESNT know **** about basketball. Lets not forget his suprememe moment of fortune telling about Yao Ming. Lets not forget it was his lack of switching and allowing the Jazz to win that WCF games to end it for us. Barkley has nothing but personal conjecture, and opinion. His insight is about as good as any fans on the espn message boards.
