I have read that authors should not write while mad. Or maybe it's journalists. Either way it's utter bullshit. I do my best writing when I am pissed the hell off and apparently so does stampler.
A full on diatribe listing all of the Spurs problems, including unabashed Tony Parker hating. Stampler's delirious with vitriol towards The Wee Frenchman at this point, and it's an awesome sight to behold. He's even rewriting history:
Yeah, Tony didn't get the job done on a 2-on-1. But "stolen from behind?" Smush was in front of him the whole time! And Smush never stopped the ball; if the roles had been reversed, with Manu on the ball and Parker on the wing, I don't think The Sickness would have passed the ball either. Of course he probably wouldn't have gotten ripped by Smush, either. How's that for waffling?
Stampeezie's hysteria about Frenchie McWonderbutts knows no bounds; he's even making up friends to back him up:
Manolis? Come on. I have a friend named Fiddlefaddle who swears Manolis is full of it.
Look, Parker is not a pass first PG. But he gets way too much criticism from Spurs fans. Look at his numbers:
TS%: 57.3% (from ESPN)
eFG% on inside shots: 66.7%
Now Manu's:
TS%: 60.1%
eFG% on inside shots: 60.7%
Now Duncan's:
TS%: 57.7%
eFG% on inside shots: 66.0%
We're complaining that a guy with a TS% of 57.3% (and a ridiculous eFG% in the paint) shoots too much? Tony is painted as Mr. Selfish while Manu is cast as Mr. Generousity. Yet Tony averages 6.8 A/40M while Manu is at 4.9 A/40M.
Yeah, "But Tony is a PG!!11!; he's supposed to pass the ball! Manu is a SG who's supposed to score!!@!@##11!"
Well, Jamal Crawford, chucker extraordinaire, is also at 4.9 A/40M, the same as Manu.
Yeah, "But the ball is always in Tony's hands, so Manu doesn't have the opportunity to pass!1!1!!!"
Well, 22.3% of possessions used by Tony end with an assist. Manu? 17.5%. Crawford? 18.4%. Iverson? 18.6%. Manu is 11th out of 30 SGs who play at least 25 MPG (I removed guys like Hinrich and Rondo who are basically PGs).
Parker is 23rd out of 31 PGs who play at least 25 MPG. He also has the 5th highest TS%. Ginobili has the 3rd highest amongst SGs.
What's my point? Look, obviously Parker looks for his shot more than Manu. But why shouldn't he look for his shot? He's a very efficient scorer who's been instructed by his coach to be aggressive. All of this "ignoring Manu and other open players..." I just don't see it. And Manu's my favorite player.
Does Manu need to shoot more? Certainly. But maybe his lack of shots is more his fault than Tony's? How many times did I scream at Manu for not taking wide open shots in the 2005 playoffs? About twice a game. Ask Matty da Blade, he was the one I was screaming at.
And does Parker take a lot of bad shots? I don't think so. Certainly not more than Manu, who's the king of step back 3s and rainbow fadeaways off the dribble.
And what the fuck does Eva Longoria have to do with any of this? (It smells faintly of misogyny in my opinion.) She's a beautiful, popular and extremely successful woman who maybe just happened to fall in love with a basketball player. Why do some people here assume she's behind the scenes playing Parker like a puppet? Because she shows up at a lot of games? Dude, if I had the money she had I would show up at a lot of games, too, and I'm not in love with any of the players. (OK, that's a lie, but Manu doesn't love me back.) And even if she tells him to shoot more, who cares? What is she supposed to say? Shoot less? Yeah, professional athletes love to be told stuff like that. (Back in CYO basketball I wish my mother would have yelled at me for missing the wide open guy under the basket; I would have been a better player for it.) Yeah, Eva should be focused on what's best for the Spurs. Whatever. She's not some succubus sent from Hades; she's a human in love; let's cut her some slack.
ok. So I went off on a tangent there and unintentionally misrepresented stampler's post. He rips into everybody, including Manu, and doesn't blame Parker for all the Spur's problems. And I pretty much agree with everything he said about every person not from, or in love with someone from, France.
Plus the post is absolutely hysterical. My favorite part: Timmy can't handle this. Or the orange cone picture. Or "Chief Big Triangle."
Go to spursdynasty.com and read it. Now.
Tonight's lines (standings do NOT include Laker game):
New Orleans @ San Antonio: SA -14.5
Detroit @ Minnesota: MIN +2
Post away!