Real Deal

That's mainly because people settle in and try to accept their roles (or actually try and increase their roles, selfishly). Lack of touches on the offensive end could lead to less desire to play defense. Perfect example could be Haywood. He's still playing defense, but he's not getting the opportunities he would be on a bad team, and getting too comfortable, he's probably slacking off. Same with Butler. Stevenson, same thing. It's really not so much the eagerness to win, but just to fit in once you get there, and then try and get your name in the papers as a winner, whatever the cost. Some see that as doing what it takes to win a championship, others see it as doing whatever it takes, as an individual player, to be a greater individual player. Or, maybe they are trying to be the contributors they were in Washington, minus being selfish...but are just having difficulty doing so, and need to realize that their roles will have to change for the better of the team.

Opponents' FG... 3/26 vs. Portland (LOSS) 40-80 FG, 50% 3/22 vs. New Orleans (LOSS) 45-83 FG, 54.2% 3/20 vs. Boston (LOSS) 39-75 FG, 52% 3/13 vs. New York (LOSS) 50-89 FG, 56.2%

Yep. K-State fans like to spray garbage on a KU sign on the way up to Lawrence, on the interstate. I'm sure some of our fans do similar crap I don't know about, though...but I don't see how a Jayhawk fan can EVER pull for a Wildcat team, unless it's against Missouri (who I hate the most).

Well, uh...they tried. At least they weren't blown out by 25-30.

Shot defense. Without looking, I'm sure all 4-5 of their losses (in their last six games) are due to letting the teams shoot 50% or better against them. It was glaring tonight. Butler was a matador when he played in Los Angeles. He couldn't defend anyone. Dirk has trouble, defensively. Marion is slacking off again, like he did in Toronto (not sure why, because he was fine about six games ago). Dampier is a ghost. Barea is complete trash on defense. Kidd and Haywood's defensive efforts aren't enough. Dallas will need to get away from their defensive woes, and they only have under a month to do it.

Dallas hasn't had their way with Portland this season. The Blazers are 3-0 against them. The Mavs didn't score a single FG in the last 9:30 or so. That's pretty bad.

Crawford's three (you already know which one) was sickening. That shot was about 35 feet out. Awesome game. I was hoping for an Xavier win, but still entertaining and yes, the best game of the tourney.

No, you guys are actually choosing what defines greatness. That's the point of the topic. I'm saying that someone like Magic is greater than Kobe Bryant because of the individual and team accomplishments, but he doesn't touch Kobe once you remove those. Bryant is the better overall player. There's a point where you take one over the other, though. For example, who's the greater player: Garnett or Malone? Well, Malone was easily the better offensive player, and the defensive gap wasn't THAT big. Garnett has a ring. Malone could've had two if Jordan didn't exist. Malone is the greater player because Garnett didn't rake in enough MVP's and individual accomplishments to surpass what Malone did. Greatness isn't defined by just overall playing abilities. Case in point: Steve Nash isn't the player Deron Williams is (Williams has much, much better defense and he runs a team nearly as well), but who's greater? Nash has two MVP's and has led a Suns team deeper into the post-season, with 60-win seasons. Nash is greater, Deron is better overall in terms of skills.

Damn man, this sucks. K-State has an easier road to the Final Four now. I hope Xavier puts them to sleep tonight, or it'll be up to Butler.

I have ALWAYS said that greatness is defined by more than a player's abilities. In fact, that's why I've put Jordan over Kobe for so long, because Jordan has the MVP's and rings. I think Kobe is an overall better player, but as to who is the greatest, Jordan takes the cake. Same with Duncan and Malone. Same with Magic and Stockton. Same with Bird and LeBron. The list goes on. I think you have me confused with someone else, because there's no way I'd ever say anything opposing that.

LOL, I'll post a few things after I make dinner. I have a few old banners.

Oh really? Where did I say that? Malone is the better overall player (which is actually debatable), but Duncan is the greatest because of everything else he accomplished, something I've been stating for the last 3-4 years now.

Yeah, I think he'll be the best scorer in the league in about 2-3 years. By the numbers, he probably already is...but he doesn't have as many ways to score as Bryant does. Plus, Durant's defense isn't up to par with Kobe, LeBron, Wade, and maybe even Melo's. If we're talking MVP, though...I think Durant deserves it over everyone, if the Thunder win 50+ games. It's possible that they can. They have 12 games left, and they'll need to go 7-5 to do so. Of course, that's defining the MVP a little different than what I think it is.

Is the Undertaker still undefeated at WM? The last time I checked (about 8-9 years ago, lol), he was.

Ah, Pop. http://i40.tinypic.com/34y3gcn.jpg

I love Durant, but it's ridiculous to think that he's a better overall player than Bryant. Anyone can make the argument for LeBron, but not for any other player.

Charlotte has the best chance of any East team not named the Magic, Celtics or Hawks, to beat the Cavaliers in the playoffs. They are a defensive-minded team, THE top defensive teams in the league. They are also 9-3 in their last 12 games, with wins over the Lakers, Magic, Thunder and Heat in those 12. In the three wins against Cleveland, the Cats shot 55%, 49%, and 47% from the floor, because they have too many various weapons, inside and out, that they can rely on. They also know how to play the foul game, where Cleveland hasn't shot 70% or better from the line in ANY of those three games. Even worse for Cleveland, the Bobcats can limit LeBron to under 30 points (like they did in all three of those wins) and limit him to under 10 assists (four and six in two of those games). I don't think many people understand how good of a defensive team they are. They have Jackson and Wallace, who are two excellent defensive players, along with newly-acquired Tyrus Thomas, a tough match-up in Boris Diaw, and one of the better defensive coaches in Larry Brown. I would still put my money on Cleveland to advance, but I wouldn't bet too much.

...Ron, stop playing, man. You can finally tell everyone you've been using Paul's account.

GO CORNELL!

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