Basketball from a fans perspective
"Don't be that guy!"
Blake your Kia commercials portray a far different Blake Griffin than we see. You seem like a totally cool due in those car ads. The only negative many of your fellow NBA brethren accuse you of being a flopper, is it actually true? You certainly are talented no doubt about that. You were injured on the basketball court during the Christmas game; you broke the bone in your hand off the court. We saw a photo of you standing next to the equipment manager you at nearly 6-9 towered over him. What could he have said or done that caused you to punch him not once but twice. Reports are you first swung on him inside a restaurant and then a second time outside. It's now reported you will be out another 5-6 weeks due to this incident. "Don't be that guy", that guy who fails to control his aggression.
Please note
Recently a story began circulating accusing LeBron James of being a Coach Killer. Directly or indirectly he may have been involved in Blatt's firing as for the others the are questionable. Remember the stories we heard when LeBron first arrived in South Beach. It was rumored Eric Spoelstra was on the way out the door. The two might not have been on the same page but managed to work out their differences. The Heat coach is still in place he didn't get fired by the Coach Killer but what about the others?
Management pulled the plug on Paul Silas, Brendan Malone (interim) and Mike Brown it's likely LeBron wasn't involved. As for the other Cavs coaches Byron Scott and Mike Brown (the second time) were fired while LeBron was in Miami. It should be noted the relationship between a coach and star player can sometimes be tenuous. One more fact David Blatt might have been hired with the best intentions circumstances changed quickly. Blatt was hired believing a re-build must be accomplished. Less than a month later July 11 to be exact LeBron announced he was returning to Cleveland.
Say what
We have been comparing player A with player B since the beginning of time. Often this is the only method to access the ability of a player. Sometimes our comparasions are off base I'll explain. Seth Greenberg college analyst was asked for his assessment of LSU's Ben Simmons. After offering his view to Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless they were to provide their input. Earlier in the week Magic Johnson had compared Simmons to LeBron James. Stephen A. Smith compared Simmons to Walter Berry which brought an immediate disagreement from Greenberg. For those who might not be familiar Berry he along with Chris Mullin and Mark Jackson were part of the successful St. John's teams in the mid '80's.
Berry played two years at St. John's while Simmons is but a freshman at LSU. The only method of comparison is stats but even that becomes an issue. The NCAA only begin tracking assists in 1984, Berry played the 1984-1985 and 1965-1986 season bu no assist numbers are available for him. I am unable to uncover any verification of Berry's ability to deliver the ball. His two years at St. John's resulted in 20.1 and 9.9 rebounds a game. Simmons is 19.8 12.7 and 4.9 assists per game. As for the physical side, Berry was 6-8 and 215 pounds while Simmons is 6-10 and 239 pounds. Sorry sports fans I take more stock in what a former coach (Greenberg) might say over a media member.
Longevity
This is an interesting fact courtesy of ESPN Stats. "Since Gregg Popovich was hired in the '96-'97 season there have been 221 coaching changes in the NBA." Although it wasn't mentioned we guess this includes the Cavs replacing David Blatt with Tyronn Lue. Popovich is likely the only NBA coach we can state with conviction has job security. He will leave the coaching ranks when he decides to leave.
