I have have something against white forwards and centers.

It's politically incorrect and definitely not an appropriate topic to discuss on the board, but I'm sure Carlos Rogers is not the only guy who instantly stereotypes white players as relatively unathletic and not quite as good on defense as a lot of the guys in the NBA. Related to that topic, our friend Scottie Pippen scorched a white rookie top 5 pick in Wally Sczerbiac during the Blazers first round theory- theory proven (j/k). No, but seriously, how good is Mike Miller on D? I'm white myself and I don't want to hit at it from the race angle or anything, but I guess I'm kind of curious too how good his perimeter D skills are.

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[This message has been edited by oakdogg (edited May 08, 2000).]

 

put it this way : im chinese, out of shape and drunk. Im under 6' foot tall, but i could score 30 on mike miller.

kapish ?

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"Don't they get cable in Canada ?" Keith olbermann, after watching hakeem block terry catledge's shot 5 times.

 

Not being white certainly doesn't guarantee you're a defensive stalwart either. Just look at Reggie Miller, Glen Rice, or Steve Francis. It's best just to judge players on an individual basis IMO. If Mike Miller does suck on D, though, I hope the Rockets avoid him.

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*a little off topic*

Stevie does have his moments of brilliantly stiffling defense.

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- hoopjunkie

"when you come in da HOOD... things change."

 

I have something against stupid posters.

Could you imagine if I came in here and started a new topic titled, "Why I don't want the Rockets to draft any black point guards"?

That is as ridiculous as this.

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Get your proper swirve on...visit www.swirve.com (coming in late May, for now visit www.eesite.com)

 

I hate french basketball. Their speedos and berets are just gross. Something also seems wack about people smoking while they play.

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We can all think of several excellent players who happen to be white. How about defenders? That has gotten me thinking. Dan Majerle is an excellent defender. Are there any other great defensive players in the NBA who happen to be white?

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Every individual is different and should therefor be measured independently. That's very true, but we are talking about groups here, not individuals. In this case it's tall white guys. I'm not saying the hypothesis is sound, but there's nothing wrong with testing it. If you find statisically that tall white guys score less (or get less steals) than tall black men that's ok. But then you've got ask the question why and take it deeper. Maybe coaches are predjudiced, make it's where the player grew up, maybe it's because of injuries, Or maybe as Bo Jackson would say it's because of the shoes. Maybe this or maybe that but you need to prove to me what it isn't before you can say what it is. And that, in this case, is that color is the determining factor in success. I don't mind that you make a statement and say what you feel. Even Columbus was laughed at for what he said, but the difference was that he went out and proved everybody wrong. With such an emotionally charged issue I think you should have something to back it up. Otherwise we can't take value in what you have to say. And you should get hammered.


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humble, but hungry.

 

Columbus was a racist. Good argument, pull in a racist to defend racism.

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you're quoting a hun to me? Woody Allen

 

Mike Miller's defense is very good at this stage. He is the catalyst to Billy Donovan's entire trapping scheme. Who do you think the primary trapper is? It's Mike Miller. And he does a damn good job of it. He's got quick feet. Good size and athleticism. And if any of you on this board thinks you can score on Mike Miller, than you aren't being true to thyself. Not only is he a good perimeter defender, he's a versatile defender. Scouts don't just love his versatility on the offensive end, but on the other end as well. He can mix it up down low and lock you down 20 feet away from the basket. He might not ever be on the all-defense team, but he will never be a liability on the defensive end.

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Now that was darn funny! Just for the record I'm a WASP. I have previously posted that I'm not a big Mike Miller fan. I don't watch a ton of NCAA basketball, but brother I wasn't at all impressed with Miller in the semi-finals or the finals. He couldn't BUY a basket (from outside or inside) in the pressure of the big games and the national spotlight. I too am concerned with his defense (an area we already lack at the SF position). However, Miller runs the floor well (which worked out great for him at Florida and would fit the Rockets). It seems, however, like the real front court talent in this draft only runs about 4 deep (presumably this is why the Rockets want to move up) in this draft. But who doesn't want to move up in the draft, we will just have to wait and see.

That was funny Achebe!

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[This message has been edited by Swami (edited May 08, 2000).]

 

Thanks Swami! I'll take all of the support I can get.

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I'm not one to shy away from politically incorrect threads. Here let me add some more fuel...

Aside from Duncan, the best centers in the last FIVE drafts (to include the upcoming one) are Raef La Frentz and Zyndrunas Ilgauskas.

If you can just set your stereotypes aside, there is really no comparison between those two and guys like Kandi, Cato and Ratliff. La Frentz is already a 12/8 with 2.22 bpg in pretty much his first season. Ilgauskas already has a 15/8.8 under his belt, and two 13/8s.

From what I've seen of La Frentz, he has the ability to the best of them all. Easily more consistent and more sound than Kandi and Cato. Not at the hopping level of Ratliff, but I bet he can beat him one-on-one. What offense does Ratliff really bring to the table other than being the beneficiary of Iverson double teams, and is he even going to be a longtime center on other teams?

Cato's defense is so overrated, cause your stereotyping elevates the value of hops above sound defensive positioning, without which your hops will only get you in foul trouble.

Now when this thread deteriorates into bickering over who's better between La Frentz/Ilgauskas and Cato/Kandi/Ratliff, you will realize they all bring something to the table and are all valuable in the NBA.

Cato is clearly the worst of those 5!

 

There are not alot of good tall white dudes in the NBA. But that does not mean that if you are black you are automatically going to be good. The ratio of blacks to whites in the NBA is like 75-25 (feel free to correct me because Im not sure at all, but I remember reading something about that). So if there are not alot of whites coming into the NBA, the fewer the chances of them being really good. There are more blacks, so better the chance of atleast someone turning out to be really good. I think it all starts out in junior high and high school. Whites are taught to be the shooters, quaterbacks, tightends, etc. Blacks are the dunkers, recievers, cornerbacks, etc.

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Now introducing the starting lineup for your Houston Rockets: Starting at Center, from Wake Forets TIM DUNCAN...

 

UGH.

This is ridiculous.

This topic has no place here. Make it go away!

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HOOP-T

Hey Shaq, Acme called, and they want their bricks back!

 

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. There's something that makes me feel uncomfortable reading, "whites are taught to be quarterbacks. Blacks are taught to be dunkers, etc." Not that anybody on this board is racist or anything, but this kind of discussion doesn't really lead to anything worthwhile.

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