lol
― Spottie, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 02:03 (one year ago) link
i don't know if it's better than the stuff that's getting published this week, but i think this frank deford feature was my first exposure to the legend of russell, and it holds up pretty well.
https://vault.si.com/vault/1999/05/10/the-ring-leader-the-greatest-team-player-of-all-time-bill-russell-was-the-hub-of-a-celtics-dynasty-that-ruled-its-sport-as-no-other-team-ever-has
it's very weird to reread something from a long time ago and realize what little parts have been stuck in my brain the whole time.
― circles, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 03:41 (one year ago) link
I’ll give that a read tomorrow
― Spottie, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 05:59 (one year ago) link
"Look, all I know is, the guy won two NCAA championships, 50-some college games in a row, the ['56] Olympics, then he came to Boston and won 11 championships in 13 years, and they named a f------ tunnel after Ted Williams."
love this quote
― symsymsym, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 06:16 (one year ago) link
tbf williams was better than russell
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 12:18 (one year ago) link
and just FWIW many of those years the celtics won with him there were literally eight teams in the whole nba, iirc some others there were ten
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 12:21 (one year ago) link
in his final year there were 14!
― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 2 August 2022 12:58 (one year ago) link
thats a lotta teams
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 13:30 (one year ago) link
almost too many to count
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 13:37 (one year ago) link
i have mixed feelings about russell and his image which tbf was not totally his doing, the whole triumphalist ultimate winner thing is really unappealing to me its yankees monument park type shit making heroes and meaning out of guys who were good at ball sport is tedious and dumb IMHO and as mentioned in this case the winning part when examined is suspect, i greatly admire his participation in the civil rights movement but i do think always trying to make everything about celebrities is fundamentally a psyop, stuff like telling barkley to stfu about taxes is awesome and hilarious but most of the time when you saw him interviewed he was super serious to the point of ponderousness despite his protestations a consumer of his own mythology, also it must be said that and the evidence is available on youtube the basketball they were playing back then was just absolute garbage, guys running up and down jacking weird jumpers everyone shooting 30% while not even really being defended and russell himself on offense looked like he had never touched a basketball before its kind of shocking to see he was the dennis rodman of his day i guess, one thing to understand about that era was basketball wasnt popular, the garden wasnt even sold out during those finals, obvs the players were just working with what they had and building the foundations of the game and they should be recognized and appreciated for it, but they really were on some baseball dead ball era shit all the kinks had just not been worked out
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 14:03 (one year ago) link
It really struck me when I learned years ago that, according to his teammates, Russell would throw up before just about every game he played.
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Tuesday, 2 August 2022 15:23 (one year ago) link
Bones Hyland put up 62 POINTS at the @BrunsonLeague 🔥 (h/t @swishcultures_) pic.twitter.com/LyMUs6wYgb— Overtime (@overtime) August 2, 2022
― k3vin k., Tuesday, 2 August 2022 16:13 (one year ago) link
the what league
― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 2 August 2022 16:24 (one year ago) link
Maryland's #1 🏀Pro-Am. Featured on @ESPN’s @TheUndefeated
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 16:29 (one year ago) link
speaking of
The NBA has started an investigation of the Knicks for alleged tampering in their signing of Jalen Brunson, per @ChrisBHaynes pic.twitter.com/xIrxO1qxHY— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 1, 2022
this will be the shortest investigation ever
― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 2 August 2022 16:30 (one year ago) link
when youve tampered too hard for the nba you know youve really tampered
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 16:32 (one year ago) link
lagoon i respect your hate for myth-building and sentiment. you take a very dry approach to sports fandom, provides a balance in here.
i really dont know much about bill or the early days of pro hoop so its been fun to dive into some articles/videos a bit this week to really understand his impact.
― Spottie, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 17:20 (one year ago) link
500k fine for NY is my prediction.
maybe a 2nd round pick
― Spottie, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 17:21 (one year ago) link
― Spottie, Tuesday, August 2, 2022 1:20 PM (fifty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
im def generally not a very sentimental person but particularly with sports im just like miss me with dat shit, which is not to say i dont have warm feelings for my particular fave teams and players but i just want no part of whatever industrial extruded emotion is being offered by sportswriters public relations professionals and so forth, its dumb and i hate the yankees
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:19 (one year ago) link
i tend to be like that too i like cool sports moments but believe they can speak for themselves and dont need to be wrapped in myth
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:22 (one year ago) link
i like the game baby the game is cool i like big wins thunderous dunks and grand slams
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:23 (one year ago) link
also basketball doesn't truly start until they added the 3pt line, ball without hoisting is no ball at all
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:24 (one year ago) link
even many of the players are interesting people that i like to know more about but the idea of heros is just something we tell children to protected them from the harsh realities of the world
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:26 (one year ago) link
sometimes thats good, tho mostly its not
― Spottie, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:35 (one year ago) link
ball without hoisting is no ball at all
― ciderpress, Tuesday, August 2, 2022 11:24 AM (eleven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
otmfm. new board descrip
― Spottie, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:36 (one year ago) link
crazy it took ~15 years after the line was added for the league to really embrace hoisting
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:38 (one year ago) link
its crazy that math didnt exist at that time in history
― Spottie, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:41 (one year ago) link
a lot of people are against math but i say look it gave us hoisting so it cant be all bad
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:44 (one year ago) link
― Spottie, Tuesday, August 2, 2022 2:35 PM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
the thing with the sport version is its mostly safe and inconsequential so who really cares, tho with russell hagiography you can see the standard denaturing of the civil right movement
they really were on some baseball dead ball era shit all the kinks had just not been worked out
hoops strategy responds very swiftly to rule changes. each era maximizes the skills and style that produces wins. since the mid-1950s there have been huge changes to the rules and how they are enforced.
during russell's era hoisting was not a well-rewarded skill, so it wasn't embraced. dunking was theoretically possible, but the pool of players big enough to do it was tiny. but every team was playing to win using the best means available to them and russell's teams always found a way to the top of the heap. eleven times. it was a feat. like breaking the 4 minute mile. it doesn't matter that it's been done tens of thousands of times since.
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:53 (one year ago) link
this guy was the first to make more than 5 attempts per game, almost a decade after they added the line. the first true hoister
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/adamsmi01.html
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:55 (one year ago) link
i remember michael adams he was short, salute to a true hoister
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 18:58 (one year ago) link
it was a feat. like breaking the 4 minute mile. it doesn't matter that it's been done tens of thousands of times since.
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Tuesday, August 2, 2022 2:53 PM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
dont get me wrong they were trailblazers worthy of admiration but on the other hand they would get absolutely cooked by a decent 2022 high school team
they would get absolutely cooked by a decent 2022 high school team
If the 2022 high schoolers were from one of those high school 'academies' that draw top talent from all over as incubators for NBA hopefuls, then there's no question they'd be bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic than the 1960 Celtics (just to pick a year) and they'd have the benefit of the full skill set that's been invented since then, which is an enormous advantage.
However, if the 2022 high school team were playing under the 1960 rules and the refs were calling the game exactly the way refs would call it in 1960, I think the Russell Celtics would still have a damn good chance of coming out on top, because the rules and refs would keep strangling the high schoolers's game down to the 1960 way of playing.
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Tuesday, 2 August 2022 19:44 (one year ago) link
smh these guys need special rules to beat some kids now
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 19:56 (one year ago) link
but what if 1960 rules were seen as the norm and today's rules were the "special rules" that let some HS kids beat a bunch of professional athletes?
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Tuesday, 2 August 2022 20:31 (one year ago) link
i think whoever time travels has to play by the rules where they land is the fair way to do it
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 20:32 (one year ago) link
agreed. let the time travel tourney commence!
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Tuesday, 2 August 2022 20:34 (one year ago) link
wow those michael adams stats are bonkers. 26.5p 4r 10.5a 2.2s on 39/29 splits is insane. an 11 point jump from the season before and got to the line twice as much as well. then all his numbers came crashing back down.
― Spottie, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 21:04 (one year ago) link
i assume the team lost a primary scorer and he had to be the guy for a year
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 21:08 (one year ago) link
its the only explanation i can think of
― Spottie, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 21:24 (one year ago) link
looked at the three consecutive years and denver had weirdly high roster turnover but theres no missing big scorer in there, in fact over that three year span the second highest scorer was in the same season adams was balling out
https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DEN/1990.htmlhttps://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DEN/1991.htmlhttps://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/WSB/1992.html
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 23:52 (one year ago) link
oh wait that last season he was on the the bullets actually lol, would explain the totally different roster
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 2 August 2022 23:55 (one year ago) link
this is denver https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DEN/1992.html
still no idea why he went nuts that one year tho
found lagoons alt
Oh man, just seeing that Bill Russell died, a legend of the game who at his prime could not make a modern-day G League team.— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) August 2, 2022
― k3vin k., Wednesday, 3 August 2022 00:09 (one year ago) link
busted i am secretly matt bruenig
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 3 August 2022 00:11 (one year ago) link
i mean fat lever and alex english did leave the team before the year he went nuts but they werent putting up huge numbers
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 3 August 2022 00:12 (one year ago) link
i guess together they were like one bigtime scorer
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 3 August 2022 00:14 (one year ago) link
congrats to lagoon on learning of your beautiful family
― Clay, Wednesday, 3 August 2022 00:19 (one year ago) link