SB Nation User Blog: Snowbird

Drunk Artest

Snowbird — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:54:49 -0000

So who here thinks he was drunk during that brawl at the palace? A bit of information for you to consider as it pans out. The brawl happened in November of 2004. This is two years after he left the bulls and the supposed drinking at halftime habit. He happened to stop the halftime drinking by the time he was legally of age to do it in 2002. That season (2004) he was coming off of his All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He turned 25 a week before the brawl.

I find it hard to believe that he magically quit drinking at halftime after he left the bulls. We all know that party mindset personally or know someone very well who has it. I doubt he magically stopped, he is a "balla" isn't he. If having a kid didn't slow him down, then why would millions of dollars and a professional basketball career slow it down. If he was drunk for that brawl, I hope he is banned from the league. Does the NBA really have to become like some of those playground scenes out there, where people drink 40's and smoke blunts, then get out there and ruin the game by jackin up 3's, playin no D, and talking shit. This is the kind of thing he should have talked about publicly after he retired, he should have kept his mouth shut.

Poll

Was Artest drunk for the brawl at the palace?

Slightly buzzed

9 votes

Barely had a sip

6 votes

Legally drunk

1 votes

Wasted

4 votes

Vomits enchiladas on cameraman under the basket

3 votes

23 votes | Poll has closed

Offseason so far...

Snowbird — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:04:17 -0000

Unfortunately, since I am a realist, I dont see us finishing in the top 4 this year. We are a 6-8 seed that has potential to cause a trouble and maybe push a game 6 in the 2nd round. Beyond that, we have to hope the Robert Horry spirits are on our side for any further advancement.

Regarding the summer league, we have another Brian Skinner type that is capable of playing for us, the question is will he play. Robin's turn-around dunk wa a professional basketball player's move. Skinner doesn't have that possibilty available to him, nor does he have the length to guard 7 footers like Lopez. If he could xhoot three's...I miss Tim Thomas.

I'll believe the numbers I see from Tucker and Strawberry when they happen in the regular season. Tucker is a stud right now, but got less PT than Strawberry last year despite being drafted one round higher.

I still think we should have gone after Pietrus in some way, but such is vie. Bell, Barbosa, and Diaw are the keys to this season. All of them step up, we are contenders. We can't have the majority of our games where Leandro and Doris disappear, and our only fighting chance is hoping Bell is on and gets 4 or 5 threes that night.

We have made no effort to try and replace the easy baskets that Shawn got us, and have made no moves this offseason to deal with it. Their is an enormous trust in our current roster, and we can only hope with good reason.

If we trust in this group, what have we heard about summer workouts. Where is Boris and Shaq's weight? Has Amare been working on tha tturn-around jumper and D? How are Bell and Hill's nagging injuries? Is Steve done getting his rocks off with soccer? What is good Sir Terrence and Stephen up to with free agents?

As far as free agents go, there are a few cheapo's out there that could help us once money runs out. J.R. Smith is worth stretching the luxury tax slightly. Aside from that, Jason Williams, Matt Barnes, Devin Brown, Janerro Pargo, and Tony Allen would be great off the bench. Maybe there is an athlete out there to get out on the break for easy buckets and back door cuts, some no name like Petway that used to play at Michigan.

Hurry up and get here end of October

Allan Houston sighting in Phoenix.....

Snowbird — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:48:04 -0000

check out henry abbott's truehoop on espn.com. apparently Allan Houston has been working out in Phoenix. anyone out there have any scoop on this. do we really need him.....or are we taking a page out of the spurs book and picking up old guys for a playoffs run? gordan came first, but now allan houston. is the suns medical staff that good? Granted the last time I saw Shaq play anywhere near to this level was when his team lost to detroit in the conference finals before they won the championship the next. Grant Hill can count the games he missed on one hand this year. Ruben Patterson would have come to mind first or Gerald Green.

Celtics tomorrow

Snowbird — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:00:29 -0000

Tonight is like Christmas Eve! Living in Vermont has its drags as far as the NBA. League Pass is not available, watching ESPN gamecasts (you should see how Boris's picture on ESPN.com mocks you with that face when he makes a bad pass or turns the ball over or goes 1-7). Tomorrow is much different, I'm making the drive down to Boston and get to see my first game in person since we romped Houston earlier in the year. Oh yeah and magically drive all the way back for lab at 8 in the morning (around 7 hours total). Screw it, Viva Los Suns. Boston sports fans are crazy, wish me luck. Ill be the Steve Nash jersey in the sea of green

Devil's Advocate for Mark Cuban

Snowbird — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:08:19 -0000

That Dirk injury today is pretty great for us suns fans right now. Granted, I'd prefer spanking them at full strength, but this late in the season and this tight a playoff race merits at least some joy from this outcome. Mark Cuban is in a tricky spot right now. His centerpiece is gone, and a recent argument with Coach Avery Johnson must have him reeling. I liked that he wore that shirt today that said Avery's team. In regards to why he wore that shirt.....Look most of us probably think he is an ahole, would hate to work for a boss like that, and would despise having someone trying to do your job from the bench by shouting plays and matchups. He wore that shirt today as a public apology, he knows hes wrong, but that intense passion for the game and the fact that its his money usually gets the best of him. All this aside, is what we hate most about this guy all stem from his desire to win. Maybe he is some basketball-junkie, good but not good enough type who happens to be a billionaire and bought a team to satisfy his shortcomings. If not, can we really blame him for wanting to win and being emotional about it. You can argue that if he wants to win he should let the coach do his job and let the players focus, but how can one stay mum about something they feel so passionately for? He doesn't sit there in a suit or in a box in the rafters, he is right behind his team wearing a different jersey or t-shirt to show off his colors every night. How helpless does he feel, especially when his team embodies meltdown? Charles Barkley said pre-Shaq that the toughest guy for the suns was the kicker ala Nash. Who do the Mavs have? At least we had a player that was the toughest guy on our team, the mavs have the owner.....or Jerry Jones to continue with the football analogy. Should we perhaps give Cuban a break just cause he wants to win and be part of his team other than paying the bills? Or do you still just think he is garbage for meddling?

Amare's pads?

Snowbird — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:44:58 -0000

I noticed that since the Shaq trade, when Amare takes his jersey off hes wearing what appears to be some sort of football/lacrosse mixture of padding under there? I have never seen basketball players wear pads before, except for those pillows Patrick Ewing used to tie around his knees. Anyone out there know how long basketball players have been wearing upper body/torso pads? Who else wears them other than Amare. I believe Shaq wears them too.

Skinner and Dj have stopped playing

Snowbird — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:01:22 -0000

It seems that the only logical reason for the absence of these 2 since the Shaq trade is a scenario that goes like this.

D'Antoni, "Brian and Dj, you guys actually know how to play defense, so your not gonna play. As for the rest of you, you guys get all the minutes til you figure out how to play like Brian and Dj"

Brian and Dj, "Were being punished for playing defense?"

Brian, "Im gonna work on my 3's after practice"

Just like any other beginning to a suns season

Snowbird — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:54:28 -0000

Given how we have started seasons in the past, isnt this just another start to a season with the same result? After starting seasons 1-5 and then going on a tear.....might we just be seeing textbook beginning suns basketball with Shaq's arrival marking the new season? If so, isn't a nice streak on the horizon. The main thing I feel we have to figure out is how to those 15-20 easy points that Shawn got by snowbirding, gambling on passes, and cutting to the basket when his man fell asleep. Defensively, we are seeing a change from the philosophy of "If I can't guard my man, Shawn will take care of it" to finally establishing roles for everyone on defense. No more plug and chug Shawn for a particular team every night. Now, every night, each sun knows more or less who they will be watching. This better TEAM defense should ultimately be better than Shawn Marion to the rescue. It has not helped much that some of these teams have just been out of this world on fire against us, which is something we cant overlook. Sometimes teams play better on a given night, even though we are the better team. Hitting 3's and not turning the ball over.....that has nothing to do with Shawn Marion, and thats what we need to start doing.