Pundit's Corner.

buyer95 · 05-07-2014 4:42pm #1

As most of the regular posters on here know, I have begun writing topically NBA pieces for the sport website Pundit Arena. Instead of constantly spamming the off-season thread, I have decided to create this thread. Here I will post links to the articles for anyone interested in reading what I write. Thanks for your support!

My most recent article focuses on Melo and the week he has just spent being recruited. http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/comahony/melodrama-on-tour-carmelo-anthony/

Paully D · 05-07-2014 7:26pm

Good read. A nice summary of events.

On the Rose part, him being surprised to see Melo and not being part of the pitch came from Chris Broussard. His story has since been refuted by both Alex Kennedy and K.C. Johnson. Johnson especially would be much more reliable than Broussard when it comes to this. Kennedy said he heard an almost identical story as Johnson which is on this link:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-derrick-rose-carmelo-anthony-spt-0705-20140705,0,7047449.story

Also, lets not kid ourselves that Melo will stay in New York because he loves their vision for the future (as he is seemingly alluding to). It's clearly down to the financial and family aspect. Of course there's nothing wrong with choosing them for those reasons, it is his prerogative, but he is talking out of his arse if he comes out and says he is staying because of basketball reasons.

As an aside mate, how did you get involved on that site?

buyer95 · 07-07-2014 12:03am

Paully D wrote: »

Good read. A nice summary of events.

On the Rose part, him being surprised to see Melo and not being part of the pitch came from Chris Broussard. His story has since been refuted by both Alex Kennedy and K.C. Johnson. Johnson especially would be much more reliable than Broussard when it comes to this. Kennedy said he heard an almost identical story as Johnson which is on this link:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-derrick-rose-carmelo-anthony-spt-0705-20140705,0,7047449.story

Also, lets not kid ourselves that Melo will stay in New York because he loves their vision for the future (as he is seemingly alluding to). It's clearly down to the financial and family aspect. Of course there's nothing wrong with choosing them for those reasons, it is his prerogative, but he is talking out of his arse if he comes out and says he is staying because of basketball reasons.

As an aside mate, how did you get involved on that site?

Appreciate it Paully! The word right now is that Melo has narrowed it down to The Lakers(who I say in the article is the team he is least likely to join!) and The Knicks. Winning is clearly not the priority, and his wife is obviously exerting a lot of influence.

On the Rose story, I had just read the story by Broussard before writing the article and I thought that was the common line, I should have probed a bit deeper. I have emailed the editor and asked for the footnote to be removed.

Funnily enough, someone involved in the website PM'd me on this asking if I would be interested in writing a pilot article for the website as they were light on NBA material. I jumped at the opportunity as I enjoy writing and basketball as you know is another huge passion of mine. The chance to fuse these two was worth giving a go I thought.

buyer95 · 14-07-2014 4:03pm

Article on LeBron to Cleveland. http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/comahony/ruler-back-lebron-james-returned-cleveland/

The Pundit Arena basketball team, which includes me and another guy will be interviewing former Irish born NBA player Pat Burke in the coming days. We are currently composing questions, and I thought I would throw it up here to see if anyone had any suggested questions. Butters I believe you have said before on here that you played with Pat so your imput would be greatly appreciated.

NufcNavan · 14-07-2014 7:29pm

I suppose one question would be: Based on your experience, what do you think are the main differences in playing styles between Euroleague and the NBA.

Another question: Do you think i) it's possible for an Irish player to eventually go on to play in the NBA without going through the NCAA system i.e staying in Europe and ii) Will it ever happen.

Good article btw.

buyer95 · 14-07-2014 7:58pm

NufcNavan wrote: »

I suppose one question would be: Based on your experience, what do you think are the main differences in playing styles between Euroleague and the NBA.

Another question: Do you think i) it's possible for an Irish player to eventually go on to play in the NBA without going through the NCAA system i.e staying in Europe and ii) Will it ever happen.

Good article btw.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll add them to the pile. I'm pretty sure he will say he thinks that it is impossible for an Irish kid to make the NBA and not have played NCAA basketball.

Paully D · 14-07-2014 10:59pm

I'm not sure how you want to shape these questions so I'll leave them vague and let you work around it if you want to ask questions on these areas. I'd be interesting to know:

1) About what Pat feels regarding the Euroleague in comparison to the NBA, the difference in difficulty level, how tough it is to adapt to the differences etc.

2) When he was with the Suns, Pat was part of a team that, for a couple of years, seemed to blitz the regular season (especially in 2006-2007) but then come up short at key times in the playoffs. Could he tell us more about i) what it's like to be part of a team that is winning night after night. As fans we hear a lot about momentum, but what is it like for a player to be part of that? and ii) the impact that coming up short in the playoffs had on him and the team as a whole?

3) When he was with Orlando, his first season in the NBA, Pat played with Tracy McGrady who was around about at the peak of his powers winning the scoring title that season going 32.1/6.5/5.5 a night. What was it like to play with a player who got hot almost every night and what was the reaction among the team to McGrady's infamous "it feels good to be in the second round" comment after the Magic went 3-1 up on the Pistons only to lose the series 4-3?!

4) Who was his most difficult opponent and best player he played with during his career?

5) Could Pat give us some insight into what life is like in the NBA for players like himself, those who wouldn't be seen as stars on a roster and would never really be assured of their place on a roster from year to year. Obviously the superstars never have to worry about job security, money etc, but I'd be interested to know how that impacts on guys like Pat.

Thanks.

ButtersSuki · 15-07-2014 9:58am

You can't ask this type of question but I'd love to know what he really thought of the Irish coaching team (I'll save their blushes by not naming them) when he first started training with/playing for us and what he thought of the "facilities" at the time - not so much the arena, but maybe the others (esp. Ennistymon - lol). Did he think it was hilarious we had to pay for our own kit and boots etc. )I assume they probably waived this for him!)?

The guys above have captured my main questions quite well. I would however be interested in knowing one thing - forget the money, the razzmatazz, the hotels etc. - but which style of play, NBA or Euroleague did he enjoy most - purely from a basketball perspective.

And how crazy did he find the Greek fans? I've been to a few Euroleague games and for me it's the best/craziest atmosphere in basketball globally.

And this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndFCCiohVoM

buyer95 · 15-07-2014 2:46pm

Thanks lads, I added those questions to the pile. Butters I have decided I will ask him about his experience playing with Ireland and will ask him to "talk about" the coaching he received from the Irish coaches.

buyer95 · 17-07-2014 1:40pm

Latest article: Lance Stephenson to Charlotte.

He left a guaranteed $26 million dollars on the table, even though Lance is exactly the kind of guy who could flame out after this contract and never get another big one.
Lance being Lance.
http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/comahony/lance-stephenson-joins-michael-jordans-hornets/

buyer95 · 21-08-2014 9:37pm

The much talked about interview with Pat Burke has been published on the site. Unfortunately for me it was the other nba writer on the site who got the gig, but some of my questions, and the questions submitted here were included(although not as many as I would have liked.) Still a good interview, but I would have asked a few more pressing questions, particularly with regards the shambolic nature of the Irish set up when he was involved... Link here http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/jcronin/pat-burke-interview/

buyer95 · 25-08-2014 5:50pm

I wrote an article on Team USA's final roster cut, and why I think Coach K should have brought Lillard and Korver. http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/comahony/team-usas-final-roster-coach-ks-mistakes/

buyer95 · 25-08-2014 11:01pm

In doing some research for an upcoming article I knocked across this hilarious piece on Jordan.http://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/michael-jordan-stories-that-prove-hes-not-very-nice/story-fno61i58-1227034067426

Highlight:

However, Jordan couldn’t compete with Pippen in all areas
This rivalry didn’t just end on the court for Jordan and Pippen. According to the legend, Scottie was very well endowed, which legitimately bothered Jordan.
Former Chicago Bulls assistant coach Johnny Bach said: “You should have seen the girls Pippen had waiting for him everywhere we went. Madonna used to pick him up in a limo with a hot tub every time we went to LA. Michael used to tell Madonna he could satisfy her better, to which Madonna would tell him, ‘Not a chance.’”

Haha

Paully D · 25-08-2014 11:17pm

buyer95 wrote: »

In doing some research for an upcoming article I knocked across this hilarious piece on Jordan.http://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/michael-jordan-stories-that-prove-hes-not-very-nice/story-fno61i58-1227034067426

Highlight:

However, Jordan couldn’t compete with Pippen in all areas
This rivalry didn’t just end on the court for Jordan and Pippen. According to the legend, Scottie was very well endowed, which legitimately bothered Jordan.
Former Chicago Bulls assistant coach Johnny Bach said: “You should have seen the girls Pippen had waiting for him everywhere we went. Madonna used to pick him up in a limo with a hot tub every time we went to LA. Michael used to tell Madonna he could satisfy her better, to which Madonna would tell him, ‘Not a chance.’”

Haha

Brilliant. :pac:

Rodman was with Madonna too. I'd imagine she hasn't walked properly since him and Pippen. :pac:

buyer95 · 02-09-2014 7:14pm

Out of pre college boredom, I wrote an article on Gregg Popovich. It's a lighthearted read, but the editor would only publish it on the condition that I follow it up with 2 more articles in the next few days... Not likely to garner a lot of hits, but I said I would share it. http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/comahony/love-nba-part-1-brilliance-hilarity-gregg-popovich/

buyer95 · 03-09-2014 11:26pm

Next installment should be up tomorrow, it focuses on the playoffs. Delighted with the reaction to the Pop article.

buyer95 · 05-09-2014 11:17pm

Playoff article. http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/comahony/love-nba-part-2-playoffs/

buyer95 · 08-10-2014 1:54pm

I wrote about Kobe's last healthy season, and on him facing his biggest challenge it. http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/comahony/depth-look-kobe-bryants-return-court/

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