[WebZen]

Another Charley Rosen commentary, this time he bashes our very wonderful Ruben Patterson.
Here is an excerpt on what he thinks of Ruben:

Limitations are for others. Patterson wants to start, play 40-plus minutes every night, shoot whenever the spirit moves him, while expecting his coach-of-the-moment, Nate McMillian, to passively accept his disrespectful and foul-mouthed expressions of dissatisfactions. In Patterson's Ptolemaic view of the universe, he is the sun around which all other entities revolve.

And this is why L.A. got rid rid of Ruben:

At the time, Kobe Bryant was a third-year player and, at age 21, already a certified All-Star. Yet Patterson looked forward to practice scrimmages as a chance to outplay Bryant and prove to the coaches (Del Harris, and then Kurt Rambis) that he should be getting all of Kobe's playing time. That's why Patterson defended Kobe with an inappropriate ferocity that destroyed the proper tone of the practice sessions. And that's why one of Phil Jackson's first official acts when he assumed command of the Lakers the following season was to unceremoniously cut Patterson.

 

[barfo]

So Patterson, as a rookie, tried too hard to win a starting spot?

Well, you certainly can't have guys thinking that way. :no:

barfo

 

[Talkhard]

Standard procedure is that during practice scrimmages players are advised to perform at about seventy-five percent of their game-time levels.

Oh, really?

I can't imagine Larry Brown or John Wooden or Pat Riley or Phil Jackson or any great coach telling his players to only go at 75% during practice, and save their "real effort" for the games. Doesn't this contradict the NBA axiom that you earn playing time in games by the way you perform in practice?

 

[Backboard Cam]

In Patterson's Ptolemaic view of the universe, he is the sun around which all other entities revolve.

'Ptolemaic' is a word that doesn't need to be in a basketball article, but if it is used it should be used correctly. It was the idea that the universe revolves around the earth, not the sun.

I'd rather read tired basketball cliches than misused historical similes.

 

[Ed O]

Oh, really?

I can't imagine Larry Brown or John Wooden or Pat Riley or Phil Jackson or any great coach telling his players to only go at 75% during practice, and save their "real effort" for the games. Doesn't this contradict the NBA axiom that you earn playing time in games by the way you perform in practice?

Not at all. Players simply can't go all out, all the time. Their bodies can't hold up, and injuries would be ridiculous.

Guys get paid too much money to play in front of the fans in games that count... most players and coaches almost certainly realize that the NBA season is a marathon and not a sprint.

Ed O.

 

[MercyKersey]

In an interview last year, Phil Jackson said cutting Ruben Patterson was one of the biggest
mistakes hes made.. I like his hustle and hard play, but he needs to shut his loud mouth.. What
does this mean? I have no idea.. :cheers:

 

[TheBlueDoggy]

Not at all. Players simply can't go all out, all the time. Their bodies can't hold up, and injuries would be ridiculous.

Guys get paid too much money to play in front of the fans in games that count... most players and coaches almost certainly realize that the NBA season is a marathon and not a sprint.

Ed O.

I disagree. I am constantly reading quotes from coaches upset because their players aren'g giving "100% in practice." In fact, this is something that often times upsets our coach. There is a saying that says if you practice hard, you play hard. A lot of injuries come from practicing hard in the NBA, so I find it hard to believe that it is standard practice for anyone to practice at 75% effort.

In point of fact, I find that impossible with things like practicing taking charges, which is quite normal in NBA practice sessions. Bodies do wear down over time, but they also get out of shape. If you don't put in 100% during practice, your body will not be able to perform as good as it should during a game, plain and simple. I've never heard anyone say anything as stupid as "only put in 75% during practice." It's absurd.

The best way for a player to get through the "marathon" of an nba season is to be prepared during the preseason and be in shape, not to put in less effort during practice.

 

[MARIS61]

Not at all. Players simply can't go all out, all the time. Their bodies can't hold up, and injuries would be ridiculous.

Guys get paid too much money to play in front of the fans in games that count... most players and coaches almost certainly realize that the NBA season is a marathon and not a sprint.

Ed O.

What a silly, condescending notion.

Any world-class athlete who can't put in his full effort for a couple hours a day simply isn't as good as everybody thinks he is. He's also letting his teammates down.

Practicing against a bunch of NBA guys who are only playing at 75% effort is less helpful than if the team practiced against a high school team that is giving 100%.

I'm positive Nate would agree with me on this point.

 

[Ed O]

Any world-class athlete who can't put in his full effort for a couple hours a day simply isn't as good as everybody thinks he is. He's also letting his teammates down.

Practicing against a bunch of NBA guys who are only playing at 75% effort is less helpful than if the team practiced against a high school team that is giving 100%.

I'm positive Nate would agree with me on this point.

[STRIKE]I think that you're absolutely full of **** here.[/STRIKE]

A high school team giving 100% would be a more helpful practice opponent than NBA players going 75%? That's utterly ridiculous and shows that you're either hyperbolizing to prove a point or have 0% understanding of how good NBA players are.

As for "full effort" a couple of hours a day: I don't know what to say other than that what you think should be is entirely different than what is. If players went all out for a couple of hours a day in addition to the time they spend in games, many players would be almost constantly injured... not hurting or sore, but injured. We'd hear of knees getting blown out in practice and we'd have all of the other injuries that occur during games happening with greater frequency in practice.

Fortunately for the players and the game, coaches and players have a much more realistic perspective on things than you do.

Ed O.

 

[MARIS61]

[STRIKE]I think that you're absolutely full of **** here.[/STRIKE]

A high school team giving 100% would be a more helpful practice opponent than NBA players going 75%? That's utterly ridiculous and shows that you're either hyperbolizing to prove a point or have 0% understanding of how good NBA players are.

As for "full effort" a couple of hours a day: I don't know what to say other than that what you think should be is entirely different than what is. If players went all out for a couple of hours a day in addition to the time they spend in games, many players would be almost constantly injured... not hurting or sore, but injured. We'd hear of knees getting blown out in practice and we'd have all of the other injuries that occur during games happening with greater frequency in practice.

Fortunately for the players and the game, coaches and players have a much more realistic perspective on things than you do.

Ed O.

Poppycock.

SOME lazy overpaid players with guaranteed contracts hold this view.

Competitors do not.

Please provide a link of any (employed) NBA coach stating he would prefer his players give only 75% effort in practice.

 

[MARIS61]

Here's Nate's view on coasting in practice:

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1132113317140901.xml&coll=7