LUKE23 wrote:That's a straw man. He was making the point that people drool all over certain players due to volume statistics and flashiness, when that is actually just pretty wrapping paper for the socks that are encased inside. He's not getting a scolding for being entertaining by anybody, that's just creating a situation where people over-value him as a result and then others need compensate for that.
As far as contributing to victories thus far against the Bucks, he did indeed help them beat the Pistons, but arguably counteracted that by shooting them out of the Bulls' game, and in my opinion the team has won in spite of him the last two games (I'd know as a Bucks' fan). Bad or good, it is just 5 games, netting a 3-2 record against a crappy schedule. Smills' projection was more long-term stemming from his opinion previous to the draft.
I do however think, unless his avatar/signature set is ironic, it was ironic he specifically predicted that Jennings is a fraud. If proven to be prophetic, Jennings will have manipulated the system into making hundreds of millions of dollars over his career, 10+ times more than anyone should reasonably spend in a lifetime, yet a high majority of that money should be untouchable by the American public. Money he would not have seen any of had he gotten seriously injured or ill in high school. Hell, if he had a borderline injury/illness, would his MOM's two jobs have provided the medical coverage to enable him to become some semblance of the fraud he'll supposedly become?
Good grief Bern. Why can't you just be excited about a Bucks rookie? Sometimes I honestly think you'd rather be right on a prospect than have the Bucks do well. Just enjoy it.
You've said that a couple times now and it's inaccurate.
It's not my obligation to be a believer in, or blind defender of, any player who represents my team, just because I'm a fan of said team. It irks me when other people do it so I'd be a hypocrite if I did it myself. I think it's more of a positive than a negative to have principles and stick to them.
Remember how I stuck to my guns on Yee in spite of receiving plenty of sniper fire (from you included I'm sure who had an affinity for the guy and I was killing your buzz), and I was proven right over time? I had a strong opinion pre-draft for a reason, so to do a 180 based on a 5-10 game sample where he played solidly at the beginning of his rookie season would have been reactive and foolish. In spite of being productive, I still saw the reasons to be leery about his effectiveness that I identified pre-draft, leading to his contributions being fleeting over time.
Somewhat similarly with Jennings, I still see the reasons for concern that identified pre-draft, in spite of him achieving early success, for the most part (IMO, 4 good to excellent games, 1 neutral, 2 negative). The primary one is his shot selection. I've cringed about 7-8 times per game when he's taken a shot, but over half the time up until this juncture I ended up being relieved that they ended up going through the hoop. However, I've never seen those quality of shots executed efficiently over the course of a season. It's a matter of believing he's the exception to the rule and it'll continue, when I see it occur. Also, he has almost solely looked to kick out passing on drives (a tendency which Billups read and exploited down the stretch this last game), and he goes into modes of being a scorer or a passer for periods of time instead of taking what the defense gives him on a particular play.
To this point I have been enjoying Brandon Jennings' success and what it's translated into for the Bucks as a team, I just hope it's not fleeting like I feel like is still a probability in my mind. Could I be wrong? Sure, I've never claimed to be perfect or anywhere near it. Just don't blame me for continuing to express what I think to be true. I said after we initially drafted Jennings I fully expected to get sniped at again in the interim because he will have probably have some outstanding performances, post stats, and is the type of player who'll win over a lot of fans.
