March 9, 200520 yr comment_1116100 Webber has an unbelievable amount of talent, but he's got the brains and the basketball intuition of a rock. He was perpetually injured or out of sync in Sacramento, so I wasn't expecting him to set the world on fire in Philly. That being said, it's kind of sad to see his collapse from "upper tier player" status, especially when it seems like every columnist in America is taking potshots at his reputation as a loser and his underwhelming career.
March 9, 200520 yr comment_1116192 I'm not surprised at Webber's comments, and I fully agree with him. Jim O'Brien has been absolutely maddening as head coach. Samuel Dalembert has struggled to see consistant playing time as well, as O'Brien is in love with either veterans, or players who can shoot three-pointers.
March 10, 200520 yr comment_1126646 I thought it was entertaining to listen to PTI as they talked about the Philly fans booing Webber. They tried to look at it logically and argue over if it was right or wrong. If Webber was playing at an all-star level, which he is capable of, then the fans wouldn't boo him. Granted I'd rather play with Brad Miller and Mike Bibby than Allen Iverson, but you think with the new change of scenary, he'd have something to prove. Instead he whines. It doesn't matter if he only gets five minutes a game. If you play hard, and good, for those five minutes, you won't get booed!
March 10, 200520 yr comment_1133766 As was already said, Webber's head and heart keep him from being great. He was one of the most physically talented players ever to come into the NBA. Unfortunately, when you don't combine that with smarts and guts, you don't get a complete player. Who do you want on your team Webber or Karl Malone? Stephon Marbury or John Stockton? No question which two have more physical gifts. Also no question which two you want on your team. I do feel that Philly made a good deal though. They just dumped some dead weight to take a flyer on Webber. They didn't even take on significantly more guaranteed salary, they just took three guys' salary and put it in one guy's basket. It's a shaky basket, but worth the risk. No one was knocking down their door to give them something better than Webber for those three stiffs.
March 10, 200520 yr comment_1135005 Who do you want on your team Webber or Karl Malone? Stephon Marbury or John Stockton? No question which two have more physical gifts. Also no question which two you want on your team. I wanted to re-quote this because it's such a good, strong, accurate statement. "It doesn't matter what you bring to the table if you don't have the game upstairs."
March 10, 200520 yr comment_1135930 I'm glad you re-quoted it, Coffey because I was about to do the same thing. Truer words have never been spoken. I've always said, it doesn't matter what kind of skills you have, you've got to be mentally tough and all the greats in any sport that I've ever known were competitive to the point where you might even think they were assholes. You've got to have that edge, that asshole in you, or you won't succeed. Unless you're name is Tim Duncan, but I'm sure he's just as competitive. It's funny, me and a friend were just talking about Webber yesterday. He was my absolute favorite player in college and the year they went to the championship, everyone had Kentucky, who with Jamal Mashburn were CRUSHING teams by an average deficit of 40+ points, picked. Not me. I didn't worry. And I was right not to worry. Michigan and Chris Webber (an uncannily athletic big man who with his unbelievable "soft hands" as us ballers like to call them, can pass, dribble a lil and shoot long distance like a guard) eliminated the Wildcats and went on to face Duke where Chris Webber went on to make the mistake that would typify his entire basketball career: That ill-fated time-out. It proved one thing that I hoped wouldn't hold true throughout his career in the NBA: not that he's not smart but that Chris Webber will let you down when you need him most. Every team he's ever played for, be it Washington, Sacremento and now Philadelphia, Webber has made it hard to be a fan of his. In fact, it's almost embarassing. It's a very hard thing to say after all these years of being a Webber backer but the man is a Professional Choke Artist. If you want your heart broken, just follow whatever team Webber is on and in that respect he will NOT disappoint.
March 10, 200520 yr Author comment_1136373 You've got to have that edge, that asshole in you, or you won't succeed. Unless you're name is Tim Duncan, but I'm sure he's just as competitive. Right... Tim Duncan was a psychology major in college. He is as stoic on the outside as he is competitive on the inside. That is one of the reasons he frustrates other players so much. They can't break him. They never know what he is thinking.
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