Drinking The Training Camp Kool-Aid

Training camp is for dreamers- or salesmen, depending on your perspective. This time of year, the bullshit flies fast and furious as delusional managers and players pretend their teams are much better than they actually are. As Brent Barry so aptly puts it, 'everyone's talking about rose petals and rainbows.'

But the fans recognize hyperbole when they see it.

Like when Mike D'Antoni tells the media that Stephon Marbury is one of the best players in the league. C'mon. Even at his absolute apex, Marbury was barely an All-Star, much less an elite player. And his teams always sucked so that should tell you something.

Hey, Mike- here's your MVP humping what appears to be some kind of flotation device. Guess the interns were busy.



Want some more bullshit? How 'bout Atlanta's Mike Bibby referring to teammate Speedy Claxton as 'one of the best guards in the NBA'? I'm speechless.

Or Jermaine O'Neal predicting Toronto will finish with the league's best record? Yeah, that'll happen.

Or Andrew Bogut singing the praises of Luke Ridnour? Really? The same Luke Ridnour who couldn't beat out Earl Watson for minutes on the Sonics? THAT Luke Ridnour?

Or Yao Ming saying he's 100% healthy? Reaaaalllly? As a fantasy owner of his two years in a row, I'm convinced that Yao was born injured.

Or Smush Parker (yes, Smush Parker!) saying that the Nuggets will be mainly focusing on defense this year? I don't know what's more ridiculous about that assertion- that he'll actually make the team or that Denver will hold teams under 200 without Camby in there.

But nothing rings more false than Baron Davis gushing over his great discussion about team chemistry with...wait for it...Tim Thomas and Ricky Davis.

Team chemistry. With Tim Thomas and Ricky Davis! That's like discussing Charles Darwin with Billy Graham.

But this is Spring. Nobody's lost 10 in a row yet. No fans are booing yet. No players in contract years are stuck in the skipper's doghouse yet. So for the time being, love is in the air and everyone's giddy with unrealistic expectations.

Leave it to hard-ass Greg Popozitz to put things in perspective.

Little Nate Honored As Cream Of The Crap

Knicks guard Nate Robinson had his jersey retired by the NBA Summer League 'in recognition of his contributions for the past three years', according to NBA.com.

Why the hell would Summer League be retiring jerseys?

Primarily, Summer League's a place for rookies to get their feet wet. It's also where veteran journeymen (holla back, Jelani McCoy) congregate, desperate to nab one year deals as low-paid benchwarmers.

Being in Summer League more than once means you're doing something wrong, especially if you've already got a contract. Being there THREE YEARS IN A ROW means you should be very worried about your job security.

This dubious distinction is the latest wrinkle in Little Nate's increasingly bizarre career. Best known for The Block on Yao Ming and missing 87 consecutive dunks (and still winning!) at All Star Weekend a few years back, Nate seems destined to be one of those talented guys that shows glimpses (like his 45 point explosion against Portland last year) but never quite becomes a star.

This year could be his best chance. Here's why:

Mike D'Antoni will push the ball and play uptempo, which definitely favors Nate and Jamal Crawford over plodders like Mardy Collins and Chris Duhon. Stephon Marbury's probably a goner, either through buyout or trade. With such marginal talent as his competition, there's no reason why Nate won't log big minutes even if he doesn't start.

The Knicks will be total shit this year but maybe, just maybe, Little Nate can be a shining corn kernel in the middle of that monstrous turd.

NOTE: Nate's jersey has since been 'unretired' and taken off the Cox Pavilion wall (thanks, FanHouse). In short, forget you ever read this.

Setting Of The Suns

Steve Kerr is gonna get roasted for the pending Suns collapse. Even though Shawn Marion was gonna leave anyway. Even though Steve Nash looks positively geriatric chasing Tony Parker around. Even though Shaq seems to get fatter by the minute. With all these factors at work, Kerr will still shoulder all of the blame. Why? Because he made The Trade. D'Antoni might be the goat, the guy who gets the hatchet, but not the blame.

Is it deserved? Actually, no. No team is owed a championship. Just because a team spends money, wins a lot of games, sells out their arena, they're not SUPPOSED to win a title. There's only one ring per season and we've certainly witnessed our share of amazing teams to never win one. Stockton/Malone's Utah squads are probably the best example. Clyde's Blazer teams of the 90s. Kemp/GP's Sonics. I think Phoenix is about to be lumped into this dubious category: Most Impressive Also-Ran.

I give Kerr credit for realizing that the window was closing and that it would take more than last year's team to get it done. He made the move for Shaq and rolled the dice. That took a lot of balls. But unless The Suns pulls off an historic Red Sox-like resurgence and win four straight(they won't), this experiment is officially a failure and Kerr's the one with egg on his face.