Ball or Nuthin' » Charlie Villanueva

Garnett’s Comments Dead Wrong

T Lamont — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 03:42:55 +0000

The NBA is a league in which intimidation can make all the difference.

It’s more than a matter of record that some of the most decorated players in the history of the National Basketball Association also talked the most trash. Names like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Gary Payton, Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson are known for their impact on the hardwood as well as the verbal assault they placed on their foes.

Today, the man who currently possesses the title as the NBA’s biggest trash talker is Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett. K.G., like his potty-mouth predecessors, has experienced much success – he’s an 13-time All-Star, an NBA champion, a former NBA MVP and a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

On last Tuesday night in a game against the Detroit Pistons, K.G. squarely put Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva on the defensive. After the game, Villanueva tweeted the following about an in-game comment by Garnett:

“KG called me a cancer patient, I’m pissed because, u know how many people died from cancer, and he’s tossing it like it’s a joke. I wouldn’t even trip about that, but a cancer patient, I know way 2 many people who passed away from it, and I have a special place 4 those.”

For those not aware of why Villanueva would be upset – the 6’10″ former Connecticut star has a condition called alopecia areata. It basically causes hair loss, which Villanueva combats by sporting the bald look.

After catching wind of Villanueva’s tweet, Garnett attempted to implement some damage control by responding with the following:

“I am aware there was a major miscommunication regarding something I said on the court last night. My comment to Charlie Villanueva was in fact ‘You are cancerous to your team and our league.’ I would never be insensitive to the brave struggle that cancer patients endure. I have lost loved ones to this deadly disease and have a family member currently undergoing treatment. I would never say anything that distasteful. The game of life is far bigger than the game of basketball.”

Now certainly there’s a lot that goes on between the confines on the basketball court that the general public are probably unaware of. The fact is that there is almost assuredly no limit of what is said among players. And any attempts to regulate any trash talking would almost seem to be a moot point…becoming more of a “he said, she said” situation.

Will Villanueva's tweet put a stop to K.G.'s trash talking tendency?

But based on what Villanueva tweeted and what Garnett responded, K.G. is clearly in the wrong. Maybe not legally or by any matter that can be addressed by the league. But the court of public opinion is sometimes more punishing than losing what would be considered chump change to a multimillionaire.

Here’s why Garnett made a misstep…

Trash talk is generally accepted when the topic is something that is a controllable situation. For example, having an ugly jump shot, a terrible haircut, or even being overweight (or not in peak physical condition) would be considered as legit trash talking because they represent circumstances that can be changed.

But the line is crossed when unchangeable characteristics are made light of. That would envelope things such as race or ethnicity, relationships with family – and serious health conditions would also tend to be included. Villanueva cannot do anything to change his medical condition, and thereby became the victim of an insensitive comment from Garnett.

You might say that Villanueva’s not really affected by cancer. But the fact that he resembled a person that could be affected by cancer is the important thing here. Garnett is surely aware that hair loss can be a symptom exhibited by those affected by cancer, hence, any reference to Villanueva and the word ‘cancer’ would be done in very poor taste.

And what if Garnett only said that Villanueva was ‘cancerous to his team and the league?’

In this case, any use of a derivative of the word ‘cancer’ would be taken in a negative light. Garnett could have said that Villanueva isn’t helping his team, or that he was harmful to the image of the NBA. But, if he did say what his response suggested, his use of the term ‘cancerous’ would reflect just as much poor judgement as if he would have called Villanueva a ‘cancer patient.’ Think about it. Does it matter if someone who is not African-American says that I am ‘acting in a niggerish manner?’ Of course it does.

While Garnett was trying to save face with his rebuttal, if only confirmed one thing – - he lacks the tact to admit that he shouldn’t have said what he did.

But hey, what could we really expect from the game’s best trash talker?

Bucks Dodging the Gunshots

T Lamont — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:53:06 +0000

Get Shareaholic

Brandon Jennings has confidence for days. And he’s not afraid to express it.

Jennings has already put his foot in his mouth - twice.

The Milwaukee Bucks drafted the blue-chip prospect with the 10th selection in the NBA Draft. But Jennings’ story is a bit different than most American draft prospects. He was touted as a guy that may have tried to jump from high school to the NBA if the draft rules hadn’t been changed.

So, for his mandatory year wait he decided to get paid for his play by joining the Euroleague. He was not particularly impressive from a statistical point of view, and it remains to be seen as to whether there will be any fruit from his overseas labor…but one thing is for certain – he is going to be a reporter’s dream. Just check out some of the comments he’s made in his first week in the mainstream media:

On a YouTube clip (which has since been removed from the site), Jennings said that the Bucks would resign free agent forward Charlie Villanueva, but that they would not resign point guard Ramon Sessions. And that he would win the remaining battle for starting point guard against Luke Ridnour. And this clip has many words that were unfit for network television.

So, what happens?? Milwaukee announces that they just resigned Sessions, and let Villanueva walk. Now it is unclear as to whether Jennings comments had any effect on the organization’s decisions – but they certainly couldn’t make it look like Jennings was playing them.

But this one was the best…check out his quote about fellow draftee, the Spanish import Ricky Rubio:

“Yes. Because he played in the Olympics, he’s been playing pro ball since he was like 14. So there it is right there. I can’t wait to play him, though, in summer league. I’m just letting you know that now. I can’t wait.”

“Yeah, I think I’m a better player than he is. I just shoot the ball better than he can. The only thing I’ve seen him do sometimes is when he has a home run pass or something like that. I think the dude is just all hype. I can’t even front. I’m just going to be real with you guys.”

“Well, put it like this: If he was in a workout with me [and fellow point guard prospects] Jonny Flynn, Jrue Holiday, Tywon Lawson, Stephen Curry, he wouldn’t probably be at the top.”

When asked about their head-to-head matchup in the Euroleague last year, Jennings quipped,

“Well, when I played him, he had zero points, two assists and two turnovers. So you tell me how that went.”

I think I like this guy already. You have to like a guy who talks smack about players before he’s even drafted. But I just know that Milwaukee isn’t feeling the young guy’s swagger.

Friday Night in the L

T Lamont — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 06:28:47 +0000

Get Shareaholic

Let’s take a tour around the league shall we…

Raptors 113 at Suns 133: There’s a reason that Shaq hasn’t scored 40+ points in over 4 years – - because he’s fat and slow. Leave it to Toronto to make him look like a franchise player again.

Cavs 97 at Spurs 86: No Tim Duncan + no Manu Ginobili = no chance in hell of beating LeBron and the Cavs after the got manhandled last night in Houston.

Lakers 79 at Nuggets 90: 7 blocks – man, I love Chris Andersen. He’s definitely a high-flyer…in more ways than one.

Thunder 108 at Mavericks 110: Kevin Durant got hurt early in this one. It’s a shame because it would have been intriguing to watch Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki go toe to toe – particularly because neither guy seems to use their arms for anything other than shooting the ball.

Trailblazers 102 at Timberwolves 82: Some games are just fun to watch. I’m almost certain this was not one of them.

Bucks 94 at Hornets 95: The Hornets won this one on a Tyson Chandler tip-in with 3 seconds left in the game. Nevertheless, I’ve been impressed with Charlie Villanueva’s play lately. He’s always had the skills, or maybe his opponents are just moving out of his way just in case he decides to take them to his leader.

Pistons 93 at Magic 85: Whew! The Pistons might make the playoffs after all…

Bulls 90 at Wizards 113: Barack Obama was at the game. The Bulls were not. Also, being that he plays in the nation’s capital, I’m assuming that Gilbert Arenas will not refer to himself as “The Black President” anymore. But you never can tell with that guy…

76ers 108 at Knicks 103: Philly has a good, young team here. Good thing the management was smart enough to get rid of A.I. No way these young players would develop with the ball glued to his hands.

Pacers 99 at Celtics 104: Boston should have won this game and they did. Nothing much else to say about this. Oh yeah, Starbury played and the Celts didn’t self-destruct. I guess that’s news. The Knicks should have stopped being pricks and let this guy go a long time ago. I’m glad that saga is over.

Heat 83 at Hawks 91: Joe Johnson is the best player on the Hawks, but he is never the deciding factor as to whether they win or not. Almost all of their other players are so inconsistent it’s not even funny.

Clippers 86 at Kings 98: I’d like to see Kevin Martin play for a real team. I’m sure that Sacramento wouldn’t.

Bobcats 112 at Warriors 109: I’m convinced that any team would set a season-high in scoring against Golden State…including college and high school teams.