Posted by nixluva:Most of the Lover vs. Hater arguments over the years have come down to how people have chosen to post about the team. MOST of us have had VERY similar expectations for the team from year to year. You all know this to be true.
Yes and No. Not when one side uses injuries, coaches, fans, back-to-backs, holidays, trades, conspiracies, etc etc as excuses and the other side looks at past and present history, behavior, player and coach characteristics and shortcomings, competition, trades, etc etc. Now were most of us close in season win-loss projections, yeah for the most part, but this had a lot to do with law of averages, trends, playing the numbers game from previous projections, vs actual heartfelt expectations.
In most cases my problem with people has stemmed from the lack of patience to at least see how things would turn out. The lack of support for the team which we all say we love. I don't hate every player on this team nor do I love every player. Some of these guys are merely victims of the current situation and if you put them in a better situation they'd be fine NBA players. So I don't agree with the idea that we should throw everyone under the bus.
Most fans who turned against them were fans who afforded them leeway initially. Given the current scope of the NBA and the processes involved in re-establishing a foundation, (doing a complete purge) isn't a 100% indictment on every player/employee currently a part of he situation. It's like finding out a house is sitting on a very weak foundation, has terrible mold probelms, termites have destroyed most of the woodwork, the framing is askew, roofing has holes throughout, piping is busted and insulation is poor. Just because the house has nice windows and a recent paint job doesn't mean the owner is a moron for wanting the whole house tore down to it's foundation, salvaging nothing, especially when the owner is in the best position to do so.
The fact that I have been harsh on Isiah this year stems from the grace period i've given him over the years to get this team together. I'm perfectly within my rights to have gone into this year with a much shorter leash, which I stated from day one of this season that I would. I said no excuses, this team should make the playoffs. Some of you challenged wether i'd say so, but now some of you want to attack as if we all just had unconditional love for Isiah and the players, which is not true.
Yes you were within those rights and were proven wrong for at least 3 yrs straight via EPIC PROPORTIONS. Where you weren't within your rights is trying to tell people to exercise patience and taking them as fools because they were already convinced by the overwhelming evidence the team would let them down. If Layden produced 3 very good winning seasons and 2 very mediocre seasons and was fired after those last 2 then why should I SAY UGH be given double the patience Layden never received? The fans already went through 2 yrs of an INEPT Layden therefore when I SAY UGH came aboard he had no other choice than to produce and do it fast. Not so much in winning right away but establishing a more stable and promising Vision than the one Layden left. Within his first 2yrs he proved to be worse than his former and currently is 4yrs later.
All along we've all made statements showing displeasure about players or coaches on this team, so no one is standing alone in that regard. The only difference is in the level of vitriol in posts and the frequency of those statements. That's all that really separates so called lovers and haters. We all want the team to be successful. None of us wants to see this kind of crap we've seen. Some of us have just been more patient than others and that's all. Isiah's not my boy. Some of you want to make it seem like those of us who have supported THE TEAM are in love with specific individuals. I've been a fan of this TEAM for over 30 years and no individual is more important to me than the team.
That's fine and dandy.... oh how I wonder what would be if say we finished with 38wins this seasons? It's not about some being more patient than others vs those who detect BS faster, not allowing themselves to be HOODWINKED BAMBOOZLED and SCAMMED than others.
Just like whoever replaces I SAY UGH IMO shouldn't be given 4-5yrs to fix his mess, even if it's Calangelo. Yes the situation is bad but it's 2-3yrs top to clearly show the plan is in motion and working otherwise get to the back of the unemployment line.
[Edited by - TrueBlue on 02-22-2008 4:44 PM]
