My New Favorite Player in the NBA

Gordan Giricek.

This dude is the man. Why you ask? Because he hates Jerry Sloan as much as I do. I can't stand Sloan and it makes me hate him even more that he has a decent team to coach. I'd like to see him slip on a patch of ice outside the arena, break his hip, and no one stop to help him. That's my Christmas wish. Anyone Mormons out there, hook it up.


Larry H. Miller, the owner (also a huge douche sack), is taking his coaches side on this one. Obviously. Miller owns a movie complex somewhere in Utah and when the movie Brokeback Mountain came out he banned the movie from any of his theater screens. Normally I applaud such dickheaded behavior, but this guy is just clueless. He is ignorant and acts like he is above everyone else.


Hugh has often asked me, if I could kill any "celebrity" who would I choose. Well he would unanimously choose Oprah, well I'd go for for Sloan. I'd choose to hunt him for sport. I don't understand these two guys though. First there was the incident at the beginning of the season with Andrei Kirilenko, who, in my opinion, is one of the most versatile players in the NBA. Plus the dude looks like Ivan Drago from Rocky and thats only a positive on the hardwood.


The reason why I probably hate these two members of the Utah Jazz so much is because they brought in players like John Stockton, Karl Malone, Jeff Hornacek, Greg Ostertag, Byron Russell , and George Foster into the league or kept them employed. I just don't seem to understand their logic with these players. Their reasoning for this whole Giri deal is because they feel that he is too selfish or something. Well does that really merit being kicked off the bench during a game, being banished from the team's road trip to Atlanta, being singled out in front of your teammates and fans, and left alone as the team moves forward? I really don't think so. I mean Giri's not the best player in the NBA by any means, but I find it hard to believe that a guy that they feel is too "selfish" deserves this kind of treatment.


According to ESPN Insider's Rumor Central, the douchey owner made some comments about how they are handling him. "'I think the notion is that he's selfish enough to try to get his shot and his points,' Miller said, 'that he'll do what he needs to do to do that in spite of what the coaches tell him to do or ask him to do or whatever you want to call it.'"


Giri is an average NBA player. He won't make or break anyone's team, but he plays a role and that role helped get that team to the Western Conference Finals last year. Speaking of last year, he had a pretty decent season. He averaged 7.8 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds per game last year, while shooting 46.2% from the field, 81.6% from the charity stripe, and 42.6% from deep. Those aren't numbers that will get you Lebron or Kobe type money, but they'll keep you somewhere in the league. This season he is averaging 4.6 shots per game. With that in mind, I'd hate to see what unselfish play is to Jerry Sloan. This season's numbers are all down. Everything.


In my mind, if Sloan doesn't like this guy, thats fine. But don't decide to play him and then yank him and make him look like an outcast. Just bury him on the pine and wait for the season to end and trade him, cut him, or buy him out. I fail to believe that this is the best way to handle that situation, being in such a public forum like oh say, an NBA arena. He treated him as though he were a 6 year old who just got caught stealing some candy from the local drug store in front of 20,000 fans at Energy Solutions Areana and needed a spanking. Thats bush league man.


To me Sloan is just abusing his power as the head coach of an ultra gay NBA franchise. What Jazz is there in Utah? Seriously what have you really accomplished? Jerry, I know your players have won a lot of games for you (1035-689), but in my mind, that doesn't make you a good coach. A good coach to me is someone who cares for his players and instills in them the belief that their system will work with the right amount of work and effort. Yes, getting players to buy into a system isn't the easiest thing in the world, but if you were a decent coach or human being then you may have a championship ring to boast. Overall Jerry, you may know basketball, but until you learn basketball players, you'll NEVER win that coveted NBA Championship.