Rivers 'Genuinely Sees Traits Of Russell' In DeAndre Jordan

Rivers 'Genuinely Sees Traits Of Russell' In DeAndre Jordan
Feb 11, 2014 2:16 PM EST


DeAndre Jordan leads in the NBA in rebounding, ranks fourth in blocks and is also first in shooting percentage.

Jordan has played at a consistently higher level under Doc Rivers than he did for Vinny Del Negro.

Rivers believes a comparison of Jordan to Bill Russell is within reason.

“I don’t know why,” Rivers said. “Why can’t you want to be the best? I don’t see why it’s insane.

“I genuinely see traits of Bill Russell. I didn’t say he was Bill Russell. I just think that’s a good thing. What do you see? You see block shots, he’s the (leading) rebounder in the league, he’s blocking everything that comes his way and he changes shots. That’s what Bill Russell does. So that’s been a good thing.”

“I can only laugh and wish I could kind of carry that guy’s jock strap,” Jordan said. “To be compared with somebody like that, even if Doc’s just joking, I take it to heart because I want to be the best defensive player and the best rebounder and the best chief out there on the floor I can be. I know that Doc instilled that in me.”

Via Scott Howard-Cooper/NBA.com



bob
MY NOTE: The good news is that Doc is recognizing that Russ was the best. The bad news is that he is completely delusional. Russ had a lot more going for him than just blocked shots. Kudos for Jordan for not making this even more out-of-touch with reality than it already was by saying something stupid like "I've always thought I had a similar game to Russell's, I'm just glad someone else sees it now too".


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Bob, your right about doc... The word delusional has came to my mind several times since he took his talents out to where they sell weed legally ( for medicinal purposes) now....

Matty wrote:Bob, your right about doc... The word delusional has came to my mind several times since he took his talents out to where they sell weed legally ( for medicinal purposes)  now....

matty,

well, then he could still coach the Suns, Lakers, GSW, Sacto Kings, Bobcats, Bulls, Nuggets, Boston Celtics (not likely, but if the ability to get a permit for cannabis goes), Pistons. T-Wolves, Trailblazers, Nets, Cavaliers, Knicks, Wizards and, of course, the Clippers.  16 franchises out of 30.

If he wants to coach in college, then there are some other states like Alaska, Connecticut, Nevada, New Hampshire, Montana, the Hippie state of Vermont, New Mexico, Maine, Hawaii, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Mississippi and Washington.

It's a new world.  There are 25 states where possession or sale of cannabis is either legal or available for sale "for medicinal purposes only" or decriminalized for first offense possessions or for "for use only" quantities.  That's half the country and, I'll bet, covers a lot more than half the population of the U.S. (not that big a leap since CA alone has 1 out of every 8 people living here. Throw in NY, NJ and Illinois...). There are also a lot of states that have possession as misdemeanors.

In fact, there are only 10 states left that have marijuana as a felony across the board (i.e. possession of any amount is a felony, sale of any amount of marijuana is a felony, transportation of marijuana in any amount is a felony, cultivation/growing of any amount of marijuana is a felony). 10.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis_by_U.S._state



bob


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I do believe a face palm is in order.   



KJ

Remember when Pitino said that Bruce Bowen reminded him of HavliceK? Of course, he then traded him.

Not that Jordan's going to be traded any time soon. But coaches say all kinds of things.

I'm thinking TV show. I'm thinking the host could be Art Linkletter. I'm thinking the name of the show would be . . .

Coaches say the darnedest things!

gyso

Hi,
BTW, guess who's the subject of the Today's featured article on Wikipedia?

AK

Nothing wrong with giving public support for one of your players. And it appears that some people may be overlooking Doc's disclaimer that he didn't mean Jordan was Russell. Russ' main talents were defense (especially at the rim), rebounding and close-in offense. Those are also Jordan's main talents. The two were also similarly challenged at the free throw line.

No one need remind me of the immensity of Russ' impact on the game—especially the intangibles. I could write about that for years. In fact, I have written about it for years. But I believe Russ was in no way diminished by Doc's words, although I know it's popular sport to demean Doc whenever possible these days. I think Doc's comments bear testimony to the fact that Russ is the gold standard when it comes to the traits for which he became best known.

And, by the way, I wouldn't mind having Jordan on the Celtics. As long as it's not Michael. One would be happy being a complementary part. The other wouldn't settle for that.

Sam

After reading the original piece a couple times, I really don't have any issue with it.
Heck it refers to Russell as the best and that Jordan wants to aspire to be the best.

Only beef I might have is the line, "that's what Russell does....." might have been better served by using DID ! been a few years since Russ blocked a shot.

I figure any piece that remembers Russell and a young player that wishes to play like him isn't all bad.............sure beats that player that changed numbers in Miami.

beat

Doc Rivers is a moron.

Bill Russell's career average in rebounding is 22.5 rebounds per game and unfortunately shot blocks was not a stat that was kept.  He has 11 championship rings, two as a player coach plus 2 NCAA championships with San Franciso and let's throw in an Olympic Gold medal

There is nothing remotely similar between Bill Russell and Jordan.  

Doc Rivers defiles the leagcy of Bill Russell by suggesting such an absurd notion.

Doc STFU

dboss

Dboss,

There certainly is something similar between Bill Russell and Jordan. For both of them, defense and rebounding were/are their biggest strengths. That's inarguably a similarity.

To interpret what Doc is saying as a comparison of Russell's stats with those of Jordan is to ignore Doc's carefully worded disclaimer that he wasn't claiming Jordan is Russell. The word "traits" underscores what Doc's talking about, which involves only about the nature of Deandre's strongest skills being similar to the nature of Russ' strongest skills. Doc's not remotely comparing the records and achievements of the two.

I suggest that you read his comments again with these points in mind, and perhaps you'll come away with a different opinion.

Sam

sam wrote:Dboss,

There certainly is something similar between Bill Russell and Jordan.  For both of them, defense and rebounding were/are their biggest strengths.  That's inarguably a similarity.

To interpret what Doc is saying as a comparison of Russell's stats with those of Jordan is to ignore Doc's carefully worded disclaimer that he wasn't claiming Jordan is Russell.  The word "traits" underscores what Doc's talking about, which involves only about the nature of Deandre's strongest skills being similar to the nature of Russ'  strongest skills.  Doc's not remotely comparing the records and achievements of the two.

I suggest that you read his comments again with these points in mind, and perhaps you'll come away with a different opinion.

Sam

Then I suppose this would open a lot of doors to include other defensive players too in this type of comparison, which is why I think it's best for comments like Doc's to be left unsaid.

I tend to think it's a bit pointless to make this type of comparison unless there's something more to Jordan's game that resembled Russell's than defense and rebounding.


KJ

What the hell let's compare any center that plays defense and rebounds to Bill Russell.

dboss

I can see Sam's point, but I think it's a comparison better left unsaid.

Doc Rivers = disingenuous