Add SI.com's Chris Mannix to the "Incompetent Writers" list

by wondahbap on Oct 27, 2009 1:51 PM PDT Comment 26 comments

So, SI.com's Chris Mannix appeared on the Dan Patrick show today to say:

"I don't think that the Lakers are going to come out of the Western Conference," Mannix said. "A healthy Spurs team can beat an Artest-led Lakers team."

Mannix thinks Artest will end up being more of a problem than a benefit for L.A.

"At the end of the season, the Lakers are going to wish they had Trevor Ariza instead of Ron Artest."

Okay? But just last year, he wrote this about the Rocket's acquisition of Artest:

"Artest is the perfect complement. The 6-foot-7, 246-pound Artest can play three positions (shooting guard, small forward or power forward in a small lineup), he's a rugged defender (something McGrady is not) and he should be willing to cede some of the spotlight for a chance to win....

...Artest's volatility should be mitigated by the presence of Adelman, an excellent players' coach who enjoyed a relatively smooth half season with Artest in Sacramento (Artest was acquired at midseason from Indiana). Adelman's offensive philosophy favors ball movement (he is a disciple of the Princeton offense) and while he will at times force the ball to Yao in the low post, Adelman will make sure that Artest -- who averaged 16.9 shots per game last season -- gets his fair share of looks....

....With Yao, McGrady, Artest, power forward Luis Scola and point guard Rafer Alston, Houston now has one of the most formidable starting lineups in the West. If Yao can stay healthy, the Rockets have a legitimate chance to make a run for the conference title."

Hmmm? So, he thought Ron Artest made the Rockets a legitimate contender in the West? But now, he makes the World Champs worse? Just a few months after helped push those Champs to 7 games, playing on the Rockets without Yao for half the series and T-Mac for all of it? Doesn't make sense to me. And since when will the Lakers be Artest-led?

Just a year after showering Ron Ron with praise, he sees him as a sure nuisance. After Ron had a very good season, in which he kept his volatility in check and carried a team deep into the Playoffs.

I wonder what "writers" like this get paid for.

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Nice job with the research

I actually listened to that interview, and Mannix admitted that he’s always had a man crush on the Spurs. So now we see he’s willing to blindly follow that love against his own knowledge. Hilarious.

by C.A. Clark on Oct 27, 2009 1:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I think the Mavs will end up being better than the Spurs.

I think people are overrating this Jefferson addition. He will help, but not to the extent that he will vastly improve a team that was taken out in the 1st round last season.

by wondahbap on Oct 27, 2009 2:00 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

They added depth

I think that’s what’s most important, because they’re not always a healthy team. And Manu wasn’t in the 1st round last season.

by Julio Nievas on Oct 27, 2009 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's been the same story with Manu for a couple of years now.

The Mavs looked good last year. The Spurs still get the respect, because they are former champs. I don’t see them making the WCF.

Denver smacked them up, but the Mavs got better, Denver didn’t.

by wondahbap on Oct 27, 2009 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Really?

I’m not sure the Mavs got that much better. They lost Brandon Bass to Orlando, and he was really becoming a solid player. Meanwhile, Kidd is a year old and more decrepit, ditto for Dirk. Marion is also getting near past it and did not add much to any of the teams he was on last year. Meanwhile, Afflalo and Ty Lawson are actually a big upgrade on Dantay Jones, and JR Smith is still just 24 and likely to improve yet again, as could Carmelo. Billups will suffer a little from age, but overall I suspect the Nuggets will have a better season than the Mavs.

by KC Gunner on Oct 27, 2009 9:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Lawson

I predict that he’s getting 35 minutes a game by the All-Star break. I think Billups is just about finished, he showed that last year in the series against the Lakers. That’s ’Melo’s team now.

"I just wish that the late Harry Caray were still around so I could hear him mispronounce 'Kosuke Fukudome' every fukun' night" -- Dennis Miller

by fourstick on Nov 4, 2009 8:01 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

That's absurd

Ty seems like a steal of a pick, but Billups is nowhere near finished, nor did he show that in the Lakers series. In fact, he had a very solid series:

18.16 ppg, 6 apg, 3.8 rpg, 33% 3PT, nearly 7 FTs/pg. His shooting % was a little poor, at 39.7%, but the rest of those numbers are pretty solid.

by KC Gunner on Nov 12, 2009 11:55 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

And who is more of a "player's coach" than Phil?

by wondahbap on Oct 27, 2009 2:01 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Mike Brown?

Erik Spolestra? Doc Rivers?

by Julio Nievas on Oct 27, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don Nelson

"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson

by Gils_Keloids on Oct 27, 2009 4:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1 lol

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

by Justin N. on Oct 27, 2009 5:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Picking the Spurs to beat LA isn’t a product of bad sports writing as much as it is a product of his bias. Neither is what he said about Artest last year compared to his change of heart this year. He was right about Artest last year; had T-Mac and Yao been healthy, they were legitimate contenders. He could absolutely be right about Artest not being any better than Ariza was last year despite his success in Houston. Remember, he is a year older, and he is going from being a star in a relatively familiar system to being a role player in a relatively new one. There’s also a lot of pressure on him this year, and it isn’t that far fetched to assume that there might be some problems. We won’t really know until the end of the season. But if at the end of the season, should this guy come flip flopping over to the Artest bandwagon, then I’ll call him a bad writer.

But every writer is going to be biased. I’m pretty sure every team has its share of the media that panders to a specific fan base. Otherwise reading about sports becomes boring

by brianfbb on Oct 27, 2009 2:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I have no problem with him picking the Spurs.

I also have no problem with his thinking Artest may not be as good as Ariza with the Lakers. My point is his reason for (or lack of) Artest not working out. Just a year ago, he showered Artest with praise. Now he’s a detriment to a better team?

by wondahbap on Oct 27, 2009 3:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah. There are several reasons to not like Artest in LA as much as Ariza in LA. There were plenty of reasons to like Artest in Houston. But they are not the same reasons.

by brianfbb on Oct 27, 2009 6:45 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

except...

…many of the reasons the writer pointed out Artest would be good for in Houston completely apply to LA. Hence the bad writing pointed out by wonda

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

by Justin N. on Oct 27, 2009 11:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mannix has consistently been bad

SI has a rather poor set of NBA writers; I rarely hop over there for serious reading.

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

by Ben R on Oct 27, 2009 10:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Houston and Los Angeles are two completely different situations. I love it when a writer is forced to eat his words after a round of bad predictions and poor analysis. But the Rockets were at the time a fringe playoff team that couldn’t get out of the first round. The Lakers were a complete basketball team just months removed from winning a title. All I’m saying is that it’s not inconceivable that the same qualities Ron Artest provides could make one team better and another team RELATIVELY worse, especially if he replaces a player who fit so well (he did say this) in our system last year. That’s it.

For the record, I disagree and believe that Artest DOES make the Lakers better. I just don’t think his reasons are as inconsistent as they initially seem.

by brianfbb on Oct 28, 2009 12:41 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

It's conceivable that any player can ruin any team.

Hypothetically. Realistically, there is nt reason to believe that a player with Artest’s skill set should make the best team in the NBA worse. Mannix removed the character issues in his previous Rockets preview with Artest, and nothing happened last year that should have changed that.

It’s true Mannix has consistently been bad, as Ben R says. I agree.

Also, when Artest was posting his man up last night, passing and scoring, I saw the future. As much as I liked Trevor, there are just some things Ron can do that Trevor couldn’t. These Lakers have a very high ceiling. This is going to be a special year.

by wondahbap on Oct 28, 2009 5:48 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s not his character issues that he talks about. Artest’s tendency to take bad shots can be reason alone to cause some doubt.

I’m sure Mannix has been consistently bad, but I don’t visit SI, so I won’t really comment on his other articles. But I wont throw him on a fire for the things he says here.

And yeah. I watched the game last night. You’re preaching to the choir, here.

by brianfbb on Oct 28, 2009 11:29 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm okay if anyone doesn't pick the Lakers

that just means more people to prove wrong. But what really surprises me is that it has been 6 years since the brawl and so called analyst act as if it just happened. Artest is no more of a competitor than anyone else in the league so anytime he shows that on the court it is blown out of proportion. But, it is also surprising how any analysis rarely involves Artest’s actual game. Kenny Smith said something that I really liked. (Paraphrasing) He said that if he was told that the only chance of his team not winning the title was dependent on wether Artest does or doesn’t jump into that stands then he will take that every time. In other words, the chances of Artest going nuts are slim.

"When I walked into the locker room on my first day as a Laker and saw my gold uniform hanging there, I cried." - Magic Johnson (Best Laker Ever)

by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Oct 28, 2009 7:48 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I wasn't going to correct you the first time, but since you have said it twice, I will.....

It has actually been less than 5 years since the brawl. However I agree with your conclusion. I just wanted to clarify that point.

Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."

by pslakerfan on Oct 28, 2009 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

thnx. I don't mind

On wikipedia it says the following:

On November 19, 2004, Artest took center stage in arguably the most infamous brawl in professional basketball history.

You are right this November it will 5 years. Good memory though. I would have never of remembered anyone saying something like that…

"When I walked into the locker room on my first day as a Laker and saw my gold uniform hanging there, I cried." - Magic Johnson (Best Laker Ever)

by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Oct 28, 2009 3:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mannix on LeBron

“Closer to establishing himself as the greatest player ever.” (if he could come close to or average a triple double this season)

Cough.

Shouldn’t he have to win at least 1 championship (or 6) before the “greatest player ever” discussion begins? He is a great athlete but come on, the Cavs-Celics game highlighted what we all saw in the playoffs from LeBron: he is a great individual talent but does not truly understand how to make his teammates better. Jordan had it, Magic had it, and seems clear by now that Kobe has it… but LeBron? I don’t see it.

Also, his game is based on power and brute force at this point, I will be interested to see if (or how) his game changes (finesse?) as he ages.

by derek k. on Oct 28, 2009 12:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

actually, i did see him flirt with a few post moves

but then, that was when they had the lead. once they were behind, he reverted back to charging in…

by Nostance on Oct 28, 2009 1:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

speaking of post moves

I can’t wait for Kobe to break out the Dream-Shake

"When I walked into the locker room on my first day as a Laker and saw my gold uniform hanging there, I cried." - Magic Johnson (Best Laker Ever)

by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Oct 28, 2009 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who's Mannix??

Matter of fact don’t answer that, I don’t read anything over there on SI.com anyway and this is just another writer who changes their mind when it suits them.

There are basic Fundamentals that are needed to move forward in this game. Always keep your guard up at all times to avoid being caught in a trap. Overcome the fouls that will be commited against you REBOUND AND PRESS ON. ADJUST to the LimeLight: ALL-STAR PLAYERS ARE ALWAYS THE CENTER OF ATTENTION. Know what your role is and play your position. Find a game plan and execute it. REMEMBER YOU ONLY GET OUT OF THE GAME WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT.

by BrittneyM on Oct 28, 2009 10:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs