Let's get right to it. We asked for your Twitter questions and got some. Now for some answers:jesiree: Since there are so many NBA players who tweet, how do they feel about new social media rules?
There have been virtually no complaints about the new policy regarding social media and Twitter. By and large, players don't have a problem with them and shouldn't. All the league is asking from the players at this point is to refrain from using Twitter and the like during games.
Players can't use cell phones or communication devices from 45 minutes before a game until their responsibilities with the team are completed afterward. Most seem to agree this is an even-handed and fair guideline.
What is likely to be more of an issue is what players actually end up tweeting. For example, Warriors guard C.J. Watson said on Twitter earlier this week that he had banged up his knee at practice and that he was hoping it wasn't anything serious.
It seemed like a relatively harmless communication at the time; however, that's the kind of tweet between a player and his followers that gets dicey. Turns out, Watson will miss one-to-three weeks with the injury.That's the kind of information teams do not want players passing along to the media or their followers. That's the kind of thing that will fall into a gray area. But clearly NBA players have to be pleased, in general, with the league's forward thinking as it relates to social media.
pcon34: John Stockton or Jason Kidd in their primes? The Stock was the consummate pro and had no ego. Kidd deadly on the break and could board.
That's a great question. Initially, my first thought was Stockton. Then, after considering further I realized I needed to go to Basketball-Reference.com to get a better look at the numbers.
After taking in some stats it became official: still gotta go with Stockton. It's close, though. Keep in mind, my vote for Stockton is not a repudiation of Kidd.
Stockton's numbers are unbelievable. First and foremost, Stockton's durability is virtually unparalleled. He played 19 seasons, and in 17 of those seasons he played every single game. He played the full 82 games in 16 seasons, and the full 50 during the lockout-shortened season of 1988-99. That is remarkable.
Obviously, when it comes to passing both guys are among the all-time greatest. In fact, it's difficult to make a distinction between the two when it comes to ball-handling, playmaking, and decision-making. Stockton may have been a little more fundamentally sound, but that doesn't mean Kidd isn't right there with him when it comes to delivering the ball, finding the open man and getting teammates involved.
Then again, Stockton's career assist and steal numbers, at this point anyway, are better than Kidd's.
If there is one statistic that jumped out at me regarding these two point guards it would be shooting percentage. The bottom line is Stockton shot 51.5% from the field, and Kidd's field-goal percentage currently resides at 40.2%. That is what you call a major disparity.
On the other hand, Kidd is one of the greatest rebounding point guards in basketball history. Kidd has averaged 6.7 rebounds per game over the course of his career, including seven seasons averaging 7.3 rebounds per game or more. Quite frankly, those are forward rebounding numbers.
Neither player has won an NBA title, so there's no advantage there. Again, great question. But I'm taking Stockton. DaveSilva58: How much of an impact will replacement refs have. When will this get resolved?
If you're looking for some kind of dramatic impact by replacement officials, that's not likely to happen. By all accounts, replacement officials were adequate in Thursday night's Jazz/Nuggets' game.
It's not like the game will completely deteriorate because of replacement officials. But the replacement officials won't be as good, and because of that, the quality of play will drop, too.
The bigger issue for the NBA is that, in essence, it is acknowledging that it isn't putting the best product out on the floor, and that's something it supposedly prides itself on.
On a practical level, I think what you'll see are far more whistles. It's only natural for an official -- or player, for that matter -- to try to do much when they're given their first opportunity. It won't be unlike Las Vegas Summer League games where you'll see too much scoring from the foul line.
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If the replacement refs make way too many calls it will be because the athletes are way too used to being allowed to commit way too many errors. Sloan called plays from the bench, rather than Stockton calling plays, and called them mainly for Malone. Stockton did a lousy job getting Eaton and Ostertag consistently involved with the offense, so did Hornacek, which is part of why Kidd comes as close to equaling Stockton at the point as he does. Stockton should have still been and all star his 19th season, and shouldn`t have retired. He was still among the stats leaders in four categories! Assists, shooting from the field! despite being a point guard, free throw shooting, and steals. Maybe he retired because Malone left, or maybe Malone left because he retired. Jackson`s teams routinely ignoring point guards hurt the chance Stockton would have signed to play with Payton at wing guard, Bryant at wing forward. Trusting Stock to lead them would have added depth, givning the Lakers another championship. Though they have plenty anyway. Other teams, like Cleveland, Denver, Orlando, etc., need their fair share of championships, too. New York has had good players, like Ewing, but no great players since Chamberlain left the Manhattan (Harlem) GlobeTrotters and Jerry Lucas left the Knicks.