What Up, Dogma?

To start, I just want to say how much I enjoy Canis Hoopus.  Our team has, historically, been one of the doormats in the NBA during it’s existence.  We’ve endured lots of losing, a sustained stretch of semi-respectability under Flip, one shot at glory with KG/Sam/Feed My Family, and then…well…rebuilding.  Endless, endless rebuilding.

It takes a lot to be a fan of a team like this.  And that statement has never been more true than it is now.  That’s why a site like this is so valuable.  It’s a rallying point for those of us that feel so passionately about the team, not to mention a rare place for intelligent conversation.  There’s precious few left of us these days, so having a place to meet is both unexpected and appreciated.  We’re like Fight Club.  We have an insane need to get together and do what we do…and we REALLY shouldn’t admit it to outsiders.   

Anyway, the first rule of Canis Hoopus should be the ability to talk objectively about players and our team with each other (you were expecting “ Don’t Talk About Canis Hoopus” weren’t you?  Sorry…too obvious…and it doesn’t work with my message).

 During game threads, people (myself included) tend to get dogmatic about certain players and their performances.  If you love Kevin Love, you look past the 5 sloppy turnovers and lack of athleticism because he put up another double double.  If you think Jonny Flynn is a future star, you focus on how he penetrates and scores, but discount the laughable turnovers and poor assist rate.  Big Al dominates at low post scoring, and pretty much sucks at everything else, etc…

My proposition is this: Game Threads are for games.  Let’s talk about what each player is doing THAT NIGHT in the game thread.  If there is a larger issue with a player you want to bring up, that’s what a FanPost is for…or even the post-game wrap.  I hate seeing a big portion of a Wolves game thread being used on 2 people arguing the overall effectiveness of Monta Ellis’ defensive ability, and they just won’t disengage.  That’s an abstract, person-to-person argument that is well worth having…just not at the expense of the rest of us in the game thread.   Take it outside…

One other request is for all of us to maintain a balance between “statistics” and “scouting” when we express opinions about players, particularly draft picks.  It’s very easy to fall into one camp or the other, but just like most things in life, reality exists in the middle.  PER is a “highly advanced” stat that says David Robinson was better than Wilt Chamberlain in their careers.  And Scouts said Darko Milicic would be great.  Let’s keep that in mind when expressing opinions with each other.  What the numbers say AND what you see with your eyes are equally valuable…don’t denigrate one or the other.

This is the best, most intelligent sports community I am involved in.  Cheers,

Rick