D’Angelo Russell Calls T-Mac “The GOAT,” Rivers Bashes Team USA
By Eric Yee
Last week was a gold mine for Twitter faithful.
The first incident involved Los Angeles Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell. The other provocative tweet was posted by Los Angeles Clippers guard and head coach Doc Rivers‘ son, Austin Rivers.
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The benefit of the doubt should probably be given in these two instances considering the fact that one can only communicate so well in 140 characters.
It goes without saying that technically, if put into the correct context, either of their taboo statements could actually be true.
Last Thursday, Russell took to Twitter with regards to one of the most underrated basketball players in NBA history, Tracy McGrady.
The tweet didn’t sit too well with Laker fans, and Kobe Bryant, of all people, caught wind of the hysteria.
Russell’s original tweet, which has since been deleted, ended in an exclamation point. It’s certainly plausible that he meant to use a comma instead and follow his controversial remarks with some type of explanation.
It surly appears that Russell just ran out of characters to work with.
https://twitter.com/Dloading/status/632369835129761792
Using limited character logic, here is a list of statements that would have made Russell’s sentence fragment true:
- Honestly, Tracy McGrady might have been the GOAT if he had stayed healthy enough to play a full season in his prime…
- Honestly, Tracy McGrady might have been the GOAT if his teams would have at least made it out of the First Round…
- Honestly, Tracy McGrady might have been the GOAT if he had scored 13 points in 35 seconds, every 35 seconds…
Don’t get it twisted, “T-Mac” was arguably one of, if not, the best basketball players on the planet at one point in his career, but Russell’s statement bordered on blasphemy.
That being said, McGrady had one of the best five-year stretches of all-time.
The vast majority of NBA players would kill for a stint like that even if it meant suffering through the debilitating injuries McGrady had to endure throughout the course of his career.
| Season | Age | Tm | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | ORB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 ★ | 21 | ORL | 77 | 40.1 | 22.4 | .457 | 2.2 | .355 | .468 | .474 | 7.6 | .733 | 2.5 | 7.5 | 4.6 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 26.8 |
| 2001-02 ★ | 22 | ORL | 76 | 38.3 | 20.9 | .451 | 3.7 | .364 | .470 | .483 | 7.3 | .748 | 2.0 | 7.9 | 5.3 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 25.6 |
| 2002-03 ★ | 23 | ORL | 75 | 39.4 | 24.2 | .457 | 6.0 | .386 | .481 | .505 | 9.7 | .793 | 1.6 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 32.1 |
| 2003-04 ★ | 24 | ORL | 67 | 39.9 | 23.4 | .417 | 7.7 | .339 | .455 | .473 | 7.5 | .796 | 1.4 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 28.0 |
| 2004-05 ★ | 25 | HOU | 78 | 40.8 | 21.3 | .431 | 5.6 | .326 | .468 | .473 | 7.1 | .774 | 0.9 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 25.7 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/30/2015.
The next Twitter criminal was Rivers who tweeted a direct response to the effort on display in the US National Team’s intrasquad scrimmage.
Team White defeated Team Blue 134-128 in the exhibition match up on Aug. 13 inside the Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV.
It’s a little odd that Rivers would choose to elevate himself by taking a shot at the Team USA’s Showcase seeing as how those guys were actually in the game being played.
It’s not exactly the place to try and make a point.
Straight up better than a lot of those dudes playing last night.....
— Austin Rivers (@AustinRivers25) August 14, 2015
Have to prove that this year. M.o.a.M
MIP.....why not
Don't get my last tweet confused. EVERY player there last night was WELL deserved. As a competitor I just feel like I should be out there.
— Austin Rivers (@AustinRivers25) August 14, 2015
Similar to the Lakers golden boy, Rivers probably deserves a pass assuming that he meant to put a comma instead of a prolonged ellipses and followed it up with an in-depth explanation for his bold statement.
With that in mind, here are a few adjustments that would have made Rivers’ statements true:
- Straight up better than a lot of those dudes playing last night at turning the ball over when it matters most…
- Straight up better than a lot of those dudes playing last night at getting impersonated by Blake Griffin… [Warning: Language]
- Straight up better than a lot of those dudes playing last night at video games…
While the saying may go, any press is good press, it is still advisable to stay away from Twitter when at all possible.
If last week was any indication, Russell and Rivers should stay off of social media for a while or at least until they understand the overabudance of negative feedback that speaking one’s mind presents.
Let us know what you think about their Tweets in the comments below.
Next: Lakers Panel: Our Favorite Kobe Bryant Moments
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