I do not want to see this become a habit

[GrangerRanger]

Re: I do not want to see this become a habit



That's what this thread reminds me of.

[cinotimz]

Re: I do not want to see this become a habit

This is the first year for this team to be Danny's. Hes now being looked to as the leader. As mature as he is, it will be a bit of a learning experience, especially when you consider handling the added responsibility of the whole team on his shoulders-and Im sure thats exactly how it feels to him. You couple that with the losing and its no wonder hes voicing out some frustration-even possibly a bit inappropriately at times.

[Hicks]

Re: I do not want to see this become a habit

LeBron,Kobe none of the others wait for a dead ball. It's kinda picky to point out and belittle him when this has never been a problem.

LeBron and Kobe going it does nothing to change my view on the act itself. I don't love either of those players, and if I see either of them doing something like this it certainly won't boost my opinion of them.

As for Granger, I don't think it's belittling him to express disappointment when he does this. As my title says, I don't want this to become a habit. I never said I know that it will become a habit.

[Major Cold]

Re: I do not want to see this become a habit

I am more worried about TJ's defense than anyone else. If there is one player that worries about his own stats and doesn't hold his own on defense....that would have to be TJ. Or Murphy. I say Murphy steal the rebound from our players 3 times last night. One of the times it was on Danny and Danny looked frustrated.

[Einstein]

Re: I do not want to see this become a habit

Danny is giving it his all -- physically, mentally, and emotionally -- to will this team to win. The Pacers are an incredibly frustrating team to "will to win". Danny's left his front teeth and sometimes his knee on the court this season. He has bowed up to Lebron James of all people to take a Pacer's W, when Lebron is clearly the better player. He is the catalyst for what little intensity this team does have.

When I see his job and what he is doing in this light, I am reluctant to call him out.

The TV kicking has no value, but, for the obvious team leader, is jawin' a ref here or there always bad?

[idioteque]

Re: I do not want to see this become a habit

Danny is human like anyone else and at this point right now I don't blame him. He is playing his heart out, playing All-Star capable ball, and playing injured on a team that statistically doesn't seem to value defense and gives him crappy support on offense on a regular basis. In short, he's playing well, he's playing hard, but his team sucks. We have lost to the Bucks and the Wizards recently. That would be enough to make me mad right there. Danny is human and he's going to crack a little bit. He has the right to get angry sometimes and as a human being has the right to make a mistake every now and then.

No one should try to break down down into some Spiderman shirt wearing geek (I use the term geek in the best possible way here) because we don't know him and as a person he has the right to be more complex than that. This is why I don't get emotionally attached to athletes and try to avoid knowing too much about their lives.

[JHcutt18]

Re: I do not want to see this become a habit

I have been noticing this all year, it has been one of the only things that upsets me about his game. He can complain WHILE getting back on defense, and also at the dead ball, he doesn't have to stop or slow down just to complain...but with what he has done for us this season...if anybody has earned that right he has, although I don't agree with it.

[Will Galen]

Re: I do not want to see this become a habit

Twice tonight versus the Bucks I have seen Danny fail to get back on defense before first complaining to an official.

The first instance delayed him "only" about one second, but the second instance (which just happed moments before I came on PD to type this) was for at least 3 seconds, and that's just plain Jermaine O'Neal/Stephen Jackson style garbage right there.

I really, really hope Danny knocks this crap off quickly. My opinion of him will permanently be down a notch if this becomes a new routine of his.

Between this and his "kicking incident" after the Wizards game, color me moderately concerned about the direction he seems to be heading in. I hope this all-star appearance isn't going to his head. He's been the ultimate good guy/trooper/ideal lead guy up until now. I'd sincerely hate to see him start to go to a "darker" place now that he's seeing individual success.

Sounds to me like something for OB's call in show. Or you could write an open letter to Granger and post it on here. In fact you could change the title of this thread to reflect your concern. I'm sure it would be drawn to Granger's attention.

[Jay@Section12]

Re: I do not want to see this become a habit

Well, he's had some "great" teachers/ mentors during his time in Indiana. What do you expect?

[naptownmenace]

Re: I do not want to see this become a habit

I don't put the two together like a few of you seem to. I can understand the kicking bit being about frustration over all of the losing, but I cannot understand it being the reason for what I'm seeing tonight.

When I see a player stopping to complain to the ref at the expense of getting back on defense, I see someone thinking about himself instead of his team, and in effect, putting himself before the team. I have a problem with that.

Keep in mind, I love Danny Granger. I do not like typing any of this even remotely. I'm just concerned and in the short term I am disappointed.

I definitely think that the "kicking incident" was frustration with himself. He bit on the shoulder fake and got burned and was PO'ed at himself for it.

I don't like it when he complains to the refs but lately he has been getting hacked more often and not getting the call. I'm not worried about it right now because this hasn't been something I've seen very often.