In all fairness, I’m in the less than casual observer category these days on the NBA. That being said, I do still have some opinions that hold water. One being a Euro will get you to the playoffs, but a Euro won’t win in the playoffs. Playoff basketball is tough, it’s half court a lot of the time and you need a tough inner city kid to get the job done. A guy from France that wears a beret, drinks Starbucks, and doesn’t eat steak does not intimidate anyone. Give me a kid from South Chicago, that watched a friend get shot, or knew the local drug lord. Those are the Navy Seal kind of guys that will put you on their backs and get the dirty work done. The Worm has 5 rings, Dirk has none. Gasol never won a ring until he got Kobe. Now yes he was born with a silver spoon, but he also has tats and that incident in a Denver hotel room on his resume. Yao, 0 rings, Garnett , 1 ring, 2 finals appearances. The Mavericks were at their best when Nick Van Exel was here. Remember that folks.