Who do you think this is? Some say Rondo, some say Nash...

[Mizzy21390]

I was reading this article on ESPN, and was really intrigued by it.. I really want to know who this player is. I feel like its someone who's been in the league for at least three years. I'm glad they kept it anonymous, so to not get fined, but also to not have fans complain about biasness or any excuse they'd come up for this player complaining about the refs... The mention of Durant, and his ability to get calls every play, makes me wonder since we played Thunder recently, that it's Rondo, but then again, Rondo doesn't talk like this... Well it doesn't sound like him.. Who knows?

Here's the article:

I was asked the other day what I think of the referees this season. My answer: I hate the referees.

I was only kidding, kind of.

Lately, the refs have treated me and my teammates OK, but there was a point earlier this season when they were acting like they were bigger than the game. Joey Crawford, especially. That guy. You can't even ask him a question; he won't even look at you. Did you see what happened a few years ago when he challenged Tim Duncan, of all people, to a fight during a game? Ridiculous. The guy is a hothead, and players around the league know that whenever he refs a game there is gonna be some drama. More foul calls, more technicals, more delays. If you're watching a game and see Joey Crawford as one of the refs, expect controversy. It's a shame but it's true.

I always say that you can tell the difference between a young ref and a veteran guy. Generally speaking, players like young refs better because they don't tend to favor coaches or individual players, they just call the game as they see it. The problem is they are constantly being overruled by older refs. They'll make the right call and then an older ref will come running in and say, "Are you sure that's the right call?" Then the young guy will be like, "Well, what did you see?" They don't want to show the older guy up so they defer to him, and he's most likely biased. That's right, you'd think that the veteran referees would be more mature and balanced about their calls, but really they just carry more baggage onto the court.

Of course, the refs, young and old, are always getting worked over during the game by players and coaches. We played Charlotte earlier this season and Larry Brown completely controlled the whistle. The same thing happens with Gregg Popovich, Phil Jackson and George Karl -- they're considered the greatest coaches in the league so it's easy for them to get the refs to do their bidding. I guess it's no surprise that refs favor winners. Let's say you're a great team and you're on a fast break and someone fouls you. A ref won't call it right away, he'll let you dunk, then call the foul so you get the three-point play. But if you're on a bad team they'll call a ticky-tack foul right away. No dunk for you.

Me, I always try to chat up the younger refs during the game. I'm a pretty calm guy, so I usually start with "Excuse me, sir. Can you explain to me what just happened?" Then I'll ask him to check the call at halftime because I think he missed it. My favorite response -- and this is what they usually say -- is, "That wasn't my call. Ask him." I get that a lot. Maybe I'm not one of the refs' favorites like some guys in the league. For instance, Kevin Durant has impressed me with his ability to get a whistle at such a young age. He had 15 free throws the other night! LeBron always gets calls, obviously. Kobe gets fewer than you'd think because he travels all the time. But the guy who gets the most calls by far is Dwyane Wade, even though he carries the ball a lot and is always falling down. The refs like his personality, I guess. He never met a ref he didn't like.

Chris Paul gets away with the most talking. There have been times when I've seen him curse a ref out like, "What the... are you looking at you ... ?! Learn how to call a ..... game!!" The ref will be like, "My bad, I'll get you next time." What?!! If that had been me I'd have been T'd up and thrown out. You can't curse at a ref without getting a technical or at least a stern warning. Unless you're Chris Paul, who can say whatever he wants.

[barefacedmonk]

Sounds like Rondo....Chris Paul is mentioned in there...has to be Rondo.   (It could be a totally different player...but if I had to guess between Rondo and Nash..it would be Rondo)

[kozlodoev]

There are too many references to Western Conference teams, so I think it might be someone from that side of the league.

[PosImpos]

Could be anybody really.  Probably not a star player though.

Me, I always try to chat up the younger refs during the game. I'm a pretty calm guy, so I usually start with "Excuse me, sir. Can you explain to me what just happened?"

LOL...it's Rasheed Wallace.  Has to be.   

[Drucci]

What's up will all these "Player X speaks the truth about subject X..." articles recently on ESPN? One of the latest was "Player X speaks about cheating in the NBA".

My guess for this player is Deron Williams.

[RAcker]

If it ever were to come out that this was Rondo, law have mercy we'd be screwed.

[kozlodoev]

What's up will all these "Player X speaks the truth about subject X..." articles recently on ESPN? One of the latest was "Player X speaks about cheating in the NBA".

My guess for this player is Deron Williams.

Can't be. He's shaping up to be a whiner of epic proportions these days.

If it's a high-profile player, it should be Nash -- he's about the only guy in the NBA who can call out people for palming the ball with a straight face.

But of course, it's anyone's guess.

[Mizzy21390]

What's up will all these "Player X speaks the truth about subject X..." articles recently on ESPN? One of the latest was "Player X speaks about cheating in the NBA".

My guess for this player is Deron Williams.

I guess its a way to bring attention? For me it was really interesting, I wondered for a good five minutes, trying to find clues on the temperament of the article, the words used, the coaches and players mentioned and use process of elimination to figure it out. And it gives a real insight on the real problems of the sport, without there being a big deal on the player making these claims... It also makes it easier to be taken seriously, by not putting a name on it and keeping it 'Player X'...

My take is that its someone on the West, who is not, or haven't been coached by, PJ, Pop, Larry Brown, George Karl in their careers, and that they're a veteran player. But then again, the "Excuse me sir, can you explain to me what just happened?" sounds like Ray...

[Rondo_is_better]

What's up will all these "Player X speaks the truth about subject X..." articles recently on ESPN? One of the latest was "Player X speaks about cheating in the NBA".

My guess for this player is Deron Williams.

I guess its a way to bring attention? For me it was really interesting, I wondered for a good five minutes, trying to find clues on the temperament of the article, the words used, the coaches and players mentioned and use process of elimination to figure it out. And it gives a real insight on the real problems of the sport, without there being a big deal on the player making these claims... It also makes it easier to be taken seriously, by not putting a name on it and keeping it 'Player X'...

My take is that its someone on the West, who is not, or haven't been coached by, PJ, Pop, Larry Brown, George Karl in their careers, and that they're a veteran player. But then again, the "Excuse me sir, can you explain to me what just happened?" sounds like Ray...

I think this could easily be Ray. Its well spoken. He's a self-professed "calm guy". Ray doesn't palm the ball, ever. He'd definitely know about the Durant case. He's never been coached by Jackson, Karl, or Popovich (sp?). Ray was also in the western conference for a good long while before coming to Boston - like 5 years. That could explain the frequent mentioning of WC teams. 

[Mike-Dub]

What's up will all these "Player X speaks the truth about subject X..." articles recently on ESPN? One of the latest was "Player X speaks about cheating in the NBA".

My guess for this player is Deron Williams.

I guess its a way to bring attention? For me it was really interesting, I wondered for a good five minutes, trying to find clues on the temperament of the article, the words used, the coaches and players mentioned and use process of elimination to figure it out. And it gives a real insight on the real problems of the sport, without there being a big deal on the player making these claims... It also makes it easier to be taken seriously, by not putting a name on it and keeping it 'Player X'...

My take is that its someone on the West, who is not, or haven't been coached by, PJ, Pop, Larry Brown, George Karl in their careers, and that they're a veteran player. But then again, the "Excuse me sir, can you explain to me what just happened?" sounds like Ray...

I think this could easily be Ray. Its well spoken. He's a self-professed "calm guy". Ray doesn't palm the ball, ever. He'd definitely know about the Durant case. He's never been coached by Jackson, Karl, or Popovich (sp?). Ray was also in the western conference for a good long while before coming to Boston - like 5 years. That could explain the frequent mentioning of WC teams. 

It can't be Ray, he was coached by George Karl in Milwaukee. 

[Rondo_is_better]

What's up will all these "Player X speaks the truth about subject X..." articles recently on ESPN? One of the latest was "Player X speaks about cheating in the NBA".

My guess for this player is Deron Williams.

I guess its a way to bring attention? For me it was really interesting, I wondered for a good five minutes, trying to find clues on the temperament of the article, the words used, the coaches and players mentioned and use process of elimination to figure it out. And it gives a real insight on the real problems of the sport, without there being a big deal on the player making these claims... It also makes it easier to be taken seriously, by not putting a name on it and keeping it 'Player X'...

My take is that its someone on the West, who is not, or haven't been coached by, PJ, Pop, Larry Brown, George Karl in their careers, and that they're a veteran player. But then again, the "Excuse me sir, can you explain to me what just happened?" sounds like Ray...

I think this could easily be Ray. Its well spoken. He's a self-professed "calm guy". Ray doesn't palm the ball, ever. He'd definitely know about the Durant case. He's never been coached by Jackson, Karl, or Popovich (sp?). Ray was also in the western conference for a good long while before coming to Boston - like 5 years. That could explain the frequent mentioning of WC teams. 

It can't be Ray, he was coached by George Karl in Milwaukee. 

Ok, but George Karl being his coach once is by no means a prohibitive condition. There's still a ton of evidence to suggest that its Ray.   

[Mike-Dub]

What's up will all these "Player X speaks the truth about subject X..." articles recently on ESPN? One of the latest was "Player X speaks about cheating in the NBA".

My guess for this player is Deron Williams.

I guess its a way to bring attention? For me it was really interesting, I wondered for a good five minutes, trying to find clues on the temperament of the article, the words used, the coaches and players mentioned and use process of elimination to figure it out. And it gives a real insight on the real problems of the sport, without there being a big deal on the player making these claims... It also makes it easier to be taken seriously, by not putting a name on it and keeping it 'Player X'...

My take is that its someone on the West, who is not, or haven't been coached by, PJ, Pop, Larry Brown, George Karl in their careers, and that they're a veteran player. But then again, the "Excuse me sir, can you explain to me what just happened?" sounds like Ray...

I think this could easily be Ray. Its well spoken. He's a self-professed "calm guy". Ray doesn't palm the ball, ever. He'd definitely know about the Durant case. He's never been coached by Jackson, Karl, or Popovich (sp?). Ray was also in the western conference for a good long while before coming to Boston - like 5 years. That could explain the frequent mentioning of WC teams. 

It can't be Ray, he was coached by George Karl in Milwaukee. 

Ok, but George Karl being his coach once is by no means a prohibitive condition. There's still a ton of evidence to suggest that its Ray.   

You're right it could be.  I didn't mean it couldn't be him, even though it did come out that way.  It could be him but George Karl was his coach.

[Mizzy21390]

Isn't Stern getting nervous that this ref talk is getting more and more light and publicity? I would think he would try to fix it so that fans don't start leaving because the sport's no longer valuable with refs fixing and gambling games and giving star players special treatment? Kinda like how the MLB is losing some fans who find it not reliable because of everyone doing steroids and cheating?

If he cares about the money coming from media coverage, star players etc... he should listen to these problems regarding the refs and fix it before the NBA is no longer a popular sport.

[barefacedmonk]

Thanks for organising the Easter egg hunt, Mizzy. TP.  

[Mizzy21390]

Thanks for organising the Easter egg hunt, Mizzy. TP.  

Thanks! I love mysteries/solving things/hunting for answers... and with it being with a subject that I care about,(the sucky refs), I was intrigued by the article and the anonymity with it. Though we'll never find who this player is, it's eye catching... (well in my opinion) haha