Which is worse, being "posterized or being soft?

[sportyguyfl31]

Re: Which is worse, being "posterized or being soft?

I agree with most posters here but I will take a second to play devil's advocate. I interpreted the thread's original question as "is it worse getting dunked on or getting out of the way and letting someone dunk?" Posters thus far have mentioned the usual suspects (Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, and my own addition: Theo Ratliff) in terms of warriors always willing to protect the paint; even if it meant getting dunked on repeatedly.

At some point of their respective careers, a large portion of the NBA fan base were able to watch Mourning or Deke on the receiving end of a facial and know they'd be back to challenging the next shot on the following possession. There seems to be a certain level of respect. Vince Carter's numerous flushes on each will show up as a blip on their radar; flushed out by the entirety of their defensive careers.

My argument comes from the other end of the spectrum, on the heels of the likes of Alton Lister, Fredric Weis, Damon Jones, and any other role player who seem to have their careers forever linked to one particular moment where they found themselves on the wrong end of a monster dunk. Purists may argue that it was respectable (if not honorable) for these guys to step up and try to make a sound defensive play, and it surely may have been the right basketball play at the time, but there is no getting around the apparent fact that the names Lister and Weis yield memories of their posterization rather than their abilities on the court.

For this, and this is my personal opinion, if I were Alton Lister, maybe I have a little bit of regret. Maybe I would have done things differently. I believe Darryl Dawkins lovingly refers to it as the Booty Up, as in, if you see Shawn Kemp coming down the lane with a full head of steam, it's time to get your booty up out of there. If Lister had decided to concede the dunk, he'd forever be living in anonymity. As it stands, he's on the wrong end of history.

Now to come back to the right side of the fence, the NBA is composed of most of the world's greatest basketball players. They all appear to be athletic freaks of nature. This means every player is going to come into an NBA game knowing they may very well be posterized that night, and they're going to live to tell about it. It's a part of everyday NBA life. LeBron James, one of the top players in the league, has been on the wrong end of at least two posters this postseason alone but he was trying to do the right thing. And while many will only see LeBron getting "posterized" (they were indeed entertaining dunks) the majority of longtime basketball followers seem to be able to dig down and recognize they LeBron attempted the couragous (and correct) play.

The bigger risk to me is getting dunked on at your local park. There have been a few stories mentioned that we can all relate to thus far regarding the mob mentality of players and their "boys" at the park. Depending on where you play, there are various levels of spectacular plays happening every night. Many parks rarely feature a full lineup of dunkers, yielding a much more limited opportunity for a poster and thereby raising the importance and excitement for when they actually do occur. If Arron Afflalo came to the courts and dunked on me, so what, it's Arron Afflalo - an NBA basketball player. If just some guy puts one on me though, I may end up living that it down for a while at the hands of the "highlight whores". With that said, I've been mentally preparing myself to get dunked on for years, as I'd rather challenge that concede. This will likely jinx me, but so far I have successfully challenged each dunk I've had a play on. I do understand the second thoughts of playground players though. It's a high level risk and reward play.

Right. K-Mart is a good example. Ariza put him
on a poster, and the next time Ariza came into the pain trying to take flight, K-mart gave him a quality hack job. that's what you want.

It's a different story when you are shawn bradley and just droop around your whole life, inviting the posterizing.

[LingeringRegime]

Re: Which is worse, being "posterized or being soft?

Its the sportscenterization of america. The move is more important then the finish.

That's right man. It's funny that on the Top Ten Plays of the Night on Sportscenter many times they say, "___________ with the wicked windmill jam, but they were not able to come up with the win."

[ProjectRipCity]

Re: Which is worse, being "posterized or being soft?

Soft...no question...Everyone gets posterized.