Writers and analysts of the NBA frequently appear as guests on a variety of podcasts to analyze many different aspects of the game of basketball.
The objective is to break down the situations of particular teams around the league, and that usually means the discussion of specific players. Depending on who that player is, one of two things happen: said player is praised or criticized.
Chris Sheridan, the Editor-in-Chief of the site you are reading right now (and no, he is not editing any of this), joined 1070-The Fan in Indianapolis on Thursday to discuss all things Indiana Pacers. While discussing the point guard situation in Indiana, Sheridan was quite blunt when the name C.J. Watson – the team’s newest backup point guard – was brought up. Here is what he had to say:
“I watched C.J. Watson play a lot for Brooklyn as well, and he ain’t all that good, okay? I’ll just put it that way.
He’s a mediocre NBA point guard. He can give you maybe 12 good minutes a night but he’s not as fast as D.J. Augustin is. He’s maybe a little bit better of a shooter, but he’s not what you call a very good shooter. He’s a plug-in guy and he’s expendable.
If the Indiana Pacers want to become a super-elite team, and like I said, they’re close – they’re top two in the East right now – then the point guard position is the one place where they need the biggest upgrade.”
When you’re analyzing a situation, being blunt and objective is a necessity, and that’s what Sheridan did in explaining why he thinks the Pacers need to improve at the point guard position to truly be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. What he probably didn’t expect was that Watson would actually hear every word of it and have a response to what was said about him. Well, that’s what happened, as you can see below:
Not very good, expendable and streaky huh. I’m a make u eat ur words!!!!
— cj watson (@quietstorm_32) July 13, 2013
So it appears these guys won’t be the best of friends anytime soon. I, for one, will be following the play of Watson very closely when next season comes along. If he does play well enough to make Sheridan eat his words, will the writer then apologize for his error in judgment somewhere down the line? Stay tuned.
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Watson is definitely an upgrade over Augustin, who was terrible in the playoffs.
However Watson DID cost the Nets game 4, and likely the chance to advance in the 1st round. He missed an open court dunk that would have put the Nets up by 16 pts with 3.5 minutes left in regulation. Bulls won in 3-OT. I don’t blame CJ, as he was tired, but a lay-in would have been easier.
To be honest, Nets had a chance to offer CJ a mini-MLE, as Pacers did, but wanted to save it for their SF position (a real blessing because it turned into AK47). CJ wasn’t enough of a pass-first PG and they like Shaun Livingston and hope that Tyshawn Taylor can learn from JKidd.
Jerry,
Don’t forget CJ also was the guy who should have held the ball but passed to Asik with Bulls leading by 1 over Philly in Game 6 first round in 2012. Asik missed both, Iggy made 2 at other end and Bulls were eliminated. Not smart game management. As always, thanks for reading. CB
Aside from watching as much basketball as most avid basketball fans and, likely, reading and analyzing more of the shit that doesn’t really matter with the NBA, what other credibility does Sheridan’s opinion really carry?
And with comments like these? Not much, IMO.
I watched nearly every second of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals and C.J. more than played his part as the backup PG for BKN. He’s a big point guard, he’s a reliable shooter, a solid defender at his position, and he competes night in and night out.
Lol. Such articles always kill me.
BKN, with D. Will, Brook Lopez, and Joe Johnson, didn’t win because their back-up PG wasn’t up to par? And now with Indiana, which has arguably been the best drafting/assembling organization within the last 5 years (but Sheridan knows better..), has upgraded at one of the few weaknesses they had with his addition.
I love D.J. Augustin. I watched him at St. Aug, I went to Texas and watched him every week, and I’ve enjoyed watching him in The League. But every off-season is ‘what-have-you-done-for-me-lately’, and D.J. was noticeably undersized and turnover-prone in last year’s playoffs.
He will bounce back as an even better shooter in a better situation for his game.
But now, Indiana has George Hill, a big, no-TO, defensive-minded, can’t-leave-open PG and C.J. to back him up, who is clearly not Hill, but more than close enough to be a very productive PG behind him.
I hope Sheridan made these comments with some type of psychological, positive intention to motivate C.J. because if not, he’s sadly uninformed for someone of such a supposed stature.