Nick C.: Ruru you could say the same about hitting a baseball which is frequently (rightly or wrongly) referred to as “the hardest thing in sports”Essentially basketball much like tennis and track involves a lot of running and jumping. I don’t think anyone disputes that sprinting and PED use are common. And if you follow the Operation Puerto news in Spain it was only the cyclists that were named even though there were athletes from other sports involved. cough cough Nadal and real Madrid.

I suppose. It’s just my personal belief that’s its far less pervasive in basketball. I think we need a few documented cases before we start speculating on the “average player.”

ruruland:
I say that because so many NBA players just don’t care what they put into their bodies.

JR Smith is an example, Melo used to be , too.

It’s different than football or baseball, really.

Performance enhancing drugs primarily help with endurance and muscle mass increase, perhaps strength improvements and the quick re-build of muscle fibers.

Basketball is largely a game of skill and athleticism.You don’t see players getting a lot stronger. It would be much more difficult to hide the side effects of peds in basketball than it is in football and baseball, two sports where peds actually make sense.

Ruru you could say the same about hitting a baseball which is frequently (rightly or wrongly) referred to as “the hardest thing in sports” Essentially basketball much like tennis and track involves a lot of running and jumping. I don’t think anyone disputes that sprinting and PED use are common. And if you follow the Operation Puerto news in Spain it was only the cyclists that were named even though there were athletes from other sports involved. cough cough Nadal and real Madrid.

JR Smith is an example, Melo used to be , too.

It’s different than football or baseball, really.

Performance enhancing drugs primarily help with endurance and muscle mass increase, perhaps strength improvements and the quick re-build of muscle fibers.

Basketball is largely a game of skill and athleticism. You don’t see players getting a lot stronger. It would be much more difficult to hide the side effects of peds in basketball than it is in football and baseball, two sports where peds actually make sense.

KnickfaninNJ: And one who get’s into unreasonable rages.Unfortunately, that reminds of some recent articlesby Bill Simmons about things he has been thinking about athletes but not saying, if you know what I mean.

No, Martin would be one of the last guys on illicit peds. The story has always gone that his rage stems from being bullied as a child with a speech impediment.

The bottom line is that the NBA is filled with 99th percentile athletes, and among the group there are, idk, maybe 50-100 guys that are on a different plane than the rest of humanity.

Iverson was another guy who could maintain 4-5 % body fat, eat whatever he wanted, stay up, drink all night, and score 50 on a couple hours of sleep.

I don’t really buy Simmons’ thesis.

KnickfaninNJ: And one who get’s into unreasonable rages.Unfortunately, that reminds of some recent articlesby Bill Simmons about things he has been thinking about athletes but not saying, if you know what I mean.

I would be floored if <50% of the league wasn't on some sort of PED. Seriously. So Kenyon would just be part of a big club.

When Martin entered the league, the Knicks were a few weeks removed from the NBA finals. (Yes, it was a long time ago).

And when Jason Kidd entered the league, the Knicks were also a few weeks removed from the NBA finals. (Yes, it was a loooong time ago).

Ironically, the 1998 knicks were the previous Oldest NBA Team Ever. That summer Grunfeld traded Oakley for Camby in an effort to get younger. 15 years later Grunwald trades 3 guys on rookie contracts for Camby in an effort to get older. (1998 never looked so good!)

ruruland: Martin is a freak of nature athlete that can maintain 5 percent body fat regardless of what he does working out/diet (or so says Steve Hess).

And one who get’s into unreasonable rages. Unfortunately, that reminds of some recent articles by Bill Simmons about things he has been thinking about athletes but not saying, if you know what I mean.