Well we all know Bron needs rest anyway cause 82 games is too much for as superstargalaxyoftheworld type player to play every season. 20 game vacation will be nice. Or Bron coming back next season looking like Trevor Ariza
Howard... James... Griffin?... Bryant? They're not going after these guys. Another farce until I see otherwise. I'd have loved if the NBA embraced HGH though. How bold of a move would that be?
I find it strange they're using the specific term HGH and not PEDs. Kobe basically blood dopes his knees. I'm also sure there's rampant steroid use.
Totally surprising (sarcasm). People on this very board (I think) said that that was coming when they saw LBJ slim down.
@trodgers yeah, it certainly would not surprise me if the league have him a year in advance heads up. Can't have their golden goose get that kind of negative press.
I wouldn't be surprised if HGH use is more rampant than people think. My concern is that HGH is used a lot to help athletes with recovery, so I'm afraid enforcing the ban will cause more injuries.
Total conspiracy theory here, but I wonder if Lebron and Melo (Two of the most notable people that slimmed down drastically) thought the testing was coming this year? I say this because Lebron looks like crap the 1st part of the season and goes to Miami for two weeks and comes back lighting people up. Did he get word that the testing wasn't coming this year and resumed back on his daily PEDs binge? It will be interesting to see what he does this offseason. If he slims down again and stays that way next season, you know he was tipped off.
Isn't his "secret" one of the worst kept secrets of the NBA? I mean really? He lost 30 pounds in a month and a half right AFTER the Finals where every single media outlet was screaming "He's in the best shape of any human on the planet you don't understand his cramps!!!!" So this guy in the most amazing shape ever loses 30 pounds and looks like he's got malaria over the summer... right... Then he sucks when the season starts, looks less explosive, uninterested, weaker physically... takes a two week vacation in f***ing Miami the HGH/PED capital of the world, comes back and is all of a sudden dominant again? The worst kept secret in sports. I can't wait until that story drops and his name is dragged through the mud.
It is the worst kept secret ever. I look at it like the "flop" rule. The NBA wants to appear tough on these things but not to shoot themselves in the foot by snaring their golden eggs. Lebron, Harden, CP3, Griffin are some of the leagues most notorious floppers yet, I believe, not one of them have been fined. This HGH testing is to catch a few mid-level even lower quality upper-level players to show they are "serious." They will only hit a big name if its A) someone on the way out, B) someone that the market doesn't matter much anyway. I could see them hammering Kobe if he popped positive because it further diminishes him and thus helps to raise the image of the guys they wish to promote. Maybe they wouldn't mind a Dwight hit especially since Hou has been able to play without the unjury prone diva. If they hit Lebron I'd fall out of my seat and probably have a stroke, bring myself back to life just to do it again. seriously.
I do find it coincidental that all of Kobe, LeBron and Melo took significant time off this season. Also Dwight.
Even he could be using some form of PEDs for recovery. I mean a dude that skinny has to be taking a punishment in the NBA.
Just some honest questions... Why does the public have such a negative view on HGH? Does it have some long-term detrimental side effects?
As far as I know, the public is against HGH almost exclusively because it's cheating. There are long-term effects similar to steroid use (chemical imbalance type stuff), but without the brittle bones and weak connective tissue. At least in my experience dealing with people who have used. Long-term testing is still under review though since it hasn't been mainstream as long as steroid use. I haven't researched it in a while, so others may have more info. I know though that it's not the negative side effects that people dislike, it's the perceived cheating. HGH use was made popular by the outing of steroid use. Once they started testing for steroids, cheaters found other methods. I know guys like Arnold and Stallone have used HGH proudly. Stallone has been a huge proponent of HGH use.
i think the issue is competitive advantage: either allow all or none. i worry about all, simply because of unintended consequences (long term health problems for players, more severe injuries resulting from the extra training/strength/speed gained from the use of the substances, etc.). none is obviously impossible, though, so...glad it's not my problem!
I know for me it is about not being able to be the best with your natural ability. I think body building has an all natural comp and a not-so-natural comp. Like someone said, if it is going to be some then make everyone do it (which won't happen). What I really think about is when guys like (baseball time) Matt Kemp gets runner up to MVP to Braun who test positive and is suspended the next season. Kemp did it right but Braun got the undeserved hardware. I rather have my game clean.
