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Dif's World of Basketball
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Devin Harris at Dunkin Donuts
Devin Harris of the NJ Nets was at the grand opening of a new Dunkin Donuts in Hackensack, NJ.
He was there to sign autographs and glad hand with the people. He was scheduled to start signing at 10 am to 1 pm. I arrived at 10:15 and waited on a modestly long line.
Once Devin arrived (10:30) he did a quick interview with WFAN and then began signing around 10:45. The people in charge there kept the line moving pretty quickly.
I was able to get my grey and blue Nets ball signed, seen in the photo there, and Devin was nice enough to take a picture with us.
The event overall was pretty good. Dunkin Donuts employees were walking around handing out free samples and there were other companies there giving away SWAG.
Snap Sports assempled a little court there with a hoop and all where kids gathered to shoot foul shots and what not.
Of all the things I saw get signed, the coolest I thought was a fan who had made a commemorative jersey honoring Harris' career high 47 point game against the Suns on 11/30.
While I didn't see the front, the back had Harris where the names would normally be, the number was 47 and then underneath the number had the date 11/30/08. A nice job by the fan, and he got it signed so that's a nice collector item for him.
I shook Devin's hand and told him nice season. Devin was polite and took time with each person which I thought was cool.
Snap Sports assempled a little court there with a hoop and all where kids gathered to shoot foul shots and what not.
Of all the things I saw get signed, the coolest I thought was a fan who had made a commemorative jersey honoring Harris' career high 47 point game against the Suns on 11/30.
While I didn't see the front, the back had Harris where the names would normally be, the number was 47 and then underneath the number had the date 11/30/08. A nice job by the fan, and he got it signed so that's a nice collector item for him.
I shook Devin's hand and told him nice season. Devin was polite and took time with each person which I thought was cool.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Kobe Bryant Undberbite Face
There it is. I'm going to dub this the Kobe underbite face. Being a lover of all emotion being showed after a play, this has excited me greatly. I love the pure emotion stuff, not the pre-mediated stuff. I have no idea if this is something Kobe has been doing all season long, but I've only started noticing it in Game 6 of the Denver series and it was in full form tonight.
You can be sure I am going to be keeping track of this closely in Game 2 and from here on out.
NBA Finals Game 1
Well since the Anthony Johnson experiment didn't work out so well..at least not in Game 1. Here he is doing what he did for the full 48, sitting the bench. Jameer Nelson came back and hit his first shot and from there it was all over for our ex-Net buddy. I thought he maybe had a shot of seeing some garbage time, but the NBA gods did not smile on him today. Anyways onto my thoughts from the finals, Game 1, aka the Lakers shellacking of the Magic.- First of all, they're all not going to be this easy for the Lakers surely. But from watching this game today you have to think the Lakers are just the better team, and may have too much offensively for the Magic to handle.
- Kobe. Mamba. Here's the thing about Kobe. He is just an extroadinary shot-maker. Turning around towards traffic, getting hit, and banking it in from the center of the lane? Check. Slashing from the wing through two defenders, hanging in midair, avoiding shot blocker and finish with right hand across his body? Check. Coming off a handoff, fading away with a hand in his face to his right? Check. While Kobe did have a lot of rhythm shots as Dwight pointed out after the game, he did take and make his fair share of difficult shots, but thing is he makes the difficult seem and look routine. I also loved his use of ball screens. He proved that if you have proper spacing, you can literally walk a defender up to a screen, who knows the screen is coming, he'll still get stuck on it as Kobe did using a Gasol screen and Pietrus got stuck on it. Final thought on Kobe, absolutely love the underbite face. I saw him break it out in Game 6 against the Nuggets and I saw it again tonight after he made that bank shot and 1 in the third quarter. Love it.
- Gasol. You would think Dwight would destroy Gasol right? Well didn't happen tonight at least. Thing about Gasol is he's a smart defender. And granted the times he was isolated with Dwight, the Lakers sent some help, at least guys like Fisher and Kobe stunting at him, but Gasol is crafty and picked up two offensive fouls on Howard. You have to remember Gasol has been through some wars not just in the NBA but in Europe. While he never played anyone of Howard's physical stature in Euro, he did pick up some tricks as were evident tonight. Howard also just isn't there yet as an offensive player. He needs to slow himself down and make his moves despite those guards coming down and slapping at the ball. One quick move and the important thing is, finish. He had some opportunities near the rim tonight that he failed to convert.
- Odom should start getting some credit on the defensive end. He's always known as sort of a virtuoso offensive player, but his skills translate nicely to the opposite side of the ball as well. Much different having him closeout on Rashard shooting a three than it is having Delonte West huh. I think Rashard made the correct adjustment simply stepping by the sprinting Odom, but it seemed like Rashard was indecisive on whether to go all the way into the rim or settle for a pull up. He sort of got stuck in that inbetween shot that he missed.
- Can Courtney Lee defend Kobe Bryant? I've read and heard a lot about how smart a defender CLee may be, and thats fine. But Kobe might just be too strong, and too smart for him. I wrote on twitter that I couldn't wait for a Kobe clinic at the pinch post, and while it may not have been clinic worthy from that position alone, it was clear that was where he wanted the ball when Lee was on him and he can more times than not get that turn around shot which is essentially uncontested.
- Two things I noticed about Magic fashion. First of all where did Dwight get that arm sleeve with the silver lines on it? Don't think that sleeve is too hip, I'll be honest. Secondly has Jameer Nelson always played with his mouth guard hanging out of his mouth? I understand luck and comfort but that just seems unnessecary.
- Vince Carter gave Brook Lopez this tip in the beginning of the season and I think someone should pass it along to Andrew Bynum. Try and dunk everything! Bynum, you're 7 ft tall, you got defenders bouncing off you and flying by you under the basket and you're going up weak and trying to lay it in? Maybe he doesn't have his usual explosion out of his knees, but for god sakes go up with two hands and throw that thing in.
- If you're Orlando, how excited are you that a lot of the success you're going to have in this series is if Rafer Alston can make the Lakers pay by consistently hitting from outside?
- Mickael Pietrus was secretly (or not, but doesn't seem like many people are talking about it) good signing for the Magic. I like him a lot as a player. Has good size, athleticism. Can shoot it. I felt he really competed against Kobe the time's he was on him. Seemed to have pretty active hands. Seemed like a guy who would serve pretty well in the Nellieball system over at GSW but maybe he just didn't get enough minutes behind S. Jackson?
- Final thought..Dwight Howard same message goes to you that goes to Lebron. Time to just play the game son. We get it. You like to have fun Dwight, we get it. There comes a time though when fun has to be checked at the door and business time has to take over, and Dwight that time was weeks ago, but why not start now. Don't do you're stupid fall away shake with the towel before the game. Nobody cares. You know what Magic fans want out of you? Production. Save your antics for the celebratory parade..but help your team get their first. We get it, you like to have fun. Now its business time.
A Nets Fans Tribute
During this NBA Finals I will of course add my opinion to the action that is going on the court just like everyone else. Though you are going to read probably about 50 other Finals breakdowns from people who are admittedly smarter than me. So in an effort to keep things fresh I'm going to keep another angle alive.
I call it, the Nets dedication angle. Upon thinking about these NBA Finals from a Nets fans mind, I was trying to think of an angle that would pertain to the Nets. I was all juiced up when Kmart was in the conference finals because I thought he was going to reappear and get his shot at a championship which he didn't attain with the Nets. But then, Kobe did his thing, and took KMart out. So that got me to thinking, who on either of these teams rosters had Nets ties?
Well looking at the Lakers, they had none, though I wrote on my blog and Ian O'Connor of the Record covered extensively that Kobe could have been a Net had he not threatened to play in Italy had the Nets drafted him.
How about on the Magic? Well one of the big story lines for the Magic heading into this Finals is whether or not All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson is going to play. This story actually puts the one former Net player in this whole finals in the spot light as well, Magic backup point guard Anthony Johnson.
Ah yes, every Nets fan favorite backup. The towel waving back up to the great Jason Kidd. No one really knew the true value of Johnson until after he left, and we the Nets, had a tough time finding another reliable backup, and only this year we found Keyon Dooling to do the job.
Of course no one will forget in the 2006 NBA playoffs when the Nets met the Pacers in the first round and Anthony Johnson absolutely had the series of his life..including this game in which he actually went off for 40 points against Jason Kidd. Ridicolous game to watch by the way. I think I screamed at my TV five different times.."It's Anthony freaking Johnson for god sake!"
Well I'm going to be detailing what Anthony Johnson does in this playoffs as a tribute and a sign of loyalty to those who gave their all for the Nets organization. Right now here's where we stand with AJ's playoff stats - a very modest 4.3 ppg, 2.1 apg, and 1.4 rpg in 14.7 mpg. His minutes though are sure to go down as the roations get smaller and the threat of Jameer playing which is looming large. So we'll see how he does.
I call it, the Nets dedication angle. Upon thinking about these NBA Finals from a Nets fans mind, I was trying to think of an angle that would pertain to the Nets. I was all juiced up when Kmart was in the conference finals because I thought he was going to reappear and get his shot at a championship which he didn't attain with the Nets. But then, Kobe did his thing, and took KMart out. So that got me to thinking, who on either of these teams rosters had Nets ties?
Well looking at the Lakers, they had none, though I wrote on my blog and Ian O'Connor of the Record covered extensively that Kobe could have been a Net had he not threatened to play in Italy had the Nets drafted him.
How about on the Magic? Well one of the big story lines for the Magic heading into this Finals is whether or not All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson is going to play. This story actually puts the one former Net player in this whole finals in the spot light as well, Magic backup point guard Anthony Johnson.
Ah yes, every Nets fan favorite backup. The towel waving back up to the great Jason Kidd. No one really knew the true value of Johnson until after he left, and we the Nets, had a tough time finding another reliable backup, and only this year we found Keyon Dooling to do the job.
Of course no one will forget in the 2006 NBA playoffs when the Nets met the Pacers in the first round and Anthony Johnson absolutely had the series of his life..including this game in which he actually went off for 40 points against Jason Kidd. Ridicolous game to watch by the way. I think I screamed at my TV five different times.."It's Anthony freaking Johnson for god sake!"
Well I'm going to be detailing what Anthony Johnson does in this playoffs as a tribute and a sign of loyalty to those who gave their all for the Nets organization. Right now here's where we stand with AJ's playoff stats - a very modest 4.3 ppg, 2.1 apg, and 1.4 rpg in 14.7 mpg. His minutes though are sure to go down as the roations get smaller and the threat of Jameer playing which is looming large. So we'll see how he does.
The Almost Dynasty and Monster Draft
Just a mere 10 hours before the start of this year's NBA Finals..its not a bad idea to take a look back and see how each team got to where they are today. The Magic lucked out and won the lottery and then had the guts or foresight (however you want to look at it) to draft Dwight Howard. They then built their team around him. The Lakers are arguably built around Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson. It's interesting to note that this pairing, back in 1996, may have formed in somone else's arena..the New Jersey Nets'.
Yes Ian O'Connor of the record wrote about this today..you can find his article here. O'Connor tells the story of the 96' draft in which the Nets held the 8th pick, but were scared away from selecting Bryant, in fear that he would bolt for Italy instead of playing for the Nets (Rubio anyone?) And how the Nets tried luring Phil Jackson to a roster which was a "rebuilding project" which at the time was a knock on Phil Jackson, and I guess you could say it still is.
Either way read the article for the full details of both of those events, especially if your a Memphis Grizzlies fan because you may be in a similiar boat this year with Ricky Rubio. This article, however, reminded me of the 1996 draft class..and how good a class it was.
Here are some of the names you had in that class with the number pick they were in parenthesis. Allen Iverson (1), Marcus Camby (2), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (3), Stephon Marbury (4), Ray Allen (5), Antoine Walker (6), Kobe Bryant (13), Steve Nash (15), and Jermaine O'Neal (17). That is your crop of stars and all of those, with the exception of Camby, all went on to be the best players on their respective teams for years. You also had some other players who were main contributing factors to their teams, names like: Kerry Kittles (8), Erick Dampier (10), Peja Stojakovic (14), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (20), Derek Fisher (24), and Malik Rose (44).
This draft class had 10 all-stars and 11 if you count Ben Wallace, who was eligible for this draft but went undrafted. You had three different MVP's and four total..Iverson, Kobe, and Nash who won it twice. Thats an impressive class right there. As the draft approaches I think its interesting to take a look back at draft classes and see where guys fell and in this class Kobe going 13 looking back is pretty crazy, though it was noted that the Nets would have selected him at 8 had they thought he would have played.
Either way when the finals begin tonight and they are announcing the starting lineups, take note that the Lakers had the vision to draft their starting backcourt for the 2009 Finals 13 years ago in 1996.
Here is the full draft - 1996 NBA Draft
Yes Ian O'Connor of the record wrote about this today..you can find his article here. O'Connor tells the story of the 96' draft in which the Nets held the 8th pick, but were scared away from selecting Bryant, in fear that he would bolt for Italy instead of playing for the Nets (Rubio anyone?) And how the Nets tried luring Phil Jackson to a roster which was a "rebuilding project" which at the time was a knock on Phil Jackson, and I guess you could say it still is.
Either way read the article for the full details of both of those events, especially if your a Memphis Grizzlies fan because you may be in a similiar boat this year with Ricky Rubio. This article, however, reminded me of the 1996 draft class..and how good a class it was.
Here are some of the names you had in that class with the number pick they were in parenthesis. Allen Iverson (1), Marcus Camby (2), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (3), Stephon Marbury (4), Ray Allen (5), Antoine Walker (6), Kobe Bryant (13), Steve Nash (15), and Jermaine O'Neal (17). That is your crop of stars and all of those, with the exception of Camby, all went on to be the best players on their respective teams for years. You also had some other players who were main contributing factors to their teams, names like: Kerry Kittles (8), Erick Dampier (10), Peja Stojakovic (14), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (20), Derek Fisher (24), and Malik Rose (44).
This draft class had 10 all-stars and 11 if you count Ben Wallace, who was eligible for this draft but went undrafted. You had three different MVP's and four total..Iverson, Kobe, and Nash who won it twice. Thats an impressive class right there. As the draft approaches I think its interesting to take a look back at draft classes and see where guys fell and in this class Kobe going 13 looking back is pretty crazy, though it was noted that the Nets would have selected him at 8 had they thought he would have played.
Either way when the finals begin tonight and they are announcing the starting lineups, take note that the Lakers had the vision to draft their starting backcourt for the 2009 Finals 13 years ago in 1996.
Here is the full draft - 1996 NBA Draft
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
ESPN Classic NBA Finals Marathon
Clearly someone who works over at ESPN Classic caught wind of the Hoopennium 1000 hour experiment, got in their executives ears, and threw Hoopennium a bone with their NBA Finals Marathon they aired today giving Hoop a nice start into the video gathering campaign. These were the games that ran today in case you missed them:
1984 Celtics vs. Lakers Game 4
2006 Heat vs. Mavericks Game 6 - the closeout game if I'm not mistaken.
2003 Nets vs. Spurs Game 6 - also the closeout game, in which the Nets held a lead in the second half until S. Jackson went nuts..sadly, if I'm not mistaken.
1998 Bulls vs. Jazz Game 6 - 2 hours of MJ.
2008 Celtics vs. Lakers Game 4 - Nice symetry here as they are starting and ending the marathon with Lakers/Celtics game 4's which were played 28 years apart.
So thats five games or 10 hours for our purposes..all dubbed "classics" which will be added into the Hoopennium bank of film.
1984 Celtics vs. Lakers Game 4
2006 Heat vs. Mavericks Game 6 - the closeout game if I'm not mistaken.
2003 Nets vs. Spurs Game 6 - also the closeout game, in which the Nets held a lead in the second half until S. Jackson went nuts..sadly, if I'm not mistaken.
1998 Bulls vs. Jazz Game 6 - 2 hours of MJ.
2008 Celtics vs. Lakers Game 4 - Nice symetry here as they are starting and ending the marathon with Lakers/Celtics game 4's which were played 28 years apart.
So thats five games or 10 hours for our purposes..all dubbed "classics" which will be added into the Hoopennium bank of film.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Extended Blog Roll
Ok so instead of just throwing up a blog roll on the side of my page without much explanation I decided it would be best and would do the most justice to introduce these few blogs this way. All these blogs are a part of my daily reading and if you are an NBA fan and want to be informed..these are things you need to be reading. Before we get into that though, I would like to offer some quick thoughts on the blogging world and how I feel about it..and let's be honest, who doesn't want to read the thoughts of an uninformed writer?
Well it all started about a year ago. I came across the blog Truehoop which I'll go into more detail later on. I began reading this blog daily and quickly came to realize that what I enjoy doing in life is watching basketball at night, then waking up, reading content on the previous nights games, and then forming my own opinions on things. Thats when I realized thats roughly what the author of truehoop, Henry Abbott, does for a living. So thats when I began to formulate the idea of doing this myself for a living. I'm not quite there yet, but you never know. Anyways, I think we are at a truly special time for sports. The internet has become such a haven for well informed, smart people just digesting these games and then spitting out info from the games for us to consume. ESPN has their writers and analysts writing blogs and issuing chats weekly. Now most of them have twitters where they are constantly releasing insight onto us all. You have people managing blogs for their own personal team which have just post after post which are loaded with facts and content for people to consume.
The beauty of this all is unlike newspapers you have that little button underneath almost every article you can read called "comment". Basically what this is doing is now allowing people to form their own opinions and engage in thoughtful discussion with others. Here's what I've come to realize...I love basketball more than anything in this world, thus conversely, I love to talk about basketball more than anything else. I've ran into a problem though trying to discuss basketball with someone less passionate as me and it just doesn't work out as well. What these blogs and twitter and those type applications are doing, is connecting people to other people who have similiar interests. That's really the amazing thing to me about these blogs is it's opening my eyes to just how many people there are out there as fanatical about basketball as I am. Well those were just some of the words I wanted to get off my chest about the blogging world and now without further ado, I give you my blog roll.
Truehoop - Granted if you've found my site, there is a good chance that you know of this site. But in the off chance that you don't, I'm going to give Truehoop its credit. An amazing site, updated regulary throughout the day. Smart posts that analyze both x's and o's of basketball as well as other issues in today's game. What this site has also done is create a network of other blogs. So by going to this site not only are you getting information from Truehoop you are getting information from a host of other blogs which currently has a network of 26 other blogs.
Rethinking Basketball - Very interesting blog that I acutally just came across lately. Pretty self explanatory. It tries to look at different issues in bball beside the x's and o's. It has a lot of content about the WNBA which is interesting. The site actually does a much better job than I about blogging and sports, and as soon as their site is cooperating with me I'll link it.
Basketball Coaching and Youth Basketball - If you are a coach and especially a youth basketball coach this is definitely a must read. Brian McCormick has a lot of innovative ideas about coaching and developing players. Very insightful and like I said, a must read for coaches and basketball enthusiasts the like.
Blog Maverick - After all the crazy antics you may see Mark Cuban portraying courtside during a Mavericks game, you'll find a truly brilliant man. Reading some of his posts you find out just how smart and business savvy he actually is. Not that I'm surprised considering he is a billionaire. But again a must read for people involved in business or sports.
For now these are all the blogs I am going to highlight. What I'm going to be doing from time to time is highlighting any other blogs that I feel you should be reading as a basketball enthusiast. I also will give a twitter rundown of people to follow on twitter. From here on out you will now be able to find my full blog roll on the right side of blog underneath the archives section. Otherwise thats it for today, keep up the faith! 1000 hours.
Well it all started about a year ago. I came across the blog Truehoop which I'll go into more detail later on. I began reading this blog daily and quickly came to realize that what I enjoy doing in life is watching basketball at night, then waking up, reading content on the previous nights games, and then forming my own opinions on things. Thats when I realized thats roughly what the author of truehoop, Henry Abbott, does for a living. So thats when I began to formulate the idea of doing this myself for a living. I'm not quite there yet, but you never know. Anyways, I think we are at a truly special time for sports. The internet has become such a haven for well informed, smart people just digesting these games and then spitting out info from the games for us to consume. ESPN has their writers and analysts writing blogs and issuing chats weekly. Now most of them have twitters where they are constantly releasing insight onto us all. You have people managing blogs for their own personal team which have just post after post which are loaded with facts and content for people to consume.
The beauty of this all is unlike newspapers you have that little button underneath almost every article you can read called "comment". Basically what this is doing is now allowing people to form their own opinions and engage in thoughtful discussion with others. Here's what I've come to realize...I love basketball more than anything in this world, thus conversely, I love to talk about basketball more than anything else. I've ran into a problem though trying to discuss basketball with someone less passionate as me and it just doesn't work out as well. What these blogs and twitter and those type applications are doing, is connecting people to other people who have similiar interests. That's really the amazing thing to me about these blogs is it's opening my eyes to just how many people there are out there as fanatical about basketball as I am. Well those were just some of the words I wanted to get off my chest about the blogging world and now without further ado, I give you my blog roll.
Truehoop - Granted if you've found my site, there is a good chance that you know of this site. But in the off chance that you don't, I'm going to give Truehoop its credit. An amazing site, updated regulary throughout the day. Smart posts that analyze both x's and o's of basketball as well as other issues in today's game. What this site has also done is create a network of other blogs. So by going to this site not only are you getting information from Truehoop you are getting information from a host of other blogs which currently has a network of 26 other blogs.
Rethinking Basketball - Very interesting blog that I acutally just came across lately. Pretty self explanatory. It tries to look at different issues in bball beside the x's and o's. It has a lot of content about the WNBA which is interesting. The site actually does a much better job than I about blogging and sports, and as soon as their site is cooperating with me I'll link it.
Basketball Coaching and Youth Basketball - If you are a coach and especially a youth basketball coach this is definitely a must read. Brian McCormick has a lot of innovative ideas about coaching and developing players. Very insightful and like I said, a must read for coaches and basketball enthusiasts the like.
Blog Maverick - After all the crazy antics you may see Mark Cuban portraying courtside during a Mavericks game, you'll find a truly brilliant man. Reading some of his posts you find out just how smart and business savvy he actually is. Not that I'm surprised considering he is a billionaire. But again a must read for people involved in business or sports.
For now these are all the blogs I am going to highlight. What I'm going to be doing from time to time is highlighting any other blogs that I feel you should be reading as a basketball enthusiast. I also will give a twitter rundown of people to follow on twitter. From here on out you will now be able to find my full blog roll on the right side of blog underneath the archives section. Otherwise thats it for today, keep up the faith! 1000 hours.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Dwight - Beast or No Beast?
Well tomorrow is the big day in Hoopennium history. It's the day which we really attack this thing and get things in motion more than they already are. I'm excited but nervous at the same time, hopefully things begin to carry the way they should. Now let's talk a little NBA..
I must say I am pretty surprised the Cavs bowed out as easily they did, but looking at the series they had with the Magic, I guess it was pretty clear that the Magic was the better team and deserved to win the series. I predicted on my twitter before Game 6 that the Magic would win behind 20 and 15 from Dwight and boy did I underestimate Dwight. Instead he finished with 40 points in just a truly dominating performance. The Magic really present some defensive dilemmas for any opposing teams. Double Dwight and now your leaving three to play four and are vulnerable to giving up rotation threes. Leave Dwight alone and single covered and well..he's going to score 40. Especially with Big Z or Anderson Varejao guarding him.
Here's where the NBA and the media is an interesting thing. The series before you had Kendrick Perkins doing more than an adequate job on Dwight, pushing him away from the basket, and forcing Dwight to try and score on moves going away from the hoop, ala running hooks. Somewhere in the middle of that series it was deemed by most that Dwight had no post game and was at times a detriment to his team when he got a touch in the low post. I remember reading something during the Sixers series in which someone was making the case that the Magic were actually better off with Gortat in the lineup. Now fast forward to Game 6 and Howard goes off for 40 points and now he is talked about as being dominant in the low blocks. If nothing else its an interesting argument.
How does all this factor into the finals matchup with the Lakers? Well lets look at the players that will potentially be covering Howard and how they matchup: Dwights measurables courtesy of ESPN.com. (Dwight Howard player page) 6-11, 265. Playoff Averages 18 games, 21.7 ppg, 15.4 rpg, 2.2 bpg.
Andrew Bynum - 7-0, 285. Playoff Averages 18 games, 16.9 mpg, 6.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.0 bpg. Sounds weird saying it, but Bynum may be the key to things for the Lakers, at least on the defensive side of the ball. The key to defending the Magic is staying home on their shooters and single covering Dwight, but as we saw in Game 6, when he is physically superior to his opponent he is just too overpowering to stop. Bynum though presents the combination of girth (similiar to Perkins who held Dwight to 16 ppg in that series) to push Dwight away from the hoop just a littler further before his first touch. He also then has the height and length to contest Dwights hooks, providing he has the lateral quickness to stay in front of him. I think it is interesting how the Lakers fans perception was that the difference between this years playoffs and last years playoffs was that this year they were going to have the services of Bynum. Then the playoffs started and Bynum found his minutes diminishing and his confidence shrinking, only to now be thrust back into things and considered a major piece. Bynum is going to get his fair shot here in this series to prove his true worth. While Howard has firmly established himself as the best young center in the game, and probably best center in general in the game, Bynum has a real shot to establish himself as a playoff performer in this series.
Pau Gasol - 7-0, 250 lbs. Playoff averages 18 games, 39.9 mpg, 18.2 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 2.0 bpg. Gasol is going to be an interesting matchup playing Howard. While he certainly has the length and lateral ability to give Howard some trouble, he certainly lacks the power to bump Dwight off his spots and disrupt him that way. Also Gasol is not known as much of a "banger" and his toughness will once again come into question here. Now assuming the Magic start Alston, Pietrus(Who I think will get the start of C. Lee, to cover Kobe), Turk, Lewis, Howard, question is how do the Lakers counter? Do they counter with a lineup of, Fisher, Kobe, Ariza, Gasol, Bynum? With that five you have Fish on Alston, Kobe on Pietrus, Bynum on Howard, but then what do you do with Gasol and Ariza? Either way you go you're going to have Gasol in an un-favorable matchup covering a perimeter player. Or if your Phil Jackson do you start Odom instead of Bynum and then allow Gasol to play behind Howard where he's at risk to get into early foul trouble? Some interesting choices lie ahead.
DJ Mbenga - 7-0, 255 lbs. Playoff Averages 4 games, 2.5 mpg, 0.5 ppg, o.5 rpg, .25 bpg. While Mbenga certainly hasn't played much at all this playoffs or regular season for that matter, Mbenga has one basic thing going for him which provides him with some value...6 personal fouls. I hate to downgrade a professional basketball player to just 6 personal fouls, but let's be honest, thats all Mbenga has going for him (Does anyone remember Elden Campbell in the Lakers/Pistons final in 2004?) Now I am not suggesting that Mbenga will play much in this series either, but the one notion about covering Dwight is to wrap him up and make him earn his points at the line, though Howard is shooting .647 from the foul line in the playoffs and came off 70 percent shooting from the line in the Cleveland series in which he was sent to the line 67 times, the most in his three playoff series. I still agree with when the time presents itself to have Mbenga go in there, bang Dwight, and then wrap him up and see if he can continue his hot shooting. Now the Lakers need to do a better job than Cleveland did of fouling and not allowing Howard to get the ball above his head when from there he can still finish the shot, and attempt to score 3 points, as opposed to fouling him and him scoring either 0, 1, or 2 points.
In true man to man situations these are the players on the Lakers roster who are best equipped to play Howard. In a pinch I suppose you could play Odom sparingly on him, but I just worry about the other 4 players on the court for the Lakers if that was the case. Also keep in mind that the Lakers play that sort of hybrid man/zone defense in which they send another defender (usually a big) to the ball side and then zone up the weakside, however, that is used more in wing isolations which the Magic do not do so much.
Should make for an interesting series full of adjustments, but the I think the Lakers are little thin in front line depth, so it would be in the Magic's best interest to go into Dwight early and often, putting the pressure on Gasol/Bynum to play Howard without fouling him.
One other quick thought about Lebron James. I'm pretty surprised there hasn't been much backlash for his actions after Game 6, and if there has been, I haven't seen the articles so please send them. Now I can understand not shaking hands, and while I don't agree and think it makes you look a little immature, I understand it. I don't understand though how he did not face the media. Facing the media is a part of being a professional and should be done when things are good or bad. I think he owed it to his fans or witnesses to be accountable for the series. I also think its interesting and is a topic to discuss in more detail maybe further in media perception. Now what is the general attitude of anyone involved if Kobe Bryant did the same thing? I'll tell you..Kobe would be villified. How about Michael Jordan? MJ would probably be praised for being an ultimate competitor. So its interesting the way the same action can be spun in three different directions. If I had one tip for the Cavs though and Mike Brown (if he keeps his job, COY and canned in the same year?) it would be this: Next year, when breaking your huddles, mutter this phrase...All Business on three, 1, 2, 3..All business!! I think the Cavs and LeBron in particular need to take a little more of a "business like" approach to the season, and a little less pre-game posing and gametime posing after big plays. Here's the thing Lebron, we get it. You're an amazing physical specimen, with gifts given to you that no other basketball player has ever had. You have the combination of size, strength, athleticism and basketball skill that is basically unheard of. We get it. In Game 1 Lebron had this stretch in the second quarter of three plays: an open court monster dunk, then he came down on defense and stuffed Dwight Howard on a weak side block in which he fell over, the Cavs brought the ball up the court and then hit James who was trailing the play for a knockdown three in which basically tore the roof off the building. James then after the ensuing Magic timeout was walking along the sideline hamming it up for the crowd. Oh yeah, the Cavs lost Game 1, and the series. Like I said, we get it Lebron. Next year I'd like to see more of a "we've been here before approach" and less of a "I'm the best in the world and I'm going to show off like I am approach".
I must say I am pretty surprised the Cavs bowed out as easily they did, but looking at the series they had with the Magic, I guess it was pretty clear that the Magic was the better team and deserved to win the series. I predicted on my twitter before Game 6 that the Magic would win behind 20 and 15 from Dwight and boy did I underestimate Dwight. Instead he finished with 40 points in just a truly dominating performance. The Magic really present some defensive dilemmas for any opposing teams. Double Dwight and now your leaving three to play four and are vulnerable to giving up rotation threes. Leave Dwight alone and single covered and well..he's going to score 40. Especially with Big Z or Anderson Varejao guarding him.
Here's where the NBA and the media is an interesting thing. The series before you had Kendrick Perkins doing more than an adequate job on Dwight, pushing him away from the basket, and forcing Dwight to try and score on moves going away from the hoop, ala running hooks. Somewhere in the middle of that series it was deemed by most that Dwight had no post game and was at times a detriment to his team when he got a touch in the low post. I remember reading something during the Sixers series in which someone was making the case that the Magic were actually better off with Gortat in the lineup. Now fast forward to Game 6 and Howard goes off for 40 points and now he is talked about as being dominant in the low blocks. If nothing else its an interesting argument.
How does all this factor into the finals matchup with the Lakers? Well lets look at the players that will potentially be covering Howard and how they matchup: Dwights measurables courtesy of ESPN.com. (Dwight Howard player page) 6-11, 265. Playoff Averages 18 games, 21.7 ppg, 15.4 rpg, 2.2 bpg.
Andrew Bynum - 7-0, 285. Playoff Averages 18 games, 16.9 mpg, 6.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.0 bpg. Sounds weird saying it, but Bynum may be the key to things for the Lakers, at least on the defensive side of the ball. The key to defending the Magic is staying home on their shooters and single covering Dwight, but as we saw in Game 6, when he is physically superior to his opponent he is just too overpowering to stop. Bynum though presents the combination of girth (similiar to Perkins who held Dwight to 16 ppg in that series) to push Dwight away from the hoop just a littler further before his first touch. He also then has the height and length to contest Dwights hooks, providing he has the lateral quickness to stay in front of him. I think it is interesting how the Lakers fans perception was that the difference between this years playoffs and last years playoffs was that this year they were going to have the services of Bynum. Then the playoffs started and Bynum found his minutes diminishing and his confidence shrinking, only to now be thrust back into things and considered a major piece. Bynum is going to get his fair shot here in this series to prove his true worth. While Howard has firmly established himself as the best young center in the game, and probably best center in general in the game, Bynum has a real shot to establish himself as a playoff performer in this series.
Pau Gasol - 7-0, 250 lbs. Playoff averages 18 games, 39.9 mpg, 18.2 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 2.0 bpg. Gasol is going to be an interesting matchup playing Howard. While he certainly has the length and lateral ability to give Howard some trouble, he certainly lacks the power to bump Dwight off his spots and disrupt him that way. Also Gasol is not known as much of a "banger" and his toughness will once again come into question here. Now assuming the Magic start Alston, Pietrus(Who I think will get the start of C. Lee, to cover Kobe), Turk, Lewis, Howard, question is how do the Lakers counter? Do they counter with a lineup of, Fisher, Kobe, Ariza, Gasol, Bynum? With that five you have Fish on Alston, Kobe on Pietrus, Bynum on Howard, but then what do you do with Gasol and Ariza? Either way you go you're going to have Gasol in an un-favorable matchup covering a perimeter player. Or if your Phil Jackson do you start Odom instead of Bynum and then allow Gasol to play behind Howard where he's at risk to get into early foul trouble? Some interesting choices lie ahead.
DJ Mbenga - 7-0, 255 lbs. Playoff Averages 4 games, 2.5 mpg, 0.5 ppg, o.5 rpg, .25 bpg. While Mbenga certainly hasn't played much at all this playoffs or regular season for that matter, Mbenga has one basic thing going for him which provides him with some value...6 personal fouls. I hate to downgrade a professional basketball player to just 6 personal fouls, but let's be honest, thats all Mbenga has going for him (Does anyone remember Elden Campbell in the Lakers/Pistons final in 2004?) Now I am not suggesting that Mbenga will play much in this series either, but the one notion about covering Dwight is to wrap him up and make him earn his points at the line, though Howard is shooting .647 from the foul line in the playoffs and came off 70 percent shooting from the line in the Cleveland series in which he was sent to the line 67 times, the most in his three playoff series. I still agree with when the time presents itself to have Mbenga go in there, bang Dwight, and then wrap him up and see if he can continue his hot shooting. Now the Lakers need to do a better job than Cleveland did of fouling and not allowing Howard to get the ball above his head when from there he can still finish the shot, and attempt to score 3 points, as opposed to fouling him and him scoring either 0, 1, or 2 points.
In true man to man situations these are the players on the Lakers roster who are best equipped to play Howard. In a pinch I suppose you could play Odom sparingly on him, but I just worry about the other 4 players on the court for the Lakers if that was the case. Also keep in mind that the Lakers play that sort of hybrid man/zone defense in which they send another defender (usually a big) to the ball side and then zone up the weakside, however, that is used more in wing isolations which the Magic do not do so much.
Should make for an interesting series full of adjustments, but the I think the Lakers are little thin in front line depth, so it would be in the Magic's best interest to go into Dwight early and often, putting the pressure on Gasol/Bynum to play Howard without fouling him.
One other quick thought about Lebron James. I'm pretty surprised there hasn't been much backlash for his actions after Game 6, and if there has been, I haven't seen the articles so please send them. Now I can understand not shaking hands, and while I don't agree and think it makes you look a little immature, I understand it. I don't understand though how he did not face the media. Facing the media is a part of being a professional and should be done when things are good or bad. I think he owed it to his fans or witnesses to be accountable for the series. I also think its interesting and is a topic to discuss in more detail maybe further in media perception. Now what is the general attitude of anyone involved if Kobe Bryant did the same thing? I'll tell you..Kobe would be villified. How about Michael Jordan? MJ would probably be praised for being an ultimate competitor. So its interesting the way the same action can be spun in three different directions. If I had one tip for the Cavs though and Mike Brown (if he keeps his job, COY and canned in the same year?) it would be this: Next year, when breaking your huddles, mutter this phrase...All Business on three, 1, 2, 3..All business!! I think the Cavs and LeBron in particular need to take a little more of a "business like" approach to the season, and a little less pre-game posing and gametime posing after big plays. Here's the thing Lebron, we get it. You're an amazing physical specimen, with gifts given to you that no other basketball player has ever had. You have the combination of size, strength, athleticism and basketball skill that is basically unheard of. We get it. In Game 1 Lebron had this stretch in the second quarter of three plays: an open court monster dunk, then he came down on defense and stuffed Dwight Howard on a weak side block in which he fell over, the Cavs brought the ball up the court and then hit James who was trailing the play for a knockdown three in which basically tore the roof off the building. James then after the ensuing Magic timeout was walking along the sideline hamming it up for the crowd. Oh yeah, the Cavs lost Game 1, and the series. Like I said, we get it Lebron. Next year I'd like to see more of a "we've been here before approach" and less of a "I'm the best in the world and I'm going to show off like I am approach".
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Weekend 1000
Here's how the weekend is going to be going blog wise here.
Friday night - will be at a bar to watch the Lakers Nuggets Game 6. Thoughts may follow though its not definite.
Sat/Sun I am going to be at an AAU tournament most of both days, probably keeping notes for some writing about AAU on Sunday night or Monday. Check Twitter, which will be updated slightly more regulary through the weekend though if you're keeping up with all things Hoopennium related.
We have 11 followers so far, but each day we've added one and thats encourage. Monday we are going full fledged pedal to the metal. I need to start gathering video and aligning things up for my viewing. Enjoy the games tonight..Lets see if the Black Mamba can be the killer I think he is on the road or if Denver will hold serve and send this thing to seven.
Friday night - will be at a bar to watch the Lakers Nuggets Game 6. Thoughts may follow though its not definite.
Sat/Sun I am going to be at an AAU tournament most of both days, probably keeping notes for some writing about AAU on Sunday night or Monday. Check Twitter, which will be updated slightly more regulary through the weekend though if you're keeping up with all things Hoopennium related.
We have 11 followers so far, but each day we've added one and thats encourage. Monday we are going full fledged pedal to the metal. I need to start gathering video and aligning things up for my viewing. Enjoy the games tonight..Lets see if the Black Mamba can be the killer I think he is on the road or if Denver will hold serve and send this thing to seven.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Updates and Some Quick Thoughts on Cavs-Magics
So day 2 in of the operation and we're chugging along here like a well oiled machine at Team Hoopennium. If I had a whole bunch of ducks, I'd be putting them in a row right now (ducks in a row). Thats where we're at. Organizing everything, getting everything set for our big June push. To give you a reminder of ways to get in touch with Hoopennium:
Twitter - www.twitter.com/h00pennium
Facebook - You can find me on facebook, just search Hoop Ennium
As always email - hoopennium@gmail.com
Now some quick thoughts from the Cavs/Magic Game 5.
-The Magic are just the better team in this series. I think they will win Game 6. Their baskets just come much easier. A high pick and roll, and two passes and they have wide open three for Alston or Lewis or Lee or Pietrus. It's pretty much that easy. If the three is not there..you have the Cavs scrambling in rotation and the Magic then have drive and kick opportunities. Also on the roll Dwight or Gortat are able to get good positioning for weak side O-Rebounds.
-Is Hedo one of the best 6-10 creators off the Pick and Roll ever? He gets pretty much whatever he wants off it each time it seems. He's a threat to shoot from deep and he's deceptive on his drives to the hoop in a way in which Ginobili was. Taking angled strides to the basket. Plus his height gives him the vision advantage and it allows him to throw over the top of the defense.
-Who's more important to the Cavs success, Delonte West or Mo Williams? Williams is the all-star guard and probably the obvious choice. But upon further review, West has taken a game deciding shot in Game 1 already (which he missed but still trusted to take) and seems more of a crunch time guy. Plus he's covering Hedo freaking Turkoglu for stretches! He's giving up close to seven inches in that matchup! And doing a good job at it by the way.
-Lebron James is absolutely unstoppable when moving with a full head of steam, especially in transition. Reminds of this one clip of Charles Barkley barreling coast to coast, except he's bigger, stronger and faster. And more agile. And a better leaper. And a stronger finisher. And has better handle. Yeah he's pretty good. Can't the Cavs get some sets where Lebrons receiving a dribble hand-off off of a curl or something? To generate some of that forward motion for him?
- Big Z looks like he's playing with cement blocks as sneakers. He looks much slower than normal. Wonder if those puppies are acting up again like in the old days. Oh yeah well that and the fact that he's also covering a guy nicknamed "Superman".
- Either way, we're all winners here because this series has been entertaining. Despite people's thoughts on the fouls which there has been too many. But I've still had a lot of enjoyment watching and hope it goes seven.
-On a lighter note, how many Millers can be in one broadcast. I really really hope two is the limit. Reg or Cheryl hopefully don't have any sons or daughters on the way. I hope not.
Ok so thats all for tonight. Keep your eye out for updates. Enjoy Lakers Nuggets. Holla, 1000 hours baby, Can it be done???
Twitter - www.twitter.com/h00pennium
Facebook - You can find me on facebook, just search Hoop Ennium
As always email - hoopennium@gmail.com
Now some quick thoughts from the Cavs/Magic Game 5.
-The Magic are just the better team in this series. I think they will win Game 6. Their baskets just come much easier. A high pick and roll, and two passes and they have wide open three for Alston or Lewis or Lee or Pietrus. It's pretty much that easy. If the three is not there..you have the Cavs scrambling in rotation and the Magic then have drive and kick opportunities. Also on the roll Dwight or Gortat are able to get good positioning for weak side O-Rebounds.
-Is Hedo one of the best 6-10 creators off the Pick and Roll ever? He gets pretty much whatever he wants off it each time it seems. He's a threat to shoot from deep and he's deceptive on his drives to the hoop in a way in which Ginobili was. Taking angled strides to the basket. Plus his height gives him the vision advantage and it allows him to throw over the top of the defense.
-Who's more important to the Cavs success, Delonte West or Mo Williams? Williams is the all-star guard and probably the obvious choice. But upon further review, West has taken a game deciding shot in Game 1 already (which he missed but still trusted to take) and seems more of a crunch time guy. Plus he's covering Hedo freaking Turkoglu for stretches! He's giving up close to seven inches in that matchup! And doing a good job at it by the way.
-Lebron James is absolutely unstoppable when moving with a full head of steam, especially in transition. Reminds of this one clip of Charles Barkley barreling coast to coast, except he's bigger, stronger and faster. And more agile. And a better leaper. And a stronger finisher. And has better handle. Yeah he's pretty good. Can't the Cavs get some sets where Lebrons receiving a dribble hand-off off of a curl or something? To generate some of that forward motion for him?
- Big Z looks like he's playing with cement blocks as sneakers. He looks much slower than normal. Wonder if those puppies are acting up again like in the old days. Oh yeah well that and the fact that he's also covering a guy nicknamed "Superman".
- Either way, we're all winners here because this series has been entertaining. Despite people's thoughts on the fouls which there has been too many. But I've still had a lot of enjoyment watching and hope it goes seven.
-On a lighter note, how many Millers can be in one broadcast. I really really hope two is the limit. Reg or Cheryl hopefully don't have any sons or daughters on the way. I hope not.
Ok so thats all for tonight. Keep your eye out for updates. Enjoy Lakers Nuggets. Holla, 1000 hours baby, Can it be done???
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Hoopennium Begins!
So here you are. You've stumbled upon this thing, Hoopennium. You're here and you're probably thinking to yourself..what is this? Who would do such a thing? 1000 hours of basketball consumption in four months, is that boy nuts?
Well I'm here to tell you that yes I am nuts. I am crazy, and basketball is what drove me there. Here's my story.
So I was in my shower thinking of ways to connect myself with the game that I love. I was trying to think of countless gimmicks to have a creative outlet for basketball. I came to realize a few things:
One - I've taken so much from the game. I've consumed it as a player, and happy to say I still play as often as possible even though I'm washed up. As a fan first and foremost (Nets 2010 baby!). I've dabbled into coaching a little, 10 year old AAU is a lot rougher than you might think. And lately I've really been deep into the blog world, spending countless hours reading and listening to podcasts and what have you about basketball. You know what, it's time to give back.
Two - As previously mentioned, I really like watching and discussing basketball.
So given those two facts this is the best idea I came up with. The 1000 hour basketball movement. To be perfectly clear of what the goal is here: The goal is to consume (I'll get into why I use the word consume later) 1000 hours of basketball from July 1 - October 31 (Four months, roughly end of NBA season to roughly beginning of NBA season).
I want this to be a movement of sorts..sort of like the book The Wave. I want the movement to gain national acclaim. We're hitting the streets (digital) hard. We got the facebook, we got the twitter, and we got the blog obviously so we're set to go.
Now I know what some of the nay sayers might be saying. 1000 hours of basketball in four months, I do that in my sleep! Well I'm trying to represent the everyday man. The common basketball fan who has to work for his basketball consumption. I don't have the privilige (yet) of waking up everyday and popping in some basketball dvd to earn my money.
Doing some simple math. 4 months = 120 days. 120 days = 2880 hours. 1000/120 days = 8 hours a day! Some mathematician can probably figure out the percentage that 1000 is of 2880, and I am sure it is high. So thats the hill we're looking to climb right now Hoopennium followers!
What I plan to do is consume my basketball everyday from July 1 to October 31. When I say consume, I think it will mostly be video watching. Video will consist of NBA games past or present, european games, college games, high school games, instructional videos - basically anything I can get my hands on. However I use the word consume to leave the option open for camp counseling (which I'm going to be doing to make money, so deal) and playing (which I can't give up, so deal.) So for instance, if I play a two hour game of pick up baskeball thats going to go into the count. Now each night after I do whatever it is I do, I'm going to jump onto this blog and reflect on what I did. Now because a major motivation of this is to gain more knowledge most of my posts will be analytical or at least thats the plan. But there will be the humorous or my attempt at least at humor, or just simply reflective pieces in there.
Over the next month I'm going to be working my hardest on getting the Hoopennium movement out there, and amassing film. But spread the word, spread the word. The more followers the better. This thing is going to take off and you're all going to be better for it. Until then, keep following the movement. Check your twitters for some posts, check your facebooks for pokes, you know the deal. You can email the movement anytime of day or night at Hoopennium@gmail.com. Let the movement begin.
Well I'm here to tell you that yes I am nuts. I am crazy, and basketball is what drove me there. Here's my story.
So I was in my shower thinking of ways to connect myself with the game that I love. I was trying to think of countless gimmicks to have a creative outlet for basketball. I came to realize a few things:
One - I've taken so much from the game. I've consumed it as a player, and happy to say I still play as often as possible even though I'm washed up. As a fan first and foremost (Nets 2010 baby!). I've dabbled into coaching a little, 10 year old AAU is a lot rougher than you might think. And lately I've really been deep into the blog world, spending countless hours reading and listening to podcasts and what have you about basketball. You know what, it's time to give back.
Two - As previously mentioned, I really like watching and discussing basketball.
So given those two facts this is the best idea I came up with. The 1000 hour basketball movement. To be perfectly clear of what the goal is here: The goal is to consume (I'll get into why I use the word consume later) 1000 hours of basketball from July 1 - October 31 (Four months, roughly end of NBA season to roughly beginning of NBA season).
I want this to be a movement of sorts..sort of like the book The Wave. I want the movement to gain national acclaim. We're hitting the streets (digital) hard. We got the facebook, we got the twitter, and we got the blog obviously so we're set to go.
Now I know what some of the nay sayers might be saying. 1000 hours of basketball in four months, I do that in my sleep! Well I'm trying to represent the everyday man. The common basketball fan who has to work for his basketball consumption. I don't have the privilige (yet) of waking up everyday and popping in some basketball dvd to earn my money.
Doing some simple math. 4 months = 120 days. 120 days = 2880 hours. 1000/120 days = 8 hours a day! Some mathematician can probably figure out the percentage that 1000 is of 2880, and I am sure it is high. So thats the hill we're looking to climb right now Hoopennium followers!
What I plan to do is consume my basketball everyday from July 1 to October 31. When I say consume, I think it will mostly be video watching. Video will consist of NBA games past or present, european games, college games, high school games, instructional videos - basically anything I can get my hands on. However I use the word consume to leave the option open for camp counseling (which I'm going to be doing to make money, so deal) and playing (which I can't give up, so deal.) So for instance, if I play a two hour game of pick up baskeball thats going to go into the count. Now each night after I do whatever it is I do, I'm going to jump onto this blog and reflect on what I did. Now because a major motivation of this is to gain more knowledge most of my posts will be analytical or at least thats the plan. But there will be the humorous or my attempt at least at humor, or just simply reflective pieces in there.
Over the next month I'm going to be working my hardest on getting the Hoopennium movement out there, and amassing film. But spread the word, spread the word. The more followers the better. This thing is going to take off and you're all going to be better for it. Until then, keep following the movement. Check your twitters for some posts, check your facebooks for pokes, you know the deal. You can email the movement anytime of day or night at Hoopennium@gmail.com. Let the movement begin.
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