Basketball on and off the court

Charles Barkley vs Dwyane Wade 1 on 1

2009-08-07T07:55:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately not in full but anyway interesting

Eastern conference Finals: Will Cavs win?

2009-05-22T06:09:00.000-07:00

Cavaliers unexpectedly (unpredictably, rather) lost their Game 1 vs Magic. For some reason Cavaliers were rarely scoring at the end of the third quarter and let Orlando come to the one-basket distance. And the game was won by one basket: Rashard Lewis hit a three-pointer, the game-decisive trey. I think Cavs will even it tonight but the whole series will be tough for the both teams and Cavs will win it either 4-3 or 4-2.

PS If you wanna score when Lebron is near you better dunk. Dwight wasn't dunking at James' high-flying and got blocked. Cortney Lee & Pietrus dunked and that's why they didn't get blocked by Lebron

Funny: Shaq gives Nate Robinson a lift

2009-05-11T10:05:00.001-07:00

Shaquille O'neal punches a fan in the face

2009-05-09T12:56:00.001-07:00

That's what you get when you pay for expensive tickets

Jamario Moon - inhuman rebound

2009-05-08T00:14:00.001-07:00

Jamario proved with this rebound that if he's not from the Moon then he's at least not from the Earth.

NBA Twitter Report: Top NBA players using twitter

2009-05-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

We all know that twitter is the most successful Web 2.0 start-up which has surpassed in popularity other social networks.

NBA players have also paid attention to this short messaging service. One of the first NBA players I personally followed were Shaquille O'Neal and Nate Robinson. Among other NBA stars one can found on twitter such players as Jason Richardson, Steve Nash, Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh etc. Of course, there are many chances to come across a fake account when somebody proclaims he's the real Lebron James or D-Wade. Luckily, there is a twitter account with a self-describing name NBAPlayers, whose owner double checks and asks for proof so it's easier for you to be more or less sure that a certain twitter account belong to a respective NBA player.

For that reason I'd recommend to follow NBAPlayers, meanwhile I decided to find out how often NBA players twitter and which ones are most popular.

So, let's begin.

First of all, I summarized in the chart below who is the most fruitful twitterer. Without a surprise I discovered it was Shaq.

Shaq's got more than 1,200 tweets, while Charlie Villanueva, ranked second, got less than 1,000 tweets. You can also notice in the list Eric Snow, who isn't an active player anymore and has become an NBA analyst.

Then, I tried to find out who is the most popular NBA player in the twitter community. No wonder it's Shaq again, though the top list has some significant changes form the first one:

Shaq is again totally unreachable by others with more than 800,000 (!) followers, Paul Pierce has got more than 200,000 (looks like plenty of Boston Celtics fans use twitter), Jason Richardson is ranked 10th with slightly more than 13,000 followers.

Let's now find out who's got most friends on twitter (in other words, following other people's twitter accounts):

Now Shaq has surprisingly not captured the first position giving it up to Paul Pierce while going down to the third one. Jalen Rose is second. It gives me the reasons to suspect that it's not just Paul Pierce writing to his twitter account, because I found a lot of references to his website and other promotion programs. I think people managing his website decided to seriously use twitter as a marketing tool.

As for Shaq, I think he manages his twitter account alone. He doesn't tend to spoil his tweets with ads and that's the reason, imho, why he's ranked as one of the most popular twitterers overall (not only among athletes).

This brief overiew has been prepared with the help of such great web tools as Twitter API, Yahoo Pipes and Google Spreadsheets.

Russian Massmedia: Kobe Bryant to Play in Russia for $40 million

2008-09-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

Due to financial crisis it's now not a surprise that basketball players prefer to play in Europe - EUR/USD ratio difference is almost 40% and getting same money but in euros, thus by 40% more is a very attractive prospective.

We all know about Josh Childress, Garbajosa, Arroyo coming back to Europe.

But one of the most attractive destinations for NBA players could be Russia. Again, it's not a surprise, since laundrying oil money via proffesional sports is a standrd schemes.

Russian basketball league (It's called Superleague, ha-ha)has an overwhelming amount of foreign players (that's, probably, one of the reasons why Russians failed in Beijing). While European and, soon or already, American stars play games, Russian players sit on benches.

It's also no news anymore that Carlos Delphino will play in Russia (he will be a teammate of Jorge Garbajosa and Milt Palacio - also a former NBA player). Janero Pargo after a very successful season for New Orleans Hornets left NBA for Russia as well. Bostjan Nachbar will start the upcoming season for a Russian club as well (he will join Travis Hansen).

Nenad Krstic has also left New Jersey Nets for a Russina club named Triumph.

As we can see, more and more strong players left NBA to play for Russia. there are no superstars so far, but who knows, esspecially after an interview given by Kobe Bryant to Russian journalists ( after USA Team beat Russian Team in a pre-olympic game).

In reply to a question whether he might follow his NBA colleagues and come to play in Russia Kobe said "I'm ready to play in Russia for $40 million a year". And he was absolutely serious.

So now it doesn't seem so impossible...

Boris Gorentc - story coming to its end

2008-09-22T23:32:00.000-07:00

Boris Gorentc announced about finishing his career due to knee injuries. That's how high-flyers and dunkers usually end their careers.
You probably haven't even heard about him. Few people know that he was even signed by Chicago Bulls in 1997 and he had a chance to practice with Michael Jordan (Unfortunately, he was waived a month after being signed thus having not played a single official NBA game).

He was known for his solid skills and excellent leaping ability for a white basketball player. He participated in a Slovenian slamdunk contest versus Marco Milic in 1995. I suggest to watch this video:

HORFORD is HORror for tj FORD

2007-12-13T03:22:00.000-08:00

Well, it really looked like he did it unintentionally, but still it was awful to see him do like this: T. J. Ford was about to score on a fast break after he had stolen the ball but the rookie Al Horford hit him in the face from behind. TJ Ford fell down on the floor on his back. Watch:

here or here.

Andrei Kirilenko Swats Yao Ming

2007-12-11T12:34:00.001-08:00

"Not in my house!" said Kirilenko and blocked Yao Ming's shot.

Luol Deng insults Yao Ming

2007-12-11T12:23:00.001-08:00

This time it's Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng fearlessly dunking in the face of Yao Ming

2 Americans lead Russians to Gold Medals in Eurobasket 2007

2007-09-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, but it's true! Russians win the Eurobasket 2007 beating in the final game the Spanish team (who are the world champions). The Russian national basketball team has been led by J. R. Holden who is an American citizen but was offered russian citizenship and invited to the Russian team.
The head coach is Davit Blatt who is also an American citizen.
The Russian team was an underdog prior to the tournament. Moreover, Russians lost to Spanish team a few games before. But then they became unstoppable. Frenchmen with their leader and 3 time NBA champion Tony Parker were defeated. Then Lithuanian team was also defeated. Even Jasikiavichus was unable to help.

The Spanish team with their leaders Pau Gasol, Calderon, soon-to-be an NBA player Rudy Fernandez was waiting for their turn.

Nobody believed in Russians. But a unique talent of David Blatt, J. R. Holden, NBA players Andrei Kirilenko and Victor Khryapa and their and other Russian players' great desire to win helped them win by one point in the final seconds of the game. That was J. R. Holden who made the game-winning shot!

And Russian basketball team are headed now to Beijing ranking as the champions of Europe.

Watch the highlights of the final seconds of the game:

Basketball Club battling versus the whole country

2007-04-06T04:41:00.000-07:00

There is a good article which can be found on the blog of the head coach of CSKA Basketball club (CSKA) Ettore MESSINA. Last year they won the Euroleague championship title which the second strongest championship in the world (after NBA, of course).
As you know last fall CSKA beat Los Angeles Clippers and lost to Philadelphia 76ers.

Ettore MESSINA is famous for his coaching style, intelligence and brilliant quotes. So let me cite his notes on what he thinks of the latest loss to Maccabi (Tel-Aviv):

This year we enter the playoffs in a completely different situation. Last year we weren’t considered favorites due to David Andersen’s injury. When we played against Efes Pilsen, we knew we were facing an opponent we could beat, not that we had to beat. Pressure was high, but not as high as it’s now. Eventually, we managed to perform well under pressure, though the first home game was tight and the away game was extremely tight.

This year the majority of specialists around Europe predict that we defeat Maccabi and advance to Final Four. There are almost no doubts on the subject. Read players’ previews on Euroleague official site and you’ll see that everyone says CSKA will make it to Final Four.

These opinions are based on our good performance in Top 16 and regular season. However, great record does not guarantee the title. Last year Unicaja headed to Top 16 with the best record in regular season, then lost it's first home game and finally did not make it to the playoffs.

I remember that and I was worried back in Top 16 when we faced Joventut. Then the pressure went down as we played some very good games, like the one against Olympiacos in Piraeus, and qualified for the playoffs.

This year’s situation reminds me a lot the one I had in Kinder during my last season with that club. It also reminds the situation you had here in Moscow back in 2005 when you hosted Final Four.

In Kinder, we had a totally different team. We had very young players at some positions. We had young Becirovic and other players felt we were cutting down their game time to give more to him. This resulted in an imbalance. Rashard Griffith, our starting center, was recovering from an injury. We were struggling a lot that season. We lost 5 or 6 games by a wide margin.

Now, we’re in a more dangerous situation. As we went smoothly through the season and Maccabi struggled due to fact they changed some key players and the coach, general opinion is that we will win the series.

But it’s not that simple. First of all, when you face Maccabi, you face the whole country. Maccabi is by far the most popular team in Israel. They have the support and faith of their fans. Look at the results of the last three Final Fours and you’ll see this kind of support might be a source of a huge advantage.

Second, they kept some key players with strong personality like Sharp, Burstein and Vujcic who are able to lead the team in difficult moments. They are experienced players who know how to handle the pressure and how to perform in crucial episodes.

The players who replaced Solomon, Baston and Parker are not at that level yet. But they have the potential to explode in big games. Maccabi invested a lot in young players and they are already making a big contribution. For example, Jasaitis, who played for Lietuvos Rytas last season. Spahija liked him so much he took him to Maccabi.

Third, Spahija is one of the best coaches in Europe. I know him since he worked in Italy. He’s an intelligent person, he rarely overreacts and he knows exactly how to prepare the team to win.

Maccabi’s game is very similar to what they had last year. Spahija intelligently kept a great part of the system. For example, transition, pick-and-roll and Vujcic playing in the high post looking for an open man. Spahija also made little adjustments as he had some new players. For example, he has some screening offense for Jasaitis and Sharp who are his best shooters. He created some situations for Bynum, who’s very quick, to attack one-on-one. But the core of the system is there. It makes Sharp, Vujcic and Burstein feel confident in the system. It would have been much more difficult for Spahija to change the system completely.

Of course, Spahija doesn’t have the openness of character Pini Gershon has. Pini could keep the stage by himself. He’s not only the coach with strong personally, but also the person who attracts the spotlight. Everybody is fascinated by his way of dealing with press, fans and players. Pini and Neven have 15 years of difference which is also a factor.

Finally, the most important thing, Maccabi doesn’t feel any pressure. Everybody expects us to win.

I must say I’m extremely concerned about the way we performed in Rostov. I’m not the one who thinks it’s easy for a team to switch the light on and off like that, on call. I never believed to those who say it’s normal to relax a little bit and to lose before such important games, like the ones against Maccabi. I believe in the continuity and in the power of habit. Only a habit of keeping concentration could help you to perform well on a regular basis.

I’ve already said that after our losses to UNICS and Khimki, but I would like to repeat it. Every time this team lost a game, it always bounced back with a good performance. I hope it will be the case this time as well.

For three days before the game against Lokomotiv Rostov we had prepared well. We knew that Rostov is a good team who had already defeated Dynamo. In my opinion, Lokomotiv Rostov and Spartak Saint Petersburg are the most improved teams this year. We knew that this was going to be a difficult game. Probably, we didn’t have little fear of losing inside ourselves that it’s so important to have sometimes. Now, we have some fear of losing.

I expect the series to be extremely difficult. It will be a battle: two good teams playing with their hearts, two strong organizations with solid backgrounds. I do not even rely on the home court advantage as Maccabi is used to play on the road. And, no doubt, they will have fans over here.

This year we will have tough playoffs in Euroleague as well as in Russian championship. In Russian league, all teams have improved their rosters as compared to last year. They got better technically and physically. So we will need an extra portion of mental, physical and technical preparation.

We have to work harder than ever to deserve to go to Final Four this year.

Source: http://sports.ru/blog.html?blogid=377958

Dwyane the Hero: Wade refused to go under the knife

2007-03-06T00:41:00.000-08:00

Dwyane Wade has behaved like a man. He refused to undergo a season-ending surgery just in order to help his team clinch the playoff birth. Though chances for Miami Heat to with the championship are, frankly, low.

"He's a warrior. He's a soldier. And these are his guys," Pat Riley said. Though Dwyane Wade's dislocated left shoulder is so fragile there's a risk of aggravating the injury even when he sleeps.

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Shaq Break Dancing

2007-03-03T02:48:00.000-08:00

You've probably heard that Shaq had shown some of his dancing skills prior to All Star Game beating easily LeBron James and Dwight Howard in this humorous contest. Let's see how it was:

SpinCam Dunks from 2007 Slam Dunk Contest

2007-02-18T02:31:00.000-08:00

Watch the official NBA video taken from Slam Dunk Contest using the new SpinCam technology:

SpinCam: Tyrus Thomas Dunk #2

Watch Tyrus Thomas' second dunk in the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during All-Star Weekend with SpinCam Technology.

SpinCam: Gerald Green Dunk #2

Watch Gerald Green's second dunk in the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during All-Star Weekend with SpinCam Technology.

SpinCam: Gerald Green Dunk #1

Watch Gerald Green's first dunk in the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during All-Star Weekend with SpinCam Technology.

SpinCam: Gerald Green Dunk #4

Watch Gerald Green's fourth dunk in the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during All-Star Weekend with SpinCam Technology.

SpinCam: Dwight Howard Dunk #2

Watch Dwight Howard's second dunk in the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during All-Star Weekend with SpinCam Technology.

SpinCam: Nate Robinson Dunk #2

Watch Nate Robinson's second dunk in the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during All-Star Weekend with SpinCam Technology.

SpinCam: Nate Robinson Dunk #1

Watch Nate Robinson's first dunk in the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during All-Star Weekend with SpinCam Technology.

Gilbert Arenas Best Plays

2007-02-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

We've been talking about Gilbert Arenas, now it's time to watch his best plays:

Well, this man can really rise and shoot.

Myree Bowden sick Dunks: Jaw-Dropping

2007-02-09T02:44:00.000-08:00

I've never seen a guy dunking in such a way - his head is at the rim level though he's just 6'1". No wonder he used to play for Harlem Globetrotters...

Gerald Green is the New Slam Dunk Champ

2007-02-08T02:35:00.000-08:00

How? Why? How come? This is what you're most likely now asking me.
Read and... agree with me, because thre would be nothing left to object.

So, lets first look at the competitors:

Nate Robinson. This 5'9" explosive little devil proved that he can dunk the ball (though sometimes it took him a dozen attempts). But... do you still believe that he can make it twice? Robinson, like Spud Webb in his era impressed the crowd with his dunks being such short in height. Now, when we all know that he can dunk we would expect something more than just dunk, we would want something like 360 windmill fro the free throw line (right, we've been spoilt with those unbelievable dunks by Carter, Jordan, Wilkins, Richardson, Mason and others, so now we want something really superior). With all due respect to Robinson, we all understand that doing something extraordinary cannot be done with his height (though... his between the legs off two feet dunk at the 2006 competition imressed me very much)
Conclusion: it's unlikely Robinson will defend his title. But my personal sympathy makes me wish him good luck.

Tyrus Thomas. While standing 6'9" he hasn't earned his name (and will he?) for his tremendeous dunks yet. Moreover, he's been already fined $10,000 for telling that he particvipates in the competition just for money (even if he doesn't win he'll get more than $16K). That means he won't be ripping his ass out to win in the contest. So my prediction is he'll make some windmills or off-the-board dunks or 360's (which are already quite standard for NBA players) and get his check. That's it. (By the way, who of you is able to recall some more or less memorable dunks done by Thomas this year?)
Conclusion: Thomas is not this year's contender, either.

We got Dwight Howard here. He's definitely a power dunker and power player (just look at him - he is a real basketball monster machine: 6'11" frame with 265 pounds of muscles). But this is not enough to win the contest. What is good in a game (power driving to the hopp and finishing strong) is not as good in the Slam Dunk competition. We expect high-flying, acrobatic, unusual dunks. I don't think Howard is as graceful as Kobe Bryany, as high flying as vince Carter and as acrobatic as Jason Richardson. Frankly, I don't think Howard will impress the crowd with his dunks (except for one thing: if he breaks the backboard. But I'm afraid it won't bring him a lot of points from judges).
Conclusion: the best achievement in the upcoming competition: runner-up.

So, after all being said above we look at the final man in our review: Gerald Green. 6'8" while just 2006 pounds, jumping high and sometimes quite creative in doing his dunks - he's the most probable winner of the competition. I don't think there are dunks he isn't able to do. All he needs at the competition is to be creative and show us something that we haven't seen (or rarely seen) at the previous contests. Moreover, I think both Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter (who are selected to be judjeg on the contest) will sympathize with Green: he's young about the same height as they are and jumps high, too. We all rememeber his dunks, especially that one where he dunked the ball after an off-the-board pass with his head at the rim level. I think, if Green tries, he can impress both the judges and crowd.
Conclusin: to disappointment of Nate robinson, Dwight Howard and Tyrus Thomas (well, i'm not sure there are) fans, Gerald Green is the new Slam Dunk champion even before the competition. Of course, it is less intriguing for the competition, but I'm sure it won't make it less interesting. We all love this contest (even though not everyone is ready to admit it)

PS Now watch some of Gerald Green's highlights:

Jews are the best basketball nation

2007-02-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

Surprised? You don't believe me? Forget your doubts. I'll explain it to you easily.

First of all, I'm not a racist nor antisemit. But hey, look at their names:

Michael Jordan.
Photo: AP

Who is the best basketball player ever? Right, the first name that comes to your mind is Michael Jordan. Jordan... Jordan? What? Isn't it a pure Jewish name? Yeah, I know, it's also the name of one of the countries in Mid-East and a river, but I strongly suspect that the name itself has Jewish roots...

Now tell me how come a black man has a Jewish name?

Let's move on...

Who is one of the most popular NBA players in our days? Right. That's Allen Iverson. Iverson... Iverson? His last name is kinda interesting, too. Very resembling and.... Yeah, I think it at least looks like a bit Jewish...

Again, tell me, how come the two best basketball players in the NBA history have Jewish names? I'm afraid, noone will answer.

And this is not the end of the list: Stephen Jackson and other Jacksons - if you look it up in those science books you'll find it out that this name also originates from a Jewish one. One can find many more Jewish names in the NBA rosters.

So you may disagree, but Jewish nation produced the best basketball players. Period.

PS I intentionally don't mention any names related to ... khm... some commissioners... But the best basketball managers will be covered in my future posts, I think.

NBA players on streets

2007-02-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

We all know that NBA stars can do spectacular things at those overcrowded stellar arenas. But how do they perform on streets playing with blacktop 'born on street' stars? Let's check it out:

Is it worth betting with Gilbert Arenas on shooting?

2007-02-05T03:46:00.000-08:00

Terms are simple: Gilbert shoots with one hand, DeShawn Stevenson with two (regular shot). The winner gets $20,000. Who would win? watch this video:

Rare Video of Kevin Johnson's Dunk

2007-02-03T06:04:00.000-08:00

This post is dedicated to all Kevin Johnson's fans. We all knew that he could dunk hard (just recall his tremendous slam over Hakeen Olajuwon). Recently I found a short video where he dunks on a fast break in a playoff-game versus Portland Trail Blazers. Unfortunately, his dunk wasn't counted because he'd been fouled. Enjoy.

How did LeBron James perform in High School

2007-02-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

I caught myself on the thought that I remember quite few moments from LeBron's pre-NBA career. We all remember that even Michael Jordan didn't think much of LeBron James telling that he was taking a lot of advantage of his height and dimensions over other high school players. Well, looks like Michael Jordan was wrong again. Meanwhile, let's watch the real highlights from LeBron James' high school games:

5'6" guy dunking hard during warmup

2007-01-31T06:13:00.000-08:00

Another prove that short guys can dunk. Look at this shortie: