nbaculture

Classic Moments: Reggie’s 8 points in 9 seconds

basketballpeon — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:23:28 +0000

A classic moment from one of the NBA greats, Reggie scores 8 points in 9 seconds to defeat the Knicks in a playoff game and give Spike Lee fits. I don’t care who you are, you gotta love it.

Power Struggles West and East

basketballpeon — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:35:15 +0000

The Lakers are the first team to reach 50 wins, but the engines aren’t running so smoothly without Andrew Bynum. Sure, they’re still winning far more than they’re losing, yes; but look at the toll it’s taking. Lamar Odom had to play to near god-mode grabbing 17,18,19, and 20 rebounds on consecutive nights (in that order, as if he’s toying with the stat keeper). Now that Odom has returned to earth, we see that Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant have averaged a hundred minutes a game, and generally everyone works harder to achieve the same results with Bynum in the lineup. For all those people questioning Bynum’s worth, you gotta look at the big picture.

Denver, who has been hot and not lately fall to a scorching Utah Jazz, winning their 10th consecutive. Denver slowly falling down the standings, while Utah wins 10 in a row. Houston and New Orleans are starting to make a push as well, both winning 8 of their last 10 games.

Boston beats handily Cleveland without Garnett, sending a strong statement to the rest of the league. If they take down Orlando coming up, people will take notice. No teams in the east really surging, but Detroit has won 4 straight without AI. Have you seen their games? The spacing is better, they communicate better on defense, and don’t seem as confused about their identity. That being said, AI could help them if only the two could find some mix of chemistry that is comfortable for the team as a whole. Also, Charlotte has won their last 5, but seriously, we won’t be seeing them in the playoffs. And if we do, you might see Michael Jordan with a stupid expression on his face, such as this:

High? Yes, High on Life.

Greatest BBall Shoes Part 7

basketballpeon — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:14:30 +0000

Getting tired of shoes yet? Yea, neither am I. I’ve got a video to go with this one, the Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2k4:

Interesting fact, these shoes were set to be Kobe Bryant’s first signature shoe with Nike, but they decided to hold off on them because of that whole Colorado rape thing that was going on at the time; a period of time in which everyone dropped him from their labels- pretty damn quickly I might add. I personally don’t think these shoes are the most stylish (although others would vehemontly disagree with me), I tried them on and I have to say, they are damn comfortable. A decent weight, nice traction, good ankle support, and performed well. If only I knew how to pronounce the damn things. It far outperformed most the shoes I’ve worn, and was extremely popular among casual basketball players as well as professionals, so I add it to my list.

Gooden-ough for the Spurs

basketballpeon — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:05:47 +0000

Ok, that’s my last Gooden word play, because frankly, they don’t work all that well. So, Drew Gooden has become a member of the San Antonio Spurs, which is a great pick up. Gooden was never a score first guy (although he can), and can pick up both sides of the board. He fits right in with the team mentality, and doesn’t have to change his game much to fit the San Antonio culture. An undersized forward who has no business picking up the numbers he’s capable of, Drew can become an incredible asset (assuming his groin feels good).

Supermen Comparison- Shaq and Howard

basketballpeon — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:05:53 +0000

With more information surfacing on the whole Stan Van Gundy Shaquille O’neal thing , more hype is arousing between the Big Diesel and Dwight Howard. Both donning the Superman moniker, both played for Van Gundy, both played in Orlando, both premiere big men, blah blah blah; just watch the video.

Supermen Comparison: I gotta say, at the end of the day, I gotta agree with these guys on who’s better.

Rejoice: Drunk Athletes!

basketballpeon — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:16:33 +0000

For your viewing pleasure, here’s a nice compilation of athletes under the influenc e. Many are in fact basketball players, so it is relevant to the theme of my blog (that’s my story). Lots of Nash and Dirk, cause they like to party; note the very funny pictures of Reggie Miller towards the bottom.

Cavs 1st in Playoffs

basketballpeon — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:27:43 +0000

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the first team to clinch a playoff spot with their win over the Bucks last night. But, it’s not enough for some selfish people: “We got one goal… That’s to win an NBA championship.” Lebron James stated. He went on to say: “We knew we were going to make the playoffs… If we didn’t make the playoffs, that would be a disaster for us.”

Shaq: The Big “Baby”

basketballpeon — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:46:32 +0000

Really Shaq? Don’t you ever grow up? Don’t you ever get tired of looking like a little kid with giganticism? Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy, Shaq’s former coach in Miami, ripped on him a little for flopping against Dwight. Ok, yea… that wasn’t very nice or mature, calling out the big fella like that. I understand Shaq might be upset, so what does he do? O’Neal responded on Wednesday, calling Van Gundy a “nobody,” a “frontrunner” and a “master of panic” in the playoffs.

Really Shaq? A nobody? A master of panic in the playoffs? It just makes you look like a little kid who got his marbles stolen. It’s pretty immature. You don’t always have to fire back, in fact, sometimes it makes you look like the good guy; like somebody who learned something after being in the league 17 years.

The Battle of Supermen End In Draw

basketballpeon — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:34:46 +0000

Dwight got into some trouble last night in the first half, getting 3 fouls with little to show but stepped it up in the 2nd to save face in his much anticipated battle versus a rolling Shaquille O’neal. Their individual stats are pretty even, but Orlando’s shooters got the V for Dwight, but the biggest thing he’ll ever get to brag about during this game is that he made Shaq flop. Shaq. Flop. Let me repeat that. Shaquille O’neal, the big cactus… big diesel… big every dumb name concievable flopped against Dwight Howard. Shaq, you are better than that. Well, if you watch the video though it appears as if Dwight Howard traveled in his confusion.

D-Will’s Pretty Move… But

basketballpeon — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:26:51 +0000

D-Will pulled the ol’ shake and bake in consecutive moves on Marco Belinelli when Utah visited Goldenstate. It’s definately a pretty move, but like my old coach used to say, if you aren’t going anywhere with the ball don’t dribble it. Of course he literally and physically got from point A to point B, but for what? To set up a teammate behind the backboard? The move wasn’t that good to begin with, Marco sticks right with him the whole time despite giving up precious ground; after his spin he had full access to the basket for an easy lay in. The move is excessive for the results he got, he could have gotten there in 2 moves with his level of skill. Still, its the kind of move you might see on the playground which is always fun to watch.