After getting my ass handed to me for the first time, I decided it was time to diversify my offensive game. Under the circumstances, however, this was easier said than done. The reason being was that it was in the middle of a typically harsh Indiana winter. I continued playing on the Boulevard court through Christmas and New Year, but early January saw a heavy, unrelenting snowfall that officially (and indefinitely) ended my outdoor practices.

To make matters worse, there weren't any open gym times in Kokomo. At the time, I couldn't afford to join the YMCA (which, back then, was the only pay-for-use gym in town that had a basketball court). Just about every school in the area had a court, but you couldn't just walk in and use them.

The only way I could get any practice was to show up to the intramural league early to shoot around and then try to get in some extra shooting after the league ended...until the janitor kicked me out that is (which was usually pretty quickly). Unfortunately, I wasn't the only person to have this stroke of brilliance. If I showed up a half hour before intramurals -- which was the earliest that the doors would be unlocked -- there were already a dozen or so other people lined up and ready to go.

It's never easy shooting around in a scrum. When you have more than two or three people shooting at the same basket, it becomes chaos. You're always waiting for an opening to take a shot, but then, so is everybody else. You'll begin your shooting motion only to see somebody else doing the same thing out of the corner of your eye. Sometimes you'll pull back your shot and the other guy will do the same thing, which means you'll both miss the opening. Or maybe you chuck your shot up anyway and your ball collides with his ball in midair. Or, worst of all, you make some strange adjustment to your shot -- maybe a higher-than-normal arc, maybe a too-quick release, etc. -- so that there won't be a collision. However, shooting in an unusual fashion doesn't actually improve your shot at all because shooting is all about muscle memory, and you'll probably never shoot exactly like that ever again.

Another problem when shooting in a scrum is self-consciousness. Among males (and possibly females as far as I know), even shooting around can be a competition. If you're shooting around with other people, hitting shots makes you feel cool. On the flip side, missing shots can be embarrassing, especially if you miss four, five, six, seven, etc. in a row. Of course, missing several consecutive shots is a natural consequence of working on shots you're not yet good at. And yet missing shots around other people -- especially when you'll probably be playing against them in a few minutes -- can turn up the social pressure.

When this happens, a pickup baller will often find himself gravitating toward his pet shots or even shooting free throws. People will say they're doing this to "get into a rhythm," which is true to some extent. But it's also a way to show the world at large that, "See? I can hit shots. I have real basketball skills."

I sometimes fell victim to this social pressure. In particular, I avoided my weakest shooting areas, which were the left and right baselines. Baseline shots are the areas from which players are most likely to either a) shoot an airball (the most humiliating of missed shots) or b) have their miss careen away in the opposite direction, thereby ensuring maximum "chase your own ball down" potential. Scampering across the floor after a badly missed shot can feel almost as silly as missing the shot itself.

All that said, I showed up early to intramurals and I stayed late. The whole "first guy to get here, last guy to leave" mentality. I worked hard on extending my range -- which I had initially limited to 15 feet and in -- out to the three-point line. Even though various sources, including my hero, Larry Bird, decried the three-pointer as a low percentage shot, I had to admit that hitting one made me feel pretty cool. If you can't dunk -- and let's face it, most people can't -- hitting a triple is the next most impressive basketball accomplishment. Especially if you can do it well. Once I started hitting a few, I became increasingly interested in improving that aspect of my game.

That wasn't the only skill I was working on at that time. I don't remember where I read it, but some source -- possibly The Kokomo Tribute, which was the town paper -- had published an interview with the head coach of the Kokomo High School men's varsity basketball team. In that article, he encouraged specialization. I know that may sound strange, because today's NBA favors players who have diverse talents and wide-ranging skill sets. However, the coach said that not everybody could do everything, but most people could learn to do one thing really well. Doing that could provide young players with a "marketable" skill that could translate to success on a varsity level. In that article, the coach then described a player who had impressed with his ability to block shots in tryouts. Based on that one solid skill, the player had made the team and went on to have a solid high school career, which then led to a walk-on position with a Division I college team.

I decided to focus on rebounding. Since the level of play in the intramural league was terrible, I decided to use the games as rebounding practice. I stopped looking for passes that were never going to come anyway. Instead, I watched shots go up and then went after them with a vengeance. And you know what? It's amazing how many extra possessions I got for my team, how many garbage points I was able to score by doing nothing else on offense besides shagging for rebounds.

But hey, that was the secret of Dennis Rodman's success, right?

I did discover one other thing. Any time I didn't grab a defensive rebound, if I sprinted balls out and beat everybody down the floor, my teammates would occasionally pass me the ball on the break. Doing this could (and often did) lead to two or three easy buckets every game. Which leads us to...

Pickup Rule #5: Always run out hard on offense

Just like in the NBA, there are blowouts in pickup games. But the marjority of them tend to be close. This is especially true in weekly pickup leagues because the people involved try to make the teams reasonably even in terms of talent. This means that every point is of crucial importance, which further means that scoring an easy bucket makes the game, well, much easier.

Mind you, it's tough for people to maintain that kind of effort, because it's a high effort, low reward strategy. Let's say you play a game to 21 (which is what we do in our league) and your team has, say, 30-40 possessions. This means that, in addition to all the other energy you're expending, you could end up doing 40-ish all-out sprints...which isn't easy.

What makes it even harder is when you're being defended by someone who has sniffed out what you're doing and decides to run with you. When that happens, a lot of pickup ballers will stop running, because what's the point, right?

Well, like Yogi Berra once said of baseball, ninety percent of this game is half-mental. If you relentlessly give all-out effort on every possession, there's a very, very high liklihood that you'll either break your defender's will or wear him out trying. Either way, you gain the advantage. And every little advantage can mean the difference between a win and a loss.

While all this was going on, I was prepping for college entrance exams. They were still a few months away, which made it hard to concentrate on studying. Then I found out the S.A.T. would coincide with the second round of the NBA playoffs. Now I was able to associate studying with the NBA...which, oddly enough, helped motivate me.

Not so for my buddy Dave D. I convinced him to study with me one night, and 45 minutes of review just about did him in.

"Holy shit," he said, plopping his head down onto his prep book, "can't I just put your brain in a jar and use that during the test? I didn't read any rules against doing that? Could be a key loophole."

"Well," I said, "forgetting the fact that I actually need my brain, the technology necessary to remove it, keep it alive, and establish an interface between it and you're brain while..."

"Head hurting now," Dave said. "Please stop."

I stopped. Dave stopped. And we went out for pizza.

That was my life at that time. Hanging out, playing ball and studying. Don't even ask me about my dating life, because it didn't exist outside of my wildest (or, based on my limited romantic knowledge and experience, "mildest") fantasies.

But very soon I would be developing a whole new goal for myself...

Labels: ,

41 Comments:
Blogger chris said...
Let me guess.

NEW GOAL: Chaos dunk with Cindy as the only WITNESS!?

Blogger Siddarth Sharma said...
Practicing with a bunch of guys on the same hoop is not too bad, if the gym provides the balls. If people bring their own balls, it can get hairy. Half the time is spent on catching other guys' missed shots ( no choice here, ball's about to hit you, you catch it) and tracking the owner to pass the ball back to. It's bad manners to shoot with other guys' balls, many ballers don't care though.
Btw, is there gonna be a post dedicated to the madness of last week? One of you guys must have a rant building up.
From all the LeChoke and LeGone jokes I've come to associate anything with the prefix Le with a pile of shit. I really want to buy a cheap android mobile, and Lenovo is going to release one such, only they are naming it LePhone. Basterds. LePhone by Lenovo

Blogger David Robinson said...
I've heard the decry of the three point shot a few times so far in this blog, though I've got to thinking something.

In pickup ball, where shots are generally worth 1 or 2 points, isn't the three that much more of a weapon? having your shot worth double the normal scoring rate as opposed to 1 and 1/2 could be a very huge weapon. That's really the only reason I like to use it in pickup games, but in regular games (with 2 and 3 point shots) I'll try to work my way in to the hoop. Does that affect your game at all now bawful?

Blogger Basketbawful said...
Sadly, when I unleashed the CHAOS DUNK, the only witness was erased from existence. Even I don't know who watched me do it.

Anonymous Matt said...
Based on the shooting percentages of most pickup games, if you can hit even 25% of your 3s and are playing 1's and 2's, it's a pretty important weapon.

So important that, in a regular lunchtime I played in, we actually played 2's and 3's and the games went to 15 instead of 11. Otherwise, the teams that didn't have a decent three-point shooter almost always lost. However, when the weather got nicer and we played outside, we went back to 1's and 2's, since the shooting percentage on three-pointers went down significantly.

Blogger Will said...
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100712/SPORTS04/7120329/1004/SPORTS/Pacers-getting-33.5-million-to-stay
So basically the Pacers are reaming Indy to the tune of 33.5 million in exchange for not leaving? Is that the more or less ridiculous than LeBron's show from last week? 'Bawful, does this make you care even less about the Pacers (if you still cared)?

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
"NEW GOAL: Chaos dunk with Cindy as the only WITNESS!?"

This is beautiful in so many different ways.

Also, are people really going to stick to "LCD" when describing the trio? I mean, come on let's not even unintentionally imply that LeBron is first. DLC perhaps? This is kinda like the downloadable content team.

Blogger Dylan said...
Gotta find the street court. Ballin at night. That's how Jesus Shuttlesworth did it.

Blogger Japes said...
A bawful piece is never complete without a cliffhanger. Nicely done.

On other NBA News.... Woo! Raptors get rid of two bloated contracts and acquire some younger players all with contracts expiring within the next two years.

http://thestar.blogs.com/raptors/2010/07/its-all-one-deal-and-its-bye-bye-turk-and-jose.html

Glad to have a competent GM now that the Raps are rebuilding. Ironically, this makes me really happy that Bosh left. We weren't going anywhere with that lineup anyways.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
the 3 point shot is awesome. even if you have a good defender on you, you're still helping your team because if you can shoot the 3, then you're taking a defender and yourself out of the paint.

if you are posting up and the teammate on your side of the floor is spotted up at the 3 point line, then you have a lot more space to work with and someone to kick out to if you want to swing the ball or repost. if you are posting up and your teammate is NOT a good 3 point shooter, then he usually cuts into traffic (because everyone's in the paint since the teammates on the opposite side of the floor probably can't shoot 3s either) or he just watches you as his man double teams you, and then bitches that you didn't pass him the ball when he was wide open to drive into the lane and brick a contested lay up.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
Btw, is there gonna be a post dedicated to the madness of last week? One of you guys must have a rant building up.

I considered it, but the epic number of comments on last week's post really seemed to address everything. I'm not sure what's left to say at this point. The facts:

1. LeBron is a big douche.

2. That said, he didn't "owe" Cleveland (or anybody else) anything.

3. Whether you're rooting for them, against them, or just wondering if they can share one basketball, watching the Heat next season (and beyond) will be fascinating NBA theater.

In pickup ball, where shots are generally worth 1 or 2 points, isn't the three that much more of a weapon? having your shot worth double the normal scoring rate as opposed to 1 and 1/2 could be a very huge weapon. That's really the only reason I like to use it in pickup games, but in regular games (with 2 and 3 point shots) I'll try to work my way in to the hoop. Does that affect your game at all now bawful?

Well, I try not to be seduced by the three-point shot. It's true that, mathematically, hitting triples in a 1s-and-2s system is a bigger deal, the percentages are still really, really low. Sure, a hot shooting team could beat you pretty quickly by hitting a bunch of threes (worth 2 each), but a hot shooting team could beat you no matter what.

Personally, I'm always thinking about going for the highest percentage shot possible. I believe in either going hard to the hoop or looking inside. Threes should only be taken a) when wide open and b) by somebody who can actually shoot them.

In other words, they should be utilized like any other good, open shot.

One problem happens -- and I'll admit to being guilty of this -- when a team is down by a lot. The idea is, "Man, if I could hit a couple threes, that could really cut the deficit..."

Next thing you know, you've jacked up a couple shots and wasted possessions. Now you might be losing even worse.

So basically the Pacers are reaming Indy to the tune of 33.5 million in exchange for not leaving? Is that the more or less ridiculous than LeBron's show from last week? 'Bawful, does this make you care even less about the Pacers (if you still cared)?

The city of Indianapolis has a long standing love affair with the Pacers. Remember, in 1977, Indy held a save-the-Pacers telethon on a local TV station to keep the team from going under.

Honestly, I'm glad the city (and, to some extent, the state) care enough to keep the Pacers alive.

Also, are people really going to stick to "LCD" when describing the trio? I mean, come on let's not even unintentionally imply that LeBron is first. DLC perhaps? This is kinda like the downloadable content team.

I thought we were going with The Nazgul?

By the way, Ana, what do you think of the Hedo/Childress moves the Suns are trying to make?

Gotta find the street court. Ballin at night. That's how Jesus Shuttlesworth did it.

In Kokomo, they roll up the sidewalks and basketball courts at 5 p.m.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Bawful - 4. Dan Gilbert is a gigantic man-baby, and should be let loose into the wild for the hilarity of all.

5. Cleveland is fucked. Like, as an entire city.

6. This is the first time I've ever seen a font typeface receiving such immediate and deserved justice on such a large scale and in such a hilarious manner.

re: Childress - Well it's been a while since I've seen him play, and I even remember seeing his Stanford days, but Grant and Jared Dudley were doing fine at SF, so even though Earl Clark is looking like an unfortunate bust....

re: Hedo - Fuck this. Another SF? Sure he's 6'10", but good lord he's horrible when played at the 4. He's 31, a terrible terrible terrible contract (would have used the adjective immovable, but apparently there's an owner stupid enough to take him on), and his upside of outside shooting and passing just doesn't make up for the risk. Extra mention to his extra risky locker room chemistry, with upside playmaking in the playoffs, and a gigantic and likely downside of being an in general Cancer and complaining about the nightlife (after he's gotten sick of fucking ASU girls).

On the bright side, look at the Nash, Richardson, Dudley, Hedo, Frye lineup. There's actually not enough room on the 3-pt line for everybody! They could make like a flying V formation and go 'quack, quack, quack'...

Also, unlike some who have indirectly found themselves rooting for LA due to these recent events, my hatred for the Lakers still remains fueled, therefore go Heat. However, atleast Kobe has enough of my respect such that his smug smiling face over the 'three kids' next year hoisting the trophy would be hilarious. And go Celtics (via rooting against Amar''''''e's new team).

...tl;dr: Kill me.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Ugh, the wording on that was poor. I'm implying Kobe will win the next title, Spolestra will get fired, and Riley's Heat will win the next 5 championships. Beinvenido a Miami.

(random fact: I know almost all the words to Will Smith's Miami.)

Anonymous Geert said...
Basketbawful: "I thought we were going with The Nazgul?"

I love it. I guess that makes Riley their Sauron and Erik Spoelstra The Mouth of Sauron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouth_of_sauron)? Haslem, as Heat veteran, can be Shagrat, one of Saurons orc-captains. That makes the rest of the Heat 'Snaga' ("Snaga, translated as "slave" in the Appendices, is not a personal name but a term used by Uruks to describe lesser Orcs." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shagrat_%28Middle-earth%29#Snaga).

Anonymous Barry said...
How about JWB? I'm not sure how it is relevant but a Black Label reference is sure to get some street-cred in South Beach.

I feel this is very much like re-nicknaming Big Baby, except we haven't got a proper nickname apart from "Big 3". Either it comes natural or it doesn't really stick. I don't even remember Baby's new nickname.

Anonymous Barry said...
I see the Raptors mentioned......BRING ON THE RAPTOR MASCOT VIDEO!

Very entertaining story so far Mr McHale, keep it up.

Blogger Unknown said...
@Anaconda. With the Hedo contract, is Phoenix trying to recreate the 2009 Orlando offense with Robin Lopez at center? Four three-point shooter and one defender. I'm curious to see how Childress' skills have developed.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
Am I the only person feeling a hangover from this Free Agency Bonanza?

Seriously. My basketball glands feel drained.

Anonymous ~ said...
Wow, Geert is really showing his geekness.

The only problem I see is that there were nine Nazgul.

However, there were only three Elven rings(showing my geekness). Galadriel kind of reminds me of Bosh.
http://www.ghostinthemachine.net/galadriel.jpg


~

Blogger Michael Hsu said...
I wouldn't count the Suns out yet. It's well known that the Suns hang out together, but I'm guessing Amare was not in the group. With him gone the Suns are even tighter. Their bench only gets better this year and Goran Freaken Dragic. J Chill is good and he's going to go Matrix for the Suns. He lead all rookies in double doubles with Dwight Howard, Omeka Okafur, and Al Jefferson in the mix. The only issue is that they got 2 more G/F with Childress and Hedo. I wouldn't be surprised to see either at the 1 since they can handle and Goran only shows up for the playoffs and against Sasha Vuachicah!

Blogger Unknown said...
@Geert, Does this make Kobe Aragon? Ray Allen has some big ears, so maybe the Celtics are the elves. We all know that the Warriors are the Dwarf race (they're center is 6'8").

Blogger chris said...
Barry: as requested. ;)

AnacondaHL: Are you sure that Spoelstra is going to get officially "fired?" He's supposed to, um, want "more time to spend with his family" as Pat Riley then sweeps in and takes another championship he had to put no effort for.

That's the script Stern wants, right? :p

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Sorbo - I saw some highlights on ESPN of Childress, looks like he'll fit right in and will provide some of the athleticism STAT took out the door. He'll have a chance to shine and prove his rebounding numbers can grow in PHX. But we still have a logjam at SF, so we'd have to dedicate some time going small/big (would prefer more defense at SG, but who knows anymore. Also lol Jared Dudley played all 5 positions last season?!).

PG - Nash/Dragic
SG - Richardson/Dudley?/anotherSF?
SF - Hill/Childress/Dudley/Hedo?
PF - Hedo/Warrick/Frye
C - Lopez/Frye

Ugh. It's like we're countering losing Amar''''''e by getting pieces that fit, only the exact opposite.

chris - That's if he makes it through the playoffs and falls short. The "more time with kids" story is the All-Star Break swap scenario.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
BTW, slight amends to that: Looks like Mike Miller is signed and Udonis Haslem officially turned down severe cash to play with the Heat. And I still think Mario Chalmers has great potential to become exactly the PG these guys need, with Joel Anthony working his butt off to block some shots to spur fast breaks.

I'm sorry, but I really like this. Character guys who'll set the money aside (with a little help from state income tax) and just play together. This is fantastic, I can't believe the Heat are shooting for the 2011 title.

*immediate jinx to love triangle story next year*

Also, fuck LeBron for implying they'd win 8+ championships. Jesus, just keep your mouth shut and ball.

Anonymous Geert said...
Sorbo: @Geert, Does this make Kobe Aragon?

Or maybe Saruman.

Sorbo: Ray Allen has some big ears, so maybe the Celtics are the elves.

Yes. Also, the elves are very old. With that in mind, they can be Ents also. Old and green.

WF: modle. 'Let's modle the nba-landscape to Tolkiens Lord of the Rings.'

I like Childress with the Suns. Hedo not so much, but that's more because he doesn't fit in my opinion. I hoped for a more athletic, defensive PF.

Anonymous Stockton said...
Any bets on when (it's not if...) Pat Riley will take over the team?

Is Wade going to make a move on Lebron's mom?

Just a thought about "money"... I crack myself with all the "Lebron and Wade took paycuts so they could contend" bull$hit! As if Lebron needed his salary to make a living. The guy could play for free, and still earn a bundle just with endorsments!! If I'm not mistaken, Jordan was never the highest salary in the league, but he was the athlete with the biggest income. Cut that paycut crap like Lebron was trading a superstar life for a small apartment, a bus pass, just for the sake of winning!

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Even if you were busy with your job and everything, you really should have participated in the Truehoop vs Sbnation blogger game. Apparently Rob Mahoney dominated with his size. The two of you could have formed a dynamic Twin Tower. You could have made it into an Update Post in this series. A lost opportunity.

Anonymous Stockton said...
jazz might sign Al Jefferson.
Say BYE BYE to your ring, LeDouche!!!!!!!

Blogger Silva said...
Am I the only non Miami fan in the world that likes LeBron decision? He showed with this that he really believes that a championship is more important for him than MVP's, stats, being the man, money etc.. I believe that he thinks he can have all of that in Miami, but he set his priorities. And I agree with him.
Fuck those who say that a championship in Cleveland is like 3 in Miami. No it isn't. Is Bosh that much better than Rodman? Is Wade that much better than Pippen? How about the rest of the team, they can't win with 4 guys.
Fuck those who say this is the easy way out and that Riley will win some more championships with no effort.

Did you see that USA-Spain match? The US had all 3 stars and some more. And it wasn't easy.

The Lakers remain the favorites to win. It's a team sport. Now that Lebron recognized that, we get to hear some dumbasses like Barkley saying that he would "try to win by himself". Is there really such a thing?
Oh and he also said that its OK to piggyback late in your career but not when you are young. When you are a starter on your team are you really piggybacking?

Bah, go Miami. I wasn't a big fan of LeBron's persona but now I'm rooting for him bad.

Anonymous Stockton said...
"He showed with this that he really believes that a championship is more important for him than MVP's, stats, being the man, money etc.. "

Let's see how the king, the icon, the world's best athlete will behave playing second fiddle to Wade. Because it IS Wade's team. Is he a king or is he a prince?

"Is Bosh that much better than Rodman? Is Wade that much better than Pippen? How about the rest of the team, they can't win with 4 guys."

Yes (Rodman was a rebounder/defender/wrestler, bosh can score). Yes (Wade got Miami a title with almost no help, besides the refs. Pippen couldn't run a team). The LeWadosh trio will atract piggyback riders like Paris Hilton atracts DSTs.

"Fuck those who say this is the easy way out and that Riley will win some more championships with no effort."

Note taken.

"Did you see that USA-Spain match? The US had all 3 stars and some more. And it wasn't easy."

USA-Spain is one match, a bit diferent from a 82-game season plus 7-game playoffs. But hey, I agree wth you... the GM needs to get help (the right one) and the coach needs to make all those egos coexist... it's not that easy as it seems.

"The Lakers remain the favorites to win. It's a team sport. Now that Lebron recognized that, we get to hear some dumbasses like Barkley saying that he would "try to win by himself". Is there really such a thing? "

Ask Kobe.

"Oh and he also said that its OK to piggyback late in your career but not when you are young. When you are a starter on your team are you really piggybacking?"

Ask Karl Malone. And Gary Payton.

"Bah, go Miami. I wasn't a big fan of LeBron's persona but now I'm rooting for him bad."

Me too. I hope he wins everything he won this season.

Anonymous Barry said...
If James feels comfortable playing 2nd fiddle to Wade (which seems unlikely to me)

I can see them playing good team 'ball, not the scenario where Wade is waiting on around while James dribbles out the clock and drives to the hoop, or the other way around. Simply because I think that both Wade and James are smart enough to know that playing Rambo-ball is not going to win them anything when teams like Orlando/Boston/Los Angeles are each playing good team-ball....when Kobe isn't possessed.

Blogger Silva said...
Wow. Ok cool.

"Let's see how the king, the icon, the world's best athlete will behave playing second fiddle to Wade. Because it IS Wade's team. Is he a king or is he a prince?"
He will behave like a King and will throw tantrums if he doesn't get most of the attention. But I think he will. He is better than Wade.

"Yes (Rodman was a rebounder/defender/wrestler, bosh can score). Yes (Wade got Miami a title with almost no help, besides the refs. Pippen couldn't run a team). The LeWadosh trio will atract piggyback riders like Paris Hilton atracts DSTs."
And scoring is more important than rebounding/defending/wrestling? Wade won that title with Shaq. Shaquille O'Neal is now very sad if he reads basketbawful. I don't buy that whole piggybacking thing. Of course people will want to play with them. To win. But they will still have to play hard to win.

"USA-Spain is one match, a bit diferent from a 82-game season plus 7-game playoffs."
No doubt, but if you assemble a NBA team with those Spanish players most would call it a team of scrubs and they put up a fight against NBA elite. So saying that this trio will win 70+ games sure isn't a safe bet.

"Ask Kobe."
Are you telling me that if Kobe had to make a decision at that point, to join a couple of All Stars or stick with smush parker and kwame brown he would stay there? But I digress. He didn't win with those crap teams and if he had won it would be because some other players would have played their parts and played well. So I don't think its possible to win alone so there's no point in trying.

"Ask Karl Malone. And Gary Payton."
I remember Dallas-Miami finals. Payton was influent in that series. That to me is not piggybacking. And Malone, well he didn't win.

Anonymous Stockton said...
$HIT!!!
CaN'T you get the point?

Lebron is not PIGGYBACKING!!!!
BUT... this signing is the COMPLETE oposite of his actions so far!
He claims to be the best from the best, ever!!
And now he is sharing the spotlight.
Of course he knows he can't win alone. Nobody can.
But in Chicago, it would be his team, with a great suporting cast.
Any now and then he could go berserk and say "it's my team, get the f### out of the way, I'll win this $hit by myself".
That cannot happen in Miami.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Vasco - Welcome to the bandwagon! Business class is full, but there's still plenty o' room on this jumbo jet. I'm here to see the history too.

Especially looking forward to how their stats will change once they start playing together, beyond the obvious questions of scoring. Chalmers, Wade, and LeBron are all high steal rate, high turnover rate, and high assist rate guys. LeBron, Bosh, and Haslem (and Mike Miller lol) are all high rebound rate guys. Joel Anthony, Bosh, LeBron and Wade also have high block rates.

And finally, the old correlation of 1 Usage% ~ 1 ORtg will be tested. Will these guys actually increase each other's ORtg as their usage goes down? Think about all the extra assists and field goals by actually passing to competent teammates!

Can they join the SRS >= 10 group? (currently only consists of 3 Jordan Chicago teams). Can they break the 115.6 ORtg Showtime Lakers record? Have I spent a little too much time messing with the filters on this list?

Of course if they win 8 straight many hats will be eaten. Color me shocked if the 2011 CBA has a "Miami Heat Corollary" and just eliminates the MLE to stop that.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Stockton - u mad?

Good lord, you are projecting worse than Screamin A Smith right now. Okay, it's not that bad, but still, look at what you're typing. "Any[sic] now and then he could go berserk and say "it's my team, get the f### out of the way, I'll win this $hit by myself"."

...like, really? Thanks for your in-depth psychological analysis of what's going on inside LeBron's brain, bro.

Anonymous The Other Chris said...
@AnacondaHL:

As a Raptors' fan, I am overjoyed that Bryan Colagenlo found a sucker - umm, I mean, taker - for Hedo Turkoglu. I don't know how this is supposed to end well, as his main complaint about Toronto is that he couldn't dominate the ball the way he wanted to, and I hear Phoenix has this floppy-haired Canadian who likes to handle the rock a bit.

That and he just, well, sucks. From what I say he is clearly on the downslope of his career, and guys I play pickup with play harder and are better shooters than him at this point. I guess the Suns feel with Richardson starting at the two and Dragic coming off the bench to relieve Nash, Barbosa is expendable?

I don't know why anyone would want Turk. He's terrible, lazy, complains about calls instead of hustling back on D, is a locker-room cancer as noted.. etc.

And we also dumped the Calderon contract, so, sweet! Of course BC negated that with yet another hideous overpay - $35 million for Amir Johnson?!? - but ummm.. uhh.. Ed Davis could be good?

Ugh.

Anonymous Barry said...
It seems I completely forgot a first paragraph in my last post. Well.

Blogger Unknown said...
Basketbawful - can we compile a list of the NBA to fictional characters list at some point? I believe there is already a Superhero listing by the players themselves.. Flash, Superman vs. Bizarro Superman ect. I'd like the lesser known hero's to make the cut.

We can add the LOTR universe. And if im not mistaken we had a pretty indepth Star Wars analogies in the comment section like..two years ago?

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
The Other Chris - The upside is I wouldn't mind having a ball handler at the 4 to help Nash, and I think he'll enjoy the open looks and green light to jack up 3's. Throw in the Magic Phoenix Medical Staff, and those are my chances we can revive his career.

Barbosa is expendable. I've watched him for many years now, and he's just not getting it. It's like any time he hold the ball for more than 3 seconds, something stupid happens. His playmaking and ball-handling has not improved, and his speed is dependent on his health. He can only play SG but isn't even big enough to defend PGs.

Really, watch the 3 second rule on Barbosa. On a fast break, or a quick drive to the basket, he's amazing. When your PG passes him the ball behind the arc and he's dribbling around, something stupid will pretty much happen.

Blogger David Robinson said...
you could not have said it any better anaconda, that INFURIATED me about Barbosa last year. I even went so far to think that if he dribbled more than once we were in trouble. The main thing i like about the trades is that we basically gave up nothing. It could blow up in our face though Bart Simpson style, we shall see.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
All this LotR stuff, and noone thinks of Tim Duncan being Gandalf?

And damn, Phoenix is trying to match Minnesota in the "how many SFs can we get on one team" race. At least the Wolves win the PG version hands down.