With the success of the Kobe & LeBron Nike commercials come the parodies.
The first one is highly inappropriate but I had to share it. I was literally in tears laughing the first few times I watched it. PISS funny! Oh ... and explicit language warning.
Favourite lines:
"Why'd you snitch on Shaq? Where' I'm from snitches get stitches"
"Damn, y'all got a pool with no chicks?"
"Did you guys ever shower with John Amaechi?"
"Kobe, why were you messing with Ron Artest? You knooow he would've f*cked you up!"
And another one about Dwight Howard after the Magic knocked out the Cavs:
Showing posts with label Dwight Howard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dwight Howard. Show all posts
Monday, June 15, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Free throws ... the importance of
Other than being just about basketball, the focus of this blog leans towards the shooting aspect of the game. Whether its free-throw shooting, three-point shooting, clutch shooting, we've got it covered.
I've talked many times about the importance of free-throw shooting and why its vital that you spend hours at the line working on it. I've highlighted the truly great free-throw shooters (Ray Allen, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and many more) and how you should watch and learn from them.
Well last night's game 4 of the NBA Championship Series has again got everyone talking about free-throws as Orlando hit just 22 of 37 (59.5%) from the line and went on to lose the game in overtime. Most people are pointing to Dwight Howard's two missed free-throws in the final minute of regulation which would've given them the win ... but Hedo Turkoglu was just 8 of 13 (61.5%) from the line. Hedo is an 80% free-throw shooter over his career so was it the pressure of the situation that got to him? If either of them just make one more free-throw, they win this game and level the series at 2 - 2, instead they're down 3 - 1 and it looks like they're done.
Dime had a good piece about the situation on their website, I've included an excerpt from it below. Click on the title to read the full story. PS. Great to see them giving up the love to my boy Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf!
Coaches don’t miss free throws | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers
NBA big men are traditionally below-average free throw shooters, and while you can chalk that up to hand size, range of motion in the shoulders or whatever, I think it’s really just because nobody expects them to be that good. From the time they’re in high school, they don’t practice free throws as much as a guard would practice. If you’re getting tough buckets in the paint, winning your team extra possessions by battling for rebounds, and blocking a couple shots on top of that, it may seem like a lot to ask to also turn into Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf from 15 feet away. But because every big man can point to Wilt Chamberlain and say, “He only shot 51 percent from the line,” it’s acceptable to perform at a lower standard than other players.
And here’s the problem, particularly for somebody like Dwight: He takes A LOT of free throws. Because of his size and skill, teams have to foul him close to the basket. Throughout this series it’s been clear the Lakers made it their game plan to not let Dwight get those soul-crushing dunks on them, especially in Orlando, where he can whip the crowd into a frenzy. Kobe and everyone else in purple would rather bear-hug Dwight and tackle him before letting him get a dunk. And a lot of teams would do the same. During the regular season, Dwight led the League with 10.8 free throws per game (59% FT). In the playoffs, he’s been taking 10.2 free throws per, second behind LeBron James (14.2 FT per game). And, true, up until last night, he’s been pretty good in the Finals from the stripe.
I've talked many times about the importance of free-throw shooting and why its vital that you spend hours at the line working on it. I've highlighted the truly great free-throw shooters (Ray Allen, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and many more) and how you should watch and learn from them.
Well last night's game 4 of the NBA Championship Series has again got everyone talking about free-throws as Orlando hit just 22 of 37 (59.5%) from the line and went on to lose the game in overtime. Most people are pointing to Dwight Howard's two missed free-throws in the final minute of regulation which would've given them the win ... but Hedo Turkoglu was just 8 of 13 (61.5%) from the line. Hedo is an 80% free-throw shooter over his career so was it the pressure of the situation that got to him? If either of them just make one more free-throw, they win this game and level the series at 2 - 2, instead they're down 3 - 1 and it looks like they're done.
Dime had a good piece about the situation on their website, I've included an excerpt from it below. Click on the title to read the full story. PS. Great to see them giving up the love to my boy Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf!
Coaches don’t miss free throws | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers
NBA big men are traditionally below-average free throw shooters, and while you can chalk that up to hand size, range of motion in the shoulders or whatever, I think it’s really just because nobody expects them to be that good. From the time they’re in high school, they don’t practice free throws as much as a guard would practice. If you’re getting tough buckets in the paint, winning your team extra possessions by battling for rebounds, and blocking a couple shots on top of that, it may seem like a lot to ask to also turn into Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf from 15 feet away. But because every big man can point to Wilt Chamberlain and say, “He only shot 51 percent from the line,” it’s acceptable to perform at a lower standard than other players.
And here’s the problem, particularly for somebody like Dwight: He takes A LOT of free throws. Because of his size and skill, teams have to foul him close to the basket. Throughout this series it’s been clear the Lakers made it their game plan to not let Dwight get those soul-crushing dunks on them, especially in Orlando, where he can whip the crowd into a frenzy. Kobe and everyone else in purple would rather bear-hug Dwight and tackle him before letting him get a dunk. And a lot of teams would do the same. During the regular season, Dwight led the League with 10.8 free throws per game (59% FT). In the playoffs, he’s been taking 10.2 free throws per, second behind LeBron James (14.2 FT per game). And, true, up until last night, he’s been pretty good in the Finals from the stripe.
But Howard, and every coach that he’s ever played for and will ever play for, knows damn well he’s gonna be put on the line often. He’s going to have to hit some free throws in crunch time. So why should he be held to a lower level of expectation than the Nick Andersons, Darius Washingtons and Derrick Roses of the game? If any perimeter player bricked those FT’s in Game 4 — and Lord help us all if it were LeBron or Kobe — nobody could “live with” those misses.
If you missed it, here are the highlights from the game
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Orlando Magic ... home cooking
There's nothing like playing at home!
After stinking up game 1, narrowly losing in overtime in game 2, the Orlando Magic had to be looking forward to playing at home in game 3. Sleeping in your own bed, not having to travel, playing on your own court, in front of your own fans, on your own rings ... hopefully it would all add up to a much needed win.
As I mentioned earlier in the week, if the Magic are to win, they need their shooters to fire ... and FIRE they did in game 3. The inconsistent Rafer Alston found his range hitting 8 of 12 from the field, Hedo Turkoglu was 7 of 12, Rashard Lewis was 8 of 14 (including 3 triples) and Mickael Pietrus came off the bench shooting 7 of 11 from the field.
Dwight Howard continued to spend more time at the free-throw line than anywhere else as the Lakers again played their version of Hack-a-Shaq with him. He was 5 of 6 from the field and 11 of 16 from the line.
The Magic shot a ridiculously good overall clip of 62.5% for the game ... but still only won by 4 points.
The Lakers shot 51% but managed to hang with the red-hot Magic behind 31 points, 8 boards from Kobe Bryant (although he made just 5 of 10 from the line) and 23 points on 9 of 11 shooting from Pau Gasol.
Lamar Odom, who had been massive in the first 2 games was held to just 11 points, 2 boards due to foul trouble.
Due to One HD showing replays the day after, I haven't watched game 3 yet but will do so tonight. From a basketball shooting perspective, it should be great checking out the Magic shooters on fire and LA still managing to keep it close.
Here are the highlights of the game (I am avoiding watching them):
After stinking up game 1, narrowly losing in overtime in game 2, the Orlando Magic had to be looking forward to playing at home in game 3. Sleeping in your own bed, not having to travel, playing on your own court, in front of your own fans, on your own rings ... hopefully it would all add up to a much needed win.
As I mentioned earlier in the week, if the Magic are to win, they need their shooters to fire ... and FIRE they did in game 3. The inconsistent Rafer Alston found his range hitting 8 of 12 from the field, Hedo Turkoglu was 7 of 12, Rashard Lewis was 8 of 14 (including 3 triples) and Mickael Pietrus came off the bench shooting 7 of 11 from the field.
Dwight Howard continued to spend more time at the free-throw line than anywhere else as the Lakers again played their version of Hack-a-Shaq with him. He was 5 of 6 from the field and 11 of 16 from the line.
The Magic shot a ridiculously good overall clip of 62.5% for the game ... but still only won by 4 points.
The Lakers shot 51% but managed to hang with the red-hot Magic behind 31 points, 8 boards from Kobe Bryant (although he made just 5 of 10 from the line) and 23 points on 9 of 11 shooting from Pau Gasol.
Lamar Odom, who had been massive in the first 2 games was held to just 11 points, 2 boards due to foul trouble.
Due to One HD showing replays the day after, I haven't watched game 3 yet but will do so tonight. From a basketball shooting perspective, it should be great checking out the Magic shooters on fire and LA still managing to keep it close.
Here are the highlights of the game (I am avoiding watching them):
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
NBA Championship Series - Lakers vs Magic Game 2
We've just had the Queen's birthday long weekend here in Australia so its been a few days since I last blogged. The upside of the long weekend tho, was that I got to watch game 2 of the NBA Championship Series between the Orlando Magic and the LA Lakers.
I got a call from some friends and we had an afternoon feast of sport. First there was the AFL game between Melbourne and Collingwood, then it was the NBA and the night wrapped up with Titans against the Dragons in the NRL.
After the disaster that was game 1 for the Orlando Magic, I was hoping they would bounce back in game 2. The game was again in LA so the Lakers were certainly the favourites and their confidence was riding high.
The first quarter was a dour, low-scoring affair with the scores tied at 15 at the first break. The Lakers pushed ahead in the second quarter before Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu found their shooting rhythms and the Magic came back.
The last quarter was back and forth and Orlando looked like they could steal it but two costly misses from Magic rookie Courtney Lee in the final minute meant we were headed to OT.
Orlando continued to turn the ball over in the extra period and LA hit their free-throws down the stretch and secured the win.
For the Magic, the good news was the form of their big 3, Shard, Hedo and Dwight. The bad news was the rest of their team shot just 8 of 30 from the field and had 20 turnovers to just 12 for LA. The Magic need better production from the likes of Alston, Lee and Pietrus.
For the Lakers, Kobe was good (29 points, 8 assists but 7 turnovers) without completely dominating like he did in game 1. The Lakers have to be delighted with what they're getting from Lamar Odom (19 points, 8 of 9 from the field, 8 boards off the bench) and Pau Gasol (24 points, 10 boards).
Here are the highlights from Game 2:
I got a call from some friends and we had an afternoon feast of sport. First there was the AFL game between Melbourne and Collingwood, then it was the NBA and the night wrapped up with Titans against the Dragons in the NRL.
After the disaster that was game 1 for the Orlando Magic, I was hoping they would bounce back in game 2. The game was again in LA so the Lakers were certainly the favourites and their confidence was riding high.
The first quarter was a dour, low-scoring affair with the scores tied at 15 at the first break. The Lakers pushed ahead in the second quarter before Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu found their shooting rhythms and the Magic came back.
The last quarter was back and forth and Orlando looked like they could steal it but two costly misses from Magic rookie Courtney Lee in the final minute meant we were headed to OT.
Orlando continued to turn the ball over in the extra period and LA hit their free-throws down the stretch and secured the win.
For the Magic, the good news was the form of their big 3, Shard, Hedo and Dwight. The bad news was the rest of their team shot just 8 of 30 from the field and had 20 turnovers to just 12 for LA. The Magic need better production from the likes of Alston, Lee and Pietrus.
For the Lakers, Kobe was good (29 points, 8 assists but 7 turnovers) without completely dominating like he did in game 1. The Lakers have to be delighted with what they're getting from Lamar Odom (19 points, 8 of 9 from the field, 8 boards off the bench) and Pau Gasol (24 points, 10 boards).
Here are the highlights from Game 2:
Friday, May 22, 2009
Orlando Magic shock the Cavs ... and the world!
Yesterday the Orlando Magic pulled off a come from behind win on the road in Cleveland to win the first game of their NBA Eastern Conference Finals match-up with LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
I followed the yahoo scoreboard at work yesterday and when I got home I was pumped to find the replay of the game on One HD (I love you).
While John Rillie chose to focus on Dwight Howard's dunk that stopped the game, for me it was all about basketball shooting.
The knock on LeBron James has been his poor jump shooting (and free-throw shooting) but that was evidenced last night. I got home in time for the second quarter and LBJ was on a role sticking jumper after jumper. When his shot is on he is virtually impossible to guard. Despite missing his first four field goal attempts, LeBron finished an impressive 20 of 30 from the field including 3 triples.
The real hero of the night tho was Rashard Lewis of the Orlando Magic. Shard also started the game slowly but after half-time could not miss. It took a while for the Cavs to adjust and by the time they did, it was too late, he was on fire. He scored 17 points in the second half, 11 in the final quarter and was 7 of 7 from the field after the main break.
The final quarter was great to watch with the lead going back and forth between the two times. In the final minutes it was big shot after big shot being hit which is great to see from a shooting perspective. Unfortunately for Delonte West, it was his shot from the corner in the final few seconds that proved the difference and the Magic hung on for the win.
The crew at Dime have a good breakdown of the game itself and Rashard's shooting performance.
Here are the highlights from the game if you didn't catch it:
I followed the yahoo scoreboard at work yesterday and when I got home I was pumped to find the replay of the game on One HD (I love you).
While John Rillie chose to focus on Dwight Howard's dunk that stopped the game, for me it was all about basketball shooting.
The knock on LeBron James has been his poor jump shooting (and free-throw shooting) but that was evidenced last night. I got home in time for the second quarter and LBJ was on a role sticking jumper after jumper. When his shot is on he is virtually impossible to guard. Despite missing his first four field goal attempts, LeBron finished an impressive 20 of 30 from the field including 3 triples.
The real hero of the night tho was Rashard Lewis of the Orlando Magic. Shard also started the game slowly but after half-time could not miss. It took a while for the Cavs to adjust and by the time they did, it was too late, he was on fire. He scored 17 points in the second half, 11 in the final quarter and was 7 of 7 from the field after the main break.
The final quarter was great to watch with the lead going back and forth between the two times. In the final minutes it was big shot after big shot being hit which is great to see from a shooting perspective. Unfortunately for Delonte West, it was his shot from the corner in the final few seconds that proved the difference and the Magic hung on for the win.
The crew at Dime have a good breakdown of the game itself and Rashard's shooting performance.
Here are the highlights from the game if you didn't catch it:
Friday, January 23, 2009
NBA All-Star Starters Announced
The votes have been counted and the NBA All-Star starting fives have been announced. I used this article from Dime rather than the official reports because they also give you the breakdown of the voting and their thoughts about what happened. Click on the title below to read the full story.
All-Star Starters Announced | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers
The votes are in…
EASTERN CONFERENCE
G - Allen Iverson
G - Dwyane Wade
F - LeBron James
F - Kevin Garnett
C - Dwight Howard
WESTERN CONFERENCE
G - Kobe Bryant
G - Chris Paul
F - Tim Duncan
F - Amare Stoudemire
C - Yao Ming
* Dwight was the overall leading vote-getter, tallying more than three million votes. LeBron finished second at just over 2.9 million, and Kobe (2.8M), D-Wade (2.7M) and Duncan (2.5M) rounded out the top five. All of them topped the previous all-time high number of votes, a record previously held by Yao from the 2005 season.
Did the fans get it right, who would you have voted in?
All-Star Starters Announced | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers
The votes are in…
EASTERN CONFERENCE
G - Allen Iverson
G - Dwyane Wade
F - LeBron James
F - Kevin Garnett
C - Dwight Howard
WESTERN CONFERENCE
G - Kobe Bryant
G - Chris Paul
F - Tim Duncan
F - Amare Stoudemire
C - Yao Ming
* Dwight was the overall leading vote-getter, tallying more than three million votes. LeBron finished second at just over 2.9 million, and Kobe (2.8M), D-Wade (2.7M) and Duncan (2.5M) rounded out the top five. All of them topped the previous all-time high number of votes, a record previously held by Yao from the 2005 season.
Did the fans get it right, who would you have voted in?
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