The phrase "not in my house" has new meaning today as chatter on the net is about a confiscated video tape of LeBron James getting dunked on at his own skills academy.
With Nike controlling what can and can't be put on YouTube, how come they couldn't get LeBron and the Cavs in to the NBA Championship series against Kobe??
AKRON, Ohio -- You want to see video of Xavier's Jordan Crawford dunking on LeBron James?
If so, too bad.
Because you're not going to see it.
Thanks to Nike.
Turns out, there were at least two cameras rolling Monday night when Crawford dunked on James during a pick-up game here at the LeBron James Skills Academy. It was a two-handed jam, the kind that would've circulated quickly on YouTube. But Nike officials eliminated that possibility shortly after the dunk happened by allegedly confiscating tapes from various cameramen.
Its been a week since I last posted ... can you tell its pretty quiet in the basketball world right now??
In the (new) NBL, teams are signing players and getting themselves organised for the upcoming season. There are still plenty of announcements yet to happen and plenty of quality talent waiting to get picked up (John Rillie anyone?).
In the NBA, since the Lakers took care of business in the NBA Championship Series a little early, all the talk at the moment is about the upcoming draft. From an Aussie perspective, there's plenty of interest around Patrick Mills and if he will go in the first round. Then, once his name has been called, the interest surrounds Joe Ingles and where/when he'll be drafted.
Hopefully Patty will be picked up a team that can give him some minutes straight away. Ideally a team with a good point guard that he can learn from. As for Ingles, the question is whether he'll be signed to a contract by his team or if he'll be the next Brad Newley/CJ Bruton (drafted but yet to play in the NBA).
John Rillie found a couple of interviews with Patty and Joe, click here to check them out.
The team at Dime have had plenty of stories about the draft so check out their site and stay up to date with everything that's happening.
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!
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
"In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women." (Tony Montana: Scarface)
One of my friends (Tux) has a theory when it comes to contracts in the NBA and in particular how it relates to fantasy basketball. His theory is that when drafting players you want to pick players who are in contract years. Therefore the reverse also applies ... don't draft players who have just received the big contract.
Tux believes that most players when they reach the NBA are motivated mainly by the money and in landing the big contracts. In contract years they step up their game and play flat-out every night. Once they land the money they aren't as hungry, don't put in the same level of effort and production falls the next year.
Normally, a number of my friends and I laugh off many of Tux's theories but this one is spot-on. So why am I bringing this up now? Well, in this NBA Championship Series there is an example of both sides of the ledger.
Exhibit 1: Lamar Odom Contract status: About to become a free-agent He struggled through much of the early part of the season adjusting to his new role of coming off the bench. When Andrew Bynum went down injured, Odom stepped back in to the starting line-up and stepped up his play. Fast forward to the Championship Series and Odom is playing out of his skin.
Exhibit 2: Andrew Bynum Contract status: Just received a 3 year, $42 million contract extension Bynum has struggled with injuries but when he was healthy last season he was putting up fantastic numbers. Great clips and averaging a double double. Fast forward to his return from injury this season and throughout these playoffs Bynum is averaging 6 points and just over 3 boards per game. Foul trouble, whinging about court-time and arguing with the coach.
I remember seeing a story about Bynum from the crew at Dime earlier in the year. When I saw this video I just shook my head:
Think I'm making this up? Here's an article from ESPN questioning Lamar's motivation. And here's one about some of the worst contracts in the NBA.
Kids, despite what you see in rap videos ... its not all about the money, the ring is the thing!
