Corey Williams speaks out ... fancy that!

Here's an excerpt of an article/interview with Corey Williams in the lead up to the possibly last game between FNQ rivals the Cairns Taipans and the Townsville Crocodiles. As usual, Corey Williams was not afraid to speak his mind and talk some trash. Funny stuff ... and this is just what the NBL need more of, the "conversation" between the two teams in the media before the game should lead to an entertaining contest on the court.

PS. Corey ... thanks for the explaination of 187 ... anyone that listened to a 90's rap album knew exactly what you were talking about. But, almost a good plug for your shoes!

Click on the title below to read the full article.

Townsville Crocs ready for bloodbath | Townsville Bulletin Sport

But he warned the Taipans they had better not drop their game against the Crocs or they would be on the end of some serious punishment.

'Cairns better come with it, because we ain't playin' no game, we ready,' Williams said.

'This just might be the last time we play, so we are going to go out in style.'

Williams said he was prepared to back up his words if need be.

'If they want to fight we can fight too, however they want to do it, I'm here,' he said.

And who wouldn't expect him to? The New York streetball legend is nicknamed `Homicide', after all.

'It's going to be a 187 Saturday. That's the police code for murder,' Williams said.

NBA highlights

After my post last week about NZ basketball day, today I actually found a Sean Marks highlight!!



Following on from all the love that Eddie House from the Boston Celtics has been getting over the last few weeks, here is the recap of the game including a few of his career-high 8 triples.

NBA All-Star reserves announced

The NBA has just announced their reserves for the All-Star game. Unlike the starters that are picked by the fans, the reserves are voted on by the coaches from around the league.

From the comments on Dime, the controversial picks seem to be David West from the Hornets, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson from the Magic. People are saying the biggest snubs are Al Jefferson from the Timberwolves and Carmelo Anthony from the Nuggets.

After being named our Shooter of the Month for December, obviously I have no problem with Jameer getting a run. David West is a great player who is often over-looked when talking about the best bigmen in the league and Shard's team is doing well and he's having a good season. I'd say Jefferson didn't get the nod because he's a star on a bad team. Melo has been in and out of the line-up with injuries, trust me I know, he's on my fantasy squad!

Click on the title below to read all about the All-Star reserves.

NBA.com: Shaq, pair of Magic players highlight All-Star reserves

NEW YORK -- Shaquille O'Neal of the hometown Phoenix Suns was named an NBA All-Star for the 15th time, as the NBA today announced the list of 14 players that have been selected by the coaches as reserves for the 2009 All-Star Game. The 58th NBA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday, Feb. 15, in Phoenix at US Airways Center.

O'Neal's 15 All-Star selections are the second most in league history, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who received an invite 19 times during his Hall of Fame career. Joining O'Neal on the West bench are the Denver Nuggets' Chauncey Billups, the Los Angeles Lakers' Pau Gasol, the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki, the San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker, the Portland Trail Blazers' Brandon Roy and the New Orleans Hornets' David West.

In the Eastern Conference, three first-time selections -- Devin Harris of the New Jersey Nets, Danny Granger of the Indiana Pacers and Jameer Nelson of the Orlando Magic -- are joined by the Toronto Raptors' Chris Bosh, the Atlanta Hawks' Joe Johnson, the Magic's Rashard Lewis and the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce. Nelson and Lewis are the lone set of teammates named as reserves, and they join Dwight Howard as the only trio of teammates on either squad.

Devin Harris makes his first All-Star game appearance

Eddie House at it again ...

Last week I highlighted a basketball shooting display put on by two Boston Celtics, Ray Allen and his less well-known back-up Eddie House. Two games later and Eddie House is at it again, this time destroying the Sacramento Kings.

Eddie top scored for the Celtics with:
28 points, 10 of 13 from the field, 8 (a career high) of 9 from downtown in just 20 minutes of court-time

Every team needs a role player and Eddie House definitely knows his role on this Celtics team. He's your spot-up shooter that provides a scoring punch off the bench (when Ray Allen needs a rest). I watched a bit of footage of Eddie in action this morning and basically all he does is get himself open on offence and plants himself just behind the three-point arc. No creating off the dribble, just get open and wait for a kick-out pass from a teammate.

Knowing his strengths, Eddie House has carved out an 11 year NBA career basically being a great basketball shooter that can knock down the three-ball.

H.O.R.S.E challenge

Since Aaron Bruce from Adelaide seems to have disappeared from the HORSE challenge he laid down to our boy John Rillie, I came across a worthy contender this morning.

John seems to have destroyed Bruce with his trick-shot running one-handed three pointer in a game ... but this one (thanks to the crew at Dime for pointing it out) may have you beat JR. Game on again??

Mick Hill sighting

Probably the most talented NBL player to get shafted by the off-season collapse of several NBL teams (Bullets, Kings, Slingers) was ex-Brisbane Bullet Mick Hill. Mick was never afraid to speak his mind or show his emotion on court and this made him a favourite with fans (although many opposition fans disliked him) and the media. During my time as Media Liaison with the Brisbane Bullets, Mick was a regular in the post-game press conference because he always had something to say and didn't stick to the cliches.

I stumbled across this article this morning about Mick signing with the Knox Raiders in the SEABL, hopefully we can see him back in the NBL (or whatever its going to be called) next season. Click on the title below to read the full story.

Raiders reload for ’09 - Star News Group

By Greg Oakford

KNOX Raiders have clinched two top players to shore up the list for the pre-season.

Mick Hall and Cameron Rigby have joined the ranks in time for the first game in March.

The Raiders take on reining SEABL champions Hobart in the Apple Isle on 13 March.

Coming off a successful year in ’08, the team will again bolster a formidable line-up with veterans Hill and Rigby.

Both will be keen to add strength to the existing core group of players from last season.

Hill and Rigby fell victim to the NBL’s much publicised demise of foundation club Brisbane Bullets last year when long-time owner Eddy Groves off-loaded the team, due to financial troubles with his ABC Learning Centres.

Hill, who would have been entering his sixth season with the Bullets and his eighth in the NBL, was in his second year of a two-year deal and was left with nowhere to play in a smaller team competition.

Mick Hill in better times

NBL wrap - round 19

I hope everyone enjoyed the Australia Day long weekend. That's my excuse for not posting over the last few days.

Here are the numbers that matter from round 19 in the NBL:

36ers 110 Blaze 88

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 28 points, 12 boards
Luke Schenscher 16 points, 10 boards
Brett Maher 17 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 21 points, 19 boards, 8 assists
Justin Bowen 18 points, 7 boards
Scott McGregor 8 points, 7 boards (in just 12 minutes)

The Blaze actually have a good recent record over the 36ers but Adelaide turned up ready to play and took control with a 30 - 13 first quarter. Adelaide shot 55% from the field while the Blaze were just 40%. Shane Heal and James Harvey combined for just 2 of 13 from the field. Luke Whitehead is putting up large, large numbers over the last 6 weeks.

Tigers 103 Breakers 85

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 22 points, 6 boards, 3 steals
Chris Anstey 16 points, 13 boards, 4 assists
Daryl Corletto 15 points (7 of 9 shooting), 4 boards (in just 16 minutes)

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 28 points (12 of 18 shooting), 4 boards
Rick Rickert 15 points, 8 boards
Tony Ronaldson 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

The Tigers dominated the second half 56 - 37 to secure the win. The Breakers got to the free-throw line just 10 times during the game and were an uncharacteristically poor 5 of 17 from downtown. Tigers won the boards 49 to 35. CJ Bruton returned to the bench ... obviously he's nowhere near 100% since coming back from injury.

Wildcats 96 Blaze 90

For the Wildcats:

Alex Loughton 18 points
Shawn Redhage 16 points, 6 boards
Darnell Hinson 15 points, 6 boards, 6 assists

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 20 points, 9 boards, 5 assists
Luke Whitehead 16 points, 15 boards
Pero Cameron 10 points, 9 boards, 7 assists

A good effort from the Blaze to keep this close, but they were well rested after they failed to show up for the 36ers game. Both teams shot just over 40% from the field and struggled from the line but the Wildcats had just FOUR turnovers for the entire game. Ugly final quarter with the teams combining for 25 points total (14 for the Wildcats, 11 for the Blaze).

Tigers 95 Breakers 89

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 20 points, 11 boards, 4 steals, 3 blocks
Ebi Ere 14 points, 6 boards
Nathan Crosswell 14 points (7 of 10 from the field)

For the Breakers:

CJ Bruton 29 points (including 5 triples and 8 of 8 from the line)
Kirk Penney 23 points, 5 boards
Rick Rickert 11 points, 6 boards

These teams matched up twice in the space of 48 hours, once in NZ and once in Melbourne, the Tigers got both wins tho. CJ Bruton back in the starting line-up and back in form. Tigers came from behind in the second half 50 - 38 to get the win. Both teams shot just over 40% but the Tigers had just 11 turnovers to the Breakers 19.

Crocs 97 Hawks 95

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 25 points, 11 boards, 4 assists
Kelvin Robertson 20 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals
Brad Williamson 15 points, 5 boards

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 27 points, 6 boards
Kavossy Franklin 19 points (6 of 9 from the field, 6 of 6 from the line), 8 assists, 5 boards
Glen Saville 17 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals

Crocs come from behind 26 - 16 in the final quarter to get the win thanks to two late buckets from Rosell Ellis. Crocs got the win on the road despite being without leading scorer Corey Williams.

Taipans 89 Spirit 83

For the Taipans:

Ian Crosswhite 27 points (11 of 15 from the field), 11 boards, 4 steals
Martin Cattalini 15 points
Aaron Grabeau 11 points, 6 boards

For the Spirit:

Jason Smith 19 points, 7 boards
David Gruber 14 points (6 of 8 from the field), 7 boards
Matthew Knight 14 points, 6 boards, 3 steals

Cairns could've won by a lot more but shot just 20 of 34 from the line and had 25 turnovers. Sydney shot just 38% from the field. MASSIVE game from Crosswhite! Sydney running out of steam at the wrong end of the season.

At the end of round 19, the Dragons are still in first but the Tigers move in to 2nd on a 6 game winning streak. The Breakers fall to 3rd (won 1 of their last 5) and the Crocs are in 4th. Blaze still on the bottom, Hawks are now second last.

Adam Ballinger (our Shooter of the Month in November) was named player of the week thanks to his impressive performance in Adelaide's win against the Blaze. Ballinger had 21 points in the first half to put the game to bed before half-time.

Now to our Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The dishonourable mentions go to Oscar Forman from the Breakers (for scoring just 7 points total in two losses to the Melbourne Tigers) and Blagov Janev of the Spirit (1 of 7 in a loss to the Taipans). The award goes to one time shooter of the week, James Harvey for hitting just 1 of 8 and doing virtually nothing else in 26 minutes of court time in an horrible loss to the 36ers.

And finally, as always our Shooter of the Week is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. The runner up this week goes to CJ Bruton from the Breakers for his 29 points, 8 of 14 from the field, 5 of 10 from deep and 8 of 8 from the line in a loss to the Tigers. The winner of the award is none other than Adam Ballinger (pictured right) for his 28 points, 9 of 14 from the field, 4 of 5 from deep and 6 of 6 from the line, as well as 12 boards in his team's win over the Blaze. Ballinger has continued his hot form in November and is now definitely the focus of the Adelaide attack.

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?

Basketball shooting - Celtics style

Each week I like to point out a great basketball shooting display and thanks to the crew at Dime for pointing out this one (below). Yesterday in the NBA, Eddie House from the Boston Celtics exploded for 20 points in a quarter against the Miami Heat. He finished with 7 of 11 from downtown, 9 of 15 from the field for 25 points in just 26 minutes of court-time. Eddie House is one of those shooters that can just catch fire at any moment. He's also one of those players with no fear (and no conscience), he's never seen a shot he didn't like it and provides an offensive spark off the bench for the defending champs.

Side note: not to be out-shone by his back-up, our boy Ray Allen also put on a basketball shooting display of his own. Ray was 9 of 12 from the field, 5 of 6 from downtown and 4 of 4 from the line. Quality!

Bringing Down the House | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers

… Where the Celtics couldn’t miss, however, was from the perimeter. Ray (27 pts, 5 threes) and Paul Pierce knocked down a few to give them the early lead, and in the second quarter it turned into The Eddie House Show on the way to a Boston blowout. House dropped 20 points in the quarter, hitting six threes and shooting pretty much every time he touched the ball (and within 0.4 seconds of touching the ball). He ended up with 27 points on 7-of-11 beyond the arc

Nathan Jawai debuts in the NBA

Young Australian bigman Nathan Jawai (pictured right) made his debut in the NBA today for the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors lost badly to the Detroit Pistons but this is a good thing for Jawai as he'll likely only see minutes at the moment in garbage time. As you can see, it wasn't the most productive of minutes for Nathan, but you have to start somewhere!

Toronto
Starters			Min	FG	3Pt	FT	+/-	Off	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	BS	BA	PF	Pts
A. Parker	G		36:13	4-11	0-2	2-2	-13	1	2	8	3	1	0	0	2	10
J. Graham	G		22:16	0-3	0-0	0-0	-2	0	3	2	2	0	0	2	3	0
A. Bargnani	C		40:31	6-16	2-5	2-4	-11	1	6	3	1	0	0	1	0	16
C. Bosh	F		36:59	9-17	0-1	1-3	-10	3	5	2	0	0	0	0	1	19
J. Moon	F		36:03	4-5	1-1	0-0	-10	1	7	1	2	1	0	0	2	9
Bench			Min	FG	3Pt	FT	+/-	Off	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	BS	BA	PF	Pts
J. Kapono			20:33	3-6	1-1	0-0	-14	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	7
J. O'Neal			19:52	3-7	0-0	5-8	-15	1	1	0	1	0	1	1	1	11
R. Ukic			13:04	0-4	0-0	0-0	-6	1	3	2	1	0	0	1	3	0
W. Solomon			11:22	2-4	0-2	0-0	-12	0	0	4	0	1	0	0	1	4
N. Jawai			3:05	0-0	0-0	0-0	-2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
J. Calderon			DNP - Coach's Decision
J. Voskuhl			DNP - Coach's Decision

NBL's greatest shooters

I came across this article (below) on the NBL website. Great to see them talking about some of the great shooters that the league has seen. One GLARING ommission tho ... where is Andrew Gaze on this list?

Click on the title below to read the full story and to see who made their list.

NBL > News

By Asa Schuster, Sportal

The master of the funky jump and shooting expert, Kevin Brooks, and the human NBL almanac, Matt McQuade, sat down to critique some of the great NBL players who devastated opponents with unique and unorthodox methods of shooting.

Shane Heal.
Brisbane Bullets 1988, 1992-1995, Geelong Supercats 1989-1991, Sydney Kings 1996-1997, 2001/02–2002/03, South Dragons 2006/07-2007/08 and Gold Coast Blaze 2008/09. 20.7 points per game and 1586 three-pointers made at 38 percent in 436 career games.

KB: Shane has got a nice jump shot, definitely not short on confidence. From what I understand, I don't know him and haven't played with him, he works his ass off from what I've heard and has a very good work ethic. His jump shot is basically when he goes to the left he can shoot with anyone in the league. When he goes to his right he doesn't shoot the jump shot the same way but he definitely has an effective jump shot with lots of range.

MM: Unbelievable ball player, he's got that great shot from way back over his head. He can't jump, he's slow, physically there's a lot of deficiencies, but he played in the NBA, you've got to give that max respect and he held the Timberwolves record for most threes in a quarter. He's a flat out gunner and great player and maybe reached his peak when he was past his prime with Sydney when they won the championship, the guy was just all-world almost.

Stephen Black.
Perth Wildcats 1998/99-2002/03, Brisbane Bullets 2003/04-2006/07 and Cairns Taipans 2007/08-2008/09. 574 three-pointers made at 40 percent in 297 career games.

KB: Yeah Blacky's got a good shot, a lefty, likes to go to his left and shoot it. He's a got a quick release and when he gets it going he's as tough as Shane Heal or anyone else in the league, very efficient shot.

MM: Absolute flat out competitor, one of these guys that physically isn't what you would call a 'blue chipper', but how many times have you seen him turn the corner on someone. He can turn the corner on just about anybody when he's healthy and I think it's a damn shame he's had all the injuries.

How does this man not make the list?

NZ basketball day

With the surprising sight of New Zealand basketballer Sean Marks starting for the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA today (unfortunately for Sean, he wasn't overly active in his 17 minutes of court-time), it seemed like a good opportunity to focus on basketball news from across the ditch.

Click on the titles below to read the full stories ... choice bro

Hornets beat Pacers on Paul's late 3 - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Sean Marks (2 points, 3 rebounds) started for West.


'Money time' for Penney in MVP drive - New Zealand's source for sport, rugby, cricket & league news on Stuff.co.nz
By MARC HINTON - Sunday Star Times

The smart money around the Australian National Basketball League is that by season's end the New Zealand Breakers shooting guard, known rather obviously as KP, will have a new name - MVP.

Kirk Penney, say the pundits, is a short-priced favourite to succeed Melbourne Tigers big man Chris Anstey as the league's premier player. Already the Kiwi has won two of the three player of the month awards up for grabs, and looks unlikely to be pipped in the contest for the season's top individual honour.

Yet if the Breakers don't push on and finish off their groundbreaking NBL season with at least an appearance in the best-of-five final series, the game's highest individual accolade will likely go elsewhere.

MVPs get their team to finals: that's a given.


Breakers ready and waiting for Tigers - New Zealand's source for sport, rugby, cricket & league news on Stuff.co.nz
By MARC HINTON - Fairfax Media

Oscar Forman says the Breakers have nothing to fear against the Melbourne Tigers despite the high stakes of this week's back-to-back matchup against the red-hot defending NBL champions.

The Tigers, who have won four straight games since undergoing a personnel makeover, meet the Breakers at the North Shore Events Centre on Thursday night, then host the Kiwis just 48 hours later in a double-header that has major playoff repercussions.

The Breakers (16-7) are one loss behind the table-topping South Dragons (18-6) and in turn are one better than the advancing Tigers (15-8). With all three teams playing each other over the next week or so, that scenario could change markedly as the regular season hits the business end.

NBL wrap - round 18

Here are the numbers that matter from round 18 in the NBL:

Tigers 99 Spirit 79

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 25 points
David Barlow 20 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals
Chris Anstey 4 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals

For the Spirit:

Jason Smith 18 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards
Matthew Knight 14 points, 11 boards
David Gruber 12 points, 13 boards

With scores tied up at half-time the Tigers dominated the second-half 52 - 32. Sydney had way too many turnovers (22 - 10) and shot just 30% from the field after the main break. Chris Anstey only scored 4 points?? Really??

Breakers 95 Crocs 86

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 28 points, 9 boards
Rick Rickert 19 points, 9 boards
Phull Jones 17 points, 4 boards

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 18 points, 4 boards
Rosell Ellis 12 points, 9 boards
Cameron Tovey 10 points, 10 boards, 4 steals (but 2 of 6 from the line with 5 turnovers)

The Crocs scored just 9 points in the 2nd term (Breakers had 24). It was turnover central in this one, the Crocs had 20 turnovers and only 18 assists while the Breakers had 20 turnovers for 20 assists. CJ Bruton had 8 turnovers ... career high maybe? The two teams combined for just 11 of 43 from deep ... John Rillie was 3 of 7 on his own.

Tigers 116 Blaze 107

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 24 points (including 5 triples), 5 boards, 3 assists
Chris Anstey 22 points, 9 boards
David Barlow 17 points, 5 boards

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 22 points, 9 boards, 4 assists
Justin Bowen 17 points, 8 boards
Shane Heal 17 points (5 triples), 6 assists

Blaze shot an impressive 53% from the field but were by too many turnovers (21 - 8). They were also on the wrong side of the foul count (32 - 21) which resulted in the Tigers getting an extra 16 trips to the line. After a few very quiet games, its good to see Anstey troubling the scorers again.

Taipans 79 36ers 70

For the Taipans:

Darnell Mee 19 points, 6 boards
Ian Crosswhite 12 points, 12 boards, 5 assists
Aaron Grabeau 15 points, 6 boards, 4 assists

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 18 points, 13 boards
Brett Maher 15 points
Brad Hill 10 points, 7 boards

Ugly game with both teams shooting at less than 40% from the field. Like I mentioned last week, this style of game obviously gives the Taipans the best chance of winning. Player of the Week Luke Schenscher gets held to just 7 points. Adelaide score just FIVE points in the 3rd quarter.

Wildcats 114 Spirit 84

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 32 points (11 of 15 from the field), 7 boards
Darnell Hinson 19 points, 7 assists
Peter Crawford 19 points (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 7 from downtown)

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 20 points, 7 boards
Tony Rampton 17 points, 7 boards
David Gruber 11 points, 7 boards

Perth shot an outstanding 62% from the field and 50% from downtown, Sydney were just 37% for both.

Crocs 128 36ers 105

For the Crocs:

Brad Williamson 22 points (8 of 12 from the field including 6 triples)
Corey Williams 20 points
Rosell Ellis 17 points, 9 boards, 5 assists

For the 36ers:

Luke Schenscher 21 points, 9 boards
Brad Hill 20 points, 4 boards
Brett Maher 7 points, 9 assists

Crocs somehow outrebounded the much taller 36ers (50 - 41) and took much better care of the ball (8 turnovers to 19). The turnovers explain why the 36ers shot 58% from the field in the first half and still found themselves down by 18 points.

Tigers 108 Hawks 94

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 36 points (including 7 triples), 6 boards, 4 assists
Chris Anstey 20 points, 9 boards
David Barlow 16 points, 7 boards

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 24 points, 7 boards
Glen Saville 8 points, 12 boards, 7 assists
Kavossy Franklin 18 points, 6 boards

The Tigers dominated the second half 59 - 37 to come from behind to get their 3rd win for the round. They didn't shoot well from the field but were solid from deep (42%) and accurate from the line (85%). The two teams combined for just 20 turnovers for the game.

At the end of round 18, the Dragons are still on top of the NBL ladder with 18 wins followed by the Breakers on 16 and the Tigers on 15 (4 in a row). Blaze still on the bottom with 5 and the Taipans and Hawks in front of them on 9.

I'm in early again so I get to speculate on who will win this week's NBL Player of the Week. I think Shawn Redhage will get an honourable mention for his performance (32 points, 7 boards) in his team's win over the Spirit. The award (in my opinion) tho will go to Ebi Ere from the Melbourne Tigers for leading his team to 3 wins in a row through this round. Ebi scored 25 points against the Spirit, 24 points against the Blaze and saved his best for last with 36 points (on great clips) against the Hawks.

Now, to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. Dishonourable mention goes to the Crocs starting back-court of Michael Cedar and Brad Williamson for their combined 0 of 11 from the field with 5 turnovers in their team's loss to the Breakers. The award this week goes to 36ers duo of Jacob Holmes and Aaron Bruce for their combined 2 of 14 performance from the field in their team's loss to the Taipans and they then backed it up with a combined 4 of 12 from the field and 8 turnovers in a loss to the Crocs.

Our Shooter of the Week as always is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. Runner up this week is Brad Williamson from the Townsville Crocodiles, not for his goose egg against the Breakers but he bounced back (8 of 12 from the field, 6 of 8 from deep) in a win over the 36ers. The Shooter of the Week award goes to Ebi Ere (pictured below) from the Melbourne Tigers for his outstanding weekend but mainly for the show he put on against the Hawks. Ebi was rolling with 36 points, 13 of 19 from the field, 7 of 10 from downtown, 3 of 3 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 steal, zero turnovers. Having watched on during his time with the Bullets, when Ebi is on a roll there's not much the opposition can do but try and keep the ball out of his hands.

Nike/Kobe advert

Thanks to the crew at Dime for pointing out this ad from Nike featuring Kobe Bryant and his new shoes ...

Jameer Nelson - Shooter of the Month for December

Since the NBL just announced their awards for December, its a perfect time for me to do the same. I know we're half-way through January already but at least I'm a few days earlier than last month! Here is the winner of our Shooter of the Month award, click on the title below to read the full story and find out more about Jameer Nelson (pictured right).

Jameer Nelson - Shooter of the Month for December

There was plenty of competition for last month's Shooter of the Month award. The list of contenders in no particular order were:

* Danny Granger - Indiana Pacers in the NBA (46.6% fg, 86.8% ft, 3.1 triples per game)
* Randy Foye - Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA (49.7% fg, 87.8% ft, 2.2 triples per game)
* Jason Terry - Dallas Mavericks in the NBA (47% fg, 95.7% ft, 2.6 triples per game)
* Shawn Redhage - Perth Wildcats in the NBL (54% fg, 95% ft, 57% 3pfg)
* Adam Ballinger - Adelaide 36ers in the NBL (47% fg, 90% ft, 52% 3pfg)

The winner for December's Shooter of the Month award goes to Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson. His numbers were 17.6 points per game, 52% from the field, 81% from the line and he's averaging 2.6 triples per game.

After giving the award to bigman Adam Ballinger last month, I'm glad that we're back to one of my more stereotypical favourites ... a barely 6 foot tall point guard.

Player & Coach of the Month

I've been at home sick with a cold for the last few days and didn't have a chance to submit my votes this month for the NBL Player and Coach of the Month awards.

I see the news this morning that both the awards went to the Adelaide 36ers, Scott Ninnis (pictured right) for the coach and Julius Hodge as the player. Click on the title below to read the full story.

The awards just highlight what a strange situation it is as the 36ers were doing so well, they were climbing up the ladder and then the Julius Hodge incident happens and he's now no longer in the league.

NBL > News

The Adelaide 36ers have swept the National Basketball League’s monthly awards for December, with controversial import Julius Hodge taking Player of the Month honours, and mentor Scott Ninnis claiming Coach of the Month.

The double-honour is undoubtedly bittersweet for the 36ers, who saw Hodge walk out on the club recently over a pay dispute. Hodge played six games for the 36ers in December, averaging a league-high 27.5 points as well as 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks. He also shot the ball at 59% from the field for the month.

Chat with John Rillie and some Corey Williams action

After trying for 3 or 4 days to upload the footage I got from the Crocs vs Blaze NBL game on Jan 4, we officially discovered this week that there were some technical issues with our router/modem here in the office. I nearly pulled my hair out last week trying to figure out why it was taking so long and then still not uploading.

Anyway, all is sorted now and here is my quick chat with John Rillie after the game:



Here is a minute or two of footage from the game, Corey Williams showing he can do what he wants when he wants against the Blaze "defence":

Basketball shooting performances

We've had a few technical issues around here over the last few days but thankfully that seems to be almost fixed now. To catch up on the action from the last couple of days in the NBA, there were a couple of red-hot basketball shooting performances.

Firstly one of our favourites, from the Boston Celtics, Ray Allen yesterday against the Raptors yesterday:

36 points, 11 of 14 from the field, 8 of 10 from downtown and 6 of 6 from the line

When Ray is on, there's very little opposition teams can do to stop him. He's not the same player he was when he was in Milwaukee or Seattle but he's still deadly.

Not to be outdone, this line today from Mehmet Okur (pictured right) from the Utah Jazz against the Pacers:

43 points, 13 of 19 from the field, 3 of 4 from downtown, 14 of 15 from the field.

Behind Dirk Nowitzki, Mehmet is probably the second best basketall shooting bigman in the league. The 6'11" Turk can score both inside and out and has range well past the 3 point line.

John Rillie ... still getting it done

John Rillie is no longer the same player he was in his 20's but the veteran is still a key player (and captain none the less) for the Townsville Crocs. He showed it on the weekend with his great basketball shooting (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 7 from downtown) off the bench in the win against the Blaze and is gradually adjusting to his new role off the bench.

JR is getting plenty of love today, I just came across this article (below, click on the title to read the full story) on the NBL website and young-gun Michael Cedar is also giving credit to "The Real Deal" in this other story from the Townsville Bulletin.

NBL > News

Townsville Crocodiles' captain courageous

By Josh Alston - Townsville Bulletin

After a glittering career spanning 15 years and 451 games, Crocs skipper John Rillie has a burning desire to notch up one more accolade – an NBL championship in Townsville colours.

And he is happy to do so in any capacity possible, even if it is off the bench.

The 37-year-old former Olympian's numbers have been down this season, averaging 10.2 points compared to a career average of 16.51.

And as a result coach Trevor Gleeson has rotated his roster and utilised Rillie at different times from the bench.

He has played there for all three of the Crocs recent wins and produced a sublime performance on Sunday against the Blaze with 17 points on six from eight shooting _ including five from seven from beyond the arc.

Do you think John Rillie can win a title before he finishes his career? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

NBL wrap - round 17

I had a very social weekend and wasn't in front of the computer at all. It now feels strange not posting or knowing what happened in the NBA and NBL for 2 or 3 days!

Here are the numbers that matter from a full round in the NBL:

36ers 106 Hawks 99

For the 36ers:

Luke Schenscher 25 points, 13 boards
Adam Ballinger 23 points, 10 boards
Brett Maher 20 points, 4 assists

For the Hawks:

Dusty Rychart 20 points, 13 boards
Glen Saville 20 points, 8 boards, 6 assists, 4 steals
Cameron Tragardh 20 points, 5 boards

A great crowd of 6300 on hand to see Julius Hodge not turn up for the game. The 36ers bigs (Schenscher and Ballinger) dominated without him but the Hawks hung tough on the road to keep it close. 36ers had just 8 turnovers for the game and 23 offensive boards that helped get them 25 more shots than the Hawks.

Taipans 81 Wildcats 77

For the Taipans:

Darnell Mee 15 points, 3 assists, 3 steals
Gary Boodnikoff 13 points, 6 boards
Ian Crosswhite 11 points, 9 boards

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 26 points, 7 boards
Peter Crawford 15 points, 7 assists, 5 boards
Isiah Victor 12 points, 9 boards

Ugly game on paper, which obviously suits the Taipans more. Cairns shot 36% from the field, Perth shot 35%. They won without many decent individual numbers. Hinson stunk it up going 1 of 13 from the field with 4 turnovers ... looking good for the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week! Wildcats are like the Crocs ... sometimes they're good, sometimes they're far from it.

36ers 107 Taipans 86

For the 36ers:

Luke Schenscher 24 points, 16 boards
Aaron Bruce 12 points, 8 assists, 5 boards, 4 steals
Adam Ballinger 11 points, 7 boards

For the Taipans:

Aaron Grabeau 16 points, 9 boards
Martin Cattalini 10 points, 7 boards

Balanced effort from the 36ers with 7 players scoring in double figures. Schenscher is putting up (Chris) Anstey style numbers! Tough for the Taipans to back up after their surprising win the night before against the Wildcats.

Spirit 88 Hawks 79

For the Spirit:

David Gruber 26 points
Matthew Knight 20 points, 10 boards

For the Hawks:

Dusty Rychart 21 points
Kavossy Franklin 19 points

Issues with the NBL boxscore link

Dragons 115 Breakers 112 in OT

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 27 points, 6 boards
Rhys Carter 25 points (including 6 triples), 4 assists
Adam Gibson 18 points (6 of 7 from the field), 3 boards

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 32 points (including 6 triples), 6 assists, 6 boards
Oscar Forman 20 points (including 6 triples), 8 boards
Rick Rickert 12 points, 10 boards

This was the blockbuster that everyone hoped for last time these two teams met. CJ Bruton returned to the line-up but obviously wasn't 100% playing just 19 minutes. Rhys Carter was the surprise hero for the Dragons ... before this game I couldn't tell you how he was still in the league! Full credit to coach Brian Goorjian, he's very good with young talent. Speaking of which, another no-show from Joe Ingles (5 points, 5 boards). Dragons had just 8 turnovers, Breakers had 22.

Crocs 115 Blaze 92

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 25 points (8 of 10 from the field, 9 of 10 from the line)
Michael Cedar 22 points (including 5 triples), 5 assists, 5 boards
John Rillie 17 points (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 7 from downtown), 6 boards

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 30 points, 10 boards
James Harvey 18 points, 7 boards

The Crocs started the game with an incredible 19 - 0 run. Townsville won the boards (which is rare for them due to their lack of height) 45 - 29. Justin Bowen for the Blaze was playing ill and was a non-factor playing very limited minutes.

Tigers 108 Wildcats 81

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 32 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals
Chris Anstey 16 points, 7 boards, 4 steals
Luke Kendall 16 points (5 of 7 shooting)

For the Wildcats:

Alex Loughton 21 points, 4 boards
Paul Rogers 18 points, 7 boards
Shawn Redhage 13 points, 6 boards

The Tigers won the boards 50 - 39 and the turnovers 13 - 25. The Wildcats were held to just 36% from the field (Tigers 49%). Melbourne dominated the final term 32 - 13.

At the end of round 17, the Dragons have moved clear of the Breakers (on a 3 game losing streak) in 2nd. The Melbourne Tigers are 3rd and the Crocs move in to 4th on the back of a 3 game winning streak. The Blaze are still in last place with the Taipans 3 wins in front of them.

In news just to hand, Luke Schenscher has been named the NBL Player of the Week. Big Red had two big double-doubles this week ... 25 and 13 against the Hawks and 24 and 16 against the Taipans. JR will appreciate him delivering in two wins (albeit not against strong opposition) and I'm just pleased that the NBL have spelt his name right this week!

Now, to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The runner up is Taipan Ian Crosswhite for his 3/15 from the field, 3 of 6 from the line and 3 turnovers performance against the 36ers. Crosswhite has had some big games this season but this wasn't one and he has been quite inconsistent. The hands-down winner/loser of the award this week is Darnell Hinson from the Perth Wildcats who shot 1 of 13 from the field and had 4 turnovers in a surprising loss to the lowly Taipans. 1 of 13 ... Darnell should've taken his finger off the trigger long before he got to double figure attempts!

Our Shooter of the Week as always is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. We didn't give the award out last week because there weren't any outstanding performances, this week there were plenty. Nominations were Adam Gibson from the Dragons (6 of 7 from the field, 2 of 2 from downtown and 4 of 4 from the line in a win against the Breakers), Oscar Forman from the Breakers (7 of 12 from the line, 6 of 9 from downtown in a loss to the Dragons), Kirk Penney from the Breakers (32 points including 6 triples in a loss to the Dragons) and last but not least John Rillie from the Crocs (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 7 from downtown in a win against the Blaze). The winner this week tho is Rhys Carter (pictured right) from the Dragons for his 25 points (in just 24 minutes), 8 of 13 from the field, 6 of 10 from downtown including the match-winner in overtime in the blockbuster against the Breakers. I'm not a fan of Rhys because he usually does very little and in the past has taken court-time off a few players I like and rate much higher than him. For his basketball shooting performance on the "big stage" against the Breakers tho, credit where credit is due. Nice shooting! If, like most, you've never heard of Rhys and want to find out more, click here.

The NBL import roundabout

Following on from my last post about Julius Hodge leaving the Adelaide 36ers, I read today that they (Adelaide) have just signed Rod Grizzard. Grizzard was recently released from the Melbourne Tigers to make way for (ex-Tiger) Dave Thomas who was released from the Cairns Taipans when their financial woes came to light. Its good to see the NBL teams are sharing the import talent around! Click on the title below to read the full story.

NBL > News

The Adelaide 36ers have signed sacked Melbourne Tigers import Rod Grizzard, bringing to an end a successful but dramatic week down at the Distinctive Homes Dome.

Grizzard, who is due to arrive in Adelaide from America on Monday, will replace Julius Hodge who sensationally walked out of the club before the team's game against Wollongong on Wednesday.

It's believed Hodge left the club because of a delay in one of his monthly payments.

A tentative Adelaide coach Scott Ninnis tapped his desk in a gesture of good luck when he confirmed the Sixers' deal with Grizzard.

Julius Hodge goooone

I was at the parents on Wednesday night (they have Foxtel) and was watching the Hawks play the 36ers and was disappointed to see Hodge not playing. At first I thought he was injured but later saw that it was because of his pay dispute with the club.

Adelaide have really turned things around lately and its largely due to the stellar play of Julius Hodge (Luke Schenscher and Adam Ballinger have also been outstanding). Its hard to believe that a team could lose its best player and an MVP candidate because they failed to get his correct bank details.

Just when you thought nothing else could go wrong for the NBL, it looks like we will now lose one of the top players in the league this season. Oh well ... its always darkest before the dawn ...

Click on the title below to read the full story.

NBL > News

The Adelaide 36ers and import Julius Hodge have agreed to part company, the club announced at a media conference in Adelaide on Thursday afternoon.

In the wake of a pay dispute with the team, Hodge failed to show up for the 36ers home game against the Wollongong Hawks on Wednesday night.

Via his agent Hodge requested a release from his contract on Thursday, which 36ers owner Mal Hemmerling told media the club had agreed to, subject to some conditions with regard to payments.


I remembered a little while ago there was mention of Hodge's blog. Reading his last post, has an NBA team come calling and he's using this pay fiasco as an excuse to get out of his contract with Adelaide?? Check out all the comments for his last post ... not surprisingly there are some very unhappy Adelaide fans.

Here's Julius's side of the story.

Free-throw shooting - Jose Calderon update

Even tho he's currently out injured, the streak and the talk about Jose Calderon breaking the NBA free-throw shooting record is still alive. Click on the purple titles below to read the full stories.

When Will Jose Calderon Miss? | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers

By Aron Phillips

Speaking of the Raptors, every couple weeks I ask the question, “When Will Jose Calderon Miss?” And despite everyone’s best guess and possible jinx accusations, the streak is still alive.

Through 31 games, Calderon has still yet to miss a free throw, going a perfect 72-for-72 from the charity stripe. Although he’s been out the past three games, when he returns, you know the streak is going to be on his mind as he quickly approaches Micheal Williams‘ record of 94.


The conspiracy theorists weigh in to the debate as well in this article

Could foul play stop this Raptor?

By Mike Monroe

Raptors point guard Jose Calderon was in South Texas on Saturday night, which begs the question: Over in Houston, was Calvin Murphy sticking pins in the right arm of his Jose Calderon voodoo doll?

Calderon left the AT&T Center after playing the Spurs having made all 59 free throws he had attempted in the Raptors’ first 27 games. That’s on track to threaten the single-season free-throw accuracy record that Murphy holds so dear, and he is not above putting a hex on a player who threatens it.


Do you think Calderon can break Calvin Murphy's free-throw shooting record?

NBL wrap - round 16

Believe it or not, I'm STILL waiting for the videos from the Blaze to properly upload. Its been 36 hours and still no luck ... groan ...

Here are the numbers that matter from round 16 of the NBL:

Hawks 112 Taipans 105

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 28 points (12 of 16 from the field), 9 boards
Glen Saville 20 points, 6 boards, 6 assists
Dusty Rychart 17 points, 9 boards

For the Taipans:

Ian Crosswhite 27 points, 11 boards
Darnell Mee 14 points, 6 boards, 7 assists
Martin Cattalini 16 points, 5 boards

The Hawks shot an impressive 59% from the field while Cairns weren't too far behind at 48%. My guess is there wasn't too much defence being played. Cairns shot just 13 of 24 from the line. Is that a career high boards for Tragradh??

Blaze 103 36ers 94

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 35 points, 8 boards, 8 steals
Luke Whitehead 23 points, 17 boards, 4 assists
James Harvey 17 points

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 29 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
Jacob Holmes 18 points, 9 boards
Adam Ballinger 15 points, 7 boards

Adelaide have been strong lately so this win for the Blaze definitely came as a surprise. The foul count favoured the Blaze 27 - 17 and from it they had almost 3 times as many trips to the lines as the 36ers. Bowen was awful last week so not a surprise to see him bounce back strong ... he's inconsistent to say the least. The lack of numbers from Schenscher seems to have cost Adelaide.

Crocs 105 Dragons 95

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 19 points (8 of 8 from the field), 11 boards
Brad Williamson 16 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Corey Williams 15 points, 5 assists

For the Dragons:

Donta Smith 14 points, 5 boards
Adam Gibson 13 points, 4 assists
Tremell Darden 11 points, 9 boards

Mark Worthington shot just 1 of 8 from the field and had a game high 4 turnovers. Crocs dominated the second quarter 28 - 13 to set up the win. Balanced scoring from the Dragons with 6 players in double figures but no one scored more than 14. Dragons shot just 6 of 24 from deep.

Hawks 111 Breakers 94

For the Hawks:

Kavossy Franklin 26 points, 7 boards, 4 assists
Dusty Rychart 16 points, 13 boards
Glen Saville 13 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 30 points, 5 boards
Rick Rickert 15 points, 12 boards, 4 assists
Oscar Forman 17 points (including 5 triples), 4 boards

No CJ Bruton for the Breakers and they are a different team without him running the show. Ronaldson and Phull Jones combined for just 4 of 20 shooting. After losing 8 straight, this upset takes the Hawks to 3 wins in a row.

Spirit 86 Breakers 85

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 18 points, 8 boards
Jason Smith 16 points, 6 boards, 5 assists
Drew Williamson 12 points, 5 boards, 4 assists

For the Breakers:

Rick Rickert 19 points, 10 boards
Kirk Penney 23 points but 8 turnovers
Oscar Forman 10 points, 7 boards

Breakers were better from the field than the last game but were just 14 of 21 from the line, not good for them. Again, struggled badly without CJ Bruton and had to back up the next night after their loss to the Hawks. Sydney controlled the boards 46 - 33.

Wildcats 99 Dragons 90

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 25 points, 12 boards
Darnell Hinson 17 points, 12 boards
Shawn Redhage 15 points, 9 boards, 6 assists

For the Dragons:

Tremmell Darden 19 points
Mark Worthington 16 points, 7 boards
Adam Gibson 16 points, 4 boards, 3 assists

Wildcats shot 48% (Dragons 38%) from the field and 50 rebounds (Dragons 37). Victor should've had 30 points but shot just 6 of 14 from the line. Strangely, Wildcats had twice as many turnovers (20 - 9) but still controlled the game.

Crocs 105 Blaze 88

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 25 points, 5 boards
Cameron Tovey 17 points, 10 boards
Rosell Ellis 17 points, 9 boards

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 27 points (including 5 triples), 4 boards
Justin Bowen 16 points, 6 boards
Luke Whitehead 14 points, 12 boards but 9 turnovers

For the recap of the game, check out my last post here.

Not a good week for the teams at the top of the NBL ladder with both the Dragons and the Breakers losing 2 from 2. Dragons are still 1st and Breakers are 2 wins behind in 2nd with the Tigers and Wildcats not far behind. Blaze got a win but their still 2 behind the Taipans.

The Player of the Week went to Isiah Victor for his dominant performance off the bench to lead his team to a win against the league-leading Dragons. His full line was: 25 points, 9 of 16 from the field, 1 of 4 from downtown and 6 of 14 from the line, 12 boards, 4 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block. Victor has really stepped up his game over the last month but he won't be getting our Shooter of the Week award with free-throw shooting like that!

Now to our Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. There are a few honourable mentions as always. Mark Worthington from the Dragons (1 of 8, 4 turnovers in a loss to the Crocs), Tony Ronaldson and Phull Jones from the Breakers (both shot 2 of 10 from the field in a loss to the Hawks). The winner this week is Joe Ingles (pictured below) from Dragons for going M.I.A (missing in action) in his team's two losses over the weekend. He averaged just 5.5 points (on 26% shooting), 3.5 boards, 2 assists and 2.5 turnovers per game. Far from good enough when you're a young star in the league with supposed hopes of wowing NBA scouts.

There weren't any "outstanding" basketball shooting displays in the league this week ... other than Rosell Ellis' 8 of 8 from the field. If you've seen Rosell shoot a free-throw, you'll know why I can't give him the award. So we'll respect the integrity and the honour of the Shooter of the Week title and hold off until next round.

Have you seen this man? He failed to show up for the Dragons on the weekend and we NEED to talk to him about that horrible shooting form.

Crocs vs Blaze

I made the trip down the coast today to see the Townsville Crocs take on the Gold Coast Blaze, my 2nd NBL game this season. The Blaze have been playing better over the last month (since I saw them get spanked by the Breakers) but I wasn't expecting too much. Townsville have also been very up and down with their form this season so it was going to be a case of which Crocs team showed up.

I knew there wouldn't be too much of a crowd so I figured there'd be no problem getting tickets at the game. Obviously a few people thought the same thing as there was a fair queue waiting to get tickets. GC is obviously like LA, very casual and fans wander in to the venue well after tip-off as there were plenty of people after us in the line and we missed the opening 2 minutes.

Townsville looked like they wanted the game more and seemed to always have it control. Like their season, they had spurts where they played well and time when they didn't ... inconsistent. Their defence wasn't great but they were active and they showed hustle.

Corey Williams (25 points) seemed quiet early but really came in to his own in the second quarter. Cameron Tovey was very active and Rosell Ellis did what he always does (work hard, board and provide a presence inside). I was pleased to see John Rillie hit his first two attempts from downtown and he did cool down but continued to play well.

For the Blaze, James Harvey (27 points) was dangerous and heated up in the second half. Luke Whitehead was active and tried hard. Justin Bowen got his numbers but you didn't really notice him. Maybe that's because he was doing more of the ball-handling rather than being a target or main option in the offence. At times the Blaze "offence" looked horrible and unorganised.

Haven't seen the numbers from the game yet so I could be missing a few producers but that's the read I got from watching. Final score Crocs 105 Blaze 88.

Chris Mullin

I mentioned in this post last month that if you want to improve your basketball shooting other than just spending time on the court practicing, you should also watch great shooters in action and study their form.

If you're left-handed one of the best you can watch and learn from is Chris Mullin. Many years before he was the GM of the struggling Golden State Warriors, he was their leading scorer and go-to-guy. His shot is so natural, so effortless and he was rewarded with a spot on THE Dream Team (1992).

Warriors vs Lakers 1991 Western Conference Semi-Finals Game 2

After yesterday's journey back in to time with the '92 NBA All-Star game there was yet another classic game on the DVD. I finished watching the All-Star game and was about to jump in to the shower when another game started. The sound wasn't good so I almost didn't realise, and the game itself was a CLASSIC!

It turns out my friend (thanks Tux) had also recorded game 2 of the 1991 Western Conference Semi-Finals between the Lakers and the Warriors. Being that my favourite player is Tim Hardaway, the shower was put on hold and I was glued to the TV again. This was the break-out year for Run TMC (Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond & Chris Mullin) and it was against Magic Johnson and the Lakers so you knew it was going to be a high-scoring, no defence, run & gun feast!

The game didn't fail to deliver everything I had hoped. Maybe it was because Mully (Chris Mullin) was "guarding" him, but Magic was unstoppable, at the other end Mully was putting on one of the greatest ever basketball shooting displays and Timmy was just plain killing them!

The Lakers led for most of the game and were up by double figures at one point. Mullin's rained in jumper after jumper (I literally was in awe) and the Warriors fought their back. Despite being down by 4 inside the final minute, the Warriors pulled out the upset win for the first time in LA for 20 odd years.

Here are some of the numbers from the game:

Chris Mullin 41 points, 16 of 21 shooting, 4 of 4 from downtown, 5 assists, 4 boards, 2 steals
Tim Hardaway 28 points, 14 assists, 8 steals
Magic Johnson 44 points, 12 boards, 9 assists
Sam Perkins 24 points, 9 of 12 shooting, 4 boards
James Worthy 23 points, 8 boards, 5 assists
Mitch Richmond 22 points, 3 assists

If you haven't heard of Run TMC is, its time to go to school ...

NBA All Star Game 1992

One of my friends gave me a DVD a while ago with some basketball games on it. One of them was one I played in a few years ago but he didn't tell me that on there was also the NBA All Star game from 1992. That's almost 17 years ago now but if you were a fan of the NBA in the 90's the starting line-ups were as good as it gets:

EAST

Isiah Thomas
Michael Jordan
Scottie Pippen
Charles Barkley
Patrick Ewing

WEST

Magic Johnson
Clyde Drexler
Chris Mullin
Karl Malone
David Robinson

The game itself ended up being a blowout with the West shooting the lights out and dominating the game 153 - 113. Still, it was still great to see some of the best players ever putting on a show. Having seen the end of their careers, I had almost forgotten just how good many of these players were. How athletic and dangerous players like Drexler, Pippen and Barkley were ... and Mutumbo as a rookie (he's now 42)!

Here are some of the numbers from the game:

Magic (was MVP) 25 points, 9 assists, 5 boards
Drexler 22 points, 9 boards, 6 assists
Tim Hardaway 14 points, 7 assists
Jordan 18 points, 5 assists
Barkley 12 points, 9 boards
Rodman 13 boards

Here are the top 10 plays from the game ... and there were some good ones!