Nick Van Exel

Its been a good month or so of stories for "my boys". First there was the "where are they now" story of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, then Tim Hardaway gets his number retired by the Miami Heat and now there is a story about Nick Van Exel.

Dime has it in the "where are they now" section but its more just a story about him and the player he was. He never really disappeared but click on the story below and you'll see that he's now coaching. There's also a good highlight package but Nick was in the days before YouTube so the quality of it isn't great.

I fell in love with Nick's game from his days in college at Cincinnati when the NCAA used to be shown late at night on the ABC. Even tho I'm a Celtics fan and Nick played for the Lakers, I just loved his swagger, ball handling and his clutch, no-conscience shooting.

Where Are They Now: Nick Van Exel | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers:

“Soprano the rock, handle like Van Exel” – Jay-Z

There was a reason why Hova would name drop Nick Van Exel’s name in a verse. Nick the Quick was everything you wanted out of a small guard: a smooth south paw stroke, crafty dribble moves, great court vision and money in the clutch. And best of all, everything he did, he did it with style.

Van Exel had swagger, played with flash and loved to talk trash on the court. You either loved him or hated him. Like Tim Hardaway and Isiah Thomas, he could fill out highlight tapes without going above the rim.

A second round pick out of Cincinnati in 1993, it wasn’t long until Van Exel was a starting guard in the NBA. In his first five seasons with the Lakers, Van Exel and Eddie Jones brought back “Showtime” to the L.A. by forming one of the most exciting young backcourts in the NBA at the time. Van Exel was also on the Lakers during the early part of the Shaq and Kobe era. He made the All-Star team in 1998.

So instead of a highlight package, here's a good story about Nick I hadn't seen before:

Merry Christmas ... plus some hot shooting

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Christmas. My Christmas present to you this year is this. If like me you don't have cable TV or (also like me) you spend a lot of time in front of the computer, this website is great for watching NBA games online.

Today I watched the Lakers take care of business against the Warriors. I mentioned hot shooting in the title and the one in form in that game was Derek Fisher (pictured right). My friends will be surprised to hear me mention Fisher because I am a long time hater of his ... because he pushed my boy Nick Van Exel out of the Lakers in the mid-90's. Anyway, today Fisher was an impressive (for him) 9 of 12 from the field for 19 points in just 24 minutes.

Also hot were the Boston Celtics who destroyed the hapless Sacramento Kings 108 - 63. Leading the way was one of our favourites, Ray Allen with 7 of 8 from the field, 2 of 2 from downtown and 3 of 3 from the line. Not to be outdone, Kevin Garnett had 10 of 11 from the field for 21 points, 11 boards in just 22 minutes of court time. Sacramento on the other hand were anything but hot shooting just 28% from the field and only one player scoring in double figures.