Archive for the 'Layups' Category

Zach Lowe of SI's Point Forward blog (which you should subscribe to in your RSS reader if you haven't already) wrote today on a very interesting topic I've pondered before as well -- namely, the substantial overlap in skillsets between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, and how it impacts Miami's efficiency.

Ryan from Mixmakers.net passed along some links that you might enjoy:

• Rare. Air. - A great collection of black & white photos from Michael Jordan's career
• '96 Bulls Highlights (Part I) - Want to watch highlights of every game from the Bulls' 1996 season? That's the place to start. I swear I'm going to watch them all back-to-back at some point.

BBR reader Darko Sancanin just released a new iPhone app called Hoop Stream:

Hoop Stream

It's pretty cool -- you can use it to follow the Twitter accounts of all active players on a given team, plus retired players as well.

Be sure to check Hoop Stream out in the App Store, and go to Darko's site to see the other apps he's developed.

Ever feel bad for the Washington Generals? If so, then this video -- by loyal BBR reader Sean and his comedy group Rat Pageant -- is for you:

Be sure to vote "funny" and help out Sean's video at Funny or Die!

It's unfortunate that this is coming out after his retirement, but here's a National Geographic special about Yao Ming's impact as a basketball ambassador:

Watch more free documentaries

Also, for a statistical take on Yao's dominance, check out this Carl Bialik piece at the Wall Street Journal.

(That's right, I'm linking my second Zach Harper TrueHoop post in as many days...)

NBA 2K12 keeps giving us what we want - TrueHoop Blog - ESPN

It was announced yesterday that NBA 2K12 will feature Larry Bird and Magic Johnson as cover athletes, in addition to a return from the GOAT himself. In retrospect, last year's game was hands down the best sports title of the year (with far more replay value than MLB: The Show), so expectations are justifiably high for 2K12. Zach speculates about how 2K will integrate Bird and Magic into game modes similar to last year's Jordan Challenge, and dreams up challenge lists for the two legends.

One parting thought from Harper: With the added emphasis on Magic, Larry, and Michael, will we see a Dream Team mode in NBA 2K12? If so, this game could be just what hoops fans need to survive the lockout in one piece.

Here's a great piece about Dirk Nowitzki from Deadspin's Luke O'Brien, wherein he examines the media narrative about Dirk's "soft" game. Although we were told that Dirk had acquired a tougher style of play, is that really even true?

"Instead of everyone casting about for ways to explain Nowitzki's transformation now that he has a ring, we should celebrate the fact that he hasn't transformed at all. In being exactly who he's always been, he defies the silly notion in American sports that an athlete has to don armor, psychic or otherwise, to win a title. Nowitzki has never been the guy who screams into the upper decks like a maniac after each and-one. He's never tried to be. He's one of the best low post scorers in the NBA, but you'd never know it because he doesn't play with his back to the basket like other seven-footers. Instead of dunking opponents through the rim, he's mastered a step-back shimmy to get off a soft jumper that nobody can defend and that often leads to a free throw that almost always goes in. Softly. Nowitzki doesn't charge into battle. He fades away. And he wins because of it, not despite it."

As O'Brien notes, real courage comes in sticking with an unconventional style despite high-profile failures and media criticism. Dirk's conviction in his own "soft" style eventually vindicated it, and in a perfect world the media would admit they were wrong instead of inventing a false narrative about how Dirk changed at their behest.

Here's a great story at Slate by Benjamin Markovits, whose German minor-league team played against a 17-year-old Dirk Nowitzki in the mid-1990s.

"What amazes me when I watch him now is the effort that goes into each of Nowitzki's offensive moves—how he uses all of his length and athletic ability to win a few inches of separation for his turnaround fadeaway jump shot. When he played against us, nobody could keep him out of the lane. He was not only the tallest player on the court but one of the fastest. I remember switching on to him once at the top of the key. One dribble later and he was at the rim. How can you stay in front of a guy who can go around you and past you in a single stride? After that, it didn't even matter if he missed the shot—he was the quickest man to the ball and could tap it back in at will."

UPDATE: In the comments, Chris shared another link that gives quite a bit more of Markovits' backstory, and how his path came to intersect with Dirk's that summer.

Have Mavericks found a recipe to defend LeBron?: From Weak Side Awareness -- Lost in all the analysis is the fact that Dallas seems to have figured out how to stop LeBron James.

At Slate, Josh Levin writes about the peculiar problem LeBron James has had forming a career narrative in a post-Michael Jordan world:

Airless: LeBron James' Michael Jordan problem