Basketball Articles
I'm a big proponent of a player needing to win a championship to be considered an "all-time great" (except for a few exceptions). In the game of basketball, more than in any other team sport, one player can have a dramatic effect on all aspects of the game, and subsequently on whether his team wins or loses. With that being said, even superstars need at least one reliable sidekick to get the job done. In fact, a team without at least two stars just don't win the NBA Championship. The Detroit Pistons in 2004 technically only had one star in Ben Wallace, but Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace all made All-Star appearances after 2004. Say what you will about the Pistons being a true "team", but they also really had four stars on their roster. Other than the 2004 Bad Boys, you have to go all the way back to the 1994 Houston Rockets to find another championship team with only one star player.
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(want to win a pair of adidas adiZero Crazy Lights? Then click here)
The first thought that popped into my mind when I got my hands on the pair of adiZero Crazy Light that adidas graciously sent me to review was "Wow - these are light". "Crazy light". Which, I know, isn't the most profound statement, considering they are named "Crazy Light", but it's true nonetheless. And when I put them on my big size 13 feet they felt as light as air - almost as if I was wearing the flip flops I shuffle around in when up at the lake. They are without a doubt the lightest sports shoe I've ever worn, which is backed up by scientific evidence - they weight 9.8 ounces, which does indeed make them the lightest basketball shoe ever.
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In a few short weeks it will all be over. The NBA Finals will be done and we'll be stuck without basketball for months and months. So, instead of sitting in front of your TV, how about picking up a book (you can read, right?). For college basketball fans, they might want to check out Big-Time Sports In American Universities by Charles T. Clotfelter.
The NCAA and their "student-athlete" policies have been much-maligned, even being lampooned on South Park last week. And while Big-Time Sports delves into the negative aspects of universities being in the sports entertainment business, it also illuminates several positive aspects of this uneasy marriage that aren't often mentioned. As the book states, why would an institution of higher learning continue to suffer the slings and arrows of the negative aspectsof big-time football and basketball (see Tressel, Jim) if there weren't any rewards (and not just financial ones, since most athletic departments lose money). On the flipside, as the book illustrates, if big-time sports are such an important part of a university (for proof of that, just look at the athletic palaces erected on campuses across the nation), then why do universities publicly downplay them and act as if they are nothing more than intramural athletics? These issues, and plenty more, are covered in Big-Time Sports which, while perhaps a bit too scholarly for some readers, is an important book in helping us understand, and perhaps change for the better, NCAA athletics. no comments
The Hoops Manifesto hasn't rounded up the Bloguin crew for a special NBA Finals edition of NBA Big Questions. Here's what to look for when the finals kick off tomorrow night in Miami.
Contributors: Jeff Fox from The Hoops Manifesto, Peaceman from Knicks Fanatics, College Wolf and Dan Bonk from TWolves Blog, Mookie from A Stern Warning, Philip from Orlando Magic Daily and Don from With Malice.
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Before we get started, let me state that this isn't meant to be a slight to the Miami Heat. I'm not "hating" on Miami, as none of the proceeding is really their fault. But this NBA Finals matchup of the Miami Heat vs the Dallas Mavericks feels like a big letdown, an anti-climax. The Heat's Big Three are doing what they planned on doing when they all joined forces last summer, and the rest of the NBA is putting up minimal resistance, which is disappointing. no comments
With the Oklahoma City Thunder on the verge of being booted out of the NBA Playoffs at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, it's time to invoke a critic/writer's best friend and most used weapon - hindsight. Good ole hindsight, never lets you down. And, in this instance, I'm going to use hindsight expertly to argue that the Thunder shouldn't have traded Jeff Green away to the Boston Celtics. no comments
Does Dirk Nowitzki need to win an NBA Title to solidify his legacy? That is the question that was raised during ESPN's telecast of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. And, shockingly to me, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy both agreed that Dirk doesn't need a ring for his legacy (whether the fact that Jackson and Van Gundy's opinions are biased due to neither of them owning a NBA championship ring is unknown). I couldn't disagree more - Dirk Nowitzki DOES need to win an NBA title added to his resume.
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Are you enjoying the wild NBA Playoffs so far? Good, because it looks like it will be the last pro basketball we'll see for a while. It was revealed yesterday that the NBA is looking to impose a hard cap of $45 million per team in the next collective bargaining agreement. As someone said on Twitter, the NBA may as well have proposed that the cap be $45.
Can Derrick Rose win an NBA Championship? Silly question, right? He's the NBA MVP and is only 22-years-old. If he doesn't lead the Bulls to a title this season, he's bound to before his hardwood days are over, right? Plus, we all know how important the point guard position is on the basketball court - some consider it the most important position out there. Well here's a surprising yet true statement - if Rose leads the Bulls to the NBA Championship ever (not just this season, ever) he will be making point guard history.
The fans have spoken, and overwhelmingly so. And, as the picture above hints at, The Hoops Manifesto's 2010/11 College Dunk of the Year Tournament winner is Oregon State's Jared Cunningham, for his "Kiss the Sky" dunk versus Arizona. Cunnigham's dunk topped the other finalist, Indiana State's Dwayne Lathan, by garnering 72% of the votes. Thanks to everyone who partook in the voting process, and a big thanks to Mr. Cunningham for "kissing the sky"!
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