NBA Upgrades Bynum's Flagrant Foul Against Wallace
Late in the fourth quarter of Charlotte's
117-110 double overtime win versus the Lakers, Andrew Bynum was called for a Flagrant 1 foul after delivering a sharp elbow to Gerald Wallace's chest. That blow collapsed Wallace's left lung and fractured one of his ribs and upon further review the NBA upgraded the foul from a Flagrant 1 to a Flagrant 2, meaning that in their judgment Bynum should have been ejected (a Flagrant 2 carries an automatic ejection). The NBA elected not to suspend Bynum but he has accumulated three flagrant foul points this season (two for this incident plus one from an earlier Flagrant 1 call) and any player who gets five flagrant foul points in one season is automatically suspended for a game.
I don't think that Bynum is a dirty player but what he did to Wallace is a dirty play. It is not a natural basketball act to violently swing one's elbow into the chest of another player; it is quite dangerous to do so and not at all surprising that this resulted in a fairly serious injury. As TNT's Gary Payton said, Bynum should have raised his arms up to try to block Wallace's shot and then if Bynum had swung down and fouled Wallace on the arms there would be no problem.
Whether or not Bynum intended to injure Wallace is not the issue; Charlotte Coach Larry Brown said that Bynum came to their team bus to apologize and find out how Wallace was but lack of intent/feelings of remorse do not change the nature of one's actions. If your actions cause a car accident that injures others it does not matter if you did not intend to cause those injuries; you are still responsible for them.
By the same token, even if Wallace had emerged unscathed that would not change the fact that Bynum's play was dirty, because it simply is not acceptable to throw high elbows/forearm shivers into the chests of defenseless, airborne players. The NBA was right to upgrade the foul. The decision not to suspend Bynum obviously reflects the NBA's belief that this was in fact an accidental play by someone who does not have the reputation for being dirty and that is also the correct decision. Bynum deserves the benefit of the doubt unless or until he starts piling up a number of such plays.
Labels: Andrew Bynum, Charlotte Bobcats, Gerald Wallace, L.A. Lakers
posted by David Friedman @ 2:17 AM
All-Star Reserves Announced
TNT's pregame show about the All-Star reserves being announced kicked off with a very interesting comment by
Kenny Smith: he said that being selected as an All-Star is a great honor and that this is a special night for those players, so he would never say who should not have made the team, though he may bring up the names of some players who were also worthy of consideration. I think that Smith provided an excellent perspective about how to view this whole All-Star selection process; it is not cool to disrespect anyone who made the All-Star team but it is perfectly acceptable to mention other players who are also worthy of being honored.
Chauncey Billups, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Shaquille O'Neal, Tony Parker, Brandon Roy and David West are this year's All-Star reserves for the West, as selected by the coaches. Interestingly, those are the exact seven players who Smith chose during last week's TNT pregame show about the All-Star starters and those are also the exact seven players
who I selected. Obviously, since I agree with all of those choices I don't really have anything to add to what I wrote last week.
Chris Bosh, Danny Granger, Devin Harris, Joe Johnson, Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson and Paul Pierce are this year's All-Star reserves for the East. Chris Webber and Gary Payton each chose six of these seven players, while Kenny Smith and I only selected four of them. There is not a true center in the group that the coaches chose, which is why I nominated Zydrunas Ilgauskas. That said, I almost feel like taking a bit of a mulligan regarding my selections last week, because I left Chris Bosh off of my list and upon further consideration I really feel like he does belong on the team. So, even though the coaches' selections do not exactly match my original list I must say that the seven players who made the team are all indeed quite worthy of the honor. Sticking to Smith's credo, rather than disrespecting anyone from that group I will simply reiterate why some other players also could have been selected:
Zydrunas Ilgauskas is the second best center in the East. While the Cavs have certainly
weathered the injury storm since he has been sidelined by a broken bone in his foot, they are not nearly as dominant as they were with him in the lineup, as shown not only by their won-loss record but also by the stark decline in their point differential during his absence. Sticking to the literal guidelines that the reserve squad should have one center, he would have been the most logical choice at that position.
Mo Williams has made a major difference for Cleveland this year. His ability to score and be a playmaker has taken a lot of pressure off of LeBron James and Williams has also proven to be a much better defender than advertised. The Cavs probably would not be contending for the best record in the NBA without his contributions.
Vince Carter has seemingly been cast aside in terms of national recognition but he is still a highly productive player. He is actually shooting better from the field and from three point range than Harris while only averaging .1 ppg fewer than his new teammate, who certainly deserves his first All-Star selection. It is tough to vote for two All-Stars from a sub-.500 team but Carter is playing at an All-Star level this season.
Ray Allen is actually playing better this season than he did last year, when he earned his eighth All-Star selection as an injury replacement and then almost won the All-Star Game MVP. Taking nothing away from Orlando's worthy All-Star trio, it is interesting that among the Champion Celtics, Finalist Lakers, perennial contender Cavs and rising Magic only Orlando placed three players in the All-Star Game this year.
Labels: Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, Danny Granger, Dirk Nowitzki, NBA All-Star Game, Pau Gasol, Paul Pierce, Shaquille O'Neal
posted by David Friedman @ 12:31 AM
Michael Jordan Named Chief Wish Ambassador for Make-A-Wish Foundation
Michael Jordan made countless memorable moves during his basketball career but some of his most special moves are the more than 175 wishes he has granted during his two decades-long affiliation with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Jordan will now take on a bigger role with the Foundation, as he has been named Chief Wish Ambassador. Jordan said, "An estimated 27,000 children are diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions in the United States each year, and I'm eager to do what I can to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation reach out to even more of these courageous children. Granting children's wishes through the Foundation has always been important to me. It's a truly humbling, inspiring experience to see the smiles and joy that granting a wish brings to a child. I want to help even more children have that same opportunity."
Jordan formally accepted this new title at the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational golf tournament, which is held at Kerzner International's Atlantis, Paradise Island resort and Ocean Club Golf Course in the Bahamas; the tournament also contributed $150,000 to the Foundation, part of the more than $500,000 that the eight year old event will distribute to various charities this year. Jordan also granted the wish of 7-year-old Donovan Russell of Sacramento, Calif. Russell--pictured above, with Jordan--along with his family, met his basketball idol in a private meeting Friday at Atlantis, Paradise Island, and attended the golf tournament Saturday and Sunday.
Labels: Make-A-Wish Foundation, Michael Jordan
posted by David Friedman @ 2:51 PM
Gary Payton and Chris Webber Explain Why Kobe Bryant is so Difficult to Guard
Prior to NBA TV's broadcast of
Charlotte's 117-110 double overtime win over the Lakers, Gary Payton and Chris Webber went on to the studio's demo court to explain why it is so difficult to guard Kobe Bryant.
1) Payton said that Bryant can drive to the hoop from anywhere and that when he gets into the paint he finishes with authority, often dunking over players.
2) Bryant complements his driving game with his ability to consistently make jump shots if his defender backs off of him to discourage him from driving; Payton noted that this is a very important factor that elevated Bryant's game and Webber added that he has only seen one other player--Michael Jordan--do a move that Bryant has mastered: consistently making the jumper off of a two dribble move. Webber said that Bryant can back a defender up with a hard dribble or two and then stop on a dime and rise up to shoot, a move that is very, very difficult to do and even more difficult to stop.
3) Payton said that Bryant is able to shoot the fadeaway jumper over either shoulder after backing down his defender in the post.
Webber concluded the segment by saying that Coach Phil Jackson helps out Bryant by placing the other four players in ideal positions relative to their skill sets, so that when Bryant gets the ball he has room to operate and passing options if he is trapped.
Labels: Chris Webber, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan
posted by David Friedman @ 2:28 PM
Lakers Fall to Bobcats in Double Overtime After Bryant Fouls Out
Boris Diaw nearly had a triple double (23 points, nine rebounds, nine assists) as the Charlotte Bobcats toppled the Lakers 117-110 in double overtime. All five Charlotte starters scored in double figures and point guard Raymond Felton came even closer to having a triple double than Diaw did (21 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists). The Bobcats held the Lakers to .434 field goal shooting, outrebounded them 53-42 and outscored them in the paint 54-38. Andrew Bynum had 24 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots but the rest of the Lakers' frontcourt was missing in action: Lamar Odom sleepwalked to seven points and four rebounds in 33 minutes and Pau Gasol had what Coach Phil Jackson termed his worst game as a Laker, 10 points and seven rebounds while shooting just 4-16 from the field. The task to save the game once again landed squarely on the shoulders of Kobe Bryant, who had 38 points, eight rebounds and five assists before fouling out with 39.8 seconds left in the first overtime. He had just put the Lakers up 103-101 with a pullup jumper on the right baseline but the Lakers were outscored 16-7 after he departed.
The Bobcats have consistently given the Lakers problems, winning five of the last six games between these teams--including three in a row in L.A.--but there are signs that the Bobcats are becoming a decent team, as opposed to a bad team that simply matches up well with the Lakers; since shipping Jason Richardson to Phoenix for Diaw, Raja Bell and Sean Singletary, Charlotte is 12-10, a far cry from the 7-16 mark that the Bobcats posted prior to making that deal. It is interesting to watch Diaw and Bell play central roles in turning this team around, because the storyline in Phoenix was supposedly that Steve Nash turns average players into stars and star players into superstars--but the facts don't support that contention: Nash certainly played at a high level for several years but when he left Dallas the Mavericks became an NBA Finalist and Dirk Nowitzki won an MVP award. Meanwhile, we have seen Mike D'Antoni take his uptempo philosophy to New York and use this approach to get improved performances out of several players. It used to be alleged that many players would love to play with Nash but that it is difficult to play with Bryant but that supposed dichotomy is bogus as well: Shawn Marion was disgruntled in Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire is often complaining about his role and the newly revitalized Shaquille O'Neal--who briefly seemed to accept a lesser role--has been not so subtly suggesting that the offense should be run through him. It is entirely possible that Nash will not even make the All-Star team in his first post-D'Antoni season.
On the other hand, Pau Gasol has played the most efficient basketball of his career in L.A., Bynum's game has grown by leaps and bounds, Trevor Ariza's play has stepped up since becoming a Laker, Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar have markedly improved and you can go straight down the line: Bryant sets an example in terms of work ethic and his leadership has rubbed off on his team, particularly after the Lakers wisely got rid of some players who did not have the right attitude, work ethic or skill set to be rotation players on a good team, let alone starters (yes, that is a Kwame Brown/Smush Parker reference). Just this past summer we saw Bryant set the tone for a U.S. Olympic Team filled with All-Stars and All-NBA players--and we saw that when the gold medal game got tight Bryant was the player who saved the day.
I won't let these "old" 2006 and 2007 storylines die because I spent too much time listening to and arguing with people about those very issues (Nash's value, Bryant's unselfishness, how to choose an MVP winner). The truth of the matter is that I was right, they were wrong and that is becoming increasingly evident as time passes.
Getting back to this season, the Bobcats look completely different from the team that I saw in person on opening night but, as I
wrote after the Cavs beat them 96-79, "It has been said of Larry Brown that he can watch a play in a game or in practice and instantly recall where all 10 players were and what they did, a kind of athletic photographic memory perhaps akin to the way that a chess grandmaster can process numerous possibilities instantly because he has memorized thousands of standard positions/move orders. If the young Bobcats listen to their teacher and heed his guidance they should improve a lot--eventually." Brown is a tremendous, tremendous coach and he has the Bobcats playing tenacious defense, ranking fourth in points allowed and ninth in defensive field goal percentage; considering their slow start, those numbers are remarkable.
Bynum got off to a quick start, scoring 10 points in the first quarter, but Charlotte led 23-16 after the first 12 minutes; the Lakers' defense in the paint was atrocious and neither Bryant nor Gasol could make a shot. Gasol never did wake up but Bryant quickly got going as soon as he reentered the game at the 7:15 mark of the second quarter. The Lakers trailed 32-26 but Bryant scored 12 points as the Lakers cut the margin to 49-48 by halftime. He got things started with a tough jumper to beat the shot clock, followed that with a turnaround jumper and then picked Raja Bell's pocket before cruising in for a fastbreak dunk; sometimes players get steals by gambling but in this instance Bryant played solid position defense, cut Bell off and then flicked the ball away with his left hand. Lakers announcers Stu Lantz and Joel Meyers noted that Bryant also put his defensive stamp on the previous game by shutting down Manu Ginobili as the Lakers beat the Spurs 99-85 on Sunday. As Lantz said, Bryant likes to guard top notch players from the start and take them out of the game, as opposed to trying to contain them later on after they have already found a rhythm; that is why Bryant
guarded LeBron James right from the start when the Lakers beat the Cavs 105-88.The lead shifted hands several times in the third quarter but then Bryant was whistled for his fourth foul with 2:22 remaining. He also received a technical foul for complaining about the call and after the Bobcats sank the resulting three free throws they led 73-67 as Bryant went to the bench for the remainder of the quarter.
The Lakers trailed 76-70 going into the fourth quarter and Coach Jackson knew that he had to put Bryant back into the game immediately, even with four fouls. It still amuses me to hear people compare the "supporting casts" on various teams and assert that the Lakers are so much deeper than anyone else; LeBron James has had often had the luxury of sitting out most of the fourth quarter while his bench players maintained or even expanded leads, while Bryant has often had to come back and restore order in games that the Lakers seemingly had under control when he went to the bench. Coach Jackson would certainly prefer to rest Bryant for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter and then let him go all out for the final six to eight minutes but he found out the hard way early in the season that this would not work. In this game, the Lakers not only needed Bryant's offensive prowess but they also needed his defense. Ariza, the team's best defender at the small forward position, left the game after suffering a concussion in the second quarter, so the Lakers struggled to deal with the athletic Gerald Wallace. Finally, in the fourth quarter Coach Jackson went with a small lineup, using Derek Fisher or Jordan Farmar at point guard and Sasha Vujacic at shooting guard, shifting Bryant to small forward to guard Wallace. Wallace had 15 points in the first three quarters but did not score the rest of the way.
Of course, Bryant also handled the primary scoring and playmaking duties, scoring 10 fourth quarter points and adding three fourth quarter assists. The Lakers tied the score at 81 after Bryant not only fed Vujacic for a three pointer but set a screen on the play to prevent the defender from closing out on him. A Fisher jumper put the Lakers up 83-81 but then the Lakers' interior defense once again buckled: Diaw scored two baskets and Emeka Okafor converted a putback dunk. Then Diaw drilled a three pointer to put Charlotte up 90-83 at the 3:09 mark. The Lakers had four straight empty possessions on offense: Fisher missed a layup, Bynum committed a three second violation and Vujacic missed two three point shots. Bryant finally took matters into his own hands, hitting a turnaround jumper to cut the lead to five.
Wallace drove to the hoop and Bynum met him with a forearm shiver to the chest. Wallace fell to the floor with a thud, holding his chest and grimacing in pain. Bynum was called for a flagrant foul and Wallace had to be helped off of the court; he was taken to a local hospital to see if he has a broken rib and/or a collapsed lung. One thing that I really respect about Meyers and Lantz is that they are not homers; although they clearly want the Lakers to win, they are objective about their calls during the game and they stated unequivocally that Bynum had committed a flagrant foul and they wished Wallace the best as he left the court.
Bynum's play was bad not only because it led to Wallace being hurt but also because he should be in position to block shots instead of arriving so late that he simply hacks at someone who is driving to the hoop. Due to the flagrant foul call, Coach Brown was allowed to select who would shoot the free throws in Wallace's place (in other cases, if a player leaves a game due to injury the opposing team selects the free throw shooter). Bell is an excellent free throw shooter but the Lakers dodged a bullet when he missed both attempts. On the ensuing possession, Diaw was fouled but he also missed two free throws, so Charlotte emerged with no points instead of possibly scoring up to four points and thereby all but icing the game. After Diaw's second miss, Bynum failed to box out Okafor but Bryant slipped in and stripped Okafor of the rebound. I've mentioned this before on several occasions but it bears repeating: Bryant is an excellent rebounder and he is a great free throw lane rebounder, just another example of the completeness of his skill set.
Bryant hit another turnaround jumper to make the score 90-87 Charlotte but Diaw answered with a jumper to push the margin back to five. A Bryant three pointer shaved the lead to 92-90 and then the teams traded misses, including a wide open Vujacic three pointer from the left corner that was set up by Bryant's dribble penetration. Gasol fouled Diaw in the scramble to rebound that shot but Diaw only managed to split the pair of free throws. The Lakers called timeout. Naturally, Bryant handled the ball on the next possession and after drawing the defense he fed Fisher for the tying three pointer. Felton missed a shot as time expired.
Bryant began the first extra session by hitting a jumper and then he fed Bynum in stride for a fast break dunk. After Bryant used a crossover dribble to drive by Bell and score a layup the Lakers led 99-93. The resilient Bobcats fought back to cut the lead to 101-100. Bryant drove to the hoop, stopped on a dime on the right baseline and made a short jumper, much like a move that Bernard King used to make during his prime with the Knicks. Leading by three with :51 left, all the Lakers needed to do to secure the win was to get one or two more defensive stops and then make their free throws. Instead, Bryant was called for his sixth foul with 39.8 seconds remaining. It was an "excuse me" play in which Bryant backed away and there was little or no contact, a tough way to be disqualified.
Still, the Lakers led by three at home against a sub-.500 team and Bryant's foul did not result in free throws, so all this deep and talented team had to do was hold on for little more than half a minute--but instead they fell completely apart. Lantz spent the whole timeout explaining that the Lakers must not foul nor give up a three point shot and then in the worst case scenario they would have the ball and a one point lead. Literally seconds after he explained that, Odom foolishly left Diaw to double team a driving Felton, who kicked the ball to Diaw for a three point shot--precisely what Lantz had just said the Lakers should not do. The Lakers were equally shaky on offense. They fed the ball to Gasol but he fumbled and bumbled and was not able to get a shot off. As I've said more than once, there are valid reasons that Memphis decided that he is not a franchise player; Gasol is perfectly suited--temperamentally and in terms of his skill set--to be Bryant's "deputy" and to make shots/plays that are created when Bryant is trapped but he is not quite so well suited to be the main guy who gets swarmed by the defense. The Lakers retained possession and Luke Walton was designated to be the inbounder. Coach Jackson often employs Walton in this role but even though Walton is an excellent passer when the ball is in play I am not sold on him as a great inbounds passer; I can recall several occasions when he turned the ball over or made the wrong read, including a
96-95 loss in Cleveland on March 19, 2006. This time, Walton committed a turnover, enabling the Bobcats to call timeout and try to set up a play for a game-winning shot--but Odom snuffed Diaw's jumper, sending the game into double overtime.
If you wondered what the Lakers' offense would look like without Bryant, the second overtime provided a frightening snap shot: seven points on 3-9 field goal shooting. Bynum accounted for all of the points; he made some nice post moves but the Lakers clearly struggled to create good shots--let alone score--without Bryant drawing double teams and either scoring anyway or feeding one of his teammates for an easy field goal attempt. This is why during last year's NBA Finals the Boston Celtics essentially sent their whole team at Bryant and all but dared anyone else to make a shot. After the game, NBA TV commentator Gary Payton offered this analysis:
This game showed me one thing about the Lakers: when Kobe Bryant goes out, these guys do not step up. They do not step up. They're doing just like they did against Boston (in the 2008 NBA Finals). Gasol doesn't have a good game. Lamar doesn't show up. Nobody wants to shoot the ball. Luke Walton turns the ball over in a crucial time in the basketball game when they have to execute. Without this guy (Bryant), this is a whole different team and I think that other teams are going to look at this on videotape and see the same thing, that this team can get beat if you take him out of the game. The sad thing is that when Mike Wilbon or someone else who has been propped up as an NBA expert--Wilbon is a superb general sports columnist but not someone who I would call an NBA expert or NBA analyst--talks about this game he is going to refer to that stupid, meaningless stat about the Lakers' record when Bryant shoots more than 20 times, as if the Lakers lost because Bryant had 28 field goal attempts; the reality is that if he had not fouled out he would have had one or two more field goal attempts or a few more free throw attempts and the Lakers almost certainly would have won. As Coach Jackson has often said--and he repeated this sentiment during his recent interview with Magic Johnson--Bryant is perfectly willing to share the ball but when his teammates don't step up to accept the challenge then he fills that vacuum or that void. During Bryant's career, the Lakers are 64-30 when he scores at least 40 points--including 16-7 when he scores 50 or more points--so it is ridiculous to assert that any of Bryant's scoring achievements came at the expense of winning.
In a
recent post I noted that last season after Bryant suffered an avulsion fracture in the pinkie finger on his right (shooting) hand he went through a brief adjustment period in terms of his shooting but quickly regained his form. It looks like that will also be the case this season in the wake of the dislocated ring finger that he suffered on his right hand last week: in the next three games, Bryant shot .333, .364 and .471 from the field before connecting on 15 of 28 field goal attempts (.536) versus Charlotte. No one is even talking about the fact that Bryant will eventually have to have surgery to fix his pinkie and now he is still playing at an incredible level with a brand new injury to his shooting hand. If Brett Favre were doing something like this, someone would build a statue in his honor and SportsCenter might be renamed "RingFingerCenter," but Bryant has proven his toughness and skill level so many times that apparently those things are now simply taken for granted. It is worth noting that fellow MVP candidate LeBron James missed six games last year with a finger injury that was not as severe as either of the ones that Bryant has suffered.
Labels: Andrew Bynum, Charlotte Bobcats, Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Raja Bell
posted by David Friedman @ 4:54 AM
Cavs Have Weathered the Injury Storm
More than three weeks ago, I wrote about
The Potential Impact of Big Z's Injury. The Cleveland Cavaliers had only lost five games by that point and I suggested that they might lose five more games before Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned to action.
Ilgauskas may be back as soon as Thursday. The Cavs have gone 8-3 without him so far. Before he got hurt they were on pace to set an all-time record for point differential; they have slowed down significantly in that regard but, largely thanks to LeBron James and Anderson Varejao, they have been just successful enough to stay on top of the Eastern Conference standings, as I note in my newest article for CavsNews.com (6/17/15 edit: the link to CavsNews.com no longer works, so I have posted the original article below):
Zydrunas
Ilgauskas may be returning to action as soon as Thursday. Even though the Cavs
obviously missed his length, his physical presence in the paint and his
shooting touch, they scraped together enough wins during his absence to still
contend for the best record in the NBA. In fact, the Cavs only trail the Lakers
by a half game and they have a better winning percentage than the Celtics.
The Cavs were
19-3 when Ilgauskas injured his foot. They went 2-1 in the next three games
without him and then won five games in a row when he came back. He was only
sporadically effective, though, and after he produced eight points and five
rebounds in a 104-95 loss to Miami
the Cavs ran some more tests and discovered that Ilgauskas had a small fracture
in his foot. Ilgauskas has not played since that time and the Cavs have gone
8-3 without him, losing to a horrible Wizards team, a mediocre Bulls team and
the league-leading Lakers. The Cavs beat Boston
and New Orleans at home and finished their
Western road trip with three straight victories after the setback in L.A.
Although the
Cavs have not lost much ground in the standings, they clearly did not play at
the same level without Ilgauskas, not just because 19-3 is obviously a better
record than 10-4 but also because when Ilgauskas was in the fold the Cavs were
posting an astonishing point differential of better than 13 per game, which
would have shattered the NBA record in that category (12.3 ppg, set by the
1971-72 Lakers). Now their point differential has dropped to 10.7 ppg overall (including
7.5 ppg in the past 11 games); that is still tremendous and still the best in
the league this season but the drastic decline reflects that the Cavs have not
only been losing more frequently but also that they have squeaked out some
close decisions, including three wins out West by six points or less.
The two main
players who picked up the slack for Ilgauskas were LeBron James and Anderson
Varejao. James has reached double figures in rebounding five times in the past
11 games after doing so only twice in the first 31 games of the season. He has
shifted to power forward and even center at times when the Cavs used a small
lineup and he has narrowly passed Ilgauskas, Varejao and Ben Wallace to take
over the team lead in rebounding for the season (7.4 rpg). Varejao took
Ilgauskas’ place in the starting lineup and has been playing more minutes than
usual. After not receiving much playing time early in the season, rookie J.J.
Hickson has been pressed into service, taking over Varejao’s role as the first
big man off of the bench. Hickson has played well at times but this is where
injuries really affect a team; Varejao can capably replace Ilgauskas in the
short term but then there is not anyone on the team who can fill Varejao’s old
role.
When starting
shooting guard Delonte West went down with a broken wrist five games ago the
Cavs’ depth was once again tested but Sasha Pavlovic—a starter during the run
to the Finals in 2007—has played well in West’s absence. Cleveland’s performance in the past month
should forever put to rest any notion that this is simply a one man team. While
James is indisputably playing at an MVP level, the Cavs legitimately have 10
players who can be productive members of a winning squad.
Cleveland faces Sacramento at
the Q tonight before heading to Orlando
to play the Magic for the first time this season. The Magic wreaked havoc
during their recent trip out West—beating all three division leaders—so the
Cavs could definitely use Big Z if he can return in time to match up with
Dwight Howard.Labels: Anderson Varejao, Cleveland Cavaliers, Delonte West, LeBron James, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
posted by David Friedman @ 3:36 AM
Adidas Designs State of the Art Uniforms for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game
Adidas, the official outfitter of the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, boldly declares, "The 2009 NBA All-Star uniform system is the lightest and most technologically advanced uniform system to ever see a basketball court." These uniforms include the following innovative features:
1) They are 30% lighter than any previous basketball uniforms
2) The logos are heat transferred, eliminating embroidery weight and preventing inside abrasion to the players' skins
3) Specially designed ClimaCool zones increase airflow and wick moisture away from the body
Aesthetically, the design was inspired by the host city--Phoenix, Arizona. The flames on the shorts represent the Greek myth about Phoenix' rise from the ashes, while the horizontal lines on the jerseys and shorts resemble Arizona's iconic rock formations.
The TechFit base layer, worn underneath the uniforms, has a number of performance enhancing qualities. Adidas says that TechFit includes "strategically placed Thermoplastic Polyurethane powerbands that align core muscles and boost power to key muscle groups for more efficient movement increasing acceleration and endurance." Adidas claims that the TechFit PowerWeb features can increase an athlete's vertical jump up to four percent and increase power output by 5.3 percent. I'm not sure how those statistics were calculated/verified but if they are correct then LeBron James and Dwight Howard will truly be a sight to see during All-Star Weekend!
Labels: NBA All-Star Game
posted by David Friedman @ 2:44 AM
Win Two NBA All-Star Game Tickets!
Dazadi.com--a name created by combining "audacity" with "tzadik," the Hebrew word for a "righteous person"--is giving away an NBA All-Star Weekend prize package that is worth over $4900 and includes two tickets to the All-Star Game, two tickets to All-Star Saturday night, two tickets to the All-Star Jam session, hotel accomodations for three nights plus several Spaulding basketball products.
You can register to win by clicking
here. No purchase is necessary.
Labels: NBA All-Star Game
posted by David Friedman @ 5:42 PM
