Basketball Intifada

Last Sunday, the NBA and basketball in general reached a milestone. The All-Star game of 09/10 was played in front of the record crowd of 108,713. It may be true that more fans came to see Shakira than Allen Iverson (here’s a humorous twist), but this game set the bar high and it’s not unimaginable any more that we’ll see a play-offs game in a converted football dome some time soon. Or some future Olympic Games Finals played in front of the 100K crowd. This game compares well with and surpasses most other sport events, even the ones traditionally played outdoors in big stadiums. (The game which still stands alone is the famous soccer game “Maracanaço“ [video, Spanish], in which 199,854 fanatical Brazilians witnessed their country’s loss to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup, in one of the greatest sports upsets of all time.)

The number of people present doesn’t always equal the intensity of the crowd. The most unusual basketball game I’ve watched, when it comes to the fans, could have been the late eighties match-up between Partizan and Maccabi (Tel Aviv), played in Belgrade. It was one of the loudest, too. I had to show up an hour early because having the ticket didn’t guaranty that I would get in. There was no such thing as my own seat, in stark contrast with my first NBA experience in the Garden in Boston. As soon as I found a decent spot, a good angle to see the game from, I saw a group of maybe 300 rabid Partizan fans who chanted with a very strong accent. Their head gear wasn’t much different from the hats and scarves regular Partizan fans wore. As a visitor to the city, not too familiar with the Grobari rituals (“grave diggers” is what Partizan fans call themselves), I asked the guy next to me who they were and he said: “These are Palestinian students, they come every time we play against an Israeli club.” Read more ->

Watertown runs a basketball clinic at Belmont’s expense

UPDATES:

April 19, 2010 - I made few but important changes to this article published on February 13, 2010. At first, I wanted to leave the original sentences crossed, but in the end I decided to take them out completely because crossed lines destroy the flow. In addition to revising some sentences, I removed all the comments. The debate made sense while it was happening but I don’t think it is interesting as a permanent addition to the article.

Author

“Winning is like deodorant – it comes up and a lot of things don’t stink.” – Doc Rivers, The Celtics Coach

Not long ago, the Belmont Marauders basketball team was undefeated, 15 and 0. But, they lost two of their last three games, first to Reading, then last night to Watertown. Both these teams are considered serious rivals and getting the wins was extremely important to the team. The game against the Watertown Raiders was particularly important because the team wanted to go into the post season on the wings of a decisive win against a great rival. It all looked possible as Belmont thoroughly outplayed Watertown in their first game of the season. This time, the final score was Watertown 57 – Belmont 53.

In my article from January 13th, 2010, titled Big win for Belmont against undefeated Reading, I highlighted what Belmont needed to do differently to get more decisive wins and to prevail in tough situations. When the article came out some people expressed their consternation that I was too pessimistic while the team was winning. I wanted the team not to be oblivious to the “deodorant effect,” to look at their performances objectively, and start fixing problems while there was still time. Read more ->

Phil Jackson’s Books

Phil Jackson is unique in many respects. He won more championships than Red Auerbach (although that record is still open to debate), he was crafty enough, or lucky enough, to have coached some of the greatest superstars and teams in the history of the game. Another thing which makes him unique is his book recommendations to the players. He did it while coaching the Bulls, and he’s doing it while coaching the Lakers. Is this intellectual snobbery, or a very profound way of reaching his players?

We all know that the the only way for players to excel is to be none else but themselves. You’d think that this is a simple formula, but when you watch any basketball game (high school, college, pros) you see players trying to be something they are not. Players make adjustments over the years, they improve their free-throw shooting, or work on their post-up game (to name but a few), but they reach their true potential only when they realize who they really are on the basketball court, which is really an extension of their ordinary life personality. A true transformation happens when a go-to guy realizes that he’s really just a very good second fiddle. He can still drop thirty points on a given night, but forcing the ball through his hands on every possession alienates him from his true nature and minimizes his potential and reach. If somebody likes deferring, or simply enjoys passing (I believe a good pass can give you the same thrill as ripping it through the net from the three-point line) asking him to shoot a lot, even if he has a terrific shot, makes that player uncomfortable in his role, and minimizes the positive impact he could have on the team. Read more ->

Big win for Belmont against undefeated Reading

Belmont won an important game, maybe the most important game of the first part of this season. Again, they played a tough 4th quarter, and I don’t expect anything but toughness from this team any more. They took over a close game and made it into a blowout. Overall, the team played well, but the final score is somewhat deceiving. I say this mostly because Reading missed 15 free throws. That’s a big hit even for the best teams to take.

Among good things, the inside defense was solid. Reading centers and forwards couldn’t easily score. Belmont hit more than their typical 20% of threes attempted, which helped quite a bit.

Among not so good things, the defense on penetrations was shaky. It looked like Reading guards could get into the paint any time they wanted.

Read more ->

What’s Wrong with the NBA All-Star Concept

I’ve been reading Bill Simmons’ Book of Basketball in recent days, and he’s been rambling against the NBA All-Star Teams and the way they are picked. It’s become similar to the regular season MVP selection – a popularity concept. Simmons is stretching a lot of things in his book to make them sound funny or to keep your attention through a 700-page behemoth. Among other things he is recommending that NBA selects two best players, one from the East another from the West, and that they pick the teams for themselves to compete in the All-Star Game.

Read more ->