Thursday, March 29, 2012
Dunkus Interruptus: McGee Kills Calderon
This happened last night at the ACC, and unfortunately I missed it! JaValev McGee is criticised for his unorthodox decision-making while on the court and there is even a video compiled of his goofiest moments. On this play, a two-on-one, conventional team basketball strategy dictates that McGee should space the floor, pass the ball to the guard trailing on the opposite wing and wait for the defender to commit to one of the streaking offensive players. At that point whoever has the ball passes it to their open teammate for the easy basket. Not JaVale. Instead of passing, he runs the floor dribbling and lining it up. Calderon, expecting the usual to happen is caught off guard when McGee takes off just inside the free-throw line. The only thing Jose can do is try to draw a charge, while still moving. Huge mistake. And here we are, Dunkus Interruptus!
Link to Youtube vid
The Return of Gilbert Arenas
Gilbert Arenas is lucky to be back in the NBA,
and the Grizzlies are just as lucky to have him.
Arenas was waived by the Orlando Magic on December 9, 2011
becoming free to sign with any NBA team. However, his status around the league
was tenuous and the 6’3” guard failed to find a home through the first 45 games
of a 66-game season.
On March 20th Memphis signed the three-time all
star for the remainder of the season. Arenas is ready to prove that he has been
wisened by his experiences over the past year-and-a-half: a time when he was a
basketball outcast.
During a locker room dispute on Christmas Eve of 2009,
Arenas and then-Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton drew pistols on each other.
The incident and subsequent fallout nearly ended Arenas’ career.
Instead, he was sentenced to two years probation and 30 days
in a halfway house. His probation ended Monday, coinciding with his return to
the NBA, and Arenas is happy to be playing basketball again and rebuilding his
reputation.
Arenas told ESPN, “‘I’m just back to my old
self — laid back, funny guy. I'm back to just loving the game of
basketball. I'm about playing it the right way.”
If he’s serious about playing up to his potential, he could
be a dynamic offensive option.
His scoring onslaughts during his peak include a 60 point
outing against the Lakers in 2006, scoring 54 against the Suns in 2007 after
D’Antoni cut Arenas from team USA the previous summer, and scoring 51 points
capped off by a no-look, arms raised, game-winner in 2007 against the Jazz.
Simply put, when Arenas has a reason to believe, he’s a
flat-out performer.
He’s also a lengendary performer off-court. Arenas once
dubbed himself “the Black President” (pre-Obama, of course), launched a
signature shoe line with 20 different autobiographical variations, pioneered
the athlete blog, and gave away his personal shoe collection to his twitter
followers.
Memphis fans are delighted to have such an accessible,
personable player to cheer for.
Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace
said upon signing the 10-year veteran, “Gilbert desperately wants to get back
in the NBA. He’s a legit card-caring basketball junkie. And he’s still 30 years
old.”
A recognized gym rat, Arenas is famous for obsessing over
specific locations on the court and taking thousands of jump shots from those
spots to ensure he’ll have the muscle memory the next time he gets the
opportunity in-game.
Of course, there’s the possibility that the
Arenas experiment could go horribly awry. The Grizzlies attempted to bring
Allen Iverson back to the NBA in September 2009 and it ended with AI walking
out on the team. Or there’s the possibility that Arenas is still a loose cannon
that could influence teammates negatively and disrupt team chemistry.
That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case. After an
impressive first practice with the Grizzlies, a rejuvenated Arenas stayed late
to fraternize with his new teammates and to partake in shooting challenges.
This version of Arenas can help bind a team, create unity,
promote practice and hard work, bring levity to a locker room during the tense
playoff run ahead, help mentor the younger players on the do’s and don’ts of
the NBA, and perhaps make a clutch bucket or two.
Not only can Arenas play, he can entertain on and off the
court while doing it. If he can stay grounded, Arenas will prove to be a
valuable addition to the Memphis Grizzlies both immediately and in the future.
Welcome back.
Chris Kaman's Bobcat
Chris Kaman has been an interesting figure in the NBA.
Since entering the League in the vaunted 2003 NBA draft as the sixth pick following LeBron, Darko, Melo, Bosh, and Wade, the Caveman played the bulk of his career as a Clipper. And not the exciting, League Pass darling Clippers that we see today. The 2003-2011 Clippers were yet to be saved by Blake and CP3.
But they had the Caveman who has had his share of highlights, and lowlights .
Not only did Kaman receive attention for his bizarre long stringy light hair, and as a spokesperson for individuals misdiagnosed with ADHD, he was also the victim of a Reggie Evans nutgraf.The Clippers take what they can get.
The highlight of Kaman's basketball career came while representing Germany alongside Dirk Nowitzki at the pre-Olympic qualifiers in 2008, and Eurobasket in 2011.
Now a member of the New Orleans Hornets following the Chris Paul mistrade and trade, Kaman is reaching back to his roots. Growing up on a farm, hunting was a regular activity for his family.
The NBA, however, was unprepared for Kaman's sense of humour.
Before his Hornets played the lowly (5-34) Bobcats, Kaman tweeted a picture of himself holding one of his hunting trophies with the headline “Guess who we r playing tonight?”
Holding a dead Bobcat in his driveway did little to impact the actual game, which his Hornets lost 73-71 in New Orleans.
Strange trash talk aside, Chris Kaman continues to surprise many along his crazy ride through the NBA.
Since entering the League in the vaunted 2003 NBA draft as the sixth pick following LeBron, Darko, Melo, Bosh, and Wade, the Caveman played the bulk of his career as a Clipper. And not the exciting, League Pass darling Clippers that we see today. The 2003-2011 Clippers were yet to be saved by Blake and CP3.
But they had the Caveman who has had his share of highlights, and lowlights .
Not only did Kaman receive attention for his bizarre long stringy light hair, and as a spokesperson for individuals misdiagnosed with ADHD, he was also the victim of a Reggie Evans nutgraf.The Clippers take what they can get.
The highlight of Kaman's basketball career came while representing Germany alongside Dirk Nowitzki at the pre-Olympic qualifiers in 2008, and Eurobasket in 2011.
Now a member of the New Orleans Hornets following the Chris Paul mistrade and trade, Kaman is reaching back to his roots. Growing up on a farm, hunting was a regular activity for his family.
The NBA, however, was unprepared for Kaman's sense of humour.
Before his Hornets played the lowly (5-34) Bobcats, Kaman tweeted a picture of himself holding one of his hunting trophies with the headline “Guess who we r playing tonight?”
Holding a dead Bobcat in his driveway did little to impact the actual game, which his Hornets lost 73-71 in New Orleans.
Strange trash talk aside, Chris Kaman continues to surprise many along his crazy ride through the NBA.
Monday, March 26, 2012
The Almost Raptors
The Almost Raptors
Hindsight is a beautiful thing. For NBA teams, there are no second chances. Once a deal has been completed, or a player has been drafted, it's final. No do-overs. Nevertheless we like to go back, as I did in two previous blog entries, to criticize teams who draft poorly and praise the GMs who seemingly hold a crystal ball. Grantland recently did an article on the history of bad decisions by the Golden State Warriors that made the Raps missteps pale in comparison. It's still early to tell if the picks from the last few years could have been better, but I like DMDR, Easy E, and Big V for now. Here are the rest of the Raps picks, who they could have grabbed instead, and how the team would have looked if they had...
2011 5th - Jonas Valenciunas - Keep
2010 13th – Ed Davis – Keep
2009 9th – DeMar DeRozan – Keep
2008 41st – Nathan Jawai – Could have had Goran
Dragic, went 45th
2007 No Picks
2006 1st – Andrea Bargnani – Could have had
LaMarcus Aldridge, 2nd or Rudy Gay 8th
35th
– PJ Tucker – Could have had Paul Millsap, 47th
2005 7th – Charlie Villanueva – Could have had
Andrew Bynum, 10th
16th
– Joey Graham – Could have had Danny Granger, 17th
41st
– Roko Ukic – Could have had Louis Williams, 45th
2004 8th – Rafael Araujo – Could have had Andre
Iguodala, 9th
40th
– Albert Miralles (swapped 4 Pape Sow) – Could have had Trevor Ariza, 44th
2003 4th – Chris Bosh – Could have had Dwyane
Wade, 5th
(and Boozer or ZBO in years before that, but let's not go back too far...)
-So with all that hindsight, this is the lineup the Raptors could have fielded...
C – Bynum
PF – Aldridge
SF – Granger
SG – Wade
PG – Lou Williams
6 - Iguodala
Millsap
DeRozan
Davis
Ariza
Dragic
Big V
Championship?
Raps Rap: March 21-26
Game 47- vs Bulls (L 94-82 / 15-32 / streak L3) Wednesday March 21, 2012
With the Raptors celebrating Canadian Armed Forces night in Toronto, the Raps debuted their long-awaited camouflage uniforms. Unfortunately (insert Raptors "were nowhere to be found" joke here). Even without Derrick Rose, the Bulls pulled a come-from-behind victory led by John Lucas's 13 fourth-quarter points, Kyle Korver's clutch shooting and Luol Deng's 17 point, 10 rebound double-double. DeRozan finished with 23 points and six rebounds, but his team was outrebounded 49-41 and shot just 12.5% from long range. The Bulls outscored the Raptors 32-12 in the final frame.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson on the follow slam
Game 48- vs Knicks (W 96-79 / 16-32 / streak W1) Friday March 23, 2012
When Linsanity last hit Toronto, it peaked. Since then the Jeremy Lin story has cooled off some, but that didn't prevent a multitude of Lin fans from taking over the ACC Friday night. Lin, however, finished with just six points on 3-9 shooting. Amar'e had 17 points and Melo had just 12. The Raptors dominated throughout the game and the Knicks clearly look out of sorts, struggling to find an identity and winning scheme after dismissing coach Mike D'Antoni. DeRozan finished with 30 points including a couple of exciting dunks, Bargs went for 21 and Gary Forbes contributed 19 points off the bench.The Knicks were ineffective and the Raps led by as much as 22 points in front of a home crowd unsure who to cheer or who to boo (even Steve Novak was cheered loudly...?)
Raptor Highlight of the Night; DeRozan dunk off the backboard from Gary Forbes
Game 49- @ Chicago (L 102-101 / 16-33 / streak L1) Saturday March 24, 2012
The Raps lost a heart-breaker in overtime in Chicago after Luol Deng tipped in the game-winner at the final buzzer. Playing without DeRozan who tweaked his ankle in the previous night's win, James Johnson and Jose Calderon each scored 20 points for the Raps. Still without Rose, the Bulls lost Joachim Noah who was ejected late in the second quarter for throwing the ball at the ref. The Raptors just missed shots at the end of regulation, and free throws at the end of the overtime period and gave up a game they otherwise deserved to win. The Raps shot better percentages across the board, outrebounded the Bulls 58-44, and led by as many as 12, but turned the ball over 12 times leading to 23 fast-break points by Chicago.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson block leads to huge Ed Davis cram over Boozer
Game 50- vs Magic (L 117-101 / 16-34 / streak L2) Monday March 26, 2012
When the Magic's system is working, it's tough to stop. With Dwight Howard anchoring the middle and drawing double teams the Magic shot 15 three-pointers in the game. Dwight still got his (23 points, 10 rebounds) while Ryan Anderson hit a career-best eight threes, and Jameer Nelson added 18 points. Gary Forbes led the Raptors with 21 points in a starting role, and Linas Kleiza contributed 18 points from the bench.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; Ed Davis breakaway dunk
With the Raptors celebrating Canadian Armed Forces night in Toronto, the Raps debuted their long-awaited camouflage uniforms. Unfortunately (insert Raptors "were nowhere to be found" joke here). Even without Derrick Rose, the Bulls pulled a come-from-behind victory led by John Lucas's 13 fourth-quarter points, Kyle Korver's clutch shooting and Luol Deng's 17 point, 10 rebound double-double. DeRozan finished with 23 points and six rebounds, but his team was outrebounded 49-41 and shot just 12.5% from long range. The Bulls outscored the Raptors 32-12 in the final frame.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson on the follow slam
Game 48- vs Knicks (W 96-79 / 16-32 / streak W1) Friday March 23, 2012
When Linsanity last hit Toronto, it peaked. Since then the Jeremy Lin story has cooled off some, but that didn't prevent a multitude of Lin fans from taking over the ACC Friday night. Lin, however, finished with just six points on 3-9 shooting. Amar'e had 17 points and Melo had just 12. The Raptors dominated throughout the game and the Knicks clearly look out of sorts, struggling to find an identity and winning scheme after dismissing coach Mike D'Antoni. DeRozan finished with 30 points including a couple of exciting dunks, Bargs went for 21 and Gary Forbes contributed 19 points off the bench.The Knicks were ineffective and the Raps led by as much as 22 points in front of a home crowd unsure who to cheer or who to boo (even Steve Novak was cheered loudly...?)
Raptor Highlight of the Night; DeRozan dunk off the backboard from Gary Forbes
The Raps lost a heart-breaker in overtime in Chicago after Luol Deng tipped in the game-winner at the final buzzer. Playing without DeRozan who tweaked his ankle in the previous night's win, James Johnson and Jose Calderon each scored 20 points for the Raps. Still without Rose, the Bulls lost Joachim Noah who was ejected late in the second quarter for throwing the ball at the ref. The Raptors just missed shots at the end of regulation, and free throws at the end of the overtime period and gave up a game they otherwise deserved to win. The Raps shot better percentages across the board, outrebounded the Bulls 58-44, and led by as many as 12, but turned the ball over 12 times leading to 23 fast-break points by Chicago.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson block leads to huge Ed Davis cram over Boozer
Game 50- vs Magic (L 117-101 / 16-34 / streak L2) Monday March 26, 2012
When the Magic's system is working, it's tough to stop. With Dwight Howard anchoring the middle and drawing double teams the Magic shot 15 three-pointers in the game. Dwight still got his (23 points, 10 rebounds) while Ryan Anderson hit a career-best eight threes, and Jameer Nelson added 18 points. Gary Forbes led the Raptors with 21 points in a starting role, and Linas Kleiza contributed 18 points from the bench.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; Ed Davis breakaway dunk
Raps Rap: Feb 22-March 2
Game 33- vs Pistons (W 103-93 / 10-23 / streak W1) Wednesday February 22, 2012
The Raptors halted a four-game skid with a win over the Pistons thanks to a solid team effort. DeRozan finished with 23 points and seven rebounds, Barbosa had 17, James Johnson had 15, Calderon dished 15 assists, and Aaron Gray had a 12-and-12 double-double. The Raps had difficulty covering rookie centre Greg Monroe who recorded 30 points and 14 rebounds, and they gave up a 22-8 run in the fourth quarter that put the W in jeopardy momentarily before coming out on top. The Raps shared the ball well and had 30 assists as a team compared to 16 total for the Pistons.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson with the two-handed dunk over Jason Maxiell
Game 34- @ Houston (L 88-85 / 10-24 / streak L1) Tuesday February 28, 2012
A solid effort coming off the long All-Star break, but the Raptors came up just short to a Kyle Lowry-led Rockets squad in Houston. Lowry played himself into ASG selection talk before the break and showed why on this evening shooting 8-12, and finishing with 26 points and five assists. Calderon simply couldn't contain Lowry and struggled to just seven points on the other end. DeRozan had a team-high 17 points and James Johnson chipped in 16 points and eight boards in the loss. The Raptors controlled the glass for most of the game, but were outrebounded in the fourth quarter.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; DeRozan with the hammer slam
Game 35- @ New Orleans (W 95-84 / 11-24 / streak W1) Wednesday February 29, 2012
DeRozan and Linas Kleiza each scored 21 points and the Raps bench outscored the Hornets bench 41-21. The Raps shot 60% from three-point territory compared to just 18.8% for the Hornets. The Hornets actually led 69-62 going into the final quarter, but the Raps used two separate 7-0 runs to outscore New Orleans 33-15 in the fourth and seal the victory. Leandro Barbosa also chipped in with 15 points.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson over everybody with the putback jam
Game 36- vs Grizzlies (L 102-99 / 11-25 / streak L1) Friday March 2, 2012
After Rudy Gay (yeah, THAT Rudy Gay) put the Grizzlies up 100-99, Linas Kleiza had a chance to take the lead with 15 seconds left, but his shot came up short and Tony Allen got a layup plus a foul on the other end. After Allen missed his freebie, the Raps needed a three to send the game to OT with 7.8 seconds left. Calderon inbounded the ball and got it back again, but clanked back rim. The Raps have now lost six straight to the Grizzlies. Gay finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds and Marc Gasol and Mike Conley each scored 21. Jerryd Bayless paced Toronto with 18 points, but the Raps couldn't execute down the stretch. On the bright side, James Johnson is becoming a highlight machine.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson with the facial on Rudy Gay
The Raptors halted a four-game skid with a win over the Pistons thanks to a solid team effort. DeRozan finished with 23 points and seven rebounds, Barbosa had 17, James Johnson had 15, Calderon dished 15 assists, and Aaron Gray had a 12-and-12 double-double. The Raps had difficulty covering rookie centre Greg Monroe who recorded 30 points and 14 rebounds, and they gave up a 22-8 run in the fourth quarter that put the W in jeopardy momentarily before coming out on top. The Raps shared the ball well and had 30 assists as a team compared to 16 total for the Pistons.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson with the two-handed dunk over Jason Maxiell
Game 34- @ Houston (L 88-85 / 10-24 / streak L1) Tuesday February 28, 2012
A solid effort coming off the long All-Star break, but the Raptors came up just short to a Kyle Lowry-led Rockets squad in Houston. Lowry played himself into ASG selection talk before the break and showed why on this evening shooting 8-12, and finishing with 26 points and five assists. Calderon simply couldn't contain Lowry and struggled to just seven points on the other end. DeRozan had a team-high 17 points and James Johnson chipped in 16 points and eight boards in the loss. The Raptors controlled the glass for most of the game, but were outrebounded in the fourth quarter.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; DeRozan with the hammer slam
Game 35- @ New Orleans (W 95-84 / 11-24 / streak W1) Wednesday February 29, 2012
DeRozan and Linas Kleiza each scored 21 points and the Raps bench outscored the Hornets bench 41-21. The Raps shot 60% from three-point territory compared to just 18.8% for the Hornets. The Hornets actually led 69-62 going into the final quarter, but the Raps used two separate 7-0 runs to outscore New Orleans 33-15 in the fourth and seal the victory. Leandro Barbosa also chipped in with 15 points.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson over everybody with the putback jam
Game 36- vs Grizzlies (L 102-99 / 11-25 / streak L1) Friday March 2, 2012
After Rudy Gay (yeah, THAT Rudy Gay) put the Grizzlies up 100-99, Linas Kleiza had a chance to take the lead with 15 seconds left, but his shot came up short and Tony Allen got a layup plus a foul on the other end. After Allen missed his freebie, the Raps needed a three to send the game to OT with 7.8 seconds left. Calderon inbounded the ball and got it back again, but clanked back rim. The Raps have now lost six straight to the Grizzlies. Gay finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds and Marc Gasol and Mike Conley each scored 21. Jerryd Bayless paced Toronto with 18 points, but the Raps couldn't execute down the stretch. On the bright side, James Johnson is becoming a highlight machine.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson with the facial on Rudy Gay
Dunkus Interruptus: Gerald Green
I will always remember when and where I was when I first saw this dunk. This dunk happened when I was arriving back in Canada after a week reporting on sporting events throughout Florida. It had been a looooooong bus ride and after crossing the border, everybody was quick to turn their data plans back on their cell phones and see what was going on in 'the world outside the bus.' Sure enough Gerald Green was trending on twitter and I knew immediately we had another Dunkus Interruptus on our hands. And yes, Gerald Green is back in the NBA. The dunk is huge. Green's head is definitely above the rim, and the windmill is smooth and effortless. Sure, Vince Carter made a living doing dunks like these, but the closest thing we've had to a game-changing, life-changing, Dunkus Interruptus-changing oop was the JR Smith 360 oop. Sure we love 360s here at 360special, but Green's jam just topped it. Anyway, stop whatever you're doing and watch this dunk! It's Dunkus Interruptus time!
Youtube Link: Gerald Green alley-oop windmill
Youtube Link: Gerald Green alley-oop windmill
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