Is Tracy McGrady becoming Allen Iverson?

You have to wonder what the deal is with Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets. He is finally healthy and ready to play. So it was interesting to see the report today that McGrady is taking a leave of absence from the team. That he is unhappy with not playing much. If I remember right it was just a few short years ago that McGrady was mentioned in everyone's current top five...I even remember hearing people ask "Who is better, Tracy McGrady or Kobe Bryant?"... Well we know the answer to that question. But unless McGrady has forgotten how to play, why is he not fitting in with the Rockets. He could be their missing piece if their coach (Rick Adleman) could figure out a way to work him in. Of course it might be all about Tracy. Who knows what the real story is. I would think after the whole Allen Iverson craziness, Tracy and the Rockets could find a solution for the rest of the season.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2009122617&prov=ap



Reality Basketball - Chris Bavelles

MASHED POTATOES AND BASKETBALL - NOTHING BETTER

Christmas Day is fast upon us. I am lucky to have in-laws who love to blend the beautiful traditions of Christmas Day brunch and NBA Basketball. This year the Lakers play the Cav's.
Lebron vs Kobe .... Shaq vs Kobe. 
All this is great but what really makes the day is that my mother in-law Paulette is cooking and the family will gather. 

So while Kobe is draining three's over LeBron, I will be among family and friends watching the game on a 46"HD Plasma TV (Thanks Vern) eating the best cheese mashed potatoes in the history of the world. Does it get any better?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM REALITY BASKETBALL!!!




Created by: Chris Bavelles 2009

GAIL GOODRICH SUPERSTAR

After writing about Allen Iverson re-signing with the 76'ers  and old friend of mine was curious why I haven't written about my all time favorite player Gail Goodrich. I wondered the same thing and it got me thinking about all the great little guys in NBA history. Bob Cousy, Calvin Murphy, Nate Archibald, John Stockton and Isaiah Thomas to name a few. But in my eyes Goodrich is one of the all time great little guys. Most people do not know that he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. He's a five time NBA All-Star, one time NBA Champion, two time NCAA All-American and won two NCAA titles with UCLA

Because I grew up playing basketball in Los Angeles just like Gail did, I might be a little biased, but there is no denying how great he really was. He was one of my two sports idols growing up (the other was Jerry West). Gail was told at every level that he was too short and too skinny to compete-just like me.
He was quick, had great fundamentals and could really shoot the ball-just like me. He went on to an illustrious Hall of Fame NBA career. Just like me...in my head. His dedication and strong work ethic has truly motivated me in basketball and throughout life.

Thanks IR for reminding me!

Here are a few clips and other links I found on Gail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ug-ikmg6Fg (NBA)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9bEA4NcBlc (College)

http://www.nba.com/history/players/goodrich_summary.html (NBA.Com)

This NBA star is known as "The Answer"

Final answer-
Who is Allen Iverson?

Allen Iverson came out of retirement today to rejoin the Philadelphia 76er's. It really is the right place for him. He will start, the fans will love him and he should be able to find some wrinkles in the Princeton offense that Eddie Jordan runs. He just might be the answer Philly has been looking for to help them get into the playoffs.

Here is his emotional press conference on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2nJf3myysE

Here is a video of some of his best crossover moves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Rv4AtufwE


Posted by Reality Basketball's Chris Bavelles

SHOWTIME RETURNS AS THE LAKERS ROCK DOWNTOWN L.A.

It is always fun to go to an NBA  Basketball game. But going to a Laker game takes it to another level. They play at Staples center right in the middle of downtown Los Angeles. LA Live is right across the street and features the west coast home of ESPN. The place is really jumping. As you walk into Staples you pass by a giant statue of Magic Johnson and the Lakers home pre-game TV broadcast which sets up right outside and has a very live feel. After you settle into your seats the Laker pre-game begins and it is pretty cool. A giant circular silky curtain screen descends down  from the scoreboard with classic video images of Laker greats and the current team. All this and the game has not even started.

I must say that on this occasion I was very grateful for all the pre-game hoopla since the Lakers jumped out to a 24 point lead in the first half on the hapless New Jersey Nets who are now 0 -17. 

Kobe was on fire for most of the game and pretty much did what ever he wanted to do. I took this shot from 15 rows up behind the Laker bench.

If you are interested, here is a good review of the game from The Orange Country Register:
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/nets-221607-jackson-points.html

Photos by: Chris Bavelles

High School + Europe = NBA

Who knew? The Milwaukee Bucks, thats who! I wonder how all the NBA teams that passed on Brandon Jennings feel right about now, specially the Minnesota Timberwolves...remember they took Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn 5th and 6th in the draft. How is that working out for them right about now.

Without a doubt the current favorite for Rookie of the Year is the  Milwaukee  Bucks Brandon Jennings, who continues to play lights out basketball. So far in November he's averaging 26 points, four rebounds, and nearly six assists on 47% shooting from the field and 51% from deep. You know his success is driving college coaches crazy.

Remember, Brandon hooked up with Sonny Vacarro who helped him skip his freshman year in college and go overseas to play professionally in Europe. He did his one year there and now is lighting it up in the NBA. He might have been the first but he won’t be the last. This remains a route that is best suited for only the elite players like a Brandon Jennings. The lack of game action last year hasn't held him back a bit. In fact, it's hard to imagine Brandon playing at this level if he was coming out of Arizona instead as he originally intended.

Jennings 55 points - YOUTUBE

Jennings plays more like a 2nd or 3rd year player mainly because he spent a year playing against some of the best players in the world, competing against men. He learned team basketball and how to really play the game. He also got a chance to travel around Europe as a 19 year old. 


Chris Bavelles

Lakers Fill Up With Premium Gasol

The Lakers gave the league a little sneak preview as to what kind of team they have. At one point the Lakers had Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant all on the floor at the same time. That is a little scary. Gasol had a great first game back: 24 and 13. Chicago Bulls 93 - Los Angeles Lakers 108
	Nov 19 1 2 3 4 T Bulls 19 23 25 26 93 Lakers 25 28 31 24 108

Basketball's Lord of the Rings

The Los Angeles Lakers received their Championship rings last night, then went out and casually beat the Los Angeles Clippers. The ring ceremony was was pretty classy in my opinion, they celebrated all the championships the team has won since moving to Los Angeles by trotting out great Lakers from all the championship teams. Jerry West from the first L.A championship in 1972. Then we got to see a bunch of great Lakers from the 80's, 90's and 00's including: Michael Cooper, Magic Johnson, A.C. Green, Rick Fox, Robert Horry and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Great night for Laker fans.

Check these pictures out from a Yahoo Sports article.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Lakers-new-championship-rings?urn=nba,198796

Kobe Bryant now playing "Free Safety"

Lakers will get their Championship Rings in the season opener against the Clippers this Tuesday, October 27, 2009. They get one more moment to celebrate and then it is back to work. This years Laker squad is improved over last years. Basically they swapped Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest. RON ARTEST...WOW.

I like the way Ron Artest is weaving his way into the fabric of the Los Angeles Lakers. Pre-Season is finally over and it is clear the Lakers with Ron Artest have a lot of defensive options. Besides adding toughness to the squad, Ron Ron gives the Lakers a lot of options both defensively and offensively.

Offensively he can play inside or out. He is an excellent passer and hits the offensive boards. When Kobe is taking a rest, he can step up as a #1 score if need be.

Defensively he totally changes this team. Now if  Phil Jackson so chooses, he can now put Artest on the other teams best player (Think LeBron James, Carmello Anthony, Dwayne Wade) and have Kobe move back to "Free Safety" where he is really good. This will also allow Kobe to be fresh for the 4th quarter.

If the Lakers stay healthy, they will repeat as NBA Champions.

Kobe Stopper Stops Playing!

Bruce Bowen has retired from the San Antonio Spurs, all I can say is "Finally". As a overall NBA fan I am sad to see him go, he was really a tough, smart and underrated player. Now as a Laker fan, I am glad to see him go. Even though he was not a Kobe Stopper, he did make Kobe work. Bruce was considered one of the best defenders in the NBA, he was selected eight times to the first second teams NBA All-Defensive  and was a member of 3 NBA championships with the Spurs. 

Michael Jordan coming out of retirement again?

"One day you might look up and see me playing the game at 50," Jordan said. "Oh don't laugh, don't laugh. Never say never. Because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion. Thank you very much."
Jordan wrapping up his Hall of Fame acceptance speech today.


Imagine if you will, Michael Jordan comes out of retirement to play with the Lakers, reuniting with Phil and playing along side Kobe... Wouldn't that be great, I mean talk about "Where Amazing Happens".  May never happen, but it would be fun to see, specially if you could have them both playing in their prime.

Breaking News: NBA Commish David Stern removes self from Referee talks!

Source: AP

NBA referees are prepared to be locked out for the start of the season after negotiations with the league on a new contract broke down this week when David Stern ended the latest bargaining session.

No further talks are scheduled - and when they do resume, it'll be without the commissioner.

Referees spokesman Lamell McMorris accused Stern of acting childish and not negotiating in good faith, so Stern removed himself from the process.

Stern said Thursday he told McMorris that, "In fact if it was going to get personal - which apparently he's decided to make it by calling news media and leveling a series of inaccurate allegations - that I would absent myself from the negotiations, which I have."

"Hopefully we'll make a deal with the referees, or we won't, but it won't be on the basis of personality, it'll be on the basis of economics," Stern added.

The league's contract with its referees expired on Sept. 1, and McMorris said the sides have basically agreed on salary issues for a new two-year deal. He said the league wanted to freeze salaries for the first year with a 1 percent increase in year two.

The officials were willing to go along with that, McMorris said, because of the economic difficulties the league is facing, but the NBA was still asking for significant reductions in the referees' budget.

"We've laid $2.5 million back on the table," McMorris said. "Some things we have to be able to go back to our group and to say that we collectively bargained in good faith. Our goal is not to take all the hits, we can't do that."

ESPN.com first reported that talks ended after Stern abruptly halted Tuesday's session at league headquarters. Stern said the officials reneged on something previously agreed upon, but McMorris was critical of the way the commissioner handled things.

"The problem is, David Stern does not negotiate. He tells you what's going to happen and then when you don't do it, and do something differently, he whines and acts like a child," McMorris said. "That's not how you negotiate. Not with adults."

Stern said the league would be well represented even without him, but didn't leave much hope that a resolution would come soon.

"On the basis of the last series of proposals, it doesn't appear that there's any point at this time to further negotiations, but obviously it still remains our goal to start this season with our existing referees working," Stern said.

The NBA released a statement later Thursday criticizing the referees union for its attacks through the media, and said the referees backed out of previously agreed upon proposals involving retirement benefits at Tuesday's meeting.

"Then, after we offered additional economic movement in order to progress toward a deal, the NBRA refused to make any additional concessions," NBA general counsel and lead negotiator Rick Buchanan said. "At this point, and after several months of negotiations, all the union has offered to us is minimal concessions that are neither consistent with economic reality nor with the information it is currently distributing to the media."

Referees are due to open their training camp on Sept. 20, and the league's first preseason game is scheduled for Oct. 1 at Utah. Without a deal soon, the NBA will begin the season with replacement officials for the first time since 1995.

The league is seeking cuts in areas such as the referees' benefits, travel budget and their per diems, which Stern said would "bring their numbers in line with other league employees."

McMorris feels there is more to it, with the league possibly trying to rid itself of older referees or perhaps send a strong message to the players, whose collective bargaining agreement with the NBA expires after the 2011 season.

He also said the NBA gave a combined $100,000 in raises, which Stern could not confirm, to the three men who were hired to oversee the referees operations department in the league office following the betting scandal involving former official Tim Donaghy.

Already, the referees will miss next week's two-day seminar with league coaches, and McMorris said the officials will meet again sometime after that.

Officials from the NBA Development League could end up calling NBA games as the league scrambles for replacements. Stern denied McMorris' charge that backup refs were being called even before Tuesday's meeting ended, while McMorris said the league had even called a referee it fired three years ago tosee if he would be available.

Even with Stern not involved, McMorris said his side won't come to New York for further talks.

"If the league wants to start up talks again, our door is open, so we'd gladly look forward to meeting them in Washington D.C. for the next meeting," McMorris said. "You can't be disrespectful and childlike and ask us, when you're already cutting our wages and expenses, to use our hard-earned money to come and you're kicking us out of meetings."

MEMPHIS HAS IT'S ANSWER

All summer NBA fans have been wondering if Allen Iverson's career was over. After his disappointing stint with the Pistons and then having to watch his old Denver team improve considerably without him, it kind of looked like "The Answer" was no.

But thanks to instantaneous nature of Twitter, the basketball world got it's answer before ESPN, Yahoo and Fox could get their hands on it via Iverson's official Twitter  account, that he was signing with the Memphis Grizzlies. 

It has been rumored all summer that A. I. wanted either Charlotte,  NY or Miami to sign him. Reality Basketball sources say that those teams would not touch Allen because of his demand to be a starter.

Now it appears that he has soften his stance on that with Memphis, all he cares about is getting enough minutes.  I wonder with O.J Mayo, Rudy Gay and newly acquired Zack Randolph if they will have enough basketballs to go around. It is going to be interesting.

Iverson will get a reported 3.5 million for 1 year and will easily be the biggest draw the Grizzlies have ever had.

Need a little NBA in the summer - here's Kobe.

Long boring summer without the NBA - so here is a little bit of Kobe's top 10 dunks and moves.
From YouTube!
Michael Jordan's Top Ten
Reality Basketball Interview revisited: KOBE BRYANT

Timberwolves huge mistake!

Wow!  Ricky Rubio, the so called next Pistol Pete Maravich has decided to stay in Europe for at least two more years. This is a crushing blow to the Minnesota Timberwolves. They had the 5th and 6th pick in this years NBA draft and a real golden opportunity to rebuild. Then they took two point guards. Jonny Flynn at # 6 and Ricky Rubio at # 5. Both were kind of questionable to start with. Rubio looks great on film because they only show his hotdog highlights against medium European competition. I think he might end up being a good player 5 years from now. The Wolves really took a chance picking him and now it has blown up in their face. David Kahn, the T-Wolves president says that Rubio wanted to stay in Spain for the next two years so he could prepare for the NBA. "It appears now we will have a two-year wait. But if you frame it as he'll be 20 years old and he'll have two more years to develop, I can think of a lot worse things to happen to us as a franchise." Really, like what?

Jonny Flynn is a real good player, hard nosed, quick and a fierce competitor, I am not sure he is a top ten pick but he has a chance to be a very good player. Only time will tell. I wonder what new head coach Kurt Rambis thinks about all this?

TRADED 4 TIMES IN ONE SUMMER

These are the dog days of being a basketball fan. But there is some stuff going on like Quentin Richardson being traded for the 4th time this summer. He is now a member of the Miami Heat. Quentin started the summer as a member of the New York Knicks, then he was shipped to Memphis, who traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers, who traded him to the Wolves who today traded him to the Heat. This time, Richardson has found a home for his expiring $9.35 million contract. Pat Riley is very excited to get him and plans to play him considerable minutes this upcoming season. Of course he could be traded again.

LAKERS CLARK KENT GOING TO THE WOLVES

Kurt Rambis - Lakers

It is being reported that longtime Laker assistant coach Kurt Rambis has accepted an offer to become the head coach of Minnesota Timerwolves according to two reports Saturday night. ESPN first reported that Rambis had reached an agreement with the team on a four-year deal worth in excess of $8 million.

Rambis' hiring would be an irony of sorts in that he would be replacing Kevin McHale. Remember Kevin taking Kurt down in the 1984 NBA Finals. That play clearly displayed the difference between the blue collar Celtics and the Showtime Lakers. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7r6vXeOfyQ

"Kurt, with his experience playing and coaching for a winning organization and working under people like Pat Riley, will bring a lot to our organization," Taylor said. "In meeting with him and talking to him, I know he's very excited about having an opportunity to help build his own team."

Athletes on Twitter

Is the Twitter page of your favorite athlete the real page? I was watching ESPN's Outside the Lines and they featured this great website that lists your favorite athletes real Twitter page. 

http://www.sportsin140.com/

Once at the site click on the directory of athletes.

SHAQ IS SAVING THE PLANET

Love him or hate him, one thing you can say about Shaquille O'Neal is he is a participator. It seems like every time I open a newspaper,  turn on ESPN or check the sport blogs, there is a story on Shaq.  This fall you will be able to see him in his own TV show called "Shaq vs." 

Well I found a new source with a new story on THE BIG CLEVELAND. I was reading up on the greenhouse effect and other things green when Shaq popped up. I think he is pretty sincere about his involvement with reducing his carbon footprint with his involvement with with taking organic waste and converting it into ethanol. He is actually installing a system in his own house. I have not jumped on the ethanol bandwagon but I do think that it is good to explore and learn about everything you can when it comes to saving our planet. So I tip my hat off to The Big Ethanol (Shaq) as he explores for himself.

Check it out for yourself at:

http://greenhouseintl.com/new-green-dream-team-shaq-and-greenhouse-take-ethanol-new-heights

Christmas in July Kobe vs LeShaq

Schedule for 2009 - 2o1o NBA Season is here! Any basketball news during the summer is good news. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4375966

Christmas day - Lakers & Kobe vs Cav's and Shaq/LeBron (or LeShaq)

Relive 2009 NBA finals

Are you going through basketball withdraws? Just can't get into mid season baseball? Well, even if you are not a Laker fan you have to be a fan of the Championship series. Here is a nice edited recap of Lakers - Magic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvV1RbT6K-c

BASKETBALL'S PURPLE TIE PRESS CONFERENCE

Lamar Odom signed a four-year contract worth just under $33 million, a compromise neither he nor Kupchak were confident they could reach as recently as a week ago. "It was a tedious time, but with patience and prayer I'm back where I wanted to be," Odom said. "I just stayed patient and didn't take anything personally. That helped me get through it." Instead of getting upset and sulking off to join friends Pat Riley and Dwayne Wade in Miami, Odom called Buss persoanlly and explained how important it was for him to remain with the Lakers.

LAMAR AT HIS SIGNING PRESS CONFERENCE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeORyE_gOq4

LAMAR THE CANDYMAN SEGMENT - CHECK IT OUT!

Plus all the candy probably did not hurt!

HIGH SCHOOL HOOP STORIES

Reality Basketball's continuing series on High School Basketball stories.

I just read a great story by Ray Brewer of the Las Vegas Sun about a three high school players who found themselves rubbing elbows and sharing ipod songs with some of the NBA’s top young talent.

Joey Felsenfeld always dreamed of playing in the NBA.

A point guard on Boulder City High's state championship team last winter, Felsenfeld took pride in directing the Eagles offense and making the perfect pass to get his teammates in a position to score.

But at 5 feet, 5 inches, Felsenfeld was too short to achieve his aspirations of professional stardom. His career, like most players, was limited to high school glory.

A lot of kids have dreams of playing in the NBA. 99.5 % of of those kids will never even come close to making it in the Association.  But for Felsenfeld and a few of his teammates basketball glory came to them in totally different way. With teammates Chris Leach and Ryan Bowen, Joey worked the last three days as ball boys for the U.S. national team during its mini-camp in Las Vegas.

Part of their duties included grabbing rebounds during shooting drills and sending passes back to the NBA hopefuls who were looking to impress during the national team audition.

It was as close to being in the NBA as a group of teenagers from a small Nevada town will get.

"When they (the players) first walked in, you are a little star-struck," Felsenfeld said. "(Chicago guard) Derrick Rose is my favorite player and it was awesome to see him. They expect you to be a little star struck, but you also need to be professional and get the job done."

Boulder City High assistant coach John Balistere, who works national team coach Mike Krzyzewski’s camp each summer at Duke, used his connection to get the boys their job. "It is obviously a good group of guys (the NBA players) in the sense that they are really good to the kids," Balistere said. "My boys were calling their aunt and my brother when they got home to let them know who they got to meet."

Felsenfeld and Leach also worked last year when the national team was in town for an Olympic qualifying tournament. Last year's group featured the likes of James, Bryant and others.

"Dwight Howard let me go through his iPod," Felsenfeld said. "All of them are extremely nice. They always say 'please' or 'thank you.'"

Most of their time was spent filling water jugs, wiping sweat off the floor and organizing equipment. They arrived one hour before the players to set up the gym.

"You do think about how lucky you are and how other kids would love doing this," said Bowen, a senior-to-be guard. "We got to wear Team USA shirts and shorts, which really makes you feel like part of the crew. It was awesome."

These are experiences of a lifetime, pure basketball gold.  All three walked away from the experience with a better appreciation of the game. They had the best seat in the house for three days of events.

Bill Plaschke Gets It Right

Bill Plaschke got it right with his July 19th LA Times article where he basically said what the entire city of Los Angeles was thinking. He pointed out that the Jerry Buss and Lakers need to do whatever it takes to sign Lamar Odom. He also mentioned the Clippers need to stay a way from Allen Iverson. I can see that one both ways. For the long run the Clippers do not need Iverson but for a year or two he could help them if his mind is right. That is a big if.

Plaschke can get on your nerves, but isn't that a good thing. He is usually right on with his opinions and knows the Los Angeles sports scene as well as anybody, even Denzel Washington.

MISMATCH IS A LAKER MATCH AGAIN

THE WALKING MISMATCH IS COMING BACK TO LAKERS.

Lamar Odom has decided to return to the Lakers. Sources have confirmed to 710 ESPN's Mason/Ireland radio show. This is awesome news for Laker fans. They now have without a doubt the most versatile team in the NBA and are odds on favorites to repeat as NBA Champions. 

Lamar has agreed to sign with the Lakers for 4 years, 33 Million. The 4th year is believed to be at a team option. Portland and Miami were serious contenders for Lamar. It is now being reported that it was Lamar not his agent Jeff Schwartz who originally turned down the first Laker offer. 

But, when it was all said and done, Lamar wanted to stay a Laker.

Michael Jordan all lit up!

This is very cool. Just found this behind the scenes of Michael Jordan's latest gatorade commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U831VaPo15o&feature=channelf

MJ Trash Talking Himself

One of my all time favorite commercials is Michael Jordan's Gatorade spot where he plays his younger self in one on one and they trash talk each other. Take a look: Michael Jordan Trash Talking Himself

PICK UP BASKETBALL'S 5 PERSONALITIES

Go to any basketball court anywhere in the world and you will see guys imitating Kobe Bryant best moves and LeBron James’s crazy dunks. And you will always see guys still walking and talking like “Mike”. I have played basketball over the United States and the world including Germany, Italy, France, Jamaica, Mexico and Australia. I can tell you that no matter where you play you will find one of the following personalities on the court. 

The Trash-talker: This type of player usually has some skill, but only at the highest level will you find a trash talker who is actually the best player on the court. But usually the classic trash talker opens his mouth to brag about a crazy shot he made or to mock an opponent's failed attempt to connect. The thing the trash-talker loves to do most is get inside his opponent's head. After all, when his opponent starts bricking shots and playing with less physicality, it makes the trash-talker look a lot better than he really is. 

The Star: The star is, quite simply, the best player on the court. He usually arrives to the park with a posse and finds a way to let everyone know he has arrived. This guy usually get other  guys involved at first but will eventually take over the game. This guy loves when someone steps up to challenge him, then it is on. He loves this because he can show why he's king of the court. Somethimes the star will talk some trash but be mostly lets his game speak for itself.

The Loner: Usually you see this guy shooting shots on his own until someone invites him to play. This guy is pretty good. Doesn’t have a lot of flash but is usually plays with a quite intensity. He has the  potential to make big plays, only he doesn't demand the ball enough. He rarely opens his mouth to talk trash or argue a call. 

The Cheater: This guy will call a foul on every play, raise his voice to intimidate  and is usually one of the worse all around players on the court. The Cheater wants to be the man, but he is not. He usually barks out orders to his teammates, hogs the ball and will argue every call. 

The Sidekick: This is the guy you need on your team. He is the guy who is usually friends with the star player and he will keep the peace. He knows everyone on the court and is the voice of reason. When things get a little crazy on the court, this guy will usually say something like "Hey, are we here to play basketball or what?"  The sidekick is a pretty good player, he is not flashy and he knows the game. He tends to be the friendliest player on the court and makes a conscious effort to involve the loner in the team's play. 

Next time you're out on the courts shooting hoops, keep an eye out for these types of players. Maybe you won't run into all of five types at once, but odds are you'll see at least a few of them out there. Who knows, maybe you'll even recognize some of these characteristics in yourself (let's just hope you're not the cheater).

Lakers and the walking mismatch resume talks

The Lakers and Lamar Odom are talking again. For laker fans this is good. Over the last week a number of Lakers have gone public with their feelings to keep Lamar also known as the walking mismatch. 

The L.A. Times article:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-lamar-odom23-2009jul23,0,5117681.story

Jordan Dunks on Lebron

LeBron's "I just got Dunked on" look

I don't know what all the fuss is over this kid Jordan Crawford dunking over LeBron James at a NIKE camp. LeBron was helping out on defense, went up high on the side of the rim and Crawford goes high and dunks. Why would NIKE try and pull this. But I am glad they did because now we have all this video to look at. Too bad it is not Michael Jordan. Could you imagine MJ in his prime playing today with Kobe, LeBron and DWade....I can and I am sure he can too.

Judge for yourself, here is the play from Yahoo Sports/TMZ.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/TMZ-posts-anticlimactic-video-of-LeBron-getting-?urn=nba,178138

Ricky Rubio reminds me of Pistol Pete

Madsen           Telfair          Smith

Rumor is flying around the NBA and Minnesota that the reason the Wolves traded three players including their only veteran point guard  Sebastian Telfair is because they are making room for Ricky Rubio. Besides Telfair, the Wolves traded Mark Madsen and Craig Smith to the Los Angeles Clippers for Quentin Richardson. Now the rumor is that the Clippers are NOT going to try and sign Allen Iverson. Who knows. 

Ricky Rubio reminds me a little bit of Pistol Pete Maravich, sort of looks like him, has similar flair and awesome ball handling skills. He is not the scorer that Pete was. They are both very creative.

Pistol                  Ricky

Ricky & Pete: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15S8Tkw3-Cg

Here is a highlight reel of Ricky Rubio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12FOZsjWxwk

Here is a reel of Pistol Pete: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X90vvETFS24