Looks like I’ll be ringing in the New Year with Marv in San Antonio where TNT will televise Thursday’s Spurs vs. Heat matchup. I picked out a few ties for the broadcast but haven’t made up my mind yet. Which one should I wear? Cast a vote for the one you like best and that could be the deciding factor!
(L-R: Metallic floral, Diamond checkerboard, Diagonal pleats)
Of the top ten players with the highest field goal percentage in the NBA, nine are big men. Only one is a guard: Hornets’ superstar Chris Paul. How does he do it? Rather than relying on jump shots, Chris has a tremendous ability to invade the paint and finish at the rim. He’s a master of dribble penetration, breaking down defenses with his uncanny ability to penetrate the lane and set up the open man or himself for the higher percentage shot.
This year Chris has improved his game by sharpening his perimeter shots. He’s shooting 54 percent from the field while averaging 21 points a game and ranks second in the league in assists. And as always, he’s among the leaders in steals.
Superior speed, unselfishness, incredible court vision, and fearlessness – Chris is a coach’s dream. Night in and night out he brings effort and leadership and I expect we’ll see this Czar Star lead his team back up in the standings.
While thirty-two countries anxiously awaited the draw for the world’s most popular tournament, the World Cup, I couldn’t help but feel for the people of Ireland who were robbed of a birth by a terrible non-call. The World Cup is like the Stanley Cup, Super Bowl, World Series and NBA Finals all wrapped into one, but without one crucial ingredient: instant replay. How can FIFA continue to ignore this tool?
As a coach it’s difficult to explain how it feels to swallow a loss that results from a bad call. I remember a game in my second year with the Grizzlies when we were tied with the Kings with a second to go in the fourth. When they inbounded the ball it was deflected into the hands of their guard Michael Bibby, who caught it, turned and threw up a wild shot that somehow went in. The clock didn’t start when the ball was deflected but common sense would tell you the play took longer than one second.
The refs counted the basket anyway as the NBA hadn’t yet instituted instant replay so we went home with an undeserving loss. Fortunately in the NBA you’re back on the court the next night or at worst the following season. But Ireland has to wait four more years. It’s a travesty. FIFA must exit the dark ages and take advantage of the available technology to ensure Ireland’s nightmare isn’t repeated.
Here’s a video from NBA.com on a recent instant replay controversy. Listen to what NBA Senior Vice President of Referee Operations Ronald Johnson has to say about the usage of replay.
Rebound the ball with two hands. When San Antonio’s DeJuan Blair tried to rebound with one hand he wound up putting the ball back into his opponent’s basket. Though it may have appeared as though he had a brain freeze, Blair simply failed to control his one-handed rebound and inadvertently slapped the ball into the Celtics’ hoop.
