An Afternoon ‘Send Out’ from Doc B.

September 30, 2008 – Dr. Browntorious

Hey y’all! I read some good posts around the web today that I figured you might be interested in taking a look at. Here are my ‘send outs’ for the day (even though I can count on one hand the number of successful blocks/send outs i’ve had in my playing career). Enjoy:

Kelly Dwyer at Ball Don’t Lie takes a look at Joe Smith’s many uniforms throughout his career. However, if you failed to assume that Smith had been traded during the offseason, you’re still on the hook. After all, the man’s been in the league since 1995, he’s played for nine teams, and two of the nine twice. So 11 teams, really, and all pretty much with the same haircut. Same jumper, too. Always there, always the same. The uniforms? Not the same. Let’s take a look back….

Sportaphile Preview: NBA training camps have officially gotten underway, and my body is slowly stabilizing itself from the withdrawals it annually experiences when the NBA Finals conclude in June. My fellow junkies in hoop got a little reprieve while keeping up with the Redeem Team capturing the gold in Beijing. But it just ain’t the same as the phenomenon of NBA action. Plus, I don’t get to write my No Bitchassness Allowed reports. So for the next few days, Sportaphile’s NBA report will be giving our in-depth analysis of each team, by division. Consider this the training camp edition. Today we look at teams in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic division.

Hoops World has the Knicks reactions to D’Antoni coaching: There really isn’t a name for it. Mike D’Antoni hasn’t spent time marketing the brand of basketball he brought to the Phoenix Suns. D’Antoni’s offense isn’t some buzz term like, “Princeton Offense,” which smugly implies intelligence. It doesn’t sound like, “40 Minutes of Hell,” which evokes all kind of strange imagery. Even without a name though, D’Antoni’s system has his new team, the New York Knicks, talking.

The Rocky Mountain News has updates on Ruben “Kobe Stopper” Patterson being invited to Nuggets training camp. After an upset Ruben Patterson was traded to Milwaukee in August 2006, his chances of ever returning to the Nuggets appeared to be near zero. Well, Patterson is back. The swingman, who was mad at being benched in the 2006 playoffs against the Clippers and lashed out at coach George Karl, is one of five free agents invited to Nuggets camp, which starts Tuesday, on make-good deals. The others are point guards Smush Parker and Mateen Cleaves and forwards Nick Fazekas and James Mays.

DallasNews.com has statements from Mavericks player Josh Howard on the recent scandal involving his reaction to the singing of the National Anthem. “I know that’s not me,” he said. “I love this country. If it wasn’t for this country, I wouldn’t be out here playing basketball. For me to have that opportunity is the greatest. “That’s not me. That’s not Josh Howard. That was an idiot.” Howard was speaking to media members for the first time since his July rant at a charity event. When “The Star-Spangled Banner” was playing, he said that he doesn’t celebrate the song because he’s black. The video eventually made it onto YouTube.

A Look Backwards at Greatness: Donyell’s 12 Three’s

September 30, 2008 – Dr. Browntorious

Today I was thinking about Donyell Marshall’s fading NBA career, and started to fondly remember his seemingly heroic achievement with the Toronto Raptors where he tied the record for most made three point shots in a single NBA Game, which he shares with Kobe Bryant of the Lakers.

On March 13, 2005 in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers (his new team for this season), he tied Kobe Bryant’s NBA record for three-point field goals made in one game, when he hit 12 of 19 attempts. In the video below you will see all 12 of the made threes from the game, and you can’t help but feel happy for Marshall as this surely will be one of his career highlights that people will look back on when he does eventually retire from the game.  And if you are a young player, notice how consistent his form is on every shot. Some of them even look like instant replays. Of course it’s important to have proper technique and form, its just as important (if not more….ahem…Reggie Miller) to be consistent with your form on every stroke.

Philadelphia is going to have a strong interior presence now with Brand and Dalembert in the paint, so maybe…just maybe this season we will see a little more of Mr. Marshall’s magic from downtown!

The Hoop Doctors Daily Dimes: 09/30

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Prescribed NBA reading from all over the world wide web

Looks like the Heat are going to sign comeback kid Shaun Livingston
And so it begins

BDL has some shots of the new Thunder Uni’s. Check it out.
Introducing your Oklahoma Light Blue Knicks

Raps fans, check out the interview with Adams at Hoops Addict
Exclusive Interview with Hassan Adams

Check the video footage of Oden at Media Day.
Oden at Media Day

Check out this amazing video of bball dunks and bloopers from Uncoached!
Got 45 Minutes to Kill?

If you’ve got stories you think our readers should know about for our Daily Dimes links, please email them to us at (admin@thehoopdoctors.com)

“The Nuggets are 2009 Contenders!” Don’t fit me for my straight jacket….yet.

September 29, 2008 – Dr. J-Water

Why not? Why the hell not? Pretty much every prediction for the 2009 season that i’ve read to date has the Denver Nuggets being the odd man out of the sure to be tight playoff race in the Western Conference. This is understandable, as they did just barely squeak into the playoffs in 2008 (even though they had a 50 win season) and have now traded away their defensive specialist in the paint, Marcus Camby. Hell even my colleague Dr. Dime predicted the Nuggets will just barely make the playoffs and certainly won’t be legitimate contenders. But then I read this and started really thinking about their roster, coach, and events surrounding their team last season. The Nuggets in 2008 faced quite a bit of adversity and yet they still won 50 games. That’s got to count for something right? Hmmmm….

Here is their roster to date heading into the new season:

Starting Lineup

PG – Anthony Carter; Carter will be a starter for first month only because of Atkins knee surgery
SG – Allen Iverson; One of the best scoring guards of all-time, fearless, lives at the free throw line
SF – Carmelo Anthony; Perennial young all-star, an offensive leader for gold medal Team USA
PF – Kenyon Martin; Latter of 2008 he was completely healthy. Fierce defender, rebounder, dunker
C – Nene Hilario; Huge expectations, dealt with health issues incl. cancer. Now healthy, watch-out!

Bench

G – Chucky Atkins; Just had knee surgery, back in 6 weeks, solid floor general they need badly
G- J.R. Smith; lights out shooter, crazy athleticism on both ends, poor shot selection. maturing.
G – Linas Kleiza; Great shooter, fearless to the cup, huge upside potential and one year older.
G – Dahntay Jones; had a good 2007 season, but eventually Boston and Sacramento passed. Nuggets may get to enjoy the fruits of his hard work this season
F – Renaldo Balkman; N.R.G. should be the chant for Balkman. He’s all hustle, rebounds, and garbage points. But successful teams need players like Renaldo.
F/C – Chris Andersen; The birdman can still fly, but is he still flying a little too ‘high’? If not he’ll be a great addition.
F/C – Steven Hunter; What can I say about Hunter that ‘pogo stick’ doesn’t say? Guy is long with ups, and has great timing on his blocks. Good backup with energy.

The Nuggets certainly suffered a loss with Marcus Camby being dealt to the Clippers but that being said it may not be as big a loss as most consider with a healthy Nene. In fact on paper when I look at this roster I think the talent is enough to be a 60 win team this season. If everyone stays healthy and George Karl can motivate this squad to play defense I think this team will be legit.  The Nuggets may be half way there after their leader Carmelo Anthony is coming off a Gold Medal Olympic run with Team USA where his main contribution was to rebound, play defense, and pound the ball inside against the opposing bigs. If ‘Melo can bring that type of style to his game this season for the Nuggets his teammates may just follow his lead and up the defensive intensity and scrappy style of play. Couple that with the fact that the window of opportunity is closing on Allen Iverson, Kenyon Martin, and Nene and you might just have enough motivated talent to make a serious run.

Okay, so all you Nuggets haters and doubters you can start fitting me for my straight jacket now. Just don’t be too anxious to put it on me…..not until Spring 2009 if at all!

The Hoop Doctors Daily Dimes: 09/29

Monday, September 29, 2008

Prescribed NBA reading from all over the world wide web

J.O. has the confidence….he may just be right.
O’Neal likes Raptors chances of ‘doing great things’ this year

Baller Blogger once again brings you a classic throwback. Patrick was King of NY!
Baller of the Day: Patrick Ewing

TrueHoop talkin’ about cheating in NCAA Ball. Check it out.
The Golden Age of Cheating

Gordon to sign one year deal with Bulls. Guess he’ll bolt next summer!
Bull’s Gordon ready to Report

I wanted to see Kemp play soooo bad too!! C’mon NBA, someone pick him up for the sideshow!
Italian team says arrivederci to Shawn Kemp

If you’ve got stories you think our readers should know about for our Daily Dimes links, please email them to us at (admin@thehoopdoctors.com)

The Hoop Doctors ‘Sneak’-a-Peek: Nike Air Flightposite 1 Metallic Purple/Eggplant

September 29, 2008

Guess what sneakerheads? We know that you have been waiting for the Nike Air Flightposite 1 to drop in the early part of 2009 but they are now scheduled for an early release in retail stores October 11, 2008! The Nike Air Flightposite Eggplants are already sold out in online sneaker stores and Footlocker will be sporting the black, metallic silver and purple eggplant so you better cop em’ while you get the chance once October 11th comes around. Price will be a staggering $180.

For a listing of shoe release information on the latest kicks check out our “KICKS” section.

This shoe review was powered by The 3D Sneaker. Check out their website!

‘White Chocolate’ Jason Williams decides to Retire from the NBA!

September 27, 2008 – Dr. Dime

The title of this post is no joke people. After a very shocking rumor started to circulate yesterday that Los Angeles Clippers point guard Jason ‘White Chocolate’ Williams was considering hanging em’ up for good, I was completely shocked. It has now been confirmed that Williams really is about to announce that he has decided to quit playing professional basketball. Some sources yesterday believed he may be considering going to play pro ball in Europe, but today the word we have received is J-Will will be ending his pro playing career altogether.

At only 33 years old, and having just signed in August with the L.A. Clippers to play back-up point guard to Clippers new acquisition Baron Davis, Williams has shockingly decided to retire. I’ve always been a huge Jason Williams fan. Sure he was dogged by criticism early in his career for being too flashy and taking too many risks, but what people often overlooked was how effective he was at making those flashy passes and how many of them resulted in easy buckets for his teammates. Williams finally silenced his critics questioning his shot selection and ability to be a team leader by being the starting point guard for the Miami Heat during their 2006 Championship run.

Although Williams has had on and off troubles with tendonitis in his knees over the past few years, he was thought to be pretty healthy heading into the new season so it adds to the shock factor in his decided to retire.

If we’ve seen the last of J-Will on the NBA hardwood, let Dr. Dime be the first to say we’ll all miss the flashy Dimes and Handles. Be Good J-Will!

Lebron James or Arthur Agee/William Gates? An end to the 14 year reign?

September 26, 2008, Dr. Anklesnap

Unless you are under the age of 20, you probably spent the last 14 years of your life believing that the documentary “Hoop Dreams” was the best basketball film ever made. We certainly do.Now if you are a true fan of the game, you probably even believe that “Hoop Dreams” was the best documentary ever regardless of the subject. Hoop Dreams follows two inner-city Chicago residents, Arthur Agee and William Gates, as they follow their dreams of becoming basketball superstars. Beginning at the start of their high school years, and ending almost 5 years later as they start college, we watch the boys mature into men still retaining their “Hoop Dreams”.

If you call yourself a basketball fan and for some strange reason you haven’t seen Hoop Dreams, than watch this trailer then run out and buy or rent the movie!

Well could it be time for Hoop Dreams to finally relinquish their hold on the title of “Best Basketball Documentary”? For those of you that don’t know about it, there is a new documentary based on the highs and lows on and off the court of Lebron James and his high school basketball team, beginning to make its film festival rounds before being picked up for mass distribution. The documentary is called “More than a Game” by first time director Kristopher Belman who decided to follow a high-school basketball team in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. That team featured none other than NBA megastar Lebron James. Just a couple of weeks ago the film was shown for the first time at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada. The movie has since gotten absolutely amazing reviews from all the critics.

Check out this video of Lebron speaking to the crowd about the making of the film right after the first showing in Toronto at the film festival. He is certainly one of the NBA’s more charismatic superstars, isn’t he?

The Hoop Doctors ‘Sneak’-a-Peek: Adidas Commander Kevin Garnett

September 26, 2008

Here is probably one of my personal favorites as Adidas payed homage to my main man “I’m on top of the world” (KG) Kevin Garnett. The colorway is fascinating in that it glides your visual from front to back with an all white to fading black. The cushioning inside is a Celtic green highlighted with a tribute,”2 Malik”, to the late fallen comrade Malik Sealy. No word yet on a release date but hopefully these will be available sometime before the new season starts

For a listing of shoe release information on the latest kicks check out our “KICKS” section.

This shoe review was powered by The 3D Sneaker. Check out their website!

The Hoop Doctors Daily Dimes: 09/26

Friday, September 26, 2008

Prescribed NBA reading from all over the world wide web

Baron Davis goes to the Beach with the Alba’s
Next Round via Deadspin:Reactions To A Photograph – Baron Davis At The Beach With The Albas

Great David Robinson post on Basketbawful. Check it out!
My 21-Gun Salute to the Admiral

Are even the Nuggets fans rooting against making the playoffs?
Should We Want the Denver Nuggets to Make the 2009 NBA Playoffs?

Free Darko has a very good piece on basketball economics.
FD Guest Lecture: Dribble Down Economics

May not be hoops related, but if you ever played Nintendo…Check this out!
10 Awesome Nintendo Game Theme/Level Songs That Are Still with Me Today

Hey Wiz fans, good post on Jordan/Grunfeld discussions
Jordan And Grunfeld Discuss Wizards Upcoming Season

If you’ve got stories you think our readers should know about for our Daily Dimes links, please email them to us at (admin@thehoopdoctors.com)

Next Page »