Belated Ball Posts

It's been a while since I've posted anything basketball related, and for that I apologize. It isn't that there hasn't been anything interesting going on in the NBA, (on the contrary, the season has been unfolding rather delightfully in a chaotically spirited, contrarian sort of way) but that I normally refuse to engage in otherwise entertaining professional basketball speculation until the playoffs. Still, it's hard to resist commenting on the state of NBA ball, especially when...

Following former NBA player John Amaechi's coming out of the closet , Tim Hardaway unmasks himself as several kinds, a plethora, really, of idiot. It's interesting how the same person can make ridiculously stupid statements such as "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States," and expect to get away with an apology such as "Yes, I regret it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said I hate gay people or anything like that," practically on the same day.

Then there's the equally riveting quest to land heralded multitalented future NBA world beater Kevin Durant. Much has been said about Durant's undeniable skills, but Slate writer Nathaniel Friedman insists that in order for Durant to approach his almost limitless potential, NBA teams must assimilate the wunderkind's prodigous talents in the proper system:

"The very thing that makes him great, his versatility, will make Durant a mixed blessing for some eager lottery team. Basketball is a game of positions, roles, and responsibilities. Point guards pass, shooting guards score, small forwards slash, power forwards do the dirty work, and centers control the paint. A player who can do all of these things poses lots of problems for opposing defenses. By the same token, the more a player deviates from basketball's traditional typology, the more difficult it becomes to assemble a roster around him."

Plus, that old curmudgeon, Charley Rosen, has been at it again. Lately, he's taken on both Chris Webber and the Toronto Raptors. It's worth reading, if only for the astute basketball analysis that manages to slip past Rosen's quest to be the most insufferably sarcastic sports writer ever:

"In general, Webber's off-the-ball defense was putrid. He was frequently caught out of position, or he failed to challenge penetrating guards, or he failed to recover after he showed, or he loafed in offense-to-defense transition. Indeed, Webber never actually ran at any time during the game. He either walked or half-trotted. Nor was he very aggressive in trying to capture any loose balls in his vicinity. His solitary steal came when Manu Ginobili threw a pass that was 5-feet behind a cutter and hit Webber in his hands. His only blocked shot came when Horry was compelled to launch a desperation 3-ball as the shot-clock buzzed off."

"Put Garbajosa down as a terrific standstill shooter. Period.

Andreas Bargnani — 7-12, 4-8 3FG, 4 TO, 22 PTS-- is nearly a carbon-copy of Garbajosa, minus the vision necessary to complete even the simplest passes. Bargnani ventured into the pivot twice: The first time the ball was simply taken out of his hands by a two-timing defender. The second time he started on the right box, and was ultimately pushed (by Mike Sweetney) out to the 3-point line.

But, man, can he shoot!

Bargnani is also the only player I've ever seen whose body seems to get thinner whenever he's called upon to set a screen. He'd rather avoid the contact completely and slide over to an open area in hopes of getting a pass and then firing away.

But, man, can he shoot!

Defense? Forget it. He played too straight up to move laterally at the necessary speed. He reached for the ball, turned his head, failed to box out when he had inside position during free throws, and on one sequence totally lost sight of his man. (Considering that this happened when he was assigned to guard the 6-8, 290-pound Sweetney, perhaps Bargnani needs glasses.)

But, man, can he shoot!"

Photo Credits:
Picture of the NBA logo comes courtesy of Newlaunches.com.
Picture of Tim Hardaway comes courtest of NBA.com