Why Nellie Ball and the Warriors are the NBA’s Finest
Can you imagine coaching Kobe Bryant: Are you healthy? Are you rested? Wanna play? That’s it. For the rest of the players it’s ‘feed K the ball’.
The problem is with salary caps you can’t give all your money to K because that means the other guys won’t get paid very much and it might be hard to attract players that can do things like catch the ball. But there is another way; another strategy.
It’s called Nellie ball. Who can forget last spring when the Warriors blew out Dirk and the Mavs? Blow out time! The team and execution coach Don Nelson put on the floor stunned the basketball world and especially delighted the jaded Warriors fans. Of course if you remember, Don had done it before with the Warriors.
Understanding the coach is the team’s foundation, GM Chris Mullen knew that Don was the man. During the off season the biggest anxiety was Nellie’s return. Without Nellie there is no Nellie Ball. What a relief when they broke the news that the Warriors would be back with Nellie.
And this year is a bit different from last. Nellie could pick his own players and from what it appears Mullen did nothing to interfere. Think of what this means. Few people know basketball like ex-NBA star Chris Mullen yet Chris says Don is the Man. That takes guts and smarts and points for Chris who is in the running with Danny Ainge of the Celtics as the NBA’s best GM. Ainge is betting on the superstars; Mullin on Nellie and the Team.
The season opening went flat, partly because catalyst Stephen Jackson was serving out a suspension. It was one loss after another and not a good start. But with Jackson back in the line up the combination was ready to roll again and as they did in Oakland by crushing Shaq and Company in the fourth quarter.
Here they go again was what it looked like in that fourth quarter and you could hear the buzz in the crowd. When they get into their zone the Warriors are capable of putting together strings of runs and demolish opponents.
So what does Nellie do that other coaches don’t?
First I remember seeing him play with the Celtics when I was a kid. I always felt players should make the best coaches because players know the game the best. Nellie knows the game and the inside report is that he is a stickler for the fundamentals, which comes directly from being a player.
Also Nellie can look a player in the eye and see if they really want to play. Nellie fills his team with players like that. They come cheaper than Kobe but can be highly productive. They seem to have quirky characters and personalities like Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis. But they come together under Nellie. Boy do they ever.
Mark my words…Nellie is getting ready to pull the big one. His boys are fast, quick, determined and good. They work like a team and play defense like it’s half the game. Last night they were down 18 to Dwayne and Shaq and blew them out in the fourth quarter. A couple years back the Heat were champions. Go figure.
The Warriors all scrap and shoot good free throws. They all seem to have a good work ethic and love to play. When they get moving they can steal the ball in so many ways and score in so many ways. If they stay hot with the threes they could be unbeatable.
Unbeatable? Spurs and Celtics? You bet. The team model for the Spurs and Celts is superstars with supporting cast. If one of the superstars gets hurt, a big cog in the wheel goes down. If a Warrior gets hurt, odds are his replacement will be just as good. A solid bench pays off all season and especially during the playoffs. Please spread the money, honey.
What me worry? Nobody worries as much as Nellie. To see him work the sidelines you would think he was getting ready to have a Miminsky and he always is on the verge. If Nellie expects his players’ best efforts he is no less demanding of himself. The worry edge goes to Nellie.
Will the recipe work? There are no guarantees in life and even fewer in professional sports. But one thing is for sure, Nellie Ball is here and it is going to stay here and this just might be the year. After all, what does that smarty Chris Mullin know that the rest of us don’t?
Hmmm. Maybe something…
Jack D. Deal is a long term NBA fan and writes marketing and promotional articles in Santa Cruz, California. Sample marketing aricles and other articles can be found at http://www.jddeal.com/blog/business
Michael Jordan – From Unlikely Basketball Player To Internationally Known Superstar
Michael Jeffery Jordan is probably one of the most well known names in the world of basketball. He was born on February 17, 1963 in New York City. Jordan was responsible for making National Basketball Association or the NBA famous, during the 1980s and 1990s. He is the fourth child of his parents, James R. Jordan, Sr. and Deloris Jordan.
As he developed his interest for basketball the high school he went to wouldn;t let him play because of his height, a few months later he went from being 5′11″ to 6′3″. He then got a basketball scholarship in 1981 from the University of North Carolina because of his impressive records in school. In the 1982 NCAA Championship game he made the game winning jump shot, as which he says is the turning point in his career and what made him what he is today.
He then started his pro career in 1984 when he signed with the Chicago Bulls. When he turned pro he was soon a public icon and he was also on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline, “A Star Is Born”. He won the NBA championship from 1991 to 1993 and was then known as the best basketball player around. Although many people disliked him, many loved to see him dunk from the free throw line. As that is what he was most famous for doing in those times and what gave him the nickname of Air Jordan. This is also the name of the signature shoes that just about every kid wants.
In October 1993, he took a temporary leave to go play baseball but wasn’t really good at it at all and the only reason he even left basketball was because of the loss of his father, he joined back in 1995 again. He then won it again by winning the NBA championships from 1996 to 1998. He then took another break again in 1999 to return back again in 2001, but this time he would join the Washington Wizards. He played with the team till 2003.
Michael Jordan was part of two award winning gold medalist Olympic teams. His first team won the first gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics and the second one was in the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. He set a record in NBA by making the highest career regular season scoring average of 30.1 points per game. He was the best that ever lived I think and he was my favorite player for a number of years until Carmelo Anthony and Labron James started to play in the NBA. He will always be remembered as making history and he will always be the one who first dunked from the free throw line. Even though he was a small guy once he grew fast into the NBA.
Gregg Hall is an author living with his 18 year old son in Jensen Beach, Florida. Find more about basketball as well as basketball equipment at http://www.nsearch.com
How The Sport Of Basketball Got Its Start And How It Has Evolved
Basketball was first discovered by DR. James Naismith who was a Canadian physical instructor. It was first played in the winter of 1892 on January the 20th. Even though it was made and discovered by a man, women soon started to play the sport.
The sport is a team sport where there are nine players on each team when the team with the ball is trying to score they are trying to score in a hoop that is ten feet tall and there is also going to be a center that is trying to deflect the ball but cannot be goal tending. While the other team is dribbling down court towards the defending team the defending team is standing their ground waiting for the ball to come to their hoop. If the team with the ball scores the defending team is given the ball and is allowed to try to get basket unless the other defending team steals the ball then they could run down court and make a simple lay up. Basketball is a competitive sport and when being played both teams should be trying to get the most points that they can make.
The first basketball was a soccer ball which was white since the fans and announcers couldn’t keep up with the white ball the ball was changed to orange in the 1950s. The court is to be 94×50 which is going by the NBA standards. The goal is going to be ten foot tall with a steel hoop and net with it. There are to be 4 quarters with each of them lasting 12 minutes each. After the first two periods there is to be a fifteen minute break which is known as halftime when the period resumes to the 3rd period the teams switch baskets where they are now opposite to where they were playing before.
In the NBA today the players are required to wear matching jerseys to their teams and are required to have at least 9 players to a team. After the teams have been organized the game would start with a jump ball and either team with the highest person to jump would get the ball first hand to try and make a basket. If the team scored the defending team would then get the ball and would be allowed to try and score against the opposite team for a score of either two points or three points depending on where the shot be taken from. If the shot was missed by the offense then the defending team would be allowed to try and rebound the ball so that they could get a point without having to let the offense score. If the offense had missed a shot and the defense had recovered the ball that is known as a rebound and can be played.
There’s much more that can be said about the sport and this is the time of year when everyone is tuning in to see who is going to make it to the playoffs. Watch your favorite sports channel to follow your team and be sure not to miss March Madness.
Gregg Hall is an author living with his 18 year old son in Jensen Beach, Florida. Find more about rock climbing as well as extreme sports equipment at http://www.nsearch.com
Learning About The Game That Made The National Basketball Association Famous
Any rookie fan is sure to have questions about the game of basketball. They want to learn all about the game that made the NBA famous. They see the NBA trademark on everything from tee-shirts to jerseys and hear about all of the fine basketball players that very vividly earn their salaries on the court each week. Seeing the game action firsthand, however, requires them to understand what is going on in front of them.
There are so many things to consider when they enter an NBA arena. They have to become educated on the basketball game court because there are so many lines and half circles and so much distance between the two hoops. They might even wonder if the players will ever be able to reach the hoops and that thought will quickly change when the team comes out of the back and runs across the court.
Fans will quickly realize that professional basketball is dramatically different from the basketball that they experienced at their school gym in high school. They might even have to find out the new rules for fouls and other violations that have made NBA Basketball so thrilling on television. So many games have been one by one free throw from an NBA player who was violated in some way on the court.
A true understanding of the game that made the NBA so famous will come only after a fan has a thorough understanding of the positions of the NBA players and all of the terms that are used throughout the game. Some of these terms are used by the officials of the basketball game and others are uttered by the announcers of the game. The daily newspapers is sure to use a few well placed words to talk about the game too and getting the full affect of the game they saw makes it all worthwhile.
When learning about basketball, fans will usually realize that there are many different styles in play on the court. Some of the styles will come through the influence that coaches have on a players time on the court. There are other styles in place that are indicative of which conference the team plays in. Some of the styles are the NBA basketball player’s signature moves, and those are what have made the player so famous thus far in their NBA playing career.
To round out the education about the game of basketball, fans will typically pursue a thorough understanding of the NBA Draft and they will be sure to mark their calendars with the dates that the NBA Playoffs are supposed to be televised. Some might go as far as learning all about the NBA All-Star game. With a continual learning curve applied, fans can become very educated about basketball by the end of the basketball season.
James Brown writes about http://www.nbagearshop.com