Poor Man's Commish » blindside picks

Ambidextrous basketball players

poormanscommish — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:42:12 +0000

Although LeBron James bricked that left-handed free-throw, believe it or not, he’s actually ambidextrous. Matter of fact, he writes with his left hand, which is very curious in and of itself. At least that’s what Tom Withers of the Associated Press has reported. Here’s an excerpt:

“James can drive, dribble and create with either hand. It’s not widely known that James writes with his left.”

What’s more, when he shot that free throw (with his left), his right arm was actually numb. So, we’ll forgive him for the brick!…

“…James later said he chose to shoot left-handed because his right arm was numb and he felt the Cavs were in control with a four-point lead.”

Do you know any ambidextrous ballers?

I do, but the only ones I know, they write with their right hand and shoot with their left. Never the other way around, as LeBron does it.

The two people I know? Of all people, my dad and Dream League New York’s commish.

Read the whole article at: Ohio.com – LeBron puzzled by elbow injury

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Carmelo Anthony pointing fingers while claiming he’s not

poormanscommish — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:00:08 +0000

If you’re like at least 80% of us, on your rec basketball team you’re probably not the best player, not the go-to guy. Let’s say you just had a playoff game and your team stunk it up. You personally played kinda so-so, maybe even a little subpar, but definitely inconsistently. At the same time, the best guy on your team just exploded for 39 points and 11 rebounds. Then he says this: “I’m not pointing fingers or anything, but I can’t do this by myself, guys.”

Now, let’s turn the tables. Let’s say you are that go-to guy and you’re the one who recorded the 39-and-11, but still lost.

Some of us may have been in those shoes before, despite clearly falling well short of becoming an NBA superstar. Maybe you were the best player on your squad, the only kid who played varsity high school ball on a crappy team in the intramural league. You scored 20 ppg. For the first playoff game, you scored 27 but you guys lost. Maybe your older, veteran point guard couldn’t hit any shots either.

I just don’t see anything gained by Carmelo Anthony saying, “Guys, I can’t do this by myself.” I mean, you’re the best player. If you have to do it by yourself, you’re supposed to do it by yourself. In this case, against a team that is playing far better as a unit, you have to do it by yourself. Isn’t that what Michael Jordan did in the early years? Isn’t that what Dwyane Wade and to an extent not as extreme, LeBron James, are doing as we speak?

It’s not a constructive thing to say, either. Maybe your team is just that bad. At the very least, they are what they are. You should be aware of their warts by now. Getting your inferior teammates to play better should be led by example, especially when you’re not the coach and it’s not your job to mentally prepare your teammates.

Believe it or not, I was one of those go-to guys during a blip in my younger years. You know what? I would’ve said to myself, “Screw it, Chris airballed that last one, I’m not going to pass to him next time no matter how open he is. And Chauncey’s cold today, so if it comes down to a contested shot for him versus one for me, it will be me. I’m creating a shot for myself before the double-team gets there. I’m demanding the ball out of bounds and dribbling it 94 feet until my teammates step it up. Me executing a difficulty 9 shot attempt is better than risking Chris doing something stupid. If I screw up, I screw up, but at least I didn’t let so-and-so screw it up again.”

That’s the executive decision you’ve got to make, as the superstar of the team after giving your teammates a chance. That’s why games are 48 minutes long. Keep in mind, you have to pick your spots. Not even MJ could go in sixth gear for the whole game.

I guess this gets filed in the bin entitled “don’t sweat the stuff that’s not under your control”, which includes ranting about referees, something I just can’t stand. Basically, I can’t stand whining, which is why I’m so taken aback by Melo.

To top things off, I haven’t ever seen MJ, LeBron, Brandon Roy, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant, or even Kobe Bryant blaming teammates like that. Didn’t D-Wade score 46 the other day to stave off elimination? If that’s what you gotta do, that’s what you gotta do.

If 39-and-11 isn’t good enough, then just realize you gave it your best, or else go out and record 49-and-16. Assess the situation and act accordingly per your abilities. But please don’t whine about it and tell your teammates the kettle is black. It’s disrespectful for you to point out something that they already know. It also implies that you want to win more than your teammates do.

So, in effect, I just think Melo is reinforcing his rather one-dimensionalism here. He still needs to work on his full-court ball-handling abilities so that he need not rely on someone giving him the ball. He needs to have more games where he makes twenty trips to the free throw line.

It’s too bad. I really would like to consider him amongst the aforementioned as a fellow elite superstar, but this is a step in the wrong direction and keeps him out of the club. Moreover, this is definitely not going to help the already downtrodden team chemistry.

Not everyone out there will agree with me, though. Here’s the original post by BlackSportsOnline. I think they make a mistake by condoning Melo’s quotes, excerpted below.

In short, I think the editor at BlackSportsOnline ought to start playing in Dream League to get a first-hand taste in team/superstar dynamics. If he plays long enough, he’ll understand what I mean. Here’s Melo…

“I’m trying, I’m trying to beat them. I’m trying to do everything I can in my power to beat the Jazz,” Anthony said Sunday. “But, at the end of the day, I need some help. I’m not sitting here pointing fingers or nothing. As a unit, we’ve got to do this together. I can’t do this by myself…I’m in a battle. I don’t have time to worry about people’s feelings right now,” Anthony said. “I’m trying to win.”

Read their whole analysis at: Carmelo Anthony: “I Need Some Help; I Can’t Do this by Myself” : Robert Littal Presents BlackSportsOnline

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Ed Wang, a tad taller than Jeremy Lin

poormanscommish — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:54:07 +0000

The first ethnic Chinese player to be drafted in the NFL, in its 91-year history, and at pick number 140 by the Buffalo Bills, Ed Wang is a 6′5″ 314-lb. senior offensive tackle out of Virginia Tech. That means he’s 1-1/2 inches taller than Jeremy Lin, and a whole lot heavier. Wang is a big dude! A freak of nature.

Not to steal the thunder from Wang, but I think that just goes to show you how big Jeremy is, in “real-life” terms.

DraftExpress recently released its Portsmouth measurements, and I’ve heard people grumble about how Jeremy’s height and wingspan aren’t remarkable: 6′3″ and 6′5″, respectively…

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements/?year=2010&sort2=DESC&draft=&pos=&sort=2#

Incidentally, when I asked Jeremy’s older brother just how tall Jeremy is, he told me, “Six-three-and-a-half, six-four with shoes.”

Sure, that’s not as incredible as Dwight Howard being only 6′9″ but having a 7′4″ wingspan…

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/A-Historical-Look-at-the-NBA-Pre-Draft-Measurements-2912/

…but if you happen to play basketball recreationally on a regular basis such as in Dream League’s leagues or tournaments, a person 6′3″ 201 with a 6′5″ wingspan walking in the gym would definitely grab your attention. And he can dribble as good as the little 5′6″ guys.

Yes, I know we’re supposed to be comparing apples to apples. But I tell you what, “wingspan” is the most over-rated “stat” in basketball, especially when it comes to point guards (think Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Tony Parker — the list goes on). Wingspan is a great stat for big men, I’ll give you that, but then again Chris Webber’s 7′6″ wingspan isn’t going to be enough to get him into the Hall Of Fame.

You can read Ed Wang’s NFL Draft diary at: Draft-Diary-Debut-By-Ed-Wang / News – NFLPlayers.com

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Rick Barry’s short-lived NFL camp with the Raiders

poormanscommish — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:10:56 +0000

Here’s a hoops-related nugget from the John Madden daily podcast the other day on KCBS740 radio. He was talking about the NFL Draft and how 33-year old Brandon Crawford, defensive end for Ball State, has no shot at even an NFL camp because of his age (and the fact that he would have to be paid a full salary if he gets injured). The conversation shifted to sportswriter George Plimpton and his “tryout” back in the day with the Detroit Lions, to which Madden said that was “stupid”.

Then Madden brought up one of his many wonderful anecdotes — you can’t find them on Google! — about how Rick Barry wanted to catch a few balls during camp. Here’s an excerpt from about the 6:40 mark of the podcast, which is linked below…

“Rick Barry wanted to get dressed and run some patterns. You know, I took what I was doing pretty serious. So I said, ‘I’ll tell you what, you can come out, but you’re gonna stay out of the whole practice and you’re going to do everything.” I swear, just at that time, Jack Tatum and George Atkinson walk by and I was standing outside the locker room and so I said to Jack and George, ‘If this guy comes out and he catches a pass and comes around the middle, it’s full go. I want you to do to him what you’d do to anyone else.’ You think Rick Barry dressed?”

You can download this podcast here: http://www.kcbs.com/episode_download.php?contentType=36&contentId=4582542&tag=Box_4846023_Outer_Div;Box_4846023_Inner_Div

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Blindside Picks: Anthony Kim, the ballin’ golfer

poormanscommish — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:16:43 +0000

Golf phenom and undercover asianballer.

Every now and then, an interesting hoops-related article will slip under the radar. But never fear, Poor Man’s Commish is here to make sure nothing falls through the cracks, as I check you with the first of many blindside picks!

Anthony Kim, ’sup mang? Golf phenom. Asian-Amillionaire kickin’ it wit NBA superstars. Closet balla! Who knew? Thanks to PGAtour.com’s recent interview, it is written:

Got hurt playing high school basketball and parents refused to let him continue.
5′9″ on a “good day” and “…always the fastest guy on the court. Always.”
Has the same trainer as fellow OU alum Blake Griffin.
Would never mess with B.G. on the hoop court. Would be like B.G. “trying to mess with me on the golf course”.
On playing golf with Michael Jordan: “taking candy from a baby”.
Words of wisdom from Charles Barkley: there will always be haters. (yep)
Nick Van Exel is one of his top five players of all time. (WTF?! Anthony, you’re lucky I’m not putting you in my upcoming Woundball Weekly WTF column!)
He gets courtside seats to the Lakers from his buddy, comedian George Lopez. (Seriously, mang, what else? You dating Michelle Glick too?)

Alright, so I just basically told you the whole interview. But still, you should check it out. In his own words. Oh yeah, one more thing. Kid’s gonna be a gazillionaire by the time he’s through. Age 24 and already made $8.5 million-plus playing golf (dayum, what a profession: long-term, not exactly injury-threatening, you shoot a 70 consistently and you rake in two mil per year!).

A mellow yellow fellow with some steely confidence. I like (no homo!).You might also like: