Memphis Grizzles point guard Michael Conley must be after an instructional DVD deal. Shown in this video from his blog, Conley talks about his rigorous “warm-up” routine.
“We go for 25 seconds on each drill and chart each one so that we can compete to see who gets the most dribbles on each drill. I currently own most of the records. When they get broken you know I’ll be headin’ right back to try and get ‘em back.”
Ignoring the temptation to post a spoof, here’s one of the more popular Nike commercials from the past couple years. Steve Francis, Antoine Walker, and Baron Davis are among the players showing off their handles.
EDIT: Thanks to T. for identifying the players as Paul Pierce, Jason Williams, Darius Miles, Rasheed Wallace, Lisa Leslie, Chamnique Holdsclaw, Baron Davis, Vince Carter.
Scottie Pippen couldn’t find an NBA team willing to sign him at the All-Star break, Torpan Pojat (that would be a team in Finland) offer Pippen a contract to play two games. At 41 years of age, it’s not probable that Pippen will ever return to the NBA, but it’s likely that Pippen wants to use these two Finnish games as a chance to prepare for another attempt at a midseason comeback.
The NBA has re-instated referee Joey Crawford after his suspension for the Tim Duncan ejection. This past summer, two referees have received a good deal of press: Crawford, and Tim Donaghy.
So what would happen if Joey Crawford were to become the next point-shaving ref like Donaghy? Probably a lot more ridiculous fouls likes this one:
Some fans believe that Michael Jordan’s comeback with the Washington Wizards tarnished his legendary status. While he failed to lead his team to the playoffs, Jordan defied some doubts in this game against the Charlotte Hornets. Jordan became the oldest player to score 50 points in a game, and two years older than the next veteran.
Until Agent Zero came along, the performance was the second-highest scoring game in franchise history. The record could have been set, as he sat down for the final three minutes just five points shy of the record. Not bad, considering Jordan had only scored six points the game before.
It looks like both Greg Oden and Kevin Durant will have the chance to win the Rookie of the Year award, seeing as Oden announced that he will sit out the upcoming season to recover from microfracture surgery.
Oden must sit out somewhere between 8-12 months before returning, which means he theoretically could miss part of next season, too. Few players make a full recovery (see Penny Hardaway, Chris Webber, Allan Houston). However, Greg Oden does have age on his side (he’s still only 19 years old).
While the Durant/Oden debate will have to wait for another year, fans shouldn’t worry that Oden won’t be a dominant NBA player some day. Although Oden provided plenty of highlights in his 3/4 of a college season, here are some his high school highlights.
