Weekly Whistle volume 2

So, the first issue of the Whistle drew a total of eight readers. Pretty encouraging considering I only expected half of that number to pay attention, let alone read it. Not that it matters…ok, maybe it does…but only for self-worth excuses. Either way, this second issue, I’m shooting for the stars, baby! What-say-you I double that and get 16 readers for the week? Lets just hope I don’t drink too much alcohol during the week and start counting each reader twice.

Anyways, on to The Weekly Whistle issue two!

Hey, it’s the new ball!!!

When was the last time you saw a game end in such an unusual way you had to do a double-take to see if what you saw really happened? So maybe the Wizards-Nets game ended with a typical overtime win for Joyzee, but the shot that forced OT was clearly a “whatthehelllwasthat” play.

Note to reader: In the interest of censorship, I think it’s in my best judgment to refrain from using any cuss words so as not to come across as being rough-edged and uncivilized to my readers, all eight of you, to be in fact. So from this point on, no cussing in the Whistle…unless it’s the Knicks were talking about.

So here’s the scenario: Down three with 2 seconds left, Vince Carter gets an inbound pass at the top of the three point line and launches a fall-away 27 footer to tie the game. As the ball hit the rim, it bounced the way a deflated ball would bounce when it hits something metal in that it DIDN’T BOUNCE! It hit the rim, and then just plopped to the hoop. Can’t imagine it? Try getting a collapsed ball and throw it at the basket from 30 feet out. Looks ugly, doesn’t it?

But, alas, the ball went through the hoop, there was OT, and the Nets won.

After the game, Jason Kidd had some pretty amusing comments regarding that freak play. "It didn't rattle. It just stuck," he said. "The old ball maybe just hits the rim and bounces out. This new ball is different and we were very fortunate that it stuck and rolled in."

Vince Carter, when asked if his last second heave would have went in with the old ball, said, "If it would've hit like that? Heck no. No way."

This kind of head-scratching freak play is enough reason for me to wish I had TiVO.

Players of the Week

East: LeBron James – It’s really not fair to put LeBron James as a Player of the Week considering he’s going to end up here at least nine times, anyway. But if you put up 33-6-6 over the week and lead your team to a 3-0 record, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be here. As my friend Migs, the number one LeBron James nut-hugger would say, “a typical week in the office.”

West: Baron Davis – Second week, second favorite player. I swear there’s no bias here! Check out Diddy’s averages for the week: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 13 assists, and 3.3 steals. Most impressive stat? The Warriors went 3-0 this week against the Pistons, Raptors, and Kings.


Will the real Diddy please stand up!

Speaking of Baron Davis, I was lucky enough to catch the Warriors’ last two games against Toronto and Sacramento, the first one BTV and the other one care of TVU. It struck me that, if healthy (and Lord knows that’s a huge IF), Baron Davis is the scariest point guard in the NBA.

I will refrain from saying best, because, after all, he’s always a hangnail away from the injured list. But if his last two games are any indication, this man, as long as he doesn’t trip over his garden hose and hurts his knee, is going to have a great year.

That first quarter against the Kings was a ridiculous display of dominance from Diddy. Eight points and 11 assists! He bullied his way against the small defenders the Kings put on him, and when they put Artest on Davis, he just blew by him with his first step. This is Ron-ron “The Rottweiller” we’re talking about here, not some fruitcake defender(s) like, say…the whole New York Knicks team.

Like what I’ve said, if Baron can, at LEAST play 70 games for Golden State this year, I’m calling it that they keep on playing past April. Let’s jus hope he stays healthy to make my prediction happen.

Coaching for dummies, literally

Quickest way to get fired from a coaching job: Come up with a new offensive philosophy that urges your team to shoot the ball at least 100 times in one game.

I made a bet with a friend of mine on which coach would get the pink slip first from their respective teams – Sam Mitchell or Doc Rivers. I’m almost 98% percent sure I’m going to come up on top here.

After hearing about Mitchell’s “100 shots” philosophy, the firs thing that came to mind was “how the hell is this guy a coach in the NBA?”. I’m going to be shocked if he makes it past the All-Star break as Toronto’s coach. Seriously, what kind of philosophy is this? From what it sounded like and from what I saw from two previous Toronto games I’ve seen, Mitchell basically gives the green light to EVERYBODY in his team to just shoot when they feel like it. Maybe he thinks that if they shoot 100 times in a game, they have a good chance of winning. Good idea Sam, except that:

a) You’re not the Phoenix Suns

b) Your best player is a back-to-the-basket post-up power forward

c) Your team only has ONE shooter!

On more than one occasion, I’ve seen a Toronto player bring the ball up the court on a one-on-two and shamelessly launch a three pointer without having any of his teammates cross the half court line yet. And Sam Mitchell endorses this!?!!

As of November 18, statistics show that the Raptors do attempt the most field goals in the league (86.4), but they rank 26th (!) in field goal percentage with a 43% shooting percentage. They rank 4th in 3 points attempt, yet they’re 24th in 3-point percentage. Even worse, Mitchell’s “hoist-‘em-as-if-they’re-hot-potatoes” philosophy lessens the chances of the team going to the free-throw line. Need proof of that, too? Barney’s crew is 29th in free-throw attempts per game.

Maybe Mitchell thinks that they can get away with shooting more because they can outscore the opposing team. Unfortunately, he forgot that his team doesn’t play defense too. Giving up 104.5 points per game, good for third highest in the league, won’t win you a lot of games, especially if you only score 99.3.

As much as I want to say that there’s light at the end of this tunnel, the only positive spin I can put on this whole situation is that, at least, I’m making some money out of it.

Three stripes and you’re out!

When I first saw the cover of this year’s Kicks Magazine featuring The Adidas Five on the cover with the words “It’s Over” splashed on it, I thought the Stripes might have struck gold with the campaign. It was a really sweet idea. Considering that the company has flunked massively on making successful signature lines for guys like Duncan and KG, pairing them up with McGrady, Billups, and the quirky one himself, Arenas, made really good sense.

“Why not market five of the best basketball players as a team and revolve your whole basketball campaign around them?” Expectations were high. You’ve flopped with most of your basketball ads, Adidas, but I have to admit, this one looks promising.

Needless to say, I couldn’t wait for the ad to come out.

When I first saw the commercial, all my expectations went flushing down the toilet. It made ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. Sure, they got the message down. “It takes five to win, blah, blah, blah.” But the presentation was a real stinker. From KG doing that “You’re a fool” scowl, which was neither believable nor menacing, to Duncan delivering his “It fool’s you” line from a radio studio (which I found really weird since it had nothing to do with basketball), the whole commercial was like allowing your piss-drunk friend to mix you a hardcore drink. You prepare yourself for something awesome only to be left with a “whatthehellwasthat” look on you face.

Oh, and that footage of Billups in the parade with his Finals MVP trophy? Didn’t Adidas realize that he won that award TWO YEARS ago, and that there have been two Finals MVP’s after that? One of whom is Tim Duncan, who was in the SAME commercial!

Good job Adidas.

Stick to your futbol commercials. At least that Jose+10 campaign was pretty cool.

Quote of the Week

“The teams that we’ve played against, if you look at their record, they’re pretty good teams as evident by how they’ve done against the other good teams. I just wish we start playing the lesser teams…like us.” – Isiah Thomas