Archive for July, 2009

Lebron James and Dwight Howard got nothin on these guys! In the words of my coworker via IM “watch this crzy vid. it’s so sic!”

Sprite ran several dunk competitions nationwide over several weeks in order to pick 10 semi-finalists. 1 winner from each of the 8 cities visited, and 2 online winners. Now it’s up to you. Head over to NBA.com/dunk and check out the videos from each of the semi-finalists, and vote on your favorites.

The four finalists will be flown to the NBA All-Star Weekend in Dallas, Texas next February to put their skills on display. All I know is that if The Air Up There pulls off another 720, no one has a chance.

Here are some details about how this whole thing started:

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NEW YORK, July 27, 2009 – After weeks of dunk contests, ten semifinalists have been selected from among amateur dunkers across the U.S., and it is now up to the fans to select which four dunkers will go on to compete in the first-ever Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown at NBA All-Star 2010 in Dallas, Texas.

Fans can visit NBA.com/dunk to watch dunks from each of the ten semifinalists and vote on who they think should be flown to NBA All-Star in February to compete for the chance to be crowned the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown Champion. The winner will receive a grand prize of $10,000 and will attend the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during NBA All-Star Saturday Night on Feb. 13, 2010.

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Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown competitions were held in eight cities during May, June, and July at NBA Nation presented by T-Mobile and Kia Motors, the league’s touring vehicle that transforms into a 20,000-square-foot basketball playground. The competitions were open to all local dunkers, ages 18 and up, who were able to show off their dunking skills before a panel of judges at NBA Nation. One winner from each of the eight cities was selected by the fans via SMS text voting.

Fans that could not attend the NBA Nation stops were able log on to NBA.com/dunk to upload videos showcasing the best dunks. LeBron James led a panel of judges that picked two winners from among the online entries. The eight local winners from the tour combined with the two online winners to make up the group of 10 semifinalists, and now fans are being asked to narrow the group to four best-of-the-best finalists. The voting period begins today and runs through August 24, 2009.

Now it’s time for you to stop reading this and get your mouses clicking. Vote for your finalists and let’s see what they can do next February in Dallas. Follow it all on Twitter at http://twitter.com/spriteshowdown or @spriteshowdown if you know what you’re doing. Or you can check out their Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SpriteSlamDunkShowdown

Good luck to the semi-finalists, and we’ll find out soon enough who gets to go to hot and humid Dallas next year.

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Is it just me or does Ariza not sound happy to be a Rocket in his interview? He even mentions that he had no say in what happened. Kinda a strange comment after he signed a 5 year deal with them.

As much as this hurts, let’s take a look at this signing for the Rockets.

Ariza brings a crafty type of defense to the Rockets, but was he really the player the needed? After Yao going down for the year, and T-Mac with his injuries, they needed a scorer. Just a flat out scorer. Is Ariza that player? NO.

The media has been all over this story saying that Ariza can’t create his own shot. I actually beg to differ. He occasionally can, but with the Lakers, he normally just floated around the exterior or slashed. He didn’t NEED to create his own shot. The only real weaknesses in his game at the moment that hinder him from being an explosive scorer are his handles and slow shot release.

Watch some of the clips from last year. If he wasn’t wide open, he questioned his shot a lot and would end up pump faking and either passing or trying to take it to the rack. He needed a good 5-10 feet of air space to get his shot off. If he can work on his shot a bit more and speed up the release while remaining as accurate as he was in the Playoffs, he shouldn’t have any problem… but that’s a big thing to ask of a guy that just recently became known as a shooter.

Not a bad pickup defensively for the Rockets, but they already have Battier. Overall, a possible failed experiment from a team that seems to be in rebuilding mode after the injuries to their 2 star players. At least now they have an Injury exception that they can use, but who is really left for them to pick up that can give them instant offense?

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Looks like the Free Agent signing period is now in full swing and it’s no longer just verbal commitments. Here, we’ll start breaking down the signings and the impact they can have on the respective teams. The biggest so far is the official signing of Ron Ron with the Lakers.

Ron Artest had agreed to sign with the Lakers last week for the MLE, but was finally able to make it official today. As tough as it is to see Trevor Ariza leave the Lake Show, the Artest signing should quickly ease that pain.

It seems like the Lakers are definitely trying to shed the “soft” label still. Artest now gives the Lakers a lock down defender that can play the 2 through 4 spots. Yes, he’s undersized at the 4, but he’s strong enough to guard a lot of the PFs in this league. As great of a team defender as Ariza was, he still had a lot to learn about man defense. Artest may be one of the all time greatest man defenders by the time he’s done.

Yes, he may be crazy and have a lot of mental issues that can hurt the Lakers (just Youtube Ron Artest), but take a look at his last few years. He’s gotten older and a LITTLE wiser. This guy was just born into the wrong era of basketball. He would have fit in perfectly with the tougher old school NBA.

Look for Ron to make a big splash with the Lakers this year. Phil will prevent him from pounding out the shot clock and jacking up shots, and so will Kobe. This is a completely different style of ball than Artest is used to, and that could be what he really needs. Ron will be getting way more open looks than he’s accustomed to, especially to start each half when he’s out there with Kobe, Pau, and Bynum.

This signing just made the Lakers even more stacked than they already were. Imagine Odom coming off the bench when either Artest or Pau need a rest… that’s the next signing the Lakers need to take care of.

I’m giving this signing a huge thumbs up. The Lakers will look even more dangerous this year. Stay tuned for more free agent rankings.

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