Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Kevin Durant is a scoring machine


No doubt the kid Kevin Durant is a scoring machine. For those who were not convinced in the past, perhaps this 13'-14' season has reshaped their opinion. Durant tops Michael Jordan this year for consecutive 25 or more points in a game with over 40. With the season still going, Durant has the chance to push that streak and enter in the realm of Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain. In fact, with the amount of games left in his season, Durant has the chance to exceed Oscar Robertsons streak, putting him second behind Wilt Chamberlain (who has a record of 80, just shy of a full season). 


The former #1 draft pick has not only demonstrated that he can score, and in bunches. This season he also proved his versatility, averaging over almost 8 rebounds and almost 6 assists per game, and of course the 32 point per game cherry on top.


Tuesday, 8 April 2014

Who Has Raptor Fever?

Secure a playoff spot, BEFORE the end of the season.
Send a player to the All-star game (Congratulations Demar Derozan).
End the season over .500%.

Check!
Check!
and
Check!

Who has Raptor fever? I certainly have Raptor fever. This is the certainly the turn around we've needed.

This is not to say I expect the Raptors to win the championship this year, certainly not. Realistically, they may not even make it to the Eastern finals (but maybe with a little lady fortune on our side...). I'd certainly like to see them make it past the first round, that would definitely be an added bonus to the treats they've given us thus far.

This turn around is just fantastic for the Raptors overall because now that the league sees that we are making strides in the right direction, this will open up opportunities for free agents in the off season. Definitely a chance for the Raptors to assemble a team of players that want to win, not guys that want to be on a poor team to shine.

All in all, Good Job Toronto!!!


http://www.nba.com/raptors/Splash Stay in the know, with everything Raptors

Shooting 101


Many people believe shooting is a talent that if you have it you have it, and those who don't wont.
Not the case. People who practice the right way will have it, people who don't wont. It doesn't matter how many hours you practice, if your not training the right way all your efforts will be in vain.

Now stop practising the wrong way and improve your shooting with the B.E.E.F method.
B.E.E.F is the acronym used to remind shooters what the shooting process consists of.

Balance, Elbow, Eyes, Follow through.

Balance- This is most important in all aspects of basketball, and most sports. When shooting, you want to keep your feet shoulder width apart(or there about, depending on your comfort) to ensure that you are properly balance for your shot and ready to extend or jump(depending on the amount of strength you need for your shot). Remember, most of the power in your shot should come from your legs.

Eyes- This next part of the shooting process can be done at the same time as lining up your elbow. Your eyes should be focused on the front rim or the back rim, and ONLY the front or back rim. So where ever you are on the court, the part of the rim closest to you is considered 'front rim' and the farthest part of the rim is the 'back rim'. As easy as it sounds in theory, this is one of the hardest part of shooting. Many people(myself included) will have a bad habit of not focusing entirely on the rim and only the rim. For whatever reason we will get distracted by what's going on the court, whether its a teammate distracting you with his flaring arms crying for the ball(I dont like you people), trying to keep an eye on the defence, allowing the crowd to distract you, or looking at the ball during shooting and/or while the ball is in the air(my Achilles heal). People often get frustrated with their shooting when they feel they've found a comfortable shooting form, they know they're doing everything right but they keep missing. 9/10 focus is the reason from missing. Eyes need to be locked on the rim, your focus needs to be tunnel vision on the rim when shooting.

Elbow- Once you're feet are planted and you've established balance, you want to then line up your shooting elbow(this is your dominant hand) with the rim. A trick to ensure that your elbow is in line with the rim is to start from the ground up. Personally I like to have my right toe facing the rim, that way I know my knee is also lined up with the rim, and with my knee lined up with the rim I can now line up my right elbow with my right knee(with my feet shoulder length apart). I usually use this on freethrows, when I have time to set up an concentrate on shooting. This way everything is in line as seen in the first image.


Follow through- Now all that's left is the follow through. You're balanced and ready to spring up to power your shot, your elbow is in line with the rim, eyes are locked in on the rim, now its time to follow through and finish off the job. On your follow through you want to extend your elbow(which is in line with the rim) towards the front or back of the rim you are ever so focused on. The follow through needs to be a fluid motion and feel natural, if your follow through feels uncomfortable you are shooting the wrong way, and should not practice this uncomfortable shooting form. A lot of times I see players shooting a certain way because it's how they see good shooters or their favourite basketball players shooting in the hopes that this will work for them, completely ignoring the fact that they're forcing themselves to shoot in a way that does not shoot comfortable to them. On the release of your form, you typically want to wave goodbye to the ball and be able to see your shooting wrist dipping into the rim as if you are a young child climbing a counter and reaching in a cookie jar. Always remember Cookie Jar, even though you can actually reach into the rim like a cookie jar, your shot should finish with that cookie jar pose. This is why most coaches will tell you to hold a pose at the end of your shot(this is why you'll see basketball players keep their hand up for a second or 2 after the ball is released, but be careful not to keep the pose for an excessively long time, Refs will issue a technical foul for unsport-man-like conduct. That will be viewed as showboating.)



Its most important that the entire BEEF method needs to be done fluidly. Once the shot starts (from the time you knees bend), the shot should be 1 steady motion, no pauses to concentrate on what to do next. NEVER stop your shooting form to concentrate or think about what's next. Also remember, Comfort is everything! Now get out there and start knocking shots down.

Shoot with BEEF & You will Achieve (yeah its corny, Whatever)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmsw6ViKsXs

Allen Iverson Changed Basketball Culture


(Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers)

No question, Allen Iverson brought hiphop to basketball, and took a heck of a lashing for it. Iverson ushered in an era in the NBA that did not rub the white-collar executives the right way. Iversons cornrowed hair and countless tattoos brought an aggressive hiphop culture to the game of basketball. His image alone had him labeled as a rebel and an outlaw because at the time, only the suspect dressed the way AI(Allen Iverson) dressed.                                                                

Mind you, This was the style in hiphop at the time













Let's face it, real NBA fans know it, Iverson fans know it, and Iverson himself had said it; Allen Iverson made the cornrows, tattoos, and baggy clothes acceptable. He came along and took the stabs and lashes to make it okay for everyone to dress in a hiphop fashion in peace. Like I said before, prior to Iverson bringing the fashion to basketball, only the rebels, outlaws, convicts, and suspects were expected to dress the way Iverson did. Since Iverson made it okay, not only are the suspects wearing cornrows and tattoos, but now so are the arresting officers. Take a look at the NBA now, you can't even keep count of the amount of players you'll wearing a skin full of ink and hair in braids. In fact, part of the excitement of watching Iverson play was the anticipation of seeing what kind of design he will wear in his braids.

Many people will say, no you're wrong, Bowwow brought braids into hiphop and made it acceptable. Don't take my word for it though, it won't take much research to find that Bowwow admits that Iverson was his favourite player and idol, the reason he has braids, the reason he played basketball, and the reason he chooses number 3 (Seen in image above). Interesting to note, Bowwow was actually the #1 middle school prospect in America in his time.



The Emergence Of Canadians In Basketball

This comes as no surprise to Canadian basketball players, it was just a matter of time before we made a real NBA push. That time is now. We're here, we're loud, and we're proud. And of course, we owe it to Vince Carter bringing the excitement of basketball to Canada (more details on why in my blog "forgive and forget").

In this blog again, I will not be pushing my opinion on the Basketball audience, instead I would like to get your opinion. Are Canadians making a push in the NBA like the Europeans a few seasons ago? Does this mean the door has been kicked in and we can expect to see many more Canadians making their presence known in the NBA?

What's Going on in the East?

With teams like NY Knicks and BK Nets bottom feeding for a playoff spot, and teams like T.O Raptors and Washington sitting comfortably in the playoffs, This situation begs the question "What is going on in the east?".

Could it be that the teams in the East are tanking for this upcoming draft with a promise of league changing talent?

This is one topic i'll leave open ended as I am curious to get the basketball universe' opinion on this.

Kyle Lowry: Do We Keep Him or Do We Ship Him?

I love what Kyle Lowry is doing for the Raptors, no doubt his and DeRozans efforts have taken the Raptors to a level we haven’t been playing at in years. However I’m not sold on him as an asset. I’ve been fooled too many times by players in contract year, they play their behinds off to secure as fat a contract as possible for  security. Too many times I’ve picked up fantasy players hoping they will perform even remotely close to how they did the previous year, and unless they’re a franchise player or a young blossoming star, players will more likely disappoint and break your heart once they’ve secured that juicy contract they’re REALLY putting in all the efforts for. Now only Kyle Lowry knows what his true intentions are, but Lowry himself was the first player to teach me this harsh reality about players in their contract year. It was a few seasons ago, he was in his last season as a Houston Rockets and of course he was playing like a man on a mission. But of course, the season ends and mission accomplished, he got his contract and started to coast yet again. I love what the guy has done and is currently doing for the organization, but fool me twice and that’s shame on me. I say trade him while he’s of real value and make sure we get a great return (unlike like the charity give aways we’ve grown notorious for).

Kyle Lowry may not be a household name in the NBA, so for those of you who aren't familiar with him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeLr02PKmzc