Eighteen years too late, I watched Pistol: The Birth of a Legend for the first time this summer. Mostly the story of Pete Maravich‘s teenage years, partly a ball-handling instructional tape, the movie came to mind when I found out Allen Iverson was signing with the Memphis Grizzlies.
In Pistol, Maravich is a middle-school prodigy playing on a high school varsity team where the coach doesn’t like his style (too “Black”) and the older players don’t like him for being so good so young. Glued to the bench despite his talent, Pete just wants a chance to play, and when he finally gets it, predictably becomes a superstar and leads the team to glory. Ultimately, all that time he spent not playing was a colossal waste of time rooted in old-school values and silly stubbornness. Read More »
Working for Dime is awesome on so many different levels. Besides getting to live in New York City and write about hoops all day, you also get the hook up on all sorts of sick events. I got VIP to the Fabolous concert my first day on the job. Yesterday, I got to chill out at the ultra-sleek Westin Times Square to give the new Halo 3: ODST a little test drive. What does this have to do with hoops? Not much, but what baller isn’t a gamer? And what gamer doesn’t like Halo? Read More »
In case you didn’t know, last season there were only six players in the NBA that averaged over 10.0 rebounds per game. And now that the offseason landscape has finally settled down, with the majority of the big trades and free agents signings out of the way, here are five guys that will average 10+ boards this coming season that didn’t last year. Read More »
The waiting game is over. What began over Labor Day Weekend has finally come to fruition. According to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Allen Iverson has informed the Grizzlies this morning that he will accept a one-year, $3.5 million offer to play in Memphis this season. I’m already on the phone with the NBA Store to order my jersey. Read More »
For the second day in a row, the two marquee teams at the FIBA European Championships didn’t look that good. Spain was upset by a scrappy Serbia squad over the holiday weekend, then on Tuesday they struggled again with a team they rightfully should have 20-pieced. Playing without Ben Gordon or Luol Deng (or Michael Olowokandi — although that’s probably a good thing), Great Britain gave Pau Gasol and Co. all they could handle, taking a brief lead in the fourth quarter before Spain (sparked by a Pau three-pointer) got it together in time to hold on for a win. Gasol dropped 27 points and 11 boards, while Rudy Fernandez scored 13 and Ricky Rubio added five points and six assists. In case you’re wondering, Rubio is starting at PG ahead of Raul Lopez. His regular competition, Jose Calderon, isn’t playing in this tournament … Read More »
As a player and coach, John Stockton and Jerry Sloan are about as consistent and predictable as it gets. Today, the pair threw the basketball world a curve ball when they announced their presenters for this weekend’s Hall of Fame ceremony. Sloan chose Charles Barkley while Stockton picked Isiah Thomas. Read More »
In case you didn’t know, last season there were only 27 players in the NBA that averaged over 20.0 points per game. And now that the offseason landscape has finally settled down, with the majority of the big trades and free agents signings out of the way, here are five guys that will average 20+ this coming season that didn’t last year. Read More »
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