Spurs were soooo close to closing it out. And then Jesus Shuttlesworth bails out Lebron and co.
Lessons to be learned:
Spurs can't let it go to OT in game seven.
I feel for Pop. He wants to back Manu, but other than game 5, he has been awful. He was absolutely disastrous in game 6.
Heat did a good job of shutting down Green.
Lebron still needs to just take some of these damn open jumpers. (But is still marked harshly. 30+ points and basically a triple double is certainly not choking.)
Timmy put up 30 and 15, which is freakish for his age, but still, they looked tired in OT.
Spurs were not too bad down the stretch, it was basically the two missed free throws and not securing rebounds that cost them.
Sadly, I suspect it'll be the Heat running over the top of the Spurs in game 7.
And it so it was that the younger legs ran over the top.
Sad for the Spurs, but credit to the Heat (Lebron, mainly). Pop was all class as per usual, even in defeat.
The funny farm that is the off season trade period is already upon us.
Why the Clippers are looking for so much wholesale change so quickly is beyond me. Why the Nuggets turfed George Karl is beyond me.
I understand why the Grizzlies ditched Hollins, but it's still a risk. (That's an interesting story in itself: Basically, watch Moneyball. That system is trying to be implemented in the NBA, but it's in it's infancy, and Hollins is a bit old school for that sort of thing. Will be very interesting to see how things pan out for them.)
Now this will be an interesting test of Doc as a coach.
Been a bit of talk that he was propped up in the C's good era by not only having the "Big 3" (but really 4 because Rondo) but also because Tom Thibodeau is a bit of a defensive genius. With Paul at the 1 and Griffin at the 4 and still improving, plus a great supporting cast no matter the trades, Doc should have a chance to show off his chops again.
All reports seem to indicate that Rondo is a complete dick in the locker room.
Further to the CTE drama, seems like the most the sport can hope to secure is some kind of lifestyle/genetic flashing neon sign that they can test for early in careers/pre-careers to state risk factor for each player clearly. At which point, the legal docs come out and it becomes a sign-here-knowing-risk-and-waive-medicals decision.
Otherwise the Yanks better get into rugby. (Unless rugby also develops this crisis.) And me for that matter - brightly coloured, armoured dudes crushing eachother with little apparent regard for personal safety is a huge draw, and I would miss it a fair bit. Good thing the NFL film archive is so vast anyway.
The waiver idea seems likely, but they can't do it with high school players because they're minors. They could run out of quality players pretty quickly.
For those with an interest in American Football buy who may not be aware, channel 4 have shows on Saturday and Sunday morning now. One is a documentary called Hard Knocks, following the Bengals preseason training and various players trying to get into the team. The other is a roundup/highlights show from that weeks games.
I'm falling apart to songs about hips and hearts...
Well worth subscribing to Grantland on youtube. There's 30 seperate vids with Bill Simmons and Jalen Rose going through all the teams. It's that perfect balance humour, fun, brutal honesty and genuine knowledge of the sport.
Spalding is defo a good option, if money is no real obstacle, then an official NBA ball is the shizzle. If not, then Official FIBA Molten balls are fine and dandy too.
The main thing is indoor v outdoor, IMO. If you are dicking around indoor, then just buy the good official ball, molten or Spalding. If you want it for out door, you either want to buy a slightly cheaper ball from Spalding or Molten (or And 1). Or try one of their outdoor balls. Problem with them is that they're usually heavier, due to aiming for extra toughness for dealing with concrete or asphalt.
tbh, outside of the official game balls, which are pretty much guaranteed awesome, it's a little try before you buy and hard to judge. Different brands fluke good one off particular balls.