3. Kevin Durant and Sprint
2. Blake Griffin and Air Jordan
1. Russell Westbrook, Jeff Van Gundy and ESPN
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Monday, July 20, 2015
Saturday, July 05, 2014
Soccer fever
Strangely enough, seeing Cha Bum-Kun kick a soccer ball through a ring of fire on a farm field on running man after being 25 years retired has increased my respect for soccer players more than anything else.
He unexpectedly showed up after they called his wife on the show earlier as a joke. The challenge was actually intended for Park Ji-Sung who was standing beside him.
He unexpectedly showed up after they called his wife on the show earlier as a joke. The challenge was actually intended for Park Ji-Sung who was standing beside him.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Wow good thing I don't manage the Thunder
Clearly they're doing better than the course I plotted:
1) Russell Westbrook takes regular season off
2) Kevin Durant goes HAM
3) ???
4) Championship
1) Russell Westbrook takes regular season off
2) Kevin Durant goes HAM
3) ???
4) Championship
Monday, April 22, 2013
Series 1: Houston vs OKC
NBA Playoffs are about to start and 8th seed Houston and 1st seed OKC are matched up in the first round, which is expected to be a great series.
The Houston Rockets are a rising star in the West, they are the youngest and least experienced team in the league. Everyone was expecting a rebuild year, but they've managed to pull through to the playoffs and exceed the performance of every team in history with comparable ages and experience.
Oh yeah, and captain James Harden was traded to Houston at the beginning of this season from OKC because they didn't want to pay out a max contract for him. So he's got a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.
The Rockets play a game reminiscent of D'Antoni's offense, a system that famously brought the Steve Nash captained Suns into the conference finals in 2004-2006. Also there was something called Linsanity, you may have heard of it.
It's a tempo based offense where they won't shoot with great efficiency or make good ball stops, but other teams that aren't used to the same high paced play won't be able to keep up..and older teams might just collapse from all the running.
Problem: OKC is also a team of young players and they'll be perfectly happy to match Houston possession for possession.
Contrast to Houston, OKC is actually a defensive minded team with the (sometimes) elite defender Perkins being virtually a zero on offense and elite defender Sefelosha being able to score spot up 3s at a decent percentage but otherwise also a nil on offense.
So it is scary that in the regular season OKC was consistently ranked up top in offense. OKC's offense revolves around the Westbrook-Durant Iso System. Westbrook is ludicrously fast while also being able to hit bad shots at a respectable percentage. Unguardable Kevin Durant and his lanky frame is faster than anyone who's bigger than himself while being able to shoot around anyone faster than himself at a deadly efficiency. That makes them a mismatch in more than 90% of all one-on-one situations and carried them to 1st seed in the West.
As for the coaches, Scott Brooks is a coach who commands great respect from his players but doesn't know how to run plays and makes stupid rotations, compared to Houston's McHale who commands great respect from his players but doesn't know how to run plays and makes stupid rotations = EVEN MATCH.
Houston actually has a decent chance at pulling through in a 7 game series, but in the first game they were outscored 120 - 91. That's very troubling not only because of the point delta but because for such an offensive minded team, 91 points is a pittance. If OKC defenders have their offense solved, then there isn't much else going for the Houston team. The only thing to do now is wait and watch and see how they adapt.
The Houston Rockets are a rising star in the West, they are the youngest and least experienced team in the league. Everyone was expecting a rebuild year, but they've managed to pull through to the playoffs and exceed the performance of every team in history with comparable ages and experience.
Oh yeah, and captain James Harden was traded to Houston at the beginning of this season from OKC because they didn't want to pay out a max contract for him. So he's got a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.
The Rockets play a game reminiscent of D'Antoni's offense, a system that famously brought the Steve Nash captained Suns into the conference finals in 2004-2006. Also there was something called Linsanity, you may have heard of it.
It's a tempo based offense where they won't shoot with great efficiency or make good ball stops, but other teams that aren't used to the same high paced play won't be able to keep up..and older teams might just collapse from all the running.
Problem: OKC is also a team of young players and they'll be perfectly happy to match Houston possession for possession.
Contrast to Houston, OKC is actually a defensive minded team with the (sometimes) elite defender Perkins being virtually a zero on offense and elite defender Sefelosha being able to score spot up 3s at a decent percentage but otherwise also a nil on offense.
So it is scary that in the regular season OKC was consistently ranked up top in offense. OKC's offense revolves around the Westbrook-Durant Iso System. Westbrook is ludicrously fast while also being able to hit bad shots at a respectable percentage. Unguardable Kevin Durant and his lanky frame is faster than anyone who's bigger than himself while being able to shoot around anyone faster than himself at a deadly efficiency. That makes them a mismatch in more than 90% of all one-on-one situations and carried them to 1st seed in the West.
As for the coaches, Scott Brooks is a coach who commands great respect from his players but doesn't know how to run plays and makes stupid rotations, compared to Houston's McHale who commands great respect from his players but doesn't know how to run plays and makes stupid rotations = EVEN MATCH.
Houston actually has a decent chance at pulling through in a 7 game series, but in the first game they were outscored 120 - 91. That's very troubling not only because of the point delta but because for such an offensive minded team, 91 points is a pittance. If OKC defenders have their offense solved, then there isn't much else going for the Houston team. The only thing to do now is wait and watch and see how they adapt.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Dat court vision
Russell Westbrook drives and gets to the net going 3 v 1.
But totally misses a wide open kickout to Kevin Durant.
Why does OKC's offense look like a mess even when it's going right?
But totally misses a wide open kickout to Kevin Durant.
Why does OKC's offense look like a mess even when it's going right?
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Friday, March 08, 2013
On the other hand..
All the people complaining about Russell Westbrook hogging the ball or how he should've been traded over Harden also have no idea how the team works.
Russ is an elite point guard, top 5 in the league. Harden is not.
OKC doesn't have a lot of shooters, and their big man is basically a zero in the paint offensively. If they can train Ibaka to be a consistent post threat, it would go a long way to relieving some pressure. Until then, they need Westbrook to put up the volume numbers.
Westbrook needs to be fearless, and he needs to be a constant drive threat. It doesn't even matter that he takes more shots than Durant, because Durant's stats are only as good as they are because he is selective with his shots. Someone else needs to chuck the ball the rest of the time and I'd rather have it be Russ than Perkins, Ibaka or Sefolosha.
That's not to say Westbrook doesn't have problems. Sometimes his court vision narrows to a laser beam. And sometimes he tries to drive through a lane that's obviously going to collapse into a 3 on 1 or even 4 on 1 (no joke). That's not bravery anymore, that's just stupidity.
But then again, it's still not entirely his fault. Because what the hell are his teammates doing just standing around spectating?
The more fundamental problem is that Scotty Brooks's playbook is so thin that its contents can fit on a business card. Until they learn to move the ball, they are going to lose to teams that can shut down Durant/Westbrook isolations. There aren't that many that can (which is why they're doing as well as they are), but the real contenders, the teams that OKC actually need to focus on beating, can do it consistently.
Westbrook's bricks are easy to laugh at, but they're just the most obvious symptom.
Russ is an elite point guard, top 5 in the league. Harden is not.
OKC doesn't have a lot of shooters, and their big man is basically a zero in the paint offensively. If they can train Ibaka to be a consistent post threat, it would go a long way to relieving some pressure. Until then, they need Westbrook to put up the volume numbers.
Westbrook needs to be fearless, and he needs to be a constant drive threat. It doesn't even matter that he takes more shots than Durant, because Durant's stats are only as good as they are because he is selective with his shots. Someone else needs to chuck the ball the rest of the time and I'd rather have it be Russ than Perkins, Ibaka or Sefolosha.
That's not to say Westbrook doesn't have problems. Sometimes his court vision narrows to a laser beam. And sometimes he tries to drive through a lane that's obviously going to collapse into a 3 on 1 or even 4 on 1 (no joke). That's not bravery anymore, that's just stupidity.
But then again, it's still not entirely his fault. Because what the hell are his teammates doing just standing around spectating?
The more fundamental problem is that Scotty Brooks's playbook is so thin that its contents can fit on a business card. Until they learn to move the ball, they are going to lose to teams that can shut down Durant/Westbrook isolations. There aren't that many that can (which is why they're doing as well as they are), but the real contenders, the teams that OKC actually need to focus on beating, can do it consistently.
Westbrook's bricks are easy to laugh at, but they're just the most obvious symptom.
Looks about right..
OKC is up to their old tricks again.
Westbrook running down the clock with a million dribbles, tries to drive with 2 on 1, and then jacks up a brick jumper.
No ball movement whatsoever; no cuts, no screens, everyone else on the team stands around and watches.
And is that Perkins choking someone out?
I haven't actually seen them play in a while, but watching for half the season, it doesn't look like they're going to improve much by playoffs.
Some people think that OKC has a good chance at a championship this year based on their record.
Those are people who don't actually follow the team, because this kind of playstyle is going to get them killed by the Heat every. Time.
Westbrook running down the clock with a million dribbles, tries to drive with 2 on 1, and then jacks up a brick jumper.
No ball movement whatsoever; no cuts, no screens, everyone else on the team stands around and watches.
And is that Perkins choking someone out?
I haven't actually seen them play in a while, but watching for half the season, it doesn't look like they're going to improve much by playoffs.
Some people think that OKC has a good chance at a championship this year based on their record.
Those are people who don't actually follow the team, because this kind of playstyle is going to get them killed by the Heat every. Time.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
The thing about..
..Kobe Bryant (Lakers guard) is that he never passes
..Kevin Durant (Thunder forward) is that he has flailing noodle arms
..D'Antoni (Lakers coach) is that he doesn't coach defense
..Blake Griffin (Clippers forward) is that he dunks too much
..Dwight Howard (Lakers center) is that he can't make free throws
..David Stern (NBA commissioner) is that he hates the Spurs
..the Raptors is that they always lose at the buzzer
..Lebron James (Heat forward) is that his hairline keeps receding
..Carmelo Anthony (Knicks forward) is that his wife tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios
..Jeremy Lin (Rockets guard) is that all the Asians love him
..Kevin Durant (Thunder forward) is that he has flailing noodle arms
..D'Antoni (Lakers coach) is that he doesn't coach defense
..Blake Griffin (Clippers forward) is that he dunks too much
..Dwight Howard (Lakers center) is that he can't make free throws
..David Stern (NBA commissioner) is that he hates the Spurs
..the Raptors is that they always lose at the buzzer
..Lebron James (Heat forward) is that his hairline keeps receding
..Carmelo Anthony (Knicks forward) is that his wife tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios
..Jeremy Lin (Rockets guard) is that all the Asians love him
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Realism
Toronto Raptors.
They're not even in a situation where it's like, "oh, we can win sometimes when the other team plays like crap".
Because other teams play like crap, and still win.
And when I talk about other teams playing like crap, I don't mean good teams playing "sloppy".
It's bad teams like Portland, legitimately playing like garbage, and then winning.
By 20 points.
It's gotten so bad that the Raptors are getting booed at, in Toronto.
They're not even in a situation where it's like, "oh, we can win sometimes when the other team plays like crap".
Because other teams play like crap, and still win.
And when I talk about other teams playing like crap, I don't mean good teams playing "sloppy".
It's bad teams like Portland, legitimately playing like garbage, and then winning.
By 20 points.
It's gotten so bad that the Raptors are getting booed at, in Toronto.
Saturday, December 08, 2012
Friday, November 30, 2012
NBA 2K13 should have a Hustle Meter
Once it runs out for a character, you can no longer make them run; instead they'll just saunter around at a leisurely pace.
Reggie Evans will basically never run out of Hustle.
On the other hand, Melo's Hustle Meter will be perpetually empty.
This will accurately simulate his total laziness on defense in real life.
For a true experience, the player should consider walking him in a circle and then maybe faking an injury.
Reggie Evans will basically never run out of Hustle.
On the other hand, Melo's Hustle Meter will be perpetually empty.
This will accurately simulate his total laziness on defense in real life.
For a true experience, the player should consider walking him in a circle and then maybe faking an injury.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Hey lady, I need a yank!
So I got hospitalized on the 3rd day of frosh week. First thing right after my don told everyone to play safe, no less.
I jumped off the top of an inflatable maze and dislocated my shoulder in a race. Despite that, I won the race by an enormous margin. The first responders called it the "Thunderforce" in the cause of injury section of their report. The paramedics were puzzled.
It turns out life is not like Trauma Center, because I'm pretty sure I could've beaten the game in the time I spent in the waiting room.
Nurse: So tell me how this happened.
Me: It's a stupid story.
Nurse: It's frosh week, we're used to stupid stories.
Whatever they injected to put me asleep is like a miracle drug though. I was out and awake without ever knowing it and just found my arm fixed magically, didn't even skip a beat in my thoughts. I'm sure it would fetch a high price on the secondary market, AKA drug dealers.
I am now known as the "guy who supermanned off the slide".
Better yet, sometimes people ask me if I was the guy injured during ultimate frisbee. To which I can truthfully respond, "no, he was in the stretcher in front of me".
I jumped off the top of an inflatable maze and dislocated my shoulder in a race. Despite that, I won the race by an enormous margin. The first responders called it the "Thunderforce" in the cause of injury section of their report. The paramedics were puzzled.
It turns out life is not like Trauma Center, because I'm pretty sure I could've beaten the game in the time I spent in the waiting room.
Nurse: So tell me how this happened.
Me: It's a stupid story.
Nurse: It's frosh week, we're used to stupid stories.
Whatever they injected to put me asleep is like a miracle drug though. I was out and awake without ever knowing it and just found my arm fixed magically, didn't even skip a beat in my thoughts. I'm sure it would fetch a high price on the secondary market, AKA drug dealers.
I am now known as the "guy who supermanned off the slide".
Better yet, sometimes people ask me if I was the guy injured during ultimate frisbee. To which I can truthfully respond, "no, he was in the stretcher in front of me".
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Olympics
1. Barcelona's torch lighting is still the best. Sydney's would've been great too, if their machine didn't break for 5 minutes as the torch bearers stood uncomfortably watching.
2. One of the projectors BSOD'd during the opening ceremony. Sorry, I lost the link.
3. China's team uniforms during the op ceremony were terrible. Who thought red and yellow jackets were a good idea? On the other hand, the gymnastics uniforms are pretty slick.
4. Speaking of gymnastics: China's team is fucking loli. I mean, Chris Hansen levels of loli. God, watching Chinese gymnastics is like watching live action Strike Witches.
5. Romania sucks at gymnastics now, because all their coaches fled to America.
6. During the China-USA basketball game, my parents were like, "there's no way we can keep up to the end, they have all these black people". I was trying not to laugh.
7. NBC did a gallery on hand signals in beach volleyball. I'm pretty certain that was just an excuse for them to post ass shots of women.
8. Fuck Tibet.
9. Phelps is a beast. Metaphorically and literally, as in I think he is ready to eat a baby in that picture. I also love that even though it was Lezak that pulled through in the 100m relay, all the headlines were talking about Phelps.
10. Canada is behind Togo in rankings. Thank god Toronto didn't get the games, you'd think they'd learn by now not to go for summer Olympics.
edit: Finally, Ron MacLean has the balls to say it, "...we're breaking all these Canadian records, but you know, records are falling left and right on account of these new swimsuits." I'm tired of this apologetic 'oh we finished 7th but it's a new Canadian record' crap. At least China is doing well, even in areas it's not historically strong in. Let's see what happens on the track.
2. One of the projectors BSOD'd during the opening ceremony. Sorry, I lost the link.
3. China's team uniforms during the op ceremony were terrible. Who thought red and yellow jackets were a good idea? On the other hand, the gymnastics uniforms are pretty slick.
4. Speaking of gymnastics: China's team is fucking loli. I mean, Chris Hansen levels of loli. God, watching Chinese gymnastics is like watching live action Strike Witches.
5. Romania sucks at gymnastics now, because all their coaches fled to America.
6. During the China-USA basketball game, my parents were like, "there's no way we can keep up to the end, they have all these black people". I was trying not to laugh.
7. NBC did a gallery on hand signals in beach volleyball. I'm pretty certain that was just an excuse for them to post ass shots of women.
8. Fuck Tibet.
9. Phelps is a beast. Metaphorically and literally, as in I think he is ready to eat a baby in that picture. I also love that even though it was Lezak that pulled through in the 100m relay, all the headlines were talking about Phelps.
10. Canada is behind Togo in rankings. Thank god Toronto didn't get the games, you'd think they'd learn by now not to go for summer Olympics.
edit: Finally, Ron MacLean has the balls to say it, "...we're breaking all these Canadian records, but you know, records are falling left and right on account of these new swimsuits." I'm tired of this apologetic 'oh we finished 7th but it's a new Canadian record' crap. At least China is doing well, even in areas it's not historically strong in. Let's see what happens on the track.
Monday, June 30, 2008
15 minutes of DoA
Peter: so, I can't help but think
Peter: ufc would be even better if
Peter: the fighters were female and hot
Ronak: lol
Ronak: so live action dead or alive
Ronak: but UFC
Peter: actually that is probably what the DoA movie is about
Peter: I need to reconsider
__________
So thus follows commentary on the first 15 minutes of the movie, courtesy the internet. I thought about screenshots, but that necessitates work.
1:25 - Oh boy, I can tell this is going to be QUALITY acting already.
2:24 - The anticipation causes me to LOL prematurely.
4:09 - If Kasumi keeps shedding clothes at this rate, she'll be naked by the end of the scene.
4:32 - Oh, nevermind. Scene transition...to one of the characters in a swimsuit showing some cleavage.
5:25 - Now she's attacked by pirates.
7:28 - Scene transition. Keeping with the trend, another character is clad only in nothing.
7:34 - ...now she's wearing a towel
8:20 - ...and now she's putting on her underwear with a porn groove in the background.
8:56 - ...and now she is fighting topless.
10:17 - Normally the panty shot here would be of note, but considering she spent the last few minutes clothing impaired...
10:43 - New scene! Plot development? If you call it that.
11:08 - New scene. IIRC, Helena was a crazy high-class French skank as opposed to some ditzy low-class teenage skank. They do remain consistent to the skank part though.
13:30 - Plot takes a dive. Literally.
15:42 - So much grabbing and moaning. 15 minutes is up!
In conclusion, from what I've seen, it will only take minor revisions to turn the entire movie into a porno. Next time I'll watch something better written. Like Ghost Rider.
Peter: ufc would be even better if
Peter: the fighters were female and hot
Ronak: lol
Ronak: so live action dead or alive
Ronak: but UFC
Peter: actually that is probably what the DoA movie is about
Peter: I need to reconsider
__________
So thus follows commentary on the first 15 minutes of the movie, courtesy the internet. I thought about screenshots, but that necessitates work.
1:25 - Oh boy, I can tell this is going to be QUALITY acting already.
2:24 - The anticipation causes me to LOL prematurely.
4:09 - If Kasumi keeps shedding clothes at this rate, she'll be naked by the end of the scene.
4:32 - Oh, nevermind. Scene transition...to one of the characters in a swimsuit showing some cleavage.
5:25 - Now she's attacked by pirates.
7:28 - Scene transition. Keeping with the trend, another character is clad only in nothing.
7:34 - ...now she's wearing a towel
8:20 - ...and now she's putting on her underwear with a porn groove in the background.
8:56 - ...and now she is fighting topless.
10:17 - Normally the panty shot here would be of note, but considering she spent the last few minutes clothing impaired...
10:43 - New scene! Plot development? If you call it that.
11:08 - New scene. IIRC, Helena was a crazy high-class French skank as opposed to some ditzy low-class teenage skank. They do remain consistent to the skank part though.
13:30 - Plot takes a dive. Literally.
15:42 - So much grabbing and moaning. 15 minutes is up!
In conclusion, from what I've seen, it will only take minor revisions to turn the entire movie into a porno. Next time I'll watch something better written. Like Ghost Rider.
Friday, March 21, 2008
So, my wrists are still intact...
...from a day of boarding.
Fuck Lamar; I am dumb.
Actually, I'm okay with the board, bindings and case for now, but the boots are terrible. Then again, I don't remember if the boots are Lamar, they might have been separate from the set.
They loosen so badly, by the end of the day my feet were slipping out. It doesn't make a difference heel-side because there's a backplate on the bindings, but I have to lean so much to apply any pressure on my toe-side.
edit: Appropriately enough, apparently the boots are made by some company called Heelside.
Nice stomp pad though. Thanks, Ness.
Screw you Rob for leading us into the middle of nowhere.
In other news, Transformers seems like some kind of hour long recruiting ad for the US military. I bet if Michael Bay had the choice, he'd spend another half hour showing Scorponok getting pounded by Tomahawks and Paveways. 'Hogs are badass though, I can't see any Raptors flying back after getting hit by 20mm cannon fire.
Fuck Lamar; I am dumb.
Actually, I'm okay with the board, bindings and case for now, but the boots are terrible. Then again, I don't remember if the boots are Lamar, they might have been separate from the set.
They loosen so badly, by the end of the day my feet were slipping out. It doesn't make a difference heel-side because there's a backplate on the bindings, but I have to lean so much to apply any pressure on my toe-side.
edit: Appropriately enough, apparently the boots are made by some company called Heelside.
Nice stomp pad though. Thanks, Ness.
Screw you Rob for leading us into the middle of nowhere.
In other news, Transformers seems like some kind of hour long recruiting ad for the US military. I bet if Michael Bay had the choice, he'd spend another half hour showing Scorponok getting pounded by Tomahawks and Paveways. 'Hogs are badass though, I can't see any Raptors flying back after getting hit by 20mm cannon fire.
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