ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — The Denver Nuggets have had a rough start to the season, going 2-4 out of the gate in coach Brian Shaw‘s first season. Part of the problem has been injuries, with JaVale McGee being the latest to hit the chilling list. On the bright side, Wilson Chandler has been cleared to make his season debut tonight after missing the beginning of the season to treat a hamstring injury.
And when Chandler stopped to tell Nuggets.com about his return, his teammate Kenneth Faried couldn’t contain his excitement upon hearing the news… -
No matter how well a rookie plays in his first season, there invariably comes a moment where he gets somewhat humbled on the court by an NBA veteran. Here at All Ball, we’ll do our best all season to keep track of these moments, which we’re calling “Welcome to the NBA” …
By Jeff Case
At 6-foot-11 and 260 pounds, Macedonian-born rookie Pero Antic of the Atlanta Hawks is literally one of the biggest rookies in the league this year. In a preseason interview with Hawks.com, Antic told the website how he hoped to model his game after that of his All-Star frontcourt teammate, Al Horford. He may need to huddle up with Horford, though, after he got his official NBA welcome the other night in Denver.
Antic was out at the 3-point line hoisting up a deep 3-point jumper with about 5 minutes left in the first quarter. Keep in mind that Horford has attempted just seven 3-pointers in his career. Antic is never going to be an exact replica of Horford … he’s his own man and player and will carve out whatever role he can in the NBA. But the 31-year-old rookie will probably think twice about a slow-release 3-pointer the next time Denver is in town.
Back to Antic’s moment … that 3-pointer gets swatted by the Nuggets’ J.J. Hickson, who then takes it the length of the court for a breakaway two-handed jam.
ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — NBA players are elite athletes, and it takes them a lot of work to maintain that status. They run dozens of miles a week and are constantly focused on fitness, because what better way to stay on the floor longer than to be in the best possible shape?
In Denver, longtime strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess puts in work with the Nuggets to keep them going. The Nuggets were recently visited by fitness guru Billy Blanks as part of his “Celebrity Sweat” video series. The full video is available for download, with a portion of proceeds going to benefit NBA Cares. In the meantime, here’s a clip of Blanks, along with Hess and several Nuggets in the weight room, including everyone’s favorite, JaVale McGee… -
ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Halloween may be in our collective rear view mirror, but looming ahead is Thanksgiving. And to celebrate it in their own special way, several NBA players will be popping up on Disney XD beginning today and again over the new few weeks as part of something called Pranksgiving. According to a release from Disney…
A specially drafted NBA pranking crew — Tyson Chandler (New York Knicks), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets) and DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers) — get in the pranking game with the comedic and unpredictable puppet Crash (of the sitcom “Crash & Bernstein”) and together, they pull fun and over-the-top tricks on Disney XD’s biggest stars. Each Monday, a new fan-voted prank will be revealed on Disney XD along with new prank-themed episodes including Dwight Howard (Houston Rockets) guest starring in the new comedy series “Mighty Med.”
Curry said of his involvement, “Getting to be a part of Disney XD’s ‘Pranksgiving’ allowed me, and the other players, to connect with kids and families in a different way and show them a side of us they don’t usually see. I love to do fun things like this with fans and giving back to the community is something I’m committed to. I also loved that my family got to be there with me when we shot it, and when my daughter gets older and is watching Disney XD, I can tell her all about it.”
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the NBA’s involvement… -
ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — It’s easy for a coach — in any sport, not just basketball — to talk tough. In some ways, it’s part of the job: You tell the players how to execute your game plan, and if you don’t at least sound like you know what you’re talking about, how do you get them to buy in? Sometimes you reach deep to find ways to motivate. In Denver this season, Brian Shaw is just months into his first NBA head coaching gig, but he’s already showing that he’s not afraid to get out on the court with his players and mix it up. And considering Shaw played a decade-plus in the NBA and won three Championship rings as a player and two as an assistant coach, he’s probably worth listening to.
The Nuggets have been releasing short videos from their practice sessions, and Shaw’s physical involvement seems to be a recurring theme. In the videos below, he bangs in the post with big men like Kenneth Faried and JaVale McGee, and in another video gets involved in a shoot-out with guard Randy Foye. His post defense is actually pretty effective for a guard trying to stop a big…
ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Pepsi and Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving have been teaming up for a while now to produce videos in which Irving stars as Uncle Drew, an old soul who comes alive on the court and, more than anything, understands how to get buckets.
With the new NBA season very nearly upon us, it was only fitting that Uncle Drew also makes a return appearance…alongside a couple of perhaps familiar faces… -
ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Denver F Evan Fournier was born in a suburb of Paris, France. Denver C JaVale McGee was born in Flint, Michigan. Despite literally being from places a world apart, these two seem to have found something that bonds them, other than an ability to do great falsetto voices. Apparently they have both put in plenty of time playing Mario Kart, because they have all the voices and sound effects down cold. I love this so much… -
ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — You know the All Ball stays tuned in to pretty much everything Denver C JaVale McGee does, particularly when social media is involved. And it seems like with most of the things JaVale McGee does, social media IS involved. SO I wasn’t that surprised late last night when I saw a tweet from JaVale come across the transom, noting that he was hungry and was willing to buy a dozen donuts for people who would meet him at a Denver-area Krispy Kreme. He tweeted out the address of a Krispy Kreme and that got a few retweets…
Denver peeps, field trip? RT @JaValeMcGee34 7514 Parkway Dr Lone Tree, CO 80124 THIS THE KRISPY KREME ILL BE AT IN 30 mins… #FREEDONUTS— Jonah Keri (@jonahkeri) October 11, 2013
Most of the other tweets he sent last night have disappeared, like so many Krispy Kremes, but For The Win managed to capture a few of them here. As it turned out, JaVale made a quick stop, but not before two people were able to claim their prize…
Lucky for JaVale that Tyler Zeller didn’t show up — he would’ve had to buy a bunch more than a dozen.
ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Some people practice on the court, some people practice wherever they can get work in. We saw Andre Drummond putting moves on people in the airport, as didNate Robinson, while we found Steph Curry working on ball fakes around the house, and JaVale McGee zig-zagging around a bunch of stools.
Now we find Brooklyn C Andre Blatche putting in work in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue. (Also, kinda love that he seems to be wearing his Nets sweatsuit while out walking around Fifth Ave.) -
ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Denver C JaVale McGee has become a favorite around these parts for all the laughs he has generated, both intentionally and unintentionally. (For confirmation, have fun digging around in here.)
So we shouldn’t be surprised to find out a random bit of information, such as that JaVale McGee has a car horn that sounds like a very loud train. If you were walking down the street in Denver and you suddenly thought a very loud train was bearing down on you, you would probably jump. Just like all the people in this video JaVale made, where he drives around scaring people with his car horn. -
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That video is from a few weeks back. But just in case anyone forgot, yesterday JaVale showed his teammate Anthony Randolph that when JaVale’s around, you better keep your head on a swivel.
