We’ve spent a lot of time this postseason spotlighting what players have been sporting off the court. Now it’s time to show some of the best options for fans, straight from the NBA Store. One key aspect of these collections is the ability to transition from the court to your everyday wardrobe.
And a special NBAStore.com offer for our NBA.com readers: For the next two days, receive 10 percent off your order, plus free shipping on any US order. This offer is valid from 5/8 through 5/9 (deal ends @ 11:59pm EST on 5/9). Use promo code NBASTYLE. (Exclusions apply. See website for details.)
Take a look at some of the items we’ve highlighted, and send us your favorites using #NBAstyle.
This isn’t something people noticed in retrospect. If you were watching the game, it was pretty much impossible to miss:
EXCITED FEMALE SPURS FAN IS GETTING EXCITED AGAIN!!!!!— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 07, 2013
Find the shrieker and escort her out. Won’t be hard; it’s the section where everyone’s ears are bleeding.— (@netw3rk) May 07, 2013
This screaming lady is doing her best to ruin a great game in San Antonio.— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 07, 2013
Screaming lady turned a nation of viewers against the Spurs #AmexNBA— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) May 07, 2013
This woman — well, I’m assuming it’s a woman, although I suppose it also could have been a man with a really high voice — kept it up down the stretch and as the Spurs won the game in the second overtime.
As of now this fan has not been identified. But she’s certainly been noticed. -
ALL BALL NERVE CENTER – Stadium Journey is a web site that is dedicated to making “every trip to the ballpark, stadium, or arena the very best it can be.” This is a noble goal, with results that can be incredibly useful to fans interested in attending NBA games in various arenas.
Stadium Journey recently released their 2012-13 NBA Arena rankings, listing the arenas in terms of the overall fan experience while attending a game. Their criteria includes “food and beverage in the arena, overall atmosphere, the neighborhood, the fans, access (which includes parking, traffic, restrooms, and concourses), return on investment, and an “extras” category for any unique or bonus points.”
You can check out the full rankings at the link, but their top five goes like this:
AT&T Center in San Antonio
Staples Center (for a Lakers game)
Amway Center in Orlando
Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Toyota Center in Houston
I have attended games in 25 of the 29 current NBA arenas, but as a media member I don’t get to have the fan experience. (Although if Stadium Journey would like details about the various arena freight elevators, utility closets and media facilities, I’d be glad to chime in.)
But for those of you who’ve been to games in various arenas, please chime in? Where’s your favorite place to experience an NBA game?
Just when you thought the Harlem Shake was dead and buried, another athlete takes a stab at it. Earlier, Boris Diawtweeted his contribution to the cultural meme and whadayaknow…this piece of brilliance happens:
Things we have learned today:
1) When Boris Diaw isn’t on the other end of Gregg Popovich’s glare and exhortations, he has time to deliver an original take on a (now) unoriginal craze.
2) Popovich is probably thrilled by this video.
3) Everything looks five times cooler when depicted through legos and stop motion.
The boys in Miami, Inside crew and thousands of videos have joined the fun. Executive producer Diaw not only gets a pass for being late to the party, but wins extra points because, well, these are legos in stop motion (see No. 3).
It’s clear from this production that Diaw has a penchant for the ornate. If this is any indication of his creativity, I might find myself rooting for more Spurs off days.
The Horry Scale rules clearly dictate the following:
The Horry scale examines a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time?), importance (playoff game or garden-variety Kings-Pistons game?) and celebration (is it over the top or too chill? Just the right panache or needs more sauce?). Then we give it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys, the patron saint of last-second daggers.
That means Wes Johnson‘s game-tying, at-the-horn, send-it-to-OT, miraculous 3-pointer (especially given his career 33.8 percentage from 3-point range) in San Antonio last night is nothing more than a great shot:
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 15 years or so, you know two things:
a) You know more than two things.
b) Gregg Popovich is pretty ornery.
This isn’t a pejorative on the longtime San Antonio Spurs coach. I appreciate “some nasty” in leaders. Even more when it’s blended with effective communication, which the four-time championship winning Popovich has in spades.
Since this is All-Star weekend and all, the good ole folks in the multimedia department decided to put together a sort of midseason tribute to the “unhappy” coach: a
Tim Duncan has caught a lot of flak over the years for being “boring” to the average NBA fan. A nickname like “The Big Fundamental” doesn’t lend itself to tons of highlight plays and such, even though Duncan is no slouch in that area (especially this season) and, let’s not forget, has four championships, two MVPs and three Finals MVPs to his name. Not bad for boring.
One of the better passing big men of all time, Duncan is great at triggering the Spurs’ fast break with precise and (no duh) fundamentally solid outlet passes. That inspired the folks over at the fine Spurs blog, 48 Minutes of Hell, to pay tribute to his outlet passing by setting some of his best of the season to Keith Sweat’s R&B classic, “Twisted“. They’ve also got the perfect description for outlet passes to the average hoops fan:
Duncan’s outlet passing became very important in making the Spurs into a better offensive team. Unfortunately, outlet passes are like the vegetables of basketball. Supremely important but nothing special. It takes a lot to make outlet passes exciting.
Tim Duncan just happens to be one of the best in the game at making outlet passes, so we here at 48MoH thought we needed to do something to add some sexiness back to the outlet pass, so we put together this little mix tape.
Ever since actor Will Ferrell broke out his classic impersonationof legendary Chicago Cubs play-by-play man Harry Caray on “Saturday Night Live” in 1996, it’s become a popular impersonation to take a stab at. Most times, people end up doing an impersonation of Ferrell than Caray himself. But the spirit of the mimicking is often in the right place: random baseball facts, oddball questions and more that make you realize just how hard it is to entertain an audience throughout a baseball season as Caray did so well for years.
Longtime Cub-now-turned-Red Sox (in the offseason) Ryan Dempster had a couple of funny Caray impersonationsthe last few years. Another notable baseball player to pick up the Caray mantle lately is Texas Rangers pitcherDerek Holland. A couple of the Rangers attended last night’s Hornets-Spurs game in San Antonio — one of whom was Holland — and so San Antonio’s radio play-by-play man Bill Schoening (an amateur Caray impersonator himself) sat down with Holland to do an all-Caray interview. Check it out below:
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Our review?: Some pretty funny moments, but overall, it’s not on the level of Ferrell (or even Dempster’s for that matter). Still, it’s good for a little late-week chuckle.
Nothing better than more entries on the Horry Scale. Or, in this case, Mo entries.
The Jazz have been hovering around .500 all season, but a recent stretch of wins against the Lakers (in L.A.) and a nice rally against Toronto has Utah finding its rhythm. Being in a flow hasn’t been a problem for the Spurs, who — surprise!! — have been in and out of the No. 1 spot in the West all season. A nationally televised date between San Antonio and Utah in Salt Lake City wouldn’t seem to be a thriller in the making, especially given the Spurs’ defensive rating (6th) and the Jazz’s propensity for poor defense (20th in defensive rating). Yet down the stretch, we were treated to a Jazz-Spurs game that brought back memories of their 1990s rivalry, with Mo Williams putting on the hero cape this time.
For those that are new around these parts, the Horry scale examines a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time?), importance (playoff game or garden-variety Kings-Pistons game?), and celebration, and gives it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys, the patron saint of last-second daggers.
How does Williams’ shot Wednesday night stack up? Let’s take a look.
Difficulty
We’ll detail the play itself below — which the Spurs defended well twice — but overall the shot wasn’t too, too difficult for an NBA player of Williams’ caliber. San Antonio’s Danny Green was all over Williams on two different inbounds plays the Jazz tried to run and played him well once he got the ball. Williams wasn’t having a pretty night at this point — he was 3-for-8 from the field and 0-for-3 on 3-pointers. But Utah traded Devin Harris (a career 31.4 percent 3-point shooter) and picked up Williams (a career 38.6 shooter) in the offseason in separate deals because of Williams’ ability to make big 3-pointers. He came through this night.
Game Situation
Utah rallies from a 90-83 hole with 4:50 left to eventually tie the score off Paul Millsap‘s short jumper in the paint with 40 seconds to go. After a missed jumper by Tony Parker — which Williams rebounds and brings up court — Williams takes a 3-pointer that goes off the front of the rim. Millsap rebounds it and the Jazz call timeout and set up a play, but Gordon Hayward struggles to find an open man and calls another timeout. Hayward is the trigger man again and Williams tries to work off an Al Jefferson screen with Green right on his hip, but eventually gets the ball. Williams dribbles out near the wing, gets about two feet behind the 3-point line and lets fly with Green closing out nicely. All net and buzzer, though.
Importance
As we mentioned above, the Jazz have been up and down all season, nearly matching a bad win with a good win game by game. But thanks to a West-leading 9-1 mark in front of the always-faithful Jazz fans at EnergySolutions Arena, Utah is No. 6 in the West and staying in the thick of things. San Antonio, as mentioned, is as elite as ever and came into the game having won 10 of its last 11 and sporting the best record in the NBA. It’s hard to imagine either team swapping positions once May comes around, but for both teams, wins and losses against playoff-level/elite-caliber opponents are what can build (or break) confidence, especially in the case of the youthful Jazz.
All that said, this one probably had a little more importance for the Spurs. They’re in a dogfight with Memphis and OKC for the No. 1 spot in the West and, in case you forgot, the third tiebreaker for playoff seeding is better winning percentage against teams in the conference.
Celebration
Say what you want about Jazz fans, but those folks knowhowto celebrateamoment. Williams basks in the glory of the home crowd’s adulation as he runs to the opposite end of the court and is mobbed by Hayward, Enes Kanter and others. Exactly what we’ve come to expect from Jazz players in Utah, but nothing too over the top.
Grade
3 1/2 Horrys. We gave the Parker-over-OKC shot 3 1/2 and this one fits many of the same criteria. Early-season matchups between playoff teams from 2012? Check. A game that — depending on your point of view — will help or harm a playoff case a few months from now? Check. Great celebration in front of an always-loyal home crowd? Check. This is prime 3 1/2-star territory.
Much like our last Horry Scale participant, J.R. Smith, Williams shows the calmness and mental toughness to shake off a rough shooting night and be the hero when his team needed it.That’s something ol’ Mr. Horry used to do. That’s what we like about this one.
The creator of the Horry Scale, Micah Hart, has moved on from NBA.com-land. Still, his brainchild will live on. Now, only two days into the season, we have our first candidate of 2012-13 in Tony Parker.
For those that are new around these parts, the Horry scale examines a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time?), importance (playoff game or garden-variety Clippers-Nets game?), and celebration, and gives it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys, who is kind of the patron saint of last-second clutchiness.
For longtime Spurs fans, it might have been sweeter than usual to see Parker nailing a game-winning jump shot, if only because it wasn’t all that long ago that many questioned if Parker could add a reliable jump shot to his dangerous dribble-drive game.
How does Mr. Parker’s shot Thursday stack up? Let’s take a look.
Difficulty
As mentioned above, this is a now-routine shot for Parker — which was something you couldn’t always say about his outside game. We’d rate this one a medium difficulty, though, seeing as how last season’s shotblocking king, Serge Ibaka, was in the neighborhood and wasn’t that far behind in getting a hand on the ball. The shot could have been a lot tougher, though, had OKC All-Star Russell Westbrook not gotten lost on the pass from Danny Green to Parker, something that Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith took Westbrook to task for on “Inside the NBA.”
This was the second game of the season for San Antonio and OKC’s season-opener, so the importance would seem muted. There is, of course, the fact that these were the teams in last season’s West finals … and that OKC came back from an 0-2 hole to vanquish the Spurs … and that these squads remain among the West favorites again. This game adds another chapter to the overall lore of the rivalry and may end up mattering come season’s end. The importance factor, then, is semi-high with a chance of super-high later in the season.
Celebration
Very Spurs-like: The always-loyal San Antonio fans go nuts, Parker lets out a celebratory yell, Tim Duncan gets him in a loving headlock, Stephen Jackson comes over to bask in the moment, coach Gregg Popovich has a look of “welp” on his face and the Spurs head giddily to the locker room . Perfectly matched to the importance of the game.
Grade
3½ Horrys. It’s a well-executed shot and Parker proves that his game has plenty of range. The rivalry factor with OKC colors things and the potential future impact of this game to the West hierarchy beefs up the rating from what it would be were it any other game or teams (it’d probably be like 2 stars, IMO, if that were the case).
Stadium Journey recently released 
Catch up on every single game-winning buzzer beater during the season and see how it rates on the Horry Scale.
