Some Silly Side Thoughts on Such a Cold Saturday
Ah winter, the one season I have given myself permission to hate. This has been one of my repeated rants but people who always complain about the weather annoy me. In Southern Ontario, we usually get all four seasons even if fall and spring lack prolonged representation some years. I know people who whine about each season and they are exhausting. I decided a few years ago I could dislike one of the seasons and winter lost out. I do not complain about the heat or the rain or the loss of daylight, but I really do not enjoy anything about winter. (Yes, I can be Canadian and not enjoy winter!)
1. Facebook Group Find: OldSkool Basketball #23
Warning: This could cost you your Saturday.
This group post old videos from days of basketball past. The videos are grainy and some cannot go to full screen, but they are fun. Not sure where the 23 comes from, maybe the idea was so popular there are 23 other groups? My favorite is the old converse commercial with that Bird guy.
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Drazen
2. Sportsmanship
With the beating tennis is taking this week, maybe we could look at a fun and honest moment with Jack Sock:
3. Curry vs Nash
Both are great players who really changed how their teams were playing. The stats below would make you think Nash was a marginally better shooter but I believe they are misleading and detract from the true contribution both brought to their team.
Nash made players work harder by rewarding them if they were open. He may be the least selfish point guard since Magic Johnson. This created a team who wanted to work hard for him. If you have ever played with a ball hog, you understand the frustration of working hard on the defensive end only to have a guy dribble down the floor and jack up a twenty footer. Nash rewarded guys for running the floor and making good cuts to get open. Who wouldn’t want to play with that guy?
Curry has created a shooting culture on the Warriors. Everyone not only has permission to shoot, they are expected to shoot. If you are open, let it fly. Draymond Green would not be the player he is without Curry encouraging the team to shoot. Confidence increases and so do shooting percentages. If Kevin Love had ended up with the Warriors, he would be better than he was in Minnesota. Instead, he is bickering with Lebron. Just imagine a team where the best player encourages you to shoot and get in on the fun… like a Bizarro World MJ.
4. This Commercial
The Song
Live Forever by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors
5. Parents and Over-Coaching
I love this analogy about how players often feel about their parents coaching from the other sidelines. As a coach, I prefer parents who simply cheer and encourage instead of instruct. For the record, yelling “Shoot!” at a player decreases their shooting percentage.
*Raptors Watch*
Looks like the Dinos will have as many All-stars as I have thumbs. That’s right, the second place, 28-15, 7 game winning streak Raptors are looking in great shape. I really like how they are winning games. Often, they would win games and I would feel they barely scraped it out , this season they have won a significant number of games that never seemed in doubt. Add to the mix the number of injuries they have survived and I am a happy fan.
Plus Jeff Van Gundy likes us
http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2016/01/16/62542/
15x366 Watch
Streak still in tack! I still hate the cold.
