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Bill Tosheff: NBA Co-Rookie of the Year and Tireless Advocate for the "Pre-1965ers" (Part II)
March 02, 2009 by
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Bill Tosheff's life story reads like
an improbable movie script: four sport star in high school, member of a
B-17 bomber crew in World War II, baseball and basketball teammate of
future baseball Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn while both did military
service in Alaska, captain...
Suns Eclipse Lakers Despite Bryant's 49 Points
March 02, 2009 by
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Shaquille O'Neal seems to have found the Fountain of Youth in the Arizona desert. He followed up his 45 point performance in a 133-113 Phoenix win over Toronto on Friday with 33 points on 13-18 field goal shooting in a 118-111 victory over the league-leading L.A. Lakers. That is...
Rejuvenated Pistons Beat Celtics
March 02, 2009 by
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Detroit's 105-95 victory at Boston was rich in subplots. The Celtics were without the services of Kevin Garnett for the fourth game in a row and the seventh time this season; this is the first time that they lost sans "The Big Ticket" in 2008-09 and they were 9-2 without...
ABA Numbers Should Also Count
February 28, 2009 by
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A slightly different version of this article was originally published in the May 2001 issue of Basketball Digest. Julius "Dr. J" Erving. Rick Barry. George "the Iceman" Gervin. David Thompson. Artis Gilmore. That looks like a formidable starting five, but there...
NBA Leaderboard, Part VI
February 28, 2009 by
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The L.A. Lakers look like they are on a mission, while each of the
other top contenders is dealing with at least one injury to a key
player. Dwyane Wade has maintained his hold on the scoring lead but
LeBron James and/or Kobe Bryant still remain within striking distance. Best Five...
Will Stephon Marbury be a 21st Century Bob McAdoo or Mark Aguirre?
February 28, 2009 by
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Stephon Marbury made his Boston debut on Friday night, scoring eight
points on 4-6 field goal shooting while passing for two assists (and
committing three turnovers) in 13 minutes as the Celtics beat Indiana,
104-99. Marbury has always been able to put up good individual numbers...
Classic Confrontations: Pacers vs. Colonels
February 26, 2009 by
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A slightly different version of this article was originally published in the December 2004 issue of Basketball Digest. The Indiana Pacers appeared in five ABA Finals, won three ABA titles and became known as the Boston Celtics of the upstart league. Pacers? broadcaster Bobby ?Slick...
Al Bianchi: Dr. J's First Pro Coach
February 24, 2009 by
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While covering this year's Legends Brunch at All-Star Weekend, I had the opportunity to interview Al Bianchi, Julius Erving's first pro coach. I'd never met or spoken with Bianchi before but in a sense I felt like I had known him almost my whole life; I initially heard...
Supergames I & II: The 1971 and 1972 NBA-ABA All-Star Games
February 23, 2009 by
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A slightly different version of this article was originally published in the October 2004 issue of Basketball Digest. The Forgotten Dream Teams The
1992 U.S. Olympic "Dream Team" is considered to be the best basketball
team ever assembled; ten of its twelve members are...
The ABA's Unsung Heroes
February 23, 2009 by
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This article was originally published in the October 2004 issue of Basketball Digest. By the mid-1970s, the ABA was failing financially but the league featured many of the sport?s young, rising stars, including Julius Erving, Gilmore, Moses Malone, George Gervin and David Thompson...
Cavs Blow Out Misfiring Pistons
February 23, 2009 by
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The Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 43-11--the best record in the Eastern Conference--with a 99-78 rout of the Detroit Pistons, who have now lost six games in a row and are in serious danger of not making the playoffs, a stunning collapse for a team that has appeared in the last six...
Celtics Outrun, Outgun Defenseless Suns
February 23, 2009 by
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The coaching change "honeymoon" may be over in Phoenix after the Celtics blitzed the Suns 128-108 on Sunday afternoon. The Suns fired Coach Terry Porter--replacing him with assistant coach Alvin Gentry--right before playing two games against the Clippers and one game against...
GM Survey: Kobe is Still #1
February 22, 2009 by
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In the annual preseason survey of NBA General Managers,
66.7% of the respondents said that LeBron James would be their first
pick to start a franchise today, with Kobe Bryant finishing second
(18.5%)--but that voting clearly is more of a reflection of James' age
than of a skill...
NBA "Mid-Term" Report Card
February 19, 2009 by
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The NBA season is actually well past the halfway point but, with teams gearing up for the stretch run after the expiration of the trade deadline, now is the perfect time to file a "mid-term" report card. In the Western Conference, nine teams are battling for eight playoff...
Video of Nate Robinson's 2009 Dunk Contest Dunks
February 17, 2009 by
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Nate "KryptoNate" Robinson earned his second Slam Dunk Contest title with a narrow victory over the defending champion, Dwight "Superman" Howard. Both contestants brought a lot of fun, energy and athleticism to the event and Howard was a good sport to agree to let...
Video of Dwight Howard's 2009 Dunk Contest Dunks
February 17, 2009 by
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Although Dwight Howard came up just short of defending his Slam Dunk Contest crown, he did some things that have never been seen before in the event, including his two hand jam on a 12 foot rim. In case you missed Howard's dunks--or if you just want to see them again--here are...
No Shaq-Kobe Drama--Just a Win and Some Laughs
February 16, 2009 by
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Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were the main focus in the days
leading up to the All-Star Game--and when the lights came on Sunday
night they lived up to all of that advance billing both in terms of
entertainment value and production. O'Neal kicked off the festivities...
NBA Legends Brunch Honors Phoenix' Rich Basketball History
February 16, 2009 by
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The attendance at the NBA Legends Brunch on the Sunday morning of
All-Star Weekend has grown by leaps and bounds since I first covered
the event in Denver in 2005. The Legends Brunch provides a great
opportunity to reminisce with and about the greatest figures in the
sport'...
Champions Dethroned on All-Star Saturday Night
February 15, 2009 by
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All-Star Saturday Night saw two reigning champions fail to defend their titles--and two former champions regain their crowns. The Detroit Pistons won the Shooting Stars competition for the second time in three years, Daequan Cook ended Jason Kapono's two year run as the Three Point...
NBA Finals MVP Trophy Named After Bill Russell
February 15, 2009 by
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Bill Russell's name is synonymous with winning, so it is most fitting that the NBA Finals MVP Award will now be called "The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award." Russell led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA championships in his 13 season career but he never...
Will the Triangle Offense Make an Appearance in the All-Star Game?
February 15, 2009 by
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All-Star practices typically involve a media availability session followed by the two teams separately running some basic NBA sets, having some shooting contests and calling it a wrap--and today's practices were no exception for the most part, but one interesting wrinkle was that...
Adidas Formally Unveils New High Tech Uniforms
February 14, 2009 by
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I mentioned in a recent post
that adidas designed state of the art uniforms for the 2009 All-Star
Game. Today at the adidas Court in NBA Jam Session, the NBA and adidas
formally announced an expansion of their partnership agreement,
signifying that adidas is now the official compression...
Kobe Talking About Shaq, Shaq Talking About Kobe--and Phil Jackson Talking About Both
February 14, 2009 by
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One of the most obvious subplots for this year's All-Star Game concerns
the reunion for a day of Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant with Shaquille
O'Neal. For quite some time, O'Neal delighted in taking veiled--and not
so veiled--public potshots at his former coach and his former...
Rick Barry Interview
February 13, 2009 by
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I caught up with Rick Barry just after the conclusion of the NWBA All-Star Game; he served as an honorary coach for the victorious West squad.
I first interviewed Barry several years ago and he told me at that time
that the only basketball statistic that cannot be manipulated is...
Jam Session Grand Opening, Wheelchair All-Star Game Highlight First Day of All-Star Weekend
February 13, 2009 by
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This is my fifth time covering NBA All-Star Weekend; it is hard to believe how quickly the time has flown since my first All-Star Weekend in Denver kicking it with the ABA veterans.
I learned pretty quickly that it is impossible to see and do
everything, which means that each year...
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20 Second Timeout
NBA analysis and commentary with links to David Friedman's articles and interviews with legends such as Julius Erving, Oscar Robertson and many others.
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