Lost Arts of the Game

The Two Handed Set Shot
At one time this was the bread-and-butter play of the NBA. Now it's gone the way of the dinosaur. Still, some of these players who can't hit 30% from the field should give it a try, at least in practice. What have they got to lose?

The Hook Shot
This shot once was a Celtics mainstay. Cooz, Tommy and Russ made it a regular part of their repertoire. Bill's freshman coach at USF, Ross Guidice, once reported that Bill practiced the hook every day, 500 lefthanded and 500 righthanded. Apparently, it isn't flashy enuff for today's players. The dunk and the three-pointer are all the rage.

The Mid-Range Jumper
This is yet another staple of the game that is increasingly neglected. It looks too pedestrian. Players would rather take a 20-footer than a 10-footer. There's something really wrong there.

The Sneak Up from Behind and Steal the Rebound Play
Boston Celtics ubermensch Tommy Heinsohn was the all-time master of this heads up play, having learned it on the playgrounds of NJ. There've been other players who incorporated it into their games over the years: Mo Cheeks and Larry Bird, to name two. It would seem to be ideally suited to someone like Rajon Rondo. And, he has Tommy right there to show him the trick.

The Full Court Press
Red Auerbach believed that in every game there came a moment of truth when one team ripped the heart out of the other. Red often used the full court press to bring about those moments. All Red's teams had a designated pressing squad consisting of 3 or 4 players coming off the bench while the starters rested. Maybe he was trying to justify their salaries to Walter Brown or maybe he had the craftiest mind of any coach ever.

The Sixth Man
The NBA has a Sixth Man Award but very few sixth men. What's up with that? Is it the salaries? The glory of starting? In today's game, how many players actually consider sacrificing for the good of the team? This could be one of the signs that the pendulum has swung as far as possible in one direction and is about to start swinging back the other way.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. More of your ridiculous common sense. Where's the glitz? Gimme the glam! Hooks are for schnooks. Press this!

I have it on good authority that they're going to do away with the center jump. The dancers of each team will henceforth compete in a trampoline shootout for first possesion...using squid instead of a ball. Every game will begin with a giant squidoff.

Sam

tyroneshoelaces wrote:

The Full Court Press
Red Auerbach believed that in every game there came a moment of truth when one team ripped the heart out of the other. Red often used the full court press to bring about those moments. All Red's teams had a designated pressing squad consisting of 3 or 4 players coming off the bench while the starters rested. Maybe he was trying to justify their salaries to Walter Brown or maybe he had the craftiest mind of any coach ever.

"...but coach, you mean you want me to pick up my man off the inbounds pass and play on him all the way down the court? I gotta tell you that's gonna kill my legs for the three and the jam. Coach; really? None of us here have done that since we came out after a year of college ball!"