Harlem Globetrotters Tour Philippines May 2009

Ad ID: 14274
Date Posted: 2009-03-20
Transaction type: Offering / Selling / For Sale
Price: P105 to P1575

Experience firsthand the basketball prowess of the Globetrotters at the Araneta Coliseum on May 25, 2009, Monday 7:00PM

Affordable Prices:

Patron (Reserved Seating) - P1575
Lower Box (Reserved Seating) - P1050
Upper Box A (Reserved Seating) - P840
Upper Box B (Free Seating) - P420
Gen. Admission (Free Seating) - P105

Reserve thru:
http://www.ticketnet.com.ph/2006/detail.php?eid=1096&res=Y
or Call 911-5555


http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/
Location: Metro Manila / NCR

SOURCE

N.B.A.’s Undercover Secret: Players’ Protective Pads

Many N.B.A. and college players wear thigh pads and chest pads beneath their loose-fitting uniforms, and their numbers have steadily risen. The quaint sport that Dr. James Naismith introduced to pass time in the winter has evolved into a full-contact sport requiring full-time protection.

“In the paint, basketball is very physical,” the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard said. “You’ve got elbows flying, bodies flying, crashing, people fighting for position. I don’t think people see all of that. That’s why a lot of people have been wearing those.”

He pointed to his teammate Mickael Pietrus, who was sliding into a flak jacket before a recent game.

The padding pioneer was Shaquille O’Neal, whose 7-foot-1, 315-pound frame provides ample room for bumps and bruises. O’Neal had worn girdlelike protection for a while, but five seasons ago when he joined the Miami Heat, he consulted with Ron Culp, then the team’s longtime trainer, on how to best nurse a bruised rib while continuing to play.

“When I came in, people thought the best way to stop me was to be physical,” said O’Neal, an 18-year veteran. “It didn’t really hurt. The little knickknack bruises started to addup.”

Culp considered having O’Neal wear a bulletproof vest, but it restricted movement and weighed too much. Culp then approached Kevin O’Neill, the Miami Dolphins’ head trainer.

O’Neal may stand taller, but he weighs about the same as many football players. And after witnessing the contact O’Neal absorbed, Culp said, it was only natural to consult a football team about protection.

“Basketball is the most physical noncontact sport in the world,” Culp said. “There’s a conundrum. You’re putting 10 oversized people in an undersized place and telling them to run as fast as they can and jump as high as they can and to not get hurt while doing it.”

Soon, the Heat’s Dwyane Wade started wearing the padding because he “bounces off of people like he is on a pool table,” Culp said.

O’Neal, now with Phoenix, said, “I’m a trendsetter, baby.”

LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Amar’e Stoudemire are also among those who don padding during games.

The game’s most dynamic players, those who draw the most attention and absorb the most contact, are regular users.

The extra cushioning provided by padded compression shorts and a tight-fitting padded V-neck undershirt goes mostly unnoticed.

But players are convinced that these special undergarments can prevent injury.

“It works,” Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young said as he held a protective shirt. “It depends where you get hit at. You want to protect some of the things in your body, and I’ve gotten elbowed a couple times in my ribs and they tend to be hurting for a while.

“This gives me a little more peace of mind.”

Because of O’Neal and others, McDavid, a manufacturer of protective sports equipment based in Illinois, modified its N.F.L. gear for basketball use. Its HexPad technology involves forming foam composites into hundreds of lightweight hexagonal pads that are bonded into fabric. Unlike most football pads, they do not have to be removed for washing.

The N.B.A. is happy as long as no one sees the extra padding.

“Whether they’re wearing padded or nonpadded compression gear, they can’t be visible while they’re at a standstill, and the compression tanks can’t be visible under the jersey as well,” said Stu Jackson, the league’s executive vice president for basketball operations.

“The compression items that are issued by the team are from our apparel partner, which is Adidas. They’re cut in a way that are not visible, so if a player chooses to wear another compression item, it must be so it’s not visible.”

But that makes it tougher to market to younger players.

“That’s the hard part of the product, that nobody sees it,” said Rey Corpuz, McDavid’s marketing director, who estimated that basketball padding for all ages could become a $15 million to $20 million business for his company. “It’s designed specifically not to be seen at the N.B.A. level.”

Other companies, including Nike and Under Armour, have also developed protective padding for basketball players.

“We really see this as the new modern-day uniform system,” said Todd Van Horne, a Nike creative director. “You’re not just using the jersey that’s wearing the number on the outside. The players are bigger, they’re stronger. They’re more competitive.”

So are the companies that have entered this burgeoning apparel category. McDavid sued Nike and later Adidas, citing patent infringement, and is seeking to have them cease manufacturing padded undergarments. Neither lawsuit has not been resolved.

Derek Kent, a Nike spokesman, said that the lawsuit lacked factual merit and that Nike filed for its own patent nearly two years ago.

“As an innovation-orientated company for athletes during the last 36 years,” Kent said, “Nike believes that athletes can decide which products provide the greatest performance advantage and that both should be allowed to compete in the marketplace unchanged.”

The popularity of the padded garments for basketball has been a coup for McDavid.

“If you go back into the ’70s, guys are wearing knee pads,” Corpuz said. “Padding isn’t outside of the culture. Our biggest challenge was changing the mind-set of the average basketball player that padding was already there.”

Still, some players bristle at wearing body pads, fearing that they may restrict movement or questioning the need for them in the first place.

“Those guys who use them bang a lot,” the veteran Nets guard Keyon Dooling said. “They get the ball a lot more than me. Over the years, I’ve learned how to avoid being hit by the big guys.”


I think the bulletproof vest is more effective, what do you think? LOL.

SOURCE

One giant leap for Tyler

One giant leap for Tyler
By Dan Wetzel

Jeremy Tyler has decided to forgo his senior year of high school and turn pro.
Yes, high school.
This isn’t some sign of the sporting apocalypse or a teenager with an overvalued sense of worth. It’s a daring, trailblazing yet well-thought-out move that challenges the bizarre way America develops amateur basketball players.
Tyler is an agile 6-11, 260-pound San Diego native, the nation’s top player in the junior class who already committed to the University of Louisville. He’s as close to a can’t-miss NBA prospect as there is; a tantalizing mix of size, speed and smarts. Scouts project him to be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 draft, when he’s eligible under the NBA’s age requirements.
In the meantime, Jeremy Tyler’s options were to:
1. Spend the next year at his local school, San Diego High, where he faces quadruple teams and isn’t experiencing much development; or
2. Transfer to a basketball factory in some rural outpost back East which has a big-time team but resembles a traditional high school in name only; and then
3. Play college ball for a few months dealing with NCAA limitations on practice time and coaching contact while competing against many of the same guys he has the last few years.
All for free, of course.

“I know I can do great things with my talent. My goal in life is to get better. Playing with the pro guys will get me a lot better faster. It will help me fulfill my dreams of playing in the NBA.”

– Jeremy Tyler

Instead Jeremy and his father, James, who owns his own home improvement company and is about to open a family restaurant, surveyed the traditional route, decided it made little sense, and went looking for a new plan. They called retired sneaker executive and hoops dealmaker Sonny Vaccaro and plotted a course for Europe.
It isn’t the easy way – hanging out in high school, AAU and college is safer and far less demanding – but it is what they believe will be the best way to prepare for the NBA. It’s exactly what a teenager of comparable talent would do if they were pursuing a career in music, acting, tennis, hockey or even academics.
“It may not be the best way to get to the NBA, but it’s the best way to get ready for the NBA,” Jeremy Tyler told Yahoo! Sports this week. His decision was first reported by the New York Times.
“I know I can do great things with my talent,” Tyler continued. “My goal in life is to get better. Playing with the pro guys will get me a lot better faster. It will help me fulfill my dreams of playing in the NBA.”
Over the next couple of weeks the Tylers said they will hire a financial planner and professional sports agent and pursue early feelers from professional teams in Spain, Italy and Israel. Jeremy Tyler is likely to receive a contract worth at least a few hundred thousand dollars a year and could sign endorsement contracts worth at least that.
The plan is to live abroad the next two years, with his father and an uncle taking turns staying with him. “He’ll never be alone,” James said.
Tyler will play against the grown men who can challenge a player of his size and potential. Away from the court he’ll be home-schooled, earn a GED and return in two seasons when he’s eligible for the 2011 draft.
By then, Jeremy Tyler figures, he’ll be a much better player and person; having learned from top coaches, enjoyed unlimited practice time and broadened his horizons in a foreign land. He calls it “a dream job” and isn’t the slightest bit nostalgic for homecoming, prom or missing out on college hoops.
And while he’ll earn a great deal of money, he says his chief motivation is to make himself the best prospect possible for the even greater amount waiting in the NBA.

---

In basketball terms, it’s a no brainer. The only risk is exposure at the hands of superior competition. Tyler could just stay in the States and hide his weaknesses against smaller, less-talented opponents.
“His game will be picked apart [by scouts], but long-term it’s much better for his development as a player,” said one Western Conference general manager, who can’t comment publicly due to NBA rules. “It’s a bold move, but I’ve seen tape and that kid could play in the NBA right now. He’s an incredible talent.”
Jeremy Tyler said he wants his shortcomings exposed so he can work on them in the same European professional leagues that have produced dozens of NBA players.
This June’s draft will bring more, including Brandon Jennings, a guard from Compton, Calif., who skipped his freshman season of college to play in Italy. Despite predictable challenges on and off the court, Jennings is returning as a projected lottery pick. NBA front offices said they value his experience more than that of a college freshman.

“He was bored in high school. He said that every game. [He’d] just get the rebound and shoot it back in the hole. I said, ‘we’re wasting this guy’s time. He’s not getting the challenge he deserves.’ As a parent, all you want to see is your kid strive to be his best.”

– James Tyler, Jeremy’s father

Then there’s Spain’s 18-year-old Ricky Rubio, expected to be the No. 2 pick in June’s draft. He turned pro at age 14 and at 17 was an Olympic starter holding his own against Team USA.
“For a 14-year-old overseas to be able to make money to play the same sport I’m playing, I think it’s only fair to have the same opportunity,” Jeremy Tyler said. “If you have a talent, you should be able to use it. If college is not going to help you at any stage, it’s a little unfair.”
The college is not going to help you part is where Jeremy, who is polished beyond his years, understands the criticism will come from.
He and his father are bracing for an establishment backlash that fails to appreciate their motivation, determination and appreciation of the intrinsic value of education. They think most of it will be designed to protect the billion-dollar business of amateur basketball.
“It’s just the old way of doing things and no one wants to swallow the pill of change,” James Tyler said. “Basketball is an American sport and they want the kids to go through the channels. And I think there is so much money generated in collegiate sports that they don’t want that interrupted.
“It’s a double standard.”
It won’t help the NCAA if top prospects flee to Europe to develop their games rather than add star power to March Madness.
College hoops was rescued from a long talent drain when in 2005 the NBA enacted an age limit that prohibited American players, but not foreigners, from entering the draft until one year after their high school class graduated.
That has led to a push of young stars in college basketball for one year, even if their commitment to being a “student-athlete” is often dubious. To be eligible for a season, a kid needs to earn just two D’s in the fall semester. He can fail, or not even show up for, every other class his freshman year and drop out immediately after the season.
Jeremy Tyler insists he’s on solid academic ground and isn’t going to Europe to avoid school work. The family informed Cardinals coach Rick Pitino about the decision.
“Education will always be there,” Jeremy said. “It doesn’t matter if I get it now or in three years. I can always go back. I’ll always have that to fall back on. I want to have a degree in business management.”
“Give me the day Harvard is going to close and then I’ll reconsider,” said James, who attended Mississippi Valley State but didn’t graduate. “He can always go back to school. It’s all learning. How is living in Europe not a learning experience?”

---

Sonny Vaccaro, 69, spent four decades as a powerful sneaker executive and basketball middle man, doing everything from signing Michael Jordan to Nike and Kobe Bryant to adidas, to creating what is now known as national grassroots basketball (high level AAU and high school teams).
He has little patience with college basketball, which after years with an inside view, he calls exploitative and dishonest. As a long-time fighter for player rights, he thinks the NBA’s age limit is criminal.

Jeremy Tyler at Day 3 of the LeBron James Skills Academy.

(Photo courtesy Kelly Kline)

A year ago he helped Jennings and his mother head to Rome and this winter fielded calls from at least a dozen families who considered doing the same.
That included James Tyler, who watched his man-child of a son get little out of high school ball, where his local school has few good players allowing defenses to descend on Jeremy. He contrasted that with the week Jeremy spent last summer at the Amare Stoudemire big man camp, where he was more aggressive and improved almost by the hour.
“He was bored in high school,” James said. “He said that every game. [He’d] just get the rebound and shoot it back in the hole. I said, ‘we’re wasting this guy’s time. He’s not getting the challenge he deserves.’ As a parent, all you want to see is your kid strive to be his best.”
Rather than choose to send his son off to a diploma mill with a killer basketball team back East – for some reason perfectly acceptable to the establishment – he and his son looked to Europe.
Jennings opened the door to Europe, Vaccaro said. Jeremy Tyler is taking it to the next level.
“I always wanted someone to do this,” Vaccaro said. “It’s amazing to me this kid from San Diego has the guts to do this, to take on all these establishment people like this.”
James Tyler said this isn’t about cashing in on his son. If he wanted to do that, he could’ve accepted under-the-table payments from agents or college coaches.
“Financially we don’t need anything from him. I can provide for him,” James said, before laughing. “And that’s saying something [because] he’s a seven-foot kid that eats a lot.
“If you know Jeremy, you know this kid is going to excel,” James said. “Why would we waste his time holding him back? Kobe [Bryant] was only 17 [when he went pro] and he blossomed. And LeBron [James] blossomed. [Dwight] Howard blossomed. Why not give my son that chance?”
Jeremy hopes others take a look at the European option and consider it. Why mindlessly follow a system designed to enrich and reward everyone but the player?
He said he didn’t set out to be a revolutionary. He is one anyway.
In the future the news of a kid forgoing his senior year of high school might not sound so shocking.

Let's wait and see him on 2011. :)

Source

Quick: D. Will vs. B.Roy ... and NBA is notified to revise my ballot

Whoa, people! Whoa!

Just got back from dinner, and boy, people must be bored tonight.

I will admit I made a huge mistake in my postseason ballot - a HUGE mistake - and I corrected it. There is no way I should have put Kevin Durant on the third team ahead of Tim Duncan. Have no idea what I was thinking. I have notified the NBA to change my ballot to reflect Duncan as third team forward in place of Durant.

Now as far as Brandon Roy on the third team behind Deron Williams ...

You all might be right. I never said it was an easy choice for me, and I never said it was the right choice.

I think most of you who follow my coverage of the team through The Oregonian, the Quick Chats on OregonLive and my segments on The Fan all know what I think of Roy. I think he is amazing. Exceptional. One of the best around.

I also happen to have as much respect for Deron Williams.

Now, there are a couple of factors that clouded my decision, which probably aren't fair, but as you all know, I'm pretty straightforward and not afraid to admit mistakes. I make them all the time.

First off, I will admit there was some extra caution in trying NOT to be a homer. I try to check myself throughout the year in whether I'm becoming biased toward a Blazers player, coach or front office personnel. Am I looking and evaluating these people as I would say, a person from the Lakers ... or Bucks ... or Nets? So yeah, there was probably an element - an element - of me not wanting to show favoritism toward Roy.

Second, I will admit that I probably allowed past performances to cloud my pick of Williams for second team. This honor, and vote, should be about this season.

But Williams won me over during the 2007 playoffs, when he led the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals while averaging 19.2 points and 8.6 assists. Then again, last season, he was brilliant in the playoffs, averaging 21.6 points and 10 assists in 12 playoff games. And he was an Olympian. All of that sticks with me when I think of him.

Also, I tend to think that a player who is among the NBA's top two in points, rebounding or assists needs strong consideration for high placement on the All-NBA teams. Of course, there are exceptions, like this season when Troy Murphy and David Lee are second and third in rebounding. But Williams is second in the NBA in assists at 10.6 while his main go-to-guy - Carlos Boozer - has missed more than half of the season. Williams is also averaging a steady 19.4 points.

And a third point, I should not have waited until the last second to do my ballot. In the past I have taken great strides to crunch numbers and weigh options. This season I was more rushed.

So I hear all of you saying the Blazers won more games, and Roy won more player of the week honors, and that Roy is an All-Star and Williams is not.

You may be right saying Roy deserves the second team before Williams. I may be wrong. But that's how I voted. And that's why I voted the way I did. And it wasn't an easy vote. But it's a vote I will stand behind.


I agree with you sir. Deron deserves it. :)
source

Now what Kobe?

Kirilenko will be charged with slowing down Trevor Ariza.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The venue isn’t the only thing that’s changing for tonight’s Game 3 (10:30 ET, TNT). Utah’s starting lineup is going through a transformation too.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan told reporters today after shootaround that he is going to insert Andrei Kirilenko into the starting five and bring Kyle Korver, who had been starting at small forward, off the bench.

“[Trevor] Ariza has had great runs here on us in these games, I thought I’d try to start Andrei and see what happens,” Sloan said.

Through the first two games of the series, Ariza has skyrocketed his regular season production from 8.9 points on 46.0 percent shooting and 1.8 assists to 17.0 points on 81.3 percent shooter with 5.5 helpers per game.

Meanwhile, Kirilenko has yet to show up. His numbers are down from 11.8 points on 44.9 percent shooting in 27.3 minutes per game to 9.0 points on 38.5 percent shooting while playing 21.5 minutes per game.

“It’s just a different look,” Deron Williams said. “Hopefully it gives AK some confidence, we need him playing well.”

“He gives us a little more length out there. Ariza has been hurting us a lot starting ballgames out with his outside shooting, his defense and his hustle so hopefully AK can match that.”

Several members of the Lakers mentioned Kirilenko’s weakside shot-blocking ability as something to be aware of, but overall preferred to concentrate on their own team execution rather than any personnel moves by Utah.

“I don’t think it changes anything too much,” Ariza said. “We’re still going to have the same game plan and still going to do the same thing.”

**********

Whether Carlos Boozer knew that no team in the history of the NBA Playoffs has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit or not, he was sure he didn’t want to become the next team to try the feat.

“It’s a must win,” Boozer said. “We’re down 0-2. For us, this is the biggest game of our season to win tonight and get back in the series.”

He hopes that playing on their home court will be what the Jazz need to get over the hump.

“We’re confident at home. We play fast at home. We just … win … here."

**********

Utah will be without Mehmet Okur again as he continues his gradual recovery from a right hamstring strain.

**********

Sloan said that the Lakers size down low has been the biggest factor in L.A. getting easy looks outside. When Utah has to double inside, L.A.'s bigs have been able to kick the ball back to the perimeter for open jump shots.

“We’ve got to do a better job keeping them from scoring so many points in the paint and making three-point shots,” Sloan said. “We’ve given up 54 points at the three-point line in two games. That’s inside-out basketball at its best.”

Utah plays the 6-foot-9 Boozer and the 6-foot-8 Paul Millsap at power forward against the 7-foot Pau Gasol and the 6-10 Lamar Odom. Jarron Collins is 6-foot-11 and has to contend with the 7-foot Andrew Bynum.

“We’re playing Paul Millsap against a guy who is 7-feet tall, you give up four or five inches, it’s hard to get to him and block his shot. We’re talking about a size differential here of a huge amount,” Sloan said.

“I’m going to put them on the concrete stretcher and see if I can get them about 7-foot-6 tonight, everybody will stand in the lane, we’ll zone them and take them that way.”

**********

Williams on the key to preventing the Lakers to getting off to a quick start for the third straight game:

“It comes down to getting stops. We’re not stopping them. We have trouble stopping these guys. Until we figure a way out to stop them on the defensive end, we’re not going to win.”

For those scoring at home, that was four stops in one answer from Williams. Maybe he was saying the word once for every win the Jazz still need in order to beat the Lakers in the series.

**********

Sloan talked about the mental toughness that Kobe Bryant possesses, saying, “he just walks on the floor and a lot of people are intimidated by his greatness.”

I’m not sure if you can say that Jazz forward Carlos Boozer is intimidated by him, but he has what you could call a “Kobe consciousness.”

“Honestly, point blank, you have to spend so much attention on Kobe because he’s Kobe,” Boozer said. “Because of that, other guys are getting shots and he trusts his teammates.”

There is a different between being mentally tough and playing mind games though. When Matt Harpring was asked if he thought Bryant was one of the five best players in the league at getting in the heads of his opponents, Harpring strongly disagreed.

“No,” Harpring said. “I wouldn’t even put him in my top 20. I don’t think he’s a player that plays mental games.”

Bryant agreed.

“I don’t even know what mental games are,” he said. “I don’t even know what that is to be honest with you. I just go out there and I play. I compete, I play hard and just go from there.”

**********

Williams and Bryant traded friendly barbs through the media about their time together during the Beijing Olympics.

Williams said he identified with Bryant once he got to know him because of their shared competitive nature, but added that Bryant would stop at nothing to win ... even if it meant bending the rules here and there.

“We had a lot of shooting contests after practices of which he cheated,” Williams said. “We would be shooting shots and all of the sudden for the last shot when I’m about to win, he wants to come over and contest it or foul me or something like that.”

Bryant got the last word when a reporter told him about Williams’ accusation.

“He’s a liar,” Bryant said. “He’s mad I used to kick his butt all the time. He lost all the time … Well, he beat me once, but once out of two months is not very good. Tell him I said that.”

Yeah! 2-1! Go Utah! Dwill and Boozer will win the championship! ^^

Source

Basketball star Lebron James on the NBA playoffs and his new movie

Basketball star and giant of the NBA Lebron James explains why he’s currently at the top of his game, talks up the Cleveland Celtics’ hopes in the NBA playoffs and spills the beans on his new movie.

Q: Do you feel this has been your best season yet? And if so, why?

A: I do think this is my best season as an individual thus far and the reason why is that our team was really successful and we continued to play with a great deal of high intensity throughout the whole year. I raised my level also, so I would say this is the best season I have had in the NBA thus far.

Q: What is your reaction to the news that Kevin Garnett could be out for the Playoffs? That certainly opens the door for the Cavs. Also, if you do end up getting through the Celtics, does that mean it is going to be easier for you to pledge your future to Cleveland when you have a chance to sign an extension in July?

A: I think every team that makes the Playoffs is a threat. No matter what you do in the regular season, the top eight teams make the Playoffs, so your record is thrown out the window. Boston is a great team with our without KG, so they will still be in the running. There are other good teams like Orlando, Miami; the fist round opponent we play in Detroit, is a really good team. I’m excited to be in Cleveland and I’ve never given any indication of me leaving so this season has nothing to do with me leaving or staying. I am very excited about being part of this franchise.

Q: And about KG being out?

A: I think KG has to do what’s best for him at this point. He doesn’t want to do something that can hurt him for a long period of time for next season. I know the team may be a little bit down, but they still have a lot of veteran guys and they still have two All-Stars that can play the game of basketball really well, so they are going to be fine.

Q: You are 82 games into the season already, you’ve had a fantastic workload and now you have to peak again to go into, potentially, four series in the post-season. How do you prepare yourself mentally and physically to go again after such a long time, seven or eight months already?

A: We all know it’s a new season now. We had a great regular season and no one can take that away from us but that’s over and done with now. We have a bigger goal, and our main goal is to win an NBA Championship, so it’s relatively easy to get back focus for the postseason because we know it’s the best part of the season. The Playoffs is like taking a kid to a candy store – you don’t want to leave. So we’re really excited about it.

Q: How much has Pau Gasol improved the Lakers and how do you see them as a possible Finals rival?

A: I think the Pau Gasol trade goes down in history as one of the biggest trades in sports history along with some of the other great trades in the sport of basketball. He has definitely helped that team become the team they are today. He is a very, very good player and it will be a great matchup if we can get to The Finals, and the Lakers can get to The Finals, to face-off against each other.

Q: How did you manage to make your teammates better this season?

A: Well my game is geared around making my teammates better; it’s nothing I did differently. Maybe being more vocal or being more of a leader. The way I play the game automatically gets my teammates involved because I like to pass, I’m a very unselfish player, a very unselfish person, so it was very easy for me to get my teammates involved and get them better everyday.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about the Pistons? It seems like everyone is saying bring on the Celtics, bring on the Lakers and they are overlooking the first and second rounds. What’s your take on the Pistons?

A: There is no way you can overlook the Pistons. This is a team that has been to the Conference Finals like six years in a row. You can never overlook a team that has been through all the ups and downs of the Playoffs. We know how experienced that team is, and how powerful and dangerous that team is, so we are looking forward to the challenge just like we were in the Eastern Conference Finals. We know its going to be a good test for us.

Q: What’s the difference this year in the Cavs? Is it Mo Williams? Is it that the team adjusted to each other? Or has your game elevated so much to carry the team?

A: I think its all three. The addition of Mo in the offseason has really helped us. The team chemistry from day one, everyone was focused on the championship and getting better every day from the first day of training camp, and then just my game getting better through the off-season and bringing that to implement it in to our team. Everything you just said is the reason we are on top of the NBA and finished with the best record in the NBA, and we have to continue to play like we are one of the best teams in the NBA in the post-season.

Q: How much of a motivation is the 4-0 defeat in the ‘07 Finals for you?

A: It’s a big motivation to see how close we were, but how far we were from a NBA championship team. That motivated me a lot and that’s a lot of the reason I am the player I am today. You can only get better when you hit trials and tribulations or bumps in the road. I definitely used that as motivation and that’s why you guys see the player you see today in LeBron James.

Q: After such a great season, would you feel it would be an opportunity missed if you were not to be the champions this time around?

A: I feel like I’m at a point in my career if I’m not competing for a championship, I’m wasting my time and I’m wasting my teammates time. To be in a position to be in the Playoffs and fight for an NBA championship, I’m looking forward to it.

Q: What aspects of your game do you see that you still need to improve on and what will you be doing in the off-season for that?

A: Every part of my game needs improvement and its going to continue to get that improvement in the time I spend on the court in practices and games. There is not one distinct thing that I can look at and say you are drastically not improving in that area. I think everyday I practice I get better and I work on certain things. When you are playing the game of basketball, it really helps because when you are out there you are going against certain defenses and going against certain sets. Every part of my game is always improving every time I step on the basketball court.

Q: Are you going to wear new Nike sneakers for the Playoffs?

A: Yes, absolutely. The new Nikes are called the Zoom Soldier 3. They will be in stores this Friday and I will be wearing them in the upcoming Playoffs.

Q: How are they going to be?

A: They are going to be great. They are going to be like me.

Q: I heard wind about a movie that will be coming out in the fall, can you tell us a bit more about that?

A: The movie is called More Than a Game. It’s about me and my four best friends setting out with the dream of winning a national championship and not knowing that the game of basketball would create friendship and brotherhood. It will be coming out in October and I’m looking to do a world tour where I will promote the movie in a couple of cities in Europe -- in London and Paris, and one more city that is to be announced. It’s going to be great. I think every basketball team and everyone that’s in sports, parents; we should all go out and see it because it’s very inspirational.

Q: Can you give us a little more detail? Is a documentary type approach or is it film? Fiction or fact? How would you describe it?

A: It’s everything. It’s action because the game of basketball and people love to see highlights. It goes to peoples’ backgrounds. It goes through all of my four best friends’ backgrounds. It’s very inspirational so you look at the game of basketball different and you look at life different. Certain people are put in your life for a certain reason, and if you take that opportunity, you might be led in the right direction. And we were led in the right direction because we were put with this guy, Coach Dru Joyce.

Q: Are you excited about playing the Lakers since they were the only to beat you in Cleveland?

A: We lost last night at home also against the Philadelphia 76ers, so we lost two games at home. It doesn’t matter who we play against, at home or on the road, we take the challenge. If we go out there and play well and we lose, then we can be satisfied with that. One thing we try to do is control what we can do and hopefully put ourselves in a position where we can try to win ballgames.

Q: How do you feel about the MVP race between yourself, Kobe and Wade?

A: I think it was three great seasons by three great players. For me, it was doing the things that I did for my team and as an individual. The way D-Wade came back from injury a year ago and having 15 victories to making the postseason wining 40-plus games this year. I think Kobe Bryant is always arguably the best player in the world. He always made sure his team was playing at a high level. It was three great seasons and I commend those two guys on playing the game of basketball the way they do, it was fun to watch. It was fun to play and it was fun to watch those two guys.

Lebron in Hollywood? Why not? ^_^

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Celtics’ Allen Is Suspended One Game for Elbow Shot

The N.B.A. suspended Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen one game without pay for elbowing Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao in the groin. Allen will be docked more than $167,000 in salary.
Allen sat out the Celtics’ game in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, a meaningless 100-98 victory for Boston. Kevin Garnett also missed the game to rest his strained knee.

Paul Pierce, who finished with 31 points, made the winning jumper as the Celtics hindered Philadelphia’s chances for the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed. Pierce made seven 3-pointers.

Andre Iguodala led the 76ers with 25 points and Thaddeus Young, who returned after missing seven games with an ankle injury, had 18.

The Celtics already had the second seed in the East locked up and could face the Sixers in the first round of the playoffs.

Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said he was surprised Allen was suspended, and said Varejao played a role in the incident.

“The bottom line to me is the foul before the incident,” Rivers said. Varejao and Allen were tangled under the basket after a free throw with 5 minutes 5 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the Cavaliers’ 107-76 victory on Sunday. Varejao flung Allen to the floor, and Allen responded with his elbow.

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