Best dunker in the NBA?

Tracy McGrady. Vince Carter. Jason Richardson. Michael Jordan. Shawn Kemp. Penny Hardaway. These guys helped define late 90's and early 21st century basketball with their high-flying, gravity-defying, popularity-buying, make-you-crying dunks. 360 jams, tomahawk throw downs, these were things that you could see in an everyday game of basketball. Nowadays, the art has transformed.

Less and less do we see swingmen flying through the air, absolutely posterizing all in their way. Although dunking is still prevalent, it's more popular in the form of big forwards or centers grazing rims. Now, that being said, guys like Blake Griffin, Javale McGee, and Josh Smith definitely have my respect, it's just a little sad to see change.

Really, what guards or small forwards are there that can really throw it down? There's Andre Iguodala, JR Smith, and maybe Demar Derozan. But beyond that, you don't see the big names jam. LeBron puts on a show every once in a while, but you can tell it doesn't interest him. "I'd rather pull back from that open lane and shoot a three!" Okay, I made that quote up, but still. Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony do their thing every once in a while, and Kobe Bryant has had his moments, but what happened to people getting nicknames like "Air Canada"? It's a crying shame.

Well, change is inevitable, I guess. Although I blame the players for not being able to throw it down as well anymore, a big part of it is actually the defense. Players on the other team don't exactly "clear the runway". They would rather be charged with a flagrant foul than allow the other team to dunk on them. Too prideful, if you ask me.

Dunking is the true beauty of basketball. We must protect it, preserve it, and most of all, respect it.

So in terms of great dunkers, is there anybody I missed? Let me know in the comments!

Picture Credit: http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/1205/shawn.kemp.rare.photos/images/kemp-dunk-fix2.jpg

Pelicans are cool... Right?

So, if you haven't already heard, the New Orleans Hornets officially changed their team mascot to the Pelicans at the end of the 2012-13 season. Keep in mind that this is a team that moved from Charlotte just over a decade ago; change isn't too unfamiliar. The navy, crimson, and gold color scheme presents a cleaner, younger, and fresher image than the teal and yellow.

Now don't get me wrong, the Hornets have had some sweet jerseys over the years (do I hear Mardi Gras uni's, anybody?). But the teal and yellow seems to have been pushed to it's limits in terms of the direction professional basketball is going. Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, and Austin Rivers have been joined by Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans in the Big Easy, the foundation for a very formidable young team. In fact, they only have two players with more than 5 years of NBA experience.

Believe it or not, I actually like the looks of a Pelican playoff run this season. With Davis' presence on defense, Holiday's ability to move the ball, Rivers' and Gordon's offensive skill, and Evans' slashing talents, they are a piece or two away from being a power. Now, obviously no team is instantly a success. They will need a veteran to anchor the team, and they will need some time to develop their playing style, but I see promise.

Now onto the jersey. For such a youthful, exciting team, the uniforms are quite dull. I don't know about you, but donning one of these wouldn't make me feel like throwing it down in the paint or dropping 35 on a division opponent. The jerseys are disproportionate, trite, and just a bad decision. This feels like the Cavaliers and Nets combined their two jerseys and added a fleur de lis.

It's clear that the Pelicans have a lot to work with. We can only hope that they learn to not only show it, but back it up as well.

What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!

Picture Credit: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/orleans-pelicans-unveil-positively-plain-uniforms-photos-200927039.html

Wait... Basketball

A lot can go down between thursday and saturday... So imagine what can happen between February and July! After my return post went up (you can find it directly below this one), I realized that I didn't say one word about basketball. On this BASKETBALL blog.

WHAT!?

So, like I said, it's been a while. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. The Heat won another championship, after the Spurs choked it up. LeBron James was handed another MVP award (Most Valuable Player to the league's budget, not necessarily to a team), free agency made quite a splash, Kobe may be lost forever, some trades were made, the Celtics look worse than Shawn Marion's jumpshot, the Nets are the new Spurs, the Lakers are staring a losing record in the eye, the Rockets and Thunder look ready to battle for the West for the next 4 years, Derek Fisher's term as representative for the players' union expired (these are all equally important events), apparently Detroit has a basketball team, and Kevin Hart is ready to win a record third consecutive MVP in the Celebrity All-Star game.

Wow.

That right there is the NBA. Three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Dwight Howard, former MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and 15-time All-Star Kevin Garnett, Ten-time All-Star and former Finals MVP Paul Pierce, former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans, All-Star Andre Iguodala, Slam-Dunk Contest Champion Josh Smith, and former Defensive Player of the Year Metta World Peace are all notable players that found new homes this off-season. This was a HUGE year for free agency. Not only because of the names above, but also because of the fact that the moves teams made this summer set up for next year's free agents, including Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James.

Also, did anybody know that Chauncey Billups and Elton Brand were still in the league? I thought they were living in senior homes.

Needless to say, the events of the 2012-2013 NBA season are more than enough to set a MAJOR stage for this upcoming year, and we are all lucky to have a front row seat.

Picture Credit: http://cdn3.sbnation.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/8214455/20130215_jla_ad1_179.0_standard_352.0.jpg

He's alive! Alive!

So yes, I realize that Buckets has not been updated for a good 5 months. My bad. Really dropped the ball on that one. Between journalism, AP Testing, playing basketball, and maintaining a social life, Buckets has been pushed to the back of my mind. I apologize for that. For all 297 that have ever visited this blog, I owe you an apology.

So no more of the past! This year, we start anew. The ultimate basketball coverage is on it's way. In the words of Tim Tebow following the loss to Ole Miss in 2008: "But I promise you one thing: A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of this season, and you'll never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of this season, and you'll never see a team play harder than we will the rest of this season. God bless."

Now, I am no Tim Tebow, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Also, please substitute the word "writer" for "player, "work" for "play", and "myself" for "rest of the team". But, you get the point.

So how did I get from basketball to football in 4.2 seconds? Not quite sure. I tend to do that sometimes. And I have my shortcomings; there is no way I will be able to update this blog every day. I am human, and a busy human at that. Preparing for my toughest year academically, playing two sports, and attempting to start a podcasting network (more on that later) will take quite a bit of my time. But I will try my best.

So until next time, loyal readers. I will count the seconds until I post once again.

And how sick is this picture? T-Mac just never gets old.

Picture Credit: http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/189/9/c/tracy_mcgrady_orlando_magic_wallpaper_by_lisong24kobe-d56gp56.jpg

Is Kentucky producing the best NBA products?

Alright. We've all seen how dominant the University of Kentucky has been in recent years, but they just don't keep people around. Most of their players jump ship after a year or two. And they're still as good as they are year after year. In the picture below, the number to the right of the year is the round drafted and the number to the right of that is the overall selection number. This past year, they had four players drafted in the first round, including the first and second overall. Wow. That doesn't just happen.

In fact, they've had two players drafted in the first ten for the past three years. Wait, what? John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins went first and fifth in 2010, Enes Kanter and Brandon Knight went third and eighth in 2011, and just this past year, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist went in the first two spots.

Now, none of these players have made a huge impact in the league, but who really does within their first few years? Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and maybe Allen Iverson. But that's about it.

Either way, in my opinion, Kentucky puts out a higher number of top prospects than any other college. But I could be missing somebody. Duke? North Carolina? Marquette? What do you think?

Picture credit: http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/statistics/careernba.html

God told Derrick to rise. So Derrick Rose.

Seriously, when is D-Rose coming back? We're at the point now where we can expect Adidas to release a new Rose shoe on a more consistent basis than Rose actually playing basketball. Not to say I don't like his new sneaks. I'm not a big Adidas guy, but they're not bad.

The Chicago Bulls are in need of a 2nd wind. Thankfully, the Eastern Conference is weaker than Tyrann Mathieu at the Scouting Combine this year. Really, the Heat and the Knicks are the only legitimate threats. And maybe the Pacers. But they're the Pacers. Although they're in fourth, just losing a game could throw them back to sixth. That's not too great. And that means they'd go up against New York in the first round (provided the standings stay the same). Not exactly who you wanna start off against.

If Rose comes back, I see good things in the Bulls' future. If they were to win a championship, now would be the year. The Thunder are looking as if they really miss James Harden, despite their win over the Lakers the other night. The Heat can't seem to destroy teams anymore, and the Spurs don't have much postseason experience. If they step it up, we might have MJ smiling for the first time since he bought the Bobcats. You think he has any idea what he's doing?

Now, Rose has made a miraculous recovery from his injury (Maybe almost too miraculous *cough* PED's *cough*). We love you, Rose. Ignite a team, a city, a league, and a nation. Be Superman.

Picture credit: http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2012/01/20/Bulls-Rose-sits-out-third-in-a-row-O7S7A6E-x-large.jpg

The comebacks!

The Lake Show does it again! After being down 25 points to the New Orleans Hornets, the Los Angeles Lakers made a miraculous comeback, most of which was a result of a 20-0 run in the fourth quarter. That takes them back up to .500 at 31-31. But can they make a comeback?

I'll admit, the Lakers look pretty bad this year. But Kobe's been destroying his opponents. Against New Orleans he dropped a double-double off of 42 points and 12 assists. Crazy good. D-12, Nash, and Gasol have all been underperforming, but thankfully, the Black Mamba has been coming through.

The Jazz and the Rockets are in the 7 and 8 spots in the West, and the Lakers are only a game and a half behind. In fact, the Lakers are sixth in the league this year for points scored, and fourth for rebounds. Not to mention they have a pretty easy schedule to end the season. They play the Spurs and the Clippers once each and the Warriors a couple times. Other than those games, they really should win a good percentage of the games they still have.

But what's better for LA? When Kobe scores a lot or when he gives the ball up? The Lake Show is 2-4 this year in games that Kobe scores more than 40 and 15-22 in games in which he shoots the ball 20 times or more. When he has 10 or more assists? 5-1. That really makes one think. Same thing with Carmelo Anthony in New York or Lebron in Miami. The teams play better when they play selfless.

So how will things shape out? Is Kobe at his best when he puts up a lot of shots? And above all else, will the Lakers make the playoffs?

Picture credit: http://blog.lakers.com/lakers/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/160354940_10.jpg