EL BLOG ILUSORIO DE RUDY: Putting One's Shot on the Block

29.1.10

Putting One's Shot on the Block

Few basketball matters are more dispiriting than the shot blockings. It is that moment when a defender dismisses his competitor as inadequate...in front of a crowd of thousands!

The other side of this coin is the satisfaction of rebuffing a noted rejector of shots, as I do here with Andrei Kirilenko. (Martell Webster calls the Russian "Lankenstein," a reference that Mary Shelley might enjoy!)

But as with so many matters, avoiding a shot-blockage is simple: The shooter simply needs to leap high enough so that his defender is unable to extend to the same point. As Michael Jordan displays here, once the technique is mastered, anyone can perform it! (Gimlet-eyed observer Robert Runyon, Esquire, notes Jordan's unusual zapatos: Converse!)

Of course, this same method works close to the rim as well!

Rudy foto from here, MJ from here.

1 comment:

Robert Runyon, Esq.January 30, 2010 at 12:56 AM
Is MJ wearing Converse in that picture?

QUE SCANDAL!
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"El Blog Ilusorio": In the Orbs of Others!

Rudy's Hypothetical Rules of Basketball

1. In ten years, nobody will remember the details of score, assists, or rebounds. They will only remember who won them a chalupa.

2. Any shot worth shooting is worth shooting twice.

3. When not shooting on offense, you should be communicating, passing, and running. Also, yell “Foul!” repeatedly. Why? How can officials summon help if you yell “Good D!” or “Our opponents are superior!”?

4. If legitimately called for a foul, say, “A good call!” (Do this no more than once a game.)

5. When in possession of the ball, have a plan. Further, have a back-up plan, because the first plan won't work (unless you are Brandon Roy).

6. Use cover or concealment as much as possible. (Both Oden and Pryzbilla provide these in abundance.)

7. On defense, ignore words and direct your eyesight to the ball. (Opposing Cleveland, LeBron James told me he would pull up for a jumper. I advanced upon him. Then James drove baseline with great speed. Both of my ankles gave way!)

8. The faster you begin an opponent’s blow-out, the more shots everyone will get.

9. Be polite and professional to everyone you play against. Then destroy them, for they wish to defeat you.

10. Practice shooting in a dimly-lit practice area with someone shouting unflattering threats at you. (I found this useful in Europe, where partial power outages were not uncommon.)

11. You may feel sad about snapping another team’s back with a clinch alley-oop or a clutching 3-pointer. But sadness is preferred to losing. And the winning will then bring happiness. (In the case of defeating the Lakers, the happiness will be most pronounced.)

12. Purple is not my color. (It may not be anyone’s color.)