Between The Legs

Many basketball purists consider the between-the-legs dribble a flashy bit of showmanship that detracts from the overall quality of the game- a classic case of style over substance. Others think the maneuver's an effective way to escape pressure, a change of direction when the defender is playing too tightly to risk a crossover.

Since the NBA doesn't keep track of this stat (I mean, why the fuck would they?), I decided to document it myself in last night's contest between LA and Denver.

Based on my unofficial tally (watching the game on TV, I might have missed a few while the camera wasn't on the ballhandler), here are the results for most between-the-legs dribbles:

The Winner
Chauncey Billups- on 24 different occasions, Mr. Big Shot went between the legs, including one possession where he did it five times in a row. Ironically, most fans would label Billups a 'blue collar player' who 'plays the game the right way.' You might expect Allen Iverson to go BTL 24 times in a game, but Chauncey?

Runner Up
Kobe Bryant- given his penchant for flair, I fully anticipated Bryant winning this thing outright. Imagine my shock when he went BTL a mere 11 times. Granted, the Lakers were in control most of the night so maybe he didn't feel the need to exert much energy.

Bronze Medalist
Jordan Farmar- went BTL an astonishing 8 times in 14 minutes, mostly just to look cool. Fucking show-off.

Anthony Carter (3), Luke Walton (3), Carmelo (1), JR Smith (1) and Shannon Brown (1) all did it, too. Dahntay Jones, who I'm convinced is the worst player in the league not named Kwame Brown, also tried it once, resulting in an immediate turnover and bucket for the Lakers going the other way. Stop dribbling, scrub. Stick to fouling.

Incidentally, Denver won the overall BTL battle, 30-22. And lost the game by double digits, of course.

Random notes:
Andrew Bynum looked strong, if somewhat rusty, in his first game back; Cheryl Miller's fashion sense continues to be as clueless as her commentary. Did you see her tie-dye/braids outfit? Wack. Scott Pollard was probably watching on TV, laughing his ass off; LA showed some nice pressure and trapping with their second unit; Without a true center, Denver ain't winning shit in the playoffs.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The season's officially underway and already there are a handful of great plotlines developing.

The Good
The Lakers have blown out the Blazers and Clippers and looked dominant in doing so. Their defense has been disruptive, allowing them to get out and run. Also, using Lamar Odom as a sixth man is working out swimmingly so far for Phil Jackson.

Pop's Beard also came out of the gates strong. In addition to covering up his acne, the beard also makes Pop look kind of like Bill Murray (and that's a good thing).

The pic below isn't actually Pop (duh). I couldn't find any shots of his new beard so you'll have to live with this one.



Rudy Fernandez showed he's ready to play right now for Portland. Don't be surprised to see the rook starting soon, moving Roy to point and Blake to the bench.

Paul Pierce and Lebron James continued their burgeoning rivalry with epic performances on opening night.

The Bad
Bruce Bowen in an NBA Cares commercial. Lame. Not cool. If the NBA really cared, they'd suspend Bowen more often for his kicks, punches, trips, pokes and overall douchebaggery.

Speaking of commercials, why is the NBA running their 'where (insert cliche) happens' campaign again? Are they out of money? I want a new campaign, damn it! By the end of last year, that repetitive piano interlude was cringe inducing. Hearing it again on opening night made me want to kill myself.

What's up with Luke Walton only getting four minutes off the bench against Portland? Doghouse?

No Robert Horry to be found. I guess he's retired, officially. Maybe he'll pull a PJ Brown and sign on for a short season with a contender. Be nice to see him back with LA.

The Ugly
Memphis scoring 71 against Houston. OJ Mayo going 5-20. Bet Heisley's glad he traded Kevin Love AND Mike Miller for this kid. When you're getting swindled by Kevin McHale, maybe it's time to quit the business.

Greg Oden's debut was frightening on several levels. For the few minutes he was actually on the court, he looked awkward and skittish, especially on offense. Then, of course, he got injured again. This time he's out 2-4 weeks. Jury's still out on the brittle big man, although my money's on him getting it together in time to win that ROY trophy.

And in closing I'd also like to give a big fuck you to David Stern and his opening night party for the Oklahoma City Super Stolens. Attention, fans of the Milwaukee Bucks (insert laughter here): King Stern has you on his radar. Better build a new arena or the next team stolen might be yours.