Comparing players is pointless and impossible. How do you compare the effectiveness of a 7 foot center with a 5’8″ lightning quick point guard? How do you effectively rank a player playing in NCAA basketball vs one playing in the MPL? In saying that comparing and debating players is also pretty much one of the most fun basketball debates whether it be NBA legends or local league Irish ballers.
TCC towers were awash with excitement this morning when news broke that next season’s secondary FIBA competition, formerly known as the ULEB Cup and the FIBA Eurocup, will feature an Irish select side in the form of Hibernia Basketball, based at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght.
Here is part 2 of our run-down of the top 100 reasons how you know if you are an Irish Basketball player! If you have any to add please hit us up in the comments, on Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat! If you missed part 1 of our list you can check it out by clicking here.
26. You get hyped watching an Irish international team beat Russia on a Saturday afternoon! (Sorry, had to throw it in there, COYBIG!)
Check out out part one of our list of how to know when you are an Irish basketball player and let us know if you have any others that might feature in parts 2 to 4! Shout out to Hoopsfix.com and their list of things that make you know when you are a British basketball player which I think originally started on the old streetball.co.uk message boards?
1. You miss basketball not being on RTE purely because of Timmy McCarthy’s Commentary. ( Timmy Soundboard ) Boom Shack-a-lack-a!
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a team on the rise and could be a title contender not too far down the line.
Now that game 6 is upon us, I’ve read more articles and seen more posts about who people think the Finals MVP should be WHEN the Golden State Warriors win the title and frankly, that bothers me. Lebron James has willed his team into a position of winning the NBA Championship. The numbers he’s putting up are staggering, even more staggering than the video game stats he usually puts up. But the fact that people are now assuming that he should be the MVP from the losing squad completely diminishes Lebron’s maturation as a poised, attacking, leader. Yes, this Cavs team is injury-riddled and overmatched talent wise, but five days ago we were all marvelling at Dellevedova’s heart and at Tristan Thompson’s motor and at Lebron’s patience with the ball and ability to insert his will in this series. So, to dismiss these Cavs after losing games 4 and 5 doesn’t seem right. Same way it didn’t seem right to dismiss the best team in the NBA after they lost games 2 and 3.
Miles! That is the difference between LBJ and the rest of the world….NBA players look ordinary against him. When you have a game changer like Lebron controlling everything you have a chance against anybody. He started the game aggressively with 10 shots attempts in the first quarter continuously getting into the paint and putting pressure on the Warriors D from the outset. In short he was a wrecking ball of power and force that played with a controlled tempo and overall game awareness of Magic Johnson in his heyday. This day was another ridiculous set of numbers put up by the world’s best player finishing with 40 points 12 rebounds and 8 assists with 4 steals and 2 blocks – but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The fact LBJ is playing point guard and has the ball in his hands all game long means that his team is for the most part going to get a shot up every possession and in most cases a good shot.
Lebron James Triple double comes a close second to the clutch plays of Delly
From the outskirts of Northeast Ohio to the inner city of Cleveland everybody is living and dying and then living again with the Cavs. Last night was a roller coaster of a game in Oakland that had twists and turns to rival anything a Cedar Point roller coaster can offer. The Cavs came out with a simple game plan…..get Lebron the ball in an attack position and let him get to the paint. He responded in a big way scoring 10 points in the first quarter and it was obvious from the outset that the Cavs missing Kyrie just meant that the style of basketball was going to regress into a 90’s looking Knicks Heat game. Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova a started at the guard positions and were all over Steph Curry and Klay Thompson from the outset. Steph was obviously bothered by the Delly D and intense physicality fighting through ball screens and off ball screens to really make life difficult for the MVP. Klay Thompson on the other hand was lights out all game. It seemed like he made tough contested shots look routine and really kept the Warriors within striking distance.
It means that you grew up knowing what it’s like to lose the big game and the heartache of a sports town being the brunt of all national jokes. To experience Red Right 88, The Drive, The Shot, The Mistake by the Lake, The Fumble, Jose Mesa and the Florida Marlins and to make an annual game against Michigan like getting punched in the stomach. Hearing about how our river once burned for weeks from the pollution. How when people ask where are you from and you say Cleveland with pride and they respond with “I’m sorry”.
