Drive the Lane

Horry gets no Glory

2005-06-17T09:55:00.000-04:00

_Sideshow Bob
Ouch. Felix Gillette of Slate rips apart the glory of Robert Horry. Clutch shooter? Best teammate? Hall of Fame? Pfft.

Page 2 Goes Blow By Blow; Spurs as Roughage

2005-06-10T20:16:00.000-04:00

ESPN's Bill Simmons gives you minute by minute analysis of Game 1's pregame show. I particularly like the line score after three, San Antonio 55, Detroit 51, ABC 10 (that's the number of ABC executives who just jumped out of a window).

Here's a headline you love to see. Sports Illustrated: Spurs are Boring. Chris Mannix calls your Western Conference champions annoying, and shines a light on all the entertainment they don't provide. That's okay, Chris. Like you said, they just keep winning.

Buzzer Beaters

2005-06-10T06:15:00.001-04:00

_ Phil: Decision to Return is Imminent (SI)
Phil Jackson said late last night that he will decide in the next day or two whether or not he'll return to coaching in the NBA. The Lakers' Dr. Jerry Buss told Phil recently that the entire organization wants him back on the sidelines for the 05-6 season. No comment from Kobe (but we're sure he had a puzzled look on his face when he heard that).

_ Kiki Could Go to the Cavs (SI)
Kiki Vandeweghe (best name in sports, EVAR) had an informal meeting with Cleveland over the Cavs' vacant President position. Vandeweghe has been instrumental in the Nuggets rise to contendership and is considered one of the best front office minds in the game. The only mistake I think he made was getting away from the classic Break-Out! logo we all grew up with.

_ Betting Ban Could Bring '07 ASG to Sin City (SI)
The Nevada Gaming Control Commission agreed yesterday to ban betting on the 2007 NBA All Star Game. This opens up the possibility that the ASG could be played in Nevada. Commissioner David Stern, in classic Sin City fasion is playing his cards close to the vest, but alluded to a decision being made soon.

Game 1: DET 69 @ SAS 84

2005-06-10T06:15:00.000-04:00

_ Manu Ginobli's 26 Points Leads Spurs to Game 1 Win

Ginobli drew a technical foul out of big Ben Wallace that sparked a 19-4 run in the fourth quarter. Manu Manu the Slender's 9-10 performance in the second half was a shining point in one of the lowest scoring finals games in NBA history. I know I wasn't alone (because I was in the office with my coworkers watching) in thinking "35-37, that's a big score for the first quarter."

More Game 1 Coverage:
Marc Stien: Manu's Pretty Good (ESPN.com)

Pivital Play: Charge or Block? (ESPN.com)

Billups Gets Big-Ups in Loss (SI)

Hey Deveney, What the Hell Does El Contusione Mean? (SportingNews)

Pops Keepin' it Real (HoopsVibe)

Shaq the Nice Guy, Injuries in NBA Camp

2005-06-09T13:27:00.000-04:00

_O'Neal extends gesture to predecessor's family
Says Shaq, who is now golfing or something, "Without No. 99, there is no me."

_Two Illini Stars Hurt at NBA Camp
That's not cool at all. Dee Brown breaks his freaking foot, and Roger Powell sprained ankle. Looks like Dee should finish school, huh?

Buzzer Beaters

2005-06-09T05:47:00.000-04:00

The finals start tonight, tip-off is 8pm on ABC.

_ Karl Breaks the Rules
George Karl was helping his son Coby, a sophomore at Boise St. by attending a workout Coby, and junior guards Deron Williams and Bracey Wright attended. Williams (Illinois) and Wright (Indiana) were not declared early entry candidates for the draft. George Karl's presence was a violation of NBA draft rules. Karl was unaware of the rule, but said, "I know ignorance is not an excuse." The league fined him $200,000 and suspended him the first three games of the '05-6 season.

_ Sixers Finally Finish Stackhouse Deal
The Sixers aquired Utah's second round pick in this month's draft for a future second round pick, then sent Utah's pick to Detroit. Thus finalizing the deal that brought Theo Ratliff & Aaron McKie to Philly and sent Jerry Stackhouse and Eric Montross to Detroit. Hey Cleveland, that was a deal Larry Brown made. Still want him in charge of your player personel?

_ Free Agent Pre-Season Leads Rumor Mill
Sports Illustrated's rumor mill spins on what free agents the Miami Heat may target. Oh yeah, and Kendall Gill's going to fight some guy. Don't worry, it'll be a sanctioned four round cruiserweight bout. But with the recent exploits of Iron Mike Tyson, Kendall might just bite a kid.

Buzzer Beaters

2005-06-08T06:22:00.000-04:00

With a three day break between Detroit's game seven and game one of the Finals, basketball news is tough to come by. But we dug some stuff up for you.

_ After Breaking Off Talks, Skiles Back with Bulls
Bulls coach Scotty Skiles signed a four year contract extension. No, seriously he did. After breaking off talks with the Bulls, Skils called owner Jerry Riensdorf and they finally got the deal done. While he didn't take the Baby Bulls from worst to first, he did take a team that finished last year with 19 wins into the playoffs this year. GM John Paxton didn't discuss terms, but did say Skiles will be paid in line with the top coaches in the league.

_ Coaches Need to Plan for Early Entry
Mike DeCourcy lays out a four point plan to help college coaches deal with the contingency of a player flying the coup for the greener pasteurs of the NBA.

_ Diogu Hasn't Decided Yet
Arizona State's Ike Diogu hasn't decided chosen to enter the NBA entry draft, but it's not out of the realm of possibilities. He has tried out for several teams, and College Hoops.net has him going 15 to New Jersey. But his stock could be on the rise.

And by the way, this site is going to get a makeover. But as Seth says, It's all about content.

Columns: Spurs Favored, Shaq's Really Old, Larry Brown's Impatient.

2005-06-07T20:26:00.000-04:00

ESPN's Marc Stein gives the Spurs the edge over Detroit. But unlike San Antonio's last two championship runs, this year's finals won't be anticlimactic. Detroit earned the invite and will give the Spurs a fight.

Hoopsvibe.com breaks down key match ups in the Spurs/Pistons series. They're playing their cards close to the vest, but give you a couple things to look for.

Over at Sports Illustrated, Jonah Freedman asks if Shaquille O'Neal is too old to play in the NBA. If Big Daddy Diesel had made the Finals, Jerry Buss' offseason trade would have put him on par with the 1919 Boston Red Sox sending Babe Ruth to New York.

Sean Deveney calls out the Cavaliers' at SportingNews.com and questions whether Larry Brown is the right man to make personel decisions for Cleveland. Just take a look at the Sixers' roster for evidence that Larry Brown best serves a team on the court and out of the conference room.

#2 (Buzzer Beaters)

2005-06-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

So every morning, while you're sitting at Starbucks enjoying WiFi on your iBook, come here, and check out the Buzzer Beaters, a wrap up from news that broke overnight.

_ Rip: This is How We Do It
(ESPN.com)
Dwayne Wade overcame his game 5 rib injury to give Miami 20 points - but it wasn't enough as the defending champion Detroit Pistons beat Miami 88-82. After the game Detroit's Rip Hamilton was heard all over the lockerroom repeating the new Pistons' mantra This is how we do it!

_After Banging With Miami, Pistons Face Spurs in Finals
(ESPN.com)
Game 1 is set for Thursday in San Antonio. The Spurs & Pistons split the two game regular season series, the home team won both games. All Finals games will be aired on ABC.

_ Analysts Give Edge to Duncan & Spurs
(HoopsVibe.com)
The Spurs will be well rested and ready to go when Detroit comes to town this Thursday for Game 1 of the Finals. San Antone eliminated the Suns on June 1 and have been at home watching the Heat & Pistons beat on each other for a full-pull seven game series. Most analysts are giving the edge to the Spurs behind the guidance of veteran All-Star Tim Duncan, and the South American phenom Manu Ginobli.

_ Attention: Stat Geeks
(CollegeHoops.net)
College Hoops analyzes the 2005 draft class.

Skiles on the Brink, Bibby The Leader, Ginobili the Baby

2005-06-07T09:30:00.000-04:00

Bulls' Skiles ends contract extension talks
So you turn a team around (from a 19-47 to 47-35) and get your club into the playoffs, then you want to make your coach a lame duck. Brilliant.

Bibby steps up to critics
Mike Bibby says, "I'm (The Sacramento Kings)leader. I don't know what critics mean when they say we don't have a leader. People may say I'm not vocal, but they may not see everything. I know I was vocal in the playoffs and a lot more vocal in the final game about trying to get people to do what we needed to do."

Couple Names Baby "Ginobili"
The mother actually said, "We hope he lives up to his name and becomes a famous basketball player too." Yea.

#1 - Drive the Lane, Son.

2005-06-07T07:26:00.000-04:00

I was talking to a friend of mine last night before work. He runs a successfull blog somewhere else. I posed the idea that since he likes basketball and is fairly knowledgeable about the sport, that he start a basketball blog. Especially since the majority of b-ball blogs out there are...crap.

He's not the kind of guy to take action without copious amounts of prodding. So I decided to make the first move. The site won't always look like this, and the writing won't always be so bland. But here it is, the first post.

You probably want to know what to expect from Drive the Lane (which may see a name-change pretty soon).

_ basketball news
_ useless opinion
_ a decent design
_ a chance to talk b-ball with other intarweb lurkers
_ misspelled words
_ hip slang, like "intarweb"