A monster dunk by a white player is pretty sweet too. Nobody expects it, then BAM. Everyone can appreciate a high flying white man.
Deron Williams footwork of a crossover-pullup jumper. Watch that in real life and it really is jaw dropping. If you play basketball, the footwork and balance on crossovers and jumpers, and the ability to control the ball and your body in traffic and finish at the rim due to that balance footwork and strength is astounding. You really can only see it live though. Try to sneak to the lower bowl at toyota, its real easy to do
mine is footwork. I never really appreciated it until I tried to use a jab step and hop step. It's almost like dancing.
Little guys finishing at the rim. A humiliating pump fake. Lock down defenders getting in superstars heads. Two handed blocks. Long distance bounce passes.
I think it's awesome when players just catch the ball. They don't even block it, but reach out and grab it in the air. I think first time I ever saw it was when MJ did it. Jaw dropped.
1. Movement away from the ball - The key to playing good offense is ball movement and you can't make good, quick passes with players standing still. The standing still part is what annoyed me with the JVG Rockets: it was McGrady-do-it-all while everyone just stood around watching. 2. Crunch Time - It's fine and all that Kevin Martin and Kevin Durant can dominate for 3 quarters, but I want to see how players change knowing that there is no "extra-time" or an extra quarter that can get them off the hook for poor play. Time to step up and man up; this is where the stars are born. 3. Frustration - How well does a player handle himself when nothing is going his way? Does he take a swing at the opposing teams' players ala Trevor Ariza or does he keep his cool ala Kevin Garnett.
Beat me to it. Nothing like an Alonzo Mourning block, then he looks at his hands. Screaming at them. Lol
Court vision: Steve Nash - Has the best understanding of how to run a fast break or find the open man. Movement without the ball: Rip Hamilton - Back in the Pistons championship contention years, Hamilton had a tremendous double screen spot-up jumpshot game. Stop and pop: Dirk - has that awkward move where he lowers the shoulder and heads for the paint but then stops and drops a rainbow shot with his knee hanging out in a weird angle.
I love watching players like Chuck Hayes play - being in the right place on defensive rotations, boxing out opposing players on the glass, setting strong picks, playing hard-nosed one-on-one defense - I guess the quality I most admire in a player's game is a combination basketball IQ and huffert. That's probably because I'm a much bigger fan of watching excellent team play than watching individual performance.
I love it when the ball is passed to each player on the court before someone scores. Beating out the opposition purely on strategy, reads, and execution just makes the game worth appreciating. And of course the flashy dribbles, alley-oop dunks, fast break 2 on 1's, blocks, etc. Can't forget the poster dunks. T-mac on Bradley and the shawn kemp lister blister ftw!
Rondo! Pesky defender who is constantly looking for the open man and sets his teammates up before he sets himself up.
1. The accuracy and touch on passes by Steve Nash. 2. The footwork and smoothness of Hakeem's post moves. 3. Chuck Hayes post defense. 4. The hustle of Kyle Lowry. 5. Dirk Nowitzki's off balance one-legged turnaround. 6. Monta Ellis when he's hot and starts taking completely irrational shots and there's nothing anybody can do. 7. And I will always admire Pistol Pete's ball handling wizardry.
In all honesty though, I really like Hustle, especially when it's a guy that is basically successful when he doesn't have the athletic ability or skills as most others, but beats them out because of his hustle. So I love it when Hayes gets things done. Or when an underdog team just goes into an important game and takes out the better opposition. Example would be the Mother's Day Massacre, when the Rockets lost Yao and came into Game 4 and completley dismantled the Fakers, on top of that took them to Game 7.
For me, it's the intricacy in which they can run plays, both offensively AND defensively. When a defense sets up into a hybrid 2-3 zone, knowing how to break that down using ball movement, and inside-outside plays isn't nearly as easy as it sounds. To be able to read and react to the slightest head jerk, or capitalize on an indecisive defender is beyond impressive to me. High basketball IQ is something that is honed and perfected, and it goes a LONG way in helping to win games.
Shooting will always be at a premium....shooters shoot & scorers score. personally i really enjoy the details. when i watch the game i enjoy watching the body control of player (Tempo & balance). love seeing a player coming down the court with a great tempo (Deron Williams imagine him coming at you in the open court WOW)...taking 3-4 dribbles just stridding out to get end to end then having great balance to stop & pop or stop and drop a sweet dime. nothing better then watching Kobe or Pierce in the 4th when they really grooving & in that zone. the TEMPO behind their game even in the half is flat out beautiful....using shot fakes & jabs fakes to create spacing to shift the defense off balance, and moving when they want to move going into the exact shot that they want. never in a hurry, never off BALANCE so ever shot just LOOKS easy....just hititing moves like they are in the gym alone. outside of that the best part to watch is the PASSING, players that have the IQ and skill to pass well and can make plays for others, will def be able to play longer then just a specialist good at one thing
People who can use the glass well impress me. That and half-court alleyoops. So far only Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, and Kyrie Irving have shown me they can do it more than once.
