Agreed. That's what I meant by saying the phrase was corny. The intent of the phrase is valid and true but it's poorly worded.
"We're taking it one game at a time." How the hell else can you take a game, this one annoys me most for some reason.
"We missed the shots we normally make" Being a former bball player I know this is a true statement that really does happen and is very frustrating, but i don't like seeing it/hearing it after a loss.
Not really cliches, but I hate the expressions "penetrate the ball" and "score the ball". I also hate it when they refer to the big guys as "bigs". I actually heard someone say "smalls" the other night. Thta needs to stop. And everyone should know the difference between "dominate," which is a verb, and "dominant," which is an adjective.
I like these. No one ever makes anyone else "better". They may give them wide-open shots, which most players in the league can hit, or make them seem better on defense, but they're not actually making them BETTER. You can make someone "look good", but that's not the same thing as making someone better. Also, saying "this league" has always bugged me. "He's going to be a player in this league". Some new ones that I hate: "High basketball IQ" "Gets it"
okay, it may not be a cliche but it is definitely my least favorite b-ball term: dunk shot, as in, "Yao with the dunk shot". Is George Mikan on the court?? Bob Pettit??
I'm sure any Rockets fan was sick of "moral victory" when we lost. Was the team that kicked our a** going, "Well, true, it was an "moral defeat" but we'll take the 'W'."???? Why can't you win in sports morally? What message are these irresponsible sportcasters sending to our kids???
Take a look at these: http://www.sportscliche.com/basketball.html These are my least favorite: They're making a living behind the 3-point arc. He can nail the trifecta. He's been perfect from the charity stripe. Well, I just jinxed him. (This is the follow-up cliche if the `perfect' free throw shooter misses) Ten seconds is like an eternity.
"He changes the complexity of the game." Ok, maybe Kobe's the only one saying that. I REALLY hate this one: "They just try to win games by outscoring teams." How the hell else do you win a freaking game? I know that they mean the team plays no defense, but come on even the best defensive team will lose a game if they don't make a shot. Every team wins by outscoring the other team. This is just another of those poorly worded cliches, like the one already mentioned "i make them when they count."
I think the "make them when they count" thing was a reference to Shaq's free throw shooting. He has said many times that he "makes them when they count" and this is not a reference to someone folding under pressure, it is Shaq saying that it is okay for him to shoot FTs like crap as long as he makes them at the end of games, which is bull.
I don't know about the worst, but I've always been fond of... "It was a good game. Both teams played hard."
