This. I learned this in 8th grade when I was at a summer sports camp. They brought in Houston rockets player David Wood, and I thought to myself this guy is a scrub. He never plays. He beat our three best coaches 1 on 3. They couldn't stop him. Last summer, here in San Antonio I took my son to a similar San antonio Spurs camp. Matt Bonner just absolutely slaughtered some current and ex college players. The talent level of these guys is unreal. It is easy to forget or overlook how good they are because they are playing against people of equal or better talent. That said, Jordan Hill still sucks! If you are reading Jordan, I'm j/k. You are likely much better than any of the guys down at the rec. Please work on your hands and footwork till this lockout blows over. And google hakeem!
KD is soft! Shooting jumpers over midgets, cmon son! On a serious note, is there anybody on that court even tall enough to check Durant? And I wouldn't say the defense is nonexistent in theses Rucker park games, maybe in those And1 games but theses EBC games are taken seriously by the players. Nobody wants to get done up and let the other guys show you up.
I don't understand why they just didn't double him or triple team him hard though and make others beat him. They let him get to his spots and didn't force him to drive either.
So technically I could play there if I wanted to. I was just under the impression that they way people talk about the park (I've even heard the Mecca of basketball ), it was a membership kinda thing where people have to go through an initiation process. But if that's the best of the best from Rucker, man the NBA must be wayy on a different stratosphere. You think Matt Maloney or flyin Ryan could ball with them?
I agree. I played HORSE with Mike James the other day and I usually dominate with BASIC shots. He hit about 20 in a row and I had H O R and we had to stop because his practice started. I know it's horse, but he missed one shot total out of about 25 haha. Btw, Hill will come through to be a serviceable player this year.
I think you, like some others, are taking this WAY too seriously. If an NBA player joins one of the games and starts going off, it becomes more about entertainment than winning and losing. Just being on the court (on either team) when KD blew up like that is something to brag about forever. Don't analyze this like an NBA game. It's far from it.
I had similar experience when I was younger with Matt Bullard. He completely dominated scrubs. That said, even considering the huge gulf in talent, it is important to remember pick up games are not actual games. People like Ryan Bowen and Chuck Hayes can have very successful role player careers in the NBA, and while they too would likely fair well in pick up games against scrubs, it is still possible to work your way into the league if you otherwise don't necessarily fit. Moreover, typically, the biggest gulf in talent, is in shot making ability. good shooters are good shooters are good shooters. it doesn't make jj reddick a NBA superstar, but it again gives him a serviceable career in the NBA, notwithstanding the fact that he just isn't as athletic as the average NBA baller. see Kevin Durant nailing jumpers in a pickup game. See the Mike James horse story. See Dirk.
Kevin Durant is a rare b-ball talent, no doubt, but I too would stop short of calling that 'killin' it'. Those type of games, it is all about the show. If you got a super star on the court, let him do his deal, show his stuff. Defense is not on the agenda. They prolly even told them, 'don't touch em, you could mess up his contract if he gets hurt'.
I was impressed until I headed over to espn's page and saw John Lucas scored 60 against Durants team in another nyc league game the next day.
Was it at the Rucker? It doesn't mean a thing if it didn't happen at Rucker Park! But seriously, how is dropping 60+ points, not considered killing it? 60 points in a game anywhere is "killing it". Durant is not the first NBA player to play there and they didn't all go for 60 points like he did. I mean, it isn't NBA playoff defense but it isn't exactly the AND1 Mixtape Tour either.
John Lucas III killin' it at Pro City tourney: http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/sto...a-city-thunder-kevin-durant-41-ny-summer-game 60 points. 19 3-point attempts.
Wanna go 1-on-1? You'd probably win, but I assure you that you would not have anywhere near 66 points.
Other clips from the same game. Interesting to see the different angles of the game that the close-up angles dont show. The end of this clip (1:02) where Durant makes the big 30 feet three, he's crouched down SHIMMYING BEFORE the shot goes in while the ball's still in the air. He's taunting the opponent bench doing it right in front of them <object width="480" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m2RsKxPwBCQ?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m2RsKxPwBCQ?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="390" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> Side view of the game where you can see the real streetball exhibition they're putting on for the fans. The alley-oops, fancy passing and sideline dancing. <object width="560" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ci1G8ikCCgs?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ci1G8ikCCgs?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="349" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
