August 11, 2004

Happy belated birthday to the shot clock: Apparently yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the first basketball game with a shot clock. It only took Dean Smith another 30 years to bring it to college ball...

posted by tieguy to basketball at 04:27 PM - 9 comments

* lights a candle * Seriously, who among you thinks this was a good addition to the game? I loved the 4 corners!

posted by billsaysthis at 06:06 PM on August 11, 2004

billy, I think your tight 50s-style basketball shorts are cutting off oxygen to your brain...

posted by smithers at 09:39 PM on August 11, 2004

Hey, smithers, if you can't play defense don't come to the arena!

posted by billsaysthis at 10:27 PM on August 11, 2004

*stays home*

posted by chicobangs at 08:49 AM on August 12, 2004

"And with 20 seconds left in the game, BillSaysThisSCORES!!! takes a 34-30 lea.......zzzzzzzzzzzz............"

posted by smithers at 09:35 AM on August 12, 2004

Smithers, you probably don't watch soccer either. Another boorish American who insists that scoring is the only point of sports. When scoring is really the only point of sex!

posted by billsaysthis at 01:26 PM on August 12, 2004

Not true on two counts: 1. not American (maybe still boorish though??); 2. I do enjoy watching soccer, though will only seek it out on TV during the World Cup. I played soccer competitively growing up and into high school. Love the player movement the sport offers, but wouldn't appreciate many of the subtler nuances of building an attack. Now if you'd said "...that scoring is the only point of basketball," I would be far more inclined to agree with you. There are fewer players on the floor, more of an ability to maintain possession of the ball until you get a shot, and no keeper. Theoretically, any one of the five players on offence can score at any time in basketball, which can't be said about the 10 offensive players in soccer. Usually, if you aren't scoring at a decent clip in basketball it means you can't make jumpshots, which is an ugly thing to watch. Comparing the low-scoring improvisational fluidity of soccer with the low-scoring numbness of the 4-corners pre-shot clock is a non-starter as far as I am concerned. Nobody *chose* to play 4 corners because of aesthetics....it was out of undermanned necessity. Dean Smith's tweak on the 4 corners was to use it like Red Auerbach's cigar: the game's over, baby!

posted by smithers at 02:28 PM on August 12, 2004

BTW, I though the only point of sex was the improvisational fluidity and the subtle nuances of mounting an .......zzzzzzzzzzzz............

posted by smithers at 02:30 PM on August 12, 2004

Smithers, you sure sleep a lot!

posted by billsaysthis at 03:17 PM on August 12, 2004

You're not logged in. Please log in or register.