By Jim Coffman
Someone affiliated with the NBA should find a way to set up radar guns to measure how quickly dunks go through the hoop.
That’s because the dunk LeBron James threw down on the Bulls in the final three minutes of Sunday’s nationally-televised matinee would have either set a new ball-speed record or broken the gun. The game featured the Bulls putting it all together to stretch out an eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter, only to watch the homestanding Cavaliers rally, thanks in large part to former Bull Joe Smith knocking down a series of big shots. Then King James put the game away in the final minutes with a hanging lay-up, the dunk, a mid-range jumper and a pass to Wally Szczerbiak for a crushing trifecta.
I’ve had a chance to watch James at different points in his career, starting with a post-season All-Star game at the United Center at the end of his high school career in which he was so clearly a man among boys. In his rookie year I attended a Bulls game in which he assisted on something like six of Cleveland’s first eight baskets and then hit all the big shots late in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Last year I watched in amazement (on TV) as he scored Cleveland’s final 25 points in the absolutely epic, double-overtime, conference-final playoff victory over Detroit. Then there was Friday’s dunk (again on TV). Let’s just say how fortunate it was the ball didn’t hit Luol Deng, who provided slightly less-than-effective-help defense on the play, in the head. Then again a concussion would have been the perfect final chapter in the story of Deng’s 2007-08 season, one that has been notable for injuries and injuries alone.
Today we’re going to spend a little more time on basketball:
Posted on March 3, 2008