Manu Ginobili has been the face of Argentina's national team for more than a decade. (FIBA)
Since stunning a United States team loaded with NBA players in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis and capturing the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, Argentina has been universally recognized as a powerhouse in FIBA competition.
Led by San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, arguably Argentina’s greatest player, the South Americans have been a fixture in the medal rounds in the Olympics and World Championships for a decade. But since its fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Championships, Argentina appears to have lost some of its magic as its core group continues to log serious mileage.
Argentina is currently No. 3 in the FIBA world rankings, only behind the United States and Spain. Despite its top-five standing, Argentina is no longer a cinch to win a medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London as Greece, Lithuania, Turkey, Italy, France and Brazil – the team Argentina defeated in the championship game of the the 2011 FIBA Tournament of the Americas – are hot on its tail and have more young talent in their programs.
Argentina’s big names are still there: Ginobili, Luis Scola, Fabrico Oberto, Andres Nocioni, Pepe Sanchez and Carlos Delfino. Ginobili and Scola are still regarded as two of the best players in the world, but the rest of the squad is looking very old and there seems to be a drought in terms of young talent in Buenos Aires.
Ginobili turned 34 this summer and Scola is 31. At 36, Oberto is way past his prime and even though Nocioni is two years younger than Ginobili his reckless style has caught up with him and his legs seem like they are ready to retire. Delfino is one of the youngest frontline players on the roster and he’s 29.
The 2012 Olympics will more than likely be this group’s last hurrah. Ginobili could try for another Olympic run in four years, but he’ll be 38 and his body may prevent him from playing. Scola doesn’t rely on athleticism so he may still be an effective player in four years. But for the rest of the core players, four years is a very, very long shot.
While the Argentines continue to hang their sombreros on international vets, the other South American hoops powerhouse, Brazil, has rebuilt its program behind a familiar face. Ruben Magnano, who guided Argentina to a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics, was brought in to coach Brazil in 2010. A year later, Magnano has the Brazilians playing their best ball since the Oscar Schmidt era, earning one of the automatic qualifying berths for the 2012 Olympics after reaching the final of the 2011 FIBA Americas.
What was more impressive about Brazil’s run in the FIBA Americas was it reached the final without the help of NBA stars Leandro Barbosa, Nene and Anderson Varejao, who all decided to skip the tournament.
While Argentina leans heavily on Scola and Ginobili on offense, Brazil has a more balanced approach that features the playmaking skills of point guard Marcelo Huertas, who plays for Regal FC Barcelona. Spurs center Tiago Splitter is the only NBA player on Brazil’s roster at FIBA Americas, but he has had minimal impact offensively. The Brazilians have won eight of nine games, including an impressive 73-71 victory over Argentina. Its only loss came against the Dominican Republic in the early round, but it avenged that loss in the knockout round by defeating the Dominicans (led by Al Horford, Francisco Garcia and Charlie Villanueva), 83-76, in the semifinals.
Argentina had a much tougher matchup in the semis, but it managed to squeeze past a rugged Puerto Rico squad (led by J.J. Barea and Carlos Arroyo), 81-79, behind 27 points from Scola and 23 from Ginobili. Scola saved his best for last as he poured in 32 points to power Argentina to a 80-75 win over Brazil in the final.
As long as Scola and Ginobili are healthy, Argentina remains a powerful force and medal contender.
Injuries to Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have slowed the Spurs in the second half of the season. (GETTY IMAGES)
Those looking at the NBA spread for San Antonio’s games this week may see the lines affected by injuries, which have hit the Spurs at precisely the wrong time. Future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan is out with an ankle injury, and now Manu Ginobili may be sitting this week because of a leg contusion that he suffered Sunday against Memphis. Combine this with a three-game losing streak heading into games against Portland and Boston this week, some may be jumping off the Spurs’ bandwagon.
The Spurs are only for real if they can get one of these players back. Ginobili is the leading scorer in a very balanced attack, and he also handles the ball so Tony Parker can play the two-guard role to open up his scoring. But Duncan is a bigger loss for the Spurs, literally, because of his size. In the West, the Spurs have to contend with the defending champions from Los Angeles, who are a big team, Oklahoma City picked up Kendrick Perkins, Dallas has Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler roaming the inside, and you also have Portland (LaMarcus Aldridge) and Memphis (Zach Randolph). Without Duncan, the Spurs are left with DeJuan Blair, Matt Bonner and Antonio McDyess, none of whom play over 22 minutes a game. While Duncan isn’t the 20/10 machine he once was, he still has enough savvy in the post to be a factor on both ends of the floor, and they need him in the playoffs.
If the Spurs can hold onto the top spot in the West, that will help a lot because they are 33-3 at home this season. They can manage to get away with losing Ginobili, but the Spurs need Duncan to be 100%, or at least 90%, for the Spurs to have a chance to get out of the wild West.
When I think of signature basketball moves, the first one that comes to mind is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s sky hook. Kareem’s sky hook may be the most unstoppable shot in the history of the sport. It’s beautiful to watch, extremely deadly and that unique shot – many times replicated but never successfully duplicated – is the biggest reason why The Big Fella is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Other signature moves that give defenders nightmares are Michael Jordan’s fadeaway jumper, George Gervin’s finger roll, Isiah Thomas’ crossover dribble (or Tim Hardaway’s crossover depending on which era you grew up in), Earl Monroe’s spin move and Hakeem Olajuwon’s “Dream Shake.” All those moves mentioned are go-to moves that are nearly impossible to stop.
When it comes to today’s game, there are quite a few signature moves that are nearly impossible to stop. Former SportsCenter anchor Dan Patrick used to say: “You can’t stop it, you can only hope to contain it.” That line applies to these seven incredible basketball moves from seven amazing individuals:
KOBE BRYANT’S PUMP FAKE AND PIVOT Opposing players know its coming, but they still bite on Kobe’s head, shoulder and ball fakes. Kobe has amazing footwork, and he uses it to his advantage. When he unleashes his pump fakes, he gets on his tip-toes which throws the defender off balance when Kobe is about to go up for a shot. And then he reverse pivots to get separation and a clear shot at the basket. It’s a move that requires tremendous patience, practice, smarts and amazing balance.
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CARMELO ANTHONY’S JAB STEP If you’re putting together a video tape on how to execute the jab step from the triple-threat position, pop in one of Carmelo’s highlight highlight tapes. Melo is the master of the jab step. When Melo squares his shoulders to the basket, a defender has to respect two things: the jump shot and the dribble drive. Both are made possible because Melo can create space with his jab step.
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PAUL PIERCE’S STEP-BACK JUMPER The name known as The Truth loves to set up his defender by bringing him to the foul line and then stepping back to gain separation on his shot. Pierce is adept at executing the step-back jump shot whether he’s driving left or right. A lot of players have the step-back jump shot in their arsenal, but Pierce has won multiple games for the Celtics with his signature shot. Once he gets his defender near the top of the key, all he needs is a slight breathing room and it is game over.
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DERRICK ROSE’S CROSSOVER DRIBBLE AND ONE-HAND FLOATER Spurs guard Tony Parker was one of the first to use the “tear drop” in the NBA as a main weapon against bigger defenders patrolling the paint. Parker remains one of the best at throwing floaters or one-hand runners in the paint, but Bulls guard Derrick Rose has taken it to a whole new level and does it better than anyone in the Association. He uses his great quickness to set up his defender. Once Rose has his opponent on his heels, he utilizes his lightning-quick crossover dribble, stops on a dime, springs up and then floats a shot with his strong hand. Bucket! What makes Rose’s floater so tough to defend is the way he can contort his body when he attacks the rim. Because of that threat, his floater is extra tough to anticipate.
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MANU GINOBILI’S EURO STEP Manu Ginobili introduced the Euro Step to the NBA in 2003. It has been imitated but never duplicated. Even though Ginobili is from Argentina, he made his mark in Europe and the Euro Step was a big part of his repertoire. The Euro Step is an effective way of keeping a defender guessing. Manu uses his long strides to avoid the charge, steps across from left to right (usually) and finishes with his left hand. Current European stars Juan Carlos Navarro and Ricky Rubio utilize this move, as well as NBA stud Dwyane Wade, but nobody does it better than Ginobili. Pay attention to the instructional video below on how he executes the move off of a pick-and-roll.
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JAMAL CRAWFORD’S CROSSOVER DRIBBLE Jamal Crawford has the best crossover dribble since Isiah Thomas and Tim Hardaway. The man known as The True Essence at Rucker Park, Crawford has amazing handles and plays the ball like he has strings on them. If you don’t believe me, check out this jaw-dropping move against the Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan.
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DIRK NOWITZKI’S FADEAWAY JUMPER The Dallas Mavericks superstar has amassed more than 22,000 points during his soon-to-be Hall-of-Fame career and 15,000 of those points most likely were produced off of those fadeaway jumpers. Dirk starts his move at the free throw line, or at the “elbows,” and then he sets up his defender by backing him down and once he feels enough separation he fades back, jumping off his left foot, and shoots his favorite shot. The move looks a little awkward during the process because the 7-foot Nowitzki is tall and lanky so there’s a lot of herky-jerky movements. And, let’s face it, Dirk is not the most graceful athlete on the court. But, the end result is absolutely gorgeous.
Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. To read his previous posts, visit www.onemanfastbreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.
The Spurs' big three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are off to a fast start in the 2010-11 season. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Who says who can’t teach an old dog new tricks. The San Antonio Spurs own the best record in the NBA at this time, and they are doing it with . . . drum roll, please . . . offense.
The Showtime Spurs? Yes, those same old Spurs – known as a defensive-minded team for the past decade, a philosophy that drove them to four NBA titles – has decided to throw a curveball to the entire league. Instead of the slow, prodding, methodical walk-it-up-the-court and wait-for-Duncan-to-post-up approach, the Spurs have made more of a concerted effort to push the ball up the court and get easy scores off fastbreaks.
But the Spurs’ new uptempo style doesn’t resemble the Suns’ frenetic, seven-seconds-or-less offense. It’s more of a controlled chaos and players are more judicious with their shot selection. Though head coach Gregg Popovich has given the green light to his players to hoist early shots, it doesn’t mean they’re allowed to take stupid shots.
“[The Spurs] are insulting team,” said TNT analyst Kenny Smith. “They’re basically are saying most teams are dumb because they say that ‘We’re going to take good shots on every possession and we don’t think that you’re disciplined enough to do that to beat us. We don’t think that you are smart enough to make good plays for 48 minutes.’ ”
Smith added, “[The Spurs] bank on the fact that, they don’t have as much talent as everyone, but you will take dumb shots or quick shots and play out of character. To me, that’s insulting if I were an NBA player.”
Though Tim Duncan remains a key cog in the Spurs’ machinery, the offense now highlights the open-court skills of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson. When you watch the Spurs these days, as soon as Duncan or one of the big men grab a rebound, they are looking for the outlet pass and most of the time the ball winds up in the hands of Parker or Ginobili.
Ginobili has benefited the most from the early offense because it highlights his incredible one-on-one skills. Ginobili leads the Spurs in scoring at nearly 20 points a game and he has stayed relatively healthy through the first quarter of the season.
Parker, now in his ninth year, has always been one of the best open-court players in the league, a one-man fastbreak who can go end-to-end like Usain Bolt. The Spurs used to rely on Parker’s fastbreak skills about 50% of the time. Now, they look to use Parker almost 90% of the time.
What has made the Spurs more dynamic offensively this season is the emergence of Jefferson as a trusted scorer in the starting unit. Jefferson struggled mightily a year ago, and felt lost in the offense.
During the offseason, Jefferson spent more time with head coach Gregg Popovich and learned how to play off of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili instead of getting in their way. Jefferson realized that to be effective in the Spurs’ system he needed to improve on his jump shot, especially on the corner where previous Spurs Bruce Bowen and Sean Elliott made their living.
Occupying the role of Malik Rose is second-year man DeJuan Blair. Blair is a second-round draft pick who has become the team’s starting center. Most teams passed on the former Pitt Panther because of his size (6 feet 6 inches tall) and bad knees, but the Spurs saw something in Blair much like they saw something in Rose, who was also 6-6.
Though undersized, Blair is an active body in the paint and he uses his girth to his advantage. Against the Lakers on Dec. 28, Blair had 17 points and 15 rebounds and thoroughly outworked the taller Lakers’ big men.
“The San Antonio Spurs do a better job of drafting players than anybody. They find those hidden gems,” says former NBA player Charles Barkley.
Another hidden gem the Spurs found was George Hill. Because he came out of IUPUI, Hill got lost in the shuffle during the draft process in 2008. The Spurs took him with the 26th pick in the first round, and Hill has turned out to be a steal. Popovich loves him, and thinks he can turn into a lock-down defender. Think of Bruce Bowen without all the slapping and flopping, and much more gifted athletically.
The Spurs and their new-look offense have taken the league by surprise early, and by the time the league catches on the Spurs may have home-court advantage throughout postseason.
Like two prize fighters who just went toe-to-toe for four brutal rounds, Manu Ginobili and Steve Nash shook hands at midcourt and congratulated each other.
Ginobili and his broken nose then left the court and headed for the offseason because his San Antonio Spurs were knocked out of the 2010 playoffs by the Phoenix Suns, led by Nash and his one good eye.
Nash had six stitches above the right eye after getting caught with an inadvertent Tim Duncan elbow in the second half, but the Suns’ leader returned to the court and scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, including a running one-hander in the paint to put the Suns ahead, 103-97, with 29.9 seconds left.
“I couldn’t be happier for a class, class, class guy. I hate him, but he’s classy,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Nash, who admitted he could barely see with his bandaged right eye.
Manu Ginobili congratulates Steve Nash after the Suns knocked off the Spurs in four games. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)
“I can’t really see out of it,” Nash said. “I don’t want to glorify it, but it’s been a long time since we beat this team and advanced in the playoffs, and I tried to do what I could to close it out.”
The Spurs have tormented the Suns in their past five playoff appearances, eliminating Phoenix four times. But the Suns made sure this year was different, beating San Antonio at its own game with solid defense and an efficient halfcourt offense that is normally a staple of the Spurs.
“They just hit a lot of big shots,” said Ginobili, who had 15 points but was just 2-for-11 from the field thanks to excellent defense from Grant Hill. Ginobili said the nose injury didn’t bother him in the series, but it was obvious his aggressive and his forays to the basket decreased since he got hit by Dirk Nowitzki in the first round.
“I just think where Steve [Nash] has taken us and what he’s been able to get done, it started in training camp. He was just determined that ‘we’re gonna get back to where we were and I’m gonna see that.’ ”
Like a one-eye jack in those classic pirate movies, Nash spearheaded a poised Phoenix team down the stretch. And he didn’t need to see Amare Stoudemire on those pick-and-rolls because the two All-Stars know each other so well they could probably run their pick-and-roll sets with their eyes closed. In Nash’s case, he really had to do it with his eyes closed because his right eye was so swollen he needed a cutman on the bench.
“I can’t really see out of it,” Nash said. “I don’t know how it didn’t keep me on the sidelines. I wanted to give it a try, and luckily it worked out.”
“They just outplayed us,” said a dejected Tim Duncan, who got outscored by Stoudemire, 29-17, in Game 4.
The Suns’ four-game sweep clearly signaled that the Spurs’ three-time championship trio of Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker can no longer carry the load. Duncan is 34 years old and has a ton of mileage on his legs. Ginobili, 33, recently signed an extension that should keep him a Spur for the rest of his NBA career, but he has been injury prone and the same goes for Parker.
The Richard Jefferson experiment didn’t work out for San Antonio, so Popovich must find another scorer (or two) to help his big three.
For better or for worse, the legend of Manu Ginobili grew exponentially on Oct. 31, 2009 – Halloween Night.
During the first half of the Spurs-Kings game at AT&T Center in San Antonio, a bat flew in the arena and began to disrupt the game. Without batting an eye (no pun intended), Ginobili slapped the flying mammal with his left hand and knocked it down to the floor. He then picked it up and handed it to an arena staff member.
Videos of Ginobili’s amazing display of quick hands and fearlessness became an Internet sensation, but not everyone was impressed.
PETA criticized Ginobili’s random act of violence and said this on Opposing Views: “To bludgeon a 4-ounce animal to death, it takes either a small man or a totally unthinking one—with no respect or consideration for lives humbler than his own. This is a time when athletes in particular need to be on their best behavior around any animal and show that they have brains and a heart, not just reactionary brawn.”
PETA added: “Bats always try to avoid contact with humans, and there are plenty of easy ways to keep bats out of a basketball arena (or your home). We hope that the next time someone’s life is on the line, Manu Ginobili will take just a few seconds to think before he acts.”
Perhaps bracing for the inevitable PETA protest, Ginobili swears he didn’t mean to kill the bat, and doesn’t think he did. He said afterward the bat was still moving when he scooped it up.
Reports conflict as to the ultimate fate of the bat. Saturday night, multiple arena sources confirmed the animal’s demise. Sunday afternoon, team officials reported the bat had actually recovered and flown away.
Whatever its fate, Ginobili’s teammates left the AT&T Center on Saturday shaking their heads once more at what Ginobili had done.
“Unbelievable,” Tony Parker said. “The thing is, he hit it. He’s good at interceptions and stuff. But then he grabs it and puts it in the garbage.”
Parker shook his head. “He always does crazy stuff.”
Manu Ginobili sanitizes his hands after his close encounter with a bat.
According to Jeff McDonald of the Express-News, it wasn’t the first time some Spurs players had seen a bat behaving badly during a basketball game. Roger Mason Jr. recalls a bat interrupting a pickup game in Las Vegas this summer.
“You had these big, tough guys, like Chauncey Billups and Rudy Gay, running for cover,” Mason said. “And then there’s Manu, swatting it like it was a fly.”
Michael Jordan's greatness was on display against the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. (GETTY IMAGES)
Larry Bird, Hall-of-Famer and three-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics, once said that a true basketball “assassin” is someone who is not afraid to shoot when the game is on the line. Bird explained that it is easy to shoot a potential game-winning shot when the game is tied, and the worst thing that could happen is overtime. But, it takes a truly special individual to be able to knock down shots when your team is behind and the final shot will determine the outcome of a game.
Very few players in the world have that sniper’s mentality. Jerry West had it and so did Reggie Miller. Magic Johnson was not a sniper like Bird, Miller or West but the Magic Man always found a way to make that all important basket.
Steve Kerr and John Paxson are not Hall-of-Famers, but their shooting prowess are legendary. Both have had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of ending an NBA Finals series with one shot. Chuck Person called himself “The Riffleman,” not for carrying a concealed weapon but for being able to shoot down the enemy from long range. Isiah Thomas looked like a choir boy, but everybody sang the same sad tune when the leader of the Motor City Bad Boys delivered one of his clutch moments.
But the top gun in the history of the Association is and always will be Michael Jordan. If you poll the entire league on who should take the last shot to win a game, Jordan would be on top of that list. Jordan did in college. He did it numerous times during the NBA’s regular season. And he has delivered the fatal blow in the NBA’s biggest stage – the playoffs. His legend grew with each game-winner. The shot over Craig Ehlo in 1989 runs on a loop in the NBA video archives. The Jazz were on the receiving end of two devastating Jordan moments. He secured a Game 1 Bulls victory over the Jazz with a pull-up jumper over Bryon Russell in 1997. Then, in probably the greatest series-clinching shot in NBA Finals history, he drove right, gave Russell a love tap, rose up and buried a cold-blooded shot down the throat of 18,000 screaming Jazz fans in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Now that’s a true NBA assassin.
Joel Huerto, editor and publisher of OneManFastbreak.net, examines the 10 best current crop of NBA assassins who are not afraid to pull the trigger when the game is on the line – especially in the playoffs.
10) BRANDON ROY (aka “The Quiet Assassin”) – Everything about Brandon Roy is cool. His facial expression hardly changes during the game and nothing seems to fluster him. Roy plays a very smooth and rhythmic game, and he almost always plays under control. He’s got the perfect approach when situations become tense: cool and calm. Brandon Roy may not say much during a game, but his game speaks volumes.
9) KEVIN DURANT (aka “Baby Ice”) – Former NBA stud and current NBA TV analyst Steve Smith gave Kevin Durant the nickname “Baby Ice” because his game compares favorably with the legendary George “Iceman” Gervin. Like Gervin, Durant possesses a very cool demeanor on the court even during tense moments. His facial expression hardly changes and you hardly see him get flustered. And he’s only 22 years old! The Oklahoma City superstar showed his mental toughness during the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey when he nearly carried Team USA to a gold medal by himself. There is no better test than FIBA competition, and Durant passed with flying colors. Durant is No. 9 on this list only because he doesn’t have the body of work yet, but give him a few years and he should climb up this list, and maybe even challenge for No. 1.
8) CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (aka “Mr. Big Shot) – He earned the moniker “Mr. Big Shot” with his big-game heroics when he was a Detroit Piston. The Pistons went to the Eastern Conference finals six consecutive times because of Mr. Big Shot. Since Detroit ran him out of town, the Pistons have become a lottery team while Billups continues to thrive wherever he lands. He helped turn the Nuggets into a power in the West and now he’s leading the New York Knicks back to prominence with a big hand from Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.
7) DIRK NOWITZKI (aka “The Big German”) – Many observers will argue that Dirk slotted at No. 9 is far too low for the MVP of the 2011 NBA Finals. But if you look at Nowitzki’s body of work, he didn’t become a cold-blooded scorer until later in his career. In fact, for much of his career he was regarded as “soft” and mostly remembered for shrinking in the 2006 and 2007 NBA playoffs. But Nowitzki conquered all his playoff demons with a remarkable 2011 playoffs, including two big-time clutch baskets against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
6) DWYANE WADE (aka “The Flash”) – Former Miami Heat teammate Shaquille O’Neal gave him the nickname because of his uncanny ability to get to point A to point B in a flash. He nearly became a flash in the pan with an injury plagued 2007. But after going back to the lab with renowned trainer Tim Grover, D-Wade got back to elite status in a hurry. His coming out party came during the 2004 playoffs when Wade (then a rookie) dropped a floater in the paint over Baron Davis at the buzzer.
5) MANU GINOBILI (aka “Euro”) – He proudly wears and carries the flag of Argentina but … he looks like a Euro, plays like a Euro and smells like a Euro. Therefore, he’s all Euro! They even invented a name for his favorite basketball move: The Euro Step. It’s the one where he runs straight at his defender and then changes direction with one cross-over step to avoid a charging call. The Euro Step is the hottest move in the Euroleague. All the kids a doing it. Manu is the only Euro who is not afraid to be a hero. Most international players (i.e. Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol) tend to soften up in the playoffs, but not Ginobili. Tim Duncan may be the heart and soul of the San Antonio Spurs, but Ginobili is the oxygen that pumps air into the Spurs’ championship hopes.
4) RAY ALLEN (aka “Jesus Shuttlesworth”) – Whether it is on the hardwood or Hollywood, Ray-Ray is a prime-time player. He set an NBA Finals record with eight 3-pointers in Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Lakers. His performance in “He Got Game” may not have earned him an Oscar, but how many NBA superstars can hang with Denzel Washington? In Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals against the Lakers, Allen sized up Sasha Vujacic, got to the rim and scored on a left-handed layup over Pau Gasol to ice the game and the series for the Celtics. ABC commentator Mark Jackson said this on the air: “Ray Allen says I want to play one-one-one with Vujacic…and it’s time to dance! This is for all the marbles.”
3) DEREK FISHER (aka “D-Fish”) – Fisher is one of the physically and mentally toughest players in the league. Lakers coach Phil Jackson says he never worries about Fisher because he trusts that he will always make the correct play. Fisher’s career is defined by three moments: 1) his game-winning shot with 0.4 seconds left against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2004 playoffs; 2) his inspirational return to a playoff game in Utah the same day his daughter had emergency eye surgery in New York; 3) and his two clutch 3-point shots in Game 4 against the Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals.
2) PAUL PIERCE (aka “The Truth) – When the game is on the line and the Celtics need a big shot, they turn to The Truth for answers. Time and time again, Pierce has delivered for Boston and has earned the reputation for being a big-game player. He is a fearless competitor who has the entire repertoire of shots. He can stick the 3-pointer, create his own shot, get to the free throw line and has one of the best mid-range games. The 2008 NBA Finals MVP also saves his best for last, as in the fourth quarter. His performance in Game 7 against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the ’08 Eastern Conference semifinals and his game-winning shot in Game 5 against the Chicago Bulls in the ’09 Eastern Conference semifinals are prime examples of his ability to rise to the occasion.
1) KOBE BRYANT (aka “The Black Mamba”) – A black mamba can strike in rapid succession. That’s Kobe Bryant. He can kill you off the dribble with either hand, he can post you up, he can posterize you, he can drop a floater in the paint, he can cross you over, he can pull up for a mid-range jumper (something 90% of the league can’t do) and he can step back and stick a 3-point dagger into your heart. Basically, if you are a defender, all you can do is pray he misses, which does not happen very often. Suns coach Alvin Gentry calls Kobe “the best player in basketball,” and it’s not even close.
Kobe Bryant is the most feared player in the NBA when it comes to late-game heroics.
A Sports Illustrated poll was taken in 2008 to rank the most feared players in the league. Kobe was rated No. 1. Michael Jordan always told his Bulls teammates that if they can keep the game close for three quarters he can win it in the fourth. Kobe operates the same way. If the Lakers can negotiate a game for three quarters, Kobe will most likely close the deal in the fourth. He did it six times during the 2009-10 regular season, and three of them were at the buzzer. LeBron may be the two-time reigning MVP, but Kobe has five championship rings and working on No. 6.
