Video game (2K13) puts Dream Team vs. 2012 USA Team

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: I want to see LeBron dunk on Jordan.

Kevin Durant Spotted Cuddling Up

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Looks like the Thunder know how to party.

Rapper Lil B and Kevin Durant mix it up and we got the tweets to prove it.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: First it was James Harden and Lil Wayne, now Lil B and Kevin Durant?

Hipster glasses invade the NBA.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: From the dual Hipster capitals of the world Silver Lake, CA & Austin, TX geek chic is in.

This is the good, the bad, and the horribly ugly of when NBA players try to act.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Sometimes it turns our great and sometimes it is unintentionally  hilarious and painful.

Most often when basketball player dabble in films it's in either comedic supporting roles or mushy feel-good stories. Rarely do these ballers take time to do any type of real preparation Hollywood actors do every day like studying at Stella Adler Studios in Los Angeles or the Tisch School in New York. These ballers traditionally know nothing of method acting, Stanislavsky, or even supplements like AuditionFocus geared to help actors be focused and mentally sharp with their memory and relaxation. Yet, NBA ballers dive in nonetheless and we have to watch the results. Some are surprisingly good, while others are cringe-wrothy as they crash and burn.

Most recently we had "Thunderstruck with Kevin Durant. This was the 2012 relase that was definitely in the latter category of "feel-good." The basic idea of the film is one we've seen many times before, but continues to excite. Kevin's skills get switched for a young fan. This leaves Kevin unable to play and his little fan with a dominating jumper.  The classic Michael Jordan movie "Space Jams" would be another film that falls into this "feel good" category. These are films for the whole family and basically co-brand themselves with the NBA star that carries them. 

Hollywood has long had a love affair with the big men of the NBA too. One of the originals to dip his size 23 toes into Hollywood was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the classic movie "Airplane" as pilot Roger Murdock. This is a situation where Kareem was put in a role where he could really shine comedically by not giving him more than he could handle. He comes off has hilarious and the movie succeeds both comercially and comedically. 

Another big man who had a run in films is Shaquille O'Neal. He starred in movies such as "Blue Chips" with Nick Nolte, as well as Disney's Kazaam. Although some of Shaq's movies were huge flops, his role in "Blue Chips" was solid and adds to the general idea that basketball players do best when acting as basketball players. 

The one notable film that breaks these predictable molds is Spike Lee's "He Got Game." This movie is carried equally by Denzel Washington and Ray Allen. Allen isn't given simply the traditional "easy" scenes we expect of basketbal players in movies. Lee wisely teamed up Allen with one of the strongest actors of our generation in Denzel and let them carry this film together. Sure, Allen isn't as strong as Washington is on screen, but who is? The point is the film works and Allen does a solid job doing more than just shooting jumpers on film, but actually telling the story of Jesus Shuttlesworth.

Stella Adler Studios 

Tisch School of Arts

AuditionFocus

The freaks come out at night- or in this case, to a D-League tryout in Santa Cruz.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call- The economy is rough.

Will NBA kill the fun in celebrations and pregame rituals like the NFL?

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: If the NBA could learn anything from the NFL it's to let the players have fun.

Tim Duncan told he doesn't have the chops to rap with Stephen Jackson, Kevin Durant, and more.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Have we ever heard a good basketball rapper? EVER?

Ever wonder what type of rapper Kevin Durant would be? Well, now you have your answer.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: He's actually pretty good.

If you're still reading the title of this article thinking it's a misprint and you must be crazy, you're not.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  It's not a rumor.  Jack Taylor of Grinnell College scored 138 points in a game last night.

It all went down in Grinnell, Iowa, during a Division III regular season matchup between Grinnell College and Faith Baptist Bible.  The final score of the game was Grinnell College 179, Faith Baptist Bible 104, and Taylor's 138 points crushed the 58-year old record of points by a single player in a college game.

The previous record was set by Bevo Francis, who scored 113 points against Hillsdale in 1954.  (Note:  Francis had 116 in a game against a junior college but that's technically not the same level.)  The only other player to score in the triple digits in college basketball history is Frank Selvy, who scored 100 in 1954, the same year Francis had his 113 point game.

By the end of the night, Taylor had shot the ball 108 times (what?!), 71 of which were threes.  He finished the game 52-for-108 from the field, scoring 77% of his team's total points, which as you can see by the graphic above, is a higher percentage than both Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant scored in their career-high scoring games.

"There was a point during the second half where I hit a number of threes in a row -- maybe seven or eight -- I felt like anything I threw up was going in," Taylor said.  "I've been in the zone before but I've never taken so many shots."

Let's hope he's never taken that many shots before.  I didn't think it was even possible to shoot that many times in a game.  And I'm not the only one.  Knicks superstar, Carmelo Anthony, had this to say when he heard about Taylor's ridiculous game:

"I never heard of nothing like that.  That's like a video game.  How can you shoot 100 times, though?"

I guess you can shoot 108 times when the most shots another member of your team took was 6.

Taylor played 36 minutes of the game.  When you do the math, the 108 shots he took was equal to one shot every 20 seconds.

The funny things is, David Larson, a player on the losing team, scored 70 in the game!  He shot an incredible 34-44 from the field and no one even knows his name today.

But everyone now knows Jack Taylor, including NBA legend Kobe Bryant.  Kobe reportedly found out about Taylor's scoring spree last night and made some pretty funny commentary to ESPNLosAngeles.com Lakers correspondent, Dave Mcmenamin.

"That's amazing," Bryant said.  "He must have been wearing the Mambas, man.  Only Mambas have no conscious [sic] to shoot the ball like that.  If you score 138 points, you kind of have a license to tell people to f--- off."

Even NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant tweeted, "Jack Taylor you deserve a shot of Jack Daniels after that performance lol...wow."

In that case, congratulations from Hoopsvibe on getting your license, Jack Taylor.  Now listen to KD and go enjoy yourself a shot of Jack Daniels.

On the Lakers' 9th win of the season, Kobe Bryant surpassed 30,000 points in his career.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  Kobe hitting 30,000 is an amazing milestone, but I bet the entire organization is just happy to get a win.

The following article profiles the top five free throw shooters in the NBA today.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  Free throw shooting is a crucial aspect of the game and is often the difference between winning and losing.

Kobe wants to remind you that you can "Count On Kobe", like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: He also wants you to know he can beat your favorite player one on one.

Kobe says he would beat LeBron 1-on-1 easy, but there is someone else that could take him.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Hard to picture Kobe admitting anyone that has ever played basketball could beat him, but he did.

The fans have spoken.  Here are the East and West starting lineups for the 2013 NBA All-Star game.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  Most of these ballers deserved it, but a few are questionable.

Sometimes even the most humble players let their emotions get the best of them.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  Kevin Durant may be tied for the league lead in technical fouls, but he's still the man.

Some picks may surprise, but the decisions are in. Here are our picks for midseason NBA awards. 

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: The real question is can they keep it going?

Love him or hate him, Lebron James is putting together one of the best seasons of basketball by any player in history.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  His superstar season continued with a big win over the Thunder Thursday night.

Kevin Durant may be tall and lengthy, but the dude still has ridiculous handles.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  Vince Carter probably needed to ice his ankles this weekend after Kevin Durant broke them.

In the most recent data gathered, Lebron James topped the list of the NBA's most popular jerseys.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  Here is the list of the top 5 most popular NBA jerseys.

Basketball is a team sport, but when two studs lock horns, the other players on the court recede from view.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: So many great rivalries, so little time!

Today, Gatorade released an ad for it's new product "Fixation",which features Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade squaring off, each player dreaming of a different outcome when they meet one and each other on the floor.

So it got me thinking: Who are the best one on one match-ups in NBA history? 

Here are the first batlles that came to mind. 

Shaquille O'Neal vs. Hakeem Olajuwon

Their match-up in the 1995 NBA Finals has been washed asunder by the tides of history, but at the time, this may have been the best duel I have ever witness. Hakeem was paying the best basketball of his career this season (in the playoffs particularly)and maybe the best stretch for any center in NBA history. Shaq led the NBA in scoring this season (29.3 ppg) and was in the midst of establishing himself as the most physically dominant center ever. In the Finals, Hakeem averaged 32.8 ppg and Shaq scored 28.0 ppg.

Wilt Chamberlain vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

In the conversation about the best center of all-time, these two names are really the only two at the top of the list- it's really just a question of who is 1a and who is 1b.This excellent article breaks it down, blow by blow, and concludes that Wilt is the victor.

They played against each other 27 times, including 11 games in the playoffs of 1971 and 1972. In their first 11 meetings, Chamberlain was still able to (i.e. inclined to) score with Jabbar. In those first 11 games, Wilt averaged 22.8 ppg and 17.6 rebounds, while Kareem averaged 26.0 ppg and 15.6 rebounds.

50 ppg, 30.1 ppg over his career, 23 rebounds/game over his career, the only non-guard ever to lead the league in assists, 100 points in one game, the list goes on...Wilt was simply more dominating.

Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James

This is absolutely the most exciting match-up in the current NBA, with both players battling every night for supremacy. In five playoff games (last year's NBA Finals), KD outscored LBJ 30.6 ppg to 28.6 ppg. But James dominated in every other statistical category and also won the title, by a margin of 4-1. In 11 regular season match-ups it's the same story; Durant averages 29.0 to LBJ's 28.1, "Bron Bron" has the edge in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks and has won nine of the 11 games. "Durantula" has some work to do, potentially in this years NBA Finals. 

Dominique Wilkins vs. Michael Jordan

Of their era, these were the two most athletically gifted, electrifying players. WIlkins at times, looked like he almost had too much energy for his body, while MJ was always smooooooth. In 45 career games against each other, Jordan won 27 while "Nique" won 18. MJ averaged 31.6, while Wilkins poured in 29.8 as both players had almost identical stat lines. In one playoff series that the Bulls swept, Jordan averaged 34.3, 6.7 rpg, 4.3 apg to Nique's 30.0, 5.3 rpg and 3.0 apg.

Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan

The significance of this rivalry isn't as much about the head to head play, though that was extremely entertaining, but about what it meant to the league- was it not old MJ versus a young version of himself? Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan played each other 8 times, four when Jordan was with the Chicago Bulls and 4 when he was with the Washington Wizards. The Lakers won 5 of those games. Across these games, Bryant scored an average of 22.8 points, while Jordan scored 24.5 points.

Oh,old man Jordan still has it.

What's your top five?

For more news, info and updates, follow us on Twitter @hoopsvibe

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is creating a media stir once again, and this time, it's by saying he would draft Baylor University women's basketball star Brittney Griner.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  Either Cuban knows something we don't or he's just completely messing with all of us.

There's so much ink in the NBA, it could power a space shuttle to the moon and back eight times.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: So many weird tattoos, so little time.

There are so many players with bodies full of ink, it's difficult to narrow the field down to just five. And with each passing minute some NBA player, at this very moment, is probably getting inked up. The explosion of tattoos in the NBA over the last 10-15 years is in no doubt due to two people- Dennis Rodman and Allen Iverson.

Rodman was the first player to sport multiple tattoos, unabashedly, on the court. Iverson took a cue from Rodman and continued the trend, to the point now where roughly 70% of NBA players have tattoos.

Wilson Chandler

Chandler had several tattoos when he joined the league in 2007, and since then he hasn't slowed down at all. A big fan of comics (Juggernaut of X-Men fame), cartoons (Beavis and Butthead of all things, next to Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and rap music (an Eazy-E piece), Chandler has dedicated a portion of his body to each. Check out this article for the full break down.

JR Smith

Smith is filled to the brim as far as tattoos go, with some even now spilling out onto his ears and close to his face. Smith had around 70 tattoos "before I lost count." Smith actually said about tattoos that he "hated them" when he was younger, and told himself "he would never get like this." He seriously has no more room to add anything.

Chris Anderson

Speaking of a guy with no room left for tattoos, Chris "The Birdman" Anderson is in the same spot. In a lot of ways Anderson was a head of the game as far as body art and he has spawned a lot of imitators. I was on board until the "Free Bird" neck tattoo, the color in that thing was just too much. I had to put a pic of a young Anderson so you can see how far he has come, tattoo wise.

Monta Ellis

Ellis' stomach tree is probably the most noted stomach tattoo in the NBA. Gilbert Arenas' was for a while, and Kevin Durant's selection of tattoos is pretty close, but nobody beats Ellis. 

Dorell Wright

About five years ago, Wright was an afterthought in the category of "most tattooed NBA player." But now, he is easily one of the most tatted.

If Larry Bird had started playing in the NBA during the last decade, what would he have a tattoo of? Here's an idea:

A report from the Daily Thunder confirmed Friday that Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook will undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  This is an extremely tough break for the Thunder who are poised to make a championship run.

Despite the team no longer in existence, Kevin Durant is still a fan of the Seattle Supersonics.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  It's funny how Durant wearing a hat turns into "news."

The Quick Hit: It was supposed to be case of master versus student. It has become a case of student challenging master.

Quite simply, the Los Angeles Lakers, with all their star power and glitz, were expected to handle the talented but inexperienced Oklahoma City Thunder. After all, the Lakers had that Larry O’Brien swagger; the Thunder were unproven upstarts.

The half time show was ass. Three kids were dancing around shouting through the speakers. If they were good, we couldn’t tell because the sound check guys did not do their jobs. There was too much feed back. I cannot understand what they were saying. The kids looked more like ravers on drugs dancing around with decorative clothes and back packs. They claimed that swag is dead, but their sign is messed up. It reads “Swag is dead.” A slash mark crosses the sentence. Does that mean that swag is not dead? They meant to say “Swag.” A slash mark crossing that word makes sense. No one was amused. Swag itself was not amused.

The main event game took place at Cal State Long Beach in Long Beach, California. The game did not take place in Los Angeles. People need to get that right. The celebrity game started off the night on a low note. I did not think it could get any lower until these no name rap groups came out to perform. It was a blood bath. No, no one killed anyone. When I say blood bath, I meant they killed my ears. They were dancing and singing for the crowd, but the crowd just did not give a damn. Shout outs to performing with heart and the silent awkwardness that followed.

 Your 2011 NBA All-Star Game starters, as voted by the fans and announced by the NBA are below. The game will be played in Los Angeles on February 20.

The NBA lockout has definitely affected coverage of pro basketball during the summer, which is obvious because there is no basketball to report. People are desperate for NBA action that they have to resort to covering recreational leagues around the nation. Kevin Durant’s street ball exploits, Kobe Bryant dominating, John Lucas III lighting it up, and LeBron James getting dunked on by little Asian kids was just the stuff shown around networks and Internet. Fans are that thirsty for that action.

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s feel good season could soon become complicated.

No. This is not an attempt to compare any of these guys to Michael Jordan. Nope. That has been beaten, raped, and pillaged to hell and back. This is more of an examination of the talent today that might have a chance to reach Jordan’s status. They are obviously not him and will not surpass him either. The goal is ridiculous anyway. However, getting close to Jordan is possible. It’s not out of the question. 

We are back to what the NBA was when Michael Jordan retired for the first time in 1993. There is no true ultimate dominator in this league who is head and shoulders above everyone. Remember that time? Malone, Stockton, Olajuwon, Shaq, Kidd, Miller, Barkley, Richmond, Pippen, Payton, and more became prominent when Jordan left. As of 2011, there is no one head and shoulders above anyone. We can make arguments for a few select, but they each have flaws whether it’s getting old, shrinking up, or whatever. 

It’s been a tough ride for Kobe Bryant and Laker Nation in 2011. They were dominated in the 2nd round of the playoffs against the Mavericks, Phil Jackson retired, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar disrespected, and Kobe looked old. Just going by numbers, the Black Mamba is not a top 5 fantasy player. Take notice that he is not being picked number one overall in many drafts. The trend picked up beginning in 2008 when Chris Paul and LeBron James started to take over.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: What altercation with his co-star?

The world wide web is abuzz with reports that Oklahoma City Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook got into a dispute on the bench of Wednesday’s game.

Well, Durant was so distracted he hit the game-winner on Thursday evening against the world champion Dallas Mavericks.

Watch the video, form an opinion, and get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

The season is almost over. It is time to look back and reflect on the positives and negatives. The hype before tip-off was through the roof. There was a lot of anticipation on new rivalries and storylines to be played out. Will the South Beach trio work out? How will Blake Griffin play? Is Steve Nash’s window closed? Are the Lakers still the team to beat? Kevin Durant got the MVP? The Chicago Bulls are 4th seeders, right?

I come in peace, but I’ll talk about this. This has to be addressed. Welcome to LeBron’s new nightmare. The Miami Heat is getting $hi#$ed on by the full media blitz. It’s not over. It’s never going to be over with the public onslaught. There is more to come, but no one has mentioned this particular item. I write this with full sincerity - LBJ will not win MVP ever again. This is a bold claim, but there are many reasons to see why.

Tweet

That’s all I’ve been hearing lately. Blah, blah, blah, weak sauce, blah, blah. Why you mad, though? The major complaint is that no one really stands out from the pack. My thinking is “How the eff does that make the race weak?” My dude, you serious? Go watch Tommy Wiseau’s The Room if you think the race is the weakest then hit me back up or get slapped with a notice out of nowhere to give up the kids like Charlie Sheen. If you don’t like this season’s MVP race, you don’t like NBA basketball.

The newly minted 2011 All Star game MVP worked his way to be the star of stars. 37 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 steals are great numbers. Props to Kobe. It is back to business since All Star weekend is over. Where is Kobe in the league MVP race? Remember, this isn’t the legacy award  like the All Star spots. Everyone has to put in serious work. That includes Bryant who is usually penciled in before the season started. Every great player's time fades away, too. It sucks, but that's life.

The streets are buzzing. I’m going to agree with this. The future NBA commercial featuring him and some old black guy standing there talking about his future is creepy. That pissed off Seattle. Sorry, Seattle. That sucked just to watch. You’ll always have Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. And Shawn Kemp’s kids. And grunge. And a band formerly called “Mookie Blaylock” that became Pearl Jam. And Gary Payton’s trash talking. That was the ish back in the day.

Yes, I know the season is about 5 games in by the time you read this. What a great way to look at things. You can still work trades early. Get moving especially if you’re in a pay league.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Heat GM Pat Riley and Thunder GM Sam Presti must have had heart attacks while watching LeBron James and Kevin Durant’s flag football teams go at it.

Luckily, the two NBA superstars, who earn tens of millions of dollars to play pro basketball, didn’t get hurt.

And LeBron returned interception for a touchdown. His celebration dance wasn’t half bad either.

Click the link, watch the video, and come back to HoopsVibe News with thoughts and comments.

This is an intriguing challenge because ever since the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Pau Gasol as a gift from long time former general manager Jerry West, the team is unbeatable. The squad can be beaten in one game because it’s just one game – mad random. In a seven game series, however, no team in the West can knock off the Purple and Gold. I just do not see this happening as long as Kobe Bryant is at his peak running the team. What does a team have to have to be able to defeat them?

I'll be taking quick notes as I watch the game here. Feel free to drop in your comments below. They update in real time.

- What is Andrew Bynum drinking? A pre-game shot shows him chugging a foaming red liquid from a water bottle.

- OKC tosses the ball to Durant for the first play.  He dribbles around for a few seconds before tossing up an awkward brick. Bad opening.

- Pau connects on a shot with so much arc the ball came down with snow on it.

- That red stuff is obviously working for Bynum, who connects on his first attempt.

- Durant botches an open layup. Let's hope that's a fumble and not a sign of the pressure getting to him.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: The great ones put in work regardless of the circumstances.

Even though there’s a lockout, Kevin Durant and LeBron James are training with the hope that owners and players will solve their differences and have a season.

Click the video below, watch these superstars train, and get at HoopsVibe News with thoughts in the comment box below.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

The regular has ended some time ago and it’s time to touch on the players and moments that made this season memorable. The playoffs just started and it is going to take awhile to determine the champion, but I’d like take this time to look back at stuff that impacted the season and future to come. Hold up. There will be some moments that did not impact the season. It was just funny to point out.  Dwight Howard wins another Defensive Player of the Year, Scott Brooks wins Coach of the Year, and Aaron Brooks won Most Improved Player. We can safely assume that LeBron James won Most Valuable Player.