Basketball News Blog
 

USA Basketball Candidates Official

The lengthy list of the 25 candidates for the 2008 USA Basketball Team for the Olympics has finally been announced. The USA Basketball team looks to redeem themselves after a poor bronze medal showing at the 2004 Olympics.

The list includes 21 NBA stars (in alphabetical order): Carmelo Anthony, Gilbert Arenas, Shane Battier, Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, Bruce Bowen, Elton Brand, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, Brad Miller, Lamar Odom, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, Michael Redd, Luke Ridnour, Amare Stoudemire, and Dwyane Wade.

J.J. Redick and Adam Morrison, both of whom are currently still in college, are also invited, rounding out the roster to 23 total players.

One player??s exclusion has garnered heated media attention, and his name isAllen Iverson. Many point to Iverson??s age and style of play as reasons for his exclusion, despite his important role in the last Olympics.

??We wanted a team not of individual stars, but athleticism, shooters, role players and distributors,? national team managing director Jerry Colangelo said.

Colangelo is also hoping that high school basketball star Greg Oden will be able to join the team for training this summer.

The 23 players will attend a training camp in Las Vegas in July. The team will then fly to China and South Korea to participate in exhibition games. Afterwards, a 12-man roster will be selected for the world championships held in Japan.

There will be another training camp in 2007, which could be regional Olympic qualifying. It will be followed by another camp and additional exhibition games in 2008, before the Beijing Olympics begin.

The team will be led by Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

http://www.simplysportsnews.com

History of the National Basketball Association

The Basketball Association of America (BAA) started the first basketball season in 1946. In 1949, the BAA agreed to merge with the National Basketball League to become the National Basketball Association (NBA). At the start, there were seventeen franchises in the nation. However, in 1950 the franchises were consolidated to eleven. In 1950, the NBA became integrated, accepting the first African American players. Chuck Cooper joined the Boston Celtics, Nat ??Sweetwater? Clifton joined the New York Knicks and Earl Lloyd joined the Washington Capitols. The Minneapolis Lakers won the first NBA Championship in 1950.

The NBA was at its smallest in 1954 when it had only eight franchises, all eight of which remain today. These are the Knickerbockers, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Royals/Kings, Pistons, Hawks and Nationals/76ers. 1954 also saw the introduction of the 24-second shot clock to increase the tension of the game.

The NBA played with the six-team format until 1967 when it expanded by adding two teams. This expansion was in response to the founding of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in an attempt to tie up the best cities. The following year the Division Semifinals was changed to a best-of-seven playoff. Two additional teams were added each in 1975 and 1977. In 1976, the NBA reached a settlement with the ABA, which added four ABA franchises to the NBA, raising the total to 22.

The current sixteen-team tournament was not started until 1984. The First round was then changed to a best-of-five playoff, to accommodate the new teams. It wasn??t until 2003 that first round became the best of seven we have today. During the last 2004 to 2005 season, the NBA underwent additional changes. There are now thirty NBA franchises and the division structure has been realigned. There are now three divisions with five teams each.

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Women’s Basketball History

The Women??s National Basketball Association, created in 1996, is the first women??s league to be fully endorsed by the NBA, their male counterpart. The first season began in June of 1997, following a much-celebrated gold medal win at the 1996 Summer Olympics for the USA Women??s Basketball team. The league is divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences, much like the NBA, and the playoffs result in the Finals between the advancing team from each conference.

The WNBA plays during the summer, between NBA seasons, using many of the same venues as their counterpart NBA teams. The regular season consists of 34 games, and during the middle of July, this play comes to a halt for the WNBA All-Star game, with the star players from the Eastern Conference facing off against the stars of the Western Conference. The fans get to vote throughout the season as to who they wish to see in this game.

The playoffs consist of series featuring the top four teams from each conference, with the first round between the first and second round being best of three series, and the finals being the best of five. Typically, the team with the best record will play the team with the fourth-best record, and the second and third best teams play each other in the first round. The winner of each series then play each other the second round (the conference finals), and the victor advances to the league championship finals.

The WNBA started its first season with only eight teams (1997). By the 2000 season, that number had doubled. Two teams were added in 1998, again in 1999, and four more joined the ranks in 2000. At the time, the league was collectively owned by the NBA. Upon finishing the 2002 season, the NBA sold the individual franchises of the WNBA to either their NBA counterparts hailing from the same city or to a third party owner. This caused two teams to relocated, and the Cleveland Rockers folded at the end of the 2003 season.

This was only the beginning of the troubles for the WNBA. The players threatened to go on strike in 2002 if they could not work out a new deal with the league, and this postponed the start of the 2003 season. Then, in October of 2004, Val Ackerman, the first president of the WNBA, announced her plan to resign. She was replaced in February of the following year by Donna Orender, the Senior Vice President of the PGA Tour who had once played in the former Women??s Basketball League.

The first expansion team in years was awarded in February of 2005 to Chicago, taking the name the Chicago Sky. During the off season that same year, there were several changes to the governing rules of the WNBA to make it more similar to the NBA.

Basketball Sports Gambling Strategy

Basketball sports?? gambling is a game of skill and relies on a great deal of strategy, which must be used in order to win. The challenge is to gather and analyze as much information as you can about a game, weigh the probabilities of each team winning, and subsequently compare your opinion to the odds makers. Make the right judgment and you win. To keep the sports gambling simple and fun I am only going to cover straight bets. When gambling on a basketball game, there are two ways to place a straight bet within that same game. You can either bet the line also known to as the side, or how many points will be scored in the basketball game also known as the total.

The Straight Bet is betting in its most basic form, which allows you to bet at given odds, upon a winner. The Point Spread can bet on one of two selections that have been equated through the allocation of suitable points. In the Point Spread the number of allocated points are shown with a + sign for the favorable side and a - sign for the underdog. In order that the better wins, the favored team must win by more than the Point Spread. On the flip side, if a bet has been placed on the underdog, that team has to lose by less than the Point Spread for the better to win.

Example:
Detroit
-8.0
Seattle
196

In this example, Seattle is the favored team to win the basketball game by at least 8 points. The underdog team is Detroit, where the listed total for the contest is placed at 196. If you take a straight bet on Seattle, you are betting that Seattle will win by at least by 8 points. Conversely, if you bet on Detroit, you are betting that even if they do not win the game, Seattle will not win by as many as 8.0 points. Say the final score was:

Seattle 100
Detroit 98

If you bet on Seattle, you would have lost, because they did not win by at least 8 points. All of these sports gambling sites offer some sort of bonus for you to do your betting online with them. They are not the outrageous bonuses that you may hear about, but are adequate to start you out. You have to be careful about sportsbooks that offer the unbelievable bonus deals because they may not be able to stay around for the long haul. In most of the sports gambling sites, if you wagered $100 on Seattle, your loss would be $100. On the other hand, if you wagered on Detroit, you would have risked the same $110 to win $100. In other words you are laying 11 to win 10. The odds in the sportsbooks are listed in this manner: 10/11. The left-hand side of the backslash is what you stand to win and the right-hand side is the number you risk losing.

In this basketball game, there was a total of 198 points scored. This exceeded the total of 196 that was predicted by the lines makers, so the game went Over. If less than 196 combined points was scored in the game, the game will have gone Under. On total points at most sportsbooks, once again, the odds are 11/10.

The loser pays more than the sportsbook pays to the winner is the net profit that the sportsbook would make. This is called the juice. When looking for a sports gambling site you should look for a small juice. A line movement in any direction indicates which team that the people are betting more on. Sports gambling sites will move the line in either direction to try and entice a bettor to bet on the side that is needed to even out the amount wagered on both sides of the game. This is way the sportsbook makes its money on the juice and do not let movements in the line influence your betting. You do not want to place your wagers with a sportsbook that does not move its line, because you would then be dealing with a sportsbook that is gambling and that is poor money management by that sportsbook.

Basketball’s Favorite Teams - Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are a professional basketball team in the NBA. They are considered to be a basketball dynasty and, as a team, hold a number of notable records that explain their fame. As of the end of the 2004-05 season, they have more wins (2,621), a higher winning percentage (61.9%), more finals appearances (28), and more championships (with the exception of the Boston Celtics, who beat them by two with 16) than any other team. They also hold the record for most consecutive wins in a season (33).

The Lakers originate back to 1947, when the Detroit Gems were bought for a sum of $15,000 and moved to Minneapolis. As a member of the National Basketball League, they had the worst record by far and were given the first pick in the 1947 dispersal draft, which they used to recruit George Mikan, who is revered as the best center of his time. Between this pick and a new coach (John Kundla), the Lakers went on to win the NBL championship for the 1947-48 season and were bumped up to the Basketball Association of America (along with four other teams). Here, they won the 1948-49 championship, after which the NBL and BAA merged to form the NBA.

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College Basketball Totals

Off the top of your head, give me a quick answer: When you think of Duke, would you classify the Blue Devils as a slow defensive-oriented team, or a wide-open, run-and-gun team?

The answer is easy: They run. That’s not surprising, as the program is able to stockpile McDonald’s All Americans each season, bloating their depth, not to mention the fact that Coach K always has a brilliant ball handler or two capable of running the break. Sports bettors should notice that Duke started this season 15-8 over the total. Their wide-open running offense and capacity for nailing three-pointers is key factor in this correlation.

Naturally, coaching philosophies are tied into this, as well as personnel. Certain coaches prefer the uptempo game, like Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Roy Williams and Coach K. Then that program has to balance this with the right personnel.

This season the lack of personnel and an overabundance of youth have been problems for coaches like Bobby Knight and Rick Pitino who also prefer an uptempo approach. Pitino had to endure the loss of Tarquan Dean for several weeks, and even with Dean, Pitino has admitted he has a young team that is a few years away. Louisville started 14-5 under the total, while Texas Tech is 16-8 under the total. This is where public perception comes into play. The general betting public thinks of Texas Tech and Louisville as explosive offensive teams under those coaches, and they have been in the past, yet they just don’t have the offensive personnel this season for several reasons.

Other coaches prefer a slow down, all out defensive approach. The contrast has been very noticeable in the NBA this season, as the Pistons went from defensive-oriented Larry Brown last season to coach Flip Saunders this year. Saunders has let his troops run and be more creative offensively, and the difference in Detroit’s points scored and points allowed has been stark.

It happens in college, too. Temple under Jon Chaney comes to mind as a program that plays a slow, stifling defense. Temple started 14-9 under the total. Nobody likes to play Air Force of the Mountain West Conference with its strangling defense, and notice the Falcons are 11-6 under the total. Northwestern and Wisconsin? Two Big 10 teams with defensive reputations. And what do we find when examining their over/under tendencies? Northwestern is 13-5 under the total, while Wisconsin is 9-4 under the total at home.

That last point is worth reviewing carefully. Some teams fit into their preconceived model at home but not so much on the road. Wisconsin’s defense has been sensational at home, allowing 58 ppg, but on the road they allow 74 ppg! So it is wiser to look at the Badgers under at home, but either lay off a totals play when they go on the road.

This has been the case with Dave Odom’s South Carolina squad, too. Odom likes tough defense and this season they allow 57 ppg at home (7-3 under), but 70 ppg on the road. Washington State: 9-5 under the total at home, where they slow things to a crawl. The same is true for slow-down St. Louis at 13-4 under the total overall.

Southern Illinois has been a sensational defensive team the last few years and they take great pride in defending their home turf. Southern Illinois is 15-11 under the total on the season and 9-2 under at home. Coaching strategies, personnel, home/road play and even reputations need to be examined when assessing college basketball over/under spots.

Bryan Leonard is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League. Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Bryan_Leonard.htm

History of the Detroit Pistons, Their Highs and Lows

Fred Zollner, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, founded the Detroit Pistons in the 1940??s. The team was originally named the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. Immediately, the Pistons entered into the National Basketball League (NBL), composed primarily of teams sponsored by corporations in the Midwest.

Led by Bobby McDermott, the team??s guard, the Pistons dominated the NBL and made it to the series championship the first year they competed. However, they lost to the Oshkosh All-Stars. Two years later they were defeated at the NBL Finals again, this time by the Seboygan Redskins, but by only a single point.

In 1944, they at last won their first championship title and they followed that up with another championship win in 1945. Three years later, the Pistons team transferred to the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and in 1949 the NBL and BAA joined to form the National Basketball Association or the NBA. The Pistons were the NBA??s premier squad.

The NBA??s first five seasons featured the Pistons in the playoffs and twice the team advanced to the division finals. In 1954 and 1955, the Pistons, which now included Andy Phillip on guard, Larry Froust on center, and George Yardley on forward, advanced to the NBA finals but tragically lost to the Syracuse Nationals by one measly point. In the 1956 finals, the Pistons lost once again, to the Philadelphia Warriors. Until 1964, they continued to qualify for the NBA playoffs but never gained their championship title back.

During the 1980??s, draft picks and trades brought many new players to the team: Isaiah Thomas, Kelly Tripucka, Vinnie Johnson, and Bill Laimbeer. Three years later, Chuck Daly signed on as the team??s head coach and he eventually led them to the 1984 NBA playoffs. With additional players like Joe Dumars and Adrian Dantley and Daly??s refreshing leadership, the team was getting closer and closer to that national championship. Still, during the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics defeated them. However, in 1988 the tables turned, and the Celtics lost to the Pistons, due to the Piston??s solid defense, made up of Dumars, Laimbeer, Johnson, and recent recruit Dennis Rodman.

In the late eighties and early nineties, the Detroit Pistons moved to the Palace of Auburn Hills and added Mark Aguirre to the roster. They made it to the NBA finals in 1988, 1989 and 1990 and like old times, they were again one of the top teams in the league. The Pistons relied on a bruising defense and sharp shooting and they registered 63 regular season victories. In the 1989 NBA Finals, they swept the Los Angeles Lakers and followed suit in the 1990 Finals, beating the Portland Trail Blazers. At last, they could claim the title of champion.

Later, the Pistons began to fade as their roster disbanded. At the same time, the Chicago Bulls emerged as a dominating team in the Eastern Conference. However, 1994 brought in a high draft pick, Grant Hill, who helped out the struggling team.

In the 2004 NBA Finals, the Detroit Pistons, led by guard Chauncey Billups and teammates Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tyshaun Prince, and Been Wallace, won the championship title, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jack Peterson has an interest in Sports and Detroit Pistons, for more FREE information and articles please visit Detroit Pistons Resources

Six Basketball Defense Tips - Defending the Basketball

What stands out most in the minds of basketball fans around the world is the flashy T-Mac drive, spin and dunk or the fierce dunk over three defenders by Shaq, but it has been said that defense wins games. The Detroit Pistons of recent times were a prime example of that. Although they definitely could score, it was their swarming defense that won them the NBA title.

Basketball Defense Tip #1 - Defense is a state of mind, an attitude. Your desire, hustle and level of energy are as much important if not more than your skill. You should be a proactive player, not a reactive player.

Your main focus is always an urgent ??get that ball back?. The attitude, concentration and teamwork you bring to the game are key elements to success. The skills of defense can be taught; only you can develop the desire to win.

Basketball Defense Tip #2 - Transition play is one of the essentials of defense. You must get back to your defensive assignment quickly. Avoid letting the offense beat you down court. All too often players get lazy or waste time arguing a no-call; don??t let that happen to you. Hustle back down court and get that ball back!

Basketball Defense Tip #3 - Another essential is defending with a purpose. Mainly, prevent easy shots and get that ball back (heard that somewhere?) through steals or rebounds. Make the offense earn their points. Make them score under pressure.

Basketball Defense Tip #4 - Always apply pressure and stay low. Usually your head will be level with the ball-handler??s chest. Keep yourself positioned between the basket and the ballhandler. Wave your hands, make noises, anything to distract your opponent. You can even fake body movements such as pretending to charge the ball. The main thing is to stay low and apply pressure.

Basketball Defense Tip #5 - When guarding a player with the ball, always be ready. You should have one foot forward, the foot opposite of the ball-handler??s most dominant hand. If he is right handed, your left foot will be forward along with your left hand extended out, palm up. This will allow you to quickly flick at and steal the ball.

Usually you will keep that lead hand at whatever level the ball is; if the ball is low, so is your lead hand. If the ball is being held high, turn your palm so it facing the ball. You should also be waving your off hand so you can prevent the passing lane.

Basketball Defense Tip #6 - Position yourself between the ball-handler and the basket at all times. Cut off his path by maintaining your position between him and the basket by sliding over and staying in front of him. Don??t cross your feet.

If the ball handler gets by you, sprint to reestablish your defensive position between the ball-handler and the basket. A player without the ball should be able to sprint faster than a player dribbling the ball. Keep a cushion between you and the ball-handler. If he tries a spin move or reverse and you are too close, you could end up with an unnecessary foul. Always prevent penetration first, then pressure the ball.

If he stops his dribble, attack the ball while staying in your defensive stance. Try to force a bad pass or you can back off a little if the ball handler is out of shooting range, but always avoid the unnecessary fouls.

There are a number of different basketball defense tips, techniques and drills. Each position has its own special requirements, but the one common denominator is to prevent the offense from scoring easy or uncontested points. Always apply pressure by staying low and positioning yourself between the ball-handler and the basket. If you can master that you will be well on your way to earning a nickname like ??The Glove? (Gary Payton) and winning defensive player of the year!

College Basketball Injuries

If you want to turn a profit in the competitive world of sports wagering, it’s necessary to keep up on things on a daily basis. Take injuries in college basketball. Injuries happen all the time and one has to be on top of everything. Alabama just lost leading scorer Chuck Davis for the season. How does this affect their ability to rebound? Do they have other offensive options to rely on? Is there a devastating psychological aspect that might take place when a team of high expectations loses its best player? Remember five years ago when Cincinnati was No. 1 in the nation going into the March tournament, and in the first minute of the first game lost star forward Kenyon Martin to a broken leg? That flattened their chances and their emotional state.

I’m not just talking about season-ending injuries to star players, either. Role players can be a huge key to a team’s success, such as the unsung rebounding forward who does the dirty work under the boards. If that role player is lost for a few weeks or the entire season, that can alter the subtle chemistry on a team.

In addition, players often play through nagging injuries that pop up during a long season. Arkansas State last week was a good example. The Indians have had several players over the last week suffer nagging injuries. In last week’s win at Little Rock, they had to go with only 5 players for the final 12 minutes of the game! In their next game, they lost and failed to cover at Middle Tennessee State as the lack of depth took a toll. Check out the box score on that game. Notice that Arkansas State used 5 starters and one sixth man pretty much the whole game. It’s no surprise they wilted down the stretch as MTS pulled away late.

If a player has a strong defensive guard that is hurting with an ankle or hamstring problem, maybe the injury isn’t severe enough to force him to sit down, but it also may hinder his effectiveness. He could loss a step or two and be vulnerable to penetrating guards, or not be quick enough to defend on the perimeter anymore. You can identify this by looking at box scores and seeing if they are allowing more three-point shots, for instance.

Northern Iowa has a very good team this season, but notice they just lost senior guard Erik Crawford for four to six weeks after suffering a broken bone in his right foot. Crawford was averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and had started all 17 games for the Panthers. He had made 80 consecutive starts for the Panthers dating to the 2003-04 season. This is something serious sports bettors need to circle and keep tabs on.

Cincinnati senior forward Armein Kirkland will miss the remainder of the season, their fourth leading scorer. UCLA’s fine season is being tested by a rash of injuries. The Bruins are without lone senior Cedric Bozeman, who also is done for the year with torn cartilage in his left shoulder, and star sophomore guard Jordan Farmar has been bothered by a nagging ankle injury. This week, they found out sophomore guard Josh Shipp will miss the remainder of the season (hip).

Also, some teams get players back because of injuries and suspensions. Bradley played the first 8 games of the season without 7-foot sophomore center Patrick O’Bryant, who was a strong force as a freshman last season. All of this goes beyond stats. Stats can be almost meaningless when key players, both starters and role players, are hurting or seriously injured.

Bryan Leonard is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League. Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Bryan_Leonard.htm

Basketball History

The father of basketball, Dr. James Naismith came up with the game in 1892 and the first game was played in Beaver Falls Pennsylvania on April 8 1893 between the New Brighton YMCA and the Geneva College. The game was very popular and by 1914 as many as 360 colleges boasted basketball teams. In 1939, the first NCAA Men??s College Basketball Championship tournament was held which was won by the University of Oregon.

The formation of Pro basketball in 1896 came about from a dispute between YMCA team members and officials and ended in the members forming a professional team that played for money. In 1898, the NBL (National Basketball League) was formed and produced the first basketball stars - Ed Wachter and Barney Sedran.

The first two professional basketball teams to achieve success were the Buffalo Germans and the Celtics but during the 1930??s favorites included the New York Renaissance and the Harlem Globetrotters. During this time, womens basketball was also popular and produced great players such as Babe Didrikson and Alline Banks Sprouse.

In 1940, the first college basketball game was shown on TV. This game was played between Pittsburgh and Fordham at Madison Square Garden, and catapulted basketball into a national sensation. Since then basketball has been one of the most watched sports and in fact the March Madness, when almost 350 American colleges compete for the NCAA basketball crown is the most watched event in the United States.

In Pro basketball during the 1940??s and 50??s the Minneapolis Lakers were a huge favorite of many winning 5 NBA championship titles and producing starts like Bob Cousy and Bob Pettit. But during the late 1950??s up until 1969, the Celtics had the court winning 11 NBA titles (8 f them right in a row). During this era favorite players included Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlin of the Philadelphia Warriors.

During 1963 to 1975 The University of California, Los Angeles was in the spotlight winning 10 national championships, including seven in a row. Some of the great players of this UCLA team include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich and Marques Johnson.

In 1967 the American Basketball Association (ABA) was formed and many will remember one of the satart players Julius Erving as well as their red white and blue basketballs. The ABA only lasted until 1976 when it broke up and many of the teams joined the NBA.

In the 1960??s, womens basketball introduced the 5 player full court format and made dribbling fully legal but it wasn??t until 1985 that the Basketball Hall of Fame began inducting woman coaches and players. Some of the first women to get this honor include Carol Blazejowski, Ann Meyers, Cheryl Miller; Nancy Lieberman-Cline and Anne Donovan.

In the late 1970??s start players like Larry Bird of Indiana State University and Michigan State Universities Magic Johnson emerged and the late 1980s saw such major players as Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman. But perhaps the most beloved player of all is Michael Jordan who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in the 1990s.