Kobe Bryant again!

Kobe Bryant again, he becomes fourth player to score 50 or more points in three consecutive games. Threw his teammates on his back, taking them on a ride through history that put him alongside Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Elgin Baylor.

Bryant had 60 points Thursday against the Memphis Grizzlies, becoming the fourth player in NBA history to score 50 or more points in three consecutive games.A footnote, almost, was a 121-119 victory over the Grizzlies at FedExForum, an event that pushed the Lakers a game ahead of the Denver Nuggets for sixth place in the Western Conference.

Bryant was again the central theme throughout the night, tucking away another effort that didn't quite match the 65 points he scored last Friday against Minnesota but bettered the 50 he had Sunday against Minnesota.Bryant, 60 points.

Is anybody surprised anymore?

More information...

READ MORE...

TOP 20 NBA 2007 MOCKDRAFT

Last updated on March 6th, 2007. Top 20 of 2007 NBA Draft mock courtesy of DraftExpress.com. There are too many good potential big men in upcoming Draft, let's check them out:

1. Greg Oden
   Center
   01/23/1988; 7'0"; 260 lbs.
   Ohuo State, Freshman
2. Kevin Durant
   Small Forwad
   10/01/1988; 6'10" ; 225 lbs.
   Texas, Freshman
3. Joakim Noah
   PF/C
   2/25/1985; 6’11’’; 227 lbs.
   Florida, Junior
4. Brandan Wright
   PF
   6’10’’; 210 lbs.
   North Carolina, Freshman
5. Spencer Hawes
   C
   4/28/1988; 7’0’’; 240 lbs.
   Washington, Freshman
6. Julian Wright
   SF/PF
   05/22/1987; 6’8’’; 210 lbs.
   Kansas, Sophomore
7. Al Horford
   PF/C
   06/03/1986; 6’9’’; 235 lbs.
   Florida, Junior
8. Josh McRoberts
   PF/C
   03/01/1987; 6’11’’; 245 lbs.
   Duke, Sophomore
9. Tiago Splitters
   PF/C
   21 years old; 7’0’’; 245 lbs.
   TAU Vitoria, International
10. Corey Brewer
    SF
    03/05/1986; 6’8’’; 185 lbs.
    Florida, Junior
11. Dominic James
    PG
    10/05/1986; 5’11’’; 175 lbs.
    Marquette, Sophomore
12. Yi Jianlian
    PF/C
    10/28/1987; 7’0’’; 230 lbs.
    Guangdong Tigers, International
13. Jason Smith
    PF/C
    03/04/1986; 7’0’’; 215 lbs.
    Colorado State, Junior
14. Aaron Gray
    C
    12/07/1984; 7’1’’; 280 lbs.
    Pittsburgh, Senior
15. Sean Williams
    C
    6’10"; 230 lbs.
    Boston College, Junior
16. Marcus Williams
    SG/SF
    12/04/1985; 6’7’’; 205 lbs.
    Arizona, Sophomore
17. Tyler Hansbrough
    PF
    11/03/1985; 6’9’’; 230 lbs.
    North Carolina, Sophomore
18. Ron Steele
    PG
    04/24/1986; 6’2’’; 185 lbs.
    Alabama, Junior
19. Rudy Fernandez
    SG
    04/05/1985; 6’6’’; 172 lbs.
    DKV Joventut, International
20. Daequan Cook
    SG
    6’4"; 185 lbs.
    Ohio State, Freshman

READ MORE...

Will Yi Jianlian play in NBA?

Yi Jianlian, the 7 foot (2.11 m) young basketball player from Guangdong Hongyuan team of Chinese Basketball Association is in the scout draft for the upcoming NBA 2007 Draft now.

He has been regarded as China's most promising prospect since Yao Ming. Since Yi Jianlian can score out of the paint, his style of play is widely compared to that of Kevin Garnett. His outstanding athleticism allows him to finish above the rim with relative ease and consistency. During the 2004-2005 CBA season, Yi recorded more dunks than any other Chinese players. Yi Won 3 CBA champions in a row with Guangdong Tigers, and won the CBA Finals MVP in 2005-06 season. Yi averaged 13.5 points and 8 rebounds per game against the USA in two games in 2006 FIBA World Championship with the Chinese national basketball team.

But for Yi himself, "I'm still very young and thin," he said. Only playing one season in the league, and spending most of his time on the substitute bench, Yi knows that he has a long way to go. However the last game in the regular season really surprised the audience and made people believe Yi had a bright future. When the game entered overtime, Yi finally got the chance to substitute and grabbed 13 points in five minutes which ensured a victory for his team and the No.1 place in the league. Although his performance in the final was rather conservative, Yi did contribute the best moment in the season: stealing the ball in the last several seconds, running, and leaving others behind him, finishing with a monster dunk.
When will Yi Jianlian access NBA? It depends on the most mysterious thing about Yi: his age. The coach of Chinese National Junior Team said Yi was born on Oct 27, 1987, which means he is only 16 and has to wait till 2009 to be qualified for entering the NBA draft. While some Chinese experts hold that Yi is 19 or 20 years old now. Whether the information of his age is true won't affect Nike's interest towards Yi. The company has defeated other business rivals and signed a six-year contract with Yi. The value of the contract is more expensive than the salary he gets now. It even surpasses the contract that Nike signed with Yao Ming at first. Today, Yi Jianlian has attracted the attention of people on both sides of the ocean. Will he become the genuine successor of Yao Ming and start a whole new Chinese fervor in the NBA? Let's just wait and see...

READ MORE...

Dwyane Wade's injury

This player is flashy player, have good athletic body, can fly over taller guys, he is so hard to stop. He is Dwyane Wade. I think the only way can stop him is an injury. And his action was stopped by his left shoulder injury in Miami's game againts Rocket, Feb.21 at Houston.
The Heat haven't improve really since he have been injury in that game in which they lost 112-102. The Miami Heat haven't been a big threat this season, there only one game over .500 with a 30-29 record in there in secord place in the Southeast division.
With Wade being out with a injury, that really stops the Miami Heat from being a big time team in the playoffs and alot of people think there going to have some problems in the NBA playoffs this season. With Shaquille O'Neal getting old and a couple of other players not putting on a show, things weren't looking good when Wade went down.
But he will try to come back this season. He said Monday he has decided to delay surgery and rehabilitate his dislocated left shoulder with the goal of returning for the playoffs. "My decision for the next two to three weeks is to rehab with the possibility of coming back, but with no guarantees," he said. "I'll find out after therapy and rehab how my body responds to things."

I hope he can play good and safe his injury. Don't force yourself if you're still hurt or you will play an upset game because of injury's hurt or get worst.

READ MORE...

Heat's Eighth Straight

Being sat to the bench with three fouls for most of the first half didn't sit well with Shaquille O'Neal, and it showed in the second half against the New Jersey Nets.
O'Neal scored 17 of his 19 points in the final two quarters and the Miami Heat won their eighth straight game with a 93-86 win Thursday night.
"I was really upset,'' said O'Neal, who fended off a late Nets run with a basket in the lane with 1:07 to play. "I felt like they tried to limit me, whoever 'they' may be. So I just said to myself third quarter I'm going to come out and do what I do.''
O'Neal had plenty of help as the Heat won for the 16th time in 20 games, and for the ninth time in 11 since Dwyane Wade went down with a shoulder injury.
The Heat took advantage with a 15-2 spurt that turned a 51-47 deficit into a 62-53 lead on a baby hook by O'Neal, who was 5-for-7 shots in the quarter.
"When he came out in the third quarter he was just committed that he was going to get to the basket, get to the basket, they didn't double him, and we got that post up game going,'' Riley said.

More detail on NBA.COM

Source: NBA.COM

READ MORE...

Vertical Leap Exercises - Basketball Training Tips

NOTE: These exercises are known to help one's physical fitness and incease leaping ability. If you have any sort of injury, have any health problems, have any questions, or you feel any pain while exercising, then stop, and consider consulting a doctor.

WARMING UP
Before starting the exercises, warm up your muscles. Stretch properly, and jog around for a few minutes.
If you have a jumprope, use it. Jumping rope definitely helps your conditioning.
Running up and down stairs for a while is very useful as a warmup, or a full exercise. Don't do too much or else you may wear our your legs. Use it as a quick warmup, or a full exercise.

JUMPING EXERCISES
Deep Knee Bends --- Be standing. Slowly bend at the knees while keeping your back straight. Slowly crouch down as low as possible (it shouldn't hurt) and slowly rise back up. Do this 15 times. Over time increase to 20, 30, etc.

Deep Knee Bend Jumps --- Be standing. Crouch down as described above but fairly quickly, almost touching your bottom to the ground, then explode upwards as high as you can. The moment you land, immediately crouch and launch back up again. Do this 15 times, and when you can, increase to 20, 30, etc.

Toe Raises --- Stand regularly, then raise up onto the tips of your toes. Lower back down. Don't just rock up and down, do it slowly (not too slowly) but steadily. Repeat 30-50 times.

Toe-Raise with Weights --- If you have any sort of weights, holding/wearing them while doing these toe raises will help. Use small weights (a mere 5 or 10 pounds is fine) and work your way up.

Stomach Crunches --- We believe that sit-ups are bad for your back. Stomach crunches, where while lying on your back, using your ab muscles and keeping your back straight, you rise up just enough to lift your shoulders off the ground, are better. Do them often - perhaps for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night.

Jumping Rope--- Jumping rope definitely helps your vertical leap. Jump rope while watching tv or something. Make it a habit.

Warning!

Don't do jumping exercises 7 days a week. Four or five days per week is enough. If you do it every day, you may give up after a week or two. The idea is to keep exercising for months, or years, consistently.

Source: InsideHoops

READ MORE...

The Return of Yao

He is back! The International's Star, Yao Ming returned to action for the Houston Rockets on Monday night after missing 32 games while recovering from a broken bone under his right knee.
The 7-foot-6 center was in the starting lineup and before Houston's game against the Cleveland said that he was returning with no limitations.
Yao showed some rust, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting over 27 minutes in the Cavaliers' 91-85 win. He added 11 rebounds and two blocks but gave Houston fans a big scare when he tripped over a Caveliers' player and tumbled to the ground with less than a minute left in the game. Yao Ming limped off the court, at one point reaching for the brace on his right knee, but he declined help on the bench. He returned to the game after a timeout.
Yao Ming shoot a left hook on the Rockets' first possession, but immediately got in the Cavaliers' way on the other end, blocking a shot.
Yao sat at his locker after pregame shootaround, wearing a black brace on his right knee. He doesn't think it will slow him down. He also wasn't concerned that the Cavaliers might try to test his leg.
"The doctor already tested my leg Saturday night before we played against the Spurs," Yao said. "I said, 'OK, thank you. How about [playing] tonight?' He said, 'No.'"

Yao said he prepared for his return by working on a stationary bike and treadmill over the last couple weeks.
It was Yao's third time rehabilitating from an injury in a year. In December 2006, he underwent surgery for a toe infection and missed 21 games. Last April, he broke his left foot and missed the final four games of the season.

Now, he is back and may do some highlight action. Wellcome back, Yao...

READ MORE...