The future of watching basketball

With the current trend making basketball games more realistic to watch, it can be fun to imagine the potential for this. Soon after HD began dominating the scene, 3D has become increasingly popular. So what's next? Here's my vision of what I hope happens:

With multiple 3D cameras situated throughout the stadium all weaved together, making it possible to view fully 3 dimensional true color holographic images from any angle the watcher chooses. So imagine a coffee table that looked like a mini basketball court with little men running around and dunking on the little hoops. So there are plusses and minuses with this setup. Among the plusses, awesomeness and potential are near the top. On the downside, you're watching tiny little men play sports. Slightly creepy.

Now imagine taking that idea up a few notches. Imagine you're at Madison Square Garden for Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. LeBron and the Knicks are trying to win their 3rd title against an aging Kobe, mature Pau, and MVP Andrew Bynum. Sitting front row you're awed by the size and speed of the game. The catch is that the game is actually being played in Los Angeles. That's right, full scale holographic images displayed in stadiums.

It could happen...

UConn Men's Hoops

A few days ago, after unranked UConn completed their unlikely run to the Maui Championship, I posted on a friend's wall that I predict UConn men AND women will be cutting down the nets at the final four. Look who's ranked #9. Stay tuned.



http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5863332

Blake Griffin creates new basketball paradigm* according to espn.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=griffin-101124


*"A paradigm is an accepted model or pattern, . . . Paradigms gain their status because they are more successful than their competitors in solving a few problems that the group of practitioners has come to recognize as acute. ...
www.csa.com/discoveryguides/medieval/gloss.php

The People Physics of Basketball

This post is going to serve as an exercise in exploration.

As I write this, I am watching the Utah Jazz vs. Blake Griffin's Clippers. I am looking to make a series of observations, predictions, analyzations, and other random thoughts. Bear with me.

I just started watching the game at halftime and now, at 9:08 left in the 3rd, I haven't really seen much of the action, because I decided this was a good time to start my blog writing. Let's see how this goes.

Coming into this game, the Jazz have been on a rare type of winning streak. They have been falling behind good opponents early, before coming back to win. A little over a week ago, Paul Millsap had an inspired, Tracey McGrady like, performance in the final minute of the game. He hit 3- 3pointers and 1- 2pointer. 11 Points FTW.

Since then, the team has been widely known for this )behavior http://www.ksl.com/?sid=13423146&nid=304)

On the other side of the ball, the Clippers have been playing good offense even though their record sucks. The redshirt rookie, Blake Griffin has been a dominant force has he makes his first tour through the league. As I was typing that, Griffin just grabbed a loose rebound, took 1 step, and threw down a 2 handed jam from the 3 second arc. He's up to 27 points with 2 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. He just cut through the lane and took the pass up for another jam before he was put on the floor by Jefferson.

He's about to shoot 2 free throws to add to his point total. They just said he has a double double already for 5 games in a row. He grabbed another rebound so he stands at 29 points and 11 rebounds.

Utah started the quarter down by about 10, but with a minute left in the quarter, they're up by 5 and Deron at the line for 2.

The reason I was interested in watching this game was that I wanted to see how these two powerful streaks would come together in the second half with the Jazz down by 10.

The Jazz just fouled Griffin hard again and put him to the floor. I can't imagine that turning out well for the Jazz. He hit both free throws and is at 31points-13 rebs-5 assists for the night.

End of the 3rd Quarter - 79-74 Jazz

With 9:06 left in the 4th, the LA crowd is starting to groan because Griffin is resting on the bench and the Clippers are now down 84-76. Clippers fans are acting like Clippers fans.

A huge 'double block' by the Jazz on a strong dunk attempt leads to a fast break and 2 more points. 86-76. How much of an impact will Blake Griffin make down the stretch? He has 8 and a half minutes to make a stand.

Well, he got the ball and had it stripped from him. Then he hustled to get back and was called for a blocking foul that was questionable. That's -3. Then, next time down he made a strong move that was blocked. He picked up his 14th rebound, but they're still not passing to him. HE's getting frustrated and the clippers can't score. Vinny Baga Donuts is retardedly clapping behind blake on TV as an 'encouragement' I presume.

Another trip down to Clipper land, and another defensive play by the Jazz leads to a jump ball won by the clippers under the basket, but stripped before a 1 foot shot could be attempted. Lame. 5:59 left Jazz up 94-80. The bus driver just grabbed the keys to warm up the whip.

Clippers announcer just said it looks like the team already gave up based on body language. I agree. Comeback kids win again.