The Thinking Man's Tour of the NBA

Sometimes I read books. Sometimes these books are about basketball. This is a "review" of one of these books. This particular book is called "The Art of a Beautiful Game" and was written by Chris Ballard.

There are a number of ways that book covers can catch my attention. A picture of a naked lady on the cover is a great way to catch my eye (since I'm a total dude). A dragon breathing fire in the face of some guy with a sword will also pique my interest (since I'm a total nerd). Lying somewhere above the fire-breathing dragon and below bared breasts is a cover with an arm clutching a basketball below a laudatory quote from Chuck Klosterman. To top things off, this cover is BLUE (I love me some blue) and the first chapter title is "Killer Instinct: Why Kobe Bryant Wants to Beat You at Everything." There was a very chance I was going to like this book.

I had already known many of the more noteworthy tidbits because the book was first discussed around the NBA blogosphere after its' initial 2009 release. Even armed with that knowledge, The Art of a Beautiful Game was well worth the ink I used to scribble the title down on my Christmas list. That glorious praise may not be replacing Klosterman's blurb any time soon but I thought Ballard struck the right blend between player (and former player) anecdotes and some interesting statistical insight (mostly about Shane Battier's approach to defense). The most notable details (according to me) are as follows...

• Kobe repeatedly played 1v1 with a benchwarmer on his high school team after practice. They often battled to 100 and Kobe used the games to work on specific aspects of his play. Rob Schwartz insists he once scored 12 points in one of these games but Kobe was adamant Schwartz never reached double digits. Kobe don't play.
• LaLa Vasquez (now Carmelo Anthony's wife) was not sold on personal trainer Idan Ravin's credentials even though he came highly recommended to Melo. The Hoops Whisperer (Ravin's nickname) quickly spent a half hour with LaLa and helped her with her jump shot. She soon gave her stamp of approval and Anthony continued working with Ravin. But yeah, she has no say in Carmelo's landing spot. Riiight.
• Steve Kerr is really good at shooting. He changed out of his GM suit and promptly spent a session with Ballard and went 10-10 on FTs, 18-25 from twenty feet and 21-25 from NBA three point land. I hear the Bulls need a shooting guard...
• Shane Battier memorizes the top twenty plays the opposition runs during a game. He uses very detailed statistical analysis from the Rockets front office to tailor his game plan against each individual he will defend (force them right/left, go under/over screens, keep them out of the paint, etc). Maybe his head rolls are the effect from TOO MUCH KNOWLEDGE.
• LeBron James received Lasik surgery in 2007 to correct his mediocre vision and didn't start any sort of weightlifting program until 2008. Considering the success he had before these fairly important measures were taken, it might be safe to say he is one of the most athletic human beings ever. Who has him beat? William Wallace? Bo Jackson? These guys? I guess we'll never know. Except Bo. Bo knows.

Simply amazing definition. Duck Fuke.

"Take a look. It's in a book. A Reading Rainbow!" theme from Reading Rainbow