Veteran Move

Drawing contact has long been considered a veteran move in the NBA. For instance, doing a shot fake to get the defender in the air and jumping into them while shooting to get to the line, or pulling up for a shot to draw contact when a defender is playing close. But leave it to the veteran of all veterans in the NBA, Jason Kidd, to draw contact on a coach.

Down the stretch of the Mavericks/Hawks game on Friday night, Dallas was trailing and needed points to get back into the game. Kidd was bringing the ball down the court and noticed that the Hawks' coach Mike Woodson was on the floor giving defensive instructions. Being the savvy veteran that he is, Kidd darted towards Woodson with the ball and initiated contact with him before he was able to get back on the sideline.

After words were exchanged between Kidd and Woodson, the officials determined that Woodson's presence on the court was a technical foul. Dirk Nowitzki would hit the free throw and the Mavericks would make an improbable comeback to tie the game and send it to overtime after having trailed by 13 in the 4th. Kidd made several other key shots and plays to help the Mavs rally back. Dallas would go onto easily win the game in overtime 111-103.

Well played, Kidd.

Oh, and did I mention that Kidd had his 104th career triple double with 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 17 assists? Dude's still got it.

Lady Lakers to fill in for missing NBA All-Stars

It has been reported from several super trust worthy news sources that the Lady Lakers of, uh, Michigan will replace the NBA players who will sit out this Sunday night for the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas at 7 PM EST on TNT. Commissioner David Stern attempted to find NBA players to replace the All-Stars who will miss Sunday's game, but apparently every player he contacted had already planned a vacation and/or told him to "get the fuck out [they] face with that All-Star Weekend bullshit." Stern had hoped to have the following players to replace these All-Stars:

Denver's Chauncey Billups for New Orleans' Chris Paul (injured knee)

The Clippers' Chris Kaman for Portland's Brandon Roy (injured hamstring)

New York's David Lee for Philadelphia's Allen Iverson (attending to sick daughter)

Dallas Maverick/New Beginnings Retirement Home resident Jason Kidd for the Lakers' Kobe Bryant (injured ankle, broken finger, back spasms, obsessive work ethic, delusions of grandeur, unhealthy Michael Jordan fetish, etc.)

The Lady Lakers seem poised to take the court at Cowboys Stadium in front of the largest crowd assembled in basketball history with more than 90,000 expected. When reporters asked if they were ready to perform against the NBA's elite in front of a record breaking crowd, they responded in unison with a resounding "Duh!"

Rick Rubio Report

I found this scouting report on Ricky Rubio today-- http://thepaintedarea.blogspot.com/2010/01/checking-in-on-ricky-rubio.html --thanks to the Painted Area. I am really excited to see Ricky play in the NBA. There is a lot of skepticism about his NBA prospects, perhaps somewhat deserved. I think Ricky will be a great NBA player though. He matched up all right with Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, and Deron Williams in the Olympics, which is what he'll have to do night after night in the NBA. By the way, it's worth noting that Ricky is playing with a UC alum on Regal FC Barcelona, none other than Pete Mickael. I always thought Pete could have made it in the NBA. He scores off some nice Rubio feeds in the video clip on Painted Area.