Im Still Ballin
02-01-2024, 02:54 AM
HANDS ON
ROOKIE DAVID ROBINSON OF THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS IS TURNING A LOT OF HEADS IN THE NBA WITH HIS EXTRAORDINARY QUICKNESS AND STRENGTH.
JACK MCCALLUM
JANUARY 29, 1990
Through Sunday, Robinson was scoring 23.0 points per game (to go with a .540 shooting percentage), and he was getting his baskets in a variety of ways, which is not typical of today's centers. His turnaround jumper off the glass is as delicate as his one-handed slam is vicious. He gets out on the break, and thanks to an edict set down early in the season by Cheeks—if the big man runs with you, then you get him the ball—he is scoring in the transition game, too. Robinson is not as skilled as Ewing at carving out his position on the blocks, but he doesn't have to be: His quickness, which is preternatural for a man his size, invariably enables him to get to the spot he wants.
“No other big guy I've ever seen is anywhere as quick and fast as him,” says [Caldwell] Jones, who has seen a lot of big men in his 17 years in the ABA and NBA. “That's what sets David apart.”
HORN OF PLENTY
DAVID ROBINSON IS THE SPURS' PLAYER OF NOTE
BRUCE NEWMAN
APRIL 22, 1991
With the playoffs a week away, Robinson is completing a season that has been for him the equivalent of a symphony, a season for which he must now be given serious consideration for the league's Most Valuable Player award. It is a measure of both his genius and the limitations of his game that he has composed such a masterpiece by relying, for the most part, only on his speed and his skills as a rebounder and shot blocker. "It's funny," he says. "If you're going to be a great musician, you have to have all the basics down and go from there. But with basketball, I don't really think I have all the basics down yet. There are so many things I feel like I need to learn. My effort and athletic ability help me overcome some of the things I don't do as well right now, but soon I'm going to know how to do those things. And I'm going to be a lot better."
Robinson is still a baby grand. At week's end he was averaging 25.8 points a game—eighth best in the NBA—with an offensive repertoire that includes few moves and a no-confidence 15-foot jumper. Unlike most teams with a dominant center, the Spurs do not pound the ball into the post; they run the sort of passing-game offense that was originally devised to be used by teams that have no true center. Robinson gets most of his points as the trailer on fast breaks or by dunking retrievals of his teammates' missed shots.
"He doesn't specifically have a shot, but he's learning some moves he's comfortable with," says San Antonio coach Larry Brown. So far, Robinson's best move is being able to run up and down the floor in a straight line. "I do so much better in transition and when I'm driving the ball to the basket," he says. "When I go into a game, I think, Run, David, move your feet. I really don't have anything past that, to be honest."
Through last week he led the league with 13.1 rebounds a game, and his average of 3.74 blocked shots put him second, only to the Houston Rockets' Hakeem Olajuwon. And his lack of a defined offensive game may not be quite the detriment it seems. A pretty fair basketball player named Bill Russell also had shooting deficiencies, but he averaged 22.5 rebounds—the league didn' keep records of blocked shots then—for his 13-year career while scoring a far-from-disgraceful 15.1 points for Boston. The Celtics won 11 championships with Russell at center from 1956 to '69.
Indeed, for all of Robinson's offensive limitations, Phoenix Sun coach Cotton Fitzsimmons says, "He is the greatest impact player the league has seen since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar." Fitzsimmons even believes Robinson has already surpassed Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as the game's most imposing player. "They're all MVPs," Fitzsimmons says. "This guy is more."
Twice this season Robinson has blocked 11 shots in a game. "His presence is such a factor," says Orlando Magic coach Matt Guokas. "He does such a good job clogging the middle. He distorts your whole game." He certainly distorted the already badly bent Denver Nuggets in their most recent meeting with the Spurs: Robinson had four blocks and 31 points—24 of them on dunks.
"Robinson turned things around almost single-handedly," said Denver coach Paul Westhead following the 14-point rout. "He was certainly in the middle of a dunkathon. On a couple of plays, he blocked a shot, outletted, filled the lane and then finished off with a dunk. Most guys just block and outlet, but he's double jeopardy."
"He's different from any center," says Brown. "He has unbelievable speed. I remember when Kareem would dribble to half court and everybody in the Forum would stand up. I've seen this kid dribble the length of the floor as if he were a guard. We take it for granted, because sometimes when you're watching him he looks like he's six feet tall."
That question may continue to hang over San Antonio in the coming weeks, as will another one: Can a team whose go-to player has no go-to shot prosper in the half-court bump-and-grind of the NBA playoffs? Here the comparison with the ever-confident Russell breaks down, because not even Robinson is sure he has the tools to lead his team to a title. And as he notes, a supporting cast is important. "When we lost Rod and Terry, the team was looking to me to score at the end of the game," Robinson says. "That was a time when I did need a go-to move and I didn't have it, so it made it kind of tough. I definitely think it would be a big, big advantage if I had one."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvD3DlzusBI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1i8K-u0yFo&pp=ygUYZGF2aWQgcm9iaW5zb24gcXVpY2tuZXNz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7kLXxc_3yA&pp=ygUYZGF2aWQgcm9iaW5zb24gcXVpY2tuZXNz
ROOKIE DAVID ROBINSON OF THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS IS TURNING A LOT OF HEADS IN THE NBA WITH HIS EXTRAORDINARY QUICKNESS AND STRENGTH.
JACK MCCALLUM
JANUARY 29, 1990
Through Sunday, Robinson was scoring 23.0 points per game (to go with a .540 shooting percentage), and he was getting his baskets in a variety of ways, which is not typical of today's centers. His turnaround jumper off the glass is as delicate as his one-handed slam is vicious. He gets out on the break, and thanks to an edict set down early in the season by Cheeks—if the big man runs with you, then you get him the ball—he is scoring in the transition game, too. Robinson is not as skilled as Ewing at carving out his position on the blocks, but he doesn't have to be: His quickness, which is preternatural for a man his size, invariably enables him to get to the spot he wants.
“No other big guy I've ever seen is anywhere as quick and fast as him,” says [Caldwell] Jones, who has seen a lot of big men in his 17 years in the ABA and NBA. “That's what sets David apart.”
HORN OF PLENTY
DAVID ROBINSON IS THE SPURS' PLAYER OF NOTE
BRUCE NEWMAN
APRIL 22, 1991
With the playoffs a week away, Robinson is completing a season that has been for him the equivalent of a symphony, a season for which he must now be given serious consideration for the league's Most Valuable Player award. It is a measure of both his genius and the limitations of his game that he has composed such a masterpiece by relying, for the most part, only on his speed and his skills as a rebounder and shot blocker. "It's funny," he says. "If you're going to be a great musician, you have to have all the basics down and go from there. But with basketball, I don't really think I have all the basics down yet. There are so many things I feel like I need to learn. My effort and athletic ability help me overcome some of the things I don't do as well right now, but soon I'm going to know how to do those things. And I'm going to be a lot better."
Robinson is still a baby grand. At week's end he was averaging 25.8 points a game—eighth best in the NBA—with an offensive repertoire that includes few moves and a no-confidence 15-foot jumper. Unlike most teams with a dominant center, the Spurs do not pound the ball into the post; they run the sort of passing-game offense that was originally devised to be used by teams that have no true center. Robinson gets most of his points as the trailer on fast breaks or by dunking retrievals of his teammates' missed shots.
"He doesn't specifically have a shot, but he's learning some moves he's comfortable with," says San Antonio coach Larry Brown. So far, Robinson's best move is being able to run up and down the floor in a straight line. "I do so much better in transition and when I'm driving the ball to the basket," he says. "When I go into a game, I think, Run, David, move your feet. I really don't have anything past that, to be honest."
Through last week he led the league with 13.1 rebounds a game, and his average of 3.74 blocked shots put him second, only to the Houston Rockets' Hakeem Olajuwon. And his lack of a defined offensive game may not be quite the detriment it seems. A pretty fair basketball player named Bill Russell also had shooting deficiencies, but he averaged 22.5 rebounds—the league didn' keep records of blocked shots then—for his 13-year career while scoring a far-from-disgraceful 15.1 points for Boston. The Celtics won 11 championships with Russell at center from 1956 to '69.
Indeed, for all of Robinson's offensive limitations, Phoenix Sun coach Cotton Fitzsimmons says, "He is the greatest impact player the league has seen since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar." Fitzsimmons even believes Robinson has already surpassed Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as the game's most imposing player. "They're all MVPs," Fitzsimmons says. "This guy is more."
Twice this season Robinson has blocked 11 shots in a game. "His presence is such a factor," says Orlando Magic coach Matt Guokas. "He does such a good job clogging the middle. He distorts your whole game." He certainly distorted the already badly bent Denver Nuggets in their most recent meeting with the Spurs: Robinson had four blocks and 31 points—24 of them on dunks.
"Robinson turned things around almost single-handedly," said Denver coach Paul Westhead following the 14-point rout. "He was certainly in the middle of a dunkathon. On a couple of plays, he blocked a shot, outletted, filled the lane and then finished off with a dunk. Most guys just block and outlet, but he's double jeopardy."
"He's different from any center," says Brown. "He has unbelievable speed. I remember when Kareem would dribble to half court and everybody in the Forum would stand up. I've seen this kid dribble the length of the floor as if he were a guard. We take it for granted, because sometimes when you're watching him he looks like he's six feet tall."
That question may continue to hang over San Antonio in the coming weeks, as will another one: Can a team whose go-to player has no go-to shot prosper in the half-court bump-and-grind of the NBA playoffs? Here the comparison with the ever-confident Russell breaks down, because not even Robinson is sure he has the tools to lead his team to a title. And as he notes, a supporting cast is important. "When we lost Rod and Terry, the team was looking to me to score at the end of the game," Robinson says. "That was a time when I did need a go-to move and I didn't have it, so it made it kind of tough. I definitely think it would be a big, big advantage if I had one."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvD3DlzusBI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1i8K-u0yFo&pp=ygUYZGF2aWQgcm9iaW5zb24gcXVpY2tuZXNz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7kLXxc_3yA&pp=ygUYZGF2aWQgcm9iaW5zb24gcXVpY2tuZXNz