One of my favorite books is the Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. It’s not really a book, it’s more of an encyclopedia for baseball fans, but it makes for great reading sitting on the sofa when you don’t feel like committing an hour to a novel.
Within the book, James breaks down baseball history into decades, drawing out the unique highlights from history that statistics gloss over. Heaviest player, fastest player, worst fielders, best fielders, best young players, etc. Great stuff.
Anyway, one of the best parts is his recounting of the best nicknames from each decade, and how nicknames change throughout time. From Arlie “The Freshest Man on Earth” Latham to “Sudden” Sam McDowell to Larvell "Sugar Bear" Blanks, it’s an interesting insight into how the players were viewed in their times.
As I was reading about some 19th century nicknames, I got to thinking: What would Kevin Durant’s nickname be if he played in the 1920’s, or the 1950’s? Since the young man from Texas is still without a real nickname, I thought it would be a good warmup for those thinking of what he should be called.
1890s: Deerfoot
1900s: The Maryland Marauder
1910s: The Dark Destroyer
1920s: The Dalmation
1930s: The Flying Freshman
1940s: Kool Kat
1950s: The Texas Tornado
1960s: Apollo Kevin
1970s: Dunkalicious
1980s: Heavy D
1990s: Durantula
2000s: TBA
Tuesday, July 17
Monday, July 16
Scouting Report: Zabian Dowdell
Oh, please, like you didn’t know this was coming.
Everyone’s a Zabian Dowdell fan these days. Supersonicsoul, True Hoop, Kevin Pelton at supersonics.com ... for a guy who went undrafted, he’s getting a tremendous amount of ink.
So, it was with anticipation that I sat down to watch the Sonics-Blazers Summer League finale Sunday night. I was hopeful that 1) Dowdell would get some serious minutes and 2) that he would play well.
Well, at least I got one of the two.
Dowdell played about half the game Sunday night, subbing in for Brandon Heath in the second and fourth quarters, receiving more minutes than he had in any previous game. He finished with 5 points, 4 fouls, 4 boards, and an assist in 18 minutes.
So, what were my impressions of Dowdell? A lefty, he’s sort of a cross between Kenny Anderson and Khalid Reeves, at least physically. I know all lefties look alike when they shoot, but Dowdell did remind me of Anderson on his outside shot, although he’s a bit heavier than the lanky Anderson.
Dowdell lived up to his reputation as a shoot-first point guard, as most of his better plays came when he took the shot, and not when he was setting up his teammates.
The Virginia Tech grad entered the game at the 3:54 mark of the first quarter with the Sonics trailing Portland 15-9. On his first touch, he found Ronnie Burrell in the paint for an easy basket, a promising omen. The next time downcourt, Dowdell’s pass to Jeff Green resulted in another basket.
On defense, Dowdell was responsible for guarding the slippery Sergio Rodriguez, yet another daunting task for the Sonics’ challenged point guards this summer. Dowdell proved up to the task, generally staying in front of the quicker Rodriguez, although he did let Sergio slip by a time or two.
On his first shot attempt – still in the first quarter – Dowdell came up lame when he landed, but he re-entered the game after the next commercial break. It was on this re-entry that Rodriguez drove the lane and beat him, but we’ll chalk it up to the lingering affects of the sprained ankle (hey, we want Zabian to succeed; deal with it).
Dowdell found Kevin Durant in a semi-transition fashion the next trip down, resulting in a Durant 20-footer for two. As all point guards will learn for the Sonics this year, the smartest play is to throw it to the youngster and hope for the best.
Finally, halfway through his first tenure on-court, Dowdell showed some of the ability on offense that got him such reknown at Virginia Tech when he drove the basket, offered up a double-pump and came close to sinking a layup. No points, but a solid move that opposing point guards will have to respect. He followed it up on defense with a poor bit of communication on a screen and roll, leaving Rodriguez alone and resulting in an open Blazer jumper in the corner.
Not to be held down, Zabian parlayed a canny inbounds pass from Green (who is looking better and better as the summer progresses; can it be possible that he’ll be this generation’s Nate McMillan?) into an easy layup.
As the period progressed, Dowdell – as is the way for rookie point guards – alternated between smart and dumb plays, although he more than held his ground against Finnish youngster Petteri Koponen during their time matched up together. When he finally left the court, the score was 30-27 Portland, which meant the Sonics outscored the Blazers 18-15 during his time on the floor.
After resting up for halftime and most of the third quarter, Dowdell re-entered the game with about 4 minutes to go in the period, and he again found Jeff Green for a free throw opportunity. He later drove the basket and dished to an open teammate for a jumper, a promising sign.
I had Dowdell down for one 3PA, which he missed, but the boxscore said he had none, so who knows. I also figured him for 3 or 4 assists instead of the 1 he wound up with, but maybe the Blazers brought a road crew to run the stats department on Sunday.
Perhaps the most telling sign of the night came not on the court but in the broadcast booth, from the mouth of Kevin Calabro. In talking about the Sonics on the roster, Calabro offered this:
“Realistically, with the exception of [Brandon] Heath, who has an outside shot to make it, there aren’t any point guards on this roster who will be with the club this year.”
I don’t know if Calabro’s opinion was his alone, or if he’s getting that from talking to the Sonics’ braintrust, but that’s a harsh sign for Dowdell. Of course, KC was assuming that Watson and Ridnour will be on the opening day roster, an assumption even he mentioned was tenuous at best judging the Sonics’ level of activity this summer.
Bottom line: Zabian Dowdell is not ready to be a starting point guard in the NBA, and he’s barely ready to be a #3 point guard. Still, his defense was adequate and his offensive abilities are there when it comes to scoring. His passing and playmaking abilities aren’t there, though, at least not yet. Suffice it say he’s a work in progress; a work we’re rooting for.
Everyone’s a Zabian Dowdell fan these days. Supersonicsoul, True Hoop, Kevin Pelton at supersonics.com ... for a guy who went undrafted, he’s getting a tremendous amount of ink.
So, it was with anticipation that I sat down to watch the Sonics-Blazers Summer League finale Sunday night. I was hopeful that 1) Dowdell would get some serious minutes and 2) that he would play well.
Well, at least I got one of the two.
Dowdell played about half the game Sunday night, subbing in for Brandon Heath in the second and fourth quarters, receiving more minutes than he had in any previous game. He finished with 5 points, 4 fouls, 4 boards, and an assist in 18 minutes.
So, what were my impressions of Dowdell? A lefty, he’s sort of a cross between Kenny Anderson and Khalid Reeves, at least physically. I know all lefties look alike when they shoot, but Dowdell did remind me of Anderson on his outside shot, although he’s a bit heavier than the lanky Anderson.
Dowdell lived up to his reputation as a shoot-first point guard, as most of his better plays came when he took the shot, and not when he was setting up his teammates.
The Virginia Tech grad entered the game at the 3:54 mark of the first quarter with the Sonics trailing Portland 15-9. On his first touch, he found Ronnie Burrell in the paint for an easy basket, a promising omen. The next time downcourt, Dowdell’s pass to Jeff Green resulted in another basket.
On defense, Dowdell was responsible for guarding the slippery Sergio Rodriguez, yet another daunting task for the Sonics’ challenged point guards this summer. Dowdell proved up to the task, generally staying in front of the quicker Rodriguez, although he did let Sergio slip by a time or two.
On his first shot attempt – still in the first quarter – Dowdell came up lame when he landed, but he re-entered the game after the next commercial break. It was on this re-entry that Rodriguez drove the lane and beat him, but we’ll chalk it up to the lingering affects of the sprained ankle (hey, we want Zabian to succeed; deal with it).
Dowdell found Kevin Durant in a semi-transition fashion the next trip down, resulting in a Durant 20-footer for two. As all point guards will learn for the Sonics this year, the smartest play is to throw it to the youngster and hope for the best.
Finally, halfway through his first tenure on-court, Dowdell showed some of the ability on offense that got him such reknown at Virginia Tech when he drove the basket, offered up a double-pump and came close to sinking a layup. No points, but a solid move that opposing point guards will have to respect. He followed it up on defense with a poor bit of communication on a screen and roll, leaving Rodriguez alone and resulting in an open Blazer jumper in the corner.
Not to be held down, Zabian parlayed a canny inbounds pass from Green (who is looking better and better as the summer progresses; can it be possible that he’ll be this generation’s Nate McMillan?) into an easy layup.
As the period progressed, Dowdell – as is the way for rookie point guards – alternated between smart and dumb plays, although he more than held his ground against Finnish youngster Petteri Koponen during their time matched up together. When he finally left the court, the score was 30-27 Portland, which meant the Sonics outscored the Blazers 18-15 during his time on the floor.
After resting up for halftime and most of the third quarter, Dowdell re-entered the game with about 4 minutes to go in the period, and he again found Jeff Green for a free throw opportunity. He later drove the basket and dished to an open teammate for a jumper, a promising sign.
I had Dowdell down for one 3PA, which he missed, but the boxscore said he had none, so who knows. I also figured him for 3 or 4 assists instead of the 1 he wound up with, but maybe the Blazers brought a road crew to run the stats department on Sunday.
Perhaps the most telling sign of the night came not on the court but in the broadcast booth, from the mouth of Kevin Calabro. In talking about the Sonics on the roster, Calabro offered this:
“Realistically, with the exception of [Brandon] Heath, who has an outside shot to make it, there aren’t any point guards on this roster who will be with the club this year.”
I don’t know if Calabro’s opinion was his alone, or if he’s getting that from talking to the Sonics’ braintrust, but that’s a harsh sign for Dowdell. Of course, KC was assuming that Watson and Ridnour will be on the opening day roster, an assumption even he mentioned was tenuous at best judging the Sonics’ level of activity this summer.
Bottom line: Zabian Dowdell is not ready to be a starting point guard in the NBA, and he’s barely ready to be a #3 point guard. Still, his defense was adequate and his offensive abilities are there when it comes to scoring. His passing and playmaking abilities aren’t there, though, at least not yet. Suffice it say he’s a work in progress; a work we’re rooting for.
Durant in Nikes
Cue the Mars Blackmon clips, Kevin Durant's shoe saga has apparently ended, and he'll be wearing Nikes this year.
Sportsbusinessradio.com is reporting the story, and, honestly, I couldn't care less. I've avoided this story for the past couple of weeks, because I just don't see why anybody cares about this stuff. I like the shoe ads like everyone else, but is it really all that interesting what type of shoes any athlete wears? I can see if you're in high school or junior high and you want to emulate your idol, but c'mon, should a 35-year-old man really give a crap what kind of shoes the forward on his favorite basketball team wears?
Maybe I'm just getting old ...
Sportsbusinessradio.com is reporting the story, and, honestly, I couldn't care less. I've avoided this story for the past couple of weeks, because I just don't see why anybody cares about this stuff. I like the shoe ads like everyone else, but is it really all that interesting what type of shoes any athlete wears? I can see if you're in high school or junior high and you want to emulate your idol, but c'mon, should a 35-year-old man really give a crap what kind of shoes the forward on his favorite basketball team wears?
Maybe I'm just getting old ...
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