![]() According to Jon Leuer, there’s an unwritten rule about trips to the free-throw line. Guys will be talking about shoes more during free throws.”įor some, though, time at the free-throw line is when they learn who are the league’s most forthright players. “Eventually, that’ll become a thing because of the NBA’s lifted rules. It’s always cool when people acknowledge your shoes. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I got to do it.’ He was telling me he liked the shoes. “Derrick Jones looked down and was like, ‘Bro, those are tough. ![]() And Saturday’s victory over the Heat, with time for his kicks to be more intently examined, was no different. (Jasen Vinlove / USA Today)Īll season long, Galloway’s sneakers have produced conversations at the free-throw line. 23 were a topic of discussion at the free-throw line. The shoes Langston Galloway wore against the Heat on Feb. Discussions about players’ shoes have turned into human appreciation threads during the stop in play. ![]() This season, the NBA’s relaxed shoe restrictions have generated conversations among the league’s sneakerheads. We don’t talk crazy to each other at the free-throw line, but we compete against each other hard.” “We’ve competed against each other so much, and maybe he comes to mind because we just played them, but it feels like we have a mutual respect for one another. “I was like, ‘Goddamn! You got hot, didn’t you?'” Smith recalled. And Smith, as he tends to do, made sure Smart got the recognition he deserved - whether it was out of sincerity or some form of Jedi mind trick. Just before the All-Star break, the streaky-shooting Boston guard dropped four 3-pointers on Detroit in a 118-110 victory. Smith said he often converses with the Celtics’ Marcus Smart at the free-throw line. “I’ll mess with them and be like, ‘Man, y’all are rolling tonight,’ or ‘Your defensive coverages are crazy.’ It’s a little back-and-forth.” Admittedly, Smith says his trash talk isn’t as direct and as egregious as that of someone like Kevin Garnett, but he’ll try to throw off opponents by praising their accomplishments. I think it’s mostly guys you don’t talk to as much that you chat with at the free-throw line, at least for me.”īehind Ish Smith’s trademark smile is a master schemer, someone who playfully uses words to toy with an opponent’s state of mind. “The guys that I’m closer with, I tend to talk to them less on the court. “Young guys will check in for the first time and I’m next to them, so I take it as a chance to welcome them to the league or congratulate them or whatever it is,” he added. Griffin said he also uses time at the free-throw line to show appreciation to the NBA’s brotherhood. “It’s pretty standard talk, at least for me.” “They say, ‘You like it here?'” Griffin said. Lately, others have been asking Griffin about his time with the Pistons. ![]() The stoppage in play is the window Griffin uses to see how a guy’s family is doing, how his health is, or to jointly bag on the officiating. Others take the brief moments at the free-throw line to catch up with opponents with whom they may not be close but who have earned their respect. It takes that split second for me to hit you and get that positioning.” “There’s not much talking with me because their main focus is to keep me off the glass. “More times than not, though, with me … I’ll say, ‘Hey, I’m not talking to you.’ But if it’s someone I’m cool with, or one of the elite guys say something to me, I’ll talk. “I wouldn’t say you get close to guys, but you get a couple of words in, joke around, say something funny,” Andre Drummond said. Yet there’s always time for words to be exchanged. The visits to the NBA’s free-throw line are much shorter. You can liken it to baseball, when a batter reaches base and spends, potentially, minutes there next to an opponent, one with whom he may have a relationship, or with whom he can at least share words. On the court, however, the free-throw line acts as a reunion for a players, an exercise in trash talk or a recalibration of expectations. ![]() Tim Duncan used to give Blake Griffin a good-natured hard time at the free-throw line when Griffin was starting out with the Clippers. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |