Spike
03-10-2001, 06:32 PM
So for everyone who's in here, who's your favorite N.B.A. player? This can be a player that's still in the league or a player from the past.
My favorite player is Chris Mullin. This is probably his last year in the league since he's really not that productive anymore. But in his prime, I just thought he was the sweetest outside shooter ever. He could literally make 20 footers look like layups. Mullin as some of you might remember was part of the Golden State Warriors' high scoring trio of "Run T.M.C." which wouldn't get that far in the playoffs but was fun to watch. He was a perfect fit for them too because Tim Hardaway could drive and dish and Mitch Richmond could use his power to post up opposing guards and Mullin could set up outside and work of off that.
I remember back in 1991 when the Warriors were playing the Lakers in the playoffs, Chris Mullin had a 41 point game at the forum that led the Warriors to victory and that was so good that long time Lakers' broadcaster Chick Hearn proclaimed it "the best outside shooting exhibition" he's ever seen.
Toward the latter part of his first stint with the Warriors he was up there in league leaders in field goal percentage and that's much harder for a jump shooter like Mully than inside players who dunk or lay the ball in a lot and guards who penetrate a lot.
Mullin was probably the best I've seen move without the ball. He never had quick feet but he always had quick hands and he's always kept himself in great condition. He's a workout nut.
And part of Mullin's strengths I think are things young basketball players coming up don't do enough to emulate. Most young players can't hit the wide open medium range jumper and be effective without the ball. Why? Because kids growing up watch all the highlights on E.S.P.N. and all they pretty much see is a dunk or a three-pointer so that's what kids mostly work on and want to do is dunk and hit the three point shot because they want to be on the night's highlight reels. And I think that's the kind of thing that's hurt the game because if more players could hit the medium outside shot effectively and move without the ball to get open shots, the game would be much smoother, it would have more flow and scoring would go up, not because the refs are now calling the game closer and sending people to the line more but because there actually is more non-stop action.
My favorite player is Chris Mullin. This is probably his last year in the league since he's really not that productive anymore. But in his prime, I just thought he was the sweetest outside shooter ever. He could literally make 20 footers look like layups. Mullin as some of you might remember was part of the Golden State Warriors' high scoring trio of "Run T.M.C." which wouldn't get that far in the playoffs but was fun to watch. He was a perfect fit for them too because Tim Hardaway could drive and dish and Mitch Richmond could use his power to post up opposing guards and Mullin could set up outside and work of off that.
I remember back in 1991 when the Warriors were playing the Lakers in the playoffs, Chris Mullin had a 41 point game at the forum that led the Warriors to victory and that was so good that long time Lakers' broadcaster Chick Hearn proclaimed it "the best outside shooting exhibition" he's ever seen.
Toward the latter part of his first stint with the Warriors he was up there in league leaders in field goal percentage and that's much harder for a jump shooter like Mully than inside players who dunk or lay the ball in a lot and guards who penetrate a lot.
Mullin was probably the best I've seen move without the ball. He never had quick feet but he always had quick hands and he's always kept himself in great condition. He's a workout nut.
And part of Mullin's strengths I think are things young basketball players coming up don't do enough to emulate. Most young players can't hit the wide open medium range jumper and be effective without the ball. Why? Because kids growing up watch all the highlights on E.S.P.N. and all they pretty much see is a dunk or a three-pointer so that's what kids mostly work on and want to do is dunk and hit the three point shot because they want to be on the night's highlight reels. And I think that's the kind of thing that's hurt the game because if more players could hit the medium outside shot effectively and move without the ball to get open shots, the game would be much smoother, it would have more flow and scoring would go up, not because the refs are now calling the game closer and sending people to the line more but because there actually is more non-stop action.