playing basketball

Haven't played a real game in 15 or so years.

Used to love playing when I was in high school though.

aww

ive played a few times at those courts in the panhandle (this is what they call that little strip extending out from golden gate park right) when visiting my sister

Yeah that used to be a good pickup game spot (also down at Dolores Park too IIRC.)

been a couple years. we've been trying to organize a game for about a month now and everyone has endless excuses - bad back, got jazz tix, hangnail, moon is waning, feeling old at 30, etc

dude just go down to where people play and get next - i usually go w/at least one friend - but theres no need to bring a complete game w/you - that is the beauty

havent played since sr year in hs, havent put any effort into it since jr year

this used to be my friends favorite pastime but theyve all gotten too fat & lazy, same as me

While jhoshea is OTM that it's to get in pick-up games, it's a little harder to do if you haven't played in ages and your instincts and shot are totally pathetic (esp. pickup basketball can get a little intimidating IMO.) Still pick up a ball and practice your shot and you'll get it back eventually.

just play in shitty games til u get yr confidence back is all

or if yr feeling brave just get pwnd for a little while

i played a couple weeks ago after a 3 month+ layoff; i tried to stay out of games just shooting by myself but got cajoled into full on 5 on 5 sos i wouldn't look like a pussy, and surprised myself with how well i did. just played lowkey, concentrated on defense and hit a couple open jumpers. panting like a dog though, i need to start running again.

i have glass ankles unfortunately, since my teens it seems like i can never play regularly for more than 2 months before catastrophe strikes. i never had hops to begin with so no biggie, my shot is still there

Yeah, I'm a smoker + I hairline fractured my right ankle a couple years ago and never really had it treated = I will probably never play in a pickup game again in my life. Which sucks.

haha i've probably fractured mine or worse half a dozen times, i don't know what it would take to actually have them looked at by a doctor, now one of my ankles clicks just about every step i take but it doesn't really hurt anymore. last week i thought about picking up some 9.99 starburys to replace my tim duncans (!), i don't learn i guess. can't bring myself to buy nikes but the non-sweatshop shits suck for the most part.

god, mine still hurts like hell, particularly in the winter and occasionally just fucking buckles on me and I nearly fall over. This is most awesome when crossing streets.

i play when i can, which isn't much these days. my handle has left me completely. more than one dribble with the left is an adventure.

i use the racquetball court at a gym that doubles as a b-ball half-court. i'd rather use an outdoor court but i don't know of one near me. hadn't really played in years but my shot came back pretty quick

i love playing pickup basketball #1 advantage of free gym @ college

i am only okay but soooo much fun

actually i just thought of one court that i could probably walk to. just need a ball pump

I'm saving my body for old age. Hard cuts to the basket are not part of the program. I like to walk too much to chance it.

just camp out and shoot threes

I will fuck you all up. I hadn't played all that much in the last few years , but started playing more often recently with this dude from work. He works out every day and runs full court games at his gym 6X/week. I SUCK at decision-making in a 5on5 game, but made him eat his trash-talking words in 1on1. He's Mr Testosterone and takes shit way too seriously, which is pretty annoying but I still have fun.

just remembered this is like a 5 min from me but the names on the wall make it look like some "locals only" shit.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/442365195_d1b606bf52_o.jpg

lol n e 1 here got mad ups??? i'll be the first to admit i can't even come close to dunking

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2006/11/WMCJ.jpg

i can barely touch rim and my hands are smaller than 95% of girls I've known. So nope, can't dunk neither.

melo's old cloverdale court is featured in nba street

http://sportsmedia.ign.com/sports/image/article/746/746257/carmelo-anthony-street-cred-20061115032614378-000.jpg

http://sports.ign.com/articles/746/746257p1.html
http://www.baltimorestories.com/main.cfm?nid=1&tid=291

i think i can get like halfway up the net or some shit on a good day

i once did like a rub dunk on a crooked outdoor rim. it was not pretty. my brothers got the good genes.

thread title makes me think of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0yoPVAOJTk

grazed the rim once or twice back in high school days. how tall are u guys? i'm about 5'11 and i can probably barely touch the net now

oh come on, even a 5'11" with laimbeer hops could easily touch net. (I'm 6ft, 170. Just like AI!)

I rolled my ankle something fierce at a pick up game on saturday. swelling is down now but I’m still listed as day to day.

last week i thought about picking up some 9.99 starburys to replace my tim duncans (!), i don't learn i guess. can't bring myself to buy nikes but the non-sweatshop shits suck for the most part.

-- tremendoid, Friday, April 25, 2008 9:55 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Link

dude no youve probably heard this but everyone says those shits fuck up yr feet

its pretty sad cause what a great - lol right after they came out and people started complaining abt their feet marbury was all wtf i wear them theyre great - of course he was out w/a foot injury at the time

shaq has some wicked cheap shoes too http://payless.resultspage.com/shoes/Shaquille

my current dedicated basketball intended for tennis foot environment http://i30.tinypic.com/rbilbn.jpg

i played almost everyday from 8 to 19 but the last time i played was about 13 years ago in york beach, maine. i was abused by some 6' 7" 17 year old. my tar-coated lungs just couldn't get it done. it was embarrassing.

my heart would probably explode if i tried to play a full court game today.

eh yr a wirey guy right - i bet you could get back in shape pretty easily - it the extra weight thatll really hold you back

wiry, skeletal, whatever. mid 30s, smoking for over half my life now, not sure i could actually get back in shape. i'll bet i could still nail the open j though.

"either you slangin' crack-rock or you got a wicked jump shot"

annoying playground ball trend, pt 1: you score 15 or so quick points in 21 or 32, and then mofos start playing "defense" on you ie hacking like mad
annoying playground ball trend, pt 2: 3 other dudes playing, you come in, and no one wants to play 2 on 2, just 1 on 1 b.s.

omg ive been so on fire the last couple days - yesterday i mustve shot like 15/22 over the course of three games of 4 on 4 to 16 - hitting crazy threes off the dribble off balance floaters layups high of the glass everything - against good players too!

i'm going to try and get back out there this weekend. hope the ankle holds up.

do you have any sort of brace? i bought one a couple years ago, but I think it's too small cause there's more pain with wearing it than without.

yah prob too small - do you do any sort of strengthening exercises? def worthwhile. weird muscular over compensation/weakening as the result of a single injury is often what leads to the chronic variety.

i don't have a brace. i was just gonna go with a tape wrap and see how it feels.

it doesnt count if u only play against white ppl btw

well duh

LOL! i play against a lot of filipinos. i dominate the boards but the dudes kill me with their quicks. i pretty much suck. it all about the cardio workout for me anyways.

for the record canky where i play its abt 50/50 white/black w/one puerto rican dude whos better than everyone

"some of my best teammates have been black!!"

carry/travel/etc rules can mostly be boiled down to 'do nothing that looks weird'

Yes validation, thanks haha. Obv you can vary the height of your dribble, wasn't sure if there was a limit to that though. But realistically, if there was that'd be nearly impossible to enforce.
So the check on doing this doesn't come from the rulebook, but from the fact that defenders should be able to poach easily from a high dribble.
Pretty difficult to convince people you didn't palm it! Couple guys didn't even seem to understand what I was trying to argue. Like they thought palming=super high dribble.

Youngins should just let ol granny do it, given the "hop steps" they constantly get away with. I've given up on calling all but the most egregious ones of those. One guy would do an illegal hopstep EVERY PLAY & get away with it in pickup but then we were on a league team together and he got called for it a bunch. Bittersweet for me.

i have heard ppl say the most insane things re basketball rules on the pickup court, its something

I might've talked about it upthread, but the most mind boggling was dude who literally wanted to fight me because I would touch him when he came thru the lane (literally just a hand check) and because I would box him out. He would get irate, tell me both things had no place in basketball.

recall this one guy being adamant that you couldnt take steps after the gather to pass that was only for shooting

ha. and adamant about it. if I'm not 100% positive on the rule, I don't push the issue. Even then sometimes it's just not worth it to argue.

im always quick to propose a shoot for the ball solution pretty much works every time keeps things moving

yup

Some dude tried to call 3 seconds on me the other day

lmao

woww

call the cops on him imo
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--jAh5GeAK--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/oechpzisr6mrt3uyoxiq.jpg

I will say it's super annoying when big guys camp out in the paint in pickup games. I've never actually called them for it officially but I will say something to them as an aside if it's constant.

better than running all over the place with a crazy energy guy imo

guys who run everywhere and are good at shooting are the worst fn reggie millers, on the other hand i enjoy the challenge of guarding good drivers

unless theyre too good in which case welp

ive prob told u guys about this guy i used to play against sometimes in brooklyn who was so ridic, im short and kinda burly and this guy wasnt too much taller than me but his shoulders were like a foot wider and he cld dunk a lil, i wld try to foul him and hed just go through me like it didnt do anything

and hed hang out w this dude who was on the puerto rican national team and theyd just clown on everyone

running the pnr w the puerto rican guy was the easiest basket ball has ever been for me hed make this big perfect target and just catch the ball on the run and finish like nbd

guys who run everywhere and are good at shooting are the worst fn reggie millers, on the other hand i enjoy the challenge of guarding good drivers

✓

Getting frustrated w everyone coming up court, dribbling thru their legs for 20 secs, and then launching a Steph-range 3. Nobody makes a pass just for ball movement; if they can't get a sure assist, they hold onto the ball. Even still, I saw like 3 assists in 2 hours from guys who aren't me. Lot of these guys played in high school so they should have better habits. Although I think some of it is they felt confined by playing under a coach and open gym is their time to let loose.

ball movement is harder among guys that never play together

been getting a hankering to play again but my all lifting regimen and my age make me feel not quite in shape for it. Debating whether to change up my workout with the goal of being in shape to play in spring/summer.

I've prob mentioned it here before but there's a regular at our runs who is turning 80 soon! Granted he can only play half court games.

I'm shooting 100% in my league. 2 for 2 lol. Swished a 3, reverse flipped in a alley oop layup off an inbounds. Had a few nice passes too. But dropped a good dish from teammate and let a guy score too easily on breakaway even after I got in front of him.
Spent most of time watching our 19 yr old hot shot take 25 footers ugh.

i think olympic lifting is the best exercise ive ever done for staying in shape for basketball, i hadnt played in ages before yesterday and i felt pretty fine (except my shot being trash haha) and today my legs dont even feel that dead

makes sense explosive jumping movements and all

glad to hear that, given your advanced age!
bball purposes is the only reason I ever think "yeah I wanna be stronger". sucks getting beaten on a play by someone with less skills but more muscles.
we were supposed to have a league game last night but other team forfeited so they could watch the Finals lol

haa

bball purposes is the only reason I ever think "yeah I wanna be stronger".

just clean n jerk and ancillary lifts recently (front squats, rows, overhead press), its an explosive movement so applies better to basketball than powerlifts prob, also its so technical which is fascinating to me love to work on the form, u cn just do cleans too to get started prob easier than trying to learn both parts at once

one cool thing about the clean is the basic movement is jumping, and then youre transferring that energy into the bar, so a lot of the form u can figure out just based on whats the best way to jump

its a violent action tho so start out real light and concentrate on form not how much u cn yoink up otherwise its a pretty big injury vector

also try to find youtubes by actual olympic lifters not crossfit or powerlifters

check out this big boy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr-uEw05lUI

Nice I used to do cleans minus the jerk part so I could prob handle it. What I really need is to improve my footwork. I used to have post moves and now it’s just me pivoting and pump faking while my defender kind of slowly moves along with me

taking very long steps is something thats worked for me, whether in a euro configuration or just straight line drive, seems to throw defenders off

imo just work on sick crossovers

I’m just mastering the old man fade away

old men dont fade away, old men up and under

fake the fadeaway while posted up and then up n under is nearly impossible for avg pickup game defender to stop. you can cover so much ground even w/o having your dribble.

nothing better than hitting randoms at the gym with an up and under over and over.

Guy who played semi-pro ball (in the ABA. which I was initially super impressed by...but turns out it has no affiliation with the old ABA. uses the same red-white-blue ball though. It's a step below the G League) started coming to my open gym nights. We basically have to give him the 3 worst players in 4 on 4 games to have it be even. Even then, other team will be up by a bunch and he'll just go ok lemme swish 5 step back 3's from pro range with a hand in my face to get this W really quick.

lol

it really is a different world

thank god he's not super tall (6'2") or I'd have no hope of defending him

There was an argument over whose ball it was. He said he'll shoot for it. I say uh yeah if you shoot from 3 with your left hand. He smiles at me and swishes it. "haha fuck you man" I say.

https://www.lmtonline.com/sports/article/Swarm-in-SA-after-roster-shakeup-ends-losing-10907808.php

He's Cam. So 2.5 yrs ago was getting paid to play ball. I couldn't even make my middle school team lol (though I would've made his middle school team. less competition out here).

hype video!!

lol Killa Cam. Bet he gave himself that nickname.

Cacciatore huh? Harden should just let him have the cooking celebration with a name like that