Which NBA players are likely to make their first All-Star appearances this season (2010-11)?
Russell Westbrook seems like a lock. He's averaging 22.5 pts, 8.3 ast, and 5.0 rebounds*, making him the only player besides Kobe and LeBron to average over 20-5-5. He's #8 overall in the league and #2 among point guards in Player Efficiency Rating. The West is very crowded with great point guards (Paul, Williams, Nash, and Parker), but I'm assuming that besides Kobe, most of the guard spots for the West All-Stars will go to point guards.Kevin Love may get shutout because he plays for a bad team, but he's putting up amazing numbers (18.9 pts and league-leading 14.5 rebounds) and his averages will only go up if his coach starts playing him more than the 33 minutes he's been averaging. If Gasol and Duncan are voted in as centers, then there may be room for Love along with Milsap at PF.Joakim Noah will likely either get the second center spot in the East after Dwight Howard, or be selected as an injury replacement if Al Horford gets selected ahead of him as the backup center. He's averaging 15.4 pts and 13.4 rebounds and has always been known for his defense and energy.*All stats as of 11/25/10.
How many hours a week does an NBA player work during the season?
My best friend worked for the Memphis Grizzlies in player development for 2 seasons so I have spent some time with players day to day. I will give a rough sketch. There is approximately 3 games a week so each game day is a full work day. We will cap it at 10 hours. (This doesn't include flights or travel). On non game days you have walk throughs or practice 90 minute walk throughs and 120 minute practices. Let's say 2 walk throughs. 1 practice. Players also have individual workouts that they do to make sure they are in top physical condition and improve skill set. Let's limit that to 5hrs a week (it's usually more depending on caliber player) In total you're looking at a 40 hour work week. This is the very bare bones time required to be an NBA player. This does not include things that are hard to measure like medical treatments and film sessions. It also doesn't include mandatory charity events or public appearances. Nor does it include travel time, time zone changes (may play Golden State Monday and Orlando Thursday). Also, the time they spend on individuals was measured by the lowest end of the spectrum I could reason. Kobe, Lebron, Harden and superstars spend 5hrs a day 7 days a week on average. I had the opportunity to personally watch parts of Kobe's workout. We got to the gym at 11 to do some pregame setup. Lakers were having walk through. We left at 1 to run around. About 4 players were still shooting. We got back at 2:30. Kobe was the only one left. We left to get ready for the 8pm game around 4. Kobe still working at game pace. We got back to the arena around 6:15ish. Kobe was STILL shooting. At about 6:30 fans started to trickle in so he signed some autographs and headed to the locker room. If a guy works from 11-6 on game day at the age of 34 imagine what "off days" look like.
Why do the playoffs for the NBA and NHL take so long compared to the NFL and MLB?
Well, it's pretty simple really. Both sports play 4 best of 7 playoff rounds. The divisional round is the first round. Then you have the quarter finals, the third round is the conference final and your final round if for the cup or the NBA finals.Each round if played to it's entirety take about two weeks to play out. Unlike baseball you can't play hockey or basketball every day. Hockey and hoop play usually every other day and sometimes an extra travel day is thrown in there when it's East vs West.The NHL plays the 2–2–1–1–1 series format while the NBA plays the 2–3–2 system. But both playoffs take about 2 months to play to it's ultimate conclusion.Football however is a simple one and done format. It only take a month to play out the NFL playoffs although I hate the bye week before the Superbowl. Two weeks is too much but the so media week and then the preparation week before the ultimate contest.Baseball can get away with playing every day with a travel day each time they change home field. And baseball has one less playoff round.MLB does the wildcard play in game. Then the ALDS/BLESS; then the LCS seroes, and finally the World Series.NHL and NBA have always been notorious for their lengthy playoffs but it sells ticket and gets ratings.In the words of the greatest coach alive or dead, Bill Belicek, “it is what it is”
Do NFL players get paid for the off season?
No, they don’t. They get paid for everything they do, but they don’t get paid when they aren’t working.During the preseason, including any workouts or OTAs (organized team activities), they get paid a per diem based on how much time they have spent in the league, ranging from $1,000 per week for first year players to $1,800 per week for veterans.Signing bonuses are paid when the contract is signed. Other bonuses are paid when earned, which may be during the offseason (roster bonuses, for example, are usually paid in early March). Guaranteed money is paid at the beginning of the league year in which it is earned.During the regular season players get paid 1/16th of their salary for every game they are under contract and not under suspension (assuming their salary is guaranteed against injury, which is commonplace).During the postseason they are paid by the league on a per game basis.Strict work rules and ensuring players get paid for everything they do was an extremely important step. Prior to those protections being included in the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) teams would often require players to do work for no pay. That’s especially problematic when a player’s work could result in a career ending injury. That doesn’t happen any more. But it appears that some loosening of the rules is desired by both sides now. Players want their playbooks as soon as possible, but the CBA prohibits them getting one before training camp starts. They want to work with team strength and conditioning coaches and dieticians during the offseason, but they can’t - which forces them to pay for trainers and dieticians out of their own pockets. The hope is the current CBA signals that the NFL has reached a point where the relationship between teams and players isn’t quite so adversarial, and some activities that aren’t directly compensated will be allowed without any abuses resulting from it.
I play basketball, but why is my coach so hard on me at practice?
I come from a poor family and when my friends make a mistake he doesn't care or get on to them. I'm not saying he is picking on me because Im poor or anything like that . I just wanna know why he is hard on me but not the rest of the players. I'm a starter on the team and I'm a forward. He has about 24 plays which is alot, we are just an AAU team that plays tournaments and we have practice about 2-3 times a week. I'm new to the team and they have been playing together for a year. I just got on the team about 3 weeks ago.
How much time do NBA players train a week?
A lot, you’d think, but that isn’t necessarily true. During the Christmas Day broadcast of the Warriors-Cavs game, Jeff Van Gundy (who coached the Knicks and Rockets for several years) said he’s hearing more and more about teams that “don't practice.” Players are so coddled these days, and there’s so much emphasis on resting them and not pushing them too hard, that some teams literally do not do any training or practice for weeks at a time.The Cavs’ lack of practice was blamed for some of their woes last season, and they still don’t practice. Says Dwyane Wade:“I’ve never seen anything like it, but I could get used to this.”Well, Dwayne, do you know who does practice? The Golden State Warriors. You know, that team that gives your buddy Lebron nightmares and held your team to 31 percent shooting in a nationally televised game on Christmas Day? The team that beat Cleveland last year in the Finals and has taken two out of three from your squad in the last three years?It’s why that entire team is disciplined and individual players trust each other to make shots. It’s why your starting shooting guard, J.R. Smith, shot 34% from the field last season and hasn’t cracked 40 percent this season either. It’s why your shooters are inconsistent, and it’s why your teammates don’t make their free throws.In the immortal words of Allen Iverson, a man who once took 28 shots per game in a season when he shot .398 from the field, we’re talkin’ about practice!“We sittin' in here, I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talkin' about practice. I mean listen, we talkin' 'bout practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game. We talkin' about practice. Not a game, not a, not a, not the game that I go out there and die for, and play every game like it's my last. Not the game. We talkin' bout practice, man. I mean how silly is that? We talkin' bout practice. I know I'm supposed to be there, I know I'm supposed to lead by example. I know that, and I'm not shovin' it aside, you know, like it don't mean anything. I know it's important, I do. I honestly do.But we talkin' bout practice, man. What are we talkin' about? Practice? We talkin' about practice, man. We talk -- we talkin' bout practice. We talkin' bout practice! We ain't talkin' bout the game, we talkin' bout practice, man. When you come into the arena, and you see me play, you see me play, don't you? You see me give everything I got, right? But we talkin' bout practice right now.”
If soccer is more popular, why do basketball players have more money than soccer players?
The matter of revenue income for any professional sports team is dependent on 1. the sale of season tickets, 2. the number of available seats, 3. the number of matches per season and 4. additional revenue gained from media coverage. In NBA basketball, the arenas typically have fewer than 20,000 seats whereas in top-flight European football, the stadia normally seat anywhere from 45,000 (Chelsea) to 90,000 (Real Madrid). Most European regular league seasons (e.g. BPL, La Liga) are between 35 and 40 matches with the possibility of several more depending on qualifying for the various championship Cup playoffs. The larger the venues are and the relative success of a team translates into more gate receipts that allow for paying higher contracts to the players. The best soccer players make a lot of money and many actually earn more per game than do the top NBA basketball players who generally play close to double the number of games per season. We also need to understand that a soccer squad has to field a minimum of eleven players each game plus spares and so must contract with at least 20 players plus coaches, physios, groundskeepers etc. A NBA team contracts with far fewer personnel. With more games played and fewer pay-cheques to write, most basketball owners are able to offer rich contracts.
How were football players treated in your high school?
In my school, certain players were treated differently. We went to the state championship game while I was playing, and everyone bent over backwards for the QB and RB. The QB was a complete a$$, the RB humble and nice to everyone. But for everyone else, it was normal high school I guess. I was always in advanced classes, so I wouldn't say we all had easier classes. In fact, many of the best football players are smart and will take honors classes. You need to be smart to play football. That being said, football players at my school were required to take weightlifting and "advanced" weightlifting as classes. The QB was captian on offense, and treated everyone, even teammates like they were scum. Practically no one liked him because he thought he was God. The defensive captain was well respected and everyone liked him. He graduated with honors and went off to college, where he played football but also focused on classes. If there is a "meathead" on the football team that is good, see where they'll be three years after HS. There were guys that took advantage of being on the team, and they didn't go to college and still live at home or worse. I think someone that LETS himself be treated like a god is going down a crappy road. Of my state championship team, only the RB played D1 football at Arizona State University. Nobody else, others played D2 and lower levels like junior college. The point is, if you take easy classes and take the easy road in HS, you will likely fail in life because you're not prepared. And depending on the position, there are up to 4 backups, but most positions have 3 strings. The 3rd or 4th stringers rarely play, and play as the "scout team" in practice vs. the starters.
When do NFL and NBA players have time for vacationing?
The NBA season lasts from October-mid June for a team in the Finals, and most teams will be out much earlier. Training camp for most teams starts at the end of September. This leaves at least a 3.5 month offseason.The NFL season lasts from September-January (early February if you’re in the Superbowl). Training camp starts usually end of July, with preseason in August. This leaves an approximately 5-month offseason.Granted, during that offseason you’ll need to be working hard to keep up your skills and conditioning, and there will be occasional team activities. Still, there’s plenty of time to find a couple weeks for vacation. During the season, the NBA has all-star week and the NFL has a bye week when players can find a couple of days for some R&R.Let’s also not forget that many of these players are multi-millionaires, and even the lowest paid are making very substantial salaries. If they so desire, they can spend a lot of money to make even a day trip into a pretty nice vacation by most people’s standards.