khandor’s sports blog

To this point in his 4-yr NBA career, THIS is who Trevor Ariza is and exactly what he’s done.

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Q1. Where does he go from here?

A1. He becomes a clone of this player and wins his first NBA title this spring, riding shotgun for Black Mamba, this generation’s equivalent of His Airness.

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Scottie Pippen [6-7, 228, G-F] … as an All-NBA defender, a good passer, a very good rebounder, a competent ball-handler, and a solid secondary scorer … was a tremendous complementary player to Michael Jordan, playing for the Chicago Bulls [6-time Champs], under the direction of Phil Jackson.

A decade later, it says here & now that Trevor Ariza [6-8, 210, G-F] is composed of similar material, and ready to fulfil the same role [i.e. Robin] with the Los Angeles Lakers this season, in conjunction with Kobe Bryant [i.e. Batman] and the ZenMaster.

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More About these Statistics

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As a further point of comparison:

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What say you?

Hearing ‘the call’ of this sequence during yesterday’s national ABC broadcast, harkened back to other exquisite duo’s in the history of North American pop culture who managed to carve a niche for themselves and, thereby, became an indelible part of 20th century lexicon … fitting together seemingly (and seamlessly), like hand & glove, from the get-go.

Abbott & Costello … Ruth & Gehrig … Gable & Lombard … Hope & Crosby … Hepburn & Tracy … Bogart & Bacall … Martin & Lewis … Lucy & Ricky … Carney & Gleason … Batman & Robin … Sonny & Cher … Rowan & Martin … Brando & Pacino … Ali & Frazier … Butch & Sundance … Burnett & Conway … Raiders & Dolphins … Packer & McGuire … Mork & Mindy … Thelma & Louise … Shrek & Donkey … Vincent & Jules … etc.

In this grand tradition, sometimes, it can simply be awe-inspiring to see the collaborative work being done these days by the off-set tandem of Mark ‘A-is-for-Action‘ Jackson & Jeff ‘V-is-for-Vivaca‘ (Van) Gundy … aka, ‘Mutt & Jeff‘ … two-thirds of ABC’s analyst team for NBA games. As perfectly illustrated in this video clip …

It just doesn’t get better than these two ‘pardners’ when it comes to crsytalizing & then deseminating THE most ‘important’ elements of an NBA game to an expectant TV world, hanging on their every word.

Harmonious, complimentary & totally in ’sinc’ with one another … this pair is, by far, the most entertaining & insightful duo of basketball broadcasters working together today - a joy to behold, and hilarious to listen to - on a lazy Sunday afternoon in May … Where Amazing Happens! … every once-in-a-while.

Action: “That’s not a dirty play … that’s not a dirty play … it’s up to your defense to say, hey, watch your back the screen is coming … it’s his job to get the double team off his guard … it’s a clean play … it’s a foul but it’s a clean play … ahh yeah, but, Pachulia should be upset with his, his, teammates not yellin, ‘watch the screen’ …”

(in response and juxtaposed)

Vivaca: “Well, that, that’s a hard hit … but I will just say this … when you talk to players about when to try to get back at somebody that may have cheap-shotted you earlier in a series, you do it up 30 … and you do it right there, where you don’t cost your team a chance to win a game and go back at them immediately … that was a signature, ‘Good-bye’ Zaza.”

Classic.