11/20/19

By: @OOSSports

10 Extremely Motivational Quotes from Kobe

Every true fan of the NBA has heard about the “Mamba Mentality” which applies in all aspects of life, pushing through whatever it takes in a relentless pursuit of perfection. Kobe Bryant is regarded by a lot as the greatest Laker of all-time and arguably the best scorer, or even player, since Michael Jordan. Kobe spent his entire 20 year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning an astounding 5 titles and 2 finals MVPS.

In an interesting interview with the New York Post, 11-time finals champion and Hall of Fame head coach Phil Jackson said Kobe Bryant was the hardest worker he ever coached, even outworking Bulls legend Michael Jordan, one of the most dominant and transcendent players in the entire history of organized sports. All of these quotes are so great they are not in any order.

1. “I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you.”

-Kobe was an outstanding 5-2 in the NBA finals.

2.  “If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.”

-Kobe was spot on with this one. There is a reason they say you are what you say you are.

3. “My brain… it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I sit there and have to face myself and tell myself, ‘You’re a failure’… I think that’s almost worse than death”

-Kobe thought failure was almost as bad as dying. Now that speaks volumes…

4. “People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning.”

-Kobe hit an amazing 36 game-winners in his 20 year career.

5.  ” The most important thing is you must put everybody on notice that you’re here and you are for real. I’m not a player that is just going to come and go. I’m not a player that is going to make an All-Star team one time, two times. I’m here to be an all-time great. Once I made that commitment and said, ‘I want to be one of the greatest ever’, then the game became everything for me.”

-Kobe had 518 30-point games in his career.

6. “I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.”

-He was named after the Japanese steak “kobe” according to a lot of sources.

7. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.”

-Kobe was the first guard to be drafted by the NBA out of high school.

8.  “Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success.”

-Kobe was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 23, 1978.

9. “As I sit here now, when I take off my shoe and I look down at my scar, I see beauty in it. I see all the hard work, all the sacrifices. I see the journey that it took to get back to this point of being healthy. And I see beauty in that struggle. That’s what makes it beautiful.”

-He said that if he had gone to college, he would have chosen Duke.

10. “I’m extremely willful to win, and I respond to challenges. It’s not a challenge to me to win the scoring title, because I know I can.”

-Confidence is key, and Bryant was the definition of it. If you are reading this, you are capable of doing ANYTHING if you work hard enough.

The Highly Anticipated Return of Melo is here

11/15/19

By: @OOSSports

Last night, RIP city made NBA fans rejoice, agreeing to a deal with Carmelo Anthony, according to ESPN’s Woj. Anthony has not played life NBA competition in over a year, he last suited up for the Houston Rockets on Nov. 8, 2018 before controversially being released.

The MVP of the 2003 Final Four and number 3 pick in the strong 2003 NBA draft, Anthony has only worn 15 and 7 dating back to his days at Syracuse, but probably will have to choose a new number with the Blazers because 15 is retired (Larry Steele) and 7 is being held out of circulation (Brandon Roy) and should not be worn out of respect.

Superstar Damian Lillard has wanted to play alongside Melo in Portland but did not think it would ultimately happen. About 2 years ago in 2017, Dame told The Undefeated’s Marc Spears that Anthony “didn’t seem opposed” to the idea of playing for the team. For a while he was definitely pressing for his friend to be in the league feeling his friend deserved it, but did not want to pressure him into anything telling Spears,

“I didn’t want to press him. I ain’t a big fan of doing all the extra recruiting and all that stuff… I’m not giving up on anything. I just think I’ve done what I can do.”

According to basketball guru Woj, Melo will suit up for the Blazers during their upcoming road trip, which includes a stop in to face the Rockets on Monday, the team who thought he was too washed to play anymore. Bobby Marks at ESPN said the non-guaranteed deal will reportedly pay Anthony $14,490 for each day he is on the roster. The deal and money will become fully secured on Jan. 7 if he’s still lasts.

Anthony fills a need for the Blazers, who do not have much forward depth at all. Zach Collins had shoulder surgery that is supposed to keep him sidelined for a long 4 months. Rodney Hood has been having back spasms.

The Blazer’s solid center Nurkic remains on the IR after breaking his leg last month during a game. Nurkic isn’t expected back until after the start of the new year. The Trailblazers just signed Pau Gasol in the offseason, but is still rehabbing from foot surgery.

Will Carmelo be able to accept his role on the Trailblazers and ultimately help revive his career? According to Ballislife.com, CJ McCollum said Melo would make Portland a top-3 team in the western conference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: @OOSSports (twitter)

11/5/19 12:17 AM

Young Expected to Return Tonight

After what looked to be a season altering injury against the Miami Heat on the 29th, Trae Young is expected to return from a right ankle sprain tonight against San Antonio, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Sources told ESPN Young participated in practice on Monday for the first time since the sprain.

Fortunately for Atlanta, the Hawks have only played one game since then — a loss at home vs Miami on Halloween night.

In his second season, Young is averaging an impressive 26.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists. Young, who just turned 21, had a great rookie campaign. After a rough start, Young flipped a switch the second-half, finishing 2nd for rookie of the year behind Mavs star Luka Doncic.

The Hawks have not made the postseason since 2017. In a pretty open Eastern Conference, the Hawks are trying to prove the “experts” wrong.