ADIDAS AND NBA SUPERSTARS TAKE ON SUMMER

ADIDAS and nba superstars take on summer

Damian Lillard, Derrick Rose and Jeremy Lin Headline Summer Tours

PORTLAND, Ore.  – After a season of playoff runs and making highlight reels, the league’s best will head overseas to Take on Summer. Inspired by the grueling off-season training, mentality and hard work that prepare the game’s best for the upcoming season, the latest adidas Basketball tours will connect millions of fans to their favorite athletes.

“My approach to basketball has always been this; you can only get out of the game what you put in – and that’s what Take on Summer is all about,” said point guard Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers. “That’s the mentality I bring to my training and being able to share that attitude overseas to fans and players is an honor. I’m excited to get back to China, Taiwan and the Philippines to spend time with some of the best hoops fans in the world.” 

Fans attending the Take on Summer tours will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet and interact with their favorite players at exclusive events including basketball demonstrations and games, in-store appearances, social media campaigns and more.

Damian Lillard Tour

Take on Summer tips-off when Damian Lillard arrives in Beijing on June 8 and his tour continues through June 14 with multiple stops in China and visits to Taipei and Manila. Damian is coming off an outstanding season where he posted careers high in points (25.1) and assists (6.8). His play and team dedication led what was widely believed to be one of the bottom teams in the Western Conference to the second round of the NBA Playoffs in one of the season’s biggest stories.

City                                      Date

Beijing                                June 9-10

Chengdu, China                June 11-12

Taipei                                  June 13

Manila                                June 14

Jeremy Lin Tour

Charlotte Hornets point guard Jeremy Lin will arrive in Guangzhou, China on June 18 and make multiple appearances in China. Lin’s consistent play helped lead the Charlotte Hornets to the NBA Playoffs.

City                                      Date

Shenzhen, China               June 18

Guangzhou, China            June 18-19

Shanghai                            June 20-23

Beijing                                June 24-25

Derrick Rose Tour

Derrick Rose is coming off one of his best seasons in recent years and showed his trademark playmaking and explosiveness. He will visit Asia August 10-17 with stops in China and South Korea. More specific plans will be announced at a later date.

For more information on the tour and photos from activations visit the adidas News Stream.

About adidas Basketball:

adidas has been providing innovative products to help the world’s best athletes perform at elite levels for more than 60 years, from past legends to today’s superstars, such as James Harden, Damian Lillard, Derrick Rose, Andrew Wiggins and Candace Parker.

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For more information, visit news.adidas.com, adidas Basketball Facebook page, www.adidasbasketball.com or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @adidasHoops with #CrazylightBoost.

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The NBA: 2014 Free Agency Grades

With the essay announcement of LeBron James going home to Cleveland almost two weeks ago, the dominoes have fallen in the free agency signings. NBA teams scampered to woo, court and sign the remaining free agents. Here are the grades for the significant movements and acquisitions of the summer. Only those who changed teams are graded.

Paul Pierce and Pau Gasol are among the top players
 who changed allegiances during the off-season
(Image from: elitedaily.com)

1. LEBRON JAMES, MIKE MILLER, JAMES JONES - CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Grade: A+
Adding the best player in the league immediately makes the Cavs a contender while weakening the 4x Eastern champs, Miami Heat. LBJ is very influential within the Cavs' management that there are reports that James is pushing a potential trade of Andrew Wiggins with Anthony Bennett and/or Dion Waiters (maybe draft picks too) for Kevin Love. With or without this trade, the Cavs should be among the best in the East. Getting a solid shooter in Mike Miller will also help spread the floor for LBJ. To add more injury to insult, ex-Heat James Jones also bolted South Florida to join LBJ. Even Ray Allen is rumored to join the Cavs.

The NBA: Rounding Up the Top Stories of 2012

2012 was a banner year for the NBA. After the tumultuous and lockout-impaired year of 2011, 2012 was a breath of fresh air. More than that, actually – 2012 was a venerable shot of adrenaline. It pumped up fans all over the world after the grave uncertainties in the second half of 2011. And although the consensus most-hated team of all time won the title (see below), the truncated, 66-game, 2011-2012 season still went down as one of the most electrifying. There are other news pieces, however, that are also worth a second look, which is exactly what we’ll do right now.

Linsanity: After Jeremy Lin scored a combined 89 points in his first three career starts for the New York Knicks early in 2012, then teammate Steve Novak had this to say: “After the first game, it was, ‘wow, he played great.’ After the second game, it was ‘wow, he’s really stepping up.’ After the third game, he started making believers out of everyone. After this game … I know it’s early, but he keeps getting better every game. It’s real. I’m saying in the next game, he might score 50. I feel like I’m a part of history.”

And that statement sums up the craze that overwhelmed pretty much the whole basketballworld when Jeremy Lin, out of nowhere (literally and figuratively), just dropped a bomb and shocked everyone with his strong play. Because Lin represented the myriad of Cinderella hopefuls in the sporting world, because he was from Harvard, because he was of Asian decent, because he hit a game-winner against Toronto, because he unloaded a ton of points on the Lakers, and because of a plethora of other unexpected things, he became a phenomenon. Not just in sports, mind you. One doesn’t go on the cover of Time magazine by being just a good sports story after all. He eventually got a heckuva contract from the Rockets, and now he has taken the Linsanity to the very heart of Texas.

Jeremy Lin's meteoric rise to stardom was definitely
one of the top stories of 2012.
(image from Time.com/Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images)

  

Derrick Rose tears his ACL: Derrick Rose was supposed to follow-up his MVP season (2010-2011) with another season to remember. He was supposed to lord it over the league and lead the resurgent Bulls to a plateau they haven’t reached since the Jordan years. Instead, Rose slogged through the 2011-2012 season with injury after injury, all culminating in that unfortunate moment in Game 1 of the Playoffs against the eighth-seeded Sixers. Rose jumped, passed the ball to Carlos Boozer on the wing, fell awkwardly, and never returned. He tore his ACL. The MVP was down for the count.

One of his Sixer foes, Evan Turner, had these kind words to say, "I definitely hope he keeps his spirits up. You never want to see that happen, especially to someone who represents the league so well."

More than the fact that a superstar tore his ACL, this was deeply grave because of the fact it was Rose. He was the purported antithesis to the mercenary-like player movements of 2010 and 2011. He represented the homegrown hero who just might rise to the very top and take his entire hometown with him. The big thought bubble now, of course, is how well he can recover from such a debilitating injury, if at all.

The NBA: Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin, and Mario Chalmers – The Guards Who Played Big on Christmas Day 2012

Steve Nash’s return continued to bolster the Los Angeles Lakers’ drive, Jeremy Lin’s recent strong play helped Houston upend Chicago, and Mario Chalmers had his best game of the season yet in Miami’s big win over the Thunder.

Three different guards. Three different stories. Three different ways to win.

Steve Nash, the two-time MVP, played his second game back after his leg injury, and he didn’t disappoint one bit. He poured in 16 points on 7-of-12 FG shooting, playing 38 minutes as LA’s starting playmaker. He also dished out 11 dimes while grabbing 6 rebounds as the Lakeshow displayed just how good they can be when all four of their future Hall-of-Famers are playing well. With Nash’s superb quarterbacking, Kobe Bryant also didn’t need to do much aside from scoring. Kobe finished with 34 markers and only 1 assist, but there’s no doubt he’s happy to walk away with a W – the Lakers’ fifth straight.

Steve Nash seems to be the glue who can
keep the Lakers' deep pool of talent together.
(image by Alex Gallardo/AP)

Jeremy Lin, meanwhile, left no doubt about who the Rockets’ #1 playmaker is, putting up 20 points and 11 assists while having one of his best shooting games of the season. The Taiwanese-American converted 8 of his 12 field goals and made all 4 of his freebies. Lin has been on-target of late, shooting better than 58% from the floor, and that obviously bolds well for Houston’s chances. He’s also been a more balanced point guard, distributing the rock better than he did at the start of the season. In the past three games, all of which were Houston victories, Lin has normed 9.3 assists per outing. Suddenly, the voices doubting his lofty contract have become silent, and if Lin becomes consistent, then perhaps he will meet his potential sooner rather than later.

Out east, Mario Chalmers entered the nationally televised Heat-Thunder match shooting poorly from beyond the arc. He did make 4 treys against the T-Wolves last week, but his success rate has dropped to only 20% since then. Against OKC, however, Super Mario busted out the big guns and showcased the form that made his production so critical in the 2012 Finals. Chalmers shot 8-of-14 from the floor, including 4 triples, while also collaring 3 boards and handing out a couple of assists. He thoroughly outplayed his counterpart on the other end, Russell Westbrook, who missed 14 shots and turned the ball over 5 times. If Chalmers can untangle himself from his usual boom-or-bust self and find some measure of consistency, then it’s a no-brainer that the Heat have the inside track to another romp all the way to the NBA Playoffs.

The NBA: Lillard and Lin – Guards of the Future

Niether Damian Lillard nor Jeremy Lin will finish the regular season as the top point guard in the NBA. That spot is reserved for the likes of Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Tony Parker, but a few years down the line, either or both Lillard and Lin should become part of that group. Both guys, having a combined age of 46 years (just 6 years more than the current oldest active player – New York’s Kurt Thomas), have about a handful more seasons before they hit their physical prime, and that is an exciting proposition for Portland and Houston fans.

Lillard was picked #6 overall this year. Coming out of Weber State, which isn’t exactly the most renowned US NCAA basketball program around, Lillard surprised many by being tagged so high in the lottery, but he’s making the Portland front office look like geniuses with his consistently strong play. The former Wildcat is norming nearly 19 points, over 6 assists, and more than 1 steal per game. He’s in the running for Rookie of the Year honors, if not leading the race entirely. The 22-year old is currently 9^th overall in three-pointers made (including a nice dagger three that beat the Hornets a few nights ago), 16^th overall in total points scored, and 10^th among point guards in terms of efficiency rating. Together with LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum, Lillard should make the Blazers really dangerous for years to come.

Damian Lillard's game-winner to beat the New Orleans Hornets
provides a glimpse into his bright future.
(image by Bruce Ely/AP)

A team that’s already quite dangerous is the Houston Rockets. Just ask their latest victims – the Philadelphia 76ers and the East-leading New York Knicks. At the forefront of Houston’s seeming renaissance, of course, is former OKC Thunder James Harden, but one guy who has been a major contributor is Harden’s backcourt mate, himself a former Knick, Jeremy Lin.

We can still recall how Lin burst into the scene as a patchwork player for the Knicks earlier in 2012. He almost single-handedly turned the ship around for NYK and created what would forever be remembered as “Linsanity.” We can also recall how, despite his contributions, New York let him go in a surprisingly nonchalant manner before the 2012-2013 campaign.

A couple of nights ago, the Harvard grad returned to the Garden with aplomb, scoring 22 points and dishing out 8 assists as the Rockets handed the Knicks their first home loss of the season. Lin has actually been criticized for his inconsistent play, but his flashes of brilliance are undeniably appealing. Two nights after the NY win, Lin dropped 18 and 6 on the Suns as Houston got its fourth win in the last five contests. In his last two games, Line shot better than 62% from the floor. This was the guy who, just a week ago, also dropped 38 on Tony Parker and the Spurs (Houston lost by 8, though).

He might not yet get the nod for an All-Star slot out of merit (maybe out of the sheer number of potential votes from both China and Taiwan?), but just a little more maturity is needed before Lin can become a top-flight PG.

Another thing contributing to the impending rise of Lillard and Lin is the fact that many of the West’s great playmakers are getting older. Steve Nash is closing in on 40, Tony Parker will turn 31 next May, and Chris Paul will hit his early 30s by the time both Lillard and Lin hit their peaks.

Damian Lillard and Jeremy Lin – folks, these are the guards of the future.

The NBA: Top 5 Stories of the Regular Season

Wow, I cant believe that four months of regular season basketball is over! Time flew by really fast with teams playing 4 games in a week or more. No season is complete without storylines and controversies allover the association. Here is a rundown of the best stories, good and bad or embarrassing.

1. Linsanity. The whole world knows who Jeremy Lin is. His rise to fame came in late January and lasted over a month until a knee injury sidelined him. He carried a Knicks team without Carmelo and Amare during his peak (with the help of an easy schedule and lack of scouting from opposing teams) and now the Knicks are in the playoffs. A proof that Lin is a trending topic/player: his jersey sales are among the top 5 in the NBA. The other four jerseys? Rose, Kobe, LeBron and Carmelo. By the way, he can play. Lin was very fortunate to be in an offensive system that utilizes his skills and talents. I am convinced that he will be in the All-star team next year (voted by fans as a starter). Can you imagine that?