Brandon's still ballin'
Slam: Brandon to Wall at the Boost Mobile Elite 24
Brandon Jennings, John Wall and Tyreke Evans were among the notable names playing late night pickup at the Boost Mobile high school all-star game...with predictably awesome results.
JS: Delfino, Ilyasova ready for Worlds
The JS reports (albeit second hand) that Ersan Ilyasova did in fact break his nose last weekend against Lebanon, though there's no suggestion that he'll be missing this weekend's opening games for Turkey. For John Hammond, it's all part of the double-edged sword of your players representing their countries.
"What could Ersan be doing any better than this to improve his overall skill set?" Hammond said. "But there is a factor with him, with a young player like Ersan and the pressure on the Turkish national team as the host team for the world championships. There can be a fatigue factor."
Things get started on Saturday with Turkey playing Cote D'Ivoire at 1 pm central while Argentina opens against Germany a half hour later. At least that's what my time zone math tells me (Istanbul is eight ours ahead of Milwaukee). Both teams play again exactly 24 hours later, Turkey against Russia and Argentina vs. the Bogut-less Aussies, with all games broadcast live on ESPN3.com. Time for some game threads, people.
Amico: Sampson considering move to Chicago?
Via Sam Amico:
Just learned current Bucks asst Kelvin Sampson is 3rd guy in running for Bulls asst job, along with Terry Porter, Eric Musselman.
Jim Boylan has been Scott Skiles' top assistant since they were in Chicago, so presumably Sampson is looking at more money should he get the offer of becoming Tom Thibodeau's top deputy with the Bulls.
Complex Mag: Brandon Jennings Talks “Black Ice” Signature Shoe
Jennings' interview with Complex Magazine (h/t Nick Monroe) is mostly about his new shoe, but there's also a little bit about basketball. On what he's been working on this summer:
I think it’s just been consistency. Being a consistent shooter, I’ve been working on my legs a lot more, so that’s been getting me through. When game 50 comes, I want to be able to keep on finishing and lasting through the last 30 games. So, I’ve put a lot into my leg strength and conditioning this offseason.
Wyn Douglas: NBA roster flow charts
You may know Wyn as the proprietor of the best T'Wolves site on the interwebs (SBN, woot), but he's also the man behind these sweet flow charts showing the evolution of every NBA roster.
ESPN: Bucks 13th in NBA
John Hollinger and Chris Broussard are ranking the NBA 1-30.
Bucksketball: Will new acquisitions improve Bucks' finishing?
Good read from Jeremy on how the Bucks' summer should help them around the cup. On a related note, my favorite Corey Maggette stat: he averaged 12.8 free throw attempts per 48 minutes last year, while the Bucks as a team averaged 20.4.
Courtside Analyst: Bucks' glory years
I had a good time reading up on the Bucks of the '70s for the SBN Wisconsin HOF nominations, but Ty has taken it to another level with a series of great analysis posts.