Summer Lovin'

The dog days of summer have officially set in. I'm not sure if it's all of the sun, too much visiting with old friends, or the overall lack of sports that's hurt my productivity, but it's about time I hop off this raft, rub some Aloe Vera on my brain and get back to at least posting once or twice a week. Have you tried flipping your TV to ESPN lately? If it wasn't for Poker tournaments, trick shot billiards, or college football scandal they might as well go off the air completely until the NFL pre-season opens up. Being a glass half full guy myself, I've found a silver lining in the past month that has really made the commercial breaks for The Bachelorette a lot more interesting. NBA Summer League. Because the summer league is usually filled with first and second year players trying to make regular season rosters, the typical thought is that it's bad basketball being played in small gyms, in front of nobody. And while the small gym and lack of crowds may be true, the fact that it's bad basketball is not always the case. These young guns are competing for not only playing time or a roster spot, but some are playing for food on the table. Ever see how hard a guy on the brink can play when his career is on the line? It looks very similar to the effort given during the month of June by the established stars trying to put a ring on their finger. Take a guy like all-time Penn State leading scorer, Talor Battle. Battle is in his second year out of college and currently playing for the Los Angeles Clippers summer league team. During his 4-year career at State College, Battle became the first player in Big 10 history to amass 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists. Pretty impressive, right? Not only has Battle never played a regular season game in the NBA, but he's fighting for minutes in the summer league while indirectly auditioning for teams overseas. People used to pay good money to watch Talor play in college less than 700 days ago, and now he's playing against the best competition he's ever faced, but virtually nobody is watching. This claim can be reflected by NBATV selling the viewing rights for every summer league game of the season for $5. Sure, the wins and losses don't matter, and 75% of the players won't be playing for that team when the season starts, but don't confuse those facts with 'bad basketball.' (And to prove it I've posted 10 of the tightest plays from this summer below, enjoy)