Combining Eras In G.3: “NBA Forever”

This amazing commercial tells more than I could in words about how lucky we would be if, one day, G.3 could transcend time and eras and bring together all who have taken part or could have taken part in G.3 for one big GAME.
It’s a dream that currently resides in the worlds of video editing, video game design, cinema or online sports simulations, but here’s to one day being able to live inside such an extraordinary dream.

G.3 Scenarios: Kobe Bryant, Basketball, Football and Nodes in Between

When Kobe Bryant was six years old, his father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, moved the family to Italy to begin playing professional basketball. It was during these formative years in Italy that Kobe Bryant played football and basketball. When his father retired in 1991, Bryant’s family moved back to the United States, but his passion for football remained.

As a young fan of AC Milan, Bryant had aspirations of being a professional football player; even claiming that if his family had stayed in Italy, he would have chosen professional football over professional basketball. He remarked to the Milan sports daily, La Gazzetta dello Sport, during this summer’s World Cup in South Africa:

“I love soccer since the time I was a boy. From when I lived in Italy and supported AC Milan. Dreaming one day to be Marco Van Basten, one day Diego Maradona and one day Roberto Baggio.”

Byrant has more than just a passing appreciation of football and after these many years, he still feels at home on the pitch and with the football at his feet:

The 2010 NBA season begins tonight and there have been lingering concerns about Bryant’s surgically repaired left knee throughout this offseason. If Bryant could remain relatively healthy through the upcoming season and if he could endure a rigorous football training regimen, his size and athleticism would be an ideal template for a football goalie, backline defender or a forward on set pieces.

If Bryant was in his prime, it is likely that he could have played a center forward position given his athletic and attacking style of play; a style of play that has been very successful for him on a much smaller playing field—the basketball court.

Assuming that we have a Kobe Bryant in his prime, the thought of his potential role as a defenseman (D) or forward (F) in a blended football-basketball G node or a as transitional wing playmaker (W) between football and basketball nodes is tantalizing.

As a defenseman, Bryant, who is already an elite defender in the NBA, could fit in well is as a backline defender who can quickly counter and lead an offensive attack in a defense-offense transition formation (the middle of the three different formation modules bracketed in the diagram below). Given that Bryant’s main sport requires quick bursts of offense to defense and vice versa, his transition as a defender into an offensive catalyst in the defense-offense transition formations would be a relatively easy adjustment to make.

As a forward in the defense-offense transition formation in a blended G node, Bryant could slot into the left or right wings since he possesses the requisite skill set: very good speed, length, strength, long shooting range, passing and decision-making ability, and a strong defensive presence.

As a transitional wing player linking two or more nodes (football and basketball in this example) that are not completely blended but exist in two separate forms simultaneously, Bryant could transition into and out of football and basketball in some of the following ways:

1. Shots made from specific spots on the basketball court could activate football set pieces for Bryant or another player to take during the next pause in football and basketball action.
2. Long distance shots made from specific spots on the basketball court could award the football team on the same GAME team a man advantage on the pitch for a short finite period of time; much like man advantages in ice hockey.
3. A G.3-designed field with a basketball court side by side with a football pitch would allow Bryant to concentrate on his basketball assignments while providing additional zonal marking on the pitch when he is in the corresponding basketball court-football pitch areas (by crossing over the sidelines and freely traversing into and out of the two fields of play as needed).

Elite G.3 performers must excel in multiple individual nodes while at the same time have the flexibility to excel in G nodes that link or blend two or more nodes together. Kobe Bryant may not be the young man he was half a decade ago, but his versatility, athleticism, intelligent play and competitive makeup continues to secure his status as one of the NBA’s and G.3’s elite.

THE GAME: Node Links

1. David Stern, commissioner of the NBA, thinks that a woman will break through the gender barrier and play in the NBA…within the next decade.

2. Get ready for a new way to window shop! In the coming weeks, Google is going to distribute over 100,000 QR code stickers to “popular” businesses based on search results from users interacting with local business listings on Google Maps. The idea is for small businesses to place these stickers on their storefront window; allowing customers to scan the 2-D barcode with their cell phone’s code reader and opening up new possibilities for businesses to reach their customers (special offers, customer reviews, photos, etc.). We talked about this concept of bridging the physical and digital worlds in a previous post.

3. An interesting analysis from Chris Brown of Smart Football on how the Oregon Ducks utilize the zone read of the defensive tackle, a nuance in the zone read option run game.

4. The world’s first commercial passenger spacecraft:

 More about the VSS Enterprise.

THE GAME In Pictures: A Basic GAME Formation Action Shot

Using GIMP 2.6.6 and referencing this post, I remixed photographs of Tim Tebow and Deron Williams running the basic GAME formation: (module #1) power-speed formation. The image captures the moment after Deron Williams has passed the football to Tim Tebow; allowing Tebow to cross in front of Williams and look for a playmaker on the left wing. After the exchange, Williams begins to angle hard to his right, eluding his defender and creating space to either continue the play by himself, pass to another playmaker on the wing or handoff to a ThB charging from the rear.

Pro Wrestling…The NBA…Same Difference

For decades, NBA fans have speculated (particularly during the playoffs) that the NBA gives “star” players preferential treatment and/or manipulates the outcomes of games through the actions (or inactions) of their officials. The league has vigorously denied these accusations in the past, but now disgraced former NBA referee, Tim Donaghy is claiming in his new book, Blowing the Whistle, that there is a “rampant culture of fraud” in the league.

Interestingly the book’s pubisher, Triumph Books was ready to begin printing the book until the NBA came calling (excerpt courtesy of Deadspin):

“About 10 months ago, (Donaghy) shopped the book to Triumph Books, an imprint of Random House, according to a source close to Donaghy. Triumph, the source says, "put forth a huge effort to verify every statement in that book." (Triumph's editorial director, Tom Bast, declined to comment.) Two weeks ago,Blowing the Whistle was ready for printing; 60 Minutes had plans to interview Donaghy in conjunction with the book's publication. Then the NBA came calling. "They came after Random House and threatened a lawsuit," the source says, "and Random House just rolled and decided to not go with it. It's really that simple." To his knowledge, no one at the NBA had actually read the book.

There are many reasons to simply dismiss Donaghy’s claims based on his character, current financial status, relationship (or lack thereof) with his former employer and colleagues, etc.. But, I can’t help but think of how quickly I dismissed Jose Canseco’s claims of rampant steroid use in Major League Baseball when he came out with his book, Juiced. Sadly, as we all know now, the majority of what he claimed was truthful. Certainly, most of what Donaghy claims in his book could be lies, but NBA conspiracy theorist now have someone who worked on “the inside” finally corroborating what they have suspected all along.

The First Basic GAME Formations, Circa 1999…Updated 2009, Part One

Back in 2000, I slotted, what were then, contemporary players into the various formation modules based on the players’ skill sets and what the positions’ requirements were. I thought it would be fun to revisit the first post about GAME formations by inserting today’s players into the formations while detailing the needs of each position some more. The following depth chart is for the power-speed formation module at the top of the diagram.

Module #1 power-speed formation depth chart:

SC:  Deron Williams (G, Utah Jazz), Kaká (MF, Real Madrid). This module’s position requires a strong decision maker with size, strength, quickness and the ability to distribute the ball precisely. The decisions that the SC make are based on the alignment and/or (expected) degree of penetration by the defense. Reacting to the defensive alignment, the SC will distribute the ball to the ThB’s in the rear, pass or lateral to the outside wings where wing playmakers (W) are aligned within separate wing modules, or keep the ball to achieve forward progress.

ThB: Tim Tebow (QB, University of Florida), Dan LeFevour (QB, Central Michigan University). This position requires a player who has the rare ability to accurately make all throws or kicks, run with elusiveness and run with power. Power is important in this position since the defense is aligned in close proximity. This ThB can either block/guard larger defenders, receive the ball and accurately distribute to ThB’s behind or to playmakers on the wings, or keep the ball to achieve forward progress.

ThB: Terrelle Pryor (QB, Ohio State University), Juice Williams (QB, University of Illinois), Dan Carter (Fly-half, USA Perpignan and the Crusaders). This position is similar to the ThB previously described, but throwing is not as essential of a requirement. The ability to pass or kick forward at this position is important in order to keep the defense off balance, but the majority of the time these ThB’s will keep the ball or distribute the ball laterally to a teammate. As a result, these ThB’s must have power, elusiveness and speed.

ThB: Boris Diaw (F/C, Charlotte Bobcats), Pau Gasol (C, Los Angeles Lakers). Diaw and Gasol are considered two of the best passing/outlet passing athletic big men in basketball. The primary physical attribute necessary for this position is size. As ThB’s are positioned further behind the frontline, visualizing the action on the field becomes more challenging. That is why it is necessary to have an excellent passing big man with good decision making skills positioned in the middle of the ThB formation to do the following: read the defensive formation and movement; analyze the progress of the ThB’s in the front (against the defense); adjust the call/play or continue with the planned call/play based on the two main reads; pass to the appropriate playmakers based on the reads.

ThB: Pat White (QB, Miami Dolphins), Seneca Wallace (QB, Seattle Seahawks). The next two rows of ThB’s are the best combination of speed, quickness and arm strength. Agile and elusive, these ThB’s can make plays with their game-breaking speed or with their arms. They can throw to playmakers positioned on the wings, launch balls to playmakers in other nodes or dart into/out of nodes by using their speed to slice through zones.

ThB: Michael Vick (QB, Philadelphia Eagles), Denard Robinson (QB, University of Michigan).

ThB: Donovan McNabb (QB, Philadelphia Eagles), Jay Cutler (QB, Chicago Bears. The next two rows of ThB’s have the best arms. This row has better movement and elusiveness than the following row; speed is not an essential attribute but a plus. The ability to throw the ball into other nodes and across zones is essential. Although these ThB’s may not have speed, they should have good lateral movement in order to laterally mirror the movements of ThB’s in the front rows (in the event ThB’s in front lateral, pass or kick to them) and the ability to laterally track the ThB’s behind them (in order to lateral, pass or kick to them).

…ThB: Ben Roethlisberger (QB, Pittsburgh Steelers), Ryan Mallett (QB, University of Arkansas). Also known as “Towers” or “Throwers”, these ThB’s have size, strength and superb arm strength. Their goal is to fire balls to participants in other nodes, across zones or on the wings: to transition play into other nodes and zones; to advance the offense in their own zone of play. They may not exactly mirror the movements of the ThB’s in the front rows, but they must remain in the zone of action in order to receive a lateral, pass or kick.

Shot Blocking in Football

There was an interesting post from Smart Football yesterday regarding whether it was legal for a defensive player to position himself in front of the goal posts during a long field goal attempt and block the field goal.

Alas the answer is no, but it is an interesting idea to incorporate into THE GAME and is one way to illustrate how football and basketball can blend, become a hybrid node, and/or transition into and out of each other.

The First Basic GAME Formations, Circa 1999

Below are diagrams of the first series of GAME formations (sketched between the brackets) I came up with back in 1999. Enlarge image. The brackets in the diagrams reflect the modularity of the formations; in other words one could use any one of the formations below to create completely new formations or integrate them into existing formations depending on how involved a GAME a team is participating in and/or what the team is trying to accomplish.
The three formation modules are, from top to bottom:

1. a power-speed formation (the arrows that extend horizontally from “LINE” indicate that the line-forwards are positioned out in either direction without indicating the specific players or the spacing between them; the arrow that extends up from the “LINE” indicates that a forward push into the opposition is the goal of the line; the double-ended arrow between the Throwing Backs (ThB) at the bottom of the formation indicates that more players can be inserted in between the rear ThB’s, depending on the GAME and/or goal of the team). By positioning the SC (signal caller) close to the line followed by a “tail” of ThB’s, the SC becomes the initial ball handler who can either keep, hand off or lateral down the line of ThB’s (similar to the flow of rugby), depending on the defensive alignment and degree of defensive penetration. In general, ThB’s positioned towards the front are throwers with great size, mobility and generate considerable power when entering the frontline; ThB’s positioned in the middle are throwers who are elusive, and explosive; ThB’s in the rear are mobile, have good height and have the best power arms to deliver the ball downfield or into other transitional GAME zones. The rear ThB’s tend to be the least mobile of ThB’s and shadow the lateral movements of the ThB’s in front, in order to be in position to throw when required. This formation allows an offense to throw multiple looks simultaneously at a defense and then exploit the defenses’ weakest areas quickly and with forceful impact.
2. a defense-offense transition formation is a defensive alignment module that creates quick transitions into attack mode through the utilization of quick strike power forwards on the wings and athletic power players with size and mobility in the middle of the defensive line. The three “bubbles” at the bottom of the module are a side in hockey, an American football offensive line and a American football/GAME hybrid backfield consisting of a QB, SC, TWB and B (more on these positions later). The “bubbles” illustrate how the forwards on the wings augment the defensive line but are versatile enough to sprint into the transitional GAME zones in all directions; linking up with and then participating in other (athletic) nodes. The defensive line’s main role is to provide a stiff resistance to counter offensive maneuvers, but like the forwards, the line has the flexibility to charge forward to participate in offensive operations. Behind the line are varying numbers of defenders (D) who are typically aligned in an I-formation. The D’s are primarily defensive safeties who are the key decision makers when leading a quick counterattack.
3. a power-speed formation on the right wing with ThB’s stacked in a power formation upfront and speed ThB’s in the back. An extra layer of SC’s and B’s follow the ThB’s to create more power-speed combinations in the “tail” of the formation, producing more potential matchup problems for a defense.

Most positions have a corresponding athlete and the skill set (listed to the right of the athletes’ names) that I had in mind for the newly created GAME positions. The positions in the diagram may be unfamiliar to some, so a position index follows the diagram.

Position index for the preceding diagrams:

B=Back: is usually a multi-nodal hybrid position requiring quickness, speed, elusiveness and explosion. Because the B may usually be positioned further back in a given formation, endurance is a key element in the conditioning required for the position. A Back may in certain formations travel 15, 20 or more yards before hitting the frontline.

C=Center: a specific position from basketball, ice hockey and/or a football offensive line.

D=Defenseman: hockey defenseman providing a line of defense as well as lead a counterattack on a change of possession.

F=Forward: right wing or left wing in ice hockey, power or small forward in basketball. The F positions on the wings, in the middle formation module above, can be occupied by any type of forward from any athletic node as long as his skillset fits most of the requirements for the module’s position. Examples of forwards from the various athletic nodes who could fit in this defensive module include: Deion Sanders (CB/WR/KR/PR, American football), Roberto Carlos (wing back, football), Charles Woodson (CB/WR—in college/KR/PR), Scottie Pippen (SF, basketball), Ron Artest (F, basketball), Dwight Howard (C, basketball), Kevin Garnett (F, basketball), Lilian Thuram (centre back/right back, football), Cafu (wing back, football), Larry Robinson (D, ice hockey), Chris Chelios (D, ice hockey), Scott Stevens (D, ice hockey), Raymond Bourque (D, ice hockey), Bobby Orr (D, ice hockey), Claude Makélélé (defensive MF, football), and Hong Myung-Bo (sweeper, football). The F positions on the wings can also be multi-nodal hybrids.

G=Guard: football offensive lineman.

PF=Power Forward: basketball.

QB=Quarterback: football.

SC=Signal Caller: a hybrid multi-nodal position proficient in transitioning into and out of multiple nodes. A SC can, for example, start with a hockey line and/or receive a handoff from a football QB and stay in his node, transition into another node or distribute to another player from another node.

T=Tackle: football offensive lineman.

ThB=Throwing Back: a mobile multi-nodal hybrid position whose primary role is that of a thrower and whose targets are players spanning multiple nodes. ThB’s can range from tall power throwers to smaller, more explosively mobile throwers. and anything in between.

TWB=Throwing Wing Back: a multi-nodal hybrid player who can be positioned within a backfield formation or motioned/positioned to either wing. A versatile and athletic player, the ideal TWB can make throws between and within nodal zones, can catch/maintain possession, and can have tremendous explosiveness. The size of TWB can vary from tall and lanky, small and elusive, to anything in between, just as long as they have the above skillset.

Esthetics aside, the three GAME formations above were inspired by the University of Nebraska’s “I-option” attack, specifically; the I-formation, in general; and the hammer and anvil military tactical maneuver used in ancient battles and in modern frontline operations.
The I-formation was selected as a starting point for formations in THE GAME for several key reasons:

1. The ability to have multiple options for a multiple number backs when they are attacking the frontline.
2. Increased speed in hitting the frontline. The backs from the “tail” or rear will be able to read the defense with a running start when hitting the frontline. Conversely, backs towards the front can serve as quick hitting decoys, blockers, throwers, runners or a combination.
3. Improved deception. The quick hitting action and the fact that the backs are lined up and virtually hidden by the backs in front, increases the ability of the offense to mask their intentions at the start of play and also increase the effectiveness of the subsequent “hammer and anvil” attack.

"Welcome to Monday Night Raw Nuggets"

Well...the scheduling conflict between Kroenke Sports Enterprises (owner of the Pepsi Center and the Denver Nuggets) and the WWE has finally reached a resolution and the WWE will move their May 25 Monday Night Raw show to the Staples Center in Los Angeles for back-to-back events.

I wish they would have run the two events at the same time. The evolution of the NBA towards more physical play could have served as a conduit in which the WWE or professional wrestling, for that matter, could have transitioned/blended into each other or could have formed a distinct hybrid GAME node altogether. It appears that WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon may have been thinking the same thing ...somewhat:

"McMahon revealed that in addition to WWE’s version of the Lakers’ bout with the Nuggets (a 10-Man Tag Match featuring Raw’s top Superstars), the Chairman will personally collide with E. Stanley Kroenke, live on an unforgettable Raw."

The NBA's Undercover Secret

A conduit in which American football (or any other code of football, for that matter) and basketball, specifically the NBA, can flow into each other--the physical play.

LeBron James Brings His Game to the Cleveland Browns

On January 18, 2009, LeBron James announced to the world that he would pursue "his first love" by signing a contract with the NFL's Cleveland Browns. Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed. 

A source close to the negotiations revealed that James fought hard to maintain dual status in the NFL and NBA as a condition for his signing with the Browns. After difficult and protracted negotiations between James' NBA Cleveland Cavaliers and Browns, a settlement was reached between the two teams in the hopes that James' participation could foster further future interleague cooperation as well as accelerate the evolution and development of transitional GAME nodes between the sports of American football and basketball. 

In an unprecedented move for a currently active NBA player, James cited his desire to bring the NBA style of play to the NFL as his primary reason for signing with the Browns. Next season, it is expected that the Browns will utilize James' basketball skillset in American football at tight end and wide receiver as well as when the Browns are transitioning into their basketball package for THE GAME. While holding up his new Browns #23 jersey, a giddy James admitted to the gathered media that, "this all feels like a dream."

Showdown In Chinatown

Courtesy of Wikipedia


Showdown in Chinatown was a charity soccer match played on June 25, 2008, organized by Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash and New York Red Bulls footballer Claudio Reyna to benefit their respective charity foundations. The nine-a-side match was played at Nike Field in Sara D. Roosevelt Park on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, and the two teams included many National Basketball Association and international soccer players.

The Showdown in Chinatown is worth noting from the perspective of the G.3 since it displayed the football talents of NBA stars Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Raja Bell and Leandro Barbosa, as well as the talents of Marc Stein, senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. Their participation illustrated the promise and potential for specific sports and endeavors, however disparate, to be blended/transitioned into other sports and endeavors in the G.3.

Video update: 2009 Showdown in Chinatown (part 1 of 9)