[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

For the longest time, I could never understand all the fuss over a couple inches. I mean is 6’11 really that much different than 6’9. Of course to basketball fans it is but why?? Well, I seemed to have had an epiphany of sorts.. This is how I looked at it before..

The floor is 94 feet by 50 feet. What is 2 inches compared to that?? Since there are 12 inches in a foot, the floor is 1128 inches by 600 inches.. What is 2 inches to 1128 inches?? I’ll tell you.. It is a little over 0.1% of the length of the floor. Also, the goal is 10 feet high, therefore, 120 inches high.. So 2 inches is 1.6% of the height of the goal. Is it really that big of a difference??

I thought no.

Then, I had a talk with Mike D’Antoni and I found this out.

Lets start with some stuff we know about D’Antoni teams.. They are some of the fastest scoring teams in the NBA.. Right?? They are often regarded as some of the fastest teams in the NBA, right?? Okay…

Now for the stuff that I didnt know.

When Mike gets a new team, Knicks, or a new player, do you know what the first thing he does is??? Its not implement the offense.. He doesnt teach them what a good shot is in his system.. The first thing he does is improve their running form. He wants them to take an extra 2 inches per stride.. Thats how important it is to him. He makes them faster even if it is only a little bit.. He explained it something like this.. When you have only 94 feet to work with, every little bit counts. Guys like Barbosa, a long guard, can get down the floor in about 7 steps.. Now, with 2 inches added to those steps, he is 14 inches further than he would have been before. That is about 1 foot. That is just far enough to keep guys like Lebron from chasing him down and blocking him from behind..

That put things in perspective for me… But it wasnt enough.. So I did some more digging as to how important 2 inches is..

Did you know that the diameter of a basketball is 9 inches and the diameter of the goal is 18 inches?? For those of you who dont know, diameter is the length straight through the basketball from one side to the other. It is the distance between one side of the rim and the other… So that means that 2 balls will just fit perfectly through one rim at the same time.. You could, hypothetically, be 8-9 inches off on your shot and still make it. When you are shooting 25 feet from the rim, 8 inches is barely anything. When shooting from that far, an inch to the left of your hand could send that ball into the stands.. 1 inch can cause more than a foot of difference..

More!!!!

When you shoot a basketball, you are supposed to have the ball on your fingertips… Fingertips are the end of your arm. Now here, if you have your arm extended all the way, and your defender is 2 inches shorter than you, typically, you have 2 inches of reach on him. Now, when you block a jump shot, typically you dont block it in the shooters hand, you get it after release. If you have 2 inches on your defender and he isnt going to block you shot in your hands, that means he has to climb 2 inches plus however much the ball has lifted upon leaving your hand. A block on a jumper is perfectly timed. That means that precision is very important. That 2 inches is the difference between winning and losing..

Personal Experience…

In HS, I was fortunate enough to have made my fair share of game winning shots.. I think I made like 5 butI also missed about 4. Im going talk about a couple of those misses.

Junior year, it was our last game of the year before sectionals and we were ranked number 3 in the state. When the fourth quarter came, we were down 4 with about 1 minute left. We had gotten a steal and a my teammate was fouled. He hit 2 foul shots. The ball was inbounded to the opponents C and was instantly stolen. We called a timeout. Coach talked to us about what we wanted to do. Everyone but me voted to go for the win and they all said for me to take the shot. I was reluctant but they pumped me up to hit it. I was confident leaving the huddle thinking that my team was counting on me and I was ready to end this game and go home happy. Well we inbounded the all ran the clock down to about 14 seconds and the coach called another TO and set us up in my favorite play for me. Thing was that I had made about 3 three pointers off of that same play. What was supposed to happen was I run my man down to the block, set a distraction screen and run off a double stagger screen, curl into the shot and drain it at the top of the key. Gosh, I love it. Talking about it brings me back.. Anyway, when I came to curl off of the screen, they cheated around the top so I flared backwards to the opposite wing, my PG tossed me the ball it was tipped. At its apex, a guy got up there and tipped it. I had to chase it down close to half court, take 2 dribbles and had to shoot a 35 footer.. It was barely tipped.. It was less than an Inch…

Another game simply ended when I was blocked at the rim. I was about to make a winning layup and was chased down. He barely got to the ball from behind but he slapped it off the backboard. It was a matter of a couple inches that would have changed that game…

Now, after all of that, I have a something to say….

Basketball is a game of inches.. Thats why 6’11 is so much different than 6’9. Its a game of inches…..

[TyroberParticipant]

great post bud

[TyroberParticipant]

great post bud

[TyroberParticipant]

great post bud

[OhCanada-Participant]

Whats the name of the book ìll buy it lmao

Good post you should be a columnist wanna create a website with me?I have a purchased domain.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Whats the name of the book ìll buy it lmao

Good post you should be a columnist wanna create a website with me?I have a purchased domain.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Whats the name of the book ìll buy it lmao

Good post you should be a columnist wanna create a website with me?I have a purchased domain.

[kaceyParticipant]

And thats what she said.

[kaceyParticipant]

And thats what she said.

[kaceyParticipant]

And thats what she said.

[DanEboyParticipant]

Hey 8th, how did you go about meeting D’Antoni?

[DanEboyParticipant]

Hey 8th, how did you go about meeting D’Antoni?

[DanEboyParticipant]

Hey 8th, how did you go about meeting D’Antoni?

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

He is from the same place I am from…

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

He is from the same place I am from…

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

He is from the same place I am from…

[sheltwon3Participant]

8 actually you actually prove why 6’11” height is not as important as 6’9″ height. The importance is lenght. That is why a 6’3 guy with size and a 6’8″ wingspan can play the 2 spot. Basketball is played a lot with your hands even though it is a cerebal game. Also another thing with the stride thing and I found this out in running my mile is the longer your stride the less step you take which means your leg will get tired latter on in your run. This actually work wonders for people that are heavier and because that extra weight can give your legs a pounding. Also I am about 5’9 but have long arms and that has helped me to block shots and dunk in my younger days even now i can get some decent blocks because of my length and the fact that taller people think i cant get to it because they let my height deceive them about my length and if i can get it to reach.

[sheltwon3Participant]

8 actually you actually prove why 6’11” height is not as important as 6’9″ height. The importance is lenght. That is why a 6’3 guy with size and a 6’8″ wingspan can play the 2 spot. Basketball is played a lot with your hands even though it is a cerebal game. Also another thing with the stride thing and I found this out in running my mile is the longer your stride the less step you take which means your leg will get tired latter on in your run. This actually work wonders for people that are heavier and because that extra weight can give your legs a pounding. Also I am about 5’9 but have long arms and that has helped me to block shots and dunk in my younger days even now i can get some decent blocks because of my length and the fact that taller people think i cant get to it because they let my height deceive them about my length and if i can get it to reach.

[sheltwon3Participant]

8 actually you actually prove why 6’11” height is not as important as 6’9″ height. The importance is lenght. That is why a 6’3 guy with size and a 6’8″ wingspan can play the 2 spot. Basketball is played a lot with your hands even though it is a cerebal game. Also another thing with the stride thing and I found this out in running my mile is the longer your stride the less step you take which means your leg will get tired latter on in your run. This actually work wonders for people that are heavier and because that extra weight can give your legs a pounding. Also I am about 5’9 but have long arms and that has helped me to block shots and dunk in my younger days even now i can get some decent blocks because of my length and the fact that taller people think i cant get to it because they let my height deceive them about my length and if i can get it to reach.

[bobbybParticipant]

I agree with you, that is why i used to get mad when people said that Mike Beasley was undersized. He has the same standing reach as Joakim Noah. And who would say Noah is undersized. Nobody. Beasley is just an underachiever, nothing to do with size/skill.

[bobbybParticipant]

I agree with you, that is why i used to get mad when people said that Mike Beasley was undersized. He has the same standing reach as Joakim Noah. And who would say Noah is undersized. Nobody. Beasley is just an underachiever, nothing to do with size/skill.

[bobbybParticipant]

I agree with you, that is why i used to get mad when people said that Mike Beasley was undersized. He has the same standing reach as Joakim Noah. And who would say Noah is undersized. Nobody. Beasley is just an underachiever, nothing to do with size/skill.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Hey… Im game writing for a site if I get paid… You gonna pay me??

Yea, I almost said the length thing. Good point Sheltwon.. Still, that extra 2 inches helps if you dont have great reach.

Its seems as if other people had the same problem with understanding why a couple inches can make you go from a 3rd overall pick to a 16th overall pick.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Hey… Im game writing for a site if I get paid… You gonna pay me??

Yea, I almost said the length thing. Good point Sheltwon.. Still, that extra 2 inches helps if you dont have great reach.

Its seems as if other people had the same problem with understanding why a couple inches can make you go from a 3rd overall pick to a 16th overall pick.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Hey… Im game writing for a site if I get paid… You gonna pay me??

Yea, I almost said the length thing. Good point Sheltwon.. Still, that extra 2 inches helps if you dont have great reach.

Its seems as if other people had the same problem with understanding why a couple inches can make you go from a 3rd overall pick to a 16th overall pick.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Hey.. What is that site?? Are you serious about that??

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Hey.. What is that site?? Are you serious about that??

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Hey.. What is that site?? Are you serious about that??

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

I just wanted to bring this to the top of the forum for people to read that havent seen it.. With the combine measurements and stuff going on right now, I feel like it is pretty fitting to the current situation in the NBA.

 

[4th dimension]

Stop bumping this up just to get more points.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Yeah man.. You know me.. Im that Homosexual Point Whore… I will do anything to get my Gay Point fix…

Ya know.. I hear 2nd graders call each other gay.. If you are going to insult me, I would like for it to be age appropriate..  I mean when someone says "your gay," I feel like there was no effort put into that comment… At least try to hurt my feelings..

[McDunkin]

"Yeah man.. You know me.. Im that Homosexual Point Whore… I will do anything to get my Gay Point fix…"

Are you taking shots at me too 8th?

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

It is a game of inches, though it is also a game of skill. Size matters in the NBA, but it is how you use your size that really makes the difference. Players can play bigger than their heights and length can give you a major advantage. I see no problem with him bumping this thread up, it was a great post, people really need to stop hating on people who actually post cool original content, and this was incredibly cool and original, one of my favorite basketball related posts on this site in my memory bank.

[ilike.panochasParticipant]

LOL @ 4th D

You are viscious dude.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Thanks MikeyV.. There have been lots of questions about why an Inch or 2 matters one way or the other.  I didnt feel like going into all of this again so I thought I would move it to the top of the thread..

Thanks for the respect.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Give credit where it is due. I see absolutely no issue with people bumping up good, well thought out or relevant posts, and this was one of them. Also appreciate you spelling my name without a "c", which people seem to do for some reason.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Every year around draft time I bump this topic back to the top of the board.  Good read for guys who are new..

[McDunkin]

 pshh I have the same rule with points as I do with the ladies…I receive…never give

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Im glad you enjoyed it.. I wrote it like 3 or 4 years ago, i cant remember.  I dont do it for points but I feel like every year at this time people get in a fuss over a couple of inches.  This post goes a long way in explaining what all the fuss is about.

 

[akhan786Participant]

No 8th I appreciate you bumping this thread. I hadn’t seen this post when you first did it and it was great.

Lol keep bumping it once a year and I’m sure you’ll get 10+ points every year from newer posters.

[Author]

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