Personal Interest
This browser will feature the sport basketball, its history,
NBA, and several new photos from the 2010 NBA playoffs
Introduction
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 foot (3.048 m) high hoop (the goal) under organized rules. A regulation NBA basketball court is 94' long (28.6512 m) by 50' wide (15.24 m). Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.
Points are scored by throwing (shooting) the ball through the basket from above. The team with more points at the end of the game wins, but additional time (overtime) may be issued when the scores of both teams are the same. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it (dribbling) or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (foul) is penalized, and free throws will be issued if an offensive player is fouled while shooting the ball. (violations).
Through time, basketball has developed to involve many common techniques of shooting, passing and dribbling, as well as players' positions, and offensive and defensive structures. Typically, the tallest members of a team will play center or one of two forward positions, while shorter players or those who possess the best ball handling skills and speed, play the guard positions. While competitive basketball is carefully regulated, numerous variations of basketball have developed for casual play. In some countries, basketball is also a popular spectator sport.
While competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport, played on a basketball court, less regulated variations played in the outdoors have become increasingly popular among both inner city and rural groups.
History of Basketball
The first rules, court, and game
In early December 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian-born physical education professor and instructor at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School (YMCA) (today, Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track. In contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom, and balls had to be retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored; this proved inefficient, however, so the bottom of the basket was removed, allowing the balls to be poked out with a long dowel each time. The peach baskets were used until 1906 when they were finally replaced by metal hoops with backboards. A further change was soon made, so the ball merely passed through, paving the way for the game we know today. A soccer ball was used to shoot baskets. Whenever a person got the ball in the basket, his team would gain a point. Whichever team got the most points won the game. The baskets were originally nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing court, but this proved impractical when spectators on the balcony began to interfere with shots. The backboard was introduced to prevent this interference; it had the additional effect of allowing rebound shots.
Naismith's handwritten diaries, discovered by his granddaughter in early 2006, indicate that he was nervous about the new game he had invented, which incorporated rules from a children's game called "Duck on a Rock", as many had failed before it. Naismith called the new game "Basket Ball".
The first official game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on January 20, 1892 with nine players. The game ended at 1–0; the shot was made from 25 feet (7.6 m), on a court just half the size of a present-day Streetball or National Basketball Association (NBA) court. By 1897–1898 teams of five became standard.
NBA Playoffs 2010
Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics VS Orlando Magic Game 1
The Boston Celtics didn't just sneak out of Amway Arena with a Game 1 victory under their belts. No, they completely outplayed the Orlando Magic in their own arena and did not trail for a single second of the 48 minutes of basketball played.
It all started with a big first quarter, where the C's limited Orlando to only 14 points, and then the lead grew nine heading into halftime after allowing only 18 points in the second period. The third quarter, however, is where this game began to get out of hand.
The Magic came out of the gates firing, and on the back of eight quick points from Jameer Nelson they cut Boston's lead to three just 2:03 into the second half. Doc Rivers called a timeout to regroup his troops, and that move wound up changing the scope of this game as the rest of the quarter unraveled.
Out of Rivers' timeout, Paul Pierce found Kevin Garnett open for a nice seven-footer that stopped the bleeding and put the C's back up by two possessions. Matt Barnes responded with a quick two points for Orlando, but that would be the last field goal the Magic would see for quite a while.
The Celtics turned up the defensive intensity and prevented Orlando from scoring another basket for another 4:54 of the period. At the other end, numerous Celtics chipped in to help rebuild the double-digit lead they previously held onto in the first half.
Kendrick Perkins scored an easy layup off of a Kevin Garnett pass to put the Celtics up by eight, and just 38 seconds later one of the biggest plays of the game took place.
As Pierce streaked down court with the ball after Rashard Lewis turned it over at Orlando's offensive end, Nelson stepped in his path and committed a foul. At first, it looked like a harmless foul, but Pierce showed his veteran savvy and threw up a shot as Nelson made contact with him. After a brief discussion, the referees ruled that it was a shooting foul and Pierce wound up with three free throw attempts, all of which he sank.
Those free throws put the C's up by 11, and after Rajon Rondo scored a bucket and Ray Allen drilled a 3-pointer, the lead had quickly ballooned to 16. Pierce added in another jumper after an Orlando timeout to cap off a 12-0 run by the Celtics that wound up being enough to outlast the Magic.
Orlando made it interesting down the stretch, cutting the lead to two at one point, but Pierce and Allen each hit two free throws in the final 12 seconds of the game to ice a Game 1 victory for Boston.
