You Tube has a gold mind of awesome videos offering free tennis instruction! Here are the links to some of the best videos I've stumbled upon. They've helped my game and they could help your game as well. Check them out!
Serve:
Tennis Mind Game:
Origins of a Serve - Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Topspin Serve - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
FuzzyYellowBalls:
Kick Serve - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Kick Serve Progressions - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Leg Push
Forehand:
FuzzyYellowBalls:
Forehand Progressions - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
Slow Motion Pro Shots:
Nadal Backhand
Roddick Slice Backhand
Nadal Forehand
Federer Forehand
Djokovic Forehand
Andy Murray Forehand
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Positive Analysis of Steve Kerr as Sun's GM
I'm not going to hide by bias for Steve Kerr. I'm from Tucson, AZ and therefore whatever endeavor a guy like Steve Kerr, Sean Elliott or Lute Olsen is involved with (basically anyone from the 1988 Final Four team is sacred), I just have to defend them. So, here's my probably biased defense of Steve Kerr as General Manger of the Suns:
In my opinion, Kerr has only made one bad decision as the Sun's GM, which was hiring Terry Porter to replace head coach D'Antoni. One could argue that Kerr could have handled the D'Antoni departure better, but I don't think that is entirely fair. Kerr was brought to Phoenix to get the team over the hump and this meant he had to push the envelope a bit. Everyone and their mom had been accusing the Sun's consistent losses in the Playoffs against their arch nemesis, the Spurs, to the Sun's lack of defense. So, as the GM of the Sun's, Kerr had to address this. Kerr initially wanted to bring in Tom Thibodeau to D'Antoni's coaching staff, as a defensive coach to help the Suns in this area. Unfortunately, D'Antoni was too proud and therefore refused to hire a defensive specialist coach to his staff. So what happened to Tom Thibodeau? He went on to work with the Celtics and helped them win their first championship last year with arguably the best defense in the league! The Suns went on to lose again to the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. The loss was a brutal blow considering, the Suns were leading by double digits in multiple games, but ended up losing due to their inability to play defense and strategicaly slow the tempo down. I'm sure Kerr felt that had D'Antoni allowed for a defensive minded coach, the situation would have been different. D'Antoni felt that this criticism was unfair and that it is his offensive genius that puts his team in position to win games. These two polar philosophies interfered with their communication and untimatley led to D'Antoni's departure. Both Kerr and D'Antoni acknowledged that they could have handled things better, but that the timing of the huge offers from Chicago and New York so soon after such a bitter loss exaggerated both of their polar philosophies and created a situation that led to D'Antoni leaving for greener pastures.
This is where Kerr made his one and only mistake. Kerr's basketball philosophy is one that exists within a defensive paradigm. This makes sense when one looks at his career. He had won championships with two teams, both of which were incredibly successful with their defensive approach. This clouded Kerr's judgment and prevented him from thinking outside his paradigm. Instead of hiring a coach like Alvin Gentry, who intimately knew D'Antoni's "10 seconds or less" offensive philosophy and would have been the much better fit for the Suns, he hired a defensive minded coach that asked the Suns' players to basically forget what had brought them success for the previous 5 years and play an entirely different brand of basketball. Had Kerr hired someone like Gentry and asked Gentry to bring on a defensive specialist, such as Tom Thibodeau, I believe the Suns would be in a much different place right now. This is especially the case when you see that the Suns have scored an NBA record 140 points in their past three games under Gentry.
If you look at Kerr's player moves, he hasn't done anything that should demand severe criticism. He traded away Shawn Marion, who was a locker room cancer. It's true that Marion's athleticism and playing style was beneficial for the Suns, but if a player is truly unhappy in his role, he has to go. Kerr was left with no other options. In obtaining Shaq, Kerr brought immediate excitement to the Suns. Shaq's celebrity status is comparable to David Beckham's presence in soccer. Shaq also possesses a dominant game that was a great compliment to the team. On top of that, D'Antoni supported the move and believed that Shaq would be a great asset to the team. The only criticism was Shaq's health. The Sun's believed that their staff could help revitalize Shaq's career and sure enough, this year he has been an all-star. And what about Marion? He has floundered in Miami and was recently traded again to Toronto. He hasn't played anywhere near all-star form. This was actually a great move in hindsight. Of course this is purely speculative, but had D'Antoni stayed in Phoenix or had Gentry been coaching this team from the outset of this season, Phoenix could be considered the best team in basketball and Kerr would be a genius.
Kerr's other major player move was trading for Jason Richardson. This was another great move, that unfortunately has been hidden due to Porter's defensive and restrictive basketball philosophy. Kerr traded away an aging and struggling Bell, who before coming to Phoenix actually didn't play for his country, the Virgin Islands, because he needed to train in order to play for a contract the next NBA season. He also got rid of a player in Diaw, who could be considered overrated himself. In return, the Sun's get an athletic scoring two guard, with huge fan potential. Let's compare the team before Kerr arrived and after:
Before:
Center: Stoudemire
PF: Marion
SF: Hill
SG: Bell
PG: Nash
Bench: Barbosa & Diaw
Now:
Center: Shaq
PF: Stoudemire
SF: Hill
SG: Richardson
PG: Nash
Bench: Barbosa & Barnes & Lopez
I just don't believe you can blame Kerr for making any other mistakes besides hiring the wrong head coach for the team. I actually would applaud Kerr for working so closely with D'Antoni and Porter as the General Manager in his GM decisions. I think many GMs in the NBA work almost independently of the coaches and then try an put the entire blame on the coach when things go wrong. Kerr has stuck by Porter and constantly supported him during the rough first half of the season. This is something that Kerr should be applauded for and is a reason why I think the players, such as Shaq, really enjoy being in Phoenix. They trust Kerr and feel, while he is a businessman, he is extremely ethical in his business decisions.
Kerr has also done a lot for the community in Phoenix. He spearheaded an innovative effort by the Suns to add solar panels to the arena. This creates jobs in Phoenix and will help the organization save money on their energy expenditure as well as create a more sustainable environmental situation in Phoenix. This is something that basically goes unreported on the sports websites, but is a big part of a GM's job and success in that job.
So, while Kerr has made a mistake, and a huge one at that, he hasn't single-handily crippled the franchise as many would like to depict. The Sun's have young assets in Barbosa, Richardson and Stoudemire, who they can build around in the future and have a team that could contend for a championship right now (obviously Stoudemire's injury hurts those chances). For that, I think Kerr has done a decent job in Phoenix under very difficult circumstances. Kerr is a smart guy and should not be underestimated. The fact that he still has a job shows that behind the scenes, the Suns understand what Kerr brings to the table.
In my opinion, Kerr has only made one bad decision as the Sun's GM, which was hiring Terry Porter to replace head coach D'Antoni. One could argue that Kerr could have handled the D'Antoni departure better, but I don't think that is entirely fair. Kerr was brought to Phoenix to get the team over the hump and this meant he had to push the envelope a bit. Everyone and their mom had been accusing the Sun's consistent losses in the Playoffs against their arch nemesis, the Spurs, to the Sun's lack of defense. So, as the GM of the Sun's, Kerr had to address this. Kerr initially wanted to bring in Tom Thibodeau to D'Antoni's coaching staff, as a defensive coach to help the Suns in this area. Unfortunately, D'Antoni was too proud and therefore refused to hire a defensive specialist coach to his staff. So what happened to Tom Thibodeau? He went on to work with the Celtics and helped them win their first championship last year with arguably the best defense in the league! The Suns went on to lose again to the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. The loss was a brutal blow considering, the Suns were leading by double digits in multiple games, but ended up losing due to their inability to play defense and strategicaly slow the tempo down. I'm sure Kerr felt that had D'Antoni allowed for a defensive minded coach, the situation would have been different. D'Antoni felt that this criticism was unfair and that it is his offensive genius that puts his team in position to win games. These two polar philosophies interfered with their communication and untimatley led to D'Antoni's departure. Both Kerr and D'Antoni acknowledged that they could have handled things better, but that the timing of the huge offers from Chicago and New York so soon after such a bitter loss exaggerated both of their polar philosophies and created a situation that led to D'Antoni leaving for greener pastures.
This is where Kerr made his one and only mistake. Kerr's basketball philosophy is one that exists within a defensive paradigm. This makes sense when one looks at his career. He had won championships with two teams, both of which were incredibly successful with their defensive approach. This clouded Kerr's judgment and prevented him from thinking outside his paradigm. Instead of hiring a coach like Alvin Gentry, who intimately knew D'Antoni's "10 seconds or less" offensive philosophy and would have been the much better fit for the Suns, he hired a defensive minded coach that asked the Suns' players to basically forget what had brought them success for the previous 5 years and play an entirely different brand of basketball. Had Kerr hired someone like Gentry and asked Gentry to bring on a defensive specialist, such as Tom Thibodeau, I believe the Suns would be in a much different place right now. This is especially the case when you see that the Suns have scored an NBA record 140 points in their past three games under Gentry.
If you look at Kerr's player moves, he hasn't done anything that should demand severe criticism. He traded away Shawn Marion, who was a locker room cancer. It's true that Marion's athleticism and playing style was beneficial for the Suns, but if a player is truly unhappy in his role, he has to go. Kerr was left with no other options. In obtaining Shaq, Kerr brought immediate excitement to the Suns. Shaq's celebrity status is comparable to David Beckham's presence in soccer. Shaq also possesses a dominant game that was a great compliment to the team. On top of that, D'Antoni supported the move and believed that Shaq would be a great asset to the team. The only criticism was Shaq's health. The Sun's believed that their staff could help revitalize Shaq's career and sure enough, this year he has been an all-star. And what about Marion? He has floundered in Miami and was recently traded again to Toronto. He hasn't played anywhere near all-star form. This was actually a great move in hindsight. Of course this is purely speculative, but had D'Antoni stayed in Phoenix or had Gentry been coaching this team from the outset of this season, Phoenix could be considered the best team in basketball and Kerr would be a genius.
Kerr's other major player move was trading for Jason Richardson. This was another great move, that unfortunately has been hidden due to Porter's defensive and restrictive basketball philosophy. Kerr traded away an aging and struggling Bell, who before coming to Phoenix actually didn't play for his country, the Virgin Islands, because he needed to train in order to play for a contract the next NBA season. He also got rid of a player in Diaw, who could be considered overrated himself. In return, the Sun's get an athletic scoring two guard, with huge fan potential. Let's compare the team before Kerr arrived and after:
Before:
Center: Stoudemire
PF: Marion
SF: Hill
SG: Bell
PG: Nash
Bench: Barbosa & Diaw
Now:
Center: Shaq
PF: Stoudemire
SF: Hill
SG: Richardson
PG: Nash
Bench: Barbosa & Barnes & Lopez
I just don't believe you can blame Kerr for making any other mistakes besides hiring the wrong head coach for the team. I actually would applaud Kerr for working so closely with D'Antoni and Porter as the General Manager in his GM decisions. I think many GMs in the NBA work almost independently of the coaches and then try an put the entire blame on the coach when things go wrong. Kerr has stuck by Porter and constantly supported him during the rough first half of the season. This is something that Kerr should be applauded for and is a reason why I think the players, such as Shaq, really enjoy being in Phoenix. They trust Kerr and feel, while he is a businessman, he is extremely ethical in his business decisions.
Kerr has also done a lot for the community in Phoenix. He spearheaded an innovative effort by the Suns to add solar panels to the arena. This creates jobs in Phoenix and will help the organization save money on their energy expenditure as well as create a more sustainable environmental situation in Phoenix. This is something that basically goes unreported on the sports websites, but is a big part of a GM's job and success in that job.
So, while Kerr has made a mistake, and a huge one at that, he hasn't single-handily crippled the franchise as many would like to depict. The Sun's have young assets in Barbosa, Richardson and Stoudemire, who they can build around in the future and have a team that could contend for a championship right now (obviously Stoudemire's injury hurts those chances). For that, I think Kerr has done a decent job in Phoenix under very difficult circumstances. Kerr is a smart guy and should not be underestimated. The fact that he still has a job shows that behind the scenes, the Suns understand what Kerr brings to the table.
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