#sublimated shooter shirts | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

footballghana · 3 years

Text

African players in Europe: Mane reaches milestone

It was a memorable weekend for Sadio Mane as he bagged his 100th goal for Liverpool and became the first Premier League footballer to score in nine consecutive matches against the same opponent.

The reigning African Footballer of the Year netted in the opening half of a 3-0 triumph over Crystal Palace at Anfield.

All the goals came from African stars with Egyptian Mohamed Salah notching the second and Guinean Naby Keita scoring with a superb volley.

Here, supersport.com highlights Africans who starred in the five major European leagues.

ENGLAND

SADIO MANE (Liverpool)

His close-range strike just before half-time made him the 18th man to bring up a century of Liverpool goals. "A massive achievement in the glorious history of this club," said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.

MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)

The two-time African Footballer of the Year scored for the fifth time in six matches this season as Liverpool eased to victory. Salah struck 12 minutes from time, then whipped his shirt off in celebration. He also played a role in Mane's 100th goal when his header from a corner was turned in by the Senegal star.

NABY KEITA (Liverpool)

The midfielder scored his first Liverpool goal since July 2020. Returning to form after a difficult period, he came off the bench to complete the scoring. In the 89th minute, he unleashed a sublime left-foot volley from the edge of the area that flashed past goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.

SPAIN

PATHE CISS (Rayo Vallecano)

He produced an excellent performance and scored in ninth-place Rayo's 3-0 win over Getafe in La Liga. The Senegalese midfielder was one of Rayo’s stars at Vallecas, where they continued their encouraging start to the season. Ciss doubled Rayo's advantage in the second half before Falcao, formerly of Atletico Madrid, came off the bench and scored on his debut.

ITALY

MEHDI BOURABIA (Spezia)

France-born Morocco midfielder Bourabia came off the bench to hit a long-distance injury-time winner as Spezia defeated Venezia 2-1. It was promoted Venezia's first home game since 2001-02 at their Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo ground.

GERMANY

ERIC MAXIM CHOUPO-MOTING (Bayern Munich)

The Cameroon veteran came on for Robert Lewandowski and scored the final goal in a 7-0 thrashing of Bochum, which put Bayern top of the Bundesliga. The 32-year-old, who scored four goals in a 12-0 romp against German Cup minnows Bremer last month, hit the net at his third attempt after his two rapid-fire shots had been saved by goalkeeper Manuel Riemann.

AMADOU HAIDARA (RB Leipzig)

The Mali midfielder equalised for Leipzig in a 1-1 draw at Cologne to rescue a point for the visitors four days after a 6-3 Champions League thrashing at Manchester City. Haidara headed in off the post to silence the home crowd and ease the pressure on head coach Jesse Marsch, who has taken only four points from his first five games.

FRANCE

HABIB DIALLO (Strasbourg)

Senegal forward Diallo scored a first-half double as Strasbourg beat Metz 3-0 in the eastern France derby. That's three goals in the last two games for the 26-year-old, who was playing against his former club. Metz, who have a tradition of bringing through young talent from Senegal, sold Diallo last year when Strasbourg paid a club record 10 million euros.

BAMBA DIENG (Marseille)

Dieng is another Senegalese sharp-shooter fast making a name for himself in France. The 21-year-old, who came through the renowned Diambars academy, joined Marseille last October and scored on his top-team debut in a cup tie in February. He broke his Ligue 1 duck with a brace in a 2-0 win at Monaco last weekend and followed that with the opener in the 2-0 victory against Rennes.

Source: AFP

source: https://footballghana.com/

0 notes

lightningwear-blog · 4 years

Link

Create these shorts in any color. Design #4 has a contrasting color side accents for lacrosse shorts.Made to order in Kensington, Maryland USA Constructed of poly dimple moisture wick fabric Available in adult and youth sizes Design your own, or have one of our artists design long sleeve shooter shirts for you Personalize your custom lacrosse shirts with custom names, numbers and team logo or accent at no extra charge Draw string waistband Rush Services are available for lacrosse shorts customPlease see below for other related products including custom lacrosse uniforms, sublimated lacrosse shorts, sublimated lacrosse pinnies and sublimated shirts.

0 notes

petrovahpierce · 5 years

Text

Neon Green Lacrosse Short

Order your Neon Green Lacrosse Shorts made in Maryland USA. Show off your love for the fastest game on two feet in these custom lacrosse shorts. The most comfortable shorts on the planet. Our royal blue lacrosse shorts come in adult and kids sizing. Machine wash with gentle detergent and light tumble dry. Lightning Wear is a USA based manufacturer of custom dye sublimated apparel and team uniforms. We print all garments in our Maryland, USA factory. Personalization of this item is also possible. Be sure to click on the customize now button to make this a one of a kind pair of shorts. Lightning Wear Apparel Our specialties include lacrosse shorts, shooter custom shirts , team uniforms, reversible jerseys and team uniforms. We employ in house graphic artists. Our team is capable of producing up to 5000 pieces per week. We use state of the art print technology. As well we use only the finest materials, inks and paper to produce our garments. The neon green lax shorts are made of our signature LitFit material. Our Athletic Shorts are comfortable and wash well. Neon green Lacrosse Shorts make a great gift. prize or camping gear. Read the full article

0 notes

thisisheffner · 5 years

Text

The Clash's 40 greatest songs – ranked! | Music | The Guardian

A historical artefact, not for the proto-punk music, but because the lyrics epitomise the new wave’s perceived threat to the old guard. “No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling Stones / In 1977,” sang Joe Strummer, hardly about to let his love of such pop greats get in the way of punk’s declaration of year zero.

39. White Riot (1977)

Guitarist Mick Jones now dislikes the first Clash single, its lyrics written by Strummer after the band were caught up in the 1976 Notting Hill riots and he concluded white people needed “a riot of our own”. The sentiment hasn’t aged well, but the song exemplifies the amphetamine-fuelled punk the band would leave behind.

38. What’s My Name (1977)

A Clash curio in that it’s the only one of the group’s songs to bear a writing credit for Keith Levene, the band’s original guitarist. Levene showers melodic gold dust all over this otherwise shouty punk stomper, but is better known for his work with John Lydon in Public Image Ltd.

37. Know Your Rights (1982)

From Combat Rock, the final album by the classic quartet of Strummer, Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Topper Headon. The tank was getting emptied, but Strummer’s black humour brims through lines such as “You have the right to free speech / As long as you’re not dumb enough to actually try it.”

36. I’m So Bored With the USA (1977)

This hugely anthemic track on debut album The Clash began life as I’m So Bored With You, a song about Jones’s girlfriend, before Strummer’s ad-libbed “… SA” took it in a new direction. The blistering critique of US imperialism and exported culture (“Yankee detectives are always on the TV”) didn’t stop the Clash’s love of American iconography, cars and clothes.

35. Janie Jones (1977)

Original Clash drummer Terry Chimes – uncharitably credited as Tory Crimes on The Clash – propels the debut’s storming opener, a eulogy to a 60s pop celebrity and libertine who had been jailed for vice offences in 1973. On release, the convicted madam returned Strummer’s affections in the song Letter to Joe.

34. Charlie Don’t Surf (1980)

By the epic three-disc fourth album, Sandinista!, the Clash arguably had too many ideas for their own good, but within the 36-song sprawl are undoubted treasures. Titled after a Lt Col Kilgore quip in Apocalypse Now, there’s an element of the doo-wop era to this sweet song about, well, cultural imperialism.

33. Brand New Cadillac (1979)

This bracing cover of a 1959 Vince Taylor and the Playboys track refers to the early Brit rockers’ glamorous dream car (when most of them probably had to make do with a humble Ford Anglia). From the double album London Calling, the Clash’s creative zenith.

32. The Guns of Brixton (1979)

Brixton boy Simonon wanted some songwriting cash and so penned this memorable song about police harassment and discontent in his London neighbourhood, two years before the district exploded into rioting. In 1990, Simonon received an unexpected windfall when Norman Cook (later Fatboy Slim) sampled the groove for Beats International’s hit Dub Be Good to Me.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

31. Clash City Rockers (1978)

Year zero meant many punks hurriedly buried their pasts in pub rock bands with long hair, but this 1978 single reworks a song from Strummer’s old pub rock band, the 101’ers, around trademark Clash self-mythology. The shift from aggressive guitars (surely copied from the Who’s I Can’t Explain) to something more mournful suggest musical adventure to come.

30. Rudie Can’t Fail (1979)

According to long-time Clash associate Don Letts, this London Calling gem is the fruit of a long hot summer that the Clash spent smoking herb and going to reggae clubs. It’s a horns-drenched homage to Caribbean culture, “drinking brew for breakfast” and the “chicken skin suit”.

29. Tommy Gun (1978)

A great single from the not universally adored second album, Give ’Em Enough Rope. Strummer is scathing about the idea that terrorists see their cause as glamorous, yelling: “You’ll be dead when your war is won”, while Headon’s snare drum rolls resemble gunfire. This didn’t stop the singer posing for photos in a T-shirt honouring Italian-based violent leftist organisation Brigate Rosse (the Red Brigades).

28. Police and Thieves (1977)

This cover of the Lee Scratch Perry-produced Junior Murvin hit stands out a mile on The Clash. It’s their first attempt at reggae, played punkier, with a new, Jones-penned intro. That summer, Bob Marley (working with Perry) acknowledged the burgeoning punk/Jamaican music love-in with Punky Reggae Party.

27. London’s Burning (1977)

Also from the debut album, this most captures those punk rock summers of 1976 and 1977, with its bone-crunching verse and rabble-rousing chorus. The imagery is a comprehensive list of the band and movement’s inspirations, from high-rise living above the Westway (where Jones lived with his gran) to a capital city “burning with boredom now”.

26. Somebody Got Murdered (1980)

According to Pat Gilbert’s superb book Passion Is a Fashion, the Clash were approached by producer-arranger Jack Nitzsche to provide a song for the William Friedkin movie Cruising, but he never called again. Thus, the song lit up Sandinista! with its effervescent tune and film noir-ish imagery about a random killing.

25. Career Opportunities (1977)

The limited youth employment of the 70s is timelessly skewered (“Career opportunities, the ones that never knock”) in this gem from the debut. The line “I won’t open letter bombs for you” refers to an actual job once held by Jones, checking government mail for explosive devices.

24. Pressure Drop (1979)

The B-side of the slightly hackneyed English Civil War and one of the Clash’s great covers, of Toots and the Maytals’ 1970 reggae/ska classic (as heard in the 1972 film The Harder They Come). Later, Strummer was at pains to point out that they recorded it in 1977, hence it pre-dates 2-Tone.

23. This Is England (1985)

Headon and Jones had been sacked by now (for heroin abuse and behavioural issues, respectively) as a remodelled, five-piece Clash made a sixth album. The otherwise unloved Cut the Crap did herald this final terrific single. Keyboards and guitars drive Strummer’s withering take on our national strife.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

22. Gates of the West (1979)

The Clash had been singing about the US since I’m So Bored With the USA. Based on Rusted Chrome, an early Jones composition, this stormer from the Cost of Living EP describes their New York experiences, the characters, imagery and anthemic tune all reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen.

21. Hitsville UK (1980)

From Sandinista!, this eulogy to pop is a bubblegum delight that namechecks the UK’s emerging independent labels and argues that a great “two minutes 59” single can triumph over industry sharp practice. With its Motown (the original “Hitsville”) groove and sugar-coated duet between Jones and his girlfriend, Ellen Foley, the Clash’s remaining hardcore punk fans hated it.

20. Police on My Back (1980)

Another terrific example of the Clash’s ability to cover a song (the original was by Eddy Grant’s old band, the Equals) and make it sound as if they had written it. Jones’s guitar wails like a siren, and the song has all the adrenalin rush of a police chase.

19. Lost in the Supermarket (1979)

In the tradition of the Rolling Stones’ (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction and the X-Ray Spex back catalogue, this is a great Strummer-penned/Jones-sung song about the dehumanising effects of advertising and the consumer society. (“I came in here for that special offer / A guaranteed personality.”)

18. I Fought the Law (1979)

The band reputedly heard the Bobby Fuller Four original on the studio jukebox in San Francisco while recording Give ’Em Enough Rope. Writing credits aside, this is a trademark Clash smash, full of outlaw rebel posturing and laden with Headon’s six-shooter drum cracks.

17. Death or Glory (1979)

Strummer’s ferocious blast at ageing, sellout rock stars builds to a hurtling climax on a lyrical twist as he fears a similar fate himself. Presumably it was ruled out as a single because of the infamous, hilarious line: “But I believe in this and it’s been tested by research / He who fucks nuns will later join the church.”

16. Safe European Home (1978)

Strutting around Kingston, Jamaica, in full punk regalia (in theory to stir the creative juices for Give ’Em Enough Rope) proved a rude awakening, but did produce this untypical example of Clash self-mockery. “I went to the place where every white face / Is an invitation to robbery / And sitting here in my safe European home / Don’t want to go back there again.”

15. Clampdown (1979)

Strummer’s view that capitalism was endangering people and the planet was sharpened by the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, which inspired this London Calling highlight. The Clash were exploding with musical ideas by now, and packed rock, funk and disco into this fiery, timeless anthem.

14. Garageland (1977)

The rock critic Charles Shaar Murray’s dismissal of the Clash as a “garage band” in an early live review prompted this defiant riposte, which also reflects the band’s fretting that signing to a major label would be selling out. It’s a furious but somehow melancholy anthem: “People ringing up making offers for my life / But I just wanna stay in the garage all night.”

13. The Card Cheat (1979)

Surely channeling Jones’s love of Mott the Hoople, this is the sort of thing that presumably inspired the Libertines. Horns, drum rudiments, a sublime piano hook and vivid imagery (“To the opium dens and the bar room gin ... The gambler’s face cracks into a grin”) combine in a song about a card sharp who is shot for cheating.

12. Spanish Bombs (1979)

A favourite of the late INXS singer, Michael Hutchence. The melody is glorious and Strummer’s lyrics contrast the freedom fighters of the Spanish civil war with modern tourists. The singer partly sings it in what he called “Clash Spanish”. Olé!

11. Rock the Casbah (1982)

Headon wrote and played most of the music on Combat Rock’s club/chart smash, which innovatively combines rock, funk and a slightly eastern feel. Strummer’s lyrics are inspired by Iran’s post-Islamic revolution ban on pop music, the singer’s idea being that the people would rise up and “rock the casbah”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

10. Train in Vain (1979)

After a planned NME flexidisc fell through, this sublime Jones unrequited love song was added to London Calling too late for listing on the initial sleeves. Pete Townshend’s favourite Clash tune, this is the band at their unashamedly poppiest. Headon’s killer drum intro fires one of the rhythm section’s funkiest grooves.

9. Stay Free (1978)

Jones’s sublime, heartfelt eulogy to his old Strand school friend Robin Crocker, who became known as Robin Banks after a sting of heists landed him a stretch inside. Some fans were delighted to discover that Banks subsequently punched the song’s producer, Sandy Pearlman, who had previously worked with Blue Öyster Cult and is largely blamed for Give ’Em Enough Rope’s not exactly punky gloss.

8. The Magnificent Seven (1980)

Having rattled through punk, reggae, ska, dub and rockabilly inside five years, our boys assimilate the emerging hip-hop sounds they heard while in New York, and Strummer turns white rap pioneer. A terrific groove forms the platform for daft-but-inspired wordplay: “Italian mobster shoots a lobster.”

7. The Call Up (1980)

Following the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, as the US geared up to reintroduce the draft, the Clash spearheaded the resistance with this fantastic Sandinista! single. “It’s up to you not to heed the call up / I don’t wanna die ... I don’t wanna kill,” cries Strummer, over a magnificently eerie reggae-ish backdrop.

6. Bankrobber (1980)

So many great songs poured out of the Clash that this Mikey Dread-produced gem was almost thrown away as an import-only 45, which didn’t stop it making it No 12 in the UK charts. It’s dub music with folk storytelling – Strummer’s “daddy” wasn’t really a bank robber, but a diplomat.

5. London Calling (1979)

The Clash’s highest-charting UK single, until Combat Rock’s rather banal Should I Stay Or Should I Go reached No 1 in 1991 after being used in a Levi’s ad. Years before the climate crisis and flooding sparked public concern, Strummer fears an imminent biblical apocalypse, hence “London is drowning and I live by the river”.

4. Armagideon Time (1979)

The flip of the London Calling single, this superb reworking of Willie Williams’ social justice anthem is the definitive example of the Clash playing reggae. Strummer’s “OK, OK, don’t push us when we’re hot” is his shouted rebuff to then-manager Kosmo Vinyl, urging him to scrap the allotted three-minute length and keep the tapes rolling.

3. Complete Control (1977)

After CBS infuriated the Clash by releasing Remote Control as a single against their wishes, the band responded with their punk-era high watermark. Lee Perry produces, and Strummer’s yelled “You’re my guitar hero!” during Jones’s blistering guitar solo is one of many goosebump moments.

2. Straight to Hell (1982)

Headon’s bossa nova rhythm and a haunting hook (later sampled by MIA for 2007’s Paper Planes) power Combat Rock’s finest. The band’s unity was already fracturing, but Strummer rightly called this vengeful tirade against imperialism and American soldiers in Vietnam who left local women pregnant (“Go straight to hell, boys”) “one of our absolute masterpieces”.

1. (White Man in) Hammersmith Palais (1978)

Any of the Clash’s best songs could grace the top spot without too much argument, but this edges it. The collision of reggae (verse) and rock (chorus) epitomise what the critic Lester Bangs described as the Clash’s fusion of “black music and white noise”. Lyrically, a disappointingly lightweight reggae gig (in the Hammersmith Palais) triggers Strummer’s blistering state of the nation address, in which he considers everything from music (“Turning rebellion into money”) to racism and rising nationalism (“If Adolf Hitler flew in today, they’d send a limousine anyway”). Forty-two years on, it remains a tour de force and as relevant as ever.

Various 40th anniversary super deluxe editions of London Calling are out now on Sony.

This content was originally published here.

0 notes

colourupuniforms · 5 years

Text

Sublimated Shooting Jerseys in Australia - Design Your Own

Customize your favorite shooting wears with Colourup Uniforms.

Colourup Uniforms provide the ultimate competition shooters range outfits.

The season will dictate what you put on if you’re heading to an outdoor range, but even if the weather isn’t a factor, here’s a quick run-down on the best gear to wear while you shoot.

Build your own training or competition apparels with Colourup Uniforms.

Our Customized Shooting Jerseys allows you to stay focused in practice and competitions.

We have incorporated Online Kit Builder to Create Your Own Customized Shooting Polos.

Design Your Own Custom Shooting Jerseys, Custom Shooting Pants, Custom Shooting Polos, Custom Shooting Jackets, Custom Shooting Long Sleeve Jerseys, Custom Shooting Long Sleeve Polos and so on with our Online Kit Builder.

Our Custom Shooting Pants and Custom Shooting Jackets are more comfortable in any shooting range.

Make your own design by adding names, colours, logos and numbers. Once your design is complete place your order or our customer assistance team will help you in placing your order.

So jump online to our awesome kit builder now and start designing your own Custom Shooting Hoodies, Custom Shooting apparels, Custom Shooting Wears, Custom Shooting Jerseys, Custom Shooting Polos, Custom Shooting Pants, Custom Shooting Jackets, Custom Shooting Shirts and Custom Shooting Uniforms.

We promise fast turnarounds for all designs along with stunning artworks as well.

We ship across Australia and New Zealand.

Categories:

Design Your Own Custom Shooting Apparel

Design Your Own Custom Shooting Uniforms

Design Your Own Custom Mens Shooting Polos

Design Your Own Custom Mens Shooting Jerseys

Design Your Own Custom Mens Jacket

Design Your Own Custom Ladies Shooting Polos

Design Your Own Custom Ladies Shooting Jerseys

Design Your Own Custom Ladies Jacket

Design Your Own Custom Shooting Pants

Design Your Own Custom Long Sleeve Jerseys

Design Your Own Custom Long Sleeve Polos

0 notes

junker-town · 6 years

Text

What it’s actually like to be LeBron James’ teammate

It takes a certain type of person to play with the best player in the NBA, but the rewards are there if you can figure it out.

When Kevin Love ran into Boston’s Jayson Tatum early in the first quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals and suffered a concussion, Jeff Green stepped into the lineup and saved Cleveland’s season. After helping the Cavs stave off elimination at home, Green was simply sublime in Game 7 against the Celtics, scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

A journeyman playing for his fifth team in four seasons, Green came to Cleveland on a bargain-basement one-year deal. His signing last summer was greeted with the shrugs and sighs befitting a player whose career has been marked by unmet expectations.

In no other universe can Green be the second-best player on a team that wins a Game 7 to reach the Finals, but in LeBron James’ orbit all things are possible. If it hasn’t been Green offering James support and secondary scoring, it’s been Kyle Korver, Tristan Thompson, or George Hill. Occasionally it’s J.R. Smith. Other times it’s been Love.

It doesn’t really matter who it is on any given night, nor does James need much help. He’s the team’s leading scorer, second-leading rebounder, and primary playmaker while playing 40+ minutes every night. The job of the other Cavs is to play defense and make shots. Those shots are typically the result of passes from LeBron, who is the focal point of nearly every offensive set.

It sounds easy, but it’s not always that simple. The Cavs cycled through 22 players this season, including four new arrivals at the trade deadline. Players such as Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas struggled to adapt during their brief stay in Cleveland, while the deadline additions have yet to to find consistency.

“The standard is just really high here,” Korver said. “When things don’t go the way you want them to, it’s like, man, why didn’t that work?”

The answer may be that it takes a certain kind of player to fit alongside LeBron. It requires the confidence to perform under intense scrutiny and the self-awareness to exist comfortably in his shadow. If you can do that -- be yourself and submerge your ego -- then you get the reward: Every year, you will be playing for a championship.

The Cavs have found only a handful of players who meet that criteria, and this is arguably the weakest supporting cast of any of the nine teams James has taken to the Finals. Their point differential was barely positive and they finished the season with the second-worst defense in the league. Besides Love, there is nothing close to another All-Star on the roster.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

James himself has called this one of his most challenging seasons. He took stock of the situation around the trade deadline and vowed to move ahead with whatever he had to work with this season.

“I just kind of reset my mindset and said, ‘OK, this is the season and let’s try to make the most of it,’” James said after Game 7 of the conference finals. “That’s what’s gotten me to this point, gotten our team to this point.”

The 2018 Cavs: Let’s Try and Make the Most of It!

Would that even fit on a t-shirt?

At first glance, Jeff Green would seem an unlikely candidate to thrive alongside James. While possessing enviable athleticism, Green’s career has been defined in part by an inability to make 3-point shots consistently. That tends to be one of the prerequisites for success with LeBron, who needs the space those shooters provide to operate effectively.

Yet, Green had a solid campaign for the Cavs. Playing mostly as a reserve, he averaged double figures in scoring and posted the best True Shooting Percentage of his career. Most importantly, he played inspired basketball when his opportunity arrived.

In many ways, Green’s play was reminiscent of Richard Jefferson during the 2016 Finals against the Warriors. Like Green, Jefferson also replaced Love in the lineup after the forward suffered a concussion, and like Green, Jefferson changed the complexion of the series with his defense.

It’s not the most glamorous gig in the league, but that’s all it takes to enjoy postseason glory when you play with LeBron. The opportunity will inevitably present itself and you’d best be ready to perform when it happens. That’s the number one requirement for a LeBron role player, regardless of whatever skills you bring to the equation.

“His number was called,” James said of Green. “And he just answered the call.”

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

LeBron is not one to pat players on the back or make inspirational speeches. What he does is lead by example and he expects you to follow accordingly in your own way. Roles are not so much assigned as assumed, and jobs are clearly, if narrowly, defined.

His big men are expected to run the floor, rebound, and set solid screens. That works just fine for Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance, provided there’s enough shooting to keep the floor spaced. Those shooters must shoot. James will make the right passes and deliver them exactly the way his shooters want the ball.

“It’s my job when everybody is in a good rhythm to just make sure I get the ball exactly where my guys need it, where all they can think about is just shooting it,” James said. “Just trying to put it on time, on target.”

In Korver and Smith, the Cavs have two long-distance gunners who need no encouragement to let it fly. Korver is a consummate craftsman who has his shot broken down to the tiniest detail. Smith might score 15 points or five depending on the night, and he seems to be at his best when he has defenders draped all over him.

In their own ways, Korver and Smith are perfect shooters for LeBron because both will keep launching shots no matter if they’ve made five in a row or missed every attempt. The only sin in playing off the ball with LeBron is being passive.

“It’s very important for our guards to be aggressive,” James said. “No matter if they are making shots or not, we want them to be aggressive. It just keeps the defense at bay.”

That’s been an issue for George Hill, who arrived from Sacramento as part of the mid-season shakeup. A veteran of playoff battles with the Spurs, Pacers, and Jazz one would have thought that Hill would fit seamlessly, but that hasn’t always been the case.

Hill has had solid scoring nights and games when he’s barely even attempted a shot. After scoring 20 points in his finest playoff performance in Game 6 of the conference finals, Hill was asked why he hasn’t been able to play that way consistently.

“I don’t know what it is,” Hill said. “But I have to program myself mentally to do better.”

That’s the correct approach, which is more than can be said for Rodney Hood. Like Hill, Hood arrived at the trade deadline with the promise of becoming a knockdown shooter on the wing.

Just catch the ball and shoot it: What could be better? Yet, Hood struggled throughout the postseason and he was benched after 11 uninspiring minutes in Game 2 of the Boston series. So, maybe it’s not true that LeBron can take anybody to the Finals.

To be a role player in LeBron’s court is to have the best job in the league, as well as the most thankless. There is little credit and plenty of blame, but there is the opportunity of a lifetime. Give LeBron a half dozen players committed to the cause and that team will be playing in June. It takes a special kind of player to handle those stakes.

“Everybody is going to have their opinion of what LeBron has around him,” Green said. “We lose, we have a terrible team. We win, Oh, we knew they could do it. You know, it’s the way it is.”

0 notes