NEW ORLEANS - Morris Almond walked over asking the same question: how are you going to dribble out the clock in a game of H-O-R-S-E?
Although eventual winner Lance Allred of the Idaho Stampede ultimately relented and took a shot with about 10 seconds remaining, leaving Almond a few seconds to knock down a kneeling layup that Allred matched easily after the buzzer, the damage was done. The NBDL embraced its role as the NBA's guinea pig, a resource to develop players as well as ideas, and staged an event you're sure to see added to the NBA's All-Star skills showcase, a good old fashioned game of H-O-R-S-E.
Players were outfitted with wireless microphones to call shots and interact with fans and had a 24-second shot clock ticking down as they took turns trying to give one another letters over a 5:00 period. Allred knocked off Jeremy Richardson in a semifinal that required sudden death, which naturally required a coin toss to see who would go first.
There were free throws made with eyes closed, halfcourt shots attempted, 3-pointers after 360 twirls, shots made sitting down, thrown in off one leg.
NBDL President Dan Reed agreed that it's only a matter of time before H-O-R-S-E is added to the NBA's menu of dunks and 3-pointers. It's an event that has home run written all over it. It just needs to be tweaked.
Almond told me that he had a few shots in mind, like one where he placed his right foot over his left foot and proceded to try and knock down a 15-foot bank shot with his left hand. If you blew on him, he'd fall down. It was inventive, something the Utah Starzz rookie, a first-round draft pick of the Utah Jazz last summer, said he was counting on seeing more of.
"There were different strategies. Some guys tried to just go out there and out-shoot people. I thought there would be a little more showmanship involved. That's what I was out there doing," said Almond, who said he watched old highlights of Pete Maravich playing H-O-R-S-E with George Gervin to prepare. "I think this will definitely work for the NBA. The 24 seconds they gave us to shoot were just right, the perfect length of time to talk trash and get off a shot."
Ultimately, that's the element that needs work to get this baby ready for prime time. There's got to be a crowd-pleasing element involved, which is what made those McDonals commercials where Michael Jordan and Larry Bird played H-O-R-S-E so memorable.
Trying to get into your opponents' head is a fundamental part of this game and one that will make this a fan favorite when it comes up to the big leagues. I want to see Dwyane Wade and LeBron James calling each other out. Kobe Bryant can prove he's the most talented player in the world on a unique stage. It's an event you can't get hurt competing in, so there's no risk factor.
Be prepared to see it sooner than later. Based on what went down in its developmental stage down in the D-League, the ability to milk the clock in the final minute needs to be cut down. Almond will be the first to tell you the shot clock might need to be cut in half when you're in the final 60 seconds.
That said, this experiment saw a healthy start to an event with a promising future.