basketball

[Laurence Horn]

On May 17, 2012, at 6:02 AM, Victor Steinbok wrote:

> Some basketball slang that may need dictionary attention. There is a lot
> of it circulating, with the playoffs under way.

One or two more, from Reggie Miller, color commentator for last night's Lakers-Thunder playoff game (and Hall of Fame player in his own right), on Steve Blake's last-second wide-open (missed) shot, the crucial moment in the game:

"Well, really Russell Westbrook fell asleep on Steve Blake, thought that he was going back door and away and underneath the rim", instead of going into the corner for a wide-open shot that, fortunately for Westbrook and his team, bounced off the rim.  While "back door" has itself long been a term of art in basketball (and other sports), my interest is in "fall asleep on", which I've noticed a number of times during the playoffs,  alluding to a defensive player who is lax in his coverage responsibilities.  I suspect it might also occur in football, if a defensive back falls asleep on a receiver who then gets open for a catch (whether the catch is successful or, as here, not).

>
> ...
> Also, no specific sub-entry for the sports (soccer, hockey, basketball,
> waterpolo, if you wish) meaning of "sniper". It's a bit more than just a
> regular figurative meaning of "sniper"--a basketball sniper could be a
> high scorer who does not hit a high percentage of his shots, but someone
> who does hit a high percentage of foul shots or someone who hits a high
> percentage of his shots, but from the inside (e.g., a center) is not a
> "sniper" (so a sniper has to make a lot of jump shots or long-distance
> shots, and have more of those than short-range shots or dunks). From the
> article cited above:
>
>> The Celtics' sniper has lost his mark, and it's killing them.
>

I've mostly heard it used for deadly long-range (2-point or, more usually, 3-point) shooters.  I've never heard it used for effective foul shooters, although players with good percentages from the free throw line (or, if you prefer, "charity stripe") tend to be effective long-range shooters from the floor as well.  (Is that sense of "(the) floor" recorded, in which there's a minimal distinction with "(the) line"?)

LH

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