basketball

Three points! Is this shot really within the realm of physical possibility?

In 2007, Dwight Howard donned a Superman cape before leaping to victory in the slam dunk competition. In an attempt to defend his title this weekend (he came in second), Howard topped his own theatrics by entering a phone booth for his annual costume change. The basketball player-cum-superhero returned to the court to dunk, not in a regulation 10-foot basket, but in a 12-foot-high hoop.

While it's natural to attribute such supernatural feats to Howard's freakish physical stature -- or perhaps to the cape around his neck -- it was actually the skintight clothing beneath the cape that produced the boldest and most easily quantifiable performance enhancement. An undergarment described as, not clothing, but equipment, the Adidas Techfit Powerweb contains carefully placed strips of thermoplastic urethane that stores energy like a spring, and lets athletes release it on their villain of choice.

NBA general managers want to see if their basketball players have game–inside the video game series NBA Live.

About half of NBA teams use the video game in their evaluation of rookies and possible trades, according to the Los Angeles Times. They say that the game allows them to assess new players based on early season statistics, as well as get a sense of how adding a player might change a team's dynamic.

Couch potato coaches and fantasy folks, hold onto your hats. A new agreement between Synergy Sports Technology and the NBA will provide the average fan the ability to break down game footage like never before. Synergy employees log standard broadcasts of every NBA play creating a catalogued database that’s searchable by every conceivable basketball statistic or description. At least 24 teams pay between $50,000-$75,000 annually for the service but this season the public will have access to the same technology on NBA.com.

Forget last night. According to the statheads the Celtics have this thing wrapped up despite losing game three of the NBA finals yesterday to the Lakers. Lenovo Stat tool uses a plus-minus algorithm to calculate the best individual players and combination of players.

These guys are pretty amazing. And the nonchalance with which they accomplish each trick shot adds a certain understated humor to this entertaining video. But though the guys seem to be developing a seemingly useless (if highly impressive) skill in their spare time, there's quite a bit of complex science at play. In addition to being a highlight at any party, these are excellent demonstrations of two- and three-dimensional projectile motion, and with just a little bit of quantitative analysis the entire video would make a formidable project for an introductory level college physics class.

For example lets look at the segment where the guy tosses the ball in the cup off of a moving skateboard.