WEARING IT WELL
Raheel Ramzanali: 4 signature shoes I’m excited about for the second half of the NBA season
Jan 23, 2018, 8:11 am
Russell Westbrook's new shoe will debut next month. Nike.com
We’ve now crossed the halfway mark of the NBA Season and with that comes the second wave of signature shoes from NBA players to hit the market. Traditionally, players released shoes right before the season so they could show off the latest and greatest to sneaker hungry consumers, but now with the rise of how important the NBA All-Star Game has become in fashion and headlines, more and more guys wait until February to launch their official shoes.
Look, I play basketball at least twice a week and it is still my favorite sport to compete in so I like to keep up with the latest technology and comfort when it comes to basketball shoes. I’m the guy that is trying all of the newest shoes out there and reporting back with friends (What’s up, fellow baller Joel Blank!) on the pros and cons of every shoe. We’ve already had LeBron, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Steph Curry announce their signature shoes so I’m not going to include them in this list. So with that being said, I want to rank (by personal excitement) the upcoming signature shoes from NBA players for the second half of the season.
Russell Westbrook’s Jordan Why Not Zer0.1
To say that I’m excited about this shoe would be an understatement. I keep refreshing my browser to see if Nike somehow messed up and made these available before the Feb. 15 launch date. Westbrook is the most intriguing player to me in the NBA. He plays with a reckless abandonment that people either hate or love. When he’s on the court he’s running all over the place and I’ve always wondered how Jordan Brand would design a sneaker that captures not only his game, but keeps him safe out there playing the way he does. Enter the Jordan Why Not Zer0.1 - Westbrook’s first ever signature shoe. Westbrook has always played in the latest Jordan shoes, but finally we’re given a pair of shoes that are built for his exact specifications. These are by far the most intriguing shoes of the 2018 releases because the tech specs are second to none and the style, like Westbrook’s game, is either a hit or miss depending on your aesthetics since they look like a futuristic shoe tank. Launches Feb. 15; $125.
James Harden’s Harden Vol. 2
While this shoe hasn’t been officially announced by Adidas just yet, the Shoe blogs have all but confirmed that they will be releasing within the next month or so. Last year’s Harden Vol. 1 was a huge success since it was the first Harden signature shoe with Adidas AND it featured the most comfortable cushion in the game, Boost. While some performance reviews thought the shoe was a big heavy, the Vol. 2’s look like they will be the perfect combination of weight and comfort with Adidas Boost and what looks like to be a mostly PrimeKnit upper. Like James, the initial colorways of the shoes are unique and very fashion forward. Here’s hoping the Harden Vol. 2’s can help James and the Rockets make a deep run to the finals. Launches TBD; Price TBD.
Paul George’s PG2
Before last weekend’s matchup against the Cavs, OKC forward Paul George finally announced his much anticipated follow-up to the PG1 with the PG2s. I’m especially excited for these shoes because they are budget friendly at $110 AND include some of the best technology that Nike has to offer with a new Adaptive Lockdown System + a 10mm unit of Zoom Air for the ultimate cushion! As George put it, these shoes are built for guys that play hard on the defensive side, but also like to get buckets. My only beef with these shoes are that they look like the Nike HyperRev 2015 (shoes that PG played in before he got his own signature line) and not something totally new like Westbrook or Harden’s shoes. Launches Feb. 10 (Playstation edition); $110.
LeBron James’ Nike Zoom Soldier 12
One of my favorite things to look for in the NBA playoffs is if LeBron is wearing his actual signature shoes or shoes from his secondary Soldier line. The Soldier line is regarded as the best performance shoe for everyday players since we’re all not freaks of nature like LeBron. Now these shoes aren’t the best looking since they feature straps on straps on straps, but they really are great to play in. I still contend that the Zoom Soldier 9 is the GREATEST performance shoe ever since it has the best lockdown and comfort that was built for a king, but enjoyed by us peasants. Nike hasn’t even announced the release of this shoe yet and really we haven’t seen any leaks regarding the 12th version of this shoe, but as it is with every Soldier shoe, it will be announced in April right before the playoffs. Launch TBD; Price TBD.
Let me know which shoe you’re excited about and what you’re currently playing in by tweeting me @The_Raheel.
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After finishing up with the Guardians the Astros have a rather important series for early May with the Seattle Mariners heading to town for the weekend. While it’s still too early to be an absolute must-win series for the Astros, losing the series to drop seven or eight games off the division lead would make successfully defending their American League West title that much more unlikely.
Since their own stumble out of the gate to a 6-10 record the Mariners have been racking up series wins, including one this week over the Atlanta Braves. The M’s offense is largely Mmm Mmm Bad, but their pitching is sensational. In 18 games after the 6-10 start, the Mariners gave up five runs in a game once. In the other 17 games they only gave up four runs once. Over the 18 games their starting pitchers gave up 18 earned runs total with a 1.44 earned run average. That’s absurd. Coming into the season Seattle’s starting rotation was clearly better on paper than those of the Astros and Texas Rangers, and it has crystal clearly played out as such into the second month of the schedule.
While it’s natural to focus on and fret over one’s own team's woes when they are plentiful as they have been for the Astros, a reminder that not all grass is greener elsewhere. Alex Bregman has been awful so far. So has young Mariners’ superstar Julio Rodriguez. A meager four extra base hits over his first 30 games were all Julio produced down at the ballyard. That the Mariners are well ahead of the Astros with J-Rod significantly underperforming is good news for Seattle.
Caratini comes through!
So it turns out the Astros are allowed to have a Puerto Rican-born catcher who can hit a little bit. Victor Caratini’s pedigree is not that of a quality offensive player, but he has swung the bat well thus far in his limited playing time and provided the most exciting moment of the Astros’ season with his two-out two-run 10th inning game winning home run Tuesday night. I grant that one could certainly say “Hey! Ronel Blanco finishing off his no-hitter has been the most exciting moment.” I opt for the suddenness of Caratini’s blow turning near defeat into instant victory for a team that has been lousy overall to this point. Frittering away a game the Astros had led 8-3 would have been another blow. Instead, to the Victor belong the spoils.
Pudge Rodriguez is the greatest native Puerto Rican catcher, but he was no longer a good hitter when with the Astros for the majority of the 2009 season. Then there’s Martin Maldonado.
Maldonado’s hitting stats with the Astros look Mike Piazza-ian compared to what Jose Abreu was doing this season. Finally, mercifully for all, Abreu is off the roster as he accepts a stint at rookie-level ball in Florida to see if he can perform baseball-CPR on his swing and career. Until or unless he proves otherwise, Abreu is washed up and at some point the Astros will have to accept it and swallow whatever is left on his contract that runs through next season. For now Abreu makes over $120,000 per game to not be on the roster. At his level of performance, that’s a better deal than paying him that money to be on the roster.
Abreu’s seven hits in 71 at bats for an .099 batting average with a .269 OPS is a humiliating stat line. In 2018 George Springer went to sleep the night of June 13 batting .293 after going hitless in his last four at bats in a 13-5 Astros’ win over Oakland. At the time no one could have ever envisioned that Springer had started a deep, deep funk which would have him endure a nightmarish six for 78 stretch at the plate (.077 batting average). Springer then hit .293 the rest of the season.
Abreu’s exile opened the door for Joey Loperfido to begin his Major League career. Very cool for Loperfido to smack a two-run single in his first game. He also struck out twice. Loperfido will amass whiffs by the bushel, he had 37 strikeouts in 101 at bats at AAA Sugar Land. Still, if he can hit .225 with some walks mixed in (he drew 16 with the Space Cowboys) and deliver some of his obvious power (13 homers in 25 games for the ex-Skeeters) that’s an upgrade over Abreu/Jon Singleton, as well as over Jake Meyers and the awful showing Chas McCormick has posted so far. Frankly, it seems unwise that the Astros only had Loperfido play seven games at first base in the minors this year. If McCormick doesn’t pick it up soon and with Meyers displaying limited offensive upside, the next guy worth a call-up is outfielder Pedro Leon. In January 2021 the Astros gave Leon four million dollars to sign out of Cuba and called him a “rapid mover to the Major Leagues.” Well…
Over his first three minor league seasons Leon flashed tools but definitely underwhelmed. He has been substantially better so far this year. He turns 26 May 28. Just maybe the Astros offense could be the cause of fewer Ls with Loperfido at first and Leon in center field.
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.