Friendly Bounce Belt: Peak Russ is the Best Russ

Welcome back to the Friendly Bounce Belt, our weekly power ranking of awesome moments. Last week, Larry Legend took him the belt as we relived some of his greatest moments and celebrated his birthday. Let’s see who the champ is this week. 

I was all ready to give the belt to the one team that finally took down the Warriors. Milwaukee hasn’t had a ton of bright spots this season, but it was awesome watching that squad take down a tired Warriors team. I thought nothing could beat that.

And then, I happened to be watching some basketball Sunday night. And this happened.

Darn it, Russ, you sure do know the way to capture the belt at the last moment.

No one else in the league makes this shot. Not solely because of the difficulty, mind you, but because no one else even TAKES this shot. It’s one thing to throw the ball off a defender’s back who is right next to you. It’s quite another to throw it off the back of the guy guarding the corner three, so you can take a turnaround jumper off a perfect carom in less than a second. It’s insanity. But it works, because it’s Russ.

He finished the day with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, some flexing, some snarls, and several displays of unreal athleticism. Which is the norm for him.

But that moment of daring? That got him more than just an overtime victory against the Jazz. It won him the belt.

The Contenders:

Milwaukee Collects the Bounty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp1YpqtMvKs

Harrison Barnes was out. And Golden State was on the second night of a back-to-back, coming off a taxing 2OT win against Boston.

But it doesn’t matter. Milwaukee did what no other team has done this year, and beat the Golden State Warriors. It was an impressive performance by the entire team, particularly Greg Monroe, who feasted inside all night.

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Bucks, but, no matter what happens the rest of the way, Milwaukee was the first team to knock off the Warriors this year. And that will never change.

Shumpman Returns

Okay, Iman. We have to admit. This is pretty cool.

It’s been a tough road back for Shumpert, and this awesome return video was well-deserved. And Shumpert wasted no time in putting up numbers upon his return, dropping 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting as Cleveland throttled Orlando Friday night, 111-76.

It was an impressive return to the court, with a video accompaniment to boot. All in all, a solid week for the Shumpman.

Matt Barnes no-no-no-YES

Matt Barnes may have jumped the gun a bit on this game-winning three, but it matters not.

This is the ultimate results-over-process play. Barnes has plenty of time left on the clock to get closer to the basket, and shoots this way too early. But it doesn’t matter, because he’s a hero for making the shot. It was a crazy play gone right. Just not quite as crazy as Westbrook’s off-the-back buzzer beater. Maybe next time, Matt.