Basketball, She Wrote

New Shirt Release: do the "Math"

Added 2023-05-08 18:19:13 +0000 UTC

Come shop the Basketball, She Wrote collection!

By Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

In what was perhaps a preplanned marketing strategy, it just so happens that a new shirt has been added to the Basketball, She Wrote shop at Teepublic in conjunction with Bennedict Mathurin being named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

What a coincidence, right?

Celebrating the deceptiveness of his first step and how he waits without waiting, the newest look in the collection summarizes -- or rather, summates -- the various ways he plays out of triple threat as a "Math" problem written in a chalk-style font.

Prior to switching platforms, I wrote a deep dive about the power of his jab step and how his proactive twitchiness permeates throughout nearly every action with which he is deployed, further slicking his ability to get downhill.

Just as a quick review, the quick rip is when he brings the ball across his body and steps with his ball-side foot past the defender's front foot, going to his right. More typically, his go-to move is the jab-and-go, in which he puts in his work before putting the ball on the floor, throwing his shoulder and hip to the right to reposition his defender before attacking to his left.

If his defender doesn't bite on the foot fake, he counters with a deceptive shimmy, jab stepping to his right and then rocking the weight of his body from his left leg to his right foot.

Additionally, in case it's relevant to anyone, there also happens to be video evidence of Mathurin discussing his jab step with J.J. Redick, in reference to that article, during his guest appearance on The Old Man & The Three podcast.

When speaking to the media at exit interviews, Tyrese Haliburton referred to himself and Mathurin as yin and yang with regard to how they differ in personality, but the same also applies to their games, with the former gaining advantage with grace, finesse, and artistry, where the latter does so more with proactive twitchiness and reckless abandon, mastering the dark arts of drawing contact. Just as is the case with the Pacers, there's no need to make a choice between the two, when the Basketball, She Wrote shop has shirts that represent each of them while also complementing each other. Happy shopping!