Welcome to our latest section, From The Bleachers, where we’ll be interviewing great basketball bloggers from around the world about their work, their backgrounds and their favourite teams.

We are very pleased to introduce our first FTB interviewee, Matt Hubert.

Matt runs the fantastic D-League Digest, a blog devoted to the NBA’s Development League.  He’s a great writer, and obviously has a great passion for what he does.  He also has the privilege of getting a shot swatted by Lebron…

1. How did you get into blogging?

For me, blogging was a natural convergence of two of my greatest loves in life—writing and sports (specifically basketball). My first blog venture was the self-titled MattHubert.com, where I covered all sports but primarily pro and college football and basketball from December 2007 to July 2009. I also co-hosted a podcast during that time with my brother Mike.

In April 2009, I launched Blog Talk BayHawk, covering my hometown Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League. In February, Steve Weinman invited me on board as a contributor to D-League Digest of the ESPN TrueHoop Network.

Then, in July, Steve stepped down to take a job with the NBA and graciously offered me the opportunity to take over his role as lead writer for D-League Digest. I retired Blog Talk BayHawk and currently write exclusively for D-League Digest, where I plan to focus my efforts for the upcoming D-League season.

2. Do you also write for any print outlets?

I have a freelance writing relationship with a few different companies, but I don’t currently write for any sports-related print outlets. Of course, if there are any sports-related print outlets out there that are interested in my services, I’d be happy to listen to them, but I’m happy doing what I’m doing as a blogger right now.

3. Do you find blogging easy? Why?

I think this is a bit of a trick question. Yes, it is easy to blog in the sense that any 15-year-old with Internet access and cursory knowledge of a topic can start his or her own blog today. But producing a good blog is a much greater challenge. It requires a talented writer (or writers) who is committed to providing unique, quality content, which consists of informed opinions, insight and analysis. Depending on the circumstances, a good blog may require some actual reporting as well.

The thing is, even if you meet all of those requirements of having a good blog, the most difficult part is finding and maintaining a steady, loyal readership. Bloggers write with the intent of being read. If you’re good enough and patient enough, the readers will eventually come, but there are so many blogs out there—and new ones launching every day—so it’s definitely not easy to find a niche.

4. Have you studied journalism?

I graduated summa cum laude from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., with a degree in English and a duel concentration in writing and creative writing. So I wasn’t a journalism major, but I did study journalism. I took a handful of journalism courses as part of my requirements for the writing concentration. I also completed a 10-week internship at the Erie Times-News during my senior year (spring term, 2007). The bottom line is I don’t have the training of someone who went to school for journalism, but I have a solid foundational understanding of journalistic style, practice, and ethics that I hope helps dispel the old guard’s living-in-his-parents’ basement stereotype bloggers have been trying to shed for years.

5. Who are your favorite bloggers?

I know I’m going to end up leaving someone important off this list, but there are just so many talented people doing great things in the blogosphere these days. I’ll limit my list to basketball bloggers. I have to start with Henry Abbott, who is like the Bill Walsh of the basketball blogging tree with so many others branching off from his fantastic and groundbreaking work at TrueHoop.

Kevin Arnovitz, Abbott’s colleague at TrueHoop is another must-read for me. I think the stuff that Scott Schroeder and Jon L post at Ridiculous Upside—a trailblazing D-League blog that predates D-League Digest—is some of the most entertaining stuff out there today. As a Lakers fan, I used to love reading Kurt Helin at Forum Blue & Gold (now in the very capable hands of Darius Soriano), and still enjoy Helin’s work for NBC’s ProBasketballTalk.

Sebastian Pruiti is working all the time, putting out some great content at Nets Are Scorching and NBA Playbook. Steve Weinman, my predecessor at DLD is probably the most talented blogger on the inactive list right now. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Matt Moore, whose work can be found on a myriad of sites these days, including Hardwood Paroxysm, AOL Fanhouse and CBS Sports. Finally, my favorite player blogger is Mike Gansey, the former Erie BayHawk who just signed overseas with CB Canarias. I could go on and on; clearly there’s no shortage of great bloggers out there today!

6. Did you play/do you play basketball?

I starred in grade school and played freshman and JV ball at my high school before being cut my from the varsity team in junior year. I went on to play two years of CYO and then intramurals in college. In college, I earned the nickname “Half Court Hero” because I was still skilled enough to light it up in a half court pick-up game but not in shape to perform on the same level if the game was stretched full court. I’ll always love the game, but I don’t play nearly as much as I’d like to anymore.

7. Fondest memory of the game growing up?

Well, it’s not really a fond memory per se, but my best basketball story is when my team played against LeBron James in a travel tournament in Ohio the summer after fifth grade. We were called the Dunkin’ Dutchmen, a collection of the best fifth graders from the Erie area, but we were in for a rude awakening against LeBron. He towered above the competition, literally and figuratively. Parents of my teammates questioned his age, but he was legit. (He’s actually three months younger than me.)

I took the first shot of the game, a long jumper, and he swatted it out of bounds. It didn’t get any better from there. We had no answer for him defensively. The score was so lopsided at halftime that he left to go play with the older kids in search of better competition. We lost handily. Even without LeBron there in the second half, we were no match for that team. But now I have that story, so it wasn’t a total loss.

8. Favorite team?

I’m a Lakers fan, but before you toss out the B word, hear me out. My first memory from my childhood is watching the Lakers-Pistons in the Finals (couldn’t tell you if it was ’88 or ’89 but I like to think it was ’88 since they won) as my dad cheered on Magic, Kareem and the gang. I’ve followed them loyally ever since, and I even owned a Nick Van Exel and an Eddie Jones jersey back in the day.

9. Favorite player, past or present?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets the nod, though there’s a special place in my heart for Robert Horry and Derek Fisher. I also have a crazy amount of respect for Kobe Bryant as I’ve had the privilege of watching his game mature at the same time that my understanding of the game was maturing. Chris Webber tops my list of favorite non-Lakers as I was a huge Fab Five fan, and I remain a loyal Michigan basketball and football fan to this day because of that group’s influence.

10. Tell us about how you see basketball in a social context; is it important, is it useful, does it break down barriers or is it another way to exclude people?

Basketball is inherently a social game, on and off the court. When all five players on the court are communicating and functioning as one—think 2008 Celtics defense—it’s tough to beat that. The basketball blogging community is, in my opinion, among the best on the Web. And the most exciting part is that we’re just in the tip-of-the-iceberg stage of figuring out how to leverage all the tools and technology available to us to enable fans get the most out of following the sports they love.

Everyone knows the 2010 basketball fan experience is so incredibly different than the 1980 fan experience, but it’s also vastly different from the 2000 fan experience or the 2005 fan experience. And things are evolving and changing so rapidly, that there’s no telling what breakthroughs will be impacting fan experiences in 2012, 2020 and beyond, but blogs and social media play an important role in sports today, and I think that’s a good thing.

11. What teams in the upcoming world championships are you looking out for?

Obviously I’m most familiar with the U.S. squad. I’ve also heard/read good things about Spain. Beyond that, I don’t have a lot of insight. In all honesty, I don’t follow the international basketball scene too closely outside of an Olympic year, so I’ll have to plead ignorance on this one.

12. Player to watch? (any league)

Latavious Williams. He recently became the first player ever to go from high school to the D-League to get drafted by the NBA (selected in the second round by Miami and then traded to Oklahoma City). He’ll likely spend most (if not all) of this season developing further with OKC’s D-League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers, where he played last season. He’s still got a lot of rawness to his game, but if his year one development is any indication, he could be a great find for the Thunder down the road.

1. Excellent article in the Washington Post about John Wall and the relationship with his incarcerated father.
   “he still was there for me. . . . Probably if I were older, you would have been, ‘Forget him, he ain’t my daddy, he ain’t here for me, taking care of me.’ At a young age, you don’t know, you don’t care. You’re just happy to have somebody there that you can call your dad. And that’s the biggest thing.”
2. The 2010 Champions, Los Angeles.  Nice season roundup by Forum Blue and Gold.
3. We rated the Draft Picks, now Henry Abbott from TrueHoop rates the owners.
4. Greatest Tumblr blog ever?  Craig Sager’s fashion sense.  If you only click one link today, this is it.
5. For over a decade now hoop aficianados have debated whether the US college system is appropriate for those players who have no interest in decent education, particularly as so many resources are pooled into the system by alumni, colleges, interest groups and foundations, amongst others.  This entry then glimpsing the D-League as being a suitable substitute?  Love it.
6. Reason#425 why we love Steve Nash.
7. Kobe Bryant will sign with an Italian team.  Wait, what?
8. Bob Hill becomes first ex-NBA coach to make the move to a Japanese team.
9. Can Wall and Arenas play together?  While we’re reflecting, read this great profile of Agent Zero, um, Hibachi, um, whatever his name is now…
   “He stole his teammate’s rims, he took a game of paintball way too far, he took a shit in his teammate’s shoes”

1. Steve Kerr has stepped down as the Suns GM.
2. When you’re not playing in June, you have a lot of spare time… the Magic and Jazz unveil their new logos.
3. Basketball is being played somewhere other than LA and Boston??  Great overview of Barcelona in the ACB Championship Series.
4. While we’re there, check out the list of current European Champions, thanks to Ballin In Europe.
5. Speaking of Europe, check out this INSANE video of the Greek finals.  Takes me back…
6. The Kobe Conundrum.
7. Hilarious.  The 11 players you always meet in pickup basketball.
8. Pierce and Rondo hug it out.
9. Who complains the most about calls in this Finals?  Kevin Garnett?  Ron Artest?  WRONG.
10. Take it to the rim, Lakers.

It’s been a colorful history between these legendary clubs.  Some highlights throughout the years:

1. 1962: The second NBA Finals with the Lakers against the Celtics (after 1959). Elgin Baylor scored a Finals record 61 points in a game 5 Laker victory. In Game 7, the clock was winding down with the score tied at 100, when Frank Selvy, who once scored 100 points in a college game, missed an eight-footer for the Lakers. The Celtics won in overtime, with Bill Russell tying his own Finals record with 40 rebounds.
2. 1966: Another Celtics-Lakers classic. In Game 7, Red Auerbach, Boston’s coach, lit up his traditional victory cigar midway through the 4th quarter, only to see his team’s big lead melt away. They held on, however, and won 95–93 to preserve the Celtics’ eighth straight championship and ninth in ten seasons.
3. 1969: For the third time in the decade, a Lakers-Celtics final went to seven games. Chamberlain, Baylor, and West, three of the game’s best players, were now all playing for the Lakers.  Nevertheless, the aging Celtics, led by player-coach Bill Russell, held their ground.  In Game 4, with the Celtics trailing 2–1 in the series and 88–87 in the game, Sam Jones hit an incredible buzzer-beater with three seconds left to even the series and preserve the Celtics’ championship winning streak.  In game 7, Don Nelson threw up a recovered loose ball with only 2 seconds left on the 24 second shot clock. Nelson’s shot hit the heel of the rim, bounced high in the air and came down through the hoop as Boston ended up winning 108–106.
4. 1984: The long-awaited rematch of the Lakers and Celtics after their rivalry was revived in 1980 with the legendary Johnson-Bird pair entering the league. The Lakers won Game 1, and almost Game 2, but a crucial steal in Game 2 by Gerald Henderson led to a tie game and the Celtics were able to win in overtime to tie the series. The Lakers won Game 3. The Celtics won Game 4. Now tied 2–2, the Lakers and Celtics each held serve at their home court to send the series to Boston for Game 7.  Celtics took out the trophy.
5. 1985: The Lakers and Celtics met again, and the Celtics opened the series with a crushing 148-112 win over Los Angeles. Known as the “Memorial Day Massacre”, Boston’s 148 points still stands as the highest total by a team in the Finals. However, the Lakers came back to win the series in six games, finally beating Boston in the NBA Finals. L.A.’s Finals victory marked the only time Boston lost a championship on their home floor.
6. 2008: The Boston Celtics ended their 22-year title drought with a six-game victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
7. 2010: Lakers currently lead 2-1… bring on game 4!

Check out the 1984 Finals:

1. How the mighty can fall…
   “The feat? Isiah Thomas’ fiscal irresponsibility became so extreme during his time as Knicks president from 2003-08 that he paid $120 million for a total of 82 games played. ” Tom Haberstroh.
2. I once had the privilege of having JJ Redick destroy my UGA Dawgs.  A look at his year.  Underrated?  Yes.
3. Ray Allen…
   “Allen’s 0-for-13 performance ranked as the second-worst oh-fer in Finals history, falling one miss short of the record of 0-for-14 shared by Seattle’s Dennis Johnson in 1978 and Baltimore’s Chick Reiser in 1948.” Chris Forsberg.
4. Patty Mills will be playing for Australia against Argentina.
5. Derek Fisher – seems before every series he’s described as the “weak link”, then we end up calling him Clutch by the series’ end.  So how does he rate?  HoopSpeak.
6. Take the best NBA players who can play football, and enter them in the World Cup…  Round Ball Fever.
7. Gary Payton as a Coach?  Excellent interview with The Glove.  On Lebron James:
   “I would make everybody wait. My opinion, where you’re at right now, you’re not going to win anymore basketball games if you go to another team. The only place you could do that would be if you went to Boston or the Lakers. You’re with a team that needs something to help them out.”