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James ‘Flight’ White Gets Another Chance

Mar 4, 2009, 5:15 PM UTC

In the midst of so much doom and gloom in the world today, we have ourâ†µray of light. James “Flight” White, regarded by anyone with a computerâ†µas the finest dunker in the world, has been signed to a 10-dayâ†µcontract with the Rockets. This isn’t the first chance White’s receivedâ†µto prove he can stick in the pros; at one point, the Spurs wanted toâ†µgroom him into a kind of a space-aged Bruce Bowen. But the Rockets,â†µcurrently reconstituting themselves with a stable, healthy Ron Artestâ†µand Aaron Brooks at PG, might be just the in White needs.â†µ
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â†µWell, maybe not. The Rockets could really use White, but they may notâ†µget the chance to learn this for themselves. From The Houston Chronicle:â†µâ†µâ‡¥White, a 6-7 forward who was averaging 25.9 points for Anaheim in theâ†µâ‡¥NBA Development League, joins the Rockets during the heaviest part ofâ†µâ‡¥the schedule. At most, the Rockets will have two practices during hisâ†µâ‡¥10 days. White was on the inactive list, the first time a healthyâ†µâ‡¥Rockets player has been inactive since December (Steve Francis andâ†µâ‡¥Joey Dorsey ). He had no complaints, however.â†µâ‡¥
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â†µâ‡¥“I feel great man, just to be in a position to come back to the NBA,â†µâ‡¥try to make a difference for a good team,” he said.â†µâ†µ

Predictably, White goes on to explain that he’s more than just aâ†µdunker, that his all-around game is solid, and all those other thingsâ†µplayers say when they’d been pigeon-holed as high-flying freak showsâ†µthat electrify fans and strike fear into the heart of opponents. Yes,â†µI’m biased toward this kind of player, and think that the sheer valueâ†µof a secret-weapon finisher is as hard to quantify as Shane Battier.â†µBut it’s true, White’s going to have to show he can make some impactâ†µplays with this team, as well as shoot a little and hold up his end onâ†µdefense, to earn a spot with the Rockets.â†µ
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â†µBut if nothing else, it’s nice to see a team take a chance on a playerâ†µwhose buzz had reached critical mass. If White succeeds, a lot ofâ†µpeople will be stoked and self-satisfied. If he fails, well, at leastâ†µwe’ve gotten to see a cult hero get a decent chance and fail. Or wait,â†µdo we really want that? Whatever, I guess I’ll stop selling those FREEâ†µJAMES WHITE mugs posthaste.â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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