HOW IT FEELS ... To Be on Fire
"You honestly don't really feel it wHEN THE SHOTS ARE GOING DOWN. You don't ever get the goose bumps until the fans start to appreciate what you're doing."
ALLEN IVERSON
Sixers guard, after scoring a career-high 60 points in a 112-99 win over the Magic last Saturday
JASON TERRY, Mavericks guard
"There's no feeling like it. When I went for 46 against Dallas [in 2002, with the Hawks], everything was perfect. My shoes were right. My uniform felt flawless. I was in a great rhythm. It's like a hip-hop song. You're just there grooving, swaying back and forth. You don't feel it until you hit your first shot. If that shot is what I call 'moist,' it doesn't take anything. It seems like the net doesn't even move."
EDDIE JONES, Heat guard
"All you see is the rim and how big it is. It's a mental thing. You're so focused on doing the same thing over and over. You just have to continue to take the same shot. The same shot, the same mechanics, it goes in. Everything is just correct. Your shot is correct. The way you're coming down is correct. Your form is correct. Everything."
PAT GARRITY, Magic forward
"There are books you can read about how to get into that shooting zone, how to prepare yourself, but it's never something you can predict. The ball feels so light, and your shots are effortless. You don't even have to aim. You let it go, and you know the ball is going in. It's wonderful. You are hunting for the ball, hunting for a shot. It's like a good dream, and you don't want to wake up."
BEN GORDON, Bulls guard
"You lose track of the time, what quarter it is. You don't hear the crowd. You don't know how many points you have. You don't think. You're just playing. Offensively everything is instinctive. When the feeling starts going away, it's terrible. I talk to myself and say, C'mon, you gotta be more aggressive. That's when you know it's gone. It's not instinctive anymore."
VINCE CARTER, Nets guard
"It feels like nobody's out there, you're playing by yourself. You don't care how good a defender is guarding you. Against Philadelphia in the playoffs I had nine threes [May 11, '01]. I was taking long steps back to the three-point line and just letting it go. One time A.I. (left) was pulling my shorts down. I had to open my legs wider to keep my shorts up. I shot it, and it still went in."
JOE DUMARS, former All-Star guard
"It's like an out-of-body experience, like you're watching yourself. You almost feel like you don't even see the defense. Every move you make, you feel, God, that guy is slow. You're going by people. You don't even hear the regular noise you hear. It's muffled. You go to practice the next day, and you say, 'God, why can't I do that every night?' Guys have wanted to bottle that feeling."
"I still love going out to the field and ... smelling the grass. If I close my eyes, I could be 16 again."
--Brandi Chastain, Body by Brandi, page 35
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LISA BLUMENFELD/GETTY IMAGES (IVERSON)
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KATHY WILLENS/AP (GORDON)
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DAVID BERGMAN (CARTER)
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DOUG PENSINGER/GETTY IMAGES (DUMARS)
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JESSE D. GARRABRANT/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (IVERSON ACTION)
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CHRIS LIVINGSTON/ICON SMI (GARRITY)
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JEFF LEWIS/ICON SMI (JONES)
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CHRIS HATFIELD/ICON SMI (TERRY)
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DON FARRALL/PHOTODISC/GETTY IMAGES (FLAMES)
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GARRETT W. ELLWOOD (BASKETBALL)
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RICH SCHULTZ/WIREIMAGE.COM (CHASTAIN)