Some Chick-isms

• Air ball
  A shot that misses everything.
• Attacking 47 feet of this 94x50 hunk of wood.
  The front-court, the offensive zone.
• Ba-loows the layup!
  Missed a very easy layup.
• Boo birds
  Fans who boo their own team when they play badly.
• Call it with Braille
  An easy call for an official.
• Building a House
  When a player tosses up a series of "bricks" during the course of a game.
• Bunny hop
  Traveling.
• Bunny hop in the pea patch
  Traveling in the lane.
• Can't throw a pea in the ocean
  When someone is on a bad shooting streak.
• chances of guarding [player] are slim and none, and I think slim just left the building
  That player is having a great night.
• Caught with his hand in the cookie jar
  Reaching in foul.
• climbs the imaginary rope
  When Elgin Baylor pulled down a rebound.
• Coop-a-loop
  Alley-oop to Michael Cooper.
• Cosmetic Call
  Also called a Makeup call, a questionable call by the referee to even out a previous questionable call that went the other way.
• Got em' covered like a rug on your floor
  Really close, tight defense.
• It'll Count if it goes... it goes!
  A player is fouled in the act of shooting... and makes the shot.
• Defense on vacation
  Very bad defense, as if they weren't even there.
• Didn't draw iron
  A shot which misses the rim, but hits the backboard.
• Dime Store Score
  10 to 5.
• Dribble Drive
  Drive to the basket while dribbling.
• Faked the floperoo
  An attempt by a defender to draw a charging foul, usually one which is disdained by the refs.
• Finger roll
  A shot where the ball rolls off the shooter's fingers.
• Fly-swatted
  A shot blocked with a lot of force and authority.
• Football Score
  A score commonly found in football, 14-7, 21-14, etc.
• Four Point Switch
  One team misses an easy layup, and the other team rebounds and scores quickly.
• Frozen rope
  A shot with a very flat trajectory.
• Garbage play
  A player picks up a loose ball that luckily is close by and has an easy shot.
• Garbage time
  The game has been decided.  Usually the second string is in the game.
• Give & go
  Pass to a teammate, cut for the basket, and get it back.  The teammate often is setting a pick.
• The good lord and four disciples couldn't beat the Lakers tonight.
  The Lakers are playing unbelievibly well.
• Cazzie's goin' to the bank again!
  For Cazzie Russell, who had a great bank-shot.
• Going to the southern goal to our right.
• Going left to right across your radio dial.
• Hangs, fires, hits a 20 foot jumper
  Baylor and West did it a lot.
• Hung him out to dry
  Faked a defender out badly.
• In & out, Heart-brrrreak!
  A shot that appears to go in, but rattles off the rim & misses.
• He's human after all.
  A player misses a shot after a long streak.
• He's not a happy camper.
  A bad call was made and a player got upset.
• He shot that from way out yonder.
  A real long 3-point shot attempt.
• He thought he made it and so did I.
  When someone shoots a good looking shot, but it misses.
• Hippity-hop dribble
  Dribbling the ball, while running with a hip-hop step.
• The mustard's off the Hot-dog
  A player attempts an unnecessarily showy, flashy play which ends up in a turnover or is otherwise unsuccessful.
• Leapin' leana
  A leaping shot in the lane, falling toward the basket. Originally for Walt Hazzard, now common.
• Lots of referees in the building, but only 3 are getting paid.
  The fans in the crowd are booing a call that they disagree with.
• Matador defense
  Poor defense in which the lane opens up for a driving player like a matador pulling his cape out of the way of a charging bull.
• Like a Motorcycle in a motordrome
  When the ball spins around the rim several times before going in or rimming out.
• Nailed to the floor
  A great offensive play where the defender is left behind. (James Worthy?)
• Nervous time
  The end of a very close game.
• 94x50 hunk of wood
  The dimensions of a basketball court.
• No harm, no foul (, no blood, no ambulance)
  A non-call by an official when significant contact has occurred.
• No-look pass
  A pass made to another player without looking at him.
• Not a Phi-Beta-Kappa play
  Dumb play.
• On him like a postage stamp
  Very close tight defense.
• Picked his pocket
  A steal so quick the victim didn't even see it happen.
• Picks the garbage (and put it in the trashcan)
  A player picks up a loose ball that luckily is close by and has an easy shot.
• Popcorn machine
  The defender is faked a couple of times and when he leaves his feet the shot gets made. Also, any play where the defender goes for a fake.
• Pressure cooker
  A situation when the game is in the balance; e.g. a player at the free throw line, his team down, 30 seconds left, etc....
• This  game's in the refrigerator, the door is closed, the light's out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard, and the jello's jiggling
  Chick is calling the game for the Lakers even though it isn't over.  He has put games in the refrigerator many times and rarely taken them out.
• Sends it back air-mail special.
  A shot blocked out of bounds or down the court.
• Sets...fires...gets!!
  An outside shot with no defender.
• Shot is straight as a string but didn't get it
  Kind of like a frozen rope that missed.
• ...since Hector was a pup
  A long time ago

Barrett's Quotations lists it under "anonymous" as a traditional American expression; Partridge in *Slang and Unconventional English* lists a Canadian variant, "since Caesar was a pup." 

• The Lakers couldn't beat the Sisters of Mercy tonight
  The Lakers are playing terribly.
• Slaaaaaam Dunk!!!
  A dunk with authority, also Chick invented  the phrase "slam dunk".
• The Lakers are spending too much time refereeing.
  The players are complaining too much about calls that didn't go their way.
• He has Spalding (or the Commissioner's name) tatooed on his forehead!
  A block that sends the ball straight back at the player.
• Swing left, shoot right
  Kareem's skyhook.
• He telegraphed that pass
  A pass where the player takes too long to set up and pass so that a defender gets a chance to steal.
• Throws up a brick
  Bad shot.
• Throws up a prayer ... (it's answered!!!)
  A wild shot that will need a miracle to score... (it goes in!!)
• Tattoo Dribble
  Dribbling the ball in the same spot, as to tattoo the floor.
• That'll get it done
  A good play.
• They win the tip, that means they get the ball to start the fourth quarter!
  That's the way Chick starts a game.
• This is your World Champion Lakers' basketball network!
  Chick's station ID when the Lakers are the world champs.
• Ticky-tack call
  A foul called when very little contact has been made.
• Tightrope act
  Saving a ball from going out-of-bounds while walking just inside the lines like on a tightrope.
• Took him to the third floor and left him at the mezzanine.
  When a defender leaves his feet for a fake.
• Triple-double
  A player gets double figures in three statistical categories, like points, rebounds, and assists.
• Twenty-foot layup
  Jamaal Wilkes' shot from the base-line, as automatic as a layup.
• The 24-second clock has been put to bed.
  When the game clock has less time than the shot clock, the shot clock is turned off.
• Using the rim as an ally
  A reverse lay-up where the rim prevents a defender from blocking.
• (on his) Wallet
  When a player falls on his behind.
• Words-eye view
  Chick's description of their commentary.
• He's Working on his Wrigleys
  Chewing gum.
• Back & forth like a Windshield wiper
  Pivoting to find a passing lane.
• You gotta know your horses when you go to the track
  Knowing what an opponent is going to do. For instance, take away the left for a player who likes to move that way.
• Yo-yoing up and down (Magic?)
  Dribbling the ball, like it is a yo-yo on a string.

Some of this is from http://www.aarvig.com/lakers/ and other sources.