You don’t expect things like this – at least you don’t expect them anymore. You especially don’t expect them after the season we’ve seen from Vince Carter.
There are two different directions I wanted to take this piece as I discuss the night Vince Carter turned back the clock/heart and decided to go Nova (hence the photo above). I’m conflicted on what I saw because we all have the same perception of Vince Carter. He’s the definition of potential. He’s also the definition of wasted potential. I was never of the mindset that Vince could be the new Jordan. There were many things about him that seemed to be lacking. But he had more ability in him than most could ever imagine so when we saw him sputter after nights in which he would excel, we became frustrated and resentful that he would refuse to do the things we wanted to do.
With Vince it was always “if only he would…” because we hoped he would one day grasp his potential, hold onto it like a golden ticket and prance through the streets of the basketball world as he sings, “I’ve got the gollllllden tiiiiiicket!”
But we never really got that from him past the first couple of seasons. Vince was a guy that just didn’t want it and with his tumultuous time in Toronto, we gave him the benefit of the doubt until we were so insulted by his lack of heart that we wanted to destroy him for it. When he moved to New Jersey, we were hopeful a change of scenery would bring out the best in him. And it did on occasion. However, Vince still didn’t want to be that guy. He was content going out there, playing basketball a certain way and collecting his paycheck.
Now that he’s on Orlando (a team that retooled in a risky way after making the NBA Finals last year), we’ve been waiting for him to give this kind of effort. He’s been all over the map for the Magic this season as they’ve waited for him to bring the thunder consistently. Nobody really expects him to do it flair-filled style of dunks and scores around the basket. We’ve accepted the fact that he attacks the basket with three-pointers and long-range shots over high-flying acts of absurdity. But what you’ve wanted out of him is the effort to take this team to the next level, even if it’s just by being a competent basketball player that doesn’t hijack possessions and alienate his teammates with the way he affects games (positively or negatively).
When he scores 48 points during a nationally televised game on just 27 shot attempts, you start to hope that maybe this is it. Maybe this is when he gets locked in with his Magic teammates and finds the extra gear to put them back into the Finals and in a better position to win the whole damn thing. After all, that’s why they brought him in there and let Hedo walk for maple syrup covered pizza.
Part of you is watching and thinking, “yep, this is exactly what this team needs right now.“ They need a go-to guy that can turn a good half into a half that makes you consider forgiving the past decade of malaise. And hopefully in a couple of games, you won’t feel sheepish and naïve for thinking these kinds of thoughts.
Historically, Vince will make you reconsider your hope – which brings me to the other angle of this 48-point performance. Vince flat out knows how to depress a basketball nerd like myself.
As I watched Vince lead the Magic from a 17-point deficit to a six-point win, I couldn’t help but resent him for this performance. To me, Andre Miller’s 52-point outburst the other day was far more probable than this 48-point game from Vince. Not because I think Andre Miller is a better basketball player or a better scorer. I would never be so obtuse to think something like that to be true. But it seemed more probable to me because I didn’t think Vince Carter had the effort left in him. To score 34 points in the second half of a ball game when his team REALLY needed it seemed so far-fetched to me that a player in the year 2010 who can’t move laterally, can’t shoot threes and basically throws up a 1954-style set shot was more likely to drop around 50 points in a ball game.
This depresses you because of the way he did it. He wasn’t just hoisting up threes and long twos because he was afraid to make contact. He attacked the basket and attacked it often. By my count, he attempted a shot around the basket or in the key 12 times and made 10 of them against the Hornets (he had attempted five shots around the basket more than five times in a game just nine times this season). Granted, he was being guarded by Morris Peterson. I didn’t remember that Mo Pete was even in the NBA up until a week ago and basketball is practically a religion to me. Yet, he still did it.
And it’s not like he was soaring through the air. His steps on the court are the NBA equivalent of intensive labor. He looks out of shape and out of breath most of the time. He moves like one of the old guys at your local gym or YMCA. All of this makes it even more frustrating that he was able to put up a game like this. I was resigned to the fact that Vince Carter simply didn’t have it anymore and didn’t want to have it. I was actually okay with that. Instead, he tried and he tried hard and it worked to the tune of 48 dramatically efficient points. How does that happen?
Ultimately, I still feel cheated by Vince Carter and his career with nights like this reminding me just of that when I thought it was behind me. Did Vince owe the fans and me a different story arc to his career? Not really. Maybe you could argue he owed it to himself but if he’s happy fading into “what could have been” obscurity then that’s on him.
I just could have done without the diabolical casualness of his career. And I could have done without the 48-point reminder that he was an Allen Iverson heart away from burning this place to the ground.
I just didn’t expect this tonight.
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