Thing That’s Obvious

I didn’t watch a ton of basketball yesterday.  The Pistons/Cavs game looked like it was going to be a great ending, but then I started paying attention and the game was over.  Frowntown.  Other than that, I was watching the World Series all day.

Howevsies, I logged on to my Google Reader this morning and found this nugget of profound wisdom:

Where will people get their hard-hitting news with newspapers failing?  Where can we get insights like these?

Thing I Think Phil Jackson Would Say to Motivate a Team

“If you don’t have a toothbrush, just chew some celery.”

Thing I’m Winging

This column.  But hey, I already mentioned I didn’t see a ton of basketball yesterday.  Also, Barack Obama.

Thing I Might Have Been Wrong About

Remember about a week ago, when I declared that the Magic weren’t ready?  That might have been a little premature.  You win, Moore.

But like he preaches, one game isn’t everything.  And this one game saw the Cavs on the road, missing two of their starters, relying on Wally Szczerbiak for offense.  This isn’t to take away at all from the Magic last night, but in an effort to be measured, this win doesn’t change too much.  The Cavs are still a better team on the whole, but like I told Moore early this week, if there’s a team that can get hot in the playoffs and ride that streak to a championship, it’s the Magic.

Last night proved that LeBron needs his team healthy.   Last night also proved that the Magic should be taken seriously, because if that shooting shows up 50% of the time in the playoffs, they’re dangerous.

Thing That Cracks Me Up

Big Z

King

Big Ben

Sasha

JJ

Boobie

Darnell

Tarence

Sasha

Wally

Anderson

Delonte

Jawad

Lorenzen

Mo

This is an actual team of players, and not from a Wayans brothers movie.

Thing That’s Probably True

The Suns/Spurs rivalry is over.  It might have started being over when Shaq came over to the Suns, but it was definitely over when D’Antoni went to the Knicks.  Yeah, the teams and fans still don’t like each other; but no longer is there the feeling that we’re looking at a duel between philosophies that could define the league.  The games are still entertaining, but they don’t have the gravity that they used to.

Thing That I Hope Happens

This is a post about Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant is a good basketball player, and he’s very meaningful to me.  Watching Kevin Durant makes me feel happy.  I like the way he stays very low to the ground when he goes to the basket.

I almost typed Kevin Garnett.  But this is a post about Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant should be an All-Star, but I don’t think he will be.  Actually, that’s not true.  I kind of have the feeling that the coaches/players will vote in Carmelo Anthony, but since he hurt his hand they’ll choose Kevin Durant instead.  It’s a backdoor way of getting to the All-Star game but it’d be his first of many.

Barack Obama.

Kid Delicious.

Kevin Durant is incredible.  He’s supremely watchable/bloggable and he’s actually made the Thunder a joy to experience.  And all of this while having Earl Watson play significant minutes.  Damien Wilkins sucks.

Kevin Durant for All-Star in 2k9.

This has been a post about Kevin Durant, inspired by Hipster Runoff.

Thing That I’ll Cop To

While I watched a couple of hours of basketball last night, I don’t really feel like I got a handle on any of the games since I was flipping back and forth between games.  There wasn’t a game that really held my attention; and  looking at the scores, nothing seems terribly surprising or exciting, so I’m not too worried about it.  Plus Lost was fairly incredible.  Oh, and this happened:

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9yPp5wpbcU]

Thing That is the Absolute Best About the NBA

Imagine you’re me last night.  You new wife has to write a 3-5 page paper about something you’d be no help on.  Therefore, she’ll be upstairs writing all night.  This leaves you alone downstairs with a subscription to League Pass and a pretty nice beard.  Yeah, you definitely need to trim the edges of your beard since they’re looking pretty disheveled, but that can wait.  Might as well flip through the games, right?

First, you flip on Orlando-Indiana, trying to find a reason that Orlando could maybe possibly win the title.  Whoops, the Magic are up by 20 at the half.  Next.  Sacramento-Cleveland?  You think, “maybe that’d be interesting.  I do like Kevin Martin, quite a bit.  And, of course, LeBron.  Don’t forget to trim your beard.  You look homeless.”  But then you turn on the game and it’s nothing special and you’ve watched these two teams way too often lately.  Maybe you didn’t think it was possible, but you definitely have John Salmons overload.  And also, you seriously need to trim your face.  Gross.

Denver and Memphis?  Interesting for the first quarter, which you missed.  Might as well turn on Utah-San Antonio, a game you’re not dying to see.  Sure, you like quite a few of the players, but this won’t be an exciting game.  Beats everything else on right now though, right?  You think, “whatever. Check it out.”

And that’s when you see Matt Bonner and Mehmet Okur trading big shots at the end of the half.  That’s when you realize, “whoa. The NBA is so awesome.  Trim your beard at halftime.”

264 words later, what I’m trying to say to you (who is me right now) is that you have no idea what you’re in for, any given night in the NBA.  That’s amazing. 

Now go trim your beard.

Thing That is the Absolute Worst in the NBA

On the flipside of this is a lesson I learned the hard way this morning:  never, ever sleep.  If you do, you’ll miss a double-overtime thriller between two of the most watchable teams in the NBA.  Sorry I missed you, Bobcats and Lakers.

Thing That is Also the Worst in the NBA

My eyes might have been mistaken, but for some reason, I thought I saw Matt Bonner and Matt Harpring guarding each other for significant time periods during an important game.  I must be crazy though.  There’s no way those two guys are getting big minutes for teams with title aspirations, right?  I mean, they’re Matt Bonner and Matt Harpring.  Oh, NBA, always playing jokes.  Such a kidder.

Funniest Thing This NBA Season

Roy Hibbert, “running.”  A site so rare, it doesn’t even turn up on Google Images.  If you see this mythical occurrence, you’ll understand.

Thing That Concerns Me About Chris Bosh’s Career

There are certain players that when you watch them play or see an interview with them or read little bits on them, you naturally begin to assume that someday they’ll win a championship.  Now, these can often turn out wrong (Ewing, Barkley, Malone, duh) but more often than not, this gut feeling is proven true.  Dwyane Wade is a recent example.  For whatever reason, it just seemed like he would win a title, and he has. 

Another player for whom that has assumption has recently been validated is Kevin Garnett.  For years, all anyone could say is that if Garnett were surrounded by a team of real NBA players (rather than the Gugliottas and Peelers of the world), he could win a title.  They were right.

This has been an unnecessarily long-winded introduction, so here’s the point:  the line drawn from Kevin Garnett to Chris Bosh is a short and straight one.  Statistically, they’re early production is eerily similar.  Physique-wise there aren’t two more similar players that don’t share the same genes.  Just like Garnett, Bosh has that feel.  The feeling you get that, yes, someday this guy will be an NBA champion.  And certainly, their games are closely aligned as Bosh has said that Garnett is his favorite player and that looked to him for inspiration on how to play.

Now, this is all well and good.  Bosh plays like Garnett, Garnett was destined to get a title, Garnett got a title.  This is a logical path for Chris Bosh.  However, for years, Garnett was plagued by criticism that he couldn’t step up in big games, and that he’d prefer to score from the perimeter instead of mixing things up inside.  Bosh is quite the same, as he gets a lot of his scoring on fade-aways and mid-range jumpers.  Will the same thing happen to Bosh?  Will he be attacked for being “soft,” just because he’s modeled his game on Garnett’s?  Garnett was mentally tenacious enough to realize that criticism was erroneous, and I hope that Bosh will be too.

I understand that this sounds pretty silly after Bosh goes for 31 and 8 in a win, so forget I mentioned it.  Nonetheless, I hope that people will remember Garnett’s redemption when they get down on Bosh.

Thing That Is Sort of Related to the Above Commentary

I just received Gunnin’ for that Number 1 Spot via internet digital video disc rental service Netflix (late pass, I know).  Watching it last night, I can’t help but wonder about the nature of success.  The players involved came from either terrible circumstances (Donte Greene, Tyreke Evans) or really nice circumstances (Kevin Love, Kyle Singler), with seemingly none of the Elite 24 coming from a typical middle class setting.  I’ve read Outliers, so I get that environment is just as important to a person’s achievement as talent is; therefore I ask, are these polar opposites the only situations that lend themselves to success?

It makes sense that the underprivileged would succeed because they work hard to overcome their disadvantages, and it makes just as much sense that the more fortunate would succeed because they have more opportunities and amenities throughout their development.  It makes sense that the underprivileged would succeed because they work hard to overcome their disadvantages, and it makes just as much sense that the more fortunate would succeed because they have more opportunities and amenities throughout their development.  But what if a kid’s situation doesn’t push him either way?  What if the kid grows up “normal?”  Is this actually a totally bizarre disadvantage in terms of athletic excellence? 

Thing That I Don’t Know Why It’s Related to the NBA, But It Is and It’s Good

This mislabeled video (M.O.P. is in this song, but not listed) shows a lot of NBA dudes playing at Rucker.  The ball is pretty stellar, and the song is hot fire.

 

[flash http://www.youtube.com/v/7ZaYjse3two&hl]

via 2dopeboyz

Thing I’m Laying Off of for a While

Eddy Curry jokes. 

Name a player who’s gone through more trying situations in the last two years.  Ergo, I’m not joking about him at least until the gay sex scandal trial starts. Eddy and his family is in our thoughts and prayers.

Thing That Became Apparent During the Magic/Celtics Game

The Magic aren’t ready to contend for a title this year.  This doesn’t mean that they’re a flawed team at all, but the fact of the matter is that this team is just not a serious title contender.  And really, it’s not that surprising; the areas in which they failed last night are exactly what people have had concerns about.

First and foremost was the dismal three-point shooting.  For a team that relies on the three-pointer as the basis of their offense, shooting 32% is a death wish.  Not only do the Magic usually score about 30 points off threes (a third of their offense, by the way), that spacing gives Dwight Howard a chance to operate down low.  Shooting comes and goes, but if the three-pointer is that consequential to your team’s success, there needs to be another way to score in big games.  And that’s the second problem.

Dwight relies so much on his superior athleticism and strength, that when he faces an equally as brawny center he can get taken out of his game.  Last night, part of this was because the Magic weren’t hitting outside, and therefore, Howard had to contend with the Celtics’ help defense, but in those situations the Magic need to be able to rely on their star to get himself going.  Howard isn’t a traditional center, and his postups are often ineffective.  Somehow, Van Gundy needs to find a reliable way to get Dwight the ball moving towards the hoop, which is when he’s at his best.

The Magic are a good team, but when the shots aren’t falling, they aren’t near the upper echelon of the NBA. 

Other Thing That Stuck Out to Me During the Magic/Celtics Game

 

I know Stan Van Gundy isn’t a fashion plate, but that shirt he was wearing was ridiculous.  Stan Van with his jacket off during halftime was one of the most harrowing sights I’ve ever seen.

Be thankful he has his jacket on in this picture.

Last Thing About That Magic/Celtics Game

JJ Redick had a pretty decent game, all things considered.  The only Magic with a positive +/-, Redick seemingly replaced Courtney Lee in the second half.  JJ is easy to hate.  Very easy.  But he can be a decent supporting player.  Him and Eddie House guarding each other last night was like watching the video for “Ebony and Ivory.”

Things You Expected to Happen That Happened Last Night

Celtics 90, Magic 80

Lakers 117, Wizards 97 

Thing I Learned During the Grizzlies/Bobcats Game

First and foremost, this was a nearly unwatchable game to these eyes.  These beautiful, piercing blue eyes.  These eyes which have witnessed many a great basketball game, they were not pleased.  Not only was the game not in HD (white whine), but I should have known what I was in for when the stands were about 30% full.  C’mon, Memphis.  Have a little faith, the Grizzlies might be salvageable.  There is definitely talent on the Grizzers, but there are numerous redundancies in the backcourt which should be addressed no later than this offseason. 

Coming from Phoenix, Marc Iavaroni knows as well as anyone that a point guard can define a team’s identity.  So why can’t he settle on one?  It’s apparent now that OJ Mayo is a two guard, so he’s out of the equation, leaving Iavaroni the choice between Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley.  Through the first half of the season, the two guards have played nearly identical minutes, and have nearly identical stats.  Conley takes better care of the ball, but Lowry is a better defender and distributer.

I lean towards Lowry, because he’s the only Grizzlies guard who can get to the rim.  Conley can’t, and Mayo seemingly won’t.  Lowry can break down his defender due to his strength (like vintage Marbury) and then he can find either Mayo on the perimeter or a wing or post slashing to the basket.  However, based on how they’re built, the Grizzlies should be a running team, and Conley excels in transition.  But Iavaroni has the Grizzlies at 22^nd in the league in pace.  Not cool, Marc. 

Wasn’t he brought to Memphis to run?  The team is tailor-made for an uptempo game, and they even enjoy a small modicum of success under the pointless running of Tony Barone.  Either speed the game up, and play Conley.  Or play how you are and let Lowry run the point.  You can’t have it both ways, because it’s not working.

Thing I’m Hypothesizing

LeBron is obsessed with Kobe. 

The FreeDarko book proved that LeBron is most effective at the end of games when he drives to the basket.  In fact, he’s essentially the only guy who wins games that way.  But ever since Kobe stuck the long 3 against the Spurs, LeBron has fallen in love with his jumper.   He’s tried winning the game against the Bulls with a long 2, when he could have surely beaten Luol Deng to the basket.  He shot jumper after jumper after jumper against the Lakers and last night he relied on hitting a few pull-ups to get himself going.  That’s fine.  We’ve seen LeBron drift before, and with West out, the Cavaliers lost a creator who can get LeBron the ball closer to the hoop.  I can understand that, but there’s definitely been an uptick in jumpers since that long 3 by Kobe.

But last night, LeBron took his obsession a little too far.  Remember against the Magic, when Kobe hit that lefty leaning jumper off a spin move from the right elbow?  It was an amazing shot.  The kind of shot only Kobe makes.  LeBron isn’t having that.  He tried the exact same shot against the TrailBlazers, right down to the spot on the floor.  He missed badly, and it shows that he’s definitely watching Kobe and trying to prove that he can do anything that Bryant can.

Thing LaMarcus Aldridge Missed the Point On

Henry linked to the article where LaMarcus Aldridge said he was watching LeBron, but Nate McMillan said, “no, you aren’t.”  I’m going to guess that McMillan was talking about LeBron impacting the game on both sides of the ball (since he said that), and not that LaMarcus Aldridge should start wearing a headband.

Thing That is My Favorite from the Robert Swift Wikipedia Entry

Swift is the only white boy to enter the NBA straight out of high school.

Well, he IS the savior.

Things You Expected to Happen

Charlotte 101, Memphis 86

Boston 98, Miami 83

New Orleans 102, New Jersey 92

Cleveland 104, Portland 98

Lakers  108, Clippers 97

Detroit 95, Toronto 76

Things You Didn’t Expect to Happen

Houston 108, Utah 99

New York 114, Phoenix 109

Milwaukee 133, Dallas 99

Things No One Cared About

Washington 110, 107

Oklahoma City 122, Golden State 121