| 26 December 2008
Just wanted to jot down a few notes about the Christmas Day NBA festivities from yesterday. As you can probably tell there ended up not being an Eight-Second Violation for today because of the juggling of family time and NBA basketball. It led me to breaking free from family and going home at around 1am. With having to get up less than six hours later for work, it seemed unlikely that an effort could be made. But I'll try to hit on a few things here to make up for it as I wake myself out of this sleepwalk.
Hornets-Magic Game
Who would've thought that this would be the clunker of the whole day? I actually thought that this would end up being the second best game because Chris Paul doesn't seem to let his team give up and Dwight Howard is leading this Magic team perfectly right now (he's even made Jameer Nelson look good). At 50-27, I felt like I was playing Three-Card Monty on a street corner and determined to beat the system. At 61-31, I felt like I had just turned over my savings account to a pyramid scheme because a guy "in the company" had pictures next to a Hummer and a Ferrari and I thought, "That could be me!"
I was duped into thinking this would be a good game because of the names attached. Much like when I watched "Mr. Woodcock" and thought that since Billy Bob Thornton and the guy that played Stiffler had been funny before then there surely could be one redeeming moment of that movie. Unfortunately, there wasn't and I kept finding myself wandering in thought, trying to decide whether Susan Sarandon could pull off a hotter, older woman in real life or not. And that's kind of where my mind wandered to during this game - where does Dwight Howard go when the athleticism slips? Sure we're 10 years away from that happening, but just because people didn't want to think about it with Sarandon in Bull Durham, doesn't mean that we wouldn't have decide whether or not her greatest assets would still be enough to get the job done even when they've slipped into a downward spiral (read into that however you want - literally or figuratively).
The fact that there wasn't a basket made by either team for nearly the entire fourth quarter really set me up for disappointment the rest of the day. We learned on Thanksgiving that you can't just take a team of guys (in that case from the NFL) away from their families to play a game on the road on one of the biggest holidays of the year. Perhaps the same would hold true on Christmas Day and we'd get more games of guys going through the motions, just waiting to go home and play Rock Band 2 with their children.
Spurs-Suns Game
During the opening minutes of this game, it seemed like Tim Duncan also wanted to sing Fleetwood Mac songs into a microphone while his family members played the drums to buttons coming down a conveyer belt faster than chocolates flying past Lucille Ball (does anyone get that reference anymore?). The Suns jumped out to a quick lead that looked like we were going to be 0-2 in Christmas Day games. But I quickly forgot that the Spurs still had every mental edge on the Suns and their fans. There was no way that the Spurs would let the Suns and their followers go home happy on Christmas.
I'll keep it brief with this game and say this - when you're trying to transition from an all-offense team to a more defensive-minded team, you can't be bipolar about it. You can't bring Jason Richardson, put him next to Steve Nash, and act like you should be stopping people. Forget that the Suns left one of the leading three-point shooters in the league wide open on the final play of the game. The fact that they left anybody open shows the struggles and limitations of this team. They still can't guard anybody when they need to. They still can't trick the Spurs into running with them for 48 minutes and they can't beat the Spurs at a slow, half court game. Jason Richardson will never be confused with Alvin Robertson on defense. He has all of the physical tools to look like a capable defender but he just isn't mentally strong enough to do so.
Why do I say this? Because on the final possession of the game, Jason Richardson just had to stay with Roger Mason Jr. in the corner, which would have forced a bad shot attempt by Tony Parker over Grant Hill to potentially tie the game. Instead, Richardson dropped down enough to double team (only he never actually doubled, just sort of stood in the middle of two places he could be) and allowed Mason to be wide open. Result? Another dagger shoved into Suns' fans but this time there was some Christmas ribbon wrapped around the handle. Quit pretending that you can be a defensive team with your current roster. Just continue to run until Nash can't do it anymore, dump it into Shaq when things slow down, and figure out how to not defecate all over yourselves when it's crunch time.
Celtics-Lakers Game
Let's get a couple of things clear here - 1) The Lakers won this game fair and square and I don't want to hear complaining about the refs, and 2) This is a completely meaningless game other than the fact that the Celtics don't have a 20-game win streak this morning. Here are a couple of more bullet points from this game:
- The Celtics badly need a backup point guard. We have to stop pretending that Eddie House and Tony Allen are capable ball-handlers and decision makers for a title contending club. Maybe Gabe Pruitt should be given a legit chance at earning some minutes. Or maybe the Celtics should see if Sam Cassell can provide 10 to 15 good minutes per night. They don't need anything flashy; they just need someone that I couldn't take the ball from eight times out of ten.
- The Celtics could use a better big man. Big Baby Davis is a fun guy to have around because he's stubby, large, and does things like this. But the Celtics still miss a veteran big man off the bench to complement someone like Leon Powe. With Krstic now signing with the Thunder, shouldn't the Celtics throw J.R. Giddens into a package of Brian Scalabrine, a future first round pick and cash for Joe Smith? This would give the Thunder some potential at shooting guard and allow the Celtics to throw out a better frontline in the playoffs.
- Apparently, Andrew Bynum still plays basketball. I didn't know. I thought he retired as the greatest center of all time because it's been a while since we heard from or about him. Over his last five games, he's dipped back into obscurity with averages of 8.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. He's extremely soft inside against strong post defenders and he doesn't seem to be meshing as well as people thought with Pau Gasol. He's still young so there's plenty of time to correct this for the post-season but I had completely forgotten he existed until he dunked a ball four minutes into the game. He blends in way too much.
- I have a very Utah Jazz circa 1998 feel with this Lakers team but it isn't due to any similarities in style, personnel or coaching. I feel like I've seen the Lakers (and every Phil Jackson team) run the exact same play over and over again. It has even become second nature to me because I correctly anticipate where each guy is going on the court at every moment and find my mind reacting to where the defense plays the Lakers players and where they will go because of it. But it all happens in my subconscious. I finally realized it yesterday, which leads me to wonder, "If I already know where the Lakers are going for offense, why can't the teams in the NBA defend this bet
ter?" Part of it is that the Lakers have really good, smart players running this system and do a great job at reading the defensive pressure and reacting to it. But that still doesn't mean that other teams can't defend it better. Shouldn't they just play the defense more straight up, not overplay cuts so the Lakers can't change directions on them, and then just wait for Kobe to hoist up a 22-footer?
- If I were Doc Rivers, I would apologize to Ray Allen profusely for leaving him on the court with Eddie House and Tony Allen playing in the backcourt. It's amazing that Ray Allen didn't pull a Wally Szczerbiak and steal the ball from his teammates. There were far too many possessions in which Ray never touched the ball.
- Brian Scalabrine stole a pass from Kobe Bryant on the final play of the first half. It made me wonder if I could come up with a less-likely scenario happening in those final three seconds of the half. Best I could come up with is a courtside interview in which a) Kevin James was actually entertaining to listen to and b) having that result with me ever considering seeing Paul Blart: Mall Cop.
Wizards-Cavs Game
How was this the second best game of Christmas Day? This should have been an absolute time-waster and yet I couldn't take my eyes off of it. The Cavs settled for far too many threes and could only beat a team by four at home when that opponent attempted seven free throws the entire game. Caron Butler was disappointing because you expect him to eventually put up a good performance against LeBron James despite recent history. Antawn Jamison is still one of the most underrated scorers of this generation and should be recognized for having one of the softest touches around the basket. But there's one inherent problem with this Wizards team - Mike James.
I don't care if Mike James did have 26 points in this game. And I don't care if he once averaged around 20 for a season. He has no business taking the game-tying attempt with four seconds left on the clock. I don't know if Ed Tapscott drew that up as the play or if Mike James decided to pull a Stacy Patton and just ignore his teammates but whatever it was ended up as a terrible decision. Mike James had better shooters on the court with Butler and Nick Young and even if James was hot for most of the game, it doesn't mean that a forced 25-footer with a hand in his face and no rhythm on the shot is the right way to send this game into overtime. Come back, Gilbert!
Mavericks-Blazers Game
I didn't catch all of this game because I was given Seinfeld Scene It! as a Christmas present, which is the equivalent of giving Paris Hilton some PCP, ecstasy, and a guarantee that a room full of guys can't give her herpes (again?). You just know that both of us are going to run amuck and show what our talents are. The Mavericks defense in the final six minutes of this ball game was impressive and it showed that this team could potentially be dangerous come playoff time. When it comes to Jason Terry, I've definitely turned a corner and feel like Jonah Hill trying to pick up on the girl at the party in Accepted.
Jonah Hill - "You look like Carly Simon! If there was one girl in the world that I could bang, it would be Carly Simon and you look like her!"
That's how I feel like with Jason Terry in terms of basketball love if I were trying to sign a perfect Sixth Man:
"You play like Jason Terry! If there was one reserve that I could bring off the bench to score a ton of efficient points and make big shots, it would be Jason Terry and you play like him!"
The guy has easily become the best scorer coming off the bench in the league.
Now, let me talk a little about Seinfeld Scene It! before I leave you for the weekend. I've played a lot of Scene It! games from the first and second movie editions, to the HBO edition, the ESPN edition, Squabble Edition, and probably a couple more. They're all pretty good but they never seem to be complete or to completely capture the essence of what the game should be. Well with the Seinfeld edition, it couldn't be a more complete game. They layout of the DVD and its presentation is flawless. The questions on the card are phenomenal and the clips/games that are on the DVD are always entertaining. This is literally the perfect DVD board game and something that Seinfeld nuts like me could play for days. The only way it could have been tailored more for my enjoyment is if it was a Saved by the Bell edition, obscure bench players from the 1990s NBA edition, or a Jean Claude Van Damme edition.
And by the way, for all of those who have inquired about it, the chloroform brownies were a huge hit.
I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday!
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
