Tonight’s game between the Seattle Sonics Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers could prove to be the most intriguing game of the year. Mamba versus Durantula. The recent past versus the near future. An unstoppable legend in his prime versus a man sent back from the future to show us what basketball would look like in 50 years.
The collective mutterings from the Los Angeles Basin sound like genuine concern. “Where is the Laker mojo?” read one friendly Laker fan’s Facebook status update toward the end of game four. Well, the mojo got ran out of the gym. And methinks that only an ass-whooping that epic could have really gotten the attention of the purple and gold faithful. Or the Lakers themselves. It wasn’t just a “they held serve on their home court kind of game.” It was an announcement. Mojo might not be enough.
Kobe actually wore an expression during game four that I’ve never seen before. It was a look that spoke to the speed and alacrity with which the OKC basketball virus was mutating and adapting. Each game has brought another adjustment, another wrinkle. Often implemented on the fly and in real time. Westbrook breaking down Fisher was the first shot across the bow. Durant defending Kobe in crunch time in game three another. The list goes on. But what of tonight? This is what’s intriguing.
This is where we get to see the intellectual side of the other “beautiful game” reveal itself. One team or another is going to get the math right. In prime time. Under the sport’s brightest lights. In front of Jack Nicholson and his creepy friend with the white sunglasses. Either the veteranos are going to get cagey, or youth will served.
People thought I was certifiable about a month ago when I suggested that if OKC ended up being the Lakers’ first-round opponent, it could be this year’s “We Believe” moment. Not now. But going into Staples and stealing a game five is going to probably necessitate another new wrinkle, another mutation. But what? It’s the defending champions. In Staples. And they’re angry. What would you put in for this game? And if you’re Phil, what are the countermeasures? You know what’s at stake over these 48 minutes. What are you going to do? Read More »
After dropping a close one to the Dubs last night, Kevin Durant and the erstwhile Seattle Supersonics got a karmic smackdown of some significance tonight by their former neighbors to the south, the Portland Trail Blazers. Even with Seattle native Brandon Roy sidelined, the newest fan favorite, 36-year-old Marcus Camby, channeled the ghost of Shawn Kemp to the tune of 30 points and 12 boards to lead Portland into firm command of the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoff race.
This means that the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team that stole professional basketball from Seattle and a mascot from the Warriors, will now face the LA Lakers in the first round. Two games. Two curses answered by the karmic feedback loop smacking them where the dog shoulda bit them.
All is not lost however. This team presents one ginormous matchup problem for any team (even the defending champs) in the form of “Darantula.” He lit the dubs up quick, with 18 in the first quarter. Eventually, the Warriors solved the Durant problem by forcing him to make decisions quicker than he wanted to; they put lightning quick, theft-happy Monta on him outside and then sent immediate help in the form of a big if he got by Monta. This “held” him to 40 for the game. Nonetheless, this adjustment was clearly the difference maker down the stretch. Tonight, Durant faded as Camby inexplicably took over. The Rip City fans were even chanting, “Mar-cus Cam-by (clap, clap, clapclapclap)” after the game. What the hell? Where was this guy three months ago in a Clippers uni? When he was standing around looking bored on offense as often as not?
But it started me to wondering. How will the Lakers match up with Durant? Bully him with Artest? That would seem to be the obvious choice, but it could also prove to be a pretty serious early test for the Ron Ron experiment. And I’m not really sure that Durant can’t just shoot over him and/or go around him. I’m not ready to predict an epic upset, but I think that the Zen Master down south better start game planning some options if Durantula starts going nuts on single coverage, from Artest or otherwise.
And why, basketball gods, can’t this be a Seattle/LA series? I even miss our old friend Thunder a little bit too. But I guess this is how shady NBA owner karma works. Enjoy the playoffs Oklahoma City. And if it makes you feel any better Seattle, we won’t be at any games either.
Turman
PS. Our mole in Portland would like to personally thank the Warriors for their effort and hard work last night.
PPS. Good times with Atma, Fuzzy Logic, and Fantasy Junkie at the game the other night. Another recap of that game’s action here.
The good folks over at Joe Sports Fan dot com figured out another way to enjoy tonight’s game. That’s right peeps, bingo. But not just any bingo. This is white basketball player cliche bingo! Without going into much more on that, I’ll just point you to the appropriate link to cop four cards to enhance your viewing experience. Here you go.
Nice job, Joe.
Turman
PS. Duke senior Brian Zoubek was quoted in today’s Herald Sun telling all who would listen to, “Fear the beard.” Hey man, first Jacob Pullen and now this? Make the jump for the whole exchange. Read More »
It seemed odd, and yet natural at the same time, to hear Obama going back and forth between trash talking and giving normal interview-like responses. One second he’s plugging Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign and the next he’s telling Kellogg “Don’t tighten up just cause you’re playing The President.” Maybe The POTUS is starting to become more like The P-O-T-U-S in the wake of Health Care Reform, meaning maybe now Obama can relax a bit and turn on the swagger switch more often. He did just tell Republicans to “Go for it,” if they want to run their election races on repealing HCR - not exactly Gary Patyon-esque in the lexicon of trash talking but at least as good as George W. Bush. What’s telling about this video, in light of the HCR victory, is that Obama needs to have some wins before he starts feeling himself. He’s not that dude on the court that’s going to start trash talking before the game even starts. Clearly, it wasn’t until his stroke started to catch that he began running his mouth a little (as mild as it was).
I will make a point (with no political analogy here), that Obama’s form needs some work. He needs to extend more when shooting. My man’s got some lazy elbow going on. That being said, I don’t think any other POTUS could hit a corner three like that. Nice one Prez.
Actually, I did know what was going to happen. And most of the people in the vicinity of Section 107, Row 8, seat 6, can vouch for this. The incongruously attired Warriors fan in the “I LeBron NY” t-shirt walked into the arena and stated before the tip off that David Lee would go for 40. The man seated to his left, laughed and said, “and 20 rebounds.”
Neither of us saw the 10 assists coming, but the rest was fully expected. Honestly, it was the most workmanlike triple-double I’ve ever seen. I’m not even sure that people in the arena were aware of what the dude was doing. Granted the 10th assist was a bit of a gift, given that there was a pump fake and a pivot involved, but seriously. I was ready to buy a lottery ticket after seeing such rarefied ballitude.
Instead, I got on BART. There, I ended up seated across the aisle from a woman who had DeShawn Stephenson-level facial hair. “This has to be an omen,” I’m thinking. Walking home, I decided to stop into the local sports bar and see if I can get confirmation that Lee’s feat was as rare as I thought it was. Instead, I ended up getting a tarot reading from a red-wine-addled medical Mary Jane spokesperson and stripper named “Bella Mafia” who is apparently also getting a PhD in psychology.
She didn’t tell me that David Lee had done something that hadn’t been done since 1976. Or that Kareem Freaking Abdul-Jabbar was the last guy to do it. Or that Abdul-Jabbar also did it against the Warriors. She did tell me a whole lot of other stuff though, much of it eerily accurate. One nugget: that I tend to have visionary insights but lack follow through.
That nugget is precisely why I’m sitting at my computer right now. Because I had the insight and then witnessed some actual NBA history. That’s why we watch. This is the follow through. David Lee, I salute thee. It didn’t even look difficult. Which means that you are for real.
Turman
PS. Props to Atma Brother One at Golden State of Mind for the invite, futurecasting, and company at the game.
I’m going to Oracle Arena tonight to watch the Warriors play the Knicks. One of the reasons I’m going is so I can wear this shirt. While I’m a Warriors fan, I honestly have a serious soft spot for the Knicks. Big-market team with denizens of faithful fans, who also spend many a fourth quarter with their heads in their hands glad that they got that extra beer before the third quarter ended. Sound familiar? That’s why I’m wearing this shirt tonight. The Knicks deserve a reprieve. Why not the prize of the offseason free-agent pool, LeBron James?
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of working with a talented young art director named Ivan Cash. After about three minutes of casual conversation, both of us realized that we had a similar problem. We both loved bad teams too much. In his case, however, he was actually arrested for it. See, while living in NYC, young Ivan had printed up t-shirts reading, “Don’t hate the player or the game, hate the coach.” At the time, that was a certain Mr. Thomas, he of the inept personnel decisions and sexual-harassment scandals.
Ivan’s latest work combines Milton Glaser’s iconic graphic artistry with a heartfelt plea to restore dignity to one of the cornerstone franchises of the league. Buy one here, if you’re feeling sympathetic to a metropolis that deserves better. It’s certainly sexier than an “I Larry Ellison Oakland” t-shirt, although if anyone has any better ideas I’ll happily forward them to Mr. Cash.
Turman
PS. Keys to the game? Uh, try to suit up at least six guys and score lots. I’m setting the over/under at 280 for this one. Also thanks to Atma Brother One over at the mighty Golden State of mind for the invite. Apparently, he’s thinking along similar lines.
