Heat-Celtics, Game 2: An Assortment of Goodies

Generally speaking, being an adult stinks. Krissy and I can’t figure out where to live. We have agreed that we would like to move up closer to where her parents reside (northern New Jersey), but we both have steady jobs here in Maryland. Also, we have tossed around the idea of moving into Krissy’s grandmom’s house in Delaware until she is ready to sell it. The 1 advantage of that would be that is would give us more time to stash away extra cash for a down payment on a house when the time comes. These ideas are all well and good, but the problem is we don’t have an exact plan, and even if we did it would be tough to execute. How are you supposed to decide where to move your entire life to? And how are you supposed to go anywhere in the 1st place without jobs? Consequently, I’ve been exploring all avenues: job openings in NJ, job openings in DE, job openings here in MD, and housing in all 3 places to boot. It’s enough to drive someone to insanity…good thing I’m insane already.

Oh, I'm certifiable alright...

I’ve posted enough on here lately that I’ve actually started to contemplate what’s in it for me other than the enjoyment of writing itself. That’s right…I’ve wondered what it would be like to sellout! But to sellout, you need to have a modicum of success in the 1st place. I’m not sure what qualifies as success though. What brought this on exactly? Well, 2 things…1st, when logging in to my blog 1 day, I noticed a little blurb about “Google AdSense.” Basically, Google puts ads on your blog, and you can actually make a profit if it gets enough traffic. The problem is that you don’t really know how much you would make until you sign up. This led to the 2nd thing that brought this on: checking my “stats.” I never cared how many people came across “B-Court All-Star” before, but now I check the page view statistics every time I log-on to post something. It’s just a force of habit at this point. For what it’s worth, this month I set my personal best for page views. The post with the most page views is when I wrote about my exploits with poison ivy, as for some odd reason it accounts for a quarter of all the page views I’ve ever had. What does any of this mean? I don’t have a f****** clue to be honest. Only 2 people that I know of (my wife and my friend Mac) read this stuff. Where is all this other traffic coming from? Do people just stumble onto the images I embed when they do a Google image search? Are the stats even right? And what would my stats translate to earnings-wise? Would 100 page views get me a nickel? 10,000? Who knows…it’s fascinating to me for some reason though. Maybe 1 day I will actually “monetize” this thing, but for now it’s all pie-in-the-sky to me.

So, what was I supposed to talk about again? Oh yea, the game…yesterday I wrote that I couldn’t stay with the Spurs-Thunder game all the way through, but I happened to watch game 2 of the Heat-Celtics to completion. Even though last night’s game went into overtime it started a half hour earlier than the game on Tuesday night. So while the overtime period caused it to end later, I guess I was already “pot-committed” as they say in poker. If the Celtics lose this series (which seems even more likely now), they will be kicking themselves when they think of game 2. Pierce and Allen didn’t shoot the lights out like I said they needed to, but their combined 13 for 30 showing from the field was a big improvement from their game 1 output. More than that, the C’s wasted a career night from Rondo, who poured in 44 points (many of which came on perimeter jumpers…not exactly his forte) while not sitting out a single minute. Boston was also pretty whiny after the game about the foul shout disparity between both teams. I am hardpressed to think of a Boston foul that wasn’t actually foul though. The Celtics’ 1 legitimate beef might be the missed call in overtime when Rondo was driving to the basket and was grazed in the face by Dwyane Wade as he attempted a layup. Maybe I have an anti-Celtics bias, but I was less riled-up about the no-call than others. It was clearly a foul, but it still would have been a bail-out call on a wild, out-of-control shot, 1 that I am actually ok not rewarding with 2 free throws. And as for the overall free throw disparity, Boston is a jumpshooting team. You’re not going to march to the line when Pierce, Allen, KG, and even Rondo in this case are for the most part content to take shots from the outside. Conversely, Miami continued to take the ball to the basket, and Boston helped them out with silly fouls at times to boot (I’m looking at you, Keyon Dooling and Mickael Pietrus). The Heat took care of business on their home court. Now, let’s see if the Celtics can come back to Boston and do the same.

The last point of order before I wrap this up is this little diddy. I know it’s a pop song, but it’s catchy, and being that it’s “government Friday” I am unlikely to post anything else this week. This song seems to fit my start-of-the-week mood.

Spurs-Thunder, Game 2: What Did I Miss?

The time difference between San Antonio and Baltimore is only 1 hour, but that hour makes a big difference for us East-coasters who need to wake up for work the next morning. So, when it was creeping towards 11:30pm and there was a TV timeout with 5:40 to go in the 4th, I had to call it quits. As the action broke, the Thunder had cut the once 22 point Spurs lead to 8 with 2 upcoming free throws that could cut it to 6…but even though OKC had made it a 2 possession game with about 6 minutes to play, I didn’t have any confidence that they could complete the comeback and steal game 2.

You see, as long as the Thunder aren’t playing “hack-a-Splitter,” the Spurs offense seems impossible to stop right now…which is infuriating on some levels because their offense seems incredibly simple most of the time. I have to concede that Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are both great, but it doesn’t seem like they should be this good. They both get into the lane at will, either creating easy shots for themselves or for teammates. San Antonio’s role players don’t do anything special, but they are so well coached that they are seemingly always in the right position, and when they receive the ball they are ready to shoot or make the extra pass as soon as they touch it. There are no wasted dribbles, jab steps, or other ball-stopping maneuvers in their offense…which is beautiful basketball, but it’s all predicated on Parker and Manu getting to their spots. The fact that teams can’t devise ways to stay in front of either is befuddling to me, but it’s actually gotten to the point that if the Spurs have an offensive possession where they don’t score, I am shocked. Let me give you some stats, Hubie Brown style, here: San Antonio shot 55% from the floor for the game and 42% from 3; also, Parker was an absurd 16 for 21 from the field.

A common sight early in this series: Tony Parker in the paint.

OKC’s offensive numbers don’t look all that bad either. Their big 3 were all right around the 30 point mark for the game, and they only turned the ball over 10 times for the game (often 1 of their downfalls). However, they only shot 42% from the field as a team, as everyone not named Durant, Westbrook, and Harden clanged 27 of 34 shots. Usually role players play better at home though, and the Thunder will be counting on that as the series shifts to OKC. The Thunder are getting good shots for the most part, as San Antonio plays solid team defense with each player in the right spot at all times (much like the precision of their offense), but they don’t really have any great individual defenders or rim protectors (Duncan is still serviceable in that department, but he ain’t what he used to be). They just need a few more of those shots to go in…more makes will result in fewer easy opportunities for Manu and Parker at the other end too, thus making their defense look a little better.

Strategically, the changes for OKC seem obvious. They need to go small with KD at the 4 more often. The Spurs are playing lineups with finesse 4’s like Boris Diaw and Matt Bonner anyway, so there is no need for the Thunder to play 2 bigs at once really. (Maybe they could mix things up by trying a bigger defender like Sefolosha on Parker too.) I would also start trapping all pick-and-rolls hard…very hard. And if the ball is swung to Duncan or another Spur big off the pick-and-roll, make them score. OKC’s rotations off the pick-and-roll are playing right into the Spurs’ hands, as Duncan and Diaw’s 1st read is always to swing the ball to open 3 point shooters (not to look at the basket). This is essentially how the Spurs used to play the Phoenix Suns’ pick-and-roll in the “7 seconds or less” era. Amare Stoudemire would wind up with some ridiculous stat lines, but the Spurs seemed to always walk away with the W. Stoudemire’s sky-high point totals were by San Antonio’s design, as more shots for him resulted in less wide open 3’s for Phoenix’s perimeter players.

TD may get his, but OKC would be wise not to keep both Perk and Ibaka on the court at the same time for very long the rest of this series.

OKC may be down 0-2, and it seems like San Antonio hasn’t lost since the All-Star break, but I think this series is far from over. In 1 respect, the Spurs simply did what they were supposed to do: protect home court. Now, it’s the Thunder’s turn, as the best home court advantage in the league should await them in game 3.

Heat-Celtics, Game 1: No Rest For The Weary

100th blog post, people! Cue the streamers and noise-makers…no? Ok, I guess not.

Watching ESPN a few days ago, 1 of the talking heads mentioned that he felt this version of the Celtics deserved more than 1 championship. They got their 1 ring in the big 3’s 1st year of existence, but given how good they have looked at times it seems like they should have 2 or 3 in that span. Year 2 of the KG-Allen-Pierce trifecta was halted by a Garnett knee injury. In year 3, the C’s were a game away, and Boston fans will go to their graves clamoring that Kendrick Perkin’s injury during the Finals is what swayed the series to LA. In year 4, the Celtics looked like they could have given the Heat a decent run for their money at least, but Rajon Rondo dislocated his elbow during the series. He continued to play, but he was clearly not himself, and the Celtics exited quietly.

This might be the Celtics' last chance as currently constructed.

Year 5 has put Boston in a tough spot. To say they were the 5th best team in the Eastern Conferences this season (as their seeding suggests) is laughable. In fact, the Bulls and Celtics at full strength are the only teams from the East that would even make Miami bat an eye. But there’s a reason 4 other teams in the East marched to better regular season records. Boston’s core 4 are in tact, but age seems to be catching up. Finishing up Philly in a tidy 4 or 5 game series would have done the Celtics some good. Instead, the Sixers stretched them to 7 games, and as a result Boston’s game 1 loss in Miami following a quick turnaround was predictable. KG was really the only Celtic that played well. With Bosh sidelined, Miami has no real answer for him, and if Garnett keeps consistently draining 18 footers and getting deep post position, he will be a problem for the Heat all series. Pierce and Allen shot a combined 6 for 25 from the floor though, which just isn’t going to get it done. For them to have a chance in this series, I think they both need to shoot lights-out, which is going to be a tall order considering LeBron and Wade are going to be shadowing them most of the time.

Game 1 was strange on a couple of levels though. 1st, if you just watched the game in the 1st half without looking at the score, it felt like Miami had stretched the lead out to double digits by halftime, yet it was tied at the break. Also, Miami was the beneficiary of a couple of quick-trigger technical foul calls on Boston, but I’m not sure how much of an effect they had on the outcome of the game. It was reminiscent of the game 1’s of the Knicks-Heat and Pacers-Heat series earlier this postseason, where the Heat got the benefit of a couple suspect calls also, but those games were so out of hand that it was hard for the Knicks or Pacers to say they lost because of the refs. And yet, in a couple of the close games against New York and Indiana, I thought the refs swallowed their whistles in a way that worked against Miami. It’s just odd to me that the Heat seem to get a lot of calls in games that they win easily but not in closer games (where you would think star teams would be more likely to get calls).

Quick T's aside, LeBron and the Heat looked to be head and shoulders above Pierce and company in game 1.

On a sidenote, can we agree to stop praising Doc Rivers for his “decision” to move KG to center? 1st of all, this move was made out of necessity because the Celtics only other decent, able-bodied big man on the roster is 6-8 Brandon Bass. It’s not like Rivers was like, “Hmmm, maybe I should start Ryan Hollins at center just so I can keep KG at power forward.” 2nd, if you actually watch a Celtics game, it’s not like Garnett is doing anything differently on the court now that he’s not playing alongside a true center. The roles he fills are exactly the same as when he was paired with Perkins, Shaq, or Jermaine O’Neal. Just stop it already. This annoys me almost as much as calling Tim Duncan the “greatest power forward of all time.” He’s a center. He’s always been a center. He just so happened to play most of his career alongside other centers. He’s started next to DeJuan Blair and and Boris Diaw the last 2 seasons, so does that mean he also changed positions to center? Get out…no really, just leave.

Anyway, to me this series will be decided based on how well Pierce and Allen play. I fully expect them to play better than they did in game 1, but how much better? I’m not sure…Pierce has always matched up well with LeBron, and Allen’s ability to run Wade off of screens has traditionally been able to offset Wade’s slashing and post-up abilities. The fact that both Allen and Pierce are hobbled and have a lot of miles on them is clearly showing though. And the fact that Boston’s bench is even shorter than Miami’s right now means they are going to have to play a lot of minutes this series as well…which might just be too much to ask.

Let Me Take A Minute To Own Up To My Wrongs

So, it looks unlikely that I’m going to break my record for most posts in a month (12) this May. This will be my 9th, and I will be out of town from tonight through Memorial Day, so writing 4 more posts seems unlikely. Maybe June will be an especially proficient month for me. Let’s tie up a couple of loose ends.

1st, my cell phone situation seems to be settled for now. Let’s just say my no-data-plan-cell-phone idea was short-lived to say the least. I’m positive my wife read the post where I espoused my newfound love of cheaper cell phone bills and a simpler mobile device, but she did what most smart women do: ignore their stupid husbands and do what’s best for them in spite of their nincompoop-ness. She basically completed every step of getting my current Blackberry set up without even a mention of my foolishness (like it never even happened at all): borrowed the Blackberry from a friend, called Verizon to activate it, transferred my contact list from my old phone, etc. The phone is an older version of my original Blackberry Bold, so it doesn’t have the same exact functionality, but I didn’t have to lift a finger to get any of that done, and I’m happy as a clam now…c’est la vie…and damn you, technology.

2nd, back in March when the University of Maryland men’s basketball team failed to make even the NIT, I wrote a post about the upside of the program going into next year. This largely had to do with the fact that most of their roster, including the ACC’s leading scorer this past season (Terrell Stoglin), was returning. Well, since then Stoglin decided to leave school for the NBA Draft upon being suspended from the team (apparently for failing multiple drug tests), and reserve wing Mychal Parker and forward Ashton Pankey (who started 17 games this past year) each decided to transfer. With point guard Pe’Shon Howard still recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, the depth started to look a little murkier. But the Terps have had a very active recruiting period following Coach Mark Turgeon’s 1st season. On Monday, Maryland announced their 2nd incoming transfer of the spring with the signing of Albany guard Logan Aronhalt. Aronhalt will be eligible to play this season, whereas former Michigan forward Evan Smotrycz will have to sit out until the 2013-14 season. Turgeon also has an incoming freshman class of 5, which was ranked by ESPN as the 18th best 2012 recruiting class in the country. The combination of the newbies, a more seasoned Alex Len and Nick Faust, and other returnees Howard and James Padgett is intriguing, but I think there are just too many unknowns to get overly excited now. Much like most things, it looks like we are back to a wait and see approach for the Terps going into next season.

Stoglin passing was an uncommon sight during his time at UMD, but he will pass up his junior and senior years.

I was going to include an NBA playoff update here too, but I think I will save that for next week. If you take the injuries into consideration, the playoffs have been fairly predictable actually thus far. The 1 thing I had completely wrong was the Spurs, who I thought were vulnerable despite their winning streak and number 1 seeding going into the postseason. San Antonio has now surgically swept through the 1st 2 rounds of the playoffs, and they have lost only 2 games in the last 2 months. I do feel like if the 2nd round matchups were switched (Spurs vs. Lakers and Clippers vs. Thunder), the Lakers could have offered the Spurs a stiffer challenge (and the Clips could have probably won a couple games against OKC as well), but just as in boxing styles make fights, and we see how important of a factor matchups are in the NBA every spring.

Body Of Work

This past weekend Krissy graduated from Salisbury University, which we and our families used as an excuse to find someone we know with a house relatively near Ocean City, pile into our cars, and head to the beach. For me going to the beach means 1 thing: body surfing. Probably since I was a teenager, body surfing is how I spent the majority of my time whenever I found myself at a beach. Sure, it’s not like I never did other “beachy” things like play volleyball or paddleball, toss around a football or a frisbee, or dig substantially sized holes in the sand, but for me those always just ended up being filler activities before I was back out in the waves.

No, not that kind of body surfing...eww.

How exactly did this obsession start? Well, from an early age my 2 younger siblings and I always loved being in the water. When we had finally gotten big enough and brave enough, my parents bought us boogie boards. There was 1 year that we got a huge inner tube…the heavy-duty kind that was meant for towing someone around behind a powerboat or something. Most of that vacation was spent trying to somehow get all 3 of us (my brother, sister, and I) on the tube at the same time, and then our Dad would hurl/push/spin us into a giant wave just as it was breaking. This would invariably flip the tube over, thus corkscrewing the 3 of us into the water like a puny little sailboat getting capsized by a tsunami. Most other beachgoers probably thought we were nuts, but to us this was the epitome of fun. (Looking back now, it’s a wonder we didn’t break our necks, and I’m not even sure if today’s more hypersensitive fun-sucking lifeguards wouldn’t have started to blow their whistles at us as soon as they saw our giant inner tube touch the water, but it was fun none the less.)

Eventually, I kind of outgrew the boogie boards and inner tubes though; however, anyone who has seen me try to ice skate or ski would probably tell you that me getting on a surfboard might not be the world’s greatest idea, so I never tried it (I may still want to attempt it 1 day). When I was 11 or 12, I remember seeing these 2 older kids (probably 15 or 16 years old) riding waves, but as I looked closer I could see that they had no board! I was instantly fascinated. These older kids were getting better rides than I had ever gotten using a boogie board, and they didn’t have to worry about being annoyingly tethered to a foam rectangle the whole time, which for all the fun you got out of them sometimes didn’t seem to be worth the trouble.

The rest of that week at the beach, I would venture out to the water whenever I saw them body surfing, and I would try to just do what they did (from a safe enough distance away that I didn’t seem like a copycat/poser/completely uncool little kid). I would stand as far out as they stood, pick the waves out that they picked, started paddling when they started paddling, etc. When the 2 older dudes weren’t in the water, I would keep practicing on my own. My success rate was abysmally low. Most of the time, I simply missed the wave altogether. I usually found that I had either started paddling too late, didn’t paddle hard enough, or was out of position in the 1st place. I tried to employ the boogie board strategy of just placing yourself right where the wave is going to break too. That usually works when you’re boogie boarding because the buoyancy of a boogie board basically allows you to “catch” the wave at any point after it’s already broken (as long as you’re standing in front of the wave). If you’re trying to body surf though, this usually results in getting face-planted into the ground. Consequently, I spent most of my early body surfing days with very tired limbs from swimming and eating a lot of sand without much riding to actually show for it.

At some point, it just kind of clicked though: where to place yourself in relation to where the waves were breaking, when to paddle, and just the right amount of courage. (I’ve found that most good rides require you to go right up to that “line” of completely wiping out, so not being afraid to actually get crushed once in a while is important.) Not to sound like a cocky a******, but it’s at the point that I only know a handful of people in my circle (the Osborne brothers and Krissy’s brother Nick for example) that are as good at it as me, and I rarely see a random person that is actually any good at it either. Then again, it’s not really something that carries much cache to be good at…just like nobody really cares if you’re good at hacky sack or ultimate frisbee either. If you’re so good at those, why aren’t you playing soccer or football or something, and if you’re such a great body surfer, why don’t you really surf…you know, with a surfboard? Also, it’s probably something that is not that difficult to get good at if you actually try. I am not the strongest swimmer, nor am I the bravest person in terms of putting my body in harm’s way, so there could be millions of people out there that are better at it than me.

Valid points…still 1 of the most fun parts about body surfing is being completely condescending and snobbish towards people who stink at it! Everything in life shouldn’t be a competition, but if you’re my age and I see you on a boogie board, I immediately label you as a cheater. You’re Barry Bonds at that point. You can ride that wave a mile inland if you want, but it doesn’t count in my book. People who actually make a valid attempt at body surfing gain a little more respect in my eyes, but they are still fair game for poking fun at. More often than not, this occurs with large groups of guys in the water that appear otherwise athletic, but just can’t grasp the body surfing technique. Nothing makes me happier than watching them furiously paddle after a wave only to let it pass them by because they were out of position or because they just plain chickened-out (or when they actually think they caught a wave only to get pummeled by it).

"Herp-derp...look at me, Mom!"

 So, when I found out that I was going to have 2 beach days this past weekend, I was stoked. The fact that the weather wasn’t supposed to be ideal didn’t deter me. It was the beach; therefore, the water is where I go. However, the air temperature maxed-out at something like 68 degrees, there appeared to be the presence of what seemed like gale force winds, and the water seemed fit for penguins and polar bears. On top of all that the riptide was crazy, which made the water really rough. This all seemed to be a recipe for gigantic waves. Usually when I body surf I complain about the waves not being big enough, but these waves were easily twice my height, and even I don’t have that kind of courage. I made myself go in a few times, but at 1 point I looked to my left and to my right and there wasn’t another single soul in the water as far as my eyes could see. I ended up leaving the beach having failed to ride a wave for the 1st time since I don’t know when…discretion is the better part of valor though, and with that in mind I decided to live to fight another day…which hopefully will be sooner than later.

Cell Phone 2nd Thoughts And Thoughts On Last Night's Playoff Games

It’s been 11 days since my Blackberry went kaput, thus forcing me back into the Stone Age with my not-so-smartphone. My original plan was to borrow an unused smartphone from someone I know until I was eligible for an upgrade (or until the next iPhone came out…whichever happened 1st). Now, I’m not so sure. I just got my Verizon bill for the month, which was about $40 cheaper than it regularly has been when paying for 2 separate data plans. $40 doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you add it up, that’s close to $500 a year…I really like $500. And the part of the phone plan that you can attribute that $500 is basically the toy aspect of it. $500 a year for a toy? And I have another thing (my iPod Touch) that can do all the “toy-ish” things and more that my Blackberry could do in the presence of Wi-Fi anyway. What about the other smartphone things that my regular ol’ cell phone can’t do? Well, I haven’t exactly felt the compulsive need to send an email from my phone in those 11 days. My job is a desk job for the most part, and (homebody that I am) I probably only spend on average 2-3 nonworking hours away from our apartment per weekday. If I found myself really not being able to wait to send out an email between the time I left work for the gym and the time I got home, I might have bigger problems to worry about. Yes, not having all of my contacts in the phone I’m using now has been a minor annoyance once or twice, but that would happen with any phone switch (smartphone or not). The only time I can honestly say that I’ve missed my Blackberry in the last week and a half is when I have to take a dump at work. I’m sure there will come a time where I will be somewhere, and it would be nice to have some kind of device to look up directions or some other information, but it seems like those situations are few and far between. Now, let’s move it along to a little NBA Playoff update from the 2 series that had games last night…

Yep...basically.

Heat-Pacers (tied 1-1)…With Chris Bosh, I would have taken Miami to win this series in 5 tough games (similarly to how Miami beat Chicago last year in 5 tough games). Without him, I think it goes at least 6 games. Indiana’s strengths (its frontcourt size and depth) are the Heat’s biggest weaknesses in the 1st place, and those soft spots are even further exasperated with Bosh sidelined. But while the Pacers are a very good team, I’m just not sure they are good enough to step on Miami’s throat in the situation either. In game 2, the Heat were basically playing 2-on-5 the entire time, as no one else other than the big 2 could even muster more than 5 measly points. Even before Bosh went down, it should have been obvious by now that their supporting cast is not exactly as good as Pat Riley envisioned. If Mario Chalmers was a little more consistent or they had the 2007 versions of Shane Battier, Mike Miller, and Udonis Haslem, it would be a different story…but they don’t, so it’s not. Miami could argue that James and Wade’s presence on the court still gets Miami’s role players makeable open looks, and if the Heat shot even a smidge better than 1 for 16 from 3-point land in game 2, they would be heading to Indiana up 2-0…but even that doesn’t seem likely. And I didn’t even mention the chances LeBron and Wade had at the end of last night’s game either!

With Bosh out, the Pacers have the potential to make life difficult for the Heat.

Spurs-Clippers (Spurs lead 1-0)…Well, that was kind of predictable. I actually think that LA matches up better with the Spurs than most people believe, but who could foresee San Antonio winning on their homecourt in game 1 after having a week to rest while the weary Clips just finished a grueling 7 game series with Memphis? The Clippers actually hung tight with the Spurs for a quarter in a half before San Antonio started going off from the 3-point line. The Spurs finished the game a ridiculous 13 for 25 from the arc. If LA is going to make this a long competitive series, they are going to have to amp-up their D, hope that the Spurs miss a little more often, and get Chris Paul going. CP3 made his 1st 2 shots of the game, then went 1 for 11 the rest of the way. That may all be predicated on getting stops though. The Spurs are like a well oiled machine on both ends of the court when they are able to set up and get organized. Even with a banged-up group, better defense would allow Paul, Griffin, and the other uptempo members of Lob City to get out and finish plays on the break though…just don’t count on the Spurs to lend any helping hands with poor execution.

CP3 and Lob City were grounded for most of game 1.

The Thing About Knees...

The world we live in is so competitive that we often forget to celebrate the things that we accomplish. Often, the grief that accompanies our failures so easily overwhelms any kind of joy we get as a result of our successes that we forget about them entirely. After all, this refusal to fail is often the driving force behind the greatness within a person. Coming up short on 1 particular goal shouldn’t diminish all of our achievements though. Everyone can always strive to be better, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a step back once in a while and say to ourselves, “Damn, look what I did”…and now back to our regularly scheduled snarkiness, subversiveness, and self-deprecation.

Blah, blah, blah, inspiration, blah, blah, blah...

 All injuries share the same psychological elements, but different injuries emphasize some of those traits more than others. Upper body injuries incur feelings of frustration and uselessness. When I hurt my index finger on my left hand a few months ago, the most mundane tasks were suddenly difficult. This included things like opening doors and water bottles, but in a sports context it also included things as simple as making a chest pass. Ankle sprains make you feel clunky and slow, as if you have a cinder block strapped to 1 of your legs. When my achilles are really acting up, it feels like I have a knife sticking out of the back of my heels, but I feel like that kind of injury is mostly about rest and pain management.

Knee injuries are a different thing all together. All injuries carry a certain amount of uneasiness along with them. For example, when you are recovering from some type of mild muscle injury like a lower back spasms or a pulled hamstring, you’re not sure how far you can push yourself…but if you try to play a sport with a knee injury, that feeling of uneasiness is replaced with something closer to plain fear. I have had what I guess could be categorizes as a couple semi-serious knee injuries over the years. (I guess I would categorize bone breaks and ligament tears under “super-serious.”) The lack of stability that you have in that joint following an injury is unsettling to say the least. You get the feeling that it’s possible that your knee could just collapse on itself like a demolished building at any time…not a fun thought. Eventually, the knee heals and feels less aggravated, and you begin to think about it less and less, but I’ve noticed that I still have developed coping mechanisms over time. For example, ever since my 1st knee injury (partial medial meniscus tear in my left knee) I now rarely ever jump off of my left leg. If I do, my vertical is pretty weak…instead of an explosion, my left-footed jump is more like a small firecracker. As a result, I usually have to come to a jump-stop when driving for a layup. This is fine, and like I said I’ve learned to cope, but as a right-handed basketball player who drives right the majority of the time it’s easy to see how this could be a problem.

Ok...bad use of imagery.

Knee injuries can also be befuddling. A couple of years ago, that same knee buckled when I landed jumping over a dog gate in my in-law’s house (a trip to the doctor later on revealed that it was a sprained MCL). That happened in the morning on that particular day. The knee was sore and stiff, but not enough that I was really concerned about it at the time. In fact, I went to the gym in the afternoon, and it just so happened to be leg day for me. I did squats, leg presses, lunges, and probably 1 or 2 other exercises that my knee didn’t appreciate either. That same night, I went to go play basketball for a few hours with Krissy and 2 of her brothers, Frankie and Nicky. I could tell that something wasn’t really right, but I was able to run, jump, and cut mostly like normal. I wasn’t worried until we got back to the house, when the knee had really started to stiffen up. The next day I could barely walk, and it probably took about 3 or 4 months until it started to feel close to normal again.

Last Saturday, something similar happened. I felt that same troublesome left knee hyperextend a smidge during a touch football game. So, what happened next? I played on for another hour and a half. It was stiff that night and the following morning, but it loosened up enough for me to play several hours of basketball on Sunday. Then, stiffness and soreness ensued the rest of the week. When it was time to hoop for a few hours this past Saturday afternoon, it took a good 45 minutes before it loosened up to the point that I was no longer thinking about it while playing. So, I’m not sure what it is exactly that I did to make it finally stop hurting, but it did stop eventually…similar to how it stopped hurting the week before. As I told my friend Mac, “If only there was a way that I could harness what I did to make feel normal…” Realistically, the best prescription for my knee is probably rest. Unfortunately, that is usually not a realistic option for me…more injury updates to come.

Little Big Man

Going for a B-Court All-Star record here: 4 days in a row with a blog post. May started out pretty sluggishly for me on the posting front, but I’m back to being more prolific in churning these out. The only problem was that I couldn’t think of anything to write about for today. I considered just mailing it in and posting a YouTube video, but that is almost akin to Michael Strahan breaking the single season sack record because Brett Favre fell down or Ricky Davis trying to record a triple-double by throwing a ball off of his own backboard. Things looked pretty grim, and then I thought, "Andrew Bynum." This gave me pause too. Did I really want to break my record by writing about the Knicks and Lakers on back-to-back days? That almost sounds like blasphemy to me. If I write about the Yanks, Sox, and Cowboys next week, I might have to give a self-imposed suspension to myself or something. Screw it…let’s go for it.

Bynum’s behavior this year has resembled that of a petulant child. The worst thing that ever could have happened to Andrew Bynum is for Andrew Bynum to become relevant. The Lakers’ center has long been a favorite of the franchise’s brass, but hasn’t always necessary had the production on the court worthy of that type of hype. Drafted straight out of high school, Bynum was brought along slowly during his 1st few years in the league somewhat similarly to another big man who made the jump to the pros without playing any college ball, Jermaine O’Neal. During his rookie season, Bynum played sparingly. In his 2nd year, he started 53 games and averaged about 22 minutes a night. From his 3rd season on, Bynum has been the Lakers’ regular starting center when healthy…and prior to this season, “when” was the key word. He showed flashes of being a dominant big man from time to time (when Kobe would actually allow him to touch the ball on offense), but he always seemed to be injured.

Bynum has shown the potential to be dominant at times...at times.

This season has been Bynum’s best by any measure. He has played and started all but 6 games. He set career highs in points, rebounds, and minutes per game. He even was voted to start in the All-Star game. (With all that being said, let’s not get carried away. It’s not exactly a golden age for centers where Bynum had to beat out Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson to get in.) Bynum had some nice moments on the court, his 30 rebound game against San Antonio and a 10 block game earlier this series against Denver coming to mind 1st. That’s all well and good, but Bynum might have started feeling himself a little bit too much. Maybe he started hearing the voices out there that said Kobe should be feeding the post a little bit more and shooting less in his old age (probably true). Maybe he heard his name coming up in Dwight Howard trade rumors a little too often, and he started thinking of himself as a megastar along the same lines as Dwight (a discussion of how good Howard is will be saved for another day). Maybe Bynum really enjoys the fact that he was an All-Star starter this year, or that he was the 21st highest paid player in the league this year according to HoopsHype.com.

No matter what the reason, Bynum’s brattiness has been on full display this year. (Actually, it dates back to last year’s playoffs when he clotheslined little JJ Barea, and disrobed on the way to the locker room following his subsequent ejection.) He took an ill-advised 3 in a game against the Warriors, got benched, and later defied his coach by saying he would continue to take 3’s in games if he wanted to. With the Lakers up 3-1 in their current playoff series against the Nuggets, Bynum couldn’t help but open his mouth again, saying something to the effect of “closeout games are easy because the other team usually folds.” If that’s not billboard material for the other team, I’m not sure what is. (Bynum and the Lakers responded by getting clobbered the next 2 games.)

Oh yeah..."that."

More than any of that though, Bynum’s demeanor has been the most disturbing thing of all throughout year. His arrogance and the apparent fact that he just doesn’t get “it” never cease to amaze. It showed through in the “3-point-gate” episode with Mike Brown and in his eyebrow-raising comments about closeout games, but it’s much more than that. It’s his lack of participation in team huddles during timeouts when he doesn’t feel like it, his on court temper tantrums or disappearing acts when he doesn’t get the ball on offense a few possessions in a row, his eye rolls and woofing at teammates when they make a mistake (usually trying to cover up for a mistake that Bynum himself made through his own laziness earlier in that play). After LA’s game 5 loss, there was a Grantland article dedicated to how Denver’s Kenneth Faried was outplaying the superior athlete and physical specimen, Bynum, simply by playing hard all the time. For example, the article shows 1 play where while Bynum showboats to the crowd following a basket, and Faried then beats Bynum back down court to get a layup of his own. Anyone who has watched any of this series will tell you that regardless of whether the Nugget big man is Faried, JaVale McGee, or Timothy Mozgov, similar plays have been a common scene.

Bynum's actions often still call his maturity into question.

I would love to see the star-less Nuggets knock off the Lakers in game 7, but as I said before I just can’t really see that happening (http://bcourtallstar.blogspot.com/2012/05/less-is-more-best-of-7-in-round-1.html). Kobe will play great, the refs will give the Lakers all the calls they need, and Bynum will play hard enough for 1 game at least to ensure LA advances. Maybe that’s all for the better, as we’ll get to see OKC’s very active front line put the wood to Bynum all series in the next round. It’s sad because Bynum is 1 of only a handful of competent true back-to-the-basket big men in the world anymore, and his combination of size, power, footwork, and touch around the basket is probably unparalleled in the league. Still, his babyishness makes it almost impossible for you to root for him…that is unless you’re a Lakers fan, in which case you probably think Bynum is the future of the league. If that’s true, God help us all.

Contemplating The New York Knicks

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always hated the New York Knicks. I’m not sure what it was exactly that spawned my intense dislike of them. Maybe it had to do with my youthful man-crush on Michael Jordan and the fact that the Knicks were always an obstacle for Jordan’s Bulls. Or maybe it had to do with the constant obsession of the media with them just because they were the team from New York, which led to the Knicks being on national TV all the time despite the fact that they were usually mediocre. Maybe it was some combination of the 2. Either way, I was forced to at the very least temper my hatred for the Knicks once I married a lifelong Knick fan. I’ve watched an inordinate amount of Knicks games over the last 2 years though, so I feel like I’m almost a Knicks fan by proxy now…well, maybe not just yet, but I’m getting there.

What I’ve come to understand though is that the Knicks are actually similar in some ways to a team that’s always been near and dear to my heart: the Washington Redskins. Like the Skins, the Knicks so desperately want to be relevant in their sport that they will try and do just about anything to field a good team. Also like the Skins, they try a little bit too hard at times…either that, or both franchises just like to go grab every shiny new toy that’s available without thinking about things like team chemistry and how all the parts fit together. That may work with a sport like baseball, which has some team sport elements, but it is really a lot closer to an individual sport on a lot of levels. Players who have a certain skillset can usually be projected to perform similarly if they are put in a specific role on another team. Basketball is a much more fluid game, and often the whole is greater than the sum of the parts or vice versa in some cases. Just look at last year’s Finals, where Miami had 3 of the best 4 individual players on the court at any given time and still came up short against the Mavs.

Anyway, the Dan Snyder method for forming a team rarely works in football…it’s almost impossible in basketball. (Yes, I’m talking to you, James Dolan.) All this year, people made it seem as if the Knicks would be some kind of juggernaut once they had their full complement of players. After all, they rarely, if ever, played a game this year where Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, JR Smith, Jeremy Lin, and Baron Davis all dressed. That’s a lot of talent right there…but you’re also only allowed to play 5 people at once, there’s only 1 basketball to go around, and someone other than Chandler’s got to play defense once in a while. I can’t be the only 1 that noticed that over the past 2 years the Knicks played their best basketball when only 1 out of these 3 guys was in the lineup: Melo, Amare, and Lin. Last year prior to trading for Melo, the Knicks were 1 of the league’s hottest teams with Amare leading the way. Once Carmelo came on board, everything seemed to bog down. When Melo and Amare were out of the lineup and Linsanity exploded onto the scene earlier this year, the Knicks suddenly went on a win streak. And when Lin and Amare were out towards the end of the regular season, Melo carried New York to a strong finish. Why? Because with each of those guys the Knicks had a distinct style of play with all the team’s role players (Novak, Shumpert, Fields, Jeffries) coming in and doing whatever their specific jobs were. The couple of games that I saw where all those talented offensive players were all in the lineup (and these playoffs without Lin too), the Knicks were ugly to watch.

For what it's worth, I really do think Amare and Melo tried to make it work. The pieces just didn't fit.

Now, you almost have to grade the Knicks on a curve this past series against the Heat. Lin didn’t play a single minute due to a knee injury, and Shumpert and Davis both had catastrophic knee injuries of their own during the series as well. Those are their 3 best backcourt players. Having said that, they just seemed overmatched. To me, Tyson Chandler is the 1 guy on their roster that could be placed on any team that uses any style of play, and he’d be fine. He is going to control the paint on D, block shots, grab rebounds, and finish around the basket. Everyone else on the Knicks needs to be in the right system for them to succeed, which is the problem. Take Stoudemire for example…if you disregard his health problems, Amare plays best in the pick-and-roll (so does Jeremy Lin, in fact). Unfortunately, Carmelo is best in mid-post isolation plays. This usually involves him going to work while the other 4 players on the court stand and watch. This works when you are playing Melo next to Chandler and 3 guys who can spot-up and shoot 3’s, but if Amare and Chandler are both on the court with Melo, the floor isn’t properly spaced. Defenders can sag and help on Anthony, while still being able to get out and contest shots if Melo drives and kicks the ball out, thus rendering this offense pretty useless unless Anthony happens to shoot about 80% from the floor.

The other problem with how these guys all fit together is that Anthony, similar to LeBron, is really most effective on offense when he’s not playing the 3. Small forward is the natural position for both guys, but their unique size, quickness, and skillset allows them to play other positions too. When Amare was hurt towards the end of the regular season, the Knicks often went small with Melo at the 4. This allowed the Knicks to spread the floor even more effectively when Anthony was isolated in the wing or in the post. However, to me Anthony is best when he is matched up with a smaller player that he can just bully in the post and on the offensive glass. We saw shades of this a few years ago in the playoffs against the Lakers while Anthony was with Denver. Kobe is a pretty big 2-guard, but Melo could have his way with him if Kobe ever switched off on his man to guard Melo. The problem with this is that Melo isn’t quite the ballhandler, passer, or defender that LeBron is, so playing him at the 2 opens up other avenues to opposing teams.

The last thing seems minor, but can someone please tell me what the Knicks were thinking with JR Smith? Smith is uber-talented, but he’s a terrible fit for the Knicks. If the Melo acquisition was the worst example of Knicks Daniel Snyder-ism, Smith’s signing was a close 2nd. There was no need to pick Smith up once he finished playing in China. He’s an explosive scorer, but he’s streaky, has terrible shot selection, and turns the ball over like crazy. I feel like JR Smith took about 5 years off George Karl’s life while he was in Denver. More than that, you already have 2 guys, Melo and Amare, who are offense 1st players who take a lot of shots. What the Knicks felt they needed with a gunner like Smith is beyond me. Couldn’t those minutes have gone to Novak, Fields, and Shumpert (before he got injured) instead? It’s probably a small bone to pick, but Smith drove me crazy watching this series with Miami. If you looked at your TV closely enough, you could see Pat Riley smirking in the stands every time Smith dribbled away 10 seconds of the shot clock and then jacked-up a contested 20 footer. Don’t get me started on why they kept trying to play him at point guard either…

Apparently, Smith wasn't feeling the love from Knicks fans after the game. I'm sure they would tell him not to let the door hit him in the a** on the way out.

Anyway, I’m not sure what the Knicks do going forward. It looks like a pretty meager free agent class this offseason, but even so they might already be pot-committed to the hand they’re already playing. I’m not sure who they can afford to sign given how much of the salary cap they have tied up with Chandler, Melo, and Amare. Logic would dictate that they would try to trade Stoudemire given that Melo and he don’t really seem to be good complements for each other on the court, but I’m not sure if there are going to get any takers on that contract with those uninsured knees. And if they want to keep Jeremy Lin, I’m sure they’re going to have to pony up a good amount of cash for him too. Their best bet is probably to trade Amare at 50 cents on the dollar, plan to play small ball next year with Anthony at the 4, and then hope that they can improve internally. It all seems like a mess to me, but this is what happens when your owner plays fantasy sports with the roster. Just ask Dan Snyder…

Less Is More: Best Of 7 In Round 1

It’s been about a week and a half since the last time I made mention of the NBA playoffs, and, well, we are not much further along from where we last left off. Ever since the NBA switched from a best of 5 to a best of 7 format for the 1st round before the start of the 2003 playoffs, that’s pretty much been the norm though. That combined with the need to space the games out so that every game can be seen on national TV at a time that doesn’t conflict with another game has caused the NBA postseason to drag on until what seems like Halloween. If the NBA cared about making a better playoff system, they would at least go back to a best of 5 series in the 1st round. It will never happen because the NBA is a business, and the current system is more profitable; however, the NBA and all the other major professional sports leagues would be wise to understand that “more profitable” and “a better product” don’t always come hand in hand. With that being said, let’s look at each 1st round series and see whether a best of 7 is necessary in each.

Bulls-76ers (76ers lead 3-2)…In a best of 5 series, the Sixers would have taken this in 4 games, but even with Rose out, Noah out, and Deng hobbled I don’t trust Philly as far as I can throw them. They are just too young, inexperienced, and limited on the offensive end. Still, this had the makings of an ugly series ever since Rose went down at the end of game 1. This could very well end up going 7 games, but who honestly cares?

The verdict: This series should have been put out of its misery already…Best of 5.

Heat-Knicks (Heat lead 3-1)…This series is tailor-made for a best of 5 series. As Miami jumped out to a 3-0 series lead, it was clear as day that the Knicks weren’t going to offer the Heat a stiff challenge. Watching New York’s entire backcourt’s knees shatter every game didn’t help, but the Heat are overwhelmingly better. What was the result of having this series be a best of 7? A game 4 in New York where Miami looked bored and disinterested. There’s still no excuse for playing bored and disinterested in any playoff game, but do we really need to see the Heat smash the Knicks for 4 games instead of 3 to know they’re the better team?

The verdict: Was I not clear?...Best of 5.

Really? More?!?

Pacers-Magic (Pacers won 4-1)…In game 1, Indiana looked so much better than Orlando and somehow lost the game anyway. After that slip-up, the Pacers pretty much put their foot on the Magic’s throat in the next 4 games. This series probably would have been very interesting with a healthy Dwight Howard. Without him, it was a laugher.

The verdict: At least it was already put out of its misery…Best of 5.

Celtics-Hawks (Celtics lead 3-2)…I still maintain that for whatever reason Atlanta is a tough matchup for Boston. If this was a 5 game series, this would have been over already though. But with some what-ifs (the game 2 loss in Atlanta with Rondo suspended) and woulda-shoulda-couldas (the game 3 overtime loss in Boston) the Hawks could have conceivably been up 3-0 in the series too.

The verdict: And yet there’s almost no hypothetical scenario where I could see the Hawks winning a game 7 against the Celtics, which makes this kind of a silly argument…Best of 5.

Spurs-Jazz (Spurs won 4-0)…I thought Utah might have been able to at least make things interesting, but San Antonio just keeps rolling along. Just a quick note on the Spurs: including the end of the regular season they have won 14 in a row and 25 of 27 now!

The verdict: 1st degree murder. Wait, sorry…Best of 5.

Somebody notice us! We've only lost 2 games since mid-March!

 Thunder-Mavericks (Thunder won 4-0)…Would have liked to see the defending champs not go down in flames so quickly and give the young Thunder some of their comeuppance, but after deflating losses in the 1st 2 games in OKC this 1 seemed academic. The Thunder (and Spurs too by the way) did what Miami couldn’t in this 1st round: not get bored and disinterested in game 4.

The verdict: Sensing a pattern here?...Best of 5.

Lakers-Nuggets (Lakers lead 3-2)…This series is only interesting to me because I like watching George Karl teams play. There are no stars or egos. Everybody just plays hard. It’s almost like a college team in that respect. It’s especially fun since they are matched up against a Lakers team (that I loathe) who is the complete polar opposite of the Nuggets, where Kobe seemingly shoots 10 for 27 every night and Bynum looks like he’s always about to pout about something. And yet, much like the Hawks, the Nuggets would have been eliminated in 4 games if this was a best of 5 series. And, much like the Hawks against the Celtics, I have no confidence in the Nuggets eliminating LA no matter how many games they push them to.

The verdict: I gave love to Nick Young in a past post after constantly crushing him, so here’s some dap for JaVale McGee too, who has had a very nice couple of games in this series...Best of 5.

Grizzlies-Clippers (Clippers lead 3-1)…There have been other good games and good moments so far in these playoffs, but this has actually been the only series worth watching in its entirety. Both teams are young and hungry, there is a distinct contrast in playing styles, and it’s the only series where there seems to be some real animosity between the 2 teams (which is always fun). Still, you could argue that if this had been a best of 5 series it would already be over, and it wouldn’t have even gone the distance. With all that being said, LA has needed 1 of the greatest comebacks ever, a 1 point nail-biter, and overtime for each of their respective wins. The Grizzlies protecting home court in game 6, stealing a game at Staples Center, and coming back to Memphis for a deciding game 7 doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibilities.

The verdict: This is the only series where the NBA’s current best of 7 1st round series actually works for me. In fact, I’ll take best of 9 for Clips-Grizz please…Best of 7.

The Grizz had a chance to win every game in this series so far, so don't count them out yet.

A Slave To Technology And All Its Wonders

I once wrote that while I enjoyed being a technological contrarian and resisting the urge to go buy an iPhone, I thought that it was inevitable. This weekend may have inched me even a little bit closer to that inevitability. Normally, I don’t bring my Blackberry to the field with me when Krissy and I have a football game. Instead, it sits in my truck (uselessly, some people may add parenthetically) until the game is over…not this past weekend though. I foolishly left it in a side pocket of my duffel bag while we played. Meanwhile, a fluke 15-20 minute rainstorm decided to pass by just as the game started. The refs flirted with the idea of calling the game off, but eventually decided to let us play it out…which was a lot of fun to be honest. I probably hadn’t played a muddy, rain-soaked football game since I was a kid. It also ruined my Blackberry though. I used to think my Blackberry Bold was the tank of all smartphones, capable of having giant boulders smashed down on it while showing no ill effects. Unfortunately, it apparently was not an amphibious tank. A better phone case probably would have helped, but you will be hardpressed to find any Blackberry accessories anywhere but online anymore.

Since I had insurance on the phone, Krissy and I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal to just go swap out a new phone from a Verizon store, but we couldn’t find a store in the area that even carried that. We then figured we would just call Verizon and have them ship us 1, but we discovered that we would have to fork over $100 for the replacement phone (the retail price of a new Blackberry Bold is $200…so much for insurance). We decided to simply deactivate my data plan for now and reactivate my old enV 2 for the time being. This was distressing to me. I had had my Blackberry for almost 2 years, but I had just now finally started to use it for what is actually good about Blackberries compared to other smartphones. I finally synced-up my work email with my phone, I had actually gotten into the habit of using the phone’s calendar to set reminders for appointments, and I developed a system of internal memos so that I always had running grocery and to-do lists with me at all times…trivial things, I know, but what can I say? I had become just as much of a slave to technology as the next poor slob.

By the way, what kind of guy would be texting courtside with Rihanna sitting next to him? Wait, don't answer that.

At some point late on Sunday I entered the acceptance stage though. I thought, how quickly I became dependent on something that didn’t even exist 10 years ago (well, it existed, but I don’t think I knew anyone my age who had a smartphone until I was well into college…it didn’t exist in my world at least). Somehow people managed to live before smartphones or cell phones though. When you left the house, you didn’t worry about how someone would contact you; they would contact you when they contacted you. Now, if I leave the house and forget my cell phone, I feel as though my entire family is going to die by the time I get back to it…and yet I don’t think full family homicides were any more prevalent before the cell phone age started. I also thought about the money we would save in the months that we would be paying for only 1 data plan instead of 2. All of it made me think about the Louis CK clip that went viral a few years ago where he famously said, “Everything’s amazing, and nobody’s happy.” Not a bad perspective…maybe I would just go back to a regular ol’ cell phone and be done with smartphones altogether. How much better is the quality of my life by being constantly plugged into my email and the Internet anyway?

And then Krissy came home from work and said she had been talking all day with coworkers and family trying to get them to lend me 1 of their old smartphones that had been lying around until I got a new 1 of my own. Apparently, the unlimited data packages that Krissy and I have are not offered anymore. Since we already have those packages, we are grandfathered into them, and they can’t be taken away…but if we didn’t call up Verizon within a certain amount of time we would lose that option forever (on my phone at least). I tried to reason with Krissy that this was ok, and that I could survive on a lesser data plan. After all, I don’t use that much “data” to begin with, and I think I could make do not playing any word games on my phone until I got home from work. Let’s just say that my wife knows a bargain when she sees 1 though, and she was having none of this. Probably smart in the long run, but I had just gotten to the point that I was actually ok not having a smartphone for a while! Oh well…I guess I’m resigned to being a slave of the smartphone again. Just another poor sap who can’t stop taking the world in from a 3 inch screen while real life passes him by…nevermind, it’s my turn in Lexulous. Peaceout, motherf*****.

The Kid's Alright

With my “government Friday” winding down and not much chance of a blog post tomorrow, there’s simply too many things to write about…the Redskins (RG3, Kirk Cousins, etc.), the Clippers-Grizzlies game from last night, the Heat at MSG tonight, my newfound commitment to get to the office before 8am, and on and on and on…how about we stick with Bryce Harper?

The kid.

In 4 games since being called up to the majors, Harper has definitely caught a lot of people’s attention. 1st, there’s his ability. It’s a small sample size, but in 4 games he’s batting 0.385 with 3 doubles, and he’s shown he has a Howitzer for an arm to boot. His swing seems to be effortless and completely violent at the same time somehow. It’s the kind of swing that makes it easy to misjudge the ball off of his bat when watching on TV. What look like nice line drives are suddenly careening off outfield walls once the behind-the-backstop camera view is switched to. And while he may be the type of guy that draws the ire of opponents now and again (his blatant look-at-me helmit flip on his way to 2nd base following a double to the gap a couple nights ago, his ridiculous haircut and eyeblack, and his brash personality will no doubt get some sweet chin music thrown his way sometime in the not so distant future), he also seems to be the type of guy that is going to do everything 100 miles per hour all the time. Ruffling people’s feathers is expected with Harper, but I doubt it will be for dogging it on his was to 1st after a groundout or anything hustle-related. He appears to be a balls-to-the-wall kind of player. And behind that ability and machismo might even be a cool dude in his own way. YouTube was blowing up the other day with this clip of Harper taking a couple of swings in a slow-pitch softball game at the National Mall in DC.

Apparently Harper was just doing the tourist thing in the nation’s capital, was walking by the game, and decided to pick up a bat for a minute or 2 in what looked like a local beer league game. That doesn’t seem like something a lot of “modern” athletes would do in an era that’s all about protecting one’s brand. (Think back to a couple of summers ago when there was that whole “videogate” episode over whether LeBron either did or didn’t have Nike pull the grainy footage of Jordan Crawford dunking on King James in a summer pick-up game.) So yea, Harper may rub some people the wrong way early on in his career, but it’s cool to see a 19 year old kid actually be 19 sometimes. And 19 year old kids, even ones with superhuman talents, have bad haircuts, can be loudmouths, and can get themselves into trouble from time to time…and they also play hard and don’t worry about getting struck out by some pudgy weekend warrior in a park either. Like I said, it’s a small sample size, but despite his foibles it’s hard not to like Harper’s swagger, game, and charm. Whether he becomes a superstar or not, the Nationals need a guy like Harper. The Nats are full of do-gooder, yessir-nossir types. Just look at their other phenom, Stephen Strasburg. When he’s not on the field, Strasburg appears to be perfectly content being completley ignored. The limelight is not for him. Harper, on the other hand, seems to embrace it. The coming weeks, months, and years will tell us whether he’s worth all the hype or not, but 1 thing seems certain: the Bryce Harper era is going to be fun.