Playoffs 2022 & etc

 The playoffs are well under way and I'm behind writing about the games. I might have had something to say aboutr the TWolves surprisingly strong showing and not surprisingly final loss to the Griz. I might have said the TWolves need a smarter point guard who they don't need to score but can defend. I might have said that Parrick Beverley often looks as crazy as Wiley the Cayote as he mistakes leadership for physicality. (Is physicality a real word?). And physicality for brute force. That said, the TWolves would not have gotten as far as they did without him. I might have said all these things, but I didn't. I've been usy editing the galleys of my upcoming first mystery novel: The Brovelli Brothers: The Case of the "61 Chevy Impala that is due out sometime in November. There, I got in some early advertising. 

It is the second round. Joel Embid is out with and injured eye and a concussion. Without Emibid, the 76ers have no chance to defeat the Heat. I am totally sorry for Joel, who I like as player immensely. I do not like James Harden, although I realize he is an offensive weapon. Read the adjective anyway you want. The way Harden has disappeared in close important games and the way he left his Rockets and Nets teammates offends me.  I wish Embid well, I do wish he'd not decided to leave his Cameroon Olymic teaam to join the French team. Coould it be Hardin's personality is rubbing off on him? The heat wins. The Heat wil not win the East. 

The East belongs to /the Greek Fleet -of-Foot nd his teammates who will finally defeat a tough Boston Celtic team. Can the Bucks win it all? Not without Middleton.

Now that sharpshooter Booker is back, the Suns look to be the overall strongest team by position and reserve strength. They will defeat Doncic and the Mavs. I worry about Doncic. He over controls the Mav offense. All one has to do is compare the way he plays point guard to the way Chris Paul  does off the dribble. It seems to me that Luka looks for his shot first and teammates second, the reverse of what CP3 does.I was hoping Jason Kidd who change the way Doncic plays point, but I was wrong. 

My Warriors and Memphis Griz will battle to seven i'm afraid as long as they allow Ja Morant to score over 40 points a game. In the end, the Dubs will win because they are more patient and have the edge o deep playoff experience. One can't help but be impressed with Ja. There are only three players at the guard position that I can equate his skill set too and they are Earl the Pearl Monroe, Pistol Pete, and Allen Iverson. 

In closing, the NBA has got to do something about the refs constantly reviewing every singe hit to the head or rough body contact. I understand the importance of eliminating dangerous plays, but the excessive delays interfere with the flow of the game. And I daresay sometimes to detriment of a team by changing the tempo. 

Here's a small poem I've used before but it seems appropriate during Playoffs/ I let you decide why. 

CHINESE CHECKERS by Arleen Cohen

The dragons

tell me how to move

like a grasshopper across

the multi-colored field

springing from hole to hole

outmaneuvering the beetles.

I see the sacred star

and one by one

I  deposit my eggs

until it is 

filled and full. 

 

Ba

Individual Glory

 I'll begin with ETC: Should the Dodgers have pulled Clayton Kershaw out after 7 perfect innings? It's the beginning of the season, why not. How could it possibly affect the long term success of the Dodgers? Another two innings? Even if Kershaw was shelled in the next inning, the Dodgeres were up by 7. Personally, I can't see the scenario happening. I don't watch much baseball, but I just happened to watch that 7th inning performance. Kershsaw looked STRONG. so why the hell not give him a chance for individual glory? I get it that as the season moves on, the focus needs to be TEAM FIRST. Kershaw himself did not make a fuss, going with the team first concept or should I say the "party line?" THERE IS NO "I" IN TEAM. Hogwash! Larry Colton, a one time Philly pitcher in college playing for  the University of California in Berkeley, pitched19 strike outs, the school's record that remains unbroken.. No players today, he reminds me will be able to challenge his single game strike out record. Why? Because coaches don't  allow their pitchers to pitch a full game. I'm not arguing that limiting time is best for a healthy conclusion for pitchers in baseball. For that matter, it's better for all athletes to give their bodies more rest. The NBA has taken this physical fitness strategy to it's illogical extreme, but that's the subject for another blog. Still, imagine a scenario in which Steph Curry in the 4th quarter, the Warriors up by 25 with 2 minutes to go and Curry is one basket away from going ahead of Kobe Bryant's 84 points second best point production record behind Wilt's 100 pts. Imagine Steve Kerr pulling Curry. It wouldn't happen. Individual Glory is dangerous. The Romans knew that. That's why as a conquering Roman legion paraded into the capital led by the conquering general leading the way in his chariot, riding in the chariot with him was a slave whispering in the general's ear of the temporary nature of individual glory. 

And while I'm on the Subject, of Individual vs team, I'm having a big laugh over college football coaches going nuts trying to figure out how to deal with their individual players earning money from their names and all of the ramifications of NILs.  s they say, that horse has already left the barn. There's going to be hierarchy like the NFL and there's very little colleges can do about it. Individuals, right? 

And while I'm on he subject of Individual Glory - and this is a very minor grip - can someone tell what the purpose of having no player names on the back of jerseys except to drive fans' watching crazy? 

The following pome closes this blog nicely, From the book This Loss Behind Us: Pint-Size Publications. 

HIGHLY REMUNERATED DAYDREMWERS by Jack Bedell

What are they thinking abut between pitches?
What's Jimmy contemplating as he looks into the glove? What's Andre musing over with hands              on hips?
Are they reviewing  the possibilities?
Are they daydreaming of girlfriends and ribeye steaks?
Is the all-star in the outfield trying vainly to divide 20 million by 162?
amusing himself through the innings with the comforting notion that by the time he emerges
       from a nice hot shower
and addresses the media in the clubhouse and deals with the hordes who need to
       get a life and
then drives away in luxury to whatever pleasure awaits,
he will have earned another $120, 000 or so?

The meter runs in between pitches, you know.
While the man on the mound
paws the pitching rubber with cleated feet -
fleep - another $146 in the coffers!
What are they thinking about in between pitches?
Not what I'm thinking.
Which is why they're playing the game, and I'm up here
doing long division. 
 

The Women's Game is Catching Up & etc

 While we've been oh'ing and ah'ing over Saint Peters upsets, the Women's NCAA finals have been in progress and the games have been terrific. It hasn't been too long that you never saw women taking really jump  shots. Now, they're all elevating, proving that women can jump, white, black, brown or whatever skin color. Loved the Movie White Men Can't Jump, which is another racist myth. We don't need the women aribombing-dunks to enjoy their game, which is played at a high skill level and just as aggressive as the men. When the Final Four begins, we'll be treated to a classic match-up: UConn vs last years champs, the Stanford Cardinals - two iconic coaches facing off. 

While I'm on the subject of women's basketball, what is our country doing about getting Brittany Griner home? 

Etc:

I'm still trying to figure out how Purdue lost to Saint Peters. Should they have kept 7 footer Eddy in more and fed him the ball in the low post? 

I still see Holgrem of the Zag as a NBA project. It's going to take two years to get that young man muscled up. Then, what do you wind up with? Porzingis? Not Jokic, that's for sure. Some hybrid of the two? Other than Bonchero, I do not see this draft as anything special. 

Boshero is a potential old school power forward. Instant help. Think Karl Malone. 

Sacramento Kings. Forget the Playin. You finally have a solid nucleus of players at four positions. You need a stretch three. Get a good first round draft choice. Trade Homes for another solid vet and clear out the unnecessary players from the past losing seasons. Next year will be your year. 

I told you so. Butler is trouble.  

It's going to be tough for the Warriors playing against bigs in the playoffs now that Wiseman is not available to give Loony a spell. Okay I know Draymond can play the post, I sure wish Bjelica was little tougher. If every Warrior player is healthy, with a few games under their belts to prepare before the playoffs begin, they will be tough in a 7 game series. Wiggins will have to be a consistent All Star. The Dubs will need his D and the 3rd shot makers. 

Okay, I'm going to say it. I hate the corner three. It's shorter than the rest of the three point line and the easiest three to make. It also makes playing help Defense miserable. It is overvalued. Eliminate it. Start the three point line higher as  a true three point shot. The floor diagram of 3 pt line would be simple to redraw. 

Cavs' Matthew Delavadova dove for balls the way Smart does. How come Delly got the dirty-player label and Smart does not? Smart is just a "gamer."

The Cleveland Browns are going to regret signing Deshaun Watson. That's all I got to say.   

Does anyone resent that the larger portion of the split screen is commercial and the smaller is the sport as much as I do. Write! Complain! Let your voice be heard. Selling a frigging SUV is not as important as having a better view of a 15 yard putt or a free-throw.  

Last Saturday in April and trout season opens in California Here's a small poem to herald the event. 

ON THE CLARK FORK

Jon, Buddha-buddy, dreaming of trout
Illusive in the deep green pool
ignoring your floating mayfly nymph
Rainbow,  too sly to curve into the sky. 

 all the old deadwood.

CONVINCING PLUS

In the NBA, there are wins, then there are convincing wins. Last Thursday night, the Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets and their incredibly talented super star, The Joker. One might say it was an unconvincing win. How that Nuggets game would be remembered would depend on the next game, which was played last night against the Milwaukee Bucks. 

The Warriors defeated the 2021 NBA Champions convincingly, which helps to define the infinitive To Convince: from the Latin, convincere, to demonstrate incontrovertibly. By defeating the Bucks, the Warriors convinced me (and others I should imagine) that they have finally found the way as in a clear path forward to the playoffs, and with enough games left on their schedule to incorporate Draymond Green and James Wiseman. This does not mean that the Warriors will go on a tear and win the rest of their games, but it does say the rest of their games will be mostly about strategy and not rhythm or energy or confidence. 

I would be remiss if I did not mention that the Bucks game saw Klay Thompson shooting like Klay Thompson. HooWah!

I'd like to add that in my last blog I left out the Bucks as contenders for the Eastern Conference Championship.  They are rapidly improving, which makes the Warriors' win that much more CONVINING.

PLUS:

I read in this mornings Athletic Pulse an article about Coach Mike Fratello and his sadness and anger over the evil Russian war against the country of Ukraine. Frattello, once the coach of the Atlanta Hawks coached the Ukraine National team from 2011 to 2014. Many of his players are now on the battlefield fighting the invaders. 

I'm with you, Mike. As a Russian American, a naturalized citizen of this country and one who has a very dear friend in Saint Petersburg, a retired basketball players for Spartak, and with two cousins in Moscow, I am, like you, saddened and angered that Putin has started a war pitting Slavs against Slavs. I have not heard from my cousins, but the son of my friend in Saint Petersburg has been arrested along with many other Russians for protesting the war and sentenced to two weeks in prison. Two weeks may not seem a lot, my friend says, but he is worried about torture. 

As athletes, we should be proud that the governing bodies of most sports federations have opted to bar Russia from participating in international events and cancelled their upcoming events. The federations that are still straddling the fence, shame on you. It's a painful fall, straddling.

Need I remind anyone which ex President of the United States of America is a friend of the evil Russian Dictator? Please note I have not used the past tense.

We might all want to say a prayer for Brittany Griner who has been arrested in Russia. 

Finally, who needs Russian vodka. We have Gray Goose. And if GG is not your taste, remember Poland makes vodka. 

If my readers get a chance, go on the internet and look up Associated Press writer Paul Newberry's article entitled "National Hypocrisy League Shows True Colors Again." Second sentence: The organization better known as the NFL proved. . .

From an article by Robert Whiting published in Sports Illustrated in 1979, "You Got to have Wa," i learned the following: Wa is the Japanese ideal of unity, team play, and no individualism. To Kyrie Irving, Novak Djokovic and Aaron Rodgers, listen up. 

"The US is a land where stubborn individualism is honored and where 'doing your own thing' is a motto of contemporary society. In Japan Konjinshugi, a term for individualism is almost a dirty word. The Japanese have a proverb: The nail that sticks up shall be hammered down." 

Haiku

Bombs dropping on Ukraine
Fly balls suspended while talks resume.
Russia playing a dangerous game

A Few Comments Going into 2022

I haven't been blogging for a while. Considering most of my comments have to do with the NBA, the reason is simple enough. COVID and injuries have turned the standings into pure speculation. It's always been difficult in the NBA around midseason to get any substantive practice time, but with COVID it's damn near impossible. No matter how few and far between, practice time is essential. So, what's left to teams: walk-throughs on game days?

Which leads me to my next topic, the Warriors need to support Steph Curry better. It seems clear that as a league, the word is "face guard Curry with your best and toughest defender, harass him, make his life on the court as miserable an experience as possible." This continues to happen even though Klay has returned. So the Warriors need to set some hard screens, make the defenders pay a price for guarding Steph. Where is Andrew Bogut when we need him?  Having a cold one and putting something on the barbi, I suppose. I'm still trying to figure out what happened to Bjelica's 3 point shot that has been reasonably accurate most of his career. The Warriors are going to have do something about paint protection and rebounding or they are going to have a miserable time in the playoffs when the game becomes more physical. It's good thing the Warriors started out so hot. We still might wind up in second place in the West. 

The Sacramento Kings have finally made a move that makes sense. They had to give up a very fine young point guard in Tyrese Halliburton, but the return, Domantas Sabonis was worth it. Sabonis will be the Big of the future in the same way that Vlade Divac was during the Kings winning years. In the recent  trade the Kings also received two capable reserves in Justin Holiday and Jeremy  Lamb, both decent 3 point shooters. Holiday is also a solid defender. Soon after, King's GM Mone McNair traded for the Bucks shooting guard and excellent on point defender Donte DiVincenzo. Not much will change this season. They won't make the playoffs, but they will get a good draft choice to add to a future that is beginning to look bright for the first time in centuries.  

It can't be overstated how absolutely compelling Ja Morant of the Memphis Griz is. He is channeling Allan Iverson and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe. Remember The Pearl? When The Pearl walked onto  his local playground courts his fans standing around would part like the Red Sea to let him on and whisper to each other, "Jesus is coming." You will find stories such as these in my memoir, called The Mad Russian, due to come out sometime in early 2023. Check my blog for specifics. Given what the Russian's are doing in the Ukraine, we might have to change the title, although that was what I was called in my 10 years playing in the NBA with the Warriors and Seattle Sonics.

Speaking of Seattle, there are rumors that the NBA will expand to Seattle and Las Vegas next season. It's about time for Seattle to get some love, considering how badly they were juked by the owner of the Thunder who bought the Sonics, promised the city that he wouldn't move, this while he was already half way through building an arena in OKC. Liar, liar, pants on fire!   I'm crossing my fingers expansion happens and could use some finger-crossing help from you, my readers. 

Do I dare make any Final's predications? I'll take a chance on the Heat as long as they are all healthy to win in the East. They can beat you too many ways and in a 7 game series versatility is essential. There might be some hope for the 76ers as long as Harden doesn't tank the way he has n the past in clutch time. I love Embid, so I wouldn't be unhappy if they represent the East, but I'd hate to see Harden's disloyalty to Houston that built his rep and the Nets who gave up the bank to get him be rewarded.. Harden seems so selfish to succeed. 

At this point, post All Star Game, it's fair to say if Chris Paul's injury inhibits his performance, the Suns will be more vulnerable. Still they remain versatile and tough. Booker derserved to be a starter in the All Star game. Warriors better have Green back and playing at the All Star level he was before his injury to have a shot at representing the West. If all the players are healthy, the Nuggets would be a good bet in Vegas.  

The Lakers trade for Russell Westbrook will go down as one of the worst in NBA history, There were too many old legs and vets to being with. (I have never been a Carmelo and Dwight Howard fan) The Lakers  gave up youth and defense for a player who is immensely physically talented but predictable and has no idea how to facilitate for teammates other than driving the paint at max speed and kicking if he can't make a layup. Time for a new Laker GM with some guts to withstand King James' choices of teammates. 

Russian are destroying fellow Slavs in the Ukraine, and he NBA has a number of Ukrainian players We pray for them and their families. Brittany Griner has been arrested in Russia for supposedly having some hashish oil in her suitcase. Maybe, maybe not. Not hard to set her up. This is all on President Putin and his minions. All of them as far as I'm concerned are no better than the evil Communists dictators of the past who executed most of my relative during the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. I have no doubt Griner was targeted as a bargaining chip against the United States. We are living in dangerous times, folks. Putin is threatening nuclear war. All sports leagues and federations must pitch in to do what they can to stop this maniac. It must be a world wide decision to  ban all Russian teams and individual athletes from performing in their countries and further ban all their own athletes from performing in Russia for as long as this deadly and immoral invasion lasts. I grew up in the 50's with the threat of nuclear war. I am terrified for my children and grandchildren. 

There have been many poems about war, but few include sports as part of the theme. Here's one that is particularly powerful from the Vietnam War days. William S. Carpenter in the title was a QB for West Point.

A Mad Song for William S. Carpenter 1966 by James Wright.

Quick on my feet in this November of my loneliness
I tossed a short pass
almost the instant I caught the ball, just over the head

Of Barrell Terry before he knocked me cold.

When I woke up, I found myself crying out

Latin conjugations, and new snow falling

At the edge of a green field

Lemoyne Crone had caught the pass while I lay

Unconscious and raging

Alone with the fire ghost of Catullas, the contemptuous graces tossing

Garlands and hendecasyllabics over he head

Of Cornelius Nepos, the Mastodon.

The huge Volume. 

Out at the edge of Southeast Asia this afternoon

The quarterbacks and the lines are beginning to fall.

A spring snow.

And terrified young men

Quick on their feet 

Lob one another skulls across

Wings of strange birds that are burning

Themselves alive. 

 

 . 

   

P

 were not individual, but team problems. He should know better, having been one of the best on-ball defenders of his decade.