Making a Scene: Ron Artest Reaches Ithaca

An inner monologue from New York's wandering hero.

Puddles of Myself 2012-2013 NBA Playoffs Preview, Part 2

Western Conference Playoffs predictions as well as who will win the 2013 NBA Finals.

NBA WEEK: Puddles of Myself 2012-2013 NBA Season Preview, Part 2

NBA Week comes to a conclusion with Part 2 of Matt Domino's 2012-2013 NBA Season Preview.

Theoharides and Domino: The NBA Offseason Breakdown

The Olympics are over and training camp doesn't start for a month, so Alex Theohardies (@Minne_Pop) and Matt Domino thought it was a good time to break down the insane NBA offseason.

Farewell Big Aristotle, Goodbye Shaq

It brings me a certain level of pain to feel forced to throw up a post about basketball that isn’t about the NBA Finals. I want to write about the fact that all of the sports pundits who are so reluctant to give Miami any credit for the run they are on are completely in denial. Yes, Miami’s defense is that good. Yes, they have learned to play well together. Yes, their supporting cast is not as bad as we all thought it was now that all of the players that were supposed to play are finally on the court together when it matters. Yes, Dallas is not that much better of an offensive team or team in general. Please just give Miami credit, despite your inclination to be angry at surface appearances rather than to completely understand the entire experiment. I’m tired of short sighted declarative remarks on who the Miami Heat are. Let’s think about the narrative of basketball in general, of people in general and of where we are not only in the history of the NBA, but as a society in relation to our heroes, our values and what we deem as virtues.

However, I have to write about Shaquille O’Neal because we will probably never see him play basketball again.

In 1993, I was backstage at a talent show (yes, talent show) at my elementary school, Pearl S. Buck Elementary. I was going to be lip synching the words to the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and doing an early 90’s dance routine with two friends of mine (I was seven years old and it was the angular, neon, early 90’s). I was just beginning to learn about and understand basketball. Hell, I was just a few weeks removed from my first two great basketball experiences (watching the 1993 East Regional Sweet Sixteen live and then the 1993 NCAA Championship late at night) and a few weeks away from one of the most formative basketball experiences of my life (watching Game 3 of the 1993 NBA Finals when the Suns beat the Bulls in triple overtime 129-121). We were backstage at the show and kids were talking about someone named “Shack.” I imagined who this player was that they were referring to. I didn’t watch basketball as religiously as I do now and the Orlando Magic weren’t in the 1993 Playoffs. I only found out about Shaq, Shaquille O’Neal, at the 1993 Draft when a player named Penny Hardaway was traded by the Golden State Warriors to the Orlando Magic for Chris Webber. The announcers were baffled because a teaming of Webber and “Shaq” (as it was actually spelled) seemed unstoppable. They showed clips of Webber on the Fab Five Michigan team, which I was familiar with. Then, they showed clips of Shaq. I don’t think I had seen anyone jump as high as Shaq. Not Shawn Kemp, not Michael Jordan, not anyone. He jumped with a different force; he broke backboards. That summer, I lowered my net and started practicing my dunks. I was seven years old and my hands hurt when I grabbed the rim.

As the 1990’s continued and I grew into my consciousness as an active person and as a basketball fan, I pledged allegiance to Jordan. There was just something right about him. His movements were so smooth, the angles and places he got to were unreal, there was just an element of inevitability about Michael Jordan—he was the hero and he was always going to win. It’s only later in life that I understand the toll that took on him personally as well as on those around him, but then, it just seemed right. Michael Jordan was the best player. When Shaq and the Orlando Magic unceremoniously dumped Jordan and the Bulls from the 1995 Playoffs, I was furious. I watched as Shaq and Penny victoriously carried a vindicated Horace Grant off the court on their shoulders. And I was more than pleased a year later when the Bulls swept the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals, effectively ending the Orlando Magic’s “Penny and Shaq era” as Shaq moved west to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jordan retired. The league went on strike. Tim Duncan won a championship, but Shaq was the best player. He was to be the new face of the league. Then, a young Kobe Bryant joined him and things started to happen. Shaq had always been a force of nature—a huge and imposing physical specimen, who nonetheless had a playful and goofy demeanor (see Kazaam!). However, in 1999-2000, Shaq became the immovable object. Shaq took on that air of inevitability. You fed Shaq the ball and he either got to the rim for a dunk, an easy layup, the baby hook or he passed it out to an open man or he was fouled. Shaq was fouled a lot. They invented the “Hack-a-Shaq” for God’s sake, which was one of the worst developments in basketball. I’ll remember the “Hack-a-Shaq”—it is an unfortunate part of his legacy—but I’ll mostly remember the dominance, the inevitability you felt when you watched Shaq. I hated the Lakers during their dominant run from 1999-2004. I hated Shaq, I hated Kobe, I hated Rick Fox and everyone else. They were a great team, though, and Shaq was phenomenal.

However, from my perspective, it seems like there should have been more. I know that is unfair to say and I don’t know why I’m saying it about a player I never liked, but simply marveled at and acknowledged his greatness. When Jordan entered that realm of inevitability he seemed to revel in it, it seemed to permeate everything about him, whereas with Shaq it never did. With Shaq, he seemed to see his own inevitability, he saw the shape and knew it for what it was and decided that it wasn’t for him. So, perhaps that makes him better in a way than Jordan, perhaps the psychological and spiritual damage is less. After all, Shaq is known for his off the court penchant for solving crimes as a volunteer police officer, for his playful antics, his sense of humor and his charity. And that all comes with being a basketball player and a larger than life figure. Shaq was always comfortable in his skin as a big man, which is a proven rarity (see Kareem Abdul Jabaar to this day), and he was perhaps comfortable with not realizing his total potential as a basketball player. He went through seasons out of shape, he pouted about fame and his importance. He left feuds and a bad taste in his wake (see Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and even Steve Nash). There was a convincing essay by the FreeDarko guys that made a very convincing claim that perhaps Shaq was never the person we imagined him to be—perhaps it was all an act, by someone who was maybe more insecure than we imagined.

And yet, he won four titles, the 2000 MVP Award, 3 Finals MVP Awards and other accolades. He was a star beyond stars. He was a rock. He was there year after year. He was Shaq and he was inevitable.

This past year in Boston you knew it was the end of the line. Shaq stayed away from the spotlight other than his good-natured antics with the citizens of Boston. He stressed the importance of taking less money to play for a winning team, something he never said before. He was not a force of nature, but rather someone you were hoping could give you ten points and five rebounds a night. The only inevitability about Shaq was that he would be injured. So, I’m glad he retired. He was a phenomenal player that I will never forget. He is certainly one of the top five centers or “big men” of all-time. We may never see a player play Shaq’s type of physical, forceful post game again (Dwight Howard is a long shot to even come close) and that makes me sad. Yet, I still feel like he left something behind. I still remind the periods of Fat Shaq, the player who somewhat took his own inevitability for granted. Maybe, like I said, he knew what it was and didn’t want it, maybe it was a conscious decision. And I know you’re not supposed to compare a player to another player, especially not to Jordan. But there is something about embracing that rare trait of inevitability that is appealing to me, that seems honorable, no matter what the damage may be. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Shaq is right. I’m not sure that we’ll ever know for sure and maybe that’s just one of the ways that people are different.

In any event, thank you Shaq for having left your mark. Thank you for making the history of the NBA that much richer. I’ll be seeing you shortly on TV somewhere.

2011 NBA Playoffs

The 2011 NBA Playoffs officially started on Saturday, April 16, but I was in the final moments of my vacation (aka a delayed flight to Dallas, missing a connection in Dallas to LaGuardia, re-routing to Newark, having the flight delayed because of torrential weather in New York, having take-off delayed because of a sick passenger, sitting while a passenger had a heart attack or some other issue on the plane and an oxygen tank was wheeled out and then having a delayed exit due to having to wait for paramedics to arrive to take care of the fallen passenger). And since I was on vacation for the entire week I couldn’t properly prepare an NBA Playoffs Preview before the Playoffs got under way. So, now that all the series have one game in the books (*as of the writing of this post) it seems like a much better time to actually gauge what to look for and expect out of these series. Does that make any sense? Maybe not, but we are going to roll with it because the Playoffs are going to be great, I need to put my two-cents in about all the teams and after today you’ll get plenty of music and other rambling, existential posts to feast on.

Let’s dive right in shall we?

Eastern Conference:

First Round:

1. Chicago Bulls vs. 8. Indiana Pacers

The Bulls have in many ways overachieved this season due to the fantastic play of Derrick Rose. A lot of people expected them to be good, but no one expected them to be the number one seed in the East and also the favorite to represent the East in the Finals heading into the Playoffs. All of this has occurred while the team has not truly been healthy with all their parts until the last two months, when they have really picked up steam. Rose is playing out of his mind this year and is clearly the MVP as his clutch performance in Game 1 to steal the upset from the Pacers perfectly exhibited. The Pacers are a very likeable team with some good pieces. Tyler Hansbrough is a great effort guy who has improved his shot; Daren Collison is a quick and improving point guard; Roy Hibbert is a mediocre to above average center who can give you solid numbers and a big game from here to there; Danny Granger is a solid player; Jeff Foster is tough; Brandon Rush can give you minutes and points; Posey has championship experience; Josh McRoberts can also give some minutes off the bench and play a few positions; Paul George is a young, raw talent that has upside and this playoff run can only help him learn. All that is nice and makes for a compelling watch, but they don’t have a truly go-to player (Granger is certainly not that piece). They still lack a cohesion that a dominant presence would help provide.  Because of that, they can’t match Rose and the way pieces like Deng, Boozer, Noah, Gibson and Korver fit nicely into place on the Bulls.

Prediction: Bulls in 5.

2. Miami Heat vs. 7. Philadelphia 76ers

For me this is tough because I have a natural allegiance with the Sixers, but out of all the Philadelphia teams, I have the least connection with them. I’ve always been a Wade fan and I tend to appreciate the bad guy, so I route for the Heat. The Heat have been playing well over the past month and are starting to utilize more diverse and solid portions of their offense like the varied potentials off the Wade and LeBron pick n’ roll, which has opened things up for them. The 76ers are a young team with a lot of talent. As Bill Simmons pointed out, their best player Andre Iguodala realized that he wasn’t their best player and has settled into a Scottie Pippen-esque roll of playing great perimeter defense. The only problem is, he can’t shoot like Scottie and there is no dominant player to compliment. They have nice pieces like Jrue Holliday, Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner, as well as good role players like Lou Williams and the glorified Elton Brand. That will certainly not hold up against the Heat.

Prediction: Heat in 4

3. Boston Celtics vs. 6. New York Knicks

You can’t argue with this series. Two classic franchises and two “Garden” arenas. Its great to add an historical element to the Playoffs as well as two of the best home crowds in not only the NBA, but all of sports (that Boston explosion when Ray Allen hits a three—like he did in Game 1—is maybe the best current crowd reaction in sports). The atmosphere of each of these games alone will make it worth watching even if there’s a sweep. But there won’t be a sweep because the Celtics are struggling into the postseason like they did last year. However, whereas last year’s team was a run down car that could still run perfectly if the owner would let the right person drive it (i.e. the Big Three realizing that Rondo was the key to the offense) this year’s team has new features and gears and that right driver (Rondo) is experiencing a loss in confidence. Meanwhile, the Knicks have plenty of offensive firepower but are lacking in size and defense, though the defense has been improving as Game 1 showed. The Knicks fans are excited about the team being in the Playoffs and expect a lot, but I think this hard fought series is going to bring out the competitive fire in the Celtics and key them to a cohesion they’ve been lacking.

Prediction: Celtics in 6

4. Magic vs. 5. Hawks

The Hawks are one of the more boring teams in the NBA. Each year they entice you with a good collection of talent who just never seem to care how to learn how to actually play well or with heart. Yet, they get to the 5 seed each year because of the talent they have. They are still boring this year, but they have a certain toughness that they lacked last year, even if they still don’t have great effort. They are also matching up against a Magic team that has not been able to develop chemistry all year and as also taken a step back defensively. For example, in Game 1, Dwight Howard dropped 46 points and grabbed 19 rebounds and the Magic lost. He was dominant and the Magic still lost. However, despite their struggles, I still think they will win the series, even though it will be the worst series out of the entire Playoffs.

Prediction: Magic in 7

Semifinals:

1. Chicago Bulls vs. 4. Orlando Magic

This matchup actually favors the Magic because they don’t have anyone that can truly stop Dwight. Boozer can’t match his strength, quickness or length. Noah can bother his shot but not his size. Asik has the size and good defense but is too inexperienced. However, the Magic have no one to really match Rose and their team defense has slipped so they will have trouble slowing him down when he decides to take over a game like he just did in Game 1 against the Pacers. They have no one who can really make him a jump shooter for even short stretches. Dwight can alter his shot, but that won’t be enough to help them win the series.

Prediction: Chicago in 6

2. Miami Heat vs. 3. Boston Celtics

The Heat lost the season series to the Celtics, but each game was close. The Heat managed to win the last matchup of the season against a Celtics team that was (and still is) struggling with their chemistry. By this round I expect the Celtics to have their chemistry back after having to strong-arm the Knicks out of the Playoffs. So, what will make this series different from the regular season? The first thing is that the Heat have been playing better over the past month. The second is that because it’s the Playoffs, Spolestra can play LeBron, Wade and Bosh more minutes than he would have been inclined to during the regular season. You tie that into the fact that you give great players like LeBron and Wade that small taste of beating the Celtics at the end of the season, of knowing that they can, and that changes things. Doc Rivers will have his own wrinkles and plays to draw up, but it still feels like the Heat are holding back some of their Wade/LeBron offense and I think they unveil a lot of the tricks here.

Prediction: Tough, classic series. Heat in 7

Eastern Conference Finals:

1. Chicago Bulls vs. 2. Miami Heat

The key to this series is the fact that the Heat can and will stick both LeBron and Wade on Derrick Rose. Rose will certainly make his crazy floaters and layups as well as take a game or two by himself, but having that luxury of switching the bigger and just as fast Lebron or the craftier, better defensively, Wade on Rose is something that most teams don’t have. They can also buy minutes by sticking Chalmers on Rose, who should be able to at least rough him up. Bibby becomes a key to this series because if he can make threes like he has been, then the Heat can stretch the tight Chicago defense and open up the lanes for LeBron and Wade. If those two can also work their two man game into the flow of the offense then that leaves room for the Heat to work the ball down to Bosh as the series goes on because the Bulls will have to decide which aspect of the offense to focus on. Bosh needs to be aggressive against Boozer and the Heat need Anthony to match Noah’s energy. The key is that if the Bulls get cold and can’t generate offense, how much will they be able to lean on Rose this far into the playoffs, especially if he is getting hounded by LeBron and Wade for the entire series. I think that catches up to the Bulls and the experience and overall greatness of Wade and LeBron win out.

Prediction: Heat in 7

Western Conference:

First Rounds:

1. San Antonio Spurs vs. 8. Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have a tough team as Game 1 exhibited. The Spurs went on one of their spine-crushing runs at the end of the game when Bonner hit two clutch three-pointers, but the Grizzlies were able to bounce back and win thanks to Shane Battier’s three-pointer. The Spurs of old would have won that game and crushed the morale of this young Memphis team, but Memphis has a lot of really good pieces like Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Tony Allen, O.J. Mayo, Sam Young, Dorrell Arthur and Battier. They have size and experience to bother the Spurs who are very young besides Duncan, Parker, Ginobli and McDyess.  I think Ginobli will come back and the Spurs will pull out one of their moral crushing wins along the way. It will not be easy, but the Spurs will win.

Prediction: Spurs in 7

2. Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Hornets

Chris Paul has been nursing his recovering knee all season. He has shown flashes of his old speed and brilliance but has also looked slow and washed up. In Game 1, he looked like his old self and even better. He turned in what is already being considered a masterful point guard performance—I watched it, it was. Paul’s greatness alone (even though his role players, like Carl Landry are tough competitors) can’t carry this team. This is the kind of series that the Lakers use to wake themselves up and get rid of their overconfidence. The Hornets will make some of these games close, but I see the Lakers pulling away in the end.

Prediction: Lakers in 5

3. Dallas Mavericks vs. 6. Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers have a very long, versatile team. They can trot out a frontcourt of Nic Batum, Lamarcus Aldridge and Gerald Wallace or they can mix it up and insert Camby with Lamarcus Aldridge and Wallace or put Batum in with Wallace and Camby for a shut down defensive unit. They also have Andre Miller to guide the offense and Brandon Roy coming off the bench for control and whatever intangibles he can still add with his terrible knees. The Mavericks basically have Dirk. Kidd is just a three-point shooter, Terry is streaky, Marion is over the hill and Chandler will be neutralized by the Blazers’ frontcourt. I just don’t know who the Mavericks go to besides Dirk. It’s going to be a tough and very close series, but I see the Blazers pulling it out in the end.

Prediction: Blazers in 7

4. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 5. Denver Nuggets

This was perhaps the most intriguing series of the entire Playoffs on paper and after watching Game 1 last night, I still feel that way. The Nuggets are so deep and have so many good, likeable and hard working players like Raymond Felton, Ty Lawson, Aaron Afflalo, Nene, Danilo Galinari, Wilson Chandler, Kenyon Martin, Chris Anderson.  They are a tough team but they have no true go-to player. Lawson and Felton can give Westbrook, Harden and Maynor problems in the backcourt with their speed, especially when they play together. The only issue is that they have no one player who can go basket for basket with either Durant or Westbrook. The Thunder have greater size, but the Nuggets can send tough defensive players at Perkins and Ibaka. The post-Carmelo Nuggets like each other and are playing much more freely now that they have the weight of Carmelo off their back, but the Thunder are the true team of the future and I can’t help but see them make progress off of last year.

Prediction: Thunder in 6

Semifinals:

1. San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

This is a “changing of the guard series.” The GM of the Thunder is Sam Presti who has ties to the San Antonio Spurs organization and the sound way they built their franchise around a low-key, super competitive and smart super-star. The Spurs are on their way out as a truly dominant franchise, despite their great record this season. The Thunder are on the rise with stars like Durant and Westbrook and now Ibaka and Perkins down low as their anchors. With Perkins being a tough defensive presence down low, Ibaka is now able to roam and make more athletic plays at his natural position of power forward rather than playing center. Parker and Ginobli don’t have a true advantage over Westbrook and Durant and I think the Thunder take this series from the Spurs.

Prediction: Thunder in 6

2. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 6. Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers’ depth and their length can definitely bother the Lakers. You can go to war against Odom, Bynum, Gasol and Artest with Batum, Aldridge, Wallace and Camby, hell the Blazers frontline this year may even be better than that Lakers frontline now that I look at the names. Miller and Fischer are both crafty veterans at the point guard and they play to a draw with their clutch ability and playmaking. Batum is certainly capable of slowing down Kobe, but can he stop him? I’m not sure. This year he may have a chance, but with Kobe there are always those intangibles. Even when the Lakers lost to the Hornets on Sunday, Kobe just started having that look, that M.J. look where you just feel like all the tough shots are going to go in. That is something you earn over time and I don’t know where that strange, spiritual element of the game appears on the Blazers. It will be a good series and the Blazers should be in almost every game, but this just seems like the Lakers will prevail.

Prediction: Lakers in 6

Western Conference Finals:

2. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 4. Oklahoma City Thunder

This is Durant and company’s chance to get revenge on last year; however, this still seems like one year too early. Perkins will definitely help them against Gasol, Bynum and Odom as will the newly freed and improved Ibaka. However, I still believe the Lakers are bigger and more experienced. Artest can play Durant tough and the Lakers can use Kobe at key spots to slow down Durant. The Lakers may just make Westbrook and Durant beat them, which will make the series close but won’t make them lose it. I think the Thunder come to the brink, but the Lakers prevail in one those crazy endings like they did against the Suns last year.

Prediction: Lakers in 7

2011 NBA Finals

2. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 2. Miami Heat

This is not an original prediction but it is the NBA Finals that I believe that most people want to see and it may be the NBA Finals that saves the league from a momentum-killing lockout. The NBA is riding such a high right now and will be throughout these playoffs that I have to hope that this series happens. The amount of stars will be legendary and nearly unparalleled. The Heat will need Dampier and his size to come up big and for some reason I feel like if the Heat make it this far, Haslem will come back from his injury and contribute one great, gritty intangible moment that shifts the series. In the end I believe that the Lakers will be too tired and that LeBron and Wade will carry the Heat to the title. The other key factor will be the fact that Bosh and Gasol sort of mirror each other and it seems like Bosh actually feels like he’s tougher than Gasol, which helps his mentality throughout the series. The Heat can wear down and annoy Bynum with Dampier’s size and Anthony’s energy and they can throw Ilgauskus in there for spots to pull Bynum away. The Heat match up with the Lakers better than any team in the East and if they get to the Finals, they will prevail even though we will see some great heroics from Kobe and Odom and a few shots of LeBron and Artest going face to face and Kobe and Wade trading steals and dives along the court. Just those images are giving me goose bumps and making me feel slightly better at not picking the Celtics and Lakers rubber match as great as that would be—and it is just some level of Celtics confidence and swagger away from happening. It’s all up for grabs, but this is what I’m predicting.

Prediction: Heat in 7

Theoharides On the NBA

I hope you're enjoying your Wednesday, my Puddlers.  Although, I hate referring to days of the week in that manner. In the way that people will say, "Happy Friday!" as though it were a holiday. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate each day, but you have to give the days of the week credit for their workman like quality to just keep churning out hours and weather day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year. It's their workmanlike quality that makes them so stellar, we don't need to speak of them as if they were a holiday—their holiness lies in their ordinary nature.

Anyway, since I'll be on vacation next week and there are so many great sports items coming up, we're bringing you another sports post today. It's Wednesday, so Alex Theoharides will be bringing you his thoughts on some NBA storylines. Its nice to know I can hand over the reigns to another NBA fan—even if his opinions may be slightly skewed (i.e. his thoughts on Kevin Love).

But, I'll step aside and leave you with Mr. Theoharides:




Theoharides On the NBA


Alex Theoharides

Bill Simmons summed up Monday’s championship game between UConn and Butler best, when he tweeted, “April, 2011: the month that women’s college basketball caught up to men’s college basketball.” Amen. For most of the title game, both teams were playing like they were auditioning for roles in a movie made about the intramural basketball team I co-captained in college. Yes, the team that went 0 and 11 for the season. Three point shots were heaved in the general direction of the rim. Lay-ups were thrown up as if the goal of the game were not to score but to break the backboard. The inbounds plays seemed like they were designed by kindergartners. The ball handling was too ugly to be shown in a Ron Jeremy production, let alone a college basketball game. Ugh. I mean, Butler made only 12 field goals in the game. Out of 64 shots. Yes, 18.8 percent. And everyone’s celebrating UConn’s fine defensive performance, but Butler was getting open shots. They just couldn’t make them.

Now that the excruciating NCAA Championship is over, it’s time to turn back to the Association, aka, the only real basketball league left in this country. Before looking forward to the upcoming playoffs, I’d like to look back on a few of the top stories from the regular season, which as my good friend Jon recently reminded me, really doesn’t mean a thing (and really, he should know, he’s a masochist, err, excuse me, a Cleveland sports fan). That being said, I like to think of the regular season as a time of reflection, when good players are mistakenly made out to be superstars, smart veterans play at 75% of their capabilities, and hair-brained talking heads like Skip Bayliss earn bogus salaries pretending to be journalists. In short, the regular season is all about hype. With further ado, the top four over-hyped stories of the 2010-2011 NBA Regular Season. (And don’t forget to check back next week, for the under-hyped stories heading into the post-season. And perhaps a few fearless predictions!)

Overrated:

4. Kevin Love, Kevin Love, Kevin Love

Look, ever since I moved to Minnesota, I’ve watched countless Timberwolves games. I want to like them, and I really want to like Kevin Love, especially after he recorded a 30-30 game (30 rebounds, 30 points) and went on a string of 53 straight double-doubles. Both accomplishments are impressive. But all they are is fluff, which covers up for the fact that K. Love is a terrible defender, a limited offensive player, and an average teammate. Supposedly, he’s the savior of the Wolves, and the talking heads have made a big deal about the fact that Love’s numbers are better than Kevin Garnett’s. Yes, except for one fairly important thing. With KG the Wolves were a perennial playoff team. With Love, they have the worst record in the Western Conference.  

Sure, a large part of that has to do with the fact that the Wolves have the youngest roster in the league and a terrible coach in Kurt Rambis, who still seems to believe that the Wolves should be running the triangle offense even though it has only worked for two teams - Jordan’s Bulls, Kobe’s Lakers. Yeah, I don’t think the Wolves have quite the same make-up as those two teams. Still, K. Love never should have been an All Star. Lamarcus Aldridge was far more deserving. Love’s a nice player, who rebounds and can make the three-ball. But that’s it. I can’t ever picture him starring for an NBA Championship team. For instance, would he have gotten much run on last year’s Lakers. Or the 2008 Celtics? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

3. Carmelo Anthony Forcing a Move to New York

I grew up during the modern heyday of the Knicks when Patrick Ewing roamed the paint swatting shots and missing clutch baskets and John Starks used to slap the floor on every key defensive possession. Knicks fans love defense. It’s what they chant. It’s what their favorite teams have played. Who were my favorite players as a kid? Starks and Charles Oakley. Both of whom were ferocious, aggressive defenders. The Knicks of my youth played such violent, rigorous defense that they effectively ruined offensive basketball in the NBA, forcing Commissioner David Stern to change the hand checking rules on defense.

Everyone knows what happened to the Knicks in the years following the Riley and Van Gundy era. But now they have Carmelo, a talented player, who I loved watching in college. He is a silky smooth scorer, and a true triple threat on offense. But he hasn’t proven to be a real MVP type player in the NBA yet, and ultimately, his decision to leave the Nuggets for New York will have had little effect on the season. The Nuggets wouldn’t have won the championship with him, and the Knicks won’t win the championship now that they’ve acquired him. For all the talk it garnered, both of the teams most directly involved in the so-called Carmelo sweep stake are essentially exactly right where they would have been if it had never happened.

Yes, Carmelo has a chance to bring the Knicks back to their glory days. But if that’s going to happen, they need to acquire a few more pieces that fit with his offense first, slow the ball down mentality. In short, they need some defenders. Carmelo and the Knicks will be a big story in a few years. He’s the sort of player that needs the criticism the New York media will bring. In Denver, he played with head cases (ie: JR Smith, the Birdman, Kenyon Martin) and he was treated as a star. In New York, he’ll be blamed for the losses, and the media will pick apart his every move. Hopefully, this criticism will motivate him to develop into the star everyone seems to think he is. If that happens, the Knicks could prove to be a thrilling rival for the Miami Cheats down the road - just not this season.

2. The Celtics Early Season Dominance

I should preface this by admitting that the Celtics are my favorite current NBA team. For God’s sake, as I write this column, I’m wearing a Celtic’s t-shirt. And I, along with every other fan of the team, was ready to anoint them world champions two months into the NBA calendar. However, what we all missed is how old and slow they can look. When they’re at their best, Rondo is flying up and down the court, whipping one-handed passes to open teammates. When they’re at their worst, Paul Pierce is sluggishly dribbling from side to side, trying to find a way to score. I hated the Kendrick Perkins trade, but I don’t think they could have won the championship with him and I’m fairly certain they won’t without him. They just look too old. (And yes, all of that, was my attempt at a reverse jinx.)

1. The Downfall of the Lakers

Standing alongside everyone who handed the trophy over to the Celtics two months into the season, was a large group of people who were excitedly promoting the fall of the Lakers. It was finally here! The team everyone loves to hate (me more than most) was finally crumbling. They were old! Kobe was injured! Phil Jackson had lost his touch! Now they look like the best team in the league. And I look really stupid eating crow.

Puddles of My Podcast - Episode 26

It's a bit of a hectic week this week, my Puddlers, but that doesn't mean I can't bring you some high quality podcasts as well as columns (hopefully).

Today I bring you another installment of Puddles of My Podcast.  In this, Episode 26 of Puddles of My Podcast, I welcome Miles Debas of Snakes Say Hiss and Paul Sicilian of the Tony Castles.  In this installment, Paul, Miles and I discuss the 2010-2011 Boston Celtics, Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, and debate over the best storylines of the upcoming season. We also play a game of "thumbs up, thumbs down"; decide what movie you would take Kevin Durant too; and Paul and Miles each give us their all-time starting NBA starting lineup with some surprising results.  This podcast is not for those weak of heart, or not interested in the NBA.  Needless to say, I enjoyed this podcast very much and I recommend that you listen to it.

Stay with me Puddlers, I got more coming.

Puddles of My Podcast - Episode 18

Well, my Puddlers, its going to be another heatwave weekend, so watch out for those psychopaths as they emerge out of the woodwork trying to stay cool.  And since it is going to be such a hot weekend, what better thing to do than to wade in some Puddles of Myself- er, rather Yourself.

Anyway, like I promised (I always live up to my promises) we have a podcast up this week.  In this Episode 18 of Puddles of My Podcast, I welcome basketball enthusiast as well as the bassist and singer of the Tony Castles, Paul Sicilian.  In this latest installment, Paul and I discuss LeBron's Decision, the NBA Finals,  playing the clarinet, Paul's musical history, the legacy of Dwyane Wade, the best Celtic of all-time, the genesis of the Tony Castles, their upcoming album and tour with the Tom Tom Club, and 2010 NBA Predictions.  This podcast was a few months in the making so please sit back with a cool glass of water or beer in front of a fan or air conditioner and feel cooled by the sound of two grown men talking about basketball and music.

The NBA on June 17, 2010

As much as it pains me to put this picture up as the heading for the blog post today, I have to do it because I can't deny reality.  Last Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the  2010 NBA Finals.  It was one of the ugliest, strangest, tensest and hardest played games of all time.  You had Kobe shooting terribly from the field.  You had Ron Artest coming alive to lead the Lakers.  You had Pau Gasol showing the world why he is perhaps the best low post player in the game today.  You had Rondo playing erratically.  Pierce playing well but not well enough.  Ray Allen playing well but not well enough. Big Baby defying his own weight and the principles of gravity on several lay-ups.  Rasheed Wallace shooting terribly but making a three in the fourth quarter that made you say that you always loved him as a player. Basically, Game 7 fell in line with how the rest of the series played out.  It was hard to decide who the better team was.  Kobe pressed too much.  The defenses were spectacular.  The offenses had trouble running.  There was ugliness, turnovers and it bascially came down to the last quarter and who wanted to seize the moment more.  On this night, it was the Lakers as the Celtics came up cold in the final quarter and could not figure out a way to run their offense and get points.

Now, you may also say that terrible officiating came into it and you can throw out free throw stats.  And that is always valid.  Sometimes (well, very often in the NBA) the referees can take away the game from a team.  However, despite my own proclivity to seek out referee conspiracy theories, in the end, a team will put itself in a position to win a game and if part of winning the game means putting yourself and your team in a position to sway the referees, then that is a part of the game of basketball.

So, what do we learn from the 2010 NBA Finals if we take the Lakers victory over the Celtics in 7 Games on face value.  Well, there isn't much to take.  Kobe may have helped to cement his legacy as the greatest Laker ever by tying Magic Johnson for championships.  However, it looked as though Kobe would wilt when the pressure was highest as he has done in the past.  Kobe idolizes Michael Jordan and Michael Jordan would have never allowed himself to play that poorly in the most important game of the season.  Rondo did not seize the moment as I hoped he would and we have to see how he will rebound next year knowing full well that he is and should be the leader of the Boston Celtics but will need to become a better shooter to fully wrap his mind around the psyche that is needed for that position.  The only thing that we can safely say about the 2010 NBA Finals was that it featured some of the best defense from two teams in recent years and that it featured a presence of effort and urgency that is often lacking from the NBA.

One of the reasons why people have grown away from the NBA is because of its high level of showmanship, the ease with which the players play the game, the perceived laziness of the players at times.  Obviously the proclivity of officials to call fouls and slow down the game is unattractive to an average fan, but I think the ease and the perceived laziness of the game is also a main factor.  To compound this trait, we also have an era where we have a bevy of larger than life SuperStars who tend to underachieve.  Lebron James obviously has immense talent, but he underachieves.  Carmelo Anthony can't get players around him who understand that he is the best player and that in order to win, they have to defer to him.  Dwyane Wade has won one championship but has recently been mired with terrible teams who have no desire to win.  Chris Bosh has been on terribly put-together teams and has played in obscurity in Toronto.  These players have all (with the exception of Wade in 2006) lacked the opportunity to seize the moment, to show that the game of basketball is all about effort.  That is not to say that each of these players and that most of the current SuperStars that are in the NBA do not play hard.  These are some of the hardest working stars the NBA has had since the late 80's and early 90's.  However, with the Lebron Sweepstakes and the Summer of 2010 monopolizing the headlines it is not hard to infer that sometimes these SuperStars do not fully grasp the effort that is needed to win an NBA Championship - the dedication and reliance on the team that is necessary.

Now, you may say that these players do care about the effort, because they are trying to position themselves, in a rather groundbreaking and organized way for professional athletes, in the best situation for them to win and to add to the level of competition in the league.  I absolutely understand that.  Yet, there is that lingering desire of Lebron James to be the next billionaire athlete that disturbs me whenever I hear it.  That same feeling is tied to watching Lebron laugh and joke in the middle of a playoff series where the Boston Celtics are stealing destiny right in front of him.  That feeling is tied to watching Dwight Howard get outworked by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and still be smiling in the fourth quarter of a game.

I am not a Boston homer by any means.  I have become invested in this Boston Celtics team over the past few years because I have always been a fan of Kevin Garnett and the effort that he has always dedicated to the game of basketball since he was only 17 years old.  I have become a fan of the Art of Ray Allen, the likes of which I may not see for a very long time.  I have also become a student of the nuanced range of skill that Paul Pierce possesses. And obviously, I am very much invested in the rise of Rajon Rondo as one of the premier players in the NBA and a genuine freak of nature.  But what this Boston Celtics team has showed us over the past three years and this past year especially is the vast difference between successful and enjoyable basketball and basketball that turns people away.  When the Celtics are at their peak, as they were in 2008 and through much of this 2010 Playoffs (and to a degree in the 2009 Playoffs with the grit they showed), they exhibit a brand of basketball that is completely team oriented without being bland.  They have an exciting shooter; a point guard that can control the game and have an impact by not putting up huge numbers but by making big plays at the right time and filling up the stat sheet; they have a pure scorer; they have a determined defender in the low post who refuses to give in to age and reality, which can be neccessary in life (although in not such large doses); and they have a bench with whacky personalities who chomp at the bit (sometimes too much so) to play basketball.  When these Celtics have been great, there has been a palpabale sense of effort, of energy, of excitement - which are the fundamental elements of good basketball.  When they have been bad, like when egos and age got in the way of the majority of the 2010 season, they show all the problems of basketball: complaining, laziness, coasting on talent to try to win games and not being successful.  We have seen much of the latter from the majority of the NBA in the past 15 years, but as of late we have been emerging from that medieval era.

In the end of this 2010 NBA season, we had a Lakers team that woke up as well and was game for the challenge of trying hard, of playing great defense and wanting to win an NBA title.  So, we had a Finals that was baffling, that was  ugly and that many times did not feature one stand out player.  It was a definite change from the NBA we have all seen recently, where many times the dominant player stands out and is very often not successful. And as simple as having two teams that are trying hard, that are leaving everything on the court in order to win the championship of their sport might sound, we don't often see it in a world where becoming a sports billionaire is a priorty; where being seen with Worldwide Wes and Jay-Z is what helps determine who your next head coach will be.

I'm not an old fashioned guy. I understand the world and I understand Lebron James.  I just really like basketball.


P.S.: If you want to know about the NBA Draft.  Just go to Bill Simmons.  He'll help you out here.

Un Ano Ayer

Well forgive the translation, that was the title of a brooding poem I wrote in twelfth grade in order to memorialize 9/11.  What I forgot to mention on Monday was that this past Saturday marked the one year anniversary of the Brooklyn Invitational, an event I put on with my friend, Rich Lee in DUMBO.  It was our first real foray into putting on an event that we completely funded and lets just say that it was a learning experience.  Some feelings were hurt, some bouncers cost us money with graffiti, plenty of beer was drunken, roads were driven down the wrong way at dawn and friends peed and the floor and fought - all in all, it was a terrific and memorable experience that I would not trade for anything in the world.

Some memorable shots from the Brooklyn Invitational:

The only other thing I would like to mention in  this post, is this link, which was sent to me by this man today. Ah, sometimes you just have to marvel at the world.

That's it for today - oh, if you are that beautiful girl on the subway, just give a shout the next time we run into each other.  I know leave you with the next installment of From Here to the Last Mound of Dirt.  Kindly read this  while you are taking breaths of hyperventilation during Game 6 of the Celtics vs. Lakers NBA Finals.




No one broke from the crowd of mourners to move beside the casket.  The priest lifted one hand in the direction of Jack Simmons and Ed Verlaine. Ed pulled his spade from the turf and they began walking slowly to the mound of dirt.  The priest straightened his posture and led the mourners away from the gravesite back to the winding cemetary path where hearses, limos and other luxury sedans idled.
As they approached the hole, Jack followed the girl with the crimson hair as she walked across the grounds, the spring of turf underfoot.  The crimson bobbed along with the black and white of the rest of the crowd.  He watched her stop and hug the older man who had spoken.  Behind them, the boy stood, his hands in his pockets.  His hair fell across his forehead, giving his head a round look, though his face and chin were sharp.  He was a dash of grey next to the crimson and black and white.
One of the heads groundskeepers, Louis, came from the crowd.  He approached Jack Simmons and Ed Verlaine.

“Ok, boys.  We’re going to lower it down now.” He nodded. “Good service.  I like that Father Charles.”

Jack Simmons raised his mouth slightly, keeping his brows lowered.  Louis walked over to the platform the casket was seated on.  He reached below one of the edges and hit the switch.  Jack had never seen the switch before – he just knew where it was.  The casket slowly sunk into the ground.

“You’ve done burials with him before?”

Louis looked at Ed Verlaine.  Ed shrugged.

“He looked familiar.”

Louis nodded as the casket moved halfway into the hole.  The top of it still brown-red, sheen, with panes of white running along its edges from the  sun and clouds.

“He did John Lennon’s funeral,” Louis said, tucking his chin and watching the casket.  He rubbed his red cheek skin. “He did it in New York.”

Jack Simmons listened to the hum of the machine and the rattle of the casket as it burrowed further and further into the hole.  The shadow cutting away its shine more and more.  He looked at Louis’ well kept brown moustache.

“Strawberry Fields Forever.  He was there for all of that.”

The coffin nestled itself within the walls of the grave.  Stray pieces of dirt crumbled down the neatly packed sides of the hole.  Jack saw the coffin snugly fit in the grave, a shadow cast upon its entire face.  The sun beat on his neck and it felt good to him as did the familiarity of the humidity.  However, the coffin fit, it was dark with shadow and it was cool.  The coffin was as familiar as the harbor in winter, or following Emma by the shade of the docks.  Jack felt that the mother inside of the indian orange wood panels and on that soft silk pillow was cozy in her bed.  There were pieces of root sticking out of the grave wall.

The machine stopped.

Louis bent down and checked the button.  He stood up and clapped his hands, they gave off a soft echo.

“OK, boys.  It’s your time now.” He tipped his head first to Ed and then to Jack and moved across the grass towards where the mourners were in the distance. 

Ed Verlaine dug his shovel into the mound and held it there.  He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lifted one with his mouth.  He held the pack out to Jack Simmons.  Jack took a cigarette.  Ed threw him the lighter. Jack caught it, lit the stick and passed it back to Ed who did the same.  Ed dropped the lighter into the pocket on the front of his uniform.  He pulled the spade out, weighed with dirt and turned it down into the grave.  It hit the casket with a scratch and a thud.

“Thank you,” Jack said.

“Strawberry Fields Forever,” Ed puffed.

Jack looked over his shoulder and saw the girl with the crimson hair up the hill on the gravesite grounds.  He turned back to the mound.  He struck his spade in and pulled it out swiftly, turning dirt earthward.  His back flexed with his hamstrings and he moved the dirt once more.
The scratching continued below Ed Verlaine and Jack Simmons as they worked.

“It’s a shame isn’t it, Jack?” Ed thrust his shoulders forward with the shovel, weighted, then lightened his load.

“What is a shame?”

“That after all the nice craftsmanship they do on these caskets that we go and scratch them all up with dirt and pieces of clay and little rocks when we cover them up.”

Jack Simmons’ biceps strained as he lifted a spadeful of dirt. Sweat moved up and under his jaw.

“That’s just the way it is.”

“Why do they spend so much time on them?  I always wondered that.  We should’ve just left them like the old west coffins like in A Fistful of Dollars. Planks of wood.  At least when the Egyptians used gold they gave them pyramids and plenty of room.”

Jack Simmons stopped shoveling.  He took a long pull off his cigarette and exhaled it.  His short hair was soaked with perspiration.  He rubbed it and felt it spike.

“It’s just the way it is.”

Ed looked at Jack standing and smoking. “I suppose you’re right.  I suppose that’s the way it has to be.  Especially for someone you love.  You’ve loved someone right, Jack?”

Jack nodded his head and picked up the shovel, setting to the mound of the dirt again.

Ed Verlaine smiled.  “They loved her.  That family that is.  They must have.  That’s why they all spoke so strange.  She must have been a good mother.”

    Ed let his eyes move up the hill of the grounds to the mourners who still remained.  The crowd had grown smaller.  He listened as Jack scraped and dumped dirt, quietly grunting and breathing.  He used to watch the girls outside his window in class as the water from the icicles fell.  He’d sat in his backyard underneath the porchlight and drank cool beer and  let the fireworks play in the sky above him.  Jack shovelled more dirt onto the coffin.  He’d let the dark of the night, the navy of the night sneak in and wrap around him as his canvas shoes rested on the sedimentary walkway in the middle of the grass.  Ed sighed and flicked his cigarette.  It hit the edge of the dirt pile, slightly red and still smoking.

    “What was the next hole?” Ed asked, holding a shovelful of soil.

    “Olivero.”

    “Olivero, that’s right.” Ed dropped the dirt. “That red head is still up there.”

    Jack Simmons nodded and dug deeper into  the mound.  They were making good progress.  He stopped and turned his neck to see the girl with the crimson hair.  He  could see her up the grounds.  The crowd had thinned considerably. She was standing with a man.  Her posture was slightly slouched and he seemed to stand above her; stand into her.  Jack resumed digging. He dug slowly and without effort.  He turned again to watch her.  She and the man had walked away from the remaining mourners.  Cars continued to idle by the roadway.  The girl with the crimson hair and the man she walked with stood by one of the neatly contained thickets that were littered throughout the cemetary.  There were small yellow and purple flowers in the thicket.  Jack tilted dirt into the hole – it made thumping sounds now, hollow, warm repeating thuds.

    The girl with the crimson hair sagged her shoulders and threw her arms around the man.  Her hair fanned and swished.  The man held her and turned to the side.  The girl moved her face from his shoulder and kissed him directly.  Jack felt his stomach rise and fall deep inside, he felt his kneecaps grow warm and then cool with sweat.  They stood by the thicket, the clouds covered the sun again leaving few slants of grey light to fall solemnly by the yellow and the purple eminence of the flowers.  The wood of the shovel chafed Jack Simmons’ palm calluses.  The faces of man and the girl with the crimson hair separated.  Jack thrust his shovel back into the mound of dirt, he strained his forearm muscles lifting the next shovelful out.  He didn’t look as he floated the shovel above the grass and into the grave; he only watched the two of them.  Their faces moved together again in a kiss. Jack thrust the shovel once more, feeling a pain down through his abdomen and groin as he did so.  The man and the girl with the crimson hair kissed once more.  Jack Simmons’ chest was on fire and he felt a persistant and primordial urge within his chest and attached to his brain that told him to run away.  To explode and disappear into the grey, the light and the heat of the day. He drove his spade into the brown, brown dirt.  He  saw the purple sash of  his youth that was life and that was death.  The purple sash across Emma’s soft round underchin and the way her hair still looked alive.  His chest burned but he continued to dig – it was all he could do to remember.

    Ed glanced up from his digging and saw Jack rapidly moving the dirt into the grave.  Both of Jack’s eyebrows were raised and his face was red.

    “Are you alright, Jack?” Ed asked.

    Jack nodded.

    “Sure?” Ed put his shovel into the ground and pushed his hand through his hair.

    “Yeah, just have to finish this hole and move to the next one.” He continued to dig fervently.

    “You got it, Jack.”

    Ed looked over and saw the red head walking with a guy over to the idling cars.  Another funeral was finished and Jack was right – they would move on to the next hole until the sun went down and it got cool and then they could leave.  He’d get a beer once he left.  He could taste it.  Actually, what he felt was the bottle’s cool perspiration against his finger tips. Ed laughed, the feeling of the wetness made him think of the taste of beer and of refreshment.

    Ed Verlaine pulled his shovel up and pushed it into the pile.  He pulled out an even shovelful and tossed it into the grave.  The coffin had long disappeared.  He shook his head.  All of those words, those strange speeches from this family, gone into that hole as well.  He collected another clump of dirt in his shovel.  But that wasn’t necessarily true.  Those words didn’t get stuck underground with the body, they weren’t trapped.  Maybe they lived on and escaped through the cracks and floated away: disappearing: reappearing and moving away in the trees and the light, just like the worlds that moved and disappeared from him – the girls, the friends, the look of the stone walkway under his porchlight.

    He kept his eyes on his shovel and the pile and listened to Jack’s persistent breath and motion.  Ed Verlaine was looking forward to the night, though.  Maybe there would be a breeze that would blow against his legs, the cool breeze of a school year starting and he could remember that feeling near his heart from when he was younger and the summer was ending.  That feeling he had thought was love. Ed’s shovel struck a big rock. He lifted it and flung it over the near sycamore tree.  He and Jack could finish the next hole and the one after that and then leave in their cars, driving out in the highway away from this green field of bodies.  Ed Verlaine knew  that if it didn’t rain, he’d roll the window down and hold his elbow out the window.  The cars in the other lanes would swish by and the neon signs from  the strip malls would too: Stop N’ Shop, McDonald’s, Sporting World IV, GameStop.  He’d lick his lips and think of a beer.  He wouldn’t reach for one like he used to – he’d wait and think of the cool.

    Ed took a look at Jack and then looked up the hill.  The last cars were pulling away and he heard a strange bird’s call that might have been an owl.  He turned back to Jack.  The family had all gone and he and Jack would be gone too soon.  At night, the breeze would hit him and it would be like the cool of the swimming pool in the bright light and heat of the summer.  He floated above the black T’s at the pool’s bottom and they stayed until the sun turned red and it was time to go for dinner.  He would help his mother pack the suntan lotion into her canvas bag, gently placing his mother’s sunglasses on top of the towels last.  Then, Ed would hold his sister’s hand and they would walk past the concession stand with the smell of chicken fingers and into the dark, dank cool of the entrance tunnel.  His bare feet slapping on the chipped maroon paint.

    “Maybe we can go down to the water and see fireworks tonight, Eddie.”

    “Fireworks?”

    “Of course, it’s July.”

    Ed took another shovelful of dirt and lifted it high up, feeling the strength of his biceps.  He brought it down slowly and tipped it evenly into the grave.  Pieces of dirt stuck to the spade.  The dark of the maroon tunnel gave way to the square entrance and the way out to the scorched brown grass.  One square of light against the black.

Truth and Opinion

I have to apologize to all my Puddlers out there because I know that my posting has not been as frequent as it probably should be over the past few weeks or so.  I am trying to come up with new material and I want to start inserting the podcasts  back into the schedule so that the new writing posts can be broken up a little bit more balanced, which also helps me because I get more time to work on them before I have to post them all up for you to read.  Also, the fact that the summer is here and that weekend trips become much more frequent doesn't help matters.  This past weekend I was able to go to my friend's house in Connecticut where we watched the World Cup games on a big projector his father had set up.  My friend's father is Argentinian, so we watched Argentina and the incomparable Lionel Messi easily defeat Nigeria on Saturday morning.  After that game, his father and mother treated us to a delicious Argentinian spread, which consisted mainly of barbequed beef in several varieties: prime rib, skirt steak, flank steak and short rib.  We also go to enjoy some sweet breads as well as empanadas and a grilled Argentinian provolone, which was rubbed down with oregano and other spices and was quite delicious. And of course, we got to scoop on the chimichurri.

So being stuffed like that, we then watched the U.S. play England.  The U.S. managed a tie due to one of the luckiest goals of all-time, which I am sure you all saw.  The U.S. played terribly in that game. They lacked aggression, urgency or even joy in their playing.  It was almost a replay of the opening game of the 2006 World Cup in which the U.S. played as if they didn't even enjoy the game of soccer or have any interest in winning a game.  England did not play terrific and we actually should have won that game if any sort of pressure was put on the English defenders. Very disappointing.

Then, we ate dessert, which was cheesecake and flan.  After that, being more stuffed and filled with some leisurely daytime beers, we decided to play some soccer on the slippery lawn.  There is nothing like slipping on grass on a full stomach and getting your ass all wet.  At one point, I pulled soccer moves on my friend's dog in order to prevent the ball from being bitten and was able to evade her while holding a beer and slipping on my ass in the mud.  Needless to say, I felt great and then finished the beer.

Of course, we had to come back to New York, where we regrouped later at night at a new bar on Lorimer and Meeker called Night of Joy, which is a legit bar.  It has a great roof deck, some creative cocktails and a much smoother and classier inside than most of the bars in Williamsburg.  I'll probably go back there quite a few times.  The drinks are a little pricey, but I spend enough time watching basketball and drinking 24 oz. of Busch to throw some coin at Maker's Mark on the rocks or a gin gimlet.

The weekend finished up last night, with the Celtics taking Game 5 from the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Game 5  basically lived up to the high standard that Game 4 did.  In this game, Kobe had no supporting cast and had to take on the Celtics on his own. Kobe scored 19 points in the third quarter and at one point had scored 23 consecutive points for the Lakers.  Meanwhile, Pierce was played the big game I was expecting from him at some point and put in 27 points.  His game was so effective, that it actually felt like more.  He had his midrange jumper going, his drive, his jap step fadeaway and even a few three pointers.  The Celtics were playing well on all cylinders, but let the Lakers get close in the last four minutes of the game.  However, the Celtics eventually made the highlight play of the series when after Pierce ripped a rebound off of an Artest missed free throw away from Kobe he called timeout.  The Celtics then took the ball out, with Garnett inbounding.  There appeared to be no real options, until Pierce streaked towards the sideline in the frontcourt with Derek Fischer guarding him.  Garnett hit Pierce who had to stretch for the ball to save it from Fischer.  Pierce then tightroped the sideline and as he was leaning to fall out of bounds hit a streaking Rondo who had shook off Kobe.  Rondo caught the ball in stride and laid in a beautiful reverse layup as the crowd went wild with the slight resemblance of Dennis Johnson's layup after Larry Bird stole the ball against the Pistons in 1987.  The Celtics now have a 3-2 lead in the series and Game 6 will be in Los Angeles tomorrow night.  Both teams have a short rest and long travel.  It seems to me, that the Lakers are tired.  Phil Jackson has been playing his starters too many minutes because the Lakers have no faith in their bench, whereas the Celtics have seen their bench flourish in the Finals.  This series is going to come down to legs at this point.  The adjustments to be made are fewer and fewer and all that is really left is for each team to play their hardest.  Whoever plays harder and makes less mistakes will win.  Can Kobe's legs hold up? Can the Laker bench show up with the home crowd backing them in L.A.?  Can Gasol bounce back from a terrible performance in Game 5? Besides Game 1, every game in this series has been played tough and neither team has disappointed.  No matter what happens in Game 6, we are in for a treat now that this series has shifted back to L.A.  We have one or potentially two pressure packed games to look forward to.  This is why I love the NBA Finals.

This post is called Truth and Opinion.  Well, that bit about the Celtics and the picture of Paul "The Truth" Pierce handles the "Truth" part.  The "Opinion" part of this title comes from a reader of this blog who found my site through Expecting to Rain, which posted my piece from last Thursday called "Signs" as one of their posts of the day last Friday.  The reader's name is Dr. Wolfgang Schwass.  And I apologize Wolfgang if you did not want these comments to be posted, but I found them sincere and felt it would be appropriate to put them up:

Hi Matt,

my name is Wolfgang, I´m 60, Dylan-fan since ages ago, number-cruncher (controlling) in a medium-sized company in Germany…. and during my coffee-break (kind of…) I just read your post about „New Morning“ and I do feel the urge to let you know how deeply impressed I am about your clear and open thoughts in it  of life and death and will and hope and reality and dreams and life in NYC and in the country and about nearness and openness and about satisfaction and longing…. poles in life, we all hang in between somewhere… until we do not anymore some day…

and all this related in way to Dylan´s album.( I always felt the same way about the four lines you quoted from Sign in the window: eternal truths …. for a while…..)

  

Good to know that there are people like you elsewhere in the world who feel the same way…

Again: awesome post …and so well written…. will keep me thinking…. Thanks !

and have a nice day …. in New York City…. (a city I love a lot… because it´s a city of choices…and poles)

kind regards !

Wolfgang

Wolfgang, I have to thank you for writing in like that and I encourage all my Puddlers to do the same.  You can even write in with suggestions and I will try to abide by them.  The above e-mail is the whole purpose of this blog and my writing, is to connect to people and make them feel an enjoyment of life, even if enjoyment is painful.  In any event my Puddlers, that's what this is here for and our pal Wolfgang is evidence of that.

Tomorrow will be another installment of From Here to the Last Mound of Dirt, then the rest of the week is up in the air, but Friday or late Thursday should bring the posting of the Puddles of My Podcast of Myself that will be conducted with the table being flipped and Nick Mencia interviewing me.  So please stick with me here and try to enjoy the last bit of basketball you are going to get for some time.