National Basketball Association ('14-'15)

[the captain]

Oh, and Jerome James? I remember (and might still have) a college basketball or possibly draft preview magazine somewhere that compared James favorably to Shaq. Both huge and athletic, etc. Hahaha. The worst thing about great players is that writers obsess over finding their replacements. The number of "next" Magics, Jordans, Shaqs I've read about...

[alf wiedersehen]

Flea playing The National Anthem is so terrible.

[B.E.]

Captain, I had read that JVG was Flip's first choice to coach the Wolves in '14, but JVG turned him down. I worded that poorly, my bad.

In regard to Rambis, you've confirmed my suspicions. As far as Phil expanding his coaching search outside of his inner circle, I have heard Blatt's name come up the past few days. He was a Princeton teammate of GM Steve Mills. Beyond that, I am not any more optimistic that Blatt will be hired as I was that Lebron would choose the Knicks during the Decision.

I don't know what to make of Phil Jackson in his current role. I'm (somewhat) hopeful that things will work out and that the Knicks will hold on to Porzingis long-term. Its been a long time since Knicks fans have had anything to be excited about (I respect Melo, but not a big fan, certainly not of the trade when it happened).

And, wow, Jerome James the next Shaq.... right I still remember that 5yr $30M contract. What a nightmare.

[Mr. Verlander]

I'm pretty sure that Jackson isn't going to be in NY for much longer. The big rumor right now is that he's waiting to bolt out to LA to be with his fiance, Jeanie Buss. Of course that's all it could be, is a rumor. It hasn't exactly worked out for Phil in NY though, that's for sure. And the fact that all he wants to run is triangle, as Captain alluded to earlier, is a bit ridiculous. I understand that he had great success with it. That doesn't mean that it's going to always work. It may work if he was the damn coach, which he isn't (although let's be real; he is the coach, he's just not down there on the floor). I'm tired of Phil Jackson, to be honest. He's a coaching legend, perhaps the greatest that ever was, but he's been a sub-par GM.

[the captain]

Mr Verlander, I've read that Jackson-to-NY-next-year (meaning 17-18), too. I wouldn't doubt it, especially since the Lakers have said they'd clean house with management (and some of the ownership group) if they don't make the playoffs this coming season. And while they have young talent, a nice pick, and free agent cash...good luck. Jerry West is not giving them advice anymore on just HOW to spend that money.

Regarding Jackson and the triangle, I actually believe he'd have a great advantage if he just changed his position slightly. He has often said he loves the triangle because of its emphasis on group improvisation within a coherent structure, on skill at all five positions, and on equality of opportunity. And let's be fair, that stuff is beautiful in basketball. But he could easily change his point of insistence from one iteration of those traits--the triangle--and instead just insist on those traits. Simple as that. Just say the new offense has to emphasize those values he has. Adelman's corner offense does that. Blatt's version of the Princeton offense does that. The Kerr-Gentry-Walton Warriors offense does that. The Pop offense does that.  There are plenty of opportunities that would do that, and thus open up that job beyond the jokes of Rambis, Shaw, and Fisher into Blatt, Walton, Messina, etc. Offense isn't philosophy, it's an expression of philosophy. The same philosophy could be expressed in other ways.

[the captain]

By the way, while the weather is increasingly beautiful (we might hit 80 in Minneapolis today!), making it harder and harder to spend any substantial length of time inside watching games, let me say: PLAYOFFS.

Good basketball--games where everyone on both teams (with possible allowances for Michael Beasley, Hassan Whiteside, and a few other lunatics)--will be playing hard. Coaches will put in interesting wrinkles. Players will try on both ends, on and off the ball. It's a long season so I have a hard time blaming them or letting down their intensity during the regular season, but this is the time of year when the quality of play is just phenomenal. Obviously, with Philly, Chicago, New York, and Minnesota fans here, we're all outside looking in. But hey, we can live vicariously through Mr. Verlander and hope the Pistons give the Cavs a run.

[Mr. Verlander]

Tomorrow at about 3, we'll see what happens!

Glad to see Houston get destroyed. And Toronto lays their usual playoff egg.

[the captain]

I watched about 15 minutes of game-time of the Golden State v Houston game. Hahaha. Oh golly, did I laugh. Houston. I feel bad for JB Bickerstaff (who had been a Gopher and then an assistant with the Wolves).

Toronto, I actually kind of enjoy, so it's sad to see what looked like the beginnings of yet another playoff collapse. I'd read recently that Casey was told their playoff run won't determine his fate, and I hope that's true because he's a really good coach. But really, it is amazing how fully DeRozan and Lowry can collapse.

[Mr. Verlander]

Curry may not play Game 2. Which isn't going to be a big deal, I don't think. There's enough guys on GS to be able to take care of a team like Houston with no problem.

OKC won, which slightly disappoints me. I used to like OKC, until Westbrook and Durant kind of became unbearable, always whining (although, this could just be my point of view, because they hate Reggie Jackson, and always try to act like Jackson is 'disrespectful', or 'unprofessional'. Because of course, those guys are ALWAYS professional and don't act like assholes).

I'm sorry...where was I?

Oh yeah. I hope the Clippers get thoroughly destroyed.

[the captain]

I still like OKC quite a bit, but I admit those two can be pretty annoying--especially Westbrook, for me. But both. They started their little ongoing media feud about two years ago and it is just annoying. Not every interview has to be some combination of one-word, curt answers and "the media lies" or "the media doesn't know" responses. I'm sure it is annoying to be in that bubble, but the reason those (extremely well paying) jobs exist has a lot to do with media coverage. So suck it up for 10 years or so, enjoy your $200-250 million in career salaries, and when it's over, you don't have to talk to any reporters ever again. (Except when you willingly return to the game to coach or, funnier, join the media...)

In addition to Det-Cle, today is the sneaky-fun series: Cha v Mia. While neither team is perfect (or even a contender, probably), they're both somewhat under the radar.

[Mr. Verlander]

I still like OKC quite a bit, but I admit those two can be pretty annoying--especially Westbrook, for me. But both. They started their little ongoing media feud about two years ago and it is just annoying. Not every interview has to be some combination of one-word, curt answers and "the media lies" or "the media doesn't know" responses. I'm sure it is annoying to be in that bubble, but the reason those (extremely well paying) jobs exist has a lot to do with media coverage. So suck it up for 10 years or so, enjoy your $200-250 million in career salaries, and when it's over, you don't have to talk to any reporters ever again. (Except when you willingly return to the game to coach or, funnier, join the media...)

In addition to Det-Cle, today is the sneaky-fun series: Cha v Mia. While neither team is perfect (or even a contender, probably), they're both somewhat under the radar.

And I believe that Bosh is out for the series. I feel bad for Bosh; when he left Toronto, I was hoping that he'd come to Detroit. Of course we all know what happened, and for a while I didn't like him, just because I hated the idea of him taking the easy way out to win a title with Miami. In the end I respected him though, because he sacrificed more than anyone else on that team, and he did it because he wanted to win. And, he told Houston to shove it when they wanted to stick him with Harden and Howard. He went back to Miami, and in retrospect, that was a great move by him. He seems like a genuinely good dude.

[the captain]

I think that a healthy Chris Bosh is the most underrated player in the NBA.

[the captain]

Nice first half! Pistons playing really well.

I'm also glad to see Kevin Love have such a good half. Not to sympathize with "the enemy' here, but I think his reputation has taken an unfair hit since late in his tenure in Minnesota. Yes, he obviously wanted out and his attitude could be taken as someone who had checked out. But aside from some excessive whining toward officials and failures to run back on defense, he really did give a lot of effort here (not to mention gave to the community) and played very well. Fun player to watch. Since going to Cleveland, suddenly he wasn't ever that good a player? He's mediocre? Come on! The guy is a very good player who happens to play with the best player of the past decade and another very talented young star (who also happens to control the ball...). Love isn't an MVP type, but he's an All-Star caliber player. He can win you games, including big games.

[Mr. Verlander]

Well, the Pistons hung tough. Made some mistakes near the end (Reggie Jackson getting T'd up wasn't very smart). This is a young team though, and this experience helps. I can easily see us getting one at The Palace. And maybe if Lebron gets a foul called on him once in awhile, we can sneak 2.

[the captain]

Between that T and some poor decision making (and ball stagnation), Jackson really did hurt them late. But he's the guy who can do the most with the ball, so you have to live and die by him sometimes, I suppose.

[Mr. Verlander]

I'm surprised that people are making such a big deal out of SVG saying in one of those TV timeouts that LeBron isn't going to get an offensive foul called on him, and that his guys need to stop complaining and just play. I mean, it's the truth isn't it? And it's been that way for years, all of the great players (especially in their own house) are going to benefit from some non-calls. SVG was just planting a bug in the refs ears for the rest of the series, anyway. It was a smart move on his part.

And really, I think that the NBA saying that a coach has to do a stupid 20 second interview with a reporter during the game is madness. He's trying to coach, he has a million things running through his head, the least of which is giving Joe Blow some insight into the game at hand. I don't think it adds anything. They're lucky that more coaches don't tell the reporter to get bent.

[the captain]

Oh, it's an absolute fact, and not just for Lebron, but for any star player. That's how it works. I remember growing up in the Jordan era and just being flabbergasted (as a fan of 'Nique individually, and then Magic's Lakers, Larry's Celtics, and those Price/Daugherty Cavs, believe it or not) that they never called a foul on him, traveling on him, etc. Well, guess what? I'm not flabbergasted anymore. That's the NBA. And let's get serious: does anyone want to be those obscene ticket prices, or do networks want to pay billions of dollars to broadcast games, that don't include the stars? Of course not! SVG has been on the other side of it when he coached Shaq and Dwight, too. He knows what's going on.

As for the coverage, that's the unfortunate reality of the 24/7 multichannel media. We talk about it with respect to politics all the time, but the same goes for sports. Instead of events happening and being reported, we get networks that do both roles, and then cover their own coverage. X happens. Y reports it. Z tweets that Y reported it. On and on and on it gets repackaged, repromoted, so that the story is the coverage of the coverage of the story. This is a total non-issue. Total non-issue.

I don't blame the reporters, who (like the coaches) are doing their jobs. I blame the suits who think it's necessary--just like I blame them for the dancing, the music, the fireworks, the smoke machines, the on-floor games, the contests, the suites, the in-arena promotions, and on and on. I like basketball, and so I hate going to basketball games. Figure that one out...

[Mr. Verlander]

Sure, I didn't mean to imply that it's the fault of the reporter, they're just doing the job. It is the suits, in this age of having to have something going on all of the time.

It's funny that you mention all the BS that goes along with it, because watching that game yesterday, my son (14) actually said "man, do they ever stop playing music?". And while the actual game is going on-guys were dribbling up and down the court, taking shots-there was music playing in the arena.  Like, the game had to have a soundtrack. I always though squeaky shoes on the court and the occasional profanity from the coaches was all the music you needed at a basketball game.

I've had season tickets for MSU football games for a few years now, and it's the same thing. There is always something going on. The announcer is always talking, there's always sh*t on the jumbotron, there's always people running across the field to take part in some activity. It makes for a pretty annoying atmosphere, and while I'm not an old man yet (41),  I find that as I get older I don't have the tolerance for that stuff like I used to.

Ok, Back to basketball!

[the captain]

In 1997 or so--I have a flyer somewhere to clarify if necessary--I went with an uber-geek friend of mine to a high school all-star game in Minneapolis. (We, college sophomores or so, were living in a small college town about an hour away that summer, and while I moved to Mpls the next year, neither of us had lived here or even in the metro before.) It was called the "Inner City All Star Classic," and featured the best players from the two cities proper, Minneapolis and St. Paul. (There were a couple suburban-school kids mixed in, but not many. It was mostly the actual city leagues.)

First of all, but besides the point, it was eye-opening for me. We were literally the only white people in the gym. Coming from rural hometowns, we were used to being in very, very white environments. Even my first couple years of college, meeting and befriending black people was some kind of exotic novelty. It's embarrassing to admit now, but befriending a guy who went to Peoria Manual (Ill.) HS, where Sergio McClain or Howard Nathan or Frankie Williams played? To me, this was amazing. So anyway, being in this gym, where they kicked it off with not only the national anthem but the then-unknown-to-me "black national anthem?" I had no idea.

BUT... (now I'll get to the point) at that game, an all-star game, they played music throughout the game. It was an all-star game, mind you. But even so, they had two huge speakers blaring hip hop beats (but not songs) throughout. Khalid El-Amin (still the greatest HS player in MN HS history in my opinion) would play to the beat. He did amazing things, often to the music. I, a music (jazz theory and composition) major, was just enamored with the whole idea. He was linking in my mind the ideas of musical improvisation and athletic improvisation.

Sadly, what was remarkable to me in a hot, sweaty gym packed with far more people than fire codes would allow is wholly repulsive to me in a sanitized, corporate-sponsored arena.

(Oh, also, there were gunshots as the game ended. The bulk of the crowd ran toward them to see what happened. We, uh, didn't.)

[SMiLE Brian]

What was the deal with the Wolves getting in trouble for ticket deals this year?

[the captain]

The Wolves (and in fact the Target Center as a whole, I believe) went to an entirely online ticketing system. To go to a Wolves game, you need to set up an account on this (one) third-party app. To sell or even give them away, you need to do it through the app. While it's fine much of the time, one can see where it's a pain in the ass. (A company owning tickets and doling them out to various employees on various days; a guy giving tickets to his nephew, or the neighbor kid for mowing the lawn; etc.) They've been sued over it, but it isn't yet resolved.

[the captain]

Worst news I've had in a long while, after interviewing JVG, Thibs and S Brooks, today the AP is reporting they'll interview Mark Jackson. Ugh.

[SMiLE Brian]

You need tibs!

[the captain]

I'd love him or JVG, but Jackson is odious.

[Mr. Verlander]

I'd love him or JVG, but Jackson is odious.

I can't believe anyone would choose Jackson over Thibs. I mean, c'mon.