Baskets, Playoffs and Siblings, O My !

    

The NBA Playoffs have started to seem like a series of marathons to me. The easiest job is sitting and watching them because they normally run so close. This year it has resembled a basketball version of the film Groundhog Day (for all those who have seen it!) with slightly different versions in successive games for those who are actually participating. My sympathy goes to the players who are starting to feel fatigue. Don’t get me wrong, though! I love basketball so it’s quite a wonderful interlude for me. Watching and playing, however, are two totally different things so you’ll have to figure out how to understand what I’m telling you if you are scratching your head and blurting, “Say, whaaa?” Try playing a serious game of basketball yourself some time, then you’ll know.

     The Warriors are dominating the scene again- without Bougie (Cousins) and Kevin Durant, since his injury during game 1 vs Portland Trailblazers- and I am still every bit as much in awe of their playing since the whole GSW phenomenon started a few years ago but I’m beginning to get the old star system fever again and have been noticing some stray talent here and there that is getting more than my attention.

     Before the end of last year and prior to the All Star games in Charlotte I happened to catch a GSW vs Trailblazers game and then again in February prior to the start of the Playoffs and happened to notice that Steph Curry’s brother Seth was in Trailblazers line-up. I noticed a bio on him several years ago in NBA stats on players and seeing the last name and the faint similarities of the facial features wondered if this was a close relative or even a twin. (Remember, fraternal twins can look no more alike than a sibling and are not identical.)                                   

     I wondered about it for quite some time until February 13^th this year when I heard Seth’s name called in the line-up and they mentioned in passing that they were, in fact, brothers (two years apart in age) from the same set of parents. I got very excited because it was a chance to see someone in action that I had only wondered about and they were playing on opposite teams in this game.

     Since Seth seems to be a second stringer (which limits floor time in the NBA) I didn’t see enough criteria to compare between him and his brother but he did toss a couple of awesome three-pointers and after seeing that they appeared rather indifferent to each other I decided to do more research. I found out that their father,Wardell, was also an NBA player from 1986 to 2002 with a decade long career with the Charlotte Hornets and among those who championed the 3-pointer. He took his boys to work with him and the result is two outstanding players in the NBA- each for their own reasons and capabilities.

    

Little did I know back in February that I was actually going to see them playing against each other in the Playoffs in May. I couldn’t have predicted that if I’d had 3-D glasses on! Of course, the previous series against the L.A. Clippers this year was every bit as much a struggle and probably the hardest I’ve ever seen between two teams vying for the championship. What has been touted by many as a stellar performance in the last game of that series belied a bit of the true basketball talent of Danilo Gallinari who played for quite some time with the Denver Nuggets after the Knicks trade. It has been a subject of debate that something was holding him back here in Denver but I won’t say the name of the coach because I think those conjectures are way off base. All I will say is that his abilities are now being utilized to the max and saw a difference in him in the last game (6) which should get him more recognition. Maybe he hated Denver. LOL. Despite all efforts the Warriors marched right past them and all the way back to Coney.

     During other Playoff games I happened to notice James Hardin’s 40 points per game streak along with Russell Westbrook’s also which is reaching out to overtake Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 515 consecutive games of 40 points. Even though these two are not my favorite players for reasons other than their playing ability they are bringing up standards to the NBA which will be a tall order to beat. They deserve kudos for that alone. Zack Collins of the Trailblazers has the ability to reach or even perhaps overreach these stats but his attitude is going to have to improve. If anyone thinks basketball doesn’t require character improvement they should get out while they have a chance. Myers Leonard should get a newly invented Most Popular award. Commentators have noticed his indomitable spirit while playing- I noticed that he just happens to be the best-looking basketball player I have ever seen in my life. ; ) Don’t disgrace the face!

     Speaking of commentators, I have taken to turning off the sound occasionally when I’m watching the Playoffs because of the way they’re talking about the interrelationships between the teams and still promoting the star system mentality. Maybe that worked during Michael Jordan’s heyday but with GSW’s success in using a humble and fair system for all players it’s time that those who analyze the games realize that the game has changed and it started changing way before GSW made a success of it.

     Let me take you back to the night of March second in 2011. The game was between the Denver Nuggets and the Charlotte Bobcats. Carmelo Anthony had been traded to the New York Knicks along with Chauncey Billips so the ‘stars’ were gone. Wilson Chandler had taken on a lead role in a line up that included Nene, Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen, Ty Lawson and J.R. Smith. All amazing players with their own set of strengths and no weaknesses. The ever present Arron Affalo was there but was taken out in the first quarter when he twisted an ankle, tried to make a comeback but got hurt again in the third quarter when Gerald Henderson plowed into him driving to the basket and finally ended his contribution to the game.

     However, the Nuggets won that night without a single player even coming close to making 40 or even 30 points. They won the game with a 40 point lead with Chandler making 16 points and all the rest had a mere 14 points apiece with a final score of 120-80. You could say that the Nuggets trounced the Bobcats merely because each player was making points in double digits and they were able to take over where before they may have been considered irrelevant to the action of the game. It was the Nuggets highest score of the season starting with an 18 point lead by the second quarter. Chandler and Andersen made their first ten points in the first half. As a result they went into the fourth quarter with their lead into 91-67. This was a blockbuster victory and it just took ordinary players bringing extraordinary effort to the game.

     It is my opinion that this exemplary game be the kind a spectator should always see when they watch NBA games. They’re more exciting and it helps players improve over time. It may be true that it’s more fun to have a hero to save the day but it seems more fitting that each player is a hero in their own right and a better person for the effort.

Play on…

The Castle Lady