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

Summertime is Here !

   

  First off, I just want to say Congratulations to the Warriors for a spectacular performance and win of the championships tonight at Oracle and also to Kevin Durant for his second MVP Finals award. It is certainly deserving and I'm glad you received it this year, too ! I'm sure there are going to be many more in the future! Kudos also to all the Cavaliers who put up a valiant fight. You live up to your name for sure. I should know- I'm The Castle Lady ! What a great way to kick off summer in a big way ! !

     Every season, so far this year, has arrived early and it appears that summer is going to be no different. I’ve planted a brand new flower garden on the south side of my house this year so it’s going to be exciting to see what all comes up. Hopefully it will discourage all the weeds that have grown there in the past. Can one defeat weeds with seeds? Well, I’m certainly going to find out! I’ve zapped those weeds relentlessly for quite a number of years now and since I had some good bare ground for a change I decided on flowers rather than try to put in a lawn where no one will appreciate it. I even made a pretty path to go along with it of small flagstones (donated by my aunt Anne) and I may even put in a garden stool or small bench if there is enough space. For now, I’m watering, watering and watering and waiting. Some seedlings are coming up so it’s starting to take on some shape of an actual garden. It’s certainly making early June a little more interesting.

     You know it’s been many years since I actively have roller-skated anywhere because so many of Denver rinks have shut down over the years. My introduction to the sport was during one of my earliest summers where I just strapped some metal skates onto my shoes- with metal wheels, mind you!- which I got as a gift the previous Christmas. Talk about a take-off! I don’t remember a single fall with them on and they were my greatest toy for one summer. The ice cream man going by? Put the skates on quick! It was the only way to meet up with friends, find an empty parking lot or space somewhere and pretend we were at a skating rink. That was one summer.

     I never used them again. Many years later…after High School was over, after I’d gone to Opportunity School and was working as a professionally licensed nail tech I noticed that in California grown people were putting on professional-looking skates with new types of wheels made out of polyurethane. They were colorful and they dance skated in them so it really caught my attention. When I moved out to California I spent every weekend skating on the boardwalk at the beach in my own customized pair. I also went to roller rinks and roller disco parties in them. Roller-skating grew up for me in a very real way.

     When I moved back to Denver I kept skating at various different rinks and had gotten quite good at it. For a good twenty years I kept it as a very important and regular part of recreation in my spare time. The roller rinks began to shut down and even now there are almost none. When I heard that the rink which I had started roller-skating at as an adult was being revamped for its old purpose very recently I made a mental note. I haven’t actually gone through those doors yet because it’s been eighteen years since I last skated, I’ll bet! I’m going to challenge myself to go back to it because I’ll bet it’s like riding a bike. You know. You never forget, right?

     Well, I can’t think of anything better to get me away from everything- aside from going to see a movie which is also a rare thing for me to do.
Skating was the impetus of one summer many years ago, so I believe I’m going to let it be that one thing you just never want to give up doing. I could stick with the patterns I’ve let my life fall into or I can just go all the way back to one summer in the sixties and be myself once again. Summer time is HERE ! Here we go…

The Castle Lady

Barbie Does Basketball !

     We’ve reached the Finals of the NBA championships and watched last night’s Game 1 to see the usual struggle between LeBron’s vulnerable ego doing battle with the Warriors insistence on humbleness. The game alone is enough entertainment especially since Shaq and Barkley had their laugh about the Benny Hill antics that go on when chaos clashes with insistence on order. (Their take on the new basketball!) I don’t see why anyone would purposely miss these games because the entertainment value is high. If you’re not watching you’re really missing out- I just had to say that! However, I can’t stand it when someone really gets hurt. That’s what happened in the first quarter between Klay Thompson and J.R. Smith. Before anyone could stop it J.R. slipped (probably on someone’s pool of sweat), colliding with Klay who had just taken possession of the ball, tripping him and he twisted radically, slamming down sideways on his right hip. Thompson tried to get up and apparently was in such pain all he could do was slam his fists on the wood floor. AUGH!

     That mishap sent him out limping to the locker rooms for the remainder of the quarter but luckily returned by the second quarter to make a round of perfect shots in the basket for the remainder of the game. His resilience alone is commendable but it made me wonder just how much daily pain these athletes endure over the love of the game. Who says they don’t earn their money ?

     At any rate, I watched a real tug of war for hours with the scores reflecting the struggle quite well. The Cavaliers and Warriors were head to head throughout the entire game. Durant really shined in this game. I noticed that Dramond Green tried to give LeBron a facial when he was trying to do a slam dunk. One word of advice to Dramond: Try to stay as far away from LeBron as you can during the remainder of the finals.

    

When the game went into overtime a sudden burst of perfect shots put the Warriors way ahead of the Cavs and you could see shock registered on the faces of the Cavs. Meanwhile, the Warriors were clearly rejoicing. When two and half seconds were left on the extended clock LeBron and Steph Curry decided to have a chat which escalated into a fast fight between several of the Cavs and several of the Warriors. There was enough time for it, wasn’t there? This was all started because Tristan Thompson had just been ejected from the game for unnecessary roughness. The ref actually started the fight, in truth. How important was it to eject a player when by all rights and purposes the game was over, pal?

     I think the NBA needs to call all the refs down on the carpet and start laying down some rules for them. Often their calls are way off, especially on fouls. It’s so bad, in fact, that I’m beginning to wonder what constitutes a foul. Even commentators are bringing this issue up on a regular basis and it’s definitely high time they have a conference between the players, coaches and refs and get their wires uncrossed. Those rules are in place to protect players, basically, so they have every right to question bad calls. Often they are quite justified in doing so and they should be included in these talks. It’s time to have it out. Right?

www.nba.com

Just my two cents worth !

The Castle Lady