NBA: Where Dallas wins in December

 

I haven’t published an NBA post since the beginning of the month. Don’t worry I’m not dead, just insanely busy with finals and then visiting home in NYC. Since we’ve been gone, the league is a bit different. Al Horford is out, likely until next season. Kobe is out, likely until some point next year. Russell Westbrook is out, likely until some time after the All-Star Break. Brook Lopez is out, likely until next season.

Last night, Dallas got its 8th win in December, increasing their record to 8-5 for the month and 18-13 for the year. Dallas caught a major break at the end of the game against Minnesota. The Mavericks were up by 2 and Minnesota was inbounding the ball. Kevin Love caught the pass and attempted a shot (trying for a game winning 3, but his foot was on the line.) As Love shot the ball, Shawn Marion (who had a great game including a season high 32 points), clearly hit his arm. No foul was called, and Kevin Love missed the shot (and by missed, I mean “barely got the ball out of his hands”). Game Over. Dallas wins.

This morning the NBA released an official statement, which stated that Kevin Love was fouled and should have gotten 2 shots. On one hand, it doesn’t do the Wolves any good. They get an extra loss on their record (to go with the other 7 games they’ve lost where the point differential was 4 points or less). On the other hand you don’t know that Love hits those shots or if they would have gone to OT and lost anyway. I do think that it’s a good thing that the NBA does point out where the refs have made mistakes. It’s better than the alternative where the NBA pretends that the mistake didn’t happen and just moves on, which is really easy to do with a 82 game regular season.

 

Nationally Televised Schedule *All Times EST

Tuesday
Portland at Oklahoma City NBATV 8PM

Last week, I got to watch the Thunder live for the first time. It was great to watch Westbrook get a triple double and for Kevin Durant to put up 29 points (both in 3 quarters as they sat out the 4th quarter). Now Westbrook is out, again, and the Thunder are back where they began the season, with KD carrying the team and hoping that Reggie Jackson and Ibaka pick up the slack. So far they’ve done well, beating the Bobcats and tearing apart the Rockets in convincing fashion.

Now they get the division rival Blazers. They have been amazing all year. Last post, I gushed about how they raised their floor by having better bench players this season, but since then they have been consistently good against top competition. A win on the road in a nationally televised game would be huge for them

No Nationally televised games on Wednesday, for unclear reasons. (Really, we couldn’t have flexed in New Orleans at Minnesota or something?) Actually, the schedule is bleak for Wednesday unless you want to watch hockey. Spend time with your family, recovering from your hangover or both.

Thursday
Brooklyn at Oklahoma City NBATV 8PM

2013 has been rough for the Nets. On the other hand, they are still in the East, and they aren’t far out of the division lead. (about 4 wins as of 12/31). That’s all I got.

Friday
New York at Houston NBATV 8PM

Houston is about who I thought they were. Right now they are the 5th seed in the West. They aren’t a bad team but they aren’t on the same level as a healthy Spurs or Thunder team. They just got slaughtered by the Thunder, without Westbrook. However there is hope. The Rockets are either going to trade disgruntled center Omer Asik or play him. Either way, this will improve the team. While trades for Millsap and Ryan Anderson may be purely fantasy, any improvement at PF or PG will change the Rockets from being a second tier team team in the Western Conference. They already have the best Shooting Guard in the league (Harden) and arguably the best Center (Howard, as long as Marc Gasol is not playing).  

Saturday
New York at Dallas NBATV 730PM

At the aforementioned Thunder game I watched in MSG, the Knicks… were there. Carmelo Anthony, Raymond Felton and Mike Woodson were all in well-tailored suits. The Knicks faithful  made it clear that they hoped that none of them would be there for long. Commentators said (hoped, really) that Carmelo and Felton would be healthy soon and  “FI-RE WOOD-SON” chants echoed through out the arena. 

As far as those who weren’t suited I didn’t see a lot to be happy about. Tim Hardaway, Jr. was electrifying and gave the crowd a reason to be excited. Shumpert was his usual, defensive-stopper self. However, J.R. smith got booed on his way to the bench. Chris Smith got his first, inconsequential minute for the Knicks (he got a wonderfully appropriate trillion) and likely, his last minute for the Knicks.

Meanwhile, Dallas keeps chugging along and working towards earning their playoff spot, just like that other Dallas team.

Week 17–Playoff Picture

TL;DR - 13 games feature some playoff implications. If the right things happen, the AFC playoffs could be decided by the end of the early games. If the wrong things happen then there are a lot of teams that are vying for the 6th seed. In the NFC, Green Bay, Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas all have to win to get in the dance and losing means elimination. New Orleans could end up out of the playoffs or with a bye. 

WEEK 17- Sunday, December 29
The playoffs for the NFL is largely a weird system. There are 4 division winners and 2 wild cards in each division. The cleanest way to do a playoff discussion is to realize that there's 4 important levels to this.
Level 4- Non-playoff team. 20 teams end up here every year.
Level 3- playoff berth - You're in the playoffs, better to be there than to be home.
Level 2- First round bye - What's better than playing at home in the first round? Advancing without playing at all?
Level 1- Homefield throughout the playoffs - The Holy Grail. The entirety of your playoff games until the Super Bowl will be played in your stadium.

I'm not going to discuss the difference between a 5 and 6th seed or 3rd and 4th seed. There isn't one in the first round. Also, it would make the picture needlessly complicated. In the NFC the winner of the North and East will get the 3rd and 4th spots. In the AFC the 3rd and 4th spots will go to the worst of the Patriots, Bengals or Colts. 

AFC Games

Baltimore at Cincinnati, 1 pm
If Cincinnati wins and New England loses, then Cincinnati gets a 1st round bye.
If Baltimore wins and SD or Miami loses or ties, Baltimore clinches a playoff spot. If Baltimore ties and SD or Miami lose, the Baltimore clinches a playoff spot. If Miami, San Diego, and Pittsburgh all lose, then this game is playoff irrelevant for the Ravens, because they'll be in.

Buffalo at New England, 1 pm If New England wins or ties, they get a first round bye. Otherwise, the game depends on Cincinnati.

Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 1 pm
If Pittsburgh wins, they need Miami, Baltimore and San Diego to lose to get in the playoffs. If any of those things doesn't happen, Pittsburgh is out.

Jacksonville at Indianapolis, 1 pm Playoff-bound Indy can clinch a first round bye if they win and New England and Cincinnati lose.

NY Jets at Miami, 1 pm If Miami wins, Miami clinches a spot if San Diego wins or Baltimore loses
If Miami ties they clinch if Baltimore and San Diego tie or if Baltimore loses and San Diego loses or ties.

Late Games

Denver at Oakland, 4:25 pm
If New England has already lost (or tied), this game is playoff irrelevant. If New England wins, then Denver needs to win or tie to clinch home field advantage in the AFC playoffs.

Kansas City at San Diego, 4:25 pm
This game is irrelevant for playoff bound KC. But if Miami and Baltimore have already lost, then San Diego can win (or tie) the game and get in.

NFC

Carolina at Atlanta, 1 pm Carolina wins or ties they get a first round bye. If they lose, they need New Orleans to also lose. They already have a playoff berth.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans, 1 pm
The Saints need to win the game for a chance at a first round bye and to clinch the playoffs. If they lose and Arizona wins, they are out of the playoffs.

Green Bay at Chicago, 1 pm Winner gets the NFC North title. Loser goes home. If there's a tie, Chicago makes the playoffs.

Late Games

St. Louis at Seattle, 4:25 pm
If Seattle wins, they clinch the division and homefield advantage.

San Francisco at Arizona, 4:25 pm
If Arizona wins, they're in, only if New Orleans loses.
If San Francisco wins and Seattle has already lost, then SF gets a first round bye. If Carolina also loses, then SF gets homefield throughout the playoffs.

Philadelphia at Dallas, 8 pm Rules of Engagement - Winner gets in. Philly gets in if they tie.

Playoff irrelevant

Houston at Tennessee, 1 pm
Washington at NY Giants, 1 pm
If Houston wins and Washington loses the number 1 pick goes to… the St. Louis Rams.

Detroit at Minnesota, 1 pm
Best RB vs the Best WR, perhaps? Nothing to see here.

Colorado vs. Kansas College Basketball- Scouting Trip.

 

TL;DR Andrew Wiggins is as good as advertised, Joel Embiid is better than advertised and Askia Booker will be remembered forever. Shout out to Zoe.

So in my third year of law school I finally went to a CU-basketball game. The unranked Buffaloes were going against the highly touted Kansas Jayhawks. I was really excited about the game because of a couple of reasons. 1) Andrew Wiggins. Basketball messiah. He’s currently projected to be the number one overall pick in a stacked draft. 2) Joel Embiid. Center from Africa. Comparisons to Hakeem Olajuwon. 3) Spencer Dinwiddie. Junior guard, might be drafted in the 1st round. So, I went on a scouting trip.

Last year, the Buffs were beaten by the Jayhawks 90-54 in Kansas. This game represented a bit of revenge for Colorado. At first it looked like it was going to be a long day for our heroes. The game began with Andrew Wiggins (Does this guy have a nickname yet? We need to fix this) hitting a three pointer and then blocking a Colorado 3 pointer. Kansas went up 7-0 and led 21-14 at one point. Andrew Wiggins picked up 2 quick fouls and was out for most of the 1st half. Luckily. Joel Embiid stepped in and showed why he’s getting comparisons to my favorite NBA player of all time. He looked dominant in the post and has 2 steals and a block. He led Kansas in scoring at halftime with 10 points. He also showed a good pretty good eye for passing that a lot of 7 footers don’t have. However, by the end of the half, the Buffaloes were in the lead due to a team effort as far as as scoring went.

Andrew Wiggins wasn’t around much in the first half but he was dominant in the second. He ended up leading the game in scoring with a versatile set of moves.  In a performance reminiscent of the Duke game, he took over and was clearly the best player on the floor. The Buffaloes maintained their lead, which became a ten point lead at one point but Kansas kept coming back. Embiid completely disappeared offensively. Picking up four fouls and fouling out with 1:44 left in the game. Meanwhile Dinwiddie who wasn’t particularly effective in the first half really showed out. He was clearly the leader of the team.

When winning time came. Dinwiddie took care of business. Dinwiddie hit 4 free throws to pull the Buffs ahead. The theme of the game was the the missed free throws by both teams. Askia Booker missed his second free throw to pull the Buffs lead to 3 points with 18 seconds left. Then as Wiggins tried to hit a game tying three he was unconscionably fouled by Dinwiddie (and by fouled I mean damn near felony assault) Note: Don’t foul a three point shooter in that situation. Ever. Luckily, Wiggins missed a free throw. Dinwiddie was fouled on the inbound pass (one of several questionable “thank god the game is in Colorado and not anywhere else” calls throughout the game). Dinwiddie could have iced the game but he too missed a free throw. When the ball was back in  Kansas’ hands Perry Ellis (who I’m sure is a super-senior and you can’t tell me otherwise) hit an impressive layup to tie the game at 72-72 with 3 seconds left.  Overtime, for sure.

Except that it wasn’t.  The resulting inbound pass went to Askia Booker (up to that point shooting 4 for 11 and killing us at the free throw line at 2 for 6) who ran down the court and hit a 3 pointer, from barely across half court. Colorado wins, Colarado’s bench empties, and C-Unit (Colorado’s student section, rushed the court.

 

 

Other notes:

• This was a great first CU game. I think the next one on my calendar is Aaron Gordon’s 2nd ranked Arizona team (February 2nd).
• Embiid is my new favorite second player in the draft, not the best (Wiggins/Parker) or the most immediately NBA ready (Randle) but the center that the NBA deserves. Bring back the post game!
• If Wiggins hit those free throws, Dinwiddie is the goat of the game. Thank goodness that it didn’t end that way. 
• Andrew Wiggins is as good as advertised, but it’d be nice if he would foul a lot less. It’s nice to see a player of his offensive talent level work so hard on defense. The comparisons to Scottie Pippen are interesting.
• I’m always a fan of obscene college chants and Fuck You KU isn’t creative, but it was fun to hear.
• My favorite chant was the USA USA chant directed at Wiggins when he was fouled hard in the first half. (Andrew Wiggins is from Canada)
• Considering all of the shaky calls that CU got, the BULLSHIT chants were a little unwarranted for the one bad call that went against CU. Admittedly, it was a really bad call, but still. (I think it was a block/charge call).
• It felt like Kansas hit about ten threes in the first half. 
• Shout out to Zoe for getting the tickets and making this happen. She’s awesome. Thanks to Quentin and Mitch as well.

The Black Album 10 years removed

“One day it too will pass on its legacy through the seeds it dropped to the ground
And as the wind carries these seeds throughout wherever they might move
A new life will begin for each one of them as they stand as a monument to the one that came before” (Interlude)

The Black Album isn’t my favorite Jay-Z album (The Blueprint), nor is it the most critically acclaimed (Reasonable Doubt). But if I wanted someone to listen to a Jay-Z album for the first time, this would be this album that I would have them listen to first.
The Black Album came out 10 years ago in 2003. At the time it was presented as Jay-Z’s “swansong”. This would be his “last” album.  With hindsight we know that he released more albums (about 5 as of right now), but even at the time people knew that he wouldn’t be able to stay away. If Jay-Z is like Michael Jordan, the person who he often compares himself to, then the Black album is the 1998 season where 23 ends his career with a game winner.
The Black Album starts with a completely uneccesary intro. Jay-Z’s albums are known for having great introductions (A million and one questions, The Ruler’s Back and The Dynasty Intro come to mind) and this doesn’t match up in the slightest. Luckily, the next song “December 4th” completely redeems it. It features a great feature by none other than Jay-Z’s mom, Gloria Carter. It works well as an autobiographical song  

“Pound-for-pound, I'm the best to ever come around here
Excluding nobody, look what I embody:
The soul of a hustler, I really ran the street
A CEO's mind, that marketing plan was me” – Jay-Z (What More Can I Say)

“What More Can I Say” and “Encore” are essentially the same song. Both of the songs are victory laps, but one sounds like a street single (WMCIS) and Encore has a more commercial sound. The joy of having an 8th album and having 7 of them be great is that your victory laps are deserved, and Jay can have two right after each other. “Change Clothes” is the spiritual predecessor of “Tom Ford” from Magna Carter where Jay-Z talks about fashion and namedrops designers.
“Dirt Off Your Shoulder” is a song that has a special place in my heart. When the video came out it featured the first verse of Public Service Announcement which is one of my favorite songs (more later). Also, it’s a fun song to perform because of the obvious dance. (You can do it it, no one’s watching)  It’s probably my go to karaoke song. Back to the music, the refrain of  “best rapper alive” continues the victory lap theme of the album.
“Threat” was a standout song when I first listened to the album. It features Cedric the Entertainer just shouting out random threats in between verses. Jay-Z is at his best when he uses word play to stick with conceits.

“When the gun is tucked, untucked, nigga you dies
Like nunchuks held by the Jet L-I
I'm the one, thus meanin no one must try
No two, no three, no four, know why?
Because one's four-five might blow yo' high” – Jay-Z (Threat)

The first two are self explanatory for anyone who’s seen Jet Li with a pair of nunchucks. The 4th line is what makes it. two three and four are both exaggerations of the “no one” from line 3. (As in no two must try, no three etc.) and also saying that he’s “the one” and there’s not even a 2, 3, or 4. The one’s .45 phrase is just icing but still sticking with the numerical conceit. He does it things like this throughout his career at different levels of consistency.
Moment of Clarity is a deep song discussing his father’s death (Pop died, didn't cry, didn't know him that well /Between him doing heroin and me doing crack sales) and his views towards the music he makes (We as rappers must decide what's most important / And I can't help the poor if I'm one of them / So I got rich and gave back, to me that's the win/win). Even better is the song 99 problems, on of Jay-Z’s biggest songs and the song that is the subject of a well-written law review article. The song is popular, great, etc, ad nauseum…
“Fellow Americans, it is with the utmost pride and sincerity
That I present this recording, as a living testament and recollection
Of history in the making during our generation.”
Public Service Announcement is the highlight of The Black Album (and the Grey Album for that matter). It’s one of the best songs in his entire musical catalogue. The song just works. The first verse is one of the more memorable ones that he has. The second verse is less remembered but more impactful

“You can blame Shawn, but I ain't invent the game
I just rolled the dice, trying to get some change
And I do it twice, ain't no sense in me
Lying as if I am a different man
And I could blame my environment but
There ain't no reason why I be buying expensive chains
Hope you don't think users are the only abusers
Niggas getting high within the game
If you do then, how would you explain?
I'm ten years removed, still the vibe is in my veins”. –Jay-Z (P.S.A.)

Following the masterpiece, Justify my Thug and Lucifer play. Justify my Thug isn’t a bad song, but it’s probably my least favorite song on the album.  Lucifer features a Kanye West beat, which is always a good thing, but it also features Jay-Z’s imitation of a West Indian accent which I could live without. (Also, see the first verse of Brooklyn Go Hard. Boom bye bye, please). 
Allure features Pharell again. This time he uses a great Neptunes beat to tell a great story in the second verse. Allure is a haunting song in an unconventional way. It’s a relatively upbeat song until you get to Jay-Z’s story of the mistresses of hustlers.

“Say "hooray" to the bad guy, and all the broads
Putting cars in their name, for the stars of the game
Putting 'caine in their bras and their tomorrows on the train:
All in the Name of Love
Just to see that love locked in chains and the family came
Over the house to take back everything that they claimed
Or even the worse pain is the distress
Learning you're the mistress only after that love gets slain
And the anger and the sorrow mixed up leads to mistrust
Now it gets tough to ever love again” – Jay-Z (Allure)

TL;DR Girl risks everything moving drugs for her guy and after he gets arrested,then killed, she finds out that she’s not even his number one. It’s deep. One of the things that Jay-Z does well is paint selling drugs as a not-always-rosy day-job, something that other rappers don’t do nearly as well.
The last song on this album, “My 1st Song”, features a Biggie interview, where Big relays advice given to him by Diddy.  (“The key to staying on top of things is treat everything like it's your first project, knahmsayin. Like it's your first day like back when you was an intern. Like, that's how you try to treat things like, just stay hungry”) It also explains the title. Mr. Carter borrows Mr. Wallace’s cadence to begin the second verse (“Like I never rode in a limo / Like I just dropped flows to a demo / Like it's ninety-two again and And I got O's in the rental”). The song is the perfect outro for the album. It didn’t end up as his last song or album (he came back like Jordan wearing a Wizards jersey on Kingdom Come). The album is solid and even ten years later it holds up exceptionally well. It’s an album that Jay-Z an be proud of on his birthday (unlike Blueprint 2 which preceeded it and Kingdom Come which followed it)

NBA: Where Unibrow Down Happens

 

“Moment of silence for the champions
For those who make goin' hard a lifestyle
Never waver nothing, gotta get it right now
I'm in the spotlight when they turn the lights down
Only a champ swings the hardest in the 12th round”  -Ron Artest (Champions)

Anthony Davis is down, dammit. After putting up amazing numbers all season, Camby 2.0 was injured by the Knicks. The team that hasn’t mustered up a win since December had to take out Unibrow to try to win. (Note: They still didn’t win). Anthony Davis has a nondisplaced hand fracture and it appears that Davis will be out for a long time. The now .500 New Orleans Pelicans have played well and have shown themselves to be a tough bunch. Luckily the return of Ryan Anderson helps to limit the offensive problems caused by Davis’s absence.

 

Stats of the Week 11/25-12/1

POINTS: Stephen Curry (36)
REBOUNDS: Josh Smith/ Andre Drummond(19)
ASSISTS: Brandon Jennings (13)
STEALS: Andre Drummond/ Michael Carter Williams/ Tony Allen (6)
BLOCKS: DeAndre Jordan (9)

Honorable Mention:

32 PTS/ 10 REBS /12 ASTS / 4 STLS / 4 BLKS
I usually leave writing nice things about Kevin Durant for other people, considering that he’s a superstar and universally beloved. However, when you get a triple double that almost becomes a 5 by 5 I’ll write about you.

9 PTS/ 9 REBS/ 9 AST
Nicolas Batum is one of my favorite players in the league, period. This is why.  I’m also sure his 9/9/9 stat line is penance for what he did in the earlier game this year where he got a triple double in less than desirable circumstances

 

Nationally Televised Games *all times MST 

Tuesday - No nationally televised games

Wednesday

San Antonio at Minnesota NBATV 7:30PM

With the Unibrow injury, my fantasy season is dependant on Kevin Love, who despite being largely irrelevant on defense has been great on defense due to his 20/10 numbers and 3 pointers. I’ve also liked Corey Brewer who takes care of the wing defense for me.

Thursday

New York at Brooklyn TNT 5PM

New York City basketball is depressing. These two teams (as of Monday morning) have less wins than other teams that are actively trying to tank. 

Miami at Chicago TNT 7:30PM

Chicago basketball is a different type of depressing. The Bulls have a great coach and players who I have a lot of respect for. The problem is that in their current incarnation they can’t win a title, so all of their work is irrelevant. They fought valiantly (and ultimately lost in triple overtime) against a middling Pelicans team without their best player, Anthony Davis. 

Friday

Denver at Boston ESPN 5:30 PM

The Nuggets have played extremely well recently in a tough western conference. The Celtics are one game out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. If they were in the West they would be the worst team in the conference. 

Saturday

LA Clippers at Cleveland NBA TV 7:30PM

I watched Cleveland play for the first time this season last week. At some point Free Kyrie Irving will be the title of my blog. It just isn’t right. He’s so talented and the ownership keeps whiffing in the draft. Reminds me of a small forward who used to play for Cleveland who was also a number one pick.

Dallas at Portland NBA TV 8PM

Portland has been a great story. When they added a ton of bench players in the offseason they raised their floor a ton. Sometimes, that’s just as important as gathering a big free agent, if not more.