Summer League quick takes.

 

Today is the summer league quarterfinal. Just a few quick thoughts about the teams in the Quarterfinals

 

Atlanta v. Houston

After the Jeremy Lin trade, I was concerned about the Houston PG situation. Meanwhile, Nick Johnson, former Arizona player, has been fun to watch and certainly a capable backup. If not, he’ll be a highlight reel for a talented Houston team

Meanwhile, Atlanta has been interesting. Dennis Schroeder has shown signs of improvement.

Sacramento v. Chicago

McBuckets is everything we thought he’d be. He’s been amazing. I love watching him play. Meanwhile, Tony Snell has been a lot better than I thought he’d be. Chicago (the real version) needs outside shooting and Snell/McBuckets have done a good job of showing why they deserve that spot.

Meanwhile, McLemore has looked pretty good for the Kings. He seems a likeable guy on a team that doesn’t have many people who fit that descriptor.

Charlotte v. New York

Hairston tore up the D-League and hasn’t missed a step in summer league. He has performances of 18, 18, 21 and 22 points. But let’s talk about Noah Vonleh. I wasn’t excited about him in the draft.  Summer league is a really small sample size, but for a pf to have have shooting nightmares of 3-10, 3-11, 4-11 and a masterful 0-13 that concerns me.

Meanwhile, in New York, Tim Hardaway Jr. is overqualified to be there. Nuff said.

San Antonio v. Washington

Austin Daye lives for summer league. He’s pretty talented, but not a consistent enough defender or scorer to be the kind of star that he is during the summer. He’s weirdly underqualified for consistent minutes in the NBA and overqualified for the summer.

For Washington to be successful, Otto Porter (3rd overall pick) and Glen Rice Jr. are going to have to be rotation level players. Both have shown signs of success and it will be great to watch them tonight 

7/11 - Bar Exam Prep - Or maybe some thoughts about basketball

A couple of weeks ago, I had a long conversation with one of my best friends in the law school, Quentin. I considered going to Las Vegas for a sports conference and to watch some Summer League games. I wanted to go, but I'm taking the bar exam in a couple of weeks (July 29th). Quentin, on the other hand, said that I should go, for a bunch of reasons, but mostly because it's a great opportunity for someone who likes basketball and a fun way to spend a Friday. I should have bought the tickets. 

Basketball is endlessly fascinating. It's a sport where, above all else, one player can affect the entire league. A baseball player can only do so much to help the cause. The same is true for football (especially if you're not a quarterback) and hockey. But when the best player in the league (with whatever respect is due to Durant, more on that later) switches teams, it's a big deal and it ought to be a big deal. The Cavaliers are automatically a playoff team and borderline contender after being one of the worst teams in the league. 

I would love to be in Vegas discussing what's going to happen with other like-minded people. The best thing for me right now has been my realization that the conference was next Friday and not today. I may have never forgiven myself. On Monday (I assume that I'll get the green light), I'll have something bigger about the whole Lebron James free agency decision and probably a little bit of discussion about fandom. I can't wait. I assume that as a result of the Lebron decision a couple of other big moves are going to happen. I assume that Lin will go to the Lakers, Bosh will go to the Rockets, and Wade will go to his nearest bar.

I'm glad that these moves are going to happen, mostly because this has been an awful week for sports radio. I'm glad that things are going to actually happen. It will make bar prep easier now that I'll stop getting messages from ESPN saying that a cupcake shop says that Lebron will go to Clevaland/Miami. I'll be happy not to know that he's having dinner with this person or that person. I'll be glad that sports talk will be less tabloid fodder and more discussion about on the court action.

What are my thoughts? The Cavaliers will be really good. Depending on what Chicago and Indiana do, they are probably the favorite. Miami is unlikely to win a title next year. But you already knew that. The bigger thing that's fascinating to me is the discussion about LeBron going to a "loaded" Cavaliers team and leaving a "loaded" Miami team. Those teams are only as successful as they've been because he's there. Wade/Bosh/Chalmers isn't a championship team. Wiggins/Irving/Thompson isn't one either. (Or Love/Irving/Thompson for that matter). Only as the result of having the best two way player in the game are these squads championship contenders.  

7/2- Bar Exam Prep: And for a while I was Neo

 

Yesterday, I noted that some days you’re Neo in the Matrix and some days you’re the security guards. Today was a Neo type of day. I whipped through Trusts. I reviewed Real Property. Everything went well. It’s funny how the bar exam takes up so much of my life right now and yet, I’m calm and collected. I’m not worried at all even though I almost certainly should be. The worst that happens if I don’t pass is… I‘m just a guy with a law degree. I’ll figure things out.

Non-Bar Assertions

• I heard fireworks today. I didn’t worry that I was hearing gunshots. That’s the biggest benefit of moving to Boulder from Springfield Gardens. For all the flaws that Boulder has, it’s still a place where I feel safe, always.
• Kyle Lowry is going to stay in Toronto. It’s weird, given his stints in Houston and Memphis, that Toronto is the place that makes him happy. From Toronto’s perspective, I think it’s interesting that they are taking a chance on someone who has been a malcontent and an injury risk. I’d still want him (for my real life team and my fantasy team)
• There’s a floating rumor about an Isaiah Thomas - Josh Smith Sign and Trade. This can’t be real life, right?
• Ben Gordon signed with the Magic. I almost forgot he was still in the league. He’s reunited with former his Pistons teammate, Jason Maxiel, who I completely forgot was still in the league.
• Boozer may soon be amnestied. It has been a while since someone was amnestied. For those who don’t know, the amnesty provision came out of the last Collective bargaining agreement. It allowed teams to amnesty one contract, which means that the contract no longer counts against their salary cap and the player is no longer on the team (is a free agent), but the team still has to pay the amount of money left on the contract. There aren’t many amnesty eligible players left. (For example, Joakim Noah, by virtue of being Boozer’s teammate is no longer eligible.) Most of the players that are still eligible for the provision are too valuable to just take off the books without a trade. (Al Horford, Rajon Rondo, Mike Conley, Tony Parker, Kevin Durant)  However, this leaves two players on the same team. Nick Collison, who’s the Thunder’s elder statesman, and Kendrick Perkins. I think we have room for one more amnesty, folks.
• BTW, that entire paragraph is probably dependent on whether Melo goes to Chicago. Otherwise, Boozer might get traded or something that excites me less.   
• I was really excited about Oliveremberton.com after this gamer-friendly post. It received a ton of attention and now he hasn’t written anything new in months. I’m rooting for a return, because I enjoy his work. 

7/1 – Bar Exam Prep: Meeting Mandatory Minimums

 

Some days are just harder than others. Today’s subject was Estates and Wills 2. Yesterday, I was able to get everything done. Today? I listened to the video and didn’t get much else finished. On the other hand, on days where motivation is a struggle, doing the minimum is better than nothing and I still have quite a bit to do. There’s only a month before the test. I know that between now and then I need to figure out a lot of things, especially the entirety of Real Property. Wish me luck. Some days I can plow through the stuff like Neo in the Matrix. Today, I was one of the security guards…  

Non Bar Assertions

• Isaiah Thomas going to the Detroit Pistons feels like destiny. It also feels like Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings are as good as gone.
• The Lakers cap space situation should be interesting. They just “lost” Jodie Meeks to Detroit and I wonder how they will meet the cap floor. I feel like a lot of people are going to get overpaid to hangout with Randle for a year. The Melo-LBJ pairing is a pipe dream, so what is the real plan in Laker land?
• Marcin Gortat stayed in Washington. Good move on their part. Gortat is a quality starting center.
• The US lost to Belgium today. That officially ends live action sports for me until about August. What a shame.

Bar Exam Prep 6/30: Allow me to reintroduce myself

 

I’m a native New Yorker. I write about the NBA for Writtalin.com. I’m a University of Colorado Law School graduate. I’m studying to take the bar exam in Colorado. For the next month or so, I’ll be writing here about this experience. Maybe no one will read this and these posts will just be cathartic. Perhaps people will read this and I’ll have to stop writing. Either way, my goal is to write about the process every night or so until 7/29.

Right now, I’m midway through Bar Prep. I’ve been studying since the beginning of June. It’s the last remnant of law school before I’m solely a lawyer. After spending most of that time unshaven and barely crawling out of my apartment for class every morning, I’ve tried to get out of the house more. Admittedly, most of my “get out of the house time” has been just for eating and buying necessary things, but we’ll see.

Non-Bar Bullets

• Jason Kidd is my new hero. Somehow he transitioned from aging veteran to NBA coach to NBA Coach / Soon to be Bucks president in the course of a year.
• Poor Larry Drew, despite his perceived mediocrity as a head coach, he deserved better. He went from counting his blessings, last week, to unemployed. I pity the fired head coach generally, but especially in these circumstances.
• Did you know that Jabari Parker apparently tanked his workout in Cleveland to ensure that the Bucks would take him? He intentionally went to this situation and it suddenly became worse than when he was drafted. Of course, when he wins Rookie of the Year and the Bucks are a surprising Eastern Conference playoff team, we won’t remember any of this. Remember that before the team imploded they were projected to be in the playoffs last year. They’ll be better this year and they still play in the East… just saying.
• The Pelicans just added a Point Guard named Russ in the draft. The Pelicans have made the fan transition process much easier for me
• The Big 3 are going to stay together? Good for them. Good for Miami. Good for the league. People hated the Heat so much that they were rooting for the Spurs last year. The Spurs are the same team that is responsible for the least media friendly head coach in the league and the least watched NBA finals in recent memory. Love everything here.