Feel-out game feels bad, man: NBA Finals Game 1, Behind the Box Score
June 2, 2017Has Josh Tomlin Optimized his arsenal?
June 2, 2017
Hi everyone! Welcome to a tired Friday morning after an NBA Finals game. That’s where I’m going to start, in a way, but before we get there…
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The Cleveland Cavaliers jumped up the stairs to the world’s biggest basketball stage this week. While the anticipation was killing me, no sooner did the game begin than I read a couple tweets from fellow WFNY’er Jeff.
Forgot how unfun these games are.
— SportsNom (@SportsNom) June 2, 2017
Not sure if I'm gonna barf or poop – the NBA Finals are here!
— SportsNom (@SportsNom) June 2, 2017
Yep. In theory this is everything you’re supposed to want for your team in sports. You have a chance to play for a championship, you take it because you only get so many of those opportunities in life. The only issue with that, of course, is you need to find a way to watch the game without literally or figuratively barfing or pooping yourself.
With every blown defensive assignment that yielded a Kevin Durant dunk, I think I died a little bit inside. With each Cavaliers three or dunk, I was given another breath to keep my lungs filled for just a minute or two more.
Obviously the degree of difficulty of what LeBron and Kyrie Irving are actually doing is higher than what fans go through at home. Even still, in many ways I think it’s easier for them because at least they get to help determine the outcome. I bet we are all better at watching high-intensity Cavaliers games than LeBron would be. So, at least you have that going for you. There’s one thing you might be better at in the world than LeBron James.
The Captain Underpants movie is like Disney World
I didn’t grow up with Dav Pilkey’s iconic Captain Underpants books. His first one came out during my senior year of high school in 1997. However, now that I have a seven-year-old I’ve had a Captain Underpants trial by fire this year as my son ripped through all of Pilkey’s books and even geeked out at a Pilkey appearance this year at the Cuyahoga County library. So, when I showed him the movie trailer for Captain Underpants the movie when there was still snow on the ground and now that it’s June 1, the date finally arrived to see it.
I’ll be honest. I was bored. I don’t think this will become one of those Pixar-esque, universally acclaimed cartoon movies. Ultimately though, I know it’s a movie that worked really well. I’ve never seen Ben so taken by a movie in my life. He told me on the way out that he’s going to see this movie “at least a million times.” From that respect I enjoyed this movie very much.
It reminded me of taking my kids to Disney World in Orlando. Even though I’m far too old for most of the attractions at Disney and I certainly don’t care about characters in felt-adorned suits, the magic in your kids’ eyes is undeniable. Maybe that’s only the case for kids who read Captain Underpants, but even if that’s the case it’s a whole lot. The man has sold millions of books across many generations of kids now. Those kids who were around six-years-old in 1997 are now in their mid-to-late twenties.
Judging from the eyes of my own kid, everyone who ever read that book might just be taken in by this movie and finally seeing the young heroes George and Harold brought to life in a way they’ve probably always wanted.
Song of the week: Drawerings by J Mascis
You know why I’m honoring J Mascis today? Because I can. I love that prolific, snarling guitar virtuoso so much and I don’t feel like I could ever honor him enough. So here’s Drawerings.
52 Comments
“Mike Brown did not turn our offense into the LeBron/Irving hero ball show. The Warriors as a team (with Brown, Walton, Kerr, etc.) are the best defense in the league.”
This argument seems to do the opposite of what you intend it to. The Warriors are a very good defensive team because of Mike Brown. There have been a few articles showing how their schemes have stalled the Cavs offense. They are long and athletic, yes. They also know exactly what we’ve wanted to do on offense before it’s happened. That’s good coaching.
“There is literally no backup plan or adjustment for them on either end of the floor. ”
This is head-scratching. Of course we can try something else. As you demonstrate in the very next sentence!
“We have nowhere near the firepower on the offensive end as they do. They are carrying 4 All stars in their starting rotation two of which are league MVP’s.”
One of these all stars is because of his defensive prowess. They’re working with three offensive marvels, same as us. Their offense is a bit better, but not “nowhere near” ours, which was third in the league despite a serious lack of care regarding regular season games.
“Nothing sums this series up better than the end of the 3rd quarter last night. LeBron had already notched a triple double, Love had 24 points, the team had 90 points, the Warriors had 18 turnovers and we were still down 13 points.”
How this does not reflect incredibly well on the Golden State coaching staff is beyond me.
“The Warriors are a very good defensive team because of Mike Brown”
— this is absurd. The Warriors have been a top 3 league defense the last 3 years, well before Mike Brown joined the team. Like I said, the defense has been top NBA under Kerr, Walton, Brown, a stray dog. It’s the personnel.
“One of these all stars is because of his defensive prowess.”
— If you think Draymond is an All-Star for defensive purposes only, you’ve got some more stat digging to do. He’s got an OTRG of 111.04 (average of last 5 years) who also averages 7 assists.
“How this does not reflect incredibly well on the Golden State coaching staff is beyond me.”
— I’m not arguing that the Warriors aren’t a well coached team. Kerr has installed the perfect system with this group which has nothing to do with Mike Brown as was the original argument.