The Nick Swisher Zone and Yonder Alonso
May 23, 2018Hot Dogs and hot dogs: While We’re Waiting
May 24, 2018Is it possible to have a quiet 44 points in an NBA Playoff game?
As the Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics on Monday night, thus tying the series and sending things back to Boston where Brad Stevens and Company suddenly face something resembling a must-win game, LeBron James scored 44 points, tying Allen Iverson for most 40-point games in a single playoff run. In 2001, Iverson’s fifth 40-point game came in a decisive Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks. His sixth came in Game 1 of the NBA Finals (the Ty Lue stepover game). James has matched these efforts four games into Conference Finals.
Following this evening, here’s a smattering of the game stories that were published subsequent to the final buzzer:
- “Larry Nance Jr. helps rescue Cavaliers from another horrible third quarter with pivotal two-minute stretch “
- “Kyle Korver epitomizes Cleveland Cavaliers’ playoff mantra: ‘That’s a guy that’s all about winning’ “
- “After Roller Coaster Season, Tristan Thompson Earning LeBron, Cavs’ Trust“
- “Kyle Korver’s pursuit of a ring has ageless Cavalier leaving it all on the floor”
- “Larry Nance Jr. is taking small steps to validate a major Cavs gamble”
- “Korver leaves little on table as key ‘other Cav'”
Some local stories. Some national stories. One even by yours truly. And yes, there were stories about James, but these came in the form of 1) a straight game recap, or 2) stories on his postgame Facetime with his daughter Zhuri wherein she asked to talk to Kevin Love. And yes, Korver and Nance and Thompson were instrumental in the win, much like JR Smith and George Hill were in Game 3.
But 44 points in a National Basketball Association Conference Finals game and LeBron James’ most interesting point of note had to do with his iPhone while his legs were soaking in ice.
Brian Windhorst summed it up perfectly with one, punchy lede.
“LeBron James has reached a sublime level that few athletes have ever achieved: He has normalized absolute greatness,” Windhorst writes in his Game 4 story. Imagine performing at such a high level for such a long time that excellence is met with a collective shrug. Steve Martin once said we should strive “to be so good they can’t ignore you.” Yet here we are, James matching NBA records in a fraction of the time, and we’re wondering what’s next—for Larry Nance Jr.
I get it. Writing about James scoring a ho-hum 40, 8, and 8 can only be done so many different ways. I also understand that this collective Cavaliers team has not had much in the way of consistent support from the “others” as coined by SNL.
The old philosophical question regarding observation and appreciation is the “tree falling in the forest.” As it pertains to James, the rest of the NBA may very well be those trees as he stands by wielding his axe. The only difference is we’re all around—they’ve just been falling for so long that perception has shifted. In the NBA world, James is plate tectonics. What was is no longer, but we’ve all just grown to accept it.
There will, however, be a moment where James is no longer doing these things. This isn’t even an indictment of his impending free agency as much as it is career mortality. Defying logic at 33 years of age doesn’t equate to anything more than an extended viewing of a once-in-a-generation show. James has been doing this for so long, the NBA will once again hand the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award to someone else this summer due to a collective mix of voter boredom and arbitrary definitions of “value.” There was no doubt who the most valuable was last season much like the season before that and the season before that, yet here we are, simply used to 40-point triple doubles, still asking for more during months that don’t matter as much as the weeks between mid-April and mid-June in attempt to justify internal beliefs of what specific players should do.
The good news is there is still time to step back and appreciate what is taking place. Those pieces about the future will still be there for the penning.1 For now, it’d be wise to not take any of these moments for granted.
This Week in #ActualSportswriting:
- “Prospect and Paraiah” by S.L. Price (Sports Illustrated)2
- “Korver Succeeds in a Season of Sorrow” by Brian Windhorst (ESPN)3
- “The Art of Mike Clevinger” by Michael Baumann (The Ringer)4
- “Stay Messi, My Friends” by Sam Borden (ESPN The Magazine)
This Week in #ActualNonsportswriting:
- “I Don’t Know How to Waste Time on the Internet Anymore” by Dan Nosowitz (NY Mag)”
- “Shady Marketplaces Selling Fake Facebook Profiles Operate In Plain Sight” by Charlie Warzel (Buzzfeed)
- “Tom Wolfe on the Art of Fiction Writing” by George Plimpton (Paris Review)5
- “How Facebook and Google became two of the biggest funders of journalism in the world” by Matthew Ingram (CJR)
This Week in Bleacher Reporting:
- “Cavs Must Kill Jekyll-and-Hyde Act“
- “Game 3 Gives Cavs Blueprint for Comeback Versus Cetlics“
- “After Roller Coaster Season, Tristan Thompson Earning LeBron, Cavs’ Trust“
A Video to Reward You For Making it This Far:
Have a great Wednesday, kids.
- BUT WHAT ABOUT VALUING THOSE TRADES?? [↩]
- This story got a ton of coverage this week as 1) it was the cover story for Sports Illustrated, and 2) those who didn’t read more than the headline or tweet sent by SI’s social media team did not have the full story yet reacted negatively. Shocking, I know. [↩]
- The loss of Kyle Korver’s brother earlier this season has been cloaked in a lot of mystery. Brian pulls back the curtain on Kyle, his family, and his loss. [↩]
- Focus less on The Ringer’s shitty NBA takes and much, much more on stories like this one. [↩]
- RIP. [↩]