time passes fast.
this past year i’ve led too… unbalanced, too extreme a life. i think i succumbed to the evils workaholism for several month-long stretches this year, bouts of extreme intense academic work that’ve left me drained and stressed out, my blog neglected, my friends alienated.
writing this has always been a great de-stresser for me; an important outlet for the bastard children borne from the phantasmal depths of my mind. not writing this has robbed me of this outlet, by my own fault. sorry, joel.
in this time i’ve watched a LOT of nba basketball in whatever free time i’ve had. i havent balled very much myself though - my knee is getting really creaky. maybe i dont have what it takes anymore - i dont know. i hope i still do. basketball has always been one of the biggest, greatest joys of my life; when i was 15, a teammate of mine commented on why i couldn’t ever seem to get into any um relationship at the time. he said “you’re too in love with basketball”.
nearly 7 years later, that statement still rings true.
i probably have ever issue of slam ever published since i started buying it in 1999, beginning with the latrel sprewell close-up cover. i got deeply, embarrassingly excited when iverson got traded to denver, only to be disappointed at the nuggets’ lackadaisical play of late. i jumped up and shouted and cried when vlade tipped that miss to horry, which horry then caught and launched that clutch, clutch dagger. i cringed with disgust and empathy when shaun livingston tore twice as much shit in his knee as i did in mine - i hope you recover soon, man.
my favourite player of all time is kobe. it’s been kobe since shaq fouled out in 2000’s finals’ game 4, when kobe took over the game in overtime, scoring 6 straight points on 2 straight pull up jumpers, then with a reverse rebound tip-in to slaughter the pacers (whom i secretly was supporting cuz of reggie). everyone has their favourite jordan memory - i do too - but this is my kobe memory. that, to me, is when he transcended being a good player and took the first step toward becoming a legend. i try not to admit it, but ever since that day, even without trying, i found myself trying to emulate kobe - especially in how he plays defence.
at some deeper level, however, perhaps i just identify strongly with kobe. he’s misunderstood much of the time, and no one really knows what’s in his head - as with me. he’s also a bit of a nerd, a bit of an introvert - like me. and we’re both workoholics, driven by… perfection. i know he plays with a chip on his shoulder, and i sort of live my life with a chip on mine. its a hard way to live, sometimes, but hey.
anyway.
im off to bed, but before i forget, here are my playoff predictions:
detroit is going to win the east. yesterday i saw detroit v. wade-less miami in a regular season game. miami kept close with detroit for the entire game, but when it came down to the last 3 minutes, detroit was clutch. rip with a pull up jumper so quick the defender couldnt jump fast enough to block him. rasheed wallace - high post iso’ed, spin and a pull up jumper, wet. billups… hitting the big shot, solidifying his reputation.
the detroit of today is deeper and better than they were when they won the championship. that team may have had ben wallace, but this team has a resurgent chris webber - far inferior in terms of defence, but arguably nearly as good a rebounder in his prime, and with infinitely more offensive and playmaking skills. detroit today also has a deeper veteran bench. antonio mcdyess, if not for his injuries, and had he stayed with phx, would today be mentioned in the same breath with KG and duncan. he was amare before amare, but seems content with his role as super-sub with the pistons. lindsay hunter and flip murray are top-notch reserves / role players in the league. dale davis is still scary, and delfino and maxiell are great young guys.
miami has a chance of beating detroit, but it all hinges on whether dwade can come back from injury and get into form before they meet them in the playoffs. anything less than a superhuman d-wade, and miami has no chance. my prediction.
cleveland is the only other team with the odd chance of beating detroit… IF lebron fulfils his biblical destiny and beats them like the chosen ones have before him (mj, wade), treating them like the evil rite-of-passage stepping-stone/guardians to the finals. his supporting cast, however, is flawed. larry hughes seems a good fit at PG, but there isn’t any depth at that position. damon jones is more interested in getting famous than actually balling. varejao is a tough, hard worker… but he needs to go to the gym and bulk up to get scarier. donyell marshall seems to be on the decline - barely a few years ago he was this tough rebounding, three point shootin’ big guy for the raps / jazz… and now he’s somehow a lot less effective. eric snow could never shoot, and now he’s getting gimpier. to put it simply, if opponents doubled lebron, there really isnt an open man i would rather have taking the jumper - i’d just ask lebron to bull his way to the basket.
the west is another matter. joel is saying that this is the suns’ year. they’ve got the mav’s number this season. dallas is deep as heck and is very imposing, but they are far from a perfect team. phx, on the other hand, plays the perfect offensive game.
my sleeper to win the west is san antonio. they just might, wait n see what happens.
