Culty Catch Up: Third/Different Guys Edition
2014-12-21
Each week there is a ton of NBA media pertaining to the Cavs and the league in general that deserves recognition. A lot of it goes unread because there just isn’t enough time to keep up with it. Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered with six to eight notable reads/videos (the last two reads are up in the air just like the Cavs bench production this season) from the past seven days to get you through the weekend feeling entertained, caught up, and much smarter. I’ll throw in Dion’s Neon Man Of The week and some other features to add to the entertainment.
This week the Cavs lost a stinker against the Hawks, and they won by way less than they should have against the Hornets and Nets. They even needed Mike Miller to drain seven threes in the effort against Russia’s proxy NBA team. I’ve been a little sick the past few days, so I have been watching games sporadically and haven’t had time to over analyze any Cavs problems/ read in depth pieces about them. I’m assuming the whole world is sick, or at least a lot of Cleveland, as it seems half of the Cavs: the Blog staff emails during the last 96 hours involved the words flu, barf, and ground zero. I’ll keep it fun and quick, so everyone can watch the game against Memphis in a good mood.
The loss against the Hawks isn’t as big of a deal as it seems. Chris Bernucca at Sheridan Hoops called out the Hawks as being a sleeper in the East that is on the rise.
What the Hawks do have is a roster devoid of knuckleheads and full of players who understand the value of passing. They have a flotilla of 3-point shooters. They have a disciple of Gregg Popovich calling the shots. And despite the well-publicized mess in management this summer, they are under the salary cap and have extra draft picks coming.
In some ways, the Hawks are the Spurs with training wheels
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I hated Rajon Rondo when the Cavs played Boston in the playoffs almost every year because he’s sort of a jerk. He talked a lot, hounded point guards, and didn’t fear LeBron James. That used to be a crime in my book, but after some time away from seeing Rondo play the Cavs for a prize, I am a fan. Rondo’s feisty. I’m happy he got sent to a contender, although I hope they can rein the enigma in and make him like basketball again. Jackie MacMullan, writer for ESPN Boston, wrote her thoughts on Rondo and his time in Boston much more fluidly than me.
“The most intelligent basketball player I’ve ever coached,” Doc once declared.
Rondo’s superior basketball IQ and his uncanny court vision was surpassed only by his insatiable need to be right.
All. The. Time.
It reads like a basketball version of Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, just not a hundred pages too long and terrible.
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Matt Bonner is endorsing Big Red soda. Slam interviewed him about it.
SLAM: Since you are the Sandwich Hunter, what is the ideal sandwich to eat and then wash down with a glass of Big Red?
MB: Any sandwich goes well with a Big Red. But if I had to pick one, I’d say a pickled cow tongue sandwich. The sweetness of the Big Red compliments the overall bitterness of the cow tongue quite nicely.
Big Red is a Texas thing. Speaking of soda, do you guys have any good regional sodas where you live? I’m in North Carolina right now, and there is this disgusting abomination of a soft drink called Cheer Wine. It tastes like cough syrup, but if you’re born down here, they feed it to you as if it was formula and you learn to love it.
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Bill Simmons did a whole Cleveland column for his Friday piece. It chronicles all of the bad sports moments in Cleveland, and it helps explain why old people I meet when I’m home think nothing good is ever going to happen to the Browns or Cavs. Seeing all the travesties for all of the Rock City’s teams in one spot is unsettling.
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Tom Haberstroh labeled Dion Waiters an overrated scorer in his ESPN Insider column this week. Haberstroh hits the big point that he just hasn’t been as effective as he should be, but he still refuses to rework his game and is content to have lots of poor shooting games.
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The sixth man this week is going to be a video. Nick Young’s video appearance run is ending. I found this Matt Bonner gem. It’s the Red Mamba winning a dunk contest during high school.
He’s now the lead man in my head to create a time machine. He is defying the laws of gravity and thus the universe with each of those dunks. It just looks so awkward.
Dion’s Neon Man of the Week
Evan Turner of the Boston Celtics got booed when he returned to his former 76ers team’s home court. It just didn’t make sense to him.
“Before the game I signed like 100,000 autographs, I’m kissing babies and what not and all that stuff,” quipped Turner. “I’m getting my hand kissed by people; I got little girls come up to me fainting.” [CSNNE.com]
He took it like a champ though.
He added, “I don’t worry about it anymore. I don’t want to sound super weird, but Jesus was hated too. At the end of the day, I just worry about the stuff that’s important. If it makes you happy to boo me, go ahead. I’m still happy. I put all that stuff behind me.” [CSNNE.com]
Turner labeled himself Jesus esque, and that’s why he is Dion’s Man this week. I’m assuming Waiters likes Kanye West and Kanye has called himself Jesus and a God. Turner is the basketball Kanye West in a way. I could see Dion liking that.
Bottom Lines of the Week
Damian Lillard posted 43 points in a 3 overtime game win against the Spurs on Friday. Normally, I wouldn’t give props to that many points with fifteen extra minutes added to the game, but Lillard had 26 points during the final quarter and overtimes. That’s impressive, and I want to thank NBA.com for pointing that out.
Yesterday, I watched a large chunk of the Bucks-Clippers game. Giannis Antetokounmpo really stood out and scored 18 points on 8-12 shooting to go with nine rebounds, two steals, and six assists. The thing that stands out about the Greek Freak is that he has a good sense of how to use his length in a polished way. He’s long enough and athletic enough that he could try to just dunk over or rise up over people for shots, but he uses his insanely long legs to step across them to get a reasonable shot. It’s hecka refined for how young he is.
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LeBron gave the quote of the week after the loss to the Hawks.
“nah, I’m embarrassed losing the Finals.”
Maybe, he read the Bernucca aritcle on Monday and really thinks the Hawks are good. Or, he just has a bigger picture of the season in mind.
I met Evan Turner in an airport a couple years ago. He gave my buddy and I some shit (in a funny way) for missing our Sunday morning flight… by 4 hours (8 AM flight.. didn’t get back to the hotel until 5 AM). He was a cool dude and you’d have no idea he was a professional basketball player if you didn’t already know who he was; very nice and down to earth.
Cheerwine is incredible… Sorry they don’t have it in the flyover states…
Apology accepted, but the flyover states prefer drinks that don’t taste like cherry influenza
Gee, let us know how you “really” feel about Waiters. What evidence do you see during practice that he “refuses” to rework his game and has been content when he doesn’t shoot well? What player says that? There is very little to brag about with the lowest(28th I believe) in minutes played bench in the NBA AND dead last in points produced. Hmmm a correlation there perhaps?? Is that Dion’s fault? Bench needs to build a chemistry with consistent players than the merry-go-round that has been thrown at them from game to game. 6 minute Dion is absolutely useless to… Read more »
Btw Waiters has never compared himself to Jesus Christ. So why go there?
Thanks David, fun read while waiting for the game. Go Cavs