From Distance: I Know You Are But What Am I!

four point play….

1. Oh, Russell Westbrook, you really do have zero idea how to play defense do you. Westbrook calling out Patrick Beverley as a gambling, poor positional defender is beyond hilarious. It is utterly ridiculous, scary, and yet another example of how our culture has collectively lost its mind.

It seems the most effective way to troll somebody in 2019 is to accuse them of doing precisely the same negative thing that you yourself have done all along. The equivalent of “you smell bad”. “No, YOU, smell bad”.

Yes, there is the phrase “he who smelt it, dealt it.” And occasionally, some terrible person will try to play that card. But more often, the person saying “he who smelt, dealt it” is in fact the person who killed the room.

I suppose in the age of Google, it is a terrific strategy. If I google “Trump, corrupt, liar, collusion, security risk, treason”, I am likely to get just as many hits talking about Hillary’s emails as I am about his disastrous presidency. By consistently turning his criticisms directly back upon his rivals, Trump has succeeded in muddying internet searches and the like just enough for people to falsely conclude, “well, they are all terrible. That is just how politics are”.

No.

They are all not like that. And even if they were, how about some even officiating then. A foul is a foul, except when your team commits it? You people really want to use Tommy Heinsohn as your role model?

There are levels.

Myles Garrett clearly articulated this point last night at the end of what should have been a season altering win for our frustrated and frustrating Browns. Mason Rudolph did yank at Garrett’s helmet. It wasn’t cool, should have been a penalty on its own, and warranted league review.

BUT, Garrett’s reaction was in no way acceptable. That was a complete rage out and something worthy of a season suspension. Garrett ripped off a dude’s helmet and used it to strike said dude. Are you kidding me?

Levels, people.

If one just had to get worked up about Hillary’s emails being on a private server, then fine. But in this analogy, her server was Rudolph’s pull at Garrett’s helmet.Trump’s back-dealings with foreign governments are the helmet rip-off, complete with bludgeoning.

The first can be considered a security risk. One is an active security breach, complete with treasonous intentions.

Back to Westbrook. Patrick Beverley and Russ obviously have not been the greatest of friends since Beverley inadvertently hurt Westbrook’s knee right as Russ was calling a timeout during the 2013 Playoffs.

It was a very unfortunate injury for Westbrook and that OKC team. But, I still don’t fault Beverley for going for a surprise steal. This was the playoffs and Patrick Beverley’s livelihood has been built on going hard on every play.

That, and by being a smart defender.

If Westbrook truly doesn’t understand what caliber of defender Patrick is, then he is simply illustrating exactly why he himself has not been the level defender that his own athleticism should warrant. Clearly Russ doesn’t understand defensive subtleties. P-Bev absolutely does.

I’m probably taking it too seriously. Probably it was just a guy throwing shade at another dude he doesn’t like. But when the exact criticism so perfectly matches most people’s criticism of Westbrook’s defense, I find it hard to let pass. Sheesh. This world.

In less polarizing conversation…

2. Frequently, Austin Carr will get caught up in a moment and declare something that is, er,  hyperbolic. Early in the Cavs’ loss to the Miami Heat, Carr said Jimmy Butler may be the best two-player in the game. I thought, OK, he did say “may be” leaving some room for doubt. Calm down a bit, Austin, but sure, Butler is really good.

Carr doubled down later in the contest concretely declaring that while he would still give playoff LeBron that title, Jimmy Butler is the regular season’s best two-way guy.

Austin, I have some names for you. Do any of them ring a bell?

Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis. There are arguably five more names depending on how you define “two-way player”. Those top three are unassailable.

Jimmy has been great so far this year, and we know that he is a monster in the playoffs. This is no slight against Butler. Still, Austin, comments like that make us sigh.

Maybe Fred would have helped him out by giving some of his best player thoughts, giving AC a chance to update his answer. Man, I miss Fred. Every time I hear “Matt Dellavedova” instead of “Mathew Dellavedova” I think of Fred. (What’s up with that? Did Delly ask to stop being called Mathew?)

The little things. This went from me ripping on AC to feeling bad for him. And so it goes.

3. Despite the Cavs having dropped their last two games, I can say that I am still enjoying this squad. The 76ers game was a lost opportunity, while the Heat contest was over within the first three minutes. Regardless, the youngsters have continued to flash exciting progress while the vets hold things together.

The early TT/Love tear has subsided a bit. Teams are beginning to get on top of the Cavs successful action. One would think that teams would scout their opponents quickly and succinctly, but it wasn’t until Coach Nick did a Basketball Breakdown on the Cavs’ offensive action that the Sixers and Heat began to sniff out TT’s high low game with Kev.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ7g1tnVRpI

Yeah, it was likely a result of the Sixers and Heat being far superior defenses to the catastrophic defenses in NY and DC. Probably, but c’mon Coach Nick! Don’t let the cat out of the bag!

Part of being a decent team is beating bad defenses. The Cavs couldn’t do that last year unless somebody got hot. I am very happy to see some consistent action that produces adequate shots against bad teams.

It wouldn’t break my heart to see Kevin drain some more of his open looks. He seems to rim out more than his looks would indicate.

However, he is doing a great job getting to and scoring from the stripe. Kev has made the seventh most free throws in the league thus far with 61 makes. It may be a far cry from his Minnesota heyday, but his work from the line is buoying the Cavs’ offense.

4. Kevin Porter Jr has made it into yet another From Distance with his ever improving play. KPJ had a nice overall floor game against the Heat passing and stealing the rock. His defense on Jimmy Butler during the Cavs’ fourth quarter push was pretty laudable for a 19 year-old.

The Heat’s backcourt plays with a lot of force. Even Goran Dragic is bigger than one would think, and they all do a good job of forcing action. Collin did the best he could against Butler, while Darius got consistently torched by rookie Kendrick Nunn.

It wasn’t until the Cavs went to Delly and Porter Jr. that the Heat felt some defensive resistance in the way of size. Kevin, not really known for his D coming out of college, has actually used his size and mind pretty well so far in this young season. He’s is doing a good job forcing people into help and using his length to contest. I look forward to seeing him improve with experience.