Randoms: Deep Picks and Ticks

Greetings all. The Cavs are back in the NBA news this week with Thursday’s NBA draft lottery. It’s been a tough go being out of the bubble, with just scattered tales of workouts and rumors of who the Cavs like in the draft to sate our thirst for Cavalier info. The NBA just revealed that the Cavs and the other “Delete Eight” teams will be able to conduct their own voluntary practices and team activities, which means TT, and all the other prospective Cavs free agents get one more run with the club before free agency.

NBA and NBPA essentially forming in-market bubbles for the eight non-restart teams, Sept. 14 to Oct. 6, sources say.

Phase 1: Sept. 14-20: Testing begins, individual workouts
Phase 2: Sept. 21-Oct. 6: Group training in campus setting; private living accommodations for all. https://t.co/774ZkM0xVz

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 19, 2020

In bigger news (or lesser, depending on your opinion on the depth of this draft), the NBA draft lottery is Thursday night at 8:30 on ESPN. The odds stand as above, with the Cavs unable to finish worse than sixth.

Truthfully, as out as I am on Wiseman and Ball, and as on the fence as I am about Edwards, I’m honestly hoping the Cavs end up at fourth or worse after the lottery. I just don’t trust Koby Altman not to draft a bust in this very meh draft, or to trade down when he should. While I hate the top of this draft, there are a lot of guys who will have long NBA careers in the 4-20 range. The Celtics control this one with three picks in the first round while Minnesota has the third worst odds combined with a pick at 17 to do some wheeling and dealing with.

Expect a lot of deals in this one too. The NBA financial landscape looks so dire that many teams won’t be carrying more than 13 guys, and teams are already scouting players willing to be stashed in the G-League or overseas next season. If the Cavs want to buy a second pick in the first round, they’ll be able to. With Dylan Windler having not played a minute this season and two returning rookies Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Junior looking to get more development, don’t look for the Cavs to add more than two draft picks at the very most. More likely, they’ll have just one.

If the Cavs do trade out of a top three pick, they should absolutely hold out for a team looking to shed a good player or look for a chip in the loaded 2021 draft.Look for a live thread Thursday and podcast to follow. Meanwhile, check out the always fun Tankathon to simulate a mock draft. I’m pleased with my first try.

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While we were away the NBA regular season bubble concluded and the playoffs commenced. There have been a lot of storylines with many Cavalier ties. While Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith had some good games in the bubble “preseason,” J.R.especially looked forked in the “regular” season

Other Cavaliers with major impacts include Jeff Green and Kyle Korver. One can shoot. One Can’t.

Kyle’s been playing for the lackluster Bucks who were 3-5 in the regular season and lost a shocking Game 1 blowout to Orlando. Playoff Bud is unfeated.

LeBron is LeBron, but the former Cavs having the best bubbles might just be James “champ” Jones and Tyronn “cash in the ceiling” Lue. Jones’ Suns went 8-0 in the bubble and still didn’t end up in the playoff game but showed themselves as a force to be reckoned with next season. Meanwhile Ty, current lead assistant for the Clippers, meanwhile is a hot coaching commodity again. While early rumors tied him to the Nets and the world’s most passive aggressive locker room with KD and Kyrie, I’d put money on him ending up in New Orleans coaching for NBA champion David Griffin.

Championship ties run deep.

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As for myself, I’ve been taking a break for some personal renewal over the last several weeks, and have had a really great time. On Tom Pestak’s recommendation I checked the book Deep Work. Despite author Cal Newport being a slightly insufferable namedropper and privilege flexer, he hit on something that is absolutely going on in our world.

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a superpower in our increasingly competitive 21st-century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep – spending their days instead in a frantic blur of email and social media, not even realizing there’s a better way.

In Deep Work, author and professor Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of its opposite. Dividing this book into two parts, he first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four “rules”, for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill.

Why do I mention this? Well first of all, it’s changed the way I approach my work and my day, but it’s also made me think about what kinds of NBA players can achieve this kind of deep work mentality to improve themselves. It’s why I’m  100% in on these guys with crazy concentration and work ethic. That’s why I’m intereted in Haliburton and Avdija.

They seem to be the best two at identifying their weaknesses and working on improving on them just judging by their interviews, purported work ethic, and workout vids. *shrug*. I’m extremely skeptical about Wiseman and Ball and their seeming inability to stick to any routine in their lives or careers so far. Also, this is how Duncan Robinson will get a max contract if he keeps shooting like he has. (Which leads me to wonder if Saddiq Bey can be the next Doncan Robinson, and why Saddiq isn’t rated higher).

This is how good Duncan Robinson ishttps://t.co/S85DaO2BED pic.twitter.com/YxVVVqeOZV

— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) August 17, 2020

Deep Work must be how TT made himself the player he is. Think Sexton will be an all star by year because of it.  Despite his height, Collin Sexton has a ton of tools offensively. If he can get a little better at getting to the body, changing speed and direction, and passing he can be a modern Tony Parker with a better J. Obviously d needs work but I see signs. He needs to be on the right team, but I’m not worried about his size. Kyle Lowry is two inches shorter and is arguably the best guard in the Eastern conference over the last ten years. I mentioned these thoughts to the CtB email thread, and Ben Werth was somewhat incredulous.

Ben:

Blasphemy comparing Sexton to Lowry. Lowry is one of the strongest guys in the league.

One of the most underrated parts of scouting is still strength. Van Fleet and Murray are good for the same reason. They are just stronger than guys realize. Holiday, Joe Johnson back in the day. Obviously guys like Tucker and Nurk.

The strongest guys often don’t look as impressive up top if they have super wide bases and have fought hard to stay in shape.

Sexton isn’t weak, but he is light in the hips in a way Lowry is not.

Sexton is still so terrible defensively and struggles with his handle against real defense. He could be an All-Star if he somehow gets to shoot 25 times a game, but he will NEVER be a truly be a top 2 or 3 player on a contending team.

I think LaVine has more potential as a real player still.

Some things.

You all know I have never been a Dame fan. He has gotten super good off an improved dribble and his range is fun. He is an offensive force. He still makes it impossible to have a solid D. He is great on O for sure. I have come around on that. But his two way ceiling is still lower than Kyrie and his general level is way lower than Curry’s. It blows my mind that people are beginning to say that Dame is in Curry’s league as a superstar. Prisoners of the moment.

Melo remains laughably terrible. Fun fact. Hezonga actually has a higher winshareper48. They are both G league contributors.

Loved Trent Jr. in the draft and didn’t understand how he fell that far at the time.

Nothing compared to how right Nate was on Clarke, but along those lines.

Lakers in 5 max.
Rockets in 7
Nuggets in 6
Clips in 5 (but a super fun 5)

Bucks in 4
Raptors in 5
76ers in 7. (or celts in like 5. haha)
Heat in 6

Look at that. I finally had the slightest desire to write some basketball thoughts.

It was GREAT to hear from Ben, but after less than 24 hours, I’m sure he’s eating a bit of crow after writing this, and after Damian Lillard was the best player on the floor in the Blazers; upset of the Lakers with a 34/5/5 line including a 36-footer to take the lead with three minutes and change to go. He sure looked like Steph Curry Tuesday night. While I agree with Ben that Melo isn’t as great as everyone is making him out to be in his Portland stint, he’s playing starter level basketball much of the time (11/10/5 Tuesday), and is a lot better than Stupor Mario. He’s also hit some very timely shots, including the go-ahead against Memphis to knock them out of the play-in and a huge dagger against the Lakers late.

However, no one owes Melo an apology except maybe Melo. He was rightly almost out of the league for being a Prima Donna who can’t play in a system or defend and he still jacks up stupid mid-rangers (3-11 Tuesday). He finally got his act together and accepted that he’s no longer a primary or even secondary scorer. He’s just a roleplayer at this point, plays not abysmal D, and can rebound and hit open threes. That’s fine, good on him for renewing his career, but no one should say sorry for how crappy he was for the Rockets and Thunder.

And yes, in case you inferred, Zach LaVine’s name has been floating around the CtB email thread. His name came up in a list of possible trade targets along with Ben Simmons, to which my reply was, “Zach LaVine is a LOOOOZER, and Ben Simmons isn’t worth what you’d have to give up to get him.” I posited that with the looming economic calamity facing the NBA, there are going to be some guys available you’d never expect. Think guys like KAT or Westbrook.

But with the NBA email chain firing back up, it does feel like we’ve all gotten a spirit of renewal lately. Maybe its the the bubble: a ray of competence in vast sea of American incompetence. Hell, the NBA helped give us the most promising testing regime so far. The bubble has succeeded beyond what I thought possible. Kudos, NBA.

The NBA and NBA Player's Union funded the creation of a saliva-based COVID test with Yale that is cheaper and quicker than current options. https://t.co/FKTXBYn5gp

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 15, 2020

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In other news, I owe NOMAD an apology, as he emailed me on vacation to post to the comment board. I still haven’t figured out how to fix his issue, but I hope he gives it a try as I just applied another update. Here’s a missive from a couple days ago I didn’t have a chance to put up.

JUST IN FROM “OL NOMAD “ —YEP STILL ‘KICIN IT “——–O – H-I – O GO BUCKS !!!!—–FULLY SUPPORT THE BIG TENS DECISION —-IF SEC / ACC STILL PLAY THEY SHOULD BE CALLED OUT ON THE CARPET FOR IT —JUST MY OPINION —–” I REALLY NEED “ MORE BEER PLEASE ‘ —-HEY GANG REALLY MISS YOU GUYS !!!!———————–

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Speaking of vacation, crazy Nate store time from a couple weeks ago. I guess since you’re reading the forward here, I’ve spoiled the cliffhanger…

Oh before that, Lakers in 7 (refs rob the Blazers)

Clippers in 6

Denver in 5

Rockets in 5 (CP3 is a playoff ghost)

Bucks in 6

Raps in 4

Celtics in 7

Heat in 6 (four if Oladpio is out)

…we just checked into our house in Michigan for our yearly August trip. Rented one we hadn’t before, and frankly, it’s a bit janky, but whatever. Lovely evening and as im getting ready for bed, I do the bedbug check I do every place I rent a room. It’s clean. I lay down and put my hand on my stomach and I feel something weird on my belly button and then it — moved. I’m up in a flash.

Turn on the light. Can’t feel it in my navel looking all over the bed, see something crawling on my finger out of the corner of my eye. (Mind you there’s no working lamp in this bedroom so I’m using the phone flashlight). I jump. Then shake my finger off and try to see what it was. I’m searching all over and then is see the little bastard crawling through the carpet. I get a glass from the kitchen and use a corner of my phone to scrape it into the glass. It takes like three minutes because this little s**t clings to the carpet like he’s glued to it.

I go put the glass straight down next to the sink, trapping it, and look up what I think it is. When we were unloading the car I told the girls to watch out for the dune grass and overgrown brush, cuz you could get ticks, and to make sure u check and watch for them. Sure enough, eight legs, lines on the back. It’s a tick.

I don’t know what to do with this thing but I don’t want to leave it on the counter for the girls to find in the morning. So I wad it up in a paper towel and try to squeeze the thing to death. No such luck squeezing it flat or the side way and cracking it like a nut. Little bugger’s legs keep twiddling. (I’m not touching it. It’s wrapped in a paper towel). Finally, I’m like, screw this. It’s time for this guy to die. I put the paper towel in the glass and then put it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Either this thing’s guts are gonna explode or I’m gonna end up bitten by something that gives me super powers. Sure enough, 30 seconds later the glass is warm and our buddy’s legs are shriveled up like the bug on top of an exterminator van.

I toss the paper towel in the trash but the bug is stuck to the bottom of the glass. I have to bang the glass against the side of the trash can HARD. It still doesn’t come out. Finally I get the corner of a wet paper towel and scrape it into the trash. Wash the glass. Wash my hands THOROUGHLY and try to sleep.

Well, that’s not happening. I got the heebie freaking jeebies. Then I make the mistake of trying to figure out what kind of tick it was.

I’m guessing brown dog tick based on pics, but who knows. But I start reading about what to do with a tick and all the horrible things ticks can give you on top of Lyme disease, and that you shouldn’t kill them with your fingers because their toxic saliva can infect your skin. I go wash my hands again.

So I read about all these horrible diseases and I’m trying to play it cool but “cognitive decline” scares the crap out out of me. Because when my good looks go in like 20 years, my brain’s all I got left. Plus. F**k. What if I get Covid on top of a tick bite? I’m gonna end up looking like Jeff Goldbloom at the end of the fly. Then I read that if you get a tick bite, you should save the tick in case they need to test it for what infections it might carry. Double f**k.

I go to the trash to find it. Its not on top. It’s not obvious. Ok then I’m convinced I’m just being a loon. I go back to bed. But I can’t stop thinking about it. And I swear the skin on my navel is burning just a little (I’d already washed it out with some dial). But at this point, I’m psycho sematic addict insane.

I decide I need a Xanax.

I take one, shine my light in the the trash, drink some water, and try to relax. But all I can think of is Elena Della Don’s lifetime battle with Lyme disease and Timothy Hutton’s character in Lymelife. And I really should get the tick and (checks Wikipedia) freeze it in a zip lock bag? Crap. Should I have frozen it alive? Did my microwave experiment ruin the sample? In the name of Matthew Dellavedova. I gotta find this bleeping thing.

And at this point it’s been at least 80 minutes since I discovered it, and I’m still running on angst. Part of me worries that the tick isn’t dead – that it was playing possom. Dear God. It may be sentient.

So I finally get up in my underwear and grab my phone to. Use as a flashlight and painstakingly pick out every piece of trash from the (thankfully) only quarter full trash can. But I can’t find it until 16 minutes later I see a spot on the corner of a soda can. There’s my boy.

He’s dead all right. I bang around the kitchen looking for a zip lock. Scrape it in with a plastic knife and drop it in the freezer. Then I decide I need to sanitize my phone, because tick saliva from two hours ago. (After washing my naval again – more thoroughly this time) I coat my flashlight/encyclopedia of doom in hand sanitizer and then it squirts out of my hand like bar of soap squeezed too hard in the shower. Caseless, it flops to the floor with a tumultuous racket: I’m sure waking my Mother in law in the other bedroom.

And now an hour after that, three hours after this happened I sit here trying not to itch my belly (maybe it’s all in my head). I forgot. I’m allergic to Dial. It was nice knowing you all. If I die, give my tickbag and navel to to science.