Blowback Ep. 1 - Rosebud

Blowback Ep. 2 - American Psycho

Changing Tastes

Last night I was standing at the community grill making small talk with some random white woman I had never seen before as she sipped her glass of wine when my mind started to wander as it does when I'm not interested in what someone is saying. I was looking at the ribeye that was sizzling in front of me and though to myself, "there's no way I would have been cooking this slab of cow 10 years ago." At 26, it finally hit me that there is no better main course on this planet than a nice cut of steak. If you had asked me at 21, I probably would have told you my favorite entree was some fancy form of over-seasoned chicken or pork dish from an expensive restaurant, and at 16 I probably would have told you I loved some Italian dish from the Olive Garden or something. Now, all it takes to satiate me is a lightly season slab of flesh cooked over an open flame.

I mean, do I go kick my mom in the groin for not introducing me to the love of my life when I was still developing? Would it even have mattered? Is this just a phase that I will grow out of? I mean, one of my most memorable nights of 2010 was when I went to Houston's on a Friday night. Not because I was on a date, hugged up in a booth with some woman who was built like Sofia Vergara. No, it was because I got handed a second steak for free because the manager didn't like the look of my first one. (Check out the Houston's at 3539 Northside Parkway, Atlanta, GA and look for the black guy with a limp. He's good people.) All this isn't to talk about my dietary preferences, but just thinking of the ways that our tastes change over the years. Even with stuff like clothes. In the past two weeks I have spent $1000+ on clothes and didn't buy one pair of shoes or athletic gear. Five years ago, I would have been happy with a white tee shirt, a clean pair of jeans and 6 pairs of sneakers I was afraid to take out of the box (Dumb. I know.) This transformation, seems to be Pacino-esque form of maturation, but it can't be that simple. I'm the same guy who spends weekends playing stupid fantasy video games and sneaking into movies. I still respond to legitimate requests with some form of either a "yo mama" or "deez nuts" joke. No, actually I just think that I'm figuring out that some stuff just isn't worth the fuss.

I'm doing my best not to turn this into some mutant form of a Chappelle Show Sketch from 8 years ago, but I think that the main thing I'm learning from all this is that young people are stupid. Especially the legendary early 20s black guy. At 21, I wanted nothing for than to have a Cartier watch as a status symbol after seeing some old white guy wearing. I think he was a pilot or something. After a year or so, I finally got one, wore it a few times and now I don't even know where it is. Worse yet, I haven't even tried to look for it. Not that it's dumb to like nice things, I just have a hard time convincing myself that it's a good goal to have anymore. My mantra has changed from "that looks cool, I'm going for it" to "if it doesn't make you money, or make you happy, [eff] it." This revelation reminds me of the day I figured out that Lil' Wayne doesn't make any sense when he raps. It's a real "aha" moment so to speak. My steak preference has nothing to do with suddenly discovering that I like beef more than pork, but it has everything to do with realizing I can cook my favorite meal at home and be happy doing it. Ir you have wasted your time reading this, please submit your complaints to deez nuts. Back to playing Spectral Souls on my phone while I should be working. God Bless America.

Sorry Reggie

In case you missed it, Reggie “The King of New York” Miller is not on the list of finalists for the 2011 basketball Hall of Fame. A list that includes a handful of college coaches that no one will lose sleep over and Maurice Cheeks, Mark Jackson, and Jamaal Wilkes. While Reggie is easily a better candidate than most of the eligible candidates, I hardly think that cause for mass rioting or boycotts of any sort. If you want to be outraged, be mad at the fact that Springfield is a place where dozens of amateur level coaches make it in by being long tenured while guys like Jo Jo White and Bernard King twiddle their thumbs on the outside looking in. I’m not going to argue that Reggie was unfairly excluded from the Hall this year. Actually I’m going the other direction and saying that we are a bit too liberal with the title “Hall-of-Famer.”

The naysayer in me is gloating from the rooftops right now. Honestly, what about Reggie Miller’s game screams “legendary”? If not for 2 Knicks series, would we even remember Reggie? He's basically a less talented Mitch Richmond who had some big spots in the playoffs. People who would vote Reggie in are the same people who want “Big Shot Bob” Horry in. This guy benefited from how weak the NBA was in the mid 90s and early 00s, and we’re rewarding him for it? But sometimes you have to be real and think about what a guy like Reggie brings to the table.

I'm plenty old to remember Miller's good years, and never did I think I was watching an amazing artist do his thing on the hardwood. My issue is that is you spend 15 years as your team's go to guy, and your only real contribution is your scoring, I think you should have to be an ELITE scorer to get into the Hall. Reggie peaked at 22.6 points/36 back in 1990 on a team that featured Vern Fleming, Detlef Schrempf, and Chuck Person. This year, 10 NBA players are besting that number. To put it in perspective Dwight Howard, never known as a top-flight scorer, is at 22.4 right now. And, those Pacers scored 112 points per game. They would be first this year by 5 points per game, so there was no shortage of points to be had on that team.

On the flip side, Reggie was a deadly marksman with a career True Shooting percentage of .614. That’s better than Stockton/Nash/Brent Barry levels of elite. When looking at his overall offensive production, only 5 other people can say that they have a career Offensive Win Shares above 120: Michael Jordan, John Stockton, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West. Pretty good company, if you ask me. So why don’t I remember him taking over games left and right? That’s right, his game consisted mostly of him coming off of screens and nailing jumpers. If his shot wasn’t falling was Reggie contributing? Looking at his full stat line, you see a player with a career Assist rate below 15% who had little to offer in terms of defense or rebounding.

When looking for ways to describe Miller to people who only have stories and folklore to go by, I always find it easiest to compare him to a current era player that can clear things up a bit. While I have heard Miller described as Richard Hamilton with range, but I have found a better comparison: Michael Redd.

	Per 36 Minutes
Player	FG	FGA	3P	3PA	FT	FTA	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS	PER
Redd	7.6	16.9	1.9	4.9	4.5	5.4	4.4	2.4	1.1	0.1	1.7	1.8	21.6	19.8
Miller	6.2	13.2	1.9	4.9	4.7	5.3	3.2	3.1	1.1	0.2	1.8	2.1	19.1	18.4

From a pure, numbers standpoint Redd appears to be Reggie’s equal, and even bests him in the ever important PER. What the numbers can’t account for is the fact that Reggie was the best player on numerous playoff teams and a master of the big shot. But for arguments sake, let’s ignore intangibles. Let’s imagine Redd was paired with Rik Smits, Mark Jackson, and the Davis Boys and Reggie were paired with Damon Jones, Dan Gadzuric, Desmond Mason, and Tim Thomas. Would we be making the same claims that Redd would definitely be in the Hall of Fame one day? Redd only making 1 All-Star appearance thus far speaks to how much stronger the league is today than in years past (as well as Redd’s poor health) but I think the takeaway here is that Reggie Miller is a very good player who’s story has grown because of some big spots in big games like the 8 points in 9 seconds game or the game where he dropped 25 points in the 4^th quarter. Moments like these help on a guy’s resume. They turn a player like Michael Redd into a legend like Reggie Miller.

I have no doubt in my mind that Reggie Miller will one day make it to Springfield. He’s an Olympic gold medalist, and he is one of the greatest shooters the game has ever seen. But as a shooter with little else to offer, he had the misfortune of being asked to carry a team through the Jordan years and bring a title to Indianapolis. No, I don’t hold it against Reggie that he never won a title, or that he was never one of the 10 best players in the NBA. I actually think that had he been a second option instead of the primary focus in his prime he may even have a ring or two right now and there would be no question about where his career stands. Not every fan favorite can be an easy decision. Sorry Reggie. Better luck next year.

Why is everyone so pissed off?

On Thursday, when someone asked me if I would be watching the Lebron show, I replied that I didn't plan on it since I knew he wasn't coming to Orlando, and I didn't care if he chose anyone else. Basically, I assumed that as a Magic fan with no real ties to Lebron, his choice of team has no real bearing on me. Now that the Piston rivalry is dead, and the Celtics had no way to get him, I didn't see Lebron as a threat to the Magic. He's never verbally bashed my team, so why are so many Magic fans calling my derogatory names?

To anyone who is angry that he chose to play with his friends and try to win a few titles, please tell me one person who wouldn't do the same. I mean had he chosen the extra money to stay in Cleveland or the extra fame of playing in New York or Chicago, we would all be saying that he didn't care about winning. But joining up with two other top 5 talents (in my opinion) in Miami, how is this a bad decision? I'm actually excited to see this team play next season. Maybe they do something revolutionary like use a James-Wade back court with Miller and Bosh at forwards and just speed the game up so much (Bosh, Wade, and James are arguably the fastest guys at their respective positions) that it doesn't matter who plays center. The mere possibility of that team playing great basketball together means a lot to me as a basketball fan.

The other argument I hear is that player X never had to change teams to win a title. Who cares? Kobe was drafted onto a team that had Shaq, and two other all-stars already place. Magic was drafted to a team that already had Kareem, Norm Nixon (18 pts, 8 assists even with Magic taking away his point guard duties) and Jamal Wilkes (19 pts 6 reb). Bird was drafted to a team that had Tiny Archibald, Pete Maravich, and Dave Cowens already in place. Lebron has never played with a real all-star (apologies to Mo, but you aren't that good) and neither has Bosh. To anyone saying that this is Wade's team and Lebron is just riding his coat tails, the Celtics were Pierce's team and Garnett came in, gave them a personality transplant and almost won the MVP in year 1. Lebron is a much player now than Garnett was 3 years ago, so it's safe to assume that no one will be putting baby in the corner.

My whole point is that you cannot be mad at these guys for rolling the dice and choosing friendship (and South Beach) over promises on individual stardom. Why aren't people more mad at Amar'e for his "I know that they have 0 talent and no chance to win, but they are offering me the most money and I won't be asked to play defense for the next 5 years" approach? Lot's of stars like to talk about winning as a motivator but these three are actually going for it. The only way for me to feel any better about it was if they all said they would play together and chose to play for the minimum so they could afford a better supporting cast. Stop trying to compare this to other star laden teams like the '97 Rockets or '04 Lakers. None of these stars are past their prime and no one is joining a core that has won a title already. We've never seen this experiment before. I look forward to seeing how this ends, but in the meantime I'm all about the Magic. Orlando in 2011.