Like Bright, Thorny Soda
Essential reading: Joey's two-part NBA preview over at Straight Bangin':
Part One
Part Two
Joey's an honorary FreeDarko member, and these are probably honorary FD posts.
I'm taking a short sabbatical from gushing over Durant, mostly because I've said it all before (like yesterday) and now it's quickly coming true. Instead, some other observations from last night:
-If anyone knows what Bill Russell and Clay Bennett talked about, you can have a free shirt.
-The Suns looked really dissonant last night, which is especially strange given that the Sonics threw nothing in particular at them. Have they become that orthodox?
-I've been saying it to friends with urgency: Delonte West is the new Mike Bibby.
-Chris Wilcox is the most mediocre dominant, dynamic big man I've ever seen.
-Speaking of which, Amare looks more spry, but just doesn't seem to want to dunk on skull every time he gets the ball
-Yes, I missed T-Mac drop forty plus in "Game Eight." It's a long season.
-Fuck a brawl-free, scandal-free, imbalance-free campaign; what about an injury-free opus?
-One Durant point: For him alone, the Sonics are probably near the top of my mandatory viewing list.
-With Smush and Ricky running the South Beach vacant, will Dorell Wright get braids before Wade returns?
-FD Dark Horse for 2007-08 is most definitely Francisco Garcia.
-I hate bars, especially when there are four or five drunken (former) frat boys cheering ravenously when Wally or Collison gets buckets.
-Rumor has it, Kid Rock was at the Sonics home opener last night.
-It's true, I thought Damien Wilkins was Gerald Wilkins.
-Tonight, it's Rondo Time.
posted by Bethlehem Shoals @ 11/02/2007 10:30:00 AM
16 comments
16 Comments:
Udrih, Garcia and Darryl Watkins are about to make the Kings relevant.
so shoals, when can we expect the first FD kevin durant interview? he seems pretty accessible from what i read in that sea. times piece.
Does the West/Bibby connection have to do with ball skills or freckles?
You reminded me that St. Joe's and Smarty Jones were within a couple months of each other. Philly pain = good narrative often lost.
Green Rondo ala Doc?
Darkofan:
People area already confused about his position. Some people (even at FD) are talking about a giant guard, Barkley said something to the effect that he is too skinny an NBA big forward.
Hard to even compare him to past artists. In the stroke of the jump shot -- some Alex English; in the running one handers -- some George Gervin.
And no, Ron Artest is not going to go near him, as a matter of preservation of his self-made defensive rpeutation.
As to Amare, it may be that he has been told to give Marion more space in the half court set , to the extent the Suns have one, in one of those NBA compromise among stars that even successful teams often feel compelled to force.
Thanks for the fresh post. Will try and check some o fthe recommended links.
(Any double transmission of this comment is inadvertant.)
Some thoughts on last night's Suns-SuperSonics tilt:
1. My dislike of Damien Wilkins is well documented.
2. Chris Wilcox has ONE post move, but it works just about everytime. Wasn't he supposed to be what Amare is?
3. Grant Hill looks out of place in purple.
4. Why wasn't Durant posting up Barbosa and Bell? I can (kind of) understand not going down low on Bell since he's a strong defender, but he's got to take advantage of having Barbosa guarding him.
5. Luke Ridnour looks like a guy who loves the Kottonmouth Kings.
- Fuck a brawl-free, scandal-free, imbalance-free campaign; what about an injury-free opus?
Co-sign.
Gerald Wilkins used to be called "Doug E. Fresh." Damien can't even fathom having such a good nickname.
wv: pscfgf - Pimp Squad Clique for Gun Fun
Since we all paint by numbers :
1. Glaring. The Suns always ran a lob to Marion as their first play of the game. Last night, drop down to Amare on the left block for a spin and dropped two easily.
2. First quarter, Amare's dunk back to the basket moving across the lane. He was the specific meeting of Julius Erving (one handed dunk palming the whole time) and Moses Malone's low post moves. Nasty stuff.
3. Earl Watson and Durant should be able to combine for a substantial number of assists. If they can setup a play through Watson and the final assist through Durant, Wilcox and Wilkins should have monster years.
4. Durant's early dunk on the break was amazing in its fluidity. He goes left to right and his body finishes in a leaned back position. Very reminiscent of ABA players to me.
5. The Heat stink and Pat Riley the coach is a top reason behind Wade's injuries and Pat Riley the GM. Every time there is a Miami-area championship, things fall to crap the season immediately after.
6. Nash seems to score as a result of having no other option but which to do so. The offense is moving so quickly at times that he's forced to stop and pop because no one else is set or he's well on his way to the basket.
7. Grant Hill will mean a lot more minutes for Barbosa. 33 can't play the minutes that are required and he's gonna get worn out unless the new pad in Phoenix comes with Cocoon pods (no Gutenberg).
I agree on Wilcox, and he's also the least exciting great dunker in the league to me as well.
I don't have much of value to add, yet that rarely stops me.
1) Durant is a lock to lead the team in lanky. Eat a carb, son.
2) Sonics were legit against Denver for the first 3/4, and they had a real shot against the Suns until the last couple of minutes. They are a very encouraging 0-2.
Prediction: Chris Wilcox will blow no more than 5 and no fewer than 2 dunks a game. When he looks at Amare, is it like Billy Joel at an Elton John concert?
@MaxwellDemon:
I find it discouraging that the SuperSonics can't finish games. Durant can't close quite yet.
Regarding the frat boys cheering on their co-melaninists, how is this different from a Brazilian person at the bar cheering on Barbosa?
Maybe you can convince me that the fratties are somehow consolidating their societal power differential by drinking for Wally, but I'm not seeing it.
Also I was a bit discouraged that Grant Hill spent the whole game trying to replace James Jones, instead of being Grant Hill.
Drinking for Wally for any reason at all is in extremely poor taste.
Goathair--I'm not pollyannaish by nature, but even I think it's a bit early in the day to get discouraged. Keep in mind, they were playing the Suns and the new-look Nuggets--the Sonics are *supposed* to lose those games.
Because I am that kind of jerkface, I'd like to point out that I mentioned Francisco Garcia's Freedarkoness in the comments of a post titled "The Power of Independent Trucking" in March of 2006. Glad to see non-homers coming around on the kid who NBA 2K8 calls the Latin Assassin.
P.S. I always feel like the word assassin should have an apostrophe after it. Like "assassin'." Determine your own definition.
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