Some Thoughts on Kobe

Against the Spurs, Tuesday night, Kobe made a $100,000 whoooops.

By now, most of the world knows about Kobe dropping a homophobic slur in Tuesday night's game against the Spurs. The NBA responded by smacking Bryant upside the head with a $100,000 fine. Because I'm nosy on things like this, allow me put in my two (or three) cents on Kobe the Westboro Baptist.

For starters. Many of the people up in arms about what Kobe said are bringing up the fact that it was a nationally televised game on TNT, that kids could have been watching, kids who idolize Kobe and emulate his every move. True enough. And how many kids do YOU know who can read lips? How many of them would have known what he said if the internet hadn't detonated like the Death Star immediately after the incident? Had we, the adults, not immediately blown the whole situation way out of proportion, the vast majority of kids probably wouldn't have caught what he said. Shouldn't we be more concerned about kids who, after seeing Kobe's chair punching and towel throwing tantrum, decide that these actions are necessary in their 8th grade AAU games?

Also, how dangerous of a precedent does this set for the league, from a practical standpoint? Is the NBA aware of how many times Kevin Garnett drops F bombs directly under the microphones on the hoops? Are they aware that whenever Kenyon Martin gets pumped up and starts yelling at the opposing crowd, he is clearly not asking them nicely how late Taco Bell is open? How often are you going to slap fines on KG and K-Mart? Especially at $100 grand! It's impossible to actually police the issue, and it's just going to result in a bunch of inconsistent rulings and pissed off players. And now, if they decide NOT to police the issue, a certain member of the Lakers is going to be very upset at how light his wallet is feeling.

But let's get to the actual issue. For the record, I'm all for gay rights, I'm absolutely against hateful and insensitive slurs, and (most of all) I'm totally for punishing Kobe Bryant for anything and everything we possibly can. But all this finger pointing and hand wringing at Kobe is disregarding the larger issue: the word "faggot" has become a common insult in our society. Gay-bashing is rarely the actual intent, but few, if any, of us can truly claim that we have never used the word. Anybody with half a brain would realize that Kobe meant nothing by it, except to use strong words to insult someone he felt had done him wrong. He doesn't think that referee Benny Adams, who he was yelling at, is gay. If Benny was gay, Kobe would more than likely accept him, in the same way that if Charlie Villanueva actually had cancer, Kevin Garnett wouldn't have called him a cancer patient.

In the heat of the moment, the people who are paid to be the most competitive human beings on the planet, and are encouraged by fans to be as intense as they can, say things they wouldn't have said when they have cooled down. The only way Kobe's words actually would have offended anyone, if the camera hadn't been on him at the time, would be if teammate Joe Smith, who was sitting next to Kobe during his tirade, was gay himself and heard him.

And THAT'S the core issue here, in my opinion. This has entered our every day vocabulary; it's something we can say without real meaning. Whether or not you believe that homosexuality is ok, a hateful slur has become par for the course. How could hatred be ok, regardless of what you believe? Hatred leads to Rodney King. It leads to the Holocaust. And of course, it leads to Matthew Shepard. What interests me about this is that the NBA feels that by forcing Bryant to apologize on TV and hitting him with a fine, they think they have dealt with the issue. But blaming Bryant isn't the answer, because it's not his fault. It's ours.

Please don't think I'm excusing myself from this. I'm not. I'm just as guilty as you, or anybody else who has ever jokingly called a friend a fag or a homo. If you want to know, if I want to know, what the real point of all of this is, we need to stop for a second, take a breath, and pry the log out of our own eyes before we try to get the speck out of Kobe's.

And after we get the speck out of his eyes, take two fingers and jab. It's the playoffs, baby!

Every Rose Has Its MVP Award

Derrick Rose, you are making me look stupid.

See, I want to be cool. I want to be one of the super smart stat geeks who know so much about basketball, who have loudly been proclaiming that you shouldn't be MVP because your advanced stats don't say you are. I want to pick Dwight Howard. I want to talk about point differentials, player efficiency ratings, advanced plus/minuses, all the stuff the cool kids talk about. I want to sound educated and smart, like I'm a TRUE basketball junkie (because apparently while the jocks rule the playing field, the nerds rule the blogs).

Another night, another muscle pulled in my eyeballs popping out of my head.

But every time I go to make the "Dwight Howard for MVP!" case in my head, you drop 39 points on 13-17 shooting. Or you carve up NBA All-Defense First Team selection Rajon Rondo like a turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Or I hear yet another story about how you positively affect your teammates by adopting coach Tom Thibodeau's tough but smart defensive systems. Or I watch one of your rim rattling, high flying moster dunks (not a valid MVP argument, but impressive, nonetheless). Every time I want to say "Dwight for MVP!" I hear another story about his bad attitude, his immaturity, and his inability to stay on the court to help his teammates.

Maybe we, as sports fans, have it all wrong, Derrick. Your effect on your team can't be quantified by numbers or stat geeks, who want to make it all make sense numerically, because basketball isn't baseball. The numbers don't tell the whole story. A player can change a team, which can change a season, which can change a culture around an entire franchise. Just ask Celtics fans if Garnett changed the basketball culture in Boston when he arrived in 2007. The Celtics went from one of the worst teams in the NBA to a 66-16 juggernaut who eventually won the title. But more importantly, the Celtics got used to winning, despite Garnett being robbed of the title by Kobe. They didn't accept losing (until the 2010 regular season, that is). Derrick, you seem to have done the same thing in Chicago. It took a little longer, because you were a lot younger when you started. But you seem to have arrived in a big way.

Best of all? We thought LeBron James was going to win the MVP award every year for the next 10 years. Now, it's still possible. But you can be certain of one thing: he's going to have some competition.

All hail MVP Rose.

Now, if you will excuse me, I'm being attacked by a mob. They seem to be wielding calculators and wearing pocket protectors.

Trading Places

In my last post about the T-Wolves, I suggested they trade Kevin Love. It was a bit of a throwaway line at the time for a few reasons.

1) It's never going to happen.
2) Who could they trade him for?
3) It's never EVER going to happen.

As mentioned before, I think what the Timberwolves desperately need is veteran leadership, and a good point guard. So let me present, for you, the jury, this trade.

How does Kevin Love for Steve Nash grab you?

(Pausing while your brain reroutes the circuits I just fried.)

(No seriously, it's cool. Take your time.)

Alright, you ready? Here goes. For starters, this trade works from a contract standpoint, as that ESPN trade machine link will tell you, so we can get that out of the way immediately. But more importantly, this trade could be very beneficial for both teams.

For Minnesota, the benefits are obvious. If anyone is capable of turning Anthony Randolph, Michael Beasley, and Wesley Johnson into a formidable trio of players, it's Nash. He hasn't lost a step. He's 37 years old and moving towards the twilight of his career, yet he continues to run the floor with ease and make beautiful no-look passes into spaces that only Rajon Rondo might have seen. He's still a scrawny, skeletal little guy who continues to have to shake his ugly, floppy hair out of his eyes. He's the EXACT same player he was 5 years ago. Kind of freaky. Not only that, but the Timberwolves have an opportunity in this draft to take either Duke point guard Kyrie Irving, or the oft-mentioned name around here at Gym Rat Rants, Kemba Walker. Giving either player an opportunity to develop under Steve Nash for 3-4 years? Priceless. For everything else, there's Mastercard.

For Phoenix? They know that Nash is nearing the end, no matter how good he has been this season. Their midseason trade for Aaron Brooks has given them a legitimate backup point guard who can throw up 20 points on any given night. Although he isn't Nash (and honestly, who is?) Brooks is a potential starter in this league and including Ridnour in the deal includes a legitimate backup for Brooks as well. More importantly, Phoenix gets an annual All Star candidate in Kevin Love, some proven toughness up front, and the best starting front court of white guys with Love and Marcin Gortat since...well...can you think of a better one?

Phoenix might not improve immediately, although it would help them for the future. But couldn't you see this making Minnesota a playoff contender for the next few years? Phoenix was in contention this year, when their best scoring option aside from Nash was Vince Carter. Ugh. I'm pretty sure the T-Wolves could get there as well.

And if Phoenix still isn't willing to make this trade? Throw in the rights to Ricky Rubio. Just get his little saga over with already.

The Wouldn't Award

Some things in life make me feel nauseous. Cockroaches, for example. Also Dane Cook's standup comedy.

On a more serious note, situations like those in Japan and Libya can make it seem that sports are a bit trivial to be sickening. By this logic, while I heartily disagree with Jimmer Fredette winning the John Wooden award for college basketball over Kemba Walker, it certainly shouldn't make me ill.

So why do I feel nauseous about the selection?

Maybe it's the voting system. Let me share two nuggets from the official Wooden Award website about the most prestigious individual award in college basketball.

"The Wooden Award is presented annually to the outstanding collegiate basketball Player of the Year."

"Voters may vote via an online system up until the day after the Final Four is determined. Voters choosing to vote by mail must have their ballots postmarked [before the Sweet Sixteen]." 

Just to be clear: the Wooden Award goes to the best player in college basketball. And the best player in college basketball has to be determined...before the national championship game is played? Does that seem brainless to anyone else? And for anyone wishing to vote via snail mail, they have to have voted before the Sweet freaking Sixteen? Uh, guys, at these points in the season, there are some fairly important games left! Is the NCAA not aware that the internet makes instant communication possible? You're telling me they couldn't have waited to see Kemba lead his team to the title before making their decision? They made the announcement four days after the final game! If a trophy takes that long to engrave, you need to go to a different store.

Or maybe what sickens me is how shortsightedly these voters seem to have latched on to Jimmer's 28 points per game. Don't get me wrong, 28 ppg is a very impressive stat. But Fredette attempted 20 field goals per game this season, more than twice the amount that ANY other player on BYU attempted. He jacked up more than 8 three pointers per game. Doesn't that help to explain his high average? In BYU's final game, a loss to Florida in the Sweet Sixteen, Jimmer fired up 29 shots, including 15 three pointers. From downtown, he was 3 of 15. Not pretty.

But man, his 32 points on the night sure look impressive, don't they? Just disregard the fact that he didn't score during the last eight minutes of the game, when his team needed him the most. Also, make sure to disregard how many times this season, in late game situations, Connecticut deferred to Kemba Walker and watched him come through with a big shot time and time again.

Maybe it's the large disparity in degree of difficulty between Kemba and Jimmer's respective seasons. Kemba played in the brutal Big East conference, including games against heavyweights like Syracuse, Villanova and Pittsburgh. Even the Huskies' non conference schedule was hellish, playing against teams like Texas, Kentucky, and Michigan State. Jimmer's competition was marshmallows in comparison. The two toughest teams BYU had to face during the regular season? Arizona and San Diego State, both teams UConn beat in the NCAA tournament on their way to the Finals. And honestly, was there anything more memorable this college basketball season than Kemba and the Huskies winning 5 games in 5 nights to take the Big East tournament championship in unprecedented fashion? BYU had NOTHING that impressive to hang their hats on.

Look, I don't mean to be tearing Fredette to pieces. From all accounts, he's a spectacularly nice person. He's also a very good basketball player, and to deny that is certainly not my intent. I don't know what his NBA future is. He's much too short to be a shooting guard, he can't distribute well enough to be a point guard, and he can't play defense. I've heard several people compare him to JJ Redick, who had almost as many points per game in college as Fredette, and has enjoyed mild success in the pros. I would caution that Redick, like Walker, played against much tougher competition than Jimmer, but there will always be a need for good shooters with range in the NBA, and I hope Jimmer can find a niche there.

Going back to the Wooden Award, however, there is one possibility that truly worries me. Is it possible the voters had something else on their mind besides statistics? Is it possible that the NCAA looked at Jimmer and saw a nice young white man who scored a lot of points, didn't drink alcohol or have premarital sex with his girlfriend, and decided to reward something other than basketball skill? Is it possible the NCAA decided "you know what? He looks good on a poster. Let's use him."

After all, it's always easier to be a popular basketball player if you are white. Just ask Kevin Love, who has been gunning for his own statistics in rebounding all year, and has even been applauded for it. Ask Steve Nash, a wonderfully talented player who won back to back inexplicable MVP awards. Heck, ask Brian Scalabrine, who has been much beloved on multiple franchises despite having no discernable basketball skill.

I just feel that this conversation about this needs to be started somewhere. I truly want to hear a good case as to why Jimmer was the player of the year over Kemba; I'd be relieved to hear something logical. But until I am told something convincing, it's difficult for me to disregard the fact that Kemba is a young black man who grew up in the Bronx and plays with some ghetto flair, while Jimmer is a young white man with an old school jumpshot. Abstinence from both alcohol and premarital sex are both good things. But they have nothing to do with basketball, and they should have nothing to do with this award. Neither should skin color. But I'm afraid that it does.

And if that is true, I don't feel that my nausea is inappropriate at all.

WWDKD? (What Would David Kahn Do?)

To answer the question in the title, David Kahn would do the wrong thing. Count on it.

I'm not done talking about the Timberwolves, for some reason. There is talent here, and blowing up the entire roster seems like a bad idea. I'll break down who I think the Wolves should try to hang on to, and who I think they should dump.

T-Wolves Keepers

Sure, Nikola, 243. No seriously, we believe you. You weigh 243 pounds. Yep. Definitely.

1. Michael Beasley- Beasley has been, at times, All Star caliber this season. His ability to go one on one has been developing nicely, and when he is hot, he can hit from anywhere on the court. The trick will be to teach him that when he is cold, he has a tendency to shoot his team out of games. A solid point guard should be able to help him with that. Keeping him alert and motivated is the other challenge, but that should come with a team that wins, occasionally.
2. Wesley Johnson- Wes has a gorgeous jumper, great leaping ability, and very good height for a two guard in the NBA. His biggest problem? Confidence. If Johnson knocks down a couple jumpers, he can be the most deadly player on the floor. If he bricks his first couple shots, he will stop attacking the basket, rely on long two pointers, and mostly defer to teammates. Johnson also badly needs to work on his body in the offseason. At 6'7, his weight is hovering around 205. That is much, much too low for the NBA. He is a work in progress, but he is absolutely worth hanging on to (and for the love of everything holy, David Kahn, DRAFT KEMBA WALKER). 
3. Anthony Tolliver- Let me crystal clear with this one: KEEP Anthony Tolliver. More than anyone on the roster, Tolliver hustles, every single second of every single game, no matter how far down the Timberwolves are, nor how discouraging the season has been. He is a wonderful story of a player making it out of the D-League, and you can see it in him whenever he goes flying after a rebound. And the best part? Tolliver is actually a solid player as well. At 6'9 and 250, he is a big body who also has three point range. Lock Tolliver up, and watch how hard he works if his team is in the playoff hunt. I'm salivating at the thought.
4. Martell Webster- Webster has submitted a solid season. He is an excellent shooter, if a bit streaky. More importantly, he's one of the most experienced players on the Timberwolves roster, a 5 year veteran. Webster is a very good role player, not something to be taken lightly in the NBA.
5. Luke Ridnour- Let me be very clear (again): Ridnour is not a starting point guard in this league. The T-Wolves need someone else running the point for a lion's share of minutes during the game. But Ridnour is by no means a bad point guard, he's pretty smart, and he has a very nice jumper. His defense is cringe worthy, and his athleticism is questionable, but keeping him around to give (KEMBA WALKER!!!!) a rest might not be a bad idea.
6. Anthony Randolph- Yet another player on this Timberwolves roster who has shown flashes of what he can do, Randolph has had his confidence completely depleted by D'Antoni in New York. But he was spectacular starting for Minnesota in the 4 position when Kevin Love went down with an injury, averaging 19 points per game on 56% shooting. Look, Randolph is an athletic 21 year old who is 6'11. He is chalk full of potential. Re-sign him, and force him and Wes to spot each other in the weight room all summer. You might just have a very good player on your hands.
7. Nikola Pekovic- Pekovic has had a hard time adjusting to the NBA rules which don't allow you to beat the living shit out of your opponent, like the European game, where he played for years. Fair enough. But as he adjusts, you can see flashes of what he could be, and he could be a decent NBA player. He has a nice touch around the basket, he's very aggressive, works hard, and is very strong. Also, he is the proud owner of the most ridiculous part of Minnesota's game roster, which lists him as 6'11 and 243 pounds. Um, Pekovich is built like a fridge, and looks like he could eat several Luke Ridnours for meals. The only way he is 243 is if he forgot to put the other foot on the scale.
8. Corey Brewer- Brewer is a GREAT defender, very quick, very athletic, just a wonderful all around...oh wait. He's gone already. Damn.

Blow It Up, Baby!

No, seriously Kevin. This idiot blogger thinks you should get traded. I KNOW! Stupid, right?

1. Kevin Love- Seriously. Here me out: Kevin Love has his good qualities, clearly. A 4 who can stretch the floor on offense and grabs a LOT of rebounds absolutely has value. But you know what? If Kevin Love is your best player, you are a lottery team, every single year. Not only that, but you have Anthony Randolph waiting in the wings as a player who can replace him, especially on offense actually, where Randolph has the potential to be BETTER than Love. Love is a sub-par to average defender. Aside from his rebounding, are you really losing that much? Look, Kevin Love's trade value has never been as high (and may never be as high again) as this year. Teams around the league can't wait for him to hit free agency. So why wait that long? Why would you risk doing what Toronto did losing Chris Bosh? Consider this as well: Love is from Oregon, and he went to school at USC. What makes you think you are going to be able to get him to hang around in chilly ass Minnesota, especially if they aren't winning? Not happening, especially while they are trying to win with Love as the best player. Minnesota should make a pre-emptive strike. They should go get the best player available on the market, using Kevin Love as a trading chip. Now give me back my straitjacket.
2. Jonny Flynn- With apologies to my sister, who is in love with Jonny, the Wolves just refuse to give him a chance. But Flynn isn't a bad backup point guard for an NBA team. He deserves a fresh start in a place where he doesn't look terrified to screw up every time he enters the game.
3. Sebastian Telfair- The Sebastian Telfair experiment ended several years ago. Minnesota was a bit foolish (desperate?) to try to bring it back. (And now starting for the Idaho Stampede, Sebastian Telfair!)
4. Lazar Hayward- Just for the roster space. Nothing personal, Lazar. 

On the Fence

1. Darko Milicic- On the one hand, he's Darko Milicic, so you automatically assume you should drop him. On the other hand, he's a 7 footer with loooong arms and some shot blocking ability. On the first hand, he's Darko FREAKING MILICIC. So it's a pretty tough call.
2. Wayne Ellington- Wayne Ellington is not going to be the making or the breaking of a good team. Not a bad bench player, but he can be included in a trade if need be.

Scotty Brooks, Oklahoma City's coach, commented earlier this season that the T-Wolves are in the same place as the Thunder were a couple years ago, a team that will lose a lot of games, but is right on the brink. I think the addition of a couple of key pieces could turn this T-Wolves team into playoff contenders. For a fanbase that hasn't had much to cheer about since Kevin Garnett was still roaming the Target Center, it would be a long awaited blessing.

^This guy.

Keep On Walking in the Free World

Ask any Timberwolves fan about Minnesota's body of work on draft night, and you will almost certainly illicit a gigantic wince. Timberwolves GM David Kahn has a history of making draft night decisions that make the Hindenburg look like a swell idea (witness: Randy Foye for Brandon Roy, drafting Ty Lawson and Johnny Flynn, and hanging onto Flynn instead of Lawson, the ongoing Ricky Rubio fiasco, etc). I'd be willing to wager Kahn is the only GM in the NBA who looks back at the 2003 draft, when Detroit picked (current Minnesota starting center) Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and thinks "you know, I think Detroit got that one right." So when I say that Minnesota would be crazy to pass on UConn's superstar point guard Kemba Walker in the draft, please be aware that it is entirely possible and/or likely that Kahn will exhibit signs on lunacy.

That being said, the Timberwolves would be crazy to pass on Kemba Walker.

Kemba's ceiling is a strange mix of Allen Iverson and Chris Paul. His deadly crossover (see below) and super quick movement both laterally and longitudinally (it's a word, don't question me), as well as his ability to get into the teeth of bigger defenders and still score are very reminiscent of Iverson. He gets his teammates involved like Chris Paul, and exhibits the same ability to pull up for a jumper and knock down open threes.



But most importantly, Walker this season has shown a fascinating ability to help his teammates grow up.

Early in the season, UConn was picked to finish 10th in the Big East. They were invited to play in the Maui Invitational tournament, in which Kemba led the Huskies past hugely favored opponents Michigan State and Kentucky, dropping 30 and 29 points in each game respectively. Early on, it was clear that when UConn needed a basket, they knew exactly where the ball needed to go.

Then, something interesting happened. Kemba seemed realize he needed help. Throughout the Big East regular season schedule, the Huskies appeared to struggle. They went 9-9 in the brutal conference games against other great teams. But while the Huskies win-loss column suffered, Kemba deferred to other teammates. In doing so, he inspired confidence in a group of young freshmen, like Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb, so much so that in crunch time late in the NCAA tournament, Walker knew he could trust Lamb to spark a game winning run on offense. UConn ran off one of the most legendary performances in Big East history, winning 5 games in 5 nights, 4 of which were against teams ranked in the NCAA Top 25.  They continued to roll, reaching the Final Four, not only on the strength of Kemba's scoring, but also thanks to his much improved teammates, who he had taken the time to involve during the regular season.

Now, back to the Timberwolves. Minnesota has one of the youngest teams in the NBA. Players like Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph and Wesley Johnson are all chalk full of athleticism upside, while being absolutely clueless on how to win. The most frustrating thing about this year's team is seeing how many times the T-Wolves stick with a good team until the 4th quarter, at which point they panic and are unable to close the deal. Kemba has showed throughout this NCAA season that he has the ability to help young players gain confidence and late game smarts. And when the younger players can't produce at the end of the game, Kemba can do it himself. Remember that video above? Here's another.



An important note: I'm not saying Kemba Walker is absolutely going to be a mix of Allen Iverson and Chris Paul. I'm saying that's his ceiling, where he could end up in the future. He COULD. He COULD also end up being another Johnny Flynn. But in a draft universally touted as one of the worst in recent memory, why would you not grab a player with that kind of potential, if he was available?

Oh right. Because your GM is David Kahn. Please, Timberwolves fans, forget I asked.

A (Corrected) Recap

Let's just say...there was a LOT of this going on last night.

Last night, I had the opportunity to witness the Timberwolves take on the Miami Satans Heat at the Target Center. It was a vomit inducing very entertaining game, despite the final score which resembled a Globetrotters/.

Hundreds of douchebag loyal Miami fans showed up wearing their LeBron and Wade jerseys which were so new they still had the tags on them. Despite the red and black clad fans who clearly enjoy Youtube more than basketball, Timberwolves fans were good natured in their ribbing which mainly consisted of muttered four letter words. The Timberwolves public address announcers had some choice words for the Heat fans as well which unfortunately included zero four letter words, including a bandwagon fan cam featuring fans in Heat jerseys and there were lots of options.

The festivities began as the Heat in a painfully obviously forced attempt to show off their supposed "camaraderie" pretended to allow rookie Dexter Pittman to lead the charge out onto the Minnesota floor while none of his teammates followed behind him, giggling in the tunnels as they pretended to like each other like the great friends they clearly are. Pittman took it well, plotting his revenge like Dexter the serial killer laughing as the rest of his future victims more famous teammates came jogging out onto the floor behind him to a loud roar of applause from the soulless cheering sections of the arena.

The game itself see-sawed back and forth. In the first quarter, Minnesota quit fell behind early, before rallying back in the second quarter to take a one point lead into the break which was as painful a dick tease as I've ever witnessed enough to get the Minneapolis crowd on its feet and roaring. But in the third quarter, Dwyane Wade playing like a cherry picking bitch was the beneficiary of several steals and open court slams, and the Timberwolves quit again were victims of a 25-1 start to the second half. Martell Webster, Minnesota's star of the first half a reeeeeeally bad sign, when he hit 4 of 4 threes possibly the most unsustainable statistic in the history of statistics, was inexplicably on the bench throughout Minnesota's offensive drought, before coming in and igniting a half-hearted run that pushed Minnesota back into the game before Miami hit a few jumpers that put the game away.

The play that finally killed the Timberwolves was the dumbest fucking play I've ever seen on a basketball court a fluke moment in which LeBron James was the only player on the court aware that he had only one free throw coming instead of two. LeBron scored a layup and was fouled, and Minnesota's resident idiot coach Kurt Rambis called timeout. When James returned to the free throw line, he missed. The players stayed lined up for a second free throw while Bosh picked up the ball and tried to hand it to the referee. LeBron ran down the lane, grabbed the ball, and dunked it hard, sparking boos from the few remaining Timberwolves fans.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom for the Wolves. Michael Beasley shot the ball well, scoring 13 worthless garbage time clutch points in the 4th quarter, and Anthony Randolph showed flashes of his potential as well in the first quarter. It was in the second quarter that he reminded us why he rode the bench on a shitty Knicks team.

All in all, it was an awful enjoyable night of basketball for Minneapolis residents, and certainly 'Sota fans with Miami hell well in the playoffs, and their bandwagon fans will certainly enjoy the potential dynasty Miami will have for the next several years. Before they all switch back to the Lakers.