basketball
The world of Basketball detailed by the voices of the unathletic. Discussing play, culture, and, of course, who's the best. Trust the Process.
Derrick Rose and the Disappointment of “What Was”
When I was a kid, Mo Vaughn joined the New York Mets. My grade-school Met-fan friends were really excited about Vaughn’s potential, saying he was the Mets’ version of Barry Bonds. (I was around eight years old, so those were probably the first hot takes ever heard in my sports fandom memory.)
By Charles Maniego8 years ago in Unbalanced
Making the NBA and Postseason Music “Humble”
The NBA Playoffs are in full swing! Despite predictability in some matchups, postseason basketball has been delightful. There have been monstrous performances, quotable rants and thrilling games so far. And with every timeout, highlight video and pause in play, we hear the thumping tones of “Humble,” the lead single of Kendrick Lamar’s Gospel-like DAMN. The use of Lamar’s song is quite fitting, actually.
By Charles Maniego8 years ago in Unbalanced
Russell Westbrook and the Most Awkward MVP Announcement Ever
On Tuesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs. They lost Game 5 in their first round series with the Houston Rockets, ending a season largely marked by the emergence (MVP-mergence?) of Russell Westbrook. The destruction that Westbrook laid upon opponents in the regular season was historic. He was the life force of an Oklahoma City team constructed under the assumption of Kevin Durant returning to the team. (Spoiler — Durant did not play for the Thunder this season.)
By Charles Maniego8 years ago in Unbalanced
Paul George Is Brilliant and Frustrating
On Thursday night the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Indiana Pacers, 119–114. Cleveland took a 3–0 series lead, with LeBron James strapping the Cavaliers on his back, overcoming a 25-point deficit. LeBron has never (EVER) lost a first round series, so the Cavaliers’ second round spot is essentially a foregone conclusion. But it’ll be only a couple of days before some made up Cavs drama is stirred up in basketball media, right?
By Charles Maniego8 years ago in Unbalanced
The Unbalanced 2017 NBA Mock Draft 1.0: The Best of the Rest
And we’re back! With the NBA Finals featuring built-in lulls between games, attention will be shifted to the NBA Draft. Previously, I gave my input on the lottery picks in this draft. You can check that out in the link below:
By Charles Maniego8 years ago in Unbalanced
The San Antonio Spurs Make Interesting Boring — Again
The 2016–2017 NBA season has been so rad. Even with the all-but-certain Cavs-Warriors Finals tiebreaker, there are more exciting individual storylines than the current Wrestlemania card. This season we’ve seen Russell Westbrook go supernova, James Harden turn into a deity, and Isaiah Thomas become the greatest 5-foot-9 hero since Tobey Maguire’s days as Spider Man. (Regards to Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland). LeBron James has had another LeBron season too.
By Charles Maniego8 years ago in Unbalanced
The Toronto Raptors Are in the Danger Zone
The Toronto Raptors have their back against the wall (not John Wall). They fell to a 0–2 series deficit against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. It was the second straight game in which the Raptors went down big, with the Cavaliers leading by as many as 25 points in Game 1. In Toronto’s Game 2 loss, they saw a deficit as big as 30 points — so yeah, Toronto has trouble keeping up.
By Charles Maniego8 years ago in Unbalanced
The Brooklyn Nets Are the Bizarro Golden State Warriors
Brooklyn and the Bay Area, on the surface may not seem similar at all as cities. Brooklyn has the reputation for being tough and gritty. The Bay Area is home to free spirit San Francisco — a stronghold of free thinkers. The Bay Area is hilly, with ideal views by the water. In Brooklyn, a Navy Yard and several shipping areas line the flat geography along the coast.
By Charles Maniego8 years ago in Unbalanced
Ricky Rubio Is the Missing Link for the Cleveland Cavaliers
Before I begin let me get one thing out of the way. I’m very scared about this piece. Since May I have written approximately 345,002,394,920 words about the Oklahoma City Thunder. I have written a solid zero about any other team. Luckily for me, and not so luckily for you, The Unbalanced has given me an opportunity to publish my non-Thunder takes.
By Tony Heim8 years ago in Unbalanced
Tank Wars
Eight teams from each conference will make the playoffs. You know this. A few teams will try mightily to get into the playoffs but will ultimately fail. You know this as well. Some teams have no hope. Their demise is certain. A few of those teams know this. Some are the Knicks. The worst eight teams in the league should attempt to collect L’s with impunity. They should tank. Subtlety be damned. They should do everything short of putting up a statue of General Patton and renaming their teams the Tanking Tankers from Tankville. I am a generous soul, so I am here to help. This is how the worst eight teams in the league should tank.
By Jared Wheeler8 years ago in Unbalanced
Brodie, The Beard, and A King: The Quest For NBA MVP
As we steadily inch towards the NBA All Star Break, and thus the midpoint of the NBA season, there are many things that are starting to become clear about the association. For starters, it seems as though the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors are on an inevitable crash course for the NBA finals, resulting in a trilogy for the ages. Another thing that seems to be a prevailing trend in the league is the resurgence or re-emergence of the NBA big man, even though the skill sets and ways these big men are used may not be the exact same as it was in the past. Including and among the above trends, there are a plethora of other tidbits and interesting developments that have been made up until this point in the season, but in all honesty, there may not be another as entertaining as the race for the League MVP.
By Kenneth Wilson8 years ago in Unbalanced
