Apartment 304*
comrades + politics + pop culture
Monday, June 28, 2004
Eastward, Ho!
Tomorrow morning I'm leaving California -- I've had my fill of palm trees and nice weather for at least the next decade or so. It is time for hot and then cold, in that order. I'm heading mid-westward for the summer, and then on to Boston for at least the next three years. But for now, I must continue packing -- posting will resume in a few days, once I set up camp.
Onward!
Onward!
Friday, June 25, 2004
NBA Draft Recap
I'm finding I don't actually have all that much to say about the NBA Draft, primarily I had heard of so few of the guys in the first round. (I don't have a clue about the high school crowd, and I don't really follow EuroBall either.) I actually had an opinion on more of the second round players, I think, which strikes me as funny.
Anyway big winner is:
Chicago: The Bulls wound up with UConn's Ben Gordon and Duke's Luol Deng and Chris Duhon. This is excellent, in that it demonstrates that Chicago, who has been rebuilding since last century, is aware that it needs players who can make an immediate impact, rather than projects. Furthermore, getting Duhon at the 38th overall strikes me as a coup. I kinda think a trade must be in the works, however, since Chicago now has three young point guards -- the new guys and Elf-man Kirk Hinrich.
Honorable Mention:
Charlotte: They got Okafor. They win.
Doing quite well, though they could have done even better, is:
Orlando: Maybe Dwight Howard really is just a few years away from being KG, but I don't know. I'd have taken Okafor. (Though if the Magic are rattled by the slightest hint of medical weirdness after the Grant Hill debacle, I can hardly blame them.) Part of my argument for Okafor is that he's an immediate impact player, as is Jameer Nelson (via trade after picked by Denver at 20). Nelson was a great pick; some teams are gonna feel pretty silly pretty soon, I think. Additionally, if I'm the Magic and I'm trying to persuade T-Mac to stay (maybe I'm not trying to persuade him; I don't know), I want to draft people who will make the team better immediately -- not after a year or two. If I'm T-Mac I might stick around to play with Nelson and Okafor, but I wouldn't wait around for Nelson and Howard.
And totally screwing up as usual is:
Portland: Sebastian Telfair at 13th overall? Whaaaaa? Maybe he's got skills and he'll be great someday or something, but Telfair strikes me as a product of the High School Hype Machine. I remember him being on some magazine covers a little less than a Year ago, when everyone was speculating as to who the next LeBron would be. If the Blazers had grabbed him at 23, I might be somewhat less incredulous.
Finally, Kudos to:
Royal Ivey: I love watching Ivey play. He's so much fun. He's got the defensive skills. I'm not sure, if I'm Atlanta, I take Ivey over Duhon, but I'm glad Ivey's gonna get a chance at the pros.
Anyway big winner is:
Chicago: The Bulls wound up with UConn's Ben Gordon and Duke's Luol Deng and Chris Duhon. This is excellent, in that it demonstrates that Chicago, who has been rebuilding since last century, is aware that it needs players who can make an immediate impact, rather than projects. Furthermore, getting Duhon at the 38th overall strikes me as a coup. I kinda think a trade must be in the works, however, since Chicago now has three young point guards -- the new guys and Elf-man Kirk Hinrich.
Honorable Mention:
Charlotte: They got Okafor. They win.
Doing quite well, though they could have done even better, is:
Orlando: Maybe Dwight Howard really is just a few years away from being KG, but I don't know. I'd have taken Okafor. (Though if the Magic are rattled by the slightest hint of medical weirdness after the Grant Hill debacle, I can hardly blame them.) Part of my argument for Okafor is that he's an immediate impact player, as is Jameer Nelson (via trade after picked by Denver at 20). Nelson was a great pick; some teams are gonna feel pretty silly pretty soon, I think. Additionally, if I'm the Magic and I'm trying to persuade T-Mac to stay (maybe I'm not trying to persuade him; I don't know), I want to draft people who will make the team better immediately -- not after a year or two. If I'm T-Mac I might stick around to play with Nelson and Okafor, but I wouldn't wait around for Nelson and Howard.
And totally screwing up as usual is:
Portland: Sebastian Telfair at 13th overall? Whaaaaa? Maybe he's got skills and he'll be great someday or something, but Telfair strikes me as a product of the High School Hype Machine. I remember him being on some magazine covers a little less than a Year ago, when everyone was speculating as to who the next LeBron would be. If the Blazers had grabbed him at 23, I might be somewhat less incredulous.
Finally, Kudos to:
Royal Ivey: I love watching Ivey play. He's so much fun. He's got the defensive skills. I'm not sure, if I'm Atlanta, I take Ivey over Duhon, but I'm glad Ivey's gonna get a chance at the pros.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Hoops Musings
Charlotte's new NBA expansion team actually has players now, after tonight's expansion draft. Part of me sorta feels like I should plan on rooting for these new Bobcats, seeing as back in the day (say, early '90s) I was a big Hornets fan, though admittedly, I probably just their colors -- purple and what was then known as "teal.")
Bobcats. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It just seems so utterly innocuous, inspired mostly by a dearth of available predatory cats (though Bobcats at least inhabit the Carolinas -- which is more, I suspect, than some Detroit franchises can claim). They should have included mascots in the expansion draft. Oh well. Check the logo -- Orange is the new Teal.
For now, I'm only familiar with one of the Bobcat's 19 draftees (Jason Kapono). That'll change on Thursday, the day of the NBA Draft, when Charlotte, having traded up to the number two overall selection will most likely take either Emeka Okafor of Dwight Howard -- whomever the Magic don't grab at #1. (Note to Orlando: take Emeka.) I have almost nothing to say about the NBA Draft as of yet, seeing as I have almost no idea who most of these high school types are.
Lots of other NBA insanity this week. Some crazy trades are likely to go down soon, as Mr. Wright notes. The buzz is that T-Mac's off to H-Town for Stevie Francis, et al. That means T-Mac and a continually improving Yao would be on the same team -- which, under a properly designed offense (read: one centered on Yao), would be ridiculous.
Another rumor has Shaq heading to Dallas. (ESPN.com has other scenarios.) I'd really hate to see that happen. I like the Mavs high-scoring, fast-paced shtick, and running the offense through Shaq all day sounds awfully dull. The Mavs need another piece to win it all, I think, but they'd have to give up a few pieces to get O'Neal. Furthermore, O'Neal's got an awful lot of salary cap baggage, and while he's still dominant he'll be less so in the coming seasons. I hope he goes somewhere though -- I think it'd be hilarious if none of last year's Lakers returned next year. I'm just having a hard time imagining what the deal would look like. Shaq's contract is such that the salary cap rules which I don't understand would require that an awful lot of players be sent to L.A. in order to balance the contracts swapped in the deal. Write down the Nets under teams that might be willing to punt half their side to start over.
I'll be rooting for the Celtics starting this fall. Hopefully they'll make some audacious off-season moves so they'll have some players I've heard of besides Paul Pierce.
Enough for now. Perhaps more uninformed commentary as developments proceed.
Bobcats. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It just seems so utterly innocuous, inspired mostly by a dearth of available predatory cats (though Bobcats at least inhabit the Carolinas -- which is more, I suspect, than some Detroit franchises can claim). They should have included mascots in the expansion draft. Oh well. Check the logo -- Orange is the new Teal.
For now, I'm only familiar with one of the Bobcat's 19 draftees (Jason Kapono). That'll change on Thursday, the day of the NBA Draft, when Charlotte, having traded up to the number two overall selection will most likely take either Emeka Okafor of Dwight Howard -- whomever the Magic don't grab at #1. (Note to Orlando: take Emeka.) I have almost nothing to say about the NBA Draft as of yet, seeing as I have almost no idea who most of these high school types are.
Lots of other NBA insanity this week. Some crazy trades are likely to go down soon, as Mr. Wright notes. The buzz is that T-Mac's off to H-Town for Stevie Francis, et al. That means T-Mac and a continually improving Yao would be on the same team -- which, under a properly designed offense (read: one centered on Yao), would be ridiculous.
Another rumor has Shaq heading to Dallas. (ESPN.com has other scenarios.) I'd really hate to see that happen. I like the Mavs high-scoring, fast-paced shtick, and running the offense through Shaq all day sounds awfully dull. The Mavs need another piece to win it all, I think, but they'd have to give up a few pieces to get O'Neal. Furthermore, O'Neal's got an awful lot of salary cap baggage, and while he's still dominant he'll be less so in the coming seasons. I hope he goes somewhere though -- I think it'd be hilarious if none of last year's Lakers returned next year. I'm just having a hard time imagining what the deal would look like. Shaq's contract is such that the salary cap rules which I don't understand would require that an awful lot of players be sent to L.A. in order to balance the contracts swapped in the deal. Write down the Nets under teams that might be willing to punt half their side to start over.
I'll be rooting for the Celtics starting this fall. Hopefully they'll make some audacious off-season moves so they'll have some players I've heard of besides Paul Pierce.
Enough for now. Perhaps more uninformed commentary as developments proceed.
Saletanisms
I've been trading annoyed e-mails with Justin over Will Saletan's Kerryisms feature in Slate (see, e.g., here) for a while now, but haven't yet posted anything about it. Saletan has a bit in Slate today responding to some of his critics, so I thought I'd ramble a bit.
Saletan spends most of the column defending himself against the critics who he says "didn't get the joke." He's got a legitimate argument here -- he does indeed print entire quotations below his modified (condensed, edited, de-Kerrified, whatever) versions to preserve context. The relegation of qualifiers and embellishments to footnote status is precisely the point of a Kerryism; Saletan doesn't claim, in the footnoted version of what Kerry said, actually to (mis)quote Kerry.
Saletan doesn't spend much time, however, responding to Eugene Volokh's criticism, which is basically the same as my own. Saletan acknowledges that Volokh "gets the joke and doesn't like it" -- count me in that camp.
If the point of Kerryism is simply to show that Kerry has a proclivity towards superfluous verbiage, that's fine -- I'd agree he probably does. I'd even agree there might even be some comedy to be gleaned from pointing this out once in a while, just as one can get a good laugh from time to time at the president's expense. (Though, to be honest, I think the Bushisms feature tends to be a bit forced.)
Far too many Kerryisms, however, seem to fault Kerry for providing any qualification whatsoever. This is silly. Sometimes the qualification is a necessary element of the point Kerry is making (as in Volokh's example). Other times, (e.g. here) the Saletan remix at least arguably reverses the meaining. In the second example, Saletan parses this
That change, if I may do some parsing of my own (without foonotes; I lack the html skills), seems roughly on par with changing "I don't agree with the framing...but I know what he's saying" to "I don't agree...."
Maybe I really don't get it...
Saletan spends most of the column defending himself against the critics who he says "didn't get the joke." He's got a legitimate argument here -- he does indeed print entire quotations below his modified (condensed, edited, de-Kerrified, whatever) versions to preserve context. The relegation of qualifiers and embellishments to footnote status is precisely the point of a Kerryism; Saletan doesn't claim, in the footnoted version of what Kerry said, actually to (mis)quote Kerry.
Saletan doesn't spend much time, however, responding to Eugene Volokh's criticism, which is basically the same as my own. Saletan acknowledges that Volokh "gets the joke and doesn't like it" -- count me in that camp.
If the point of Kerryism is simply to show that Kerry has a proclivity towards superfluous verbiage, that's fine -- I'd agree he probably does. I'd even agree there might even be some comedy to be gleaned from pointing this out once in a while, just as one can get a good laugh from time to time at the president's expense. (Though, to be honest, I think the Bushisms feature tends to be a bit forced.)
Far too many Kerryisms, however, seem to fault Kerry for providing any qualification whatsoever. This is silly. Sometimes the qualification is a necessary element of the point Kerry is making (as in Volokh's example). Other times, (e.g. here) the Saletan remix at least arguably reverses the meaining. In the second example, Saletan parses this
I don't agree with the framing of that. He's my friend, and I respect him enormously, but I don't agree with the framing of that. But I know what he's saying.as this
I don't agree with (fn1) that. He's my friend (fn2), but I don't agree with (fn3) that. (fn4)
That change, if I may do some parsing of my own (without foonotes; I lack the html skills), seems roughly on par with changing "I don't agree with the framing...but I know what he's saying" to "I don't agree...."
Maybe I really don't get it...
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Olympic Hoops Update
Don't need the NCAA or NBA to blog about basketball...
Anyway, it turns out in that two minutes that good ol' Darko logged in Game 5, he managed to break his hand. That really is a shame; I was looking forward to seeing him play for Serbia in the Olympics. What better way for him to silence the naysayers than by putting up 30 and 20 against Team USA this summer?
Hopefully he'll recover in time -- and if not, he still got a ring faster than LeBron or Carmelo. But it sure would be fun to see an Olympic low post match-up between Darko and Ben Wallace...
Anyway, it turns out in that two minutes that good ol' Darko logged in Game 5, he managed to break his hand. That really is a shame; I was looking forward to seeing him play for Serbia in the Olympics. What better way for him to silence the naysayers than by putting up 30 and 20 against Team USA this summer?
Hopefully he'll recover in time -- and if not, he still got a ring faster than LeBron or Carmelo. But it sure would be fun to see an Olympic low post match-up between Darko and Ben Wallace...
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
DET 4, LAL 1
The game over is when Ben Wallace knows the Pistons' lead is sufficiently secure that he of the sub-.500 free throw percentage can safely hoist a three-pointer.
Which is precisely what happened when the Pistons lead by twenty-five points with six minutes and fifty-two seconds left in Detroit's Game 5 rout of the Lakers. Darko's entry with about two minutes to go merely signified that even Larry Brown had finally satisfied himself that victory was out of the Lakers' reach.
Three huzzahs for the Pistons, the "underdogs" who soundly trounced the Lakers for the fourth time in five games. Let's hear no more nonsense about what the Lakers did to lose the championship. Detroit, simply, was the better team -- and I can't emphasize "team" enough. Chauncey Billups took home the MVP trophy -- a worthy recipient to be sure -- but Billups. and most anyone else who watched the series. knows that any number of Pistons could have received the honor.
LB's 63 years old, so I don't know how much longer he'll coach -- but I hope he sticks around for at least one more season. I was a latecomer to the Pistons' party, but I'd love to see them defend their title -- perhaps with the help of a more experienced Darko.
Which is precisely what happened when the Pistons lead by twenty-five points with six minutes and fifty-two seconds left in Detroit's Game 5 rout of the Lakers. Darko's entry with about two minutes to go merely signified that even Larry Brown had finally satisfied himself that victory was out of the Lakers' reach.
Three huzzahs for the Pistons, the "underdogs" who soundly trounced the Lakers for the fourth time in five games. Let's hear no more nonsense about what the Lakers did to lose the championship. Detroit, simply, was the better team -- and I can't emphasize "team" enough. Chauncey Billups took home the MVP trophy -- a worthy recipient to be sure -- but Billups. and most anyone else who watched the series. knows that any number of Pistons could have received the honor.
LB's 63 years old, so I don't know how much longer he'll coach -- but I hope he sticks around for at least one more season. I was a latecomer to the Pistons' party, but I'd love to see them defend their title -- perhaps with the help of a more experienced Darko.
Sunday, June 13, 2004
I want to shop where Tom Tolbert does
Detroit triumphs again! And they didn't even need their secret weapon -- Darko got to stay incognito, playing only the last 9-point-something seconds. At this point, if the ex-underdog were anyone but the Lakers, I'd almost be instinctively rooting against the Pistons. But the Lakers are still the Lakers, and I love the Pistons for reasons previously enumerated.
Ben Wallace was great in the first quarter. More than once, breaking character, he faced up to the basket and decided he was gonna take it off the dribble. At some point he even looked like he was gonna try the Dr. J-swooping-reverse-layup-thing -- unfortunately he was fouled before he could complete the homage. He's got Dr. J's hair; if he had his moves, that'd just be wrong.
The story this time around was Rasheed Wallace, who went nuts for 26 points and a stack of rebounds. Medvedenko made a critical mistake when he mixed it up with 'Sheed in their little spat; from then on, 'Sheed evidently decided he would take it upon himself to punish Medvedenko and any foolish Lakers who might take his place. I've been armchair coaching about the 'Sheed vs. Whoever mismatch for a while, so I was glad to see the Wallaces properly dominate inside.
I continue to wonder why the Lakers don't get the ball to Shaq more. I mean, obviously he got it quite a bit -- 35 points and all -- but the Lakers would still have stretches where Shaq wouldn't get any touches. Kobe wasn't faring too well offensively, and the other Lakers were as about as effective as usual -- not sure what LA was thinking. When some of the few easy baskets the Lakers got were those coming from Shaq with the ball against single coverage or Shaq passing out of the double team, it seems like you'd run the offense through Shaq every possession.
In other news, NBA Finals commentator Tom Tolbert evidently has multiple plaid suits in his closet; not just the one he wore earlier in the series.
Ben Wallace was great in the first quarter. More than once, breaking character, he faced up to the basket and decided he was gonna take it off the dribble. At some point he even looked like he was gonna try the Dr. J-swooping-reverse-layup-thing -- unfortunately he was fouled before he could complete the homage. He's got Dr. J's hair; if he had his moves, that'd just be wrong.
The story this time around was Rasheed Wallace, who went nuts for 26 points and a stack of rebounds. Medvedenko made a critical mistake when he mixed it up with 'Sheed in their little spat; from then on, 'Sheed evidently decided he would take it upon himself to punish Medvedenko and any foolish Lakers who might take his place. I've been armchair coaching about the 'Sheed vs. Whoever mismatch for a while, so I was glad to see the Wallaces properly dominate inside.
I continue to wonder why the Lakers don't get the ball to Shaq more. I mean, obviously he got it quite a bit -- 35 points and all -- but the Lakers would still have stretches where Shaq wouldn't get any touches. Kobe wasn't faring too well offensively, and the other Lakers were as about as effective as usual -- not sure what LA was thinking. When some of the few easy baskets the Lakers got were those coming from Shaq with the ball against single coverage or Shaq passing out of the double team, it seems like you'd run the offense through Shaq every possession.
In other news, NBA Finals commentator Tom Tolbert evidently has multiple plaid suits in his closet; not just the one he wore earlier in the series.
Friday, June 11, 2004
It's Darko Time!!
Behold! Ben Wallace's 'fro hath made its wrath known.
And the Lakers failed to score 70 points in a playoff game for the first time in the shot clock epoch (or some gaudy stat like that), losing to Detroit, 88-68.
I really like watching the Pistons play. My usual gripe with the pro game (as opposed to the college game) is there's too much one-on-one isolation involving one unreasonably talented superstar or another.
But the Pistons -- the Pistons play great team offense, and their help defense is outstanding. I like watching them on D more than when they've got the ball. So seeing their style of play prevail over the Lakers is all sorts of fun.
Once Darko and his platinum blond hair hit the court, it's game over -- and if Phil and the Lakers don't figure it out between now and Sunday, Darko's gonna get another two minutes.
The Pistons showed their toughness, bouncing back after a a disappointing, improbable loss on Tuesday. Now the Lakers have to prove they can recover after getting schooled in front of Kid Rock and the rest of the Jack Nicholson-less crowd at the Palace.
Now, the Lakers are going to play better next game -- another 25-points-combined performance from Shaq and Kobe is pretty improbable. But Detroit managed that margin of victory without fully exploiting the huge matchup problems created by the Wallaces, who combined for only 10 points.
This is a fun bandwagon I'm riding. Any chance the Pistons can close it out...in Detroit?
And the Lakers failed to score 70 points in a playoff game for the first time in the shot clock epoch (or some gaudy stat like that), losing to Detroit, 88-68.
I really like watching the Pistons play. My usual gripe with the pro game (as opposed to the college game) is there's too much one-on-one isolation involving one unreasonably talented superstar or another.
But the Pistons -- the Pistons play great team offense, and their help defense is outstanding. I like watching them on D more than when they've got the ball. So seeing their style of play prevail over the Lakers is all sorts of fun.
Once Darko and his platinum blond hair hit the court, it's game over -- and if Phil and the Lakers don't figure it out between now and Sunday, Darko's gonna get another two minutes.
The Pistons showed their toughness, bouncing back after a a disappointing, improbable loss on Tuesday. Now the Lakers have to prove they can recover after getting schooled in front of Kid Rock and the rest of the Jack Nicholson-less crowd at the Palace.
Now, the Lakers are going to play better next game -- another 25-points-combined performance from Shaq and Kobe is pretty improbable. But Detroit managed that margin of victory without fully exploiting the huge matchup problems created by the Wallaces, who combined for only 10 points.
This is a fun bandwagon I'm riding. Any chance the Pistons can close it out...in Detroit?
Notes from the Underground
What Were We Thinking?!
Counterfactuals
