On LeBron At The End of Playoff Games
For such an immensely talented physical specimen, a strange thing happens to LeBron James in 4th quarters of money games.
It’s not that he chokes, or looks completely gassed from giving his all. His demeanor simply seems to wilt and become sheepish as those final ticks of the clock tock.
There have been more notorious examples, but this syndrome reared its wooly head last night as James and his Heat ‘battled’ the Indiana Pacers in game two of their second round matchup.
While Wade looked genuinely fatigued, LeBron’s body language was different. He appeared to be walking on eggshells after missing his two critical free throws with 30 seconds left. It looked as though the Twitter stream was being broadcast directly to his brain, as he was being showered with an avalanche of hashtags telling him he can’t close it down the stretch. A similar, albeit less dramatic thing happened at this year’s All-Star Game. The stakes of the Pacer game were higher, but they aren’t the kind of do-or-die stakes that have suffocated lesser beings.
The series was 1-0 in Miami’s favor. Yet LeBron still looked all wooly in body language. Sure, body language is only an external sign, and what matters is the results you claim. But all we have to judge LeBron’s potential on is a pile a ‘not-quites’ and that distinctive body language. Did you ever see Michael Jordan turn green down the stretch? (Not counting the ‘Flue Game’ in Utah where he literally turned several shades closer to green, but still got the legendary win.)
Who knows what’s going on inside LeBron’s head, but the body of evidence and criticism will continue to pile up until he can shear himself of his ‘pillowy soft’ reputation down the stretch.
Until then, LeBron will remain a regular season Wizard. But will ultimately be seen as a basketball sheep in wolves clothing. Maybe this blog post will just feed directly into LeBron’s internal reputation management system.
Just in case, LeBron, I’m still rooting for you to show your fangs and become what we all know you are. Five your woolen fourth quarter reputation the clippers and take your rightful place as a legend of our times.
TweetDarvish’s Mentality: A+
A very subtle thing happened during Yu Darvish’s last start. He started the game against the Angels in a matchup against the man he replaced in the Texas rotation, CJ Wilson.
Then it started raining.
Two hours later the rain stopped. Darvish returned to the hill. Wilson did not.
In the modern baseball era, this is unheard of. The thinking is to shut down a pitcher during a rain delay, and have a fresh arm gear up for when the play resumes. It’s curious that the Rangers would allow their 100 million dollar investment to buck this conventional baseball wisdom.
Critics question his coaches. I extol his virtue as a breed of pitcher that has been systematically destroyed in the majors. The Gamer.
For the Gamer, it’s not a matter that can be settled in a contract or more endorsement deals. The Gamer cares about one thing only. The Game itself. He cares that his reputation, concentration and dedication be conceded under no circumstances. The Gamer will not compromise. The Gamer will snarl, spit and swear at you if you try to mess with him or force him into relenting. The Gamer will vilify all who stand in his way. Friend or Foe. Manager or Umpire. No one is allowed to get between the Gamer and his sense of honor.
In his refusal to be benched after a lengthy rain delay, Yu Darvish cemented his young reputation as a Gamer. The dollars and cents are for his agents and management to haggle over. When negotiations are done, Yu Darvish will give his unwavering commitment to his team. And the results are speaking for themselves.
I don’t know what Darvish said to his coaches, or how he threatened them, but manager Ron Washington indicated that his Gamer left no other options than for him to resume pitching.
I give Darvish two wins. One for the scoreboard, and the other in the willpower department. Talent and willpower are an unfair combination for a pitcher to take to the mound.
Darvish 2 - Wilson 0
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Yu Darvish Versus the Blue Jays
After his dominating start against the Blue Jays, Yu Darvish stands at 4-0 with an ERA hovering around 2. It’s only a sample from the first month, but those numbers seem a lot like his numbers in Japan.
It’s true that Darvish has improved in each one of his starts so far. Against the Blue Jays, he had even more swagger than he had against the Yankees. He is starting to realize that when he has his best stuff, there is no one in the world that can hit him. When the ball floats up and he misses his spots, he is as hittable as anyone. They key for Darvish and for any pitcher is to minimize mistakes up in the zone.
Watching the condensed version of Darvish’s performance against the Jays, Darvish put on a display of pinpoint accuracy. It actually reminded me of watching a sped up version of Greg Maddux. When the catcher set up on the outside corner, Darvish assaulted the target with balls that zeroes from above, as well as curving left and right. There was a wide variety of motion on the pitches to the same spot. This is the recipe for unhittability.
What’s really impressing me is that Darvish has started to throw a change-up on a regular basis. He already has one of the league’s nastiest slider and curveball. So to add something that changes pace on top of lethal breaking balls is utterly unfair to opposing batters.
If Darvish stays as consistent with his pitch location as he did against Toronto, there is no reason he can’t go 4-0 next month as well.
Cowboy hats off to the AL Rookie of the month. Yu Darvish.
NIKE BUILDING TWIST Interactive projection mapping in Yokohama, Japan. Agency: Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo.
Yu Darvish Spanks the Yanks
Darvish displayed the first signs of his major league mojo yesterday against the Yankees.
His control was sharp, throwing 83 strikes over the course of 8 and 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. That is one of the higher strike totals in the majors this year. I especially liked his swagger coming of the mound. He had the look of a dude who knows he is the Man.
In his previous starts, Darvish seemed to only have mastery of one of his pitches at a time. So far his curveball has been his most dominant pitch. But against the Yankees, Darvish was locating both of his fastballs, throwing a cutter with nasty movement, and knifing in and out of the zone with his slider and curve. It’s unconfirmed, but it even looked like he threw a couple of change-ups. I have never noticed Darvish throwing a change-up before. In Japan he had no need for one. But in the majors, adding a change of pace pitch will make him all the more deadly. Maybe this is the first sign of his tutelage by the brothers Maddux.
If Darvish is this consistent with locating all of his pitches, he will be unstoppable. Any time his game is on like it was against the Yankees, no major league lineups will have success.
He has gotten into trouble when his breaking balls are not sharp and when his fastball drifts into the middle of the plate. That happened a few times against the Yankees, but he was able to isolate those mistakes and strand all runners.
A quality start like this is a big step to calming down the haters and solidifying Darvish as a major league ace in the making.
Looking forward to his next time out.
TweetIs Blake Griffin ‘Too Mean’?
Playing in the NBA is supposed to be a fairy tale ending to a childhood of hustle, year round leagues and untold hours spent running line in anonymous gymnasiums. The NBA is supposed to be a victory lap of rainbows, shoe deals and appearances in campy video game commercials.
However, there is one man who is out to break the rainbows of would-be NBA dreamers.
For the past two seasons, Blake Griffin has brought a new brand of disillusionment to NBA arenas one rim-rattling, execution style facial at a time. Ask Kendrick Perkins about this. Ask Pau Gasol. In fact, ask Pau TWICE. Lately, rumors, allegations and articles have been emerging, claiming that Griffin’s explosive, provocative slam dunk displays have been excessive.
The question has been posed on more than one blog:
‘Is Blake Griffin too mean?’
I dismissed this at first as a line of non-competitive, hippie, everyone deserves a trophy, new age blog speak. But then I kept seeing the question raised. Then I realized that more and more players were starting to complain about the methods of Griffin’s dunk madness.
So, is Blake Griffin TOO MEAN???
Hell no.
Blake Griffin is the closest we’ve seen a human being get to actually simulating the fantasy gameplay of NBA Jam. He is the league’s most electrifying dunker since Shawn Kemp was catching lobs from The Glove up in the Emerald City.
Blake Griffin’s above the rim power game is what makes the NBA must see TV (uh, must download content.) The college game has athletes and passion, but they rarely produce the fully developed physical freaks that the NBA boasts. This is why we pay money to see the game. This is why they are professionals.
So, if Blake Griffin represents an elite, professional standard of basketball, what does that say about these newly emerging haters, complainers and whiners out there?
Here’s something anyone who whines about getting dunked on by Griffin should think about:
D-FENSE.
It’s simple really. If you don’t like appearing on the laughable segments of Sportscenter every time you play Lob City, man up, and play some damn D. If you can’t handle it on your own, get creative with your team defense. The Bad Boy Pistons had some success when they crafted the ‘Jordan Rules’ to ground His Ariness’ sky game back in the late 1980s. Perhaps teams need to act like teams again and start playing some help defense when Big Bad Mr. Griffin comes to town.
Shut down one of those attempted moster jams, and you’ll turn the tables on Griffin when the next Sportscenter rolls around. Or you could just keep complaining to your fanboys on Twitter.
Defense is the game’s natural counter to a bully. If you ain’t scoring, you ain’t making the nightly highlights.
D-FENSE.
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