Immanuel Quickley has a foot issue. Darko Rajakovic says it is plantar fasciitis, which is a very long name for the bottom of your foot hurting when you stand up. Apparently, the only real cure is two to four weeks of doing nothing, but we are not doing that.
Instead, we are going to manage it. This is usually basketball code for playing until it hurts too much to jump, and then sitting down for a while. My uncle had this once from wearing bad loafers to a wedding in Ajax. He did not have to play forty minutes of NBA defense, but he did have to stand near the buffet for three hours, which is its own kind of endurance.
Moving Parts and Strange Faces
Because of the foot situation and various other things, Ja'Kobe Walter is starting. It is always interesting when the young guys get the nod. You spend the whole pre game trying to remember their shooting splits, and then you just hope they do not get lost on a back screen.
Someone on the internet was giving away two free tickets to the game tonight. They are gone now, which is probably for the best. Taking free tickets to a late season game is a specific kind of emotional gamble that not everyone is prepared to lose.
The ghosts of shooting guards past
There is a lot of talk lately about Norman Powell. He recently mentioned how much it hurt to be traded away for Gary Trent Jr. back in the day. Norm wanted to be a lifer, like those guys who work at the same hardware store for forty years and know exactly where the specific washers are kept.
We traded that stability for Gary, and now we are just left with memories of Norm's playoff dunks. It feels like we are constantly trying to fill a hole that we dug ourselves. People are already suggesting we sign Saddiq Bey next year to help with our depth.
Bey has length and can shoot, which are the two things every basketball team wants, along with world peace and a shorter commute on the 401. We have a lot of passengers on the roster right now. It is like a bus that goes in circles, and half the people forgot to pull the cord for their stop. Every season feels like a long wait for a connection that might not be coming.