The Raptors are playing the Bucks today at 3:30 in the afternoon. It is an early game because someone decided Sunday afternoons are for basketball and not for staring at the wall in a darkened room. I usually prefer the wall, but TSN has other plans for us.
Scottie Barnes will not be there. He is out for personal reasons, which is fine, because everyone needs a day to be a person instead of a professional basketball player. I hope his personal reasons involve a very long nap or perhaps a hobby he does not tell the media about, like competitive woodworking.
The Play-In Gravity
We are currently drifting away from the play-in tournament. It is hard to tell if we are getting better or if the teams behind us are simply vibrating at a lower frequency. It is like being on an escalator that is stopped, but the person behind you is actually walking backward.
Basketball is mostly just a series of events that happen until someone blows a whistle. We have been having more good events lately. Whether this is sustainable or just a glitch in the simulation is something my uncle will likely have an opinion on during Sunday dinner.
Milestones and Media
It is also Coach Darko Rajakovic's birthday. I wonder what you get a basketball coach. Probably a whistle that sounds like a bird, or maybe just a quiet room where no one asks him why the defense is rotating slowly. Happy birthday, Coach, I hope the cake is not dry.
Open Gym released a new episode about the All Star break in Los Angeles. It features slow motion shots of palm trees and players wearing expensive sweaters. I remember when All Star games felt like a big deal, but now they mostly remind me that I should probably buy new socks.
Looking Ahead
Playing in Milwaukee is always a strange experience. The air there probably smells like Wisconsin things, like cheese or determination. Without Scottie, someone else will have to do the things he does, like pass the ball and look tall.
The 6ixth Man will be watching, or at least having the game on while we think about that backup center from 2007 who used to wear the wrong size jersey. It might have been Primoz Brezec. It might not have been. Time is a confusing thing when you watch this much basketball.