I was at a convenience store in Scarborough yesterday buying a bag of milk and a single loose orange. The guy behind the counter asked if I saw the game against Oklahoma City. I told him I did, but I mostly remember the way the arena lights reflected off Scottie Barnes' forehead.
It was a strange night for basketball, which is the only kind of night we seem to have anymore. People keep saying the Eastern Conference is weak, like it is a tired bridge or a poorly made shelf. However, we just beat the Thunder, and Scottie Barnes might be the best defensive player in the history of things that guard other things.
The Block and the Award
Scottie had a game winning block and a rebound on the person everyone says is the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year. It was Chet Holmgren, who is very tall and reminds me of a sophisticated blade of grass. Chet thought he had a mismatch, but as my cousin once said about a bad suit, that was actually a match miss.
If Scottie does not win the DPOY award, I will be mildly inconvenienced and perhaps write a letter that I will never mail. He is doing things on the court that make me feel like I am watching a giant, athletic cat hunt a laser pointer. It is beautiful, in a way that also makes me want to take a nap.
Looking at the Standings
There is talk about breaking up this core, but I do not understand why we would do that now. We have shown we can stand a chance against anyone in the East, which is a conference full of teams that are also trying their best. I just want to see one playoff series before we decide to trade everyone for draft picks that will eventually become players we also want to trade.
I heard a rumor that Giannis was watching the game from somewhere in Milwaukee. He was probably eating a snack and thinking about how the Raptors always make things complicated. It is a strange feeling to be a threat again, like finding a twenty dollar bill in a pocket of a jacket you were about to throw away.
We are winning the East, or at least we are winning the part of the East that matters to me on a cold Tuesday. Scottie is our leader now. I hope he knows where he is going, because the rest of us are just following him and hoping there is a decent place to eat at the end of the road.