The Orlando Magic came to town last night. I think they call them the Magic because they make an affordable lead disappear in the fourth quarter. It was a primary colored evening of basketball that left me wondering about a lot of things, mostly regarding the location of Sam Mitchell (the person, not the concept).
The game itself was a game. There were whistles and bouncing noises. It reminded me of a time I tried to assemble a shelf without the instructions. I had all the parts, but at the end, I was just holding a screw and looking at a pile of wood that did not look like it could hold books.
The Geometry of Scottie Barnes
Scottie Barnes is doing that thing again. Earlier this season, he was shooting 38 percent from three, which is very good. Now he is shooting 19 percent, which is the kind of number you see on a high school progress report for a class you stopped attending in October.
In 2024, he also hit a wall right around the halfway point. It is like there is an invisible barrier in the air that only Scottie can see, and once he reaches it, the ball decide it does not want to go into the hoop anymore. We all hit walls. I hit one yesterday when I realized I had been staring at a microwave for three minutes without putting food inside.
The Rise of Ja'Kobe
Ja'Kobe Walter is a stud. Someone on the internet said that, and I tend to agree because he looks like he knows what he is doing. There was a buzzer beater play involving him and Scottie that was very tough, which is basketball speak for "it almost did not happen but then it did."
Ja'Kobe plays with a certain kind of energy that implies he has not yet been let down by the cruel reality of professional sports. It is refreshing. He moves around the court like he is trying to find his keys, but in a very athletic and purposeful way.
Matters of Residency
There is a lot of discussion about where Sam Mitchell lives. People are confused because he is on the television broadcast a lot, but the internet says he lives in the United States. He could be commuting. He might have found a portal.
My uncle once told me that he saw Sam Mitchell at a grocery store in 2007, but he also once told me that Casper the Ghost is a cautionary tale about not wearing reflective gear at night. We may never know the truth about Sam's housing situation. We just know he is there, wearing a suit, talking about rebounding.
Final Thoughts on Nothing
Basketball is a long season. It starts when the leaves are falling and ends when you realize you forgot to buy a new air conditioner. The Raptors are currently in that middle part where everything feels like a hazy dream you had after eating too much lasagna.
We will keep watching, mostly because the remote is on the other side of the room and the dog is sleeping on our legs. Scottie will start hitting shots again, or he won't. Either way, the sun will probably come up, unless the Magic have something to say about that too.