The Toronto Raptors played the New York Knicks tonight. It was a game of basketball that lasted for the traditional four quarters, although the final quarter felt somewhat longer for those of us watching. My uncle says that time is an illusion, but he also says that about the designated hitter rule in baseball, so it is hard to say for sure.
We scored two points in the final five minutes and fifty seconds of the game. That is not very many points when you consider how long five minutes actually is. You can soft boil an egg in that time, or you can watch a professional basketball team try to put an orange ball through a hoop and fail repeatedly. Both results are somewhat runny and disappointing.
The Fourth Quarter Inevitability
There is a certain comfort in knowing exactly what is going to happen. Some people call it a curse, but I think it is more of a routine. We lack an extra gear, which is fine if you are a bicycle with only one speed, but less ideal for a billion dollar sports franchise. We stay close enough to make it interesting, which is the polite thing to do, I suppose.
Being a good team that cannot become a great team is a bit like having a car that starts every morning but cannot go over forty kilometers per hour. You are going to get where you are going, eventually. It just might be dark by the time you arrive, and everyone else will have already finished dinner and gone to bed.
Celebrities and Other Distractions
Loud Luxury was at the game tonight. They seemed to be having a nice time, which is good for them. It is always interesting to see people who are labeled as luxury attending a game where we score two points in six minutes. There is a juxtaposition there that I cannot quite put my finger on, likely because I am still thinking about Jamario Moon.
Domestic Affairs
In news that does not involve us missing mid range jumpers, the Canadian Elite Basketball League and CBC Sports have signed a five year deal. This is a landmark partnership. It means there will be more basketball on television, which is generally a positive development for the country of Canada.
Sometimes I wonder if the rim is actually smaller in the fourth quarter. It would be a very difficult prank to pull off, mechanically speaking, but it would explain a lot of things. If you see someone with a ladder and a slightly smaller rim at Scotiabank Arena, please let me know. I just want some answers.