3 and DA: Notes on the 2024 Play-In Games

 April 16^th, 2024

    Last playoffs, the Warriors were eliminated in the second round by the Lakers (yeah, well, four!), who were then swept in the Western Conference Finals by the Nuggets (four). The Finals pitted two players on my personal starting five against each other, Nikola Jokic and Jimmy Butler. I got the feeling back during the middle of the regular season that the Nuggets would win it all when Aaron Gordon had one of the greatest dunks I’ve ever seen, a Christmas Day gift during over time, on Landry Shamet. (You know, I want to take this time to compliment Shamet: his shoes stayed on.) But in the East, the Heat fought back from the very edge, the second round of the play-in games, to get to the Finals, confirming for fans, in case they didn’t already know, that one can never count out this Miami squad, Erik Spoelstra, and Jimmy Buckets. Though they were lumpy, especially after another seven-game war with the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. And ultimately Jokic, the Serbian superstar big man drafted in the second round who had triple-doubles almost nightly, Michael Malone, and the Nuggets prevailed, bringing the first NBA championship to Denver in its 50-plus year history.

This season: The Nuggets, in pursuit of a dynastic run, are in position to repeat, sitting in second going into the playoffs, just behind the young, inexperienced, but undeniable Oklahoma City Thunder, led by rising Canadian superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who does that dance in the paint like no other. The Heat, meanwhile, are in much the same position they were a year ago: the play-in (like the Warriors, who must win two elimination games, on the other team’s court, for a chance to meet the Thunder in the first round—needless to say, a tough road to the top). I don’t claim to know much about balling. But I will say this: it took me…three regular season games to decide that the Celtics, with its new starting five, would dominate, and they did even when Kristaps Porzingis was out. With them, there’s one fact I’ll keep in mind: almost no championships have been won in NBA history by a team without a league MVP (such as Jokic or Steph Curry or Giannis Antetokounmpo, to take the three most recent examples). One of the only exceptions had a previous Finals MVP. And, though they had the best record in the league by a significant margin and earn home court advantage through the entire playoffs, the East has at least a few teams that I’m sure won’t let them cruise back to the Finals….

 

April 17^th, 2024

Lakers vs. Pelicans, in New Orleans: Free throw disparity. The Lakers got to the line a lot more and made most everything. As Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller discussed how many fouls they were drawing, LeBron James drew a foul and winked at them. Injury. Zion Williamson was having a game worthy of his star player, first-option status, leading all scorers. By the fourth quarter, the Pelicans had closed the gap. They had momentum. Then, with about three minutes left, Williamson landed awkwardly after an offensive possession and went limping off the court, to the locker room. It’s one reason there are doubts about him: He’s on the heavier side but plays fast and leaps high. So far in his career, as one might predict with his combination of size and explosiveness, he’s proved to be injury-prone. The Lakers held on to a slim lead and got the W. They claim the seventh spot and face off against the reigning champs in the first round.

Warriors vs. Kings, in Sacramento: This year the fair weather fans booed the Warriors at home. To be sure, it was a rather rough season, on and off the court. The core is relatively old. And a question for every team with a superstar is: who’s going to take over when he’s resting on the bench or out for a stretch? Jonathan Kuminga has shown marked improvement and Klay Thompson is capable of having 30-plus points on the night. But there didn’t seem to be a consistent supporting player on the offensive end for Steph Curry. Still, this is only a couple of years removed from a championship that extended a dynastic run. The Warriors also have impactful rookies (Trayce Jackson-Davis, Brandin Podziemski) and solid veterans that put together win streaks. The Rockets, with their own lengthy streak, nearly seized the tenth spot. Then Tari Eason felt the need to taunt Golden State with a Warriors movie reference: “Warriors, come out to play.” That was uncalled for. And it appears he forgot how that movie ends. Now he knows! So I waved farewell to the “fans,” to the Rockets, and thought Golden State could put up a fight, especially against a Kings team missing two key players.

Not on Tuesday. The Kings controlled most of the game, preventing the Warriors from establishing flow on offense. Steph Curry’s shots were almost entirely difficult. Klay Thompson made zero of his. In the end, the starters were taken off the floor. I’m happy that the Kings have had more success in recent years, De’Aaron Fox is a blur. But I’m not that happy. Kings: W. They face the Pelicans next. Warriors: Damn. Blown out. The trade speculation and rumors start with them.

 

April 18^th, 2024

Heat vs. 76ers, in Philadelphia. On this night I discovered that 76ers fans are quick to boo! In the first half, the home team looked outmatched. Reigning MVP Joel Embiid, still recovering from injury, wasn’t at his best. Tyrese Maxey didn’t fill the void. Tobias Harris, always under pressure to perform well against Jimmy Butler, shot air balls. The team had a number of turnovers. And there was a noticeable lack of energy. But there was a whole nother half to go and the lead the Heat built wasn’t insurmountable. I thought: Dry those tears, people. Maybe they’re sore about the organization’s history of post-season disappointments and setbacks, react unfavorably to any play that resembles past failures. Then the second half came. By the end of the third quarter, the 76ers steadily looked invigorated. Nicolas Batum, a recent trade acquisition and veteran player off the bench, hit nearly all his 3s, sending jolts through the crowd with each and far surpassing his regular season average, and was dogged on defense. Mike Breen, reflecting on playoff basketball: “You never know who’s going to emerge as a hero.” The game was tied up with a minute to go. Praise the DJ, who put on the Rocky theme, “Gonna Fly Now.”

76ers: W, by one point. The team takes the seventh spot and face off against the best Knicks team in decades.

Bulls vs. Hawks, in Chicago. I’ve learned that there are two kinds of basketball: essential and inessential. I enjoy seeing where any team is at developmentally through most of the regular season, looking for standout players who could bolster another roster. But as the playoffs approach, my focus turns to the teams that have the best chance of winning it all (them and, this season, a rookie with San Antonio who’s getting some attention, Victor Wembanyama). This game would go past midnight and I value sleep. And neither the Bulls nor the Hawks, dealing with injuries and middling play, stand any chance against a healthy Celtics squad. For the purposes of saving time: this is inessential basketball. First quarter highlights: I went with raviolis. While the water boiled, I washed dishes. Still had a good buzz going. Guinness is the preferred beer of DA playoff coverage….

The Bulls had their biggest quarter of the season: 40 points. Alex Caruso, the ace defender and all-around helpful player, got injured by his own teammate, Andre Drummond, who was jogging back on defense and stepped on his foot. He didn’t play the rest of the game. But the Bulls pressed forward anyway, with a career-high from Coby White. Trae Young was a week from full recovery after a hand injury and came back anyway. He didn’t look like himself. Bulls: W. They move on to face the Heat in Miami.

 

April 19^th, 2024

Bulls vs. Heat, in Miami. No Jimmy Butler but the Heat didn’t look the least bit unsure without their leader. The team went on an early run and commanded the game from there. The play of the night: Tyler Herro, who would end it with a near triple-double, charging toward the basket, passes behind his back midstride to Caleb Martin, who hits a three. Slow motion on the two slapping hands. Near the close, the crowd began chanting: “We want Boston!” The Heat are 0-3 against the Celtics in the regular season. That fact means less with this team. Heat: W. They take the eighth spot in the East.

Pelicans vs Kings, in New Orleans. Pelicans, without Zion Williamson: W, eighth spot in the West. (Cut of beef, steamed broccoli, glass of cranberry juice.) Next, they face Oklahoma City. 

The Art of Letter- (or Email-) Writing

     You ask whether your verses are any good. You ask me. You have asked others before this. You send them to magazines. You compare them with other poems, and you are upset when certain editors reject your work. Now (since you have said you want my advice) I beg you to stop doing that sort of thing. You are looking outside, and that is what you should most avoid right now. No one can advise or help you—no one. There is only one thing you should do. Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would die if you were forbidden to write. This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple “I must,” then build your whole life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. Then come close to Nature. Then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose.

From Letters to a Young to Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Stephen Mitchell (1986)

Despite Rilke’s hyperbole and scorn for literary criticism, the first letter of the collection, from which I excerpt the above passage, is possibly the best in the book, fit to be copied whole, handed out, and discussed on day one of an introductory writing course I’d never teach. But whether the reader agrees about its merits and moves on to the next may depend on one’s tolerance for tautological language. An article in The Guardian written using AI offers an objectively egregious example, with the abuse of the sentence beginning: “Believe me.” The phrase serves no purpose and it’s absurd to recycle. (The future is here.) Recently though, reading Christopher Hitchens’s piece on a new translation of Proust, “The Acutest Ear in Paris,” I encountered a murkier debate on the subject. Lydia Davis faults an earlier Proust translator for his redundancies. Hitchens responds with evidence of Davis committing the same error—except it doesn’t count, I think, because it’s functional, repetition for the sake of rhythm, rhetorical effect. Hitchens himself, an otherwise vigilant stylist, could be accused of the occasional redundancy, one of the banes of the journalist with a deadline to meet. We descend into ceaseless caviling. No one who’s misspelled a word or forgotten a comma knows how to write. And in this short missive of nine double-spaced pages, Rilke (or his translator) uses the word “silent” four times. There are those who would consider this disqualifying. I’m one of those who deem such readers oversensitive.

But I wouldn’t assign Letters in its entirety and, while it provides the form to one of the secondary inspirations behind this very column, I hesitate to recommend it now. The more letters Rilke sends, the more his limitations show, and the less keen I am to defend him. Aside from common blemishes, eccentric stylistic choices abound and distract:

Sex is difficult; yes.

…learning-time is always a long, secluded time, and therefore loving, for a long time ahead and far on into life is—: solitude, a heightened and deepened kind of aloneness for the person who loves.

It is true that many young people who love falsely, i.e., simply surrendering themselves and giving up their solitude (the average person will of course always go on doing that—), feel oppressed by their failure and want to make the situation they have landed in livable and fruitful in their own, personal way—.

They’re impersonal, too. Rilke has hardly anything to say about his surroundings or what’s going on in his life, doesn’t exactly invite the reader into his confidence, doesn’t allow him to conceive much of an idea of who the writer is. Without additional layers of language and color, the book’s lone draw is advice, some of which is no draw at all. In one letter, for instance, he discourages the use of irony in favor of an examination of “serious Things” (which I took as a reminder not to neglect irony). And in every one he adopts the same tone: avuncular, humorless, preachy. Midway through the book I started squirming as if I were really sitting through a long, tedious sermon with just enough pith to keep me from dozing off.

The writer doesn’t want to dash off a letter (or most likely an email, these days) only to agonize over mistakes and paltriness. But taking your time risks causing offense, or adding the work of an apologetic preamble, or dampening the exchange. Based on their lack of polish, it would seem Rilke never intended these letters to be read by anyone but his correspondent, a stranger. Either that or sapience developed before skill in translating it to the page and judgment about what to expand upon or excise. Quality can be further reduced by the quantity of messages one is compelled to send. However, a writer planning on assembling a book out of letters or emails and crafting them toward that end would, I suspect, be trading self-consciousness for true candor and playfulness, two of the chief pleasures of writing (and reading) them. Forget the audience. Best to write to a correspondent doing nothing more than properly holding up your end of a conversation. Enduring aesthetic appeal as an accident. Perhaps even a measure of love.