Pushing words...

Note to D'Antoni: defense matters

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:54:00 -0500

I am no Tom Thibodeau and neither is Mike D’Antoni, apparently.

The New York Knickerbockers are not playing defense. How do I know? Well, if your team surrenders 118 points to the Charlotte Bobcats (go ahead, I challenge you to name three of their starting five), something is wrong on the defensive end of the floor.

A Rubio in Minnesota...

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:32:46 -0500

In last night’s home victory against reigning NBA champions Dallas:

But Love hit two straight 3s, including a step-back over Kidd, and Rubio assisted on three straight buckets during an end-of-the-game surge. His last pass was a beauty between Nowitzki’s legs to an open Tolliver in the corner for a 3-pointer and a 98-82 lead.

With the Wolves offense stagnant, Rubio scored 12 of the team’s 15 points during a critical five minute stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters. The Spanish kid who supposedly can’t shoot drilled two 3s and scored on a pair of pretty drives, the last giving them an 82-72 lead with nine minutes to play.

Rubio has played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter of all four games and has made 7 of 10 shots and scored 21 points with 14 assists and nine rebounds in those 48 minutes.

FP books to read for 2012

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:14:48 -0500

FP books to read for 2012:

Gordon and Trainor’s new book and Leon Aron’s new book definitely look interesting…but I think this list could be way better…needs more history and biography…any suggestions?

Game of the night: Grizzlies v. Thunder

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:25:57 -0500

Game of the night: Grizzlies v. Thunder:

Doesn’t get much more athletic than Rudy Gay and Kevin Durant going head to head…advantage Durant.

Former Maccabi point-guard, Jeremy Pargo, filling in for injured Michael Conley puts up 15 points and 7 assists.

Zach Randolph has the most entertaining low-post game in the NBA.

Temptation, culture, and credit...the enabler.

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:59:12 -0500

Temptation, culture, and credit...the enabler.:

An interesting review of Michael Lewis’s Boomerang…

Europe, doubling down?

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:55:00 -0500

Europe, doubling down?:

Walter Russell Mead on northern and southern European culture, and why it is a big deal…important stuff, but is it possible to generalize about culture like this?

If you are looking to get on a bandwagon...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:01:12 -0500

If you are looking to get on a bandwagon...:

I recommend Paul Westphal’s Sacramento Kings…looks like a fun team. Chuck Hayes is a poor man’s Charles Oakley who was a poor man’s Wes Unseld…

Apparently Emma Lazarus is not fashionable anymore...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 04:40:47 -0500

Apparently Emma Lazarus is not fashionable anymore...:

Interesting stuff from Theda Skocpol and company. Would love to know how many of the people they interviewed knew where this was from:

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

No sleep till Brooklyn...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 04:02:31 -0500

No sleep till Brooklyn...:

“I don’t look at it,” Johnson says of the depth chart, “I don’t go by what I see. I’m a visionary. They say birds see, but eagles have vision. I’m going with the eagle part, because if you go with the bird part, you’ll see the holes.”

Popeye Jones is an assistant. You gotta love that.

The Nordic Model

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 03:40:00 -0500

The Nordic Model:

No, not Elin Nordegren…

Those Northern Europeans they’re so…well, civilized.

Most of them. Really.

Culture…can it be changed?

What The US Could Learn From Finland About Education | The New Republic

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:57:00 -0500

What The US Could Learn From Finland About Education | The New Republic:

Not just the US. Seems like it might be worth trying…

Worth a listen...music from Acollective.

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:10:00 -0500

Worth a listen...music from Acollective.