Cavs
Credit to Toronto. Everyone had them left for dead after getting housed twice in Cleveland to start the Eastern Conference Finals. Someone forgot to tell the Raptors, who evened the series at 2 with an impressive 105-99 win on Monday night.
It was the type of star-driven performance from DeMar DeRozan (32 points on better than 60-percent shooting from the field) and Kyle Lowry (35 points on 70 percent shooting from the field) that a lot of us would have expected to see from the Cavaliers.
This loss could prove to be a little troubling for Cavs supporters. We still believe the Cavs will win this series, but check the following items that happened Monday night:
First, if the Cavs are going to fade against a home crowd like the one in Toronto, well, whomever the Cavs draw in the Finals will be worse. Yes, the "We the North" mantra the Raptors fans have embraced is catchy, but that home-court edge is not as loud or as vibrant as the Warriors' or the Thunders' right now. Plus, if it's Golden State, the Warriors would have four home games in the seven-game series.
Second, the vanishing act on the road of Kevin Love has to be troubling. Love in the first two games of this series was lovely - 9-of-16 from the field, 3-of-6 from 3 and 16.5 points per game. In the two games at Toronto, Love stinks - 5-of-23 from the field, 3-of-11 from 3 and 6.5 points per game. Plus, he injured his foot Monday night, so yes, Love hurts, too.
Third, the road performance of rookie coach Tyronn Lue was less than stellar. A game after saying he needed to call more plays for LeBron James - which seems like a fine idea considering he's the best player on the planet and all - Lue looked lost in Game 4, especially early. The Raptors have counted on the Cavs coming back to the median from their torrid 3-point-shooting spree against the Hawks, and Cleveland has. Every coach looks brilliant when his team hits 50-percent from 3.
Finally, there's James himself. He has been excellent throughout the series, even in the last two losses. His numbers are staggering in four games vs. the Raptors: 25 points per, more than eight rebounds, more than six assists, more than two steals, and he's shooting 64.4 percent from the field. Heck, he even played the entire second half last night and logged 46 of the 48 minutes. (That's another strike in the Lue category to tell you the truth.)
Here's the thing with LeBron, and this comes from an unabashed LeBron James fan: Dude did not have a shot in the final three minutes of a extremely close, much-needed road playoff game. With the score tied at 96 with a little more than four minutes left, the Raptors stars shined; LeBron - the biggest star on the court and one of the biggest the NBA has ever known - tried to be a facilitator.
LeBron missed a lay-up on his only shot attempt in that four-plus-minute stretch, and it came with more than three minutes to play. Is LeBron an amazing player? Absolutely. One of the greats of all-time by almost every metric.
Still, can you imagine Jordan or Kobe or Bird allowing the game to spin around them without being more involved in winning time? Of course not. LeBron made all the right passes and all the right decisions if you are coaching the game using playing cards or in a simulation. He kicked out of double teams to open 3s that were missed and even got some offensive rebounds that became more open looks for his teammates that were missed.
But in a lot of ways those right decisions were the ones Toronto wanted. In a lot of ways, the Cavs would be better served with James going to the rim against the double team rather than looking to a cold-shooting J.R. Smith to deliver.
So now, with the series tied at 2 and Toronto riding the momentum, the series returns to Cleveland. And if King James is going to bring a title to the 'Land, he needs to act like a king in crunchtime.
In this Sunday, May 22, 2016 photo, Golden State's Draymond Green's leg is between the legs of Oklahoma City's Steven Adams (12) during Game 3 of the Western Conference NBA basketball finals in Oklahoma City. Draymond Green has been suspended by the NBA for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals for kicking Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams in the groin. The league announced Green’s penalty Monday, May 23, 2016, after reviewing the play from the Thunder’s 133-105 victory over Golden State on Sunday night. (Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman via AP) LOCAL STATIONS OUT (KFOR, KOCO, KWTV, KOKH, KAUT OUT); LOCAL WEBSITES OUT; LOCAL PRINT OUT (EDMOND SUN OUT, OKLAHOMA GAZETTE OUT) TABLOIDS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT Draymond Green
Well, consider us surprised.
The NBA decided not to suspend Draymond Green for his right foot to the Steven Adams' marble bag. It was a decision made even more confusing since the NBA did suspend Cavaliers reserve/scrub Dahntay Jones for a "loose ball foul" that was not as egregious as Green's kick.
So it goes, and the sides are interesting while the dividing line is ever blurry.
As the link above alludes to, the only point to be made for the different punishments is an effort to try to keep teams and guys 12-plus-deep on a bench from coming into games and trying to instigate a physical altercation. (Although that rings a little hollow, since Jones lost like $80 in the decision and LeBron James said he'll pay all the fines. James is a soon-to-be-billionaire, he can afford it.)
The other side - and the conspiracy theorists in all of us instinctively lean this way in matters such as these - is that the league doesn't want to sit a player of Green's significance and alter a playoff series. If that's the case then the league is a sham and operating under a sliding scale of star power that appeals to TV viewers more than fairness.
That argument is a little bit tempered since the league did upgrade the foul to a Flagrant 2, which means one more flagrant foul or technical foul means Green will be suspended for a game.
But still, what's good for the goose is not good for the Green in this matter and the double standard seems shaky at best. So Green will play tonight, in Game 4 as the Thunder seek to take a 3-1 lead over the record-setting Warriors.
If you can't find a way to watch this one, all you can really do is shake your head and say, "Ah nuts."
Bulls
Well, pardon the personal reshuffle, but our youth baseball season ended Monday night with the 5-and-6 Bulls notching a 15-11 win over the Storm in the championship game. The Bulls finished 14-1 - and that one was a 16-15 loss more than a month ago.
We have been blessed to have a ton of fun coaching several youth sports teams over the last few years, including an 8-year-old A's team this spring as well.
This Bulls bunch, though, was overwhelming, and it had very little to do with runs or wins.
They showed up early and almost always in high spirits. They were energetic, and that energy conversely transferred that excitement to everyone around them. Be it Ray's unchanging expression whether she got a hit or struck out. Or Mason's ability to play in the dirt on one pitch then look like a 3-foot-tall Brooks Robinson on the next. Or Ben roaming the pitcher's circle like an All-Pro free safety. Or Robby's stoic and stellar skill set that made the rare sighting of his team after a great play or a big hit even more special. Or Mitchell not knowing when to wear his sunglasses (nevermind where he left his sunglasses). Or Clark giving his coach a high-five after the coach's mistake cost him an at-bat. Or Harrison and Tyce saying very little but hitting very much. Or Dawson's amazing transformation from lumberjack to slugger. Or DJ's unending joy of playing the game.
It was pure.
As a coach, we start every team regardless of the sport with the same Rule No. 1 - "Have fun" - every year and then change the order from there depending on the team. For the Bulls - a group that advanced more at the plate than any of us expected - it was quickly embraced that Rule 2 was "Hit, and then run like Bulls."
It was a great year, and the lessons - and the smiles - for the coaches and the parents were every bit as frequent and valuable as they were for the collection of little people in blue jerseys, grey pants and pink socks. (With some Red, White and Blue wristbands and headbands mixed in, because, well, 'Merica.)
In fact, we encouraged the Bulls to have nicknames on the back of their jerseys. Yes, it made it more difficult for the bookkeepers at times, but how much fun is having a batting order that goes Ray-Ray, Styles (and yes, that's in honor of Teen Wolf's sidekick from the 1980s comedy), The Ben, Mayes, MayDay, T-Rex, Rebel, Wild Bill, Debo (yes, from the character in "Friday" the 1990s comedy) and DJ.
Here are but a few:
The joy of hitting a thrown ball is universal. From the best player in the league on down, contact triggers the chain of events that leads to action and reaction. And smiles.
The scoreboard at our field this year didn't work, but the kids frequently asked if we were winning or losing. In truth, I'm all for this. Learning to compete is one of the three most important lasting life lessons from all of sports at any level. Wins and losses are merely stats that are quickly eschewed, but learning to do your best when it counts can be a life trait regardless of when it's acquired. (And having experienced leagues where they don't keep score, the kids still want to know who's winning.)
Make sure everyone is included. Be it parents looking for ways to help or making sure all the kids are engaged. The most important thing is fun. The second-most important thing is involvement, and more times than not 1 and 2 are more linked than you can ever imagine.
We are annually stunned as a coach how much more fun practice is than the games. This is a great teaching tool, too. It positivally values the process of getting better over simply the act of getting positive results.
Is all of this gospel or some sort of metaphysical over-examination of 5-and-6-year-old coach-pitch baseball that is as much about the snacks and dirt piles as it is singles and double plays? Yes. And no. And maybe some of both.
Beliefs can vary, and there's a multitude of approaches that can generate success far beyond wins and losses. In fact, if we measured success by smiles, this bunch of Bulls players, parents and especially the coaches would have been undefeated.
(Here's the video the Mrs. 5-at-10 put together if you need extra proof.)
This and that
- Clayton Kershaw was, well, Clayton Kershaw on Monday, throwing a shutout at the Reds in a 1-0. It's his third shutout of the season and prompted Reds manager Bryan Prince to say, "I've seen enough of Clayton Kershaw." He's assuredly not alone among MLB managers in that thought.
- More Kershaw: Dude's numbers are simply sick. He's 7-1 with a 1.48 ERA. He has been clutch - two of his shutouts were 1-0 wins. And his control has been pinpoint. How's this for a stat? In 79 innings pitched he has 95 Ks and five walks. Five. In May, Kershaw has made five starts - all wins - and pitched 42 innings, allowing three earned runs (0.64 ERA over that stretch) with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 55-to-2. E-gad. Anyone got any nominations for NL Pitcher of the Month?
- Speaking of standout pitchers, Kershaw is not as much of a dunk as you'd think looking at those staggering numbers. The Cubs' Jake Arrieta is 8-0 this year with a 1.29 ERA. Man, that's two stud ducks.
- Here's hoping Philly works for Derrick Lott, who signed with the Eagles on Monday. The former UTC defensive lineman spent time with the Buccaneers last year.
- The family of Tony Gwynn is suing the tobacco company that made the dip he used that led to the cancer that killed him. We loved watching him hit, but we hate hearing that news. Gwynn reportedly started using smokeless tobacco in 1977, and while we can't speak for that time, we can speak about a decade later every can of Copenhagen we ever bought had some sort of surgeon general warning on it. Man, quitting dipping was tough, but we're super glad we did it.
- Rivalry re-ranking. Here's video of the NYPD and the FDNY fighting after a charity football game. Not a good look on either side.
- On this day in 1878, the first American bicycle race was held in Boston. On tomorrow's day in 1878, the first official bellyaching from a bicyclist about a horse-drawn carriage not giving the cyclist enough space was lodged.
Today's question
On a true of fall Tuesday, we'll start with these:
True or false, the NBA made the right call in not suspending Draymond Green.
True or false, Bob Dylan, who turns 75 today, is the most overrated famous rock and roll star of all time.
True or false, Bartolo Colon, who turns 43 today, is a modern-day medical miracle, because he is pitching at 43 (and pitching well) and he manages to keep that massive head balanced.
True or false, tobacco companies are more to blame than tobacco users.
Go. And if you absolutely need a Rushmore to ponder, well, Tommy Chong turns 78 today, so let's go with the Rushmore of movie pot smokers.