6 Thoughts
1) norris cole show...What?...Norris Cole Show...What?...NORRIS COLE SHOW!!! NORRIS MUTHERF*CKIN COLE, YOU MUTHERF*CKER!!! In his home state, with his family watching him in person: 43 minutes, 16 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, and one game-winning strip of Cavalier All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving at the buzzer! NORRIS COLE SHOW!!! LET IT FLY!!!
2) Here's who didn't start: the entire starting lineup, nor Shane Battier. All of them skipped the game (preventative maintenance). Here's who did: Norris Cole, Rashard Lewis (19 points), Joel Anthony (5-5 from the floor, 11 points, 9 boards, 2 blocks), Mike Miller (11 points, 3 triples, 8 boards, and 3 assists in 26 minutes), and...wait for it....Juwan Howard!!! More on Juwan in #3. That group had never been on the floor together for even one second this season, and halfway through the first quarter, Miami was down nearly double digits, and it looked like they would struggle to score 65 points. What happened? Can't you read? Norris Cole happened! Norris Cole Show! That's 65-16 on the season with one game to play. Only 16 teams have ever won 65 games in a season. 36-2 in their last 38. 15-1 on the second night of back-to-backs. Mannnnn...
3) Juwan Howard: first of all, he's 100 years old. Second of all, it's his 19th NBA season, and the guys on the team still call him "Seventeen," because when he first got here, it was only his 17th NBA season, he was a whippersnapper. He only came back to the team to fill the last roster spot a few weeks ago - it was either sign him as an extra big, or make television host Jason Jackson the third point guard. Juwan showed signs tonight with a sweet 2nd quarter turnaround over young Cavs' jumping jack Christian Thompson- wait, what? Oh, Tristan Thompson, ok, huge difference...But in the third quarter, for one several minute stretch, Juwan turned the clock back to earlier in his career, that period from 1977-1981 when he was one of the best 4s in this league. He cut to the rim, received a pass, took a hit from Thompson and finished to give the Heat their first 3 point lead. Then, iso'd against Thompson on the left block, faked baseline, and spun back middle for a velvety-smooth jump hook - "Hey, Rook - you ever hear of the Fab Five?" Then on the other end, West Palm Beach-bred small forward Alonzo Gee got loose to the rim and thought he had a dunk...until Juwan PUT HIM DOWN! "Hey, Rook - how's the floor feel on your back?" Neither of those guys are rookies, by the way, but in my mind Juwan calls everyone "Rook." Then, he iso'd at the elbow, a bunch of Cavs sucked to him -they had to, he was tearing them apart - and he immediately spit it to Mike Mil-lar for a hair-trigger three to put Miami up 6. Finally, he iso'd at the elbow again, turned and faced, and suddenly darted a pass to a cutting Joel Anthony who, improbably, caught it, and somehow, even more improbably, banked in a dunk while getting fouled and made the free throw for a 9 point lead! Then Juwan came out for oxygen. Still, the Heat never relinquished that lead. Juwan's been in this league a minute, you rooks...
4) Play of the game: halfway through the second quarter, Dion Waiters dunked a ball on Birdman Anderson so hard that it scrambled every egg in the nest!...That's dumb, right? Sorry, it was a glorified scrimmage, what do you want from me?
5) We hadn't really noticed who the refs were early in the game - too busy tracking Juwan Howard's every move - and then one of them made a bad call, and M.Minutos said something like "what is wrong with you, Tom Washington," and I said, "I'm not sure if that is Tom Washington," and she said, "yes it is, I'd recognize the delusional shine on Tom Washington's head anywhere." And she was right, it was Tom Washington. One, Tom Washington is terrible. Two, my wife can recognize NBA referees from the shine on their heads, in an instant, from a long camera angle. This is exactly the life I imagined for myself as a kid!
6) I grew up in Connecticut. I went to Boston College because, for a kid from Connecticut, making your way to Boston was pretty much the goal, that was pretty much the best thing you could do. That city took such good care of me. I love it with all my heart. The people there are the best. They pretend like they don't care about you - Boston kids are not outwardly emotional and busting balls is an art form - but deep down they do, and they always made sure I was safe, even when I made bad decisions. I love that city, and I can only be surprised that everybody doesn't love it, and the people in it, as much as I do. God bless you, Boston...I still hate the Celtics, though...
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We are back for the final game of the season, at home against Orlando on Wednesday. Best regular season ever; most fun regular season, by far. If you need me before Wednesday, I'm not going to be sad, I'm going to live, and find something special in every day.
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