NBA Finals Preview

 Ah yes, tonight the NBA Finals kicks off and your boy has to say he is pleasantly pleased. I am so jaded by 2020 I had no faith that the bubble would work, let alone to get to a point where we would be crowning an NBA champion. And after an exciting playoffs seeing the demise of Brett Brown in Philadelphia, and epic collapse by the Clippers and an ascension by Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets we have reached the final two. 

Point Guard:

Miami is going to bring out Goran Dragic to run the point against the Lakers. And while he isn't the deadliest 3 point shooter you can always count on him and his solid and efficient mid range game to get you at least 15-20 points per night. Kendrick Nunn should also have a better series than he did against the Celtics. Meanwhile the Lakers are bringing out Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso, bringing both good defense, a wealth of knowledge from Rondo and hustle from Caruso I can't pick who has the advantage. 

Advantage: Draw

Shooting Guard:

The Lakers have the most unintentionally hilarious group at shooting guard it's ridiculous. First you got Dion Waiters who in his mind believes he is the baddest man on the court at all times. Then you have JR Smith who may be either the highest or most confused man on the planet and you have pure hilarity. Danny Green and Kentavious Calwdwell Pope round out the position and compared to the other two are damn Rhode scholars. The Heat have the stories of the bubble with the inspired play of Duncan Robinson and the wildly entertaining Tyler Herro. Better shooters, Herro is rebounding and passing extremely well, so I am gonna roll with the hot hand.

Advantage: Miami 

Small Forward: 

This is the undercard to the main event here. The Lakers have the man who has a statistical claim to be the GOAT starting at small forward and he is playing like a man possessed. In a close out game in his 16th season he casually dropped a 38 point, 16 rebound, 10 assist triple double in 40 minutes. While Miami has someone I am familiar with, Jimmy Butler leading the way. He has played great defense, provided some tough baskets and apparently selling coffee at $20 a cup so that better be the best damn coffee ever. All of that said even with Jimmy Buckets and Anre Iguodala the advantage is clear. 

Advantage: Lakers

Power Forward:

So the Heat have been rolling out with Jae Crowder at power forward and while he is a very good 3 and D player to have, not sure if he is best suited at power forward. For some reason Kelly Olynk and Derrick Jones are not really seeing the floor so this is the clear weak spot for the Heat. The Lakers are bringing Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma. If ever there was a contrast of styles and personality this is it. Morris is famously about that action boss. Seriously. Google "Morris twins beat up..." and there will be MULTIPLE entries. Kyle Kuzma is a nice guy, just a bit corny. That said they have a pretty good rotation going here with contrasting styles that should keep the Heat off balance. Either that or I'm afraid of Markieff Morris if I doubt him.

Advantage: Lakers

Center:

Now the Heat have possibly the most intriguing player in the series to me in Bam Adebayo. He is one of the most athletically gifted big men to come out in the last few years. He can guard literally any position on the floor. And this season we saw his offensive game take a leap that has me quite excited to see how he progresses. On the other side we have the gold standard of NBA big men, Anthony Davis. 7 footers should not be able to do the things that he regularly does. Just last round he hit a step back three pointer fading away to win the game at the buzzer. WHAT?! He also happens to be one of the 2 or 3 best defensive players in the league. You add in the perpetually goofy Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee and as much as I love Bam, the Heat just won't have the size to contend with the Lakers.

Advantage: Lakers

Coaching:

I gotta give credit where credit is due. When Spoelstra took over as coach of the Heat I thought he was just Pat Riley's hand picked stooge. Boy was I wrong. He took a team with 3 of the best players in the league, managed those egos and got two championships out of it. Since LeBron's departure he has developed a team that was not expected to contend and even though he is using a zone defense which I don't agree with, the results are there. I think between he and Frank Vogel, Spoelstra is the better X's and O's coach of the two. However, it would take a hell of a 

Final Prediction:

I think the size and the fact the Lakers have the two best players on the floor by quite a margin is going to lead to the moment we all knew was coming. As Thanos said, dread it...run from it...destiny still arrives. 

Lakers in 6. 

Rage

"To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost, almost all of the time..."

James Baldwin said this in 1961 and 59 years years later that rage burns brighter than an Olympic flame. On September 23rd Attorney General of Kentucky Daniel Cameron and his grand jury decided that in the death of Breonna Taylor only charges of "wanton endangerment" because some of his bullets fired at Taylor and her boyfriend went into the adjoining apartment. To give some context, a class d felony includes such crimes as unauthorized use of a credit card and stalking. I just...I don't have the words. 

Louisville police from the get go, were operating on the shakiest of grounds. Apparently while investigating an ex-boyfriend, they believed her to be a part of a drug ring. Never mind the fact that she had no history with drugs. Ignoring that she was one of the first responders during a pandemic that people claimed they loved and respected so much. Never mind that the ex-boyfriend and focus of the investigation was in jail, they made the decision to bust in rocking plain clothes and got surprised someone shot at them. A man protecting himself and his girlfriend with his legal firearm, that's what 2nd amendment folks are always screaming about right? Well their silence is deafening and we all know why. 

I've seen so many excuse, just looking to blame a black woman for her own death it's disgusting. Let's just say for a moment, that everything being alleged is true. Does this make her worthy of death? From the constant changing of the narrative by Louisville PD to the convenient non use of body cams, their word is quite shit. They can't be believed. Hell, the ex boyfriend who is the drug dealer has since become a more credible source than the police at this point. When he was offered a deal to say she was involved and he rejected it, when it was to his benefit to do so, said all I needed to see. And if this was the shady den of a drug mistress, why was her family awarded 12 million dollars in a wrongful death suit. Are you telling me some wrongdoing caused her death but no one can be punished for said wrong doing?

I'm filled with rage, righteously so in my opinion, as the Attorney General stands up there with disingenuous tears welling in his eyes. Speaking how he feels the pain, and about his experiences as a black man which came across as hollow as he ignored those feelings of pain if they were ever there. He firmly planted himself at feet of Mitch McConnell and sold his soul for the opportunity to be Mitch's go to guy.  The lacky for a turtle faced hypocrite hellbent on being the ultimate power broker in American politics. 

I struggle with finding optimism some days, but that state of rage that Baldwin spoke of all those years ago is never ending.