Lakers, Dumb Questions and Common Sense

I don’t really have a topic to write on today, I just have a few things I want to touch on. The Lakers game yesterday, I had a couple of conversations and both of them asked me some dumb ass question, an observation, writing ideas and dedication are all things I felt the need to write about. Nothing major I guess. Just thoughts. Enjoy.

Game 3 notes.

Lets get this sigh of relief out of the way up front *siiiiiiiggggghhhhhhh* because things were not looking good after that abysmal third quarter. I told you guys yesterday that Kobe would go for 45+. I was wrong, I’ll be the first to admit it, but I will say if he would have made all of his God Dammed free throws he would have been a lot closer (44 points to be exact). Here are a few things that stood out in this game:

1) Kobe was finally put on Rajon Rondo, something that should have been done to begin this series. Rondo is an iffy shooter and Kobe can play off of him to help out on everyone else. This really disrupted Boston’s offense early and lead to a lot of fast break opportunities. What I’m really bothered about is the fact that Rondo injured his ankle. Nothing could have been worse for the Lakers because Doc Rivers was finally forced to bring Eddie House off the bench which added an extra shooter for Boston, someone Kobe can’t necessarily play off of because he will hit the shot. It will be interesting to see how Rivers distributes minutes in Game 4.

2) Kevin Garnett has been absent on the offensive end this series. He’s played down right terrible, and if he wasn’t such a great defender I’d probably be wondering why Doc Rivers isn’t taking minutes from him. Garnett had 13 points on 6 for 21 shooting, with the majority of his shots being mid-range jumpers. Everyone keeps talking about how no one on the Lakers can guard Garnett, but he really hasn’t done anything to prove this to be true since the first 24 minutes of this series. As badly as I want the Lakers to win this series, I must say I’m terrified about what pundits are going to write about his legacy if Boston finds some way to give this series to the Lakers.

3) Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom have been worthless for various stretches during this series. Gasol taking only eight shots is unacceptable if the Lakers are going to win another game this series, and three or four of those shots were put backs on missed shots. He’s going to have to establish himself in the paint against Kendrick Perkins and PJ Brown, he just has to. Odom is just ruining my life right now. He’s missing layups, forcing shots that aren’t there, not taking the ones he should be taking, turning the ball over and missing defensive assignments. He’s been in foul trouble every game this series, and it almost seems intentional because he seems scared to be on the floor right now.

4) I have to say I was disappointed with the way the Celtics played the last 40-some-odd seconds of the game. They accepted defeat down ONLY TWO POSSESSIONS with 21 seconds left to play. A couple of missed free throws and a quick basket gets you right back in the game. Giving up showed a lot about their collective team’s heart to me. Sure, things didn’t look well, but stranger things could happen. Why not play your heart out for those last 20 seconds. If you win, you’re up 3-0 and you can basically feel that ring on your finger. I’m disappointed in that finish.

At this point, making predictions in this series is really a coin flip. The Lakers were in position to steal each one of the first two games and Boston was in position to win game three. Both teams are as evenly matched as you can ask for in a Finals series. These last two to four games are going to come down to coaching decision, executing down the stretch and sheer desire. It’s cliché, but whoever wants it more is going to win.

A dumb ass question.

We all know that I’m an uncle, there is no secret about that. I know there are responsibilities that come with being the favorite uncle (I threw in favorite because there’s no way my nephews are going to like Jonathan’s brothers more than me, I’m too ill for those lames) and all of that other bull shit. I know this. What I don’t know is why people continue to ask me, “how does it feel to be an uncle?” What does it matter on how I feel about being a fucking uncle? This question just doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t feel any different. My life isn’t changed. I’m not the one with a damn child (thank god). I can’t say that I feel any differently, really. I’m still me, I’m still watching games whenever I can, I’m still writing and I’m still doing all the things I was doing before my sister had a child. What do you expect from me? “Oh, I’m ecstatic that my sister was knocked up by SOME NIGGA with no ambition in life and was forced to miss a year of school because of it, my life has dramatically changed because of this little boy!” No. I’m not saying that because it’s not true. This question is akin to someone asking you how you feel to be one year older on your birthday. Unless I got hit by a bus the day before, I’m going to feel exactly the same on January 20th that I felt on January 19th. It’s not insensitive, it’s the truth. He’s my nephew, and I love the little nigga even though he threw up on a brand new sweater and gives me dirty looks all the time, but I can’t sit here and tell you I feel different when I don’t. So stop asking me that dumb ass question.

People with degrees lack common sense.

This is just an observation I’ve noticed these last couple of days. Everyone outside of the student-employees at CSUB all have at least one, or several degrees under their belt. Do you know how many classes they took? Extra classes extra classes. They kept it going man, they kept them books rolling. They got that associates degree, okay. Then they got their masters, then they got their master’s masters, then they got their doctrine, and they still can figure out that when they park in the shade in the morning, they’re car will not be in the shade when they get off work at 5 when the heat is sweltering. It’s not hard to figure out. In the parking lot next to the computer lab, where I work, the cars face north and south, with a few trees scattered in strategic spots throughout the lot. If the sun rises in the east, shade is going to be on the left side of trees in the morning if you’re facing north, when you get off of work, the shade is going to be on the right side of the trees. It’s hilarious how many professors and computer technicians have to come out to ovens when they get off work. I’m not complaining though because I get here after all of them do (everyone is required to be here at 7am except for me, I get here at 8am) so all of the logical spots are left open for me. But they’re smart, they’re so smart and they spent half of their lives in school. They spent all of their money to be smart, you know why? Because when they die, you know what’s going to keep them happy, that’s right, those degrees. By the way, I have a new favorite Jay-Z line courtesy of “Gun and Roses” from the Blueprint 2 (an album I still is overrated, but I like much more than I did two years ago after re-listening to it recently.

“Turned in all my rap chips I'm earning my bachelors/
While dating all the models and actresses?”

Alright, so it isn’t my favorite line from the jigga man, but it sure did make me giggle while working earlier today. And so does that intro every time. Heavy D yealling “Yeah it's magic Uhh, Jay-Z and Lenny Kravitz and it's a Heavy D product you bastards come on. Ha hey yo stop playin man this is real serious” has to be one of the top 15 all time funniest intros.

On a mission.

I plan on submersing myself in hip hop this summer. I want to know as much about hip hop as I do about basketball. I’m going back to the 80s and 90s and listening to as many albums as possible this summer. I’ll be doing weekly segments this summer called “why they matter.” I’ll be taking one artist and writing about their whole catalogue (often times including mixtapes too). My first segment will be on Lauryn Hill, and more importantly on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and why I think that album means so much to not only hip hop, but just people in general. Hopefully I can get that up to you guys tomorrow. I’ll be giving myself a week to listen to an artist’s whole discography and then I’ll be writing about why they matter to hip hop. If you have any suggestions to anyone I should consider writing about, let me know. I know there are some amazing artists out there that I don’t know about and I’d like to know about them. Lauryn Hill is week one, anyone can be week two. Hopefully I’ll have an artist by tomorrow evening though. I’ll keep you posted.

Dedication, full dedication.

Yesterday I told you about my goal of 100,000 words by the end of the summer. I thought about it and realized that I haven’t accomplished anything in life yet because I’ve had no real goals. Sure, I graduated high school and I’m in college and all of that bullshit, but if there’s one thing my parents instilled in me from day one is that I would go to college. Not going to college was never an option, so I really don’t consider it an accomplishment, more of fulfilling a pre-adult hood requirement. I don’t ever set goals for myself, and this is a problem. I fear that I’m setting so many for myself this summer (writing everyday, word count, listening to all of those albums, among other things I’ll get more into later this summer) that it may be overwhelming. Last night my project partner was up past 2am writing her daily quota. I can only imagine myself staying up that late writing. I don’t want to disappoint myself. I’ve been selling myself short for too long, hopefully I don’t this time. I’m going to learn a lot about myself by the end of this summer. Either I have the dedication to accomplish every goal I set from now on, or I’ll just be another nigga wasting his god given ability on who knows what. The worst part about me is that I don’t have anything that would set me back like drinking or smoking or being stupid that others can use as an excuse. I’m just not getting things done. Hopefully I can use this summer to be able to push myself through the boredom, the frustrations, the setbacks and whatever else has stopped me from not being in a better position right now. Its become more than just becoming a better writer. It has become about developing that work ethic that I’ve never had, not in elementary school, not ever. There has always been that “if” factor with me. I don’t want any more “ifs,” I just have to get things done.

Also, yesterday I did the math and if I wrote 990 words for the rest of the summer (the summer for me means until classes begin on September 15th), I’ll reach that 100,000 word goal I set. I’ve surpassed that 990 today. I’ll keep you posted on where I am throughout the summer. I’m just trying to get these words out. Trying to become the best writer I can be. Trying to become the best everything I can be, and I feel like forcing myself to go through this is really going to help.

Until next time, actually, until tomorrow,

Stay Hideous
-PB

(Word count to date: 7,138
95 days and 92, 862 words to go)