Current Competition Compilation

Well, after the tournament a couple weeks ago, I started playing in a home game with a few of the guys that were in the tournament. Last week, I didn’t do so well. I lost 30 bucks in 3 hours (it was a 20-dollar buy-in) and just didn’t seem to be able to win a hand. So, I thought about it all week and decided upon a strategy that I thought could be used to beat this home game. It’s simple: I don’t raise before the flop (there’s simply no point in trying to drive anyone out before they see the cards in this game), I slow-play almost everything and I’ll play drawing hands only if it’s really cheap to draw. This week, I won 35 bucks, so I made back what I lost last week and then 5 bucks bonus. I only played about 6 hands in 3 hours, but that’s because I just didn’t need to play any more than that.

I’m probably going back next week and I’ll see if the strategy is legitimate or if I was just experiencing the large swings that come with a loose aggressive group of players.

Basketball: Game 6

Well, we’re now 3-3 after starting 3-0. We lost badly tonight, 51-29, or something like that. I only scored 5 points, but that’s about my share since we had 6 guys. We just couldn’t execute in offense and we got outplayed. However, I felt I played pretty well. I certainly could’ve shot better and put up some more points, but I ran Point Guard for most of the game and I did it pretty well. I was playing very aggressively because they were playing a high 2-3 zone. That meant there was a huge soft spot about 18 feet out, all the way around the arc. I felt like I was finding open men and making passes to set them up for open looks, but we simply couldn’t hit our shots. I only had one turnover and probably 3 assists, but that assist number really should’ve been higher.

The last few games, our biggest weakness has been simple offensive execution. We just didn’t put the ball through the hoop, and we had plenty of opportunities. I really hope we can get back on the winning track before the playoffs in a couple weeks. Until then, we have one more regular season game against the first team we played. I expect we’ll win, but it’s hard to say with this team. We’ve shown that we can be very inconsistent.

Time to sleep.

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Game 5 a better loss

We lost the fifth game of our league season, but only by one point, 45-44. We played pretty well both defensively and offensively, but just didn’t hit the one shot we needed to win. Basically, we made the mistake of starting in a 2-3 zone and they outscored us by about 12 while we were in the zone. Then, we went man (for about the last three-quarters of the game) and outscored them by 11–one short of what we needed to go to OT and two short of the win.

All in all, it was a good game and we played well. I did alright, but mostly was a quiet contributor tonight. I was pretty pleased with my performance, but of course I’m kicking myself for not hitting one more shot.

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My team’s collective ego got a boo boo

Last week, we won by 20-something. This week? Lost by 20-something. The main factor: the guys we played were just more experienced and a lot more aggressive on both offense and defense than we were. We flat got outplayed. I had my worst game in a while. I scored four points–same as in the first game–but I did it on something like 14 shots or so. I missed several easy lay-ups, didn’t have any 3’s and couldn’t get 5-foot jumpers to fall. My teammate said I (and we as a team) were playing scared and I think he may be right. As I think back, I missed some easy shots, but they were shots that should’ve been a lot easier. I wasn’t jumping too hard on lay-ups and jumpers because I was trying for a quick release to avoid getting blocked; my 3’s were falling short because I was shooting too high and quick to avoid getting blocked.

We were caught off guard because they played very aggressive defense. They only had five guys and we had seven, so we figured we could “run ‘em”. Well, since they had at least one guy who played Division 1-A basketball, they were in pretty good shape and weren’t intimidated by a fast-paced game. Ironically, our team totally forgot that we beat a ten-man team by 20 last week and we only had six guys.

Anyway, it was humbling, but it was good to see what we need to work on in practice and throughout the season. We’ll probably see this team again in the play-offs and I think we’ll be more ready for them this time around.

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Game 3 much better

Tonight was the third basketball game of the season for our league team. We saw a dramatic improvement from last game to this in pretty much every aspect of our game. We played better defense, executed better on offense, had more transition buckets because of our defense and we opened up the floor with good perimeter shooting.

Personally, I had a great game: 17+ points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound and 0 turnovers (that I can remember). This was a huge improvement over the last two weeks when I averaged 3.5 ppg. I knocked down at least 3 3-pointers and 4 2-pointers and I might have had 2 more points or so.

That being said, I need to improve my ball handling. I ran Point for most of the game and, although I didn’t have any turnovers, it wasn’t pretty at times. The other team pressured me a few times and I wasn’t pleased with how I responded. Usually, I found a good pass to make to bail myself out, but I hoped I would be more capable of handling the ball on my own. As the line says, 0 turnovers, but there were a few close calls. Also, I need to work on my attitude. We were winning by about 20 and I was still upset when I didn’t get a foul call and I was first to jump on a double-dribble by the opposing team. I just thought I got too wrapped up in the game and I wasn’t having enough fun.

The end.

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Much better for Game 2

We played our second game of the season on Tuesday and I think we played significantly better than we did in Game 1. Our passing was virtually non-existent in Game 1 whereas we used it very well in Game 2. We ran a faster-paced, up-tempo style offense that suited us very well and we dominated the boards, which gave us a lot of second-chance points. We ended up winning by 13, which was the margin we held for pretty much the whole game.

Personally, I could’ve done a lot better, but I didn’t play poorly. I made good plays, but had trouble finishing around the basket. I only had 3 points on a 3-pointer early in the game. After that, I was all steals and passes. The good news is that I had a lot of chances for points inside because my team was passing well. Normally, I play better around the rim anyway, I just wasn’t getting it done last night. I figure if we keep playing the same and I remember how to finish, I could easily average 10 points a game from here on out. That ain’t bad for 18-minute halves with a continuously running clock.

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Car blues lightening up for now

Well, I took my car for a second opinion today. Turns out the problem wasn’t a “cracked lower intake manifold” (or whatever), but a leaking thermostat housing. Price difference? About $400 American. So, for now, my car’s running fine and I’m just hoping it’ll last me about 6 more months. I’m definitely counting my blessings right now.

Busting fingers

About a month ago, I jammed my left thumb. Last Saturday, I jammed my right index finger. Of course, I was immediately concerned that the index finger would slow me down a lot (it’s surprising how difficult it is to shoot with a busted index finger on my shooting hand), but it seems my concerns were misplaced. Today, as I was playing some three-on-three at the gym, I hurt my thumb again as I was getting a rebound. It’s really sensitive and doesn’t seem to be healing well. Unfortunately, it’s the kind of injury that’s not a big deal until it’s re-aggravated somehow. What I mean is that I could probably play the full game this Wednesday and never know the difference… unless someone nonchalantly bumps my thumb, in which case I will suddenly be in a lot of pain and not a very effective point guard. I’m trying to decide whether I’ll sit Wednesday so I can rehab the thumb, but I’m afraid my stupidity and stubbornness will win out and I’ll end up playing.

I’d really like to be 100%, just to see what I can do. I’m in better shape than I’ve probably ever been, I’m at a good weight, I have pretty good strength and my fundamental basketball skills are definitely better than ever. But I can’t seem to be injury-free long enough to find out what all that means. Very frustrating.

I guess a positive note is that the ankle problem that was hounding me for a couple years seems to be totally gone–it’s back to 100%. Last time I turned it was back in December, right before I came to Dallas. It hasn’t felt this good since April ‘02.

Old school video

Tonight, I was looking for a CD that a friend wanted to borrow when I found a copy of an old video that I think was from Fall ‘01. It was neat to watch because it was a bunch of my good friends and I playing in a church league game. It was great to see them and interesting to see how slow-paced the game was. I had 24 points–half of which came with 3 minutes or less left and when our team already had a 10-point lead–but I didn’t play a stellar game by any means.

Mostly, I was just glad that my friend didn’t mind spending the game taping instead of watching and chatting with her friends. It’s one of the few videos I have of myself and I happen to be playing ball with a few of my best buds from school. Excellent.

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Game 1, done

Well, the good news is we won by about 15. The bad news is that we played pretty poorly, especially during the first half. Basically, our team just needs to be a little more organized with subbing, defense and offense. Other than that, we’re super!

Our subbing was all outta’ wack because no one knew who’d sat and for how long, so when it was time for the sitters to go back in, no one knew who should come out. Our defense was shaky because we didn’t discuss it at all before the game, so on our first defensive possession, we were literally just sort of running around and trying to make sure they didn’t put the ball in the hoop. Offensively, we were just out of synch and we really didn’t have a game plan. In the future, we need a few people to have set responsibilities–a point guard for instance.

For me, personally, I have a lot I could work on, but the biggies were that I wasn’t comfortable with my jump shot, so when I had open looks I put up bad shots. That’s not how I typically play and I’m hoping that was just nerves or something. I also never really got into a rhythm, mostly because the game seemed so short. I ended up with a measly 4 points, a couple rebounds, a couple assists and that’s about it. I also drew 3 fouls on the other guys while committing none myself.

Basically, I think our team can play really well, but we need to be more organized and discuss a game plan before next week. I’m sure we’ll cover that on Saturday at practice.

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B-ball league starts tomorrow

Well, our team has been practicing for a few weeks and, aside from a guy we picked up yesterday, we all know each other pretty well. I feel that our practices have gone well and that we have a well-rounded team with a decent about of basketball knowledge and athleticism. Unfortunately, none of us has any idea what the competition will be like, so we won’t know until tomorrow evening if we’re any good in this league. I feel like we’ll do very well and that we’ve put together a great team, but the scoreboard will either verify or disprove that tomorrow.

Gettin’ that poker itch

It’s been about 6 months since I played poker regularly and I’m startin’ to get really antsy. I’ve been able to put it off for a while, but I’m starting to miss the challenge and intellectual exercise, so I think I’ll be getting back into it soon. First, I need to set a monthly amount that I can play with, so that if I lose, I don’t go dropping a bunch of money on a hobby. Once I’ve established a reasonable monthly amount (probably like $50), I’ll write it down somewhere and see if I can’t get the ball rolling. I’m looking forward to it.

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Detroit brings the title back East

If I remember correctly, the East hasn’t won an NBA title since the ‘98 Bulls, but Detroit finally brought it back thanks to a whoopin’ they put on L.A. last night. I thought they could do it, but I didn’t think they could do it so well. They literally dominated every aspect of the game and just made the Lakers look silly. I was overtly pulling for Detroit, but secretly pullin’ for Phil Jackson because he coached the Bulls to 6 championships in the 90’s. I used to be a huge Bulls/Michael Jordan fan, so I was also a Phil Jackson fan. I think it’s just too bad that, this time around, Jackson had to be surrounded with some of the cockiest basketball players in the game. Anyway, I think it’s obvious the better team won and I’m glad they could finish it on their home court, so the fans in Detroit could enjoy it even more.

Basketball league one week out

Originally, the league was supposed to start this week, but it got pushed back a week thanks to some scheduling conflicts. So, that gave our team an extra chance to practice and get used to each other. Overall, I think we have a pretty solid, well-rounded team and I really enjoy playing with these guys. We’re not a selfish team and we all seem to enjoy scoring and sharing the ball, which will help us to win games. Unfortunately, we have no idea what kind of competition to expect, so we’ll have to wait till the league starts to see if we’re any good. We have yet to play a full-court game together… the first time should be interesting.

End inarticulate blabbing.

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Pistons on a roll

I think it’s obvious that Detroit is the better team, but they still have to mark one more up against L.A. before they own the series. I said it before and I still think it’s true: if Detroit doesn’t win the championship at home, they won’t win it in L.A. That being said, I think Detroit will win Game 5 because they’re just playing too well and L.A. can’t keep up with them.

Regardless, I think Game 5 will be a great game. There’s a lot of pressure on both teams and the stakes are as high as they can be in the NBA.

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