I was referring more to Melo on the block as a positional assignment rather than necessarily running offense through him. I learned that as a mid-screen, but I’m sure there are other names for it. Allows you to keep Adams up high for the pick or screen with shooters on the wing and someone on the block. If you can get…

No, he wasn’t. Stopped looking for his shot. Even on offensive boards near the basket, he was looking to reset. They got to him early and he wasn’t aggressive the rest of the way.

Then what good is he? I mean, I know everybody’s not Gregg Popovich, but he permanently benched Tony Parker mid-season and didn’t have to explain that to anybody. Whatever it is, though, this is a Donovan trademark. On a game they lost because of turnovers, he said in the post-game that he felt like the turnovers came…

Well, yes. That’s why it’s incredible to watch when it works and terrible when it doesn’t.

All of the above now:

They’re an iso team. So’s Houston. When it works, it’s incredible to watch. When it doesn’t, it stops itself.

True; it’s just that LeBron could end up in L.A. and so could Paul George. Doesn’t have to be an either/or thing. Paul has plenty of options, and I can only imagine that list gets deeper if OKC winds up on the outside of the playoffs.

Probably 50/50 at this point. They could not-execute themselves right out of the playoffs at this point; their next four games are tonight against Denver (who has owned them), at New Orleans, home for the Warriors, and at Houston. If they do drop out of the playoffs, he’s almost certainly gone.

I believe he’s actually the worst spot-up three-point shooter in the NBA this season, but Billy Donovan’s OK with these shots because COMPETITIVENESS. He was also OK with Carmelo jacking a bunch of threes in the previous loss because SHOTMAKER IN THIS LEAGUE. Incidentally, as of Wednesday, Melo had the fourth-worst…

There’s probably some of the latter in the thinking, and WWF had maybe the best and deepest network of heels ever around that time, so they way they used to book house shows with Hogan in one town and IC champ in another, a heel makes a lot of sense. But I’ve only ever heard it was specifically the time off.

Yes, my mistake.

All the Steamboat/Flair stuff from ‘89 is probably better than Steamboat/Savage. The third match definitely is. He was one of the absolute best workers ever. Stayed a face, which might have hurt him here and there as a draw, and was a terrible promo by the standards of Dusty and Flair, but Steamboat is really…

I’ve always questioned any of their numbers, in large part because a healthy chunk is unpaid. I had floor seats for Wrestlemania 26; didn’t cost me anything. Been to Raw three or four times, and didn’t pay for those seats, either. Most of the people in our immediate section at Mania were all gimmes. Those are VIP…

Yes, players are not supposed to pursue officials at any time during live ball situations. Durant made a beeline toward the ref with total disregard for the game.

Yep. This looks like a game or two to me. You can’t stalk an official during a live ball, then basically threaten him.

Durant went right up to Maddox and yelled, “Call the fucking foul you bitch-ass motherfucker!”

All of Hartnell’s comments — as well as all the archival footage and I believe all the design — are stripped from a DVD extra for Zodiac. This is 10 years old. I will say, though, that the second disc in that set is about as good as it gets. Something like three hours of documentary footage, done by a totally…

Yep, it did happen. And, like most of my college interactions with women, it didn’t last much longer than it took to write it here.

He wound up losing a lot of his hair. Don’t know if it’s related to this, but I can’t say it wasn’t.

When I was a senior in college, I went to a small party across from my friend Eric’s apartment, and there was a girl there I thought was pretty smokin’. So we’re talking and she wants to go to the convenience store to get some more booze, which I took as a good sign.