By Joe Manganiello
On a holiday that stresses the gift of giving, the NBA so graciously gives its fans the gift of five powerhouse basketball games. The “Christmas Day Special,” deemed by ESPN/ABC sports, is only bested by all-star weekend as the height of the NBA’s regular season.
From noon until the early morning, NBA basketball was on the big T.V. in my family room. My family, despite the differing array of actual interest, found itself spending most of the day in and out of watching the games. This was a milestone year in the Manganiello household, as my efforts to convert my longtime Syracuse, Big East, college basketball home into a more pro-ball savvy household is nearly complete. The day that I can walk up to my mother and have an in-depth conversation breaking down the hall-of-fame footwork of Tim Duncan is closer than ever before.
While my Mother slaved over the delicious dinner meal preparations – you rock, Mom – an ensemble which featured my warm-hearted, lovable, dementia-ridden Grandfather, my Uncle Ronnie, my 18-year-old brother and my Father watched most of the NBA action together. As stated earlier, interest in the NBA fluctuates between members of the group. For instance, my brother and I watched every game out of fan-hood, while my Grandfather watched the day games because he didn’t want to get up from the recliner.
An interesting start to the basketball viewing day was the impression my family got from the Christmas Day uniforms each team was wearing.
“Joe… hey… I can’t read the numbers on the uniforms. Why can’t I read the numbers?” Pop said.
“They look like cheap rec-league jerseys. And I can’t tell any of the players,” my Father said.
My Brother chimed in. “Well on Christmas, you know all the players on the court because it’s the most popular teams playing.”
“The uniforms,” Dad said. “look stupid.”
I’ll side with the old men on this one. There was a reason I didn’t have my credit card out ready to purchase a bright orange, Tyson Chandler jersey. I’ll be happy never seeing those uniforms on the hardwood again.
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As the Celtics – Nets game raged on, Rajon Rondo captivated much of the family room’s discussion, as he often encourages discussion amongst sports fans.
“So why was it such a big deal that Rondo defended Garnett against Brooklyn earlier this season?” Dad said.
“You know, the NBA isn’t the way it used to be,” Uncle Ronnie added.
“That’s what makes him the best point guard in the NBA,” My brother said.
Suddenly with the Rondo lovefest in full swing, my Father said, “More guys in the league need to fight back and defend their team. Show some heart.”
I am simply the wrong guy to talk to about that. While I strongly admire the heart of Rondo, I admire his physical abilities more. Too often, Rondo’s emotion’s and questionable mental game take away from his gifts as the league’s most unique playmaker. My take on the Rondo/Humphries issue has been that the Celtics cannot afford Rondo getting ejected in the first half of basketball games. They are not a good enough team, and they suck without him. Heart is essential for championships, but so are points, assists and rebounds. Rondo leading his team on the court – and with a level head – is what’s best for his squad.
And can’t the Celtics ask their bench players to enforce on behalf of their starters. Why can’t Jason Collins play the role of goon, coming into the game with the soul purpose of roughing up bull-types like Humphries? Makes more sense than risking suspension from your all-star floor general. Call me soft, but I’d rather have Rondo playing than yapping, shoving and then in a suit on game-day.
Oh and as far as the “Rondo is the game’s best point guard” talk, I thought it was very fitting that none of my family members – spoiler alert – remained conscious for the Clippers/Nuggets game, where CP3 showed exactly why he was the best point guard in the league. He anticipates every play so well, which helps him use his otherwise small body to pull off very strong plays. What Paul did at the conclusion of the third quarter – stole the ball from an unaware Andre Miller, ran the final sixteen seconds off the clock, read the pick-and-roll defensive switch with ease and absolutely burried a 27-foot three-pointer – was the prototypical, “Chris is the best lead guard I’ve seen in years” play.
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As the Celtics ran the almost unwatchable Nets into the Earth, my family came in and out of snaking and refilling drinks. We dialed back in once my Knicks and the Lakers were ready to tip off. The game was tight the whole way, and easily one of the best games, start-to-finish, I’ve seen all season. Somewhere in the second quarter, laughably, my grandfather finally recognized someone on the television screen.
“Joe, hey, yo, bub… (my grandfather speaks in a series of sound effects, much like ESPN’s Chris Berman)… Is that the same Carmelo that played, uh, you know, for that, ummm, that team, the, uh… boom, Syracuse?”
His question was as funny to hear in its plain context as it was fascinating to hear for its subtextual value. Is it the same Carmelo that played at Syracuse and won a national championship? Not very much at all, right? After nine years of NBA experience, many all-star teams, and the Olympics, Carmelo plays basketball in a different stratosphere compared to his amateur days.
And yet, looking at the question from a slightly tilted perspective, maybe that’s the secret to the big changes in Carmelo’s tenth season: maybe Carmelo is finally playing at a championship level again, like at Syracuse.
Unlike an all-American highschool player entering the collegiate ranks, the transition for any amateur to the professional game is a learning process. Some guys never figure it out; some guys find a role early on and plateau; and the special guys evolve their entire careers.
For awhile, Carmelo seemed to be some sort of combination of all three. He was an otherworldly talent who entered the league and found initial success, but seemed a bit too comfortable from the start, and not all that interested in elevating his game. His lack of defensive energy and intangible game through his first nine season was well documented, earning him a #17 ranking in the ridiculous ESPNrank poll that is conducted before every NBA season. But you almost cannot blame the poll for Carmelo’s low ranking; it was hard to consider a player who advanced past the first round just once in his career and barely broke a sweat on defense a top five player in the game.
Carmelo has a different look in his eye this season. Everybody sees it. He is leading his team in all sorts of new ways, and thinking back to the ’02-’03 Syracuse championship run, that’s kind of what Anthony was like for that team. The Orangemen fed off of his superior athleticism, unbelievable nose for where the basketball was and, obviously, his scoring gene. Syracuse had never had a player like that before, and had never won a championship with Jim Boeheim either. There is certainly a correlation there.
My Grandfather’s silly, senile question actually ended up being one of the more thoughtful things I heard all day. That and everything that Billy Crystal said during the Clippers/Nuggets broadcast.
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During the second half of the Knicks/Lakers game:
“Oh hey, go back and play that Uncle Drew commercial,” my Dad said. “I got to see me some Uncle Drew.”
“… I get buckets,” My brother said.
My brothers (now including my youngest brother, 13-years-old, who spent all of yesterday downstairs playing PS3) and I had actually just showed my Father the Uncle Drew videos on Christmas Eve, so it was fitting that Pepsi aired Uncle Drew commercials during the games yesterday. I haven’t felt so strongly for an ad campaign since the Mustafa Old Spice commercials…. Which went away for what reason again? Those were gold.
I love the Uncle Drew ads, videos, concept for so many reasons. Maybe I’ll give Uncle Drew (and Wes, Bill Russell and whomever wants to show up for the ride) their own article soon enough. But seeing the ad yesterday made me think about Kyrie Irving for a while, on what might be the last Christmas he isn’t asked to play for the next ten years. Irving has all the pieces to become an NBA superstar. He has elite game, a differentiated and dynamic personality and he has respect for the process. His friendly jabs with Kobe during the off-season, these videos paying homage to Russell and other all-time greats, and the efforts he has given to a Cleveland franchise left in ruins by the LeBron James-saga are all indications that Irving will be a special one. I am enjoying every bit of his early stages, because when he hits his prime, it’ll be that much more enjoyable to know exactly how he got there.
Irving knows, in attribution to the videos themselves, the game always has and always will be about buckets.
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As my Knicks suffered a tough defeat to the Lakers, my Uncle added his sentiment.
“You know, I don’t hate any sports team, in any of the professional leagues. But if there is one team I cannot root for and strongly dislike, it is the Lakers.”
This is undoubtedly very true. The Lakers are the Yankees are the Oilers are the Steelers/Cowboys. Unless they are your team, it is miserable to watch them succeed.
The run of “the Lakers suck” jokes is just about over. They have won five straight. Nash and Gasol are getting assimilated into the rotation rather quickly. Kobe has scored 30 points in nine straight games. Howard is continuing to pile up double-doubles. The artist formally known as Ron Artest is coupling his scary defense – which really affected Carmelo, I might add – with jump shots and scoring. And to boot, players like Jodie Meeks, Chris Duhon and Jordan Hill are starting to provide a dash of bench play to what is supposed to be the thinnest team in the league.
Watching Jason Kidd’s third and final turnover sail over the head of Carmelo and out of bounds to seal the Knicks fate was terrible. And not just because it was my Knicks – their third loss in five games – but because it gave the Lakers a victory. It puts the Lakers back at .500, which means they are no longer a losing team. It was very enjoyable being able to say that. I fear that with a starting five like the Lakers have, nobody will be able to say that for a long time.
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My family took a brief recess from basketball to eat a well-prepared meal of ham, lasagna and plenty of greens. After eating more food than any person should consume in one sitting, I took my spot back in the family room to start the day’s third game, where my DVR had the recording of the Heat/Thunder game waiting.
The Thunder got off to a very slow start, but remained close by the Heat the whole night. At times, the scoreboard seemed to be an illusion, as it felt like LeBron and company were way ahead of the Thunder. Credit Oklahoma City for getting to the foul-line, slowing the game down, and keeping a tough road contest as close as they did.
Durant, a favorite in the Manganiello house-hold, hit a series of shots in the third quarter that moved my family in more ways than one.
“Man, it is unreal how smooth that dude is,” Dad said.
“Yooo. Hey, that’s, uh, such a, wow, hey now,” Pop exclaimed.
“It is definitely unhealthy how obsessed with Kevin Durant I have become,” my brother said. “Like, I know it is just a regular season game, but if the Thunder lose today, I’ll be sick all night.”
“You have such a man-crush on Durant, it’s not even funny,” my Dad retorted.
Durant can hit shots and make plays that are totally unique to him. His falling runner on the baseline during the third quarter stood out to me particularly as a jaw-dropper. But as the game carried on, it just felt like the Heat were going to pull off the victory. Miami held the lead the entire fourth quarter, and LeBron ultimately showed why he is the best player on the planet. The shooting foul he drew from Serge Ibaka in the late-goings of the fourth quarter pulled a hall-of-fame response from my Grandfather.
For additional reading pleasure, I added English subtitles when necessary.
“I stayed up to see that (my brother’s) guy (Kevin Durant) go a-beep-a-boop-a-boom (playing well) but he couldn’t, you know, quite get past that other guy (LeBron) who was out there running and, uh, jumping, and bumping (playing even better). Hey, that guy is good (LeBron is good),” Pop said. “All right, time for bed.”
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As my Grandfather went upstairs to retire for the evening and my Uncle decided to head home for the night, my immediate family took a short recess to put away scattered gifts, use the bathroom, make some coffee and most importantly, take a holiday nap. I found myself dozing off through most of the first three quarters of the Rockets/Bulls game.
It was good to know that I wasn’t alone, and that the Bulls were kind enough to take a nap along with me.
As I tried to figure out exactly what happened on Chicago’s home floor while I was unconscious, my Father tossed out a simple idea.
“The Rockets are up by what? And shooting what percentage? James Harden is amazing, isn’t?”
And although the game had a few more variables to it than just the high-caliber play of Harden – like Omar Asik’s +/- of +41 with 20 points and 18 rebounds – sometimes basketball is not any more complicated than what my Father suggested.
The Rockets had the best player. In the five Christmas games yesterday, I’d say the best player in each respective game was Rondo, Kobe, LeBron, Harden and Chris Paul. All five of those players won. The best players win in this sport. How perfect. How simple. Harden scored a team-high 26 points with six assists, five rebounds, two steals and 11 made free-throws. He is the spirit of that team, like any great franchise player should be. The Rockets are in the playoff race because of the impact of Harden, who is unquestionably a top-five guard in basketball right now.
And although I was the only member of my family conscious for the entire Clippers/Nuggets game, the story was very similar out west. There was not a single player in that game who had more control over the outcome than Chris Paul. This does not automatically mean scoring, of course, as Paul had a game-high eight assists and three steals, while only turning the ball over once in 32 minutes. He hit big shots when needed. He added four rebounds, and didn’t miss a foul shot. Paul fed the hot hands, knowing it was a strong offensive day for Crawford/Barnes (combined 42 points, 6-11 3PA). Paul knew they could out-run the less sophisticated, less-experienced Nuggets team, and the Clippers forced 18 turnovers because of it.
Now with the league’s best record, I will be curious to see what this type of game does to Chris Paul’s MVP resume.
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Another Christmas, another slate of five games, another belly full of roasted pig and Italian dishes. What a day.
To wrap up the festivities, I bring to you my all-Christmas day team.
(MVP) G- Chris Paul, LAC (14 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, one turnover)
F- LeBron James, MIA (29 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 12-20 FGA, 5-5 FTA, +13)
C- Omar Asik, HOU (20 points, 18 rebounds, 3 blocks, 9-13 FGA, +41)
G- James Harden, HOU (26 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 7-13 FGA, 11-13 FTA, +26)
G- Kobe Bryant, LAL (34 points, 5 rebounds, 14-24 FGA, +11)
Bench:
F- Kevin Durant, OKC (33 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 11-21 FGA, 9-11 FTA)
G- Steve Nash, LAL (16 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 7-12 FGA)
F- Carmelo Anthony, NYK (34 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 13-23 FGA)
G- Jamal Crawford, LAC (22 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3-6 3PA)
F- Metta World Peace, LAL (20 points, 7 rebounds, 6-11 FGA, 5-7 FTA)
G- Mario Chalmers, MIA (20 points, 2 assists, 8-14 FGA, 4-8 3PA, +9)
G- Jeremy Lin, HOU (20 points, 11 assists, 8-12 FGA, 4-4 FTA, +33)
Merry Christmas, everyone.
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