No Coincidences

Tag: Utah Jazz

  • NBA 2023/2024

    NBA 2023/2024

    The theme of my blog is NoCoincidences (thus the name). This started as spiritual thoughts with some random thoughts sprinkled in. This developed into a lot of writing about being a father and having daughters as my family changed.

    There is a big passion of mine that I seldom write about.

    I love basketball.

    I’m a big NBA fan. I don’t follow other sports really at all. I’ve long cut NFL football out of my life (and never been happier). Since Mike’s passing I hardly watch college football anymore. I occasionally dip into college basketball. But NBA is the one time-suck I’ve allowed myself to keep.

    So, with it being roughly midway through the 2023/2024 NBA season, I thought I’d give some thoughts about the NBA, this season, and especially my love and passion: the Utah Jazz.

    Here’s what I’ve noticed.

    Let’s start with the Jazz.

    My Team:

    Lauri Markkanen is great. If you don’t know who Lauri Markakanen is, you’re missing out on a 7-foot-tall, Finnish, gloriously great team player. We struck gold with him. That said, I don’t think he can be the best player on a championship team without even more developments in his game. He’s made such big leaps the last couple years in who he is as a player. I don’t think he’s done getting better. But to win an NBA championship, it’s pretty much confirmed that you need a top 10 player in the NBA. I don’t know if Lauri can get there.

    Let’s go through the last 10 champions as a case study:

    Nuggets (2022/2023) – Nikola Jocic: undoubtedly a top 10 player, probably the best player in the world.

    Warriors (2021/2022) – Steph Curry: still a top 10 player.

    Bucks (2020/2021) – Giannis Antetekounmpo: at the time the best player in the world, definitely top 10 today, probably top 3.

    Lakers (2019/2020) – LeBron: it can be debated on if he’s still a top 10 player right now, at this time he definitely was. At this time, during this run, Anthony Davis was also likely a top 10 player.

    Raptors (2018/2019) – Kawhi Leonard: at the time he established himself as one of the best in the world, definitely a top 10 player.

    Warriors (2017/2018) – Kevin Durant: top 10 player for the last decade and top 20 player of all time. To say nothing of Steph Curry, another top 10 player on the roster.

    Warriors (2016/2017) – Kevin Durant: again.

    Cavaliers (2015/2016) – LeBron James: one of the best players of all time, arguably a top 10 player in the league for the last 20 years.

    Warriors (2014/2015) – Steph Curry: this is the year he established himself as one of the best players in the NBA.

    Spurs (2013/2014) – Tony Parker: at first glance, I thought this might be the exception to the rule. Upon further investigation, Tony Parker was considered by many to be a top 10 player this year. This year the Spurs had 6 players average double-digit scoring and still had the best Power Forward to ever play on the roster.

    The point is, you need a top 10 player in the NBA to win a championship. Can Lauri get there? Maybe. His ability to score one on one is a shortcoming. He’s a phenomenal player on the move, and great with his catch and shoot. But at the end of the shot clock when everything breaks down and a score is needed, all eyes still turn to Jordan Clarkson.

    Speaking of Jordan Clarkson, I love him, but he takes so many minutes from our young players. It’s a true dilemma.

    There are a lot of questions for the Jazz but I love where we’re headed.

    My Favorite Team to Watch:

    When my Jazz inevitably don’t make the playoffs, I’ve found the team I will aggressively root for. I LOVE the Oklahoma City Thunder. LOVE. I love the way they play. I love their players. I love their style. I love that they’re a small market team. I love that they’ve built through the draft. The Thunder are awesome. When they have Giddy, Gilgeous-Alexander, J-Dub, Holmgren, and Dort on the floor, and just spread the floor, it is a thing of beauty watching them patiently penetrate and kick over, and over, and over until they get a good shot. If I could play on any NBA team it would be the Thunder with the Heat in second. The Thunder are basketball ecstasy to watch.

    On the topic of top 10 players, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is that guy. For the casual fan who doesn’t watch the Thunder and doesn’t know, this is your official notice that Shai is a top 10 player, no question. He doesn’t shoot threes, but I love the way he plays. He’s never rushed. When he penetrates into the paint, he almost never forces a shot. He kicks the ball out, knowing it will get passed around and he’ll get a chance to penetrate again and get an easier shot. This is true team basketball. You can tell, at least in what I’ve seen, that the players are playing for the team, and not for themselves. The Thunder are so fun to watch. If you’re a casual fan that wonders if the NBA is ruined, come over and watch a Thunder game with me. I have them all recorded.

    Favorite Player:

    If you haven’t watched the Pacers play, tune in to see Tyrese Haliburton. He is my new favorite player. From his janky three-point shot that I love, to his pace, his lack of turnovers, his obsession with making the right play every time; he is my favorite player in the NBA right now. I love Lauri and Clarkson on the Jazz, but Tyrese is my point guard love. He replaces Jalen Brunson who I still love but I find it harder to relate to. I like Tyrese Haliburton because he plays the way I like to think I play (in my dreams).

    For those who are wondering, my all-time list of favorite players in order is:

    John Stockton

    Steve Nash

    Steph Curry

    Donovan Mitchell

    Tyrese Haliburton (working his way up)

    Favorites to Win the Championship:

    The Celtics and Nuggets have to be the clear favorites to win the championship. They are head and shoulders above anyone else I’ve seen.

    Honorable mention:

    Bucks – if Giannis and Dame can be fully unlocked, Middleton can get back to form, and they can play a lick of defense, they might be able to beat the Celtics.

    Heat – the Heat should always be feared.

    Timberwolves – I fully expect the Timberwolves to have a momentous playoff meltdown, I saw it too often in Utah to believe otherwise.

    In my opinion, the Nuggets are coming out of the West. I’ll be rooting for the Thunder.

    It’s been a fun NBA season so far. There is so much talent in the league. It’s in a great place. The expansion to 32 teams, which is coming in the next couple years, is coming at a great time. There is enough talent in the NBA to spread around to two more teams.

    I love the NBA and I love basketball.

  • Embrace the Chaos: Parenting a Toddler

    Embrace the Chaos: Parenting a Toddler

    On the heels of my Mr. Feeny post I had a revelation.

    Growing up, I have vague memories of staying up late with my mom at a very young age. I remember sitting with her on the couch while she folded laundry watching Law and Order or CSI. While these are vague memories, they’re powerful memories.

    The last few months have been a battle with Ivy. I won’t go into all the details to avoid seeming like a completely incompetent parent. To give you a tiny glimpse into it, Ivy requires us to lie next to her bed and hold her hand for her to sleep in her bed. She’ll then sleep there for a couple hours until she wakes up and realizes we’re not there, then come into our bed. That lying next to her bed phase waiting for her to fall asleep can be 10 minutes or it can be three hours.

    I am completely open to suggestions on how to get your toddler to sleep.

    I will maybe try suggestions but more likely laugh in the face of any suggestion that implies you can get a toddler to do anything they don’t want to do.

    Beth and I have really tried to add some structure to Ivy’s life. Before she become a full-blown 2 year-old with all the personality and stubbornness of an aged mule, I think we did a good job. We still try to get her to bed between 7pm and 8pm. See the above paragraph for notes on “trying” to get her to go to bed.

    Last night, I laid next to Ivy for 30 minutes while she sang, did some sort of dance lying down (I just know her feet were moving a lot), went through all her books (it was pitch black), and repeatedly re-adjusted the holding of my hand. After 30 minutes I stood up and left the room. I had a Jazz game to watch. She followed.

    Beth went to bed around 9:00pm.

    Ivy and I stayed up until 10:30pm watching the game. We laughed, we high-fived, we hugged, we danced, we cheered (quietly), we cried (they lost).

    “Education is not about obscure facts and little test scores. Education is about the overall effect of years of slow absorption of concepts, philosophies, approaches to problem-solving. The whole process is so grand and all-encompassing that it really can’t be threatened by the occasional late-night no-hitter. It is important that a boy (or girl) spend time with his (or her) father.”

    Mr. Feeny

    I may remember that night for the rest of my life. It was not a no-hitter, just the sixth regular season game in an 82 game season. But I may remember that night forever because it was so great.

    This led me to sending my mom a text, which read:

    “I’m more and more trending toward your way of doing things. What’s the point in having a battle of contrition with a 3yo that I’ll never win? Trying to put her to sleep at 8pm and lying next to her bed for hours on end hoping she’ll fall asleep. Why? So she can sleep for 2 hours then get up and get in our bed anyway? Not to mention if she doesn’t go to sleep, she’s at her peak best behavior ever. She’s sweet, nice, and plays quietly on her own, only occasionally asking if you want to play with her. It’s all going to come back around anyway. Either she’ll nap really good today at school or she’ll go to bed early tonight because she’s actually tired (doubt it). It’s also kind of the best when she’s being so nice and we get to stay up until 1030 watching the Jazz, cheering, clapping, hugging, and crying together. Multiple times I made her jump during her quiet playing because I got loud. Every time she looked at me like, “Uhm, trying to have some peace and quiet over here.” So she gets to see what we feel like all day every day. I’m failing to see the true downside. Teaching discipline? Avoiding chaos? We’re way past that. You can’t discipline a 3yo. She does whatever she wants when she wants and dares us to do something about it. She’ll come around, I’m sure. But for now, just embrace the chaos, I think, is the way to go.”

    I remember those nights with my mom.

    Maybe Ivy will remember some of these nights with me.

    I always hoped I’d have super well-behaved, obedient, and disciplined children. I think, on the toddler scale, Ivy is turning out to be exceptional in those categories. BUT – the idea of a disciplined toddler is like the fantasy of a well organized and controlled tornado – it really doesn’t exist.

    I think the occasional late night Jazz game is way more valuable than discipline. I think.

    Embrace the chaos.