"That's It."

Peep the relaxed pose. I thought we had Game 5 in the bag.

Shock would be the appropriate word. The manifestation of "shock," especially amongst a large crowd will often turn raucous, and even violent. No such uprising occurred within the one hundred or so people filing through the Madison St. exit via the Third-Level United Center seats. Replace the Bulls jerseys with sports coats and fedoras, and you have an atmosphere reminiscent of the opening scene of Modern Times. Only one major difference: the figurative sheep in the movie are heading somewhere (to their grueling, soul-sucking factory jobs), and Bulls fans are leaving. Essentially walking away from the 2010-11 season.

In stark contrast to the ending of any sporting event, the mass is mostly silent, save for a few murmurs. Even if they wanted to discuss the game, it's unclear if they even knew what just hit them. Probably not. A teenager at the bottom of the stairs digs into his black backpack. He pulls out a Dirk Nowitzki jersey and throws it on. One guy begins to chant, "Nowitzki, Nowitzki..." He doesn't know the "W" is pronounced as a "V."

The symbolism is clear: Dirk Nowitzki will save us from validating the Miami Heat's season. They were good enough to beat the Bulls, but if they choke in the Finals? That would be almost better. One year down, five more to go. But Dirk Nowitzki isn't adding to the Bulls trophy case and the mass knows that. The Mavericks can win the title and it might make some of them feel good momentarily, but it won't change the fact the Bulls will end the season with practically every trophy except the one that matters.

The Nowitzki chants slowly fade as the man realizes no one is chanting along with him. But perhaps most amazing, is the teenager wearing the Nowitzki jersey expects no acknowledgement. He didn't try to play to the crowd or search for approval. He simply put the jersey on and continued to walk. His own one-man protest. But did he think the Bulls even had a chance at Game 5? Was the Nowitzki jersey just a precaution or the acceptance of an inevitable defeat?

After about ten minutes of silent waiting, my girlfriend and I squeeze into the #20 bus. We grab the two available seats closest to the driver. A massive woman with sad eyes and a shower cap atop her head sits across from us. She takes up two seats.

"Who won?" she kindly asks me. I can't tell if she's a sports fan, but I detect a tone of indifference in her voice.

"Not us," I mumble. I have the tendency to do that.

"What?"

"The Heat," I say.

"Oh," she responds softly.

In a strange way, her presence is very comforting. If anything, she reminds me that this isn't the end of the world. There are people, in the city of Chicago, on the bus outside of the United Center at that, who could care less about the outcome of this game. We don't say another word to each other for the rest of the ride.

"It's alright, we just need a little help," a man who steps onto the bus a few stops later says. "We just need to get rid of Boozer and we got three picks this year. We just need to get that boy [Rose] a little help." If it was only that easy.

As I step off the escalator up to the second floor of Ogilvie Train Station a man in a suit approaches me from my right. He takes one bud out of his ear and asks if the Bulls won. I tell him they didn't. "What?" he screams, as shocked as he is angry. A man to my left confirms, "The Bulls lost?" I nod my head. They both go on their way.

I'm the bearer of bad news. The guy in the Rose jersey intent on bringing everyone's mood down. Kill the messenger. Tomorrow is Friday for God's sake.

My girlfriend is in line at Dunkin' Donuts. I lean against a trash can. The confident, "I'm with the GOAT" swag from the picture above has disappeared. I feel like an extension of the trash can. A woman sitting near me is bundled in blankets from head to toe. She must have at least three blankets wrapped around every inch of her body. She has three blankets, a small coffee, and a beige handbag. It takes her a moment, but she is able to adjust the top half of her first blanket enough to peek her head out.

"Did we win?"

"No," I smile.

"So that's it?"

"That's it."

It took uttering those two (three?) little words to finally accept what had happened an hour ago. This was it. I remembered back to last summer when this current roster was being constructed. I remembered scouring the Internet, hoping for the latest news, or amusing myself with some of the rumors. I remembered, as the season drew on, feeling the Bulls would win every game they played. I hadn't felt like that since 1998. I remembered thinking, sometime in February, that the Bulls were good enough to win it all.

I realize now that I've never felt so strongly about a team as I do this one. The 1990s Bulls were an inheritance. I wasn't alive during the down years and too young to remember the battles with the Pistons. I was lucky enough to be born in 1987 in the state of Illinois. My childhood coincided with the second half of Michael Jordan's career and some of the greatest teams in NBA history. My childhood was the Bulls and I did nothing to deserve it. I was simply born in the right place at the right time.

The 2011 team felt more like a well-deserved promotion. I continued to support the Bulls through the 2000s and this year's team felt like repayment for the ups and downs (mostly downs) endured over the last decade. If any fanbase could claim to have paid dues, it's Bulls fans born into the glory of the 1990s who continued to stick around through the 2000s. On the Jumbotron before the game they showed a mix of highlights from the Championship teams and juxtaposed them with the 2010-11 highlights. Knowing already this wouldn't be they year, I nearly cried. A successful Bulls team, to me at least, is more than just having fun and watching good basketball. A successful Bulls team is a large chunk of my childhood and it's that feeling that I always hope can be recreated.        

On the train ride home I pondered the different ways to write about this game. I thought about what I believed to be the slanted calls in the third quarter, the deja vu moment when Rose missed his second free throw to tie the game (I was at the December 18th game against the Clippers when Rose missed the game-tying free throw with less than a second left), fuckin' Boozer, our lack of 4th quarter offense, the unbelievable way LeBron took over the 4th, etc. It wouldn't occur to me until the next day that the only way I could appropriately write about this game was to relay the moments after and the interest this team garnered, even amongst people who probably didn't watch a game all year.

I attempted to give the Bulls a standing ovation moments after the game ended. I stood and clapped alone. Maybe it looked too much like I was applauding the Heat, or maybe others weren't willing to follow the lead of a man screaming obscenities all game. Either way, I felt the Bulls' season-long effort deserved to be recognized. This was never supposed to happen. But somewhere along the line, all of us became so convinced this was the year.

My girlfriend and I stepped off the train and made our way to the 7-Eleven across the street. Dark and nearly one in the morning; the traffic lights were turned off. All we saw were a bunch of flashing red lights. Kind of fitting. My brother had parked the car in the 7-Eleven parking lot. He sat against the hood smoking a cigarette.

"How did ya like that third quarter?" I asked.    

Dueling Banjos

The weekend is here, both Conference Finals have come to a 1-1 stalwart, and magnificently, feature what may be five of the NBA's six best players (Dwight Howard has been fishing a while now, someone rock the boat and wake him up). Kevin Durant dominated summer headlines, as Team USA ran their offense through him while slowly crunching international competition beneath their feet. LeBron, Wade, and "The Decision" took over from there. Derrick Rose received MVP honors and NBA writers penned one thousand different articles on the meaning of humility and how Rose is saving the NBA -- and the world. Lost in the fracas, as he usually seems to be, was Dirk Nowitzki.

Nowitzki is everything I've loved about this year's Playoffs. Heading into this season he was an immensely talented player, but a perpetual loser / choke artist. After Game 1 he became the best international player ever and possibly one of the ten greatest players of all-time. Step back, cock the basketball behind your head, fadeaway off of one leg, and throw perspective out the window.

I began searching for reasons why Nowitzki has been so underrated -- in terms of his legacy and the unique blend of size and skill he's brought to the game, moreso than being recognized as an All-Star and elite player. The first explanation would seem to be bad timing. Nowitzki's prime has coincided with the primes of Hall-of-Famers Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal, Vince Carter, Steve Nash, and Jason Kidd. All were arguably better or more exciting players for the majority of their careers. Add in players like Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, and Tracy McGrady who ultimately didn't have HOF careers, but for a short time took the league by storm. Then the post-2003 draft picks: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight Howard, who brought new excitement and marketability to a league who's star players were either getting old or failing to live up to the lofty standards that were set for them. If someone were to ask you in 25 years who the best 10 or 15 players of the last decade were, would it really be inconceivable to forget about Dirk?

For better or worse, athletes are measured by the number of Championships they've won. I'm sure you've seen the trailer for Bad Teacher by now. Unfortunately for Dirk, his two best Dallas Mavericks teams are best known for their epic Playoff collapses. The 2006 team was up 2-0 in the NBA Finals, firmly in control of Game 3 before surrendering a double digit lead in Miami, and went on to lose four straight. Then the 2007 team, Dallas' best team in franchise history, were ousted in the first round by 8th-seeded Golden State. Dirk played well in Games 2-5, but awful in Game 1 and series-clinching Game 6; the two most likely to be remembered. Those two seasons have come to define Dirk and the Dallas Mavericks. Despite the accolades and for all the substance they've played with the past decade, they're not good enough to win a Championship.

Then there's "Dirk's Quirks." He looked like a member of Ace of Base when he came into the league. This undoubtedly contributed to the "soft" discourse.

He's constantly adjusting his jersey even though it seems to fit him fine. He also has a tendency to try and tuck his hair around his ear, even though his hair seems to trend that way regardless. Dirk's quirks: they can be quite distracting. Next time the Mavs are on, observe how Dirk reacts when Dallas is struggling. He may get them back in it, but during a crucial stretch he's going to do the stupid jersey or hair adjustment and I promise you'll think a little less of him.

But back to why Dirk is finally getting his due as one of the toughest covers in NBA history. He scored in a variety of ways in his 48-point Game 1 performance. Nine of his fifteen shots came on the right side of the floor, and eight of those nine were 12 to 18 feet away from the basket. There was no secret to what Nowitzki was doing. He posted up every time down the floor, received the ball, and either drew a foul or shot is patented fadeaway. Oklahoma City's defenders were barely able to touch Nowitzki, so his 24 free throws were a bit of an aberration, but the fact that he made all 24 was not. 

There's one particular Nowitzki shot I want to talk about. Late in the 4th quarter and the Mavericks are up by seven. Nowitzki, who logged 41 minutes on the night was clearly tired. He received the ball in the post, 18-feet out. Serge Ibaka would be the victim this time. Nowitzki turned around and faced Ibaka. He was literally too tired to do anything, even bend over. He stood there with Ibaka in his face and the ball at his hip. Nowitzki held the ball for about five seconds before just raising up -- a last ditch effort. The highly arced ball fell right through the net. I don't care about a player's size or position. He isn't supposed to be able to catch the ball 18 feet out, face his defender, and swish a shot because he was too tired to do anything else. That has been Dirk Nowitzki in the 2010 Playoffs. 

The Thunder played him better in Game 2, fronting him and sending a help defender from the weakside. They also limited him to only ten free throw attempts. Nowitzki still made 10 of his 17 shots and made some excellent passes out of the double team. There's not much Oklahoma City can do with him, but they did just enough to win Game 2.

Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook is getting his typical treatment from the media. When he attacks the rim he's being too aggressive and needs to get the ball to Durant. When he doesn't attack he's being too passive and hurting his team. I'd hate to be in his position. What's funny is how Durant is getting off scot-free. Sometimes Westbrook can't get him the ball because he either hasn't used his screen properly, or isn't strong enough to create space for himself. Not Westbrook's fault, but he's received the brunt of the criticism. Magic Johnson, as part of ESPN's horrible "Bold Predictions" piece, actually said he expected Westbrook to have a 25-14-8 game. How the fuck can Westbrook win?

To Durant's credit, he'd defended Westbrook's decision-making, even drawing the ire of some who claim he's not being assertive enough. Rubbish, I say. Durant just wants to be one of the guys. Him and Westbrook have taken to MySpace to release their debut EP.

The NBA's answer to The Cool Kids?

I'm about to criticize Tom Thibodeau. Are you sure you want to do that? Yes. Really? Yes. I mean, I think so. Realllllly?

That's what I thought.

If you've watched even five Bulls games this year, you know that Thibs can be a little stubborn with his rotations. Of course, his stubbornness tends to pay off, so it's never really an issue. It was in Game 2 and cost the Bulls the game. Thibs subbed in Korver for Brewer with just under 9 minutes left in the game. The Bulls were playing with a Rose-Korver-Deng-Gibson-Asik lineup against Miami's Wade-James-Miller-Haslem-Bosh. Thibs' thinking was for Korver to hit a few threes (the Bulls were down 73-69 when Korver checked in) and get them right back in the game. Not a bad strategy except Korver has to play defense and Mike Miller was the only easy cover on the floor. Rose, who wouldn't sit the entire second half, was forced to guard Wade. This isn't bad for stretches, but not when the Bulls are completely dependent on Rose for offense at the end of a close game. Korver missed both of his three-point attempts in the 4th quarter. He was 1-3 from behind the arc in the 2nd quarter.

The Bulls are going to have trouble scoring against Miami regardless of the situation, but they most definitely won't be successful if Rose has to play the entire second half and guard Dwyane Wade for the last nine minutes of the game. Korver has to be given a short leash. If he's off he has to stay on the bench. At least with Brewer in the game, the Bulls have their best defensive lineup to accompany Rose. Rose can guard the most favorable perimeter match up and focus solely on offense. With Korver missing shots, too much pressure is put on a tired Rose to perform on both ends of the floor. Thibs stuck with Korver too long and it cost them.

I still maintain that the biggest advantage the Bulls have in this series is their coaching. Thibs won't make this type of mistake again. The Heat only scored 85 points despite 53 points on 54 percent shooting from James and Wade. The Bulls shot 34 percent (15 percent from three) and were in the game until the last couple of minutes. They let one get away.

Sometimes you have to lose yourself before you find anything.

Day 13: Blazers-Mavericks (Game 6)

The first round of the NBA Playoffs is finally over and consequently, so is my Daily NBA Blog series. I know what you're thinking: "Who cares? I didn't really read any of them anyway, well, maybe the Bulls ones, and I skimmed over a few points in the others. I figured you'd be regurgitating the same old, tired story lines and didn't really feel like rereading them from a less reputable source."

Well, imaginary reader, you're not entirely wrong. But why such harsh judgement? Just because I've been known to come up short a time or two hundred doesn't mean I can't trump history and come through in the clutch. With the Dallas Mavericks as my witness, I'm asserting myself and shattering the preconceived notions that define me.

The Blazers were the popular upset pick (I picked them in six!) in the first round. Portland seemed to have put it all together, fully incorporating Gerald Wallace into their plans. They also put the clamps on Dallas in the last week of the season. Add to the equation Dallas' fair reputation as Playoff choke-artists and the ingredients for an upset seemed to be layed out in a straight line on the kitchen counter.

The most fascinating thing about this series is that, save for the last five minutes of Game 6, it went according to "plan." Dallas and Portland each took their first two home games. Dallas started Game 5 sluggish, slowly recovered, and blew Portland out in the second half. It was the type of "false-confidence" game Dallas has so willfully provided over the last five years. Just when you think they're destined for something great, they uphold your expectations and drop them at the pace of a JJ Barea floater.

Let's head to the the 44 second mark of the third quarter in Game 6. Jason Terry hits a long jumper to put the Mavericks up 75-58, the largest lead they would have all game. All the better. They have built up a lead perfectly suited to make Dallas fans think they're in control, and just close enough to make NBA fans feel like the Mavs can fuck this up. Portland follows with a LaMarcus Aldridge layup and two Gerald Wallace free throws to close out the quarter. 75-62. The seeds of a collapse have been planted.

The fourth quarter also begins according to "plan." Portland gets off to a 9-2 run and Dallas' 17-point lead from four minutes ago has suddenly dwindled to six with just under ten minutes remaining. Then Dirk Nowitzki happened. Dallas starts pounding the ball in the post to Nowitzki and he makes three straight shots, including his patented, one-legged fadeaway that I can't even convert regularly on my mini-hoop. Aldridge matched Nowitzki's brilliance and the game seemed to be heading towards a battle of bests. Give the ball to your best player, get the hell out of the way, and hope he can outscore the other team's best player.

A Gerald Wallace dunk with five and a half minutes left put the Blazers within one. The Blazers seemed poised to take over the game but didn't convert a field goal attempt for five minutes. The Mavericks inexplicably went away from Nowitzki but Terry, Marion, and Kidd put Portland away with a number of clutch shots of their own.  Nowitzki closed the game out with eight straight free throws.

Portland's future of contending for a Championship rests on Greg Oden's knees; not an enviable position. Meanwhile, Dallas reversed the choke narrative that had been written for them and we can finally see the Kobe-Dirk match up that somehow has alluded us all these years. With the NBA as their witness, the Dallas Mavericks asserted themselves and broke from the preconceived notions that defined them. But can they do it again? And again, and again....

Since it went so well the first time (semi-sarcasm) here are my second round picks:

EAST

(1) Bulls vs. (5) Hawks ---> Bulls in 5

(2) Heat vs. (3) Celtics ---> Heat in 7

WEST

(8) Grizzlies vs. (4) Thunder --->  Thunder in 6

(2) Lakers vs. (3) Mavericks ---> Lakers in 6  

Shout out to the Grizzlies, whose Game 6 victory I only caught parts of. Hence, I won't be writing about it. Zach Randolph is the best story of the Playoffs so far.

San Antonio's 70 Win Pace

I usually don't start paying attention to the NBA standings until after the All-Star break. Playoff positioning is usually determined in the last two months, as teams either cement their standing or make a deal to try and move up. But what the Spurs are doing this regular season so far deserves special attention.
Now I knew the Spurs were rolling, obviously, but I wasn't aware of the waters they're currently treading. When the Western Conference standings scrolled across my TV screen a few nights ago and I saw: 1) San Antonio Spurs - 35-6 (the Spurs beat the Raptors yesterday and are now 36-6), I had to do a double take. 35-6!? I did some quick math. That's 41 games, the midway point of the NBA season. I did some more math. They're on pace for 70 wins. That's dangerously close to the 1996 Bulls' record setting 72 win season.
It's not like I pop bottles after the the last team loses their 11th game every year. In fact, I don't think about the record at all. I always kind of assumed it would never be broken. It takes a steady combination of luck, health, motivation, and talent to even approach 70 wins. It's rare to see these four factors working in unison in today's NBA.
Still, three teams in recent history have come close: The 2007 Mavericks (67 wins), 2008 Celtics (66 wins), and 2009 Cavaliers (66 wins). All three teams have two things in common:
1) The core of each team was in the primes of their career.
2) A huge motivating factor (I'll explain them next) occurred the year before. This factor inspired them so much that they returned the next year and took the league by storm.

2007 MAVERICKS   
Ages of Core Players: Dirk Nowitzki (28), Josh Howard (26), Jason Terry (29).
Motivating Factor: Up 2-0 in the 2006 NBA Finals, the Mavericks held a 13 point lead in Game 3 with just over 6 minutes left in the game. The Mavs were outplayed in the first half but had put together an excellent defensive 3rd quarter, outscoring the Heat 34-16 and took that momentum into the 4th. The Heat mounted a furious comeback behind Wade's 42 points (and 18 free throw attempts) to edge out the Mavs 98-96. It should be noted that Nowitzki had an opportunity to tie the game with one second on the clock, but missed his second free throw.
The Mavs went on to lose the next three games, completing one of the most epic collapses in NBA history. Motivated by how they went out the year before, the Mavs dominated regular season competition all year. But we all remember what happened next. They choked again. This time in the first round against 8th seeded Golden State. Can you think of a worse way to lose in two consecutive years?

2008 CELTICS
Ages of Core Players: Kevin Garnett (31), Paul Pierce (30), Ray Allen (32)
Motivating Factor: The Celtics had won 24 games the year before and had been slowly wasting the prime years of Pierce's career. Then Boston GM Danny Ainge got bold and dealt for veteran future Hall of Famers Garnett and Allen. Despite already decorated careers, neither of the three had won a Championship. Ainge's message was clear: Championship or bust.
The Celtics terrorized the league, starting the season 27-3. It was obvious that this team was taking nothing for granted and came to play every night. Add to that a weak division, and the Celtics were practically unbeatable in the regular season. At this time, Rajon Rondo was looked at as a possible liability.
Despite their struggles in the first two rounds, the Celtics went on to defeat the Lakers in the Finals and vindicate the careers of the Big Three.

2009 CAVALIERS
Age of Core Players: LeBron James (24), Mo Williams (26). Who was the third wheel on this team? Was there even a third wheel? I think that speaks to how good LeBron was playing.
Motivating Factor: Two year prior the Cavs (or should I say LeBron) made an improbable run to the NBA Finals. They capitalized off a weak Eastern Conference and the spectacular individual play of James. Their run was cut short by who else but the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals.
The following year, the Cavs were pitted against the newly formed Boston team in the second round. They lost but took Boston to seven games and looked like a team on the verge. The Celtics also showed signs of weakness that year, as they went 0-6 on the road in the first two rounds. The Cavs were poised to takeover the East, and LeBron -- the league.
The Cavs steamrolled through the first two rounds sweeping both Detroit and Atlanta. While LeBron averaged 38.5 points a game in the EC Finals, it wasn't enough to take down a Magic team that was firing on all cylinders and feeding off the confidence of defeating Boston the round before.

Now for a look at the Spurs. Here's what they've done in the regular season the last 10 years. Their playoff seed is in parentheses next to their win total.
2001 - 58 (1), Lost WC Finals
2002 - 58 (2), Lost in Semifinal
2003 - 60 (1), Won Championship
2004 - 57 (3), Lost in Semifinal
2005 - 59 (2), Won Championship
2006 - 63 (1), Lost in Semifinal
2007 - 58 (3), Won Championship
2008 - 56 (3), Lost in WC Finals
2009 - 54 (3), Lost in First Round
2010 - 50 (7), Lost in Semifinal

And here are some offseason playoff seed predictions for the Spurs:
Basketball-Reference - 3rd
CBSSports.com - 3rd
SI.com - 4th
ESPN.com - 5th
Sporting News - 8th

It's safe to say that no one expected the Spurs to perform the way they have up to this point. But why? Perhaps they set the bar too high . From 2000-08 they averaged 59 wins a season and won three Championships. The last two years they've averaged 52 wins (we're going to pretend like that's a bad thing) and were eliminated in the first round in 2008, and swept out of the second round in 2009. In other words, it appeared like the dynasty was about to crumble.
But let's not forget that in 2008 Ginobili missed half the season and the playoffs. In 2009, the Spurs struggled to incorporate Richard Jefferson into the offense and made an effort to get younger. Needless to say, it was going to take a year to adjust. But when you're an aging team and get swept by the uptempo Suns' offense, the easy explanation is that you are too old to contend anymore.
What intrigues me the most about the Spurs is they defy the two categories of a 70-win challenger I layed out earlier. Duncan (34) and Ginobili (33), while still effective players, are past their prime. They haven't made any huge additions, and no Tiago Splitter doesn't count. Not yet, at least. (Interesting sidenote: The sites that predicted the Spurs would finish in the Top 3 did so with the assumption that Splitter would be more of a contributor than he has been this year).
So what is their motivating factor? It has been three years since they were serious Championship contenders. I have three theories.
1) They've finally developed the chemistry with Jefferson and the younger players they expected last year. Duncan and Ginobili don't have to play as many minutes, which is a huge bonus.
2) We were so blinded by the Lakers and Thunder in the offseason that we forgot there were other teams in the West capable of making it to the Finals. Everyone (myself included) basically gave the West to the Lakers, and another, smaller contingent bought into the Scoring Title/Team USA hype surrounding Durant. Our obsessions with those teams probably led us to forget how good the Spurs have been and still are.
3) The Spurs want badly to beat the Lakers. The Lakers eliminated the Spurs from the 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2008 playoffs. That's four years out of a possible seven! The Spurs did get some revenge in 2003 when they defeated the Lakers in the Conference Semifinals en route to the Championship. There would be no better way than to take down the Lakers when everybody crowned them champs in the offseason and viewed the Spurs as an afterthought.
Or maybe the Spurs are just underappreciated and have been for the last decade? Yeah. I like that one the best.

Rudy Gay - The Most Interesting Man In The NBA

Remember back to the 2007-2008 NBA season. The Raptors were coming off their best regular season in franchise history. Chris Bosh was the face of the franchise and still relatively likable. Only one problem. Bosh was trailing Kevin Garnett massively in the All-Star vote. Garnett's stats weren't as good but he was playing his first year for the eventual NBA Champion Boston Celtics. The hype alone surrounding the Big 3 was enough to push Garnett into the starting lineup.
So Bosh dropped this video, which was then a pretty revolutionary marketing strategy. His votes skyrocketed but it was not enough to oust Garnett, or LeBron James for that matter, of a starting forward spot. Garnett ended up missing the game due to injury, and Bosh took his place in the starting lineup. The video worked (kind of), and Bosh earned his second consecutive All-Star start.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay recently put out a All-Star promotional video of his own, shown above. It parodies the Dos Equis commercials and is just as good if not better than Bosh's video two years ago. Only one problem. Gay, unlike Bosh two years earlier, doesn't deserve to be an All-Star. In fact, he's not even in the Top 10 vote-getters amongst forwards as of the last update on January 13th. It's not that he isn't a great player, but more due to the fact that he has names like Durant, Anthony, Gasol, Griffin, Duncan, and Nowitzki to compete with.
In that respect, it almost feels like a good video was wasted to fight a losing battle. Maybe next year. By then, Duncan and Nowitzki may be showing their age and Carmelo will be in the East.