Easter usually marks the start of one of the more underrated
periods in sports: The NBA Playoffs. From late April to mid-June, the NBA
playoffs are played almost every night, prompting TNT to have a “40 games, 40
nights” segment. The NBA Playoffs lack the urgency and do-or-die mentality that
every game of the NCAA tournament has, but I would say the Opening Round
matches the NCAA’s opening in intrigue and the number of exciting matchups
occurring, as well as the intensity when Game 6 and Game 7 arrive.
Watch out for Memphis, btw, already 1 game in the bag
against OKC and they were basically in playoff mode for 2 months just trying to
make it in. Got the bruisers to do it.
I’ve always wondered if games are performed “at a higher
level” during the playoffs. Sports commentators and media outlets certainly
make it seem so with comments like “the intensity is ratcheting up,” and “going
into playoff mode,” but I tend to think not. In my experience, just because you
want it more, doesn’t mean you get better results. In fact, wanting it more sometimes
leads to pressing, which leads to bad decisions, which leads to bad play. The
lack of lackadaisical plays due to not caring about a certain game, or not
needing that win that badly, may cancel out a lot of that pressing, but I’m not
particularly sure being in the playoffs always means an uptick in skill. It
certainly didn’t look like it for the Chicago Bulls in Games 1 and 2 in their opening
series against Washington, as they looked slow, offensively challenged, and
tired (due to them sticking to only a 7-man rotation) something that was NOT
the case during the regular season, when they won almost 50 games.
Accordingly, I don’t think certain guys are “clutch” or are “playoff
guys” who perform better during the playoffs. That’s all for dramatic effect
with the media and conferring awards to players and elevating players to
legendary status for the good of the game. It’s like what Billy Beane said in
Moneyball, “the baseball regular season is a grind for 162 games. The playoffs
is just luck.” I tend to agree.
Certainly in dodgeball, there’s no “special drink that I
drink for max performance during must-win situations like the magic juice in
Space Jam, and I’ve had lots of games where I do worse during the playoff games
than the regular season games. This may be partially due to other players “turning
it up” for the playoffs, but it seems like random variation to me.
Observations about the baseball regular season so far:
Lot of closer chaos. LOT of closers getting lit up, even
established ones like Trevor Rosenthal and Joe Nathan. There already have been and will be even more
deposed closers, even more so than in previous years, and unless you’re in a
league with an low innings minimum (where you can just use the “elite” closers
to try to win ERA, WHIP, and SAVES, I gotta think closers take a step back due
to their inability to contribute much other than 1 category, especially given
the downside of drafting a lemon.
Albert Pujols’s successful run to 500 homers kind of just
snuck up on the MLB, and it passed and went without too much brouhaha, to my
surprise. It might have just been ESPN and other news outlets weren’t ready for
Albert to hit 8 homers so quickly, but it’s going to be a while for another
slugger to achieve that landmark again.
3.5 weeks is not too early to start reassessing what’s
happening. Chris Colabello, though, might as well be named Chris Shelton (2007
April World-beater, out of baseball by the end of that year). DON’T BUY DON’T
BUY. Charlie Blackmon, the No. 1 fantasy player in the world right now, might
be pretty solid (not No. 1 status obviously), but an everyday outfield job in
Coors Field does wonders for one’s Batting avg, Homers, runs, etc., etc.
Lot of shades of 2006. Bobby Abreu is starting in RF for the Mets today, . Kyle Farnsworth is closing. Franky Rodriguez is leading the league in saves. Pujols leading the league in homers, and Justin Morneau is MASHING the ball. I need to check if George Bush is still President.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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