I was a Witness, My night in Newark

Usher: Excuse me, do you know who #8 is on the Timberwolves?
Me:  Michael Beasley
Usher: Oh, THATS Beasley, mmm-mmm, he's a Cute Thang! (my pick for Wolves 2010/11 Marketing Slogan)

So was my introduction to an Arena that is the  polished part of the Turd of a City (Newark).
An Arena I might add that bites the X's Wall of Hockey Jerseys in its Lobby...Devils paraphernalia everywhere which provides the kind of home only a homeless team would love.
I settled into my mid court Row 10 seat which sells for a New York Knicks price but can be had for a perfectly reasonable New Jersey Nets price the day of the game via the interwebs. thank you random season ticket holder Stephen T. !

Spotty Insights on the Game:
Game starts with a heavy dose of Brook Lopez post ups and Mr. Maria Sharapova 3's. Both well on their way to season highs. Pek bangin but not quick or agile enough to defend a motivated Brook Lopez.  Easy bucket after easy bucket fed by a 'make my new teammates happy" version of DWill, toying with the wolves holey D.  Beasley shooting blanks and Rambis goes to the bench.

Anthony Randolph now on Brook and it's even uglier, simple drop step gets him to the rim with ease...but Inspektah Gadget goes right back at Brook on the other end matching bucket for bucket during a stretch.  This guy has mad mad skills, aggressive dips to the hole in which he finishes 10.0 degree of difficulty shots with apparent ease, frankly unguardable.  And the "healthy" and motivated Martell is draining 3's like layups, no doubters that almost stick in the hoop they land so soft.

We settle into the kind of boring back and forth ball the NBA is known for, a 10 point lead yo yo's between 15 and 7...a few random Wes Johnson 3's that have me nodding in agreement and an Anthony Randolph on the break pass out of bounds that had me shaking my head.  How do  you explain this kid? maybe thats it, he's a kid...

Halftime
a highly entertaining game from the local 10 year old League, some of these kids can really ball, but they're 10 so they suck. Later find out it's the Anthony Randolph League.

2nd Half Starts...
and its Beasley this Beasley that...motivated and jawwing. DWill says whatever you can do i can do better and we're back to the 10 point yo yo game.

Rocking in my chair with 6 minutes left in the game, wondering if i should just call it a night, and avoiding the kid who's kicking the back of my chair.  All through the night i'm concentrating on Nets Assistant Coach our guy Sam Mitchell on the bench. What can i say, I love this guy, and kinda feel sorry for him...its hard enough for a head coach to have the players attention, and watching him on the bench makes me realize an NBA Assistant job must be a certain kind of hell for a former head coach.

Glad I didn't leave because all of a sudden a great ending broke out. Mostly because of Beas with a little help from a dysfunctional Nets team. That dominant Brook Lopez we saw earlier in the game? No where to be found as time and again he couldn't scoop up a perfectly simple rebound, one time being out fought for the ball by the scrappy Luke.  This guy is solid on the block, but pretty much worthless otherwise, a very frustrating player to watch.

Down to 5, down to 3, down to 1 with a Luke steal and dish to Tolliver on the break!... Nets go to high screen and roll and its a steal by Anthony Randolph...heading to the hoop for what surely is a glorious-go-ahead-on-the-road-rim-rocking-dunk that only Anthony Randolph can do !!!!!  Go Anthony Go Anthony Goooooo.....*the-sound-of-a-toilet-flushing*  as Anthony Randolph acts like a 10 year old and fumbles it out of bounds?!!?!?  Reggie Theus now shares a bond with Anthony Randolph as the whole organization is now treating him like an Assistant Coach, he drops his head and quietly walks back down the court. The indifferent Nets Crowd is abuzz with a smattering of laughs that remind me of Nelson from the Simpsons.

But Wait...Rambis suddenly leaps from the bench to save the day...telling his still shocked team to FOUL , FOUL, ...atta boy Kurt, atta boy!!

DWill misses one free throw and we still got a chance baby...

Its a Beas iso, schooling his guy and gets to the rim, only to be blocked by Travis Outlaw coming out of nowhere...in what was clearly a goaltending...tie game.

Game on the line, final possession. DWill iso, and who's guarding him? Luke...really, Luke. why not Wes?...mismatch, step back jumper ...*swish*

timeout, and hey we got a chance here, 1.7 left on the clock.

Looks like they drew up a play for Martell which the Nets take away, Beas flashes to the inbounds guy, gets the ball and heaves a reasonable 3 pointer for the win....back rim.

As I leave the Pru Center through the shiny Belvedere Lounge i flash a dirty look at that kid who was kicking my chair, then i catch the eye of that Usher..."Cute Thang came up just short"

CanisHoopusVersion

Post Game upstairs 1st AVE VIP Room?

before apathy comes a chill out time, i still believe.

FreeDarko sees the Dream unfolding before our eyes...

Speaking of total surprises from space, I wake up today (way, way late) to news that the Timberwolves -- already FD favorites for their stewardship of Love and Beasley -- are eyeing O.J. Mayo, have a good shot at Ricky Rubio coming over (there is now promise there, really), and ... hold it ... trading for Anthony Randolph. I think I speak for everyone when I say that, if these things come to pass, this will be the most FreeDarko team ever assembled. I couldn't even dream up one more in line with my core principles. Will stop now before I puke out tears of excitement. It's funny, though, that David Kahn may actually be more a kindred spirit than we ever thought. Those folks calling him a fool? They probably get bored with this site, too. So there. Happy New Year, Kahn. Phase One was risky, even silly, but if this is what's next, it was all worth it. You saw what talent would flourish, and are now in a position to bring in more Beasleys. Just keep letting other teams think you're doing them a favor.

Now I have to wonder if this means all-out war between Ziller and myself. Although I suspect he would forgive all, and do penance, if that above-stated team came to pass. Rationality only holds until it is outsmarted. Kahn may do just that.

--Bethlehem Shoals
@freedarko

Utah Game, what Utah Game...turn the music up, I can't heaaar youuuu!

Hooooooooo-aaaahoooooooo

Deep Breath now, not as bad as the W's and L's indicate....

I remember when I first heard about our trade to get Mike, I was just in shock because I knew his value. I knew he had some personal stuff going on, but I wasn't really worried about that, because I know Mike and I know he cares about winning and being a great player. And to get him for just two second-round draft picks? To understand the trade, you first have to look at what Pat Riley was thinking. And he was thinking, "I have a chance to sign LeBron James and Chris Bosh AND keep Dwayne Wade." And as far as rookie-scale money goes, Mike was getting paid pretty well. So Riley obviously wanted to clear out some space so he could fit those big three in and sign some veteran guys around them. Meanwhile, here's what I was thinking: "Hell, yeah! We're getting Mike Beasley! We're getting a guy who has a chance to be a star in this league for essentially nothing!" And that's exactly how it's worked out. 

--Kevin Love in his GQ BlogPost

Nuf Said

Inaugural Post of....Nuf Said