Fuck Yea[h] NBA

I’m sure there have already been thousands of words written about Kevin Love, and that’s appropriate. His game-winner against the Clippers last night is a nice trump card for Love’s agent while he discusses an extension with David Kahn for his 6’10 rebounding machine. Love’s agent has a client that’s shooting 37% on 3-pointers while attempting an average of 5 a game, and he’s currently second in the league in rebounding. But it’s the Rubio and Wayne Ellington down-screen and Rubio’s subsequent celebration after the shot that had me riveted last night.

The initial play looked like a standard design from Adelman, with Wesley Johnson coming around the flattened out Timberwolves players near the top of the key; a wall screen for a quick cut to the basket. He was the decoy, but the (accidental looking) mash of bodies after Johnson finished cutting to the basket, allowed Love to pop up to around 26 feet to hit the game-winner. Rubio and Wayne Ellington did a enough to keep DeAndre Jordan from getting out in time. 

It’s the type of—John Stockton-esque-underhanded and (sometimes) dirty work that I love watching after the fact. No way Love hits the shot over an out-stretched Jordan in his grill, but Ellington and the prepubescent looking Rubio did just enough  to allow Love a window. It was like watching your quick little cousin lay a screen on a football player during a rec game at the local JCC or YMCA (we’re open to all faith-based leagues here at FYNBA).

Earlier, Rubio hit a huge 3-pointer with about 20 seconds left to pull the Timberwolves within 1. Then LA went down and Chauncey missed a lay-up while Love rebounded to set up what you see in the video above. The 3 Rubio nailed came when he was 0-10 shooting on the game. The veteran-as-a-teenager Spaniard, in the 14 year-olds body, showed some Sam Cassellian testicles during a poor shooting game for him. Who knew the Leif Garrett of the NBA’s rookie class (possibly the 3rd player from the 2009 draft to win a ROY award), could take, and hit, a huge shot when nothing had been falling for him all night. That takes a type of confidence only reserved for superstars and those too inexperienced to realize the responsibility they’re taking on when they shoot in that situation at the end of games. 

AND GOOD LORD, DARKO MILICIC CAME TO PLAY LAST NIGHT! Love wasn’t having that much of a game (he finished with 17 points and 14 boards, but shot just 5 for 16), so Milicic ended up picking up the slack, scoring 22 points on 10-15 shooting to go with 7 boards and 2 blocks. If Darko leads the Wolves to a first round home-court playoff series, is the ‘Melo mistake stricken from the record on Dumars’ time as GM of the Pistons? Hahaha—this was the type of game that inspires that sort of inane hyperbole.

And when we all saw Rubio run around like Magic did after Kareem hit the game-winner in his inaugural season in 1980, you couldn’t help by smile as he bounded up the court with a buoyancy we all remember from childhood. Any time you see so much happiness untethered to the harsh reality of the business of basketball, you can’t help but get caught up in the zeal for a normally routine regular season match-up.

I’m so glad we had a season.