A Month of Facts about Dru: Day Seven

Today's true story:

One of the reasons I like playing basketball is 'cause you really can get to know someone on the court.

In my mind, a person's style of play on the court definitely reveals his (or her) inner character. When I analyze my own game, I witness my true self come to the forefront: the real me, no fronting. When I play sports with my friends, I learn about them as well. Playing sports is a different setting than usual, one that forces people's personalities to rise to the surface, so to speak. This is one reason why playing ball is quality bonding time. Another reason is that it is fun to win together; and the flipside, of course, of sharing in a bitter defeat together. It sounds melodramatic but these things impact me.

I'll grant that some of these observations could be my own biases and opinions projecting themselves so that I see what I want to see, but I honestly feel that, more often than not, a person's game reveals truths, truths that I come to notice primarily because we've played ball together.

When I scrutinize my own game, and my temperament on the court, I can really pinpoint why I play the way I play. It's because that's just how I am. For example, one thing I have come to recognize is that I have a very low level of aggression when I play. This sounds strange, considering I recently shared how I got into a fight over street ball game, but in this case I refer to aggression in terms of my actions in the flow of the game. Usually, I don't attack the basket, I don't go all-out and hustle for loose balls, and I don't cut to the hoop as often as I should. To me, these attributes totally represent me as a person because I am typically not a "go get 'em" type of guy. Sometimes I just don't fight hard enough, I guess. I am usually not the guy to draw first blood, but I try my best to not get knocked out. I am more reactive, less proactive. I don't know if I'd call these character flaws, but they're just characteristics. My characteristics.

There are times, on the court, when I recognize the weaknesses in my own game. I have played with other players that I didn't consider vastly better than me, but because of their aggressive mindset, they seem to be able to score more buckets or have a bigger impact on the game. Sometimes, even when it's a close game, when I am tired, I won't box out my man properly, or I won't fight as hard to grab a rebound, or I will go under a screen rather than through it. Occasionally, my selfishness costs my whole team. It's not a pleasant feeling when I know my team lost the game because of my own failures. In real life, I find that I often rely on others to pick up my own slack. I don't always battle hard enough to do what I ought to do; instead, I get lazy and just hope I get lucky and things don't go sour. These are definitely things I need to improve in my own life.

I also know that I don't have the prettiest game around. I wish I had the dexterity to have crazy awesome handles, but I ain't got it. I wish I could be a dancer on the court, weaving through the entire defense like Isiah Thomas, maybe the best pure point guard of all time. (On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I could be a better studio analyst, CBA commisioner, coach, and general manager than Zeke. But that's a whole 'nother story, baby.) Sometimes my game is just flat out ugly, though, and I know it. You don't wanna see me try a left-handed layup. Sometimes I can make them, but it just doesn't look right. But that's just how I operate. I guess I care about appearances somewhat, but getting the job done is always the bigger priority.

When I watch other people, I get a feel for them based on how they react and play. I'm very judgmental like that. If I've ever played basketball with you, I've probably got a dossier of you in my mind.

I do the same thing when I watch the pros play. It's interesting to read and learn about what players do off the court, but I also imagine what they are like, as people, when I watch 'em play.

Sasha Vujacic, for example, is a fool. You can tell by his game. I remember watching him play for the first time back in his rookie year. The Lakers were playing the T'Wolves in some meaningless late-season game and after a pick and roll, Vujacic was, for some reason, isolated on KG. Vujacic had the ball and he did a little crossover, dribbled past the Big Ticket, and scored. Then he started hopping up and down a bit. Musta been super proud about scoring on KG. A camera caught a reaction shot of KG. He had this puzzled look on his face, like he was thinking, Who was that scrub? Did he just score on me? Eff that.

T'Wolves inbounded and KG immediately called for the ball and drained a 15 footer. Lakers came back with Vujacic handling the ball, and again, somehow KG was the isolated defender. Vujacic tried to do another crossover and KG just calmly stretched his arms and ripped the ball away. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen in a basketball game. Vujacic was completely flummoxed. Someone smart wouldn't have tried the same move twice in a row, but Vujacic is a fool. After the T'Wolves scored on the ensuing fast break, Vujacic called timeout, benched himself, and retired after the game. Oh, how I wish that last sentence were true. I hate Vujacic.

I wish I could find a clip of this on YouTube, but I can't. I don't think I imagined it. It must be real, it must! Oh, well. It's probably funnier if you just use your imagination anyway. I guess they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I say a cliche is worth negative two. So there.

EDIT: I did, however, find this gem for you - Boom Dizzle gives the Machine an unfriendly shove.

EDIT #2: And this is a pretty pleasant memory, too. I remember this game. Skip to My Lou making a mockery of the Machine.