New Hopelessness

Over the years, I have tried my hand at blogging several different times. Often, I just don’t have the mental discipline or creative stamina to follow through with these plans. I have started and subsequently stopped at least 3 different times. I anticipate this current iteration to follow a similar pattern. HOWEVER! Until I stop, I want to take a look at the Hornets through the lens of expected losing.

We all know that the Hornets will lose a lot of games. We all know that the front office, top to bottom, has questions concerning its competence. We also know that there are 4-5 players in the coing NBA draft that are expected to be in competition for the #1 pick. We ALSO know that they Hornets have, on their roster, some very young and possibly interesting players. So, my efforts for the early part of the season will be focused on the future, both on and off the floor, of the Hornet’s organization.

I hope to write some more introspective pieces about the nature of losing, about the nature of improving personally while despairing collectively, and about the mental drain of repetitive loss. We shall see, we shall see.

The Love of a Tree

The Love of a Tree

Branches, rallied by currents,

Skittered and scratched across the glass

That was barring their way.

Did they unconsciously attempt to break the molten sand

Or did the inside hold a certain attraction for the animate tree?

We know that trees send their roots deep into the group

To find water. Their blood and their essence.

We know that trees spread their leaves to the sun

To find air. A breath for the body.

Is it possible that rees send their branches to find life?

For what is the point of a spindly twig in spring

Without a singing bird to perch?

What is the point of an overarching bough

Without a squirrel to use it as a launching pad

For acorns and its own body?

And what is the point of a mighty trunk and sturdy branches

Than to provide rest for a sticker fingered wanderer

Who wants a cool place to rest?

The trees look for us,

One dropped acorn

One struggling sprout

One whipping switch

One unbending tower

One slump shouldered ancient

One hollow shell at a time.

Pressing out from the center to find us.

The only thing that can stop their search

Is the animosity and callousness of their goal.

The object of their affection will affect their destruction.

When they reach arms out to us, we trim them

When the next generation grows closer, we cull them.

And when they die, we dispose of them in a hellish grave.

Poem: Aged Burning (Ihsahn)

The poet says to rage against the dying of the light.

But what if the light inside is not dying,

But settling comfortably into a crackling vitality.

The fire inside of a soul doesn’t have to be

A wildfire that consumes everything in its path.

It can resemble a hearthfire.

It burns with a quiet intensity without screaming

“The world must notice my pain and outrage”.

It burns without burning up.

This poet says that age brings temperance.

Sustenance is no longer flashing tremolo,

But a plucked melody in deliberate rhythm.

10/05/2017 Poem: Recalling Winter

I remember winter

I recall the silence and the brightness

The languid movements of half frozen trees

Who have already dropped their leaves,

Leaving only the skeleton branches to clack together.

I remember the only sounds

Being the crunching of snow

And the light whistle of the wind.

The heavy snow crushed sound to nothing,

Making winter sound like nothing.

9/27/17 Poem: A Storied Old Man

A Storied Old Man

His life reads in color on the wrinkles of weathered skin

Papyrus with pigment of times remembered twice.

Vellum scrawls and whorls and whirls

Read as the hieroglyphs of his time.

A lurching library painted with jackets

Of red and black and blue and eventually gray.

His left hand tells a story of his twenties

And his shoulder blades speak of a midlife decision.

The tops of his feet exclaim the power of love

And his chest shows the still hot coals of betrayal.

Read him top to bottom

And you will hear a tale.

Read him front to back

And you will know a story.

Wizards @ Hornets (11/25/15)

101-87 Win! I watched this game on a large television, and in the company of people who I enjoy watching sports with. Here are some thoughts:

• Clifford Extension: Coach Steve Clifford has agreed to terms on a three year extension with the Charlotte Hornets. As he made the local radio show rounds today, he repeatedly said that he was excited about this, and the people in the front office that will be supporting him. It seems to me like he has really learned and improved his ability to coach a team on offense, and his defensive chops will never be in question (hope this current Hornets iteration gets a little better at that). He mentioned that he thinks continuity is a big factor in teams improving year to year, and he definitely will be here to try to prove that point. He is a great coach, and I am glad Coach Clifford will be in the Queen City for the next 3+ seasons.
• Zeller & Kaminksy: The super subs from the Sacramento game were subbed in early for the Hornets in this game. They were a part of the first real “bench” unit that Clifford put on the floor. Their combined impact wasn’t as great as last game, but Cody did put up an impressive individual game, slithering into the open spaces on offense.
• Turnovers: An issue in the first quarter, where they had 5. A continued issue through the rest of the game, as they finished with a higher than average 19. It didn’t cost them the game tonight, but there is definitely a direct correlation between turning the ball over and having a harder time winning games. In the future, you would like to see these bobbled passes turn into catches. Kaminsky, Lamb, Batum, all had buckets slip away because of poor ball control.
• 3rd quarter woes: For a second game in a row, the Hornets were in a close game at halftime, then came out of the locker room and played a terrible third quarter. They were outscored by 11 in the third, and that made the 4th quarter comeback all the more difficult. I spent some time earlier in the post lauding Coach Clifford, but you would like to see him find a way to light a fire under this team to start the 3rd stanza.
• 4th quarter Woahs!!!!: 25-2 run to finish the game. That just about says it all. As hot as the Hornets were, the Wizards were just as cold. They couldn’t buy a bucket, and the Hornets defensive effort made sure that there were no easy shots to be had. A really, really impressive finish to the game.

Moving forward, I think that the Hornets have found their dual identities on offense. They are an inside out team when Al is in the game, and they are a pick and roll team when Zeller or Kaminsky are in the game. They have some playmakers on the floor at all times, which has never happened before. I think the biggest area to improve on is the defensive end, where this team may have a little bit of a glass ceiling because of personnel.

Kings @ Hornets (11/23/15)

This kind of game makes me nervous. The Kings have so much length in their lineup, and they are playing better under George Karl this season. I think the Hornets will really have their hands full. I watched. I had some notices:

• Demarcus Cousins: He is very good. Adding the three point shot to his arsenal, even though he shoots it too much, is a fantastic addition. He remains one of the top 2-3 scoring centers in the game. He got into some foul trouble in the 2nd, but still finished with 30 points in 31 minutes. He did still have a few of those odd Demarcus moments, but he was definitely a huge positive for the team tonight.
• Mental Toughness: Very interesting mood swings for this team tonight. They played together in the first half, had a little sloppiness, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. The third quarter was FUBAR. The Kings absolutely dominated until 2:00 left in the 3rd quarter. At that point, Zeller had a three point play, and then Kaminsky had a dunk, and that seemed to ignite the passionate 4th quarter and overtime. It was a super exciting game, but you would definitely like to see some mental consistency from this team in the future. Of course, the best way for a team to be consistent is to have a tough defense that can keep games close when the offense isn’t clicking.
• New lineup: Zeller and Kaminsky took the court together, for the first time that I can remember this season (I am fallible). Could be a precursor of things to come, seeing if those two can play together. Kaminsky played well out there, taking advantage of some mismatches with the Kings’ switching defense. Those two bigs stayed on the floor for the entirety of the Hornet’s huge comeback in the 4th as well, AND played the entire overtime.
• Kemba Walker: He really plays at his best when he doesn’t have to worry AS MUCH about creating for other players. In the fourth quarter, Walker really got on a roll. When he looks to score first, he becomes ultra aggressive, which also helped him create open shots for Batum and Lin as the quarter went on. He stayed unstoppable the entire 4th quarter, and then the rest of the team helped him out in overtime. He finished the game with a very “#1 option guy” 39 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.

The Hornets are the blood pressure team of the year! A 127-122 win in OT. Good stuff. I was all ready to write up the “Hornets return to .500 post” so I don’t really know what to say now. The Hornets really showed a lot of heart. If they can play consistent, like Kemba said to our main girl, Stephanie Ready, at the end of the game, then they can continue on an upward path towards the playoffs!