Hot Takes and Fast Breaks

 

We are in the midst, or at the end, of the National Basketball Association’s championship tournament. The Golden State Warriors are the first team to advance to five straight NBA finals since the Boston Celtics, who were in 10 straight finals between 1957 and 1966. There have been other incredibly dominant teams who went on finals streaks, then missed a year, then were back for more. Yet, this has been a very special team. They also have good reputations off the court but have joined the rest of the NBA in their open leftist contempt for American voters’ decision in 2016. Indeed, they act as if the election was illegitimate while championing every left-wing Democrat cause. Yet, they may well lose this finals series to a Canadian team, the Toronto Raptors. President Trump should have tweets drafted and ready to immediately address either eventuality.

The Raptors were up three games to one when they lost Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals by one point. They need only win one of the next two games to unseat the defending champion Warriors. Yet, Game 6 is in the Warriors’ home arena. Suppose they win, making it one game for all the marbles. It would be seasoned champions against first-time-ever contenders, with all the pressure on the Raptors for letting the series slip away.

Golden State Warriors Win, and “Three-peat:”

If the Golden State Warriors take it to seven games and win their third championship in a row, they and their leftist coach will take the occasion to again show contempt for America with their refusal to accept national civic accolades at the White House. President Trump should seize the high ground, in the moments after the final buzzer, by tweeting:

Congratulations to the two best teams in the NBA! The Warriors lived up to their name, fighting to victory from 1-3 start. Truly special to “3-peat.” Golden State Warriors join 1960s Boston Celtics, only other team in 5 straight finals.

Then:

Congratulations to Toronto Raptors! They took the most dominant recent championship team to 7 games! Amazing team performance! All of Canada can be proud for first ever NBA championship appearance by a Canadian team.

Notice how both messages are entirely positive and show President Trump’s love of a winning team and a great contest. This makes the NBA, the teams, and the players look completely petty if they respond with insults, including pretending not to care or think the President of the United States’ comments mean nothing. They will only damage their brand and alienate swing voters, as players, coaches, and, yes, “owners,” are egged on inside their bubble.

Raptors Go Mesozoic on Warriors and Win:

Now, what if the Raptors hang on and end the Golden State championship dynasty? Then the Raptors and Prime Minister Trudeau will look to rub President Trump’s nose in it on behalf of their fellow leftists. You see, the Raptors, and even the NBA commissioner, will be thrilled to loudly accept an invitation by the Canadian PM. There will be the legitimate reason of the first-ever NBA champion outside the United States of America, and the burning desire to posture there with direct and indirect insults aimed at American voters and their legitimately elected president. Anticipating this, President Trump should tweet moments after the final buzzer, in Game 6 or 7:

Congratulations to the two best teams in the NBA! Toronto Raptors showed amazing skill and heart in winning first ever NBA championship for Canada! Calling PM Trudeau with congratulations for Raptors, Toronto, Ontario, and Canada! Historic!

Follow that up with:

Amazing season for Golden State Warriors! Warriors join 1960s Boston Celtics as only other team in 5 straight finals. Amazing skill and heart, and total class acts on and off the court! They will be back, tough again next season.

Make it all positive less than a year and a half out from the 2020 general election. Reinforce the real accomplishments of urban, minority, and female employment and wage growth. Build on the sentencing reform laws and ceremonies. Put the politicized NBA and its players in a no-win situation with a great big smile and a Twitter pat on the back. Maybe even spark a change to Make Basketball Great Again.

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  1. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    If disco won’t motivate more Ricochetti to chip in, maybe my hot takes on politics and sports will drive participation in this month’s theme series: Hot Stuff!” We have a lot of open days as the summer season starts. Please stop by and sign up to share your own angle on the topic, however loosely construed.

    • #1
  2. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    Given the general woke bent of the NBA, I’m sure if Toronto wins, someone within the organization or at the league’s headquarters in New York will make a point about how happy they are that the Raptors are going to visit Prime Minister Trudeau following their victory, instead of the awful, awful man down in Washington.

    • #2
  3. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    As long as he doesn’t tweet #WetheNorth.  Don’t they get geography?

    • #3
  4. Valiuth Member
    Valiuth
    @Valiuth

    I think he should tweet about imposing basketball tarriffs on Canadians for stealing American NBA jobs. Who let those maple drinkers into our basketball league. If ever there was a sign of American decline it is that the Canadian team could win the NBA championship. Canada! What next they win the World Series too? 

    • #4
  5. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    San Francisco vs. Canada. What’s that got to do with ‘Merica?

    • #5
  6. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Valiuth (View Comment):

    I think he should tweet about imposing basketball tarriffs on Canadians for stealing American NBA jobs. Who let those maple drinkers into our basketball league. If ever there was a sign of American decline it is that the Canadian team could win the NBA championship. Canada! What next they win the World Series too?

    Blue Jays back to back, ’92-’93.  That was pre-NAFTA, so it was OK.

    • #6
  7. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Once upon a time I watched, NBA players are great athletes. I sensed the game transitioned to one controlled by the officiating, mainly related to the physical contact but also things like traveling, and haven’t watched for years. Am I wrong?

    • #7
  8. thelonious Member
    thelonious
    @thelonious

    Bob Thompson (View Comment):

    Once upon a time I watched, NBA players are great athletes. I sensed the game transitioned to one controlled by the officiating, mainly related to the physical contact but also things like traveling, and haven’t watched for years. Am I wrong?

    NBA officials have never called traveling.  I’ve heard that complaint since the 70’s. Every sport has its’ share of bad officiating. The game is much less physical today thanks to the reliance on the 3 point shot than it was even 10 years ago. 

    • #8
  9. thelonious Member
    thelonious
    @thelonious

    Valiuth (View Comment):

    I think he should tweet about imposing basketball tarriffs on Canadians for stealing American NBA jobs. Who let those maple drinkers into our basketball league. If ever there was a sign of American decline it is that the Canadian team could win the NBA championship. Canada! What next they win the World Series too?

    We still dominate the NHL. Even cities without iced up lakes like Los Angeles win the Stanley Cup.

    • #9
  10. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    thelonious (View Comment):

    Valiuth (View Comment):

    I think he should tweet about imposing basketball tarriffs on Canadians for stealing American NBA jobs. Who let those maple drinkers into our basketball league. If ever there was a sign of American decline it is that the Canadian team could win the NBA championship. Canada! What next they win the World Series too?

    We still dominate the NHL. Even cities without iced up lakes like Los Angeles win the Stanley Cup.

    Last time a team based in Canada won the Cup was ’93.  Pretty remarkable, although a substantial number of Canadian players obviously have won it.

     

    • #10
  11. jeffversion1.0 Coolidge
    jeffversion1.0
    @jvanhorn

    As a real-world thing, I like this idea.

    In my own little world, however, it drives me a little crazy.  I don’t get the Canada/USA “rivalry” in pro sports. 

    I didn’t get it when they’d talk about it with the Blue Jays when they won a couple World Series’ in the early 90s with a bunch of US and Latin American players. 

    And I haven’t figured out why it’s a big thing for Canada if the Raptors win the title.  Literally (not Joe Biden literally–by the real, honest, actual definition of the word literally) none of the players on the team are from Canada.  Nick Nurse, the coach, is not from Canada.  Masai Ujiri, the general manager, is not from Canada.  I can understand a White House invitation for the National (the nation being referenced is not Canada) Basketball Association champions.  I think it’d be silly for Justin Trudeau to celebrate a bunch of non-Canadians who play their home games in Toronto.

    But that’s probably just me.  

    • #11
  12. DonG Coolidge
    DonG
    @DonG

    thelonious (View Comment):
    The game is much less physical today thanks to the reliance on the 3 point shot than it was even 10 years ago. 

    I disagree.  It seems everyone is taller and very muscular.   It is like that in all sports compared with 20 years ago.

    • #12
  13. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    jeffversion1.0 (View Comment):

    As a real-world thing, I like this idea.

    In my own little world, however, it drives me a little crazy. I don’t get the Canada/USA “rivalry” in pro sports.

    I didn’t get it when they’d talk about it with the Blue Jays when they won a couple World Series’ in the early 90s with a bunch of US and Latin American players.

    And I haven’t figured out why it’s a big thing for Canada if the Raptors win the title. Literally (not Joe Biden literally–by the real, honest, actual definition of the word literally) none of the players on the team are from Canada. Nick Nurse, the coach, is not from Canada. Masai Ujiri, the general manager, is not from Canada. I can understand a White House invitation for the National (the nation being referenced is not Canada) Basketball Association champions. I think it’d be silly for Justin Trudeau to celebrate a bunch of non-Canadians who play their home games in Toronto.

    But that’s probably just me.

    But if you takes this to it’s logical extreme, why is it a big deal to any city/locale?  I’ll be very happy if/when the Bruins win the Stanley Cup Wednesday night but they have three players on the whole roster from New England.   It’s the nature of fandom in pro sports to attach oneself to the local team–and, in the Raptors case, for a country to do so.

     

    • #13
  14. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    DonG (View Comment):

    thelonious (View Comment):
    The game is much less physical today thanks to the reliance on the 3 point shot than it was even 10 years ago.

    I disagree. It seems everyone is taller and very muscular. It is like that in all sports compared with 20 years ago.

    Bigger and stronger but the rules don’t allow for the type of defense you had in the past. 

    • #14
  15. thelonious Member
    thelonious
    @thelonious

    DonG (View Comment):

    thelonious (View Comment):
    The game is much less physical today thanks to the reliance on the 3 point shot than it was even 10 years ago.

    I disagree. It seems everyone is taller and very muscular. It is like that in all sports compared with 20 years ago.

    They’re taller on average but I’d say less muscular. 20 years ago every team had a Charles Oakley type galoot who wasn’t all that mobile but could more than hold his own by the basket. The game 20 years ago was darn near a street fight. Bulky muscular players were at a premium.  Long thin and fast are what every team is wanting now a days. If a player today can’t guard the perimeter he’s unplayable. 

    • #15
  16. OldPhil Coolidge
    OldPhil
    @OldPhil

    You know, if he sent those tweets it’d only be because Kelly Anne Conway managed to steal his phone.

    • #16
  17. jeffversion1.0 Coolidge
    jeffversion1.0
    @jvanhorn

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    jeffversion1.0 (View Comment):

    As a real-world thing, I like this idea.

    In my own little world, however, it drives me a little crazy. I don’t get the Canada/USA “rivalry” in pro sports.

    I didn’t get it when they’d talk about it with the Blue Jays when they won a couple World Series’ in the early 90s with a bunch of US and Latin American players.

    And I haven’t figured out why it’s a big thing for Canada if the Raptors win the title. Literally (not Joe Biden literally–by the real, honest, actual definition of the word literally) none of the players on the team are from Canada. Nick Nurse, the coach, is not from Canada. Masai Ujiri, the general manager, is not from Canada. I can understand a White House invitation for the National (the nation being referenced is not Canada) Basketball Association champions. I think it’d be silly for Justin Trudeau to celebrate a bunch of non-Canadians who play their home games in Toronto.

    But that’s probably just me.

    But if you takes this to it’s logical extreme, why is it a big deal to any city/locale? I’ll be very happy if/when the Bruins win the Stanley Cup Wednesday night but they have three players on the whole roster from New England. It’s the nature of fandom in pro sports to attach oneself to the local team–and, in the Raptors case, for a country to do so.

     

    Fair enough.  I have my own sports attachments, and yeah, the Reds aren’t full of guys from the Cincinnati area, but I cheer for them anyway… even though I’m in Ky, being in the Cincinnati area, I still root for them.

    I think it’s more of a geography thing.  I guess if Canada were the size of Vermont (or Iowa or Colorado, even), it wouldn’t seem so odd to me.  Canada, however, is gigantic.  I just have a hard time imagining the people of Vancouver or Edmonton or Saskatoon beaming with national pride over the Raptors.

    • #17
  18. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    jeffversion1.0 (View Comment):

    I think it’s more of a geography thing. I guess if Canada were the size of Vermont (or Iowa or Colorado, even), it wouldn’t seem so odd to me. Canada, however, is gigantic. I just have a hard time imagining the people of Vancouver or Edmonton or Saskatoon beaming with national pride over the Raptors.

    Makes sense.  I think it may come down to the fact there’s no other NBA team in the country, so there’s probably not much jealousy.  Also, their NHL teams have been  complete busts in terms of recent titles, so you have to rally around something.

    • #18
  19. EtCarter Member
    EtCarter
    @

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):

    If disco won’t motivate more Ricochetti to chip in, maybe my hot takes on politics and sports will drive participation in this month’s theme series: Hot Stuff!” We have a lot of open days as the summer season starts. Please stop by and sign up to share your own angle on the topic, however loosely construed.

    Yknow, #CliffordBrown, you made think about a favorite headline from either National Review or The Federalist, it declared: ” Happy Canada Day You Bastards”.

    (Of course, it was on “Canada Day” and had some solid stats on out of wedlock kids, but Canadians and the Lower 48 all seemed to think the headline was clever.)

    • #19
  20. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    At the current exchange rate Golden State gets 1.25 wins in Canada, the Raptors only get 3/4ths of a win on US soil. It’s very complicated.

    • #20
  21. Joseph Stanko Coolidge
    Joseph Stanko
    @JosephStanko

    jeffversion1.0 (View Comment):
    I don’t get the Canada/USA “rivalry” in pro sports. 

    There isn’t one, or if there is, it’s a one-sided affair.  Perhaps Canadians view the USA as their sporting rival, but I suspect very few Americans reciprocate the feeling.

    • #21
  22. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    Joseph Stanko: There isn’t one, or if there is, it’s a one-sided affair. Perhaps Canadians view the USA as their sporting rival, but I suspect very few Americans reciprocate the feeling.

    The US and Canadian women in hockey truly dislike one another. 

    And on the curling sheet? Well, I’ll tell you what those maple syrup beaver bumpers can do with their brooms…

    • #22
  23. Joseph Stanko Coolidge
    Joseph Stanko
    @JosephStanko

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Joseph Stanko: There isn’t one, or if there is, it’s a one-sided affair. Perhaps Canadians view the USA as their sporting rival, but I suspect very few Americans reciprocate the feeling.

    The US and Canadian women in hockey truly dislike one another.

    And on the curling sheet? Well, I’ll tell you what those maple syrup beaver bumpers can do with their brooms…

    And there’s yer problem right there: most Americans just don’t care about the sports Canadians love.

    • #23
  24. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    jeffversion1.0 (View Comment):

    As a real-world thing, I like this idea.

    In my own little world, however, it drives me a little crazy. I don’t get the Canada/USA “rivalry” in pro sports.

    I didn’t get it when they’d talk about it with the Blue Jays when they won a couple World Series’ in the early 90s with a bunch of US and Latin American players.

    And I haven’t figured out why it’s a big thing for Canada if the Raptors win the title. Literally (not Joe Biden literally–by the real, honest, actual definition of the word literally) none of the players on the team are from Canada. Nick Nurse, the coach, is not from Canada. Masai Ujiri, the general manager, is not from Canada. I can understand a White House invitation for the National (the nation being referenced is not Canada) Basketball Association champions. I think it’d be silly for Justin Trudeau to celebrate a bunch of non-Canadians who play their home games in Toronto.

    But that’s probably just me.

    But if you takes this to it’s logical extreme, why is it a big deal to any city/locale? I’ll be very happy if/when the Bruins win the Stanley Cup Wednesday night but they have three players on the whole roster from New England. It’s the nature of fandom in pro sports to attach oneself to the local team–and, in the Raptors case, for a country to do so.

     

    Yes, and any fan of an internationally or regionally competitive soccer (futball) team knows they are cheering for players recruited or traded from all over the world. 

    • #24
  25. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    jeffversion1.0 (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    jeffversion1.0 (View Comment):

    As a real-world thing, I like this idea.

    In my own little world, however, it drives me a little crazy. I don’t get the Canada/USA “rivalry” in pro sports.

    I didn’t get it when they’d talk about it with the Blue Jays when they won a couple World Series’ in the early 90s with a bunch of US and Latin American players.

    And I haven’t figured out why it’s a big thing for Canada if the Raptors win the title. Literally (not Joe Biden literally–by the real, honest, actual definition of the word literally) none of the players on the team are from Canada. Nick Nurse, the coach, is not from Canada. Masai Ujiri, the general manager, is not from Canada. I can understand a White House invitation for the National (the nation being referenced is not Canada) Basketball Association champions. I think it’d be silly for Justin Trudeau to celebrate a bunch of non-Canadians who play their home games in Toronto.

    But that’s probably just me.

    But if you takes this to it’s logical extreme, why is it a big deal to any city/locale? I’ll be very happy if/when the Bruins win the Stanley Cup Wednesday night but they have three players on the whole roster from New England. It’s the nature of fandom in pro sports to attach oneself to the local team–and, in the Raptors case, for a country to do so.

     

    Fair enough. I have my own sports attachments, and yeah, the Reds aren’t full of guys from the Cincinnati area, but I cheer for them anyway… even though I’m in Ky, being in the Cincinnati area, I still root for them.

    I think it’s more of a geography thing. I guess if Canada were the size of Vermont (or Iowa or Colorado, even), it wouldn’t seem so odd to me. Canada, however, is gigantic. I just have a hard time imagining the people of Vancouver or Edmonton or Saskatoon beaming with national pride over the Raptors.

    Given how often American has grabbed away Lord Stanley’s cup, I imagine the whole of Canada will smile and cheer for a Canadian team raising the NBA championship trophy north of the border.

    • #25
  26. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    EJHill (View Comment):

    At the current exchange rate Golden State gets 1.25 wins in Canada, the Raptors only get 3/4ths of a win on US soil. It’s very complicated.

    There you go bringing in loonies!

    Canadian Dollar - reverse.png

    • #26
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