G-Dawg's Handbook of Understandments (continued)
#2 part 2: All Minutes Matter
I am not your god, I shall not command.
I am the man who seeks to understand.
How many fantasy football games have been swung by a garbage time TD?
Every yard counts for .1 for somebody.
Even when you are playing from behind & the chances of victory are mathematically impossible, your minutes matter.
Pad some stats. Game test some plays. Discover a hidden move. Here’s the pay-off: You don’t know who’s watching. A scout out there could be searching for a guy that don’t quit. Be that guy. Everybody that has been in the game & knows the business has realized by now that all conditions aren’t ideal.
All minutes matter. All gigs can be glorious. I heard of a comic that did a set for a near empty crowd to have Katt Williams hand him a wad of cash backstage & say “That was stupendous!”
Be Stupendous!
Your minutes matter as much as you make them. Even if getting the W for the day seems mathematically impossible, is it? Analytics has yet to come up with a metric that measures heart!
Return to the roots for deeper understandment.
G Dawg's Handbook of Understandments
A good friend was curious to how I live my life with such opulence. I’ve reached 2 years jobless yet, eat the best of all we know. So, on his birthday I shared my secrets with him in a personalized handbook. Allow me to reveal the censored version with you here:
Case Study: JaVale McGee Minutes
JaVale McGee plays NBA basketball with asthma & he goes full speed. Don’t expect him to play more than 10 minutes a game. On the 2015-2016 Mavericks he played in less than half their games, but when he did, he got boards & blocks in abundance. He led his team in offensive rebounds (per 36 minutes) & his rejections of dunk attempts still hurt my feelings. These are talents that a Championship team could use.
The 2015-2016 season ended with a game-winning 3-point basket by Kyrie Irving following LeBron James’ legendary run-down block of Andre Iguodala’s lay-up. He should have dunked it. The Cleveland Cavaliers won their 1st NBA Championship in a 7-game series against the Golden State Warriors after trailing 3-1.
The Warriors blew it. They knew it. Their season was record breaking with 73 wins to 9 losses; but without that ring, they will never be considered the greatest team of all time. The Warriors needed more talent to avenge their loss in the Finals. That talent came in the form of former MVP & saltiest player in the league, Kevin Durant.
The 2016-2017 G.S. Warriors broke basketball. Between the Splash Brothers & K.D., 3-pointers couldn’t be stopped. They coasted through the season & play-offs, meeting the Cleveland Cavaliers again in the Finals. This time, when G.S. had a 3-1 series lead, they closed it out in the 5th game.
All Championship teams need roles to be filled. The G.S. Warriors had a spot for a center to close out quarters when they weren’t playing small-ball with Draymond Green. That role was filled by our hero: JaVale McGee.
Somebody was watching McGee get garbage time rebounds on that Mavericks team. Those minutes that could have been wasted to mediocrity, instead earned JaVale a place in history. With McGee on the Warriors, the team repeated as Champions by defeating the Cavaliers again in the Finals the next year. When LeBron James was finished in Cleveland, he took his talent to Los Angeles. Then LeBron traded half his team for Anthony Davis from New Orleans. The Lakers had a roster spot for a guy who could get rebounds & blocks in bursts. Sound familiar?
After the loss of our beloved Kobe Bryant & the world-wide panic brought forth by COVID, NBA basketball possibly saved humanity. Salvaging the 2019-2020 season was the relief the world needed to believe in better days. The season was settled in a bio-secure facility at Disney World, FL to prevent spread of the virus & loss of revenue. The Lakers were crowned Champions to honor the fallen Kobe Bryant & restore balance to the force.
Long story short: JaVale McGee collected 3 NBA Championship Rings in 4 seasons, all while averaging about 10 minutes a game.
Moral of the story: All minutes matter.