thedailyfeed:

natkg:

July 4th, 2011

Happy July 4th, tumblr!

archiveofaffinities:

Le Corbusier, Unité d’Habitation, Prefabricated Cell, 1947 

thefrogman:

“E3 in a Nutshell”

It would seem Reddit is starting to warm up to me. 

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

soundofjersey:

She and Him cover one of my biggest influences: The Smiths

(Source: matthewfranklin)

nbaoffseason:

NBA Finals Game 2 Preview - An Elevated LeBron James

LeBron James has taken his game to another level. He’s found that proverbial ”next gear”. He’s playing at a level that I have never seen him reach and he’s making the game look easier than he ever did in his two MVP seasons. 

The way LeBron and Wade dart around on the defensive end, especially in the closing minutes is freakishly fast and menacing. I remember reading an article on Shane Battier the other day and he talked about how he and Ron Artest were the perfect defensive duo because they can throw Shane on a guy and he would impose his will by using his basketball I.Q. and his quick nibble style. And if that didn’t work, they had Ron Artest’s bruiser like physicality to unleash. It made Houston scary-good on defense and it almost won them a 7-game series against a Los Angeles Lakers team that went on to win a title. 
Miami has a duo just like that in Wade and James, except not exactly. The thing about Wade and James is that they are both Shane Battier and Ron Artest. They can both be nibble and smart yet extrude unbearable physicality on opponents. And they do it all at a speed that’s quicker than anyone else on the court.

This is what makes Miami so good and so scary. They win with defense and they can turn it on at any moment that they so wish. Double-digit leads can be decimated in five quick possessions that zoom by so fast, opposing teams have no chance to call a timeout and stop the bleeding.  

And all of this because LeBron finally became the complete player. He’s been one of the best perimeter defenders in the game for a while and his offensive arsenal needs no introduction but he is now doing something he hadn’t done before, playing with perfect balance. 

There are no weaknesses in his game right now. It’s so irritating to some of his haters that the LeBrick chants have quieted down to whispers and then silence, the countless “un-clutch” articles are now printed in invisible ink. All the haters have is LeBron’s hairline and as soon as he shaves that off, there will be nothing left to question. Except the question of “how many can he win”. 

I wrote in the first preview that this Finals series will hinge on eight on-court factors. Let’s take a look at how each team faired in the previous game and what adjustments they will need to make for the next game. 

1. No Rebounds, No Rings - Dallas was crushed on the glass 46 to 36 including giving up 16 offensive rebounds compared to hauling in just 6 themselves. NBAPlaybook.com notes why Dallas gave up so many OREB to Miami and they need to do a better job here. Dallas is most likely going to lose this battle every game but they can’t get obliterated like they did in Game 1. 

2. J.J. Barea - JJ is supposed to be the x-factor off the bench for Dallas. I know that Jason Terry comes off the bench for the Mavs also but in reality Terry is a starter that doesn’t start. As I predicted, JJ would be outplayed by the underrated Mario Chalmers. Barea finished the game with just 2 points on 1 of 8 shooting in 18 minutes while Chalmers had 12 points on 3 of 8 shooting, including 3 of 7 from three, in 28 minutes. 

Dallas needs to get something out of JJ or Peja and Peja isn’t going to give anything in this series. He looked as lost as I’ve ever seen a player in the NBA Finals. And who can blame him, he had to go at LeBron on one end and then defend the demi-god on the other. 

It’s all going to be on JJ to carry the load for Dallas’ bench. He missed some decent open looks in Game 1, maybe out of fear that LeBron or Wade were chasing him down or perhaps because his little legs were tired from trying to outrun Miami’s Super-Duo on the perimeter, either way, JJ needs to improve and score the ball. 

3. Turnovers - Dallas had 11 to Miami’s 10. Dallas did a good job of protecting the ball and preventing Miami from getting out on the break. They’re going to need to keep this up. And speaking of the fastbreak… 

4. Odd Lineups - Dallas actually outscored Miami on fastbreak, 12 to 7. But that didn’t matter because Miami’s odd-lineup worked it’s magic in the half court. Late in the 3rd with Dallas up a few points, Miami went with a lineup of LeBron, Howard, Haslem, Miller and Chalmers and quickly took over the lead. Soon enough in came Bosh and Wade for Chamlers and Howard and Miami extended that lead due to the defensive rotations and energy that all five guys bring.

No one on that lineup feels out of position on both sides of the ball. All of them are a threat to score and on the defensive side, they are scrappy as hell. And when they see their team leaders jumping sideways for blocks or diving on the floor for loose balls it sends them encouragment and a message of “do as I do”. 

This lineup has been a nitrous shot to the already supercharged lineup of the superfriends. It’s the same lineup that iced both Chicago and Boston in spectacular close-out fashion. With the way these five guys play together, especially on the defensive end, I can’t see any lead being big enough or any team being safe. 

Defense wins championships and Miami has the defense. I don’t see this changing in Game 2. 

5. Chandler, Marion & Haywood - Marion had an excellent game that brought back flashes of his Phoenix Suns days. Chandler and Haywood were good on the defensive side of the ball and did exactly what they had to do, keep Wade and James out the paint and shooting long jumpers. 

The only issue here was that Wade hit enough of his to be a threat and LeBron was on inextinguishable inferno. He had 24 points 9 rebounds and 5 assists on 9 of 16 shooting including a radioactive 4 of 5 from deep. All of this in a game that had just 90-some possessions. When LeBron is doing you like that, you just have to take it. You can’t come up with a defense to stop the perfect offense and right now, that’s what LeBron is, perfect. 

6. Like A Bosh - Chris has a decent game going for 19 and 9 but on 18 shots. The one bright side was that he had 12 free throws and was really making the Dallas bigs work despite his poor shooting. The five fouls on Chandler forced Dallas to use Haywood more than they would like and limited Chandler to just 33 minutes in a game that he is essential to. 

I’m sure that Dallas would take the 19 points on 18 shots from Bosh for the rest of the series, they just want to watch the fouls or at least distribute them more evenly so Tyson doesn’t have to sit for extended minutes. 

7. Getting Dirk’d On - I don’t know what to think of Dirk’s game. He started out slow. Very slow with just four points in the 1st quarter. But then he sort of found his flow. Sort of. He finished the game as the leading scorer netting 27 points and 8 rebounds but he went just 7 of 18 from the floor. Not exactly the 12 of 14 performance we saw in the Western Conference Finals. 

At times Dirk seemed to shy away from the ball early in the game and by the time he found his shots, it was too late. One thing that is going to be a key factor is Dirk’s ruptured tendon on his left hand. It’s his off-hand and it probably won’t interfere with his shooting motion but it will be very bothersome in catching, rebounding and dribbling. Especially since Dirk loves to go left. 

8. Free Throws - Dallas did it. They won the battle. It’s the little things that count, right? Dallas drew more free throws than Miami (32 to 26) and made more (25 to 19) and connected at a better rate. They will need to keep this up if they want to stay in this series. 

One disconcerting fact was that Wade and LeBron combined to only shoot seven free throws. You know that’s not going to happen again and it’s going to be a point of emphasis for Spoelstra in Game 2. He wants his guys to attack. He has more superstars and they are bigger, faster and stronger than those on Dallas. naturally, they will get the calls, even if sometimes, there is no call to get. 

Game starts at 9:00PM EST on ABC. Tune in and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter. 

@Suga_Shane

nbaoffseason:

All that needs to be said, right?