Icarus

I've been making an Icarus-McGrady comparison for some time now but I've increasingly realized that its a false metaphor. In order to be Icarian one must not merely come crashing down into the sea but fly too close to the sun as well. I just don't get it. I don't like McGrady, I'll be frank about that. I find him arrogant, which should lend him to the metaphor, but in a lazy kind of way. He is like some boy-prince who demands you kiss his ring even while the mobs are guillotining the rest of the royal family out in the courtyard. Its all crashing down around him and all he does is complain about fouls and being "tired".

Any good Spurs fan can recount a harrowing tale of late game theatrics by T-Mac, so why not in the post-season? I'm not gonna sit around and dredge his psychological issues or even break down the X's and O's for that matter. Although the Schadenfreude of it all does tickle my fancy just a tad, I would still love to see this team go all Lazarus on everybody and take one or two in SLC. Not gonna happen. But at least Houston could walk away from this with a shred of dignity. By Houston I mean the guys on that team who don't wear the number 1.



Cavs-Wizards: Holy shit, the Wizards need to shut the hell up. I used to really like these guys, what the hell happened. I know it was all about "swagger" and theatrics and blah blah blah, and I bought into that. But blowing on your "hot hand" when your down by 16, only to have LBJ come back and drain it right in your face. I don't mind a tad bit of showboating here and there, but you got to earn your strut my man.

I'll tell you right now the other thing I don't mind is physical basketball. If anything the steady decrease in the amount of allowed contact in the NBA really bothers me. I personally liked the old hand-checking rule, and I don't care if now its easier to get to the basket and throw down a dunk or what not. Back in the day guys like McHale or Laimbeer made you earn every inch on your way to the basket, and certainly made you think twice next time you thought about taking it to the hole again. That's why I defended Horry last year after he was unrepentant about body-checking Nash and I am not that critical of how physical the Wizards are with LeBron around the basket this series. Just because he's Stern's golden boy doesn't mean you have to treat him with reverence (I am not referring to Haywood's flagrant. That was just straight B.S.). But damn it, the boy can ball and will make you look like a jackass if you push him. This Wizards team is damn talented. They need to shut up and act like it.

Wait a second, I've got it: DeShawn Stevenson is Icarus. I knew I was gonna get some mileage out of that metaphor one way or another (See the below image for further evidence).