The New Orleans Pelicans are currently riding on the limo of the unbeaten! As I write this, I stiff arm those that have asked, “Now do you think they’ll be a playoff team?” My stiff arm is followed by a few slaps with a cold, wet washcloth . . . the charitable side of me also places a coupon for a free Frontal Lobe checkup.
The Frontal Lobe is in charge of overriding emotion with reason, and it is obvious to me that some of you haven’t been keeping up with your checkups. The point here is not to mock (me mock?) nor to derail your “Giddy with Joy” train to the playoffs.
I never did nor will I ever place inflated value to NBA Preseason Games. The artwork is sketchy, and the painting can never be truly understood.
I prefer to wait until everything matters: when the tension and expectations are real, when coaches’ reactions to a player’s performance are to be taken seriously. At the moment, players are getting a sense of where they are as performers . . . plus the Pelicans are discovering, however early the stages are, that new teammates need time to blend as a unit on and off the floor.
Will team speed improve or will it once again be the zombie in the room that curtails their accuracy? We all know that what does not move is dead. What has speed and mobility has more possibilities, more life, creates luck. That’s one of my favorite sayings . . . I heard it at a Basketball Clinic years ago and scribbled it in my notebook . . . I need to track down the proper source.
Preseason games are the sounds that prepare us for what’s yet to come, and, as usual, I always look forward to the sounds that the games will provide. I won’t allow preseason to walk me down the blind path . . . some view it with the eyes of a dream merchant, but I prefer to wait for the regular season where I converse with Mr. Reality and will observe and comment accordingly.
Let’s tune up our Frontal Lobes and prepare for when it matters.
Like you, my wish is for the season to serve us a multi-layered cake of good times, a cake I would gladly share with all of you . . . the only question is: Do we serve it on paper plates or on our finest dishes?
Gerry V is a 21-year NBA analyst, 17-year talk radio host, a 16-year coach, and current anchor for “Fox 8 New Orleans Morning Edition”, 5 a.m. – 9 a.m. Check out Gerry V’s Sports Editorial “I’m Just Sayin” on Fox 8 “Morning Edition” at 7:50, 8:50am Mondays & Fridays . . . also hosts “Gerry V’s “Talk Back Live on 99.5 WRNO New Orleans right after every Saints Sunday Game…. Follow Gerry V on twitter (@GVTalk).
9 responses to “Weakside Eyes: Gauge Your Frontal Lobes!”
Pels beat OKC 105-102 to go 5-0!!! Roberts again clutch in the 4th…Davis with another patented block of a 3pointer at the buzzer to save the game. Aminu with a double-double in 25min…Gordon’s debut with 21pts in 21 min…Rivers hit a huge 3 near the end to give us back the lead in a see-saw 4th (but unfortunately misses 2 FT with 5 sec left that could have iced it)…Anderson with 18pts…Holiday with just 6pts but 8Ast vs 2TO…sorry but this team is really beginning to excite me about its potential and still missing guys like Evans and Smith tonight!!!
Durant scores 25 but has 6 TO….Aminu partly responsible for that? Didn’t get to watch it…
Gerry your perspective is correct but what we all believe is happening is the foundation being belt for all of those important basketball and team factors to be established in the regular season the could lead to a chance at the post season. The first step is play well together and win. A victory in the preseason is just that for sure but we are seeing something develop.
Gerry, you forgot that rule #1 of being a fan is that you allow raw emotions to excite you. Fans believe and have faith in the evidence of things that are not seen. That’s why in years past I’d rather pick CP3 to join me in a fight than anyone else in the nba, despite his size. Or as of late, a fan believes why Anthony Davis is going to be the next star of the league and can rationalize why tyreke, eg, and jrue will mesh perfectly together. Logic and reason have their place, but if you are telling me “don’t get excited because you might get let down”, then I say you really don’t understand or realize what fuels a fan and a fan-base. Go Pelicans! We WILL make the playoffs this year!!! And that will be just the beginning…..
Ps. This is exactly why I stopped betting money on my teams. 🙂
I admire Monty williams and wish good things for this team..i’m just a hardened BALLER whose covered the league and traveled with teams for over 2 decades ( ouch!) i wait till the real deal begins..just speaking for myself preseason tends to drag for me…..can’t wait till the real thing…thanks for the response. V
I was just speaking for myself….having traveled and covered the team for over 2 decades ( 2 decades! ouch! make me some oatmeal)…i like to wait for the real season to begin…like you I look forward to the season and the games….i’ve learned over thge years that preseason doesn’t reveal the “real player” like the regular season does….by all means get amped for the season..i am……preseason stats not as valid as the real deal…
of course and i agree….i was speaking in terms of preseason pressure vs regular season pressure and valid stats vs stats acquired in games that don’t matter…i agree with your comments about playing well together and developing…..the years have hardened me about preseason…..i await the real season….looking fwd to it very much..
You got it wrong…i like you look forward to the season and watching this team….i hope they do very well……i have learned over the past 21 years that preseason is a different atmosphere…now i want to see the guys perform when it all counts…..wins and losses take on a different meaning when it all matters….lets hope for a fun season…i am!