They still like Jarrett Jack in Indy

Remember the days of Jarrett Jack? Towards the end of his Blazer run it was a little sad to see fans turn on him like they did. He did contribute in important ways (he was the only player who consistently drove to the hoop that wasn't named Roy last season, that was big), but he was never going to become the player the fans so desperately wanted him to be. And those jaw dropping turnovers created by his indecisiveness made scapegoating Jack all too easy. It surprised no one when he was traded.

But things are getting better for Jack. Just look how happy he looks. In Indy he is coming off the bench and not being depended upon as heavily to perform point guard duties. Much of the time he actually plays alongside the Indy point guards. Best of all, the fans seem to like him:

Jarrett Jack has played a huge role off the bench for the Pacers to start the season. While he doesn't start, he often finishes games and does it with excess effort and intensity.

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I love Jack and the role he is playing for the Pacers. The key with Jack is to not dwell on what he isn't. He doesn't have the all-around point guard game, like T.J. Ford. If he did at his size, he'd be a perennial All-Star, making max money and certainly not coming off the Pacers' bench.

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Nope, Jack is simply a player filling a need off the bench much like Marquis Daniels. A utility player willing to defend anyone on the court or make a play on offense. It may not be the prettiest basketball play you'll ever see but it will be done at full speed and more times than not, will bring you out of your seat applauding the effort.

That strikes me as an excellent interpretation of Jack. We could have used some of that perspective.

People in Indiana hate Josh McRoberts, 3

I like to talk about how on draft day the entire sportsbar I was at was cracking on the free falling Josh McRoberts. When he landed in the Blazer's net, I was pretty happy. After all, review these official bullet points (bullet points are always official, by the way) for why Portland should be happy to have him:

• He's 6'10, athletic, and can handle the ball and pass like few players his size.
• He's Greg Oden's friend.
• He's known to be at his best as a complimentary player, so struggled a little at Duke when Coach K kept trying to make him the man. He will never, ever, have to worry about this in Portland. Rumor is he made his name nationally playing alongside Oden in highschool AAU Ball.
• He's a second round pick, so if he doesn't pan out, eh.

Ok, hooray for us, feeling good about ourselves? There is one red flag, and that is that people from his home state seem to hate him a lot. Off the OLive Blazer's Blog, there's a link to an article from the Indianapolis Star about McRoberts, and the reader comments are the real read, here's some highlights:

"McRoberts is one of the most overrated players I have come across in the past 20 years of watching NCAA basketball. He finished 3rd in Mr Basketball, but was the top ranked senior nationally? How does that happen? We was getting smoke blown up his **** in high school, more smoke after his first year of college and then it finally all came tumbling down after last year. "

"who cares about him? he cried when he was drafted in the 2nd round, ungreatful punk."

"I am not sure why we keep seeing him in the paper slow news day again.Here is McRoberts legacy top 101. Never won a sectional title in high school2. Never won a conference title in high school3. You never even beat Noblesville when you played4. Wasn’t even in the top in the state in scoring or rebounding5. Josh you where lucky to get third. But since you where 7 foot and half your points where dunks over little guys you where spotted a position6. No big wins in High School, in Fact Broad Ripple your junior year with a losing record beat you. George Hill was the true recruit in that game.7. Senior year Eric Gordon single handedly beat you.(That’s how you take over a game)8. Ever body get noticed when they get to play on a good team even I would of scored if I played with JJ 9. Last year you did what? And now your going to play what with who?? Oh well mommy got her BMW for you being 7 foot not a good TEAM player.10. Please move out of Indiana its about the game not the person. You turned your back on the ALL-Stars, You turned your back on Duke I am sure Greg is your good friend. You get to be on TV because they are there watching him and you can walk into the shot??"

There's more, a lot more. According to Josh though, people have hated him his whole life, so he's fine with it. If it were me, I dunno, I might wonder why people have been hating me my whole life. It will be interesting to keep an eye on public perception of McRoberts in Portland.

The Reggie Miller Comeback; at least he'll go away

When I heard the news that Reggie may comeback and play for the Celtics, a whole bunch of feelings came up. It goes largely undocumented by this blog, but the Indiana Pacers are easily my second favorite team in the league and have been for a very long time.

All the way back in Park & Rec ball (we're going pre-junior high here), I would have killed to wear #31. They never had it, so I settled for 13 and had my mom shave a 31 into the back of my head. Yeah, maybe they thought I was dyslexic. I celebrated many of Reggie's game winners by running around the house with no shoes on, and with ritualistic reenactments in the driveway. He is a significant part of why I became addicted to the NBA in the first place. These sort of memories make you want to write a special post in blue and gold.

Then he retired, and I moved on. He popped up on TNT, which never has seemed right to me. Don't get me wrong, he has his moments of comedy and insight. I just can't ignore that he seems to be the dog in the kitchen much of the time, as in being irritating and in the way of things.

Now we come to this. A comeback. Maybe. A chance to join up with the big party in Boston, contribute on what looks to be a contender. And I'm about as shocked as Jordan must have been after Reggie pushed off to hit that game winner.

Sure, I want to remember him as the Pacer I idolized. But really, won't he be that no matter what he does with Boston? I want to remember him in his prime, but won't I do that anyways?
The bottom line is, Reggie loves basketball and has an opportunity to play at its highest level again, for what looks like a contender. You can't be in the NBA forever, and I can't fault anyone for wanting to stay as long as possible. It would be a treat to see Reggie back on the court, even if he just stands in the corner and hits the occasional three during his 10-15 minutes a game. If nothing else, at least it keeps him out of the booth.

The Birth of Deceptively Quick...

I realized I should maybe do a post about what this blog is all about. If for no other reason than for me to figure it out for myself. Basically, there's a lot of things in the world of basketball to talk about, and there's already multiple blogs for each one. Upon reflection, I think I started this blog for the following reasons:

1) I bought a new laptop, and I need to justify the purchase by using it a lot.

2) I recently graduated college and now I "just work." After multiple years of doing the work all you can/study all you can/have fun all you can cycle that is the modern college life for many (I don't know a whole lot of folks who had that "college experience" I hear about: lots of drinking/hanging out, go to class every once and a while/party party party. An increasing number of us have to grind hard to make it, wake up people!) Basically, I need another outlet for my thoughts and energy.

3) I am planning to go work abroad in the coming months, and I have this idea that blogging about basketball will help me feel connected to some familiarity in what will be a very unfamiliar place. Don't get me wrong, I'm going there to experience as many new things as I can. But my idea is that being able to sit down and write about the world I know will be comforting from time to time.

4) Oh ya, and I'm selfish. I think MY ideas should be out there more. There are things I think people don't talk about enough, and I'll try to focus on those. This is a good format for me to feel like I'm getting my own ideas out, whether anybody reads them or not.

If you follow sports, the name of the blog probably has a pretty obvious source. Just in case you're not, its the common way sports announcers (aka "experts") like to refer to White players who are athletic. I'm not mad about it, I'm not hoping to make any grand social commentary. I just always thought it was funny. I wanted to call this "Thinking Man's Basketball," because thats was a funny (to me) way I used to explain why I was a big fan of Temple's team when John Chaney was there. Then I realized people might take it to mean I'M the thinking man, and then the bar would be set too high. So I settled on deceptively quick.


I'm a big fan of the game of basketball itself. My favorite NBA team is the Portland Trailblazers, and I've always had a soft spot for the Indiana Pacers as well. I'm not sure where this blog will head, but as of now I'm happy to have the placenta wiped off.