A little Charles Barkley for your Sunday

Exactly how you have a basketball blog and not write about the NBA Playoffs (outside of the Blazers and that stupid commercial that is now haunting my dreams) I'm not sure. In my defense, I did warn you that things were going to be kept as obscure as possible this summer.

I guess this clip is edging me a little closer to writing about an actual NBA game. Something all NBA fans know is to never skip out on TNT's pregame/halftime/postgame coverage. This reinforces that knowledge. Enjoy Charles calling his producer a pussy:

I really hate that Reggie Miller is kept around the broadcasting world in spite of his awfulness, my how some things refuse to change, but his reaction to Chuck here is entertaining.

(Assist Deadspin.)

All Star Quote of the Night

From my man Reggie Miller, in a discussion of the greatness of Chris Paul:

"He has great leadership for his size."

Awesome. By the way, good looking RoyBot.

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.