14 thoughts on “June 9, 2021: Last Call”

  1. Minor Details, featuring the St. Paul debut of a prospect named Byron Buxton, has been posted.

    1. I may stroll down to CHS tonight and check out both Buxton and Maeda. I guess it could be sold out, but then again, hopefully the heat keeps some people away.

      1. So I made it to Saints game. 70 minute delay due one nasty storm burst. Now no Buxton due to wet conditions. I think Maeda is still pitching.

  2. I turned on the game when it was tied in the 8th last night. This is one of the more unwatchable teams I can remember. I fully expect to see Scott Klingenbeck on the mound.

  3. Just watched the Minnesota Supreme Court's oral argument in the Mohamed Noor trial. It sure sounds like the murder conviction is likely to be reversed (although the manslaughter conviction would remain). The analysis from Court of Appeals Judge Johnson's dissent (found here) will likely be adopted and expanded upon in the final order.

  4. So, the NBA Playoffs.

    Prior to the start of the post-season, the biggest question I had was whether the Lakers could overcome injuries, fatigue (this season was an epic season in terms of injuries due to the condensed schedule and the Lakers had the shortest off-season along with Miami), and age to make a run. Short answer: no. Longer answer: I think that the window is closing on LeBron's championship hopes and he may be done at 4. The question will remain as to whether he can become the all-time leading scorer. His body seems to be breaking down and I'm no longer sure that he will make it. Then again, will a longer off-season than all of the major contenders, maybe he can get himself back into condition next year. Anthony Davis doesn't seem to be blessed with LBJ's ironman qualities and that's probably going to be an issue going forward.

    Now that the Lakers are out, we are left with what I thought was going to be three pretty good series. I was right, it's just that I didn't pick the right three. (I thought Suns-Denver would be great, but I'm not so sure anymore.) I thought that MIL-BRK was gonna be a great series, but the Nets are dismantling the Bucks without Harden. Nets are the clear favorite to win it all.

    It seems that the Hawks want to play with the big boys. I don't think they are ready yet and they got a big dose of Embiid last night, but I can see them stretching this series to six games. Philly is too much for them though. Atlanta is young and fun and I hope they can build on this year going forward. However, Philly is ready to contend for a title now and barring injury I think they advance.

    Our good buddy Geoff pre-emptively sunk the Jazz's chances in this UTA-LAC series, but then Spida went for 45 and he's happily eating his words for at least one game. I think the Clippers, after a slow start in the Dallas series have righted their ship and I think they are the favorite now to come out of the West. Luka pushed them to seven games because he's awesome, but #2 from the Clips is pretty good, too, and he shot them into the second round.

    Denver has the MVP of the league. They don't have Murray, though, and they need him to advance against the Suns. PHX didn't just run into a worn down, old Lakers team. They are good. Devin Booker probably not gonna be traded to the Wolves. I see the Suns winning this series and it may be a short series.

    1. Out of curiosity, here are the players who appear in the Top 10 of either regular season or playoff total points (obviously a lot of them feature on both lists).

      Player Regular Season Points Playoff Points Combined Total
      Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38387 5762 44149
      Karl Malone 36928 4761 41689
      LeBron James 35367 7631 42998
      Kobe Bryant 33643 5640 39283
      Michael Jordan 32292 5987 38279
      Dirk Nowitzki 31560 3663 35223
      Wilt Chamberlain 31419 3607 35026
      Julius Erving 30026 4580 34606
      Moses Malone 29580 2213 31793
      Shaquille O'Neal 28596 5250 33846
      Tim Duncan 26496 5172 31668
      Jerry West 25192 4457 29649
      Kevin Durant 23883 4267 28150

      These are combined NBA/ABA numbers

      1. That's a lot of playoff points for James. He's closer to Abdul-Jabbar's combined total than Malone's regular season total.

    3. Not a lot to argue against here.

      I think Milwaukee can and should still make it a series with the Nets. They are just too talented to disappear completely, but maybe they have inherited the old Clippers "high talent, no heart" mantle.

      I agree that Philly is a threat as long as Embiid stays healthy. He is fantastic. Achilles heel is Ben Simmons can't shoot a lick. It's tough to win in this league any time in the playoffs. It's especially tough when you can't trust your primary ballhandler down the stretch to handle the ball.

      Out west, I'm starting to lean Phoenix as the favorite. Chris Paul has been fantastic throughout (despite a badly bruised shoulder). Devin Booker is a scorer in the volume-shooter mold, but he has been lights out in the playoffs, shooting 50+ pct from 2, 40+ from 3 and 90+ from the line (while getting to the line 6+ times per game). Ayton has emerged as a budding star, and they have gotten timely support from the rest of the cast. I like that team.

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