What You're Watching Saturday Night

Oklahoma City Thunder at the Houston Rockets

8:30 PM 

ABC

The whole purpose of my little entries is to entice you to watch the NBA “Game of the Week.” I could sell you on the fact that this is currently a matchup between the 3rd and 5th seeds in the loaded Western Conference. It matches up the run-away front-runner for MVP, James Harden, against a top-five MVP candidate in Paul George. And, oh yeah, the game also includes one of the most dominant point guards in NBA history in Chris Paul with another point guard that is averaging (another!) triple-double in Russell Westbrook. This sounds like excellent television, correct? Enter Lee Corso… “Not so fast my friend!”

Who is the real winner in this matchup? The basketball air pump. No team seem to dribble the air out of a ball quite like the Rockets and Thunder. Both teams never seem to run any sets, and instead, just keep the ball in their superstars hand, run ISO ball, and then hoist up a stepback three or try to drive to the rim. Make? Miss? Foul? Just run the same thing the next time down the floor. I loved what Kobe Bryant said to Rachel Nichols this week (even though I feel like the statement is kind of ironic coming from Kobe). Kobe stated that the Rockets really had no shot at an NBA Championship if Harden kept dominating their offense like he has over the past month. When Harden was asked about it, he actually agreed with Kobe, stating “He’s probably right.” Don’t get me wrong. I understand and appreciate what Harden is doing. What he’s doing is unbelievable. Would you rather have PJ Tucker, Gerald Green, or Nene taking a shot? Obviously, you want your best player leading your team. But, just for once, I’d like to see Harden come off a screen, pass out of a double, and swing it to a wide open shooter in the corner. Instead, we’ll just get dribble, dribble, dribble, step-back. The box score will look great for Harden, however, to me, it’s just not fun to watch.

When the Warriors were achieving their ultimate success last year, Steve Kerr stated that the magic number of passes a team should complete in a set game is 300. 300 is the magic number to unlock free-flowing basketball. When Kerr took over the Warriors from Mark Jackson, he stated that in order to make the Warriors into the best team they could be,  and to create the most open shots, a team must pass the ball fluidly and quickly. If you move the ball, you move defenders, and if you move defenders, it creates havoc defensively, which benefits the offense. Can you guess which two teams are LAST in the NBA in passes per game? That’s right… The Thunder (236 per game) and the Rockets (247). The Warriors complete, on average, 318 passes per game. Can you guess which teams are in the bottom third of the league in assists? That’s right, the Thunder (23 assists per game) and the Rockets (20.7). The Warriors? 29.3 assists per game. When you have two teams that seem to have black holes on their offense, where the ball goes to them and never leaves their hand unless their shooting, you have stagnant basketball. You have the other four members on the floor just standing around, 100% positive they won’t touch the ball during that possession. Remember the hot-shot kid in kindergarten that never shared his toys? That’s James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Paul George.

If you like “Hero ball,” this is the game for you. If you like ball movement and the ball swinging around the perimeter, this is not a game for you. Of course, I can appreciate the alien-like skill that Harden, Westbrook, and George posses, but from an aesthetics point of view, this game is just putting a lot of makeup on an ugly person. They may seem pretty for one night. However, in the long run, it’ll never fully please you or put a ring on your finger.

Washington at Arizona

9:00 PM

ESPN2

So as we are on this new adventure of convincing you to watch our program choice of the week; I am noticing that College Football handles the Saturday night lineup so much better that College Basketball.  The month of February is all about boosting the resume of fringe teams against a powerhouse but, the=is has not been the case.

This brings us to the McHale Center in Tucson, AZ.  The Pac-12 is a “Power 5” conference that as of know has only two teams heading to the Big Dance.  Washington is one of them as they have ran through the Pac-12 at 9-0. But their non-conference schedule is soft and they have lost to each of three ranked opponents they played.  Washington seems to be in the dance because the Pac-12 has no better options. This is where Arizona comes into play. They are coming into this game losing their last three games; all on the road.  I believe they have the best chance to sneak into the Madness. Earlier in the year they knocked off #17 Iowa State at a neutral site. But in order for them to get into the conversation about being a bubble team they need this win.  

An Arizona upset is really needed by the Pac-12.  This is a big test for Washington if they can go into the house of the team that has dominated the Pac-12 for years and win when they are suppose to. This game should be watched because of this; as both teams have something to prove.  And an extra bonus is maybe the FBI comes and arrests Sean Miller on the court.

Fast Five

9:20

Bravo

So I hear these two guys to come on each week to convince our readers why they should watch their respective, favorite sports in primetime. I thought the "Game of the Week" would be an easy sell. But instead, they are being 'rationale' and 'objective' and looking beyond the ABC & ESPN pitches that entice us every week to tune in. 

What's your beef with Disney guys? 

Regardless, I am going to stay true to my word and I found an excellent movie you, in all likelihood, have seen at least five times. The climax of one of the greatest stories ever told in the history of man. 

Fast Five.

Truthfully, as popular as the Fast and Furious franchise is, the movies are all quite terrible. But this one is the best of the worst. Its the debut of the Rock in the franchise, Gal Gadot has a very prominent role before she went off to become a terrible Wonder Woman and it features one of the most ridiculous car scene chases ever. How do two guys driving sedans, dragging an industrialized safe, through the streets of Brazil get away from the entire police force? 

But here's the beauty of these movies...who cares? None of its real, but it just feels real in the moment. That is the key to any terrible action movie, which has been true since the glory ages of Van Damm, Segal, and Stallone, just have the audience feel its real or that it could be real in the moment, and then you have them! Which is why Fast Five is the best out of all them. All of the action scenes in the movie give you that feeling, whereas in the other movies or so either so boring, or more recently so ridiculous that you can't believe in them.

Take Fast 6, when 'Dom', Vin Diesel's signature character that has as much emotional range as someone who works at the DMV, catches Michelle Rodriguez's character "Letty", by driving at top speed...

on a bridge...

...then stepping out of his car (while still in motion, at top speed)...

...to crash his car, so he could launch himself into the air, to catch Letty, in the air, who has also been launched...

...from a tank. 

Then you have the Fate of the Furious (Fast 7?) where 'The Team' now 'Domless' has to drive their street racing cars, over a frozen bay, to stop...

...a submarine. 

Fast Five was the last time the Fast and Furious franchise was able to achieve any sense of reality. Which makes it the best. The story keeps you engaged, and the action keeps you believing. We have not seen an action movie achieve this dynamic since Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. 

Plus the movie is also on Bravo. Hopefully they have a Vanderpump Rules marathon on after...