Thoughts from Courtside

I got courtside seats last night for the first time in my life.  It was an amazing experience.  I was like 10 feet from the Clippers' bench.  Here are some thoughts:

- When Dunleavy got ejected I got to hear all of it.  It was so funny.  Earlier in the game, a ref was standing like 5 feet away, Dunleavy calls his name and goes "You SUCK!"  The ref looked genuinely offended.  He was like "I suck!?  Go talk to the other guy, don't talk to me!"  Dunleavy: "I'm talking to you!  You suck!"  It was hilarious.  So later in the game Dunleavy starts yelling at him again and the ref T's him up.  Dun says "Technical?  So what?  F*** Y**!  That's b*** s****!"  He got tossed.  It was awesome.  The crowd went crazy.  The Clips bench didn't even bat an eye.  They hardly looked up as Dunleavy walked out.  Nobody acted like they cared at all.  Clearly he's lost the players.

- I feel bad for Baron.  He's really trying to run the offense.  I kept looking for signs that he had tuned Dun out, but he hasn't.  He talks to him a lot.  In some timeouts, Dun and Baron are talking exclusively to each other and everyone is just listening.  They're not arguing, just talking.  Before the 2nd half, Baron and Dun stood and went over the dry erase board for a good several minutes.  But on the court it's horrible.  The players don't talk.  There's no execution.  My friend said "Baron looks pissed at Dunleavy.  He keeps looking over at him when something goes wrong."  On the court Baron really does look pissed.  After two bad plays Baron walked over to Dun and was like "C'mon coach!"  Like "It's not working!"  Baron's really trying but there's a serious disconnect.  I actually think Baron and Dunleavy like each other though.   It's just on-court they can't make it click.  I bet off court they get along fine. 

- Taylor is completely out of control.  He's never going to be a reliable PG in this league if he doesn't learn to slow down.  On the bench he looks completely disinterested and isn't even watching.  At the end he was dribbling between his legs and doing all this stuff when they're getting blown out.  I never once saw him create a shot for someone else.  The only time he passes is when he penetrates, gets caught in the air and has to toss it out.  Often this is also a TO. 

- EJ looks REALLY frustrated.  He's the ONLY one who cares out there.  I felt really really bad for him.  He's playing great ball and nobody else is helping.  He was the only guy to slump to the bench at the end and look upset.  Everyone else was mentally checked out.  It was great to see him out there though.  Good things happen when he has the ball.

- Jordan needs a LOT of work.  His defense is horrible.  He just stands there and slaps at people, resulting in MANY "and 1s".  He's the only one on the bench who seems like he has fun though.  Everyone else looked like they were at a funeral.

- There's NO talking on offense or defense for us.  NONE.  That's a mark of a bad team. 

- I can't understand how Kaman misses the shots that he misses.  He's SO close to the rim. 

- Shaun Livingston started for the Thunder and looked pretty good.  He threw down a tomahawk alley oop that was so high I was sure it was going to be a turnover.  Then I thought it was Durant who caught it.  Turned out to be Shaun.  It hurt seeing him out there doing that.  We could sure use him right about now.  But I felt good for him.  It just seemed so wrong to have him come back with another team.

- Durant is ridiculously long.  It feels impossible to guard him.  Westbrook is damn good athlete.  He also looks about an inch or two taller than EJ.  I think he's going to end up being really good.  He has a better feel for the game than I expected.  I also think DJ White will be solid.  I was impressed with his mobility and athleticism. 

Sitting in those seats every night must be awesome.  There's no experience like it.  Sometimes, sitting in my seats (200 level) or even the 100 level, I feel like watching it on TV has its benefits.  But courtside, it's just completely different.  At the same time, if I had paid for those seats and saw that performance and the Clips players not caring at all, I'd want to murder someone.