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Rick Reilly: Dreaming About Denver Nuggets

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By J.A. Sherman
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Rick Reilly chimes in today on the upcoming NBA playoffs. In his piece, he pontificates, nay dreams, about how the playoffs will unfold, which includes this bold prediction about the Denver Nuggets:

NBA Playoffs: Predictions and Dreams | Rick Reilly

Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder -- The Thunder, everybody's cool new kid in class, is about to get a wedgie in front of the whole playground. Since the Nuggets traded Melo on Feb. 21, they've been the third-winningest team in the league (.720). They have double-kick-start Tar Heel point guards who can drive, score or feed to six other scorers. Who you gonna guard on the last shot? Nuggets in 7, proving George Karl should've been Coach of the Year.

Did I dream that? So many points are scored at Oklahoma City Arena in Game 2, everybody gets eight tacos.

Since I am all about the low hanging fruit:

  1. Since this specifically stated date of 2/21, the teams with the highest winning percentages are:
    1. Bulls (24-4, 0.857)
    2. Lakers (19-6, 0.760)
    3. Nuggets (18-7, 0.720)
    4. Thunder (20-8, 0.714)
  2. The Thunder just beat the Nuggets in Denver (101-94), and in OKC (104-89), comprising two of the Nuggets' six losses. It is dubious as to whether Mr. Reilly even knew about these two games.
  3. Playoff teams don't win playoff games with eight scorers. They win it with three main offensive weapons. Everyone else plays a supporting role. This is, without exception in at least 25 years, The Rule.
  4. The Thunder just held the Nuggets to 13 and 18 points below their regular season average.
  5. Rick Reilly wrote this piece one week after the trade.
I usually try to avoid ranting about other peoples' work (publicly, anyway), but this kind of thing drives me nuts because his assessment is so glib. What makes it worse is that if you were to call him out on it, he'd be likely to say, "it wasn't meant to be taken seriously. I'm dreaming, see?" If I shouldn't take this column seriously, then I should not have to take his post-Carmelo trade seriously either because both are simplified assertions bubble-wrapped in hyperbole, which is how Reilly writes everything these days. Reilly is not a serious writer anymore. And since I should not take anything he writes seriously, I have to wonder why he's employed by ESPN and not The Onion. 

(Apologies to Rick Reilly Fans. At least I know I've got this guy in my corner)

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