Z Man's Blog- All Star Break

The All-Star Break. For anyone who works in the NBA, the break is both a bummer and glorious all at once. A bummer because you go a week without hoops, glorious because, well, it’s the All-Star break! And this year it’s extra glorious because it happens right here in downtown Cleveland at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. This is a Cleveland Charge blog so I’m here to get you caught up on (almost) all things Charge. Unfortunately, your Charge are struggling, coming in at 2-12 following a 4^th straight loss heading into the break.

Now, I’m not excuse guy in general. But truth be told, the impact of multiple 10-day contracts, roster changes and a laundry list of injuries that just won’t quit has the Wine and Gold reeling. Seems like every time a couple players return from injury, 2 more go down. Too many times the Charge have been forced to dress the minimum 8 guys, which means too many minutes and not enough in-game rest, which is not ideal for optimum performance.

The positives? First of all, a no quit attitude. No griping or complaining. The guys go out and battle night after night, which isn’t always easy to do under the circumstances. Not to mention the guys genuinely enjoy being around each other. The losses haven’t ripped into the fabric of the team. You want an example of this? Guys rooting for Malik Newman during his career high 40-point explosion at Westchester. Malik tied the franchise record with 8 made 3’s and his teammates were rooting for a 9^th. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t get one more to drop. A fantastic performance non-the-less and it was fun to watch.

It’s very easy for things to fall off the rails in times like these, but so far there’s no sign of that. We must stay the course as we approach the stretch run of the season.

On a lighter note, I was introduced to a shooting game called “10 in the Bucket.” In short, players pick a spot behind the 3-point line. Every player takes a 3, and for every make, “10 goes in the bucket.” So, if 3 guys hit in a row, that’s 30 in the bucket. If I’m next, and I shoot and miss, I’ve got 30. First player to reach 100 loses. Bottom line is, you better make if everyone else is too. I made the final 4 in Long Island, while in Westchester I lost to Tre Scott in the finals. It’s a blast.

Also shared my review of the film “No Country for Old Men” with Josh Huestis. We agreed, great movie, great villain, great twists, but a less than fulfilling ending. We highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it.

As for All-Star weekend, this will be my 3^rd as I was lucky enough to be a fan in 1981 and as an employee in 1997. You know I’ll be attending this weekend as well and I can’t wait.

Soak it all in Cleveland, and I hope you’re able to attend one of the events to cheer on Darius, Evan, Jarrett and Isaac.

Talk at you soon!

-  Zman