Author: Jay

Jay is a longtime Razzball everything who consumes an egregious amount of Makers Mark as a vehicle to gain wisdom and augment his natural glow. Living in the D.C. area, he also likes spending time visiting the local parks and feeding lettuce to any turtles he encounters, including Mitch McConnell. You can follow him on Twitter @jaywrong.

Read some of Jay's 112 posts

Tuesday Now Tyreseday

by: Jay

Now that Thanksgiving is over and done with, I feel I can now safely state what I’m not thankful for. Balance in all things! And you know, I’m totally willing to accept that I bring this on myself, but I tend to get all the lame headlines this season heading into the NBA midweek. A roller coaster ride, as we’ve held the funeral for Kawhi Leonard’s career (a roller coaster in of itself), we’ve dealt with Ben Simmon’s fear of approaching the basketball rim in any shape and form. We’ve, of course, seen the drama of Kyrie Irving (and others, yikes) and we even missed the resurrection of Wilt Chamberlain in the form of Ivica Zubac and 29 rebounds… you’d think it’s timed that I miss all the fun things and have to talk about all the dumb things. But the one shining light has been the consistent and amazing play from Tyrese Haliburton. Coming off a nail-biting 116-115 win against the Lakers, it was Haliburton’s third straight game of 10+ assists with 0 turnovers, and in his last three games, has 30 assists and no turnovers. To insulate myself, I hereby declare Tuesday “Tyreseday” in hopes I can just talk about him the rest of the season. Just please, I don’t want to talk about Kyrie anymore… Here’s what else I saw during last night’s games:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

‘Tis the Season

by: Jay

For drama.

Yes, this isn’t just a TNT thing (is that still their tagline or did I just date myself?), and a large reason why I love the NBA so much. True, I still tune into the Super Bowl and some playoff matchups every year, I might watch over a dozen or so Padres games here and there if I feel like hating myself. But the NBA, the players have always done that great job where they have my curiosity and then they have my attention. And while you should never start a sentence with “The” and “Jews”, from Kyrie to Jalen Brown to Isaiah Thomas, there’s definitely some beer being held onto. Then you have Ladder vs. Man, Montrez Harrell standing firm as the defender of ladders. You dig the romance part of soaps? Did you know that Booker/Jenner is officially no more? And oh yeah, there are actual games being played too, crazy I know! So Happy Thanksgiving y’all, here’s what I saw during last night’s games…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Calling a S.G.A. Day

November 15, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 3 Comments

by: Jay

While I’d love to talk about Tim Hardaway testing the double-jeopardy statute of being cancelled (there is no law), quickly getting right back into it after his post-hate clarity of attacking and then apologizing to the LGBTQ community and then moving straight into describing basketball plays as raking. It could have been graping because no one ever thinks about the grapes, you know? But as I said, Tim’s swan song as an NBA broadcaster isn’t exactly “fantasy basketball” relevant, so it might be better to focus on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s continued emergence as a legit NBA star (second team for sure, first team anyone?). Coming off a night where he scored 37 points with 4 rebounds and 8 assists, there were times last night (and during the season) where he just looks simply unguardable. Even the Celtics, who don’t run too many doubles, were throwing everything at him. While still pulling out the win, the Celtics’ elite defenders exposed SGA’s agility and shot IQ to be exceptional and confirmed that this may actually be a very special year despite tanking towards Wembanyama. (Trademark pending.)

Here’s what else I saw during last night’s light slate of games:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Kawhipocalypse is Near

November 8, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 8 Comments

by: Jay

While not an actual in-game injury, news broke late last night that Kawhi Leonard is now out indefinitely amid his ACL recovery. This is both possibly the least-surprising surprise since Elon Musk bought Twitter and turned the platform into… well whatever you want to call it. I’m sure if you tie a bunch of adjectives and expletives, you’d be pretty accurate. And this was the same week! True, Kawhi had not looked great all so far and was already very limited recently due to “tendinitis” but I think it’s clear at this point that the best Kawhi ever was has already happened and his magical run in playoffs on the Raptors may have been the number one contributing factor to the Leonard we see now today. And frankly the past several years. And no matter how you look at it, we’re talking about a player who took a year off and has been handled with extreme care so far in 2022 and probably hadn’t had back-to-back games since the Great Depression. Hate to say it, but this might be his career swan song. On that note, it’s Tuesday so go vote! That way we don’t lose Kawhi and Democracy in the same week…

Here’s what else I saw during last night’s full slate of games:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

As the Kyrie Turns

November 1, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes |

by: Jay

As the early part of the NBA 2022-23 season churns on, a lot of storylines and off-the-court drama permeates. Some of these were built off the back from previous seasons; the trending bewilderment of Ben Simmons, the Lakers continued struggles while inadvertently tanking for Wembanyama while the Pelicans have the rights to their first-round pick also remains a bold strategy. Kyrie Irving is still a hateful idiot. But there are also new and interesting storylines being created right now, like the Jazz competing with the Spurs and TrailbBlazers for the number one seed (early, but you can talk about it!), the Clippers being a mess, the resurgence of James Harden… and the Bucks continue their quest for 82-0, squeaking out a win last night. While there’s a lot to ridicule (mostly the Nets), there’s a lot of interesting items both on and off the court that have made this season already special. Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The West Runs Through It

October 25, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 1 Comment

by: Jay

“A River Runs Through It” is a 1992 American drama film directed by Robert Redford and starring Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt and Tom Skerritt that focuses on a coming of age story between two brothers; one studious, the other rebellious. “The West Runs Through It” is a 2022 National Basketball drama directed by Adam Silver and starring the Trail Blazers, Spurs and Jazz that focuses on a coming of age story between three teams who refuse the temptation of drafting Victor Wembanyama, rather focusing on reaching the playoffs. Just like we all expected… You have Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons going a combined 60/9/13 on 21-33 shooting and 11-19 from beyond the arc in a blowout against the Nuggets, yet another Spurs win fueled by Devin Vassell’s 23/9/7 and of course the powerhouse Jazz team where you can’t tell the starters from their bench, netting their first loss may have slowed them down, but still, at 3-1, who else was I going to put here in the lede? The Lakers? (ROFL.)

Here’s what else I saw during last night’s games…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2022-23 Los Angeles Clippers Preview

October 15, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Los Angeles Clippers, Team Previews |

by: Jay

Ah yes, darkness my old friend. Well, not the usual darkness and despair, let’s be honest here, the Clippers are a very good team. And not just the roster, the entire franchise is pretty darn solid from top-to-bottom and, like the past four seasons, remains a threat to grab the chip. The obvious hurdle the past several years, of course, is the perpetual injuries and time missed by their two biggest stars in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. While Kawhi takes the cake for the majority of time missed, no one is really unfamiliar with this race to the bottom with exploding body parts. But that’s the intrigue with this team, when those two aren’t on the court, there’s still a solid group that can grind out wins and hold their own, a narrative that’s remained entrenched as they prove it every season. But when, and of course we have to add the caveat of “if” those two ever make it on the court together in a sustainable amount of time (ahem, playoffs), well, the sky is pretty much the limit.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2022-23 Orlando Magic Preview

October 14, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Orlando Magic, Team Previews |

by: Jay

Do you believe in Magic? A quote engraved with time, from good ole’ Mickey D’s (the hamburger place!) to Magic Johnson, to the actual Magic. Perhaps even real magic? One can only hope. And what does this journey have to do with the aforementioned Magic? Nothing really, I just like leaving easy clues to how old I’m getting. It’s either providing catharsis or more depression, but at this point, who can tell? But speaking of which, when you think of the Magic, there’s literally just one or two “eras” that the team found success. The first was the one we all know of, the Shaq-attack in prime form, Penny, Nick Anderson, ah yes, the mid-90’s… No Diggity, No Doubt. The second age of Magic “prosperity” would probably be then the end of the 00’s, an underrated team in history that saw some dominant performances from Vince Carter and Hedo Turkoglu. But beyond that, darkness. A world without Magic, if you will. This might not be the case much longer though, the real question is, does the return of Magic begin this year? Let’s find out!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2022-23 Washington Wizards Preview

October 7, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Team Previews, Washington Wizards |

by: Jay

If you were ever wondering what the process was for how team previews get assigned, it’s essentially a modern day duel to the death, but digital with way less death and way more clicking. But for the most part, we do get some say on which teams we cover, which for me is a strange thing to admit as I’ve now covered the Bulls, Rockets and now the Wizards. I’ve begun to question my very core ethos… am I masochist? Do I love to suffer from watching lost causes and rebuilding projects? Granted, the Bulls are kinda breaking out of their shell, Ninja Turtles metaphor for all the senior citizens out there, but there’s no denying that being a fan of the Rockets and Wizards franchises has its challenges. And while the Rockets have committed to a full rebuild and have essentially forfeited the next few seasons in order to quickly regenerate their team, the Wizards have chosen the meandering method (Or how I make love). With the re-signing of Bradley Beal, the Wizards look to be competitive for some weeks before returning to their middle-of-the-ground wasteland. The real question is, how many weeks and how much meh-basketball will be generated in that span? Enticing, I know!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2022-23 Houston Rockets Preview

October 2, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Houston Rockets, Team Previews |

by: Jay

I figure y’all don’t need reminding that these aren’t your father’s Rockets. I don’t even think these are your brother’s Rockets either, especially if you don’t have a brother. That kinda eliminates you out of the metaphor. But the point stands, the Rockets are basically last year’s Rockets in that this is a team still in rebuild mode. But, as one of the dozen or so Padres fans from another ball sport (heehee balls), one can be accustomed to a bad team and still like the parts on it. In this, I guess “mechanic” type metaphor, parts are people and before I start getting too random, yes, the Rockets will be terrible, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some non-terrible things on it. I guess I could have just said that and saved 250 words of bad metaphors. Hmm.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2022-23 Chicago Bulls Team Preview

September 22, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Chicago Bulls, Team Previews |

by: Jay

Growing up in the 90’s (don’t date me bro!), it would have been hard to imagine not just the mediocrity that would follow the next two decades (okay, I’ll add the qualifier “measured” mediocrity for all those Noah/Rose fanboys out there), but also feeling some sort of compassion for hanging out near the bottom-half of the league for longer than it takes to legally drink. Truth be told, it’s not like the Bulls have been, say, the Kings over the same span. (I’d feel sorry for making fun of the Kings if they had more than a dozen fans.) But there’s definitely been a markable difference between the Michael Jordan Bulls and everything that came afterwards. I also go by the name: Captain Obvious. And while it’s been a long wait for those in Chitown, there’s a lot to like with this team, especially building off a successful season that led to the first round of the playoffs, fruits of their previous active off-seasons. Sure, it’s not the chips we middle-aged men were used to seeing from this team a long time ago, but as someone great once said, time is flat circle… (Don’t worry, I prefer the McConaughey quote over Nietzsche too. Actually, after typing that sentence out, I prefer neither since it took me a few hours for spellcheck to agree.)

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Don’t Judge a Booker by its Cover

March 25, 2022 | 2021-22 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes |

by: Jay

Crazy fourth quarters and Devin Booker, name a more iconic duo. While last night’s game against the Nuggets was on Chris Paul’s return after 15 games due to a thumb fracture, Booker continued to perform like he has most of the season putting up 49 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists, leading the Suns to their 60th win. And with that win, the Suns have now clinched first place overall (home court advantage through the playoffs) and are now on pace to become the 14th team ever in the history of the NBA to win more than 67 games. And if you didn’t believe me about Booker, the Suns, and the fourth quarter, they are now 44-0 when leading after three quarters. I’m not even sure how to live in a world where the Suns are this good.

Please, blog, may I have some more?