#fargo shooting: 1 man shot

[trendnfun]

Officer killed in Fargo shooting ID'd as Jake Wallin; suspect, Mohamed Barakat, also killed; 2 officers critical

FARGO, N.D. -- Police in Fargo confirmed that an officer was useless and two others injured after a taking pictures on Friday afternoon. The suspect was additionally killed, and a civilian sustained severe accidents.

On Saturday afternoon, Fargo police launched extra details about the officers concerned, together with figuring out the one who was killed -- 23-year-old Jake Wallin, who grew to become a police officer in April 2023 after graduating from the Fargo Police Academy IV.

The two officers who sustained important accidents are Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes. They had been listed in important however secure situation.

Police say that the suspect, 37-year-old Fargo resident Mohamad Barakat, died of his accidents at a neighborhood well being care facility. Police say he was taken down by Fargo police officer Zachary Robinson, who has been with the division for seven years. Robinson has been positioned on administrative go away, which is customary in these instances.

"The events of the last 24 hours have been among the most difficult in our department's nearly 150-year history. This was a heinous and unthinkable act of aggression against our officers and the entire metro community. As we all try to comprehend what has transpired and mourn the impact on our team and the entire community, we are bracing for extremely difficult days ahead," Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski mentioned.

Witnesses report listening to bullets

Witnesses mentioned a person opened fireplace on cops earlier than different officers shot him round 3 p.m. on Friday. Shortly afterward, officers converged on a residential space about 2 miles away and evacuated residents whereas gathering what they mentioned was proof associated to the taking pictures.

Witnesses reported seeing and listening to gunshots within the space. Shannon Nichole advised KFGO Radio she was driving on the time.

"I saw the traffic stop and as soon as I drove, shots were fired and I saw the cops go down," Nichole mentioned. "My airbag went off and the bullet went through my driver's door."

A person grabbed her and mentioned they wanted to get out of the realm, Nichole menti ...read more

[tdciago]

Fargo: To Wit(t)...

(Originally posted as a reply on Reddit on 1/16/24)

I was also puzzled over how boring Witt seemed in comparison to other characters. So I went back and looked at his official character description.

"'North Dakota Deputy Witt Farr,' portrayed by Lamorne Morris, is the guy when you look up the word 'reliable' in the dictionary, you see his picture. He splits the check down to the cent, not because he’s cheap but because he’s fair. He’s dogged, earnest and Minnesota Nice."

A couple of things stand out. First, the dictionary definition of "reliable," along with the term "Minnesota Nice."

Witt isn't even from Minnesota, as far as we know, but this season began with a dictionary definition of Minnesota Nice. We also had a narrator introduced briefly in episode 5 (Chapter 5), then that idea was dropped immediately. If the word "reliable" is referring to a "reliable narrator," this may be suggesting that Witt is telling this story. That's not my favorite theory, and in fact the narrator has been quite unreliable, because the story has been filled with inconsistencies. But this may be something to consider in the finale.

The part about splitting the check down to the cent, as I've mentioned before, seems to be directly connected to the argument between Gaear and Carl in Fargo the movie. Carl wants to take the tan Ciera, but Gaear insists that they split it evenly.

Carl asks how you split a car - with a chainsaw? - and Gaear replies that one of them pays the other for half. When Carl refuses, that's when he gets the axe.

If we go back to the first episode, we see that Witt had a partner, which seems unusual for a trooper. We haven't seen him with one since, even though he was injured and shouldn't have been on patrol duty alone.

The patrol car is evenly split, in the following sense. Witt Farr means White Bull and his partner is "Iron" Mike Ox. So we've got a bull on one side and an ox on the other. The word FARRier comes from the Latin word for "iron," so there's an iron reference on both sides as well.

Munch, like Gaear, is extemely concerned with fair compensation. It's not even necessarily about money, but what is fair, such as a trade for protection in exchange for room and board. So we have an echo of the movie that relates to Witt and Munch. Munch even shoots Witt in the leg, a callback to Gaear getting shot in the leg by Marge Gunderson.

Witt also represents the answer to the Sphinx's riddle, which Oedipus answered. What creature walks on 4 legs in the morning, then 2 legs at midday, then 3 legs in the evening? The answer is man, who crawls, then walks, then uses a cane. We've seen Witt on crutches (4 legs), walking without aid (2 legs), and with a cane (3 legs).

Since a FARRier shoes horses, I have to wonder if Witt is the upside-down horseshoe with Gator's name on it that brings bad luck to Gator.

I also wonder about a couple of football expressions. Lorraine says no daughter of hers is going down on the one-yard line. Gator tells Witt that someone who looked like Witt blindsided him and tackled him when he was playing high school football. Will Witt make that move in the finale?

[readyforsomeslapstick]

what do you think about the baby's ( gaetano ) death ?

*TAKES A VERY DEEP BREATH, FOR A VERY LONG REPLY*

Okay, so I’ve had a week to think about this, and I have thought about this in phases. With that in mind, let’s start from the beginning, shall we?

REACTION #1: I was grief stricken--and I also felt like an idiot. 

The episode had some extremely Gaetano-centric moments, which I of course ADORED. This episode really humanized Gaetano for us. Sure he’s a sociopath, sure he’s violent and cruel, but he’s also still human. This episode gave us that. 

And I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN that this meant he would die; it’s a typical Fargo trick. And yet, when Gaetano shot Odis I let out this huge sigh of relief. I even remember saying out loud to the TV, “Oh, thank God.” 

And I was already formulating the future in my head. “So, Gaetano makes it to the final episode, I’m sure he’ll die then though, so I wonder how--”

THEN BAM. He trips, and falls, and he shoots himself. And the sound I made--a mix of a groan, and a gasp, and a squeal all at the same time. I scared my dogs. I will admit, I had tears in my eyes. My reaction was Josto’s reaction. 

And I remember sitting back in my seat and thinking to myself, “Well. Guess I don’t care what happens to anyone in this show now.” But, of course, I didn’t change the channel because...it’s Fargo. Gotta see how it ends!!

(Also, during the 4x11 promo I remembered I’m emotionally invested in Violante, too, and seems like he gets some major screen time so...yay!)

REACTION #2: Monday or Tuesday, I started to find it a little funny. 

I mean, there is undoubtedly humor in how he goes. Haven’t we all been joking on this very blog about his adorable, pool noodle brain? 

The man is not a genius by any stretch of the imagination. He’s clumsy, and goofy, and at times clownish. 

How fitting is it that Gaetano trips over his own feet, or the curb, and tries to break his fall with his gun and then shoots himself. 

I can’t think of the last time there was a more Fargo-ish death. And if I didn’t like Gaetano so friggin’ much, I might have even laughed.

(All of that said, I would argue that in 4x10 we actually see some of the shadows of what a thoughtful Gaetano might be. As Josto’s confidante, he advises the boss--maybe even more than Violante at this point. Josto may be the one coming up with the plans, but Gaetano is steering him on which plans to follow and which plans are dumb. 

(And that scene with Gaetano, Josto, Violante and the New York goon? Gaetano is constantly watching our New York man. He knows the criticality of what’s going on. He’s trying to make Josto look good in front of the man reporting back to the real bosses. 

(And I STILL wonder how much of this Gaetano and Violante already discussed, because they were pretty chummy in 4x08 just before Gaetano wiped the floor with Josto...)

REACTION #3: Wednesday, I started to get a little sad again.

I know one person IRL who watches Fargo, and that person detests Gaetano. And of course their reaction was, “I’m glad he’s dead. That death was great.”

Additionally, what little commentary I saw online (outside of this blog and you lovely people) was different flavors of this same reaction. People were glad Gaetano was dead, and they thought his death was hilarious. 

I wasn’t hearing any chatter about the revelations we saw in his character, about what Gaetano’s death means for the rest of the plot and characters, or anything. People just seemed glad my son had accidentally killed himself. 

If you all can’t tell by now, I am a sucker for analysis and discussion in media. And for a person like me, when you don’t get that analysis and discussion and instead you just feel inundated by a single opinion (specifically negative)? 

Well, that gets tiring after a while, and it brings my/your mood down. 

(For the record, people are entitled to their own opinion and I’m glad they say, think, feel whatever they want. It’s not hurting anyone. I was just sad.) 

REACTION #4: Friday (yesterday), I found Salvatore Esposito’s interview, and it healed me. If you haven’t read this yet, read it now.

From the headline (“‘Fargo’ star Salvatore Esposito dishes on Gaetano’s ‘poetic’ reckoning”), I expected it to be another version of what I was hearing in REACTION #3 above. Essentially, “Haha, he’s a clown and it’s funny.”

But Salvatore’s commentary about what we learn about Gaetano in 4x10, about why Gaetano’s death is fitting, about the poetry of it...this is what I needed. 

There are so many gems in this article, but this was my favorite: “I think there’s something poetic in the fact that only Gaetano can kill Gaetano.”

He is spot on. In the land of Taking & Killing, isn’t Gaetano king? So who could possibly kill Gaetano? Only himself. This alone puts me at peace. 

And it got me reflecting on past moments in the season with Gaetano, and how we see Gaetano attempting to project this graceful and cultured facade...and I remembered the moment when he slips on the ice? I call that foreshadowing.

And while I’m still so sad Gaetano died, I knew it was inevitable. And I’m just glad that we got some really hilarious and insightful and borderline beautiful moments with Gaetano before he went. I’m glad Gaetano was a character at all!

IN SUMMARY: His death put me on a roller coaster of emotions, but I am now prepared to go into 4x11 a free-spirited person. 

Not only that, but I’m just grateful for Salvatore Esposito. For his depiction of Gaetano and what he brought to the role, but also for his insight into the portrayal of Gaetano and what he sees in the character that is terrible and horrible and all of those other ugly things--but is also human, and has human qualities, and deserves that serious and human representation. 

P.S. 10 points to your house for calling him baby. RIP our son. 😭

[gwssfargo]

Episode 5: “The Six Ungraspables”

By Gracie Margretto

   The episode begins with a flashback of how Martin Freeman’s character, Lester Nygaard, acquires the 12-gauge shotgun that was used during the night he killed his wife. By chance (and rather easily), while buying socks, the shop owner decides to throw in the firearm as something like a combo deal. Lester has already been established as a meek, timid and submissive man, but he doesn’t turn away at the offer and brings the gun home, trying to figure out its mechanics at home. His wife walks in and the viewers are reminded of her habit of constantly emasculating and degrading her husband as she notes “if anyone could shoot theirselves in the face with an unloaded firearm, it’s you.” Lester lets the comment slide and clumsily finds a place to leave the gun- obviously putting it out of sight and out of mind unaware how important this gun will be to his story. It must be acknowledged that the series is set in a small, rural, white town in Minnesota in what would’ve been a  Bush-administrative era. Politics aren’t explicitly discussed but the implications of such a conservative town are obvious with how Lester was able to purchase a shotgun just as easily as a pair of socks. He mentions later that the gun was for “protection” though the viewers know it ends up causing nothing but violence and destruction. We can see the consequences of this as the fragmented shell from the shots that killed Vern creates an infected wound in Lester’s hand, festering as does Lester’s guilt and complications covering up his crimes.

     At this point in the series, Lester has only been seriously investigated by Deputy Molly Solverson, the (only) female cop who has had trouble proving herself and her place in the police force. Since the beginning of the show, we see how determined and resourceful she is, albeit a bit amateur, she quickly developing her investigative abilities while dodging pressure and stereotype-based critiques from older men that feel the need to urge her back in “place” and out of the way of the dangers of law enforcement. She is incredibly patient despite being put down so much and still is never discouraged in taking personal time (and occasionally disobeying her superiors) to uncover the truth about the multiple crimes going on. Additionally, unlike most of the other female characters in the show she has virtually no interest in romantic affairs and is defiant to authorities in her own way. Finally, after organizing her evidence she took much toil in gathering on her own, she convinces her chief that Lester may not be the weakling, high-school friend the chief remembers him as. On the other hand, in episode five we see another eager cop, Gus Grimly, who feels rather inadequate and unsure of himself especially as a provider for his daughter, Greta, which is most of his motivation for doing the right thing and how he behaves at work. He is somewhat of a breath of fresh air from the suffocating efforts of toxic masculinity that permeates the show as a single father who really just wants to be a good person and a good, caring father.  He and Molly bond over their determination to get to the bottom of the crimes and Gus’ pure admiration for Molly’s detective skills are refreshing, allowing Molly to simply be a good cop, without having to overtly prove her abilities or theories.

     Every main character presents as heterosexual, white, cisgendered and mostly male with the exception of Molly Solverson and the occasional side character housewife. There is no room for racial conflicts in the show as the only people of color ever even seen on camera are Asian background characters, few and far between at that. This lack of diversity is may be passed off as appropriate considering the rural Minnesota setting but it is disappointing nonetheless even in a fictitious world. One overarching theme that is ever present is the coddling of the police force to white suspects very much as “innocent until proven guilty,” particularly in cases where the policemen are familiar with suspected individuals. Lester takes advantage of this, playing the victim at every turn and saying Deputy Solverson is “harassing” him for asking follow-up questions. His timid disposition and his past of being bullied were originally his greatest downfall, in this episode and throughout the show as law enforcement narrows in on him, Lester uses his white privilege (whether he consciously acknowledges this or not) and previous emasculated characterization to his benefit to avoid punishment. While sexuality is mainly covertly expressed in the show, in terms of males being dominant and “breadwinners” for their wives and families, most of the problems in the show stem from toxic masculinity. Some of which we see in this particular episode, from Lester’s purchase of the gun to Molly’s need for extensive efforts to be heard. The need to be a “man” and prove their worth as such and be protectors and providers is what spurs many bad decisions and acts of violence throughout the series. 

References:  Hawley, Noah. “Fargo ‘The Six Ungraspables.’” Season 1, Episode 5, FX, 2014.

[pupthepupper-blog]

The First Chapter Of Bullets

WARNING! THIS COULD BE SENSITIVE FOR SOME VIEWERS! A CHILD DIES IN THIS SCENE  BY GUN SHOT. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Chapter 1.

            The alarms went off in Wells Fargo at 10 am in Seattle Washington. A regular sized man with a scruffy beard held up a gun. “If anyone moves, I’s gonna shoot ya.”

           “The boss said no killing!” A small teenager piped up from behind the man. He was very, very short. Almost too short.

           “Shut it, midget.” The man grunted. A lady winced at the word ‘midget’. She obviously had a painful experience with the word.

           “Bill, don’t use that word. It hurts people.” The teenager tried standing up for the lady, but was quickly kicked in the shin by the man, Bill.

           “You’s can’t tell me what’s to say!” Bill fired a shot in the air. A tiny girl, at least age 8, screamed and backed into her mom. Bill whirred his head towards the two. “Which one of ya’s moved!?”

           “Bill please don’t… just because boss sent us to kill, doesn’t mean you can kill a child…”

            Bill didn’t listen. “I SAID; Which one of ya’s moved?!” The mother raised her hand shakily.

           Bang.

           She was shot. The daughter cried. “Mama, mama! No! You’re a bad man!”

           Bill cackled, as the small teenager shook. “Bill please…” He tugged at Bill’s, old, worn out, dark blue, vest.

           “SHUT UP STUPID! I’S JUST DOIN’ OUR JOB!” He yelled as he looked at him. While doing this he shot the girl. “Come on now. We’s done our job.”

           They took pictures of the bodies, and left before the cops could come to get them.

[livehealthynewsusa]

What’s behind ben Simmons epic playoff meltdown?

It’s a defining moment in a close Game 7, but instead of throwing it off, Simmons fits in with teammate Matisse Thybulle in traffic.

Thybulle is fouled and goes to the line, taking only one free throw instead of the almost certain two points and one that would have come if Simmons had been fouled.

A collective moan echoes through the Wells Fargo Center. Sixers’ center Joel Embiid lowers his shoulders in frustration. The moment becomes an instant meme. The Sixers lose momentum and ultimately the game and the series. Simmons becomes a persona non grata in Philadelphia. His name is now directly on the trading block. There are reports that he won’t play for the Boomers in the Olympics.

The moment provides a snapshot of Simmons’ four year run in Philly where his failure to develop his offensive play and lack of chemistry on the court with teammate Embiid have been a constant source of frustration for fans and led to constant speculation that one the two ‘trial’ stars have to get away. After the meltdown on Monday, the calls for the dispatch of Simmons have reached fever. The problem for the Sixers is that from his chaotic performance on this series, his value may have fallen so far that they will find it difficult to make a decent return.

After the game it got ugly. Embiid tossed his teammate under the bus and found that Simmons had given up the open dunk the moment the game was lost, despite having made eight turnovers himself – to be fair, Embiid was playing on a partially torn meniscus. Coach Doc Rivers, who had defended Simmons all season, joined in, saying he didn’t know if Simmons had what it takes to be point guard on a championship team. Experts like Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson piled up, all stressing the fact that the Sixers are paralyzed because they have a star with a $ 217 million contract who is out of the game due to his lack of shooting skills Can play crunch time. O’Neal even went so far as to say that if he were Simmons’ teammate he would have “knocked out his butt”.

Yes, it could be called a rough week for Australia’s biggest basketball star.

I interviewed Simmons for a cover story in Philadelphia in 2018 and have followed his career closely ever since. As a fan, Simmons’ mental breakdown and the subsequent media and internet gathering was brutal. But I have to say I share the frustrations. Simmons is the kind of enigmatic star who teases you with glimpses of his otherworldly talent in one game, only to vanish completely the next. It’s annoying, which only makes Simmons’ cool demeanor and disapproval of criticism worse.

When we showed Simmons on our cover from May 2018, he was very popular. As the next LeBron touted James, his rookie stats were gaudy – 16, 8, and 8. The problem is, Simmons has been offensive since then. That season, he logged 14, 7, and 7. To his credit, he has made himself an elite defender, joining the All-NBA Defensive First Team for the second year in a row, and second this year to Utah’s Rudy Gobert took place in the choice of Defensive Player of the Year.

I have a theory that Simmons deliberately worked on this side of his game to divert attention from his offensive stagnation. He remains an electrifying force in flux, with an amazing court vision that enables him to find teammates for open looks. It works well enough in the regular season, but in play-off time when the game slows down to a half-field chess game decided by “knights” like Devin Booker, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant who take their own shot can create, Simmons becomes a burden, giving up the ball like a hot potato and lurking aimlessly in the spot of the dark. It forces Embiid to come off the post and play an open game if he should dominate on the block. It basically means the Sixers are a man on the offensive.

Simmons’ refusal to take outside shots was now compounded by his refusal to go into the basket for fear of being fouled. First the Wizards and then the Hawks employed a successful “hack-a-Simmons” strategy that took him to a record low of 34 percent in this year’s play-offs – even worse than Shaq!

Theories about Simmons’ struggles are online all over the place right now, and I’ve developed a few myself. Back when Simmons headed our cover, everyone expected his offensive play to develop, assuming he eventually started shooting threesomes. At the time, Simmons told me he was working on his jump shot and if it got better, watch out. “The thing about the shooting is that once I get it where I want it, nobody can stop me,” he said. And so we waited. Every year during the off-season, Simmons posted videos filming from the outside in training, which raised the hopes of Sixers fans only to be dashed once the season started and he was stuck. Teammates talked about how he shot the ball free in practice, hoping it would start shooting in games, but it never happened. Instead, it may have created a dichotomy between exercise and play that has become a gaping mental chasm that Simmons cannot cross.

That’s when he actually does the work. Simmons’ lack of progress on the offensive has led many to speculate (and point to his Instagram account as evidence) that he cares more about his flashy cars, dogs, and game than going to the gym and busting his Repair sweater.

ESPN’s Stephen A Smith said this week he received a text message through Simmons from someone close to the Philadelphia situation:Quote, he doesn’t work, he doesn’t listen, and everyone around him is a family and he is becoming babies all the time. “

Smith then added on SportsCenter: “They asked him for four years to improve his jump shot. He ignored coaches, he ignored assistant coaches, he ignored teammates, he ignored his agent, he ignored family members because he loved being in LA, in South Beach likes to say he went to the gym to play instead of the gym to go to work on my game. And it came back to bite him – because the only thing you can say about Ben Simmons is that he can’t shoot. “

Who knows if that’s true, but it seems likely that it was always a little too easy for Simmons. He grew up a supernaturally gifted player with absurd abilities for someone six feet tall and is the best player on any team he has ever played on. He never really had to fight, which resulted in complacency about his game and possibly a shaky work ethic. Compare him to Hawks’ point guard Trae Young, who is similarly gifted but only 6’1 inches tall. Young was told he was too small since he was a child. He had to fight every step of the way. As a result, as he showed first against the Knicks, then against the Sixers and now in Game 1 of the European Championship final against the Bucks, he is an ice-cold killer on the pitch.

Sometimes Simmons seemed a little too pleased with his game. During our interview he was defensive about his shooting and cited his stats as evidence that his game was in good shape. He seemed to be saying there was no need for improvement. “I don’t worry that much because my average is 17, 8 and 8,” he said at the time. “Boys haven’t done this in their entire careers, so if I do that in 50 games I think I’ll play well.”

But while the mental side of Simmons’ game seems to be in free fall at the moment, it’s possible that the ultimate source of his struggles lies in a mechanical problem that has evolved into a psychological problem over time. One theory popularized by The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor is that Simmons shoots with the wrong hand. The statistics prove it: Simmons dropped the ball 67 shots with his right hand this postseason, compared to just nine shots with his left hand. That rate coincides with his career rate using his right hand, which dates back to his time at LSU, writes O’Connor.

Simmons told The New York Daily News in 2016 that his father encouraged him to photograph left-handed as an adult. “I think I should be right. But now everything is natural ”. I asked Simmons about it right away. He scoffed, then sighed in annoyance as if I’d asked him if the world was flat. “People like to make up shit,” he said. “Maybe I’m writing with the wrong hand?” There are reports that the Sixers are finally trying to address this and get Simmons to shoot with his right hand. They can do that too, because it can hardly get worse.

It is also reported there that he will use the off-season to work on “skill development” instead of representing the Boomers at the Olympics. It reminded me of what Simmons told me in 2018 when I asked him about his goals. He replied that you should win a championship, win a gold medal in the Olympics and be “the greatest player of all time”. “You have to set the bar high,” he said. Back then, those goals seemed lofty; today, they seem like pipe dreams.

The problem is, when it comes to his offensive play, I think Simmons may have set the bar too high. So high that he was afraid he would fail. Whatever your sport, once that particular seed takes root in your head, you are in mental quicksand. Simmons fired a total of four shots in Game 7 against the Hawks. You have to shoot to score. You have to take risks to progress and sometimes you have to fail to build the chip on your shoulder and the mental resilience you need to succeed. Now that he has failed on the biggest stage of all, we hope that Simmons is finally ready to overcome his physical and mental blockages. He may be in a bad position right now, but the chances are that after falling this deep, Simmons is right where he needs to be: a player with nothing to lose.

source https://livehealthynews.com/whats-behind-ben-simmons-epic-playoff-meltdown/

[dailyhealthynews]

What’s behind ben Simmons epic playoff meltdown?

It’s a defining moment in a close Game 7, but instead of throwing it off, Simmons fits in with teammate Matisse Thybulle in traffic.

Thybulle is fouled and goes to the line, taking only one free throw instead of the almost certain two points and one that would have come if Simmons had been fouled.

A collective moan echoes through the Wells Fargo Center. Sixers’ center Joel Embiid lowers his shoulders in frustration. The moment becomes an instant meme. The Sixers lose momentum and ultimately the game and the series. Simmons becomes a persona non grata in Philadelphia. His name is now directly on the trading block. There are reports that he won’t play for the Boomers in the Olympics.

The moment provides a snapshot of Simmons’ four year run in Philly where his failure to develop his offensive play and lack of chemistry on the court with teammate Embiid have been a constant source of frustration for fans and led to constant speculation that one the two ‘trial’ stars have to get away. After the meltdown on Monday, the calls for the dispatch of Simmons have reached fever. The problem for the Sixers is that from his chaotic performance on this series, his value may have fallen so far that they will find it difficult to make a decent return.

After the game it got ugly. Embiid tossed his teammate under the bus and found that Simmons had given up the open dunk the moment the game was lost, despite having made eight turnovers himself – to be fair, Embiid was playing on a partially torn meniscus. Coach Doc Rivers, who had defended Simmons all season, joined in, saying he didn’t know if Simmons had what it takes to be point guard on a championship team. Experts like Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson piled up, all stressing the fact that the Sixers are paralyzed because they have a star with a $ 217 million contract who is out of the game due to his lack of shooting skills Can play crunch time. O’Neal even went so far as to say that if he were Simmons’ teammate he would have “knocked out his butt”.

Yes, it could be called a rough week for Australia’s biggest basketball star.

I interviewed Simmons for a cover story in Philadelphia in 2018 and have followed his career closely ever since. As a fan, Simmons’ mental breakdown and the subsequent media and internet gathering was brutal. But I have to say I share the frustrations. Simmons is the kind of enigmatic star who teases you with glimpses of his otherworldly talent in one game, only to vanish completely the next. It’s annoying, which only makes Simmons’ cool demeanor and disapproval of criticism worse.

When we showed Simmons on our cover from May 2018, he was very popular. As the next LeBron touted James, his rookie stats were gaudy – 16, 8, and 8. The problem is, Simmons has been offensive since then. That season, he logged 14, 7, and 7. To his credit, he has made himself an elite defender, joining the All-NBA Defensive First Team for the second year in a row, and second this year to Utah’s Rudy Gobert took place in the choice of Defensive Player of the Year.

I have a theory that Simmons deliberately worked on this side of his game to divert attention from his offensive stagnation. He remains an electrifying force in flux, with an amazing court vision that enables him to find teammates for open looks. It works well enough in the regular season, but in play-off time when the game slows down to a half-field chess game decided by “knights” like Devin Booker, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant who take their own shot can create, Simmons becomes a burden, giving up the ball like a hot potato and lurking aimlessly in the spot of the dark. It forces Embiid to come off the post and play an open game if he should dominate on the block. It basically means the Sixers are a man on the offensive.

Simmons’ refusal to take outside shots was now compounded by his refusal to go into the basket for fear of being fouled. First the Wizards and then the Hawks employed a successful “hack-a-Simmons” strategy that took him to a record low of 34 percent in this year’s play-offs – even worse than Shaq!

Theories about Simmons’ struggles are online all over the place right now, and I’ve developed a few myself. Back when Simmons headed our cover, everyone expected his offensive play to develop, assuming he eventually started shooting threesomes. At the time, Simmons told me he was working on his jump shot and if it got better, watch out. “The thing about the shooting is that once I get it where I want it, nobody can stop me,” he said. And so we waited. Every year during the off-season, Simmons posted videos filming from the outside in training, which raised the hopes of Sixers fans only to be dashed once the season started and he was stuck. Teammates talked about how he shot the ball free in practice, hoping it would start shooting in games, but it never happened. Instead, it may have created a dichotomy between exercise and play that has become a gaping mental chasm that Simmons cannot cross.

That’s when he actually does the work. Simmons’ lack of progress on the offensive has led many to speculate (and point to his Instagram account as evidence) that he cares more about his flashy cars, dogs, and game than going to the gym and busting his Repair sweater.

ESPN’s Stephen A Smith said this week he received a text message through Simmons from someone close to the Philadelphia situation:Quote, he doesn’t work, he doesn’t listen, and everyone around him is a family and he is becoming babies all the time. “

Smith then added on SportsCenter: “They asked him for four years to improve his jump shot. He ignored coaches, he ignored assistant coaches, he ignored teammates, he ignored his agent, he ignored family members because he loved being in LA, in South Beach likes to say he went to the gym to play instead of the gym to go to work on my game. And it came back to bite him – because the only thing you can say about Ben Simmons is that he can’t shoot. “

Who knows if that’s true, but it seems likely that it was always a little too easy for Simmons. He grew up a supernaturally gifted player with absurd abilities for someone six feet tall and is the best player on any team he has ever played on. He never really had to fight, which resulted in complacency about his game and possibly a shaky work ethic. Compare him to Hawks’ point guard Trae Young, who is similarly gifted but only 6’1 inches tall. Young was told he was too small since he was a child. He had to fight every step of the way. As a result, as he showed first against the Knicks, then against the Sixers and now in Game 1 of the European Championship final against the Bucks, he is an ice-cold killer on the pitch.

Sometimes Simmons seemed a little too pleased with his game. During our interview he was defensive about his shooting and cited his stats as evidence that his game was in good shape. He seemed to be saying there was no need for improvement. “I don’t worry that much because my average is 17, 8 and 8,” he said at the time. “Boys haven’t done this in their entire careers, so if I do that in 50 games I think I’ll play well.”

But while the mental side of Simmons’ game seems to be in free fall at the moment, it’s possible that the ultimate source of his struggles lies in a mechanical problem that has evolved into a psychological problem over time. One theory popularized by The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor is that Simmons shoots with the wrong hand. The statistics prove it: Simmons dropped the ball 67 shots with his right hand this postseason, compared to just nine shots with his left hand. That rate coincides with his career rate using his right hand, which dates back to his time at LSU, writes O’Connor.

Simmons told The New York Daily News in 2016 that his father encouraged him to photograph left-handed as an adult. “I think I should be right. But now everything is natural ”. I asked Simmons about it right away. He scoffed, then sighed in annoyance as if I’d asked him if the world was flat. “People like to make up shit,” he said. “Maybe I’m writing with the wrong hand?” There are reports that the Sixers are finally trying to address this and get Simmons to shoot with his right hand. They can do that too, because it can hardly get worse.

It is also reported there that he will use the off-season to work on “skill development” instead of representing the Boomers at the Olympics. It reminded me of what Simmons told me in 2018 when I asked him about his goals. He replied that you should win a championship, win a gold medal in the Olympics and be “the greatest player of all time”. “You have to set the bar high,” he said. Back then, those goals seemed lofty; today, they seem like pipe dreams.

The problem is, when it comes to his offensive play, I think Simmons may have set the bar too high. So high that he was afraid he would fail. Whatever your sport, once that particular seed takes root in your head, you are in mental quicksand. Simmons fired a total of four shots in Game 7 against the Hawks. You have to shoot to score. You have to take risks to progress and sometimes you have to fail to build the chip on your shoulder and the mental resilience you need to succeed. Now that he has failed on the biggest stage of all, we hope that Simmons is finally ready to overcome his physical and mental blockages. He may be in a bad position right now, but the chances are that after falling this deep, Simmons is right where he needs to be: a player with nothing to lose.

source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/whats-behind-ben-simmons-epic-playoff-meltdown/

[newstfionline]

School Officer: A Job With Many Roles and One Big Responsibility

By Stephanie Saul, Timothy Williams And Anemona Hartocollis, NY Times, March 4, 2018

Maple syrup gumming up the gun belt isn’t normally a hazard of police work. But it is a common problem for Cpl. Pamela Revels when students have been eating pancakes at the school breakfast.

“Kids like to come up and give you a little bit of a hug,” Corporal Revels said. “They don’t wipe their hands that well.”

Ms. Revels freely dispenses hugs and smiles at the schools where she works around Auburn, Ala. But she is also a sheriff’s deputy who wears a sidearm and a bulletproof vest, drives an official S.U.V. and has an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle stored nearby.

On Thursday afternoon, when a report came in about a man in camouflage carrying a gun near school, she sprang into action. As worried students and teachers locked themselves in classrooms and closets, she bolted outdoors, hurriedly walked around the sprawling campus and scanned the nearby woods until she was satisfied that it was safe for everyone to emerge.

“I can turn into a mama bear really quick,” she said. “And I’ve made that decision that nobody is going to hurt my babies if I can help it.”

For millions of students, the first adult they see every day at school is not a teacher, or principal. It is a “school resource officer” like Corporal Revels, an often-overlooked role in law enforcement that is under the national glare like never before.

Their duties range from perking up sullen students to directing bus traffic to settling disputes to keeping an eye out for threats. It is that responsibility as the first line of defense that is getting the most attention, as questions swirl over whether the school resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., failed to do his job when he remained outside the school on Feb. 14 while a former student, Nikolas Cruz, shot 17 people to death inside.

The position, with its genial-sounding name, is an unusual hybrid of counselor, educator and cop, and perhaps no other job better personifies America’s shifting ideas about schools, policing and safety.

Their numbers exploded during the community-oriented policing wave of the 1990s and even more after the Columbine High School shooting in 1999.

As the memory of that shooting faded and local budgets tightened, their ranks thinned in many places. Now there are calls for installing more of them in schools across the country, with new positions announced in a number of districts just this past week, even as the president wants to arm more teachers.

In interviews, school officers around the country spoke of performing multiple adult roles, having to alternate between nurturing and authoritative, with a guiding philosophy known in the field as “the triad”--counselor, teacher, law enforcement officer.

“They have to be a mentor--a kind, caring, trusting adult, the nice police officer who will give you a high-five and ask you how your day is going,” said John McDonald, the security chief for the Jefferson County, Colo., school district, which includes Columbine High. “And very quickly they have to become a tactical cop. That switch is not for everybody. The ability to do that is very difficult.”

Mostly, though, their job is to keep order on campus and among adolescents whose fuses are not yet fully grown. Officer Kingzett, 38, was in the cafeteria of a Fargo middle school last week when a fight broke out between a girl and a boy. It started with name-calling, but Officer Kingzett could sense it escalating. As the bell rang and students streamed to their classes, she pulled aside the antagonists and just let them vent, using the listening skills she had learned as a negotiator on the police department’s SWAT team.

Crisis over. “It was one of those small victories you could tuck into your back pocket,” she said.

Nationally, there are no specific training requirements for the job, although the National Association of School Resource Officers recommends that officers complete a 40-hour course that includes emergency plans for schools, de-escalation techniques and academic work, including studying the adolescent brain. Since most officers are members of their local forces, they also receive the same shooting training their colleagues do.

Every school in New York City has at least one school safety officer, who are employed by the New York Police Department and can make arrests, but are unarmed. The department also assigns armed officers to certain schools.

The most recent calculations of the number of school resource officers, from 2013, showed that about 30 percent of schools had one, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In 1975, just 1 percent had.

In some cases, it is not an easy job to fill, according to Mr. McDonald of Jefferson County. “Most cops don’t get into law enforcement to be in school,” he said. “They want to be on the street catching bad guys.”

That problem has helped feed a stereotype that school officers are not the cream of their departments.

Mac Hardy, director of operations for the national organization, said bad school resource officers fall into three categories--“hostages,” those who are ordered to work in schools; “retirees,” older officers who are nursing their pensions; and “vacationers” who like having school holidays off, though many work as regular patrol officers during the summer.

“You’ve been on the job 20 years and we’ve got to park you someplace. We’re going to put you in a school,” Mr. McDonald said, describing the attitude he said some departments have. “That’s much less of an effective model. We want go-getters.”

As the first line of defense, school resource officers are often hailed as heroes when school incidents are defused, or, as in the case of Deputy Peterson, criticized for failing to avert disaster. Mr. Peterson, who resigned from the department, has disputed accusations that he did not fulfill his job, saying through his lawyer that he believed the shots were coming from outdoors and so he waited for the gunman there.

One of the heroes was Deputy Carolyn Gudger, who faced off an armed school intruder in 2010, becoming the toast of her eastern Tennessee community, which named her grand marshal of the Food City 250 Nascar race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The man had arrived at the school and asked to meet with the principal, then drew a semiautomatic handgun. Deputy Gudger pushed the principal out of harm’s way, drew her gun and held the intruder at bay, negotiating with him for 10 minutes even as he still had his gun drawn.

Other officers arrived and killed him when he refused to drop the weapon. Officer Gudger said she heard criticism that she should have shot the man right away. “I can’t give you a concrete answer on that,” she said last week. “It just wasn’t the time to do it.”

Asked whether she had ever averted an attack, Corporal Revels, the Alabama officer, said that several years ago, she began monitoring a student who had a habit of pushing, kicking and bullying other students. “I went deeper and found writings and drawings that were concerning,” she said, and saw to it that the student began mental health treatment.

On the day of the lockdown--it was unclear if the gun-toting man was real, or perhaps a wandering hunter--Corporal Revels also helped a kindergartner who had dropped his breakfast get new helpings of sausage and apple juice; saw a teenager storm out of Spanish class, talked with him briefly, and had him back in class in five minutes; complimented students on their choice of pajamas for the school’s Pajama Day; and then drove home to her farm an hour away, where she would respond to three phone calls regarding bullying or other misbehavior at school.

Takaya Dupree, a 12th-grader, said Corporal Revels knew almost every student well, since she had been around the school for years. “So I feel like she’ll protect us,” Takaya said.

Even if a gunman burst into the school?

“It wouldn’t get to that point,” she said. “She’ll probably talk him out of it, before he came to the school.”

[womenofcolor15]

Tory Lanez Foolery – Dedicates ‘Daystar’ Album To Mother After Catching Backlash For His F***Boi Ways + Meg Links Up With Mary J. Blige

Tory Lanez reached a new level of “f*** boi” when he released his new album, Daystar, that features lyrics of him telling his side of the shooting scandal involving his former friend/rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Get into his foolery – including his album dedication - Meg's response, her link up with Mary J. Blige and more inside…

Just when you thought the peak level of f***boi-ism had been reached…in comes Tory Lanez.

As you know, Megan Thee Stallion confirmed her former friend Tory Lanez (real name Daystar Peterson) was the person who shot her in both feet during an argument on July 12th in Los Angeles. The “Say It” rapper was arrested for a felony count of carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle.

        View this post on Instagram

                  real friends @theestallion @winnieharlow @corona beer for getting me lit like this lmaooo ...

A post shared by LONE $TONE FARGO (@torylanez) on Apr 1, 2020 at 4:55pm PDT

  Over the last two months, the Canadian rapper/singer remained mum about the shooting scandal. Now, he’s talking. Well, kinda.

Last week, Tory broke his silence on social media with a tweet announcing he would address the shooting allegations made against him.

To my fans ... I’m sorry for my silence .... but respectfully .. I got time today ...... 9 PM PST .

— Tory Lanez (@torylanez) September 24, 2020

“To my fans … I’m sorry for my silence …. but respectfully .. I got time today …… 9 p.m. PST,” he tweeted.

In another tweet he wrote:

There is a time to stay silent . And a time to speak ..... I said all I could say on this ... ALL PLATFORMS ... ..... #DAYSTAR ... I’ll be back to y’all soon .... respectfully .... pic.twitter.com/rC7oAotwfR

— Tory Lanez (@torylanez) September 25, 2020

”There is a time to stay silent . And a time to speak ..... I said all I could say on this ... ALL PLATFORMS ... ..... #DAYSTAR ... I’ll be back to y’all soon .... respectfully ....," he continued.

On the album, he said he didn’t shoot the SUGA rapper and that her people are trying to frame him.

“Megan people trying to frame me for a shooting / But them boys ain’t clean enough / I see how they teaming up, watching / And I’m calculating / Gotta keep it quiet, I can’t jeopardize the outcome waiting,” he rapped.

He also said, “Girl, you had the nerve to write that statement on that affidavit / Knowing I ain’t do it but I’m coming at my truest.”

On another track, he talked about being in a romantic relationship, seemingly with Megan, and said he’s still not over her.

“Don’t forget you was my b*tch / I held it down and kept it real / I would never paint no fake picture of you just for some mills / And I thought you was solid too, but look at how you doin’ me / People trying to ruin me / And what’s even worse is I’m still thinking about you and me,” he rapped.

Tory also popped back at artists Kehlani, Kaash Paige, JoJo, and NBA baller J.R. Smith, who spoke out about the shooting.

After releasing this foolishness, he then dedicated the album to his late mother:

        View this post on Instagram

                  9/25 my mothers birthday , the day she passed away , the day the album dropped #daystar

A post shared by LONE $TONE FARGO (@torylanez) on Sep 27, 2020 at 11:33am PDT

"9/25 my mothers birthday , the day she passed away , the day the album dropped #daystar," he wrote. Oh.

After Tory released his project, Meg – who recently covered TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People cover – posted up what appears to be a response while promoting her new denim line with Fashion Nova:

        View this post on Instagram

                  Nothing REAL can be threatened oh yeah and remember when I said I was collaborating with @fashionnova to make jeans for tall women These are the first samples coming soon

A post shared by Hot Girl Meg (@theestallion) on Sep 26, 2020 at 1:46pm PDT

  The Houston Hottie also shared some bomb pictures of herself wearing “F U C K Y O U” rings:

        View this post on Instagram

                  Mood

A post shared by Hot Girl Meg (@theestallion) on Sep 27, 2020 at 12:55pm PDT

Oh, and she also has a new song featuring Young Thug titled, “Don’t Stop” set to drop:

        View this post on Instagram

                  “DONT STOP” 10/2 @thuggerthugger1 PRE SAVE IT NOW HOTTIES link in bio

A post shared by Hot Girl Meg (@theestallion) on Sep 28, 2020 at 12:00pm PDT

A Tory Lanez diss, perhaps? Possibly.

Last night…

        View this post on Instagram

                  Mary and Megan with thee good knees @therealmaryjblige

A post shared by Hot Girl Meg (@theestallion) on Sep 27, 2020 at 7:30pm PDT

Meg and her “good knees” linked up with “Power II” star Mary J. Blige.

        View this post on Instagram

                  You kno how I’m coming bitch stop playin

A post shared by Hot Girl Meg (@theestallion) on Sep 27, 2020 at 6:14pm PDT

Looking GOODT, Meg!

Also...

After Tory dropped his new album, Rick Ross called him out for using Breonna Taylor's name in vain. Peep the clip above. Then, Tory responded:

I respect u 2 much as a black man to disrespect you in these times,however I went out and marched 9 DAYS STRAIT for Breonna Taylor ..IN YOUR CITY ...I didn’t see the “boss” out there once ?...also stop tagging your endorsements in post about her . It’s a poor decision @RickRoss

— Tory Lanez (@torylanez) September 25, 2020

Rozay caught wind of Tory's tweet and responded:

Tory has all the energy for all the wrong things it seems.

          View this post on Instagram

                  #MeganTheeStallion will make her #SNL debut on October 3rd! The 46th season premiere will be hosted by #ChrisRock. Sounds lit!

A post shared by TheYBF (@theybf_daily) on Sep 24, 2020 at 11:49am PDT

  By the way, Meg will perform on "SNL" this Saturday! Tory's timing is transparent as ever.

  Photo: Michael A Walker Jr/Shutterstock.com

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/09/28/tory-lanez-foolery-%E2%80%93-dedicates-%E2%80%98daystar%E2%80%99-album-to-mother-after-catching-backlash-for-his-

[aion-rsa]

Fargo Season 4 Episode 1 Review: Welcome to the Alternate Economy

https://ift.tt/2S4F6Bf

This Fargo review contains spoilers.

Fargo Season 4 Episode 1

It’s been a long wait for Fargo’s fourth season. Noah Hawley’s improbably good Coen Brothers adaptation arrived on the scene as an idiosyncratic, darkly funny crime story, but in its third season, its Midwest charm and stylish execution couldn’t quite hide the fact that the story was lacking and the schtick was wearing thin. Hawley decided to go back to the drawing board for Season 4, then was forced to delay his return to the anthology series a bit longer due to coronavirus shutting down production. Thankfully, the FX series is back with a new approach, in a new setting, but will the many interesting threads in this new installment coalesce into something worthwhile?

A nearly 25-minute prologue kicks off “Welcome to the Alternate Economy,” simultaneously setting the stage for the 1950 Kansas City gang war between the Fadda Family and Canon Limited and introducing us to this season’s true innocent, Ethelrida Smutny. Ethelrida is an upstanding student and clearly a precocious teen, but that also makes her a target as a black girl in segregated America. Taking cues from Frances McDormand’s role in the original Fargo film, each season of the series always features a morally sound centrical character, but so far, all of those characters have been police officers.

It’s quite the change to have our voice of reason coming from a marginalized character who struggles to have a voice in her own home versus an authoritative lawman. I’m hoping Ethelrida will be given the chance to anchor the story in the way that the Solversons and Gloria Burgle did in the past. It looks like her family is getting into some dangerous waters, borrowing money from the Cannon Limited gang, so we’ll see if Ethelrida can keep her strength of character after drifting into the orbit of some unsavory characters.

In a history report, Ethelrida introduces us to the main concepts and conflict of the season. In the pursuit of the American Dream and equality, several groups considered to be “Others” in the United States fight and kill each other over whatever power that they can grab. A great microcosm of the entire saga can be found in Rabbi Milligan’s story. The youngest son of the Irish Milligan Concern, Rabbi earned his nickname after his father sent him to live with the rival Moskowitz crime family. The families believed that exchanging sons would help them keep the peace, but the Milligan’s taught their boy well, and he helps them infiltrate the Moskowitz compound and wipe them out.

Read more

TV

Fargo Season 4 Review (Spoiler-Free)

By Nick Harley

TV

Fargo Season 4: A History of Kansas City Gangsters

By Tony Sokol

When the Fadda Family become the next immigrants on the block, the Milligan’s offer teenage Rabbi up again in a similar agreement, but this time, the teenager grows jaded about his ruthless family’s willingness to just use him as a sacrifice, and he helps the Fadda Family gain the upperhand. Family head Donatello even goes as far as having Rabbi kill his own father. In the Milligan patriarch’s dying breath, he puts a curse on the Fadda’s and their children, which certainly bodes well for the season, doesn’t it? It’s a brutal origin story for Ben Whishaw’s character and instantly makes him a character to watch.

Now years later, Loy Cannon follows tradition and sends his young son across the aisle to live with the Faddas and vice versa. The leaders of the two organizations are somewhat cordial, but it’s obvious that there’s a lack of respect on both sides despite the African Americans and the Italians being “in the gutter together.” Donatello’s son Justo seems to be the most oblivious to the similarities between the two groups, and just as his father is trying to impart that wisdom on his hot-headed son, a classic Fargo mishap changes the power structure of the Fadda Family forever.

Donatello’s “shooting” is a great sequence. Hawley creates tension by misdirecting you to believe that some black young men passing by pose a threat to the Faddas. He then cuts the tension with Donatello passing some extreme gas, and just when it seems like the coast is clear, a botched BB gun shot pierces Donatello’s neck and sends blood spurting everywhere. The Fadda’s try to get their boss admitted to a nearby, reputable hospital, but a snooty doctor turns them away for being Italian. When they finally get Donatello checked in elsewhere, Justo discriminates against an Asian doctor, not realizing the irony.

The Faddas aren’t the only ones discriminated against. Loy and his righthand man, Doctor Senator, take their ingenious idea for the credit card to Kansas City’s most prestigious bank. Clearly they have a million dollar idea, and Doctor Senator establishes his bonafides by mentioning his degree in Economics from Howard, but the old man sitting across from them immediately dismisses his accomplishments by saying “the Negro school.” He then tells the men that their idea is illogical. It’s a shortsighted observation made with little thought primarily because it’s coming from Loy.

Meanwhile, at the hospital with his father, Justo comes across nurse Oretta Mayflower. Mayflower makes quite the introduction earlier in the episode at the Smutny funeral home, delivering casually racist and offensive observations with a five-point vocabulary while also appearing to ingest drugs. Later, her drug habit is confirmed when she does some lines with Justo. That evening, she heads into Donatello’s room and creepily injects him with a mysterious substance that kills him. It doesn’t appear that Mayflower has any motive for the killing, but it’s obvious this isn’t her first time doing something like this. A Fargo season can’t go by without a malevolent, pure evil character, and with her Minnesota accent and cheery demeanor, Mayflower appears to be that presence.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

This is a jam-packed premiere episode that has pacing problems. The crisp, deftly edited intro makes the rest of the runtime lag a bit. Fargo’s signature three-panel split screen appears, but it doesn’t really serve any purpose or demonstrate any real style. I also have concerns about their being too many characters. Key figures like Satchel Cannon, Zero Fadda, and Loy’s wife Buel could hypothetically anchor this season, but they already appear to be being pushed to the margins. I’m glad Fargo has returned, but I sure hope it stays focused.

The post Fargo Season 4 Episode 1 Review: Welcome to the Alternate Economy appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3j9fjnt

[alexcaldownapier]

Week 1 - Film Narrative 1

My first introduction to the course has already got me thinking.

We were told about one project we will complete this trimester - a single shot tableau. I watched the examples given with interest. The scene from Buffalo ‘66 (1998) stuck in my head. It shows a moment of connection between two people and the shot shows both of them equally.

While the male character (I haven’t seen the full film) performs a monologue, the camera offers him no extra importance. Had Vincent Gallo chosen to cut to different angles I feel the scene would lose meaning. If the focus was on the man talking or the woman listening, then we lose the connection between the two. Keeping them together in the frame mirrors the purpose of the scene, a coming together of two individuals.

In watching this scene it made me think of how I choose to shoot scenes and how much of it is superfluous. A single shot like this allows the actors room to give an uninterrupted performance and the longer the shot goes on the more we are drawn into the characters and the story.

I am currently watching the third season of Fargo on Netflix. After seeing this scene from Buffalo ‘66, I watched an episode and I found myself paying a lot of attention to each individual shot. One moment of a woman (who has mercenaries on her tail) walking down a hallway and getting some ice from a freezer chest had three separate shots.

I don’t think they added anything more than the first angle. The audience also know that the woman may be attacked at any moment so holding on one shot would ramp up the tension and cause us to search the frame for any threat.

As each camera set up takes up a lot of time, I think I should be more economic with shot choices. Each shot must focus on the purpose of the scene. If the crew have time, getting extra shots would be helpful in the edit, however they must be true to the emotion of the moment.

[viraljournalist]

76ers coach Brett Brown wants Ben Simmons taking one 3 a game

New Post has been published on https://viraljournalist.com/76ers-coach-brett-brown-wants-ben-simmons-taking-one-3-a-game/

76ers coach Brett Brown wants Ben Simmons taking one 3 a game

11:22 PM ET

Tim BontempsESPN

PHILADELPHIA — What would Brett Brown like for Christmas? One 3-point shot per game from his All-Star point guard.

After his Philadelphia 76ers routed the hapless Cleveland Cavaliers 141-94 at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night, Brown was asked about Ben Simmons taking — and making — his second 3-pointer of both the season and his career.

And, in response, Brown said he’d like to see Simmons take at least one of them a game — every game — moving forward.

1 Related

“This is what I want,” Brown said, ”and you can pass it along to his agent, his family and friends. I want a 3-point shot a game, minimum. The pull-up 2s … I’m fine with whatever is open. But I’m interested in the 3-point shot. The mentality that he has where he’s turning corners and taking that long step, that gather step, and bringing his shoulders to the rim and trying to dunk or finish tight, will equal higher efficiency, or getting fouled. That’s the world that interests me the most. Those two things.”

When Simmons made his second career 3-pointer in the second quarter, the game was already well out of reach, with the Sixers going up by 40 points in the first half and over 50 at times in the second while spending the final 24 minutes on cruise control. Philadelphia’s win, along with Dallas’ 46-point rout of New Orleans earlier Saturday, marked the first time in NBA history two teams won by at least 45 points on the same day, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

But on a night that was spent almost exclusively waiting for the final buzzer to sound, the sight of Simmons cleanly and calmly catching in the corner in front of Cleveland’s bench, rising up and burying a triple was the one meaningful moment to come out of it.

“I’m getting more comfortable,” Simmons said after scoring a career-high 34 points to lead the Sixers, who are now 11-0 at home heading into Sunday’s game here against their Atlantic Division rivals, the Toronto Raptors. “Obviously, throughout time I’m getting more comfortable with the game, and just learning my spots. And just adjusting.”

What hasn’t adjusted is the reaction to Simmons making a 3-pointer from the hometown fans. Like when he made one in the preseason, as well as the one he made against the Knicks, the crowd erupted after he hit it, and fans yelled at him to shoot more 3s during the game.

That Simmons has succeeded as much as he has without a 3-point shot thus far — he won Rookie of the Year in 2018, made an All-Star team last season and signed a max contract extension with Philadelphia this summer — is an indication of his natural talent level.

And while the fan reaction to him making a simple catch-and-shoot corner 3 is over the top, there is no arguing the importance of that shot to a Sixers team that is desperate for any kind of shooting it can get.

“The drama of it is overblown,” Brown said. “The reality [is] that he can shoot and it’s ultimately going to need to come into his game in a pronounced way from an attempt standpoint, that’s not overblown. I think the drama surrounding it is completely overblown. When I put on my coaching hat and I’m looking at a 23-year-old young man trying to grow his game, it’s completely, first, in his wheelhouse. And, secondly, he will be liberated. His world will open up.

“And I think, in many ways, so will ours.”

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[nezoid]

‘Legion’s Aubrey Plaza On The Sequence That Was Entirely Reworked In The Edit Bay’

Well-known for her signature, deadpan delivery and comedic chops in film (Neon’s upcoming Ingrid Goes West) and television (Parks and Recreation), Aubrey Plaza breaks out of a box in FX’s singular superhero series, in more ways than one. Bringing familiar shadings to the mysterious and pivotal role of Lenny Busker—a demented sensibility and taste for mischief—Plaza nonetheless displays in Legion a tremendous range and dexterity, successfully navigating the complexities of a role and a series that demands attention.

Working on Legion, Plaza was given an “overwhelming” and exciting level of creative freedom, playing a critical role in the various looks her shapeshifting character takes on in Season 1, and collaborating closely with directors and choreographers to nail down sequences that were described loosely on the page. Speaking with Deadline, Plaza gives a window into the idiosyncrasies of Hawley’s process, as well as her own process, in approaching a character that is inherently impenetrable, finding her own way in.

Before Legion came your way, did you ever give much thought to the idea of taking part in a superhero series?

I honestly never thought about it that much. I’m a fan of superhero stuff, and some of it’s really good, but yeah. I think I always had fantasies about playing certain characters in those universes. But I never thought about it beyond that, my own delusions, weird daydreams.

What was the process in getting involved with Legion, and what attracted you to the part of Lenny?

The process was interesting because I did not audition. I met briefly with Noah, and some of the producers and the casting director, after reading the script. I thought the writing was really amazing, and I loved the work that Noah had done before that, on Fargo, so I was drawn to the project really because of him.

The part of Lenny was originally written for an older man, so I didn’t read the script thinking about that role. In our second meeting, when it was just Noah and me, he pitched me the idea of playing Lenny and changing it to a female. That idea had never occurred to me when I read it initially, so I went back and reread it, and tried to imagine what that could be like, and what I could do with that, and that got me really excited. Just the idea that Noah would make a change like that, and trust that I could pull it off.

Many cast members were unaware of the season’s full story arc when they set out. How much did you know about your character’s true nature in early talks?

I would say that I knew a little bit more than anybody else about my character’s trajectory. I knew the place that I would end up, but I didn’t know how I would get there. The episodes in between were a surprise for me, and I had no idea what was coming, episode by episode, but I did know, ultimately, what I would become in the universe of the show.

What do you latch onto when inhabiting a character like Lenny, who is intentionally a mystery for the audience to puzzle over for most of the first season?

I approached it like I would any other role, I think. I don’t approach anything differently depending on the genre, or how crazy it is, or if it’s a villain or not. I just tried to focus on the human aspects of the character.

I had to make a lot of choices for myself, and I was really given a lot of freedom to explore, and to come up with whatever I wanted to do with Lenny. I tried to grasp onto the human parts of Lenny, early on.

Really, I kind of created a journey for my character that is fully focused on David Haller. He is Lenny’s everything, so that was my approach: Who am I to David, and how am I going to get what I need from him?

How much did the look of the character inform your approach?

I, like everybody else in the cast, was operating script by script. Once I started reading scenes with Lenny where she’s appearing to David, and talking to him in a different way, I made a choice that I would change my look up, and Noah let me do that. I made a decision early on that Lenny, the human is very different from Lenny, the hallucination if you want to call it that—at least up front.

The creative team was so involved in all of that. I would go into the hair and makeup trailer on my days off for hours and hours, and do different tests on my own with them—different hair tests, and makeup tests, and wardrobe tests—and they were all game.

They were really excited to come up with these different iterations, and they were fully involved in helping me create the different looks. I think that the physical changes that happened really helped me morph into these other Lennys. They all came together in the end, but it was a team effort.

The greatest part of it all is that our leader was Noah, and Noah has certain things that he’s very particular about, but I felt an overwhelming freedom in the creativity that could happen with coming up with the looks, and all of that. It was a collaboration, and I think that’s what he’s really great at, is handpicking artists in different departments that have something to say, that aren’t just doing another job. It felt like we were shooting a movie, and that’s my favorite kind of work.

In moments where Lenny is at the center of the scene, it’s been interesting to see you go off into different kinds of cinematic language. In one episode, you worked with Hiro Murai—a director known for his music videos—on a music video sequence for Lenny.

The dance sequence in Chapter 6 was written in I think one or two lines. I don’t want to misquote Noah, but it was something along the lines of, “Lenny dances a dance of malevolent joy. She rubs her stink all over David’s memories.” It wasn’t spelled out what exactly that dance would be, or what needed to happen, so I was given the freedom to come up with whatever I wanted to do.

Hiro, like Noah, was really open and just let me run with it. I was told, “These are the sets that you’ll be dancing on, and we’ll just take it step by step.” I created a routine with a choreographer who helped me, and just tried to embody what Noah wrote.

The wardrobe helped, and I kind of created the look for that, too, which I thought was really fun and different. Hiro was a great director for that particular episode, because we got to play in a different genre. It was super trippy.

The other major instance is the black-and-white silent film sequence later in the season, where we get to see more of the jerky, unearthly physicality you bring to the role. Was the process with that sequence similar?

What’s so interesting about that is that that was not in the script—that they were turning that into a black-and-white, silent film sequence. That was done in the edit, so all of that physicality was stuff that I had just decided on in the moment. I had no idea they were going to do that. That was a big surprise for me when I watched it, because when we shot it, I’m actually speaking, and it was written as scenes.

Early on, I had this idea in my head­—I think it was maybe Chapter 4, when I jumped into the Mirror Room, and I drag Rachel Keller’s character across the floor. I have these jerky movements that are controlling her, so I just tried to keep that alive. That’s another example—in the script, it says, “Lenny kills The Eye.” But it doesn’t say how; it doesn’t say anything like that.

Those were things that we came up with that day. “I’m going to put a fake gun to my head and pull the trigger, and then you guys snap your heads.” That was all playful stuff that we came up with together. That was again a really fun collaboration with the rest of the cast.

And then they just transformed it into a silent film sequence, which was totally perfect.

Does any of the work you put in this season—between the two sequences we’ve discussed—take you back to your early days, honing your craft as an actor, building characters through playful physical expression?

Totally. It felt very experimental at times, and like performance art. We were forced to go back to that place, where we had to use our imagination and just surrender to the playfulness of it all, because we had no idea what was coming. It was a very weird feeling, to not know exactly what we’re doing, but try to make really bold choices. I think that having an improv background and a theater background is really helpful in those situations, because it’s all about the choices that you’re making, and it’s not the kind of show that you can just show up and say your lines. You have to really work, you have to rehearse. There were some times that we would rehearse and block scenes for an hour, which I’ve never done before, when we’re shooting, because normally you just get in there and you gotta shoot. The emphasis was on that, on the preparation and the rehearsals, which is my favorite way to work, so it was perfect for me.

In certain scenes, you’re trapped inside a box—a certain place where David is able to trap you. What was involved in shooting those bits?

I was in an actual box—I was put in a coffin. It was very claustrophobic, as you can imagine. At that point, Lenny was disintegrating physically, so I had these intense eye contact lenses, so I couldn’t really see. I was basically guided into this dark coffin, because I could barely see anything anyway, and then I was just put in there and told to scream and freak out.

I don’t have a problem being in small spaces, thank god. I wasn’t in there for that long. But it was cool. That’s the thing about this show—there were a lot of practical effects, and a lot of things that we actually did, physically. It was physically demanding, but I think the outcome is always better.

What was the biggest challenge you faced creatively with the first season?

The biggest challenge was tracking Lenny at every moment and making sure that I was playing the right version, and that I had all of those layers and motivations alive at every moment. I didn’t want to lose any of that, and I wanted to really honor the script at all times. I think it’s challenging when you don’t know what the next script is, so you can only hope that you’re going in the right direction, and trust the people that are directing you. I think that was the biggest challenge, is just the unknown. It was scary, but I think things that are scary are usually the best things.

Legion has been renewed for a second season. What has been your takeaway from working on Season 1, and what are your hopes for the future of the series?

I hope that it just continues to get weirder and weirder and that they keep pushing the envelope, and they make something that’s even more insane than the last season. My takeaway is that Noah does not hold back—he has a love for his characters and stories in ways that I haven’t really seen before.

There’s a really special feeling surrounding all of the projects that he’s involved in, and I just hope that that doesn’t go away. It’s hard, when you become successful, to hold onto that feeling and keep it authentic and true. I hope that he’ll do that, and I think he will.

[winelycra8-blog]

Sixers-Orlando Magic preseason game No. 2: Roster, highlights, live stream and more

For the first time since May 9, the Sixers will play NBA opposition.

After a 104-84 win over Melbourne United in Friday’s preseason opener, the Sixers play the Orlando Magic on Monday night at Wells Fargo Center.

Here are a few storylines to watch:

• After knocking down two free throws and a 17-footer jumper against Melbourne, what’s next for Markelle Fultz and his brand new jump shot? 

With Fultz’s confidence the highest it’s been since he joined the Sixers, don’t be surprised to see him expand his range against the Magic. Though there were a couple moments Friday when Fultz turned down open shots in favor of penetrating or passing, his willingness to shoot was obviously at a different level to where it was last season.

He said the home crowd played a key part in that. 

“It was almost like a dream, going out there and having the crowd cheer your name and everything,” Fultz said Sunday. “It was kind of like last year when I first came back, everybody screaming my name. It just made me more comfortable. Coming out, I was confident, but when you hear that crowd behind you it gives you a little boost of more confidence and it just made it a little easier.”

• Especially with Wilson Chandler and Jerryd Bayless sidelined, there’s not a ton of clarity yet on the Sixers’ rotation (see story). Brown admitted as much Sunday; what’s most important to him is eventually nailing down combinations that click.

“It’s going to take some time,” Brown said. “Usually I anoint the first third of a year to give me greater clarity of what’s going to take place probably for the rest of the season, how you’re going to play this team. … You’re going to learn things along the path, but if you’re really talking about how do you get ready to play playoff basketball or legitimate basketball, it’s going to take all the first third to really get the nuances and the detail down.”

• Brown’s decision to have Fultz take JJ Redick’s spot in the starting lineup is a move with a lot of data behind it, but also one supported more by optimism about what Ben Simmons and Fultz can do together and the projection that Redick can excel in a sixth-man role than any sort of proven track record. 

To Redick’s credit, he understands the numbers behind the move, and has actually played a significant part in tinkering with the way the Sixers stagger his minutes (see story). He played the final seven minutes of each period Friday (besides the fourth quarter, when the regular rotation rested), which is how Brown and the Spurs used Manu Ginobili.

• You can always count on Ben Simmons to stuff the stat sheet, and he delivered against Melbourne — 8 points, 8 rebounds, 14 assists.

But Simmons didn’t attempt any free throws, or any shots outside of the paint, for that matter. Given how much he lives in the paint, Simmons should be capable of getting to the foul line more than last season, when he averaged 4.2 free throw attempts per game. 

After a summer spent tinkering with his shot with his brother Liam (see story), he’s been working on his foul shooting after practice. He’s clearly emphasizing keeping his elbow under the ball, keeping the ball on the left side of his body, and having a deliberate follow-through. We should get to see those tweaks to Simmons’ free throws in game action soon enough.

Here are the essentials for Monday’s matchup. The Sixers are expected to stick with the starting five of Fultz, Simmons, Dario Saric, Joel Embiid and Robert Covington.

When: 7 p.m. Where: Wells Fargo Center Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia   Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com

Roster Jerryd Bayless, G, 6-3/210, No. 0 Jonah Bolden, F, 6-10/220, No. 43 Anthony Brown, G/F, 6-7/225, No. 14 Wilson Chandler, F, 6-9/225, No. 22 Robert Covington, F, 6-9/225, No. 33 Joel Embiid, C, 7-0/260, No. 21 Markelle Fultz, G, 6-4/200, No. 20 Demetrius Jackson, G, 6-1/200, No. 11 Amir Johnson, F/C, 6-9/240, No. 5 Furkan Korkmaz, G/F, 6-7/185, No. 30 T.J. McConnell, G, 6-2/190, No. 12 Shake Milton, G, 6-6/205, No. 18 Mike Muscala, F/C, 6-11/240, No. 31 Emeka Okafor, C, 6-10/255, No. 50 Norvel Pelle, C, 6-11/215, No. 1 JJ Redick, G, 6-4/195, No. 17 Dario Saric, F, 6-10/250, No. 9 Landry Shamet, G, 6-5/190, No. 23 Ben Simmons, G/F, 6-10/230, No. 25 Zhaire Smith, G, 6-4/200, No. 8

More on the Sixers

Source: https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/76ers/sixers-orlando-magic-preseason-game-no-2-roster-highlights-live-stream-and-more

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/sports/basketball/on-pro-basketball-joel-embiid-is-having-fun-making-the-sixers-look-unstoppable/

On Pro Basketball: Joel Embiid Is Having Fun, Making the Sixers Look Unstoppable

PHILADELPHIA — The demolition of an eager but thoroughly outmatched Marc Gasol was not completed until Joel Embiid brought out the windmill. That symbolic punctuation to an already decided Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals looked like this:

With 5 minutes 30-some seconds left in the fourth quarter, Embiid caught a pass from Ben Simmons behind the 3-point line, ball-faked an onrushing, lumbering Gasol, took one lane-consuming dribble and threw down a contest-worthy windmill dunk, setting off a celebratory frolic to the far side of the floor.

There went Embiid, arms extended, befitting a young man in full flight. He cupped his ear to an eruptive Wells Fargo Center crowd, à la Allen Iverson, the little giant who once flamboyantly roamed this arena.

“Theatrics,” Embiid would call his last impression of a 33-point, 10-rebound, 5-block virtuoso performance in a 116-95 victory that gave his Philadelphia 76ers a 2-1 series lead over Toronto’s bewildered Raptors on Thursday night.

“I think for everybody that knows me, I need it. When I have fun, my game just changes. I’m always told that if I don’t smile during the game, I’m either having a bad game or I’m not into it.”

Embiid in fanciful fun mode is always the factor that makes the 76ers the most entertaining and intriguing of the remaining conference contenders. He is also the definitive answer to the question of whether a traditional center can still be the dictator of yore in a contemporary N.B.A. ruled by 3-point marksmen of all shapes and sizes.

Of course, Gasol’s hapless late lunge was made necessary because the 7-foot, 250-plus-pound Embiid also happens to possess a soft touch from deep. So what do you do with a guy who makes 3 of 4 from behind the 3-point line, whose footwork and agility are such that he can navigate the paint like a small forward but with the size and power to coerce 13 free throws, of which he made 12?

“Dominant, from the beginning of the game to the end,” said Greg Monroe, Embiid’s 28-year-old backup. “He’s a special player, no doubt about it. When he plays like that, he changes the game.”

In Toronto, in Games 1 and 2, Embiid was more wallflower than man in full bloom, shooting a combined 7 for 25 from the floor, frustrated by the Raptors’ defensive energy, while setting off additional speculation about the condition of his chronically achy knees.

Health has been and may always be an issue for Embiid, a 25-year-old Cameroonian, but his “crown-jewel” talent, as described by his coach, Brett Brown, has never been in doubt.

In a long playoff series, which this still has the potential to be, no game other than a clincher should be weighed too heavily. But it’s clear that Embiid at his best or near-best is an unsolvable problem for the Raptors, who have $45.7 million in 2018-19 payroll invested in the declining Gasol, 34, and Serge Ibaka.

Embiid, meanwhile, was reminding Monroe of Hakeem Olajuwon with his dominance on both ends, including a payback rejection of Pascal Siakam after the Raptors forward’s blatant trip of Embiid earned him a flagrant fourth-quarter foul.

“I mean, the Dream, off the top of my head, the similarities, that would probably be the guy I’d think of,” Monroe said. “The skills, size, plays great at both ends. Step out and shoot the jumper, post moves.”

History is in the eye of the beholder, and no one in the arena has seen more of it than Sonny Hill, an impresario of the Philadelphia basketball scene and a staple in the 76ers’ locker room dating to the 1960s.

Hill spent a good while with Embiid after the game, suggesting he put the night behind him and not assume Game 4 on Sunday will be a mirror image. The great ones, Hill said, all understood the fleeting nature of playoff success.

“What people don’t understand is that he’s still learning to play the game,” Hill said. “On a scale of 10, he’s probably a 6. He’s got another notch or two to go in terms of his development. He’s still learning how to play in the low post. But he has the ability to put the ball on the floor and get a shot. He can stand still and get a shot. He can run the floor. He doesn’t block shots like Wilt and Bill Russell but does intimidate. If we look at this era of basketball, he is the most well-rounded center that we have.”

It was an understatement on a night when Embiid displayed multiple skills and moves: a right-side drive and a no-look over-the-shoulder pass to Jimmy Butler for a layup; a difficult catch of a bounce pass from Butler in the lane before levitating for a score. All of the offensive fireworks were appreciated by Brown, who nonetheless preferred to dwell on Embiid’s interior defense.

He had plenty of help at the offensive end from Butler (22 points) and others, while the Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard was left to wonder what happened to his 58-win team, with the exception of Siakam.

After dropping another 33 points, Leonard is averaging 37 for the series on 60 percent shooting, a Bernard King-mimicking maestro of the midrange. But the minute he went to the bench to start the fourth quarter, the 76ers went on an 11-0 run to blow the game open. He won’t be enough without much more help and unless Gasol vs. Embiid becomes a fairer fight.

Back in the locker room, while waiting on Embiid to go to the interview room in tandem, Butler yelled out: “He windmilled so he can decide when to go. But the second he says some bull, I’ll be out of there — and you know he will.”

Perhaps mindful of Hill’s advice, Embiid was uncharacteristically bland.

“Great player, have a lot of respect for him,” he said of Gasol. “But it’s a team game.”

[flauntpage]

Laying the Smacketh Down – Observations from Sixers 149, Timberwolves 107

Fans viciously booed Jerryd Bayless as Corey Brewer and Amir Johnson swung the ball around on the other end of the floor with the Sixers up 40. It’s not exactly how I pictured the Robert Covington and Dario Saric return game playing out.

Yet play out in that way it did, as Yoda would say. The Sixers were clubbing the Timberwolves so badly that fans needed something to entertain themselves, and booing Bayless was the entertainment.

149 is the most points scored by the Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center, ever. Sixers PR dug up the statistic and found that you’d have to go all the way back to 1990 to find the last time the team scored 149 in a game. Charles Barkley had 38 and 13 in a March 30th win against the Nuggets.

Also worth mentioning is that last night’s 21 made three-pointers ended up being a franchise record while 40 assists and a 59.8 field goal percentage were both season highs.

So yeah, they played pretty well, and it’s a great way to enter the toughest stretch of their schedule, a hellish murderer’s row of 11 playoff teams over the next 12 games. We’re gonna see if this team really has it or not, since the cupcake portion of the schedule is mercifully over.

Mixing and matching

The only new or interesting wrinkle from last night was a bit of a tweak in Brett Brown’s rotation. We saw Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid on the floor together while Ben Simmons and JJ Redick were on the bench.

That’s happened rarely this season. Brett typically prefers to play Simmons and Butler in lineups together while Embiid sits. Last night some of that re-jiggering resulted in different looks that included Wilson Chandler at small forward, where he played a large portion of his minutes with the Nuggets and Knicks.

Brown:

We are at a stage where we need to find some level of being solid and some level of experiment. And I think that to pair Joel and to pair Jimmy is always been of interest, trying to break up a little bit the Joel and JJ thing and to move Wilson to a wing has always been of interest. And so in this middle third to try things, as things become a little bit up in the air, especially the last few games, we decided to just move full forward with that.

…

You see Wilson at a three and Jonah at a five and pairing Joel and Jimmy. Because I think when you look down deep, on my mind is always ‘what’s coming?’ What’s coming? It’s playoff basketball. Those two guys will be featured a lot. Last year it was Joel and JJ a lot and it will still happen. But at the end of the day I really think that those two, Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler, will be featured in more prominent ways, maybe than any pairing.

Right. Good answer. Playoff basketball is star driven, half court basketball.

Here are a couple of offensive possessions from those Jimmy/Joel late 2nd quarter minutes, a lineup that also featured T.J. McConnell at point, Landry Shamet at shooting guard, and Mike Muscala at power forward:

Clip 1, they run Jimmy through some staggered screens, that sort of pseudo-Allen Iverson cut. There’s defensive confusion from Minnesota, resulting in a mismatch Joel, who tries an elbow jumper over Dario Saric.

Same thing in clip 2, except Butler gets the ball and hits a really tough turnaround jumper. Those Iverson cuts, which are more or less flares to the opposite wing, are a good way to get Jimmy some iso looks, though Joel is then sort of standing out on the perimeter.

Then in clip 3 it’s just Butler/Embiid two-man game, with Jimmy taking a rare catch and shoot three-pointer off a dribble hand-off.

That’s all good stuff. Experiment now. Figure it out. Mix and match. Of course they need to compile wins, so you don’t want to stray too far from your base, but Brett Brown’s goal in the next three months is to get his stars working together as smoothly as possible, and when you can do some of that tinkering during an easy win, it’s the most ideal situation you can find yourself in.

For what it’s worth, the Sixers current starting lineup is a +69 in 232 minutes on the floor together with a 112.7 offensive rating and 98.6 defensive rating. That’s a +14.1 net. For all of the talk about the base motion and team chemistry and whatever, that unit is performing extremely well on the offensive end of the floor. And for comparison, the five-man group of Redick, Embiid, Simmons, Saric, and Covington played 106 minutes this season while putting up a -0.4 net rating. Swap in Markelle Fultz for Redick and it’s a -1.4 net rating over 65 total minutes. So it’s just more confirmation that yes, the Sixers are better with Butler, but they’re also top-heavy with little depth beyond the starting five.

When you break it down into two-man groupings, Butler has spent 726 minutes on the floor with Ben Simmons but only 469 minutes with Joel Embiid. Both lineups have a +4.6 net rating. I think the reason for the disparity there is that Brett Brown, #1, likes to stagger Embiid and Simmons so that one of those guys is always on the court, but, #2, separating Jimmy and Joel outside of the starting five theoretically allows each one to get more touches and take more shots during other portions of the game.

In this case, as you saw last night, he put them together more often without Simmons and Redick on the floor, and that gives us a good chunk of data, a starting point to finding out whether these lineups can be viable moving forward.

A few good seconds with Wilson Chandler

Wilson Chandler doesn’t do much media. He’s a nice guy, but doesn’t usually have too much to say.

We got a rare podium appearance from him last night, and while the takeaway was Joel Embiid jokingly interrupting him, Chandler did answer a couple of questions:

Crossing Broad: How do you think you’ve been playing recently and how are you fitting into this system?

Chandler: It’s been a tough process for me but I think I’m starting to figure it out.

Crossing Broad: How so?

Chandler: Just playing off Jo and Ben, where to be aggressive and where to find shots.

Crossing Broad: Is it difficult or unique to be playing with four high-usage guys who like to have the ball and need to take shots?

Chandler: Yeah, just unique.

The end.

Maybe we can get him off to the side at some point in the near future. He’s a veteran guy, he’s played a lot of basketball and seen a lot of things. It would be good to pick his brain and get his take on how the offense is working, how the stars are clicking, and what he’s seeing on defense. He played well last night, putting up 14, 5, and 4 on 5-7 shooting while going 4-6 from behind the arc. That’s really all that needs to be asked of him at this point: play defense, grab some boards, be a glue guy on offense, etc. Brett played him a bit as a small forward last night, which is where you saw him log a ton of minutes in New York and Denver over the course of his career. You’d have to go back over several hundred games, but I’m pretty sure Chandler has played more small forward than power forward during his years in the NBA.

Other notes:

Marc Zumoff was the pre-game bell ringer. Marc is currently in his 25th season as the play-by-play announcer

Per Sixers PR via Basketball Reference: Philadelphia now has a league-best seven games this season with at least 50 rebounds and 30 assists. This was the first time an NBA team had 50-40 game in regulation this season. The last team to produce such a game was Atlanta on Nov. 15, 2017

Also: The 40 assists, an NBA season-high in regulation, are the most Philadelphia has recorded in regulation since they had 45 on Dec. 7, 1988 

RE: Bayless, I ran a poll asking whether his booing was fair or not. The results are around 50/50 so far:

Poll: is the booing of Jerryd Bayless fair?

— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) January 16, 2019

I do kind of wonder why Bayless was the target of fan ire. I think it’s two things. First, he’s a product of the unpopular Bryan Colangelo era. Second, his body language was sort of “meh” when he was here. I think the fans picked up on that. I know he was injured during his first year, then he didn’t play a lot in his second year, but he never said anything or did anything to really sell the fan base on his mentality or motivation. He always looked disinterested, in my opinion.

Here was the tribute video the Sixers showed for Covington (injured, didn’t play), Saric, and Bayless:

We thank Dario, Covington, and Bayless for all the memories. Once a 76er, always a 76er

#RoCo #TheHomie pic.twitter.com/kPBkM9IL9p

— Sixers Nation (28-16) (@PHLSixersNation) January 16, 2019

Dario started 4-4 last night and finished 5-9 for 11 points while adding 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

  The post Laying the Smacketh Down – Observations from Sixers 149, Timberwolves 107 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

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