farmer john

4 hours ago, JPW said:

PS - Of course the major critics are recognized, I've outed Sietsema to restaurants.

I am in and out of a fair number of well known kitchens around town on a regular basis. There is at least one with a photo spread of all the local critics on the wall- there is one notable local critic whose photo is not in said spread- guess who?

Bistro Bethem or Kybecca. 

Best series in recent memory and has a pretty good chance at repeating itself over the next few years as long as Durant doesn't jump ship (I don't believe he will- more money available in OKC as well as a better shot at a title than almost anywhere else)

He's yet another poster child for what I like to think of as the "Ralph Sampson Syndrome". This occurs when big men with little man skills (dribbling/jump shooting) decide that it is best for them to use these little man skills exclusive to those more befitting their size (post play/rebounding/defense). Symptoms include not winning titles and becoming ineffective later in your career when your quickness begins to wane. It killed Sampson when his knees went. Lebron seems to be recovering from it currently.

Would Durant ever not score or get fouled if he played at the foul line rather than out on the wing? Live by the jump shot, die by the jump shot.

Durant's play in the last 5 minutes of that game was as bad as I have seen any "elite" player play in such a big moment. The Warriors are going to win by 15 in game 7.

The Cavaliers will have to go back to making a ton of threes to beat either of these teams. They are both strongest where the Cav's are weakest defensively (Irving and Love).

I was a champion flopper in my (limited) day so Lebron doing it doesn't really bother me. 

I actually can date the beginnings of my disenchantment with the Warriors all the way back to last year and to something not really basketball related- Curry bringing his daughter to the press conferences. I have grown much more sick of them lately though as they chased down the regular season record which will turn out to be much ado about nothing if the Thunder can win 2 more games (50/50 imo).  The looking away from the shots and staring down Ibaka,etc screams "cocky little SOB" to me more recently though.

100% obviously deliberate?- no

Deliberate enough for a suspension particularly considering he had whacked the same player in the same place the previous game?- yes

I have admittedly gotten sick of the Warriors and am rooting hard for them to lose. Steph has lost the charm he once had and has become a cocky little SOB, Bogut is as dirty as anyone in the league and Draymond talks too much.

I have a very reliable method for controlling squirrel damage but am afraid it does not translate well to areas which are not rural. I do not believe feeding them to be a solution to the digging as i don't think it is strictly food gathering behavior. 

21 minutes ago, Bart said:

Thanks John! 

Should I hold off until July or whenever I see flowers starting to form to harvest for drying?  No sense harvesting tender leaves with little flavor, right?

that would be my thought. use it fresh until it gets ready to flower- than cut back hard and dry.

Oh yeah- drying is going to be your best option. If you choose to freeze it i would do it in some oil (which you may or may not want when time comes to use it).

First leaves are bigger because the plant is putting all its energy into making them. Leaf size diminishes because the plant is putting most of its effort into flowering. Most herbs have most intense flavor just when they begin to flower.

12 hours ago, DaveO said:

Is he hitting shooters and cutters from the post???   (...or maybe I'll just start watching in the 2nd round)

yep- he is a great passer (which we already knew). 

I have watched a fair amount although I do tend to fall asleep in the chair pretty quickly now that farm season is upon me. Golden State is good enough defensively to get to the western finals without Curry but no farther. I cannot believe how bad Miami has looked on the road after looking like they could challenge the Cavs at home. Spurs- OKC is going to be a really good series.

I hope the Celtics manage to knock out the Hawks solely because I think there is a decent chance of the Wiz making a run at Al Horford and would like him disenchanted with the ATL.

I like that Lebron is playing in the post a bit and think that bodes well for the Cavs...imo he should play high post most of the time and lay off the 3 point shooting and dribbling. Just because he can do those things doesn't mean it's best for the team.

They were saying wet floor on the radio earlier today. 

in my opinion a Curry-less Warriors team has no chance at all against the Spurs. I am among the folks who think the Spurs have a chance against the Warriors even with Curry. I would favor the Warriors heavily but it won't be a foregone conclusion. Tony Parker is currently playing as well as he has in at least the last 2 seasons.

As for Lebron- he is smart enough to know they are unlikely to beat the Warriors if the Warriors are at peak efficiency. He is also smart enough not to come out and say it.

Hopefully Curry will be able to go when they think. The Chris Paul injury should help the Warriors make it through to the Western finals even without him. I don't see the Paul-less Clippers or the overachieving Blazers (who are basically a 2 man team) beating the Warriors even without Curry. The Thunder or the Spurs on the other hand...

Sad to see them go- Chef Sal is a great guy. 

ahhh... those were the days.

1 hour ago, silentbob said:

You just named a bunch of first-ballot HOFers.  Harden isn't at their level (and arguably more than a cut below given his horrible defense), but still quite valuable.  I think that defining him by scoring average only is somewhat misleading when he's been top 10 in assists for the whole league the last two years and in the top 3 in rebounds among all shooting guards.  I watched a ton of his college games and never thought he'd be a good NBA player but he's proved me wrong over and over.

James Harden is without question a very very good NBA player... probably the second best offensive player in the league today after Curry. 

1 hour ago, DaveO said:

 On Ariza;  What do you do with a mid level starter like that?  He left, we got Pierce.  Lucky break for a year.  Pierce left and Otto Porter coming off a great playoff steps into the role.  Porter still has miles to go to step up further.  He does have years ahead of him with a lot of potential to improve.  This is where decisions, luck, etc all come into play with lots of unknowns.  Lots of teams move the older guy to give room for the upcoming promising younger guy.  Its a decision fraught with unknowns.

...and with so many unknowns all I can suggest is that the owner of the Rockets blew most of his $50 million spending on those three underachievers, Lawson, Howard, and Harden.  The Houston team will probably be worth more next year than this year.  The team is trending downward.  

The decision on ballplayers part is difficult with all sorts of unknowns.  The competitiveness of the team:  There it is --the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat with all its up and downs.  The money part is freaking amazing.    

True- breaking the bank for Ariza was probably not the thing to do at the time. Porter's potential for improvement is subject to debate at this point. I think Nic Batum would look awfully good in a Wiz uniform for the next few years since they will have a boatload of money to throw around. Porter could then be the bench player his skill set probably dictates. I am a better retrospective gm than current however. 

I didn't understand the Lawson pickup for Houston at the time and it still makes no sense. The last thing you need along with Harden is a shoot first point guard. It would be interesting to see what the Rockets could've done this year if they had not fired Kevin McHale so early in the season. 

4 hours ago, jasonc said:

you're wrongfully assuming that wouldn't take a toll on his offense.

Making effort on defense didn't seem to diminish Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Curry, etc etc too dreadfully on offense. If a guy has to take a bunch of time off on defense in the name of his scoring average you are more than welcome to him. 

It's Lawson in Houston, not Felton. (Although both are former UNC point guards who have had troubles off the court)

When Howard was good he got by on dominant athleticism rather than basketball skills- once he had a back injury he had no real skills to fall back on. 

The Wiz should have done whatever it took to keep Ariza.

Rodman could've worked on his scoring for years with only marginal improvement... Harden could improve his defense immeasurably overnight by simply putting forth some effort. What players want to do (within the limits of their natural abilities) is what differentiates champions from also rans. If what a player "can" do is the mark of greatness then Hassan Whiteside would be an all-timer.

4 hours ago, DonRocks said:

2) How would you compare Harden (all-offense, no defense) with Dennis Rodman, (all-defense, all-rebounding, no offense)? I ask because Rodman was a terrible offensive player; yet, he's given a free pass as being a "role player" or a "support player" to the Jordan-Pippen offensive powerhouse. I would propose that he is every bit as incomplete a player as Harden; yet, he's in the Hall of Fame. Why can't Harden be lauded as a "role player?" Defense, rebounding, and passing the ball around is important, but teams need someone who can put the ball into the hole.

Everyone wants to score... no one wants to play defense and rebound. Harden will likely be in the Hall of Fame as well eventually given more years of production similar to the last few. 

Harden couldn't guard a chair if the chair worked just a little bit at getting open. His scoring ability is obvious and no one is better at drawing a foul but I am also of the opinion that his teammates don't particularly enjoy playing in an offense with him either.

Guys who flat out don't try on defense really piss me off.