Recommendation #8: Shea Serrano Meets The Hoopers

Twitter is a magical place that is typically free from political opinions smothering quality posts and game requests being 99.9% of one's notifications. I love Twitter. Twitter happens to be the place where I found out that Grantland's Shea Serrano was starting his own basketball and other things newsletter, titled Basketball (and other things). I knew I had to subscribe immediately. So far, I have loved each individual post the proper amount until his most recent issue made my morning.

Last night during Raptors-Cavs game four, I noticed Serrano tweeting about the "Meet The Hoopers" commercials and I was amazed at the depth to which he analyzed these ads that have run all 2015-16 NBA season long. I too had been wondering how Mr. Chris Paul Hooper and Mrs. DeAndre Jordan Hooper created Kevin Love Hooper Junior. Well, wonder no longer as Shea has cracked the case!

Click here for Basketball (and other things) and make sure to hit subscribe in the top left corner if you are impressed with his detective work.

The all-STAR family? More like... the all-SCANDAL family!

My 2015 WRBL Year In Review is finally in the works (coming Summer 2016) and the finals are right around the corner so, stay tuned to Andy Todd's Bla Blog for more.

NBA 2016 Round 2 In Review

I'm sick and everything is miserable. I'm also not one to self-medicate unless I feel like I'm on my Jon Snow death bed (meaning that I'll be temporarily non-existent basically until I am somehow brought back to life, I don't know, I don't watch Game of Thrones). As a result, I will be keeping this short.

Western Conference
PS: Oh god, this font is the nails to my chalkboard brain right now.

Warriors defeat Trail Blazers in 5 games
Gm. 1: Warriors 118, Trail Blazers 106
Gm. 2: Warriors 110, Trail Blazers 99
Gm. 3: Trail Blazers 120, Warriors 108
Gm. 4: Warriors 132, Trail Blazers 125 in OT
Gm. 5: Warriors 125, Trail Blazers 121

Jaime Valdez - USA TODAY Sports
"Tralalala I just dropped 40 on the dime-dropper" - Curry after Game 4 probably.

Everybody needs to give Golden State a hand for needlessly adding drama to the playoffs with their two pity-sweeps thus far. Granted, a lot of that was out of their control with the Stephertloss one's leg injury but come on, do they really expect us to believe that the dude who dropped 40 points in game four and entirely dominated the overtime period. I'm not buying that but, what I might just buy is Golden State's chances of winning their second consecutive championship. Props to Portland for scoring 99+ in every game.

MVPOTS: Klay Thompson

Thunder defeat Spurs in 6 games
Gm. 1: Spurs 124, Thunder 92
Gm. 2: Thunder 98, Spurs 97
Gm. 3: Spurs 100, Thunder 96
Gm. 4: Thunder 111, Spurs 97
Gm. 5: Thunder 95, Spurs 91
Gm. 6: Thunder 113, Spurs 99

Associated Press
Steven Adams has suddenly emerged as an above-average Center.

I certainly didn't see that end result coming after game 1. Like many others, I assume I'm not alone in believing the Spurs should have taken the series to a full seven games. LaMarcus Aldridge was phenomenal in the first three games only to disappear in the crucial final three games and Kawhi Leonard had an extremely forgettable series. Unfortunately , a few tough calls could have changed the results in multiple games but as always, refereeing is hard.This might have been the last go for Manu Ginobili (most likely), Tim Duncan (50/50) and Greg Popovich (less likely but he should leave when Tim leaves) and frankly, good riddance because nobody could predict what years they would win or lose and their brand of basketball was mostly snoozeville. They did make themselves watchable with one of the more interesting groups of bench players in the league and by adding Aldridge but, I'm so over this team after picking them to win the West this year, getting hope that it might come true and watching their old, fragile bodies slowly disintegrate before my eyes. By the way, this is THE best chance the Thunder will have with KD to win a title. #SizzlingHotTake

MVPOTS: Kevin Durant

Eastern Conference

Cavaliers sweep Hawks in 4 games
Gm. 1: Cavaliers 104, Hawks 93
Gm. 2: Cavaliers 123, Hawks 98
Gm. 3: Cavaliers 121, Hawks 108
Gm. 4: Cavaliers 100, Hawks 99

(AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Is America ready to give Tyronn Lue credit yet?

This series feels like it ended a month ago. There are no takeaways besides this team is the hottest they have been all season right now. Still, there are no signs of AGGRO-BRON.

MVPOTS: Lebron James

Raptors defeat Heat in 7 games
Gm. 1: Heat 102, Raptors 96 in OT
Gm. 2: Raptors 96, Heat 92 in OT
Gm. 3: Raptors 95, Heat 91
Gm. 4: Heat 94, Raptors 87 in OT
Gm. 5: Raptors 99, Heat 91
Gm. 6: Heat 103, Raptors 91
Gm. 7: Raptors 116, Heat 89

Richard W Rodriguez/AP
The most noteworthy happening in Toronto sports on Sunday.

All three of the teams that mattered had advanced to the conference finals and we were forced to watch these two dumbass teams throw rocks at each other with THREE bonus quarters thrown in just to make us roll our eyes harder.

MVPOTS: Drake

Conference Finals Picks
Warriors over Thunder in 4. (If Curry's healthy, I'm not betting on Russell Westbrook's defense)
Cavaliers over Raptors in 5. (The 6 will be alive and inspire their team for one game and one game only)
Andy Todd over cold in 2 days. 
Chance The Rapper over Drake in 4.

New Finals Pick - Cavs in 7.

Good luck to all the players. May they all stay healthy for competition's sake and may all series end in game sevens! 

LITERALLY Instant Reactions to Chance The Rapper's "Coloring Book" Mixtape

Chance The Rapper was a major part of my #1 album of 2015, Surf by Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment and needless to say, with a growing musical presence across many genres (Justin Bieber songs, Kanye West's new record being heavily influenced by him and multiple appearances on various NBC staples like the Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live), the hype surrounding him is larger than that of any artist in 2016 not named Beyonce'. 2016 has been an insane year for music and has proven that the art form is only getting stronger with more material being released each year. We are in the golden era of music and always will be (stop reflecting and just enjoy what's out there and around you today!). With Chance The Rapper (real name: Chance Bennett) dropping his third mixtape, Coloring Book, late Thursday night, I figured it was time for instant reactions because it kind of worked the first time based on reaction (I don't know why, it was so scatter-brained). Without further ado, here are my thoughts on each track as I give each a first listen.

1. "All We Got" ft. Kanye West and Chicago's Childrens Choir - Loved everything about this, especially Donnie "MVP" Trumpet and then Kanye's autotune kicked in and it felt like I lost a year of hearing thanks to the volume being turned up on me without warning. After getting adjusted to it, this is basically a "WAKE UP THE ALBUM HAS STARTED AND IT IS EPIC" track. Not mastered perfectly but, that doesn't seem to matter by the end. This will grow on me, as will much of the album, I'm sure. A

2. "No Problem" ft. Lil' Wayne and 2 Chainz - The choir samples are working well much like early Kanye work. Autotuned Chance works. Oh... 2 Chainz. This is the track everyone was talking about this morning. 2 Chainz verse went exactly as expected (mediocre). Now Lil Wayne is here. Great job by Chance getting people I'm sure he's idolized and probably adding hype to the five people that are still hyped to listen to Wayne and Chainz in 2016 (that's a diss-take). The choir is overpowering Wayne's autotune and it's distracting. Autotune Chance's "You don't want no problem with me" got better somehow as the song went on. B

3. "Summer Friends" ft. Jeremih and Francis & The Lights - Holy shit, is this Bon Iver? (looks it up) Nope, I guess not. Well this is a splendid opening and now there's a 1980's Mario Kart-type sample in the background. LOVE IT, LONG LIVE THE 8-BIT. Chance is much gentler on this song while not-Bon Iver sings in the background. This song commands me to pay closer attention to the lyrics than the previous two songs. I see that Jeremih is on this track and ohh... there he is. Wait... Where is Jeremih? I heard him back there saying one word and now there are three different sounds going on, none of which appear to involve Jeremih. Spoken Word. There's Jeremih! Man, it's been 7 years since "Birthday Sex"? That's crazy. His part is short here and transitions into a violin somehow. A

4. "D.R.A.M. Sings (Special)" - D.R.A.M. singing is not something I thought I would enjoy. Backup vocals kicking in were necessary here for full effect. The producer of this album is listed as Zach Firtel. He's the real MVP. Outro organ for the win. B+

5. "Blessings" ft. Jamila Woods - JAMILA! YES! This is "Blessings", previously heard on the Tonight Show last Thursday. 30 seconds in and this is already better than the live performance and a clear highlight. More organ playing! Piano as well. Chicago is ridiculously present on this track. The chorus is excellent but, I could do without the cartoonish voice going "GOOD GOD!". Autotuned Chance makes an appearance near the end. A+

6. "Same Drugs" - Piano intro. We don't do the same drugs no more because she don't do the same drugs no more. 21st century love songs are different from 20th century love songs. This entire album is quite orchestral. I love that. This song is a bit more repetitive than anything else up to this point. Distorted talking? Chance is so optimistic, it's contagious. A little bit of a guitar to top it all off. Not feeling this as much as 1 through 5. C

7. "Mixtape" ft. Young Thug and Lil' Yachty - No Chance, plenty of people care about mixtapes but the Grammy's clearly don't (THEY REALLY SHOULD). Trapppppp beeeeeeats. With the rainy background, this is the song that paints the most vivid picture with both production and lyrics. THUGGER! Young Thug is welcome on any track until we get tired of him. He could literally screech over Johnny Cash's "Hurt" and I would enjoy it. Chris Paul lyric I missed. Oh well, I'll catch it on the rebound (unlike Chris Paul). Lil Yachty is two years younger than me... I really need to meet Kanye. Yachty sounds like Makonnen. I'll be honest, I don't have much knowledge on Yachty other than I saw him at Kanye's latest fashion show. Good artists introduce you to other artists, it's a proven fact. B+

8. "Angels" ft. Saba - Angels is already in contention for the end of the year top 40 songs list (Spoiler alert but not really). It's just a beautiful song that would have fit perfectly on Surf. Caribbean vibes, Saba singing. It's all great. A+

9. "Juke Jam" ft. Justin Bieber and Towkio - This song is supposed to feature Bieber? I have no idea how that might even sound. Sidenote: His last album was dope and don't let anyone tell you differently. This is starting off sounding like a pop ballad of sorts. Towkio is the first voice we hear that isn't Chance and he has a strange voice for the song. Bieber just kicked in and it's pretty heavenly. All this talk of rinks has me reminiscing on Skate City. I haven't been there in 12 years. My life is dull. Anywho, there was some line about Chris Brown that I missed. Very chill vibes, might spark some sexytime. A-

10. "All Night" ft. Knox Fortune - THIS BEAT. OH SHIT. I want this song to intro me the next time I'm playing basketball. Speaking of roller rinks, this song is fucking perfect for that atmosphere. Party song. Love it. Chance's flow is at it's best here. Trumpets are back and at their peak as well by the end. A+

11. "How Great" ft. Jay Electronica and My cousin Nicole - Back to those gospel feels. Wait... Featuring Jay Electronica and "My cousin Nicole"? The choir has not sounded better with the distorted vocals in the background. I feel like a lot of the earlier gospel vibes early on were building up to this part. I'm assuming the voice that is standing out among the choir is that of Chance's cousin Nicole. This family is freakishly talented. Chance finally kicks in and starts off with an angrier voice to nail home the lyrics. Skullduggery? Chance is the greatest at digging words out of the dictionary and throwing them into a song. 3-second silence break transitions into Jay Electronica. Biblical references are a-plenty in case that wasn't going to be obvious with all the choirs. A

12. "Smoke Break" ft. Future - More autotuned Chance and I still don't hate it. (Take notes, Drake). The production with the deep keyboard playing is great. HORNS. This sounds like Hudson Mohawke may have been involved. Nevermind, he's not. This is another song that might spark some sexytime. It sounds like he's saying "WEEEEEZER" but I don't even think he's heard Pinkerton no matter how eclectic his taste in music is. Again, I have to check these lyrics again later. I don't like Future tracks but I DO like Future featured tracks. It's complicated. B+

13. "Finish Line/Drown" ft. T-Pain, Kirk Franklin, Eryn Allen Kane and Noname - 7 minutes + 4 guests and one of them is Eryn Allen Kane (another Surf MVP). Hogtied and dog died are rhymed and it works. The choir has returned. T-PAIN! THIS IS T-PAIN'S FINEST MUSICAL MOMENT! This is the finest gospel track of all the kind of/sort of/maybe gospel tracks on the mixtape. Some saxophone mixed in with all of the other jazzy things going on as well. Two part songs confuse me but, I get this one with the second part being a poetic rap (isn't all rap poetry? Don't overthink this, Andy) by Noname. Does Chance just have a choir following him at all times of the day? Now, Kirk Franklin is preaching to me and it's just so refreshing much like the entire mixtape. Does Chance hold the musical artistry title-belt right now? Badumpadumdum? Seinfeld? A

14. "Blessings" - Last song :(. Broadway Joe Namath reference. Dirty Projectors background singers? Noooo, it couldn't be but, it sounds just as angelic. Basically Accapella (Best attempt at spelling that without looking it up) until the clapping begins and then we are treated to some more choir singing. This sounds like a mixture of India. Arie, Erykah Badu, Dirty Projectors and R. Kelly. That's wildly specific. Every Chance record sounds like it would have been ridiculously fun to make. This sounds like the most fun song to record on the album. Long live the rapper. A

Overall Grade: A+ (Might change with further listens)

NBA Round 1 Recap

Was the first round of the NBA Playoffs a success? I'd argue that yes, the first round was decent. Granted, the amount of blowouts (20 point deficits or higher) were higher than average (13) but, we did see two series' go to game sevens when the widespread belief was that we might only be blessed with one game seven (probably Celtics v. Hawks). Did any of the teams that matter for championship contention get dragged further by their opponents than five games? of course not. The first round was still fun for some classic Dwyane Wade, the re-introduction of Paul George and some Craig Sager sideline interviews that would have topped anything happening on the court as the best moments of this postseason.

Western Conference

Warriors defeat Rockets in 5 games
Gm. 1: Warriors 104, Rockets 78
Gm. 2: Warriors 115, Rockets 106
Gm. 3: Rockets 97, Warriors 96
Gm. 4: Warriors 121, Rockets 94
Gm. 5: Warriors 114, Rockets 81

David J. Phillip - AP
Steph Curry's knee sprain was the only thing about this series worth discussion.

This series basically went as expected except for defending MVP Stephen Curry spraining his knee in game four. The weird footnote on this series is that game three was won by Houston despite Curry's presence. People will forget about that once this 73-9 team eventually meets San Antonio. Sure, one might say that it was a fluke game with how off the Warriors' shooting was but, with how weak Houston's defense had been all season, Golden State should have found a way to beat them. The Warriors went on to destroy the Rockets by 50+ in the post-Curry world and it seems like life might be livable for Warriors' fans for at least one Curry-less round.

MVPOTS (MVP Of The Series): Klay Thompson

Spurs sweep Grizzlies in 4 games
Gm. 1: Spurs 106, Grizzlies 74
Gm. 2: Spurs 94, Grizzlies 68
Gm. 3: Spurs 96, Grizzlies 87
Gm. 4: Spurs 116, Grizzlies 95

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images
Dave Joerger coached more players than the Spurs have had this decade in one year. Job well done.

The Spurs are who we thought they were and this series did not introduce any new ideas about what the Spurs could be. Instead, I would like to give props to Lance Stephenson (HE'S BACK!) on pulling off his greatest post-Pacer performance in game four by scoring 26 points on 11 of 19 shooting. Stephenson capped off a pretty solid series that might have been enough to convince the Grizzlies to bring him back next season. Also receiving props, Vince Carter on playing well despite his age, Zach Randolph despite being the only perceivable good option and of course, props to Dave Joerger on not letting this team drop out of the playoffs (sorry Utah) despite everyone burying them at the deadline when they were only in the #5 seed and down both of their two stars (Mike Conley and Marc Gasol). Hopefully, the rumors that have been present for the past two years that Grizzlies management disliked Joerger are not true and the head coach returns for another run.

MVPOTS: Kawhi Leonard

Thunder defeat Mavericks in 5 games
Gm. 1: Thunder 108, Mavericks 70
Gm. 2: Mavericks 85, Thunder 84
Gm. 3: Thunder 131, Mavericks 102
Gm. 4: Thunder 119, Mavericks 108
Gm. 5: Thunder 118, Mavericks 104

(USATSI)
Mark Cuban is not a superstar owner.

Superstar or no superstar, Russell Westbrook sure kicked a ton of Maverick ass in this series. Dallas seemingly refused to play defense in this series as every one of their players not named Justin Anderson is currently an AARP member. The one player in his prime on Dallas, Chandler Parsons, was absent due to a torn meniscus suffered in June and along with his meniscus, Dallas's chances of an upset were torn apart. Game 2 was the "KD and Russ miss all their shots and not even Kanter can save the Thunder" game that happens once every few weeks and the rest of the series was Dallas rolling over and waiting for the bear to get bored and leave.

MVPOTS: Russell Westbrook

Trail Blazers defeat Clippers in 6 games
Gm. 1: Clippers 115, Trail Blazers 95
Gm. 2: Clippers 102, Trail Blazers 81
Gm. 3: Trail Blazers 96, Clippers 88
Gm. 4: Trail Blazers 98, Clippers 84
Gm. 5: Trail Blazers 108, Clippers 98
Gm. 6: Trail Blazers 106, Clippers 103

(Twitter)
If an NBA team is in a situation where this man has to return to a basketball game, you know they were desperate.

Congratulations to the Clippers on finally getting most people to feel bad for them after setting new records in whining, ridiculous off-court situations and having an outmatched head coach/general manager. This series gave a whole new meaning to the "NO GOOD CLIPPERS" ad with Portland point guard Damian Lillard. Not only did Blake Griffin re-tweak his knee injury but, Chris Paul broke his hand, J.J. Redick played through an injury that hindered his game and Austin Rivers' face exploded. The coach's son lost plenty of blood and gained even more respect with his spectacular performance with his left eye barely able to open. The problem was no matter how well Rivers performed, he should not be the team's #1 all-around player even after all of the other injuries. It was a sad collapse by one of sports' most tortured franchises but, it was nowhere near as bad as last season.

MVPOTS: Mason Plumlee

Eastern Conference

Cavaliers sweep Pistons in 4 games
Gm. 1: Cavaliers 106, Pistons 101
Gm. 2: Cavaliers 107, Pistons 90
Gm. 3: Cavaliers 101, Pistons 91
Gm. 4: Cavaliers 100, Pistons 98

Jason Miller - FOX Sports
Stanley Johnson may have been in Lebron's head. I doubt it but, it's certainly possible he thought about him.

Every game in this series felt awfully similar besides game one. Game one may have just caught much of the audience off guard by how well coached the Detroit Pistons were and what a fight they gave Cleveland night in and night out. Games two through four were all the exact same fight only, with the same exact results every game. At the end of the day, Lebron was more passive than he will be in future rounds. He will only get more aggressive because his team needs it. His team did not need to him to be AGGRO-BRON this series and the result was a fun-to-watch, well-played series by both squads. Detroit probably does not appreciate being swept but, they will get over it and maybe win a playoff series next year with an easier opponent or an improved young nucleus.

MVPOTS: Lebron James

Raptors defeat Pacers in 7 games
Gm. 1: Pacers 100, Raptors 90
Gm. 2: Raptors 98, Pacers 87
Gm. 3: Raptors 101, Pacers 85
Gm. 4: Pacers 100, Raptors 83
Gm. 5: Raptors 102, Pacers 99
Gm. 6: Pacers 101, Raptors 83
Gm. 7: Raptors 89, Pacers 84

Nathan Dennette - Associated Press
The breakout of Norman Powell was a deciding factor in Toronto's dramatic series win over Indiana.

After watching the fourth quarter of game seven, I can't believe either team was allowed to advance. The Raptors must be elated to advance to the second round of the postseason for the first time in 15 years and yet, there is no way they actually wanted to win with how poorly played and coached those last five minutes of game seven were. The 6's team lucked out by facing the least competent offense in the playoffs in the Pacers and Paul George was the only player to lead them in scoring for six of the seven games (Game 4 featured 22-point performances from both George Hill and shockingly enough, Ian Mahinmi). Even though the future of duo Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan doesn't look too bright, the futures of Cory Joseph and Norman Powell really brightened an otherwise bleak series for Toronto.

MVPOTS: Paul George (despite the loss, this was the best representation of his return to being a top ten NBA superstar)

Heat defeat Hornets in 7 games
Gm. 1: Heat 123, Hornets 91
Gm. 2: Heat 115, Hornets 103
Gm. 3: Hornets 96, Heat 80
Gm. 4: Hornets 89, Heat 85
Gm. 5: Hornets 90, Heat 88
Gm. 6: Heat 97, Hornets 90
Gm. 7: Heat 106, Hornets 73

How DID Michael Jordan get Charlotte Hornets popcorn in Miami? Did he just bring incredibly stale popcorn?

After the Heat won the first two games of this first round series, Hornets forward Nicolas Batum injured himself and head coach Steve Clifford decided that this should give guys like Frank Kaminsky, Jeremy Lin and Courtney Lee more playing. That strategy ALMOST paid off as Buzz City went on to win three straight before dropping two to Miami thanks to the re-emergence of Dwyane Wade and the defensive prowess of Hassan Whiteside rearing it's head again. It won't be entirely tears for crying MJ and the crew as they were not thought of as a playoff team as the weird matches of Kaminsky, Hawes and Zeller were presumably going to tear this team apart and instead, they made it to a game seven in the first round for the first time since they were formed as the Bobcats.

MVPOTS: Dwyane Wade

Hawks defeat Celtics in 6 games
Gm. 1: Hawks 102, Celtics 101
Gm. 2: Hawks 89, Celtics 72
Gm. 3: Celtics 111, Hawks 103
Gm. 4: Celtics 104, Hawks 95 in overtime
Gm. 5: Hawks 110, Celtics 83
Gm. 6: Hawks 104, Celtics 92

AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Paul Millsap's dominant game 4 was wasted thanks to the Celtics superior overtime defense.

Game one made this look like a best of seven that could use all seven games. Game two made us all second-guess the readiness of Brad Stevens' Celtics. Game three reassured everyone that Isaiah Thomas is a lightning bolt of a player that can score 42 in four quarters like it was no big deal. Game four took Paul Millsap one step closer to being a household name with 45 points and 13 rebounds but, also saw Boston shut down every other Hawk, leading to an overtime win. After that game, the Hawks took over and never looked back despite a solid effort put forth by the younger Celtic team.

MVPOTS: Isaiah Thomas (The only player to show any consistency for all six games)

Round 2 Picks
Note: My Spurs-Thunder & Warriors-Blazers picks were made prior to Game 1.
Warriors over Trail Blazers in 4. (With or without Curry)
Spurs over Thunder in 7. (Not looking great after game one)
Cavaliers over Hawks in 6. (Still won't be seeing AGGRO-BRON)
Heat over Raptors in 5. (I would take all five of Miami's starters over all five of Toronto's right now)

My finals pick from the preseason still stands.

Good luck to all the players. May they all stay healthy for competition's sake and may all series end in game sevens!