Season Ticket Review: A win, a blessed win
Well, well, well.
Game 14: February 10th, 2007
Los Angeles D-Fenders (15-14) at Sioux Falls Skyforce (15-14)
Jeff Varem returned to the Skyforce on Friday. He looked horrible – unsure of himself, unable to connect on any shots and uncoordinated in collecting rebounds.
Last night – his second game since returning from injury – was a completely different story. 21 points, 10 rebounds. Just one foul. And a win. Finally. After five straight losses, a blessed, welcome win.
A win? I’m not even sure I know how to deal with a win anymore. It seems like it’s been so long.
Here’s the funny thing – the game wasn’t exciting at all. Where over the past four home games we’ve been shaking our head in disgust throughout the third quarter and yelling at the refs throughout the fourth, this game was spent watching the Skyforce take an early lead and keep it.
This wasn’t just any lead, either. This was a big lead. As in, we allowed only 31 points in the first half. The first half! For a team that is known to struggle in the 3rd quarter, having a 47-31 lead is rather comforting.
What happened? Was Varem’s comeback really as important as it seemed? Or were the players finally joined together in solidarity, ready to finally win and put this horrible five-game stretch in the past?
Or were the stars aligned just right? Stephen Graham had 25 points and 9 rebounds. Frank Williams had zero points, but 11 assists and 8 boards. Corey Williams filled in well off the bench with 11, 5 and 3. Best of all, we only turned the ball over 10 times, and allowed just 32% shooting. We may have just struck gold on a lucky day.
I’m not concerned about it, really. The halftime show was not as annoying as usual. My pizza was fresh from the oven, instead of baked under the heat lamps. We sat closer than we usually do, thanks to the lack of ushers in our section. The game wasn’t even close, no stress was created, and the ball boy had shed his shyness and was dancing to “Clap Your Hands” in front of the 4333 fans.
It was a good game. Let’s leave it at that and hope for another on Tuesday. After all, I can’t be vitriolic all the time.