But I’m pretty sure Rob Mahoney doesn’t have any lawyers. He’s like 14 years old.

So here’s everything he wrote about Jason Terry’s clutchness the other day.

It’s become a Jason Terry tradition to shoot and run and drive during the first three quarters to little effect, only to emphatically arrive in the fourth quarter. Last night’s game is only one such example; JET is nothing if not timely, and has been an effective clutch scorer (and as is frequently forgotten, passer) during his entire tenure with the Mavs. He emerges for the fourth of every game with his belly full of a magical elixir, some fluid or ether that turns clanks into swishes. These instances lie beyond explanation; JET goes through the same motions, from the hesitation on his dribble to the crispness of his pull-up jumper. Everything is absolutely the same except in the one way that truly matters, and any man who can deduce a logical reason as to why deserves a bronzed bust in some hall with all of the world’s other great thinkers.

How do you explain why his shots suddenly start falling in the fourth? It’s not a question of effort, or even intelligent execution. Terry is the same player throughout, but the first three frames are part of a process, and the final one is the consummation of his worldly — and otherworldly — duty. There is an amazement that comes with watching Kobe Bryant pivot his way into brilliance or Tim Duncan cover every second of a screen-and-roll. Those are amazing feats accomplished by champions of men. But during every phase of execution, they’re still fathomable. Terry’s clutch performances, juxtaposed against his struggles throughout the rest of certain games, aren’t even remotely fathomable.

Terry is something supernatural. A reaper, perhaps, come to collect lost souls at the very end. Any man’s death diminishes him, because he is involved in mankind. Never send to know for whom Terry’s bell tolls; it tolls for thee. Call him a ghost through the first three quarters if you will, but his very presence in the fourth marks death. He isn’t an assassin, just the natural order of life itself, a process which cannot be explained or denied other than the fact that it just is.

I have no follow-up.

Just be sure to read all the other great stuff Rob writes also. He’s going to own the entire NBA blogosphere, instead of just most of it, in about six months.

Nobody likes airplanes more than Jason. (Photo by Tim Heitman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Still, no matter how bad the basketball is, all is not for naught. The occasion spurred Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game, Hardwood Paroxysm, NYT’s Off the Dribble, NBC’s ProBasketballTalk, Voice on the Floor and probably soon the White House to create this epic video.

It’s the best thing you will find on the internet today and perhaps in your lifetime. (via Hardwood Paroxysm)

This is sort of like that whole Christmas in July thing. Only instead of presents and candy, you get to listen to a bunch of meatheads talk about hoops in this very special episode of The 8th Seed Podcast: August Edition in September. Long story short, we recorded this on Monday night, but I had a busy week down at the glue-huffing factory and never got around to editing/posting it until now.

Luckily, nothing has really happened all week in the NBA so none of this is dated, really. We talk Team USA a lot, specifically discussing their 2-point win over Brazil, and while the squad has played two more games since then, there wasn’t a lot to be learned by watching Kevin Durant, Eric Gordon and company stomp Iran and Tunisia by a combined 75 points.

We also talk about the Melo situation in Denver, call Matt Moore a racist, launch the soon-to-be-recurring “Try to Make Zach Cry Segment,” break down the Summers of Dallas, San Antonio, Minnesota, Los Angeles (Clippers) and Boston, which, as John Karalis lets us know has “cornered the market on O’Neals.”

Cast and crew (only seven of us this month … Michael De Leon of Project Spurs couldn’t make it):

• Me, your host, of here, Eight Points Nine Seconds and Hardwood Paroxysm
• Jeff Garcia of Project Spurs
• Zach Harper of Talk Hoops, Cowbell Kingdom, Hardwood Paroxysm, Raptors Republic and A Wolf Among Wolves
• John Karalis of Red’s Army
• Glenn Moore of The Dugout Sports Show
• Rey Moralde of  The No-Look Pass and SLAMonline
• … and this month’s special guest, Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game, Hardwood Paroxysm, and NBC’s ProBasketballTalk

Listen. (Download here.)

This is the first in a “Playoff Post-Mortem” series of podcast episodes that will be debuting over the next week or so to discuss those teams that were bounced from the postseason already. Fittingly, the Spurs will be next up (tomorrow, baring a abnormally long whisky binge) and the Thunder and Cavs should follow along in short order.

Enjoy.

And please be sure to subscribe to Talking About Practice on iTunes, where ratings and reviews are encouraged.

Not by Rob Mahoney.

Here he is with another episode in his fantastic “Moving Pictures” series breaking down Mavs rookie Rodrigue Beaubois’ 40-point outburst on Saturday night. Sure it was against the Warriors (aka, the second worst defensive team in the Association and the same squad that allowed another rookie, Brandon Jennings, to drop 55 back in November), but it was still an impressive shooting performance from the lil guy from Guadeloupe (15/22 from the field and an insane 9/11 from three).

Says Mahoney (who is the best Mavs blogger on the internet … not an Irish cop walking a beat, as his name would suggest):

The end-to-end speed, the quickness, and the shooting were all on display, and in this installment of Moving Pictures, we’ll look at what the 40-spot means in terms of the playing rotation, as well as appreciating Beaubois’ dominant performance for what it was.

Check out past Moving Pictures episodes here. Even the old ones are great if you haven’t been watching.

]]> http://www.bothteamsplayedhard.net/2010/03/29/rodrique-beaubois-cant-miss-scores-40/feed/ 0 http://www.bothteamsplayedhard.net/2009/11/20/moving-pictures-episodes-1-and-2/ http://www.bothteamsplayedhard.net/2009/11/20/moving-pictures-episodes-1-and-2/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:21:30 +0000 Jared Wade http://www.bothteamsplayedhard.net/?p=6018 Rob Mahoney of the Mavs blog The Two Man Game and Hardwood Paroxysm is taking video to another level. Step your games up, kiddos, or forever don’t be as cool as Rob. And let’s not kid ourselves — you’ll never be as cool as this dude anyway. Still, you can dream.

Here are Episodes #1 and #2 of his beautiful Moving Pictures spectacular about the Mavericks in reverse-chronological order.

Moving Pictures With Rob Mahoney: Episode #2

Moving Pictures With Rob Mahoney: Episode #1