First impressions are everything. That’s what all those people trying to sell you self-improvement stuff say, and they’re right. That’s why, if I know I’m going to be in a situation where I’m going to meeting new people, I try and put on a shirt that has been laundered within the past month and coat myself in Axe bodyspray. I don’t want people thinking I’m sort of highlight-making hobo, because I’m totally not. I’m a highlight-making bohemian.
I’m bringing this up because the first impression I got of P.J. Washington was seeing him drop 7 threes in his NBA debut. That was a great performance, one of the best overall so far this season. But such a display means that my perception of him will forever be colored by it. No matter what he does this season, or the next season, or any season for the rest of his career, I will always think of him as an elite three-point specialist. I mean, it’s already clear that he isn’t. At most, he’s pretty good at threes. Doesn’t matter to me. My neurons and axons have already connected themselves in unbreakable ways. And as long as no one tries to give me unwanted electroshock therapy, they will stay connected.
Sidenote: as I was typing up that sentence about neurons and axons, I started really freaking out about the nature of brains and memories and stuff. Don’t fall into the same trap.
Washington hit only two threes this game, defying my expectations of him with a whole bunch of interior buckets. Did you know that he has post moves? I didn’t, and theoretically I should now, but my brain might not have the connections required to store that information.