If there’s one thing that I love, it’s high-arcing close-midrange mini-jumpers. You get so close to the rim that you could practically just reach over and put it in, but instead you loft the ball into the stratosphere only to have it swish straight through the rim. They should have a “high-arcing close-midrange mini-jumper” contest during All-Star break instead of the Skills Challenge. Or just any sort of midrange jumper contest. That would be the sickest thing ever, not even exaggerating.
There were points during this game that I was pretty sure that the Bucks were going to lose to a team that seemingly wanted to do nothing but shoot those midrange jumpers. And I was okay with it. If the Blazers were going to beat my team in the most aesthetic possible way, so be it.
Skal Labissiere started off his night with his first two threes of the season, and that was not something I was okay with. He flashed some three-point shooting ability two years ago, but he’s never been a high-volume guy from out there, and especially this season, where he’d only taken 2 prior to tonight. But then he decided to step in a little bit, devastate the Bucks with midrange pick-and-pops, and it was so beautiful. He has one of the best-looking jumpers in the league, and if you think I’m being reactionary, check out what I’ve been saying about him these past few years. His jumper is art.
And that’s not even mentioning his career-high 5 blocked shots. He was doing it on both ends of the court, something a few Blazers could take note of and try to implement in their own game. It wasn’t enough to get the win, but it was probably enough to stop him from being totally marginalized for at least a week or two. Every time he has a big game I think that he’s finally about to break out, eventually I have to be right. Right?