Bethlehem Says

That’s what a “kibitz” is, according to Google image search. Here’s an excerpt from what it means, on GQ.com, when it’s David Roth and I gettin’ deep about the NBA Playoffs:

Shoals: You know how they say “all politics are local?” Well, all Bulls ads are local.

Roth: The thing with Rose, if I can put on my Brand Manager Cap (it has earflaps!) for a moment, is that the Chicago connection works for him. LeBron is from no-place at this point. Spiritually, he has apparently always been from a gated community near Miami. I think you’re right that the thing that works about the Rose commercial, and maybe doesn’t work for you about Rose, is that he seems to mean it—it feels like he cares because I guess he’s repping his stuff. All the best sneaker commercials have that. There was a Melo one in Baltimore I remember really well that way, with a creepy cameo by a nodding Jim Boeheim.

Shoals: “His stuff”. That sounds like you are saying he’s earnest about his balls.

Next week, the Finals!

THUNDER ART FROM GQ STORY NOW AVAILABLE IN PRINT FORM!

Russell Westbrook’s glasses. I think they’re on par with THE JACKET; the Recluse begs to differ. Certainly, when coupled with Durant’s backpack, they come off as blipster Halloween get-ups. Also, they’re an awesome metaphor for where Westbrook—the player I can’t and won’t stop writing about this spring—is at right now. From GQ.com:

Sacrificing none of his explosiveness, or even his signature unpredictability, Westbrook nevertheless acknowledged a team concept and the need to make friends in public places. He became even harder to figure out—more options in the basketball sense makes for more options, metaphysically speaking, which means, really, anything could happen. Except Westbrook also seemed to also embrace the possibility of control, or maybe just agency, as a way to stay tethered to his team, this planet, and the second before last.

A minor fashion statement, maybe not even the lasting meme I had hoped for. But it’s part of Westbrook coming into his own, and all of us hoping he ends up on the right side. This was some much-needed levity, and at the same time a reminder of why we care so much. Still trying to figure out how to tie this into Rashad McCants poem about glasses and soul (click here, scroll to the bottom). Help?

(Photo via @LBSports)

Here’s a photo of Royal Ivey’s well-inked back. He was one of my favorite players interviews on the Thunder. After the instrumental for “Straight Outta Compton” was heard over the PA, he told me he expected to hear some BDP next. He loves every city he’s played in (the perfect journeyman attitude), and wants to retire to Austin, which he compared to Soho. Also, Ivey referred to the youngsters on the Thunder as “the Toys ‘R Us Clan”.

Anyway, today at GQ.com David Roth posted the intro to–hang on here—a fake glossy magazine profile of Ivey. An excerpt:

And here is Royal Ivey’s car, right where he left it. It doesn’t look like much, but when he turns the key, the engine turns over, the lights turn on and the old car moves. The car takes Ivey off the players’ lot, past the security guard—a wave, un-awed, and he turns his attention back to People Magazine—toward the seven-year vet’s home, and back into an ordinary, extraordinary life…

I didn’t feel bad about gently mocking Ivey since he seemed like a guy who would appreciate the joke. And sure enough, he re-tweeted it. For what it’s worth, Royal, I had our entire conversation in my Thunder feature before space constraints intervened. And Roth and I once considered starting a publication called The Royal Ivey Review.

I really wanted to write about the Mavs today. Like that was going to happen. Today’s piece at GQ.com: Did Westbrook go somewhere uncharted last night, and should he find some new friends?

“Durant spreads love. Westbrook, just doing his thing, tried their patience, pulled them back in, and finally, left them resentful. The team has never been known for its ball movement, a problem that doesn’t simply trace back to Westbrook. But for once, they felt fundamentally uncomfortable with Westbrook’s presence. Durant is reassuring, calm. Westbrook causes aneurysms on the spot. It’s not his behavior, or performance that threatens the Thunder—it’s what he stands for as a basketball player.”

I think I conclude that Westbrook belongs on the Grizzlies.