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capstoverogers · 3 years

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Pick Up Games - A 90s Avengers Fic

Synopsis: In a universe where Carol Danvers stays her ass put on Earth and the entire MCU takes place during the greatest decade, I present to you: the Avengers in the 90s, playing street ball

Pairings: Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau, BestFriends!Maria Rambeau & Sam Wilson, Implied Sam Wilson/Bucky Barnes, V Subtle BlackHill

Warnings: Allusions to the traumatizing singing animatronics at Chuck E. Cheese

Word Count: 1,156

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In 1996, Sam Wilson is always wearing his Scottie Pippen Chicago Bulls jersey.

“MJ would be nothing without Pippen,” he constantly and confidently explains to anyone who will listen. “Every Michael needs his Scottie.”

Sam thinks he’s a much better basketball player than he actually is, but he can hold his own if he can keep his trigger-happy hands from launching an unnecessary three-pointer in pick-up games. He’ll maybe make one per game (and will consider himself the next Steve Kerr because of it), but he makes up for it because he’s the absolute king of assists.

Sam and Carol Danvers lead the charge to get some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and the Avengers together to play pick-up every Saturday morning at the closest park. Maria and Monica Rambeau always dutifully watch from the bleachers (the former acting like its her greatest weekend inconvenience, though they all know she loves it). Monica insists on bringing the boombox, acts as the official DJ as she switches back and forth between the local hip hop and classic rock stations, because Carol swears nothing gets her in the game like glam metal.

Steve Rogers can always be seen nervously pacing the sidelines (he doesn’t think it’d be fair if he and his bulging chest join the game; besides he’s always been more of a baseball kind of guy), acting as the unofficial referee, no matter how many times they explain to him that the very nature of street ball is no rules.

“I just don’t want anybody to get hurt,” he whines with a pout so unintentionally puppy-like that they can’t help but keep letting him ref.

They call Bucky Barnes “the silent assassin” because you forget he’s there until suddenly he’s dropped twenty buckets on you out of nowhere. He grumbles every time Sam smacks his ass after a good play, but they all share secret smirks at the way he also flushes.

Rambeau alternates between heckling Sam every time he bricks a shot and hollering, “Hell yeah, that’s my best friend!” whenever he does his signature fake right, dish left to a wide open Hawkeye who sinks the three or lobs a perfect ally oop to Thor for the slam dunk.

Speaking of Hawkeye, Clint Barton is absolutely useless unless he’s behind the arc. Can’t dribble worth shit, but no one’s ever seen him miss a shot. Not ever.

Natasha Romanoff doesn’t play but can always be found wearing the shortest shorts anyone’s ever seen as she lounges on the bleachers, bobbing her head to the radio and trading jokes with Monica. When the game ends, she husks out a ‘good game, boys’ until an insistent cough draws her attention to a playfully glowering Maria Hill (who is an absolute beast on defense and in the post with that delightfully long torso of hers).

Without fail, Natasha flashes her the kind of smirk that’ll make you have to gulp down an entire gatorade in one go.

“But of course as always, the ladies did it better.”

“Thank you.” That would be Carol interrupting the moment. She’s the self-proclaimed captain every week and takes pick-up games way too seriously. Peter Parker’s no longer allowed to play with them because everyone’s afraid her competitiveness with crush his tiny little earnest spirit.

Carol’s absolutely radiant when her team wins, though, immediately beelining it to the bleachers to hoist a cheering Monica onto her shoulders as she quirks an eyebrow at the girl’s pretending-not-to-be-impressed mother.

“Don’t I get something for winning?” Carol baits.

“Yeah, you get to follow this ass to the car so you can buy us lunch.”

There’s a chorus of “oooohs” and Carol pouts until Rambeau breaks down and plants a kiss on her lips. Monica scrambles off Carol’s shoulders to leap into the arms of an approaching Sam (in a frankly very dangerous maneuver that Maria side eyes with pursed lips) as they all head for the parking lot. Bruce Banner - who shows up late and smothered in sunscreen - consoles a ruddy faced Thor with an awkward pat on the back, because the God of Thunder is absolutely a sore loser.

(“These silly Midgard games have nothing on the grand arena events we’d hold on Asgard each century! There I am the undisputed champion!”)

Carol and Maria jump into their neighboring convertibles, playfully competing to see who can get Monica to ride with them until the girl proclaims “I want to ride with Uncle Sam!” Carol gapes and Maria rolls her eyes fondly as Sam triumphantly cackles.

“You raising her right, Rambeau,” Sam teases. “She knows quality when she sees it.”

Carol putting her middle finger on display in his direction just makes Sam laugh louder as he carries Monica over to his trusty blue Camry, followed a little too close by Bucky (everyone does them the courtesy of pretending not to notice). Steve throws his ham-hocked leg over his Harley, and the rest pile into Barton’s mini van (Natasha forgoes claiming her usual assumed position of shot gun to instead press her thighs against a self-satisfied Maria Hill in the backseat).

They make their way to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch because let’s be real, Monica calls the shots (and Sam honestly likes their pizza, he doesn’t care how the super soldier Brooklyn Boys give him shit for this “blasphemy”). Tony Stark, Pepper Potts and little Morgan Stark meet them there and Stark spontaneously decides to buy a birthday party package, even though it’s nowhere close to anyone’s birthday and the Chuck E. Cheese is technically already fully booked for the day. But he’s Tony Stark - like they’re really gonna say no. With a slice of pizza in one hand and a fountain coke in the other, Tony babbles on about how he could improve the animatronic technology to make it less creepy.

“I better not go into the garage later and see one of those things,” Pepper warns as she warily eyes the stuttering movements of robotic Chuck and gang as they sing an honestly not terrible cover of the Beatles “Eight Days a Week.”

Carol and Monica go on a rampage through all the games and absolutely clean out the place, earning enough tickets to win a huge Captain Marvel plushie that Carol cheekily gifts Maria (who rolls her eyes but secretly pulls out to cuddle against every time Carol’s called up to space for long periods of time) and Thor talks excitedly about the nine realms with a creature he swears he recognizes from space until Bruce has to gently point out that it’s just a human in a giant rat costume.

That night, Carol gets an AOL instant message from NicholasNotNickFury:

NicholasNotNickFury: thanks for inviting me to your little Saturday pick up games

CaptainHotStuff: but we didn’t invite you

NicholasNotNickFury: IT WAS SARCASM DANVERS

The end.

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heresathreebee · 4 years

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Garrote part 3

[Starz Power Diego Jimenez X Jazmine Mann (Black!OC)]

Word Count: 2,700 words

Warning(s): Rated Mature, language, partying, mentions of sex and drugs. Previous Masterlist Next

AN: I am constantly mere clicks away from releasing everything I have at once but I know if I do I will lose momentum for the plot.

Edit: I. Forgot. The tags again.

@nicke0115 @1zashreena1 @mental-bycatch

The week that followed was heaven and hell. Diego went back to throwing parties nightly, fucking girls coked out of his mind, and in general trying to forgot all about Healy and his pretty bait, but Tommy Eagan was threatening war over a dead partner unless Alicia met his ridiculous demands. Thanks to Tommy's new right hand man, there was an opportunity to gain instead of lose now. All they had to do was wait and see if Dre could pull through.

There were two new numbers in Diego's phone. One unsaved that sent cryptic messages about their deal, and the other marked as an emoji rather than a name. Jazmine's texts seemed forced– like she was reaching out on behalf of Healy's instructions. So of course Diego elected to simply ignore them both. They were buzzkills anyways.

Diego was showing something important on his phone to his sister when Jazmine sent another text.

Remember when you scared off Haagen? I miss that every time I see him.

On the other end of the line, Jazmine felt pathetic sending the text. Healy hadn't even asked her to write this time, she was just so… bored. She hadn't been sleeping well, pulling double shifts involuntarily since her boss found out she closed the store when her coworker didn't show up. She carried her stress in her shoulders– the tightness in her neck caused her daily migraines and there was a new pinching sensation between her shoulder blades to accompany the rest of her pain. In the shower, she massaged whatever she could reach and thought of Diego's big hands doing it for her.

She literally shook herself to clear the thought and pelted the shower curtain with water in the process. Diego Jimenez wasn't some faux bad boy with a secret soft side– he was the leader of a cartel. If he hadn't killed people himself, he definitely had people killed for him. He was beyond dangerous to even fantasize about.

DING-DING.

Her phone called out to her from the bathroom counter and she realized it was past time to get out. Her fingers were pruned to the point of over-sensitivity and there was a rapidly closing window to apply the leave-in conditioner to the best of its use. Still, she wiped her hands on the towel to read the text.

Come out and party. Wear something nice.

Alicia boxed his ear over the last sentence but he brushed her off. Jazmine declined anyways claiming exhaustion and went to bed. There were people to socialize with already– what was the absence of one little minimum wage laborer going to do? Apparently she was important enough to occupy a corner of Diego's head. He was still bent about the way she had reacted to his identity. Who the hell did she think she was? As they discovered in the ungodly hour after the party ended, she was also important enough to drag Healy out of whatever hole he hid in.

"Diego, we need to talk."

Alicia had gone home– Diego expected she would likely never attend another one of her brother's parties as it wasn't her brand of debauchery– and she'd cleared the place out in her disgust, so his penthouse was empty for once.

"What's the matter," Diego poured himself yet another drink, "am I not being a good boyfriend?"

"We don't care what you do when you're not operating," Healy reprimanded. "But we need you to cooperate. Be a presence in Jazmine's fake life. You've been established as a rival for her affections, and you need to become an obstacle standing between the bait and the target. Jazmine walks home from work every single morning by herself. I don't know if you noticed it's been pouring buckets for three days straight."

Healy almost sounded like he was shaming Diego. It wasn't his fault she was poor. She wasn't his real girlfriend and therefore not his real problem. "Please don't make me regret making this deal, Diego. We will never get an opportunity to dismantle Haagen like this again. Need I remind you that you've got a missing child on your hands?"

Diego glared fiercely over the rim of his cup. Healy smoothed his hands down the front of his shirt and returned to his neutral position as righteous commander.

"Schedule more time to spend with Jazmine, especially in public spaces. We have it on good authority that Haagen is going to put a detail out to give him updates on Jazmine in the near future, and he needs to see you in these updates." Healy turned on his heel and reached the elevators, stopping them from closing dramatically and fixing Diego with a stare. "And no more ignoring us."

Jazmine woke up the next morning to one new notification.

I'm coming over.

"Oh shit." The woman threw herself out of bed and looked around. This wasn't fair. Cleaning day was a bi monthly ritual where she took a day off to deep clean the entire apartment, blasting music and stepping around her dog to get things done. Hercules wandered into her bedroom looking chipper as ever. "I guess we better get started then, huh?"

The fucker showed up on her doorstep not ten minutes after she got out of bed– she wasn't even dressed for the day. Her hands nervously tried to cover the broth stain on her jeans as she cleared a space for him to sit and wait while she finished her morning routine. She worried while brushing her teeth that Diego might be a psycho like her last boyfriend. Psycho enough to kick her overly friendly pet, but no sound of yelps filtered through the paper thin walls and when she finally emerged, the pit-bull was settled with her head on his lap.

Diego turned his head at the sound of a huge sigh. Jazmine was gazing at him but quickly turned when she realized she'd been caught. She began to flit about the room, picking up lost things and piling them up until she could figure out what items went where. He watched, making absolutely no move to help other than keeping the dog out of the way. Hercules– as the tag on her collar read– laid as much in his lap as he would allow.

"Buena perro," he muttered, and if she still had a tail, she would have wagged it. Growing bored, Diego rose and stalked over to the fridge. "Do you have anything to eat?"

The white void in the fridge answered for her, but she still called out, "no, it's empty."

"I'm ordering pizza."

"What about Chinese?"

Diego looked at the lonely, days-old Chinese boxes in the fridge and shivered. "I'm getting pizza." She didn't complain. He returned to the couch to do just that. Distractedly, he admired the curve of her spine as she bent over. She wore jeans again and another band shirt, this time it was a baggy Chicago thing. He licked his lips thinking about taking them off her.

Healy’s meddling had repercussions– mainly that it would made taking girls home harder, or at least less frequent. Diego still felt great suspicion towards this Jazmine, but it didn’t stop his body from wanting her under him. Or over him, on him, riding him… he tried to blink the images out of his head.

“What kind of dirt does Healy have on you?,” he found himself asking. “My sister and I have been dying to know.”

Jazmine shrugged, keeping her back to him. “No dirt.”

“So you’re just helping out of the goodness of your heart?” Pizza arrived in time for her not to answer, and they returned to their positions for further interrogation. “Anything to get that creep Haagen away from you for good? Or are you an agent as well?”

“No,” she said. She slipped rubber gloves on to begin maintenance on the tower of dishes piled on the side of the sink. She seemed to live alone– there was no reason to have so many dishes. Maybe he had been wrong in his assessment from earlier? Or maybe she was just a hoarder. “To tell you the truth, I’m about as fond of Healy as I am Haagen. I take that back– Healy’s a step up but not by much.”

“Because you don’t trust him?”

“I don’t know…” That mountain of plates and glasses seemed to disappear quicker than he expected and she began to scrub out the sink and the cleared counters, grunting with effort as she did so. “I trust I know the kind of man Haagen is, more so than I do with Healy. Partnerships like the one I have with Healy– they’re subject to change, and not always for the better. He’ll always do what’s in his best interest. What’s good for him is good for me.”

For Now. The implication that she may harbor the same feelings towards Diego was not lost on him. In fact, he stood up from the couch and approached the windows with their blinds down to peek out at the street. There was nothing quite so conspicuous as a black SUV with a mean mugging thug staring back at him. Even his own protection didn’t roll that sloppily.

Jazmine objected to the windows being opened but Diego insisted. “Need our relationship on display, right? Haagen’s got to know I’m here.”

She relented quickly and threw her gloves aside, plopping her butt on the couch to rest a moment. The leftovers in the box were room temperature but she hardly seemed to mind. God, he wanted to run his hand up her shirt just to see if she was wearing a bra. They twitched in his lap and he realized there was no way she missed the hunger in his gaze as he did.

“Did you bring those beers,” she laughed as she noticed the case on the coffee table for the first time. “Can I have one?”

The beer seemed to quell the tiny tremor in her fingers. She kicked her feet up on the coffee table permitting Diego to do the same. "What the hell are we even doing? Hanging out? What exactly is this accomplishing?"

Jazmine gave it some thought as she took a pull from her drink. "Putting on a show. We need Haagen to think I'm in love with you, like you're no good but I'm not ready to let you go for something 'better.'"

"And Haagen is something," Diego put his fingers up like claws, "better."

"He certainly needs to think he is." She noticed Hercules whining and let her out the door unaccompanied. "We've got his 'gentleman' ego to work with."

Diego followed her to the window and grasped her hips from behind. She half turned, gazing up at him with a question in her eyes. He leaned into her space to whisper into her ear.

"Those eyes Healy thinks Haagen sent to watch you? Well they're watching right now, and they're not being subtle about it."

She doesn't try to look like he expected her to. Instead, she stepped away from him and pointedly crossed her arms. "You don't look very comfortable if you're still wearing that."

She nodded her head at his coat.

"So take it off me."

That startled her. Jazmine's eyebrows lifted, and her feet shuffled when he gave her nothing but a smirk in return. Finally, she did as he suggested. She did not miss the way his hands seemed to brush lightly over her rib cage. These small, fleeting touches that left her breath audible and her stomach warm. He didn't even give her a chance to put the coat on the hangar when he dragged her back against him.

"What are you doing?" She didn't mean to sound breathless, turning her head to the side and exposing more of her neck at the behest of his pushy nose and allowing him to trail kisses on her skin.

"Putting on a show," he said against the shell of her ear.

He felt her stiffen a little against him. The tent on his pants was preventing a lot of important blood from entering his brain, but he was conscience enough to feel how conflicted she was. Diego slipped his hand up her shirt like he wanted, cupping her bare breast and sucking a mark into her neck. She allowed it, but it felt more like compliance than enjoyment. All at once and against the protest of his body, he let her go. He watched her shoulders relax and her hands find a home beneath her armpits.

Jazmine nodded in answer to a question left unasked. She did grab his hand and pull him away from the window, backwards into the tiny hall separating the front room from the bedroom and bathroom. She dropped his hand as soon as they were out of sight of the window.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm," she said. "Just hang out for twenty more minutes and you can leave. I'll text you tomorrow and we can makes plans for another 'show.' You can stay in my room while I clean the bathroom."

Diego sat heavily on her bed. Just as he was about to get comfortable, someone knocked at the front door. Jazmine brushed invisible dirt from her knees as she got up to see who it was. He followed from a distance. The peep hole was almost out of her reach, but she stood on her toes to see outside. Suddenly, the woman looked back at him with wide eyes. It's Haagen, she mouthed. As soon as her head was turned to the task of confronting him, she missed the part where Diego began to undress.

"Hey!" She flung the door open and yelped when Hercules barreled through her legs to get inside. "You... found my dog!"

"Indeed," Haagen said, folding his hands over his heart. "I saw this poor creature wandering and I returned him using the address on its collar. I am astounded to learn that he belongs to you." Nice cover story. The man continued, "since you have the day off, I was wondering–"

Haagen's wondering was cut off by the appearance of a half naked boyfriend. Diego wound his arm around Jazmine and leaned down so he could engulf her clothed nipple with his hot mouth. She gasped, pushing his head away on instinct and he pressed her into his side like a vice.

"Come back to bed, baby," he purred, then pretended to take notice of Haagen watching in the doorway. "Oh, you're that guy, right? James, Jeff, Jebediah or whatever."

"Jeremy," the man hissed through his teeth. "Hello Di-e-go."

"Right right right." An embarrassed Jazmine buried her face into Diego's nude shoulder, acting unconsciously but playing into her role perfectly. "Kinda crazy how I start hearing about you and then all of a sudden you're showing up on my girl's doorstep, isn't it?"

Haagen made a move to defend himself but Jazmine was quicker. "He found the dog, honey! Jeremy was just bringing her home, he didn't know I lived here."

"Right," Haagen cleared this throat.

Diego's smile bordered on a threatening mania-- there were far too many teeth displayed to suggest any sort of friendliness. "Life is so full of strange coincidences…"

No one missed the way he squeezed Jazmine harder. It sent a message to be sure. Vague enough for Haagen to infer whatever he deemed necessary to the story in his head. It was quite brilliant actually.

"Well I ought to," Haagen swallowed, "leave you to it then. I'll see you around the shop, then?"

"Bye–" she barely managed to say before Diego dragged her into the apartment and slammed the door shut. He kept dragging her all the way back to her bedroom, and all the while she protested being treated like a misbehaving child. It wasn't until he'd slammed the door and collected his shirt from the floor that she realized what exactly had transpired.

"Oh." She brushed the frizzing curls invading her eyes, "oh that was perfect. Healy was right to pick you."

Diego rolled his shoulders once his shirt was tucked back into place. "Come over tonight. I'll text you my address and we can capitalize on this. Wear something nice."

She was about to protest his leaving but realized it wouldn't matter. If Haagen expected a fight from the noises he'd heard, he would probably just assume it had ended quickly if he saw Diego storm out alone. He crafted his own version of events. She let the pieces fall where they lie and made arrangements to meet Diego tonight.

#Diego Jimenez x OC #Starz Power #fanfic #Diego Jimenez #Garrote #three bees writing #🐝🐝🐝✏

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dpinoycosmonaut · 4 years

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THE BUBBLE FINALS: AN UNLIKELY MATCHUP

by Reuel Hermoso / 02 October 2020

Two of the best all-around swingmen in the game - Heat star Jimmy Butler and Laker legend LeBron James - square off for all the marbles. (Photo from slamonline.com)

The smoke has cleared from both the Eastern and Western Conferences, and expectedly, the Los Angeles Lakers cinched their conference finals and the first NBA finals berth. But in the Eastern Conference, an unlikely winner emerged – the Miami Heat, who just defeated the fancied Boston Celtics.

Eric Spoelstra’s troops are now marching on to the NBA finals, that glorious Nirvana that they have not been to since 2014 when they had current Lakers superstar LeBron James. They lost that series to the San Antonio Spurs, winning just a game (to the Spurs’ four) in the seven-game series, and James returned to his homestate and its team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the following year, and even conspired with celebrated backcourt wizard Kyrie Irving to give Cleveland its first NBA championship in 2016. The Heat last won the NBA crown in 2013. That makes for a really hungry team longing to feast on a championship glory.

But if a seven-year fast looks bad, the Lakers are in a worse famine, last appearing – and winning – the NBA finals in 2010, when the late great Kobe Bryant was still their unquestioned leader. Acquiring James’s services after he left the Cavs was a watershed event for the Lakers in their quest to finally end that 10-year title drought. And signing up the highly-prized former New Orleans Pelicans power forward-center Anthony Davis was the last key to unlock the display chest holding the Larry O’Brien trophy for the Lakers to finally take home.

Getting other pieces like former Houston Rockets big man Dwight Howard and young gunners Kentavius Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso to pace the backcourt, as well as versatile wingmen like the young Kyle Kuzma and the more experienced Markieff Morris to beef up the frontline, helped to complete this powerful Laker roster. Coach Frank Vogel, acquired just last year, has done some pretty admirable work in that short period, piloting the Lakers to a 52-19 win-loss card in just his first season – the best record in the Western Conference and the third-best in the entire league. This is a team that was put together precisely to restore the Lakers’ lost glory, and with this ticket to the Big Dance, they’re just four wins away from accomplishing that.

The Heat, however, are looking to spoil the Lakers’ date with destiny, believing that they have their own destiny to meet – and have proven they will not be denied that other finals slot. The face of the Heat today, Jimmy Butler, is himself a story that mirrors the struggles of his team to get back its own former glory. Thrown out of the house by his mother at the age of 13, Butler spent the following year hopping from house to house, living with friends who would take him in for a day, a week, or more if he was lucky. Finally, a friend’s family decided to adopt him.

They sent him to school, and later saw him off to college to fulfill his dreams of playing varsity basketball. Initially, he played for Tyler College in his home state of Texas, and was later offered an academic scholarship at Marquette, a perennial March Madness contender in the US NCAA, for which former Heat superstar Dwyane Wade also played. In his junior year, Butler helped the Golden Eagles to an 11-7 win-loss card that season in the NCAA’s Big East Conference and a fifth consecutive March Madness appearance.

In the NBA, Butler became a journeyman of sorts, suiting up for the Chicago Bulls, which drafted him in 2011. Although he played well in his long stint with the Bulls – at one point breaking Michael Jordan’s team record for most points in a half in a game they won against the Toronto Raptors on January 3, 2016 –Butler was plagued by injuries. In 2017, he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the following year he was again traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. Finally, in a sign-and-trade deal, the guy famously known as “Jimmy Buckets” “moved (his) talent to South Beach,” in the famous words of James himself when he first left the Cavs in 2010 to join the Heat.

With all this moving and seeming lack of rootedness even from his early adolescence, any lesser man would probably have called it quits. Certainly not Butler though. He couldn’t care less how people felt about him, whether they felt pity on him or hated his guts. As sportswriter Garth Johnson put it in fansided.com: “A lot of guys in the league view basketball as a way to a lifestyle. Jimmy Butler viewed basketball as a way to a life. On his own since 13 in a small Texas town outside Houston, Butler had more to worry about than rubbing some people the wrong way.” Read more about it in https://fansided.com/2020/02/29/jimmy-butler-heat-sledgehammer-greatness/.

To cut to the chase, this Heat squad today is now Butler’s team – his and his alone. Sure, he had his chances to carve out a leadership position with the Bulls, but that wasn’t meant to be. He wasn’t exactly welcomed in Minnesota, and some like Johnson even think Butler broke the Timberwolves apart during his stint there. But even then, as Johnson observes, “in his one season there they made their first playoff appearance in 14 years.” The Timberwolves even had their first winning season in 13 years and had a win-loss card of 38-24 with Butler while going 9-11 without him. They even fell from third in the West when he hurt his knee, to eighth going into the playoffs.

“You don’t have to be a stat geek to see how they are (now) faring without him,” Johnson argues.

More importantly, though, it’s what the Heat braintrust decided to do to get those other pieces they needed to put together a team that’s primed to surprise the NBA by achieving what it has in so short a time. Butler is their crowning recruitment achievement in the offseason, but consider as well coach Spo’s starting five to give you an idea of this team’s ability to continue perplexing the league and its fans.

As civil engineer and casual basketball pundit Ramby Nolido observed, they first cornered Kentucky Wildcat sniper Tyler Herro – who now comes off the bench as a deadly sixth man – ahead of their Eastern Conference finals opponents, the Celtics, who were hoping the Heat would overlook him before making Herro the 13th overall draft pick, depriving the Celtics of a chance to get him in the next draft slot at 14th. Then they acquired former Golden State Warriors small forward Andre Iguodala and two former Celtics – Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk – with Crowder playing with an ax to grind against his former team in the just-concluded Eastern Conference finals. Heat management then brought up deadshot Duncan Robinson from their G-League team to light things up from rainbow country.

“That’s four steps in the season that they got things right,” says Nolido. And from their previous roster, they kept Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic, a deadly frontline-backcourt tandem on both ends of the floor.

The question thus inevitably surfaces: Who will win the NBA title – the first held in a “bubble” in its long history? Who will get to take the Larry O’Brien trophy out of the bubble?

Clearly, the advantage is in LA’s favor. The combined firepower alone of James and Davis in the 2019-20 season is a whopping 51.5 points per game on the average. The supporting cast is just as potent, with inside-outside threats Kuzma and Caruso combining with Davis, who has decent three-point shooting numbers and can take the ball inside with his vaunted size and athleticism. Caldwell-Pope is also another recognized perimeter threat, but is a solid slasher as well. Morris, JaVale McGee, and even Howard are also known to be able to hit it from the perimeter, although that isn’t their strong suit.

What is their strong suit – and that of the rest of the Lakers – is their astounding inside scoring and, on the defensive end, their protection of the shaded lane. Indeed, LA has dominated the paint throughout much of the season, and obviously the Lakers will continue to use their size and length to their fullest advantage. Because despite the timely three-point bombs that guys like Kuzma, Caruso, Caldwell-Pope, and even the superstars James and Davis have unleashed with deadly accuracy during the playoffs, the Lakers are not exactly an outside scoring juggernaut, averaging just 34.9 percent from trifecta range (averaging home and road three-point shooting percentages prior to the lockdown, according to https://www.nba.com/lakers/stats/team). In the bubble, that percentage has dropped even lower to 30.6 percent in July and 30.2 percent in August.

Source: https://www.nba.com/article/2020/09/28/2020-playoffs-numbers-preview-lakers-heat-finals

In contrast, the Lakers own the low post. They are monsters in the restricted area, scoring a gargantuan 88 points underneath the basket compared to the Heat’s 74. Here’s the thing though – elsewhere in the paint, Miami outscores LA but not by much. Total points in the shaded area will expectedly go the way of the Lakers. This accounts for many of their wins, since inside points are higher-percentage shots compared to perimeter attempts.

Still, the numbers for outside points seem to be going the way of the Lakers. Total mid-rangers and three-balls have them up 26 points over the Heat. But where the boys from South Beach have the upper hand scoring-wise is from the free-throw line. There, they outscore the Hollywood boys by a whopping 18 markers. They also run the break better, beating LA in transition by nine points – both crucial advantages in the clutch. Where the Lakers are better off with the game on the line is in second-chance points, where they lord it over the Heat by 20 points.

Indeed, offense and offensive efficiency will spell the difference for both teams, despite their respective claims to being defensive juggernauts. As John Schuhmann of nba.com wrote: “Both teams have had success on both ends of the floor, but offense was the story in the conference finals. The Lakers and Denver Nuggets combined to score 115.3 points per 100 possessions, while the Heat and Boston Celtics combined to score 114.1. Those were the third- and fourth-most efficient series of the 14 we've seen thus far.”

We should thus expect that offense will remain the most compelling reason for their respective coaching staffs to continue as that is what has brought them both this far.

Or is it? Perhaps both teams will be wise to revisit their defensive narrative and give it more of the importance it truly deserves. As University of Alabama legendary football coach Bear Bryant (no relation to Kobe) famously said (and which Ateneo sniper Jai Reyes repeated after his Blue Eagles successfully wrested the UAAP men’s basketball title from the La Salle Green Archers in 2008): “Offense wins games, but defense wins championships!”

The team with the better defensive strategy will take the series – and the championship. As Schuhmann of nba.com correctly observes: “To win their 17th championship, the Lakers will have to keep up with the Heat's ball and player movement. To win their fourth, the Heat will have to protect the rim. In both cases, it's much easier said than done.” (As an aside, as a Celtics fan, I just want to say that this is one reason why I’m rooting for the Heat; it’s not just because of our natural aversion to the Purple-and-Gold but also because Boston diehards want to keep that record of most number of NBA titles ever. Touché!)

Each game, each quarter, maybe even each possession, will boil down to how the individual and roster matchups will fare between these two protagonists. Key here will be the substitution patterns of Messrs. Vogel and Spoelstra, and how they can effectively use the chess pieces they each have.

Coach Vogel has largely stuck with his starting five of James as point forward, Davis at the forward spot, Caldwell-Pope as swingman, JaVale McGee at center, and Danny Green as shooting guard, while coach Spo has from time to time experimented in his backcourt lineup, but with schoolboy charm Duncan Robinson and Dragic in the perimeter, Adebayo at center, and Butler and Dragic in the wings as the mainstays. He has a potent bench, with boy wonder Herro as his sixth man and Crowder at the forward spots (the latter’s versatility allows him to play both the small and power positions), with both players having reliable deep-three shots that can spread the Laker defense to its limits. It is a fast lineup, well, at least faster than that of the Lakers, and should leverage on that speed to run the floor before the Lakers’ transition defense can react.

What’s also interesting and has been fun to watch thus far is the Butler-Adebayo tandem. Schuhmann at nba.com notes that, when the two are on the floor together, the Heat outscore their opponents by 10.6 points more per 100 possessions. But they’ve been outscored by their opponents by 3.0 points per 100 possessions in 103 minutes with just Adebayo without Butler on the floor, and by 14.4 points per 100 possessions in 99 minutes of play with just Butler without Adebayo. It would seem that, if coach Spo had to keep either one on the bench longer, it would have to be Butler.

Indeed, as Schuhmann demonstrates, “the Heat have scored 16.9 more points per 100 possessions with Bam Adebayo on the floor (116.1) than they have with him off the floor (99.2). That's the fourth-biggest on-off offense rating differential among 73 players who've played at least 200 total minutes in the postseason.”

Adebayo clearly has proven himself to have a greater impact on the game for the Heat, and the last game against Boston in the Eastern Conference finals showed the value he brings to the table. Though a center, Adebayo moves like a power forward with the way he screens and passes (especially his interior passing), and even his turnaround jumper in the key is cash. And that's how he could wreak havoc on the Lakers' post defenders like Howard and McGee – maybe even Davis as a rim defender.

On the offensive end, those guys may also have fits trying to score against him in the post, Adebayo being the most athletic big on the Heat roster, with more than ample length and heft. Of course, we can’t forget Iguodala, who brings with him championship experience from Golden State, having been with the Warriors in all their three NBA championships thus far in the 21st century (2015, 2017 and 2018). It will be remembered that in the 2015 title series, Iguodala fashioned a defensive masterpiece on James, limiting the latter to 38.1 percent field-goal shooting compared to 44 percent when Iguodala was on the bench. Both Iguodala and James are in their mid-30s, and have had their fair share of NBA glory. For sure, James will look at settling an old score, while Iguodala will look at putting the cuffs on The King once again via his tried-and-tested lockdown D that made James bleed for every point, giving the Warriors a superior 3-1 finals win-loss card in all their NBA finals showdowns that only saw a failure in 2016.

So who will be the Bubble Champions of the NBA? The numbers coming out of the Las Vegas bookies give the clear advantage to the Lakers, if only for the James-Davis pairing. But as many hoops pundits have seen through decades of watching this game, stranger things have happened in basketball. Just last August, the Milwaukee Bucks were the indubitable favorite to win the NBA crown among the bookies and oddsmakers. Everyone and his mother now know Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, the Lopez twins and company are now vacationing wherever.

Actually, folks were looking at a Bucks-Lakers finals. And I thought we’d be having a revival of the famous Celtics-Lakers rivalry of the ages.

The bottomline: sit back, relax. Or stand up, and bite your nails. Either way, this will be a great series. James up against his old team. Or Heat president Pat Riley up against the old team that he coached. No plot could have been better contrived.

#nbafinals #NBA Lakers LebronJames Nuggets

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youngandhungryent · 5 years

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“Big Mouth” Season 3 & Tons Of Other Titles Arriving On Netflix In October

The last couple of weeks has seen lots of great movies and shows added to Netflix’s plethora of streaming content. From the revival of Drake’s favorite show Top Boy, Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Spy, Dave Chappelle’s special among many other titles, the streaming giant has seemingly proven just why they need to up its subscription price to keep up with the never-ending content.

Since already announcing a Netflix & Chills category for Halloween next month, the official list of new titles to arrive on the platform has arrived as well as a list of titles to say goodbye to. Such adds to look forward to are Big Mouth: Season 3, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Men in Black, Dolemite Is My Name and of course, the anticipated Netflix Original series, Rhythm + Flow that sees Cardi B, Chance The Rapper and T.I. search for the next hip-hop star.

As for titles to stream one last time, Scream 4, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Pineapple Express will be gone by before Halloween arrives – peep the full list below.

Coming

October 1 Carmen Sandiego: Season 2 Nikki Glaser: Bangin’ 93 days A.M.I. Along Came a Spider Bad Boys Bad Boys II Blow Bring It On, Ghost: Season 1 Charlie’s Angels Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle Cheese in the Trap: Season 1 Chicago Typewriter: Season 1 Crash Exit Wounds Good Burger Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay Honey 2 House of the Witch Lagos Real Fake Life Men in Black II Moms at War No Reservations Ocean’s Thirteen Ocean’s Twelve One Direction: This Is Us Payday Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Scream 2 Senna Signal: Season 1 Sin City Sinister Circle Supergirl Superman Returns Surf’s Up The Bucket List The Flintstones The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas The Island The Pursuit of Happyness The Rugrats Movie The Time Traveler’s Wife Tomorrow with You: Season 1 Trainspotting Troy Tunnel: Season 1 Unaccompanied Minors Walking Out

October 2

Living Undocumented Ready to Mingle (Solteras) Rotten: Season 2

October 3

Seis Manos

October 4

Big Mouth: Season 3 Creeped Out: Season 2 In the Tall Grass Peaky Blinders: Season 5 Raising Dion Super Monsters: Season 3 Super Monsters: Vida’s First Halloween

October 5

Legend Quest: Masters of Myth

October 7

Match! Tennis Juniors The Water Diviner

October 8

Deon Cole: Cole Hearted The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-ween

October 9

After Rhythm + Flow — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

October 10

Schitt’s Creek: Season 5 Ultramarine Magmell

October 11

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie The Forest of Love Fractured Haunted: Season 2 Insatiable: Season 2 La influencia Plan Coeur: Season 2 The Awakenings of Motti Wolenbruch YooHoo to the Rescue: Season 2

October 12

Banlieusards

October 15

Dark Crimes

October 16

Ghosts of Sugar Land Sinister 2

October 17

The Karate Kid THE UNLISTED

October 18

The Yard (Avlu) Baby: Season 2 Eli Interior Design Masters The House of Flowers: Season 2 The Laundromat Living with Yourself MeatEater: Season 8 Mighty Little Bheem: Diwali Seventeen Spirit Riding Free: Pony Tales Collection 2 Tell Me Who I Am Toon: Seasons 1-2 Unnatural Selection Upstarts

October 19

Men in Black

October 21

Echo in the Canyon

Free Fire

October 22

Jenny Slate: Stage Fright

October 23

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Dancing with the Birds Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy

October 24

Daybreak Revenge of Pontianak

October 25

A Tale of Love and Darkness Assimilate Brigada Costa del Sol Brotherhood Dolemite Is My Name Greenhouse Academy: Season 3 The Kominsky Method: Season 2 Monzon Nailed It! France (C’est du gâteau!) Nailed It! Spain (Niquelao!) Prank Encounters Rattlesnake It Takes a Lunatic

October 28

A 3 Minute Hug Little Miss Sumo Shine On with Reese: Season 1

October 29

Arsenio Hall: Smart & Classy

October 30

Flavorful Origins: Yunnan Cuisine

October 31

Kengan Ashura: Part ll Nowhere Man Raging Bull

Leaving

October 1

A.I. Artificial Intelligence All the President’s Men Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Bring It On: In It to Win It Cabaret (1972) Casper Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) Cloverfield Deliverance Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Empire Records Evolution Forks Over Knives Frances Ha Free State of Jones Get Carter Gremlins Hoosiers Impractical Jokers: Season 1 In Bruges Julie & Julia Lakeview Terrace Midsomer Murders: Series 1-19 Obsessed Pineapple Express Platoon Quiz Show She’s Out of My League The Dukes of Hazzard The Nightmare The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

October 5

Despicable Me 3

October 7

David Blaine: What Is Magic? Scream 4

October 9

Little Witch Academia Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade Sword Art Online II: Season 1

October 15

El Internado: Season 1-7

October 20

Bridget Jones’s Baby

October 25

The Carrie Diaries: Season 1-2

October 29

The Fall: Series 1 The Imitation Game

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#fucu #fucul #young and hungry ent #boss of bosses #instrumental type beat free

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thestalkerbunny · 7 years

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Master Post of OCs

Hell Hostel Edition

Hell Hostel

Ruby Hulme: A human who left her family and home town to seek fame and fortune in New Chicago. However due to the racism of the times, she was turned down from nearly everything; but found work at the Hostel thanks to Sheeper. She's currently a Dancer; but she also is doing the Hostel's every other errand as a part of her Induction.

Grimhold 'Grim' Sheeper: Half Reaper, Half Succubi, All friend shapes, he is a lanky being who only wishes to sing and dance than reap the souls of the dead. He only does so to win his father's approval. Ruby is the first friend he's had in years and he considers her his musical partner.

Grimwald: Sheeper's usually stern, silent and annoyed looking father and Lamby's currently seperated husband. He's the embodiment of 'Im going to WORK MYSELF TO FUCKING DEATH.' He's usually smoking and has a dead lilly in his buttonhole. Sheeper desperately wants his approval.

Lamby Sugars Sheeper: A Buxom busty beautiful Succubi noted for her prominant sheep like features. She's the Grim Sheeper's husband and Grimwald's currently seperated Wife. She's the head liner of the Dante Lounge in the Hostel

The Brothers Black: Lamby's musicians, a group of black cat brothers who came up to New Chicago with Lamby from Louisana. They'd do anything for their girl

Cho: A chinese American Succubi who dyes her hair blonde. She's very dedicated to dancing and does burlesque to save money so she can one day attend a ballet school

Tina: A Very timid Succubi with a cute little nose, she's still very hesistant of the whole exhibitionism thing even though she's been doing it for over a year. She's eager to do her best and doesn't speak up much.

Bella Bell: Lamby's prodigee, she's being groomed to be a headliner one day like a lamby. She's rather naieve about things, but a geniunely sweet person. She's best friends with Charlotte.

Charlotte: Retired the day Ruby showed up because she was in the bathroom vomiting from morning sickness. A very beautiful succubi and the southern belle type, she wants to try and get married to her boyfriend and baby daddy next spring.

Billy the Bull: The Bouncer for the Dante Lounge, no humans get in without a pass. He's apparently Charlotte's baby daddy and plans to marry her as soon as they get enough money together.

White Widower: A FtM Spider monster who runs the bar on his own. He's apparently Kelly's Stepbrother and they are the best of friends. He's the sympathetic ear for all the drunken patrons.

-The Heathens: A group of murderers for hire that seem to operate from out of the hostel.

Kelly Rosie Marple: A pink mothman who aspires to be a musical comedian; but sticks to gunning people down to keep himself in the latest of fashions. He can switch very fast from joking to killing

Johnny Thompson: A church Grim who was raised by a mobster after his church was torn down as a puppy. He has very sociopathic tendancies and has manipulative behaviors beneath a layer of innocence.

Miss Jackson: A gorgous Were-Cat, Miss Jackson is a paid gun for the highest bidder. She often prefers stabbing her victims over shooting them.

Nobody Noone: A shapeshifting being whose default form is unstable and lacks a nose. He spends his days either being a cheap but damned good lawyer for hire and an agent for talent. He seems to work with the Heathens.

Ida 'Itsy Bitsy' Bitten

Glasgao: The Mysterious silent smiling Kunoichi get away drive for the Heathens. She operates a cab service out of her modified hearse; most rides end in her eating her fares.

Hostel Management and Workers

Helena: The Hostel's owner. She was in a very terrible car crash when she was young to the point where she is wheelchair bound and horribly scarred. She refuses to leave her room because of this, but still manages to operate the hotel to maxmium efficencey.

Nurse: Apparently, the being who takes care of the beloved owner of the hostel, Nurse is a Shadow, a symbiotic being who forms an intense bond with a human. Nurse is the eyes and ears of Helena, so she knows everything that goes on in the Hostel. It's possible she's big enough to cover the entire vent and pipe work of the Hostel.

Salvador: A dead small time mobster who was gunned down in the very lobby of the hotel, he lingers around still and acts as the Consierre. He's responsible for making sure everyone is doing what they need to be doing.

Sexy Knickers: A notably purple lust demon who has abstained from following her predcessor's job choices. She runs the elevator and is well known for her dry british accent.

Walled Up Wally: A BellHop who died in the hostel for spying on a mobster's girl thru a peephole. His body is still stuck in the wall and he still spies on people

Boucher: The head of the kitchen and chef, Boucher is actually the first monster brought into the Hostel when Helena was a little girl. He was a Gluttony demon traded in and is actually very depressed over this still. All the vampire waitstaff answers to him and Dimitri is his favorite boi.

Carrigan, Edmund,Killroy and Arthur- Vampires, Waiters, and a Colony, they dutifully serve the Hostel's residents their meals. They do tend to suck dry the steaks which upsets Boucher greatly. They all rag and sort of bully each other around in a 'bro' way.

Dimitri-Damphire and busboy, he's Boucher Favorite. As a Damphire, he is fated to live a half life and will most likely not live long enough to see adult hood. He aspires to be great chef like Boucher

-Hostel Inhabitants/ frequent visitors

Ledago LeDago: a Voodoo Priest who apparently has the money to afford the top penthouse apartment on the top floor. He hosts lavish parties for his godly sponsers and often works as a tailor for the mob.

Mimi Dregwood: the Hostel's Necromancer, she has an entire floor to herself so she can expermint. A cross between a mad scientist and a whore, Mimi is a woman of the world and of science.

Asmodeus Luxuria: A very extravagant Lust demon who no one is really sure what he DOES, but he has money to spare and he spends it very liberally.

Goodhuman: A boogeyman who plays the Piano in the Lobby in the evenings. Is a real gentleman and class act; is somehow related to Asmodeus

Jina: an Ouija board headed spirtualist, she runs a racket doing tarot readings, crystal ball scryings and connects people to the realm of the spirits via spirit skype.

William Peartree: One of the police's top investigative detectives, Peartree is actually a blood slime, capable of identifying any kind of blood. He is a very neat and tidy individual and leads a quiet romantic domestic life with Hackles that he will laugh off if anyone brings it up.

Hackles: A Were-Corgi with temper to spare, he works with the police and is one of their best officers because of his sensitive nose. Although he's the embodiment of literally 'vibrating with anger' he leads a quiet romantic domestic life with Peartree that he will absolutely deny if anyone asks.

Maxim Tentrill: A hardboiled PI who has been recently Inducted into monster society by force. A Shadow being's essance has been tattooed to his arms which will peel of and form defenseive tentacles. Usually works along side Peartree and Hackles; but is unaware of their relationship

Skoll Wilder: Apparently a priest and spiritualist for a church called New Hope. Although fully human, he was inducted into monster society as a child.

Sin: A tiny nun who follows Skoll around constantly. She is actually a Sin Eater, which is an ancient beast capable of purging sin from someone's soul. She was brought down from the mountains to the city by Skoll.

Father Garrett: The head of New Hope Church and Orphanage, he is a kindly werewolf who wishes to help all those in need. He and Skoll have worked together to find homes for Vampires who have been rejected or had to leave the vampires who bit them.

-Two Tailed Yakuza: CAT MOB

Mr Deuce: The leader of the Two Tail Yakuza (basically the Nekomanta mob.) He is immensely ruthless and will kill anyone who gets in his way. His first name is apparently Egg. He runs his operations out of Worth Manor.

Natalia Deuce: Deuce's devoted big wife, when Mr. Deuce is away, she runs the show.

Kristen Worth: Apparently, she's the human who saved Mr Deuce as a kitten from drowning in a bucket. She was in an abusive marriage for the longest of times until her husband mysterious dissapeared and Mr. Deuce became her benifactor. Now she and her daugter are members of the New Chicago Elite

Anna 'Babe' Worth: Deuce's human ward, she's the one who named Mr. Deuce 'Egg.' She doesn't remember her birth father clearly, but sees Mr. Deuce as her father figure (although she doesn't know he's a cat.) She lives on a cat covered house with her mother and is extremely happy with all the kitties.

#TSB talks #Ref #Oc #Master Post #Hell Hostel

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krissysbookshelf · 7 years

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Free Ebooks (6/22/17)

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE FREE PRICING IS ONLY A SPECIAL FOR THE DIGITAL FORMAT OF THE BOOK THAT IS LISTED AND IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME, SO BE SURE TO PURCHASE THE E-BOOKS BEFORE THE PRICE RETURNS TO ITS NORMAL LISTING. (Unless you want to buy them at full price:)

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A Coffee Lover’s Guide to Coffee by Shlomo Stern: A friendly guide to coffee with the valuable information any coffee lover must know. A Coffee Lover’s Guide is an accessible, comprehensive, easy-to-read and enjoyable guide, written with love and made especially for anyone drinking, making, selling or buying coffee.