Heads up, fair warning: although this is a family-friendly blog, this entry is rated PG-13 for mild, possibly vulgar language. Proceed at your own risk. Surprisingly, the grapher turnout was low at the Minnesota Timberwolves game and there wasn't really any pushing except n00bs trying to get whichever player happened to walk by. I suspect it was because the T-Wolves have already come to town this season, but some of the usual hounds were in attendance. Again, some of the newer graphers game unprepared, notably the father/son who I saw in line at the Clippers game. I kind of give this one a pass, even though it's frowned upon to graph unprepared -- only because the dad was nice about it and not at all pushy (physically or verbally) about borrowing my Sharpie. Upon arrival, the first thing I do after staking out a position is to see who's out on the court and pull out their photos from my portfolio. I've started using an art portfolio to hold my photos now. This is something I started doing since the last game versus the Clippers and it's been working all right so far. The folder is lighter and less obnoxious than the Priority Mail envelopes I've been using. It also looks nicer and makes me look less like a dealer, I think. The plastic sleeves are a nice touch and add extra protection from the elements, something the PM envelopes were lacking. I had another n00b moment tonight, which reminded me that although I have logged quite a few hours of in-person graphing, even the best of us can have a n00b moment. When I first arrived, Nemanja Bjelica, Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, and a fourth player were practicing on the court. I didn't know who that fourth player was. Neither did the guys around me. They thought he was Adreian Payne, but to myself, I didn't think so. Payne is bald but this guy wasn't. Someone else said it was Gorgui Dieng -- it wasn't because he came out later (spoiler alert)! Right now I'm still not sure who he was, but if I had to guess it was probably Greg Smith. If you're thinking, "who?" then you and I are in the same boat. An honest mistake for sure. I didn't get anything from him but I'm pretty sure he would have skipped me considering he only signed one and I had Dieng's photo out. Thanks for not embarrassing me! I love this section I graph from. It's so much better than the old one. And although tonight I was in the prime spot (front row) again, getting videos is tough (as discussed in the last blog entry). Most notably, the video I got of Bjelica featured a very prominent, very obvious, ball scratch. Yeah, that's right -- I got a video of Nemanja Bjelica scratching his balls. He did sign for everyone there, but his autograph leaves a lot to be desired. When Zach LaVine was practicing his shots, the young mom behind me asked a neighbor, "Who's LaVine? Is he the white guy?" No, the "white guy" is Bjelica. Did she really just say that? SMH. Based on LaVine's current star trajectory (though he's not peaked yet), I wasn't sure if he would sign. I heard he can be hit or miss, that he prefers not to sign, and at the All-Star break, he only signed when his mom was around to make him. Yesterday was his 21st birthday and he appeared to be in a good mood tonight. He signed my sweet shot of him slow-mo dunking. Great times were had by all! Tayshaun Prince signed for everyone except the kid and his dad on my left because they were fumbling with their cards. Ricky Rubio looked like he would do the same, but ended up skipping my side of the stands. I really think that dealer-looking guy that I hereby dub "Pocky" had the best position to graph from, which is right at the corner where the player has to turn (and in doing so, may make incidental eye contact). I do believe he got Rubio. Somewhere between Prince and Rubio, we noticed Andrew Wiggins had disappeared, presumably through another tunnel (not the home side). The real Gorgui Dieng appeared and signed for everyone, but Shabazz Muhammad skipped my side of the stands. To be fair, Shabazz was the last guy off the court and didn't have time to get to me (though the question remains if he actually would sign if given the time). I don't comment much on the games (there are other blogs that do it better), but I do want to say a couple things. First off, I've gained so much more respect for Enes Kanter tonight. He played defense, tipped in some shots, and had an all-around good game. Why doesn't he get more minutes? And secondly, why does Kyle Singler get to play so much? I mean seriously, take a shot every time he fouls. Bjelica 1/1 Dieng 1/1 Lavine 1/1 Muhammad 0/1 Prince 1/1 Rubio 0/1 Smith? 0/1 Wiggins 0/1 Overall, this was not a bad game graph-wise though I've had better. There are only two scheduled games left for me, the next being the Trail Blazers game on Monday. I am watching Lakers ticket prices and they are over $100 each. It doesn't seem like I'll be able to go to that one considering the price and that the only guys who would sign are Lou Williams, Anthony Brown, and Jordan Clarkson. Of course there will be a giant crowd waiting for Kobe Bryant because that will be his last game in Thunder Town, but I'll keep it real and say he probably won't come out and sign. Until next time, J.R.
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