We are more or less halfway through the dog days of summer, somewhere between the end of the playoffs and the start of training camp, which will kick off the new season. Actually, that should be “tip off” the new season — I had the wrong sport. Every day that goes by, we have more summer behind us and less in front, which makes it a good time for a “more or less” post.

The idea for this post came from a guy who used to play in my weekly games before he moved to New York from LA. Of all the nicknames in our games, his is the best: The Matrix. Other nicknames in our game include the Stopper (father of the Matrix), Mosgov (big white guy with a better game than the actual Mosgov), MVP John, Dr. T, Joey Badass and Super Joe (to distinguish between our two Joes), Riot Bill (who works at Riot Games, which makes League of Legends), Tall Dan, John BigTree and Coach (me). The Matrix writes a blog from distant New York, and recently included this line:

“Perhaps people want more Ernie Johnsons and less Ted Cruzs.”

That line from the Matrix got me thinking of what else fits within the “more of this, less of that” format. For instance:

“More homegrown Big Threes, less Superteams.”

We can all agree that the Spurs “Big Three” was vastly superior, and easier to root for, than the various Superteams that have been thrown together at various times — The Heatles in Miami, the Shaq/Kobe/Malone/Payton Lakers, or more recently, the ongoing LeBron/AD/Westbrook disaster here in Los Angeles.

Similarly, it was much easier to root for the Warriors when they were (and are) keyed by their own homegrown Big Three (Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green) than when they became the Death Star Warriors by adding Kevin Durant. Of course, that was before KD left Golden State to try to create his own Superteam in Brooklyn. That failed, so much so that KD is now trying to “Escape From New York” with a trade demand. Perhaps he will wind up with yet another Superteam that we can all root against.

Speaking of the Warriors:

  • More Steph Curry, less James Harden.

Others I am sure about:

  • More playing basketball, less Peloton.
  • More tacos, less Spam.
  • More waterfalls, less swamps.
  • More laughing children, less arguing adults.
  • More passes, less dribbling.
  • More cheering, less booing.
  • More Bill Russells, less Russell Westbrooks.
  • More encouragement, less criticism.
  • More friends, less enemies.
  • More enthusiasm, less resignation.
  • More National Geographics, less National Enquirers.
  • More Gregg Popovich, less Tom Thibedeau.
  • More family meals, less drive-thrus.
  • More afternoon naps, less tired yawns.
  • More hugs, less shoves.
  • More Patty Mills, less Boogie Cousins.
  • More hope, less despair.

And finally . . .

  • More Manu Ginobilis. Period.

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