Thursday, May 16, 2024
Last year, the Dallas Mavericks traded for Kyrie Irving. Though he had previously won an NBA Championship and was highly regarded as a talent, the trade was viewed with a great deal of skepticism and disdain by many of those in the media. One major sports broadcasting entity graded the trade as a “D,” suggesting that Irving was tough to get along with, was inconsistent in his play, was a bad teammate, and because of his antics he would never be able to achieve the level of success he once had. It was their contention that the Mavs had thrown their assets overboard and taken on a player who would be nothing but a problem. He would never play well nor co-exist with the Mavs’ superstar Luka Doncic. As a result, the team was going to flounder.
Here we are a year later, and the Mavs are one of the hottest NBA teams, winning 16 or 18 games just prior to heading to the playoffs. Irving is playing at a true superstar level. What had historically been a poor rebounding and defensive team, had become one of the better teams in the league, seemingly making stops at will and rebounding every missed shot. Watching a game about two weeks before the season ended, the Mavs were down by three with 10 seconds left with the opposing team shooting two free throws. Miraculously, the player missed both charity shots, the Mavs rebounded and moved the ball up the court to hit a three-point shot to send the game into overtime. In the extended period, the Mavs swept the opposition off the court.
The telling part of the OT win was as soon as the final buzzer sounded, Irving and Doncic, the other Mavericks superstar, embraced each other at midcourt. This was not some ordinary, routine celebration; you could tell by their expressions they were excited and very pleased with what they had just accomplished. They put their arms on the shoulder of the other and called over all their teammates to join them at center court so they could celebrate as group. It was clear to anyone who saw this spontaneous emotion that the team was a tightknit group, and at the center of the leadership was Irving.
Were the reports from last year wrong? It sure looks that way. No telling how many people were influenced by the reports and determined Irving was a “loser” who was going to be a problem, simply because someone had made some huge assumptions. The public nor the reporter truly knew what issues had caused problems with his prior teams nor if Irving was the one responsible. Even if he was to blame, it did not mean he was going to behave the same way in Dallas. We only knew one side of the story and assumed. Currently, anybody could look at Irving’s play and body language and know he is excelling and happy to be a part of his team. His team is happy he is there.
We have the same sort of thing happening in our local politics. Citizens make hip pocket comments about issues, especially on social media, which are not based on anything but personal emotions and assumptions with no evidence or facts to support them. Seems like folks want to respond with vitriol rather than trying to talk with the opposition, becoming more informed with facts before making decisions on important issues. What would be the problem in listening to those with opposing views and trying to see if there is some degree of validity in their positions? Why not work to find solutions instead of causing conflict? Wouldn’t it be wise to find the ground where both sides can be comfortable and then work toward answers?
As we near election time, let us be reflective and analytical as we formulate our decisions. Let’s vote not just with our hearts, but also use our brains to seek out facts, question bold assertions, and do not take every representation as being true before investigation. Look at the whole picture, not just the part which is in focus, because it is what you already believe. People, nor a community, can grow if they don’t have the courage to challenge in the light of day, their ideas and preconceived notions. Making assumptions about people or ideas is nothing but a recipe for failure. Ask the teams that have had to play the Mavs recently.
Thought for the day: “It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into.”
-Jonathan Swift.
Until next time...I will keep ridin’ the storm out.
sam@hcnews.com
