Stepbacks: Missing basketball, fond memories, and other thoughts

Stepbacks are my way of sharing quick-hit thoughts that don’t require a full article but might be a little longer than a tweet. This is also a kind of therapy for me, so thank you for reading.

• Basketball doesn’t seem like it is anywhere near coming back, does it? There’s a lot of talk about how the league might be able to squeeze in a season and/or playoffs, what that would look like and what value it would provide. Frankly I’m finding it hard to care. Nobody can claim to be a bigger basketball fan/nerd/stan than I am. I just think that there are a lot of other things to worry about before that hits my radar.
• With all that said, I miss basketball. Like, a lot. It feels like one long August (typically the quietest month of the offseason) with no end in sight.
• I think the thing I’m saddest about is missing out on the rest of the breakout years that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were having. It feels a little like being a parent and needing to take a business trip while your child is a newborn or toddler. So much can change in that time and you want to see it all.
• I guess ESPN is going to try to put on a quarantine friendly game of H.O.R.S.E. I can’t get overly excited about that but I imagine I’ll watch just because.
• So happy for Kevin Garnett getting into the Hall of Fame - not that there was any doubt. It was an absolute joy to watch him in a Boston uniform as long as we did and I’ll treasure those years forever. The passion and excellence that he brought every single game was an object lesson for everyone.
• Speaking of that group, I do hope that all parties can put the Ray Allen stuff behind them and come back together as brothers. I miss that group and the greatness they achieved on the court as one family. Call me overly sentimental if you like, but I think this is a good time to be overly sentimental so I’m not apologizing.
• Speaking of which, let me once again plug our fundraiser. If you have the means, please give some small donation to the COVID-19 fund or at least spread the word about it. Thank you.