It was the first of a two-day break in between Games 3 and 4. In the Finals schedule, each game is played every other day except for the two-day break from Thursday to Sunday.
Troy is a Detroit suburb where the NBA arranged for journalists, both local and foreign, to stay in three different Marriott hotels during the middle games of the 2-3-2 series. Troy is about a 20-minute drive to the Palace at Auburn Hills.
Solar Sports producer Erick Tam, broadcaster Vitto Lazatin and I put on our shorts, tees and sneakers to join the gang at 4 p.m.
Broadcasters from France, Italy, Israel, Poland, Germany and Japan showed up to play. The NBA hosts reinforced the lineups. In all, we were split into four teams of five. Erick, Vitto and I teamed up with two NBA international TV staffers.
NBA female staffers Joannitte Rodriguez, Mary Beth Csatios and Jaime Bass were around to cheer in the stands. Tom Kearns, Julien Segui, Mike Perman, Bhavesh Patel and Danijela Dragaric were among the NBA staffers who suited up to play.
Danijela is a 6-6 native of Serbia and Montenegro. She was hired by the NBA only three months ago. Danijela played four years of varsity basketball at a New Hampshire school and earned a Master’s degree in New York before joining the NBA’s international TV staff.
I remember in the Finals last year, there was also a female player in the pick-up games for broadcasters. She was Dirk Nowitzki’s sister Silke, then employed by the NBA. Silke left the NBA to enroll in a Master’s program in San Diego after the Finals.
Danijela is a female Abdul-Jabbar–long, gangling and reed-thin. She has sharp elbows, studied low post moves and a skyhook like Kareem’s. Off the court, Danijela facilitates the coverage of the international broadcasters on site for the Finals.
Games were played to nine points. A triple counted as two and a two-point field goal as one. There were no referees, no jumpballs and no free throws. The rule was to call it honest on fouls and violations.
Erick, Vitto and I walked into the gym while the first game was in progress. George Eddy, a former import in the French league and now living in Paris as a naturalized sportscaster, couldn’t miss from the perimeter. His teammate Yaron Talpaz, a sportswriter and broadcaster from Tel Aviv, was also on fire. George, Yaron and I are the only non-American writers on the nba.com’s Blog Squad.
We were hardly warmed up when it was our turn to play. The opposing team had the first possession and missed a shot. I took the rebound and threw it forward to Erick who was streaking upcourt. As I ran, the contact lens on my right eye popped out. I motioned for the play to stop. I got down on my knees to look for the lens which was like a needle in a haystack. Everyone else got down on their knees to help. A Japanese broadcaster, with the eyes of a hawk, found it about 15 feet from where I stood.
I rushed off the court, was subbed and went straight to the locker room to put the lens back on.
When I checked back in, Erick hit two doubles in a row. But Erick, who idolizes Allen Iverson, was the only scorer in our team and we lost 9-4.
The loser of the first game was up next against us. We played so poorly we felt like hiding under towels. I couldn’t hit the side of a barn. I tried to drive but my shot was way off. Once, I had a good look close to the basket but Danijela embarrassed me with a block. The other team kept stealing off our ballhandler and before we knew it, the game was over. We were blanked 9-0.
In our third game, an Italian subbed for one of our teammates. Erick, Vitto and I were still on board. This time, we decided to make a stand. Erick shot a long double and so did Vitto. I started to sweat a little more since I still hadn’t scored and the NBA girls at courtside must have noticed I was huffing and puffing.
The game was tied at 4-all, thanks to Erick’s and Vitto’s doubles. Then we trailed by two. In our next play, Erick spotted me open in the corner. I took a 15-foot jumper and to my relief, it entered the hoop. At least, I wouldn’t leave scoreless. On the next play, my German defender hacked me on the arm–he took the scrimmage a little too seriously.
Then, Erick drove in, drew two defenders and dished it to me from 10 feet. Alas, my shot hit the side rim and bounced out. I scored again a few plays later from an offensive rebound.
We were down by two at 8-6 when Danijela, whom I defended, got the ball at the post and lofted a high skyhook. The ball hit the top of the board then bounced in. The shot should’ve been