Mark Travis

Writer. Aspiring polemicist. Dog dad.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

On Saturday, my mom Nelda Travis passed away after a 17-month battle with mixed acinar-neuroendocrine carcinoma, a rare form of pancreatic cancer. She was 65.

She was the most loving & caring person I have ever known, a single mother who sacrificed everything to enrich my life.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

@HanaHoops No, he's the best rim protector you've ever seen. But there is more to defense than that, and he's quite bad if you can force him to guard on the perimeter (see KAT last night).

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

@JLas43_ @NYPatsGuy Eli Manning does not participate in the part of the game that is “against” Tom Brady. Did he make clutch throws? Yes, but the unit responsible for defeating Brady was the defensive line.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

SGA never took more than 24 shots against SA. He saw a lot of bodies & "made the right play" but sometimes stars chucking is a better counter to the opponent leaving their teammates open than passing to them. SGA needed to be more selfish. More shots for him, less for Dort.

[Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA]

Jalen Brunson certainly wasn't shy – most shots in an NBA Finals debut in the last 25 years, second-most in the last 59 years.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

@lil_juicebox24 @jayceepxrez He did turn the NBA Cup game, though. Different context, and the Spurs are better than in December, but I can see why Brown gave him a shot.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

If you believe Becky Hammon is the only person we are going after if the Knicks win, think again. We are coming for that Corgi too.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

@DragonflyJonez Chet is 7'1". The difference between his height and Wemby's is the same as the difference between Deron Williams and Kobe. Chet's wingspan is 7'6". The difference between his wingspan and Wemby's is the same as the difference between D'Angelo Russell's and Kevin Durant's.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

No, and that's what would make it such a special result. The team with the best player is supposed to win the NBA title. A Knicks championship would say a lot about their team chemistry, tactical uniqueness (both in play and team-building) and their pound-for-pound leader.

[BHENtel @TheBHentel]

If New York wins the finals don’t this mean that Brunson up for best player in the world?

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

@BeGotGame2 It was a legitimately brilliant moment, completely undercut by his yakety sax-esque slipping on his own sweat while trying to get up.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

I know you're making a sarcastic point about something different, but him slipping in his own sweat after that was legitimately funny.

[𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 @Three_Cone]

What an unbelievably clutch shot from Jalen Brunson shame he fell to the floor though

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

I'm pretty sure you can hear Tim Chalamet screaming after OG grabs the rebound and gets fouled with 29 seconds left.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

They won't sweep the Spurs but it would be hilarious that C.J. McCollum single-handedly prevented the greatest postseason run in history.

[Sam Block @theblockspot]

Knicks in Last 12 PLAYOFF Games:
• 12 wins
• 11 double-digit wins
• 0 losses

If they win the NBA Finals, they are one of the greatest teams in NBA history.

If they somehow sweep the Spurs, they are THE greatest team in NBA history.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

Two things Brunson showed tonight that SGA didn't vs SA, that aren't basketball skills really but rather about mindset, which impacts how one uses their skills. 1) He was vocal to officials. 2) He didn't let an off night prevent him from getting up a high volume of shots.

[ThunderChats @ThunderChats]

Low key wish Shai acted like this against the Spurs, dude took a BEATING

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

Tim Connelly might be the first executive who gets fired because the team his team lost to loses to somebody else.

[Automatic @automaticnba]

KAT Towns finals game 1

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

@AndyGlockner A Harrison Barnes flop nearly ended this series in the 1st quarter.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

Only tangentially related to Dan’s point, but they should dichotomize DPoY in the NBA. Similar to how the NFL gives MVP to QBs and OPOY to RB/WRs. Wemby and Gobert are rim protectors, which is a massive part of defense, but not the entire picture.

[Dan Devine @YourManDevine]

What a cold-blooded shot by OG Anunoby. Fourth quarter of Game 1, on the road, one-possession game, the most menacing defensive player on the planet in his face ... and he just jabs, rocks and dots Wemby's eye.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

Sucks that Jalen Brunson’s legendary Finals moment was ruined by him getting balancemogged by a wet spot on the floor.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

Didn’t everyone hate the Monstars in Space Jam?

[Sean Fennessey @SeanFennessey]

Wemby: surprisingly hateable!

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

No discernible difference between how that looked and how his usual free throws look. He shoots 40% after all.

[Jeff McDonald @JMcDonald_SAEN]

That free throw did not look so good coming off Mitchell Robinson's surgically repaired right hand. Might be something to monitor

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

I think one of your problems is that you’re re-living a series through box scores. You act like Boobie carried LeBron in that Game 6 by playing like Steph because you see 5-of-5 from 3. In reality, Detroit was triple teaming LeBron on the ball and leaving Gibson wide open. Like yeah, nobody’s gonna shoot well with these coverages.

[Mark Travis @Mark_Travis]

It is relevant because we don’t have to pretend sports are an objective product. This is a subjective viewing experience, and any rational fan can look at Wemby, with comical physical advantages that warp that competitive nature of the sport, and his relative lack of skill and deduce this his success is inseparable from his size. And there’s simply no reason to celebrate that. Just as nobody would celebrate Jabba for never allowing a goal in the NHL.