Be Thankful for Brick Walls

“Brick walls are there for a reason; they let us prove how badly we want things.” - Randy Pausch

If you haven’t seen The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, I highly suggest setting aside 45 minutes today to do so - it will change your life for the better.  As a cancer survivor, Pausch has been a true inspiration of how to live your life to the fullest.  He passed away last year from a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Now, I’ve played basketball my entire life and realize that excuses get you nowhere.  You’ll run into brick walls from time to time and you could stop and accept defeat, or you could figure out a way to get over the brick wall.  Thus, I’ve learned to look at challenges or “brick walls” as an opportunity to make myself better. 

The Suns ran into an extremely large brick wall last night.  No excuses, they got beat badly.  And they’ll be better because of it.

However, there is a difference between excuses and stating the facts.  That is what I’ll aim to do with this post in the hopes that it will prevent Suns fans from panicking or looking for a window to jump out of.  I also realize I may have lost credibility based on my post yesterday about getting run over by a lawn mower when the Suns lose, but that was a heat of the moment post.  That’s what usually happens with me - I freak out for about an hour or so after a loss, then come back to reality, and realize it’s not that big a deal (*disclaimer - unless we lose in the playoffs, then all bets are off). 

Anyway…just read.  : )

Our Record

Big Picture - I’m speaking in comparative terms here.  We are tied with Utah and Dallas for the 7th seed and only a couple games back of the Spurs for the #2 seed.  See?  It’s not so bad!  Remember my post about the Suns schedule in January/February?  Well, the good news is that we’ve won the games we were supposed to win (minus Minnesota) and lost the games we were “supposed” to lose (at Denver, and at Boston).  The even better news?  6 of the next 9 games are against teams with a losing record.

This Road Trip

Though the games won’t all be against great teams, the sheer amount of traveling to get to the games has been ridiculous.  Try losing at home to Minnesota, then getting on a plane to Toronto and playing less than 24 hours later in the morning - not easy - and they won that game.  Then try getting on a plane and heading to Boston afterwards to take on the best team in the East.

Look, I’m not saying that it’s okay to come out and lay an egg.  I’m just saying…cut the guys some slack.  They’re human. After a real day off, I guarantee they’ll come out in New York ready to fire.

It’s January

There is a psychological aspect of basketball that most people forget about.  Sometimes, players just aren’t as motivated for some games as others - it happens.  Can’t fault ‘em, especially in January.  It happens to everyone; some for longer periods of time than others.  It recently happened to the Celtics and they bounced back stronger than ever.  It basically happens every single year to the Spurs and they are always a threat in the playoffs.  It’s virtually impossible to maintain that kind of intensity and mental fortitude over an 82+ game season.  And I don’t want to hear anyone talk about the Jordan’s or Garnett’s because it sure as hell happened to them too.

In competition, sometimes you just don’t have it.  It’s that simple.  Sometimes your body will feel good and your mind is shot.  Sometimes you’ll feel confident mentally but your body doesn’t agree.  Sometimes you’ll feel great both mentally and physically and shots just won’t go in.  In January, on a grueling road trip, you never know what will happen.  We can still end the road trip with a winning record.  Hey, if we go 4-2, or 5-1, we’ll all forget about the Boston game.

Adversity is our Friend

Treading back into the psychological stuff here - sometimes you have to get completely beat down before something clicks in your head to stand up and fight.  Sometimes getting to that boiling point takes longer than you think.  After a horrific loss on national television (again), it’s my hope the Suns have reached that point.  It’s certainly helped in prior years.

The Suns have always been a resilient team.  Have we really forgotten that all that matters is playing well going into the post-season?  Yes, I realize we have to get there first but we are much too good a team not to.

Getting Over the Brick Wall

Experiencing things like this in the regular season will only better prepare us for the playoffs.  Instead of coasting through the season like we have the past 4 years, we are experiencing more adversity - this is a good thing!  It will make us tougher, more mentally sound, and resilient for the much fiercer challenges ahead. 

Wouldn’t you rather the Suns get tested now?  Wouldn’t you rather they get as much experience in close games now rather than in the playoffs?  Have you forgotten what has happened the last 4 years?  The Suns weren’t nearly as tested by the competition in those years as the current season.  It’s not time to panic, Suns fans.  I, for one, am excited to see the Suns get over this brick wall.  And believe me, when they do…watch out. 

It’s not about how many times you fall, it’s about how many times you get up.

 

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