NBA Finals Preview

The NBA Finals are upon us!

In a better-than-usual playoffs full of competitive games, rivalries, and surprises, The Indiana Pacers will play the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Larry O'Brien Championship trophy.

My immediate inclination is to root against the Pacers after they trounced Cleveland on their way to the Finals. But I respect our worthy opponents, and as a former Indiana resident, it would be great to see the Hoosier state bring home a title. I have no bond with OKC, and as the heavy favorites, they also make themselves less palatable. Therefore I will hope for and predict a series win for the Pacers.

I think this series will go all the way. If Indiana manages to beat OKC, I think it will be by very narrow margins. With home-court on their side and superior talent, I think the Thunder will take the first game, overwhelming the Pacers with their dominance on both ends of the court. The Pacers will make adjustments, but I think the Thunder will manage to take both opening games, with the second by a narrower margin. 

Then Indiana will come out in force to cheer on their team at home. I'm hoping the refs will be a little lax with the home crowd and the playoff mentality, meaning less free throws for SGA and a little edge for the Pacers. Indiana will take Game 3, and then win a nail-biter in Game 4. 

Back in Oklahoma City, I think the Thunder take Number 5, then the Pacers Number 6 back in Hoosierland. In other words, everyone wins at home (which is actually not how these playoffs have been going so far. It's OK, I'm used to making terrible predictions.)

Then Game 7. I think it will take a significant injury on the Thunder for the Pacers to make it here and take it all - maybe Gilgeous-Alexander sprains an ankle. Whatever the case, I think the Thunder will take a hit personnel-wise, and Indiana will be ready to take advantage and squeeze out a win in Game 7, with some late-game heroics from Haliburton and company. Pacers in 7.

Then, next year.... CLEVELAND! Keep the core, take it to another level, and let's go all the way.

 

Endurance Logbook 2.0

 

It's been a quiet spring on the blog!

The arrival of summer has already brought a measurably slower pace of life, and with it the opportunity to write. I'd like to share my pocket notebook updates.

1) My last homemade constructions were two notebooks made from an Ale-8 six-pack! I cut out the graphic from each side of one of the cases pictured above, filled it with 40 pages of graph paper, added a few inside cover sections, and started using it! 

It's an easy enough project and yields a fun and useful result, saving money on cover material. This notebook also served as a trial for a new element of the Endurance Logbook. I'll probably finish filling up the pictured one before June arrives.

2) I've all but forsaken Field Notes. I stopped purchasing them a couple years ago over concerns about their ethical business practice. But I since then, I've picked up a few packs from E-bay and several more as gifts. However I find myself avoiding them more and more. For one thing, the notebooks I have left from them are not my favorites in terms of design; maybe that's why they've sat around this long. For another, their very small graph paper squares have become more of a frustration to me. There are one or two more National Parks notebooks that I will probably still use, but these guys have largely moved out of my rotation. I'll still use them and enjoy them, but given the chance, it's either L&J or homemade. I just saw that their latest summer edition came out. Cool enough graph paper, but honestly? Not as nice-looking or functional as Log and Jotter.

3) Now for my Endurance Logbook update. The Endurance Logbook Model No. 00001 debuted with a print run of 2 copies - one for my Dad and one for me! It was a smashing commercial success. We both really enjoyed using them, and it meant a lot of the technical work for setting up the print job was complete. Now I can tinker without starting from scratch. Since then, I've changed Bible study plans and will probably pursue a slightly different thematic emphasis whenever it's time for Model No. 0000002. Also, I learned that we will want to upgrade the cover paper from Terraslate 8 Mil to 10 Mil paper. It remains to be seen whether a staple will pass through this beefier paper along with 10 sheets of quality graph paper. The 40-page number has become really comfortable for me. I already have a few sheets of 10 Mil paper from a free sample they sent me, enough for a stunningly large print run of 5 Logbooks. I'm also open-minded about the cover design... the Shackleton theme is cool but I like a splash of color. Functionally it's top-notch, but pretty much every Log and Jotter I've ever had looks better. 

I'll be sure to update the pocket notebook world when the Logbook 0000000002 releases, along with feedback from my personal testing. Once we settle in on a design, I would seriously like to make a handful of these and let more people try them out. Of course, we might be on Model 00000000000003 before I really settle on something I love.

NBA Playoff Picks / Predictions

 

It's playoff time!

We've arrived at the end of another regular season. Here are my picks for the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

Western Conference

1st Round

OKC beats Memphis 4 games to 1.

Clippers beat Nuggets 4 games to 3.

Lakers beat Timberwolves 4 games to 2.

Rockets beat Warriors 4 games to 3.

2nd Round

OKC beats Clippers 4 games to 2.

Lakers beat Rockets 4 games to 3.

3rd Round

OKC beats Lakers 4 games to 2.

Eastern Conference

1st Round

Cavs beat Heat 4 games to 2.

Bucks beat Pacers 4 games to 2.

Knicks beat Pistons 4 games to 1.

Celtics beat Magic 4 games to 2.

2nd Round

Cavs beat Bucks 4 games to 3.

Knicks beat Celtics 4 games to 3.

3rd Round

Cavs beat Knicks 4 games to 2.

Finals

Cavs beat OKC 4 games to 3.