[Nomad]

Interesting thought. Following basketball, as a card collector and a fan, since the day I saw Tatum sparked by Nesmith energy to a 60-point comeback performance, I was waiting for a similar moment to occur. And it finally happened on a pretty important day in the calendar.

I also realize that, though not from Boston, in following the narrative of a young player I affordably invested in, I became immersed in a sport I always loved playing, though I was never good at. And I actually become a Celtics fan...

Sat back and watched the entire Celtics - Pelicans game again on League Pass. Never do that, but...

What made the Pelicans game interesting was the emergence (or confirmation, if you've been watching the past year) of the "free" Nesmith narrative. He is having a few poster dunks and blocks recently, but that doesn't even begin to encapsulate the energy contribution. With this game, it was like he and Tatum were starting to coordinate the floor, instead of him simply crashing. For the entire fourth quarter.

Also, beginning to like this team again. Jaylen is a steady contributor who leaves his ego at the door--important on a team with Tatum. And Schroeder is like the ready lay-up basket guy, anytime you need an Energizer bunny jolt. On the penetration-layup level, he reminds me of Ja, though obviously Morant has other skills and is younger.

Who is also intriguing is Pritchard. Pritch-Nesmith-Freedom-Romeo + either J seems an interesting secondary option that could yield playoff victories. Now that the Cs are over .500

Pelicans also have a couple interesting players, though I haven't watched enough.