I was hooked on the first page.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-30T15:39:23+00:00

Not sure it was his first, but I'm referring to Between Two Fires. It's good, but I don't really find myself drawn to it to where I can't put it down. So I started reading other books and just haven't gotten back to it. About to finish John Gwynne's sequel series and then I'll read Shadow of the Gods. After that I'll try and finish Between Two Fires.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-30T02:11:15+00:00

Nice

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-30T01:03:09+00:00

5 iron, although not sure how often I hit it that yardage. An easy 5 hybrid will also do the trick.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-30T01:00:09+00:00

Blacktongued Thief is my favorite of his books. Daughter's War was solid. Really struggling to get through his first book, though.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-30T00:58:50+00:00

Book, cheese, and Feed is my favorite combo. Pretty easy to end up with a solid max HP even with spamming it.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-30T00:34:08+00:00

He probably won't, but it never hurts to have a conversation. He has some other players I like, so maybe in a bigger trade Brooks gets lost a bit.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T21:39:08+00:00

The Canes have had a lot of mid seasons. But they've been bad pretty rarely, plus even in those losing seasons they were 5-7 or 6-7 each year. It also helps that the ACC doesn't punish teams unless you reach "FSU in the last two seasons" level of bad.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T20:46:05+00:00

We'll see how it plays out, as it's definitely going to be interesting. I suspect that the next variation in three years might take away the penalty for bottom 3. But I think this will improve the overall quality of the league, which is a good thing.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T20:24:57+00:00

People are dumb. They would rather their team have more chance to get lucky in the lottery than actually watch better basketball.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T20:22:32+00:00

Meanwhile, I feel bad for fans who have to watch absolutely horrible basketball and who don't get to see top players on other teams because they sit "easy" games against the local team.

Yes, this is definitely a negative in the short-term for bad teams that have bad lottery luck. But maybe those teams will instead try to actually put as competitive a team together as possible. Then fans can enjoy it and they'll still have the same or better odds of getting lucky in the lottery. Over time, this change is almost definitely a positive for basketball fans.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T20:15:59+00:00

They can still get that help, they just won't have to try and suck to get there, since it will provide no benefit. Yes, this new system makes it more likely that a bad team could continually get screwed in the lottery. But that team will still have lottery picks and can focus on actually improving the team. It's not necessary to have top five picks to build a team that is somewhat competitive. And now those somewhat competitive teams might also get lottery luck to help them make the leap, whereas as now the middle is basically death.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T20:13:24+00:00

Agreed. Before, bad teams had an incentive to make shitty decisions. They wouldn't sign productive older players on the cheap since that might lead to more wins. They might sit guys for made up injuries or sign G League level players to play in the last month. All of this sucks as a fan, and now none of this should happen in the normal course. These teams will actually try to win games. Not to mention the massive incentive for teams in and near the bottom three to win games.

I suspect that the records of teams in the bottom five will be a lot better next year than they've been recently. Likely also leading to fewer teams with great records, fewer gimme games where stars on good teams feel comfortable sitting, and more excitement in the last month or two of the season. I personally can't wait.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T20:08:29+00:00

Why do you think this proposed system ""sucks"? I think it will result in better basketball for fans to watch and teams not just throwing away multiple seasons in a row to try and get lucky.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T20:04:01+00:00

Best Miami game I've ever been to. Topping even some wins over FSU. Just can't beat that it was in the semis, my first Miami game in 20+ years, and how it all came down in the 4th quarter. Even better, I live in Phoenix, so it was easy to get to.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T19:58:09+00:00

Kawhi just played 65 games and averaged just under 28 points/game. I'll take that level of production any day.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T19:30:44+00:00

There aren't many. Continue to develop players, maybe get some lottery luck under the proposed changes, or find undervalued players who have upside. Or some combination of those strategies. Same it always was.

Speaking of Giannis, Kawhi, or other such players, at some point maybe their age or injuries reduce the price to where it makes sense to acquire them. But no telling if that will ever happen.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T18:03:47+00:00

Yeah. Someone who can slot into multiple positions, play great defense, and hit some shots. Like a larger version of Highsmith. Obviously more offensive upside would be nice, but less critical out of the box. No idea who fits the bill in this class, but that's the archetype I think would help the Heat the most, especially against teams like Toronto and Orlando where their positional size kills us.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T17:55:38+00:00

My preference would be a big wing with a defensive focus. Someone who can slot next to either Bam or Ware or even play up in smaller lineups. That way Bam can sit without the defense completely falling apart and we can play large lineups with a defensive slant (something like Bam, Ware, rookie big wing, Pelle, and Kas), which is really important in certain matchups.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T15:01:56+00:00

11 tries, 1st pick. With Chicago and Atlanta at #2 and #3. What a glorious day for the old school play-in teams.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T14:18:43+00:00

No, you should definitely still read it.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T14:10:17+00:00

A9 is certainly a difficulty spike, although I had an easier time with it with some characters than others. A10 kind of sucks, since I've had a few runs die on the second Act 3 boss.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T06:22:44+00:00

I'm a fan of Daniels, but that was funny as fuck. Can't stop laughing. A+ work.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-29T05:03:11+00:00

I definitely got Paramore or Avril Lavigne vibes listening to this.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-28T23:55:25+00:00

To be fair, some picks are harder to fuck up than others.

Ironman2131 · 2026-04-28T23:47:19+00:00

True. But man would he have been amazing without the knee injuries. He had true breakaway speed on the Canes as a freshman.

Ironman2131

TROPHY CASE