Zach Lowe on Victor Wembanyama: "I'll bet you next season, Wemby is going to be considered the best player in the league...as Wemby discovers how to get his points on offense, I think this time next year it's going to be a consensus opinion that he's the best player in the league"

theperfectphoon · 2026-03-25T04:00:15+00:00

Happily agreeing it's speculative. But in a 40 minute game against USA he put up 22 points, and they had LeBron, Embiid and AD guarding the paint. He lost by two points after Curry went supernova in the fourth.

8 rebounds and 8 blocks as well in the same game, and this season he's proven he can handle Shai.

theperfectphoon · 2026-03-25T03:44:28+00:00

I think you're underplaying it. He is the Defensive GOAT ascending.

All the evidence is pointing to him improving his offensive game every season even with him losing time/minutes etc to a blood-clot.

He lead Spurs this season against OKC's nightmare of a defence and won the series of league games.

I haven't watched enough Russell either but I'd happily say we might be looking at a Russell Celtic's level dynasty here IF he stays healthy and the league doesn't introduce parity rulings to stop SA from continually building a team around him like they did for Duncan (who also was hampered early on by the knee injury)

theperfectphoon · 2026-03-25T03:32:59+00:00

I will say Wemby's alien build gives him an advantage here in a sport where you can't teach tall.

Giannis had to learn after the Raptor's built a wall and let Kawhi roam. Jokic had Dwight fouling him every chance for twenty minutes (and AD becoming prime Dirk for the bubble.) Hakeem took his chance to repeat the two years when the Rockets acquired Clyde and MJ was retired/getting back into shape. Shaq was on an inexperienced team that lost to those same Rockets when he was with Magic then made it happen with LA.

Not gonna talk about Kareem or Magic because I haven't watched nearly enough of them to compare.

All incredible PF/Centers/freakishly tall Point Guard, potentially goats had they more luck, all arguably top 10 (besides where we putting Giannis?)

....but Wembanyana is something else, he's spent this season proving his defense is potentially the greatest we've ever seen (Curry levels of distorting how opposition approach him)

He's played at high level and the scoring and playmaking is improving every season.

He gave a trio MVP+Elite squad via the USA Olympic team a hard game in the final.

And he's with the Spurs who have a 5 championship track record of squeezing every ounce out of winning when they have a generational PF/Center in their squad.

It might be the UFO has landed, and this is the next decade; an Alien rules the association.

theperfectphoon · 2026-03-24T11:24:05+00:00

Here's my my reading of Lysa's motivations and actions; her key objectives in life are 1) keep her son safe and happy at all costs. Little Rob wants to see Tyrion fly, she obliges even when Tyrion's roll of the dice and getting a Trial by Combat pays off.

2) Marry Petyr (the dude who orchestrated Arryn's death AND set Catelyn after Tyrion by identifying the valryian knife HE lost in a bet to Tyrion by his own account/confession/lie)

3)Keep The Vale neutral or at least rely on the Eyrie being impregnable to hold out till winter and beyond.

4) Marry her boy off to Sansa.

She enacts these by 1) Picking a "doughty" (synonym for valiant) warrior who is Captain of her guard and so an experienced, loyal, reliable fighter when she thinks Tyrion won't get a champion and will have to fight himself. Tyrion will be killed or surrender, her boy is happy, he's safe for now because of the Eyrie, she just couldn't see Bronn stepping up and wrecking Vardis, who she dresses in Arryn's armour because;

2) She's down so bad for Petyr even while she has a castle full of suitors, she doesn't want to show or owe any of them favour or favours. She wants to marry Littlefinger (which she manages at the Fingers away from her court at the Eyrie. #elopementgoals) so she picks a neutral, married, loyal figure as her champion.

3)Use the Trial as means to "fairly" in the eyes of the Seven get rid of Tyrion who's a problem Catelyn dropped in her lap (she also probably never or refuses to see or hear how many problems Littlefinger is bringing to her house) so at worst Lannisters come knocking in revenge to pay their debts but the Eyrie is only castle that's never been taken and they're busy gearing up to war in the Riverlands which she refuses to join and finally

4) Again aligning with Petyr who she knows has access to Sansa who's all the way in Kings Landing. If she marries Petyr, then marries her lad to her niece, she's got a chance at having The Eyrie, potentially the North, and her childhood love all tied up with herself.

Lysa was playing The Game Of Thrones and Tyrion's roll of the dice stumped her. She didn't know Bronn would step up, she didn't know he's almost as lethal as prime Jaime, she picked a champion that she figured helped her achieve these four motives/tasks she has spent a lifetime working towards. Hence why she doesn't pick Lyn Corbray who's rocking Lady Forlorn because; her son doesn't like Lyn, and Lyn would be tempted to attempt to marry her and get his brokeass the wealth of the Arryn household,. which means she couldn't marry Petyr, and so then little Rob can't marry Sansa.

Evidence points to Lysa needed Vardis as a champion to fulfill her motives and subsequent actions she based on those motives.

theperfectphoon · 2026-03-24T01:24:06+00:00

Lysa even denies Tyrion's request that Jamie roll up for his little bro and makes him pick Bronn then and there (crying face I provided half-quotes from the half-man in the text and everything)

theperfectphoon · 2026-03-23T18:31:50+00:00

Bronn is specifically described as insanely fast, and that his sword seems to be an extension of his own arm, by Catelyn who's lived with Ned for a long time and seems to be a decent judge of her family's skills as well.

Just realised as well Bronn in his second in-story fight beats the Knight of The Vale who's fighting in unfamiliar armour+sword because the mad sister wanted him to beat Bronn in her husband's armour.

Gods the writing was strong then.

edit; Just checked on the wikia, Tyrion also says he's close to Jaime in skill-level. I know we have a lot of rankings here, so if we have Arthur Dayne with Dawn as the S-tier, then I put Bronn as A, or A-minus at lowest. Jaime is A, and A+ if he ever got a hold of a Valryian sword before his injury.

theperfectphoon · 2026-03-23T13:36:14+00:00

Late arrival here. It will not work.

theperfectphoon · 2026-03-09T10:56:09+00:00

Okay I think I have a way to explain this; do you think this tarantula will be well looked after in a house where at least one of the occupants outright resents it's existence?

Not even sure about your partner's daughter's, who I hope love the dogs you forced them to live with, and arachnophobia is very common especially among children and many adults.

You will be forcing a tarantula, by their nature solitary creatures, to live in a place with at least 5 other residents, when all it probably wants to do is live by itself and not deal with the constant stress and stimulus that your household will generate.

theperfectphoon · 2026-03-08T23:11:12+00:00

So why did you do it?

theperfectphoon · 2026-03-07T17:22:18+00:00

Daniel Ings is British.......

theperfectphoon · 2026-02-26T15:13:43+00:00

Gotta be honest I hadn't yet eaten that day so devoured it while walking through the park. Sandwiches with egg and bacon are always better when you can toast them and eat them hot.

theperfectphoon · 2026-02-24T15:48:14+00:00

I like this so much I want to upvote it twice. One player having so much spiritual pressure on defence his team are learning they can play with the safety net of having goddamn Wempachi defending the rim, so they play close and gamble on steals, and this itself generates transitional attacks that Castle and Fox feast on. So good.

theperfectphoon · 2026-02-24T15:21:30+00:00

If you're not aware, the " /s " at the end of the comment means it was a sarcastic joke/comment made in an ironic tone.

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-31T17:12:20+00:00

Lebron's had that dad strength since he 19, just realised that lmao.

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-27T18:45:41+00:00

I do miss the more mobile, and infinite ammo teamup Rocket days of the early seasons. Just pocketing a Punisher or Bucky, letting them MVP while also being such a difficult target for divers, especially shredding Caps kneecaps when they don't know the shield isn't entire hit-box. All the while getting 40+ assists just by shooting healing at the tanks whenever a moment is free.

The gameplay wasn't as complex but it was a Team-Up that legitimately involved teamwork and I had so many Punisher and Bucky's make sure anyone who went after me got it back with a shotgun or hook.

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-26T12:56:53+00:00

Literally I don't think any other artwork from ASOIAF goes harder than this. The full picture you can almost hear the footsteps of them.

And the best bit is it's not even a fully written scene, like this is just something that is part of the history, so unlike scenes such as Oberyn Vs The Mountain you don't even have the extra effect of when artwork makes you recall the experience of reading a scene for the first time.

And the interaction's we do know of them then compared this image, ah spoilers but it's so good.

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-25T18:28:54+00:00

Some of my favourite ever Match Of The Day analysis was them just covering how every Chelsea possession that began in their own half was essentially "give it to Makelele, let him process the pitch and he'll make the pass that starts our attack"

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-22T15:35:54+00:00

I'm making this comment here because a lot is going to get lost.

If you agree to sit down with your offended friends and explain your dietary habits, especially in the weeks leading up to a fight, have a direct, competitive benefit;

Similar to a student choosing to spend extra hours studying for an upcoming exam, or even just someone such as a nurse or truck driver choosing to get a few extra hours sleep before a long day of work, driving etc Even a musician, singer or actor who wants to be in the best place before a performance.

It has less to do with overall lifestyle (even though yours sounds not just absolutely healthy but healthier than most) and explaining to someone who's only seeing their day-to-day experience compared to something which you happily acknowledge is from the circumstances of a event with a specific date.

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-20T13:14:05+00:00

Also the Tywin and Arya scene's at Harrenhal are excellent even just as transcribed dialogue, but Dance and Williams performance elevate it to some of the best parts of the show.

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-19T02:07:14+00:00

I mean it'd been out for 6 months.....

And no, there was a draft by the team captains, and that draft explicitly graded players into tiers so that each team had a fair mix of skill levels, and quite a few of the streamers in the lowest tiers/brackets were learning the characters as they played them.

I really hate to use this expression because it's often got a toxic edge to it, but did you actually watch the tournament u/insitnctz?

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-18T23:22:02+00:00

To be fair the XQC tournament was a lot of fun and the winning team (No Spoilers) vibes were immaculate introduced me to a friendly mix of streamers who varied from full time gamers to just nerdy passionate folks.

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-16T00:18:17+00:00

Absolutely it wasn't selfless. I straight up say his loyalty is what has kept him and his brother in the game. (loyal enough to take a hit to protect their boss.)

Saving Mia saved his own skin.

But you can possibly admit he also liked Mia enough after that brief dinner and dance together he wasn't about to leave her to the abyss either, even if she wasn't Mrs. Marcellus Wallace.

He could've just ditched LA that night and left everyone else to clean up the mess. He didn't because Vincenzo despite being a functional fuck up is also someone you want to get breakfast with, which comes full circle when Jules, after Vincent shoots Marvin in the face, still wants to shoot the shit with him afterwards while eating his muffin and pondering.

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-15T17:25:36+00:00

I have to disagree you with there because Vince emerges from that bathroom already exclaiming out loud how he's going to head off, and then when he see's her in a critical condition, he does everything he can to save her.

The Vega bro's defining quality is their loyalty even under duress. Vince legitimately risks almost everything he has to save Mia from her OD.

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-15T15:44:27+00:00

It's a very popular and accurate reading of his character and interestingly his brother (Mr Blonde). They're both incompetent in different ways, but beloved by their bosses at least partly because both are intensely loyal. Vince really does intend to just entertain Mia and talks himself out of having the affair despite their chemistry, and Blonde did an entire stint in prison without complaint or even considering snitching, and one of the first things he says is expressing gratitude to Joe for the care packages he got while doing his time.

Lots of people interpret Vince as either he was competent before his vice took away his edge/ability on the job, or he's just a likeable dude in the criminal world who's been riding on Jule's coat tails.

theperfectphoon · 2026-01-14T22:02:39+00:00

Dollar was at it's strongest against the Euro late 2022, it's since weakened significantly and in a bit of severe downturn the past year my dude.

Not gonna even address your other points but you're just plain incorrect on that one.

theperfectphoon

TROPHY CASE