Alright, so today was all about Case Cunningham. Decided I really wanted to get into the nitty-gritty of his game. You know, not just watch highlights, but really see what makes him tick. So, that’s what I set out to do.
First thing, I fired up the old laptop and started digging through game film. Not just any film, mind you. I was looking for specific sequences, those moments where he really takes control. I spent a good hour just sifting, trying to find the right clips. It’s tougher than it looks, you know? So much footage out there, and a lot of it is just noise if you’re trying to see the small stuff.
Then, I got down to the real work. I picked out a few key possessions. My plan was to break them down, bit by bit.
- What’s he seeing before he even gets the ball? That court vision.
- How’s he using that screen? Is he rejecting it, going over, or snaking it?
- That hesitation dribble – how does he sell it so well every single time? It’s crazy.
- And his passing, man, some of those passes look impossible. He’s threading needles.
I was trying to diagram some of it, just scribbling on a notepad like some mad professor. It felt like I was back in school, trying to solve some crazy physics problem. Some of his moves, especially his pace changes and how he uses his body to create space, are just so subtle. You watch it once, you miss it. Watch it ten times, you start to see the layers. It’s a lot of rewinding and slow-mo, let me tell you.
And honestly, it got a bit frustrating after a while. You think you understand basketball, you’ve watched it for years, right? Then you try to dissect a player like Cunningham, and you realize how much there is to it. It’s not just about being athletic or a good shooter. The mental game, the reads, the timing – it’s on another level. Made me feel like a total amateur.
This whole thing reminded me of this one time, years ago, when I tried to learn to cook properly. Not just, you know, throwing stuff in a pan. I mean, really cook, follow a complex recipe, get all the timings right. I picked out this fancy French dish, coq au vin, I think. Sounded impressive. I bought all the ingredients, spent a fortune. Watched a video like twenty times. The kitchen looked like a bomb had gone off. I was sweating, stressed out, and the thing just tasted… off. Like, edible, but not good. My then-girlfriend, bless her, she tried to be polite, said it was “interesting.” I knew it was a disaster.
I remember just sitting there, looking at this plate of mediocre chicken, feeling totally defeated. I’d put in all this effort, followed all the steps, and it just didn’t click. Some people, they just have that feel, that intuition in the kitchen. I realized I probably wasn’t one of them, at least not for fancy French cooking. Sticking to pasta and stir-fries after that mostly.
So yeah, this Cunningham deep dive felt a bit like that coq au vin experience today. I’m not saying I’m giving up on understanding his game, not at all. But it’s a reminder that true mastery in anything is incredibly complex and takes more than just casual effort. I got a better appreciation for what he does, for sure. Made some notes, got some ideas of what to look for next time. But man, the dude is good. It’s a whole different world trying to break down what makes guys like him special. I’ll probably pick it up again tomorrow, maybe focus on just his pick-and-roll play, or something smaller. We’ll see how that goes. It’s a process, right? Definitely a humbling one.
