Basketball is not a sport, it's a way of life.

Coach Keefe gets some relief, Zach attack, and the least likely to serve you a 50 burger...

QUICK HITS

• While I mostly agree with Jay-Z that moral victories are for minor league coaches, in the case of Washington Wizards interim coach Brian Keefe, I’m going to say he deserves at least a nice participation trophy. When Keefe was handed the job from Wes Unseld Jr. on Jan. 25^th, Washington had the second worst record in the league at 7-36, ahead of only the Detroit Pistons. Keefe was taking over a group that was playing some of the least inspired basketball in the league. Things were bleak, and soon to get bleaker. In Keefe’s first three games, the Wizards did have a nice dead cat bounce, as after losing his debut, Washington won back-to-back contests for the first time in the season. But as with most things in Washington up to that point, the good moments were fleeting, as the Wizards followed those victories by losing 16 games straight. That streak of losses would typically vie for a league-wide nadir in most seasons, but again, the Pistons. That being said, despite Detroit’s record-setting 27 game losing streak, the Wizards actually sat at a league-worst 9-53 by March 7^th. But something impressive happened when the Wizards finally broke that losing streak in a victory over the Hornets on the 8^th: the team started to get frisky. Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t some bubble-Suns run of victories to close the year, but after only winning 9 of their first 62 games, the Wizards have managed six wins in their last 16 affairs. More importantly, and why Keefe deserves more than just credit here, he deserves serious consideration for the full-time job when it comes time to make that decision this summer, Washington has been a group that has looked far more competent and competitive. After being last in defensive rating and rebounding by the end of that losing streak—two metrics that are direct reflections of effort and focus—Washington has ranked a respectable 18^th in both categories over their last 16 contests. Washington has also gone from the worst team in the league in clutch situations to an admirable eighth over the same stretch. All of this is reflective of a team that is just playing a more serious-minded brand of basketball. It is no small feat to galvanize a group of young players who had all the reason to completely pack in what felt like a lost season. Again, this isn’t the comeback story of the year or anything, but Keefe deserves credit for what is a visibly much more focused product on the floor. If I were owner Ted Leonsis, considering the roster does not have much room for significant improvement, barring an off-season trade that seems highly unlikely with Kuzma declaring his desire to stay and no one declaring a desire to take Jordan Poole, I think it would be very wise to stick with Keefe, who has shown an ability to reach a roster chock full of young players. In addition to the players that Washington returns next season, the organization will also have two first-round picks who will likely figure into the rotation next year. All of that means that continuity and a focus on building structure would significantly benefit the franchise. Keefe seems as well-positioned as any coach could be to provide just that.

• In an era where the decline of the aging athlete has been completely reshaped by the late-stage greatness of players like Tom Brady, LeBron James, and Steph Curry, what Al Horford is doing at the age of 37 gets a bit unfairly diminished. Now in his 17^th season as a pro, Horford has been awesome for the Celtics, providing impactful minutes as a player who has become one of the league’s best 3-and-D bigs. In fact, were it not for the fact that Horford ranks an astounding 338^th in free throw attempts this season at a minuscule 30, he would be in the running for a 50/40/90 season. As it stands, in his 27.0 minutes per game, Horford is shooting 51% from the field, 41.8% from three, and 86.7% from the stripe. Albeit, those numbers are coming from a player averaging a career-low 8.7 points and 6.5 field goal attempts on the season, but with the offensive firepower that Boston has, not much more is needed than for Al to knock down the open opportunities that he's given. And he’s done that with the best effective field goal percentage in his very substantial career (65.4%). What’s been most amazing about this has been the turnaround for a player who looked like he was ready to be packed away for good just a few seasons ago in OKC. Horford deserves a ton of credit for keeping himself in shape and being fully willing to adapt his style of play to the needs of the team. Whether those efforts will be rewarded with Al’s first NBA championship will remain to be seen, but the fact that his career is now approaching a full GG Jackson lifespan, and he is still finding ways to impact winning basketball is an accomplishment unto itself.

• I’m not sure what Zach Edey will become at the NBA level. I have thoughts, but because I want this to be celebratory, I’ll save them for another time. I do know what Zach Edey is, and good lord is that good. And if I had to bet on the path to him becoming more than I expect, all I’d have to do is look at where he’s been. For those unfamiliar with Zach Edey’s story, he was a mildly regarded recruit as a project at center out of IMG Academy via Toronto. Not quite off the radar, but no one thought he would literally become college basketball’s next big thing. As a freshman at Purdue, Edey started only 2 games, averaging just 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds. Fast-forward to today, Edey is now a senior poised to play his most important, and last, college game as his Boilermakers play the Huskies for the national championship tomorrow. This, in a year in which he will likely repeat as both the Naismith and Wooden Award winner for college basketball’s best player. Edey’s repeat as the Wooden recipient will be only the second time it has ever happened on the men’s side; the first being when fellow 7-4 center Ralph Sampson did so over 40 years ago (’82 & ’83). Whereas with the Naismith, Edey will join Bill Walton (’72, ’73, & ’74) and Sampson (’81, ’82, & ’83) as the only repeat customers. Edey also leads college basketball in scoring at 24.9 points per game. The first time a center has led the nation in scoring since Kurt Thomas did so back in ’95 for TCU. But Thomas was a 6’9 power forward masquerading as a center in a high-scoring offense. In Edey’s case, he is the first seven-footer in history to lead college basketball in scoring. To really get a sense of how dominant a scorer Edey has been this season, take a look at his total points for the year versus the other players in the top-5:

  Edey has been doing this damage while shooting 62.5% from the field, a respectable 71% from the line, and averaging 12.2 rebounds, good for second in the nation (Freeman AKRON- 12.9). But Edey has saved his best play for last, as during a tournament run that has the Boilermakers on the brink of the school’s first national championship—Purdue has actually won the most NCAA tournament games without a title (49)—Edey is averaging a herculean 28 points and 15.4 rebounds. Yet, it’s not the statistical measures or the physical dominance that I think would be the best predictor for future success for one of the most dominant college big men of the last half-century; it’s how much you can tell he wants to win. Where far too many big men conscribed to the sport merely because of their height ultimately end up apathetic about the whole affair, Edey plays with a fire that is an elite quality in his game. In fact, I’m extremely excited to watch Edey and UConn center Donovan Clingan tussle tomorrow, as these are two of the more demonstratively competitive big men we have seen in college basketball this side of Tyler Hansbrough. Clingan is the better pro prospect, as his mobility and reaction time as a defensive player are far superior. Edey’s plodding approach has had little success in the NBA of late, so if you told me he was likely to be a Boban-like figure in the league, I wouldn’t argue. But watching college basketball’s best player constantly improving, developing a devastating left hand as a counter move, increasing his assists out of the double-team year-over-year, and finding ways to become such a reliably devastating player at this level, would also sway me if you said he could find a place as a Jonas Valančiūnas-esque masher. Whatever Edey becomes, we all have one more game to appreciate what he is.