Throughout the NBA play-offs, The National's resident NBA dudes Jonathan Raymond and Kevin Jeffers will be breaking down the key talking points of the night before. Below, the takeaways from Monday night's action in the 2016 post-season:
• Read more: 2016 NBA Play-offs – Previews, predictions and what we learned day-by-day
Monday, April 18 scores:
Toronto Raptors 98-87 Indiana Pacers (Tied 1-1)
Oklahoma City Thunder 84-85 Dallas Mavericks (Tied 1-1)
Golden State Warriors 115-106 Houston Rockets (Warriors 2-0)
In a game that is ostensibly a severe mismatch, usually there comes a moment that, in hindsight, becomes The Moment the good team began to put the bad one away.
We kept waiting for that moment on Monday night from Oklahoma City. Some Russell Westbrook explosion, some piece of Kevin Durant art, some dunk or three-pointer or anything that would get Cameron Payne up and dancing on the Thunder bench and finally be the spark for a 15-0 run or something that would put the Mavericks away.
It wasn’t Russell Westbrook’s glide to the basket to put them up six in the third quarter. It wasn’t the back-to-back shots by Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka to cap an 8-0 run and put them up seven with six and a half minutes to go.
It just never came.
Durant and Westbrook combined to miss 40 shots. This was the Thunder at their worst, the Thunder as they too often are – a bunch of non-contributors standing around while Durant and Westbrook chuck. When they make more than they miss, it masks Oklahoma City’s deficiencies. But when they aren’t hitting, the Thunder are suddenly vulnerable against a Dallas team who are, frankly, really just not in the same league.
And yet it was that Dallas team who won on Monday night.
The final two minutes, with the game tied at 81, Oklahoma City’s possessions went like this: Russell Westbrook turnover (1:50); Kevin Durant misses 15-footer (1:15); Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three (:40); Kevin Durant misses 16-footer (:24); Kevin Durant misses 23-foot three (:19); Kevin Durant makes 24-foot three (:09); Kevin Durant blocked (:03).
Steven Adams’ too-late-by-a-fraction-of-a-second put-back would-be-winner could have been that fraction of a second earlier and could have indeed won the game. That it didn’t doesn’t really matter.
The Thunder are still going to win this series. The talent discrepancy is just too glaring.
But if in the weeks ahead Oklahoma City exit the play-offs, disappointed and lamenting another wasted season of the Durant-Westbrook era, it will be because the Thunder, in all the years of team-building around those two, have never quite figured out how to exorcise that worst version of themselves.
Raptors respond
Toronto missed their first five shots in Game 2 – here we go again, it felt like.
The funk that afflicted them as they went cold over the final five minutes of Game 1 extended into the first two minutes of Monday night’s contest. Luis Scola, Jonas Valanciunas, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll, Kyle Lowry – they all missed their opening attempts. It didn’t matter who took the ball.
And then DeRozan turned a broken play into an easy lay-up for Valanciunas, and like that the Raptors were fine. They made eight of their next 11 shots, built a 21-7 lead and took it from there, a near wire-to-wire win that never saw the Pacers get all that close after they went down for good just over three minutes into the game.
If the first two minutes of Game 2 was Game 1 (and past Toronto trips to the play-offs) in a nutshell – baffling wide-open bricks, agonising rim-outs, desperate heaves; general, inexplicable ineffectiveness – then the rest of the game is what we should be able to expect from the New Raptors: Just fine.
Valanciunas was his explosive, bullying best inside. Patrick Patterson and Cory Joseph were critical in support.
And as important as anything, on another night where Lowry (4-for-13) and DeRozan (5-for-18) struggled to score, Toronto were fine.
The Raptors are going to be fine. (Probably.)
Still golden
Remember when Andre Iguodala won the Finals MVP last year largely on the strength of his bailing out the Warriors when the going got tough for Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Co?
Turns out he can still do that.
Iguodala, the NBA’s premier overqualified bench guy, was back to his game-saving ways against Houston in Game 2 with Curry out. The 32-year-old all-star turned bench backbone provided 18 points, three assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block in his 33 minutes.
It’s not something Golden State will want to rely on. But it had to be at least a little relieving to know they can probably get through this series without any Curry at all.
Which is good, because they may need to do just that. The ESPN report on the MVP wasn't exactly encouraging:
“He cut his extensive pre-game routine short after about five minutes, appearing to be in discomfort, and left the court shaking his head.”
The Rockets are a mess, and as Iguodala – Shaun Livingston, too – stepped up on Monday night, the Warriors at least knew they can buy some time on Curry’s ankle.
Arab League
Tunisia’s Salah Mejri is, to the best of our knowledge, the first Arab national to grow up in the Mena region, begin his career with a Mena club team (Etoile du Sahel) and advance all the way to the NBA. (Egyptian Alaa Abdelnaby was raised almost entirely in the US and Sudanese Manute Bol played college ball in the US and was drafted straight into the NBA.)
So it was cool to see the big man play such a central role in Dallas’ win, with 12 points, three blocks and some energetic dunking. A cool moment for basketball fans in this part of the world to appreciate.
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
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Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
The Saudi Cup race card
1 The Jockey Club Local Handicap (TB) 1,800m (Dirt) $500,000
2 The Riyadh Dirt Sprint (TB) 1,200m (D) $1.500,000
3 The 1351 Turf Sprint 1,351m (Turf) $1,000,000
4 The Saudi Derby (TB) 1600m (D) $800,000
5 The Neom Turf Cup (TB) 2,100m (T) $1,000,000
6 The Obaiya Arabian Classic (PB) 2,000m (D) $1,900,000
7 The Red Sea Turf Handicap (TB) 3,000m (T) $2,500,000
8 The Saudi Cup (TB) 1,800m (D) $20,000,000
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Key features of new policy
Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6
Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge
A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools
Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
THE SPECS
Aston Martin Rapide AMR
Engine: 6.0-litre V12
Transmission: Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic
Power: 595bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh999,563
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
