Half Man Half Amazing

There are two schools of thought on Vince Carter. Basically, there is the generally accepted notion that Vince Carter is a waste of talent who could have been so much more if he just gave a damn — with flashes of brilliance sprinkled in just to remind us how good he can/could be. This seems to be the tone of the majority when discussing Vince, and it's made people resent him.

Then there's the thought that Vince is a lethal scorer and in his younger days the most electrifying dunker on the planet, a guy that no matter his faults gets you excited and makes you love watching the game of basketball. Vinsanity. Half Man-Half Amazing. It seems like I'm the only person alive who still feels this way. And even if he doesn't soar through the air with thunderous dunks any longer, Vince is still worth the price of admission for nights like last night.





48 points. 19-27 from the field. 6-10 from three. 4-4 from the line. And completely dominating down the stretch. As Marv Albert said during the telecast, Vince Carter was unconscious. Every time down the court, he was calling for the ball, he wanted the ball, and every time down, he scored the ball. You just knew each time it left his hand that it was going in. He rained down threes. He broke ankles. He hit step-backs, jump shots, and layups. He made open looks and highly contested jumpers. He scored just about every way imaginable except dunking. And I loved every single minute of it.

Vince looked like the guy who carried the Toronto Raptors to the playoffs in 2001, he looked like the guy who scored 50 points against the Sixers and came within a jumper away from getting to the Eastern Conference Finals.



Hell, he looked like Allen Iverson in that same series, that same season.





There aren't many guys who go on the type of run Vince went on last night. It was an amazing thing to watch. And he's been an amazing guy to watch his entire career. People say he didn't give a damn enough, people held his injuries against him, people proclaimed Vince let the world down by never fulfilling the prophecy as the next "next Jordan." Maybe people should have just sat back and enjoyed the brilliant moments he gave us all, of which there are many.

I've been with Vince since his days at UNC and supported him every step of the way. He has given me chills from his first game at UNC all way up until last night, provided me with some of my most memorable basketball viewing experiences. Maybe he wasn't what everyone expected him to be, what his vast array of natural ability promised him to be. But what he was, what he is is a player who on any given night can make you drop your jaw in awe and make you refuse to look away from the screen. And he can do it whether he's dunking or not.