Excerpt from Be Holding and so Doc leapt, he left his feet, which means more or less jumping with the ball with nowhere to go, and which we're warned against by coaches from day one for the ensuing requisite stupid pass or more simply though no less stupid travel, also called walking , which the leaping often leads to, keep your feet! again and again, which makes the leaping--leaving your feet-- sound sacrificial, the way in certain places, certain countries, or countries inside of countries, you must leave by foot with nowhere to go, which there is, and Doc, you should note, after the one dribble clasps the ball with only his right hand without once at all in any shape or form using the left, which, among other things , friends, differentiates this from all the descendant moves-- Kevin Durant, Dwayne Wade, Steph and Giannis and Harden and Kawhi, yes, Bron Bron too, I shall not be moved-- and using only one hand, which is amazing but not yet miraculous, more a physical and therefore genetic fact (thanks Ma & Pa Erving), Doc's hand becomes an octopus gripping the ball nothing like prey, and with that ball snugged in his mitt Doc maybe kinda sorta thought something like I am going to put this schmuck (the schmuck in this case being Landsberger, though do not, please, revert to a simplistic allegorization of the journeyman, which word I repeat advisedly) on a poster, though schmuck is a word I'd be surprised to hear Doc say, and the word posterize, (common usage: posterize his ass) you might be thinking, is a bit of an anachronism in this poem, in this move, which ostensibly occurred in the 1980 NBA Finals, though we all know that nothing happens only when it happens Excerpted from Untitled: A Poem by Ross Gay All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
