Sparma: Avery Bradley

[Oracle]

I'm not that big a fan of Bradley, but he is an upgrade over KCP in a lot of ways.

My reaction to him has been driven by the insane response by some here where you almost have to conclude that for whatever reason, objectivity was missing.

The fact that Boston couldn't move a player that's supposedly so highly though of should have been a red flag here, but it wasn't.

IMO, SVG was very smart to get him, but resigning him would be a horrible mistake. Let's look at the facts, some of which can change if we move some dead weight.

1. If we keep him for the whole season, and he goes, we only have the midlevel exception to sign another SG, or play Kennard.
2. If we keep him and resign him, even to a mild contract, we've shot our flexibility

Then there's the issue of his health and age. At his age, the injuries will be getting worse, with a possibility of a complete collapse, which is why no one else went after him when he clearly presented a low cost option for a team that needed SG support... no takers!

While getting him was better than over paying for KCP, keeping him would be an even bigger mistake, I say move him at the deadline!

[cool breeze]

Without looking it up (feelin kind of lazy) I would guess that the numbers don't tell the full story regarding Bill Walton.  That dude affected the game in many more ways than Dre does today.  If I were tasked with a one word description I would say COMPLETE.  He was way more than just a rebounder or scorer.  This is no knock on Dre, who I will admit is becoming a better player than given credit (by me).  But, Big Red got it done in all aspects of the game, including leadership.

Maurice Lucas was simply put, a bad MoFo.  He was Rick Mahorn with big time offensive skills.  Like Mahorn, Lucas exemplified the toughness / nastiness characteristic of the era along with an ability to do a 20/15 on ya.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Read Walton's book "Back From the Dead" which is a book he wrote while completely disabled and unable to walk for a long period of time. He lived in a more innocent world yet made hard decisions about quality of life. He describes what was going through his mind when he decided to turn down huge money to enjoy college basketball and academics. He even turns down an invitation to be on an Olympic basketball team.

Bill hits it out of the park with his description of  the beauty of a young kid living on a cloud playing with no thought of money and how fun and lucky you do feel when you can be on a high school or college team. Walton's career in the NBA was not how he wanted it to be because of his congenital issues relating to a drastic growth spirt as a kid. But nobody can match his college career where he dominated unlike any big man in the history of the sport and did it without any ego attached. He liked riding his bike around the UCLA campus and attending class more than accepting the bullying of the Olympic committee fat cat rulers or the suitcases of money offered him by the ABA. He turned them all down because he knew that money meant next to nothing compared to to the fun he was having at the time with no money. And it was not as if he had a safety net with his parents. They were not rich. That book reminds me a lot of the old days where the media was limited in their involvement in our everyday lives and PT Barnum sports promoter snakes were corrupting boys in the 8th grade or younger. Fewer people were making judgments on young men or kids through social media. Kids were just thinking about playing ball and school work and pretty girls. Very innocent stuff and Walton puts you there in that book. One of my buddies attended the same high school in San Diego and played for Walton's first varsity coach. My buddy's team won the State Championship and loved this coach. Walton hated the way that same coach made his team play basketball. That coach quit and moved on to another higher level of coaching. Walton was then in heaven as the new coach played a new faster paced game featuring full court pressing and a more up tempo passing game. Walton was a perfect fit for John Wooden's unselfish team first concept where high character meant everything. And Walton really tested Wooden's limits. Drummond would have had his ass kicked in so many ways if he had gone up against Walton in college. Drummond was a complete failure as a college player because he came in with a complete lack of the fundamentals that all big men needed to have in Walton's era. Most likely Drummond would have worked his ass off like Walton just to get on the court if he had lived as a kid in that era. You just couldn't play if you didn't have the basic fundamentals down by the 8th grade. Conditioning was mandatory in that era too. And Walton was in superior shape and had maybe the highest basketball IQ of any big man to ever play the high school and college game. Most likely Andre would show a higher basketball IQ if he had learned the fundamentals at an early age and had played 4 years in college before arriving in the NBA. So it is very difficult to make any judgments with the two players. Imagine how good college competition could be if the top tier players had to stay in college 4 years. And for them, later in life, the memories would be worth the reduction in their net worth. The NBA would be a much better game too as college players would come in ready to contribute and have much more confidence. Stanley Johnson is one of those individuals who would be coming out to the NBA this summer having become an actual go to offensive player and feel that weight on his shoulders with kids his own age cheering for him and adoring him for what he could have brought to his college team. But how can anyone turn down crazy money? The only guy I know was Bill Walton.

What is currently being played in the NBA is not real basketball. The game is officiated much differently. I am amazed with the lack of calls for palming the basketball. There is no way to play effective defense or prevent dribble penetration when that rule is ignored. No guard in college in Walton's era or even in the NBA during that time could get away with that violation at any time. Now we get a circus act where the game lasts too long. But in it's own way, the NBA is entertaining just dummied down now to create more interest from fans who watch on television where it is more difficult to see the infractions made by star players. Walton is not one of my heroes when it comes to basketball but the truth is the truth and Walton was simply amazing relating to his grit and poise and knowledge of the game. It didn't hurt that Bill played guard before his first knee injury around the 8th grade and before. While being forced to stay in bed recovering from that injury he grew about 8 or 9 inches.

Too bad about Reggie's injury last night. I thought for the first time Jackson looked like a real point guard. He was unselfish and really saw the floor well. His timing on offense was outstanding. The new guy who played at the end that was brought up from the G league looked pretty good. Need to get Avery back as soon as possible. Last season the Pistons collapsed around the Christmas holidays. I was impressed with their attitude and effort against Indiana. Good game plan too.

[WTF]

Reggie J. out 6-8 weeks, after looking really good yesterday.

Trey Burke anyone?

Ish's minutes will go up, of course, but I think Galloway will be the chief beneficiary in the current roster.  And more minutes for Kennard, maybe with AD doing some PGing while he's in there?  Interesting mix and match on the way, if no trade or signing.

I would love to give him a try at least but if not here the time to try Kennard at PG.

[Sparma]

Reggie J. out 6-8 weeks, after looking really good yesterday.

Trey Burke anyone?

Ish's minutes will go up, of course, but I think Galloway will be the chief beneficiary in the current roster. And more minutes for Kennard, maybe with AD doing some PGing while he's in there? Interesting mix and match on the way, if no trade or signing.

[WTF]

@WiseFan, you would have been beaming at the commentary by Zeke and Chris Webber on last nights NBA TV player only broadcast.  They pretty much ripped SVG and Gores for stating a goal of wanting to "Change the Culture" of Piston Basketball.

Both seemed incensed and openly insulted by the notion of moving away from the decades long Bad Boy, Blue Collar, Go To Work characteristic developed here.  It was a theme carried by players they felt connected solidly with the community, and the lack of which is in large part responsible for so many empty seats in the LCA.  In Zekes words our guys must become "Men of the Community", not be above it.  

Kevin McHale chimed in with an observation of our team not only lacking an identity, but no longer being the team capable of grinding for 48 minutes.

I've only summarized what became a 20 minute conversation.  If there is a re-broadcast you might want to record it.

All three are correct in their assessment but I would go even further in blaming the fan base and the players as well.  IMO these players have no pride to hold on to what was/used to be tradition and the fans don't demand that they do. 

I'm not sure what culture of basketball SVG and Gores want but it's from where I'm standing it isn't a winning one and we all know the old one works just fine.  Really I'm just glad I had a chance to see the team win 3 NBA titles,  I glad I got a chance to see many of the players that past through here.   I do love my team but I'll never have a solid or real connection to this current group of players because they don't represent the past culture of Championship Basketball that many of us witness.

The Bad Boys use to hold mini camps 3 and 4 times a month within the city, as well as in the burbs,  you would see the at the malls, hell I even hung out at clubs with John and Rick back in the day.  

Kevin is correct about identity because the Pistons weren't referred to by team name they were the Bad Boys,  That's what other teams called them, that's what the TV media called them, that's what fans called them.  

I also notice that SVG doesn't play the players he should more often (Kennard and Ellenson) because they seem to have hints of that DNA in them.  These are they only 2 players on this team that I can say that about.

[lemonpen]

It isn't often that we get a peek at how a wish might turn out without it actually coming true. Reggie is gone for a while so we will hopefully see a less ball dominant pair of floor leaders. Personally, I hope it is a spectacular success so that Stan might find the kahones (sp) to move forward. Be it by luck or by design we need an upgrade.

[lemonpen]

@WiseFan, you would have been beaming at the commentary by Zeke and Chris Webber on last nights NBA TV player only broadcast. They pretty much ripped SVG and Gores for stating a goal of wanting to "Change the Culture" of Piston Basketball.

Both seemed incensed and openly insulted by the notion of moving away from the decades long Bad Boy, Blue Collar, Go To Work characteristic developed here. It was a theme carried by players they felt connected solidly with the community, and the lack of which is in large part responsible for so many empty seats in the LCA. In Zekes words our guys must become "Men of the Community", not be above it.

Kevin McHale chimed in with an observation of our team not only lacking an identity, but no longer being the team capable of grinding for 48 minutes.

I've only summarized what became a 20 minute conversation. If there is a re-broadcast you might want to record it.

[lemonpen]

Without looking it up (feelin kind of lazy) I would guess that the numbers don't tell the full story regarding Bill Walton. That dude affected the game in many more ways than Dre does today. If I were tasked with a one word description I would say COMPLETE. He was way more than just a rebounder or scorer. This is no knock on Dre, who I will admit is becoming a better player than given credit (by me). But, Big Red got it done in all aspects of the game, including leadership.

Maurice Lucas was simply put, a bad MoFo. He was Rick Mahorn with big time offensive skills. Like Mahorn, Lucas exemplified the toughness / nastiness characteristic of the era along with an ability to do a 20/15 on ya.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[Sparma]

I'm a Bradley fan, but I'll admit the statistical backing for celebration isn't so clear.  He is shooting 41.4% from 3 which is pretty darn good (but then his overall shooting percentage is down).  His PER's at 11.9, a tick off of his career 12, nothing special.

Here's why I like him: he's committed, before the game and during; he plays hard; he plays smart, especially on D; he plays smart on O too, having some of the best cuts in the league (as Kelser loves to point out) and shooting well; he's a leader (as best I can tell!).  

Concern: he seems to try to play too big, with accompanying physical ailments coming as no surprise. And he turns the ball over way too much.

But you know what?  It's nice to have someone trying so hard, playing smart, getting every ounce of production out of his body, if anything trying too hard.  We've had our fair share of guys who fell way short of what their talent seemed to promise, guys like Stuckey who I think could have been a star in this league if he'd tried hard on D (because he could defend), and if hadn't overrated himself on O (running into a wall again and again at crunch time), and had been more of a team guy (like Bradley!).  I enjoy watching a guy like Bradley play with a big heart and big spirit, even if he has his limits.

What I will mind is if we overpay him with a long term contract when he's peaked and is physically vulnerable.  And if we give up a 1st rounder to create financial space, I'll be really unhappy.  I could see a Leuer, SJ, & #1 pick trade to create space, or maybe a Reggie J & a pick to create space.  Well, maybe I wouldn't mind the Reggie J. trade, but this isn't the night to get into that.  He played his heart out himself tonight, played with skill and smarts.  Hope he'll be ok.

[Oracle]

The Motor City Homeboy Choir...

[Oracle]

I expected us to beat them, but not as badly as we did, but Harris just blew up on these dudes.

Indy in only decent, IMO.

@Sparma: Whatever we do, it certainly has nothing to do with Bradley, which if he played, would likely get false credit.

Having said that, we should be even stronger once he return. unfortunately, like the groundhog, he surfaced and the doctors said one more week at least! I wonder how long this will go on.

Bradley isn't used to this high a usage, SVG may want to scale back on his minutes to keep him fresh for the playoffs, where his half court defense is more useful.

[Sparma]

against Indiana. We could well be the 4th and 5th seed, and we just won the season series.

Big games by Harris (on fire), Drummond (did he end up with 21 and 18?), and Reggie J. 13 assists in 21 minutes for Reggie, he had it going on, then had a bad looking ankle sprain. I'd be surprised if he doesn't miss some time. Great PG play tonight, with Ish also stepping up. Crazy how he can weave in and out by the basket. On one play, towards the end of the 3rd quarter beat all 5 guys by my count.

Bad 3 pt. shooting tonight by Reggie B., but I still thought he played well. Kelser, convincingly, praises his cuts, which he combines nicely with outside shooting (usually), and some solid D. Nice addition to the rotation.

And Boban added some offensive firepower, when put in at the end. Al Jefferson did drive by him; guy's got some moves still.

And a Dwight Buyck (sp?) sighting. Looks like we're going to have to count on our depth, especially at guard. Hopefully not going that deep ordinarily though.

Not sure what we do against Oladipo, but he shoots way better against the rest of the league than against us.

[BallinD]

[Sparma]

Portland won 49 in their championship season, right (maybe Andre will top that this year?)? Their championship came as an upset. But it was really the next season that Walton and co pulled it together in the regular season going 50-8. At that point they were the heavy favorite for a 2nd straight championship. But Walton's foot problem brought the whole thing down. A mark of his value was that a team headed for one of the best regular seasons to that point fell apart completely with him, going 8-16, even though Lucas, Gross, and Twarzcik (?) looked like world beaters playing with Walton.

A comparison? A career win share comparison has Walton most like Robin Lopez among current centers. So there's that. I have to think Walton left about 2/3 of his NBA career value on the training table though.

I'm inclined to focus on comparisons within the era of play. I happen to think AD would take Walton's lunch one on one if the '77 Walton could somehow be teleported forward. Andre'd be too strong and athletic for him. But then I think Bill Russell today would be Ibaka without the shot. And I'd still like Walton's game 5 vs 5. There's a reason Mark Spitz doesn't ask to go again Michael Phelps in a match: athletes get better over time, just as Steve Kerr pointed out to the Big O. But in his day Walton was a devastating two way player, the only center I've seen be the QB at a championship level both on D and O.

[Murph]

Yes, it's a comparison, but I didn't initially make it.  


You know who I would have liked to see play in the NBA in his prime?...Arvydas Sabonis.  While guys like Bill Walton would be undersized in today's NBA, at 6'11, 235, Sabonis, at 7'3 and 280, would be a giant even by today's standards.  And Sabonis could do it all...pass, score, shoot, rebound and defend.  And he had a high BB IQ with great court vision.

[WTF]

Wize...I'm not the one who compared Drummond to Walton. I was just pointing out that at the age of 24, Drummond already has better career stats than Walton.

Isn't this a comparison 

[Murph]

I'm hoping for the best for AD, and may indeed make it to the HoF someday if he keeps rebounding like this, and continues the line of improvement from this season.

Walton was pretty great though, also as an NBA player.  Not for long though.  Looking back at his stats, I'd put his NBA peak at 3 years, arguably 4, if you include his first Portland season.

I've got one big memory of Walton as a player, which is as the MVP in the 1977 finals against Philadelphia.  I'd arrived at college the previous year, having watched little basketball on TV, having lived overseas.  Dr. J. was my favorite player, and his Philly team was heavily favored as I remember.  I had to refresh my memory on Wikipedia, including the fact that the deciding 6th game was originally scheduled for 10:30 on Sunday to avoid competition with the Kemper Open, then bumped to noon.  I remember that I watched as much of the series as I could, which I think was the whole thing (remember that Johnson's magical NBA winning performance, replacing Jabbar, was tape delayed).

Walton wasn't the greatest center ever, even at his peak, but I can't remember another center doing in the NBA finals what he did that year: dominate on both ends of the court, being the dynamo for the team on both ends.  I didn't watch Wilt (in '67) when he would have done that, and Jabbar was far better than Walton as a scorer, and he could be really tough on D.  After Philly won the first 2, Portland swept the next 4.  The game summaries provide an indication of his broad skills: Game 3: 9 assists, Game 4: "shot-blocking frenzy": 8 blocks: Game 5: 24 rebounds, Game 6: 20 pts, 24 rebounds, 7 assists, 8 blocks.  MVP.

Portland was even better for most of the next year, going 50-8, before falling apart (8-16) with Walton out with foot troubles.  Then, it was pretty much over.  Walton sat out a season, moved to the Clippers.  He did make a comeback as a crucial bench guy for the Celtics that some see as the greatest team ever.

My recollection is that Portland played energetic, tough, positionally smart D, with Walton as the hub (but Maurice Lucas was really good too) and that they ran a lot (often with Walton as trigger), but also did well in their set offenses, again with Walton as hub.  He was a fantastic two way player.

All that's not to talk down Drummond, who's on his way to his second All-Star game (tying Walton).  And Kanter's pretty fierce, I gather not just against Detroit, really giving Andre troubles.  If there's one skill I'd like to transfer from Walton to Drummond, it would be his outstanding positional defending.  Add that to Drummond, and he's a perennial All-Star and a HoFer.

Sparma...thanks for refreshing my failing memory.  I had forgotten that Walton put together one great playoff run to carry Portland to an NBA Championship.  Although I do notice that he only played in 65 games that year, and the Blazers had the 4th best regular season record that year with only 49 wins.  But he carried the team when it counted.

Wize...I'm not the one who compared Drummond to Walton. I was just pointing out that at the age of 24, Drummond already has better career stats than Walton.

[WTF]

Laughing that one would even make the argument Drummond is better than Walton because it's by default that he has better stats.  If injury hadn't been a major part of Walton's career who knows what his stats might have been but what we do know is he has 2 or 3 NBA Championship Rings while Drummond has yet to get a playoff victory.   

Seems there are attempts to make Drummond into something more than what he is or at best justify his existence as a potential whatever.  Really doesn't matter if Andre's numbers eclipse Walton's or any other center of that era.  Walton was Next Level as most of those centers were back then and I'm sure in there prime they all would be taking Andre's lunch money.

Why not make the harder comparison or method of measuring Andre against careers of Shaq, Dream, Gasol, Duncan, Ewing and so on.

[Sparma]

I'm hoping for the best for AD, and may indeed make it to the HoF someday if he keeps rebounding like this, and continues the line of improvement from this season.

Walton was pretty great though, also as an NBA player. Not for long though. Looking back at his stats, I'd put his NBA peak at 3 years, arguably 4, if you include his first Portland season.

I've got one big memory of Walton as a player, which is as the MVP in the 1977 finals against Philadelphia. I'd arrived at college the previous year, having watched little basketball on TV, having lived overseas. Dr. J. was my favorite player, and his Philly team was heavily favored as I remember. I had to refresh my memory on Wikipedia, including the fact that the deciding 6th game was originally scheduled for 10:30 on Sunday to avoid competition with the Kemper Open, then bumped to noon. I remember that I watched as much of the series as I could, which I think was the whole thing (remember that Johnson's magical NBA winning performance, replacing Jabbar, was tape delayed).

Walton wasn't the greatest center ever, even at his peak, but I can't remember another center doing in the NBA finals what he did that year: dominate on both ends of the court, being the dynamo for the team on both ends. I didn't watch Wilt (in '67) when he would have done that, and Jabbar was far better than Walton as a scorer, and he could be really tough on D. After Philly won the first 2, Portland swept the next 4. The game summaries provide an indication of his broad skills: Game 3: 9 assists, Game 4: "shot-blocking frenzy": 8 blocks: Game 5: 24 rebounds, Game 6: 20 pts, 24 rebounds, 7 assists, 8 blocks. MVP.

Portland was even better for most of the next year, going 50-8, before falling apart (8-16) with Walton out with foot troubles. Then, it was pretty much over. Walton sat out a season, moved to the Clippers. He did make a comeback as a crucial bench guy for the Celtics that some see as the greatest team ever.

My recollection is that Portland played energetic, tough, positionally smart D, with Walton as the hub (but Maurice Lucas was really good too) and that they ran a lot (often with Walton as trigger), but also did well in their set offenses, again with Walton as hub. He was a fantastic two way player.

All that's not to talk down Drummond, who's on his way to his second All-Star game (tying Walton). And Kanter's pretty fierce, I gather not just against Detroit, really giving Andre troubles. If there's one skill I'd like to transfer from Walton to Drummond, it would be his outstanding positional defending. Add that to Drummond, and he's a perennial All-Star and a HoFer.

[Murph]

"ANDRE DRUMMOND allows Eric Kanter to get 8 offensive rebounds and put backs simply because he didn't bother to box him out. If you do that one time in high school the coach is likely to pull you out of the game...(T)he NY driver missed his layup and of course (K)anter was there to get another offensive rebound that AD should have had. So that makes 8 shots or 16 points AD gave up for his lack of "engagement" as SVG likes to put it. No it is plain stupidity an extreme mental and physical laziness. AD will never be on a championship team. There is no way in hell he would be able to concentrate and play the right way in the playoffs where every flaw in a players game is examined and exploited by superior players. I would love to be able to see AD play against Bill Walton when Bill was in his prime. Walton could have gotten 30 offensive rebounds and there is no way that AD could ever run from baseline to baseline for even one quarter attempting to keep up with Walton."


Don, did you happen to catch any of the Knicks/76ers game yesterday?  In that game, Kanter had 31 pts and 22 rebounds, including 11 offensive rebounds...on Joel Embiid, who all the gurus on ESPN think is the second coming of Hakeem The Dream.  
That makes Drummonds performance against Kanter look damn good in comparison.  Drummond held Kantor to 22 points and 16 rebounds, including 8 offensive boards.



Oh...and Bill Walton?  I remember Bill hobbling up and down the court on bad wheels for years.  Bill was great at UCLA, but by the time he played for the Trailblazers, his cronic foot injury made him a shadow of his former self.  Bill never even had a prime in the NBA.  In his first 10 years in the league, Bill missed 509 games due to injuries, or an average of 51 games a season.

Drummond already has a better NBA career than Bill Walton, and he's only 24 years old.  And Drummond is so much more athletic than Walton was, it's not even close.

And then there was the fact that Walton was an acid head...and I'm not even kidding.  How many NBA games did Walton play trippin on acid?

Walton is a member of the Baketball Hall of Fame, based on his performance at UCLA alone.  And a lot of that was most likely due to the coaching of John Wooden.

[lemonpen]

We have quite a White Christmas in the D. All glisteny and bright. Crumpled wrapping paper litters the living room and 3 of the 5 of us are snoring. I hope your day is as comfortable.

We received a repeat Xmas gift from the Leo's. A lump of coal in the form of elimination from playoff contention.

It seems our Boys have learned little about going hard for 48. Stay on their arses Stan. Bunch of pansies.

[Sparma]

I hope that you're all doing well on what can be a lonely time of the year. Odd, how little we know about each other in spite of the detailed views we convey.

Tanking. I'll still for it, in spite of my outrageously high win prediction. The prediction I'll stick with is that this will be the best season for SVG out of his (first??) five. Murph put it well recently: the team's peaked. I do expect Kennard and Ellenson to have good NBA careers (somewhere), but I don't see either as a franchise pillar. My initial enthusiasm for SVG notwithstanding, I now think he adopted the wrong strategy altogether of aiming to be decent right away while also building for the future. Half measures get you half results, and that's where we are for the foreseeable future. At this point, I just don't see tanking happening, so there may be little point to discussing it. Also, it's becoming a less successful strategy, I think, as more teams partake. I don't see us becoming the next Philly (let alone Astros) any time soon. A wholesale rebuild won't happen until SVG leaves. And even then?

What then to do in the meanwhile. I'm a dinosaur in crucial respects, specifically in that in my gut I believe in building around an axis of a passing guard and a star center. But then I'm not even sure when that last worked, Cousey and Russell. I've slowly acclimated to the iso game (yes, Jordan and Kobe were pretty successful), and then the heavy distance shooting, if it's outstanding. I see PG as our biggest problem. The Reggie/ Ish combo looked lethal for 20 games, but Reggie's regressed. I think Oracle's right that he can be a difference maker, e.g., taking the game over against GS, but he's the king of bad judgment on the court, when to pass, when to run, when to press his own advantage. It's tough to see a way forward, just as BallinD's described, but then there have been glimpses of a better brand of ball this year. The one thing I don't want is bringing in someone like a Paul George to make one sprint, giving up young assets as well as a 1st rounder. I could see Stanley going for a last hurrah, convincing the owner that we're close. We're not. Sadly, much as I've been enthused by the significant growth of AD's game, for the long run a serious rebuild is needed. And it may turn out that Gores, not SVG, is the real barrier to such a radical rebuild. And we need to be careful what we wish for because if the big rebuild comes, and an even emptier new arena with it, that rebuild may be completed in Las Vegas.

Still: Merry Christmas. Thankfully, there's a lot more to life than the Pistons!

No long winded speeches, just a sincere word of thanks to all of my forum brothers!

The best to you all and your families, and GO PISTONS!!!

[WTF]

Enjoy!

[Oracle]

No long winded speeches, just a sincere word of thanks to all of my forum brothers!

The best to you all and your families, and GO PISTONS!!!

[deusXango]

To all my fellow posters and your beautiful families, enjoy a wonderful Christmas, stay warm in hearts as well as bodies, and let's deal with what really matters.

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