It’s a preseason game in Brooklyn, the clock winding down. Most of the starters already are making dinner plans, the sort of setting that is meant mostly for players trying to earn a spot, when Ron Baker dives for a loose ball.
As Baker gets to his feet, David Fizdale excitedly — more excited than even Baker — winds up and slaps hands with the backup guard. And you wonder, how can he be as excited about the fourth quarter of a preseason game as he was about the NBA Finals he was a part of as an assistant coach in Miami or when he railed in defense of his Memphis Grizzlies team in the playoffs two seasons ago?