The Casual Basketball Fan’s guide to NBA rookies

Lesson two: Operate in certainty

To be a CBF you have to think like a CBF. You operate in one direction and that’s certainty. Those around your dinner table or at the bar are searching for headstrong passion. They want to believe in something, regardless if it’s against or in support of your team. Non-NBA fans will flock toward opinions if they’re active and aggressive. A good CBF doesn’t have time for passivity or even the passage of time.

Too often diehards are trapped in a gray area of NBA evaluation. They look for large sample sizes and trends and film and can flip on original predictions or ideas they held for certain players. There’s nothing wrong with that. But NBA fandom, and CBF thinking, is about decisiveness. Decisions have to be made as soon as possible. Nothing screams CBF more like taking a point and sticking to it. And the earlier the better.

Think of it like this: Thin slicing is a term detailed in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink and describes a process by which we as humans are able to draw accurate conclusions on only the smallest amount of observational data. As it pertains to the NBA and the CBFA, you only need one or two plays to make a determination. If he makes a shot, say he’s good. If he turns the ball over, don’t hesitate to say he’s bad. You don’t need much more information to not only display your prowess, but have legitimate fortitude that you will be proved right. What takes years for diehards will only take five minutes for you.