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| Cartoon by Clay Jones |
I know nothing about the Knicks
other than they’re from New York
and haven’t won a championship
since 1973. I know even less
about the Spurs. Game 3 at the Garden
means more traffic—
something I can’t ignore.
Maybe that’s why I’m paying
extra attention to the hype, the energy
around the rim so electrifying
I decide to watch, for the first time—
the whole game from my living room
wearing fuzzy bunny slippers
with soft pink pajamas.
There’s no point pretending
I understand the game
or its rules—
but I know players
who commit fouls get punished
with free throws.
A flagrant foul sounds poetic,
as satisfying as the swish
of a slam-dunk—but the notion
of excessive contact
as a boundary violation
makes me want to learn more
about why David Hollander thinks
basketball can save the world. The court,
layups, turnovers, every rebound--
offense and defense, skill and hustle
underscores that legendary mantra:
you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,
which has everything and nothing
to do with deciding who gets benched,
or booing Trump.
Tammy Smith is a poet and licensed clinical social worker from New Jersey. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The New Verse News, Paterson Literary Review, ONE ART: a journal of poetry, Thimble Literary Magazine, LIPS, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, and elsewhere. She received honorable mentions in the Journal of New Jersey Poets 2026 Poets Prize and the 2026 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards.