I saw the game that made me believe—not through stats, but through silence. As a New York-born analyst raised in basketball’s cult, I walked away from the algorithm because data without soul is just noise. This isn’t about spreadsheets; it’s about the clutch play you’ll never forget. When Udonka looked at Durant, he didn’t see a player—he saw a story. I write now not for clicks, but for those who still feel the court at Madison Square Garden at 3 a.m., when the buzzer beat louder than any model could predict.