Bits n Pieces

Interesting I was one of those critics who questioned the value of Chris Bosh. Bosh most likely will never be a Hall of Fame athlete but he's certainly better than we might have perceived. In a manner of speaking I would compare his game to that of Pau Gasol, Bosh at 6-11 and 235 is a finesse player. Bosh has an inside game it's just not that of a "power" power forward. Word is Bosh will probably be activated for game five, the only question how effective can he be fresh off an injury? The Heat are good however I still maintain they are James, Wade and Bosh. There is no requirement for a championship team to have All-Pros spread throughout the roster they do need good players. For me that's the question, the level of talent for the remaining Heat players. I don't think guys like Rony Turiaf, Joel Anthony or 99-year old Juwan Howard cause fear in the heart of the Heat's opposition. Bosh numbers, 14 minutes of action 3-8 from the floor with 7 rebounds and 9 points.

It's probably difficult to be the son of ________. You can plug in any famous father, in this instance the father is Michael Jeffery Jordan. MJ has two basketball playing son's Jeffery and Marcus. We might guess both chose to follow in their father's rather large footsteps. The younger Jordan Marcus appears to have the most basketball skill, enough to play in the association? That question will remain unresolved until the NBA draft in May of 2013. As for older brother Jeffery who appears less talented his future might lie in the NBA D-League or in Europe. I maintain Grant Hill did the thing correctly, don't play the same sport as your famous father. Grant's father Calvin Hill was a NFL all-pro running back for the Cowboys. It's not fair but we always tend to compare the son to the father. The only instance it's the opposite is the Bryant family, Joe was a good NBA player but Kobe is light-years ahead of his dad in talent.

It's too early yet, it's only Wednesday night but I'm going to begin a conspiracy theory thread on the NBA Lottery. I've maintained for awhile I don't believe in conspiracy theory's but no matter they continue to exist, since I can't beat them I figured I'd join the gang. After all these years I just heard a new one today relating to the Knicks and Patrick Ewing. The card with the Knicks pick was colder than the others, I guess they must have placed in a refrigerator shortly before the drawing. Back to 2012 the number one pick was to go to the Bobcats however the Hornets and the NBA "interceded." I came up with a few reasons why the Hornets were awarded the pick rather than the Bobcats, you are entitled to dream up your version the following are mine. The Hornets received the number one pick in the lottery. A. payment to Saints and soon to be Hornets owner Tom Benson. B. proof to all concerned the NBA's commitment to New Orleans. C. payback for the Chris Paul trade.

The Mavs just might have another point guard next season, his name Petteri Kopnen. Kopenen a native of Finland was actually drafted in 2007 but chose to remain in Europe. From all indications he appears ready to head for the NBA and the Mavs. I located this information on the web, "Koponen was the 76ers first round pick in 2007 but his rights were traded to the Mavs last season. Koponen played for Virtus Bologna (Italy) last season but is ready for the NBA challenge." He has no desire to ride the Mavs bench, he says if he sees no opportunity to play immediately he will remain in Europe. His timing might be impeccable, the Mavs might be hesitant to re-sign Jason Kidd at age 39. (dallasnews.com)

Players from small schools don't often receive the amount of coverage of those at larger schools. All you need to do is check ESPN, Fox Sports or CBS Sports Sunday through Monday during the season. The only exception to this is during conference post-season tournaments, you might see a Bradley University or Towson University game. As for NCAA Division II schools forget about it they are more invisible than mid-major D-I schools. For this reason if there is even a hint an athlete from a smaller school might be drafted I wanted to provide you a heads-up, that's the case for two players on the NBA's radar. Both are listed as possible 2012 draft choices. Kevin Murphy a 6-7 185 pound shooting guard from Tennessee Tech. Murphy's senior year he scored at a 20.6 ppg clip on 44.4% from the floor. Tech is located about seventy miles from Nashville. Sammy Emile played at Mars Hill, a Division II school located near Asheville North Carolina. Emile is a 6-6 215 pound small forward. He led Division II schools in scoring at 25.0 ppg and 44% shooting.

Can Jimmer Fredette play in the NBA? I would say the question remains unanswered at this time, there were hurdles that delayed his assimilation into the NBA. The largest hurdle of course might have been adjusting to life in the NBA, the second adjusting to the position of point guard. Remember at BYU he was mister everything but held the primary position of shooting guard, there are few 6-2 shooting guards in the NBA these days. Fredette had to endure those challenges in his rookie year yet another existed. I'll toss in a third hurdle, the lock-out shortened season resulted in little training camp and little opportunity to adjust to the point as well. Fredette played in 61 games of the 66 game schedule but only started 7 so even on a bad Kings team he didn't play much. Although much younger Rickey Rubio had a distinct advantage over Fredette coming into the season, he was familiar with the position he would play for the Wolves. My view, wait till next season and then we can fully determine if Fredette can play at this level.