Location, location, location
I used the above headline to describe a collegiate player being drafted by the “wrong” team. Location could also concern the local sports news. One of the problems in Kansas City we tend to have an internal perspective. We are aware of the player sometimes but have difficulty viewing them as truly talented. Here’s an example, one of the local sports talk radio host is a Syracuse graduate. Although he lives in this area he might have more a national perspective than a number of other hosts. He held a discussion on outstanding freshman; he said Ben McLemore’s NBA stock has risen over the past few weeks. At the same time he acknowledged; “people in Los Angeles might think were crazy, freshman Shabazz Muhammad’s scoring numbers are actually higher. This is not an attempt to point to the fact one player might be better than the other it simply points a key factor--its location. He went on to mention Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade players who came to the forefront (NBA draft) with littler prior notoriety. I certainly can attest to the Wade factor, I had to go back to the March 22, 2003 NCAA Regional game. Wade help Marquette beat my Mizzou Tigers in overtime 101-92. Wade scored 24 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 7 assists. At the end of the game I said; “who is this guy?”

“I want to believe”
If you were a fan of science-fiction you might be familiar with “X-Files, I want to believe.” The television series and two movies played into the belief of many, we are surrounded by conspiracies. Their have been a number of NBA conspiracies over the years. For unexplained reasons there is no evidence to explain why the higher number of NBA stories over other sports. Most are probably aware of the Patrick Ewing “bent card” in 1985. For those unfamiliar the Knicks were vying for the number one pick, the card containing their name was bent. The bent card allowed David Stern to separate it from the balance.

My research uncovered the fact most theories revolved around draft choices. I’m not going to provide you all the details just the players involved. The Hornets had traded the franchise Chris Paul (from reports at his request), how do we help them? They were bad anyway but it certainly didn’t hurt them to be in the postion to draft Kentucky’s Anthony Davis.  LeBron left Cleveland and the Cavs became immediate losers. The Cavs finished in the lottery but were able to draft Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving in 2011. In 2008 the Bulls were able to be in a position to draft Chicago native Derrick Rose. There are probably thousands of other stories out there these are but a few. I didn’t say I didn’t believe in UFO’s I’ve just never seen one.

There is no Superman
This is not a Shaquille O’ Neal-Dwight Howard story; but it does involve the Superman persona. We note an athletes return from surgery and believe they are ready for action. We have this belief because the medical staff has given them approval to play. I indicated in a prior blog I have no medical expertise, back problems I know. My condition was not serious enough to require surgery as in Howard’s case. My back was so painful that it did require a doctor’s visit and prescription medication. I could hardly been over at one point so I can imagine the type of pain Howard must have suffered after back-surgery. Initial reports on Howard’s first appearance varied from mid-November to mid-January.

Laker fans were pleased he was able to begin the season in the lineup at the beginning of the season however it might have been a little misleading. When questioned on his conditioning Howard would often say; "I'm 80 to 90%."  On January 4th Howard injured his shoulder in a game against the Clippers.  The injury was first reported as a torn labrum which Howard corrected saying the labrum was just pulled away from the bone and not torn.  Still sounds like he was in pain to me, in any event he was out of the lineup for 3 games.  Once he returned we witnessed a different Howard.  He appeared to play with more energy and focus, his defense was awesome.  Watching him move up and down the court at 100% maybe there is a real Superman.  

Mike Woodson
Has become comfortable as coach of the Knicks. We certainly cannot state they have turned the corner and become a continuous playoff team. The strange journey of how the Knicks arrived here is interesting. Woodson as head coach had led the Hawks into the playoffs the last three seasons he was at the helm. Rather than fire him the Hawks simply allowed his contract to expire despite the team’s playoff run with Woodson as coach. After Mike D’Antoni resigned last March as interim head coach Woodson began implementing changes he thought necessary. One of those changes possibly was not resigning Jeremy Lin, in May the interim term was removed from Woodson’s name as he was named head coach. Why in simple terms are the Knicks playing better ball, it can be answered in a couple of ways. Woodson played for Bobby Knight at Indiana, Knight’s teams always had a commitment to defense. In addition Carmelo Anthony has become a complete player; his offense is still key but he's latched on to Woodson’s defensive scheme.