Mike (no) D‘Antoni
For the final time tonight will be his last game as head coach. He’s probably not bad guy however he always seemed to be on the wrong side of most Laker fans. It’s also been mentioned the number of devastating injuries suffered by the team. An elementary basketball fan could access the Lakers in a short period and discover the key problem was little if any defense. D’Antoni teams with little emphasis on defense forced me to provide him a nickname. I‘ve placed a NO in front of Antoni because there is NO before the Dee Antoni with any of his teams.
Was the appalling season all the coaches’ fault---of course not he wasn’t on the floor playing defense? In the NBA scoring the ball is secondary to playing good team defense. Several teams demonstrate this conclusively for us, the Bulls, Pacers, Spurs and Heat are just a few that come to mind. D’Antoni has always been credited with having a great offensive mind, has he ever had a coach on his staff responsible for team defense? Whoever that might be should be given his pink slip ahead of no D’Antoni.
“Damn if you do, damn if you don’t”
Jabari Parker will meet with Coach K. soon to decide his future course. Players in similar situations are often criticized whatever decision they make. Remember Marcus Smart don’t you? Everyone and their brother questioned his decision to return to Oklahoma State for his sophomore year. We are well aware of the suspension and other issues he faced this past season. The same cynics who were critical of Smart remaining in school now say; “it didn’t do him any good to return.” To that group of people Smart and Parker have/will decide on the future with THEIR best interests taken into consideration not ours.
Its still history
The possibility of this event occurring was mentioned with a little over a month left in the season. Playoff positions have been finalized and it's come to fruition. For the first time in NBA history the Celtics, Knicks and Lakers all failed to make the playoffs. Life-long Knicks fan and Brooklyn native Spike Lee may be forced to admit the playoff Nets are the cities best NBA team.
Surely he’s joking---isn’t he?
I’m convinced more than ever ESPN’s Mike Greenberg is an idiot. On second thought he may not be an idiot but he provides us proof of his idiotic views. Much has been written regarding NBA teams losing on purpose to improve their draft position. This is the Greenberg solution; he would award the team missing the playoffs the top draft choice. His requirement, the team must have the best won-loss percentage but misses the playoffs.
If the NBA had adopted his proposal the 2014 1s round pick would belong to the Suns. The downside to his proposal the Milwaukee Bucks (unlike the 76ers) appear to be a really bad team. They receive no reward for finishing in last place. Under the Greenberg proposal they get no love, that first pick would be awarded to the Suns. Why do I believe Greenberg is a baseball fan first and NFL fan second? He attempts to remain topical by discussing NBA and collegiate basketball issues during the season.
25,000 points
The club is an exclusive one; only 17 players in the history of the NBA have surpassed 25,000 career points. One additional member was added to the club----the Nets Paul Pierce. The majority of the points scored by Pierce were done while he was a member of the Celtics; he now has become the clubs 18th member. The Top 50 scorers in NBA history contain a number of names that might surprise you, players you thought for sure had top the mark. Elgin Baylor, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing are just a few of the NBA’s outstanding players who missed the mark.
Scoring 25,000 points requires consistent marksmen ship and avoidance of injury during a player’s career. Knocking on the door and prepared to become the number 19 player is Tim Duncan. He’ll make it with plenty to spare, Duncan should eclipse the mark early next season. Ray Allen is only 519 points beneath the mark but certainly is not at the level he once held. He could be next to make it but he could miss. The player most likely to accomplish the feat next is LeBron James he’s in 27th place at the current time.
