There is a distinction between lack of talent and lack of effort!
-------Larry Laker

Fear the beard
Almost from the beginning of the season Steph Curry took the lead in the MVP race. He continued to hold the lead position throughout the season. I’d stated previously Curry is one of the best sharpshooters I’ve witnessed in quite awhile. This is not going to change anything but I believe James Harden should be the NBA MVP. As for the other contenders the results are a mix bag. Despite Russell Westbrook’s outstanding season his Thunder team failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Was it adjusting to a new coach or new teammates LeBron James didn’t play at an MVP level until after the All Star game? This leaves us with Mr. Harden; unlike Curry he led the Rockets to a 56-26 record. Curry had plenty of help much of the time it was Harden alone. Harden barely lost the scoring title finishing at 27.4 points per game. Harden also managed to snatch down 5.7 rebounds and dish out 7 assists. Although he’ll never be a great defender he’s become better. He even managed to poke fun at himself in a Footlocker commercial.

It’s a SoCal team
I listened as Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith debate their belief which teams would face one another in the NBA finals. One of them I’m unsure which discussed the pressure on LeBron James. The fact he’d returned “home” and was attempting to win an NBA Championship. The Cavs are an untested playoff team with the exception of LeBron and a host of former Heat players. Although I often disagree with the two no argument this time they are entitled to their opinions. I happen to believe the pressure is on another team.

This team’s home is Los Angeles and I don’t mean the Lakers I’m referring to the Clippers. They have a championship coach in Doc Rivers, their win total the last three years it’s quite impressive 55, 57 and 56. Despite a regular season winning record the playoffs have been a far different matter. Three years ago they lost in the first round; two years ago it was the conference semi-finals. Is 2015 the break-out season, the time they contend for an NBA Championship? This past season the Clippers amassed 57 technical fouls, their playoff opponent Spurs have totaled 50 technicals in five years.

30 for 30
Hope you had an opportunity to see the latest ESPN 30 for 30 production. It’s titled Sole Man and it provides viewers the background of Sonny Vaccaro. Vaccaro may have been the driving force on what has become a billion dollar shoe market for Nike, Adidas and others. While working for Nike Vaccaro signed Michael Jordan to his first shoe contract. Vacarro’s name is known in basketball circles however he’s been a mystery to many. I don’t want to give too much of it away, although it’s told from Vacarro’s viewpoint it provides us background on how the basketball shoe industry grew.

Bits n Pieces
Forbes Magazine in its list of billionaires list one Michael Jeffery Jordan. MJ has parlayed finances from his Bulls salary and Air Jordan to reach this milestone. I believe its noteworthy considering his humble beginnings. There are a significant number of millionaires and billionaires who did little except inherit their financial worth from their family. No one can make that claim about Jordan.

UNLV convinced home town boy Stephen Zimmerman to remain at home. Zimmerman is a 7 foot 230 pound center; he’s a 5-star and number 11 prospect in the nation. Among schools with offers on the table were Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA and Arizona. I’m unsure if this statement is correct it seems high profile high school athletes from Las Vegas tend to remain at home. 

Is this the Laker back court of the future? We don’t now however Byron Scott decided to pencil in point guards Jeremy Lin and Jordan Clarkson in the starting lineup. The Thunder managed to win the match by 10 points however the Laker back court displayed a first-rate game. Clarkson scored 30 points Lin 19; both contributed 7 assists while Clarkson had 3 blocked shots. The two had only 5 turnovers for the game.

Mizzzzou
It’s about time some encouraging news comes out of Columbia (MO). The Tigers signed three 2015 prospects to letters of intent and received verbal commitments from two others.  There are three freshmen and two junior college athletes in the group of new Tigers.  .

Terrence Phillips 5-11 170 pound point guard
Kevin Puryear 6-7 225 pound power forward
Cullen VanLeer 6-4 195 pound shooting guard
Martavian Payne 6-2 170 pound shooting guard-John A. Logan Community College
Russell Woods 6-8 215 pound power forward-John A. Logan Community College

After a truly horrible season we should expect transfers, forward Johnathan Williams III and guard Deuce Bello have departed.  It‘s unclear at this point if there are any others planning on leaving.  As for these Tigers we have no idea of their ability or if they will even mesh as a team.  We do know this fact they are players Kim Anderson and staff have recruited.  There should be no turmoil between coach and player that existed at points during last season.  If no other players leave at this point Mizzou has one scholarship available for the 2015-16 season.