Basketball from a fan’s perspective

I have a delivery for Mr. Harden
Remember the James Harden story earlier in the summer? The Rockets sharpshooter left Nike and signed a 13-year $200 million dollar deal to sport Adidas on the basketball court. Within a short span of time Harden was spotted in public with Nikes on his feet. See his Adidas commercial, a truck is backed into his drive-way and when the delivery man opens the back of the truck we see Adidas boxes stacked to the ceiling of the truck.   

Are you surprised?
Veteran sharpshooter Mike Miller signed a 1-year contract with the Nuggets. He was traded to the Blazers in July and in late September he was waived in a buy-out deal.  After serving two tours (Heat/Cavs) with LeBron I thought he was headed back to Northern Ohio. Miller continues to be a prolific 3-point shooter although this is probably his last NBA stop.  No matter he should provide the Nuggets a valuable scoring punch off the bench.

“I don’t get no respect”
The above sentence became a classic utilized for years by the late comic Rodney Dangerfield. In his comedy monologue he would discuss a variety of subjects but would always state; “I don’t get no respect” at some point. We might make the same statement regarding the Golden State Warriors. Don’t misunderstand me most of the comments I’ve read and heard give them props for winning the 2015 NBA Championship.

I’ve heard few expressions of support for them repeating as champions. Until there is a new king I’m going to give them their just due. I was one of the skeptics last year; I had always believed you had to play the game inside-out. No way could a team with the bulk of the scoring concentrated in the backcourt (Curry and Thompson) win a championship. Well the Warriors proved me and a number of other folks wrong last year until there is a new champ crowned I’m going with the Warriors.

He hurt again
The headline grammar is not correct but you get the point. The Bulls Derrick Rose is injured once again; he suffered a left orbital fracture when he was accidentally elbowed in the face during practice. Reports are the surgery was successful and Rose will be able to resume basketball activities in about two weeks. We believe he’ll probably wear a mask similar to the one worn by Rip Hamilton. I just read Grizzlies guard Mike Conley indicated he intends to wear his mask although his face has long healed; Conley suffered the same fate last year. As injures go this is certainly not as serious as those he suffered in the past. A torn ACL caused Rose to miss the 2012-13 season.

Rose would tear the medial meniscus in his right knee in November of 2013 and missed the balance of the 2013-14 season. I’ve heard a number expressed the belief Kobe Bryant should retire due to his injury issues. Without checking numbers Rose may have missed as many if not more than Kobe over the last few seasons. I would guess the age factor (26) works in his favor over Kobe. In any event I hope Rose is able to return to the court and play a complete season without further injury. Reports we hear Bulls fans are more upset with Rose for talking potential free agency. As for his pending civil case I would prefer to refrain from discussing it until a legal decision is rendered.