Basketball from a fans perspective
Arena news
The Warriors might win 2 or 3 more championships before litigation is complete for the San Francisco arena. Pushed back a year the arena has a planned 2019 opening. As is the custom in this age naming rights have been secured for the building. It will become the Chase Center; JP Morgan Chase has secured a 20-year lease on naming rights for the arena. The name Golden 1 Credit Union is probably more familiar to residents of California.
They have the naming rights on the arena under construction is Sacramento; it has a planned opening of October 2016. Madison Square Garden, The Garden or MSG will remain the oldest continuous use arena in the NBA. Opened in 1968 it’s been renovated twice in 1991 and recently 2013. It should be noted renovation eliminated a historical portion of the arena it’s available on YouTube for your viewing if you care to check it out. The Knicks leader Willis Reed was not expected to play in Game 7, he'd been injured in an earlier series game. MSG was electric as Reed limped onto the court from a tunnel in the in the 1970 NBA Championship, the tunnel portion no longer exists having been eliminated in renovation.
Don’t be so quick to judge
I’m unsure what point I wrote it, it was some point after the start of the 2015-16 NBA season. I pronounced the 76ers the worst team in the NBA; I’m not as sure as this is written. After watching my Lakers lose to the Bulls last night I may have been incorrect. The 76ers have 7 wins and the Lakers have 9, the Lakers might be a better team but it’s only by the slightest of margins.
The Invisible Man
The H.G. Wells novel “The Invisible Man” was first released as a motion picture in 1933 since that time it’s been redone numerous times over the years. The title of the novel/movie is self explanatory a scientist consumes an experimental potion which renders him invisible. Bill Bertka could easily be considered the Invisible Man. This long-time assistant coach is now 88-years old and no longer active in the NBA.
I’m calling attention to his name due to a Shaquille O’Neal comment. When interviewed about the statue to be erected outside Staples said; “I’d like to thank two people; Jerry West and Bill Bertka.” Shaq went on to explain the invaluable teaching Bertka provided him. Bertka saw them all sitting next to the head coach, he served under Bill Sharman, Pat Riley and Phil Jackson. Bertka saw the power of Wilt, the smooth sky-hook of Kareem and the extroverted Shaq play center for the Lakers
Depends on your perspective
I’m always searching for information on basketball talent. At the same time I also depend on folks whom I believe have the ability to access basketball talent. Despite the high esteem I view them even their perspective can sometimes lead me to an uncomplimentary assessment. In 1997 a friend informed me; “St. Louis University has a stud on their team this year.” Base on my friends word I was anxious to see this stud play and the very first time I had an opportunity to see him in action he had a terrible game.
I thought to myself my friend thinks this guy can play boy is he wrong. The player my buddy accessed was Larry Hughes who played at St Louis University. Hughes would later be the 8th pick in the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft; he would go on to a 14 year career with a number of NBA teams. Although he was never an all-pro he was talented enough to be drafted and had an extended NBA career. I could have concluded I was correct and my buddy wrong, since that time I’ve tried to be careful in accessing talent without receiving a second or third opinion.
