Basketball from a fans perspective
“The Right Stuff”
Adapted from a Tom Wolfe novel “The Right Stuff” acquaints the reader with the early years of America’s space program. The book was adapted for a movie of the same name released in 1983. The challenge for the astronauts of that time did they have “The Right Stuff” to challenge the unknown. There are two NBA teams talented as they are I question if they have “The Right Stuff.” Both teams are Western Conference foes so I could be wrong one could possibly fool me advancing to play for the NBA Championship. The Clippers and Thunder are the teams in question and can either manage to play for an NBA Championship in 2016?
Bits n Pieces
I checked my usual mock draft sites, in addition I checked at least 10 other sites. All of them have the Lakers choosing Duke Freshman Brandon Ingram with the second pick in the 2016 draft. What do we know about Ingram, we can state he’s a McDonalds All-American and Rivals 5-star prospect? He’s 6-9 but a thin 195 pounds so can you say “weight room.” As this is written we can also say; 17.3 ppg and 6.8 rebounds a game.
This is guaranteed to create an argument; I believe the Blazers backcourt might be the second best in the NBA. The only backcourt that may be superior is the Golden State Warriors. Point guard Damian Lillard (25.0 and 7.3 assists) in his third year, shooting guard C.J. McCollum (20.9 and 4.3 assists) is in his second year. I was curious the number of NBA players from both schools. The information from basketball-reference.com indicates Lillard is the 9th NBA player from Weber State while McCollum is the first from Lehigh.
The drip of international players into the NBA has become a steady stream over the years. NBA.com indicates at the start of the 2015-16 NBA rosters contain 100 international players. Historically our northern neighbor Canada has produced the most over time with 32, Serbia is second with 24 and France third with 23. I was surprised to discover Australia tied with Brazil in fourth place with 17 players.
Turning the corner
The Thunder might be affected by this phenomena, I don’t know if it’s even valid just a belief on my part. A team strives to climb that mountain to success, their draft proves fruitful in addition they are able to secure able players in trades and free-agency. Sometimes these efforts prove successful and the team is able win a championship(s) other times they fall backward and never again play at a premium level. The Blazers are ascending now but they suffered this fate and fell back in 2012. This might be the case for the Thunder; they made the playoffs in Oklahoma for the first time in 2010.
They would lose in the first round to the Lakers. The next year the Thunder made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Mavericks. In 2012 they would finally make it too the top they would play for the NBA Championship. Facing the Heat the Thunder lost the series 4-1 but optimism remained. Since 2012 they have never made it past the conference finals, last season although they once again had a winning record missed the playoffs all-together. They will make the playoffs this year currently in third place in the Western Conference, how far will they advance this season?
Recommend to read
I wrote of the NBA in Canada on February 18 and Vancouver losing the franchise to Memphis. Gerald Narciso SI.com wrote an insightful piece on the NBA in the city. “Forgotten franchise: The demise of the Vancouver Grizzlies” Narciso provided facts for those too young to remember once upon a time there were two Canadian teams. Toronto and Vancouver came into the NBA as expansion teams one became a success the other. In any event Narciso provides valuable reading in my estimation.
