Basketball from a fans perspective
They blew it
Officials miss calls in all sports, they don’t do it intentionally but it occurs. They miss a clip in football; they call a strike a ball in baseball and walk a batter. In basketball a player throws an elbow and it’s missed. I’d almost rather not be aware than have NBA officials confess later they blew a call. That’s what occurred in the Thunder-Spurs series, Dion Waiters attempting to inbound the basketball with seconds remaining in the game.
Manu Ginobili was on the floor guarding Waiters who was out of bounds attempting to inbound the ball. As the referee began his count Waiters began jockeying for position and gaining no advantage pushed Ginobili with an elbow while standing out of bounds. Analyst Chris Webber went berserk screaming an offensive foul had been committed by Waiters. After the conclusion of the game lead referee Ken Mauer admitted they missed the play. As this was about to be published came late word from the NBA. They admitted; “5 incorrect calls were made in the final 13.5 seconds," woo.
Noooooo!
David Aldridge TNT analyst lists his assessment of the 2016 NBA Draft on NBA.com. After checking the power forward list my eyes focused on Thon Maker. Aldridge has Maker listed at
6-11 versus the 7 feet reported the last two years. Those are small potatoes compared to Maker’s weight. Again everything I’ve read over that time period had Maker ranging from 196 to up to 211 pounds; the Aldridge report has Maker at 240 pounds.
I wonder
I’m watching the Warriors-Rockets and my mind drifted to the origins of the Warriors franchise. The Warriors began play in 1946 in Philadelphia as a charter member of the Basketball Association of America which later merged with the National Basketball League thus becoming the Association. Home would remain in The City of Brotherly Love until 1962 when the franchise relocated to San Francisco and became the San Francisco Warriors. The team would remain in San Francisco until 1971 when they moved across the bay to Oakland and the Oakland Coliseum Arena (Oracle).
The Warriors never had a permanent home in San Francisco playing the majority of their games in the Cow Palace with the balance in the Civic Auditorium. As mentioned previously the franchise will make another move this time back to San Francisco. The Chase Center an 18,000 seat multi-use arena will open in 2019 and become the new home of the Warriors. I wonder if the franchise will undergo another name change, could they become the San Francisco Warriors once again.
Bits n Pieces
Always think highly of these stories, we know Jahlil Okafor left Duke after his freshman year. Well Okafor is returning to summer school to finish his education, he promised his family members including his late mother he would graduate from college if he ever made the NBA. Okafor would follow in the footsteps of several other NBA players who left school early for the draft but returned to complete a degree. Michael Jordan, Shaq and Vince Carter are just a few in the number.
My grandmother had a tenant near her same age, whenever this woman heard an unusual or strange story she would say; “You live to learn.” I believed she meant as long as you live you will encounter a number of bizarre stories and this is one. A 30-year old foreign exchange student has been playing as a high school junior. He’s 6-10 and has basketball skill (of course he does). Check out the Windsor Ontario Star for complete details.
I haven’t given up, Austin Rivers had a great game in the Clippers loss I admit that. A comment stated; “Why don’t you get off Rivers case he’s a good player and some of you are just haters.“ I don’t consider myself a hater but I don’t believe in Rivers. He is in the NBA strictly because his daddy is the coach of the Clippers. As another fan wrote; “One great game out 50 doesn‘t make up for the 49 bad ones.”
I should have known but I guess I didn’t, Kansas guard Brannen Green declared for the NBA draft. In declaring for the draft Green indicated he was hiring an agent. Although he made his intentions known to the NBA they did likewise toward him. They did not extend an invitation for him to attend the Draft Combine held later this month in Chicago. Not being invited is not awful but it could provide proof the NBA doesn’t believe you are ready. What does he do now having hired an agent?
