Basketball from a fans perspective
“People don’t care where you were drafted. They just care whether you can play.” So was the statement made by Ben Simmons. Just a portion of his response to Chad Ford of ESPN.com. I don’t believe anybody could find fault with his statement nor the truth of it.
Help wanted--there are exceptions
I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion the Lakers need a center, you may have read either in Words or someplace else Dwight Howard wants out of Houston and is looking to “greener pastures.” Howard is supposed to have indicated there would be no problem for him to return to the Lakers. If the Lakers should sign free-agent Howard there is nothing I can do except complain. As much as I believe the team has a HELP WANTED sign in front Howard need not apply.
Don’t want to pile on
I believe we are in agreement regarding the basketball talent of LeBron James. We could make the same statement on his business ventures securing material comfort for his family. As for LeBron’s NBA legacy that might be called into question. Lebron’s led the Heat and Cavs teams to six straight NBA Championship series and is a two-time NBA Champion. It’s my belief despite LeBron’s exploits on the basketball court he appears to lack one key ingredient. He’s got no “killer” instinct, that ability that says; “I’m the best there is if you want to win you’ve got to get past me first.”
Michael Jordan had it so did Kobe Bryant, in an earlier era Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Bill Russell also exhibited it. There are others past and present however those names standout. That old sayin’ back in the ‘70’s “What you see is what you get” applies to LeBron James. Perhaps he’s giving us all he can, a very talented player but one who defers his game to teammates. The headline of this account says it all; it’s probably unfair for me to scrutinize his career to this point however this commentary is far nicer than some you will read in the future.
Interesting choice
6-9 180 pound Shareef O’Neal is a talent; in fact the son of Shaquille O’Neal is one of the top prospects in the Class of 2018. How does the young man improve he trains and continues to train. The youngster indicates Kobe Bryant contacted him and made an offer, he would train Shareef over the summer. If Shareef takes on the training regiment and mindset of Kobe he might not reach the NBA but he will be improved. Next time you hear Jason Whitlock or some other scribe make a derogatory statement about Kobe remember this account.
Hobbs
The New Mexico city in the title had little more than 11,000 hearty souls at the time Bill Bridges was born. In all likelihood he’s probably the only professional basketball player the city has ever produced. The late William C. “Bill” Bridges is a name from the past the Kansas faithful should be familiar with. This 6-6 228 pound forward was “Dennis Rodman” before Rodman was even born. Bridges was a furious rebound artist in both the American Basketball League and NBA.
In the 1961 draft the Chicago Packers (now Washington Wizards) drafted him, Bridges preferred the startup American Basketball League which only lasted one and half years. At the time the ABL folded he was snatched by the Hawks where he spent his most productive years. Bridges once grabbed 35 rebounds in an NBA playoff game, his 14-year pro career saw his numbers duplicated; 11.9 ppg and 11.9 rebounds. Last September he died at the age of 76 cancer related. Bill Bridges a giant of the game ahead of his team in many aspects, R.I.P.
