Basketball from a fans perspective
The wait is over
I believe the Cavs will be crowned 2016 NBA Champions; I based this belief on several factors. 1. Power forward Kevin Love was M.I.A. due to injury last season and didn’t play against the Warriors. 2. Kyrie Irving was also missing same story. 3. 97% of the offense fell on the shoulders on LeBron James in last years NBA Championship match. 4. Thunder couldn’t finish the job this playoff season against the Warriors the Cavs rested and injury free will. 5. Finally long suffering Cleveland fans will be rewarded with a championship for their faithfulness through the years. Okay Dub fans you can do two things, you can boo this assessment (I know you will) or if I’m proven wrong can belly laugh at me.
It was a playoff game
5-4-3-2-1, that’s the countdown for the comment “Nobody is watching the NBA.” After an article is written good or bad regarding the NBA some knucklehead will respond with the statement just provided. The Warriors-Thunder game set a cable television record; 15.9 million folks were viewing Game 7. I forgot it was a playoff game that’s the reason the audience was so huge---not.
Division II basketball
Awhile back I wrote few athletes in recent years have been added to NBA rosters from Division II basketball. One of the factors causing the stream of talent to be reduced to a trickle is the emergence of European and African players. The last several years has seen this talent pool grow at an accelerated level. There is a clear reason for the why; the basketball played is not at the NBA level however it is professional basketball. As often been the case youngsters might be matched again veterans something that doesn’t exist in Division II or even Division I ball. Research indicates beginning in 1990 to the present NBA rosters only counted 15 players who arrived in the association from Division II programs.
Of the 15 players we could say Darrell Armstrong had the longest tenure and the majority of was spent as a reserve player. Armstrong from Fayetteville State (NC) played the bulk of his career with the Magic from 1994 through 2003. Armstrong concluded his NBA career in 2008 playing for five other teams. Since his retirement there have been no other Division II players with more than two seasons on an NBA roster. There are no more Sam Jones (North Carolina Central), Charles Oakley (Virginia Union) or Earl Monroe’s’ (Winston-Salem State) produced by Division II schools.
Convince us please
Doc Rivers indicated the injuries to CP3 and Blake Griffin curtailed the Clippers championship run. There is no doubt losing the two key members of the team certainly played a role. I maintained before the playoffs began the Clippers were unlikely to emerge from the west. I believed they would lose to the Spurs or Warriors. Little did I realize the Blazers would allow the Clippers to “go fishing” so early. The Clippers at present are not an old team but they are aging and changes are required especially the bench.
If Paul Pierce does not retire he should, how much longer can 36-year old Jamal Crawford continue producing points? I’ll skip a discussion of point guard Austin Rivers as for Jeff Green he’s only 29 years old, the February mid-season trade for Green was only a partial success. The Clippers have the 25th pick in the first round and the 3rd pick in the second round and may be able to acquire bench depth to help. I cannot imagine Doc Rivers giving up player acquisition duties but that’s exactly what he needs to do.
