Basketball from a fans perspective
Most times
My indignation is most often aimed at members of the media---this time its former players. Ben Simmons would not play in the game he had a seat right where he could see all the action. The first I believe to complaint is Isiah Thomas providing commentary on NBA TV, “He’s a young player, he should be playing tonight.” Next up it was Jalen Rose on his program Jalen & Jacoby.
Rose said; “His team (LSU) never played in the tournament why did he need rest?” At the beginning of play Simmons had experienced cramping. In addition it was Sixers Coach Brett Brown who sat Simmons down. There are times coaches make decisions, we might not agree but it’s their decision. In this instance why the critical remarks when the player apparently was not the decision maker.
“Shock Jocks”
According to Wikipedia a short definition of a shock jock; “Is a type of radio broadcaster or disk jockey who entertains listeners or attracts attention using humor and/or melodramatic exaggeration that some portion of the listening audience might find offensive.” How do you express yourself without becoming wrapped in turmoil? I honestly don’t have an answer however I continued to be annoyed by those in sports who believe it’s necessary to shock to either be controversial or for rating purposes.
Fox Sports 1 has teamed two of these types together Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock formally of ESPN. I suggest you check them out and see how quickly they become annoying. On the other hand I could be completely wrong; you could be fans of the two I can‘t help but believe we have a Tweedledum and Tweedledee combo. According to Dictionary.com the definition is; “Two persons or things nominally different but practically the same; a nearly identical pair.” I believe that definition says it all.
Maybe another
On June 16 we discussed the island nation of The Bahamas; we mentioned Buddy Hield would hear his name announced by Commissioner Silver. It was also noted Hield would become the fourth NBA player from this island nation. Well there could be a fifth one in a few more years. DeAndre Ayton lives in San Diego but was born in The Bahamas his family later moved to the U.S.
He’s a 7-foot 235 pound center now living in Phoenix having transferred to Hillcrest Prep Academy his junior year. Did I mention he’s a 5-star prospect and number one in Rivals Class of 2017? The usual suspects are at the top of his list Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and others. Ayton’s made no commitment to date where he’s headed. There will be continued news on this outstanding prospect.
Excited
Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak indicted he’s excited with Ivica Zubac, somehow this youngster slipped into the second round. Check the mock drafts of NBADraft.net and DraftExpress.com. Zubac was listed as number 16 and 27 pick respectively on each site. This is the disclaimer watching him in action in the Summer League is not the real NBA but there are an abundance of positives in his game. He runs the floor fairly well for a player who checks in at 265 pounds; his free-throw shooting is good for a big man.
Zubac moves his feet on defense and blocks shots, his offensive game will grow however he’s got a decent jump hook. He finished summer league play with a game of 16 points 11 rebounds and 6 blocked shots; he shot 62% from the floor for the summer. The only problem I remain unsure how to pronounce his name, play by play announcers and interviewers seem to pronounce his name differently each time I hear it. Mitch and I both are excited with the prospect of training camp.
