Basketball from a fans perspective
Outstanding (individual) season
In the 1961-62 season the Cincinnati Royals (today’s Kings) finished 6 games over .500 at 43-37. They had the incomparable Oscar Robertson the Big O playing for them. That 61-62 season would witness the Big O with triple-double games for the season the first time it was ever accomplished. Despite the talent he demonstrated on court he was unable to raise his team much above .500. The 2016-17 season would witness another triple-double player Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook is the offense for the Thunder similar to what might have occurred in the Big O's day. As this is written on December 20th the won-loss record for the Thunder parallels that of the Royals (16-12).
Far from losers
If we talked to a basketball fan in 1970 about the American Basketball Association their response would have changed by 1976. In 1976 the NBA and four ABA teams became one league with a merger. The ABA players with the folded teams were placed in a pool and a draft was held where NBA teams chose them. The finances of the upstart ABA would never be comparable to the better established NBA; there was no national television contract. In 1967 the first year of the American Basketball Association the league was little more than minor league basketball. The league would remain minor for several more years.
The NBA remained the destination of choice however a number of very talented players would chose the ABA over the NBA, for many under the age of 35 the ABA represents an after thought. In addition to the infusion of talent the league brought a fast-pace style of basketball and the 3-point basket to the NBA. Some of the names have been mentioned in the past but are worth repeating. Dr. J., George Gervin, Roger Brown, Mel Daniels and Artis Gilmore are just a few of the names. Three of the names mentioned had lengthy careers for us to witness their play in the NBA. Because all the ABA teams were not added at the time of the merger the league might appear as losers. Far from it the NBA would not be what it is today without the American Basketball Association.
Bits n Pieces
Don’t make me laugh, did you read J.R. Smith wanted to know if he and LeBron James had any eligibility left to play football. LeBron I could see he played football in high school and might take his talent to the football field. The stats indicate Smith is 6-6 and checks in at 225 pounds certainly he’s got the size---trust me he doesn’t want to play college football.
I wrote there were few characters left in sports anymore I forgot J.R. Smith who is hold over from an earlier period of time. Recently he conducted an interview in the Cavs locker room with a hoodie on and a ski mask, guess it must have been too cold for him. In a game against the Bucks he walked off the floor to hug Jason Terry, in the mean time the opponent he was supposed to be guarding scored a basket on an uncontested lay-up.
I hate movie sequels even television spin-offs of movies. After seeing the theatre version of Lethal Weapon or Stargate as an example a television series in my opinion just doesn’t do justice to the original. We continue to read and hear Hollywood is talking about filming Space Jam 2. The original released in 1996 starred Michael Jordan, Bill Murray, Charles Barkley and a host of then active NBA players. Space Jam 2 is reported to star LeBron James, yuck the original Space Jam broke new ground the sequel would be just a copy.
Somewhere in Philadelphia the name Sam Hinkie will cause many profanities to be uttered. Hinkie was the general manager of the Sixers for several years; he was accused by many in the media of stockpiling draft choices rather than placing a competitive team on the floor. It was said he had no idea of improving the fortunate’s of the Sixers. If we really think about it does that observation really make good sense? Nobody and I state nobody wants to be viewed as a failure in performance of the task in front of them Hinkie included.
