Basketball from a fans perspective
Free-throw shooting
Anytime the discussion of free-throw shooting occurs Rick Barry’s name always becomes part of the conversation. Barry shot .8998 in the NBA; during his 4 years in the ABA it was .8798. In 1978-79 season with the Rockets he shot .947 his highest percentage during his career. Barry’s been invisible for awhile but he surfaced recently in a New York Life Insurance television commercial.
“New York Life is consistent as my free-throw shooting etc. etc.” as Barry discusses the advantage of during business with New York Life. During the 31 second commercial Barry is shooting at the basket under underhanded, granny style. Shooting free throws in this manner is unconventional however it works Barry is proof.
Hmmmm…….
The playoff bound Cavs rest their big three against the playoff bound Clippers on Saturday night. Clippers win 108-78 with LeBron, Irving and Love on the bench. The three play on Sunday evening against the last place Lakers beating them 125-120. It was a back to back but still an interesting coaching decision, you "rest" players against a contending team.
Father no’s best
The above is intended to poke fun at the title of a ‘50’s television series titled Father Knows Best, which appears to not be LaVar Ball’s strong suit. He’s shared almost as much on himself with the public as his three sons. The elder Ball is a proud father and well he should be he’s got basketball talented sons he’s trained since they were youngsters.
Is the father placing too much pressure on his progeny? As an example at this point in time it appears Lonzo is the only legitimate NBA prospect. The middle and youngest brother have only proven their skill against high school opposition. Stop talking about $ billion dollar shoe contracts and comparing your sons’ skill to that of Steph Curry, it reaches a point where it becomes strictly noise.
No do-over
We often wish to repeat something hoping for a better outcome. Most times there is no such thing as a do-over. The Sunday night topic on one of the local sports programs: “Did Mizzou and Kansas State miss the boat on hiring Brad Underwood? “ Is this a valid question, no one expected Underwood to bolt for Illinois after but one season on the job? There is no doubt Underwood has proven to be a good coach over a short-period of time. .
At Kansas State Bruce Weber has been under fire for years with the faithful despite mostly winning basketball. Although they haven’t advanced very far K-State has play in the post season 3 out of the 5 years under Weber. In addition he cannot beat arch rival Kansas which surely upsets a number of the schools fans. As for Mizzou that’s a completely different story, Underwood never appeared to be in their coaching search. As I stated above nobody (including Mizzou) probably believed Underwood was searching for another job.
She’s in a good place
Dr. Buss knew something about his sons’ Johnny and Jimmy that is just now becoming public four years after his death. The brothers conspired to circumvent their sister and were likely attempting to sell their share in the team. According to the trust Dr. Buss generated before his death he indicated a desire for Jeanie to run the team. A 39-page trust written by him places his daughter clearly in the “drivers’ seat.”
I’m no legal expert just reading the opinions of attorneys familiar with trusts. The following is just a line or two from the document. *“The trustees shall take whatever actions are reasonably available to them to have Jeanie M. Buss appointed as the new Controlling Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc.” We can only guess the brothers’ intention however they might have believed they could dissolve the trust
*Los Angeles Times
