Basketball from a fans perspective
He said what?
I took exception to the comment Clippers Coach Doc Rivers made on Wednesday. Discussing the upcoming summer and possible changes in the Clippers roster he wanted to explain his position. Rivers said; “I don’t know. I think they deserve a chance to win. They have built this legacy. I do believe that.” Let’s back this vehicle up a moment, nobody “deserves” to win you win by accomplishing the task in front of you it could be basketball or something else.
This is the issue for me the Clippers have been highly successful during the regular season but the playoffs, that’s been quite different. As for the “legacy” portion of Doc’s statement.
Merriam-Webster.com list several variations of the definition, this is the one that stands out. “Something that happened in the past that comes from someone in the past.” I’m not exactly sure if the Clippers have established any type of legacy. Winning 50+ games five years in a row is an accomplishment but certainly nowhere close to a legacy in my view.
“Building blocks”
A Mizzou alum used the term above to describe Cuonzo Martin. A cynic rebuked his comment by stating; “You need more than blocks you need to win on the court.” I cannot disagree with the statement however the mindset in Columbia has changed drastically since Martin’s hire. On Wednesday Kassius Robertson Canisius graduate announced he would become a Tiger.
Robertson scored at a 16.1 ppg clip last season so we know the 6-3 guard can score. The eternal optimist in me sees nothing but positives. Is Mizzou going to compete for the SEC championship next season---I doubt it. Will Mizzou be improved over last season; I believe that to be the case. All signs point to success on the basketball court next season and hopefully into the future.
The BBB world
I wrote 98% of this account before the release of the Lonzo Ball shoe. As many might be aware Lonzo Ball now has his own shoe manufactured by his family brand BBB. That’s just the latest development in the story of LaVar Ball and his effort to move into the circle of big time players. After being informed there was little interest in the BBB brand LaVar Ball has decided in favor of taking his marketing plan elsewhere. Reports are he’s exploring a Chinese company or some of the smaller American companies to work a deal. The same scenario applies Ball wants to launch his own shoe and apparel line (which he might have done) however any smaller companies might be less inclined to pay big bucks than Nike, Adidas and Reebok.
I have no issues with LaVar Ball attempting to sell his brand the issue is the manner he is conducting business. In addition there is the price point; Ball indicates he wants to price his shoe at $200. (It’s now reported the Lonzo Ball will retail at $495) the Nike LeBron retails for $220, LeBron sales on name alone can Ball expect the same for his shoe? In addition I don’t believe there is a corporation anywhere which allows you to dictate terms to them on an unproven commodity. Yes I said unproven, as stated previously we believe Lonzo can play in the NBA however that’s yet to be proven. We toss in an unproven college freshmen and a high school junior to the mix and you say you demanding $1 billion dollars.
Basketball in the Great North
Although fairly new there is professional basketball in Canada. The National Basketball League of Canada or NBLC just completed its sixth season of operation. There are a total of 10 teams 5 in the Atlantic Division and 5 in the Central Division. We have the Halifax Hurricanes and the Windsor Express just to name teams from the divisions. In the same manner the NBA has several Canadian players the NBLC has American players. The league season consists of 40 games and the season runs from December to April 30th.
