Basketball from a fans perspective
Published Monday through Friday
On really!
In a surprising news story we discover Steve Ballmer is not pleased. It seems no matter how good his Clippers perform on the court they still rank second in the hearts and minds of most Angelino’s. There are several reasons why I believe the Clippers are in second place these are but three that come to mind almost immediately.
A. 16 NBA Laker Championships
B. Sub par Clipper play until recent years
C. Sharing Staples Center
I’ve made this statement in the past and it bears repeating. I believe Ballmer might still reside in the Seattle Metro from his days as chief executive officer of Microsoft. The answer is simple Ballmer should move the Clippers to Seattle his team would become the only NBA team in town.
No…….Joe please no
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is the NCAA Tournament guru I’ve listened over the years as he’s discussed which teams which are tournament bound. I’ve never had an occasion to disagree with him until NOW. ESPN’s NCAAM page contains a story written by Lunardi indicating the tournament should be expanded to 72 teams.
In 2011 the tournament field was expanded to 68 but why the additional 4 teams are required. One of the concerns mentioned was the increase numbers of teams moving to the Division I level. The NIT once a prestige post-season tournament is no longer what it once was. I’m not going to attempt to convince you to my side read Lunardi’s account and make your own judgment.
What’s the plan?
Change is forthcoming we are just not sure exactly when, it appears at some point the one n done will become history as the NBA adapts a new rule. Commissioner Silver appears to favor change of the one year out of high school or age 19. Silver will likely receive push-back from the NBA Players Association. The proposal is to allow high school athletes in the draft once again. If an athlete chooses to attend college he must remain in school a minimum of two years.
The present rule has a number of college coaches (and fans) upset. It’s been reported several athletes headed to the NBA have failed to even show up for their spring classes. I’ve heard no one except former Coach and analyst Bobby Knight claim this to be true. To a lesser degree the change could prove beneficial to the NBA as well. Scouts do an excellent job of assessing talent however this change with two years of college basketball would ensure a prospect played more than 30 games before attempting to commence an NBA career. What do you think?
Can he play?
On more than one occasion I’ve mentioned I don’t know Euro players. 99% of them I’ve never seen play until they make an NBA roster. Every year I make the same pledge and fail to follow through, my objective is to follow Euro basketball games anytime they are featured on NBA TV. I might have stated earlier I have no idea if 2017 draft pick Frank Ntilikina has an NBA game.
Scouting reports indicate he does but game action against competition will be the determining factor. Hopefully the Knicks have the point guard they need if not now for the future. I could have made the same statement about Kristaps Porzingis, in the instance of both. I knew their names but had no idea if they could play. Two years later we know Porzingis can play we can make the statement despite the poor won-loss record of the Knicks.
