The truth is more elusive than fiction
We begin our tale with a
basketball program that’s been on life support for the past several years. Somehow the number one high school prospect in
the nation decides he wants to play for your school, there is much joy and
merriment throughout the land. The talented
player leads the team to an NCAA championship and all is well.
That was the fictional story
how about the non-fiction version of the same story. Michael Porter Jr. the nations number one high
school prospect in the nation was supposed to lead Mizzou to the promised
land. The “injury” that only allowed Porter
Jr. two minutes on the court is season ending.
Mizzou announced the youngster will require back surgery and is likely sidelined
for the season.
There is good news in this story, this type of medical condition is not career ending, the unwelcome news portion he will NEVER play competitively for Mizzou. With The prospect of an NBA career it will extremely unlikely he returns for his sophomore year and risk another injury? It’s now time for the coach to gather his troops and get them focused again, no wonder they played in such a funk against Division II Emporia State on Monday night.
As for the balance of the
season there remains promise even without Porter Jr. Despite the last game Mizzou has played much
better than last season. As for next
season one list of prospects has Mizzou listed at 45 and another at 90. Considering there are 400+ Division I programs across the nation that places the Tigers in the upper half if these prospects pan out and the
freshmen this season become quality sophomores.
They are not this bad
This is written after the
Clippers lose to the Knicks. It was
pointed out on SportsCenter the Knicks win was the
first over the Clippers since 2012, imagine that they have been unable to beat the Clippers for the last five years. The Knicks have
played improved basketball I’ve written as much earlier. The Clippers are certainly a better team, but
the loss last night makes nine in a row.
This is a streak not seen since before Chris Paul arrived however its
more than Paul gone.
Sometimes I believe the mix of
a team is talented enough to win more than they loss. At the same time, they are not good enough to
win a championship that’s where I believe the Clippers sit. I read a later from a fan “about injuries”
which certainly are part of the game.
Danilo Gallinari is one of those talents who is sidelined, the guy is talented,
but he’s had an injury plagued career in Denver and now Los Angeles. Patrick Beverly also injured returned to the
lineup hopefully Doc Rivers will conclude his son is strictly a back-up player
and not starting material.
Say what
Now and again you come across
something that makes you go……...hmmmmmmm. I was once taught “You must write on a
middle school level no matter the subject.”
The belief was at that level your thoughts would be easy to digest. The same thought process applies in the
sports world too. I read an article
about an NBA player in the publication Deadspin
and there it was the word; vestigial. Phonetically it’s pronounced
ves-ti-gial.
Poor me I had no definition for
the word, according to Merriam-Webster the word has three definitions and I
believe this one represents the basketball player I was reading about. “Remaining
in a form that is small or imperfectly developed and not able to function: being or having the form
of a vestige.” You figure how that
relates to basketball I can’t, yes, I understand the meaning of the word but
how its connected is a mystery to me.
How about asking first
I’m unsure how to refer to
former Knicks great Bernard King. I'll just say he was one of the all-time Knick greats. King finished his career 345 points shy of
scoring 20,000 points, he might have eclipsed the mark if not for an
injury. King suffered a devastating
injury that forced him to miss the 1985-86 season.
Years after his retirement King
was honored with his enshrinement in the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Interviewed about his forthcoming book King
was singing the praises of Kristaps Porzingis.
He said; “I’d never seen a player 7-3 that can hit 3-point shots the way
he does.” Stephen A. Smith continues to
inform us of his NBA connections I wonder why he didn’t ask first about
Porzingis before his classic 2015 complaint about the Knicks decision.
Best Defense
Chris Paul selected All Defense
First Team for six consecutive seasons, Draymond Green’s also a first team
member for the last three seasons. We could
add the names of Tony Allen and Kawhi Leonard to this discussion. NBA players who can score but are good to
great limiting the opposition in scoring.
Don’t fool yourself NBA teams
do indeed play defense despite the belief of many casual observers of the
game. It was said Magic Johnson wasn’t a
great defender however he played enormous team defense. Magic was able to move his feet to cover
areas of the court aiding his Laker teammates in playing defense. So, add it up the intangibles and you discover
there is more to defense other than blocking shots. Every season the NBA selects a first, second
and third team who earns the honor in 2018?
