Basketball from a fans perspective            

Miz---Zou

After a sluggish start Mizzou beat a competitive Miami (OH) team at home 70-51.  The Tigers had four players in double-figures and leading the way was junior forward Kevin Puryear with 20 points.  I continue to be impressed by freshman Jeremiah Tilmon Jr., Duke’s Bagley and Arizona’s Ayton are certainly receiving more news but Tilmon is a keeper.  Over the last few games the 6-11 Tilmon has managed to limit the number of fouls called on him.  Other than no Michael Porter Jr. my only concern is turnovers.  Last year Terrence Phillips played most of the minutes at the point but is coming off the bench as the coach has a shooting guard at the point.  Michael Porter Jr. was on the bench I believe for the first-time post-surgery.  A great deal of talk about MPJr returning anywhere from late January into the early part of spring.  Mizzou is 7-2 thus far and looks far better as a team than last year this time.  

Bank robber

An acquaintance robbed a bank and you were aware and don’t report it, you are complacent you didn’t rob the bank, but you didn’t report it.  What if you knew the person but had no knowledge of their actions? Sexual assault and harassment have been much in the news over the last several months.  The issue has impacted the entertainment and political arena and now the NBA.  Harvey Weinstein has been in the news with at last count 80 some female actresses indicating sexual assault/rape. 

A civil lawsuit has been filed against Weinstein and his company, joined in the civil suit is James Dolan owner of the Knicks and Marc Lasry co-owner of the Bucks.  Both were members of Weinstein’s Board of Directors and according to the lawsuit were aware of “A pattern and practice of predatory sexual conduct toward women.”  I hope it’s understood I believe there is no room for tolerance for sexual harassment or assault period.  I once served on two boards as a volunteer, I have no idea if any improper actions were every carried on by any employee or employees.  If an incident occurred would I be liable because I served on the board member?

MASH

The NBA prior to the new year resembles an Army MASH unit, you remember the movie and television series dealing with casualties of war I hope.  These front-line players were once on a basketball court near you, most below are out until January and after, two on the list are gone for the season.  Below are just a few:     

Devin Booker-Suns

Tim Hardaway Jr.-Suns

Steph Curry-Warriors

Jusuf Nurkic-Blazers

Gordon Hayward-Celtics

D’Angelo Russell-Nets

Derrick Rose-Cavs

Paul Milsap-Nuggets

Blake Griffin-Clippers

Patrick Beverly-Clippers

I stopped at 10 players and there are additional players that could be included in this list.  Excluded were players either listed day to day or returning before the end of December.  In any event you can see a number are missing time this season. 

Did I overlook him

I worked for a marketing manager who stated; “We are moving so fast the wheels often fall off the wagon.”  That might be the case here, when profiling the NBA’s big men, I may have skipped over the Pistons Andre Drummond.  It was certainly an oversight on my part.  Just a little history Drummond left UConn after his freshman year and was drafted by the Pistons.  In his rookie year (2012-13) he would only start 10 games and his numbers were rather unspectacular.  In his sophomore year Drummond became a consistent double-double man in points and rebounds. 

It’s not just his offensive game Drummond is a steady hand on the defensive side of the court as well.  His only “kryptonite” appears to be the free-throw line where he conjures images of DeAndre Jordan or Shaquille O’Neal.  Perhaps the Pistons can “hide” the 7-foot 280-pound Drummond to not impact the outcome of a close game.  Finally, in closing the Pistons have not been very good during the time Drummond's been on the scene however so far, this season we’ve witnessed better play which might led the Pistons to a playoff berth.