Basketball from a fans perspective
Speak in a manner I understand
Since I’ve been old
enough I’ve realized I hate no dislike folks who always desire to appear
the smartest person in the room. I’ve
concluded Stephen A. Smith is one of those guys, always guilty of using words far
outside the realm of sports talk. Years ago,
my high school journalism teacher said; “You need to write on the level of an 8th
grade student reading your article that will ensure your story is easily
understood.” I would believe those words
of wisdom apply to the spoken word as well.
Today on First Take
during a portion of the program held a discussion regarding LaVar Ball. Smith
used the word: “Bloviate” in his sentence. Much later Smith used the word "Monetizing" when mentioning another story. Merriam-Webster defines the word bloviate as “to speak or
write verbosely and windily.” As for monetizing
there are three definitions; I believe the one that fits the sentence: “to utilize
(something of value) as a source of profit”. If you didn’t know the definition prior to reading the words after
some thought don’ t you think he might have used an easier understandable
word?
Lakers snapped 14-game winning streak
The Lakers marched
into the Toyota Center and beat the Rockets as their own game…. scoring. The final score read 122-116 but it wasn’t
quite as close as it appears. Kyle Kuzma
led the way scoring a season and career high 38 points, he was assisted by a
team effort as five other players finished in double-figures. The Beard scored 51 points and was his usual
self however the balance of the Rockets decided to remain at home minus the
injured Clint Capela.
Its own
You asked what’s
own, it’s the annual Braggin’ Rights game between Mizzou and Illinois. The game will be
played December 23 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, late reports indicate
the 22,000-seat arena is sold out.
Mizzou after a tough win against Stephen F. Austin is 10-2, Illinois
stands 8-5. A few notes of interest,
this annual event was first played in 1980, Illinois holds the all-time lead
with 21 victories compared to 12 for Mizzou.
I’ve never attended the game however the television picture is quite
interesting because its clear which side of the arena is rooting for Illinois
and which side is Mizzou.
Let’s wait awhile
The comment came
from Sixers Coach Brett Brown after their December 7th game against the Lakers. “Reminds
you of a young (Kevin) Durant” was his comment.
Although we certainly have witnessed improved play on the part of
Brandon Ingram I’m not ready to make a comparison to Durant quite yet. The comparison to Durant is easy to understand
both have nearly the same physical attributes arriving in the NBA plus both are
small forwards.
Durant was 6-10 at
the draft, Ingram 6-9 nearly the same height, Durant was 215 pounds (240 now)
and Ingram was 190. We have certainly
witnessed an improvement in the play of Ingram across the board as all his
numbers are up over last season. In year
two Ingram’s adjusted his game plus those other things he didn’t do well he
worked on over the summer. The other
factor to consider he’s got a more skillful passer on the court with him. D’Angelo Russell was going to look for his
shot first, Lonzo Ball is looking to distribute the basketball.
Clarification
I read the headline
and immediately thought I’d missed a date, not so. The headline indicated a university was
looking at signing a prospect this week.
We are in the middle of December had I forgotten the date I thought. For your information (and mine) the early
signing period for Division I basketball ran from November 8, 2017 to November
15. The regular period begins April 11,
2018 and runs through May 16.
