“When it rains it pours”
You may be familiar
with the headline, it simply means when one dreadful thing occurs a second (or
third) often follows. You know the
series of events for Isaiah Thomas. As
the Celtics made their playoff run an injury forced him out of the lineup, then
in August 2017 he along with others was traded to the Cavs for Kyrie
Irving. It didn’t stop there, Thomas was
unable to play until the first of the year.
From there it appeared he and Cavs forward LeBron James bumped heads, at
the trade deadline in February Thomas was traded to the Lakers. He’s been forced to the sidelines once again,
he will have arthroscopic surgery on Thursday.
Thomas is coming up on free-agency, how will that affect his chances is
unknown.
Stephen A. Smith makes
some incredibly strange statements at times, Wednesday morning proved no
different. The Cavs experienced a beat down 98-79 to the Heat, according to
Smith the Cavs were losers because they were out experiencing the night life of
South Beach. The Cavs like other NBA
teams are comprised of grown men with plenty of disposable income. Despite the fact they have plenty of money
they also have the responsibility of playing at the top of their game. Smith is trying to persuade us the party
aspects were the reason for the Cavs losing in a blow-out. Who is Stephen A. Smith and who is he trying to persuade his version of this issue is correct, it certainly ain't me.
Bits n Pieces
The National Letter of Intent period for basketball players is fast approaching. It begins April 11 and for Division I teams ends May 16, Division II schools have a longer time-period their expiration date is August 1. All those verbal commitments become official at the time the player signs his name on the dotted line.
I believe it was
ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla who made the statement.
He was the analyst for another game but during a lull in action he and
his broadcast partner held a brief discussion on freshman big men. Fraschilla said: “Marvin Bagley III (Duke)
will be a center at the next level.”
Bagley stands 6 feet 11 inches but checks in at 234 pounds. Fraschilla is one of those in who’s word I
take stock.
We know why Lonzo
Ball doesn’t drive to the basket as most do…. poor free-throw shooting. It’s likely he’s afraid of the line and
embarrassing himself. With the departure
of Shaq fans probably believed they had seen the last Laker to shoot poorly
from the line, not so as this is written Ball is at 46%. This is difficult to believe Shaq never shot
that low in any of the years he was with the Lakers.
The case of the
disappearing white player in the NBA was discussed by ESPN’s Jeremy
Schaap. He addressed the subject with
Jerry West, Wayne Embry and Mike Dunleavy Sr., three former players and NBA
executives. It was pointed out the number
of American white players drafted in the NBA has steadily declined gone over
the last 20 or so years while the number of white European players has
continued to rise significantly. See it
and draw your own conclusions for the decline in white American players.
I hope I’m not too tough
A friend took an
exception to my column on LiAngelo Ball.
I have often said I’m just a fan, in addition I attempt to base my conclusions
on NBA scouts, coaches and others with expertise. If you didn’t read my account I said:
“G-League or Europe for Ball”. On the
other hand, it might be beneficial for Ball to not be drafted. He could seek out an NBA team of his choice (not
the Lakers) and earn a roster position.
I believe what I read and hear regarding Ball and will stick to my
conclusions until proven wrong.
