Basketball from a fans perspective
Please define “fix”
As most of you are aware Isaiah Thomas now with the Nuggets played for a short period with the Lakers last season, this account is prompted by a statement Thomas made. This is the assertion by Thomas, “He doesn’t think the Los Angeles Lakers will be able to fix Lonzo Ball’s jumper.” Despite the initial negative comment, he implies Ball will only get better in time. The statements contradict one another in my mind but the focus is on the initial statement. What’s his definition of “fix” is the question?
Without research I can
remember at least two NBA players with unorthodox shooting styles. I’d have to check their rookie numbers from
the floor, Kevin Martin and Shawn Marion are the players that come to mind and both
had extensive NBA careers. The ball
managed to go in the basket most of the time for these two. I checked Ball’s single season at UCLA, he shot
55.1% from the floor and 41.2% from the 3-point line decent numbers. The Lakers are most likely not expecting Ball
to shoot at that level but certainly above what he did in his rookie year.
Kansas City Kings
Bet you didn’t realize there are several former Kansas City Kings players that remain in the NBA. Slow your roll, none are active players since the Kings left town in 1985. Mike D’Antoni’s current Rockets coach has a few coaching stops on his resume. D’Antoni was the 20th pick in the second round of the 1973 draft, he spent two seasons as a back-up guard. Larry Drew is from is Kansas City Kansas, he played at Mizzou and was drafted by the Pistons in 1980. Drew was traded to the Kings and played here and in Sacramento from 1981-1986. He’s been an assistant coach and head coach at several stops, currently he’s a Cavs assistant.
Kansas City Kings
Bet you didn’t realize there are several former Kansas City Kings players that remain in the NBA. Slow your roll, none are active players since the Kings left town in 1985. Mike D’Antoni’s current Rockets coach has a few coaching stops on his resume. D’Antoni was the 20th pick in the second round of the 1973 draft, he spent two seasons as a back-up guard. Larry Drew is from is Kansas City Kansas, he played at Mizzou and was drafted by the Pistons in 1980. Drew was traded to the Kings and played here and in Sacramento from 1981-1986. He’s been an assistant coach and head coach at several stops, currently he’s a Cavs assistant.
Another guard Ron Boone
played here from 1976-78, he’s been a long-time television analyst for the Utah
Jazz. Attorney and basketball analyst
Len Elmore played but a single season (1979-80), he can often be seen in the
role of studio co-host as well. Ernie
Grunfeld is president of basketball operations for the Wizards, from 1979-1982
he was the starting forward for the Kansas City Kings. Mike Woodson is an assistant for the Clippers
currently, he’s also served as head coach for the Hawks and Knicks. 1982-1986 he played for the Kings here and
the first season in Sacramento. Rick Adelman
left the role of coach in 2014, he was included due to his long tenure in the
NBA. He only played the 1975 season with
the Kings, there you have it, the continued connection of Kansas City with
former Kings players.
“No such thing
as bad publicity”
You might have heard the above age-old expression at some point, I don’t believe it too be true. Depending on the circumstances the public forgets but often they remember. Not only do they remember they often add the negative to the conversation when discussing an individual or the event. An example might be Louisville basketball and Rick Pitino, the coach has been terminated by the school but not much beyond that. Whatever occurs from now into the future this issue will be forthcoming by many.
You might have heard the above age-old expression at some point, I don’t believe it too be true. Depending on the circumstances the public forgets but often they remember. Not only do they remember they often add the negative to the conversation when discussing an individual or the event. An example might be Louisville basketball and Rick Pitino, the coach has been terminated by the school but not much beyond that. Whatever occurs from now into the future this issue will be forthcoming by many.
Kobe Bryant was not
convicted of rape although the mere mention of his name will cause many to
remind us of the charges in Colorado. Ron
Artest a.k.a. Metta World Peace is connected at the hip with the “Malice in the
Palace.” The brawl that erupted between
the Pacers, Pistons and several fans.
Mention the name Latrell Sprewell and you might hear, “You mean the guy
who attacked his coach?” A member of the
Warriors at the time Sprewell got into a physical altercation with head coach
P.J. Carlesimo. News of the event might subside,
but the public never, ever forgets.
Hope this ain’t me
I’ve got plenty of opinions, unlike the afternoon sports radio guy I try to restrain myself when voicing them. I’m not going to try and convince you State Line in Kansas City Road runs east-west when it runs north-south. I turned on the radio toward the end of a discussion, this paraphrases his comment. “If Jontay Porter doesn’t play well Mizzou will not have a winning season.”
Hope this ain’t me
I’ve got plenty of opinions, unlike the afternoon sports radio guy I try to restrain myself when voicing them. I’m not going to try and convince you State Line in Kansas City Road runs east-west when it runs north-south. I turned on the radio toward the end of a discussion, this paraphrases his comment. “If Jontay Porter doesn’t play well Mizzou will not have a winning season.”
It’s been mentioned I was
excited about the return of Porter and do hope for an outstanding effort on the
court. We realize expectations sometimes
fall short and that could be the case for Porter. At the same time my argument with this radio
host, you are discounting the determination of the returning players and
certainly have not factored in the freshman contribution. If I believed this radio host had workable
knowledge of the game I might say, “He could have a point.” I guess he operates in the same manner as several
in the radio/television media, they love to fire up guys like me.
