Basketball from a fan’s perspective
69% from the line
Was this a big man shooting free throws….no it was Dennis Smith Jr. point guard of the Mavs. There was a time especially in the NBA past a few quality big men were regarded as poor free-throw shooters. In fact, the “Hack-a-Shaq” or intentionally fouling of an opposing player has come into vogue. I’m not sure of the circumstances surrounding this change however poor shooting from the line has extended to guards. The analysts for the Mavs game versus the Beijing Ducks said, “As much as Smith handles the ball he’s got to improve his shot.” I always return to the Rick Barry school of thought, it’s a FREE-THROW.
No one is contesting your shot, all that’s necessary is
to step to the line and make the shot, simple isn’t it? Some of the best free-throw shooters in NBA
history were automatic from the line.
Steph Curry is the current active leader at .9033, J.J. Redick at .8900 is in second place. Steve Nash who finished his sterling career
with the Lakers shot .9043, Barry certainly was a leader in the department but
for his career shot .8998. Over the
course of time I’ve heard or read all types of excuses for a poor free-throw
shooter. For you Dennis Smith Jr. fans
I’m not picking on him I’m only pointing out if you are not good practice,
practice, and more practice.
In Kansas City we are 350 road miles and a 5-hour drive from Oklahoma City, but the NBA considers us in the blackout envelope. Then I began to consider, $18.00 a month is a small amount of money, with LeBron James on the Lakers it’s likely games against major opponents are going to be on TNT/ESPN/ABC. Those networks are part of my standard cable bill, then I thought “ESPN, ABC, CBS Broadcast, CBS Sports Network and Fox have large numbers of college games on nearly every evening and weekends.” What do I do, there are not enough hours in the day (or opportunity) to view this much basketball. So, you see my dilemma, I must choose between two equally unpleasant courses of action maybe.
"Caught between a rock and a hard place"
I’ve heard the phrase since I was a pre-teen, what is it stating? I consulted the net for a definition, “If you are caught between a rock and a hard place, you are in a difficult situation where you have to choose between two equally unpleasant courses of action.” I’m not sure that best describes my situation but allow me to explain. Maybe the new platform rolled out by NBA League Pass is not new, it’s new to me. Compacted version of the story, I can just subscribe to Laker games only for $18 a month home and away except Thunder games.
In the same game
I was anxious to see Luka Doncic in action, contractual
issues forced him to view Summer League games from the sidelines. One game fails to make a career or season for
that matter, but the nation waited to see him.
In the Mavs-Beijing Ducks game Doncic demonstrated the skill many
believe he possessed. He managed to fill up the box, scoring 15
points on 5 for 7 from the floor, grabbed 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. The only negative Doncic was 3 out of 6 from the free-throw line. He looked much older than his 19-years he
appeared comfortable i.e. a veteran presence on the court. You’ve read about rookies hitting the wall in
January, that’s the time the college basketball season has concluded. NBA rookies tend to become fatigued, this
might not occur with Doncic since he is accustomed to playing an extended
season in Euro basketball.
I'm not correct.....
But sometimes I’m on target. A website Fansided and Joey Loose wrote a piece titled, “NCAA Basketball: Top 10 worst coaching hires of the last decade”. The number five worst hire on his list was that of Kim Anderson at Mizzou. I’m not going to steal from his account, the only thing I wanted you to be aware on a national scope Loose believed the Anderson hire made his list. I was just as curious for his top choice as you might be, without further ado his choice.
I'm not correct.....
But sometimes I’m on target. A website Fansided and Joey Loose wrote a piece titled, “NCAA Basketball: Top 10 worst coaching hires of the last decade”. The number five worst hire on his list was that of Kim Anderson at Mizzou. I’m not going to steal from his account, the only thing I wanted you to be aware on a national scope Loose believed the Anderson hire made his list. I was just as curious for his top choice as you might be, without further ado his choice.
Mike Rice Jr. at Rutgers was his pick, interesting in that under his leadership Robert Morris compiled an exemplary record under his leadership. As for his tenure at Rutgers, well that was a completely different matter. A video surfaced of him berating his players in practice? In addition, it was uncovered Rice had a record of “berating, pushing, kicking, cursing, using homophobic slurs, and throwing basketballs at his players.” The governor of New Jersey and the State Assembly Speaker called for Rice to be fired, the following day Rutgers fired Rice.
Mike Rice Jr. at Rutgers was his pick, interesting in that under his leadership Robert Morris compiled an exemplary record under his leadership. As for his tenure at Rutgers, well that was a completely different matter. A video surfaced of him berating his players in practice? In addition, it was uncovered Rice had a record of “berating, pushing, kicking, cursing, using homophobic slurs, and throwing basketballs at his players.” The governor of New Jersey and the State Assembly Speaker called for Rice to be fired, the following day Rutgers fired Rice.
