BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

The “new” Superman
It’s possible you might not have knowledge of the story, among the nicknames Shaq provided himself was “Superman.”  Several years later Dwight Howard arrived in the NBA and guess what, he anointed himself with the same nickname.  Naturally this created a feud between the two, it didn’t hurt that both centers were often matched against one another on the basketball court.  Shaq’s been retired for several years and so has Howard although he remains on the active roster of the Wizards (That was a joke).  The original Superman has passed the torch, Shaq’s given the nickname to the Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

It’s time for a change
The University of MO-Kansas City is a Division I program, more and more I’m convinced the school would be better served moving to D-II or even the NAIA level.  As mentioned previously I envisioned a UCLA, Louisville or Villanova or something similar.  An urban university with playing exciting and competitive basketball.  Unfortunately, alum, students and Kansas City has never witnessed what many hoped. 

UMKC is off to 1-8 beginning, unfortunately the prospects for improved play don’t appear on the horizon.  The WAC Conference is not tough however UMKC might be overmatched especially this season.  We’ve witnessed chancellor, athletic director and head coaching change yet there have been few changes on the court.  I will repeat my earlier statement perhaps its time to downgrade the basketball program.  Area D-II and NAIA universities and colleges appear successful why not UMKC?

The calendar is about to turn
By now most NBA teams have played at least 20 games, it’s time for our monthly check on rookies.  The draft of 2018 appears to be deep and provides an indication of the bright future for the league.  This crop of rookies is led by Luka Doncic however he’s not the only youngster in this rich class, most pointed to the fact this class would be outstanding.  There are other rookies not listed here, the focus is on the top portion to date. 

Mo Bamba, Landry Shamet or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and others remain on the threshold.  The “others”, how about last season as an example.  Most NBA fans were quite familiar with the name Ben Simmons prior to the draft.  A smaller number were aware of Donovan Mitchell of the Jazz who many believed should have been Rookie of the Year.  The point, we are familiar with the names below, which unnamed player bursts on the scene later in the season to be included?

Luka Doncic, Mavs              19.1 ppg        6.5 rebounds

DeAndre Ayton, Suns          16.4 ppg        10.4 rebounds

Trae Young, Hawks             15.9 ppg        7.6 assists

Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies   12.7 ppg       4.5 rebounds

Marvin Bagley III, Kings      12.7 ppg        6.7 rebounds

Collin Sexton, Cavs             14.7 ppg        2.5 assists

Maybe the rivalry is too recent
The rivalry between Missouri and Kansas goes far beyond sports, in the 1850’s the slavery issue and divided loyalty contributed to the animosity between the two states.  Later at the time the two began playing sports in the late 19^th Century the rivalry was born on the football field, basketball court and other sports areas.  For reasons not fully cleared the competition existed between Kansas and Missouri only.   
Kansas State is an-state foe however the rivalry really exists in football, basketball is a different subject.  In any event Mizzou and Kansas are no longer conference rivals and unlikely to play one another in football or basketball except on rare occasions.  SEC Arkansas shares a southern border with SEC Mizzou, in addition Arkansas basketball coach Mike Anderson once served as head coach at Mizzou.  I’ve believed for a while that’s the “new” rivalry to replace the one Kansas once held. 

BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

Numbers don’t always provide a true picture     
Temple whipped Mizzou 79-77 in Columbia on Tuesday evening no doubt about that, the game was not as close as the final score might indicate.  This was a game of statistics, field goal percentage, offensive rebounds and turnovers.  Mizzou outshot Temple 52% to 51.6%, rebounds Mizzou 38, Temple 25.  Offensive rebounds 11 for Mizzou and 8 for Temple along with 15 Mizzou turnovers compared to the 5 for Temple had for the game. 

Those numbers would lead you to believe Mizzou won the game and they could have however the game is more than simply numbers.  They fail to detail the blown defensive assignments, poor shot selection or turnovers which resulted in opposition points.  A graphic was displayed on our screens in the first half indicating Temple scored 12 points off Mizzou turnovers.  The box score failed to point out the number in the second half.

Moving on up
LeBron James passed the legendary Wilt Chamberlain recently, he’s now in 5^th place among the NBA’s all-time leading scorers.  We know the story, LeBron emerged from high school at age 18-years old.  If we look at the others above and behind him in the Top 25 all likely had extensive coaching except Kobe, Dirk and Moses.  In the instance of Kobe, it was likely his dad Joe Bryant as for the others it was talent alone.  Early on I admit my guilt, I probably didn’t realize the impact LeBron James would make on the NBA.  I might compare it to seeing a movie or a music recording that becomes legendary. 

Viewing LeBron in real-time I failed to acknowledge his ever-evolving greatness, I did question his will to win at a point however that’s all in the rear-view mirror and has been for a while.  Some will say “You only changing your tune because he’s a Laker now”, that’s totally incorrect.  I was pleased at the time LeBron returned to Cleveland, I was satisfied he was able to lead the Cavs to a championship.  If you check Words eye view leading up to free-agency I ignored all the speculation and stated I believed he would remain in Cleveland.  The best player in the NBA on my team of course it was quite a coup.  At this point we have no idea if LeBron will lead this version of the Lakers to a championship.  This Laker fan is pleased that he is in Los Angeles because he is a winner.  Yes, I said it, WINNER.  

Lehigh in the NBA 

Bethlehem Pennsylvania is located some 70 miles north of Philadelphia.  The city is home to Lehigh University one of the most prestigious research universities in the nation.  Despite the heavy emphasis on academics the university fields teams in   most major sports.  Over the course of time there have been 19 football players drafted in the NFL who played at Lehigh.  As for basketball that’s been a different matter, the university has produced but one (1) NBA player but he’s a good one.  Christian James McCollum or C.J. played for Lehigh from 2009-2013, he was made the 10^th pick in the first round of the 2013 draft by the Blazers.  Despite having an outstanding college career, the NBA at the beginning appeared to be slightly more difficult. 

McCollum even spent time in the D-League before returning to the Blazers.  The 2015-16 season would be the break-out year for this 6-foot 4-inch shooting guard scoring 20.8 points per game as he became a starter.  Since that time his average has never dipped below that mark.  It might be more interesting to discover McCollum wasn’t highly touted coming out of high school.  He stood but 5 feet 2 inches in his freshman year of high school, a growth spurt saw him stand 6 foot 2 and 165 pounds as a high school senior.  In conclusion McCollum proves a point, I’ve always maintained if you have a degree of talent an NBA scout is generally going to discover you no matter where you play.  We could make that same statement about his Blazer backcourt mate Damian Lillard.  Lillard played his college ball at Weber State University in Utah.

“Young” Aristotle
Shaquille O’Neal was a monster early in his NBA career, in a manner of speaking he was like Mike Tyson.  Many believed Tyson won many of his heavyweight bouts intimidating the opposition, this was true of Shaq.  Whose brave enough to stand in the lane and absorb a charge from the 325-pound freight train bearing down on you?  In November 20, 1993 his Magic team faced the Nets while they were in the Meadowlands. 

With this outstanding game the Magic only managed a two-point victory, 87-85 as for his game.  24 points okay that figure is somewhat noteworthy, his 28 rebounds that’s the beginning of an outstanding game.  The crème de la crème the 15 blocked shots yes, the figure you are reading is correct.  In this game Shaq stuffed the stat sheet that evening, 24 points 28 rebounds 15 blocks and 3 assists along with 1 steal.  In this game Shaq was close to the all-time single game record established by the Lakers Elmore Smith with 17.  Smith sat the record October 28, 1973 against the Blazers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKWs8kWPnJgBlazers.  

I don’t own the rights to this video

BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

“George Marcus”
Several basketball personalities manage to take on legendary exploits especially after they retire, the late Wilt Chamberlain is one of the numbers.  What can we say about the late great Chamberlain, it should be noted he once averaged 50 points a game in an NBA season?  He scored 100 points in a 1962 game against the Knicks, he never fouled out of game during his 14-year NBA career.  He was the all-time scoring leader for the NBA until some guy by the name of Kareem Abdul Jabbar broke his scoring record.  Quite adept at passing the basketball the prolific scoring machine decided he’d concentrate on passing.  The result Chamberlain led the NBA in assists in 1973 from the center position. 

These are but a thumbnail sketch of his NBA accomplishments but there is one more revelation many of us never knew.  My friend Eric sent me a YouTube video which caused me to go wow, I didn’t know.  It turns out while still enrolled in high school and prior to becoming a Kansas Jayhawk Chamberlain played “professional” basketball. 

The 1950's was a different time period in America, no internet no social network in fact the NBA was “minor” league insisting it was professional.  Chamberlain played for two professional teams while also playing at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia.  I’m not going to detail the record for you.  After Eric alerted me to this this event, I Googled the name George Marcus and located seven accounts of George Marcus basketball.  I read only one plus the video Eric sent, this is a most interesting development on Wilt “the Dipper” Chamberlain.  Once again providing the point, just when you think you’ve heard it all you hear (or read) one more thing.   

Don’t have it
Viewing a game on Monday evening I noticed a on crawl indicating Texas Southern and Oregon were playing.  I wanted to see local prospect Bol Bol in action once again.  My cable system offers a variety of sports channels with a question.  The question becomes do you want to pay the extra charge for the Pac-12 Network along with several other channels?  In this instance my choice was to omit the network from my list of channels.  I’m sorry now of my decision, Texas Southern defeated number 18 Oregon 89-84.  The wunderkind Bol Bol managed to score 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a losing effort.  

A rare occurrence
Mizzou basketball is played in Midwest and East Time zones which rarely conflict with Laker games.  Home games for the Lakers begin at 9:30 p.m. Central Time, for Mizzou games begin at 6:00 or 8:00 depending if it’s a road or home game.  This space allows me to view both teams however for the first time in memory there is a conflict.  Temple plays Mizzou at home, the Lakers are on the road facing the Denver Nuggets.  Both begin play at 8:00 p.m. Central Time, just in case you wondered seeing the conflict I made my decision early.  The Mizzou game will be on my TV the Laker game will be taped for later viewing.  

There is always uncertainty
Scouting an athlete takes a great deal of insight and the ability to project.  You see a youngster and must envision the prospect at the next level.  I’ve mentioned this previously a baseball scout projecting an 18-year pitcher might have the most difficult scouting assignment of all.  The task might far less difficult with basketball forecasts although impediments exist there as well, here’s an example.  In the middle of Oklahoma’s season Trae Young with the NBA Hawks slowed.  His shooting and all aspects of his game decreased in the second part of Oklahoma’s schedule.

Many raised questions regarding his NBA ability but this is not what I heard from the sports talk radio experts.  One radio host questioned if Young had the talent to play in the NBA.  An NBA scout’s report eased some concerns.  “They (NBA teams) will not be able to throw junk defenses at him in the NBA.”  So far, the scout’s been correct, we must check back in January that’s the time usually rookies began to slow.  By January they will have played the equivalent of a college season.  As for Luka Doncic and other Euro players they are more tuned into playing more than 35-40 games in a season.   

BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

The comeback

Kawhi Leonard had a unique comeback to the criticism of his former Coach Gregg Popovich.  You remember the coach said this about his former player, “He was a good player but no leader or a similar statement.  Leonard’s response, “His comments (Popovich) were funny to me.”  Leonard went on to state his position while a member of the Spurs.  I posed the question to a few friends, I received one response which I’ll share.  My friend’s response was, “No. I don't want a bunch of "leaders" on my team. That leads to players only team meetings following several losing streaks. One alpha dog per team is sufficient. i.e. to make my point is the Kobe/Shaq Lakers.”  What is your view of the coaches’ comment? 

Kansas City in Da House

Sixer rookie Landry Shamet only scored 16 points in the game, but the figure represents his high-water scoring mark to date.  Within the last past week, the question was raised “Who is the first point guard off the bench Markelle Fultz or T.J. McConnell?”  Turns out that might not be the case for either, Fultz’s status is an unknown as for McConnell he might have been displaced. 

We cannot be for sure however it appears the Kansas City rookie may have moved ahead of McConnell in the rotation.  With the uncertain future of Fultz it could be Shamet moves ahead of both, we shall see how this plays out.  The winning basket was scored by new guy Jimmy Butler with 0.4 remaining in the game and the Sixers down by a single point.  “Mr. Ice Water in his veins” scored a 3-point basket, final score Sixers 127 Nets 125.        

I wonder

Are there any residual affects remaining from the Adidas investigation and trial?  I suppose it’s a possibility, we could look at the future recruiting outlook for Kansas for basketball.  By all indications the present roster at Kansas is good and depth, they could be a Final Four contender in April 2019.  What about the future of basketball at the home of Dr. Naismith beyond this season?  We could make the statement and its certainly valid every athlete Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky recruit don’t arrive on campus. 

Check out these high-profile Rivals prospects in the Class of 2019 and where they are headed.  James Wiseman #2 in the Class of 2019 chose Memphis, #10 Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is headed to Villanova rather than Kansas where his dad played.  Texas big man Will Baker decided to remain at “home” turning down Kansas, finally guard Nico Mannion #20 chose Arizona rather than head to Kansas.  As I indicated this could be coincidental however it is interesting all the prospects were recruited by Kansas but chose somewhere else to play their college basketball.  

What’s his name? 

There is a difference in my mind between a usual name and a nickname, example.  Fat Lever played in the NBA from 1982 to 1994 for a few teams, the Nuggets is general what comes to mind.  His given name is Lafayette, according to the story at the time he and a younger sister were children his baby sister couldn’t pronounce his name.  What came out of her mouth according to the family is “Fat”, the nickname stuck.  God Shammgod grew up in New York City played his college ball at Providence and for a few NBA teams from 1997-1999. 
  

Longar Longar was a member of the Oklahoma Sooners and for a time with the Thunder.  Think weapon with this next name, Middle Tennessee State had Tommy Gunn on their roster at one time.  Stetson and Alabama State had a native American play for them, Chief Kickingstallionsims.  Some might believe Lloyd Free belongs on the list however I refuse to add his name.  He arrived in the NBA as Lloyd and some point decided to change his name to World B. Free, the same goes for Metta World Peace a.k.a. Ron Artest.  There are probably 100 or more names in all-sports omitted maybe some who played basketball, so this list represents just a few.  

Once more

Just when you think you’ve heard it all you hear one more thing.  In this instance it’s a mixed one, basketball plus a reality story that begs to be reported.  This act is certainly not binding however Kendall Jenner is not welcome in Philadelphia, well more like Wells Fargo Center.  Jenner the daughter of Bruce and Kris has been banned from Sixer games or at least that’s what the petition says.  Jenner was dating Sixer point guard Ben Simmons, but reports indicate their relationship had soured, the couple are reported to be dating again.  The petition indicates “Jenner will hinder Simmons basketball career.”  This is a first for me, I’ve never been aware of fans involving themselves in the personal life in this manner of an athlete.  As I stated at the beginning, "Just when you think you've heard it all you hear one more thing."  

BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

Curiouser and curiouser
The words above were uttered by Alice from the Lewis Carroll childhood classic Alice in Wonderland.  The series of strange events surrounding Alice caused her to make the statement, curiouser and curiouser however that could easily be us.  The developments surrounding Sixer guard Markelle Fultz are certainly cause for scratching our heads.  You might remember he announced he was leaving the team to have his wrist medically evaluated.  That was okay except GM Elton Brand and Coach Brett Brown indicated they were unaware of this development.  Later it was reported Fultz wanted the Sixers to trade him, then his agent claimed that was just a rumor.  Once again, it’s been reported Fultz wants another team to begin his NBA career.  Are you confused yet, if not that’s good because I certainly am perplexed.    

Top 25
This is written Sunday afternoon, I believe the AP poll comes out tonight.  An acquaintance (Kansas grad) cornered me this morning.  “Why are they moving Gonzaga ahead of my Jayhawks?  You need to write about it in your blog.”  My quick statement to Larry, “It’s perception.”  I could not convince anyone number three Gonzaga (before the vote) is better than number two Kansas.   

Gonzaga beating Duke might be more impressive to voters than Kansas defeating number 10 Michigan State and number five Tennessee.  At least two sites have already awarded Gonzaga the top position.  I will repeat my earlier statement, polls are good for bragging rights for alum and fans of a school.  They serve no other purpose, the poll that’s most important is the one conducted as play concludes the first Monday in April.

“The ball is MINE!”
We’ve read you cannot teach an athlete to rebound, that doesn’t mean you cannot enhance one’s skill at the craft.  A coach can teach position, angles and other attributes of rebounding the ball.  Just being tall fails to address this issue, in the past Dennis Rodman dominated the NBA in rebounding.  The 7X rebound champ stood 6 foot 7 inches tall, he did have one key advantage.  The Bulls and other teams did not depend on his offensive game, he could concentrate on rebounds.  

Shaquille O’Neal is in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame, he’s there due to championship basketball played much of his NBA career.  Shaq despite his 350 plus pounds and 7-foot 1-inch frame was just slightly above average in rebounds.  More recently Brook Lopez 7 foot and 270 pounds has never been adept in this area, 8.6 rebounds have been his highest career number.  This is not picking at Lopez he’s never had a “nose” for this skill.  Hassan Whiteside Heat center has the skill so does Piston center Andre Drummond, Joel Embiid is almost there.  We could include Rudy Gobert of the Jazz and the Mavs DeAndre Jordan in the discussion as well. 

In public
Former Bulls and Lakers coach Phil Jackson rarely criticized a player to the media.  The same statement could be made regarding Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.  I’ve read complaints about his coaching manner from one former player however that’s about it.  Whenever Pop makes a public statement, we should note it.  In this instance it was former Spurs player Kawhi Leonard.  Questioned about roles on the Spurs this was his response. 

"Kawhi was a great player, but he wasn't a leader or anything," Popovich told reporters of Leonard, the 2014 NBA Finals MVP and two-time Defensive Player of the Year. "Manu and Patty were the leaders. Kawhi's talent will always be missed, but that leadership wasn't his deal at that time. That may come as he progresses, but Manu and Patty filled that role last year, and LaMarcus Aldridge came a long way in that regard also."* In fairness to Leonard perhaps leadership is/was never a role he desired to fulfill.  Go out play hard and with purpose, that alone might atone for lack of leadership skills. 

ESPN.com
Michael Wright
ESPN staff writer

BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

“They make their decisions”

“Never surprised with the NCAA, never,” Marshall said. “I have no idea what they look at, what they think about. They make their decisions and they’re the judge and jury and we just move on.”*  Those were the words of Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall.  In this instance Wichita State was attempting to have West Virginia transfer Teddy Allen declared eligible to play immediately. 

I have no idea of Teddy Allen’s athletic ability however the coach must have believed Allen would be a valued addition to the WSU roster.  A similar situation occurred to Mizzou in the middle of fall and two of the school’s transfers.  The NCAA said yes and no, Mark Smith transferring from Illinois could play this season as for Dru Smith from Evansville that was a different story.  Dru was forbidden to play in the 2018-19 season with no further explanation.  As coach Marshall might say, “They make their decisions and they’re the judge and jury and we just move on.”

* Wichita Eagle 

Missed opportunities

I don’t travel a great deal however I will discuss missed opportunities.  The misses are periods I’ve been in an NBA city and failed to see a game in person.  I’ve been in Atlanta several times, but it seems I’m on the road someplace else.  Once I remember being in the city but attending a seminar, my schedule was accounted for with little free time for recreation.  I was in Denver just last May, playoffs were going on but guess who wasn’t there, you got it the Nuggets.      

I was in Las Vegas two weeks before NBA Summer League play.  I have family in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, two or three times a year we travel to visit family in Texas.  At or near Thanksgiving the Mavs seem to always be on the road around that time frame.  Houston was a far different matter, I had time but was unable to secure tickets to see the Rockets play.  So, there’s my story numerous missed opportunities on my part to see an NBA game in person.  With the reduction in exhibition games Kansas City will be omitted in the future.  

How bad are they…..you decide?
I did not witness the game on television however those in attendance did.  The Celtics have stumbled out of the gate for a variety of reasons.  They have not played as a playoff level team, how bad are they…..you decide.  The Celtics were losers against the Knicks on Wednesday 117-109, as this is written the win left the Knicks with 5 wins and 14 losses

The Bahamas
Earlier I don’t remember the actual date Suns rookie DeAndre Ayton was profiled, one because he was the number one pick and two, he was from the Bahamas.  The island nation despite its small size has sent a few players into the NBA. Klay Thompson’s dad was the first, later along came Rick Fox NBA players born in the Bahamas from this island nation less than 100 miles from the Florida coast. 

There was another athlete prior to the arrival of Ayton, Chavano Ranier Hield or Buddy was drafted by the Pelicans as the 6^th pick in the first round of the 2013 draft.  Hield arrived in the NBA from the University of Oklahoma as a sharpshooting guard.  For unclear reasons Hield was traded to the Kings in the middle of his rookie year.  He would become 6^th man on his arrival with the Kings but has since moved into the starting lineup.  He’s beginning to put up numbers like those while enrolled at Oklahoma.  Is Buddy on the road to an All-Star career, only time will tell.  We can make this statement with conviction he’s good. 

You remember him, don’t you?
It’s not easy to overlook him, Tacko Fall stands 7 feet 6 inches and weighs 320 pounds.  After first considering the NBA he would later change his mind and returned to school.  Fall only managed to play 16 games in the 2017-18 season for the University of Central Florida a shoulder injury and surgery forced him out of the lineup.  He’s now in his senior year and it’s hoped he will return to his previous form.  Will the NBA come calling, that question remains a mystery however he should find employment somewhere?  If it’s not professional basketball it could be engineering his major at UCF.    

BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

1998 NBA draft
Michael Olowokandi was the number one pick that year, never heard of him, I guess a number might have a similar response.  As for Olowokandi he arrived in the NBA with star written all over him, unfortunately it was written in invisible ink.  The 5^th pick in the 1998 draft was Vince Carter chosen by the Raptors, here we are 20 years later, and Carter is still active.  He’s now a member of the Hawks; this week his dunk became the 25,000 point he’s scored in his sterling NBA career.  TNT’s Kenny Smith dubbed Carter “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” in his rookie year in the NBA.  Next stop for Carter the Naismith Hall of Fame……if he ever decides to retire.  Carter is 41 years old now and will hold another birthday party before the season concludes

Kyrie or LeBron 

Your call on this one, remember Kyrie Irving indicated he wanted to lead his own team?  That was the basis for him leaving the Cavs in free-agency for the Celtics.  I’m unsure if there was much criticism of the Kyrie move at the time except perhaps in Cleveland.  We finally hear from LeBron this season and he indicates his belief there was never an issue between the two, who should we believe?  There have been numerous occasions on record highly touted teammates were not best of friends, they came to work passed the basketball and rebounded it.  They didn’t hang out with one another after games.  Maybe that was the case for both athletes, or perhaps there might have be difficult sharing the spotlight. 

Is this the season?
Shaka Smart forced us to wake up, he compelled us to pay attention to those competitive teams he produced every season at Virginia Commonwealth.  His resume at VCU contained a sparkling 136-56 record at the time the University of Texas came a calling.  Texas finished 20-13 in Smart’s first season since then it’s been 11-22, last season it was 19-15. 

With a .500 record since his arrival in Austin is Smart on the hot seat?  Perhaps this season might be a break-out year for Texas, as this is written it’s early however, they are 5-0.  One of those wins includes an upset win of number seven North Carolina.  I believed if Smart could win at mid-major VCU the wealth of prospects in the State of Texas alone should allow for continued success for this 41-year old coach. 

The man in charge
It’s been pointed out the NBA is an “infant” league compared to other major sports.  That’s quite evident just by checking the number of men who served in a leadership position over the years.  In 2014 Adam Silver took the helm as for the others each placed his mark on the league in some manner.  The first commissioner was not Maurice Podoloff who served from 1946-1963, his title was president.  He might be considered the chief architect of what exists today.  The Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League merged during his tenure to form the National Basketball Association.  J. Walter Kennedy would be hired to replace Podoloff, from 1963-1975 Kennedy would serve as commissioner, he was the first awarded the title.  The NBA had no television contract and only nine teams, at the time he departed the league had grown to 18 teams and had gained a national television contract. 

Larry O’Brian was commissioner from 1975-1984, this was a turbulent period for the NBA, the rival ABA had drafted and signed talent that would have played in the NBA.  In addition, Rick Barry, Billy Cunningham and others left the NBA for the ABA.  Drug problems would become prevalent for some players.  Despite some of the negatives that existed during the period the ABA-NBA merger occurred under O’Brian’s watch.  David Stern would be the longest serving commissioner to date, from 1984-2014 he served in that position.  Much of what we see in front of us today is David Stern’s NBA, franchise expansion, NBA games available for viewing beyond television.  Most of all growth of the game outside the USA began during his time period as commissioner.  This is but a thumbnail sketch of all those serving as commissioner throughout the NBA’s history.  This is far too brief to provide the history of the 72-year-old league.  If you seek additional detail, there are sources available on each of the individuals profiled in this account. 

BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

Is the NBA better?
To answer the question, it might depend on who you ask, in addition one must have the ability to see the big picture.  A confirmed football and NFL fan said, “I like the NBA better than the NFL.”  I don’t believe he was adopting my sport however I understand his observation.  I mentioned, “The NBA has a better working relationship with its players than the NFL.  The NBA has experienced work stoppages but generally labor and management work out their differences.”  He said, “NFL officiating has become a joke, they made a big deal about bringing in a brand-new crew to work Monday’s game (Chiefs-Rams) and the referees were terrible.”  I stated “NBA officials have blown calls as well, they have an issue with game review. 

They will point out errors a day later a play that may have affected the outcome, I hate that.” This is one person’s opinion doesn’t make it anymore correct than anyone else.  A further discussion we mentioned NFL players kneeling and Colin Kaepernick.  I cited this (without proof) my belief “The NBA would have dealt successfully with a Colin Kaepernick situation, they would not have allowed it to drag on in the manner it has for nearly two years.”  There is no conclusion to be reached that states either of us are correct or the fact our respective leagues are better than the other.  This is simply food for thought, I don’t believe a confirmed NFL fan is suddenly going to adopt the NBA as their favorite sport and vice-versa. 

“The Undefeated”
By now you are aware I love movie trivia, cable movie channels plus TCM has allowed me to view movies across the spectrum.  “The Undefeated” was a 1969 movie starring the late John Wayne, there were a few folks who might have applied the term to the Duke triple threat of Williamson, Redding and Barrett in 2018.  It was believed after their first five games this team might go undefeated in the regular season.  Funny, somebody failed to mention this matter to Gonzaga.  On Wednesday evening the two teams faced one another in the Maui Classic Championship game.  Two points separated the winner from the loser, Gonzaga number three registered 89 points.  Duke the number one team scored 87 points. 

Okay it wasn’t an overwhelming win however a win is a win is a win.  It was pointed out Duke missed 7 shots in the final minute of the game, oh well.  Allow us to not be fixated on the victory or attempt to read anything into this if we but check history.  The Elvin Hayes Houston Cougars faced the UCLA Bruins led by Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) in the Game of the Century January 20, 1968.   UCLA was ranked the number one team in the nation while Houston was number two.  At the end of the evening it was Houston 71 UCLA 69.  The teams would later face one another in the NCAA semi-finals, the score UCLA 101 Houston 69.  Congratulations are certainly for Gonzaga however allow us to not become too excited about the win.     

Bet you didn’t know that?
Are you aware there are two Lonzo Ball’s, bet you didn’t know that?  There is the Lonzo who plays 28 minutes against the Magic and is 0 for 5 from the field scoring 0 points.  Then in the following game against the Heat he’s 1 for 6 and scores but 2 points in 22 minutes of action.  The other Lonzo, well he shoots .636 on a 7 for 11 night in 36 minutes of action. 

The “good” version of the Laker point guard scores 15 points and has 7 assists and 6 rebounds in the Lakers 109-105 victory over the Cavs.  I believe in Lonzo Ball however it appears Lonzo Ball might not believe in Lonzo Ball.  The assertive Lonzo is highly preferred over the docile Lonzo by this Laker fan.  I believe that might be the case for other Laker fans along with the coaching staff, teammates and the teams front-office. 

He said it…. not me
Kevin McHale former NBA player and head coach now works for NBA TV as an analyst.  The featured game on the network that evening was the Knicks versus the Blazers.  Asked for his assessment of the Knicks McHale didn’t mince words.  "They (Knicks) are not a very good team, their best player is sitting over there on the bench".  We know a portion of the story Kristaps Porzingis is recovering from surgery, it’s likely January before he makes an appearance.  As for the balance of the story McHale is correct but I’m the one who was fooled. 

I believed the front office change along with hiring David Fizdale would change the fortunates of the Gotham crew.  To date that’s not been the case as the lineup is ever changing the coach attempting to place a cohesive group on the floor.  It was once said a sports league must have a successful team in New York City because it’s New York.  That’s certainly no longer true, except for the 2012-13 when they finished 54-28 under Mike Woodson.  That Knicks team made the playoffs and defeated the Celtics 4 games to 2 in the first round.  Perhaps I sat the bar far too high expecting immediate results from Fizdale a coach I believe in.