BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE
Service Academies
The services academies do what they do, produce Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Coast Guard officers. As for competitive sports the schools have been more successful on the football field than the basketball court in producing pro athletes. At the same time there are names you probably didn’t associate with the service academies. Leading off, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was a guard on his Air Force Academy team before moving into the coaching ranks.
The services academies do what they do, produce Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Coast Guard officers. As for competitive sports the schools have been more successful on the football field than the basketball court in producing pro athletes. At the same time there are names you probably didn’t associate with the service academies. Leading off, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was a guard on his Air Force Academy team before moving into the coaching ranks.
Former coach Bobby Knight played at Ohio
State but once coached the Army team at West Point. Duke Coach K. a West Point graduate played
for Knight, both are in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame and
Popovich will soon be. David Robinson a
graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis was too tall (7 feet) for submarine
service. It turns out the future Spurs
player was 6 foot 7 inches at the time he entered the academy. Robinson has also been enshrined in the
Naismith Hall of Fame.
NBA ready?
The Magic beat the Bulls 97-91 on Thursday but that was secondary to the location of the game. The site of the game the 22,300 seat Arena Ciudad de Mexico which opened in the last several years. I was curious on the attendance but couldn’t locate figures by the time this report is published. Commissioner Silver in attendance at the game praised the arena which opened in 2013, the NBA loves new arenas.
So far NBA games have only been played in Mexico City although Silver desires to see games throughout Latin America. Who knows maybe Latin America is the key to international expansion, travel and time zones are much closer to those in the United States. In any event the Magic remain in Mexico City and the Jazz journey southward to face them. This game continues the trend as the NBA test-markets its game for a Latin audience. The two most popular NBA teams in Mexico City according to reports are the Bulls and the Lakers.
Proof stats sometimes don't provide a true picture
The Rockets beat my Lakers 126-111 behind the 50 points scored by James Harden. If we simply looked at the numbers except rebounds, we might believe the Lakers won. The Lakers outshot the Rockets 53.8% to 49.4, the turnovers were even (13 for the Lakers 14 for the Rockets). The home team managed to out rebound the Lakers 43-31 but that’s about it. Whoever was watching James Harden contributed to the loss, 50 points.
The Magic beat the Bulls 97-91 on Thursday but that was secondary to the location of the game. The site of the game the 22,300 seat Arena Ciudad de Mexico which opened in the last several years. I was curious on the attendance but couldn’t locate figures by the time this report is published. Commissioner Silver in attendance at the game praised the arena which opened in 2013, the NBA loves new arenas.
So far NBA games have only been played in Mexico City although Silver desires to see games throughout Latin America. Who knows maybe Latin America is the key to international expansion, travel and time zones are much closer to those in the United States. In any event the Magic remain in Mexico City and the Jazz journey southward to face them. This game continues the trend as the NBA test-markets its game for a Latin audience. The two most popular NBA teams in Mexico City according to reports are the Bulls and the Lakers.
Proof stats sometimes don't provide a true picture
The Rockets beat my Lakers 126-111 behind the 50 points scored by James Harden. If we simply looked at the numbers except rebounds, we might believe the Lakers won. The Lakers outshot the Rockets 53.8% to 49.4, the turnovers were even (13 for the Lakers 14 for the Rockets). The home team managed to out rebound the Lakers 43-31 but that’s about it. Whoever was watching James Harden contributed to the loss, 50 points.
Allow me to introduce Brett Brown
I didn’t know much about Sixer coach Brett Brown, so I decided to check his bio. The 57-year old Brown played at Boston University graduating in 1983. He immediately became an assistant coach and in 1988 located to Australia having several coaching stops. He went to work for the Spurs and then returned to the land down under before returning to the Spurs and Gregg Popovich’s staff.
I didn’t know much about Sixer coach Brett Brown, so I decided to check his bio. The 57-year old Brown played at Boston University graduating in 1983. He immediately became an assistant coach and in 1988 located to Australia having several coaching stops. He went to work for the Spurs and then returned to the land down under before returning to the Spurs and Gregg Popovich’s staff.
In 2013 he was named head coach of the Sixers,
the “Trust the Process”
beginning. 19, 18-and 10-wins total each
of the first three seasons, in 2016-17 the Sixers won 28 games. Last season was a break-out year as the
Sixers won 52 games during the regular season earning a playoff spot. A portion of the losing was drafting talent
that either didn’t work out (Jahlil Okafor) or injuries impacted upward bound
progress (Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons).
With LeBron now in the west the Sixers are legitimate candidates for the
Eastern Conference crown led by their coach Brett Brown.
