What do I know?
You might remember my statement, I said after watching Tacko Fall for the last three years I believed the NBA was not in his future. The 7-foot 6-inch Fall certainly has progressed but not enough in my mind, I stated but maybe he could find employment in Europe. Well Wednesday evening versus Temple Fall registered 16 points 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Analyst Brooke Weisbrod said at a point, “Fall will play at the next level” without further elaboration. For the time being I will stick to my earlier assessment, despite standing 7 foot 6 inches and 310 pounds I will be surprised if it’s the NBA for Fall.
You might remember my statement, I said after watching Tacko Fall for the last three years I believed the NBA was not in his future. The 7-foot 6-inch Fall certainly has progressed but not enough in my mind, I stated but maybe he could find employment in Europe. Well Wednesday evening versus Temple Fall registered 16 points 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Analyst Brooke Weisbrod said at a point, “Fall will play at the next level” without further elaboration. For the time being I will stick to my earlier assessment, despite standing 7 foot 6 inches and 310 pounds I will be surprised if it’s the NBA for Fall.
Filling up the stat
sheet
Tuesday evening witnessed two stat stuffing performances in the NBA. The first occurred in a 113-108 Blazer victory over the Kings. Blazer center Jusuf Nurkić shot .500 from the floor with 24 points, 23 rebounds 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. He becomes only the 6th player in NBA history to join the “5 X 5” club, outstanding. Meanwhile in Denver Nikola Jokić of the Nuggets was also busy in his teams 115-108 victory over the Knicks.
Tuesday evening witnessed two stat stuffing performances in the NBA. The first occurred in a 113-108 Blazer victory over the Kings. Blazer center Jusuf Nurkić shot .500 from the floor with 24 points, 23 rebounds 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. He becomes only the 6th player in NBA history to join the “5 X 5” club, outstanding. Meanwhile in Denver Nikola Jokić of the Nuggets was also busy in his teams 115-108 victory over the Knicks.
Jokic’s stat line read, 19 points, 15 assists and 14
rebounds…he also managed to shoot .500 from the floor. Is there something going
on unforeseen by the experts, they persist in discussing the evolution of “small-ball”, this has come about due to
the success of the Warriors and to a degree the Cavs. Winning successfully without a dominate big
man however Nurkic and Jokic are both centers and stand over 7 feet tall. Rudimentary basketball has evolved over time
no argument regarding that, to point toward the Warriors and decide that is the
only method to win is partially untrue from my perspective.
Like father, like son….
not exactly
In the past we’ve often covered a son or several off-spring who followed in the footsteps of the father. Bill Walton, Michael Jordan, Rick Barry are just a few whose sons followed them into the sport of basketball. This one is slightly different, we have a basketball coach whose dad is a well-known comic. Who knows Luke Murray might have decided while growing up comedy wasn’t the field, he wanted to pursue, it was basketball. His dad is Bill Murray as they might say star of stage, screen and television.
In the past we’ve often covered a son or several off-spring who followed in the footsteps of the father. Bill Walton, Michael Jordan, Rick Barry are just a few whose sons followed them into the sport of basketball. This one is slightly different, we have a basketball coach whose dad is a well-known comic. Who knows Luke Murray might have decided while growing up comedy wasn’t the field, he wanted to pursue, it was basketball. His dad is Bill Murray as they might say star of stage, screen and television.
You are familiar with
the movies, Ghostbusters, Caddy Shack, Stripes and Lost in Translation or the long-running
television comedy program Saturday Night
Live where Murray first became a star.
The elder Murray can often be seen rooting Luke’s teams especially
during NCAA Tournament time. Assistant
Luke is now at Louisville after 3 seasons at Xavier, he’s now aiding head coach
Chris Mack restore the luster to a tarnished basketball program. Just in case there might be a question Luke
Murray’s basketball background is almost as extensive as dad Bill’s is in the
entertainment industry.
Easy to embrace a winner
Did I mention the Sixers have become my second favorite NBA team to follow and watch on television? No, it’s not the NBA champion Warriors nor the sharpshooting Rockets or any other team. I’m unsure if I could make that statement 5-6 years ago, at that time it was a struggle. Long departed GM Sam Hinkie may or may not be responsible for coining the phrase “Trust the Process.” In my eyes that meant securing good players out of the draft, signing free-agents and making good trades.
It took a while for
the +.500 Sixers to arrive on the scene and I’m quite sure many fans became
upset and perhaps refused to trust the process.
Jimmy Butler arrived after the season started, he now provides the
Sixers a third option behind Embiid and Simmons. At this point they must ensure the team’s
reserve talent is adequate for a deep playoff run. It’s easy now to be a Sixer fan but where you
in the dark days? Did you live and die
with every missed shot or every errant pass?
I know a thing or two about suffering after all I’m a Laker fan. I’ve had the mountain top experience but also
dwelled in Death Valley with my Lakers.
