BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE
Where is the school located
Wofford College has cracked the Top 25, this week the Terriers are number 24 on the AP Top 25 and tied for 25 in the Coaches poll. Wofford has a 24-4 record and occupies first place in the Southern Conference. Where exactly is the school located you ask, it’s in Spartanburg South Carolina. It’s a private school affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Wofford College has cracked the Top 25, this week the Terriers are number 24 on the AP Top 25 and tied for 25 in the Coaches poll. Wofford has a 24-4 record and occupies first place in the Southern Conference. Where exactly is the school located you ask, it’s in Spartanburg South Carolina. It’s a private school affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Tanking
One of the subjects discussed on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday dealt with tanking. I hate discussing the issue of losing on purpose however I must admit it does exist. It might not be as much of an issue in other sports as it is in the NBA. The explanation is simple, in the NFL the Chiefs draft quarterback Pat Mahomes who leads them to an improved record. Because Mahomes cannot play defense a poor effort in that department causes the Chiefs to miss appearing in the Super Bowl.
One of the subjects discussed on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday dealt with tanking. I hate discussing the issue of losing on purpose however I must admit it does exist. It might not be as much of an issue in other sports as it is in the NBA. The explanation is simple, in the NFL the Chiefs draft quarterback Pat Mahomes who leads them to an improved record. Because Mahomes cannot play defense a poor effort in that department causes the Chiefs to miss appearing in the Super Bowl.
As for the NBA should the Knicks be able
to draft Zion Williamson they will not become championship contenders but are
likely to improve. In the NFL teams have
a 53-man roster, in baseball it’s 25.
Each NBA team contains only 14 players on their roster. The losing Cavs didn’t make the playoffs but
won 18 more games in LeBron’s rookie season.
Every team in the lottery hopes they are drafting the next LeBron or
Kobe to make for a championship team.
One very talented player can improve the quality of play for an NBA team.
Not much to smile about
Injuries, trades and an 18-game home losing streak, those are the experiences of Knicks fans this season. The 2018-19 season has been quite painful for Knick fans, not a great deal to cheer about. Big man Mitchell Robinson might be one of the few bright spots to emerge this season. Robinson was the number 36 pick in the second round on the 2018 NBA draft, his bio says Western Kentucky, but he never actually played at the university. You might remember his back and forth movement which ultimately ended with him withdrawing all together. He decided to spend the season training in preparation for the NBA draft.
Injuries, trades and an 18-game home losing streak, those are the experiences of Knicks fans this season. The 2018-19 season has been quite painful for Knick fans, not a great deal to cheer about. Big man Mitchell Robinson might be one of the few bright spots to emerge this season. Robinson was the number 36 pick in the second round on the 2018 NBA draft, his bio says Western Kentucky, but he never actually played at the university. You might remember his back and forth movement which ultimately ended with him withdrawing all together. He decided to spend the season training in preparation for the NBA draft.
The back and forth movement which ended
with him not enrolled at all. He spent
all last season training for entry into the NBA. The 7-foot 240-pound Robinson is a work in
progress on the offensive end, as for his defense we can state with conviction
he’s NBA ready. Kristaps Porzingis gone
in a trade, Enes Kanter was waved in February.
The moves leave Robinson behind DeAndre Jordan on the depth chart but
how long will that last. Jordan is only
30-years of age however there is no guarantee as this is written he re-signs
with the Knicks. The Knicks are bringing
Robinson alone slowly, can we say raw with a capital R? In Tuesday’s game off the bench Robinson
scored 17 points along with 14 rebounds and 6 blocked shots leading to a
108-103 victory over the Magic.
The GOAT
About 99% of the time I remove myself from all arguments relating to greatest of all time. The reason is clear, Russell Westbrook scores a triple-double in every game. Prior to Westbrook Oscar Robertson was the only NBA player to accomplish the feat for a full season. Question, is Westbrook better than Robinson? The Celtics have won 17 NBA championships, a number occurred when there were only 7 other NBA teams. Whose better those Celtics or the Showtime Lakers, Jordan Bulls or today’s Warriors?
About 99% of the time I remove myself from all arguments relating to greatest of all time. The reason is clear, Russell Westbrook scores a triple-double in every game. Prior to Westbrook Oscar Robertson was the only NBA player to accomplish the feat for a full season. Question, is Westbrook better than Robinson? The Celtics have won 17 NBA championships, a number occurred when there were only 7 other NBA teams. Whose better those Celtics or the Showtime Lakers, Jordan Bulls or today’s Warriors?
How about the NBA logo which is the
silhouette of Jerry West, I’ve heard several pundits claim the NBA needs to
change it to represent a more present-day player? Who replaces West is it LeBron, Kobe, Michael
Jordan or someone else? How about one more
example, Hakeem Olajuwon is the NBA’s all-time blocks leader with 3,830. Remember they were not tracking blocked shots
for the major portion of Wilt Chamberlain’s career. His number for 112 games we can track
indicates he likely block 8.8 a game*, projected over the course of his career
he would certainly exceed the number registered by Olajuwon. We could argue with proof Chamberlain is the GOAT at blocked shots.
*2kmtcentral.com
