In
fairness to him it might not be all his fault
Luke Walton has been on my radar recently; the hot and cold Lakers might not be all his fault. One of the things I try and avoid is blaming losses on players missing in action. Several NBA teams face the same issue (injuries) as the Lakers. The Pacers lost Victor Oladipo for the season, J.J. Barea will not appear in a Mavs jersey until next season. There are teams with less distressing news with players out until late February or early March. Yes, unfortunately injuries impact the game, Walton’s likely dealt with his roster for those missing as best he could.
Luke Walton has been on my radar recently; the hot and cold Lakers might not be all his fault. One of the things I try and avoid is blaming losses on players missing in action. Several NBA teams face the same issue (injuries) as the Lakers. The Pacers lost Victor Oladipo for the season, J.J. Barea will not appear in a Mavs jersey until next season. There are teams with less distressing news with players out until late February or early March. Yes, unfortunately injuries impact the game, Walton’s likely dealt with his roster for those missing as best he could.
That’s
not a fix
We held a discussion on the Silvio De Sousa/Kansas/NCAA suspension story with a few friends. One acquaintance said he had a solution, “We fix the problem by paying the players.” Sorry I’m not so easily persuaded that fully addresses the issue and is a fix. Let’s suppose this scenario, the University of ________ and __________university are both supported by the state. __________University competes at the Division II level versus Division I _________. We believe the school competing at the Division I level has a larger athletic budget than Division II.
We held a discussion on the Silvio De Sousa/Kansas/NCAA suspension story with a few friends. One acquaintance said he had a solution, “We fix the problem by paying the players.” Sorry I’m not so easily persuaded that fully addresses the issue and is a fix. Let’s suppose this scenario, the University of ________ and __________university are both supported by the state. __________University competes at the Division II level versus Division I _________. We believe the school competing at the Division I level has a larger athletic budget than Division II.
Could
or would the Division I school pay larger salaries to its athletes based on its
competition? The other, would pay be
equal meaning a Division II athlete earn the same as one from Division I? Those are just two situations I could see as
questions on for “pay for play”; can you think of any others? As for the decision on De Sousa Texas Tech
coach Chris Beard weighed in with his view.
“The NCAA does what they do, stuff
that makes no sense.”
Is
the glass half full or half empty?
After getting blown out of the gym 92-58 by Auburn the only place for Mizzou is to look up. The season is over, it’s possible the Tigers will experience a losing season. All Mizzou hoped for was a continued upward trend, that will not occur this season however next season might be a different matter. How do I know, like anything this not a sure thing my belief the foundation is in place? Auburn was a loss, but big man Jeremiah Tilmon led the way scoring 15 points in the game. The positive, Tilmon managed to only pick up a single foul despite playing 26 minutes. It’s been mentioned in the past on several occasions Tilmon is foul-prone so it could be the single foul indicates growth in his game.
After getting blown out of the gym 92-58 by Auburn the only place for Mizzou is to look up. The season is over, it’s possible the Tigers will experience a losing season. All Mizzou hoped for was a continued upward trend, that will not occur this season however next season might be a different matter. How do I know, like anything this not a sure thing my belief the foundation is in place? Auburn was a loss, but big man Jeremiah Tilmon led the way scoring 15 points in the game. The positive, Tilmon managed to only pick up a single foul despite playing 26 minutes. It’s been mentioned in the past on several occasions Tilmon is foul-prone so it could be the single foul indicates growth in his game.
Shooting
guard and transfer Mark Smith has proven he can score so that’s got to be a
plus for next season. Transfer guard Dru
Smith from Evansville will be eligible plus Xavier Pinson, Javon Pickett both
showing ability to play at this level will be sophomores. K.J. Santos remains a question mark, he’s
been plagued by injuries, hopefully next season he should be ready to
contribute. Is the glass half full or
half empty, that question cannot be answered until next season? Based on the team’s won-loss record that
might not appear to be the case, but Cuonzo Martin team’s do play defense.
There
is always a learning curve adjusting from high school to D-I ball, unless you
are adding a McDonalds All American to your roster expect inconsistent
play. Mizzou has two additions who could
aid the cause, combo guard Mario McKinney and forward Tray Jackson arrive in
Columbia and add depth to what became a thin roster at points. The remaining question will Jontay Porter
return to the program with the NBA calling his name? We guess he leaves for the NBA if not his
6-foot 11 inch 240 pounds could certainly assist the Tigers rebounding and
scoring down low.
Shut up Charles
It wasn’t me, last Thursday someone sent Charles Barkley a tweet saying he should stop talking so much. His response, “They pay me to talk.” Well they don’t pay us to listen especially those times you don’t stay in your lane. From his years of NBA play he’s got plenty of inside information fans are unaware, share that with us not how things should be run. Here’s an example he said, “We cannot have players and agents colluding to stack Super Teams.” It appears Charles has just now become aware of this, wonder if he’s a Laker hater too, well Charles you cannot do anything about this event if it should occur. You are correct in your statement, TNT does pay you to talk NBA basketball.
Shut up Charles
It wasn’t me, last Thursday someone sent Charles Barkley a tweet saying he should stop talking so much. His response, “They pay me to talk.” Well they don’t pay us to listen especially those times you don’t stay in your lane. From his years of NBA play he’s got plenty of inside information fans are unaware, share that with us not how things should be run. Here’s an example he said, “We cannot have players and agents colluding to stack Super Teams.” It appears Charles has just now become aware of this, wonder if he’s a Laker hater too, well Charles you cannot do anything about this event if it should occur. You are correct in your statement, TNT does pay you to talk NBA basketball.
This is one NBA fan who is not concerned with
your views on those occasions you don’t stay in your lane. It’s been my belief for quite a while the
media should provide us information we don’t possess. Often, we are not interested in your opinion
regarding the method and manner a front office is run. Does that state Barkley and other media are
not entitled to voice their opinion? I’m
not saying that however it’s my belief our view is just as valid as theirs. Just to not appear totally negative I do
agree with a portion of the discussion, there is no requirement for every
quality athlete to play in New York City or Los Angeles. The NBA is more than two cities regardless if
they represent the largest metropolitan areas in the nation.
