Basketball from a
fan’s perspective
Published Monday through Friday weekly
Bits n Pieces
Celtics forward Gordon Hayward’s surgery on his hand is complete. The medical staff gives him a timetable to return in six weeks, that would indicate Hayward should be available for action Christmas week December 22nd.
Celtics forward Gordon Hayward’s surgery on his hand is complete. The medical staff gives him a timetable to return in six weeks, that would indicate Hayward should be available for action Christmas week December 22nd.
Correcting an earlier report, NBA TV
continues to cherry pick local NBA broadcast.
Last week I saw a game on the network which they titled Mid Court. Because they were using their own broadcast
crew, I mistakenly believed they would no longer pick up the local
broadcast. Well I was mistaken; it
appears Mid Court games will continue to be telecast using NBA TV crew. On other occasions they will continue
telecasting games featuring the home broadcast team.
G-League stories are rare in Words eye view
but there are exceptions especially if it involves Tacko. Tacko Fall accounts will continue to be covered
even while he’s playing for the Celtics G-League team the Maine Red Claws. The tall guy had 13 points and 11 rebounds in
his debut for the Red Claws.
The clock is ticking
In the words of Super Chicken; “You knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred.” Of course, we replace Fred’s name with David, David Fizdale that is. Although he’s only been on the job a little over a year, he is reported to have received a job in jeopardy warning. After 10 games the Knicks have only won 2 and this is New York City after all. A former player said something to the effect, “They are a team of everyone else’s players.” I’m not close enough to the situation but consider this, the Knicks were terrible when Fizdale was hired in May of 2018.
In the words of Super Chicken; “You knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred.” Of course, we replace Fred’s name with David, David Fizdale that is. Although he’s only been on the job a little over a year, he is reported to have received a job in jeopardy warning. After 10 games the Knicks have only won 2 and this is New York City after all. A former player said something to the effect, “They are a team of everyone else’s players.” I’m not close enough to the situation but consider this, the Knicks were terrible when Fizdale was hired in May of 2018.
He’s been given 16 months to turn around
one of the worst teams in the NBA. Just
hiring and firing head coaches certainly is not the answer because of two
reasons I can think of. The constant
front office change would dissuade anyone from taking the job. Second to that if a coach has only two NBA
drafts and two free agent signing periods is not enough time. If this were the Warriors or some other
winning team the scenario might be different.
Fans have been critical of owner Dolan for
several years; in fact, you might remember former Knick Charles Oakley
confronted the owner. The result was a
ban from attending games in Madison Square Garden. I’m unsure if the Oakley ban remains in
effect but you get the idea, the Knicks owner does not appreciate being
questioned how he’s run the team. In
closing allow me to say once again, I don’t know if Fizdale is the answer, he’s
taken on a bad team and a bad ownership.
Here’s hoping
I believe over the last 2 and ½ months we’ve discussed the many moves of the Clippers. This is one Laker fan who says bring it on, I have no problem with them succeeding. They have Paul George along with Kawhi Leonard, in addition they have a brand-new arena on the horizon. We can state in truth many of the past misdeeds of the Clippers lie squarely in the lap of former owner Donald T. Sterling, the lease at Staples is one of them. Anytime there is no documentation it should be pointed out. For unexplained reasons reports indicate the Clippers hesitated in signing a lease at Staples.
I believe over the last 2 and ½ months we’ve discussed the many moves of the Clippers. This is one Laker fan who says bring it on, I have no problem with them succeeding. They have Paul George along with Kawhi Leonard, in addition they have a brand-new arena on the horizon. We can state in truth many of the past misdeeds of the Clippers lie squarely in the lap of former owner Donald T. Sterling, the lease at Staples is one of them. Anytime there is no documentation it should be pointed out. For unexplained reasons reports indicate the Clippers hesitated in signing a lease at Staples.
The Lakers and NHL Kings moved in front of
them, finally the Clippers signed. There
are bonuses for signing early, you are not 3rd in line on available
dates as current owner Ballmer’s indicated.
Ballmer intends to build his own arena assuring the Clippers are first
in line. As for the rivalry, may the
best team win. New York appears to
function okay with two NBA teams, why not Los Angeles? With a metro population of 13 million there
are more than enough fans for both teams to be successful at the gate. The key is success on the basketball court
and there it’s simply best team wins.
There were questions
Piston Big Man Andre Drummond wasn’t an unknown. He’d attracted plenty of attention in high school, in fact Rivals rated him the top prospect in the Class of 2011 by ESPN and NBADraft.net. The Middletown athlete decided to remain home and play for UConn, but it was short. After a barely average freshman season he declared for the NBA draft, you can understand the skepticism. His field goal percentage was not the question (.538) it was the other numbers. 10.0 points per game along with 7.6 rebounds are not eye-popping numbers. The 6-foot 11-inch Drummond was made the 9th pick in the first round by the Pistons in 2012.
Piston Big Man Andre Drummond wasn’t an unknown. He’d attracted plenty of attention in high school, in fact Rivals rated him the top prospect in the Class of 2011 by ESPN and NBADraft.net. The Middletown athlete decided to remain home and play for UConn, but it was short. After a barely average freshman season he declared for the NBA draft, you can understand the skepticism. His field goal percentage was not the question (.538) it was the other numbers. 10.0 points per game along with 7.6 rebounds are not eye-popping numbers. The 6-foot 11-inch Drummond was made the 9th pick in the first round by the Pistons in 2012.
His rookie numbers were lower than
registered at UConn. From his sophomore
year to the present his play and numbers have been on an upward trend. Drummond has become a double-double man with
his rebounding numbers being outstanding.
Drummond is one of those players with a nose for the basketball. Certainly, he was taught the nuisances of
rebounding the ball but apparently like Dennis Rodman he’s studied angles the
ball comes off the rim and backboard.
The Pistons are not a glamour team perhaps that’s the reason we rarely
see them on a national telecast.
Drummond is worth a look in person or television when possible.
