Basketball from a
fan’s perspective
The amazing record
Students of NBA history and those still alive remember the 100-point
game of Wilt Chamberlain. The box score
indicates only 4,124 fans were in attendance March 2, 1962. The Philadelphia Warriors had “farmed”
out the game to Hershey (PA) a 2-hour drive.
It was common practice by a few NBA teams of the time to schedule home games
in other locations other than their home arenas.
The most remarkable part of the story for this writer is Chamberlain’s
free-throw total. He was a notoriously
poor free-throw shooter throughout his NBA career (51.1%) yet managed to shoot
28 out of 32 from the line that night.
Sadly, no film or video of the game exists, we have the official box
score and a black and white photo of Chamberlain with a handwritten 100 on a
scrap of paper. For unexplained reasons tape of only the 4th quarter radio broadcast exists and has been placed in the
Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
As for the historic game the final score read Warriors 169 Knicks
147.
Just in case
You might have missed the reference yesterday regarding the Clippers in Buffalo
Braves garb. Just a brief history, the Clippers
franchise was born in Buffalo (NY) along with the Cavs and Blazers in
1970. The Braves remained on the east
coast until 1978 when the team was sold and relocated to San Diego, they were
re-branded as the Clippers. In 1984 the
franchise moved to Los Angeles where they have remained since that time.
‘Quit begging’
If you follow the game long enough eventually you will witness something
you’ve never seen before. That was the
case in the Rockets-Spurs double OT game on Tuesday evening. Prior to relating Tuesday’s events I remember
this, while bowling I mentioned to my team and our opponents why I missed
picking up a spare. My response didn’t
sit well with one of the rivals, his response was short ‘quit begging.’ Should we make the same statement about James
Harden and Mike D’Antoni after Tuesdays double OT game versus the Spurs?
Check out the video below, it’s clear the ball went in the basket, but
it bounced out and the officials indicated no basket. “The Rockets are hopeful
the league office will either award the victory to Houston due to the Rockets
outscoring the Spurs in regulation or order that the final 7 minutes, 50
seconds be replayed at a later date, sources said.”
1. As this is written NBA offices have
yet to rule, a friend who officiates high school basketball claims the basket
should have counted. This is one of
those rare occasions when I agree with Stephen A. Smith. I will attempt to paraphrase his comment, ‘You
take one basket away when the incident occurred at the 7-minute mark of
the game.’
1. ESPN.com/NBA
I’m not sure
The NBA has adopted
a no tolerance policy regarding fan behavior for the 2019-20 NBA season. Prior to the “meat and potatoes” of
this discussion I’m proposing a question.
Why in the world would the average fan think they big enough and bad
enough to confront an NBA player? The
Malice in the Palace is the example that comes to mind, this 2004 brawl between
Pacer and Piston players plus fans was a black eye for the NBA. Many of the players involved suffered
financially with suspension and fines, I believe those fans who challenged
Pacer players might have been worst off.
There exist several NBA players on the small side, but the average
height and weight is nearly 6 feet 7 inches and about 200 pounds.
I’m unsure about you
but I have no desire to confront a guy taller than me and outweighs me by 50-60
pounds. I witnessed a game just the
other day, a fan of the home team seated at courtside said something to an
opposing player. Snap, just like that
the game official signaled security and the fan was escorted out the
arena. Yet it does occur, some fans
loaded with adult beverages grow quite brave and aggressive. Well the NBA says enough is enough, its
serious anytime the league bans an owner.
That’s what occurred last season for one the Warriors owners, a
confrontation with an opposing player saw this owner banned from attending
games for 1-year.
