Basketball from a fan’s perspective
We have the nuisance lawsuit
A few fans believe paying their way into an arena allows them
to say whatever they wish. Football,
baseball, hockey and soccer it’s likely athletes can sometimes hear fans hurl insults,
the distance is so great other than booing they probably hear little. That expanse
certainly doesn’t exist in basketball especially the NBA. Most teams have paying customers seated right next
to coaches and players. With that
explanation out of the way allow this bit of news. A Jazz fan filed a $100 million lawsuit
against the team and Russell Westbrook.
Last season the fan was removed from a game and permanently
banned from Vivint Smart Home Arena; he’d gotten into a verbal confrontation
with Westbrook. The fan is claiming his
statement to Westbrook was not racially motivated although Westbrook perceived
it to be. 1. The fan suing the Jazz and Westbrook is
stupid, paying your money fails to give you the right to say whatever you want
and not expect consequences. 2. In addition this fan claims others around him
were making inflammatory statements. That
is intended to validate his remarks since others were hurling insults. I hope the judge tosses the case out of court
quickly.
Load Management
“Why wouldn’t I play if I’m healthy?...I don’t know how many
games I got left in my career. I don’t
know how many kids that may show up to a game that are there to come see me
play, and if I sit out, then what?”
LeBron James on Load Management. We are unable to probe an athlete’s mind we
can only be governed by their actions.
Could we uncover parallels in the workplace for the LeBron statement, that’s
possible but that’s another discussion.
Just in case you forgot
The NCAA suspension for James Wiseman expires January 12, the
Tigers are 9-1 as this is written. When
he returns to action Memphis should be that much better. The issue of suspension remains a point of contention
for many. We’ve heard arguments on both
sides, those in agreement with the action of the NCAA while others remain
opposed.
I’m with the latter group, I believe there must be an
administrative body in place. At the
same time penalties should be dealt fairly. We have received conflicting stories, first
it was moving expenses underwritten by the coach. Another story claimed Penny Hardaway had
contributed funds aiding in the construction of an athletic building.
The unicorn
We are unsure why; Kristaps Porzingis receives a great deal
of criticism in some circles. He was a
virtual unknown in 2015 when selected by the Knicks. You might remember all the grief aimed at him
by several in the media including a certain ESPN host. Despite the negative commentary Porzingis
would have a successful rookie season, even better play was expected in his
sophomore year. His scoring average increased
by four points to 18.1 points per game, the 7 foot 3 Porzingis remained at 7
rebounds a game. In his third year his
scoring average increased to 22 points a game and Knick fans loved him until.
A torn ACL after 48 games saw him miss the balance of the 2018-19
NBA season. A falling out occurred at
some point causing the Knicks to trade Porzingis to the Mavs in early
2019. Sidelined Porzingis sat out the
balance of the season while recovering from surgery. He’s taken a back seat in the Mavs offense to
Luka Doncic but that might be intentional as he adjusts to NBA play again. On Monday with Doncic sidelined with injury
the unicorn stepped forward. He led the
way with 26 points and 12 rebounds as the Mavs halted the 18-game winning
streak of the Bucks. The Mavs might just
have the best Euro frontcourt in the NBA.
