Basketball
from a fan’s perspective
I admit it, I was
caught up in the hype
A week ago, the Pelicans announced Zion Williamson would make
his NBA debut on Wednesday January 22.
Hearing the news, I wrote, “I hope the game is televised.” ESPN
announced later the game would be telecast so the basketball world had an
opportunity to see Zion in action. It
took a while to get going, in fact his first half was somewhat pedestrian due
to the minute’s restriction on Zion. The
second of the game especially the 4th quarter might have exceeded
our expectations. Two numbers 3 minutes
and less than 20 minutes those are the numbers to store in your memory
banks.
Zion sank four 3-point shots not exactly his shot of choice
while at Duke, he continued his offensive output. The veteran Spurs came alive despite Zion’s
effort, he’d given his team a temporary late lead. The medical staff prevailed; he was taken out
of the game by his coach. Zion’s totals
22 points, 17 in the 4th quarter for the game. It was clear practice plays no role in
readiness as Zion labored up and down the court. It’s clear losing a few pounds will aid his
NBA development, most of us enjoyed the show despite the Pelican loss.
“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated”
Those were the
words of the writer, political pundit Mark Twain, those words could also be
aimed at Larry Laker. Recently I wrote
the Spurs might missed the playoffs, this would become the first time since
Bill Clinton was president. It was just
about publishing time when the Spurs went on winning trend.
The Spurs remain
below .500 however they have moved into the 8th spot in the Western
Conference playoff picture. The Spurs
must continue to play at or near this level to remain in the running for a playoff
berth. With the NBA season half complete
do the Spurs have a run left in them? The
next few weeks should tell the tale, one thing for sure Larry Laker will wait
for the completion of the season before pronouncing a Gregg Popovich led team
dead.
The penalty
The Big-12 Conference
moved swiftly, the conference announced penalties for athletes involved in the
bench clearing fight between Kansas and Kansas State. Kansas
players David McCormick is sidelined for 2 games and Silvio DeSousa will miss 12
games. James Love and Antonio Gordon of
Kansas State will be sidelined for 8 and 3 games respectively.
Of all those
involved DeSousa is probably history with the Kansas program. Remember he was the player involved in the
Adidas trial and after being sidelined for a portion of the season he was
finally cleared to play. This latest suspension
will allow DeSousa to return for the last regular season game, after that it’s
likely he’s headed to Europe or Australia to begin a professional career.
Athletes as owners
The Suns announced
on Wednesday NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals purchased a
share of the Phoenix Suns. He joins several
active and former athletes as NBA owners.
Aaron Rogers quarterbacks the Packers but is also an owner of the
Milwaukee Bucks. Former NBA player Grant
Hill has been a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks since 2015. All the athletes mentioned own a share of the
respective NBA team. Michael Jordan has a
long history as an owner but assumed controlling interest of the Hornets in 2010
and is now the majority owner. In 2013
Shaquille O’Neal purchased 5% ownership of the Sacramento Kings.
He’s on the move
Shareef O’Neal son of Shaquille and Shaunie O’Neal has
decided UCLA is not a good fit for him.
After a heart problem was detected and surgery required the 6-9 O’Neal
sat out last season. The 2019-20 season would
be his breakout season although it never occurred at least at UCLA. UCLA has barely begun conference play as this
announcement was made. As this is
written there is no destination announced although his dad’s former school LSU
could be the choice. It’s sometimes
difficult to play in the shadow of your famous dad and Shareef has been aware
of this for quite a while.
