Basketball
from a fan’s perspective
Seasons over, the
Clippers are NBA champions
Those are not quite the words of TNT host Charles Barkley but
close. He’s declared in the middle of
March the Clippers the “best team in the NBA.”
If that’s the case why wait till June, we can just halt the season at
this point and declare them champions.
I’m not saying Barkley doesn’t have the right to his opinion, but the
answer is more complex. He might indeed
be correct but why this Charles you’ve got more insight into the NBA than the
average fan, give it to us straight without all the pontification,
thanks in advance. It’s not only me, ask
the Warriors Draymond Green his thoughts on Barkley.
What we know (or
don’t know)
Larry Laker admits this upfront; I don’t know a great deal
about Dion Waiters. He’s 28-years old, he
spent two years at Syracuse before declaring for the 2012 draft. The Cavs made him the 4th pick in
the first round, Waiters made the All-Rookie NBA team in 2013. From that point on his career has been on a roller
coaster as he moved from Cleveland to Oklahoma City to Miami and now Los
Angeles. Last month Waiters was traded
to the Grizzlies who waived him three days after picking him up.
There were coaching/management issues at all three stops for
Waiters. The good, Waiters has been a lights-out
3-point shooter since his NBA career began.
J.R. Smith worked out for the Lakers too, the decision on the two likely
came down to defense. Both are about the
same level shooting; Waiters is reported to be a better defender over Smith. Did the Lakers make the correct decision in
signing Waiters, this answer will only be provided through the balance of the
season and into the playoffs?
No way they escape punishment
The Kansas Athletic Department responded on Thursday to charges
the NCAA leveled back in September. As
you are aware NCAA list violations in the following manner, I, II, III and IV. A level I violation is considered the most
serious while IV is a minor violation. This
portion is most revealing for us, the NCAA charged Kansas basketball with 5
Level I violations.
Will the school face the “Death Penalty”, probably not it’s
only been administered once in NCAA history?
It’s possible Kansas may not be found guilty on all 5 charges, that’s
certainly conceivable. If the NCAA is serious
as they claim it’s my belief, there is no way the school escapes without punishment
of some degree. As for Jayhawk Nation
forget about what was done by the NCAA regarding North Carolina, Duke and
others this case rests strictly with Kansas basketball.
Do what I do best
I was once asked, “Basketball season is over, why don’t you write
about the NFL, baseball, college football or something else?” On the surface I don’t believe there was an
issue with Words eye view, they figured with no basketball other sports
should be covered. I attempted to
explain to the inquiry in this manner, I do what I do best.
First, it would be totally arrogant on my part if I attempted
to convince anyone it’s my opinion only that counts. I have a belief at the same time I can be
convinced to change. As most are aware, we
have major league baseball and NFL football in Kansas City but no NBA. One of the local stations telecasts a Chiefs program
weekly 12 months a year. If NFL football
can be programmed weekly January through December why not basketball, just
sayin.’
This is interesting
if true
Can we anticipate a conclusion to the pending lawsuit? Last summer we reported owner Steve Ballmer
intended to move his Clippers from Staples Center to his own arena in Inglewood. Designs were later released detailing an
18,000-seat arena, of course this metro Los Angeles city is the location of the
Forum. After the Lakers moved to Staples
after the 1998-99 season the Forum was eventually sold and would become the
site of a church at a point.
The arena was later purchased by the MSG Corporation owners
of the Gardens Knicks and NHL Rangers.
The Forum would serve as host for concert events and similar events,
naturally the Clippers building an arena blocks from the would cause MSG to
file a lawsuit. On Sunday came an
undocumented report Clippers owner Steve Ballmer entered negotiations to
purchase the Forum. There are far too
many moving parts for us to speculate until the dust settles on this one.
