Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Bits n Pieces

Friday evening Georgetown University announced basketball Coach Patrick Ewing contracted the coronavirus.  Ewing is hospitalized and is under care, at the time additional information is known it will be provided in Words eye view.

Don’t you just love trade rumors, oh well maybe you are not me?  The NBA Draft date is still unknown as this is written but the latest rumored news.  At least two sources claim if the Warriors secure the top pick, they will trade it.  Trade it like Scottie Pippen going to the Bulls in exchange for Olden Polynice draft night maybe?  It is extremly rare to trade a draft pick for a veteran although it has not occurred in recent memory.   

How many…it is an unknown figure

Bill Russell perfected the skill of blocking shots when he played for the Celtics.  Wilt Chamberlain arrived later and made it a fine art form; we just have no idea how many blocks he registered.  Consider this, former Jazz center Mark Eaton holds the NBA career record totaling 456 in the 1984-85 season, averaging 5.56 per game.  You might ask why it is so difficult to determine the number of block shots for Chamberlain (and Bill Russell) for that matter. 

We must believe blocking an opponent’s shot must have always been practiced however these two excelled at it and it WAS NOT counted.  For unexplained reasons, the NBA did not began tracking blocked shots until the end of the 1973-74 season, Russell retired in 1969 and Chamberlain after the 1972-73 season.  So, you see the issue, realGM.com claims Russell averaged 8 and Chamberlain 8.8 blocks a game.  NBA history indicates both were prolific at this practice. 

This is no slam at Eaton however the career total by Chamberlain and Russell surely must exceed 456.  Another reference basketballnetwork.net agrees with the 8.8 blocks for Chamberlain claiming they have accounts which verify the number.  Even more amazing the numbers are compiled cover a period Chamberlain was 35 or 36 years old. Would either Chamberlain or Russell average anywhere close to that number in today’s NBA?  The answer is probably not however the totals are amazing for period for Chamberlain and Russell.   

I cannot stop it
Despite my trepidations the Border War will soon be on again.  It certainly is no fear of playing Kansas teams it’s the other stuff that comes along with playing them.  It will begin with Kansas-Mizzou basketball first, it has now progressed to Kansas-Mizzou football being revised as well.   The first football game will be played at Mizzou in September 2025, in 2026 the game will be played at Kansas.  The football games will be alternated as a home and away for the next two seasons.  As for the basketball the schools will play a total of six games between 2020-2021 and 2025-2026 seasons. 

I never wanted basketball-football to be revived it should have never ended in the first place.  I have mentioned on more than one occasion my belief Bill Self was behind the “We don’t play Missouri anymore” rant.  Why Self was so opposed to the schools continuing play was never fully explained by him.  I have mentioned this previously but just another reminder, Kansas basketball has scheduled both Colorado and Nebraska, they left the Big 12 prior to Mizzou.  Sorry I cannot provide the other school however Rutgers had a long-time conference rival.  At the time Rutgers moved to another conference these two schools continued to play one another in the non-conference portion of their schedule. 

They were done

In many discussions regarding the NBA Michael Jordan is generally mentioned as the GOAT.  MJ played the game at the highest level; he should know what he is talking about but!  His talk regarding a 7^th championship is just that, talk in my view.  That Bulls team was spent, could everyone had returned including Phil Jackson?  No doubt however the competition the Bulls faced in the Eastern Conference might have doomed their hopes no matter who they played in the west. 

Dennis Rodman played but 35 games after the Last Dance; he was 37 years old.  Pippen was 33 years and managed to play another 6 years but only managed to play one full season for the Blazers.  MJ was age 34, although he would play briefly for the Wizard it was clear to most his best days were behind him.  The competitive Bulls would have scratched, clawed, and figured out a method to achieve a playoff if they remained together.  A championship is clearly questionable in my view, this becomes conjecture because there is no method to prove whether MJ is correct or me.