Basketball from a fan’s perspective
Draft night trade
At the 1980 NBA
draft, Red Auerbach traded the first and 13th overall selections to the Golden
State Warriors for the third overall selection and Robert Parish. The third pick turned out to be Kevin McHale
and the balance is Celtic championship history.
Certainly, at the same level was the trade that brought Scottie Pippen
to the Bulls.
In the 1987 NBA Draft the Sonics had the 5th pick
the Bulls with number 8, a late-night trade witnessed the two individual changing
teams. That trade set in motion the
championship reign of the Bulls.
Polynice with all the promise in the world became an NBA journeyman
playing for several NBA teams during his 14-year career. As for the other guy we know how his career
turned out, in fairness to the Sonics they had no crystal ball. Jerry Krause had scouted Pippen extensively
and believed his talent would translate to the NBA level.
Uh-Oh!!
Chet Holmgren is a 7-foot 190-pound 5-star prospect and Rivals number 5 in the Class of 2021. Holmgren has his pick among more than 30
schools with offers. Oh, by the way he
indicates there is a possibility he will consider the G-League too. Holmgren’s got ample time between now and
fall 2021 to decide however it is clear the basketball landscape has
changed. Future hot prospects will
decide between ______ University and the G-League. It will be interesting to see how this turns
out in the future.
Mac is leaving
Alan Iverson held the Virginia high school scoring record at
the time he graduated in 1994. The
record would stand until Mac McClung arrived on the scene and broke it at the
end of the 2018 high school season. The
6-foot-2-inch McClung was well known in social circles due to his thunderous
dunks. Where did the youngster decide to
attend college, how about Georgetown where Iverson played?
After a good freshman season, he was made a member of the Big
East All Freshman team, his sophomore year was quite different as injury hampered
him. McClung submitted his name for the
2020 NBA draft but all that’s changed now.
On Wednesday it was announced McClung withdrew his name from the draft
and will leave Georgetown for another school.
As this writing there is no indication of his destination, we will keep
you apprised as soon as a decision is reached by McClung.
Broke the pattern
We do not know if this move is directed by GM Daryl Morey or
Coach Mike D’Antoni, perhaps it’s both. The
Houston Rockets broke the pattern, they decided to play small ball and traded Big
Man Clint Capela. Because the NBA season
was cut short, we cannot provide a conclusion if this change whether this
change is a success or failure. At this
point the numbers are all we have to work with, the Rockets are second in
league scoring with 118.1 ppg average.
On the defensive side of the ball they are 22nd in
the NBA giving up 114.4 points. The NFL
and NBA are far different sports however allow a comparison. During the recent NFL
draft it was mentioned “Western Conference AFL teams were more inclined to
outscore the Kansas City Chiefs rather than attempting to stop them
defensively, you have an indication by the teams mostly concentrating on offensive
players.” That would appear the same
mindset of the Rockets they intend to outscore the opposition.
Information over
opinion
Depending on the subject we all have opinions, they could
cover a wide range of topics. This is a
basketball blog so much of what is written reflects the sport. I value information over opinion, your view
of a basketball subject might be important to you. Do not assume because you spout it over the
airwaves that makes if final, how often has it been necessary to return to a
subject and say, “I was wrong.”
It does not occur often because the Stephen A. Smith’s of the
world rarely revisit a few their controversial opinions. At the same time, I have concluded much of the
opinion discussed on First Take, Get Up, Skip and Shannon plus First Things
First belong strictly in the realm of entertainment. In closing hopefully this fails to point a
finger at Larry Laker, the huge difference between them and me. I’m willing to take ownership however it
fails to say I’m always correct it just makes it mine.
