Basketball from a fan’s perspective
Devoured alive
Michael Jordan came
along at the right time, if he had played in today’s NBA, he would be devoured
alive. If this appears critical of MJ
that is not the case allow for a brief explanation. All of you are fully aware we are in the
middle of the twitter and social media age, we would have daily reports on his
gambling, his connection to unsavory characters and other activities unrelated
to basketball.
In the social media age,
all the warts of MJ would be paraded before the world. The Sam Smith book Jordan Rules covered but a
few issues Bulls players the coaching staff and management dealt with; Last
Dance shines a spotlight on that period.
This is what I found most interesting, many of the critical remarks
uttered about Kobe Bryant fit right in MJ’s wheelhouse. Fans either fail to recognize or do not
realize much of Kobe’s game was modeled after the veteran MJ.
Nicknames
A nickname is the
exclusive property of the athlete first anointed. Several years ago, the Kansas City Royals
roster had a pitcher whose first name was James. Because he stood 6 feet 4 the local radio
guys began to refer to him as “Big Game James.”
I cried foul almost immediately, “That nickname belongs to former Laker
“Big Game” James
Worthy.
I am unsure who gave
Worthy the nickname it is likely it came from the late Chick Hearn former Laker
broadcaster. “Pistol Pete” is Pete
Maravich, no one can lay claim to “The Glove” that’s Gary Payton. How about Shawn “Reign Man” Kemp or George
“Iceman” Gervin. Grizzlies point guard
Ja Morant has proven quite skillful in distributing the basketball, but he
cannot be “Magic,” that belongs to Earvin Johnson exclusively. We conclude this brief exploration of
nicknames with Karl “Mailman” Malone and Allen “The Answer” Iverson.
He became a fall guy
We learn in episode
5 of Last Dance Toni Kukoc became a fall guy.
Kukoc walked into a reservoir of controversy between the Bulls front
office Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
GM Jerry Krause wanted to add Kukoc to the roster however a deal with
Pippen was still pending. Michael Jordan
and Scottie Pippen conspired to shut Kukoc down in the ’92 Olympics to show up
Krause.
The difficulty in
2020 we hear the words of all concerned except the GM, he died in 2017 unable
to defend his actions of the time. In
2003 Krause resigned and return to baseball, he worked for the Yankees and
Mets. Later he would work for the White
Sox and Diamondbacks, in March 2017 Krause who suffered with Osteomyelitis died. We read this is an infection of the bone, the
cause is usually a bacterial infection, generally men suffer more than women
with this condition.
Bits n Pieces
Part of me was
operating in the dark at a point in time, I speak of Mizzou’s move from the Big
12 to the SEC. One side of me said, “This (SEC) is a football conference,
Alabama, Auburn, LSU and others. Kentucky basketball dominates the balance of
the conference.” Boy was that mindset totally
off base on my part, i.e. the basketball part that is. SEC basketball at least
through Mizzou’s time has been far more than Kentucky.
We have discussed
the importance of an NBA team’s 6th man. The first player who
brought notoriety to the position was the late Celtic forward John Havlicek. At
the time Havlicek arrived in 1962 there was no starter minutes for him. The
Celtics of that era were loaded with talent, Havlicek would become a valued 6th
man before eventually becoming a starter. He would set the standard for the
role, although our list contains several retired players, they could come off
the bench currently. You have a choice of the Clippers Lou Williams, retired
players Manu Ginobili, Jamal Crawford, or Jason “The Jet” Terry. You can only choose
one, your choice is________.
Knighthood was the
manner it was described. In this television series, the main star was
attempting to purchase an NFL team. An owner discussing the subject with the
potential buyer said, “owning a professional team is like being knighted” or
words to that effect. If you think about it most franchises are in the hands of
a small group of extraordinarily rich individuals. If this appears to be criticism
of the “knights” that is not the case the wealth in most instances was legitimately
earned. Although there are ownership groups in the NBA, we have 30 knights, that
is a small number compared to the population of this nation and certainly an
exclusive club.
