Basketball from a fan perspective

Cream City?

The number of jersey changes in the NBA is staggering, I am unable to keep up with them.  Yesterday afternoon I turned on the Bucks-Celtics game.  The team from Boston was decked out in their usual green jerseys, the jerseys worn by the Bucks had me confused.  One of the Bucks players standing at the free throw line across the front of the gold colored jersey were the words “Cream City.” 

My first thought, Wisconsin has farming including cows, maybe it represents the state. 

Then I thought that does not make sense, no livestock in downtown Milwaukee.  A search on the internet provided the answer.  “It has nothing to do with the dairy industry. "Milwaukee's known as the Cream City because of the yellow, cream-colored bricks that were first discovered and made here in the 19th century," says Historic Milwaukee tour and membership coordinator, Josh Ballew. Dec 27, 2019”   

Forbes speaks

Any time Forbes speak people sit up and pay attention, they are the go-to resource whenever finances or wealth is part of the discussion.  You want a list of the wealthiest individuals in the world, check Forbes, roll of wealthiest corporations Forbes is your source. What about sports teams in 2019, would you believe three of the top six most valuable sports franchises in the U.S. are in the NBA. 

*Dallas Cowboys $5 billion

*New York Yankees $4.6 billion

*New York Knicks $4 billion

*New England Patriots $3.8 billion

*Los Angeles Lakers $3.7 billion

*Golden State Warriors 3.5 billion 

Owner, GM & coach

Allow me to introduce the new owner, gm and coach of the Pelicans, Stephen A. Smith.  Mr. Bravado went off on the Pelicans for only playing Zion Williamson 15 minutes in their loss to the Jazz 106-104.  There are numerous occasions we might question why an athlete is not in the lineup, this is not one of them in my view.  Although Zion started the season late due to injury almost four months have elapsed since he last sat foot on a court competitively.  Every time I make the claim, I am going to ignore Smith he does it to me again. 

Smith questioning the decision making of an athlete or organization, I am often forced to question, “Does he (Smith) have all the information are is he just like us?”  We have no idea why Zion only played 15 minutes however Coach Gentry, General Manager Trajan Landon or David Griffin vice-president of Basketball Operations might have knowledge why.  It might be a good idea to include Smith in a Zoom conference call, this method would provide the reporter all the updated information he needs.   

Battle: Los Angeles

This is no reference to the 2011 Sci-Fi movie rather it was a Thursday evening game between the two Los Angeles NBA teams.  This Battle Los Angeles took place not on a studio lot it was in Orlando rather than Southern California, the teams would meet for the fourth time.  Players were missing on both sides however the Clippers might have been impacted more than the Lakers.  The Lakers were winners 103-101 in a highly contested heavyweight type championship bout. 

The season series between the teams is now tied 2-2.  Paul George and Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Clippers while it was Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Kyle Kuzma off the bench for the Lakers.  LeBron did not shoot the ball well but managed to score the winning basket.  He took the shot with seconds remaining missed and followed his shot sinking the basket.  The Lakers now have an 8.5 game lead in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference however the playoffs await.  The playoffs are the determining factor in an NBA Championship despite Thursday night's game.