Basketball from a fan perspective
Bits n
Pieces
Steve Nash is now in place at Brooklyn with a
4-year contract in place. With Nash
literally “dropping out of the sky” this writer is afraid to speculate regarding
any names available for the balance of open positions. The easiest fact at this point is to list the
open jobs, they are:
Chicago Bulls
Indiana Pacers
New Orleans Pelicans
Philadelphia 76ers
Indiana Pacers
Prior to the Friday night it was believed the
Rockets couldn’t hang with the Laker front court. LeBron James and Anthony Davis were clearly superior
talent that any in the Rocket front court.
On the other hand, there was concern with the Rockets back court. In game one that fear proved to be true
Harden, Westbrook and Gordon did an effective number on the Lakers with 36, 24
and 23 points. We look forward to game
two on Sunday. Of most interest the
Rockets not known for their defense played it well at least for this game.
Chauncey Billups nicknamed Mr. Big Shot for his
clutch shooting back in the day made news too, he is interested in becoming an
NBA head coach. If he is hired this
time, we won’t be caught off guard as was the case with the Steve Nash at
Brooklyn. Until Billups recent announcement
he neglected to mention publicly he desired a head coaching post.
It appears the NCAA will not be caught off
guard regarding college basketball. They
are looking at a November start date. In
addition, the NCAA Tournament will be played beginning in March and concluding
in April. This plan is all contingent on
control of the pandemic, naturally a revision might be required.
How
to….
Be
informative in describing the game but do not talk too much. I do
not have the answer however the shorten version of this account is the role of
a basketball television analyst. They are hired due to their
expertise and ability to communicate
the
game to the viewer. It has always been my belief a radio analyst
requires far more verbal skills than video, it is obvious the picture.
You
might not see the nuances of the game however an untrained eye can see the shot
or the pass, blocked shot or TO. It was said the late Chick
Hearn simulcasting Laker games on radio and television was much more
descriptive than required for television. It was done on purpose the
action on the court had to be communicated to those in his audience listening
on radio.
We
have reached a stage now especially with television, the picture quality is so
clear and concise we now see plays our grandfathers and fathers never
witnessed. I believe it is important for that analyst to highlight
areas which they believe are critical for the viewer. At the same
time, its unimportant to talk incessantly as Jeff Van Gundy often does during
games.
Do
not get me wrong, I have no doubt of Van Gundy’s basketball
knowledge. For me it appears he often goes on tangents which often
have nothing to do with the game in front of us. Now you ask, could
I perform the role of an analyst? Currently no, with training and coaching an emphatic yes.
What do you think?
Unless
a prospect is a budding talent, we have no idea how their college game might progress. To recap I had a discussion with a buddy on this
very subject the other day. Keep in mind
there are always late bloomers who might graduate high school with no rating, do
not confuse the issue, that is not to contend the athlete has limited skill. I use espn.com or rivals.com as an example,
they award stars based on their scouting report on that athlete. My buddy says, “That’s okay however it’s more
important to me how many schools are recruiting the guy.” What do you think, which barometer do you utilize
when accessing talent?
Just in case you missed it earlier
“How come Luka Doncic
wears jersey number 77?” I am glad you asked the question because
very few are familiar with the story. A Euro player Doncic admired
wore number 7, he took the number due to his administration. At the
time he joined the Mavs Dwight Powell wore number 7, 77 became a compromise for
him. It should be of further note basketball reference.com provides
us with nicknames of players its profiles.
The site provides us with several nicknames for Doncic several downright strange. “Cool Hand” we guess this is from the 1967 Paul Newman movie Cool Hand Luke. “The Don”, a reference to the head of an organized crime family, then we have “Wonder Boy”. That one has me totally confused, finally we end with “Swaggy L.” Remember former NBA player Nick Young, his nickname was “Swaggy P.” Just my opinion I hate all of them, surely great minds could hang a better nickname on Doncic.
