Basketball from a fan perspective

This was no fluke---The Heat beat the Celtics in Game one of their series, no problem, it’s only one game the Celtics would rebound…or at least that’s what we believed.  In Game two the Celtics took a lead of 15 points at one point however it would not last the Heat came roaring back.  Final score read Heat 106 Celtics 101 so now the guys from Boston find themselves in an 0-2 hole.  This series is far from over however this places the Celtics in a precarious position with their Thursday evening loss. 

We got a problem---We’d like to believe the Clippers imploded, that is the thought process of many but its more than that.  Many fail to see the effort of the Nuggets to outshine the Clippers.  First up the Joker, Nikola Jokic played outstanding basketball during this series.  He especially showed up and showed out in Games 5,6 and 7.  Guard Jamal Murray said to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, “I’m as good as you are.” 

Then the bench effort by these tough Nuggets, one media member dubbed them the basketball version of The Bad News Bears.  For those who might not be familiar with the 1976 movie this from IMDB, “An aging, down on his luck ex-major leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.”  The Nuggets certainly don’t fit that description in my view, they are a tough competitive team who refuses to give up.  This will be no walk in the park for the Lakers, they must exceed their play versus the Rockets if they expect to beat these Nuggets.   

Mizzou basketball---The rapid commits over the last few weeks places Mizzou basketball recruiting somewhat settled, let’s check it out.  In the Class of 2021, Mizzou’s received 5 verbal commits leaving 1 spot open.  The coach indicates he is likely to save that for a possible transfer, as we arrive closer to next summer this plan will become clearer.  Class of 2022 contains 0 commits and 5 roster spots open, as for the Class of 2021 arriving next August in Columbia MO we should see:

Anton Brookshire 6 foot 160-pound point guard Springfield MO

Kaleb Brown 6-6 218-pound shooting guard Huntsville AL

Sean Durugordon 6-7 217-pound shooting guard Queens NY

Trevon Brazile 6-7 175-pound small forward Springfield MO

Yaya Keita 6-9 225-pound power forward St. Louis MO

Notice anything interesting in the commits, well 3 are from the State of Missouri.  Coach Cuonzo considers St. Louis metro and the state prime recruiting grounds for his program.  We shall see how this plays out into the future.  This rating can change over the course of the next year but 247sports figures Mizzou class recruiting class is number 27 in the nation while Rivals list Mizzou slightly higher at 25.   

Okay Reggie tell us what you really think--- Many in the media rather than give the Nuggets credit for an outstanding playoff series focused on the words emanating from the Clippers post-game press conference.  We heard there were chemistry issues with the Clippers, this from former Pacer and media member Reggie Miller and his thoughts on the matter. 

“You can’t tell me it was all about chemistry.  Their cross-town rival (Lakers) has a brand-new coach in Frank Vogel.  They’ve got what, 6-7 new players as well?  Avery Bradley is not even in the Bubble?” This is the NBA not the NEA, i.e. National Excuse Association, the Clippers need to man up and admit they were outplayed, and it had nothing to do with chemistry.  We could say the Clippers were playing to avoid losing rather than playing to win.    

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