Basketball from a fan perspective

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Ugly

What an ugly win, the reference is the Mizzou-Bradley game played last night, Mizzou managed to beat Bradley 54-53 Tuesday evening.  The tough defense exhibited both made for one of the ugliest matches you might ever witnessed without becoming extremely ill.  Mizzou wins a game shooting 25% from the floor in their own gym, Bradley shot much better at nearly 37%. Mizzou’s proficient 3-man backcourt would see only Xavier Pinson playing close to his normal game versus Mark Smith & Dru Smith.  

Pinson would finish the game with 15 points but was a paltry 4-13 from the floor.  With so many missing shots there were rebounds galore for both teams of the offensive and defensive variety.  Big Man Jeremiah Tilmon (6-10 260 pounds) came alive in the second half finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds after suffering foul trouble.  As my cousin stated, “Ugly but we use to lose those games.  At the end of the year nobody hardly remembers those.”  Melvin is correct at the end of the season we’ll look at this as a win and that’s all.   

What do you think?

 “I can guarantee you one thing, tall skilled beats small skilled all the time…a small skilled beats a big stiff all the time…I would’ve loved having a Draymond Green guard me, I don’t care how many threes, what he would do.  He couldn’t grow enough to guard me.”  The words of former Celtic great Kevin McHale.  Allow a further explanation, McHale was nicknamed “The Black Hole” for a reason. 

Science claims stars and other matter entering a black hole disappear never to emerge again.  That was a claim by Celtic teammates, if they passed the ball into McHale don’t expect to see it returned, he’s taking the shot.  A writer noted this about the statement: “He’s talking about basketball in his era.”  This person is attempting to inform us McHale and others couldn’t play in the NBA of today.  In my view that is far from the truth, aspects of any sport changes over generations.  Many of us fail to take into consideration highly skilled athletes could play no matter the era. 

The Zen of Alex Caruso

“The definition of Zen is slang for feeling peaceful and relaxed.”  That might be the case for Laker reserve guard Alex Caruso or simply a case of “water rising to its highest level,” Caruso was a starter in one the games in the Laker Championship series.  Did we mention Caruso went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft, did we reveal he paid his dues playing in the G-League and developing his game?  What do we believe might be the Zen of Alex Caruso, it’s simple, “A big reason guys get stuck in the G-League is because they don’t realize the position they’re trying out for.”  Caruso said, “It’s like going to a job interview thinking you’re going to be the CFO of the company, and they’re looking for someone to clean the bathrooms.”  Thus, the lesson or Zen of Alex Caruso ends at this point.    

It is easy to understand

Spurs center David Robinson retired in 2003, if you unfamiliar with him that’s easy to understand.  Despite a Naismith and FIBA Hall of Fame enshrinement he’s usually not included in a discussion of all-time great NBA centers.  His background, the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, how in the world did he arrive in the NBA from a service academy might be a question?  The military service academies have provided several NFL players however the NBA has been a far different story.

The issue might be simply a height matter, generally 6 foot 7 inches is the maximum height of a military officer.  That was the case with Robinson at the time he qualified for and entered Annapolis.  No way could anyone have predicted he would grow to 7 foot 1 over the next 4 years, his height would prevent him from serving aboard a nuclear submarine.  The military service commitment required was reduced and Robinson began play for the NBA Spurs as a 24-year-old rookie.  He would play until 2003 and was a 2-time NBA Champion and NBA MVP in 1995.  The honors mentioned are just a few Robinson earned during a brilliant amateur and professional career.