Basketball from a fan’s perspective

“He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.” – Benjamin Franklin 

Things are settled…to a degree

We speak of Mizzou basketball; things are mostly settled after a record number of transfers. Several might point to a conflict with head coach Cuonzo Martin, that might be the case with at least one or possibly two of the transfers.  The others appeared to just take advantage of this “pandemic basketball season” and chose to move.  With the holdovers, plus incoming freshman and the portal transfers where does Mizzou stand.  We don’t know; the 2021-22 season will be a wishing and hoping one again. The last statement might sound scary for much of Mizzou Nation however that is not the case for this journalist. 

The departures leave Mizzou with two open slots, exactly what does the coach do about that?  Mizzou’s backcourt would appear to be in good shape however there is a necessity for depth in the post.  7-foot 3–245-pound Jordan Wilmore returns for his sophomore year but barely played last season, he should see increased time in this upcoming season. Also coming on board is 6-foot 9-inch 225-pound Yaya Keita however you see the dilemma.  One frontcourt member is a sophomore who barely played and the other a freshman who must adjust to collegiate basketball.  Reports are the coaching staff is exploring the junior college ranks and the few post players in the transfer portal to fill the last two slots, who is out there?

Laker injuries

The 2020-21 season has not been kind to the Lakers.  The old saying, “Injuries are part of the game” certainly apply to this version of my favorite NBA team.  Anthony Davis has returned to the lineup, he's  been M.I.A. since the middle of February.  Laker Nation thought “Okay we should be able to hold on as long as we have LeBron” BAM he goes down with a high ankle sprain.  Despite the negative news there is a good and bad with all the injuries.  The bad, missing the two stars has caused the Lakers to slide downward in the standings. 

This is no excuse rather the facts as they exist, they sit in 5^th place in the playoff standings.    We intend to cover the good of this injury plagued season.  The NBA season is long, and the 2020-21 season is the shortest break in history, the championship the Lakers won occurred October 11, 2020 and the season began again on December 22, 2020.  LeBron has a great deal of mileage on his 36-year-old body, when he returns to the lineup he should be fully rested for a stretch run.  The same applies for Anthony Davis although he’s certainly much younger than LeBron.  So, there you have it the good and the bad of this Laker injury afflicted season.  It so happens with Kyle Kuzma, Markieff Morris and Talen Horton-Tucker inserted into the lineup their depth is superior to last season. 

Coaching tree

The Spurs Gregg Popovich’s coaching tree has often been mentioned and it is quite extensive, his length of time coaching the Spurs is partially responsible.  Former Sixers coach Brett Brown and the Bucks Mike Budenholzer were on Pop’s staff at a point in time.  Besides these two there are other current and former coaches.  Alvin Gentry former NBA coach at the Suns and Pelicans, current Hornets coach James Borrego, Quin Snyder Jazz and Taylor Jenkins Grizzlies.  I’m unsure if we should include current Sixers coach Doc Rivers who played for Pop at a point in his career, the same might be said for Mike D’Antoni. 

D’Antoni was a scout for the Spurs in between head coaching jobs.  The list doesn’t conclude there we also have former head coaches Mike Brown, Jacque Vaughn and Earl Watson, each also served as a member of Pop’s staff.  In truth we can state a number of these coaches have not had the long-term success of Pop.  This I believe someday Becky Hamon will become the first female head coach in the NBA.  Who first hired her as an assistant, that would be one Gregg Popovich?  This was done quickly, and I hope accurately, the hope is we missed no one. 

The merger

Since 1976 we’ve used the term NBA-ABA merger as the description of American Basketball Association teams being absorbed into the NBA.  It wasn’t a merger, as example at the time the American Football League merged with the National Football League all AFL teams moved into the NFL.  It was different in basketball; the Virginia Squires had gone bankrupt and two other team’s owners received financial compensation for dissolving their teams.  The Kentucky Colonels owner might have used a portion of his payout to later purchase the Celtics, John Y. Brown would later sell his share of the Celtics.

The remaining ABA teams were almost bankrupt, owners were hemorrhaging money.  Many believe if the NBA had held out for another two years there would have been no ABA teams to absorb.  As for the players that would have been a different story, they would have found a home somewhere in the NBA.  Brothers Ozzie and Daniel Silna owners of the Spirits of St. Louis received only $2.2 million in 1976 dollars.  Their attorney secured a long-term deal that allowed them to continuing receiving financial payment as this is written, they received 1/7 of a share of each of the four remaining ABA (now NBA) teams’ television rights in perpetuity. 

The definition, “A perpetuity is an annuity that has no end, or a stream of cash payments that continues forever.” 1. The Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers and the New York Nets moved into the NBA.  As you see the term merger was used to describe the events, but it was really a term allowing ABA owners to stop hemorrhaging money.  As for the Silna brothers they probably don’t care what it’s called as money continues to roll into them and their families.

1.  History.com