Basketball from a fan’s perspective

“I can do something else besides stuff a ball through a hoop. My biggest resource is my mind.” Kareem Abdul Jabbar

What I can see

The other day I admitted I can only see portions of any NBA game, that holds true no matter what team is being viewed. What did I see of the Lakers Andre Drummond on Tuesday evening that I believe was good? How about this, versus the Knicks he scored 16 points, he snatched down 18 rebounds along with 3 assists and 2 blocked shots. Drummond’s game did not lead directly to the 101-99 OT win, but it certainly helped. 

Weeks ago, I said, “Don’t expect the second coming of Wilt, Shaq or Kareem however expect better play." In this instance scoring was not the ingredient expected of Drummond it was the other things. I refuse to expect this type of play the balance of the season and into the playoffs. I do expect Drummond to perform those tasks he does well such as rebounding the basketball and increase his production on put back shots.  As for the conclusion of the game it was 20-year-old Talen Horton-Tucker from the Lakers bench sinking a crucial 3-point basket key to the win, it was 13 points for him.

Do they know what they are doing?

This is an interesting account; I’m reading one of the Cavs fan websites. This site contained an account with the headline “We hope the Cavs have an opportunity to draft Cade Cunningham.” For those who might not be aware Cunningham is the projected top pick on most of the mock draft sites, in addition he’s a 6-foot 8-inch point guard. We don’t know this to be a fact perhaps Cunningham might not be suited for the position in the NBA. Below are a couple of examples.

Remember Jalen Rose and Kyle Anderson were point guards in college, in the NBA most of the minutes in the case of the retired Rose and now Anderson were at the small forward. If we check the Cavs page the depth chart list Darius Garland as the starter at the point and Collin Sexton as his backup. Garland was drafted in 2019, Sexton in 2018 and therein lies the confusion, two young point guards. This is written strictly from what I see not what the actual case might be, are neither Garland nor Sexton satisfactory at the point? We must wait for the draft in July to determine fact versus fiction however this view if true is interesting plus confusing.

By the time he’s a high school senior

The name Mikey Williams will be as well-known as Emoni Bates, Williams is also one of those legendary high school players. When school begins in the fall the 6-foot 2-inch combo guard will enter his junior year but has already established a huge following thanks to Instagram. Before transferring Williams attended San Ysidro High School in San Diego, 

In his first game as a freshman Williams scored 41 points 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals leading his team to a 98-46 win. Williams would transfer to Lake Norman Christian School in Huntersville North Carolina for his sophomore year where he continued to accelerate his basketball acumen. In the Hardwood Events KC Classic most of the turnout was to witness Williams in action. Store his name in your memory banks, from all indications he’s a keeper and future star.

Could the Raptors have played here?

Several of you might remember the story written on Monday regarding the Raptors and their experience playing the 2020-21 NBA season in Tampa. Without offering any proof I can only surmise what I read the season was not pleasing for the players or management in Tampa. This is speculation on my part, but I wonder if playing in Kansas City might have been a better choice. Was Kansas City placed in a precarious position from the start, do you remember the events that unfolded? The mayor wrote a letter to the NBA inviting them to conduct an inspection of the facilities in the city. Next to occur two community organizations wrote letters of opposition based on issues between the police department and the black and brown community of the city.

I felt then as now Kansas City is no different from other metro areas across the nation, there are police-community relation issues however this is different. The possibility of an NBA team locating here and issues with the police department don’t compute. We have no method to utilize the projected multiplied dollar effect but just keep this in mind?  It’s possible T-Mobile Arena would have hired a significant number of ticket takers, guest services, cleaning crews and concession employees for a 36-game home schedule. We have no method to validate this statement however let’s assume 25-30% of the hires would be from the black and brown community. How does this picture factor in with the Kansas City MO Police Department? The city is reported to be on the short list for an expansion franchise one day. It is the hope of not just me in the future we don’t attempt to resolve social and civic issues in such a hap hazard manner.