Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Quite interesting

I would bet most of you didn’t realize this, I certainly didn’t until it was read by yours truly, in 2014 the Nuggets made Nikola Jokic the 41^st pick in the second round, can you imagine that? Most of us might not have witnessed him being drafted, by this time fans of the draft have tuned out by this time, consider this bit of information. With an 8:00 p.m. Eastern start time his name may have been announced as early as 9:45 or as late as 10:00 p.m. before we heard his named. 

Jokic or The Joker as he’s nicknamed is the NBA’s 2021 MVP and the reason is evident. The 6-foot 11-inch Big Man registered career numbers across the board, his assist numbers continue to point him out as the most skillful post player in the NBA. His 8.3 assists per game were third among all NBA players for the 2020-21 season as he outpaced several point guards. Congratulations are certainly due the Big Man from Serbia for his outstanding regular season play.

I’m confused

The NBA playoffs thus far have me confused; I believed in the Eastern Conference finals the Bucks would play better than last season, I have been wrong to date. An analyst claimed, “The Bucks will be better prepared (for game 2) now that they know James Harden will not play.” You could have fooled me, the final score read Nets 125 Bucks 86; the Bucks have now been blown out in two consecutive games. As the Western Conference finals begin, we see the Suns run over the Nuggets 122-105 another surprise score. Both series are not over but they have been far more lopsided wins than expected.  

Thibs

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was named NBA Coach of the Year which should certainly be no surprise to any NBA fan. The surprise Quin Snyder finished 3^rd in the voting, this is not a hate Snyder column. The honor generally is given to a coach whose teams have overachieved; the Jazz were a good team last season. They won 8 more games than the previous season, for the Knicks it was a huge leap ahead.   We saw the Knicks earn a playoff berth for the first time in 8 years, in addition they went from 21 wins to 41 a solid improvement. 

Look what I uncovered

As is almost always the case, I’m searching for one thing and up pops in my feed a story I can use. Remember we discussed the amount of money the NCAA earned yearly, check this out. “Basketball, particularly the annual March Madness tournament, brings in most of the NCAA’s income. Of its roughly $1 Billion in annual revenue, about $820 million comes from this Division I men’s championship, largely through TV and marketing rights.”

Nov 16, 2020 

https://www.bestcolleges.com>blog

Give it up

This will be the last time the issue of the 2020 championship will be covered by me. Charles Barkley’s rant regarding the 2020 NBA championship appears to have fallen on deaf ears. As with any issue there are many who agree with his take. The overwhelming number are saying why, your stance on this issue will not change one thing. Do you believe the NBA will void a championship they were responsible for setting up just because you believe it suspect?

The Lakers didn’t create the Bubble, instead of complaining about the championship how about aiming your indignation at the NBA? Those are the folks who set this plan in motion all the Lakers (and Heat) did was follow the plan they laid out. Is there something else that is gnawing at you, despite your accolades (Naismith & College Hall of Fame) you appear resentful of anyone with a ring? Remember Adam Morrison, he’s got 2 count them, 2 championship rings. He didn’t contribute much as a Laker reserve but managed to be in the right place at the right time. Charles Barkley, it now appears we must place you with the Hater crowd.   

Replacing a legend  

Jon Scheyer has the toughest job in college basketball, he is replacing a legend as head coach. Several years ago, we could make a similar statement about the late Gene Bartow or Mike Davis, the names unfamiliar to you? More on Bartow and Davis later Scheyer is the heir apparent to Coach K. when he retires after the season. As for the names mentioned previously Bartow took over UCLA basketball after legendary John Wooden retired, as for Davis he replaced the fabled Bobby Knight at Indiana. After taking over the UCLA program Bartow only lasted two seasons before he submitted a letter of resignation.

Bartow finished his coaching career successfully at the University of Alabama-Birmingham prior to retirement. Davis would resign after three seasons, but his first stop was Texas Southern, and he now coaches Detroit Mercy. Davis claims he wasn’t ready to coach such a big-time program as Indiana. Back to Duke, the school is yet to make the announcement official however news accounts lead us to believe Scheyer is the heir apparent. He’s tutored under the best but he’s not Coach K., don’t expect him to coach the Blue Devils in the same manner as his teacher. Scheyer will be under a tremendous amount of pressure as he leads the program now and into the future.