Basketball from a fans perspective

0-2

Down in the playoffs 0-2 fails to consider a series might be over, we could look at the Nuggets just last season in the semifinals. In their series versus the Clippers, they came roaring back and won outright despite being down 3 games to 1. In 2016 the Warriors faced the same scenario down 3-1 versus the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and won. Later in those same Finals the Cavs were down 3-1 to the Warriors and won the championship. Despite most recently last season and others in years past it’s not good playing from behind. We expected the Bucks to play better on Thursday evening and they did just not fortunate enough to register a win.

The final score read Suns 118 Bucks 108 placing the Bucks in an 0-2 deficit. For much of the game the Suns appeared much swifter than the Bucks for the second time, once again the Bucks managed to outrebound the Suns although the margin was about the same as Game one. We cannot project what might occur in the future for this series but this we can state with conviction. Come Sunday nighttime the Suns will hold a 3-0 advantage, or the Bucks win, and the series is 2-1 Suns favor. This from an NBA observer, unless the Bucks play a complete game from start to finish this Finals will be over soon. This is the issue; the Suns have played portions of the series on rocky ground but in the long run appear more stable than the Bucks.

Another addition

We made note last week 80-year-old Larry Brown has taken on another job, the longtime coach is headed to Memphis as an assistant to Penny Hardaway. It’s interesting his age says Brown has long been at a point he could have retired, but he continues.  There is a single reason, he loves the game of basketball at all levels. One more life event for Brown occurred this week, he was awarded the 2021 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Basketball Coaches Association.

Brown’s years of coaching is remarkable, can you state he’s done it all.  In 50 years, Brown has made 14 stops as head coach, three college jobs UCLA, Kansas and SMU. His first head coaching position began way back in 1972 with the ABA and the Carolina Cougars and from there his coaching odyssey has taken Brown all over the nation. He’s got 1,098 wins as an NBA coach placing him in 8^th place among all-time winning coaches. Brown holds one record that is likely to never be broken or eclipsed for that matter. In 1988 his Kansas Jayhawks won the NCAA championship and 2005 he won it all as the head man of the NBA Pistons.

NIL

Recently you read the account of Ed O’Bannon and his fight with the NCAA. The NCAA with all that its done is guilty of a multitude of stuff. In 2021 witness the NIL being implemented, the initials stand for Name, Image, Likeness. This latest action doesn’t affect athletes in all 50 states, but several can now be paid, they can receive income while continuing to maintain their amateur status. They will be paid for their name being utilized, their image or likeness. This ruling effects athletes in Division I, II and III sports and several have already begun an effort.

As this is written none of the athletes to date will have the potential riches of Hercy Miller…that is yet. Hercy is the son of rapper Master P. and he will be a freshman on the Tennessee State basketball team in the fall. In addition, he is a millionaire WITHOUT any of his daddy’s money. Young Miller struck a $2 million deal to become a brand ambassador for Web Apps America, a tech company specializing in web, mobile and software solutions. Rest assured the young man certainly didn’t accomplish this feat on his own, it does become a landmark event for what it does for his financial status and possibly others who will follow the plan he laid out.  

The disadvantage of the SEC

I have discussed with family and friends the prospect of Mizzou returning to the Big XII. As mentioned most are opposed to the idea and for the most part they all mention the money. Mizzou receives far more revenue as an SEC member over what they might have received as a member of the Big XII. With that said what is the disadvantage of playing in the SEC? Travel, we can forget that conference teams due to air travel are no longer tied into one another by geography. In Kansas City the disadvantage is strictly media visibility.

As an example, local media will cover Texas or Baylor hundreds of miles from Kansas City but fail to mention an Arkansas or Kentucky game. The point I’m attempting to make all four schools are about the same road mile distance from the Kansas City market. Is this built-in bias due to nearby Lawrence Kansas home of the University of Kansas lying less than 50 miles from the metro? Mizzou's been a member of the SEC since 2012, you would believe by now the local media might adjust its sports coverage. Even more mystifying Kansas football has been terrible for several years yet rates higher than Alabama or Florida two SEC football powers. So that is the issue, this is no complaint about Mizzou coverage in the Kansas City market it is the fact SEC coverage is spotty.

The Big Man

We are unsure if Andre Drummond returns to the Lakers, the reason he might not return is two-fold. The amount of $$$ he desires as a free agent and his difficulty playing the post adequately. As for his post play it’s my contention he might not be as effective in the post for two reasons, lack of practice with his late acquisition (February) by the Lakers. This is the most critical part…Drummond might not have been taught properly how to handle his 6-foot 10-inch 280-pound body in the paint. The game has changed from inside out to outside in, less emphasis on post play. In Game one of the NBA Finals, we saw how effective a Big Man like DeAndre Ayton can aid a team. Ayton wasn’t the high scorer (22 points) in the game, but it was the skillful manner the Suns managed to utilize him. There were lob passes, dunks and instances where he simply tipped in errant shots.

I don’t remember seeing any of his shots made from more than 10 feet from the basket. In addition, stationed in and around the basket Ayton was a monster on the boards, he ended the night one rebound short of a 20-point, 20 rebound game. Only 3 players in NBA history exceeded Ayton in their first game, Wilt Chamberlain with 23 rebounds, Larry Bird 21 and Bill Walton 20. Granted it’s a fact Ayton might not have another game similar however he just could. Back to Drummond a moment, this is not intended to critique his game or any other current Big Man. This is simply to debate the issue once again, is there a place in the guard-oriented NBA for post play? I don’t have the answer, what do you think? I’m borrowing this from Shannon Sharpe Fox Sports host. “I would love for Andre Drummond to stay with the Lakers but won’t lose sleep if he doesn’t.”