Basketball from a fans perspective

The International game

Despite Stephen A. Smith’s pompous commentary, apparently, he’s not reached the realization the world basketball game continues to grow over time. Curious I decided to check NBA.com, I was interested in the number of international athletes, and this is what I discovered. The 2019-20 information indicated there are 108 International players from 41 nations playing in the NBA. We could offer as evidence the dynamic play of Luka Doncic and 2021 NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.

We could add the name Rudy Gobert to the discussion as well. As this is written we don’t know if the Bucks win the NBA championship. If they manage to accomplish the feat there is a principal reason, the play of power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Based on the statements it might appear I’ve thrown up my hands and ready to surrender to the world. Far from it my desire is for USA to win in international play including the Olympics. At the same time with the continuing influx of international players into the NBA we cannot or should not expect to dominate basketball as might have occurred in the past. Don’t believe I’ve given up on international play, especially the Olympics I am just being a realist.

Hold on there

We speculated Kawhi Leonard might be bound to the Clippers due to surgery. Despite what might have been stated this might not be reality. Entering the picture, the Dallas Mavs who are below the salary cap and anxious to spend in free agency. This change is based on a fansided.com story, the Mavs have a list of prospective free agent they are expressing interest. Of course, of the names mentioned Kawhi Leonard is the one that attracts the most attention. New Mavs GM Nico Harrison indicates he wants to create a culture that makes Dallas a player destination, no Texas state tax should certainly aid the cause of attracting players.

We don’t know

An account in Rock M Nation Mizzou’s fan website contained interesting information. If every player remains eligible plus no one transfers the cupboard is full. Mizzou has one scholarship remaining for 2021-22 and one for 2022-23. Coach Cuonzo Martin is non-committal whether an athlete is added prior to the start of school this fall. Despite a full roster we have no idea what the future holds for Mizzou in the SEC this fall and winter. The main reason for the question marks, Kobe Brown is the only returnee who played major minutes this past season.

The 6-foot 7 Brown averaged 6.3 points and 4.1 rebounds a game hardly eye-popping number. The hope Amari Davis Green Bay, Jarron Coleman Ball State, DaJuan Gordon Kansas State plus Ronnie DeGray UMass arrive and not miss a beat. All those named have experience playing basketball at the Division I level. The difficulty is molding this varied collection of talent into a cohesive unit. It’s possible we might not see this team play as a “team” until February. This Mizzou team will have plenty of practice prior to the first game but practice is just that. It reminds us of the former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson quote, ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Hopefully the “punch in the mouth will not be fatal for the program. The 2021-22 crop of Mizzou Tigers contains only one senior, with the prospect of losing only one player can a team possibly “over-recruit”? That is certainly a possibility, Rock M Nation indicates as much based on Mizzou’s roster. The Tigers could lose several players based on the lack of opportunity to play. Surely prospective talent must check the roster of Mizzou or any other destination prior to deciding that’s where I want to go. That prospect must determine in their head who the competition might be for their position and if they believe they can play major minutes.

Upset…yes, a number are 

The NBA in some instances is no different from other professional sports. We are often reminded, “Nobody is watching the NBA, they are not watching because of all the Black Lives Matter and other political and social stuff.” Yes, rest assured we’ve read the letters, there are a vast number of NBA fans turned off by the political and social stance taken by the NBA and many of its athletes. Despite that fact there is visible proof of the other, a larger number of fans either believe in the effort or frankly don’t care what the players do.

Remember there was a question prior to the championship beginning, “No major market teams competing for the championship, viewership would be down.” Well, that’s not exactly occurred according to the numbers released thus far. In addition, there are serious doubts if we could witness more rambunctious and vocal crowds than we’ve seen in both cities. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago might be able to turn out larger numbers however the crowds certainly wouldn’t be as demonstrative as we’ve witnessed. Do social and politics turned off fans, rest assured a percentage don’t agree with it or even like it. The issues outside of basketball certainly appears to have minimal impact on fans in Phoenix and Milwaukee especially those gathered outside the arenas.