Basketball from a fans perspective

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Woulda, coulda, shoulda

It seems we can always return to the past and uncover what we believe might have been the outcome. The only problem with revisionist history there is no method to prove your view or theory is correct. That is the case we present here, the Netflix documentary Untold: Malice in the Palace has brought forth an unusual comment from former Piston great Isiah Thomas. If you remember the 2004 riot or saw the documentary, you are aware the series of events that took place in The Palace of Auburn Hills. This from Thomas: “Piston fans wouldn’t have acted that way if I coached the Pacers.”

Thomas had been coach of the Pacers but was fired in 2003 and replaced by Rick Carlisle. To say it and then offer no further explanation other than “I was no longer the coach” is meaningless to scores of us. We are led to believe the Piston fan who tossed the cup at Ron Artest wouldn’t have done so with Thomas as head coach. The former Pacer coach goes on to say that Piston team could have won an NBA championship and he well could be correct, that’s difficult to prove at this time. Why Thomas offers this point now is a complete mystery, he could have voiced this opinion in 2004.

We are down to two

By the time you read this he’s there, the HE in this instance is Emoni Bates. Bates is now prepared as a Class of 2021 prospect to choose a school. It appears pro basketball in Australia, G-League Elite or Overtime Elite is out of the question we imagine. Bates has visits scheduled today at Memphis and on Friday its Oregon. He is still non-committal at this point implying he’s got no idea where he’s headed. The question posed do you believe Bates? It appears according to sources the Oregon visit might be a diversion and believe he’s headed to Memphis. Jalen Duran (6-10 230 pounds) also re-classified and decided to attend Memphis, Duran and Bates are friends, what do you think? Perhaps it’s no wonder 80-year-old Larry Brown was hired as an assistant coach; he was sought out for his vast basketball expertise. Brown will be a valuable aid to head coach Penny Hardaway in the strategy for these Tigers. 

Specialists

NBA basketball has long had specialists, guys who didn’t score much sometimes they didn’t rebound the ball either, but they excelled in other areas. Among the first that come to mind are KC Jones and Satch Sanders valued members of those championship Celtic teams of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. We could fast forward to Dennis Rodman a defensive and rebounding aficionado, he took both sides of the game to a higher level at 6 foot 6 inches. More recently Bruce Bowen at the time he played for the Spurs was their defensive specialist.

In today’s NBA Patrick Beverely has tried to fill the void of specialist but winds up woefully short in my view. Just this week he was traded to the Grizzlies and now Eastern Conference foes can look forward to his aggressive over the top play at the point. He might have worn out his welcome with the Clippers for his play against Chris Paul, there are some NBA players who claim Paul is over the top as well on defense. Rest assured he, Steph Curry are probably rejoicing at the prospect of seeing Beverely a fewer number of times.  In any event Beverely will be missing in his first Grizzlies game, he’s been suspended for shoving Chris Paul during the playoffs. (Prior to publication Beverely was traded to the Wolves). 

We can’t tell until we arrive there

Mizzou’s non-conference basketball schedule is almost complete. The schedule while not overpowering should supply us an early sign how decent Mizzou might play once SEC play begins. There are traditional tough teams on the schedule, Kansas, Illinois and Florida State. Mizzou opens the season against Central Michigan at home on November 9 then on November 18-21 they will play in the Jacksonville Classic.

On the 18^th of November Mizzou will play Northern Illinois and then either Florida State or Loyola Marymount. November 26 Wichita State will visit Mizzou Arena and the annual Braggin’ Rights Game versus Illinois will be held in St. Louis prior to Christmas. Mizzou qualified again to play in the SEC/Big XII Challenge, the Tigers will face Iowa State January 29, 2022. The complete schedule is not supplied however it should be competitive and a surprise or two for Mizzou and this writer. After all we can’t tell until we arrive there a team’s worth.