Basketball from a fans perspective   

Published Monday through Friday

Things you do while waiting on Monday

Sorry Nets Nation this is funny to me, I know the LAkers haven’t set the NBA on fire either. ESPN’s Stan Verrett reporting on the slow start of the Nets said, “They don’t have Irving, Kyrie or Julius!” I stopped a moment before it registered with me, I’d forgotten one of the All-Time greats Julius “Dr. J.” Irving had once played for the New York Nets. I was reminded of an earlier occurrence, remember when Stephen A. Smith and others had a conniption about Team USA Olympic basketball?

Wonder how that turned out, did Team USA win anything? It’s difficult to assess the Nets and the Lakers thus far, we have injuries and missing players to consider. With the Lakers we used the phrase “fresh faces” in strange places or words to that affect. Did you realize although Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard returned the Lakers have only three players from last season, these two played elsewhere? Do we expect the LAkers or Nets for that matter to continue to perform at this level, we have serious doubts that is the future for both franchises?

NIL

Just in case you were unfamiliar the headline is Name, Image and Likeness which is now in effect. Up till recently NIL only applied to college athletes, it’s now been extended down to the high school level. He’s 17-years old and his name is Mikey Williams. Williams has signed a shoe and apparel deal with Puma, the dollar amount was not revealed however we assume it is quite lucrative. All this for the 6-foot 2-inch guard, Williams is a junior at Vertical Academy a prep school founded by his father.

Vertical intends to play ta national schedule in the 2021-22 season. As for the future that’s an unknown at this point, Williams has received scholarship offers however his basketball future is somewhat murky. Unless there are changes Williams is not eligible for the NBA Draft until 2024. Williams is the first NIL high school player with a shoe and apparel deal rest assured there will certainly be more, the basketball landscape has changed in America.

Pronounce my name correctly…. please   

There are players in the NBA with exceedingly difficult names to pronounce. In fact, quite a few have difficult first names as well. I remember watching a Bulls-Celtic game and listening to the player introduction reminded me of a story. Public address announcers might need to be more conscience of the correct pronouncing than maybe a television or radio broadcaster.  On a personal note, when meeting someone for the first time I try and place a mental note to aid me in remembering. This method doesn’t always work however now than it does. Naturally, the easiest name to remember is a person is the same name as yours. 

Back to the story early in his NBA career a public address announcer mis-pronounced Robert Horry’s name during player introductions. He said; “From the University of Alabama 6-foot 10-inch Robert Horr-rey”. It’s reported after the game Horry approached the P.A. announcer after the game and said, “The H in my name is silent, my name is pronounced “Orrey.”  We don’t know for sure if the story is true however it’s reported to have occurred. By the way despite the length of time he’s been in the NBA I still have difficulty with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name.  Not his first name it’s his last name, as much as I try it always sounds as if I’m stumbling over it trying to pronounce it. The easiest for me is to just say Giannis, everyone knows who I’m discussing, LOL. 

It’s November

Our coverage for the most part during the summer into early fall has focused on the NBA to date. The main reason colleges (and high schools) have yet to begin play, all that changes soon. We discount the fact a small number have played exhibition games; these are strictly intended to prepare for the season. We’ve heard team practice is not the same as an actual opponent. It’s better if you are guarding someone who is not your teammate.

November 9 all that changes as number 1 Gonzaga plays Dixie State, Kansas will try to prove their number 3 ranking is proper as they play Michigan State. Houston Baptist is matched against number 5 Texas, number 17 Ohio State faces Akron while Central Connecticut and number 24 UConn are scheduled. If we include the schools mentioned earlier there will be more than 100 in action on Tuesday. These early matchups don’t count for much except in the instance of number 3 Kansas-Michigan State pairing or number 10 Kentucky and number 9 Duke. This game between Kentucky and Duke is somewhat unusual, a match between two traditional power teams.

Best all time 

Bleacher Report profiled the 7 greatest LAker teams of all-time. The picks did not include any of the George Mikan led Minneapolis teams. Although the selected one’s were outstanding one surpassed the others in my view, that would be the 1971-72 LAkers. That team led by coach Bill Sharman won 69 regular season games losing only 13, the Bulls would exceed the won-loss record but not the other. That LAker team won a record 33 games in a row an achievement which remains to this day, I know you are saying there were not that many teams in the NBA back then. That statement is true at the time the NBA consisted of 17 teams however the streak certainly deserves its place in the annals of NBA history.

The team, Sharman had Wilt Chamberlain at center, the power forward was Harold “Hap” Hairston, Jim McMillian at the small forward with Gail Goodrich at one guard and Jerry West at the other. Hall of Fame forward Elgin Baylor was a member of the team but only played 9 games that season before retiring. The LAker bench was outstanding with one of those key players being a guy by the name of Pat Riley. They won the Western Conference Semi-Finals, Finals and NBA Championship losing only 3 games while winning 12. No need of boring you with further numbers let’s just say they too were outstanding. In case you wondered which team ended the winning streak. Kareem Abdul Jabbar with his 39 points and 20 rebounds led the way to victory for the Bucks. Four Hall of Fame players, Chamberlain, West, Goodrich and Baylor on one team, which would be referred to as a Super Team today.