Basketball from a fans perspective   

Published Monday through Friday

Winning

The phrase above was made famous by actor and entertainer Charlie Sheen at a point in his life. We could make the same statement about the Warriors and Suns. Headed into the season we believed both teams would be winners but would likely finish behind either of the teams from Los Angeles. In early December that is not the case, the Warriors are 19-4 and the Suns also 19-4.

The Warriors opened the season with a 4-game winning streak and mixed in the schedule are two 7 game winning streaks, as for the Suns their 18-game winning streak was curtailed by none other than those same Warriors. In the meantime, the Clippers (12-12) and Lakers (12-12) are sputtering along not making an impact in the Western Conference. Who would have figured in early December the two hottest teams in the NBA would be the Warriors and Suns? I don’t believe even the most insightful NBA observer could not have made this forecast.

He’s gone

In a surprising move Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon stepped down on Friday after serving 10-years as head coach. The surprising part of this story the collegiate season has barely begun with most teams having played less than a month. Turgeon leaves with a 226-116 overall record; this includes the 5-3 season in 2021-22. Even more out of the ordinary Turgeon had signed an extension last spring after the season.

The athletic department announced the coach and the school had come to a mutual agreement. They also announced assistant Danny Manning will take over for the balance of the season as interim head coach. It’s pure speculation if Manning is hired as the replacement for Turgeon, he served as an assistant at Kansas, Tulsa, and Wake Forest. Manning was hired as head coach at Wake Forest in 2014 but was fired in 2020. In 2021 he was hired as an assistant to Turgeon before assuming the role of interim head coach on Friday.

You read that correctly

What occurs, no Jae Morant able to play due to injury, could the Grizzlies continue in his absence? We can answer that emphatically based on the Thursday evening game against the Thunder. We had no national television coverage, so the box score is the basis for our account. The final score of the game read 152-79 and you did read the score correctly. The game set an NBA record as the Grizzlies rolled over the top of the Thunder, imagine that a 73-point win.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led the way for the Grizzlies with 27 points, but 8 teammates scored in double figures. The Grizzlies shot a blazing 62.5% from the floor and 52.8% from the 3-point line but only 72.2% from the free-throw line. As for the Thunder it was 32.9% shooting from the floor and 28.9% from the 3-point line, Luguentz Dort led the way with 15 points. The record setting game will be compiled in the annals of the NBA but its best the Thunder forget this one very quickly.

The two are not in the NBA  

Sterling “Scoot” Henderson is dominating the NBA G-League, we make this statement about an athlete who technically should be in high school. 17-year-old Henderson reclassified and graduated in 2021 signed with G-League Team Elite. The 6-foot 4-inch shooting guard averages 22 points a game for Team Elite, we realize this is not the NBA however that’s an outstanding figure for an athlete fresh out of high school. We are certainly not saying Henderson is NBA ready, we’ve seen a number over the years being pronounced ready and that turned out to not be the case. The downside, Henderson will not be draft eligible until 2023 so it will be at least two years before we see his name placed in the NBA Draft.

Then again, the NBA might change its draft rules over the next few years. Next, we profile Victor Wembanyama the best young Big Man in the game, not my words but those of Mike Schmitz NBA Draft analyst for ESPN. Wembanyama was born and lives in Nanterre France in metro Paris. The youngster stands 7 feet 2 inches and is still growing but is a thin 225 pounds. Scouts believe he should be able to add bulk without affecting his game. Wembanyama was key to Team France staying in the FIBA U19 game against Team USA last July with 22 points 8 rebounds and 8 blocked shots. Wembanyama plays for ASVEL Basket in Villeurbanne near Lyon France. A brief profile of two talented youth basketball players just 17-years old. Video of Wembanyama in action exists on YouTube allowing you to check out his skills in action.