Basketball from a fans perspective   

Published Monday through Friday

The Missouri Breaks

In 1976 Hollywood released a movie with the above title, starring were Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. I never saw the movie; I am only familiar with it because it has “Missouri” my home state in the title. We might say the “Missouri Breaks” belong to Cuonzo Martin and his Tiger team. This is written prior to Mizzou’s game last night against Eastern Illinois, at last the Tigers have found a team worst than them at least on paper. The Panthers are 2-7 while Mizzou is 4-4, what can you tell me after 8 games about this Mizzou team? A gigantic number of problems all fixable but certainly not on the fly. I continue to believe the talent is there but creating an entirely new team is beyond the realm of an instant fix. Perhaps the coach has bitten off more than he can chew, despite this statement this member of Mizzou Nation still is in his corner.

Midrange game

I’m going to depend on Kirk Goldsberry of ESPN.com. He writes Kevin Durant is scoring at a clip that will allow him another scoring title. Goldsberry indicates Durant is doing this by dominating the midrange game. I can’t speak to Durant because I haven’t seen him in action enough to make that statement. This I do know; NBA players have abandoned the midrange shot for the 3-point line. That’s a good and bad scenario in my view, good when you are own it…bad when missing shots. Of course, all of us understand, scoring 2 points versus 3 makes sense. It would appear a good shooter (your definition) might be more precise shooting 10-15 feet from the basket rather than almost a 24-foot shoot from the top of the key. Shooting from the corner is lesser at 22 feet so that’s likely why we see that shot more often than other distances.

Top 25

Monday’s list 1-5 in the AP and Coaches Poll reflect the same teams:

Purdue

Baylor

Duke

UCLA

Gonzaga

As said previously polls are just a beauty test until the NCAA Tournament is completed

Luka the Don

The break at Thanksgiving allowed me to celebrate the holiday with family and friends in Dallas. Included was a Saturday evening match between the Mavs and the Wizards. Once the clock read 0.00 the Wizards were the winner but truly it was me. For the first time in memory, I had an opportunity to see an NBA game live, no television commentary just seated in the stands. I was particularly curious to see Luka Doncic in action and he did not disappoint.

Doncic is listed as a small forward but let’s just say that is misleading, at times he is the point guard, and he rebounds the ball well for a player of his height. Doncic has a mid-range game plus the ability to shoot capable from the 3-point line. Although the Mavs lost the game 120-114 Luka the Don had his usual game, he would score 33 points on 13 for 25 shooting and dish out 10 assists to Mavs teammates. The trip to Dallas was not made exclusively to see Luka in action, in fact the journey to American Airlines Center was a late decision however the game did make the entire trip worthwhile.

This from an earlier edition

Imagine this, a newly hired coach registers a 38-47 record after his first three years on the job. In his third year at the helm the team finishes 11-17; you suppose that coach might still have a job? In this microwave/internet/twitter/Instagram/Facebook age we want, NO we demand instant gratification. Depending on the state of a basketball program a coach must be allowed adequate time to recruit “his” players and implement his coaching philosophy. It’s quite possible the coach might be forced to remove players recruited by his predecessor.

This might be due to the players unwillingness to adopt the coaches view of the game, perhaps it might be a starter unhappy with being relegated to the bench, but you get the idea. By the way, the 38-47 start by the coach was none other than Mike Krzyzewski of Duke. As we approach Coach K’s last season coaching the Blue Devils his record is a sparkling 1,174 wins versus 361 losses. Duke teams have won 5 NCAA Championships and is a perennial qualifier for post-season play due to coaching. We could guess all day long, what if Coach K. had begun his coaching career in 2021 instead of 1980, could he hold on to that job? Of course, we can’t answer the question it does supply us evidence how time (and society) has brought about a change.

“Please, Please, please”

The opening stanza to the 1958 R&B hit tune by James Brown & The Famous Flames:

“Please, please, please, please

(Please, please don’t go)

Please, please, please

Please, please don’t go)”

That’s the way I felt about former Laker Kyle Kuzma now with the Wizards, please don’t go. Over a brief period, he’d become one of my favorite Lakers, but I knew deep down he was eventually going to be traded or would leave in free agency. It appeared after the arrival of LeBron James he never made the adjustment. Kuzma would become a reserve rather than starter, in addition his game never meshed with LeBron. Who do we point the finger of blame, was this LeBron’s fault or Kuzma? How about both as it appeared neither likely acquiesced. In any event Kuzma appears in a good place with the Wizards. He is playing starter minutes and appears pleased with his departure from Los Angeles.