Basketball from a fans perspective   

Monday through Friday

“En Fuego”

At the time Dan Patrick was on ESPN’s SportsCenter he often used the term En Fuego (on fire) when a particular player was hot from the floor. That might be my description for the Saturday night shooting of Klay Thompson for the Warriors, the final score read 117-115 as the Warriors slipped past my Lakers. Based on the final score you understand the Warriors required every one of the 33 points Thompson managed to score in the game.

Late in the game I kept saying to myself over and over, “Don’t let him (Thompson) shoot the ball” to no avail. It seemed as though he hit every shot, he took especially in the 4^th quarter. He was sizzling, 55% from the floor and 56% from the 3-line and 80% from the free-throw line. One might ask “Who was guarding Thompson”, my response would be “The better question, who was watching him?” You might have seen IT earlier than me and that’s okay, IT describes the swagger that’s returned to the Warriors since the return of Mychal Thompson’s son.

Who’s the Man

All season long there’s been a battle between the NBA’s pre-eminent Big Men, Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets and Joel Embiid. The Sixer center registered a triple double against the Cavs on Saturday night leading to a 103-93 victory. Embiid had 40 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting 50% from the floor and 80% from the 3-line. Embiid was also magnificent from the free-throw line shooting 93%, he also had 3 steals in the game. It’s now Jokic’s turn, the Joker must counter this effort in order to maintain his MVP lead.

The Big 3, 2 ½

There was a belief last fall the Nets were headed for the NBA Championship, the roster contained Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Hardin. We had no idea Kyrie would become a part time player, we had no idea KD would miss time injured and finally this one. We had no idea Hardin would be forced to carry the load for this offensive juggernaut. As for the NBA Championship they still might win it all however the Big 3 have now become the Big 2 ½. The statement is made because we have a belief in what James Hardin and Ben Simmons bring to the table. Playing for the Nets will be a good defensive player in Simmons, the other portions of his game…well not so good.

Hardin has 3-point range, Simmons can’t hit a jump shot more than 15-feet from the basket. From distance Hardin is 36.2% and the number from Simmons is a paltry 14.7%. How about the free throw line, we discover Hardin is almost automatic at 85.9% while Simmons is 59.7%? The only area Simmons exceeds Hardin is in the area of assists and that’s not by much (7.7 versus 6.7). Readers might believe there is a “hate-Simmons” campaign going on here, far from it. I believe the tall point guard is a decent player but with flaws in his overall game. Will the Nets be able to “hide” his shortcomings enough to win a championship? In closing perhaps it’s wrong to look strictly at the numbers, unfortunately that and the history is our only measuring stick. As for the championship well, that question will be answered in May or June once the playoffs begin in earnest.

The most hated man in America

Now that I have your attention allow me to state Coach K. is not hated in all circles. In fact, some of us love him, the coach has been accused of bullying game officials, opposing players, the media and others. In his final season I wanted to pay tribute to one of the all-time great basketball coaches in the game’s history. As for the hated part, scores of people do hate him, a portion of the vitriol might be based on the success the coach has had in almost 50 years coaching the game we adore. It's been mentioned previously it was a rocky road when this living legend first began coaching at Duke.

I have stated in the past a coach with his losing record early on would have been fired in the first three years at the helm. Gradually his teams began to play better basketball and the "Cameron Crazies" were born, it became more difficult to play Duke at home and win. Over the years the coach has managed to send a wealth of talent into the NBA or the coaching ranks. For most of us after the season is complete it will be difficult to think of Duke basketball without seeing Coach K. prowling the sidelines. NCAA Championship, Olympic Champion, 3X Naismith Coach of the Year…the honors go on and on. The haters won’t miss you coaching Duke basketball Coach K., but I will. He’s already enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Halls of Fame so only a rocking chair is left now...no not him he will remain active in some capacity. 

Junior college basketball 

Often, we ignore junior or community college basketball, there are a number of athletes who attend junior colleges after high school. Most often they attend these schools to raise their GPA, sometimes it’s more than grades holding back an athlete, it’s their skill. The youngster shows promise but there are “holes” in their game a year or two in junior college can sometimes be beneficial to continued development. They might wind up a Division I or II program somewhere in the nation with the NBA in their future. Bob McAdoo former player is in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. Prior to displaying his skill at North Carolina and later the NBA it began Vincennes then a junior college. 

McAdoo was enrolled at Vincennes from 1969-71 and from there it was North Carolina. Also from the junior college ranks Dennis Rodman, Naismith Hall of Famer Rodman begin his basketball journey at Cook County Community College now known as North Central Texas College. As for the present Wolves guard/forward Jimmy Butler begin his ascension to the NBA from Tyler Junior College in Tyler Texas before heading to Marquette University. Cavs forward Jae Crowder played at Howard College a two-year community college in Big Spring Texas he too would complete his eligibly at Marquette. There are others unmentioned, but the point is this, it doesn’t matter where your journey begins the key is where it ends.