Basketball from a fans perspective   

Published Monday through Friday

Bits n Pieces   

On Monday Nebraska guard Bryce McGowens announced he was hiring an agent and declaring for the NBA draft. The 6 foot 7 McGowens leaves after his freshman season scoring nearly 17 points and 5 rebounds per game average. His name fails to appear on any of the mock draft sites but no matter. His is likely a pro career somewhere if not the NBA. McGowens becomes perhaps the first college player to announce his intention to play in the NBA.

The Pelicans will likely earn a play in tournament berth. They will accomplish this task without Zion Williamson on the court, the Pelicans power forward has been ruled out for the balance of the season. At one time it was believed he’d be able to return however that is out of the question at this point. We have questions now if his surgically repaired foot will allow him to ever play in the NBA again, I hope that is not the case.

Perhaps he’s worn-out as well

I’ve made it known for quite a while I’ve grown tired of the constant comparison of athletes of different generations. If a prospect’s game is similar to a familiar player no problem, that aids us in figuring out his possible athletic aptitude. As for the comparison of stating player A is better than player B when they played in different eras…well take note. It is clear Kevin Durant is tired of the comparison as well based on this quote.

“MJ will never play in a game against LeBron so there’s no need for us to compare their careers. It’s just what you prefer.” I believe that just about sums it up, that goes for any player selected on the 50^th or 75^th Anniversary NBA teams. I realize this is a repeat of past discussions however it remains valid, yet we continue to hear of these comparisons. Once upon a time a saying existed, “Musta been a slow news day.” It simply implied let’s make some news and that appears to be the case with basketball over the course of time.

Family   

The Porter family shares a common trait, each brother has developed basketball talent. In addition to the they share a connection to a Columbia Missouri high school. At a point in time Michael Porter Sr. served as an assistant basketball coach at Mizzou, the eldest brother 6-foot 10 Michael Porter Jr. played at Mizzou briefly but is now with the NBA Nuggets. MPJ is a budding NBA All pro, he’s injured now but hopefully when he returns to action, he’ll be prepared to play at the high skill level we’ve seen thus far.

Immediately behind him is brother Jontay a 6-foot 11 power forward also played briefly at Mizzou; he’s currently playing for the NBA G-League Memphis Hustle. Next is brother Coban Porter (6 foot 4) is playing basketball at the University of Denver. Jevon Porter plays for Father Tolton High School in Columbia; this brother is 6 foot 11 and plays power forward. Jevon is headed to Pepperdine in the fall to play for Lorenzo Romar. In 2023 the youngest brother 6 foot 3 Izzak Porter also plays for Tolton and will graduate high school in 2023.

Who is the best?

It’s certainly small ball over Big Man play in the NBA of today. Despite that fact we have two very high-profile Big Men in today’s game. If you ask Philly fans, they will claim Joel Embiid as the best of the best. If we head west to the Rocky Mountains, we might hear a loud NO to that, residents of the Mile High City claim Nikola Jokic a.k.a. The Joker. There is no method to say who is the best without them being matched against one another, in lieu of that allow us to look at a few things. Embiid at 7 feet is one inch taller than Jokic, the Nuggets center outweighs Embiid by 4 pounds at 284.

How about other numbers, it’s Embiid with a 29.8 point per game average versus the 26.1 of Jokic. In the area of rebounds Jokic is the leader with a 13.8 average over Embiid at 11.3. Jokic is clearly the assist man with an 8.1 a game average over the 4.4 of Embiid. The two are close from 3 with Embiid at 35.6% over Jokic and his 34.9%. These two are so close across the board the question might be one we cannot begin to answer. It boils down to which team needs their center more the Sixers or the Nuggets? We are certainly not prepared to answer that question, at the same time the numbers are so close. Jokic is coming off an MVP season in 2021 however reports indicate Embiid is leading as this is written. Who is the MVP, you decide?