Basketball from a fans perspective

Bits n Pieces

It’s mentioned previously, there are many who claim Luka Doncic “is not very athletic.” I say so what, if you’ve got 10-15 moves around the basket and can shoot like number 77…well. Doncic needs help, the Mavs are not going to win this series against the Suns or any future playoff series, but it’s been fun watching Doncic at least from my standpoint.

My Lakers are M.I.A. so who wins is not that important to me. Hold on a moment, I would like to see Chris Paul win. Throughout his Hall of Fame career either he’s suffered a playoff injury, or a valued teammate, he’s been denied a championship numerous times. At the same time if Paul should retire without a championship he’d still be in good company. Just a few Naismith Hall of Fame honorees without rings, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Pete Maravich and Patrick Ewing. I will stop here, a ring is nice, but it fails to define a career.

Marvin Menzies is 60 years old; Menzies was recently hired as head coach at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. This coach is a winner based on his stops at UNLV and New Mexico State. Don’t misunderstand the focus on his age but Kansas City is likely his last stop before he retires. Who knows, we have surprises, the first Billy Donlon leaving after producing a winning season. I must state Menzies is the second surprise and my statement is partially age related. We might believe a college program hires a coach hoping he’s intended to be on location for an extended period of time, based on Menzies age he might only be on the job a minimum of time, In any event welcome to Kansas City basketball.

Thunder basketball was not very good this past season however there was one bright spot…Josh Giddey. The 6-foot 8 combo guard from Australia moved into the starting lineup almost immediately. He would become the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double eclipsing the record of LaMelo Ball. Giddey would go on to record three consecutive triple-doubles. The numbers Giddey generated exceeded those registered in his last season in the Australian Basketball League. The NBA future for Giddey appears quite brilliant now and into the future.

Money is not a solve all

Ben Simmons has been attacked on all sides even by me. That ends with this account, not only was there an issue of mental health he was dealing with a bad back as well. Why do we believe just because someone has wheelbarrows of money, they shouldn’t have the same issues as others in the society? A few might remember one of the first NBA players mentioning mental health was Ron Artest a.k.a. Metta World Peace. More recently Kevin Love of the Cavs made public his mental health struggle. 99% of us have little if any idea the pressure facing athletes to perform at their peak, this encompasses athletes in all sports. Gymnast Simone Biles went on record dealing with her issues she referred to as the “twisties.”

Biles indicated in a routine the gymnasts can lose track of the number count which could prove disastrous during a performance. Tennis champion Naomi Osaka has taken a break indicating she needed to deal with mental health issues. There are other athletes who likely failed to admit there was a mental health issue. The great running back Gayle Sayers was told when returning from a serious knee injury, “You are running timid” or similar words were expressed by a coach. Not only was Sayers dealing with the potential for pain but the possibility of injury which weighed heavily on his mind. In conclusion allow this brief statement, I have no working knowledge of the mental health field, nor do I know anyone personally. These are the words of someone who is willing to see there is more than the physical side of any sport.

Who was first?

We realize the NBA ranks behind the NFL and maybe baseball in popularity among sports fans, but it causes an issue. Groundbreaking events are always applauded but sometimes in these particular sports they have been a “dollar short and a day late.” Do you want an example, recently a female coach came onto the field in a major league game to occupy third base? This made the news as a first, what is this 2022? Becky Hammon was hired as an assistant coach by the NBA Spurs in 2014. There are 6 female coaches as this is written serving currently in the NBA.

As for the NFL today, there are 2 female coaches as this is written. This has been mentioned previously, the NFL was bragging about the female who officiated the Super Bowl. How long has the NBA had female officials, I’m glad you ask the question. Can I say long enough that Violet Palmer is now retired after service for 18 seasons as a game official. She only retired after suffering knee problems, as for the others there are 6 female officials in the NBA. I hope this doesn’t appear to downgrade the strides made by females in the NFL and baseball it’s just appears the NBA has done a much more exemplary task than other sports.

I don’t remember the number

When’s the last time you heard someone say, “Nobody watches the NBA anymore” or this one for older folks. “I quit watching the NBA once Michael Jordan retired”, do you realize that’s been quite a few years ago, MJ will turn 60 years of age next February. The point, I don’t remember the number, one of the local sports radio hosts claim the games on Sunday May 1 set an all-time record. A brief pause, with cable plus streaming services I don’t have a clue how the decision makers calculate who is watching what.

I believe all of us understand your opinion you don’t follow or like NBA basketball and that’s okay. I have more issues with those who subscribe to the first statement “Nobody watches the NBA” over the other one. Perhaps you have a superior method of counting viewership than any of us. On the other hand, maybe you’ve decided, “My opinion should reflect everyone around me.” That’s an interesting perspective however I have serious doubts if it holds much validity. On the other hand, consider this, I don’t follow soccer (football in much of the world), I trust no one else does either because I don’t. Quit trying to force your view of a subject on others, that’s not your place. 5-4-3-2-1 the rant is now officially over.