Basketball from a fans perspective

HOF center Bob Lanier

Early Wednesday morning the NBA world was sadden with the news of a death; 73-year-old Bob Lanier had died of an unspecified illness. Lanier spent the greater portion of his NBA career with the Pistons, in 1980 he was traded to the Bucks where he remained for the balance of his 14-year run. The 6-foot 10 250-pound Lanier played in an era center play was key and he often found himself matched against players of that era. In 1970 he was made the number one pick in that year’s draft by the Pistons, at St. Bonaventure Lanier was an All American.

It was reported over 100 colleges offered Lanier a scholarship, but he preferred to remain close to home choosing to attend St. Bonaventure. His number 31 was retired by the school along with his number 16 by the Pistons and Bucks. In addition to a brief period coaching Lanier took on the role of NBA Ambassador. Similar to a number of youngsters Lanier struggled with the game early, its reported his grammar school coach told him “Your feet are too large for you to be a successful athlete.” The coach was referring to Lanier’s size 11 shoe he wore at age 11, wonder if that coach ever remembered the statement he’d made? After receiving numerous awards from his college and NBA days in 2006 Lanier was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Bob Lanier a giant on and off the court, R.I.P. big guy.

I was the one

Remember me, I was the guy who claimed the Sixers got the best in the Simmons-Harden trade. We know Simmons never made an appearance on court for the Nets. As for Harden it’s been a “Jekyll and Hyde” performance, at least that’s been the playoff Harden. After tying the series, we figured they were on the way, this is Tuesday for me. With no opportunity to see the game by the time I turned it on in the middle of the first quarter I felt it was over. Evidently that must have been the case.

Joel Embiid appeared to have done his best however the score 120-85 gives us an indication how this game must have been played. As for Mr. Harden he reverted back to the passive scorer and passer that’s much been evident in this series. If it appears I’m not giving the Heat any credit far from it. Jimmy Butler and crew appeared to be determined to prove they are the better team. Headed back to Philly and down 3 games to 2 I have no idea what direction this series is headed. I believed the Sixers were the better team prior to the start, now they must prove it to me (and maybe you).

How about the guy who stayed?

Most card-carrying members of Mizzou Nation were first disappointed with the hire of Dennis Gates. Although there was reluctance (and its yet to be proven on the court) Gates is a winner the coach moved quickly in assembling “his” team. The excitement was so great we almost forgot the guys who could have left but chose to remain. That would be small forward Ronnie DeGray, guard Kaleb Brown and his older brother. The older brother would be Kobe Brown, the 6-foot 8 255-pound power forward who often found himself running the offense.

Rest assured it wasn’t a job Brown wanted, it appeared the point guards on the roster were found deficient and the departed Cuonzo Martin decided to utilize the talented Brown. Mizzou’s offense suffered to a degree; Brown did the best he could in this new position. Despite the new role he still found time to lead the Tigers in scoring at nearly 13 points a game, he also had 7.6 rebounds a game. As for the assists…pressed into the role of point-forward he managed 2.5 assists per game certainly not great, but this was noteworthy. Brown had only 2.3 TO’s per game providing us proof he wasn’t so bad in the new role. Despite the coaching change Brown appears excited to remain at Mizzou claiming “I’m not going anywhere” or similar words.

Best scoring Lakers in history

Plenty of surprises from the Lakers Top 10 list of scorers and their averages:

Elgin Baylor 27.4  

Shaquille O’Neal*

Jerry West*                *27.0  

LeBron James*                                                                            

Kobe Bryant 25  

Anthony Davis 24.1

George Mikan 23.1

Kareem Abdul Jabbar 22.1

Cedric Ceballos 20.9

Magic Johnson 19.5 

Which Lakers surprised you, I’ll share mine. It’s Kareem, considering he’s the all-time leading scorer I thought his scoring average would have been higher. Second to him might be Cedric Ceballos, you say “Cedric Who?” Ceballos a small forward played for several NBA teams and the Lakers were his second stop having come over from the Suns. His scoring average is compiled from 1994-1997. Shaq, West and LeBron were all at 27 points but percentage points apart.

Pay me now or pay me later

Target Center home of the NBA Wolves and WNBA Lynx is in need of an update according to reports. The Target Center is the second oldest NBA arena in operation exceeded by Madison Square Garden. As usual money is always a factor anytime, we are looking at millions and millions of dollars. Target Center is owned by the City of Minneapolis and any improvements would have Wolves/Lynx management involvement. It was reported the basketball team was uncomfortable with the projected dollar figure of $129-155 million.

Although the projected cost is quite huge it’s a far smaller amount than constructing a new arena. The only problem we hope ever how it’s paid citizens are not funding the bulk of the cost. In Kansas City there was talk of replacing Kemper Arena where the Kings once played. The administration said no to a new arena with the NBA no longer calling Kansas City home. Instead of building a new arena it was decided to install additional seats boosting the capacity to 19,500. The administration that followed determined in favor of a new arena in conjunction with a revitalization of downtown. The Power & Light entertainment district was built along with Sprint (T-Mobile) Center, Kansas City would have an NBA/NHL ready arena but no occupant only a promise.