Basketball from a fans perspective

Who is next?

For the second game in a row in the Warriors-Grizzlies playoff series a player was ejected from the game. In the first game it was the Warriors Draymond Green removed from the game, this time it was Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks. This is a debate on the outcome, Gary Payton II went down hard on his elbow on hitting the floor. X-Rays would reveal Payton sustained a broken elbow; we can say in truth the Warriors endured the worst of this ejection.

With an injury of this type unlike with Brandon Clarke it’s likely Payton II will miss major time. Warriors coach Steve Kerr claims Brooks broke the unwritten code, you don’t intentionally attempt to hurt or injury an opposing player. Can we say in truth Brooks was attempting to hurt Payton II, there is no method to prove this? Despite the words expressed by Kerr he must wait for an NBA ruling if a suspension is warranted. The most interesting to me is intent, I like Kerr, but he goes out of his way to offer remarks about his player but managed to say nothing about Green, you cannot have it both ways Steve.

This brief explanation

For those unfamiliar with Jamarion Sharp a few words about the 7-foot 5-inch giant. He was the tallest collegiate player in the nation last season, he’s likely to hold that title in the 2022-23 season. Sharp is no offensive threat despite shooting nearly a 77% shooter from the floor, why am I so excited if he decides to play at Mizzou? It’s the other things he does particularly well, in fact Sharp might have been the second-best defensive center in college basketball this past season. He excels at shot blocking, Sharp had one game he totaled 10 blocked shots. Sharp averaged nearly 5 blocks a game for the season there were 8 games Sharp registered double-digit rebounds. There is no telling how many shots he caused to go off target due to his presence.

Sharp might have adopted the mantra of the great Bill Russell who once said, “I can’t block every shot, the idea is for them to think I can.” Sharp despite his height at 235 pounds he is able to move swiftly up and down the court. Although not the primary offensive threat this skill has allowed Sharp to be in the mix for lobs and dunks. Your question might be can Sharp make the adjustment from mid-major Western Kentucky to SEC Mizzou? At this point we can only make an informed guess and say we believe he can. Whichever college Sharp decides to attend they will receive a player with a degree of offensive skill but high energy for blocking shots and rebounding the basketball and running the floor. The future beyond college could prove fruitful for this Hopkinsville Kentucky native. We are not declaring an NBA career for Sharp however there could be a bright future for him in a professional league somewhere in the world.

A bit extreme

Jeanie Buss sell the Lakers, that might be a tad bit extreme. Allow me to explain, the cynics come out of the woodworks anytime you don’t succeed and that is the case here. A writer pointed to the Showtime Lakers and later the success under Phil Jackson. This media person then explored the playoff black hole (excepting 2019) the Lakers have experienced since the death of Dr. Buss in 2013. A portion of the information is not the fault of present management. Notice the word management, Jim Buss assumed control of the team after the death of their father. Jeanie took a back seat only involved in managing her portion of the Laker franchise, hers had little to do with the day-to-day operation.

Jim, Mitch Kupchak and others were responsible for the draft, free agent acquisition and trades. Jim Buss indicated if the Lakers did not improve by a certain date he would resign, well the date came and went yet Buss remained in place. He might still be running things if he’d not attempted to sell the team without sister Jeanie being apprised of his plans. The condensed version Jeanie “fired” her brother filing suit in court, the ruling was concluded in Jeanie’s favor. The time is roughly 2018 when Jeanie assumed control of the Lakers. We have a 4–5-year timeframe where fingers could legitimately be pointed in Jeanie’s direction. Keep in mind this is the public version of events, Jeanie could have been running everything all along since the death of her father.

It might have come sooner

One of the social media sight I’m affiliated with contains specialist groups. One contains fans of the late Pete Maravich. Maravich was one of those once in a lifetime players especially in his college days at LSU. Unlike today he played four years, in 1970 the American Basketball Association was in its third year still attempting to gain traction against the established NBA. A bidding was existed between the leagues as each tried to secure the services of college talent. We are unable to locate a figure, but it must have been significant for Maravich to choose the Hawks over however drafted him in the NBA. In 1969 the New York Nets of the ABA chose Lew Alcindor number one while the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA won a coin flip with the Suns and made the pick. We guess the lure of playing at home in New York City would have been a draw over Milwaukee, no money amount is mentioned. There were other athletes with a choice as to which league, they desired to play. Among the other Hall of Fame players who chose the NBA:

1967

Earl Monroe

Walt Frazier

1968

Elvin Hayes

Wes Unseld

1969

JoJo White

1970

Bob Lanier

1974

Bill Walton

The basketball landscape would have changed significantly if any of the athletes above had chosen the ABA over the NBA. Keep in mind there were a number of talented players who chose the ABA first, we count we Julius Irving, Artis Gilmore, George McGinnis and several others.