Basketball from a fans perspective

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Where did the summer go?

What became of summer, one might ask the question for two reasons, pre-school to university level all are open again. Second to that we are roughly a month away from the first preseason game. Question, why does the NFL refer to their matches as exhibition games while the NBA denotes its games as “preseason?” That is your question of the day, in any event September 30 the defending champion Warriors will face the Wizards in Japan.

This becomes interesting for more than one reason, native son and Wizard forward Rui Hachimura should see action in the game. Half a world away the Clippers will have the Israeli National team Maccabi Ra’anana as an opponent, the game will be played in Seattle Washington. So, two noteworthy events, a Japanese born NBA player will suit up for a game in his native land. The NBA returning to Seattle once again even if it is only a preseason game, on October 3 the Clippers will return once again to the city where they will be matched against the Blazers.

“I don’t get no respect”

If you are a certain age, you might remember the late Rodney Dangerfield. Whenever you saw his standup comedy routine somewhere in the act you would hear him uttered the words “I don’t get no respect.” Fans, alumni and others could probably make the same statement about St. Louis Billikens men’s basketball. For an eternity it seems inside and outside the state anytime college basketball was mentioned Mizzou was in the forefront of the conversation. There are a myriad of reasons why this view existed and there will be no attempt to detail all. One reason might be a larger footprint, over time Mizzou’s competed in the Big 8, Big XII and the last few years in the SEC all Power 5 Conferences.

The Billikens are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference, prior to that it was the Missouri Valley so unfairly the school was tagged as a “Mid-Major” by some. Here we’ll pause a moment, it’s been my long-held contention just like cream rising to the top a team plays competitive basketball doesn’t matter if it’s a Power 5 Conference or Mid-Major. Another story exists which cannot be confirmed, its mentioned long-time Mizzou coach Norm Stewart refused to schedule SLU. For a time perhaps the basketball at Mizzou was better than SLU but that certainly begin changing 6 years ago or so. The school hired Travis Ford as head men’s basketball coach and this one-time Mizzou guard began to make changes. In 2019 St. Louis University earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament however 2020 saw them sit at home despite the fact they eclipsed the record of the previous team.

The last two seasons we witnessed SLU being invited to the NIT, as for the 2022-23 season the Billikens are ranked in the Top 25 in most pre-season polls. If we look at just the non-conference schedules the Billikens will face more competitive teams than the Tigers which probably should be expected. Over the period Ford’s been at SLU the fortunes of Mizzou have gone up and down, with Mizzou having no continuous winning pattern. Where is Mizzou in the Top 25 you might ask, I can state with disappointment nowhere to be found which saddens this member of Mizzou Nation. Currently, at least through last season the best basketball in Missouri was being played at Chaifetz Arena on the campus of St. Louis University rather than Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

I’ve calmed down a bit

If you read the Friday edition of Off the Dribble you are aware this member of Laker Nation is not pleased with the latest move by my team. Members of Laker Nation have dealt with an unhealthy relationship with guard Russell Westbrook. The team compounds the issue and acquires “bulldog” Patrick Beverley. I’d mentioned the two players are clearly enemies so how does this work? Do the Lakers trade Westbrook and there is no further issue, on the other hand the Lakers could well keep him. Are Beverley and Westbrook on the floor at the same time, as for the bench we certainly cannot see them seated next to one another? The problem for most of us basketball especially the NBA is visually an “offensive” picture.

Fans whether in person or watching on television often miss elements of the defensive side of the game. We are told the Dennis Rodman’s and the Bruce Bowen’s are good defenders however often they are just names as the box score details little detail for us. This I remember from two years ago, while a member of the Clippers I remember a game that saw Beverley blocking a late shot attempt by LeBron James. Of course, Beverley wasn’t guarding LeBron all game long, I believe it might have been a switch which placed the 6 foot 1 Beverley on the 6-foot 9 LeBron attempting a corner shot. If LeBron sank the basket, it would have resulted in a Laker win. Reluctantly I am forced to admit Beverley brings a different dynamic to the Lakers one missing much of last season and that is lockdown defense.

Like the move or not I am forced to accept a trade I didn’t want however it wouldn’t be the first time. LeBron James arrived as a free agent however I didn’t want him on the team, I’ve accepted him now so maybe that might be Beverley…maybe. Some might remember an earlier piece, I said this. “I was appalled when the Lakers acquired Westbrook, then I said to myself maybe it will work. By the conclusion of the season, I’d seen enough.” In fairness to Westbrook to a degree he might have been forced into a corner. LeBron James missed a great deal of time and AD was practically missing in action for most of the second half of the season. Westbrook might have been forced to carry the offensive load of the team when that wasn’t the belief at the beginning of his time with the team. 

Devastating news

The Thursday afternoon news was drastic for Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren. The team announced the potential unicorn would miss the 2022-23 NBA season due to injury. He was playing in the CrawsOver Pro-Am event, at the time he suffered the injury Holmgren was defending LeBron James. The injury is described as a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, since I never attended medical school or heard of the injury I’m going to provide a definition for me and some of you.

“A Lisfranc injury isn’t life threatening but is still profoundly serious. Because the Lisfranc joint is so important to your ability to walk, run or move, breaking any of the bones in it-or injuring any of the ligaments and tendons supporting it-can have an enormous impact on your quality of life.” There you have it the medical description of the injury, can Holmgren return to NBA play? There is no doubt, the larger question will he look anywhere similar to the pre-unicorn we witnessed prior to the injury.

Fans of the Thunder are likely devastated with the news of the injury. All we have been reading and hearing the length of last basketball season Holmgren was too thin. For all who believe Holmgren’s thin frame caused the injury listen to the words of Sam Presti Thunder general manager on the injury. “It’s an acute injury, it’s an impact injury. It’s a figment of the alternate reality of the internet. But it's not reality. Other words, no his frame had nothing to do with it.”