Basketball from a fans perspective

Published Monday through Friday

Nicknames

It’s common place in sports to anoint athletes with nicknames. It occurs almost routinely, some names become forever (Air Jordan) while others the sports world never accepts (Slim Reaper for Kevin Durant). Several co-workers even Laker fans now refer to Anthony Davis as “Street Clothes.” Of course that’s a reference to AD’s inability to remain healthy for extended periods of time. As this is written the Lakers list him as day to day with back issues. As someone who suffers with back issues myself, I can understand the difficulty if he misses the Wednesday night game. AD is not the only Laker banged up this early season, also listed as day to day are LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.

Speaking of Westbrook it’s not easy to blame all the difficulties on him, I wrote of my belief the Lakers could contend this season and this should not be considered panic mode. AD especially and LeBron must remain reasonably healthy this season, in addition Laker management must figure out what to do with Westbrook. My suggestion which holds the weight of a grain of rice is simple, send Westbrook home until they manage to consummate a trade. The Lakers currently sit in last place in the NBA in 3-point percentage shooting a paltry 21.2%. All of the bad shooting is certainly not Westbrook’s fault it’s the other things that have seen his game slowly erode over time. I haven’t seen every game however it appears he is out of step with his teammates.

Bits n Pieces 

I have read and heard the term “Dub” used in place of the Warriors name for a time now, maybe like many of you wondered what in the world is that. So with the question in mind I began a short research project, and this is what I uncovered. “The nickname comes from people shortening Warriors to the letter W. The shorter form of the letter W is pronounced “Dub.” It also helps that W represents the word “win” in the world of sports, so when their fans refer to them as the Dubs, they are also referring to the team as winners.” So for us living outside the San Francisco-Oakland metro this is the explanation for the term Dub or Dubs. On the other hand maybe the nickname is primarily used by those in Warrior Nation and few others.

One of the largest international unguarded border in the world exist between the United States and Canada. For generations we’ve witnessed traffic back and forth between the two nations. The traffic has consisted of trade between the partners, more recently we’ve seen an ever-increasing number of our northern neighbors playing basketball both college and the NBA. The latest import is Olivier Rioux, he’s enrolled at IMG Academy in Florida; I have no idea if he develops into an NBA prospect or just a good pro player. We should keep an eye on Rioux who stands 7 feet 6 inches in height and checks in at 286 pounds.

I tried to point out Mizzou’s Dennis Gates receives a pass for 2022-23. The reason is simple when Gates took over as head coach the roster contained only three holdovers. I believe the 2023-24 season would be clearer test of his ability and the team. Let’s check the 2023 ratings on a few prospect sites, 247 Sports places Mizzou 15^th in the nation while Rivals list Mizzou at 19. On3db has Mizzou at 42, missing in this brief account is ESPN’s class rating. The Worldwide Leader fails to provide any information without payment, content is part of ESPN Plus which requires payment.

It’s really sad

Somehow cynics have convinced many of those who follow the NBA “nobody played outstanding basketball until Michael Jordan arrived.” We are two days past the anniversary (October 18) as this is written. Nate Thurmond who up to that point spent most of his time a member of the Warriors. The Bulls acquired him in a trade and his first game in a Bulls jersey he accomplished a feat few (maybe Chamberlain) might have accomplished. The 6-foot 11-inch Thurmond scored 22 points along with 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocked shots. Thurmond played center at Bowling Green University, he was switched to power forward or backed up Wilt Chamberlain at the time he was drafted by the Warriors.

Once Chamberlain was traded Thurmond moved back to his natural center position where his NBA career would lead him to the Naismith Hall of Fame. Thurmond was more a defensive center than a scoring center. Kareem Abdul Jabbar was once asked who the toughest center was, he faced in the NBA. With no hesitation he said Nate Thurmond. The legend Bill Russell retired after the 1969 season; in the fall of that year a young Lew Alcindor began play for the Bucks. By the way Wilt had yet to retire in fact Alcindor (Abdul Jabbar) faced him numerous times prior to Wilt’s 1973 retirement. I say this to point out Abdul Jabbar did not name Chamberlain as the most difficult opposition player he faced despite playing against him on numerous occasions. Remember the name Nate Thurmond an All-Time great basketball player.

Who’s best

No argument on my part, college football is king. I once read football “paid” for all other sports that don’t generate revenue. You know them, tennis, golf, swimming and other sports activities. Too a degree basketball also receives revenue but not to the degree of other sports programs.  Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan and others draw huge crowds to their games. The playoff system now allows for a single national championship in football. Despite the facts just mentioned it’s my contention college basketball has a clear advantage over football. I know you probably fell out of your chair with laughter reading that statement, while you are returning to your seat allow me to explain my meaning.

68 basketball teams begin play to crown a national championship, even though it a single elimination tournament come early April a champion is crowned. The difference, well Eastern Michigan could battle North Carolina or Duke in the early rounds of the tournament. Lower seeded teams have on occasion caused enormous upsets. In a football playoff you will never witness Eastern Michigan playing Duke for the championship. Truth is you might not see the two schools face one another in a bowl game. If you are a Division I basketball program, you are liable to be matched against another Division I program no matter the size of the student body. We cannot make that claim regarding college football. You are now stating I’ve oversimplified the issue and to a degree that might be the case. Despite this I like the idea of EVERY school competing for the championship in basketball over the exclusivity that exists with college football.