Basketball from a fans perspective

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Coming to America

No, this is not the 1980 Neil Diamond hit nor the 1988 Eddie Murphy cult movie classic with the same name. No this is the talented young Frenchman Victor Wembanyama visiting our shores I believe for the first time. The 19-year old’s Metropolitans 92 team was in action last night against G-League Ignite team in Las Vegas, this was the first of two exhibition games scheduled to be played. Question, why would a team fly 5,000 miles to play a couple of exhibition games?

Exposure, NBA scouts are familiar with his name even with the difficulty of pronouncing it. I’m sure all of us will adjust after all we learned how to pronounce Antetokounmpo. There are some in this nation who believe we are losing our world dominance in basketball. They look at the Joker, Luka Doncic and others as proof and I say so what. The growth of the sport internationally has been steadily increasing and it’s my belief it’s a good thing. I can hardly wait until next June when commissioner Silver steps to the mic and says, “With the first pick in the 2023 NBA the _________________ select Victor Wembanyama from Metropolitans 92 and France.”

Spike Lee seats?

This story has nothing to do with movie director Spike Lee or the Knicks for that matter. I’m using him and actor Jack Nicholson’s front row seats at Knick and Laker games as the example of large amounts of money expended. The amount they pay for season tickets to NBA games is astronomical compared to our discussion, I came across this account while conducting research on another matter. If you wish to attend the Banner Night Ceremony of the Warriors, be prepared to pay huge sums of money.

It's being reported the average ticket price for that game will be $897 which makes it according to the writer second only to Kobe Bryant’s last NBA game in 2016. At the time this was written the lowest price ticket was presented as $241 however another vendor priced them at $302. The NBA (along with other sports) is no longer a family affair unless one has deep, deep pockets. If this appears a negative that is not the case, it simply represents the world of sports entertainment today. Ticket prices (in all sports) will continue to rise considerably over the next few years. 

Talking smack

Once upon a time there were classic duals in the NBA between a number of Big Men. Of course, one of the best of the best was the legendary Wilt Chamberlain, this story represents his meeting a rookie on the court for the first time. Walt Bellamy arrived in the NBA from the University of Indiana in 1961, he was 6 foot 11 and 225 pounds. Bells as he was nicknamed could score but he could also do the other things too. All this meant little the first time he faced the 7-foot 1 275-pound Chamberlain. Prior to the center jump Bellamy said, “Hello Mr. Chamberlain I’m Walter Bellamy.” Chamberlain reached for Bellamy’s hand and said, “Hello, Walter. You won’t get a shot off in the first half.”

Wilt then blocked Bellamy’s first nine shots. At the start of the second half Wilt said to Bellamy, “Okay, Walter. Now you can play.” Nothing ever wrong with bragging about your game just as long as you can back it up. There is no doubt Wilt Chamberlain could back up his braggadocius. As for Bellamy he would later be enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. We could make a similar statement about Bill Russell. He blocked so many shots when he arrived in the NBA players began to look for his looming stature around the basket. I remember Russell stated opposing players would sometimes miss shots for fear Russell was close by. He said, “I couldn’t block every shot however the idea was to intimidate them.”

Is there a rule?

Jim Boeheim Syracuse basketball coach will turn 78 years old in November. The veteran coach winner of nearly 1,000 games claims he’s got no intention to retire. Part of the rush to retire the coach over the last several years his Orangemen team has not been as successful as those in the past. Last season Syracuse finished with a below .500 record in the ACC and overall. The only negative on his resume, many have expressed a belief Boeheim should have more than the 2003 NCAA Championship on his resume.

After all his teams played in 5 Final Four’s plus 3 national championship appearances. Once we heard his players even the highly skilled ones were not prepared for NBA play due to his teams playing zone. That view has been kicked aside with most NBA teams employing elements of a zone defense. The awards and accomplishments of Boeheim are far too numerous to list here but these two should be of note. Similar to others the coach has been enshrined twice, in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. Jim Boeheim a name we should also remember as a great basketball coach.

What about the Nets

The media tends to focus on the prior champion team (Warriors) and their adversary. In this instance the Celtics might be dealing with an unusual dilemma versus a normal off season. As for the contenders in the east, we also have the Nets who must be considered a 2023 NBA championship quality team. The media focus has also been on the Lakers but for a different reason, back to the Nets are they legitimate? Kyrie Irving is listed as the starter at the point and Ben Simmons might be the starter at the power forward. At center is Nic Claxton, small forward Kevin Durant and Joe Harris at shooting guard.

Other than Durant can this lineup match up against the Celtics, Heat, Bucks and Cavs in the east? Before Nets Nation tosses rocks in my direction allow me to elaborate. I continue to believe Kyrie Irving is one of the best at his position, the better question is his head ready for NBA play? We are past covid protocol however Kyrie remains Kyrie, “He’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.” I remain unsure about the Nets until the middle of the season, at that point I believe all of us (barring injury) can better assess this team. The key and MVP of this team in my view Durant says; “I want to move past the off-season drama” and perhaps they can and will.