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Basketball from a fans perspective

Break

The Tuesday edition of Off the Dribble is going on hiatus for a week. Publishing will begin again on November 29, 2022, it’s likely many readers in the U.S. will be observing Thanksgiving. My hope your gathering of family and friends to be fine. If you are travelling for the holiday, I wish for you a safe return.   

Kyrie Irving did it

NO, it’s not what you might have thought. Yes, Irving did return to the Nets after his suspension and was a contributor to the win. That’s not what this report is to cover it’s about Ben Simmons. The talented but mysterious point guard scored 22 points along with 8 rebounds and 5 assists, these were key to the 127-115 victory over the Grizzlies. Simmons had 5 turnovers in the game but considering he was playing the point the ball was probably in his hands a great deal of the game over Irving and others. 

The Pacific Division

Same teams but certainly in unusual places…at least for now. Although the Lakers have won three games in a row they still sit in last place in the Pacific Division. A game+ in front of them in 4^th place the Warriors with Steph Curry imitating Step Curry. With Kawhi Leonard missing this early season the Clippers sit in third place. Shocker, in second place the torrid almost surprising Sacramento Kings. Sitting atop the division are the Suns led by 37-year-old Chris Paul. What occurs from this point going forward, who knows. What’s up is down, what’s down might eventually be up. The Betty Davis line, “Fasten your seat belts it’s going to be a bumpy night season.” You asking who am I quoting, you must not be a movie buff?

Will

It’s my belief sometimes in the midst of greatness we see it but fail to acknowledge it. That might be the case for Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He doesn’t have the Super Bowl rings (yet) of Joe Montana or Tom Brady, but he’s definitely got the swagger they have. If a game is close as it was Sunday night, I believe he’s never out of it as long as there is time remaining on the clock. He’s got that DNA only a handful of athletes own. It exists in other sports too, in the NBA we could say Michael Jordan had it, so did Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

At a point during his career I believed LeBron James possessed it although as this is written I’m unsure if it exists currently. The simple explanation is the will to win no matter the score, that fails to take into consideration the possibility of a loss. The NBA players mentioned plus Mahomes have certainly suffered defeats. The difference to me, they are saying, “Okay you got me this time, the next time we meet I will be better prepared, and I will beat you.” I believe the term Super Star has been overused, we’ve even applied it to talented players but have been more lenient than necessary. In closing allow this further explanation, it’s unnecessary for you to admire the athlete but doggone you’ve got to acknowledge the will to win.

Is he the one?

You might remember in the first Matrix film Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) was attempting to convince Neo (Keanu Reeves) he was The One. In was near the end before Neo began to believe he truly was The One to lead them in the war against the machines. Much of Mizzou Nation is asking a similar question of Dennis Gates, are you The One? A little background for many, legendary coach Norm Stewart was forced to retire in 1999 after 32 years on the job. I think all of us realize with few exceptions the tenure for most coaches is not that lengthy but for Mizzou it’s been more complicated.

The coaching history has not produced much success looking briefly at the past. With the exception of Mike Anderson (2006-11) who was hired by Arkansas the others have been terminated or would have been fired (Quin Snyder, Frank Haith) if they had not stepped down first. I’ve mentioned this previously the hire of Gates was underwhelming to most in Mizzou Nation. Despite the concern by fans of the program they must face reality, Mizzou plays in a Power 5 Conference but the basketball history since Stewart has been up and down. We must wait before we ask the question of Dennis Gates, is he the one?