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Basketball from a fans perspective 

Listen to this

I’ve heard the jokes, I’m sure you’ve heard them too. You know the nickname hung on the Lakers Anthony Davis; he’s now been given the tag “Street Clothes.” This is an obvious reference to the number of games he’s missed over the past two seasons while a member of the Lakers. I think it might behoove you to check down the hall to the other team that shares Staples Center. I know that’s not the name of the arena now, but I've refused to mention it as ______.com arena. As for the other side of the building how bout the Clippers Kawhi Leonard?

Do you realize since his NBA debut in 2011 he’s yet to play a complete season. The truth of the matter Leonard’s missed two entire seasons, 2017-18 and 2021-22. Leonard is out of the Clippers lineup now; he is experiencing swelling in his surgically repaired knee. Allow me to quash something you might be thinking, I truly hope Leonard is able to return and play at the level we believe he is capable. Laker Nation is certainly not pleased with the number of games Anthony Davis has missed but there are injury prone players, perhaps Davis is one of them. If we check the track record of Kawhi Leonard, it appears Davis has company in the injury department.

Still unresolved

On Tuesday I wrote of the lion with no teeth and the cat he was declawed. The lion reference was the NCAA and their slow, slower and slowest process of rendering judgment. The 20-year investigation of Bill Self and Kansas basketball is the example. I exaggerate a bit it wasn’t 20 it was actually 2017 when the NCAA investigation was first begun. There is news but I consider it minor in relation to the Big Picture. The university enacted a four-game suspension for head coach Bill Self and assistant Kurtis Townsend, this so-called punishment is basically a slap on the wrist. If we look at the schedule of the first four games the only toughee is against Duke on November 15. The others are Pittsburg State, Omaha and North Dakota State. If you attend or might be associated with any of these schools, I’m not knocking the school nor their basketball programs. It’s my belief none of the squads with the exception of Duke can hang with Kansas over the course of a game.

This is interesting in more ways than one, after hiring attorneys and threatening to fight the NCAA over the matter is this university admitting guilt? We have no idea because the lion with no teeth has yet to announce any sort of report from the independent group that is handling the case. With that said the whole issue remains unresolved so apparently there are additional matters yet to be determined by this independent council related to the charges. Unknown until today by most of us Self and Towns were kept off the road recruiting in June and July. A local sports talk radio host ran this past his listeners. He claims this might be a preemptive effort by the university to say, “Hey look at us, we are trying to clean things up.” Well that could be the case however consider Oklahoma State, self-reporting caused OSU a ban from the 2021 NCAA tournament. So we shall see how this story pans out. As there are additional developments expect to see them detailed here.

Speculation

Do you remember the statement by Kyrie Irving, I do? Shortly after Steve Nash was announced as head coach Kyrie who always speaks his mind said this, “We really don’t have a coach.” Later he clarified his speech indicating roster members had input on decision making on the court. Was Irving forecasting the future for the Nets without realizing it? Nets management did not rise early Tuesday morning and decide to mutually agree to part ways with Nash. The decision to fire the coach might have been brewing over the past two to three weeks. Kyrie alone is not responsible for Nash no longer having a job but certainly was a contributing factor. Remember the covid vaccine controversy and recently his apparent promotion of a film some consider offensive. A friend posed a question worded in this manner, “Kyrie Erving is a talented player can anyone manage (coach) him.”

I informed him I agreed with the first part of his statement, I had no answer for the second part. Friends there is an old adage that comes to mind. “He (she) marches to the beat of a different drummer” which simply says, we use the statement “to describe a person who thinks, lives, or behaves in an unusual way.” There are others who are complacent with the dysfunction of the Nets and that would be James Hardin now of the Sixers. His early indication last season “everything was okay” and then requesting a trade near the middle portion of the season. Also included is Kevin Durant although I’m unsure how huge his role was in this entire matter. As usual there is no requirement for you to agree with this take on Kyrie Irving or anything said, please feel free to formulate your own. Maybe the larger problem is NBA teams attempting to gather top talent believing it will lead to championships.

New hire? 

There is a desire on my part to clear the air regarding Ime Udoka. I believed then as now it’s evident the guy can coach, his difficulty with the Celtics causing his suspension was an HR matter. Because this job like many others in the sports world is public some of us were given more details than actually required. This is the portion most interesting for me, nowhere did I read or hear anyone say Udoka couldn’t coach. There were unforeseen circumstances regarding the Bucks last season once the playoffs began, I fully expected them to compete for the championship. The Celtics were not supposed to be good enough to race through the east and play for the championship, yet they did last season some of it attributed to coaching.

If Udoka is hired (and most believe he will) he can save the season for the Nets. Save in that he can instill a defensive mindset in the team which is solely lacking at this point. I don’t believe this Nets team is championship material as structured currently. The other issue can Udoka get knucklehead Kyrie Irving on the same page with him. Professional coaching no matter the sport is totally different than it was 30 years maybe even 10 years ago. Udoka made a tragic mistake with the Celtics, but it was one of a human nature. Any of us given the right set of circumstances might be caught up in a similar fiasco. Never say never because you just don’t know, as for Udoka if hired I believe this will be a good move for him. If this sounds as if it’s an excuse for the coach far from it, I’m simply pointing out the vulnerability factor.