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Basketball from a fans perspective

Who is this guy

On Thursday evening Malik Beasley led the way for the Lakers scoring 25 points with 7 of his baskets from the 3-point line. He along with his teammates beat the Curry less Warriors 124-111. For those who might be unfamiliar just a small amount of background on Beasley, he played one season at Florida State. The 6-foot 4 shooting guard was drafted in round one by the Nuggets in 2016. From there it was a stint in the G-League and then a 2020 trade found him with the Wolves. In 2022 he was involved in a trade to the Jazz, February 2023 Beasley was traded once again this time to the Lakers. All this player movement during his career might indicate there were issues, as far as I can determine none existed.

The trades were not related to his inability to shoot the ball, that would appear to never be the case. All season long a missing element of this Laker team was consistent 3-point shooting, Beasley appears to have addressed that issue. He’s shot .380 over the course of his NBA career, in addition he’s never shot less than .321. Rest assured his shooting is the prime reason the Lakers were attracted to him because there was a belief, he could be the missing link. The second half of the NBA season’s gotten off to a swift start seeing Beasley inserted in the starting lineup alongside D’Angelo Russell. Russell went down with a twisted ankle and would exit the game. X-Rays proved negative and he should be able to return shortly. I like this “new” Laker team, I have no idea how far they go this season. They appear to be okay for the future with the influence of youth.

Poor judgement 

Alabama’s Brandon Miller is having an outstanding season for the Crimson Tide. Mock draft sites list Miller as a lottery pick that’s just how highly he’s thought of in NBA circles. Regardless of what occurs in June should he decide in favor of the NBA he’s made poor judgment in a choice. You may have read about an Alabama player involved criminally in a murder charge. A 23-year-old mother was murdered with a gun Miller provided to the shooter; we suppose Miller had no idea his gun would be used to take someone’s life.

Just the act of giving someone a gun details poor judgment on Millers part. For now it appears there are no criminal charges pending for Miller, but this is going to haunt him the balance of his life. A financial compensation is not going to solve this matter after all a life was lost and a 5-year-old no longer has her mother. A trust fund in the daughters name would ensure she’d be able to attend college and provide a stipend for her future. As for the present this matter is not going away soon, coach Oats and Miller will hear about this for the immediate future and must be prepared for that. I have no idea the legal ramifications of this crime, for now authorities have chosen to not charge Miller in connection with the murder. Whatever the outcome in the court of public opinion Miller has been convicted.

The only NBA team named after a district

Most NBA teams are named after the city they represent, a few (Minnesota & Utah) are named after the state rather than the city. This also applies to teams in MLB, NFL and NHL, I’m unsure if this exists in the soccer world. How about this one the Nets are not the New York Nets…they are the Brooklyn Nets but how did this occur? The team was an ABA original (1976), but back then they were the New Jersey Americans and played in Teaneck. This name would last until 1968 when the team moved to Long Island when they were re-born as the New York Nets. In 1976 they moved into the NBA along with three other former ABA teams. In 1977 the team moved across the Hudson River again and became the New Jersey Nets which lasted until 2012.  As for the other portion of the name connection we must travel back in time.

Residents are aware of this information but not everyone, New York City is comprised of five boroughs (or districts if you prefer). They are Manhattan, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island and Brooklyn. At a point in time the city contained three baseball teams, they were the New York Giants, New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1957 the Giants would move to San Francisco while the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. A new owner and a planned new arena was to be opened, how Brooklyn was chosen is unclear as this is written. In any event the arena as with most in this age would be tagged Barclays Center. The team could have easily become the New York Nets again but in a move that was a salute to the past they became the Brooklyn Nets in 2012. This is the only professional sports team in existence named after a district, I believe that to still be correct today.

Will they prove me wrong

This is written ahead of the Mizzou-Georgia game today, I wonder who is facing the most pressure. Is it me or the Tigers, you remember, don’t you?  I said last week Mizzou would win its four remaining games; on Tuesday they were an OT winner over Mississippi State. Georgia’s record says they shouldn’t be a threat against the Tigers however the game is being played in Athens Georgia. This becomes game two of my earlier forecast Mizzou.

As for action earlier the Mississippi State game was the third buzzer beater Mizzou’s won this season. The positive trend that hopefully continues is rebounding the basketball. As the case in most games this season Mizzou’s found itself undersized and outrebounded on most occasions. That was the case against the taller Mississippi State team, despite this fact they only managed two more rebounds than Mizzou. Tre Gomillion a 6-foot 4 guard returned to the lineup after injury, Gomillion managed to pull down 10 rebounds despite giving way to a taller opposing player.