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Basketball from a fans perspective

He’s the one

In 1970 the NBA added the expansion Portland Trail Blazers, over the course of time whether winning or losing a number of outstanding players have worn the jersey. Bill Walton and Clyde Drexler wore the jersey, both have been enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. 1971 saw guard Geoff Petrie selected Rookie of the Year and 2007 would see Brandon Roy granted the same honor. Most of you are familiar with Kings forward Domantas Sabonis but it was his father Arvydas who wore the jersey well. The politics of the day prevented us from seeing him in action until he was a 31-year-old rookie. Maurice Lucas arrived after beginning play in the ABA, he was nicknamed Mr. Enforcer for his rough and tumble play in the ‘70’s. The names mentioned are just a few of the Blazer greats over the history of the franchise.

In 53 years of NBA play no Blazer ever had a game close to that of Dame Lillard. It should be of note the Blazers beat the Rockets 131-114, that was the part B. of this story. Part A. was the scoring binge by Dame 71 points Sunday evening. If you believed Dame was just jacking up shots that was far from the case, check this out. He shot almost 60% from the floor and from the 3-line and it was 100% from the free-throw line. In 39 minutes of action on the court he only registered two turnovers. No argument Dame had a game for the ages and where does he stand? He is now in the 70-point club which places him number 8 all-time in scoring alongside Elgin Baylor, David Robinson, Donovan Mitchell. An outstanding and historic game by Dame. We continue to hear from those in the media Dame should head for a team which allows him to compete for an NBA Championship, he wants a championship as long as it’s in Portland.

No guarantee

I had no idea what Mizzou basketball would be if you’d ask me last October. All I could hope this new coach Dennis Gates would lead them to at least a .500 record. My reasoning was based on a single returning player plus a bunch of unknown guys. That returning player was Kobe Brown 6-foot 8 250-pound guard, yes, I did say guard. He was clearly the leader on a bad Mizzou team last season his numbers proved it, instead of abandoning ship as 98% of the roster did Brown decided he would remain. I don’t remember if Gates talked to Brown on his arrival as head coach, but something must have convinced Brown to remain, and boy has it paid off.

This point-forward (my term for Brown) has been key to the success Mizzou’s experienced thus far. Without checking it’s likely he’s been the scoring leader well over half of the 20 wins and some of the losses Mizzou’s experienced this season. The rise of his game has seen the NBA notice him, as example nowhere was Brown mentioned as an NBA prospect last season. At the first of this season his name was also missing then wham…there he is. The latest edition of nbadraft.net places Brown the number 54 choice in the second round of the 2023 draft. Once again, the disclaimer appears at this point, just because your name is placed on a mock draft means nothing. It means absolutely zero unless your name is Victor Wenbanyama or Scoot Henderson. I will continue my check of mock sites because they will change between now and June.

The mouth of the south

Charles Barkley is at it again, the mouth that roared is providing us his opinion once again on a questionable subject, listen to this. “I’m not sold on Victor Wenbanyama just because he’s killing people in the Czech Republic.” Sir Charles goes on to explain he’s not going for all the hype of others about the French youngster. Guess what, all the points he makes about Wenbanyama are valid except for one fact. This is the same Charles Barkley who once made a bet with Kenny Smith.

The discussion centered on rookie Yao Ming and Barkley said and I quote, “If Yao Ming gets 19 points in a game, I’ll kiss his ass”, Barkley was referring to Smith of course. To prove he’s a man of his word later a donkey was brought on the set and Barkley gave the impression he placed a kiss on its rear end.  Wait there’s more, in 2018 this from him regarding Luka Doncic ahead of the draft. “I don’t trust foreign competition.” Barkley is entitled to his own opinion, but it seems at times he manages to insert his foot in his mouth as much as Stephen A. Smith. Perhaps Barkley has issues with any player not born on these shores.

Bits n Pieces  

Shooting guard Ochai Agbaji is playing for the G-League Salt Lake City Stars, he’s probably okay with that role I’m not. I saw this Kansas City youngster move from a relative unknown when he arrived at KU to an NBA lottery pick in 2022. He’s proven to me he could play and then he was drafted by the Cavs with the 14 pick, I thought he could play at the NBA level even if it was in a limited role. Then BAM it happened, Agbaji and two others were packaged in a trade for the Cavs to acquire Donovan Mitchell. I remain unsure now if the NBA remains viable in his future.  

One of the things that is mystical to me is analytics. I partially understand it but certainly not to the degree I could provide you exactly how it works and how it impacts college games. I can also add quad wins to the discussion. That might be more confusing than the other, does analytics affect quad or vice-versa? We could also add the First Four In, Last Four Out. first four in. College basketball has become even more confusing to me in recent years.

Okay, I’m pouring gasoline on the fire, but the announcers mentioned it first. Russell Westbrook has become a starter with the Clippers except on this occasion. His game on Sunday night was good, 17 points 5 rebounds 4 assists and 5 steals while shooting 60% from the floor and 50% from three. He didn’t play at all in the OT and some point (I’m unsure) in quarter number 4 he must have left the game. What does that tell me, in a tight game the coach must have believed his defense is questionable. Why take a chance, it’s easier for Tyronn Lue to sub for him. On the other hand similar to offensive or defensive line play in the NFL a replay often details tidbits of information we might have missed. The same goes for the NBA, we often miss key defensive plays.