Published Daily  

Basketball from a fans perspective

7 versus 10 

Mizzou will face Utah State on Thursday afternoon in the Tigers opening NCAA match. Mizzou is seeded 7 while Utah State is a 10 seed, based on this (I suppose) Utah State opens as a 1.5-point favorite. Exactly what makes for a favorite in basketball or any other sport for that matter? I am totally unfamiliar with determining odds, so I decided to surf the net for an answer. I was surprised but then again not so much, there is an entire page of methods to determine odds.

Totally off the subject but somewhat connected is Texas A&M. A&M finished second in the SEC but played the eventual conference champion in the SEC Tourney, what occurs A&M becomes a 7 seed in the tournament. A&M opens as a 3-point favorite over Penn State, to not confuse you I’m going to toss this out for study. Is a team’s conference finish that determines it’s seeding, moving on from there seeding aids in determining the odds on the game…we suppose. Are you as confused as I am, maybe not if you are accustomed to placing bets.

Did you read what I read

Recently I read there is a belief by the NBA the 2023 draft would be perfect if Victor Wenbanyama is playing for the Lakers or Knicks.  Despite what might be hoped in the upper echelons of the NBA neither of those teams will see the youngster in their arena except as a member of the visiting team. Because we actually don’t know who gets the opportunity to draft Wenbanyama lets profile the Top 10. Keep in mind the lottery will determine how many ping-pong balls are placed the hopper. The worst a team’s record the more ping-pong balls, these teams are not placed in any order of preference on my part:

Pistons

Rockets

Spurs

Hornets

Magic 2*

Pacers

Thunder

Wizards

Pelicans

*Two picks

This is from the world of speculation; the Thunder might be the only lottery team willing to trade Wenbanyama if they should secure the pick. I’m basing this on the fact last season the Thunder selected Chet Holmgren. As most are aware an injury suffered in Summer League play resulted in Holmgren being sidelined for the season. This is the basis for the trade, Holmgren and Wenbanyama play the same position…power forward. As for where Wenbanyama might be headed other than the Lakers or Knicks I’m going to provide you the three teams I’d like to see have the opportunity to draft him. This is not in any order of preference for me, they are the Magic, Wizards and Pistons.

Night & Day

This Laker team looks so different from what I witnessed prior to February 9. That’s the date of the NBA Trade Deadline, the Lakers made a number of moves which have proven beneficial to date. As this is written I cannot claim they earn a playoff spot, but they certainly appear quite different from that former team. If you figured this was going to be a hate on Russell Westbrook rant, you must look elsewhere. Westbrook does deserve a portion of responsibility for the poor play, but it was more than him alone. Honestly with LeBron James and Anthony Davis missing for games that too was a contributing factor, but it appeared to be more.

Despite making moves over the summer and into the season the former Laker team appeared to be a bunch of moving parts that didn’t fit. This despite the fact they had the opportunity of a training camp. What I’m seeing (and maybe you) is a revitalized Laker team despite no LeBron in the lineup. Whatever occurs this season the Lakers look primed for next season. Sure they will have a 39-year-old LeBron in the lineup, a fragile Anthony Davis, both must continue to exhibit leadership. There are others, D’Lo, Dennis Schroeder, Austin Reaves, Troy Brown Jr. and others provide me the belief they will be ready to compete next season. Hopefully they get off to a swifter start in 2023-2024, in the meantime there remains the prospect of playoff basketball.   

We see you

I’m following the coaching career of Kim English because he’s a former Mizzou Tiger. I attempt to follow all Mizzou players beyond their time in Columbia. After he played briefly in the NBA and in Europe English moved into the coaching ranks. He’s been an assistant coach at three college stops before George Mason decided to hire him as head coach. At 34-years old he might be the youngest head coach in Division I basketball. In his first season George Mason finished the season with a 14-16 record. The talent level and play has improved in the second year for English. As this is written they finished in 5^th place in the Atlanta Conference, they have 20 wins so far. 

Bits n Pieces  

This is the part of the NBA I don’t like; the part that says rules must be implemented that didn’t exist previously. One of the early proposals between the owners and NBAPA is minimum games played to be awarded an honor. The example cited; a player must appear in 50 plus games out of 82 to qualify for the scoring crown. It’s really too bad this must be done however other than injury we know the reason don’t we? This is a Load Management issue rearing its head. Nothing is set in stone however this details the downside of today’s NBA.

Too many teams, too few hours to view them. That’s my dilemma and perhaps yours as well. The NCAA Tournament will tip off in full force on Thursday, this year especially I have a “Butch Cassidy-Sundance Kid moment.” What are you talking about might be your question. In the 1969 Western Classic all throughout the movie a posse was seen at various times. Sundance would always ask Butch, “Who are those guys?” I must be honest; my focus has been Mizzou and SEC basketball. I’ve seen bits n pieces of Big XII games but that’s about all. Yes, I’ve seen a little UCLA, Duke, Gonzaga and others but certainly not enough to recognize the names of starters…” Who are those guys?”