Published Monday thru Friday  

Basketball from a fans perspective

The decision

Today’s edition becomes the last daily version until late summer, Off the Dribble will become a Monday-Friday publication. As I pointed out recently the college basketball season is complete except in a few instances. Become accustomed to a Monday-Friday publication and I thank old readers, new readers and all who love basketball. I will attempt to do the best I can, providing vital basketball news and notes for you.

The real MVP

Behind by 19 points at a time the Bulls came back and beat the Raptors 109-105 on the Raptors home court. How did it occur, well Zach Lavine scored 38 points but not appearing in the box score was the real MVP? Diar DeRozan, 9-year-old daughter of Bulls guard DeMar was the real MVP of the game. All throughout the game anytime a Raptors player was shooting free-throws a loud scream was clearly picked up by the television mics.

We heard from DeMar after the victory, he indicated his daughter begged to attend the game so he allowed her to miss a day of school to travel with him and the Bulls to Toronto. You say Diar’s screams are my imagination well check this out. During the season the Raptors shot 78.4% from the line, Wednesday evening they were 18 for 36, an anemic 50%. To top it off Pascal Siakam was on the line shooting three free throws, he managed to hit but one. DeRozan said his daughter wants to attend tonight’s game but he said no way, she’s not going to miss two school days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Ke2w2KPvc

What’s your opinion?

On occasion you hear or maybe you are a participant in a conversation causing you to shake your head. You say to yourself “What is he/she thinking? Two television talking heads held this conversation. “I’m a Kobe fan but not one of the Lakers, with him no longer on the team I don’t root for them.” The other one said, “Kobe overlaps everything, if you were a fan of his you are a Laker fan. I was a LeBron fan not a Cavs or Heat fan so I continue to root for him on the Lakers.”

I must agree with the latter view, from a distance I admired LeBron but certainly wouldn’t have considered myself a fan. Honestly, I am truly unsure if I’m actually a fan although I certainly see his value to the Lakers. As for the first guy, I’m uncertain how you can root for the player but not the team. It seems to me they might overlap with one another. In that scenario the first guy wanted Kobe to score and dunk to the highest level during his game. At the same time he says, “I didn’t care if the Lakers won the game, I was only interested in what Kobe accomplished.” What do you think, are you a fan of a player and not the team?   

Help wanted

The help wanted sign outside Mizzou Arena is an indication a Big Man is needed. For those who might not be aware the Tigers came up woefully short in two areas, defending the paint and rebounding the basketball. Since the season ended 6 foot 10 Mohamed Diarra decided to place his name in the transfer portal. Remaining on the roster is 7-foot 2 245-pound Mabor Majak by way of South Sudan, Cleveland State and now Mizzou. We don’t know if Majak can play his floor time during the season was certainly microscopic.

I’ve got to believe coach Gates must deem there is talent with the Big Man from the African continent. If that is not the case why bring him from Cleveland State to Mizzou? In another area I wrote my hope 7 foot 5 Jamarion Sharp would choose Mizzou after placing his name in the transfer portal. Sharp has all the tools that would be beneficial to the program, he rebounds the ball decently and is an expert shot blocker. Despite what might seem to be a doom and gloom account there is a 7-foot post player headed for Mizzou in the fall. My chief concern for Jordan Butler is his youth, it’s a mighty leap from high school basketball to SEC play.

The Glove

Gary Payton was given the nickname The Glove for his “belly button” defense on the opposition and his on the court trash talking. Early in his NBA career he was quite a thorn in the side of teammates as well we are led to believe. Recently this headline in Basketball Network caught my eye, “Better hope he doesn’t die, because nobody on this team would be going to the funeral.” So this gives us an idea he was not loved by a portion of his teammates, the writer claimed Payton only had two friends on the team before he left for the Bucks. From 1990 through 2003 he and Shawn Kemp were the glue which aided the ascension of the Sonics. Payton was honored as NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1996, that season saw Payton lead the league in steals.

From 1994 through 2002 he was a 9x NBA Defensive First Team member. Although the emphasis is his defensive prowess Payton could score, that was just not his primary role. In the 1999-00 season Payton scored at a 24.2-point game a clip. It was said Payton did change but I wonder if there was this issue. It might have been the case Payton wanted teammates defensive efforts to be as rigorous as his. You are aware of the issue; I can’t refer to it as the “Kobe Bryant” condition because Payton preceded him in the NBA. What is the condition, “Why are you playing at 95% when I at 100%” which probably rubbed more than one teammate in the wrong manner. Payton wore the jersey of four other NBA teams but he is best known for his time with the Sonics, in 2013 he was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. His son Gary Payton II has been in the NBA since 2016.