Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

 

Announcement 

There will be no Friday, Monday or Tuesday edition of Off the Dribble. Look for the Wednesday edition May 31 for continued coverage of all aspects of basketball. Enjoy your weekend and for those in the U.S. an extra day as you celebrate Memorial Day. 

Carmelo

After a brilliant NBA career Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement the other day. Despite playing for a number of NBA teams he will always be remembered for leading Syracuse basketball to an NCAA Championship. I have a Carmelo Anthony connection; my wife and I were riding a people mover in Denver’s airport. At that time he was still a member of the Nuggets. As we were travelling to the next terminal, I spotted Anthony in a corner of the car.

I told my wife, “That’s Carmelo Anthony”, her response, “Why don’t you get his autograph?” I informed my wife and for you I don’t bother athletes for autographs unless it’s another setting. 28,289 points, a career 22.5 point per game average, an Olympic Gold and Bronze medal along with a NCAA Championship mentioned earlier. Those are just a few of his accomplishments over the course of a brilliant basketball career. We know the next stop for Carmelo Anthony, he will be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Time for some magic again

ESPN Tournament guru Joe Lunardi picked his field of 68 for next season, Mizzou is no place in sight. Gary Parrish CBS Sports college basketball writer publishes a Top 25 plus 1 poll, the team’s he sees in May 2023 none have Mizzou on the front of their jersey. I’m not intending to be negative toward either of these guys even though I’m not sure about the outcome for this team. To be recognized in the off season you must A. be a veteran coach (such as John Calipari) or B. have a winning history.

Although he’s been head coach previously the 2022-23 season was Dennis Gates first season at the helm for Mizzou. We can state his B. was solid producing a 25-10 won-loss record along with an NCAA Tournament invite. We must return to the 2011-12 season to find a Mizzou team with this number of wins. In closing I am not mad at the duo, they use history as evidence of a team’s projected performance. Perhaps the 2023-24 season Mizzou will turn some heads with its record. On the surface the only issue I could foresee for Mizzou is lack of a Big Man.

How about someone different

The Wednesday edition of ESPN.com points Doc Rivers and Nick Nurse in the lead to replace Monty Williams, former Suns coach. Also another name has been circulating, Steve Nash late of the Nets. What’s wrong with this picture (at least in my view). All these coaches have been fired during the 2022-23 NBA season, Rivers with the Sixers, Nurse with the Raptors and Nash as mentioned with the Nets. Don’t become confused by what I’m attempting to voice.

Being fired is certainly not the end of the world for any coach, however shouldn’t there be a waiting period? Fired coaches have taken on new jobs but after a year or so on the sidelines. If neither of these guys could do it in the winter of 2023, how are they able to pull it off in the fall of 2023? Laker coach Darvin Ham received his share of criticism especially in the manner the Lakers ended the season. Despite this fact he was a breath of fresh air, a longtime assistant coach who was hired to head a franchise. I would hope NBA management would cease recycling coaches, after all a brand-new guy surely can’t do any worst.

Looking ahead

The Lakers season is now complete having been eliminated by the Nuggets. I’m looking toward the 2023 NBA Draft and find the two mock drafts have some interesting names for my Lakers. If we check nbadraftroom.com in the first round they have Jett Howard, a 6-foot 7 220-pound wing, Howard played at the University of Michigan. The scouting report indicates he’s a shooter but is not a great defender. His defense might be a drawback in some circles however he can be taught “team defense.” In the second round they provide us Mojave King a 6-foot 5 194-pound guard playing for G-League Team Elite.

King was born in New Zealand but grew up in Australia, he holds dual citizenship since his father is American. The other mock nbadraft.net provides us with the name of Leonard Miller, a 6-foot 10 210 pound small forward as the 17^th pick, he also plays for the NBA G-League. In the second round they gave us 6-foot 8 215-pound Nikola Djuricic, he plays the guard position. Djurisic was born in Belgium because his father was a Montenegrin professional footballer but is Serbian. I have no preference regarding a name or position, I’m going to trust Rod Pelinka, Darvin Ham and the staff to choose the players they believe are the best fit for my Lakers.