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Basketball from a fans perspective

No Embiid…No Problem!

Sixer guard James Hardin came to play on Monday night. He was aware ahead of time the NBA’s MVP Joel Embiid would be unable to play due to injury. It’s possible (although certainly unproven) the Celtics clearly believed No Embiid…No Problem. Hardin repeated the theme but in a different manner, he might have thought it was up to him to take over the leadership role for the Sixers. Takeover he did leading the way to a 119-115 victory over the Celtics by scoring 45 points along with 6 assists.

It wasn’t just Hardin alone help came in the manner of 26 points from Tyrese Maxey and 18 from Tobias Harris. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the 13 rebounds Paul Reed contributed to the win, the Celtics did make an effort. The 39 points by Jayson Tatum and 23 by Jaylen Brown proved to not be enough to allow the Celtics to emerge as winners in Game 1. We can now look toward Game 2; this is written prior to me reading the injury status of Embiid. At this point I’ve got to believe if there is no Embiid the Celtics should win Game 2 however there remains a question, could the Sixers repeat Monday night?

Golfing buddies

I know this is a basketball blog and not golf but that’s where it starts. D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, in addition to golfing together they are Laker teammates but a friendship has developed between the two. What you read below is from D’Lo who is known for being frank in his assessment of stuff.  

“In the NBA you see a white guy, he’s usually the shooter but can’t guard anybody, or he’s tough and can’t do anything else. For him (Reaves) to have a little bit of everything, I think it…helps the situation. And…he’s a killer. When you recognize a killer that (has the mentality of), I’ll score 40 on you…and then I’ll try to score 50 on you. He’s that guy. Like if he’s going, he’s going to go and there’s no holding back. I think that’s what people recognize. He can really take the game over.”

Now for the real problem, Reaves is a pending free agent this summer. The question can the Lakers or will they be able to sign this super talented combo guard? His game has continued to grow after the coach inserted him into the starting lineup. This move has caused NBA teams to wake up and take notice of Reaves and his impact on the Lakers, I sure hope they are able to keep him. Laker Nation remembers Alex Caruso who they managed to lose to the Bulls in free agency. Please don’t allow history to repeat itself.

He almost missed the draft

If you are aware of this information good for you, a few others probably don’t remember. The two-time NBA MVP almost missed the draft. In the 2014 NBA Draft Nikola Jokic’ was made a second-round pick by the Nuggets, no big deal plenty of outstanding players have been drafted in the second round. I seriously doubt if we could find a league MVP who was the 41^st pick, he was in 19^th place from the last player chosen that year. Whether it was injury or something else, a number of 1^st round draft picks that year are no longer active players in the NBA. As for Jokic looking at him fails to give us the impression he’s a world class athlete, his body of work says otherwise.

He looks slow and plodding on the court, what we see is not what we get. There is no disagreement in any circles at 6 foot 11 Jokic’ we cannot miss his skillful passing. We think of point guards distributing the basketball, he’s right there with them in fact some he actually exceeds. On the boards his game reminds old timers of Wes Unseld, snatching a rebound he whips the ball to a streaking Nugget teammate for a fast break basket. Distance shooting there is always a question who is best from three…is it Jokic’ or Joel Embiid? I believe Jokic’ beats out Embiid by percentage points. Jokic’ is only 28-years old, his NBA future with the Nuggets continues to look quite bright.

Bits n Pieces 

I read of ticket prices for the Lakers-Warriors playoff series and my first question, “That can’t be right…can it?” I checked only one source Seat Geek and this is what I discovered. Games 1 and 2 are in Chase Center, $293 each and Game 2 would be $336. Games 3 and 4 in Crypto.com Arena are more expensive. Game 3 tickets are priced at $357 each while Game 4 are $368. My question, who can afford to pay for ticket prices that gigantic? Even more interesting a friend of mine acquainted with Knick fans provided me this update. Eric indicates playoff tickets for the Knicks are even more expensive.

Has Dillon Brooks become the fall guy for the Grizzlies playoff exit. Grizzlies management announced the power forward would not be resigned for the 2023-24 NBA season. This is not to say his NBA career is over although it just might be. I asked the question at the beginning was his toxic bravado especially aimed at LeBron James was the basis? Although I admit there are issues with Brooks I understand why, use whatever method possible to stoke yourself but you’ve got to be able to deliver. Failure to deliver by Brooks causes one to be perceived as an enormous amount of hot air.

If the plan is finalized the Big XII is headed south of the border. The proposal is a football/basketball package however I intend to focus on the basketball. It’s being reported basketball games would be played in Mexico City, the University of Kansas and new member University of Houston are the prime focus of this proposal. If finalized play would begin as soon as 2024, as additional details come to light you will be updated.