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Basketball from a fans perspective

I’m back

This morning we begin anew…. I have returned to continue publishing on all things related to basketball.  Although I was out of town, I managed to see Games 6 & 7 of the Heat-Celtics playoff series. I saw along with you the Heat unable to box out at the end give the Celtics life, this would only last a bit as the Heat did a beatdown on the Celtics. I’ve read reports claiming the issue was Jason Tatum turning his ankle at the beginning of Game 7, I say baloney next man up. The Celtics needed someone to step up if Tatum was hurting. What bothers me is reading reports prior to this series conclusion Joe Mazzulla was on the hot seat. NBA teams are firing coaches left and right even those with NBA Championships on their resume. Hopefully the powers to be give Mazzulla time.

A further look

Chris read last Thursday’s edition about the portion on recycled NBA coaches. He posed a question which requires a further look. I’m paraphrasing his comment, “Don’t you think some of the organizations might have been dysfunctional and that new coach although fired might bring a different perspective.” I responded in this manner, “You could be correct, off the top of my head the name Mike Malone.” The Sacramento Kings could certainly be termed dysfunctional, they failed to make the playoffs for the last 16 seasons. Bad players, bad coaches or bad front office being the cause. How about a mix of all three, especially the front office?

The Kings went through head coaches like some of us change underwear. One of those coaches hired and fired was Mike Malone who’s record with the Nuggets has been outstanding. It might include an NBA championship this season we don’t know yet. Less the injuries I believe that was part of the Lakers problem i.e. and inept front office. Jeanie Buss was forced to “fire” brother Jimmy because his leadership left something to be desired. I’m going to stop at this point but a large basis for the Knicks being so terrible was an inept James Dolan office. In conclusion I believe my friend Chris is on to something with his statement regarding dysfunctional front offices. One consideration, if the team is underperforming its far easier to make the coach the scapegoat.

No to Kyrie

A number of stories have circulated about the Lakers next season, the chief one whether LeBron James will retire or not. Second to that is the possible acquisition of Kyrie Irving. I am registering an emphatic NO on acquiring Irving for a single chief reason…money. I have speculated on who stays and who goes on next season’s team. In order to acquire Irving the Lakers would be required to dump a tremendous amount of salary. Practically every player I figured would go or stay must leave to acquire Irving.

It would be great to have Irving partnered with a year older LeBron and AD but would it work? Yes, that part would work but we’ve already dealt with a less than stellar roster adding Russell Westbrook. I’m sure the majority members of Laker Nation want a championship; my hope is for a winning team which wasn’t evident much until March. If the Lakers must sacrifice a roster to win a championship I wonder if it’s worth the effort. I guess we must face the fact this is the age NBA teams are assembled through free agency or clever trades.

The NAIA too

We’ve covered the reduced amount of NBA talent found at HBCU (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) in recent years. We could make the same statement regarding basketball from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics or NAIA schools too. A couple of things have occurred in both instances which changed the basketball landscape regarding the talent issue. A number of these highly competitive programs moved from the NAIA level to Division I, II or III basketball.

Louisville is the first school that comes to mind but we could include San Diego State in the count too. As for some of the NBA greats we begin with Scottie Pippen who developed his game at Central Arkansas. At the time Lloyd Free (World B.) of the Sixers played at Guilford, the school competed at the NAIA level, they are now a Division III program. When Luke Jackson played at Pan American University it was also an NAIA school, today it’s now the University of Texas-Pan American and they too are a Division I program. Finally we close with Terry Porter, at the time he was enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point it was also an NAIA school it’s now Division III. You can gather by just the few schools named basketball talent remains it just the programs been upgraded.

Welcome bandwagon fans

I find this quite interesting; the Spurs have gained a vocal fan on television. Skip Bayless has made it known he loves the Spurs despite their poor record the past 3-4 years. Could there be something we can’t see or maybe it’s right in front of our face. As you are aware the Spurs secured the top pick in the 2023 NBA Lottery, most likely on June 22 the commissioner will announce Victor Wembanyama as the first pick. Wembanyama many have termed a generational athlete will begin play in the fall for the Spurs and Coach Pop.

Bayless has been proclaiming his love for the Spurs since the lottery. How much love, he claims to be the mayor of San Antonio. That last declaration caused the real mayor of San Antonio Mayor Nirenberd to issue his own statement, naturally it contradicted the Bayless comment. Rest assured the mayor might have been poking fun of Bayless. We read Bayless has often worn a Kawhi Leonard Clipper jersey (hmmmmm), he’s also been critical of Coach Pop in the past. Gregg Popovich is not beyond criticism, however for Bayless it is quite interesting. It’s okay I’m sure there will be others jumping on the Spurs bandwagon strictly because of Wembanyama.