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Basketball from a fans perspective

Bits n Pieces 

Remember our discussion regarding recycled coaches, well we can add the name of Monty Williams to the conversation. Late Wednesday evening Adrian Wojnarowski announced the Pistons would sign him to a 6-year contract which Woj claims is the largest $$$ in NBA history. Williams inherits a talented but youthful team, my guess the Pistons (17-65) might be among the youngest teams in the NBA. I would imagine Williams is prepared for the difficult task ahead in teaching and coaching this Piston team to an improvement in play.  

I admit to you I’ve not read the stories, only the headlines. It seems to me every other day a headline pops up on the internet regarding Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. The headline details for us Pippen’s terrible teammate Michael Jordan. In all this time I’ve never heard MJ defend himself from these attacks. I don’t have Instagram or Twitter so I have no idea if MJ is offering a defense. The question for me and others, why now? I don’t remember all the details of the documentary Last Dance, was it something MJ said that has riled Pippen to this degree?  

We probably didn’t realize the degree of Duke basketball; I’m not talking on the court. This discussion centers in the front office of NBA teams. The players have moved from the court into leadership roles, after all most have Duke degrees. Who are these guys you might ask, after several front office stops holding several positions, Trajan Landon was named GM of the Pelicans in 2019. We also have Elton Brand who serves as GM with the Sixers. Mike Dunleavy Jr. did the same as the others, after his playing days were over, he moved to the front office. Today he is vice-president of basketball operations for the Warriors. Danny Ferry is no longer working in any teams front office but also held a number of positions throughout the NBA, Ferry is in-between jobs as they might say.

Tick-tick-tick, this ain’t the 60 Minutes clock however the time is that of commissioner Adam Silver. He indicates a decision has been reached regarding Ja Morant but a notice as to the punishment is pending. The commissioner indicates an announcement will be made after the NBA Finals. We could have an idea at the very earliest this could be Friday June 9^th, the latest Sunday June 18^th. We can wait, we are not being punished but I might imagine this is weighing heavily on the mind of Morant. All we can do at this point is speculate on his punishment.

The best

There have been hundreds of arguments who was the best Big Man in basketball. Most claim it’s Kareem Abdul Jabbar while others say Wilt Chamberlain based on the amount of records he owns. A number of folks name others besides the two above but what about the smallish player? Basketball has become a game for taller players but it’s not always been played in that manner. Who is the best ever, I submit two names for you to consider is Nate “Tiny” Archibald and Allen Iverson. Although they played in different eras, they might have been the forerunner of the combo guards we see in much of the NBA of today.

Archibald is most associated with the Celtics, however prior to that he was the offense of the Kansas City Kings. In 1972-73 he accomplished a feat which is likely to never occur again. Archibald led the NBA in scoring (34.0 points) and assists (11.4 assists) in the same season, never duplicated since that time. If we look at Archibald’s bio it indicates he is 6 feet tall but don’t believe it. I claim Archibald stood 5 foot 10 and maybe 150 pounds. Despite this outstanding season the Kings still finished below .500 with a 36-46 record. Archibald is enshrined in the College and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The second name for you to consider is Allen Iverson a.k.a. The Answer or A.I. as he was nicknamed. At barely 6 feet in height he was expected to be a point guard when he arrived in the NBA.

A.I. might have been the first combo guard proficient in scoring and assists. How good was he, Larry Brown his coach at the time decided to “move” him to shooting guard. Talking about a fearless competitor, that was his tune, I don’t believe there was any player in the NBA who believed was superior to him on the court. Like Archibald he played for a number of NBA teams but is probably best known for his time with the Sixers. A.I. or The Answer is enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. There might be others, however these two are the best of the best in my view.     

Southern Cal basketball

I’ve not followed Southern Cal basketball in the past much. The school has produced its share of NBA talent but it seems those of us living outside of Los Angeles only “see” UCLA. After all UCLA has produced great numbers of NBA talent, much more than across town at Southern Cal. Perhaps we have been blinded by this fact, in any event all that might be changing. I have no idea who returns but Southern Cal finished last season with a 22-11 record and it appears they have reloaded, Rivals top prospect in the Class of 2023 point guard Isaiah Collier committed to Southern Cal.

More recently shooting guard Bronny James son of LeBron is also headed to the school. A week or so ago DJ Rodman, the son of Dennis announced he was transferring as well, what do these moves entail you might ask? It’s actually an unknown at this point, allow for an explanation. Although Collier and James are highly touted, they are still freshmen who must learn on the fly to adjust their high school background to the collegiate game. In addition Rodman didn’t set the world on fire in the three years he played at Washington State. We must wait and determine what coach Andy Enfield is able to accomplish with this incoming group of prospects plus those holdovers.